Page 41 of Bleeding Love

I headed in the direction of the back door where the creature was lurking, trying to stay as quiet as possible. I checked the rooms I passed for it, but there was no sign of forced entry. Celeste had said she warded the place so nobody with ill intention could enter. And if someone else did, we would know.

I heard a low crack come from outside just when I was passing another dark, dusty drawing room. Baring my teeth, I stepped into the chamber, heading toward the large window facing the door.

Maybe it was some kind of supernatural creature, curious about the new predator in its territory. If it had just come to investigate and decided to leave, I could let it live. But if it was planning to attack…

The window shattered as a massive black form flew through the glass, landing right where I had stood a moment ago. The creature was bigger than a human, bigger even than a werewolf, covered in inky skin and fur that was darker than the night sky. Its head was twice as big as mine, with giant red eyes and teeth longer than my palm. It smelled of fire, sulfur, and blood, and when it snarled, its voice was like nothing I had heard before.

I had no time to wonder what exactly had breached the ward because it lunged for me again. I had to find Celeste and get her out of there before this monster hurt her. Then I’d come back and kill it, get it out of our home.

The problem was, the creature was blocking my way to the door, its eyes tracking me with ease, even when I ran with speed very few supernatural beings possessed.

If it had been a werewolf, another shifter, or anything I had encountered before, I would have attacked already. I didn’t care about pain or getting hurt as long as I won, but this thing was making my skincrawl.

Before I could decide what to do next, it charged. It moved so fast that even with my vampire speed, I ended up being too slow. He caught me in the arm and shredded bones like they were twigs. I ducked under its nails and sunk my teeth into its forearm, tearing a chunk, before giving myself room for another attack. The creature snarled in pain and twisted its enormous body. Not to me, though. To the door where the sound of running feet was drawing nearer and nearer.

Celeste appeared at the threshold in the next second, panting heavily.

“Celeste, get back! It will…” I shouted, taking a step toward her, when she ran forward and threw herself at the creature. It caught her with both arms, long nails locking around her back, ready to slice her to pieces without a second thought.

My world shattered as I watched, waiting helplessly for the creature to kill her.

Then Celeste laughed. Not a nervous laugh full of desperation, but one of joy and delight. One I hadn’t heard before, not even after all the time we spent together.

Stupefied, I stared while the creature lowered her to the ground, kneeling so she didn’t have to twist her head up. Then it released her, one hand lingering on her shoulder as it looked her over.

“You are alive,” it spoke and despite the shudder that passed through my body, telling me to stay on alert, relief was all I could hear in its voice. It seemed to have completely forgotten about me, about the wound on its arm, about anything but Celeste. And she…she was grinning so widely, eyes full of tears, that I didn’t know what to do or think.

“I missed you,” Celeste said with such a gentle voice that something inside of me snapped. She leaned her forehead against the beast’s, both of them closing their eyes as if the rest of the world didn’t exist. I snarled without meaning to and Celeste flinched, finally remembering I was there.

Her eyes were still bright and joyful when she looked at me, but the fact that those emotions were not brought by me made me angry. Angry enough for the creature to sense it and move a massive arm around Celeste. Protecting her…from me.

“That’s enough, both of you,” she said, her voice turning stern as she patted the creature’s face. It released her instantly, and she stepped back, looking between the two of us. “I feel some introductions are in order. Nym,” she turned toward the creature, giving him a warning look, “this is Roman. He saved me and invited me to stay here while I recuperate. You will not attack him.” When the black beast nodded, she looked at me. Her gaze was just as unyielding as she met my eyes. “Roman, this is Nym, my familiar. I called him. Be nice.”

I looked the creature over, deliberating ifnicemeant being verbally polite or not killing it while it slept.

“What even is it?” I asked, looking over once again its strange form, long curved nails, giant teeth, and burning eyes. “Something infernal?”

“It’s a he, not an it,” Celeste corrected me with a biting tone. “And Nym is sentient, so mind how you talk to him or I might not be able to protect you.”

I opened my mouth to tell her I didn’t need her protection when I noticed the pleading look she gave me. I felt my frustration settle, and I forced myself to look back at Nym.

“I apologize for hurting you, Nym,” I said, trying to keep my voice polite. “Usually, when I am attacked in my own home, I try to reply in kind.”

Nym considered me for a second before turning to face me. His body shuddered as if an illusion circled his form before he shrank and shrank until a cat sat in the place of the nightmare that flew through the window. He was larger than a normal house pet, but it still looked ridiculously tiny and defenseless when I knew what his true form was.

“You are a vampire and you smelled of Celeste’s blood,” Nym said in a voice that no longer sounded like an echo coming from hell itself. He shouldn’t have been able to talk, considering he was a cat, but I decided that I preferred a talking cat to…whatever he was before. “I thought you took her hostage and fed on her. I was just trying to free her.”

I glanced at the witch, who seemed to be fighting a smile, and gave her a warning look.

“He’s not forcing me to be here, Nym,” she said softly, crouching by the cat and patting his head. “And I gave him my blood willingly. Roman is a friend.”

Something squeezed my chest at those words, but I made sure my face didn’t show it, especially when Nym looked between the two of us with his eyes narrowed. Before he could say anything, Celeste was walking toward the door and calling for us to follow her.

I took a step after her, but then noticed Nym hadn’t moved, studying me even more keenly than before. I tensed when the cat stopped next to me and craned its neck up to meet my gaze.

“If you ever hurt her, I will kill you,” Nym said in a voice that left no room for hesitation about his seriousness. I forced my body to relax and I crouched down so I could look him in the eyes. He didn’t so much as flinch when I brought my face so close to his, I could almost feel his whiskers moving.

“Why would I ever hurt the woman I…” The words came out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying, but I caught myself just in time. Nym cocked his head, waiting, but I was still stuck on the word I hadn’t spoken.

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