A Ghoul's Kiss Book 1 Read online

  The heavy rain fogs the windshield, making it hard to see the road. I pull up to the car garage, kill the engine, and walk up to Vanessa’s condo. I knock on the door, but there no response. Whipping out my phone from my back pocket, I dial her number. Vanessa’s phone rings loudly inside the condo. I grab the spare key from under the mat and unlock the door. Slowly, I push it open.

  “Vanessa?” I yell as I enter into the kitchen.

  “In here,” she answers. I walk to her bedroom and she lies under the blanket.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, perching on the edge of the bed.

  “No,” she says. I hear a sob catching in her throat.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Vanessa sits up and I cannot believe my eyes. Her eyeballs are pitch-black, and she has two fangs poking from her mouth. Her skin is white as snow, like she is dead. I gasp, falling off the bed. She is a vampire! Who would do this to her? I fight back the lump in the back of my throat.

  “We can fix this.” My shaky hands touch her; she is cold as ice.

  “Who did this to you?” I ask. She grabs me by the arm.

  “I’ll talk to Eric, he can help you.”

  “NO! I’m sorry. He’s here. I’m sorry; please forgive me.” What is she babbling about?

  I hear the door lock, and I turn around. The last person I want to see is standing before me. Pete! He looks bigger than the last time I saw him. Two blood bags are in his hand. He tosses one to Vanessa. She opens it and drinks like a person starving for food. My body grows numb and my heart hammers in my chest.

  “You said you wouldn’t hurt her if I lured her here,” Vanessa says with concern. She betrayed me!

  “You tricked me!” I say as tears sting my eyes. Vanessa looks down at the floor. This isn’t the person I know. She’s a monster.

  “I won’t. I just need the key,” Pete tells Vanessa.

  Pete walks over and strokes my cheek. I flinch. He grabs me by the hair and my scalp stings. Vanessa launches herself at Pete, knocking him to the ground.

  “Don’t you hurt her, you son of a bitch!” She bangs his head against the wall and punches him in the throat. He yanks her and throws her against the floor-length mirror. Vanessa sits up, removing pieces of glass from her right arm. Blood slips between her fingers as she presses her palm to her wound.

  “Is that all you got, bastard?” She spits blood in his face.

  I rush to the door, but Pete blocks the exit.

  “Where is the fucking key?” he demands, stepping closer to me.

  “I don’t have it!” I scream at the top of my lungs.

  “You gave it to King Eric?” he asks, pushing me down on the bed. Vanessa gets up, and Pete whips out a pistol and shoots her in the arm.

  “Where is the fucking key?”

  I don’t answer.

  He shoots her in the leg, and she screams.

  “Don’t you dare tell him!” she says through heavy breathing.

  “Okay, I’ll give you the key.” I can’t watch him kill her.

  “Where is it?” Pete says.

  “I’ll take you to it,” I whisper, wiping the tears from my eyes.

  “If you trick me, I will kill Vanessa,” he says coldly. He stands behind me, nudging the gun to my temple.

  “Start walking,” Pete hisses. We walk to the Porsche, and my heartbeat pulses in my ears. Vanessa and I look at each other as Pete walks behind us.

  I climb in the front seat, Vanessa in the passenger, and Pete in the back. I pretend to check the rearview mirror, trying to see if Pete still has the gun aimed at me.

  Fear grips me hard as I stare at him. I see the hatred in his eyes. How will I get out of this? I can’t take him to the key because the mansion is protected by magic. I turn to look at Vanessa and I feel pain shoot through the back of my head.

  “Keep your eyes on the fucking road,” Pete sneers. I want to pat my aching head, but Pete might kill me. I drive through a few lights and take the long way to the mansion. Instead of going straight to the bridge that leads to Mercer Island, I drive through Port Angeles, to buy time so I can come up with a plan. Think! Sarah! Think! I slowly push down on the gas pedal.

  “You know you are a hard person to track, Sarah. I had to use Vanessa to get to you,” Pete says.

  I grip the steering wheel so tight my palms hurt.

  Man, I want to hit him so bad. I have to get away from him.

  “I went to Vanessa playing the caring card.” I glance at him the rearview mirror, he gives me an evil grin.

  “Then I tricked her into thinking I loved her. Humans are fucking stupid,” he strokes Vanessa’s neck.

  “You’re good in the bedroom, though.” She slaps his hand back.

  “Don’t touch me!” she screams.

  I turn my eyes back to the road and notice we are passing a trail of tall trees. Without thinking, I floor the gas pedal, swerve the car, and hit a tree. My head bangs on the steering wheel as blood drenches my face. My head and my chest ache as I gulp for air like a fish out of water. My vision is a little hazy, but I see Vanessa; half of her body is through the windshield. Blood and guts splatter on the dashboard. I whimper, and tears fill my eyes, but they don’t fall. I’m in too much pain. Pete yanks me out of the driver’s seat, and beats me in the face with a pistol. It hurts so much, that I can’t feel it anymore.

  “Is that ghoul worth you killing yourself over?” If my jaw weren’t numb, I would spit in his face.

  He bites into his wrist, placing it to my mouth. With the little strength that I have, I shake my head. I want to die. Please kill me. Get it over with now, asshole. He clutches my jaw in his hand and drops of blood drip on my tongue. The blood tastes sweet like a starburst candy. A burning sensation slithers through my veins, and the numbness in my face disappears. My strength is back. Then the pain in my chest is gone. I feel like I have the best pain reliever on the market. Pete pulls me to my feet. A pickup truck pulls over to the side of the road. An old man jumps out of the truck.

  “Ma’am? Sir? Do you need any help? I’m cal—” Pete shoots the man in the head, and he falls to the ground. As I stare at the gush of blood from the wound, and Pete grips my left arm tight, digging his nails into my flesh. He drags me to the truck, leaving Vanessa’s bloody body in the car.

  “Drive bitch,” Pete says. I step over the man’s bloody dead corpse as tears fill my eyes. Climbing into the driver’s seat, I shift the gear into drive, and pull onto the street. As we pull up to the front metal gate, I cut the engine as my heart pounds and fear clogs my chest. I want to summon Eric, but Pete will kill me.

  “Where the fuck are we?” he asks.

  “Eric’s mansion.” Pete glances around then slaps my face. My face stings.

  “I don’t see a mansion.”

  He places the pistol at the center of my forehead. I raise my hands in the air.

  “I can get you the key, please,” I say, trembling.

  “Get out of the car,” he orders.

  With shaking hands, I unhook the seatbelt and open the door. I jump out of the truck and in a matter of seconds, Pete has me by the hair. I struggle under his grip, elbowing him. He lets me go, and I sprint to the metal gate, banging on it so hard my fists ache.

  “Help! Open up the gate!”

  Pete turns me around and punches me in the face. I hear the bones cracking in my jaw.

  “You’re stupid,” he says, pressing the pistol to my forehead.

  I taste blood in my mouth. Pete pulls the trigger sending a bullet through my head. I exhale as everything goes dark.

  Pulling up to Mae’s driveway, I need to apologize to her for accusing her of sending Pete after Sarah. She moved out of the mansion the day after the execution.

  I cut the engine and jump out of the SUV. I’m glad she is fucking Jack so I don’t feel guilty for not being with her. I always felt like I owed her for what she did. Before I can knock on the door, Mae opens up. Her face lights up in surprise, and we stare at each other for
a minute too long.

  “What the hell do you want?” Her voice is unwelcoming. I deserve that after all the hell I put her through.

  “I’m sorry for accusing you of sending a vampire after Sarah,” I say apologetically. She nods her head. I turn on my heel and begin to walk towards the SUV.

  “If you are happy, then I’m happy for you,” her voice breaks with emotions. Guilt weighs heavy on my chest. She didn’t have to take care of me, and I let her down; I broke her heart. I pause by the car door.

  “Take care of yourself, King Eric,” she says.

  “You, too,” I say as I hop into my car and drive onto the asphalt. I gaze at the digital clock on the dashboard. It’s 5:30 in the evening. Hitting the Bluetooth in my ear, I call Sarah. She doesn’t pick up, so I send her a text.

  I have a surprise for you. Meet me at the Odessa Garden at nine tonight.

  I’m going to ask Sarah to bond with me. I am nervous as shit because she might turn me down. I read on the Internet that humans like to have an engagement ring. When a male bonds with a female they offer a pendant, so I’ll do both. I will give her my mom’s pendant and I’ll buy her the engagement ring. I drive to Seattle and pull up to Simone Jewelry. I check my messages before I hop out of the car; still nothing from Sarah. I walk up to the ghoul clerk and he bows.

  “King Eric, how can I help you?”

  “I need an engagement ring for a female human.” I rub my smooth chin. He motions me to a glass window filled with different sparkling diamonds. I see one in the shape of a heart. My phone buzzes in my pocket. I grab it and answer it.

  “What?” I ask annoyingly.

  “You need to come home. Sarah is dead. Pete shot her,” Mac says sadly.

  Panic constricts my chest at his words.

  I drive like a maniac getting to Sarah. I pull up to the gate and see Jack hunched over Sarah’s body. There’s a hole in the middle of her forehead, and her face is soaked in blood. My knees buckle as tears well in my eyes. Jack places her in my arms, and I carry her corpse to the car and lower her into the back seat.

  “Where is Pete?” I ask Jack.

  “Mac has him,” he answers.

  “Get her to a human doctor and call Odessa,” I order.

  In a matter of seconds, I rush to Mac. Mac chokes Pete, and Pete’s eyes roll to the back of his head. I order Mac to let him go. And once the bastard falls to the ground, my fist comes down on his face. I hear the bones cracking in his skull.

  I feel the rage pulsing through my veins every time Sarah pops in my mind; the blood dripping down her face, the gash in the front of her head. After his heart stops beating, I rip his head from his shoulders, tossing it on the ground. The body is surrounded by a pool of blood.

  “Jack called. They made it to the hospital.” Mac snatches me by the collar, pulling me off the vamp’s corpse and shoving me toward the car.

  When we arrive at the hospital, I rush to the Emergency Room. A small human sits at the computer. She faces me and shock etches her face.

  “How can I help you?”

  “I’m here for Sarah Clemons,” I say.

  She clicks her nails on the keyboard.

  “The doctor will be with you shortly. Have a seat in the lobby.”

  “I need to see her.”

  “Have a seat, now,” the human demands.

  “King Eric!” Jack calls. I smell Sarah’s blood on his shirt, and bile rises in my throat.

  “How is she doing?”

  “The doctors are working on her now.” Jacks pats me on my back.

  “Where is Odessa?”

  “She will be here in the next five minutes.”

  I pace the waiting room as fear eats away at me. What if they don’t save Sarah in time? Odessa wraps her hand around my shoulder.

  “Where is she? I need to heal her now.”

  “They won’t let anyone see her,” I say with tears in my eyes.

  A short female wearing a blue uniform walks into the waiting room.

  “Hello, I’m Dr. Banks. Is Sarah Clemons’s family here?” she asks, pushing her glasses high on the bridge of her nose.

  “Yes, we are her family,” I say.

  “How are you related to Miss Clemons?”

  “I’m her ma—boyfriend.”

  “We need someone who is blood-related,” the doctor says.

  “She doesn’t have any blood-related family,” Mac says. She peers at us and nods her head.

  “She is in a coma.”

  “What does that mean?” I ask.

  “She is in a deep sleep,” the doctor answers.

  “Sarah is a tough cookie. She had surgery to remove the bullet from her head, and she is stable.”

  “When will she wake up?” Odessa asks.

  “We don’t know. It’s up to Sarah.”

  “Can we see her?” I blurt out.

  “Of course,” the doctor answers, and Odessa tugs on my arms.

  “Let me go see her first. I need to heal her,” Odessa whispers as she pushes past me and follows the doctor down the hallway. Thirty minutes later, she comes back.

  “I don’t know if I saved her. Humans respond differently to my power, so we will have to play the waiting game.” Her voice is uneven.

  I don’t respond. When I walk into the room, Sarah is hooked up to different machines, tubes in her nose, and she has a bandage wrapped around her head. I shove my hands in my pockets and exhale, looking at the love of my life. The room is cold and the medical machines hum.

  My mind goes over the last few days; how we talked about getting matching tattoos. I miss Sarah’s laugh, the scent of her, the dimples in her cheeks, her drilling me with questions about everything, and I even miss her getting mad at me for trying to get her to try new stuff. I remember the first night we spent together when I made her jump off the cliff with me. I knew she was mine; I knew I wanted to bond with her. I just regret the fact I didn’t do it sooner. One minute we are together, and the next she is fighting for her life. I hope Odessa’s healing powers worked because I can’t live without Sarah.

  For the last two weeks, I have been at the hospital, reading to Sarah and watching television shows with her. She hasn’t woken up from her coma, and time seems to pass slowly. I haven’t eaten, or been home since she’s been in the hospital. It doesn’t feel right going there when Sarah is here. I’ve never felt this much pain in my entire existence.

  Nicholas replaces the wilting roses at her bedside with fresh colorful flowers. He pats me on the back and tells me that everything is going to be alright. Often, I question him when he says that because right now, I want to die. I feel like there is a big hole in my heart. David sits in the recliner in the corner flipping through the channels.

  “A leech is hanging outside the hospital. She keeps asking about you and Sarah,” David says.

  “Leech?”

  “Who is she?” he asks.

  “Vanessa, Sarah’s friend,” I say. David frowns.

  “Does this human believe in hanging out with her own kind?” he asks. I jump to my feet.

  “Go see what the vamp wants. She is getting on my last nerve.” David murmurs. I kiss Sarah’s forehead, tell her that I love her, and disappear from the room. When I step in front of the entrance, Vanessa looks like she needs to drink. Her cheeks are sunken in, her skin is thin, and she is incredibly pale. How is she not going into a drinking frenzy?

  “How is Sarah?” her voice is filled with panic.

  “She hasn’t woken up,” I say sadly.

  “I’m sorry for what I’ve done to Sarah. It’s all my fault,” Vanessa says.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I ask.

  “The reason why she is here is because of me. If I wasn’t dating Pete and he didn’t trick me, she wouldn’t be fighting for her life.” Her eyes fill with sorrow.

  “Dating… Pete turned you into a vamp?” I ask, shocked. She nods.

  “He tricked me into luring Sarah to my condo. He was Adam,
h—” Before she can finish her sentence, I place my hand around her throat, squeezing like a vice. She claws at my face as her eyes turn black.

  “Please,” Vanessa says, barely managing to get the word out.

  “You’re the reason she’s in here?” I yell, anger clogs my throat.

  “I’m…sorry,” she wheezes. I should kill this bitch, but I can’t. Sarah won’t forgive me if I do; she loves her. Reluctantly, I release her. Vanessa coughs, trying to catch her breath.

  “You’re lucky, because if Sarah didn’t love you, I would kill you,” I say.

  “I’m sorry.” Tears pool in her eyes.

  “Save your apology for someone who gives a shit.” Vanessa slides down the wall, wrapping her arms around her legs. Humans walking on the concrete sidewalk stop and stare at us.

  “Stay the fuck away from Sarah or I won’t be so kind next time,” I threaten, my tone is ice-cold. I turn away from her and head to the glass doors.

  “I know who sent Pete after Sarah,” she says, and I turn to face her.

  “Who?” I fold my arms across my chest.

  “Amy from the Chadwick Coven.”

  Chadwick coven is located in England. That is the only coven who didn’t fight in the war.

  “It’s the coven me and Pete are from. They want Sarah dead,” she answers.

  “Why?” I ask.

  “If she dies, that breaks the protection spell on the key. Sarah’s mom cast a blood spell on it.”

  I don’t trust what the leech says. She could be lying about the whole thing so I will trust her. I’m not buying it.

  David strides in our direction. He glares at Vanessa then turns his attention to me.

  “Sarah is waking up. I can hear her thoughts,” he says cheerfully.

  I sit with Jessie on the back porch with a glass of peach soda in my right hand. I’m at my home; the house I grew up in. So many bad memories are here, but it doesn’t feel as empty and cold as I remember it. I sense warmth, love, and peace. The sun sits high in the sky. Atlanta weather is blazing. I wipe the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. The smell of fresh cut grass and charcoal lingers in the air. My old dog, Rust, wags his tail and his tongue hangs out from his mouth. I named him that because his coat is a light red color. I love my golden retriever. Gently, I pat my lap. He barks and makes himself comfortable on my legs.