Tara couldn't believe what she was doing. She was having the time of her life. Instead of taking the SUV she had decided to test out her new skills. Since she was dressed in black, she doubt anyone would see her running across the golden gate bridge on the rails. She supposed she was being slightly reckless, if she made a mistake and tripped, she would end up plunging in the water, but this felt too good to stop. Besides, she had no doubt the moon was giving her plenty of energy to be crazy. It was after all, a full moon tonight. She stretched out her arms and pretended she was flying. The wind felt cool and refreshing against her skin. It flew through her long dark hair as she raced along the edges of the bridge. The night was clear and the sky filled with stars. The full moon was gigantic and glowed brightly in the background.
Kane continued to sleep deeply in his bed. He was having the most alluring dream of Tara racing along the Golden Gate Bridge looking like a beautiful dark angel in the night. Kendrick was having the same dream. He moved in restlessly in his bed, he couldn't quite place the feeling of alarm he was getting from this dream.
Tara stared at the cityscape in front of her. When she was living on her own, she had rarely ventured into the city at night because she didn't have a car, now she was glad she did. The buildings had been transformed into a magical scene of bright lights. It was beautiful. The streets were still crowded, but this time with people who were club hopping and coming out to play rather than work. There were limousines everywhere and people dressed up looking like models. So this was San Francisco's night scene, what had she been missing out on? In the daytime she had been too busy rushing to and from work to actually enjoy the city. Well tonight she was going to make sure, she did.
The address Rhonda had given her was located in the lower Mission District. A place she rarely ventured into because of its bad reputation, she thought it was strange to throw a ball there, but since she knew she was stronger than ever, she wasn't afraid anything would happen.
It didn't take her long to reach the neighborhood; she was surprised to see it was a street party. There was a sign that said "Welcome to the Exotic, Erotic Ball!" She blinked and looked around. There were people dressed in costumes, but very revealing costumes. A playboy bunny ran passed her giggling. A she- devil wearing nothing but a red swimsuit, red vein nylon stockings, and tall red leather high heel boots sauntered passed her carrying a red whip which she used to strike Tara's buttocks. Tara jumped and growled at her. She growled back and winked.
Tara wandered through the crowd watching everyone in amazement. She didn't feel too badly with the way she was dressed. This was not the ball she had been expecting; it was more like an orgy. People were making out; feeling each other up, one couple was actually having sex in front of everyone. She could smell the different sexual aromas in the air which was beginning to turn her stomach. Besides, there were too many guys watching her closely and some even choosing to follow her. One let out a low whistle of appreciation. Okay, perhaps it was not a good idea to come here, she thought and turned around to leave.
Kane moved in his bed restlessly. His beautiful dream of Tara was beginning to turn into a dark one.
"Tara! Girl is that you over there?" It was Rhonda's voice.
She turned around shocked at what she saw. Rhonda was dressed in a dominatrix costume.
"Welcome to the ball, hon!" She posed in her outfit. "What do you think?"
"It's so you..." Tara said trying not to laugh.
"I thought so," Rhonda said proudly. "And what type of costume are you wearing?" She looked at her in confusion.
"I'm a robber on the prowl?" Tara said with a grin.
"Oh I see," Rhonda.
Three white guys came up behind Rhonda.
"What a sexy robber you are," one of them said. He was dressed in a vampire costume.
"Look at the body on her," the second said. He was dressed as a stripper cowboy.
"Where's Kane?" Rhonda looked around suspiciously.
"We had an argument. He's at home," Tara said staring at the three guys worriedly. They all had a look of lust in their eyes.
"Figured," Rhonda said. "I had a feeling he wasn't coming with you, so I took the liberty of telling my friends about you. You seemed to like white guys and they definitely have a craving for some blackberry juice."
The third one dressed in a toga walked to her and grabbed her hands. He was practically drooling at the mouth. "My goodness you're beautiful. Rhonda told us you were a looker, but she didn't do you justice. Would you like to dance?"
"No," Tara quickly shook her head and tried to back away. The other guys quickly surrounded her. The toga one wouldn't let go of her hand.
"Oh come on sweetness, just a little dance with us is all we ask," the toga guy started to pull her in his arms.
Tara could smell their scents. They smelled of alcohol and weed. She sighed in annoyance. She would have to be a little rough with them just to show them they were messing with the wrong girl. She grabbed him by the waist to throw him off of her.
Nothing happened.
Blinking in confusion, she tried again, still nothing. She was weak! Where had her strength gone? She looked up at the full moon in confusion and wondered if it was now having the opposite effect on her. Was the full moon draining her energy? Had she become completely human once again?
The guy who was holding her mistaken her intention and thought she was trying to come on to him. He pulled her tightly against him and ran his fingers down her waist to her buttocks which he squeezed tightly. "Oh yeah, baby that's what's I'm talking about. I think we got ourselves a little vixen here!" He told the others.
Tara tried to pull away from him, but she couldn't, she was too weak to even fight him.
Rhonda laughed. "I knew you had it in you! The sweet innocent ones always have that wild side. Well this is the only night you can really let loose so you better enjoy it because I'm going to enjoy watching!"
Tara didn't panic until the toga guy lifted her up in his arms and began to carry her off somewhere. "Idiots! Let me go!" she yelled, but no one paid her any attention. Her heart began to beat in fear. She screamed in fright and pain when they threw her down in a dark alley away from the crowd.
Kane eyes shot opened.
He sat up quickly growling with menace. Tara was gone. This was not a fucking dream! He could feel her heart racing with fear. His own heart began to match her terrified beats. She had deliberately disobeyed him. She had tricked him and now she was in danger. He bounded out of the room naked and furious. He could feel his body beginning to transform into his wolf as he raced out of the house into the night.
Kendrick exploded out of the bed growling angrily. Her pain had slashed through him when they'd thrown her down and he realized this was no dream. Tara had tricked them! He was angry, but tried to calm himself, unlike his brother who was racing towards the men who would likely meet their death tonight if Kendrick didn't stop him in time.
Tara tried to fight the three guys, but she was just too weak. She screamed at them to leave her alone. They only laughed. There were too many of them, grabbing at her, ripping her clothes off and all the time Rhonda stood back laughing and giggling as if she found the entire situation amusing.
"Shit, look at those breasts!" The vampire said. "Biggest jugs I've ever seen."
Rhonda purred. "Mmm, I knew they were big, keep going guys this is getting hot."
Tara tried to cover up her exposed breasts after they'd ripped her tank top off. The cowboy guy grabbed her arms and held them behind her.
The toga guy began to pull her pants down. Tara screamed Kane's name in pure terror. She had never been so frighten in her life, her heart felt as if it would burst out of her chest.
"Don't call him now, girl. You should have listened to your boyfriend and stayed your fine ass at home," Rhonda teased.
At that moment, Tara hated Rhonda and was glad that Kane had ripped off her hand. "I thought you were my friend," she glanced at her hurt and disgusted as she watched the girl began to rub her own body.
"I am your friend. I tried to be at least, but you kept pushing me away. I wanted us to be close, very close, but you were just too high and mighty for me. I know you looked down on me, Tara. And I don't like it when someone makes me beg to be with them. So now, I'm making you beg!"
The toga guy grabbed Tara and began to kiss her harshly once they'd gotten her pants half way down her legs. His tongue forced open her mouth and slid in. He tasted bitter and slimy. Tara bit him. He yelled and pulled away, then slapped her hard. "Bitch! You're going to pay for that!" Tara spit his blood out of her mouth and hoped he bled to death.
The vampire pulled her pants completely off admiring her long golden legs. "Can you imagine these beauties wrapped around your waist? That guy Kane probably fucks the life out of you every night doesn't he? Lucky bastard!"
Tara began to cry at the mention of Kane's name. She had betrayed him and Kendrick by coming here tonight. She felt worse about that than anything else. What had she been thinking? They had wanted to protect her so badly and now...perhaps these men should kill her; it wouldn't be as bad as having to face her wolves this way. Tara had no idea that her wolves had connected with her. She was so overwhelmed with terror that she hadn't noticed Kane's approach until it was too late.
Instead of rushing to save innocent people that would no doubt be hurt just by passing by the incident, Kendrick decided to take his time. The men had gone too far with Tara and Kendrick was in no hurry to save anybody. In fact, he was about to join the massacre. His anger had turned to blind fury and no one was safe from either of them. How dare they hurt her. How dare the bastards put their dirty, filthy hands on their life mate, to touch her in such a way, to see the body that belonged only to him and Kane. They would die tonight and they would suffer, slow agonizing deaths.
Tara could feel Kane. He was close and he wasn't human. She could feel his fury and it was about to be unleashed on all the people surrounding her. She began to struggle again, this time for the safety of the men who were about to rape her than for herself. She didn't want to be here, she didn't want to see their deaths and know she was the cause of it.
"No use of struggling, my southern belle," the vampire said as he ran his hands up her bare thighs and hooked his fingers in the top of her panties.
It was then Tara saw him. Two glowing red eyes appeared behind the vampire. She whimpered in fright.
The vampire smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be gentle." A huge muzzle filled with gigantic rows of sharp fangs reached out from the dark and grabbed the vampire by the neck jerking him into the darkness. The hands that were on her panties ended up pulling them down and ripping them as they tried to hold on to something to keep from being carried away. Tara heard a scream filled with pain and terror, a loud crunching sound, and last, gurgling.
The other two guys quickly backed away from her. "What the hell was that?!" The toga guy yelled. The cowboy looked around nervously.
It was then Tara felt Kendrick, she only had a second to realize he was there when a flash of red fur zipped past her attacking the toga guy. He screamed. Blood showered over Tara's body as a severed arm was thrown over her head; again the sound of bones crunching filled the air. The sharp scent of blood made her gag. She looked down, her arms and legs were covered in someone else's blood.
The cowboy didn't have time to run before he was attacked also. In her mind, she could see both wolves in the darkness, each had a side of the cowboy's body locked into their huge jaws. She could hear his body being ripped into pieces as the two wolves pulled him apart. His screams of pain, the sound of his body tearing would be something she'd never be able to forget. She glanced at Rhonda who was cowering against the wall. Her body was shaking so violently that her teeth clattered loudly.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She yelled over and over yanking her head in every direction to see where the creatures would strike next.
Kendrick suddenly appeared in front of Tara. She blinked up at him wondering if he was real. He looked ferocious. His short locks of hair stood up in spikes and appeared to be on fire. His eyes, oh god his eyes, were burning...
There was blood on his mouth which he licked off with his tongue.
He glared at her and for a moment Tara nearly crapped on herself she was so afraid of him. He took his shirt off and covered her upper body with it, then picked her up and carried her away. "You don't need to see this," he whispered in her ear. His teeth not quite human teeth yet, but sharp fangs that nicked her earlobe. His breath smelled of blood and was so hot it simmered the delicate skin of her ear.
"Stop him," Tara begged him. "Why won't you stop him?!"
"Stop him?" Kendrick snorted. "Kane has every right to destroy anything that harms you. I would join him if I could in the destruction of your so called friend, but I have enough mercy in me to not let you see it."
Mercy? There was no mercy in what they were doing...
She could hear Rhonda screaming in pain, screaming and screaming and screaming until the voice overwhelmed her. She welcomed the darkness that took over her.
Kendrick stared down at Tara, relieved that she had passed out. He knew he had to stop Kane before he went on another killing spree and started killing innocent people in his rage, perhaps not everyone deserved to die now that he was thinking clearly and the men that threatened their mate had been destroyed. He knew Kane would calm down once he held Tara in his arms and saw for himself, she was still alive.
He found Kane standing over Rhonda's body which was now in pieces on the ground. Kane was still in his wolf's form, his fur waved in the wind like flames of fire. He turned to Kendrick growling, blood dripping from his fangs.
"Calm down, it's just me," Kendrick spoke to him as calmly as possible. He could feel Kane's outrage of having the human men violate what was theirs. He could see the images in Kane's mind playing over and over; see their hands grabbing at her, exposing her, hurting her, treating her as if she was only trash. His own emotions were threatening to take over him again. Control...he needed control....
He held Tara in front of him. "Take her. She's hurt, she needs you. I'll stay behind and clean up the mess."
Kane stared at the limp girl in Kendrick's arms. He slowly morphed back into his human body and took her from Kendrick. Without a word, he was gone.
"Over here! I see something!" someone yelled.
"Damn," Kendrick muttered. Too late...
He disappeared.