I was lying on my back in the forest, with my sister, Maria, sitting on top of me. She had severed my vocal cords and broken my arms and legs, and she had her hands in my stomach up to her wrists, slashing at my internal organs as she told me about what had happened to her when she had been sired as a vampire and forced into prostitution.
"Men lined up for the chance to mutilate me, Stosh. They cut my tits off, they removed my pussy lips, they fucked me with a hot poker, and they did it every night because I always healed. Always, Stosh."
"THIS ISN'T REAL!" I yelled. "You're DEAD! This is a dream! This is only a dream!"
Maria gave me a sick, demented grin. "A dream is a wish your heart makes, brother mine," she said.
Suddenly, I felt hands on my chest.
"Stosh? Baby? Are you okay?"
I jumped and realized that Elizabeth was in bed, next to me.
"Whoa! Elizabeth! Wow! When did you get here?" I was shaken by her unexpected presence, but I was so glad to see her.
"Angus came back to Laura's house after he tracked where you went, and I insisted he bring me back with him. Did you have a bad dream?"
I nodded. "I dreamed about my sister, Maria."
Elizabeth tightened her arms around me and kissed me softly. "She was the one who tried to kill you, wasn't she?"
I nodded. "My first night as a vampire, I drank so much of her blood that she had to be sired, but the man who sired her turned out to be a slaver who turned her into a whore to be repeatedly raped and mutilated."
I had told Elizabeth about Maria before, but she seemed to understand that I needed to talk about her again. Maybe it was my way of trying to atone for what happened to Maria. I've always blamed myself for what she went through, and even now, after she tortured me, I still didn't have it in me to be angry with her. After all, she wouldn't have tortured me if someone hadn't done it to her first.
"I'm sorry that happened to her, and I'm sorry she did that to you," Elizabeth said, gently kissing me.
I held her for a while, and then I asked, "How's Michelle?"
"She's okay. The others brought her back to Laura's house after you left so she could recover. She's annoyed that she had to drink a whole bunch of vampire blood though!" Elizabeth laughed.
I smiled. "I'm glad we could save her. Did she tell you what happened?"
"She said she was attacked by another werewolf, but she didn't know who it was. Also, she's been stalking my sister since they broke up."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah, apparently she's been keeping watch over Laura's house every night."
"Even when Laura stayed at our apartment?"
Elizabeth laughed again. "That's the best part - she was super pissed when Laura told her she'd been staying there."
I hugged Elizabeth closer and softly kissed her. Then she pulled her head back and said, "Wait -
our
apartment?"
I laughed. "Yes. I'd like it if you moved in with me, especially after I sire you. I'll need to keep an eye on you and make sure you're not having any problems. Also, well, I like having you around."
"Mr. Szymanski, this is so sudden!" she said in an innocent voice. "I don't know what to say!"
I kissed her again. "Say 'yes' or else I'm never going to get David and Angus to find their own place!"
Elizabeth smiled at me and put her head on my chest. "By the way, when are you thinking of turning me into a vampire?"
I sighed. "Once this bullshit is over."
"You mean with the rogue?"
It took me a moment to realize Elizabeth hadn't been with us when we realized that there was something else going on other than a rogue werewolf.
"There is no rogue. Did Angus introduce you to the two wolves in this house?"
"Yes, he did," she said, in an uncertain voice.
"Well, the wolf who took my brother is the male wolf you met, William. The female wolf, Honoria, is his grandmother. They're from Maryland and they've been chasing Janek because he killed Honoria's brother, who was also their pack beta."
"Holy shit, that lady is his
grandmother
?"
I laughed. "That's all you got out of that?"
"Well, no, but... fuck! How old is she?"
I laughed. "I'm not brave enough to ask a lady her age, especially if she's a werewolf!"
Elizabeth laughed with me. "Okay, okay, good point."
"Werewolves live a long time. Not as long as we live, but they age very slowly. My friend Dmitri is over 200 years old," I said.
"Wow. Dmitri looks like he's in his twenties. How long do werewolves normally live?" she asked.
"They usually die after about 600 years or so, but I've met a couple of wolves that are nearly a thousand years old."
Elizabeth nodded, and I decided to keep talking.
"Anyway, these wolves have been chasing my brother, Janek, and William finally caught up with him at Carlos' place."
"Why did Janek come here?"
I sighed. "He said he was going to rescue our sister."
"Oh. So why did he beat her up when he found her?"
"I don't know. But it's a good thing William caught him before he could hurt her worse."
I was silent for a moment, trying to gather the courage to tell Elizabeth the next part of the story.
"They want to kill Janek. They've been torturing him since they caught him."