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A Cinderella of Sorts
Jared POV
"Kim, come on, just tell me what's wrong," I pleaded with Kim, for what must be the hundredth time. I really wish she would open up to me.
Fifteen minutes ago she freaked out after inspecting the lock on her front door. Something happened, and I have been trying to get her to tell me, but she just paces back and forth across her living room in her own little world.
"Kim?" I ask her again.
She seemed to snap out of it and looked over at me, searching for something in my face. I stared back silently, giving her time.
"Jared, what did you do last night?" she asks me hesitantly.
How did she…? Wait, no she doesn't know, that's impossible, and what does that have to do with anything? I think, bewildered. I decide to play dumb.
"I slept of course," I say looking anywhere but at her; I can't lie to her face.
I can feel her probing gaze on my face for a few seconds and then she sighs, seeming to have swallowed my lie and plops down onto her expensive looking light tan, suede couch. I follow suit and sit down as well, angling my body closer to her. She is staring at the blank, flat screen television mounted on her wall. It looked expensive as well; as far as I can tell the whole house is expensive looking so her parents must be rich.
"Kim, what is going on? Why are you so freaked out?" I try again.
She looks over at me as if contemplating whether she should trust me or not. She must have seen something in my eyes because she decides to tell me.
"Someone was in my house last night. Just before bed, I came down to get a glass of water and I heard this weird clacking sound. It was loud, and you could tell it was in the house. I got scared so I ran upstairs and didn't even bother looking to find the source of the noise. The sound didn't stop, it continued all night long. I freaked out because I locked all the windows and doors last night and this morning you find it unlocked. I also freaked out because the noise the lock makes when you turn it is the noise I heard all last night, up until about dawn," she finishes in one breath.
What? Someone is deliberately trying to scare my imprint? I internally rage. Wait a second, what kind of human would be able to stand at the front door all night without a break? They would tire too fast.
I walk over to the front door to see if I had somehow missed something when I came in. I inhale quickly, and immediately scrunch it up in disgust. The stench of leech was so strong my nostrils burned.
"How did I miss that?" I mutter under my breath incredulously.
I must have been too focused on surprising Kim to notice the smell. I need to get the pack over here to investigate, which means I need to tell her about my secret and fast. I think sadly, I was looking forward to getting to know her the normal way first, but I had to tell her what I was and what she is to me, and soon, because for some reason she has a vampire stalking her.
I jerk my body around to face her. I do a quick once-over of her outfit to see if she is appropriately dressed to go meet the alpha of the pack, Sam and his imprint, Emily. They already know about her so I just have to introduce her to them. She is wearing a cute pair of blue jean short-shorts that show off her long legs, and a green striped tank top, with her hair up in a messy ponytail. Most would say she is plain, but I think she is the most beautiful girl in the world. I can't even see other girls, just a blur where their face should be. Kim's outfit is not exactly prom night attire but it looks perfect on her, I nod to myself.
"You want to meet my friends Sam and Emily?" I ask her.
"Sure, why not?" Kim says, but then it looks like she just remembered something. She smacks her forehead and takes back her acceptance.
"Crap! You know what? I actually really want to, but I can't right now I have a very long list of chores that I have to complete this weekend," she apologizes to me.
"Can't you do them later?" I ask pleadingly, wanting her out of danger and surrounded by mythical creatures that can protect her.
She grimaces as if remembering something painful.
"Actually, no, the last time I put them off, it didn't turn out very well." She says.
I frown and run a hand through my hair roughly. Now what? I can't force her, I won't force her. But she's not safe here, I think frustrated. I decide to call Sam and ask what I should do.
"I need to make a quick phone call. Can I just step into the kitchen for a second?" I ask Kim, nodding to the kitchen. She smiles her beautiful smile and nods her head.
"Go ahead I will get started on my chores." She tells me, heading for the stairs.
I walk briskly into the kitchen, and dig my cell phone out, and dial the familiar number.
"Hello?" the soft, feminine voice of my friend's fiancée, Emily, comes onto the phone.
"Hey, Emily, is Sam there? It's urgent." I ask her.
"Yeah, hold on," Emily said and I could hear footsteps and a faint 'Sam, phone!'
"Hello?" the deep gruff voice of my pack leader came on the phone.
"Sam, it's Jared, a vampire has been to Kim's house. He was here all night and she can't leave the house because she has chores to do and I won't force her. What should I do?" I rushed out, so I could finish before Kim came back downstairs.
"All right, uh, I'll gather the pack and we will come and investigate the area around the house, and try to stay out of sight. We'll see if we could pick up a trail. See you in twenty," he hangs up.
I hang up also, and start to go upstairs to check on Kim. I only went up a few steps when I felt a shaking Kim crash into me. I catch her and steady her with my hands on her hips. She's on the verge of tears and hyperventilation.
"Somebody was in my room! This morning, like before you got here, but after I woke up. My pillow is gone and my window is open," she blubbers out before I could get a word in.
"What?" I screeched. The leech is still here? I fume mentally.
I let go of her and sprint up the stairs two at a time. I can hear Kim following after me. I tilt my head and sniff the air. I don't have to sniff long because the sickly, sweet stench that a vampire leaves behind is here, and it's fresh. The smell of something so vile and dangerous coming so close to Kim makes me mad. I control it, though, because I need to tell her I am a werewolf and bursting into a wolf right now is not the way I her to find out. So instead, I curse and whip out my cell phone and call Sam, keeping the conversation short and quiet, aware of Kim's confused eyes on me. I tell him the vamp is still here and he explains they will be there in a few minutes. I hang up and look over at Kim, a bit calmer now. I smile and she blinks, and a weird expression crosses her face. She looks…dazzled?
"Sorry about that I, uh, remembered something I had to tell the guy I was talking to before. What should we do? Where are your parents?" I ask her in pretence.
I can't exactly say there is a pack of werewolves coming to the rescue, and not to do anything until they get here.
"Out of town," she replies.
I frown as I look around her room. It's small and dark. It looks a bit like an attic as well. In fact, I think it is an attic.
"Why aren't they here?" I probe further.
"Business meeting," she clarifies.
I look around the room and frown again. Her bed looks like an army cot, her other furniture is just boxes converted into furniture. She has a bathtub that looks like it is from the 1800's; it has a hand pump. It looks like her parents give her the bare essentials and she roughs it. I remembered she said she has a lot of chores, and the last time she didn't do them she was punished. What is she, like, their servant? I think upset.
"What's wrong?" she asks me.
I look over at her.
"Is this where you sleep?" I ask her, gesturing to the room.
"Um…Yeah, it is," she says looking down at the floor in embarrassment.
I get real angry, real fast. How can they treat their own daughter like a dog? I think furiously. I start to shake and I can't control it this time.
"Oh My God, Jared. What's wrong, why are you shaking?" Kim asked me, worriedly.
I tried to tell her to stay back, I could see she was sidling closer to me, I didn't want her to get hurt, but my jaw would not unclench. I shook my head furiously, trying to shake out the anger. It was a futile effort.
"Jared, calm down, please!" Kim pleaded with me. She reached me and rubbed her hands over my biceps soothingly. My body calmed down, instantly, under her touch. Nothing brings you down to Earth like your imprint. For some reason, my body knows when my soul mate is around and it brings me peace to know she is near. Kim breathes a sigh of relief and smiles up at me.
"Better?" she asks quietly.
"Yeah," I grin at her, even though I am still angry at her parents.
"What was that about?" she asks.
"They mistreat you, don't they?" I accuse, "You said it didn't end well last time you put your chores on hold. What did they do?"
"I lost the privilege of a bed and a bath for a week," she whispers.
I let out an instinctive growl at the thought of someone mistreating my mate. I yank myself out of her grasp, and run downstairs and out the back door and I kept running and didn't stop until I was a few feet beyond the edge of the forest. I only stopped to take off my clothes so they wouldn't rip when I phased. As soon as they were off, I let the anger roll over me and I could feel the familiar shifting of my bones as they stretched, and the burning of my skin as it ripped. In the next instant, I was on all fours and I had paws instead of hands and knees. I could hear the rest of the pack, one of the quirks of being a werewolf; we read each other's minds.
'Jared what happened? Where's Kim?' Sam asked me. I let my mind go over the last few minutes, filling in the pack on what happened. Suddenly, I was aware that Kim had followed me and something had followed her; the vampire from before.
"Jared! Jared, where are you? Why did you run away?" she yelled into the forest.
I heard a twig snap and the smell of a vampire as it got closer to Kim, but I still couldn't see it. All the voices of the pack members were screaming at me to wait for them, but the only one that could stop me, Sam's, was silent. I could still see Kim and she jumped when the twig snapped. The vampire then laughed at her and that's when I saw him. He was sitting in the tree closest to Kim and looking down at her.
He had brown hair cut into a crew cut and blood-red eyes, the symbol for vampires that drank human blood. There have been vegetarian vampires before, and they drink only animal blood. He was wearing blue jeans and no shirt, but a black leather jacket. As soon as I saw him I growled deeply and lunged for him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I registered that Kim had run away back to the house. The vampire's head snapped up to look at me as soon as he heard my growl. Using his super speed he jumped down from the tree and behind me. I missed his arm by mere inches with my sharp canines. I turn around just in time to see him swinging his fist with super speed before he makes contact with my skull. His stony hand makes cracks in my skull and I see black spots as I struggle to stay awake. I fail, and everything goes black. The last thing I see is my pack emerging from the trees behind the vampire.
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