Instant Enemies. by Emily Zimmerman. (affordable ebook reader .txt) 📕

and didn’t leave.
I sighed and dropped my head in my hands rubbing my temples tiredly. I’d been taking watch for five hours last night, and I was running on three hours of sleep. “A little tired today, Cat?” a deep voice chuckled.
I looked up and smiled. “Hey Gabriel. Long time no see. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come.”
He was with five others, and all of them had no shirts on. “So am I ever going to see you with a shirt on? Seems like in any situation we’re in you’re always half naked.” I joked, standing up.
He smiled. “Nah, I think I look better without one on.” He said.
“Sure, sure.” I waved him off.
“Cat, these are my good pals, Freddy, Logan, Bob, Kevin, and Tom.” He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “They owe me for saving their asses a couple’a times.”
Freddy was a burley guy, who looked about eighteen or twenty, with sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes. His smile was charming, and he winked at me.
Logan was muscular, but not as big as his friend, he was maybe nineteen. He had very dark brown hair, it was almost black, and dark green eyes. He was serious as he studied me.
Bob was probably twenty one, with bright green eyes and a cocky smirk as his eyes roamed my body. He was half as big as Freddy, but just a little bit bigger than Logan.
Kevin stood with his muscular arms crossed, studying me with apprehensive hazel eyes, his sun-bleached hair was disheveled and unkempt, and he looked like he was tensing for a fight to break out at any moment, despite the light air around him.
Tom, with his light red hair, pale skin and bright green eyes, smiled at me in a friendly manner, but I could see in his eyes that he was apprehensive about this as well.
I smiled at them as way of welcoming them. “So, Cat. Tell us about what we’re doing here.” Kevin said.
This made my friendly smile fade. I sighed. “You might want to sit down; there is a lot to explain.”

For an hour, I explained to them what happened, we sat on the porch, and they listened intently, all eyes on me as I told them about the Wolven Goddess and Paul, the leader of the coven nearest us.
Just as I finished explaining, I felt pain hit my stomach and gasped. I lurched into a standing position and took a step toward the door, only to cry out and fall on one knee. Lily came running out, leaning down beside me. “Cat! What’s wrong?”
“D-Damian! Where is he?” I gasped.
“He’s making his rounds…Cat?” Without thinking, I changed to a wolf and took off towards the forest.

As I ran, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, making me yelp and breaking my stride, causing me to stumble before regaining my speed. It felt as if I was being ripped apart, but I was just feeling pain, no injuries occurred. I ran until I hit a clearing, skidding to a stop as I took in the scene in front of me.

Five vampires, all rolling around in a snarling heap of black fur. Damian was holding his own, but he couldn’t keep it up much longer.

I let out a feral snarl that made everyone but Damian freeze so drastically they stopped breathing.
Damian used this opportunity to kick them off of him and limped his way over to me, where I stood in a defensive stance. The vampires scrambled to their feet, seeing that it was me, they immediately dropped to their knees. “Forgive us, dear mother!” one of them begged.
“We are not worthy of your presence!” another said in a pleading voice.
I moved in front of Damian protectively, baring my teeth and growling harshly at the vampires. Every fiber in my being wanted to attack.
‘Wait, dear one. It is not their time yet. Let them be.’ I heard the Goddesses voice in my head.
I let out a huff and sat on my haunches, relaxing my body, a sign that they were free to go.

“Thank you, Goddess! We are forever in your debt!” another of the vampires said as they ran from the clearing. I turned to Damian, who lie helpless on the ground. His stomach was sliced, but not too deep, his shoulder was bitten multiple times, and he had a slice across his right eye.

‘Come on, Damian, let’s get you home.’ I sighed through the bond, leaning my head down to nudge it under his leg, pulling him up so he stood. Pain shot through both of us, and we yelped simultaneously. ‘sorry’ I said, grimacing.
‘It’s not your fault, I think my leg is broken.’ He grunted.
I let out a groan and started forward, both of us were limping because of his pain.

The clearing wasn’t that far away from the pack house, but with how slow we were going, it took about ten minutes to reach the edge of the forest. With Damian having to be half on top of me to walk,and feeling his pain at every step, it was like I was injured as well.

As soon as we entered the clearing where the house sat, the pack ran out to where Damian and I collapsed to the ground, unable to go on any longer. “Cat! What happened?” Riley asked me, lifting my head with both his hands.

‘Damian was attacked...I felt his pain.’ I explained through the bond.

Riley’s eyes darkened and he growled angrily. He leaned down along with Trevor and helped Damian up, making us both yelp. “Sorry.” Riley and Trevor said in unison.

They lifted Damian off the ground and carried him into the house, me walking after them.

I sat by Damian while he groaned in agony, tears rolling down my cheeks as I suffered his pain in silence. “He’s healing, but of course that’s causing more pain. He’ll pass out soon, which will relieve you both of your suffering.” dad explained to me with a sigh.

I nodded, never taking my eyes off of Damian. His hand was wrapped around my own, his groans the only thing breaking the silence in his room. Dad pat my shoulder and left the room quietly. “Cat...I-I’m sorry...I...I should have...” I shushed him softly, reaching up to push his hair from his face.

“This isn’t your fault. I-” I paused, wincing as more pain shot through my abdomen.”-Just rest, okay? Close your eyes, don’t think about the pain, alright?”

He coughed and I felt pain shoot through me yet again, but I ignored it, focusing on the small smile that graced Damian’s lips as he stared into my eyes. “If I was a vampire, and I saw you that fierce, I’d kneel down too.”

It surprised me enough to make me laugh that he would think of that to distract himself. “You told me not to think about the pain, so...” he moved his shoulders up ever so slightly in a shrug.

My smile faded as more pain hit and he cried out in pain, his back arching. He slowly relaxed, his breathing turning even, and his eyes closing. The pain faded from my body, and I sighed in relief for Damian. “You’ll be okay.” I whispered.
Part Sixteen: Star Gazing.

Standing outside, I leaned against a tree, letting the wind flow through my hair. The sky was clear and the night was quiet, it seemed that the vampires weren’t going to attack tonight. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. It was three days since the attack. Damian’s leg was almost healed, and his stomach wound was only a scar now, but he was still weak.

“It’s a little late for star gazing, don’t you think?” Kevin approached me, smiling slightly.

“This has nothing to do with stargazing. More to do with the fact that my pack is in danger.” I shrugged.

“You’ve been out here every night since we came, and you stay out here for at least five hours. Are you even sleeping anymore?” he asked me.

I sighed. “They won’t attack me, it’s practically forbidden. I can’t endanger my pack anymore than I already have, I owe it to them, they have done so much more for me.” I murmured.

“And what have they done to deserve such...gratitude?” I could hear the sarcastic tone in his voice and gave him a dry look.

“They gave me a family.”

At this, he was silent. “Why don’t you go back inside? I’ll be fine out here.” I said.

“Actually, I was sent out here by your mother. She wants me to take over the watch.”

I sighed once again, shaking my head. “I’ll only let you stay out here if you have someone else with you. I can’t risk it if not.” I stated firmly.

“Then I’ll get Bob out here with me.” He shrugged.

I nodded. “Alright. I’ll stay out here while you go and get him.”

He left to go find Bob, and I leaned my head back against the tree, letting myself relax for the first time since I came out here.

“It’s interesting. these people care more about you than they do their own lives.” I jumped up, only to come face to face with Paul.

“I doubt that, Paul. They can take care of themselves.” I growled.

He let out a laugh. “ We’ll see. You were right to stay out here. I’d never attack you, my sweet mother.” He stroked his finger down my cheek, and I slapped his hand away like I was burned.

“Don’t ever touch me again!” I spat.

He laughed again. “You are feisty.”

“Okay, I’ve got Bob, now go inside.” I turned to find Kevin and Bob.

I furrowed my eyebrows and turned back around to see that Paul was gone. My mouth opened, but nothing came out. “You okay, Cat?”

“I’m...fine.” I said slowly, shaking my head. “Just...be careful, and if anything happens, I want you to howl. Got it? Watch each other’s backs at all times.” I said sternly.

“Don’t worry. Now go!” he gave me a light shove.

I walked into the house, rubbing my eyes tiredly. I yawned as I pulled myself up the stairs. I entered the room, my eyebrows furrowed as Damian’s blue eyes stared seriously at me.

“You saw that, too, didn’t you? I’m not crazy, am I?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “You’re not crazy.” he confirmed.

I sighed in relief, leaning down to reach into my bag. I pulled out my pajamas and quickly changed, ignoring Damian’s hungry growl behind me.

I crawled into bed. cuddling into Damian, I pressed my lips to his, kissing him fervently. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tighter into him.

“You know, my leg