Chapter 3

Elijah - Chapter 3

Helenia watched Basil as he moved around the room fussing with things. She wanted to ask him if things were going to work, but she didn't want to bring it up again. He had gone into such a state when she'd told him about the date that she didn't want to have to kill him to shut him up.

"You ruined it all." She started to ask him how it was her fault when he continued. "When the power was shut off, everything, including the samples that I had saved, were killed. The lab equipment that was running wasn't closed out correctly, and the freezers full of your DNA have been too warm for things to be viable. We're going to have to start all over."

"I don't think so. I've worked very hard in getting you everything that you need. Make it work." He said that there was nothing left to work with. Everything was dead. "I don't understand. You told me before I left you that day that it was ready to go. I only had to bring you the specimen and you could work your magic on him to make me the monsters that I wanted. You should have said that things had to keep going here."

She wasn't really sure why the power was off. It could have been because she'd not paid the power bill in over four years. Or it could have been the giant tree that was lying over the roof of the main part of the lab. Without her bothering to having it taken away or anyone watching over the place, things had fallen into disrepair. Even the larger house had been nearly destroyed when some sort of freak storm had come upon it.

"The computers are out of date as well. Even if I could get these up and running, there is the matter of the programs no longer being viable. And I have no way of knowing if any of the vats that I have set up in anticipation of this creature coming are still going to do what I want them to. Things are just...I just don't understand how you could have forgotten about the work we've done." She didn't either. "My family must think I've been murdered. My poor wife and children. I have missed out on so much of their lives because of you. If you could take care of getting things back up to running and I'll go and see them. I have sorely missed them."

"You have to stay here and work on this. I have no idea what to get to make this work again. Besides that, your family is all gone. They were a distraction for you and I took care of it." She looked at all of the equipment that Basil had deemed no longer useful. "Do you have any idea how much work it was for me to get this down here? Christ, it took me weeks of going back and forth between that other lab that I took things from and here. I can't do it."

When he didn't speak, she turned to look at him. Basil had sat down again at his desk, and she thought he was getting back to work. But he was staring at her, like he was unbelieving of whatever it was she had just done. Helenia started to tell him how she'd done it, brought him what he'd asked for, when he spoke.

"You killed my wife and children?" Frowning, she nodded. Now what have I done wrong? she thought. "Just went to my home and killed them because you thought they were a distraction? They were my family. All I had in the world. You can't have...are you really that unthinking of other people's feelings?"

"Feelings can get you killed. I don't even know why you're so upset with this. You were distracted. I couldn't get you to do your job correctly without you saying that you needed to do this. Some baseball game or some stupid school play. They're gone, end of story." He shook his head. "Now what? You'd think you'd be glad to have the noose from around your neck. When I went to see them, they were acting like they couldn't make a single decision without having you there. They were pathetic, Basil. You're better off without them."

"You don't get to decide that. They were my children, my wife. Do you have any feelings whatsoever about such things?" She told him no. "I can't work for you. Not now. Not after what you've done to.... You killed my wife and children."

"Yes I did. And unless you want to join them, I would suggest that you get to work." She let the fa?ade of being normal fall away, letting her true self show to him. "I am in charge here. Get to work."

Her power was never fully hers as the other self. It sucked a great deal out of her to appear in a manner that didn't have people she needed to work with run for fear. She usually loved that feeling, the fear from humans, but today she didn't have time for this shit. It was well past time for things to move the way she needed them to.

"No." The single word was like a slap to her. Helenia felt her anger consume her as he stood there, his chin lifted up in defiance. She let her beast go completely. Even her thinking was normal now, no more trying to be anything but her evil self. Helenia smiled at the power that took her.

Her body grew to a much larger size. Her flesh tightened against her bones, and magic lifted her from the floor as she was eaten by her anger. She knew what she looked like to him, loved that even though he'd invited her monster to be free by telling her no he was regretting his decision.

Power shot from her fingers, elongated now with her true self. Her clothing fell away, her body no longer needing the conformity of them. When she touched him with her claw, tore into his throat with it, the smell of blood inflamed her power, gave her such a feeling of greatness that she let its warmth spray over her as his body bled out. She tore him to shreds then, her bare hands covered in his gore, his body nothing to her but a way to let her rage go. His heart was the last thing that she picked up. Taking it to her mouth, she ate it, feeling power rush over her for the freshness of the blood and meat. But she knew that the feelings wouldn't last long. It was getting harder and harder for her to get much of a thrill out of killing. That was why she needed to create her own army of monsters. It's why she needed the alpha to seed them with his abilities.

Helenia shot out of the building and took to the skies. It occurred to her on some level that she'd not just killed the man who was going to make things happen for her, but had destroyed her building as well. But the feeling of utopia was surrounding her, and she wasn't ready to let it go just yet. Seeing a group of people below her, Helenia dove at them, killing as many of them as she could before she took to the skies once more…simply lashed out at them with her claws, tearing into their bodies with her powerful anger.

She would pay for this rampage. Not that she cared about the loss of the lives of humans, but the power that she'd used drained her. And when she landed on the earth, her body covered in the sticky wetness of the dead, she dragged herself to her lair, falling several times on the way.

Smiling, she thought of the Board that Dante had told her about. She thought of Noah as well, and wondered what he would think of her killing so many of the cattle that roamed the earth as food for them.

"Noah has grown soft in his years." She lay on her bed, a slab of cold stone, and closed her eyes, thinking of the time when the two of them would come together. "I will defeat you, you bastard. There will be nothing to stop me from taking your life and your power from you."

Death began to take her. Her kind didn't sleep or even rest like other vampires did, as Noah did. But she died. Her heart stopped beating and all other functions of her body stopped. It was the way she loved it…no one could disturb her while she was in this state, nor could they find her. Helenia just ceased to exist.

~*~

Elijah read over the paperwork in front of him, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what it said. Twice now he'd tried to see what was there, but both times he'd been distracted by the woman that was currently going through his home...their home…and seeing if she wanted to live here. Not that it mattered to him where he lived so long as she was happy. That was a feeling as foreign to him as not being able to think straight.

"You should see your face right now. You look as if someone has just told you there was no Santa." Elijah growled at Noah, and the man laughed at him again. "She will be fine now. I'm so happy to find her again and to know that she's with the Calhoun pack. I did worry over her when she left that day."

"You said that you'd been looking for her. She was right here all along. What was the problem?" Noah leaned back in the chair and looked at him. "I'm sorry. I guess that did sound a little accusatory. But I'm stressed out."

"Of course you are. Your wolf wants his mate. I would imagine that you do as well." Elijah didn't even bother trying to deny it. "I wish to finish this, if you please, then you can take her to your room and show her what having a mate is all about."

"She doesn't trust us. I mean, me a little, but not the rest of us. And especially not you." Noah nodded sadly. "I'm sorry again. I'm not trying to make you feel bad."

"I know that as well." Noah said nothing for several seconds. "I didn't find her because I didn't look too terribly hard. I should have, I know this, but she wasn't with her family any longer and, though I knew that she was alive, I didn't know she was living as she had. And yes, I did fire her stepfather after I heard the way he...the things that she told you. Did she mention that they used her as their housemaid as well as live in sitter? Not only that, but she pretty much ran the household, did the cooking, cleaning, as well as kept the yard mowed and other things that a household should be doing together, not a single person."

"No. All she told me so far is how he'd beaten her the other day. You should have seen her back. I'm sure there are more marks on her than what I could see. It looked like he used the buckle end of a belt and it cut into her badly." Elijah had been shaken to his core when he'd seen her wounds. "She should have had medical treatment, not walking around trying to find a way to cash in her winnings."

"I'm sure that the money was much more important to her. It meant a way of life she'd not had until then. And perhaps she thought that with a home, she'd be safe. I know that when I have a place to call my own, I feel better about it." So did Elijah. "But about her stepparents. Her parents, what do you know of them? I know very little. Her mother died just about the time that Gloria was having her second child, both of which belong to Howard. But there was never any mention of her sire."

"I only know what she told me about her family and her stepbrothers. I'm not even sure she knows who he might be. About the brothers, she only said that they were helping Howard beat her. That one of them holds her down while he takes the belt to her. Do you have any idea what they might have done to her had they known about the money?" Noah nodded. "Christ, she has been living with the knowledge that she was a millionaire, while being beaten by the people that were to care for her. What a sick fucking world we live in."

"The day that she found me to use my phone, I thought even then that she was a beauty. Just so young and so afraid of life. I think...yes, I know that she knew what they'd been about. And when I listened in on the conversation between her and Howard, I knew then that she'd planned for me to know what he'd done." Elijah said that she had. "Very smart girl, don't you think?"

"I know that. But what I don't understand is why you say I can't go and kill them. I don't think there is a more deserving family than them." Noah told him it was about the money. "But we've already established that they had nothing to do with her winnings. And that they'd not supported her in any way that could come back to them."

"You know that, and we know that, but the public will not. Even if one person finds out that she won and then her family turns up dead, what do you think they're going to think about her? And her involvement? And with her being your mate so soon after their deaths and the winnings, what do you think they're going to think of you and your family?"

"They'll think that we planned it all. That she had them killed so as not to share in her money, and that I only married her for it. Or that I married her because we killed them together." Noah said that was it perfectly. "But none of that is true."

"Of course it's not. But do you think anyone wants to hear the truth when the scandal is so much better? People, humans I think, love to have drama in their lives. I do believe that they'd not be able to function should they not have a daily dose of it." Elijah thought he was right. He didn't have to like it though. "Marry her and close that door. Another will open. Her family will come forward then, wanting a piece of your money because of who you are. But if I were you, I'd not mention her money just yet. So long as she lays claim to it, she doesn't have to go public, correct?"

"Not in Ohio, no. She can claim the money and never have to have either her name or her face shown." Elijah had studied that part of it a great deal. "I have to convince her to marry me first. I don't think that is going to be all that easy."

"No, it won't." Noah stood up and smiled down at him. "But I have every confidence in you that you will persevere." The door opened to his office, and he stood up as well when he saw Noelle standing there. When Noah said that he was leaving, he turned and winked at him. He nodded to Noelle when he moved out of the room.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting." He said that it was over. "Your butler, Mr. Casen, showed me around. He is very proud of the improvements you made here. He said that you've made the place a showcase. I have to agree with him."

"Casen has a tendency to over tell a story at times. And the only improvements I have made are the ones that he's nagged me about. He is quite the nagger, you'll find out." When she didn't move into the office any further, he got up to go to her. Seeing her stiffen, he sat on the corner of his desk instead. "Did you like the house? I like the place all right, I guess. And I have done some improvements on it, but if you don't care for it, we can look for something else."

"And you would do that, just on the say of me not liking this house?" He nodded. "That's not right. This is your home. You bought and paid for it. Made it look the way you wanted it to. Why would my opinion matter to you in anyway?"

"Because I want you to be happy wherever we live." She frowned at him, and he laughed. "What I mean is, this is not a home. Not to me. My parents' place is a home. My brother's place, that's a home too. Even the cabin that they stay at in the mountains, that's a home. But here? This is a place that I slept when I was too tired to go to the apartment I have in town. On occasion had a meal in. My family has been over a few times, but I think this place is cold. That is, until you got here."

"You think I warmed your house up?" He nodded and stood up. He moved toward her slowly so as not to scare her. "If I may be honest with you, this is just the kind of house that I had in mind when I won the money. I had much smaller dreams before that. A one or two-bedroom house, a big yard in the front and back. Trees, too, and a little garden in the back for me to grow things in. You're too close again."

"No, I'm not close enough. Not yet anyway." He kissed her gently but wanted more. "I'd like for you to warm this house up. Put a part of yourself here, pieces of your heart, as it were, around so that I can see that you live here with me."

"I don't have anything of my own." He nodded and moved her head so that he could nibble on her throat. "I don't have any books. Not a single plant. The furniture I had in the other place was things that I picked up at garage sales and auctions. I can't talk to you about this when you do that."

"Good. Since you came into my life, I've not been able to think at all, much less talk in a way that makes any sense." He picked her up in his arms. "Did you see the bedroom? I'd like to show you the bed right now. How bouncy it is. The way the mattress holds me up when I lay on it."

Her giggle had him pausing on the steps. He would bet his life savings on the fact that she didn't do that much, especially not lately. Elijah decided that he was going to make her laugh as much as he could from now on.

"I don't like sex." He nearly fell going into the bedroom when she made that confession. "I mean, I've not had it a great deal—once or twice—but it's sort of boring, don't you think?"

"Boring? Not if you do it right." He dropped her on the bed. "Maybe it's the guy you were with. He might not have known what to do."

She bounced twice before she sat up. "He said he did. Told me that women all over the world would line up to take him to bed." Elijah was sure that she was kidding and waited for the punch line. "After we were done, all I could think about was they must have been in the wrong line or something."

He couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. And when she laughed as well, he thought that he was seeing a side of her that few had seen. Or had bothered to see. Taking off his shirt, he talked to her about his wolf and what he wanted to do to her.

"I don't know what you mean by marking me." He nodded and told her that he wanted to taste her. "You mean like oral sex?"

"Yes. He would like to drink from you and take your juices into his body." She watched him and he her. Elijah wasn't sure she was going to go for it, and calmed his wolf with the knowledge that they had all their lifetimes to let him have her. "If you don't want to, sweetheart, he'll be fine with it."

"No, it's not that. I just never...it sounds like it would be good." He could tell that she was nervous, but she was excited too. "How does it work? Do we have to go outside so you can shift?"

He stripped off his pants and let his wolf take him. Elijah watched her carefully. Jumping up on the bed, he lay down beside her, putting his head on her belly. When her fingers touched his head, he closed his eyes, enjoying her touch as much as he did being near her.

"I thought you'd be rough. Your fur I mean. But you're very soft, aren't you?" When she rubbed him behind the ears, he groaned, and she laughed. "You're nothing but a big baby, aren't you? Well, you're beautiful, and I think I might just be in love with you as well."

Do you love me, Noelle? Her fingers stopped moving, and he looked up at her. We can talk this way because I've tasted your blood. Do you love me?

"I've never been loved, I don't think." Her hands moved over his head to his shoulders. "I'm not even sure what it is, but this feeling that I have for you, even though it's only been a short time, is powerful. And I feel safe with you. All of your family really, but you mostly."

I do love you. Very much. And I'm very glad that we make you feel safe. You need to never worry about any of us hurting you either. We might tease you, but we'd never harm you. He licked her belly, and she giggled. You have no idea how it makes me feel to hear you do that. Laughter is wonderful.

"I need you." His wolf stood up. Elijah felt the connection he had with his other half, but at this moment it was different. Right now, he felt like the wolf was in charge of them. He couldn't even talk to Noelle, and that frightened him just a little. But he moved down her body to her scent, her heat, and Elijah felt his need. Snapping his teeth into her shirt, his wolf tore it off her. Then she helped him until she was naked for him.

Her legs spread for them. Elijah was hit with her scent like a slap in the face. His wolf growled low in his throat and Noelle put her hand on his head. As soon as he licked her from gate to clit, she screamed out his name. It was the best sound he'd ever heard, and his wolf loved it as well.

He ate her hungrily. Over and over he fucked her with his tongue, licked her thighs and pussy until she cried out that she'd had enough. But still he brought her over the edge, taking as much of her cream into himself as he could get. When he sat up, Elijah was surprised at how easily his wolf let him come back to himself. Now moving just as slowly, he leaned into Noelle's pussy and took over where his wolf had stopped.

"Please, no more. Please." Elijah slid his fingers into her while he suckled at her clit, watching her face to see the beauty of her release. And when she bowed up off the bed and let out a cry that had his wolf wanting to howl with her, Elijah moved up her body, nipping and tasting her as he went.

She told him she couldn't come any more. "Oh, but you can. And you will. I want to feel your pussy wrapped around me. I want to release deep inside of you. Hear you scream out my name when I bite you."

He slid into her, his cock so hard that he moaned at the tightness. Fucking her slowly, kissing her mouth, chin, and throat, Elijah felt her hands at his back, her legs wrapping around his. Elijah wanted this to last, to bring her over and over so that the word boring never entered her mind when he made love to her. And when she screamed out his name, he watched her face, seeing the emotion, the beauty of it as it took her twice in the same moment. When she begged him for more, told him to fill her, he felt his balls tighten and his wolf snarl at him to finish. Elijah threw back his head and howled as he came as hard as he'd ever come.

Even as he emptied, he felt his need rise up again, his balls fill even as his cock thickened more. And when she tilted her head, offering him her throat, Elijah took it. He tore savagely into her hot flesh and drank deeply of her hot blood as he came again, holding her body to his, unsure if he was keeping himself from coming apart or her. And when he was empty, not just his balls but every part of him, he dropped atop her and felt sleep take him as he rolled to his back. His last thought as she curled around him was that he was never going to be able to do that again without dying.