Page 6 of Forced Bonds

“Eight?!” I all but squeaked. It was already nearing five a.m.

“What?” he smirked. “Need your beauty sleep?”

“Yes,” I replied instantly, not even bothering to rise to his teasing. “I don’t look this good on no sleep.”

Freddy snorted at that but quickly averted his gaze when Christopher stared him down. I just winked at Freddy.

“Eight a.m.” The alpha growled, then strode away with his pack, leaving me at the playground surrounded by dust.

“Well, fuck me then,” I muttered as I returned to my car.

The blood seeped into the floors, the wood soaking it all up. I was frozen in place, unable to move. Figures blurred around me, blood spraying me in the face. I didn’t even flinch. All I did was watch the blood, drip, drip, drip.

Screaming filled the room and the blurring became worse. A reddish hue took over my surroundings, along with the feeling of my heart beating too fast. Drip, drip, drip.

Blood trickled down my cheek, drip, drip. I looked up, finally able to move something, and I wished I hadn’t.

I flew off the couch, my hand gripping my chest as I panted for breath. Only a nightmare. It wasn’t real. I touched my cheek, and almost had another fit of panic, but then I looked at the wetness. It was just my sweat. It wasn’t the blood of my family. I’d survived. I was safe.

I looked at my phone to check the time and was both happy and sad to see I only had thirty minutes until I had to be at the police station. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep anyway after one of my nightmares, I never was.

I hurried into the shower, removing all evidence that I’d had a nightmare after almost an entire year without. Being here was messing with my mental health and I truly couldn’t get away fast enough.

Hazi’s voice came clearly from my phone where it was placed on the table. Christopher sat on the other side, just like last time, as the three of us spoke. “If Benji says you need more help, you do.” I loved how sure my boss was of my decision, so much so that I smirked at the alpha, earning me a glare in return.

“What sort of help?” Christopher growled at the phone.

“Well… Benji, you won’t like what I’m about to say,” Hazi said, his tone apologetic.

No, no, nononono. He couldn’t mean—

“The Jevaline coven.”

“Absolutely not!” I argued.

“Benji—”

“No! I told you I won’t work with vampires. I want to kill them, not work with them.”

“They aren’t rogues, remember that.”

I sat with my arms crossed, feeling so done with everything. I hadn’t even gotten more than one hour’s sleep and zero coffee had been offered by my supposed mate either.

The alpha spoke to Hazi next, eyeing me curiously. “You have contact with the Jevaline coven?”

Hazi hummed. “Only if it gets out of hand, then they step in and eradicate the vampires.”

“And this is dire enough?”

“Oh, yes. Over 80 rogues in a single month? You have a real threat targeting your town. They will help.”

“Tell them we’ll be grateful for their help,” Christopher said, effectively ruining my mood further.

“I will. Expect their arrival tonight. They have several cars with highly tinted windows for driving and should reach Keen within a few hours,” Hazi informed us.

“Are you coming, too?” I asked, hoping to have at least one person around that I trusted. Being around vampires, even the “good” ones had my skin itching.

“You know I can’t leave the base, Benji,” Hazi replied. His tone held some guilt to it. I both hated and loved that he knew how hard this was for me.