Vengeance in Blood (Book 2): Tribulations Read online

  Maliki and Tiffany stood in stunned silence, watching Besseta soar well over fifty feet straight up. As Besseta started her descent, she rotated her body, holding one arm out with her balled fist coming down like a dart. Maliki cringed as Besseta came down but couldn’t turn away as her fist impacted the werewolf’s bottom jaw, giving a loud snap.

  Rolling as she landed, they never saw Besseta move back to the werewolf; she just appeared on top of it, pounding away. “Oh, you think that hurt, you fucking cunt?!” Besseta screamed, sitting on the werewolf’s elbow and grabbing its forearm. “HE’S FUCKING MINE, YOU SORRY WHORE!” Besseta screeched so loud Maliki and Tiffany covered their ears.

  The werewolf’s forearm suddenly snapped back, and Besseta started snapping the fingers that were almost as long as her forearm in different angles. “YOU SORRY ASS SLUT, THIS IS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT I’M GOING TO DO TO YOU!” she screamed and jumped off the body.

  Landing next to werewolf, Besseta started kicking, sending the body across the court. Before the body finished sliding, Besseta would appear on the other side of it and send it back. In grotesque amazement, Tiffany noticed each time Besseta kicked, she left a deep dimple in the werewolf’s body.

  “Bring the rest of them motherfuckers here; I’ll fucking cook them over a fucking fire!” Besseta screamed. “I’m going to rip your tits off and make you eat them, whore!”

  Maliki turned to Tiffany, who wasn’t holding the werewolf now. “I wonder if that means the rest of the pack is on the way?” he asked.

  “I feel sorry for them,” Tiffany droned, watching the systematic beat down of the massive form.

  “You think you can stop Besseta?” Maliki asked.

  Tiffany shook her head. “I don’t want to get anywhere near her,” she informed him. “I never knew Besseta even knew words like that.”

  “I did,” Maliki admitted. “Tiffany, an alpha that size will have a really big pack; I don’t think we should be here when they get here.”

  “THAT’S RIGHT, WHORE, CRY! YOU THINK THAT’S GOING TO STOP ME? I’M GOING TO RIP YOUR FUCKING EYES FROM YOUR FUCKING HEAD AND SUCK YOUR FUCKING BRAIN OUT!” Besseta roared, grabbing the werewolf’s back leg and snapping it. “Did that fucking hurt?” Besseta yelled but in a lower voice. Maliki was certain it could still be heard a few miles away. But Maurice had already told Maliki in his mind the guards heard some of that rant twenty miles away.

  “Your begging isn’t going to change shit, whore. I’m going to fucking kill you slow!” Besseta shouted, grabbing the other leg and grunting as she pulled the lower leg against the knee. A loud pop filled the air. “That’s right, whore, I’m coming! I’m going to gouge out your eyes and suck your fucking brain out like an oyster!” Besseta yelled, rolling the battered body over and started working on the other arm.

  “Tiffany, please try and stop her,” Maliki begged. “The man will know stuff we need.”

  Watching Besseta pummel the werewolf, Tiffany was suddenly very scared of her. “You go and talk to her.”

  “She already doesn’t like me. I don’t want to be lying next to the wolf,” Maliki said. “Can you hold her?”

  “I’ve tried, and Besseta just breaks out. If I use everything, I won’t be able to move back to the wolf fast. Whoever Elizabeth is, she is talented. It took some work to stop her hold on me,” Tiffany said, turning away from the scene to look at Maliki. “If she beats you down, I’ll come and stop her.”

  “That thing couldn’t scratch his nose if he wanted to.” Maliki pointed at the battered body as Besseta screamed, breaking one of the wolf’s shoulders.

  “Maliki, it’s already regenerating,” Tiffany told him. “I’m not sure I could hold them anyway. That mental battle was quite taxing.”

  Maliki saw the bent fingers slowly straighten. He turned and looked at Tiffany. “Well, if nothing else, we have to stop her before the pack gets here.” A different scream pierced the night, making both cover their ears. This scream was filled with unspeakable pain and sounded like a woman.

  They both turned to see Besseta latched on the werewolf’s chest with her mouth. The werewolf’s head was thrown back, letting out a very human and female scream. Besseta yanked her head back, throwing a trail of blood in the air. “That’s right, you fucking slut, how do you like that!” Besseta growled, opened her mouth to expose her fangs, and dove her head back down to latch on again.

  “Are Besseta’s eyes glowing?” Tiffany asked, flabbergasted, as another scream came out of the wolf’s broken maw.

  “Yep,” Maliki replied as the scream turned to a wail.

  “Fuck that. You stop Besseta; I’ll fight the pack when it gets here,” Tiffany decided.

  The wail suddenly stopped, making both of them very tense, not knowing what Besseta would do. Besseta yanked her head back, pulling out a chunk of meat from the werewolf’s chest as blood sprayed out of the wound, covering Besseta as she spit out the meat and slid off the chest.

  Walking to the massive head, Besseta kicked it, spinning the body. “Fucking whore, I didn’t tell you that you could pass out! Wake the fuck up. See what happens when you threaten my husband, bitch! This is just the start!”

  Besseta spun around, and Maliki and Tiffany almost took off running. The only reason they didn’t was because both thought that might set her off on them. In a casual stride, Besseta walked over, and both shivered, seeing her eyes glowing white with a slight green haze. She was covered in blood and then noticed both her hands were broken. The skin over Besseta’s hands quivered as the bones realigned and straightened out.

  Stopping in front of them, she nodded back to the battered body. “Bitch better rectify, threaten my husband,” she said.

  “Well, you certainly showed her.” Tiffany smiled as her heart rate continued to speed up.

  “Oh, I’m just starting on that whore. When I find her, I’m going to show her pain.”

  Tiffany nodded. “Serves her right. That slut had it coming.”

  “Ah, Besseta,” Maliki said, and she whipped her head around to glare at him. Looking at the glowing eyes, Maliki fought not to urinate on himself. “Is the pack coming?” he asked gingerly.

  “They stopped when the slut passed out. She thought I would stop if they got here,” Besseta snorted.

  Carefully, Maliki cleared his throat. “Are they close?”

  “They’re in the panhandle of Texas. A few others are in Arkansas; they can get here before morning.” She shrugged as they all heard the slowly healing bones pop in the werewolf.

  “B-Besseta, I really hate to ask,” Maliki stuttered and stuck a finger in his collar, running it around his neck to try to loosen it. “Can you hear what the man is thinking?”

  “When Elizabeth is not screaming or crying, but I don’t understand it. Even Elizabeth said I couldn’t because I was hearing wolf,” Besseta told him.

  Watching Besseta, Tiffany sighed, seeing the bright glow coming from her eyes starting to dim. “Besseta, if he changed back, do you think you could understand?” Tiffany asked.

  “Why in the hell would we want to do that? The connection would be broken if he changes back. Elizabeth kept trying to make him, but I broke his bones, and that broke his concentration,” Besseta huffed.

  “Yes, that would break my concentration,” Maliki said, nodding as he looked at Tiffany, who agreed. “Besseta, the thing is we can get some information out of the man, like if there are any vampires planted in the League that are going after Kenneth.”

  Besseta spun around. “I’ll beat the bastard till he changes back,” she said, walking over.

  Not even letting the thought of grabbing Besseta enter her mind, Tiffany ran around her and stopped in front of her. “Besseta, you don’t have to; Maliki can do it.”

  Besseta turned to Maliki with her glowing eyes getting brighter, and this time, he felt something warm running down his leg. “You said you can’t put thoughts in people’s heads?” she asked.

  “I can’t, but if I touch so
meone, I can make them do what I want, but when I let go, it stops—animals even,” he said, forcing a smile.

  Suddenly, Besseta disappeared, and another scream erupted in the night. Turning to the werewolf, they found Besseta latched on its neck. The scream started to weaken and wobble then stopped. Climbing off the body, Besseta turned around. “Bitch was waking up,” she said with blood running out of her mouth and her eyes glowing bright again.

  “The nerve of that whore trying to wake up from your thrashing,” Tiffany said as sincerely as she could without trembling.

  A bloody smile filled Besseta’s face. “That whore has never felt pain like that before.”

  “Well, it was long overdue for that sk-an-ky slut,” Tiffany struggled with the words as her breathing accelerated.

  Motioning with her head, Besseta commanded, “Maliki, wake the bastard up.” Maliki nodded, taking off one of his gloves. “You even make a motion to me, and I’ll break your back,” Besseta told him.

  “I would never,” Maliki gasped. “Have I ever even tried?”

  “Luckily for you, no,” Besseta said, walking up to the head and kicking the broken jaw.

  Placing his hand on the body, Maliki looked at Tiffany. “You have him, right?”

  “Yes,” she said as the body shuddered, and Besseta kicked it again. “He’s just changing,” Tiffany told her.

  “I know, but I want him to know I’m still here,” Besseta replied, watching the limbs contort as they shrank. The bones popped as they returned to a human’s physique. Besseta was amazed how long it took and got bored. “When can I hit him?” she asked.

  “We shouldn’t need to, Besseta,” Tiffany tried to reason with her.

  “He’s awake,” Besseta said, walking down to the head. Looking down at a naked man who was around seven feet tall, Besseta raised her foot and stomped his face. “Open your eyes before I pull them out,” she commanded, and the man obeyed.

  Tiffany shivered, seeing the abstract fear in his face as he looked at Besseta. “Please,” he begged, and Besseta stomped his face again, this time knocking out teeth.

  “I never said speak,” she said, giving an evil grin. “Oh, this is cool. The pack knows this.”

  “Do I have any traitors in the American League?” Maliki asked.

  “One. They are about to send two of the ones you lost back,” Besseta told him.

  “Who’s the one?”

  Besseta shook her head. “He doesn’t know his name. He’s a sickly looking male with almost white hair.”

  “Thomas,” Maliki growled. “He’s a guard on the council.”

  Besseta started firing off questions interrupted only by occasional stomps to the body. Tiffany and Maliki just kept their mouths shut, knowing the only purpose of the stomps was to appease Besseta on some demented level.

  After an hour, Besseta stared down. “How old are you?” Nodding as if impressed, she asked, “Then you must have come from the island?”

  Maliki sucked in a breath but held onto the man’s arm. “Really,” Besseta said. “So she joined with you because you are the most powerful of your kind,” Besseta said, looking at Tiffany and Maliki then back down. “If you’re so powerful, why are you broken like a bitch?”

  Watching, Tiffany wanted to laugh, but she didn’t like seeing what Besseta was capable of. “Fuck that whore. I don’t care if you love her; I’m going to pull Elizabeth’s fucking arms off and beat her to death with them,” Besseta growled. “I don’t give a shit if she was one of the rulers; the whore is going to die a slow and painful fucking death. This was only the first part,” Besseta told him.

  Tears ran out of the man’s eyes. “I didn’t tell you to cry. I will pop them out,” she warned. “How many—what did you call them? Cubari? That’s what the incubi and succubi call themselves?” she asked. “Oh, that’s how they were referred to in their kingdom,” Besseta mocked.

  “Bitch, this is my kingdom, and that whore is dead already. She just happens to be walking around on borrowed time,” Besseta informed him. Just staring down at him, Besseta let the thoughts flow through her. When they started repeating, Besseta looked at Tiffany and Maliki.

  “Feed, and kill it,” she told them. “Maliki, one of the League is already dead. Don’t go back to Baton Rouge; they are waiting for you but can’t find your boat. That’s what this one is doing here; he caught your scent near the Mississippi,” Besseta said, raising her foot then stomping the man hard, knocking him out. Maliki and Tiffany both lowered their mouths to the man and drained him.

  Lifting his head and wiping his mouth, Maliki looked at Besseta, still shocked at the news. “They want you alive, so be ready for that,” Besseta warned. “You need to go and warn the others. They have drones coming for them, and the cubari know where some are.”

  “How many cubari are involved in this?” Tiffany asked, wiping her mouth and feeling much better.

  “All of them,” Besseta answered. “I didn’t get a number, but it’s a lot of faces. Way more than several dozen.”

  Dejected, she asked, “And they’re all working together?”

  “Yes,” Besseta replied. “Tiffany, you should know they killed Herotho.”

  Tiffany started to collapse, but Besseta darted over, catching her. “Why?” Tiffany cried.

  “To punish Maliki for killing that succubus and you for getting away from that incubus,” Besseta told her. “I don’t know which one or how, but they touched Herotho and told him to kill himself, and he did.”

  The tears stopped as Tiffany stood, and the very air started to crackle. “Where is that whore?” she asked.

  “You think I would be here if I knew that?” Besseta asked. “If it was Elizabeth, you can have her after I’m done; I swear I won’t kill her.”

  Thinking hard about that, Tiffany finally nodded. “I agree since you found me the truth. We need to get home, and Maliki, you need to go now.”

  With his head hung low, Maliki walked over to the table, gathering the stuff they brought for him. “I’m sorry, Tiffany. He was the only friend I’ve ever had. I will contact you and—” he stopped and wiped his face. “Seeing you and Herotho, Tiffany, I thought I could find me someone like that. I had a friend, so anything was possible, right?” Not waiting for an answer, Maliki disappeared in a gust of wind.

  When he was gone, Besseta looked at Tiffany. “We can’t run home; there are werewolves spreading out, trying to track us. We will have to fly home.”

  “How will we get to an airport?” Tiffany asked.

  “I’m stealing a car, and we ride with the windows up,” Besseta told her as she walked over to the table, grabbed the recorder, and pulled the one on her off. “I don’t want to risk them crossing our trail.”

  “Completely understand,” Tiffany said, walking over. “How the hell do you steal a car so we can get home?”

  Chapter 11

  As it turned out, stealing a car with Tiffany was extremely easy. After that, Besseta drove east to Atlanta. On the ride over, she called Kenneth and told him as much as she could and their plan to get home. Kenneth was just happy to hear Besseta was okay and wasn’t worried about the rest for the moment. For the hour Besseta talked to Kenneth, Tiffany wanted to grab the phone and tell Kenneth her perspective on what happened but just rode in silence.

  When they reached Atlanta, it was already night again as they left the stolen car in a parking lot and took a cab to the airport. With a bad storm over Chicago, flights were delayed, so controlling her temper, Besseta bought tickets for a flight at three a.m.

  Leading Tiffany to a waiting area, Besseta pulled out the notebook and started writing all the thoughts she had heard. As Besseta wrote, Tiffany just watched her and could feel the tension pouring off Besseta. On the ten-hour ride over, neither said more than a dozen words to the other.

  After watching Besseta write for five hours, Tiffany calmly cleared her throat and said, “Besseta.”

  “Yes,” Besseta answered without looking up.
/>   “Kenneth will be fine,” Tiffany told her. “They won’t find him.”

  Putting her pen down, Besseta looked up, and Tiffany could see the anxiety on her face. “What if they do?” Besseta asked in a trembling voice.

  Sighing, Tiffany replied in a neutral tone, “Well then, Besseta, I’m sorry to tell you they will not know when or how, but we will kill them all very slowly and with much pain.”

  The corners of Besseta’s mouth twitched as she looked at Tiffany’s serious expression. “I think I got that point across,” she said, trying not to smile.

  “Yes you did,” Tiffany agreed, nodding with a straight face. “But for something like this, I feel a more aggressive thrashing is in order.”

  Leaning back in her seat, Besseta grinned. “I don’t know. It took everything I had not to disembowel that wolf.”

  “If they threaten Kenneth, I don’t think you need to corral those tendencies for future reference,” Tiffany said, ending in a grin. “And if you don’t mind, I will lend a hand, just not standing real close to you.”

  Stretching her arms over her head, Besseta laughed. “Yes, I don’t think standing close to me would be very wise.”

  Seeing Besseta laugh eased Tiffany’s tension as she stood up and moved over beside her friend. “You want to talk about it?”

  Besseta shook her head. “Not really,” she admitted. “I never felt anger like that before, not even when my family was killed. I was heart stricken when it happened, not filled with bloodlust.”

  “Very understandable,” Tiffany said, reaching over to hold Besseta’s hand. “You have something worth fighting for.”

  Looking down at her lap, Besseta’s long, curly hair fell over her shoulders, hiding her face. “Kenneth’s going to think I’m a monster,” she said in a whisper.

  Tiffany laughed. “Oh Besseta,” she snickered. “You really think that?”

  “I was a monster,” she moaned.

  “No, you weren’t. Someone threatened your love, and you let them know the consequences. About Kenneth thinking you’re a monster, I can tell you it would be easier to convince him the Earth is flat.”