+Courtney.+

I ran into the motel parking lot and looked around, being sure Haidar wasn’t out here first. My heart beat was racing and I could hear it pound roughly in my ears. I wasn’t breathing hard because I was running, but because the thought of seeing Haidar scared me. I wasn’t prepared for this!

I looked at door where Victurus and Rafael been staying in. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat, my feet not wanting to move. It was like they were glued to that spot, they knew I wanted to turn the opposite way and run away far as I could away from Haidar. I didn’t even see him yet, but I still got these bad chills going down my arm.

Knowing walking wasn’t the answer, I took a deep painful breath and ran over towards the door. I grabbed the knob of the door and tried opening it, but I remembered you needed a key. I brought my foot up and kicked the door. I heard a crack, so I brought my foot up again and kicked hard against it, making the door burst open.

I stepped inside and I saw Rafael laying on the ground. He had blood everywhere and it made my stomach turn painfully, but I also got this hunger feeling in my stomach. I almost wanted to lick my lips just like an animal and curiously wondered what his blood tasted like. I took a step forward until I smelt something like a match being blown out and it gives that smoke smell. I put my foot back and straighten my back, lifting my chin up a little as I turned my head to my left.

Haidar was leaning against the wall, his tan arms crossed over his chest. One knee was bending a little—all in all, he looked just like a handsome gorgeous bad boy I would have fell feel if I had known he was a Demon disguised with a beautiful face.

“You’ve been alive this whole time?” I asked him.

“You don’t seem to very happy to learn that.” he said as he stood up from the wall. He started to walk towards me and my back stiffen, “But yet, you were the one who stabbed me with a fire iron!” he coldly yelled, roughly taking my head in his head and just like that I went from strong to scared. I could probably handle a thousand different scary Demon, but Haidar terrified me to death. He broke me when he called, hearing his voice was all it took.

I took deep breaths as I looked up at him, his cold amber eyes staring down at me. His mouth was in a stiff straight line and his nose flared a few times. I could see the anger in his eyes and I was just waiting anxiously for him to do something.

His hands loosen their grip on me, “Why’d you do it?” he asked. “Why’d you betray me, Courtney?” He didn’t even let me answer as he stepped away, his arm flying out to point at Rafael, “And then you are with him? Him!? He’s a child, a Nephilim! You two are worlds, worlds apart. Do you know how much that hurt me?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, “Him?” I asked, glancing at Rafael quickly before looking back at Haidar. “He’s nothing to me, Haidar.”

He snorted, “Liar. You’re such a liar!” he yelled, making me jump. He started laughing, “You think I’m an idiot, don’t you? Well I’m not! I won’t let you fool me again.”

“It’s true!” I said. “I haven’t even let him kiss me. You’re right, he’s a Nephilim. I’ve been living on packaged meat. It’s totally disgusting, I’ve just been working up the guts to kill him. Haidar, please,” I said as I walked over towards him with caution, “I don’t know what I was thinking that night, I have never felt so much guilt in my life. I was just scared, I wanted to go home but now that I did I realized it was totally wrong. They don’t understand me there, my family is trying to make me act like I’m still me but I’m not. I’m different, because of you.”

“I’m not that one who made you try to escape.” he said coldly. He grabbed my arm and forced me to step on the bed, “Now stop talking.” he said as he turned around, talking to himself in Arabic which he does when he’s speaking out loud, not in his head.

I looked at Rafael, debating with myself to go check on him if he was still even alive since he was hardly moving. Pain swelled inside my chest and I just wanted to cry as tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away as I saw in the corner of my eyes Haidar starting to turn and I looked back at him. He reached in his back pocket and took out a pocket knife and my hands gripped the sheets as he took the blade out of the handle.

“He means nothing to you?” he asked. “I’ll kill him.”

My eyes widen, “Huh?”

He didn’t answer, just brought his foot over to Rafael and kicked his shoulder so Rafael could lay on his back. Rafael eyes squeezed tightly and he groaned in pain. Haidar wrapped his hand tightly around the knife and started to bend.

“Wait!” I yelled as I stood up quickly and he looked at me with a blank look. He arched an eyebrow, probably expecting this and waiting for a reason for him to kill us both. “What about Senka? He’ll be angry.”

“I’ll come up with something.” he said. He then grinned, “Why don’t you do it? Have you tasted fresh blood lately? I’m going to say no, you’ve been living with a house of Angels. Come on, Courtney, taste what a Nephilim is like. I already observed some of his energy, I know what it’s like. I can share.”

I opened my mouth to protest and he lifted his chin, grinning. He wanted that, he wanted me to say no. I closed my back and he chuckled. No matter what, he was going to win this. Shakily lowering myself down next to Rafael, I saw he woke up. Blood was coming from his mouth, making my mouth water up. I was having only a little bit of control, I’m surprised I didn’t attack him this second with no hesitation.

Control, Courtney, control, I reminded myself.

I placed my hand on the left side of his shoulder as I looked down at his frighten face, “Cour-Courtney,” he whispered. “No, please.”

I couldn’t look at him as I lifted him up and forced his head to the side. Haidar walked behind Rafael and I looked up at him. He looked amused, waiting for me to do something. Control.

Knowing it would hurt, I quickly forced my teeth into the side of his teeth. My teeth were sharper than normal humans, but since they weren’t pointy or anything, it still hurt like hell. I had no fangs, just straight across teeth. Rafael took in a sharp pained breath as his hand grabbed onto my shirt, gripping in and he cried in pain.

My eyes widen though when I took my teeth out and his blood poured into my mouth. I wanted to take a chomp out, but I didn’t. His blood was more important, it was amazing. Animal blood was plain and slightly salty, but human blood? It tasted good, I remembered how it tasted when Senka would give it to me in a wine glass.

Nephilim blood?

There was no words, it was like some magic drink. I couldn’t even compare it with anything, but it beat every kind of sweet drink in the world My whole body fired up, lighting up like a match and I felt as if I could fly. I was losing control with Rafael blood because only one thing was running in my mind.

More.

I wanted more and more. I wanted it all until it was all gone. I ran my tongue against the wound and even started sucking out the blood.

I heard a gasp in my ear and I opened my eyes. I looked up at a familiar pair of amber eyes, a grin on his face. Remembering what was happening, I forced myself away from Rafael neck. I quickly lowered Rafael down on the floor and I placed my hands on his face, wiping his hair away from his sweaty forehead, “I’m so sorry.” I said to him, tears flying down my face. “I’m so sorry, Rafael. This is why I said I was a monster. You shouldn’t have come here!”

He cough, blood gagging out of his mouth, “It is okay.’

“Stop saying that!” I said. I shook my head, “It’s not okay, Rafael! I didn’t want to do this, I didn’t want to hurt you. I told you to stay away from you, but you were to God damn stubborn and didn’t listen. Why? Why me? Why couldn’t you have just left me alone?”

“I don’t know.” he said, chuckling but it sounded force. “Maybe I love you.”

I stared down at him, tears rushing down my face. I hadn’t expected him to say that—out of all thing. I wanted him to blame me, call me a monster because it’s what I am. I didn’t expect him to say he had loved me.

“And look where that’s gotten you.” I said, lowering my head and placed it on his chest. I could hear his heart beat pounding heavily against his chest, it was working hard to keep him alive. He was a Nephilim, he was holding on much hard then a normal human but that doesn’t mean it won’t last forever. “Loving me is the worst thing you could do, Rafael.”

I lifted my head and quickly pressed my mouth against his, kissing him. His mouth parted a little. I could taste his warm blood but I ignored it. I knew it was stupid to just kiss him there but he said he would only want to kiss the person who’ll he would want to be with the rest of his life.

Well, I guess that’s me.

Haidar grabbed me by the arm and lifted me up. Rafael started too reached out, grabbing my hand but it slipped through his bloody hand. Haidar dragged me away and he put his hand that was around my arm around my throat. He lifted me up and threw me. My back hit the window and I was thrown out the window. My back hit the hard concrete, pain rushing threw my back. That probably would have knocked someone else but not me.

I placed my hands on the grounds and lifted myself up to see Haidar stepped out threw the broken window angry. There was no forgiving me this time. He grabbed my leg and I cried out, thrashing my legs out for him to let go.

Using my hand to lift me up, I brought my foot he was holding up and knocked it against his jaw roughly. He gasped, letting go of me. I sprung up and tackled him against the wall. I then let go of him when it felt like someone grabbed my bones from the inside and started turning them. I brought my hands up to my head, crying in pain from a painful headache.

My eyes widen when I felt my teeth length and sharpen into points. My next shirt wasn’t until next week! What’s happening? Why does it feel like I’m shifting?

“They haven’t told you, did they?” Haidar asked, making me look at him. “You can shift with a little Nephilim blood on will, but I won’t let that happen.” he coldly said as he grabbed me by my head and slammed me against the wall.

I made a yelping noise as I fell down on my knees. I grabbed his thigh and I bit down on it. He yelled in pain and he grabbed my hair, prying me off. I brought my knee up to his crotch and he gasp, bending a little. I put my hands on the back of his head and bent him down more until his face hit my knee.

I moved towards the window but he grabbed me, pressing me against the frame. He grabbed my hair and in the corner of my eyes, I saw a large sharp pointy piece of glass sticking in the frame next to me. Haidar saw it too apparently and that’s why he tried to move me, but I held tightly onto the frame.

I looked inside the room and I saw the pocket knife he had on the bed. Gaining the strength, I forced my head back and I heard a crack. Hopefully his nose that I hit. He let go of me and I turned, kicking him away from me. I turned back around and jumped up, grabbing the frame of the window and lifted my legs up, swinging myself into the room.

I ran over towards the bed and grabbed the knife. I turned around to see Haidar walking into the room, I held tightly onto the pocket knife handle and moved away from Rafael, but that meant I had to get closer to Haidar. I brought my arms up, positioning myself to fight.

He snorted and attacked me. I blocked his punches and kicks, but a few them landed on me. I was able to quickly recover but I was getting tired quickly. He slammed his foot against my stomach and I stumbled back, hitting the wall. I brought my hand up, ready to stab him but he grabbed my fist as he pressed himself against me, glaring down hard at me. I panicked when he forced the knife around towards me. I kept looking back and forth between the knife and him, hoping I had the strength to hold the knife back from him stabbing me in the chest with it.

He lowered it down towards my chest, grinning wickedly as it touched my skin and my mouth pressed together tightly, moaning in pain. He pressed down farther down and crimson red blood trailed down.

I heard a clicking and a pow, pow, pow noise of a gun firing off. Haidar eyes then widen as his back stiffen. I quickly turned the pocket knife in my hand around and forced the knife into his chest where his heart was. His amber eyes looked down at me in shock for a moment before he started to fall. Breathing heavily, I looked down at his lifeless body that would forever be lifeless now. No Mortal, nor Demon now possesses it anymore.

I looked over at Rafael who was leaning against the bed from the floor, the gun falling from his hand. I ran over towards him, “Where’d you get the gun?” I asked him as I helped him up from the floor and onto the bed.

He cried in pain, “My father—ahh—he leave it with me when he left.” I ran into the bathroom and grabbed the white towel. I ran back into the room and over to Rafael. I sat next to him and he looked up at me, jerking away, “What is wrong with you?”

Confused, I lifted my head and looked at myself in the mirror in the room. My eyes widen when I realized my cheek bones were high like I had some bad plastic surgery done and my eyes glowed a neon green color. My teeth were sharpen and you could see my canine teeth were longer. I looked down at my hands to see my nails have grown and sharpen with the top of my hands hairy but as I stared them, the hair shedding off and my nails went back to normal. I could feel the bones in my face move and I looked back up at the mirror to see I was back to it’s normal full look.

I looked back at Rafael, “We need to get you to a hospital.”