New Story - Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

         Abi rolled back on her heels, resting her weight on the soles of her feet and feeling the steady ache of holding the position for too long. She glanced down at her watch…how long had she been here? Two hours now. She blew out a disgusted breath and looked down from the grimy concrete rooftop of the abandoned Chinese restaurant, to the alley below. It wouldn’t be too much longer. They had to show…just had to.
         She rolled her neck on her shoulders, her waist length black hair, pulled up in a pony tail still almost touching the ground from her squatting position as her bones protested and cracked with the movement. Stark blue eyes took in her environment, flashing in the night. The moon hung low over the city of Palnoe, it’s eerie silver light casting a mist of horror movie perfect over the scene. And wasn’t that just the topping on the cake, she thought with a bitter laugh.
         As one of the few female Mykalians left, she was prized above the men that dominated over her. So wouldn’t they just shit their pants if they knew what she was doing at this very minute? Casing an alley way where she had heard a meeting was going to take place with their races enemy…the Wolvyrins. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity…literally. After sixty years of existence, she had yet to be allowed to wandered the streets alone, spending her time locked in that cage of a mansion, honing skills she was never going to be allowed to use.
         Well…fuck that. Tonight, she was going to put that training to the test if it killed her. And it just might. If the enemy didn’t finish her off than Max sure as hell would when she got home. That was one bastard she didn’t want to tango with but who in the race had a choice? As the eldest, he held dominion over all of them. Females and males alike bowed to him like a fucking god. Well…not this chick…not tonight.
         Standing up, the black leather of her pants creaked in protest along with her joints, both out of shape and out of practice for this kind of thing. The clothes, like her body, were only used in the training gym, never on the field and never for more than a few hours a week. She put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at the darkened alley below as if cursing it for not giving her what she wanted. This was bullshit. The one time she was going to get the chance to fight and the bastards weren’t going to show.
         A soft, male chuckle had Abi rolling on the balls of her feet and pivoting behind her. In the same movement, her hands went to the daggers strapped to her hips but she only got as far as the handles before one was pressed tight against her throat. The male that crowded her was a good half a foot taller and she craned her neck to look up into piercing, mocking green eyes. She let out a soft growl from deep in her throat. “Back off, Trace,” she said in a menacing whisper.
         Yeah, that had about as much effect as taunting a pit bull with a steak. Trace moved closer and Abi lost her footing trying to shift away. Cursing herself under her breath to Hell and back, the male just laughed and used the opportunity to crowd her further, backing her against a large metal chimney that once had the sweet and sour smells of the Chinese kitchen below coming out of it and now stood cold and hollow…kind of like Abi’s heart.
         She knew better than to try and fight him. She was not only restricted by her size, which was a good hundred and fifty pounds less than the man in front of her but she was cursed by her race in general. The males had tricks up their sleeves that the good creators decided the females didn’t need. Well thank you Mother fucking Teresa for that because all it left them with was a bunch of men with big heads that thought there job was to push the woman around.
         Abi continued to glare at him, meeting him stare for her and resisting the urge to slap the son of a bitch to get that mocking grin off his face. “Awww, now why would you wanna go and do that, Abs,” he all but purred at her. Knocking back her gag reflex she quickly closed her mind off, putting a barrier up and shutting him out, sending up a silent thanks at least for that one gift her gender was given.
         “Oh, I dunno, Trace. You got a couple hours cuz the list is pretty long of reasons why I wanna see your dick in a vice being twisted off,” she replied cooly though she shriveled inside at her defiance of him. Gods be damned, her genes were going to be the death of her. She hated submitting to bastards like him and sure enough, her eyes looked away first, showing the control he had over her. She cursed again which only brought another laugh against her cheek as he leaned closer.
         “Now, now. You could be doing so many other things with that pretty little mouth of yours besides pissing me off, Abi,” he crooned. Abi bit down on her tongue as he pressed himself into her and she felt the stiffy in his pants go right to the center of her legs as if he was trying to find entrance through all their leather. She let out an involuntary shiver at the thought. Trace was not one she ever wanted between her legs. She would take Max’s fury any day over what she knew Trace could dish out.
         Another prayer went up that even though she hated her station, her gender and her powerlessness over the men of her race, at least Mr. Large-and-in-Charge, kept the women away from sadistic bastards like Trace. There were too few of them already, maybe one to ever 10 men if that and if they wanted them to be able to produce more, than they couldn’t have their most lethal killers tearing them to pieces in the bedroom. They had learned that the hard way…on more than one occasion.
         Abi was protected property which was the only thing that was keeping her pants on at the moment and Mr. Happy on the other side of that zipper. Otherwise, she would have been sprawled out on the ground for his entertainment. Not only did Max control all the women of the race, but her in particular as she was the only female born to Lucas, the eldest before Max. His blood and genes were the purest of the race and prized above all others to produce more of the most skilled fighters to go against their enemies.
         She had to hand it to the old bastard, he kept his promise about keeping her safe and it was no easy task. Of the five women that he had current control over, she was, to say the least, a knockout. A perfect body to go with her perfect genes. At the ripe young age of 60, she looked no older than her mid to late twenties and that was all the closer the graces of time would ever touch upon her skin.
         Oh what cruelty the fates dealt on her doorstep, giving her luscious curves, big breasts, a firm ass, and a bitch’s attitude to back it all up. At five foot eight, along with her jet black hair and fierce blue eyes, she could make all men, human and Mykalian alike, stop dead in their tracks. Too bad it didn’t give her the power to make them keep their filthy hands to themselves.
         She blew out a breath and shoved at Trace’s chest. “You gonna back off or you want to tell Max that you were playing with his toys,” she crushed her need to cower to him and met him, stare for stare even though her insides were quaking with fear. His cool smile almost made her heart stop in her chest with fear…almost.
         “And what are you going to tell him, Abi? Because you sure as hell can’t tell him that I found you wandering the streets at night by yourself when he thinks you’re locked safely up in your room. How did you get out by the way?”
         She shrugged, using the motion to try again at the shoving him away…no such luck. “He’s gotten a little lax on his security after sixty years. He sent me to bed alone and I took the scenic route,” she replied as coolly as possible though her insides shrank back further at her insubordinance.
         “Fifty blocks is a hell of a scenic route,” he purred next to her ear. “Why don’t you --”
         The rest of his words were cut off abruptly as both their heads whipped around to the edge of the rooftop. Voices could be heard, coming from the end of the alley and moving closer and Trace’s body stiffened for another reason…the smell of the enemy was on the wind. Abi inhaled deeply and took it into her even as Trace grabbed her and shoved her down to the concrete, flattening her against the chimney and giving her the “move and I’ll kill you myself” stare before creeping to the edge to have a look.
         Abi supposed it was just another thing to be grateful for that the male of her race’s need to kill was stronger than their sexual drive. But she couldn’t feel too much relief knowing their enemy was a mere fifty feet below them. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, her hackles raised in warning as bells went off in her head to get the fuck out of there. She fought the urge, planting her feet firmly on the ground and clenching her fists at her sides.
         She knew, without seeing, that there were three of the Wolvyrins below. She knew because all of her race knew when they were near. It wasn’t so much a particular smell though, to the Mykalians they stank of week old, regurgitated milk. It was more like a radar system that was built in to protect them and keep them away from them at all costs. At least to her it was. She assumed to the men, the smell and the instincts that came with it, held a different effect which was why they were so much smoother in combat and why they ran towards the enemy instead of running away.
         Trace glanced back over his shoulder, the muscles in his upper body coiling under the tight black shirt he wore as he slid his other dagger out of its holster soundlessly. His green eyes narrowed on her face and pointed one of the blades at her and then to the ground, commanding her to stand put before he sprang and in one lithe movement, twisted in midair and disappeared over the edge of the building.
         A second later, a yell of surprise was heard and Abi was going to be damned if she was going to sit her ass here like a fucking dog. She scrambled to her feet and went over to the lip of the roof and looked down. All three Wolvyrins were circling Trace, each with a matching set of ten blades. But these weren’t the steel kind like her boy was caring. Nope…their enemy had a nice set of nails about six inches long that never needed filing…especially if they had Mykalians to keep them sharp on.
         As if they had sensed her, one of them looked up, their pure black eyes shining in the night and latching onto Abi as a cold smile spread on his face. Trace looked up and cursed and she wearied a glance to him and saw the “you are so fucking dead” on his puss as he lunged forward at the one staring up at her, starting the fight.
         Abi had to admit, even though she hated Trace with a passion she couldn’t even comprehend, the bastard had skills. His movements were quick and to the point, lunging forward and stepping back quick, keeping his vitals away from the sharp claws, twisting himself down into a full crouch only to spring up with the stealth of a jungle cat and swipe his blade through the air, catching one of the men across the face and slicing into his cheek, drawing first blood.
         As a roar of anger rose from their enemies throat, Abi was transfixed on the fight, staring down at them as her heart pounded. And then it happened. One moment she was alone and the next, the injured male had leapt over Trace’s head. Trace ducked, spinning on his heels and throwing his blade out but he missed the Wolvyrin has it’s claws sank into the concrete walls of the building as if it were cardboard and he shimmied up the side towards Abi. She heard Trace’s curse as the other two advanced on him and she backed away from the lip of the building, looking around quickly to see her escape options.
         She judged the distance to the next rooftop. It was a good thirty feet away. If she had a running start, she could make it but as she turned back to see those sharp nails of the enemy crest the edge of the roof, she knew she wasn’t going to have time for that. Seeing no other option, she drew the blades from her belt and fell into a fighting stance as the man jumped up in a single, sleek movement and landed in an identical crouch.
         Behind the wicked grin he gave her, she saw his yellowing, jagged teeth, another trademark of their enemy. Fucking teeth like a piranha. Sharp and deadly…literally. Not only could they rip into your flesh like it was a piece of paper but their saliva held a nasty after burn that left your insides feeling like they took up vacation inside a volcano. Not that she’d ever been bitten or even been close enough for even the threat of it until now but she’d read about it in the Chronicles of their races history. Their enemy had just as many tricks as they did.
         Abi started to move slower, tightening the circle between them but he wasn’t much on the slow dance. He lunged forward, catching her off guard and she backed away glumsily, catching herself just before she would have tripped backward and given him a whole bunch of  “easy target”. Cursing herself, she tried to calm down, remembering all the times she’d done this in the training gym. She was the fastest, the most agile and the most deadly with the blade of all the women and she was not going to let her nerves take all that training and flush it down the toilet.
         Tightening the hold on her dagger hilts, she bent at the knees, using her thigh muscles to propel her forward and aiming the daggers at the man’s chest. Using her momentum and knowing he would counter by throwing those knives of his up at her, she twisted in mid-air, like a sideways pirouette, crossing her legs at the ankle and folding her arms into her chest.
         She felt the scrape of one of the nails go across her outer arm, not quite high enough to miss it but she ignored the pain as she started to fall, twisting herself back out and coming down behind him with two quick slashes of her blades. She smiled as she heard his hiss, felt the impact as one of the blades went through his shoulder and the other sliced down his back.
         Retracting them from his skin, she let her body go on the momentum of the jump and bent herself at the knees again, jumping backward and out of range as he spun around, his black eyes flaring with fire at he snarled at her. The dance started again and the circled each other and she was proud to see he wasn’t so quick to lunge right at her again, realizing she wasn’t going to be a cake walk. Good for him. At least that was one thing she could credit their enemy with. They had brains. Who’d a thought it.
         But it was obvious they had no patience as he quickly lost interest again in the foot work and came straight at her with no finesse at all. Abi brought back the blades, using all the strength in her upper arms as she sprang forward to meet him head on. Throwing her arms out in front of her, she met him with her blades first, one in the chest and the other in his stomach. She saw his eyes widen in surprise as they fell backwards, the momentum carrying them both to the ground with Abi on top, straddling him and holding tight to the blades buried in his body.
         He looked down at the knives sticking in his chest which, given another situation, Abi would have laughed at. He almost looked shocked. Okay, maybe she had given him credit too soon. Apparently he didn’t have any brains if he didn’t think she was going to use the fuckers on him. “Say goodnight, now,” she growled before twisting both blades simultaneously. With a shriek of pain that ricocheted off the surrounding rooftops, the thing exploded beneath her. But instead of being covered in bits and pieces of “you’ve got to be kidding me”, it was a black mist that exploded out and disappeared, being caught up on the wind and carried off. Well…didn’t that save on dry cleaning.
         Leaning back on her legs, she rested her palms on her thighs and smiled down at where her enemy had been, feeling pretty damn good with how well she’d done. That was until a strong hand gripped the back of her shirt, fisting it and her hair in a tight grip and yanking her up off the ground, slamming her back into the chimney again. As air exploded from her lungs from the little meet-and-greet with the steel again, she blinked Trace’s face into focus and wished immediately she hadn’t. The guy looked righteous pissed as his breath left in short, angry bursts. “What the fuck were you thinking, engaging him,” he roared in her face, giving her another shake. “You could have been killed and that would have been my ass on the chopping block!”
         The adrenaline of the fight coursed through her along with her own pent-up rage at being treated like a damn rag doll. She met him glare for glare, her blue eyes narrowing on his face. “There was nothing I could do! Unless you would have had me lie down and roll over for him. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re fifty feet in the air, Trace. I can’t just disappear like some of us have the privilege of doing!”
         “Oh you wanna disappear do you,” he said with a cool smile. Suddenly Abi’s insides went from fiery hot to ice cold. That look didn’t bode well at all. “Wish. Fucking. Granted.”
         Abi opened her mouth to tell him to stop but didn’t so much as take in a breath before she felt the darkness close in around her. The air was sucked out of her lungs as her body raced across the sky and she fought against the magic forcing her back…fear giving her strength. But not enough.
         Within seconds, she landed with a loud crash on a deep, plush maroon carpet and before she could so much as say ’fuck me’ she was being hauled off it and slammed into a wall. As was little air she had been able to take in upon landing was forced out of her body again, she shook her head and fought the need to throw up. A low, menacing growl had her stilling in the arms that crushed her to the wall though. Not from fear so much though she was scared out of her mind at what was coming. But it was the natural reaction of the female to succomb to the mate and her body obeyed even as she screamed at it to fight.
         Forcing eyes open that she hadn’t even realized were squeezed shut, she met the steely, gray gaze of Max, his face inches from her own. His anger and rage at what she had done were a living thing that was breathing down the back of her neck, not so much making the hairs there stand up on end but singeing them off. “You have displeased me greatly, Abigail,” his voice was a low, controlled sound that had the effect of shriveling all of Abi’s insides to dust.
         She felt the familiar slither of something across each of her arms, below where Max had her in a bruising grip and knew that this was going to be a very long night. She looked down, seeing the other nasty trick that the male of their species had up their sleeves…literally. Two long black tentacle-like arms were snaking their way down out of the sleeves of Max’s robe and caressing her skin like a lover.
         But she knew all too well what those things could do and a shudder ran through her body. Fuck. Me. She thought.  She caught a glimpse of the cold smile moving across Max’s face and knew he had caught her thought. “Oh you can count on that,” he growled before grabbing her off the floor with all four arms and dragging her out of the room.