Turning by Dawn Kirby

Sweet Revenge

Ben stretched out on the bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. Flashes of his life over the past three years raced through his head. Infatuation, love, lies and finally revenge. All of it had been Alana’s fault. All she had to do was understand.

The “cheating” as she referred to it had been a simple one night stand. He couldn’t help it if he’d gotten a little drunk while she was away. Who knew some hot chick was gonna come up to him at the bar and bang him in the bathroom? Certainly not him. But who was he to say no? Last time he checked it was okay to be lonely.

Furious he kicked the wall. The pain shooting through his naked foot reminded him of exactly where his anger had led.

“Damn you, Alana,” he whispered, sitting up to rub his toes. “You put me here.”

“No, you put you here,” a cool voice said. Ben strained his eyes to see the speaker with no luck. A cold chill ran up his spine. Had he fallen asleep and missed them tossing this guy in with him? “We are alone, yes?”

“Who are you?” he asked desperately. Ben hadn’t had a roommate in months. Though he did miss the company, he wasn’t real sure he wanted to be anywhere near this haunting voice. “How did you get in here?”

“How I got here is not important,” the man said. Ben jumped realizing the voice was now standing right in front of him. “The reason I’m here however is.”

“An-n-nd what would that be?” he asked reaching for the shank he kept stuffed inside his thin pillow.

“You’ve committed a horrible crime.”

“That wasn’t my fault.” One second the weapon was in his hand and the next it was gone.

“Not your fault?” Nicholas let invisibility fall to the wayside. He wanted to look this bastard in the eye. Ben jumped back, slamming his head against the wall behind him. “Coward.”

“Dude, you try watching some guy just pop in here sometime. See how you react.” He rubbed his head trying to ease the pain. “You’re lucky I didn’t crack it open. I’d had your head for that.”

“Doubtful,” Nicholas said flatly. He turned the shank over on his hand and looked curiously at Ben. “You expected to defend yourself with this?”

“I did,” Ben said trying to steel his nerves.

“You would have failed.” No longer interested, he tossed it back to Ben. He knew the idiot would try to use it, but turned his back on him anyway.

“Would I?” Ben launched himself off the bed and plunged the knife deep into Nicholas’ side. “Looks like I did just fine. Now what?”

Nicholas turned around to face him and yanked the knife from his side. A slight trickle of blood oozed from the wound. A calm smile appeared as he watched the color drain from Ben’s face. This was going to be fun.

“Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Nicholas,” he said, bowing his curtly. “I am a friend of Alana’s. That makes you my enemy.”

“Whoa, bud.” A sudden need to be as far away from this guy as possible overtook him. He slipped past Nicholas and into a corner. “I love that woman. I only did what I did because she makes me crazy. Seeing her with that guy-”

“Her friend,” Nicholas reminded him. “That young man was her friend. Nothing more.”

“Whatever dude,” Ben said looking around the room for an escape. “She never shoulda been with him. I warned her.”

“Benjamin, I cannot begin to tell you how much I loathe being called a dude,” Nicholas sighed. “I gave you my name for a reason. Please use it.”

“Do you see where you are?” Ben snorted. “This is my house. I’ll call you whatever I want to.”

In less than a second he closed the distance between them. He simply couldn’t stomach the attitude anymore. Ben’s eyes grew to the size of saucers when he saw the pristine white glint of fangs peek out from underneath Nicholas’ upper lip. Shock gave way to paralyzing fear. Nicholas seized his opportunity and sank his teeth deep into Ben’s shoulder.

Nicholas projected the memory of his hands on Alana’s body, exploring her, touching her into his victim’s mind. Ben’s anger, even in this state, boiled over. Nicholas fed off it. His hunger grew tenfold. Ben’s blood pumped harder; faster as he devoured every drop. Only when the flow slowed did he break his hold.

“Alana belongs to me,” Nicholas told him. Blood trickled down his chin. Ben’s pulse slowed to a crawl. “You’ve terrorized her. You’ve hurt her. For that I send you straight to hell.”