Beautiful Sins: Leigha Lowery Read online

  "What are you doing here?" Alex growled. Jason seemed unperturbed. He took a step forward.

  "Taking care of what's mine." He answered sternly. Alex broke out into a loud laugh.

  "Yours?" He shook his head dubiously. Jason growled back. I instinctively stood in between them, my hands on each of their chests, trying to put some distance between them.

  "Boy's! No fighting!" I snapped. Alex wrapped his arm swiftly around my waist, ready to yank me out of the way. Maria quickly hopped out her car, rushing to my aid.

  "This is just ridiculous. Leigha, get out of the way!" She yelled, trying to pull me from in between them.

  "No! Stop this, stop this right now!" I demanded in a roar. Alex drew in a deep breath, which I thought was unnecessary since he didn't need oxygen to sustain life. I could feel his tense body relaxing from my high-pitched demand. Jason was still livid, his eyes glowing brightly and his hands balling into tight fists.

  "Don't you think you'd better go get a hold of Naomi before she starts terrorizing the town? I can just imagine the damage a new born Shewolf can inflict on such a small town." Maria reminded. Jason growled and took a step back. Maria pulled me roughly out of the way.

  "What are you, ill?" Maria asked, staring at me angrily. I shrugged my shoulders.

  "It has her scent. We will have to catch her before she decides to hunt. She's picking up on her instincts very well. It won't be long before she seeks Leigha out." Jason warned.

  "I'm not an idiot. I know all too well about the species." Alex argued.

  "Then why haven't you detained the ferocious beasts?" He countered. Alexander's patience was wearing then.

  "No fighting!" I warned again. Jason and Alex looked towards me and paused. Maria stared at me in disbelief.

  "Maria, take Leigha home. I will have Mina and Caleb there waiting for her when you arrive."

  "No!" Jason argued. Alex frowned. "How do we know the wolf isn't hunting her now? We can't leave Leigha alone for a second. Besides, Leigha will be the only thing that will draw her out. Just the smell of her nearby will make it livid." Jason explained.

  "It's too risky. I don't want that thing anywhere near her." Alex argued.

  "What choice do we have? We have to catch it tonight, before she gets a hold of the Ilium clan. She's too wild." Jason pressed. Alexander thought for a moment, and then he sighed. I would see the reason forming on his face. He knew Jason's plan was a good plan.

  "Damn, they are talking about Naomi like she's a wild dog." Maria laughed. I scowled at her.

  "She's still our friend Maria." Maria stared at me dubiously.

  "She didn't even like you Leigha. She's been jealous of you from the beginning." Maria argued.

  "You guys should put her down as soon as possible." Maria encouraged. I slapped her arm, and glared at her.

  "No!" I yelled. "We can at least try and see if she can be converted. She doesn't know any better. And shame on the wolves for turning her, and leaving her alone to face her transformation. She must be very confused and frightened." I argued. Jason rolled his eyes.

  "You have pity for that creature. It's an abomination." He protested. Maria nodded in agreement.

  "No, she's a friend. And I won't let you put her down unless there is no other choice. She didn't ask for this. She deserves a chance.” They all stared at me blankly.

  "Who's in charge again?" Maria asked. I rolled my eyes.

  "If this is going to work, then I'm going to have to bring in some help." Alex spoke.

  "Jason, take them back to Leigha's house. And don't let Leigha out of your sight. I'll be back momentarily." Alexander spoke. He gave me a quick wink before disappearing into a cloud of smoke. Maria rolled her eyes.

  "This place is getting to mystical for me." She grumbled. I groaned.

  * * * * *

  Slanderous Judas

  Jason patrolled the outer area of the house, while Randy kept watch inside. Maria sprawled casually across my bed, flipping through the Chronicles. Meanwhile, I was in a state of panic. Why was this always happening to me? What started out as a perfectly good day, suddenly turned into a disaster. I hope Tiffany and Jenny bought that rabies story. I would have to remind Randy to bring up something about it over dinner or something. I was so nervous; I couldn't stop pacing around my room.

  "Would you stop pacing already? You're giving me a headache." Maria grumbled, as she slammed the book close.

  "How can you be calm at a time like this? Don't you see what's happening? Poor Naomi…" I murmured. Maria rolled off the bed, moving to stand in front of me.

  "Do I need to slap you or something? You seem like you're in a state of shock." I pushed Maria out of the way and headed downstairs to see what my mother was up too.

  Clearly, I was going insane. Everyone and everything was so casual. Mina sat beside my mother, casually flipping through a wedding catalog while, Randy and Caleb played an intense game of chess. My mouth fell open.

  "Everything is going to be alright Leigha." Caleb murmured, still concentrating on the board. I scowled at him.

  "That's not very nice Leigha." He muttered.

  "Then stay out of my head." I growled as I stomped into the kitchen.

  "She's a feisty one." An unfamiliar voice spoke. Alexander stood beside a tall dark handsome man. His skin was just a tad bit darker than Alex's was, and his jet-black hair stood wild and pixie-like. He stood tall with his broad shoulders, and his biceps were nearly bursting through his tightly fitted black t-shirt. It made me raise one eyebrow. Alex growled. The man turned towards Alex and flashed a bright smile.

  "What? I can't help it if the ladies can't get enough of me." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

  Within a flash, he was standing in just inches from me.

  "So, what do I have the honor of calling this luscious young female?" He asked. He reached out towards me and began fiddling with my charm.

  "Judas, back off." Alex warned sternly. Judas? Why does that name sound so familiar? Judas turned towards Alexander and stared at him in disbelief.

  "Hmmn, this is new. I've never seen the Prince claim a female. Ever." He pointed out. He turned back to me and smiled.

  "This one must be extra special." Judas crooned. He moved closer towards me. A bright light flashed across my eyes, and as the light faded, Alexander had Judas pinned against the wall. Randy, Caleb, and the others rushed into the kitchen. Mina rolled her eyes the moment she noticed Judas. Jason entered the house, crouching defensively in front of me.

  "Of all the assassins, you call on Judas?" Mina snarled.

  "It's always a pleasure Mina. Still looking very tasteful I see." Caleb growled from his slanderous remark.

  "I get the picture your highness. You can put me down now." Judas spoke. Alex released his grip on him, and Judas fixed his shirt.

  "I can see this is going to be all business. No pleasure intended. He took a glance towards my mother and Maria and smiled.

  "At least, not for now." He grinned wickedly.

  "I had to call on the best. Even if he's extremely annoying." Alex explained.

  "Oh my god, it's Judas Iscariot." Maria said in awe.

  "He goes simply by Judas now."

  "Or 'Slanderous Judas'." Mina countered. Judas grinned and walked towards Maria and planted a soft kiss on her hand. Mina slapped Maria's hand away, causing Judas to growl.

  "Enough!" Jason yelled. The Vampires glared at him dubiously.

  "Why is the cat in the room?" Judas asked.

  "He's taken a liking to Leigha." Alex sighed. Judas broke into a roar of laughter.

  "You're in competition with a guardian?" He shook his head. "And I thought I'd seen everything." He laughed.

  "So, getting this job out of the way so I can play, I say we use the girl as bait." He said, winking at Maria.

  "No!" Alexander argued. "If we were going to use her as bait, I wouldn't have called on you." Judas rolled his eyes.

  "I was just trying to make my job easier. However,
difficult is better. Come with me, I'd like to work out some strategies with you. And I'll need a few volunteers.” Judas spoke, gesturing towards the living room. The followed behind them. Jason reluctantly left my side, joining the men in the other room.

  "Can I get you ladies something to drink?" My mother asked. I rolled my eyes at her.

  "This is a state of panic mother, and you're worried whether or not you're a great hostess?" I snapped at her. Maria nudged me playfully.

  "A soda sounds good to me Mrs. Murphy." Maria answered. I can't believe, I was just standing in the same room as Judas Iscariot. The best vampire assassin that ever existed. He trained some of the best soldiers in the vampire army, including Alex.

  "Okay, enough of the Chronicles 101." I grumbled.

  "You need a chill pill, you know that Leigha." Maria snapped back.

  "Sure, I'll just be casual. Even though we are sitting in a house full of guardians and vampires, I'll remain calm and casual. Oh, and the fact that I have a newborn Shewolf hunting me, is nothing. I'll just kick back, relax, and enjoy the show." I scoffed.

  "Yeah, someone needs to slap her or something. She's practically flipping out." Maria suggested. I wanted to slap her instead. I scowled at the fruit bowl.

  "Honey, do you want me to make you something to eat?" My mother offered. I just shook my head. I wasn't going to be satisfied until I was certain I would have this bounty off my head.

  Randy and Alex entered the kitchen with the news.

  "Leigha, we are going to need to borrow your clothes. Mina's going to confuse the scent, but we will need what you have on for it to work." Randy explained.

  "Fine." I growled and stomped out of the kitchen.

  "What's wrong with her?" Randy asked in confusion.

  * * * * *

  Captured

  If they wanted bait, I would give them bait. Mina followed behind me, and quickly switched from her clothes to mine. She scowled at the fact that she would be lacking style for a few hours.

  "Why do I always have to be the only female?" She whined. I snickered. I straightened my face when she glared at me. I had to constantly remind myself of their superhuman hearing. She pulled her hair up, while I slipped into a pair of yoga pants and a white shirt.

  "Don't worry Leigha. Everything is going to be fine. Alex will keep his word. Naomi will not be harmed." Mina assured. Her assurance seemed to work somewhat. I followed her down stairs to bid them farewell. I know it was stupid for me to worry for their safety, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want anything to happen to any of them. Not even Slanderous Judas.

  "This shouldn't take long Leigha. Capturing her won't be a problem, however keeping her alive… that's another story." He confessed. I sighed. Alex gave him a stern look and Judas sighed.

  "I will do my best Leigha." Judas vowed. He bowed before me, acknowledging me as if I were royalty. I pouted. The two men that were showing interest for me were putting themselves in danger for me. I didn't like it. Jason began to approach me, and Alex snarled. Judas put his hand over Alex's shoulder to calm him.

  "Calm yourself. Let him have his moment. It's not like you're not going to win in the end anyway. Why be jealous?" Judas muttered. Alex sighed and took a step back.

  "Please be safe." I begged. Jason smiled at me.

  "Relax Leigha. This will all be over within an hour tops." He assured. I threw my arms around him. Alex groaned. Jason pulled back, and took a few steps away, to allow Alexander his moment with me. I rolled my eyes; this was so stupid. Whatever they were fighting about, I hoped they would put all of that aside to rescue Naomi before she did something that would hurt her chances of conversion.

  "I want you to at least try to relax. Will you do that for me?" He asked, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. I couldn't help but to nod.

  "Yeah, I can do that." I sighed. He took my face between his hands and pulled me closer to his chest. He held me for a long moment. Something about the way he touched… I couldn't place it, but it felt so right.

  "Ugh! Enough with all the love. Can we go now?" Judas complained. I frowned at him. Alex chuckled.

  "Let's get this over with. We still have to round up the wolves before the trip to the Islands." Alex reminded. Randy pulled my mother into a tight hug. He then walked over to him and buried his face in my hair.

  "You are the best daughter a father could ask for. Take care of your mother until I get back." He murmured into my hair. I nodded, fighting back the tears of joy.

  My heart sank as they left. My mother wrapped her arm casually around my shoulder and pulled me out of the kitchen and into the living room. I pulled away from her.

  "I think I'm just going to lie down." I said. I had too much going on in my mind.

  "Okay baby." My mother sighed.

  "I'll help you look for decorations." Maria offered.

  "That's so nice of you Maria.” My mother chanted. Good, I needed some time to think. I was going through a system overload.

  I walked into my room, slammed the door shut, and sprawled comfortably across my bed. I stared at the Chronicles for a long moment, just appalled that my favorite book had such a huge impact on my life. A cool breeze brushed up against my bare skin, making me shudder. I looked up to find the doors to my balcony cracked open. I climbed off my bed to close and lock the doors again.

  "Hmmn, I don't remember opening these." I muttered.

  "That's because you didn't." A familiar voice answered. I whirled, stunned to find Naomi sitting casually on my bed. She looked normal. Almost normal. The faint silver glow in her eyes gave me insight that she wasn't the Naomi I met when I first moved here.

  "Naomi, I'm glad to see you are alright. We were so worried about you." I murmured. I took slow breaths, trying to calm my heart rate. I knew she could hear it.

  "Actually Leigha, I've never been better." She crooned. She lifted up her hand, examining her monstrous claws. She was all cleaned up; she looked amazing.

  "All of this is happening because of you." She murmured as she examined her claws.

  "My fault? How so?" I asked.

  "We were doing so well. Claiming the lands. Then you show up and everything suddenly spirals out of control. You're sending my brother before King Royce. I can't have that." She explained to me.

  "Your brother? I don't understand." I told her. In one swift motion, she was off the bed and just inches from my face.

  "You are the reason my parents are dead. He could have helped me through this transition, but no! You have him trapped in Forest Park like some criminal!" She yelled. She was losing control.

  "What are you going to do Naomi?" I asked her. Her breathing was becoming uneven.

  "I'm going to offer the King a trade. You, for my family. You think you can capture my people?" She fell out into a roar of heavy laughter.

  "Consider yourself captured." Those were the last words I heard before she slammed me through the balcony doors. I flew over the balcony into a pillar of snow. I felt a warm wetness trail down my face. In one quick stride, she leapt out of my window and landed right in front of me. I looked up into her silver eyes that glowed into the moonlight.

  Oh crap. Alex was going to be pissed.

  * * * * *

  Thank you for taking the time to read my story. If you are interested in reading more of my material, please feel free to visit my personal pages

  http://beautiful-sins.com (Official Site to the Beautiful Sins Series)

  http://jennifer-hampton.com (My official site and blog)

  http://facebook.com/mejennihuh2006

  http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Thaneaddus-ChroniclesBeautiful-Sins/111621064593 (Beautiful Sins Facebook Page)

 

 

 
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