Beautiful Sins: Leigha Lowery Read online

  The evening quickly approached as we pulled up into F.G. High's parking lot. I pulled my damp hair into a ponytail as we ran into the school's gymnasium.

  "Do you see her?" I asked, turning to Maria for guidance.

  "No. She said she would be with an exotic woman." I rolled my eyes at that one.

  "An exotic woman? You have got to be kidding me. Is that the best information you could come up with?" I glared daggers at her. Maria shrugged her shoulders and pulled the pin out of her hair.

  "Listen, you asked me to find a local witch. If you wanted perfection, then you should have just done it yourself." She grumbled.

  "Whatever, let's find this exotic woman." I grumbled, looking through the crowd of cheering fans.

  I was a bit surprised at first. For there to be a wild pack of animals on the loose, humans seemed to treat it like any other day. Oh right, I was freshly introduced into the reality of things. Had my eyes still been blinded, I would probably be cheering along with them. Tiffany and Jenny noticed me from the court and waved for me to join them. I feigned acknowledgement. I would apologize to them later. I had bigger fish to fry at this point. For example, like saving the town from these vicious creatures.

  After a half hour of looking, I met up with Maria at the concession stand.

  "Any luck?" I asked. Maria shook her head.

  "Nothing." She said, as she turned to order a bottled water. I turned away, scowling at the cheering crowd as half time approached. Something captured my attention. Several young men hurried over to the concession stand, nearly battling for the front place in line. I pulled Maria out of the way, just as a huge jock nearly knocked her water out of her hand.

  "Hey! Why don't you watch where you are going?" She grumbled.

  "Shut up and get out of the way you stupid Goth!" He shouted. I grinned wickedly. Maria on the other hand, was ready to kill the huge blonde-haired jock.

  "Maria, I think they're here." I murmured. Maria stared at me dubiously.

  "We've been looking for almost an hour. We would have found them by now." She argued. I smiled and gestured towards the competing men.

  "Look Maria, they are all buying water. What are the odds that they are all thirsty for the same beverage?" Maria grinned wickedly.

  "Let's follow these dumb jocks to our exotic woman." Maria chanted.

  As we began to follow the hurrying men, I paused as I noticed someone from the school flirting with Tiffany. The guy was awfully large to be a student, he stood almost seven feet tall.

  "Leigha, come on!" Maria yelled.

  "Wait, you go on ahead. I'll be right behind you." I said; my instincts to protect kicking into full gear. Maria groaned, and followed behind the drooling men. I hurried over to Tiffany.

  "Hey Tiffany. I'm sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to come and let you know that I saw you waving." I said, pulling out my charm and putting it into view. Tiffany noticed and smiled. I turned to the tall, dark, handsome man to find him glaring at me. Something about the charm seemed to set off his mood. Tiffany pulled me into a tight hug.

  "I'm so glad you decided to come. I hope it wasn't too much trouble for you come." She said. She pulled away, staring at me curiously.

  "You didn't come alone did you?" She asked. I shrugged.

  "I had to sneak out." I said, hoping to bait the mysterious man to follow me out of the building. Tiffany frowned at my confession.

  "I can't stay long. I have to get back before they worry. I just wanted to come and see you for a moment. You know, be a normal teenager for once." I explained. Tiffany sighed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

  "Leigha, when are you going to realize that there's nothing normal about your life?" She asked. Boy oh boy, she had no idea. The word "normal" was totally out of the box when it came to my life.

  "Well I have to get going. I'll catch up with you tomorrow at school.” I said. Tiffany pulled me into another hug and I walked at a slow pace, looking behind my shoulder often to see if he would take the bait. It worked. He was following me out of the building.

  My ankle was still sore, but I was able to pick up the pace as I walked out into the parking lot. Where was Maria? Did she find the witch and the exotic woman? I turned to see that the tall man was no longer alone. Two other extremely tall men stood beside him, pointing at me. My instincts to run kicked in, and I fled quickly into the forest.

  "Oh god, I hope Alex is sensing my danger right about now." I grumbled.

  "Run faster! The scent of your fear is intoxicating!" One of the men yelled. The forest was so dark, only the bright moon giving me light through the trees. I tripped over a loose limb, injuring my ankle even more. I landed hard onto the cold wet ground.

  "Oh!" I yelped. Before I could pull myself to my feet, I saw the men, jumping from tree to tree at an inhumane speed. They were of the Ilium clan. My observation of them was just right. In one swift jump, two of them, landed just inches from me; their eyes glowing silver in the moon light.

  "Stay away from me!" I yelled, pulling myself away. I bumped into something hard and warm. The third man grabbed me by my hair, pulling me to my feet. I screamed from the force of his strong arm.

  "On your feet slave!" He yelled.

  "Enough!" A voice shouted. The man released me by my hair, and I fell to my knees. I was tired and out of breath. The trio formed into a line, dropping to their knees and lowering their heads. Another tall man, an extremely handsome man approached me. He seemed unperturbed in his tightly fitted black sweater, in the blistering cold. I couldn't feel my fingers at this point. He was taller, bigger than the others. Their leader perhaps. He kept his long shoulder length hair cropped back, and he folded his large arms over his shoulders as he looked down at me. His glowing silver eyes staring directly into mine.

  "I see you've brought me good bait this time." He said in a deep husky voice. The men rose and one of the monstrous men stepped towards me, pulling me to my feet in one swift motion. The leader moved closer towards me, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

  "Yes, she smells mouth-watering. You've done your master proud." He spoke. Loud growls escaped their lips as they began to howl up at the huge full moon. The leader looked down at me, his huge fangs barred. I screamed.

  "Help! Someone please help me!" The swift smack of his hand across my face silenced me. It quickly grew numb, and a loud ringing sensation filled my head.

  "Ow." I grumbled as I fell to my knees. The loud roar of a large cat startled me. Before I could look up, the leader was suddenly falling over me, a large human cat standing over him. Loud growls escaped his mouth as he snarled back at the ferocious creature; their faces just inches apart.

  "Tamera no!" Someone yelled. I rolled over onto my stomach to try to help myself to my feet. The large ferocious feline turned to me, hissing for me not to move. I froze in place. A familiar hand gently grazed her shoulder and she quickly calmed herself, jumping swiftly and flipping overhead to me in a crouch. She was so swift; she startled me, knocking me off my feet. I looked over to find Maria standing beside a very short young girl. He stood no higher than four feet, eleven. The girl looked over at the feline, worriedly.

  "Tamera!" She yelled again. Tamera growled at me and leapt over to the small woman. I turned back to see Alexander standing over the leader. I yelped as someone suddenly pulled me to my feet. On either side of me, stood Mina and Caleb. I knew I was in big trouble. The leader flipped swiftly onto his feet, landing into a crouch. His minions drew beside him, growling and snarling at Alex. Alexander grinned wickedly.

  "I see you've decided to claim these lands. But what you have to understand, is that are certain rules to abide by. You're disturbing the peace here, and that is something I cannot allow." He said calmly.

  "You do not rule these lands! We have free claim to this territory!" The leader roared.

  "We can handle this in a civil manner, or I have a better alternative to be more persuasive." Alex warned.

  "I am not afraid of you Princ
e Alexander. You are no match for the three of us!" He roared. Alexander grinned wickedly.

  "I would love to put that to the test, but my protectors would destroy you before I could even lift a finger, ruining my chances of crushing you with my own hands." He said, gesturing towards Mina, Caleb, and Tamera. The leader thought twice about that, and began to straighten up in surrender.

  "The King will hear about this. You cannot just control territory that isn't yours!" The leader argued.

  "My father will indeed be informed. However, until then…" Alexander turned to the small woman and the ferocious Tamera.

  "Witch, will you please bind them into the forest?" He asked, stepping back. The monstrous wolves suddenly became hysterical and began to transform. The small woman stepped forward and held out her hand. A small red marble began to glow in the palm of her hand. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate. The small marble began to float from her hand, stopping just a few inches from Alexander’s face. Alexander grinned wickedly as the monstrous wolves began to charge toward him, only to be knocked back by the glowing shield in front of him. As the small woman opened her eyes, the glowing marble faded, and landed into her palm. The red horizontal light faded and the angry wolves climbed back to their feet, shaking off the hit and charging again. I braced myself for impact, squeezing my eyes shut and looking away. To my surprise, the shield was still there, simply invisible. Alexander looked towards the small woman.

  "Well done witch!" He smiled with heavy amusement. She grinned back, and bowed before him.

  "I don't understand…" Maria said as she stared at the small woman bewildered.

  "If you knew about the wolves all along, why didn't you just do this in the first place?" The small woman shrugged.

  "We are not allowed to intervene. However, there are some exceptions." She answered, gesturing towards Alexander. I looked over to Alexander, who was literally glaring daggers at me.

  "Remember what you said about that torrent Maria?" I asked. She gulped and nodded.

  "I think it's here." I said, holding my face from the pain of speaking.

  "Well I'm glad I could save the day for once… I think it's time I'd be getting home." Maria said, as she began to make her exit.

  "Don't Move!" Alexander yelled, pointing his finger at her.

  "Mina, Caleb, escort Maria home." He said sternly.

  "Don't hurt her!" I yelled as I ran limped over to protect her. Alexander caught me before I could make the first step.

  "You young lady, are in serious trouble." He warned calmly.

  "I had too. They were going to hurt my friends." I defended.

  "So you put your safety aside to save a common human?" I asked. I could feel the anger radiating off his face.

  "She's selfless. A very rare trait in a human. I hope you let her live." The small woman intervened.

  "Your services are no longer needed witch." Alexander informed. The small woman took a step back and Tamera moved to step in front of her.

  "As you wish. Come on Tamera. Let's get you fed." She murmured, and climbed onto Tamera's back. A low growl escaped Tamera's lips before she leapt up into the trees, disappearing into the night.

  "What the hell?" I said, as I watched them fade into the forest. I turned to meet Alexander's gaze. He quickly extended his hand out to my face, and blew out a cloud of white smoke. I couldn't help but inhale the heavy fumes that irritated my nose. I coughed and sneezed for a brief moment; then suddenly, my eyelids felt heavy and I began to swiftly began to lose control of my body. I remember falling into his cool arms before the darkness fell over me.

  I'm not sure how long I was out of it, it could have been hours, days… As my eyes fluttered open to the bright lights of my bedroom, I noticed a familiar face standing over me. Randy placed a cool hand over my forehead, checking my temperature.

  "You finally woke up. You were worrying your mother." He said. I pulled myself into a sitting position and Randy sat down beside me. He looked away from me, holding his head down in shame.

  "I suppose you want to know why I pulled you and your mother to a place like this." He said, staring at his hands. I put my hand to my face, shocked to feel nothing. I looked to my ankle to find that it had completely healed. I gave him the most bewildered expression I could fathom.

  "I hold the gift of healing. Why do you think I'm the personal physician of the King?" He asked.

  "Why did you bring us here? What do you plan to do with my mother?" I asked nervously.

  "I didn't have a choice Leigha. We don't get to choose who we love. Once I saw your mother, I knew I was going to be tied to her for all eternity." He responded, still staring down at his hands.

  * * * * *

  Lifemates

  I couldn't understand what he was saying to me.

  "What do you mean you didn't have a choice?" I asked dubiously. He looked up at me and gestured towards the thick book beside me. I reached over, pulled the Chronicles into my lap, and gasped.

  "My mother is your lifemate." I murmured. My mother held a connection to a mythical creature. I rolled my eyes. Just what were the odds on that?

  "And she knows the truth about you?" I asked. He nodded. I frowned at that.

  "Why didn't you both just tell me?" I asked curiously.

  "Leigha, would you have believed us? Would you have come with us?" He asked. Well he had a point there. Had I known the truth about this place I wouldn't have come. But would I have really let my mother leave me behind? No, I wouldn't have allowed that.

  "Are you going to change my mother?" I asked, trying to hide the lump in my throat. Randy looked up at me with pleading eyes.

  "I cannot be without her Leigha…" I didn’t let him finish. I placed my hand over his cool shoulder as I spoke.

  "It's okay Randy. I know." I said, looking down at the Chronicles. His confession was truthful. If I understood anything in the Chronicles, it was the theory behind a male vampire and his lifemate. Randy's total existence would cease if my mother were no longer in it. She held half his soul; therefore, my mother would not be able to exist without him. I sighed, knowing I had no choice in this matter.

  "Where's my mom?" I asked. Randy's smile widened as he looked up at me.

  "She's afraid to face you. She thinks you're going to be furious with her." Randy explained. He looked at me warily and I could tell he didn't enjoy seeing his lifemate in pain.

  "I'd better go downstairs and speak with her." I said, kicking the covers off my body and climbing off the bed.

  "Be gentle with her Leigha… Please?" Randy begged.

  My mother waited nervously in the kitchen for me. I couldn't hide the anger I felt towards her, that was just inevitable. How could she be so sneaky and conniving? As I entered the kitchen, my mother quickly turned away from me, holding her head down in shame.

  "Do you want some breakfast?" She offered, heading towards the fridge.

  "Mom, please stop being sad. I'm not angry with you." Well, that was a lie. Hopefully she didn't see through it though. She looked up at me, scanning my face for any signs of sincerity.

  "I mean, the only thing that upsets me is that you didn't come out and tell me what was going on.” She sighed, closing the fridge and walking over to the bar.

  "I'm not that hungry. I'll just have some fruit this morning." I said, grabbing a ripe apple from the fruit basket. My mother snatched the apple from me and proceeded to clean it. She walked over to the sink and quickly turned on the faucet.

  "Mom, are you sure this is something you really want? I'm sorry; I'm just having difficulty registering all of this." I said, placing my fingers on my temples. My mother quickly cleaned the apple and pulled out a plate and knife. She sat it in front of me as she began to slice the fruit for me.

  "Leigha honey, I've wanted Randy the moment I first saw him." She arranged the apple slices perfectly on the plate. She walked over to the cupboards and grabbed a jar or peanut butter. She was so obsessive compulsive. As she scooped a few spoon full
’s of peanut butter onto the saucer, her face held so much serenity as she spoke. It was astonishing.

  "I don't know how I can explain it, but it was like he held some sort of power over me. The way he stared at me, it captivated me.” She passed the perfect breakfast appetizer towards me. I quickly grabbed an apple slice and dipped it into the peanut butter. To be honest, I was famished. My mother knew me all too well.

  "The way he just stares at me, it's the most beautiful feeling I've ever felt. I wish I could gather the words." She murmured as she watched me eat.

  However, I knew exactly what she was feeling. I was too well versed in the Chronicles not to understand that she was feeling the love of her true soul mate. How many times had I wished to witness such a beautiful love? Now that it was in front of me, I began to realize that it was more difficult for me to handle than I thought it was.

  "Please don't hate me Leigha. I know I am horrible for dragging you here, but you had to understand why I pulled you here." She begged. She looked up at me with the most pleading eyes.

  "Mom stop! I'm not angry with you. You have to believe me when I say that."

  "I do baby, I do. I'm just so afraid that you'll hate me." She ranted, her eyes glistening with tears.

  "Mom?" I cried. I quickly hopped off my bar stool and hurried over to her. She pulled me tightly into her arms and finally let the tears fall down her face.

  "It's okay Mom, it's okay." I murmured.

  "I love you so much baby." She cried into my shoulder.

  "I love you too Mom." I replied sincerely. I had to do something to break all this tension or she was going to make me cry.

  "I just have one request before I give you my blessing to become one of the undead." I murmured into her shoulder. She pulled back warily, drying her damp face, waiting to hear my request.

  "Just don't expect me to join you." I joked, pointing my finger at her sternly. She broke out into a loud laugh; causing my face to turn five shades of red.