[Austin]Once everything was moved over, we stayed until Rhett returned with dinner for him and Dolly. I would have asked for a ride to the pack lands with him, but I needed to go get my car. I helped Carmen out to the truck where Rock was waiting for us.He loaded her into the truck and I got into the back of the cab. They were quiet as we pulled out onto the main road. I saw the woods fill in with darkness and the dirt trail we’d driven down become instantly overgrown and ancient looking. Rhett was serious about privacy.Carmen reached over and put one hand on Rock’s arm while he drove. He relaxed under her touch. It was so familiar because of how long I’d lived with them. The need to touch your mate was always strong. It felt good.I leaned my head against the window and watched the landscape pass until it became more and more urban. My life had changed so much in the last year. It was all thanks to Rock and Carmen. She saved me and they both helped me heal.They told me I didn’t owe them anything, but I felt like I did. At least I still had our whole lives to make it up to them. I’d help support them in whatever way they needed.“We’re going to stop by the store. I forgot to pull something out for dinner tonight,” Rock said.“I’ll text Gemma and see if there’s anything she wants me to pick up,” I replied, pulling out my phone.I sent the message to my mate, and she answered pretty quickly. She wanted chocolate ice cream. She always wanted something sweet when she had a hard day. It must have been a tough one. I started mentally making a list of other things I could get to add to her ice cream.We pulled into the parking lot for the store. Rock put his glamour on before he got out of the truck. I got out as he reached the passenger side door and helped Carmen out.They grabbed a cart, and I got a handbasket. We would split up and meet back at the truck. I collected all the things that would make my mate happy and a few things we could enjoy together.After paying and leaving the store, I stopped when I saw Carmen and Rock there, talking to a couple I didn’t know. An older man with a mustache and a curvy woman with dark hair. All of them were talking like old friends.I didn’t want to interrupt them, but I also didn’t want the ice cream to melt before I could get it back to Gemma. Taking a calming breath, I went over to the two couples. They turned to me as I approached.“Austin, these are our friends, Dennis and Sybil Lyons,” Carmen said.Shifting my bags into my other arm, I stuck out my hand and Dennis accepted it. I caught the scent of vampire. In the past, this situation might have scared me, but this town was strange. The alliances made between the species meant I didn’t have to be afraid.“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Austin Lewis,” I told Dennis as I shook his hand.“A pleasure,” he replied.When he let me go, I held out my hand to his wife, and she accepted it with a big smile. She shook my hand as well, squeezing a little hard. I was sure she wasn’t trying to intimidate me with her strength. It seemed like she was just excited. She seemed like a friendly person.“I didn’t mean to take too long,” I said to Carmen and Rock.“It’s okay. We had something to occupy us. Carmen hasn’t seen Dennis and Sybil since their wedding and I haven’t seen them since we finished the work on his club. It’s always good to reconnect with friends,” Rock told me.Dennis smiled for the first time since I approached. Maybe he didn’t realize they considered him a friend. I could imagine a vampire wouldn’t have a lot of friends who weren’t also vampires.I loaded my groceries into the truck while they said their goodbyes. Before I could go around to the other side to get into the truck, something hit me from behind and I heard a scream. Something was on my back and I was struggling to get it off while it gripped my hair and tried to bite me.There was an impact, and it screeched. It wasn’t getting off of me, though. I tried to push up but was at an awkward angle. Instead, I used the leverage I could get with one arm to roll myself, which knocked the thing off of me.As soon as I was free, I scrambled to my feet and spun around to face my attacker. It was a gross, twisted creature, and it was snarling and hissing at me with bared teeth. It had a single undestroyed eye that rolled in its head.Pushing down my fear, I got ready to defend myself. If that thing got me down again, I might not get back up. I had to fight hard and go home to Gemma. She was waiting for me.A quick glance around showed me about three of those creatures had attacked. I didn’t know if they had a direct target, but the vampires were tearing one apart while Rock tossed his to the ground and stomped on it like it was a bug. It looked like the impact was from a piece of one of the other creatures hitting the one on me after being discarded by the vampires.I couldn’t focus on them for too long, because the creature attacked me again. Even though I wasn’t as strong as other werewolves, Rock had taught me how to defend myself against a stronger attacker. He told me he needed to learn it since he wasn’t as strong as other trolls and it would be useful to me.The thing lunged for me. I dodged the creature’s attack and aimed to kick it in the ribs, but it was too fast for me. It lunged at me again. This time, I was quicker and grabbed its head in my hands. I twisted it, and there was a loud crack as its neck snapped.Its body didn’t fall to the ground, though. Instead, its head fell at an odd angle as it readied itself to attack again. The reality of what I was fighting sunk in. This thing wasn’t really alive. It was like a vampire, but I didn’t think a vampire could walk around with a broken neck, let alone attack with one.This was something new. I had never encountered anything like this before. The creature hissed at me, its broken neck barely slowing it down. I needed to finish it, but I didn’t know how. I took a step back, my heart racing.As I prepared for the thing to attack again, Rock grabbed the creature by the head. His hand easily palmed its head. It shrieked and flailed. Rock threw it onto the ground and started stomping it. There was a sickening crack and a squelching sound as he stomped until it stopped moving.The smell was putrid. I bent over and retched. It was like bile, rot, and something else that I couldn’t place but hoped never to smell again. Carmen came to me and started rubbing my back.“Are you okay, Austin?” she asked.“What... the... hell... happened?” I asked between heaves.“Those things appeared out of nowhere and attacked. Two went after Carmen and one went after you. You doing okay? Did you get hurt?” Rock asked.“Just sick. The smell is horrible,” I replied.“I’ll call Master Nightshade. We can report back on what happened if you need to leave. I’m sure you will be contacted by your respective leaders if they have further questions,” Dennis said as he and Sybil piled pieces of the creature they had pulled apart near the squished bodies of the other two.Rock picked Carmen up and carried her to the other side of the truck. I watched around us carefully as I followed them. If there were more of those things, I wanted to see them coming.We loaded up into the truck and locked the doors while Rock made his way back to the driver’s side. He unlocked the door and climbed in. We didn’t roll down the windows, even though the smell of those creatures was heavy in the truck's cab. The chance of more finding us and trying to get at us was forefront in everyone’s mind.“What do you think they wanted?” Carmen asked.“They didn’t bite you,” Rock said.“The one on me tried to bite,” I told him.“I don’t know. I don’t know what those things are. I don’t know why they went after you and Carmen. Maybe because you’re more alive than the vampires and weaker than me. But then it doesn’t make sense for them to send two after her when you’re larger. And why even attack right there? There were people everywhere, and you two weren’t even the most appealing targets. There was a couple making out behind their car toward the back of the parking lot,” Rock replied.His voice echoed his anger at the situation. I was still too shocked to be angry. That had to be the thing that killed Willow. It tried to bite me like a vampire would, but there was nothing intelligent in it.We drove in silence for a few minutes, the weight of what had just happened settling heavily in the surrounding air. I tried to focus on my breathing to calm the pounding in my chest and the sick feeling in my stomach.My mind kept coming back to the creature’s broken neck and the way it still kept coming at me. It wasn’t alive, but it wasn’t dead either. It was something in between, something that didn’t belong in this world.When we stopped and didn’t move again for a while, I was pulled out of my mental fog and realized we were at the office. I gathered up my bags from the seat next to me. I’d totally forgotten that I needed to go pick up the car.“Uh... thanks for the ride. I’ll see you tomorrow?”“Go home, take a shower, and hold your mate. You look shaken. Gemma will help with that,” Rock told me. “If you need to take tomorrow off, just call the office.”“Is Carmen taking tomorrow off?” I asked.“No. Whatever those things were, they’re going to be dealt with by our Alpha and his allies. I know Rock would prefer if I stayed home, but we missed three days of work now. There’s a lot to do,” Carmen answered.“Then I’ll be at work,” I replied, getting out of the truck.After closing the door, I went to my car and unlocked it, putting my groceries into the passenger seat. I locked the doors and fished out my keys.As I started the car and drove away, my mind couldn’t focus on anything other than what happened. The image of Rock stomping on that creature and the accompanying sounds kept replaying in my mind, over and over again. I knew that what we saw was beyond anything we understood.I mindlessly drove to the pack lands. When I parked in my spot at the apartment complex, I shook out of it. That scared me almost as much as the attack. I didn’t even remember much past turning on my car.Quickly, I gathered up the groceries and headed for the apartment. I wanted to get home and see Gemma. My mate had always made me feel better. I was safe with her.Once I got in, I was pulled into a hug. A sense of calm flowed through me. My mate’s arms wrapped around me and she rubbed her cheek against mine.“Are you okay?” Gemma asked.I shook my head, burying my face in her neck. “No. I... I don’t know what happened. These... things attacked us. They were like vampires, but not. And they smelled terrible. I’m still shaken up.”She held me tighter, kissing my cheek. “It’s okay. You’re safe now. Let’s get you cleaned up and we can talk about it.”Gemma took the bags from me and put them on the table before pulling me toward the bathroom.“What about the ice cream?” I asked.“Fuсk the ice cream, Austin. Let me take care of you. I appreciate you getting it for me, but if I had known you’d get hurt, I wouldn’t have asked. You are more important to me than ice cream will ever be.”In the bathroom, she started the shower and ordered me to take off my clothes. I did as I was told, slowly stripping off the dirty clothes and leaving them in a heap on the floor. Gemma undressed too and stepped into the shower with me. The hot water cascaded down on us, and Gemma’s hands moved over my body, soothing and calming me.As she washed my hair, I closed my eyes and let myself fully relax for the first time since the attack. The smell of her shampoo mixed with the steam from the shower, and her fingers worked magic on my scalp.“Gemma,” I murmured, feeling my body respond to her touch.“Yes, love?” she replied, her voice soft and caring.“I thought that thing was going to kill me....”Her hands stilled on my scalp, and she pulled back to look at me. “But it didn’t. You’re here with me now, safe and sound. We’ll talk to the Alpha tomorrow. He’ll know what’s going on. Don’t worry.”I nodded. She was right. Worrying about it wouldn’t solve anything.Gemma continued washing me until there wasn’t a single part of me that soap hadn’t touched. I was in heaven. My mate took away every single fear I had.If she were an omega too, we would have worried and feared together. We would have found solace in a person who shared our anxiety. Since she wasn’t, her strength and confidence could comfort me. I was glad that I had Gemma. She was everything I could have ever hoped for, and more.