Strings of Fate

20- Attacks and awkwardness | look to Bellamy and find he is fighting off two other men. The men are all pale and have near black eyes, although | could be mistaken in the dark and under this much pressure. Bellamy lunges at one of the men, attempting to knock him down, but a flash of fangs causes him to stumble back as they graze his arm. Vampires.

We are being attacked by Vampires. Why are we being attacked by Vampires? Vampires don’t care about anything but their next meal! Why would they cafter us? Coincidence that we happen to be out at night? But this area has always been relatively safe, and what Vampire in their right mind would attack a Shifter Alpha? | mean seriously, Vampires? Properly aware of the situation, Bellamy is more careful in his next attack. He freezes however, when the Vampire who is holdingtightens his grip and pushes my head to the side, baring my neck. | can feel the Vampire's breath on my skin, it's cold enough to makeshiver. Bellamy growls at him and glares. The Vampire doesn’t need to say anything, the threat is clear enough. I know | can’t just stand here and wait. Bellamy is clearly at a disadvantage and sadly my own powers are not terribly useful in a fight. | meet Bellamy’s eyes. His expression is one of pure fury, although his face softens a little as he meets my gaze. His golden eyes are practically glowing in the darkness. | can see claws emerging from his hands and fangs sprouting from his mouth. | guess | won't have to ask Megan what he looks like in his feline form after all. I'm about to see it first hand. The Vampires are distracted by the transformation and | take advantage of their inattention. The Vampire holdinghas loosened the hand which is pinning my arms to my sides enough that | can slide one loose. Without stopping o give him a chance to catchagain, | blindly swing my hand backwards in an effort to stab him in the eye. It works better than | could have expected and the Vampire releasesas he clutches his eye, swearing violently.

| do my best to stumble away from him. I'd like to go run and hide, or help Bellamy, or do something even remotely useful. But honestly, my legs are shaking and my knees are about to give way. I've never been involved in any kind of fight before and | am definitely not prepared for this. A steady growl draws my attention back to Bellamy. He is fully transformed now and even | can’t argue that it isn’t impressive. | can’t say for sure with my limited knowledge of Shifters and felines in general. But he looks like the pictures I've seen of black panthers, only bigger. His eyes still glow gold and it takes only half a second for him to turn his attention to the Vampires. If it’s at all possible | would swear they go even more white than they already were. The one | stabbed in the eye swears again.

“This isn’t worth the prize we were promised. Let's just go.” The other Vampires voice their agreement and the three of them run away quickly. | expect Bellamy to chase after them, as angry as he seems. But he waits for them to be out of sight before racing to my side. | am at 1/3 20 Attacks and awkwardhenn the base of the stairs and until this second | hadn't noticed that | have collapsed down onto the bottom step. I'm leaning against the side of the building and shaking. Bellamy stops a few feet away fromand hesitates. He tilts his head to the side as he looksover, searching for any injury | assume. He takes a step closer, and even in this feline form, | can see concern in his eyes. | burst into tears. Em mortified by my own behaviour. | didn’t even get hurt! But 1 can still feel the Vampire's stone cold grip aroundand | can’t shake the fear. At my tears, Bellamy freezes. | lean forwards and hide my face against his fur and wrap the other around him. I'm shivering, and although | wouldn't say the weather is warm, it is not cold enough to warrant such a reaction. | barely notice as he shifts back into himself, too caught up in my own thoughts.

“Ryann?” his voice is wary, | can’t help but cry harder. Bellamy pullsinto a tight hug against him and sits on the step, cradlingcarefully. After a few minutes, | start to pull myself together and embarrassment hitsat the position we are in. | pull away from him. and open my mouth to speak but all that comes out is a squeak as | realise that after shifting back, he is naked. Well | suppose that answers one question about Shifters. Not knowing what else to do, | push him away fromand wrap my arms around myself. My eyes hit the ground and stay there as | attempt to stop my mind from analysing the glimpse of him that | did see.

“I'm going inside.” | manage to whisper.

“Wait just a moment, I'll grab my spare clothes from the car. I'd rather if you can stay here where | can see you.” Bellamy responds, his voice is hard and he sounds unhappy. | nod, keeping my eyes on the floor. | listen to the car door opening and closing, then the rustle of clothing as Bellamy gets dressed. Oh damn, he was naked, and hugging me. This is so awkward. | stand up as | hear him approach. I'm still shaky and stumble slightly. Bellamy reaches forward to steadybut | jerk away at his touch, still too embarrassed to look at him. I turn and climb the stairs and he follows close behind me.

Once we're inside, | flick the lights on and collapse into a chair at my little table. Bellamy closes and locks the door behind us then stands awkwardly by the threshold. The silence lasts for a full minute before he speaks.

“I will call someone to cand guard your door. I'll leave as soon as they arrive. Just put up withbeing here for a few more minutes, okay?” | can’t think of another way to describe his tone other than dejected. It takes a second for his words to register in my brain properly.

Leave? No, please don’t leave me.” | blurt out without thinking. | immediately blush red at my own words. | look up at him to see his reaction. A strange mix of emotions crosses his face. First surprise, then confusion. I'm not really sure what there is to be confused about. He did keepsafe after all, just like he promised. Bellamy steps closer to better look at my expression and | can’t help but duck my gaze, feeling awkward. He sighs.

“Ryann, when | offered to protect you, that means from everything that frightens you. Myself included.” He says sadly. My eyes shoot up and | stand to face him better.

You? Why would | be scared of you?” | demand. Bellamy seems at a loss for words.

“I... it’s just... You won't look at me. And you flinched when | tried to help. | just assumed...” he trails off. He assumed what? That | would be scared now that I've seen him as a giant cat? “Bellamy, don’t be stupid.” | say bluntly. He stares atand | continue.

“We were just attacked by a group of Vampires, did you even consider that they might be the reason I'm freaked out?” “But... you're clearly avoiding me, you won't even look at me!” Bellamy reminds me. | roll my eyes.