Thirty Nights Forgotten

Chapter 6: Freefall

Addy’s POV

After a quick wash and a fresh change of clothes, I come out of the bathroom to find Nicholas waiting for me. To this day, it’s still strange for me to see him in human clothes, but I’d be lying if I said the tight, black t-shirt and jeans didn’t look good on him.

Gazing into his deep, burgundy eyes, I can see a hint of amusement as his lips curl into a mischievous smirk.

“I am glad you approve of the outfit. Shall we?”

“Yeah, I’m ready. By the way, I heard about some vampire-themed speakeasy that we should check out.”

His lips curl up into a mischievous grin as I link arms with him.

“I’m intrigued. Lead the way.”

He leans over to plant a kiss on my forehead as we head down the hall to the elevator. Once we exit the hotel, I’m stunned at how the city has transformed after dark. New Orleans comes to life in celebration of Mardi Gras as the streets fill with revelers, and when we turn onto Bourbon Street, jazz music fills my ears as people dance on the balconies of the buildings above.

I see a group of men gathered on the street, staring up at a line of girls my age on one of the balconies. When the girls lift their shirts to flash their breasts, the men begin whooping and hollering as they toss up beaded necklaces to them.

“What delightful debauchery,” Nicholas remarks. “I’ve never seen the humans act so depravedly in such a public forum.”

“They say that flashing your boobs for beads is a Mardi Gras custom,” I explain, “but I think it’s just an excuse for drunk tourists to misbehave.”

“Either way, this wicked atmosphere is quite fun. I’m glad we decided to take in the sights.”

A man rushes out of a nearby bar and begins to puke on the sidewalk, holding tightly to the wall to steady himself. Onlookers quickly back away to avoid his path, but no one seems particularly surprised.

Obviously, this is an everyday occurrence here on Bourbon Street.

Nicholas begins to chuckle beside me as we head further down the row of bars. I don’t need the mate bond to know that he’s enjoying every minute of Bourbon Street, and I’m glad we decided to go out together. It’s not often that we get to go out on a date like this, and it feels good to pretend to be a normal couple enjoying the nightlife together.

When we happen across a kiosk selling souvenirs, Nicholas stops and peruses the stand.

“One beaded necklace please,” he asks the vendor.

I raise my eyebrows at him curiously, but he says nothing as he hands the cashier a dollar. When he’s done, we head out of the shop, and that’s when he wraps his arm around my waist.

“Follow me.”

He heads a little further down the street before suddenly veering to the left into a quiet, abandoned alleyway. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark, but I feel Nicholas push me back against a brick wall.

“What are you doing?” I ask, my giggles echoing off the buildings around us.

“Lift up your shirt.”

His whisper sends a shiver down my spine as he dangles the strand of beads in front of my eyes. The sounds of jazz and revelry feel far away as Nicholas and I find ourselves all alone in our quiet little hiding spot.

“What? Here?”

“Yes,” he whispers, drawing closer to me. “Lift up your shirt, Addy.”

Hearing him say my name sends another delicious shiver through my body. When he takes another step toward me, he closes the gap between us, overwhelming my senses with his commanding presence.

Desire begins pooling between my legs once again, and I find myself unable to resist his game. Reaching for the hem of my shirt, I slowly lift it up over my breasts, bringing my bra up along with it.

“You are perfection personified, my love.”

His voice is husky as his gaze admires my body. He lets out a low growl as his hand reaches out to squeeze my exposed breasts, kneading and massaging me until my n*****s peak for him.

“You deserve so much more than a cheap, plastic necklace.”

Tossing the beads to the ground, he gives me that mischievous smirk of his. Stooping over, he burrows his face against my chest, leaving a trail of kisses along my sternum. His arms wrap around my waist, pulling me closer against him as his mouth moves over to one of my peaked n*****s.

Taking it roughly into his mouth, he sucks my breast as he swirls his tongue over my sensitive area, and I let out a soft sigh at his touch. My fingers snake into his hair, keeping his head firmly in place as he works my breasts.

“Oh…Nicholas…”

My breathing becomes shallow as my panting echoes off the walls of the dark alley. I bite my lip to stifle a moan, unable to resist the way he kisses me with aggressive passion.

However, just as I’m getting all worked up, he suddenly stops.

“Nicholas, what is it?”

“Shhh.”

He places his finger against my lips as his eyes scan deeper into the dark alleyway. I’m not sure what he’s looking or listening for, but I can tell through our bond that something has him on edge.

“Wait right here,” he whispers. “Don’t move.”

As he disappears further into the alley, I hastily bring my bra and shirt back down to cover myself. My eyes are glued onto his back, but when he steps into the shadows, I can no longer track him. Instead, I keep my back flat against the wall as my heart pounds wildly in my chest.

Was someone watching us?

Suddenly, I’m blinded by a bright, teal-colored light. Shielding my eyes, I stumble backward and sink down along the wall.

Blinking hard, I begin to make out a shape, and I realize with a horrible feeling that I’ve seen this exact thing before.

It’s a portal.

I open my mouth to call for Nicholas, but I’m suddenly rendered speechless by my fear as something steps through the doorway of light.

A figure slowly materializes in the shape of a man, but not any sort of human man. I immediately recognize it as a demon, given its sickly pale skin and pointed ears, and when it turns its blood-red gaze onto me, my veins turn to ice.

It lunges at me, and that is the moment I find my voice. A scream erupts from my lungs as it wraps its clawed fingers around my arms, dragging me along the ground back toward the portal. Another creature emerges from the portal and joins in, grabbing my legs as I kick and struggle against my captors.

“NICHOLAS!”

My mate suddenly materializes beside us, and his eyes are glowing with fury. His fangs are bared as he grabs onto one of the demons and breaks its neck from behind, making the creature fall dead at his feet. However, another demon emerges from the portal, followed by another, then another, and soon I realize that we are clearly outnumbered.

However, they are no match for Nicholas, who moves so fast that he materializes in and out of my view, and my eyes aren’t able to keep up with his movements. I feel the tight grip of the demon loosen my arms, and I scramble to my feet.

“RUN!”

Nicholas bellows his command at me as he continues to fend off the demons, sending some of them flying back through the portal, while others lie dead across the ground. I begin running in the opposite direction of the portal, but it sends me further and further down into the dark shadows of the alleyway.

My heart is pounding in my ears as I sprint as fast as I can, barreling forward without really seeing anything. Sweat is dripping down my face as I glance back at Nicholas, but my eyes are filled with tears, obstructing my vision.

That’s the moment I feel myself hit a wall, sending me flying backward onto the ground. Confused, I rub my head as I look up, but I see that the alley still stretches on.

What did I just run into?

An unseen force throws me backward, sending my body flying through the air before I hit the ground once again. Something is forcing me back closer to the fight – or closer to the portal.

Another blast of energy hits me square in the chest, throwing me backward once again. I land on the ground with a thud as a searing pain shoots up my spine. Crying out, I pray for the magic to stop hurling me backward, unsure if I’ll make it again without breaking a bone.

I scramble backward, trying to crawl away from whatever threat is at the end of the alleyway. However, I’m only moving closer to the battle, and when I feel something sharp pierce my leg, I’m blinded with pain.

“Aghhhh!”

Tears are streaming down my face as I try to figure out what’s attacking me. When I see a demon with his fangs sunk into my leg, I let out another scream of terror as I try to kick him off. But he is much stronger than me and refuses to let go.

Suddenly, Nicholas appears behind the demon, ripping him off of my leg with a ferocious battle cry. It hurts like hell, and when I spot a small piece of my flesh in the demon’s mouth, I nearly pass out.

My leg is bleeding profusely, oozing down my leg onto the asphalt. In an admittedly futile attempt, I try to stem the bleeding with my hands, but it’s too painful to touch as I suck in a sharp gasp.

I glance up to see the portal only feet away from me now, but the demons seemed to have stopped spawning. Nicholas is fighting the last of them, and I can only hope he puts this battle to an end soon so we can get out of here.

When I’m hit by another blast of energy, I’m sent hurling backward, but this time I don’t land. Fear grips my heart as I see the portal above me, growing dimmer and dimmer as I freefall down into an enveloping darkness.

“ADDY!”

Nicholas’ cry fills my ears as he lunges after me, reaching out for my hand. Time stands still as my arm stretches forward, reaching for him with every ounce of strength as we both fall further into the dark abyss.

Behind him, I catch a fleeting glimpse of a figure standing in the doorway who looks vaguely familiar, watching us fall with a cold, unfeeling expression.