Читать книгу Rebirth - Dmitry Nazarov - Страница 21

– Shh, baby, your crying is making my head explode! – Ri’er’s commanding growl brought me to my senses, and I froze and realized that I was really screaming at the top of my lungs and fighting desperately not against the monster’s huge grip on my chest, but against the seatbelt that held me securely in place and prevented me from tearing and smashing my face against the front panel of his car.

– What was that? – I could barely make myself out because of the dryness in my mouth.

– Poups, what’s the matter with you? – Ri’er snorted. – We took out Murat, who bit you, and you can consider the biggest threat of all passed.

«We,» he said, not «I.» And then?

– And then? What was that afterwards?

– What do you mean, then? – Alpha looked at me blankly, but the squint of his eyes made me bite my tongue for some reason.

– Nothing,» I muttered grudgingly.

Still dazed, I held my hands up to my face to see that they weren’t burned, and that even the abrasions were closed and dried. Okay, I could have been imagining things, right? In light of recent events in my life, yes! I wondered if this strange, real or imagined outburst was some kind of lethal werewolf shit. Silence is always preferable to talk. Especially when you’re not sure if it really happened. But at least the wet, dirty, blood-soaked clothes, the stockings torn at the knees and the lack of shoes confirmed that the attack by the steroid-fueled beastie, and my suicidal intervention in a mad dogfight had taken place, and were not a figment of my imagination. And the fact that the alpha was spinning the wheel with a completely nonchalant face, but wearing only some loose, light-colored pants, confirmed that I remembered everything else correctly. I looked around for wounds, but nothing. And that’s right: even in the semi-darkness of that damned alleyway, I could see the bleeding, dangling rags of skin, the work of Murato the monster’s jaws.

– Turns heal everything at my age, poops,» Ri’er explained without turning his head, though I never asked.

– Will it do that to me, too? – I hissed, forcing my throat to work as if it were clogged with sand.

– Never like that,» the alpha cheered. – But if you live long enough, any wound can heal in a day or two.

I felt a sudden shiver that made my teeth clench. But it wasn’t the cold, and it wasn’t the clinging of my clothes that caused it. It was as if an irritatingly scratchy claw had gone over my skin in all the sensitive places. All the more annoying because it was also piercingly arousing. And also… as if the sensations were not really mine, or not so… not just mine. What the hell?

– And why wouldn’t it be like yours? – I muttered, shaking my head, pushing the strange obsession away. – And how long is «long enough»?

– I’m a Beastborn, baby, and you’re a convert,“ Ri’er answered my first question, and, apparently thinking he’d made it exhaustive, he moved on to my second point: „Fifty years.

– I could use the extra regeneration in retirement,» I snorted, and finally wondered which direction we were going. I couldn’t tell for sure, it looked like the suburbs, but one thing was certain: it wasn’t to my house.

The strange scratching sound repeated itself, as if it were deeper into my skin, and I was shaking again. Plus, a hot fist poked softly but firmly into my lower abdomen, forcing me to clench my teeth and clench my hips. And the damn smell… I reeked of the garbage I’d been lying beside, of other people’s blood, of wet dog, of whatever else was disgusting, but that didn’t stop Riera’s own scent from seeping through it, from overriding it, becoming almost all that my mind could think of to concentrate on. What’s the big deal?

– Don’t worry, you won’t look like a grandmother by then, you’ll only gain your full strength. If you live long enough.

– What’s that, your catchphrase of the week? – I raised my voice, feeling the boiling over of my inability to control what was happening to my body and mind. It made me want to watch fucking Murat die… five hundred times more! And participate, too. And kill Ri’er a few more times. – Where’s the body? No one could see us, could they? And where are we going anyway?

– I liked you better when you were unconscious! – Ri’er rolled his eyes. – Shut up and stop asking questions!

– Oh, all right. Then answer one. When will I be home, and how soon will you be out of my life and my apartment?

– That’s two questions! – Ri’er snarled. – And when I deem it necessary. Satisfied?

– No!

– Well, whatever! – He took a sharp turn somewhere, and about three minutes later we arrived at the metal-profile gate and the alpha demandingly pressed the horn.

The gate jerked and began to move aside, and a nasty smell seeped into the cabin, overpowering all others.

– What was that horror? – I grimaced, clutching my nose.

– It’s an incinerator,» Ri’er grinned. – You have to clean up after yourself, baby.

What is this endless journey through all sorts and sizes of garbage? Is this a subtle hint from a higher power of what my life has become?

The car rolled into the grounds and reached a large concrete pad, brightly lit on all sides by lanterns. Four huge silhouettes emerged from the darkness beyond and hurried toward us. I recognized one of them as the blond man who’d kidnapped me from the apartment, and my fingertips suddenly itched to leave a distinct bloody mark on his insolent face. As if he could hear my thoughts in the distance, he stared through the windshield directly at me. Of course I remembered Rair’s warning against staring into anyone’s eyes, but even with my teeth clenched, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Suddenly the alpha leaned sideways, almost resting on my lap so that the back of his head was right in my face, blocking my view completely. I opened the glove compartment, rummaged through it, and quickly straightened up. The blond man was already standing half-turned toward the car, staring intently at his feet.

– You’re pissing me off, baby! Stay where you are! – Riher hissed and got out of the car, showering me with a wave of cold and local stench.

He walked around the SUV and opened the trunk without so much as a nod to any of the four of them. Then the whole car jerked, and something bumped heavily.

– Holy shit! – someone said softly. – What the hell was that?

A few more voices expressed the same expression of amazement, and then I saw Ri’er dragging the huge carcass of what had once been Murato the monster across the concrete to the lantern with ease by its hind paw. Hmm… don’t werewolves turn back into humans after death? According to Hollywood thrillers, they do, but I always knew that reality was far more unsightly than books and movies. After dragging the corpse where he obviously wanted it, Riher dropped it and pulled out his phone. The others did the same. Flashes flashed as they filmed the dead body from all sides, and even the mouth opened, capturing the sight of the creepy jaws. I couldn’t hear what was being said in the process, and I wasn’t listening, because there was a new flash of scraping deeper and deeper… I don’t even know what to call it… emotional scratching, or something. It was like it was getting right up to my nerve endings now, and I snorted noisily a few times, holding back the sensations. And I was so mad that I almost screamed, amazed at how I’d gotten to this point. The monsters, the appeals, the emotions that were trying to explode my brain, the fights, the murders, the corpse in the trunk, the factory that was like something out of a ’90s movie, all those criminal faces taking pictures of a dead monster… how could that be? What had become of my usual reality? Where had it gone? Couldn’t anything go back to square one?

Ri’er got back in the car, and drove off without hesitation. I turned away from him-I didn’t want to talk to him, because he, too, had been directly involved in destroying the usual picture of my world. And I hated him for it. And I hated him more and more every minute. And not just for that. I couldn’t get rid of his damn smell, even if I held my breath. It was like he was drilling into my brain and spreading out from there… where it didn’t belong!

We arrived at my house this time, and I didn’t wait for the elevator, so I dashed up the stairs. Ri’er snorted, but he didn’t comment on my sudden desire to stretch, and followed me up the stairs. I almost growled in frustration. It felt like fucking stalking, and it made me want to run even faster. Or to turn and lunge at him, forcing him to retreat so I could chase after him myself. The vision of following Rair’s broad back, looming ahead, jumping at the last moment, knocking him off his feet, of us rolling on the ground, clutching at each other and fighting to get on top, was so vivid that it made me want to kick the bastard door open, where I was frantically poking the keyhole. Was it really that fucking necessary to stand right behind me and sniff the back of my head? Every breath was an effort, my skin was burning and itching, and when I got into the apartment, I began to tear off my clothes on the way to the bathroom. I flew into the shower stall in my underwear and slammed the door so hard that it miraculously survived. She turned the cold water tap and pressed her forehead against the tiles, squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her teeth until they crunched so she didn’t scream and wriggle against the jets that ran down her body. The water wasn’t cold enough, not cold enough at all, certainly not to ignore that Ri’er hadn’t thought to stop and followed me into the bathroom, bringing his torturing scent with him. Without turning around, I rubbed myself, washing away the dirt and blood, and knew for sure that he was standing against the wall, staring at me through the frosted glass and smelling, smelling, smelling, turning my head upside down for good. And he doesn’t say a word! Is it not possible, as always, to say all kinds of hurtful and hurtful nonsense that will remind me of what an asshole he really is, and my emotions will finally outweigh my anger, and not…

– Oh, for fuck’s sake! – I turned around and thundered out the door, scraping against the slippery tiles with a creak. I was shaking, but not from the icy water, but from the desire to claw and grind at his flesh, to demand what I was desperately in need of. I needed to get the burning fire out… No, I’d explode if I didn’t do something about it immediately! It wasn’t my fault if he didn’t hide!

Ri’er was standing at the sink, arms across his bare chest, waiting. I could tell he was aware of what was going on with me. And not just aware. I glanced down at him, and realized that the damn alpha was absolutely fine with the possible developments. I took a couple of steps to bridge the distance between us and pushed him in the chest, pushing his shoulder blades into the wall and looking directly into the brazen eyes, burning with sparks of frank anticipation. He knows, he knows all too well, and he’s sure that stopping was just not an option for me right now. That’s okay, I’ll find a way to give him back what I’m experiencing, someday. Of course Ri’er couldn’t resist me, but he just raised a mocking eyebrow and smirked.

– Even like this? – he smirked.

I grabbed the waistband of his loose pants and tugged down, getting a chance to see for myself that he was more than ready for what I wanted from him immediately. As if I doubted it.

– Even like this? – I returned both my words and my smirk and circled his flat nipple with my fingernail.

– The little baby doll decided to play grown-up games? Are you sure you can do that? – He still didn’t move, but his cock twitched, clearly welcoming my indecent advances.

– I’d worry about my strength if I were you, you big old wolf! – I snarled defiantly. – I’m not going to be able to play on equal footing, you know!