Most of you know I have been involved in a work in progress with Benjamin Russell, Here is a contribution/Snippet for you, in rebuttal to his post about Bryce being captured by the Saucy Vampire Wenches.
Pepper closed her eyes and sought his energy. So far she’d frantically searched down dark alleyways and in abandoned buildings for hours following her inner compass, but she hadn’t found him yet. Every time she’d get close, he’d bank his aura and she’d lose him. Again.
Inside her mind she saw him, and knew they were hurting him — exploiting him. Her body swirled with an icy chill as the bite of silver cut into her wrists and ankles, their link lay open for the moment and she absorbed his pain. Her heart stuttered with realization that he was bound and at their mercy. It forced her to walk faster, open her mind further, and tread the cold river of her head with purpose.
She trembled as she walked on the balls of her feet, the hard cement a reminder of her failure to him and from the force of his trauma and inner conflict.
God she hated Aline. Hated what she stood for, and the power she exuded. Pepper had a strong sense of people, and she trusted her intuition. Aline was evil. Pure evil. A selfish, self-centered, power hungry, remorseless killer, and she would always be that way. She didn’t understand the draw or allure of such a creature for a strong man like Bryce.
Maybe because she was a woman.
Aline couldn’t have Bryce. Whether Bryce wanted Pepper or not was moot, she wasn’t giving up on him. She’d never give up. She’d traveled half-way across the country to love him, and she would not be denied. He’d have to tell her to her face to get lost, that he didn’t want her in his life, and that she had to go. Until then, she’d face down every fucking demon, vampire, and shifter to find him.
At this moment though, with the stink of the city all around her, and loss threatening her stability, she wanted to cry, and Pepper didn’t do crying. She refused to give power over her emotions to anyone, but somehow Bryce wormed under her skin and forced her to look deeper into herself. He’d saved her, and now she wanted to save him. Was that so wrong?
Fuck the Oracle and her prediction. Fuck Aline and her vampire flunkies. Fuck em all. She wiped her eyes as she walked, not noticing the sadness leaking from her soul.
When she’d watched him stare up at her on the roof before turning his back and walking away, she broke, realizing he’d left her behind. And now here he was, closing the door for her to find him. Did he want them to hurt him? Did he really want her gone?








