Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 226: This Time

Chapter 226: This Time

I jack-knifed on the bed, my eyes going to the spot in front of me that had the bloody words in my dream, but there was nothing. I swallowed back the scream that was threatening to emerge, refusing to give the dream even more power over me in my awakened state.

This was the second time I had woken up to the warning that Père and his sons were coming for me, but this was the first time they had spoken to me in my dream... the first time they touched me in my dream.

Moving faster than I thought possible, I leaned over the side of the bed and started throwing up, unable to stop.

The house, clearly feeling my terror, was doing everything it could to make me feel safe. All the lights were on and there wasn’t so much as a single shadow anywhere, but it still wasn’t enough.

"Get me the guys," I gasped as my throat threatened to close even as more vomit was pushed up. My entire body heaved, curving in on itself as it tried to purge me of the nightmare.

Within seconds, all nine of the men were in my room and the doors and windows in my room disappeared completely. "Need bathroom," I gasped around my sore throat.

The bathroom appeared where it had been before, but even there, all the lights were on, and there was no door. Everything could easily be seen, the house’s way of showing that there was no enemy lurking in the darkness, ready to drag me under.

"Pet," gasped Désiré as he rushed over. Completely disregarding the puke that was disappearing into the floors with every second that passed, Désiré reached up to stroke my cheek.

However, the feeling of my dream was too real, and I couldn’t stand it. "NO!" I gasped, even as I flung my head over the side of the bed to puke more. My body, completely overwhelmed, started to shake as I hung limply, unable to move a muscle.

"Beau!" shouted Dante, but it wasn’t necessary. Beau had already shoved Désiré to the side and dropped to his knees, not caring about the wetness that was being absorbed into his pants.

"Ma Faim," he said, his voice calm and clear as he studied my face. "I am going to touch you. Do you know who I am?" With every word that he spoke, I could feel myself being drawn into him, however...

"I need the demons," I gasped, even as I forced my head to rise as I looked at Tank and Chang Xuefeng. "I can’t deal with humans right now."

A part of me understood that Père and the others had hinted that they were demons, too, but it wasn’t a demon face haunting my dreams; it was a human one.

Tank was the first one to respond, dropping to all fours without a second thought. His back arched as black fur sprouted all over him. There was a flash of flames, and in his place was a beautiful dog that had the physical traits of a Doberman, but with the coloring of a Rottweiler.

The beast’s eyes were bright orange with what looked like flames for pupils. Every step he took forward, his feet burned into the floor under him. He was absolutely massive in this form; the top of his back probably would have been level with my breasts if I stood beside him, but as scary as he was...

I felt safe.

Without a second thought, he jumped on the bed beside me and nudged his nose until I was lying partway on top of him. His warm nose was brushing against my neck, but besides a soft whine, he didn’t move again.

"Whatever my woman wants," chuckled Chang Xuefeng as he rolled his shoulders. I would have to admit that I was the most worried about him since, even as the Angel of Death, he would look human.

But instead, he wore a dark robe with a hood so large it completely obstructed my view of his face. His white wings were spread out, creating a gentle breeze even as a seven-foot-tall scythe appeared in his skeleton-like hands.

"I am your gatekeeper, " he said, his voice so deep and harsh that it caused the entire room to shudder. "Anyone who wants to get to you will meet the Reaper, and I will take their soul kicking and screaming into the Netherworld. Believe me when I say that I will protect you from anything and everything until the end of time."

With those words, he walked over to the wall where the door once was and stood in front of it like a silent sentry.

Swallowing proved to be painful, but I felt like I could finally breathe for the first time in a while.

Looking at where Beau was crouched in front of me, I waited for him to shift. "I don’t know if seven demons can fit in this room," he chuckled as he reached for my face. However, even though I knew in my head that it was safe... that he was safe... I couldn’t...

Tank let out a low growl from under me, his eyes never leaving Beau’s face. I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that Tank would rip out Beau’s throat if he made another move toward me.

"The room will be big enough," I coughed. If I wanted an entire army of demons in my room keeping Père away from me, then the house would damn well accommodate that, too.

There was a rustle just to my side, and I saw Pride looking down at me. "I’m on my knees, Princess," he whispered. Curling his talon into his finger, he used his knuckle to brush a tear from my face.

Instead of flinching away from him, I leaned even deeper into his touch. Where the Shit Stains’ hands were soft and smooth against my skin, Pride’s was rough and dry. It wasn’t so much that it damaged my skin, but enough for my mind to focus on the differences.

"You were in my dream," I whispered, my eyes looking deep into Pride’s black ones. "Or... Dante was in my dream, touching me."

My eyes widened in fear as I lifted my shirt.

I expected to see smooth skin since it was just a dream, but instead of the pale scars against my flesh, I saw line upon line of bleeding cuts from where Shit Stain #2 had dug into my flesh.

This time, when I screamed, no one was able to shut me up.