 Hi everyone! Welcome to Tuesday Tales! We are back with Ezekiel Hallow in Featherweight (Hallow Brothers 6). This week is a word prompt. **Warning - There is adult situations and adult language.** Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Tuesday Tales! Click here to take a look!  Dakota stepped carefully through the wrought iron gate molded into the shape of crosses. It felt like she was boarding a rickety old boat the way she put one foot in front of another. Maybe it was because she was certain she was about to burst into flame.
She glanced over her shoulder, her gaze watching down the street as she let the inner shadows of the old cathedral envelope her. Ezekiel disappeared into one of the shops. It was for the best. If she thought God was going to strike her down, a vampire hunter, what would happen to him? That is, if he wasn’t lying to her about what he was. She faced a vampire before. Why wouldn’t there be werewolves around? She shook her head to clear her thoughts and continued inside. It was lit only by the thousands of flickering candles lining the walls and altar. Was their power out? Didn’t they pay their electric bill? Her heart kept to her throat at the sight of the glimmering “exit” sign. Maybe it was time to take her leave before something bad happened. But not before she had a talk with the man upstairs. She had been pretty devoted about going to church every Sunday. That was, until Danny died. She wandered along the faded red carpet between the pews until she reached the rail that spanned the front of the church. She stared and the ornate marble altar that nearly reached the ceiling. The candlelight flickered in the inlaid gold. Dakota fell to her knees before it. Her thoughts swirled in her head until they settled on one solitary thought. Ezekiel. “Protect him,” she murmured in prayer. “Whatever is coming, whatever we have to face, please keep him safe.”
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 Hi everyone! Welcome to Tuesday Tales! We are back with Ezekiel Hallow in Featherweight (Hallow Brothers 6). This week’s word prompt is “round”. **Warning - There is adult situations and adult language.** Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Tuesday Tales! Click here to take a look!  “So, this werewolf thing,” she began.
“Yes?” he countered. “When do you change? Do you change?” “I do for a week during the full moon. So we don’t have a lot of time to get this figured out. I have less than a week or we’re going to need to round me up a lot of trees to hide in. Or I fight the change. It’s not ideal and I’ll be sick as a dog but it is an option. Oh, and you will want to get as far away from me as possible.” A surprised laugh escaped her lips. “Why? Are you going to eat me?” “Probably. And fuck you until you can’t move until your pregnant. My brothers and I are only fertile during the full moon.” Her eyes widened. “Oh. Even more incentive to get this done so we can go our separate ways.” “Precisely. But good luck with that separate ways crap.” Dakota shivered at the thought. Even if they weren’t under the bond of some mystical force, or whatever bullshit Ezekiel claimed, she wasn’t sure she could walk away from this man. His arm wrapped tight around her. She instinctively skimmed her hand across his belly. “Are you cold?” he asked softly. “A little,” she lied. “This is better, thank you.” “Anytime. Even though your touch is making it difficult to drive. I can’t get enough of you.” “Likewise.” She paused. “What are we going to do when we get to Memphis?” Ezekiel bit his lower lip. It made her want to kiss him. “It’ll be dark when we get there. We should find a place to stay and rest. Then we can start looking for Black in the morning.” Dakota smirked at him. “You want to look for a vampire during the day? Wow, you are bad at this.” Ezekiel rolled his eyes. “There should be obvious signs like death counts. They aren’t going to stop feeding. Besides, you’re the expert. Why are you asking me what we should do? I’m the trusty sidekick here.” She gazed at him for a moment then struggled to recover. He was right. He was just some Minnesota backwoods boy looking for a book. What made her hand the wheel over to him? She forced a seductive smile on her face. “I value your input.” “Among other things. Like what resides in my jeans.” “Can’t argue with that logic.”  Hi everyone! Welcome to Tuesday Tales! We are back with Ezekiel Hallow in Featherweight (Hallow Brothers 6). This week’s word prompt is “year”. **Warning - There is adult situations and adult language.** Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Tuesday Tales! Click here to take a look!  She shrugged as tears burned her eyes. “You’re pretty observant.”
“Well, I’m pretty. I’m not so sure about being observant though.” Dakota chuckled through her tears. Leave it to Ezekiel to crack a joke. There was a moment of awkward silence before he spoke again. “Come here, Dakota.” She turned to find his arms open to her. She scuttled across the floor until they were wrapped right around her. “You’re the first person I ever brought here since Danny died. It’s been a couple of years,” she said, her words muffled against the fabric of his damp shirt. “I’m honored you shared this with me.” She snuggled a little closer to him. She was sure how long they stood there holding each other. She wasn’t ready for it to end when he pulled away from her. “We should hit the road, baby,” he encouraged. She nodded as she wiped a couple stray tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. He threaded his fingers between hers then squeezed her hand with his. Together they locked the door leading to the garage. She watched Ezekiel grab the rusty garage door and yanked it back down into place. Dakota took the combination lock dangling from the hook it was kept on and squatted down. After some pulling and tugging, she lined it up enough to slip the lock into place. She spun the tumbler then stood upright. They climbed into the cab of the truck without a word. Dakota stared at her house as Ezekiel threw the vehicle into reverse and backed out of the driveway. As they reached the street, she turned to watch him drive. Something stirred inside her, an emotion she had never felt before. It was stronger than what she had for Danny. Was it this crazy mating bond Zeke claimed they had? She had no idea. She was certain that if he died too, so would she. She couldn’t live without him. * * * * The truck was quiet as Nashville faded away in the rear view mirror. Dakota watched the cars as Ezekiel passed by them. He had sort of a lead foot. His voice disrupted her thoughts. “You know, you can sit next to me. I don’t bite. I might nibble but trust me, you’ll like it.” Hi everyone! Welcome to Tuesday Tales! We are back with Ezekiel Hallow in Featherweight (Hallow Brothers 6). This week’s word prompt is “gift”. **Warning - There is adult situations and adult language.** Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Tuesday Tales! Click here to take a look! Then again, he wasn’t. Seeing a beast like him doing something so domesticated stirred something inside her. It made her want to strip naked to reward him for a job well done. It made her want more from him, his heart, a home, children.
She glanced around the empty house then to the bleach spot on the floor. A whimper escaped her throat. She wanted those before and bad things happened. It was selfish for her to want them again. She tried to busy herself with things. It was hard in a house with nothing in it other than the matching black and white ceramic cat salt and pepper shakers that sat in the windowsill over the sink. They had been a wedding gift from her mother-in-law. They only stayed because Dakota filled them both with garlic powder. They were helpful to protect the house not that it needed it anymore. The buzz outside droned on for a little over a half hour moving around the perimeter of the property before it died off. A few moments later the garage door opened. Ezekiel stepped inside, his skin glistening with a sheen of sweat. His shirt hung out of the back pocket of his jeans. Dakota could have sworn her brain short circuited at the sight. He smiled at her. “One last thing to worry about.” She swallowed hard to find her voice. “Yeah, thanks.” He stared at her for a long quiet moment before he looked around the blank walls. “What was his name?” Dakota frowned at him. “Who?” “Your husband.” Her heart sunk in her chest. She didn’t realize just how fresh to wound still was after all these years. “Daniel. I called him Danny.” He tugged his shirt out of his pocket and slipped it on. He wandered around, studying the empty rooms. “How’d you meet?” “We were best friends in high school. He asked me to marry him our second year of college. I’m not sure how in love I was with him but then again I didn’t really know what love was. I said yes.” “You weren’t in love with him?” “I loved him. He was my friend. Zeke?” “Yeah?” “I don’t really want to talk about it right now.” He looked at her then nodded. “Of course.” “What even made you bring that up?” “Empty house. You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Bleach stain on the floor. It’s your house. It’s where it happened. The attack that made you who you are now.”  Hi everyone! Welcome to Tuesday Tales! We are back with Ezekiel Hallow in Featherweight (Hallow Brothers 6). This week’s word prompt is “persuade”. **Warning - There is adult situations and adult language.** Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Tuesday Tales! Click here to take a look!  “Hey.”
He pulled his hand from his face to find Dakota standing beside him. She bit her lower lip as she watched him. Despite the terror coursing through him, seeing her do that stirred a lust deep within him. “Hey,” he replied. “You okay?” “I don’t have an army at home. I have my brothers. They have their mates and children. There’s my mother. That’s it. What am I going to do?” There was a pause before Dakota spoke. “We’re going to Memphis. We’re going to stop the son of a bitch before he can reach Minnesota.” Ezekiel twisted a little to look at her. He smiled. He liked this “we” she mentioned. She was the only one he wanted on this journey with him. “Maybe I could persuade you to consolidate vehicles,” he suggested. “If you’re in my truck, you won’t be taken out by some asshole suffering from road rage.” “He didn’t even get near me,” Dakota scoffed. “Not from my angle. From what I saw, you were almost road kill.” She scowled at him then huffed. “Fine. We need to make a stop first to store my bike before we head towards Memphis.” Ezekiel gestured towards the street they had come from. The noise of the crowd made him shiver. “Lead the way.” “Yeah, no. Not after all the bullshit we went through.” Dakota thumbed in the opposite direction, “I know a few alley backways to the truck and bike. We’ll only have to cross the street once and it’s at a shallow spot. Follow me.” She led him to an alley then wove him from one corridor to the other. He hurried up to capture her hand in his. He figured she’d rip her hand away then tear his arm off to beat him with it. Instead, she glanced back at him in acknowledgement. Her cheeks were a rosy pink. It took twice as long to get to the vehicles but it was a quiet walk with no crowds and no drunken, amorous partygoers to touch them and make them ill. One quick sprint across the street landed them at their destination. As Ezekiel opened the driver’s side door, he looked at Dakota mounting her bike. “Where to?” Ezekiel queried. Dakota big at her lip before she answered. “Not far. We’re going to LaVerge.” She fired it on and sped down the street. With a sigh, Ezekiel followed her. Hi everyone! Welcome to Tuesday Tales! We are back with Ezekiel Hallow in Featherweight (Hallow Brothers 6). This week’s word prompt is “frozen”. **Warning - There is adult situations and adult language.** Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Tuesday Tales! Click here to take a look!  “Are you okay? she asked. She brushed a few stray locks from his forehead.
“Been better. You?” he countered. “Still feel like I could puke.” “It’ll pass. You might try to eat. Strange, it sort of helped me.” “What the fuck happened?” “We’re mated. This thing keeps us from cheating on our mates.” “Another way you’ve fucked up my life in a very short time.” “Don’t start keeping track now. I have lots of time to keep fucking it up. I’m just getting started. Now, where are we going?” Dakota gestured up the street as she started walking away from him. “It’s up here a bit. It’s just a little hole in the wall shop.” He jogged a little to catch up with her. “So how many contacts do you have? Here. The middle of bumfuck, Egypt.” “When exactly were we in Egypt?” “Okay, then. Bumfuck, Tennessee.” Dakota glanced at him long enough for him to see her roll her eyes. “I wouldn’t consider this a contact. Ryan is more of a double agent so you might want to be ready to fight your way out.” “So he works with vampires?” “Sweetheart, he is a vampire.” Ezekiel stopped frozen in the street and gaped at her. “We’re walking into a smoke shop run by a fucking vampire? Have you lost your mind?” She turned to him as she stopped at a glass and wood carved door. One delicate hand gripped the door handle as the other reached to her thigh for her knife. “Zeke, we have an agreement. And if he breaks it, the odds are far better than they were in that bar where we met. So are you coming?” She pulled open the door and slipped inside. Ezekiel sighed as he hurried to catch the door before it shut. He followed her in. “Do I have a choice?” The tiny store was dark, the walls lined with deep stained wood shelves holding jars of chocolate colored dried out leaves. A display case towards back held smoking paraphernalia of all sorts including ones meant for illegal substances. Ezekiel had seen ones like them being used at the club. Not that he had ever used one. He preferred getting a high other ways like in the gym or naked with Dakota. A scrawny twenty-something kid wandered out through the beaded curtain that partitioned off the back from the showroom. His greasy hair came down in his eyes. He carried a rough wooden box between his hands like a treasure. “Hey, Ryan,” Dakota greeted. Ryan looked up at her spooked. He stumbled back a step as he let go of the box. It crashed to the floor, splintering into pieces. The leaves inside, a shade or two lighter with a tinge of emerald green, scattered over the black tile floor. “Fuck, Dakota. I just got those. That was some prime stock. You just cost me thousands of dollars. How am I supposed to retire now?” Ryan protested. Hi everyone! Welcome to Tuesday Tales! We are back with Ezekiel Hallow in Featherweight (Hallow Brothers 6). This week’s word prompt is “thanks”. **Warning - There is adult situations and adult language.** Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Tuesday Tales! Click here to take a look! He breathed a prayer of thanks when they parked in a side street deep in the downtown area. He hopped out of the cab of the truck as she propped her bike.
Dakota cocked her head towards the top of the street. “Come on, let’s go.” “And where are we going?” Ezekiel questioned as he followed her. She smirked at him over her shoulder. “It’s a surprise.” They slipped into the crowds of parties that flooded the streets of Nashville. Music from the bars floated out to the street, blending with each other and the noise of the revelers in a strange symphony. Half naked woman laughed in drunken fits as men dressed to impressed tried to score. Ezekiel flinched as he felt someone brush against him. A wave of nausea hit him like a wave. They had to get out of here. “Oh, fuck,” Dakota muttered. She clenched her arm around her belly as she doubled over a little. Ezekiel caught four guys pass by out of the corner of his eye. All of them were staring at Dakota with the gaze of a wolf about to attack a lamb. His low growl sent them off in the opposite direction. No one fucked with his mate. He laid a hand on Dakota’s shoulder. He felt her tug a bit to get away but she didn’t get far. “What is it?” Ezekiel asked. “I’m going to hurl,” she groaned. He whipped his arm around her waist and tucked her against his body. He curled around her the best he could, using his large body to shield her from the crowd. “What are you doing?” she demanded. He noticed she cuddled closer instead of pulling away. He felt something brush across his ass. His stomach lurched in response. “Remember that thing I told you about mating? We might want to find a different way back to the truck and the bike. Where are we going again?” “An old smoke shop. We turn left in two blocks.” “Great. Let’s hurry.” The two blocks through the mob took an eternity. The music was no longer beautiful. It was noise that just made things worse. Every couple steps another hand caressed him. Bile burned the back of his throat. His eyes watered. He felt Dakota flinch against him a couple times but her body relaxed in his embrace. This was hell. He’d take crossing a thousand bridges over this.  Hi everyone! Welcome to Tuesday Tales! We are back with Ezekiel Hallow in Featherweight (Hallow Brothers 6). This week’s word prompt is “fudge”. **Warning - There is adult situations and adult language.** Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Tuesday Tales! Click here to take a look!  Ezekiel shook as he drove onto the bridge after Dakota. It was irrational. He knew it but he couldn’t stop imagining the thing collapsing with him on it. His heart plummeted into the pit of his stomach. He whimpered as the other side grew closer. He was going to die here. He knew it.
He muttered the word “fuck” repeatedly as the tires crept across the bridge. As they landed safely on the opposite side, he let out his breath in a long, slow whistle. “So how big was it?” Josiah questioned. “How big was what?” Ezekiel countered. He cringed. There was a definite girl like squeak in his voice. “The bridge. You only act like a fucking chicken when you are up high somewhere. I’m assuming since you’re driving, it was a bridge.” “It was huge.” Ezekiel put as much emphasis on the word “huge” as he could. “Zeke, bro. You’re going to have to get over that.” “When you get over your fear of spiders, I will.” “I live in the forest. I have.” “I legit never have seen a werewolf jump like when you saw that daddy longlegs when we changed last month. I didn’t even notice it on that tree stump until you were mid air and puffed out like a ball of fur. How high did you go? Five feet?” “Do you have anything more to report?” “No, big brother. I’m good.” “Try not to get killed, okay?” “I will do my best.” “Later.” “Later.” Ezekiel tapped the screen on his screen then returned his attention to the highway. The emerald colored hills gave way to fields of fudge colored turned over soil dotted with the green of the upcoming crop. It wasn’t long before those surrendered to rows and rows of suburban houses. Ezekiel smiled as the hint of the Nashville skyline came into view. He swerved his truck behind Dakota’s bike as they merged onto the busy interstate traffic. His heart tightened in his chest as a sports car narrowly missed her. After shouting a string of curse words that would have made Momma wash his mouth out with soap, he vowed to himself to figure out a solution to the truck and motorcycle issue.  Hi everyone! Welcome to Tuesday Tales! We are back with Ezekiel Hallow in Featherweight (Hallow Brothers 6). This week we have a picture prompt. Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Tuesday Tales! Click here to take a look!  Ezekiel stared at the back of Dakota’s bike as he sighed. He glanced at his cell phone. They had only been on the road for a half hour and he was already bored. That and he missed her by his side. Seeing her without touching her was driving him insane.
While they were hunting Black, they were going to have to figure out how to consolidate their rides. He glanced at the cell as it rang that drill sergeant ringtone he dreaded. He scooped it up and answered it. “Hey, Joe.” “What’s happening?” his oldest brother asked on the other end. “It seems my mate and I have formed an alliance. We’re heading to Nashville now to see if he’s there. But it sounds like he’s heading west to find fresh meat. Oh, and Dakota believes he knows who has the amulet and the Heka.” “Fantastic. One more gang of vampires after us.” Ezekiel gaped at the majestic scene in front of him, a long, ornamental bridge spanning a deep valley. Lush, green mountains framed it on either side. It was beautiful to look at but he was thankful they weren’t going over it. He was terrified of heights. “I’ll figure out what’s going on. Maybe they don’t know. If they do, it would be good to know ahead of time.” “True. If our name comes up, don’t mention who you are.” “Of co…” His words trailed off as he watched Dakota take a sharp right. That was once a beautiful landscape to admire was a real fear coming up fast. “Oh fuck. Oh fuck.” “Ezekiel, what’s happening?” Josiah demanded. Josiah shook as he drove onto the bridge after Dakota. It was irrational. He knew it but he couldn’t stop imagining the thing collapsing with him on it.  Hi everyone! Welcome to Tuesday Tales! We are back with Ezekiel Hallow in Featherweight (Hallow Brothers 6). This week’s word prompt is “howl”. **Warning - There is adult situations and adult language.** Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Tuesday Tales! Click here to take a look!  Dakota rolled her eyes as Minnie returned with a pot of coffee, two white ceramic mugs and a little matching bowl of cup creamers and packets of sugar. She set it down on the table and set a cup in front of each of them. Grinning at Ezekiel, Minnie slipped her order pad from the checkered apron tied around her waist.
He slid his hands closer to his cup. As much as he would love to antagonize Dakota, he didn’t need to lose his breakfast before he ordered it. “What can I get you?” Minnie asked him. “Just coffee for now. Maybe a bowl of oatmeal,” he answered. Minnie turned to Dakota. “Your usual, Dakota?” Dakota smiled at her as she pointed at Ezekiel. “Of course. Bring two, one for the big boy over there.” “Coming right up.” The waitress scampered off to the kitchen. Dakota cocked an eyebrow at Ezekiel. “Oatmeal. Really?” Ezekiel dumped a couple creamers in his coffee and took a sip. It helped a little. “When we’re mated, if someone who has a thing for us touches us, we get sick, like about to vomit sick. That little touch from Minnie was enough to make me want to hurl.” “Seriously? I suppose you howl at the moon, too, huh?” Ezekiel shrugged. “I don’t know. This craze overtakes us when we change. It’s hard to comprehend anything when we beast. It’s like watching a black and white movie through a fog. It’s happening but we’re just along for the ride.” He looked up to find her eyes wide. She looked terrified. “You attack humans.” He tisked at her. “Uh, no. Thanks. Cows, bears, deer, yes. Moose are fantastic. Not people.” “If you are in some uncontrollable haze, how would you know?” “Because we’re beasts and we have a heightened sense of smell. And I don’t know how my brothers feel, but I personally equate the scent of humans to chewing on a ball on tin foil. The iron in the blood makes it too metallic to me. My grandfather’s pack in Maine feels differently. They do go after humans. I don’t. And we are unable to attack our own mates, regardless.” She seemed to relax a little. “Oh.” “So are we going after Vincent Black together or am I going alone until the connection we share forces you to follow? Either way, we’re doing this.” Dakota took a sip from her own mug. “We are going to die.” “I’d like to think we’re more resilient than that.” She laughed a little then shook her head. “You’re an idiot.” “Yeah, but I’m a cute idiot. Admit it.” “Never.” He chuckled as Minnie returned, a large stack of pancakes in each hand. She set down one in front of each of them then looked at Ezekiel. “Still want your oatmeal?” He stared at the pile and sighed. He might be feeling a little better but this was going to do him in. “Nah. I better skip it.” |
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