April 2024 WipWordSearch Excerpts Week 2

He reached down, twisted the knob again, and gave the door a gentle push. This time it opened with ease, the warm scents of chocolate brownies and cookies #blasting him.

Nelson encouraged Thomas to try and turn into a #bat, but Thomas had no idea how it was supposed to work. Penny asked him to try and hypnotize her, but since she snickered every so often, especially when staring into his eyes, the idea failed.

His well-tailored suit accentuated his shoulders and a #blue ascot. Rather than looking approachable, the man’s immaculate dress was unnerving.

He winced inwardly. Not only was Julia #beautiful, she was also probably much older than him, making her doubly hard to talk to.

Thomas sat outside Artemis’ apartment door, his head #bowed and knees drawn to his chest. He didn’t know where else to go, but the threshold barred him from entry.

“Lawrence,” Thomas whispered, unable to look away from new pink skin on his hand. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“Oh, I know, kid, but you’ve gotta get back to the #bar first. You’re gonna need more blood, and I hate the sun as much as you do. Here, take these.”

As soon as he sat down, the wild energy he’d felt earlier vanished and a wave of fatigue unlike any other settled throughout his #body. He leaned heavily on the bar, repulsed with himself.

Angry tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. He couldn’t survive an eternity of this. If this was forever, Thomas didn’t think he could #bear it. This was all that damn witch’s fault. Those stupid brothers. That dumb curse.

The glass bottle was too thick to shatter but would crack, releasing the gasoline fumes at a high pressure thanks to the carbonation. The fumes would hit the sparks, ignite, and then the lighter fluid would be caught in the #blast, going off like a proper bomb.

The speaker sounded ancient, decrepit. An old #bat wouldn’t be able to kill —.

Already an ugly bruise was spreading across her ribcage, a spider web of green, black, and #blue hues visible even on her dark skin. Her body was being poisoned and destroyed by the silver lodged inside her flesh.

“I always take trophies from worthy kills,” Leon breathed. “Especially ones so #beautiful.”

“Bert and Deva, at your service,” Bert said, #bowing low. “The pack’s personal sleuthing agency.”

Thomas had to take on half a dozen new blood donors just to keep the #bar stocked for paying customers looking for some red lightning moonshine.

Even when he transformed into his wolf form, his shoulders were disproportionate to the rest of his sleek #body.

His hunger had gotten worked up and he foolishly advanced on his own through enemy lines with nothing but his #bare hands, inhuman strength, and terrifying thirst for blood.