Smokescreen: A Collection of Vignettes

Chapter 44

Johnny Cage had zipped over to Sakura's house when he got a text calling for help. He had been rather worried when he saw the state she was in and shocked when she explained that a wild Tomas had drank some of her blood. Sakura had never been more embarrassed when she told him what had transpired after he fed on her.

"Only you would be the one to charm a vampire." Johnny said, amused. "What's your secret?"

"Ha."

Now, Sakura sat in a spare bedroom at the Wu Shi Academy with Johnny standing on the other side of her doorway. Liu Kang had been very surprised when he heard of her encounter with Tomas and that she had escaped the curse, despite being bitten. Nevertheless, he had wanted her to be quarantined at the academy for a week just so he could monitor her. So far, nothing had happened, much to everyone's relief.

"Nitara is going to burn in the Netherrealm." Sakura muttered.

"She will, and we'll get Smoke and the others back." Johnny reassured her.

Before Smoke had been bitten, they had been getting very close. Sakura had hoped to be more than just friends, but Nitara's invasion on their timeline interfered with that. She had been devastated when the Slavic warrior had been turned. Kung Lao and Kitana had been additional victims, too. She sighed. They were her friends. She missed them just as she missed Smoke. She could only hope Johnny was right. Time was of the essence.

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The week came and gone with no problems and Sakura was released from quarantine. She had stayed at the academy for an extra week before returning home. She looked up at the silver orb in the sky. She had often gazed at the moon alone, but since meeting Smoke, that had become their thing to do together when he was available. Johnny often teased the two and gave them playful pieces of advice. She missed that.

"I miss you."

A hiss snapped her out of her reverie, and she came face to face with a hungry vampire. She didn't recognize this one. Sakura prepared herself to do kombat when another figure tackled them from out of nowhere. She couldn't see anything due to the high-speed movements, but she did see blood splattering everywhere and heard a high-pitched screech.

Smoke landed in front the violet-eyed woman. The blood all over his pale skin made him even more terrifying and his eyes blazed an angry red.

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Tomas growled as he stared at the remains of a competing vampire. Sakura was his! All his! He would never, ever share her with anyone. Period. He then turned to looked at his cherry blossom. Though she didn't show it, he could smell her fear once more and it set the predator in him on edge. He licked his lips as he remembered the sweet taste of her blood...

"Ugh."

The former Lin Kuei warrior took a deep breath and recomposed himself. He cursed the fact that two of his baser instincts were in conflict with each other. Fortunately, his instinct to protect his mate was much stronger than his urge to feed at the moment. He took Sakura into his arms and just held her. He had always wanted to do this since he fell in love. He had always wanted to be her protector and shield her beautiful heart from evil. Damn, this curse!

"Tomas, is everything alright? Are you...hungry?"

He sighed. Of course, she would ask that, and his answer would always be yes. Such a sweet, sweet woman.

"I'll deal with it."

"You'll deal with it now." Sakura ordered.

Smoke felt his fangs press against his lips as she offered her neck to him. Such a sweet, yet foolish woman. He wanted to refuse, but his instincts were overwhelming him. What was one little bite? She hadn't been infected when he had bitten her last time. What were the odds of her becoming cursed with his fate this time around? The Vaeternian gave in to the urge to feed.