Unapologetically, Juliet

Epilogue

THE unmistakable sound of King's feet clicking against the hardwood floor was what woke me out of the first deep sleep I'd gotten in ages. Almost the same second my eyes fluttered open, King pounced on my face, his teeth barred and his claws instantly reaching for my messy hair.

"King!" I screeched, struggling to shove him off me and simultaneously falling out of bed in an awkward heap. "You fucking dick!" Dragging myself to my feet I blinked the sleep out of my eyes as my obnoxious cat spread out in my spot on the bed. He completely ignored the meltdown I was having and yawned, like it was normal to frazzle the hell out of me and steal my spot in the middle of the night.

Grumbling curse words under my breath, I took one last lingering look at the evil feline, before snatching one of my blankets off the bed, wrapping it around my shoulders and trudging toward the kitchen. I'd barely made it to my fridge, when my front door burst open and three large men with guns barged in, scaring me so bad, I dropped the glass of water in my hand. It shattered across the floor, alerting them to my presence, and within seconds, I had three guns shoved in my face.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the three masked men demanded, like I was the one who'd just broken into his house.

"Uhm... I live here?" I responded, not quite sure what information he actually wanted out of me.

From behind the three, I suddenly heard someone clear their throat, and a woman dressed in a black silk robe, sauntered into my kitchen. I couldn't see her face in the dark, but the silhouette was enough for me to know she was someone not to be messed with.

"Are you one of them?" she snarled at me, as two of the men holstered their weapons and grabbed my arms to hold me in place. I didn't see or hear a command from the woman, but she must've sent them a silent signal as she moved in to inspect me up and down.

My heart pounded in my chest, and my whole body shook with fear, not quite knowing exactly what was happening. I slowly shook my head, not sure what she was talking about or even who she was talking about. Them who? I wanted to blurt out all the questions running through my head, but I also didn't want to die in my cute little cottage. I'd only been living in it for just under two years. I'd hoped to be there for a hell of a lot longer than that.

"You're not part of the Slayer family?" The closer she got to me, the clearer her face became. She was gorgeous. In a totally evil, psycho bitch kind of way. But gorgeous nonetheless. Her eyes were dark and silky like milk chocolate. Her skin had an exotic olive tint to it, and her shiny dark hair fell in perfect waves down her back.

I shook my head vigorously, silently begging for Jack or Ash to come and save me. Nobody came, though.

"I'm Juliet Archer. I'm the groundskeeper."

Understanding dawned on the woman's face. "Bring her with us," she commanded before turning on her heels and leaving without any other explanation. I struggled valiantly with my captors, but they were much stronger than me, so it was a futile waste of time and energy on my part.

The four intruders, dragged me through the cemetery and toward the main house, clad only in an oversized t-shirt that belonged to Saber and my ratty bunny slippers that weren't for anyone else's eyes but mine. And sometimes Saber's when he was too tired to make fun of me.

On our way, I saw two bodies lying bloody in the falling snow, and I gasped in horror. Tears started filling my eyes as they callously dragged me close enough to see their faces. Their names were Gary and Ted. They were two of the security guards I'd hired to help keep watch of the place over night. We'd had a string of break-ins recently, and some desecrated graves. It was most likely just a couple of kids, but I'd wanted to be sure they couldn't do it again.