by Amanda Perry
With an angry huff, Remy dropped herself onto the couch and went back to watching her horror film all the while cursing the stupid plastic Barbie who ruined her night.
6
Reid
Dinner with the Matthews’ family had been interesting. Clive, after a brandy, opened up more about his life in the Special Forces. He’d joined the military fresh out of high school, retiring after twenty years of service. He spent the first few years of his retirement enjoying his family and helping his wife with the small used bookstore she owned. After she passed away, he sold the bookstore and started a new career in public service. Clive’s son, Todd, stayed quiet throughout most of dinner, never really looking at the men in the room. His eyes remained transfixed on Lorelei the whole time. Not her face, but her chest.
Reid chuckled to himself. It was good to know that no matter what species, a typical male teenager was the same. Thinking with their dicks and nothing else.
With one foot on the bottom stair, Reid paused as the front door opened once more. Dinner was officially over, the guests all returning to their homes. No one should be entering.
“Well, hello Alpha. Are you heading upstairs? I could join you if you wanted some company.” Lorelei’s voice raised his hackles up. He couldn’t stand the bitch in heat routine. She had a habit of throwing herself at him at every opportunity. Sex to Shifters was as natural as breathing. They enjoyed the act immensely and as often as possible, but Shifters also learned when to respect boundaries. That lesson was something Lorelei lacked. She continuously pursued him, even after he made it clear he wasn’t interested.
Turning back around, he prepared his normal lecture in his head but those words left him as he took in her appearance. She’d worn a short black number to dinner, hoping to catch his attention but now she looked almost normal. Dressed in a pair of sweats that were a tad too short, a t-shirt that hung on her lean frame. But the most ridiculous part was the high heels she still wore. “When most people change into something more comfortable, the first thing to go is usually the shoes,” Reid remarked, curious despite his dislike of the woman.
“It’s that freaking human. She didn’t like what you sent over. Made some nasty comments about Shifters and threw the food at me. It ruined my beautiful dress! You need to do something about her, Reid. She's psychotic." Lorelei came strutting over, swaying her hips from side to side. She must not realize just how ridiculous she looked in her makeshift outfit. Reid almost laughed at the absurdity.
His smile became stifled as the scent of Lavender assaulted Reid once again, his nightmare from earlier returning full force. His dick stood at immediate attention, chafing against the tightness of his jeans. He felt his canines enlarging, the urge to bite strong, he almost jumped on the woman in front of him.
Being a fox Shifter, Lorelei's natural scent was earthier, usually coated with heavy perfume she seemed to favor. Now, that scent faded to the background, the dominant smell one that had been driving him mad all day.
Reid knew something seriously wrong was happening if Lorelei was suddenly appealing to him. Normally Reid would back away quickly from her advances, but the new scent stalled his reaction time, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck and press her body into his. Her hips hit his and excitement lit her eyes. Reid knew he was screwed then, and not in the good way.
“Reid, I could take care of that problem for you.” Lorelei’s hand skimmed up his thigh over his growing erection, cupping him firmly.
The feel of her hands on him jolted Reid back to himself and he backed away from her quickly. Even with the scent assaulting his senses, her touch made him cringe. “You’re to address me as Alpha, Lorelei. You know this, and I will not tell you again. You need to leave now. I am not now, nor will I ever be, interested in you in any way.”
Lorelei faked a sniffle, trying to gain sympathy from him. He knew her tricks, had fallen for them a time or two in the past, but he was privy to her shit now. “Go, Lorelei, or I’ll have Elijah escort you out.”
Reid knew Lorelei had an odd fear of his Fae mate. She scurried away any time he was around. Elijah was an intimidating male. Tall, dark, and stern with all but his closest companions, the Fae didn’t take shit or play games. The only thing Lorelei did was play games. Perhaps that was the reason she didn’t like to be around Elijah. If she was forced to be in the room with him, he had no problem calling her out on her crap. Reid loved that about his Fae mate. He had a “take no prisoners” attitude and he didn’t give a damn what anyone said to or about him.
At the mention of Elijah, Lorelei blanched. Without another word, she hurried out of the pack house.
“You can’t use me every time you’re desperate to get rid of her.” Reid spun on his heel and watched his mate step out of the shadows of the alcove. “She may be afraid of me now, but that threat won’t work forever.”
“You heard that conversation, huh?” Reid pushed a hand down his face and led them up the stairs toward their bedrooms. “I have no fucking clue what happened. Something is really off with me today. Maybe it’s because it’s been forever since I’ve been with a woman.”
“You’re not wrong,” Elijah snorted. “You’ve been sporting a woody all fucking day and I’m sick of it. You know I can pick up on yours and Noah’s emotions, including arousal. If you could stop popping one up at the most random fucking times, that’d be great.”
Reid glared at his bond mate. “It’s not like I’m asking for it, Eli. It’s this scent. It’s so faint, it shouldn’t even matter to me, but it does. It has me stiff as a fucking board in seconds. Earlier today I met with Clive, the new human council lead, and I had to stay behind the desk the entire meeting. Now that mind fuck with Lorelei.”
Elijah frowned, then grinned. “I didn’t think you’d be desperate enough to go for Lorelei. Something is clearly wrong with you. Then again you said you hadn’t had sex in a long time. Maybe you just need to rub one out and call it a day.”
Elijah may have been joking around with Reid, but he didn’t think the suggestion was such a bad idea. “Yeah, you’re a prick, but I’m going to shower.”
Reid walked away, leaving Elijah to his laughter in the hallway near their bedrooms. As he entered his room, he said a silent thanks to the powers that be he had his own en-suite bathroom. He needed some privacy and if he had to share a bathroom, he'd never get any.
Reid stripped out of his pants, still semi-hard from earlier. Stroking himself lightly, he shuddered as a sense of longing swept through his body, hungering for something unknown. Wanting to prolong the feeling, Reid backed off exploring his expanding erection and reached in to turn on the shower.
Stepping in, he allowed the warm water to soothe his aching body. He gripped his hard length in his hand, stroking it gently. The scent wreaking havoc on his body had no face attached to it. He didn’t know the true source, but his imagination ran away with him as he allowed himself to remember the enticing smell. A female made perfectly for him with long, dark hair, sexy as sin curves, and fuck me eyes. He pictured his dream girl’s mouth replacing his hand. Large lush lips, closing down on him, sucking him gently, and then more urgently. Her eyes fixed on his, never looking away as she took him deeper and deeper. Her small hands, reaching up and caressing his balls, urging him farther down her throat. Pressure built along his spine and his balls became tightly constricted against his body. He groaned loudly as he spent himself against the tiles, his body shuddering as it continued to expel small rivulets that washed away with the spray of the hot water.
Reid took a few deep breaths to steady himself before he was able to continue with his shower. Muscles relaxed, he took his time washing, all the while wishing his dream girl attached to the enticing scent was real.
7
Noah
The starless night sky allowed Noah to relax fully as the darkened shadows surrounded him. The forest, alive with sounds of predators on the prowl, was where he felt closest to home. The journey here, albeit quick, t
ook a lot from him mentally. He wasn’t prepared to make the transition like he originally thought. Less than a month, and he already missed his homeland. How was he going to adjust? Being mated in a triad was a blessing but his bond mates were not of the same species. He’d been uprooted from his own kingdom, forced to move to the middle of nowhere, and it was almost too much for him. Only being around his mates helped keep his sanity.
Tossing his depressing thoughts aside, Noah decided to take a longer stroll through the compound, getting a better feel for the area before heading back to the pack house. Nodding to the sentries as he passed, he meandered in the direction of the more deserted section. Most Shifter homes were to the south, scattered around the town and surrounding areas. The cabins closer to the pack house housed his emissaries as well as his security, along with those of the Fae and humans.
Coming to a break in the trees, the sound of a door slamming closed brought his attention to a cabin nestled between two large oak trees. Noah knew immediately it was the human family's new dwelling. He remembered Reid mentioning the family that moved in a few days ago. He'd yet to meet them, but he was sure it wouldn't be long. The compound wasn't big enough to avoid them forever. Noah didn't put much thought into the humans as he neared their home. He planned on passing by quietly, leaving them to their night.
The faint scent of blood hit his senses so hard he nearly lost his balance. He paused in his walk, spinning in a slow circle and inhaling the night air. He easily picked up the scent again. Normally, blood smelled sweet and enticing to Vampires, but could easily be ignored unless one happened to be in bloodlust. This blood was different, drifting into Noah's senses like nectar to a bee. His dick strained against his jeans and he groaned deeply. He had to find the owner of the blood. He knew just by the light scent it wasn't fresh, but his body didn't seem to give a damn.
Noah walked faster as he followed the scent. He came to an abrupt stop a few hundred feet away from the human family's home. He watched as an older male, probably the council head Reid told him about, struggled with a large black trash bag. He was still a distance away, but with his enhanced vision, he could make out enough detail. The human hauled the trash bag over to the communal dumpster, then heaved it up and inside. He then deposited a smaller bag in the bin as well. The man stripped off the pair of large yellow gloves he wore before turning and headed back towards his cabin. As soon as the human disappeared back into the dwelling, Noah continued on his mission to find the source of the alluring blood he'd picked up on. The closer he got to the dumpster, the stronger the scent became. When he passed the area, the scent dissipated so he retraced his steps. Standing in front of the same dumpster the man had just dropped a large, heavy bag inside, the scent was the strongest.
Noah reached for his phone. Punching in a memorized sequence of numbers, he spoke sharply to the person who answered. “I’m over by the dumpster on the northeast side of the pack house. I smell blood. Send a team. I think that human male might have just placed a body in the dumpster.”
Not giving the Beta on the other end a chance to speak, Noah pressed the disconnect button, shoving his phone back into his pocket. Here less than a week, and he was already dealing with a possible dead body.
He had to give Bruce credit. He had a team fully assembled and surrounding Noah within minutes. The four members of the Alpha’s security detail appeared ready for a physical fight and Noah had to roll his eyes at the overly dramatic Shifters. “I didn’t say someone was trying to kill me. I said I think the human dumped a body. Stop standing around me like I’m a damn princess and start searching the dumpster for the body.”
Three of the men stared at Noah with wide, disbelieving eyes. Bruce, the fourth man in the team surrounding Noah, growled at his men. “You heard Prince LeRoi, get searching.”
The men scrambled, splitting up, searching in, on, and around the dumpster. Bruce crossed his massive arms over his equally large chest and scanned the surrounding area with narrowed eyes. “We need to speak with the humans about this.”
Noah nodded his agreement but before either one could make a move, the front door to the human’s home opened and the man who dumped the large bag moments ago rushed out. Noah watched silently as he walked across the lawn, coming towards them. “Hey, Bruce is everything alright? I heard a ruckus out here.” He paused, holding out a hand to Noah. “I’m Clive, by the way.”
Noah watched the male intently as he shook his hand and answered him without introducing himself in return. “I smelled human blood coming from the dumpster area. It’s strong enough that I believe the source is a dead body.”
Clive sputtered, his eyes incredulous. “A what?”
Bruce glanced at his team, noticing they’d yet to find anything. “Hey, Noah, maybe it’s just an animal or something. A raccoon or an opossum could have snuck in there and gotten stuck. The trash is full, due to be picked up tomorrow. None of the guys can smell anything over the stench.”
Spinning on his heel toward the Beta, Noah narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Smelling a damn bleeding opossum wouldn’t make my dick hard.”
“You mother fucker!” Clive hollered, turning Noah’s attention back to the human just in time to see Clive’s fist coming towards his face. Noah sidestepped at the same time Bruce took a step forward. The impact of the human’s fist hitting Bruce’s nose made a crunching sound. Bruce sneezed from the unexpected blow and the human howled in pain, clutching his hand to his chest. “Damn it, Bruce! Why is your face so hard? And you, asshole, don’t talk about my little girl that way!”
Under any other circumstances Noah would have lashed out at the man, possibly even killed him but, the human’s words stopped him. “Little girl?”
Clive’s cheeks darkened. Noah couldn’t tell if it was in anger or embarrassment. “She’s having her monthly female stuff.” Clive clearly wasn’t comfortable speaking about his child and what could quite possibly be a little girl’s first menstrual cycle.
At the human’s confession, Noah said a silent prayer to the goddess that the searchers found the opossum Bruce suggested earlier. He glanced around the area, hoping for someone to save him from the complete shit show he’d created. “I didn’t mean to—”
One of the searchers interrupted, calling out. Noah, Bruce, and Clive turned, looking at the man standing in the dumpster, holding up a small clear trash bag, one you might find in a bathroom garbage can. Noah frowned, not understanding why the searcher thought that would be the source.
Stepping closer, the scent nearly overwhelmed Noah. He had to stop his stride halfway to the dumpster. “What the fuck?”
“I just took out the bathroom trash,” Clive mumbled awkwardly, still glaring at Noah.
The searcher smirked as he untied the bag and reached a gloved hand inside. Noah watched in absolute horror as the man pulled out a feminine product. If vampires could blush, he’d be something akin to a tomato. Noah couldn’t form any words as the searchers and the human male stood around, watching him. How the hell could a young girl on her period have him in such an uproar?
Desperate to divert attention away from the major cluster fuck he created, Noah blurted out, “What about the large bag I saw you struggling with? What was in that?”
Clive, still nursing his hand, shrugged. “Just some trash that needed throwing away.”
Something in the man’s demeanor rang false. Looking at Bruce, he noticed the Shifter picked up on it as well. The Beta nodded at the searcher still in the dumpster, a silent command.
When Clive noticed the Shifter lifting up the black bag, he raised his good hand, sputtering, “I really hope you guys have a sense of humor. Otherwise, this is going to get really awkward, really fast.”
The bag came sailing out of the dumpster, landing with a loud plop on the ground in front of Bruce. The Beta carefully untied the top. Eyeing the contents, he leaned forward, reaching a hand in. “What the hell?”
Bruce held up a large, round, fur-covered object. Stepping closer,
Noah could make out a few features: two dark plastic eyes and a rose-colored snout. “It’s a bear costume. Why the hell
would you have that? And why throw it away in the dead of the night? What game are you playing?”
Clive shifted uncomfortably where he stood, rubbing his neck. “I didn’t even realize he had it until we got here.”
“What do you mean?” Noah’s patience was at an end. The scent was affecting him too strongly. He needed to be away from it; the sooner the better. Otherwise, he would make more of a fool of himself.
Clive huffed out the details. “My son. I found it in one of his boxes and questioned him. Apparently, he thought it would be fun to pull a prank on you guys, so he borrowed the costume from one of his buddies. What can I say? He’s sixteen, still an idiot at that age. Boys do stupid stuff. I was throwing it away, hoping no one would be the wiser. Didn’t want to make a bad first impression.”
“Unbelievable.” Unable to handle the scent and attention any longer, Noah turned on his heel and walked away from the strange and incredibly uncomfortable scene he’d created.
Noah stormed into the pack house, a scowl firmly in place. His bond mates, Elijah and Reid, watched as he stomped up to the fridge, threw open the door, and grabbed a beer. He twisted off the cap easily even though it wasn't meant to be a twist off. Throwing back a large gulp of the foamy liquid didn't ease his temper as he'd hoped. Most humans believed Vampires only drank blood. Most humans were idiots, though. Vampires ate regular human food and drank water, beer, and soda. They also drank blood. They needed it to survive, but they also needed food like any other living being.
Reid and Elijah exchanged glances as they sat at the breakfast nook. Noah knew they were waiting to hear what his problem was and he saw no point in dancing around it. He dropped himself into the empty chair and took another pull on his beer. “This shit is nasty,” he commented, glancing at the label. “We need to get something better if I'm sticking around.”