by Vera Sparks
“You looked amazing in that black gown, you wore those dangling dewdrop earrings that you said your mother had gotten you,” he smiled softly.
I frowned out the window, surprised at how much he remembered of our first dinner date.
“You looked quite handsome too in your grey suit, then again, you’re always wearing suits,” I chuckled.
“The walk afterwards was lovely, it was the perfect night to be out. You told me stories of your childhood, about the dog you’d owned and how he’d chased your neighbor’s cat and she sprayed him with hose. He ended up getting her all tangled up in the hose and she was screeching for help,” Alex chuckled.
“Yeah, it was sweet,” I agreed as I reminisced.
My body tingled at his perfect memory of the night.
It had been one of the best dates I’d ever been on. He’d been a real gentleman, buying the meal, making sure I got only the best and finest wine.
We’d had a few more dates after that one, and I’d enjoyed his company and conversation. On our final date, he’d kissed me, a passionate, deep kiss that ignited a fire inside me.
But the reality of what he was and how it was all a fantasy, that I couldn’t really pursue a relationship with him, came crashing down around me and I’d ended the night early in a panic.
He’d tried to ask what he’d done wrong, and I tried to explain through my frustration and anger at how naïve I’d been.
He was hurt by my change of heart, annoyed that I’d continued to see him despite already knowing this.
I knew I’d been stupid, not thinking it through. But he’d captured me with his charming personality and dashing smile.
“I still remember the night we kissed, I remember it fondly despite how it ended,” he said softly.
I didn’t say anything as I stared out the window, my stomach twisting as my emotions ran wild.
I’d chosen not to pursue a relationship with him because I was mortal, I’d age while he remained the same.
But not anymore.
“We’re here,” Alex cleared his throat as he pulled into a dirt drive.
“Here?” I stared out at the woods surrounding us, no house in sight, just the lone dirt drive that twisted and disappeared further up amongst the trees.
“Yep, we should go on foot. Don’t want to scare them off,” Alex stated as he shut the engine off.
Gene pulled up behind us and the four weres’ exited into the cool night air.
I stepped out of Alex’s sleek car beside their beat-up old sedan. How I wished I could feel the shivers as the cool night breeze caressed my cheek.
It was the little things I missed.
“So this is the place?” Gene asked as he rubbed his hands together in the cool night air.
“There’s an old cabin out here, owned by Derek’s family. He and his shifter mates would hang out here all the time. I suspect this is where they’ll be holed up,” Alex said as a soft breeze ruffled his brown hair.
“What’s the plan then?” Percy asked as Scott and Eva stepped up beside him as they all stared at the eerie dirt drive before them.
“Scope it out, see what we’re dealing with. We need to get the boy out safely. I doubt they’re expecting company so we’ll have the benefit of surprise,” Alex murmured.
“Alright, then let’s get this show on the road. We’ll do our recon the best way we know,” Gene smirked as he unbuttoned his shirt.
I blushed and averted my eyes as the four weres’ began stripping down to nothing. Eva seemed relaxed despite all her male companions, and the men didn’t shy from revealing themselves to all parties.
“Werewolves, you certainly aren’t shy,” Alex clucked as he crossed arms.
“We’ll regroup back here in twenty?” Gene checked.
“Should be plenty of time,” Alex nodded.
I couldn’t help it as I found myself skimming over the naked people before me.
Gene had a layer of greying hair sprouting from his chest, but his body was well-defined despite his age.
Scott was bulky and solid, and I pitied any man who dared cross him, and then there was Percy, with his clean chest and perfect, lean body.
I kept my eyes from wandering below his waist despite the smirk he gave me.
Cocky bastard.
Eva was a divine beauty, all the right curves, and a body I envied.
“We got work to do,” Eva rolled her eyes knowingly as her male counterparts all enjoyed their nakedness a bit too much.
She leaped forward, her body morphing and cracking in the air, and I watched in awe and wonder as her body changed to that of a brown wolf.
I’d never seen a werewolf shift before.
The way her body had shimmered as it cracked and shrunk, bending and twisting as the limbs lengthened and a snout protruded from her face. Her ears had grown and fur sprouted from her skin, replacing her smooth flesh with a reddish-brown pelt.
It was pure magic to watch the transformation unfold.
Gene and Scott followed suit, their bodies being replaced with two grey wolves instead.
“Take care of her,” Percy nodded at Alex, and I could feel him bristle beside me as Percy flaunted his naked body before us.
“Always,” Alex muttered as Percy shifted to a darker grey wolf.
The statement sent a shiver down my spine.
The four wolves darted off into the trees and disappeared from sight.
“What now?” I asked as I looked over at Alex, who was seething. He tried to cover his anger, but I could see right through him. He was pissed at Percy. Angered by his brashness and me probably because I couldn’t hide my reaction to Percy’s body.
The man was built like a model; I couldn’t help it if that caught my attention. Not to mention I knew how he could work his … magic.
“We need to get going too, you’ll be the one snooping,” Alex stated as his blue eyes pierced into me. I shifted under his uncomfortable gaze, guilt gnawing at me.
“Right, let’s get moving,” I nodded, wanting to move past this awkward, tense position.
“They have no shame,” Alex growled as we trudged down the dirt drive. I was thankful I’d thrown on some sneakers, but I couldn’t trip. My body wasn’t capable of such things anymore. If I was going to trip on something, my body would instantly become translucent and ghostly to stop it. I didn’t even need to do anything—it was just instinct.
“They’ve been shifting all their lives, I doubt naked bodies matter to them,” I shrugged.
“Yeah, but they do to others,” Alex muttered.
“What’s got you riled up?” I smirked.
“Nothing,” he shot me a dark look in hopes of shutting me up.
He should know better than that by now. I loved to play with him. It was mean, but I couldn’t help it.
“Don’t like seeing Percy naked like that?” I chewed my lip as his body stiffened, his footsteps jarred.
“I don’t enjoy seeing any man naked to be honest,” he grumbled.
“It wasn’t because I looked at him, was it?” I asked innocently. “I can’t really help it, they were all naked, right there.”
“No,” Alex breathed as he focused on the drive before us.
“Because if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were acting like a jealous ex,” I bit my lip to stop my smirk.
His jaw clenched as he narrowed his eyes, keeping his eyes ahead.
“We were never together. That was your choice,” he said quietly, his voice laced with hurt.
“Well, then, maybe you should stop acting like we were,” I said.
I didn’t get a chance to react as he rounded on me and pushed me up against the nearest tree.
“Don’t ask me to pretend like there was never anything between us,” he murmured, his face inches from mine.
The cool bark of the tree pressed against my back, but I couldn’t feel the chill it would’ve brought any other mortal.
I drew in short, soft breaths as I took in
the details of his face this close. The dip of his brow as he stared at me, the exact curve of his jaw, the light stubble that was ever present, his perfect, straight nose. His soft lips that I’d once tasted, and those mesmerizing blue eyes.
“I can’t pretend like there was nothing,” he repeated as his shoulders slumped in defeat.
I stared at him, at the pain and guilt evident in his eyes.
I hurt him every time I brought up what he’d done to me.
The pain I saw now made my breath hitch.
“You’re just as beautiful as the first day I saw you in my office,” he softened as he caressed my cheek softly. His movements were slow, as if he was expecting me to pull away and disappear from his sight.
But I stayed. I stared at him, softening under his tender gaze.
“You’re just as charming,” I smirked, trying to change the situation. This wasn’t going to end well. I had to stop this, but I couldn’t. Maybe it was the curiosity of what could happen if I didn’t. I wanted to know. I couldn’t help it.
I gasped as Alex moved in, his mouth colliding with mine in a desperate, hungry kiss. I stiffened at first, but his gentle lips and soft hands on my arms melted me. He was a damn good kisser.
I welcomed him, opening my mouth to deepen the kiss as he moaned and pushed his body against mine.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him close as I tasted his cool mouth.
Something I’d been shocked about the first time we’d kissed. Nothing like Percy’s hot, fiery mouth.
The kiss of Death.
I broke the kiss, the thought shooting through my mind instantly and ruining the moment.
I gritted my teeth as I looked away from him.
“I still want you, Ivy,” Alex murmured as he smoothed a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
“I know,” I said through my teeth.
“But I hurt you,” he nodded, understanding my tense body.
“I can’t just forget it, Alex,” I sighed.
“I know,” he nodded.
I looked back at him, at his blue eyes, filled with hurt and desire.
This wouldn’t work. It couldn’t.
“We should go, we’re running on the clock,” Alex stepped back.
The loss of his body relieved me but also made my stomach drop. I had enjoyed the kiss; there was no denying that. There was no denying the attraction I still had for him.
“Yeah, we should,” I agreed as I pushed off the tree.
I’d almost forgotten why we were here in the heat of the moment.
Alex led the way, and I followed behind as I battled with my feelings.
Goddamn vampire.
I slipped through the walls of the wooden cabin, the timber old and withered with age. Someone hadn’t prepped the wood correctly, and the place would need some fixing up to save it from falling into disrepair in the coming years.
A few lone lanterns lit the cabin as I moved through the empty kitchen, the sink stacked with dirty dishes and packets of half-eaten chips tossed carelessly on the table.
The voices in the living room alerted me to the presence of the shifters.
I stiffened as I crept to the edge of the doorway, peering into the room to survey what we were going up against.
Two male shifters, one of them obviously Derek from the description Renae had given us, sat on the fraying green couch with ugly grey pillows shoved between them.
A single boy sat on the floor before them as a woman fussed over him.
“Isn’t it a pretty train? Don’t you think so, Christian?” the woman cooed as the young boy giggled and tugged the toy train across the floor.
“Don’t get attached to him Pat, he’s just leverage, remember?” the burly, bald-headed man groaned.
“He’s just a child,” the young woman pouted as she sat on the floor with Renae’s son.
“He’s a mutt child,” Derek smirked.
“You shouldn’t call him that,” Pat murmured as she stroked the boy’s hair.
“I can call him whatever I want, I made the little shit,” Derek chuckled and the burly man laughed.
Pat frowned as she stood up and huffed. She picked the boy up and bounced him on her hip gently, casting a dark look back at the two men.
“He should be asleep anyway, why’s he not sleeping?” Derek groaned.
“He was hungry,” Pat stated and Derek just rolled his eyes. She muttered something under her breath as she strode out of the room.
“Have you checked on the other kids? You fed them dinner, right?” Derek asked as he flicked through the channels on the TV.
“Yeah, I fed them dinner a while ago. It’s after 2am now so they’ll be asleep. Pat, go check on the others!” the burly man hollered out after the woman.
I drifted through the room, unseen as I followed after Pat and Christian.
“Don’t you listen to them, they’re nasty old men,” Pat nuzzled the little boy as he cackled. She bopped him on the nose as she giggled at the joyful noises that burst forth from him.
“Let’s go check on the others, shall we?” she sighed as she rested him on her hip and walked down the hall. She stopped before the door at the end and unlocked the bolt.
I followed her silently, descending down the stairs into the basement after her.
My heart plummeted as she entered the dim basement, lit only by a lone lantern on a grubby, worn desk.
“Pat! You’re back!” a young girl flew over and wrapped her arms around the young woman.
“Of course I am, how are my little munchkins doing?” she asked as two sleepy young boys appeared from the darkened corners of the room.
As my eyes adjusted, I could see the beds set up down here and a small bathroom in one corner with no door.
“We’re bored,” the eldest of the two boys sighed as he fiddled with a toy action figure in his hands.
“You should be sleeping,” Pat sighed.
“I can’t sleep. We sleep all the time. It’s just sooo boring here,” the younger boy pouted.
“I know, I’m sorry. I asked if we could go outside during the day but they said no. Have you been checking out the stars through the window?” Pat asked as she pointed over at the small window in the top of the wall. A chair was pushed in front of it, and the soft light from the moon flooded in.
“Yeah, but I want to actually play outside,” the boy sighed.
“Why do they keep us locked down here?” the eldest boy asked as he dropped his action figure on the small table set up for them. Coloring in book pages and pencils were sprawled across it, some of the pages partially colored or scribbled on. In got the impression these had been provided by Pat, as I couldn’t see the men bothering to entertain the children in any way.
“I don’t know,” Pat shook her head as she strode over and sat down on one of the beds.
“They let you both out,” the young girl huffed as she climbed onto the bed beside her.
“Only in the room with them,” Pat murmured as she stroked Christian’s hair.
There were two boys, one looked around seven, while the older boy looked close to eleven. The young girl couldn’t be more than six.
I pursed my lips as I tried to discern why they were here.
Were they being used as leverage as well?
And the vibe I got from Pat, it wasn’t like the two men upstairs. She could only be in her late teens, possibly early twenties.
What was her involvement in all this?
I carefully made my way upstairs, and as I slipped through the door to the basement, I held my breath and became visible just long enough to lock the latch. Keeping the children and Pat out of this would be best at this time. I didn’t get the feeling that Pat was willingly involved in all this. Something just seemed off with how she was around the men.
I surveyed the cabin quickly, finding another shifter in the back room playing on his phone while sprawled on one of the beds.
Three shifters total.
I’d s
een all I needed to see, and I exited the cabin to regroup with the others.
“Just three shifters then?” Alex checked as he crossed his arms, his brow furrowed as we waited for the weres’ to join us.
“Yep, and then Pat and the kids. I’ve locked them in the basement, but if she realizes that, one of the men may let them out,” I shifted my weight onto my left leg, remembering a time when my bad posture would give me sore hips. Not anymore.
The group of wolves appeared silently through the surrounding trees, and I looked away as they all shifted back to their human states and began dressing.
“There were two shifters on patrol, but we’ve dealt with them,” Gene stated as he buttoned up his shirt.
“So we have bodies to deal with?” Alex raised an eyebrow.
“No, they’re unconscious,” Eva rolled her eyes as she did her bra up and slipped her shirt over her head.
“Well, we’ve got three shifters in the cabin and four children including Christian in the basement along with a young woman,” Alex stated.
“We sensed the three shifters and another, but how’d you know about the children?” Percy cocked his head with an intrigued look, but then shifted his gaze to me knowingly.
“There’s some things you don’t know about vampires,” Alex smirked, revealing a pointed canine.
I’d have to thank him later for his quick thinking.
Percy’s eyes remained on me and he gave me a small smile.
“Whatever,” Eva disregarded the remark.
“Well, three shifters won’t be a problem,” Scott’s mouth tugged into a smile, and I didn’t doubt he’d have any issue dealing with the smaller shifters.
“Let’s go get that kid back to his mother,” Gene said as he looked around at his small team.
“Need help?” Alex offered.
“You two should hang back, no need to get yourselves caught in the mix,” Gene said, his eyes resting on me for a moment.
“Well, your call,” Alex shrugged.
“Let’s go,” Gene gave a curt nod to his three pack members and they disappeared into the tree line.
“Are you going to hang back?” Alex flicked his eyes to me after a few moments.
“Of course not,” I scoffed. As if I’d sit this out.