by Raven Monet
By Em Covax
Chapter One
AVA
Sidling into the booth, hiding away in the far corner of the bar, I sat back watched everyone quietly. The bartender eyed me from behind the bar, but only because he was checking me out. Probably not because he knew who I was. I didn't order a drink, which might have looked suspicious if not for the fact that I was a lone female sitting in a bar. It made it look like I was waiting for someone – or better yet, looking for someone.
And in a way, I was.
No one in this town knew me – or at least they didn't think they did. A bunch of different people had seen me since I'd gotten back but nobody realized who I was. I'd been born in this God forsaken town a long time ago, but my family had moved me away. Thankfully so. But now, my family was dead. Wiped out. Well, except for one person – and that one person was supposed to be coming in this cheap dive bar tonight.
I had no doubts that when he saw me that he'd recognize me. Though he hadn't come to the funeral and we hadn't seen one another since before my parents died, I just knew he'd know me on sight. Just as I would know him on sight. There's no way I wouldn't be able to recognize him, considering the fact that he looked exactly like my father. They were twins, after all.
Raised voices and a raucous noise pulled my attention to the door. Several men inside stood up, their posture tense, almost as if they expected trouble. In walked my uncle, standing tall and proud, and beside him were his brothers. My parents kept me sheltered from my uncle's more private life, and even he didn't talk about it very much around me.
But I knew. I knew who he was and what he did. I wasn't blind, nor was I stupid. I knew what those tattoos meant and I heard the gossip around town every time he came for a visit. Nobody ever said my uncle was a good man, but what others thought of me or of him really didn't matter much. All I knew was that he'd always loved and cared for me, just as he'd loved and cared for my parents.
I was slightly surprised when I saw him. His long, black hair had more silver in it than the last time I'd seen him. His dark eyes were dimmer and were now surrounded by crow's feet. He'd lived a rough life already, it was written all over his body. And I was pretty sure the last few months had probably been even harder on him.
His dark eyes scanned the room before landing on me. I felt a strange rush of nervousness, but I smiled, waving at him. He smiled at me, and this smile was the real deal. It went all the way up to his eyes. He said something to the man behind him before leaving the group he'd come in with and rushing over to me.
“Ava,” he said, reaching out for me.
I stood, reaching out for him with tears in my eyes. “Uncle Deacon,” I whispered.
“Oh God, sweetie...” he said, kissing my forehead. “Look how big you are! You're nearly grown!”
“I'm almost twenty, Uncle Deacon,” I said, wiping my eyes and laughing at the same time. “I'm not a kid anymore.”
“Twenty years old? Really? Dammit, where did the time go?”
Deacon sat down beside me after I'd taken my seat, wedging his big frame into the booth. He couldn't stop staring at me and smiling.
“You look so much like your mama, you know that?”
“That's what everyone says. But I don't see it. I see more of you and daddy in me, what with the dark hair and eyes and all.”
“Yeah, I can see Micah in you too,” he said, his voice going soft and his eyes shining like he was fighting back some tears. “But you most definitely have your mama's smile and good looks.”
I playfully punched him in the arm, mainly to try and keep the conversation from turning too dark, too fast. It was my first time seeing my uncle in a long time and I wanted to spend a bit of it laughing and reminiscing about the good times.
But I knew that whether I liked it or not, we'd have to talk about their deaths sooner or later. That was why I'd been looking for him, after all. I needed answers to some questions I had. And I felt that he was the only one who could give them to me. I sighed, knowing that the lighthearted portion of our reunion wasn't going to last long.
“Listen,” I said, taking a deep breath and trying to prepare myself for what I was about to say. “You know my parents were murdered, right?”
Deacon raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
“They weren't in a car accident. I don't care what anyone says – I was there.”
“You were at home, Ava,” Deacon said, his face softening around the edges. “You weren't there at the time.”
I licked my lips and sighed. Yeah, that's what everyone said when I tried to explain my side of things, but there was more to it than anybody knew. More to the story than I could tell anyone. But Deacon, I knew I could trust.
I leaned forward, glancing around more out of habit than anything else. Deacon leaned in closer too. “Before they left that day, someone had stopped by – someone I didn't recognize. He was looking for you, though.”
Deacon's eyes narrowed and his whole body tensed up. “What did he look like?”
“Hispanic male, about thirty years old, I think? Maybe forty? Muscular with long, dark hair. And his eyes – ” I couldn't even being to describe them, but they were haunting. And remembering them, even so long after I'd seen them, still sent chills down my spine.
“Did he have any tattoos?” Deacon asked me.
I nodded. “Several. But the one I remember the most was in Spanish. Monstruo? Or maybe El Monstruo?”
Deacon stared at me as if he'd just seen a ghost. His entire body was tense, and his strong jaw line was clenched tight. He gritted his teeth and balled up his fists.
“What is it?” I asked him. “Do you know – ”
“Yes, I know who that is, Ava,” he said sternly. “And to be honest, you'd probably be better off forgetting you ever met that man.”
“Do you think it had something to do with the accident that day? I mean, we both know my mom wasn't the best driver – but to stall on the train tracks like that?” My eyes welled up with tears. “What makes it even more unbelievable to me was that my dad didn't do anything to stop it? He couldn't have been conscious when that happened. You know that as well as I do.”
“I didn't know what happened, honestly,” Deacon said, staring down at his hands. “I'd only heard there was a car accident and avoided the rest of the details. I'm sorry about that, by the way. I left you all by yourself because I just couldn't face the truth.”
For months, I'd been angry at my uncle for not coming to the funeral, for not visiting me. But I remembered that he had never been all that reliable. My mom often joked that the only thing you could count on Deacon for was to show up at the most inconvenient time and cause trouble. And he did. He seemed to bring mayhem with him wherever he went.
“I forgive you, Deacon,” I said, reaching out and taking his hands in mine.
He started to say something else, but another man walked up to the table, giving us both an apologetic look. Not that he recognized me, but he could obviously see we were having a moment.
“I'm sorry to interrupt, Deacon – ”
“No, it's fine,” my uncle said, standing up and giving me an apologetic look. “I'll be right back, Ava. I have some business to take care of here.”
I watched as my uncle walked away with the other man. They went to the bar and sat with another man – someone much younger than both of them. He was closer to my age but looked like he was still older than me by a few years. His skin was dark, as was his hair. I couldn't see his face, but even from across the room, I could see from his build that he was big. A strong man, but with more lean muscle than my uncle. And he didn't have the tattoos that literally covered Deacon's body. The three men talked, though I couldn't make out what they were saying. My uncle smiled and patted the younger man on the back before he called out to the group who was gathered around him.
“Listen up, assholes,” Deacon said, pounding his chest. “As many of you know, I'm preparing to step down as leader of this group in the
coming months.”
Groans and boos broke out within the bar – all from Deacon's group.
“I know, I know, you don't want me to, but it's time to face facts. The Lions need some fresh meat in the mix, and since I don't have any children to pass my position down to, I've chosen my successor and he's someone I admire a hell of a lot. I know he'll do right by all of you, keep you out of trouble.”
The group laughed.
“Okay, maybe not, but hell – he's sure going to be better at that than I am, right? Besides, I'm personally grooming him to take over. So if you like me, you're gonna love him. And if you hate me – well, at least it's not me, right?”
More laughter broke out, though I could see a few guys – not members of his group – starting to look uncomfortable by the amount of noise and excitement in the room. When Deacon's Lions got out of hand, things could easily go sideways very quickly – even a celebration could turn ugly. Sometimes, things even turned deadly. Or so I'd heard. I'd been sheltered and wasn't allowed to witness anything like this before to know for sure.
“Most of you know Elias by now, and there's a reason him and I have been spending a lot of time together lately,” Deacon motioned for the man sitting on the bar stool to stand up, and when he did, my eyes grew wide.
He was muscular in a lean way but also tall. Taller than most of the people in this place, easily. And his skin was darker, signaling that he wasn't purely white, but was probably mixed with something. His eyes should have been dark to match his skin and hair, but instead, they were a bright hazel color. Almost green. And they stared over at me for some reason.
I tried not to waver beneath the weight of his gaze, but it was hard. His face appeared chiseled from stone, but yet, somehow appear to remain soft because his eyes were large and his lips very full. He could have easily been a model, the roughness of this life hadn't hit him yet. He appeared to be young – very young actually. His boyish face was so out of place amongst the hardened and grizzled men in Deacon's gang. But he'd earned my uncle's respect, so that had to count for something.
And the rest of the gang seemed to respect him too. Men came up and clapped him on the back, congratulating him. No one was challenging him or my uncle, though some men seemed sad to see my uncle step down. Not that I blamed them. He was a legend. But that was part of the problem. People knew who he was, knew him as the leader of the gang and that wasn't good for them. Even I knew that and I knew little about motorcycle gangs other than what I'd heard from people after my parents' death.
Deacon spoke to Elias before walking over to me, alone.
“So I guess you've heard the news,” Deacon said, running a hand through his hair. “I'm retiring from this life, Ava. Something your parents would have loved to have witnessed in their lifetime. I'm just sad they aren't here to see me actually go through with it.”
“But they are, Deacon. And you know it.”
“Yeah, I guess if you believe in that whole afterlife bullshit, but you know me – ”
“I'm not talking about that. I mean in spirit. There is something after this life, Deacon, that much I know.”
“Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night, kid,” Deacon said with a smile.
“I'm not a kid anymore,” I said sternly. “Now sit your ass down and tell me about the man who probably murdered my parents.”
Chapter Two
ELIAS
I knew my kind when I saw them. The girl talking to Deacon, the one that resembled him, was a lion too. Or at least was somewhat a lion. There was more to her than met the eye and that intrigued me. I could smell her from across the room and she smelled – delicious.
“Who's that talking to Deacon?” I asked one of the guys. “Does he have a daughter?”
He never mentioned a daughter, but she was a spitting image of our respected leader.
“Not that I'm aware of,” the guy said and shrugged. “But she does look like him, doesn't she?”
“Yes, she does,” I said, licking my lips.
Deacon and I were close – almost as close as a father and son. I looked up to him, told him everything, and I thought he'd done the same for me over the last few months. But there was something he'd been hiding from me and she sat across the room this very moment.
And I had to meet her.
“I'll be right back,” I said, walking over to the table.
Not many men could do this, just interrupt a private meeting with Deacon and someone else, but I wasn't just anyone. I was the Chosen One. I was the one who'd be taking over here shortly. And more than that, Deacon loved and respected me. My life was never in danger where he was concerned.
No one stopped me. Maybe because they knew what I knew or maybe because they feared me – though I doubted the latter. Most of them didn't even know me that well, and those that did discount my strength based on my appearances alone. The few tattoos I had weren't enough for them, made them think I was weak, but I didn't have to look a certain way to gain their respect.
I had to show them I was worthy and that would come in time.
Deacon's eyes turned to me, but he didn't stop me from coming over. In fact, he stood when I approached the table, pulling me into a hug.
“Elias,” he said, pulling away and motioned toward the woman sitting next to him. “Meet Ava, she's my niece.”
I stared down at her, the petite little woman and saw something in her eyes. There was something beneath that sweet looking exterior, an anger that raged through her.
“I didn't know you had a niece, Deacon,” I said, smiling and reaching for her hand. “It's nice to meet you, Ava.”
“Likewise,” she said, shaking my hand with more strength than most women her size would have.
Neither one asked me to join them, but I sat down anyway.
“I didn't mention her for a reason, Elias,” Deacon said, glancing behind me at the men a short distance away. “But I trust you. I don't like people to know I have a family. It's for their – her – safety.”
“Understood,” I said. “Your secret is safe with me, Deacon. As always.”
“I know that, Elias,” he said, his eyes looking even more tired than before. “Thank you. But if you wouldn't mind, Ava and I were just talking about something personal and I'm not so sure she's comfortable with company.”
“No, Deacon, it's fine,” Ava said. “My parents were killed in a car accident and Deacon and I were just talking about it.”
Looking back over at Ava, the rage inside of her made sense now. She wasn't hurt by whatever happened, she was angry. I could see it in the way her jaw clenched up at the words “car accident”.
“I'm sorry to hear that, Ava,” I said softly. “I lost my parents not that long ago too. It's why Deacon took me under his wing.”
“What happened to your parents?” she asked me, her eyes softening a bit. “If you don't mind me asking.”
I looked at Deacon who nodded his approval – not that I needed it. It was my story to tell. There were certain risks associated with talking about how Deacon found me, but I knew Ava was good. I knew it because she was with Deacon and they were blood. Anyone related to him couldn't be evil, I knew that now.
“They were killed,” I said, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. Like her, I was angry. “Murdered by rivals of theirs.”
“Were they part of the gang?” she asked, tilting her head to the side like an adorable little puppy dog.
“No,” I said. “They didn't believe in this kind of life.”
“Then what do you mean by rivals?” she asked me.
“Ava, whether we care to admit to it or not, there are those who don't take too kindly to what we are. As I'm sure you know,” I said with a shrug.
“What we are?” she asked, looking over at Deacon.
“I assume you're a lion, like your uncle?”
“Not exactly,” she muttered. “My father didn't join in the family tradition. He chose to become a bear, instead.”
“So you
're a bear?” I asked, eyes wide. She didn't look like a bear, nor did she feel like one. Instead, she felt like a lion.
“Sort of,” Ava said, adjusting in her seat. “It's complicated, Elias.”
“I understand complicated,” I said, leaning back and relaxing. “Trust me, we're all a bit more complicated than we look.”
“Let's just say – I take after both sides of my family. My father and my uncle.” She'd lowered her voice.
“Wait,” Deacon said, looking as if this was news to him too. “How is that possible? Why didn't I know this?”
“Because I only recently found out myself, Deacon,” she said. “I didn't know it was possible either.”
Raising an eyebrow, I gave Ava a look. We needed to talk, but not around anyone else. Even Deacon didn't know everything about me, but mainly for his own safety. Not that I'd be so open with Ava either, but she was the only one like me I'd ever heard of – a hybrid shifter. And I wanted to learn more.
Because maybe she could offer me some answers to my own past. And more importantly, to my own parent's demise as well.
Chapter Three
AVA
Elias was, even more, stunning up close. His eyes were greener, more vibrant. His hairless black and more chocolate brown, just a few shades darker than his skin, which looked like a nice, deep tan. Now that I saw him up close, I wondered if he wasn't part Native American.
He had a few tattoos that peeked out from underneath his shirt – tribal symbols, from the looks of them. Unlike most of the men in Deacon's group, he wasn't covered in tats. While he looked gentler in the face than most, there was something about him that came off as intimidating. Maybe it was his height. Maybe it was his cockiness and arrogance. Or the fact that he came right over and sat down like he had – without being invited. That took some balls. And from the looks of it, Elias didn't seem to care at all.
“So what happened to your parents, Elias?” I asked. “Who killed them?”
I asked for purely selfish reasons. There was part of me that hoped his story might help me solve my own. I needed answers and if there was someone out there killing unaffiliated shifters, well, maybe Elias knew who it was. Or at least, maybe have an idea.