by RK Close
“How did that happen? I saw her just a few minutes ago, and she was fine,” Seth said, looking at me with what might have been concern. It was hard to tell at the moment.
When Simon didn’t answer, Seth looked past me. I turned and followed his gaze until I spotted Bobby, surrounded by his beer-guzzling football buddies. One of the guys was pointing to his neck and slapped him on the back.
“That’s some hickey!” They all laughed like it was the funniest joke ever. I turned back to find Seth glaring at me.
“You bit him? Seriously?”
His angry expression made my temper flare. Who was he to judge me? “You got a problem with me?” I asked, pushing past Simon so that I could get in Seth’s face.
Seth stood there looking down at me like I’d killed someone. The shame that I might have only made me more defensive.
“I’ve been trying to figure out what was different about you. Maybe nothing,” Seth said, his eyes cold. “What did you call the others? A bunch of leeches?”
His words hit their mark. My eyes stung and I looked away. “Leave me alone, Seth. You don’t know anything about me.”
“You’re right. I don’t know anything about you, aside from your diet,” Seth said.
“Hey, there you are. I was just looking for you. You want to get out of here?” asked the blonde who’d been hanging on him earlier.
Seth continued to stare at me when he answered. “Yeah, let’s go.”
He slipped his arm around the woman, and they walked to the door. Seth looked back at me one more time before the door closed.
5
Seth
Amanda wrapped her arms around my chest and leaned into me as I started the motorcycle and revved the engine. I didn’t know what I was doing anymore. Everything seemed so easy before. Why did Olivia and her clan have to come here and mess it all up?
It never took long to get to anywhere in Flagstaff. We pulled up to Amanda’s house, and I waited for her to climb off the bike before getting off myself.
She pulled off the helmet I’d insisted that she wear, then handed it to me. Her smile was shy but also inviting. She was usually on the other side of the coffee counter, taking my money.
We’d been flirting for months. I always flirt with women. It was something I did without much thought. It came naturally to me, and the ladies seemed to enjoy the playful banter. Why wasn’t it that easy with Olivia?
“Would you like to come in for a drink?” Amanda asked, reaching for the collar of my shirt to pull me in for a kiss.
I slid my arm around her waist, almost out of habit, and kissed her back. Her arms slinked up around my neck, and her fingers found their way into my hair. She let out a soft moan before I released her and stepped back.
“I’m sorry, Amanda. I’m tired, and I’ve got an early shift at the fire station tomorrow.” I climbed back on the bike and pulled the helmet on my head.
Her face was somewhere between surprised and hurt before she covered it up with a smile. “Your loss, then.”
I winked at her before pulling the visor down. “I’ve no doubt.”
That seemed to placate her, somewhat. At least she didn’t look as hurt anymore. I eased the motorcycle away from the curb and drove home with thoughts of a certain brown-haired vampire as a distraction.
The climb up the stairs to my apartment felt lonely for the first time. I’d been pretty harsh with Olivia, and I knew part of that was my pride talking. I tossed the keys in a bowl next to the front door. Kicking off my shoes, and leaving them where they landed, I made my way into the small corner that passed as a kitchen—barely.
I opened a square box on the counter and pulled out a slice of cold Carnivore Lovers’ Pizza. I grabbed a beer from the fridge and walked four feet to the other corner that served as the living room. It was small but it was home.
After plopping down on the sofa, I turned on the television. A late-night comedy was playing. I ate pizza and drank beer without really hearing the show in the background.
I kept thinking about seeing Olivia kissing that big dumb jock and how much he seemed to enjoy it. Did she do it just to lure him in, as a means to an end, or did she enjoy it? The thought that she may have liked it made my wolf stir.
Actually, the wolf inside me always seemed to come alive whenever Olivia was around, and not in a defensive way. My wolf liked Olivia, which made no sense. She was a vampire. I was a wolf-shifter. We were natural enemies. It wasn’t natural for me to be attracted to her, was it?
When the pizza was gone and the beer was empty, I leaned back against the sofa and closed my eyes. My mind went crazy imagining Olivia in the process of biting that guy. At some point, I must have drifted off to sleep.
I was playing with toy cars in front of a white two-story house with steps leading up to a porch. The house was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by forests on every side. It would be a long walk to reach the trees, though.
Mountains loomed beyond the tree line and soft fluffy clouds dotted the wide blue sky. A baby played happily in a playpen a few feet away, and an older boy sat opposite me, patiently building a dirt track for our toy cars to travel.
A lovely woman with dark brown hair, like mine, came to stand on the porch. Her sundress had big blue flowers on it and thin straps. Smiling, she watched us for a few moments, then walked down the steps and picked up the toddler.
“Time for lunch. Liam, Seth, the toys will still be here when you finish. Come on now.” She walked up to the stairs with the baby in her arms, confident we’d follow her.
She looked back over her shoulder and smiled at me. That’s when I saw it. The tattoo of a wolf on her shoulder. This was my mother. The baby in her arms was Cole.
The scene faded, and suddenly, I was in the woods. It was dark and I was frightened. I tasted salty tears on my lips. Liam and I clutched at one another with Baby Cole sleeping in between us.
I heard a twig snap in the darkness, and I whimpered in fear.
“Shhhhh,” Liam soothed.
We watched the dark shadows of the forest for any sign of movement. I thought I saw a face hiding next to a tree. Two glowing eyes blinked at me, then disappeared. A moment later a water bottle landed next to our feet.
Liam and I flinched and baby Cole began to cry.
The alarm on my phone woke me from the dream. Sitting up, I looked around the room, feeling disoriented and anxious. I got up and went to one of the drawers in the kitchen to rummage for a pen or pencil.
Once I found a pen, I located a notebook and scribbled down as much of the dream as I could remember. I sat there for a few moments more--reliving it and wondering if it was a memory rather than a dream.
I stripped down and started the shower until the bathroom filled with steam. Looking at my dark hair in the mirror, I thought about the woman in the dream. She was beautiful, and she made me feel loved and safe.
If I didn’t hurry, I’d be late to work. The Flagstaff fire station wasn’t far away but being late for a shift was frowned upon by everyone. Even though I enjoyed bending, and occasionally breaking, rules, there were some that I respected above others. Arriving in time to relieve the firefighter who’d just worked a twenty-four-hour shift was one of them.
My dream clung to me like cobwebs. That was the first time I’d had one of those vivid dreams in a long while. Did it mean something? It usually did. Maybe it was just a memory from the past, finally resurfacing. Should I mention it to Liam and Cole? Was it wise to dig up the past, or should it stay buried? I wondered if not knowing what happened was a divine gift.
I arrived at work, on time, but feeling conflicted about several issues. One thing was certain. We needed to discuss the vampire situation in our town. We’d gotten busy living after Liam eliminated the last threat, but was coexisting with the vampires even a possibility? What would that look like?
Avoiding the usual morning banter with the two crews passing the baton for the next shift, I began performing an inspection on the fir
e engine. Maintaining the truck was part of my responsibilities as an engineer, but ordinarily, I would catch up with the rest of the crew over a cup of coffee before doing any real work.
Liam found me in the engine bay, where we hoursed the trucks when they weren’t in use.
“Good morning,” Liam said, holding two cups of coffee.
I took the one he offered. “Morning, Captain.”
“You turn over a new leaf? It’s not like you to miss a social hour,” Liam said, before sipping his coffee.
“I wanted to get it out of the way. How’s Jessica?” I asked, attempting to turn the subject in a new direction before my older brother started digging.
“She’s good and you’re changing the subject.” He raised his brows at me with a knowing look.
“Isn’t it always the same? Where did we come from; what happened to our birth mother; what are we doing about the vampires; is it okay to date one—?” I glanced up from recording the readings on the engine gauges.
“Whoa there. Let’s unpack this, shall we?” Liam pulled a chair over and sat down.
I couldn’t believe I’d said all that out loud. I put my clipboard down and took a sip of coffee before leaning on the edge of the engine.
“How about we talk about that last one first? Sounds like you’ve been thinking too much. I knew you had a thing for Olivia, but I didn’t know it was serious.”
“I don’t get serious. You know that. She’s messing with my head, and I don’t know how to handle it,” I said, feeling uncomfortable with the confession.
Liam looked thoughtful. “How does she feel about it?”
I looked at him and blinked. “How should I know? It’s not like we’re dating. We barely see each other.”
Liam studied me hard, and the look that came over his face made me nervous. “Have you started dreaming about her?” he asked in a serious tone.
I realized where he was going with this line of questioning. He’d started dreaming of Jessica pretty quickly. It turned out to be one of the signs that she was his chosen, or maybe fated, mate.
Since we didn’t know any shifters, we had to learn things from the internet. Unfortunately, the internet had as much good information as it had misinformation. We still didn’t know if Liam was fated to fall in love with Jessica, and she with him, or if his wolf chose her. The end result was still the same.
“I know where you’re going with this, and it’s not like that. I haven’t started dreaming about her, and I’m certainly not in love with her. She’s just in my head, is all.”
Liam was wearing a smug grin that said he had it all figured out.
“Don’t start playing Cupid with me, just because you’ve gone all domestic on us. This isn’t one of those things,” I said. My annoyance with my brother was increasing by the second. The fact that what he was saying had a ring of truth to it only managed to make me feel more agitated.
“I didn’t say anything. But I’m here if you want to talk about it. Could be a complicated match, with her being a vampire and all. Figures your match would be anything but ordinary,” Liam said as if thinking out loud.
Frustrated, I left Liam in the engine bay and took the long way into the wing of the station that housed the dorm rooms. There was nobody that I wanted to see before I reached my room.
I was surprised that Liam wasn’t more upset about my attraction to a vampire. I knew he held a grudge against the vamps because of what had happened to Jessica. It may have helped that Olivia was the one who confirmed Jessica’s location at a crucial time, betraying one of her own in the process.
Maybe I couldn’t get her out of my head because she was forbidden fruit. That was it! I was just being a typical guy, wanting what I couldn’t have. Most of my life had been spent proving that I wasn’t typical.
It suddenly dawned on me that maybe all I needed to do was kiss her senseless and then walk away. If I tasted her lips, I’d stop imagining what it’s like. Wrapping her in my arms and feeling her body pressed to mine would stop my mind from obsessing over the idea. I smiled to myself. Now I had a tangible course of action, one I looked forward to.
But what if Olivia wasn’t who I thought she was? What if it was just a fantasy to think there was more to her than her diet? Maybe she was exactly like the others, and I just wanted to believe she was different or special for my own selfish reasons.
Were vampires mindless monsters leaching off humanity with little or no regard for whom they harmed in the process? Or did they battle their own personal demons and have to choose between right and wrong, like the rest of us?
The biggest question that was tugging at my mind was whether Olivia would ever speak to me again. Would she give me the chance to test my theory?
6
December 1 was the Annual Tree Lighting Celebration in our little mountain town. Traffic was blocked off on all streets in the historic downtown district to make room for a sea of pedestrians. Holiday lighting adorned the old buildings that made up the original town of Flagstaff. Large red bows decorated the streetlamps and added to the festive backdrop.
With only forty minutes until sunset, the tree-lighting ceremony would commence within the hour. My job had been to pick up and deliver twenty dozen fresh-baked sugar cookies from the bakery down the street to the art gallery. I had a tall stack of pink boxes balanced on my arms when I entered the Parker Art Gallery & Studio.
“Oh, thank you, Seth! Just put them down over here. Daisy will arrange them on the serving trays,” Jessica said, beaming.
It wasn’t time for the official opening of Jessica’s art gallery, but since the holiday event was good public exposure, she chose to do a soft opening in order to take advantage of the crowds.
Jess’ cheeks were flushed and her smile was contagious. She was in her element. I’d been blown away by her talent. We all were. Her main focus had been wolves, long before she met Liam and learned our secret.
“Looks great, Jess,” I said while examining some of the paintings up close.
“Thanks. Liam hung all the paintings and helped with lighting. He did a wonderful job, don’t you think?” she said, taking a moment to admire the layout.
“I guess he has his uses.”
She swatted me on the shoulder, then moved on to greet some people wandering in from the street.
Daisy, Jessica’s best friend, was busy arranging the cookies on fancy serving dishes.
“Hello, Daisy. You’re looking lovely tonight.”
She rolled her eyes at me and tried to suppress a smile.
“Have you seen Liam or Cole?” I asked, snatching a cookie.
She gave me a warning look. “Liam’s in the back trying to figure out the big coffee carafe that we rented, but I haven’t seen Cole.”
“Thanks.”
I found Liam in the back of the studio lifting a large coffee server to carry out front.
“Just in time. Grab those paper cups and sleeves, will you?” Liam brushed past me, his arms hugging a large silver coffee dispenser.
I did as he asked and followed him to a linen-covered table next to the cookies.
“She’s going all out, isn’t she?” I asked.
“She is. She’s serving wine and hors d’ oeuvres at the grand opening,” Liam said, proudly.
“No beer?” I complained.
“I’ll have a small stash in the back,” he said, winking at me.
“I’m going to look for Cole. If you see him before I do, tell him I’ll be by the Chico food truck. If he hurries, I’ll buy him a taco.”
“Come back when you find him. I need some male company,” Liam said.
“I heard that,” Jessica said from across the room. Smiling, she shook her head and went back to her conversation with an elderly couple who were admiring one of her larger paintings.
Liam laughed but mouthed the words, Come back. I was laughing when I exited the gallery and entered the crowd on the street. The sun had just dipped below the tree line beyond the town.
Down the street, a camera van from KUTV news station was the only vehicle on the road. A female news reporter was in the process of being filmed, most likely reporting on the large turnout for the annual event. It was strange to think we used to watch Jessica on the news before she quit and began working on opening her gallery.
It wasn’t long before I spotted Cole talking to a group of people near the entrance to the Italian restaurant. I recognized a couple as firefighters. After a few moments, he looked my way. It was a wolf thing to sense when a pack member was near. I waved, and so did he, but Cole continued with his conversation.
At least he knew where to find me when he was done. I scanned the crowd again and spotted the face that gave me no rest these days. Olivia stood on the steps of a sporting-goods store. Of course, she looked beautiful with her long dark hair, light brown eyes, and the palest skin I’d ever seen. She held my gaze a few moments before looking away. I couldn’t read the expression on her face, but it hinted at sadness.
Did I do that? The thought made my gut clench.
I couldn’t decide if I should go talk to her about my behavior last night or leave it be. Who was I to tell her what to do? I didn’t want to judge her, but I knew that I was. Why should I be shocked to know that she needed to survive? None of it was my business, but it bothered me, nevertheless.
Cole had begun to make his way toward me through the sea of people. He was still a ways away. As he approached, his expression flashed from happy to alarmed in an instance. I followed his gaze toward the old Weatherford Hotel.
It only took me a moment to find what had spooked Cole. The upper balcony of the hotel was crowded with people. Most were standing, talking, and drinking.