by Brenda Trim
Tables were overturned, shattered glasses were strewn about, and there were several prone bodies on the floor. Some were writhing in obvious pain with humans tending to them. It was the ones lying still with sightless eyes focused on nothing that made her shiver. It was always eerie to see death, but to have so many in one location was highly disturbing.
Her stomach churned, but whether it was from the stale smoke and alcohol that tainted the air, or the foul stench of the victims, she wasn’t certain.
“How can you flirt and be thinking of sex when we’re surrounded by all this?” she remarked. The big cop blushed and lifted his shoulders in response. Males.
“Orlando,” O’Haire called out without answering her.
When the Dark Warrior stood up and turned to face them, Ember’s mind went blank and her mouth watered. He was the sexiest male she’d ever seen. And, as her body went all kinds of molten, she realized she had no right to make fun of Steve. That fast her thoughts had traveled down the same road as his where Orlando was concerned. And their grotesque surroundings didn’t factor in one bit. Her body refused to listen to reason.
She wanted to rush to his side and offer her sex-deprived body to him without reservation. She had no shame in that moment. There was no doubt about the degree to which she wanted Orlando. Her body flooded with heat and her core ached with need.
She would’ve sworn her eggs dropped regardless of the block still on them. It was as if she was in heat, but that was impossible. It wasn’t her time of year yet and she had never released a single egg in her two hundred thirty two years. That didn’t happen for female shifters until she had sex with her Fated Mate.
“Thank the Goddess you guys are here,” Orlando responded before he walked to a male bending over a body a few feet away. Ember enjoyed the way his tight black pants stretched over his firm ass. Her cougar wanted to bite that fine ass.
Moments later, he turned around and walked towards her and Steve. She would have been disappointed but the front view was just as luscious as the rear. His tight black shirt displayed his muscles to perfection. What attracted her most was that he wasn’t some huge bodybuilder type. He was the perfect size. His leather jacket currently covered his arms, but she recalled his bulging biceps. She craved to know what his other bulges might feel like inside of her.
“What happened here?” O’Haire asked interrupting her fantasy.
She nearly snarled at her co-worker, but caught herself in time. She must not have hidden her annoyance very well because Orlando gave her a confused look.
“Club-goers reported a monster attacking them, but I can’t seem to find any evidence of demon or skirm involvement here. I interviewed a couple shifters, a vampire and three sorceresses who had been dancing and they reported it was a demon. If this were a demon it would be out of character. Kadir had pushed the limit, but never did anything that risked exposure like this,” Orlando shared as he took a switchblade out and began flipping it.
It was such a casual and natural movement that she assumed he must have done it a million times. If she attempted that with the blade she’d end up with it stuck through her hand. She had to squint against the bright flash caused by the light bouncing off the weapon and it made her wonder if the thing was silver. It would certainly fit him if it were.
Orlando seemed cocky enough to toss around a weapon capable of killing him. The thought should’ve been a turn-off but it wasn’t. No supernatural in their right mind would play with silver like that so why it made her find him even sexier she had no idea. She must be over worked and undersexed to be attracted to such danger. She wasn’t one of those females that wanted a bad boy.
“Please tell me that’s not silver,” she told the warrior with a shake of her head. She needed slam the brakes on her attraction or every supernatural in the club was going to know exactly what she was thinking.
Orlando smiled and cocked his head while he continued to toss the blade. How the hell was he able to do that without even looking?
“It wouldn’t be any fun, otherwise. Don’t worry, Wildcat. I never miss,” Orlando replied with a chuckle.
His half-smile struck her like a bolt of lightning. This male was meant to smile and joke, not be the angry, serious warrior she’d seen the last time. The clouds parted and the sun came out when he smiled. It warmed her to her toes and set other parts on fire.
She finally understood what her friends meant when they said a sexy smile made their panties drop. She had never been that female to become weak in the knees by such an insignificant gesture from a male but damn if she wasn’t hot and bothered from his flash of pearly whites.
His nickname finally registered through her desire. She was a wildcat, but she wasn’t sure she liked him calling her that. It was something you’d say to your best friend’s little sister, not a female you wanted to ravish. She was aching to be spend a night sweaty and naked with this male and it seemed he had no interest in her at all.
“If that’s your idea of fun, you need to get out more,” she snarked to cover the hurt she felt over his disinterest. All she’d been able to think about since she’d met him was tearing off his clothes and satiating her burning desire for him, but apparently, he didn’t feel the same.
Good news was that realization sobered her and her arousal shriveled up like a grape in the sun.
*****
“Tough to get out when all you do is work,” Orlando quipped to the beautiful female. “Speaking of work. I called you out here to see if you could work your magic again and tell me what happened.”
He wanted to tell them they could handle the investigation so he could go home to be with Brantley, but had to admit he was glad he hadn’t passed the case off. It would be easy to leave Ember and O’Haire to run a more thorough examination. Funny enough, the desire to be done and home wasn’t as strong now that this female was near. He needed a nice distraction from the shit in his life.
With confident steps, Ember crossed the room and her nostrils flared. No doubt she was following a scent trail. It was difficult to discern what was what with so many competing odors overwhelming the room. One thing he couldn’t deny was that her boldness was alluring and her lithe movement was reminiscent of her cougar. Both called to his leopard.
She was an attractive female. He hadn’t realized how tall she was when he’d met her before. He swallowed hard as he watched her mile-long legs move around the room. Her delicate frangipani scent soothed and aroused him, making him want to take her. Suddenly, she bent over and to reach one gloved hand to a pile of goop and a growl left his throat.
He wanted to bend her over while taking her from behind, claiming her. Whoa there buddy, he chastised. He reminded himself she was a female and he wanted no part of that. It would only lead him to disaster. No, it was best not to get involved. With his luck, she was involved or mated. There was no mate mark obvious, but there was too much that was hidden from view.
His body ignored his command and continued to peruse her body. She had legs made to wrap around a male’s hips and pull him close. Ember wouldn’t submit easily. It was obvious she was an alpha female and didn’t hesitate to take control. The scar running under her left eye told him she was a scrapper. He wondered if that had anything to do with why she wore glasses.
Normally supernaturals didn’t need them, but perhaps she was self-conscious about the imperfection. He found scars highly attractive because they hinted at a fire within. It showed she was a fighter.
Watching her, he realized there was something about her presence that brought him back to life. Ever since falling for Elsie, his head had been tangled and confused. And then Jaidis came along and everything crumbled, he thought bitterly. But somehow, Ember walked into the room and the fog cleared.
“We gonna follow her?” O’Haire asked, breaking into Orlando’s thoughts.
Ember was walking down the back hall of the club. “A patrol officer cleared that area already,” Orlando called out.
Ember turned
her beautiful face his way and pushed her glasses up her nose. Her amber eyes glowed briefly. “Yes, but they weren’t me,” she muttered with a smirk as she held up several evidence bags. “They clearly need more training. I mean, some pretty obvious evidence was missed—.”
Wood flew into the air behind Ember, cutting her off. The lights flickered before several bulbs burst in a loud pop and pandemonium erupted as they were encased in blackness. His SPD colleagues began running around franticly trying to find a light source. Orlando was in motion before he fully registered what was happening.
“What the fuck is that?” O’Haire blurted.
Orlando didn’t stop to respond, but made it to Ember’s side just as a demon charged from the room. If Orlando hadn’t felt the malice exuding from the creature, he may have mistaken it for an angel. Well, until closer inspection.
Black as night eyes were a dead giveaway of its lifelessness and malevolence. This demon was a female, scantily dressed with enormous blue wings that seemed to take up the entire hallway. Strips of charcoal-colored cloth rapped around her limbs and across her torso, barely covering her breasts and sex. At first, he didn’t realize she wore clothing because her skin was only a couple shades lighter than the fabric. Her long black hair flew about her head in the wind her sudden appearance created.
The sight made his skin crawl and his stomach revolt. What the hell were they dealing with now?
He realized now wasn’t the time to get caught up in analyzing the new demon. It was about to attack Ember and Orlando needed to get his ass in gear. Keeping most of his attention focused on protecting Ember, he glanced around to gage if the demon was alone.
Moving closer, Orlando noted the wings were nothing like Illianna’s diamond-tipped gold wings or Tori’s smaller bat-like wings. Instead, these were a deformed version of both. Blue feathers covered blue leathery flesh and the ends were pointed with claws. This demon could slice and dice its victim while the razor-like fingernails disemboweled them. Not a pleasant thought.
“I am Crocell,” the demon answered haughtily before she moved to grab Ember.
Her movements were almost as quick as Kyran’s when he sifted, but Orlando didn’t let that deter him. His switchblade left his hand before his racing heart took another beat. Sailing through the air, it embedded to the hilt in Crocell’s forehead.
Screeching, the demon raked her claws across Ember’s shoulder. Ember cried out and Orlando lunged, grabbing her arm before the demon could portal her away. It was a risk, but he had no choice. The way he saw it, better to be alive and without an arm than dead. Santiago’s mate, Tori, had suffered a similar injury but was learning to live with her handicap. Ember would cope, too. At least she’d be alive.
With one arm wrapped around Ember, Orlando withdrew a sgian dubh from his boot and tossed it at the same time O’Haire took aim and fired. Crocell shrieked then disappeared a second later.
Orlando remained on alert, grabbing another blade with his free hand. “Call Zeum, get Jace and one of the princes here now,” he ordered O’Haire.
They had some memories to erase after this shitstorm and only vampires were capable of that. Jace needed to heal Ember because he could feel her warm blood seeping through his fingers.
Meeting Ember’s amber gaze, he felt her fear, pain and determination reflected. This female was as tough as nails and wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Lifting his hand from her shoulder, he cursed as he got a good look at the four deep furrows that left her arm hanging by threads. The cuts went all the way to the bone and a couple went through it.
“It’s just a scratch, put a Band-Aid on it,” Ember muttered in a tight voice.
Startled he looked up and realized she was joking with him. He appreciated her humor. It was how he dealt with life. He’d rather be laughing than yelling or crying any day, but he could tell this was her trying to deal with the pain.
“I’ve got a box in my car. Hope you like SpongeBob,” Orlando teased back. “I’m not familiar with that demon, but I think its safe to say this is gonna leave some nasty scars. Hold tight, Jace is coming to stitch you up. This is gonna hurt for a while. I wish to fuck he could heal demon wounds. I’m sorry I couldn’t stop her,” Orlando admitted, feeling like he had failed yet another female.
The scene surrounding them was gruesome. It was impossible to determine how many victims the demon had in there. He didn’t envy the coroner who would try to figure out which parts went with which body. Blood and gore spattered every surface. Thank the Goddess Bhric and Kyran would be here to erase the human’s memories of the demon. Otherwise, this would be written off as a horrendous massacre.
His heart skipped a beat when he realized that Ember had almost been part of that carnage.
He should have protected her. It was his job and he wanted to kick his own ass for being so lax with the scene. He’d been too focused on keeping any hint of supernaturals from the human’s attention and she’d almost paid the ultimate price. Glancing down he expected to see hatred behind her amber eyes, but was shocked to feel gratitude and admiration.
“I guess that means our dinner date is going to have to wait a few days,” she quipped, drawing his attention away from the bloody mess of her injury.
Did she just ask him out? He hadn’t realized she was interested in him. Hell, he hadn’t anyone, aside from Jaidis and Brantley, much thought in the past couple days.
Unable to stop his reaction, his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. Shaking his head, he murmured, “Dinner? I can’t.”
Ember narrowed her eyes at him. “Can’t or won’t?”
“Does it matter?”
Trying to sit up, Ember winced from the pain her movement caused. “Steve,” she called out and the male quickly rushed over. “I need you to put pressure on my arm so I don’t bleed out,” she said as she glared at Orlando.
He opened his mouth to tell Steve he had it, but she shook her head violently and her complexion turned gray. Not wanting to cause her more pain, Orlando relinquished her care to O’Haire, but the act was harder than he expected.
His leopard howled to return to her side and he found it impossible to move more than a foot from her side. He didn’t even care that some of the humans who’d seen the attack could be getting away. His chest twisted at the sight of her blood and even more at her obvious disdain for him.
He hated the look in her eyes and wanted to explain, but no words came. This was best for her. The Goddess had shown him he wasn’t meant to have happiness and the last thing he wanted was to pull her down with him.
CHAPTER FIVE
Ember clenched her hand and rotated her injured shoulder as she got dressed. It moved much better than it had when she’d gone to bed that morning. With the ability to heal quickly, she wasn’t used to being out of commission for so long. Typically, she’d be back to fighting condition the next day. It sucked knowing that demon injuries took twice as long to heal because of the venom poisoning their systems. The pain had been excruciating and unlike anything she’d ever experienced. Thankfully, Jace had given her the antidote. She hated to think how long it would have taken without the shot. Two days was enough for her.
She wasn’t a very good patient and Jace had tried his best to soothe her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t totally blame her piss-poor attitude on the pain. After Orlando’s rejection, she been surly and short-tempered and the injury only added to it, causing her to act like a flat-out bitch. She’d cursed and snapped at Jace, but it hadn’t ruffled his feathers.
One positive had come out of the awful experience. She was no longer interested in Orlando. Okay, that was a total lie, but she was determined she could convince her mind and body that he was worse looking than the demon. Surely, she could do that. She considered herself intelligent in many areas including chemistry, blood analysis, finger printing, as well as, fighting and even rock collecting. Yet, she couldn’t seem to teach her mind and body not to react to the mere mention of Orlando’s nam
e. Her new approach was to ignore the subject altogether.
Leaving her cottage, she headed to Jesaray house and wondered what her Omega wanted. Her heavy boots crunched on the frozen ground cover. It was cold this time of year, but the Grove was located on the eastside of the lake in the forested area around Snoqualmie and it seemed bitterly cold amidst all the trees. The scent of the various shifters permeated the air, connecting her to her pack through the feedback loop of shared energy.
The temperature couldn’t abate the anticipation that bubbled beneath her newly healed skin. Was Hayden finally going to make her a C.L.A.W.? Throwing a couple practice punches, she tested the bone. Her skin was healed, but the slight ache could mean the bone wasn’t done fusing back together.
No matter, she could do the job or die trying. If Hayden offered the position to her there was no way she was going to turn it down. She had worked too hard for far too long. She understood the need to protect the females, but it was just as important to protect the males. The females wouldn’t be the future of the race without the males. And sadly, there were some in the pack that still believed females were weaker than males.
That notion irritated Ember. Generally, females were weaker than males, but there were also males not equipped to patrol and protect the pack, just as there were females who sucked at nurturing the striplings. It was based on the individual, but so many of the elders in the pack were stuck in their old way of thinking. They weren’t in the stone ages anymore.
For all that supernaturals held themselves apart from humans she found it curious how both groups had a history of treating their females as inferiors. When the vampire king had sent out an open call for Dark Warriors decades ago she had contemplated joining since it was the only group where females were accepted into male roles, but she refused to leave her pack to live at Zeum. There was strength in being close to the pack and she doubted her cougar could survive without that energy. Besides, she felt protecting her pack members took precedence.