Of Humans and Monsters

by Candace Blevins

  I have no idea how Ryan knew Randall was hurting me, but I heard a gunshot seconds before Ryan was suddenly on top of Randall, the Alpha wolf’s face buried in the ground while Ryan held Randall’s arms behind him and jammed his knee into the larger man’s back.

  “Open it up to her,” Ryan demanded. “The first bullet had a trace of silver, the next is twenty percent silver and is loaded slow enough there won’t be an exit hole on the other side of your head.”

  The wolves around him wanted to jump him, but hesitated. This human had been lightning fast and now held a gun with silver bullets to their Alpha’s head.

  I breathed in relief as energy soaked my aura. I finally gasped air into my lungs, the pressure inside and outside of my head normalized, and every beat of my heart no longer came with the feeling of a knife pushing through my chest.

  I felt an instant of bloodlust, but I sucked in more energy and walked to my water bottle. I downed the water as I kept pulling in energy, and the bloodlust faded. Most of Bran’s blood was out of my system, but it could’ve been bad if I’d still had enough of it to take hold.

  As soon as Ryan saw I was okay, he stepped away but kept the gun aimed on Randall. “You promised her sanctuary.”

  “Was making a point,” Randall said as he gracefully came to his feet with an entry and exit wound on his head from the bullet. “I wouldn’t have harmed her, and I believe you just confirmed you’re our enemy of old.”

  Ryan’s eyes flicked to me and back to Randall, and I’d swear I saw the wolf peeking out when the Alpha smiled. “She doesn’t know? Well, she’s a friend of the Pack so I’m in my right to tell her.”

  With a sigh, Ryan told me, “I’m part of a race of slayers — I’m sure you’re familiar with Van Helsing and Buffy?”

  I have no idea why this pissed me off, but it did. He’s supernatural too. How does he get off calling anyone not human a monster? Instead of bitching at him, I stepped sideways and touched Cora’s arm. She put it around my waist and I leaned into her as I said, “Cora and I are going to walk through the woods. I assume the property’s safe. I need time away from all of you.”

  Cora looked to Randall, who gave a terse nod, and she and I turned our backs on everyone and walked away as Randall’s voice reverberated in my head.

  I won’t apologize for reminding you of my power, but I wouldn’t have harmed you.

  I could think of no tactful way to respond to the Alpha wolf, so I didn’t. I’ve seen Nathan with his people a few times, and I understand he has to make sure everyone remembers what he can do to them so he doesn’t have to actually do it. The safety of his people depends upon his ability to lead them, and to act swiftly if anyone dares harm one of his. He also acts without any seeming remorse if anyone challenges the Amakhosi title. On a logical level, I understood everything Randall had done.

  Emotionally, however, I needed time.

  Cora was pulled between us though, and it was important I make things as easy on her as I could.

  “I don’t want to make you choose between us. I’m sorry you feel torn.”

  “It’s a wolf thing. I’m his and you have a claim to me, and it’s not sitting well with him. In a battle, I don’t think he’s certain of my loyalty. To be honest, I’m not either. If you or Lauren were in danger, I’m pretty sure I’d do whatever it took to save the two of you, even if it meant going against a direct order from him.”

  “Why would he order you to not protect us?”

  “If I had to choose between saving you or saving him? There isn’t supposed to be a question about who I’d save. Even if I’m working for Drake, my work agreement says I protect my Pack first.”

  “I’m a Friend of the Pack, right? So protecting me is still looking out for the Pack’s interests.”

  “That’s what I’ve been telling myself, and I’ve been able to make a good argument of it to Randall, but he knows my loyalties are split.”

  “What do we do?”

  “I don’t want to leave the Pack.”

  She sounded so sad, so forlorn. It broke my heart.

  “I’m sorry, Cora. I don’t know what I did, so I can’t undo it.”

  “I don’t want you to undo it.”

  “How do I smooth things over with Randall?”

  “He got the better of you, so it might be okay now. I know it stuck in his craw when you dominated the fight at the coterie house.”

  I sighed. “Men.”

  “You and I are both drawn to the alpha-males of the world. Life might be easier if we weren’t.”

  “Maybe, but probably not as much fun.” She’d dated a lion for a while, and more recently had gone out with a grizzly a few times, so I knew she liked them to be able to overpower her and take over.

  “You really aren’t interested in Adonis?”

  “Nope. I mean, there’s physical attraction because… damn. But that’s it. He’s turning into a friend but I can’t imagine it’ll go farther.”

  “If he turned his eyes towards me I’d drop to the ground and spread my legs. Seriously. My wolf wants him in the worst way, and I’ve been holding back because I wasn’t sure about you, but if you aren’t interested I’d love to flirt with him.”

  “Have at it, but I get the feeling he chooses and knows whoever he picks will be a sure thing.” I stopped walking and added, “He says the strongest shifters aren’t susceptible, and I’ve been told you’re strong enough to have your own pack if you wanted.”

  “So I’ve been told, and I’ve met several Alphas I’m just about positive I could beat in a fair fight, but I’m not interested in leading. I’m happy following Randall’s lead and being his third. You never told me about Dawg.”

  “Two words: Playful Dom.”

  “How does that work?”

  “I have no idea, but fuck, did it ever.”

  Cora isn’t into structured BDSM, but she likes it rough and will accept a spanking from a man strong enough to give her one. I didn’t give her every detail of my time with Dawg, but plenty of the juicy bits. I can talk to my friend Samantha about anything BDSM, but not the wolf stuff. I can talk to Cora about the supernatural bits, but sometimes I worry she won’t understand the kink.

  “You know I sometimes pick up on your feelings,” she was hesitant, as if she worried she’d anger me, and I wanted to put her at ease.

  “Yeah. I get stuff from you out of the blue sometimes. The more we work together, the more it happens. I trust you, it’s all good.”

  “You want Nathan.”

  I considered my feelings before answering. I’d had my mouth open to deny it immediately, but if she’d picked up on it I needed to look inside to see why. She was right about my wondering what he’d be like in bed, but I honestly didn’t want to go there. He was my friend and I didn’t want to fuck it up.

  “Kinda, but not really,” I finally answered. “The thoughts of Nathan naked with a belt in his hand makes me want to crawl to his feet, but there’s no way it’ll work between us. He’s the fucking Amakhosi. He has to screw every female in the Chattanooga Pride, and I know when he travels to other Prides he often fucks the top people — male and female if just doing the women isn’t enough.”

  “And yet, you want him.”

  “Nathan needs me to be his friend. I’m not going to complicate my life or his.”

  “No chance of taking Abbott back?”

  “No. He broke trust. Besides, I need someone closer to my own age.”

  “Nathan doesn’t exactly qualify as being your age.”

  “At least he’s under a thousand.”

  “Randall’s your age.”

  “And vanilla, from what I gather.”

  “Randall doesn’t date or sleep with anyone in the Pack. He once told me if he ever settles down with someone, it’ll have to be with someone he can’t control. He can override the will of Pack, so he’ll have to find either a human, or another species. I’m not sure the latter will work though, because Alpha wolves aren’t supposed to
do anything to split their loyalty. If he married a hawk and then the wolves went to war with the hawks...”

  “His brother’s married to human.”

  “We have to be so damned careful with humans. Ya’ll break way too freaking easy.”

  She stopped at a small stream and shuddered. “My wolf wants out. We should head back so I can eat.”

  “When I first got the energy back, it took me a few minutes to get on top of the bloodlust. I’ve lost most of my night vision, incredible hearing, and awesome sense of smell I got from Bran’s blood, so I’m assuming the bloodlust is weaker and easier to handle. It wasn’t a big deal, but it could’ve been. You had problems with your wolf?”

  “Randall helped me. I’m okay, but I’ll be better with food.”

  We didn’t talk much on the way back, but we didn’t need to. I felt her energy, she felt mine. Nothing needed to be said.

  Randall had barbecue warming on the stove when we returned, and he made a plate for Cora as soon as he saw us. She sat at the island and devoured it, and I accepted the brownie he offered me. I noted he no longer sported bullet holes in his head, and assumed he must’ve changed to heal while we were gone.

  “Are we good?” I asked Randall.

  “Nothing’s resolved but we seem to be okay. No hard feelings?”

  “A little. More a loss of trust than hard feelings.” He could smell a lie, but I probably would’ve told the truth even if he couldn’t.

  “I wouldn’t have harmed you. You can trust me to keep you safe when you’re with me.”

  “I’m human, Randall. I understand the wolf thing logically, but from my perspective you took advantage of a weak moment to make a point. I hold no ill will to you for doing it, but I won’t be likely to let you see me when I’m not at my best in the future. I came to you as a human who temporarily needs supernatural bodyguards. I don’t like needing help, but I do. You took advantage.”

  He opened his mouth to defend his actions but I spoke before he could. “It’s what wolves do. I get it. We’re good. Cora’s your wolf and my friend. Thanks for not poking at it.”

  Yeah, he’d been poking the hell out of it, but the therapist in me decided to try a different tactic. It’d either work or backfire, but I thought it might work.

  “I have to be on a jobsite at eight in the morning for a meeting, so breakfast will need to be at seven.”

  “I can grab something quick on the drive into work, but I’m sure Cora will appreciate it.”

  Randall looked at Cora, who told me, “We eat meals together here. Even if you don’t eat, you’ll need to come down.”

  “I’ll reword that to say your presence will be appreciated,” said Randall. “Nathan will be here at seven for breakfast as well.” He stepped away from the island. “I’m turning in. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

  Chapter 21

  The first thing I thought when I saw Nathan the next morning was that he’d spent the night in someone’s bed. He looked more relaxed and happy than I’d seen him in a while. His hug was that of a friend, with no sexual tension, and I relaxed in his arms.

  “Whoever you were with last night is apparently good for you.”

  He kissed my forehead. “I spent the night in lion form with four females from my Pride. No one particular person is special, but my lion needed the time with some of his people.”

  And yet another reason we’d never work, but I was okay with it. “You should do it more often. I know you’re busy, but your energy is so much more chilled today.”

  “It’s possible someone may’ve needed a good beating before I changed to lion, too,” he said with a shrug as he grabbed a plate and started loading it.

  I turned away from him and ran the Fibonacci series through my head to try to tamp down my libido, because the idea of Nathan feeling better because he’d punished someone sent my blood racing towards my clit and I knew everyone in the room would smell it.

  I looked around to be sure Ryan wasn’t inside, and asked, “Is Ryan still here?”

  “Patrolling the inner perimeter,” said Nathan. “I understand you found out what he is?”

  “Sorta. I didn’t get much explanation.”

  “He can go without food and sleep a long time. I suspected he was a slayer the second day, but wasn’t certain until I had Chance do some research.”

  “Do we know when Lauren, Xiaolan, and I can go home?”

  “Mordecai’s hoping for tomorrow, but I’m not so sure.”

  When breakfast was over, Lauren and I talked on video chat for fifteen minutes while she worked on hair and makeup, and when we hung up I finally donned my suit and worked on my hair.

  Cora slid into stretchy black jeans and a tight tee shirt, pulled her shit-kicking boots on and her hair into a ponytail, and applied eyeliner and mascara. Less than five minutes and she was ready to take on the world. Today, I’d have her in my waiting room while Ryan patrolled the building and around it. Nathan had some stuff to deal with at Drake Security, but I knew he’d stay with me if he didn’t think Cora and Ryan could handle whatever came up.

  I ordered lunch from the deli around the corner, and Ryan and Cora ate with me in my office.

  “Your race is called slayers? Really?” I asked Ryan. “The Buffy writers weren’t making it up? What else do you have in common with her?”

  “Not much. I was raised as a slayer all my life. Unlike the monsters, we’re stronger and faster from the beginning, so we have to be homeschooled.”

  “Why do you not consider yourself a monster? You have superhuman strength and speed, right?”

  “Because I don’t have to constantly fight my nature to keep from hurting humans. Our race protects humans, we don’t eat them.”

  “Your definition of monster is too broad. I’ve seen Aaron and Nathan protect humans more times than I can count. Cora too, and countless other shifters and vampires.”

  He shook his head. “I agree there are monsters who don’t necessarily need to be killed on sight, but I don’t agree that doesn’t make them a monster.”

  “And you’re indoctrinated in how bad the monsters are from toddlerhood, right?”

  He shrugged, and I had to force myself not to look away from his cold, expressionless face as he answered, “Some of us are. Some are taught we only kill them if they’re harming humans or we believe they intend to do so, or if they don’t have the self-restraint to keep from it. I was taught to kill them all.”

  “Do you have a British librarian at your beck and call?”

  “My dad’s British and my mom’s French, but not like you’re thinking. We have archivists who can handle specific research when needed, but we learn most everything we’ll need to know before we’re allowed our first real fight.”

  “How old are you?”

  He took a moment to decide whether to answer, but finally said, “Forty-seven. We age normally until our early thirties, and hold there as long as we’re in top shape. If we stop working out and practicing, we begin aging. Most live another twenty to thirty years after retirement.”

  “What other super-senses do you have? Smell? Sight?”

  His ice-blue eyes seemed to bore into me. “We don’t talk about that.”

  “They’re color blind to specific shades,” Cora answered, “and it’s supposed to somehow make vampires pop to them. Things camouflaged to humans because of color are obvious to them. They’re supposed to have better night vision too. They can hear better than a human, plus they hear a wider spectrum of sounds. I don’t remember the specifics of how they have extra strength, something about their muscles and oxygen levels being closer to that of a cat. They aren’t magical, and yet they can keep a vampire out of their head.”

  “All supposition,” said Ryan. “Studies done on captured slayers.” He eyed Cora as if seeing her in a new light. “I wasn’t aware the research was common knowledge.”

  “You have to know how powerful Randall is, and I’m Gamma — third in his Pack. I could easil
y go to another Pack and become Alpha, but this is my home and I have no desire to lead.”

  “You saw into the field?” I asked Ryan.

  “I saw you enter. The trail’s situated so you disappear just as you’d go out of sight even without the obfuscation enchantment. I watched for the three of you to reappear as you walked into the hollow, and I investigated when you didn’t. I couldn’t see you until I came into the field.” He glanced at Cora and back to me. “The wolf with me was supposed to alert Randall if he lost me or if I went toward the field, but I lost him and he tried to find me instead of reporting in right away.” He turned to Cora and for the first time I thought I saw a touch of warmth in his gaze. “No doubt he’s been punished, and I’m sorry for it but it couldn’t be helped.”

  “I’ll pass along your apology,” she said, her tone acidic.

  “Can I ask you not to share what you saw?” I asked Ryan.

  “Explain to me again your relationship with the demon?”

  I took a few seconds to work through the question. If I could convince him I’m not in league with Xaephan, he might agree to keep it secret. He needed to be certain I’d only use my powers for good.

  I started from the beginning with Aquila kidnapping me and taking me to Hell, and gave him as much of the story as I could without giving away confidences. When I finished, he looked out my wall of windows several long moments before saying, “For now, I’ll keep your secret. However, if I have any reason to believe my people need to understand what’s happening, I’ll tell them.” He crossed his arms and leaned back. “Once the Lugat blood’s completely out of your system you won’t technically fit the slayer definition of a monster, but that doesn’t mean you won’t go rogue for the hell of it. For now, I’m satisfied you’re working against the agents of evil.”

  “As far as I can tell, you and I are both focused on taking out the bad guys. I’m pretty sure we’re on the same side even though our philosophies are at odds.”

  “Despite the Alpha’s wishes, it’s clear you control your wolf friend here, so as long as you’re fighting the bad guys, she will too.”