A Warrior Christmas

by Gabelman, Teresa

  “Don’t you dare,” Tessa warned, her eyes narrowing.

  “Oh, I dare.” Jared made sure a few flakes fell on her face. “I’m just trying to decide where to put it.”

  Before Tessa could answer, snow exploded from the back of Jared’s head. He turned to look, giving Tessa the opportunity to buck him off and scramble to her feet. Raven stood behind them with a huge grin.

  “Damn, that felt good.” Raven laughed, then dodged the snowball that came toward her from Jared. “Is that all you got, old man?”

  “Old man?” Jared growled, bending down to get more snow. “I’ll show you old man.”

  Tessa watched as Jared took off after Raven, a grin on her face. Flakes fell from the sky. Glancing up, she sighed wistfully. It was snowing again. While she wasn’t a fan, tonight she was as it gave her a glimpse of the Jared Kincaid she hadn’t seen in such a long time.

  “What are you doing just standing there?” Nicole shouted, waving at her to come on. “It’s a full-out war back here. We need you.”

  Tessa took off running and was surprised to see the Warriors and the mates having one hell of a snowball fight. It was total chaos, but it felt right. For once, they all let their guard down, if only for a few minutes to enjoy the moment. Tessa had a feeling the time for peace was going to change, and soon. Her smile slipped as she glanced at Daniel, who stood still just watching everyone, then his eyes met hers. She realized immediately that Daniel also knew this carefree moment was fleeting.

  Chapter 3

  Steve unlocked the warehouse door and walked inside, locking it behind him. He had just left the mayhem of snowballs. It was fun for a moment, but then he tired of it quickly. Everyone still saw him as Steve, the goof ass, but something inside him had changed. He didn’t like it. No one seemed to notice, even Mira, yet to him, the day they’d pulled him down from the front gate of the compound, he’d lost part of himself.

  Not even bothering with the lights, Steve tossed his bag to the floor, kicked off his boots, and walked onto the mat. Only recently had Slade given him the go ahead to train. Whatever the witches had done to him caused him to heal much slower. Mira, Kira, and even Bonnie couldn’t figure out why, or what kind of spell they had used. He was a vampire—no spell should have worked. Then again, he had been a half-breed and still had human traits. He had even scarred in places, not healing completely. His eyes narrowed at the mirrors across the floor as he headed that way, taking off his shirt.

  A stranger’s eyes stared back at him as they dropped to his chest. The remnants of scars could still be seen. Hatred and rage filled him, aimed at the bastard Orjyll. The fucker may not have been the one to exact the punishment his body suffered, but he was definitely the one giving the orders.

  The pain wasn’t even the worst of what had happened to him. Pain he could tolerate. Yeah, it sucked, and he’d rather not have any, but the humiliation of being found hung to the gate with a fucking message carved into his body was something he wouldn’t soon get over. His peers had seen him that way, his brothers. And his mate, Mira. He’d seen the look in each of their eyes every time they’d visited him while he’d been healing, and it had eaten at him like nothing ever had before.

  While he hid all of it behind his Steve “funny guy” façade, his rage and need for revenge were getting to him like a slow burn in his gut. It was only times like this, alone, that he could really be who he had become. His eyes rose from the scars to stare into himself. He hated what he saw. Without thinking, his fist balled tightly, punching out at his reflection. Glass shattered and the mirror broke into thousands of pieces, landing on his feet.

  He continued to stare, seeing only slivers of his face; his reflection was as broken as he himself was.

  “That’s ten years bad luck.” Bonnie’s voice sounded behind him.

  “Seven,” Steve corrected absently, still staring at parts of himself. “What are you doing here?”

  “Came to check on you, which was obviously smart on my part,” Bonnie replied, then sat down in the middle of the mat. “I know what you’re going through, Steve.”

  Turning toward her, he tilted his head. “Oh, really? What is it you think I’m going through other than having to explain to Sid about this broken mirror?” When Bonnie continued to stare up at him, Steve knew he had to play his part because no way in hell was he going to open up to a witch he barely knew. “Seriously, there was a big fucking spider, and I killed it. That’s all you saw.”

  “You suck at lying.” Bonnie gave him a half grin. “So cut the shit, Steve. I’ve dealt with Orjyll for a long time, seen what he can do.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this with you.” Steve glared down at her.

  “Bud, I’m the only one you can talk to about this,” Bonnie replied, then sighed. “Right now, you’re not too trusting of witches and yet you’re mated to one. I think you best have someone to talk to because this is going to eat you alive.”

  Blood ran down his fingers, his hand stung, and he welcomed the pain. It numbed everything else he felt. “Don’t bring Mira into this.”

  “She’s already in it.” Bonnie tilted her head, then stood to face him. “Don’t let him win, Steve. Don’t let him turn you into someone you’re not. This is what he does. He will try to bring you all down by any means necessary.”

  Believing that remaining silent was best at the moment, Steve continued to stare at her. He didn’t want to admit she was right, but she was in some aspect. He wasn’t himself. He had a taste for something that he’d never had before. To kill. It wasn’t bloodlust, far from it. It was revenge, plain and simple.

  “Everyone may think he let you go, but I know different.” Bonnie took a step closer to him. She reached up and tapped him on the temple. “He’s right there, where he wants to be.”

  “I will kill him.” Steve’s voice was low and didn’t even sound like his own. Hatred filled every single word.

  “Not if I get to him first.” Bonnie stepped away, dropping her arm. Frowning, she stared at him. “Because I’m not part of the Warrior ‘code,’ can you answer something for me?” She actually did the air quotes.

  “If I can.” Steve nodded, actually feeling a little better talking to Bonnie. Not much, but a little less full of hate.

  “Do you think there were any demons involved in what happened to you?” Bonnie asked, her frown deepening. “Were you able to pay any attention at all?”

  Steve answered without pause. “I know exactly who was involved, who was around and who played a part. No demons were there.”

  “You’re a hundred percent sure?” Bonnie’s eyes narrowed slightly as she studied him. “They can be tricky.”

  “No demons.” Steve’s answer was final.

  “And did Orjyll mention demons?” She continued her questions without blinking an eye.

  “No.” Steve shook his head. “I can tell you the whole conversation if you’d like, but honestly, I’d rather not.”

  She shook her head. “I wouldn’t do that to you unless you needed to. I’m serious, Steve. If anyone knows about Orjyll’s evilness, it’s me. Anytime you need to talk, I’m here, just to listen.”

  Steve sighed after a second of hesitation. “I appreciate that, Bonnie.” Steve glanced toward the warehouse door as it opened, then back at her. “Thank you.”

  “No thanks needed.” She gave him a half smile.

  Bishop had just walked in and was turning on lights when Steve grabbed her arm before Bonnie could leave. “Why did you ask me about the demons?”

  For a moment, she remained silent, her eyes shifting toward Bishop. “Because I don’t think they’re as involved in this as the others think.”

  Steve frowned, letting go of her arm. “Have you said anything to anyone about that?”

  “Not until I’m sure. Remember, I’m not part of the Warrior ‘code.’” She used air quotes again, but this time rolled her eyes.

  He couldn’t help but grin. He had felt that way once, before he was a W
arrior.

  “What the fuck happened to the mirror?” Bishop walked up, his eyes going from the mirror to Steve’s bloodied hand, then to Bonnie.

  “Spider.” Bonnie’s eyes widened in fake fright. “Big sucker. I was terrified, but Steve saved me.”

  Bishop’s eyes narrowed at Bonnie before glancing back at the mirror. Steve chuckled when she winked at him, then turned to leave.

  “Spider, huh?” Bishop cocked his eyebrow at him.

  “Yeah, big sucker.” Steve kept to Bonnie’s story.

  “Yeah, well, get this shit cleaned up.” Bishop walked toward the showers. “Slade release you?”

  “He did.” Steve headed to get a broom. “Why?”

  “’Cause I need help, so cancel your plans.” Bishop disappeared, leaving Steve to clean up his mess.

  As he swept up the broken mirror, Steve’s mind cleared somewhat. Having Bishop ordering him around seemed normal, something he hadn’t felt since that day. Everyone seemed to tiptoe around him, not wanting to upset poor, broken Steve.

  By the time he had everything cleaned up, the room was filling up with Warrior trainees. Noticing one glancing at his chest, he grabbed his shirt and put it on. That’s all it took for his mood to turn dark once again.

  Chapter 4

  Bishop actually enjoyed training even though he did more bitching at the new trainees. They probably thought he hated them, but that was far from the truth. He respected every single one of them who walked through the door. He just knew what it took, and it wasn’t a pat on the head and “good job” bullshit. They needed a hard lesson in the life of a VC Warrior. That meant dealing with shit no one else wanted to deal with under any circumstances, and more times than not, without a good job or a heartfelt thank you.

  Sid had asked him to take over tonight because he had to help the mates with a Christmas tree. Bishop had chuckled at that. Bunch of fucking whooped pussies was what they were. Then again, if he had a mate who looked like any of his fellow Warriors’ mates, he’d probably be…. Nah, it would take more than a good-looking female to make him pant after her.

  Glancing toward Katrina, he frowned, focusing on her ground fighting. She was struggling against her partner’s strength rather than thinking of her technique. Grappling took patience and thought. He walked her way, and he knelt beside her. “Stop fighting it, Katrina,” Bishop ordered, watching as the much larger male trainee manhandled her, but not in a disrespectful way. The trainee was trying to help her.

  Katrina rolled her eyes at him, then went limp. “I hate grappling.” She huffed, then blew hair out of her eyes. “I freak out. I’m too claustrophobic. Anytime anyone puts weight on me, I panic.”

  “She does.” The trainee nodded at Bishop. “I can feel her tense as soon as I put any pressure down on her.”

  “Mike, isn’t it?” Bishop asked. Trying to learn all their names had been the hardest part of training them.

  “Yes, sir.” He nodded, looking pleased Bishop got his name right.

  “Put as much pressure on her that you can,” Bishop ordered, glancing at Katrina to see how she was going to react. Yeah, she didn’t like it.

  “Okay, when I said I panic, I mean, I want to gouge eyes, scratch, bite, you name it.” Katrina’s eyes widened in warning. “Seriously, I will do anything to get away and that isn’t grappling. That’s ‘get the hell off of me before I totally freak out.’”

  “He can handle it.” Bishop nodded. “Right, Mike?”

  “Ah, sure.” Mike didn’t sound so sure.

  “Can’t I just do something else?” Katrina sighed, looking defeated. “I’m good with stand-up.”

  “Most fights end up on the ground.” Bishop cocked his eyebrow at her. “You know that.”

  “Then I’ll just call in my coyotes,” Katrina countered, looking pleased with her reply.

  “No.” Bishop shook his head. “Okay, Mike. Hold her down. Make her work to get out, or she gets you to tap.”

  “Shit.” Katrina’s voice shook.

  Bishop lay on the ground, keeping enough distance so they could work without him in the way. Watching her face closely, he saw when she was getting ready to panic. “Why aren’t you helping the mates get the Christmas shit?”

  “What?” Katrina huffed, her voice high-pitched as she fought to get Mike off her.

  “Stop trying to push him off because that’s never going to happen. Relax. See his arm. Trap it against your body,” Bishop ordered, watching her reach for Mike’s arm, but losing it when Mike pulled it away. “All the women were going to get a Christmas tree. Why didn’t you go with them?”

  Katrina finally got Mike’s arm. “Because I had training and didn’t want Sid chewing me out.”

  “Good choice.” Bishop chuckled, his eyes remaining on her technique. “Good. Now trap his foot with yours.”

  Mike put more pressure on Katrina as he fought to get his arm back, and the panic was setting in again. “Yeah, I’m not much for Christmas,” Bishop said, then looked back to see her trying to get Mike’s foot trapped. Once she did, he glanced back up at her. “Good. Now I know they’ve taught you the upa, so fucking do it. Bridge up and flip him.”

  Being a good partner, Mike didn’t make it easy on her. He slipped his foot out from her trap, making her work for it. It seemed that the panic had left her temporarily as she focused on a move she knew.

  “Yeah, I hate Christmas,” Katrina sneered as she finally caught Mike’s foot and with a quickness that made Bishop proud, she rolled Mike onto his back, where she now was on top, straddling him. “Holy shit. I did it.”

  Bishop sat up with a smile as large as hers. “Yeah, you did. Good job.”

  “Distraction.” Katrina gave him a thoughtful nod. “It actually worked. I was wondering why you were talking about Christmas.”

  “Kept you from thinking about smothering.” Bishop grinned. “Mind over matter. Works every time.”

  “Good job, Katrina.” Mike smiled up at her, then raised his hand for a high five. “But why do you hate Christmas? Nobody hates Christmas.”

  “Yeah, well, this girl does,” Katrina replied, then glanced toward Blaze, who Bishop knew had been watching.

  “Don’t let the mates hear you say that,” Bishop warned, then stood. “Mike, make her do that a hundred times and make it hard on her.”

  “Yes, sir.” Mike nodded as Katrina climbed off him. “Come on, Katrina. Let’s move over here where we have more room.”

  Bishop walked over to where Blaze and Steve stood observing everyone. “I’ll work with her on her grappling,” Blaze stated, his eyes still on Katrina. “I didn’t know she was struggling that much with it.”

  “Most people with claustrophobia do,” Bishop replied, his eyes roaming the other trainees. “Mike’s a good partner for her.”

  Blaze nodded but continued to frown as he stared at his mate.

  “Did she say she hated Christmas?” Steve frowned, then glanced at Bishop.

  “She did.” Blaze was the one who answered, his voice deep as his eyes narrowed.

  “But why?” Steve shook his head. “No one should hate Christmas.”

  “Don’t know, but I’ll be finding out.” Blaze moved away from the wall and headed in her direction. He peered back at Bishop. “Thanks for helping her.”

  “It’s my job.” Bishop gave him a nod. “She’s going to make a hell of a Warrior.”

  “Yes, she will,” Blaze replied as he walked away.

  Bishop glanced at Steve, who focused on someone else grappling and rolled his eyes. “Why do some people find it so hard to grapple? I’d rather be on the ground than stand-up. It’s like a game of chess.” Steve frowned shaking his head in disgust.

  Bishop didn’t answer Steve’s question. Instead he asked one of his own. One he wanted an answer to. “What were you and Bonnie talking about?” Bishop watched for Steve’s reaction. He had to give the kid credit. He didn’t even flinch.

  “Nothing really, other than big-ass spiders,�
�� Steve answered, without looking his way. He then threw up his hands. “Ah, come on, guys. A monkey could do better than that shit.”

  Bishop watched Steve go and help the trainees and frowned. He’d actually heard the word demon when he’d arrived at the warehouse. Not only that, he had definitely seen a change in Steve, even though he knew Steve was trying to hide it. Bishop and his brother, Viktor, had dealt with enough evilness that came with dark witches to know that your first real encounter could fuck you up.

  Making a note to search out Bonnie when he was finished here, Bishop instructed those who needed it and pushed the ones who didn’t. There was so much shit going on in the world right now, even without the demon involvement, that they needed to be prepared for anything and make sure those who would be walking beside them had all the tools necessary to protect themselves. But more importantly, be able to protect the human race. Most humans had no clue what was out there and what was coming. There was always someone wanting to take over, be top dog. He’d even heard plans from vampires, shifters, and witches over the years that humans weren’t a necessary species.

  Yeah, Merry Fucking Christmas, world.

  Chapter 5

  Sloan sat at his desk, his mind not on what it should be. No, it was on the way Becky stormed out of his office hours ago. He knew the women didn’t really understand exactly what was going on out there. It wasn’t their job. Well, except for Jill and Nicole, but there they were championing the damn Christmas fucking party shit. They were spread thin as it was, not to mention all the rogue vampires preying on holiday shoppers. Seriously, what the hell? Christmas seemed to bring out the worst, not only in vampires but humans as well.

  “Fuck!” Sloan slammed a file closed and stared at his open door. He had watched Sid, Jared, and Duncan all leave with their mates hours ago to go get a damn tree. Becky hadn’t been with them. Standing, he stomped toward the door and looked out. Hearing rustling coming from the game room, he headed that way. Stopping just outside the door, he peered in and frowned. Becky was barely seen beyond all the decorations and boxes.