Vampires (Death by Reaper MC, #2)

by Esther E. Schmidt

  “No, no.” She waves a finger at me. “Stop with the smoldering eyes. We need to get dressed. Now, how do I make them go away?”

  “It’s the same what you did just now with jumping off the bed and using them, a reflex. Like when you need to open a door and stretch your arm out, don’t think, just act on instinct.” I perch myself on my elbow and watch how she stares over her shoulder.

  “It’s not working,” she mutters mainly to herself.

  Sliding off the bed, I stalk to my closet and grab a pair of jeans. “Get dressed, Angel. Ignore them. Wings have the tendency to appear when you need them and be gone when they’re not needed.”

  Tessera watches me before she nods slowly and grabs underwear, ripped blue jeans, and a black lace top. When she’s put her lace thong on and grabs her jeans, she glances back and notices her wings have retracted. Again, with the bright as fuck smile when she slips into her bra and top. When she’s standing before me with added black lace-up heels, all I can do is stare at the hint of her breasts as they swell above her top.

  “You need a necklace,” I croak. “One that snags away the attention from,” I clear my throat and let my fingers do the talking as they slide down over those magnificent hills she’s showing off in a delicate way.

  “I don’t have one.” Her breathing picks up, making that gorgeous bosom bounce with ease. “My sister had a gorgeous one.”

  Her eyes close and fuck. A golden chain materializes before my eyes. It holds a pendant that’s a tiny ruby flask surrounded with wings and detailed inscriptions. Ones I recognize.

  “Tessera, Angel...you unwillingly stole your sister’s necklace just now.”

  “Oh. My. God.” She looks horrified. “What have I done?”

  “Well,” I have to smile because this is actually something she would be happy with, “the pendant contains something that enforces your sister’s magic. She’s going to need it back. You do realize what that means, right?”

  “She’ll come looking for it,” she squeaks in delight.

  “She’ll come looking for it,” I confirm. “Though I don’t know how happy she’ll be once she gets here.”

  Tessera winces before she shrugs. “Mad or not, I’d like to see her. I had no way to contact her and now I unwillingly found a way to meet her.”

  I shake my head, because, fuck. “Have you ever seen a Fae who’s pissed off?”

  “Well, shit,” she mutters.

  Rightly so, because she might just have added another dash of fucked up problems we don’t need.

  Chapter 06

  ***Tessera***

  To say I’m doing great is such a contradiction. First, I step on Jagger’s toes by insulting his feelings, then I steal from my sister. Okay, I didn’t realize both when I did it, and it wasn’t intentional, but still...I suck. And I do, suck that is, because of the whole Vampire thing, but this is such a low blow and I hate it.

  I always keep to myself and this is probably why; my lack of social skills. And for real, I need to get a handle on my mind with wanting stuff and then having it pop up at my very command. Nifty and cool, but it comes to bite me in my ass, I’m sure it will.

  And the fact that I’m walking into the main room of the clubhouse where music is blasting through the air along with heavy discussions of all the bikers who are vacating the space. Mingle. That’s what I need to do. Get social. Yes, that would be perfect with my train wrecking experience up to now.

  “Prez. Can I have a word?” Caius points to Jagger’s office.

  Jagger glances at me as if he’s unsure.

  “Go on, I’ll be fine,” I tell him, and I will be. I need to.

  All my life I never felt like I was a part of something. I’ve always felt alone, like I was searching for more. Jagger feels so freaking right. This here is his space, his guys, and with that...this will be mine too. Yet when I look around at all those fierce faces who I haven’t had a chance to meet, I’m not so sure.

  Jagger steps toward me and places his lips against my temple. “Be right back,” he murmurs sweetly, caressing my ears and heart.

  I grab a fistful of his cut and drag him back when he wants to step away. “You better be,” I tell him before stealing a hard kiss.

  Jagger chuckles and shakes his head while he follows Caius into his office. When my gaze travels through the room, I realize everyone is staring at me. Well, probably at what just happened between Jagger and me.

  Shit. I did mention my lack of social skills, right? Add the feeling awkward in weird situation... “Do we have any wine?”

  “Romulus, bring the Prez’s Old Lady some wine,” the one standing near the bar with short blond hair says.

  “On it, Theon,” Romulus says.

  I make a mental note to remember those two names and that’s probably what I should do; have a little chat with everyone to get their names. Stepping closer to the bar, I take a seat next to Theon.

  “Hi.” I smile and turn my attention to the other biker who is sitting on the other side of me. “I’m Tess, and you are?”

  The corner of his mouth twitches. He’s got wild, dirty blond hair and looks a little boyish. “Horatio.”

  Okay, this one might look boyish but the way he said his name just now? “You’re anything but your boyish appearance, right? I bet you’re the vicious one.” Ooops. Yes, I have no control over my mouth, and thoughts, while in the company of others. I did mention I’m socially disturbed, right?

  “Ah, that’s the hint of Elite combined with the Heaven side of you seeping through, filtering the essence of a soul. No need to try and smooth talk it over. You’re right, I am vicious.” He shoots me a grin with a hint of fang.

  “Good. No one needs a bunch of mushy Vampires,” I mutter, making those around me laugh.

  I need a manual because these people seem to know more about the things every Paranormal can do than me. And I studied freaking Greek Mythology and I can’t even wrap my mind around the fact that my sister is part Fae and I just pissed her off. Fae...some legends say they are evil. Even Jagger mentioned a Fae being pissed is a bad thing. And it’s not like we have a sisterly bond or anything. Shit. My thoughts are all over the place.

  “Here’s your wine, Tess,” Romulus says as he places a glass before me.

  I gulp it down and shove the glass in his direction. “Another one, please.”

  Romulus raises one of his eyebrows. “You sure you don’t want something stronger?”

  I’m contemplating his question when there’s a flash of gold glitter, making my sister appear in the middle of the clubhouse right after. We’re all stunned and a moment later there’s another flash and the exact duplicate appears next to the tiny woman. Dio and Tria. Both my Fae sisters are here.

  “You came!” I squeak and rush forward.

  I hear curses behind me and realize every biker is on full alert. Probably because like Jagger, they are very aware about pissed off Fairies. And these two look anything but pleased. Hence me being excited. Better to seem like I organized this than admit to unintentionally stealing something, because unintentionally or not, stealing is stealing. So, yes. I’m going with excitement over seeing my sister again.

  “I had no way of contacting you and then I suddenly had the ability to think of something and have it in my hands...I didn’t mean to take it like that but when it happened I was happy, Jagger wasn’t...he said you’d be pissed,” I ramble when Dio interrupts me.

  “Give it back, Tess. We need to get home before Lorelei notices we’re missing.” Dio glances at Tria. “Oh, no, you don’t. Stop with the puppy eyes, we’re not staying one second longer than planned.”

  I take off the necklace and step toward Tria but Romulus grabs my arm. When did he move from behind the bar?

  “I’ll be fine,” I tell all of the bikers who are standing around me with tight and discomforting looks on their faces. “They’re my sisters. They won’t hurt me. Now all of you on the other hand...”

  Dio chuckles. “She’s r
ight. We’d never hurt our sister. Besides, I owe her. She’s the one who made it possible for me to escape. Now you guys...I don’t owe shit. I’m actually itching to kill me some,”

  “Dio,” Tria sighs. “Please.”

  “Oh, alright, you party pooper,” Dio mutters and stalks toward a chair and plunks down, crossing her arms over her chest and throwing one leg over the arm rest to have it dangle back and forth.

  Tria closes the distance between us and even if I hear growling around me, Tria hugs me tight. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too,” I admit. “I had no way to contact you.”

  “These days we have technology, you know?” Horatio mutters from beside me.

  Tria steps back. “Then I’d still need her number, doofus.”

  Tria takes the necklace I’m holding out for her to take and slips it back on. She reaches inside a pocket of her dark blue jumpsuit embroidered with darker flowers, almost seems like there’s lace covering some parts. Dio is wearing the same kind of clothes except hers are dark green.

  How do I know who is who with them being identical twins? Because Dio smells like gardenia while Tria smells like Lily of the Valley. Yes. Weird, I know, but it comes in very handy to tell these two apart. And thank heavens for my enhanced smell, allowing me to recognize them from far away.

  My skin prickles as if I’m becoming aware of...

  “Fuck!” Theon snaps. “Feel that? Incoming, guys.”

  I don’t have time to react or even ask what he’s talking about when something bursts through the roof and lands in the middle of the clubhouse. Three men in black leather clothes are standing back to back forming a triangle that’s ready to attack.

  There’s a wall of bikers in front of me when Jagger and Caius come storming into the room. Jagger’s eyes find mine, panic flickers until he realizes I’m protected. Warmth spreads my chest knowing how much all of them care about me.

  Tria was standing close to me before they crashed in, so she too is within the protection of the bikers, and yet Dio is facing the three men. They wear leather cuts with the Death by Reaper MC patch on them but the word ‘outlaws’ is stitched in red bold letters underneath. One of them hisses to Dio who is now circling them slowly.

  The guy flashes fangs. Dio mirrors his actions and is wielding a knife in one hand and in her other she’s gripping a throwing star. Both are from a metal that’s like a colorful rainbow, making it shine with a different color in every angle.

  “Don’t,” Jagger growls low.

  I have no clue who he’s talking to. I hope it’s meant for Dio because I want her away from those three men who look ready to attack. They smell like fire. As if they came right out of hell. Oh, shit. Demons.

  The hands of one of the Demons, the one closest to Dio, turn blood red. Spreading up his forearms in thin ropes, flickering with orange fire as it licks his skin. “I have no beef with any of you,” he snarls. “Vike wants the Angel. We’re here to collect it.”

  “I’m not a fucking it,” I snap. “Shit,” I mutter to myself. “That was damn stupid.” Pointing myself out like that.

  Three pair of Demon eyes land on me. “Didn’t expect a pretty cunt, I guess it’s our lucky day,” one says while the other two laugh.

  “You’re going to regret saying that,” Romulus snarls from in front of me.

  I see a flash of rainbow before a Demon head flies through the air and bounces on the floor, leaving a spray of black blood behind it. Tria gasps beside me as one of the other Demons swings his hand in Dio’s direction and shoots a fireball toward her. She tries to deflect it with her knife but when it impacts, she explodes into a spray of red.

  “Nooooo,” Both Tria and I scream.

  I’m about to run forward but I’m being held back by Horatio. “Stay back and let others fight this battle,” he growls as I see Jagger, Caius, and Romulus circle the remaining two Demons. But it’s Tria who moves so fast, she’s killed both Demons before they have time to see where the threat is coming from.

  There are three Demon heads on the floor, and if that isn’t creepy enough...their eyes are all staring at Tria. Her chest is heaving and her face shows so much pain, it causes my own chest to constrict. The few days I spent with Dio, I haven’t really gotten to know my sister...but Tria lost her twin. I can’t even begin to imagine how she’s feeling.

  “Quick, cover them the fuck up and burn the heads. Now, dammit!” Jagger snaps.

  Romulus jumps into action and snatches a bag out of the air that Theon throws at him. Romulus grabs a head by its hair and shoves it into the bag, repeating it two more times before he rushes out of the clubhouse.

  “Are you okay?” I hear Jagger’s voice and feel his hands cup my face.

  My stare is still pinned on Tria who is looking at the floor where her sister was standing. There’s a light red spray painted on the floor.

  “No,” I mutter. “I’m not, and Tria isn’t either.”

  I step away and go to my sister but I feel Jagger’s arm wrapping me around my waist as he pulls me against his chest. “Don’t, Angel. She just lost her sister, look. Look. At. Her.”

  What the hell is he talking about? That’s the first thought that runs through my mind, but then I see it. Tria’s fingers have turned into long pointy claws and her eyes are burning red. There’s a pattern spreading across her cheeks that looks more like scales.

  “That’s one Fae who’s leaning toward pissed off at the whole fucking world,” Horatio mumbles, making me aware what Jagger was trying to say.

  I swallow hard because I really want to wrap her in a hug, but I’m afraid I have no clue how to react or what to freaking do. I’m being moved behind Jagger when I hear his voice rumble through the clubhouse, “Tria, look at me.”

  Her head slowly turns toward his voice.

  “You killed two Demons. Are you aware that like Vampires, their boss sees the last minute of their lives? Do you know what that means?” Tria nods once sharply at Jagger’s question.

  Does this mean? Shit...Jagger sees his own friends die? That’s horrible. Oh, hell. That’s for one purpose only...revenge.

  “They’re coming for her. They can’t kill her too, I won’t let them!” I growl as my anger rises. I feel a sharp tear at my back as loud gasps spread around. One jump forward and I’ve got Tria hugged against me, my wings surrounding the both of us. “I can’t lose you too,” I whisper, and hug her tighter.

  Chapter 07

  ***Jagger***

  Dammit. Tessera’s got Tria protected underneath her wings and the whole damn clubhouse is looking at my Old Lady in awe. Hell yeah, I’ve told every single one of them my woman is part Angel, but I guess being told and seeing shit are two very different things.

  I can’t believe their sister, Dio, just got herself killed. I mean, the way Tria moved, fighting while blinking...that’s the way she should have fought. The Demons didn’t even see Tria blink. Why the hell didn’t Dio blink when the fireball hit her? And it shouldn’t have fucking killed her, that’s the strangest part. The only way to stop an immortal from living is to chop off their head. Yet it seems evaporating into tiny as shit fragments by blowing them up can count as beheading too, right? Fuck.

  “Caius, take care of that fucking hole in the roof, get a few guys up there to fix that shit before it starts to rain. Theon, go check on Romulus to see if those heads have been turned to ash already and then the two of you come back here to make sure the bodies follow. The rest of you guys, clean up the fucking blood and debris.” Everybody jumps up and start to move.

  It’s fucking better than standing around gaping at my woman. Damn idiots. And I meant it when I asked Tria if she was aware the boss of those Demons saw the last few minutes of their deaths. He might not have seen her blink around while killing them, but he sure as shit will know it was her who killed them. It means he’s coming for her. I would. If someone would kill off one of my people I would hunt them down and kill them.

  Yes, if the killer w
asn’t a Vampire I’d have to go through my own boss; Alastair. Like I came to him when Tessera’s father, Derek, killed Aura. But Demons don’t have a boss. Once upon a time they had their own MC, connected with The Orderly, like us. But they cut ties and now they’re outlaws who mind their own business unless you cross them. Well, that and the fact they hunt Angels, but seeing they are rare here on earth, we never run into any Demons, or Angels on a regular basis.

  But fuck...with my Old Lady having Angel blood running inside her...shit. It’s the fucking wings. “Tessera, get those fucking wings inside you. They’re a damn beacon. It’s that or the knife earlier but we can’t take a chance. Re-fucking-tract those wings.”

  She glares at me and I know I’m being harsh but with three Demons dying inside the clubhouse, a damn Angel added into the mix, three-third-Angel, what-the-fuck-ever, there’s bound to be hell to pay and that’s no damn pun intended.

  Tria leans in and whispers into Tessera’s ear. She’s distracting her and it works because her beautiful serene wings disappear. They lace their fingers together and step toward me. Seems these sisters both helped each other just now. I’m actually happy Tria’s claws are gone and the scales in her face too. It’s a clear indication she’s got herself back under control.

  I’ve seen fairies blow their shit a time or two in the past and let me tell you...that’s like a damn train wreck. Unstoppable. You just have to let it ride out and then, only then...you jump in for damage control. Because nobody can handle a Fae when they are consumed with anger.

  Tria and Dio are still young and not fully grown yet. Fae have exhilarated growth and are fully aged after seven years. They age three times as fast as humans and then they freeze and become immortal. Tria and Dio aren’t immortal yet. That might explain the reason what happened with Dio...dammit.

  “We need to protect Tria. She’s not immortal yet, how long, Tria?” I question.