Black Heart: Coeur de Sade (Black Heart Series)

by Gallier, TW

  "Yeah. I know what to do," I said. "But if you betray my trust...bad things will happen."

  "Are you threatening me?" Jeff said, eyes narrowing.

  "Yes," I said. "Yes I am. Don't forget it."

  With that, I returned to my car and went home.

  CHAPTER 7

  "Gabe?" I said, answering my cell. It was just after sunset. "What's up? And how did you get this number?"

  There was a brief hesitation. I could almost see his sly smile. The wheels were turning in his head.

  "Hello, Sabe. Are you coming over?" Gabe said. "The coast is clear. I lost police protection this morning."

  I knew what "coming over" meant to him. Gabe wanted sex. He was as bad as a vampire in that.

  There was nothing to stop me from visiting. I was actually in my car, only about a mile away. If there was no police guard then I could walk right in. But that would set everything in motion, and he knew it. I didn't want to waste that much time.

  Gabe's desire for me was so intense it ignited my own libido, and once I start down that road it was hard to put the brakes on. I had visited Gabe in the hospital twice when there weren't any others in the room, and both times I ended up naked and in bed with him.

  "Not tonight," I said. "I have vampire and werewolf problems. The kind that have to be dealt with right now."

  "Really?" he said.

  Gabe could understand that. When he wasn't thinking of sex, or watching porn, or visiting strip clubs, he was hunting and staking vampires. Killing vampires was an obsession with him. I may be the only vampire Gabe had met that wasn't dead-dead.

  "Yes. Now, how did you get this number?" I said.

  "Desiree," he said. "I need your help."

  Three nights back he said the same thing. My left brow rose high as I signed and changed lanes.

  "I don't consider giving you a BJ as help," I said.

  We shared a knowing chuckle.

  "Yeah, but it really did help," he said. I could hear the strain in his voice. He was really thinking about that BJ right then, and wanting it real bad. I was willing, but not right then. "But that isn't it. I'm getting kicked out of the hospital tomorrow. I need someone to take me home."

  "They are releasing you? So soon?" I said. Were they crazy? He was shot in the leg with sanctified silver. A few days in the hospital wasn't enough to clear the silver poisoning. Was it? "Did you get a second opinion?"

  "Ha! That won't work. My HMO says I'm a-okay. All of the opinions will come from HMO doctors," he said. "They won't pay after tomorrow, so I've been told I will be released at six tomorrow evening."

  HMO? I never thought about insurance, or how he was paying for his hospital stay. Could a werewolf even get insurance? Heck, they healed almost as fast as a vampire, so why would they need it? Aside from silver poisoning, that is.

  "I can't get there until eight, at least," I said. Sunset was around seven. "I can't do it."

  Talk about feeling like crap. The first time he asks me for help, that didn't involve sex, and I had to refuse. He had never said no to me, and I've asked for some really big favors in my time.

  He laughed. "Don't worry, this is a hospital. Nothing happens when it's scheduled. I'll be lucky if I'm actually released before midnight."

  "Oh. Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay, I'll be there," I said. Strangely, though Gabe was a royal pain in the butt, I was pleased as punch to be able to help. Then I grinned with an evil glint in my eyes. "Does this mean you are going to let me know where you live? How daring of you. I can't wait to see your super secret home."

  He laughed. "I was hoping you'd take me to your home, so you can nurse me back to health," he said. "Do you have a sexy nurse's uniform? You'd be so hot in all white."

  A thrill chill crawled up my spin. I didn't have a naughty nurse outfit, but Desiree did. She had three, in white, black and pink. All were latex and quite kinky. I briefly wondered if any of them would fit me. Then I remembered the business at hand.

  "Whateva. You're a pig," I said, with a smile. "I'll be there. And I'm taking you to your house. My landlord is a fang whore and doesn't like hunters. She might stake you."

  "Wouldn't that be ironic?"

  "Yes. Now, back to my problem," I said. "I'm heading out to DeSoto to find your werewolf friend, Quentin Scott. Anything I should know about him? I don't know much about werewolves."

  "Be strong and firm," he said. "They are all about the pecking order. If you show the least sign of weakness, they will be all over you. Remember, they don't like vampires. They aren't quite as afraid of vampires as normal people, but they know you're at the top of the food chain. And they don't like it."

  Well now. How encouraging.

  "Is it safe for me to go there?"

  "No," he said. "But I called him and said you might contact him."

  "And?"

  "He wasn't thrilled," Gabe said, and laughed. "But he owes me. Big. Besides, he knows you are Black Heart and a hunter."

  "So, if I don't show them I am at least his equal, they he will try to kill me?" I said.

  All my knowledge of werewolves came from the entertainment media, old wive's tales, and hearsay. Since werewolves were not abominations in the eyes of God they are not hunted or killed on sight like vampires. They were still citizens with rights in America, though not necessarily in other countries. In Eastern Europe they were hunted just as vigorously as vampires.

  "Not really. He's more likely just rip out your throat and chase you away. They aren't as bloodthirsty as vampires."

  "Thanks."

  "No problemo, baby-cakes," he said, and laughed. "Just be strong, and don't try to force them to do anything. They don't like to be pushed into anything."

  "Great," I said. Shouldn't be too bad. I was nice people. Everyone liked me. Didn't they? "But, if it comes to a fight, how strong are werewolves? I am stronger than him, right?"

  Gabe was silent a long moment.

  "Maybe. I think a male werewolf is as strong as a female vampire," Gabe said. "Some alphas are as strong as male vampires, but only in their half-wolf form."

  Not good. But I've dealt successfully with stronger vampires. I should be able to fight off a werewolf. Now I was glad to hear he had to transform to become super strong, which corresponded with what I'd always heard. The ability to transform into a wolfman was the determiner of who was an alpha. Most werewolves could only change into wolves.

  "So, Quentin could actually be stronger than me?"

  "Yes, but I doubt it," he said. "He is a pack leader, the Alpha Male of the Moonblood Pack, but no where near the strongest in the area."

  "Okay, thanks. I'll be careful," I said. Downtown was just up ahead. Going through the mix-master while on the phone wasn't fun. "I have to go; traffic is starting to get bad."

  "Will you visit me tonight?"

  "I doubt it," I said. I had other plans for later tonight. I couldn't shake thoughts of Roger Rippner and his wings. "Tomorrow. If you're nice, and not too much of a pig, I might linger a while at your house."

  "Promise?"

  "Yeah."

  Okay, I was committed to "linger" now. Not that I minded. Few men enjoyed having sex with me as much as Gabe. You'd think I made his entire life by sleeping with him. Only the downside, Gabe was kinky and crude. Some of the things he wanted to do with me were just wrong.

  To my surprise and delight, traffic passing through the mix-master was light. No one to protest my extreme lane changes. I hated going through it. As often as not I'd end up in the wrong lane and shot out in the wrong direction. Just thinking about it made me tense.

  DeSoto was a suburb of Dallas, on the south side. I took Interstate 35 south out of downtown. I kept my speed down to just ten miles an hour over the speed limit, and made the trip in no time. Traffic was a little on the heavy side, but moving without any hitches.

  Finding Quentin was easy enough. He actually was south of DeSoto, on a farm. Gabe called it the Moonblood Run. It was where the pack got together to chas
e rabbits and deer, I guess. Considering what I'd heard about werewolves, they were more likely chasing each other. They were almost as randy as vampires.

  The farmhouse was an old, two-story wood frame. Painted white, it had a deep porch on three sides. The drive was gravel, and I found eight cars, four pickups, and ten motorcycles parked out front. The pack was bigger than I thought.

  Though all lit up, the house was empty. I could tell without knocking on the door. Everyone was out back in a large red barn. The barn door was open, and flickering yellow light poured out. People were laughing and cheering, almost drowning out the deep growl of wolves.

  Two wolves. Fighting. At least that was what it sounded like to my supernaturally powerful ears. I frowned and headed over. It was early autumn in North Texas, so it hadn't rained much since spring. The ground was rock hard. Good thing, too. I was wearing heels.

  In anticipation of meeting with an alpha male, I had vamped it up. I wore bright makeup, my long black hair was curled to fall in silken waves down my back and my body was sheathed in black leather — bustier top, snug pants, and thigh boots. My only accessories were a matching dog collar, silver bracelets, and big silver hoop earrings.

  Totally vamped.

  I went unarmed. Quentin couldn't be allowed to think I was afraid of him, or that I was a threat either. He might refuse to help me. Of course, I had my pistol, shoulder holster, and black leather bolero jacket in the trunk of the Mustang. For later, if necessary.

  "Hope I'm not interrupting any sacred ritual or anything," I said, and struck a pose just inside the barn door. "The door was open."

  Twenty sets of eyes turned toward me. None looked pleased to see me. No hostility, but no pleasure either. Some of those eyes looked down right feral. What surprised me, though, were their auras. Some of them were huge. Not vampire big, but still much larger than a normal person's aura. I saw most of their auras had nothing to distinguish their auras for a normal aura, which surprised me. You'd think there would be some kind of taint to their auras. But a few of their auras were slightly different, with the inside of the aura kinda filled in so that it didn't look like a perfect circle.

  "You must be Gabe's friend," one of the men said, just a few feet in front of me. We looked each other over. He was about six one, dark hair almost to his shoulders, feral brown eyes, and a slim build. "I'm Quentin."

  Quentin wasn't particularly impressive looking. He was clean shaven, and not unattractive. I just didn't see anything to indicate he was the biggest, baddest bastard there. But the proof in the pudding was after they transformed into wolves. Then I looked at his aura, and found it was the biggest of them all, and it was one of the "filled in" auras.

  "I'm Sable. Pleased to meet you," I said, holding out my hand. He took it, and squeezed much harder than necessary. I matched him, careful to not try and win that petty little test. Men! "Thank you for seeing me."

  "Thank Gabe," Quentin said. He was not a happy camper. None of them were. I started to get a little nervous. "What do you want? We're busy, so make it fast."

  He expected me to talk about my business in front of everyone? I don't think so. But I was distracted when I spotted the two wolves in the middle of the circle. Both were bloody and trembling with suppressed aggression.

  "Pack business?" I said, indicating the wolves. "Someone trying to move up in the pecking order?"

  "What's that supposed to mean, you fat-titted vamp tramp?" a blonde of about forty said, green eyes flashing.

  Fat-titted vamp tramp? Me?

  "Get her, Bridget," someone said from the crowd.

  Bridget was about four inches shy of my five foot ten, with shoulder length blonde hair under a tightly curled straw cowboy hat, a pink tank top and faded red jeans over scuffed up cowboy boots. She had an athletic build, and looked tough as nails.

  "Bridget's alpha and top female," Quentin said, grinning. "Just so you know."

  "Appreciate that," I said, then faced the angry werewolf. She stopped a mere foot before me. First time I ever met a mortal not afraid of a vampire. Her aura was a slightly smaller version of Quentin's. "Just an observation from an outsider, Bridget. No insult intended."

  "No one here wants to be your skanky fang whore," Bridget sneered. She took a more aggressive stance, like she expected me to put up a fight. "I think it would be best if you left now."

  "Really? There are werewolf fang whores? I've never heard of such a thing," I said, totally ignoring her belligerence. "Interesting thought, but not why I'm here. I assure you, I don't need to look for fang whores. I get numerous propositions every night."

  Her eyes did a slowly scan of my body, "I bet you do. Slut."

  I don't know if it was being called a slut, or the vitriol in her tone, but that pissed me off. Her wide mouth curled ever so slightly at the ends when my fists clenched briefly. Tension ratcheted up.

  "Spoiling for a fight, huh?"

  "If I am?"

  "Ever fight a vampire?"

  "There is a first time for everything," she said, then gave me a dismissive look.

  "I can transform into a wolf, too."

  "But I'll be a bigger wolf, or a wolf-woman. I'm alpha."

  Oh, made me wonder. Were the werewolves with the filled in auras the alphas? There were only a handful, and I've heard only a few werewolves were alpha.

  "I can morph completely into a wolf in about two seconds."

  They all froze. Guess they weren't thinking about that. Werewolves turned into much bigger wolves than vampires, but it took them a few minutes to transform. Alphas transformed faster, but still not as fast as a vampire. She would be pretty much helpless until she completed the transformation.

  "You'd be dead within a few seconds," I said. Nothing vicious in my tone. Just a matter-of-fact warning. Nothing but the facts, ma'am. "Did you think about that? And then I could turn into a bat and fly away."

  "How dare you come here and threaten us?" Quentin said. "Who do you think you are?"

  "I'm Black Heart," I said. They were really ticking me off now. Any moron could see I didn't start anything. "I'll leave once I have what I want."

  "Wanna bet?" Quentin snarled. About a third of them started to transform. Including Bridget. The two already wolves came up to either side of their alpha female, to protect her. "Leave. Now."

  I locked angry eyes with him, and tried to mesmerize him. Not going to happen. No one told me I couldn't hypnotize werewolves. That would've been good to know ahead of time. I knew werewolves were already Tainted, so couldn't be Changed into vampires.

  Bridget started stripping as she transformed. Dark hair was slowly growing all over her body. Her lower face was starting to protrude out into a snout. Her fingers were stretching and thickening, nails turning into claws.

  "There is an alpha male in the Dallas area," I said, barely able to tear my eyes away. "He is about to start a war between werewolves and the vampire council."

  "Good," Bridget snarl. It was barely discernable as human speech.

  "Jesus, you people are worse than vampires," I said, shaking my head. There had to be a way to gain their help. Fast. "But there is a werewolf, probably an alpha male, who has a talisman. A red ruby on a necklace."

  "Fritz?" someone said.

  "Fritz? Fritz who? Is Fritz his first or last name?" I said, trying to discern who said it.

  "None of your business," Quentin said. "We're about to find out if a vampire can pull herself back together after we rip off her limbs."

  Bridget was almost finished with her transformation into a wolf-woman. She had shaggy dark blonde hair all over, but she was definitely a woman beneath all that hair. She now stood a good six feet all, and much thicker.

  I started backing out of the barn. They were all slowly creeping toward me. I could transform into a bat and fly away. The thought of how cowardly that would look irked me. Don't know why.

  I should've brought my pistol, I thought. I'm so stupid sometimes.

  "A war between vampires and
werewolves will bring both groups into the spotlight, in very unfavorable circumstances," I said. "It'll spook the mortals."

  "We'll deal with it," Quentin said. "But maybe Fritz will kill all the vampire leaders, and we'll take over in their place."

  I didn't like the sound of that.

  "Are you crazy? Hundreds, if not thousands of werewolves will be slaughtered. Don't you care?" I said.

  "No," he said, and Bridget let out a deep throated howl.

  I turned and ran for all I was worth. I could fly away if I had to, but I did not want to leave my car behind. They would keep it, or trash it.

  Let me tell you. Wolfmen, and wolf-women, are much faster than vampires when it came to running. Bridget raced past me. The other wolves formed a semi-circle behind me, herding me towards her. She stopped and turned to face me near my car.

  "Now you and me are going to fight," Bridget managed to growl. It was actually better than when she was in the throes of transformation.

  "Why is it always the bitches that fuck with me?" I said, dropping into a fighting stance. All the female wolves growled. "I told you I don't want any trouble."

  "Bull," Bridget said.

  "Quentin! I came to see you as Gabe's friend, just to ask — " I started to say, but Bridget attacked.

  She was fast. Not vampire fast, but fast. She brought her right hand — claw? — around for a vicious slash at my face. I caught her wrist on my left forearm, and punched her in the throat. Bridget gagged and coughed, staggering back. I followed. I had to end it quick, but I dropped my guard and she backhanded me.

  Spinning around, I dropped to one knee. Slightly dazed, I paused a second to regain my wits. I waited too long. Bridget kicked me in the lower back, above the right kidney, then seized my neck in both hands. And squeezed as she lifted me off the ground.

  My windpipe was crushed within seconds. Thankfully I don't need to breath. But it was painful and disconcerting. I panicked as she held me high and away from her. I heard the werewolves laughing as I kicked and flailed helplessly.

  "Die, vamp!" Bridget cried.

  She squeezed harder, and started shaking me violently. After a moment I started to regain my senses, realizing she thought she could strangle me to death. No one was stopping her, either. Did they not know?