by S. C. Storm
“We know,” both girls said in unison.
Jasmyn made her way over to the table and sat down as the girls made their own servings and then followed suit. “So any idea where the two of you will start looking?” Zoey asked as she noticed Haley pull out an earbud. She shook her head. “If you would leave the music off while we eat, you may be able to keep up with the conversation, Demon.”
“Bite me,” Haley mumbled as she took a bite of chili and looked on at her oldest sister for more information.
“Actually, I didn’t get to ask a lot about them. Lexi got pissed when Jason told her I had to go with her. They were fuming a bit, so she cut out and told me to meet her at her place. After we eat I’m going to throw together a bag,” Jasmyn told them. “I’m sure she’s home thinking of all the things she wants to do to her brother,” she added with a grin.
Zoey smirked. “She will make him pay for it, I’m sure. But he is right. The ascension is too close, and Lex is way too important to our kind, just like those Athertons are. I don’t see why they haven’t ascended long before now.”
“I always heard it had to do with their parent’s deaths and issues with the vampire council and stuff. That’s just rumor though. You can’t always believe what you hear. They may just not like the idea of ascending and having their lives changed,” Jasmyn told them as she finished off her food. “The thing is, their people need them. They need to step up.”
“Damn,” Haley whispered from her end of the table. “I’m glad our kind hasn’t had issues like that.”
“And that is thanks to our cousins,” Zoey said. “Being pure-blooded wolves who ascend when their time comes has kept our race thriving.”
Jasmyn shook her head. Zoey’s overwhelming sense of pride and duty to the goddess had always been stronger than most. The only other in their family who would surpass her was their cousin Jason. Jasmyn, however, could not deny the feeling of doom that washed over her each time she thought of ascending. Guardians died. Guardians died young. A guardian’s course was already destined. You ascend, you fight, you die. She hated having no choice in the matter. But she also hated the idea of the rest of her family fighting without her. She knew she was strong. She knew she was a great fighter. She knew she would fight to protect all her family. She’d die for them too.
“Jaz,” Haley said, sounding concerned. “You all right?”
“Yeah, why?” Jasmyn answered.
“I asked how long you would be gone, and you just kept staring at your chili. Does it suck?” Haley grinned, hearing Zoey humph.
“No.” Jasmyn chuckled. “It’s great. I was just thinking on the job and what I need to pack. No biggie.”
“Cool.” Haley smiled as she went back to her food and her earbuds.
Zoey reached over and patted her sister’s hand. “Everything will be fine,” she told her sister as she settled back to her own meal.
With a nod, Jasmyn watched them both for a bit longer. Finally, she got to her feet and headed upstairs to pack. Once she had everything she would need, she came back down to find the girls had already finished cleaning up. The three of them shared hugs and promises to keep in close contact. Once that was finished, she took off out the door and headed for Alexandra’s.
***
Hearing the door slam, Erin looked up from the bag she was unpacking. She went to the door and peered out, seeing Alexandra storming up the steps.
“Hey sis, what’s wrong?” Erin asked as she stepped out the door of her room.
“Your brother is what’s wrong! He thinks I need a damn babysitter. He’s sending Jaz with me.” Alexandra growled. Stalking into her room, she grabbed her bag and started going through it.
Erin followed her into the room. “Hang on, what are you talking about?” She watched as Alexandra grabbed some things from her dresser and threw them into the bag. Reaching out, Erin stopped her. “Lex, what are you talking about?”
Alexandra sat down on the bed, telling Erin what Jason had said. “He’s made it an order, damn him, and I have to go along with it.”
“You know, he has a point,” Erin told her.
Whirling around, Alexandra glared at Erin. “Don’t you start too.”
“Come on Lex, you know that the only reason you’re pissed off is because you know he’s right.”
Sighing, Alexandra nodded. “I know, but it still makes me angry. I don’t need anyone to watch over me.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “Give me a break, Lex. Jaz won’t do that, and you know it. And who knows, you may need help finding them.”
“Maybe. You know it would be better if we could split up and search for them. Jaz and I could cover more ground that way, but we have to stay together,” Alexandra said. She got up and repacked her bag.
“True, but you can’t, so just deal with it.” Erin smirked.
Alexandra glared at her. “I don’t have a choice, smart ass.”
“No, you don’t.” Erin watched her for a minute. She could practically feel the anger rolling off her sister. “It sucks having your twin brother as your alpha, doesn’t it?” Erin said, grinning.
“You have no idea. Normally he doesn’t pull the alpha thing on me, but when he does, it just… irks the shit out of me,” Alexandra said, then shrugged. “Whatever, I’ll do what he says. I can’t go against his order.”
“Not that you would.”
Alexandra sighed. “No, I wouldn’t even if I could. I respect Jas too much for that.” She picked up her bag and the envelope Mileena had given her. “Jaz should be on her way soon. I’ll give her the info on the Athertons⸻what little I have⸻and then we’ll head out.”
Erin grabbed the remaining bag on the floor. “How about you eat something before you leave? I started some chicken when you left.”
“I guess,” Alexandra said as they walked downstairs. She set her bags in the living room and followed Erin into the kitchen. “Damn, you cooked fast, sis,” she said, seeing chicken breasts, vegetables, and a salad set out on the counter. “Were you going to eat all this yourself?”
“No, I knew you hadn’t eaten, and I didn’t want you to leave before you did.” She grabbed some plates while Lex got the drinks. She took the drink Lex gave her and sat down. “Thanks.”
After a few minutes of eating, Erin grabbed the envelope and took out the pictures of the Atherton twins. “So where are you going to start looking?”
Alexandra shrugged her shoulders. “I was thinking Florida first. We could hit the tourist spots. If they’re not there, then we could work our way up the coast.”
“Are you sure they’d be in those places?”
“Most likely. The information says anywhere there are women is where they might be,” Alexandra said as they heard the front door open.
“Who might that be?” Jasmyn asked as she walked into the kitchen. She stopped and smiled. “Erin, when did you get back?”
Erin got up, going to Jasmyn and giving her a hug. “Today. I’m going to be staying here until you two get back.”
Jasmyn lightly punched her arm. “Well it’s about damn time you showed up.”
“Millie said the same thing.” Erin grinned. “Yeah, I was surprised Jas didn’t send you or Lex after me.”
“If you had stayed gone any longer, he would have,” Alexandra smirked.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m home now so get over it,” Erin told her.
Walking over to the pictures, Jasmyn picked one up and let out a whistle. “These are the Athertons?”
Alexandra nodded. “Fine as hell, aren’t they?”
“Yeah,” Jasmyn said, looking at the other pictures. “So what’s the deal with these two?”
Alexandra gave her what information she had, including what she had told Erin just now. “That’s what we were talking about when you came in.”
“Well, bimbo city, here we come then.” Jasmyn sighed.
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.” Alexandra got up and rinsed off her plate. She went over to Jasmyn. “S
o what do you think, cuz? Between the two of us, can we convince them to come to Tempest?”
“Depends on how you want to convince them,” Jasmyn said.
“Any way I can.” Alexandra smirked.
Erin shook her head. “I so don’t want to know what that means, do I?”
“Probably not. You ready to do this?” she asked Alexandra.
“Yeah. I’ve got what I need for now, and I can buy whatever else if we’re gone longer than I planned.” Alexandra gathered the pictures and put them back in the envelope. She went to Erin and gave her a hug. “I’ll see you later, sis.”
“Yeah, be careful out there,” Erin said, giving Alexandra a look. “Same goes for you, cuz,” she told Jasmyn as she hugged her.
“I always am.” Jasmyn grinned cheekily.
Alexandra picked up her bags, started for the door, and then stopped. “Hey, what about Zo and Haley? They’re staying with you, aren’t they?” she asked Jasmyn.
“Yeah, until Dad gets back. I talked to him before I came over here letting him know I’d be gone. He knows Jas and Kane will keep an eye on them,” Jasmyn told her.
“I will too, so don’t worry about them,” Erin said.
Jasmyn smiled. “I figured you would,” she said. “You ready, Lex?”
“Yep, let’s do this. If we hurry, we can make the next ferry before it leaves,” Alexandra said, walking out the door. Throwing her things into her car, she waited for Jasmyn to do the same. As she got in and started the car, she looked at Erin. Waving at her, she put the car in drive and took off.
Watching until they were out of sight, Erin walked back into the house. She cleaned the kitchen, then headed back upstairs to finish unpacking. She knew she’d be going to check on Zoey and Haley and go see Jason before the day was out.
***
On Tempest, Alexandra pulled onto the ferry. She parked, and she and Jasmyn stayed in the car. “Hey, I hope you didn’t take it wrong when I blew up at Jas.”
Jasmyn shook her head. “Nope, I would have done the same thing.”
“I know you would have. I just didn’t want you to think I’d resent you coming with me.”
Jasmyn rolled her eyes. “You know me better than that, besides—”
“Jason is right. I know. Erin said the same thing.”
“Aren’t you worried about it?” Jasmyn asked her.
Staring out over the ocean, Alexandra sighed. “Sometimes, but I love tracking, and I’m good at it. I don’t want to give that up just because I’m a pureblood,” she said. “What about you, Jaz? Aren’t you worried when you go out there?”
Jasmyn looked away from Alexandra so her cousin couldn’t see her face. “Sometimes, but it’s part of who we are. Every guardian risks their lives when they go out, don’t they?”
“Yeah, what’s funny is I never really thought about it until Jas mentioned it. I just went, did my job, and came home when it was over,” Alexandra told her.
“And now? Is that going to make you over-cautious?” Jasmyn asked.
“Hell no. If I did that, then I might as well never track again. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be careful. If I got hurt, Jason would never let me go out again.”
“That’s putting it mildly, cuz.”
“Yeah, I know,” Alexandra said.
The ferry docked, and she started the car. Driving off, she headed toward the airport. Originally having made a reservation only for herself, she had made one for Jaz before they’d left while she was eating. While she drove, she and Jasmyn talked about their strategy for finding the Atherton twins. At the airport, they checked their bags and boarded the plane. Soon they were on their way to Miami, Florida. Alexandra wondered how long it was going to take them to track down the twins, and she also hoped she and Jasmyn would be able to talk them into doing their duty.
Chapter 5
Cancún, Mexico, four months later…
The feel of the sand sliding between her toes brought a smile to her lips. It had been ages since she had walked on a beach or swam in the ocean. It seemed odd though. For Jasmyn O’Connor, this was in her blood, having been raised on an island off the coast of North Carolina. This, however, was completely out of her league. Since her first shift when she was a baby, the need to be near her home of Tempest had grown. She knew what she was. There had been no secrets in her family. She and the other O’Connors of Tempest Island were born and bred for one thing: Protection. Luckily for herself and the rest of her family, they were not meant to be alone in their responsibilities. No, there were others, which is why she was here doing what most werewolves despised. She was away from her territory, her pack, and everything she cared about to help Lexi locate a couple of happy-go-lucky vampire asses who wanted to party and play with cute little college coeds instead of facing their destinies. Fuck that. If she and the rest of her family had to buck up and live their lives fighting the enemy and protecting their kind’s existence, these pricks did too. Still, in some ways she could understand their need to keep their freedom. They were old-ass vampires. Not elders. No, these dudes were as old as dirt. The Athertons were over seven hundred years old. That thought alone gave her a chill. These dumbass girlies were falling flat on their backs for two guys who were just slightly younger than dirt.
Scanning the beach, it was easy to see why they were here. Bodies were literally everywhere. Why wouldn’t they be though? Cancún in the summer⸻what better place? Making her way through the sea of people, she tried to keep her senses on alert, but of course, there were more than humans on the beach. Vivid, acutely aware eyes caught hers quite often. By scent she could tell who was like her and who was a vampire. Since there were no real issues between the species, except for the occasional pop-up rifts that were bound to happen, no one approached her or seemed upset by her presence. That was the way she liked it. Playing buddy-buddy with other supes she didn’t know was not her thing. Maybe it was a werewolf trait, or maybe it was just one of her own traits. Either way, chit-chatting about the history of the species and the things required of her were not her usual lead-ins to conversations. No, in all honesty she would prefer others not to know about her being a guardian. She hated seeing all the expectations in their eyes.
“Watch your step, wolf,” someone muttered as they brushed past her.
Her mind had been so preoccupied, she hadn’t realized a vamp was near her. “Sorry,” she muttered as she glanced around.
What she saw stopped her dead in her tracks. The vampire who was watching her over his shoulder was none other than one of the Athertons, and he was no normal fanger. Hell no, he was, damn… He had to be at least six foot six. His body was chiseled, muscles everywhere. His light brown hair hung to his shoulders. She couldn’t help but bite her bottom lip when it swung slightly in the breeze. His deep eyes bore into her. It was as if he was reading her like a personal road map. She finally exhaled, letting out the breath she had been holding. Then she saw that smile, that shit-eating grin that slid into place when he realized he had gotten her attention.
“Arrogant bastard,” she growled.
She was starting to turn away until she saw who he walked up to. A mirror image of himself stood between several females, all of whom were eating the brothers alive with their eyes.
“Fuck,” she muttered, realizing the picture Lexi had shown her didn’t do them justice. She sighed, realizing what they were in for. Without any other options, she made her way toward the bar. There was no way they could approach them in this setting, so all they could do was watch and wait.
Alexandra smiled as Jasmyn approached the bar. Taking off her sunglasses, she gave her a smile. “I see you found one.” She grinned.
“You saw?” Jasmyn asked.
“Yep, ran right into him, didn’t you?” Alexandra smirked.
Jasmyn gave her a look. “Literally. Did you see the way he acted? It’s clear he’s arrogant. His brother must be the same way.”
“I’d say he is, at least from what I’ve seen of him.”
She eyed both vampires. “Their looks are identical, just like the pictures. I wonder just how identical they are.”
Jasmyn shook her head. “Damn, Lex, you never change, do you? How long have you been watching this one?”
“I sure as hell hope not.” Lex chuckled. “I spotted him not long after I came out here. As you can see, they’re both surrounded by bimbos.”
“And I think I’ve been added to that list,” Jasmyn said darkly.
Alexandra burst out laughing. “I’m sure you’ll let him know differently.” She turned to the bar, ordering two shots of tequila.
Alexandra and Jasmyn received their drinks, killed them, then turned to watch the twins.
After leaving Florida, they had gotten a lead that the vampires were in Texas, so that’s where they had gone next. By the time she and Jasmyn had hit several coastal areas, they found out the Athertons were heading for California. After striking out there, another lead had brought them to where they were now, Cancún. Alexandra smirked to herself as she thought of how she had flirted with the guy at the hotel they were staying at for info. With a smile, a little show of cleavage, and a vague promise of meeting for a drink, she had him eating out of her hand. He’d not only told her they were registered there, he had also given her their room number.
She shook her head as she put her sunglasses back on. Sometime later, she let out a low whistle as they both came out of the water. “Damn,” she mumbled.
If they were hot in the pictures she had seen, right now they were downright gorgeous. Both were the same height, over six feet tall, and from what she could see, they were identical in every way. She watched the water drip down their abs and whistled again.
Alexandra heard a woman’s voice near her. “They’re hot, aren’t they?”
She turned. “Yeah they are.”
“Well, get in line if you’re thinking about wanting them, but don’t expect more than a one-nighter,” the human said.
Alexandra raised her brow at the sound of her voice. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”