Alexa O'Brien, Huntress 09 - Forget About Midnight

by Trina M. Lee

  There was a promise in those words. He stared into me as he said them. Saying goodbye to him was going to be impossible. I couldn’t do it.

  Jez was reluctant to accept this declaration. “I don’t think you’ve given this enough thought, Kale.”

  “You guys didn’t see my sister outside, did you?” I jumped to change the less-than-savory topic. “She’s supposed to meet me here.”

  They both shook their heads as I expected. Kale said, “Man, she must be pissed.”

  “Yeah,” Jez added. “You guys have had the FPA working overtime.”

  “It feels like she should have been here by now.” I checked my phone again. Nothing. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. I slid from the booth. “I’m going to check in with Justin. Maybe he saw her.”

  Jez popped out of the booth right behind me, her now empty glass held high. “And I’m going to get a refill.”

  “Hey,” I grabbed hold of her elbow. “Are you ok? I mean, have you…?”

  “Been getting high?” she snapped, pulling her arm from my grasp. “I’ve slipped. Nothing to worry about. Just having a few drinks tonight, Lex. It’s all good.”

  She didn’t give me a chance to reply. She turned her back on me and pushed through the crowd to the bar. Offending her wasn’t my intention. I simply didn’t want her to feel that I was too caught up with murder and mayhem to care about her. It wasn’t all that long ago that she’d collapsed from an overdose right in front of me. Damn, I was worried.

  “She’s just upset because of me,” Kale offered upon spying my crestfallen face. He rose and quickly captured my hand before I too could disappear.

  Something occurred to me, and I had to ask, “Kale, when you bit Jez, could you tell that the dark part of her was in there?”

  Pondering this, he shook his head. “No, but to be fair, I wasn’t quite in a focused state of mind that night.” Pulling my hair aside, he eyed Jenner’s bite. “Should I ask?”

  The bite had healed considerably though enough remained to tell the tale of what I’d been up to. As speedy as vampire healing was, it still had it limits.

  “I’d rather you not.” What else could I say? Kale knew as well as I did how this worked. “Jenner was here. We had a little chat.”

  He nodded and stepped back, as if he couldn’t stand to touch me just then. Perhaps I was reading too deeply into the action.

  “Go ahead, talk to Justin. I’ll stay here and take Jez’s abuse until she feels better.” There was something missing from the smile he bestowed on me. It was hard to look at. There was something missing inside me too.

  I touched his face, started to say something, then stopped. There were no words.

  Touching base with Justin didn’t help. He hadn’t seen her. Which meant she was late. Or missing.

  I slipped outside into the parking lot to escape the noise inside. Telling myself that Juliet had a demanding job didn’t convince me that nothing had happened. Intuition told me otherwise.

  I pulled my phone out to call her but didn’t get a chance to before a loud, black Dodge Challenger tore into the parking lot. The car screeched to a stop, and two werewolves got out. They both looked pissed.

  Dayne was as rough around the edges as usual. His short, silver-brown hair matched the rugged stubble on his jaw. Piercing blue eyes pinned me with an angry wolf stare. He stalked up to me with a cigar clenched between his teeth.

  His enforcer wolf, Owen, followed at his side. He hung back a little, letting his Alpha take the lead here. I had a sinking feeling that this wasn’t a friendly visit.

  “Care to tell me why the fuck your vampires are hunting my wolves?” Dayne came to a stop much closer than I’d have preferred. The wolf was in his fifties or so, but he carried himself like he was half that age.

  “Wait, what?” I held up a hand, trying to wrap my mind around what he’d just said.

  “You fucking heard me,” Dayne growled, blowing a puff of cigar smoke in my face. “One of my wolves is dead. Killed by a vampire. Last I checked, we had an alliance.”

  “We do,” I said quickly. “But I don’t know what you’re talking about. Whatever happened, I had nothing to do with it.”

  Dayne nodded, and Owen came forward with his phone held out. A photo of a dead werewolf filled the screen. The punctures in his neck had clearly been made by a vampire. This was bad. This was really bad.

  “I agreed to take in your wolf. It’s not official yet, but it’s in the works. I’d hate for this shit to ruin that for him. Someone’s gotta pay for this, Alexa.” Dayne towered over me, his fierce wolf eyes burning into my soul.

  “I completely agree. Dayne, I’m sorry. Really. There’s no way I’d turn a blind eye to this. If I’d known—”

  He cut me off with a guttural snarl. He clenched and unclenched a fist. “You know now. Do something about it. Because if this keeps up, we’re gonna have a full blown war on our hands. And there are no alliances in war. Not between enemies.”

  The tall, dark-haired, handsome Owen showed no emotion, but he buzzed with a calm aggression. A leather jacket hid his tattooed arms. Like the last time I’d seen him, a black bandana was tied around his dark head of hair. The crescent moon tattoo on the side of his neck matched Dayne’s. This pack was tight. Something like melancholy envy swam through my soul.

  Emotions threatened me. Damn them for being so heightened and out of control right now. I should’ve known the vampires would fuck this up for me.

  “Dayne, I know you may look at me and see a vampire, but I am a wolf. I have been one since I was sixteen, and the wolf is who I am. The vampire is what I am. Please don’t miss how different those two things are. I’m wolf. Please, trust that the wolves mean more to me than the vampires do.” It was a plea, an obvious one. Even though he’d never allow me into his pack, it meant a lot to me that Dayne accept me as a fellow wolf.

  Owen shuffled his feet, kicking a stone across the parking lot. “Are you willing to prove that?”

  Dayne’s face lit up, and he nodded. I couldn’t help but feel a little offended, but seeing as they had a dead wolf on their hands, I didn’t have much room to defend myself.

  “Owen, come on,” I said. “You were there when those vampires jumped me. It’s not as if they’re all following some kind of group structure and rules the way wolves do.”

  “Then maybe they ought to be.” Dayne spat on the ground between us and rolled angry wolf eyes toward the club. “The only good vampire is a dead vampire. But I get a good feeling from you. I want to give you a chance to prove you’re not just like the rest of them.”

  My gaze strayed from one wolf to the other. They waited, wanting something from me. Something I had to give them.

  With a finger bent in invitation, I turned to go back inside. “Follow me.”

  I didn’t wait to see if they followed. My heightened emotions were swinging madly. It was no secret that the vampires felt I was a threat, but I’d thought the worst of their rebellion was over. They would not ruin this alliance with the wolves for me. I was done with the rebels. Time to show them.

  I stalked back inside, each boot heel clicking on the pavement. There was no hesitation, no second thoughts. I was hungry for violence. Hungry for control. Humans made weak targets. Vampires always made things a little more interesting.

  Reaching out to feel those undead gathered in the building, I reveled in the ability to detect them. They couldn’t hide from me even if they wanted to. That included Jenner, whose energy I felt among them.

  Passing in front of the stage, I caught the eye of the band’s frontman and slashed my hand through the air, telling him to cut the music. He held up a hand, and the band stumbled to a finish.

  Right away the crowd knew something was up. The humans stared around in confusion. Some of them edged away, the regulars who knew trouble when they saw it.

  The vampires braced themselves. It didn’t help them though. With a flick of my wrist, the power went out from me, targetin
g them each in turn. One by one they dropped to their knees, hands on their heads as pained screams rang out.

  Not so long ago I’d done something similar and accidentally dropped Kale as well. I was happy to see him untouched this time. My focus was improving nicely, as was the ease with which I commanded my power. I wasn’t missing the headaches and nose bleeds.

  “Now,” I spoke in a loud, commanding tone. “Who wants to tell me which one of you idiots killed a Doghead wolf?”

  Scanning each vampire in turn, I sought any sign of guilt or acknowledgement. I eased up on them, allowing them to stand, but I was ready to take them down again. Most of them stared stony faced at me, expressions unreadable. A few exchanged a look with one another.

  Dayne and Owen had stopped near the doorway, and I motioned them forward. The vampires appraised the wolves, and the air bristled with tension.

  “Here’s the thing,” I tried again. “I know most of you come here for a reason, to keep the kill count down as all good little vampires should. However, someone killed a Doghead wolf, and now a life must be traded for a life. This is your chance to make sure you’re not the one who pays the price for someone else’s mistake. So, think fast about what you want to do here.”

  Dayne came to a stop beside me. Arms crossed over his wide chest, he glowered at each vampire present. His seething hatred was red hot on my skin though we didn’t touch. Owen stood close enough to protect his Alpha. I was very aware of Kale and Jez abandoning their booth across the room to drift closer.

  “I want no trouble with the vampires,” Dayne thundered. “But if a war is what you want, then a war is what you’ll get.”

  I shot him a look, which he ignored. All the damn war talk wasn’t going to help. His wolf was close, showing in his eyes. It caused my skin to prickle and made my wolf push for release.

  “My alliance with Doghead will be respected by each and every one of you. I’ll destroy anyone who threatens it.” I wasn’t being unfair. In fact, as horrible as they all wanted me to be, I’d never really given them a reason to believe that.

  People believed what they want to believe. So it came as no surprise when one mouthy vampire stepped forward.

  “You can’t just start throwing your power around, punishing all of us because of one. We don’t operate as a group, and we sure as fuck don’t take the fall for each other.” Dark eyes, filled with vehemence, met mine. A smattering of dark hair on his jaw gave him a tough look that his short, blond hair contradicted.

  No vampire could be judged on looks alone, so I gave him a metaphysical appraisal and found him to be stronger than he appeared. But he wasn’t stronger than me. Unfortunately for him, he’d just sealed his fate. I was done with vampire bullshit, and he was going to help me make that clear.

  Dayne’s watchful wolf stare bore into me as he waited to see how I’d react. Everyone else was watching as closely, but I cared about his opinion.

  “Is that right? So I guess that means you’d like to tell me who did it.” I already knew how this would go down. This guy wasn’t going to tell me shit.

  “I don’t know who did it,” the vamp said, a haughty glare on his face. “And I don’t really care. Even if I did, I probably wouldn’t tell the hybrid queen nobody wants. This isn’t a dictatorship.”

  My face grew hot with anger. My fists clenched. “It doesn’t have to be. That’s not what I’m trying to do here. I’ve given you all more than enough chances to play nice. I know that’s not really in our nature as blood hungry killers, but if we don’t all learn to get along a little, I promise I’ll dictator the fuck out of this city.”

  The strained silence that followed brought a smile to my face. I really did want to do this the nice way, but if they wouldn’t meet me halfway, then I was left with no choice but to throw down and show them how stupid they were to fuck with me. I’d spent many of my mortal years being kicked around by others. It had taken me years to come to a place of being able to do some serious kicking myself. I was aware that they were forcing me to be the person they assumed me to be. But I was done with asking nicely.

  Kale slipped in close to stand just behind me, showing himself as the second in command that he claimed to be. Jez lurked against the far wall, watching our backs from a distance that allowed her a full view of the building.

  The blond vamp stared hard at me, taking note of Kale at my back and the two werewolves beside me. Nobody came to his side, but neither did they show me any acceptance. Not a single one of them said a word.

  Finally I swung my gaze to Dayne and our wolves shared a conversation without need of words. I offered him the vampire, and with a slight tilt of his head, he indicated that he wanted me to do the dirty work. Fine with me.

  It was tempting to use the Dragon Claw in a show of brutality. However, I felt it was best to show them the power that flowed from me always like a continuous breeze. No mortal limitations here. Not anymore.

  A slight smile made my lips twitch. “You had your chance to play nice. Now you’ll just have to serve as an example to the rest.”

  All it took was a raised hand to direct the force. In my head I felt the heart of every vampire in the room like a throbbing pulse. I was certain I could’ve killed every one of them with little effort. Narrowing my focus, I sought out the heart inside the defiant vampire and crushed it with a mere thought.

  My hair moved in an invisible wind that flowed out from me, over the many bystanders, to ruffle their hair and clothing as well. It swelled inside me, leaving me feeling elated.

  The vibe blasting forth from me found his heart and boom, he was dead. His heart exploded inside his chest with enough force to blow his body into several pieces. A scream rang out from several of the humans present. His remains dissolved into dust and ash. It had taken such little effort that I found myself grinning. So there was an upside to this whole vampire thing after all.

  I turned to Dayne with a shrug. “Are we cool now?”

  He sucked away on that stupid cigar, his wolf staring out at me with a fierce intensity. “Yeah. We’re cool. For now. If it happens again, Alexa, I start killing vampires. Shit will escalate. You’ll be forced to pick a side. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that you probably want to try to make sure it doesn’t come to that.”

  “Understood.” Though I did find Dayne’s Alpha gaze intimidating, I met it head on, unflinching.

  Our wolves shared another silent exchange before he nodded and turned to leave with Owen falling into step beside him. I gestured to the band to start playing again, and the tense crowd gradually began to resume their activity. Not a single vampire dared to protest what had just happened. I hoped that was a good thing.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t go,” Kale said from behind me. “You need me here.”

  I turned to face him, forcing a neutral smile onto my face. “You’re sweet. But I can handle things here. Don’t make choices based on what just happened. It’s handled.”

  Though I’d already dismissed the rest of the vampires present as non-threatening, Kale looked them over with open suspicion. If he was seeking reasons to stay, he would find them in abundance. I wanted him to stay, but I knew I could not be the one to encourage that choice. This was all on him.

  “What the fuck was that all about?” Jez sidled over, eyes flashing with curiosity. “I mean, it was obvious, but is Dayne serious about starting a war with vampires? Why the hell would he do something so stupid? That’s a war he can’t win.”

  “We both know that, but I’m not sure Dayne would agree. I think someone is trying to fuck with me by targeting his wolves. But I hope I’m wrong about that.” Now that the small commotion was over, I was free to wonder where the hell my sister was. Checking my phone again was useless. She hadn’t called. “Juliet was supposed to be here by now. I have a bad feeling about this. I need to go make a call.”

  I retreated back outside with Jez at my side, chattering about how bad she needed a cigarette. I doubted that was all she craved. She and
I needed to talk about the darkness I’d discovered nestled away inside her. Having a demon for a father had to do something to a person. It worried me that it would do something awful to her.

  Phone pressed to my ear, I listened as it rang on the other end. One. Two. Three. It was going to switch over to voice mail. Fuck.

  “O’Brien.” The voice of Agent Thomas Briggs was gruff in my ear. “Have you decided to come back down to earth and remember that you’re supposed to be one of the good guys? Or so you keep saying.”

  “Why do you have Juliet’s phone?” I demanded. “Is she there?”

  “Well, you sound coherent enough. Good. I want you to understand the gravity of what you’ve done.” There was a brief pause as the phone became muffled while he spoke to someone in the background.

  The sense of dread that settled in my chest stole my voice. Sidestepping a drunk guy smoking a joint, I crossed the parking lot to lean against my car. I needed the support. Jez followed at a slower pace, ambling along, puffing away on her toxic cigarette.

  “Briggs. What are you talking about? Tell me what’s going on.”

  The muffled sounds cleared, and he said, “Juliet has been arrested. There’s a stack of charges against her because she’s been covering for you.”

  If my heart had beat normally, it would have stuttered right then. My brain went blank. All I could think was why. Why the hell had she risked herself to cover for me? She’d been so adamant about doing her job, following the FPA rules and regulations. Why sacrifice herself for me?

  “What do you mean she’s been arrested? Where is she?” My voice was hard as steel, hiding my true feelings. “Did you have something to do with this, Briggs? Did you lock up the woman you’re sleeping with?”

  That tripped him up, but he recovered fast. There was a vicious tremor in his voice. “I did what I was ordered to do. Nobody here knows about my relationship with Juliet, and we agreed that it must stay that way. I will not be judged by someone like you.”