The last thing Bash should have been thinking about was Ethan doing the same.
This man was beautiful. He was kind and all the things he’d just praised Bash for. His body was incredible, far more impressive than Bash’s own, and he was handsome in the most charming way, like someone who still thought they were a gangly teenager even though they’d grown up more striking than the high school quarterback.
“I’ve always been drawn to you,” Jay added softly, “but the more I’m around you, the stronger that feeling grows. You make me feel… like more of myself.”
Such sweet words should have made this easy. The motion of Bash’s mouth when Jay kissed him, the way his lips parted to welcome Jay’s tongue—that was easy. But in place of the heat Bash craved, there was only cold.
Jay sighed as he pulled away. “You don’t feel anything, do you?”
“I wouldn’t say I don’t feel anything.”
“It’s okay.” Jay huffed a false, pained laugh and sat up. “I know duty comes before what we want for ourselves. I just hoped….”
Bash sat up with him, wishing their exhilarating run hadn’t ended so unfairly. “Tell me what you need to finish negotiations and make this official.”
“What I need? The one thing you can’t give me,” Jay said, turning away with a clench of his eyes. “Knowing I can’t have that, I need you to understand that I also can’t accept this union being a joke to the other cities or to my people. I don’t have an answer for how to achieve that yet, but if you want a final decision from me sooner, think of a way that we can both get what we want.”
Rising swiftly, Jay started a hasty trudge back up the hill.
Bash sat a moment longer, because he had no idea how to give Jay what he wanted….
When all Bash wanted was Ethan.
Chapter 14
ETHAN LIKED working at the tattoo parlor. The smell of blood was intoxicating, but he could push past it. Plus, since mostly humans came in, they couldn’t tell what he was and were always nice to talk to.
Siobhan wasn’t bad either, though Ethan was glad Deanna hadn’t joined them yet.
They’d both finished some walk-ins, and there weren’t any appointments scheduled for the night. The shop was quiet, though there was enough bustle on the streets that more walk-ins were possible. While they had downtime, Siobhan was teaching Ethan a few tricks of the trade, which was at least doing the job of keeping Ethan’s mind from wandering to Bash.
“The real secret is repetition,” Siobhan said. “You won’t always get something creative and fun like with Rio.”
“More hearts and anchors and children’s birthdates?” Ethan smirked.
“Exactly. Enjoy it, find ways to make them your own. Don’t be afraid to recommend something unique, like shading, whatever floats your boat. The more you do it, you’ll build your real portfolio to fill one of these walls and people will start asking for you by name.
“Ah, but then you wanna run off and play detective.” Siobhan wore sunglasses, too, new ones, Ethan would guess, since she’d given him her other ones, though these were little round yellow-lensed glasses that were more style than substance.
The sun was starting to set anyway, but Ethan still preferred wearing his until the last rays dipped below the horizon. “Sort of, but I like this too. Why not both?”
“I don’t get you.” Siobhan tilted her head at him. “I trust you, but a vampire with more heart than most humans is a rare thing. Aren’t you scared of the great unknown? All these new creatures you never knew existed?”
“Sure. Everything is new. You, the pack, my whole life.” Ethan looked around the shop, dark but colorful and unique in every corner, which summed up everything else about the past few days. “But panicking won’t get me anywhere. Having been a CSI and everything I know about becoming a private investigator someday tells me I need to learn all I can to solve this mystery. That’s what matters. Then maybe things will be okay again. You know, aside from being a fanger.” He chuckled, which made Siobhan chuckle too.
Though there was one thing that couldn’t be solved by finding Ethan’s sire.
Bash.
Dammit, and Ethan had been so good about not thinking about him.
That was a whole other mystery to unravel, one Ethan probably wouldn’t like the ending to, since it would likely mean wedding bells with someone else.
“So….” Ethan tried to focus on other things. “What is being Warden like? Just patrolling the streets?”
“Mostly, but also vetting. That’s why I got to interview you. If we’re about to undertake an… acquisition”—she lowered her voice, even though they were alone—“which can mean things or people, mind you, I help decide who and what would be a good fit.
“For instance, all new shifters in the city present themselves to the Alpha. He gets first veto. If he doesn’t say no, they pass on to me. It’s rare I turn someone away, but I still get veto power, too, or on a heist I think might go awry.”
“Heist?” Ethan repeated with his voice equally hushed.
“Relax,” Siobhan said with a grin, “sometimes things just need to go missing to help fund the Shelter and other endeavors without government types getting involved, like something shiny or a fancy painting, but we never hurt anybody. No one who doesn’t deserve it.”
Ethan was honestly more awed than disapproving. “And you can read people better than Bash can?”
“He’s a good judge, but I have a knack for it. The people-watching helps.” She nodded out the front window at the passersby on the street. “Ever notice that this shop is perfectly situated between uptown and downtown, between higher-end stores and slumming it? We get all kinds. Best view in the city.”
Outside, the sudden darkness alerted Ethan to the final setting of the sun, and he set his sunglasses aside, fresh energy rushing through him. He was nocturnal now, after all, and he could feel it in every cell of his body.
The later hour also meant that the flower shop across the street might be closing soon, and Ethan still needed to talk to Rio about what he might have seen on Halloween night.
“Is it okay if I leave you alone to go talk to Rio?”
“That lead you and Luke mentioned? Yeah, I guess. I’m supposed to keep an eye on you, but my Warden senses,” Siobhan joked, “tell me you’re not planning on slaughtering anybody over there. Don’t take too long, though.”
“I won’t. There and back, I promise. Thanks.”
Traffic was light enough that Ethan didn’t need to go to the crosswalk to dart across the street.
“Ethan!” Rio greeted when Ethan entered the shop. A couple was finishing a transaction with a brunette behind the counter, but Rio was busy at the back table with what looked like a large order. “Is Deanna with you? She was supposed to pick this all up tonight.”
“Sorry, no. She came over before?”
“Yeah,” Rio said, pausing in his work. “Caught me on my way home the other day and we chatted for a while. I think we had a real moment. And not only ’cause she ordered so much. I have to thank you, man. When she comes in, I’m gonna ask her out for real.”
“That’s great!” Ethan said earnestly.
“Did you need something else?” Rio asked. “She said some of this was for across the street.”
“No, it’s not that. I wanted to ask you something.” Ethan glanced at the couple as they finished their purchase and left, allowing the woman to come over as well.
“Ethan, this is Caity,” Rio introduced them. “She and her hubby and I own this place together. Ethan works at the Rogues Gallery.”
“Oh right.” Caity smiled as she shook Ethan’s hand. “You did Rio’s tattoo. Not exactly my thing, I’ll admit, but you did a lovely job.”
“Thanks. Maybe you can help me too. See, across the street, we… had a small break-in on Halloween night. We were wondering if you might have seen the man responsible so we can track him down. If I gave you a description?”
Clearly concerned
about a break-in in their area, Rio and Caity nodded, and Ethan told them everything he’d learned from Jesse about the man who might be his sire.
“Sorry, I wasn’t here at that time,” Caity said.
“I was,” Rio said with a frown, “and I think I remember that guy. Brown hair? Or was he blond? He went down the alley by Rogues, but I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”
“Can you remember any other defining qualities about him? What he was wearing, his face?”
“Sorry, I didn’t get a good look. His outfit… tan jacket? He looked really normal, though, like your nice next-door-neighbor type, not a thief. I’d say about your height, just bigger. Broad.”
It wasn’t a lot to go on, but it was something. “This is all really helpful, thank you.”
“I hope you catch him,” Caity said. “What did he take?”
My humanity. “Something personal.”
“Keep us updated if you learn anything, okay?” Rio said.
“Sure.” Though Ethan probably wouldn’t, because he didn’t want to lie to them any more than he already was, and something Ethan hadn’t considered until now was that once they found his sire, Bash would likely kill him.
A phone rang in the distance, and Caity’s ears perked. “Oh, sorry, that’s the back line, probably my husband. It was nice to meet you, Ethan. I hope we were helpful.”
“You were. Thanks again.”
Once she disappeared, Ethan was alone with Rio, and it wasn’t until that moment that he registered being alone with Rio for the first time. At the shop, the others had been there, and today, there were other people, too, all within smelling distance.
All within range to throw off the sudden flood of feeling that struck Ethan now.
For a second, Ethan worried he was losing control, that it was hunger, but a quick glance down told him his hand wasn’t glowing, and he didn’t feel any urge to bite Rio. So what was it?
“Ethan? Are you okay?” Rio asked.
Ethan was a scientist and an investigator at his core, so he considered the facts. He’d touched humans since becoming a vampire—Nell, Theresa, people he tattooed, Caity just now—
but he felt something unique in Rio. He’d mentioned as much to Bash earlier, but being around Rio gave Ethan a sense of clearheadedness, of confidence and power. Of purpose.
The same way Ethan used to feel around his dad.
And Bash.
Rio was a Focus!
“I—”
The door chimed before Ethan could say anything, and he spun around to see Deanna. She didn’t look pleased to have found him there.
“Aren’t you on shift right now?” Deanna said sweetly but with a dangerous edge as she approached. “Or in need of a chaperone, being so new to the city and all?”
“Siobhan knows I’m here,” Ethan defended. “I was just asking Rio about the man responsible for our break-in on Halloween.”
“Ah.” She followed him seamlessly, even if she still eyed him with distrust. “I suppose that can’t be helped. You’ll have to tell me what you found out. But in the meantime—” She turned to Rio with an entire shift in countenance, leaning over the table where Rio was finishing her order, which was mostly orchids. “—since some of my order is for home, I thought you could help load up the van I parked out back. My friend Nell is about to knock on your loading door.”
“Totally!” Rio nodded. “I’ll let Caity know. Maybe I can help you unload, too, ya know, go along with you to your house, then back to the Rogues Gallery for the flowers there afterward so you can drop me off? Or is that too—”
“Perfect.” Deanna batted her eyes at him, which Ethan wouldn’t have believed she was capable of, such blatant flirting when she was usually so gruff, but Rio melted into the goofiest of grins.
“I-I’ll just… start bringing these into the back.” He gathered up a few plants, flushing a deep rosy pink before quickly turning tail, probably to keep from squeaking or dropping the plants all over the floor.
It was actually pretty sweet, and if Ethan wasn’t certain that Deanna hated him, he’d be really happy for them. He still was happy; he just didn’t think he and Deanna would be bonding over it anytime soon.
“I think I learned something really important,” Ethan started when Deanna turned to him, but the fear on her face made him instantly shift gears. “What’s wrong?”
“Your eyes….”
Ethan had no idea what she meant. He couldn’t feel his fangs, so he didn’t think his eyes could have changed to yellow, but as he turned to the display case beside him to look at his reflection, he saw they were changing—to black, with the irises glowing blue.
White flashed across Ethan’s vision, and he heard his own voice speaking as if very far away.
Power and Sight can open the path
But alone they are lacking to temper his wrath
The champions together must answer the call
And win with the one who erases it all
Images replaced the blinding light, but Ethan wasn’t in the flower shop; he was in that darker version of Centrus City that he’d seen during Bash’s prophecy, lost in the fog down a dark alley. Two men hovered over Ethan, both obscured but emanating power, trying to lure Ethan in different directions. Ethan didn’t want to go with either of them, but he felt trapped, like he had to choose.
The pavement beneath him felt slick and sticky like it was coated in blood, and there was something else—someone else.
Glancing away from the looming figures, Ethan saw Bash huddled on the ground with him. Bash clung to Ethan, but he seemed different, dazed and strangely ominous. All Ethan wanted was to shun the figures tempting him toward opposing sides so he could figure out a way to save Bash.
He gasped, the vision fading to reveal Ethan’s eyes looking normal in the cabinet’s reflection. Deanna had her hands on him, though he didn’t remember when she’d grabbed his arm.
“What the hell just happened?” she hissed. “You’re a Seer?”
“I’ve never done that before.” Ethan turned to her, her expression still filled with fear, though she didn’t let him go. “But I think I know why that happened. Because of Rio.”
“What? Why? How—”
“I’ll explain across the street, but Nell’s going to have to take that van of flowers home without you.”
RIO WAS disappointed that Ethan and Deanna said they had to run back to the tattoo parlor to handle an “emergency,” but they appreciated him and Caity helping Nell load the van.
“I’ll be back,” Deanna promised. “Just because we’re not taking that ride together doesn’t mean we can’t grab a drink later.”
Rio blushed.
Once back inside the Rogues Gallery, Ethan explained what he’d discovered—and that he and Bash were both sons of a Seer and a Focus, something Bash hadn’t told everyone yet.
“And Rio’s a Focus? He’s been our neighbor for years!” Siobhan exclaimed. “I can’t believe no one noticed. How could you tell?”
“I know what it feels like to be around one.” Ethan shrugged.
“Ethan,” Deanna said seriously, “there’s something I didn’t say before, but when I touched you during your vision… I saw it too.”
“What?” Ethan gaped at her. “Like how I saw Bash’s? But how? I figured I only shared his vision because of our parents. Unless….”
“I’m no Seer.” Deanna shook her head. “Or the daughter of one. But that’s just it. I still saw it. You and Bash must be making each other stronger, and Rio amped you even more.”
“What did you see?” Ethan asked.
“You, protecting Bash. There were these men standing over you, maybe one was your sire, I don’t know, but it was like you were torn between them, and you still chose Bash.”
“I know I’m a threat because my sire can control me, but I promise—”
“I believe you,” Deanna stopped him. “It seems you might actually be as sweet and loyal as you seem. Sort of hard
not to realize what a bitch I’ve been when it turns out everyone else was right about you.” She smiled, and despite Ethan still not knowing how to track down his sire, he felt like this was the biggest win yet.
“What do you think it all means?” Siobhan broke in. “The words you said you spoke, sounds pretty obvious you and Bash need all the help you can get against your sire, even as a Seer/Focus power couple, but it’s still pretty vague.”
“I wish I knew. Maybe Bash will have a better idea.”
“Then consider your shift ended,” Siobhan declared. “You should get back to the den, give Bash the rundown before we meet up for patrol later. With all you’ve learned so far, you might catch another lead.”
“Meanwhile, I’m going to spend a little more time with our neighbor.” Deanna nodded across the street.
“Good idea,” Ethan agreed. “See if Rio knows what he is.”
“Sure. It also helps that he’s cute.”
Chapter 15
ETHAN ARRIVED on foot back at the den only a few minutes after Nell finished unloading the flowers, at which point they were both whisked up into activity by Preston, since Bash hadn’t returned yet.
Preston was taking down the Halloween decorations and needed help.
“Where did all of this come from anyway?” Ethan asked.
“Everyone.” Preston shrugged. “Mostly Nell, though. She loves all the kooky fake stuff.”
“I find it charming,” Nell said, wrapping up fake cobwebs into a neat ball. The flowers were still mostly by the front door, but eventually, some of them could fill the empty spaces being left by removed pumpkins.
“What’s this for?” Ethan asked, discovering a stack of large sketch paper and pieces of charcoal beneath the coffee table.
“Ah, shoot, we forgot,” Preston said, turning around from where he stood behind the sofa. He’d been using magic to telekinetically remove the bat-shaped streamers from the ceiling. “We were going to do fake gravestone rubbings of everyone. I wanted to make one for Luke where he didn’t die until he was a hundred and fifty.”
By the Red Moonlight Page 14