by Ana Vela
“I’ll go,” Grig offered, shoving his long hair out of his face. “Doesn’t Em wither and die if you guys don’t make out at least once an hour? And hatchet-face here,” he jerked a thumb in Drei’s direction, “always takes too long to get our drinks.” Grig snickered. Both his brothers found Cassandra’s dismissal of him hilarious.
Drei glared, considering planting his brother with a ‘playful’ jab. But it was Cat’s small fist that thumped Grig’s shoulder. “We don’t have to make out every hour,” she grumbled, blushing. The protest was somewhat ruined by the fact that Em was pressed to her back, arms around her waist, trailing kisses along her damp neck.
“Yes, we do.” Em smiled against her shoulder. “At least.” Cat shivered. Drei wished they would take it somewhere else. It was hard not to feel like a voyeur with their public displays of affection so frequent. He fleetingly wondered if the Shifter lab rats would have time to do all their tests before Cat turned up pregnant and answered the question of whether or not her human DNA was somehow compatible with theirs definitively.
Grig snorted and went off to get their drinks. Drei couldn’t help follow his brother’s progress. As soon as he stepped up to the bar, Cassandra turned and took his order with a brisk nod. He watched her expertly pop open the beer bottles and slide them over.
She never served him that quickly. Granted, 5tM was almost empty now at nearly 3 in the morning, but he doubted that would have made a difference if it was him standing there. Why? And why did he care?
Drei saw Grig’s dimple flash as he said something to Cassandra. He didn’t need to hear the words to know his little brother was laying on the charm. She inclined her head, the fall of her hair partially obscuring her face from his view. He saw her smile and gritted his teeth. Guess she liked ‘talkative’.
But Grig was blinking at her, his own smile fading in... surprise? Drei strained, trying to hear his brother’s next words over the thumping music and the lip-smacking of Em and Cat making out next to him. It was no use; the bar was too far away. Whatever Grig said, Cassandra shook her head and turned away from him. Grig gathered up the beer bottles and headed back to their table, his dark blue gaze on the floor.
Just before he stepped up to the platform VIP area, his eyes rose and met Drei’s, but what look they held was nothing the older man could fathom. Grig opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something, but just then Em gave a rather loud groan and both Grig and Drei grimaced.
It was nice to know he wasn’t the only getting aggravated with the two. He and his youngest brother tried their best to not notice the increasingly more heated exchange going on beside them as they finished their drinks. It got worse when the music shut off and there was nothing to disguise the uneven breathing and soft moaning.
Cat had acclimated to life as the Mate of an Alpha Pack member with surprising alacrity. The first few times she’d been out with Em among other Shifters she’d demurely pushed him away when he tried to kiss or touch her. She’d whisper ‘stop, they can... you know...’ and blush. But she’d gotten over the embarrassment of knowing Drei and Grig could smell her arousal. Pretty quickly, in fact.
It was times like this Drei wished she hadn’t. Normally, it wouldn’t bother him. It was impossible to live life as a Shifter and not learn to tune out the scents and sounds of everything around you. But Drei was so tightly wound that it was creeping into his awareness even as he fought against it.
He chugged the rest of his beer. “We ready to go?”
The last few patrons were stumbling toward the door in a tight bundle. Grig slammed his empty beer bottle down and popped to his feet, scanning the small crowd. A fleeting grimace flashed over his handsome face and then he turned back to them.
“Let’s go out the back.”
Em pulled away from Cat and cocked a dark brow at Grig. “Former conquest?”
“Come on,” Grig growled. Answer enough. Em chuckled as he lifted Cat off his lap and stood. Cat pouted a little, but she snickered at Grig’s aggrieved face.
“Out the back is fine. Then we don’t have to wait on the drunk girls, anyway.”
Em tugged a lock of her dark hair. “Does that mean you’re not drunk?”
“Like you need to get me drunk?” She toyed with the edge of Em’s t-shirt, looking coyly up from beneath her lashes. Drei rolled his eyes and hopped down off the VIP platform, the heels of his boots clacking on the hard floor.
He was across the dance floor and halfway down the hall that led to the back door by the time Em, Cat, and Grig caught up to him. Cat was hassling Grig about the girl he was trying to avoid at the front entrance. The two were laughing and shoving. Em was grumbling at his younger brother about keeping his hand ‘off his woman’.
Drei pushed through the back door into the cool night air. The sky hadn’t yet begun to lighten. The smell of sour alcohol and fruit momentarily overcame the scent of Cat’s waning arousal.
And then the soft, sweet, powdery smell hit Drei like the swing of a pillow to the face. He growled. Em and Grig smelled it a second later.
“Cat, get back.” Em’s voice was a harsh whip. He pushed Cat into the corner of the building, back behind one of the dumpsters.
“What the hell –” But then she saw them.
The vampires.
Drei felt the bristle of fur beneath his skin, the push of claws beneath his nails. The growl that rasped at the back of his throat tore out into the night, echoing off the brick walls.
There were three of them, faces ghostly white in the bright security lights. Their snarling lips revealed the long, yellow curves of their fangs. Drei felt an electric zing of awareness as he recognized the one in the middle. It was the skeletal fucker who had tried to kidnap Cat two months ago. The bastard’s red eyes were trained on her again now.
What the fuck?
But Drei didn’t have much time to think. The middle vamp Iced toward them, popping up a mere foot from his face. He felt the shiver of heat over his skin that presaged a shift, but Grig barked a harsh ‘No!’ behind him.
“Civilians too close!”
For once, his jokey younger brother was being the cautious one. And Drei knew he was right. They couldn’t completely shift so close to the patrons on the other side of the club. The sound would no doubt draw attention. He had to try and keep this under control, get it over with as quickly as possible.
Drei leapt at the skeletal fucker, clawed fingers reaching for his narrow throat. He heard Em and Grig on either side of him, heading for the other two. They were just as thin and pale as the bony one who was attempting to toss Drei aside. Not normal, run-of-the-mill vamps. These guys had bonuses. Skeletor here could Ice.
Based on the hissing and spitting going on beside him, Drei guessed that the one Grig grappled with was venomous. Like fucking snakes. A bite from them was not pretty.
He had no clue what extra ability the cadaverous vampire Em was fighting might have. It was kicking and punching at his brother much as any vamp would, no special tricks in sight. Didn’t mean it had none, though. It would be stupid and deadly to assume that.
Em wasn’t, thank goodness. He was fighting back ferociously, teeth bared. He grabbed the thing’s narrow head by its silver blond hair and barreled into its bony chest with both feet. The look on surprise on the vamp’s face as the white skin of its throat tore open, shedding thick, blackish blood, was almost comical.
The creature melted into a puddle of the black blood as Em tossed away the decapitated head. That too liquefied in a matter of seconds. Em was already on to the next vamp, launching himself at its back while Grig’s fingers swiped bloody furrows across its chest.
Drei concentrated on the one that currently had one hand wrapped around his throat. He didn’t panic at the lack of oxygen. He dug his claws viciously into its face, tearing at one baleful red eye. The vamp howled, an eerie, high-pitched cry, and released his hold.
They both heard the wet splat that indicated Grig and Em had dispatched the other va
mp. The skeletal fucker’s one good eye narrowed, sweeping the narrow alley. Black ichor and milky fluid dripped from its pale cheek, the deflated eyeball hanging like a meaty thread from its eye-socket. Drei flashed it a feral grin.
The fucking vamp Iced. Drei blinked and it was ten feet away. He lunged but in the next second it was out of the alley, and then gone. He cursed, plummeting to the filthy ground where his adversary had been standing a few seconds before. His throat screamed with pain and there was a long gash down his arm from the vamp’s ragged nails.
“Drei!” Em’s voice was sharp with worry. Drei whirled and hurried back toward his brothers.
Em was holding Grig up. Their younger brother sagged against him, usually tan skin pale. Not quite as pale as a vamp, but not good. His shirt was torn and a shallow graze on his shoulder oozed blood. It didn’t look so bad... except he’d been fighting that poisonous fucker.
“Shit, how bad did it get him?”
“Just... a... scratch.” Grig was grimacing and panting. The skin around the superficial wound was turning an angry red, like a steam burn.
“Oh, Grig!” Cat’s voice trembled with worry. She stood beside Em, hopping from one foot to the other as if she had to pee. “I’m so sorry!”
“Not... your fault... hot stuff.” He winked at her. Drei’s shoulders relaxed a little. Couldn’t be too bad if the kid was hitting on Cat still. Right?
Em frowned, hauling Grig back to his feet as the younger man’s knees buckled. “We need to flush it out. I don’t think he got a full dose, but he’s likely to feel pretty shitty.” Em’s pale blue eyes flashed, and he didn’t have to say anything else for Drei to realize that Em wasn’t quite as blasé about their baby brother’s chances as he sounded.
“Shit. Okay. Uh... back inside?”
“I’ll be fine,” Grig said, though his face was drawn with pain. At least his breathing didn’t sound quite as labored anymore. That was a good sign, wasn’t it? “Just get me home. We need to get Cat safe.”
“Hey, don’t worry about me, handsome. You guys have done enough tonight.” She brushed a fall of long hair back over Grig’s uninjured shoulder and gave him a trembling smile.
Yet more proof that Cat was something else. After what she’d just seen, it was a miracle she wasn’t huddled in a blubbering ball behind the dumpster.
“He’s right though. They were definitely after you, Cat. Though damned if I know why,” Drei growled.
A soft, hesitant female voice answered. “There’s something... different about her. They want her for her blood.”
Cat gasped. All four of them spun on their heels. Grig did so with a pained grunt.
Cassandra stood in the club’s open back door, a half full black garbage back in one hand and a thin lipped scowl on her face. She looked as if she wished she hadn’t spoken up.
“Who the hell are you?” Em barked. “And how do you know anything about this? You’re a Mundane!”
She shrugged one shoulder, not meeting Em’s eyes. Her gaze met Drei’s briefly and then slid away, her lips quirking for the barest second. She turned around, tossing another quick glance over her shoulder. “Better bring him inside so we can flush that wound. Vamp venom is nasty business.”
“Cassandra,” Drei said softly, his voice firm. “How do you know any of this?”
Her green eyes lifted to his brown ones then, and held. “I’ve seen what vamp venom can do with my own eyes. As for the rest...” Her lips pressed so tightly together they went white. “I heard it.”
She spun and hurried back inside then, garbage forgotten. They had no choice but to follow her.
“So, you know her name huh?” Cat flashed him a cheeky grin. Drei rolled his eyes.
“Shut it, kitty Cat.”
***
The club was empty and eerily quiet as Em dragged a stumbling Grig to a barstool and plopped him down on it. No one spoke as Cassandra quickly cut away Grig’s shirt.
“If you wanted to get me undressed, sweetness, there were easier ways to go about it.” Grig winked at the redhead, but his face was pale and sweaty. His long hair hung around his face. Cat stood close to Grig’s side, wringing her hands, but otherwise still. Em rubbed her back with one hand, but his face was tense as well.
Drei almost smiled at his younger brother’s words. Cassandra did, though he noticed it didn’t reach her cool green eyes. “Have to make an impression, don’t I? I’ve seen the ladies hanging all over you every night.”
Grig chuckled, but it ended in a grunt as Cassandra prodded the shallow divot of his wound with long fingers. Her wide mouth turned down at the corners. Drei felt his heart do a lazy turn. Was Grig in more danger than they’d thought? And how the hell did Cassandra know about any of this? She was definitely human; there was no doubt about that.
“Cassandra,” Drei growled, uneasy and impatient. She winced at his tone and shoved the damp bar towel she’d been dabbing at Grig’s shoulder with into Drei’s hand.
“Give me a minute, Drei, okay? Let’s get your brother cleaned up and then,” the muscle in her jaw twitched, “I’ll explain everything.” The look on her face said she’d rather do anything but. Drei gave her a brief nod and pressed the towel to Grig’s shoulder. Grig hissed.
Drei watched as Cassandra moved purposefully behind the bar. She grabbed a bottle of top shelf vodka and a first aid kit, setting them both on the long wooden surface of the bar next to Grig. She met his gaze suddenly and jerked her head back toward her office.
“There are a couple of bottles – little glass bottles – in my office. Can you grab the one with VN on the label?”
He nodded, tossing her the bar rag and striding toward the office. Em was murmuring to Cat, comforting her. The human was clearly a little shaken. More by Grig’s injury than the fight, Drei thought. He could hardly blame her.
Cassandra’s office still held that slightly green fragrance that always clung to her. He realized why now... the row of corked green glass bottles lined up on the shelf behind her desk were all herbal tinctures. Who was this human woman?
He grabbed the bottle she’d indicated and was back at Grig’s side in a matter of steps. She plucked the small bottle from his hands with a short nod and then touched Grig’s pale cheek gently. “You ready for this? It’s going to sting like a motherfucker.”
“Get it over with.” Grig took a swig of the vodka and then shoved the bottle at Cassandra. She sloshed a healthy portion over Grig’s wounded shoulder, which was now almost purple. He and Em both had to grab the younger man as he nearly fell from the stool with a groan and a curse.
“Hold him up,” Cassandra ordered them, dabbing at the wound again quickly. Fresh blood was running freely from the scraped flesh and Grig was panting through gritted teeth. Cassandra twisted the top off the small glass bottle, but set aside the dropper.
Drei took tight hold of Grig’s upper arms as she upended the contents onto his brother’s wounded shoulder. The liquid was a greenish-brown color and slightly thick. It pooled in the long, shallow cut. Grig groaned.
Even as they watched, Drei saw some of the purple flush of Grig’s skin begin to fade back to red, and then that too began to return to his normal, tan shade. Cat’s lashes fluttered.
“Wow. What is that stuff?”
Cassandra handed Grig a clean towel to wipe his chest with and began cleaning up her impromptu triage supplies, leaving only the first aid kit on the bar. Though, watching as Grig’s Shifter healing finally started to kick in, Drei doubted they’d really need it.
“It’s just a tincture of vitex negundo. Otherwise known as the Chaste Tree.” Cassandra’s lips twitched. Drei felt a chuckle rumble in his chest as relief relaxed some of the stiffness in his shoulders.
“Surprised it worked on Grig then,” Em replied, amusement lightening his own gaze.
Grig swiped alcohol and some of the sticky herbal mixture out of his chest hair. “Screw all of you,” he grumbled. Cat giggled.
“Okay, but if it’s
just some plant, how come it just worked like... like magic?” She waved her hand at Grig’s shoulder, which now just looked like normal, except for the long, thin scratch. It hadn’t healed completely, but clearly the venom was no longer working its way into Grig’s system.
Cassandra swiped a damp rag over the bar. “Shifters heal quicker than humans. Surely you’ve seen that with this one.” She arched an eyebrow and tipped her head toward Em.
“Okay,” Drei said, tired of waiting. “Now that we know my brother isn’t about to keel over on the spot, explain how the fuck you know all this shit, Cassandra.” It came out like an order. Cat shot him a frown. Em rolled his eyes. Even Grig snorted.
“Geez, she only just saved my life, Drei. Don’t cut her a bit of a break or anything.”
Cassandra met his eyes, her clear green gaze un-intimidated by his harsh tone. It made her even sexier. “I’m not one of your trainees, Andrei.”
“What the fuck?” Grig murmured. Em’s eyebrows practically touched his hairline. Cat stared back and forth between Drei and Cassandra, her brow furrowed.
“Will you explain? Please.” Drei gritted the words out. He had to know how this woman knew what she knew. The need only slightly edged out his increasing desire to press her against a wall and wrap her legs around his waist.
Cassandra’s eyebrows twitched. She sighed and took a swig from the vodka bottle herself. “I know because you’re not the only Shifters that spend time here. Lots of the recruits do too. Even some vamps.”
“And they’re talking out of school?” Em sounded like he was ready to round up whatever pups had been careless enough to be discussing Pack business out in fucking public, but Drei shook his head.
“No, that’s not it. Is it? Out there in the alley, you weren’t talking about some conversation you happened to overhear.”
Cassandra took another gulp of vodka and grimaced. “Not exactly.”
Grig rolled his shoulder, wincing only slightly at the movement. “I’m lost.”
“Me too,” Cat murmured, pressing into Em’s side. “Why do they want me? I’m just a human.”