by Toni Goode
He remembered how things were right after she died. He had wanted to kill someone. He wanted to kill those witches, but he knew deep down that they weren’t to blame. He had gone on two-year bender. One that he only had faint memories of because he was either too high or too drunk to remember. He had left New York City and went all the way to California. He binge drank for days and fought on other days. He had gone weeks without sleep and sometimes he stayed only in his wolf form. He began to feel like a monster, and he looked like one too.
It wasn’t until he was lying in the dirt in his own vomit that he had seen his life for what it had become. He had nothing, like literally nothing. He had pushed away everyone who had loved him including his own brother but then he built his life back up. It was a different version of what he had and a more selfish one, but he didn’t care. If this world was going to shit on him then he would give it back.
He had stumbled onto his first club in Atlanta out of pure luck and from there he had made a name for himself. One that not only instilled fear in those around him but it promised protection. Sort of like ‘I will scratch your back if you scratch mine.’ He took that to a whole other level and soon his one club turned into three and then seven. In total he had over one hundred clubs in The United States and Europe. Some were strip clubs, others just night clubs.
He lived his life on his own terms, and he did what he wanted, who he wanted and wherever the hell he wanted to. He answered to no one not even the council. They had their hands full with the current situation of rogue wolves. After the nineties, all wolves had to be registered or deemed an enemy of the country. It was just a way for the government to make money off them. John wasn’t stupid, and he played their game, for now at least. He had a much bigger plan in mind for down the road and with the supernatural numbers increasing at an alarming rate he knew it would only be a matter of time before they would no longer be the minority.
He got dressed and made his way to the Pennsylvania club he had, oddly enough it was named after her. It was called Red. He hadn’t been back to this particular club in quite some time. He had a vampire by the name of Dario managing it for him. It was one of the busier clubs in Pennsylvania. He made his way inside. He had two things on his mind, a drink and a pretty girl to keep him distracted while he was in town.
Briana and Eve made their way back to a booth as they grabbed more drinks. Briana was already feeling quite tipsy and Eve was currently talking to some Tall thin vampire by the name of Brent. He had more piercings than was necessary and just about every inch of him was covered in tattoos.
Briana got up as the room began to spin a bit. She wasn’t used to drinking like this and she was suddenly feeling very ill. Eve hadn’t even noticed as she got up and began to walk across the floor. Everything was blurry as she wobbled and then she felt someone take her by the arm. She glanced over and saw a vampire with spiky hair leading her over to a table.
“No, I don’t want to go there. I need a bathroom.” She slurred her words a bit and he smiled as he began leading her across the club. “You’re very kind, thank you. I’m Briana.” She smiled at the guy.
“I’m Anton.” He whispered in her ear and then he was pressing her back against the wall as his tongue dove into her mouth. She tried to push him off but between the drinks and his strength she couldn’t. The music was so loud that she could barely hear herself think.
Finally, his mouth came off hers and she shoved at him. “I said No.” She snapped at him as his eyes turned a dark blue and he opened his mouth revealing fangs. Fear washed over her.
John made his way into the club and he immediately went to the bar and ordered a drink. The place was extremely crowded as he looked around but then he caught the scent of something or better yet someone. It was from a long time ago and as he inhaled his mind flashed to red hair. He looked around quick. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him, it’s not like it was the first time he had caught her scent in a random place. The scent, her scent would forever be burned in his brain.
The bartender handed him the drink and he was distracted as he sipped it but then he actually did see a flash of red hair. He downed his drink and began to walk with a mission across the room. He saw a red-haired woman dancing and he went up to her and spun her around. He was almost sure it was her but when she spun around, he knew she wasn’t. “Hey, wait!” The drunk redhead said as he turned from her and shook his head as he headed back to the bar but then out of the corner of his eye, he saw something, and it made him turn again. He saw a vampire stumble back and his fangs came out in defense mode. John stormed over to him; they were more civilized than that shit. As he made his way over there other people had gotten in his way and finally, he spun the vampire around.
“Hey what the hell are you doing!” John snapped at him as the young vampire retracted his fangs, but John looked up just in time to see a flash of red heading into the bathroom. Was he losing his mind? Perhaps he was.
“I’m sorry man, I wasn’t going to do anything.” The vampire said as he walked away from John who just stood there staring down the hall.
“Now there is the man of the hour!” Dario said as he came over to John. “How the hell have you been?”
“Good, busy.” John ran a hand through his hair. He saw three more girls with red hair. He was definitely losing his mind.
“Let’s talk somewhere a bit quieter.” Dario said as he began to walk with John as he led him up the stairs.
Briana felt sick and her head was spinning by the time she got out of the bathroom. Thankfully, Eve was coming over to her. “Damn, you’re sick, aren’t you?”
“I drank too much.” Briana said honestly.
“Come on let’s get you home, light weight.” Eve smirked as he put her hand around Briana and began to lead her out of the club.
As John and Dario got to the top of the stairs, John just happened to glance out onto the crowd. He saw red hair again and he shook his head. He really needed to get better sleep these days. He really was losing it!
Chapter Twelve
John sat in Dario’s office as he held out spread sheets on the financial end of the business. He was proud of the work accomplished there and he was basically showing off, but John’s mind couldn’t have been further from that. He was thinking of her again and how her scent literally haunted him, but she had died so there was no coming back from that. He had to keep telling himself that. She was the only good thing about him. He vaguely listened to Dario go on and on.
“So, I’m thinking that if we can get a few Jacuzzi’s and maybe a few of those hanging cages then we could double the revenue.” Dario said as John was snapped from his thoughts.
“What? No. Too many liabilities with all that shit. We keep it simple, a nightclub for everyone to let loose.” John said with a shake of his head.
“But if you just let me explain.” Dario began as John looked at him and stood up.
“I’m done with this conversation. Do you have any cute redheads?” John asked as Dario looked confused. “Do I stutter, get me a god damn red head!” John snapped as Dario quickly left the room and John walked over to the window and looked out. Maybe he would pay his brother a visit since he was close. It had been years since he had seen his brother Michael. He had three kids of his own now and the last time John had seen them was right after the first one was born in the early 2000’s. He hadn’t even met his other nephews even though he did send presents each Christmas. The door opened again as John turned and Dario stood with a hot young red head, clearly dyed hair but at the moment she would do.
“Hi.” She said with a sexy smile towards him. He waved her over as Dario stood at the door.
“You can leave now.” John said to him quick as Dario closed the door and the girl walked over to John. She went to touch him, and he grabbed her wrist. “No touching, just dance for me.” He said as he sat down, and she slowly began to dance. “Slower and turn around.” He said as she slowly turned and continued to dance with he
r back to him. He focused on her red hair as she swayed her hips back and forth. Her hair was long and down her back as she moved in front of him. Images of Briana filled his head. He could still feel her body against his. His erection ached painfully in his pants and he stood up so that the red head’s ass was against him. She went to turn to face him. “No, just stay like that.” He said as he quickly shoved his pants down and he pushed her forward onto the desk as papers fell to the floor. She cried out as he entered her.
Briana’s dreams consumed her as she slept. She dreamt of wolves and green eyes. There was a man too. He was just within reach but every time she got close, he disappeared. She would see flashes of skin on skin. Fun houses and moans surrounded her. Where was she? She saw red eyes and darkness as she tried to run from it. She cried out and no one heard her. Then there was blood, so much blood. She could taste it, she turned and looked in the mirror and she gasped as she saw the blood all over her.
Eve shook her hard as Briana cried out in her sleep. “Bree! Wake up!” Eve shook her harder. Briana sat up now as she breathed heavy and sweat covered her body. She looked around with confusion but then she saw Eve standing there. She was at Eve’s place. “Jesus Bree, I didn’t think I was going to be able to wake you up.” Eve shook her head, she had worry written all over her face.
“Sorry, I have these dreams.” Briana shook her head.
“You know I have heard about stuff like this happening when people have near death experiences.” Eve said as she sat down by Briana.
“Really? Cause mine seem almost real.” Briana said with a shake of her head.
“You know what we could do? We could go see one of those psychic witches.” Eve smiled big.
“No, that’s crazy. I don’t want someone getting in my head.” Briana said quickly.
“But it could be fun plus maybe they could tell you what your dreams are about. It’s worth a shot. I mean most dreams are your subconscious talking to you.” Eve continued.
“I don’t know.” Briana shook her head. The images were still right there in her mind. They freaked her out because they were so vivid. She didn’t like the ones with the creepy clown in the fun house or the red eyes thing.
“Well at least think about it.” Eve stood up now. “You want some tea?”
“Sure.” Briana said as she stood too and then she looked at the clock. It was nearly 3 am and she had school in the morning as well as work at night. She sighed.
“I have a hangover remedy.” Eve smirked as they walked to the kitchen together.
John laid in his bed as he looked over at the two sleeping red heads. He was currently in one of his houses in Pennsylvania. It was right outside of the night club in a small town called Sheppardsville. He rented it out most months out of the year because he barely stayed this far up north. Dario made sure that the place was taken care of though John could tell that Dario used the place for himself as well considering the amount of empty alcohol bottles that were in the garage.
John got out of the bed and walked over to one of the dressers. He quickly put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. He needed to stretch his legs and since he didn’t want to go into his wolf form in broad day light he would just go for a jog. It would give him a chance to check this town out, last time he was there was about five years ago, and it was to check on the pool in the backyard. The house was on five acres, but he remembered seeing a park when he had gotten into town. He decided to run there so that he had more of a scenic view.
As he went downstairs, he was met by one of the numerous caregivers of the house. This just happened to be an older woman by the name of Sherry if he remembered correctly. She was in her late fifties and had a very short dark bob haircut. “Can I get you some coffee and breakfast Sir?” She asked as he walked past her.
“Not just yet but you can escort the ladies out that are upstairs. Have the driver bring them wherever they want and toss them a few dollars for their time.” He said as he left out the front door.
John stretched his legs and arms before he began his jog. He would spend his morning doing this and then he would make a surprise visit to his brother’s place in the next town.
Since Briana had stayed at Eve’s place for the night she decided to walk to school from there since it was literally up the block from there. She only had two classes this morning and then she was going to head back to her own place and get ready for work. She put on her backpack as she went outside. Eve was sleeping again as she left.
Briana saw the park to her left and she couldn’t help but walk over. If she cut through the park, then she not only had a scenic route but a quicker one at that. She really liked the park and she liked to watch the children playing there. She wondered if one day she would have children. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched one child swing high as he laughed with each push from his mother. Kids were always so innocent; they were like little angels. As she stood there another image came into her mind though, it was of a crying child and something was trying to attack it. She quickly shook her head and the images faded as children ran past her.
Briana moved past the kids as images flooded her mind. She was beginning to feel like something was really wrong with her. The images she was having were coming more frequent now and sometimes they seemed so real that it literally took her breath away. She walked down one of the walking trails. All she had to do was go straight and then she would end up at the football field at the college.
She looked up at the trees as she walked. It really was beautiful out there. It was the fall and all the colors had already changed. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched one leaf begin to fall and she chased after it. She ran and laughed as she tried to get to it before it hit the ground. When she stopped running and spun around, she was immediately knocked onto her ass by another person who was on the trail as well.
“Oh my gosh I am so sorry.” She said as she looked up.
John thought he was dreaming when he stumbled backwards after running directly into someone. He had pulled his phone out for a second and the next he was colliding with someone but when he looked down, he saw a ghost.
Briana stared up at the large man as he looked down at her. His piercing green eyes went straight through her and for a moment she felt dizzy as she sat on the ground. The guy standing before her was about six and a half feet tall, very muscular and long dark hair that was pulled into a ponytail. He was covered in sweat, tattoos and he literally glistened as he stood there. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
John honestly thought he was hallucinating because Briana was standing in front of him, but she looked a little different. Younger almost and she had a white stripe of hair. Was it really her? He shook his head to clear it.
“I should have been watching where I was going.” Briana added as she began to push herself up but then he put his hand out and she grabbed it. He pulled her up and she quickly pulled her hand back. She had an odd feeling coursing through her body.
John didn’t even know what to say as he stood there speechless. Was it really her? But how?
She swallowed hard as she stood there uncomfortably. “Um ok, I’m going to go then.” She said a bit awkwardly as he looked at his hand that was still twitching from her touch but then she was turning and walking away from him.
“Hey!” He called out finally as she spun around quick. She didn’t know why but she wanted to talk to him, but she didn’t even know him. He looked like he was going to say something, but he stood there instead with a crazy look on his face. He quickly turned from her as confusion ran through him. That girl looked like Briana, but she didn’t recognize him, and she wasn’t a wolf. He had to have the wrong person; it made no sense any other way. He turned to say something again, but she was already walking away.
Briana began to walk away quick. Her heart was racing dangerously fast. Who was that guy? Had she seen him before? His eyes seemed so familiar. She stopped as she remembered green eyes. She turned to face him, but he was gone now
. Nowhere to be seen. Where did he go? She was half tempted to call out to him, but she didn’t. Was she losing her mind? She spun around and saw no one. Odd. She began to walk quickly down the trail.
John stood behind one of the large trees as it blocked his body. Was that really her? How could it be her? He waited till she walked away before he stepped out. He needed to find out information on that girl and this was a small town, so it wouldn’t be hard. He quickly took off. It took a lot to make John speechless these days, but he was completely and utterly speechless.
Briana couldn’t stop thinking about the green-eyed man when she got to school. Why had he seemed so familiar? In all reality she knew that someone like him could definitely not be someone she knew; she would remember that guy! He was gorgeous! She felt embarrassment wash over her as she thought of him, maybe Eve was right, maybe she really did need to get laid.
By the time her class was over she was heading out of the building before her next class started. Chris came walking over to her as he called out her name. “Hey Briana, hold up.”
Briana stopped walking as Chris ran up to her. “Hey.” She said with a soft smile.
“Hey, so I was thinking about that beer.” He smiled a bit nervously.
“Oh yeah, the beer.” She smirked some.
“Yeah so how about tonight, we could even get something to eat so the beer will have something to wash down.” He grinned.
“I got to work tonight.” She began, and he shook his head.
“Oh ok, never mind then. Maybe another time.” He said quickly, and she actually felt bad. She did owe him a beer for saving her life.
“You know I am working tonight but I work up the road at Charles’ place.” She said quickly.
“The bar, right?” He asked as he ran a nervous hand through his hair.