by L. C. Davis
“I'd rather just stay in Victor's cell.”
Sebastian winced. “It's not his cell.” The subject of his brother's incarceration was still a sore one, and not in a way I had much sympathy for.
“Is that really necessary?” asked Brendan. “You seem pretty calm now, maybe my blood just had a delayed effect.”
“Yes,” I said quickly. It occurred to me then that as much as Sebastian hated vampires, he had no idea how to handle one he wasn't prepared to kill. Neither did Brendan. “I don't think either of you understand how close I came to exposing us back there, or worse.”
“We wouldn't have let it get to that point, Remus,” Brendan said, gesturing between he and Sebastian. “If you haven't noticed, we're kind of ripped. I think we can handle a scrawny little plasma vacuum like you.”
I rolled my eyes. It wasn't that I blamed him for not taking me seriously. At five-seven and built with little discernible muscle mass, I wouldn't see me as a threat either. Proof was required.
I lunged for Sebastian and jumped on his back with a snarl, letting my fangs hover over his neck for a moment. “The fuck?” he cried, grabbing at me from behind. I gave Brendan a pointed look over his shoulder. “If Sebastian was a human, he'd be dead now,” I said, dropping off him onto the floor.
Sebastian stepped back and kept touching his neck like he was checking to make sure that I hadn't really bitten him. Maybe it was a bit of a phobia after all.
Brendan rolled his eyes dramatically, but I could tell my little display had served its point. “Yeah, okay, so you're fast. We can still track you. Vampires have a very specific smell.”
I wasn't sure I wanted to know if it was a good scent or a bad scent to a werewolf. “It doesn't matter. I could kill a lot of people by the time you found me. Anyway, you're vulnerable to mind control even if Sebastian isn't. My abilities aren't as strong as Victor's, but you can't trust that I'll stay like this.”
“He's right,” said Sebastian, sullen once again. “Going out today was a bad idea.”
“I still don't get it,” Brendan muttered. “He's been fine around the clients. He's never even come close to losing it with one of his donors and he's drinking their blood. What about this guy was enough to make him --” He trailed off, as if something had just occurred to him. His gaze flickered over to Sebastian and there was a hint of the concern I'd been hoping for within it. “Sebastian?”
“I know,” he said gravely. “I've been wondering the same thing.”
“They wouldn't have the balls,” said Brendan, crossing his arms. “Their leader signed a truce with Ulric in the nineties. We haven't had issues with them since sweatbands were a thing.”
“Just because the Family hasn't broken their word doesn't mean they won't,” he said. “Besides, Remus was human when he started at the school, more or less. Maybe Princess didn't realize what he was until he saw him at the store.”
“Prentice?” I asked, trying to decipher their words. “Someone mind filling me in? Who's the Family, the mob?”
Sebastian scoffed. “I wish. At least they have honor. The Family is the original line of hunters.”
“Hunters? As in the werewolf hunters Victor and Ulric are tracking?”
“Wolves, vampires, ghosts, zombies,” he said, giving me a look. “They go after anything supernatural. If it has a beating heart, they stop it. If it's dead --”
“They make it permanently dead,” interrupted Brendan. “They used to be serious business, but for the past few decades their leader has been wearing their balls around his neck.”
“That's why Ulric had to verify that those wolves in the other pack were killed by hunters,” said Sebastian. “If hunters are killing wolves again, there's gonna be a war.”
“A short one,” Brendan growled.
I listened intently, determined to call Victor the first chance I got. He had made it sound like just another routine mission before he went. After all, if hunters weren't supernaturals, how much of a threat could they be?
“Victor will be fine,” said Sebastian. His tone was dry but he had no obligation to bother reassuring me at all. “He's dealt with hunters before and he's nothing if not resourceful.
I nodded gratefully, though his words did little to ease my concern. I had a feeling nothing would except having Victor in my arms again. “What does any of this have to do with Prentice, though?”
Sebastian and Brendan exchanged a look. “The thirst was a lot worse with him than it usually is, right?” asked Sebastian.
“That's an understatement. I couldn't even think about anything else. It was worse than --” My voice hitched with regret as soon as I brought it up. “It was worse than the night I killed Clive Burns.”
I felt like if I said his name enough times, maybe it really would etch itself into my mind just as surely as all my other mistakes were etched into my arms.
Sebastian winced, either because of my use of the name or because of the mere mention of the event that had hastened the downward spiral of our relationship.
“What did the blood smell like?” asked Brendan, mercifully giving me an out. “Was it different than usual?”
“From another human's? Yeah,” I admitted. “Werewolf blood usually smells better, but human blood is harder to resist. His was maddening. It smelled like,” I paused to consider, “sunlight. Just pure liquid sunlight, if that makes any sense.”
I had barely finished speaking before all the color left Brendan's face. I turned to Sebastian to find him in a similar state of shock. “What?” I asked, looking between them. “TMI?”
“No,” Brendan said slowly. For the first time since I had known him, he was afraid. Even at the grocery store, he had been concerned but still his usual cocky self. I couldn't feel fear, but I could certainly recognize the waves of it emanating off of him. It soured his calming scent. “Shit, Sebastian,” he breathed.
“I know,” Sebastian said, raking a hand through his hair. It had grown out a lot since our trip. It wasn't just shaggy anymore, it fell slightly past his shoulders in a messy bad-boy style that suited him more than I would have liked to admit. It was even longer than Victor's, which didn't seem like it should have been possible given the time frame.
“What did I say that's so disturbing?” I asked, refocusing. It was alarming how easily I could get distracted by superficial concerns now when there were real problems to solve.
“You just described the way hunter blood supposedly smells to vampires,” said Sebastian. “All other creatures have an individual scent that identifies them to vampires, even humans. Hunters all smell like the sun, or at least that's what their prey says.”
“I thought that was just bullshit based on that stupid legend,” said Brendan. “Not like enough vampires just hang around us to ask.”
“Why does it matter if they --” I froze. “Wait, you're saying you think Prentice is a hunter?”
“It's the only thing that explains your reaction,” said Brendan.
“Wait, if he's a hunter, why didn't either of you notice anything?” I asked in disbelief. “Wouldn't you have smelled it, too? You've followed my scent before.”
“Your scent, not your blood,” said Sebastian. “And that's mainly because you're—because you were my mate,” he corrected himself. “Besides, hunters are 'designed' to blend in with humans so we won't notice them. Vampires are different.”
“I must be describing it wrong,” I said, lying to myself as much as them. That scent was engrained in my mind so strongly I could still smell it. There was no mistaking it for anything else. “There's no way Prentice is what you're saying he is. He's been nothing but kind to me.”
“Sure he has,” Brendan said with a snort. “He thought you were a human. They all act like they came from Stepford the way Ulric tells it. Sebastian has dealt with them, too.”
“Briefly,” he said. “Enough to know they're nothing to screw around with, especially if they're killing wolves and not even trying to hide it.”
&nbs
p; “If they're so bad why would they stop killing at all?” I asked.
“It's complicated,” said Sebastian. “You'll have to ask Ulric when he gets back, he can explain it all better than I can. The short version is that pack wolves cause more order than chaos since we go after the other supernaturals who start shit in our territories. They're more concerned with supernaturals that cause trouble.”
“In other words, vampires,” I said, deciding to pull the sheet off the elephant in the room.
Brendan gave me a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, but your bloodsucker family is kind of a nuisance.”
“My literal family especially, it seems.” I sighed, thinking of Sarah. “That's all the more reason you have to lock me up, then. If I'm a threat to Prentice --” I broke off when Brendan laughed. Sebastian just chuffed. “What?”
“If Prentice is a hunter, you're not a threat to him. Hunters are irresistible to vamps for a reason,” said Brendan. “It's a trap so they can lure you into attacking them out in the open or at least stalking them until they can stake you in a dark alley.”
“He wouldn't do that,” I said earnestly.
“He would if he knew you were a vampire,” said Sebastian. “If he can somehow tell you're a hybrid, he'd probably take you back to the rest of the Family so they can experiment on you before killing you.”
It was difficult to hide my disbelief, but I gave up arguing for now. “So you think he knows what I am?”
“If he's a hunter, I wouldn't be surprised if he knew from the moment you met,” said Sebastian.
“That's impossible,” I said, shaking my head. Every kindness Prentice had shown me flashed through my mind. There was no way someone so inherently good could be so cruel. In any case, he hadn't done anything to me yet.
“Keep thinking like that and you'll wind up in a coffin for more than just nap time,” said Brendan. “If he ever was your friend, he's not now. I'm not trying to be a dick, but you have to get that through your thick skull,” he said, knocking lightly on my temple.
I stared up at him, deep in thought. Sebastian's concerns I could brush off as leftover protective instinct or even jealousy, but Brendan had no bias other than concern for me as a member of his pack and hopefully as a friend. “I'll be careful,” I promised. It was all I could offer.
“Yeah, I don't trust that. I'm starting to realize Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum weren't exaggerating when it came to your self-destructive streak,” he said, smirking.
“Who're you calling dumb?” Sebastian growled.
Brendan ignored him and went over to a tall armoire. He rummaged through a drawer until he pulled out what looked like a jacket with even more straps on it than I'd grown accustomed to. When he brought it closer, I realized it was a straitjacket. “What's that for?” I asked warily.
“Keeping you out of trouble without having to lock you up,” he said, shaking it out. “We definitely can't have you slipping out and getting yourself killed now that there's a hunter running around, but I can't stay in the basement and keep an eye on you all day. This is the best compromise.”
I looked to Sebastian for help but all he did was give me a shrug that told me I was out of luck. “It's a good idea if you're really worried about hurting people. Besides, it's not like you'll look out of place around here.”
He had a point. “Fine,” I said with a defeated sigh. “How do I put this thing on?”
“You don't,” said Brendan, opening the lace-up back of the black straitjacket to hold it out in front of me. “Put your arms in.”
I followed his instructions and slipped my arms into the absurdly long sleeves. They nearly touched my toes. The jacket fit loose, at least until he laced up the back. His fingers tore through the laces like they were playing an instrument he had clearly mastered. Next, he grabbed the impossibly long sleeves and wrapped them around my body so that my arms were flush against my sides. With a few last tugs, I was snugly but securely incapacitated.
“How's that?” he asked. “Can you move?”
I tried my best, but my limbs were fixed. “No, not at all.”
“Good. Is it comfortable?”
“I guess so. It's kind of calming,” I admitted.
He smirked. “Yeah, I've heard vampires like being restrained. Coffins and all that.”
Sebastian cleared his throat. “Brendan.”
“What? He's a vampire. No reason to tiptoe around it.”
“He's right,” I said, wondering if Sebastian was speaking on my behalf or his own. At least Brendan's teasing came from a lighthearted place, whereas the way Sebastian struggled to avoid using the V-word in favor of vague euphemisms made it clear that he saw me as just another one of them. “It's no big deal.”
“Since when did you two get so close?” Sebastian asked, folding his arms.
“Since he and Clara are the only wolves in the Lodge still willing to look at me,” I said.
Brendan shrugged. “Thought I'd do Vic a solid, maybe get out of cleaning duty for the week. Turns out Remus is pretty cool for a bloodsucker.”
I couldn't help but smile. “Yeah, well, if I have to be leashed to a dog twenty-four seven, I guess I could do worse.”
“Leash,” said Brendan, getting a dangerous glint in his eyes. “That's a good idea.” He went over to another drawer and pulled out a thick metal chain. He hooked one end to his belt loop and the other to a ring on the back of my collar. “Now you definitely can't bolt.”
Sebastian watched the entire debacle with barely contained displeasure. “I can take him. You don't need to keep watching him, especially not with all this going on.”
“Nah. Vic asked me to do it,” he said. “No offense, but I think he'd be pretty pissed if I let you run off with him.”
“I'm not a pet, guys.”
They ignored me and kept arguing for a bit before finally deciding that calling Victor was the best course of action anyway. Victor and Sebastian sat down on the floor and placed Brendan's phone between them. Sebastian dialed Victor's number and the phone began to ring with the echoed effect of the speakerphone.
I remained standing, unsure of my ability to sit without falling over since I couldn't use my hands. Before I had the chance to figure it out, Brendan yanked the chain and pulled me onto his lap. I opened my mouth to protest just as Victor's voice came through.
“Hello?”
“'Sup bro,” said Brendan, ignoring the glares he was getting from both Sebastian and myself. “Got your brother and your lover here. Separate people, at least I hope. For the record, I never believed those rumors.”
Victor's sigh crackled through the phone. “What do you want, Brendan? Is everything alright?”
“Everything is fine, Vic,” I called, afraid that Victor was somehow going to know I was in Brendan's lap.
“It's not fine,” said Sebastian. “We've got a hunter situation down here.”
“Possible hunter situation,” I corrected.
“What?” Victor's voice faded into what sounded like rushing water. “Hang on,” he said. The noise disappeared a moment later. “Sorry, we followed a set of tracks to the waterfall. Did you say hunter? In town?”
“One of the teachers at the college,” said Sebastian. “Remus used to work for him.”
“You'll never guess what Remus said his blood smelled like,” Brendan said dryly.
“Like the sun?” Victor's accurate guess startled me and framed the situation in a new light. If there was any doubt in my mind that Sebastian and Brendan were just screwing with me, it disappeared then. Victor sighed deeply. “What the hell was he doing outside the Lodge in the first place?”
“It was Brendan's idea,” Sebastian muttered. “I just went along to keep an eye on them.”
“I thought he needed to get out after all that crap yesterday!” Brendan said pointedly. “Besides, everything was fine until we ran into the hunter.”
“Remus, are you alright? Were you hurt?” Victor asked, his tone softening.
“No,�
�� I said quickly. “I'm fine, nothing really happened, I just humiliated myself.”
“You mean you didn't attack him?” His disbelief was mildly offensive.
“No,” I said. “I had Brendan take me out of the store before I could attack him. I think I'm still sedated a little.” I decided not to tell him about the feeding part until after he got home.
“That shouldn't be possible for a fledgling vampire, sedation or not” Victor murmured, alternating between concerned boyfriend and intrigued scientist. “In any case, I'm coming home. Brendan, please don't let him out of your sight until I get back.”
“Wasn't planning on it.”
“Thank you. Sebastian?”
He grunted in acknowledgment.
“Please change all of our passcodes. If this is someone Remus knows, we can't be too cautious.”
“I didn't even know them until you gave them to me, and I'd never give out information like that away,” I said, speaking up to defend my honor.
“I'm sure, but we can't take that risk right now,” said Victor.
Sebastian stood and stretched. “I'll take care of it.”
“Good. On second thought,” Victor said with another deep sigh before continuing, as if whatever he was about to say troubled him deeply, “if you think you can refrain from any more of the bullshit you pulled the other night, please stay with him. I can't risk him getting inside Brendan's head and slipping out.”
It was the same argument I had made earlier, so I couldn't counter it, but I wasn't thrilled with its present implication. “I'm fine with Brendan.”
“Yeah,” he said. “He's in a straitjacket and everything.”
“Again, I'm not taking any chances. Sebastian is resistant to mind control. Next to myself, he's the best option to guard you. Brendan, take over his other duties for now and get some rest,” said Victor. “You've earned it.”
“Whatever,” Brendan said. “It's not a big deal. If there's a hunter after one of our pack, I'm not gonna take a nap.”
“If the hunter was going to make an immediate move, you'd all be dead,” Victor said matter-of-factly. “I want you rested for when we really need you. Have everyone else take their emergency posts. We'll meet as a pack once I get home.”