by Cara Villar
My God… blood… pain… screams…
Suddenly Natasha was dropping in soft jerks, her entrails piling into a putrid, fleshy mound the size of which would make anyone wonder how the hell it ever fit inside her. As she slowly sprawled across the rug, across her own blood and intestines, Felix moved to kneel beside her.
“Sire…” Natasha whispered, blood bubbling on her lips. Her fangs were hugely elongated with her pain, and the intense, gold light of her eyes bathed Felix’s paler-than-usual features in a sickly yellow glow.
“Don’t speak,” Felix commanded, smoothing the blonde and honey hair. “We’re going to get you out of her and fixed up, okay, sweetheart? You’re safe now.”
“Sire, I must…”
“Shhh.” Felix coaxed, gripping the unnaturally pale hand that gripped his lapel, his eyes darting around the room, looking for something, anything. “We’re going to get you fixed up, Tasha. We will.”
“Must…tell you…”
“-Don’t speak. Just live—”
“He knew… sire…”
“-Tasha, please—”
“Felix,” I softly admonished, moving slowly forward. The woman’s eyes, her eyes were a dull, pain-filled blue, probably a bright sapphire when she was…was… I knelt beside Felix and gripped her free hand. “Natasha. I’m Red. Do you have a message?” I don’t know what made me interfere. Maybe it was the hunt, the need to get answers while I could. Maybe it was to promise that this injustice and cruelty would not go unpunished. Maybe it was to look into this woman’s eyes and know that the ache in my heart was because she was trying to serve her sire one more time before she passed, and he wasn’t letting her.
“I…” Her eyes darted to me, and then to Felix. His jaw was rigid but he remained silent. “Ambrose… knew…he knew…who I was…” Her eyes swung to me, white around the edges. “Knows who…you are.” She swallowed and then coughed, and cried out softly in agony.
Felix flinched at the sound, his face a mask of horror and complete helplessness.
“Sire…Felix…” Her grip tightened. “He will not…stop…until he is…dead.” Her eyes closed and her teeth gritted, yet Natasha forced herself to speak. “Now…finish this.”
Felix made a choked sound in his throat, his gaze darting down to the smooth, blood-spattered stake protruding from her chest. Natasha gave a soft whimper, and Felix’s jaw flexed once more as he gathered his resolve.
I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t look away as he released her hand and slowly wrapped his fist around the wood.
“Wait!” Natasha gasped suddenly. “G…C…Logistics…buried file…look for his sire…”
“Buried file?” I murmured, my brain already working, refusing to allow this woman’s death to be a waste.
Natasha’s eyes fixed on me, fever bright and determined. “Look for his sire…”
I looked at Felix, but his eyes were fixed on the stake. Natasha’s eyes returned to his face, and slowly she lifted her hand, brushing her fingers along his stiff jaw.
Felix rammed in the stake and twisted.
Natasha died whispering his name.
12
We buried Natasha near the River North.
Felix stood over the fresh dirt of his Vampire child’s grave in silence for several hours. As dawn approached, the dull light highlighted his features in a way that I had not been able to see in the dark. His rage was written in every tense line of his body, every twitching, tensed muscle of his bare chest, arms and legs. The hand that gripped the shovel was white knuckled, but he didn’t say a word.
He hadn’t said a word since we had wrapped Natasha up in the soiled rug and snuck out of the mansion. Not an easy thing to do with a carpet corpse, multiple-guests, and few unmonitored exits. In the end, it had been a case of lowering the body out a window, and praying no one found it before we retrieved it.
I stood in the cold dawn light and watched Felix, refusing to cry until I was alone. I did not know Natasha, but my heart ached for the beautiful Vampire child and her sire. There had obviously been a love between them of some kind that each had cherished. Felix’s pain was so evident in his fury that it lashed at me, making me clutch his tuxedo close, burying my face in his scent and wishing there was something I could say to help.
But there wasn’t anything I could say. Only something I could do.
At last, Felix yanked the shovel from the ground, and moved towards me. The driver, a Vampire named Elijah, took the shovel and set it in the fully-lined trunk of the limo as Felix began to dress, covering up his mud-covered skin with his exquisite tux. He’d stripped the moment Natasha was laid softly on the grass. I’d trailed him, collecting his discarded clothing as it fell, then stood off to one side and waited for him to finish digging her unmarked grave and saying goodbye. He had even spent several moments just staring down at her face, her features frozen in its perfection, turning marble hard upon death. True immortality, never to fade.
Now, his lashes were a dark sweep across his pale cheeks, his hair mussed, and mud streaked his forehead and one sharp cheekbone. Without thought, I reached up to brush the smudges away. He stilled at the touch, going even more unyielding than before. Panic ripped through me as I realized what I had done. How could I have been so stupid? He didn’t want me to comfort him. Why would he? I was barely above a stranger in his eyes.
I retracted my hand quickly and handed him his jacket, then turned for the car. I knew he was hurting, but it made the rejection sting no less painfully. I wanted to offer comfort, but it had been so long since I dared to give a toss about anyone besides myself. Maybe Jade and her brother, but all it took for them were horror and action flicks and an unlimited supply of fattening foods.
How the hell do you comfort a Vampire?
Sliding into the back of the limo, I pressed myself into the door on the other side, and kept my attention fixed on a bush outside the window. Felix sprawled into the seat beside me and shut the door. As the car pulled away, he didn’t move, and neither did I. We didn’t talk. And it hurt.
I hadn’t realized how comfortable I’d become in his presence. Enough, obviously, to feel the strain of not being able to talk as I wished. Even his presumptuous touch would have been welcome. That self-assured, overly-confident assumption that I was his despite the fact that neither of us had laid claim to the other.
Where was that now? Dead. Along with Natasha.
I sucked in a deep breath, and then exhaled the bitter thoughts. It wasn’t my place to judge the intricate relationship between Vampire and sire. I don’t exactly have a great example to go on, since I didn’t even know who mine were.
Clearing my mind, I forced myself to consider the next step in the hunt. Natasha’s home and work place, I guessed. It seemed the most logical move after her cryptic message about buried files and sires. We would need to access her files, both hard copy and computerized. And if they were encrypted, well, I knew someone who just loved a challenge, especially if it’s linked to a massive organization like G.C. Logistics.
I’d check my iPad once back in my hotel room; see if any of my contacts came through for me. I knew I should probably check my phone for messages too, but I’d wait to do that when I was alone. I didn’t want to move right then, sitting next to a scarily silent Felix was causing unnatural pangs in my chest. I would discuss my thoughts with him and get his opinion, but it could wait till the evening. We both needed rest, and a chance to process the night’s events alone.
Arriving at the hotel, we both got out on our respective sides of the limo and headed inside. The sound of my heels clicking across the foyer floor was loud in the early morning silence. The elevator ride up was spent staring at our reflections, the small space filling with Felix’s scent and sheer presence. The instant the doors opened, I shot through into the corridor and high-tailed it to my door as fast as my high-heeled feet would take me. My eyes were burning and my throat was tight. If I didn’t get away from him right then, I was going to burst
into tears, and he didn’t need that. He didn’t need a hysterical woman blubbering ridiculously all because she’d seen more intestines that she’d ever realized a person could have and because he wasn’t talking to her. It was ridiculous. Completely, utterly, irrationally ridiculous.
My teeth dug into my lower lip, biting off the sob caught in my throat, threatening to choke me. I was fumbling in my purse for my room card when I was suddenly jerked back and shoved against the wall.
Felix’s broad shoulders and narrow waist pushed into me, pinning me in place. His scent surrounded me in a rush, making my sharp intake of breath a pallet-full of coffee, ice and anise. His lips, oddly cool, brushed mine and made my pulse leap frantically in my throat. My heart pounded as his head tilted, as if he were about to kiss me, plunder and steal my breath. My eyes rolled back into my head at the thought of being able to do nothing but grip his hair in my fists and give myself over to it.
What a glorious thing it would be on such a night as this.
With a teasing nip on my lower lip, Felix pulled me back enough to hear him murmur against my mouth, “When you wake, come find me.” Then he was gone.
Giddy and breathless—and, I’ll admit, a little disappointed—it took me a good ten minutes before I was able to push myself off the wall without falling straight onto my backside. Getting into my room was a blur. I waited for the door to click shut behind me before tossing my purse onto the bed, sliding off the small satin jacket and giving it the same treatment before unzipping the dress, shucking it and dragging the thing over to its bag-hanger.
I was just maneuvering the skirts into the bag when a throat cleared behind me.
Screeching like a banshee, I yanked the skirts to cover myself, my back to the wall, and glared over at the darkened corner where a shadow shifted.
“Thank you, Des.” A southern drawl murmured, just as a lamp flicked on, illuminating the amused expression of an Alpha and the furious expression of his lieutenant.
“What the hell are you doing in my room?” I snarled.
Des bristled. “Put some fucking clothes on—”
“Piss off you he-she!” I snapped, cutting her off. “I have every right to get undressed in my own freaking room without some pervs lurking in the shadows!”
“He-she?” she squawked. “At least I don’t look like some high-priced whore.”
“Rather be high-priced than cheap and easy, love.”
“Des.” Vince inclined his head toward her. “Leave us.”
“What? No!”
“Now.”
Des’s nostrils flared in anger, and she stormed for the door. I glared right back at her until the door was closed. Then I snapped my gaze back to Vince, who was uncurling from his seat and prowling toward me, igniting the air with his sea salt and sunshine aroma, so very different from dried blood, pine needles and anise.
I felt at a distinct disadvantage in my provocative underwear, while he wore his customary black rocker T, jeans and massive boots. His bare arms displayed an array of tattoos that drew the eyes, and made me tug the dress skirts to cover my scarred shoulder.
“Please, continue, darlin’,” he murmured softly, and I growled in response.
“What. Are you. Doing here?” I groused.
He planted his hands on the wall on either side of my head, bending to look me in the eye. I pressed myself back further, resisting the urge to examine his tattoos.
“You left Florence before we had a chance to speak.”
Observant puppy.
“Really?” I gritted. “I hadn’t noticed.”
His head tilted in that oddly inhuman way. “You do not think we should discuss the manner of your existence?”
“I’ve existed for over three-hundred years without any discussion with the local Alpha regarding the matter.”
Besides, he was a toddler compared to me. Hello? He might as well have a bwanky.
“Probably because he was unaware of your existence.”
“So you are here to correct such an over-sight?”
“I need to know where you stand in regards to a pack or clan.”
“Why?” I asked, and his brows shot up.
“Because no individual Vampire or Werewolf can survive without one or the other.”
I point to my chest and gave a smug smile. “Over three-hundred years old.”
His grin flashed wickedly, bright blue eyes glinting. “I’ve never had an older woman, but I’m not adverse to the idea.”
I sucked in an outraged breath. “Arrogant dog!”
“Now, now.” He clicked his tongue. “Best not insult your new Alpha, darlin’.”
That endearment was starting to piss me off. Seriously!
“You,” I shoved his chest and he actually stumbled back, “are not my Alpha.”
“So long as you live in my territory, I am,” he husked, his fingers tracing my scarred shoulder.
I wanted to bite his hand off. Instead, I just batted it away. “You’re a bit fucking late.” I replied through elongated teeth.
“Best start paying me fealty now then.”
“In your dreams, Cujo,” I snapped my teeth at him before slipping under his arm and stalking toward the bathroom.
He chuckled. “Not a morning person?”
I snorted. “I haven’t been to bed yet.” I kicked off my heels and dragged the giant terry-robe toward me.
“Been frolicking with the Vampire?” Vince growled, distinctly not as amused as he had been.
“Unless Osiris wishes to inform you of our endeavors, I’m afraid that my frolicking is none of your business.”
“Everything you do in my territory is my business,” he barked.
I rolled my eyes. Men. They see a woman and instantly think a command will be adhered to. Fidiots.
“No. Everything I do in my territory is my business. As it has been for over a century now.”
“My pack has held this territory for far longer than a century, darling’,” he drawled smugly.
I snorted again. “Great job you’re doing, seeing as you didn’t even know about my existence until a Vampire told you.”
“Which is why I intend to find out how you flew so far below our radar for so long.” His power slapped into me, making my knees buckle until my ass hit the edge of the bed.
Jeepers, I’m tired. I told myself sternly that, if I were at full-capacity, I wouldn’t even react to his power, let alone his mere presence.
“Jeez, easy.” I rubbed the back of my neck, and then reached up to unpin my hair, needing to at least cover my shoulder with the thick mass. Not to mention, I could cover up my near-exposed breasts with it. Mussed hair? Scars? Underwear? Blah. “I went undetected for so long because no one was bothering to look.” I dropped my elbows to my knees and head into my hands, rubbing my scalp. “Tell you what. Email me a questionnaire and I’ll reply when I get a free moment.” I glanced up at his furious expression. “I’ll take your application as my Alpha under consideration and get back to you when I’ve made a decision.”
“Dammit, female. I am your Alpha, whether you like it or not,” he snarled, prowling towards me.
His power slammed into me again, like waves crashing against unrelenting rock, slowly but surely wearing it down. However, I was in no mood to be placid. I was in no mood to be bossed around. I was tired, and hungry and soul-weary, and all I wanted to do was shower the dye out of my hair, remove my sticky contact lenses, and crawl into bed while the memories of Felix’s almost-kiss were still fresh.
Instead, I was standing in a hotel room, in a shocking display of lingerie, arguing with a Werewolf too big for his own goddamned boots.
“I much prefer not,” I muttered, coming to my feet and dragging my ass and terry-robe to the bathroom door. “But feel free to knock yourself out trying to be.”
In a snap, he was in front of me, blocking the bathroom.
I heaved a frustrated sigh and gazed longingly at the bath.
“I can force you to a
ccept me as Alpha.”
I blinked up at him. “You growled into my throat, and I threw you across the room. What do you think a show of dominance will get you?”
He suddenly grinned, nearly knocking me flat with how gorgeous it made him. “A decorative array of scratches on my back?”
Wowza!
“Or the loss of your eyes,” I replied dryly, inwardly fanning the flush from my dirty thoughts.
“Red?” He dragged out my name in a low rumble, making me shiver slightly.
“What?” I snapped, disgusted with my own body.
His casual expression suddenly went feral and his eyes bore down into mine. “Kneel,” he growled, and would you believe, my knees wobbled.
Not from his power-play, but from the sheer masculine effect his features had on me. If he wasn’t a wolf, I may have well jumped his bones. As it stood, I merely stepped back and took in, with a deliciously feminine appreciation, the wide breadth of his shoulders, his curling blonde hair around his nape and his flashing blue eyes. My gaze skimmed his Led Zeppelin T-shirt, scuffed black jeans and boots, and the tauntingly provocative array of tattoos on his arms. He was power incarnate, and I shivered in wonder at the thought of what all that power could do to me.
‘Kneel’ certainly wasn’t one of them. Bend maybe? Dirty girl.
“Vince?” I looked up into his ruggedly handsome face. “You can’t dominate me like that because I’m not a full-blood.” His frown almost made me laugh out loud. My mind flashed with the image of a confused puppy tilting its head. “Let’s make a deal,” I offered instead.
He eyed me suspiciously. “What do you have in mind?”
“You let me shower and sleep, and tomorrow I’ll come find you, and you can ask me as many questions as you like.”
“Okay, darlin’.”
“And you feed me.”
“Sounds fair.”
“And Des won’t be there.”
“Well…”
I narrowed my eyes. “Either she isn’t there or I’m not.”