“If you see fangs, it’s probably too late,” said Brad.
9
CAIN AND JADEN
Cain was sitting on the rich brown leather sofa in the den with his feet propped up on the coffee table and his laptop sitting on his lap. He stared unseeing at a large oil painting of a landscape hanging on the wall opposite him. The painting was a favorite and had been in the Butler family for hundreds of years.
“Stop it,” said Jaden as he entered the room. He walked over to the oak desk in the corner, worn to a rich patina from decades of use, and began searching through a pile of papers.
“Stop what?”
“Stop thinking about the human woman,” said Jaden. “Don’t tell me you haven’t spent the last two days thinking about her.” They weren’t twins, but the bond between the two was strong and he could read his brother easily. Cain’s obsession with human women annoyed him.
Cain laughed. “I guess you could be right. But she was interesting.”
Jaden snorted. “Interesting? You rescued her from getting raped, but even you had to admit those shitheads probably didn’t need drugs to get her in the alley. She was slutty. What makes her worth the time of day?” He pulled the page he was looking for from the pile, set it aside, and neatly stacked the other papers on the corner of the desk again.
“You didn’t see what I saw, Jaden. You don’t need to be so cold. She wasn’t looking for pleasure; she was looking for escape. She’s haunted by something.”
Jaden shook his head. Even when he knew what his brother was thinking, he did not understand him. “So, haunted women turn you on now? Should I find you a ghost?”
“Don’t push, Jaden,” warned Cain. “I don’t judge your relationship with Serena. You don’t judge mine.” Cain dropped his feet to the floor, stood up, and began pacing back and forth from the parquet flooring to the thick wool rug.
Jaden sat silently at the desk, watching his brother. He knew from Cain’s warning that he’d pushed his buttons. Normally, between the two, Jaden was the violent and angry one, more prone to being moody and holding grudges, while Cain was always the friendly and cheerful one, though he was neither weak nor timid. On more than one occasion, the two had fought, as brothers do. Of course, when vampires fight, it is far more violent than when a couple of human brothers get into a tussle. Cain had always been attracted to human women. He didn’t think of humans as food or a lesser species, the opinions that most of their vampire brethren shared. Jaden tried to understand Cain’s opinion, but he thought having feelings for mortals seemed foolish. The brothers were natural born vampires, they’d never been human, and Cain seemed to feel he was missing out, never having had a human experience.
“Do as you wish, Cain, just don’t expect me to understand it,” said Jaden as Cain once again turned on his heel, this time storming out of the room. He wasn’t going waste his time getting into it with Cain over the woman. Besides, Cain had a pattern. He gained and lost interest easily. Despite Cain’s protests, this woman was likely the same. Cain could easily see the best in people, but just as easily see the worst. He didn’t have to know someone long to know what their heart truly held.
Jaden watched as his brother walked out. It had always been this way with them. He reveled in his immortality, excelling on the battlefield during wartime because he had no fear of death, while Cain longed to experience simple human emotions. He sighed. Jaden wished Cain hadn’t mentioned Serena, his on again off again lover. She was a beautiful vampire but she worked for the vampire council, a large secretive organization with old prejudices. They were the vampire equivalent of humankind’s KKK, supremacists bent on insuring the purity and supremacy of their race. Cain had no love for the council and had questioned Jaden’s involvement with a woman who worked for them. Jaden maintained that Serena did not share the same attitude as all of the council and had said it was none of Cain’s business who he dated.
10
DANTE AND ERICA
The rumbling and noise of moving and construction awakened the dormant gargoyle. He was anxious to explore his new circumstances. A new country to call home and new residents under his watchful protection. His existence was about to take on meaning again. It had been decades of endless boredom trapped in his stone existence. And they wonder why my face is grim he thought. He remembered his once human existence. He reminded himself that as a human, he would not have had the patience to exist without a purpose. Time was nothing to an immortal gargoyle. Time came, time passed. Awakenings always brought reminiscing, memories he would rather not relive. The memory of his self-sacrifice was a bitter memory. He became a gargoyle to protect the love of his life, only to discover the love of his life had rejected him because of his scary stone form. She had broken his heart. He grimaced under his stone mask and acknowledged his heart had turned to stone. A stone heart was safe. The damned awakenings always made him relive his past.
Centuries of anger were bottled up and needed release. He wondered if this new country would bring new battles. A few rogue vampires to crush would wet his appetite for battle. He missed the age of dragons. Dragons were enemies that demanded respect, not that vampires were easy to defeat. He mused over the past. The world was changing fast, and as much as it changed, evil did not. It existed, ignored as myths. Evil was now explained as an excuse for humans refusing to accept responsibility for their own sins. No longer would you hear the once common remark that “the Devil made me do it.” How naïve humans had become over the ages. Evil did not only exist in the hearts of men. Evil walked the earth among men. Now, more than ever, humans needed help from their gods.
The gargoyle’s curiosity was piqued by the sound of a feminine voice. He was anxious for the sun to set, for darkness to allow him to emerge from his rocky prison. He would fly and explore his new surroundings. Perhaps this century he could find the key to break the curse he allowed to be placed upon himself to protect the woman he loved. The woman he thought returned his love and devotion in full measure. It had been no consolation to watch her grow old as a mortal, and be left by her rich husband for a younger lover.
He sighed. To human ears the sigh would sound like the creak and groan of an old house. He would protect those mortals under his charge, those foolish mortals who allowed love to cloud their judgment, and fool them into misplacing trust.
The human condition, he loathed and yet sometimes longed for. He listened intently as humans walked the halls of the abode he had guarded for so long. The halls had been silent for too long. Now the rooms were coming to life with new energy. It appeared as if he had a young woman to protect, and another being, a shifter. With his abode being vacant for so long, boredom had almost put him into a state of hibernation. The moss on his stone face would soon disappear. The gargoyle wondered if the new occupant would be worthy of his protection. A worthy occupant in his home would be refreshing. A gargoyle was not bound to protect just anyone. A gargoyle could refuse to guard a human. To do so too often however was not advisable. There was uncertainty of the immortality of a gargoyle if his usefulness was debatable. Sometimes he had been tempted to do so and see what happened to worn out, useless gargoyles. Immortality was highly overrated. Watching over humans he developed affectionate feelings for, was difficult as they grew old and expired. It reminded him of when he had been human, and pets with short life spans died of old age under his care. Now humans were the pets under his care. He sighed and this time the sound was like a soft wind in the trees. Soft sentiments were to be avoided. He was a bodyguard that needed no distractions should he choose to protect the new occupants of his mansion.
…
Erica wiped her fingers on the paper napkin. She swirled the wine in her glass and contemplated asking Jeffery about his bear being. Finally, she could do idle chit chat no more. She looked at him in earnest.
“This bear shifting, when does it happen?” she asked.
“It happens when the fight or flight adrenaline flows.” Jeffery answered with a rather strai
ght face. He had made a bet with himself she would ask about his other self in less than one hour. Winning his bet with himself did bring out a small smile that was quickly erased.
“So, it’s not a good idea to ever tell you that your cooking sucks?” Erica smiled, half joking but actually she was nervous about triggering a shift inadvertently. “Not that your cooking sucks!” she quickly added. “This is so much to wrap my head around.”
“I can shift when I want or need to. I gained control and self-discipline earlier in my life.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes, yes it hurts briefly during the changing.”
“Do you think like a man in a bear’s body?” Erica’s neatly-shaped eyebrows were furrowed. She was as serious as a preacher at a funeral.
Jeffery answered dryly. “Yes, I have man thoughts in the body of a bear with the strength of a bear. But don’t worry, shifters don’t mate with humans while in animal form.”
Erica blushed. That was not the answer she was looking for, too much information. But Jeffery looked equally uncomfortable answering her silly questions.
“I think that glass of wine will be my last for the evening.” Erica felt her inhibitions were just a little addled. She was thoroughly embarrassed. It was definitely time to excuse herself from the table and beat a hasty retreat to her new and beautiful bedroom, before the effects of the wine really messed with her mind and manners. “Thank you for a very lovely meal, and I shall refrain from asking any more questions until my brain catches up with my lips. You have been very patient with my ignorance about,” she paused, and finally blurted, “Everything!”
“You are very welcome; it was and is my pleasure to serve you. Any pertinent questions are more than welcome, especially if they put you at ease. We want you to feel safe.” The tone of his voice was back to almost emotionless. It was in stark contrast to his earlier laugh.
Erica smiled her appreciation and turned away quickly to hide her vulnerability. She was exhausted. Now that she felt safe, it seemed as if the adrenaline she had been running on for months was turned off. She wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep sleep on that new soft bed.
Sleep did not come easily, as often happened when she was over tired. As soft and comfortable as the big bed was, the tension in her body caused her to toss and turn. Erica groaned and thought about taking a sleeping pill. She hated the groggy, lingering effects upon waking. A better solution was tucked discreetly inside her overnight bag. The toy bag was brought to avoid embarrassment, for strangers would be packing up her possessions and bringing them to the mansion. What would they think if they stumbled across a vibrator among other very erotic toys to stimulate and prolong sexual pleasure? Erica climbed out of the bed and brought the vibrator back to the bed with her. Her sexual appetite was very healthy and the vibrator had been very handy when Tomas was away on long trips. She thought about Tomas’s lean and hard body, the way he knew what to touch and when. She remembered the way he would kiss and tease the sensitive points of her anatomy. She sank down into the inviting bed again and parted her thighs. The vibrator hummed as she remembered the feel of hard meeting a soft moist portal. She did not need any lubrication. Her body was more than prepared. She was in the peak of her fertility cycle. Her body readily accepted the male replica. She found her rhythm quickly and tried to slow it down, but her body would have none of that slow steamy building of a pleasurable tension. Her hips flexed involuntarily and within minutes her toes curled with the peak of an orgasm that was reached in record time. She sighed in relief, and thought sleeping pills are for old people. As her body cooled and her muscles relaxed she drifted into a deep dreamless sleep.
It seemed strange to wake up early and not have to prepare for work. It was time to call into the accounting firm and let them know she was taking a leave of absence with no notice. They had offered to give her an extended leave after Tomas’s death, a leave she refused, as work and routine were her saving grace. Erica pressed the speed button of her new cell phone and thought about how much information she could share with Sally, her friend and supervisor.
“May I speak to Sally please, this is Erica.” The receptionist’s voice was unfamiliar. Erica wondered if the regular receptionist was ill.
“Hello, Erica, what’s up?”
“Sally, I need to take that offer for an extended leave of absence.” Erica got right to the point.
“Not a problem, Erica, I wish you had asked for it sooner. Do you know you have worked so hard we have all been worried about you,” Sally said. There was genuine concern in her tone of voice.
“Work helped me keep my sanity, but now I need some time away.” Erica was not ready to share her newest problems. Sally would suggest therapy if she talked about vampires, shifters, and werewolves.
“Remember you get a paid leave of absence for up to three months with our insurance and benefits policy. So, take all the time you have coming to you, Erica,” said Sally. “Are you going to finally spend some time away traveling?”
“No, not yet. I am going to be away from the city for a while. I need to get my bearings and decide what to do with my life.”
“Are you finally going to give up your apartment? I don’t see how you can live there after what happened.”
“I am going to think about it. I know you think I am nuts to stay there, but that apartment holds some very good memories. However, you may be right that it is time for a change.” Erica felt relief. Sally had given her an easy way to explain her need for a leave of absence. She would not have to lie. Erica despised liars. “I am taking your advice, Sally.”
“Well, finally you are coming to your senses, my friend. Let me know if you need anything, any help with moving, hint hint.” Sally’s voice was teasing as it tapered off.
“I will, I promise. I will contact you after I take some time away for me. I am phoning from a new cell number. Save it, but do not share it, please. Let’s get together later this week for lunch,” said Erica.
“Lunch sounds great. How about we meet Friday at Emilio’s?”
“That works. I’ll see you Friday, noon at Emilio’s.” Erica hung up the phone. It would be good to see Sally.
11
Brad
Walking up to his office, Brad went to unlock the door. When he found that it was already unlocked he frowned. Silently, he opened the door and slid into the building. He could see nothing out of place in the lobby, but as he opened the door to the main office he could hear typing. Someone was on his computer.
Stepping into the room, Brad spotted her immediately. A young woman with bright blue hair, a nose ring, black eyeshadow and lipstick and a tattoo that started on her neck and went down until it was hidden behind her black t-shirt.
“Who are you?” asked Brad.
“I’m April. Scott sent me. He said you had some urgent business to attend to yesterday so he gave me permission to let myself in.”
“Scott doesn’t have the security codes.”
“No offense, Mr. James, but it took me about five seconds to get past your security.”
Brad raised an eyebrow. “How long did it take you take break in to our computer system?”
“That took longer. About thirty seconds.”
“Seriously?”
“Don’t worry Mr. James. Your system is fairly secure. Your client database is secure. It would take me about a week to break into it.”
Brad took a deep breath. “The office security is supposed to be unbeatable.”
April chuckled. “I’m sure they told you it was top of the line. To be fair, your stuff is good. It’s all military grade, but it is also two years old. I would start updating immediately if I were you.”
Brad sat down in the chair opposite of his desk. “You aren’t exactly what I was expecting.”
April smiled. “What did Scott tell you?”
“Nothing,” admitted Brad. “He said he was sending a computer analyst.”
April rolled her eyes. “Scott
is a jerk. I’m surprised he didn’t say he was sending over a secretary.”
“I doubt a secretary could bypass my alarm system and break into our computers.”
“Probably not. Unless she had four years’ military service, black ops, and two years in the field working for the Guardians.”
“I see,” said Brad. Scott hadn’t sent him a computer analyst, he’d sent an agent. “I’m not sure if I need someone with your skill set.”
“You do,” said April. “Scott told me about Tomas. You need someone who is going to be able to handle themselves if the bad guys come calling.”
“That is true,” said Brad. “But is this the right job for you?”
“I’ve had my share of excitement. I don’t want to be a field agent any more, but I want to keep doing my part. The shifter community needs people like you. I would be proud to work with you.”
Brad nodded. As he leaned in he caught a whiff of April’s scent. Something was strange about it.
April caught his expression. “Pheromone blocker,” she explained. “Keeps vamps and other shifters from catching my scent. I’m surprised you noticed.”
“That is what I noticed. The lack of a scent. All I could smell was your perfume, and not you. You’re not vampire, but I can’t place you.”
“I’m a mixed-blood. Daddy was fae, mother was human.”
Fae, thought Brad. Of all the shifters and supernatural beings, fae were one of the rarest and the ones he understood the least. “I see.”
“Does that bother you?” asked April as she gave him a pointed look.
“No. I just wasn’t expecting it. I never knew Scott knew any fae.”
April laughed. “Scott likes to keep his secrets. Besides, there are many who would be uncomfortable knowing that I was working on your side. They would prefer to believe that fae are neutral to what happens here between humans and the rest of the shifter world.”
“Are they? Neutral towards us?” asked Brad.
The Shadows Awaken (Guardians of the Night Book 1) Page 5