Alphas were different. Some wore their position on their sleeve for all to know and fear. Most didn’t. What was the point? Like Jeffrey, they pulled out that side of themselves when the need arose. Jeffrey looked at being an alpha a lot like having a hard-on. If he walked around with a stiff one in his pants all the time, it was uncomfortable for him and just about anyone else he happened upon. But if he had it when needed—well, it could be one hell of a good time.
One of the slayers slid back slightly in his chair, giving Brett wide berth. The action left Elis grunting at the man and sending a scathing look in the slayer’s direction. Clearly, he didn’t like seeing any of his men backing down to a shifter.
Jeffrey hid his laugh.
Brett’s gaze slid over the bar to Jeffrey. He quirked a brow as if to ask if he should make a scene.
It was on the tip of Jeffrey’s tongue to tell him to go for it.
He resisted.
For now.
It would be something to watch though. Then again, it would leave the bar trashed and more than likely do hundreds if not thousands of dollars’ worth of damage. Fights broke out often enough as it was. It was early in the year, and he didn’t need to go burning through his backup fix-it fund so soon.
Jeffrey noticed the rest of the shifters in the bar all watching him as well, waiting for the green light to kick some slayer backside.
For half a second, he considered burning through that special fund after all, but held back.
Austin Van Helsing, younger cousin to Elis, stood and raised his bottle of beer in Brett’s direction. He wasn’t quite thirty yet and had a lot of learning and growing up to do still. “Let’s drink to too much testosterone and needing monthly flea dips.”
Brett’s jaw set, but he continued walking to the bar. He got there and put his palms on the bar top. “I’m fine with breaking that one in half if you want.”
Tensions had already been high in the supernatural community because of the rash of murders happening in the area.
Austin had only just gotten back in town. He’d been gone for months, which had been glorious. The rumor mill had him in New York for a bit and then California. Too bad he’d not taken the rest of his family and buddies with him and stayed gone.
“Hold off for now,” said Jeffrey. “But if you can’t restrain yourself, start with eating Elis. If you have any room left, Austin is fair game.”
Brett snorted. “Sounds like a plan.”
It was late for Brett to be just getting off work. “You can’t keep burning the candle at both ends.”
Brett rotated his neck as he sighed. “I wish that was true, but I don’t have a choice. We’re up to eight bodies already, and we have nothing more to go off of than we had three months back when we found the first one.”
“I know, and I also know you’re spending every waking moment fixated on the murders. Yes. They’re serious. Yes. They can bring a whole lot of shit down on our heads if the humans come nosing around, but you still need to take care of you.”
“I’m taking care of me,” Brett snapped.
Jeffrey let his friend have a moment. “Really? You missed this month’s pack meeting. That means you missed the pack run. You know as well as I do that denying your wolf too long and not letting it free to run leads to bad things happening.”
“I’m fine,” said Brett, his voice deepening. That meant he was anything but fine. “I just need to find the sick bastard who is killing people and put an end to this.”
“You will, but only if you make sure to see to your needs—and those of your wolf,” warned Jeffrey. “It won’t do any of us any good if you lose control somewhere and shift forms in public all because you’ve been denying your wolf what it needs.”
“I know,” said Brett, annoyance evident.
“You can not like the truth all you want. Doesn’t make it any less true,” said Jeffrey.
Brett tipped his head in Gilbert’s direction. “Could this scolding have waited until we were in private?”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” stated Jeffrey evenly. “I’m seeing so little of you lately that who knows when I’d get a second to mention it again.”
“As soon as we catch this bastard, I’ll take some vacation time,” said Brett.
Jeffrey didn’t like having to pull rank on Brett, but it was clear that might be needed. “No. You’ll take a day off soon or I’ll tranq your ass.”
“How about you stay away from my backside,” said Brett with a grin.
Gilbert laughed from the end of the bar, letting them know he was listening in on the conversation.
Most of the shifters there probably were as well. They had hearing that was far superior to that of a human’s. That was fine. The message was one they all needed to hear. If they tried to deny what they were born with for too long, it would come back to bite them—and possibly others.
The risk of what could happen if a shifter lost control was far greater than the risk of Brett being unavailable for a day while he took some much-needed rest and relaxation time.
Austin made another loud, snide comment from the other side of the bar.
Brett’s gaze darkened. “If you change your mind, I’m totally fine with eating him first. I know how much you love the Van Helsing clan. Them being one less wouldn’t break your heart any.”
It was true, especially since his sister ran off with one of them. Jeffrey lifted his hands and cracked his knuckles, needing to let out some tension.
“Jennifer still hasn’t reached out to your parents?” asked Brett.
Jeffrey shook his head at the mention of his sister. He didn’t want to get into it all right now. “No.”
Brett sighed. “She’ll turn up when she’s good and ready. Not a moment sooner. She has the famous Farkas temper. I swear you Hungarians have some serious rage issues.”
That made Jeffrey snort. “As opposed to you? How about we talk about Poppy living it up out in California with that fancy-pants husband you keep telling me about? Let’s see what happens then.”
Just like that, it was as if someone had flipped a switch in the wolf-shifter. He snarled and jerked his head to one side unnaturally, an indication the beast was close to rising fully.
Jeffrey knew that he’d been right about Brett denying his shifter side for too long. He also knew he’d pushed too far while making his point by using Poppy as an example.
Poppy was Brett’s mate. At least she would have been, had his best friend not had his head shoved up his ass way back when they were dating. Instead of claiming her like he should have, Brett freaked out, ran out on her, called everything off, and basically watched her from afar for nearly twenty years now.
Nothing weird about that.
Jeffrey’s wolf rose to the occasion, pushing up in him, causing his eyes to go from royal blue to an icy light blue. He growled, the sound making his chest reverberate. It was the sound of an alpha warning one of his pack members to remember who was in charge.
Truth be told, Jeffrey wasn’t so sure he could take Brett in a fight, and he was hoping he wouldn’t have to find out. They’d been friends since birth, and their fathers had held the same positions in the pack as the two males did now. They were closer than close, and a fight for leadership could change all that.
Brett had shown zero interest in wanting the position of pack alpha in the past, but if Jeffrey kept poking the wolf, so to speak, about Poppy, there was a high likelihood that would all change.
Jeffrey grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a glass. He filled the glass three fingers high and slid it across the bar top at Brett. “Peace offering.”
Brett glanced down at his uniform.
Rolling his eyes, Jeffrey snorted. “No one cares that you’re wearing the uniform or that you just got off duty, Kasper. They all know how many hours you’ve been putting in on the murders. Drink up. You’ll need it to wash the smell of slayers out of your mouth. They smell so bad you can practically taste it.”
That made Brett laugh
.
Ryan returned from the restroom with a look that said no one would want to be visiting the area anytime soon—at least until it aired out. He glanced around the bar, noting the tension. “What did I miss? Robbie, what did you do?”
“Wasn’t me!” shouted Robbie from the back. “This time. The culprit is up front.”
Austin’s first cousin, Brian Van Helsing, joined him in standing. The two shared a look before Brian went to the jukebox and fed it coins. “Dirty Deeds” filled the bar, and while Jeffrey normally liked the song and was a big AC/DC fan, he knew it was a message from the slayer to him.
You need to have Brett do your dirty work.
“Anyone else smell dog piss in here?” asked Brian loudly. “Think they’ve been marking their territory again?”
“Nah,” said Austin. “That’s not the smell of them marking their territory. It’s the smell of fear. Makes ’em piss themselves, like little nervous, yappy dogs.”
The rest of the slayers joined in laughing and carrying on about the wolves being nothing more than little dogs.
“Hold my drink,” said Brett, thrusting his glass of whiskey in Jeffrey’s direction.
Having only just gotten the man calmed, Jeffrey knew the combination of the song, the slayers, and the dig about Poppy being married was a recipe for disaster. That being said, he was in the mood to blow off some steam, and if the slayers were feeling froggy, he’d jump.
He set the drink aside and leapt over the bar, clearing it with ease. Landing crouched slightly, he set his sights on Elis.
The entire group of slayers all came up from their seats quickly.
So did all the shifters in the bar—Gilbert included.
Damn. The were-deer has spunk.
Jeffrey nodded to his men and knew they’d follow his unspoken direction—take the fight outside, to save on damaging the bar, and put the slayers in their place.
The men slammed into one another and the shifters basically rushed the slayers out the front door that just so happened to open for them.
When Jeffrey caught sight of the older woman who was holding the door open, he knew what was about to happen; he just hoped he had enough time to get a few good licks in before the fun stopped.
“Sorry, Maria!” he yelled on his way past the head of the Council of Elders. “But a wolf’s gotta do what a wolf’s gotta do.”
“Boys,” she said with a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head as she continued to hold the door open. “Just came to tell you about a storm that is headed your way.”
Jeffrey turned partially to look at her, sure he’d heard her wrong. There were no storms predicted for the area that he’d heard of. “Come again?”
Just then, someone sucker punched him in the jaw. It hurt, but what hurt more was his pride. Had he been focused, that wouldn’t have happened.
His head whipped around and with one punch, he sent the young slayer to the ground before glancing at Maria again.
“You all right?” she asked. Her dress was pale yellow and her shoes matched. There was a clutch, its handle resting partway up her right arm, that was just a few shades darker than her dress. Her dark, curly hair came just shy of her shoulders and had white sprinkled throughout.
The woman looked as though she were about to attend a fancy luncheon, not stop by his bar. As a full witch, she wasn’t his normal clientele, not to mention Maria wasn’t exactly known for cutting loose and having drinks anywhere, let alone his bar.
He wasn’t quite sure of her age, but if he had to guess he’d say she had to be in her eighties. Maybe older. She’d simply always been around for the whole of his life.
“Watch yourself.” She pointed to something behind him, and he spun to catch the fist of another slayer in midair.
Brett roared and yanked the man away from Jeffrey before lifting the guy and tossing him like a rag doll. “No cheap shots on my alpha!”
“No breaking anything on anyone!” shouted Maria.
Jeffrey knew all the men who were present would listen. The witch might be up there in years, but her magik was powerful, and so was her temper when provoked. If she got the notion to make them listen, she’d do it. He’d seen her in action before and it was something indeed.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Brett with a grin and a wink in her direction. “Looking as lovely as ever, Ms. Maria.”
She grinned, having always had something of a soft spot for Brett. “Why thank you, Brett. Now, duck.”
He did, and just missed taking a fist to the face. He flashed another smile in Maria’s direction and then rushed into the commotion of the fight.
Maria pointed to Jeffrey. “You do realize the council will be left no choice but to make some serious changes around here, right?”
Biting his lower lip, he nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Totally worth it.
She laughed. “Is it really worth it?”
His eyes widened. She read minds?
He took a foot to the back of his thigh and nearly went down, looking over his shoulder to find it was one of his own guys.
They looked at him sheepishly. “Sorry!”
The brawl continued with shifters pitted against slayers. Everywhere you looked, there were men going at it—Jeffrey included. Before long, he felt the heavy weight of someone’s stare on him and glanced in Maria’s direction to find the rest of the Council of Elders standing there, looking anything but amused by what was happening.
Jeffrey’s father stood next to Maria, his mouth set in a thin line.
Maria was the only Elder who was smiling.
Knowing they’d pushed too far, Jeffrey put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly to get everyone’s attention. It worked. All the men stopped fighting.
Elis made his way over near Jeffrey, his hair disheveled, but otherwise unharmed.
Shame.
“Looks like we’re in trouble,” he said, with a nod of his head toward the Council of Elders.
Jeffrey said nothing.
His father grunted. “Really, boys?”
Elis leaned slightly in Jeffrey’s direction. “He’s talking to you.”
“I’m talking to all of you,” corrected Jeffrey’s father, his voice deep.
Maria lifted a hand and magik trickled over the area, settling on Jeffrey’s skin, making him shiver. “Now that we have your attention.”
Jeffrey braced for whatever it was they were going to do next.
Maria pointed to Ryan Helens and Austin Van Helsing. “You two will do nicely.”
“For?” asked Austin, earning him a harsh look from Elis.
Austin wisely shut up.
Maria glanced at the rest of the council and then back to Ryan and Austin. “Austin, I’m told Wolf’s Moon Bar & Grill is in need of a manager. You’ll work perfectly.”
Jeffrey opened his mouth to protest, but the expression on his father’s face left the words dying on his lips before they came out. It didn’t matter that Jeffrey owned the bar; when Maria spoke, people obeyed.
“And you,” said Maria to Ryan, “will do well to fit the opening at The Summons Law Firm.”
Ryan shot a desperate look in Jeffrey’s direction.
“No way!” shouted Robbie.
Maria quirked a brow.
Robbie took a step back. “Never mind. You can have him.”
“Gee, thanks,” said Ryan.
Maria nodded and smiled sweetly. “Additional changes are on the horizon, gentlemen. For now, this will work. And just so you all know, these changes are effective immediately.”
“Shit,” said Ryan partially under his breath.
Austin grunted. “What he said.”
Maria set her sights on Jeffrey. “Be warned, a tornado is coming.”
With that, she walked away, taking the rest of the Elders with her.
“I say we drink,” said Gilbert, dusting himself off. “Who is with me?”
Every man present raised their hands.
Brett laughed. “Lo
ok at that, we’re getting along.”
“Bite me, fleabag,” said one of the slayers.
Brett growled.
Jeffrey groaned. “Enough. If we keep pushing our luck, Maria might fuse Elis and me together mystically for a month or something to make us get along.”
“Oh hell no,” said Elis fast. “I can’t stand you.”
“Feeling is mutual there, buddy,” said Jeffrey.
Four
Dana
Grimm Cove, Present Day…
“I swear, Marcy, if you don’t get that tree-rat out of here, I’m going to skin it and wear it as a hat,” I said in a hushed whisper as I held a running shoe in one hand, pointing it at a small gray rodent with a black face and bushy tail. The tiny creature leapt from its cozy sleeping position, which just so happened to be inside one of my designer knee-high black leather boots, and took off running.
It zipped through the room I’d be calling my own until I had the time and inclination to find my own place. Since the bedroom currently came completely furnished and with its own squirrel, my motivation to begin house hunting ramped up significantly. It had already been high on my priority list, especially with as crowded as the old Victorian home was getting.
Not to mention the house Poppy’s grandparents had left her was far more than met the eye. Everything in Grimm Cove was. And Proctor House was just one more shining example of the twilight zone I’d stepped into since arriving in South Carolina.
Apparently, the house held a wealth of actual power. Real magik. The kind most people assumed only existed in fairy tales and movies. Forty-eight hours ago, it was the same kind of magik I’d assumed wasn’t real.
Oh, how wrong I’d been.
When I’d said yes to giving up my career and apartment back in New York, and moving with my besties to Grimm Cove, it was with the understanding that I’d be sharing Poppy’s grandparents’ old home with her and Marcy, and Poppy’s two children in the summers, until we got settled or longer.
Hexing with a Chance of Tornadoes: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Romance Novel (Grimm Cove Book 2) Page 4