Men and women in suits await my statement as I step closer, grabbing a chair and stare at the eight microphones in front of me. I look to Pierce, beginning my part as the poor victim in one of America’s most recent tragedies. He touches my hand in reassurance and I give him a shy smile.
Then, I begin. “Hi, um, my name is Rayne Whitmore and I know that many of you feel like you’re seeing a ghost. Something unspeakable happened at my home and I had to leave behind a life and friends that I always thought that I would have. I took that for granted.” I pause, allowing myself to take a deep breath, look down in contemplation, and then into the eyes of the reporters. I feel Pierce work his demon magic, swaying the group into sympathy.
“I lost my family, dedicated employees, my home, my identity, everything because a criminal decided that our lives meant nothing. Then, I had to endure one of the greatest humiliations I’ve ever known yesterday when I was wrongfully arrested for the unspeakable crime of murder against the people that I cared about the most. I had to sit and listen-,” I pause again, this time allowing real tears to fall as I think of my baby sister and what Namen forced me to see.
“I had to sit and listen to a detective tell me that I had my baby sister executed. I had to hear the police tell me that I was the one that planned and hired someone to take away so many loved ones from so many families,” I say, voice cracking.
Pierce’s magic wraps around the group, tighter. A few shake their head in disbelief and sympathy at what I had to endure and I know they’re mine. It’s time to drive it home.
“They didn’t even know that one of their own had planted evidence and chose to side with a murderer that was trying to use my father’s past against him to further his own unspeakable list of crimes. They tried to win. They tried to beat me down, break me, and then finish the job. But I’m here to tell you today that I am a survivor.”
My voice rises in confidence as I pull the audience further into my story. “I refuse to hide in the dark anymore and I plan to continue my father’s legacy. He wanted me to run his business. I was supposed to be at his side. I was supposed to watch my sister grow up and start a family of her own. I was supposed to go on shopping trips and dinner dates with my mother. I can’t do any of that now. I was robbed of future memories, so now, the best I can do is live my life to its potential, to make them proud of the person that stands before you today.”
I look to Pierce and he nods.
“I want to start a scholarship fund for victims of violent crimes to be able to attend college, get the counseling they may need, and I also want to begin a mentoring program for young kids that have lost parents or siblings. They shouldn’t fall through the cracks. All this can be done once I take my place in Whitmore Industries.”
Zara nods. They will look like fools if they try to keep me out of the company now. Making plans as a benefactor as if I’m already a part of the business is a boss move. Selene smiles at me and I wipe my eyes with tissue sitting on the table.
“Now, we’re going to spend ten minutes taking questions,” Pierce announces once I finish.
Chapter Twenty Two
The press conference was a success. I had the reporters eating out of the palm of my hand. They were also wondering why the local police that arrested me hadn’t issued an apology or joined in the conference to clear anything up. The news was going to be looking into their practices for weeks.
I hope that Namen sucks on that for a while. His bitch ass had to be pretty damn angry with me now. Good. Angry people often make mistakes. I know that from experience. I want him good and angry for what he’s put me through. Arrested, fingerprinted, and all that. Ugh, just ugh.
Damien, Selene, and I are now on our way to my family’s graves. They are going to exhume the body of the girl in my grave and allow her family to bury her properly. Reporters have already caught wind that that’s where we’re headed and have staked out a distance away. These shots are supposed to seal the deal according to Pierce.
Selene helps me out of the car, firmly holding my hand and walking with me to see them. It’s her first time here and I know that she too has many emotions going through her. The first time I came, I had wanted to do so alone, to vow that I’d get justice, to prove that I could survive the pain, to make it reality that they were gone. This time, we are together, united in our heartache. It may not be equal, but there is no doubt that Selene loved Jazzy too.
I touch their names on the headstones one by one, pausing, talking, and gazing up at the sky as the clouds cover us from the sun. A statue of an angel is looking down and embracing the stone as if protecting mine and my sister’s while two intertwining hearts make up my parent’s. My mother’s headstone calls to me and for the first time in a long time, I ache profoundly at the loss of my mom. I think Selene talking about her mother makes me realize how much my mom loved me. I almost forgot about our ice cream dates and how she’d play dress up with me when I was younger. As I got older, she’d stare at me when she thought I hadn’t noticed. I’d ask her what she was doing and she’d smile, touch my hair softly and say that it was nothing.
My mom was a great cook and she’d dance with me in the kitchen when she made Thanksgiving meals. We’d sing Christmas songs loudly in the car when we’d go on trips. She was always proud of me and would come to any event I was a part of to support me.
Damn. When did I forget? When did everything change between us? I could never fix it, but I could do better to remember that it wasn’t all bad, nor was it as bad as I made it seem.
Tears fall from my face as if racing toward the ground. Selene wipes my eyes with her thumb and pulls me in close before kissing my forehead. For a few minutes, I forget all about the reporters and the plans.
For a few minutes, I just remember that I’m still a girl that lost her family and no matter how strong I become, there will always be something inside me that’s missing. There will always be a tiny part of me that remains broken.
Then, I am pulled into a dark void.
“So, you’d use even this time of mourning to get inside my head. What is it that you want Namen? Tell me the truth. Why are you violating my mind?” I ask him, refusing to turn around and look into those cold, gray eyes.
“I want to watch you suffer. I want your inner torment to eat you alive until you no longer have any fight in you. Then, you will either join me or I will kill you.” His voice wraps around me like a venomous snake.
“You think this will make Selene run to you? You’re wrong and you don’t know her at all.”
“She will have no choice when this is all said and done. You just wait. I come to you because as I told you before, you are weak. It is easy for my magic to invade the human mind. I seek something that only your mind can reveal. I am curious about your power and unlocking it will allow me to continue my quest to make an army of human followers.”
I force myself to face him even though the thought of looking at him makes my stomach turn.
“You’re going to kill millions, you know that right?”
“I’m going to save this world. Our time in secret is running short. I am doing what needs to be done for our continued existence,” he tells me, trying to persuade me.
“You are not that genuine. You are doing this to further your own ambitions and you know it. You want to see humans suffer. You want to enslave us and force them to become monsters that do what you please,” I say, stepping closer, wishing I could attack him now and be finished with this.
“You simplify things far too much,” he says. For the first time, I hear the hints of an old European accent. It makes me wonder just how old he really is.
“Well, why don’t you explain since you’re in such a sharing mood?”
“Not just yet. The time will come when I will explain it all. I am not the monster you make me out to be,” he reasons.
“Fuck you. You are every bit of the monster that I know you to be. You kidnap children to experiment on and you feed them to your demon pets
. I don’t even know half of the things that you’ve done, but I know enough. You don’t deserve to exist,” I snap.
He stares at me for a second and then laughs. Suddenly, I am on my knees and my head feels like it’s going to explode. The feeling is horrible even knowing that he’s just inside my mind making me believe that he’s hurting me.
“As I said, weak,” he states, returning to the heartless bastard that I know him to be.
“You keep trying to find a way to break me, but you can’t break what’s already been broken, Namen. What you seek here, you won’t find,” I tell him breathlessly as I force myself to stand.
“We shall see about that, Rayne Whitmore. You have plenty of people in your life that I can test that theory with. I will play dirty. You will scramble to keep everyone safe and you won’t succeed. Then, I will open a gate and banish you to hell and let the damned have you to do as they please.”
He disappears and I am sent back to the land of the conscious. Selene is holding me close to her, whispering for me to wake up. Damien has a hand on my shoulder, concerned.
“I’m okay,” I whisper back, remembering the camera crews in the distance.
Hopefully I just looked as if I were crying and not as if I were in some sort of trance.
“What did he do to you this time?” Selene asks, concerned and knowing that I had to have had another mental encounter with Namen.
“We talked. I’m just glad he wasn’t in a talking mood during the press conference. He wants to figure out how the immortals unmade me. He must know that the power is inside each human. He hopes to exploit that.” His experiments must not be succeeding, so he’s trying something new.
“He won’t find it,” Damien says.
“I truly hope not. Damien,” I say, turning to him. “From now on, I need you to have two security guards with you, Tamara, and any others that Namen may come after. In the daytime, they should be werewolves and for night shift, vampires. Namen just threatened your lives and I will take all those threats seriously. I need to get access to Whitmore resources immediately.”
“Fine, but I’m not backing out of this. There is no point in running now. If Namen wants me, he’ll be able to find me.” Damien reaches and grabs his sunglasses from his shirt and puts them on smoothly.
“There is an issue with the board. They are worried about legal problems that you may bring to the Industries,” Damien tells me.
Selene shakes her head and rolls her eyes before turning to stand in front of Jasmine’s grave. I turn my attention back to Damien who looks a little fidgety. He’s scared, but he won’t tell me that.
“Then, let me handle it. Tomorrow morning I expect to have a meeting with everyone. I’m not taking no for an answer. You let them know that I have the press advantage right now and if they try to play me, I’ll have cameras outside each of their homes, speculating if they could have been involved in the hit that murdered my family. I’m bringing Pierce with me too for some persuasion.”
“Fine. I can make that happen. You know that I support you 100 percent. I’m going to go wait in the car until you finish here. Remember that you have some errands to run and documents to sign later,” Damien reminds me.
I nod and turn to give my family’s resting place one last glance. Once we leave, my grave will become empty and I plan to keep it that way for a long time.
◊◊◊
After I meet with a team of lawyers that have to distribute whatever was left of my family’s assets, vacation homes, funds, etc., back to me, I go to meet Jaxson at Obsession, the wolf club where he works. Even during the day, the club is buzzing with activity. It’s a different atmosphere compared to the night, but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.
There is plenty of drinking going on. Many of the small tables are filled and the music is pumping at a low volume. The latest top forty hits hum through the speakers. A group of wolves are playing Poker at a table in the back. In the soundproof room upstairs where I had first spotted Anubis, a group of people are watching a sporting event.
There are only a handful of people on the dance floor and they are talking more than moving. I also notice a few other types of supernatural beings inside this club, some of whom I’ve never seen in person. I feel the energy of one half demon and another human that has supernatural gifts. They must be clairvoyant or something.
Humans that possess supernatural skills without being unmade never have any physical strength beyond that of a regular human. They have to tread carefully among some awakends that would seek to exploit them for their gifts. Not quite human and not completely supernatural, they are sometimes easy targets.
There’s another in here with some weird energy that I can’t place. I take a deep breath to feel them out, but they meet my investigation with resistance. Then, I am shut down from their energy completely as if they just disappeared. Strange. I continue on, exploring with my power until I feel Jaxson’s werewolf aura surround me. I turn just in time to meet him.
“How are you?” I ask him smiling.
“I’m fine. Just had to handle some things around here. This, however is not a social visit,” he says to me. His studded nose ring glistens in the light and his mohawk looks freshly lined up. Jaxson is wearing a brown button up with khaki pants. His broad shoulders fill the shirt nicely.
“So, should we go somewhere more private?” I ask, looking around at all the wolves, knowing that they can hear our conversation.
“No. Everyone that’s here is supposed to be in this room. Those that could make it have come.”
Most of the group turns to me now and I look upon each individual in wonder. The ones that are in the room upstairs head down to the main level. “Okay,” I begin. “These people are not your pack. I see only two that belong to you. There are others that aren’t wolves either, so what’s going on?”
I begin to open my bond with Zara so that she can give me insight, but then I change my mind. I can handle this just fine on my own.
“They all wanted to see you, Rayne, before they decide what their choice is going to be. They want to know what it is that makes you so special. Will you show them? Prove to them that you have the heart of a wolf inside you.” Jaxson looks to me confidently, crossing his large arms.
I run a hand through my hair as my tattoo begins to glow through my baby blue v-neck. I don’t really know what is expected of me here, but my power definitely wants to come out and play. Katsu is firmly in my right hand before I even realize that I reached for her. With closed eyes and a deep breath, I point my katana at the crowd. Her serpent’s tail design wraps nicely around the blade.
“I don’t have to prove a damn thing to anyone,” I say.
One wolf coughs up his drink at my words. A few growl in distaste. I raise my eyebrows and sheath my sword. I give no fucks about their feelings.
“I’m not in the business of appeasing cowards,” I say straight up.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can feel Jaxson looking at me, surprised.
“What the hell did you just say?” a stocky man asks angrily as he stands. His rough hands grip the table. His beard gives him a ruggedly handsome look, but his eyes show a monster under them. Still, I’m not intimidated.
“You heard me. Now, sit your ass down,” I command. For the first time, I feel the pack magic stirring inside me. A few let out gasps as they feel it touch them at my command.
I try to hide my own astonishment. Nothing should surprise me anymore.
“You fight because it’s the right thing to do, not because you have someone strong in your corner. You seek out your own values and you follow that code. I could care less if any of you stand with me if that is not what is in your heart to do. Cowards only follow a leader that they can hide behind. We need werewolves, not little bitches.” They can get mad if they want to, but frankly I don’t care. I meant every word.
There’s a slow clap from behind me. I turn to find a tall, long haired, woman of Middle Eastern decent behind me
. She’s slightly above average looking with flawless makeup that accentuates her beauty without being overbearing. Her smoky eyes make her look mysterious and dangerous. The wolf is just behind her eyes, flashing yellow before disappearing.
Her hair is pulled back into a long ponytail with two French braids on the left side of her head. Her heels can only be designer. They are red with a zipper on the side and a tall heel, adding to her height. She’s wearing a ¾ sleeve leather jacket with the collar turned up and with only a black bra underneath and black leather pants as well.
“Well I’ll be damned,” Jaxson breathes. I don’t even think he realized that he said it aloud.
The female wolf breathes alpha energy. She focuses right on Jaxson and smiles with straight, white teeth.
“Well hello to you too, sexy.”
Chapter Twenty Three
Stunned at her boldness, I turn to their exchange, forgetting about the wolves in the room that I’m supposed to be appealing to. They feel each other out with their wolf energy and it’s obvious that they like what they see. Suddenly growing embarrassed, Jaxson fakes a cough as the female wolf gives him a predator’s smirk.
I’ll give them two days before they’re burning up the sheets. I look at them again. Two hours.
“So, did you like my little speech?” I ask the wolf, now standing to my right, slightly behind me. I turn my body so that I can see as many of the werewolves in the room as possible.
“I did. You took them all by the balls,” she laughs in delight. It sounds like sunshine, bright and warm. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I want in,” she declares.
There are many voices of protest from the crowd at the sudden arrival of this newcomer and both of the pack members in the audience come to speak with Jaxson. They regard me with slight wariness, but otherwise are non-confrontational. The rest of the people begin to grow louder.
Killer Rayne Page 13