Fangtastic Four

by R. L. Merrill

  Oh, and I was very likely his mate.

  “Gus, I’m sorry—”

  “I’m not. Not at all. I’m only sorry that you’re hurting and afraid, but I promise we’ll figure this out. I will stand by you.”

  “Oh, Gus,” I said, cupping his jaw with my shaking hand. “You’re a sweet man, but this isn’t something you can help me with.”

  He shoved his hands in his back pockets and winced. “I know we’re supposedly magical creatures…or at least Mac seems to think we’re Muses.”

  I grinned up at him. “It makes sense. Your music is very powerful.”

  “Thank you. It’s what we love to do, what we were born to do. Literally, I guess.”

  “And thank the Goddess for that,” I murmured. I pressed my hand to my chest as if I could keep my lustful feelings from getting away from me. “When you sing…”

  “I’ll sing for you anytime,” he said.

  I wanted to believe in a future where that was possible.

  “Gus.” I had to say something. Mate or not, I couldn’t ask him to make me any promises. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but once you and your cousins have completed your mentorship, you should go. Find your friend.”

  Gus and his cousins had been turned into vampires by some groupies who wanted to be sure no harm ever came to them again. A bus accident nearly claimed their lives and led to the disappearance of their bandmate, Havoc. The remaining members of The Miscreants—Gus, Freddy, and Vinny—had returned to the outskirts of Assjacket to search for him. They’d found a vampire bar, Witchita’s, instead.

  Gus’s dark brown eyes widened. “Cariño, I know I’m not a witch and cannot help you with your magic, but if what you said before is true, I am your mate, and my place is beside you.”

  If only it were that simple.

  I’d known something was up the moment he’d run into me in the woods, and despite the fact that he was undead and I was cursed, the fates seemed to have placed us on a collision course, because all the signs pointed to us being mated.

  Which was a huge shock. I hadn’t thought it possible because of my curse, especially not with someone outside my species. But then Mac confessed that the guys were actually Muses and therefore magical creatures.

  Well, now they were undead magical creatures, and so was I. All it took was a third bite from Gus, this one right on my birthmark, and life as I’d known it was over.

  Now? I had no clue what would happen next. Other than I hoped I wouldn’t be triggering atmospheric rivers everywhere I went, otherwise I’d have to remain locked down in my mansion. I’d be a ghost just like my beloved friend Bertram. I couldn’t expect Gus to stay here with me forever…

  My eyes welled with tears and I fanned my face with my hand. “No, I can’t cry. I will flood the manor and Bertram will never forgive me.” I felt completely wretched. “I’m terrified I’ll hurt one of you. Or worse. Gus, I could never live with myself if you gave up your dreams to be here with me.”

  He smiled. “We’ve survived a bus crash and being Turned. Unless you can conjure fire, I think we’re going to be just fine. As for Havoc, we do need to find him, but Wilma, I don’t want to leave you. Can you handle that?”

  My eyes bugged out. “Gus! It’s not safe for you here. There’s no telling what chaos I might unleash.”

  Gus wrapped his arms around me, running his hands up and down my back. His touch sent warmth through my shivering body. I was afraid of letting go and relaxing into the safety of his embrace. I wanted to trust his words, but I feared the worst was yet to come, and I couldn’t bear it if he was hurt—or anyone else, for that matter.

  This adventure had gotten real fast. I wasn’t sure I could hang on for the ride.

  Chapter Two

  Gus

  * * *

  I knew my heart was supposed to be inactive now that I was a vampire, but my chest cavity was full of activity as I followed Wilma into the parlor of her creepy house.

  Was this really my life now?

  I wasn’t a super-squeamish guy. The vampire stuff had been a shock but also kind of a trip. A bad trip. Or maybe like a thrilling trip, where you don’t know what’s around the bend but you’re determined to find out, even if it terrifies you? I could handle all the hocus-pocus…but haunted houses made me jumpy. Halloween was okay.

  This place was like a nightmare come to life.

  Everything was made of stone, dark wood, or marble, with burgundy velvet furniture and matching drapes providing the only soft touches. Cobwebs clung to surfaces, though they were delicate and deliberate, as if the giant place employed an army of spiders to keep it looking authentic At least that’s what I could tell from my current vantage point.

  The foyer just inside the front door faced a staircase that was wide enough to drive a car up the thing. Off to the left, there was a set of French doors and a formal dining room that was set with elaborate silverware and china, as well as a massive candelabra with all of the candles lit and fresh flowers. To the right was a sitting room full of Victorian-era spindly furniture and doilies and shit. It was the kind of room guys like me and my cousins were told to stay away from, to not even look at or we’d break something.

  Through the sitting room was the doorway where the guys had disappeared, leaving me alone with mi corazón. Wilma.

  So I was handling all the vampire stuff. And the mate thing? That was pretty awesome. But curses? Ghosts? And haunted freaking mansions? It seemed all the things I believed were fiction in my life were real, and about to become a part of my everyday existence. Which was cool. I guess? I mean, I thought being a rock star was interesting. Apparently I’d had no idea what that even meant.

  I’d put up with it—the weird weather, the animal beverages, all of it—just to be with my woman.

  Wilma stepped out of my arms and gave me a shy smile. Her fangs peeked out from behind her pink lips. She was so hot.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked as she tucked her strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear.

  “Because. I’m happy. Relieved. I was so afraid that when I bit you, I’d lost you.”

  The scene at Witchita’s had been terrifying. We’d both been, uh, consumed? One minute we were making out in a booth and then her neck was there, her birthmark all red, plump and juicy, just calling to me. She begged me to bite her, and it was all I could do to remember “top rack only, no bottom jaw” and “three sucks and quit.”

  When her blood hit my tongue, it was like Heaven had opened a franchise right here on Earth and was serving up hot fudge sundaes, all you can eat. I’d released her…and then thought my life was over when she didn’t move. Or breathe.

  But magic is real. I knew when she blinked her eyes and smiled at me.

  Then lightning bolts went zipping through the bar, and it had taken Annabeth’s—the witch bartender’s—quick action of getting Wilma a glass of Dom Perigmoo to calm her wild magic enough to get her into Jules’s van before she dropped a Category 5 down on Assjacket.

  Mac promised he and Jacob would figure out what to do with not only four newbie vampires, but one whose 113-year-old curse was broken by my love bite.

  “I’m sorry I scared you,” she said, linking her hands behind her back. “But I’m not sorry you bit me.”

  “I’m so not sorry you’re not sorry.”

  “Good.” Her grin faded. “I’m just worried. I don’t know what it means, this broken curse. I don’t know how to control all of these things I’m feeling.”

  “It’s okay, amor. We’ll figure it out. Together. Right? Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? As mates?”

  She nodded but didn’t seem convinced. That was okay with me. She wasn’t turning me away. I had time. Mac and Jacob would help, and if we needed more help, we’d get it.

  There was no alternative.

  “Soooo, how many bedrooms does this place have?” I asked her, offering my arm.

  She slid her hand in the crook of my elbow and frowned
. “I don’t really know. It changes all the time.”

  “How… It’s a house. How does it change?”

  She stopped and patted my arm. “Like everything else in Assjacket, there’s magic here. Bertram’s family was magical and so when it came time to build his manor, he wanted to return to his roots. He figured he’d never get any peace if he had a magical home in New York or Los Angeles. Curiosity seekers would pester him all the time.”

  “Yeah, I guess it would be like the Winchester House in California. My parents took me when I was growing up. That place is something else. I always thought there was some supernatural stuff going on there.”

  Wilma wiggled her eyebrows. “I’ve heard Sarah Winchester was a powerful witch.”

  My eyes popped open wide. “I knew it! I can’t wait to tell—”

  Whoa. My family. Could I tell them? Would we ever be able to see them? Could I take my Wilma to Las Vegas and marry her there in front of God and family?

  I had so many questions.

  “I feel…I’m sensing unrest in your mind,” she said. “I can’t exactly…I can’t read your thoughts, but I guess if we’re mates, then eventually we might be able to do that sort of thing.” She shrugged. “I feel unprepared for all of this. I learned a lot in magic school, but that was, well, a century ago. And since I was cursed, I didn’t think it would apply to me, so I don’t remember it all.”

  “That sort of levels the playing field then, don’t you think? I don’t know anything, you know some things. We’ll learn all the things together.”

  “You mean it?” She blinked her big gray eyes at me and I hated that she was worried. “I was so afraid you would think I was…defective.”

  “No way, cariño. You’re perfect.”

  I wanted to kiss her. Now that she was Turned like me, we were in the clear, or at least I assumed we were clear, but clearly I wasn’t too clear on what clear meant. And being mated meant…certain activities, and I had no idea how to proceed. Wilma’d had her whole life tossed up in the air like the tornado in Wizard of Oz.

  “Wait! They were witches in Wizard of Oz. Was that real?”

  Wilma giggled. “Hollywood gets some things right, but Oz isn’t real.”

  I smiled at her, but I was afraid to say anything else. What if I offended her or sounded like an idiot?

  “You would never sound like an idiot. Oh! It worked!”

  “Great.” I couldn’t even be an idiot in my own head. “Or, maybe not.”

  “I love it that I can hear you. I’ve lived my whole life without magic, surrounded by people who have it, and I could never trust them because I couldn’t tell if they were manipulating me. Being able to hear you? To know your heart? It makes me less afraid.”

  I took her hand and placed it on my chest. “I will always be truthful with you. You’ll always know my heart.” That solved one of our issues. We had a host of others to work out. “Now, let’s go see if my truly defective cousins are behaving with your housemate. What’s it like, anyway? Living with a ghost?”

  Wilma shook her head and laughed. “It’s always an adventure. Honestly, I don’t think I would have made it through the past year without him. He’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”

  We joined the rest of our party in the parlor as my cousins interrogated the ghost.

  “Is it true that you were going to do a film with Charlie Chaplin?”

  Bertram—or Bert Craven, a not-quite-living Hollywood legend—stood next to the pair of tall velvet wingback chairs in the parlor with his curvy pipe in one hand. He nodded, but it was more like a bow.

  “I did happen to meet Mr. Chaplin. Unfortunately, the project we were supposed to do together was scrapped when I was murdered.”

  He said it so matter-of-factly. Vinny flinched, and I could see his mouth moving to respond but nothing came out.

  “Ah, there you are, the lady of the manor. I gather you are unharmed despite your disappearance? I was terribly worried.”

  Wilma glanced at me, and I placed my arm around her waist.

  “It depends on what you consider ‘unharmed.’”

  Bertram cocked his head. “Oh, dear.”

  Wilma smiled, showing her fangs. Damn. And here I didn’t think she could be any more beautiful.

  Bertram’s graceful hand covered his mouth. Then he narrowed his eyes at me.

  Wilma held up her hands. “It’s not his fault, Bertram. It was inevitable. I’ll explain later. But they’ll be staying with us for a while. Jacob has agreed to mentor them…us, I mean. And somehow I need to get myself in order.”

  He frowned and pointed out the window. “Is that a cyclone on our front lawn?”

  Wilma hurried toward the window and I followed on her heels. I’d follow her right into that twister if she needed me.

  “It certainly is. Oh, drat. It’s wrecked your rhododendrons. I’m so sorry. I’ll replace them.”

  Suddenly, a deafening roar filled the room and we all covered our ears.

  “Is that hail?” Bertram shouted.

  “Yes, I’m afraid it is,” Wilma said, her eyes filling with tears.

  I pulled her to me and sang as loud as I could, loud enough to be heard over the din. “Cry To Me” seemed appropriate. My cousins joined in on the harmony, and I thought we sounded pretty damned good.

  The noise subsided a bit and Wilma took a couple of deep breaths. I tilted up her chin and smiled. “See? You’re going to figure this out. I promise. And when you need us, we’ll sing for you.”

  She sighed, and I could tell she wasn’t convinced.

  “Wonderful,” Bertram said, looking concerned. “Well, my dear, it seems we have a lot of catching up to do, but you all look as if you’re about to drop and since the sun will be up shortly, I recommend we retire. Would you gentlemen like to see your rooms?”

  The guys and me shrugged and nodded, ready to go along with the program. We started to follow Bertram, but Wilma stayed behind.

  “Wilma?”

  She smiled, but the sadness that emanated from her brought tears to my eyes. It was as if my feelings were dictated by her emotions.

  “You go ahead. I need to…I don’t know. I just need a minute.”

  Everything in my soul fought the urge to take her hand and stay by her side. She was my mate. This is where I belonged, right?

  The truth was, she didn’t know me, nor did I know much about her. I knew her heart. I knew she was good through and through, and I knew my soul wanted hers. I knew we would weather this storm together, that we were meant to be, but maybe she didn’t know that. Maybe she couldn’t see it as clearly, since she’d been cursed for so long. Maybe it was because I’d been a vampire a few days longer than her.

  I had no idea, but I was torn at the thought of leaving her, even though we’d remain under the same roof.

  I turned to face her straight on and threw my shoulders back. “Amor. I know this mating is new for both of us. I get it that we have a lot to learn. I’m trusting my gut, and my gut says everything will work out. I’ll be here for you however you need me, and if right now that means giving you space, I can do that. But please know, given the choice, I’d rather never leave your side.”

  She pressed a hand to her chest and smiled, not quite the wattage I’d hoped for, but I could tell my words got through to her.

  “I know that. I feel the same way.” She looked past me to the foyer, where Bertram had led my cousins and Jacob.

  I could hear them laughing heartily and was relieved that they weren’t freaking out. Freddy and Vinny were taking all of this well, considering the fact that our whole lives were changed and we had no idea what our future held for us.

  “I’ll have Bertram show me where he put you guys. I’ll also make sure we get, um, sustenance for all of us delivered. I guess I need to deal with the TV station tomorrow…”

  She seemed to shrink in on herself with the weight of everything she needed to take care of. I moved to her side so fast, it startled us both a
nd we laughed.

  “Don’t feel as if you need to handle everything,” I said, kissing her cheek when I wanted to swoop her up in my arms and carry her away from her troubles. “We’re all here to help you with whatever. Let’s rest and tomorrow evening we’ll come up with a plan.”

  She nodded and squeezed my hand.

  “Thank you. I feel…less afraid knowing you’re here.”

  Her shy smile nearly brought me to my knees.

  Dios mío. This woman was a dream.

  “Get some rest,” I said to her. “Find me if you need me. Because I’m pretty sure if I tried to find you, I’d get lost.”

  She barked out a laugh. “You would. I promise, there will be time for a more thorough tour tomorrow.”

  “Until tomorrow,” I said. I felt all chivalrous or something, so I bent down and kissed the back of her hand.

  “Oh, Gus…”

  “Wilma…”

  Our bodies slammed together and we kissed like it was the apocalypse and a mushroom cloud of doom was upon us.

  The bitter taste of fear made me pause, and I pulled back, though where I got the strength, I don’t know. “Hey, everything is going to be okay.”

  “I believe it when you say it,” she said, a little breathless.

  I cradled her face in my hands. “Believe it. Now, get some rest.”

  She smiled and stepped back, her hands behind her back again. “Oh, don’t be concerned about the noises. While Bertram is the only ghost we have here, per se, there are other things that go bump in the night. Most of them are harmless.”

  She gave me a finger wave and I backed away toward the foyer, my body resisting the distance between us.

  Things that go bump in the night. Hmmm. I knew I was now considered one of those things, but as I climbed the stairs, heading toward the voices of my cousins and Jacob, I felt a shiver.

  We’d just moved into a haunted mansion. Awesome.