The Vampire King's Cage

by T. S. Ryder

  "Oh, good. I am glad to hear that," Wragge smiled, his gaze sweeping from one end of the shop to the other. "What luck that they'd only take that hideous amateur piece that you insisted on keeping behind the register."

  Piper's face drained of color. She whirled around and found he was right. The wall behind the register was empty. Piper's heart leaped to her throat and she ran across the gallery. Maybe it had just fallen, or…

  There was no sight of it. Her eyes filled with tears. How could she have been so worried about everything, and not even notice that it was missing?

  It was a painting of the view looking down at an apple tree from a window. Her mother had painted it, showing the view she saw every day from her hospital bed as cancer slowly drained her life away.

  "I never understood why you kept it around," Wragge continued. "It was a worthless, amateurish—"

  Piper whirled on her heel throwing out both her hands towards Wragge. "Purpura informos!"

  She grinned as large purple pustules broke out over Wragge's skin. He yelped, waving his hands around and trying various anti-hex wards. Piper laughed.

  "It's a hex of my own design," she told him. "I'll take it off if you tell me what you've done with my mother's painting!"

  ***

  "Mr. Wragge agreed not to press charges, given the circumstances," Officer Johnson said as she let Piper out of the community jail cell. "But you can't go around hexing people for being rude to you."

  "He's the one who broke into my gallery," Piper insisted, as she had for the last several hours.

  "He was at home celebrating the Wolf League's run of luck. We have dozens of witnesses backing him up."

  Piper scowled as she collected her belongings. If Wragge didn't do it himself, he had hired somebody else to do it. She didn't speak as she was lead out of the station. Baxter waited for her and gave her a relieved hug.

  "I've fixed the damage at the gallery," he told her as they headed for the car. "And I went out and bought a new security system. You're a good witch, but this one is magic and non-magic. It will protect the store better."

  "Thank you," Piper whispered, slumping into the passenger seat. She didn't want to talk right now.

  "I'm going to find your mother's painting. I'm going to get it back for you."

  Piper nodded, not saying what was on her mind. Thor Wragge had stolen it. He was a powerful warlock and crafty enough to know that the more valuable pieces had stronger security around them. She'd never thought somebody would want to steal her mother's painting. In all likelihood, Wragge would have destroyed it by now.

  I'm going to prove he did it. Somehow. And then he'll be sorry.

  Chapter Four

  Piper crushed nutmeg and foxtail in a mortar, using the rhythmic pounding of the pestle to calm the anger that still burned inside her.

  She was above the gallery in her studio while Baxter watched the downstairs. It was his day off at his own job, but he insisted that he wanted to give her time to paint today and took a shift at the gallery.

  Piper loved to mix paints with her special blend of herbs that magically enhanced the vividness of the painting and protected them from everything, from bugs to water. To her, this was always soothing. The sweet, tangy scent of her mixture was already helping her shoulders relax. Given how grouchy she had been the last couple days, no wonder Baxter wanted her to paint.

  She added the nutmeg and foxtail to her other ingredients: sage, witch hazel, mussel shell, and fairy wings–fair trade, of course. She only bought wings that had been naturally discarded and sold by the fairies. Fairies shed wings the way humans clipped their fingernails, but there were still some ruthless people out there that cut off fairy wings for a quicker profit.

  Wragge probably buys bulk like that, she thought, the calming atmosphere of mixing paints evaporating in a second. She blew out an annoyed breath and dumped all the ingredients into a blender, liquefying them.

  Just as she was adding a teaspoon of the mix into the paint she was going to be using for this picture, Baxter entered. He had been just as stressed and on edge as she had been since the break-in two days ago. Now his shoulders were relaxed and his face wasn't so pinched and worried.

  "Patrick's here. He wants to talk to you. Should I send him up?"

  Her studio was almost as intimate to her as a bedroom. Scattered around the room were various canvases that were in various states of being finished. She didn't let anybody but Baxter see them. They were too precious to her.

  "I'll come down." She capped her paints and potion before she hurried downstairs, Baxter following after her.

  Patrick was wearing a leather jacket that emphasized the broadness of his shoulders. Baxter was decently muscled, but he looked like pre-spider-bite Peter Parker next to Patrick's Hulk. The man was pure muscle head to toe. Blue jeans hugged the sculpted curves of his tight ass and there was a sizable bulge at the front that had Piper blushing.

  Who wants to cuddle someone as hard as a rock? She tried to convince herself that there wasn't a very large part of herself that wanted to do this whole trois amour thing right now.

  But she was not ruled by her hormones, dammit. She wasn't going to commit to something that she'd want out of at some point. It would be cruel to both of the Werewolves if she agreed without being completely certain she would last a lifetime.

  "Are you okay?" Patrick asked the instant he saw her.

  Piper's brow furrowed and she turned to Baxter. "You told him."

  Baxter shrugged, looking slightly abashed.

  "If I find the person who did this I'll rip his freaking head off," Patrick snarled.

  Piper frowned at him and she folded her arms. "Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, especially if it's Thor Wragge, but we've got to be really clear about one thing. I can handle my own revenge. If you find the person who did this, you bring him to me so I can rip his freaking head off."

  Patrick's eyes widened briefly but he laughed and ran a hand through his brown hair. "You're a feisty one. No wonder the Beta was drawn to you."

  "Baxter. His name is Baxter."

  Her mate put an arm around her waist. "Pip, I don't mind being called 'the Beta'. I actually kind of like it. Makes me feel like those fighting fish. You know, pretty and deadly."

  He waggled his eyebrows and Piper laughed. She turned back to Patrick, who stared at the two of them with a look of frustration and desire. His shoulders had gotten even tighter and he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and gave them both a sheepish grin.

  "God, I want to kiss you so bad right now."

  Piper flushed. "I think we need to get to know each other better before that's even a possibility. No sooner than the third date at least."

  Baxter sighed in frustration, but luckily he said nothing.

  The other Werewolf nodded slowly. "In that case—"

  "Actually," Piper interrupted, and her heartbeat started going crazy. Both Werewolves watched her, with hope she thought, but she just couldn't figure out how exactly to say what she was wanting to know. Ah, hell. Might as well just come right out and say it. "So the three of us—"

  The tinkling bells of a customer entering the shop interrupted her. Piper ground her teeth in frustration. Officer Johnson's prediction that the gallery would have an increase in customers because of Patrick's attention towards her and Baxter had certainly come true, although there had been only a slight bump in sales. Still, it was better than nothing.

  But the man who had just entered wasn't actually a customer. All the bubbling rage that she had been fighting to get rid of, hit her with a vengeance. She tore herself from Baxter's arms, marching towards Thor Wragge.

  "What are you doing here?" she seethed.

  Wragge rose one of his thick, bushy eyebrows. "Perhaps I am interested in buying something."

  Piper laughed.

  "All right, if that's the way you want to do this," Wragge sighed dramatically. "I actually came over to clear the air between us. I am sorry your mot
her's painting got stolen. I had nothing to do with it, but I understand how upset you were the other day and I forgive you for your little hex."

  Little hex?

  Piper's hands clenched. The only thing more offensive to the witch than insulting her painting was insulting her magic. She had graduated with top marks in magic at school and had even gotten a scholarship to the college up in Calgary. There was nothing “little” about her hexes!

  She opened her mouth to speak when a low growl sounded behind her. She felt Baxter and Patrick step up behind her, flanking her. Patrick was the one growling, his voice rumbling like thunder. There was something very, very sexy about the possessive way he put his arm around her waist, letting the vibrations from his chest flow into her and she held her breath, willing herself to stay calm.

  "I think you should leave," Patrick rumbled.

  Wragge stared at the giant center forward with a flummoxed expression. "Aren't you Patrick Giles, the center forward for the Uphoria Wolf team?"

  "I am. And as I said, I think you should leave."

  Wragge glanced from him to Piper to Baxter back to Patrick. He seemed unable to take in what was happening and Piper could almost see the thoughts exploding from his head.

  Why would Patrick Giles–the man who could have any girl he wanted in this town–have his arm around the waist of short, pudgy Piper Diamond? What was so special about her?

  What was so special about her? Piper was distracted from Wragge for a second. Why had Patrick chosen her and Baxter to have his trois amour with? Was it because Baxter was at every game? Was it because he really liked her art? Why?

  "I can see my attempts to extend the olive branch were in vain," Wragge said, sniffing. "Good-day."

  "Thanks," Piper muttered to Patrick as Baxter slipped an arm around her waist, resting atop of the other Werewolf's. It felt so… right. But also heavy and full of responsibility. She pulled away. "I think we need to just move on from that break-in. As much as I'd like to destroy that… warlock for it, I don't even know if he was the one to do it. He has witnesses that put him at some party."

  Baxter snarled. "Doesn't mean he didn't pay some—"

  "Speculation," Piper interrupted. "We have a better security system now, the window is fixed, everything is fine. Let's just forget about it. The cops are probably right, it was probably some out of towner mad that their team lost so spectacularly during the Blue Moon."

  It took effort, but she wrenched her mind away from what she'd actually like to do to Wragge to get him to confess. Instead, she smiled at Patrick, hoping it was a polite and not a flirty smile. "Was there a reason you stopped by?"

  Patrick still glared at the door, but he nodded and tore his eyes from it. "The final game of the season is in a couple of days and I claimed some tickets for you two. Right against the rink so you can see every bloody detail."

  "Oh," Piper's heart sank but she tried to keep her voice upbeat. "Thanks. That would be great."

  The last thing she wanted with the break-in and her mother's painting being stolen, was to go watch a bunch of people beat each other up while slapping a disc of rubber around. Maybe she could claim a headache when the time came and send Baxter alone. Her mate chuckled, burrowing his face into her neck.

  "I can see exactly what you're thinking," he said, then grinned over at Patrick with an apologetic look. "Piper actually kinda hates hockey."

  Piper's face went red. "Baxter!"

  "Really?" Patrick's eyes widened.

  "I don't hate it. I just don't enjoy it. Or the town when the hockey season is on…" She bit her lip. "Sorry."

  Patrick still seemed stunned. He shook his head. "Crazy witch. How can you not love hockey? Never mind, I don't want this to turn into a fight." He pressed a hand to his heart and inhaled deeply. "But if you're not coming to the game, then we're going for a date tomorrow. I'll pick the two of you up at six."

  Chapter Five

  Piper stared at her hair in the mirror, uncertain what she should do with it. She loved the way the blue and purple streaks looked against her skin, but her normal, everyday style of slicking it back seemed too masculine for this. Its natural curl frizzed around her face, and she grabbed some frizz-be-gone and smoothed it into her locks. The magic substance instantly coiled the flyaway strands into tight corkscrews.

  "I love it when you wear your hair like that," Baxter said, stepping into the bathroom behind her.

  He was already dressed in a smart suit, and his gaze ran across the matching red bra and thong Piper had elected to wear. Her breasts spilled from the lace cups, ramping up her cleavage, and though she normally hated thongs, she wanted to feel extra sexy tonight.

  "Piper!" Baxter whistled. "The fancy underwear tonight, huh? Are you hoping that we get lucky?"

  "I swear if you say another word I'm hexing you to kingdom come." Piper put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

  Baxter chuckled, reaching around her for his cologne as an excuse to nuzzle her neck. "Look."

  He turned down the top of his pants, revealing a glimpse of red silk boxers. Piper felt a flutter of nerves and reached for her fit-and-flare orange dress.

  She wanted to tease Baxter right back about wearing his fancy underwear, but she was far too anxious. Was this a good idea? She didn't even know if she could handle being in a three-way relationship. Was she leading them on too much?

  "It won't just be tonight, though, will it?" she blurted. "If… I mean, it'll be for life. Just like you and me."

  Baxter nodded. "Yeah. It will be. Which is why we want you to be certain before anything happens. I mean, you and me… we didn't really know what we were getting into. And I don't regret it. I love you and I love our life together. But it would have been much easier if we had realized what mating for life actually was before we mated."

  "Yeah. I know. And the idea is appealing, but I don't know if it's a forever thing for me."

  Baxter zipped her up and kissed the back of her neck. "Just don't do anything we'll all regret and it'll be fine."

  Piper smiled, but she didn't know if it was that easy. How did she know what they'd regret and what they wouldn't?

  ***

  Patrick's eyes gleamed with a distinct predatory look when he saw the two of them. He wore a pink silk shirt that stretched tight across his chest, thin enough that Piper could trace the contours of his pectorals and abdomen. He looked so yummy that her mouth began to water even before they got to the restaurant.

  Control yourself, she thought sharply.

  "You both look good enough to eat," Patrick said.

  Piper wasn't sure if she choked out a thank you, but Baxter more than made up for it. Patrick escorted them to a limousine–an actual limousine–and opened the doors for them. Inside was toasty. One of the seats faced back towards the other one, and that was where Patrick sat, facing Piper and Baxter.

  "Champagne?" he offered.

  "I haven't eaten all day," Piper said. "I really shouldn't."

  "You haven't eaten all day?" Patrick's mouth turned down and he gave Baxter a glare. "Why didn't you make her eat something?"

  "There's no distracting this one when she's focused. She spent the whole day blending foundations to get just the right shade for her skin."

  Piper glared at him.

  "Not that that means anything," the Werewolf hastily added. "She does that every other week anyway. She is an artist, after all. She's very particular about her colors."

  Patrick took them to the swankiest, most expensive restaurant in town. It wasn't that swanky or expensive when compared to what they could find in the city, but they served lobster, which was pretty expensive for the likes of the young, perma-broke couple. Piper's eyes nearly popped at the prices.

  Thirty dollars a plate? This had better be good food.

  She peeked over her menu at Patrick. How much money did he actually have? If he could drop ten thousand dollars on a couple of paintings, he had to be really rich. The Wolf League wasn't as nationally pop
ular as human games, so she couldn't imagine he received a giant paycheck. The first date wasn't the time to ask about it, anyway.

  "Oh my gosh!" The squeal interrupted Piper's thoughts and she turned to see a pretty girl standing three feet away, her round eyes fixed on Patrick. "Patrick Giles! I love you. I loooove you!"

  Piper wanted to groan. Seriously? The girl was about to swoon, her hands clenched to her chest. Patrick smiled politely. The girl took a step forward, her face flushing.

  "Can I get your autograph? To Kristal Clarkson, your biggest fan."

  "I'll do better," Patrick said. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a ticket. "For the final game. Already signed."

  The girl squealed. "Oh, this is so exciting. Can I get a quick selfie?"

  She had already whipped out her cell phone and Patrick frowned at her.

  "No. I am having an important dinner."

  "Dinner," the girl repeated as she glanced at Piper. Her eyes narrowed, her jealousy clear. She ignored Baxter.

  "Now if you don't mind, I would like if you would let my friends and I discuss our business."

  The girl flushed, took the ticket and scrambled away, shooting death glares over her shoulder at Piper. The witch twisted a napkin in her hands, feeling unnerved from the pure hostility in those glares. Some people were crazy and that girl was certainly one of them… she needed to get herself a proper boyfriend and stop being so obsessed with Patrick.

  Wait, am I jealous? No… I can't be!

  Piper shook off her thoughts and frowned at the hulking Werewolf. "Does that happen often?"

  "Yeah, sorry about that. It happens more often than I'd like, but people usually don't recognize me without fur," he smiled easily, relaxing the mood instantly. "Have you decided what you want yet?"

  "When did I have the time?" Piper muttered, but when Baxter snorted she flushed. "Sorry."

  Patrick grinned at her. "Do you mind if I order for you? I think I know what you'll like."

  It would probably be better if she didn't look at the prices. She nodded. "That would be lovely."

  ***