by Vera Sparks
“Well, he’s the Alpha and quite knowledgeable, so of course he’d know I was right,” Percy chuckled.
I rolled my eyes in the darkness.
“I wish you slept. I’d love to cuddle you like that first night we had together while we fell asleep,” he breathed.
“Sorry.”
My strange state did make things weird at times.
“You can hug me until you fall asleep anyway if you’d like?” I offered.
“What will you do?” he asked.
“Enjoy the feeling,” I stated, and he gave a soft laugh.
“Will you leave?” He sounded less than enthused at the idea.
“Not right away,” I reassured him.
“Good,” he said as he stopped the soft caresses to pull me close and nuzzle my neck.
“Have a good sleep,” I murmured as I closed my eyes. I really wished I could sleep.
“Good night,” he said, his voice muffled by my hair.
I enjoyed the feel of his body and the way he spooned me. This was perfect to me. The only thing I’d wish for now was to be able to fall asleep in his arms so I could wake up beside him in the morning.
He’d offered to check out Alena’s crime scene, but I couldn’t bring myself to force him awake.
I’d wait until morning and come back for him.
I listened to his soft breathing as it turned to soft snores, and enjoyed the cuddle far longer than I needed to before I decided to slip away and jump home. As much as I enjoyed lying in his arms, I couldn’t do it for another five hours or more, I had things I could do.
3
I spent the remainder of the morning reading and binging on some Law and Order at home with Axle. My German shepherd/husky mix was content to sleep through most of it, nestled in his bed against the wall with his favorite toy, a stuffed purple elephant. By the time 7am rolled around, I was more than ready to get down to business. I coaxed Axle awake to feed him and then took him for a walk down the street to a nearby park to do his business, before we headed back to my apartment.
As I passed a door in my hall, it swung open and Maurice, my elderly neighbor who had a soft spot for Axle, beamed up at me.
It was unusual for her to be up this early, but I dismissed it.
“Good morning Maurice,” I nodded as Axle wagged his tail and stepped forward for the anticipated pats.
Maurice obliged, her grey wispy hair tied up in a messy bun, a grey shawl covering her shoulders and small, withered frame.
“Good morning Ivy, and my best little man,” she cooed as she stroked Axle’s head. “I’m off to a meeting with my bingo ladies this afternoon, having some tea and book reading. I figured I’d best be up bright and early to make a cake for it,” she smiled, her fake teeth glinting in the hall light.
“Sounds like fun.”
“Yes, it should be. Do you need someone to look after Axle? You look ready to go somewhere?” she knitted her brows together as she continued patting Axle.
Maurice minded him quite often when I worked, and I was grateful for all her help.
“That would be wonderful, what time is your meeting? I’ll make sure I’m back by then.”
“I’ll be leaving at two-thirty this afternoon,” she said as she gave Axle a pleased smile. She did enjoy his company.
“Great, I’ll make sure I’m back before then. And thank you, Maurice,” I took her hand gently and held it as I nodded at her gratefully.
“My pleasure,” she smiled, her eyes crinkling in the corners as she shuffled back inside, coaxing Axle in after her.
I’d not been too thrilled to leave him here alone while I got down to figuring out who murdered my friend. I was forever indebted to Maurice, although she always told me she was thrilled to spend time with Axle, that he reminded her of her husband’s dog before it passed.
I checked the hall to make sure I was truly alone before I jumped back to Percy’s house, appearing in his kitchen and causing him to nearly drop his morning coffee.
“Jesus Christ, Ivy!” he growled as he set his coffee down to clean up the splashed mess he’d made.
“Sorry,” I shrugged. I really wasn’t. “And good morning.”
“Morning,” he sighed as he finished wiping up the brown splatter on the floor and cleaning the outside of his mug to stop any coffee stains on the countertops.
“How’d you sleep?” I asked as I hefted myself up to sit on the counter.
“Like a baby,” he rolled his eyes as he sipped his coffee.
“When do you start your new job? Gene told me you’re getting into construction. You know you’ll have to be up earlier than this for that kind of work,” I raised a cocky eyebrow.
“Night work construction,” he corrected me. “And in a few days. I want to gain more experience in it before I start up my own construction/handyman business.”
“You want to start your own?” I said as I watched his face light up.
“Yeah, I’d love it. No more taking orders by old fat desk jockeys. Deciding on who I work with and where I work. It’d be great,” Percy grinned.
“Seems like you’ve thought about this a bit.”
“I’ve already got my business name. ‘Dray’s Construction and Handyman Services’,” Percy set his coffee down.
“Well, I hope it works out for you,” I smiled.
“It will, I’ll offer some jobs to some packmates who are in need of jobs. Maybe you can come be my assistant,” he winked.
“As tempting as that is, I make quite a lot where I am now, and I do like it. But I can help you out too; I don’t sleep, remember?” I smiled.
“Of course I do, it’s why I don’t get to wake up next to your beautiful face,” he sighed as he walked over and planted his hands either side of me, his face inches from mine.
I grinned at his compliment and let him give me a sweet kiss, but I pushed him away when he tried to deepen it.
“You have morning coffee breath,” I gagged. His less than amused face made me chuckle.
“Brush your teeth, then you can kiss me properly,” I instructed.
“I still need to have breakfast,” he pouted.
“Fine, what are you having?” I asked. I wouldn’t mind a bite.
“Well, since you’re here…” he gave me a sheepish grin, and I groaned.
“Fine, but you get bacon and eggs. Do you have bacon and eggs?”
“Yep!” Percy took off down the hall for his morning shower before I could scold him.
I muttered to myself as I set about making us breakfast. I’d learned where most of his kitchen stuff was now so I didn’t need to constantly yell out to find things.
I hummed as I grabbed the eggs and bacon from the fridge. Today would be an interesting day. Hopefully, an informative one unlike last night.
Stupid Fae. I hoped I never saw them again.
Percy was finished in the shower not too long after I served breakfast up, and he wolfed it down like usual.
“Last night was fun, at the bar,” Percy remarked as he collected his and my plate to wash. Maybe I should gift him a dishwasher. But then again, he seemed to enjoy hand washing them.
“It was.” A smile tugged at my lips at the memory of our little encounter in the parking lot.
“Going invisible, doing it in the open,” Percy breathed as he scrubbed the dishes.
“It was definitely different,” I said.
“Yeah, screw this, it can wait,” Percy mumbled as he switched the tap off. I frowned, but my quizzical look was answered as he came over and claimed my mouth. He pulled me to my feet, and the pressure on my thigh was enough to make me understand. Damn, ‘wolves got horny at the drop of a hat.
“We have things to do, you know,” I groaned, but my body ached already. Stupid body. I had a job to do.
“We’ll be quick,” he breathed as he dragged kisses down my neck.
“Thankfully, you’re never quick,” I chuckled but squeaked in delight as he lifted me up onto the table edge.
“I can try,” he grinned as he tugged my shirt off in one quick motion.
“Fine,” I agreed, despite my head telling me that I shouldn’t. My body argued the point, and the way his eyes and nostrils dilated, I doubted I could turn him down. He knew I wanted him too.
He had my pants and underwear off instantly, and he did honestly try to speed things up.
Too bad we both preferred to drag it out.
“It’s weird that you work with mostly supes,” Percy stated as we arrived at my office.
“You live with werewolves,” I gave him a confused look.
“We’re a pack, you work with two vampires and two shifters. It’s just something I’m not used to,” he shrugged. “But we don’t mingle much with vamps I guess.”
“It’s become normal for me. We represent mostly different kinds of supes. It makes for an interesting line of work. I had to sign a confidential agreement to not discuss anything about the clients we get, including their race. At that point, I only knew of ‘wolves and vamps,” I said.
“And now you know of all the others out there,” Percy grinned as we headed over to the office door.
“I bet there are plenty I don’t know of.”
“Probably,” Percy agreed.
He stopped and waited for me to unlock the door. He allowed me to lead the way, and I locked the door behind me.
“Is there a back door?” he asked as he examined the reception room, his nostrils flaring as he drew in the different scents.
“There’s a back door near the toilets,” I said as I beckoned for him to follow me.
“This is Danny’s office, the other vampire who works here,” I stopped at the first office.
“Good, it’ll help me to differentiate between any scents. I know Alex’s, but not your co-workers.”
“Right,” I nodded. I hadn’t even thought of that. Percy had only popped into the office once or twice in the past few weeks, and mostly it was just in the reception area.
“Okay, where’s Alena’s office?” Percy asked as he finished sniffing out the room.
“This way.” I guided him down the hall to the last office, and gritted my teeth as I pushed the door open.
Alena was gone now, but the image of her on the floor shot through my mind.
“Smells like death,” Percy muttered beside me.
“She was our accounts lady, handling all the bookkeeping,” I murmured.
Percy nodded as he drew in a deep breath, and I watched his face as he worked through the scents. The soft furrow of his brow, the flared nostrils, and hooded eyes. He clasped his hands together, his triceps bulging from the movement. His navy blue shirt was form fitting, and the jeans he wore were frayed and had holes in the knees.
“Four vampires,” he murmured.
My breath caught, although I’d known this was going to be the outcome. She was killed here by a vampire. But he’d actually got the scent. That was what we’d hoped for. And four?
“Alex, Danny, and another two,” Percy said.
“Crap, Jeremy,” I mentally facepalmed. Percy wouldn’t recognize his scent.
“Is he young?” Percy asked, his eyes still dark despite the light seeping through the window.
“Yes, seven years,” I nodded.
“I can smell him then, but the fourth, it’s much older. Male,” Percy stated.
We could work with this. I’d have to tell Alex.
“I can follow the trail if you’d like?” Percy offered.
“Yes, please!” I tried to hide my hopefulness. Maybe we’d find this bastard today.
“Don’t get your hopes up, I suspect it won’t be worthwhile,” Percy tried to lessen the possible blow.
“Why?” I frowned.
“If he used a car, that ends the trail. We can’t track cars, despite how good our noses are. The fumes get to be too much, especially here in the city, if it was out in the country, we’d have more luck,” Percy gave me a sad smile.
I nodded and let him lead me out. We moved down the end of the hallway and out the back door after I unlocked it. Outside, Percy walked around the back parking bay before shaking his head.
“It’s what I thought, he had a car,” Percy ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
“Damn,” I hissed.
“Still, I’ve got the scent now. If I catch it anywhere else, I’ll recognize it,” Percy said.
That was something at least.
“And it looks like Alex is smart, he’s got cameras,” Percy grabbed my shoulder and positioned me to look up at the camera above our back door.
A grin spread across my face. Maybe we were in luck.
As we went back through the building and out to Percy’s old beat up blue truck, I dialed Alex.
He answered after a few rings, and I could hear the yawn before he spoke.
“What’d the ‘wolf find?” he asked straight up. No hi, how was your night?
“The ‘wolf has a name you know,” I muttered and Percy gave me a cocky grin as he climbed into his truck.
“Yeah. I do. What’d he find?” Alex ignored me and got down to the point.
“Another scent, an older, male vampire. Have we got camera footage from the camera out the back?” I got right to it as well. No point trying small talk, he wasn’t up for it, and we had a job to do anyway.
“Yeah, shit. Is he positive it was an older vamp? Older than myself?” Alex muttered.
“The scent you caught, could you tell if he was older than Alex?” I asked as I swung the passenger door open.
“Yep, quite a few decades at least. Maybe even centuries. Not to be insulting, but vamps get this… aged dead smell about them,” Percy gave me a displeased look.
I went to relay the message but Alex stopped me. “I heard him. Lines up with the vehicle then on the footage.”
My stomach dropped. Alex had found something? Why hadn’t he told me?
“What lines up?” I questioned, annoyed that I’d been left out of the loop.
“The vehicle. It’s owned by the Black Dogs gang. The same one who had Percy,” Alex sighed, and I could picture him rubbing his brow in his coffin.
“So a Black Dogs vampire killed Alena?” I gaped. This was news. Maybe there was more to her death. Maybe she’d been murdered because of her connection to us and our interference with their ‘wolf collection.
The thought made my gut wrench, and I recoiled.
Percy watched me with his fists balled. He certainly was not someone they’d want to mess with.
“How would you feel about repaying a visit to that warehouse?” Alex asked.
I glanced at Percy who was already shaking his head.
“I don’t think I’d have any luck getting Percy there,” I sighed. I didn’t blame him either after what they’d done. Kidnapping him and forcing him to fight other ‘wolves. Keeping him chained up and feeding him dog food. They’d had him for weeks in those despicable conditions before we’d found him and got him out of there.
“You need his nose. Hell, we need his nose,” Alex sighed in frustration.
“I know, but that’s asking a lot of him,” I reminded him.
“I know,” Alex murmured. “There’s something else I found out. I’m not sure if it means anything yet, but I know who sired Jeremy.”
“Why does that matter?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Because, it’s Philip Murdoch, the guy who runs the cage fights. He’s the leader of the Black Dogs.”
I bit my lip. Was that a part of all this? Had Philip killed Alena? Why would he do that to his own prodigy? Had he ordered the hit to get to us? Was someone pissed at Jeremy and decided to go after Alena so as not to piss Philip off? The possibilities were endless. But the Black Dogs were involved.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I said after a moment.
“If you can get Percy to go, tell him I can come as well, act as backup,” Alex offered.
“I’ll talk to him,” I said despite how Percy was shaking
his head and mouthing ‘no’ at me.
“Let me know,” Alex said before I hung up.
“I’m not going back there. Ever,” Percy stated as he stared hard at his steering wheel.
“I wish we didn’t have to,” I sighed. “I mean, maybe we could get one of your packmates, maybe even Gene, to come out and catch the scent and he can come with me instead?”
“I don’t want you going there either.”
“Well, I can take care of myself,” I tried not to bristle. I’d do whatever the hell I wanted. But I knew he only meant well, that he was only worried about me.
“I know, I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” he breathed.
“Trust me, the worst has been done,” I gave him a thin-lipped smile.
“If I ever find the vamp who did that…” Percy’s eyes flashed as he let the sentence hang. I shifted uncomfortably. I certainly wouldn’t tell him.
“Can we get another ‘wolf to come?” I repeated the original question.
“I don’t want to drag anyone else into this,” Percy said unhappily.
“My friend died,” I stated, annoyance came rapidly boiling to the surface. I could understand him not wanting to help, but why couldn’t someone else?
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Percy softened.
“I want to find who did this,” I said through gritted teeth.
“We will.”
“How? You won’t help and you won’t let another ‘wolf help,” I spat.
“We’ll figure it out another way. But I’m not going near that warehouse and I won’t allow anyone from my pack to either,” he slapped his hand on the steering wheel to drive the point home.
“Fine,” I mumbled.
I vanished, happily leaving him to go find my own place to sort things out.
I breathed in the crisp air of the mountains as I sat down. I wasn’t sure where I’d taken myself to, but I’d pictured one of the photos Alena had shown me. Where snow-topped mountain peaks surrounded a startling crystal blue lake.
Off to my side there were sightseers taking photos and staring in awe at the magnificent sight. Alena was right. It was much more breathtaking in person.
I’d found myself under some pines away from the main hustle and bustle of the tourists, and I drew in a few calming breaths as I surveyed the view.
