GhostRealm

by Vera Sparks

  Damn, that would’ve been an interesting childhood.

  “Hey, that’s Alex, isn’t it?” Rose frowned, and I followed her gaze.

  Alex was standing by the bar watching the pair with a raised eyebrow. He probably recognized Rose from the gathering when we’d brought Percy back to his pack.

  I allowed myself to become visible to him, and the frown that suddenly lined his face made my stomach twist.

  He abandoned his glass, of what was too red and viscous of liquid to be wine, to stride our way.

  “Busted,” Shane chuckled and Rose elbowed him gently.

  “What are you doing here?” Alex asked as he reached us.

  “Good evening Alex, it’s nice to see you too,” I said sarcastically.

  “You should’ve told me you were coming here,” Alex muttered as he glanced at Rose and Shane.

  “You said Alena’s killer was part of the Black Dogs. Percy couldn’t help, so Shane and Rose offered to help. Shane is Rose’s brother,” I added.

  “You must be Alex, Ivy’s boss,” Shane nodded.

  “Yes. Well, that must’ve been an interesting match, did anyone tell the ‘wolf you weren’t her husband?” Alex gave Shane and Rose an amused look. He must’ve watched the fight.

  “No, wouldn’t have changed anything,” Shane shrugged.

  Alex’s mouth tugged into a smile, causing my two companions to grin stupidly. He was right though, the ‘wolf would’ve just harassed Rose more, maybe even still challenged Shane.

  “Well, if he did, I bet he’d feel like a right moron,” Alex stated.

  “Oh yeah,” Rose scoffed. “But it was worth playing along to see him get his ass handed to him.”

  “You’re a good fighter,” Alex nodded at Shane. “I’m glad you were the one to help Ivy. Speaking of which, any luck?” Alex turned back to me.

  “Well, whoever it is, is a part of Philip’s inner circle. Someone who’s always in his office. Turns out when I make someone else invisible they lose some abilities. Like their sense of smell,” I sighed in frustration.

  “Huh, interesting,” Alex mused. “So you can make others invisible?”

  “Yeah.” Right, something I hadn’t shared with him. I hadn’t thought it worthwhile.

  “But you managed to ascertain that it was someone close to him?” Alex continued on.

  “Well, it could even be him to be honest. Anyone who was in that room often. We could only track the scent in the hall, it was too risky to venture any farther. I would’ve had to make Rose visible in the room, and there was someone in there.”

  “Good call, if she’d been seen, that could’ve made her a target,” Alex nodded. His suit blended in perfectly with the other vampires in here.

  “Do you know the men who frequent that room? If we could tail each one of them, we can discern who owns the scent from your office,” Rose said.

  “Some of them. Philip and I have history, and he likes to have loyal men,” Alex nodded stiffly. That’s right, Philip had called Alex a fighter. I’d still never asked him more about that.

  “Good, that’s a start. We’ll help you find the killer, and we’re sorry for your loss,” Rose added with a gentle smile.

  “Thanks, and it’s nice to have the help, even from ‘wolves,” Alex’s smile was meant to disregard any offense they took.

  Rose and Shane just nodded.

  “Well, not all vampires are bad, besides, Ivy asked for our help, and if she says you’re okay, then we believe her,” Shane stated.

  “Really? She said that?” Alex’s blue eyes locked onto me as he raised an eyebrow. “How sweet.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” I rolled my eyes at him. “I said we work together and you can be trusted.”

  Alex gave me a strange look which I ignored. Was it because I said I trusted him? Despite him being the vampire who’d made me this way?

  It was the truth though. Deep down, I knew he hadn’t meant it, and I hoped one day I might be able to forgive him. Maybe. He’d stuck by me through my crusade to save the ghost girl Millie, and I knew he had my back no matter what.

  “Well, where should we start?” Rose broke the strange silence that had settled over us as Shane raised an eyebrow at me. I was not about to get into the complicated relationship I had with Alex though.

  “Call it a night for now. Ivy is due in work in half an hour, and I’ll get a list of names and known addresses for you all to check out. Some of them will be difficult as they move around a lot considering the… business they’re in,” Alex said carefully.

  “Yeah, I saw,” Rose said quietly as she checked around her carefully to make sure no one would hear her.

  “Will you be heading back home or staying in Portland?” Alex questioned.

  “They’ll crash at my place, is it all right if I’m a bit late tonight? I’ll just take them home and get them settled in before coming in,” I checked with him. I didn’t have to ask Maurice to watch Axle after all. All well, she enjoyed his company; I wouldn’t take him away from her now.

  “Of course, take your time,” Alex nodded, and I hesitated, taken aback by how easy that was. I shrugged it off as I turned to Rose and Shane.

  “Well, let’s hit the road, I’m sure we’ve all had our fun for the day.”

  Shane laughed at the remark but followed after me with Rose in tow. All the while I could feel Alex’s eyes on me, and it brought a smile to my face.

  Damn vampire, he always made me feel so strange and question everything.

  My life was never easy.

  5

  “What’s up with you and your boss?” Shane asked as he drove.

  “What do you mean?” I tried to play it cool. Rose already knew a little bit, but not that he’d been the one to kill me. Maria was the only one who knew that apart from him. Even my colleagues at work didn’t know.

  “He’s got a strange vibe when it comes to you. You two have a … weird relationship,” Shane raised an eyebrow in the rearview mirror at me.

  “They used to date,” Rose jumped in and I scowled. Way to go Rose. Maybe I didn’t want to share that.

  “Damn, you dated a vamp?” Shane chuckled. “Does Percy know that?”

  “Yep, they seem to have this hate for each other and yet they tolerate each other because they’re both part of my life,” I said as I stared out the window.

  “Wow, that must get awkward sometimes. I take it he’s still into you then? What’s a vampire like anyway? You’d think that since technically their blood doesn’t flow, then they shouldn’t really be able to get it up.”

  “Shane!” Rose hit him in the shoulder in shock. which he simply chuckled at.

  “We never went that far,” I mumbled as I sunk down into the seat. My cheeks were slowly reddening, and I shifted myself out of his view.

  “Really? Huh.”

  I couldn’t help that I used to fantasize about it though. The dates we’d had, he’d been a true gentleman, and we never ended up in bed. Something I wasn’t sure if I regretted or not.

  “So this is your building right?” Shane pulled me out of my thoughts.

  “Yep, just wave this tag, it’ll let you into the underground parking,” I leaned forward to hand him my apartment tag.

  “Got it.”

  I drummed my fingers on my leg as Shane pulled up to the buzzer at the gate and swiped the card on the pad. It beeped and the gate slowly rolled open, and he handed my card back.

  We drove in and I instructed Shane on where to go for my apartment’s assigned parking.

  “Um, were we meeting Percy here?” Rose asked as she swiveled in her seat to look out the back window.

  “No, why?” I frowned.

  “He just followed us in on foot,” Rose shot me a look.

  Crap. I’d ditched him earlier and gone to Rose’s. I hadn’t returned his calls or texts. I’d assumed he’d just gone home. The guilt gnawed at me like mad as I ground my teeth.

  I could just disappear rather than deal
with this, right? No, that was childish.

  “Percy? Hey!” Shane acted surprised as he stepped out of the car.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Percy asked as he strode right up to the car.

  “Just catching up with Ivy, it’s been years since I’ve seen her.”

  “You okay?” Rose murmured as she gave me a worried look.

  “Yeah,” I nodded, but I hesitated before stepping out of the car.

  “Nice to see you’re safe and home,” Percy turned on me as soon as I was out of the car. His voice was strained, and I knew he was pissed.

  “Sorry, I got caught up seeing Rose and Shane,” I mumbled as I shifted uncomfortably under his agitated gaze. It wasn’t a complete lie.

  “You just jumped, vanished and left me there. I tried calling,” Percy gritted his teeth as he closed his eyes in an effort to calm down.

  “I’m sorry, I was rather upset, you know? My friend died, and I really needed your help. You just left me high and dry, unwilling to help me when I really needed it!” I shot back.

  “I told you why I couldn’t, surely you could understand that,” Percy groaned.

  Rose stood behind my, her foot bouncing to ease the nervous tension she had. I could tell both of them were uncomfortable and standing awkwardly.

  “Here, take the keycard, it’ll get you into my apartment. It’s number 144, seventeenth floor,” I handed the keycard to Shane. He glanced awkwardly between us as Rose hurried over to him and waved softly at Percy, a gesture that was blatantly ignored as he just stared at me.

  The pair hurried off, and I was grateful they wouldn’t have to endure this.

  “I do understand why, Percy,” I sighed.

  “You went to them for help, didn’t you?” Percy growled as he balled his fists.

  I gritted my teeth and took a step back as I eyed his fists. I’d never once thought he’d hurt me.

  He noticed my retreat and sighed as he relaxed his hands and rubbed his forehead.

  “I’m pissed, Ivy. But I’d never hurt you, you know that, right?” his voice was pained that I’d even think that.

  “You couldn’t hurt me if you wanted to,” I retorted without thinking.

  “Yeah,” he scoffed.

  “And I did go to them, not for help. Not originally. I was upset. You wouldn’t help me, I went and saw Jasmine and she scared me, and I just needed a friend and Maria has gone underground or some shit,” I blurted, the words rushing out in a frenzy.

  “So they went to the warehouse?” Percy’s jaw was tight and his body tense.

  “Yes,” I muttered, annoyed that he’d ignored everything else I’d said.

  “I told you not to get any of my pack involved, that place is dangerous and uses ‘wolves!” Percy’s eyes flashed angrily.

  “They offered. They said it was not up to you what they did,” I snapped back.

  Percy just shook his head and clenched his fists.

  “You just disregarded what I asked of you, Ivy. That’s not how you treat a partner! Fuck!” he cursed as he ran his hand down his face, frustrated.

  “I wanted to help find who murdered my friend. Surely you’d want the same if something happened to say, Lachlan, or Scott,” I tossed the names out as my eyes stung.

  “You put them in danger,” he muttered.

  “They made the choice, they knew what they were getting into, and they can certainly take care of themselves! Besides, nothing happened anyway!” I lied. No need to fuel the fire with the fight for Rose.

  “Screw this,” Percy turned away from me.

  “That’s it then?” I stuck my chin out, fighting back the tears.

  “I need some time, okay?” Percy grumbled.

  “Take all the goddamn time you need!” I shouted as I turned away from him. He could get out without a keycard. Although I wished he could get locked down here and be stuck here. Cause I sure as hell wasn’t hanging around.

  I bit my lip as the tears burst forth, and I withheld the sobs. I wouldn’t let him see or hear me cry.

  Asshole.

  I vanished from sight, not wanting to have to deal with him feeling guilty and trying to comfort me. I wasn’t even sure if he would.

  I turned to look at him from the corner of my eye as tears streaked down my face.

  He’d turned back to where I’d been and looked lost as he searched the area for me with his eyes. He sighed as he muttered something under his breath, and my heart wrenched as he turned and headed for the gate. He wasn’t even going to try to come up to the apartment and fix this. Surely he’d assume that was where I’d go.

  But instead he was leaving. I slumped against the nearest concrete support and cried, the harsh sobs wreaking my body.

  I buried my face in my hands as my chest tightened, wanting so desperately for him to just hold me and tell me it was all okay. That he forgave me. Hell, I’d have to forgive him. He had been a downright ass. I knew I hadn’t acted so well, either, but we were both at fault here.

  I cried until my eyes dried up, then I just leaned back, wishing I could feel the cool concrete on my back as I sniffled. I needed tissues, and badly. And my body felt weak and tired after my crying.

  I closed my eyes as I forced myself to regain my composure, then I jumped to my apartment.

  “Hey, everything okay?” Rose asked as she turned from her position leaning on the kitchen counter. Shane was in the corner slouched against the kitchen countertop as well, both obviously waiting to see how things panned out.

  “Fine,” I tried to give her a smile, but she saw right through it as she strode over to hug me.

  “I’m so sorry sweetie, it’ll work out, he’s just hot-headed. We all are,” she murmured as I took comfort in her embrace. The tears rushed forth and Rose led me to the bedroom as Shane cast me a sympathetic look.

  Rose closed the door as I collapsed on the bed in a heap.

  “Shane’s taking the couch, so I figured we could talk in here if you want,” Rose murmured as she sat down beside me.

  I pulled one of the fluffy cushions close and curled around it as I let my sneakers fall off the bed.

  “I think… I think he… broke up with me,” I sputtered as the tears flooded out.

  “Oh, Ivy,” Rose sighed as she rubbed my back.

  “He’s being such an ass,” I mumbled into the cushion as I shoved my face into it to sob.

  “He is. He’ll come around, give him time. He’s just being protective, and he doesn’t want to admit that he’s scared,” Rose reassured me, but it did little to. I’d watched as he’d walked away, not even considering trying to fix things. It crushed me.

  “Was I wrong?” I cried, peeking out from the cushion to see her response through blurry eyes.

  “No,” Rose murmured, but I knew she wasn’t fully invested in.

  “Don’t lie,” I sniffled.

  “I think you both played a part sweetie,” Rose confessed as she stroked my hair.

  I relaxed at the tender touch, but it did nothing to ease the ache in my chest.

  “I didn’t want to hurt him, I just wanted to get justice for Alena,” I said softly, reining in my sobs and exchanging them for sniffles.

  “I know.” She pulled her legs up under herself to continue playing with my hair.

  I closed my eyes to enjoy the gentle touch; the soft pulls of individual strands of hair sending sweet shivers down my spine. We used to do this to each other back in high school when we’d have meltdowns. We’d been so close back then, practically sisters. I was grateful to have her back in my life now. I’d really missed her at times.

  “I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but didn’t Alex say you were working tonight?” she reminded me softly.

  I groaned as I pushed my face into the red, fluffy cushion that did not match my blue silky sheets at all. I’d just loved the splash of contrast against it.

  “I do have to go into the office,” I sighed as I forced myself to sit up.

  “Maybe you ca
n take a personal day. Well, night,” Rose offered as she tucked some loose strands of hair behind my ear.

  “No, I could use the distraction. Besides, he’s getting names and addresses for us,” I murmured as I willed my body to pull itself together. I was a grown-ass woman, I should behave like one.

  “Right,” Rose remembered as she played with her red curls.

  “Thanks for being here,” I smiled at her as I wiped my eyes.

  “I’m always here for you,” she said as she hugged me.

  “There’s not much in the fridge but there’s a 24/7 store just down the street. You can use my card,” I sniffled as I pulled my phone out. My debit card was inside the wallet case I’d gotten for it, and I handed it to her.

  “No, I can’t accept that,” she refused.

  “I make too much and I barely eat, just take it,” I sighed.

  “Fine, thank you,” Rose gave in but gave me a gentle smile. “We’ll be here when you finish. If you need to talk, just wake me up.”

  “Of course, tell Shane I said goodnight. And thanks for helping me at the warehouse too.”

  “I’ll let him know, and don’t mention it.”

  “There're more blankets and stuff in the wardrobe in the spare room. The one filled with junk and boxes,” I waved in the general direction. My spare room. One day I’d go through all my crap and even get a spare bed in there for occasions just like this.

  “Got it,” Rose nodded, her red curls bouncing off her leather jacket.

  “Well, time to get to work,” I breathed as I stood up. “I’ll just jump, so don’t freak,” I managed a half-smile.

  “I won’t. Maybe one day I’ll get used to it,” Rose snorted.

  “Yeah maybe.”

  I gave her one last forced smile before disappearing.

  “Hey Janet, it’s been a while,” I sighed as I trudged into the office.

  Janet stood behind the reception desk using the scanner, only looking up to acknowledge me with a curt nod.

  “It’s a shame about Alena,” she murmured as the machine beeped and ran sheets of paper through.

  “Yeah,” I rubbed at my face, exhausted from all the stress.

  “She was a good girl, sweet,” Janet sighed as she pushed her glasses back up her nose. Her red hair was pulled back in a tight, formal bun, and her work attire was perfectly ironed and fitted her extremely well. I’d never seen the tiger-shifter look disheveled now that I thought of it. And her red hair was more brown than the fiery red of Eva and Rose’s more natural red hair. Auburn was probably the right term.