by Amber Lynn
“Really? I heard rumors they sent you after your old man, but that is really harsh,” Alex offers.
“Thankfully for him, when I asked if he had any last requests, he had a really good one,” I reply.
“Now that is a story I would love to hear. Why don’t we all sit down and you can tell us what happened,” Sebastian suggests.
“I second that. It sounds like you let him live, so I would love to hear an answer that moves killer Nyx Slaughter to spare a life,” Alex adds.
“Fine. I am not really that great of a story teller, but if you guys insist we can go over the tale. This is a secure location, right? I don't want to endanger the man. At some point, I am going to want to sit down with him and figure out how I came to be on this planet,” I say.
“As far as we know, the Collective doesn't know of this place and even if they did we have so many jammers in place we are lucky we can even carry on a conversation ourselves,” Alex insists.
“Okay, it was five months ago. I had actually just finished one execution and got an emergency assignment. I had never gotten one before, but had heard of others receiving them, so I didn't think anything of it. The location was nearby and the offense was killing a woman. I tracked him to the west side library in Night Owl City.
“I waited for him to come out and then followed him to a hotel nearby. After following him to find out which room he was staying in, I scouted the place for a couple hours to see if anyone came or went. Eventually, I snuck into his room. He was sleeping at the time and since I like to give my speech, I nudged him with my gun to wake him,” I tell them remembering what it was like first meeting my father.
“They are quicker than I thought,” he said. “Let me straighten up real quick. I want to look my best for my execution.” I backed up a little giving him some room. The gun remained pointed at him the whole time, so I wasn't worried about him getting away. “I find it very interesting that they sent you Nyx.”
“I was close by and available. Don't read anything more into it. Your offense was actually pretty mild for what I usually handle,” I informed him. He stands up next to the bed and adjusts his clothing. He doesn't totally tower over me like most male wolves, so he is maybe five nine. He has shoulder length dark hair, probably black, but I cannot see for certain in this light, which is preventing me from getting a really good look at him.
“What trumped up charge did they get me for?” he asked.
“Have you done so many things that you don't have a clue what they could have charged you with?” I questioned.
“Technically speaking I haven't done anything to warrant death, so you will have to tell me,” he replied.
“Your crime is killing a woman, and I have other things I want to do tonight, so let's move on with this. Do you have any last requests?” I asked.
“I have many, the main one would be to let me live, but I imagine you hear that one a lot,” he stated.
“A few times, anything else? Because that request has never been granted,” I told him.
“How about the fact that I would like to live to see my grandchildren grow inside of you?”
“I will give you a point for originality. I haven't heard that request before,” I said.
“Because no other male could make that request. Since I am the only one that can make the claim and back it up, I have the right to make the request,” he replied.
“And just how do you expect to make me believe that you are my long lost father? I was a baby when I was left to the Collective to raise and have been told all my life no one knows who my parents are,” I claimed.
“You have me for a father and just my werewolf blood isn't enough to make you wolf, but everyone from my line gets a small purplish wolf head on their right thigh. You obviously don't have to show me yours, but if you would like I will show you mine,” he commented.
“That information could have been found in one of my files. Drop your pants and show me the mark,” I told him. “Slowly.”
“Yes, dear,” he said and proceeded to turn a little to the side and work his sweatpants down to his knees. He then lifted the corner of his boxers slightly to reveal the birthmark he described that matches mine perfectly.
“Aaron is your dad?” Alex asks bringing me back to the present.
“You have seen the birthmark?” I ask.
“No, but the family mark is well known. They are descendants of the first werewolf. If we had a hierarchy, they would be at the top. I always thought that the Gentry's didn't have female offspring,” Alex declares. “In fact, I am sure I have never heard of one.”
Interesting. I knew I had a lot to learn about my heritage. Maybe I can find some reliable books somewhere. “Do you want to see the mark to prove my story?” I ask.
“No need. I imagine, eventually, I will see it anyway, but you taking off clothing with all three of us in a room will not end well, so we should leave that reveal for another time,” Alex says.
“Good, I didn't feel like doing it anyway. Well my two potential beaus, I think I have had enough revelations for a while. What do you guys expect the Collective to do when they figure out we haven't killed each other off?”
“They will send more people after us. As Alex has already said, you are the sixth to come looking for him. We are currently very durable, well at least us guys are. I sincerely hope with the two genes activated you have become so, too. If not, we are screwed. As a precaution, when we get back to the city I vote to have guards with you at all times,” Sebastian suggests.
“I am a trained assassin. I will look like a pansy, if I have to have guards,” I whine in my most unpleasant voice.
“This is one thing I agree with fang face on,” Alex comments. “Right now you may be the weak link between the three of us. If you go down, we all do and as much as you dislike me currently, we all know you love Sebastian and would hate to be the cause of his death.”
“Do I get to pick the guards at least? What about the fact that I am still a baby vampire and may need to feed on a frequent basis?” I ask.
“I will be in the city and be able to reach you within a minute. I imagine, at least half of the time I will be with you anyway. Not in boyfriend, or whatever you want to call it, capacity, but as a teacher to the real paranorm way of things. I won't have all the wolf answers, but I will be able to help you make sense of the lies the Collective has been shoving down your throat,” Sebastian replies.
“So, I am going to start my new business with guards shadowing my every move? I don't think that sounds like something I want to put on my business cards.”
“Do you have plenty of guards for the different shifts?” Alex asks. “With all these attempts on my life, I am not sure I can personally come and offer my assistance, at least not immediately. I have a few things I will need to tie up here first. Then, I can bring myself and my guard into town and see how brave the Collective really is.”
“I have quite a few vampires readily available. That leaves daytime hours a bit open still. We usually sleep then and I imagine that might be when the biggest threat is. Maybe if we turn our hours around for a little while that will catch them off guard. If you have a few werewolves you can spare, I think we may be able to give a big enough display that the Collective will be forced to step back a little. I doubt they have seen a vampire walking around in daylight. I think that will be one of the first things I show them upon our return. Just to let them know what they are really dealing with,” Sebastian says with a smirk.
“If it is played as a sign of strength and not just people milling around waiting to jump in front of a bullet for me, I will go for it. I also want to start the real vampire training as soon as we get back. If I can prove to you that I can fight good enough to defeat you, I get to lose any guards, right?” I ask.
“Sure, I will make that deal,” Sebastian says instantly.
“I don't know how old he is, but I think you just made a deal you will ever win,” Alex provides.
“We will just have to see about that,” I state.
“One more thing before we go,” Sebastian says. “She has a wolf that is severely attached to her in the Collective. Your scenting her will block his attentions, right?”
It is Alex’s turn to growl. “For everyone except me, her triple nature should be a turn off. The bit of wolf they could smell would confuse them more than anything when the gene wasn’t fully activated. Does the kid have mental damage?”
“If you were to ask me, yes. He believes them to be a couple and, last I knew, was hoping to talk things over so they could get back together,” Sebastian replies.
“Ryan isn’t a bad guy. He has stuck by my side all my life. His feelings just went in a direction that mine didn’t,” I explain.
“His feelings have no place going in that direction. Yes, it is possible for us to enjoy the company of others before we find our mate, but usually we keep them to little flings where both parties know one day it will end with no hard feelings on either side. We just don’t fall madly in love with a person other than our mate. I wasn’t joking when I asked about the mental damage. Are you sure there isn’t something physically or mentally wrong with him?” Alex asks.
“As far as I know, he is fine. Just recently, he tried to take a relationship to a place that I wasn’t comfortable with. Knowing that he had a girl out there somewhere that was made for him, I pulled away from the relationship. Maybe he just wanted one of these flings you described and didn’t articulate that to me. I wouldn’t have consented to it, but that could have been the case. The last time we talked, though, he was so irate that I smelled of another guy that he blew his lid. I had never seen him that way before,” I say.
“I will investigate. We have a couple operatives in the Collective now, so I will see if they can get a hand on his medical records. I have a feeling something is wrong with him,” Alex says. “Now, my dear and fangy, we should probably draw this meeting to a close. I will try to wrap up my business and head into Night Owl as quickly as possible. I see no weapons on our girl, so I assume you have to go back to where you stayed last night before you leave town and that place is Smitty’s, yes?”
“That would be correct,” Sebastian offers.
“Good, I will have two guards sent to join you on your journey and I will work to rustle up some more to meet you in the city,” he says. He moves to my side and grabs a hold of my hands. I am still not really comfortable with his touch, so I don’t close my hands around his. I can see the hurt in his eyes at this action, but there is nothing I can do about that. “I will see you soon, but until then try to keep yourself alive. I would love to give you a kiss right now, but I have a feeling we aren’t at that point in our relationship.”
“Your feeling would be correct. It was interesting meeting you Alex. You will go down with the heralded after accomplishment of being one of only two targets Nyx Slaughter had an execution order for that she didn’t carry out,” I say with a smile.
“I hope in time, I will add many more accomplishments to that list. For now, I bid you adieu Nyx Slaughter with the hope of seeing you again soon,” he says returning the smile.
“Good-bye Alexander Monroe,” I say and follow Sebastian back out into the bar.
Chapter 14
Making friends as I go
“That could have gone better,” Sebastian says as we are making our way back to Smitty’s.
“You think? I was thinking, at the beginning, we were really going to have to test that theory on whether I would die if he were killed. I wonder how many bullets I could have shot into him before he stopped being a jerk,” I reply.
“So you really aren’t instantly in love with him like normal mates would be?” he asks quietly.
“Are you kidding?” I scoff. “No way. It will probably take us years of therapy to get to the level you and I am on, if that is even possible. Not that I really want another ‘love’ added to my life. I was more than happy just trying to grow what we have. Even in our relationship, I didn’t picture me ever settling down and being the quote perfect couple. I love you and all, but I still don’t see the white picket fence in my future.”
“You are a very unique being, love. I strive for us to be that perfect couple, but of course I have been connected to you a little bit longer. I have spent years feeling your emotions and adjusting myself to the person you need me to be,” he answers.
“I believe that answers a question I haven’t felt like asking just yet. If you wouldn’t have bonded with me, you wouldn’t be in ‘love’ with me today, would you?” I ask.
“We will never know. I don’t regret doing it for a second,” Sebastian says firmly.
“Of course not, you get to eat real food now and who knows what else you may have picked or will pick up. So far, the freak events of my birth seem to have great benefits to the guys involved,” I claim.
He stops in his tracks and turns around to face me causing me to stumble. “I don’t regret doing it because I am stuck for eternity to an amazing, strong, beautiful woman. Like I really care about being able to eat a steak. So far, your wolf side has done little or nothing for me. Other than them sprouting fur there isn’t much they can do that I already couldn’t, so unlike Alex’s new found silver resistance I don’t benefit. The bond made it so I could only feed from you, so it actually made me more vulnerable. Does that sound like I achieved tons of benefits by doing this?” he asks shaking my shoulders gently.
“I did this knowing what drawbacks there were, but still decided that you had something I had to be connected to in order to protect. Did I do it out of love? No. We didn’t even know each other at the time, but the romantic side of me hoped that maybe something would grow out of it. We, at least, started off friendly, so I had hoped I wouldn’t find you over my bed one day with an execution order in your hand and you carrying it out no questions asked.”
“You always know the right things to say. How do you do that?” I ask. “Okay pity party over. We cannot go back to change the circumstances of your decision. I still think it was stupid and as far as I have seen there isn’t anything all that special about me. If anything, I am just a freak of nature.”
“Maybe I will suggest to Alex that freak would be a perfect nickname for you, or maybe I will just start calling you that myself. There is no denying that the word does describe you. I will have to write to the dictionary companies and submit your photo to be included next to the word,” he suggests.
“Jerk,” I reply. “Let’s hurry up and get my guns. I want to go home.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” he says lifting me up bridal style and taking off in a run. Within seconds, we are back at Smitty’s door.
“Why didn’t you do that in the first place?” I ask catching my breath.
“On the way there, I was buying time. On the way back, I wanted to see what you were feeling.”
He puts me down and I see we are in Smitty’s living area, but we are not alone. Smitty is sitting looking very disgruntled and two hulking men are standing leaning up against a wall with their arms across their chests. These guys are literally huge. I think someone needs to check them for banned substances.
“You two have an explanation for why these two mutts were pounding on my door waking me from a very peaceful days rest?” Smitty asks.
“I am guessing they aren’t door-to-door salesman,” I offer.
“No, they are your guards, love,” Sebastian explains. “Alex and I thought it best that she be guarded at all times. If anything happens to her, we all three would probably die.”
“Oh shit!” he exclaims making me laugh. “She is Monroe’s fricken mate too? What did you guys do last night? Go to bed praying that this already messed up situation would step up the ladder a little on the totally preposterous scale?”
“I already knew the situation, so no praying was necessary,” Sebastian states. “A few other things were revealed that would probably blow your mind, so I will save those for another date.” Sebas
tian directs his attention to the wolves in the room. “Can I get your names, please?”
The slightly bigger of the two steps forward. He has dark brown hair with matching eyes and a scowl that seems to be permanently attached. They are both dressed in all black attire that should blend in well with me. “I am Jonas and this is Jake. We have been told to protect the woman with our lives.”
“I am sure giving up your lives will not be necessary. I imagine, you already know who I am, so you should know I can defend myself fairly well,” I say.
“We are aware you are Slaughter. Alex was very clear in stating that we were not to allow you to even get a paper cut, though, so we may have some issues on what you think we are going to do here,” Jonas responds.
