He tore the sheets aside and came face-to-face with the pack’s second in command. “Jeffery.” He pulled up short before trampling him. “Thank you for the workout. It was exhilarating.” They had never met but he made sure to know the faces and names of any major players in his cities.
“It’s Ryan.” The big shifter folded his ears back.
“What happened to Jeffery?” So, he did not have the best memory.
“Dead. He didn’t recover from his wounds after our challenge fight.”
He made note of Ryan. Not sure why he bothered. Riverbend’s wolf pack changed betas almost on a yearly basis. That didn’t speak well for pack stability or the alpha’s leadership skills. Hell, he was a vampire and he understood this. What was the alpha thinking?
“I’m happy to oblige in hunting you down, Master of the City, but my alpha would like a word with you.”
Viktor eyed the suddenly polite werewolf. “You should’ve asked before hunting me across the city.”
“You ran before we could.”
He opened his mouth to respond and paused. Ryan spoke the truth. Had Viktor overreacted when faced with Riverbend’s pack while alone with Trixie? He thought not. “You could have approached me in a less threatening manner.” If they had been in human form, he would not have sent Trixie off alone.
Ryan smirked. “Yes, I could have.” He gestured to the other wolf shifters. “Bind him.”
“That is not—” Shoved from behind, he lost his balance.
It took every shifter on the roof to hold him down and bind his wrist behind his back with silver chains. The metal was of poor quality and did not even burn his flesh. Snapping it would be easy, but he did not want to escape yet. How else would he find out what the alpha wanted?
Trixie had had enough time to find Carlos. Viktor had sensed the human had a protective streak for new vampires. Carlos would make sure she returned to New Port. At the next chance, he would call the nest there to meet her feeding needs. Maybe he should ask Angie if Trixie could return to the castle. Viktor would not tolerate her living with Paulo.
Ryan took him by one arm while another soldier took the other. They guided him off the rooftop.
“How long of a run do we have? The sun will be rising soon.”
“We arranged a car.” The beta stood a head shorter than him. In single combat, a vampire would always beat a shifter, but werewolves tended to fight in coordinated groups. Something his kind lacked.
The staircase leading to the first door was empty, the building silent as the occupants slept. Outside, a car pulled up and parked in front of the exit.
One of the pack opened the back door. Inside sat Chris, the pack alpha, in human form. Soaking wet. He leaned back so Viktor could see the other passenger.
Viktor’s heart dropped.
“Hi.” Shoulders slumped and rain soaked, Trixie waved, a sheepish look on her face. “He caught me outside the club.”
Viktor broke loose of his werewolf guards. Before he could reach her, Chris pressed his clawed fingers around her throat. Viktor halted so fast the guards missed their mark as they tried to restrain him again. “Did he hurt you?” he asked his precious fledgling.
She shook her head and mouthed the words I’m sorry. He wanted to gather her in his arms and sooth the dejected expression from her face. Make her laugh, make her smile. She’d thought she’d failed him, but the opposite was the truth. He had failed her. He had placed her in an impossible situation.
His eyes narrowed as he glared at the alpha. Viktor had placed her in an impossible situation. Chris was smarter than Viktor gave him credit for. The alpha could not do him any real damage or keep him prisoner, but Trixie… She was still so young and fragile. The alpha could easily kill her.
Viktor entered the car.
Chapter Twenty-One
Trixie had let Viktor down. She could see it in his eyes even though he smiled reassuringly as he sat across from her in the stretch limousine. She had never ridden in one before. The back part had two benches facing each other. Though their lives were in danger, she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was riding in a freaking white limousine with the pack alpha and the city’s most dangerous vampire. Two of the hottest men on the planet.
Ruby would never believe her.
The vehicle rode smoothly while both males glared daggers at each other. Werewolves had piled inside the limo on either side of Viktor, still in their shifter form. It left her feeling like a sardine.
“Viktor, I presume.” Chris, a.k.a. Betty’s ex-boyfriend, rested his arm over the back of their shared bench.
“You are correct.” Viktor’s gaze washed over her as if making note of every scrape and bump on her exposed skin. What he didn’t know was that all of them had been self-inflicted in her so-called fancy escape.
“I’m Chris Jenkins, the—”
“I know who you are.” The vampire struggled against his chains, but the alpha growled and rested his hand back on her neck in a veiled threat.
“Easy boys.” She gestured slowly for Viktor to relax. “I’m fine.” She aimed that directly at him. “The scrapes are from my dumbass roll.” Not to mention the bruises on her ass.
“She’s a fledgling, Christopher. Only a couple of days old and very delicate. You best be very careful.” One didn’t need to see Viktor’s fangs or vampire strength to understand his own threat.
“I go by Chris.” The alpha’s hand remained on her neck but it was gentle, as he stroked his thumb along her carotid. “So, only a few days old. I knew you were human when we met. Were you turned against your will?”
Viktor snarled but stayed on his side of the limo.
“Viktor saved my life. If he hadn’t turned me, I’d be dead.”
The oxygen seemed thin and she couldn’t catch her breath. There was way too much testosterone in the air. She cracked the window open.
Chris raised an eyebrow in question to her action.
“Claustrophobic.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m faster than you and not in the best of moods. Don’t make the mistake of trying to jump out.”
According to Betty, he was never in a good humor.
“Dude, seriously, did you miss the delicate comment made by Viktor?” They were driving at least fifty miles an hour. “I don’t care to leave pieces of me on the road.”
The shifters on either side of Viktor stiffened and glanced at each other with ears back. They apparently didn’t like her tone. However, treat her like a numbskull and she’d return the favor.
Chris gave her a tolerant smile. “I see why Betty likes you.”
Yeah, because they could both be bitches when they wanted.
The alpha turned his attention back to Viktor. “I understand you are the real master of the city.”
Her vampire quietly assessed the alpha. She squirmed as the silence grew longer. Finally, Viktor nodded. “I monitor the city’s vampire nest. Not the day to day events, but they answer to me.”
Chris nodded. “Good. Where do you make your home then?”
“Why?” Viktor asked.
At the same time, she responded, “New Port.”
Viktor frowned in her direction.
She rolled her eyes. “You were featured in a magazine. I’m sure Chris knows how to Google. It’s not exactly a secret.”
She scaled back, tired of the games. While they drove through the city, they could have been trying to find the dhampir.
“You didn’t attend the mating ceremony of the alpha’s only son. I thought relations between vampires and shifters in New Port were better than here.”
“I was otherwise occupied.”
Like chained in a dragon’s dungeon. She had to bite her bottom lip to keep her mouth shut.
“The New Port nest’s leader went in my place.”
She blinked. Paulo had been at the wedding? There’d been so many people. So many supernatural types, she had been overwhelmed. Paulo hadn’t even hit her radar. Viktor would have and
she wished he could have seen her in the only gown she owned. She had rocked that dress.
Ken had footed the bill for the wedding. Something about shifter rules and him being more dominant than Betty. Whatever. It worked for her, otherwise Trixie would have shown up as maid of honor in a paper bag. She was that broke.
The limo slowed to a stop and the shifters dragged Viktor out. Chris offered her a gentlemanly hand and helped her exit the car.
She paused outside the vehicle. They stood in front of a brick building that resembled her craptastic apartment. Rusty metal fire escapes lined the alley walls, ladders connecting them. The windows were all intact but the paint peeled. Huge chunks of missing paint chips exposed the aging gray wood underneath. She glanced at the fancy expensive limo as she crossed the uneven and cracked sidewalk to the entrance.
Chris caught her. “I don’t own the car. The driver owns a limo rental company and he is pack. He lets us borrow one when needed.”
“Oh.” What else could she say? The alpha in New Port was rolling in dough. She’d assumed all shifters were rich. Honestly, the only poor werewolf she’d met was Betty and she’d come from Riverbend. Who was Trixie to judge Chris? She lived paycheck to paycheck on a tightrope budget. If she and Ruby were lucky, they could buy a nice steak to share once a month.
Keeping her mouth shut, Trixie followed the alpha as he climbed the stairs to the top floor. If she’d been human, she would have been gasping for air by now.
Only three of the shifters had joined them. The way Viktor glared at the werewolves made her realize he was thinking of beating the shit out of them and escaping.
Chris unlocked the door and gestured for everyone to enter.
She hesitated. “Chris, what is the point of capturing us?”
When he answered, it was aimed at Viktor. “I think we have a common goal. Maybe we can help each other out.”
“Then why the chains?” This time Viktor did show his fangs.
The alpha chuckled. “I heard rumors that you liked them.”
Trixie spun to face Chris. “You can’t be that stupid. Do you have a death wish?” Like a paper barrier, she stood between two super predators. “Play nice.” She used her sit-and-lay-down voice that she’d learned as an animal control specialist.
Viktor met her gaze and she nodded to the unasked demand in his eyes. Sure, Chris wasn’t going to win werewolf of the year, but he could have hurt Viktor. Well, maybe not, but he could have killed her easily. Someone needed to start trusting the other if they were ever going to get anywhere.
Chris tossed a key to Ryan, who unchained Viktor.
Hey, the voice had worked. Who knew?
Her sire scanned the small and sparsely decorated apartment. She bet he knew every escape access point once done. “I will listen.” He crossed his arms, legs spread apart, his presence taking up most of the living room.
Chris went to the connecting open kitchen and pulled meat and bread from the fridge. Absentmindedly, he started the process of making sandwiches on the counter facing the living room. “Go change,” he spoke to the other werewolves. “I’ll be fine.”
The werewolves went into what must be the only bedroom and closed the door.
Viktor raised his eyebrows. “You sound so sure.”
“I have her.” He winked at Trixie. “I’m young, but I’m not a fool. You said it yourself—she’s delicate for a vampire.” His hands moved with a hypnotic grace as he made five sandwiches at the same time. Cheese, meat, mayo—
“Can we stop threatening to kill me?” She stood across the counter from Chris. It was L-shaped with two stools on one side. “You’re very practiced at this.” She pointed at his sandwich making skills.
The other wolf shifters exited the bedroom. All of them in human form and lean with muscled tension. They wore matching sweatpants and T-shirts. She had hung out with enough shifters to know that stashes of clothes were kept for packmates to borrow.
Chris handed out the food as they passed the kitchen. “I have to be. Hungry shifters are dangerous shifters.” He folded his arms and grinned “I also own the sandwich shop on the river shore.”
Viktor pressed behind her, his hard chest aligning with her spine. “How nice.” He circled his arms around her in a possessive hug. “Which of my goals were you referring to?”
Viktor did not like the flirting. The wolf was treading on thin ice as it was, yet he thought he could try and steal Trixie’s affection. Unlike most of vampire kind, Viktor had no problem draining a shifter dry. Blood was blood and he could always use mouthwash to get rid of the taste.
Trixie leaned into him. It felt natural wrapping his arms around her, as if they had been like this forever.
“Don’t play dumb.” Chris snapped at him, his gaze darting to Viktor’s hold on Trixie. “We’ve been monitoring your movements since the coffee shop. Why did you go to that particular tattoo parlor?”
He smirked, very aware that though the other shifters in the room were eating, they also listened intently. “I am a tattoo artist myself. I like to check out the competition.”
Werewolves could smell lies. He was experienced enough to know how much truth was needed to mask them. The undercurrent of tension in Riverbend always tasted old and spoiled. It was his place to police the nest in the city, but not to mend old feuds.
He could hear Christopher grinding his teeth. “Bullshit,” the alpha spat out. “You don’t have competition at the shop. If the owner wasn’t a bookie and using his place as a front, it would have closed years ago.”
“Then why would I go there?” Viktor rested his chin on Trixie’s head. She was the perfect height. He could hold her like this all night, smelling her sweet shampoo. Strawberries? Yes, definitely strawberries.
Christopher’s eyes narrowed as he circled around counter.
Viktor slid Trixie behind him in an easy move. She was graceful in the transition and stayed close, resting her hands on his hips and peering round his arm.
“Betty.” The alpha stated the name like a curse.
Viktor blew out a frustrated breath and glared at his companions. “I know Betty’s story. I was the one who discovered the magic in the tattoo.” Sometimes he hated it when he was right. The alpha was looking for revenge. “I also know the dragon called you.” And inadvertently possibly started a war.
He pulled Trixie with him toward the loveseat, forcing the shifters occupying the space to move. He and Trixie sat. Him with his legs crossed and arms resting on the top of the couch. Trixie straight-backed, knees pressed together. The piece of furniture was small and forced them close together.
“I’m here to prevent things from escalating between your pack and the local vampire nest,” said Viktor. “One of ours wronged one of yours. I want to—”
“Wronged one of mine? Wronged me!” Christopher slapped his chest. “That dhampir monstrosity wrecked everything.”
The growl in his voice triggered the other shifters. They set their food aside, eyes focused on the floor, and none of them moved.
Interesting. He assessed the young alpha carefully. “How so?”
Trixie’s elbow embedded between his ribs. He had to stifle a laugh or the alpha might explode in bits of fur.
Christopher’s eyes glowed the pale icy blue of Nordic wolves. “She stole my mate. If it wasn’t for her, Betty would still be mine.”
“No, she wouldn’t.” Trixie shook her head, indignation in the line of her spine. “You need to get over—”
Viktor slid his hand over her mouth from behind. It was one thing for Viktor to taunt the alpha—the wolf could not hurt him—but Trixie was still almost human weak. “Let’s not rile the werewolf any more than we have to.”
She nodded. He could sense her lips pressed together as if fighting to keep her words. Then he let her go.
The alpha paced. “We won’t ever know the truth, will we?” He bared his teeth. “But I can taste my revenge. The parlor is where Betty was cursed with that fucking tattoo. Onc
e my scouts spotted you entering there, I knew there was a connection.”
Trixie leaned forward. “You were the other shifter that interrogated the owner. I didn’t think Ken would have sent two separate parties to question him.”
Christopher rolled his shoulders. Viktor could see the joints shifting below his skin as he struggled for control. “Ken never asked permission to cross into my territory.”
“Yes, yes.” Viktor waved his hand, brushing aside the issue. “That is another problem for another day. The artist we seek is gone and the owner does not have any information as to where. We are both shit out of luck.”
Trixie sighed.
Christopher hesitated in his stalking pace.
Viktor leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “You know where Jade is.” The real question was why the dhampir was still alive when the alpha was so obviously pissed.
Christophe nodded. “When news of Betty shifting reached the city, word spread like wildfire. Betty’s father told me about the tattoo.” As part of the Riverbend pack, Betty’s father would have to report to his alpha whether he wanted to or not. “I looked for the witch that day but she’d already gone into hiding.”
“Not a witch,” he corrected. “A dhampir. She is half-human, half-vampire.”
“I know what a dhampir is.” Christopher grabbed a sandwich on the counter and destroyed it in three bites. He gestured to his pack mates to finish eating. They visibly relaxed and retrieved their food.
Trixie’s eyes were wide. “I think his jaw unhinged.”
“Probably.”
The alpha darted a glare their way. “Shut up. I stress eat.”
His fledgling bit her bottom lip, her cheeks flushed with poorly hidden amusement. Her adorable little fang peeked out and Viktor could not pull his attention away from it. “But you found her.”
“Her mother is a member of the local nest. I’m sure she’s hiding in there.”
“How does that work?” Asked Trixie. “I mean, how can a vampire get pregnant?”
“We’re still fertile post-change. It’s just extremely rare that we conceive. Obviously, those odds are better with a human. The dhampir must have been raised by her mother’s nest. That means that they will protect her.”
Not His Vampire: Vampire Romance (Not This Series Book 3) Page 16
