Of Humans and Monsters

by Candace Blevins

  I glanced at him and looked back to the road. “I’ll appreciate it, but you need to understand I can take care of myself once I know there’s a threat. If I tell you to back away and let me deal with something, you need to do it. I’ll welcome having you around to watch my back because you’ll likely sense a threat before I do, but you need to let me watch your back, too.”

  “Supernaturals are fast, and you’re human. That gun on your hip won’t help if they tear your head off before you can react.”

  “I’m not without my own set of skills. Just trust me that if I say I need to be the one to handle something, I know what I’m talking about.”

  He shrugged. “Your op. I’ll follow your lead. They called you to handle it so you must know what you’re doing.” He leaned back in his seat and looked forward. “Randall spoke to you as an equal, and Aaron wanted me to know you could hurt me. I admit I’m intrigued.”

  We were on the interstate by this time, so I reached for his hand as I said, “I know tonight was just sex and nothing more, but it’s nice to know I was right about you being a mostly nice guy.”

  “I’m not good.”

  He might not be good by society’s standards, but there wasn’t a doubt in my mind he’d do the right thing in the midst of a crisis. The right thing might be killing the bad guy instead of calling the cops, but he’d do what needed to be done to protect those weaker than him. Instead of arguing the point, I merely said, “Didn’t say you were good. Said you were mostly nice.”

  He chuckled. “Tell me what you think is in this house?”

  “Something from the Hell realm, most likely.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, and I happen to know how to deal with a whole lot of things from there. Denny calls Aaron when they have problems in the Battlefield. This house isn’t far from it — I’m assuming someone called something up they couldn’t control.”

  The phone rang and I answered it through the car’s speakers since Dawg could hear both sides of the conversation no matter what.

  “We’re headed that way,” said Randall. “ETA about twenty-five minutes.”

  “I’ll be there before you. Let me know when you arrive.”

  We disconnected, and Dawg said, “I’m hoping we have time for round two once we get back to your house.”

  My heart sped and heat coursed through my veins, but I shook my head. “None of that while we’re doing this. I’m good with what will probably be more like a fifth or sixth round when we get back, but hush about it for now, please.”

  His chuckle was so damned sexy, he may as well have kissed my ear. I growled at him and gave him a mock glare, but he only smiled back. Luckily, there were very few cars on the road in the early morning hours.

  I expected lots of noise and chaos at the scene, but it was eerily quiet when we arrived. The officers on the perimeter seemed to fall somewhere between freaked out and terrified — and weren’t trying to hide it. They stood quietly behind vans and SUVs with their weapons drawn and lights flashing, but no sirens.

  Denny glared at Dawg and barked, “Who’s this?”

  “He’s watching my back since Aaron and Nathan aren’t here. You don’t have to talk to him.” I was secretly glad Dawg had just put jeans and a t-shirt on, and had skipped the vest that proclaimed him a member of a motorcycle club. Denny likely wouldn’t have taken it in stride. As it was, Denny wanted to argue, but I spoke before he had a chance. “The people I’m bringing to fight this will be here in about ten minutes. Make sure your people know to hold their fire. We believe they can handle it without me, but should they need me, I’ll go in with my companion here, and no one else. Do you have a problem with any of that?”

  He shook his head. “Get my people out of there and we’re good.”

  “There’s no guarantee they’re alive, Denny. We’ll get them out, but we can’t know what kind of shape they’re in.”

  I leaned against a police SUV with my arms crossed, and Dawg stood in front and a little to the right of me so we could watch each other’s backs. I approved, and I hoped my smile told him so.

  I’d expected Randall to call me, but I heard him in my head.

  Kirsten, we’re in position. Martin is here with one tiger, and Lewis is here with two bears. I have eighteen wolves including me.

  I didn’t know what he’d promised them for coming, but I’d figure it out later. I kept my connection to Randall open as I told Denny, “It’s about to start. Remind your men to stand down, please.”

  “I’d be happier if Nathan or Aaron were here.”

  “They aren’t. You have me.”

  He held eye contact with me as he lifted his radio to his mouth and told his people, “Help from another agency has arrived, and they’ll be coming in under an illusion. Don’t fire your weapon unless something attacks you, no matter what you think you see.”

  Okay Randall, it’s time.

  A tiger and wolf led the charge, followed by a stampede of wolves, with the bears at the rear. Even to my eyes, it looked fantastical as they raced out of the woods en masse. Some of the wolves jumped through windows, others went in doors, and I didn’t blame the officers for raising their weapons.

  Denny’s voice came through every radio, shouting, “Hold your fire! Hold your fire!” Thankfully, no one shot.

  Denny glared at me. “A fucking tiger?”

  “Yeah, and he’s an asshole so don’t piss him off.”

  “Are you out of your mind, letting tigers, wolves, and bears loose in a residential area?!”

  “Illusion, Denny. It’s what it took to get inside. You asked for my help and you’re gonna have to trust me. You’ve learned to trust Nathan and Aaron, think of me the same.”

  “You can’t possibly compare yourself to them. They’re trained warriors and you’re a therapist.”

  I didn’t move towards him, didn’t do all the threatening things I wanted. I remained in my relaxed stance as I leaned against the police vehicle and casually told him, “And yet here I am, handling a crisis because you couldn’t. Am I going to have to kick your ass to get you to respect me? We don’t have time for it now, but if you need me to later I’ll gladly comply. Meanwhile we have a lot of lives in danger and I need you to focus.”

  I held eye contact with him a good thirty seconds before he looked away. I was worried about what was going on in the house, but I didn’t want to intrude on Randall’s thoughts with telepathy when he might be fighting for his life.

  Finally, Randall’s voice popped into my head.

  Three policemen are still alive, and we’ve stabilized them as best we can. We found some paperwork we’ll be taking with us, as well as phones and laptops. We’ll leave the dead officers and the dead humans, but there are three Celrau bodies we’ll take with us. The demon and a half-dozen Celrau made it through a portal before we could take them out. The first of us through saw a large reptile creature, but it vanished before the rest arrived. I’ll let you know when law enforcement can enter. Lewis is rigging the house to set fire once they get the wounded out, because we can’t risk the chance authorities might find information about supernaturals.

  I looked at Denny. “They just need a little longer. Three of your men are still alive, the rest are... not.”

  Denny looked stricken. “Which three?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know. Just a little longer — the men alive are stable, so don’t rush in now or you risk their lives. Let our people get the house secure, and then they’ll leave so your people can go in and rescue the living.”

  Several long moments later I heard the sound of padded feet running, though I couldn’t see them. They must’ve all gone out the back of the house and into the woods.

  We’re clear. They can go in now.

  I looked back to Denny. “It’s all yours. I’ll be leaving now.”

  Dawg and I were ten feet away when I heard, “Kirsten.”

  I looked back over my shoulder at Denny but didn’t say anything.

/>   “Thank you. I’d like to have lunch one day to ask some questions, but for now, thank you.”

  I didn’t say anything in response, just turned and walked towards my car and assumed Dawg would follow. This wasn’t the time or place to tell Denny that hell would freeze over before I went to lunch with him.

  “He once hurt you. Bad,” Dawg said as I pulled away from the scene.

  “It was a long time ago.”

  “He regrets it.”

  Shapeshifters can smell all kinds of things, so I believed him.

  “Good. Maybe he won’t treat anyone else the way he treated me. Though, he’s been through so many wives I’m not sure he’ll ever learn that particular lesson.”

  “You ever been married?” he asked.

  “No. You?”

  “Nope. Asked someone to marry me once, but it didn’t work into her career plans.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Me too, but life goes on.”

  “Thanks for offering to come along and have my back.”

  “You have a telepathic connection to Randall?”

  I nodded. “I’m a Friend of the Pack.”

  Now, his voice was cautious. “Can I ask what you did to gain that status?”

  “Saved them from an ancient god who was trying to take over the Pack.”

  The car was silent a good thirty seconds before he said, “Scary thing is, you smell of the truth. I’m not sure how to respond or what to think.”

  I shook my head. “I’m human. You weren’t supposed to believe me.”

  “Truth again. Wow. I’m guessing you won’t be able to give me details, so I won’t ask. I was impressed with the way you handled the situation tonight.”

  “Thanks for watching my back. Are we still going for round... five? Six? I lost count. I can’t offer you much more than some time this morning and then maybe a couple of nights a year, but I’ll be happy to consider you a friend.”

  His fingers skated along the top of my forearm, and my nipples hardened in my bra.

  “Friends don’t usually do the things I want to do to you.” His voice was a low growl, and I could almost hear the wolf.

  “I’m human. I don’t heal like a wolf.”

  “Mmmm. Nothing like stretching out a sore pussy.” He leaned towards me until his lips were inches from my ear. “I’ll use my mouth first, make sure you’re good and wet before I hurt your poor, abused pussy. Before I pound it with my cock, spread it with my fingers, make you beg for relief I’ve no intention of giving until I’m buried in that tight, tight ass again.”

  My phone rang with Aaron’s ring tone, and I groaned as I pushed the button to answer it over speakerphone. Dawg could hear the conversation no matter what, may as well stay hands-free and as safe as possible while my clit throbbed in my jeans.

  “I’m with Dawg,” I warned, before he could launch into something he might not want the biker to hear.

  “We have the package we’ve been looking for. Nathan’s on his way to your house to give you details.”

  “I had to handle an op for Denny. I’m driving now and can’t use the encrypted app, but we’ll need to talk soon so you can call him and smooth things over.”

  “Smooth things over?”

  “The op went fine, but he’s an asshole.” And everything was going to catch fire after I left, and Denny would be ten levels beyond pissed, but I didn’t risk saying that when we weren’t on an encrypted call.

  He sighed. “Okay, tell Nathan and we’ll let him deal with Denny. How much sleep have you had?”

  I smiled as I remembered my night with Dawg and all the reasons I hadn’t slept. “An hour and a half, maybe? Dawg went with me to Georgia, but I didn’t introduce him to Denny. He stuck with me, watched my back.”

  “I’m assuming he can hear me.”

  “Yep,” said Dawg.

  “Thanks for having her back. Sorry to interrupt your fun, but she’ll need to leave with Nathan.”

  “I’ll hang out at her house until he arrives, and then take my leave.”

  We disconnected and I glanced at Dawg a second. “I was looking forward to spending more time with you. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize, shit happens. I’ll get your number, and I’ll text you an invitation to our parties. If you’re free and up for some playtime, you’ll come. If not, you won’t. No promises, no expectations.”

  “I gotta be honest — I doubt I’ll go alone. If Aaron and Sophia will be there, I might come with them.”

  “Fair enough. They come during the day sometimes, but I’ll want you there at night. If you’re free and interested, we’ll figure it out.”

  Chapter 4

  Dawg walked me to my front porch and gave me a kiss to remember him by as Nathan parked. I grabbed the doorknob to brace myself and tried to catch my breath as they passed each other on the sidewalk.

  Nathan grinned as he took my steps two at a time. “It seems you had a good night?”

  “I did. You have my cousin?”

  “We have the human, but he was there of his own accord. They convinced him they could teach him things, and he went with them willingly to learn. He didn’t have identification on him, and he won’t tell us his name.”

  “They gave him blood to control him, right?”

  He shook his head. “I think they kept him a pure human to try to replicate your process of learning. Whatever the reason, he hasn’t had any of their blood.”

  “Why do you need me?”

  “He’s uncooperative and hostile. We’re hoping if you bring pictures of your uncle, and anything else you think might garner your cousin’s attention, it might make him open to listening to us.”

  “Pictures of my grandparents. Our grandparents.”

  He nodded. “You have the right idea. We need to convince him the Celrau are the bad guys and we’re the good guys. The Celrau have him believing the opposite.”

  I hate going through Faerie, but Sophia went with Nathan and me and I know they’ll do everything they can to keep me safe. We were there for less than two minutes, but my teeth and spine were on edge the entire time.

  Nathan and I said goodbye to Sophia and stepped through the second waterfall back into the human realm. We found ourselves high on a small mountain, on a small island with the ocean all around us.

  “Aaron’s keeping the human away from this area so he won’t know where the gateway is. He was knocked out when we brought him. You want to walk, or ride my back?”

  “How far?”

  “The island’s only a quarter mile across, but it’s steep going down, and rough terrain through scrub with no trails.”

  “I’ll walk.”

  My thighs were burning by the time we made it to sea level, but it felt good to be alive. Salt air from the ocean’s breeze always gives me a mental boost, and I breathed in the energy of the sea, the deep cerulean blue sky with a smattering of puffy clouds, and the landscape in every shade of green imaginable. It was too bad I was here to do a job, and not simply to enjoy the view and the water.

  Joshua was sitting on the beach, his back to the water so he’d see anyone approaching from land. Nathan stayed back, and I walked with my box of pictures and documents to the man I assumed was my cousin.

  When I was twenty yards away, he stood and I stopped.

  “You’re the one they’re training me to defeat.”

  I took note of his body language — scared, defensive. He felt cornered and out in the open at the same time.

  “I believe I’m your cousin. I think the vampires recruited you because of me, and I’m sorry about that.” He didn’t respond, and I told him, “My mother’s maiden name was Kaiser. If I’m right, you and I are first cousins.”

  He looked shocked, started to fall backwards, and caught himself. His eyes narrowed, his look hardened even more, and he spat out, “Well then, you seem to be the enemy on more than one front.”

  I did my best to look friendly and unthreatening. “Not really. I do
n’t like my uncle all that much, and I’m guessing you don’t think highly of him either. We may have more in common than you’d think at first glance.”

  “How do you know? How can I be sure you aren’t making this up?”

  “I didn’t know until my people showed me your picture. You’re the spitting image of Uncle Glen. That, combined with the fact you’re about the right age to be Joshua — plus, if we’re related then maybe it’s not so big of a stretch that we have some of the same abilities.” I paused, and when he didn’t respond, I kept going. “I remember my grandmother trying to see you. I would’ve been about six years old and I think you’d have been two or three. She said just because Glen had signed his rights away, didn’t mean she’d signed hers away. She drove by your house when I was with her, and we saw you playing in your yard. Your mom finally took out a restraining order on her so she couldn’t drive by your house anymore.”

  “Why don’t you like him?” Again with the hooded, cautious eyes, but I couldn’t blame him.

  “Glen can’t tell the truth to save his life. He’s book smart but can’t logic his way out of a cardboard box, which makes the fact he thinks he’s better than everyone else because of all his degrees both sad and funny. I adored him when I was a child, but I lost all respect for him by the time I hit twenty. He’s emotionally stunted — it’s like he’ll always be twelve years old in some ways. Plus, as we’ve gotten older, he’s turned into a racist old man who...” I trailed off. “I feel sad when I’m around him. There are people from his generation who aren’t like that. Being old doesn’t give him the right to be so closed-minded. It doesn’t give him the right to be an asshole.”

  “I go by Josh.”

  His posture was still defensive, but he was opening up a little. I smiled in relief as I realized he’d just verified he was, indeed, the little boy I’d caught a glimpse of as a child. “You’ve been little Joshua in my head all my life. It’ll be nice to get to know the grown-up Josh.”

  “They told me you were evil, and they needed someone who could combat your evil.”