The Knights of Darkness Chronicles 01 - Desires Unleashed

by D N Simmons

  The sound of the door bell chiming alerted him that Warren had arrived. He walked from the dining room to the front room which was decorated as tastefully as the rest of the mansion. The soft, burgundy and gold embroidered upholstery covering the sofas and chairs was spotless and looked brand new. He didn't allow anyone to abuse his furniture. Once in a rage, Adrian had thrown one of his thousand dollar chairs across the room, splintering it. Xander had made him pay for it, dearly. He loved the feel of the thick burgundy carpet under his feet. On some rare nights when he was alone, he would trace the pattern of the carpet with his bare toes, smiling to himself at the simplicity of it all and marveling at the hand-stitched designs. He also purchased hand sewn rugs; “artwork for the floor” he once called it. Some rugs he considered too beautiful for the floor; those were hung on walls. Reaching the front door, he could smell Warren's scent already from the other side of the door. He could hear him breathing. He smiled as he opened the door.

  “Warren, how good to see you again. Come in.” He watched Warren enter the house. “Where is your key?” he asked curiously with a slight frown.

  “I lost it about three weeks ago. I'll need another one.” He tilted his head upwards, his nostrils flaring as he smelled the air. “Is dinner ready?” he asked almost excitedly. Xander chuckled.

  He nodded. “Yes, dinner's almost ready, I think. Come, let us go into the dining room. Everyone will be so happy to see you.” Xander placed his arm around Warren's shoulders, leading him into the dining room which was already filling up as hungry wolves smelled dinner. They all looked up, recognizing Warren's scent as he entered the room, pleased to see him.

  “Hey Warren!!! Welcome back, man!” A tall slender man with pale skin, in a red t-shirt and black jeans said as he made his way around the table to greet Warren personally with a big bear hug. He was followed by ten other people all gathering around to hug their Pack brother. They all wished he would stay home, at least to visit more than he did, but they all had their ideas of why he didn't. Some of those ideas included Xander's strict rules, and Adrian's lust.

  “How's everyone?” Warren asked, obviously happy to see everyone and to know that they were all doing fine.

  “Everyone's well, Warren, real well. Why don't you visit more often, you bum! You know how much everyone misses you, you jerk,” Nicole said, wearing a hot pink halter top and white capri pants. They were so tight, Warren doubted if she could even stick her finger in the back pocket.

  “I'll try to visit more often, but you know this job keeps me pretty busy sometimes,” Warren said, shrugging.

  “I can keep you even busier,” said a rich, deep voice from across the room.

  Warren looked up to see Adrian enter the dining room, carrying a huge platter. His mother and Matron of the house, Tatiana, followed behind him with a large bowl of vegetables. Warren had hoped that Adrian was still at school, teaching and working on his doctorates in English Literature. He would have preferred to avoid this reunion. Adrian was always difficult for him to resist. This was going to be a long night.

  “All the more reason why I visit when I can afford to visit,” Warren said smugly. Adrian smiled; he knew what Warren meant and was banking on it. He wanted Warren there, with them, as it was supposed to be. Not frolicking around with the government funded police, turning in his own kind to the human firing squad.

  “We'll have to work on that then, won't we.” It was more of a statement than a question. Adrian left the room to gather more food from the kitchen. Warren sat down in the seat to the left of Xander. He leaned closet to whisper something to Xander. He knew everyone in the room would hear anyway, but only Xander would know what he was talking about. He opened his mouth to speak, but Xander raised his hand, shaking his head slightly.

  “Tell me later,” he said.

  Warren nodded. Adrian returned, carrying another heavy platter filled with slices of roast beef. He leaned in front of Warren to place the platter on the table, making sure his crotch brushed against Warren's elbow, causing him to tense slightly.

  “For the guest of honor,” Adrian said as he leaned closer to Warren's ear. “I have your dessert if you still have room for it...I'm sure you will.” He stood up, smiling widely, walking back into the kitchen for more of the food. A few of the other Pack members chuckled, batting their eyes at Warren teasingly. After about three more trips to and from the kitchen, the table was covered with platter upon platter of delicious smelling foods. Everyone was seated at the table. Fifteen hungry wolves reached out for slices and chunks of the pork and beef roasts. Platters of slow roasted cornish hens, tender sliced roast turkey cutlets, smothered in gravy were passed around the table. Two people argued over the bowl of mashed potatoes with homemade gravy. They passed the bowls of fresh string beans, broccoli and cauliflower amongst them. Sounds of metal scraping glass echoed in the room as forks and knives scooped up portions of food. This was followed by sounds of finger sucking, lips smacking, moaning, and thirsty swallows. Someone burped loudly and others laughed at the table. Xander frowned. He was well aware of the nature of wolves, although he did appreciate a little table manners. After a stern look from the Pack Master, the laughter subsided.

  After dinner, Xander and Warren went to Xander's soundproof study for privacy. Xander had settled comfortably into a high-backed leather chair. He leaned over and opened a box filled with Cuban cigars. He offered one to Warren who politely waved it away. Xander sat back in the chair, lit his cigar, gesturing for Warren to go ahead and speak.

  “Well, I know how you wanted me to inform you whenever we get a case that may involve a shape-shifter,” Warren said as he settled into the seat opposite Xander's.

  Xander nodded. “And you think one is involved?” he asked.

  Warren nodded, opened a file and handed some photographs over for Xander to look at. “Those were taken today, this morning actually. The body was discovered around 9 A.M. There were no witnesses, just the poor schmuck who had the misfortune to have discovered the body.” He watched Xander flip through the photos, one after another. He looked at the frown that formed on his face and knew that Xander was thinking the same thing he had when he first saw the condition of the corpse.

  “Do you think a werewolf did that, one of us? Whoever did it, I think, enjoyed it,” Warren said when he thought Xander had taken in enough of the photos to catch his meaning.

  “Please do not refer to our kind with that ridiculous human terminology. And yes, I think you may be right. But where's the blood? To have his head ripped off there should be blood all over this area,” Xander asked, looking through the pictures again to see if he had missed anything.

  “Yes, you're right. The body was missing most of its blood. That's what makes me think a vampire might also be involved. But I'm not sure, see. I know that a vampire is strong enough to rip off a human head, but I caught the scent of a shape-shifter, a wolf. It was faint but it was enough. I don't think the body was killed there, I think it was deposited there. And I don't mean dragged either. The killer had to have driven to that spot and dumped the body to throw off the scent trail. Someone is doing their homework.”

  “If there is a shifter involved then why is the body not mangled? Surely a shifter would want to feast? Was the scent you smelled in the area on the body?” Xander asked, trying to make heads or tails of all that he was taking in. Warren shook his head, confused. He sat back in the chair, chin resting on his hand as he traced back in his mind to the scene of the crime.

  “No, as a matter of fact the only scent I caught was the scent of the body itself. And that's the thing that bothers me, I couldn’t identify any other scent on the body except for blood. There wasn’t even another scent on the man’s clothes! It was like whoever committed this murder, did this before and they are skilled enough to not leave easy clues. I have no idea of knowing if that scent I caught was from the murderer or just a wolf that was in the area.” Warren seemed bewildered. He was getting a bad feeling about this case, call it
intuition. The last thing he wanted was a supernatural serial killer. It was bad enough when a human decided to become the next Fred Bundy. It’s even worse when you have a supernatural psycho on the prowl.

  “Take me to the scene of the crime, I want to get a whiff of this scent. I may pick up something you did not,” Xander said as he rose from his chair. Warren rose also and both men headed for the door. Warren opened the door only to find Adrian on the other side, hand poised to knock. Adrian smiled, catching Warren in his embrace kissing him lustfully. Xander smiled, rolled his eyes then walked past the two men. Warren pushed Adrian away, glaring at him. They were breathing heavily. Both of them were remembering the sensation of each other's bodies merging together all too clearly.

  “We’re not together anymore, Adrian. Remember?” Warren insisted, as he tried to leave the room. Adrian’s arm blocked his exit, keeping him from leaving.

  “No, what I remember is going off to college to teach for a semester and to get my degree. Then coming home to find out that you had joined that fucking government police squad. What the fuck for, I don’t know, but that’s what I remember. As far as I’m concerned, you’re still my lover. Besides, who knows you better than I do?” Adrian smiled his wolfish grin. Then he pushed warren back into the room, closing the door behind him. He pounced on top of Warren, knocking him down and holding his hands down against the carpeted floor. Pressing his hips into the other man's, he slowly started grinding their crotches together.

  Warren pressed up and moaned, he could feel himself growing harder under the other man's erection. He closed his eyes and savored the sensation of Adrian's body against his. Adrian's soft lips locked with his in another passionate kiss. He opened his eyes and gazed into Adrian's silver eyes. It was one of the better features he shared with his father. Staring into those eyes always made Warren want to get kinky, fast. Although, getting kinky fast was not what he wanted to do, not now, not with Adrian. He came back to his senses, bucking and pumping under Adrian, trying to throw the other man off.

  “Adrian, get off of me now! Don't do this, I broke up with you months ago!” he said, becoming angrier the longer the other man held him down. “Face it, we just can't make it work!”

  “I like when you play hard to get. Keep fighting me, I'm almost there,” Adrian panted breathlessly through clenched teeth. Warren stopped fighting long enough to see the pleasure spread across Adrian's face. He realized the other man was enjoying his struggles a little too much. This angered him even more. He wanted Adrian off of him and fast. He continued to struggle, feeling Adrian's hardness grinding against his own. He saw Adrian's mouth open wide, his breath coming faster and faster until it stuck in his throat. He saw Adrian's eyes close, a look of sheer ecstasy wash over his face as his body tensed and jerked several times.

  After what seemed like forever, Adrian collapsed on top of Warren, breathless, spent. His grip lessened on Warren's wrists. Warren sat up pushing Adrian off of him onto his side. A huge wet spot stained the front of Adrian's pants. Warren punched him hard in the left arm forcing him to cry out.

  “Ow, man, what was that for?!” Adrian asked, laughing as he rubbed the pained spot on his upper biceps. He rose to his knees in front of Warren.

  “What was it for?! What was it for?! Do you even have to ask?!” Warren asked, annoyed. “You know what Adrian, sometimes you can be a complete asshole. And you wonder why I broke it off with you,” he said as he looked down to see the wet stain on the front of his own jeans. “Look what you did, you asshole,” he said as he smacked Adrian on the side of his temple.

  “OW!” Adrian yelped as he fell back onto his side, laughing. It tickled him to see Warren again. He knew Warren was happy to see him, even if he didn't want to show it. “Oh, don't be this way, Warren. You know you're happy to see me. We belong together. We were meant to be together since day one. Come on, let's go back into my room and fuck for real,” Adrian said as he managed to crawl onto all fours in front of Warren, who just shook his head and rose to leave the study.

  “Where are you going?” Adrian asked.

  “I'd love to beat the shit out of you right this moment, but your father and I have something important to do. And I know you can't possibly figure out what could be more important than your immediate desires but I have business to take care of,” Warren said as he closed the door to the study. He was relieved to be out of the same room with Adrian. If he had been in that room one minute longer, he may have done a thing or two he would regret in the morning. He was more than happy to drive Xander to the scene of the crime after that little evil trick Adrian just pulled. He met Xander by his car, noticing it was a brand new automobile, one of those two-hundred thousand dollar numbers. He hoped Xander didn't want to drive that to the scene of the crime.

  “Please tell me this isn't the car we're taking. We won't get past the city limits!” he said, chuckling to himself. He pictured Xander and himself getting car-jacked. He stopped chuckling when his vision played the reality that Xander would probably kill the would be car-jacker, without the slightest hesitation. He shook his head to clear the thought, smiling at Xander.

  “Well, it happens to be my favorite car at the moment. The drive is always smooth, even on some bumpy streets. But, if you insist on us taking a less luxurious form of transportation, then I guess I'll have to settle for the BWMX,” Xander said as he walked toward a silver two door BWMX E52 Z8 Roadster.

  Warren laughed outright. “You call this toning down?” He had tears coming from his eyes.

  Xander looked at the car, then looked back at his Ashley Martin and smiled. “Yes, I do. Now are you going to stand there laughing like an idiot, or are we going to investigate this crime?” he asked as he opened the car door, climbing inside. Warren nodded and climbed into the passenger seat. He did have to admit, it was lovely to be rich. He knew Xander would provide him with just about anything. But he wanted to earn his own living. He gave directions to Xander as he played with the state-of-the-art sound system. He fished through Xander's CD collection of opera and classical music, frowning.

  “Don't you ever listen to anything where the composer's still alive and it's not in French or Italian?” he asked as he placed a CD in the six count CD changer.

  Xander smiled. “I'm sorry, I left the Wu Lang CD at home,” he said, cutting the curves in the road as if the car was on rails.

  Warren laughed. “Who's Wu Lang?”

  “Some rap group that Kevin listens to constantly. He loves this song called 'Big Baby Balls'. “ He held up his right hand to stop Warren from speaking, “Don't ask me. It's by someone from the group called-and get this, Old Fat Bastard. Kids these days, no taste.” Chuckling, they headed toward the city limits.

  “Okay, just make a right at the light right here and pull into the alley. Can't miss it. Look for the police tape,” Warren said as he directed Xander toward the crime scene. Xander pulled the car behind a parked black Cobra. A sleek black sports car that Warren had wanted. Getting out of the car, they walked toward the yellow and black police tape plastered between the wall of a bakery and the wall of the travel agency. They walked under the tape and immediately, Xander caught the scent that Warren had smelled earlier. He also smelled the scent of the body that was there earlier as well.

  “I smell it also, but this scent,” he inhaled deeply through his nose to get a better whiff, “this scent, I do not recognize.” He walked down the alley to see if the scent left a trail, but it stopped at the end of the liquor store. Xander stopped walking, retracing his steps to Warren. “I don't smell any blood with the scent. It's likely that it might just be a stray wolf. You know, this might be the work of some deranged humanist group.”

  “How could a human do all this? You saw the pictures, how could a human do that?” Warren asked. He wasn't so sure about Xander's new take on things, but wasn't quite willing to cast it aside either.

  “Simple, but first let's get out of this rancid alley. My senses are picking up scents I'd rather not
smell,” Xander said. Warren nodded in agreement, and they headed for the car. They climbed inside and Xander began explaining his theory.

  “Think about it. People would love to prove just how dangerous the supernatural race is to them. This could be an elaborate set up. One of these radical groups that consist of morbid humans who have nothing better to do than kill our kind. Well, thanks to the new law, they can't do that so easily anymore. However, that doesn't mean it won't stop them from trying. The government is still in debate over how many bills to add or take away concerning our coexisting with the humans. A murder like this one, done in a such a brutal fashion would not look good for us.” Xander merged the car with traffic on 1-90 heading northbound.

  Warren pondered the whole scenario. He had never thought that a radical humanist group would do such a ghastly thing just to make supernaturals look bad. But then the longer he thought about it, the more sense it made.

  “Understand, humans have always believed that life has a price. For them, life is expendable. If they thought that doing this sick crime would push vote 287 in their favor, what's one more dead man sacrificed for the cause?” Xander enlightened. Warren nodded. His Alpha may be right.

  “It makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, it's going to be a bitch to prove and even harder to convince the government to see that it's possible that a humanist group did this,” Warren said as he settled into the car, wondering how he was going to present this new theory to his partner.

  “People always want to think the worst of everything and everyone, Warren. That's what humans do. It makes all their evil seem less evil if there's someone out there they believe is worse than they are. So that they can say 'at least I don't do that.' I've seen it time and time again. All I'm saying is, don't rule out humans and what they'll do for what they believe in,” Xander said as he entered the I-55 expressway heading toward the western suburbs, going back home. He glanced over at Warren and smiled, deciding to lighten the mood.