“What about the Cleaners?” Alyssa gasps as she steps out of my arms. We all know the dangers of hunting in the full pack.
“It’s a last minute decision. Even if they find out about it they don’t have the time to organise an ambush. We’ll just have to be extra alert. Do you think you could organise getting everyone here?” Giving her a job will take her mind off worrying about Paddy and the pack’s safety. Alyssa doesn’t need to worry about those things. That is my job as Alpha.
“Sure.” She nods and runs into the house, probably to use the phone in my office.
“We’ll get some food together for when the pack arrives,” Delly offers, taking Chloe—whose sole attention is on Ed and his phone calls—by the arm and heading into the kitchen.
Matthew and Ed are the only two left in the yard.
“We’ll go see if we can pick up anything at Chloe’s. It’s the last place we know he was so it’s our best option.”
I look closely at Eddie. “Do you feel like you can handle coming with us? Your wolf was riding you pretty hard a minute ago; we can’t have you shifting in the middle of Chloe’s street.”
He takes a solid minute to weigh up his wolf and whether he will be calm enough to allow him to join us. “I’m all right now, boss. He’s settled down.”
Taking him at his word, I turn and head for the truck, hoping for everyone’s sake we find Paddy and this is all some silly mistake.
If someone has taken him, all hell is going to break loose.
Eleven
CONS OF A TIE
ROSABEL
When Theo left, the three of us spent the day catching up. Because it’s a full moon, I need, the night off to change so Misty heads off to work alone, leaving Benji and me to have a movie night.
“What do you fancy watching, Bel?” Benji asks, flicking through Misty’s DVD collection.
I make my way to the bedroom to shift.
“Surprise me,” I shout, before shutting the bedroom door behind me. I can normally wait until later in the evening before shifting, but I haven’t had the chance to shift since moving here, and my wolf is antsy and ready to come to the surface.
Hoping to ease the shift, I remove my clothes and drop down to all fours. Shifting is not a nice feeling. Essentially your bones are all breaking, realigning again within seconds. The whole process is over in a matter of minutes but it’s painful. If you haven’t changed in a while, it hurts more than normal. Once I release my wolf she practically pounces out of my skin. I can’t help the grunts of pain coming out of my mouth. The grunts soon turn to a howl. I shake out the last tingles of pain just as the door opens.
“That sounded painful.” Benji winces at the thought as he holds the door open for me to exit, making sure to stay clear. After a painful shift, your skin stays sensitive for a while.
I trot to the lounge, curl up on the floor in front of the sofa. I’m not sure where Misty stands on the animals on the sofa front, so I feel more comfortable sticking to the floor. My eyesight has changed with the shift but I can still see the TV; it’s just colourless. I can smell the sage Misty has been burning. She’s always burning something. This morning it was sage for protection against Jared apparently.
Benji follows behind me, plonking his butt down on the floor next to me. He grabs the popcorn off the coffee table and presses play.
Benji chose the movie Rent, which is one of our favourites. We like to sing through the whole thing. It’s not something I can do in wolf form but I won’t enjoy it any less.
Halfway through the movie my wolf starts getting agitated. I get up and pace through the apartment, finding myself stopping and staring at the front door every time I pass. She wants out. She wants to join Theo. She feels she should be hunting with them because she has some insane idea about Theo being ours.
“Bel. You aren’t normally like this. I don’t know what to do for you. If you don’t stop whining, someone might come up to see what’s happening.”
Whining? I didn’t even realise I’d been whining.
“We don’t want them to find you. They might not believe you’re a dog and you know I can’t lie for shit,” Benji says, crouching down between me and the front door. He smooths his hand over my head and down the fur on my back. It does the trick and calms me enough to stop my whining.
Benji stands and heads back to the lounge and the TV. “Come on, let’s go put another movie on. I’ll even let you drool over Brad Pitt in World War Z.”
* * *
The day after the full moon I find myself walking into work carrying Benji in my arms. He can’t pass Misty’s ward because he’s human. He keeps wanting to turn and run away, even after she mutes it enough for him to go through without dying.
When we open the front doors to the bar, Tommy is waiting. He’s like a piece of furniture. The bar wouldn’t feel right if he wasn’t propping it up.
As the night goes on I notice it’s nowhere near as busy as it usually is. We actually find ourselves standing around between serving customers.
I wipe the already clean bar down for what feels like the fiftieth time. “It’s so quiet tonight.”
“It always is after a full moon. The werewolves are all recovering from their wild night.” Misty’s voice sounds muffled as she answers while cleaning out one of the fridges behind the bar.
The only customers we have are Tommy, Vera, and Mike; all witches. I give them all fresh drinks.
Misty moves on to the last fridge. “Why don’t you and Benji pick a few songs on the jukebox and have a boogie. It’s not as if we’re rushed off our feet.”
We choose a few silly songs to dance to. The first one that starts to play is ‘Stop’ by The Spice Girls. We both know the dance off by heart so we’re pretty entertaining.
Misty, Tommy, Vera, and Mike are all whooping and cheering until from out of thin air Dominick appears beside me.
My protective instincts kick in, but not before I jump.
“Here. Get a drink. Stay at the bar. I’ll be there in a minute,” I say, pushing some money into Benji’s hand. He practically runs to the bar without argument.
“Rosabel. Your little friend is safe with me. I’m not interested in his blood after tasting yours.”
“What do you want, Dominick?” I grumble. I am pretty sure this isn’t going to end nicely, especially if past encounters are anything to go by.
He grins, reaches out and trails his fingers down my neck. “Isn’t that obvious? You. I want you to become my feeder; my servant.”
“Not a chance, Dominick. I will never be yours. I want you to remove this damn tie, too,” I growl, stepping back from his touch. My wolf may want to find a pack to join. When you join a pack you are connected to each and every member. You can feel them. It’s comforting. It’s not that I can feel a connection to him but even the idea of being connected to a vampire is just all kinds of wrong.
“Oh. You know about the tie?” He sounds disappointed, until he speaks again. “The tie can’t be removed. I’m sorry.”
I glare at him, hearing the lie in his apology. “You’re not sorry, and a friend informed me it can be removed with your death.”
He laughs. “Is that a threat, Rosabel?”
I try to be as serious and intimidating as possible, when I open my mouth next. “If that’s the only way to break it, yes.” Being intimidating to a King Vampire, who is two thousand years old, is virtually impossible, at least I thought it was but Dominick’s face is telling me something else. Maybe I did manage to intimidate the good king a little.
“You meant every word of that. You would kill me. I can feel it.” He looks puzzled for a moment.
“Are you an empath?” I ask. It would be the only way he could feel my emotions like that.
“No. But you are,” he says in surprise. “It seems the tie has given me two gifts that I know of. One, I can materialise wherever you are by just thinking your name. And two, I can use your empathy against you.” His words make me want to punch hi
m. How dare he!
He smirks, stepping towards me again. “Now, now. Don’t get angry.”
“STOP THAT!”
Laughing sinisterly, he leans in and kisses me on the cheek and before I can get a punch in, he leans away licking his lips.
Cocky bastard.
“The friend that told you how to break the tie wouldn’t happen to be Theo, would it?”
“It was your intention for him to find out. That’s the main reason you did it.” The taste of a werewolf may be enticing for him, but he wanted to get at Theo and biting a werewolf because of a loophole was always going to rub the alpha the wrong way. Dominick seems to get off on it. Even I can see that and I haven’t been in town long.
“Of course, it was. Has he worked that out already? He’s smarter than I gave him credit for.” He leans forward, inhaling my scent. “You’ve mated.”
I nod as I lean away. “He chose me in front of his pack.”
“And you chose him in return, I can smell the scent. But you’re worried about it, why.” It was a statement not a question, “You haven’t sealed it yet. That is why it’s not so dominant, and I can’t let you seal it.” He’s worried. He might be able to use my empathy against me, but I could still use it against him too. Why would he be worried about us sealing our mating?
I glance over to see Misty and Benji huddled together in deep conversation at the bar. “You can’t stop us, Dominick.” When I don’t hear a reply, I turn back to find that Dominick’s nowhere in sight.
When I get back to the bar, Misty pushes a glass of what looks and smells like my usual towards me. “Looks like ya need it. What did he want?”
“Just to rub it in about the tie. I hate him,” I mutter before taking a nice large mouthful of my drink.
Misty gasps and drops the glass she’d been drying. It smashes at our feet. “Don’t say things like that, it will get you killed.”
We both bend down and I start picking the big bits of glass up. “If that’s the case, my name will already be on the execution list. I told him I’d kill him if that’s the only way to break the tie. He knows I meant it too. He could feel it through my empathy. And thanks to the tie, he can now use it against me.”
Misty grabs the dustpan and brush, sweeping up the smaller shards as she speaks. “You have to tell Theo. He is the only person that could protect you against Dominick.”
Our three customers leave during our clean up so Misty decides that since we’ve only had the three customers all night, we may as well close up early.
* * *
I wake up Monday morning grateful for our early close the night before. It meant I could actually wake up on the first alarm at eleven o’clock, instead of hitting snooze three times.
I quickly get ready as my nerves start to kick in. I’m excited to be going for a run with Theo but I’m nervous of how he will be with me. I don’t really know where we stand with the whole mating thing. Was it just an act or was it real?
When the clock reads three o’clock, I accept that I’ve been stood up.
Relief washes over me when the phone rings half an hour later.
I can hear Benji answer it in the lounge room. “Hello.” I’m not close enough to hear the person on the other end. If I was in the same room as him I would hear them no problem, but I’d been sulking in my room.
I dash through the apartment.
“Yes. You’ve got the right number. I’ll just get her for you.” He holds the phone out towards me, mouthing the name. ‘Emmanuel.’ I can’t help feeling disappointed.
I take the phone and try not to sound as disappointed as I feel. “Hi Emmanuel. How are you?”
“Good thanks, Rosabel. I just wondered if you wanted to go out again. Misty told me it’s your night off.”
Another date? Part of me doesn’t want to. I can’t stop thinking about Theo. I should accept that Theo doesn’t want me and see where things go with Emmanuel? “Yeah, that sounds good. Do you mind if we just go to Misty’s though? It wasn’t busy last night and I feel like I had a night off. I’d like to be there to help if things get busy.”
“That’s fine. I was going to suggest Misty’s anyway. Seven thirty sound okay?”
“Perfect, I’ll see you later.”
“Bye,” he says before disconnecting the call.
I place the phone back in its cradle on the sideboard.
“Ooh, a second date,” Benji teases, taking a seat on the sofa.
Misty walks in from the kitchen, practically jumping up and down. Obviously she’s been earwigging on the phone call. “I’ll entertain Benji at the bar. I might even let him help me out behind it.”
“Sorry, Benji, but Misty you might not want to do that. Benji has two left hands. They just don’t seem to coordinate,” I warn her, deadly serious.
Twelve
SECOND DATES
ROSABEL
I have to carry Benji into the bar again. I think we might have to figure out how to get him in without the wards affecting him at all.
I offered to work until seven o’clock. That gives me half an hour to get some Dutch courage.
Seven o’clock comes around fast.
Benji takes my place behind the bar as I take a seat on his vacated stool. He experiments on me with his first drink. It tastes just right. It’s a shame he smashed three glasses in the process. I get the feeling that poor Misty won’t have any left by the end of the night.
Emmanuel walks in the door at half past seven on the dot, catching me off guard with a kiss on my cheek. He orders a drink from Benji, who manages to make it without breaking a single glass.
We sit at one of the smaller circular tables to chat for a while. I start to think it could be great if something comes out of this between us. He’s sweet and attractive but then I remember he isn’t what I want.
Emmanuel jumps. “How did you do that?”
“Do what?” My questioning frown disappears the second I hear the unwanted voice behind me.
“He’s talking to me, my delicious, Rosabel. Not you.”
I turn to face Dominick. Trying out my intimidating expression again. “Unless you have come to remove the tie, you might as well just disappear again.”
“Rosabel. You know Mr. Drake?” Emmanuel asks.
“She knows me intimately.”
I feel rage coming off Emmanuel in waves and wonder why he’s so mad. This is only our second date and we haven’t even come close to discussing exclusivity.
“Tell him the truth, Dominick,” I order. “Tell him that on our last date, you trapped me in that alley behind the cinema and drank from me without my consent.”
“Oh. You do spoil my fun,” he whines. “Do you really want me to leave you with this witch? He’s not worthy of you. You deserve so much better. I thought you’re mated with Theo, anyway? If you’re not, you might like to try dating me.”
I feel resentment coming from Emmanuel. Which quickly changes to happiness. Odd. Out of Dominick’s last sentence, what would make him happy?
“My private affairs are none of your concern, Dominick.” I grab my drink and take a sip as I try to calm my wolf down. She wants nothing more than to take control of my body and rip Dominick to shreds.
“Well. I came here to do you a favour but if you don’t want me to give you the warning, I’ll just let you find out by yourself.” He turns, making a show of leaving.
I stand and grab his arm, forcing him to look me in the eye.
“Are you threatening me?” Funny how Dominick asked me the same question only yesterday and yet they sound so different. He’d been amused. I am far from it.
“No. I would never threaten you. I had a were-lion come to me requesting a living order today. He was asking for your address.”
“Jared.” I sigh, slumping out of my threatening position.
“Yes. I believe that was his name. Should I have withheld your address?” He actually sounds concerned.
“If you hadn’t, it would have only been a mat
ter of time before he followed my scent. Thank you for the warning. I appreciate it.” I sit back in my seat and down what’s left of my drink.
Dominick grins. “See. I’m not as bad as you think.”
I beg to differ.
Dominick leans in and presses his lips against my neck, forcing me to lean away until the table presses into my ribs.
My heart starts to race, knowing that his fangs will sink into the skin any second now. I feel the short sharp scratch as they break the skin. I’m surprised when they don’t sink deeper and he dematerialises into thin air. I touch my neck and see the blood on my fingers before turning back to Emmanuel.
“You’re bleeding. Did he—”
I cut him off. “No. He was just showing me he can feed off me if he so desires. Can we just forget about it?” I am really getting sick of Dominick and his controlling ways.
Emmanuel grants my wish. Changing the subject, as he reaches for his own drink on the table. “So. Jared has found you.”
“How do you know? Misty. Is there anything she doesn’t tell you?” I joke, playing with my empty glass.
“Don’t blame her. I was digging for information.”
“I’m not going to have to worry about you stalking me as well, am I? Dominick and Jared are too many stalkers as it is. I don’t need another one.” Even though I say it with a laugh, I’m serious.
We both laugh and enjoy some more easy conversation over a couple more drinks.
As the last call is announced, he offers to walk me home. It’s a nice fifteen minute walk. Misty and I usually use the car as it’s the safe option. Two women walking the streets at two or three in the morning is a little dangerous. Walking with Emmanuel, I am pretty sure nobody will bother us.
Our conversation still flows well on the way home.
Emmanuel pulls me to a stop outside the apartment building, “I had a really good night.”
“Me too,” I reply honestly.
Mount Roxby Box Set Page 9
