by Alice Brown
Kevin chased Shawn as far as he could. He couldn’t follow Shawn by scent, and this puzzled him. Without his scent to go by, Kevin lost track of him pretty quickly. Shawn had a good head start. Kevin had used Shawn’s footprints to get as far as he had, but those quickly faded away as he reached the dense forest. Shawn could be anywhere by now. Kevin would have loved to change into an animal form to pursue, but since he had no idea where Shawn was or what he was up to, he decided against it. Kevin had no backup at this point. He had left the others back at the house, and didn’t want to risk the chance that Shawn was somewhere close by, watching him change forms. Kevin would rather catch him off-guard with that little surprise another time. Turning in defeat, he headed back to the others.
By the time he arrived back at the house, his anger was raging. He walked straight up to Marshall and Joshua, unable to stop the flow of his frustrations. “There is definitely a problem here. Why couldn’t we smell him? How is he able to mask his vampire scent?” Erica stood well in the shadows as she watched Kevin vent his frustration on his coworkers. It was easy to see he was aggravated as well as frustrated. She could hear it loud and clear in his tone. She inched her way over to stand behind Jennifer, hoping he wouldn’t spot her until he had calmed down.
“I’ve had enough of his crap! I’m sick of his games! Whatever he is up to, we’ve got to figure it out and bring him down once and for all!” Kevin continued venting, and Marshall and Joshua were both smart enough to keep quiet. They had seen their boss aggravated like this before, although both men would openly admit it did take a lot to get Kevin to this point. Marshall would be able to speak with him later, after he cooled off. For now, the best thing for everyone involved, was to just let him vent his frustrations.
It was Marshall that alerted him to something not being right. Marshall kept looking over Kevin’s shoulder, then look back at Kevin. A silent message passed that there was a problem behind him, and Kevin would bet it had something to do with his sister and Erica. Now, realizing that he had just stood there and ranted at his coworkers in front of the women, Kevin took a deep breath and prayed for patience. His sister, he wasn’t worried about. She had seen him get irritated more than once. It was Erica he was concerned about.
Turning around to face the women, he immediately spotted that Erica was using Jennifer as a shield. He glanced over to his sister’s face to see she was not happy with him. And behind her, he could hear Erica doing some sort of chant.
“Just breathe, everything is going to be okay, he isn’t hurting you. Just breathe, everything is going to be okay, he isn’t hurting you. Just breathe, everything is going to be okay, he isn’t hurting you.”
He calmly walked over to the women. On his way over, he heard Erica mumbling to herself something about “he isn’t hurting you,” and felt a sharp stab dart through his chest as it occurred to him she was frightened of him. He now came face-to-face with his sister, who stood perfectly still, arms crossed in front of her, glaring at him, letting him know that he was on thin ice. Kevin decided to ignore his sister’s glare, and try addressing the situation with Erica head-on. When he spoke, all outward features and tone changed to gentleness. “Erica, are you okay? Did you get everything you wanted, babe?”
“I’m ready to get out of here, and I think I’m okay,” Erica hesitantly replied, as she peeked around Jennifer’s shoulder. He saw every bit of fear in her eyes, and then caught a shiver going down her spine. He could hear her heart racing from where he stood. She was far from okay.
Kevin slowly raised his hand, hoping that Erica would trust him enough to take hold of it. He gently whispered, “Come here, baby.” She took a step toward him, and Kevin quickly pulled her from around Jennifer and wrapped his arms around her. He made sure he used only the gentlest of tones as he whispered in her ear, “I’ve got you. You are okay, and I am not going to let anything happen to you. Let’s get you back home and settled down.” Kevin placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, and Erica, already feeling spent, placed her head on his shoulder for support, as she fought back the tears threatening to spill over.
Gone was the anger and frustration that Kevin had been feeling just moments ago. Now, the only thing that mattered to him was getting his girl home where she was safe. He helped the two girls into the truck, placing Erica in the middle. As soon as he had the key into the ignition, he pulled her over to him and wrapped his arm tightly around her. She was still trembling, she had been doing so ever since he brought her out from behind Jennifer. He just wasn’t sure if it was due to Shawn’s appearance, or from him venting at his team in front of her. It had only taken one look at Erica’s face to stop him in his tracks. He didn’t want to see that wild, frightened look on her face ever again.
The trip back home was a quiet one, giving Kevin plenty of time to reflect on the earlier incident. He had thought he had covered his bases well, snagging both Joshua and Marshall to enlist their help for the day. He had a total of four vampires surrounding Erica. That should have been enough to guard anyone. But, it almost wasn’t.
Kevin was still trying to come to terms and figure out how Shawn had pulled off his little stunt. They should have been able to smell him a mile away. He had to have been close, close enough to watch and wait until he knew all three men were outside in the truck. It still made little sense to Kevin. It had been so easy for Shawn to wait for the perfect instant, enter the house through an unlocked window, and scare the mess out of Erica. He never made a move to try to harm her, though. For that one Kevin had to be thankful. However, the thought of Shawn doing this just to torment her was enough to threaten Kevin’s well-controlled rage all over again.
* * * *
They arrived back at the house, and the entire family was on hand to help unload, so the truck was empty in no time. Kevin left Erica with, Jennifer and Elizabeth, to unpack, while he went to speak to Charles.
Thirty minutes later the three young women had everything unpacked and set up perfectly. Of course, Erica admitted that it helped when two of those girls happened to be vampires with superhuman strength and speed! For the most part, both girls were a blur as they darted back and forth across the room setting things up.
When all was finished, Erica’s room felt like her own personal heaven. It was large enough to house her desk in one corner, complete with her old computer system and schoolbooks placed neatly on top. The other corner had been turned into a small sitting area, with a comfortable chair and lamp for reading. The bed and dresser sat across from this.
Jennifer had taken over setting up the makeup in the bathroom. Erica wondered if there was anything salvageable. She smiled briefly, by now she knew Jennifer well enough to know the woman needed no excuse to go shopping. If it was all ruined, she could well guess they would be heading to the mall soon. Elizabeth had offered to set up the closet. There wasn’t much else for Erica to do, other than place a couple of pairs of shoes under the bed.
* * * *
Meanwhile, Charles calmly listened as Kevin went over the entire account of what happened earlier. “I’ve never come across a vampire who didn’t have our scent, other than me,” Kevin stated with a deep frown etched across his forehead. “Even with my animal abilities, you can still detect the vampire scent, it is just subtle. This jackass’s scent was masked completely! He managed to get in the house through an open window, and the only warning we had was when he spoke. By then he was already in the house face-to-face with the girls!”
Charles shook his head, absently scratching at his chin as he tried to come up with any reason why Kevin or the others could not detect Shawn. It was simply unheard of. “I’ll do some research and see what I can dig up. This is very interesting. Personally, I never knew such a thing existed. We have always gone by the theory that vampires put off a unique scent, and although humans can’t detect it, with our superior senses, our own kind can pick up on the scent immediately.” He stopped for just a second and jotted some quick notes on a notepad sitting in front of him at
his desk.
“I need to speak to Jennifer when she is available,” Charles continued. “And then I want to speak with Erica also, when she is up to it.” He frowned slightly as he continued, “Tell Erica to hold off until tomorrow. I am sure she has had all she can handle for one day. I’ll stay on top of this, son, and let you know if I come up with anything. You’ve got my curiosity up now.” If there was one thing Charles loved, it was to solve a mystery, and Shawn’s lack of scent certainly piqued his interest.
“Okay, I have a feeling I will be tied up with Erica this afternoon. However, Marshall and Joshua are both heavily involved in this case, so please keep them informed on your findings as well,” Kevin requested from Charles.
“Will do, son. Go take care of your girl. I’ll find you if I need you,” Charles replied.
* * * *
With everything unpacked and put away, Erica plopped down in a chair to admire her new living space. She was extremely grateful for the girls’ help, knowing it would have taken her much longer to tackle the job by herself. Jennifer had stepped out, only to return a quick moment later with a bottle of wine in her hand. “Thought we’d celebrate a job well done!” she exclaimed as she breezed through the door.
Jennifer opened the wine while Erica went to the kitchen to retrieve the glasses. When she returned, she glanced over to Elizabeth. Out of Kevin’s three sisters, Elizabeth was the one Erica knew the least. They seemed to get along fine, and Erica would be the first to admit that Elizabeth held some of the very same rare beauty traits her sisters held. However, time had not allowed the two of them to get close. Since Jennifer and Kate had both spent time with Erica while Kevin was at work, Erica realized she’d had time to get to know the other two sisters, but knew next to nothing about Kevin’s youngest sister. “Elizabeth, would you be offended if I asked you how old you are?” Erica gently asked.
Elizabeth looked down at her glass of wine and smiled. “No, I don’t suppose I look old enough to drink. I was fifteen when I was changed. Nevertheless, I’ve been a vampire for twenty-five years now. So, technically, I’m older than you are, Erica.”
“Oh, Elizabeth, you were so young when you were turned! I was just curious, because you look so young,” Erica rushed to say as she felt her face flame with color. She hadn’t meant to stick her foot into her mouth. “I didn’t mean to imply anything,” she quickly added as she glanced down at Elizabeth’s wine glass. “I can hardly believe you are actually forty years old!” As the youngest of the three sisters, Elizabeth just barely looked fifteen!
The three girls continued talking and polishing off the bottle of wine, and Erica was relieved to see that Elizabeth didn’t seem to have taken offense about her age. Kevin walked in shortly after the girls had finished up the wine. He really didn’t have a problem with Erica having an occasional drink. He did, however, worry that Jennifer would forget that Erica was not one of them, and therefore, was unable to hold liquor like they could. He also knew for a fact she had an empty stomach, and she had been too nervous prior to leaving to eat anything. Putting alcohol in a human with an empty stomach usually ended rather ugly. Most humans he knew needed food in their system to help soak up the alcohol and its effects. If they didn’t, they would usually find their stomachs rejecting everything. In his opinion, that was never a pretty sight.
Erica sat on the sofa and patted the empty spot next to her. Kevin walked over and sat down. It was easy to see the effects of the wine were already hitting her. As she attempted to place her empty wine glass down on the end table on the other side of Kevin, she leaned over to the point she was lying in his lap. “Sweetheart, are you okay?” he gently inquired with a bit of a chuckle while watching her ass wiggle in front of him.
As she attempted to sit back up, she lost her balance and ended up face down in his lap. Eyeing her cute ass, his hand slid down her spine to gently hold her down when she attempted to sit back up. Besides, his cock had surged to life the second her hot breath had hit it, even through his jeans. His mind quickly provided a vision of her in this exact position, only her hot, wet mouth was licking and sucking his greedy cock. Bloody hell, he was going to come in his pants if he didn’t gain some control soon.
“I’m okay,” she stated with a slight giggle, followed with an “hmp” as she landed face down on his lap again. His cock was threatening to break right through the zipper in his jeans in order to reach paradise. “Down boy,” he growled silently when he glanced over to find both sisters studying the ceiling.
“Oh hell,” Erica mumbled, as she gave up trying to sit up and chose to turn over instead, using Kevin’s lap for a pillow. That was fine with him as her head would serve to hide his raging erection.
He couldn’t help but chuckle as he glanced down at her. He kind of liked her like this. Yes, she was definitely tipsy. But, hadn’t she gone through enough over these past two weeks? Kevin tried to put himself in her shoes, and suspected he would do the same thing. Besides, she wasn’t driving anywhere, and he would be home to take care of her if needed.
He lightly caressed her arm as he softly whispered to her. He found himself very much enjoying this “loosened up” version of his girl. She lounged out on the sofa, still using his lap as a pillow, and Kevin leaned back on the sofa to get comfortable.
Jennifer cleared her throat, gaining Kevin’s attention. “Charles is expecting you in his office as soon as possible. I think he just wants to get your viewpoint on what happened today,” he informed her.
Elizabeth quickly interjected, “What did happen today, Kevin? How was Shawn able to get so close to you guys without anyone knowing?”
“I have no idea, but I hope Charles can come up with an answer quick. I’m getting sick of playing Shawn’s little cat-and-mouse games,” he replied tersely.
He glanced down to find Erica sound asleep. “How much wine did she drink?” he inquired of his two sisters in a whisper.
“That is only her second glass and the first was only half full,” Jennifer replied, and then quickly added with disgust, “Remind me not to take her out clubbing all night!”
* * * *
The next morning, Erica stepped out of the shower and was hit by a delicious aroma. Her stomach immediately started protesting she hadn’t been feeding it enough recently. She headed to the kitchen to investigate. Kevin was standing at the stove, making steak and eggs. She quickly threw a slice of bread in the toaster to hold her over until breakfast was ready. He looked up from the stove and flashed a smile. “I’ll have breakfast for you in just a minute.”
She ate at the little breakfast nook, Kevin sitting across from her, waiting patiently for her to finish. He had picked up the morning paper, and looked to be intently reading it when he casually stated, “Charles would like to see you in his office when you are available.”
“Why do I have the sudden feeling I’m getting called down to the principal’s office? Did I do something wrong?” she asked, unsure as to why the butterflies had hit her stomach so fast.
He looked up from the morning paper and chuckled. “No, it’s nothing like that. Charles just wants to get your side of what happened yesterday. The more sides to a situation he has, the more data to help find a solution to a problem. Besides, I’ll be right there with you, and you know you have no reason to fear him.”
“Okay, but I need to get something from my room first. I’ll be right back,” she quickly stated, running from the kitchen to her bedroom.
She returned just seconds later and allowed Kevin to gently enclose her hand in his as he escorted her down to Charles’s office. It was obvious from the smile on Charles’s face that he was expecting them.
“Good morning, Erica.” Charles greeted warmly.
“Good morning, Charles. Did you need to see me?” Erica asked gently.
“Yes, I’ve already heard Kevin’s side of the story, as well as Jennifer’s. I’d like for you to tell me what happened yesterday, in your own words, please.”
Erica started recou
nting the events of the day before to Charles, starting when they first walked into her old house. By the time she reached the part where Shawn had showed up, the terror of yesterday’s situation hit her full force, bringing with it a panic attack. Kevin quickly wrapped her in his arms, while whispering gentle, soothing words in her ear reminding her she was safe. It took several moments of concentrating on her breathing before she felt well enough to continue.
“He was standing right in front of an open window. He stated only two words, ‘you’re dead,’ before he jumped back out the window.” A chill ran down her spine as she continued. “The guys were all hurling themselves into the house about two seconds later. The entire scene only lasted about ten or fifteen seconds,” Erica finished.
Kevin slightly tightened his hold around Erica’s waist, and sat back in the chair that was behind him, dragging Erica along to sit in his lap. Once he had her where he wanted her, he wrapped both arms securely around her. She gratefully snuggled into him, her body yearning for the strength and protection only he could provide.
Charles studied Erica for a long moment. “Erica, I know Shawn is an alcoholic. Can you give me an approximate amount that he consumed each day?”
“I’ve seen him go through at least five to six bottles a day. Believe me, he went through more alcohol than he did blood. I would probably not be standing here alive, otherwise,” she answered him truthfully.
“Hmm.” Charles was deep in thought at this point. “I wonder, with that much alcohol in his system, it is bound to have some effects. I know when humans drink in excess on a constant basis, they develop a type of odor, a kind of sickening sweet scent, that comes off of them. When those same humans do without alcohol for a while, that scent changes, and they produce a totally different scent while their bodies are trying to adjust. Neither scent smells anything like the normal human scent.”
