Never Back Down

by Susan Harris

  Ever trudged down the stairs, jumping the last two in an effort to drag herself out of her pity party. She came around the corner and asked Stan if he was quite all right. The man had paled ever so slightly.

  “I’m fine, Kira. Would you mind serving the gentleman in the corner? I find myself unable to move just now.”

  Ever crouched down, flicking a stray bit of fake hair from her face. “Hey, you want me to phone Sally? I’m sure Maureen could come in and cover for a bit if you want to rest.”

  “Stop fussing, woman. I’ll be fine. Just go serve the customer.”

  Ever frowned at him, rising to her feet and grabbing a pad and pen from the counter. She strode around the L-shaped corner, a smile on her face. Her eyes watched Stan as she said, “Hey, what can I get you?”

  Silence greeted her. She turned her attention to the customer, and the air left her lungs. Eyes of deep hazel, tinged by amber watched her like a predator stalks its prey. Full lips pressed together, a muscle ticked in his jaw. His blank expression reminded Ever of the first time she had literally run into the gorgeous Derek Doyle on the campus where she taught.

  He was as handsome as she remembered, angular jaw line, strong features emphasised by the stubble grazing his chin. It made Ever want to reach out and run her knuckles over it. Dark brown hair tumbled into his face as he leaned back, his arms stretched out on the back of the seat to appear non-threatening, like he was totally comfortable where he was.

  But Ever could see the coiled tension in his muscles, knew the animal that prowled under the skin of the man, a man who was hers as much as she was his. As he held her gaze, his nostrils flaring at the scent of her, Ever’s heart kicked a snare drum in her chest.

  Derek gave her a smug smile as he spoke, each word like a caress. “I’m sure you remember how I like my coffee, Kira Doyle.”

  Damn, so he’d been listening long enough to know she’d been using his surname.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Derek’s hands clenched into fists at her question, as if he really was trying not to lose his temper. “Is that anyway to greet your mate? I should bite you and remind you where you belong.”

  And if that did not send warmth flushing to the most feminine parts of her, it was obvious Derek knew it as well when his lips kicked up into a satisfied grin.

  “I’ll have a coffee and a half dozen bacon sandwiches, please, Kira.”

  Ever spun round, unable to say another word as she stumbled toward the kitchen. She should run, she should bolt out of the café right now, but only a fool would run from a wolf when it had caught the scent of its prey.

  So she made the goddamn bacon sandwiches and piled them up on the plate. She waited until Stan came to the kitchen, steadying her hand as it shook while pouring Derek’s coffee.

  “Who is he, Kira? Is he the man who hurt you and put the sadness in your eyes?”

  The growl that sounded in the empty café caused Stan to freeze. Ever patted him on the cheek and sighed. “No, Stan, I promise Derek never hurt me. It’s rather the other way round.”

  Stan narrowed his brow, asking Ever again who Derek was.

  “That man is my mate, and he’s just a grumpy old werewolf who gets a little growly when he doesn’t have a bacon sandwich. I promise, Stan, once I feed him, Derek will roll over and expect a tummy rub. It’s quite embarrassing really.”

  Ever grabbed the sandwiches, ignoring the rumble of laughter coming from Derek. Walking on shaky legs, she balanced the plate and the coffee before setting them down on the table. Averting her gaze from the steely watchful eyes of the wolf, Ever said, “Here’s your sandwiches, please don’t choke on them. I’m not sure Stan has paid the insurance this month.”

  She made to move away, but a hand wrapped around her wrist as Derek growled, “Ever, sit the fuck down or I will throw you over my shoulder and march you out of here.”

  In her mind, she saw a variety of different ways to break free of Derek’s hold, but found that she did not want to. The hand, roughly but gently stopping her from moving away, branded her, just like every kiss, every touch, and every laugh had done many lifetimes before this.

  She had run, and she had been found. She would not have the element of surprise again, so Ever sank across the way from her mate, mourning the loss of his touch when he let her go to drink his coffee, all the while watching her.

  This was going to be a long day.

  Felix Grande, or rather the persona he went by in this century, kicked the fury from the back of the truck and inhaled the scent of fear that clung to the dead body. That beautiful Valkyrie brought in more cash in the last week than he had made the previous month. She was a ball of chaos that he drank from nightly, which was why he invited her to stay within the confines of the arena. The girl held so much anger and hatred for herself that it fed the demon in him and kept him sated for days.

  Supernaturals came from near and far to catch a glimpse of the Valkyrie warrior in action. It was a magnificent thing to behold, the keeper of souls in action. She was as bloodthirsty and vengeful as legend proclaimed, and that was worth a lot of money to him.

  His bodyguard, a former Berserker who Felix managed to lease until he wanted the animal unleashed, picked up the fury with one arm and tossed her down the ravine. Felix tried to dump the bodies where those pesky agents that belonged to P.I.T would not find them, but it was getting harder and harder to hide the trail.

  If the Valkyrie kept killing at this rate, she might outgrow her usefulness.

  However, for now, he would feed off her chaos…for she was chaos in a human shell.

  When she wore out her welcome… well, Valkyries bled like the rest of them.

  Caitlyn

  Caitlyn shut the door to her new apartment, the top floor of a warehouse that she and Donnie were converting into living space for them, as well as Melanie and Kenzie. Although at the moment it was nothing more than a shell, Donnie had requested she meet him here, that he had something to show her.

  “Donnie?” she called into the quiet, her senses on overdrive as her heels clicked against the hardwood floor. When she received no answer, Caitlyn went in search of her mate, a smile ghosting her lips as she spied the picnic blanket, the candles and the food laid out with care on the floor. There had been little time for romance over the last few days, and Caitlyn felt a little twinge of guilt.

  She pondered a way to make it up to the man who had waited twenty years to be with her, and then froze when the voice from her nightmares said from behind her, “Hello, my rose.”

  Caitlyn turned around slowly. Cautiously, she said, “You are dead. You cannot be here.”

  Her words dried up in her mouth as Cain stepped out of the shadows, Kenzie’s scythe cupping the neck of the man she called hers. Donnie’s face was battered and bruised, and his eyes seemed unfocused as he said, “Run, Cait.”

  “Do, Cait, run from me so I can hunt you down.”

  Caitlyn’s body began to shake She stepped closer to the monster from her nightmares. Cain pressed the tip of the scythe against the crook of Donnie’s neck, causing Caitlyn to pause her movements.

  “Take a step closer, my rose, and I will divest Donald of his neck, just like I did poor Kenzie.”

  Horror washed over Caitlyn as she tried to wake herself. It had to be a dream. A nightmare.

  “You are dead. You are not here. This is not real!”

  Cain, the face of an angel masking the monster Caitlyn knew lurked beneath the surface, gave her a feral grin. He sliced the scythe across Donnie’s throat until his head fell, making a sickening thud on the ground. Caitlyn’s scream raged through the abandoned warehouse.

  Tossing Donnie’s body aside, Cain had his hand wrapped around her neck a second later.

  “You’re dead. You are not real,” she whispered.

  The words were spoken more to convince herself of Cain’s demise than to remind him that he was no more, that he had no claim on her.

  “Perhaps I am dead
, but as long as you dream of me… as long as you remember me, my Caitlyn, I will always be alive to you. You keep me alive, my love.”

  Caitlyn sat up straight in Donnie’s bed and clasped a hand over her mouth to suppress the scream that lingered in her throat. Her eyes wandered over to where Donnie lay on his stomach, an arm tossed off the side of the bed, the other resting above his head. He looked so peaceful, her dreams not invading his sleep this time. Caitlyn reached out to touch him, but she snatched her hand away, slipping silently from the bed and out into the hallway before she woke the sleeping vampire.

  Heading into the kitchen, Caitlyn opened the fridge and took out a bottle of blood, drinking it down until every drop had been drunk. Setting the bottle on the counter, she placed both hands on the countertop to steady herself. The dreams of Cain, the ones where he succeeded in taking everything she held dear from her, had begun on the night Kenzie had taken his head. Nothing she did could rid her of the dreams.

  Donnie knew something wasn’t quite right, because Caitlyn avoided his touch, avoided being intimate with him, since they had returned home from their mating party. She did not want to taint him with her darkness.

  It was stupid, of that she was certain. Yet, she found that she could not help herself. Nor could she help the nasty twist in her stomach whenever Donnie tried to get her to settle on some of his ideas for their new place. Caitlyn had shrugged off decisions about flooring, paint colour, even the type of granite she wanted for the kitchen counters. Every time the renovations were brought up, she felt angry for reasons she had no clue of herself. In her mind, Caitlyn understood she was being unreasonable, yet that did nothing to curb her emotions.

  Careful not to disturb Donnie, Caitlyn showered in Melanie’s bathroom, knowing their youngest family member had chosen to sleep at the station with Kenzie, so they could train together. Once Caitlyn had dried off and dressed in denim jeans, one of Donnie’s t-shirts knotted at the waist, and a pair of her favourite boots, she quietly fled the house and ran toward the station. The sun had barely dipped behind the horizon.

  Arriving at the station, Caitlyn strolled through the building and was headed for the squad room when she heard a squeal of childish laughter coming from the gym. It beckoned her closer. Pushing open the double doors, she stood on the outskirts, watching as Melanie and Kenzie chased after a little boy with shoulder-length black hair, his eyes as green as his father’s, the scent of him mirrored the one that was Ricky. Oh, she would have known the child was Ricky’s on a first glance, even without the other clues. The warlock turned to face her, walking over to stand beside her, his body tense.

  “You have a son.” Not a question, simply a fact.

  Ricky sighed, dropped his eyes as he replied, “Ya, I guess I do. Only found out about him two days ago. My Da’s dead… so’s Sadie. And I got a son that I have no right to be raising.”

  “Children are a blessing. You will do just fine.”

  Ricky glanced sheepishly at her. “I’m sorry, Caitlyn. About everything. I know I’m an ass most days and say shite I really shouldn’t, but what happened to you… it wasn’t right.”

  Caitlyn closed her eyes, not wanting Ricky to see the sadness lurking there. “Thank you for your words, and thank you for defending me to Cain. I am sorry for those you have lost also. Now, let us forget about sad things and introduce me to your son.”

  In a rare gesture, Ricky grazed his knuckles on her cheek, earning a frown from Caitlyn. The warlock grinned. While Caitlyn could still smell some sort of narcotic in his body, it was clear that since faced with his child, Ricky had managed to stay away from the crutches he used to block out his pain.

  “Hey, Zach, can you come here a minute? There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

  Melanie and Kenzie stopped chasing the boy around and took his hands, swinging him backward and forwards as they came across the gym floor. They stopped a short distance away, the little boy glancing warily at Caitlyn as he approached to stand in front of her.

  Caitlyn dropped to the ground, folding her legs under her so that she would be face to face with the small boy. Jessamine had barely been older than this child when her life had been snuffed out, and Caitlyn knew, without speaking a word to Ricky’s son, that she would die to protect him.

  The little cat, if her nose was correct and it mostly was, reached out a finger, which was when Caitlyn realized that she had begun to cry.

  “Why are you so sad?”

  The innocently spoken words allowed her to smile. “You remind me of a little girl I once knew,” Caitlyn reached out and twirled his hair in her fingers. “Her hair was the same colour as yours, and when she smiled, Jessamine lit up the room, just as you do, little cat.”

  He pushed his glasses up his nose, tilted his head to the side, and assessed her. “What happened to her?”

  “She died.”

  “My mom’s dead.”

  Caitlyn cupped his cheek. “I am sorry to hear that, Zach. I am very sorry to hear that.”

  The room gasped as Zach climbed into Caitlyn’s lap and threw his arms around her neck. No one, especially not Caitlyn, knew exactly what to do. The boy hugged her tightly and said very matter of factly. “It’s okay, pretty lady, we can be sad together. I don’t mind.”

  Mon Dieu, how to respond to that? Caitlyn took the boy in her arms and simply held him, as if one hug from this innocent child could save her from herself. The room was silent for many heartbeats, as Zach leaned out of her embrace, gave her a smile, and said, “I’m Zach.”

  “And I am Caitlyn. It is a great honour to meet you, Zach.”

  Zach grinned. “You have a funny voice.”

  Caitlyn chuckled and felt the knot in her chest ease just a smidge. “I was borne in Paris a long time ago. Do you know where that is?”

  “Sure, it’s where Disneyland is.”

  “So it is.”

  The others in the room laughed at Zach, who seemed perplexed about what he had said to make everyone laugh. Caitlyn found she did not want to let the boy slip from her arms. She ran a hand over Zach’s hair and chuckled as he purred. Such a cat.

  “Hey, hot stuff, if someone did that to you would you purr, too?” Kenzie teased Ricky, who looked scandalized by her words. It took a moment for him to recover, before he wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Depends on who is petting me, Buffy.”

  Zach held Caitlyn’s gaze as he frowned. “Ricky’s not a cat, only me. He probably doesn’t like to be petted.”

  Melanie snickered, while Kenzie coughed a laugh. Ricky looked up at the ceiling, muttering, “I’m gonna end up grey from this.”

  Caitlyn smiled a genuine smile, feeling light in her heart for the first time in days. Aware that Zach was studying her with inquisitive eyes, she tapped him on the nose. The boy grinned and asked, “Are you one of the vampires?”

  Caitlyn flashed her fangs, but the little boy didn’t even flinch, simply widened his eyes, his small hands reaching out.

  Ricky made to stop him, but Caitlyn held up a hand to assure them she was fine. His tiny fingers touched her fang, and then he said, “Cool.”

  Caitlyn, who saw herself as the worst of the monsters, had never heard a vampire described as cool. She continued to stroke his hair, felt his body vibrate against hers as he purred. Ricky bantered with the girls, and Caitlyn felt her troubles subside with each stroke of Zach’s hair.

  “You’re pretty when you smile, Caitlyn.”

  “Hey, short stuff, that’s my lady you’re flirting with. I see you’ve inherited something else from your dad.”

  Caitlyn had felt it the moment Donnie had walked into the station, heard him come in, but it had been centuries since she had held a child in her arms. She was having too much of a peaceful time. Zach, bless his soul, growled at Donnie as if he were a full-grown wildcat, his hands clinging to Caitlyn’s shirt, well, Donnie’s tee.

  Caitlyn kissed Zach on the forehead, lifting him up with ease as she got to her feet. “It is okay
, Zach, that vampire is my mate.”

  Zach scrunched his nose. “Another vampire?”

  Donnie came to stand beside Caitlyn, a lopsided grin on his face as he regarded Ricky’s son. “Hey Zach, I’m Donnie. Your dad and me go way back.”

  “Don’t make the pretty lady sad again. Or I’ll use my cat claws.”

  Donnie chuckled as Ricky scooped Zach from Caitlyn’s arms. She instantly felt the loss of him. He scrambled down his father’s body and scampered over to Melanie, turning to growl again at Donnie.

  “It appears, mate, that my son isn’t your biggest fan,” Ricky said with a chuckle.

  “Nah, mate. Your little cat just has a soft spot for my other half. Not that I can blame him. She’s hot.”

  “Dude, he’s five.”

  “Dude, he’s your kid.”

  They both laughed as Caitlyn bristled, and the momentary peace in her soul evaporated piece by piece. Zach ran back over and grabbed Ricky’s hand.

  “Ricky, I’m hungry.”

  Melanie and Kenzie came over and ushered Zach out the door, Caitlyn having to decline the invitation from the little cat to go eat with them. Ricky waited until Zach was out of earshot, and he let go of a sigh.

  “Caitlyn, that was…damn that was impressive. Kid hasn’t spoken more than a handful of sentences to me in the last two days, and all y’all have him chatting like he’s a guest on a chat show.”

  Caitlyn ran her hands down her jeans, giving Ricky a sad smile. “It is easy, when Zach is such a wonderful child. No matter her faults, Sadie raised him well.”

  “Yeah, let’s just hope I don’t manage to fuck it up now.”

  “You come to me if you have trouble…would you consider coming to stay with us, even for a while.”

  Ricky thought over her offer, but shook his head.

  Good, Caitlyn thought. Good choice.

  “Thanks for the offer, but right now, me and Zach gotta get used to each other. To be honest, I dunno what to feel right now…my Da’s dead…Sadie’s dead, and I just found out I have a five-year-old son who is being forced to live with a stranger.” Ricky hesitated, and then blew out a breath. “Sorry, rambling. I’m gonna need some help here folks.”