Rico was wearing blue jeans and a tight black t-shirt which showed off his gigantic biceps. Despite his yummy arms, it was a relief to know whenever he, or the others, shifted they would be fully clothed.
Since their shift originated from magic, anything they had on their body when they changed forms was held somewhere else. Maybe another dimension? I’d have to think about it more later. Right now, I needed to deal with Rico’s grumpy face.
Taking a deep breath Rico asked, “What happened? Don’t leave anything out.”
I looked between the three men in the room and bit my lower lip.
“Well, I had placed an order with Jimmie. We order at least once a week from him. Never has there been an issue with walking here. It’s only about five blocks from home. Usually, there are a lot of people on the streets and in the alleys. I guess the pending hurricane has sent people packing already.” I shrugged.
Sighing, I thought back to how it all happened. “I’m not really sure where the vamp came from, but he grabbed me and dragged me into the alley as I was walking by.”
Looking at Rico I said, “Thank you so much for the training you have given me over the past six months. I don’t think I could have walked away from that, if you hadn’t trained me so well.”
I put my hand on Rico’s forearm and gave him a light squeeze. He took the chair next to mine and sat down.
“Your training isn’t finished. It’s only just begun.” The heat in Rico’s gaze sent chills down my spine. The kind where I wondered what pain and torture the beast would come up with next.
The day after Acadia was brought home safely, Rico insisted all of us begin training. I have three adopted sisters, we are known best as the Voodoo Dolls. We run a voodoo doll shop in the French Quarter. We’re also a local indie rock band on our way to becoming famous, or infamous. Depending on what happens next.
He was a terrific teacher. However, for the first few months, I was covered in bruises after every session with him. So were my sisters. We all tried to get Damien or Joseph to train us, but Rico wouldn’t hear of it. At least seventy-five percent of the time, we were trained by Rico. The only time someone else worked with us was when more bodies were needed, or Rico was called away on a mission.
“Don’t change the subject. What happened?” Rico practically growled.
Okay, he wasn’t calming down. Maybe he needed some soup or tea?
“Jimmie, I think Rico might need some wontons and any type of calming tea you have.” I licked my lips and tried very hard not to show Rico my fear. It would only upset him if he knew he was the cause.
Jimmie went to the kitchen to get Rico something to eat and drink.
“Rico, chill man. She’s fine. Her training saved her, and maybe a little bit of her snarky attitude helped.” Damien was a lifesaver!
He was also pretty smart and handsome. I couldn’t understand why he didn’t have a girlfriend. The guy was built like a wrestler and looked like a movie star. I had seen him without his shirt on once and almost drooled. The man had a chiseled chest and rock hard abs to die for.
Like most of the wolf-shifters, he had thick, brown hair. He kept it just above his collar. I always wondered if their human hair length determined how long the hair on their coat was, when they were shifted.
“Jenna, forgive me. I’m not angry with you, only with myself for not being there to protect you.” Rico looked down at his hands, which were balled up on the table.
“Rico, you can’t be with me at all times. You have a pack to run as well as a business. Your training worked. I might be a little bit injured, but overall, I’m fine. He got very little blood from me, and in the end, he was the one who died. Not me.” I knew Rico was going to be glued to me every night for at least the next few weeks after this. He was always so overprotective of me.
Plus, the training was going to be brutal. Epsom salt baths for the next month, at least.
“Shh, turn up the volume on the TV. They’re talking about all of the missing co-eds. Do you guys know anything about this?” I had seen a few reports of freshman from the local college going missing.
The college said the girls had just up and left. They did leave notes for their roommates and even took their stuff. The current thought was it was too tough on them, and they left. So far, none of them have been reported missing by family back home. I wondered if it was something else, like maybe vampires luring them away to life as an acolyte.
“This just in. Another freshman girl has gone missing from the University of New Orleans. Stephanie Cervantes was last seen leaving class almost one week ago. She has long brown hair and is five feet four inches tall. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a UNO baseball team shirt.”
“Her roommate never reported her missing. It wasn’t until the dorm monitor noticed that Stephanie’s personal belongings were gone that an official report was filed.”
“Stephanie’s roommate had a note and gave it to school officials, but we have received a copy. It stated classes were too tough, and Stephanie was going to travel around and see the country before going home. This is the fourth such note we have heard of this semester. School officials have assured us this isn’t uncommon for freshman to take off in the middle of their first term without a good reason.”
“Stay tuned for more on this developing story. Sasha, back to you for an update on the hurricane.” Sasha came on with her fake boobs and low cut dress which only served to distract the men from her report. A report which was usually wrong.
“Alright, you can turn it back down. She’s probably going to spout some more nonsense.” I shook my head and laughed at the open-mouthed stare on Jimmie’s face.
Jimmy was happily married, but it didn’t stop him from being under Sasha’s charms.
It wasn’t long before ten more wolf-shifters showed up. For a place that was supposed to be closed, Uncle Wong’s was pretty busy.
***
“Jenna, please don’t go anywhere at night alone anymore.” Rico walked me home after we’d all ate.
I wished I had brought the van. The rain started coming down much harder than before. Maybe Sasha was right after all.
After only two blocks, the winds picked up as well. With the rain coming down and the gusts at least ten miles an hour, I would be drenched by the time I arrived back home.
“Rico, I can’t promise that. We’re training to fight for a reason. I don’t want to let the vampires own the night. If they aren’t going to play by the rules, then I’m going to kill them. Plain and simple.” There was no way I would take the coward’s way out.
“Vampires are no better than terrorists. You can’t let them win. I’m standing up for all humans. I bet once we start killing a few, the queen will make sure they play by the rules. Your council will make sure, right?”
“Jenna, the council has other things to worry about right now. A few rogue vamps who attack women walking alone at night are not on their radar. Not even a little bit. No matter what I say.” Rico pulled me to a stop next to him.
“If you want, you and your sisters can come out to my place and ride out the storm. We have a few boats, in case the levy’s break again, or the water level gets too high. Either way, I think it might be safer if you all stayed with us for the next couple of days.” Rico swept a wet, stringy lock of hair out of my eyes.
A few months back, Rico had asked me out. I shot him down. The timing was all off. Since then, he’s backed off. I wasn’t sure if it was what I wanted or not.
Times like this, when it was just the two of us and he touched me, was when I wondered if I made the wrong choice. He had to know my heart was beating a mile a minute. Part of me wanted him to kiss me and another just wanted a long soak in a hot bath. Alone.
“Thank you for the offer, but what about our store? We have to get everything up off the ground floor before we can think about leaving. I would feel better if we could bring our instruments with us. Will they be safe at your place?” Our instruments were one of ou
r most treasured possessions.
We could lose the store and be okay. The loss of our guitars and drums would kill us.
“Of course. You can bring anything you want. How about I come over tomorrow with one of our vans and help you pack up? I can even have a few of the wolves help clear out your store, just in case the water level rises too high.”
We lived below sea level. Hurricanes and tropical storms hit all the time. We had a system for when the weather turned bad, like it would be in the next day or two.
“Thanks, Rico. That would be wonderful. Now, can I get home and take a hot bath? I really want this stench off of me.” I laughed.
He had to smell me. Not to mention the fact of how I must look like a drowned cat by now. I only had a light hoodie on; which did nothing to keep the rain off my clothes and hair.
“Of course. I’ll walk you home and then go take care of the trash you left behind.” Rico winked and walked ahead of me.
Chapter 3
Jenna
“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you for the past hour!” Kat stopped yelling and stared at me when I walked in the door. Rico was right behind me.
Sam ran and almost tackled me with her hug. “Oh! My! Gosh! Are you alright? What happened? Why didn’t you call us? We were worried sick!”
“I’m fine. Or least I will be once I take a long soak in the tub. Do we still have any Epsom salt? Or that lavender rose bath ball? I’ll probably need both.” I motioned for Rico to come in and shut the door.
“Once you have done that, don’t forget to clean off with rubbing alcohol.” Kat’s nose twitched when she got close enough to smell me.
Sam pushed me back. “Sorry, but can you at least go shower now? Then tell us what happened?” Her eyes were watering.
Great, I didn’t realize my scent was enough to invoke a physical response. Why didn’t anyone tell me it was so bad before? Maybe Rico’s sneezes should have been enough to warn me. Oh well.
“Thanks, what a way to be welcomed home. Fine. I’ll go shower really quickly and get the vamp scent off with the rubbing alcohol. Once I’ve told you all the story, then I’m taking a long bath. Maybe two.” I rubbed my neck where the idiot vamp bit me and walked to the bathroom leaving Rico to field their questions.
***
Vampires were predators, the type who loved to steal from other vamps. They left a scent on their human acolytes to tell other blood-suckers to stay away. Rogue vamps were attracted by the scent of other vampires. Kat learned a long time ago to cover the scent by using rubbing alcohol.
Showering with rubbing alcohol wasn’t something I normally did. “Ouch!” Rubbing alcohol stings on open wounds.
Thank goodness for Band-Aids and Neosporin. I lathered the gel on my bite marks and covered them up with a Band-Aid after I dressed.
Towel drying my hair as I walked into the living room, I called out, “Did Rico tell you I killed my first vamp tonight? All by myself too!”
“He also told us you were looking to get in bed with that vamp. Really, Jenna. You should know better than to play house with a blood-sucker!” Sam shook her head while stifling a laugh.
“Ha, ha!” I looked around the room. “Where’s Rico?”
“He said something about needing to run off some steam? What happened? He said he would be back in the morning to help us pack. What does that mean?” Kat stood in front of the stove while a teapot simmered.
“Um, I agreed we would all go to his place tomorrow to sit out the storm. Looks like it’s going to be a cat 2.” Chewing on my lower lip, I wondered how much work we had before us.
“Yeah, we heard. We started clearing out the floor downstairs, just in case. We aren’t done though. There is still at least five hours of work to be done. You should probably get some sleep and help with the rest early in the morning.” Kat poured me a hot cup of my favorite rose tea.
“I don’t see why we have to evacuate, it’s only a cat 2. We can totally weather the storm right here, above our shop, like we normally do.” Indie rolled her eyes.
It was a bit much to evacuate for this storm.
“I think it will be good for Rico. Plus, they have an awesome game room.” Yes, I was using the wolf pack for their toys.
My sisters stopped what they were doing and looked to Sam. We all laughed. Sam had a crush on one of the guys in Rico’s pack. It was also going to be a chance for Sam and Kyrie to spend more time together.
Sam came up and hugged me. “That’s much better! I don’t smell the rubbing alcohol. Did you use it?”
“Yes, and I covered my body in lavender lotion. Hopefully, I’ll be able to sleep. If I can’t sleep, I’ll get up and start packing. I can always sleep once we’re at Rico’s.” The pack all lived together in a sort of commune outside of town.
It was safer for them to stick together, and they had a fantastic set up! I actually couldn’t wait to get there and relax while waiting out the storm. Some of the guys were into gaming so they have a game room filled with pinball machines and some of the old arcade games from before I was born.
“Alright, tell us what happened. Rico left right after saying you told the vamp you would jump his bones. What was that all about?” Indie laughed when she sat on the sofa.
“That was just to get his fangs off me. He had this vision of us playing Buffy and Spike, so I went along with it in hopes of distracting him. It worked.” I shivered thinking about his fangs on my neck.
“I don’t understand how acolytes can enjoy the feeding. I know that guy from earlier this year was rough because he wanted to kill me. However, tonight when Derek fed off me, it hurt. Like really hurt! Not as bad as before but still. How can anyone enjoy it?” Sticking my tongue out, I visibly shivered with the image of a vamp on my neck in my mind.
“It seems that a vampire can be very gentle and seductive when he wants. Acolytes get a sexual high from the feeding, which is why they stick around and let the vampires treat them as nothing more than walking, talking, blood banks.” Kat had an “in” with an ostracized vampire.
“I’m not speaking from experience, ‘cuz as you know, vamps don’t like my blood. I wish I knew who my birth parents were now. I’d love to know how I have wolf-shifter blood but can’t shift.” Kat had a mixed heritage.
We never even knew it until a vamp attacked her a few years back.
Ivan saved her and told her she had shifter-blood. The vamp who attacked her said she had bad blood, so Ivan tasted it. She always denies it, but I know they have had a romantic on-again off-again relationship since they first met.
“Well, I hope I never have fangs on me again. This has just made me want to work even harder to learn to fight. I wonder if there is any magic we can get? I know I’m not a witch, but isn’t there some sort of charm we can buy from witches to help protect us?” I knew Rico had a charm he never took off. It hung around his neck.
Indie scrunched her forehead and said, “We might, but I think that’s a question for Joseph. He seems to have friends in the magical community. I highly doubt anyone would sell us anything. I’ll see what I can find out once we get to the pack’s place.”
“About that, Rico said he would send some of his guys over in the morning to help us pack up the store and our van. He said we can take our instruments with us, and he can keep them safe if the levy’s fail. They have boats for times like this.” Yawning, I rubbed my face.
It seemed I might be able to sleep after all. “Look, I’m really exhausted. How about I tell you the tale come morning? While we’re packing up the store?”
“Sure, get some sleep. The important thing is you’re alright, and the vamp is dead.” Sam gave me a hug before sending me to bed with a water bottle.
Chapter 4
Rico
“Wake up!” I pounded on Jenna’s door.
I couldn’t believe these girls were still sleeping. The storm was still headed this way, and I wanted them all packed up and safely at my compound before it hit hard.
The rain was already coming down in buckets.
“Come on, lazy bones! Time to get up and get packing!” I continued to pound.
“Hey, we’re down here, dingle berry! We’ve been up since before the sun.” Jenna came out from the store’s back door.
“I’m surprised you’re already up. I would have thought you would want to sleep in after last night.” Walking down the stairs, I eyed Jenna up and down.
She looked tired, but in good spirits. There was a nice smile on her red face. I could tell she was working hard already. It was just past eight in the morning, and we didn’t have much time left before the brunt of the storm hit.
Today, the forecasters said it could be a tropical storm, but they were still tracking it as a category 2 hurricane. Current time to landfall was just after one this afternoon.
“I figured I could sleep when we got to your place today. This was more important. Plus, I had nightmares.” The storm developing in her eyes told me her shrug was a lie.
I knew Jenna well enough to know when she was trying to look like something wasn’t bothering her, but was actually hurting. She was a strong and capable woman. I wish she would let me take care of her. She made it clear a few months ago how she felt. Although, sometimes I wondered if maybe she’s starting to come around.
Now wasn’t the time to think romantically. Now was the time to help her and her sisters pack up their store and get them to higher ground. At least, higher than the French Quarter.
“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it? Killing your first vamp is pretty huge. I’m not surprised you had bad dreams.” Walking to her, I held out my arms for a hug.
Surprisingly, she walked right into my hug. I held her tight while we both said nothing. My head knew this was more about comfort than attraction, but my heart was soaring with the possibilities.
Hurricane of Magic Page 2
