by Kate Wendley
A barely hidden wince was all he needed for confirmation. Anthony instantly gave up hope that there might be more to the story.
Zach angrily gritted out, “What did you tell her?”
“I’d really need some time to remember that. It was so many years ago…”
“So you remember her. What did you tell her the second time she came here?”
Bethany took a step back as Zach inched closer.
She stammered, “Well, like I said, I’d need to think about it.”
“And the third time she asked for help?”
A crowd of vampires and shifters gathered as Zach took another step closer. Anthony’s father and his werewolf girlfriend even joined the group, frowning in confusion. Bethany had always been one of his father’s favorites.
Little good that did her now as she looked more and more shaken the closer Zach got. She finally flicked an anxious looked to Anthony. “Master, please. I request assistance with this upset shifter.”
He stilled when he felt Zach reach out through their blood connection to get a sense of his mood. Deep anger spread both directions, though for very different reasons.
Anthony commanded, “Answer his questions, Bethany.”
Zach stepped even closer as she backed further into the club.
“Well I don’t recall right now. I’d have to−”
Zach snapped, “Let me help jog your memory. You told her we didn’t need her kind here. What kind were you referring to?”
“I… I…”
“And then you told her to stop coming by asking for help for her and her son. That Anthony would have them taken care of if she didn’t quit begging.”
Her eyes went wide just before Zach rushed her. His fist slammed into her too perfect face, knocking her to the floor just before he spun around as if to wait for Anthony’s attack.
Anthony unhurriedly closed the distance between them. Zach stood his ground, looking surprised when he walked right past him and reached out to help Bethany to her feet. Her face was already healed, but she looked grateful for his presence as she stood and composed herself.
He was grasping her by the throat in the next instant, and her utter surprise and disbelief that he would dare lay a hand on her quickly turned into horror when she realized what he was doing. With barely a thought, his power fueled by anger at her constant insubordination and outright cruelty, he fed off of her life energy. At first she only looked whiter than her usual gleaming, porcelain coloring as she tugged at his hands, but as her complexion turned gray and her body began to shrivel up, she frantically clawed and hit him in her struggle to get free.
Her eyes dulled and he abruptly let her go, letting her fall to the ground in a graceless heap. She looked like death as she weakly twitched, and what little life force she had left would keep her docile enough while he gave her his back and returned his attention to Zach.
He unbuttoned his shirt sleeve, then rolled up the cuff as he said, “Her punishment isn’t over for her betrayal to what this family stands for, which is refuge to any and all supernatural that seeks it, but the sun will be up soon. I offer you my blood as a temporary peace offering.” He quickly sliced into his wrist with his finger nail, a thin line of blood welling on the already healing cut.
Zach had been his good friend for many years, but in this moment he was an alpha shifter who felt he’d been wronged by the family. The vampires were too vulnerable during the day to have the shifters upset at them, so Anthony would do what he could to appease them. To appease Zach.
His temper roared to life as he stepped closer and did something Anthony had asked him to never do. He let his shifter power flow free, his face turning catlike just enough to allow his canines to come in full and large in his mouth, and with a surprising amount of grace in his hostility, he grabbed Anthony’s wrist and bit down hard, like he would with any prey he was tearing into.
Anthony grit his teeth and struggled to stifle grunts of pain while he forced himself to stand still and allow Zach this symbolic moment of brutally taking what he wanted from the most powerful person in the family.
The agony didn’t last long. Zach had never had Anthony’s blood right after he’d taken his fill of someone’s life energy, and he stopped drinking from him after only a handful of swallows.
Life energy was a potent thing, no matter who it was taken from, and Anthony could see Zach hadn’t been anticipating the sheer magnitude of the power he’d just accepted into his body. He panted and trembled as he took a couple unsteady steps backwards, then stopped and looked like he was willing himself to gain control over what was happening inside him.
Anthony probably should have warned him, but that might’ve been taken as a sign that he thought Zach was weak, and at a time that he was clearly trying to make a stand to those gathered here tonight.
So he said nothing and hoped his friend would be all right. He was a powerful shifter, a powerful alpha, so he didn’t fear too badly for him, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it took him some time to get his racing heart and wild infusion of power under control.
Zach breathed heavily as he blinked wide open eyes, looking around himself as if seeing them all for the first time. Maybe he was, in his own unique way. Anthony’s senses were certainly sharpening since he’d received his gift from the Vampire Mother. It wouldn’t surprise him if Zach felt some of that now, after having his blood. Even if he did, though, it’d likely wear off eventually. Anthony’s power never stayed with Zach or Sebastian long, at least not at the high levels they initially felt it.
With his wrist fully healed again, he cautiously watched Zach as he unrolled his sleeve and re-buttoned the cuff. “If it’s all right with you, we’ll discuss your request for further reparations when the sun sets again.”
Zach nodded, though it was clear his anger was still just below the surface as he glared at Bethany’s horrific looking husk of a body on the floor. All the expensive jewelry from the downtown store she owned looked gaudier than usual on her now emaciated body as he stepped closer and hovered over her with contempt clear in his eyes. Anthony put himself within reaching distance, hoping he wouldn’t have to fight his friend over the witchy woman. Like it or not, Bethany was vampire and Anthony’s allegiances would always be to them first. Generations of shifters had been born, grown old and died in Anthony’s lifetime. The same wasn’t true of the vampires. They were his true family, even if he didn’t care for some of them.
Zach spat at her sickly form, “I may not be wolf, but I have a hell of a lot of friends here, bitch, and we all watch over your sleeping body every day.”
Anthony’s stomach dropped at his blatant threat. It was common knowledge the vampires were helpless during the day, but it was polite to never mention it. Zach didn’t appear to care about niceties right now as he glared at all the vampires who’d gathered here, including Anthony’s father. He noticeably didn’t look at Anthony.
Some vampires took a wary step back, some bowed their heads, and some actually went down on one knee. It was impressive and cautionary that Zach could elicit that kind of response from them. As much as Anthony tried to keep the peace between shifter and vampire, sometimes it took an angry alpha for his family to remember how good they had it here.
Zach eventually turned his anger back to Anthony, and after a few tense moments, he gave Zach a single nod, then slowly knelt to pick up Bethany. Zach took a step back, watching her closely. Her body felt fragile and delicate, and Anthony hated that he needed to be careful with her head since she was too weak to hold herself up. He held her close to keep her as still and safe as he could, but didn’t like the feeling one bit. He was Master, though, and felt it was a show of sincerity to her, and the family, that even though he punished at times, he could also be humane.
Or maybe he just wanted to think he was. He wanted Kaia to think he was, and she was his conscience now, even when she wasn’t around.
Isaiah helped guide them down the hall, his shifter girlfriend, Daphne
, trailing behind. The sun would set soon, and the air was thick with a feeling of anxious wariness as the vampires headed down to the sub-basement below the club and shut themselves in their rooms for the day.
Zach stayed behind, much to Anthony’s relief.
**
“Son, you need to be careful with this situation.”
Anthony laid Bethany out on her bed as his father situated her. It irritated him that Isaiah thought so highly of Bethany when she’d always been one of the most callous, power hungry people in the family.
“I’m aware of that, father.”
“You need to−”
Anthony gave him a sharp look. “I’m Master of this family and have been for many years. If you were worried about my methods of managing delicate matters, perhaps you shouldn’t have ceded the role to me when you left all those years ago.”
Isaiah looked like he wanted to give Anthony a piece of his mind, or perhaps scold him on his manners like in the old days, but he wisely didn’t. He bowed in acquiescence instead. “Forgive me. Master.”
He sighed. “Enough of this. Bethany earned her punishment. And Zach’s temper will calm, and we’ll all help the jaguar and her son.”
He wanted out of this room. Being in Bethany’s personal space made his skin crawl. She’d pushed him countless times in the past with her sharp tongue and not quite over the edge insults, and it made him wonder if he’d been so harsh with her punishment tonight because of that. Had the monster inside him final broken through?
He refused to believe it. He refused to become what he feared most, even though it would be so easy…
He turned to leave, giving Bethany a dispassionate look before turning the light switch off. He could still see her in the faint light from the hall, and her eyes were wide open. Did she have more energy left in her than she let on, or was she too drained by him to even be able to close her own eyes?
He honestly didn’t care either way. She was a mean woman who could now reap what she sowed.
**
Anthony lay in bed worried about too many things. Sebastian and his second, Torin, were now fully overseeing the wolf finances and finally punishing anyone else who might have helped embezzle money from the family. The fact that family would steal from each other made him furious, but it was what it was. He trusted Sebastian and Torin to deal with the problem, enough so that he was no longer thinking about withdrawing his support from the wolves.
But things still weren’t right with the shifters. Sebastian and Torin had kept the punishments fairly discreet so that the wolves could save a little face with their families, but many wolves were now much more secretive and watchful of everything and everyone around them.
And now this issue with Bethany and the jaguars. It was bad timing for his vampires to provoke the shifters. The jaguars were an extremely small population, but Zach had a lot of influence besides that he was one of Anthony’s closest friends. Zach was also the most coolheaded alpha in the family, so for him to be so savage when Anthony offered him his blood told him all he needed to know about the severity of the situation.
This was the closest things had come in many, many years to the vampires and shifters of this family being truly upset with each other, which made the idea of turning Kaia into a vampire all the more worrisome. The vampires’ very lives depended on them staying safe each day as the sun was up, and he refused to give up that feeling of security. Not after almost two hundred and fifty years of it, and especially not on the brink of having his one true love in life finally be able to live safe and unguarded in his home. He wanted her to think of this as her home, too, but it wouldn’t be until she was no longer human.
He let his mind drift as the heavy feeling of the sun blanketed his senses. His last thought before losing consciousness for the day was that it worried him how easy it was to punish Bethany. He felt no emotion about it at the time, but he thought he’d gotten over his occasional inhuman feelings by being with Kaia. The Vampire Mother’s mysterious gift was changing him in ways he didn’t like…
Chapter 7
Vince slogged into the kitchen still in his clothes from last night. “Did you make coffee?”
“Yes honey. Let me pour you a cup.”
He groaned as he sat down at the kitchen table and tried to wake up. He always felt like he had a head exploding hangover after he exerted himself too much, and trying to use powers last night that he barely had definitely qualified.
A steaming cup of goodness was in front of him in record time, but an uneasiness hung in the air as his mom stepped away. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, there was a knock at the door. He winced at how loud it was.
His mom’s voice was clear and sharp as she called out, “Who is it?”
“My name’s Ed Newkirk, ma’am. I’m here to escort Miss Charlotte and Mister Vince LaRue to the doctor this morning. Zach sent me.”
Vince’s fuzzy brain instantly cleared as he remembered why his mom was so tense. She’d been lying to him his whole life about him being a hybrid. She’d also known all about Anthony’s family, but had never bothered to clue him in.
She scurried across the living room and peered out the peephole, then rushed into her bedroom. A moment later Vince’s eyes went wide as she stood with a gun in one hand and slowly opened the door with the other.
A giant of a man stood framed in their threshold. He was dark as night with a large face and thick eyebrows, and when his eyes took in the gun, he wisely stayed where he was.
Charlotte slowly edged backwards. “Come on in Ed, but I’m warning you, this is a registered firearm and I don’t intend to be doing anything I don’t want to do today.”
“Yes ma’am.”
They stared each other down for a few tense moments before Ed said, “Zach didn’t want any funny business at home and asked that I escort you back. He’s usually sleeping this time of day, but he’ll be waiting for us in the doctor’s office.”
She scowled. “He said he was going to contact us. We weren’t expecting you to just show up.”
The behemoth known as Ed shrugged. “I do as I’m told, ma’am.”
She scoffed. “Come in and shut the door behind you then. Don’t let the heat out.”
Oddly, he didn’t seem particularly troubled by the gun she kept so expertly trained on him as he stepped inside.
Her voice was steady and harsh when she said, “You look like a real strong guy, Ed, but don’t get any ideas. This is loaded and I know how to use it. Now what’s really going on this morning?”
Ed kept his eyes on the gun and slowly stepped to his right, then stopped.
“Don’t move!” For as unsure as Vince was about what was about to happen, he was damn proud of the way his mom handled herself with that gun. He always knew she owned one, but he’d never seen her threaten to use it before. She looked like a pro with it, which was just one more thing he was in the dark about.
Ed put his hands up looking like it was only to make her happy, not because he was worried she’d shoot him. “Just checking your form. You’re good and steady with that. You’ve had some training. Damn shame a lady has to know how to handle herself with a weapon, though. A fine mama like yourself shouldn’t need to know that.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Quit trying to sweet talk me and start spilling. I know what families are like. What’s the real deal going on here?”
Ed jerked to his right and the gun went off.
“Mom!”
The monster of a man grunted and slapped his hand to the wound in his arm while Vince’s head throbbed from how loud the shot was.
Ed’s voice was surprisingly calm when he said, “Good girl. Not afraid to hold your ground.”
She gave him a scornful look. “Don’t talk down to me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it pretty mama.”
The sass came out in her voice when she snapped, “I know I’m not pretty and I’m sure not your mama.”
The expression on Ed’s f
ace was a quick flash of lust before he actually started purring.
His mom seemed so surprised she actually lowered the gun. “Are you flirting with me?”
A quiet laugh rumbled out of his chest. “I think you’re flirting with me, ma’am.”
“I just shot you!”
His smile grew larger. “I’ve been shot before, but never by someone as pretty as you.”
“You’re crazy in the head, aren’t you? Of course they’d send some psychotic jerk here to take care of us. Are we creating too much of a problem for you guys just by being alive in your city?”
She firmed her stance and trained the gun on him again, then paused at the shock that passed over Ed’s features. His cheerful teasing was wiped from his steady, dark eyes as if it’d never been there, and Vince worried he’d misread the man’s casualness.
He slowly said, “I came here to escort you to the family doctor. Zach said you two had appointments today and to make sure you got there safely.”
“What kind of doctor?”
He frowned in confusion. “The kind that examines people and keeps them healthy.”
Vince flicked a look at his mom. Emotions played across her face and he hurt for the vulnerability he saw in her. She’d always done her best for him, but he had serious health issues that she couldn’t do anything about.
Her voice was shaky when she said, “Is it a shifter doctor? Does he know how to treat shifters?” Tears fell down her cheeks as her hands started trembling, still holding the gun in front of her, pointed at Ed. Vince hoped she didn’t shoot him again.
Ed’s voice was gentler when he said, “He’s a wolf, but he and the nurses treat all our kinds.”
She finally lowered the gun. “I have to work today. Vince needs to go with you though.”
“Mom, you should come, too.”
“You go honey. You tell me what they say. You know I can’t take time off.”
Ed said, “If that’s the kind of job you have, you should come work for Anthony and Zach instead. They don’t make people choose work over family.”
