“Fucking stripper,” Mandy whispered.
She touched Debbie’s shoulder and tears came to her eyes.
What had Lucas done?
16
The late afternoon was Lucas’s favorite time of the day. Right when the sun hung low in the sky, almost ready to scale itself behind the horizon and bring on the night. He liked to stand on the flat roof of the club and stare out across Mercy and beyond. He liked watching life and how it worked. He liked thinking about life and how it worked. Leah was back home and Lucas felt she was safe. She needed to take care of some stuff on her own, but Lucas swore he’d be back to get her so they could have the night together.
After the shower with Leah, tonight Lucas wouldn’t resist his urges. He’d never felt so connected to a women like he did with Leah. He couldn’t explain it, and honestly, he wasn’t going to waste time trying to figure it out. Not with more pressing issues at hand. Lucas had blood on his hands from the Reckingdune crew. He needed to meet with the crew and explain what had happened. There was no good reason for him to be poking around the mountain, especially by himself.
But that meant nothing because it just proved there was something really happening with the Reckingdune crew. They were getting hungry and reckless, not to mention what one of the guy’s said to Lucas. They felt the mountain was their land? That some kind of agreement had been made? It didn’t make sense to Lucas and he would find an answer to this.
A trapdoor opened with a squeaky cry. Lucas turned and saw Cooper climbing to the roof.
“Bro,” Cooper called out. “There you are.”
“How’d you guess?”
“You weren’t in your room fucking that chick, so I figured you were up here.”
Lucas smiled. “It’s not like that, man.”
Lucas and Cooper hugged.
“What’s not?” Cooper asked.
“That chick, Leah. There’s… whatever. What’s going on with you guys?”
“Business meeting,” Cooper said. “Time to figure this out I guess.”
Cooper looked apprehensive. When he turned, Lucas grabbed the back of his leather coat and pulled.
“Hey, everything good?”
Cooper looked back. “Good. Yeah.”
That was a lie. A big fucking lie.
“How long?” Lucas asked.
“We’re gathering right now,” Cooper said.
“Give me a minute.”
Cooper gave a thumbs up as he walked to the trapdoor. He opened it and disappeared back into the club. Lucas stared at the door and shook his head. Business should prove to be fun for sure.
Lucas lit a smoke and put his head back, taking drag after drag, enjoying it. A man never knew when his last breath or smoke would be, and the same held true for beasts. When Lucas finished the quick smoke, he went back into the club. He walked the hallway with a strut and an attitude. He nodded to the bar and the remaining crew that sat for a few drinks. At the conference room, he opened the door and found the conference table pretty damn full.
Vince sat facing the table, his eyes looking down at it. Lucas took a seat and ran a hand through his hair. Vince looked at Lucas and nodded. Apparently it was Lucas’s turn to start the meeting.
“I take it we’re here to discuss what happened with those bodies again,” Lucas said. “But I take it we’re also here because of something I did today. Something I need to talk about.”
All heads nodded.
“Yeah, I went up there,” Lucas said. “Without a crew. That was my fault. I apologize to you all for that.”
“Why?” Nate asked, directly across from Lucas. “That’s a suicide trip, bro.”
“No,” Vince said. “I’m sure there was purpose.”
“There was,” Lucas said. “If there’s any good I can take from it… we know there’s a problem up there.”
“Two bodies last night was a problem,” Cooper said. “Your blood up there and that other blood… that’s a war, Lucas.”
“One I didn’t start,” Lucas said. “They’re luring people to kill. I chased one into the woods. He tried to set me up with another one who I had to kill. His name was Rev.”
“Shit,” Seth said three seats down from Lucas.
“Problem?” Vince asked.
“Rev is a Reckingdune crew member,” Seth said.
“Something tells me it was his ability to turn into beast that gave it away for me,” Lucas said.
A few guys laughed. Vince leaned back and stretched his neck. “So, we have a little blood on our hands.”
“Lucas does,” Nate said.
Vince pointed at Nate. “He has blood, we have blood. That’s how a crew works. They lured those guys up to that mountain last night with a promise of drugs. Our good friend, Chief, has been so kind to help us with all this. The guys killed won’t be missed at all, but that doesn’t mean this will stop. They’re doing this over the internet and using Mercy as a transport point. I don’t deal with that kind of shit in my town.”
“Agreed,” Lucas said. “Think they’ll get the message when they see Rev?”
“Wait a second,” Cooper said. “You killed that shifter.”
“The other guy took him,” Lucas said.
Vince’s nostrils flared. “They have your blood now, Lucas. They have your scent. That’s what this is going to become now.”
“Revenge on me?” Lucas asked.
Vince nodded. “They wanted something to eat. To send a message to us. Now they’ll want to kill Lucas.”
“Any threat from the other Reckingdune crew?” Nate asked.
“Probably,” Vince said. “But what do we care? We have our boundary, they have theirs. They won’t break because of a little blood.”
“So why are we here?” Cooper asked. “Are we going to plan this out and stop it?”
“I want everyone to keep calm,” Vince said. “There’s no sense in creating something bigger than what this already is. If we go up there and start fighting, what’s the end result?”
“A bunch of dead of the Reckingdune,” Seth said.
“That’s a good day in my book,” Cooper added.
The table nodded in agreement, murmuring.
Vince put a hand up. “I promise, I would love nothing more than to feast a little. But let’s settle this the right way. I’m going to intercept the communication between them and their next victim. That’s where this will end. They’re sending a message. They’re trying to rattle us. We’re not stupid and we need to not act that way.”
Vince looked at Lucas. Lucas rubbed his cheek.
It was fair enough. What Lucas had done was stupid… maybe.
“Go about our business,” Vince said. “Life as normal.”
“I’m hungry, Vince,” Cooper said. “I was kind of hoping you’d have something for us.”
“Okay,” Vince said. “Maybe I can make a call to Chief. See if there’s anything I’d disapprove of.”
“Please,” Cooper said with his voice cracking. “I don’t want to go hunting in the woods.”
The rest of the table agreed. The taste of raw flesh was the most satisfying taste of all. Killing humans wasn’t necessarily approved, but sometimes needed. Hunting through the woods, looking for animals could be fun, but often left the soul unsatisfied.
Vince looked around the table and said, “One more thing to add. Keep our eyes open and our ears listening. Anything that doesn’t feel right, bring to us. Together. There’s no going out alone and exploring. I know we have an agreement with these crews, but I don’t trust them. I sure as hell know they don’t trust us.” Vince looked at Lucas again. “Be smart. Now go have a damn drink and find someone downstairs to help with the hunger.”
The table erupted in laughter and claps. Everyone stood and before Lucas could move, Vince slid a hand to him. That was cue to hang back and wait.
Lucas did so.
When the door shut, Vince looked at Lucas and anger flashed in his eyes.
“Something w
rong?”
“That was a dumb move.”
“I know,” Lucas said. “I had to protect…”
“That woman?”
“She needed me,” Lucas said. “She works at the center, she lost a resident.”
“That meant you had to take her to the mountain?”
“I wanted to show her that it was okay,” Lucas said. “I wanted to go there and just look. To think. To understand.”
“You ended up killing one of them. You put yourself in danger. That woman too. Did she see anything?”
“Nothing,” Lucas said.
It was partially a lie. Leah had seen plenty, especially Lucas naked and covered in blood. But had Leah seen him as a wolf? No. At least then. She had seen a wolf before though…
“You can’t let this woman go?” Vince said. “All of a sudden you’re a romance man.”
“I haven’t even slept with her,” Lucas said. “I’m just trying to help her. I found her on the side of the road with a man ready to blow her brains out, okay? It wasn’t just to simply scare people away to clear the scene. This was different.”
“A woman in need becomes your addiction,” Vince said. He clamped a hand down on Lucas’s arm. “Don’t lose sight, Lucas.”
“I’m not. But when this all happened, the guy who lived made a comment that you perhaps made a deal with the Reckingdune about the mountain. They seem to think it’s their mountain now.”
Vince pulled back and stood up. He pointed at Lucas. “That’s the kind of shit that pisses me off. You go alone and now you’re questioning things.”
“I’m not questioning a thing,” Lucas said. “I’m trying to figure out why this is all happening.”
“Yeah,” Vince said. “Yeah. Lucas, you’re a young man still.”
“Don’t play that card with me, Vince.”
“I’ve been running this club longer than you’ve been alive,” Vince said. “The boundaries of protection haven’t always been so kind as they are now.”
“Meaning what, Vince?”
“Meaning we do what we have to do to survive.”
“Shit,” Lucas said. “That’s why you won’t send them up there to fight. It’s not right to do.”
Vince rubbed his chin. “We had pressure from the west and east. Mercy came right through and stood their ground, splitting the Reckingdune crew. I had to keep both sides happy so I suggested giving them the mountain in a couple years.”
“Couple years?” Lucas asked.
Vince looked at him. “Ten years, okay?”
“That time is up, isn’t it?”
Vince nodded. “I thought the crew on the west of us would starve out. They haven’t. Now they’re playing games, trying to rattle us. They want an attack and a war so we look like the bad guys. That’s why I want our crew to settle. Full Moon Mercy does not need a black eye because of this.”
“You going to give them the mountain?” Lucas asked.
Vince laughed. “What do you think?”
Lucas pushed from the table and stood. He walked to Vince and stood with him, shoulder to shoulder. Through the thin cracks of the mostly closed blinds, they both could see the town of Mercy.
“I think we’re going to have some real problems around here.”
“Yeah? Well I talked to Mandy not too long ago, Lucas. There’s problems everywhere.”
Vince squeezed Lucas’s shoulder and left the conference room. Lucas had no idea what the hell Vince meant by his last comment. Maybe Lucas should have asked about it, but he couldn't stop thinking about Leah.
17
Lucas left the conference room and walked to the bar. He pushed between Cooper and Ian, standing where no seat was present. A beer was placed in front of him. An iced cold bottle, looking delicious.
Lucas ignored the beer and kept his attention to Cooper.
“What’s up?” Cooper asked.
“You looked pissed off, bro. At me.”
“You traveled alone,” Cooper said. “But you weren’t alone. I know it.”
“Maybe I wasn’t. What’s it to you?”
Cooper leaned close to Lucas. “I wanted that kill. So bad. I need to kill something. Soon.”
Rage flashed in Cooper’s eyes. Lucas kept his calm. There was no real threat from Cooper to Lucas. Lucas was more of an alpha than Cooper would ever be. But Lucas understood how Cooper felt. Those pent up feelings, building over and over, seeking for release.
“I get it,” Lucas said. “Let Vince do his thing. You’ll get a job.”
“I need something tonight,” Cooper said. “I’m too afraid to go downstairs even.”
“You thinking about having a woman?” Lucas asked.
“I don’t know what I’m thinking,” Cooper said. “Part of me hopes some asshole bumps into me so I can destroy his face.”
“That won’t do any good,” Lucas said. “You know that.”
“I know,” Cooper said. “But I can’t drink it away anymore.”
“I’m going to be selfish for a second,” Lucas said. “Are we cool? You and me?”
“Yeah, bro,” Cooper said.
They hugged and Lucas slipped away from the bar. He walked down to Vince’s room and office. He knocked and opened, finding Vince seated at his long desk, reading through some papers. It seemed interesting to see Vince like that. A man who ran a motorcycle club. A man who was a wolf. Yet he sat like some kind of businessman, reading paperwork.
“Something wrong?” Vince asked.
“Cooper is going to lose it soon,” Lucas said.
Vince nodded. “I know. I’m getting something for him right now.”
“You sending him alone?”
“I think I have to,” Vince said. “I can’t risk…”
“Send Ian with him,” Lucas said. “Keep me on dial if anything goes wrong.”
“What would go wrong?”
“I just saw the look in his eyes,” Lucas said. “He’s not thinking straight. Tell him to take Ian and keep Ian in the wings. Just in case. Please.”
“Okay,” Vince said. “Hey, listen to me. I need you to contact Mandy.”
“Not right now,” Lucas said. “I’m on my way out.”
“Lucas…”
Lucas backed away and shut the door. He paused for a second, expecting a wolf to come barreling through the door, but that didn’t happen. Lucas let out a long sigh. It wasn’t right to disrespect Vince and Mandy, but Lucas didn’t want to deal with anything else right then. He knew Mandy would probably lecture him on safety. In her soft voice and her beautiful eyes, she would preach about going to the mountain without a crew. She would talk about Leah and try to bring Lucas to some kind of sense to believe he, as a shifter, couldn’t possibly fall in love with a human.
There were some things Lucas could just deal with later. Right now, he wanted to get to Leah’s apartment and have her.
Lucas hurried down the steps and didn’t feel at peace until he had his motorcycle running and was moving along the road. The wind against his skin, the freedom of getting away from it all. He thought about Vince and knew that sometimes things just needed to be done for a reason. If Vince had promised a deal with land ten years ago, so be it. They would handle that now. Lucas felt the same about Leah. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so attracted to her the way he was, but that would be something he could deal with later.
The roads moved Lucas as designed and when he stopped in front of Leah’s apartment building, he took a second to consider what needed to be done. The urge to ravage her trickled through every vein in his body, pinching every nerve. The temptation had become a need, and needs were very hard to control. On top of that, there was his secret. The secret Leah already knew and believed, even though Lucas hadn’t come out and admitted it yet. Maybe there was some truth to ignorance, and that had always been fine with Lucas, but not now. Not with Leah. He wanted it all with her.
Lucas climbed from the motorcycle and looked around. He felt as though he needed to be cautious e
verywhere. Vince had obviously made a promise intended to be broken and Lucas unknowingly made it worse.
He walked to the building and pressed a button for Leah’s apartment. She buzzed him up and he took to the steps fast. He jumped them seven at a time, standing at Leah’s door literally seconds later.
He knocked and when she opened the door, she looked shocked.
“How did you get up here so fast?” she asked.
“Magic,” Lucas said and smiled.
He walked into Leah’s apartment and took her into his arms. It felt good and it felt right. He lifted her from the ground and kicked the door shoot with a heavy black boot. The door hit with a vicious slam and Lucas laughed.
“I missed you," Leah said. “I don’t know why, but I did.”
Lucas put his nose to Leah’s nose. “It's almost dark out. I don't feel like going back to the club tonight.”
“Stay here then, with me,” Leah said. “I’ll make you something to eat.”
Lucas nodded. He couldn’t confess to Leah what he really wanted to eat. In human form, Lucas could stomach to eat human foods. But the taste was never good enough and the hunger never really went away. The only way to satisfy the hunger was to hunt, kill, and feast. That's why Lucas understood how Cooper felt. With Leah though, the hunger seemed to subside just enough to keep him grounded.
“I had other intentions in mind first,” Lucas said.
His hands were quick to slide under Leah’s shirt, finding the soft warmth of her skin. He dug his fingertips into her back and forced them up, causing Leah to arch back and moan.
“Does it hurt?” Lucas whispered.
“It feels so good,” Leah said.
Lucas spread his fingers and continued up. He then began to smell the desire again coming off Leah’s body. He’d smelled desire before, many times on women's bodies. But this smell was nothing like he ever experienced before. This smell had him addicted to Leah.
With Leah in his arms, he began to walk the apartment, assuming which rooms were which. The first door he kicked opened had a desk and a treadmill in it. Obviously, it wasn’t the room he wanted. The next bedroom was the only other bedroom in the apartment. It was dark, cozy, and had the subtle smell of flowers, laundry detergent, and perfume. His nose worked in overdrive now, desperate for Leah.
The Secret Wolf (A Full Moon Mercy Novel) (shifter / MC romance) Page 10
