“I’ll talk to my brothers, but you have to know this will come to a vote. They’re going to be nervous with you around.”
“You understand, of course — I’m asking for an invitation as a courtesy.”
I nodded. “I do. We’re careful to follow Concilio law, but mainly because the rules all make sense. No one wants the humans to know about us, and the Concilio is diligent about staying on top of technology that could give away the secret. However, with that being said, it’s important to remember our club is a group of wolves who don’t fit into the Pack. It isn’t that we have authority issues so much as… we can take care of ourselves without Big Brother telling us what to do.”
Bran touched my hand while I was talking — a clear warning to watch my words — but I needed to respectfully let Apollonius know who we were.
Thankfully, he didn’t appear to take offence. “I’ve spent some time looking into the way the various groups interact in this area. So many powerful supernaturals reside here, but there are rarely problems. I understand your group gets along with the local Pack, and have even signed a treaty with them. I’m also aware Viper may not agree to meet with me one-on-one, because the Cherokee don’t recognize our authority over them. We’ve allowed this so far because they’ve policed themselves in an acceptable manner, but I’m hoping Viper will come to me as Hailey’s friend, so we don’t find ourselves in an untenable situation.”
“I’ll speak with him. How long will you be in town?”
“I have other things to attend to, but I’ll return in eighteen hours.”
He disappeared, and we all let out a collective sigh.
“Took some hefty gonads to stand up to him. It seems to have worked in this instance, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it again,” Bran warned.
One of his staff approached us with a dress, and I helped Hailey slide it on over her head.
“Is it okay if I invite a half-dozen or so of my brothers up, so they can see Hailey in her new form before we talk about this? I think they might be more inclined to agree once they’ve seen and smelled her.”
Chapter 19
Hailey
I expected to hear the thunder of their bikes, but Duke, Brain, Bash, Dozer, Viper, and Horse came in a small van. Nix, Gonzo, and Bobcat showed up individually on their bikes, though.
Viper was the only one who’d seen me since I’d died, risen, and remembered my humanity. I could hear and feel them smelling and sensing what they could of me. It was a little creepy to have all their energy focused on me at once, but I stood tall and met their gazes.
Horse was the first to come to me with his arms open, and I went into them to hug him as he said, “Gabby’s been worried about you. If it’s okay with Bran and Ghost, maybe you can use the app on Ghost’s phone to talk to her and let her know you’re okay? We can work out a time when I’ll be with her so she can use my phone.”
Bash was the next to hug me. “Angelica’s been asking about you, too. If we can impose on Bran, it might be better to bring our ol’ladies when you’re ready for visitors.”
I looked to Bran, who said, “Let’s see how you do with the men before we invite a group including a wolf, deer, rabbit, and humans.”
I nodded and pointed out, “Right, because Bash is okay with Angelica being here, but Horse wants me to talk to Gabby on the phone.” I looked to Horse. “I don’t blame you. I’ve been around Bran’s human flock and I’ve been okay so far, but I’m still a work in progress.”
Horse shrugged and smiled, “It hasn’t been that long, and you’re battling two things at once. I’m surprised you found your sanity in less than a year.”
“Those first months were rough,” Dare said from beside me, “but she’s strong and she pulled out of it. She remembered herself long before Bran thought she would.”
I shook my head as I turned to him. “No. You pulled me out of it with Rachmaninov. You got me out by knowing what would speak to the me buried inside the monster.”
“You said something about needing us to see her before we talked about club business,” Brain said from the back of the group.
Dare nodded, and I realized Brain probably understood the ramifications of creating a new supernatural being — or at least one people didn’t think was possible — more than the others.
“Yes,” Dare answered. “Hailey’s drawn the attention of the Concilio, and a gentleman named Apollonius would like to meet her social group. He politely asked for an invitation to one of our picnics, but I don’t believe we have the option of refusing him.”
“Let’s move this to the van,” said Duke. He stepped to me and hugged me. “When you tell me you trust yourself around Gen, I’ll believe you. Just give me the word and we’ll figure it out.”
“She needs to talk to the cops before we get too many people talking about her,” Dare said from beside me. I knew he’d been taking a lot of flak from a detective, and one of the MC’s attorneys had stepped in to get him to back off. The sooner I came forward and said I’d gone to the woods to figure some shit out on my own and hadn’t told anyone where I was going, the better.
While the MC went into the van to talk, Bran walked to the edge of the cliff with me, and we sat in a little seating area to enjoy the view. “You don’t need to eat again after changing to snake and back?” he asked.
“I do, but I can maintain okay for a bit.”
“You should’ve said something,” he said as he nodded towards the house. I knew he’d have someone brought out for me to snack on instead of bringing me real food, but I was okay with either.
Sure enough, before long one of his sweet little humans came out. Bran stood and hugged her as she approached, and told her, “Hailey needs a snack, and I wouldn’t mind one either.” He looked to me, “Misty’s been away visiting family, so it’s been a while since anyone’s fed from her. If you’ll stand, I’ll position us.”
I stood and took a step to them, and he situated Misty with her back to me, while he stood in front of her. I followed his lead and stepped a little closer, tilted my head to the right, and we both sank our teeth into her neck at the same time.
Misty moaned and I smelled her lust. She wanted more from Bran than a simple bite, but she was enjoying both of us pulling from her at the same time.
I took more than I usually do from a human, but could tell she was strong enough for it. I pulled away a second before Bran, and he gave me an approving look as he pulled Misty into his arms.
“Such a treasure,” he told her. “I thank you.”
I was still uncomfortable with what to say afterwards, but I stroked her hair and said, “Yes, Misty. Thank you.”
Bran released her and she stepped back and to the side so she could see both of us. “You’re both very welcome. That was incredible.” She gave Bran a shy look. “I’ve missed you. It’s good to be back.”
He nodded, and she turned to walk away. Bran tends to be formal when he drinks from his flock, but it seems impersonal to me. Maybe that’s the point, if he wants to keep some of them at arms’ length?
When she was far enough away she couldn’t hear us, he told me, “You did well. It takes a while to gain enough control to be conscious of the human’s strength while you feed. You’ve been merely keeping track of how much you took in, without sensing their need. You’ve graduated to the next level.”
“It was easier with her because she’s so strong. I think if I had someone who’d already been weakened, I’d know not to take much. Most of the humans you provide fall somewhere in the middle, and I’m not sure their strength hits my radar.”
* * *
Ghost
Brain knew Apollonius, and told us this wasn’t something to vote on. He said refusing to offer an invitation would be tantamount to the first strike of a battle.
Duke and Horse heartily agreed, and the rest said they didn’t like it, but would go along with it.
“How’s your wolf handling the situation?” Brain asked. “Viper’s taught h
er how to manage her snake, and Bran’s taught her how to be a vampire. I can’t imagine the wolf’s happy.”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure she’d have found her way to sanity without me. Bran agrees. I mean, Rachmaninov’s music pulled her out, but I knew to play it for her because I knew her so well. Bran built on that, and let her first trip above ground be to his grand piano. She’s worked hard to earn more privileges since.”
We were all sitting on the floor of the van, and Gonzo leaned against the outer wall as he said, “I’ve had tons of help with Connie, but Viper’s been the only one who could help you with Hailey. You know we’re just a phone call away if you need us.”
“You’ve helped by making it so Viper and I could be here for her. I think it’ll be good for everyone to hang out this evening so we can see how she does in a larger group, but I’m not sure what else can be done right now. She just needs time.”
“How are the wolves you turned doing?” Brain asked.
“Surprisingly well. Bran knew what he was doing when he chose them. All are destined to be part of his guard staff, so they were loyal to him before being turned.” I shrugged. “I had a hard time with the way he uses a whip for negative reinforcement at first, but I have to admit it works. I’m tempted to take up the practice with Hailey as we move forward.” I looked at Gonzo. “Doubt it’ll work with Constance, but we might consider it when we turn prospects into members in the future. Not long term, but in the beginning weeks to speed the process along.”
Dozer crossed his arms. “You and Bobcat know how to handle a whip because you’re into that sort of thing. If we’re going to start using one on new wolves, ya’ll might need to give us some lessons.”
We had a short discussion of what I’d learned from Bran, and Brain said he’d write it all out and then sit down with me to see what else I could add. Duke adjourned our little meeting, and we went back out into the warm evening.
It didn’t take us long to find Hailey and Bran at the edge of the cliff. They’d both recently fed — my wolf bristled as he realized they’d fed from the same human, but I reminded him she has to eat, and Bran’s supplying her food sources.
Bran moved us all to the seating area near the pool, and had his people bring food and drinks out. My brothers used caution around Hailey at first, but within thirty minutes they were cutting up with her like always. She stepped away once, and Bran and I let her pull herself together and come back. The guys turned their attention to each other, and then welcomed her back when she returned, without mentioning the fact she’d needed to step away.
Viper arrived partway through the evening and she went to him for a hug. My wolf may not have liked the fact he was teaching her something we couldn’t, but he’s never been upset with how close the two of them are.
Chapter 20
Hailey
Viper met with me and Apollonius the next night, and the meeting was surprisingly low key. The two of them walked outside for a little while, and Apollonius returned long enough to say goodbye, and to remind me he was leaving me under Bran’s supervision.
When Viper went to bed, Bran introduced me to a Lugat named Alex, and told me Alex would teach me how to fight, and how to make the most use of my new abilities.
I liked Alex from the start, and he explained that once I learn how to fight, it’s possible Dare won’t be able to physically control me anymore. “He has a lot more fighting experience than you, so he’ll probably be able to best you for a while, but you won’t be able to depend on him to protect humans from you once you’ve learned to utilize your strength.”
I’d backed away from him, but he’d shook his head. “Bran says it’s time. He wouldn’t ask me to teach you unless he was confident your control is either almost where it should be, or already there.”
As always, Bran knew what he was doing, because the process of learning to fight gave me even more control over the vampire inside me, as well as the snake. I got tripped up several times, and someone was always there with a whip when I did. It’d only been Bran with the whip in the beginning, but eventually I’d learned he trusted many of his security people with one, too.
I was given a unitard to wear when Alex worked with me, and I’d originally thought it would mean the whip wouldn’t hurt as much. I quickly discovered it still hurt plenty bad, though.
Bran only used the whip with the metal pieces the one time. The rest of the time, the knots were just the leather twisted and tied on itself. They hurt like the dickens and frequently drew blood, but they didn’t rip the skin from my body and eventually dig into muscle. The whips the guards used on me when I wore the unitard had larger knots, and still brought tears to my eyes with the first strike. A few of their lashes created bloody knots under the silky unitard fabric.
I worried about what would happen if I shifted to snake in the unitard, but it was easy enough to just slither out the neck of the single piece when I lost control. Alex backed off, and one of the guards came at me with the snake catcher. I knew what I’d done as soon as I shifted, though, so I forced myself back to human.
“I’m good,” I told the guard as I stood naked before him. “I’m me. No one was ever in danger. I knew what happened as I was shifting, but it happened too fast for me to stop.”
“Bran says I should get you to tell me what happened to make you lose control,” Alex said.
“I wasn’t expecting you to hit me so many times. I freaked and the snake came out.”
He nodded to the guard, who pulled his coiled whip off the loop on his belt and said, “You’re already naked, lean your hands against the wall and leave them there.”
I did as I was told, and the guard hit me twelve times without pausing in between. When he finished, Bran was there and he took the whip and gave me more lashes than I could count.
I screamed, cried, and begged for it to end, but I didn’t remove my hands from the wall. Doing so meant they’d tie me up and start over.
When he finished, he tossed me a bag with four ounces of blood — enough to help me stay sane, but not enough to heal me. I savored every drop, and walked the bag to the trash as I thanked Bran for it.
“Alex will tell you where to start. He’s going to try to reenact your last five minutes. We’ll see how you do this time.”
Now naked, I approached Alex, listened to instructions, and focused on doing what I’d learned while I fought to maintain control.
This time, I held onto the snake as Alex punched me in the face a half-dozen times. I didn’t figure out how to make him stop, but I fell to the ground and covered myself without shifting.
“What was she supposed to do?” Bran asked Alex.
“Defend herself. Block my punches.”
The knots of the whip landed on my back three more times, and I yelped as I stood and told Bran, “I’ll do better.”
He walked me through what he wanted me to do again, and we did it again.
It took seven times before I managed to defend myself the way he wanted. I got between one and three licks of the whip for every failure, but when I finally got it right, Bran let me feed from the guard who’d whipped me, and let me have my fill of the delicious tiger.
When I was sated, Alex said, “Again.”
He worked with me until nearly sunrise, when we all retired to our underground rooms.
Dare was in bed with me when I awakened, and I slid down the bed and sucked the head of his cock into my mouth, but he touched my cheek and said, “No. We’re scheduled to meet Alex in a few minutes. We don’t have time.”
I took my mouth off his cock and rose so my head was on his shoulder. “Do you mind having to dominate me in bed?”
“I don’t mind a bit. It works for you and it totally does it for me.” He stroked my cheek. “I’m a Dom, Hailey. It’s who I am, but we didn’t have enough time together for me to introduce anything properly before our lives were turned upside down. You knew you’d be spanked for a few simple things — like coming to bed with clothes on �
� but we were still relatively new when everything went to shit. We’ll figure out what works for us as you gain more control.” He kissed my forehead. “It’ll all work out.”
He climbed out of bed as he told me, “No clothes for you today. Alex said he’ll meet us in the largest workout room.”
It didn’t take me long to figure out that today Alex would train me and Dare would flick the whip every time I fucked up. Once Dare started using the whip, he didn’t restrict himself to a single tool.
I felt the whip when Dare needed my attention from a distance, but when a particular part of my body wasn’t behaving, he often used a cane on it. It’s so humbling to have to hold your hand out to have it struck, or your arm, or your foot. Since I’m a vampire, he can even strike knees without worry of permanent injury. He was an unforgiving taskmaster this day, but I didn’t complain. I needed to learn and this seemed a fast track to gaining even more control.
We were several hours into when Dare said, “Alex, why don’t you take a break and come back in about forty-five minutes?”
As soon as the door closed, Dare started taking his clothes off.
“God, I’m so fucking horny. Want your ass first. Bend over and fold yourself against the wall.”
I have trouble in this position. I feel trapped, and my snake and vampire both want to fight. Dare knows this, which meant he was testing me.
I didn’t argue, though. I walked to within one step of the wall, bent over and grabbed my ankles, and then stepped my feet until my back hit the wall. Once Dare moved in behind me, I couldn’t stand up. I was trapped, bent over.
He’d lubed his cock but not my ass, and I yelped and squealed as he went in, but focused on his voice as he told me how good my ass felt squeezing his cock. The act of bending over had made me horny, and once he picked up speed and hit his rhythm, I fell into the bliss of him filling and stretching me, pleasuring himself with my body.
Ghost: The Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club, Book 8 Page 14
