Blizzard_A Paranormal Romance

by Jasmine Wylder

Val’s gaze was on the door outside, but her eyes were unfocused. As he pressed gauze to her wound, some of the fierceness faded away. He couldn’t help but sneak glances at her face. If she knew how beautiful he found her, she’d probably rip out his jugular. But she was beautiful. All curves from head to toe. Shoulders nearly as broad as his. Even the way she did her hair, half shaven, the other half in braids, was beautiful. Silver rings winked from where they ran up one ear. She looked like a wild warrior-queen.

  “You’ve got a new tattoo,” he noted, turning her arm over. A black lily stood out vividly against her pale skin.

  “Eyes up,” she grunted at him.

  “For your niece?”

  “Is this a jail cell or a tea party?”

  Gabriel ground his teeth. What did he care about her tattoos? She was a brash, rude and altogether too violent woman to be left out on the streets. He had the evidence he needed to lock her up forever. His town would be much better off for it.

  “You and the gang are going off-kilter,” he told her bluntly. “Drugs, Val? What the hell are you thinking? Jackson’s never allowed drugs in Coalfell. Are you dealing behind his back?”

  “Don’t worry about my brother’s back. I’ve got it.” Val turned her glare back on him. For a moment, he thought that was going to be it, then she shrugged and held out her other arm, which was ripped up nastily as well. As he started cleaning it up, she spoke again, her voice low. “There’s been a lot of stuff going on. The guys are bored and getting themselves into trouble, which has opened up Coalfell to another gang. Don’t know who they are yet, but they’re selling dirty drugs.”

  “All drugs are dirty.”

  Val snorted. “I guess that’s the difference between us, eh? I’d rather see people keep going on pure stuff than see them die horrible deaths because their supply was contaminated.”

  She was right about that, but he didn’t want to admit it. So he wiped off a long cut more roughly than necessary and snapped, “Guess the money you get from it doesn’t hurt, either?”

  Her eyes yellowed and he grabbed her wrists, making sure that she couldn’t attack him. In response, Val twisted and kneed toward his groin. He was only just able to maneuver them both so she was pinned down, unable to hurt him. The hatred in her eyes made his wolf snarl. Then she threw one leg over his hip, thrusting her pelvis to his.

  His wolf immediately sung a different tune.

  “Stop that,” he snapped at her, putting distance between them. He wasn’t some sex-starved pup who’d let himself get seduced by a criminal.

  “Then get your fucking hands off me.”

  Gabriel drew back. He grabbed the first aid kit and threw it at her. “Lick your own wounds, then.”

  He stomped out of the cell before she could turn his choice of words against him.

  Why did she have to be like that? He slammed the door behind him. She was the most infuriating woman he’d ever met. If she was ten years younger he’d blame it on her being an irrational teenager, but she hadn’t been a teen for a long time. It was just her personality. Contrary, rude and impossible. She’d bite the hand that fed her clean off.

  He stomped his way to the break room, where one of his deputies sat with Val’s three girls. They all eyed him with the same distrust their mother had. Something in his chest twisted. There was a time, when Artemis was just a baby, that he was one of the few people that Val trusted to leave her with. But that was back when her parents were alive. Before Jackson became alpha of the local chapter.

  He attempted to smooth out his expression when he addressed them. “Your uncle should be here soon to pick you up. Do you—”

  “Are those bad men coming back for Mama?” the littlest looked at him with wide eyes, the same brown as Val’s. They all looked exactly like her, except for their blonde hair, while she was a brunette. “Are you’s gonna fight them?”

  How much did they know about what the Brotherhood did against vampires? Gabriel stared at her for a moment, uncertain of how to respond to that, when he heard a bellow in the main area of the station. He gestured for the deputy to stay where she was, then went to face Jackson Masters. He’d earned the nickname Tornado well—he came in like a devil and was wildly unpredictable. Smart, though, which made him a good alpha.

  “The hell, Cunningham?” Tornado snarled at him.

  Gabriel rolled his eyes. Speechless with rage, it seemed. “Was there a question in that, Masters?”

  “Let my sister go this minute or so help me—”

  Ava spoke behind him. “Jackson!”

  Gabriel tilted his head to get a look at her. She grabbed her mate’s arm and gave him a warning glare. Gabriel repressed the urge to grin at that. He never thought he’d see the day when Jackson Masters got whipped, but this little woman had done the job masterfully. Jackson made a low growling noise, but when Ava narrowed her eyes further he nodded.

  “Where are the girls?” Ava asked.

  Gabriel gestured. “I’m sure they’re going to have lots of questions for you.”

  Ava’s black glare turned on him now. She stomped into the break room, leaving the two men alone. Jackson opened his mouth, then closed it again. When the girls came out, his stance softened. He quickly moved to them, asking each one if she was alright.

  “Take them home to Lily,” Jackson murmured to Ava. “I’m going to be a while.”

  Ava nodded as she pressed herself to her toes to kiss him. “Don’t be an idiot.”

  Gabriel snickered. With one last glare, Ava and the girls left. The deputy exited the break room looking wary, and he gestured her away. “Go do a patrol, Katie. I’ve got this.”

  Katie frowned a moment, but nodded. She knew about the agreement he had with Tornado, having been attacked by vampires herself. She was the only survivor of her entire family and backed him up whenever she could. It helped that he had been the one to save her life.

  Once Katie was gone, Gabriel sat in his office chair. Tornado remained standing, looking even more murderous than he had before.

  “What the hell are you doing, Cunningham?”

  “Charging Valarie with drug possession and dealing. I’ve got all the evidence that I need.”

  Tornado’s lips pulled back in a snarl. “That’s not our deal.”

  “Not going to deny that you’ve pulled the gang into drugs, then? Your parents would be ashamed of you.”

  Tornado’s hands slammed against the desk, but Gabriel didn’t flinch. “Don’t you dare talk about my parents as though you care about what they wanted for the gang. They wanted me to be alpha, but that didn’t stop you from trying to tear out my throat for the position yourself.”

  Gabriel’s wince took him by surprise. That wound had long closed over, hadn’t it? “Our deal is that if you don’t control the vampires, your gang is doing no good and I’ll bring you down. Well, there have been three murders in the past four months that are directly linked to vampire activity. Not to mention that you failed to tell me that now they’re running around in daylight!”

  “Daylight?” Tornado’s eyes widened. “What… How?”

  So he hadn’t known. It didn’t soften Gabriel toward him at all. “You should know that, Masters. As Alpha, you should know that before they start attacking your sister and nieces.”

  Tornado’s knees buckled. His face went white as he clutched the edge of the desk. His head fell to his chest. For a long moment, he stood like that and Gabriel waited. Perhaps it had been a low blow, but he had to understand what he was up against.

  Finally, Tornado looked up. “We’ve got word that there’s a new king. Don’t know who it is yet, but he’s been very aggressive. So far, it’s only been toward gang members. No deaths outside of vamp territory, not around here, at least, but in Ivywood they’re having real problems. The thing is that the murders have only happened in daytime. Thunder thought the new king was bribing humans to do the job, but if vamps are walking around in daylight… that changes everything.”

  “And someth
ing like that is something I need to know, Masters.” Gabriel leaned forward in his chair, his wolf urging him to take the pup by the throat and put him down. “Before it gets to the point where Shadow’s gone berserker, I’m still booking her on the drug charges.”

  Jackson growled.

  “Don’t give me that. You know the rules. I come down on you when there are deaths involved. Drugs kill. “

  “I want to talk to her.”

  “Not happening, Masters.” Tornado started to growl again, and Gabriel got to his feet. “Do you really want to push it? We both know that if this comes to a fight, one of us is dying. If it’s me, you won’t be far behind. Death or life in jail. Is that the kind of father you want to be to your little girl?”

  Tornado growled again but Gabriel saw his words had the desired effect. He turned on his heel and walked away without another word.

  ***

  Several hours later, while Katie was still out on patrol and Gabriel was staring at the unfinished paperwork he needed to send in to make Val’s arrest official, the door to the station opened. He looked up sharply, hand immediately going to the gun at his side. He frowned when he saw who it was. Melanie Seymour, wearing her waitress uniform.

  “What are you doing here?” he hissed at once. Tornado was certain to have people watching the station. If they realized that Melanie was the one giving him information about their new drug dealing, she was done for.

  “I’m here because you’re not doing your job,” she shouted at him. Her hands bunched at her sides. Soft brown hair curled around her shoulders and her eyes shone brightly with tears. “One of my co-workers is in the hospital, overdosed! I saw that gangster leaving here. Why haven’t you arrested him?”

  Gabriel shot a look at the cells. The way Melanie was shouting, there was no way that Val couldn’t hear her. If she didn’t stop, things could get very ugly for her, fast. “Miss Seymour, I need you to be quiet.”

  “Don’t tell me to be quiet! This has gone on long enough. People are having their lives ruined because of this. If you don’t do anything about it—”

  “I am doing something about it. I’ve got one of the gang members in a cell right now,” Gabriel growled at her. “If you don’t stop shouting, she’ll be able to identify you. Do you want them coming after you?”

  Melanie's face paled at that, but it didn’t stop her. “I have lived in this town my whole life. I know that the cops have never done anything about that gang. If you don’t—”

  “I am.” Gabriel started to explain once more that he made an arrest, but before he finished, the door to the cells swung open.

  Val, looking like she owned the place, in tight jeans and a tank that showed off bounteous cleavage, yawned as she sashayed in. Her gaze focused on Melanie, who suddenly got very quiet and very pale. Val grinned like a cat about to make a kill.

  “So, you’re the little bitch who thinks she can cross the Brotherhood,” Val sneered. “Huh. You’re lucky that you’re Ava’s friend. You’d better scram before your luck runs out, little pussycat.”

  Gabriel moved between them. Even as he did, Melanie let out a frightened squeak and fled the station. Val laughed. Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her, one hand on his gun. This was bad, the gang knowing who his informant was… If Melanie was Ava’s friend, though, it gave her a certain measure of protection. As long as she didn’t push too hard.

  “How did you get out of your cell?”

  Val smirked. “You left it unlocked.”

  “No, I—” Shit. After he had thrown the first aid kit at her.

  He reached for his cuffs, but Val was too fast. She crossed the space between them and head-butted him. Black and white spots whirled in front of his vision. He reached out to grab her and his hand landed on something soft, velvety—Val knocked his feet out from under him and pinned his hands with one hand while she snapped the cuffs on him with the other. Gabriel groaned as he shook himself.

  “That was easier than I thought it would be,” Val purred. She propped herself on her elbows over him as he glared at her. He wanted to tear off her head, he wanted—wait.

  No.

  That wasn’t what his wolf wanted at all.

  Her body pressed against his, those velvety curves snug against him. He yanked his hands, wanting to touch her, only for them to yank the desk. Gabriel twisted to see that she had looped the cuffs through the desk leg, effectively pinning him in place.

  “See you, Cunningham.”

  The heat of her body left his. Her gaze trailed down his form for a moment and smirked when she got to the tent in his pants. Gabriel snarled, but it wasn’t as vicious as he would have liked. With a laugh, Val left the station, her hips swaying hypnotically with every step.

  “Shit,” Gabriel muttered once she was gone.

  Clearly, he needed a hookup. It was the only reason why his body would react in this way. How long had it been since he last had sex? A week? More? If Val could throw him down and get that reaction, it was clear he had some oats that needed sewing.

  He yanked at the desk leg, but it was bolted to the floor. He yanked again—he wasn’t going to let Katie come back and see him like this!

  Chapter Three

  Shadow

  Val made sure she was well in the clear before she stopped to check her phone messages. The first thing she noticed was a string of texts and missed calls from Ava and then finally, one from Jackson. She looked at that one first.

  Leave Melanie alone.

  Sure enough, the texts from Ava followed a similar vein. All panicked messages that were ill-disguised fears for her friend’s life. Val snorted as she stuffed the phone into her pocket. Cunningham. What had he said to make her sister-in-law think she was going to kill off her best friend? Sure, Melanie had to be handled, but it wasn’t like murder was first on the list.

  Shaking her head, Val stomped into the strip club where Melanie worked after she got off from the cafe. She found herself a booth and ordered a shot of whiskey. A smile curled her lip as she saw that the other feline shifter was already on the stage, her curves wiggling as she danced on a pole. Val had to admit, the girl knew how to move that body of hers. It was times like this when Val wished she was a lesbian, or bi or… Basically, if she was attracted to women instead of, or as well as, men, it would certainly make life a lot easier…

  Melanie made a swooping motion that caused her breasts to nearly fall out of her small, sequined bra. As she came up, wrapping her hands in her own hair, she caught sight of Val. Instantly, she froze. Val’s drink came, and she toasted Melanie before downing it. Then she turned her attention to the small back room, where she knew Melanie's boss, Rodger, would be. He’d have noticed she was here by now.

  A sick feeling twisted her stomach, not at all related to the alcohol she had just downed. Maybe it wasn’t her attraction to men that was the problem, but rather the type of man that she fell for. They were either total scumbags or…

  Her leopard stretched and batted her chest, telling her to go back to the police station and throw herself all over Gabriel Cunningham. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt drawn to him. Back when he was part of the gang, she hadn’t bothered being subtle when flirting with him. He always treated her like a kid, because she was, but she wasn’t a kid anymore. The problem was, she could see herself doing a ‘forever’ kind of mistake with Cunningham.

  He was all wrong for her. Or rather, she was all wrong for him. He’d proven that. Leaving the gang, joining the military. Honorably discharged and immediately back in Coalfell getting himself hired as sheriff. What was with that man?

  If he came after her again, though, she’d kill him. For real this time. Nobody threatened what was hers and lived to tell the tale. There were plenty of bodies in the ground that proved that. She was the gang’s enforcer for a reason, after all. When dirty work needed done, busted kneecaps, a bullet in the brain, Jackson knew where to turn. She’d get the job done quickly and cleanly.

  Cunningham was enforcer b
efore he quit. He knew exactly what it was like to have this job.

  Val waved for another whiskey, scowling heavily. The stuff here wouldn’t get her as buzzed as she’d like, but she couldn’t go to Les’s bar. Not yet.

  Melanie’s song ended, and she dashed into the back, as though she was the reason Val had come. No, she had overheard Melanie's hysterical screaming to Cunningham—a coworker overdosed. Val doubted that it was one of her waitress coworkers. That place barely paid their workers enough to pay rent, let alone buy drugs. No, here, among women who were desperate, bored, or broken, was where she’d get a lead.

  Once she traced the tainted drugs back to their source, those dealers would learn what it meant to encroach on Savage Brotherhood territory. It would be a bloodbath. Something the berserker in her leopard looked forward to.

  One of the servers brought her a note. Val flipped it open, emptied her second shot and headed for the back. Her lips curled back at the strong scent of bear as she did. Rodger was built like his animal. Huge, muscled from head to toe, with thick curly hair and heavy jaw. He grinned at her as she shut the door to his office behind her.

  When she first met him, he was all charm and charisma. She hadn’t known then that it was the charm of a snake oil salesman. Not until he turned her out on her ass for refusing to get an abortion.

  Her skin crawled as he grinned at her.

  “Shadow. It’s been a while. What brings you to my humble club?”

  Val yawned, making sure that her fangs showed.

  Rodger’s smile faded at once. “Not in the mood for chit-chat, I see. You haven’t changed one bit. Alright. You’re here about the drugs.”

  “Yup.”

  He hesitated a moment before scratching behind his left ear, something he only did when he was nervous. “I must have bought a bad batch. One of my girls, she ended up in the hospital. It wasn’t an overdose.”

  “Imagine that.” Val let a claw lengthen and started to clean under her nail.

  Rodger stood. He paced for a moment before turning back to her. “Okay. So I bought from outside the Brotherhood. It was cheaper. Clearly a bad move. If you’re here to kill me, do it. If you’re not, then let’s talk about striking up a new business arrangement.”