“Leo,” the man said quietly after a good minute of silence.
Sera turned to look at him again. Now that they were on the motorway it felt a little less dangerous to be going at the speed they were.
“My name is Leo,” he clarified. “And no, I’m not a vampire hunter. I’m a bounty hunter.”
“A bounty hunter? What, did that vampire fail to show up to court or something?” Sera joked.
The corners of Leo’s mouth turned up a little. Sera took that as a win. “A bounty hunter of the supernatural.”
Sera nodded because…why not? It was no weirder than anything else she had learned that night. “So what exactly is a nephilim?”
Leo glanced at her before turning his eyes back to the road. “It means that one of your parents was an angel.”
“Piss off,” Sera said straight away. “You’re messing with me.”
Again, Leo seemed to be trying to repress a smile. “Nope.”
If angels are real then does that mean God’s real? Sera wondered to herself. No, don’t go there. It’s already making my head hurt.
“So if I’m a…a nephilim, and that guy back there was a vampire…what does that make you?” Sera asked suspiciously as she let her eyes travel over the man beside her.
“Werewolf.”
Sera’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Werewolves were real. Vampires were real. She wanted to get in a time machine and go back a few hours to when she was just a regular girl with a regular life. There was a part of her though, however small, that finally felt right, as though deep down she had been waiting for something like this her whole life.
“So why were you tracking that vampire down? Who put a bounty on him?” Sera asked.
Leo turned and gave her a wry look. “The vamp’s not the one I’m here for…you are.”
Chapter Two
The nephilim beside him was silently freaking out and Leo Ryan felt a little mean for it. He was kind of pissed that no one had stuck around long enough to tell the girl what she was, that she hadn’t been warned to keep herself safe from things like vampires. Leo was also pissed that his poor car, his pride and joy, had suffered a dent as the result.
“What are you talking about?” Sera asked. “Why would there be a bounty on my head? Who could I possibly have pissed off?”
“Relax,” Leo told her. “I was told to bring you in unharmed. The Bale pack in London obviously wants you for something, but it’s not like they’re vamps, so they’re not going to keep you as a blood bag.”
Sera leaned back in her seat, letting her head roll back against the headrest. “So that’s where you’re taking me? London?”
Leo nodded, knowing that Sera could see him from the corner of her eye.
“The Bale pack. That’s a pack of werewolves, I assume?”
Again, Leo nodded.
“But they aren’t your pack?”
“No. I’m what you’d call a lone wolf.”
“And you have no idea what they want with me?” Sera asked. “But you’re just totally fine with leaving me there with them, even though you have no clue what they plan to do with me.”
Leo rolled his eyes and glanced over at her. “Would you rather I take you back? How safe do you think you’ll be in that town now that vamp has your scent? I could smell you as soon as I got near, it’s a miracle you’re still alive. I guess it’s because you live in a small town.”
“So if the vampire was dead, then I’d be safe again,” Sera mused out loud.
“Sure, until the next supernatural being comes through or you decide to leave,” Leo said. “Whatever Bale has planned for you, it’s better than being alone and unprotected.”
“Well, what do other nephilim do then? How do they protect themselves?” Sera asked.
Leo gave a humorless laugh and shook his head. “Other nephilim? Do you know how rare you people are? It’s not just vampires that want to drain you dry. Sure, there are some out there still, but those are the rare few who learn to control their abilities before they end up as lunch or a sex toy.”
“Abilities? Like what?” Sera asked.
The dark road was a blur as they sped along it. Vampires were fast but not over long distances. There was no way the vamp could catch up with them now. He felt himself start to relax a little.
“I dunno, something to do with frequencies,” Leo told her.
“Frequencies?” Sera asked. “What, like I’m a human radio?”
The car fell silent for a beat before Sera suddenly sat forward in her seat.
“Wait, the glass,” she said. “Back at the café the glass behind me shattered and blew in. It hit the vampire, but I didn’t have a single shard in me.”
Leo raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard of a nephilim doing something like that. Usually it’s more mental, like reading emotions and being drawn to the winning numbers. Maybe you stand a better chance than I thought.”
“But I didn’t mean to do it,” Sera insisted. “I just remember feeling trapped and wishing there wasn’t any glass behind me so I could get away. Then it just kind of exploded.”
“Do me a favor? Don’t go wishing that on my car. It’s already been through enough tonight,” Leo said.
Sera leaned back in her chair and rested her chin on her hand with a heavy sigh. Leo might not know exactly what Bale wanted with the girl, but he’d had enough run-ins with certain members of his pack to know they weren’t so bad. He felt a bit bad just handing her over to him but it was for her own good really. Bale had a whole pack to protect her.
Chapter Three
Driving through London was usually hell, at least that’s what Sera had been led to believe. She’d never actually been there herself. Given that it was so late at night the roads weren’t too bad, and sooner than she had thought they were pulling up outside a hotel.
She wasn’t exactly sure where in London they were, but the hotel in front of them looked a bit rundown. She couldn’t imagine it got a whole lot of business. It was a strange thought that a pack of werewolves worked in a hotel.
As she and Leo got out of the car, she had the brief thought of running away. The only problem with that was that she didn’t really have anywhere or anyone to run to. It was a pretty depressing thought. There was no one in her life she could turn to for help.
Leo stopped outside the door and turned to face her.
“Look, I’m sure whatever they want with you it won’t be so bad.”
Sera gave the werewolf a skeptical look. “Right. I’m sure the pack of werewolves just want to offer me some tea and cake.”
Leo smirked at her. “Well, there you go. Who doesn’t like cake?”
He opened the door and held it for Sera. It was probably because he didn’t get paid unless he escorted Sera right through the door. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but the interior of the hotel was fairly average if not a little dated. It was also pretty obvious that it wasn’t a working hotel. What might have once been a reception area had been turned into a makeshift living room with a large TV and a collection of mismatch furniture. The check-in desk was littered with bottles and glasses, and the floor was covered in an old brown carpet that no doubt hid a mass of sins.
There were three men and two women hanging out down there. An action movie was playing on the large screen TV and they barely did more than acknowledge their presence with a nod before going back to their movie.
“He in?” Leo asked.
“Upstairs,” one of the women answered. “Who’s the cutie? She smells like—”
“Someone Bale wants,” Leo interrupted her.
It took Sera a second to realise that the woman was talking about her.
“Then you’d better not keep him waiting,” said one of the guys as he gave Leo a hard look.
Leo put his hand on Sera’s shoulder and steered her over to an elevator. Once inside, Leo pressed the button for the top floor.
“So what is this place?” Sera asked. She couldn’t deny t
hat she was steadily feeling more and more nervous. She had always thought that the best way to battle fear was through knowledge, to go into a situation as prepared as she could be.
“A hotel,” Leo answered snarkily.
Sera really wasn’t in the mood for snarky. “You know what I mean. It’s not a working hotel, so why are they here? Is it a front for something?”
Leo just smirked at her. “What? You think I’m handing you over to the werewolf mafia?”
“I don’t know who the hell you’re handing me over to,” Sera practically shouted. “I should be at home, trying to get enough sleep before work in the morning.”
“You just finished work,” Leo pointed out.
“I work two jobs,” Sera told him. “Don’t change the subject. Should I be worried?”
The elevator stopped and Leo turned to look at her. He put both his hands on Sera’s shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze.
“Look, I’ve met a lot of people in my line of work, and Bale…isn’t so bad.”
Sera raised her eyebrows at that. “Isn’t so bad? That’s your review of the man? Oh my God, I’m going to die, or end up in a sex dungeon.”
Leo shook his head at Sera’s dramatics. “Just get out of the elevator.”
Reluctantly, Sera did as she was told and followed Leo down the narrow hallway to the end. There were a couple of doors open along the hall and Sera couldn’t help but look in as they passed.
“Do they all live here?” Sera asked. She kept her voice low, but she guessed that werewolves must have good hearing because the man who was ironing a shirt in one of the rooms turned and looked at her as they passed.
“Some of them do, but there’s a lot of them,” Leo said as he led the way to the end of the hall.
There was a man leaning against the wall next to the door they were headed to.
“Leo, long time, man,” the guy said with an easy grin.
“Justin, how’ve you been?”
Justin looked Sera up and down. “This the neph?”
Leo nodded and turned to look at Sera. It was deeply uncomfortable, like they were both checking out a car or a horse they were considering buying.
“You know what Bale wants with her?” Leo asked. Sera was grateful for that at least.
“Paying a debt,” Justin answered cryptically before knocking on the door three times. Sera didn’t hear anything, but she assumed that whoever was inside had told them they could enter because Justin opened the door for them. “We should get a beer while you’re in town, or are you heading straight off?”
“Got a job up north,” Leo told him. “Hoping to get there by tomorrow tonight.”
Justin nodded like it was no big deal and motioned for them to go in. She didn’t know why, considering she hardly knew Leo, but knowing that he really was just going to leave her with these people, no, werewolves, made her stomach tie up in knots. She guessed it was a case of better the devil you know.
The suite was clearly the biggest in the hotel. It had a main living area with several doors leading to other rooms. There was a large man, both tall and wide, lounging on a sofa in front of the TV watching a game of football.
“Shit,” the man Sera assumed was Bale said. “Learn to pass, you wanker.”
“You put money on that?” Leo asked casually as they stopped beside the sofa.
Bale switched off the TV and tossed the remote down on the coffee table. “What can I say, I’m a glutton for punishment.”
Now that Sera had a good look at him she could see that Bale was in his mid-forties and had a series of scars marring his face and bald head. He also spoke with a strong east London accent.
“Well then,” Bale said as he stood up and towered over Sera. “You’re not what I was expecting.”
Sera frowned. “What exactly were you expecting?”
“Someone less scrawny,” Bale said with a shrug. “Still, doesn’t matter.”
“What do you want with her?” Leo asked from beside Sera.
She tried desperately not to bristle at Bale’s comment.
“What’s it matter to you? Your money’s down stairs with Garry,” Bale said. He walked over to a drink caddy and poured himself something out of a decanter.
“Just curious,” Leo said, clearly playing it cool. It gave Sera some small hope, like maybe the bounty hunter cared about her just enough not to leave her to some miserable fate.
“I owe someone a favor,” Bale said as he poured a second glass and handed it to Sera. “That someone wants the nephilim.”
“You don’t know what they want her for?” Leo asked.
“Not my business,” Bale said. “Drink up, girl, you might need it.”
Sera frowned down at the drink in her hand. Yes, she was scared, and yes, she was totally outmatched by this Bale guy, but she’d be damned if she was going to let anyone talk to her like that.
“Screw you,” Sera spat as she threw the glass down. Annoyingly, it didn’t smash and there was only a small amount of liquid in it, so it didn’t even make much of a mess. “Tonight I filled a vampire with shards of glass, so unless you want the same treatment, you’d better start talking. Who wants me and why?”
Beside her, Leo was looking like he didn’t know whether to be impressed or not.
Bale started to move on her, a look of fury in his eyes.
“Easy,” Leo quickly said as he put his arm out to stop him. “She’s not lying. I saw what she did to that vamp.”
Bale seemed to think about it for a second before deciding that it wasn’t worth the risk. Both Sera and Leo knew that she was bluffing. What she had done to that vampire had been a total fluke, still, Bale didn’t need to know that.
“There’s a coven,” Bale said.
“Witches?” Leo asked.
“No, vampires.”
Sera might only have met her first vampire tonight, but a whole coven of them really didn’t sound good.
“Shit,” Leo swore. “Since when do you deal with vampires?”
Bale looked uncomfortable, embarrassed maybe. “Since I got myself in debt. Look, I hate the sons of bitches as much as any wolf, but I got a pack to think about. It ain’t just me. Besides, look who’s talking.”
Sera watched a series of emotions play out on Leo’s face. He was disgusted by the arrangement Bale had made but he was still a werewolf, still one of them. Leo looked at her and Sera knew that the werewolf was her only hope.
“Please,” was all she said.
She could see the moment Leo resigned himself to his fate.
“No,” he said as he turned back to face Bale. “That’s not happening.”
Bale’s face turned red. “We had a deal.”
“And I’m breaking it,” Leo countered.
Bale laughed and shook his head. “You think I’m just gonna let you leave with her? You think you’re gonna fight your way past all my guys?”
Bale was right. Sera didn’t like their chances.
“I don’t have to fight my way past your guys,” Leo said with a sneer. “Just you. I take you down and I become the alpha of this pack.”
Something akin to fear flickered over Bale’s face but he quickly masked it. “We both know you don’t wanna be no alpha.”
“No, but if that’s what it takes…” Leo let the threat hang there for a second before he continued. “Or you can let us go.”
Bale just laughed again. “You think that’ll be it? You think they’ll just leave you alone? You’ll both be hunted.”
Sera wasn’t sure how her life had come to this. This evening she had gone into work just like every other night. How was this now her life?
“Leo,” she said in an uncharacteristically small voice. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
Leo looked at her hard for a moment, as though he was trying to figure something out. Finally, he flashed Sera a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry, luv,” Leo said before he turned back to look at Bale. “We’re leaving.
”
He put his hand on Sera’s shoulder and all but steered her to the door.
“You’re making a big mistake!” Bale shouted after him.
Leo stopped at the door and turned back to face Bale. “Which coven?”
“What?”
Leo growled under his breath in a way Sera had never heard from a human. “Which coven did you make the deal with?”
Sera didn’t understand the importance of Leo’s question but Bale seemed to.
“Whatever you’re thinking—”
“Which coven?” Leo asked again, this time raising his voice.
Bale hesitated for a moment until Leo bared his teeth. Bale put his hands up in front of himself and took a step back. “Price. It’s the Price coven.”
Leo stopped for a moment and looked like he was thinking. Finally, he nodded to himself and nudged Sera to start walking again.
“What do we do now?” Sera asked Leo in a whisper as they walked to the elevator.
“Just keep walking,” Leo hissed at her. The werewolf all but frog marched her down the hall and past the men they had seen on their way to Bale’s room. Sera did as she was told until they were in the elevator. She watched Leo hit the button for the ground floor and waited until the door closed before she spoke.
“You have a plan, right?”
Leo didn’t look at her, which made Sera more nervous than she already was.
“Oh God,” Sera said. “Please tell me you have a plan.”
“I have a plan,” Leo said as he finally turned to face Sera. “It’s just not a very good plan.”
Well, that certainly didn’t help Sera’s nerves.
“Okay, well, I mean it’s got to be better than handing me over to a pack of vampires, right?” Sera pointed out.
“Coven,” Leo hissed through his teeth. “Werewolves have packs. Vampires have covens.”
“Covens, packs, what does it matter?” Sera asked. She was starting to get pissed off again. Her life was on the line. It might not be much of a life, but it was hers and it was the only one she was ever going to get. She didn’t want to become some supernatural freak’s chew toy.
Welcome to the Underworld (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) Page 2
