Hot Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

  He ran a hand through his hair and blew air out of this mouth. What do you think it means?

  I think it’s a stretch, to say the least. I told Dad I don’t feel any different. I don’t feel like someone else. I just feel like me.

  He pushed away from the doorway and strode into my empty living room. I followed. “I think it means you’re strong,” Tyler said out loud. “And you can hold your Lycan form and fight, which we already knew. That means, whether or not you’re the actual Y Gwir Lycae—you’re still a Lycan.”

  “I guess,” I responded slowly.

  “Jess, we’re all descendants of Lycans. They were the first shape-shifters on earth. We carry their DNA. I think you just happened to get the whole shebang. Dad’s line must be strong, with deep ties to the old ones.”

  “Okay.” I didn’t know where this was heading, but I was thankful he wasn’t storming out of my apartment in a rage. A strong alpha-born wolf, who was ahead of me in Pack status, couldn’t like hearing his sister was powerful, whether I was blood-kin or not. “I get that we all have latent Lycan genes, and mine just decided to come to the forefront. That makes sense. But it still doesn’t explain away everything else.”

  “What else did this Prophecy say?” he asked.

  “It said I’m supposed to be some sort of justice giver to the supernatural race.”

  “What’s a ‘justice giver’ supposed to do exactly?”

  I laughed. “I have no idea. That’s why we’re having this conversation. But just so you know, Dad and I both don’t think this has anything to do with me being the next Alpha. I’m not a threat to your direct status.” Tyler was on track to be the next Alpha leader, and every wolf in the Pack knew it. There was a distinct difference between being alpha-born and Alpha. Alphas were leaders, meant to be head of Pack—alphas were dominant wolves with aggressive natures.

  “I know.”

  My jaw unhinged a bit. “What you do mean, you know?”

  “That smell thing I was just telling you about?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m really good at it.”

  “So?”

  “If you were supposed to be the Alpha, I’d already know it.”

  “What? How does smell have anything to do with being a leader of Pack?”

  “Dad and James both have the same particular scent underlay. It took me a long time to figure out what it meant. It isn’t something I can explain in words. Scents are complex and strange, with millions of delicate layers. But I knew what it was when…” He stopped.

  “What?” I urged.

  “When I scented it on myself.”

  “Wow. That’s crazy,” I breathed. “Do you think being able to smell other people’s auras is a special gift of some kind?” Many supes had additional powers, something enhanced beyond the scope of what was normal for their supernatural Sect. My brother could run twice as fast as any other wolf, which was considered a “gift.”

  “No.” He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck and paced in a circle before answering. Just like our Dad. “I think I’ve just paid extra attention to it over the years and honed what was already there—what every wolf is capable of doing. We underutilize our noses because we rely too heavily on our strength.”

  That was the truth. “So let me get this straight. You’re saying I don’t smell like a leader? What exactly do I smell like then?”

  “I didn’t say that. I said you don’t smell like an Alpha. There’s a difference.”

  “Less than a week ago you told me I smelled like a yucky girl.”

  “You do… You have a very distinct smell. At first I thought it was because you were female, but now I’m not quite sure what it is. But your ‘aura,’ or whatever you want to call it, is totally unique. I’ve never smelled it on anyone, human or supe.”

  “Maybe it’s the Lycan marker?”

  “That’s a possibility.” He seemed deep in thought for a minute.

  My eyes caught the light—or rather absence of light—out my window.

  I must have appeared shocked, because Tyler turned to look out the window too. “What?” he shouted as I turned and ran without so much as another word.

  “It’s full fucking dark!” I yelled as I raced into my bedroom.

  5

  I ripped a duffel out of my closet and tossed it onto my bed. Then I yanked every shirt and jean combination I had in my drawers and threw them into the bag, finishing with various undergarments. My kick-ass gear, made of spandex with reinforcements, and my stash of weapons went in after.

  Luckily, most of my throwing knives were packed together in a modest-sized carrying case. My dirks, made for quick slashing, were wrapped in safety sheaths. I threw them on the very top and zipped it all up. Once I got outside, I’d grab my palm-sized handgun out of my car. I owned a 9mm Glock that shot silver hollow-point bullets, each filled with a gram of silver shavings at the tip, for those pesky hard-to-kill beasties. Guns were considered a pansy alternative for wolves, but I was willing to use whatever it took to defeat Selene.

  Pansy-assed or not.

  I dropped the bag outside my bathroom door and opened a few vanity drawers, grabbing essentials and shoving them into the side pockets lining the duffel. Then I pulled my long, dark hair in to a ponytail for ease of travel. For combat, I’d secure it in a bun and hope like hell it stayed there.

  I was back in the living room in less than seven minutes.

  Tyler stood by the door waiting for me.

  “Where’s your stuff?” I asked.

  “It’s already down in the vehicle.”

  “Which car are we taking?” I slung the duffel over my shoulder. “Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it before, Ray’s coming with us.”

  “Which Ray?” Tyler’s face showed his confusion. “You’re not talking about the cop, are you?” He read my expression. “Come on, Jess! We can’t possibly bring someone like that with us. Not only is he going to be under our feet the entire time, but he’s an epic fucking asshole. Why would you possibly want to do something like that?”

  He was right on all counts. But instead of answering right away, I reached around him and yanked the front door open. “I’m doing it because I refuse to kill him for no other reason than he found us out. At the very least he deserves a chance to come around, and it was either he came with us or he died. I picked alive.”

  “I could give you twenty good reasons to pick dead,” Tyler muttered behind me.

  “I bet you could give me a hundred in under a minute, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve made up my mind.” I stepped into the hallway. “Turn out the lights, will you?”

  “Your electric bill is the least of your worries.”

  “I’m all about the environment.”

  “You rented a Humvee?” The vehicle parked at the end of my lot was not only a monstrosity, it was a canary-yellow monstrosity.

  “What’s wrong with it?” Tyler grumbled.

  “I don’t know. I could start with the color, but why go with the obvious? How about its sheer girth and notice-ability? Was the Batmobile taken?” I retorted. “Bruce Wayne’s car is the only other car in the history of the universe more noticeable than this beast of a thing.”

  Danny came up behind Tyler and slapped him on the back. “See. I told you yellow was too flashy for the ladies. They tend to enjoy the blacks and beiges.”

  Tyler calmly placed his hand on the hood. “For your information, I didn’t rent it. I bought it. I found this guy two hours away who details old army vehicles. This one was available and I wasn’t in a position to be picky. It’s reinforced and ready to roll, so I paid the man and drove away.” He arched an eyebrow at me, which I could see clearly despite the deepening darkness. “I wasn’t under the impression we were going for stealth. I was under the impression we needed space and strength to achieve our goal.”

  “A pairing of the two would’ve been nice,” I said. “An inconspicuous Jeep Cherokee would’ve sufficed. Riding around in this is li
ke painting a gigantic yellow X on our foreheads. And in light of the recent news, the entire supernatural community is going to be interested in my whereabouts very quickly. We just gave them a huge beacon to follow.” I felt like kicking one of the enormous tires in frustration. My emotions began to roil and a soft coating of fur erupted on my arms.

  “Jess, you need to calm down,” my brother said in a quiet tone. “I had no idea news about you was going to break. We’ve been home for less than two days. In the future I will be sure to couple stealth into all of our plans. Until then, no one is here to see us leave, nobody is watching. We will be fine.”

  “I realize I’m being irrational.” I took a step away from the vehicle. “But, honestly, a yellow monster truck was the plan you felt most confident going with?”

  “This yellow monster is armored, has sixteen-inch chassy clearance, two gas tanks, a backup battery, an exhaust snorkel, foam-filled tires, bullet-proof glass, and it’s geared to go a hundred miles per hour.”

  I crossed my arms in front of me, grudging respect creeping in. My brother had planned for a missile attack and I wanted a Jeep Cherokee. He was right. “Fine.” I sighed. “You win. It was the right choice, but we have to leave immediately. No more lingering by Big Bird.”

  My brother cracked a grin and gave me a bow. It wasn’t very often I conceded the argument. “We are ready to roll, just waiting on the vamps now.”

  “And can I just ask, why is the whole world after you now?” Danny added. “Well, other than you’re the only female of our kind, of course.”

  “I’ll explain later. We’ll have plenty of time for discussions on the road.” Going into this now with Danny was not on the agenda. I walked around to the back of the beast. “Where’s Ray?”

  Danny pointed inside the Humvee. “He’s all ready to go, just one giant teddy bear, that one.”

  “Except when he wakes up and bites off a finger.” If Ray somehow managed to get away, we could find him, but it would be a complication we didn’t need, and it certainly wouldn’t help his cause with my father. “Also, please tell me there are plans in place to investigate Jeff the Super while we’re gone?” My building super, Jeff Arnold, a wereweasel shifter, had been caught trying to break into my apartment for some unknown reason. We had to find out whom he was working for and why he’d been there in the first place.

  “Yes. I gave a full report to your father this morning. He’s assigned a few wolves to investigate. We should have more answers when we return.”

  “Excellent.” Footsteps echoed on the pavement at the other end of the parking lot. I turned to see Nick and James approaching as I lifted my duffel on top of a bed of coolers, tents, sleeping bags, and supplies. My brother was indeed prepared.

  While I arranged it, I glanced into the interior at Ray’s silhouette. He sat slumped to the side in the backseat. The ends of his gag were visible and I heard breathing, but he was out cold. He must have given Danny some trouble.

  Nick reached me first. “Is that Ray Hart I smell?” He peered into the backseat and took a few more sniffs to be sure.

  “Yes. It’s not ideal, but I couldn’t kill him,” I said. “It might be my weak human side talking, but my dad says if he can assimilate, he lives. I know he’s dogged me for years, but other than his being a hard ass, I can’t find any real reason to end his life.”

  “You’re not weak,” Nick replied, his voice filled with confidence. “I view your humanness as a gift. In our world compassion is rare. I admire it.” Nick slipped off the backpack he was wearing and set it on the ground. “I took the liberty of gathering some things I thought would be useful. At Tyler’s request, I bought these.” He pulled out a small black box with a sturdy handle. There was a main lever on the side and a bunch of metal buttons across the top. “There are four satellite phones in here”—he pointed to the backpack—“along with this docking kit. They’re all wired with remote GPS, fully charged and ready to use.” He set the box on the ground, then unzipped the front pouch and pulled out a soft black cloth tied with a thick satin ribbon. “I also procured several throwing darts, loaded with various spells. There’re a few for sleep and a couple freezers—no kills, just in case they happen to land in the wrong target.” He untied the ribbon, carefully unrolling the concoctions. The spells were in thick glass vials attached to sharp metal tips, hooked in the carrying case by two elastic bands apiece, each potion shining a different vibrant color. “Marcy and I didn’t think her spells would be strong enough for a goddess, so we paid Tally for them. Well, Marcy did anyway, with funds from the firm. She said, because she was family, she was able to get us a two percent discount.” He chuckled. Witches never gave away anything; everything had a cost. It was how their system worked.

  “Wow.” I reached out to take the bundle Nick was offering. I cradled the package carefully in my hands. Spells on the whole were incredibly expensive, and Tally’s spells would break the bank, but they would also be super powerful. “I don’t want to know how much you spent, because I’m grateful as hell and I don’t want to ruin my happiness high knowing we won’t have two nickels to rub together when I get home.” We used potion darts on a regular basis, because supes were wild and unpredictable and getting them down was half the battle. Marcy did most of ours for the firm, and they worked fine, but she was only a minor witch. Tallulah Talbot, her aunt, was another story. Tally ran the supernatural community here—and by “ran” I mean ruled. I’d never laid eyes on her, but we were extremely lucky Marcy worked for us, because Tally didn’t sell her power to just anyone. Having a witch of that magnitude in our corner was like having the Terminator as backup.

  I rolled up the cloth and handed it back to Nick. He placed it back in the backpack along with the phone kit and lifted it all carefully into the trunk.

  When he was done, I reached over for a goodbye hug. My eyes misted without my permission, an unfamiliar experience for me. I hadn’t had many goodbyes since I’d left the Compound seven years ago. “The spells will be invaluable. Thank you,” I said as I wrapped my arms around him. “I’ll be in touch when I can.”

  “There are a few other little surprises inside the bag too,” Nick said as he gripped my back hard. “Please, just do me one favor and don’t get killed, okay? I don’t think I can handle the world without you in it.”

  “I promise I’ll do my best.” I pulled back, breaking our contact. “I love you.”

  He nodded and stepped out of the way to make way for my next goodbye. “I love you too, Jess. Stay safe.”

  “Hello, Jessica.” James came up and planted a chaste kiss on my cheek. “I came to see you off and wish you well on your quest.”

  I hadn’t seen him since we’d gotten back from New Orleans. “Thank you, James. But we both know the real reason you came—so you could report back that all looked well and good.” My father and I had said our goodbyes privately before I’d left the office. If he’d shown up here and had a last-minute change of heart and didn’t want me to go, it would’ve been too hard. We’d both agreed it was better for him not to come.

  As stated, emotion and wolves didn’t mix.

  James laughed, his Irish lilt affecting it ever so slightly. “You’ve got me there, but I do wish you well. I hope you’re adequately protected. From what I can see here, Tyler and Danny have it well covered.” James was one of the tallest wolves in the Pack; he was all brawn and incredibly sexy, with short dark hair and mossy green eyes. He wore his usual black T-shirt and cargo pants. I angled my head toward him for a moment. Our wolves had engaged in a brief interaction a few nights ago, and my wolf barked now acknowledging him, but other than that there was nothing else of note. Life would’ve been so much easier if fate had given me a wolf for a mate. My wolf growled. I know. I get it. We don’t do easy.

  “Tell my father I’m in good hands,” I said. “We’re as prepared as we can be.” As I finished the sentence there was a loud swoosh behind me, and then another. I glanced over my shoulder.

  T
he vamps had arrived.

  6

  Eamon and Naomi, the brother and sister vamp pair, stood statuesque on the small hill behind the parking lot, their enamel features shining brightly in the darkness.

  They started forward at the same time, appearing both confident and wary. I wasn’t aware vamps could look wary, but they definitely achieved it with their identical drawn eyebrows, both faces pensive and lined with small frowns. Being required to do their Queen’s bidding like good little vamp soldiers had to chafe, especially being forced to interact with wolves. But they had no choice. It was either follow orders or die a permanent death via some horrible means, most likely involving gnashing, cutting, and a whole lot of blood.

  As they came forward, James stiffened beside me. Danny, Tyler, and Nick moved in to form a semicircle around my back. It went against our natures to collaborate with each other. Vamps and wolves were enemies of ages old, going back to prerecorded history. If the Vampire Queen hadn’t wanted something from me so desperately, there wasn’t a chance we would all be standing here tonight.

  As they continued forward, my wolf’s unease changed to agitation. They are not the enemy today. We have to do it this way. There’s no other choice. She swatted her tail and kept a steady growl. I guess it didn’t hurt to be on the lookout for trouble. Remember, they are bound by their Queen. They won’t risk her displeasure—unless, of course, we force them to by being rude.

  She wasn’t convinced.

  I’m not sure I was either.

  The siblings were clad in jeans and matching dark knit tops, which beat the French period outfits they’d worn when I’d seen them last. I didn’t know which outfit was more ominous—looking appropriately dressed for the Renaissance or looking deadly normal.

  What I knew about vampires could fill one sheet of paper—if I wrote with a big crayon. The old mythologies appeared to be true for the most part, from what I could tell from my brief interactions with them. I knew they could fly—hard to keep that one under wraps—but how they did it was still a mystery. They were rumored to have some mesmerizing abilities over humans. Their hearts didn’t beat. I knew that because I’d just been surrounded by a roomful of them and there’d been nary a beat. They slept during the day and drank blood. They could be killed by beheading, like we could. That’s how my father had always brought them true death. I didn’t know if fire could end them or not. They also had individual “gifts” like we did. These two could apparently track and sense better than other vamps, which is why their Queen had sent them.