I dropped my pen in shock. “Is her baby in danger?”
“Not at the moment as news hasn’t got out yet. She’s yet to announce it beyond close family, right? But her and Theo, and her parents, are very aware that this child is prophesied as the ultimate leader of Withernsea. The most powerful supernatural ever. There are going to be a few folks not so happy with that idea.”
“I never thought. Poor Shelley. It’s bad enough dealing with morning sickness when you’re drinking blood—seriously, it’s like the exorcist or something—but to have people want to harm you and your baby? That just doesn’t bear thinking about.”
“Which is why she has an earth angel hanging around. So, if it’s okay I need to stay around here a while. Well, between here and the coffee shop. If there was a spare unit I’d look at renting a space because I’m putting together Frankie’s encyclopaedia of all the supernatural species while I’m between angel duties. I’m just reading through the first chapter now.” She picked up the eReader and shook it at me. “He’s in his element putting this together and learning so much about all the different kinds of supernatural beings.”
“Just stay there a moment. I need to have a word with Shelley about something. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ve no intention of going anywhere but it’s kind of you to make the gesture.” Lucy picked the eReader back up. “I’ll be leaving at 4pm when Frankie is due up though, because he’s due up if you catch my drift and I’m going to oblige him.”
I shuddered at the thought. Lunch could wait. It was even worse given that he was my ex because my mental image of him with Lucy was a little too vivid given our past. I knew she was guaranteed a good time and didn’t blame the woman for going home promptly. But still, I didn’t need to know he was an alarm cock so to speak.
I wandered through to Shelley’s office. “Hey, you got a minute?”
“Ooh sounds serious. Sure, sit down.”
“Lucy’s here again. She has earth angel shit to do and needs to be around. Do you think if I got the staff room emptied of the junk in it, she could go in there? We don’t use it and she has the money to pay a monthly rental. Also, she has spare time when she’s not earth angeling. She’s got managers in at Red’s now because she wants to spend her evenings concentrating on Frankie’s meat and two veg instead of any at the steakhouse. I was thinking she could learn the ropes and cover your maternity leave?”
Shelley raised her eyebrows and shot me a questioning gaze. “Do you think she’d be up for that?”
“I don’t know. I thought I’d sound you out first, but she’s typing up Frankie’s manuscript which means she’s learning all about supernaturals. God, what if she ends up better at my job than I am? Please don’t sack me when she’s awesome!”
“She might end up awesome at knowing things, but as an employee I think she’d be even harder to control than you are. Can you see me setting her regular hours? She got damn selfish spending all those years in Hell. She’s getting better now she’s with Frankie and has lost the demon horns, but she’s a way to go with developing her good side. I mean she set my office on fire last year.”
“Yeah but that’s when she was evil and she can’t flick fire out of her fingers anymore.”
“Oh yeah? Have you checked her handbag? She’s started carrying lighters… and she doesn’t smoke.”
“Do you think Angel Sophia was having a mental breakdown when she gave Lucy this job?”
“I trust our celestial beings know what they are doing. I have enough to think about down here, never mind up there.”
“Of course. How’s your training going?”
“My father feels we need to meet more regularly now with the baby coming. Now Satan has been replaced by a new version it means that other supernaturals are likely to descend on Withernsea, not believing I am a worthy opponent while pregnant. They’ll try to use my pregnancy to their advantage in gaining control. It might be worth keeping an eye out for any strange applications to the dating agency as gaining an interview here would give them direct access to me.”
“That’s true. Listen, if Lucy comes on board, we will vet all the new applications and do all the interviews. You can focus on the rest of the work.”
“Appreciated. Being pregnant with a vampire’s baby is hard enough without all the stress of the ruler of Withernsea crap.”
“And how is the Daddy-to-be?”
“Smothering. Thank goodness he has to sleep during the day and also that he doesn’t need to breathe, or I might be smothering him too—with a pillow.”
I laughed. “Right, I’m going to go back and see if Withernsea dating is recruiting a new employee. Can we afford it?”
“Sure, I have a rich vampire husband anyway to fall back on if things get tight while I have the baby.”
“I think things are likely to get loose.” I quipped.
“Yeah well, I’ll be doing Kegels daily don’t you worry about that. I’ve got to keep my vampire lover happy for many, many years. Hey actually that’s another point in the favour of being turned before the birth. I’d keep my tight vajayjay.”
“I thought you weren’t interested in being turned? That you wanted to wait until after the birth?”
Shelley fiddled with a paperclip on her desk. “I’ve been speaking to the medics at the Caves and there’s no risk to the baby. In fact I’d probably be a healthier mum if I was turned. It’s just the whole feeling like I have the flu, dying, agonising thirst thing that’s putting me off.”
“I don’t know why, that was your every Friday and Saturday night pre-Theo.”
“Ha-ha.”
“Lucy? I have a proposition for you.”
The eReader went onto her lap again and she sighed. “I knew this would happen. That you wouldn’t be able to accept me and Frankie together. I’m sorry but I don’t swing that way, I already told Maisie this. So no. No threesomes.”
“Eww.” I actually did gag. “That’s not it.”
“God, you are so dramatic. If I did swing that way you’d be thoroughly satisfied and begging for more, so drop the norovirus look.”
I shook my head as if I could dislodge her thoughts from my mind. “God, I’m starting to regret my looking out for you now.” I told her. “Now get up and come follow me.”
She sighed but stood and followed me out of the room and across the small landing. I pushed open the door to our staff room. It was a small room with a table and four chairs, sink, kettle, cupboards, and boxes full of crap that needed sorting out—mostly electronic equipment that had broken and it had been easier to just dump it. We’d not used the staff room as we had Jax’s below. Jax’s coffee and doughnuts were legendary.
“What is it you’re showing me? The world record for dust bunnies? There’s a whole fucking warren in here. You need pest control.” She sneezed.
“This potentially is your new office. We could work through the boxes together. I’m sure between you and Shelley you could come up with a redecorating budget. Jax’s brother would do a good deal on it. It would give you an office of your own and also, if you want it, there’s a job to go with it.”
“I’m not going to be your cleaner. Just because you’re a filthy whore.”
“I’m sure your ex could vouch for that fact but no that’s not it, you ungrateful cow. Now shut it and listen up before I change my mind and just lock you in here.”
“Fine.”
“You’re here all day, and your earth angel duties are intermittent, right?”
“Correct.”
“So you’re helping Frankie put his guide together…”
“Also correct.”
“Shelley needs someone to cover her maternity leave so our proposition is why don’t you work for us freelance? You can use the office and juggle Frankie’s guide, earth angel duties, and working for the agency. You’d be helping me interview potential new clients. Plus, with you working on the guide, it would be fantastic to have your expertise on all the supes. You’re b
ound to learn all about them as you put the guide together.”
“I would have to ask Frankie if I could share his work with you, given that he is going to make a living from this masterpiece.”
“How much will his guide be?”
“Four dollars ninety-nine a month to access his database. A complete bargain.”
“Then sign me up as an early-adopter.”
She squealed and clapped. It was more scary than anything she’d ever shown me as a demon. “His first client. He’ll be so pleased.”
“So what do you think? Do you want to rent this room and work for the agency?”
“Yes. That would be fantastic. Would you be okay if I set up CCTV in here? I want to be able to keep an eye on Shelley and on the coffee shop.”
“Is this legal?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“I never heard you ask. Keep it in a lockable cupboard and if you ever grass on me I will paint your office red, turn the heat up full blast and be such a damn cow to you, you’d think you were back in Hell.”
“You are so mean to me sometimes. I heartily accept all proposals. I shall go and get us coffees to celebrate and thus do a little earth-angeling at the same time while I check what Seth is doing.”
As she walked past me she knocked a cobweb off my skirt. “I hope that’s from the room and not your vagina.”
The door swung shut behind her and closed before my mouth did.
Chapter Four
Darius
I headed to an area at the edge of the woods where the community hall stood. This was where we held our pack meetings and ceremonies. We weren’t a huge pack, with around thirty adult males, twenty-five adult females and then the kids. Altogether our group totalled around seventy. We had different duties around the park. I did some security detail alongside my job as a Police Officer.
Our Alpha, Edon, was around sixty years old and had been the Alpha male for the last twenty-nine years. Alpha’s were elected by the rest of the adults in the pack. Edon was a charismatic leader with a huge presence. With short salt and pepper hair and a long grey beard, he stood for no nonsense. He was like an uncle to me. The whole pack were family to each other whether through blood or circumstance.
Any adults could attend the pack meetings but it was mainly the adult males who attended, following meetings with a game of pool, and a beer or scotch.
I walked into the meeting room looking at who was here already. There was Edon; his sons, Reid and Sonny; my stepfather, Billy; my younger brother, Rhett, who was twenty; and about another eight of the pack males. Alyssa had assured me that she would kick sexist butt when she was eighteen and could attend the meetings. I gave her two meetings maximum before she was bored out of her brain and back to taking selfies on Instagram. No one willingly wanted to attend, it’s just how it was. Back in the old days tradition deemed it the man’s role, and because it was boring, the women still let us get on with it. Some things were worth fighting about in equality, pack meetings weren’t one of them. Everyone got a say in pack business anyway. My stepdad always warned me that when a woman put their mind to something not even being a scary arse wolf would stop them. “Your mum goes feral without changing if I’m not careful.”
I took a seat around the large meeting table and poured myself a scotch.
Edon cleared his throat. “Okay, all, if you’re ready. I’d like to get down to business.”
We nodded and murmured our agreement.
“Right, the first thing on the agenda is I would like to announce the engagement of my eldest son, Reid, to Sierra. Their mating ceremony will take place in three full moon’s time with their civil ceremony here in the hall. Invitations to come.
We all clapped and patted Reid on the back. He and Sierra had been together a long time. He was a good friend and Sierra had been my best friend for years. She was a year younger than me, so three years older than her fiancé. The pack had always thought Sierra and I would get together but we’d never felt that way about each other. As soon as Reid hit twenty-five the mating call had passed between them. I was so pleased for them both.
However, at the same time I felt a pang that Reid at twenty-five would be mated before me. It might have been my imagination, but I was sure I’d felt some of the others looking at me when Edon made the announcement. In one years time I’d be an embarrassment to the pack if I remained single.
Edon went through some other more mundane business before tapping his papers on the desk and then placing them down.
“Okay, the final discussion of the evening relates to the future of the Withernsea pack. Now I know there have been rumours going around. That ends right now. I’m going to tell you the truth and you make sure this gets back to those who need to know.”
There were murmurs of agreement in the room.
“Darius was fated to mate to a human female, by the name of Kimberly Fletcher. However, things have gone awry and Kim ended up contacting Jett Conall and asking him on a date.”
More murmurs along with surprised gasps circulated.
“So, that means at some point soon she will be forced to choose between them.”
“Shame it’s not the olden days when you’d just go in and bloody carry her out. Tell her to be quiet, she was yours and that’s that.” Said Bryan, our oldest member, at eighty-six.
“Yes, well times have moved on and you’d be arrested if you did that now.”
“Can’t arrest himself, can he? Can’t he have a word with the bosses? Just go into that agency and get her, lad. Tell her who’s boss.”
“If I may carry on…” Edon gave Bryan a cool-eyed gaze and Bryan sat back suitably chastised. “The woman will have to choose and being a modern day woman could accept neither of the wolves and someone else entirely, a possibility given she has an entire database of available males at her disposal.”
“So does Darius have to court her?”
“No. The Seer says that the woman has to do her own choosing. If she requests his company, Darius can attend but he can’t tell her that the pack are under threat should she choose Jett.”
“And if she doesn’t want either myself or Jett?” I asked.
“Then they can’t come back to Withernsea. Unless they find another female. The other option is we take them on in a pack challenge and run them out of the area altogether but that would be a last resort.”
“So what’s the plan of action?” I asked.
“If she asks to see you, you go. If she wants to speak to you, you speak. If she wants you in her bed you make sure you fuck her until she wants to scream no one's name but your own.”
I guessed I needed to unblock her telephone number then.
“And what if she dates the other wolf as well?” I needed to clarify the arrangements.
“You can’t interfere. Not until one of you mates with her. Once she agrees to be your mate, she is in effect engaged to you and will have to make a date for the mating and civil ceremony. We wish you luck, son.” Edon said.
Everyone raised their glass. I drank several. The challenge was on and I knew that if I didn’t win I might be out of the pack soon and more catastrophically we were all potentially out of Withernsea.
Back in my room, I unblocked Kim’s number and waited. There was nothing. It looked like I’d succeeded in driving her away. I called Sierra.
“Congrats, lady. I’d better be going to be the best man.”
“Of course you are, silly. Thank you. Now how are you doing? Reid’s just filling me in.”
I’d bet he was. Newly engaged males were randy as all hell.
“I need a favour. Could I buy you a coffee tomorrow and one of the nicest doughnuts around?”
“Oooh Jax’s?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. What time do you want to meet?”
“Well, that’s the thing. I want you to go without me.”
“Huh?”
“Let me explain.”
The following morning just after 10am m
y mobile phone pinged.
Kim: I demand you meet with me so I can explain everything. Stop being an arse Darius Wild.
I sat back and laughed, waited five minutes and then sent a reply.
Darius: Fine. Where then? This better be good. I don’t like my time being wasted.
In seconds I had a reply.
Kim: Eight pm. Hanif’s. I’ll pay.
Fuck. It went against every bone in my body to let a woman pay for dinner. I thought about my sister’s face if I said this, growled, and typed my response.
Darius: See you then.
I opened up a new message to Sierra.
Darius: Thank you so much. You’re a star!
Sierra: My pleasure. Her face was a picture. She deffo likes you, so something else must be holding her back. Anyway, good luck, bestie.
Hmm, could that be true? Was there something stopping Kim from being mine? I guess I needed to find out.
Chapter Five
Kim
I’d spent the night catching up on Stranger Things on the television. I’d had a good nights sleep. Life was good.
Today me and Lucy were going to get the staff room cleaned up, so I’d tied my hair up in a ponytail and put on my painting clothes. No point in getting dressed up if we were going to be knee deep in dirt. Shelley would man the phones and keep an eye on the emails. All I needed to do was go get a coffee and doughnut from Seth to get a head start on the day. The eye candy wouldn’t go amiss before all I could see was dust.
Once again the coffee shop was bustling. Jax spotted me and motioned for me to take a seat. Even better. Table service. She wandered over.
Supernatural Dating Agency - The Complete Collection (Books 1-6) Page 27
