A Gathering of
Strays
I’m dying. Slowly.
From the inside out. My internal organs are shattering
into tiny shards and bleeding me. My extremities are numb. As
is my mind. But worse than the pain is the guilt.
I’ve screwed up. Traded Heaven for Hell. I’ve gone
from warmth and light to cold darkness and I hate it. I’m going to die here
eventually. If they don’t save me. But after the
things I’ve done, I’m not sure if I actually want salvation. I think when Death
knocks on the walls of my icy prison I shall greet her with open arms. Even if she takes the form of My Alpha. I still think of her
that way. My Alpha. She no longer claims me as one of
the pard, but I will always be of the Blood Drinkers Clan. It’s part of who I
am. The only part of me that I can remember.
Jeff was
sitting on the back patio watching a light dusting of snowfall on the already
white ground. The beauty wrapped itself around his creative brain and brought
pretty words to the surface. His easy concentration was broken when Rob poked
his head out the door. His breath misted in the frosty air. “Hey man, you know
where Ash is?”
“Down at the
new club. Why?”
He shrugged.
“Just got a small problem I wanted to ask her about.”
“Rob, I’m an
Alpha too. I can help.”
“Nah, it’s
cool. I’ll just wait until she gets home.”
Jeff rolled
his eyes and turned back to the wonderland before him. He was interrupted again
by Heather. “Hey Jeff. Where’s Ash?”
Jeff tried not
to grind his teeth. “Club.”
“Oh. How ‘bout Trish?”
“I don’t know.
What’s wrong?”
“Uh,
nothing much.
Something I need their help with.”
Jeff stood.
“Well, you’re shit outta luck then. Unless you ask me. The other fucking
Alpha.”
Heather eyed
him warily. “No, it’s fine. I’ll wait until one of them come home.”
He threw his
hands up. “I don’t care. Wait then.”
Heather
hastily stepped out of his way. He was headed for his room when Chris stopped
him. “Someone is here to see the Alpha. But since she’s not here, I got you.”
He grinned like he’d made a big joke, but Jeff snarled at him. Chris backed
away slowly. “Just a joke, man. Chill out.”
“Go somewhere
else, Chris. Now.” Jeff didn’t wait to see if he’d
been obeyed. He smelled a human in the kitchen and went there. A short Mexican
man stood by the table. “Can I help you?”
“I was told I
need to speak to Ash.”
“She’s not
here. But I’m Alpha Male. What do you want?”
The man shook
his head. “The message I have is for Ash.”
Jeff pinched
the bridge of his nose and tried to take calming breaths. “Are you deaf or just
stupid? She’s not here. You can either talk to me or go away.”
“I’ll wait for
the Alpha.”
“Fine. Wait in here all damn night.” Jeff
stalked out to the living room and grabbed the cordless phone. Ash picked up
her cell on the third ring. “Come home, please.”
“What’s wrong,
Jeff?”
“Oh,
nothing much. Rob’s
got a problem that only the Alpha can handle. As does
Heather, but Trish will do if she can’t talk to you.”
“Why don’t you
handle them?”
“I’ve tried.
They want you. And I forgot to mention the little human bastard in the kitchen
who’s refusing to speak to me too.”
“Human? What’s
a human doing at the house?”
“I don’t have
a fucking clue, Ash. It won’t tell me.”
“It?”
“It didn’t
tell me its name.”
“Did you ask?”
“No.”
“Jeff, do I
really need to come home?”
“I don’t know,
Ash. But no one seems to think I’m capable of solving problems.”
Ash sighed
heavily. “I’ll be there soon. I’ll deal with Rob, Heather, and the human. Then
we’re going to talk about this.” She hung up.
Ash stomped
into the house almost thirty minutes later. She went straight for the kitchen
and the waiting human. “Who the hell are you?”
“My name is Rey.”
“Uh-huh. And
what the hell is so damned important that you just had to see me?”
“I got a
message for you.”
“What?” Ash
was starting to lose her patience.
Rey
stood and pulled his shirt up to his neck. His chest was decorated with several
tattoos, but that wasn’t what he was showing her. The letter ‘S’ was carved
into his flesh. It started just below his throat and ended below his navel. Ash
stepped closer and inspected the wound. The jagged edges were starting to scab
over, but a few deeper places still looked fresh. “How’d you get this?”
“A
wereleopard.”
Ash shook her
head. “This alone is probably not enough to transmit. Wereleopard lycanthropy
is one of the harder ones to contract.”
“Swell. Except the bastard cut up my back and legs too.”
“Shit.” Ash
sat down and motioned for him to as well. “Nothing to do now
but wait. The full moon is still a week away. I’d suggest you come back
here that morning so we can keep an eye on you.”
Rey
nodded and stood. “Who did this?”
“I was hoping
you could tell me that.”
“I didn’t see
his face. But he had claws. He wasn’t a cat.”
Ash blinked in
surprise. As far as she’d known, she was the only one with that ability. “But
you didn’t see his face?”
“All I saw was
long blond hair.”
Ash’s eyes
narrowed. “And he told you to come see me?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Thank
you.” She started to leave, but stopped in the doorway. “Are you a praying
man?”
“Yes. Why?”
“If you shift
you won’t have any marks from your human life. You won’t have that ‘S’ on your
body. Pray you have to live with the scars.” She left him with that cryptic
message and went in search of Rob. She found him in Kane’s room playing chess.
“What did you need to see me about?”
Rob continued
to study the pieces. “Uh, I figured it out. I’m fine.”
Ash rolled her
eyes and lightly flicked his ear. “Next time go to Jeff. He can take care of
stuff the same as I can.”
“Yeah,
sure Ash.”
Ash closed the
door and went to Heather’s room. She wasn’t there so she went to find Jeff. He
was also nowhere to be found. With a sigh she headed for her bedroom. Clothes
were strewn around the room. Heather and Trish were steadily chunking things
over their shoulders. Ash spotted Jeff on the balcony. “Problems
ladies?”
Trish
shrugged. “Heather’s looking for a shirt.”
“And between
the four of us girls she can’t find even one?”
Heather shook
her head.
“Then go
shopping.” Ash pointed her thumb out of the room.
“Trying to get
rid of us?”
“Uh-huh. So
get. Both of you.”
They left
without another word. Ash opened one of the French doors and smiled at her
brooding Alpha. “Hey sugar.”
Jeff only
grunted.
She seated
herself in his lap and curled up with her face in his neck. “Don’t be grumpy.
That’s an order.”
“I’ll get
right on that.”
“Why don’t I
believe you?”
He shrugged.
“Please don’t
be grumpy? Is that better?”
“Little bit.”
Ash raised her
head to meet his gaze. “You’re so cute when you’re mad.”
He rolled his
eyes. “Leave it to you to make a joke about no body respecting me.”
“They respect
you, Jeff. They’re just used to coming to me with their problems. Even before I
became Alpha.”
“Well, I’m
Alpha too.”
“I know sugar.
And we’ll have to make sure everyone knows you can handle issues as well.”
“What about
that little human bastard?”
“He’s a
different story.” Ash told him what Rey had said.
He gave a low
whistle. “Sounds like our ex-enforcer.”
“That was my
first thought.”
“Do you
understand the ‘S’ though?”
“Not a clue.”
“So should we
take extra precautions? Just in case Adam decides to strike
closer to home?”
“How? We don’t have enough people to post a
24 hour watch.”
“Isn’t there
some mystical shit you could do?”
“Not me. But I
know someone who’ll tell me who can.”
“Mark?”
Ash snorted.
“Not bloody likely.”
“You need to
make a few calls?”
She gave him a
wicked grin and slipped off his lap. She came to rest between his spread legs.
“Later. You’re still grumpy. Let’s see if I can’t change that.”
Jeff bit his
lip in anticipation and helped her unbuckle his belt.
A while later
they walked downstairs to find Kevin carrying boxes into the house. Shawn
followed him with a much lighter load. He gave his Alphas a bright smile when
he noticed them. “Hey guys.”
“What’s going
on?” Ash gave them a puzzled look.
“Kevin’s
moving in. Is that okay?”
“Now he asks
us.”
Kevin shook
his head. “Don’t feel too bad. He didn’t really ask me either.”
Shawn just
shrugged and went up the stairs past Ash and Jeff. He disappeared into his
room. Ash turned to Jeff and they shrugged. “Guess it’s
okay with us.”
Kevin nodded
and followed Shawn. Ash continued on her way to the living room. She didn’t see
Micha, but Nicky was on the couch. “Hey, sugar. You know where Micha is?”
Nicky patted
at his clothes as if looking for something. “Sorry, it seems I left my Micha
radar in my other pants.”
Ash gaped at
the blond. “When did you get a sense of humor?”
“Just
kinda popped up one day.”
Ash rolled his
eyes. “Well stop it. That was a nasty surprise.”
Nicky only
smiled and Ash saw Micha come from the kitchen. “I’m right here, Ash. What’cha need?”
“I need you to
find someone for me. Illyana Grey. I need to speak to her.”
“Do you know
what city she’s in?”
“She owns a
shop in
“That
shouldn’t be too hard. Give me a few minutes and I’ll have a phone number for
you.”
“Thanks,
Micha.” Ash turned around and jumped when she saw Kane standing behind her.
“Damn! You scared me.”
“Why are you
looking for her?”
“We need
someone to ward the house. She has more fey contacts than we do. She’ll know
someone around here who can do it.”
Kane nodded
but still seemed unsure of her intentions. “Fine.” He
walked away.
Ash stared
after him, but let him go. Jeff looked confused. “What was that about?”
“Illyana Grey
is his mother.”
Jeff’s eyes
widened. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
Micha came
back and handed her a piece of paper. “Here ya go.”
“Thanks,
doll.” She went back upstairs to the office.
“So what’s
going on?” Micha flopped down half on top of Nicky.
“Extra
precautions against Adam.”
“Ah. Of the fey persuasion? Sounds like fun.”
Nicky gave his
lover a baleful stare. “Not fey enough for you, dear?”
Micha gave him
a loud kiss on the cheek. “I wuv
you, Nicky.”
“Uh-huh.”
Jeff rolled
his eyes at the two. Just then the front door burst open. Jeff turned, ready to
fight, but ended up laughing. Drew had the trunk of a very large Christmas tree
on his shoulder. Eventually
Ash came down
to see what all the commotion was and received a face full of silver tinsel.
She swiped a hand across her eyes and glared at the offending decorations.
“What’s all this?”
Trish giggled
and threw her arms around Ash. “It’s almost Christmas! And it’s been forever
since we’ve been able to celebrate it. Gabrielle being all
pagan and shit.”
Ash’s eyebrow
shot up. “Something wrong with being pagan and shit?”
Trish kissed
her cheek. “Nope. Only if you’re
Gabrielle.”
“So that’s why
that monstrous tree is taking up space in the living room.”
“Uh-huh.”
Ash rolled her
eyes and changed the subject. “Jeff, someone will come by to ward the house
tomorrow or the next day.”
“Cool. Do you
know what they’ll need?”
“Nope.”
“Blood.” Nicky piped in. “Wards work best if
blood is used to draw the runes.”
Drew
lightly petted
Eventually
Shawn drifted down and joined in, leaving Kevin to finish moving his stuff. When
the tree was fully covered,
Ash looked up
with startled eyes. “Huh?”
Jeff gave her
arm a pat. “It’s the most important ornament, dear.”
“I can’t
reach. Darn. Guess you’ll have to pick someone taller.”
Jeff got up
and pulled her to her feet. “I’ll lift you.”
“That’s okay. Really. I don’t like my feet dangling.”
Ash gave a
mock shudder. “I’m gonna have nightmares for weeks.”
Jeff laughed
and smacked her butt. “You’re so cute when you’re trying not to give a shit.”
Ash tried to
growl, but ended up laughing. “I have work to do. You
heathens be good.”
Micha raised
his head from Nicky’s chest. “Need help?”
“Nah. You look comfortable. Stay where you
are.”
Nicky wrapped
his arms more securely around Micha. “He was planning on it. You’ve been
stealing him away enough lately.”
Ash just shook
her head and headed for the office.
She was in
there the next day when Shawn tapped on the open door. “Hot
blond guy at the door.”
“And you’re up
here?”
“He’s asking
for you.” Shawn shrugged. “Maybe he’s straight.”
“Or maybe he’s
not here for sex. Ever thing of that?”
“I try not
to.”
Ash laughed
and went downstairs. A tall man with short bleach blond hair and dark
sunglasses was standing in the foyer. “Hi. I’m
“Like the
cheetah?” Ash immediately lost her smile. That was a very Adam thing to say.
And those dark sunglasses were just like the ones Adam had always worn. She had
to shake off a sudden sadness. She missed her friend, but he was dead. He just
didn’t know it yet.
“Oh.” Ash
noticed his high cheekbones and pointed ears. “You’re the fey.”
“Yes, I’m The
Fey. There’s only one.”
“Oh
great. Another comedian. Just stay away from Nicky. I don’t want
you rubbing off on him.”
“Sure
thing. So, mind
telling me a little about what’s going on?”
Ash explained
about Adam. “We just want to make sure he’s not going to sneak up on us in the
middle of the night.”
“Good idea.
Show me where all the openings to the house are.”
“Even
windows?”
“Yep.”
“That’s gonna
take a while.”
“Then I hope
you plan to feed me.”
Ash had to smile.
“I think we could manage a meal or two.”
Several hours
later Ash made the slightly drained
“Cool.” He
inhaled the food and patiently waited for more.
Ash had just
handed him a large stack of sandwiches when she heard the front door click. She
put her finger to her lips, indicating
“What’cha doin’.”
Rob yelped and
turned around. He put on his best innocent face. “I, uh, just thought I’d get
some fresh air.”
“Try the back
door then, sugar.”
“Ash, I’m
bored. I didn’t think I was still under house arrest.”
“Did you think
I was just kidding? You’re not going anywhere until we find out for sure who
attacked you.”
“But I’m
BORED!” He wailed.
“So go have
Kane entertain you.”
“He’s
sleeping.”
Ash shook her
head. “I’m sorry, Rob. No. You’re not leaving.”
“Funny. The
U.S. Government does it all the time.”
Rob’s face lit
up. “He has a point, Ash. You can send someone out with me. That way I could
burn off some energy.”
As if on cue
Nicky and Micha rounded the corner. Ash smiled. “Hey. You headed to the club?”
Nicky didn’t
answer. He suddenly seemed very interested in the floor. Micha gave him a
strange look. “Yeah. You coming?”
“No, but I do
have a volunteer for extra labor.”
“Oh
yeah?” Micha swept
“No dear.
Rob’s bored. And I’ll feel much safer letting him out with Nicky around.”
“Ah. Well come
on then.” Micha herded Rob out the door. Nicky hurried after them.
“That was
strange. I thought Nicky would react to having another fey around.”
“Oh,”
“Excuse me?”
“If you hadn’t
guessed, I’m
Ash blinked at
him.
“Do you live
with a fey and not know about the courts?”
“Nicky doesn’t
talk about his past.”
“No, I guess
he wouldn’t. And far be it from me to divulge his secrets.”
“Tell me more
about the courts.”
“Then why did
Nicky come to such abuse at your hands?”
“You say ‘your
hands’ like I was personally responsible.”
“For all I
know, you were.”
“Too
true. But fair
Nickilaos is a vastly different story. He’s an anomaly. A
genetic oops. Only a quarter Unseelie fey, but
he looks Seelie. All that pretty blond hair. So he
was a toy to the Queen.”
“Queen?”
“The
Queen of Air and Darkness. I am one of her royal guards.”
“Does the
“King
actually. The King of Light and Illusion. They are
siblings.”
Ash snorted.
“And I thought my family had issues. So anyone with mixed blood isn’t welcome
at either court?”
“Not
necessarily. We just don’t like human blood much.”
“Do fey from
different courts ever have children?”
A dark look
crossed
“Sounds like a
close personal friend.”
“Hardly. The Queen has all her guards under a
strict geas. Her bed or no ones.”
That struck a
nerve in Ash. “Why?”
“We don’t
question our Queen. Only obey.”
“Then far be
it from me to question her. Once you finish eating, we’ll get back to work.”
“Anxious
to get me out of here now? Want me gone before Nickilaos comes back?”
“Why do you
call him that?”
“It is his fey
name. He must’ve shortened it after he left.”
“Oh. And yes.
I’d like you gone before he gets back. We’ve just recently started healing
Nicky’s wounds.”
“I’m going to
tell you just one little secret. Nothing was done to Nickilaos that wasn’t done
to other fey. The only difference is that he was too human to enjoy it.”
“That doesn’t
make it any more right.”
“From
your stand point.
He was never in mortal danger. And he bears no scars from our fun.”
“You know,
“Then let’s
not discuss Faerie politics. I’m a great guy once you get past the sadistic
parts.”
“If you only
knew how much you were asking.”
After
“Still
at the club. He
wanted to finish up a few more things. Rob was whining about wanting to come
home. So I brought him.”
Ash smiled at
Rob as he wearily brushed past her. She waited for Nicky to catch up with her
before entering the house. “How’s Micha getting home if you brought the car?”
“He said he’d
take a cab.”
Ash shrugged.
“I’ll run down there and get him.”
“You
sure?”
“Yeah. I left some papers I need anyway.”
“Want some
company?”
“Sure.” They
got in Ash’s Mustang and headed back toward the club. As they walked up, they
both paused. The door appeared to have been forced open. Nicky shoved Ash
behind him and cautiously entered the building. Ash hadn’t seen him reach for a
weapon but when he turned around there was a wicked blade in his hand. “Micha’s
here, but he’s in distress. I don’t feel anyone else though.”
“Let’s find
him.”
Nicky shot for
the stairs, so Ash searched the first floor. Before she covered half, Nicky
thundered back down with Micha in his arms. “He’s been bitten.”
Ash rushed
over to them. There was a small trail of blood coming from two tiny puncture
marks on his neck. “Vampire. We need to get him home
so I can cleanse that.”
Nicky nodded, his face pale with worry. He carried Micha to the
car and climbed into the backseat with him. “One quick stop and we’ll go home.
Was there a lot of blood around him?”
“No. I think
he passed out from fear, not blood loss.” Nicky’s voice was thick with tears.
Ash glanced in
the rearview mirror. Nicky was tenderly stroking Micha’s cheek. “He’s going to
be okay, Nicky. This was a warning attack from someone. A healthy vampire
could’ve overtaken him.”
“I know. And I
left him.”
Ash knew
nothing she could say would lessen Nicky’s guilt, so she stayed quiet. She
drove as fast as she dared to the occult shop nearest the club. “Stay here.
I’ll be back in a second.”
A few minutes
later she returned and set a large brown bag on the passenger seat.
“What’s that?”
“Holy
water.”
“Is that what
you cleanse the bite with?”
“Yeah. And a cross.”
“Will it hurt
him bad?”
Ash didn’t say
anything.
“I won’t leave
him. He never left me.”
“I know. But
you can’t try to stop me, no matter what. If the bite isn’t purified, the
vampire that bit him will be able to call him.”
“What’s that
mean?”
“Micha will be
in his complete control.”
“I won’t stop
you.”
Ash nodded and
got them home. Once at the house, Nicky carried him into Ash’s bathroom. Ash
followed with the bag. Jeff looked worried as he caught up to her. “What the
hell happened?”
“Micha got bit
by a vamp. I’ve got to clean the wound. Keep everyone out of here until I come
out.”
“Will you need
help?”
“Nicky’s going
to be in there with me.”
“Is that a
good idea?”
“You wanna
tell him he has to leave?”
“Good point.”
“I thought so
too.”
Jeff gave her
a reassuring pat on the shoulder and closed the bedroom door behind him. Ash
entered the bathroom with grim determination. Nicky had seated himself in the
large tub with Micha’s back braced against his chest. Nicky’s legs hugged
Micha’s and helped hold him in place.
Ash silently
set the bag down and pulled a small clear bottle from it. She unscrewed the cap
and sat on the edge of the tub. Micha blinked and then opened his eyes. “Ash? Ash, I got hurt.”
Ash tried to
keep the worry from her face and voice. “I know, sugar. But we’re going to fix
you right up.”
“A vampire bit
me, Ash.”
“I know. We
have to cleanse it.”
He nodded and
swallowed hard. “It’s going to hurt, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. A lot.”
Nicky softly
ran a hand through Micha’s hair. “I’m here, baby. I’m here for you.”
Micha
swallowed again and closed his eyes. “I’m ready.”
Ash had to
wonder if she could do this. The water would feel like acid on an unholy wound.
She steeled her resolve and tipped the bottle toward his neck. The moment the
blessed liquid hit his flesh, Micha’s whole body bowed up and he let out a
hideous scream. “Hold him, Nicky.”
Micha thrashed
as if trying to get away as more water poured over him. His screams slowly
abated until he was only breathing raggedly. “Did you make him pass out?”
Nicky nodded.
“He doesn’t have to remember all of this.”
Ash wished she
didn’t either.
Jeff was
pacing the living room when Ash finally came down. She was pale and fatigue was
written all over her face.
“How is he?”
Ash shook her
head. “It’s not over yet. I need some one with Christian beliefs.” She looked
around at the puzzled faces.
“Heather, do
you still believe in God and all that?”
“Yeah,
why?”
“Come with
me.”
The two went
back upstairs to the bathroom. Micha was drifting in and out of consciousness
and mumbling under his breath. Nicky’s face was devoid of emotion as he held
the other man tightly.
Heather
shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. Ash held out a small gold cross on a
chain. “I need you to place this against the wound.”
“Why can’t you
do it?”
“I have no
faith in the Christian God. It won’t do any good.”
Heather slowly
took the cross and squatted down. “I don’t know, Ash. I don’t think I can do
it.”
Ash rubbed her
eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “Well then, I hope this works.” She grabbed
Heather’s wrist and forced her to touch the metal to Micha’s neck. The skin
bubbled under the symbol and smoke rose from the burning flesh. Micha’s
screaming started anew. Heather cried out and tried to jerk away but Ash kept
her in place. After a minute the skin stopped bubbling.
Ash released
her and stepped back. “Stop crying. You had the easy part.”
Heather stood
up shakily and dropped the cross. She wiped her eyes and cheeks. “I wasn’t
crying for myself.”
Ash nodded. “If
you’re going to shed tears at least make sure they’re for the right reason. Now
go tell everyone that Micha’s going to be fine.”
Ash spent the
next several days in Nicky and Micha’s room. She wanted to keep an eye on Micha
but part of her was more worried about Nicky. She could see the self-hatred in
his eyes. He hadn’t been able to protect the most important person in his life,
and it was killing him.
Jeff was
making sure pard stuff ran smoothly while Ash was with them. When she finally
came downstairs on the day of the full moon a strange sight greeted her. Rey was seated on the love seat next to a man she didn’t
recognize. The stranger had shoulder length brown hair and an easy going smile.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Billy.”
“Oh, that
answers everything. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Jeff told me
to come back on the full moon.”
“Oh shit.
Please tell me you don’t have a letter carved into your chest.”
“A big ole
‘T’”
“And please
don’t tell me a blond man did it.”
“Yup.”
“You don’t
take orders very well. That will have to change if you shift.” Ash turned to
the hall. “JEFF!”
He came
strolling in from the kitchen. “You bellowed, dear.”
“Why wasn’t I
informed of our new arrival?"
“I took care
of it. You had more important things to deal with.”
“I guess
you’re right.” Ash sighed and flopped down onto the other couch.
Rey
spoke in his soft accent, “So when will all this stuff happen.”
“IF it happens
it’ll happen tonight. We’ll gather at dusk and wait. If you don’t shift by the
time the moon is up then you get to go home and never see us again.”
It was Billy’s
turn to ask a question. “And if we do shift?”
“Welcome to
the family.”
The moon was
almost up by the time they gathered. Ash gave the boys the same speech she’d
given Heather. If they shifted, Rob and Drew were going to hunt with them. Ash
looked at the two faces and tried to study them in the failing light. Rey looked calm for the most part. But there were tight
lines around his eyes. Billy’s gaze darted around, looking at the different
people changing into their other forms. “You won’t remember the shift. It’ll be
like you blacked out and went unconscious.”
“How will we
know what to do?” There was a slight tremor to Rey’s
voice.
“Instinct will
take over. Besides, that’s why two cats are going to stick with you.”
“But we might
not shift at all, right? I mean, we could just walk away from this whole
situation?”
“It’s
possible, Billy.” But Ash just didn’t think that was the case. Even though they
were still human she could almost feel the extra energy coming from them. It
must have been how Mark had known she would shift before she did.
The power was
getting stronger. “When it comes, don’t fight it.”
Rey
finally opened his brown eyes and she could see the knowledge in them. He knew
what was about to happen. He’d apparently seen someone shift before. And he
feared it. “Look at me, Rey.” When he met her eyes,
she tried to calm him. “It’s only painful this fist time. After that it’s a
piece of cake. You’ll be shifting like an old pro.”
Beside him,
Billy sank to his knees with a groan. Thick fur was already beginning to glide
up his hands and arms. Rey looked like he would
hyperventilate. Ash could tell when the first wave of pain went through him. He
clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt.
“Don’t fight
it, sugar. Ride it out.”
He took a deep
breath and Ash could feel when he gave in to the changes wracking his body.
Once he stopped resisting he shifted almost immediately. Ash was impressed. She
hadn’t seen someone hold off the first shift in a long time. In fact she knew
of only one other person who had.
Ash woke up on
the afternoon after the last hunt to the sound of splitting wood. She rolled
out of bed and flung the balcony doors open. Down in the yard Jeff was hacking
through small logs and piling them into a wide pit. “JEFF! What in the hell are
you doing?”
He looked up
at her with a bright smile. “It’s a surprise, love.”
“I hate
surprises.” She grumbled as she shut the doors. She stumbled out into the hall
and found Drew just coming from his own room. “What the fuck is Jeff up to?”
“Won’t
say. But he’s been
at it all morning.”
Ash rubbed her
still blurry eyes. “I need coffee.”
“Then allow me
to make you some.”
Ash let Drew
pour her a steaming cup then sat at the bar. She was surprised to see Micha
walk in a few minutes later. “Hey, sugar. Feeling better?”
“Yeah. The moon cycle helped.”
“I just didn’t
expect to see you up and about yet.”
“If Nicky had
his way I wouldn’t be. He still thinks I’m so fragile.”
“To him you
are.”
“I know.”
Micha poured a cup of coffee and sat next to Ash. “And I hate that he’s blaming
himself. It wasn’t his fault.”
Ash remained
quiet.
“You don’t
blame him, do you?”
“No.”
“Ash?”
“Forget it,
sugar.”
“Don’t blame
yourself.”
She gave him a
faint smile. “You know me to well.”
“You can’t
keep everyone safe all the time.”
“I’m Alpha,
Micha. That’s part of my job. Mine and Jeff’s. We not
only failed you, but Nicky as well. Don’t say anything else, though. ‘Cause you can’t change it.”
“Ash…”
“I mean it,
Micha.”
“Alright.” Micha and Drew drifted out after that.
“It’s not, you
know.”
Ash set her
mug down and shrugged at the new voice behind her. “Not now,
Nicky.”
“Ash, you
can’t expect to look out for all of us at the same time. It’s not your fault
Micha got hurt.”
“I know.”
“Excuse me?”
Ash stood and
faced him. “It’s no more my fault than it is yours. So if I don’t get to be
sulky and blame myself than neither do you.”
Nicky tried
not to smile. “You’re a manipulative little thing, aren’t you?”
“When
I want to be.”
“So whose
fault is it?”
“The
vampire that bit him.
And I’m going to see about fixing that very soon.”
At nightfall
Jeff herded everyone outside to a large bonfire. Ash glared at him while
stomping her feet to keep warm. “This was your surprise? Dragging us out in the
winter?”
“Get closer to
the fire. You’ll warm up. Might even melt some of that ice
off you heart.”
“Watch it,
Jeff. Or you’ll see how cold blooded I can be to insubordinate cats.”
“Speaking of,
I have some quick business to take care of.”
Ash gave him a
questioning look but he flashed her another bright
smile and walked over to Rey. “You questioned my
authority and blatantly disrespected my position in this pard. And as a new
member you will be held accountable for your actions. Do you understand?”
“I’m gonna get
the shit kicked out of me, huh?”
“Probably.” Jeff extended his hand.
Rey
nodded and they shook. When they parted both were all
business. Rey crouched low in a fighter’s stance,
while Jeff held himself loosely upright. He slowly stalked around the smaller
man until Rey got jumpy and lunged. As soon as he was
within reach, Jeff grabbed his shirt and threw him to the ground. He kicked him
in the ribs and backed off. Rey got up slowly wiping
a trickle of blood from his mouth. He shook his head and resumed his stance.
“You’re quick.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Can I just
let you smack me around and be done with it?”
“You could.”
Rey
grinned and rushed him again. This time Jeff absorbed the blow with his body
and let their momentum carry them to the ground. Just before they hit there was
a blur of movement. When it stopped, Jeff was standing beside the prone man. Rey was bleeding from his nose and a shallow cut over his
eyebrow.
“Enough.” Jeff
once again held out a hand. “Consider the wrong righted.”
“So we’re cool
now?”
“Almost.”
Rey
looked at the offered help and took it. Jeff pulled him to his feet and clapped
him on the back. “Welcome home.”
“Great.
Testosterone has once again been balanced. Can we go back inside now?” Ash
grumbled.
“No. I have
marshmallows for roasting. And we could tell campfire stories and stuff.”
“Campfire
stories?” Trish
looked at Ash gleefully.
Ash glared and
shook her head. “No, Trish.”
“But…”
“No.”
“No what?”
Jeff was looking back and forth between the girls.
“Nothing. Drop it.”
Trish sighed. “Fine. But you’re no fun.” She grabbed one of the blankets
Jeff had brought out and wrapped it around herself.
Jeff passed
around straightened out coat hangers and bags of marshmallows. Shawn and
Shannon immediately began sword fighting with them. Ash smiled at the antics of
her cats, but noticed one person staying to the shadows more than usual. She
made her way over to Kane. “Feeling antisocial tonight?”
“Aren’t I
always?”
“You’ve been
getting better.”
“I’ve got a
lot on my mind right now, Ash.”
“Rob?”
“Partly.”
“Illyana?”
“Partly.”
“Don’t want to
talk?”
“Not really. I
think I’m going back inside.”
“Okay, sugar.
I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah.”
Rob stared at
his retreating back. “He gets that way sometimes.”
He nodded.
“Don’t let it
bother you, sugar.”
“Yeah. You’re right. That’s just Kane.”
“Damn
straight. He’s confusing as hell.”
“Yeah. Oh and Ash?”
“Huh?”
“I’m not
straight.”
“It’ll be our
little secret.”
The fire was starting
to die. Everyone was settled around in little groups. Heated whispering from
Trish and Ash caught everyone’s attention. Ash finally stood up. “Fine. If it’ll get you to stop pestering
me.”
Trish nodded
excitedly. “I promise.”
Ash sighed and
knelt down close to the dying flames. She scooped up some dirt and muttered a
few words in Gaelic. She tossed the earth onto the fire and it shot up and
blazed anew.
“HOLY SHIT!”
she heard Kevin say.
“Shhh!” That from Trish.
“You wanted a
campfire story? I’ll tell you a real one.” She looked around and saw she had
everyone’s undivided attention. “A very long time ago, the only beings who
could harness the power of magic were the fey. Humans were jealous and greedy
and sought to steal it from them. So they took to mounds in the Earth, hidden
from mortal eyes. It was a dark time for the world. It was almost as if the fey
took all happiness and light with them when they fled.”
When Ash
stopped for a minute and stared into the fire, she heard people gasping. The flames
had taken on a life of their own. In them was pictured a barren gray land.
People trudged dirt paths as if through a fog.
“This went on
for many years. Until someone took pity on the unhappy race.”
A winding dirt
road cut through the scene. A small figure appeared at the end. As Ash
described her, details became more obvious. “A bent old woman came into the
world one dawn. She was an odd sight to behold. Her robes were the whitest
white that no dust would dirty. Her skin was the brownest brown that no sun
would burn. Her hair was the greenest green that no wind would blow. And her eyes the bluest blue and wisdom fairly shown from them.”
The flames
rose up above their heads until the old woman was clearly pictured.
“As she walked
the land people ran from her, startled by her strange appearance, though she
made no threatening moves. She finally came to a young farmer. She asked him
for a drink of water, and was surprised when he led her to his tiny shack. ‘I
don’t have much to offer, wise one. But you’re welcome to what I can give.’”
The two were
pictured in a rundown cabin eating a sparse meal on the dirty floor.
“
‘Why do you help
me, Young Farmer?’ ‘Because you are less fortunate than even myself.
I can grow more food and carry up more water from they stream. You cannot.
Therefore you need my help.’ The old woman smiled and laid a gnarled, knobby
hand on his forehead. ‘I have searched the world over for someone like you. The
world of man is a dark place without the light of magic. To you and all of your
descendants I bestow the power held deep within the Earth.’ The man glowed from
within and when the light dimmed he asked in amazement, ‘Who are you?’ ‘You may
call me Mother for I am from the Earth.’”
The man on his
knees before the woman faded and the fire died. The entire pard was silent for
a moment then questions broke over Ash. “It’s a child’s trick, really. Nothing special.”
“That was damn
cool.” Rob said.
Ash shrugged.
“It’s really nothing. All Druid children learn to tell the story of the first
Druid in a fire.”
“It’s still
neat.”
“Well, I’m
tired now, so I’m going inside.” The cold was beginning to sneak up on them so
they all agreed it was time to head back to the house. Ash popped a movie in
the VCR as everyone filed in. Almost everyone flopped down to watch. Drew
grabbed his car keys from the coffee table. “I need to hit the grocery store.
We’re down to the bare necessities. Anyone wanna
join?”
“I will.”
“Speaking
of bare necessities.”
Kevin growled. “This bear needs sleep.”
Shawn watched
him go with a predatory gleam.
After about 30
minutes he followed him upstairs. Kevin was laying in
bed reading when Shawn entered the room and locked the door. Kevin immediately
recognized the look on his face. “You’ve got mischief on your mind. So where is
he? And what’s with the Santa hat?”
“Where’s who?”
“Whoever’s
planning to join us tonight.”
Shawn turned
in a full circle. “Looks like it’s just you and me.”
“Really?” Kevin put the book on the nightstand.
“Suddenly he’s
interested. And as for the hat, I’m Santa’s helper tonight.”
“Gonna ask me
what I want for Christmas?”
“Maybe. But my real mission is to find out if
you’re on the naughty or nice list.”
“That sounds
promising. What do I have to do?”
“Whatever
you want.”
“Come here.”
Shawn
obediently walked to the edge of the bed. “Take off everything but the Santa
hat.”
“Keep the hat?
I like the way you think.” Shawn did as requested and waited.
“Lay down next
to me on top of the blankets.”
Once again
Shawn did exactly as requested.
“I could get
used to you listening to me for a change.”
“Too bad
Christmas is only once a year.”
“Damn that,”
Kevin’s words were muffled against Shawn’s neck. The smaller man gasped and
squirmed as Kevin bit down.
“Too
rough?”
“Uh-uh.”
“Good, cause it’s gonna get a whole lot rougher.”
And it did.
Kevin practically attacked him with stinging love bites all over his upper
body; except for the one place Shawn wanted him to focus his attention on.
“You want it,
don’t you?” Kevin’s voice had deepened considerably.
Shawn only
nodded.
“Beg me.”
“What?”
“Beg me,
Shawn. I wanna hear the promiscuous Shawn Michaels beg to get fucked.”
“Please?”
“Come on now.
I know you can do better than that. I’m sure you’ve heard enough pleading for
release.”
“Jesus, you’re
brutal.”
Kevin rubbed
his scratchy chin against Shawn’s lower belly.
“Ah, okay.
Please Kevin. I feel like I’m fucking dying here. You got to do something. I
don’t care what.”
“You
sure about that?”
“YES!”
Kevin rolled
over on his back.
“What’re you
doing?”
“I’m not doing
anything. You on the other hand are going to suck my dick.”
Shawn eagerly
scrambled to straddle Kevin’s legs. Kevin grabbed a fistful of his hair. “Go
slowly.”
“You’re
killing me here, Kevin.”
“I’ve opted
for naughty. I’ve never liked being nice.” He slowly guided Shawn’s mouth to
his erection. “No hands. Just lick it.”
Shawn
whimpered in frustration but did as he was told. Kevin took deep breaths in
through his nose as Shawn’s eager tongue took small licks of his flesh. “More?”
Shawn nodded
as much as Kevin’s grip would allow. “You can use your mouth.”
Shawn wrapped
his lips around the head and tried to take more but Kevin stopped him. His
voice was starting to sound strained. “Work with what’cha
got.”
Shawn again
whimpered, sending vibrations through Kevin’s cock. He really hoped his control
would last through this.
He let Shawn
take a little more at a time. When he was about half buried in the other man’s
mouth, he let go of his hair. “All of it, Shawn. Now.”
Shawn took a
deep breath and swallowed the rest of the big man. Kevin threw his head back
for a second and just enjoyed a mind-blowing blowjob. Then he remembered that
he was supposed to be naughty. He swept Shawn’s hair to the side and held it in
a loose fist. “Do you want me to come?”
Shawn made an
affirmative sound.
“You wanna
taste it?”
Shawn moaned.
Kevin slowly
tightened his fist until Shawn realized he was supposed to stop. He stared at
Kevin with desire glazed eyes. Using his free hand Kevin reached down to stroke
himself. He backed Shawn’s head up to the right distance. “Open your mouth.”
Shawn licked
his lips and obeyed.
“Let’s see how
good my aim is. And how good you look covered in cum.”
Kevin felt his
balls tighten and aimed his cock at Shawn’s waiting mouth. The first spurt
smacked him on the cheek. More got on his face than in his
mouth. But Shawn didn’t seem to notice. He looked ready to cum without
even being touched. Kevin groaned as the spasms stopped. He pulled Shawn up to
him by the hair and licked his face clean. A steady stream of wordless noises
came from Shawn. “Did you get a taste?”
Shawn shook
his head.
“Poor
baby. I guess I can
be a little nice, too.” Kevin kissed him hard and deep. Shawn eagerly sucked
the cream from the other man’s tongue. “Is that what you wanted?”
“Mm-huh.”
“You never
begged to get fucked.”
Shawn suddenly
found his voice. “Oh God please, Kevin. Please. I need you to fuck me.”
“That’s not
bad. But you could do better. So you’ll have to get yourself ready.” Kevin
grabbed a bottle of lube from the night stand and handed it to the other man.
Shawn looked lost.
“Want me to
explain? Get your fingers nice and slick and then stick them up your ass.”
“Kevin, I’ve
never…”
Kevin popped
the top of the bottle and poured it over Shawn’s hand. He rubbed the other
man’s hands together. “Now just do what I usually do. But don’t make yourself
cum.”
Shawn nodded
and laid on his side facing Kevin.
“Uh-uh. Turn
around.”
Shawn’s eyes
widened a bit but he rolled onto his other side. It was then that he realized
there was a mirror on that side of the bed. Kevin could watch from both angles.
He could also see Kevin’s reactions. Right now he was staring intently at
Shawn’s reflection in the glass. Shawn closed his eyes and reached behind him.
Kevin guided his hand, pointer finger extended, to the right spot. Shawn slowly
slipped the finger inside himself. He felt Kevin move closer and felt gentle
lips at his neck. “Let go of what inhibitions you do have, Shawn. Just feel. You know exactly what feels good. And when to do more. You know when you’re ready.”
A pink flush
was creeping up his body as he added another finger. Kevin moved away and Shawn
watched him coat his erection with lube. When his cock glistened he laid back
down. Shawn had added another finger and was panting harshly. Kevin pulled
Shawn’s hand away by the wrist and replaced the fingers with his dick. Shawn
held his breath until he was all the way in. “You okay.”
“Oh shit yes.
I think I’m more turned on than I’ve ever been.”
Kevin kept his
eyes locked on the reflection of Shawn’s while he pumped into him. “Stroke
yourself.”
Shawn readily
obeyed. “Kevin, I’m so fucking close.”
“Do it. I want
to watch you come.”
Shawn let go
with a wail and came in a rush. Kevin waited until he was done before letting
go himself. He grabbed Shawn’s hip hard enough to bruise and slammed into him
several more times, each stab hitting Shawn’s prostate. Shawn gasped as he felt
himself starting to come again. Kevin let out a hoarse shout and flooded
Shawn’s insides and Shawn once again cried out. When he calmed down, Kevin
brushed his damp hair back from his face. “So which list am I on?”
“I’m going for
both.”
“I’m
supervising. Like I did at the store. If you start to
put something in the wrong place, I’ll tell you.”
“Uh-huh.” Drew
tossed a bag of pretzels at him.
“Oh, thanks.
All this work was making me hungry.”
Drew snorted.
A few minutes later he said, “Hey Shan. Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“What’s up
with you never staying with me?”
“Yes you do.
You always have to leave before you go to sleep. You go back to Ash’s room.”
“I dunno. I guess I’m just used to sleeping in there with
them.”
“Okay
Much later, in
the wee hours of the morning, only one person was still awake. Kane lay on his
side in bed, staring at the most perfect thing in his life. He traced every
line of Rob’s face with his eyes. Then did it again.
He’d never let himself get close to someone. But Rob was different. He couldn’t
help but feel when Rob was around. He reached up to brush a stray hair off
Rob’s forehead. He stopped when he caught sight of his swollen scarred flesh
against Rob’s perfection. The contrast made him cringe. He turned away and got
out of bed. He couldn’t do it anymore. He quickly dressed and stalked quietly
up to Ash’s room. The four people in bed were a mass of tangled arms and legs,
but he innately knew which was Ash. He shook her
shoulder until she blinked at him. “Get up.”
“Why? What’s
wrong?” She sat up in bed.
“We’re going
to
“Now? Can’t it wait ‘till morning?”
“No.”
Jeff groaned
and looked at Ash. “Take someone with you if you’re going.”
Trish rolled
out of bed. “I’ll go. That way no one else gets woken up.”
“Fine. Throw some clothes in a bag and we’ll
meet you downstairs.”
“Hurry,” was
all Kane said before leaving the room.
Ash kissed his
forehead. “Kane wants to go to
“Okay.”
Ash followed
Kane down to the garage. “So what’s the sudden rush to see her?”
“Its
just time, Ash. Way past time.”
Trish came out
with an armload of blankets and pillows. Ash took some from her and threw them
in the back of the van. They quickly removed the last bench seat and were on
their way. Trish made a bed and laid down. Ash had
woken up so she sat next to Kane. “So what’s the game plan?”
“You drop me
off at Illyana’s when we get there and then go somewhere else. You’ll know when
I’m ready.”
“I don’t get
it, Kane.”
“You don’t
have to get it.”
“It’s
just…she’s not even…”
“I know.” He
gestured to the back.
“She’s
sleeping.”
“Just
in case. Don’t say
anything you shouldn’t.”
“Do I usually
have a problem with that?”
“Not so far.
But you’ve been pretty relaxed this time.”
“It’s been a
rough go around.”
“Isn’t it always?”
“Maybe this
one seems worse ‘cause there’s so many of them.”
Kane snorted. “Once a martyr.”
“And
what about you?
Since when do the scars bother you this much? How many lifetimes have you had
them?”
“Do I really
need to explain it?”
“No. But I knew
you and Rob were a bad idea.”
“I know. But
then, so were you and Jeff.”
“I guess it’s
no different. If going to see her makes you happy, so be it.”
Kane reached
over and patted her knee. “Thanks Ash.”
Trish lay in
the back wondering why they seemed to be talking in code. She heard the words,
but he real meaning was lost on her. They were talking
about so much more than she was hearing. Or maybe she was just tired.
Ash still had
reservations about the whole situation when they reached Illyana’s shop. “I’ll
be fine, Ash.”
“I know.” She
kissed Kane’s masked cheek. “But I can’t help but worry about you.”
He shook his
head at her. “You should know better. Are you going to your parents?”
“Hell
no. I figured we’d
stay at Viggo’s. If he’ll let us.”
Kane nodded
and walked into the building.
“Is Viggo the
hermit?”
Ash laughed.
“Yeah, but he’s safe. You’ll like him.”
“Are we going
now?”
“I figured we
would. Why? Is that a problem?”
“I guess not.”
“Baby, just
spill it.”
“I’ve never
been to
“What’s your
point, sugar?”
“You could
show me around.”
“Oh. Well,
sure. I guess. What do you want to see?”
“Everything.”
Ash laughed.
“Baby, that’d take lifetimes. But I’ll do the best I can.”
Sometime later
the two girls sat at an outdoor café, absorbing the Cajun music that poured
over them. Ash had forgotten how much she loved the city. Trish sat her empty
coffee cup down with a clank and jarred Ash out of her thoughts. “So, got any
ideas for Christmas?”
“A
few. Since you
Holiday Nazis insist that we exchange gifts.”
“Care to let
me in on them?”
“Nope. And don’t even try, cause
I’m a master at keeping secrets.”
“Don’t I know it.”
Ash smiled at
her beautiful companion and stood. “Let’s go. It’s starting to get colder.”
Trish nodded
and they walked hand in hand to the car.
Ash drove out
to Viggo’s cabin in the swamp. When she pulled to a stop, Trish sat still and
stared out the window. “Are we going to get eaten out here?”
“If
we’re lucky.”
Trish’s face
turned bright red. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know. But
you will be tomorrow morning.”
“Is this okay,
though? I mean he’s not pard, Ash.”
“And?”
Ash saw
movement by the house and a small smile spread over her face. She winked at
Trish and got out of the car. “Hey there stranger.”
Viggo stopped
and stared for a second. “Need a hotel for the night?”
“You think
that’s the only reason I came here? Can’t I just visit a friend?”
“Who’s the
blond?”
Ash looked
over her shoulder and gestured at her companion. “That’s Trish. She’s a bit shy
at times.”
“Well, if you
can coax her into the house, you two are welcome to crash here. But I’m sure
you knew that.”
Viggo walked
inside ahead of them to start some coffee. The pot had just finished brewing
when he heard the front door open. “How’d you convince her to come in?”
“I told her a
gator would get her.” They rounded the corner and Viggo smiled warmly at them
both. He poured Ash some coffee and looked at Trish. “Would you like a cup?”
She shook her
head.
“Cat got your
tongue?”
“She’s never
been with anyone outside the pard since she shifted. She’s a bit nervous.” Ash
patted Trish’s leg under the table.
“Ash!”
“What?”
“You’re
so…so…Never mind.”
Viggo looked
confused. “Is it a problem that I’m not part of your pard?”
Trish finally
looked at him. “We have an understanding that within the pard anything goes. But not outside of it.”
“Doesn’t your
Alpha set the standards though?”
“I guess. But
both of them need to agree on decisions.”
Trish heard
Ash fumbling in her pocket beside her. Then she heard a cell phone dialing. “Oh my God! You’re calling Jeff aren’t you?”
“I won’t hear
the end of it if I don’t. Hello? Shan, let me talk to
Jeff.” Pause. “Well wake him up, sugar. This is important Alpha business.” Ash
covered the phone. “Apparently Jeff’s been getting along fine without me.”
“Ash, hang up.
This is not necessary.”
Ash started to
say something to Trish but stopped and spoke into the phone. “Hey, sugar, do
you mind if Trish and I have sex with Viggo?” Another pause.
“I didn’t think so. I’ll see you when I get home. Love you, too.” Ash hung up. “Done. Feel better?”
Viggo had to
laugh. “You just called your boyfriend and asked him if you and your girlfriend
could have sex with me. Not to mention you woke him up after he had sex with
his boyfriend.”
“That about
sums it up. So, Trish, what’s it going to be?”
“Ash, it’s not
that I’m totally opposed to the idea. It’s just kind of strange.”
“Don’t make me
say it. You know I only use it when you want to do something buy your
inhibitions tell you it’s wrong.”
“Ash…”
“Come on,
baby. Be a rebel.”
Trish sighed
heavily and stood. “Damn you when you’re right, Ash.”
“Baby, I was
damned long before I met you.”
Trish stuck
her tongue out at the girl and walked over to Viggo. He stood with his arms
crossed, hips leaned against the counter. She brushed some of his shaggy hair
back and stood on tiptoes to kiss him. Just a light touch of
the lips at first then with increasing passion. Trish was panting by the
time she pulled away.
“What a change
three words brought out in you.”
Trish smiled.
“She knows how to play me.”
“And
when you want to be played.”
“Exactly. So how would you like to play?”
“Intense.” His
hand shot to the back of her head and pulled her close again. Ash could see his
tongue plunging into Trish’s mouth repeatedly until Trish was moaning and
clinging to him. He abruptly released her and spun her to face Ash. Their
bodies were pressed firmly together and she could feel his arousal against her
backside. “You can ask your Alpha about how intense I can be. Which is probably why she came back for more.”
Ash gave a
feral grin in response. “Are you playing the dominate
again?”
“Of
course. At least
until I find someone who can dominate me.” Viggo brushed Trish’s hair aside and
whispered something in her ear.
Trish’s face
burned scarlet and she opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came
out. Viggo nibbled lightly at her ear in encouragement. She finally cleared her
throat and looked at Ash. “Take your clothes off and get on the table.”
Ash smiled at
Trish’s breathless command and obeyed. She climbed onto the end of the
rectangular surface.
Viggo kept his
mouth close to her ear, but spoke loud enough that Ash could hear him. “What an
inviting picture that makes, huh? Especially for you.
I’d guess it’s always been that way.”
Trish nodded
in agreement.
“And you’re
not used to giving orders to her. Even before she became your Alpha.” He once
again spoke low in her ear.
Trish once
again turned red, but spoke to Ash. “Lay flat on your back.”
Ash scooted
down until her legs dangled over the end of the table.
Viggo
unsnapped Trish’s jeans and pushed them down her hips. “Last time Ash was here
I showed her that just because you’re in a dominant position doesn’t mean
you’re in control. But this time I think you will be.” He pushed her panties
down as well and set her away from him. He walked around in front of her to
pick her up and set her on the counter. He removed her tennis shoes and the
rest of her clothes, and then set her back on her feet. “What’s the first thing
coming to your mind right now?”
“Your floor’s
cold.”
Viggo gave a
short laugh. “Okay. Try the second. Look at Ash. What do you want to do?”
Trish’s whole
body blushed.
“Do it.”
“But…”
“No. No buts.
Don’t rationalize it. Don’t apologize for it. Just do it.”
Trish seemed
hesitant but walked over to the end of the table. She bent at the waist and
buried her face in Ash’s pussy. Ash inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She
reached a hand down and softly caressed the side of Trish’s face.
Viggo shook
his head and unzipped his pants. He slipped his fully erect cock out and
stepped behind Trish. He pushed inside her and just waited. It didn’t take long
for Trish to start whimpering into Ash’s flesh. Viggo shifted ever so slightly
sending tingles through her. He ran his hands along her back and hips. “This
wasn’t what you wanted to do at first. You were appalled by the first thought
that came to your mind. So you went for something less shameful. Not that this
isn’t a beautiful picture. But I want you to do what made your whole body break
out in a flush.” He grasped her shoulder and pulled her to a standing position,
still inside of her. “Brace your arms on the table.” Once she did, Viggo began
thrusting heavily, forcing small squeaks from her. Trish locked eyes with Ash
and gave her a small smile. She reached back with one hand and grabbed a
fistful of Viggo’s hair. Sooner than Ash had expected she saw Viggo stiffen up.
Trish cried out as he flooded her insides. His voice was breathless when he
said, “Now you’re gonna do what you originally wanted to do.”
Trish’s eyes
went round. “What? I can’t! Not with…”
“Yes you can.
And you will.” Viggo pulled away from her and once again picked her up. He sat
her down on her knees over Ash’s head. She tried to move away, but he kept his
hands on her shoulders. Ash grabbed her hips and pulled her down. Trish gasped
when she felt her tongue spear up inside her and scoop
out some of the wetness there. Her already sensitive flesh was made even more
so by Viggo’s fucking. Trish grabbed his forearms and held on for dear life.
Viggo removed her hands and moved to the other side of the table. Without
warning he shoved two fingers inside Ash. She jerked up and moaned, her hips
arching toward him. Viggo pumped his hand fast and hard until he felt her
clenching on him. Trish’s moans got progressively louder and he looked up to
see her grounding herself down on Ash’s face. Both girls exploded within
seconds of each other. Trish moved off of Ash and nearly fell off the table.
Viggo helped steady her before she collapsed. Ash sat up with a grin and wiped
a hand down her face. “Who’s up for round two?”
Trish gave a
breathy laugh and looked at Viggo. He, too, smiled and cocked his head toward
the bedroom.
Kane shifted
restlessly from one foot to the other. Something he almost never did. He felt
out of place. Too large in the small room. He cast a
glance at the petite woman sitting in the corner. She hadn’t said a word to him
yet. He was on the verge of leaving when she finally spoke. “Why do you hide
behind that hideous mask?”
“Because
I was burned as a child. What’s underneath is more hideous.”
“Please remove
it while we speak. I’d like to see my child.”
Kane hesitated
but did take the mask off. He let his hair fall into his face. He felt
completely exposed, standing unmasked, before a mother he didn’t know.
“Come sit
beside me.”
He slowly
walked to her and squatted before her chair.
“Look at me.”
He raised his
face letting the hair fall back.
She gasped.
“There you are. The one I named Radiant One. I knew you had to be hiding under
there somewhere. But where are the scars you speak of? I see only smooth flesh
and bright eyes.”
“Is it
possible that you and one other are blind to them?”
“No,
child. The whole
world sees you as we do. It’s only you that still sees still smoldering flesh.”
With those
words, Kane laid his head down in his mothers lap and sobbed. And Illyana did
what any mother would do. She softly petted his head and whispered words of
comfort and love. “I know of your childhood. And it’s no wonder you see
yourself as a monster. For you were once. But you changed. Almost as if a
miracle happened. You were born from the fire as a new person. Like a phoenix
rising from the ashes of hatred.”
“How do you
know all this?”
“A mother
knows many things, my child.”
“Can you fix
it?”
“No. But you
can.” Illyana stood and showed him a mirror. “Look once at your reflection and
it will be as you see yourself. Look twice and see how others see you. Look
harder to see your true reflection.”
Kane took a
deep breath and looked in the mirror. What he saw made him cringe. The sight
was what made him smash mirrors and hide in shadows. Raw festering blisters
spotted his melted features. He turned away quickly.
“Now look
again. That is not you.”
Kane
reluctantly raised his head again. This time his reflection showed no scars. No
old wounds. What he saw was smooth tanned flesh. A strong elven nose and high cheekbones. His eyes were the
fey tri-colors. Blue, green, and aqua in rings.
Kane stared a
moment longer and his reflection blurred at the edges. Golden light began to
emanate around him. He quickly looked away. “I have seen enough.”
“Then you are
healed.”
“May I sit and
talk to you for awhile?”
“Of
course. We have
much to talk about.”
Jeff stepped
back to look at his finished work. He nodded with a satisfied smile and began
packing up his supplies. He’d just tossed the last paint can in a box when
“What’s that?”
“Someone’s
here to see Ash.”
“Is it a
human?”
Jeff sighed.
“Would you mind dragging this stuff upstairs, please?”
“Sure Jeff.”
“Thanks.”
Jeff found the
person waiting in the living room. He did indeed smell like a wereleopard. Jeff
extended a paint stained hand. “Hey man. I’m Jeff.”
The shorter
blond man shook his hand. “Brian. Nice to meet you. You in charge around here?”
“Less
than half the time.
But right now, yes. Ash is taking care of some personal business. What can I do
for you?”
“Well, I was
wondering if you could tell me why I was attacked and had an ‘R’ carved on my
chest.”
Jeff sighed.
“Walk with me to the kitchen so I can wash up.” Brian followed him to the sink
were Jeff poured dish soap over his hands and began scrubbing. “I can’t tell
you everything you’ll want to know, because I don’t have all the answers. It
seems that a rogue wereleopard has gone a bit psycho and vindictive. He’s
spelling out some kind of message to us. But why does he choose the victims he
does? That I just don’t know, man. I’m sorry.” Jeff’s
hands were pink, but mostly clean when he shut off the water.
Brian handed
him a dishtowel. “So what comes next?”
“I hate to
make it sound like you don’t have any choices, but there are really no good
ones. Either you join the pard or you don’t and you’re rogue.”
“If I join you
guys, will I get a chance for revenge?”
“When
we find him, yes.
But you’ll have to get in line. He’s pissed a lot of people off.”
Brian smiled
at that. “Alright, it’s a deal then.”
They once
again shook hands. “Looks like I’m going to have to do some rearranging just so
you can have your own room.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jeff shrugged.
“It’s fine.” He and Trish had already vacated their rooms into the master
bedroom for Rey and Billy. “I’ll just ask
“He won’t
mind?”
“Nah. He never sleeps in there anyway.” Jeff
went in search for the little blond and found him already tossing his clothes
out of the closet. Jeff leaned against the doorframe. “You’re a mind reader,
Shan.”
“Yeah
yeah. Want some help?”
“No, that’s
okay. Drew’s gonna help me. You go do the leadership
thing.”
“Okay, but
holler if you need me.”
“I will, but I
don’t think I’ll need you with Drew around.”
“Yeah. I’m figuring that out.”
“Jeff?”
Jeff smiled
but the gesture had a hint of sadness to it. “Nothing Shan.
Just let me know if you need help.”
“Sure Jeff. You alright?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you later.”
Ash woke the
next afternoon to a strange smell. Trish sat up beside
her coughing. Ash bolted out of bed and saw that the walls were smoking. “Viggo! Trish! We’ve got to get out of here.”
Trish yanked
her clothes on as Ash had. But Viggo still lay motionless. “Viggo!
Get up.” No movement. Ash leaned over him. “Viggo?”
She could barely see his chest rise and fall.
“Ash! We’ve got to hurry.” The smoke was
getting thicker and flames were starting to creep up the walls.
“Help me get
him to the car.”
Together they
carried the unresponsive man to the car. “Put him in the back.” Trish crawled
in beside him. “Wrap him in a blanket and keep him warm.” Ash slammed the car
in gear and drove as fast as she dared. She was almost to Illyana’s when her
cell phone went off, nearly scaring the shit out of her.
“What?”
“Dear God,
Ash! Are you okay?”
“Jeff? Yeah,
I’m fine. But…”
“Get home,
Ash. Shit’s going down in
“What the hell
are you talking about?”
“Shit’s
burning. It’s all over the news. And they’re saying the local pard has
something to do with it. But their house is on fire too.”
“Yeah. So was Viggo’s. I don’t know what the
fuck’s going on, but we’re getting Kane and coming home.”
“Just be
safe.”
“You
too. Never know how
far this shit will spread.”
“I’ll hold
down the fort until you get here.”
“That’s all I
ask, sugar. Just keep everyone breathing. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
Kane and
Illyana were waiting outside the small shop when they pulled up. Ash jumped out
of the car. “You drive. I have to help Viggo.”
“What’s wrong
with him?”
“I don’t know
yet.”
“Perhaps you
should have Mother take a look.”
Ash shot Kane
a strange look. The word mother sounded foreign on his lips. With no
explanation, Ash’s mistrust for the woman deepened.
“I can take
care of my own.”
The pale elf
stepped forward. “But that one is not one of your cats.”
“He is now.”
Though she didn’t say the words, “Back off” was written all over her face.
“I only offer
you my help.”
“And I thank
you, but it is neither wanted or needed. As I said, I
take care of those under my protection.”
“As do I,
child.”
“And you’re
Kane’s mother, Illyana. Not mine. I don’t need your help.”
“Not now. But
you will. There are hard times coming. And you will need
more help than you can imagine. And all the allies you can muster. Don’t burn
bridges you may yet have to cross again.”
“I was
wondering when you’d go all cryptic on me. And since you have that’s our cue to
leave.”
Ash crawled in
the back with Viggo and Trish. Kane got in the driver’s seat and gave Illyana
an apologetic smile. After they got on the highway, Ash moved to the passenger
seat. “His beast is broken.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t know
how else to say it. It’s as if there isn’t enough left for me to call. Like
something shredded it inside him.”
“You should’ve
let Illyana look at him.”
“No.”
“Why don’t you
trust her? She knows a lot.”
“I know. Maybe
that’s the problem. She knows too much. As if her eyes see straight into your
heart. It’s creepy.”
Kane was quiet
for a moment. “You haven’t said anything about the scars.”
Ash rolled her
head to the side and studied him. Illyana’s high Elven
cheekbones were prominent. His skin tone was an even creamy color. But it was
the tri-colored eyes that drew her attention. “You look like you always have to
me. I told you. You’re beautiful.”
He smiled
then, showing just a hint of slightly pointed canines. “Illyana wanted me to
give you something.”
“What?”
He handed her
something heavy wrapped in silk the color of thunderclouds. Calling the
material gray or silver would’ve been an insult. It seemed to shift against her
hands of it’s own accord. She reluctantly slid it away
and just stared for a moment at what was revealed. It was a metal emblem. The
kind warriors of old had worn against battle roughened armor proudly
proclaiming their faith. Who they fought for. And who they died for. Ash traced they symbols with a
trembling fingertip. A short sword, ornately decorated at the hilt. The hand
guard was the paw of some great cat. A human heart lay behind the blade and
when her skin touched it, Ash felt the cold metal beat as with life. She gasped
and dropped it on the floor.
“What?”
Her head
snapped to Trish, who’d crawled up between the seats. “Nothing.”
She hurriedly wrapped the emblem in the silk without touching the metal. “It’s
nothing. Don’t worry about it.” She was moodily quiet for the rest of the trip.
When they
finally got home, Jeff and Rob met them at the door. Ash jumped out. “Kane,
grab Viggo and lets get him in the house.”
Jeff went to
Ash’s side. “After you get him settled we have something to talk about.”
“Not another
cat…”
He nodded.
Ash took a
deep breath. “Fine. Trish and Rob, you guys get the
bags. There’s nothing we can do for Viggo at the moment anyway.” She stared
hard at Jeff’s second when he hadn’t moved. “Rob.”
He didn’t even
look at her. His eyes were all for Kane. Without a word he spun and slammed
back into the house.
“What’s with
him?”
Jeff answered.
“He’s a little miffed that Kane left like he did.”
“Ah well. I’ll
worry about bruised egos later.” They, too, entered the house.
“So, why’d you
bring home yet another cat, Ash? I’m starting to think this is the humane
society.”
Ash’s blood
ran cold as the words bounced in her head. Humane Society.
“Was there a letter on this one?”
“An ‘R’”
“Oh
God. Strays.”
“What?”
“We take in
strays. That’s what he’s spelling. And that means…” Ash’s eyes hardened with a
cold deadly look.
“What? It
means what, Ash?”
“Mark. Adam’s
working with Mark. He said I take in too many strays. But I also make people
stray from him.”
“So we can
expect three more victims?”
“That would be
my guess.”
“How do we
stop this shit?”
“We kill the
source.”
“Adam?”
“Mark.” Kane
loomed over both of them. “You want to kill Mark. That could be suicide.”
“No.” Ash’s
face was colder than the wind outside. “No, it won’t be. He’s sending me power.
With every new cat I get more power. As my pard grows in strength so do I.”
“Ash, he’s got
abilities that neither of us are prepared for. He
could slaughter us all while we sleep.”
“Not if we get
to him first. But he won’t attack yet. Not until his game has been played out.
Not until we’ve gotten all of his message.”
“So what do we
do?”
“We wait.” Ash
glanced around. “And we keep this to ourselves for now.”
“Don’t you
think the pard should know?” Jeff asked.
“Let’s come up
with a plan first. Then we’ll tell them.”
The men nodded
in agreement.
“For now let’s
concentrate on the everyday issues that come up.”
Kane nodded
again. “I left Viggo in the communal bedroom since there were no more open
rooms.”
Ash looked
puzzled. “We should have one more left.”
Jeff shook his
head. “Brian needed a room. And I had to move people around just for that. Our
pard has grown more than we ever expected, Ash.”
“That’s fine
then. At least he’ll be kept warm until I can figure some way to fix him.”
Kane took his
leave while they were talking. He went in search of Rob. He paused in front of
his bedroom door with a small smile. Someone had painted the wood with black,
red and orange leopard print from top to bottom. He opened the door and stepped
inside the pitch black. He immediately saw Rob sitting in a chair by the chess
table. “Since when do you like the dark so much?”
“Where’s your
mask?”
“I left it in
“The mask
itself was never what mattered to me. It was the symbol. The
way you hid yourself from everything. And everyone.
Including me. You didn’t even trust me to see the real
you.”
“This is the
real me, Rob. And it has been for a very long time. It just took a wise woman
to show me that.”
“Exactly. You traveled twelve hours to have a
virtual stranger show you what I could’ve right here.”
Kane let out a
frustrated sigh. “Rob, I’m honestly not understanding
why you’re so upset.”
Rob stood. “Because you didn’t trust me. When you thought you looked
like a monster you didn’t trust me not to only see the superficial. You just
didn’t trust me. And now we’ll never get the chance to find out.”
“Rob…” The
smaller man brushed past him and out the open door. Kane turned, but found only
Ash standing there. She held a pint of vanilla ice cream in one hand and two
spoons in the other.
“Want some
company?”
He nodded and
turned the bedside light on. “Any suggestions?”
“Are you
asking for my help?”
“Don’t rub it
in.”
“I’ll sure
try.”
He nodded.
“Then come sit and bring the ice cream.”
Ash climbed
onto the bed and opened the carton. “I don’t know how much help I’ll be Kane. I
don’t understand Rob. At least not enough to help you.
But I do know more about you than anyone else. I could try to fix this, Kane.
And I will if you ask me to. But I want you to think about it first. You don’t
have the same life span we do. You’ll go on living long after we’ve died. Can
you handle that?”
“I’ll never
know unless I try.”
“Awful
hard way to find out.”
“Maybe I’m
more like you than I thought.”
“Wow. That’s
kind of scary. You’ve always been the patient one.”
“I know. We
can’t have two hotheaded people like us. The world as we know it would
disintegrate.”
The two
laughed together for a moment then dug into the ice cream. Ash finally said,
“Let’s not talk about the important shit for awhile. There’ll be time for that
later.”
Kane reached
for a book and opened it while Ash made herself
comfortable.
In the living
room a few people lingered, still watching TV. Jeff and Trish got up at the
same time and looked at the couple laying on the
couch. “Night guys.”
Drew waved
slightly so as not to disturb the sleeping
“Hey. Movie over?”
“Yeah. Time for bed.”
“’Kay.”
“Hey. I
figured we’d try something different tonight. Why don’t you come back to my
room?”
“We sleep.”
“Oh. Well,
Drew. I don’t know.”
Drew let him
go. “Yeah. Never mind, Shan. Forget I mentioned it at
all.”
“You’re mad
now.”
Drew threw an
arm over his eyes. “Yeah. A little.”
“Please don’t
be mad at me, Drew. Please.”
“Fine. I’m not mad.”
“Yes you are.”
“Drop it,
The smaller
man looked down at his fidgeting fingers. “Does this change anything between
us?”
Drew sat up.
“No. Heaven forbid anything at all change around poor little Shannon. ‘Cause he just can’t fucking handle it.”
“Aw. You wanna
make all the bad things go away? Why don’t you run to Ash? Cry on her shoulder
about the big bad man who’s hurting you. While you’re at it, tell her that I
actually want some kind of relationship with you. She’d hate that I’m so
abusive. I’ll probably be gutted by morning.”
Drew just
shook his head. “Timid little Shannon finally stood up for himself. Too bad
it’s for the wrong reasons.” Still shaking his head, Drew went away. He slammed
his bedroom door hard enough to rattle the frame. He yanked his clothes off and
flopped back on the bed. A few minutes later he heard the door squeak open.
Half hoping it was Shannon he lifted his head. Shawn gave him a small smile.
“Not a good
time, Shawn.”
“I’m not here
for sex. I thought you could use a friend. Especially one
who’s been around here for awhile.”
“Come on in
then.”
Shawn, who was
actually wearing boxers, sat on the bed next to him. “I thought it might make
things easier if I explained something to you.”
“I’ve heard
the speech before. About how bad things used to be for you guys. And for Shannon. But I’ve never given him a reason to fear
me.”
“You don’t
have to. And he doesn’t need a reason to be afraid. Yeah, Shannon had it rough.
But we all did. I’m one of the few people who know how he used to be. Jeff
remembers but he chooses to block it out. Gabrielle didn’t break Shannon. He
broke himself. And the truth is, he doesn’t want to be
fixed. And the one person who can help him, doesn’t
want to.”
“Jeff?”
Shawn shook
his head. “Ash. Jeff and Trish don’t need her like
Shannon does. And I don’t think it’s a conscious thought but she needs him to
stay like he is. Forever playing the child dependent on his
powerful Alpha. They’ve both played the roles so long that I don’t think
they know any other way to be.”
“I can’t play
that role for him. I can’t protect him from boogey men that aren’t there. So
where does that leave me?”
“In
a very difficult place, my friend.”
“You’re more
observant than most people give you credit for.”
“We all have
our roles here. I chose mine a long time ago.”
“You sound
bitter about that.”
“No. Not
really. When Gabrielle was Alpha it was easiest to be the jester. Kept me out of the politics.”
“What about
now?”
“A lot’s
changed, Drew. Even since you came into the pard. Now
I’m allowed to be more complex. I’m allowed to entertain thoughts of calming
down some. We all have our defenses. Some were easier to let go of than others.
My only advice is to be patient.”
Drew sighed
heavily. “I’ll try.”
Shawn nodded.
“You want some company tonight?”
“You’re
offering to sleep in here without having sex first?”
“I’ve been
known to have a few acts of kindness.”
“That’d be
great, Shawn. Thanks.”
“Shan?”
The small blonds eyes snapped to Drew’s. His
voice was a croaky whisper. “Guess I wasn’t that hard to replace, huh?”
“What’re you
talking about?”
“I’m talking
about your speech earlier. You want a more grown up me? How’s this for
starters? Eat shit, Drew. And don’t ever fuck with me again or we’ll see if I’m
as physically weak as everyone thinks I am.”
Trish rolled
over with a yawn as she woke up. Jeff was already getting dressed. “Did Ash
ever come to bed?”
He shook his
head and pointed by the door. Shannon was propped with his head against the
wall asleep. Jeff shrugged and carefully stepped around him to leave. Trish had
always thought he was a little weird so she didn’t disturb him either. Where he
slept was no business of hers. Without giving him a second thought she went to
take a shower. After she was clean she wrapped a towel around herself and
opened the bathroom door. She came to an abrupt halt when she nearly ran into
Shannon’s chest. “Jesus! You scared the shit out of me, Shannon!”
Faster than
she could blink he yanked the towel away from her. His eyes raked up and down
her still damp curves. Trish didn’t react for a moment because she was too
shocked. This wasn’t the Shannon she knew. “What’s gotten into you?”
He only gave
her a feral grin and pulled her closer to him. She collided with his chest and
gasped. Under his jeans he was very happy. She looked up at him with just a
touch of fear. “
He spun her
around and put pressure between her shoulder blades until she bent her upper
body over the bathroom counter. She heard metal give way as he unzipped his
jeans and pushed them down. Without any preparations he began pushing inside
her. Trish moaned at the hot friction of her only partially wet flesh sliding
against his. When he was all the way inside of her he stopped and ran his hands
along her ass. He squeezed hard enough to make her squeak then began pumping
into her hard. Trish rested her forehead against the counter and panted. She raised up enough to get the leverage she needed to push back
against him. He leaned over her and bit along the curve of her shoulder up to
her neck. Trish groaned, her nails clawing at the mirror as she came. She felt
rather than heard Shannon’s harsh breaths. A few vicious stabs later he flooded
her with cum. He kept his arms braced on either side of her for a few moments
then almost tenderly kissed her head. He pulled away so she could stand up. She
caught sight of his face before he went into the separate shower area. His
expression was closed. He didn’t want to be asked any questions. Trish smiled
to herself and rubbed her sore shoulder. A girl deserved a little rough
treatment every now and then. Especially when it sneaks up on
her.
Ash woke from
a light doze and looked up at Kane. “What time is it?”
“Mid morning I
think.”
“I didn’t mean
to fall asleep.”
“It’s okay.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”
“And what’d
you come up with?”
“I’ll take whatever
happiness the White Mother allows and deal with the consequences later.”
Ash rolled her
eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re still putting faith in long dead gods.”
“I recently
started again.”
“Whatever you
gotta do, I guess. So, you want me to go talk to Rob?”
“If
you would.”
“Anything
for you, dear.” Ash
got up and headed toward her room. Once inside, her mouth dropped open in
shock.
“When I have
more time you’re going to explain this to me.”
“Why do I have
to explain anything to you?”
“I’m going to
let that one go if you leave right now.”
“Fine.” He slowly straightened up and left.
Ash shook her
head and changed into shorts and a tank top. She figured Rob would be in the
gym burning off energy. Sure enough, she was right. His brown hair was matted
to his face with sweat as he mercilessly kicked the punching bag.
“You might as
well go back upstairs cause I don’t wanna talk.”
“Who said
anything about talking?” Ash sat down on one of the machines and adjusted the
weight. “I came down here to work.”
Before she
could finish her first repetition, Rob asked, “Have you talked to Kane?”
“Yep.”
He let a few
minutes go by before asking, “Is he mad?”
“Nope.”
“Jesus!” Rob
roundhouse kicked the bag hard enough to tear it out of the ceiling. “It fucking figures. I haven’t been able to think about
anything but him since he left. But he just doesn’t fucking care. I don’t even
think he has any fucking feelings.”
Ash came at
him quicker than his eyes could follow. Once she had him on the ground she
straddled his chest. “Now that I have your undivided fucking
attention. I want you to listen very carefully to me. This little temper
tantrum you’re throwing is only making a very touchy situation even worse. It
took a lot of guts for Kane to do what he did. He’s been carrying that burden
on his shoulders for lifetimes. And you’re one selfish bastard for telling him
he’s wrong to get rid of it.”
“So this is all my fault?”
Ash slapped
him in the forehead. “You’re not listening. You were the catalyst. The reason
he wanted to get better. That’s something special if you ask me. He did what he
thought was best for him. And after all the shit he’s been through I think he
deserves to be a little bit selfish. You accuse him of having no feelings? If
you cared at all about him, you would at the very least try to understand his
position. You would not be bitching to me about him not feeling anything.” Ash
stood up and took a few steps back. “I personally couldn’t care less what you
decide to do, but Kane seems to wanna be with you. Right now I can’t understand
why. I was all for you two being together but I think I’ve changed my mind.”
Ash turned and stomped up the stairs with a smile. That should do the trick.
Once in the kitchen she grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down next to Jeff.
“Morning.” Ash stole his fork and took a large
bite out of his pancake stack.
“Morning
to you too. You’ve
been a busy girl already.”
“The
usual. Throwing cats around before breakfast. By the way, have you
seen
“He was asleep
on the floor when I got up. Why?”
“He’s
apparently adopted a new image. Lot’s of eyeliner and black leather. And I
think he got into your hair dye.”
Jeff almost
choked and grabbed for his glass of milk.
“I know. I was
pretty shocked too.”
“Ash, this
isn’t good.”
“Well the make
over looked fine. It’s the new attitude I might have a problem with. Do you
know what he said to me?”
Without
warning everything went black. Ash shot to her feet, knocking her chair back
into the wall.
“What the
fuck?”
“Shh.” Ash strained her supernatural hearing as much as she
could. “Magic.”
“It could be a
power outage.”
“The
refrigerator is still running. And it’s only
“Can you hear
anyone?”
“No. And I
can’t smell anyone either. Adam’s good, but he’s not that good.”
“Mark?”
“Maybe.”
The darkness
lifted so abruptly they both staggered against the wall. Jeff’s hand shot out
to steady Ash. “Let’s get a head count.”
“Agreed.”
Jeff ran to
the bottom of the stairs. “EVERYONE IN THE LIVING ROOM NOW!”
“I’m going to
check on Viggo.”
“Be careful.”
Ash ran up the
stairs and into the communal bedroom. Viggo lay just as lifeless as he had
since she’d woken up in his burning cabin. By the time she made it back down
everyone was gathered. Ash took a quick head count in her mind. “Where’s
Chris?”
Everyone
started talking at once.
“Quiet! Has
anyone seen Chris?”
“I have.”
All heads
turned to
“When?”
“Just
before the lights went out.”
“What was he
doing?”
“Trying
to catch his breath.”
Christian
grabbed a fistful of
Ash slapped
him across the face. “Now is not the time to play games.”
“Blessed
Mother save us. I thought she was dead.” Kane’s voice was laced with something
close to fear.
“What?” Ash
looked around Kane to the open front door. Chris was on his knees on the front
lawn. A petite woman was behind him. She had his head pulled back by the hair
with her nails at his throat.
“If you stay
calm he’ll walk out of this alive.”
Ash held her
hands out to the sides. “You’ve got my attention.”
“Glad to know
it. But I’ve had your attention for awhile now.” She smiled, showing very
pointed fangs.
“You can’t be
a vampire. It’s daylight.”
“Mixed
blood. It’s
annoying, but not deadly. My human blood allows me to stand it.”
“What are
you?”
“An
experiment. Half drow, quarter vampire, and a quarter
human.”
“My brothers child.” Kane whispered.
Ash’s eyes
blazed. “You’re Mark’s child?”
“Technically. I work for him. I lead all of his other cast offs. We do the dirty work no one else
will do. As you can see, I’m very good at my job. Except I haven’t
been following orders where you’re concerned.”
“You attacked
Rob and Micha.”
“Correct. But
I was sent to kill them. And this one.”
“Why haven’t
you?”
“You’ll need
all the help you can get. You are planning to attack the compound, aren’t you?”
“We’d given it
some thought.”
“Give it all
your thought. And move soon. Before Mark is done playing his games. And I might
be able to insure the experiments won’t be there.”
“What’s in it
for you?”
“Protection. Survival is the key. I’ll help you if
you can insure my safety after you kill Mark. After he’s dead, I’ll kill those
under me.”
“Threats and
ultimatums have never worked well with me.”
“Then how
about if I swear an oath to you?”
“Take the word
of a drow vampire spawn of Mark?”
“What do you
have to lose? Besides this pretty blond kitty cat.”
She ran a hand through his soft hair. “I do make a much better friend than
enemy.”
“Swear an oath
in front of my whole pard and we have a deal.”
The woman
smiled and released Chris. “My loyalty will be to you alone. Not your pard. But
I will honor that oath until one of us dies.”
Ash gestured
to Chris and he quickly went to her. “Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Then go in
the house.” When he was gone Ash looked at the woman. “Let’s get one thing
straight. I don’t trust you. And I will be keeping a very close eye on you. If
I even think you’re doing anything to hurt us, I will kill you. Is that crystal
fucking clear?”
“Yes.”
“Then go into
the house.”
Ash pulled a
pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit one.
“I thought you
quit,” Kane said.
“Huh. Not like
it’s going to kill me. But this pard might.” Ash sat down on the porch steps.
“When did everything get all fucked up?”
“Creation
of man. The gods
couldn’t resist playing with mortals.”
Ash snorted
and smiled up at Kane. “How right you are.” She threw away the half smoked
cigarette and stood. “Better not keep them waiting too long.”
Kane grabbed
her arm. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Honestly? I
don’t have a damn clue.” Ash walked back into the house and found Harley
standing well away from the pard. Or the pard was standing well away from her.
“Alright, let’s get this over with. Guys, this is Harley, but I’m sure all of
you were listening.”
Nicky stepped
forward. “As enforcer, I’d like to point out how unwise this is.”
“Dually
noted. Thank you.
But I’ve already agreed to this. Would you have me be a liar?”
“I suppose
not. But Mark is the one who is playing these sick games with us.”
Ash gave him a
hard stare. “How’d you find that out?”
“Give us some
credit, Dear Alpha. We can draw our own conclusions.”
Harley gave a
sarcastic laugh. “Am I about to see a civil war?”
Nicky shot her
a deadly look. “Not by a long shot, Demon.”
Ash held up a
silencing hand. “Nicky. I was wrong to keep information from you guys, but
we’ll have to discuss it later.”
“Don’t let my
presence deter you.” Harley leaned against a wall and crossed her arms.
“Shut up.
You’re not a part of this pard yet.”
“But I will be
as soon as you take care of this little coup.”
“There is no
coup and I’ll only say this once more. Shut up or I will shut you up.”
The other
woman stepped away from the wall. “Should we lock up once before I align myself
with you? Just for fun?”
Nicky pointed
an accusing finger at Harley. “You see what I mean? How can I keep us safe when
the attack comes from within while we’re sleeping.”
Harley walked
straight up to Nicky and pulled her sunglasses off, revealing blood red eyes.
“You might have fey ancestry, but listen to me very closely, child. I know more
about honor than you could hope to learn. Once I take an oath I will die before
breaking it.”
“What about
the oath to your sire?”
“I never swore
one. He is too arrogant to demand oaths. He thinks we follow him out of
respect.”
“You have
still invaded our home, armed to your pointed teeth. What else would you expect
us to think?”
Harley smiled,
showing the fangs in question, and backed up with her arms raised out to her
sides. “Take my weapons then. Protect your Alphas from the tainted one.”
Ash nodded her
approval and Nicky began relieving Harley of her weapons. From a holster under
her trench coat he pulled three guns loaded with silver ammo. Seven knives were
in special made sheaths on her upper body and two in each boot. He tossed the
last one on the coffee table and stepped away from her.
Ash stared in
amazement. “Why are you armed so heavily?”
“I’m an
assassin. Tools of the trade. And your enforcer missed
some.” From the braids in her hair she pulled three cylindrical objects.
“What are those?”
It was Nicky
that answered. “They have many uses. Their most common one is lock picking. But those are high content silver. And they’re
flimsy enough that you could break it off in someone after stabbing them. Lethal for someone allergic to silver.”
“Anything
else, Harley?”
She lifted her
leg and touched a spot on her left boot. A three inch blade shot out the front.
“Both boots. Handy in a fight.”
Ash sighed and
shook her head. “Anything else?”
“That’s all.”
“Alright, put
your hands down.”
“Can I have my
weapons back?”
“Yes.” Ash
held up her hand again when Nicky started to protest. “There’s no point in
keeping them from her now.”
Before she
reclaimed her weapons Harley swept her hair to the side, revealing her neck.
She grabbed a knife, blade first, and knelt in front of Ash. She extended the
knife toward her. “What would you have me swear?”
“Loyalty,
honesty, and obedience.”
“I notice you
didn’t mention respect.”
“Respect can’t
be demanded. It has to be earned.”
“How right you
are. On my honor, at pain of death, I will show you loyalty, honesty, and
obedience until my services are no longer required or I am unable to perform
them.”
“Rise then and
do not make me regret this.”
Harley tipped
her head and rearmed herself. “I shall leave you now, but I’ll be back after
Mark has been taken care of.” She left after that and Ash turned to her pard.
“I don’t
suppose I could postpone this little talk, huh?”
Jeff shook his
head. “We need to tell them what we figured out. And what plans we do have.”
Ash nodded and
sat down heavily in a chair. “Here’s the deal. Adam’s more than likely working
for Mark. I don’t even have to say what that means for him. Mark’s little game
is sending us power that we’ll end up using against him. We should attack hard
and fast. I’m thinking dawn will be a good time. He’ll be weaker. Not much, but
every little bit will help.”
Micha stared
at her in disbelief. “We’re really gonna do this? We’re going to war?”
“Yeah, I guess
we are.”
Everyone began
talking at once. No matter what Ash or Jeff said they wouldn’t be calmed down.
Finally, Kane stood up. “Listen to me. Right now.” His
voice was quiet but everyone shut up immediately. “There’s no other choice.
Mark has tricks up his sleeve that none in this room could hope to battle. But
if we don’t give him time to prepare it’ll be safer for all of us.”
“Then why
don’t we just go now?”
“We’re not
ready, Rob. We don’t even have a real plan of action. It’d be suicide to go in
now. But we’ll come up with one. Together.”
Rob looked
away at the last word. Kane continued as if he hadn’t noticed. “This will not
be the source of our demise. My brother will not wipe out the Blood Drinkers
Clan. Trust in my wisdom, and that of your Alphas. We will not lead you
astray.”
Ash felt the ache
of age in her bones as she listened to her old friend speak. He’d always had a
way with words when he chose to use them. She gave him a smile to say thank you
as he sat back down. Ash once again spoke to the pard. “Now, I think we’ve all
had quite a bit of excitement today. So let’s try to get back to our lives for
the time being. But, as always, Jeff and I are here to answer any of your
questions or hear your concerns. Don’t be afraid to come
talk to us. That’s one of the reasons for Alphas.”
They kind of
shuffled off after that. Some had a sort of shell-shocked look and Ash feared
it would just get worse as the days went by.
Heather
stopped before she left the room. “What about Christmas?”
Ash had to
laugh. In spite of everything Heather wanted to know about Christmas. “I don’t
see why anything should be postponed for it. You guys have put too much hard
work into the damn holiday.”
A collective
cheer went up through the non-pagans in the group. And Ash even caught Nicky
smiling.
Brian tossed
the remote down and gave
“Strange
happenings. You’ve
only been here a few days.”
“I am a little
shook up.”
Brian’s smile
turned wary. “I’m not sure. Depends on what you’ve got planned.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.
Fucking. My dick in your ass.
How ‘bout it?”
Brian opened
and closed his mouth several times without answering.
“Since you
didn’t object out right I know you’re thinking about it. How about a blowjob
while you consider?”
“A
what?”
“Blowjob. Do I need to explain that one too?”
“I know the
mechanics.”
“Prove it.”
“So you think
I’m just going to rise to the challenge, huh?”
“You’re trying
to bully me.”
“No. I’m
trying to fuck you. Is it working?”
“I’m not sure
yet.”
“Why
don’t you think about that too while you’re practicing your blowjob skills?”
“What makes
you think I need practice?”
“It’s fairly
obvious that you do. You’re stammering and blushing like a damn virgin.”
Brian’s eyes
narrowed and he leaned over to undo
“I should make
you leave.”
“Scared of
me?”
“A
little.”
“Good. But I’m
not here to harm you. In fact, you may even enjoy this immensely.”
Brian wasn’t
sure what to say next, so he lowered his head and engulfed
Brian nodded
as much as he could in the tight grip.
“Do you want
me to fuck you?”
Again he
nodded.
“Get on your
stomach.”
Brian obeyed,
scrambling onto the bed beside
“Um,
no.”
“We can either
use good ole fashioned spit or I can find some lube.”
“Do you know
where some is?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll wait.”
Drew stared at
him with wide eyes as he casually walked to the coffee table and opened the
little door. He grabbed a bottle of oil and gave Drew a wicked smile and wink
when he straightened back up. “Who the hell are you trying to impress?”
“Brian?”
“Don’t sound
so surprised. He’s not the first one to fall under me. Now if you’ll excuse me.
I have some business to attend to.”
Drew watched
him go with mixed feelings. Part disgust, but mostly pity.
“Was that
Drew looked up
at Jeff. “Yeah. Yeah it was. Or at least I think it
was him.”
Jeff sat down
and let his head drop into his hands. “I don’t get it. He hasn’t done this shit
in years. Why now?”
“We had a
fight. He freaked out on me. I guess I said some pretty rough things. But that’ s no reason to run off and fuck Brian. Does he think
he’s getting back at me?”
“What? He’s
fucking Brian?”
“Yeah.”
“Brian’s still
young.
“Then you
might want to go save them both.” Drew’s voice was
sarcastically bored.
Jeff hurried
upstairs and heard passionate cries from behind Brian’s half open door. He
poked his head in, scared about what he’d find.
Brian’s head
wiped around and Jeff was surprised to see his eyes were normal.
“No problem,
Jeff. Bye now.”
Jeff closed
the door, not liking the dismissed feeling he was left with. He closed himself
in his bedroom to wait. When 45 minutes passed with no
“I told you I
needed to talk to you.”
“I got
distracted by something.”
“Allow me to
get your mind back on track.” Jeff stalked toward the smaller man and grabbed
him by the back of the head. “Never disregard an order from me again.”
Brian looked
at Ash with wide startled eyes.
Ash smiled
reassuringly. “Sometimes people forget that not only are we friends, but we’re
mommy and daddy too. When we tell you or ask you to do something, we expect you
to do it. You never know when it’s a life or death matter. If you can’t follow
simple instructions on the small stuff, why should we trust that you would in a
more serious situation? It doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally a cat
needs to be forcefully reminded of their place. And ours.
Ask Rey about his reminder.”
Billy snorted
and nodded in agreement. All four people looked to the stairs when they heard
yelling. The words were muffled and the voices, already so much alike, were
hard to identify.
Trish leaned
toward Ash. “Aren’t you gonna go referee?”
“Nope. This is their fight.”
But when the
yells turned into screams and things crashed on the floor, Trish threw down the
puzzle. “Ash, do something.”
“Fine.” Ash jogged up the stairs and stood in
the open bedroom doorway. The dresser and nightstands had been knocked over.
Shannon and Jeff were both breathing hard but looked uninjured. She started to
say something when Jeff spoke.
“So everything
is my fault, huh
“I didn’t say
that. All I said was you should’ve helped me. Then it wouldn’t have been safer
to play that stupid role for the last few years. I could’ve been me.”
“You? You think this whore routine is you? I
remember a little different. I remember someone who found a reason to stop
hiding behind the leather and sex. Until now.”
“You’re right,
Jeff. I did stop hiding. And it was because of you. But you let me down.” For a
moment Ash caught a glimpse of the
Pain and
helplessness flashed across her mate’s features. “What could I have done,
“So now this
is all my fault?”
“Not all of
it. But damn,
Jeff wiped his
face off. “You should not push me, Shannon. I will push back.”
“What? Like
you did with Rey? Power’s gone to your head, Jeff.
You’re not an invincible, almighty Alpha.”
“To you, I
might as well be.”
He batted her
hands away from his face.
“Don’t push me
away, Jeff. I’m on your side here.”
He sat down
heavily on the bed and allowed her to examine him.
“Looks like he
cracked your cheekbone but it’ll heal in a few minutes.” She sat down next to
him. “Wanna talk about it?”
“What’s to
talk about? You probably heard most of it.”
“Gabrielle
hosted the party you two went to. That’s how she got you?”
He nodded. “I
told him I got a bad vibe from the place. Not to mention one of his ex doms told him about it.”
“Dom’s? As in dominance and
submission.”
“Yeah. When we first met he was heavy into
it. Mostly because he felt he couldn’t get out. He used sex as a shield. If
people were only hurting him physically, they couldn’t hurt him any deeper than
that. I convinced him to give it up. For me. So when
they started to hurt him he forgot how to handle it. He was never the same once
they took him down from that wall. Hell, who would be?”
“So why is he
acting so dominate now?”
Jeff shrugged.
“Drew hurt him somehow. And not the way Gabrielle or Clayton did. This is his
way of dealing. It scares me.
“Think he’ll
snap out of it?”
“I hope so.
For his sake, I hope so. I don’t want to do what he’s pushing me towards. But
he’s not giving me any options. He’s making me be the bad guy.”
“No, he’s
making you be Alpha.”
Jeff nodded
tiredly and let Ash pull him backwards toward the head of the bed. He laid his
head on her stomach and arched it into her petting fingers. “We’ve come a long
way, haven’t we?”
Ash smiled
somewhat ironically. “We sure have, Jeff.”
“No one told
me this Alpha thing would be so damn hard.”
“It’s a bit of
a nasty shock, isn’t it?”
He nodded and
nuzzled his nose against her stomach. “But somehow we always seem to manage,
don’t we?”
“Yeah. Somehow we always do.”
“So as long as
we’re together then we’ll be fine.”
Ash took a
deep breath. “Yeah. I guess we will.” She was a little
unsettled by this side of her mate. He’d never seemed so insecure before.
Thankfully, he fell silent after that. It was a few hours before they ventured
downstairs again. Ash happened to look back when they reached the bottom. Rob
stood nervously outside Kane’s door. She walked up to him, ignoring the wary
look in his eyes, and pulled his head down to her. She kissed him softly on the
lips. “Go talk to him. You’ll feel better once you do.”
“And you’ll
stop beating me up?”
“I dunno ‘bout that one, sugar. I might do it just for fun.”
He smiled a
little and nodded. He waited until she and Jeff walked away before opening the
door slowly. Kane sat in a chair staring at a spot on the wall. The small
bedside lamp was the only illumination in the room. Rob closed the door and
leaned against it. He studied Kane for a moment. Without the mask, and his face
devoid of the pretenses he also hid behind, the man was truly breathtaking.
“Did you come
to get your things?”
Rob jumped at
the barely concealed pain in Kane’s voice.
“My
what?”
Kane pointed
to the clothes thrown over the dresser. “Your things.”
Rob cleared
his throat and shook his head. “Actually, I was hoping they’d still have a
place in your new life.”
“Nothing’s
changed, Rob. I don’t want to have a new life. I rather liked my old one. Especially after you were in it.”
Rob sat down
across the little table from Kane. The chessboard was set up, ready for another
game. He picked up his king and stared at the marble before setting it back down
in the center of the board. Strictly speaking, it was an illegal move, but he
was hoping Kane would understand. Tri-colored eyes watched him draw his hand
back and wait.
“What are you
suggesting?”
“A
compromise.”
Kane drew in a
deep breath to calm his racing heart. His hand was steady, though, as he moved
his own king to join Rob’s.
Ash and Jeff
were in the living room when
He nodded.
“Well, you’re
just gonna have to wait. I’m not ready to give it to you. But in the meantime,
you are to be shunned for your actions. No one in this house is to acknowledge
your existence. You will not be allowed to feel even the touch of another cat’s
skin. Completely alone. That’s what you wanted, isn’t
it? To prove that you don’t need anyone? I’ll let you know when you’ll receive
your actual punishment. Now be gone from my sight before I’m sick.”
“Don’t look to
me to save you. It’s time you finally learned about action and consequence.”
Jeff sighed
and leaned back. “Think this’ll work?”
“Let’s hope
so.”
Ash was in her
office several days later when someone knocked on the door. “Yeah?”
Kevin came in
and sat down heavily in the chair across from her. “How long have we known each
other, Ash?”
“I dunno. Several years now. Why?”
“I have
something I need to discuss with you and I just hope you understand.”
Ash turned the
computer monitor off and gave him her full attention.
“I’ve lived in
“Yeah.”
“It was hard
to fit anywhere after I shifted. But I’ve managed to get along with all the
lycanthrope groups. I don’t let myself get drawn in too deep to any one group.”
Ash leaned
back and laced her fingers over her stomach. “Go on.”
“I think you
know where I’m going with this. If I side with you and fight by your side, I’ll
always be lumped in with the pard. In most instances that wouldn’t be a bad
thing. But you know as well as I do, The Blooddrinkers
Clan is usually in some turmoil or another. I’d make myself a target.”
“I
understand.” Ash turned her monitor back on.
“That’s it?”
“There’s
nothing else to say, Kevin. If you want me to be honest, I’ll tell you I’m
disappointed. We could use your strength. But I understand your hesitancy to
completely chooses sides.”
“Then you’re
not angry.”
“Not at you.”
“I think I’m
going to stay with some family for a little while.”
“Do whatever
you’ve got to do, Kevin. You’ll be welcome here anytime, you know that.”
Kevin flinched
and nodded. “This would’ve been easier if you’d yelled and screamed at me.”
Ash stared at
him calmly. “I’m sorry, Kevin. I have too many other lives to worry about. Lives that will be put on the line. Did that help?”
His eyes
looked sad. “Yeah. I guess it did.”
As Kevin was
leaving, Drew passed him into the room. “Busy?”
“What’cha need?”
“I’m worried
about
“Why?”
“I think he’s
getting depressed. I’ve been watching him.”
“So have I,
Drew. I had to do something drastic with him.”
“I know. I’m
not saying you were harsh. And I’ve never doubted or disputed you. I’m just
wondering how much longer this is gonna go on.”
“The
rest of the week.
He can tough it out two more days.”
“I just want
him to be happy again. I miss him.”
“You really
care about him, don’t you?”
Drew shrugged.
“It’s not the all consuming love that people write songs about, but yeah. We
made each other happy for a while. And even if we don’t get that back, I still
want him to be happy again.”
“Me
too. And I’m hoping
this will shock him into realizing he can’t do everything on his own. He went
from one extreme to the other. And he punched Jeff. That’s something that
couldn’t be taken lightly.”
Drew nodded
and stood back up.
Trish slammed
into the room. “Two new ones. One’s human and damn
near dead.”
“What?” Ash
hurried to the foyer where the scene in front of her was grisly. A well built
blond man stood just inside the open door covered in blood. He smelled like a
lycanthrope but the man in his arms was very human. And very hurt. Jeff was
taking the injured human from the other man. He turned panicked eyes to Ash.
“Ash, I know
him.”
Kane rounded
the corner. “Put him down so I can look at him.”
Jeff obeyed
and stepped back to join Ash. “He, that’s, um. His name is Shane. Him and I and Shan. We used to…”
“Shh,” Ash tried to sooth him. “Go see to the other one,
Jeff. See if he’s injured.”
The new
leopard shook his curly head. “I’m not. They gave him to me and told me to come
here. He’s a special present for you. That’s what I was told to say.”
“You’re not
hurt then?”
“No.”
“Jeff, show
him where he can clean up then.”
When they were
gone, Ash knelt down beside Kane. “How bad is it?”
“Bad. Several wounds. But he’ll shift at the next moon. I’m
positive of it. If we can just keep him alive until then.
I’m almost afraid they might’ve broken his mind though.”
“We’ll worry
about his mind later. Let’s concentrate on what we can fix for now.”
“I’ll have to
heal him slower than I would a lycan. His human system
could shut down if I force too much of my energy in at once.”
“We don’t have
any empty rooms left though.”
“Make a bed in
my room. I’ll need to be close to him so I can keep an eye on his wounds.”
Trish left to
gather extra blankets. When she’d made a sufficient palate she came back. “It’s
ready.”
Rob helped him
gently carry the unconscious man to the make shift bed. When Ash turned to
leave she found
She tried to
ignore the pain in that one word. She tried to harden her heart, but she just
couldn’t. “Please what, Shannon?”
“Please let me
stay with him. He needs someone if he wakes up. He’ll be confused and scared
and he’s been through so much already. If he has someone he knows. If I had…” He
let the sentence trail off. “Please.”
“Fine.”
His face lit
up a little. “And I wanted to tell you something.”
“What?”
“I understand
why you did this to me. And whatever punishment you decide on, it can’t be
worse than what you’ve already done.”
“I know. There
is no other punishment, Shan. This is it. And I see it worked, so I’ll lift it.
But just know, that was your one chance. Don’t repeat
your mistakes again.”
“I’ll ask for
help when I need it. And be strong enough to make you proud.” He kissed her
cheek and went to curl around Shane. Ash left them to gather everyone else
together.
“Where’s the
new guy?”
Jeff answered.
“Still scrubbing off the blood.”
Ash nodded.
“Did you catch his name?”
“Matt.”
“Okay. I think
now is a good time to do some real planning. Matt and Shane had an ‘A’ and a
‘Y’ on them. We’ve got the message. There may be one more but I say we attack. Hard and fast and soon.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow. Tomorrow we go to war.”
And after what
they’d all just witnessed, no one argued.