Black Heart: Wild On (16 page)

            Since I tore up my Vampires Suck! T-shirt, I put on another that said, "No Bark. Just Bite." It was red with white letters.

            We went to a part of Dallas I'd never been before. Exiting Interstate 45 at Lamar, we headed west to Cedar Crest Boulevard. The entrance to the Trudeau Run was off Cedar Crest. Technically, if I understood who owned what in Dallas, the Trudeaus did not actually own the stretch of Trinity River bottom from Cedar Crest to Rochester Park, which was on the other side of I-45. I'm sure some palms were greased so they could use it.

            It was well past eleven when we finally arrived. The invitation said the Wild On started at ten, with the gates opening at nine. The gate guards were Zeke and Attila, and they smiled real big when they saw me. The way their auras changed and the pheromones that began oozing from them said they were hornier than a horny toad. Have to admit, the prospect sent a thrill chill up my spine, too.

            Zeke and Attila weren't alone. There were a dozen men with them. Men without auras.

            "Zombies," I whispered to Dane and Gabe, indicating the men hanging back a bit. They were in two small groups, to either side of the gate. All were just standing motionless and staring at the gate. There was nothing going on between their ears. "Creepy."

            Gabe caused a moment of consternation. They had to radio in and ask permission. I heard Mercedes ask if Dane was with us, and sounded quite pleased with the affirmative answer. She gave permission for Gabe to join us.

            Dane and I shared an apprehensive look. We'd discussed her a number of times. I was much more concerned about her than he was. In fact, Dane seemed amazing unconcerned with the prospect of being bitten by a werewolf. He was a dhampir, so was sure he couldn't be turned into a werewolf. Still, no one wanted to be the focus of attention of an alpha werewolf, especially when she worked for the vampire mafia.

            "Just follow the road. You'll see the bonfire from the parking area," Attila said.

            The muddy road was deeply rutted and I knew my Mustang would’ve gotten stuck. Dane’s Jeep had a few close calls and I saw signs that other cars had gotten stuck earlier and had to be pulled out.

            The parking lot was just a grassy field. Mostly they parked in rows, but a few mavericks parked in places that blocked everyone else. Dane found a spot he felt the Jeep wouldn’t sink into the mud or get blocked in.

            "Wow, this is exciting," Gabe said. "We're at an actual Wild On. Few packless wolves get invited, if any."

            The glow of a bonfire and the sounds of wild revelry came from the trees to our right, but strange sounds came from the trees to our left. Both locations called to me, but for different reasons. The bonfire offered excitement and carnal delights, while the other location piqued my curiosity, since I didn't know what was over there.

            I headed left, to the surprise and grumbling of my friends. They couldn't hear the grunts and rustling. Hushed voices called to me, so quiet even my supernaturally powerful ears couldn't make out what they were saying.

            I wended my way through a patch of ten foot plus cedars, many looking like giant Christmas trees ready to be harvested. The moon was nearly full, and everything was bathed in silvery light. It looked like high noon to my vampiric eyes, but I was sure Dane and Gabe were a little unsure of their footing.

            It was a good fifty feet from the parking lot where I found a dozen werewolves with five large cages. Inside the cages were deer. Four small deer, and a huge one.

            All the deer were bucks, with really nice racks. The four smaller deer were all white tails, all about two hundred pounds and impressive antlers. The fifth animal was a deer, of that I was sure, but I'd never seen anything like him. He was huge, easily twice as big at the white tails. I'd be surprised if he was under five hundred pounds, and probably closer to six hundred. He had to be five feet tall at the shoulder.

            "What's this?" I asked. A dozen sets of eyes turned to regard me. Werewolf eyes, like vampire eyes, glow red in the dark when looking into light. There were no lights around the deer, but there was enough headlights from the cars to light up their eyes when they looked in our direction. "Deer? You have to import the deer you hunt?"

            "Mostly," a tall, lanky wolf said. He had a feral look about him. We paused a dozen feet apart, looking each other up and down. Why did I have the impression he wanted to sniff my butt? The werewolf had spiked blonde hair and wore only a pair of torn jeans, no shoes. None of the others wore coats or jackets, either. "Who are you?"

            "Sable Hart," I said. We each took a step closer, locked eyes. He looked away first, but looked straight at my lips, his gaze lingering. "I was invited by Henri Trudeau. That's okay, right?"

            He stiffened. Henri's name packed a punch, even outside of the vampire mafia world. All of the wolves started moving around, acting antsy and afraid to look at me. Maybe it was because I knew they were vampire mafia thugs, as well as werewolves, but I thought they all looked like mafia enforcer types. Probably just my imagination.

            "What's your name?" I said.

            "Kelly," he said. "Kelly O'Donnell."

            "You're not alpha, are you?" I said. Looking around, I raked them with a fierce gaze that none would meet, could meet. "None of you are."

            That startled them, but they recovered quickly. Anger and suspicion set in after that. Jaws jutted out, backs stiffened and fists clenched. It was enough to make Dane and Gabe nervous. But still, none held my gaze more than a few seconds.

            "Don't pull no attitude on me," I said. "I can read you like books."

            "You don't know shit, vamp," another said.

            "I know you're not alpha, boy," I said. I smiled wickedly at him as I reached the first cage, the one with the really big deer inside. He was standing by that cage, and had to retreat at my approach. An alpha wouldn't have retreated. "What kind of buck is this?"

            A couple of the wolves snickered. I raised a haughty, I'm-not-amused browed at them and they quieted down. Kelly grinned at me apologetically.

            "Sorry, Miss Hart," he said. "I understand you're a city girl, and all."

            "Call me Sable," I said. "I might be a city girl, but I am from West Texas so understand something about deer hunting. I've never gone hunting myself, but I've seen the kills the men brought back." I indicated the white tails. "That's what I'm used to seeing."

            "Of course," Kelly said. "To answer your question, we hunted this run barren years ago. White tails are native, but we like to bring in more exotic, more dangerous game for special occasions." It indicated big boy. "That's not a buck, but an elk. A bull elk."

            "Male elks are bulls, not bucks," another said.

            "Oops, my bad," I said, and grinned at them. They all smiled back. I felt the tension bleeding away, and they started moving closer and closer. "So, will you release them one at a time? Or all at once?"

            "All at once," Kelly said, his arm actually brushing mine. Another wolf passed behind me, and I heard him breath in my scent. "And the run will last until they are all brought down and back to the fire."

            "Then you cook them?" Dane said.

            The werewolves all grinned wickedly at him. They looked quite pleased he asked that question.

            "Some packs do cook the meat.  We don't.  Cooking spoils the flavor, the texture," Kelly said. He stepped around behind me, taking the opportunity to sniff my hair. His arousal spiked, so I guess he kinda liked me. "Game is best eaten fresh, raw, with the steam rising off the freshly ripped off, bloody chunks." He suddenly thrust his face towards mine, stopping a half inch from my left cheek. I avoided flinching, which I think disappointed him. "Don't you agree, vamp?"

            "Fresh meat?" I said, turning to look in his eyes, our noses brushing. I felt his hot breath on my lips. "All I care about is the hot, delicious blood. I've never had deer blood before."

            I slanted a look at Dane and Gabe as they grimaced. I could sense their feelings of disgust. Their auras reflected their distaste.

            "I guess you boys haven't mastered the fine art of grilling?" Dane said.

            "Not quite," Kelly said, eyes dancing with delight as he turned away from me. "But we’re really good at
killing
our dinner."

            "So I've heard," Dane said. He gave the five deer a curious look. "Shouldn't they have already lost their antlers by now?"

            "A hunter?" Kelly said. He looked impressed.

            "I grew up hunting and fishing," he said. "I hunt more dangerous prey now."

            My eyes widened. That was an incredibly bold statement. Dane and Gabe were known vampire hunters. Both the living and undead knew their names. I thought they should sneak out of town and vanish, but was selfish enough to be happy with their continued presence.

            "I don't know about the Texas, but where I grew up hunting the white tail would have lost their antlers by now. And the elk comes from much colder habitat, so his rut is well past."

            "Very good," Kelly said. "I'm not sure when elk lose their antlers, but it's just getting to the time when whitetail in Texas lose theirs. They're more dangerous with antlers, so we only use those."

            "You put a lot of thought and effort into your Wild On celebrations. This will be my first hunt for anything other than two-legged prey," I said. I reached out and caressed the hot skin of his neck with the back of my fingers. Kelly stiffened, but didn't flinch away. He groaned so low and quietly only I could hear it. "Of course, when I hunted down
Fritz
he spent a fair amount of time in wolf and wolfman form. Does that count?"

            Reminding them I had hunted down and killed not only an alpha male, but a pack leader, kinda killed their vicious fun. Some of them scowled at me, while others looked me over warily. Kelly moved away slowly, putting on a good show of not being afraid. Vampires were the top of the food chain, with werewolves one down. I don’t think they liked to be reminded of it.

            "His pack should’ve protected him," Kelly said, turning to face me. His eyes were bright with anger. Such passion.

            "They tried," I said. Two steps and I was in his face, my breasts lightly pressed against his naked chest. I'm not sure who was more aroused at that moment, but I kept my cool better. I spotted a trace of sweat on his upper lip. "I had to kill some of them, too. But it was all good." I smiled roguishly at them. "I won. They’re dead."

            They feelings of confusion and uncertainty smelled good. I was scared shitless that Henri would sic his pack on me. One on one, a vampire was more than a match for a werewolf. But wolves fought in groups, in packs. You fight one werewolf, you fight his whole pack.

            "Where’s Henri?" I said. I reached out and lightly ran my fingers down his chest, across his hard six pack abs. I felt Kelly trembling with suppressed tension, not fear. He smelled of need, lust, desire, not fear. "Since he invited me, I should thank him for the invitation and the chance to hunt with a pack." I glanced at the bull elk. "My inner wolf is dying to begin."

            The Trudeau wolves understood that. They all looked at the caged deer with longing and hunger, even Kelly. I’d only run about neighborhoods in the middle of the night, chasing dogs and squirrels. Not the wolfiest behavior possible, but all I had at the time.

            "He'll be over at the fire," Kelly said, nodding in that direction. His hands came up to either side of me, breast high. He glanced down at my girls, licked his lips, and then clenched his fists. I was a little disappointed he didn't try to touch me. "He's...he's been waiting for you."

            I could hear them over there. The sounds both excited and frightened me. I heard laughter and shouts, moans and groans and growls. Men and women were talking in shouts and whispers, showing dominance, submission, and
interest
. I could hear a dozen couples, doing what couples did.

            "Let's go join the party," Gabe said, eyes bright.

            Even Dane was excited. I felt their emotions like they were my own, pushed off to the side. Gabe was highly aroused. He was an old perv, though. I think he liked orgies and other types of group sex. Dane, though, was a more personal, more one-on-one type person. His excitement was tinged with worry, but he was also aroused at the prospect. I couldn't help but wonder if any of his excitement might center around Mercedes Trudeau.

            Mostly, though, I was worried about Dane. I understood how vampires kept a mere mortal vital and viable during extended pleasure sessions, but what the werewolves might do worried me. Dane was a bit more fragile than the vampires and werewolves at the Wild On Run, unable to quickly heal from any injury.

            "Lead the way, boys," I said, shaking my head. I was the vampire and the most apprehensive of the three of us. Go figure. Too often I found myself drawn to such sexual encounters like a moth to a flame. "The party's already started."

            I dragged my long nails across Kelly's chest, right across the tender nipples. He groaned wantonly, eyes closed and head rolling back. For a second I became overwhelmed with hunger, wanting him so badly. But Dane and Gabe were heading into the unknown. I couldn't abandon them for the pleasures Kelly promised.

            "Are you all right?" Dane asked when we were about twenty feet from them. I knew they could still hear every word we were saying. "I thought you were going to rip off your clothes back there."

            Ah, jealously rearing its ugly head.

            "No. No chance of that, but I wanted to jump his bones," I said. Dane didn't like my new vampiric nature and
open-minded
attitudes about sex and promiscuity, but he understood. He kinda sorta accepted it, too. He still had those jealous moments. "The night's much too early for that."