Broken Souls (7 page)

ELEVEN: RUBY

As soon as I walked into the Crystal Palace Saloon, my
breath caught at the wild scene going on inside. Bodies packed the space like
sardines in a tin can and it was as loud as one of my ex boyfriend’s football
games when the home team scored a touchdown. I grimaced at the smell of stale sweat
and the sickly-sweet aroma of fermented liquor and beer. My eyes trailed up the
tall walls that encased the sizable building, noting the bullet holes that
dotted their way across the top. A collective holler brought my attention back
down and I watched in awe as men— or werewolves rather, from their canine
scent— stood on the bar tops shouting at something below, their fists pumping
in the air. The tables were pushed to the side and a crowd of at least fifty
encircled something I could not see. I nudged my way past a group of onlookers,
my mouth dropping open when I finally caught sight of what was happening.

Two fully transformed werewolves stood in the middle of the
circle, their snarling lips curled back to show bloody gums and sharp
glistening teeth. They rounded each other, the bristly hair on their backs
standing straight up. One was pure black and the other a muddled grey. The
black one stood a foot taller than the other, its hind legs thick with muscle
and its back almost to the height of my shoulders.

I found myself agreeing with Cloe that this place was
certainly wild, and my nerves fired up from just standing there. I shifted my
gaze around the bar trying to catch a glimpse of Jax, knowing it would be quite
a task to find him through the chaos. I tried to move away from the crowd but in
the effort my body was tossed back and forth, bumping into broad chests and
backs. Though I wanted nothing to do with the cruel animal fight, a ferocious
growl brought my focus back to the scene.

The black wolf lunged at the cowering grey one and they
rolled together in a blur of fur and bared teeth. A loud yelp came from the
brawl and the large black wolf moved back to reveal the smaller one lying still
on the ground, blood running from a gash in its side.

The crowd exploded in cheers and whistles, yet I trembled inside
from the brutality of it all. My stomach grew unsettled and I was certain I’d
get sick. Right when I was sure I couldn’t take anymore, the two wolves morphed
into their human forms, the winner of the match being none other than Jax, the
werewolf leader. A couple of men approached the one lying on the floor, his
chest still moving with breath, and relief flooded me that he was not dead. The
sea of bodies parted as the two men dragged his limp body away from the crowd.

I looked to Jax, and suddenly blanched with embarrassment when
realizing he was in his birthday suit, as naked as the day he was born.
Apparently, when shifting from a human form into a werewolf form, clothes were
either ripped off or deemed unnecessary. But I was spared the need to blush
when a man quickly handed Jax a robe and he covered himself from prying eyes. His
face was twisted into a perpetual frown and his black ponytail hung long
between his shoulder blades. The crowd around him patted him on the back and
congratulated him. I couldn’t help but grimace at the fact that he was my new
roommate. Fan-freakin-tastic.

Maybe if I reasoned with Pandora she would let me live with
Morin the witch, or maybe she’d even let me live with her. There was still
enough time until daylight for me to make it back to Vampire Hall. Heck, it was
worth a try. I hustled away from the scene and toward the Saloon exit but three
young men blocked my way— werewolves; I could tell by their dogish scent. The
taller of them stepped forward and ran his hand down my shoulder in a most
inappropriate way, and the way the other two stood behind him indicated he was
the leader of their little bunch.

“Now what would a pretty little vampire as yourself be doing
in a place like this,” he assessed. And
I
assessed he would be leading
himself straight into my fist if he didn’t move aside and let me pass.

“If you will excuse me I have somewhere I need to be,” I
said as firmly as possible, trying to move around them.

“Not so fast,” a shorter and stockier man bounced me back
with his chest. “It’s been a while since we’ve had any vampire fun.”

“Listen,” I said, getting ready to make him a knuckle
sandwich for dinner, “I’m new here and if you think—”

“Ohhhh,” the tall one cut me off. “A newbie vamp. That
explains your scent. Even better.” He looked to his companions. “Newborns are
weak, less of a fight for us when we take her to our room.”

White-hot anger arose in my chest, and my fangs throbbed to
be released. I shifted my eyes to search for Jax, thinking I might need some
help, but he had already disappeared into the mob.

“What pretty hair,” the third one said as he pulled me into
him and sniffed my head. “It looks like snow.”

“Come on little lady,” the short one grumbled, yanking me
away for himself. “We just want to have some fun.”

“Let me go,” I growled, ripping myself from his grasp. My
hands curled into fists, and I couldn’t help but think I’d already had enough
of this whole thinking-I-was-going-to-die-thing. The last thing I needed was to
be harassed by a group of stinky werewolves. But they encircled me, blocking me
in.

“Oh we’ll let you go all right, but not before we’ve made
use of you.” The one friend turned to another. “Have you ever been with a
vampire before?”

“There’s a first time for everything,” the other one
smirked.

Rage burned through my veins so much so that I thought I
might burst from the inside out, and the temptation to sink my teeth into one
of them blazed through me in waves. But I reasoned that reaction would only
cause more trouble and I needed to handle this in a different way.

“Come on,” the short one tugged on my arm. “Our room isn’t
too far. We can have you finished by sunrise.”

The group started to make their way with me through the
crowd toward a back door when I yet again wrenched my arm from their grasp and
planted my feet firmly on the ground. “Don’t touch me.”

For a moment they froze, as if assessing whether or not I
would do something rash —and let me tell you, they should’ve stuck with their
first instincts because I was definitely ready to do something rash. But
instead of erring on the side of caution as they should have, they began
mocking me with phrases like ‘ooh, I’m so scared’ and ‘oh no, the newbie
vampire is angry.’

I couldn’t help but think I’d traveled back to kindergarten and
I could feel my eyes blazing with a fury-induced warning. Yet they either
didn’t notice the fire they’d ignited within me, or they highly underestimated
what pissing me off might mean, because one of them grabbed me again, trying to
pull me away. Together, they all laughed.

“We’ve got a live one here,” the third friend said, running
his fingers down my face as he played a game of tug-of-war with me. “Better
between the sheets I imagine.”

I looked him directly in the eye, allowing my fangs to
descend. “I told you. Not. To. Touch me.” I grabbed his shoulder, and with
surprising ease, threw him over the heads of a dozen men, causing him to land
somewhere out of sight, his body thudding to the ground. The noisy bar went
silent and, like a rippling wave, bodies turned to face us out of curiosity.

“Woah,” the shorter one said in shock, lifting his arms in
resignation. He stumbled backward and I laughed, thinking that no one was
holding me now. The wolf’s lip twitched and he looked to his leader. “I thought
you said the Newborns were weak.”

Though I was anything but happy, a wicked smile formed on my
lips. I calmly grabbed the tall one by his arms and made sure he saw my pointy
fangs. “That’s exactly what you wanted, right? Some fun with a newbie vampire?”

His eyes peeled wide with fright and I couldn’t help but
deepen my smile. “Don’t worry,” I cooed in a deceptively sweet voice. “This
will be fun. For me.”

I flung him backwards over my head and, after a few silent
moments in the air, he crashed into the mirror above the bar, the glass
shattering noisily and scattering like frozen rain against the counter. His
body slid down and thumped onto the bar top, scattering glasses and bottles in
every direction. I suddenly realized I didn’t have to do much to call on my
strength—
that
, I had no problem with. Holding back my anger was the
hard part.

I felt myself panting and glanced around the building to
survey the onlookers. If the entire bar wasn’t completely aware of our situation
before, they were now, hundreds of blinking eyes peering from the dim kerosene
light, shock apparent in every gaze. I turned back to the situation at hand,
seeking out my next target— the shortest of the three. But once I caught sight
of him, he scrambled backward tripping over his own feet. He turned and bolted
into the horde of spectators, faster than a speeding bullet. I tried to calm my
heaving chest, thinking I was no piece of meat and sure as hell wouldn’t let
anyone treat me that way.

The crowd parted, leaving me standing alone with fisted hands
and bared fangs. My body trembled and I breathed deeply, trying to subdue my
own fury. I scanned the people watching me, their faces contorted in confusion,
and couldn’t help but think a small blonde vampire hurling large werewolves
like Frisbees on a windy day was probably quite the sight.

“Enough!” A baritone voice boomed from behind me, but I made
no move. “There’s nothing else to see here.”

Jax appeared before me, fully dressed in old-western pants
and suspenders, his frown even more distinct than before. If I wasn’t so wound
up I might’ve been frightened by his booming presence, but the adrenaline
coursing through me made it hard to care. He grabbed me by the arm and stormed
me through the astonished watchers and out the back door of the Saloon, the
cool air blasting me in the face. He threw me to the side none too gently, and
I frowned at him.

“Watch yourself vamp. Remember, you are still on probation.”

My insides still quaked with adrenaline, fear, and most of
all anger, but I stood up straight and met the werewolf’s eyes with mine. “They
were trying to take me to their room,” I growled. “They said they wanted to
have fun with me.”

Jax and I eyed each other for one long moment, the brisk
night air stinging my flushed face. If at all possible Jax’s frown deepened. “My
young wolves know better than that. You must be mistaken.”

Jax folded his arms over his chest and stilled. The wolf-man
still had blood on his face from the earlier brawl and it was obvious his power
would certainly match my own strength, not to mention sway the legion to have
me killed. In that regard, I didn’t want to anger him, but I also didn’t want
to get taken advantage of either. He needed to know what his young males were
up to.

“I am telling you the truth. I acted that way out of
self-defense.”

His face turned a deep shade of red as he let my words sink
in. “I don’t believe you. I train my young ones to act with respect and they
would never do such a thing.”

I was about to release a huff of annoyance when a young man
exited the doors with a trash bag and stopped in front of us. My eyes had
already adjusted to the darkness and I soaked in the details of the newcomer. A
band tied his long hair in a tail and his darkly tanned skin was a contrast to
his yellow eyes. He looked a lot like Jax, though thinner and not quite as
tall. His gaze lighted on me and he frowned.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “I saw the way those three treated
you. It wasn’t right.”

Relief subdued me over the fact that Jax would finally know
the truth. I glanced to the stunned werewolf leader, ignoring the urge to say
‘I told you so,’ thinking I’d be no better than the immature threesome that had
assaulted me in the saloon.

Behind the werewolf and beyond the horizon, was a subtle
glow signaling daybreak, and I could tell he was letting the young man’s words
sink in for the expression on his face. Anger flushed his cheeks more than when
he thought I was the one mistaken.

“Then it’s true…” Jax grumbled. But he did not apologize nor
give me even a glance. “I will talk with those three later. For now, we must go
home. Come Orie.”

The younger werewolf named Orie frowned. “But curfew isn’t
for another hour.”

“Now!” Jax barked.

Orie quickly stuffed the bag in a metal trash can on the
side of the building and scurried to follow Jax who hustled me away into the
dark.

“We will be having a guest with us for a while,” Jax
grunted, tugging me along. “Her name is Ruby.” Apparently Pandora already
informed the werewolf we would be new house buddies. He seemed just as pleased
over the notion as I was.

“We’re going to have a vampire living in our house?” Orie
asked, giving me a once over. He sounded excited as though it weren’t a commonplace
thing.

“She
should
be with her own kind,” Jax answered. “But
Pandora thought it was best for now.”

Orie rushed up beside me, eyeing me from head to toe like I
was a strange breed of animal. He smiled.

“Hi. My name is Orie,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m
with security.”

I smiled at his warmness and placed my hand in his. He was a
handsome young man and looked to be hardly older than myself. Probably a year
or so younger though.

“A pleasure to meet you,” I beamed, thinking it was nice to
finally meet someone with a shred of humanity in this place.

“What job have you been placed in?” Orie asked me, his face
brimming with curiosity. He rushed to keep up with Jax’s wide gate, the
leader’s arm still latched to mine.

“Blood slave duty?” I said it more like a question than an
answer. I wasn’t exactly sure what the gory-sounding job entailed, but I
suspected it wouldn’t be pleasant.