Dire Warning WC0.5 (5 page)

Chapter Eight

Vice found nothing but trouble—the good kind—at Howl.

He’d stopped by Bite first, but Clyde was not happy, and his bar being shut down for the night, barring further investigation, wasn’t helping.

Vice artfully avoided him by putting Cain in the blast line to ask questions. When Cain came outside, he told Vice what he’d found out, which was not much.

It was then that Vice took Jinx’s protégé to Howl. For recon purposes, of course.

Cain had disappeared into one of the tunnel-like halls toward the back, and Vice couldn’t let him get lucky alone.

And luckily, he didn’t have to.

“Hey Vice, haven’t seen you in a while,” Katya purred as she came up from behind him.

“Been busy.”

Katya was a lioness shifter. Normally, all the big cat shifters kept to themselves, because cats and wolves had never been the best of friends.

But every once in a while . . .

“I’ve been busy too. But I’ve got some free time now,” Katya said.

The lion shifters hadn’t been around nearly as long as the Dires, surfacing sometime around the sixteen hundreds. Some said they’d been born of a witch experiment with her familiar gone awry, hence their giant nature, and some said it was a witch’s curse on humanity for the Salem Witch Trials, but since the big cat shifters all hated witches, they were okay in Vice’s book.

“Wanna run?” Vice asked. He could kill two birds with one stone.

“Meet you in the woods by the school in an hour,” she told him as Cain came toward them. “Don’t be late.”

“Never.”

Cain looked at Katya as she passed and just raised a brow.

“Rifter doesn’t need to know about this,” Vice said as they walked out of the bar toward Vice’s truck.

“Didn’t see a thing,” Cain said as he climbed into the passenger’s side. “But seriously, we’ve got nothing. Maybe we should shift and hunt? Because I sure as shit can’t get a trail.”

“Because there’s not one,” Vice said. “This is all a dead end. The murder’s a one-off, which means it’s personal.”

“How do you know that?”

“With humans, it always is.”

“Stray said Cyd’s still looking for the tape,” Cain said.

“I’ll drop you at the PNR house and you can wait and take it from him if he finds it. I’ll run home,” Vice said. Cain wisely didn’t mention the lioness, just took Vice’s clothing as the Dire shifted and ran the forty miles back toward the woods near their house.

“Right on time,” Katya said. She’d waited to shift until Vice showed and they made sure they were alone. Then she stripped as his Brother Wolf howled with appreciation, because the lioness was gorgeous in human form—curvy with tawny skin, her hair waving down her back––and Vice almost shifted back to take her then and there.

But Katya was too quick, and she and Brother Wolf had a nice long run through the dense woods, farther than Katya was allowed to go by herself, based on the rules their queen, Queen Cat, had laid out.

Later, after they’d shifted back, they lay together on a blanket Katya had brought, neither affected by the cold air.

“You’re looking into the murder of that human female, right?” she asked.

“Maybe.”

“Such a boy scout.” Katya rubbed her cheek to his.

“That’s me.” He turned on his back and stared at the night sky. “What’ve you heard?”

“Just that we’re supposed to be extra careful until it’s all resolved. Queen Cat said the humans might have evidence that Weres exist.”

“We’ll take care of it.” He rolled back over, this time, directly onto her.

“Bet you will, wolf.”

“Damned humans,” he muttered.

“Humans aren’t all bad.” But she wrinkled her nose as she said it. “I mean, I’m not into them, but I guess everyone experiments outside their pride.”

“True that.” His gaze swept over her naked body and she giggled.

The
others
, as they were all known as, could just withstand more. Hurricanes, snowstorms—they dealt with it all by going to higher or warmer or safer ground, no big deal. They could make their lives anywhere, and being nomadic definitely had its advantages. They were faster, stronger, lived a long time.

But Vice didn’t want to think any longer, and Katya was quick to give into his kiss. Soft fur had given way to the softest skin and Vice bucked into her, losing himself in the wildness of the sex. He would have bite marks and scratches everywhere when all was said and done, and he wouldn’t be satisfied, but in the moment, he could pretend. And so he did.

It was slow and sensual with Katya rolling him to be on top, where she’d never get to be with her own breed. Vice had grinned the first time she’d told him where she wanted to be and he’d invited her to take a Dire for a ride.

Now, she rocked her body against his, with his cock buried deep inside of her and his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her hips. Her entire body hummed with pleasure, a vibration that went straight to his dick.

So much better than looking for human murderers or Weres. So much better than anything.

Katya bit his earlobe and clenched around him as he shot, hard, their groans mixing in the cold air as their orgasms lasted far longer than any human’s would have.

It took at least twenty minutes for him to pull himself together. Katya was rubbing his back when he surfaced and turned his head to look at her.

“You are not like my lions,” she told him. “They are arrogant. Powerful.”

Vice cleared his throat, cocked a brow and pointed to himself.

Katya laughed, low in her throat. “And yes, you are all those things too, but you are more. A mate will be lucky to have you.”

“Lucky, yes,” Vice echoed, his voice hollow. He didn’t want to talk about it. Now or ever.

“This thing with the humans—it really bothers you.”

“Always has.” He stood and stretched. “Let me walk you back to your car.”

“The Were King’s missing—Queen Cat’s wondering if we’ll have to move up farther north,” Katya mused.

“Pack’s not leaving Manhattan. Won’t give up a hold to the trappers,” Vice said roughly.

“Maybe the Dires should take over?”

It wasn’t the first time that had been suggested and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. “Linus does a damned fine job as king.”

None of the other shifters really came to the aid of the Weres since they didn’t want their population targeted by the trappers. In turn, the Weres never gave up any other shifter’s existence and, in that way, they could get some occasional help when necessary.

Katya liked Vice because he gave her what she couldn’t get from her pride—from any
other,
really. Because vices weren’t only the seven deadly sins, although everyone needed to sin in their life, to be brought out of their ordinary lives, to live out on the edge.

Vice lived there all the time, so it was cool to have other people join him.

Like their nonshifting animal counterparts, lioness shifters took on the bulk of the work in their pride. For the sake of protection and nondetections, the prides were shaped to look like regular families, mom and dad and kids, grandparents and aunts and uncles.

Far be it from Vice to argue with being served every now and again, but he had a problem with the inherent set up where male lion shifters got to be lazy as shit and females were expected to do everything. Not the way it had ever worked in his Dire packs and he would never let a woman do all the hunting.

For Katya, spending time with him allowed her to forgo all her pride stuff—she indulged lazily, allowed Vice to hunt for her. To feed her.

Baby, it was all about her. For a lioness, that was something she would normally never allow herself to partake in. She couldn’t allow herself to be seen as weak and still maintain her place in the pack.

When Vice first met her, she’d been too young to mate. She still hunted with her parents and sister and her youngest brother, who was about to be thrown out on his own to find a mate.

His name was Keiran, and Vice actually liked him because he seemed to have some ambition.

Now, Katya was nervous about being mated. She’d confided it to Vice last time they were together, and he hadn’t been sure what to tell her.

“Queen Cat’s taking the prides under her control west for the rest of winter,” Katya finally admitted, even though she wasn’t supposed to share her pride secrets.

By the time she returned, she could well be mated and her fun time with Vice would most definitely be over.

He didn’t know if it was better to have had a small taste of the forbidden, knowing you could never have it again, but for him, he preferred a memory he could sink his teeth into.

And Katya would be quite a memory.

Chapter Nine

It took an hour to get to the house where the séance was being held. Bill insisted they take back roads to avoid the media, who was rumored to be in neighboring towns.

It was more than a rumor. Rifter had Stray interfere a bit there, leading the media to the wrong places, but they’d stumble on Bill’s PNR Center sooner or later.

Now, close to eleven p.m., all the cameras were being dragged out of the vans and set up. Big coils of cable were running throughout the big old dusty house that looked to be seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

“Creepy as shit,” one of the cameramen said as Rifter stomped along the wraparound porch.

“Great land,” Rifter added, looking it over longingly. Brother Wolf was more than ready to run, but it couldn’t happen tonight, no matter how badly they wanted it.

The woman who lived here was named Ruth. She was close to eighty and seemed excited to have all the attention and the company, staying busy plying Rifter and Jinx with cookies and pies in between asking them if they could fix a few things for her.

They complied, because there were no ghosts or anything remotely resembling a supernatural being, except for Paula who, according to Jinx, appeared right after they arrived and now remained quietly outside on the back porch. Every once in a while, Jinx said he caught a glimpse of her looking in the window at them but he was trying not to spook her.

“She still quiet?” Rifter asked at one point.

“Like she’s on mute,” Jinx told him as he snagged more cookies. “We need to get this recipe.”

“I’ll get right on that,” Rifter said dryly.

“We’re ready to commence,” Bill called.

It was close to midnight. Bill kept calling that the witching hour, and that made both Rifter and Jinx’s Brother Wolves very unhappy, as they didn’t like to hear anything about witches at all.

“Ruth, what’s the deal here?” Jinx asked finally as she handed him a plate with two large sandwiches. He’d just rewired her overhead florescent light and she patted him on the shoulder and called him a sweet young man.

Rifter had nearly choked at that.

“There are two ghosts here,” she told them in a low, confidential whisper. “Lovers from the nineteen twenties. They tell me they’re terrorized by a demon but they won’t leave the house. They stay here to keep me safe.”

She was totally serious—and completely delusional, maybe with age or the plethora of medicines Rifter found earlier in one of the cabinets. There were several all-natural vitamins in there too, and a couple of homeopathic herbs that could easily cause hallucinations if taken in conjunction with the wrong meds. But Ruth didn’t seem distressed and hell, the made up ghosts probably kept her company.

“I told Bill not to banish them, but to try to get rid of the demon,” Ruth continued.

Jinx started, “Bill couldn’t banish––”

“The demon without the ghosts giving their consent. Don’t worry, Ruth—it sounds like they like you too much to leave.” Rifter shot Jinx a look and the wolf stuffed his mouth with another cookie.

“We’re ready to begin,” Bill said finally and Ruth went toward him, barely able to contain her excitement.

Jinx finished all the food Ruth left out, eating in an attempt to get less goddamned pissed about what this asshole was doing to an old lady.

“He didn’t take money from her,” Rifter said quietly. “She’s having a great time.”

Ruth was. The cameramen were all rapt attention at Bill’s show, except for Sam, who looked at the Dires and rolled his eyes. He might not be able to see ghosts but even he knew there was nothing here worth filming.

They had the Ouija board out because Ruth claimed she summoned the ghosts with it every night. That in itself was a dangerous move, because humans had no clue what kind of things they were inviting inside.

Bill had his eyes closed, fingers balanced on the plastic pointer as it moved all over the board, giving the answers any audience of ghost enthusiasts would want to hear. The ghosts gave their names—different from what they’d told Ruth, but Bill had some stupid explanation for that.

“For the love of the Elders,” Jinx muttered under his breath.

Bill was obviously pulling all the strings here and Marley appeared clueless. If she did have any ability to see ghosts, she’d never develop it hanging around this clown.

Bill was now tapping his foot and then looking in different directions. Spooking the shit out of everyone as Marley worked an EMF meter around the perimeter.

Of course, the electric pole outside the house would be interfering with it like crazy—she should know that. And maybe she did. She could be in on this whole thing. “You still think she’s innocent? Because she’s got a lot to gain by helping Bill with this scheme.”

“Attention.” Rifter nudged him and Marley walked over to where they stood.

“What do you guys think?” Marley asked.

“It’s the biggest piece of—” Jinx spit.

“Paranormal we’ve seen in a while,” Rifter added smoothly. “Fascinating.”

Marley nodded, but there was a small frown on her forehead. She turned slowly and Jinx held his breath, because Paula was suddenly standing right in front of her.

Jinx watched the panic rise in Marley. She stepped back and Paula moved toward her and he and Rifter were the only ones noticing.

“Is she all right?” Rifter asked.

“She’s seeing Paula,” Jinx confirmed, quiet enough for wolf hearing, but not human. “Marley’s the real deal.”

“And she looks ready to bolt,” Rifter added.

“I’ll get rid of Paula for now.”

“I’ll let the asshole keep thinking he’s doing a great job,” Rifter said, running a tongue over his elongating canines, his Brother Wolf obviously begging to be allowed to come out and play. “Later, boy, we’ll get him. Just have to figure out his game first,” Rifter muttered to himself.

He moved back and hit an old pipe that would echo into upstairs. It got everyone’s attention, except for Marley, who didn’t take her eyes from Paula for a second. And as frustrating as it would be to break up their meeting, this wasn’t the place for Marley to talk to the ghost.

Jinx moved forward and Paula looked up at him, a question in her eyes. Meanwhile, Bill was coming toward them.

“Marley, why are you staring into space when you’re needed?” he demanded, coming up to stand next to her, inches from Paula’s ghost. “We’ve heard knocking coming from upstairs.”

Marley took her eyes from Paula and glanced at Bill. “I’m sorry—what do you need?”

“Come with me.”

When Marley looked back, Paula was still there, waiting. Marley nodded at her, white as a sheet. But hell, at least she’d finally realized that her boss was a total fake.

Marley backed away from Paula, turning at the very last minute so she didn’t kill herself on the stairs. It was then she ran up after Bill.

“It’s okay,” Jinx said to the ghost. “Not here, Paula—visit her later. When she’s not with Bill. I’ll get Marley alone so you can talk to her.”

For the first time since he’d seen her, Paula spoke. “Thank you,” was all she said before she disappeared, but it was enough.

Marley watched Bill posturing in front of her as she felt Paula’s presence retreat, her body no longer freezing cold, the way it had been moments before when she’d seen the ghost.

He can’t really see her. Or even feel her. Or any goddamned ghost.

And actually, he’d been the one to make the noise earlier. He was a fraud and it was disappointing as hell, but it also put a much deeper worry inside her mind.

Paula’s murder . . . what if?

Paula . . .

Her chest tightened and her skin tingled. She’d definitely seen the ghost. She could try to blame lack of sleep or lack of food or bad lighting, but she knew she’d seen the real thing.

And Bill hadn’t.

There were no other ghosts here. Paula had been the real deal. Her chest . . . the blood. The hole where her heart should’ve been. Could Bill have done that?

The bodyguards seemed serious about the wolf thing. What was going on here?

She knew one thing for sure—she didn’t want to be around any of this. No more, she promised herself. When she got back to Bill’s, she would pack up. In the morning, she was out of there.