Shadows of the Ancients (12 page)

“Awww…” Ashley pretended to swoon and fell over on her bed. “He seems too good to be true. If this works out with the two of you, I may just have to get you to turn me, so that I can snatch Asi up, and we can double date!”

“Don’t tease me, sister! You know I’d love for you to join the furry ranks.”

“Eh, well, not when you put it like that! I’ve seen how often you have to shave those legs of yours!”

“Ugghh, Ash!”

“So, what happened next?”

My phone beeped, letting me know I had a text waiting. “Damn, I didn’t realize it was that late already. We need to get going since we’re walking there, Ash.”

“Fine. Let me grab my wallet, but you’re definitely dishing on the rest of the date while we walk.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

Club Hypnotic, the one Evan just purchased, was about 5 blocks from Ashley’s house. This wasn’t the first time we’d walked there, but it was something we didn’t do often, especially when it got colder outside. The weather didn’t bother me as much, but I could see Ashley starting to shiver as we walked.

“We should have driven.” I told her.

“It’s okay, seriously, a shot of whiskey and some dancing will warm me right up when we get there!”

“You’re too much, Ash!”

“So, tell me how the date went. You were practically glowing earlier when I asked.”

“He’s amazing, Ash. If we were kissing, and our lips got stuck together, I don’t think I’d mind so much.”

“Okay, you’re just weird.”

“That’s why you love me.”

“You’re right! So, where did you go again?”

“We went to Angelique’s and had some Cajun food.”

“Cajun? Really? That’s an odd choice for a first date.” Ashley was pulling on her shirt, something she did when she was nervous.

“Well, it was my choice. He asked what the best restaurant in town was, and that’s what popped out of my mouth.” I thought about it for a minute, and realized maybe I was weird after all. Most girls would have picked Italian or some other cliché date-worthy place. “Oh, do you think he thought less of me for my choice? I am weird, aren’t I?”

“No, you’re perfect. I should have known it was your choice. You love that place. What did he think?”

“Now that you mention it, he was surprised, but he seemed to enjoy it once we were there. I guess that’s something, right?”

“Yep, and the hot, spicy breath apparently didn’t keep the two of you from kissing at the end of the night, since you wanted to get all stuck together and shit.”

“Yeah,” I laughed at her. “I’m a dork, so sue me. It’s just, when he kisses me…” Heat crept into my face as I started telling Ashely about the way Evan made me feel. “My insides turn to molten lava. I literally want to crawl out of my own skin. Wait, that sounds weird. I just… I have no words.”

Ashley sighed. “I don’t know that I’ve ever felt that after a kiss. I mean, I’ve been turned on by kissing a guy before, but never the body melting, falling in love, kind of twisty-turny stomach feeling you keep describing to me. Maybe it’s a werewolf thing. Maybe, he’s the one for you. I never believed in that soul mate business some girls at school used to talk about, but maybe for werewolves it’s true. I mean, you guys mate for life, and you live very long lives.”

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll see. So far, I’m not opposed to being bound to him, although I think we both still have a lot to learn about each…” I stopped short as a chill ran up my spine. We were midway between Ashley’s apartment and the club. I was sensing someone’s power, it felt an awful lot like Evan’s, but I didn’t think it was his. He knew we were walking tonight to have some girlfriend alone time.

“You stink of my brother, little bitch.” A man’s voice said as he stepped out of the shadows of the building off to our right. He was tall, and the power of an Alpha dripped from his pores. His dark brown hair was worn just a little long, giving him an edgy look as it fell just into his eyes in the front. Despite the length there, it appeared to be cropped much closer in the back. His eyes, what I could see of them through his hair at first, as he came out of the shadows, were a bright and vibrant green. They were actually very similar to my own eye color. His features were chiseled in a way that you only saw in magazines. He was beautiful, but the look was immediately diminished since the first thing he had to say was to call me a bitch.

“What did you just call her?” I tried to stop Ashley as she put herself between the stranger and myself. He was quick though, and had her held up in the air, dangling by the hand he had wrapped around her throat. I couldn’t even blink. Claws were forming on his hands, just missing the artery in Ashley’s neck.

“Ash…” I whispered, but the warning look in the man’s eyes kept me from moving forward.

“No one questions my word choices, you vile little human. You need to learn your place in this world.” He looked back at me then. I was still standing in the exact spot, paralyzed by fear for my friend. “You need to learn that human lives are fleeting, and not worth our kind’s time. Although, at least this one was brave. Stupid, but brave to stand up for you.” I heard Ashley’s sharp intake of breath after one of the stranger’s hands disappeared behind her back, and then I smelled the hot coppery scent of blood on the air. Drips of blood were coming down Ashley’s neck now too, where the man’s fingers gripped her tighter. I stepped forward, and he let her go. Ashley’s body collapsed to the ground on the cement sidewalk. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket as I tried to go to her. I didn’t make it to Ashley, because the stranger caught me and held me back.

“No, she’s not your problem right now. We are going to talk about why you smell as though you’ve been claimed by my brother. You are a Lesser. Surely, even he would not stoop so low. That’s almost as bad as seeing a wolf paling around with a human.” The disdain in his voice as he spoke was evident. He may as well have been spitting the words at me. All I could see was Ashley lying on the ground bleeding. The stranger shook me to get my attention back on him. When that didn’t work he snatched my face around with his right hand, while he continued holding me in place by my arm with his left. “I asked you a question girl, I expect an answer.”

“How in the hell should I know? I don’t know who you are, let alone who your brother is. Please, she’s in pain. Let me help her. You know her chances of survival.”

“I don’t care about that girl, she’s probably too far gone to help now anyway. There’s not a damn thing you can do for her.” My phone was buzzing in my pocket again, and I was secretly hoping it was Evan, and that he would come looking for us. I had sent him a message letting him know when we left. Ashley was writhing on the ground in pain, horrible sounds were coming from her. I clued in to the fact that this stranger was still talking after a moment when I heard Evan’s name. “…my baby brother, Evan. His scent is all over you,and I came to this town to find him. Now, you do know who Evan is, right?”

I shook my head in the affirmative. This was the kind of behavior I had been expecting from an Ancient. I had been pleasantly surprised by Evan and Asi, and wrongfully thought all Ancients would be like them. I silently promised myself never to make those kinds of assumptions again if I got out of this situation. More importantly, I was hoping Ashley would be able to hang in there long enough for me to get her some help. There really wasn’t much we could do, but she shouldn’t be going through the change out here in the open with people walking by. She could end up killing someone if the change took hold, and Ashley would never be able to live with that, no matter how tough she seemed on the outside.

“Tell me,” he spoke again, “what is going on with you and my brother?”

“Maybe this is a conversation you should be having with your brother,” I stated plainly.

“But he’s not here, and you are, so I am asking you. I will only do so one more time. If you decide to play coy and not answer me again I will snap your little friend’s neck, and put her out of her misery.”

I felt the charge in the air before I saw him, but I knew Evan was coming. I heard footsteps running up behind us, but I was still being held in place by the stranger in front of me. “Ah, that didn’t take long at all.” He said to me. “Hello, brother.” He called out over my shoulder. I still couldn’t see Evan, but Asi walked around us and leaned down to check on Ashley. When he looked back up at me his face was grim.

“Mikael, what are you doing with your hands on my intended mate?”

“So, it is true then?” He looked from Evan back to my face and then pushed me away from him. Evan caught me and held on, as Asi picked Ashley up in his arms. “I was on my way to check out your new place of business when I smelled you on the wind. I figured I’d wait and catch you by surprise if I could. When she passed me, I realized my mistake, and yours.”

“It’s okay, you’re going to make it Red,” Asi was chanting to Ashley over and over again as she made sad little whimpering noises. “I’m taking her to the pack.” Asi didn’t wait for permission, he was gone in a flash.

I tried to follow behind him, but an arm snaked out and caught me too quickly. “Not so fast little bitch, we’re still having a conversation.”

Power rolled through Mikael, and some of it transferred to me as a result. I couldn’t stifle the sound I made in response to the tingling sting of the power that flowed through us. “Brother, you are going to remove your hand from Jess before things get ugly.” Evan commanded.

“Is that so?” Defiance was woven into his words.

“It is.” Evan looked around. “You are already drawing too much attention to us.” There were people lurking on the fringes, some were pulling out cell phones and getting their cameras ready.

Mikael released his hold, and I flew right back into Evan’s arms. “We’ll go back to my club,” Evan said. “I can’t wait to find out what brought you to town.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“Oh, well now, that is a lovely story indeed.” Mikael responded as the three of us turned and walked at human speeds the next two and a half blocks to Hypnotic.

REUNIONS

As we walked into the club, I realized Evan had been a busy man when we weren’t out on our little dates this week. Hypnotic was changing. It would be closed for the next couple days, and he had a crew in doing some remodeling. The smell of fresh paint burned my nostrils a bit, but underneath that, the odor of stale beer and sweat still lingered throughout. Hypnotic was a popular club, and that kind of popularity left its lingering scent on the air.

I was cataloguing the changes as I noticed them, in an effort to keep my mind off of everything else that was going on. The most noticeable change was the fact that a balcony area was in the process of being built. It would be an awesome place to sit and look out over the bar. I looked around, seeing different spaces that were being updated, and I found myself wondering where Asriel was. He always stopped by to greet us when we came in now. It only took a moment to remind myself that Asi was with Ashley, and that she might not make it. So much for distracting myself.

“I should be with Ashley.” I whispered to Evan as we walked to the back of the bar, heading for his office.

“You’re just going to have to wait on that little girl.” Mikael said.

“Don’t address her. Your business is with me. Jess will stay by my side as long as I am here speaking with you, but I promise you, we won’t remain here long, so let’s get this over with.” Evan opened the door and held out his hand for his brother to enter the office. Evan’s other hand was firmly wrapped around my own. He leaned in close as his brother walked by and went to sit in Evan’s desk chair. “I’ll get you to Ashley as soon as I can. I’m sorry for all this, Jess.”

“I know.” It was the only response that would come out. If Mikael thought sitting in Evan’s desk chair would piss him off, he was about to be severely disappointed. Evan walked us over to the couch that we had made out on only a few nights ago, and sat down, pulling me with him. I sat beside him, but so close that the entire length of our bodies touched along the side from shoulder to feet. I put my head down on his shoulder, and he continued to hold on to my hand.

Mikael sat straighter in the desk chair, and cleared his throat. It was evident now that he had expected his brother to have an issue with his seating choice. “Father sent me to check on you.”

“I figured as much. This is a little far for you to come out of your comfort zone, brother.” Hearing Evan address Mikael as brother caused me to pay more attention. It was only now sinking in that this man, one who may have killed my best friend, was related to my intended mate. My head was spinning. This man didn’t seem to be anything like Evan, but something in the back of my mind was questioning if that was true or not. Had I just seen the best of this man, and the worst of the other? A headache was beginning to form at the back of my skull.

“Well, he received a call letting him know a few things that were going on in this area. One of those things was that his son was taking on a Lesser for a mate.” He watched us curiously, noting the way Evan held my hand, tracing circles across the top of it. “He was intrigued enough by that prospect to send me to check on things.”

“And did he send you with orders to stop it from happening?” I stiffened next to Evan as he asked his question. When he first revealed who he was, I asked him what his family would think about him being with a Lesser wolf. Now, it seemed I might get a real answer to this question. Perhaps his family would end up killing me for daring to be with their son and brother. I wondered briefly if Evan would protect me if it came down to it. The throbbing in my head grew exponentially as Mikael answered him.

“Not yet. I was supposed to observe only, which is what I was heading to do when fate stepped in and put your little bitc…”

“You do not want to finish that sentence.” Evan warned, while letting go of my hand, and readying himself to spring forward. I was at least a little reassured all of a sudden. He was ready to put himself between me and his brother. That was something, especially since we still didn’t know each other that well.