Slate's Mistake (4 page)

Tom added, “Our saving grace was the life insurance
Connie received when her husband died.” Everyone looked at Tom again. “I saw
what Alpha David was doing and found a way to hide it. That’s what we had been
living off of when we got to Bancroft.”

“How ‘bout we dig the ass-wipe up and stick his
bloated corpse on a pike in the front yard? I’m sure the rest of the herd would
get a sense of relief and his supporters would hear the message loud and clear
that they are worthless pieces of shit who are next on the list.”

Everyone turned to Kace. He had been unusually quiet
since they landed, and Slate had never heard him talk like that before. “Easy,
Kace,” Slate answered. “I’m sure the local humans wouldn’t appreciate that.”

Kace only shrugged a shoulder in response.

Alphy scratched the bottom of his chin. “No, but I do
know something we
can
do to help give
them a boost. Ryker, I want you to start dividing up all the assets. Kace and
Tom, in the morning, you two stay here while Slate and I go take a look at
those houses the five missing members owned. In fact, start with them. See if
you can dig into their personal assets and freeze them. Keep an eye out to
where they are, and what they are doing. I want to know just how much they are
involved.”

Slate added, “And freezing their assets is a sure way
to bringing them back. Mamma always said, ‘the best
way to
get someone remember
you is to borrow money from them’. Well, close
enough anyways.”

Chapter Two

Katie was tired, groggy, cold, and afraid as she
solemnly made her way to the alpha’s house. She’d never been to see the alpha
before because her dad’s alpha had been an evil thing, and she was just human.
However, her dad had just told her that the alpha was killed by another alpha
and the new alpha had come to take over the pack.

Yeah, like that is going to
give me comfort, confidence, and a mind at ease?
She still didn’t want to trust him, but she trusted
her dad.

Her heart thumped against her ribcage and her palms
started to sweat as she approached the front door. Henry was beside her. He
reached out and took her hand, murmuring reassurances to her. “It’s all right.
I’m here, and I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

He was always so protective and supportive of her.
It could also have something to do with me
being a “weak” human.
Her sister, who was half shifter, hadn’t really been
sick a day in her life, but as for her, well, she kept getting near everything
under the sun. She was twenty-seven, much too young to suspect a diagnosis of
cancer. But here she was, nonetheless.

In spite of watching his hand rise to knock on the
door, she still jumped at the sound of his knuckles rapping lightly on the
wood. It was the middle of the night, and everything sounded louder. She was
still trying to calm her painfully racing heart when the door opened. A man who
looked to be her age, with a well formed swimmer’s build and strawberry blond
hair, stood in the doorway. He smiled broadly, showing off two long, sharp teeth.
Katie gasped. She had never seen such large canines before. She was told they
only came down for fighting and mate-claiming.

He stepped aside, giving them room to move inside. As
soon as the door closed, he extended his hand in greeting. “Hello, I’m Dr.
Seamus Rossi.”

His canines were showing again, from his broad smile.
Katie didn’t notice his hand was extended until her dad squeezed hers and let
it go. She felt the heat and pressure loss immediately, almost causing her to
lose balance. As she extended it, her hand was wrapped in a warm soft embrace.
“Katie Williams,” she croaked out. Her eyes kept darting down to his mouth,
looking for those sharp canines, which were now hidden behind a closed smile.

A look of concern crossed over his face. “Is something
wrong?”

Katie blushed when she realized he was talking to her,
“Uh, no, I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen anyone’s canines before.”

His smile widened and he laughed. “I’m not a shifter. I’m
a vampire, so these aren’t canines. They’re fangs.”

The shock of his declaration pulled a gasp from her,
and she felt herself more excited than frightened.
“Really?
Wow, that is so cool. I’ve heard of vampires, but I’ve never actually met one.”

“Well, now you have, and I hope it is a good
impression.” He turned to her dad.
“Henry, thank you for
bringing her.
Are you staying?”

“Yes. I’d like to wait for her, if that’s all right.”
Henry wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her behind the doctor, as
they made their way down a hallway.

They stopped at an open door to a bedroom. “If it’s all
right with her, then it should be fine.”

Both men looked expectantly at her. “Please,” she mildly
pleaded.

Dr. Rossi nodded. “That’s fine. Henry, do you know
where the kitchen is?” He waited for Henry’s affirmation before he continued. “Good,
there should be some coffee there. Help yourself.”

Henry leaned over and gave her a reassuring kiss on
her temple. “I’ll be close by if you need me.” He turned on his heel and left
back down the hallway.

Katie tentatively walked into the lit room. There was
a bed with a dark blue bottom sheet and two matching pillows. In a corner,
folded neatly, was the rest of the bedding. Lined on a long dresser, were many
medical items and supplies that, as an RN, she recognized. There were two
chairs facing each other, next to the bed.

“I’m going to need to do a physical examination. I
brought examination gowns. Why don’t I step out into the hall for a minute and
let you dress in one of those? You can cover yourself further with that sheet.
Just let me know when you are ready.” The doctor had reached into a box and
pulled out a folded purple gown. He placed it on the end of the bed and closed
the door behind him as he left her. She wasn’t too sleepy anymore. She was
pretty wide awake, so she undressed and covered up in pretty good time. She even
folded her clothes and put them on one of the two chairs.
 

Katie sat back against the headboard of the bed. She
understood the need to use this space, but she felt like a virgin about to be
unveiled to her newly married lord of the manor. She sighed deeply and tried to
shake the ridiculous feeling. There was a light tap on the door, and then the
door opened up. The doctor stepped through with two cups of what she would
guess to be coffee. He offered her one up and put the other on the side table.

Breathing in the smell of the bitter goodness, she
hummed. “Thank you.”

“I figured you might need it after being woken in the
middle of the night.
Now.”
The doctor sat down in one
of the chairs and looked at her. “I wasn’t given much information what to
expect or look for, but now that I have scented you, I understand the nature of
your illness. But I do not know where or what kind, so why don’t you tell me
what you know, and then if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to examine you and
perhaps take some blood samples.”

Katie completely understood what the doctor was
talking about and asking … up until he wanted blood samples. Her heart sped up,
and a ticklish nervousness settled in her stomach.
“Uh.”
She felt a little lightheaded. The doctor took on a slightly alarmed look.
Katie shook her head. She was a registered nurse; she was capable of handling
stress, well, apparently with the exception of being medically seen by a
vampire.
Medically seen? Oh!
She
almost smacked herself. She had seen the syringes and tubes on the dresser.
“Oh! With a needle!” she said out loud and gave a nervous giggle.

Dr. Rossi brightened and laughed. “You thought I meant
with my fangs?”

Heat covered Katie’s face. It took more to embarrass
her than others, but this misunderstanding did just that. “Uh, yeah, I’m sorry.
I’m not normally this skittish or airheaded.”

“It’s fine. As you said, this is your first time
meeting a vampire. The shock is normal.”

Katie started to relax. “Thank you for understanding.
Uh, so, it was about six weeks ago. My sister and I were heading out to lunch
together, and she said I smelt different. She had a funny feeling about it, so
she had me see dad directly after work. He said I smelt off, too, so I went to
see a local doctor. But the doctors here aren’t very good. They didn’t even run
any tests on me and told me I was fine, just to go home and return in a year
for a check-up.”

Dr. Rossi grunted. “Yes, I’m not impressed with many
of the doctors here either.” At her confused look, Dr. Rossi elaborated. “I’m
from the States. However, their practices are going downhill as well…” Katie
opened her mouth in a silent “ah”. “If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to have
a look. Do you know where it is?” Katie shook her head. “Are you feeling sick
or any discomfort anywhere?” She shook her head again in response. “Huh, all right
then, let’s
take
some blood samples first, and then
I’ll have to check you over.”

As the doctor was drawing her blood, she was amazed
that he had found the vein so easily. The needle hardly even hurt. “This is the
least painful blood draw I’ve ever had.” She smiled up at the doctor.

The doctor looked at her and returned her smile. “Ah,
well, that is where being a vampire comes in handy. We can sense things better
than others when it comes to blood. It isn’t a scent really as it is a sense.
It’s so we can detect blood types and how healthy the blood is.”

“That makes sense. So, would it be all right if I ask
you some questions?”

He nodded as he let loose the strap that he had placed
around her arm. She felt the pinching from rubber strap release, and with it, she
released a sigh of relief. As Dr. Rossi pulled out the tube and proceeded to
stick another one in the port, she continued. “My dad taught us a lot of things
about shifters, but he said most myths aren’t true, so what myths aren’t true
for vampires?”

“That is a very smart question. Well, let’s see.” Dr.
Rossi pulled out the vial and placed it on a breakfast tray with the other.
Grabbing another tub, he stuck in the port. “We can eat anything, including
garlic, but we do need blood to survive. We don’t need to drain anyone fully,
in fact,” Dr. Rossi removed the vial and popped on yet another vial.

How many does he need?
she
thought.

But he casually continued. “Our bite is quite
pleasurable. And like other paranormals, you can’t get turned into a vampire.
You have to be born one.
And of course the matter of the sun.”
Dr. Seamus finally removed the needle and dressed the puncture wound. “We have
no problems going out into the sun, except for my brother who lives in his
office cave full of computers. I swear he would go up in smoke if he actually
set foot near a sunny corner.”

“Your brother?”

The doctor threw his garbage of plastic packages into
a small garbage bin and picked up the tray. Setting it on the dresser, he
continued.
“Yes, my twin actually.
He loves computers
as much as I love my job, but he rarely goes outside. With our heritage our complexion
already so light, we tease him a lot.”

“Oh!” Katie laughed. “So he can, he just shouldn’t. I
get it.”

Dr. Rossi laughed with her. “Correct. Would you please
lie down on the bed?”

She did as instructed. That virgin sacrifice feeling
returned, but she shook it off. It was just the awkwardness of the situation.
The doctor placed the top sheet over her, up to the middle of her stomach. He
seemed to have sensed her unease and tried to converse with her as he undid
only one of the shoulders on her gown and slowly let it down. “What is your
profession?”

At least he had warm fingers, as she felt the pressure
rub around her left breast.

“I’m an RN at the local hospital.”

The doctor perked up.
“Oh really?
How long have you been an RN?” After feeling around a bit, he covered her and
reached over for the other shoulder.

“A few years now.”

The doctor’s fingers rubbed in circles around her
breast. He rubbed a bit more in one particular spot. Just at that moment, the
door few open and a giant of a man with blond hair and substantial muscles let
out a very animalistic roar. She saw his canines descend, and now she knew the
difference between the two kinds, there was a
big
difference. His hands grew claws, and his eyes turned feline.

The doctor leaped up as the shifter dove at him. Katie
screamed and rolled away to the other side of the bed. As soon as she felt her
butt hit the floor she continued to push herself into a corner, watching the
fight. The doctor’s eyes turned red, and his black claws pointed out from his
fingers. The unmistakable shifter grabbed the vampire by the throat and lifted him
off the floor and against the wall. She couldn’t stop screaming as more giant
men began to file into the room. Holding the sheet around her body up to her
neck, she saw one of those men was her dad. He ran over to her and pulled her
into his arms.

The roar turned more feral. Katie turned to see the
out-of-control shifter now had his sights on her dad. She pulled herself
tighter against her dad. She knew shifters had greater strength than humans,
but she had never known a predator shifter before.