The Power Of The Bite (11 page)

“What about protection for Zane?” Dax could understand why his new friends were excited, but his mate’s safety came before anything else. His father was going to be livid when he heard a vampire coven was being set up in what he’d let the rest of the pack believe was part of his territory.

“Royce and Seb live two houses down to the left, Broz and Van, three houses to the right, and Ewan and Foyle live directly out the back of this place,” Zane said with a small smile. “You wolves all drive big assed SUVs and nearly all of them are black, which is just a touch cliché, but makes them easy to keep track of. You and I will be fine. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere today anyway. We’ve got a few things to talk about.”

Dax knew his mate was right, but he couldn’t help feeling worried when the other vampires all left the house. After spending his whole life living with wolves, and working with humans, vampires had an air of competence about them that couldn’t be mimicked by any other species. Without any inside knowledge on why his father was behaving the way he was, and what was going to happen now that Dax had petitioned to leave the territory, Dax was more than a little anxious.

Chapter Twelve

Dax and Zane talked well into the afternoon, taking time out every now and then to make out (three or four times, but who was counting) and to eat again. After much discussion and mutual concern for each other’s safety, which lightened Zane’s heart in a way he didn’t think possible, they decided as a couple that they should join Broz’s coven, keep the club going for now, and move to the new coven house as soon as it was fit for habitation. Because that was not likely to happen within the seven day period that Dax was allowed, they both decided to move to the apartment above Dax’s club in the meantime.

Broz wasn’t happy about the last idea, when told about it by phone, and asked them to stay at Zane’s until the very last minute if possible. While Zane’s house was within a fifteen minute drive of the pack house, he had to admit he did feel safer with his friends living so close. Dax had thought that living in a wolf designated vampire area was an insult his father couldn’t ignore. But he could understand Zane’s reasoning, and Broz’s concern, and after an earth shattering blow job, that Zane was happy to administer, agreed to grab more clothes from his apartment later that evening so he could stay in Zane’s house for a few days at least.

The one thing the two men hadn’t discussed in length was what to do about Zane’s job and it was that topic Zane was thinking about as he got dressed to head out with Dax to the club. He had rung in and told his Captain that he had some family problems to deal with and his Captain had been less than sympathetic. So unsympathetic in fact, that Zane found himself on temporary leave without pay. Apparently his Captain didn’t take kindly to being called a ‘jackass’.

The lost wages weren’t a problem. Zane worked because he loved his job and liked having things to do during the day. He enjoyed the camaraderie that was evident in a well-run station, and he liked to think that what he did helped the community overall. Portrain didn’t have a lot of crime – mostly alcohol related incidences, some domestic violence, attending accidents and petty theft. Consequently, Zane was the only ranking detective in town, which again wasn’t a problem. In a small, well run station, and Zane wasn’t saying that was how the Portrain precinct was run he was simply making an observation, everyone pitched in and did what needed to be done regardless of official rank.

But as Zane looked at himself in the mirror, noting how healthy he was looking and much more like his old self, he could also admit to himself that there was no way he looked like a human version of ‘normal.’ He was bigger than any of his colleagues. He didn’t carry an ounce of fat and his face…Zane didn’t consider himself pretty, but he did acknowledge that a flawless bone structure, pale skin with nary a wrinkle in sight and his deep black eyes could hardly be considered human. If he wasn’t getting hassled by his colleagues about his looks, then he was taking slurs for having gay friends. He wasn’t close enough to anyone he worked with to admit that he was gay himself, although since Dax had been more than happy to introduce him as a life partner to quite a few humans in the club the night before, he was sure it wouldn’t be long before that little snippet got back to his Captain as well.

“What’s got you frowning, babe?” Damn, Dax was already out of the shower and Zane hadn’t even noticed.

“Thinking about my job,” Zane said, turning to watch his mate get dressed. Although their relationship was still new in every sense, he didn’t think he’d ever tire of watching Dax ease tight pants over his long legs and taut ass, or how his huge shoulders flexed as he eased on a shirt.

“You could come and work with me,” Dax offered as he bent down to slip on his boots that looked clean, but well worn. The gorgeous man straightened up, flipping a casually sexy smile at Zane that had him reconsidering the whole necessity for going out. If they stayed home, Dax could stay naked and the need for extra clothes would be non-existent.

“You have a full staff, babe, and besides that place is your baby, not mine.”

Dax frowned, and put on what Zane was starting to call his Alpha look. He stalked towards Zane, reminding him that no matter what, there was a pretty savage animal living under that sexy skin. “We’re mated, done deal, double and all, none can tear us apart type crap. That club is as much yours as mine and don’t you ever forget it. I may not have as much in the way of monetary resources as you, but don’t you dare insult me by suggesting I can’t share what I do have with you.”

Not only an animal spirit, but a huge dose of pride in his wonderful mate, Zane thought. It would pay to remember that sort of thing before he opened his mouth.

“You’re right, angel, and I apologize,” he said, dropping the tone of his voice and staring at Dax’s lips. “It’s just you have bouncers, wait staff, bartenders and a fully staffed kitchen already. There’s not a lot there for me to do.”

“I’m not likely to have my bouncers for much longer.” Dax’s own voice dropped to that sexy drawl that always sent shivers down Zane’s spine. Dax was so close their chests were almost touching. “All of my bouncers are part of the pack, and if I know my father, he could very well tell the pack my place is off limits from now on.”

“I’m happy to work as a bouncer for you, if I know you’re going to be around most of the time.” Zane didn’t stop looking at Dax’s lips. For some reason he found he couldn’t.

“You became co-owner of the place as from two days ago, and I think you’d be an excellent head of security, responsible for hiring and firing my bouncers,” Dax said, and see? When Dax’s lips moved like that, they became dancing, tasty morsels just waiting to be sucked. Zane felt his head nodding even though he wasn’t sure what Dax had actually said.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah,” Zane felt his head nodding again.

“You’re easily distracted.” Those lips he’d been watching got a lot closer – too close for Zane to resist. He latched on, sucking Dax’s bottom lip in between his, before dropping it and doing the same to the top one. Dax’s lips were full and so warm, like fruit ripened in the hot sun, and Zane settled in planning to feast on them for hours.

A sharp knock at the front door put a stop to rampant thoughts of taking things any further.

“Our ride’s here” Dax said softly, pulling back so Zane could see his whole face. “You might want to put your shades on. Your eyes are flashing, and I can’t guarantee I won’t succumb to the temptation of your delicious body if we’re going to be out all evening.”

“Worth wearing shades then.” Zane smiled. Although he hated wearing sunglasses at night, thinking that they made him look like a poser at the best of times, if Dax was in a flirty and happy mood then Zane was more than happy to lap up the attention. Wearing sunglasses to hide his eyes was a small price to pay for having that type of fun in a human establishment.

/~/~/~/~/

“Well, well, well, I wonder what’s brought the big man into town.” Broz’s voice cut into some joke that Zane had been telling Dax, and Dax turned his head, looking over to where one of his wait staff was seating his father, Lance and Bruce at one of the reserved tables.

“He’s never been here before.” Dax was wondering the same thing. His father had too much honor to reveal his true self to humans, but he could definitely make things uncomfortable for Zane. Looking over his shoulder, he waved at Peggy, one of the human waitresses.

“Peggy, sweetie,” he said quietly. “You see that table over there, three large men, one of who looks a bit like me?”

“Yes, Boss.” Peggy had only just turned twenty one, but she worked hard, hoping to get into a hospitality course one day.

“Let the bartender and the kitchen staff know that they are V.I.Ps. Anything they want is on the house. Charge it all to my tab.”

“Yes, Boss.” Peggy scurried away, catching the waitress who had been taking Nathaniel’s dinner order. The two women hurried towards the kitchen, probably to pass on Dax’s request. Dax watched his father looking around the club and positively curl his lip up as young Toby, a trainee bartender stood by the table probably asking for the men’s drinks orders. Toby was another young man and just as hard working as anyone else in the club. But he never hid his sexual preference or his sense of style, and it seemed Nathaniel was not impressed with Toby’s pink streaked black hair and the piercings the young man had scattered around his face.

Standing up, Dax stopped when Zane put a hand on his arm. “You’re not going over there.” Zane voice was quiet and his scent was tinged with worry.

“I don’t have a choice. My Father is about to make mincemeat out of one of my human staff members. I won’t have Toby upset.” Dax shook off Zane’s hand and weaved his way through the tables until he was standing behind Lance and across from his father.

“Father,” he said politely, dragging Nathaniel’s attention away from Toby who was sporting a flushed face, and biting his bottom lip. “You should have let me know you were coming in this evening, and I would have had the chef prepare your favorites. Toby, get these gentlemen a bottle of the finest red wine to go with dinner, and three double scotches – the good stuff.”

“Yes, Boss.” Toby dipped his head and scuttled off, clearly relieved that Dax had intervened.

“I’ve been trying to call you,” Nathaniel said with his customary frown. “You seem to have your phone turned off.” Dax remembered his phone’s battery had died and he hadn’t had a chance to charge it up yet. That added some plausibility to Nathaniel’s story, but not much. In the four years Dax had owned the club, his father had never set foot in the place, usually sending minions like Cole to pass on his messages.

“My apologies. The battery’s dead and I haven’t had a chance to charge it up yet. Was there something specific you wanted to speak to me about? How did your meeting go this evening?”

“Cole was indisposed and unable to make it, so the meeting was cancelled. Your mother was a little upset by the way things turned out, so I told her I would come and speak to you personally. Do you have an office, or somewhere we can speak privately?”

Dax risked a quick look over at his own table. Royce and Seb were the only two men sitting there. He smirked as he guessed where his mate had gone, and turning back to his father, he nodded politely.

“Of course, Father, come this way. There’s no need for you two to come with us, my father is perfectly safe with me,” he added as Lance and Bruce went to stand up as well. Lance looked across at Nathaniel, who nodded curtly, clearly not happy, but unwilling to appear weak. Lance and Bruce sat down, and Toby appeared with the drinks.

“Bring your drink through, father. We don’t stand on ceremony here. This is a place to have fun after all.” Dax waited until Nathaniel took his drink, and then led the older man through the club and down the long corridor towards his office. As he suspected, Broz and Van were standing like sentinels on either side of the door.

“Mr. Portrain,” Broz said respectfully as he opened the door, ignoring Nathaniel’s look of surprise. That look turned into a growl and as Dax followed his father into the office he saw Zane sitting at his desk, apparently going over some figures. At their entrance, Zane looked up, a huge smile on his face.

“Dax honey, sorry I didn’t know you had a meeting scheduled. I’ve just been going over your bar figures like you asked me to. You’re right, someone is dipping their hand in the till, or maybe moving stock somehow. We may have to look a little deeper into the background of some of your staff. It’s clearly an inside job.”

Dax took the cue he’d been given and ran with it. He showed his father a seat, and then sauntered around the desk to perch on the arm of the chair. He dropped a quick kiss on Zane’s head.

“Thank you, babe. We’ll get Broz and the others on to it first thing tomorrow.”

He looked over at his father, who appeared to be in the early stages of having a fit. Plastering a pleasant smile on his face, Dax asked, “Now father, what did you want to talk to me about? Are you well? How’s Alice? Are you still planning your trip in February, or has that been postponed?”

“I wanted to talk to you in private,” Nathaniel snarled. “What is this man doing here?”

Dax tilted his head on his side and gave it a slight shake. “Now you know who this is father,” he said reprovingly. “I’m sure you met Zane when he won the position of Detective in town, what, must have been about a year ago now. You also know what he means to me, and as no one should keep secrets from their mate, please feel free to speak openly.”

“He can’t be your mate,” Nathaniel said firmly. “Wolves mate with wolves, that’s the way things have always been.”

Zane chuckled under his breath, and Dax spoke up quickly, hoping to keep his father’s attention. “Yes, I know that’s what you taught me, father, but it seems that all of us have been wrong in our thinking. I’ve been enlightened a fair bit about the history of this town in fact, and imagine my surprise when I learned that the original dissent, shall we say, between vampires and wolves in the Portrain area, came from the fact that the leader of the coven and the leader of the pack were true mates and the Alpha refused to claim the man.”

“I know my history and that Alpha did what any good leader would do. He put the needs of his pack first, claimed a female wolf as his Alpha Mate, and led for many successful years thereafter. Which is exactly what will happen this time.”

Dax shook his head sadly. Looking up, he caught Nathaniel’s stern gaze with his own. “It’s not like you not to listen,” he said softly. “I told you I had claimed my mate, and have been claimed in return. Lance insisted on seeing our mating marks, which I proudly showed him. I don’t know who’s been filling your head with lies, but you are going to have to accept this because there is no undoing it. There’s still plenty of time for you to contact the Council and train up another Alpha in the three months you gave me before you retire.”