Half in Love [Willie Krenshaw] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 10

  The ride back to her house had been heavy with tension. Her thoughts had gotten on the fear roller coaster and stayed there. What would the Council do to her? Would Nick be able to save her from them if they decided she needed to be killed? What would this Alex guy do when he showed up?

  The water cooled before she could come to grips with what she would face in the next twenty-four hours. Between Nick and everything that he embodied, Alex and the unknown there, and the Council, she felt everything in her life was going to come to a head with deadly consequences. A shiver of foreboding slithered down her spine just as a knock sounded at the bathroom door.

  “Alex is here. Come down and meet him when you’re ready.” Nick’s voice was muffled by the door, but she could still hear the strain in it. She sighed. If something was going to happen, she would meet it head-on and not hide. She had spent enough time hiding.

  She threw on her last pair of clean jeans and an old T-shirt before trudging down the stairs. A new vampire scent permeated the air in her house. Her nose wrinkled of its own volition, and her heart raced. Her body was programmed to fear that smell, to run the other way and escape or to attack. Neither response was allowed this time, and it set her mountain lion prowling. It took every ounce of control to walk down the stairs and calmly enter the living room.

  “Well, aren’t you extraordinary?” the new vampire male said as he stood from his seat on the couch and filled the space with his power. Tall and blond were the first impressions that slammed into Willie’s brain. Sensual, powerful, and dangerous were the next thoughts. Alex looked like a Roman God carved from pale flesh-colored marble. Every plane of his face was perfect, hard, chiseled. His presence radiated power and age. Willie had met many old vampires, but this male was very old, far older than any she’d come across so far in her life. Nick wasn’t kidding about how powerful Alex was. Her breath was sucked out of her lungs in a whoosh when he turned penetrating black eyes on her, capturing her gaze. She could feel him studying her, boring into her thoughts, digging through her memories and feelings. Panic coursed through her, but she couldn’t pull herself from his perusal.

  “Stop now, Alex.” Nick’s voice sounded far away, reverberating in Willie’s mind. She wanted to turn her attention from the overwhelmingly intimidating vamp standing in front of her, but she couldn’t. Her thoughts were not her own. Images from her life flickered through her thoughts. Fuzzily, she recognized that Alex was in control, digging through her brain like it was a filing cabinet. She closed her eyes to break the connection. God, what the hell was that?

  “Nickola, I was just tasting her thoughts. You can’t deny that I need to make sure that she isn’t hiding something from us. She is an absolutely intriguing creature, isn’t she?”

  Willie opened her eyes and scowled at the vampire that had just rifled through her thoughts. Anger helped dispel the fog still floating through her thoughts. She swallowed the growl that threatened to vibrate up her chest. You will not provoke the vampire. She clenched her fists at her side to keep herself from doing something really stupid like trying to kill this male.

  “You will not do that again.” Nick growled and stalked toward Alex with anger and something close to fear in his eyes.

  “You’re fond of this female?” A perfect blond eyebrow arched questioningly. “Fond enough to take me on?”

  “Alex, I warn you now. Don’t push me on this.” Nick turned his attention to Willie, and his face relaxed. He extended a hand to her and motioned to the seat next to him. “Come, Willie. There’s much we must discuss.”

  She hesitantly walked through the room and sat on her favorite chair. Anger simmered low and kept the fear at bay. A thick silence fell on the three, weighing down Willie with heavy emotions. She cleared her throat to speak. Might as well get the ball rolling.

  “Okay, so let’s hear it. The Council wants to meet us, right? What am I to expect when I go in front of them? Instant death? Pet status?” She focused on Alex and ignored the scowl of warning from Nick. She couldn’t play this game like a scared little girl. If she was going to be sentenced to die, she would face it head-on and deal with it the same way she dealt with everything.

  “Hmm, I see why you like her.” Alex watched her with ancient wisdom and something close to amusement in his eyes. “You are to go in front of the Council tomorrow night, at sunset. They may or may not ask questions before deciding your fate. You’re an enigma to us, and they want to determine what harm or danger you pose to the vampire nation.”

  “Lil’ ol’ me? What harm could I possibly do to the vampire nation? Every single vamp I come across seems to find me revolting. Why? I haven’t done anything to anyone unless they started it first.” Anger, her most trusted friend, surfaced and washed through her, eating away her fear. What the fuck do they all think I am capable of doing?

  “You, milady, are an unknown. Can you make others? Would they be shifter and vampire as well?” Alex tilted his head, studying her with his black eyes. “Could you possibly carry a vampire and shifter baby?”

  Those words punched into Willie’s heart with the speed and pain of a bullet. A baby? God, she hadn’t even thought of the possibilities. Would her offspring be part vampire? Could she even get pregnant after her change? Pain lanced through her soul at the thought of being barren and never being able to have children. Is that why she was fated with a vampire mate?

  “I see you hadn’t thought through these same questions.” Alex nodded his head as if some of his questions had been answered. “These are things the Council is concerned with. You will be asked to go in front of them and tell your story. Then they will determine what is to be done with you.”

  “Done with me? I’m not a vampire. They have no power over me.” She growled. Nick placed a restraining hand on her arm, and she shook it off, scowling at him. He might be able to sit there and listen to this crap, but she couldn’t.

  “Ah, but you are part vampire. That part is ruled over by the Council. You’re lucky they want to meet you first instead of just having one of their assassins kill you. You’re an abomination to some, you know, that needs to be put down.”

  “Are you trying to piss me off?” She hissed. Her canines started to descend, cutting into her bottom lip. She refused to give in and attack this male. There was no way she could win in a fight against the ancient bloodsucker no matter how much she wanted to take him on. She tried to breathe through the rage, tried to remind herself that this was not the way to deal with him.

  Alex laughed, rich and dark, and turned to Nick. “When you tire of her, I’d like to borrow her. Her spunk is refreshing. Does her anger translate to the bed as well?”

  Dual growls vibrated the air as Nick and Willie both voiced their animalistic opinions of those statements. She couldn’t hold her rage in any longer. Female cougar yowling filled her head as her cat pushed to attack the vampire. The thud of mental paws pacing the cage of her mind made her flinch. Willie needed to escape the room, the house, the city before she did something really stupid like take on an ancient bloodsucker in her living room. She stood, slamming her fist into the coffee table and stalking toward the front door. “Fuck this. I’m out of here.”

  She made it to her front door before Nick grabbed her arm. Anger, possessiveness, and something else unidentifiable glowed from his eyes. The grip on her arm tightened when she tried to jerk free. His voice was a harsh growl. “You can’t run from this, Willie. Now that they know you exist, you can’t run away. They’ll find you.”

  “Geez, Nick. I’m not running. I just need a few minutes of fresh air before I try to kill your buddy in there. I don’t do well being insulted. Give me some trust, all right? I need blood and a walk. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Reluctantly, he let go of her arm and took a step away from her. “Fine, but if you try to run from me, I will find you.”

  She studied him for a moment before nodding and opening the door. She wouldn’t admit the pull he had on her at the moment, but they
would be having a “come to Jesus” meeting quite soon. She turned quickly and found him still watching her with open hunger and possessiveness. She scooted through the door, answering his unconscious questions before silently closing the door behind her. “I won’t run from you ever, Nick. We’re in this together for the time being.”

  She jogged back from the store parking lot after relieving a dealer of a pint of his red stuff. His blood had tasted of drugs, but he was an easy target. She had thought about watching Nick feeding the entire time she sucked the guy’s neck. What would it be like to feed from Nick, or be fed from?

  She leaned back against her door, relishing the familiar feel of the wood at her back. A cool breeze touched Willie’s heated face, and she sighed. Rolling her neck helped dispel more tension. Night sounds filtered through the haze of blistering irritation and called her back to herself. Saturday nights hopped until well into the morning. She wasn’t surprised that at two a.m. the streets were still busy with partiers. The breeze carried smells from the lake and the surrounding buildings. Baking bread and old motor oil floated on the heavy evening air. How normal the night felt, she thought. The turmoil that rolled through her thoughts was in stark contrast to the quiet evening.

  Minutes ticked by without her thoughts settling. With a sigh, she turned to go back in the house. She needed to know more about the Council before the next evening. Her eyes scanned over Nick’s Hummer and something caught her eye. There was something wrong with the front passenger seat. It looked as if someone sat in the vehicle, but she knew that was crazy. With quick steps, she wandered closer to the vehicle, stopping in her tracks as the first whiff of death struck her nose. Oh, hell. Another dead body? She turned and rushed to the house. This was one body she wasn’t going to investigate alone.

  “Nick, we have a problem,” she shouted through the front door before turning and awaiting the vamps on her front steps. She scanned the surrounding area for danger, keeping her senses open. Her body reacted to Nick’s nearness before she even heard him. Her cougar purred loudly and pressed against Willie’s mind. It wanted to rub against him for support and reassurance. Damn mating needs.

  The males stepped out on her porch and both lifted their noses to the air. She would have found the vampy instincts funny if there wasn’t a deader in the truck parked in her driveway. She wasn’t sure she was more scared or angry.

  “Oh, Nickola, you have a dead human in your vehicle. Did you know it was there?” Alex smirked at Nick and bared his fangs when the other male made a move toward him. “I would suggest you keep your anger in check. You can’t best me, and you need my help with the Council tomorrow.”

  Nick took a deep breath and moved toward his truck. Willie winced in sympathy, she knew there would be no easy way to get the smell of decaying human out of a vehicle. She watched him approach his truck and tried to hide the grin as he grumbling under his breath about cleaning bills and asshole vampires. She tried to ignore the other bloodsucker who was slowly sidling up to her. As soon as Alex opened his mouth she knew she couldn’t ignore him. Shit.

  “I will gladly take care of the body for you, dearest Willimena, as a gift and a token of my goodwill toward you.” Alex’s cool breath whispered over her cheek sending shivers down her spine. His body invaded her space, and her kitty growled deep in her mind. There was only one male that should be that close to her, and he wasn’t the one. She stepped away from the blond vamp and scowled up into his perfect face.

  “I’m not sure taking a gift from you is such a good idea, Alex. I think Nick and I can take care of the problem.” She waved a dismissive hand toward the Hummer. “Why don’t you run along and we will see you tomorrow at the Council.”

  “Oh, you poor delusional girl. Don’t you know that I can’t go anywhere until you’re brought before the Council? I’ve been tasked with bringing you in, and it would be my head bouncing across the floor if I lose you.” He leaned down and breathed in her scent, closing his eyes as he hummed. “You are so delectable. I could take you into my flock and keep you safe. I promise that they can’t kill you if you are under my protection.”

  “What is it with you? Let me spell it out for you so you understand me completely. I. Don’t. Want. Your. Help.”

  “You will, little anomaly. When the Council sentences you to death, you can beg me then for my help.” He turned to watch Nick walk around the vehicle. He nudged her with his shoulder like they were good friends and whispered his next thought. “For his benefit, you’ll end up begging me.”

  A hiss slipped through her lips. “I will never beg for anything, especially from a vamp.”

  He turned to her with a smirk and a laugh before heading down to Nick. She felt like the little kid that everyone patted on the head and put up with because she was cute. She hated being considered cute. Cute was a bunny or a sleeping baby. She was not cute, cuddly, or anything else soft. She was a hard, misunderstood bitch. It had taken her years to get the personality traits right to keep others away from her. In two days she went from being a feared creature of the night to some softly indulged child. The need to stomp her foot and scream at the irritating male was almost too much, but she swallowed the scream and pressed her heels into the steps. She huffed to herself and flounced down the steps. Might as well find out what they would be doing for the evening now that a stinking body was invading her plans.

  “It’s a present from Stephen, how nice.” Nick stood momentarily in front of the Hummer door and then yanked it open. The corpse tried to fall out of the vehicle but was caught and held by the seatbelt. Fluttering in the breeze was a small piece of white paper pinned to the guy’s chest. Nick reached in and pulled the note off the body.

  “So, don’t keep us in suspense. What does the note say?” Willie wandered down the driveway and peered into the vehicle. The dead guy was handsome, wearing a T-shirt and jeans. At least he wasn’t bleeding all over the inside of the truck. There were two sets of puncture marks on his neck, both dribbling small streams of blood into his shirt. The guy hadn’t been dead too long before he was placed inside the Hummer.

  “It says that I’m paying for my involvement with the Council and that if I want to save myself and those I find dear to me, I’ll drop my investigation and leave him alone. The note is actually quite long winded, but that is the gist of it anyway.”

  “How lovely, Nickola. Does Stephen think you have dear ones? Hmmm… Would one of those be our dear Willimena? How delicious. I can’t wait until tomorrow night.” Alex had sauntered to the vehicle and was leaning casually against the bumper. The tone of his voice grated on her nerves. How could one male be so fucking condescending?

  Chapter 9

  “What do you mean that he has to stay here until tomorrow night?” She was past pissed, past angry, past rage-filled. Willie was about to go ballistic on the two suckheads staring at her with a mixture of amusement and tolerance. Alex had maintained a decidedly amusement-filled view all evening, even going so far to quip about having weekly outings with her because she was so entertaining. Nick, on the other hand, had rolled himself internally until he was needed to step between to stop the bickering. Willie’s nerves were stretched well past their snapping point.

  She battled her cougar and the urge to sprout fang all night. Willie still hadn’t had time to shower after their drive to the country and the quick dumping of the body. Blood and who knew what else was stuck under her nails. Her hair was plastered to her head with sweat. She felt dirty and a little tired from the last two days. And, if she admitted it to herself, a little nauseous over the disposal of a corpse and then the ride back to the city in the same vehicle. She understood death, admired it in fact, but to have to deal with it firsthand this way was something new for her. All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and ignore the world for a few hours. Now, she was going to have to deal with not one, but two vampires under her roof. Fate was a freaking bitch.

  “Willie, he has to stay. It’s almost sunrise already. I’m staying, so w
hat does it matter if he stays?” Nick reached out and tried to touch her arm, but she growled and pulled away.

  “Well, can’t you guys go get a hotel room or something?” she whined and winced at the wispy, girly tone she just spewed. Crap, now she was even starting to whine at them. In two days these two vamps had reduced her from a frightening bitch to a whiny, pansy girl. Fuck. With a sigh, she pulled up her proverbial big girl panties. “All right, he can stay, but he’s getting locked in the basement until just before sunrise. I’m not going to have him traipsing around my home for the next eighteen hours driving me nuts.”

  “Oh so gracious of you, Willimena. I do appreciate your hospitality, even if it is due to these circumstances.” Alex leaned back against the porch, grinning at her with mischief glittering in his eyes.

  She huffed and gritted her teeth for the millionth time, trying to keep the harsh words from seeping through her lips. The urge to rip his gloating face off and spit on it surged strongly through her body. Even her kitty thought that was a good idea. Anger simmered just under her control, and her cougar prowled her mind, yowling in frustration. He was why vampires and shifters don’t get along. No one could put up with such a condescending, irritating, flat-out pain-in-the ass-ness of this bloodsucker. She squared her shoulders and tromped up the steps into the house, trying to ignore him the best she could.

  After showers, they all trooped down the stairs, and with a satisfying snick of the lock, Alex was secured in the lockroom. Willie took a deep breath and grinned. She was sure that the next bunch of hours would be extremely painful and boring for the bastard bloodsucker. She tried not to laugh with her malicious thought, but it bubbled up anyway. She turned and scowled at the door when she heard an answering laugh from the other side. Fucker can’t even be pissed at being locked in. She huffed and stomped up the stairs. She had things to do and worrying about the handsome and irritating Alex was not on the list.