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“Don’t you and Justice have to go meet with Orpheus in a bit?” Abel reminds me.
“Fuck.” I growl, hating that he’s right. “Yeah, we’ve got to go over to Dyrk and meet with the vampire.”
I don’t mind the vampires that much, they stick to themselves and have rules they follow. Ones that, to them, are laws they all abide by or end up at the hands of one of Orpheus’s men. Orpheus is the king of the vampires and rules with a firm hand. What I don’t like doing is going to Dyrk, a nightclub where humans go act like they’re some child of the night or some shit like that. All those B-rated horror movies out there have people thinking they can just be what they can’t.
Everyone in the supernatural world keeps the truth to themselves. We don’t need more shit than what we have. To the outside world, the Spiked Raiders is just a one percenter club that runs drugs and shit. We do that, but we also do other shit too. Hence the reason for the meeting with Orpheus tonight. Guess you can say he’s the kingpin similar to a cartel. What we have to do for him is broker a deal for blood bags. It’s part of the shipment coming in. These bags are important because, supposedly, they’re not just your regular blood bags. The blood contains something in it that makes it so the vamps can get high or some shit like that.
It’s interesting and all, but it’s not my thing.
“We’ll go patrol the areas, Prez,” Coby says.
“Yeah, Salem, Quincy, and I will join in. See if we can’t find the witch,” Tobias states.
“If I didn’t have to be at Club Heat, I’d join in. It’s been weeks since I’ve been out,” Jett remarks.
“I can join in after I finish up at Raider’s Hook,” Jackson grumbles.
The two of them handle two of the four establishments the club owns and have yet to hire a manager since they’re both new businesses. Club Heat is a strip club we finally decided to open. Raider’s Hook is a surf and turf restaurant that’s become a hit in town. We also have Spiked Customs Rides, the custom-build garage where a few of us work. Then there’s Moonlight Ink, our tattoo parlor. Both places already have an excellent reputation and bring in a shit load of business. We brought in some of the best artists for the parlor and a design artist for the garage.
My brothers all help in handling the businesses while Justice and I focus on the other shit. That doesn’t mean we don’t do our part with each establishment. I get out there a few times a week in the garage and get my hands dirty.
“Good, then while you all are out there, Justice and I can deal with Orpheus, then join in.” I grunt and rotate my neck, inwardly groaning at how good it feels when my neck pops.
I’m gonna need to shift soon, I can feel it. My wolf isn’t going to wait much longer. So, hopefully, the meeting with Orpheus won’t go on for long. I want to get out there and look as well, but I also know I have to make sure Sage gets her nighttime story. It’s one thing that I do with her every night, and she doesn’t want anyone else to.
No matter how much she loves her granddaddy, she’s a daddy’s girl through and through. Just the thought of my little girl settles the wolf inside me. He loves my girl just as much as I do. I can’t count the times I’ve shifted just to let her ride on my back. Sage loves to climb up and hold tight while I run through the woods. If it were summer, I’d take her for a run, but it’s still winter, too cold for her to be outside for long periods of time.
Once the time comes for her to have her first shift, then she can go with me. Until then, her body isn’t ready for it. Shifter pups don’t start getting their strength until they’re ten. So, for now, Sage is all but a normal human. At ten, she’ll get her sense of smell and strength, along with becoming faster. Then, at thirteen, she’ll have her first shift. At sixteen, she’ll be able to do a half shift. It’s always been a question in the back of my mind as to why this is how it is, but Big Daddy explained when I was growing up that it was a way for shifters to grow accustomed and get used to their new abilities without becoming overwhelmed.
So, until the time comes, I treat Sage as if she’s a normal human girl, though I know she’s a full-blooded wolf, which is also a rarity these days. There are a lot of half-breeds and hybrids out there. A lot of times, a shifter will end up mating with a human. But that’s only if said shifter finds its fated mate.
And here I am, two hundred years old. In all this time, I’ve gone without knocking up a bitch, until Hummer that is, or finding my mate. I’m also not fucking looking for her either.
Chapter Three
Karsyn
Walking through the meadow, my feet wet from the dew coating the ground, I sigh in relief. It’s taken me a month to finally come out of the little cabin I found and turned into a home for myself. It’s nothing special.
The cabin is simple, with a fireplace, a few old rugs, and a small cooking stove and sink in the corner. It’s all I need for myself and all I could ask for. In fact, it’s more than I’ve had in years. Before I escaped the blood witches, I lived in a small cell. The bars were charmed, and if I touched them, they burned. As it were, I grew weaker with each day I was in there.
It’s why it’s taken so long for me to heal as much as I have. I was lucky to have enough strength by the time I made it to Redwich to be able to use my gifts in order to shield myself from the rest of the world.I needed the time to heal, and I feared someone being able to come across where I’ve decided to hide.
In the time since getting to Redwich, this is all I’ve done . . . hide and heal. I didn’t even go to town for supplies. I stuck to the cabin, only venturing out for water and food. I didn’t connect with the earth any other way.
Today is the first time I’ve ventured this far. I’m scared and feel as if, at any minute, someone will find me, but I need to get out. Soon, I’ll need to finally make my way into the town to find my father. I don’t know how I’ll do that, but I’ll find a way.
The other night, I heard the sound of wolves in the area. Fear had threatened to choke me as I prayed my shields stayed intact. I wasn’t ready to come face-to-face with a wolf.
Sighing heavily, I spread my arms, lift my face to the sky, and twirl around. Now isn’t the time to think about the fear. I need to finally and officially reconnect with the earth. With Mother Goddess. Tonight, I hope to dance under the full moon as I used to do long ago.
I smile upward at the sun shining brightly and feel lighter than I have in years. Energy sings and curls around me. My body lifts off the ground, and I start humming, singing, and chanting the words that will fully connect me once again to nature.
The chirping of birds singing their song mixes with mine, becoming one. The wind swirls around me, and the ground soon meets my feet again as I lower myself back down. I lie on the cold ground, feeling the earth underneath me warm. The grass whispers against my skin, wanting to be reborn from the cold winter. Soon, the spring equinox will come, and flowers will bloom. This meadow will be filled beautifully with wildflowers. So many different kinds, it’ll take my breath away.
I stay where I am, watching the sky, listening to the birds, seeing deer walk by, and a bobcat race through the trees. Only when it starts to get dark again do I finally move. I still need to go to town, but it won’t be tonight. Maybe tomorrow.
Making my way back to the little cabin, I feel stronger, but I’m not strong enough yet. I keep my ears open, listening for any sounds that shouldn’t be there. As I close in on the cabin, something feels off. It’s not malevolent, but it’s . . . I don’t know how to describe it.
