Night Calls - Nyx Slaughter Book 1 (16 page)

“A steak is a steak. If you say it
isn't poisoned, I will believe you,” he replies.

“Thank you for the benefit of the
doubt. Jonas, if you would like to follow me, I will get you out
your own skillet and you can prepare your own,” I say walking off
to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I look in the
freezer first and find it to be not as full as I remembered it. I
open the fridge and see that Sebastian must have set out some meat
to defrost. Good, it won't take as long as I thought to get dinner
in my stomach.

I set out four steaks on the
counter. “Pick the one you want. I don't want you thinking I am
giving you a poisoned one,” I instruct Jonas.

He grabs one from the middle with a
grumble. “My brother was one of the five anti-Collective operatives
killed this year,” he states as I find skillets to cook our
steaks.

I stop and look up at him. “I
understand and am sorry for your loss. I know it probably doesn't
mean much to you, but Sebastian assured me I haven't killed anyone
that didn't warrant it.”

“I believe he is right and I know
you were not the one that killed him. I still don't trust you,
though. You have been the poster child for the Collective's reign
for a couple years now and that doesn't cause warm fuzzy feelings,”
he comments.

“No, I imagine it wouldn't. They
sent me to kill my own father five months ago, so I know how
ruthless they really are. I hope that in time you will see that I
am on your side. I am hoping that you or Jake will be able to fill
me in on what it is really like to be a werewolf. I don't know when
Alex will be able to join us and so far, I have only had one very
painful shift. I don't know how often I am required to go through
that, but I will need help,” I say standing and handing him a small
skillet for his steak.

“Shifts shouldn't be painful,” he
says going to work on his steak.

I work on my three and within a
couple seconds they are sizzling on the stove. “That is what Alex
said. It may have been my triple nature that caused the pain. I
don't really know. I could feel every bone in my body shift and it
was something I hope not to have to feel again.”

“For now, I would look to Jake, for
assistance. I will have to verify your switch in allegiance with my
own eyes before I even attempt to help you,” he replies. “He
doesn't seem to have as big of an issue with your change of
heart.”

“No problem. I will ask him if he
is comfortable teaching me. Sebastian is going to start training me
soon. If you would like to take some of your aggression out, let me
know and we can meet in the gym,” I suggest.

“I may just take you up on that,”
he says as we finish the steaks and I set out plates for us to put
them on.

I grab my plate and Sebastian's and
he takes his and Jake's. We head out to the living area where the
guys are waiting.

“Did you guys have a nice talk?” I
ask handing Sebastian his plate.

“I can see why Jonas is hesitant
around you,” Jake responds. “A weird, freaky female hybrid that
happens to be of the Gentry line. If I wrote a science fiction
book, I couldn't have come up with a more unbelievable
combination.”

“Glad I can be entertaining for
you,” I tell him. “Smitty, did you want something to eat? I feel
strange eating in front of you.”

“It is very kind of you to think of
me, Nyx. I ate just yesterday, so I am fine for a couple
days.”

That is good enough for me and I
dive into my food. Looking around it is apparent that I will not be
able to take these guys out to a restaurant anytime soon. Jake
actually didn't even bother with silverware and is eating the steak
in his hands. Jonas at least is using a fork. He has pierced the
middle of his steak and is eating his way to the fork. Sebby is
cutting and eating his, slowly savoring the flavor. Who can blame
the guy after not eating food for over a millennium?

“Better than a cheeseburger?” I ask
him.

“Still not as good as you, but yes
much better than that cheeseburger,” he replies.

“You guys have no idea how weird it
is to watch a vampire eating a meal,” Jake comments licking his
fingers. “If I wasn't watching it with my own eyes, I wouldn't
believe it.”

“Hang around with us long enough
and you will find out all sorts of weird things,” I tell him. “I
bet no one would have ever thought it was possible to turn a rock
into a sofa, but you are sitting on the proof.”

“Fine. We will go tonight to get
new furniture. I can also show you a storefront next to Sins that I
think would work well for you,” Sebastian says.

“I don't know about that,” I reply
collecting everyone’s plate. “Sins can be pretty noisy can't
it?”

“Your building would be
soundproofed, so as not to disturb you or any potential clients
that came to visit. It will also be good to keep you close, in case
you get hungry. It would only take me a second to get to you
anywhere in the city, but the closeness would probably soothe us
both,” he says.

“Stepping out on my own in the
world doesn't seem to be as freeing an experience as I thought it
would. I am surprised you didn't ask me to actually set up shop in
Sins.” I leave the room to do the dishes.

“Unlike your werewolf boyfriend, I
know how much you like your independence. I led out with my middle
option. There is also a place a block away and, of course, Sins
itself.” he says while I turn on the water.

“Well, Sins is out no matter what.
We can check out the other two places. Being next to Sins, and the
people that go in and out of there, might actually drum up some
business,” I reply.

“I want to pick you up and lick you
like an ice cream cone,” he says very softly.

“What?” I screech back at him. I
can hear the rest of the guys laughing from the living
room.

“Just checking your hearing, love.
Since I said that part under my breath, I think it is improving. I
guess I won't be able to say any words of bonding quietly anymore,”
he says laughing.

“Good. That will come in handy. I
am going to finish these dishes and then take a shower. Does anyone
else need to take one before we go?” I ask.

“I wouldn't mind one,” Sebastian
replies. “Are you offering to take one with me?”

I think about it for a second.
Sadly, my initial thought is how great an idea that sounds, but I
quickly get my hormones under control. I don't want the first time
I see a naked man to be with a house full of paranorms with great
hearing, especially when that naked man is Sebastian.

“Rain check,” I say softly turning
off the water.

“Not a flat no. I like that
response,” Sebastian replies. “It gives me hope for our
relationship.”

“You know it is just going to take
me time to get used to everything. If it was just you and me, the
answer would have been different,” I tell him walking through the
living area to the bedroom area to grab some clothes.

I grab one of my normal outfits and
some underwear and head to the bathroom. I make quick work of
cleaning up and getting dressed including putting my weapons back
in place. I head out and announce, “It's all yours.”

“Thank you, love,” Sebastian says
appearing before me. He gives me a quick kiss and then enters the
bathroom.

I make my way to the living area
and sit next to Smitty. There seems to be a little tension between
the guys, which from the things I have learned recently may not be
that out of the ordinary.

“So Jake would you like to share
any information about yourself?” I ask breaking the
silence.

“What do you want to know? I am
twenty-seven, have been in the resistance for six years. Before
that, I spent most of my life in the Collective. I was never
allowed to think for myself and did everything I was told. One
night a group of guys brought in a witch they decided would be a
perfect sacrifice for the moon goddess. I had done questionable
things before, but when they handed me that knife, I couldn't bring
myself to kill her. I refused and was beat pretty badly.

“When I came to the next day, I
ran. I did not want to be a part of an organization that condones
that kind of thing. Not long after that, I met Alex. He taught me
what it was really like to be a wolf and I have been with him ever
since,” he says.

“Wow. I wasn't exactly expecting
you to open up that much. Thank you,” I say to him. “Did we ever
see each other in the Collective?” I don't remember him, but most
people weren't exactly friendly to me and their faces tended to run
together.

“You would have probably seen me
with a group of people. For the most part, we were ordered to stay
away from you. They had a thing worked out where only certain
wolves were allowed to be around you and we were told to make sure
you believed you were human and unwanted. It wasn't something one
would question,” he explains.

“Well it is good to know I wasn't
imagining things all these years,” I say laughing.

“Of course not, my love,” Sebastian
says joining us fully dressed. “You are usually most observant. Are
you ready to go? I imagine since we woke up early today we will
want to turn in a little bit early as well.”

“Yes. I cannot sit on these stones
for another minute,” I say standing ready to go. 

Chapter 17

Another team member

Our entourage makes our way to the
furniture store in the business district. Most businesses are open
twenty-four hours in Night Owl City to cater to the different
species. I have never had to shop for furniture or do I have much
decorating sense, so as long as it is comfortable, I really don't
care what it looks like.

Walking into the store, we get a
lot of stares and there are a few people that take one look and
exit the store immediately. I am used to having that kind of effect
on people. Maybe I should have worn a disguise.

“I say we stick with something in
black,” Sebastian suggests eying the remaining
customers.

We make our way through the store.
I am flanked by Sebastian and Jake with Smitty leading the way and
Jonas bringing up the rear. I am still finding this whole guard
thing pretty annoying. After sitting on the ten different options
of black sofas, I make my selection and Sebastian takes care of
paying for it and scheduling the delivery.

“What are you going to do with the
old ones?” I ask.

“Maybe you can use them for a
waiting area in your new business,” Sebastian replies.

“Yes, because I didn't actually
want to try to keep the customers once they make it into the door,”
I say sarcastically causing him to laugh.

“The people delivering the new
pieces will take the old ones away. What they do with them, I
really don't care,” he responds.

“So which storefront is closer to
us?” I ask ready to hopefully get this new business set up. I have
to add furniture, get a phone set up, make business cards and
figure out how to market myself. It seems like a ton of
work.

“The one not right next to Sins is
the closest. Let's head there,” Sebastian says directing our group
through the other people out for an evening stroll.

Six blocks away he stops in front
of a pretty normal looking building. It is brick with large picture
windows allowing people to easily see inside. With the lights
currently off, the interior is still a bit of a mystery to me. The
big windows, though, are not appealing to me. I really don't want
to have people watching me all night.

Sebastian takes out a key and
guides us into the building. I stop just inside the door waiting
for someone to turn the lights on. When they do, what I see doesn't
make me feel like this is the right space. It seems it used to be a
secondhand store or something because it looks like a very large
garage sale. Hangers are everywhere with obviously worn clothing
hanging from them. There are different sections for other
departments like electronics and kitchen supplies. The location may
be further away from Sins, but this place is going to take a while
to set up the way I want it.

“The owners unexpectedly had to
leave town a few months back. Didn't take a thing and didn't phone
to say they were leaving. I can have a crew come in and toss
everything within a few hours, and you could take another look at
the raw materials, if you would like,” Sebastian says.

“This place is really grimy, are
you going to send cleaners in as well?” Smitty asks glancing at an
extremely large reddish brown spot on the carpet. The spot makes me
wonder if the owners really left town.

“I can do that as well. I probably
should have before bringing you in, but it was short notice,”
Sebastian replies.

“I have seen enough for now, let's
go check out the other place and then I will decide if this one
deserves another look,” I say trying to exit the place as quickly
as possible. I feel like there are bugs crawling all over
me.

I know the way to Sins from here,
so I start walking in that direction. Quickly, the guards are in
place and I see Sebastian texting on his phone next to me. This
reminds me, I really need to pick up a new one. I left my
Collective issued one behind when we left Emerald Town. I still
have the secure one, but I don't like using that often in case
someone is able to pick up the signal.