The Beta (2 page)

The Nosferatu didn’t even try to hide his origins. Bald head, exposed pointed ears curling on each side, and a flash of fang as he’d spoken to the thin young man next to him. It had to be Daedalus. She doubted Chicago could house more than one Nosferatu vampire. They were very territorial.

Crouching in the alley across from the apartments, she aimed her digital camera and zoomed the night vision on the vampire as he exited through the front door. No doubt about it, he matched the pictures in her file. Why did he go in through a window and out the door? What evil deed was he up to?

She took a deep, calming breath, squashing her excitement. Now wasn’t the time to attack. Her bag of tricks sat in the trunk of her car and she couldn’t focus after being mentally shaken from the lucky encounter. She respected what she hunted. A fan of the paranormal, her secret obsession made her a formidable slayer. She didn’t want them all destroyed, only the troublemakers, the evil-doers, the murderers.

And Daedalus liked to kill.

This takedown would need a lot of preparation, two of them being a quick getaway and a comfortable hole to hide in for the remainder of her life. The Nosferatu clan was a vengeful lot.

If she succeeded in slaying a Prime from this clan, they’d write her name in the slayer’s history book. She grinned. Legally, what she did for a living was considered murder but in her book she served justice.

Watching him disappear down the block, she leaned against the alley wall. She couldn’t risk following him anymore. Lacking information, she needed to do some more research like finding out where he rested during the day. She hadn’t become successful by being unprepared. The challenge of this contract got her blood pumping.

Another man exited the building not long after. He wore a rumpled button-down, short-sleeved shirt tucked into loose jeans. His mouse brown hair cried for a cut and a comb.

He pushed his glasses up his nose and bent to tie his running shoes.

Recognizing him as the person who had accompanied Daedalus earlier, Esther heard opportunity knocking. He didn’t look like a threat being thin and weak. She crossed the street and approached him from behind. “Excuse me. Do you have the time?”

Glancing over his shoulder, his gaze traveled along her bare legs, to her knee length loose skirt, and finally met her stare. Her breath caught in her throat. The irises of his eyes reflected a non-existent light and shone pale amber. He blinked and it vanished, must have been the glasses that gave such a strange effect.

He rose in a single fluid motion that set her predator alarm off. Checking his cellphone, he gave her a shy smile. “It’s ten after two.” He scanned the area around them. “This is a dangerous part of town, ma’am. You shouldn’t walk around alone. Trouble is going to find you.”

Or maybe find him. She eyed his wiry arms and changed her assessment of him. Lean, tight muscles slid under his skin as he moved. He wasn’t weak, more like a cross between a martial artist and a geek.

“Are you offering to walk me home?” Flashing him her most flirtatious smile, she toyed with a piece of her hair.

He swallowed. “S-sure.” Shuffling to her side, he fell in next to her, eyes darting around them.

Men were so easy to manipulate, but this one actually wanted to protect her. So cute, she could have pinched him. Trying to be discreet, she took quick peeks at him. Nice strong chin and straight nose. Maybe a hint of freckles? It was difficult to tell in the dark.

“I’m Esther.” She held out her hand. What the hell prompted her to use her real name?

Wrapping a firm hand around hers, he shook it. “I’m Robert.”

His touch sent tingles along her arm. The name seemed too mature for him. “What are you doing out so late, Rob?” How did such a polite man like him get involved with a Nosferatu? She checked his neck for bites and didn’t see anything, but there were more places on the body to feed from besides the neck. It would be a shame if he was a blood slave.

“Robert is fine. I was checking on a…friend.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “And you, Esther?”

She laughed. “I’m up to no good.” And she winked at him.

A rosy blush surfaced on his cheeks as he stumbled.

Something in this man attracted the devil inside of her. She entangled her arm around his and leaned into his hard body. The strength hidden under the geeky exterior sent a pleasant shiver through her body. Not all things were as they appeared. She hated surprises but not this one. If this was an act then he deserved an Emmy. She glanced at him, pleased that she needed to arch her neck back slightly to meet his sharp green gaze. She liked them tall, and she prayed he was the real deal.

God, what was she doing? She assessed him like a potential lover instead of a possible avenue to get her mark.
Stupid, focus.
Once Daedalus was out of the picture she’d come back for Rob if she still wanted him. Until then…she stopped in front of a duplex. “This is my place.” She lied with the ease of an expert.

“All right.” He shoved his hands deeper in his front pockets as if not sure what to do with them. “It was nice meeting you, Esther.” His gaze flickered to hers, and he cleared his throat. “Would you like to have dinner sometime?”

The innocent anxiety of his request melted her to the spot. In her profession the men she got acquainted with were arrogant sons of bitches. “I’d like that.” The answer came out before she knew it, but at least it rung with honesty. Something she didn’t hear often enough.

He grinned, relief awash on his expression, and took out his cellphone. “Give me your number and I’ll call you to make plans.”

Torn, her heart fluttered in a small flight of frenzy. She wanted to see him again, but knew she could never offer what he deserved. Smiling, she gave him a fake number. Better for him if he never got to know her, but she wanted one more thing before they parted. She stepped closer. “Won’t you kiss me goodbye?”

Returning his phone to his pocket, Rob ran his hands along her arms as he bent forward. The light, chaste brush of lips on hers sparked a craving for more.

As he withdrew, she followed and threw her arms around his neck, closing the distance between their bodies.

His shoulders tensed, but she didn’t release him as she licked his bottom lip, asking to enter. He opened his mouth, getting braver when she moaned and pressed harder against him. Strong arms engulfed her, fingers threading through her hair, as Rob bent into her body.

She wished she could say she didn’t enjoy it, but the fire behind his kiss almost had her ready to pull him into a dark corner and undo those loose jeans of his. Oh, how she’d make him beg to never stop. Running her hands down his back, she took slow pleasure in the lean power under his clothes. Every defined muscle traced a delicious image in her mind. Arousal bloomed between her thighs. She continued down until she grabbed his ass.

This time the moan that tore from her throat came involuntarily. Damn, she wanted him, bad, but she did what she had to and finished the kiss by softly nipping his delectable bottom lip.

His eyes widened, and he touched the spot where she’d bitten him.

“Too much?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I liked it. I’m just surprised that I did.”

Waving with her right hand, she tucked the left one behind her back. “Goodbye, Rob. I’ll talk with you soon.”

He grinned and strutted down the block, turning at the corner.

Releasing the breath she held, she examined the content of her hand. A worn brown leather wallet the size of her palm with the info she needed from Rob to find her mark.

The building blocked Robert’s view of Esther as he turned the corner. His car wasn’t in this direction, but he didn’t want her to witness his jump and heel click. The werewolf blood running in his veins enhanced the excited leap, making it higher than a human’s. He bent his knees to absorb the impact of landing. Tonight, he’d kicked ass and kissed a dark-haired beauty. Her smell still lingered on his hands with the memory of how her thick, mahogany hair felt curled around his fingers.

He couldn’t believe his ears when she asked him for the time. Tall, she had long legs with a nice curve to her hips and breasts, intelligent blue eyes and a personality playful enough to draw him out his shell. She’d taken control of the conversation, no hesitation in asking him to accompany her home or in kissing him. He loved smart, confident women but one had never liked him back.

Grinning like a fool, he jogged to his car, burning off the extra energy her kiss produced. He’d wanted to do so much more with her, like push her against the wall so she could wrap her legs around his hips and allow him to grind against her core. Maybe tomorrow night, he’d get what he fantasized.

Approaching the car, he pulled out the keys. The gas gage was on empty on his way here. He needed to fill the tank, but he couldn’t recall how much cash he’d brought with him. After working for banks and credit card companies for the last few years, he never liked using either, not trusting the system. His right back pocket, where he usually placed his wallet, was empty. Checking the left pocket, his heart sank into his gut as it turned out empty as well. He patted the front ones and only found his cell. Maybe he’d dropped it while wrestling with Talon?

Deep down inside, he knew the truth. Esther.

He was such a fool. Beautiful women didn’t ask geeks like him for a kiss. Grinding his teeth, he pictured her laughing at him as she flipped through his wallet, counting what little cash he carried.

The hole in his gut grew wider. Crap, he didn’t have anything to buy gas and no way to get home but his own two feet. The last thing he wanted to do was call Daedalus or anyone from the pack for a lift. He’d never hear the end of it.

Respect was something you earned, and how would he ever obtain any if he fell for obvious scams?

Clenching his fists, Robert turned around and marched back to where he’d left Esther. His beast stretched inside him, frustrated that he wouldn’t release it. Control over one’s inner monster sounded easy, but the struggle became an hourly routine. Shifters dealt with this all the time, day or night, in sickness or in health. The first rule of the Vasi pack was human dominance over animal instinct, because once the beast started calling the shots the shifter began to forget right versus wrong and listened to the laws of the jungle instead.

Robert crouched by the spot where Esther had stood as she’d kissed him. Sometimes animal instincts came in handy. Her scent left a trail. He wanted his wallet back, and his pride.

Creeping into the nearby alley, he undressed, folded his clothes into a neat pile, and hid them behind a trash can. Naked, he called to his beast and allowed the full change. Pain built in his body as his limbs grew and bone molded into new shapes. He used to scream or howl as he transformed, but after three years of making the shift, he’d learned how to absorb the discomfort. It only took a few seconds, then he saw the world through his beast’s eyes.

As a powerful, efficient killing machine he needed restraint. He took a deep breath, taking in the surrounding scents, then shook to settle his fur. Bi-pedal, he stood over six feet tall, but the elongated arms and increased flexibility meant he could run on all four when needed, topping speeds of forty miles an hour on a flat stretch.

Esther didn’t stand a chance.

Licking his muzzle, he bent low to inhale her delicious scent, not surprised to find it led away from the duplex she claimed was her home. He followed her heady smell farther up the street where she’d crossed and entered another alley. The muscles in his back bunched, wanting to spring into action, to run howling into the night, sending fear in all who dared cross his path. He stopped in the alley and forced a calm over his beast. Nothing good would come from rampaging through this neighborhood. They needed to focus, take their time, and find their prey.

Fury at how the female had manipulated him boiled in his stomach. A growl rose in his throat as he stalked along the narrow alley. Filthy water lay in scattered puddles, and the faint scent of urine almost masked Esther’s trail. He swung his head back and forth in a slow arc, not wanting to miss it.

The alley opened to a quiet street, not far from where he’d met Daedalus. No one should be around to witness a werewolf out for a stroll this late at night. He hoped. Even as a legal citizen, his size and form still freaked people out. Dead was dead when lynched by an illegal mob. Prosecution needed evidence, witnesses, and a compassionate jury to convict for murder. Those things tended to disappear when paranormal beings were the victims. Better to keep a low profile.

Scrambling over the cement, he raced along the sidewalk from shadow to shadow, just like Daedalus taught him. His heart pounded as her scent grew stronger, fresher. Around the corner, he spotted her not fifty yards away, wallet in hand as she rifled through his stuff.

The snarl escaped him before he could control the beast.

* * * *

The address on Rob’s driver’s license was located in a wealthier part of the city, according to the GPS app on her phone. Esther saved it and rubbed her chest. For some reason, it felt hollow.

The wallet contained very little—some cash, ID, and an ATM card. No credit cards, gym memberships, business cards. Hell, it looked like her wallet, except her ID was fake. She gasped. Could his be? Who
was
Robert McKay?

Someone who lived in a rich area should have more. Nothing about Rob fit her expectations. Investigating him interested her far more than her ticket-to-wealth Nosferatu.

A snarl from the pits of hell tore through the night air. Her heart leaped straight into her throat. She dived toward the building, rolling to get momentum, and sprung onto her feet.

Approaching from the end of the street was a huge, dark werewolf. Amber eyes glowed as it stalked closer.

She shoved Rob’s wallet in her bra and palmed the thirty-eight special from her waistband. Some believed that women should carry small caliber handguns like a twenty-two or even a thirty-two, but that shit wouldn’t stop a two hundred pound man, let alone a vampire or shifter. Just piss them off enough to want to take their time tearing you limb from limb. So a large caliber gun was a necessity in her profession. Her easy-to-conceal gun packed power.