The Beta

Chapter 5

“You’re from out of town?” Robert glanced at Esther as they walked out of the alley onto the sidewalk by the club. His strong arm gripped her shoulders, pulling her closer.

“I’m in transition.” She never stayed anywhere too long, but given the right incentive, she might relocate here. “We’ll take my car.”

“Fine by me.” He shrugged. “So, what do you do for a living then?”

“I hunt vampires.”

He laughed and squeezed her shoulders. “Good thing I’m a werewolf.” He totally missed the truth and thought it a joke. She swallowed her disappointment.

“Yeah.” Yet, she carried silver bullets in her gun tonight. Wasn’t she a bitch. “Here’s my car.” She unlocked the doors and got into the driver’s seat. “Where to?”

“Take I-Ninety. We’re going to a biker bar where my problem likes to hang out and see if he’s there.”

“Good, I could use a stiff drink.” She started the car and pulled out. “Are you going to fight him?”

“Probably. Can you stay out of it if I do?” He twisted in his seat to face her.

“Umm…if he’s going to kill you, I’ll need to shoot him. Otherwise, I’ll stay out of it. I understand the whole dominance games packs have to play.”

“Who are you, Esther?”

She glanced at him as he stared at her profile as if memorizing it.

“You kiss me, steal my wallet, shoot at me, follow me, then give me a blow-job almost at gunpoint. You’re either an escaped mental patient or someone really interesting.”

“I’ll opt for the interesting someone. And I shot because you were in beast form and I didn’t know who you were. Not to mention, you scared the crap out of me.”

“You weren’t that scared.” He tapped his nose. “Good sense of smell. What aren’t you telling me? Not every girl I meet pulls a thirty-eight out of her waistband.”

“You know your guns.” She took the on-ramp to the interstate. “I’m not the only one with secrets, Rob. I saw the way you moved when I pulled the trigger. You’re no-run-of-the-mill beta. Why does the Vasi pack need warriors?”

“You know the pack’s name?” He leaned in closer and sniffed.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Just double checking and making sure you’re not a werewolf masking her scent.” He cleared his throat. “Pure human.”

She weaved through the scant late night traffic. Their silence stretched. “So, are you going to answer my question?” The air in the car grew warm, so she kicked on the AC.

“Let’s agree to keep our own secrets for now.” He played with the vent, angling the air to hit him more directly. “Esther?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t trust you.”

She gripped the steering wheel tight. “I don’t blame you.”

God, he was getting under her skin. She wanted him to trust her. Shit, she wanted to enter that fucking bar and blow away his problem too. What a mess. She’d already decided to not take the contract on the Nosferatu. To accomplish such a task she needed to be in the game one hundred percent. Not have her head in the clouds over a werewolf and her heart dangling on a thread.

“Take this exit.” His voice deepened, and his eyes shone with that inner light werewolves got when their beasts were close to the surface of shifting.

“You all right?” She took the exit. If he shifted in the car with her, she’d probably crash.

“I’m fine. I’m in control. Just getting ready.” He rolled down his window and stuck his face into the wind. “Make a left at the light. It should be two blocks down. It’s called the Twisted Tire.”

She took the turn and made it past one block when Rob leaned his torso out the window in a sudden jerk.

“Damn, can you stop?”

“Did I miss it?” She pulled over and parked along the deserted street.

“No, I smell someone I know, and I need to talk to him too.” He opened the door and leaped out, then spun around. “Wait here for me?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

He grinned and ran down a side street.

Shaking her head, she leaned it against her steering wheel. He smelled someone? What an odd thing for her to just accept, or would be if he were human…which he wasn’t. Esther, what are you doing playing chauffer for a werewolf and also not taking a contract that could take care of you for life? She groaned. Could Rob be worth it? Something in her gut told her he would be.

Robert jogged around the building next to where Esther parked. He watched the rooftops until he saw who he smelled.

On a four-story building a set of huge boots dangled over the roof’s edge. Not too many men had feet that size, and Daedalus liked a place with a view. Even if he fell, nothing would happen to him. Was it coincidence he sat here so close to where Talon hung out? Robert didn’t think so.

Climbing the fire escape, he reached the roof easy enough. “Hey.” He hopped onto the surface and trotted to the vampire. Sitting next to him, he leaned on his hands. They could see Lake Michigan as a big flat, black spot dwarfing the city’s edge. “Nice view.”

“Yeah.” Daedalus continued to stare at the city, an aura of dark foreboding surrounding him.

“You waiting on Talon?”

“I was, but I started thinking about Sugar.” He shifted his shoulder, then glanced at Rob. “She okay when you left?”

“Sam took her to the movies.”

He nodded. “You’re good friends. She deserves the best.”

“Go home, Daedalus. She should be back soon. Surprise her with something.” Two more days before Eric and Spice came home. They would know what to do. He needed to keep the pack and his small family together for that short amount of time. Should be an easy task but everything wanted to fall apart.

“I’ve got nothing left to give her, Robert. She can’t accept what I am, and I can’t watch her grow old and die. No matter what, I’m headed for heartbreak. It’s like watching someone cut off a piece of you. It would be better to do it quick and fast. Leave now before the pain becomes unbearable.”

“That’s stupid.” The moment the words left his mouth he knew he was a dead shifter. He did a backward somersault and avoided a slap to his noggin. “Listen before you decide to beat me to a pulp, D.”

“D?” The Nosferatu twisted.

“We’re buddies now, right?” He grinned at Daedalus who only stared back at him as if he’d grown two heads. “Don’t make any rash decisions.”

“I’m not,” he shouted. “Ever since I asked Sugar to cross over and become a vampire things have been heading this way.” He turned his back on Robert. “I’ve never asked a woman to cross over. Part of me wishes I’d just gone ahead and had it done. At least, I’d have the rest of eternity to make it up to her instead of a few decades wishing I’d done it when we first met.”

“She never would have forgiven you.” Robert didn’t want to sit on the edge of the building anymore. It would be too easy for Daedalus to shove him off. He might survive the fall, but it would hurt like hell, and the vampire was in an ugly mood.

“Time heals all wounds. Trust me on this one.”

“Then why haven’t you done it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that’s why I’m off my game. I—I care too much. It’s not a good habit, take my advice on this, Robert.”

“You want her to want this.” Robert ran his fingers through his hair, trying to yank a solution from his head manually. “You’re both so stubborn. You remind me of my parents, believing so much in your own ideas you’re willing to let it tear you apart.”

Daedalus rose from the edge and faced him. Anger radiated from him in waves.

Yet Robert’s mouth kept on its suicidal path. “I’d give anything to experience what you and Sugar have. There’s a solution, you just need to think outside the box. Isn’t there some other way for her to live longer instead of becoming vampire?”

“I don’t know,” Daedalus snapped. “Never thought about it.” He crossed his thick arms over his chest. “When did you get so smart about women?”

Robert chuckled. “I’m not. Just ask the crazy one following me tonight.”

“You’ve got a girl with you? And you’re up here?” The vampire leaned over the side of the roof and glanced at the street, then waved. “You call me stupid. She’s hot. Nice leather. Didn’t take you for the dominatrix liking kind.”

“Never mind her.” He edged to the side and watched Esther rush to the car. Great, the vampire spooked her. “Sugar still has a few decades before you need to make a decision.”

“You say that like it’s a lot of time.” A frown pulled at the corner of his mouth, increasing the darkness of his expression. “It’s not fair to her either if she won’t cross over, Robert. She should find herself a human mate. Maybe she could have children.”

Rubbing his forehead, Robert tried to wish away the pounding in his temples. “Don’t leave. It would kill her.” God, he didn’t want to have to live with a falling-apart Sugar. It would be like living with his mother all over again after his father left. “If you want, the three of us can sit down and discuss options.”

The surprised bark of laughter drew Robert’s attention from staring at the roof surface. Daedalus grinned. “You want to mediate? It’s a love affair, not a contract.”

“Bullshit. Love is about give and take. What are you willing to lose in return for what you want? Once both of you figure out the answer to that question, then we can negotiate.”

Daedalus raised a non-existent eyebrow.

Esther stared hard at the silhouettes on the roof. She didn’t need night vision goggles to see who stood with Rob. The bald head and pointed tips of his ears were all the evidence she required. Her equipment sat in her trunk a few feet away. Temptation warred with logic.

And she knew fate had played a hand in this too. Twice in two days she’d run into Daedalus, and she believed in destiny. She’d also met Rob.

Her gut twisted as her cellphone beeped. Glancing at the message, her fate was sealed. They doubled her fee to take the contract.

The vampire leaned over the edge of the building and waved as if daring her to take the shot.

Racing to her car, she yanked her keys out her pocket and pressed the button on the remote to open the trunk. She had minutes to do this. It would probably be her only chance. Damn Rob and his connection to the Nosferatu.

She snapped open her long flat case and pulled out her miniature crossbow, then grabbed a wooden bolt, the next best thing to a stake. She ran across the street, knelt, and aimed.

Rob stood next to Daedalus, waving his hands in the air like they were arguing. Damn, look at him standing up to that monster. Pride swelled in her chest. She could really use a man like that in her life, someone with enough balls to confront her when she was making a mistake, like now.

The vampire stood inside her scope mounted on the crossbow. With a steady hand, she pulled the trigger.