CHAPTER FOUR: MATE AND ENEMY
1876 Words
There was nothing Reece hated more than going back to the beginning of an investigation. That meant he had missed something. It meant his instincts had failed him, and for a wolf, there was no greater insult.
He was mad at himself for failing again. Ten disappearances. Nine bodies. Ten chances he had completely f****d up.
“You gotta give yourself a break,” Nero said from the passenger seat of the truck. “We’re up against vamps. They’re not the usual perv or psycho.”
“That just means I’m no good at hunting down someone my own size.”
Nero rolled his eyes. “You really think that’s it? Man, vamps have powers. Powers we don’t even know. Give yourself a break, will ya? At least you’re trying to help. It’s more than we can say for the human authorities, present company excluded, and we both know I don’t really count as a human authority.
“Human cops would have given up a long time ago. Yet, here you are, going back to the top to figure out what we missed. Though, for real, Reece. I don’t think we missed anything. I think this is the work of a powerful vamp, and there is little to no chance we’ll figure out what happened. Let alone find this latest victim before it’s too late.”
“Whatever. I gotta try. I’d rather try again, and maybe, if we catch this fucker, we can avoid another missing person.”
“Sure.”
Reece slowed the truck to a crawl as they turned onto Maple Drive, a narrow street off the main strip of Longville. The little white house at the end of the road was familiar to him now. He had sniffed and perused every inch of the place.
“I’ll drop you off here. Try to catch her scent again. See if it leads you somewhere different.”
“You got it. I’ll keep you posted.” Nero jumped out of the truck and began walking down the street with his hands stuffed in his pockets as if he were nothing but a sheriff going for a leisurely afternoon walk.
Reece parked near the Johnson family home and got out of the truck, scanning his surroundings to make sure there was nothing out of place. No one watching the home. No one scoping out the place.
That’s when he saw her.
A curvy blonde woman clad in the tightest—most alluring—pair of jeans he’d ever seen. Her leather jacket was molded perfectly to her curves. She was pure s*x appeal. Attraction boiled in his blood. He’d never felt this way, and it surprised him. How was he supposed to focus on his work with such a beautiful woman.
He stopped walking, confused.
“What is she doing,” he whispered. Reece couldn’t look away. Was it fascination or shock? He didn’t have time to think it through. But there was no doubt the woman was pouring some kind of powder on each windowsill of the Johnson home. He turned his head toward the wind and took a few sniffs.
The sharp scent nearly made him sneeze.
Garlic.
The blonde woman was actually spreading garlic powder on each windowsill of the home.
“What the f**k is she doing?” he muttered to himself again.
Without taking a second to think about what he was doing, Reece made his way over to the house. He kept his footsteps slow and deliberate so as to avoid making a sound and spooking the woman.
As he got closer, his confusion only increased.
The attraction he felt a second earlier was replaced by a deep burn that sparked up his spine. Her scent was different. Not wrong, but there was something terribly familiar about it.
Terrible because he recognized the undertones. She was a vampire.
This confirmed what he already knew. The missing people were the victims of a vampire on a rampage. He stalked forward, no longer caring if he made a noise. If he spooked the vamp, he could just chase her down and make her pay for the harm that she had done to those families.
As he got closer, he stumbled back as if someone had hit him in the solar plexus. He nearly doubled over in shock. His wolf howled loudly, the sound nearly tearing his mind in two.
Maaaate!
The recognition of who—what—she was made his legs weak.
What. The. f**k.
No.
Just no.
A big fat, loud, NO!
There had to be some kind of mistake. His mate couldn’t be this woman. This vampire.
She was undoubtedly beautiful. Her long, wavy blonde hair didn’t smell like other vamps. She actually smelled like flowers, and there was nothing vampiric about her gray eyes, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t a threat.
“I’m gonna say this only once. What the f**k do you think you’re doing?”
She pursed her full lips at him and crossed her arms. Her leather jacket tightened across her chest, making his mouth water.
No. No. No. She is the enemy. We can’t think of her like that. “None of your business,” she snapped back.
“Oh, I think it is. The family hired me to find their daughter. I am here because I am allowed to be here.” He pointed toward the tub of garlic powder in her hands. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to do with that, though.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “None of your business, wolf.”
He was momentarily thrown, but it quickly faded into anger. A vampire even a good-smelling one—could definitely tell he was a wolf.
“Well, forgive me for the confusion, but I don’t get why a vamp would be spreading garlic around town. Especially not around the home of a missing woman.”
“Half vamp,” she said through gritted teeth. “And what I do in my town is none of your concern, even if you were hired to find Farrah.”
He was shocked. His brows shot into his hairline. “You know Farrah?” “No. It’s a small town, but not so small that I would know each resident personally.”
“Then why are you doing that?” he pointed to the garlic powder. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“Maybe the authorities would be interested in knowing why you’re here, then.”
“Oh? And what would you say to the cops? Help, please, this woman is putting garlic powder on windowsills. She’s a danger to the spaghetti bowls of the town.”
“Not quite. But I could make you a suspect in the disappearance. I’ve got an in with the sheriff. He’s an old pal.”
“Of course, you do,” she growled. But Reece didn’t miss the fact that she blanched. Color drained from her face, and she actually took a step back.
“If you must know, I’m only here to make sure the Johnson family doesn’t have any more tragedies.”
“Tragedies?”
“Don’t you think that a missing family member is a tragedy?”
“Not as much as a dead family member,” he replied, his words strained under his own loss. His grief had the annoying knack of smacking him in the gut when he least needed it. “You know she’s dead.”
The woman looked away. It was all the confirmation he needed. “Wow. Did you kill her?”
Her head snapped up, and Reece was sure the vamp would claw out his eyes. “How dare you ask me that. I would never harm a human.”
“Funny. You’re a vamp. That’s what your kind does.” “I’m not a vampire. I’m a Half Blood, if you must know.” Reece was shocked. “Excuse me?”
“Half Blood. Half vampire, half human. It’s really not that hard of a concept to wrap your mind around.”
He blinked at her, at a loss for words.
“Are you kidding me? You really don’t know Half Bloods exist?” Reece shook his head.
The woman shook her blonde head. “Are you insane? You thought you were walking up to a full-blown vampire in the daylight? You thought it was a good idea to just strike up a conversation with a creature who could eat you for breakfast?”
“I didn’t think vampires could feed on shifters.” “Seriously? Of course, they can.”
He didn’t miss the use of they. Whoever this woman was, she didn’t feel like a vampire. Reece was more confused than he had ever been in his life. What was he supposed to think? Not only was this lady his mate, but she was a Half Blood. A kind of vampire he had no clue even existed until a second ago.
“You look shocked again. Do you have any knowledge about vampires?”
“I thought I did.”
“You clearly don’t. Next time you come across any bloodsucking creature, you should run in the other direction. Not straight forward.”
“I can’t do that. Like I said, the Johnson family hired me to find their daughter. I am fully allowed to be here, which is more than I can say for you.”
“Whatever. I’m just doing the best I can.” “Why?”
“Why what?” she uncrossed her arms, but her stance was no more relaxed than it was a second ago.
“Why are you trying to protect this house? It’s a little late, isn’t it? How do you know the powder will even work? I thought only fresh garlic strings protected against vamps.”
“Right, but a minute ago, you didn’t know Half Bloods even existed, so how about you accept that you have limited knowledge when it comes to vampires.”
“But garlic powder?”
Without hesitation, the woman rolled her sleeve and sprinkled garlic powder onto her soft forearm. The creamy skin immediately turned bright red, and she winced in pain. “If I react like that, just imagine what it would do to a full-blown vamp.”
“Do you know any full-blow vamps?” he replied as she covered her injured arm.
“I’m just here to make sure this family is left alone.” “Left alone,” he repeated dully.
“Uh-huh.”
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“And why should I? I don’t know you.” She crossed her arms again and tapped her foot at him. “I’ve got s**t to do, and you’re in my way.”
“Got more windows to powder?” “Maybe,” she replied.
Reece took a few steps toward her. It was terrible. He wanted to grip her in his arms, but he also wanted to tear into her for being the worst kind of
killer. It didn’t matter that she was Half Blood.
Shit. It didn’t even matter that she was his mate. She was a killer.
That’s all that mattered.
- Writer
