Any characters you
recognize belong to Sherrilyn Kenyon or Laurell K. Hamilton. I’m just doing
this for fun. This is rated PG-13 to be safe.
The
More Things Change (Nate Chapter 46)
“Which do you wish to save hunter,” the daimon
asked.
I looked from one of them to the other. There
was no fear on either face. Both of them were consigned to the fact that they
would probably not face a new day. How could I choose between two people that I
had come to care for so deeply? I couldn't.
Then I remembered it was a dream and willed
myself to wake up. Checking the clock on the bedside table, it read six pm. Rolling away from the warm body next to me, I sat up and
stretched. It had been a hard week. Hell it had been a hard winter. Standing, I
walked across to the closed blinds and peeked out. It was still winter. The
trees had a fresh coating of ice that another storm had brought. It looked
cold. I shivered. A sigh to my left brought my attention back to the bed.
“Are we patrolling.”
Roxie asked.
“Until told otherwise,” I replied. I don't
think she liked that answer as she pulled the covers over her head.
Grabbing some fresh clothes, I walked a few
feet into the master bath. Standing under the shower a few minutes later, I
thought about what the New Year would bring. A few weeks before Christmas,
Mitch had found us a new home. It was on the outskirts of town, about twenty
minutes. We had moved into the temple. Yes, I said temple. Well that's what it
reminded me of. It was bought a week before the holiday. The former owner had a
thing for Greek and Roman mythology. I could still hear Mitch laugh as I stood
in awe of the place. There was even a fountain with the likeness of the Roman
huntress, as a center point for the circular driveway.
The purchase, that Mitch swore to me that I
could afford, put a sizable dent in my account to the tune of a half a million.
I had to give it to the previous owner though. The place was spectacular. It
had a pool and it's own small gym, marble and maple
and… sheesh. Mitch said that the offer “I” gave had been generous considering
the market. It was just... well a lot.
Our six new fighters were proving to be quick
learners. Zednek and I would watch Luna and Meng Die spar and wonder which one
would give first. It usually ended with someone, usually me, getting in the
middle of the two. The two women did not like each other and that was an
understatement. Caleb and Noah were good. Ares and Josh still had to learn.
Turning off the water, I toweled off and got
dressed before going out to the bedroom. Roxie passed me on the way. She was
getting homesick, Kade too. I was going to ask Ash to send them back. They
needed to be with their people.
Mitch had gotten two more cars, a gray H2
Humvee and a snazzy dark blue 2007 Corvette. Zednek took ownership of the
Viper. Kade and Roxie took over the H2 and I got the Vet. Hey I look good in
blue. Uh huh. That's the same reaction Kade had too,
but his opinion doesn't count.
I pulled on my boots and laced them up. I
shoved my wallet into my left hip pocket and put my watch on. I had taken to
not wearing the cross when I went to the District. It had a tendency to upset
some of the denizens. I heard the water shut off and decided to head
downstairs.
The upper floor had four bedrooms, but for some
reason Roxie always seemed to end up in mine. The marble staircase was wide and
not very soundproof. There were twenty seven steps. I have no idea why. They
ended at a large open front room. This room was the center point of the
downstairs. The Great Room, we had taken to calling it. There was a large
kitchen, a formal dining room, a smaller dining room, a large guest bath, and
two double doors straight across from the entry that led down to the gym.
Our favorite part was the Olympic size pool
that had a water slide that came out of Poseidon's, well, crotch. There were
Greek and Roman statues all around. Made you wonder where the hell the guys
psyche, no pun intended, was.
I grabbed my duster from the front closet and
walked out the door. I was going to meet up with Asher and Luna to discuss
something. It was my night to patrol the District, so it worked out. Maybe I
could even coax Stephen to giving me a haircut. I couldn't stand it being so
long. It reached nearly to the middle of my back.
Driving through town I took several turns, just
checking things out. Roans' bike was at the Lunatic Cafe as per usual. My
friend was super serious about staying. Though, I can't say as I blamed him.
After a few more look sees, I drove on down to the Riverfront, listening to
Finally pulling into the lot at Guilty
Pleasures, I found a parking space in the employees lot killed the engine and
got out. Setting the car's alarm, I walked over to the back door and knocked.
The door opened slowly and a tall blond in a black security shirt poked his
head out. He looked me up and down a couple of times before letting me in. I
didn't know him, but evidently he knew enough about me to know I was no threat.
I asked him to take me to Asher's office, which he did. As I stepped inside,
the world exploded.
Looking up from my new position on my back, on
the floor, I caught a glimpse of a pissed off Luna before she balled her fist
into my coat, picking me up off the floor and tossing me like a medicine ball
across the sofa and onto a different part of the floor. I had a chance to think
“ouch”, before she came at me again.
“How dare you come waltzing in here like
nothing has happened,” she ground out eyes narrowed.
“First, I don't waltz. Second, you guys asked
me to come here,” I answered in voice that was equal parts angry and dazed.
“And now you decide to listen,” she growled
advancing on me.
“Luna, stop. Don't make me get rough.” She
laughed. “Oh that's it!”
I kicked her feet out from under her sending
the cat sprawling to the floor. The sound I heard come from her, caused my
blood to chill. I had just enough time to get to my knees before she grabbed me
in a head lock.
“I thought you liked it rough hunter. Don't I
play as rough as Meng Die,” Luna asked in a deceptively sweet voice.
“What?” I tried to turn my head, but she had a
nice vice like grip. “Is that what this is about? Can I breathe?” Apparently not, because she tightened her grip. “Jeeze, you
taking lessons from B.J. Whitmer or something?”
She released the headlock and stood, pacing the
room ranting about all kinds of reasons she and the crazed wrestler were
different. As I had just relearned to breathe again she stopped, turned and
realizing my attempt at a feeble distraction pounced again. That's when we were
literally pulled apart.
“Is this why you asked me to come down here, to
beat the crap out of me?” I looked up at who had a hold of my arms. “Let go of
me Bob.”
“My name is Jamil, human.” He looked across the
room at Luna. Asher had a hold of her, but I knew she was not even close to finished
with me. “Luna,” he called softly tilting his head slightly. I don't know what
she read on his face, but it seemed to calm her enough that Asher loosened his
grip.
One minute she had been this crazed bitch from
hell, the next she was standing there like one of the Stepford wives. It made
me wonder how close she and the wolf had been, or maybe still were. Bob
released me and I headed for the door. Course I didn't make it. Asher was
suddenly in front of me.
“You're bleeding,” Asher pointed out reaching
for my chin.
“I'm used to it,” I returned jerking my head
back out of reach.
“Sit down. We need to talk,” the vampire said
sounding very serious.
“Oh? Now you want to talk? Fuckin' call me,” I shot back, shaking my head.
I moved around the vampire and left, slamming
the door as I did. I was halfway down the hall when Micah came walking toward
me. He cupped my chin, turning my head side to side.
“What happened,” the leopard asked as he
studied my injuries.
I sighed, pulling away. “Doesn't
matter. Do you know if Stephen is here?”
“He and Gregory just finished their routine.
Why,” Micah questioned, though I'm sure he was contemplating how to get the
previously requested information out of me.
“Think he'd give me a haircut,” I asked, hoping
to delay the inevitable. Micah laughed. “I'm serious. I want it short.” I
cringed as the door to Asher's office opened. The action was not lost on the
leopard king.
“Come on. I know somewhere else you can get a haircut,”
Micah responded. I frowned, but feeling Asher approaching, I just nodded and
started walking in the opposite direction. After a minute or two Micah was by
my side as we headed for the employee door.
“Did Asher do this,” the leopard asked, motioning
to the cut.
“No. Luna,” I answered honestly knowing that he
would know if I was lying. He sighed harshly. “Let it go. Please.” I wasn't
sure why I was pleading for the crazy cat but I didn't want to see her hurt.
When we got outside to the car Micah let out a
low whistle. Unlocking the doors, we got in. Micah made a few calls on his cell
and we were off. He had a friend from the coalition that could cut my hair.
We talked about the car, about the training. We
talked about anything but why I felt like I had taken on the entire defensive
line for the Bears.
“Being so close to the full moon doesn't
improve our moods. Some of us become combative,” Micah offered. I guess he was
trying to explain Luna's behavior.
“Ya think?” We lapsed into silence. “She doesn't
think I'm around enough,” I added after a minute of continued silence.
“If the Triumvirate is to work, no, you
aren't,” he answered honestly.
Sighing I ran a hand through my hair in
frustration. “I'm not cut out for this shit. I'm a soldier. I'm a Dark Hunter.
I'm not a threesome kind of guy.” He laughed. “Gee thanks.”
“I'm sorry. Turn right at the next light,”
Micah instructed.
“Are you sure your friend won't mind,” I asked,
the idea of putting someone on the spot bothering me more than I cared to admit.
Micah smiled like he knew what I was thinking.
“She won't mind,” he assured me.
I rolled my eyes at his words. “Great another female to piss off.”
After a few more turns we pulled up outside a
small salon. The lights were still on and there were actually a couple of
people in the chairs still. I parked at the curb and got out. Micah led the way
into the shop. Micah was greeted by a brunette in a yellow frock. She was about
five foot five and about a hundred and five. Pretty. She looked at me over his shoulder
and smiled, before walking over.
“Sienna, this is Nathan,” Micah said by way of
introduction. I offered my hand, which she took. It was warm and small in mine.
“Micah tells me you want all this gorgeous hair
cut,” she said as she walked around me running her fingers through my hair.
“Are you sure?” I nodded. “How short,” she asked eyeing me critically.
“Collar length,” I replied noting the fact that
she frowned, but in the end nodded.
“Have a seat then,” she told me as she steered
me to one of the stations. “Stephen couldn't do it,” the stylist asked looking
over her shoulder at Micah.
“We had to leave,” the leopard king explained.
“If you don't want to
do it. I can go somewhere else,” I grumbled knowing that some of my
irritation carried in my voice.
Sienna gave me a sharp look. “I didn't say I
wouldn't do it. Just seems a shame.”
After an hour or so, I walked out with a
haircut. Just like I asked it just touched my collar. She had insisted on
giving it a layered look, looked kind of wispy. I had to give her credit. It
looked nice. I asked Micah where he wanted me to drop him off as I still had to
patrol. I dropped him off at the Circus then drove over to Danse Macabre,
parked the car and got out to walk a bit.
We hadn't really had a lot of jumps lately.
Stryker usually called a truce during the holidays, but you just never knew. I
called the others to check in. Everyone was tired and bored. At four am we
called it a night and met back at the house. Roan brought Kendra over for the
night. She was impressed by the place. I told her she was welcome anytime. She
could move in if she wanted. That got me a look from Roxie and for some reason that
pissed me off. I told her to meet me in the kitchen. She took her time getting
there but when she finally sashayed in, I let her know how I felt.
“This is my house. If I want someone to move in
it's my business. I'm asking Acheron to send you and Kade home.” By the
expression on her face I could tell she was surprised by this turn of events.
“The three of you can't cover the whole city,”
she said crossing her arms over her stomach.
“You forget we have help,” I reminded her. She
made a sound kind of like a snort.
“They can barely keep from fighting one
another, let alone a daimon,” Roxie pointed out.
“They'll do fine,” I assured her. “As soon as I
can get in touch with Ash, you two are out of here.” I turned to leave and she
grabbed my arm. The look I gave her was not entirely friendly. “I've made my
decision.”
“I hope you don't live to regret it,” she
muttered as I shrugged and walked out.
I grabbed some extra pillows and blankets from
the linen closet upstairs and went down to the gym to sleep. After the events
of the night I needed some alone time.
Two days later I got a call from Luna. She
wanted to meet at a neutral site and talk. The full moon was in two days, I
really didn't think it was a good idea given our last meeting. But what can I
say? I'm not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to the cat. I
told her to meet me at the Hard Rock Cafe at seven. I'd hear her out. I made
sure that the others could handle the patrolling before heading out. I told
them to call me if there were problems. I didn't tell them where I was going.
The place was busy for a Wednesday. But then again,
it was the Hard Rock. No matter how many franchises there were, just the name
alone attracted people. There wasn't a long line. My status as disc jockey
still held and I was passed through. Funny what things people remember.
She was sitting at a table in one corner. There
were a couple of guys chatting her up. She smiled but
I could see she was more annoyed than anything else. I walked through the crowd
and ignoring the two men took a seat across the table from her. They eventually
got the message and left. Her hair was down, framing her face. The blue silk
blouse she wore complimented her eyes. I could see why Conor had fallen for
her. She was pretty and smart and... deadly, my brain
reminded me. Oh yeah. That too. A waitress came over
to take our order. I told Luna to order what she wanted. I was paying. She gave
me a look. I told her not to push her luck. After the waitress had left and
another had brought us a drink, we sat quietly for a few minutes.
“Okay. What did you want to talk about,” I
asked without preamble.
“You cut your hair,” she stated ignoring the
question.
I frowned at that. “Don't change the subject.”
Luna's eyes shifted away from me as she twirled
the beer bottle between her hands. Licking her lips nervously she turned back
to me. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior the other night. I know I
was wrong it's just..." she trailed off probably wondering how much she
should tell me. I watched as she gripped the bottle tighter slackening her grip
as we heard the glass give a soft whine. "As you've probably guessed by
now, I have a lot of emotional baggage. It's not your fault but you are getting
the brunt of my anger and I think you deserve to know why."
I stared at her for a minute wondering if I
really wanted to hear this or not. It was going to drag me in deeper. I already
cared too much, so much to the point that it was painful, literally and
figuratively. I wanted to be pissed. I wanted to shrug like I didn't care. But
I did. I wanted to pull her into my arms and just hold her. Just make the pain
on her face go away. Then I thought, 'Thoughts like that got me into this
mess.'
“Okay, I'll listen if you want to explain. But
it's your decision. I don't want you to tell me anything you don't want to.” I
mental gave myself a pat on the back, that wasn't a bad response. I watched a
lot of emotions play out on her face. I thought maybe she'd changed her mind. I
hated lag time. I was terrible at personal stuff.
She flashed me a wan smile and even that small
action transformed her face, making it appear much younger, more carefree.
Raising the beer bottle I watched her drain it in one long swallow. "I
could give you the whole sob story about how I came to be here but that I'll
save for another time," she began absently. I could tell by her expression
that she was working up to what she really wanted to tell me. It took all my
control not to just say spit it out already, but I held my tongue.
"My relationships here aren't exactly
healthy for me or them. Shang-Da, was the first guy I
dated publicly as a shifter, but we fought constantly. His pack and my pard
have issues that make the Cold War look like a playground squabble. When I
ended it he took it badly, said it wasn't over. I should have listened to him,
but I didn't realize how serious he was… And Conor ended up paying the ultimate
price...or at least I thought he did." She scowled briefly before taking a
deep breath and releasing it slowly. "A week before Conor and I were to be
married Shang-Da and a couple of his buddies ripped his heart out right in
front of me. A piece of me died that night right along with him. Since then I
haven't let anyone get close." Her blue green eyes met mine, it was a gaze
that showed just how old she really was, and not just in age. "You scare
me...because with you and Asher I feel like I could let those walls down again.
Walls that mean that I would never again have to watch someone I love die
because I couldn't protect them”
I looked at her for a long moment before I
spoke. I hadn't missed the look on her face when she mentioned Conor. I also
knew that only my fellow dark hunter could set that right, but getting the two
of them in the same room and civil was a stretch.
“I know all about that night. I've relived it.”
She stared at me. “Never mind. I thought we had gotten
pretty close. But then you would do something to remind me that it was the
three of us. So I kind of gave up and I really didn't think it was fair to
Conor. Then there was all this crap in my head… The dreams.
The fact that Asher knows what I'm feeling. If I had known that giving him a
taste of my blood was gonna turn out this way...” I trailed off a sigh escaping
my lips. “When I first met you I never thought in a million years, I would get
so close to you. You were all hard ass. But you slipped up and showed me a softer
side and I slipped up and actually started to care. I thought maybe it could go
somewhere. But now it's all metaphysical bull shit.” I stared at her waiting
for her to say something, anything. She didn't respond. “You don't love me
Princess. So my death won't matter,” I said at last.
The appetizers came. The conversation ended
abruptly. At least until the waitress left. I sat there looking at a sampler
platter. All that heart stopping goodness. I was trying to think of what to say.
What wouldn't sound stupid, or worst yet, gushy. So I
settled for neutral. “But this is your chance to tell me... why I should really
care.” I avoided her gaze as I picked up a cheese stick and popped it into my
mouth. The heat fogged my shades. I slid them down my nose momentarily to clear
them. Sliding them up when the waitress brought us another drink. Luna smirked
at my actions.
Luna's eyes shot back to my face a slight frown
marring her features. "Yeah, it's true that I don't love you," she
gave me a soft sad smile at my shocked expression. "I think a little
honesty will go a long way here. I don't love you; that much is true, but Asher
may and I think in all of this we have forgotten about him. We both have a
duty, obligations, whether we want them or not and somewhere along the way
Asher gets lost in the shuffle." She gave me a long searching look. I got
the feeling that she wondered if she made any sense. "Asher has always
come second or third in someone's life. With you, for a time, he was number
one...or at least you made him feel that way. I'm not asking for your undying
love, but don't go looking for death because you don't think you matter. You do
matter, to Asher.”
“Duty and obligations? My only duty is to
keep you people from becoming daimon bait. You make it sound like I had a
choice in all this. If I had known that doing a favor for a stripper was going
to get me ankle deep in vampire games, I'd have mailed the damn disc. Now you
tell me a vampire may be in love with me,” I couldn't quite keep the disbelief out
of my voice nor could I keep it low.
Luna slipped off the bar stool coming around to
my side turning my seat so that I faced her. She gave me a wry grin at my look
of disapproval. Reaching up she was undaunted as I leaned back away from her.
Finally I had nowhere to go and she carefully removed the sunglasses from my
face. Setting them casually on the table she turned back to me framing my face
with her small hands.
"Nathan," she called softly her eyes
lightening to the palest of greens. "Do you really think it would have
been that easy? That you wouldn't have ended up here,
now?" She stroked the side of my face gently. "We both know
one way or the other you would have found your way here...maybe not in this
particular situation but something similar. Anger clouds the mind confuses
reason. Look past it. You know that fighting this won't help; it will only
hinder you."
She could probably see the objection forming on
my face, in my eyes. Leaning up she placed a soft kiss to my lips, pulling back
she licked hers. "This isn't love and I won't tell you it is. I just don't
want to see either of you unhappy. If I have to bow out then I will, but don't
make Asher suffer because of something he has no control over."
“He may be the only one who does have control. I
can't think straight when I'm around you people.” I turned away and put my
glasses back on. “Like I told Micah, I'm not cut out for this shit. I should
have listened to Acheron from the beginning. Now I'm caught up in some kind of
triangle or something.”
We were getting looks from the tables around
us. Luna returned to her seat across from him. She wasn't as good at soothing
people like Asher was.
“I may only end up hurting Asher more in the
long run. It isn't healthy for hunters to have relationships. It usually ends
up with one of us getting betrayed or worse, killed. Why is everything so
freaking complicated with you people? It's not like Asher is gonna waste away
if I'm not there. My blood cannot sustain his life. He was fine before I
arrived. He'll be just as fine with me gone.”
The leopard's eyes turned sharply to me pinning
me to the spot. "That is up for debate," she ground out in a low hard
voice. It seemed she'd had enough of trying to reason with me. Her expression
clearly said if I wanted to be angry that was fine with her, anger she could
do, anger she was good at.
"Let me give you some food for thought.
That night between the three of us did more than create feelings that had been
simmering beneath the surface. You are, whether you're going to admit it or
not, attracted to us and vice versa." She pointed a finger at me when I
would have interrupted. "But I will not stand idly by and watch you crush
Asher because of your confused emotions. Hate me if you must, lash out at me if
it makes you feel better, but don't lie to yourself or him. If you're bound and
determined to throw it all away, I have a proposition for you." She waited
for my small nod before continuing. "Give us just one more night to show
you why this doesn't have to be the burden you're making it out to be. If after
that encounter you still want out, we'll let you walk away no questions asked.
But don't come in with your mind already made up; give us that much, would
you?"
I thought about it, thought hard about it all
through dinner. Asher had saved my life. I supposed I owed it to the man to
hear him out. When dinner was finished and we had left the building to get to
our cars, we stood on the sidewalk silence between them. I finally broke it.
“I don't hate you Luna, either of you. Meeting
you has just made my time to go a lot harder.” She started to reply I raised my
hand to halt her. “I'll give you one more night. But I'm not sure it's going to
matter.”
I turned and walked down the street toward my
car, thinking that I was so screwed. I needed to talk to someone about all
this. But there was no one that was neutral. Everyone had an agenda.
I got home just before sunrise. It was a long
day of fitful sleep. My mind was just too busy to rest and just when I was
about to drift off, my cell rang. Stryker had decided to extend the holiday non
aggression pact. Mitch told me that I could come back to work if I wanted. That
it might help clear my head. I jumped at the offer. It felt so good to just
forget about everything and play music and talk to strangers again. But just as
I had started to get into the routine again, Luna called. She had decided on a
night, Sunday, in two days time. So much for a clear mind.
On that night, I entered the Circus of the
Damned with some trepidation, not knowing what I was walking into. My escort
left me in front of the door to Asher's suites. I knocked. Getting no answer or
the door opening on its own, I turned the knob and pushing the door open, I
walked inside. Asher was sitting on a sofa reading. He didn't look up.
“Why are you here? I did not call you,” Asher
said without looking up from his book.
I frowned at his cool reception. I had thought
that this was something they had both wanted. “Luna told me to be here
tonight,” I told him, wondering if I sounded as confused as I felt.
“Luna failed to mention this to me,” the
vampire said finally setting his book aside.
Great, just great, I thought.
“And as you can see Mon Chat is not here,” he
continued waving a hand around the empty room.
“Fine. Christ I hate these
fucking games.” Turning to go I ran into said Chat... cat.
“Where are you going,” she asked sounding
genuinely confused.
“He is leaving,” Asher said with a hint of
warning in his voice.
“He doesn't want me here Luna,” I explained.
She gave me this move and I will kill you look.
Looking past me to the seated vampire she said,
“Asher, we need to talk about the marks. He's confused about what they mean.”
“I am releasing him of his obligations,” he
said as if by his words alone he could undo all that had transpired between us.
“Did you give him the anger clouds your
judgment speech,” I asked her not bothering to hide the irritation in my voice.
Luna started to respond, but the vampire beat her to it.
“I have yet to show you just how angry I can
be,” Asher hissed and there was a warm feeling to those words that danced over
my skin.
In a burst of speed he came at me. I hit the
wall hard. All I heard was Luna saying, “Not like this!” Then his fangs were in
my throat. I reached out to Luna right before Asher threw all of his power into
me.
My vision blurred. I felt like I was in the pit
of a volcano. Screams filled my head. Yet pain wasn't the only thing to touch
me while the angry vampire fed at my throat. It was as if the pain only
intensified the pleasure that began to gather in the midst of that maelstrom.
It was as if we were three bodies with one mind. Something clicked as pleasure
ripped through my body. I felt strong, invincible, like with these two at my
side we could make the world crawl to us on its knees. In my minds eye I could
see the halls of
Somewhere along the way we hit the bed. Every
touch felt like fire and all I could do was hang on for the ride as it began
again. All I could think of as Luna lay down beside us, was that I could get
used to this feeling.