Blood for blood Read online

  Why did he have to look at her like that? Lupa felt herself leaning forward without even thinking. His hand slipped up her dress as he moved closer to her, his face so close, not kissing her, just looking into her. Too far into her, but she couldn’t break his gaze, she wanted to fucking kiss him, but she felt hypnotised.

  Grey kissed her, long and hard, his hand on the small of her back as he pulled her to him; as he pulled himself over her. Lupa dropped the smoke on the floor, her fingers pushing under his shirt to feel his skin, skin that was so warm. Dragging her fingers down his back as his other hand twisted in her hair, pulling her deeper into the kiss she thought would never end, but then she didn’t really want it to. Sex she could do, sex was easy, and sex with Grey was pretty fucking good.

  Chapter Nine

  “All are equal, but we all follow the chain of command…”

  Lupa stood naked trying to figure out what the fuck to wear to dinner with Darwin. She didn’t own anything nice other than her formal Hunter dress, and she didn’t want to put that thing on again. Fuck. He would be expecting her in half an hour, and it would take at least that to drive there. She grabbed her long black skirt and a grey tank top, surely she had a blouse somewhere? She pulled out all her shirts, throwing them behind her as she searched for something appropriate. Ah ha! There was a black cardigan without holes, it would have to do. She pulled it on and buttoned it up, there was a button missing from the top but she couldn’t give less of a shit anymore.

  She pinned back her way too long fringe and put on a minimal amount of makeup, it would have to fucking do. Slipping on some low heels she grabbed her bag and headed out the door. Why the fuck had she agreed to this again?

  Lupa jumped in the car and checked the time, 6.42pm. Fuck shit fuck. She sped off, heading for the highway that would get her up to Ebonyroads, her stomach tightening more and more as the streets became better lit. Her phone started ringing, she stuck her hand in her bag searching for it while weaving through traffic.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Little Red,” came Slasher’s greeting from the phone, “You cool to talk quickly?”

  Lupa ducked around two cars into a somewhat empty lane and sped up. “Yeah, just on my way to fucking dinner with fucking Darwin. What’s up?”

  “Hope you aren’t speeding, their ‘police’ don’t like that.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll be careful.” She ducked around a car, then took an exit. The highway behind her would continue on up and then along to the mountain’s foot to Grace City.

  “Ok. Well, Tank was contacted by Hammer asking you to come meet him Saturday afternoon. I was just calling to pass the message along… did he give you useful info then?”

  Right, Tank hadn’t asked and Lupa hadn’t said much, she’d forgotten to call Slasher and let her know. Ah well. Seems as though it was going along quicker than she’d thought. She turned down a small, fucking bright, street, seeing the flashing sign of the hotel.

  “Yeah, I think so. We’ll just have to see. Look, I gotta go, I’m here and already running late, I’ll come round Saturday before I go meet with Hammer?”

  “Ok, hun, see you then. Hope dinner isn’t too awful.”

  “Thanks.”

  Lupa parked, noticing the street was filled with expensive modern cars. Her stomach was so tight she wondered if she’d ever feel relaxed again. Hopping out of her car she crossed over to The Opulence Hotel. Fuck this.

  “Miss Greenstone!” she turned to see Darwin lounged in an oversized armchair, drinking a glass of brandy or some shit.

  She walked over to him and sat in the seat opposite that he gestured to. “Good evening, sir,” she smiled tightly, crossing her legs.

  “How are you, Miss Greenstone? Was your drive pleasant?”

  Fuck no. “Um, I’m well thank you, sir, yes it was pleasant, thank you for asking. How are you?”

  He smiled with those pearly whites assaulting her eyes, “Call me, Darwin, this is unofficial, don’t feel the need to call me sir. I am very well, it’s just such a pleasure being down here. Are you hungry? I’ve booked us a table and ordered the three course pairing menu they have here.”

  Oh fucking hell, he was sure laying it on thick, Lupa had no idea what a fucking pairing menu was, but three courses was terrifying enough. “Sounds lovely, sir… Darwin,” she responded, smiling back at him.

  “Well then, let’s go to the dining room.”

  They stood up and she noticed he was even shorter than she had originally thought, fuck he was even shorter than her, and apart from kids, Lupa was pretty certain she’d never met someone shorter than her before. Being taller meant she could see his head shining with the excessive lighting in the hotel, she bit her lip to stop herself from smiling.

  Lupa followed him to the massive hotel restaurant, he spoke with the snooty looking man at the door, who then showed them to their table, pulling out her chair for her and giving her a judgemental up and down look. She had the urge to stick her tongue out at him, or even give him the finger. Instead, she smiled as sweetly as she could as he gave her a look of contempt.

  “So, Miss Greenstone, how is your new Protector going?”

  “He’s going very well, thank you. We have connected fantastically.”

  Two waiters came over, one with two plates and the other with a bottle of wine. “Your entrée,” droned the first waiter, “grilled duck breast with mango jus.” He placed the dainty dish in front of both of them, Darwin looked delighted, and Lupa thought she was going to puke. “Accompanied by a beautiful pinot noir from a small village in the mountain region…”

  Lupa zoned out, she couldn’t give two shits where the wine came from, as long as the waiter got around to filling her fucking glass. She watched Darwin gazing at the waiter, he sure looked interested, did people actually care about this shit? Or just want to look like they cared?

  Finally the man poured a small glass for both of them, and waited. Shit, had she missed a question? She looked over to Darwin who sniffed the wine, then took a small sip.

  “Marvellous!” he announced.

  Lupa threw back the wine, she didn’t need to stick her nose in it to know it smelt like fucking wine. “Mhmm, good, may I please have some more?”

  The waiter looked like he might have a heart attack, Lupa smiled up at him and held her glass out. She couldn’t give a flying fuck what these snobs thought, but she needed more booze to get through this dinner. He poured her another glass, and filled Darwin’s as well.

  “Enjoy your meal,” they both bowed and walked away.

  Darwin picked up his knife and fork and began eating the duck, making a lot of what she supposed were enjoyment sounds. She poked the meat with her fork, who the fuck even ate this shit? She put her fork down and decided to stick with the wine for this round.

  “This is simply delightful, have you tried it, Miss Greenstone?”

  “Oh, um, I’m mildly allergic to mango, but that’s ok, I’m sure the next meal will be wonderful as well.” Lupa lied.

  “Oh dear, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see anything in your file about allergies, so I didn’t even think to ask before ordering the meal, would you like me to get them to bring you something else?”

  Right. He must have been studying it closely, her allergies or lack there-of, would have zero to do with anything he was looking into. “I’ve never bothered to have it put in, sir, it’s not something I come into contact with very often. But that’s ok, don’t ask them over, this wine is lovely.”

  She sipped it as delicately as she could and smiled as he finished his duck fuckery. Damn, this was going to be one long ass dinner, why the hell had she agreed to this again? He wiped his mouth and finished off his glass of wine.

  “So, have you shown any more big displays of power? Did the supermarket case bring anything out?”

  He crossed his hands over, playing with his wedding ring very deliberately. She got the fucking point, she was surprised he didn’t whip out some photos. But
then again, if he wanted information, he might be saving them for later.

  “No, unfortunately it was all pretty stock standard, apart from the surprise. If I do notice anything, The Organization will know straight away.”

  “Of course you would, you being such a valuable asset to The Organization. What with the interesting mingle of bloodlines running through you…”

  Lupa felt that familiar pang of worthlessness run through her body. Did they still think so little of her that they needed to bring it up? “I don’t think about it, sir, I am a witch. And that is all.”

  Fuck she wanted to get out of here, she couldn’t stand that man looking at her anymore. Why the fuck had she agreed on coming? Did The Organization still hold her in such low regard? Fucking hell, things were just getting better, weren’t they?

  ⃝

  She was back on the highway heading home, having drunk more shitty, over explained wine than weird food that she ate, what the fuck did those people eat? Did they eat that shit all the time? Gross. She felt sick just thinking about it.

  Lighting a smoke, Lupa opened the window a crack. What a fucking waste of time, he’d asked her some more pointed questions about her powers, droned on about how amazing her test scores had been. But he hadn’t really asked anything that different from what he had questioned at their first interview. What the fuck was this guy playing at? Trying to show how fucking dominant he was? Because that wasn’t what Darwin was achieving, he was just pissing her off.

  Pulling back into her part of town, the light posts were further and further apart, her stomach was finally starting to relax, this was home. Those rich people were crazy, what with their need to have expensive cars, eat expensive weird food, and dress in the latest styles… they had no fucking idea about the real world.

  Sighing, Lupa pulled the car over in front of her place. She saw Dameon sitting on the front step waiting for her. “Hey, Hawk, how’s it going?”

  He grinned up at her, “Hey Little Red, I’m ‘right. How was dinner?”

  Opening the door and they went up to her place. “Ugh, it was disgusting. Those people eat some weird ass shit, and there was nowhere near enough wine to deal with it. Beer?”

  “Yeah sure. Hey, some guy left this with me while I was waiting out the front.”

  Dameon handed her a shoebox. She passed him a beer and opened the lid. Pictures of her and Karl. Fuck. A note on top said it was from Karl’s father, and contained items/pictures from Karl’s apartment when they cleaned it out. She shut the lid a little harder than she meant to, and placed the box on the bench. She’d leave that heart breaking box for another day.

  “Thanks. So um, Slasher called me on the way to dinner, apparently Hammer wants me to meet with him on Saturday afternoon.” She looked over at Dameon who was thankfully keeping his face blank.

  “You gonna go?”

  “I said I’d go see Slasher beforehand, figured I could see what Tank thought too. Look, I was thinking… maybe I could set up a text message beforehand so if anything doesn’t feel right I can send it to you? Maybe you could be with Tank?”

  Dameon took a long drink from his beer. “Yeah, guess that will have to do, wont it?”

  He glanced at her carefully. Did he have hurt in his eyes? She couldn’t tell, he looked away too quickly. Fuck. Was she the one fucking this up? “If there was another way… you know I’d do it, don’t you? But he won’t budge on that, hopefully this will be the only time I have to go in alone, I can set up for Hammer and his men to take us to the building or whatever and then you’ll be with me. And that should be all we need…”

  “Except you owe him something.” Dameon pulled out a smoke and lit it, avoiding looking over at her.

  Fuck shit fuck. Lupa wasn’t helping to reassure him at all, and she didn’t really know what else to say, he was blocking her. She reached out and touched his arm, waiting for him to look over at her.

  “Dameon… we will be ok. I will be ok, alright?”

  He looked at her and finally nodded. “Yeah ok,” he sighed heavily, and his face seemed to finally relax, “What’s in the box?”

  Lupa glanced over at it, as though it were a large, unwelcome creature lurking on her bench. “It’s photos and shit… of me and Karl, seems his parents have cleaned out his place. I don’t think I’m ready to look at it really…”

  “Wanna show me?”

  Lupa raised her eyebrows surprised at the suggestion. Dameon was smiling gently at her, she supposed he was curious, and maybe it would be easier with someone else around… “Uh… ok. But… maybe only a few.”

  He picked up the box for her and they sat next to each other on the couch. Lupa took a deep breath and opened the lid, certain she would be attacked by emotions. But… she was ok. And Dameon was right there.

  “This is a picture from out bonding ceremony… his parents liked taking a lot of photo’s, they waited outside for us.”

  “Look how young you are!” he exclaimed.

  Lupa laughed, they had only been fourteen. She had an awful cropped haircut, died in a hideous shade of green that clashed with the red formal attire. They were both grinning like idiots. Karl with an evil looking set of braces.

  Dameon pulled another photo out, her and Karl at seventeen, both in their brand spanking new jackets, pulling ridiculous looking fighting poses. Her hair had grown a fair bit then, and she’d gotten rid of the green.

  “You guys look hilarious,” Dameon said, bumping his shoulder to hers, “You two trying out for a Kung foo movie role?”

  She laughed, it felt good, but her eyes were damp. She blinked a few times to clear them. “Yeah, yeah, we were idiots.”

  A photo of them at dinner with Karl’s parents; a picture of Karl wearing a stupid hat she’d bought for him; a photo from when they’d both decided to dye their hair bright red, and neither of them pulled it off… Lupa was laughing, telling Dameon about each photograph, her heart ached but it was easier with Dameon by her side. She wasn’t falling apart, that must have been a good sign.

  Then there was a picture from a party at Karl’s parents, a too recent picture, and a picture she didn’t even know was taken. Karl had his arm around her on a couch, and she was falling asleep on his shoulder. Tears welled in Lupa’s eyes, she tried furiously to blink them away but they slid down her cheeks without a fucking care for what she wanted.

  Dameon put the pictures down and closed the box, wrapping his arms around her. She didn’t want to fucking cry. It wasn’t fucking fair. She shook in Dameon’s arms. Her heart heavy with sorrow, she felt like she couldn’t breathe properly. It wasn’t fucking fair.

  They sat like that for a long time, Lupa’s breath finally slowed, her tears dried up, but her heart still ached. She supposed that one day she wouldn’t hurt with the memories, but today was not that day. Moving away from Dameon, she tucked her hair behind her ear. Now she just felt embarrassed.

  “Sorry…”

  “Don’t be. I said I was here for you if you needed. Thank you for sharing this with me. You ok? Want me to get you anything?”

  Lupa lit a smoke and leaned back against the couch, her face felt tight from crying, she probably looked like a fucking mess. “Grab the vodka would you?”

  “Done. Got anything to mix it with in the fridge, or you going hard-core?”

  She smiled. “Check, I’m not sure. Either way works.”

  ⃝

  Lupa gasped, sitting up in bed. Not the fucking dream again. She looked down at the time; three am. Fucking great. She peered over to see Dameon passed out half on her bed, half on the floor. Getting up, she went into the kitchen for some water. Claws digging into her skin, teeth pressed against her breasts… fuck! The dreams probably had some sort of subliminal message, but she just needed the hot and heavy wolfblood dreams to fuck off.

  Lupa stood gazing out the kitchen window she lit a smoke, peering down at the wet street. A stray cat jumped on a car roof and sat on the top grooming itself. Lupa narrowed her eyes, was
someone in the car? Were they looking up at her… oh, fuck no!

  Grabbing the bone blade out of her jacket hanging on the wall, she marched downstairs. Sure, it may have nothing to do with her, but the only other people in her building was an old senile couple, and a skinny, nervous woman who was rarely home. Lupa doubted someone would be watching for them.

  Lupa burst out the front door and ran at the car before the person inside had a chance to react, pulling the door open she thrust her knife at them. “What the fuck are you… Brianna?”

  Brianna’s blue eyes were wide with horror for a moment, then she regained composure and scowled at Lupa. “What the fuck you doing, bitch?”

  “I’ll be asking the fucking questions here, you’re the one that has something to fucking answer for. What are you doing?”

  Brianna pushed the blade away from her face with a delicate, manicured finger. “I was just… hoping to come apologise to you. But then I saw Dameon was here so thought I’d wait til you guys weren’t fucking busy.”

  “Bullshit, no one comes around to apologise at three in the morning, and you could have waited til you saw me at headquarters. Now, what the fuck are you doing here?”

  Brianna sighed. “I was going to see if you went round to Grey’s house. I know you two are seeing each other, you slut! Bet you’re fucking-”

  Lupa grabbed Brianna out of the car by her hair, the dumb bitch screaming indignantly. “Leave me the fuck alone, Brianna.” Lupa shoved her away, Brianna stumbled and fell over, tears of mascara running down her face. “You come near me again with this bullshit, and I’ll report you. And you’ve already got the spell curse against your name. Fuck. Off.” Lupa stood glaring down at her for a moment, then turned to head back inside.

  “Wait…” Brianna gave a pitiful sob and got to her feet, “I’m… I’m sorry. I just got so mad, but I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry Little Red… But I love him! I don’t know what to do without him, can’t even you understand that?”