I don't own Blood and Chocolate, or Twilight.
But I do own these characters and more vampire and werewolf stories at: winged516(dot)tripod(dot)com
"Burning of the Midnight Lamp" by Jimi Hendrix
"And soon enough time will tell
About the circus and the wishing well
And someone who will buy and sell for me
Someone who will toll my bell
And I continue to burn the midnight lamp
Alone"
Jonas:
"Get rid of her?" my primal side voiced. My jaw immediately clenched tightly. The beast had been quiet for many, many months now. Layla's presence had been a huge help. Now at their threatening appearance, it had felt the need to return for some reason. The two werewolves were taller and older than me, naturally. Their cars gave away that they were from the council.
I stood outside my truck inhaling through my nose, while my primal side said what it needed to.
"Kill them. We do not need to entertain the idea," it said waving them off.
"Welcome back," I said sarcastically to the growling threats. Layla was peeking through the window with a worried look. I smiled to her to assure her things were fine, but there was no fooling her.
"My name is John C. This is my partner Adam H.," the other one introduced in a British accent. I nodded to them both.
"If you want to discuss my aunt, now is the perfect time. Layla knows all about us. Marille exposed our existence to her," I said. John and Adam had identical looks of confusion on their faces. This was risky, for them really, not so much Layla, because humans who knew of the werewolf were never left alive. However, if they so much as looked at her funny, I could not be held accountable for my actions.
I challenged either of them standing protectively in front of her.
"We'd like to discuss the death with her as well then," Adam decided. I considered denying them this. Layla didn't need to be involved in legal matters outside of her species. But there was no denying her involvement in the ordeal.
I stepped aside and opened the truck door. Before I could so much as offer her a hand, Layla hopped out and stood beside me. She greeted both of them with a small smile.
"Layla Rose Reigh," John said using her full name, which only rose a flicker of a response from her. Apparently he'd been doing his research on us. "You know what we are?"
"Yes," Layla responded confidently. Obviously my worry hadn't sparked any concern for her own safety. Either that or she wasn't showing. Though werewolves had an air of warning around them, she had full confidence in my interference should I feel the need.
"Do you know the punishment of your knowledge of our existence?" Adam asked formally. Layla threw me a quick glance to make sure I was giving no hints.
"Yes," Layla said.
"Good," John replied and turned to me. "You have been charged with the death of Marille Carter. Was she a member of your pack?"
"Not technically. She separated herself as a stray," I answered.
"And do you deny the charge?"
"No," I said.
"And was the use of silver involved?" This made Layla and I look at one another. Before I could answer, Layla spoke up.
"I did," she said bravely. My eyes went wide and my throat tightened. My muscles tensed waiting for any moment to spring on any threat of Layla's. She must have seen this. She let down her guard the smallest bit to quickly amend, "But it was in self defense. I didn't know about the whole silver thing and the effect it had on werewolves at the time."
"That does not excuse the illegal use of silver in an assault against a fellow werewolf," Adam said.
"She's not a werewolf. She doesn't need to abide by our laws," I immediately argued.
"Listen, Carter," Adam said stepping forward. The growls underneath my subconscious were of no concern. Even if I was talking to the council, no one could get away with threatening Layla in any sort of way. "Your father has got some serious connections. Somehow, I have no idea how, he has convinced the council not to press charges in killing the human. However, that makes her in the loop, which means she does have to follow our laws."
My brows went up in surprise. The council was going to let a human in on our knowledge? I'd never heard of this happening before. They were going to let her live! There went an immense weight off my shoulders. Layla tried to look like she was following along, but I knew I was going to do some explaining later.
"You are both liable for felonies," John reminded me. "We'll have to meet in court. I feel I must warn that the death penalty is being considered.
"What?" Layla blurted, inching closer to me.
"However, if you killed them both now and disposed of the bodies no one will ever have to know you ever received this news," the beast suggested innocently.
"We both acted out of self defense," I argued.
"Do you know anyone that can vouch for that?" I looked at Layla. We'd both decided that the Gideons were going to remain unmentioned in this whole ordeal. We more than owed Michael for disobeying his Alpha and we were both pretty sure he was going to legally kill Dr. Gideon as soon as he turned twenty-one and gained Alpha status.
"No," Layla ended up answering for me, in case my hesitation was considering betraying them getting charges against them as well.
"Then we will have to advise both of you not to leave town. Also we feel the need to give you a warning," Adam said. I narrowed my eyes further. "You've both been issued death threats. The individual did not not how to contact you, so he forwarded it through the council through some shady sources."
"Who is threatening us?"
"Marille's mate," John answered. Layla and I exchanged looks. Marille had killed all the humans she was attracted to. How did she have a mate? "We don't know who he is. We just know that is how he's identified himself. Also, we should warn you, he's human." I almost smiled. What exactly was a human going to do to a werewolf, especially a Lone Wolf like me. Layla looked more concerned than me. I made it a point to console her later. She had nothing to worry about.
"Thank you, for your notification," I said by way of exiting. I opened the door for Layla, "Now if you don't mind, we have to be home."
"Certainly. We will contact you for the time and place for your hearing. Your presence is mandatory. Any avoidance is death," John reminded.
"Don't worry. We'll be there," I grumbled moodily as Layla climbed in the truck. I entered after her. Adam gave the slightest of nods and then they both returned to their cars. I put the key back in the ignition and let the truck roar to life. Layla was quiet as both council affiliated cars turned back towards town.
"What just happened?" Layla asked.
"We've been served," I said.
"Yeah, I got that part, but Marille didn't have a mate. Did she?" she asked.
"I don't know. I was under the impression she couldn't control herself so she ended up killing them all," I said. Layla allowed herself a shiver.
"Okay, so what do we do?" Layla asked.
"We go see my father," I said. Layla grimaced. It was one of the first real responses out of fear I'd seen from her. "And, yes, not even a death threat is getting you out of this dinner." Layla smirked in my direction.
"Damn..." she grumbled playfully. How she wasn't terrified by the council members we'd just run into, I have no idea. That was one of the beautiful things about Layla. She hardly ever let emotions take over her observation. She took everything in strides the way I've never seen anyone, werewolf or human, take them.
We arrived at the house. Everyone had arrived. This was supposed to be a very important dinner, however I wasn't so sure about it now. One hand was on the steering wheel, the other fidgeted with the object in my pocket. I parked around the other side of the house, since Cindy had taken my usual spot and walked with Layla up to the porch.
She took in a deep breath and tried to be discreet in exhaling all that air. I smiled at her. When it came to my family this was not one of those things she was so brave about. I couldn't blame her. I was the same way at her house. I opened the door and made a point to yell at everyone later. Because they were all there waiting to pounce on her.
"This is Layla?" cried Cindy.
"What a beautiful girl!" exclaimed Bree.
"You two are going to make some wonderful pups!" Rain said. I winced at the last remark. All three of them ran to Layla and took her into a hug that she was too small for. Poor Layla stiffened and smiled nervously until the females let her go. Then I pulled her to my side.
"Stop it," I told them.
"Aw! Look how protective he is of her!" Rain said. Tommy and Katrina were snickering in the corner. I shot them a look. Katrina stopped, but Tommy couldn't contain himself. My father was among the crowd. Layla seemed to have been frozen in fear. I had to nudge her to get her moving.
"Layla, this is my dad, Mark Carter," I introduced. My father was a taller, firmer version of myself. He always had a classic actor look about him, like Erol Flynn. Layla snapped herself out of the shock of being affectionately mauled by three females and extended a hand.
"Layla, come now. We're family," he said and hugged her as well. Layla accepted the hug looking confused. My eyes went wide. My dad shot a look at me.
'You didn't?' he mouthed. I shook my head.
"We both need to talk to you," I told him. "We just ran into the council." My father went to all business mode, displaying no emotion. He released Layla who was at my side instantly.
"Let's speak in the parlor. Thomas," he said leading the way down the hallway. The happy greetings and affectionate cooing over my human girlfriend came to an abrupt stop. Tommy came along, as his time to take over the pack grew nearer he needed all the observation he could get. Katrina whispered something to him, before he left, he nodded and continued.
The parlor had a fire in the fireplace. There were sofas and tea trays on the smaller tables. Tommy sat in a spare chair, my father in the armchair that sat like a throne in front of the fire, and Layla and I on the white loveseat couch.
"They found out about Marille," I said. This was going to be hard, talking about the demise of my father's younger sister. I saw my father's brows raise in interest. "I'm being charged with murder. Layla is being charged with the assault in silver." He nodded slowly.
His glance turned to Layla. She gave a nervous smile.
"It shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as you go to court," he said.
"You think so?" I asked him. He nodded.
"We have police records of your disappearance. Testimonies within the pack are not vallid, but they can see for themselves the house in Chicago," he said. "Marille was not right. We all knew that. We can probably link her to plenty other suspicious deaths. Including your sister." Layla winced, I double checked to make sure she was alright with a side glance.
"So... This is no big deal?" Layla spoke up, her voice smaller than usual.
"It shouldn't be," my father agreed.
"What about the death threat?" she spoke up.
"Death threat?" he echoed.
"A threat against Layla and I was made. It was forwarded to us through the council. It said it was Marille's mate. Her human mate," I said. My father pondered over that for a moment. He sighed.
"Well, when the fool makes his attempt, be sure to try and not to kill him. You don't need anymore deaths on your record," he said confidently. Layla's brow furrowed.
"You're not worried about him?" she asked. My father chuckled.
"No offense, but one human does not pose a threat to one werewolf. As a society maybe, but this fool hasn't a chance against Jonas," he said.
"What about Layla?" Tommy suggested. "Marille proved that as long as Layla's in custody Jonas can't do anything. Shouldn't we keep an eye on her." My father's brows went up. He nodded at Tommy.
"Excellent point. She'll need to be on guard twenty-four seven," my father said. "Jonas, you need to stay with Layla. Never leave her side. I'm not going to have another catastrophe like the one we had before." Layla and I both almost spoke up at the same time, I closed my mouth seeing that if her courage to speak up was improving she should speak.
"As much as I'd love to have Jonas around as much as possible, I still have a human life. My parents aren't going to be too fond of having Jonas spend the night at my house," she said.
"He's going to have to. This is not negotiable. If you are in danger, then my son is in danger," my father said firmly. Layla looked away shyly again, now that she'd been overruled by the Alpha. She was not about to argue with an Alpha werewolf. A smart move on her part. "Jonas, you're just going to have to keep yourself well concealed. We have better senses, speed, and stregth to aid you.
Besides, you're at that house all the time anyway. It shouldn't be too different."
"Fine," I agreed. My father slapped both hands down on the armrest.
"Very good, then. We'll make this dinner quick and painless. It's already getting late," he said.
Paulette:
A sharp ring tone snapped me awake. I opened my eyes. It was still dark. I heard the snapping of a phone flipping open and then, like someone turned down the volume, it faded back to regular volume. I remembered Tav saying that I could have temporary enhanced abilities, that was the only explanation for my knee-to-groin catastrophe and the way I heard the music from all the way in the basement.
"Ben's Blood Emporium. We bleed 'em, you feed 'em," Ben answered. "Oh, hey Tav. And yes, I'm going to keep answering my phone like that...Yeah... How much?... HOW MUCH?... You're kidding me. Well how much should I-... I know. I'm not going to take that much from her. We need her alive, you maniac... Well, it's first come first serve. Raise the prices to lower demand... Okay... Bye."
I sighed. Business deals. I couldn't believe I was a product to be sold. I turned over in bed just as Ben clapped his phone shut.
"Go back to sleep," Ben ordered.
"How much did you make?" I asked him.
"After Tav's cut? 950,000."
"Dollars!?" I shrieked before I could remind myself to be quiet. Ben shushed me. I couldn't believe that little vial I'd seen before had made that much money.
"No, in bananas. Of course dollars!" he said. I sat up in bed and turned on my light on the nightstand. Ben winced with the sudden light change.
"That's insane," I said.
"That's business. And in celebration, I've decided to get you something," he said his mood suddenly lightening. I was immediately excited.
"A Ferrari!"
"Dream on," Ben huffed. "Besides, how are you going to explain to your parents your magically obtaining a car?"
"Who cares? I want a car!" I giggled, still excited from the news. Ben had an equally ridiculous grin as well. He leaned back in my armchair and smiled at the ceiling.
"You know, its only going to get better from here. That was just the sample. And demand is so high we have no choice but to jack up the prices. I'm going to have a swimming pool of gold coins like Scrooge McDuck. You know that huge mansion up by the meadow?"
"The Carter House?" I said.
"Yeah. I'm going to kick those freaks out and lavish in it. No stuck up old bats in Danwell to bother me, no more living in a basement. I've got it made, my little morsel," he said. My heart sank. He seemed to have heard it plummet. In the bad light I felt my expression go blank. Suddenly reality hit me like a brick wall. "Well, you're coming too, of course."
"Am I?" I asked him suspiciously.
"Well, yeah. Like I said, I have to protect my investment. If you still want a college degree or whatever you can just get one online or go to the community college in town," he said. I raised my brows. He wanted me to do what?
"And what if I want to go out of state?" I questioned. The tension grew. Ben and I stared at one another for a moment. He looked at the wall and then back at me.
"State schools have online classes," he said.
"And if I get a job that's out of town?"
"Well... You can work from home. Or you know what? Forget it! We'll be making enough money for me to support you. You can move in with me. You can have a nice luxurious life in a mansion. We'll have an eternity of goofing off, swimming in a pool of gold coins, and entertaining humans with eccentric parties. Doesn't that sound fun?" Ben said still grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was he even listening to himself?
"Maybe for a little while. And what do you mean you'll support me? MY blood is the one that just made a freakin' small fortune. Also, your little fantasy world has a few flaws in it," I said. The grin started to slowly fade. His eyes squinted angrily in my direction.
"Oh does it?" he sneered.
"Yeah! First of all, I'm not going to stay in Danwell the rest of my life just because you want me to. Second, you might be able to hang around for an eternity, but I'm mortal! I have a time limit! Thirdly, what about my family? What about taxes and the government? Are you going to launder the money? What if I want to get married and my fiancee isn't too keen on the idea of living with a vampire? What if I want to have kids?" I snapped. A darkness flickered across Ben's face. He snorted through his nose and looked at the ground shaking his head slowly.
"Geez! Ben, didn't you think this through? This... blood selling thing? Was it just a whim? Did you do any planning at all?" I accused.
"You're such a buzz kill," Ben said lamely, unable to think of any other response. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How could he stalk me and live in my house without thinking about these sort of consequences? And now he was calling me names?
"And you're an idiot! How about a reality check?" I said. Ben slapped his hands on either armchair with a loud thump. He picked himself up to his feet.
"You know what? Forget it. I'm not buying you squat," he said piercing his dangerous orange eyes at me.
"I don't want anything from you. And don't even think about taking any blood from me tonight. I don't want you anywhere near me," I said. He grinned mischievously.
"No problem. I already took some from you when you were asleep." He took a vial from his pocket and shook its sloshing contents. I started to question him. Then I felt something I hadn't noticed before. I sat up and rolled up my sleeve. There was a plain band aid on my skin. My teeth ground in irritation.
"Get out of my room, asshole," I whispered harshly through clenched teeth.
"Gladly," he said grabbing his guitar by the neck. With a light breeze and a blur he disappeared from my room, door opening and slamming shut.