Chapter 8
I hafta admit. I don't know what good havin' Avi here is gonna do. I mean I get what B says about needin' at least one wolf ta have my back an' all. Plus it doesn't hurt that's she's an Alpha. I dunno all the circumstances but I know her pops was Alpha before her. She killed an Alpha ta be an Alpha an' I've seen her fight. Sorta. I guess I've seen her attack more than fight since she was a lil furry at the time. So yeah, I know she's a good person ta have for back up but I don't hafta like it. I'm not even sure what it is about her that pisses me off so much but I'm thinkin' I'll figure it out sooner rather than later when she gets here.
Brakes squealing in the parking lot lets me know Xander is finally here with our guest. I flick some ash in to a tray instead of the floor. Can't expect anyone ta treat the place better if I don't treat it better myself, right? I can hear their voices as they come in the backdoor. I don't hear everything they're sayin' but I catch enough ta know Xand is keepin' it all amicable. When they come through to the stage I gesture to someone to cut the music. The girl that was auditionin' for Angie's spot stops dancin' when the music goes off. "How old did you say you were again?"
She looks young, maybe too young. Could just be a baby face but we gotta be careful. I don't need any undue attention focused on us right now. The girl grabs her ID from her jeans on the edge of the stage an' hands it to me. I sit on one of the steps up to the stage an' check out the ID with my flashlight. Every responsible doorman has one. If it's not real it's a damn good fake. I hand it back but eye her warily. "What'd you say your name was?"
"Kadee." Right. Kadee. She starts ta fidget under my stare so I turn my attention ta Xander an' Avi.
"Gimme a minute ta finish up here, yeah? Hang out for a few." It makes the new girl nervous that more people are sittin' around watchin' her be all half naked but she's gonna have to get used to that if she wants a job. I don't have a good reason not to hire her, everything is the way it should be. But. I just can't put my finger on it. I turn back fully to Kadee, leanin' forward a lil as I hold out her ID between my two fingers. When she reaches out for it I pull it back too fast for her to take. "I dunno what you heard but this ain't the place ta find yourself. This is the place you come ta get lost. Which are you lookin' for?"
She plays the game well makin' me estimate her age a lil higher. Kadee lets her fingertips linger when she takes the ID from my hand. Subtle. "I know I can do this and I need the money. Whichever option best fits that." Interesting. Now I kinda wanna know how she heard about us. It'd be like chasing Alice down the rabbit hole ta try an' pin anyone down on who said what about this place. I eye her up an' down before noddin' once. It's against my better judgement ta give her the job but she moves well. She looks like the girl next door with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. She's the kind of girl all the guys are lookin' for.
I narrow my eyes at her but lean back enough ta stand an' walk away. Whatever reaction she wanted she didn't get it. She got a job an' that's enough. I call over my shoulder to her as I walk toward the table Avi is sittin' at. "You can start dancin' tomorrow. Tonight you can help serve."
"Thanks! Really. You won't regret it!" The thing is that I already regret it. I pull out a chair an' settle in to it, resting my forearms on the table top. Avi's lips quirk just barely in a smile. Guess she's not that thrilled ta be here either. We watch Kadee get dressed in silence until Xander brings two beers. "Thanks again. See you tonight." I give the girl a wave an' shake my head when the door shuts behind her.
"Keep an' eye on her. She never goes to the House." Xander nods before grabbin' a seat at the table. I give him a look and he huffs before getting up with a mutter. I shouldn't care that he's bugged but I stop him with a hand on his belly before he walks past. "Pack business. S'all." I don't owe him any explanations but I gave it anyway. He looks at me an' nods once an' just like that we're okay again. Avi watches me without blinkin' and it's creepin' me out.
"So that's Xander. He's not really what I expected. For a guy with only one eye he sure does see quite a lot." I hafta chuckle at that. My boy, X, always did see what everyone always spent so much time hidin'. The real person underneath the masks. "I think it's smart keeping an eye on that girl you just hired." I raise a brow at that.
"Yeah? There was somethin' about her. All the right looks, all the right words, but she doesn't move right." There are a lot of girls with real fucked up backgrounds that move different that the girls that are just normal fucked up. There's daddy issues and then there's screamin' nightmare fits an' violent reactive behavior. For all I know that's what I'm pickin' up on. "Just seems like the kinda girl that always seems ta be in the middle of some bullshit." Avi nods slowly before sippin' her beer.
"She wants fuck you." I snort at that an' sip my own beer. Who the fuck doesn't? I give the wolf a look an' she shakes her head. "Not just normal attraction, she was too, um, focused?" I make a gesture for her to go on because maybe that's what was buggin' me about the girl. "She just acted like she thought she knew all the right moves to get you. I don't know how to explain it."
I think I get it. "Could be 'cause fuckin' the boss means getting' benefits." Not in this case. I don't touch my dancers.
"You might be right. So. Your friend filled me in a little on the way here. Wolves like your Ama that can pull magic are extremely rare. That kind of power is only really found in the old pure blood lines. There used to be a time when whole families had powers but now that kind of magic has been lost. This Ama is one of the last true wolves. That's not power easily stolen."
I didn't think it could be stolen at all but that goes to show I know fuck all about magic shit. "Enzo never struck me as the powerful magic type. Strong wolf. Good fighter. But there's somethin' weak about him. If he becomes Alpha that pack is gonna get picked off one by one by other predators." He's not lookin' after his people he's lookin' after himself.
"Well if he had the ability to do this on his own he wouldn't need to steal from his grandmother. My guess is that someone is helping him siphon away Ama's life force. I grunt at that because it's just one more shadowy figure I gotta count as trouble. My list of enemies is getting' real damn long here.
"Gonna be real honest Avi. I dunno how me an' B can help you an' Oz when we got a knives at our backs too." I can tell she understands but I know they're really countin' on us. Hopin' for a fuckin' miracle. If Buffy weren't so damn good at savin' everyone no one would expect so much for her. Even dead we don't get left alone.
"One problem at a time Slayer." It's been a real long time since anyone has used that title for me. Even when I was just a Slayer I didn't get called one much. Guess that's fair. Wasn't so great at bein' a Slayer back then so I didn't deserve the title. I give her a mild look just tryin' ta figure her out. "The full moon is the night after next. Finding out who is helping the Pretender steal the Alpha's power is the only way to save her. If she can even be saved. I'm not really sure it's possible."
I swallow hard because even though I was balkin' at havin' her here I hoped that she could help me save Ama. These are the times when choices have ta be made and they're never good choices. No matter what. Somethin' ya love, someone ya claim, gets sacrificed. Because that's how the world works. "Findin' the source of Enzo's power will stop him from usin' it to become an Alpha though right?"
I dunno if it makes me feel better or worries me that she takes a minute ta answer me. "You may not need to find who so much as what. He has to be connected to his power benefactor somehow. If you can sever that connection he won't be able to keep drawing on that power to win the fight. It won't be fair exactly. He's already some power, it's his now. But you might actually stand a chance that way."
I snort at that. "Lotta good it will do me if I can't even make this stupid objection thing." She takes a sharp breath an' leans back in her chair. "Wha?"
"If the pack doesn't claim you and you make an objection, they'll kill you. That's breaking some very serious pack law, having an outsider present during a pack Challenge." So then how do I get them ta claim me? "Let me ask you something Faith. Honestly. What would you differently than the Pretender?" Psh. Everything.
"I'd start by pullin' all the weaker wolves close for lil while. Make sure no one is where I can't come find them. Least until word gets out that you don't fuck with mine." It's not any different than how I feel about our staff. It's not just my special people or B's special people, it's all our people. We hafta protect them all. "I dunno. I know jack shit about wolves. I just know what I'd do ta keep everything I got."
"That's how you get them to claim you." I just blink at her. I can't even talk at this Challenge for the Alpha but she expects me ta start movin' people around? In two days? "Protect what the pack treasures and I'll respect you and claim you as their own."
"Yeah because really I'm Jesus. Get the fuck out. No way they me start makin' those kinda moves." I'm not even a full wolf. A full wolf should be makin' these decisions. Danni should be doin' this but even as I think it I know that's as much a mistake as lettin' Enzo have it. She's got somethin' stronger in her than her brother but he's young, an' control isn't big with her. They'd eat her alive. "Don'cha think a wolf should be doin' this?"
Avi stares again without blinkin'. "The wolf doesn't make the Alpha, Faith." Now it's my turn ta stare without blinkin'. "It's the Alpha inside the human that makes the wolf worthy to lead."
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Usually I'm the one that's distracted and Faith is trying to get me to focus. Tonight I'm the one having to be all responsible and focused. And I don't like it. Our lives were so much more fun when I wasn't really in charge of anything but looking pretty and being scary. I flick my eyes to Faith who can't seem to take her eyes off our newest dancer/server. It's not even like she's watching because she enjoys the show, it's like she's trying to figure something out. I snap my fingers in front of her face, something that makes little miss smug face think she's won something by making Faith ignore me.
Oh please. Faith turns her attention to me. Finally. "Sorry B. What'cha think about the new girl?" I roll my eyes and really look at her. She's okay. Blonde. Small. Cutesy girl next door. She could almost have been me in high school. If I had ever slept with the entire football team and posted the video on YouTube. Which I did not. But she seems like that kind of girl. The kind of girl that sleeps with her best friend's boyfriend, and brother, and dad. All while smiling sweetly over a plate of fresh baked cookies. To be plain. She looks like the kind of girl Dawn always called psycho-slut.
"She wants to fuck you." I don't know why that's so funny to Faith but she cracks up. The new girl moves between the tables collecting empty glasses and orders like she's done it before. Somehow she's always just out of reach of a groping hand. "I don't like her."
"Me either." Well that's good to know. I want to be the only petite blonde in Faith's bed. Why bother with a doppelganger when she has me? I laugh when she pulls me in to her lap playfully.
"If you don't like her why did you bother to ask my opinion?" There is something entirely too comfortable about being all over Faith. The heat of her body laps at my skin and I give a happy sigh. I lift my jaw a little so she can nuzzle along it to my ear. The rasp of her voice so close sends shivers skittering down my spine.
"I'm not the only queen in this here hive, B." I remember a time when I used to wish that I would find what I have now with Faith. I wanted it in a nice tidy package with soulful eyes and earnest hands. I wanted someone not to look at me and only see The Slayer. I wanted a true equal. There was even a time when I thought that equal could be Faith. But well. That didn't turn out so well. And then I died. And then I died again. So. There was really never a good time to explore that.
I just never imagined the type of partner she could really be. I reach up and cup her face because it's in reach and that's one of my favorite things to do. Faith nuzzles in to my palm and it doesn't matter how busy it is, or how loud the crowd is. It doesn't even matter that the attention seeking little whore has swung by our table three times trying to get Faith's attention. None of that matters because my whole world is filling my vision, smiling down on me right now. What a cliché. I had to die to learn how to live and I had to hate her to really love her.
The seconds tic by and not one disgusted snarling peep from my demon. There's no conflict or internal debate. It is what it is and I'm content with that. My thumb glides along her soft lower lip and Faith nips at it playfully. The Psycho Slut is back and this time she clears he throat to make sure she has our attention. Or at least Faith's. "Can I get you guys anything? I don't mind taking care of you before my break."
The words are right but they sound like she's implying something other than getting our drinks. Faith starts to order but I give her thigh a squeeze. "Nah we're good. Make sure ya check with Xander if ya go outside on break. Rough neighborhood." I give the girl a look of pure smug disdain at Faith's dismissiveness and watch her walk away in confusion. I don't think she's used to not getting her way with people.
"You didn't tell me how it went with Avi this afternoon." Faith shrugs a shoulder and I have the urge to bite her until she stops being vague.
"She thinks Enzo has help. I think she's right." I haven't known Enzo as long as she has but the vibe I get off him is definitely follower not leader. "Still won't save Ama's life but I hafta think of the pack. I can't let him win." I wouldn't think any less of her if she said to hell with the wolves but I know she wouldn't do that. Faith might steal from you, she might stab you in the back, try to kill you, try to murder everyone you love, and she might even run away from you only to come running back. But she'll never really abandon you.
"How do you plan on doing that?" If my heart worked it would have skipped several beats at the heart stopping grin Faith gives me. The first time she smiled at me like that I followed her in to a nest of vampires down a dank, dark sewer. She could ask me to walk right out in to the sun and if she's grinning at me like that I just might do it.
"I gotta get Danni an' Ama outta that house an' away from Enzo." That makes sense. It's time for a little quid pro quo. The wolves have watched our business, and our backs. If it weren't for Ama there wouldn't even be any of this to watch over anyway.
She has a solid idea but I don't think Faith is taking everything in to consideration. "You know that if we stash them with their own pack that Enzo will find them. And probably kill them outright." Faith huffs a little while she thinks that one through.
"If we just bring them ta the House the pack might think we kidnapped them." And that would just be way more trouble than we can handle right now. But… there might just be a way. Maybe. I gesture to Xander and Avi across the room. They seem comfy with each other. Faith and I share a look at that but neither of us voices anything. Well not yet anyway.
When Avi takes a seat across from us I shift my weight so that I can face in her general direction. "Question. If word gets out among the wolves that they can find sanctuary with us, how many do you think will take us up on the offer?" Avi gives me a look that clearly says she didn't think I had a brain. Well. I do. So there.
"Depends on how powerful or not the individual wolf is. If they have their doubts about this Enzo guy but are too afraid to stand against him chances are they'll stick close to Ama and take the refuge offered." Good to know. Xander is already two steps ahead of me. I've never given him the credit he deserves for being good at what he does. Which is to say a little of everything.
"I can get Gus and Denna to clear out some of the upper level rooms. I don't think space will be an issue." Faith gently squeezes my hand to let me know she's on board. My head bobs in a short nod of acknowledgement. If the pack accepts her as one of their own after this than we still have a fighting chance of surviving this.
"Good idea Xand. You get a gold star." He smirks at me before heading off to make a call to Denna. Avi is watching me closely, I can feel her eyes on me. And if I can feel her eyes on me then Faith sure as hell can. I let all pretense of humanity fall from my expression and turn to stare blankly at her with the stillness of the dead. It always makes werefolk nervous. They don't know what to do with all that quiet nothing because they exist in a bubble of frenetic energy even when they aren't moving.
Faith clears her throat to break our stare down and I blink up at her. "We're gonna need a distraction ta keep Enzo and his wolves busy here while you an' me do our thing." I really love the sound of that and it shows when I flash her a fanged smile. "Think you can handle that Avi?"
"Oh I think I could maybe whip up a little frenzy. I'd make your exit look good so they don't think to look for you until its well over." She's a smart one, Avi is. I start to slink out of Faith's lap but her grip on me tightens, holding me in place oh so casually. Waiting. A flash of too white blonde catches my periphery a half second before Faith rears her head back and strikes, catching my mostly bare shoulder in a violent bite.
And it hurts in the best kind of way. Laughter bubbles up past my lips when she pulls back at just the right angle to expose the long line of her neck to me. I know we're being watched, that is the whole point after all, but I can't say I hate the attention. I almost lose myself in the feed, twisting to straddle her, arms around her in a grip she couldn't break if she tried. This lover's embrace is deadly but she doesn't struggle she laughs making the blood run faster, more than I can gulp down at a time.
I only pull back to kiss her, sharing the warmth and sweetness of her blood. Faith stands, lifting me roughly and I don't need the hint. I wrap my legs around her waist and let her worry about finding our way to the back office. I'm impressed that she can have her tongue that busy in my mouth and still manage to make it without running in to anything. Faith kicks the door shut behind her and leans back against it breathing hard. "Jesus, B. Ya almost drained me dead."
She's exaggerating. I give her my best innocent pout but it's ruined by the way I lick a fresh fat bead of blood off her neck. I make a hungry noise but manage to somehow not go back for seconds. "Pay back is a bitch, F. Bite me and I'll bite you back." We kiss again before I decide that one of us has to be the responsible one here. It might as well be me because I'm pretty sure Faith has all but forgotten why we came back here in the first place. She growls when I try to move out of her grip and I can't help the slight whimper I give at that. "Down girl. Work before pleasure." I wait until I hear the unmistakable sounds of tables crashing and the rising crescendo of angry shouts.
"After you, B." I smile at Faith as she adjusts her shirt still trying to catch her breath. That goes a long way in soothing my ego about whatever the hell her name is. Footsteps run past the backdoor before I poke my head out to check if the coast is clear. It is and I slip out in to the full inky black of night. Faith and I share a smirky side glance before she starts walking backward in front of me. We really should go sooner rather than later but I can't seem to stop watching her. "Catch me if ya can, B."
I watch that cocksure grin slide in to place a half second before she melts away in to the shadows in a way that makes me wonder who the demon really is here. "You should worry less about me catching you and more about what I'm going to do to you when I catch you." I take my time and let her get a head start. It's not like I don't know where she's going and truthfully I want her to start feeling secure before she's realized I have her. And I don't intend to let go.