Otto sat down in the chair beside Roxie once the noise in the kitchen settled enough to hear his thoughts. "Nope. We are staying right here."
She groaned.
"So, how are things going with Kell?" Otto asked her.
"Fine."
"Is that all?" He raised an eyebrow.
She turned to him. "Listen to me Otto Carvalletti, if you are asking if Kell and I sleep together, the answer is a resounding no."
Dark-Hunters and squires were never allowed to form sexual relationships. Apparently there was some fiasco hundreds of years ago that screwed it up for everyone else. But, because of it, they started a rule where Dark-Hunters could not have Squires of the same gender that they are attracted to. So, having Roxie as the squire for Kell, was exceptionally unusual.
But, it was a natural thing for them. Her father was Kell's squire. She grew up living in his house. And after her parents died when she was 11 years old, Kell refused to let the Squire's Council take her away. He raised her with the help of other squires that they sent over to help with her daytime appointments like school. Kell had become her father and she fought hard to be able to be his squire.
Yet, ever since she turned 18, everyone has been holding their breath that two of them were going to break that rule. Especially since Dark-Hunters were on a run of getting their souls back with the help of some loved one they find. But, Roxie only ever looked at Kell as a father figure, as her friend and someone to protect. Nothing more. Of course, she was more than happy to help Kell get his soul back if he wanted it back. Just as long as it did not involve sex.
Otto glared at her. "You know the penalties if you cross those lines with your Dark-Hunter. Right?"
"Jumping on the crazy train here! He is my father! Eww!" She screwed up her face at the thought of such a thing.
"I just have to check. It's nothing personal Roxie."
That sparked her anger. "Nothing personal? Really? Then why are we here." She demanded.
"Because you need to learn to deal with your past Roxie. You are no help to anyone if you let your emotions cloud your judgement."
"I am a squire to a Dark-Hunter, not a babysitter to a bunch of animals." She stood up to storm off.
Otto grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?" He questioned.
"To powder my nose." She pulled her arm free and headed to the restroom.
"Is she seriously a squire?" Fang asked Otto.
Otto nodded.
"I didn't think that was possible." He growled, then asked. "What is her problem?"
Otto shrugged. "That is her baggage to deal with or share."
Fang eyed Otto. "If her baggage causes us problems, then we have problems with her."
Otto looked the wolf over cooly. "Just give her a chance."
Roxie washed her face. Was Otto seriously making her stay in this place? Does he even know why she doesn't want to be there? Shaking her head. Of course he does. He is doing this on purpose. He is doing this because he is harder on her for being a Kostas.
Her father was the last male of the Kostas family, the original family to hold the honor of being Blood Rites Squires. She is the last of the line. So, of course, Otto would test her harder than the others. The Carvalletti family is much larger and more powerful now. That has to be the reason. It is some family power play to make her give up and not continue on.
She wouldn't let him scare her away. She had to stay. She had to do what he asked so that she could get her induction to the group that her family started. For her father.
With renewed determination, she came flying out of the restroom, only to run into one of the bartenders.
She gave a low growl, almost inhuman, toward the man. No, not a man, an animal, she reminded herself.
But, he growled back and pushed her against the wall. "Look little girl, if you have a problem with us then you had better just get the hell out. Bar policy 'Come in peace or leave in pieces.' Got it?" That single act sent shivers through her body. She could feel his body heat. Smell his skin. She wanted to nuzzle her face into his neck and taste him. Her eyes widened as she reacted to him in ways that she was completely unprepared for.
Regaining her senses, "I am not the one assaulting anyone." She barked back.
He looked her over. "No, just the one insulting everyone with your disdain. What in the hell did we do to you?"
"I hate bears." She growled deeper, filled with rage.
He didn't flinch. "News flash honey. You are a bear. Just like most of us here."
Roxie shoved him back. "I am nothing like you." Then she pushed past him to return to her seat next to Otto.
"So, what is it that you have deemed as my final task before I am initiated." Roxie glowered at Otto.
Otto arched a brow. "Do you think that you are too high above me to take orders?"
She did not answer. She was too pissed off. The bear, yes, he said us, so he was a bear… he had set her completely on edge. And he knew. He knew that she was a bear. How? No one knew. Not even Otto.
Otto continued. "No one gets a free ride. You have to face your personal issues just like we have all had to. And this is yours. So, your task is to hang out here from 4:00 pm until whatever time that Kell really needs you, every night until you come to terms with your baggage. I will tell you this. The Peltier family are not the ones you hate, but they will protect themselves and their family if you cross any lines."
He put on a pair of sunglasses and paused. "One more thing. If you leave before Kell actually is out on patrol and has a need for you, or you get yourself kicked out of the bar, then you fail the task and don't become a Blood Rites Squire. And that would really suck for you." Then the man left.
Roxie groaned. No wonder why Kell hated Otto. And here, she thought it was just because Otto was friends with Valerius, who Kell hates even more. Birds of a feather, she guessed.
Colt was furious. How could the girl deny that she was a bear? He could smell her from the moment that she walked in the door. Her anger, her contempt, the denial. And he heard that she really was a squire to the Dark-Hunters?
Were's are not supposed to be squires. That is the point of the whole "human" servant thing… that they are human. And if she is denying it that much, her human form must be her natural form. Otherwise, it would be too much work to try to maintain in daylight, let alone deny.
Yeah, being a Were-anything was no picnic. But, there is just too much too it all to deny it outright. First, there is the whole issue of not being completely human, or Apollite, or anything else. Then, there is fact that Were's are sorcerers, they come into their magic once they hit puberty. Oh, and let's not forget the dangerous and challenging world of Were politics.
Shit, Colt's own father was killed because he was a Kategaria mated to an Arcadian. Unfortunately, his parents were bonded as well as mated. It is a joining of life forces that meant that when his father died, his mother was supposed to die as well. The only thing that saved her at all was that she was pregnant with Colt. So, she sought the help of the Peltier family knowing that once she gave birth, she would die as well and leave him orphaned. If it was not for the Peltiers, he would be dead now. They took him in and raised him.
And even though Papa Bear Peltier was Arcadian as are several of their children, Mama Lo was Kategaria and had a seat on the Omegrion, the ruling council for the Were's. So, they kept the Arcadian side of the family secret up until Mama and Papa died just a few years ago. Politics forced them into secrecy. Politics caused Colt to be abandoned. Yet, despite it all, they took him in anyway. An orphaned Arcadian bear, raised by a publicly Kategaria family. The strength and commitment of family by both his biological parents and his adopted family to see beyond politics and do what was best for their family and their love.
And this girl had the nerve to scowl at them all and deny that she was even a bear?
She had his brain all twisted in knots. But, more than that, she had his blood boiling... not just in anger.
The scent of her hung in the air and it made his body rock hard. He ground his teeth in frustration as he tried to return to work. Screw it. He needed a cold shower. So, he left the bar.
Roxie moved to a corner table to get comfortable for a while. At least there, she could watch what was going on and not have someone sneak up behind her. Then, she quickly texted Kell, begging him to come up with an excuse to get her out of there.
No reply. Ugh!
After the waitress passed by several times, she finally stopped and told Roxie that she needed to order something or leave so that they could free up the table. And, fearing that Otto would take that as "getting kicked out", Roxie relented and ordered a piece of pie and a soda still sealed. She did not trust them not to put something in the food. The pie at least was in a cabinet where she could watch it get dished and brought over to her.
"Come on Kell, bail me out here." She grumbled to herself.
It was an hour after sunset, when Kell approached Sanctuary. He was 6'6", very muscular, and had his head shaved where just the faintest of growth showed his hair to naturally be black. He sauntered up to the bear who was supervising the door.
The bear was leaning against the brick wall with his arms crossed as he watched everyone that entered. But, he straightened up when he saw Kell. Preternatural entities generally had a sense of each other in one way or another.
"You are new Dark-Hunter, so I am going to be polite and ask if you are familiar with the rules here?" The bear asked.
Kell nodded. "You won't tell me if there are daimons around. And the whole come in peace… something or other. Yeah, Ash told me. But, I am not here to hunt. I am here for your pissed off squire problem."
That got his attention. "Well then, Dev Peltier." He extended his hand. "Welcome to Sanctuary."
"Dev?" Kell asked, and the other man nodded. Kell smiled. "It is nice to finally meet the man that got Samia to cool her heels. Names Kell." The Dark-Hunter shook his hand. "So, just how much of a problem has she been?"
"Sam or your girl?" Dev laughed.
"Roxie. I already know the handful that Sam could be." Dev raised an eyebrow. "We are just friends bear. I am not an ex, and I have no interest in trying to snake your wife."
Dev nodded hesitantly. "Roxie has been sulking in the corner for a couple of hours. Only eats pie and soda from the can. Like she does not trust us not to spit in her food. She is not starting anything, but the general contempt of everyone is wearing thin on our hospitality."
Kell sighed. "I was hoping that she would at least try to open up here. Has Sam seen her yet?"
"No. But wanna clue us in on whatever experiment that you set off in our bar?" Dev questioned.
Kell tilted his head as he glance at Roxie in the corner to make sure she was alright. "Did your family ever hear about an incident back in 2001 of a family of bears from Alaska killing a couple in a beach house down near Corpus Christi?"
Dev's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, we were part of the hunting party to track down those bears after the Omegrion ruling."
"The people that died were Roxie's parents."
"Oh shit!"
"I don't know if you know the whole story. But, please understand that this is personal and not many know the details. We would like to keep it that way. At least until she is ready to share. However, she needs to face her past and come to terms with who she really is."
Dev sighed. "I will talk to the family and see if we can mellow some of the edge off of everyone's impatience."
"Thanks." Then Kell walked into the bar to try to sooth Roxie's agitation.
Roxie saw him. "There you are! I can't leave until you give me something to do. Please give me something to do!"
Kell smiled and forced Roxie to sit back down while he sat next to her. "No."
Her eyes were wide. "What? Why? You are siding with him? But, you hate Otto and Valerius."
Kell wrapped an arm around Roxie. "No, monster, he is the one siding with me. And, for this, I can over look who his friends are for the time being."
Her indignation and anger took over. "How could you! You did this to me? You understand it more than Otto. At least, I could hope that he did not fully understand, but you… you… ugh!" She hit him in the chest. And he just laughed, then pulled her into his arms and ran his hands over her back while she broke down into tears.
"It's alright Roxanne. You know that I would never hurt you. But, this has to happen little monster. You are coming to an age where you won't be able to hide or ignore who you are any more. And this is a part of your life you must come to terms with before you fully commit to being Blood Rites."