Chapter 6
Michael walked slowly through the big house that had suddenly become very empty since Kane went MIA. His only company now was Scrappy, who always came and went as he pleased. The little fur ball was currently following him around the house waiting for Michael to sit down somewhere.
When Michael finally took a seat on the sofa, Scrappy wasted no time in hopping up on his lap.
“So, what do you think, Dust Bunny?” Michael asked feeling more alone than he had in years.
Scrappy looked up at him with such an adorable expression that Michael couldn’t help but laugh. He was missing Damon as well… though he had to admit that he was missing Alicia just a little bit more than his brother.
Unable to take the silence of the house, Michael stood up and went to get his trench coat. Scrappy followed after him again, hopping up and down around Michael’s feet like a pogo stick. When Michael opened the door, Scrappy ran out ahead of him to the end of the walkway and waited by the street.
Michael locked the door and smiled when the Yorkie fell in step beside him. He could feel the malevolent energy in the air but ignored it for the time being. It was daylight and that alone was enough to make the most wicked of things hide and bide their time until the dark of night gave them back their freedom. Scrappy stopped occasionally to growl at something before trotting back after Michael.
It wasn’t long before Michael realized where he was going and was soon standing in front of Night Light. He could feel Micah’s energy inside the building along with another that he was very familiar with. A bright smile lit up his face as he strode up to the doors and pushed them open.
Once again Scrappy ran on ahead of him and right out onto the dance floor where Micah and Alicia were going through what looked like a knockdown, drag out brawl between the two of them.
“Is this a private sibling rivalry, or can anyone join in?” Michael asked.
Micah and Alicia stopped in mid-step and looked over at Michael. Alicia released a loud squeal and ran full tilt at Michael, hopping up on him to wrap her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, nearly toppling the vampire over.
“She conned me into teaching her how to fight,” Micah explained, though silently he knew Alicia could wipe the floor with him if she tried harder. He cocked an eyebrow at the way Alicia had wrapped herself around Michael. Someone was going to have to explain to his sister that she wasn’t five anymore and doing that to a grown man was hard on them in more ways than one.
Michael nearly groaned at the full body contact Alicia had granted him. She was Damon’s mate now and to stay in such close proximity for too long was sure to make Damon more than angry. He mentally smirked and wrapped his arms tightly around Alicia’s waist, making sure to press his face into her hair as he did so.
Micah strode over and reached out, grabbing Alicia by the waist. He gently lifted and pulled her away from Michael enough to set her feet on the floor and loosen her arms from around the vampire’s neck.
“That’s not the choke hold I taught you a few minutes ago.” He tried to make a joke out of it even though he could see the odd look in Michael’s eyes. It wasn’t a look of which Damon would have approved.
“On the contrary, that was a pretty good choke hold,” Michael laughed, suddenly in a much better mood. He lowered his lips to Alicia’s cheek and gave her a quick kiss making sure to linger for just a second too long, “It’s good to see you.”
Scrappy barked up at Micah then rose up on his hind legs next to the cougar. Micah grinned and kneeled down to rub the small dog behind the ears.
“You brought more company with you,” Micah said.
Alicia had perked up when she heard the bark and backed away from Michael. She couldn’t control the blush that rose up on her cheeks when she felt his hands slide away from her waist.
“You were teaching Alicia how to fight?” Michael asked ignoring Alicia’s reaction. That was the last thing he needed… but that didn’t mean he couldn’t flirt a little bit.
“Yes,” Micah growled. “I didn’t think the world would get to this point that I would have to teach my little sister to defend herself… much less fight back.”
Michael tilted his head just a little as he stared at Alicia, “with the right training, no one would ever be able to hurt her again. That sounds like a wonderful plan to me. Mind if I join in?”
Micah smiled and nodded, “Help yourself.”
*****
Boris sat at one of the tables in the main area of the club Love Bites with a deep frown on his face. Titus sat across from him with a matching expression with a mug of beer in front of him.
“All of them?” Titus asked.
Boris swallowed down his own beer before setting it on the table with a loud sounding thunk. “Because of the massive amount of demons that have been spotted on the streets, most of the clans have decided to make themselves scarce with the exception of Lucca and his werewolves. They’ve returned to the outer edges of the city and some of them are going as far as Mount Mitchell.”
Titus nearly choked on his beer. “That’s on the other side of the country.”
“It’s also the highest point east of the Mississippi,” Boris said. “About half the clans came out of the forests surrounding that area. They don’t want anything to do with what’s about to go down here in L.A.… and I can’t really say I blame them for returning home.”
“Do they actually know what’s going on?” Titus asked.
Boris shook his head, “Not really, but there have been too many demon sightings for their liking.”
“And what do you want to do?” Titus sighed wondering if he’d come back to this city for nothing.
“I’ll stay here with you and the rest of our clan,” Boris answered. “I don’t fear what might happen to me… I do fear what might happen if we don’t stay. This is our new turf and I find it a bit disturbing that the other clans are so willing to give up their territory.”
The front door of the club opened and both men turned their attention toward the visitor. Titus raised an eyebrow when Damon stepped in and closed the door behind him.
“Good evening.” Titus said without getting up from his seat. Why stand up when there was a risk of the vampire knocking him down again… depending on his mood. He couldn’t stop himself from rubbing a hand across his chin remembering the last punch.
Boris kept silent wondering why the vampire was here. He’d learned long ago to avoid the creatures that were stronger than him as much as possible.
The age-old story about vampires and werewolves constantly waging war on one another was a load of bull. It was the byproduct of some ancient human’s imagination that had happened to see one of their kind battling against a vampire-like creature a few centuries before… absolutely no truth to the legend at all.
That had been a soulless vampire… not the same breed as Damon and Michael. However, that didn’t stop werewolves from staying out of their way.
“What can I do for you?” Titus asked after Damon approached the table.
Damon quickly tossed a briefcase on the table in front of them. “I’m here to make you an offer you would be foolish to refuse.”
Titus quirked an eyebrow, “What kind of offer and what do I have that you would want?”
Damon unlocked the briefcase and opened it before turning it around to reveal a large sum of money neatly stacked inside. “I want to buy Love Bites.”
Boris looked up at Damon in confusion. “Why do you want this place?”
“Does it matter?” Damon asked as he narrowed his gaze warningly.
Titus looked at the briefcase before reaching out and closing the top. “There’s more in there than this place is worth.”
Damon smirked, “I’m feeling generous and besides, this won't even put a dent in my pocket.”
“This could be the chance for that fresh start you’ve been wanting,” Boris pointed out. “And since we are down in numbers we won’t be able to open the club anyway so why keep it.”
“Micah did offer for us to come and stay with him at Night Light,” Titus said thoughtfully then looked up at the vampire. “How long before you want us out?”
Damon gave Titus his best poker face. “Long enough for all of you to grab your personal belongings and get out.”
Titus almost laughed at Damon’s blunt attitude but hey… with all the money in that case, Damon probably could have bought all of Rodeo Drive without batting an eyelash.
“I’ll go get the deed,” Titus said at last before rising up from his seat and heading into his office.
*****
“It feels strange driving now,” Titus said as he and Damon stepped out of Titus’ car. “There’s not as much traffic after last night’s earthquakes. I guess the humans have decided to take the day off.”
Damon nodded as he straightened his jacket, “I saw a news broadcast last night where the authorities have issued voluntary evacuations for fear of the main fault line finally giving way.”
Titus whistled, “That’s a scary thought. The big one hits Los Angeles and in the pandemonium… the demons run amuck. Hollywood would have a field day making that into a movie later.”
Damon nodded but something in his gut told him there was more to that news broadcast than just a warning. Los Angeles had experienced earthquakes, before but for the authorities to issue an evacuation of this magnitude was out of character.
They walked through the front doors of Night Light and froze at the sight before them. Alicia went flying through the air at Michael, who caught her in mid-flight and stumbled back a few steps.
Damon’s eyes narrowed when he saw Michael’s hand on her ass and his hands fisted tightly. He saw red when Michael lowered his face until he was nose to nose with Alicia and started whispering something dangerously close to her lips.
“Hmm, they look like they’re having fun,” Titus said with a grin and took a step forward. “I want in on this.”
“Like hell!” Damon snarled.
Titus blinked and Damon was on the other side of the room with his hand around Michael’s neck holding him against the wall. Amazingly, Alicia was safely standing in the spot Michael had been standing in a split second before.
The breath was knocked from Michael’s lungs and he quickly took hold of the hand squeezing him around his throat. Looking into Damon’s angry eyes, he inwardly smirked knowing what he must have seen when he walked in.
“Damon stop!” Alicia yelled. “He was only helping me out.”
“Helping you out my ass,” Damon growled as he glanced over his shoulder at her. “He had his hands all over you.”
Alicia shot him a glare and crossed her arms over her chest. “How the hell else do you expect him to teach me how to fight if he can’t touch me?”
“And do you actually think I’d let someone besides you manhandle my sister?” Micah demanded. “What the hell do you take me for?”
Damon blinked in surprise and jerked his gaze back to Michael’s. He slowly released his hold on his brother.
Michael slumped over with his hands on his knees trying to learn how to breathe again. He was glad he couldn’t manage it because if he’d had the breath in him, then he’d been laughing his ass off at Damon.
“You are such a jerk,” Alicia grumbled as she walked up to Michael and placed a soothing hand on his back, glaring at Damon the whole time.
Damon sighed and realized he still had a long way to go before his jealousy was anywhere near under control.
Seeing her like that with Michael brought back memories of the now faceless woman they had both fought over and killed in their stupidity. It was as though time had run backwards and he was seeing it in slow motion. But that was the past… this was the present and both brothers had learned a very valuable lesson… a lesson that finally surfaced after decades of sibling war.
“I bought Love Bites and shut down the club,” Damon said after a moment. “It is open for the family to move in at any time.”
“We have a vampire nest!” Alicia said excitedly and without thinking voiced the first thing that came to mind. The same thing she had fantasized about the only time she’d ever been to Love Bites. “Just imagine… three extremely yummy male vampires living under one roof. That would be enough to get any woman’s blood boiling.”
Damon almost bared his teeth when Alicia started talking. She didn’t need to be looking at his brothers… she needed to be looking at him.
“That would be four male vampires,” Michael corrected trying not to laugh at the jealousy shining in Damon’s eyes.
“Syn and his bright ideas,” Damon mocked grabbing Alicia’s hand in the lightest hold he could manage when his instincts was to hold on so tight it would hurt her.
Alicia frowned, “who’s Syn?’
“A fourth sexy vampire for you to drool over,” he growled.
This time Michael did laugh as he stood upright. Alicia was priceless in her innocence. When Damon turned his annoyed glare back toward him, Michael cleared his throat and changed the topic, “Have you told Kane and Tabatha?”
Damon finally smirked, “Syn told me he was going to take care of it.”
“Oh hell,” Michael shook his head before he started laughing again. “That’s probably for the best. Anyone else daring to interrupt Kane’s honeymoon would only get tossed out on his good intentions.”
*****
Kane was wrapped around Tabatha’s warm body. They had just finished another bout of lovemaking less than an hour before and both were sleeping peacefully. Syn stood silently beside the bed looking down at them with a soft smile on his face.
It appeared that his family was growing larger by the day. All that was left was for Michael to find and claim his bride and everything would be perfect.
The memory of what Storm had told him came back to haunt him. These three children were only the beginning. He did not fault Angelica for not remembering her children… remembering her lives without him would serve no purpose and her soul deemed the memories unworthy. If she ever started to remember… those memories would only be of her children.
“I charge admission,” Kane grumbled into the pillow.
Syn smirked and took something out of his jacket pocket and tossed it gently on the bed. Kane opened his eyes and looked at the object laying innocently on the bed before rolling over onto his back to look up at Syn.
“That barely covers it,” Kane said holding up the inch of bound one hundred dollar bills. “It’ll cost more for the peep show.”
Syn reached out to take the money back but Kane quickly tucked it under Tabatha’s pillow.
“And you are keeping it why?” Syn asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Pain and suffering,” Kane answered with a sleepy grin. “What do you want dear father of mine?”
“We have a new home,” Syn answered. “When you are ready, bring your belongings to the club called Love Bites.”
Kane sat up and rolled his neck before rising to his feet naked as the day he was born. Slipping on a pair of jeans, he motioned for Syn to follow him out into the kitchen. Once there, Kane lit up a cigarette and started the coffee pot going.
“What possessed you to buy Love Bites?” Kane asked curiously.
“I did not,” Syn informed him. “Damon decided as I had previously, that we need another place for all of us to call home so we can ward it against anything that would distress our mates. Damon believes this club will suit our needs perfectly.”
“That’s because it’s the mainstream vampire bar of the city,” Kane gave a quick smirk remembering the interior of the club. “It’s the upscale version of a Hollywood vampire lair. I take it that the club will be shut down?”
“Only those invited will be allowed within its walls,” Syn confirmed as he sat down on the other side of the small island facing Kane.
Kane shrugged, “I’m all for it… just keep the surveillance cameras out of my bedroom.”
“There will be no need for surveillance inside the building… nothing will breach the wards I’ve already placed around the perimeter. Human or demon, they won't bother wondering why they don’t want to go near our home.” Syn said with satisfaction. “And should something or someone be powerful enough to attempt to gain access, the wards also act as a trap.”
Kane leaned back against the counter looking at the enigma of a man he’d always called father. The way he appeared now was in sharp contrast to the mind he knew Syn possessed. Syn was handsome and there was no denying that… but that magnificence also hid a dark side very similar to that of Kane and his brothers.
Their bond had grown stronger in recent weeks than it ever had. Kane believed in that bond more than ever now because of Syn’s connection to his mother, Angelica. Right now there was calmness about Syn that Kane had never noticed before and it had him thinking.
He knew Syn had always been hunting for something though he could never put his finger on exactly what that was. But Kane suddenly realized it wasn’t something his father had been searching for… but someone. The pieces of the puzzle were fitting together making Kane’s head spin at the gargantuan implications they produced.
“She’s Michael and Damon’s mother too… isn’t she?” Kane asked, not really understanding how that was possible. Syn had found him over a thousand years before Michael and Damon were born. Why had he gone around collecting Angelica’s children and were there more of them?
Syn smiled as he listened to Kane’s thoughts and crossed his arms on the island top. “I collected all of you because you were and are my children in every way.” His gaze seared into Kane’s as he established a direct mental link with his child and fed him the instant answers to the riddle.
Kane sat down hard on the stool across from Syn and blinked when the mind surge was severed. His hand went to his chest, massaging the area over his heart wondering how in the hell Syn had dealt with the pain of losing Angelica like that… only being able to be with her when her human form was asleep. Not to mention the fact that she didn’t remember anything about him… or her children. That was just heartbreaking. Kane knew something like that would have driven him off the deep end long ago.
“No wonder Misery kept calling me a demi-god.” Kane whispered then looked up at Syn with wide eyes. “Wait a tick,” Kane paused wanting to be crystal clear about this part. “Are you saying that all three of us were conceived while she was dreaming of you? That you are our real father as in we are of your direct bloodline and not the offspring of some random human?”
Syn nodded glad to see that Kane’s mind was as sharp as ever. “We can only conceive children with our soul mates… and it is our souls that create the seeds of new life. Though the men your mother married in each lifetime were human, none of you are anything close to human. Do not make the mistake of comparing us to earthlings… we are not of this earth.” Syn smirked hearing more questions forming in Kane’s mind.
The coffee pot started gurgling signaling that the coffee was finished. No sooner had Kane poured a cup for himself and Syn, an adorably disheveled Tabatha wearing Kane’s black button up shirt stumbled into the kitchen and stole Kane’s cup.
“Mine!” she said possessively before sitting down next to Syn
“She takes after you,” Syn said with a straight face.
Kane sent Syn a helpless look, “I’m at the mercy of her and the coffee god.”
*****
“Why can’t we have the masquerade?” Kat demanded. “We have one every year. It’s not our fault you never accepted an invitation.”
“Must have gotten lost in the mail,” Quinn growled back. “And our answer is still no. Not after everything that went down last night with the earthquake and the club needing to be fixed up on top of the renovations… plus we can’t forget about expanding into the building behind the club. There isn’t going to be enough time to have your masquerade.”
“After being chased by werewolves and running from demons, I think we deserve the night off.” Envy argued, trying to give Kat as much back up as possible.
Devon shook his head, “No can do. We’ll get a day off once everything blows over.”
“But if we go ahead and plan the masquerade, it’ll be something to look forward to.” Jewel put in, standing with the female population in the room. “If there’s a goal to work toward, then that makes this nightmare of a city so much easier to handle.”
Quinn looked over at Warren who was trying to stay out of it by pretending to look at a newspaper. He sighed, “How about a little help here?”
Warren looked up at Quinn then back at the girls before lowering his eyes back to the paper. “Sorry, you’re on your own.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nick asked.
“It means you are butting heads with the most evil, diabolical, twisted, and masochistic breed known to ever roam the earth. Many times they have been beaten, killed, and left for dead, but they always seem to return to wreak havoc on our lives.” Warren explained trying to hide his smirk.
“Huh?” Steven said eloquently.
“Women,” Devon realized. “He’s talking about women.”
Kat smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s right, and these women have the power to hold back. We can live without it… you on the other hand can’t.”
“We can too!” Nick argued.
“Oh really,” Kat smirked. “Shall I tell them about the one time you took your girlfriend into Devon’s downstairs office to have a little privacy and even offered to…”
Nick had shot forward and quickly pressed his hand over Kat’s mouth. “Not another word.”
“No way,” Devon said with a bright expression. “I gotta hear this.”
Kat yanked Nick’s hand away from her mouth. “I suggest you guys get off your asses and call every cougar and jaguar in the city to help get this place together in time for the masquerade.”
Nick sighed and started thumbing through his black book for the numbers while Devon unraveled the building plans on a nearby table.
“What just happened?” Steven asked.
“We lost and they won,” Quinn answered, “Though I’d love to know how.”
“Like I said,” Warren offered. “They’re women and you’re fighting a losing battle each time you confront them and keep them from doing what they want to do.”
Kat shook her head, “Okay, let’s do this then. We compromise and make it a party by invitation only… inviting only the supernaturals left in the city.”
“That’s only a couple hundred powerful people dressed in drag,” Nick frowned then looked over at Steven. “You still have that choir robe?”
“Only if you’re gonna be the Pope,” Steven answered and ducked when Nick threw a bottle of liquor at him.
