Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The alley became a bit darker than the rest of the city as Misery descended on it to check the rip in the dimensional wall she’d created with Kane's blood. She liked the fact that the humans couldn’t see it, though she was sure some with a stronger sixth sense would avoid the alley.

Letting the darkness implode, she stepped forward choosing the child’s form as she knelt beside the opening. She didn’t dare touch it for fear that it would drag her through the barrier, but she could now feel demons gathering on the other side. Those demons could see the rip and that was the purpose of its creation. Misery let some of her own evil slither down her body in dark smoky tendrils and giggled as it seeped into the crack.

Within moments, the same thing happened but this time in reverse. Misery’s back arched and her eyes turned blood red as the snaky darkness squirmed its way up her body then sank into her aura. The other side would wait until Misery gave them a sign… then they would have their strongest attack from the other side.

Misery’s expression turned mischievous. She’d been careful up till now… feeling the pure blood fallen tracking her movements. Now was not the time to become careless but she needed the power it would take to break through the portal. Misery’s expression slowly changed into one of anger as she felt a presence behind her.

Exploding into a cloud of darkness, she reformed as she attached her corpse’s form around the demon that had been spying on her. “Misery will give you a closer look.”

Zeb didn’t flinch as the rotting arm tightened around his neck and he was suddenly staring down into the rift. “Would you banish Zeb for offering his help?” His plump lips twisted in a sneer, “Such lust I feel from you. What is it Misery is hungry for?”

“I can get what I need from the humans… why would I need your help with this?” Misery ran a hand over the short fat man’s balding head then she released him only to circle his bloated body.

“Why don’t you see for yourself?” Zeb had barely finished the invitation when Misery’s bony fingers punched their way through the flesh he used to hide in.

Misery could feel the demon within and smiled sadistically as she read its soul. This demon had been in the city for a very long time and had been wise enough to keep a low profile. She could sense its fear of the fallen that lived here along with fear of other creatures she knew nothing about.

Zeb was a weak demon and useless in a fight. He would be easy to kill, but Misery could sense his other powers… powers she could exploit to suit her purposes.

This demon could detect the lust within a human and magnify that to deliciously evil measures. She saw some of the things Zeb had done recently as she tapped into his memories. Like the jealous husband losing his cool and killing his wife… an angry employee taking a gun to work for revenge… the desperate man robbing a bank and getting shot as he walked out the door.

Zeb could make a hungry human eat until their guts split open, or make someone depressed become suicidal. He could even go as far as to make a druggie or alcoholic overdose on their poison of choice… all pushed beyond their control. Zeb made people hungry for whatever they craved, their darkest of secrets and Misery could feed off the evil spawned from them.

“Misery will use you,” she hissed as she pulled her hand from his flesh.

“I know,” Zeb smiled as the blood spilling from him reentered his body in a backwards waterfall… sealing the wound.

If he were human, then he would have been labeled a business man of sorts. Making deals with other demons was how he’d survived this long. If he teamed up with Misery and fed her the power she wanted to bring more demons into the city, then he would not be so noticeable to the fallen.

*****

Chad stared at the crime scene in horror as he kept his gun trained on the man who was already cuffed and being dragged out of the operating room. The police department had called him in because this was the third time today they had found something this disturbing. What in the hell would make a man do something like that? He was a doctor for crying out loud… supposed to be saving lives, not take them.

“I just wanted to see what it would look like,” the doctor yelled as he struggled to get one more look before he was taken away. “She’s perfect now.”

Chad felt the nausea rise and had to look away. Right there on the operating table lay the man’s masterpiece. He’d taken a elderly bedridden lady whose body was shutting down and replaced her insides… including brain, with parts from a young woman who had come into the emergency room with an ear ache only a couple hours ago.

Hearing a female gasp behind him Chad turned his head seeing Angelica, Zachary and Trevor coming into the room and frowned. “I was going to call you.”

Trevor shook his head, “Angelica has been tracking our demon all day and we’ve already been to your other crime scenes.”

Angelica gazed down at the young woman who had been tossed on the floor like an empty rag doll. They’d been one step behind Misery and she could feel the demon’s power growing but what disturbed her the most was the fact that even though Misery could feed off this… she couldn’t cause it to happen.

“It’s hard to believe one demon can cause this much chaos,” Trevor kept his back to the carnage. He’d never been one to mess with the demon cases and he wished now was no different. He kind of felt bad for the loss of a good doctor who had probably just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“It’s not just one demon,” Angelica tried to ignore the cold chills crawling up her spine. “And I’m afraid this is only the beginning.”

Zachary pulled out his cell phone and walked out of the room. Dialing Storm’s number, he waited until the call was directed into the PIT message system. This wasn’t the first time he’d left a message for Storm today. What was bothering him the most was that their fearless leader usually knew what he wanted before he called and often showed up before he finished even dialing the number.

*****

Micah had spent the last couple hours in Warren's office being brought up to speed on everything he’d missed. It was a lot to take in, but the fact that their families were once again united was something to be thankful for. His gaze strayed to Quinn and Kat knowing they were the ties that bind.

“It’s good to have everyone back together,” Quinn offered in Micah’s silence.

Micah rubbed his temple wondering if everyone had completely forgotten that Alicia existed. To his surprise, it was the newest family member that mentioned her.

“Where’s Alicia?” Jewel asked Steven wondering why she wasn’t here.

“Spending a couple days with a friend from boarding school,” Quinn answered then added, “It might be best if we find a college to send her to for a while.”

Michael noticed Micah’s knuckles turn white where he was gripping the arm of the chair where he was sitting. Honestly, he agreed with Micah’s anger. If they hadn’t spent all this time keeping Alicia at arm's length, then maybe she wouldn’t get in so much trouble trying to do things by herself.

“I’ve already talked to Alicia,” Micah glared at his brother. “She’s spent years waiting to come home and the last thing she wants is to be told she’s not welcome here. She got enough of that when Nathaniel was alive.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Quinn growled in self-defense. “She’s barely eighteen. Do you really think Night Light is the safest place for her right now knowing the mess we are in?”

“No, that’s why I’ve already sent her to live with Michael.” Micah smiled knowing no one would argue with his logic, “That way she’s still here and a part of the family, but hopefully out of the direct line of fire.”

Envy’s cell phone chose that moment to go off much to the relief of most of the people in the crowded room. She quickly grabbed it trying to silence the song she’d picked to let her know it was Chad calling. She elbowed Devon in the ribs when he started singing, “I fought the law and the law won.”

“Chad,” she smirked, “perfect timing as usual.”

“You might not say that when I tell you why I called.” Chad ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s been one hell of a day.”

Envy held her hand up to silence Devon’s horrible karaoke stunt. “What’s wrong?”

“I hear Devon in the background. Put the phone on speaker,” Chad sighed.

Envy clicked it on speaker phone, “Okay, but it’s not just Devon, the whole gang’s here.”

“Good,” Chad said then proceeded to give them a run-down of today’s events. Once he was done he added, “Trevor's brought in a demon expert and she wants to talk to Dean about the demon if you can get a message to him. I also thought that maybe you could get a hold of Kriss and see what you could find out.”

“I’m on it,” Envy nodded, “and Chad… be careful.”

Chad’s tone of voice changed as that reminded him of something, “Hey Devon.”

“Yeah?” Devon frowned.

“If you ever let my sister get shot at again, I swear I’ll…” Envy’s eyes widened and she snapped the phone closed, cutting her brothers voice off.

“O…Kay,” Devon gave a halfhearted smile hearing a couple chuckles from the group.

“Not to change the topic from Devon having his ass kicked but,” Warren shook his head, “I’m hiring more shifters here at Moon Dance and Quinn has agreed to do the same for Night Light. Now that we’ve cut off the head of the alpha werewolf… and the mafia…”

“We need to be ready for two to grow back in its place,” Nick finished for him.

Quinn’s cell phone went off and he smirked at Devon, “Well at least all of Kat’s relatives are within seeing distance.” Looking at the caller ID, he noticed it was from the cougar he’d left in charge. Harley could take care of about anything in his absence so he knew it was important.

Holding up his hand to hush the crowd he answered, “Yeah Harley, what is it?”

“Quinn, unless you ordered a dead cougar instead of the normal drinks we serve, then we’ve got a problem.”

*****

Boris had spent the morning with Anthony’s lawyer finishing off the paperwork that made him the new manager of one of the biggest bars in the city… Love Bites. As for whom the new owner would be… they’d both decided Anthony’s nearest of kin was the smartest way to go, legally and logically. Titus Valachi was one of the strongest and most fair-minded wolves Boris had ever met. He’d hated his uncle and refused to do anything mob related.

Boris smiled knowing he’d just helped the lawyer put over half the wolf pack holdings into Titus’s name without Titus being aware of it. Now all they had to do was convince Titus to become the new alpha before Lucca had a chance to claim it.

As for Love Bites, the previous owner had lost the club to Anthony only a couple weeks ago, and since Anthony’s lawyer was one of their pack wolves, he was taking care of as much paperwork as fast as he could in case the feds froze all of Anthony’s holdings.

Most of the clan had worked for Anthony in some way or another, but since the alpha no longer existed, it left a lot of wolves without a job. Wolves with too much time on their hands were never a good thing and Boris was already hearing talk about retaliating against the cougars for killing Anthony.

The majority of those wolves were hanging out with Lucca Romano who was Anthony’s protégé in many ways. Those were the wolves he did not want to be around.

Lucca was strong. Anthony had felt that and used Lucca for most of the mob work. That, and Anthony didn’t completely trust Lucca, so he figured keeping Lucca close and in control of a section of the mob ties would keep him busy enough not to try overthrowing him. Problem was… if Titus didn’t step up to the plate soon, then Lucca would.

With that in mind, Boris had been choosy while hiring pack members to help run Love Bites. It was a step up from spending most of his time dealing out punishment to whoever had pissed Anthony off for the day. But that was what he was… the punisher. And you had to be the alpha’s right hand man to become the punisher, so most of the wolves would obey him without much thought. Now he was Titus’s right hand man and that’s where he wanted to stay.

Looking around the bar, he listened as some of the wolves made fun of the gothic decorations, but Boris pointed out that the Goth crowd within the city was full of rich college kids with a movie-style vampire fetish who were loaded with money. That seemed to get their attention. Yeah, it was always the same with the wolves… money was the bottom line.

Feeling the power of a true alpha enter the bar, Boris looked toward the doors from his view through the office window. He smiled seeing Titus stop just inside the doors to look around. He had to admit this place was a little startling to anyone who had never been here. He was surprised Titus had made it here this quickly. He’d still been in Malta when he’d called him during the predawn hours.

Reaching over, Boris pressed the button on the intercom system, “Titus, there’s a flight of stairs on your far left. Come up to the office.” He closed his eyes knowing he had the equivalent of two minutes to decide how to tell Titus he had just inherited most of Anthony’s holdings.

*****

Alicia was tired of sulking about it. If she had to stay here, then she might as well make the best of it. Plus, she was hungry and everyone was gone. The house was so huge that it took her a few minutes to even locate the kitchen… that and the fact that the door to it was closed. Most people didn’t have a door on their kitchen, but then again… it wasn’t people living in this house.

Shifters don’t eat as much as humans because they didn’t age at the same rate. They could even go months without it affecting them, though most shifters liked food enough to partake in it every day. Living around humans had a way of rubbing off on the paranormal. However, there were a couple things that would make a shifter hungry… injury, fighting, sex… or the need for sex… AKA heat. And at the moment she was starving.

Opening the fridge she frowned… lots to drink but no food. Checking the cabinets was equally as depressing. All empty, unless you counted the spider webs in the corners and the five cans of coffee. Now she understood why the door had been closed.

Hearing something behind her, Alicia spun around to find Damon coming into the kitchen with his arms full of grocery bags.

Damon withheld the smirk and kept his expression relaxed, “Figured you’d be hungry.” Setting the bags down on the bar, he made his way back outside to get the rest.

Alicia was stunned. Damon had gone shopping… for her? Looking in the bags, her eyes widened at all the food… good food too. She pulled out a bag of seedless white grapes and started munching while putting the food up.

She rolled her eyes realizing Damon had done it again… made her so speechless that she’d forgotten to thank him. He must think she was the most ungrateful girl in the world. Alicia blew her bangs out of her eyes wondering how to pay him back for everything he’d done. She needed to find a way to pay them all back.

Damon walked back into the kitchen setting the rest of the groceries on the bar. He grabbed a couple of can items and he slowly walked toward her.

Alicia turned and watched him come closer but for the life of her she couldn’t move. Oh he was a very bad boy when he leaned against her and placed the cans in the cabinet above her. It was a good feeling… his body pressed against hers making her thighs go up in flames. Maybe it wasn’t food she was starving for.

“You don’t get to do that,” Alicia’s voice was small. She tried to push him away but either he was like a wall or she wasn’t really trying. She gazed at her traitorous hands when they stayed pressed against his chest.

“Admit it,” Damon was suddenly in the mood to push buttons.

“Admit what?” Alicia felt fear slide through her like a wicked intimate caress.

“What you feel when you're alone with me… what we both feel,” Damon pushed.

“It doesn’t matter what I… what we...” Alicia raised her gaze to meet his realizing in a roundabout way she had just admitted it.

“What we want,” Damon finished for her, his voice growing a little darker. Someone knocked on the front door. He didn’t move a muscle as she slipped under his arm and headed for the front door. Hearing a male voice, Damon turned his head toward the sound and narrowed his eyes. That brother of hers was starting to get on his nerves.

Damon leaned in the doorway of the living room, watching as Micah lowered the suitcase to the floor then pulled her in for another hug.

The first thing Micah noticed was that Alicia was on fire… then the scent of her arousal hit him hard. Tightening his hold, his eyes slowly lifted to the vampire on the other side of the room.

Alicia quickly pulled away from Micah when she heard him inhale her scent. ‘Oh god, please don’t let him know.’ She silently prayed.

Glancing up at him, she could tell by the golden color that was bleeding into his beautiful blue eyes. He did know… all male shifters would know unless they already had a mate. Panicking, she started talking animatedly about putting the suitcase in her room and nearly ran up the stairs with it.

Micah closed the door behind him a little too hard. He knew she wasn’t a little girl any more… but that was taking it a bit too far for his liking. The emotion running through him was much like a father would feel when he realized his daughter had just figured out what sex was and had decided to start dating the thug from down the street.

“Alicia!” Micah yelled and took off up the stairs after her.

Damon was speechless as he stared at the empty spot Micah had just been standing in. What the hell was that all about? He ran the scene through his mind again trying to figure it out. Micah hugs Alicia and she pushed him away then runs upstairs… that must have pissed Micah off because now he was mad and chasing her. Something about that was just a little too Jerry Springer to be right.

He had a flashback of Alicia saying she loved Micah… and at the time it had sounded like she was talking about a lover not a brother. Maybe that twisted feeling was mutual and needed to be severed. Within seconds, Damon was listening to them from the privacy of his own room and the thin walls.

“Don’t say it!” Alicia ordered the moment Micah stormed into her room.

“I won't have to say a word,” Micah thundered as he slammed the bedroom door behind him. “Every male shifter that gets near you will fucking know.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not going to be living at Night Light,” she said sarcastically. “And I swear if you tell a single soul about this I will…” she couldn’t finish the sentence and look at him at the same time.

Micah put his hand behind her neck and pulled her toward him so he could half growl and half whisper near her ear, “What are you doing in a house with three male vampires?”

Damon strained to hear the barely whispered words but could only hear a syllable here and there, not enough to put it together. Damn shifters, with their heightened hearing they could be almost as silent as a vampire.

Alicia turned her face and put her own lips close to his ear so she could give as good as she was getting, “Because they are vampires, they’re immune to my Heat.” She tried to push away when his lips touched the shell of her ear with his next harshly whispered words.

“Promise me it will not be one of them,” Micah demanded knowing she was walking a dangerous road if she took a vampire as a mate. He tightened his hold when she started to struggle.

The mere thought of one of the vampires accidentally turning her into a soulless monster in the heat of passion sent fear shooting through him. She’d already been bitten once and the fang marks had scarred instead of healed. “You were lucky you didn’t get turned into one of those monsters the first time you were bitten. What they can do to you, there’s no coming back from.”

“I promise!” She had to push twice before gaining her freedom. She quickly stepped out of his reach to get rid of the chills his breath was creating on her neck.

Micah felt some of the initial shock fade only to be replaced with fear and his need to protect what was his. His eyes widened realizing his thoughts had just gone down a not so brotherly path. Trying to remain calm, he ran his hands through his hair and kept his voice low. “What are we going to do?”

“Oh no,” Alicia shook her head. “WE aren’t going to do anything about it. I’m a big girl now and can deal with this myself.” When Micah took a step toward her, she quickly took another step back. She wasn’t about to let him get a hold of her again. “If you love me… you’ll leave and let me take care of this my own way.”

“Why?” Micah didn’t understand. She was acting scared of him and it was making his chest hurt. “Why can’t I help you?’

“Because,” Alicia whispered, “because I love you too much to be near you right now.”

Damon didn’t even flinch… he’d already known she had told him the truth about who it was she truly loved. The question now was… what would Micah do? Damon unconsciously cracked his knuckles then relaxed his hand when he heard the sound.

Micah froze as he stared at Alicia… the only female he’d ever loved and somehow he understood exactly what she was trying to tell him… hell, had he not just felt his own demon try to raise its head and look at her. If she hadn’t been his sister… he would have already claimed her.

He took every one of the feelings her confession provoked within him and shoved them so deep inside himself that they would hopefully never see daylight. After the dead cougar that had been delivered to Night Light this morning… it was probably best that he kept his distance anyway.

“I brought you my car if you need it… I like the motorcycle better anyway.” he said softly, letting her know he wasn’t upset. If anything… he understood perfectly. “Do you need anything else?”

Alicia couldn’t bring herself to look at him so she kept her gaze on the floor. “Just for you to keep my secrets.”

Micah nodded and tossed her cell phone on the bed, watching as it bounced beside the teddy bear that had his name around its neck. He’d always known he ranked hero status with Alicia and hadn’t done anything about it. He’d enjoyed the fact that she loved him so much. Somehow, he had to make her feel better about this before he left.

“Look at me Alicia,” Micah smile softly when she glanced up at him. “That’s better.”

He walked to her, putting his finger under her chin so she would pay attention and hear everything he was about to say. “You love me too much because I’m the only one who has really shown you what love is. There’s a man out there somewhere whose ass I’m sure I’m gonna want to kick… but he will show you the difference between my love and his.”

Looking into his beautiful eyes and seeing that the golden color had faded, Alicia inhaled feeling the weight that had been sitting on her chest ease. He wasn’t shocked or disgusted with her like she’d feared. She bit her bottom lip trying not to cry and smile at the same time, ‘”Thanks.”

Micah tapped her chin with a grin, “Until then, don’t be afraid to call on your big brother. Promise me?”

Alicia nodded, “Okay, I promise.”

She didn’t follow him as Micah turned and left her room. She was still standing there when she heard the door downstairs softly close. Alicia finally turned around and sat down heavily on the edge of the bed.

Her first instinct was to burst into tears, but she didn’t feel the sadness she’d thought she would feel. Instead, she felt lighter than she had since coming back from boarding school. Not knowing what to do with this odd feeling, she picked up her teddy bear and hugged it.

Micah was letting her do this on her own… letting her make her own choice… as long as she didn’t choose a vampire. Problem was, so far, the three vampires she was now living with were the only ones who stood a chance of turning her head.

Damon pushed away from the wall in silence. Going back downstairs, he headed for the kitchen. Before Micah showed up, he’d intended on cooking for Alicia and he still thought that was a great plan. Hearing a noise coming from the kitchen Damon pushed the door open and wondered why he bothered trying.

Kane lifted an eyebrow while he rapidly beat the hell out of the four steaks laid out on the cutting board. He quickly sliced off a small piece and dropped it on the floor for Scrappy who was waiting patiently for a treat. He smirked evilly. Damon hadn’t noticed Scrappy yet. Oh, this was going to be fun.

“You going to eat all that?” Damon asked sarcastically. He jerked a stool out and sat down watching Kane cut the steak into strips so fast that it was like watching a Ginsu commercial in fast forward.

Kane tossed the strips in the frying pan with the onions and green peppers that were already simmering. “You like yours rare, right?” Picking up the small strip he’d left n the cutting board Kane held it where Scrappy could see it, then tossed it in Damon’s direction.

Damon caught the strip of meat then toppled the chair backwards to escape the ball of fur that darted around the corner of the bar. “What the hell is that?”

Scrappy growled at the man who had just stolen his treat. Pulling his lips back, he exposed his sharp deadly fangs.

“If I was you, I’d drop the meat,” Kane laughed then laughed harder when Damon did just that.

Alicia heard Kane’s laughter coming from downstairs and inhaled the smell of the food cooking. Making her way downstairs, she walked into the kitchen to find Kane making stir fry and Damon staring at the floor like he was getting ready to stomp a cockroach. Taking a couple steps so she could see around the bar, her eyes lit up.

“A puppy!” she dropped to her knees as it turned around and literally jumped into her arms. “Aw, whose puppy?” she glanced up at Damon just as Scrappy did the same. Scrappy growled toward Damon then wiggled its way closer to Alicia’s neck and hid his face in her hair whining.

Damon leaned down and righted the chair glaring at the conniving little puppy, “I think it’s Kane's hell hound.”

“Damon’s just jealous because he lost the food fight,” Kane smirked. “Alicia, meet Scrappy.”

Alicia caught the puppy under its arms and held him a couple inches out from her. Putting her nose against his, she gave it an Eskimo kiss, “Hey Scrappy,” Then giggled when its little pink tongue darted out and got her. “Aw… you’re just too cute.”

Damon glared at the puppy when it pressed its face between Alicia’s breast, “Great, a cat and a dog getting along together.”

Kane smirked at Damon, “Taught him everything I know.”

“That probably didn’t take long,” Damon said in annoyance.

Deciding to ignore Damon, Kane winked at Alicia, “Hope you’re hungry.”

“Starving,” Alicia smiled then pouted at the puppy, “Scrappy would like a bite too.” Damon laughed out loud making Alicia glance over at him. God his smile was awesome… he should do it more often. “What?”

Scrappy turned his head toward Damon and growled softly, baring his teeth and showing fangs.

Alicia’s eyes widened a fraction before Kane plucked Scrappy from her arms. “Well that’s one way to keep a pet forever,” she announced to the air in front of her before hopping up on the stool Kane pulled out for her.

Within minutes, Kane had a huge bowl of salad made and started dishing it out, quickly followed by the stir-fry and microwave potatoes. He put a small plate on the floor for Scrappy. They had just started eating when Michael walked into the kitchen.

Kane glanced up, “Hi honey, your dinner is in the microwave.”

Michael frowned, “We have a microwave?”

Kane shook his head, “Have a seat dear, I’ll get it.”

Alicia couldn’t help but giggle at their antics. It was hard to believe Kane had started out as the bad guy. She was glad he’d switched sides. Watching them interact with each other made her feel like she was finally a part of a family. She sighed inwardly when Damon glanced in her direction. At least it had taken her mind off being in heat for a little while.

Kane almost dropped Michael’s plate when he heard Alicia’s rambling thoughts. Heat? Good lord. Wasn’t she a little young for that? Not to mention the fact she was unmated. He slid Michael’s plate safely in front of him and sat down. He closed his mind deciding he didn’t want to hear anything else the rest of the night unless it was said out loud.

Needing a distraction to get Michael and Damon out of the house and away from Alicia, Kane brought up the subject of going soulless hunting. They ate as they came up with ideas and a strategy.

Alicia remembered Micah’s warning about the dangers of being in a house with vampires. She’d heard the distrust in his voice. They could turn her into one of the soulless if they chose to. She wondered how long it took to change into one of the things that had attacked her. What if she’d been turned that night? Would Michael have killed her?

As the guys talked, Alicia took turns looking at them, trying to see if she could conjure up some kind of fear of them but couldn’t. She just wasn’t afraid of them. Damon had already bit her and nothing had happened… right?

“They seem to be hanging around our favorite demon.” Damon said remembering how close Alicia had come to that demon. “If we put Misery out of her misery then…”

“The soulless think that she’s a god of some kind… that’s why they’re feeding her.” Kane rubbed his arm where Misery had cut him. He wondered if it was a good idea to let Michael or Damon anywhere near the bitch without knowing what she was up to. Hell, he wasn’t so sure what the answer to that was. “I think it’s time to show these soulless who their god really is. But as far as Misery goes, we should stay in a group instead of spreading out.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Alicia asked hopefully. She needed something to obsess over besides the obvious. She bit her bottom lip when the room fell silent.

“No,” Kane locked his eyes with her and played with the thought of taking the necklace from her so he could compel her into staying far away from danger this time. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that she needed to keep the necklace a secret from Damon. He watched as her fingers trailed up to envelop the necklace unconsciously. “It’s not because you’re a girl Alicia. The jaguars and cougars are all staying out of the demon’s line of fire.”

“Kane’s right, no one should be caught out alone.” Michael agreed watching Kane closely. “If anyone should know how dangerous Misery is… it’s Kane.”

“Yeah, been there done that,” Kane leaned back in his chair releasing Alicia from his gaze. Michael was right… being alone sucked. “But I do think I’ve figured out what our demon is up to.”

“Care to share?” Damon asked wanting a distraction.

“Last time I saw her, the little bitch hinted at a family reunion.” Kane’s lips thinned.

“You’ve talked to her again?” Damon asked making a face at the memory of his own encounter with her which he was happily keeping to himself.

Kane heard the thought and even received a blurry visual of it. He shot him a glare toward Damon. “Yeah sure, we met for tea and she tried to talk me into being her friend. It was really nice until she sliced my arm open and tried to use the blood to open a rift to the underworld.” he glanced at Michael, disturbed when he couldn’t hear Michael’s thoughts. “Hey, you’re the one that keeps insisting that I drag you along for the ride instead of going solo.”

“So her end game is to gather more demons within the city.” Michael had already come to the same conclusion after hearing Chad’s phone call while in Warren’s office.

“Who says she’s the only one already here?” Alicia asked as she started clearing the plates.

*****

Trevor parked his car in the parking lot outside of the rundown hotel and shut off the engine. He’d gotten a mysterious call from Chad twenty minutes earlier asking him to come down and take a look at L.A.’s newest crime scene. The ex-police officer didn’t go into any details but the tone of Chad’s voice told him it was important.

Getting his badge out of the glove compartment, Trevor got out while clipping it to the collar of his jacket and approached the area that had been roped off with yellow crime scene ribbon. He was glad the press hadn’t been notified. Luckily, PIT’s contacts in the media had been able to keep the story from reaching the editors and prevented them from sending anyone out to report on the crime.

Ducking low under the yellow ribbon, Trevor walked toward room 101… he could already smell the blood and wanted to vomit. A police officer approached him explaining that he couldn’t be here and Trevor held up his clipped on badge.

“CIA,” he stated coldly and walked on.

When he reached the door, he nodded at the officers standing outside the room and saw another one leaning over a nearby garbage can. Some things just couldn’t be handled by normal people. Stepping inside the door another officer moved aside and let Trevor pass. Chad was standing in the front foyer of the room with his back to the door. Apparently something bad had to have happened for there to be so much security at a crime scene.

Trevor tapped Chad on the shoulder making him jump slightly. Chad quickly covered it up and looked over his shoulder.

“What’s got you so uptight?” Trevor asked.

Chad tilted his head toward the bedroom area. “Come on, Zachary and Angelica are already here.”

“How did they find out so quickly?” Trevor asked.

Chad shook his head, “I didn’t know who to call first and Zachary’s number was the only one I could remember right away. They got here just before you did.”

Trevor swallowed at stench of blood in the room and found his eyes going toward the walls where the red and blue lights from the cop cars outside were reflected. It created an ominous effect that left Trevor feeling a bit nervous.

When they entered the bedroom, Zachary and Angelica were standing a few feet away from a body lying face up on the floor. The beds had been lifted off of the floor and propped up against the wall. A circle had been drawn into the floor with a pentagram. Trevor did not want to believe the circle was drawn in blood but the facts were speaking for themselves.

In the center of the pentagram was a young woman, early twenties Trevor guessed, with her arms and legs spread out on the floor inside the star. A single black candle had been placed at each point and was still burning.

“What do we have?” Trevor asked trying to sound professional with the other officers still in the room.

Chad took out his notebook, “Female, Caucasian, about twenty-two years of age. Last known address is in the higher end of Los Angeles.” Chad put away the notebook.

Trevor nodded toward Zachary and the blonde man nodded in agreement.

“We need to clear the room,” Trevor whispered to Chad.

“Everyone clear out,” Chad ordered to the officers present. “This crime scene is now under the jurisdiction of the CIA.”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and slowly exited the room. Chad followed close behind them then closed and locked the door so no one could get back in without a key. He was glad the front drapes were already closed so no one could look in or out.

“Why did we need to clear the room?” Angelica asked.

“She’s not human,” Trevor answered. “We’re looking at a female werewolf.”

Zachary’s eyes got big and he looked down at the young woman. “Damn… they’re almost extinct as it is.”

Chad frowned, “Extinct?”

“Not exactly extinct,” Angelica offered. “Though the female of the breeds are few and far between… the actual number of females to males are about one out of every ten.”

“So only ten percent of werewolves running around are actually females?” Chad asked.

“Most shifter breeds are like that.” Trevor said kneeling down next to the outer ring of the circle. “It’s one of the reasons shifters have started taking human females as mates.”

Zachary nodded, “That’s why they’re so protective. Females of any species are getting harder and harder to come by.”

Trevor smirked, “Yeah, most werewolves hope that the other males end up killing each other over the female, leaving the woman without a mate and available for the taking. We don’t share very well… and we protect what is ours until our dying breath.”

Chad smirked at Trevor, “I’ll remember that the next time you slink away from an argument with Devon.”

“Shove it where the sun doesn’t shine,” Trevor growled.

Zachary almost smiled wanting to join in the banter, but if he did they would lose track of why they were here in the first place. He looked down at the woman inside the pentagram and felt the tug of something familiar about the scene.

The she-wolf had a perfectly round hole in her chest and the heart had been removed with almost perfect precision. Her eyes were closed and her face appeared almost peaceful. However, the way her hands remained fisted even after death told him of the agony she had gone through. What made matters worse is the fact that there were two long lines starting from each shoulder, crossing between her breasts and ending just below the rib cage creating a giant X.

“It has to be Misery.” Chad exclaimed. “She’s the only thing around here I know of that would be sick enough to do something like this.”

Angelica shook her head, “No, this isn’t Misery’s MO… something else did this… something weaker than Misery.”

Trevor stood up and turned toward Angelica, giving her a look of concern. “Can you do it?”

Angelica took a deep breath, “Yes I can.” She looked over at Zachary, “Anchor me.”

Zachary placed a single hand on Angelica’s shoulder as she knelt down next to the circle. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took another breath and looked down at the woman. She knew this spell… had actually seen it performed previously. Leaning forward, Angelica placed her hands inside the circle, being careful not to damage the scene.

Her head suddenly whipped back and her eyes opened wide. A myriad of emotions and visions swept across her mind and she fought to put them in order. Finally, the pictures slowed down so she could see what was happening.

“What do you see?” Zachary asked softly.

“A shadowy figure,” Angelica said, her voice taking on a haunted quality. “He is leaning over the woman with a long dagger in his hand… she’s still alive but cannot move. He is taking her heart out… it’s still beating… her eyes… oh god her eyes.”

Angelica stopped speaking as the emotions surrounding the scene threatened to overtake her. She watched the ritual being performed and saw another presence within the shadow… a man and a werewolf. She saw the wolf battling for dominance in synch with the man but the demon overpowered them both.

She had seen enough and pulled on the anchor Zachary’s hand had created, using it to bring herself out of the trance. Angelica fell on her back and took a moment to catch her breath.

“What did you see?” Zachary asked.

Angelica shook her head, “Give me a minute.”

“What did she do?” Chad asked.

“It’s one of Angelica’s abilities.” Trevor answered. “She can actually see the movements of a demon if she can get to the scene within a couple of hours of the event taking place.”

“So she can see briefly into the past and pick up… spirit echoes?” Chad inquired wondering if he’d used the correct terminology.

“Exactly!” Zachary said with a smile. “You’re really getting the hang of this.”

Chad rubbed the back of his neck and looked away feeling like he’d just been praised by a teacher for getting all of his homework done.

Angelica sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Damn that was a wild ride.”

“Care to share?” Zachary asked.

“The demon has taken a host body, a werewolf. It has to make a shifter kill and use the ritual in order to keep the werewolf body it’s in. Without the heart sacrifice the demon would lose control of the werewolf’s body and be forced out as the wolf gets stronger.” Angelica stated as she rose to her feet. “The problem is the demon has grown fond of its current host… it works well when attracting the female shifters.”

“So it devours the heart, making it stronger,” Trevor concluded.

Angelica nodded, “Yes and, if what I saw was any indication, it no longer kills strictly for survival. The murders are too close together.”

“What do you mean?” Chad asked.

“You know how you wake up in the middle of the night and get the craving for ice cream or the leftover pizza in the fridge?” she asked.

Chad nodded, “Yeah, I get that a lot actually.”

Angelica nodded toward the body on the floor. “That’s what this demon is doing.”

“Damn I hate those late night snack attacks.” Zachary said. “What’s worse is when there isn’t anything in the fridge that I really want.”

Chad raised an eyebrow, “Okay, that’s not the least bit creepy.”

They all stopped and looked at each other, each coming to the same conclusion.

“Take pictures of the scene,” Zachary said to Chad. “When you get them back let me have them. This is starting to look more and more like another case we had a while back and I want to be sure.”

Chad went and got the camera left behind by one of the officers. He ran the film out and removed the roll before reloading it with a fresh one. This roll would not be seen by the police or anyone else outside of PIT if Zachary had anything to do with it.