Chapter 3
Alicia had just finished making herself a cup of coffee when her cell phone started ringing. Rushing toward her purse, she grabbed the device taking a quick glance at the caller ID. She put it to her ear with a bright smile.
“Hey Micah, what’s up?”
“Do you have some time to spare for your big brother?” Micah asked turning his back on the other two men in the room so they couldn’t see the relieved expression on his face. He’d half expected Damon to answer her phone.
Alicia shrugged, “Yeah, I guess so. Damon went out with Michael and Kane. He probably won’t be back for a while yet.”
“Good, because I really need a favor,” Micah began. “We’ve got a she-wolf in one of the holding cells here that we just rescued from a raid on the underground slave trading. She hasn’t shifted back yet, but when she does… she’s going to need a change of clothing. Do you think you can bring something down to the station for her?”
Alicia looked over at her huge closet full of clothes before nodding, “Yeah, I think I can dig up something. When do you want me there?”
“As soon as you can get ready,” Micah answered. “We don’t know when she’ll wake up from the tranquilizer.”
“I’ll be there,” Alicia said. “Anything else you need?”
“I’m so glad you asked that,” Micah said letting Alicia hear the smile in his voice. “I need you to put another wolf under your thrall and get him to answer a few questions for us. Do you think you can do it?”
“Yes,” Alicia answered a little too quickly. “Give me some time to get dressed and grab a few things for the poor girl and I’ll be down.”
She hung up the phone and a wide grin spread across her face as she rushed around getting dressed. It was nice to have something to do while Damon was away. At least now she felt useful and, with any luck, she might be able to prove to Damon that she really could do things on her own.
Throwing on her favorite pair of jeans and one of Damon’s black button-up shirts, she got out a black leather duffle bag and removed two set of clothes from the closet. One set in case she liked soft frilly things and another set that would make her feel tough and in control. Why not give the girl a choice between dressy or badass. Besides, Damon had stocked over half of her closet with bad girl outfits so she would match the bad boy act he had going on.
Once the clothes were packed, she went through some of the new undergarments she hadn’t worn yet and something for the girl to sleep in before putting them in the bag as well. She figured after being held prisoner, any girl would appreciate the little things like clean underwear, toothbrush, and maybe a little makeup.
As an afterthought, she took one last look around the room to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. Spotting her collection of hair things, she grabbed up a comb and brush along with a few hair ties so the girl could put her hair up if she wanted to.
Alicia smiled as she put the strap of the bag over her shoulder and headed toward the bedroom door. It felt good to know that she was going to be seeing Micah again even though it had only been a few days. She missed him.
The fact that he’d called for her help specifically was exciting enough. Putting someone under her thrall for legit reasons, and the fact that her target was a werewolf and not just some human would mean a challenge for her.
Humans were far easier to place under a thrall because they had no real immunity to it unless the human was psychic or wore a charm like her necklace. Damon had told her that shifters were harder to penetrate because all of their five senses were higher. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had much of an opportunity to even test it out on humans with Damon barely letting her out of the bedroom.
Alicia squared her shoulders. This was a prime opportunity for her to get some real practice in without the sexual distractions. Just as she walked out of her and Damon's bedroom, Kane stormed in the front door muttering under his breath.
“Is something wrong?” Alicia asked.
Kane didn’t appear to hear her and continued muttering about a woman named Olivia. Suddenly he froze and cursed loudly.
“Damn it!” Kane shouted. “Not Olivia… Victoria.”
Michael and Damon walked in at that very moment, both snickering at Kane’s antics.
Alicia almost groaned at Damon’s timing. While she was happy to see him back safe and sound, she’d hoped to have time to go to the police department and be back before he returned.
“So, you’re the man who remembers the name of every woman he’s ever been with,” Damon drawled.
“I do remember them,” Kane growled.
“Then who’s Olivia?” Michael asked.
“Go to hell!” Kane muttered before heading toward his bedroom.
“Guess that’s the answer to that question,” Michael stated and headed toward the stairwell but paused seeing Alicia standing near her bedroom door looking a lot like she’d just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Kane shut the bedroom door behind him and saw Tabatha standing there with her arms crossed over her chest.
“So, who’s Olivia and Victoria?” she asked.
“Damon and Michael’s ex-girlfriends,” Kane answered with no hesitation and sealed his lips over hers.
In the main room, Damon’s gaze was instantly drawn to Alicia and he almost smiled when he saw her wearing one of his shirts. However, the way she was biting her bottom lip made him frown and he slowly looked her over. His eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw the overnight bag that she hadn't zipped hanging from her shoulder.
Alicia blinked when Damon suddenly appeared less than a foot in front of her, blocking her path by putting a palm on either side of the doorframe… effectively trapping her against the wooden surface. He leaned forward and studied her without saying a word but she’d be damned if that look in his eyes wasn’t speaking volumes.
She felt herself becoming a little nervous and tried to hide it by smiling, “I’m glad you’re back.”
“Are you?” Damon asked unable to keep his dark side from raising its head. “If I had been a few minutes later… would you still be here waiting for me?”
Alicia couldn’t resist the self-preservation instinct and raised her hand to touch the necklace that was no longer around her neck. She suddenly remembered she’d given it to Nick and inwardly cringed when she noticed Damon’s eyes had followed her nervous movement then flashed back up to pin her with a darkening amethyst gaze.
At this point, Alicia knew lying was liable to set him off and with that came the risk of many things… including a repeat of a spanking. Feeling the hot blush rise to her cheeks at the visual, she lifted her chin in defiance and calmly told him the truth.
“No.”
She sighed when Damon turned the doorknob and backed her into the bedroom. She flinched when he slammed the door behind him. The split second glance at the expression on Michael’s face before it was blocked was definitely enough to make her worry.
“Where were you going?” Damon asked making sure to put the question in past tense.
“I was just going to go see Micah,” Alicia said in an attempt to correct the misunderstanding before she found herself face down across his lap again.
“Did you think you were going to spend the night with Micah?” Damon demanded softly.
A confused look crossed Alicia’s face before she jerked her gaze down to the open overnight bag. She saw the pretty black underwear and hairbrush lying on top in plain sight and sighed. Okay… she could actually see Damon’s point of view but that wasn’t going to stop her from giving him a tongue lashing for his perverted thoughts.
“He needs me,” Alicia wanted to growl when he immediately cut her off.
“I just bet he does.” Damon took a quick step closer, towering over her smaller frame. What Micah really needed was a priest to reside over his funeral.
“You know what?” Alicia said slowly as she lifted her eyes to meet his head on. “You’re… an idiot.”
“If stopping you from leaving me makes me an idiot… then so be it,” Damon countered.
“No, you’re an idiot for thinking I was leaving you,” Alicia snapped feeling her own anger grow at the fact he was still jumping to conclusions. “The clothes… are not… for me… Damon,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Oh yeah, well let’s go see how they look on Micah,” Damon threatened, already visualizing himself strangling Micah with Alicia’s lacy black panties.
Alicia wanted to growl in annoyance but refrained because there was glass in the room. Actually, she was proud of Damon for not shattering all of it already. She flinched when the vanity mirror beside her cracked… Murphy’s Law at its best.
“Damn it Damon, stop being so stupid!” Alicia hissed stepping even closer to him and grabbing the front of his shirt to pull his face down to hers. She’d learned how to intimidate from the best teacher in the world… him. “Micah and his detective team rescued a female werewolf from slave traders tonight. I was taking the clothes to her so she’d have something to put on when she shifted back. I was about to go meet them at the police station because I’m a big girl Damon and would have been just fine.”
“Oh, you think so do you?” Damon demanded knowing she’d completely forgotten the fact that this city was full of demons.
“I know so. You just finished helping your brother… now it’s time for me to help mine. And since when is it illegal for me to help my family when they ask for it?” Alicia raised an eyebrow daring him to tell her no.
“Then you don’t have a problem with me going with you … right?” Damon growled not liking the image of her standing there clutching the makeshift suitcase like a little runaway.
Alicia smirked, “Fine, and when I prove your first theory wrong… you have to let me handcuff you to the bed.”
“This isn’t a negotiation,” Damon stated crossing his arms over his chest.
“No, you’re right… it’s a bet,” Alicia shot back with an arrogant expression on her face. “And if you follow me out that door… then you are agreeing to the deal.” With that said, she raised her chin a notch higher as she moved around Damon and out the door.
Damon's lips thinned and his eyes darted over to the mirror when a few more cracks appeared across its surface. He calmed his anger, glad he’d misunderstood what she was doing. Besides, he had to admit letting Alicia handcuff him to the bed was a rather interesting prospect.
Michael couldn’t stand the confines of four walls and headed up to the roof once Alicia and Damon disappeared back into their room. He smirked at the door that no longer shut correctly and knew they’d have to fix that before long. The early evening promised to be a cool one and he closed his eyes in bliss as the breeze swept over him.
The sound of the front door opening made him walk to the edge of the roof and look down. He watched as Damon and Alicia emerged from the building with Alicia almost stalking across the parking lot. He felt a smile tug at his lips when Damon actually had to catch up with her in order to reach for her hand.
He may not have thought so at first but he could admit it now… Alicia was the perfect girl for his brother. She knew how to handle his temper and still get what she wanted.
He cocked an eyebrow when Damon swung her around for a kiss. The couple took a moment to reacquaint themselves before Damon glanced up at him and arched an eyebrow of his own. Michael tilted his head to the side and shrugged, resisting the urge to call down to them. As if sensing what was going on in Michael’s head, Damon hugged Alicia closer to him and pulled her into the shadows.
Michael shook his head and allowed a smirk to cross his face before turning around with thoughts of going back inside. He paused in mid-step when he felt Tabatha and Kane’s passion rising up from inside the building.
“So much for that,” he muttered and turned his attention toward the tall buildings around the renovated club.
He rolled his shoulders and neck, suddenly feeling a surge of pent up energy building inside of him. His mind turned to Aurora and the urgent passion they had shared when their paths collided. She was like a force of nature making him harden with just one glance. He closed his eyes, envisioning his teeth sinking into her as they came together… feeding her as he took her blood.
The sweet flavor still lingered on his lips and he wet them with his tongue as the craving for another taste began to overwhelm him. He wanted… no, he needed to be deep inside her as he tasted her blood again.
Michael's eyes snapped open recognizing addiction when he saw it. Shaking his head, he decided that what he really needed was to work off some of this energy coursing through him from the Fallen blood he’d taken from Aurora. Would the rush ever completely go away or was he damned to forever crave the high of his first taste?
Stepping off the edge of the roof, he traced out into the city in search of something… anything to take his mind off of the temptation. He had fought to give Aurora the freedom she wanted from Samuel and he would not take Samuel’s place as her master.
He remembered the way she was holding hands with the one she had called her brother… the beautiful one called Skye. It was a gentle grip of hands… soft and childish, not the passion she had shown him. He would readily allow her the love of her brother and he would keep busy while he waited on her to come back to him.
As he moved through the streets, Michael began to sense more and more demons… the ones that came out late in the day and preyed on the poor souls that ventured out into the darkness. The urge to fight swept over him and he smiled knowing that he could help rid the world of a few demons and maybe work off some of the buzz he had. He’d found his distraction.
His direction led him into the Slums and his sharp gaze darted from person to person, looking for the perfect victim much like the soulless vampires hunted their preference of human… his target lived more on the dark side. He passed up a few low level demons that were huddled together on a street corner. By all appearances, they looked like a normal street gang and Michael eyed them as he walked by.
Before his approach they’d been loud and rambunctious, but as he closed the distance they fell silent. One corner of his lips pulled up into something of a smirk as though he was silently telling them that he knew exactly what they were. He didn’t bother to turn back when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him rapidly vanishing into the distance. Maybe the low level demons were smarter than he gave them credit for.
Reaching the next intersection, Michael looked around at the buildings and dirty streets still searching. He was about to venture further when he felt a spike in power… pure, sweet, and dangerous power. His eyes narrowed when the very smell of it drifted through his senses and a dizzying sensation filled his head. It wasn’t a large power but strong enough to make him want to smother it.
The sound of a bell jingling made him turn his head and his amethyst gaze lingered on the woman that stepped out of the rundown liquor store across the street. She was wearing a leather tube top and a short, see-through lace miniskirt with fishnet stockings and a pair of black stiletto heels. Her hair was a myriad of colors ranging from neon green and pink to purple, black, and blonde.
She slid a bottle of liquor out of the bag she was holding and unscrewed the cap. Tilting the bottle back, she drank down about half of it in one breath and then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. While she looked completely human on the outside, he could see the true face of the demon underneath.
Michael mentally and physically relaxed his body. Most demons he’d encountered in the past were clueless to what he really was… the closest they ever came was to mistakenly think he was a vampire. Feeling the false calm wash over him, he stepped off the sidewalk.
The demon turned her head toward him and smiled using the flesh it had stolen to entice her victim. Michael knew demons had been known to feed off vampires in the past… even Misery had used them in such a way.
“Good evening gorgeous,” the demon purred batting long eyelashes.
Michael stepped up to her and brushed his left shoulder with her left shoulder, walking around her while keeping the brushing contact with her body.
“Yes it is,” Michael whispered playing the game. “And who are you?”
“Anybody you want me to be,” She whispered back.
“I want you to be you,” Michael said in her ear as he came around to stand in front of her. He let a slow smile part his lips showing the fangs that always confused him and his brothers for vampires.
The demon tilted her head to the side and smiled back, “I see.”
Michael nodded as he relaxed his smile, “Of course you do.”
“You can call me Morgana,” She wrapped her hands around one of his arms and the two began walking toward an old one story building at the end of the block.
They stepped into the building and Morgana closed the door behind them. Michael looked around the open space and took in the number of dead bodies lying around. The place reeked of old blood and decay… a fitting place for the flesh eating demon clutching his elbow.
“Do you like my place?” Morgana whispered then giggled as she turned away to appraise her handiwork.
Michael shrugged, “It will look better once your lifeless body is lying among them.”
He ducked just in time to miss Morgana’s suddenly long claws trying to separate his head from the rest of his body. Twisting his upper body, Michael rammed his elbow into her midsection making her double over. His fist came up, cracking her across the nose hard enough to send her flying back.
Morgana landed hard on the floor and glared up at the vampire, her face twisting into a grotesque mask showing her true colors. Her hazel eyes elongated and turned red while her eyebrows slanted and her once fairly pretty mouth stretched into a horrid smile full of mismatched jagged teeth. Her long tongue slithered out and licked her lips of the blood that dripped from her flat nose.
Michael made a face… she was sickening. He would definitely be doing the city a favor by getting rid of this one. Such ugliness completely ruined the scenery.
Climbing backwards up the wall, she used it as a rebounding board to come at him again, swiping her elongated claws in front of her. This time they caught the front of his shirt and left a few scratches… not dangerous but enough to make them bleed. He closed his right fist and backhanded the demon across the face, making her head whip around at an unnatural angle. With a swift kick to the side of the knee, he heard the bones shatter. He felt no remorse knowing the demon was already wearing a corpse.
When she went down a second time, Michael slowly approached and grabbed Morgana by her hair. Lifting her off the floor, he paused for half a second and briefly closed his eyes when the scent of the demon’s blood finally hit him.
“Demons are nothing but monstrous hybrids cast out by the Fallen that sired you,” Michael hissed, suddenly getting a better understanding of what a demon really was. He had never noticed the faint traces of Fallen blood within the demons before… but now he knew what they tasted like.
The Fallen and the Sun Gods were similar in this manner… creating monsters of their choosing. The only difference was in the way they sired them.
Morgana reached back for the arm holding her hair and sank her right claws into the flesh she found. She gasped when she suddenly found herself hovering above the floor and staring down into angry amethyst eyes. The cheap stilettos fell to the ground below and she wrapped her other hand around the back of his neck hoping to sever his spinal cord and free herself.
Feeling that amethyst gaze penetrate her, she couldn't stop herself from going limp… now hanging from only her hair.
“Let me go,” Morgana whispered suddenly afraid. She was strong, one of the strongest in this part of the Slums, but this vampire she’d thought was an easy kill was by far stronger than anything she’d ever encountered.
“Let you go?” Michael asked as though the concept were foreign to him. “You killed all of these humans and demons for food based on their appearances and you want me to let you go?”
“I’ll give you all the human blood you want,” Morgana half whimpered half hissed. “I’ll be your servant… I’ll lure them in and bring them to you.”
“I do not need help in catching my next meal,” Michael said sardonically. His voice abruptly softened, “but my dear… I’m willing to bet demons taste better than humans.”
Morgana gasped when a sudden excruciating pain erupted from her shoulder and the feel of the vampire pulling the life out of her made her emit an inhuman wail. Her struggles renewed and she clawed at him with zeal but the true darkness was beginning to climb around the edges of her vision.
“Who are you?” she whispered with her last breath.
Michael held on and drew in the last drop of Morgana’s life force before dropping her. He smirked when he heard the dull thump of her corpse. Who knew he could kill a demon by draining them… he bet even the demons didn’t know that little trick since the soulless vampires only craved human blood.
He gazed down at the shriveled demon in disgust, “You can call me Michael.”
He landed lightly on the floor and stepped toward the door. Using his sleeves, he wiped at the remnants of blood on his lips then stared down at the black blood… tainted blood. Opening the door, he stepped out onto the sidewalk and arranged his jacket so the rips in his shirt wouldn’t be noticed.
Michael then turned and started back the way he came, noticing that a large group of demons had now gathered near the entrance of the building. They must have been Morgana’s underlings coming to gaze upon the man that had killed their master. These creatures showed no sign of human life and Michael paid them no heed as he calmly walked past them.
He’d done what he set out to do and no other creatures here could hold his attention… their low-level power wasn’t worth his time. The more power a demon had the more they would taste of Fallen blood… he was sure of it.
The rush Morgana’s blood had given him was now pulsing through his veins in a warm and fuzzy thrum. It heated him and heightened his senses… this he remembered from the times he’d drank from Aurora.
Michael froze as he fully realized his train of thought. Panic immediately joined the high he was on and the thought of Aurora made a mass of fear settle in his belly accompanied by a bone deep chill. He remembered Kane’s warning on the roof top after killing Samuel. He’d pointed out to Aurora the dangers of letting him taste her blood.
Looking for a reason, he latched on to the memory of Samuel taunting Aurora by telling her about the demons loose in the city that were strong enough to easily kill a Fallen… demons that already held a Fallen body count. These demon masters were a danger to Aurora… Samuel hadn't lied about that.
A slow smile caressed Michael’s lips. He now had a valid reason to feed off the demons that had been released into Los Angeles. Not only would he be protecting Aurora, he could also fulfill his craving with the diluted blood of a hybrid. By taking such small amounts he could keep better control over the unwanted side effects like earthquakes and death by Syn.
“A win-win scenario,” Michael mused and buried his hands in his pockets as he enjoyed his high and searched for his next victim.
