Born in the Shadows (In the Shadows Series Book 1) (13 page)

She became acutely aware of the fact that she was alone with Gabe and if she sunk her teeth in him, there was no one around to pull her off him this time. She could drain him dry on accident.

She quickly extracted herself from Gabe’s arms, needing physical space between them. He seemed reluctant to let her go and though she felt the same, she didn’t want to risk losing control. He settled back into the couch and she leaned back on the coffee table, her eyes darting around the room, focusing on anything but him. She didn’t want to be staring at him as if he was a delectable piece of meat.

“So do you spend all your nights fighting in alleys?”

“No, definitely not. I’m hoping that was a one-time-only occurrence. It was actually my first night out and I’m not sure if I want to do it again. I was crazy to have let Mary talk me into going out tonight.”

“If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have found you.”

His simple statement warmed her and she smiled brightly. “That’s true.”

He smiled back and they stared at each other for a beat before she broke eye contact. There were too many conflicting feelings inside her and she needed to keep herself focused on neutral subjects. Gazing into his baby blues definitely wasn’t a neutral subject.

Gabe seemed to take the cue from her and changed the subject. “So what happens now?”

“I’m not exactly familiar with the protocol for this sort of situation. I guess I’ll tell Nicky what happened and see what he thinks should be done.”  

“Do you think we will still be able to see each other?”

“Of course,” she said a bit too quickly and dropped her eyes to her lap. “I mean, if you want to that is.”

“No question.”

She looked at him to check that she heard him right and was pulled right back into those eyes. It was as if her attraction to him was magnified a million times when she looked into them. She saw nothing but the truth there and her heart warmed with the knowledge that he still wanted to know her.

“You are so different now,” he said, his voice filled with awe.

She brushed her hand over her hair self consciously. “Another perk of being a Shadow Walker. You get a bit of a makeover.”

“No, it’s not the physical changes. There’s this contentment inside you, like you’ve found your happiness. I like it.”

She could feel heat rise in her cheeks at his words. There was something surreal that it was his blood that was rising to the surface of her skin. She reached up to fiddle with her necklace nervously and the movement attracted Gabe’s attention and his eyes drift lower.

She glanced down to see if it was the blood but all that was visible was her cleavage peeking out between the lapels of the jacket. She looked back to Gabe, who was shifting on the couch, spreading his legs apart slightly. His tongue darted out and traced across his bottom lip and her skin heated at the movement. She longed to reach out and let her own tongue touch his lips.

Instead, she took a deep breath to steady herself, trying valiantly to calm her desire. The dark scent of arousal tickled her nose and she realized it wasn’t coming from her. She leaned closer to him and the scent grew stronger. It was definitely coming from Gabe. Maybe going for a kiss was the right move after all. At the thought of kissing him, her body responded on instinct and her fangs poked past her lips. She jumped back from Gabe in a panic, covering her mouth with a hand.

Damn it, was she always going to want to feed when she was turned on. That was really going to put a damper on her love life if it was true.

“It’s okay,” he said, moving closer to her. “They don’t look bad at all. They look kinda sexy.”

Arousal reared up inside her at his words. She had never been called sexy before and she had never imagined Gabe would be the one saying it to her. She wanted to rip his shirt off and taste every inch of his well-muscled chest. And then sink her teeth in every one of those inches.

“There she is, our very own Xena, Warrior Princess.”

Cordelia jumped up as Demetri came into the room followed by Mary. She felt like she had been caught doing something illicit which was ridiculous. Nothing even PG-13 had happened between them. Unfortunately.

“Everyone in the club was talking about you. They think you’re a total badass. You’re going to go down as a legend,” Demetri said animatedly, holding his hand up for a high five. She obliged him, shaking her head at his enthusiasm. She had never been called a badass before. Guess things really were changing.

Demetri continued, his eyes shining with excitement. “Katerina said it was one of the best challenges she has ever witnessed. Which is saying something because she’s old so she’s seen a lot. She and Zeke are going to come over tomorrow night with a few other people. We’ll have a party to celebrate.”

It seemed a little odd to be celebrating her beating the crap out of someone else but considering the night she had so far, it wasn’t even close to the strangest thing to happen.

“Nicky wants us to meet with him in his study,” Mary interrupted, much less excited than Demetri. “He said you can bring your boy along.” 

Mary’s grim expression had her stomach twisting in knots. God, she hoped Nicky wasn’t angry with her for what happened tonight. Or worse, that he was disappointed in her. Damn. This whole sire and fledgling dynamic was a hell of a mind trip.

Cordelia could feel the desperation rising up inside. If Nicky was disappointed in her, how was she going to make him proud of her again? She had no idea how she would fix it and what would happen to her if she never could. Would he cast her out? She would be completely alone in the world.

“Hey, sweetheart, don’t get yourself excited,” Mary said, obviously picking up the distress she was broadcasting. She put a hand on her cheek, patting it reassuringly. “Nicky won’t be mad at you, I promise. Everything is going to be fine.”

Cordelia nodded, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Mary knew Nicky better than she did and Mary wouldn’t lie to her.

“Thank you,” she said and threw her arms around Mary, pressing a kiss to her cheek. She let go of Mary and turned back to Gabe, ready to direct him to the study and she was surprised to find him glaring daggers at Mary. 

She was about to ask him what was going on but the look quickly vanished from his face and he was back to smiling at her.

“Lead the way,” he said with a wave of his hand.

There would be time later to discuss what that was all about. Right now she had to go see what Nicky wanted with all of them.

***

Gabe followed closely behind Cordelia as the group made their way through the front hall and headed towards the rear of the house. He felt like he was watching himself from above, as if his mind had separated from his body. It was as if he had been sucker punched and when he came to; the entire world had been changed except he was the only one who noticed.

Vampires were real. They called themselves Shadow Walkers. They went to clubs. They drove cars. They had homes. They had lesbian girlfriends.

Seeing Mary with her hands all over Cordelia had brought out his jealous side. Sure, he knew he had no chance with her but it didn’t mean he wanted to watch her with someone else, especially when that someone else interrupted his time with Cordelia.  

He thought back to before the others had arrived and Cordelia had been in his arms. It had started innocently enough; it had been all about touching her so that he knew she was really there. It didn’t take long for those innocent vibes to be drowned under raging hormones that burst on the scene when he noticed her breasts were flush against his chest.

He could feel her breath on his neck, the same place she had sunk her teeth into earlier. He wanted it to happen again, to feel her suckling on his neck, sending that intense pleasure driving through his body again.

Now that he thought about it, it was probably a good thing her girlfriend had arrived. Any longer with her and he would have made a move on her and embarrassed them both. The summoning to the principal’s office was for the best and gave him a chance to cool off.

They entered a room at the end of a short hallway off of the front hall. The study was furnished with more antiques and it gave off the vibe of major net worth. Heavy drapes, fancy rugs, glossy wood, all of it made his skin itch. He grew up blue collar and he didn’t feel comfortable around all of this fancy shit.

Seated behind the large desk in the centre of the room was a teenaged boy. The kid barely had any peach fuzz but he sat there as if he owned the place. He watched as the others took their seats around the room, all of them facing Pint Sized.

Cordelia came to his side and nodded towards the kid. “Gabe, this is Nicky.”

The boy rose to his feet and held out a hand in greeting. Gabe reacted automatically, reaching out to shake the proffered hand but his mind was at a standstill from shock. This was the man who had changed Cordelia?

              “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gabe.”

“You’re just a kid!”

He hadn’t meant to say that aloud. Whatever, at least the kid didn’t seem pissed. Instead, he smiled and Gabe could see his fangs. Jesus Christ, it was creepy as all hell to see those chompers in the face of a kid.

“I wish I still felt like a kid,” Nicky replied and Gabe saw something ancient in his eyes, a wisdom that didn’t belong on such a young face.

“Please, sit down.”

Gabe took a seat next to Cordelia on a small couch and Nicky rounded his desk and settled in the chair there. Gabe had thought that the strangest thing he had seen tonight would be the bloody battle in the alley but watching this ancient teenager leading a meeting between vampires topped the list. 

Nicky leaned forward and propped his elbow on the desk, resting his chin in his hand. “So what exactly happened tonight?”

Mary and Demetri gave him a quick play by play of what happened and Nicky looked over at Cordelia, quirking an eyebrow.

“Sounds like you made quite a splash on your first night out.”

Gabe felt Cordelia tense beside him before she spoke.

“Nicky, I’m sorry that things got so out of hand but I couldn’t let that jackass bite Gabe. The only reason he was in the club in the first place was because he saw me go inside. It would have been my fault if something had happened to him.”

Nicky held up his other hand to silence her. “I’m not angry, child. I understand why you did what you did. I would have done the same in your place.”

              Gabe saw a blush rise in her cheeks at his words of approval. She was gazing at Nicky with complete adoration and he felt jealousy rear its ugly head. The desire to punch the kid in his smug little face reared up right along with it. Which wasn’t good.

She didn’t belong to him so he had no right to be jealous. Besides, she had said Nicky was like a father to her so punching him in the face wouldn’t go over well. Yeah, best to keep that green eyed monster under tight control.

“However my approval does not erase my worries,” Nicky continued, sitting back in the chair. “Armand is part of the Aldric clan and they have always been a problem. Aldric, the Old One the clan descended from, was a warmonger and he seems to have passed his aggressive traits down the generations. They are also one of the highest reproducing clans and the older members have little control over the younger ones.”

Gabe was confused by the talk of clans but he understood enough to know that the Armand guy could be serious trouble. He liked it better when he had thought he was just some Anne Rice fanboy who lived in his mom’s basement.

“On the High Council’s order, the Enforcer has been monitoring a particular group of the Aldric clan for the last few months. They were marked as potential rogues. Armand is part of that group.”

Gabe looked to Cordelia but she seemed as confused as him however Nicky noticed and elaborated.

“Our kind has our own laws and if a Shadow Walker breaks one, they are considered rogues and are rounded up to be punished. Breaking even one of the laws can put the entire race at risk and when anyone begins to put a toe over that line, they are put on a watch list of sorts.”

“So this Armand guy is on that list?” Gabe asked, figuring that since Nicky was talking to him, he had a right to participate in the conversation as much as the others did.

“Yes. And that means there is a high likelihood that Armand won’t accept his defeat gracefully. I’m worried that he’ll want revenge and he may retaliate. And if he can’t get to Cordelia, he may come after Gabe as a way to get to her.”

“What about reaching out to his sire?” Mary suggested.

Nicky shook his head in dismay. “Unfortunately, his sire, along with the sires of the other males in the group, chose to end their lives a few years ago. It’s why the Enforcer began monitoring the group of males in the first place. There is no one to stop them if they decide to go rogue.”

“I’m sorry I caused this whole mess,” Cordelia said, her voice raspy and Gabe saw those damn tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

The sight of her crying did all sorts of horrible things to him. It ignited a protective instinct in him that made him want to scoop her up and take her away from here. Just run off and take her some place where nothing could make her cry again.