Feral Instincts (The Feral Series) (15 page)

Ethan
got into the front passenger seat of the SUV and Ava slid into the back seat in
between Teagan and Joseph. Joseph smiled at her reassuringly. Ava tried to smile
back but it was strained due to the butterflies in her stomach.

Thankfully,
Joseph had tracked her down earlier and they had a chance to talk. In spite of
her embarrassment she had apologized for her reaction and how she had run away
from him after their kiss. He had reassured her that they were okay and had
apologized in return. Ava was so relieved that he wasn’t mad at her. She was
sure that her cheeks had glowed a bright pink through the whole conversation
and it had been a little awkward but they were soon joking around again. She
did however have to sit through another lecture about the dangers of being in
the company of werewolves. Apparently Joseph still considered himself her
self-appointed guardian angel. In spite of his over protectiveness, Ava was
glad to have her friend back.

The
ride to Howler’s had been a tense one for Ava. After the two men had exchanged
killing looks with each other the rest of the ride had passed in silence. Ava
thought about breaking the quiet but small talk didn’t seem appropriate given
the situation. By the time they pulled up outside of Howler’s she could feel
knots beginning to form in her shoulders.

Ava
looked at the building in apprehension. It looked like some kind of biker bar
or something. The bar had a rough wooden front porch and corrugated metal
walls. There was a neon sign out front that said Howler’s with the image of a
wolf baying at the moon. This was definitely not one of the trendy clubs she
had been to with Kat and Patrick. Ava felt a pang of homesickness at the
thought of her friends. She would love to see Patrick’s reaction if she had
brought him to Howler’s with her. Kat would probably have loved it, she was
always up for an adventure. So much had happened since she had seen them last.
She missed them both terribly.

As
they all got out of the SUV Ava felt like some kind of celebrity with her two
burly bodyguards. Joseph and Teagan took up positions on either side of her and
Colin and Ethan brought up the rear as they all headed into the bar.

Walking
in the door Ava was overcome with the smell of cigarette smoke and started to
cough a little. It was dimly lit so the lights didn’t hurt her eyes but the
loud music pounded in her head and to her dismay she realized she could hear
everyone’s conversation a though they were right in front of her. It was
completely overwhelming.

She
could feel herself beginning to panic and began to stumble backwards towards
the door until a broad male chest stopped her escape. A strong arm wrapped
around her stomach to steady her and then Joseph’s calming scent began to wrap
around her.

Ignoring
Teagan’s low growl he leaned his head down to her ear and spoke soothingly.
“Just take it easy. Being a newborn you may get a little overwhelmed by how
intense the smells and sounds are. Just give your body a minute to adjust, it
will get better in a minute or two.” Ava gripped his forearm like it was a life
raft and closed her eyes while she regrouped. Forcing a calm she didn’t feel
she tried to slow her heartbeat down and remind herself of why they were here.

To
her relief, Joseph was right. After a few minutes things became less intense as
her body adjusted to her surroundings. Releasing her tight grip on his arm, Ava
gave him a pat of thanks and eased out of his embrace. “I’m better, it’s okay.
I can do this.” She wasn’t sure if she was reassuring Joseph or herself but she
squared her shoulders and looked up into Teagan’s fierce gaze.

With
a gulp she could feel her heart rate speeding up again. He was clearly not
happy at Joseph’s familiarity with her. Breaking his gaze, Ava followed
Joseph’s lead into the bar. On stiff legs Ava followed him across the smoky
space, relieved that he was clearing a path through all the people that seemed
to be watching them in curiosity.

Ava
and her entourage set up camp at a tall bar table and she hopped up onto a bar
stool, and took a moment to look around the bar. Her eyes wide, she tried to
peek at the people around her without getting caught staring. She had been told
this was a hangout for some of the members of the Lore and was curious who was
human and who was not.

Seeing
that Ava was safely settled and for the moment out of trouble Joseph felt safe
leaving her with Teagan for a few minutes. The werewolf was glaring menacingly
at anyone who dared to let their eyes linger on Ava’s curves just a little too
long. Oh yah, she would be safe for a little while.
Dam, this is going to be
a long night. I should probably get a drink while I’m over there.
“I’ll be
back in a minute I need to talk to Liam.” Joseph made his way back across the
dimly lit space in search of his old friend.

Walking
up to the bar Joseph kept his eyes on the crowd and his surroundings while he
waited for the bartender. Joseph watched the little female for a moment while
she worked. He was surprised, she wasn’t the type of girl Liam usually hired.

Long
red hair tumbled down her back to a small waist. The gentle curve of her hips
was covered in a pair of low riding jeans that offered him a glimpse skin just
below the hem of her tight fitting Howler’s t-shirt. Her features were delicate
and refined and when he caught her eyes he found them a fascinating mixture of
gold, green and brown.

Definitely
not the usual full figured, sultry types Liam usually hired for the bar. Liam
usually like them curvier, blond, and busty. Not that there was anything wrong
with that. Joseph smiled as he thought of the last bartender Liam had hired.
She had had a thing for dark haired vampires. No, nothing wrong with that at
all.

Having
spotted Joseph, the little bartender made her way over to him. “Hi, what can I
get for you?” Joseph liked the husky quality to her voice and now that she was
closer he could single her scent out from the others. She smelled of sweet
human female and… Liam. Liam’s scent was both on her skin and in her veins.
Stealing a quick glance at her neck he could clearly make out Liam’s brand on
her skin. Apparently she was Liam’s Chosen.
What the hell? Since when had
Liam taken a chosen?

Vampires
would sometimes bond a particular human to them so no other vampires could feed
from them. It was a branding of sorts and something all vampires took very
seriously. A simple ceremony and an exchange of blood and the human became the
vampires Chosen. Once a human was marked as a vampire’s chosen they were for
all intents and purposes the property of the vampire.  In ideal situations
the Chosen was well cared for and protected by their master however the
arrangement was frequently abused with humans being bonded against their will.

As
part of the bonding the vampire would also share blood with their Chosen giving
them the added benefit of an extended lifespan among other things. Once the
bond was made no other vampire could feed from them. The Chosen’s blood became
incompatible to all others except the vampire that owned them.

It
could be a mutually beneficial arrangement but not something every vampire
would want. Having a Chosen was a responsibility one should not take lightly.
Once a human knew of their existence it was almost impossible for them to go
back to living a human life. Liam had never been the kind of guy to commit to
something like that. He wondered what the hell had changed his mind. Was it
possible he had fallen for the little red head? Trying to hide his shock,
Joseph remembered that she had asked for his order and quickly tried to resume
a look of casual indifference.

“Basil
Hayden if you have it.”

Her
hazel eyes widened in surprise for a moment. Joseph raised an eyebrow at her in
question when she just looked at him for a moment. “Oh… sure. It’s just that
the only one around here that drinks Basil is Liam. Are you a friend of his by
any chance?”

Cleaver
girl.
“Yes, as a matter of fact. Do you know where I can
find him?”

She
looked at him shrewdly for a moment, sizing him up, nibbling on her full bottom
lip. “Who should I tell him is here?”

 “Just
tell him it’s Joseph.”

“Just
a moment.” She walked over to the other male who had been standing behind the
bar with her while casting cautious looks over at Joseph and whispering to him
quietly so Joseph couldn’t hear her. The man made eye contact with Joseph who
nodded at him and then left. A few moments later Liam appeared at the redhead’s
side. Joseph took note of the hand Liam placed familiarly on her waist as he
leaned down to hear what she was saying.

The
large vampire towered over her. What the hell was Liam thinking? She was way
too tiny for Liam’s large appetite in more ways than one. She looked even
smaller standing in front of the man but then again so did anyone who stood
next to Liam. She leaned up on her tip toes and spoke quietly in to Liam’s ear
and nodded towards Joseph. Looking in his direction, Liam’s face broke into a
grin and he made his way around the bar.

“Joseph!”
He boomed. “Where have you been man?” The huge mountain of a man crushed Joseph
in a rib cracking bear hug and pounded his back, knocking the wind out of him.

“Good
to see you too Liam.” Joseph wheezed.

“What
have you been up to man? I haven’t seen you in months.” Liam settled his large
frame onto the bar stool next to Joseph with a creak. “Alex, honey, bring us
both a Basil Adams.” The little red head appeared with the bottle of whisky and
Joseph watched her quickly pour the two drinks and then scurry away. Grateful
she left them the bottle, Joseph couldn’t help but admired the sway of her hips
as he watched her move down the bar to wait on a customer. Forcing is eyes away
he struggled to focus on why he was he in the first place.

The
two men talked small talk for a bit while they nursed the bottle of whisky.
After a few minutes Liam leaned into Joseph and looked him in the eye. “All
right man, why are you really here? You in some kind of trouble or something?
You keep looking around this room like you are expecting to get jumped at any
minute.”

Joseph
laughed at him. People often made the mistake of underestimating Liam. A lot of
people thought that just because he was huge he was also slow. They usually
didn’t get a second chance to make that mistake. He was actually one of the
shrewdest vampires Joseph knew. “You have some place we can talk?”

“Ya,
sure. Let’s head to my office.” Liam looked at Joseph curiously and they both
got up and headed towards the back of the bar.

Ava
was getting restless sitting on the stool at the little table. Someone had
brought a round of drinks over and she had been taking her time sipping at
hers. Colin stood up and held his hand out to her. “Come on Ava. Let’s go shoot
some pool.”

“I
don’t know. Do you think that’s a good idea?” Ava looked to Teagan to see his
reaction but before Teagan could ruin his fun Colin took her hand and pulled
her to her feet. “Come on. This is the first time you have been out since you
came to us and we may as well make the most of it. Besides, this isn’t going
won’t work if no one knows you are here.” 

He
was right. Teagan had been standing in front of her protectively since they got
here. If the plan was going to work Salvatore was going to have to find out
that she was here. She had to stop hiding in the corner whether Teagan liked it
or not. “Okay but I have to warn you I am a lousy pool player.”

“Ya,
that’s what all the pretty pool sharks say right before they take all your
money.” Colin teased her as he took her hand and guided her through the room.
Teagan watched them with a low growl in his chest. He wasn’t happy about it but
Ava deserved to have a little fun. He supposed a game of pool would be okay.
Colin really didn’t need to keep holding her hand though, he scowled and moved
closer to the pool tables. He made eye contact with Ethan who was across the
room and exchanged a nod with him.

A
few moments into the game Teagan put his foot out to stop the ball that Ava had
bounced off the table. She was terrible, cute, but terrible. He retrieved Ava’s
ball and held it out for her. She strolled over with a smile on her face and
held her hand out for the ball. “Better watch out, you could hurt a man with
one of these.” Ava laughed as Teagan handed her the ball. She put it back on
the table and got ready for her shot. She had taken off her jacket so she would
be more comfortable while playing pool and now he had a completely unobstructed
view of the curves that had been hiding under the jacket. For a moment he
couldn’t breathe as she bent over the table and lined up her pool cue. Shaking
his head he looked up to see that he wasn’t the only one that was appreciating
the view. Gritting his teeth he resisted the urge to toss her over his shoulder
and drag her out of there. Ava as usual was oblivious to the attention she was
generating.

Colin’s
last ball rolled into the corner pocket as he expertly won the game. Ava
groaned. “Now look who the pool shark is. Good thing I don’t have any money.”
Colin laughed at her as Ava turned to Teagan and passed him her pool cue.
“Here, you play a round. I have to use the ladies room.”

Ethan
had checked the perimeter when they got here and the bathroom had no windows or
exits other than the door that Teagan could plainly see so he nodded and let
her go but he watched her all the way. Colin scanned the room to see who else
may be watching her too as he set up the balls to break for the next game.
Unfortunately she was drawing a lot of looks but there was no way to tell yet
if any of them were with Salvatore.