Legacy of Blood (20 page)

Right before the doors opened for the night, Quinn escorted a human I had never seen before up the stairs.  “Skye, why don’t you take your guest upstairs to Archer’s office?” he said with a look that clearly told me she was my feeder.

Samantha turned out to be quite tasty and Archer and I shared her together.  It was a miracle I made it through the feeding without pouncing on Archer and having my wicked way with him.  There’s something about sharing blood with someone that is so intimate and sexual.

I made it down just as the first group of vampires started pouring in.  The first person I waited on was a Dark One.  He was short and stocky and looked weak on the outside, but his emotions were strong and a bit dark.  I was picking up a lot of confusing feelings from him and I tried to block them out as best I could.

“You’re new,” he said straight away.

“Not really,” I replied with a smile, “I’ve worked here since we opened,”

“Not what I meant,” he leaned in as he took a seat on the barstool and put his hands on the counter.  “You’re a newborn.”

“Guilty,” I smiled tightly and changed the subject.  “What can I get for you tonight?”

“Blood Rocks,” he answered as he eyed me closely and I went about filling his request.

I set the red Solo cup in front of him on a napkin and accepted his credit card to open a tab.  His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist as I was picking up the card off the counter.  “What are you?” he asked, confused.

“My name is Skye,” I smiled and put on my best ‘don’t fuck with me’ face, “and I’m your bartender today.”  I put my hand on his and exerted just enough pressure on his wrist to show him I was stronger and did not like to be touched.  He released my hand in surprise and I gave him a wink as I started to walk to my next customer.  “You just let me know if you need anything else.”

I immediately liked working the VIP more than the main floor.  Tips were outrageously large and the vampires were to the point.  No one grabbed my boobs or ass when I delivered bottle service and though some flirted, it wasn’t overly obnoxious flirting like some human boys tended to do.

As the night wore on, I noticed Archer had stationed Emrick at the top of the stairs and Pádraig on my end of the bar.  Someone was being overly cautious I thought, but it was sweet all the same.  It was kind of nice having someone who cared enough to go to such lengths to protect me. 
Wow, I have really changed!
  I would have seen it as a pain in the ass and a sign they thought I was delicate and weak when I was a human.

I was on my way back from delivering a bottle of Dom to a table when Emrick caught my attention.  “Dean Cruz is with Quinn.  He wants to have a word with you.”

“Well, send him up,” I smiled.

Emrick shook his head and leaned to whisper in my ear.  “Werewolves are not welcome up here.”

I leaned back and felt my eyebrows rise in understanding.  Werewolves and vampires did not normally get along with one another.  I had heard one bite from them could pretty much kill a vampire. 
Oh no!  I’m a vampire now.  He’ll hate me!

“Is there a problem?” Archer asked Emrick, his palm on the center of my back.

“Cruz is downstairs,” Emrick nodded.  “Wants to talk to Skye.”

Archer’s brow furrowed and he sighed.  “Shit.  Okay, five minutes Skye.  Emrick will escort you down but do not leave the stairs, got me?”

I nodded as I took a deep breath and steadied myself. 
Will I lose him as a friend because of what I am now?
  I followed Emrick down and spotted Dean standing next to Quinn at the bottom of the stairs.  Dean smiled when he saw me, but it quickly faded and was replaced by a look of confusion.

“What the hell is this?” he asked, looking to Quinn for answers.  “I don’t understand.”

Emrick stopped me fours steps from the bottom and would not allow me to get any closer.  “Hey, handsome,” I smiled and tried for normal.  “’Bout time you came to see me again.”

“’Bout time you showed up, toots,” he growled unhappily.  “You weren’t here when I came yesterday.  What the fuck did you let those blood suckers do to you?”

“Lower your voice, wolf,” Quinn growled lowly.  “If you want to discuss this, chill the temper and use your inside voice when you speak.  We are in the company of humans.”

Dean seemed to remember where he was and angrily jerked his head once, showing he understood.  “Tell me,” he said under his breath but I could hear him perfectly, even over the driving industrial beat.

“It’s not what you think,” I said just as softly.  “I didn’t choose this but it was either this or the final death.”  I quickly gave him the condensed version of what happened and he paled considerably.

“Jesus Christ,” he whispered, his face disgusted.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that, Dic,” I seethed, my eyes narrowed in anger as I jabbed my finger in his direction.  “I’m the exact same person now as I was when you met me.”

“Ironic, isn’t it?  Those are the same words I said to you when you found out what I was.”

“Yes, it is,” I sighed as I crossed my arms over my chest.  “But the question is: are you going to make the same mistake I did and turn your back on me now?  I can’t change what happened.  This is who I am now.  Take me or leave me, Dean, but I hope you take me.  I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

Dean raked his hands through his hair and looked down at his feet.  I was having a hard time gauging his emotions because they were wild at best.  He was silent a long time and I thought maybe he wasn’t going to answer me.  Finally, he lifted his head and looked me in the eyes.  I noted the pain behind his now.

“My species does not freely associate with yours, Skye,” he whispered, looking defeated and upset.  “It’s been this way since the dawning of time.  We are each other’s natural enemies.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” I shook my head, softly pleading with him.  “Just because that’s the way it’s been done in the past doesn’t mean we can’t change it for the future.  I want you in my life, Dean.  You’re my friend and I know I’m yours… I know you care about me.  Don’t throw that away over something like this.  I deeply regretted when I walked away from you after I found out you were a werewolf.  If you walk away from me today, I know you will too.”

“It’s not that simple,” he frowned.

“Yes, it is,” I argued stubbornly.

“No, it’s not,” he argued back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yes.  It.  IS,” I stomped my foot childishly.  “Don’t make me come down there and hug you, Dean Ian Cruz, because I will.”

Dean stared at me a moment and then burst out laughing.  “You’re still adorable when you’re angry… even as a blood sucker.  And, you’d give my mother a run for her money using my full name to drive your point.  God, I hate it when she does that.” 

“You’ve met MY mother, right?” I laughed along with him.  He nodded his head and I smiled down at him and waited patiently for his answer.  I hoped he could look past the species barrier and continue to see the person I was deep down.

“Fuck me, toots,” he sighed, running his hand through his hair again.  “This isn’t going to go over well with my pack.”

“Well I’m a big girl, honey.  I can handle a little anger thrown my way.  Who knows, maybe they’ll come around.”

Dean chuckled humorlessly and shook his head.  “Not likely.”

“Well then that’s my problem, isn’t it?  Don’t make it yours, babe.  I can handle it.”

He sighed and shook his head.  “You just don’t take no for an answer, do you?”

“Nope,” I smiled, biting my bottom lip.  “Friends?”

He studied me a few long moments and then shook his head again.  “You’re incorrigible, you know that?” he smiled, his deep dimples on full display.

“You don’t know the half of it, honey,” I smiled back.  “When I have my mind set on something, no one is going to change it.  So… friends?”

He sighed again as he smiled and shook his head.  “We’ll give it a try, but I can’t promise anything.”

“I knew you couldn’t hate me,” I teased with a bright smile.

“You make it damn near impossible, toots,” he chuckled and held his arms out.  “Come here and give me a hug.”

I moved to step down and Emrick stopped me.  “No touching.”

“What are you, my prison warden?” I scoffed and shook his arm off.  “Step off, Em.  You know Dean would never hurt me.”

“Things change, Skye,” he whispered in my ear.  “The rules of the game are different now.  Wolves and vampires are enemies, no matter what you two may say.  You can’t change centuries of history.”

I stood back from him and raised my eyebrows in surprise.  I think that had been the longest I’d ever heard him speak.  Emrick was famously a man of few words.  “I don’t care, Em.  I am going to be the change I want to see.  How else can we expect a different outcome?  Step aside.  I’m doing this whether you like it or not.  It’s my choice, not yours.  And take a good look around.  We are smack in the middle of the busiest club in Austin.  Even if Dean had less than honest intentions, he wouldn’t try something around this many witnesses.  Now move, love.”

Emrick growled at me unhappily then turned to Dean.  “Just a hug and then she gets back upstairs.  If you want to see her again, you talk to Archer first.”

I wanted to argue with him, but it was pointless.  I’d take it up with Archer later.  I wasn’t going to let anyone dictate who I could and could not see, even now that I was no longer human and a member of Archer’s family.  I had always been my own person and always would be.

Dean looked like he wanted to say something to Emrick too, but I caught his gaze and shook my head.  He silenced whatever he was about to say and I stepped down and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Thank you for trying,” I whispered as I hugged him tightly to me.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and rubbed up and down my back.  “Thank you for not taking no for an answer, toots.  This isn’t going to be easy for us, but I promise I’ll try.”  Dean turned his head into my neck and growled softly.  “You smell like a fucking vampire.”

I pulled back with a chuckle and lightly swatted his arm.  “Hey!  Don’t hate.  I smell awesome and you know it.  I’m wearing the new fragrance by D & G.”

He winked at me and then pursed his lips a bit.  “This is kind of weird now; you know, with you being a vampire and all.”

I sighed and grabbed his hand.  “It’s only weird if you allow it to be, honey.  Look past the color of my eyes and see the person I am.  Nothing has really changed.”

He sighed too and tried to look like the weight of the world hadn’t just fallen on his shoulders.  “So, I guess skydiving is out this weekend?”

I frowned and nodded my head.  “Unfortunately.  Rain check?”

“Sounds good, babe,” he said, patting my hand with his free one.  He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.  I could see how hard my new condition was going to be for him.  “I’ll let you get back to work I guess.  I’m in desperate need of a beer now.  I’m going to go to the bar and drown my sorrows over the girl who got away.”

“Dean,” I whispered, my brow crinkling with sympathy and sadness.  I knew he liked me but I didn’t know he liked me that way.  “Don’t say that; I’m still here as your friend.  And just FYI, you should know I’m a pretty shitty girlfriend.  Consider yourself lucky you were able to dodge that bullet.  Trust m-”

“You’re totally fucking clueless, you know that?” Dean asked, cutting me off as he stared at me hard, confusion painting his face.  “Why is it you can’t see how amazing you are, Skye?  I’ve never met anyone more willing to see the bad in theirself than the good.”

I bit my bottom lip and looked down at my hands.  What could I say to him to make him understand?  I had gotten my stalker ex killed and decapitated and I had ripped out and stomped on poor Jameson’s heart.  I was like a Pandora’s Box; open me up and prepare for destruction.  “There’s more to me than meets the eye, that’s all I’m trying to say.”

“I know there is,” Dean smiled and then winked at me.  “Why do you think I put up with you?  Call me Saturday morning and I’ll come pick you up on the way out to the jump site.”

I agreed and gave him one last hug before watching him turn and cut his way through the crowd toward the bar.

“Archer’s going to love that,” Quinn chuckled, drawing my attention to him.

“Love what?”

“He’s going to love that you’re still friends with Dean,” Quinn smirked sarcastically.

“I’m going to love kicking your butt if you don’t start minding your own business, you big brat,” I teased as I lightly hit him on the shoulder before turning and heading back upstairs.

Archer caught my eye once I was behind the bar and I smiled at him, letting him know everything was okay.  I worried a little how Archer was going to take my continued friendship with Dean, but told myself he’d just have to understand.  I may not have known Dean long, but that didn’t matter; we were good friends and I was determined to keep him in my life.

The rest of the night passed quickly and I began cleaning up as soon as the patrons started filing out.  Lochlan and I counted down the till, sorted all the credit card receipts, and made note of which blood types we needed to stock for tomorrow’s shift.  Once the dancers were gone for the night, Archer escorted me downstairs to the first floor bar.