Lone Wolf Rising (Paranormal Romantic Thriller) (The Winters Series) (8 page)

"How’s the trail this afternoon?"
  The guy asked when he rolled down the passenger side window.  He was alone and looked human, but looks could be deceiving.  So Rebecca used her enhanced sense of smell to make sure he was not a threat.   

Rebecca smiled politely once she verified his humanity.
  Phoenix isn’t known for having the nicest people around; Tucson had a better reputation for that.  But when it comes to hikers, the location didn’t matter.  Most of them were friendly.  In a way, one's life could depend on it.  "Fairly good if you’re equipped.  Bring lots of water."  And with that she got into the car and started the engine.

"You’re too nice to be part of this world.
  That kindness is likely to get you killed."  The young looking vampire warned Rebecca as she turned and laid her forehead against the window.  In minutes she was asleep and, hopefully healing. 

Chapter Five

~”Each day I am thankful for nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, dreams that turned into reality and likes that turned into love.”

~Ritu Ghatourey

Rebecca

It was
 a few hours before Rebecca pulled the car up to the street where "The Refuge" was located.  The entire time her new vampire
'friend'
slept.  It was odd having a member of the undead in the car next to her; she was a threat despite being weak and hurt.  Every once in a while Rebecca could hear the thump of the girl’s heart which told her the vampire was still partially alive, but her breathing was practically non-existent.  At least the bleeding stopped, and it looked like her organs and skin had begun to stitch back together.  It was an amazing thing, the speed with which vampires and werewolves could heal.  A human would have died from those wounds, and if a human had survived, surely infection would have taken their life instead.

As
 soon as Rebecca stopped the car and got out, the vampire was gone.  Taken by surprise, Rebecca simply stared at the opened passenger car door and the blur that was obviously the now mostly healed vampire.  She guessed the girl didn’t need help anymore.  The least she could have done was said thank you.  She decided she was simply grateful the vampire did not take the opportunity during the long car ride to kill her; not to mention she brought her to a place she wanted to visit.  In this place, “The Refuge”, she would begin her real investigation into the death of her parents.  She closed the passenger car door, sorry she didn't even get the vampire’s name but happy she could show her a little kindness.  Besides, if she was being honest, there was no doubt they would cross paths again. 

The Refuge was a restaurant by day serving lunch.  At eight the restaurant was converted to a night club.  By the looks of the clientele it was after eight.  She debated whether or not to leave and come back tomorrow after lunch or request sanctuary and enter the club as a supernatural being in need of help. 

Before taking a step into the rowdy nightclub she decided to call Dianna, again, to let her know about the vampire.  The phone went directly to voicemail.  She left another message.  Obviously, five voicemails and countless texts weren’t enough for Dianna to call her back.  Perhaps this situation would warrant a courtesy call.  “Hey Dianna, I hope your phone is working, or not lost.  I just wanted to let you know about the encounter I just had with a young vampire.  Call me back.”

Loyalty was important, especially as a beta member of a pack.
  The simple act of calling Dianna seemed to please her wolf alter ego and she relaxed.  This allowed her to shut down the automatic alert system in her body, like turning off a light switch.  It felt like the two of them; wolf and human, were finally able to breath for the first time since she made the decision to help the vampire.  Despite the gnawing feeling that she did something wrong, she would have done the same thing if she was given a second chance.  She turned towards the night club, still wondering if she even wanted to deal with lost souls and alcoholics tonight.  

She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this
was
 
the
logical first step.  It was, according to the private detective she and Jacks hired, one of the few places her mother visited the day of her death.  Logic was always her best friend, and as she surveyed the nightclub entrance she suddenly felt betrayed by her best friend.  This was not a club her mother would have been found dead in, let alone one of the last places she visited.  She was sure of that.  The clientele made it perfectly clear the patrons were a rowdy bunch.  A mixture
of country, rock and jazz spilled out into the street.  The smell of sickly sweet alcohol, cigarette smoke, fried foods, and pain floated on the gentle breeze that filled the night.

A young girl dressed in a
 skin-tight, brilliantly dark blue dress ran out of the club and made it down the stairs just fast enough to avoid throwing up all over the bouncer’s shoes.  Rebecca briefly wondered why adults punished themselves with alcohol that way, but never having tasted it before; she really had no idea.  She had friends who experimented and it seemed to her the side effects were similar to the stomach flu; why people were excited to drink themselves sick made her question those people’s motives.    

The bouncer, who was dressed in black from head to toe, pressed his fingers to his ears and spoke into some sort of microphone.
  She would have focused her hearing to listen in, but she was sure he was simply telling someone there was a ‘clean up on aisle one’.  The lady finished vomiting just as a larger-than-life biker hunk rushed to her side.  He was a little late to pull her hair back, but the girl still clung to him like a life preserver in turbulent water.  The guy managed to toss a weak smile over his shoulder and the second bouncer shook his head and shrugged him off with a chuckle.  It seemed like a hint that he was a regular customer.   

She couldn’t imagine what her mother would have wanted from this place.
  Perhaps the private investigator was wrong, had his facts confused.  She truly hoped that was the case.  “The Refuge” was a far cry from the high society parties that her parents had attended while they were alive.  In fact, being seen in a place like this would have been social suicide. 

Another woman, dressed in a red and white tight fitting top and blue jeans that looked like they had been painted on her body, walked past the employee who came outside to clean up the mess.  She flipped her long reddish waves behind her shoulders.  With a small, barely noticeable shudder she marched up the stairs and headed straight towards the swinging saloon-style double doors.  The bouncers stepped in her path and became a solid wall of muscle blocking her.  The larger of the two bouncers stepped forward another foot.
  His large black hand went up in a signal known universally as stop.  The hand was larger than the lady’s head.  

Despite his obvious bulk, the redhead was not letting him or anyone else intimidate her.  Rebecca knew, deep down inside, she should not let anything or anyone intimidate her either.
  She was a wolf now; stronger, faster, and even smarter than before if one believed two minds were better than one.  

Rebecca sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to take a step forward; crossing the street had never been so scary.  The patrons and the ambiance of the place were not the scariest parts of this visit; it was what she could find out about her parents that scared her the most.

The young man who was helping the girl who threw up placed the sick girl into a taxi and started to head back to the front of the club.  As he did, his eyes caught Rebecca’s crossing the street.  Striking gold-amber eyes locked on hers and the connection was stronger than an ocean wave crashing against her body.  She could almost feel the sand retreating under her feet and smell the salt on the cool breeze.  The redheaded lady had been forgotten.  The world seemed to crumble around Rebecca as she realized there was something that connected them, something wonderful and dangerous.  She kept walking forward, oblivious to what was happening around her.  Suddenly her feet actually had purpose and a desire to go somewhere, that somewhere was to him. 

“Look out!”
  Rebecca heard him yell but didn’t understand why.  Suddenly, he bolted towards her just as a horn blast broke through her determined haze.  She turned and saw a truck grill only feet away from her body.  To make matters worse there was no sign of the driver putting on the breaks.   

They say your life passes before your eyes in the moments before you die.  They lie.  The mind begins to flood the body with action; the only thing that you can think of is survival.
  She knew it was too late to run but that didn’t stop her from trying.  Only as she did, she realized her feet were no longer on the ground.  The wind was knocked from her lungs.  She tried desperately to find some oxygen for her body to breathe.  For a brief second she wondered if the truck had hit her and she was flying through the air.  It felt like she was flying but she couldn’t remember feeling any pain other than her lungs burning as they struggled for air. 

As the world crashed back into Rebecca’s mind she realized she was hit by a brick wall of a man.
  The young biker hunk.  He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other braced her head against his body as they rolled across the street out of danger from oncoming traffic.  She became vaguely aware of the other people surrounding them and the cars that were stopping because of the added bodies in the street. Rebecca’s eyes locked on his golden ones which grew darker.  His pupils were dilated, but around the dark center she noticed amber and specks of green.  His breath was rushed and hot against her neck, tickling her ear.  Wherever his skin touched hers, it sizzled causing more heat.  Goosebumps covered her from head to toe.  She now understood why life-threatening events are considered a breeding ground for romantic entanglements.  But not all of them find success. 
 

“Are you okay?”
  He asked when they stopped rolling.

Rebecca didn’t have a chance to answer him.  They were instantly pulled up by the bouncers, each one helping them into a standing position.  She found herself thinking there was too much space in between them.
  Without a word they were herded onto the sidewalk across the street from the bar so traffic could continue its merry way down the road. 

“Thank…”
  The words were not allowed to come because her rescuer, the man who had just poured the lady into the taxi cab a few minutes ago, the same man who had risked his life to save her, began yelling at her.

“By the Gods, woman!
  Did no one ever teach you to look before crossing the street?”  His sun kissed face was red with irritation and his golden eyes grew dark as anger and worry took hold. 

“Excuse me?”
  If his tone and statement hadn’t made her so mad she would have felt embarrassed.  Instead Rebecca’s blood began to boil. 

Her wolf spoke the word
'Nephilim'
in her mind as a warning, but she had no idea what that was.  The only thing she could assume was that he was supernatural. 
'Angel-human hybrid
,' the wolf supplied, although she sounded irritated that she had to explain.

“You almost got yourself killed!”
  He ran a shaky hand through his blonde wavy hair that looked like golden silk.  Having been in close proximity a moment ago, she knew he smelled of vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves.  He reminded her of Chai tea which was one of her favorite drinks.
 

“And that would be a shame, little wolf.  From what I hear, there are not very many of you left.”
  The redheaded lady tossed Rebecca an evil smile as she flung her hair behind her shoulders.  For some reason, she decided that the drama playing out between Rebecca and this man was more interesting than trying to gain entrance into the sanctuary.  Her milky white skin was stone pale, an obvious side effect to being a member of the walking dead family.  She wore b
right red
lipstic
k
and dark liner around
her
gre
y
eyes
making them look more eerie and lifeless if that was possible
. 
While the
rest of her was beautiful the smell of her was death.  Rebecca’s senses had been assaulted by a similar smell from the vampire she saved earlier, only that vampire child smelled sour
. 

Rebecca covered her nose and took a step back into her rescuer’s strong arms.  She decided she’d met her limit of vampires tonight.  Her first thought was to ignore the redhead.  It wasn’t like this was her business anyway.  But instinct told her that was not going to be possible.