The Vampire's Bat (4 page)

Everyone cheered again and separated. Some were
already stripping to shift, while others helped load people onto the trailer.

Gale leaned over to him and spoke low. “Uh, Sea, being
the alpha’s mate, I’m more than a little embarrassed to have to ask this, but I
don’t understand what makes a member and what doesn’t. Do you count couples as
one, or two, and do you count the kids? And Nix had said something about
Bronya’s
parents.”

Seamus turned and gave Gale a friendly smile. “In
packs, you count all who can shift. In a coven, it’s all who have awakened. But
we are a unique pack. Since we have
some
who
aren’t
paranormals
,
Alphy
modified it slightly, adding humans of legal age. All others are considered
dependents.”

“Oh, that makes sense. So that means Reese is counted,
but Paul isn’t? Paul’s a dependent?”

“Correct.”

“
Gotchya
.
Thanks, Sea.”

“Not a problem. I think
Alphy
wants to help you up onto the wagon. Let’s go get ourselves some hot drinks.”

“I’m with
ya
on that.
Yum.
I love the idea of doing this every month.”

Chapter Four

Maysa
hung from her feet, high up on a branch a few trees back from the tree line.
She was able to hear the alpha’s speech from her perch. Now, as she listened to
the excited children climbing up onto the back of the trailer, she thought over
what he had said. None the least was just how long this pack had existed.
From the sounds of it, they’ve already had
enough trouble.
I shouldn’t further
endanger them,
she thought. But her entire body rebelled at the thought of
leaving the vampire.
He was true to his
word and didn’t try to approach me last night.
And what of the
badger?
Was he sent to guard me?
It had scared her, almost enough to
flee, when she spotted the badger. One could sometimes tell by looking into
their eyes, if they were animal or shifter. Her assumption was confirmed when
she’d followed him to the edge of the clearing and saw him shift. But she
hadn’t scented his human side while he was shifted.
So odd.
Maybe an effect from the experiments?
Could I
be wrong about the vampire? Could he really be my mate? He says I might be.

Before she and her family had been abducted, she had
worked around needles all day in a lab.
But now, the idea of
needle-like fangs coming near her sent shivers of revulsion through her body.
Still, if he’s my mate … fate wouldn’t
make a mistake, right? How can I let him taste my blood without letting him
bite me? I can’t even stand needles.
Maysa
brushed her thoughts aside, to question later, and prepared to follow the pack
as it started making its way along a path into the trees. She was able to see
several kinds of shifters. Most were elk, and there were a few bears and
wolves. She noted a lion and recognized the badger trotting beside him. One
shifter scared her. He was a giant snake that was well over thirty feet. She
guessed he was in the forty foot range.

As they were being pulled through the trees, the group
in the tractor chatted and laughed excitedly, as the mix of shifters in their
animal forms ventured around them along the trail. She watched the alpha show
patience, care, and even benevolence toward the underage shifters as they
romped and bounded around him. As she followed, she was careful to watch out
for the hawk, eagle, and two gargoyles. They were the ones who she feared the
most. But as the evening progressed, she began to wonder if they already knew
she was following them.

This is ridiculous. I can’t
keep doing this. I can’t keep running, and I’m tired of being alone and scared.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
She harshly lectured
herself. Making up her mind, she flew off towards the homestead.
I’m not ready to be around all those people,
but I’ll wait for Seamus to come back and I’ll talk to him.
Maysa
arrived at the window to the upstairs apartment above
the garage. The window was open, so she landed and shifted, stepping inside the
dwelling. The table before her was loaded with plates, all full of food. A note
stuck out from underneath one of the plates that bordered on the edge. The note
hung down over the side of the table.

Dearest
Maysa
,

Your name is beautiful. I
look forward to meeting you whenever you’re ready. Please eat and enjoy the
food. I hear the baked beans are extraordinary.

Yours,

Seamus

Maysa
looked again at the bounty. “Huh, they sure do make a lot of food. Where do I
even start?” She smiled at that.

Maysa
was savoring the taco salad when she heard the tractor approaching. Suddenly
knots formed in her stomach, and she fought the urge not to puke, or flee.
I am not letting my fear rule me!
Still,
her heart started to thump hard in her chest.

As quietly as she could,
Maysa
moved around the medical equipment, looking for something to wear.
I don’t care who he is, I’m not meeting
anyone naked.
She realized how silly that sounded, as she was a shifter and
she had been sitting at the table naked for two nights in a row, but right now
she felt vulnerable enough.

She found a closet with shirts hanging in it. Grabbing
one, she wrapped it around and buttoned it up. It smelled like him, and she
really liked that it draped down to her knees. She felt relaxed and more
secure.

Making her way back over to the window, she peered
out. It was late, and she could hear laughter as many were packing up their
kids and leftover food before leaving.
They’re
mixed, and yet they’re so happy. Could they really have been through so much
already, and still be so happy?
Doubt started to creep up on her.

Before she could think any further on it, she heard
footsteps ascending on the stairs. She turned and gripped the back of the chair
she had sat in. She needed to hold to something to steady herself or she was
afraid she would give into her fear to shift and fly away.
Maybe putting on a shirt was a bad idea,
she thought. All the
shifters she knew hated being tangled in their clothes.

Before she could do or think of anything further, the
door opened. In walked a man who looked absolutely stunning to her. She thought
he stood tall, but nearly every man was taller than she was. His short
,
wavy hair was a light red, like strawberry blond. His
build, she could tell, was strong but sleeker than many of the others she had
seen tonight. That was good. It made him less intimidating but still strong
enough to protect her. Fierce attraction zinged through her, and her bat
fluttered with approval beneath her skin.

He stopped instantly as he saw her. “Hello.”

His voice made her pussy
quiver
and dampen.
Holy
cripes.
And that was only one
word.
“Hi.” It felt like she was trying to talk with her heart in her
throat.

The man, or vampire, slowly closed the door but didn’t
move any further. She figured he didn’t want to scare her.
Good. Okay, now what?
She tried to think as she started to feel
awkward.

“You must be
Maysa
. I’m
Seamus. Have you been able to eat anything?”

“Uh, just a little. You’re
right,
the beans were the best I’ve tasted.”

Seamus gave her a true smile that reached his eyes,
and showed off his fangs. She couldn’t stop the gasp at seeing them, or the
fear that followed. Seamus must have sensed her fear because the smile
immediately dropped.

“I promise I will not do anything to harm you, or
force myself on you. You are safe with me,
Maysa
.”
She could see the hurt in his eyes as he spoke
,
and that in turn hurt her.
She didn’t want to make him lose his smile because of her.

“I know, ah, or I think do. And I’m sorry. I…” Her
words froze in her throat. Seamus just tilted his head but didn’t push.
Grateful for not being rushed, or pressured, she gathered herself and
continued. “I am a clinical laboratory scientist and a certified phlebotomist.
I used to deal with needles all the time until…”
Maysa
felt her emotions start to overrun her. Seamus must have seen her panic.

“It’s
okay
. You don’t
have to tell me right now if you don’t want to. How about we just sit down and
enjoy some more of that food, and if it would make you feel more comfortable,
you can ask me questions about anything. Perhaps that will help you.”

Maysa
started getting control back over her breathing. Nodding her head, she fought
her frozen limbs to move just enough to sit down on the chair she had a
white-knuckled grip on.

Seamus slowly walked forward and sat in a chair across
from her. Looking around the table, he asked, “What
don’t
you want to eat?”

Maysa
looked at some barbecue wings and pointed to them.

“Then I will eat them.” He made a space for the plate
and placed it in front of him. As he picked up a wing,
Maysa
looked down at her taco salad so she wouldn’t see his fangs. She grabbed the
fork that she had been using and slowly
proceeded
to
finished her helping.

“So what would you like to know first?” he asked
between mouthfuls.

Maysa
shrugged. “Uh, is it true that the pack has only been together for a month?”

“Mm,” he hummed around a chicken bone. After
swallowing his bite, he answered. “Yes.
Alphy’s
aunt
Betty is actually the last of a once large sleuth that resided here. She had
kept the territory rights waiting to rebuild it back up.
Alphy
lost his parents and needed to take custody of his two younger siblings and had
nowhere else to go.” Seamus chuckled. “She dubbed him the alpha here the first
night he was here, and the next morning, he met his mate.”

Maysa
let her shock show. “Wow, that’s fast. So how did it get so big so fast?”

“Yes, you’ll figure out things move along fast around
here. Anyway,
Alphy’s
mate and her family were
running from her stepfather’s alpha.
Alphy
defeated
him in a challenge. But the alpha he defeated had been ghastly towards his
herd. He stole everything from them, abused them, and made them feel pretty
defeated.
Alphy
had already claimed this territory,
and his bear refused to even hear of living any place else. Not that I blame
him, it’s wonderful here. So
Alphy
took everything in
the herd’s account and divided up between them, then told them to choose for
themselves where they wanted to go. Many of them followed him here.

“He’s a good alpha and has been really good to
everyone. It was so good to see them laughing like they were tonight. They
really needed it, and so did
Alphy
and the others.”

“Yes, he said you have survived much already.”

Seamus looked at her as if studying her before he
spoke. “I’ve known
Alphy
for nearly my whole life. He
lives his life with the belief that fate gives us the tools we need for a job
we need to fulfill in life. He’s a very strong and powerful alpha shifter. He
is about as strong as they can get. His time in the military actually polished
and enhanced his skills. He has also seen a need for a safe haven for all
paranormals. That is what he wants this place to be.”

Maysa
looked down and poked at her food. “Safe haven,” she mumbled as her doubt
pushed at her. She really didn’t think any place was a safe haven for her. The
people who were after her were just too powerful.

“
Maysa
?”

She looked up at her softly spoken name. A look of
understanding seemed to play across the beautiful man’s face.

“I don’t know what you are running from, but please
trust us, trust me, to be able to help you.”

Maysa
looked down again and moved the food around on her plate as she fought back the
tears that started to flood her eyes. Her chin trembled with the effort. The
tears having won, they rolled down her enflamed cheeks.
Maysa
wiped them away with the side of her hand. “I am from the Philippines. I have
an aunt who became a mail-order bride. She lucked out with a pretty wealthy
husband, and paid for my education in the States. After I graduated, I flew
back home and started working at a lab.

“In my country, they hunt my kind, the flying foxes.
They wipe out whole colonies at a time. Some believe we are the vessel for
demons. There are families who devote their lives to hunting us.

“A group of Americans arrived, asking to use some of our
lab space and equipment. They offered a good deal amount of money, so it was
allowed. They had heard about the rumors and wanted to investigate. I followed
them and saw them asking around until they found some of the people that hunted
us, and offered them money to bring us in alive. I tried to stop them. I tried
to protect my family, but they captured all of us.”
Maysa
stopped to catch her breath. She battled her sobs as she recalled the horrific
event.

“You said you were afraid of needles. Did they experiment
on you?”

Maysa
looked up at the doctor. His tone matched his face. He was angry and disgusted,
but she knew it wasn’t at her. She nodded. “For the next six months, we were
poked, and drugged and were even subjected to experimental surgeries. They found
a way to force us to…”
Maysa
took another breath and
blew it out before continuing
.
“They forced us to shift,
then back again.”

“Oh my deities!”

Maysa
paused and looked up at Seamus. She raised a brow in question at his choice in
words. He looked down briefly and shrugged. “I have a thing against saying
God’s name in vain.
It
feels like I am just asking to be cursed
. I find changing some of
my swear words up, at times, can actually get someone’s attention more. It got
you to get some more control over yourself, didn’t it?” He smiled at her, but
was careful not to let his fangs show. “Please, you were saying?” Seamus urged
her to continue her story.