Want (Vampire Beloved Book One) Page 2

  Vex nodded, thinking how easy it would be for someone to slide into a busy project and be missed among the workers.

  “Is the tiger pride handling security during the daytime?” Rage asked.

  Harmony nodded. “Yes. During construction, we’re also doubling our daytime security as a precaution. We want to meet separately with you, Vex, and Brone to discuss the specifics.”

  “When the restaurant is finished,” Mishka said, “we’ll have a dedication ceremony and a special dinner for the coven. I’ll be inviting other vampire covens from around the tri-state area to join us as a sign of goodwill.”

  “That won’t be until January, though,” Harmony said.

  Harmony passed around sample menus. The point of the restaurant was to give vampires a place to take dates. SyBl was served for the vampires and real food was served for the non-vampires, whether they were humans or shifters or other supernatural creatures. Vex glanced at Rage and thought about how they’d be able to take their beloved out on a date once the restaurant was open. He’d never been on a date in his life. He’d fed from humans over the years, had even spent time with them, but dating a human with the idea of making them a permanent mate had never appealed to him. Until the dreams had started, he wasn’t even sure if he and Rage would have a beloved mate.

  He was glad he hadn’t tried to force a relationship with another female. He’d hate to have to explain to their beloved that she wasn’t the first one to hold their hearts.

  “On to other business,” Harmony said. “Cella?”

  Cella smiled and glanced down at the tablet in her hands. “We’ve got the headhunting company working on finding us people for the two open positions. I’ve got interviews scheduled for next week, so if you see strange females in the office, then you’ll know why.”

  Weeks earlier, the First Church of Humanity had set off bombs in the club, injuring visitors and using the distraction to abduct Harmony. She killed the humans who had taken her using her musical muse powers. In the aftermath, two humans who worked for the coven had quit – the female at the coat check and the female who handled the human food, who were paid by the club to offer their wrists or necks to club-goers for feeding.

  “I’m handling the food for now,” Cella said, “but I can’t cover the coat check, too.”

  Ven cleared his throat. “Why can’t one of the coven females do the coat check?”

  “I asked for volunteers but no one wanted to do it.”

  “So don’t ask,” Mishka said. “Choose someone who isn’t working at one of our businesses to handle it until the position can be filled permanently. It shouldn’t be thought of as a demeaning job, it’s necessary, particularly since we’re heading into the throes of Northern Ohio winters and that means heavy coats for the patrons.”

  Although vampires didn’t necessarily get cold, they did dress for the weather, as did humans who visited the club.

  “Is that everything?” Mishka asked Cella.

  “Yep.”

  “Wait,” Vex said, “Dylan asked me to mention that the SyBl delivery was going to be delayed. There was a mechanical issue with the truck.”

  Cella frowned. “Really? That’s the second SyBl delivery issue this month.”

  Mishka’s brows rose. “What do you mean?”

  “Last week, one of the trucks was in an accident on the way from the factory to the club. They were run off the road by a large SUV that fled the scene. About one-quarter of the SyBl in the truck was ruined when the truck swerved and then collided with the guardrail.”

  Brone, who was sitting with Arissa on his lap, made a short growling sound. “One issue might be nothing to worry about, but two in a row is suspicious.”

  “Agreed,” Mishka said.

  “Vex and I will head over to the factory,” Rage said. “We can check the security cameras. It could be a coincidence.”

  Vex nodded.

  Harmony said, “You guys be careful. We haven’t heard anything from the church since the… incident. They’re usually gutsier and more destructive in what they do to try to get to our people, but they could be trying a different tactic.”

  “Dismissed,” Mishka said.

  Vex and Rage stood and headed out of the office, stopping at security on the way out to arm themselves before going to the garage and taking one of the armored SUVs. The SyBl factory was an hour south. Each state had a SyBl factory that shipped product to covens, businesses, and private individuals. Vampires could sustain themselves by drinking SyBl daily and drinking real blood once a week. Real blood was more sustaining than SyBl, and it tasted a hell of a lot better. There were human donor sites around the state for those who wanted to help feed vampires but didn’t want fangs in their necks or wrists. He and Rage hadn’t fed from a human since the dreams started, they’d used bagged blood and SyBl.

  “I was just thinking about our mate,” Vex said.

  “What about her?” Rage left the garage and accelerated away from the club.

  “After we make her our beloved, she’ll need to feed from us weekly, but we’ll also be driven to feed from her as well. I don’t think she’ll be able to handle us feeding from her on the same day after the original mating.”

  “I think you’re right. We could space out our feedings so we don’t injure or tax her system. I’m not sure if we can actually drink real blood that isn’t hers, though.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  Once a male and female were joined as beloveds, it became difficult for them to feed on anyone other than their mate.

  “I guess we won’t know until we mate her,” Vex said. “Her safety and health will be our top priority.”

  “Definitely.”

  He’d never wanted anyone as much as he wanted their beloved. Wherever she was, he hoped they’d meet her soon.

  Chapter 3

  Someone knocked on Angie’s bedroom door and she called out that it was open.

  “Hiya,” Cinder said, opening the door.

  Angie turned from where she was studying the clothes in her closet and smiled at her sister-in-law.

  “How’s it going?”

  Cinder shut the door quietly after she walked into the room. “Good. I wanted to check in with you and see if you had any questions about tomorrow.”

  “A few, actually.”

  Cinder had arranged for Angie to go to the vampire-owned club downtown through her wiccan friend, Arissa, who was mated to a vampire in the coven. Cinder had been adamant that Angie had an escort, because shifter blood was more potent than human and she wanted her to be safe. So Arissa asked her friend, a fallen angel named Allisandrea, if she would take Angie to the club.

  “Do you know how big the coven is?”

  “Not off the top of my head,” Cinder said as she sat on the edge of Angie’s bed. “It’s quite large, though. I’ve heard it’s the largest one in the Midwest. Mishka’s the master of the coven, and he owns a lot of businesses in and around Cleveland.”

  “The coven members live and work at the club, right?”

  “Most of them work for him in some way, but not all of them live at the club. Arissa and Brone have a place of their own away from the club where they stay whenever they need a break. Coven members who live at the club don’t have a ton of privacy from what I’ve heard. They live in a big room together with little cubicles as a bedroom and share the other facilities.”

  “That’s interesting.”

  “It’s communal living, but in a club.” Cinder smiled. “Arissa told me that those who don’t work there still come to the club to feed on the humans who are paid for it. Vampires need real blood once a week. They drink synthetic blood every day.”

  Her wolf snarled. Just the thought of her mates feeding from other females made her crazy.

  “You’re wondering if your mates will be there?”

  “Yeah. It feels like a crap shoot, but I have to start somewhere. It’s been happening way too long, and I have to do something.”

/>   “I’m glad that I have an in at the club and can help you. I hope you find them. I’d be so miserable if I’d been having dreams about Adam for years and had no idea where he was.”

  “Thanks for everything, especially for keeping my secret.”

  Only Cinder knew about Angie’s plan to visit the club on Saturday night. She didn’t think her parents would approve of her going to a vampire club in the first place, but to go looking for two males from her dreams would probably cause them to recommend she be grounded in her room for the foreseeable future.

  “I’ll start at the club. If I can’t find them there, then maybe I can check out Mishka’s other businesses. Perhaps they’re vampire accountants and work in an office.”

  Cinder arched a brow. “Really?”

  “What, don’t vampires have books that need to be balanced?”

  “You’re adorable and a little crazy.”

  “I’ll feel a whole lot less crazy when I find my truemates. The full moon is in a few days. I don’t want to go through another one alone.”

  “I understand. Be safe.”

  Angie hugged Cinder and said goodbye. When the room was empty and the door shut, she turned her attention back to the closet, and chose her outfit, carefully packing it in a small bag.

  * * *

  Saturday afternoon, Angie stepped from the shower in her private bathroom and patted her skin dry. Wrapping her dark hair in a towel, she walked into the bedroom and dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, then dried her hair and put on a bit of makeup. After finding her favorite tennis shoes, she picked up the pink leather backpack she’d filled with the clothes she was going to change into before going to the club and headed downstairs. She lived in the alpha’s home, which was in the center of the pack territory. Adam and Cinder lived on the third floor, and Angie and her parents had rooms on the second floor along with Brick, and some high-ranked pack members.

  “Heading out?” her mother, Lucy, asked when she reached the kitchen.

  “Yep.” She didn’t like lying to her parents, and while she wasn’t really lying outright to them about her plans, she was omitting details and that was just as bad. She’d always prided herself on being honest, but she really couldn’t say that anymore. Keeping the dreams about her truemates to just herself and Cinder meant she wasn’t honest. No one, other than her sister-in-law, understood why she didn’t want to find a wolf male and settle down. Once she found her mates, then she could deal with the aftermath. The worst-case scenario was that her family disowned her. Which would be a terrible thing to endure. But she’d have her truemates, the constant ache and need within her would be gone and the three of them could deal with anything together.

  “Have fun,” her mother said.

  “I’ll eat enough popcorn for both of us.”

  Her mother chuckled. “You do that. I’ll have to talk to your father about taking me out. We haven’t gone to see a movie in ages.”

  She pecked her mom on the cheek. “I’ll be home late so don’t wait up.”

  “See you in the morning, honey.”

  Hurrying from the kitchen, she got into her car and backed away from the house. Once she was out of pack territory, she used the car’s hands-free system to call the females who were meeting with her for the movie and told them she wasn’t feeling well and was going to skip out on the get together. After a chorus of females wishing her a speedy recovery, she ended the call and set the GPS for an apartment complex. Forty-five minutes later, she parked in front of the building, grabbed her backpack, and walked to the glass front doors, finding Allisandrea’s name and pressing the button next to it.

  “Hi, it’s Angie.”

  “Come on up.” There was a buzzing sound followed by the click of a lock.

  Angie opened the door and climbed the steps to the second floor. The door swung open before she could knock, and a pretty female with long, blond hair and bright blue eyes smiled.

  “Welcome! I’m Alli. You must be Angie.”

  “Yes.”

  “Come on in,” she said, stepping aside and allowing Angie to pass into the apartment.

  “Thanks for helping me out with this.”

  Alli closed the door. “No problem, hon. Arissa’s one of my best friends, and when she told me what’s going on with you, I was happy to help. Have you really been having sex dreams for a year?”

  “More like several years.”

  “Shit, really?”

  Angie nodded. “They were infrequent at first, maybe one or two a year, but they’re pretty much every night now.”

  “You must be strung tight like a bow, girl. I hope you find your truemates tonight, that would be awesome.”

  Angie immediately liked the angel. “Do you mind if I change?”

  “You can use the bathroom down the hall,” she said. “You’re not going to wear anything white, right?”

  She’d been cautioned by Cinder that the human food at the club – the people who were paid to allow vampires to feed on them – wore white shirts. Although they also wore red ribbons on their wrists and necks to show where they preferred to be fed from, if Angie wore white, she could find herself on the business end of fangs she didn’t want in her throat. She only wanted to feed her mates.

  “Right.”

  “We’ve got about a half hour before sunset when the club opens. Whenever you’re ready we’ll go.”

  Angie nodded and walked down the hall, finding the bathroom. She shut the door and leaned against it, letting out a deep breath. She’d made it from her home to Alli’s without an issue. Not that she’d expected one, but a tiny part of her had worried she’d be found out – that Cinder would tell Adam or her parents what Angie was up to and she’d be stopped before she even got out of pack territory. She knew she could trust Cinder to keep her secret, but she also knew that Cinder was entirely loyal to Adam and if he pressed her about Angie’s whereabouts, she’d tell him everything.

  Which would be fine once she found her truemates. Once she had them in her arms, she wouldn’t care who knew. The chips could fall where they did and she’d be happy just to have her mates with her.

  She stripped from her casual clothes and dressed in the outfit she’d chosen. Her hopes were high that she’d meet her truemates tonight so she wanted to look her best. Overtop a matching black lace bra and panty set, she put on a short black dress that laced up the front like a corset and paired it with a long-sleeved mesh top and sexy fishnets. The outfit was slinky and fit her curves like a glove.

  She ran a brush through her hair and pinned up the sides with clips, then added another layer of mascara and eye shadow. Taking a long look at herself in the mirror, she decided she was perfectly dressed to meet her truemates tonight, and she hoped she did. If tonight was a bust, she didn’t know what she’d do. Turning her thoughts to the positive, she willed the night to work in her favor.

  I’m coming for you both.

  * * *

  Alli parked in the club’s large lot and turned off her car. She took her phone from the cup holder and began to type.

  “Arissa’s waiting for us. She’s going to meet us at the front door so we don’t have to stand in line.”

  Angie blew out a breath and opened her car door.

  “You nervous?” Alli asked as she got out and shut the door, clicking the remote to lock it.

  “Yeah. I’m worried that I won’t meet my truemates tonight. I really don’t know where to go from here if I can’t find them.”

  “You could ask the wiccans.”

  The two met in front of the car and walked to the corner where they waited to cross.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Wiccans enjoy helping people like this. Your pack has an alliance with the wiccan coven, so it’s not as if you’re a total stranger to them. If you reached out to the leader, I’m sure she’d be happy to help.”

  “How could they help?”

  Alli shrugged. “Maybe for more clarity with your dreams or they mig
ht be able to do some kind of location spell. You can ask Arissa about it. If this doesn’t work out, of course. There’s something in the air tonight, though. Good things are coming your way, hon, I’m sure of it.”

  “Oh yeah?” Angie stepped off the curb and crossed the street with Alli.

  “Sure,” Alli said, giving her a nudge with her elbow. “You’re with a fallen angel. I’m super lucky.”

  Angie laughed, some of the tension easing away. Alli was right – if this failed tonight, there were other options. She just really wanted to meet her truemates. She was ready to start the next chapter of her life.

  They headed down the sidewalk toward the entrance. The line to get into the club stretched around the block. Two males stood at the door wearing black suits and ear pieces, and one held a clipboard. As they reached the doors, a redheaded female appeared between the two males and waved at them.

  “They’re with me,” she said.

  The males parted and Alli and Angie walked between them. Alli hugged the female and turned to Angie.

  “This is Arissa and her mate, Brone. This is Angie.”

  “Glad you could make it,” Arissa said. “Let’s get away from the door so we can chat for a minute.”

  Angie’s wolf sat up suddenly and paced in her mind as she followed Arissa and Brone away from the front door and down a wide hallway. They passed a coat check with a female who looked very irritated as she took a coat from a patron and turned down another hall.

  Once some semblance of privacy was established, Arissa stopped, turned and leaned against her mate, who slid his arms around her protectively.

  “Cinder didn’t tell me a whole lot about the situation aside from you having mating dreams that involve vampires,” Arissa said.

  “That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.”

  “How long have you had the dreams?”

  “A few years. Occasionally at first and then they grew progressively more frequent.”