Unnatural Allies

Chapter 1 ::Do you have a death wish?:: Andre ignored Malik’s voice in his head as he adjusted the crossbow’s sight to get the clearest shot when his target came into view. ::I mean it, Andre. This is insane.:: ::Shut the f**k up, Malik.:: At first, Andre felt rather than saw his target’s presence. Then he appeared, the full moon silhouetting his form. Andre took aim, waiting for the perfect moment. He knew he had only one chance. If he missed or merely wounded him, all his planning would be for naught and he’d have to start over again with his foe now forewarned that he was being hunted. Slowly, he tightened his finger on the trigger, waited—then shot. The werewolf didn’t stand a chance. The silver-tipped bolt struck its heart. Within seconds it was dead, and moments later a man’s body lay where the werewolf had fallen. Andre remained frozen where he was, searching for any sign one or more of Raúl’s pack were nearby. Not that they would see him. He was well hidden high above the path, invisible in the branches of a large tree. But vision wasn’t the only preternatural sense at their command and the snap of the crossbow’s string as it hurled the bolt forward had not been as silent as he might have wished. Long minutes later, he deemed it safe to leave and dropped gracefully down to the path, slinging the crossbow over his shoulder. Going to the body, he knelt to remove the bolt and then stood, a smirk curling his lips up. “Next time, be more cautious, Raúl. Oh, right, there won’t be a next time. Pity. Not.” He turned swiftly when he heard a whisper of sound behind him, his hand going to the knife on his belt. Then he shook his head. “Come to check that I succeeded,” he asked Malik dryly. “Oh, I knew you would. I had faith in you.” Andre snorted. “Yeah, I could tell. Your babbling could have caused me to miss my shot,” he told the younger vampire. Malik surveyed him, hands on hips. “Why did you use a crossbow, not a pistol?” “The situation warranted it. The odor of a pistol would have alerted the bastard that someone with a gun was nearby. He might have thought it was only a hunter but being what he was, he wouldn’t have wanted to chance he was the hunter’s prey.” As they talked, Andre led the way down the path, taking the left fork when they got to it. “He could have shifted into his human form,” Malik said. “Not tonight. But even if he could have, it would have made him still more vulnerable, if it wasn’t a game hunter but one of us. Something I’m certain he would have figured out for himself if he had smelled gun oil. After all, he was an Alpha, presumably with an Alpha’s smarts.” Malik smirked. “Not as smart as he thought he was. He’s dead.” Andre paused, jabbing a finger to Malik’s chest. “Never, ever, underestimate your enemy. He was a force to be reckoned with. If I had underestimated him, it could be me dead on the path instead of Raúl.” “Yes, Andre,” Malik replied meekly, taking a step backward. “Remember that.” Andre began walking again. Malik hurried to catch up. Soon, they were at the spot where Andre had left his car, an onyx McLaren Spider. As always, Malik hissed in a breath when he saw it, despite the fact Andre had told him more than once it was only a car. “A hell of one,” Malik would retort. The full moon was now hidden behind a heavy bank of clouds. Thus the McLaren was virtually invisible—or would have been if they hadn’t been vampires with their otherworldly vision. “I’ll drop you off at your place,” Andre said once they were on the road. Malik checked the time. “Or at the club?” “Your choice.” “The Cathedral.” Andre nodded. “I was going there, anyway, so no problem.” The club’s building had been a church, now deconsecrated, and was owned by Thorin, Andre’s Sire, who had found it amusing to rename it The Crimson Cathedral. It was quite popular with the humans who frequented it. However, by Thorin’s dictate, those who did visit were off-limits to the vampire members when it came to feeding—at least when they were on the premises. Once they left, it was anyone’s game as far as Thorin was concerned. When they arrived at the club, less than an hour after leaving the mountain site where Raúl had died, Andre left his car with the parking valet, who knew it was more than his life was worth if it was returned with even a scratch on its paint. Once they were inside, Malik headed directly to the bar at the far side of the huge room which had once been the church’s nave. Unsurprisingly, because it was Saturday night, the club was busy. Andre veered left, wending his way through the crowds toward the stairs leading to the upper floor. When he got there, he walked along the balcony overlooking the ground floor, avoiding the customers at the tables along the railing, until he arrived at the door to Thorin’s office. Knocking once, he waited for his Sire to tell him he could enter. “It went well?” Thorin asked even before Andre could take a seat. “Exactly as planned. He was egotistical enough to believe he was safe using the path to return to his pack without one or more of his Betas accompanying him.” “Their kind have always thought they were impervious to harm, until it happens to one of them.” “Which is good for us.” Andre smiled dryly. “It would do well for us not to feel the same way, however. No one, vampire or werewolf, is guaranteed a long life if they believe they are superior to everyone and thus untouchable.” Thorin nodded. “We can think we’re unassailable, but you and I know for a fact it’s not true. The werewolves have taken down more of us than I care to think about. But then we’ve done the same to them, and could do more if we didn’t have to worry about the humans, especially those who are certain vampires and werewolves live among them.” “With good reason at times,” Andre replied sourly. “If I hadn’t dealt with Raúl…” “Yes. His plan would have created havoc if he’d succeeded. Thankfully we discovered what he was going to do before he could put it into motion.” “I’ll second that. For an Alpha he was incredibly stupid. His plan to attack us here at the club…To make it look as if it were yet another mass shooting, so that people would discover which ones of us are vampires because we didn’t die, and healed rapidly…” Andre shook his head grimly. “I disagree about his stupidity. It was clever on his part, and it might have succeeded if Malik hadn’t overheard him when he was discussing the idea with two of his Betas.” “A foolish thing to do without checking to be certain no one was around, visible or invisible,” Andre replied. “Another sign of his arrogance, for which he paid dearly. Let’s hope his Betas don’t decide to try to carry on with his plan.” Thorin smiled maliciously. “I have the feeling they’ll have other things to keep them busy, at least for the time being. They’ll be fighting each other to take over as the Alpha of the Wintermane pack, now that he’s gone.” “If I knew where that was going to happen,” Andre said thoughtfully. “Absolutely not!” Thorin scowled at him. “You are too valuable to us to take a foolish chance like that.” Andre shrugged. “It was just an idea.” “Well, put it out of your mind. That’s an order.” “Yes, Thorin.” Andre knew better than to disobey his Sire—even more so as Thorin was also the King of the vampires within the territory. “Do you need me for anything else?” “Not at the moment, although I’m certain I will eventually. Until then, take some time off. You’ve earned it.” “Thank you.”