Bria threw a change of clothes in her backpack along with her travel toothbrush, laptop, chargers, and the keys to her parents’ house. She was going to lie low for a few days. Hoped that things would die down, then she could work on her next vlog.
This was so big. Bigger than big. It was huge. She finally had proof that the supernatural existed. And once she shared it with the whole damn world, Bria Grotto was going to be a household name.
Eeek!
That was vaguely terrifying once she’d thought of it. Who wanted that kind of life? That was, if she survived this and lived long enough to actually become a household name.
Gulp.
Bria knew evil when she saw it. Hell, she’d lived with her mother’s evil cat, Beelzebub, growing up. That thing had been a hell beast, for sure. It tore up every article of clothing she’d had in high school. Including her prom dress just hours before the event. Yeah, evil was real and lurking around any given corner.
Those guys who’d come after her were evil. Like tear your fucking face off evil. So, no, she was not about to stick around and wait for that to happen, thank you very much.
Her roommates were all gone, except for Nancy. But the thin blonde never seemed to date or go out on weekends. Out of all the five females sharing the three-bedroom apartment, she was not really close to any single one of them. Might be because of her ridiculous drill sergeant like division of chores and her long lists of rules.
Jess, Betty, and Crystal were all gems. Even with Jess leaving, the other two pretty much stayed out of the way. They worked all the time and only slept and ate at the apartment.
Bria liked to think they got on like gangbusters, whatever that means. But still, there wasn’t a single one of them she would confide to about the events of the last couple of hours. And she couldn’t call her mom and dad. That conversation was a one-way ticket to crazypantsville, which was the unofficial name for the mental health rest home where her Uncle Bruno was currently residing.
“Am I being ridiculous?” she asked no one in particular.
But no. She wasn’t. Three men had attacked her, or tried to, but thanks to the uncanny timing of her not so friendly neighborhood laundry woman, Mrs. Garcia, she’d gotten away. Bria hated to think about what would’ve happened if she hadn’t come barging in to check the machines.
More importantly, Bria was now in possession of some serious evidence that the supernatural did exist. She’d spent years trying to capture proof, firsthand, or even second, that there were things out there that regular people simply had no idea about.
Like Werewolves.
Gulp.
Only, Bria had never considered what would happen after she got the proof she’d been searching for. Now that she had the video, what was she going to do with it? A question that kept her pondering during the trip to the first floor in the elevator. Nancy had barely acknowledged her exit and the hasty explanation that she was visiting her folks quite suddenly.
But they weren’t exactly friends, so she didn’t really mind the woman. Besides, she had bigger fish to fry. Like how to stay safe while she filmed her next vlog, where she would showcase the footage and prove, once and for all, that there was evidence of the paranormal.
She needed to be careful though, else those goons might track her down. The idea that a supernatural creature would be part of something bigger had never occurred to her. Stupid oversight? Yes. Definitely.
Running wasn’t her first choice, but this was the only way to stay safe. No one knew who she was or where her folks lived. She would be secure back in her childhood home. Right?
The men who’d come looking for her had been huge and wiry like the guy in the video. Their voices were deep and growly, not entirely human. More than once, she’d noted an otherworldly glow to their eyes. Yep, definitely not human. And definitely organized.
Like a group, or a Pack maybe since they were Wolves? Oh fuck. That was crazy. But likely. So why did she feel excited and not just scared for her life?
“Because you’re an idiot, Bria,” she whispered, stepping out of the apartment complex.
“I wouldn’t say that.”
The stranger’s voice pierced the darkness, reaching her ears. He, she knew immediately it was a man, there was just no mistaking that deep rumble, sounded mildly amused. Like she was being funny or something.
Bria stopped looking for a taxi. She’d been hoping to go to the train station where divine intervention would tell her where to go. Bria was a big believer in destiny. Especially if it meant saving her ass.
This guy threw a monkey wrench into the whole works. But once he stepped out of the shadows, she couldn’t say she minded. It was not every day a cover model with the body of a professional rugby player, much better bodies than football players, in her opinion, stepped into her life. Anyway, back to the drooling.
Hubba hubba.
The stranger exuded animal magnetism and power, and she stilled. Curiosity reigned supreme for a single moment before she remembered to be scared. She always did have less caution and more curiosity than was healthy for a too curvy girl, or so her father always said.
Anyway, this guy was frighteningly large. Easily twice the width of the men who’d come before. She could not say why, but there was something different about him. The others had been angry and overly sure of themselves, but he seemed smarter, and cockier, too. He approached with patience and caution.
Not because he was scared of her, and she was the first to admit he had no reason to be. She could not fight and had no weapons on her person. But that wasn’t why he moved like that, so calculating and yet determined not to make her startle.
He was smart, she realized. And he moved sort of like Mrs. Garcia’s cat when he had something interesting in his sights. Quietly, and with all the stealth and self-assuredness of a predator. The man used precise, calculated movements. Nothing wasted in his long-legged pursuit of her.
By the time her perusal of him brought her to his eyes, Bria knew she was in trouble. The man’s face was hard. Not ugly. Quite the contrary, actually. But he didn’t smile and a thin scar on his chin made him look even more unwelcoming.
His lips were a straight line across his face. He had a broad forehead, high cheekbones, and a long Roman nose that alone looked like it was chiseled from marble by the hands of some master. His eyes glittered at her like two orange and gold flames burning in the darkening night.
Just like the sparklers her dad used to light on many a hot fourth of July celebration when she was a kid. Bria had always loved those things. She’d held on to them so long. And longer still. Up until they’d burned out and her tiny palms were red from the heat. She never knew when it was time to let go.
That’s what her mother always said as she’d applied aloe and lidocaine spray every night on July the fourth so little Bria could finally go to sleep. Her parents used to chide her, but it was always worth the pain in the end. At least, to Bria, it was.
Holding on till the flames expired meant she got to keep them for as long as possible. Staring into his eyes, she wondered how much hurt was in store for her. But still, she couldn’t look away.
“You’re Bria Grotto,” the man said.
It was a statement, not a question. She didn’t bother to lie. He would know it. Somehow, Bria just knew he would be able to sense it if she tried to mislead him. So, she just nodded her head. Not quite trusting herself to speak.
Everything about him said danger from the width of his shoulders to the glint in his eye, and his unsmiling face. Dangerous, yes, but also thrilling. He was excitement and mystery, and something more.
“You need to come with me,” he started, but something had him turning his head sharply to the right.
Bria whimpered, stepping instinctively closer to him as another made himself known. The temperature was chilly, but in her anxiety, she began to sweat.
“Well, well,” another male joined them.
“You,” she whispered, eyes wide.
“You know him?”
“He came after me earlier,” she told the man with the bright eyes.
Bria immediately recognized the newcomer as one of the guys who’d come after her earlier in the basement of her apartment complex. She stepped even closer to the other male, trusting the guy for some reason, which was again bat shit crazy on her part.
“No need to worry yourself, puddy tat. We got this. Now, hand her over,” the would be kidnapper snarled.
“I don’t think so,” her stranger said.
Okay, that was ridiculous, but somehow and for some unknown reason, she had just claimed the big man as hers. Looking between them, she knew she’d made the right decision. Even though she’d only known him for about ten seconds. Yep. It was settled. Bria had designated him of the burning eyes as her own personal hero, and she was totally fine with that.
“Oh shit, there’s more,” Bria whispered.
“Don’t worry. Stay close,” her stranger said to her, before turning to them. “The SCNYC is taking care of this, gentlemen. I suggest you return to your little doghouse.”
He replied in that same gravelly voice. Elsewhere, she’d have called sexy, but in this instance, she’d settle for authoritative. Heck yeah, something about him simply exuded power.
“Who says we need the Council involved? I bet we can take out this little tabby,” another said.
The slurs were a bit beyond her, but Bria knew pissy when she heard it. She lived with four other women. There was no time to really consider all the strange back-and-forth insults. Especially since one of the men was lunging at her.
“I got you!”
“Eeek!”
She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable hurt that was about to hit her. But her stranger was hella faster than that goon.
Thank fuck for that.
The monster who’d tried to grab her had claws where his hands should have been, and she hated to think what would have happened had he succeeded in taking hold of her very human skin.
Fuck. Oh fuck. OH FUCK.
Not human. Nope. But she needn’t have worried. Her new personal hero spun, catching the goon by the throat in an inhuman display of strength that made her shake in her boots. He turned to face the other two men, squeezing their buddy until he was slapping at the man’s branch-sized forearm.
“I said, back the fuck off,” her stranger snarled back.
There was something about his growl that made even the largest of the three attackers go still. As if the warning note had somehow paralyzed them.
Scary? Fuck yes. But Bria was learning to appreciate that about him. Very much so. Especially since he at that moment took her arm and shoved her inside the vehicle that had been parked in front of her building the whole time.
The big, sexy, scary stranger got in the driver’s seat a fraction of a second before the trance wore off. But he was already gunning the engine when the trio attacked the vehicle. Bria saw flashes of fangs and claws on the men from the lights of the car. She heard them grab onto the vehicle, and the sounds of metal being torn and ripped open.
“Hold on,” the man grunted, shifting into reverse.
Thud.
Scream.
Thud thud.
Silence.
Shifting the once pretty sweet and now sadly damaged Corvette into drive, her stranger sped off with Bria in the passenger seat.
Shit.
She was in the car with a total stranger who’d just run over three people. Well, sort of people, who were intent on hurting her. So, actually, he’d just saved her. That was okay then. Right? Sometimes, Bria logic was difficult for even her to follow.
Maybe if they introduced themselves, it would all be okay?
She thought about that for a second, watching him maneuver through the grueling traffic of New York City like someone who had frequently driven through the city. His face betrayed no emotion, and he looked no worse for wear despite the altercation. In fact, he was not even breathing heavily.
“Um, you know who I am already. So, what’s your name?” she asked after a minute.
“Trench Tora.”
The big man replied without taking his eyes off the road. He was singularly focused, and she supposed she should be grateful. But for some reason, she wasn’t.
Hmmm. Could be the kidnapping thing, though, right?
“Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere safe, Bria Grotto. You have my word.”
“Um, nah. I’ll be okay, maybe you can just drop me off here.”
He did look at her then, and from his expression, she saw the answer to her request was a resounding no.
Well, poop.
“Um, you seem to know the basics of what is going on with me already,” she began.”
“You’re Bria Grotto from Paramus, New Jersey. You have one sibling and both parents, all alive and living in the Garden State. You came to New York City about nine months ago in the pursuit of making it big with your vlog. You are heavy on the pursuit of achieving your goal, to prove the existence of the supernatural to the world at large. Recently, you were sent a file that has footage of something you’ve never seen. Footage of a man turning into a Wolf. Despite what you’ve been told your whole life you have in fact discovered that Werewolves, or Wolf Shifters as they sometimes prefer to be called, are very real. I have news, Ms. Grotto, Wolves aren’t the only creatures out there. There are many, many more. And they don’t like it when humans try to ferret out their secrets. So now, those creatures are hunting you.” He stopped at a red light and turned his handsome face to look at her.
“How am I doing for knowing the basics?”
“Um, yeah. Pretty good there, Trench,” she muttered.
“Look, I was sent by someone who is trying to get to the bottom of this. You weren’t sent that video clip by accident.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I am going to protect you, Bria. If you let me.”
Gold eyes flashed, and Bria nodded. For some stupid reason, she believed him.
“Okay, I know I shouldn’t, but I believe you. I just really hope you’re not a serial killer or something.”
“I’m something alright, but I never killed a cereal in my life. Except for a box of Frosted Flakes, but that’s only because I have an issue with their mascot,” he said deadpan.
“Who doesn’t like Tony the Tiger?”
“Me. He makes Tigers look dumb.”
“What? That is ridiculous,” she replied as the light turned green and traffic started moving again.
“Doesn’t like Tony the Tiger,” she muttered.
“I meant what I said. I will keep you safe.”
“Okay, but I hope I don’t end up regretting this.”
That earned her something that sounded like a snort and a whisper that sounded something vaguely like “me too”.
Bria settled back into the surprisingly comfortable seat. The adrenaline was wearing off, and suddenly she was exhausted. Bria stifled her yawn, but it was no good.
“You can sleep, Bria, we won’t get there for another hour or two.”
Any lingering doubt she had that maybe the freakishly large male was a serial killer faded as her eyes drooped. Call her a fool if you will, but Bria was so tired after the last few hours of excitement she couldn’t seem to stay awake.
Her nose itched for some reason, and she wondered if she’d gotten any fur from Mrs. Garcia’s sweater on her. She sneezed three times in a row, earning her a confused glare from the man.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, but he just nodded, handing her a tissue.
“Bless you.”
“Thanks.”
Then she was out like a light.