It was kind of dark in my room when I woke up but my clock said it was mid-day. The dark haze I saw outside of the window looked like it was raining. I crawled out of the sanctity of Rayce’ sleeping body and made my way to the bathroom. The floor was freezing.
While brushing my teeth, I had a bad feeling in my gut. I wasn’t sure what it was but it lingered heavily on my mind.
The house was quiet, other than the stairs that creaked with every step I took. I still couldn’t shake the bad feeling that I had. It felt like I was in a dream but couldn’t wake. I started to make my coffee. While I waited for it to finish, I thought about the past animal sightings. I knew it was the hellhounds people were reporting but the color was what stuck out at me the most. It was black, just like Gage’s hellhound form. He was the only black one in the group of hellhounds I had met.
I knew Gage had been sighted roaming the land of the nearby towns. He was also more than likely the one who slaughtered all of those cows. I wouldn’t doubt that it was him who killed the dogs that I read about in the newspaper. But why?
Was he the one who killed the man behind the hardware store several years ago? The thought gave me a shiver. I wondered if the man was another hellhound or someone who knew too much about their kind.
Rayce came into the kitchen yawning and rubbing his eyes. “Good morning, babe.”
“Good morning,” I smiled at him. He had completely healed but my throat was still bruised but my eyes were healing. He poured himself a cup of coffee. His taste was gross. Black with no sugar. Coffee water. I couldn’t live without cream and sugar.
I walked over to give him a morning kiss but stopped to look out the kitchen window. “It’s snowing,” I said in surprise. “Did Tank come down with you?”
“No. I thought he came down with you,” he replied as he sipped his cup.
“He must be on the couch.” I walked to the back door and turned the knob. Opening the door was hard. It had to be frozen from the other side. I grabbed the knob with both hands and gave it a hard pull. It flew open and I nearly fell on my ass. The first thing I noticed was how cold it was. My first reaction was to close the door but I had to let the dog out. “Come on, Tank. Outside,” I called, but he didn’t come.
Rayce whistled for him and he still didn’t. I closed the door a little and headed to the living room. Tank has never liked the snow so I always had to force him to go outside.
“He must be hiding someplace,” Rayce snickered.
“Yeah, he hates the cold like his mother,” I giggled.
I checked the couch but he wasn’t there. As I went up the stairs, I flipped on the heat. I looked all around the house for him. I checked under beds and even my office. I came back downstairs in a panic. Rayce was at the bottom of the stairs looking up at me, “He has to be here someplace. He couldn’t have gotten out on his own,” he said.
My heart sank, “What if he didn’t get out on his own? What if,” I paused and ran passed Rayce. The cold air coming into the house gave me a shiver. I opened the back door enough to step outside on the back porch. I walked to the right of my wraparound porch and looked down to the front of the house. I didn’t see anything. I went the other way and looked down the other side of the house but nothing. “Tank,” I called. My heart was in my throat. I could see my truck parked in the drive way coming into the back yard and it was covered in heavy snow. The flakes that fell from the sky were huge and I could feel them hitting my head as soon as I stepped off of the last step into the yard.
Rayce had come out of the door and stood on the porch. “Tank, come on, boy,” he called.
Emotion found its way out of my chest and into my throat. Tank was my baby and he was missing, “Where could he be? He has never run off before,” I cried.
Rayce came out into the falling snow with me, rubbed my back with his right hand and tried to pull me back to the house. “Come on inside. I will get dressed and go look for him.”
We started to walk back toward the house but I stopped, “I need to check the front yard.”
“I’ll check the other side of the house, babe. Don’t worry, we will find him.”
The snow was starting to fall faster and harder. It was almost turning into a white out. I looked under all of my rose bushes and even down the street a little but I couldn’t see far. “Tank,” I called. “Where are you, bub?”
Feeling defeated, I turned back to the house and finally saw him. He was lying motionless on the porch in front of the door. I ran up on the front porch and fell to my knees with a loud thump. Rayce came around the corner of the porch and ran up to me. The lump came back and the tears fell down my cheeks. “Oh, my baby. I’m so sorry,” I sobbed as I took his body in my arms. He had been mutilated. His throat was ripped out. He suffered a great deal. I couldn’t control my tears. I thought I would die right there as I cradled him.
“Babe, I’m so sorry,” Rayce said softly.
My paper was rolled up and crammed into his mouth. I kissed him on the head and cried over his dead body. Only two people could have done this but only one person had a key to my home. I knew that Gage had killed my puppy. Rayce pulled me into his arms and held me as I soaked his shirt with my tears.
“I can’t leave him out here,” I sobbed.
“Come inside. I’ll take care of him,” Rayce assured as he got me to my feet. We walked back around the house, entered the kitchen, and Rayce closed the door with a slam. He walked with me to the living room and sat me down on the couch.
“Stay here and get warm,” he said softly. He kissed my forehead before he turned to go upstairs. I sat and cried about my dog. I wanted to kill Gage for this. I hated myself for not protecting him. My stupidity killed my dog. The pain was too great. I felt defeated.
Rayce came back down dressed in jeans and boots. He grabbed his jacket that was on the banister at the bottom of the stairs. He winked at me and turned to the kitchen carrying something white in his hand.
I stood, took a deep breath, and with the tears still falling, I walked into the kitchen. I watched Rayce enter the tiny house in the corner of the yard. He emerged with a shovel.
I dressed quickly and went outside. I grabbed my own shovel. When I came out of the tiny house, I saw Rayce coming back from the front yard with my dog in his arms. He had taken care to wrap him in a sheet.
“You don’t have to do this, babe. I’ll take care of it,” he said.
“No. He’s my dog. I need to do it,” I explained while still crying.
“I understand,” he said softly and put Tank down on the snow-covered ground.
He crammed his shovel into the frozen ground and started a hole. I walked over and used my foot to shove the garden tool into the ground and came back up with a clump of dirt. The dirt was a little wet so it made it heavier than usual.
With my tears still falling, we finished the hole. Rayce handed me his shovel and bent down to pick up Tank for the cold ground. I could see now that he made sure all of the awful parts were covered and removed the paper from his mouth and closed it. Somehow, he made it look like Tank was only sleeping.
I looked down at Tank in his forever sleep and gave his head a kiss. Rayce covered his head and gently placed him into the hole. Saying my final goodbye was harder than I thought it would be. “I will miss you, bub,” I cried as we covered him with dirt.
We walked back into the house and I walked up the stairs to my bed. I pulled the covers over my head and cried until I fell asleep.
Hours later, Rayce woke me with a soft kiss on my lips. I raked my fingers through his hair to hold him tighter to me. His hands wandered over my body, waking me fully.
“We have company,” he said against my mouth.
“Later,” I whispered and kissed him deeper.
“I wish I could stay in bed with you all day,” he said. “but we have a problem.”
I sighed in defeat and released him, “A bigger problem than what we already have?”
“The same problem but it has escalated,” he said as he pushed my hair behind my ear.
“Will it ever stop?” I grumbled.
Downstairs, Jay and Marie were sitting on the couch. Marie stood up and pulled me in for a tight hug. I kept my emotions in check. I was tired of crying.
“I’m so sorry, my friend. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“You can help me hunt down Gage and that bitch of his,” I expressed.
“You got it, chick,” she smiled.
“Gage is sadistic,” I stated and sat down on the couch. Jay looked at me in surprise. “I’m sorry but it’s true.”
“You both don’t understand what we have been dealing with this last week,” Rayce said.
“This psychotic behavior has to stop. Gage has to die,” I expressed. Jay looked at me with surprise splattered all over his face. “Your brother is crazy. No kidding. Downright crazy.”
“We already know that but what happened this week?” Marie asked.
“He had flowers delivered, he steals my mail, and he even came inside and set out my night clothes when we left for the store the other day. Not to mention, he murdered my dog,” I growled.
Jay looked at me, “What do you want me to do Jessica?”
“Listen, I know he’s your brother. I told you that you didn’t have to be my friend anymore if you didn’t like it. Gage has to die.”
“I know he’s a little crazy but it’s the blood. He has been consumed. That is no excuse for what he has done, I know that, but I can’t kill him. He is still my brother.”
“What if it were me in her shoes, Jason?” Marie asked tenderly. “What would you do if he hurt me?” He sighed in defeat. “Exactly. Jessica is a part of this family now. We have to protect her by any means necessary.”
“You’re right but you can’t ask me to kill him,” Jay said.
“Then I will,” Rayce announced.
“Can you kill your family so easily?” I could understand Jay’s struggle. His loyalty to his family and the pack was profound.
“After what he has done to me. To her,” he said pointing to me. “Yes. I can end him without a second thought. He has ruined this family and everything we stand for.” Rayce’ words filled the room with such supremacy. It was almost overwhelming but powerful to watch. “Cousin, I understand your struggle, but it must end somewhere.”
“I know,” Jay confessed.
“I want you to gather what remains of the pack. We need to have a meeting about this issue immediately.”
“What do you mean by what remains of the pack?
“Unfortunately, a lot of hellhounds are missing,” Jay explained.
“Missing?”
“Many have gone missing,” Marie explained. “We believe Gage has gotten his hooks into them.”
“We aren’t sure if they have gotten hooked on the hunt or ran away. They could be dead or joined a different pack. We aren’t sure,” Jay explained.
“Shit,” I said.
“See? Problems,” Rayce stated.
“How many are left?”
“Maybe ten,” Marie stated with a shrug. “We aren’t sure.”
I looked up at the two big men filling my living room and they were both on their phones. Rayce closed his and looked down at Marie and me.
“Let’s go. We are going to go to the office. Some of the pack members are already there,” he explained.
We all loaded up in the truck and headed over. I sat in the small back seat with my hellhound friend and all I could think about was killing Gage. Rayce was right. Gage does deserve to die for what he has done and I was going to take pride in doing it myself.
Rayce typed in his code and the gym door popped open. We walked in and there were only two men and one woman inside. I recognized them from the raid at the landfill.
Thirty minutes later, seven more showed up. Jay stood in the middle of the ring and all of the people gathered around him. It was easier for everyone to see him from up there. They were ready for him to take the lead. Rayce was standing behind me with his arm around my waist.
“Everything will be alright,” he whispered but his body shook. I stroked his hands tenderly, trying to calm him.
“I know that,” I said softly.
He released me and turned me around so I could face him. “I love you, babe.”
Before I could reply, he kissed my forehead and walked toward the ring. I watched as he climbed up and stepped inside. He approached Jay and whispered something. My boss stepped back and gave him control of the mat.
Rayce had a different presence about him. It was the look of authority. Before he addressed the remaining pack members, he looked up and smiled at me. My heart skipped and I couldn’t help but smile back at him.
“You all know who I am but my true identity has been hidden from you,” he said. I was shocked. What was he saying? The pack members began to murmur to each other. Rayce sighed, “I am your true pack master.”
Everyone erupted in a ruckus. They were blaming Rayce for the broken pack. I was growing furious at them all. My body heat began to grow slowly. Jay had to step forward to calm them down.
“Please, everyone,” he said. “You must understand. Rayce was thrust into leadership before he could completely understand what came with it. We made the best choice for the pack at the time.”
“Please, let me explain,” Rayce said. “My father was pack master. I was only a child when I became pack master. I relinquished my position to Gage.”
“Why not give it to Jay?” one member asked.
“Right. He has led us these past few years,” another stated.
“You have to understand. Gage is the oldest in our family. The position fell to the next in line,” Jay explained.
“Due to Gage’s antics and destruction of this pack, I am stepping up and taking back my proper place as your pack master,” Rayce declared. “If any of you dispute this, leave now. I will not stop you. If you stay, your loyalties lie with this pack and me as your leader.”
I could feel the change of the energy in the room. Everything seemed to shift. The pack members knelt and bowed their heads, showing the back of their necks in respect. Rayce had reached out and taken hold of his position. With his final words spoken, the pack recognized him as the pack master.
He walked over to me and took my hand in his. His smile was priceless. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off of him. He seemed brighter. His eyes were even clearer.
“Lookin’ good, pack master,” I said nodding.
“That wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be,’ he confessed. “Come sit with me.”
We sat down on some mats in a far corner. Jay was giving instruction and updating the members about the goings on with Gage and what he had done. He spared my privacy. “Rayce, I don’t understand. What did you mean by Gage is the oldest in your family?”
He smiled at me and scratched at his five o’clock shadow. “I thought you knew. I figured that he would have at least told you that part about him. Gage and Jay are my cousins,” he explained.
“That explains a lot,” I felt like an idiot. “Jay called you cousin. Now I get it. The word family isn’t just a metaphor.”
“No. It is literal,” he snickered. “I’m not related to all the pack members but we are a family in a way.”
“I always looked at the people at T&J as my family. Even Dawn when she was alive,” I shivered. “What about that huge house in Blackwater?”
“It’s the Tate house. My parents’ home. Every leader for two-hundred years has lived in that house.”
I had done it again. I got involved with a guy without knowing who he was completely. I sighed to myself in disbelief. It didn’t matter. I knew who Rayce was. He would never hurt me. He would die before he even thought about it.
“Is that what the T stands for in T&J?”
He nodded, “Anne Tate was my aunt. My father’s sister. She married my uncle Rayce, another pack member, and they had Gage and Jay. Now, my aunt, Ann would have taken over the pack if she and my uncle hadn’t passed away,” he explained.
I chewed on my lip while I took in all the information, “I know this a personal question but how did they pass away?”
He stood up and took my hand and helped me up, “Let’s go outside. I’m gonna need a smoke for this.”
He opened the door from the office and the cold winter air hit me in an arctic blast. Goose bumps popped up on my arms and the hair on my legs grew back. We walked outside. He lit a cigarette and wrapped his arms around my cold body. The heat radiating off of his body would warm me in no time. Rayce always felt like he had a high temperature, but when he was in the mood for sex, his body would be on fire. Right now, he was calm and collected so his heat was tolerable.
I hugged onto him with my ear to his chest and could hear the thump of his heart. When he started to speak, I could hear the muffled sound of his deep voice.
“My parents went on a hunt with my aunt and uncle. Because he was the oldest, they took Gage along. I was too young to go hunting at the time. My father wouldn’t allow it. If I had gone with them I might not have come home.”
I looked up at him and he was staring off into the distance. “Rayce, if it is going to hurt you to talk about it then I don’t want you to.”
“No. You should know all of this if you are going to be in my life,” I put my head back down on his chest and he started to tell me the story. “Gage claimed they had hit a nest and my parents were the first to be taken out. His parents were next to be killed by the vampires. He told everyone he took out the nest alone after the deaths of our family. I don’t believe him one little bit. He told everyone he had to burn the bodies of my parents and his because they had been bitten.”
“That’s horrible,” I said.
“Like I said before, Gage has always been after the position of pack leader. I believe he killed our family for it and if I would have gone, he would have killed me too. I can’t prove it but I know he did it. Jay knows how I feel about it but he doesn’t want to believe his brother is a murderer.”
“I don’t blame him. I would have a hard time believing it myself, if it were my brother,” I expressed.
“Gage has been trying to kill me for years. It has always been one thing or another, fighting me or trying to hurt you. It kills me every time and he knows it. One thing I know for sure, he hasn’t broken me and he never will,” he explained slowly. “If only my parents would have allowed me to accompany them on the hunt, maybe I could have stopped it from ever happening.”
“Rayce, it’s like you said, you might have died that night. Where would you be then? You would be ashes and I wouldn’t have you. You shouldn’t feel guilty. There was nothing you could have done.”
He tossed his second cigarette to the ground and took my face in his hands and looked into my eyes. He kissed me gently. His lips moved down my neck to my throat and all the sudden I wasn’t cold anymore. He put me up against the wall of the building and I could feel the cold brick against my body. His hands moved up under my sweater and touched the tender skin of my waist. He held me to him as he kissed and lightly grazed the tender bite on my neck with his teeth. I grabbed him by the hair and held him to me.
“Rayce, I love you. With everything I have. I love you,” I said in a labored voice and he pulled his mouth away from my neck and looked down at me with a smile that warmed my heart.
“You don’t know how happy that makes me, Jessica. I thought I would never hear those words from you. If you stay with me, I promise I will do my best to make you happy.”
“I know that,” I said and pulled him down for another kiss.
Rayce was different. He would never put his hands on me in an abusive way. He would give every effort he had to make me happy.
“Are you ready to go home, love?” he asked. The sound of that word coming from his mouth in that sweet voice gave me butterflies.
“I’m ready to get you alone in our bed again,” I confessed and rubbed against him.
“You are insatiable,” he snickered.
“You turn me on like a light and you know it,” I whispered against his mouth.