Oversized red and gold bows decorated lamp posts along the main street of what looked like downtown Brookhaven. Unadorned pine trees looked festive all on their own from a light coating of snow at their peaks. A few smaller ones were dotted with brightly blazing colored string lights. They silently sat outside the sidewalk shops, encouraging the already overflowing holiday spirit of gift buying.
Vince took a right and followed the directions he’d mapped on his phone. The busy-ish town traffic died away and he was soon driving along a secluded, winding road. Tall, dense trees closed in on both sides of him until they eventually created a dark canopy with occasional streetlamps lighting his way. A foreboding feeling crept up his spine until the road and forestry finally opened up to a large, sprawling manor.
Two fortresses stood solidly outlined by a half lit moon, one offset behind the other. Row upon row of uniform windows stared down at him. The buildings themselves were stylized versions of the old cotton mills that could still be found in many places around Atlanta. The whole estate was a mixture of neatly manicured landscaping and Mother Nature barely kept at bay. It gave everything a welcoming feel, but the unexpected enormity of the buildings made him think of a sinister institution.
He slowed the car and crept toward the curb as he took it all in, hoping the engine didn’t die in the meantime. Adrenaline calmed his usually relentless shakes, but he’d pay for it as soon as the rush passed. His body would then betray him by making him even shakier and more uncoordinated than before.
He scanned the street in both directions. The road continued on past the buildings, so he took the time to do a drive by. There was only open space mixed with more looming forest all around, so he circled back and found a spot to park in the street across from what looked like the main entrance.
This didn’t look like a place that would hold a club for supernaturals, so he checked the address again. Bright white numbers stood out on a dark glass door, and they were definitely a match to what was on Anthony’s business card. Even so, he watched for a time, and though it was dark out, it wasn’t too dark for him to pick out the people coming and going.
A couple average looking guys having an animated conversation with each other walked out the front door and disappeared around the far corner of the building. As he sat wondering if he should really be here, car lights flashed in his rearview mirror and he froze. An SUV drove past him and into the driveway, a man and a woman in the front seats. Vince waited for a time with his hand on the ignition, just in case, then relaxed when the couple finally emerged from the parking garage with a couple of kids.
He was transfixed by them. The boy and girl were maybe five and seven, the parents looking distracted as they called out to the kids to watch for cars. The dad pulled up the rear, his hands full of bags, jackets, and a child’s sized backpack, the mom’s hands full of grocery bags. The little girl was talking to herself, or maybe singing something, while the boy was focused on a toy in his hands. Vince couldn’t make out what it was from here. A robot or something.
They eventually disappeared into the same building the other dudes had come out of, and he found himself disappointed to see them go. He hadn’t imagined he’d find families here, and his mind briefly wandered. What would it have been like to grow up in the midst of a whole community of people like himself?
Almost like him, anyway.
He glanced at the time and decided it was now or never. Either they’d accept him as one of their own… or they wouldn’t and he’d be in the same situation he was in now.
Alone.
He kept his eyes and ears open as he approached the front door. Crickets chirping in the background and the creeping ivy that was fanned out on the building helped to keep him calm. If nature didn’t run away and hide from what went on here, then maybe things were ok.
Even so, he could just as easily get his ass kicked as he’d find anyone even remotely like him inside. Not having to pretend he was one hundred percent human around other people was too tempting, though. And his shifter senses might not be very strong, but he still recognized a whole heap of power when he felt it. The buildings literally pulsed with invisible energy… and it teased the supernatural part of him in a way he’d never felt before. He couldn’t help but be excited by it.
The pristine dark glass door opened from the inside, looking at odds with what Vince could now see was really old brick siding the building. A muscular guy with an overly thick neck stood in the entryway looking totally bored. Shifter. Had to be. His earthy scent rushed out ahead of him as the cool night breeze mingled with the warm air of the foyer.
“You new here? Looking for the club?”
This was it. Stay or go. Was he going to be a coward and walk away, or forge ahead into the unknown and possibly get some answers to questions he’d had his whole life?
“Yeah man. Thanks.” He hopped up the two front steps and opened his senses wide. It was a rush to suddenly be hyper alert, able to feel even the tiniest ripples of energy up to about twenty five feet away. He’d pay for it tomorrow when he’d barely be able to pull himself out of bed, but tonight he’d use every advantage he could to fit in.
He stepped inside and past the door guard. The man’s energy vibration was definitely too fast and heavy to be human, but was he jaguar? Vince wished he knew how to tell. Another man sat on a stool, further back, reading a magazine. Before Vince had a chance to get a sense of what he was, sounds of someone talking and a child crying caught his attention.
An old woman hobbled down a hallway towards them with an upset toddler in her arms. She didn’t seem at all worried about Vince or the guards being here as she sweetly consoled the little girl, then rounded the corner and hefted herself and the squirming child up a flight of stairs.
The door closed behind him with an audible latching sound, and his attention snapped back to the bored guard with the thick neck. He scoffed at Vince, then stepped back from him, looking like he’d tasted something rotten.
“Hmpf. Cat.”
He curled his lip and Vince finally understood why a lot of shifters he’d run into over the years looked down their noses at him. Jaguars must not be thought very highly of in the supernatural community. Great. Just great.
He ignored the guy, his attention now on the other doorman, or guard, or whatever he was. His energy felt cold and hard, just like a vampire, and his scent was like a breath of crisp night air. There was no thump of a heartbeat in him, either.
The shifter guard said in growing irritation, “You know the rules?”
“Rules?” He wracked his brain to remember what Anthony told him. “He said no violence allowed. Got it, man.”
The man sneered, “You got invited? By who?”
He mentally groaned. It was too soon for this dominance crap. He wasn’t even inside the club yet. He flicked a look at the vampire guard to see if he was just as big of an asshole, but he couldn’t tell. The man just sat there watching them and not saying anything. “A vampire. Anthony… Foster. Yeah, Foster. Long dark hair, big scar on his face.”
A visible jolt when through both guards, and they suddenly looked alive.
The vampire hopped off his stool and briskly opened a door to Vince’s right. “The club is this way, sir. Would you like an escort? I’m afraid Master Anthony isn’t here right now, but if you’re a friend, I can certainly get ahold of him for you.”
The vampire stared him down, not unkindly, but the insinuation was clear. If he was lying about knowing Anthony, things could go bad, and quick.
“That’s all right. I talked to him and his fiancé, Kaia, already tonight. He gave me his card and said I should come by sometime.” He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and handed it to the man.
He fixated on it for a moment, and Vince swore he felt a spark of something in the air, but it was quickly gone and the vampire’s energy was calm again. It was the opposite of the shifter guard, who still had an irritated anxiousness to him.
The tall dude handed the card back and held the door open as he gestured to the stairs. With a curious smirk he said, “Welcome to the club.”
**
Vince descended the softly lit stairwell and opened the door at the bottom to a room that looked like a big hangout. There were exposed rafters overhead, a dyed and polished concrete floor, and dim lighting to his left, brighter above a couple pool tables, one of them currently in use. Straight ahead and taking up the back right quarter of the room was a restaurant that looked more practical than fancy with smallish tables and worn, dark wooden chairs to match. A well cared for bar nestled in on the left edge of the space, bordering a hall that went further back into darkness.
Mismatched and various sized paintings lined the wall to his right, looking like it was a rotation for different artists to hang their creations. It was the usual mix of some mostly good pieces and some that shouldn’t be allowed to see the light of day. The remainder of the club had scattered overstuffed couches and TV’s mixed with bar tables and stools closer to a small stage area. It was a little of everything, with some offices or rooms of some kind along the left of the back wall. Most were darkened rooms with wide open doors waiting for who knew what to happen inside.
Everyone here seemed uneventfully normal, which was oddly exciting. Still, he was cautious as he stepped away from the staircase and let the door close behind him. He knew he was no one special in the supernatural world, and especially not since, like it or not, he wasn’t even fully one of them, but he wasn’t totally human, either. Of either side, the supers should be the ones to accept him as one of their own.
He slowly wandered around while he got a feel for people with his senses open as wide as he could get them. It was exhausting to push his piteous excuse for powers like this, but he had to know for sure because he didn’t want to expose himself in front of any humans.
Just supers. All he felt were supers. It was both scary and invigorating. He wouldn’t seem so strange to these people if he let go of the human act. His quick movements and abnormal strength would be normal here. This still might be some kind of hangout for the wrong type of people, but that wasn’t the feeling he got by looking around. This crowd could be in any bar or restaurant anywhere in town.
His eye caught on an old bartender waving someone over. Vince turned to see who he was gesturing to, then realized it was him. The old dude looked harmless enough, and the bar was as good a place as any to hang out and get his bearings while he soaked in the atmosphere.
He stepped cautiously closer, perking up when he noticed a seriously sexy woman camped on a stool at the end of the bar, closest to the dark hall. She had a drink by her side as she worked on a laptop, and from what he could see in the bar mirror, she was gorgeous. She had funky, spiked black and red wine streaked hair, a snug, dark t-shirt that wasn’t quite long enough and left her lower back exposed, not that he minded, and hip hugging cargo pants that did their best to keep her sexy ass contained. His eyes wandered over her, and he fought a deep down urge to slink up and wrap himself around her curvy body while he nuzzled and licked a long, hot line up her neck.
He smiled at his thoughts as he approached, then reluctantly forced himself to think of something else before his eyes started glowing. Wait. There were only shifters here. He shouldn’t have to hide anything about himself in this place.
**
Penny lazily turned her head when she noticed Chester reaching over the bar with his hand extended. Whoa. Good looking guy alert. She pulled out her earbuds as casually as she could.
“You’re new here. I’m Chester.”
New guy had a smile that could melt the sun as he shook the old wolf’s hand. “Vince. It’s that obvious?” Penny fumbled with turning her music off, finally getting the stupid app on her phone to close.
Chester cautiously said, “Huh. Jaguar. I suppose you’re here to see Zach, then.”
“Who’s Zach?”
Ah crap. There went her hot fantasies. She dejectedly chimed in, “He’s the Alpha Jaguar here in Atlanta. You’re not one of his pack, so where are you from? Are you one of those Savannah jackasses?” Not fair. He was the hottest guy she’d ever been in the nearish vicinity of. He was a tall Asian guy with broad shoulders, a square jaw, wide, flat cheekbones, and seriously intense eyes. He looked a little tired though.
Chester said in his old man’s warning voice, “Penny…”
She snapped back, “What?”
“Jaguar business is Zach’s business. Don’t be nosy.”
Whatever. She scoffed at Chester as she toyed with her drink and Vince smiled at her. It was a wasted effort on his part since there was no way she was getting friendly with one of Zach’s enemies, no matter how yummy he was.
He edged just a little closer as he said, “It’s ok man. I’m an Atlantan through and through. Never even been to Savannah.”
Oh. Well all right then. She quit scowling and sat up straighter.
Chester gave him a curiously suspicious look. “Is that right?”
“Yep. Born and raised here.”
Hallelujah. She’d sworn off relationships after what’s his name a couple months ago, but it might be fun to hang out with this one until the ride ended. She’d just protect her heart better this time.
Chester kept studying him, but said in his usual neighborly tone, “Get you a drink? First one’s free for a newbie.”
Vince sank onto the stool right next to her as her hormones raged. “Sure man. Thanks. How about a beer?”
“I’ve got a pilsner and a pale ale on tap.”
“Pilsner.”
Hot stuff turned to her as Chester took his time with the tap. She was going to be dreaming about those eyes tonight. And that body hovering over her…
He asked, “You’re not a jaguar?”
“Coyote.”
His eyes flicked down her body and it instantly irritated her.
“God save the Queen.”
“What?”
He gestured to her shirt. Oh. “You listen to the Sex Pistols?”
“From time to time. They’re in my music rotation.” Huh. Well that was a first. Someone around her own age liking the same music as her.
Sebastian stepped out of the kitchen just then, and she couldn’t help noticing the fierce Alpha Wolf as he strode into the restaurant and immediately snapped his attention on Vince. He frowned and made his way over, so she grabbed her drink and put it on the other side of Zach’s computer, shuffling everything a little further away. People and prized possessions weren’t always safe when Sebastian had that kind of look on his face.
Chester handed Vince his beer as Sebastian sat down smack on his other side. Vince barely flicked a glance at him, his attention still on her, though she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about that. She might give Zach a hard time, but she did actually know better than to get into his business. Besides, once Vince got to know her, he’d probably dump her just like every other guy she ever gave her heart to.
“I’m Vince, by the way.”
“That’s what you said.”
He smiled and his eyes started to shine. “You’re mouthy, aren’t you?”
She arched an eyebrow at him, still not sure how to read him. Was he being cocky and trying to get her to fall all over him like lots of girls probably did, or was he being genuinely nice? Hard to tell.
“What are you working on? Looks pretty technical.”
She sighed and curled her lip. “Zach’s got a virus on his computer again. I’m debugging it.”
He smirked. “A punk rock computer geek.”
“I’m not a geek, jerk.”
Judging by his quickly hidden frown, she realized she’d been a little too bitchy. Guess she wasn’t over feeling trampled on by every man on earth…
**
Vince tried hard to hold onto the feeling of freedom by being among all these shifters. Penny was freaking gorgeous with her darkly lined eyes and punk rock look, not to mention her sexy, curvy body, but it was obvious he wasn’t getting anywhere with her. Her venom got her point across loud and clear.
“All righty then.” He turned his attention back to the bar and took a healthy swallow of beer, the friendly old bartender watching their exchange in amusement. Vince looked lazily around and frowned when he realized the surly blonde dude sitting on his other side was focused pretty hard on him. That irritated him more than it maybe should have. He’d already been harassed by the thick necked shifter upstairs because he was a cat. Just because he wasn’t fully shifter didn’t mean his animal side liked having to back down all the time. He submitted a lot because he’d gotten his ass beat more than once for standing up for himself when he should’ve just walked away, but tonight… well, Anthony said no fights allowed. Vince wouldn’t push it too far.
He said loud enough for the guy to hear, “What’s the deal, dude?”
Surly dude flatly said, “Just wondering what a Savannah jaguar is doing here. You got business with Zach, you take it up with Zach. Don’t make a scene in the club.”
He frowned and turned to face him. “Who says I’m making a scene? And what’s with everyone thinking I’m from… oh shit.” His heart pounded in his ears as he stared in shock at this stranger.
It was no secret Vince looked a lot more Asian than his mom, who was a light skinned, petite blasian. She was part black and part Korean, leaning more towards looking like a very unique combination of the two. His nonexistent father had to be pure Asian since Vince looked more that than anything else, especially with his strong ethnic features. His wide shoulders and the fact that he was over a foot taller than his mom also told him his father wasn’t a small man. He’d always guessed his father might also be Korean like some of his mom’s dad’s side of the family, but he really wasn’t sure.
And his mom always swore she didn’t know much about his father, or how to find him. All she knew was that he was jaguar. Could he be one of the jackasses from Savannah? Everyone seemed surprised to see a jaguar looking like he did in Atlanta…
Surly dude kept an eye on him as Vince’s head reeled in shock. He hadn’t been expecting this twist to his night. He wasn’t even sure what to think about it. Had Anthony known all along? Was that why he’d urged him to come here?
Or maybe his mom knew more than she’d ever let on. Maybe his father wasn’t just an anonymous one night stand, and maybe that’s why she didn’t want him associating with other supers. She didn’t want him to find out who he really was.
He scowled. He didn’t want to believe she’d lied to him all these years, but a heavy feeling settled in his gut. He took a deep breath and tried to focus. Surly dude was seriously packed with muscle and looked like he knew exactly how to throw his weight around. Something about him screamed danger and a whole lot of hurt if Vince ticked him off, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “What’s with the Savannah jaguars? Are they the only Asian jaguars around?”
“Talk to Zach. Jaguar business isn’t wolf business.”
“You’re a wolf?” God that felt weird to ask out loud.
The man nodded once. He wasn’t a talker, but he also wasn’t taking his eyes off Vince.
Feeling anxious and on the verge of being irritated, he snapped, “Fine. But I have no idea who Zach is, man. Can you point him out?”
Surly dude folded his arms across his chest and said, “Sit tight. He’s on his way here.”
Vince looked around himself in a daze. People ate at the restaurant beside the bar, more people hung out and played pool across the club, and Vince might be learning who his father was tonight. None of this was what he’d envisioned by coming here.
He glanced at gorgeous, mouthy Penny, who gave him a strange look before he turned back to his beer, took a big, healthy swallow of it, then decided this was all too surreal for him.
His mom sacrificed so much over the years to keep him safe and hidden in plain sight, from both humans and shifters, while he grew up with way too much strength for a normal person to have, but no animal to be considered a shifter. They moved around a lot when he was a kid just to keep their anonymity, and luckily, because they were so poor and the welfare system was so overtaxed the way it was, no one ever followed up with them on why he’d changed schools so many times, or why he’d missed his annual doctor appointments every single year. She’d given up too much of herself for him, so he felt like he was betraying her by sticking around this place. It was a longshot, anyway, that someone might know who his father was, even if it might help him figure out what the hell was physically wrong with him.
He finished off his beer, turned around, and was nearly ready to take off when surly dude grabbed his arm and held it in a vice grip.
“Let go of me.”
“Stay put. Zach’ll be here soon.”
“That’s awesome, but I’ve changed my mind. Let go.”
The dude narrowed his eyes at him and Vince started to feel claustrophobic.
“Zach wants to talk to you. Wait here.”
He tried to jerk his arm free, but it was no use. This guy was strong. Through gritted teeth he said, “I don’t want to wait here.”
His heart nearly stopped when the guy’s face started shifting into the meanest, scariest looking werewolf he’d ever seen. The only werewolf he’d ever seen, actually. Vince went stock still and weakly said, “I’ll just stay here.”
People began moving away from their general vicinity, and no one wasted any time about it. Wolfman had stopped shifting by this point, but he still looked damn mad. Then, for no apparent reason, he let him go and turned away.
“Who the hell does Yi Min-jung think he is sending his family here? We had an agreement to stay out of each other’s territories. Does he need his ass kicked again?”
Vince cautiously swiveled around on his stool, now face to face with a dark haired man at least five years older than him, and looking more than a little irritated. All fight went out of him as he stared into his intense, deep green eyes because something about his energy felt like home, even as mad as the guy was.
“Are you Zach?”
He scowled and took a step back. “Yeah. Give me your message in private. This way.”
**
Penny couldn’t keep her eyes off sexy Vince as he walked away with Zach. She was mad at herself for being such a bitch to him, but he made her nervous. He was dangerously sexy with that imposing gaze from eyes that looked older than they should be. Even so, he seemed pretty easy going, even a nice guy on top of that, so of course it scared her that not only was he seriously making her hot for him with his overly masculine vibe, but when he totally knew a song from the Sex Pistols, and even knew that her shirt was a Sex Pistols album cover, she freaked out and was a witch to him. She’d spent too long being the butt of stupid jokes to most of the jackasses around here, girls and guys both, so her bitchy self-defense mechanism was always firmly in place.
Most of the people around here deserved it tenfold for relentlessly mocking her about anything and everything that they knew pissed her off. Vince wasn’t one of them, though. He was obviously new around here and just trying to make conversation.
Shit.