Event Horizon

It had been a productive night, the sweet stench of baby powder and rotting flesh carried on the wind into the alley off of Trade that had been the scene of our latest battle with the Lessening Society. These had been no new recruits, their skin and hair the pallor of antique lace, well-honed muscle propelling the soulless bastards like freight trains as Butch and I tracked them through the greasy back streets that ran behind the neon facades of the Caldwell club scene, primped and polished humans decked out in their Ralph Lauren and Armani too focused on landing a piece of ass to notice the ghostly monsters being chased by the two of us.

I wiped my dagger on my thigh, blood covered leather doing little to clean the oily sludge of lesser blood from the blade. Three down… leather creaked as I flexed my gloved hand around the hilt, already itching for another fight even as Butch hoovered up the remaining lesser, still pinned and squirming on the filthy concrete beneath him.

The mindless sessions had been doing less and less to take the edge off. Jodi had scarcely left my mind, awake or during the few hours of sleep I’d managed lately. I was a black hole, no thought escaping the recesses of my mind save that of the doe-eyed female that could never be mine. Where the fucking failed, the fighting helped, the adrenaline rush clearing my thoughts of her for a few precious minutes at a time. Diamond eyes pored over the scene, taking stock of the inky pools that lined the alley in the world’s most macabre Rorschach test.

There had to be more. These fuckers travelled in packs and that was the only good thing I had to say for their sorry asses. Right now, I needed something to rid me of the female that plagued my every thought. I scrubbed a hand over my face, barely registering the warm trickle of blood dripping over my brow. The last female I’d had was an epic disaster. I’d found her in ZeroSum, her waist length mahogany waves drew me in and in a weak moment, I grabbed her shoulder and spun her to face me, warm brown eyes widening in surprise for a moment before sizing me up with all the interest of a butcher eyeing a side of beef. This wasn’t my Jodi. Tohr’s Jodi. I growled in frustration, my already short temper on a hair trigger. It had taken little but a flash of cash to get her back to the penthouse and onto my rack. After hours of manipulating her flesh to my gain, I’d freed my cock from my leathers and climbed up on the table, diamond eyes crazed as I’d looked down at her face, painted skin washed clean by sweat and tears, now covered by her chocolate brown locks as her head thrashed as much as it could and in that moment, she was Jodi and I gave in to the desire I fought so hard to suppress. Grunting I drove into her hard and fast, hips moving like pistons to force me deeper into her core as she writhed under me. The heavy oak rack groaned with our combined weight until I felt her shudder, roaring Jodi’s name into the cavernous room when my own orgasm tackled me, my head falling between my shoulders, dropping my lips to hers…and stopping short, nearly ass-planting as I scrambled backward and off of the female that was not my Jodi. I mean Tohr’s Jodi. Fuck. Me. Sideways.

I looked up at the mouth of the alley as the scent of powder stung my nostrils, diamond eyes pinpointing the fucker like the sight on a rifle. I was on my feet in a flash, shitkickers pounding pavement and launching myself at him before he could turn to run. My shoulder connected with his chest, snapping his ribs with a satisfying crunch. He staggered back but held his ground, arm lifting to aim his Sig and fire, the round passing through the meat of my bicep. A savage growl ripped from my throat as I grabbed his wrist and snapped it, pivoting on my heel and wrenching his shoulder at the socket, grinning at his howled cries before silencing them with a head butt that shattered his nose, his scream cut to a wet gurgle while he thrashed, his working hand frantically reaching for the blade strapped to his thigh. I was faster, grabbing the dagger and jamming it into his knee, flipping my own blade in my hand as he sank like a stone. Planting a shitkicker on his shoulder and shoving him back, I lunged, straddling his prone body and sinking my dagger over and over, ghostly pale replaced with bubbling tar as I continued to shred and stab, anger and frustration fueling the fall of the blade in my wounded arm, my own blood mixing with that of the screaming creature below me. Wild eyed and oblivious to the ebony spatter pelting my face and chest until the lesser was no longer recognizable as anything that had even once been human.

“V? What the fuck are you doing?” I snapped back to reality as Tohr’s voice cut through the haze, my nostrils flaring at a new scent on the wind…a scent that made my head spin and mouth water. Her scent. And it was all over him. I jumped up, fangs bared and slammed him into the brick wall lining the alley, my blade biting into his throat.

“Motherfuck…Vishous! The fuck, brother?!” Butch hooked an arm around my neck and dragged me back, jaws snapping on feral snarls at the male who had been my brother for centuries. A male who was now covered in the sweet perfume of Jodi’s scent. He’d been with her. Recently. “You fucker!” I spat, torquing in Butch’s arms, every cell in me roaring to slit Tohr’s throat for touching my female.

Realization hit Butch like a semi truck and he used the last of his ebbing strength to tighten his hold on me, shaking voice raised to be heard over my rabid growls. “Tohr, get back to the compound. I’ve got him. Just go!”

Navy blue eyes passed keenly between the two of us and nodded, dematting in an instant.

“V, fuck! He’s gone, he’s gone, okay? Calm the fuck down. I’m in no shape to deal with your baggage right now!”

The desperate edge to his voice rang clearly and I went slack in his arms, sinking back against him. “I’m tight. Let me go. I need to take care of you.”

“Tight my ass. Fuck, man… we’re gonna talk about this. Now.”

 I let him pull me upright and lead us through the maze of alleys to where we’d left the Escalade, willing the door locks open I climbed inside and tugged him in behind me, pulling the male against my chest, pinching my glove between my teeth and tugging it off, the sickly sweet smell of powder wafting up from his skin nearly gagging me as I flatten my hand over the scarred star on his pec, feeling his sigh of relief as the evil he’d absorbed is drawn from his body. I rest my forehead on his shoulder, voice muffled against his skin.

“I am so fucked, cop.”

“It’s her. It’s Jodi you want. Tohr’s female.” Not a question.

I gave a small nod, finally admitting the truth to someone besides myself.

“You’re right, my brother. I do believe you’re fucked.”