2. Wolfram
Chapter 2
Wolfram
“ W hat?” I barked, making myself settle back in my chair.
“A stalker,” Reese said softly. “I hope you can help.”
“I will.”
Despite my vampire-like appearance . . . Alright, I would concede that I slightly, and I was strict about that specific term, slightly , could appear clichéd to someone who did not know me. I wasn’t sure what to think about that.
Because Reese was . . .
When a vampire meets his true mate, the woman who’s destined to adore and feed him for their very long lives, his heart awakens from its motionless slumber and starts beating.
The moment I touched Reese Hamilton’s hand, a thud rang out in my chest. My heart suddenly thundered, as if I was a tree felled in the forest. I’d dropped to my knees, and it was all I could do not to beg Reese to allow me to sink my teeth into her wrist. Lick her belly. Suck on whatever part of her body she’d allow me access to.
I could not allow my interest in her to get in the way of helping her.
This was a job, not a back-alley sip. As soon as the means became possible, I’d taken on the demeanor of a civilized vampire. I purchased the blood I drank from bags and meticulously lined them up in my refrigerator. When I felt the need for sustenance, I collected one and delicately pierced it with my fangs, staving off my hunger in a polite manner. I’d eaten this way for years and thought nothing of it.
Now look at me. If any of my brethren were here, their eyes would widen at my embarrassing display.
My fangs had slid through my upper jawline.
My claws had extended from the tips of my fingers.
I craved her fresh blood . . .
How mortifying.
As I stared at her neck, my lungs throbbed. My heart continued to surge, battering itself against the inside of my ribs to get to her . “I need to suck on . . .”
“Oh, my.” Reese’s hand fluttered at her throat. “Sucking . . . um. I shouldn’t say this, but for some reason, I’m okay with that idea.”
The older woman reeled away from Reese, glaring at my woman. My mate. My only one. This was not allowed.
My growl rang out, and she wisely turned her attention back to me, her mouth widening with horror.
“I didn’t say that ,” Reese whispered.
“Neither did I.” But I had, and I needed to restore control as soon as possible. I flicked my finger toward the older woman. “Who is this?”
Reese slapped her palms against her cheeks. “Let’s back up here and leave . . . sucking out of the equation.”
“A wise decision,” I said.
“I’m Reese Hamilton, your new client, and this is my assistant, Tracy Davenport,” she said. “I’ve got a problem, and I’m hoping you can help.”
“I will do anything for you,” I ground out.
“Oh . . .” Reese’s eyes widened above her hands still cupping her cheeks. “That’s quite sweet of you. Are you sure I can’t call you Wolfie or Wolf?”
“I will indulge you in this, though I prefer Wolf. Never Wolfie.”
Her hands slid away, landing on her lap, and she shot me a smile that made my heart seize before it began pounding again. “Cool. Cool.”
“Yes, quite . . . chilled.” It had been some time since I’d interacted with humans beyond simple exchanges. The temperature in the room did not reflect her statement, but perhaps she meant something else with the word.
It had also been a long time since I’d taken a job. Naturally, I didn’t need to work. I’d amassed enough wealth ages ago to sustain my lifestyle. But when Katar reached out, indicating I might find this fun, I was intrigued. When had anything last sparked my interest in human activities?
“You can solve crimes,” Katar had said.
“And what will I do with the villains of said crimes?” I’d asked.
“They’ll need to be prosecuted in the usual, human way.”
“A pity,” I’d said.
“I thought you gave that up?” he’d asked, his mouth twitching with humor.
“It has been so long since I indulged in draining a true villain that I can’t quite recall the taste, though I do remember them being universally bitter. There’s something about nasty deeds that taints the blood.” Yet I’d hunted them. When one needed blood to survive, one wasn’t always choosy. Villains, while less tasty, deserved what I brought them. Innocents did not.
“Are you on board?” Katar had asked with an indulgent smile.
Such a trite term, on board, but . . . “Yes,” I’d said.
Reese shifting in her chair brought me back to the present.
“Please, explain what you mean by a stalker,” I said.
“Seagulls. Leave Town.” The last, Reese said with a shudder. “And exploding blenders.” She punctuated each statement with a nod of her head.
This was also a job, not my first meeting with my true mate, despite my wish to indulge in the glory of such a moment. I tugged a pad of paper from my desk and removed a pen from the center desk drawer. I held the pen over the paper, poised to write. “Tell me everything.”
“I either need a ghost exterminator or a bodyguard. Or both.” Her head tilted. “Are you capable of doing both?”
“What makes you believe this is a stalker or a ghost, for that matter?”
“Let me back up,” she said. “Odd things have happened to me recently, and I believe the incidents are connected.”
I’d soon determine if this was true. “I’m prepared to guard your body with my own. A potential ghost, you say?”
“That’s my mother’s thought.” Reese burst a song about a woman named Jolene who was stealing another woman’s man away.
“I assure you, no one, not even a woman with the illustrious name of Jolene, could steal your man away,” I told her firmly.
“Oh good.” She smiled again, and I wanted to ask her not to, because it not only made my heart compress, but it also made my cock jut against the front of my pants—another appalling, embarrassing gesture I was grateful none of my brethren were here to see.
“If your issue involves a ghost, I’m quite capable of eradicating it,” I said.
“I want to release her from her earthly bindings and send her peacefully on her way,” she said, “not destroy her.”
“Are you a witch?” I asked.
“I wish.”
“Reese,” Tracy snapped. “Stop chattering. Tell him what you need so we can tell him we’re not interested in his dubious services and leave. A vampire. Really?”
“My services are anything but dubious.” I politely pointed out.
“You’re killing me here, Wolf.” Reese fanned her face with her hand.
“Never,” I vowed.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t interested in hiring him,” Reese told Tracy.
“Regarding a potential ghost, I’ll be delighted to do what I can in that regard,” I said, trying to keep this conversation on track.
Tracy kept huffing and shifting on her seat, and I wondered how long it would be before she wrapped her hands around the exposed skin of her throat to shield it from my view.
She had nothing to fear. The only person my fangs ached to sink into was Reese—as it should be with true mates.
“I need more details,” I said, returning to the conversation at hand—again. “First, tell me about the seagull.”
Reese sighed, and her pale blue eyes with incredibly long lashes widened. “One attacked me while I was walking on the beach.”
“Were you carrying food, perchance?” I asked.
“Perchance?” Her lips twitched. “Who says things like that?”
“Me. I say things like that.”
Her smile quivered. “I was not carrying food.”
I jotted down this detail on the paper. “Were you, by chance , wearing a scent that might hint at food, such as vanilla or cinnamon?”
“Scents make me sneeze.”
“Very well.” I noted that as well. “And what do you mean by a message, Leave Town ?”
“Someone spelled that out in seashells on the path between my house and the beach.”
“I do not like to suggest such a thing,” I said in a delicate manner, “but is there a chance you’re mistaken and that the shells only hinted at this message?”
“Tell him about the lipstick.” Tracy shot daggers at me. Unless they were made of oak, she was wasting her time.
“Lipstick?” I kept my gaze on Reese. Truly, it was all I could do to not rise and stride over to her. I’d take her hand again and kiss it. Glide my tongue up to the pulse point in her wrist and beg her for one drop of the precious liquid thrumming through her veins. This was all my feverish heart would need right now.
Patience, I chided myself. We’d only just met. Humans did not bare their wrists to every vampire they encountered, and they didn’t understand the magnitude of true mates. Soul mates, perhaps, but such bindings had nothing to do with blood.
“The words, Leave Town , were not only written in shells and left on my path,” Reese said, “but someone snuck inside my house and wrote the same thing on my bathroom mirror in lipstick.”
“ Your lipstick?” I studied her plump lips.
“I don’t wear lipstick,” Reese said. “In addition to scents, I’m not tolerant of artificial colors or flavorings. I have a hard time finding toothpaste that doesn’t give me a reaction.”
“We buy a certain kind on Amazon.” Tracy tilted her head, studying my face. “You’re not really a vampire, are you? This . . . costume is some sort of fetish, correct?” Her hand flicked toward my body in general.
I flashed my fangs, savoring how she gasped and leaned back in her chair. “I will attest to the fact that I’m a born vampire.”
A frown bloomed on Reese’s face. “I’ll admit I don’t know anything about vampires outside of fiction novels, but perhaps you’ll satisfy my curiosity. Unless I’m irritating you. In which case, tell me to stop.” Her voice dropped off. “Please, tell me to stop.”
“I’m happy to indulge you in this.”
“Cool. What’s a born vampire?”
“Some vampires are made, as in bitten and drained of their blood before they’re fed their host’s blood to turn them, but—”
Tracy’s gasp rang out again.
“Born vampires are literally that,” I said. “My parents procreated in the usual manner, and my mother delivered me much like humans do.”
“That’s amazing,” Reese said.
Tracy was so pale, I worried she’d need a transfusion. “No, it’s atrocious.” She lumbered to unsteady feet, wavering between Reese and my desk. “We need to leave here before this . . . this monster sucks all our blood and turns us into creatures of the night.” She yanked on Reese’s arm, trying to drag her from her chair.
Reese shrugged her off and pinned me in place with a stern gaze. “Do you want to suck all our blood and turn us into creatures of the night?”
Tracy? No.
Reese? Yes.
Actually, no. It wouldn’t be necessary with her .
“I haven’t turned a single individual,” I said.
Reese patted Tracy’s hand trembling between them. “See? He hasn’t drained anyone’s blood—”
“Yet,” Tracy barked out. “Yet!”
“And he hasn’t shared his own blood with them,” Reese said. “Sit. We’re still interviewing him, and I’ll decide if we’re hiring him to serve as my bodyguard and exorcist of the potential ghost in my new house.”
“Do not mistake me for a priest,” I drawled. “However, I’d be delighted to guard your body in any way, shape, and form.”
Color rose into Reese’s face. “That’s . . . an interesting statement right there.”
“And inappropriate.” Tracy grumbled, settling back in her seat. “There are other firms we can reach out to. I’ve told you that numerous times.”
“None can compare to Monsters, PI,” I stated. “None can offer me .”
“I don’t see why you’re any different,” Tracy said.
She didn’t need to. Only Reese’s opinion mattered.
“Do these other firms offer vampire protection in particular?” I asked.
“Vampires are useless.” Tracy rolled her eyes. “You can’t even go out in sunlight. How are you going to provide the 24/7 protection we’re seeking if you need to climb into a coffin and turn into a slug at dawn? You’ll be a cold, motionless thing awaiting a stake while my poor Reese will be at the whim of whoever’s trying to harm her.”
I drilled Reese with my eyes. “Has anyone tried to harm you?”
She shook her head. “Just scare me.”
My growl ripped out. “Which is enough. I humbly ask you to accept my offer and allow me to provide the protection you’re seeking.” I slanted Tracy a look I hoped wasn’t laden with the scorn ripping through me. “I do not sleep in a coffin. I do not turn into a slug. And I do not need to sleep all day. As for sunlight,” I thrust out my arm and tugged back my sleeve, “do you note my light tan?”
Tracy leaned forward, scowling. “Not really.”
“It is present. I will happily follow Reese into the sunlight or the darkness, whichever she prefers.”
“Both,” Reese said with a smile. “It’s settled, then.”
“No, it’s not,” Tracy screeched.
Why so vehement?
Perhaps she was involved. If so, she’d soon feel my wrath.
No one touched my mate without her permission. No one threatened to harm her.
No one.