Chapter 26
Chapter twenty-six
Jack
“So…” Tate turned the music down as his eyes flicked over me, tongue playing with his lip ring. “Are you going to look at me, or am I going to have a conversation with the back of your head all night?”
When I didn’t respond, he placed his hand on my thigh, giving it a squeeze through my pants. “I expected to stare at your back at some point tonight, but not before we even had dessert.”
“Really?” I snorted and turned to him. “That was so corny.”
Tate grinned broadly. “It got you to look at me, didn’t it?”
I leaned my head on my hand, elbow on the window ledge. “How am I supposed to look at you without thinking about you and Kyren doing… that?”
He shifted the gear with a smirk. “Princess, if that’s the most shocking thing you’ve seen so far, then we’re going to have to ease you into the rest of the night.”
“Dinner first, then you can ease me in anywhere you want.” I clamped my mouth shut, just realizing what I said. “That’s not — I mean…”
Tate threw his head back and laughed. “Alright, princess. Let’s get some food in you first.”
He pulled his car up to a white and dark brown trimmed restaurant. The red lettering on the door window said Casa de Notte. I winced at the sight of the people going inside as Tate opened my door for me.
“I don’t think I’m dressed fancy enough for this place.” My gaze swept over his slacks and button-up dark blue shirt. Compared to him, I looked like I was two seconds away from mugging him.
“You look beautiful.” He brushed my hair over my shoulder. “And if anyone has a problem with the way their dressed, they can deal with me.” His hand wrapped around my waist, holding me close to his side.
A crow cawed, and my head snapped toward it. Eyes narrowing, I turned my attention back to Tate. “How is a place like this still even open this late? It’s already three a.m.”
“Benefits of a supernatural community living under the radar. Most of this town knows about our kind,” Tate opened the restaurant door with a smile, “and they stay open late.”
A low male voice sang over the speakers in Italian. The interior all-dark-wood and crimson tablecloths with a golden light completely the romantic ambiance.
“Wow,” I breathed, taking it all in. “No one has ever taken me somewhere like this… ever.” Then my eyes landed on the worst possible person I could see right now.
Julian sat a few tables in with the pretty auburn professor from earlier. Even though Julian explained he was doing it for the mission, it still hurt to see him with her, to see her place her hand on his and for him to let her.
I swallowed and turned my back on them, chewing on my lower lip. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Tate rubbed a hand down my back.
I glanced up at him with a grimace. “Did Kyren talk to you about my history with that hunter professor?”
Tate arched a brow and then shot a look behind us, quickly finding Julian’s table. “Oh, him. Do you want to go somewhere else?”
I was torn between not wanting to let it bother me and wanting to have a nice night out with Tate. Unfortunately, I knew that if we stayed there, I’d be tense and unable to enjoy myself, always checking on what Julian was doing or if he was looking at me.
“Would you mind?” I winced, feeling guilty. “You brought me to such a nice place, I’d hate to ruin our night.”
Tate wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the side of my head. “Princess, I want whatever makes you most comfortable. If that means ditching this place for a taco truck, that’s what we’ll do.”
I smiled shyly up at him. “Tacos sound great.”
“Then that’s what you’ll get. Come on.”
Tate led me out of the restaurant and back into the car.
We drove a few minutes before stopping a few cars away from a white, green, and red truck.
They had little red paper balls of light hanging over their window and several picnic tables set out on the sidewalk.
The line up to the window was six people long, telling me it had to be good.
“Kyren brought me to this place the first day we came to this town.” Tate held my hand and stepped to the back of the line. “He said they were the closest thing he’d tasted to the kind of antojitos he’d eaten before he became a vampire.”
The scent of the corn tortillas and meat grilling smelled heavenly, and my stomach growled with anticipation. Someone played Latin music on their Bluetooth speaker to really give the place an authentic vibe.
“How old is Kyren, anyway?”
Tate shot a look my way as we stepped up in line. “Over a hundred and fifty.”
I glanced at my fingers, counting back the years. “So he’d have been changed during the… Spanish American War? Was he a soldier?”
“Yes.” Giving me a knowing look, Tate’s fingers stroked over my knuckles. “His mother was Cuban and his dad was Irish. A real scandal back then, from what he told me. You know, you could ask him about all this.”
I dipped my head, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Yeah, I know. I just…”
“You kissed.”
My head jerked up. “Did he tell you?”
Tate leaned down and licked across my lower lip. “I tasted you.”
I blushed from the top of my ears to the tips of my toes. The implication heated my blood and made me shift from one foot to the other. Tate chuckled at my embarrassment, moving us forward in the line.
When we finally reached the front of the line, I pushed up on my toes, anxious to see how they made their tacos or antojitos, as Tate had called them.
Tate held his hand up, speaking rapidly in Spanish. Whatever he said made the older Hispanic man in the truck laugh. His eyes dipped to me with a bob of his head.
We stepped to the side once we had our food and found a seat at one of the picnic tables. The golden tortillas were piled high with what looked like white fish and some fried vegetables. One bite into it, and I groaned, closing my eyes briefly.
“This is so good.” I covered my mouth while chewing. “By the way, what did you say to him?”
Tate shoved a whole taco into his mouth, taking a drink of his cup before answering. “I told him that I had to get some food into my girl before she turned feral on me.”
“I wouldn’t go fe—”
“Hey! Jackio!”
My shoulders bunched up to my ears, my heart almost stopping.
“Pleasant surprise seeing you here.” Two large, familiar forms dropped down on the bench seat on either side of me before they threw their arms over my shoulders with bright fanged grins.
“Do you know these guys, Jack?” Tate said, his smile never dropped, the tension in his jaw the only sign that he was bothered.
I sighed, glancing up at the redhead approaching, sucking on a straw of a cup. Really? Crashing my date. Don’t you have anything else to do?
Rayne arched a brow and smirked.
Shrugging off Drake and Allister’s arms, I sighed. “Yeah, they’re friends I met through Alora.” I emphasized ‘friends’ trying to make sure my dads didn’t blow my cover because they couldn’t mind their own business. I already felt guilty as hell for lying to Tate about my identity.
“Yeah.” Allister bumped his shoulder against mine. “We just happened to see you two on our way to grab our human some of the best tacos in town.”
“So, Jackie,” Drake leaned on his hand, wagging his brows, “who’s the guy?”
I growled, glaring at my dad.
Tate held his hand out to him with a friendly smile. “Tate. Jack’s boyfriend.”
I resisted the urge to facepalm. I’d never hear the end of it now. They’d be dive-bombing me with questions the moment I got home.
If they waited that long.
“Boyfriend huh?” Drake smirked as he shook Tate’s hand, eyes locking with his. “And how long as this been going on?”
“It’s new,” I jumped in. “And we’re on a date. So, if you don’t mind…?”
“Alright, alright.” Allister stood with a laugh, smacking Drake on the back of the head before gesturing to get going.
Drake reluctantly stood, but not before swiping one of my tacos. He shoved it in his mouth before I could reprimand him.
“You’re a vampire! What do you need tacos for?” I snapped, covering the rest on my plate.
Laughing, Drake licked his fingers. “What can I say? I can’t resist. Nice meeting you, Tate.” He snapped his fingers and winked at Tate.
Rayne stared at Tate for a long hard minute before glancing at me. He inclined his head, giving me his seal of approval. Apparently, Tate’s thoughts were pure or good enough for my dad.
Surprising with how often Tate liked to tease me with innuendos.
The three of them finally left, and I could finally breathe easily.
“Well…” Tate watched them walk away before turning his attention to me, a forced smile on his lips. “That was an unexpected surprise.”
I pressed my face into my hands. “I’m sorry about that. They have no sense of personal space.”
“And they’re friends of Alora?” he asked, almost unsure.
I glanced off to the side. “Yeah, I forgot they come into this town sometimes.”
“Right.” Tate inclined his head, eating another one of his tacos, unnaturally quiet.
I fiddled with the straw of my drink, watching him with worried eyes. Then my brows rose significantly, my lips curling up coyly. “Tate?”
“Hmmm.” He didn’t look up from his food.
My foot dragged up the length of his leg, teasing toward the apex. “Are you… jealous?”
Tate turned his head to the side, his chin dipping as he pouted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His dejected words sounded almost like a dark cloud had fallen over him.
I stood and leaned over the table, grabbing the front of his shirt. My mouth pressed against his across the table, startling him out of his dark cloud. I released him just as abruptly, my mouth opening to reassure him.
A dark familiar presence appeared at the end of our table.
“Kyren?” Tate glanced up at him, surprise on his face as well. “What are you doing here?”
The vampire’s gaze skimmed over our table before landing on me. “A report. Hunters are headed this way. Rogue werewolves on the rampage.”
“What?” Tate jumped to his feet, pulling out his phone. “My phone was on silent. I didn’t see the alert.”
Familiar with the hunter broadcast system, I didn’t ask anything further. Though everything in me wanted to ask Kyren about the hunters. How many were they? Who was leading them? And how many rogues were there?
Instead, I let them lead me away from the table and toward Tate’s car. Kyren’s shadows scattered around us, and the air tensed as if anticipating what was to come. We only made it past the food truck before there was a scream.
My head whipped to the side.
Loud snarls and the breaking of glass filled the air.
I stepped back just as four werewolves shot around the corner of the street, breaking off pieces of the building in their hurry.
Their long furry legs were much longer than a normal wolf, their bodies closer to the size of a bear.
Sharp teeth filled their mouths, eyes burning yellow in the dim streetlight.
Adrenaline pumped through my veins. Instead of fear, the need to chase after the rogue supernaturals pushed at my resistance. I curled my hands into fists, forcing myself to act shocked instead of eager to join the fight.
People screamed and ran in the opposite direction, while a half-dozen black-clothed figures came running behind the werewolves, shouting and shooting their pistols, no doubt loaded with silver bullets.
It might not kill the werewolves right away, but a few in the werewolves’ bodies would slow them down. Maybe even make them change back.
“Jack, come on.” Tate grabbed my hand and pulled me toward his car. “You don’t want to get caught in the crossfires of a hunter and their victims.”
Victims? That was a curious way to talk about the hunters doing their job. A curiosity that I didn’t have time to wonder about before pain sliced through my leg. My body flew forward, and I braced for impact.
Arms wrapped around my body, my face buried in silky dark hair, my senses filled with a smokey scent instead of the expected pine. Heart still racing from the fall, I peered up at Kyren’s face.
“Thanks,” I breathed.
His nostrils flared, the tips of his fangs poking out between his lips. “You’re bleeding.”
As if mentioning it made it real for me, a sharp stinging started in my leg.
“We don’t have time to take care of it now,” Tate said from above us, keeping guard over us.
I shot a look at him before glancing behind me at the rapidly approaching hunters.
Kyren lifted me to my feet and then we were moving again. Once we reached the car, Kyren pushed me toward the front and took the back seat. Opening the car door, I chanced one more look at the hunters.
A familiar face flashed before me as they passed the car. The hunter slowed, his eyes locking with mine as I held the car door open.
“Durand?”
I sucked in a sharp breath, my heart race jumping up briefly.
Gaining control of myself, I quickly ducked into the car. Slamming the door shut, I focused forward, aware of the feel of the eyes of Tate and Kyren on me.
They didn’t comment. I hoped I was safe to assume they hadn’t heard the hunter calling my real last name.
“Does this happen a lot?” I asked off-handedly, trying to pull their attention away from what they might have heard.
“More than we’d like,” Kyren said from the back seat. I could feel his eyes on the back of my head.
“What a way to end a first date, huh?” Tate grinned with a wink. “I guess luck wasn’t on our side tonight.”
He could say that again.
First, we saw Julian at the Italian place. Then, my dads showed up. The final nail on the coffin was the monster hunt in the middle of the street. To say this date was cursed was taking it lightly.
I could only hope that it ended in a better way than it started.
“So, what now?”
Tate met Kyren’s eyes through the rear-view mirror, then turned his gaze to me. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for tonight. Why don’t we go back to our room and watch television or something?”
I arched a brow. “Are you hinting at something else there?”
Chuckling, Tate shook his head. “No, no. We’ll save corrupting you further for a different night. Just hanging out.” He sighed and shifted gears as he led up back to the academy. “It’s just so sad we had to abandon those tacos. They were good.”
He was right. Out of everything that had gone wrong on this date, the tacos had been the best part. It made me said to think of those beautiful creations becoming soggy and cold with no one to appreciate them.
If I had it my way, no taco would ever be left behind.