Chapter 50 Dorian
“Where are we?” Katarina asked from the back seat of the SUV. Blaise demanded that he be the driver, and I wanted to be in the front seat to navigate. It gave me something to focus on so I didn’t crawl out of my skin and shift into my wolf and blow up this whole thing.
“For someone who’s grown up in this city, you sure don’t seem to know it very well,” Blaise teased her. He watched her in the rearview mirror, but I turned around in my seat fast enough to see her flip him off.
“Not all of us had the luxury of owning a car,” she snapped back.
I kept forgetting that she was raised in foster care and each time she reminded us, I felt like the biggest piece of shit for not finding her sooner. Stupid, I know. But I hated that she’d had a rough start in life, and the only thing I wanted her to experience now was a life without challenges.
Or, well, maybe we could start that after we kicked the coven’s ass.
We drove through the dark shadow the stadium cast on this side of the highway. I caught Katarina looking up at the dome. “Ever been to a game?”
“No.”
“Well then, I’ll add that to my list.”
She turned and smiled at me. Her teeth white in the darkness and her red hair igniting a fire within me. I loved redheads. “Your list?”
“Yeah. My list.” I spun back around to face the front and pointed to the next exit so Blaise would know where to go. “All of the things I want to spoil you with.”
“You don’t need to spoil me,” she said quietly.
“I have a list, too,” Blaise butted in, making Katarina giggle.
“Should I make my own list?” she asked.
“No!” we both responded together, and that earned us another laugh.
I loved her laugh too.
Inside, my animal rumbled. Visiting another pack meant he would be right on the surface and ready for a fight. I didn’t anticipate it would come to that, but I liked that he was ready. That we were prepared.
“Turn here,” I directed Blaise and he made a sharp turn to the left.
We were in the suburbs now, but it already felt like we were hours from the abbey.
Antoine liked making his home away from the city.
He’d once told me it made him seem more mysterious, but really I knew it was because he hated being around humans all the time.
He liked surrounding himself with those that were… other.
The paved road turned to dirt and we bounced along for another ten minutes before we saw the lights.
Makey’s Lounge was a dive bar. Once a motorcycle club headquarters, Antoine claimed it as his own when he moved his pack into the area.
The bikers didn’t even put up a fight. They knew that they were unmatched when it came to the crazy wolf shifter.
Anyone with an inkling of a survival instinct would know that.
Blaise gently steered us into the packed parking lot, finding a convenient space near the front door. “Are they having a party?” he grumbled under his breath.
“Pretty sure this is all for us,” I sighed, a flash of fear dancing through my bones.
Katarina squeezed my shoulder. “Is this safe?”
I turned enough to kiss her hand as Blaise put the car into park. “We’re here as Roman’s guests. It will be okay.”
“As long as everyone stays calm and under control,” Blaise added.
“Not helpful,” I muttered.
He turned the ignition, jumped out of the car, and opened the door for Katarina before I could. That half-breed. Always trying to one-up me.
The moment the three of us walked around the car and started toward the bar’s entrance, the windowless metal door swung open.
Six men, all giant and all wolf shifters, filed outside and discretely formed a perimeter around us.
With arms crossed and muscles on display, they didn’t waste any time in establishing who was in charge.
Blaise pulled Katarina close to his side and I let out a breath, readying myself for what awaited us inside.
“Ready?” I asked them both and they each nodded.
Turning on my heel, I stepped closer to the entrance, already feeling the magic of the supernaturals holed up inside this dark building.
Blaise had to duck to fit under the door, but once we passed the threshold, it was like a whole other place.
High ceilings, wooden beams mixed with industrial fixtures, black walls, and plenty of light shining down on a dance floor in the middle.
The bar wrapped around two sides of the walls, with bistro tables and booths filling in the rest of the space.
“What the hell?” Katarina whispered.
“He must have a powerful priestess in his pack,” Blaise answered. It would have been the only way to mask what this place really was. Or to create the mystical interior that didn’t add up against the facade outside.
“Cool,” she breathed, and I squeezed her hand.
“No. They are very scary, Kitty Cat.”
She swallowed loud enough that I could hear it. I looked around the expanse of the club, searching for Antoine. But he found us first, and the crowd parted when he sauntered through them.
“Dorian!” he called with outstretched arms. “It’s been a long time, my friend.”
He’d grown his hair out since the last time I saw him.
Dark dreadlocks framed his face, his even darker skin shining under the lights.
But it was his eyes that had always unnerved me.
Those silvery, almost white orbs that put his “otherness” on full display.
Three women flanked him as he stepped closer.
I would guess that at least one of them was the priestess who’d spelled the bar.
I let Antoine’s thick arms give me their hug, and as he slapped me on the back, one of the women behind him flashed her pointed teeth at me.
Jesus, did she file them? Antoine wore a simple pair of jeans, black boots, and a gray tee.
The women, on the other hand, had on ornate robes decorated in beads and threading, with jewelry adorning every part of their body I could see.
Antoine clapped me on the shoulder as he looked behind me. “And who is this?” he asked, eyeing up Katarina.
“She’s mine,” I growled before I could stop myself. Blaise shifted his stance in preparation for a fight and Katarina grabbed the back of my shirt.
“Easy there, big boy,” Antione said to Blaise. “I have no desire to fight the half-breed dragon shifter.” He winked, and I immediately flashed a look at Blaise. How did Antione know? “Is this the witch-demon everyone is fussing about at the coven?”
“I’m Katarina,” she said, placing her hand in his so he could kiss her fingers.
“Katarina,” he breathed, the letters rolling off his tongue like a foreign love language. “I see what they mean.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but Antione turned his back to me and started walking away.
“Come. Let’s drink.” We followed him across the dance floor to the back corner of the bar.
The music started playing again—it stopped upon our arrival—and the patrons went back to their business, even if they kept throwing glances our way.
“Beer? Cocktail?”
“Three beers, please,” I answered before anyone else could. It would be rude to refuse but at least they couldn’t do anything to an unopened bottle. I hoped anyway.
We sat across from Antoine and his ladies, our beer bottles making a quick appearance. I drank first, to send a signal to the others to do the same. Once Blaise and Katarina took their first sip, I cleared my throat. “Thank you for seeing us—”
“I know why you are here, and the answer is no.” Antione cut me off before I could finish my sentence.
“You don’t know what I have to say,” I snapped back and I swear the silver in his eyes flashed white.
“Roman would like my pack to back you in your scuffle with the Crescent Coven.” When I didn’t say anything right away, he smirked. “Correct?”
“Roman has been a friend to you for many years,” Blaise said. “I can remember several occasions over the last few decades where you have asked for his support. And he always gave it. Freely.”
Antoine glared at Blaise. “He may have given his support. But it was never free from obligation.” The bitter taste in his mouth was clear as he tried to maintain an aura of calm and collected.
“That may be true. But he has never asked directly for your help before,” I added.
“You need our help?” Antoine was going to make me spell it out for him. Fucking arrogant asshole.
“We may,” I conceded.
“Why would I help a vampire who stole a future alpha? He robbed you of your birthright and continues on like he could care less.”
I had a feeling this was going to come up again. “Antione, you know that’s not the whole story.”
“It’s all I need to understand to know that Roman Zarka is not to be trusted.” He waved his hand to someone behind us and I immediately felt the presence of several wolves.
“Antoine,” I pleaded. “Come on. We don’t have to act like this.”
“I do what I need to in order to protect those I love.”
“So do I. So does Roman.” I couldn’t walk out of here empty-handed. I would fail everyone if that happened.
“Roman covets things. You. This woman. That dragon,” he made eye contact with Blaise and immediately whipped his gaze back to mine.
Brushing a few of his dreadlocks behind his shoulders, he leaned forward and pressed his elbows into the table.
“He collects people and uses them to secure his place in society. Like all filthy vampires.”
“Aren’t you doing the exact same thing?” I snapped. Glaring at the voodoo queens behind him, I added, “You’ve built a pack from wolves, witches, and others. It’s the same fucking thing.”
Antoine growled and Katarina immediately grabbed my knee under the table. “Excuse me,” she asked, voice high and filled with tension. “Can I ask you a question?”
The pack leader slowly rolled his stare to her, and whatever he saw, it made him soften his features. He gestured for her to continue.
“The Crescent Coven lied to me for years. They pretended to offer me a better life in exchange for servitude. They used me and purposely sent me into harm's way without ever telling me who I was or how I might protect myself. That is different than what Roman does. What you do. You both care about those you surround yourself with, right?” When Antoine nodded, she continued. “The witches beat me for years. They nearly broke me. But they made a mistake when they sent me to Roman because now I know.” She looked over at me and smiled. “I know what a real family should be and how they should treat each other. We can’t let them win. If we do, then—”
“Wait! Stop!” Someone shouted from the front entrance, but there were too many people in the way to see the cause of the commotion. Several chairs thudded into the wall, and people started to scream. “Get him!”
Katarina jumped to her feet, mouth still open from stopping her sentence mid-thought. “Grim,” she whispered, tears in her eyes. Then she started pushing her way past the people on the dance floor. “Grim!”
Blaise and I quickly followed after her, the pack members giving us room when they saw the red, glowing eyes of the half-breed.
By the time we reached all the commotion, the people had formed a circle around her and Grim.
She was on her knees in the middle of the floor, crying and kissing and petting her Hell Hound while everyone else watched in silence.
Grim whimpered his excitement, even running up to me and Blaise for a quick pet before returning to his girl.
“I never thought I’d see one of those,” Antione said, suddenly standing next to me. “Is it hers?”
Nodding, I said, “A gift from her demon father.”
“So the rumors are true. She’s really part witch and part demon.” He didn’t ask, just stating it aloud as though that settled some internal struggle he’d been dealing with.
“Everything she said was true. About us being a family.” I turned to face Antione, not at all intimidated by his size because I knew, at that moment, that we had him. “You will do anything to protect this pack, yes?”
“Of course.”
“And we will do everything to protect ours.” Looking down at Katarina loving on the dog who’d been her only safe relationship for a long time, I shook my head. “We can’t let the coven have this city. They have already infiltrated the human legal system—”
“Yeah, I heard about that, too,” Antoine growled.
“If they beat us down, who do you think they’ll come after next?”
Letting out a big sigh, Antione dropped to his knees and beckoned Grim to his side.
He stared at the enormous black dog as though challenging him or maybe even trying to communicate with him.
The standoff lasted almost a minute until Grim licked Antione’s face, making the pack alpha laugh.
He rubbed the top of his head and sent him back to his girl.
Katarina smiled up at Antione. “Will you support us?” she asked.
“I will not sacrifice my people.”
“We’re not asking you to fight unless absolutely necessary,” I confirmed, and I hoped that was the right thing to say.
Antione jerked his head at Blaise. “Can you really shift on demand?”
I tensed and felt Katarina staring at me. This was not supposed to be public knowledge.
Blaise swallowed loudly. “I’m working on it.”
“Shit,” Antoine said with a chuckle. “The minute those witches see his dragon, your fight is over.”
“We’re hoping it doesn’t come to that,” I said.
He continued laughing to himself as he offered a hand to Katarina. Pulling her to her feet, he bobbed his head a few times before turning back to me. “All right, Dorian. We will support you if it comes to that. You have our promise.”
Shaking hands, I did my best not to look as relieved as I felt. “Thank you, Antione. Roman will not forget this.”
“You bet he won’t. Now, get out of here so we can go back to enjoying our evening. Oh, and make sure you don’t tell anyone what you saw in this place,” he added with a wink.
“Thank you,” Katarina said as she coaxed Grim to follow us out.
I swear I could feel every pair of eyes in the building boring into my back. And it wasn’t until we were in the SUV, with one extra passenger, that I finally felt relief from the magic and power that had been pressing down on us.
I reached my arm around the seat and grabbed Katarina’s leg.
I needed to feel our bond. This wasn’t over yet, but at least we knew we had some people we could count on when needed.
I wouldn’t say trust because Roman would be a fool to completely trust Antione.
Instead, it was clear we had a mutual goal and that, if push came to shove, we would have allies in this fight.