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40
                          
Marcy Jacks

“Yeah. I pulled it off pretty well.”

“That you did,” Deacon said, scratching his chin. He needed to  shave, but Deacon barely seemed to notice that.

Opal had only come here as part of their agreement to each other.  When it was confirmed that she had gotten in and would be making  regular contact with the medium, she was to report back here and tell  Deacon the good news.

She was still having trouble figuring out what exactly Deacon  wanted from the vampire. Opal had always thought that vampires and  werewolves hated each other, but Deacon was after this man with a

single-mindedness that put to shame the attention span of a two-yearold.

“You did well, Opal,” Deacon said, making a shooing motion with  his hands to urge her back into the truck. “You go on ahead now and  get your things together. Don’t want to keep James waiting.”

No, she didn’t, and even though she despised being talked down  to by a guy who had nothing to his name, not even a pair of  underwear, Opal allowed herself to go.

“Opal.” Deacon put his hand on the door before Opal could roll up  the window. She looked at him. “You haven’t heard from Stephie yet,  have you?”

Opal’s eyes narrowed at the mention of her sister’s name. “No, I  haven’t.”

“What about the others? Any word on them?”

Nothing so far, but even if she had, she wasn’t about to tell him  where her sister was, or where the rest of his pack was hiding. He was  a shit leader then who was constantly cheating on his mate with men  he’d brought in, and she doubted he’d learned his lesson to become  any better just because he’d lost his pack to someone else.

The only reason why she was helping him was for all the benefits  it would bring to her. The chance to become close with and learn from  the spirits of ancient Roman spirits was something she just couldn’t  pass up, even if they were the deities of werewolves.

The Spirit Within
                        
41

That, and the immortality.

“The second I hear anything, I’ll let you know,” she said, starting the ignition.

Deacon released the door and let her drive off.

* * * *

The human named Isaac wouldn’t normally teach anyone how to handle this sort of weapon during the night, but because of Ivan’s interest in the guns and the fact that he was a vampire, and exception had to be made.

Every lamp had to be lit for the target practice, and all members of the pack had to be accounted for and in bed for when they set off their

weapons.

There was no going to a practice range here. They were  completely out of the question.

The alphas didn’t seem to mind too much, however, as they  handled the black handguns, some even being so bold as to look down  the barrel as though searching for what could be inside.

Jason, the mate of Mick, slapped that alpha upside the head for  such a move. Even though these weapons were merely paintball guns  designed to look like real weapons, neither man appreciated any crude  humor during their lesson.

“These are just really expensive paintball guns,” Isaac said,  holding his weapon up for all the alphas present to see. James had  even come by to watch this particular show, as well as Vlad, who had  also taken an interest.

Basically, the only members of the pack who were indoors at the moment were the adult omegas who had no interest in ever holding or handling a gun, and the underage pups who complained when they were denied the access.

Isaac went on with his lesson. “I rented these out to eliminate any chances for an accident while you’re all holding them. I have the

42
                          
Marcy Jacks

rounds over here. We’ll put them in and fire off a few shots at the  targets later, and then I’ll return these in a couple of days to keep the  pups from getting at them or from thinking that we still have them. I  don’t even want them finding one of my weapons and taking it out  into the woods thinking it’s a toy.”

A Glock, as Isaac had called this weapon, was heavy for a small  bit of metal, perhaps weighing two pounds or so. It was designed to  look exactly like the sort of weapon one might see a human police  officer carrying in a movie.

“Why must we learn about these again?” Vlad asked.

“Because this is one of the weapons a hunter might be carrying  when he’s coming after you. I get that you’re all werewolves and  vampires and you know how to fight—”

Such a generous description of Ivan and Vlad’s physical  capabilities!

“But if a hunter ever gets the drop on any of you and he’s pointing  one of these at your face, well, I don’t know, maybe he’ll shoot you  right away, but say you ever got it out of his hands. You swiped at  him with your claws or something and he’s running away or trying to  get the gun back, well, what do you do then?”

There were some answers give, all of which ranged between,  “Fight him away from the weapon!”

“Kill him before he can get to it!”

“Kick it away and then kill him!”

Isaac shook his head. “You all know it’s not that easy. If for  whatever reason you find one of these in your hand, and it’s easier to  use it on your enemy so you can get back to the main fight, instead of  chasing him down and trying to get physical, how do you use it?”

“Pull the trigger!” someone shouted.

“No, it’ll have a safety,” said another wolf.

Isaac corrected them both by strangely claiming that they were  both right, and he proceeded to show them how to properly fire a  standard Glock, what to do when the weapon locked, how to hold the

The Spirit Within
                        
43

weapon without breaking their thumbs while firing, and all sorts of  other things he never would have thought of when holding a weapon.

Thankfully, Jason had been there to help with the hands-on  instruction while Isaac spoke. They were both quite talented at using  these sorts of things, and Ivan appreciated having the knowledge at  hand.

It was the first time he’d participated in one of these strange lessons, under Opal’s insistence once the woman had discovered they were going on, and he was glad to have gone.

He collapsed into his bed, tired and ready for sleep. Dawn would be here soon, and he looked forward to his sleep, sleep so that he might awake the next night and have another lesson on his self-defence against the spirits who attacked him and against the living people in the world who would also wish him harm.

Ivan no longer had the luxury of having guards to protect him, and the alphas of this pack could not be stretched so thin that they were out hunting for the wild werewolves, or other human hunters, while at the same time leaving enough behind to protect the omegas left behind.

It was better if more and more pack members learned how to

defend themselves, and Ivan was thrilled about it.

A voice startled him awake before he could drift off.

“I find the image of you holding a gun to be very strange.”

Ivan jerked up and was surprised by the sight of Eric. He hadn’t  seen the man since yesterday, and he hadn’t been expecting him.

He wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. “Why is that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t see what you holding a paintball gun has to  do with teaching you how to fend off the other spirits. They’re still all  over the place. I’m still fighting them off for you.”

Ivan’s spirits sank that Eric was apparently only here to complain  that he was still protecting Ivan when he did not wish to. Then the  anger came over him. “If the job is too difficult for you, then by all  means, stop. I never asked you to protect me to begin with.”

44
                          
Marcy Jacks

Eric’s lips thinned.

Ivan turned away from him and buried his face in his pillow. He really was much too tired for this.

Eric’s palm, which was always cold, felt strangely warm on the middle of his back, and it made his breath stall. “I didn’t mean for it

to come out like that,” Eric said.

Ivan turned to look at him again. “Why do you avoid me so much

then? Tell me what I have done and I’ll—”

“Don’t.” Eric’s face suddenly looked pained. “Don’t do that. This  was never about anything you did. It’s about me.”

Ivan glared at him. “Though I am inexperienced in these matters, I  know well enough when I am being fed a line.”

“Fed a—? You’ve been hanging out with my pack for too long if  that’s the way you’re talking now.”

Ivan never stopped glaring at him, and Eric looked away and wet  his lips. “I’m being serious. I’m dead for God’s sake. You know this  can’t work out. It was irresponsible and selfish for me to have even  tried anything with you to begin with.”

“Now you are being melodramatic. I am an adult, and I knew  perfectly well what I was doing.”

“Yes, you are an adult, but by vampire standards, you might as  well still be a teenager.”

Ivan rolled his eyes. “I would hardly go
 
that
 
far.”

“The point remains, you’re young for your species, and like you  said, you’re inexperienced. The only reason why you took a shine to  me was because I was the only person who knew you weren’t  imagining the things you saw, and because I was protecting you,  keeping the bad guys away. You liked it, and you liked that someone  was coming and saving you from it.”

Ivan felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. “Do you really  think so little of me?”

Eric didn’t have the decency to look him in the eyes as he said it.

“It’s not like I think you’re doing it on purpose, but I just want you to

The Spirit Within
                        
45

understand where I’m coming from. I’m not trying to break this off  for no reason, or to be mean to you, but after I’m gone, whether it’s  because I end up going to the other side or not, you will move on.  You’ll forget all about me.”

“I won’t!”

“Ivan, I’m dead.”

“And you think I could have forgotten that?” Ivan demanded,  letting his rage take over. “All I ever see when I look at you is the  spirit of a man whom I want but does not want to have me. Even in  death you want me. I can easily tell, experience or no.” When Ivan  stared between Eric’s legs, the proof of the other man’s desire sitting  there, Eric blushed and was forced to shift away, hiding his erection.

“I never said I didn’t want you back,” Eric countered.

“Then do not say it,” Ivan said before Eric could get back into his  tirade of how it would never work between them. He grabbed the  spirit of the man he loved around the shoulders, and then he kissed  him.

Eric pressed his lips back against Ivan’s. He felt the shiver pass through the other man that always happened whenever they were embracing like this.

He pulled away and looked into Eric’s dark eyes. “I want you, and you want me in return. Stop being an ass about it and have me, right now.”

Eric moaned and gripped Ivan by the neck, pulling him forward and meshing their mouths together once more. Really, Ivan was tired of this game that Eric was playing.

Eric liked to speak of the drama that Ivan brought up by accusing him of wrongfully blaming himself for Eric’s attempt to leave. His constant failed attempts. But what was Ivan to think when the other man clearly wanted him so badly and then always refused to do anything about it? Constantly avoided him like he was the plague.

The fact that he was dead was a silly reason. Ivan could see him and touch him. He was as good as alive when they kissed like this,

46
                          
Marcy Jacks

when Eric pressed him into the bed and shifted his hips, humping  against him and grinding their cocks together.

Ivan moaned like it was the first time anyone had ever touched his  dick. It felt so incredibly good being with Eric, and by the other man’s  expression, Eric thought much the same thing.

Ivan pulled his clothes off. Most of the pack was long asleep by  now. The lesson had ended long enough ago, and Ivan had only  stayed awake and dawdled because, well, as a vampire, the night was  his time of day to be up and about, and also he’d wanted to read over  some of the books that Isaac had given to him.

There would be no worrying about being interrupted by Mick or  whoever else might want to come looking for Ivan. That would wait  until morning.

Ivan pulled away at his clothes. Eric lifted himself up enough to  help Ivan with that, all the while shaking his head. At what?

“Shouldn’t be doing this. We shouldn’t be doing this,” Eric said,  even as he unbuckled Ivan’s belt and undid his button and fly.

Oh, that was what he was shaking his head at. “Shut up,” Ivan  commanded, and he pushed Eric off of him before forcing him down  onto the bed.

Ivan kicked off his pants and slid down Eric’s body. The man was gorgeous. He was pale in the way that spirits were, but he was still the most beautiful sight Ivan had ever seen.

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