Wyrd Calling (Wyrd Bound Book 1) (11 page)

"What are we doing tonight? I mean, I haven't had a drink in days..."

He laughed softly. "I’m sure we can fix that. A few drinks could be useful. It'll do the boys good and give us a chance to get out and speak to a few people."

I curled my lip at the last part. I'd conveniently forgotten that we were meant to be solving some murders and focused on the alcohol part. I wasn't one to let a couple of deaths get in the way of my fun.

** **

The boys didn't scrub up too badly. They had each managed to dig out smart jeans and dress shirts. It wasn't high class, but we weren't meant to be. Alex had given me a sour look that made the corners of his eyes wrinkle just a little when I pulled on my indigo dress with its swooping neckline and short hemline. I intended on having lots of fun, Wyrd Sisters be damned. The conversation stopped when the boys glanced at me. I grinned and walked out the door. I had no idea where we were supposed to be going, but I was going to find a bar.
 

Alex steered us towards a bar in the heart of the city. The Sisters had given him a starting point, but were unlikely to have contact or interfere past that. Rock music blared and people were already bustling around. The alcohol and conversations flowed. I couldn't help wondering how many free drinks I could get out of the situation, but I tried to make myself focus. It was serious business, after all. I fluttered my eyelashes and smiled at the barman. He couldn't have been much over the legal age limit, but I bet that he was anything but human. I didn't dare lift my energies. It would alert too many people to what I was. I needed to be a nice little woman in a pretty dress. The boys settled down at a table while I made my way over to the barman. Barmen knew everything. They were the local gossips with people coming in, trying to have private conversations, and drinking too much which led to talking too much.

"Five shots of vodka, four beers, and a Mai Tai. Oh, and your name."

He laughed and leaned forward, "You don't hang about, do you?"

I shrugged and leaned in closer, "I see no reason to. So, do you have a name, or...?"

He smiled "Jack. I'm Jack… and you are?"

I pursed my lips and leaned forwards just a little while focusing my eyes on his, in a soft, innocent expression. "I'm Cassie."

He was sort of cute but not something I’d take home. I maintained eye-contact and ran my tongue out over my lips. I wanted him to relax and feel good around me. That would encourage him to open up and give me more information, if he had it.
 

He made the drinks without taking his eyes off me, which I had to admit was quite a talent. The complete lack of attraction to him meant that I had less patience than was ideal. The desire to get the information and move on grew with every second. "Jack, sweetie, you wouldn't happen to know anything about sirens, would you?"

He smirked at me and leaned in almost close enough to whisper in my ear, "I knew there would be something."

I couldn't resist, I had to. I brushed my cheek against his, "Maybe this is just my starting point..."

He pulled back and he turned away for a brief moment before he said, "I heard a few of them disappeared, is that what you're after?"

I ran my fingers over the back of his hand and waited for him to fill the silence. "I've heard about them, a girl who was a regular here was one of them. Good riddance, I say, luring good men away to a horrible death."

"Thank you.”

I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, just a little peck to remember me by. I debated for a brief second if that was what I wanted him to remember me for. I licked up his throat and settled on a firm yes, if he remembered me for that question then he’d be more likely to share relevant information on them later. If nothing else, giving me what I wanted, would give him a better chance at getting what he wanted. Or so he would think.

With that, I picked up the tray with the drinks on it and walked over to the boys with a little extra swing in my hips. I knew Jack was watching, and I saw no reason not to give him something to watch.
 

12

Alex couldn't help himself. He gritted his teeth and glared at me for a brief second before settling on a mildly pissed expression, the one which falls somewhere between "seriously?" and "what the fuck?"

I smiled sweetly at him and placed the tray down on the table and handed out the drinks in my best Playboy bunny impression. He rolled his eyes and fixed his jaw as his lips twitched at the corners trying to release the laugh that squeaked in his throat. At least he wasn't too serious about it all. The boys, however, had a different reaction. They were all leaning back in their chairs and looking between me and the other women in the bar. I sat down next to Alex with my back against the wall where I could see the entire bar. I hated having my back to people or open space. With a big grin, I picked up my shot and lifted it up to toast to success.

I thought simple and to the point was probably best as I knocked it back and chased it with a good mouthful of my Mai Tai. I can't say it was the best iteration I'd had of the cocktail, but it was good enough. After a couple of minutes of people watching, I was happy to relax a little. The bar seemed to be primarily filled with non-humans, which would give me more opportunity to find information, and have my kind of fun.
 

Alex leaned in so that I could hear him clearly, "Any leads?"

I simply shook my head. "Sirens aren't liked, and I haven't been watching long enough to see anyone of real interest in the bar."

None of us took all that long to finish our drinks. This was the first time we'd been out and ostensibly allowed to relax, so we intended on making the most of it.
 

I offered my hand to Ryan and simply said, "Would you care to dance?"

I coupled it with a big grin and a cheeky spark to my eye. How could he resist? He took my hand, and we walked out into the middle of the dance-floor, where I proceeded to throw my arms around his neck and dance very close to him. His eyes went a little wide, and he couldn't help but look back at Alex, who was not amused. I rolled my eyes and walked off to find someone who
would
dance with me. Much to my irritation, it wasn't long before a little voice in the back of my mind reminded me that I was there to fulfil a task, and that wasn't to alienate my pack or piss off Alex.
 

Logically, I thought I would be reasonably safe to allow some of my energies to surface, which would allow me to feel those around me clearly, thus giving me a better picture of what I was really dealing with. That being said, I saw no reason to take such a risk and used my eyes instead. There were plenty of people throwing themselves at each other or trying desperately to get the attention of someone else, but no one stood out in particular. It looked like a pretty standard selection of people.
 

That is, until
she
stepped out of the shadows. Her tawny-coloured skin highlighted her rich, amber eyes and pitch-black hair. I smiled to myself and approached her while admiring her blood-red dress and the curves it caressed so beautifully. I ran my hand up her arm as I walked around behind her, openly looking over each and every inch of her, testing her reaction. Those around us began to look, but it didn't matter, they'd soon forget about us. I stood in front of her danced slowly, seductively, while looking into those large eyes of hers. She smiled and moved a little closer to me.
 

I cut straight to the chase. "It's not often that I see hellhounds, particularly those in human form without a master."

There wasn't so much as a flicker of worry, her smile remained perfect. The dance continued, she pressed in closer to me, her hip brushing against mine as we moved to the music. She tried to take the lead, but I licked up her throat and wrapped my arm around her waist, pushing her to follow my movements. Her eyes flashed for just a moment before she gave and followed. Good girl.
 

I allowed my fingers to trail over her ribs drawing small shivers from her as she leaned into me, her warm breath trickled down my neck. I was tempted, but not quite enough.
 

Once she was draped over me, entirely accepting of my direction I whispered, "I heard there's some bad things hidden in the shadows of this city."

Her body stiffened a little, bringing me to place my hand on her lower back, a comforting and protective gesture that quickly calmed her. "There are shadows everywhere, but I'm not connected to those circles."

I pressed my cheek to hers, softly nuzzling her neck. "Do you know of the sirens?"

She whimpered quietly and thought to pull away from me, I grazed my teeth over her exposed shoulder and held her tight. "I know those wretched creatures have been vanishing, but nothing more."

I nuzzled her neck once more and nibbled on the tip of her ear, which led to her melting into me, I felt goosebumps run up her arm… "Shame."

With that, I ran my hand over her hip and left her there. She stood and watched me for a moment with large puppy eyes and a vaguely dazed expression before she melted into the crowd and I danced alone once more.
 

I lost myself in the music and allowed my mind to wander, trying to pull together the scant bits of information we had. Sirens clearly were not liked, which was hardly a surprise, given their habits. Ferals, shifters, and many other creatures including fae harmed others, but they at least fit into society and lived by the multitude of unspoken rules and guidelines. Sirens, however, appeared every few years, set up a territory and killed some innocent people before leaving again. They made no attempt at becoming part of the established society, instead they took what they wanted and left. They were of no benefit to anyone, outside of the black market traders who made a nice profit from the parts they took on the rare occasions they got their hands on them.
 

Sirens weren’t put on the black market very often, which pushed the cost of their parts up purely by lack of availability. Very occasionally some poor fool would think that he, as it was always a man, could handle one as a slave. They were always wrong. No one could handle the wretchedly high-strung princesses as slaves. Those with good sense dissected them and sold the various parts to the highest bidder. Their vocal chords were revered by some dark corners of humanity, mainly in desperate love spells. The hair was strong and demons cherished it for jewellery and binding creatures to them. The list went on.
 

I needed to find my way into the black market. I had to get close to some important people, but unfortunately, I'd likely pissed off anyone and everyone who could have been of use. I idly wondered if my feminine wiles would be enough to get me what I needed. If not, the jaguar side was more than happy to use more brutal methods. I was trying to think if anyone in the local area owed me a favour when a deep, husky voice cut through my thoughts.
 

"It has been a long time since I saw a woman quite as beautiful as you."

I snapped myself out of my internal world and looked at the tall, broad, dark-blond-haired man standing before me. He had a slightly crooked, confident smile sat on his face. I had no doubt said smile was incredibly sexy to a lot of women, but I couldn't help wanting to smack it off his face. I didn't bother responding with words. Instead, I raised an eyebrow and gave him a look of ‘does this really work...?’

He moved closer to me, and I realised that he wasn't alone. Three other men of a similar build and bone structure were just behind him and were slowly moving their way around to surround me.
 

I crossed my arms and allowed the jaguar to deepen my voice and add the threatening growl, "What do you want?"

He pouted at me, still attempting to be sexy and seductive. "My friends and I are going to show you a fantastic time tonight..."

I curled my lip and couldn't help noticing the icy energies and slight golden glow surrounding them. Nephelim. I hated nephelim. If I had my way, I'd wipe the entire species of arrogant, self-righteous, self-involved, entitled assholes off the planet. He wrapped his large hand around my wrist, and the charming smile began to look more like a serpentine smile.
 

"You aren't going to disappoint us, are you?"

I fluttered my eyelashes and leaned in close to him while cupping his balls. I squeezed hard and began to twist when I said, "You have two seconds to get out of my sight before I castrate you."

They closed in around me while blondy gritted his teeth and tried to prize my hand off his balls while holding my wrist in a death grip with his other hand. I'd heard about groups of stupid nephelim that took people away for 'wild nights', and I had no interest in being one of them.
 

When he finally managed to free his balls he glared at me, saying "You shouldn't have done that."

I smiled and said, "No, I should have ripped them off immediately rather than giving you a chance."

His grip was crushing my wrist, but I refused to show any response. I glanced around at the others. They towered over me and were lightly fingering hilts of small daggers. I sighed and wondered how I got myself into these situations before a familiar voice came to my rescue.
 

"Is there a problem here?"

I smiled, and for once was happy to have the cubs. I looked behind me to see Nik and Ryan with their arms crossed. I wasn't one to be rescued by guys, but I also wasn't stupid enough to take on something that could get me killed, or worse.
 

Blondy looked down his nose at Nik. "Not at all, we were just taking this delightful woman home."

Ryan moved closer to me and said, "I don't think so."

Blondy finally let my wrist go and I prepared to punch him in the throat, but Nik beat me to it. The next few minutes were a blur of chaos. There was shouting, flying fists, feet, pain, and blood. I tried to make sure that I didn't hurt the cubs, but there were times where I couldn't quite be sure - it was a tangle of limbs and pain. Finally it all settled, and I was standing in the middle of the dance floor with blood on my beautiful dress. The nephelim were practically running for the door… well, trying. They were limping speedily for the door, while other patrons looked on in confusion for a minute before they almost collectively shrugged and continued on with their night.