Just a Vampire [tribal Bonds 1] (8 page)

“So how do we do this?” Jackson asked as they stood on the corner outside the hotel. Cars passed by, honking their way through traffic as people passed them on the street.

Rowan glanced around, not liking what he was seeing. There was too much brick and cement. And the stupid manicured trees that were in large planters in front of various buildings didn’t even qualify as shrubbery. Rowan wasn’t exactly sure what they were.

“Don’t you have any woods around here?”
Please?
Jackson shrugged. “It’s the city.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Rowan grumbled. “Unless you want

Jackson scratched his head for a moment, and then his eyes lit up. “We have the park a few blocks from here. It has woods. They aren’t as thick as a forest, but it’s enough room for you to run.”

“Perfect,” Rowan said as he clapped his hands together in anticipation and then rubbed them back and forth. “Show me the park.”

It took them ten minutes of walking through the city streets before Rowan saw a park up ahead. Jackson was right. It was a pitiful sight compared to the thick forest he was used to, but he was in a pinch so it would have to do.

He could feel the buzz of his skin at the idea of running through the woods, the earth beneath his feet and the wind in his fur. Rowan could already smell the moss and damp dirt. Gods, he missed his old running grounds.

“You never told me how this is going to work,” Jackson said as they crossed through the field and past a playground and some benches, heading toward the trees.

“How what is going to work?” Rowan asked.
“How am I supposed to guard you while you’re running?” Rowan thought about it for a moment and then a solution came to

mind. He grinned wickedly. “Vampires are fast. Keep up.” “You want me to run with you?” Jackson asked with incredulity in
his voice.
“Duh, how else are you going to guard me? Fly next to me on
your magic carpet?”
Jackson bristled, glaring right at Rowan. “You really do have a
nasty little streak in you, don’t you?”
“You haven’t seen the half of it.”
Jackson groaned. “You were right.”
“About what?” Rowan asked as they entered the woods. “I’m going to beg for death, aren’t I?”
Rowan chuckled as he looked around, seeing that their presence in
the woods would be undetected by anyone passing by. “Probably.”
Rowan waved his hand in a circular motion. “Now, turn around.” “For what?”
“I’m not going to ruin my clothes by shifting with them on, and
you’re not allowed to see my goodies.”
Jackson grumbled as he gave Rowan his back. Rowan quickly
undressed, shivering a little in anticipation of his run. There was
nothing in the world that compared with running in his wolf form. Okay, maybe sex with Luca beat it, but running was a close
second. He folded his clothes nice and neat and then set them behind
a bush. He would be pissed if someone took off with his clothes. They
weren’t cheap, after all.
Rowan shifted and then head butted Jackson in his leg. His
bodyguard turned around and inhaled sharply. “Damn, you really are
a wolf.”
Rowan rolled his eyes as he trotted away. The man was a flipping
genius. Rowan stopped at the edge of a clearing and scratched his paw
against the earth, looking up at Jackson before taking off. “Cheater!” Jackson shouted as he gave chase.
Rowan loved the feeling of his small reprieve. It felt wonderful to
let his muscles stretch and to run a distance. He was enjoying himself
a little too much, but who the hell cared. Putting on a burst of speed,
Rowan refused to let Jackson catch him. He could needle his
bodyguard for a very long time about not being able to keep up with a
wolf if Rowan kept his current pace.
And wasn’t that just the icing on his cupcake?
Rowan could hear Jackson running behind him as he ran in a wide
circle through the trees. He couldn’t very well make a straight run as
he would run out of trees and cover before too long. Loops in the
forest would do just fine for now.
Rowan ran and ran and ran, joy filling him with every touch of the
soft earth against his paws. Eventually, he saw Jackson sit down on a patch of ground and lean back against a tree. Rowan barked at him as he ran fast, making sure his circles became smaller so the bodyguard could keep him in sight. He didn’t really want to get Jackson in
trouble after all. He just wanted to make his life a living hell. Big difference.
Rowan slowed down when his feet began to protest. He loped
over to Jackson and collapsed down on the ground next to the man,
resting his muzzle on his paws. Rowan nearly jumped when he felt
Jackson’s hand stroke through his thick fur.
“Your fur is really soft,” Jackson said. “I guess I thought it would
be coarse or something.”
Rowan huffed.
“Is being all white usual for wolves? All of the ones I’ve seen are
gray.”
Rowan shook his head. Only the wolves in his family were pure
white. It was one of the things that made them such outcasts in their
former pack. They stood out as different. It wasn’t something they
could hide.
Different was not good in a pack…or at least his pack. They
frowned on individuality. Rowan could care less, but it did sting that
he hadn’t been accepted for who he was.
“You don’t think I can get into trouble with the electus for
touching you in this form, do you?”
Rowan didn’t bother lifting his head when he let out a little growl.
He understood the need behind the
no touching
thing, but seriously,
how could Jackson guard him without touching him at all? It was ridiculous, asinine, and downright ridiculous, and oh so
Luca.
“Okay, just wanted to check.” Jackson chuckled. “Are you all
done running now? I’m sure Luca’s bitten off all of his fingernails by
now. The sooner we get back, the quicker I can reassure him I haven’t
lost you.”
Rowan huffed as he stood and started back to where his clothes
were hidden. It had been all he could do to convince Luca to let him
go on this run in the first place. The man was anal about Rowan’s
protection. If something happened to him, Rowan knew he’d never
see the light of day again.
They reached the stash of clothing a few minutes later. Jackson
obediently turned his back and allowed Rowan to shift and get
dressed. Rowan was just tying his shoes when he heard a faint shout.
He looked up and saw Manu on the other side of the clearing, waving
his hands frantically in the air.
Rowan stood, confused. Tentacles of apprehension began to
thread their way through his senses the longer he watched. Something
wasn’t right. “Jackson, what—” The rest of Rowan’s words were lost
in the scream that came out of his mouth when Jackson jerked and fell
to the ground, a large red splotch appearing on his back. “Jackson!” Rowan dropped to his knees next to his bodyguard and frantically
began searching for a pulse. Did vampires even have pulses? Relief
filled Rowan when he was able to answer that question. Jackson was
alive but obviously injured.
Someone had shot him.
Oh hell, someone had a gun!
Rowan’s head snapped up when he heard a twig snap in the
nearby trees. His senses told him to run far and run fast. Whatever
was coming at him wouldn’t be pleasant. But he couldn’t leave
Jackson unguarded.
Rowan stood up and grabbed Jackson by the arms. He started
pulling the man toward the clearing with all of his strength. It wasn’t
easy. Jackson was not a small man. The trail of smeared blood left in
Jackson’s wake made Rowan’s stomach clench and roll. He had to get
both of them to safety and Jackson to some medical treatment. Rowan could hear Manu shouting in the background, the sound
drawing closer to him, so he knew Manu was coming to help. But when several men broke through the tree line, Rowan didn’t think
Manu was going to arrive in time.
He looked at Jackson again. The man was still lying unmoving on
the ground, his blood sinking into the earth below, leaving a large wet
spot behind that made Rowan want to gag. There was no way that
Rowan could get Jackson to Manu or for Manu to reach them in time. Rowan made a split decision. He dropped Jackson’s arms and
moved between his bodyguard and the men advancing on them.
Jackson was in no condition to protect them. Rowan would have to do
it.
The three large men stopped as soon as they were within feet of
Rowan. One of them, a tall, dark-haired man, looked Rowan up and
down. The intrigued smirk that appeared on his face made Rowan feel
like a side of meat.
“So this is why Luca has increased his security,” the man said. “I
can see why. You’re a very pretty man.”
“You’re not.”
Okay, maybe he shouldn’t have said that, but Rowan was scared,
and when he was scared, he got lippy. Even Luca knew that. But Luca
appreciated his lippy streak. The angry red that filled the other man’s
face said he didn’t.
When the men on either side of the first man fanned out and
slowly began edging around Rowan and Jackson, Rowan shook his
head. “You really don’t want to do that. I’m Luca’s anamchara, and
he gets very testy when people fuck with me.”
“Oh, but I do so want to…uh, fuck with you, as you so delicately
put it.” The dark-haired man smirked. “Knowing that you are Luca’s
anamchara just makes it all the more perfect.”
Rowan didn’t know these men beyond the fact that he knew they
were where they shouldn’t be. He also knew they were vampires. If
he extended his claws, they would know he wasn’t totally human. If
he did not, he and Jackson could be injured.
Decisions, decisions.
When the two men circling Rowan suddenly jumped toward him,
the decision was made. Rowan extended his claws and swiped at the
closest man to him. He laughed with glee when he heard the man cry
out and jerk back, blood spanning the front of his shirt.
Rowan stood over the top of Jackson and swung at anyone who
came too close. After several moments, the two men attacking him
were panting heavily and bleeding even heavier. Rowan turned to
look at the dark-haired man when he began clapping.
“Very impressive, anamchara.”
Rowan growled. Somehow, the word he had come to love so
much became dirty when spoken from this man’s mouth. He was
wary of the stranger even though he was pretty sure he could take him
in a fair fight. He just didn’t think this guy would play fair. “While I applaud your fighting technique, I grow tired of this.”
The dark-haired man’s eyes strayed beyond Rowan for just a moment,
and Rowan knew that he was looking across the field toward Manu,
who hadn’t reached them yet. “Unfortunately, we have company
coming, and I’m just not dressed to receive guests.”
Rowan frowned in confusion when the man nodded his head. He
turned to see who the man was nodding at when he suddenly felt a
sharp pain in his neck. Rowan blinked when he pulled a small red dart
out of his neck.
“You son of a bitch,” Rowan whispered right before he dropped to
his knees. He gazed up at the dark-haired man as his head began to
swim, and his vision blurred. “You’re really going to hate yourself for
this.”
The man chuckled as he watched Rowan drop to the ground. “I
seriously doubt that.”
Rowan groaned right before his vision went black. “Bet me!”

Luca slammed his hands down onto the large table before him. “Watching for a few hours is not good enough. I want Everson’s hotel under twenty-four-hour surveillance. He has Rowan. I know he does. Manu saw him shoot Jackson and Rowan with his very own eyes. He watched Everson’s soldiers carry them away.”

“I’m sorry, Electus,” Naheem said. “We can’t keep Everson’s hotel under surveillance twenty-four hours a day. We can’t be in his territory that long. It’s against our peace agreement.”

“So is kidnapping my anamchara.” Luca growled. “As Everson broke that agreement, I no longer hold the peace treaty in any regard.”
“Listen to what you’re saying, Luca,” Naheem said. “You’d willingly break a peace agreement with another tribe for a wolf?”
Luca roared. He grabbed Naheem by the throat and slammed him down onto the table. Papers flew everywhere. Luca leaned down until they were nose to nose, growling as he bared his fangs to his younger brother.
“Rowan is my anamchara, my soul mate. I don’t give a fuck that he is a wolf. He is mine, and I will get him back, or I will tear Daniel Everson’s tribe apart piece by piece until Rowan is returned to me safe and sound.”
“Yes, Electus.” Naheem gulped.
Luca lifted Naheem by the throat and tossed the man across the room. He heard a loud crash as Naheem hit the wall and slid down to the floor. He didn’t care, not when his heart was being ripped out of his chest.
“Find him!”
“Luca.”
“What?” Luca shouted. When he turned around and saw his father standing behind him, he felt bad for shouting. He drew in a deep breath and tried to regain control of his chaotic emotions. “Yes, Father?”
“Electus Everson is on the phone asking to speak to you.”
Luca started to reach for the phone then thought better of it. He was in no condition to broker Rowan’s release, not at that moment. He was too angry, too scared. He was liable to turn his entire tribe over to Everson to get his anamchara back.
“Take a message.”
Qeb blinked for a moment then slowly nodded. “As you wish.”
Luca gritted his teeth as he plopped down in his chair. He gripped the armrests on his chair to keep himself from reaching for the phone and tearing it away from his father’s hand. It killed him to leave Rowan in Everson’s clutches when he didn’t know if his mate was being tortured or not, but he had no other choice. Not until a rescue plan could be made.
And then he would flay Daniel Everson’s skin from his body, one inch at a time.
Luca frowned when his father covered the phone with his hand and turned to look at him. “What?”
“He says it’s rather important.”
Luca arched an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“He says it concerns your anamchara.”
Luca’s hands tightened around the armrests. “I know that,” he snapped. “The fucker took Rowan.”
Qeb held the phone out. “Do you want to talk to him?”
“Luca, it may be the only way to get Rowan back,” Manu said. “Maybe he won’t ask for too much ransom.”
Luca seriously doubted that. Holding his anamchara meant that Everson had the upper hand. He’d give anything to get Rowan back, anything. And he suspected Everson knew that. “Fine, let me talk to him, but I want the phone call recorded. Everson broke our peace agreement. This will be proof.”
Manu nodded and ran to the cupboard to grab a small black square object. When he came back, he hooked it up to the phone then nodded. Luca grabbed his glass of whiskey off his desk and downed the entire thing before slamming the glass back on the desk. He drew in a deep breath and reached for the phone.
“Everson,” he said in the calmest and most controlled voice he could muster.
“Luca, look—”
“No, you look,” Luca growled. “You have broken our peace agreement by kidnapping my anamchara, and I—”
“I’ll give you anything you want to come get him.”
Luca’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
“I’ll give you anything you want if you will just come get him. Do you want money? Territory? A new peace agreement? What? Just name it and it’s yours.” Daniel Everson sounded like he was going to break down into tears. “Please, I’m begging you. Come get him.”
Luca could see the confusion on the faces of everyone staring at him as he began to smile. “How much money are we talking here?”
“A million dollars?”
“Five million and I want all the territory between Fifth Street and West Ferguson, including every inch of Forest Park.”
“But that’s more than ten city blocks,” Daniel protested.
“Fine, then we have nothing to discuss.” Luca could hear Everson screaming at him in the background as he lowered the phone and hung up. Luca grinned widely as he crossed his arms over his chest and waited. He knew Everson would be calling back.
“Luca,” Qeb asked, “what happened?”
“Rowan happened.”
“Wha—”
Luca held up his hand when the phone rang again. He waited until the phone rang two more times then calmly picked it up. “Electus Luca Ucathya.”
“Okay, you have a deal,” Everson said quickly, “but only if you promise Rowan will never set foot in my territory again, not as long as he lives.”
“Done.”
“Then come get him before he destroys us all.”
“Terms?”
“Terms?” Everson shouted. “I don’t care what fucking terms you want. Just come get him.”
“How many men may I bring with me?”
“I don’t care if you bring your entire fucking tribe!”
Luca smirked. “I’ll be right there.”
“Just hurry, please.”
Luca had a very hard time keeping a straight face as he hung up the phone and looked up. The entire room was staring at him in confusion. “Electus Everson has agreed to pay us five million dollars and give us all of the territory between Fifth Street and West Ferguson, including Forest Park, if we come get Rowan and swear he will never set foot in Everson’s territory again.”
“What in the hell did Rowan do?”
Luca shook his head. “I have no idea, but if I know my anamchara, he scared the crap out of Electus Everson. Rowan doesn’t take kindly to people pissing him off.” Luca grinned as he rubbed his hands together. “And just think, I was able to get a forested park for Rowan to run in out of the deal. Rowan will be thrilled.”
“It seems as if your anamchara is a man of many traits, my son.”
Luca grinned at his father. “You have no idea.”