Bonus Chapter 1 Happy Halloween

(**Rayne’s POV**)
I am standing on the deck of my beach house waiting for Parker to come home. We are having a party at the bar for Halloween, and like everything else today, something had to go wrong. Parker’s jeep broke down on the side of the highway. While that normally wouldn’t be an issue since he can easily fly home, tonight it is different. He has passengers that can’t travel the way he can.
Lynn, Jazmine, Clara and baby Alec have come to Bodega Bay to join the party at Shadows Retreat. Bridgette, Tomas, and Carlos were already in town. They will stay with me and Parker for the weekend. My house will have children in it for the first time since I have lived here. Even if they were only babies. Tomas and Alec are the future of two packs. Two Alphas in the making.
Arabella stayed behind in France to keep her eye on Cyra. The phoenix was fading faster than she thought. I haven’t heard from Kade or the others in days. I wouldn’t normally worry, but this mission is time sensitive. Cyra and Tyson need to be reunited or they will both die.
“If you stay out here dressed like that for much longer, I may have to ravage you and make us even later to the party.” Parker’s voice from behind me made a small shriek leave my mouth as I spun around to face the door to the house.
I am dressed up as a demon. My skin-tight red satin dress hugs my body like a lover’s embrace. The dress is strapless and has a slit up each side from the hem of the dress to both my hips. I leave my hair loose to flow down my back in thick curls. I added a pair of horns on a headband and called the outfit done. I line my eyes in black eyeliner, with a red glitter going around my eyes for a bit of sparkle. I painted my lips with a blood red lipstick that I know will make Parker happy.
“When did you get back?” I asked him as I walk to him.
Parker is dressed as a pirate captain, and he spared no expense to get the cutlass that is in its sheath on his hip. He claimed to want the full authentic costume. He wore tight fitting cotton trousers that he cut off at the knees with a shredded look and a deep scarlet waistcoat. He wore a loose-fitting black shirt and knee-high leather boots. For me, he left his shirt open to reveal his smooth six pack and chest hair. Which I waste no time touching as I reach him. His reddish-brown hair is loose with a few braids with beads in them spread sparsely in his hair.
“I took the others to the bar first, then came here. I wasn’t sure if you would need help to squeeze the dress on your body,” Parker replied as he bent his head down to fasten his lips to mine.
I pull back after a moment to glare at him, “Are you calling me fat?”
“No, my love. You are very,” he kisses my nose, “very,” he kisses my neck, “very sexy.” Parker’s lips find my mate mark and make me tremble.
I lean my head to the side for him before I can stop myself. A moan bubbles up my throat as his teeth grazed my mark. “Mmm, Parks, if you keep that up you will be peeling me out of this dress before we ever get to the bar.”
“With the slits on that dress, there will be no need to take you out of it just yet,” He whispers in my ear.
“Down boy. Give the girl some space for a few minutes, little brother.” Owen said from somewhere to my right. The driveway and deck stairs are in that direction.
Parker lifted his head from my neck to look at his brother, “Go away, Owen.”
Owen chuckled as he stepped onto the deck. He is dressed in the same pirate garb as Parker, except his waistcoat was blue and he wore a long coat to cover his shirt. The long coat also helped to hide his the two scimitars at his waist. They both went all out for this party. This was their first year celebrating Halloween together since they were children.
As I took a step back from Parker, I got a low whistle of appreciation from Owen making Parker growl at him. I put my hand on his chest to make him relax. The mate bond has brought out a possessive side to Parker that I am not fond of. Most days he isn’t bad, we own and work in a bar; I am bound to be around other men all night. Tonight, however, I can see it is going to be a one of those nights where I am going to have to stay by his side just to keep his inner beast happy.
Unlike werewolves, shifters don’t have a base creature that they call their own like a wolf, but they have a very animalistic nature. An inner beast, as I call it. Parker’s has gone on over drive the last few days. There are two reasons for that, one being the new mate bond between us, the second being the fact that I am going into heat soon. Parker smelled in on me before he left to go get Lynn, Jazmine, and Clara.
That is the werewolf version of the human female’s period cycle. Only for werewolves it is once every six months and we don’t bleed like they do. We are super hot, horny, and the sexual need can become painful if not given relief from it. The heat also only comes on once a werewolf has a mate and the bond is complete. For a mated pair, this means we will spend the week in bed, or any available surface we choose, as many times as my body tells me to.
“What brings you here instead of the bar, brother?” Parker asked Owen.
Owen tore his gaze from my body to look back to Parker, his brown eyes full of something that sent out alarm bells in my mind, and a chill up my spine. He looked at my body with lust. That makes me wonder if the mate he claims he has is his true mate. We have yet to be introduced to her. This adds to my list of worries that this man isn’t who he claims to be.
“I came to see if there was somewhere I could crash for the night after the party. I don’t want to drive back home so late and possibly impaired,” Owen explained.
Parker frowned like he thought this was odd too. Shifters, like many other races of supernatural creatures, burn off alcohol faster than humans. Making it nearly impossible for them to get drunk. Was Owen prepared to spike his drinks with something that will get him drunk? If so, why?
“Trouble with your mate?” Parker asked with a curious expression on his face. I have voiced my concerns about Owen only once to Parker. They were not well received, but since then Owen has shown a few odd behaviors.
“Yes. We are not suited to city life. She wants a nice beach house like this one, but that isn’t an option right now with the funds we have left from the move to California.” Owen answered. His eyes traveled over the deck, then out to the beach as waves crashed on the beach.
“Well, Edmund has a pullout couch up in the loft apartment. You can bunk with him after the party,” Parker told him.
That is a good place to have him stay. My father is wary of strangers and will keep his eyes on Owen while he is here. That will make me worry less with having him here. Now I think it is time to get to the party before it is in full swing and crazy.
“Let’s get going to the bar now that we have that settled,” I tell them both as I walk into the house to lock all the doors. Owen may be going to the party, but his mate is an unknown. Not that locking the doors will matter if they are up to no good. The wards will stop them from entering the house in a very painful way. One that will also leave a magical mark.
We follow Owen to the bar on the motorcycle. Not the best choice of rides, but Parker got a thrill out of how my dress had to be pulled up so I could ride behind him without it getting caught in the back tire. The long length of exposed leg made him highly aroused. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was pulled off somewhere later for a quickie.
As we pull into the back parking lot, I can see people milling about the patio. Many in their natural forms. Halloween was the one time of year that there was no reason to hide our true nature to the human eye. They would only think we were dressed in elaborate costumes and that worked just fine for us all. Parker pulled the motorcycle up to the back door and parked it. Then he helped me off the bike and slowly pulled my skirt down my hips.
His hand lingering on my hips then sliding down my legs with a promise of things to come later. His eyes never left mine as he did his little tease. He gave me a wicked grin, then he kissed my lips in a searing assault that left me wanting much more. Then he steps away to open the door. That sneaky bastard knows how to get me going, so I will be the one to seek him out later instead of him finding me.
Oh, how I love this man.
The music from inside the bar greets us as soon as we enter the back room. Shelby and Tara greet us as we walk further into the room. Tara, Spencer’s mate, is dressed as a kitten. Her cat ears peeking out of her curly blonde hair. She wore a tight black halter dress with fishnet stockings. Being our newest addition to the family here, I was enjoying getting to know her. Her personality was spunky, and she had Spencer, the known playboy, wrapped around her pinky finger like a drooling lap dog. It was fun to watch him fall.
Shelby is dressed in a long flowing white gown, two pinpricks of blood on her neck with two little trails flowing down her neck. She is dressed as a bride of Dracula. The irony is she is a vampire, making her costume a realistic joke on the horror icon of Dracula. Her beautiful blond hair is pulled up in a braided coil on the crown of her head to hold the veil that trails down her back.
They both hold trays of empty glasses that will go to the punch bowl table. We give them both a nod as we leave the room to head to the bar’s primary room. The music gets louder the deeper we head into the building. The sound of laughter makes me happy that we can give all of our patrons this time to come together.
The first thing that catches my attention when we enter the room is my father on stage, looking behind him to Argyle, who is seated at the piano. How had the others convinced them both to get up there to perform? I had only heard Argyle play once when he thought no one was in the bar. It was a beautifully sweet melody that had brought a wave of emotion to me I had thought long buried. My father used to sing for my mother and I long ago, but I have not heard him sing since the night my mother died.
Lena let out a shrill whistle to get Spencer to cut the music. This got crowd’s instant attention and all eyes on him, to which he only pointed at the stage where my father and Argyle were. A silence descended on the room as the lights faded to just the ones pointing to the stage. Parker led me to the booth in the corner where he sat nightly.
Lynn and Jazmine were sitting there waiting for us, both waved as we walked to them and sat down. I noticed Bridgette and Carlos in the booth across from us and gave them a wave. Then Argyle began to play the piano, drawing my attention to the stage. There it was again, that same sweet melody, but this time there was a different tone to it. It held a hauntingly poignant quality to it.
Argyle looked up from the keys and I could see the pain in his eyes, naked for all to see, but then his eyes zeroed in on the woman next to me. Jazmine, his second chance mate, the one he doesn’t want. I felt her stiffen beside me as he stared at her, so I reached a hand out to hold hers. That was when my father began to sing. This was a song meant for lost loves, for the broken-hearted, for the lonely.
No one spoke as my father’s voice filled the crowded room. All eyes were glued to the stage as the depth of emotion being created by the two men settled on everyone. Occasionally I heard a sniffle, or the shuffle of people as they adjusted in their seats or moved to take a seat somewhere. As my father stopped singing Argyle brought the melody to an end.
“This song is for all those who have lost their mates, lovers, or had their heart broken by rejection. For all the lonely and lost souls just floating through life until the Goddess calls you home. For Mia,” Edmund said. Then he stepped off the stage and left the room.
“I wrote that melody a hundred years ago when my mate was taken by the sun in a trap laid by human hunters. This is for Lillian. The only woman who will have my heart until the day I too let the sun kiss my skin one last time.” Argyle said into the mic at the piano. His eyes looking straight at Jazmine as he spoke. Then he too stood and walked from the stage following my father.
I felt Jazmine jolt in her seat from the words he spoke to her. The message he sent her was loud and clear. She had no place in his heart. Not now or ever. It was a big fuck you message that hit straight in the heart. Jazmine stood up from the booth and excused herself.
Spencer turned the dance music back on a moment later, and the crowd went back to how they were when Parker and I joined that party. Had we not been here to see what happened, I would almost believe that it didn’t happen at all. Yet there was still a slight echo of the forlorn nature of the music and statements made by both men.
This Halloween party was not going as happily as I had planned.