27: Prized Dog

Monty knocks on my door frame snapping my attention away from the books my head is buried in. “Man I’m gone for a few days and some craziness goes down.” Monty has never been one to skim over feelings or painful situations.

“Yeah. Crazy.” So crazy that an awkwardness broke out between Gretchen and I. The rest of the day on Sunday and all day yesterday she was too nice expecting to get answers to her unasked questions about none other than Gabriel.

Even though Monty makes feelings feel stupid and pointless, she nosey as hell. Sometimes, her cards tell her everything she needs to know and when she’s not using them she soaks up everything she can get.

She’s not here to rub it in my face or make me feel bad...or better, she’s just here for details. But today is not the day to request details about anything from me. It’s blood drinking day and I haven’t seen Gabriel since Sunday and the waiting is making me anxious. Not to mention, the only thing I achieved was finding something to keep him out, but away. Only Tessa will keep him and Phillip away...maybe.

“I didn’t think Caleb had it in him.” Monty says only to be interrupted.

“Didn’t have what in me?” Caleb quickly says from behind her.

“Oh, nothing. I’m just gonna leave you two to talk.” She squeezes around Caleb who hovers right behind her. She gives him a grimace before scurrying away.
Thanks Monty.

“Hey.” He says as he walks further inside. His tall, broad body makes the room seem smaller today. Or maybe it's how I suddenly feel uncomfortable around him.

“What can help you with? I will say I’m not as knowledgeable as Gretchen, but I’ll do my best.”

“It isn’t like that, just let me-”

“Explain yourself?”

“Apologize.” It doesn’t take a moron to be able to see and hear the self loathing in his composure and tone. He truly is sorry, but I’m not sure I can hear it right now.
“Well, your apology is unaccepted.” Even though I haven’t been so honest on my end either. But, at least I haven’t been sleeping around with Gabriel. I think about it, but I stop myself from acting on it, because it’s always been Caleb and I...maybe not anymore though.

“She didn’t tell the full truth.”

“The full truth? What’s the full truth,” I say the words mockingly, “that you were unconscious, drunk...a wolf? That would be even more fucked up than just listening to alpha orders.”

“We’re not together.” He takes in my skeptical look and he runs his hand through his shaggy hair realizing that anything he says won’t help. “I slept with her once and that’s only because you pissed me off.” He blurts out.

“So this is my fault? You go and get it on with someone else because I pissed you off. You’re the one that will never be able to give one hundred percent. You not me.” I point my finger aggressively at him, thankful that he’s still across the room otherwise I would poke him in the chest and pray that it would hurt. “Don’t be mad that I have brains to realize it.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t mean what? Something that should’ve been said a long time ago. Something that will please your alpha. You have always strived to kiss Marcus’s ass at every opportunity and once you tell him that we’re through, for good, you’ll finally be his prized dog.”

“You’re angry,” He takes a step forward, but I take just as big step back. “Hazel.”

“I just need some space Caleb.”

We stare at each other for several minutes and I begin to wonder if he’ll ever leave.

“Hazel.” Monty calls from the sales floor. “I need your help with something.”

“Be right there.” I rush to the door, but Caleb rushes at the same time and I come to a halting stop. “After you.” I fan my hand out to the door letting Caleb go first. This way it gives him a clear shot to the exit.

The silence that fills the shop is thick and as my eyes search for Monty, I’m only thankful for her lies.

Caleb leaves with his head down as I go in search for Monty even though I have a clue where she is. I go straight to her office where I immediately find her at her small rectangular table playing with her cards. I can only imagine what they’ve telling her. When I approach, sneaking a peek at the face up cards, they’re all blank.

“No fair.”

“You can’t snoop on fate, even if it is yours.”

“So you have been digging around.”

“No.” She quickly replies back. “I

happened to be reading my own. I do, do that once in a while.”

“Um-huh. Did you really need my help with something?”

“No, just thought I would get you back to work.” She flashes me a smile. “Gretchen called while you were...busy and she has some orders that need to be packed up. Can you work on those? Please?”

“Sure. Where are they?”

“Papers are at the front counter. It shouldn’t take you too long.” She flashes me another smile.

It takes me a minute to find the papers, unlike our regular order forms these are just scrap pieces of paper. Orders from her coven members is what these are. Work is work, I guess.

I gather the few things on the lists that are on the sale floor, but most of the items are in the basement. After Jezmin’s little heart to heart on Sunday, I feel a little better about being alone with her. She may be on Team Hazel, but she doesn’t help me in finding any of the items I’m looking for.

Shouldn’t take too long, my ass. It takes hours, because some of the stuff is packed up...for years. Some of the stuff I haven’t even heard of. What the hell are these people up to?

I get a glance at the clock as I finally make my way out of the basement. “Holy shit.” I nearly drop the box in my hands. “Monty,” I holler, “I’m done for the day. I finished the orders. I’ll see ya later.”

I don’t wait for her to reply. I just swing my purse quickly over my shoulder and make a mad dash home. I have to get there before Gabriel.

At every corner I peek. At every car horn I flinch. I meet every face that passes me expecting it to be him. My repellent could very well backfire on me if I’m not safely inside when he finds out what I’ve done.

My heart gives a little twinge and my brain begins to second guess itself. After Caleb’s mistrust, I’m starting to think Gabriel isn’t that bad. But for all I know he could be worse, what with Phillip puppeteering his strings.

The rush of relief I feel when I barge into my apartment lifts a weight I hadn’t been aware of until this very moment. I catch my breath and relax my muscles . There’s no knowing when he’ll show up , so I kick off my shoes and wait.

The soft rapt on the door jolts me to my feet. My eyelids were getting heavy waiting on him for the past three hours.

I open the door to Gabriel, who gives me a mischievous smile as he steps forward. Except this time he doesn’t leisurely walk in. That one step is all he gets before he’s forced to a stop. He tries, very hard, again and again before anger flashes across his face. “Hazel.” He snaps. He tries to step in again and just like before he slams into an invisible wall. “What did you do?”

“A small tweak in my famous repellent. It’s a little overboard, but it keeps everything and everyone out unless they’re invited in.”

“You’re really doing this? Are you punishing me for wolfboy’s behavior?” His hands push against an invisible wall that even his vampire strength can’t breach. When I don’t answer him, his anger switches to desperation. “Don’t do this, Hazel.” Every few breaths he slams his fist against that wall that keeps him out. With every slam, I flinch expecting the barrier to crumble beneath his strength.

A crazed laugh gets stuck in my throat choking me. All humor gone, I drop to my knees in the worst pain ever. I expected this to happen, but I hadn’t expected it to be this bad. Refusal at its strongest. It tears through my body. The panicked scream of Gabriel shouting my name is so distant. I glance up at him between waves of debilitating tremors of pain. He tries relentlessly to get in, his fists punching at the invisible wall.


My concoction works a little too well. “I’m going through some things right now and I really don’t need you messing with my head.” I mumble out. I barely have time to finish my sentence before it hits again. The stabbing, twisting, searing pain that always accompanies my rejection of Gabriel.

“I’m not him Hazel.”

“No, but you’re just as bad.” I barely get the words out before my legs buckle and I fall to my hands and knees. The room starts to spin and my vision narrows letting the blackness around the edges seep in.

“Hazel.” His panicked scream of my name shatters me into a million pieces. “Invite me in. Damn it, Hazel. Invite me in.”

His words rattle around inside my head and it’s incredibly difficult to concentrate on them. I barely manage a whispered, “come in,” before my arms give out and I plummet to the floor, my head cracking against the hardwood.

The icy chill of his skin soothes my overheated one. He scoops me up into his lap and places his wrist to my mouth. At first I’m confused as to why, but then a warm, sweet wetness touches my lips. No. My weak body doesn’t have a chance in fighting him off as he pushes his arm tighter against my mouth forcing the blood to touch my tongue.

“Drink it Hazel. It’ll make you feel better.” He demands and with his sheer strength I don’t have a choice.

It’s only a matter of seconds before my pain disappears. Not soon after that he takes his arm away from my mouth and I hurriedly whip the blood that oozed onto my face off with the back of my arm.

I scramble out of his lap, but the room spins quickly and I sway back and forth, back and forth before he steadies me. “I hate you.” I whisper with a hoarse voice. But there’s no pain, because the words are said half heartedly.

“I’m sure you do.” We still sit on the floor side by side. His golden eyes only meet mine for a second before they drop down to my mouth. His hand comes up and wipes a smudge of blood from my face that I missed.

I scoot away from him and pick myself up off the floor. “I’m going to get some rest.”

“Before I go.” He gets to his feet twice as fast as me. “I need to tell you something.”

Oh, great.

“Phillip requests your presence at a business meeting tomorrow night at Rapid Pulse.”

“What?” The mention of Rapid Pulse quickly sobers me up. Rapid Pulse is the place to be if you were a vampire or a blood slave. Which means it’s the last place I want to be

“There’s no need to worry. I’ll be accompanying you. And Phillip won’t let his valued witch get harassed.”

I narrow my eyes in speculation, “You’re not telling me something. Valued witch? Since when?”

“Vampire business.”

“And here I thought that you were slightly better than the wolves, but apparently not.” Here I am stuck in the middle of business that I’m not entitled to.

“Technically, you already know, only by default, but still. All in due time.” His words hold a more sinister message.

All in due time? The rise of the vampires.