Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Seven

Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Seven
Ryder

Most of us knew various jobs to do to make the bar run smoothly when we were short-handed, which was difficult enough to begin with since Corrine had such a long list of people to call and employ.

“What are the guys doing?” Sara’s voice floated up from the back seat.

“Us big brawny men get to play at being bouncers.” Gene flexed his biceps and kissed them. “We will protect the frail women.”

He grunted as Sara elbowed him in the stomach, forcing an unwilling smile on my lips.

“Okay, I’ll protect the other frail women,” he amended.

Kelly smacked him upside the head.

“I give, I give! The strong, brave women will be protecting me or beating the shit out of me while I sit here and watch,” Gene re-amended.

She smacked him again; this time, it was on the arm and not nearly as hard.

“Damn straight, get it right the first time, boy.”

Kelly wasn’t a big fan of Gene but played along to keep her best friend happy.

“How long have you all been friends?” Catalym turned in her seat, trailing her fingertips in circles around my knee absently.

I tuned out the others, unconsciously focusing on her touch.

“Well, we’ve known the guys for a little over a year, but they’ve known each other a lot longer than that. It's a bunch of old geezers if you ask me. They still think it’s necessary to protect us. You would think that we were still human by how they carry on,” Kelly explained. Marcus scoffed at that.

I knew something bothered Catalym, but I couldn’t pinpoint it. Frankly, neither could she.

From one look in the rear-view mirror, Kelly could too.

“Ryder said you were almost a thousand years old. Must’ve seen lots of cool stuff.”  Sara leaned forward to put her chin on folded hands.

“Some,” Catalym replied vaguely.

“What was it like to live so long ago?” Kelly asked.

“It was a very lonely existence, at least, for me. I had to be so very careful all of the time. I seemed to attract a lot of weirdoes and fanatics, so I used to stay home,” she paused and finished the thought in her head,” Of my own free will,” but what she said aloud was altogether different, “to avoid it.”

Kev and I exchanged a concealed, agonized glance in the rearview mirror. I hadn’t asked what Catalym had shown or told him in those silent moments in the bedroom. However, seeing that knowing look in his gaze, she told him enough.

I didn’t want to have to dwell on her past anymore. I tried to change her future.

“My parents preferred it that way anyway. I spent a lot of time reading and learning about various things. Anything I could get my hands on to read and fill the time,” she replied softly as if embarrassed by the admission.

“You don’t have to talk about this,” I murmured. She shook her head.

“It’s not that. In my experience, the more someone knows about me, the less they want to be in my company. Do you know how hard it is to have a friend of either sex when you attract and exude sexual energy like I do? Men become peculiar around me; if they’re vampires, they know why. The women never understood that I didn’t mean to do it. It isn’t like I invite the advances.”

The veiled pain in her voice made my lips curl back. The memories that assailed her flashed between us. My teeth gritted as I tried to focus on the traffic ahead.

But another need made itself known above the rest.

I needed blood.

The pounding in my ears proved that. My hand gripped the steering wheel, my fingers leaving noticeable impressions along the curve. My kind didn’t handle these murderous emotions very well, especially on top of this kind of need. The fact that I was still sitting here, in this car with everyone around me, showed how much restraint I had.

And here, I’d doubted myself.

But no matter what, blood-filled fantasies filled my mind. I wanted to hunt through each hotel, one by one, as I sought them out. The Cornwalls wouldn’t be hard to find. It would be so easy…

And then those satisfying thoughts came to a crashing halt against my will, a jolt of paralyzing calm slamming through the vehicle at an alarming rate.

Every part of Marcus visibly stilled. The power Kelly was mindlessly controlling felt acute, far more focused than it had yesterday at Granville Island…like she’d gained decades of age in mere hours.

Did you feed her last night?

Yeah, I didn’t think anything of it. What will happen if I keep feeding her?

She is exceptional. More so than any of you know, Catalym whispered to only Marcus and me. All you’re doing is making her more and more like you. Her blood may even eventually run pure despite her birth into humanity. Vampires are leeches; you both know that.

It took a long time before anyone said anything again, but finally, Kelly gained the courage to ask, “What exactly does this mean? Is there a chemical in your body, like a pheromone?”

That one simple, innocent question

Someone behind me laid on his horn; I realized the light had been green for some time.

“I have to pay attention all of the time because when I don’t, it’s like my body releases sexual pheromones of its own free will, attracting more unwanted attention than it normally does. It took me many years to master just that alone, but I will never be able to cut it off completely,” she continued sadly, her fear of being rejected because of this problem plain.

“Those people are assholes, Catalym. They’re egotistical, greedy shits, who can’t keep their dicks where they should be, and the women are just bitches,” Sara ranted empathetically.

“We’re your friends, babes, till the end. I’m happy Corrine set you up with us. We are not like those people, I can promise you,” Kelly assured her, Sara’s only voice of reason.

“Any shit-stick that comes near you or upsets you in any way has to deal with us,” Marcus growled. I had no doubt there would be instantaneous action if anyone came near her.