Page 97 of Unnatural Fate
Did my work suffer because of Dominic?
Surely, it would return to normal when things calmed themselves. If they ever calmed down. Dominic attracted chaos from the universe.
I walked around the edge of my desk, trailing my fingers through the dust there. I’d hire a service, but they’d never make it here. Damn wards. I needed to start a supernatural cleaning service. I bet there were all kinds of dusty haunted mansions and cobweb-covered vampire nests that would jump at the idea. I’d be rich.
Such a shame the vampires plagued themselves in a war with the wolves. They could take a capitalist approach and employ them into poverty. So much easier than killing them outright. One day, the vampires would let go of their ancient ways and bring themselves into the modern world. But I wasn’t about to give them hints or help them accomplish those tasks. Maybe when Dominic was long dead, I’d sell my services.
I rubbed the ache in my chest.
I couldn’t. Not even when he was long dust and if he never came back to me.
I didn’t sit. I took a stroll around the place, letting my mind wander over the half-read documents all in their places and the books marked and tabbed. My research took so many different directions when I searched for an artifact. There were hints in the most obvious and unusual places. Literature always gave me the best clues, hidden in plain sight.
It had to be here someplace. There would be a vision or a word. A piece of material, a smell even, would trigger the memory. I picked up documents, scanned them, and returned them to the organized mess. It would fit my personality better to leave my office well organized and cataloged, but I was much too paranoid to leave such sensitive information so easily gone through.
My clients came to me for secrecy. I never wrote any of their information in plain English, and my ledger remained in my safe or on my person.
It struck me.
I opened the wall safe with my fingerprint and pulled the ledger out, taking it to my desk to flip through the pages. There was a transaction in here. One where I hadn’t been able to locate the item the inquirer wanted. He’d been looking for wolfsbane. Dominic and I were tremulous back then, so I had thought little of it. They used it for things other than poisoning wolves. The witches used it for healing.
Nearly impossible to acquire, for good reason. Even being in the vicinity of such an herb could kill a wolf, and they made sure to destroy it anywhere they inhabited hundreds of years ago. Very few natural sources existed, and if the wolves could find them, those would be gone, too.
There it was. The name. Jaxon. A douchey-sounding name if I ever heard one. The address was a dummy. A few clients didn’t trust me despite my reputation. Not unusual for them to use a fake name or a proxy. But a friend referred this one. He’d be able to give me a physical description even from years ago. That one had the memory of a steel trap.
* * *
The vampire bar was two blocks into the old town. An easy walk.
A knock at the back door brought a grunt to my ears.
“Enter,” came an unfamiliar voice.
I slipped into the double door system that would keep the light out of the building. The bar doubled as a safe house when vampires needed a place to spend the day. All the doors to vampire establishments were designed this way. A good way to spot the real ones and the ones for tourists.
I stepped around the feeding, nose prickling. Rotten blood. I couldn’t believe a vampire was consuming it. Tainted with drugs, at the very least. Had I been rude, I would have plugged my nose, but the last thing I needed was to cause offense.
Ignoring it the best I could, I weaved my way through the hallways until I came out into the bar. There were patrons in all states of undress and feeding, strewn over all manner of furniture.
I scanned the room for threats, but no one even paid me any mind as I was known to them. Walter set a glass of absinthe in front of me when I sat. He wore a curious yet amused expression, leaning on the bar top.
“I can’t indulge this morning.”
It disappeared as fast as he’d set it there, replaced with a mug of what I assumed was coffee. “You’re never here at this hour, so I assume it can’t be boyfriend trouble.” His nostrils flared, and I knew he could smell him on me.
“It is, and it isn’t, in a roundabout manner.” I’d never share Dominic’s business with another soul, let alone one who sat on the wrong side of the war, even if Walter kept out of politics.
“I assume your last interaction went well?”
“Very.” I laughed. “You were right. I couldn’t wait.”
“I’m glad to see that weight off your shoulders. But there are more, different kinds.” He nodded sternly. “You knew this choice would never be the easy path. Didn’t you?”
“I don’t think I had a choice at all when it came to him.”
“Did you want one?”
“No.” My answer warmed my chest. I felt the truth of it. It radiated through me. I would do anything for my mate. My love.