The Raven

Chapter 18-Interview with Lena Austin1


Mandy watched as Elizabeth turned her cold blue eyes on Armando. A chill ran down her spine and Armando tried to pull her closer to him. She pushed at him to keep him at arms length. 2

Elizabeth’s laugh made her blood run cold. “Trouble in paradise, my love?” 3

“Tell her the truth,” Armando said, pushing Mandy towards the crazy vampire. Mandy yanked on his arm to get him to stop, but he ignored her. “TELL HER!” 4

Elizabeth licked her thin lips as she walked towards Mandy. Armando tightened his hold on her arm. Elizabeth noticed his grip and let a wicked smile cover her face.
“Shall I tell her how you enjoyed fucking me so much so that you wept when you found me with another?” asked Elizabeth. 5

Armando stiffened and tried to pull Mandy back to him. She held her ground, not wanting to be near either of the crazy corpses that surrounded her. 6

“Or,” Elizabeth persisted. “Should I tell her of the time that I gave you the Dorson triplets as a gift? Oh, Armando, the things you did with them….”7

Mandy fought the wave of nausea that threatened to overtake her and put her hand on the table next to her to steady herself. Armando put his hand on her shoulder and she cringed at the feel of his cool touch. 8

“Mandy,” Armando said her name softly, and Elizabeth let out a screech.9

“Oh, that’s it…coddle the poor, defenseless human girl. She’ll never be the lover I was to you, Armando. She’ll always just be….” 10

“Alive?” Michelle said, appearing next to Mandy. She reached down and took Mandy’s hand in hers and gave her a little nudge. “Thought you could use some moral support from someone with a heartbeat.” 11

Mandy chuckled weakly and nodded her head. 12

“Maybe you’ll find it funny to know that your dear Armando lost his virginity to me. It was me that he spent the greater part of thirty years buried in. It was me that….” 13

Mandy rolled her eyes and cut Elizabeth off. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it already. You were the queen seductress. All hail Elizabeth, taker of Italian virgins. 14

Whoohoo,” she mocked, twirling her finger in the air. Armando grunted and she turned her head to him. “Don’t think for one minute that I’m done being pissed at you. As far as I’m concerned you can take that three decade boner of yours and stick it….” 15

“Mandy,” Michelle began, pulling to get her attention. 16

Mandy ignored her as she glared at Elizabeth. She wanted nothing more than to toss holy water in her perfect little face. “I’ve had enough drama in my life lately. I’m done with all of it. If I never lay eyes on another vampire, it’ll be too soon.” 17


~*****~18


Michelle watched Mandy stand up and walk, with much dignity, to the back office. She knew better. Mandy was hurt and trying to bury herself under her brave front. It had taken a long time for Mandy to let the wall down around her heart and Michelle didn’t want to see her build it up again. With determination, she knew it was time to hit Mandy with a little tough love. She moved to follow Mandy to the back office. 19

“Do you want me to give you a lift home?” asked Michelle when she reached Mandy. Mandy was closing her cell phone. 20

“No, don’t worry about it,” Mandy closed her eyes tight and Michelle knew it was to keep from crying. 21

“They aren’t married, Mandy,” stated Michelle. “Never were. She’s a liar.”
Michelle waited for a sign that Mandy was relieved. It never came. Her cell phone rang, but Mandy refused to answer, she said instead, “I just called James. He’s on his way down to take me home.” 22

Michelle bit her lip, but didn’t comment. Mandy looked over at her and stopped dead in her tracks. 23

“Say it,” Mandy demanded, her face going hard at the look Michelle gave her. 24

“Okay,” Michelle answered, matching the hard look with one of her own. “You’re using James as a crutch.” 25

“I’m afraid to ask what that means,” Mandy said, glancing back to the front of the club. Michelle looked too and noticed Armando, Dmitri, and Mike corralling Elizabeth in the corner. “I hope she falls on a broken chair and impales herself.”26

“Armando could die too. She sired him,” Michelle said, quickly. “That’s why they don’t—” 27

“Again, I hope she falls on—” 28

“Mandy! Come on!” Michelle growled in irritation. “You’re putting up your famous ‘don’t care’ walls again, and I didn’t spend the last two years breaking through them to watch the queen vamp build them back up. As for James, I know what you’re doing. You were doing it before this fiasco ever happened. You’re using him to test Armando.” 29

“I’ll admit that it may seem that way, but James isn’t a crutch, he’s a friend. That’s all.” 30

“Yeah, if that’s what you need to tell yourself,” Michelle said, giving her a ‘whatever’ look. “I know what you’re doing. You want James to come between you and Armando. No matter how he reacts, you’ll end up sleeping with James to push Armando away. You want Armando to fail you. You want him to leave you. Even if he forgave you for sleeping with James, you’d never respect him for it. You’ve been looking for him to mess up…misreading every little detail with your warped reasoning. Well, I for one am not going to stand around and continue to watch you be a stupid ass.” 31

Mandy’s mouth dropped open. Michelle rushed on before she could scream at her.
“Listen, you’re about to screw up the most important thing in your life and if you want to throw it all away for bleach-blonde dead boy then fine, go ahead, but don’t expect me to stand by and support your decision.” 32

“That’s not—” began Mandy, lifting a finger and ready for a fight. 33

“No!” ordered Michelle, shutting her up. “I want you to sit in this office and think about what you’re doing. You may not like me right now, but I’m the bestest friend you have and by God if I have to—” 34

“Bestest?” inquired Mandy with an arched brow. 35

“You know—er, just stay in this office and think, damn you!” Michelle pointed at the couch and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. 36

Michelle took a deep, angry breath. AH! Mandy made her so mad sometimes. Instantly, she was sorry for her harsh words and the pain that had flickered over Mandy’s face. But, Michelle knew she couldn’t take them back. Mandy needed to hear the truth. It was long overdue. 37

Stalking to the bar, she saw Mike and smiled weakly. “Hey, can I get a coffee?”
Mike smiled at her. “Anything for you baby.” 38

Michelle grimaced as Mike laughed. She glanced over the bar and saw Dmitri and Armando were still dealing with psycho vamp, though Elizabeth looked to be subdued. They all sat at a table talking. 39

“Good thing Mandy can’t see that,” grumbled Michelle. “Then she’d really call off the wedding.” 40

“Mandy your fiancée?” 41

Michelle had reached the bar and blinked in surprise to hear the strange question.
“She mad ‘cause you have a thing for men, too?” 42

Michelle gasped, realizing the questions were indeed directed at her. She looked at the tall woman next to her sipping on a drink. The woman was at least 5’7” if not taller. She looked like the child of an Amazon warrior and a librarian. She wore a black suede cowboy hat with a silver band, suede half-boots, a black silk shirt, leather pants, and a loosely knotted, blood red tie. Inch-long nails that were unpainted and natural, twisted around her drink. She looked like an exotic dancer.
“Ah…?” Michelle began weakly, at a loss. 43

“Hi, I’m Lena Austin.” 44

Michelle took the woman’s hand for lack of anything better to do. She was truly at a loss. With all that had happened, she really couldn’t process the fact that this Lena woman thought Mandy was her lover. It was just too much. 45

“This here is BDSM Mistress, well, I’ll just call her the Black Widow—everyone else does.” Lena laughed as she looked over at her friend. Michelle nodded weakly. The friend was shorter, but wore a black T-shirt that said BITCH in curvy red letters. Whoever Mistress Black Widow was, she was all attitude and mischief. “She’s about to marry her Demon Lord and I just had to drag her out for a good time.”46

“Ah,” said Michelle. Where was Mike with the coffee? She leaned over, trying to see him. He was fumbling with a new filter. 47

“So, you didn’t answer,” said Lena. “You fighting with your lover?” 48

“Excuse me?” asked Michelle 49

Lena let loose a sultry laugh. “I can tell by your look—the way you’re eyeing the fine piece of lycan bartender over there. You need to get laid and bad. Not that I blame you—hey, have you ever heard of a Seattle Swing Kit? I sell them. I got one in my car in case of emergencies. If you like, I can go get it. They’re easy and a lot of fun.” 50

“I’m sorry?” asked Michelle not following. “A Seattle what?” 51

“Well, you see, you take some—” 52

“Coffee. Here you go, sweetness,” said Mike setting the cup before Michelle with a wink. 53

“Hey, lycan,” said Lena with a purr. “This girl here needs some hot lycan lovin’. You up for it? Her lady lover might get a little upset, but I saw this, ah there,” Lena paused and Michelle and Mike followed her finger to Dmitri’s back, “I saw that lycan and I bet you three could have a high old time of it. In fact, I wrote this book called Room to Play It is my most current release. It’s a ménage a trois, with two men and one woman. Andre is desperate to help his wife Claudia after an accident leaves her depressed. Then Dante appears. He needs a place to live, and….”
Michelle barely heard the woman as she looked at Mike. For once, the lycan seemed stunned beyond words. 54

“…she confesses she wants them both in her bed—at once. Andre can accept sharing Claudia with Dante—” 55

“Ah, no,” broke in Michelle weakly. Lena blinked, confused. “I mean…Mandy is not my…lover.” 56

Mike burst into laughter. “That, I would pay good money to watch.” 57

“You’re not helping,” hissed Michelle. Never had she felt so conservative or confused in her life. A Seattle what? 58

“Oh,” said Lena. “Then, it shouldn’t be a problem.” 59

Just then, Mandy came out of the office, dry eyed and very somber. Michelle watched as she walked over to the bar to join her. Never had she been so glad to see Mandy in all her life. Surely, if anyone, Mandy would make sense out of what Lena said. She waited, thinking Mandy might scream at her. Mandy just nodded her head and looked towards the door. 60

“Who’s the blonde chick?” asked Mandy, as if the fight hadn’t occurred—though it was evident she was still hurt and sad. “I bet she’s here with the Eliza-bitch.”
Michelle peeked back to see who Mandy was talking about. 61

“Oh, damn honey! I’m sorry. It looks like that lycan is already taken,” said Lena. Michelle felt the woman pat her thigh. “Don’t worry, we’ll find someone else. Too bad though, he’s a handsome one, isn’t he. Damn, I just bet he could ride a woman hard until sunrise.” 62

“I wouldn’t know,” whispered Michelle, feeling tears trying to form in the back of her eyes. She was stunned. The blonde Barbie doll Mandy had pointed out threw her arms around Dmitri with a loud squeal. 63

“OH BABY!” the blonde bombshell fairly screamed in excitement as she hopped onto Dmitri’s neck and pulled him down to her lips. She kissed him soundly.
“Oh, no,” breathed Mandy. 64

Michelle couldn’t move. Her eyes roamed over the outfit of black lace that barely covered the bimbo—thigh high stockings, a flimsy robe-like jacket, a black leather bra and panty combo. She wasn’t wearing clothes. She was wearing lingerie.
“I missed you last night,” the woman said. Michelle realized she had stepped away from the bar and was walking towards Dmitri. She stopped in the middle of the bar, staring, numb. The woman continued in her loud pout. “Where were you? I waited up for you and you never showed. You weren’t cheating on me with another woman, were you?” 65

Michelle felt Mandy’s hand on her shoulder. She instantly turned, knowing she was going to be sick. In horror, she ran to the bathroom and threw up. Sliding down the stall wall to the floor, she sat on the floor. Miserably, her heart pounded, mimicking the thundering in her head. What a fool she was! 66

Of course a man like Dmitri was getting sex somewhere, if not with her. She felt like an idiot. She should have known. She’d done enough research about lycans to know they had barely contained appetites—especially when it came to food, drink and women. She’d seen Dmitri pound back enough liquor to floor twenty men without even blinking. She’d seen him down nearly a whole large pizza in one sitting.
It was because of their high metabolisms they ate so much. So, if he was typical lycan in those things, it only stood to reason he was typical lycan in the bedroom too.
Michelle stood, feeling dejected as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her lips trembled. Her face was pale. Her hair pulled back, very Plain Jane—like always. Never had she felt so undesirable in her life. She looked down at her T-shirt and jeans. She looked nothing like the playmate walking around in stilettos and lace. How could a man like Dmitri want her? 67

“You fucking idiot,” Michelle spat at her reflection. She took a deep breath. “You fucking, fucking, stupid idiot. How could he want you? Look at him. He’s too handsome for you.” 68

Michelle eyed the narrow window, knowing from experience she’d never make it out of it. Besides, her purse was in the office. She’d have to grab her purse and then she’d have to quietly and very quickly sneak out the front door.69

~*****~70


Mandy watched Michelle run to the bathroom, before turning back to Dmitri. He was pushing the blonde Barbie doll away from him and wiping his mouth. Mandy frowned, knowing that all was not as it seemed. She debated on whether or not to go to Michelle. She was still a little hurt by what Michelle said to her in the office, regardless of whether or not there was some truth in it. In the end, she knew Michelle was only trying to be a friend. 71

Walking to the bathroom, she listened before opening the door. Michelle stood before the sink, staring into a mirror. Slowly, she went to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I didn’t know plastic could walk,” said Mandy. “I wish we had a camera. Those tabloids would pay good money for that one. Do you think the toy manufacturer knows that one got away…if I only had a brain.” Mandy did a tiny dance motion and made a goofy face at Michelle. 72

Michelle began to laugh, despite herself. She sniffed. “I thought the same thing. She is such a Barbie doll.”73

“Want to light a fire and watch her melt?” asked Mandy, smiling. “Hope springs eternal.” 74

“Nah. It doesn’t matter. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Dmitri isn’t interested in me that way. He hasn’t even tried to come on to me.” 75

“Then what’s he doing with you?” 76

“Pity dates,” offered Michelle. Mandy frowned. “I don’t know. I think it’s just a casual friend thing. I was stupid to think it was more.” 77

“You’re not stupid. I know you, don’t beat yourself up over this,” said Mandy. “I am sure there is a logical explanation, if you’ll only listen.” 78

“Like you listen to Armando,” said Michelle, a little too hard. 79

“Fine, truce,” said Mandy, not wanting to fight with her best friend. “This is one thing we can’t agree on right now so we won’t even try. For the sake of our friendship, beyond making fun of Barbie and Elizabeth, we’ll agree to disagree. Agreed?” 80

“Agreed,” whispered Michelle. “Get my purse out of the office?” 81

“Sure,” said Mandy. She left Michelle in the bathroom and noticed Eilza-bitch and bim-Barbie were no longer in the bar. Neither were Armando and Dmitri. With a sigh she went to the office. Dmitri was there. 82

“Oh, hey, Mandy, Armando had to take—” said Dmitri. 83

“I really don’t want to hear it,” said Mandy, her chest tightening at the thought of Armando with Elizabeth. 84

“All right,” Dmitri allowed. “Have you seen Michelle?” 85

Mandy saw a wave of fear pass over Dmitri’s eyes.
“Yeah, I’ve seen her. I’m getting her purse so she can go home. I know her. You don’t want to talk to her right now if you value anything you have with her. She’s a little upset.” 86

“Did…?” 87

“Yeah, slick, she saw you and Barbie.” 88

“You mean Barbara?” asked Dmitri. 89

“You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s official…you got me! Barbie it is then.” Mandy walked to the door. “I know that Michelle might just be a casual fling to you and honestly, it’s really none of my business. But, I want you to understand something. Michelle doesn’t have casual flings.” 90

“She could have fooled me,” said Dmitri. “She’s made it clear that’s all I am to her.”91

Mandy had to bite her tongue to keep from answering. She closed her eyes. It would be so easy to fix the gap between the two of them. It would only take a few simple words. Dmitri, Michelle is madly in love with you but is too scared to tell you for fear you’ll reject her. I know because I know her. Now, get off your ass and tell her how you feel before you drive her away with her own insecurities—and for God’s sake shag her already. 92

Mandy held quiet. In order to help Dmitri, she’d have to betray Michelle’s trust. She couldn’t do that. 93

“I wish I could help you, buddy, I really do,” said Mandy. “But I am afraid this one you’ll have to figure out on your own.” 94

“What about you, kid?” asked Dmitri, crossing over to her and laying a hand on her shoulder. “Want to get a drink and talk about it?” 95

Mandy nodded, despite her better judgment. “Yeah, I could really use a drink. Just let me give Michelle her purse.”96

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Chapter 19-Delectable Dates 106


Michelle smiled as she hung up the phone. It’d been a week since she’d last laughed and the fact that she was doing it now wasn’t lost on her. She was just in shock over who had made her laugh. Karl Wakeman of all people. 107

Michelle had met Karl the day after Barbie came in the picture. She’d been avoiding the Raven for obvious reasons and she and Mandy weren’t on the best of terms yet. She’d hoped things would blow over after their little heart-to-heart, but Mandy had refused to leave the club with her that night and had barely spoken two words to her all week. Michelle knew that they were both being stubborn, or at least she hoped that was it. The thought of irreparable damage to the friendship was almost too much for her to bear. 108

Her cell phone rang and she laughed when she saw Karl’s number flicker across it. He was handsome, successful, and beyond interested in her, but he was no Dmitri. Now, figuring out if that was a good or a bad thing was all that Michelle had left to do. She knew that Mandy didn’t care much for him, so she was iffy on what to do.
“I just hung up with you. This better be important,” she said into her phone. 109

Karl laughed. “Of course it is. I’ll pick you up tonight at eight.” 110

“Pick me up for what?” 111

“Our date.” 112

“Umm, Karl, we don’t have a date.” 113

He let out a throaty laugh. “Yes we do. See you at eight. I’ll pick you up in front of that club you mentioned, the Raven.” 114

She rolled her eyes automatically at the thought of the Raven and Dmitri. “Sounds good, I guess. I needed to pick some things up from there anyways.” She hung the phone up and shrugged her shoulders. At least this would give her the excuse she needed to go down and pick up her notes on her latest Tribes of the Vampire books she’d been working on. 115

The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to work on it before her date with Karl tonight. She glanced at the clock on her computer and grabbed her keys. Armando would be up by now, he’d let her in to get her stuff. 116

~*****~117


Mandy ran into the back of the club when she heard a loud bang. She’d shown up early because Dmitri had wanted to go over designs for the club expansion with her and needed her art expertise to finalize them. They’d also gotten closer over the last week. She hated to venture out on a limb, but he was what she’d call a friend.
James was a friend with strings. He always seemed to have getting in her pants as a motivation. Dmitri was just Dmitri. Nothing more, nothing less, and since she and Michelle weren’t getting along so great, it was nice to have someone to talk to. Besides, they sulked well together if nothing else. 118

Something else crashed and Mandy ran past the offices to the tiny bathroom in the back, the one that was for employees only. The door was half-open and she could see water flying everywhere. Dmitri cussed and Mandy peeked in to see what he was doing. He stood there in his boxer shorts holding a piece of pipe in his hand.
“Planning on knocking over a liquor store and using ‘stare at my abs’ as a way to distract from your face?” she asked. He jumped and shook his head when he saw her standing there. “Good hearing lycan-boy.” 119

“Yeah, I was a bit preoccupied.” He looked at the stand-up shower and shook his head. “Damn thing went crazy when I tried to use it.” 120

“Can I ask why the hell you’re showering here? Your place is better than this, not to mention cleaner,” she said, pushing his tool box with her foot. 121

“Hey, it’s a mess because I’ve been in here working on it all damn day.” 122

“Do you want me to call someone?” 123

Dmitri’s grey eyes narrowed on her. “I can fix this.” 124

“So, you’re stubborn on more than just the Michelle front?” she asked. He gave her a dirty look and she winked at him. 125

“I’ll handle the Michelle problem as soon as I fix this.”126

“Yeah, looks like you’re doing a bang up job there buddy. Sure hope Michelle doesn’t want to kiss and make up any time this century! I’ll let you finish and then you can get dressed. As tempting as it is to work with a man in his skivvies, I’ll have to pass. Michelle’s my best friend and I’d rather not know all the details.” 127

Dmitri let out a chuckle and reached up to double-check the showerhead. He gave it a good twist and then stepped back to try the handle. Mandy turned to leave and tripped over his toolbox. She fell forward and slammed into the door.
“Mandy?” Dmitri yelled right before he let out a yelp. 128

The sound of water filled Mandy’s head as she got to her feet. She looked over at Dmitri and found him trying to put the knob that was in his hand back on. “What?” He looked over at her. “I was holding it when you fell. I…I…ouch.” He jerked back from the spraying water. Steam encompassed him. 129

Mandy’s eyes widened. “Way to go He-man, that’s the hot.”130

Dmitri made another attempt to reach to put the nozzle on. “Mandy, shut the water off. The turn off is down there.” He pointed towards the wall. 131

Mandy dropped to her knees and did her best to turn the nozzle. She thought she heard someone outside the door, but continued with her mission. “It’s…too…hard…I can’t…get it…to…” 132

Dmitri let out another yelp and appeared behind her. “Here,” he said, twisting the nozzle tight. The water stopped spraying everywhere and Dmitri sunk down on the floor. Mandy touched his red stomach and he flinched. “Well, that’s as hot as I’ve been in a while.” 133

Mandy swatted him and he gasped. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to do it that hard. Will you be okay?” 134

“Just give me a few minutes and I’ll recover.” He patted his chest. “Lycan-boy heals fast.” He glanced up at the shower and shook his head. “I guess we can have another go at it.” 135

“We’ve done enough damage,” she said, attempting to stand up. She slipped on the water soaked floor and fell forward. 136


~*****~ 137

Michelle walked into the club and looked around. Mandy’s car was in the parking lot, but she was nowhere to be found. She turned to head to the office and ran smack into what felt like a brick wall. “Oophf!” 138

“Michelle?” Armando asked softly. 139

She looked up and shook her head. “Could you please wear a bell or something? I wouldn’t walk into you if I knew you were there.” 140

“Sorry, I just arrived and saw that….” He stopped in mid-sentence. 141

Michelle touched his arm. “Hey, it’s okay to admit that you were hoping to find Mandy standing here. I was sort of hoping for the same thing myself.” 142

“Oh?” Armando cocked an eyebrow. “Having troubles with her too?” 143

“Yeah, but mine don’t stem from another woman, they stem from you.” It was harsh, but necessary. “Can I ask you something?” 144

Armando nodded his head, but didn’t say a word. “When you took Elizabeth home the other night, you do anything with her?” Michelle didn’t want to come out and ask if he’d boned her, so she left it at that. 145

“No, I did not have sex with Elizabeth. Why? Does someone think otherwise?”
Michelle tossed her hands in the air and let out a low moan. “Let’s cut the niceties. I’ll stop evading the issue of you sleeping with your sire, if you’ll stop avoiding saying Mandy’s name. Deal?” she asked, putting her hand out to him.
His cool hand slipped into hers. “Deal.” 146

“Great. Now, to answer your question, I think that Mandy might be under the impression that you did screw Elizabeth. I had some papers to drop off to her at work and sort of overheard her on the phone with James. She flat out told him that she suspected you gave into Elizabeth’s advances because you didn’t return to the club that night.” 147

“No, I did return, only to find Mandy and Dmitri drinking together in the back office. They seemed to be ‘getting along’ well, so I left.” 148

Michelle’s eyebrows came together. “What? You’re not insinuating that Mandy and Dmitri have something going on, are you? She’s my best friend. She’d never….” A loud bang came from the back of the club. Michelle looked at Armando and they took off running in that direction. They stopped just outside the employee bathroom when they heard voices. 149

Michelle heard Mandy’s voice first. “It’s…too…hard…I can’t…get it…to…” 150

“Here,” she heard Dmitri say with a grunt. “Well, that’s as hot as I’ve been in a while.” 151

She heard Dmitri gasp before Mandy said, “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to do it that hard. Will you be okay?” 152

“Just give me a few minutes and I’ll recover…. Lycan-boy heals fast…. I guess we can have another go at it.” 153

“We’ve done enough damage,” Mandy said. 154

Michelle looked at Armando and felt the blood drain from her face. His dark eyes narrowed on the door as he thrust it open. Michelle ran in behind him. Her eyes widened as she found Mandy lying on an almost naked Dmitri with her head buried in his abdomen. 155

“What the…?” 156

Mandy and Dmitri looked up at them and then at each other. Their eyes grew wide. “Do not try to act innocent Mandy. We all know that you are anything but an angel,” Armando said, the hurt evident in his voice. “I expected retaliation on me for you finding about Elizabeth, but I never thought you would hurt Michelle too…and you,” he said, pointing at Dmitri. “You call yourself my friend.” 157

“Armando, NO! It’s not what you think. Mandy was just helping me with….” Dmitri started to offer an explanation, but Armando put his hand in the air. 158

“Do not bother. You have nothing that I wish to hear. I wondered how long it would take you to return to your old habits.” 159

“Yeah, well I’d sure the hell like to know what’s going on!” Michelle said, on the verge of screaming. She glared at Mandy. “How could you do this to me?” 160

Mandy pushed up off Dmitri and her feet went out from under her. Dmitri was up and catching her before she could hit the floor. “Michelle….” 161

Michelle turned and ran from the room. She couldn’t bear to look at the two of them any longer. She pushed through the front door and came to a grinding halt when she saw Karl standing there. 162

“You all set?” he asked, with a smile on his handsome face. 163

“Hey, Michelle, my belle.” The sound of James’ voice made her cringe. She glanced at the blonde vamp as he approached the club door and rolled her eyes. 164

“I’ve never been more ready,” Michelle said to Karl. 165

~*****~166


Mandy moved away from Dmitri to go after Michelle, and was quickly lifted off her feet by Armando. “Put me down!” 167

“What runs through your head, Mandy? What makes you so bent on being unhappy that you do the things you do?” he asked, pulling her to him in one hard jerk. 168

“Ouch,” she gasped. “Let go of me. If you’re not going to believe your best friend of over a hundred years, you sure the hell aren’t going to believe me.” She looked into his dark eyes and watched them swirl. “Drain me, or let me go. My life doesn’t concern you anymore.” 169

“There is where you are wrong,” Armando said, snatching her hand and pulling it to her face. “This makes it my….” He stopped when he realized that she wasn’t wearing his engagement ring. His face was full of emotions, yet void of any telltale sign of exactly how he felt. 170

Mandy jerked her hand away and reached into her shirt. She pulled a chain out and yanked it off. “Here, I’ve been meaning to give this back to you,” she said, thrusting the chain and ring into his face. 171

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Mandy, please….” 172

“This is perfect. You can go finish your little thing with Eliza-bitch, I can continue my non-affair with Dmitri, keep using James as a ‘crutch’, and I don’t have to sit around and wait for you to screw-up.” She stopped to take a breath before moving on. Armando looked puzzled. “Look, just take it. It was fun while it lasted.” 173

“Elizabeth means nothing to me, and I have not been with her in centuries.” 174

“Oh, lover, walking a thin line of truths there aren’t you?” Elizabeth’s voice brought their attention to the bathroom door. She gave Mandy a sinister smile and winked at Armando. “You didn’t seem too eager to run away from me the other night when you were alone with me at my hotel room, and you never did tell me why you showed back up after you went off to find your pet human, not that I’m complaining.” 175

Armando sighed. “Your plane leaves in an hour. Why are you still here?” 176

“Oh, lover, how could I not come back for one last romp with you?” Elizabeth said, with a laugh. “I do miss the way you would pin me to the wall face first and fu….”177

“Enough, Elizabeth,” Dmitri warned. 178

Mandy felt her cheeks grow hot. She faced Armando and let the ring fall from her hand. He caught it before it hit the ground, without batting an eyelash. She glared at him, willing him to read her thoughts. She wanted him to know exactly what she thought of him. She felt him push through her mind, almost like someone had pulled a curtain back. 179

Armando looked at Dmitri. “I am sorry to have accused you of wrong doing. It is clear that nothing happened.” 180

Mandy’s mouth dropped open. She’d wanted him to get exactly how pissed she was with him, not the truth about what had happened with Dmitri. Armando lifted her hand to him, took the ring from the chain, and placed it back on her finger. He closed her hand in his fist and held it tight. “I will beg if need be.” 181

“Humph, don’t make him resort to that. I haven’t seen him beg in all the time I’ve known him and sure the hell don’t want to see it now,” Dmitri said, replacing the hot water knob on the shower. “Do you want to marry him or not?” 182

“Dmitri, I do not think you are helping here,” Armando said. 183

“No, I think I am helping. She either wants to marry you or she doesn’t.” 184

Armando looked down at her and her heart beat fast. She started to shake her head, unsure of what to say. In her own weird way she loved Armando, but wasn’t sure it would be enough. 185

~*****~186


Michelle looked across the restaurant at Karl and tried to smile. It really was nice to be on a date with one of her own kind—a human. Karl was all class and it was nice to be wined and dined. The restaurant he’d chosen was five star and very elegant. It sure wasn’t any Trolly Cheese. 187

Why was she thinking of Dmitri again? Here she was on a perfectly good date, with a man who treated her like a lady, and she was thinking of that damned arrogant lycan! ARGH!!! 188

Michelle forced a smile. Determined, she vowed she was going to enjoy Karl’s company no matter what! She wouldn’t allow herself to find one flaw with him, though his smile wasn’t as cute as…. She was hopeless, utterly and completely hopeless. 189

“You certainly look delicious tonight, my dear,” said Karl with a wide grin. His eyes dipped over her shoulders. “Your skin looks like it would be comfortable to wear.” 190

Michelle blinked. Surely she heard him wrong. “Excuse me?”191

“Your skin, it looks soft,” said Karl with a handsome, seductive smile. 192

“Uh, thanks,” answered Michelle, confused. What exactly had he been talking about? She really needed to pay attention. “I moisturize.” 193

Karl chuckled and murmured, “Yes.” 194

Michelle opened her mouth to respond, but the waiter came to take their order. Instead, she just smiled and nodded her head. 195

~*****~196


“Yes or no, Mandy. It’s as easy as that.” 197

Mandy glanced at Dmitri nervously as he ushered Elizabeth and her pet Barbie from the overcrowded bathroom. Armando grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. He looked down at the ring on her finger and cocked an eyebrow. He wanted an answer and now. 198

“No,” she said, flatly. “I think that I could’ve done this before, but I can’t now.” 199

Armando didn’t move, and she was suddenly very aware of the fact that he wasn’t human. Fear gripped her and she tried to take a step back. He held tight to her and brought his face down hard and fast.200

Mandy thought that Armando was going bite her, but when his cool lips collided with hers she relaxed a bit and let him slide his tongue in. She pushed on his chest to keep him away, but it was pointless. The harder she tried to let herself go in his kiss, the more she thought about Elizabeth’s words.
Armando had gone back to her and had had sex with her. As strong as Mandy thought she was, she knew that she couldn’t get past that. She loved the man before her too much to be able to watch him continue to fall for his sire’s advances for the rest of her life. She knew that she wouldn’t live as long as Armando and the thought of him going back to his eternally beautiful, yet bitchy, sire sickened her.
She felt Armando in her mind again, scanning her thoughts. She didn’t bother to try and hide her concerns. There was really no point. She reached to take his ring from her finger and he pulled her close to him. 201

“I wish that you could read me as easy I can you. You would see that nothing happened between Elizabeth and I, and you would know that my heart belongs only to you.” 202

“Why’d you go back to her after you dropped her off?”203

Armando took in a deep breath and tightened his hold on her. “I will not lie to you, Mandy. I saw you having drinks with Dmitri, laughing and so happy, that jealously overtook me. I stormed away with the idea that I would make myself forget you, drown my pain away with sex.” She tried to pull away from him, but he refused to let her go. “I found myself back in Elizabeth’s room and….” 204

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN?” Dmitri’s voice interrupted them. 205

Mandy pulled back from Armando and they ran to the front of the club. Dmitri stood on the empty dance floor holding James by his collar. Mandy ran to Dmitri and put her hand on his arm. “Dmitri, you’re going to kill him.” 206

Elizabeth let out a laugh. “Have you taught her nothing Armando? James is already dead.” 207

“Would you please shut the fu….” 208

Mandy was cut short by a flash of blonde before her, and then a hard smack backwards. “Don’t touch my man!” 209

Armando appeared next to her, breaking her fall. “Are you hurt?” 210

“No,” Mandy said, glaring at the walking play toy. She got her footing and grabbed a chair. Armando tried to take it from her, but she growled at him. Mandy pulled the chair back and swung hard at Barbara’s back. Dmitri saw her coming and dropped James. Mandy struck Barbie between the shoulder blades with the chair and James stuck his foot out. Barbie fell flat on her face. 211

“Gee, I hope you didn’t pop a breast,” Mandy panted. James laughed, and Barbie snarled. 212

Dmitri put a foot on her back and looked at Mandy. “Care to explain?” 213

“Let’s just say that was for Michelle. I owed her one.” 214

“Michelle!” Dmitri cried out, turning his attention back to James. “You let her leave with Karl the Cannibal?” 215

“Who?” Mandy asked. 216

Armando and Elizabeth moved forward. “Michelle is with Karl?” 217

James nodded his head. “I didn’t think to stop her, she looked pissed.” 218

Mandy put her hands up in the air, signifying defeat. “Would someone pleeeze explain what the hell is going on?” 219

Elizabeth, the most unlikely candidate stepped forward. “It appears that your little friend has taken to a cannibal.” A wicked grin passed over her face, and she licked her lips. “I did so hope to get to taste that one. I liked her spunk. Too bad Karl got to her first…he’s not known to leave any leftovers. I didn’t expect him to work so fast, and he picked up the wrong girl. I told him to contact you, Mindy. I did so hope he’d make you his next meal.” 220

Dmitri growled and put his hand up as Armando tried to rush Elizabeth as well. “If anything happens to Michelle I’ll…I’ll…” 221

Elizabeth smiled. “You’ll what, wolf? You’ll give me an evil look? You will do nothing if you value your friend’s existence. He is mine, after all and to kill me could mean his death.” 222

Mandy tried to attack her, but Armando seized her around the waist and held her to him. “Calm down. We need to find Michelle. Do you know where he might have taken her?” 223

Mandy glared at Elizabeth and did her best to calm down. It was important to find Michelle fast. 224

She’d kill Elizabeth later. 225

~*****~ 226


The date was going well from what Michelle could guess. Karl was an odd man, to say the least, but just because he wasn’t Dmitri didn’t mean he was a bad guy. He seemed to have a thing for food. He kept sucking and savoring every bite. His eyes would dip over her as he did it, as if he wanted to suck on her. Michelle couldn’t say she was incredibly attracted to Karl, but the sexual attention was flattering and she would take it. After weeks of no sexual attention from a certain to-remain-nameless lycan, it was pure heaven to be desired. 227

“I’ll bet you taste just like chicken.” 228

Michelle blinked looking at Karl. “I’m sorry, I think the violin’s too loud. What’d you say?” 229

“Did you enjoy your chicken?” 230

“Oh, delicious, thank you.” 231

Karl nodded, smiling his debonair smile. He leaned slightly back as the waiter took their plates. When the man was gone, he lifted his glass of red wine and swirled it thoughtfully. 232

“Did you know,” asked Karl, musingly, “that when you consume a person’s body, you transfer some of their life’s essence into yourself.” 233

“WHAT?” 234

“Oh, I was just telling you about a tribe I studied in the West Indies,” Karl said, running a finger over Michelle’s wrist. She shifted in her seat and forced a nervous smile onto her face. Her cheeks flared red and she tried to look like she’d been following his conversation all along.