The Raven

Chapter 36 Turner Downer1


Michelle shifted a bit, feeling awkward in her own kitchen. While that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, it was unusual for her to be following at the heels of a sexy smartass. The man twisted a bit, clearly going out of his way to flex as he went. He sliced up the steaks, discarding the unsalvageable portions and tossing the rest into a large bowl. 2

“Got any lettuce in that fridge of yours, blondie?” he asked, his voice running over here, sparking things Michelle hated to admit the oaf could spark. 3

She narrowed her gaze on him. “Let me look, Neanderthal man.” 4

Dmitri pushed his chin out and made a primitive noise. “Me Tarzan, you good lookin’.” 5

“You jackass, me hungry. Cook or get out of my kitchen.” 6

“Is there a problem?” Conner asked, appearing in the doorway. 7

Michelle’s body lit at the very sound of his voice. Conner seemed to fill it up, appearing so much larger than life. She knew she should be happy to see him but the tiniest of sinking feelings crept up on her, almost as if it were a warning. She turned, her cheeks reddening and bit her lower lip. 8

With all the testosterone in the room, it was hard to concentrate. Dmitri cast Conner a rather hard look before glancing back at her. Michelle forced a smile to her face. She could do this. “No problem. Tarzan here is helping me out with salvaging the steaks I may have forgotten about on the grill.” 9


“May have?” Dmitri arched a brow. 10

She laughed, remembering the sight of several of the steaks engulfed in flames. “Okay, did forget about.” 11

Conner moved towards her, each step fluid, full of intent. What his intent was, she couldn’t be sure. The gleam in his eyes told her that it was something wanton. The moment his mouth captured hers, she knew how very right her instincts were.
His tongue found hers and she was powerless to stop him. Michelle let him lead the kiss, let Conner claim her mouth. The heavy weight of a stare pulled at her, tugging ever so slightly. It was bothersome but not enough to jerk her out of the moment. 12

As Conner broke the kiss, a slow smile spread over his face as he glanced towards Dmitri. “Thank you for coming to Michelle’s aid. Though, she had but to ask and I would have brought caterers in.” 13

“Oh, one of those,” Dmitri bit out. 14

“One of those what?” Conner asked, clearly annoyed with Dmitri. 15

“Those kind who make calls and order other people to do what he thinks he too damn good to do himself.” 16

Rolling his eyes, Conner sighed. “Oh, please. I have been condemned by worthy men, you, wolf, are anything but.” 17

Wolf? 18

Licking his teeth in a manner that was both suggestive and intimidating, Dmitri kept his grey-blue gaze trained on Conner. If she didn’t know better, Michelle could have sworn that Dmitri looked as though he were about to pounce on Conner, tear him limb for limb and then kick back with a beer.19

That would be so like him, she thought, stopping herself and shaking her head. I don’t even know him. How the hell would I know what he’s like? 20

Michelle stood silent, unsure what was going on. The vibe in the kitchen screamed jealousy, but why? Men. Hot men at that. 21

Ugh, did it really matter who helped with food? So long as she was fed she didn’t really care. Rolling her eyes, she eyed the phone. Ordering pizza was sounding better and better. 22


~*****~ 23


Garmor stood, silently observing the events unfolding before him. He’d been keeping a close eye on Michelle and Mandy, livid that another elder, Tru, would dare to interfere. The woman had been a thorn in his side since the dawn of time. The blasted pixie was too emotional to be an elder. Too woman. 24

He smiled. Yes, Tru let her emotions guide her better judgment. Though Garmor had no concrete proof, he knew in his gut that she’d been the one to warn the Fay, Muir, of the elders intentions of wiping Michelle and Mandy’s memories from them, stripping them of that which had wavered off the path of destiny. 25

Tru had always had a soft-spot for the man—something to do with being a blood relation, but he didn’t know all the details, nor did he care to find them out. No. Now, Garmor simply wanted the damn petite pixie bitch to be gone so she could no longer meddle. 26

He slammed his hand through the mystical viewing screen, causing the image of Michelle, the wolf and Conner to dissolve instantly. “Pavel!” 27

Light shimmered into his home as the shape of Pavel, elder to the catshifter tribes appeared before him. The man arched a brow. “You rang?” 28

“Have you come up with anything?” he asked, not bothering to go into details. Pavel was painfully aware that Michelle and Mandy’s situation had become more than an obsession to him. 29

Pavel nodded. “Yes, it would appear that Tru has set herself up to appear as a neighbor to the women.” 30

“A what?” he asked, too shocked to believe his own ears. “Are you telling me that Tru is planning on living among humans?” 31

Pavel’s lips curled. “Yes and from the way you say humans I see that your distaste of them rivals my own. Stupid creatures. What a perfectly good waste.” 32

“Of air?” Garmor asked, laughing. 33

“That too, but I was referring to meat.” The elder to the catshifters let his incisors lenthen. “Foolish laws forbidding our kind to prey upon them.” 34

“Yes, foolish indeed.” 35


~*****~ 36


“Enjoying your evening?” Muir asked, taking a sip from his beer as he lounged in the recliner. 37

Mandy stared up at the stars in the night sky and smiled. “Yeah, I am. Michelle pulled it off.” 38

Muir nudged his plate, at the foot of the outdoor lounge chair and winked. He’d not touched the food Michelle had prepared. “Well, she came very close to pulling it off.” 39

Snorting, Mandy leaned over and pushed her own plate beneath the chair she sat in as well. “She tried. That’s all that mattered.” 40

Muir stiffened. “Do you believe that, Mandy? Do you truly believe that when one’s intentions are honorable that regardless the result, they are to be forgiven?” 41

Glancing over the edge of her chair at Michelle’s ‘food,’ Mandy arched a dark brow. “Umm, it really wasn’t that bad, Muir. Geesh, add ketchup to it next time.”42

As she stared into his blue eyes, she saw a shadow pass through them as if he knew something she didn’t. Something huge. Perhaps he did. “Muir? Are you okay? You’re acting kind of odd…err…odder than normal.” 43

“Have you given anymore thought to what I suggested?” he asked, ignoring her question. 44

“Mandy?” 45

She froze as a rich, creamy, familiar voice moved over her. Turning, she glanced over the back of the chair to find the tall, Italian hella hunk from the night before standing there. His silky, long black hair hung in his face, slightly obscuring his sapphire blue eyes from her view. 46

“Armando?” Muir asked, sounding shocked. 47

Mandy’s eyes widened. “You know him?” 48

Muir’s gaze leveled on her as his lips drew in. “The better question is, do you?" 49

“I-I, umm, we met yesterday,” she stammered out, unsure why she suddenly felt the need to hide the fact she knew Armando. It wasn’t like she and Muir were an item.50

They were just friends. And Armando hardly seemed like a serial killer or anything.
No. The tall, toned man looked as though he could be related to Muir. Both had long black hair, blue eyes and bodies that while toned and muscular, were not over the top. Where Muir was jeans and a T-shirt kind of guy, Armando seemed to be the opposite, dressed in his black, flat front slacks and matching silk button up. 51

Armando looked from her to Muir and shook his head. “Have we met?” 52

Suddenly, the air around her seemed to literally buzz with tension. Mandy glanced at Muir, sensing it was his power that had caused the disturbance. He kept his gaze trained on Armando as he swung his long legs around and got to his feet. 53

In an instant, Muir was next to her, cupping her hand in his and bringing it to his lips.
“My sweet, Mandy. The hour grows late. We should retire now.” He kissed his way down her arm, sending tiny shivers of delight and confusion through her.54

Stupefied, Mandy’s jaw dropped as she stared at Muir. If she didn’t know better, she’d have said he was behaving like a jealous lover. “Muir?” 55

“Mmm, yes,” he purred, as he kissed her inner arm. 56

Yanking her hand back from him, Mandy backed up fast—too fast. The chair flipped along with her and he hit the patio with a thud. Another buzz filled the air, this one cooler than Muir’s. It wrapped around her, soothing her as she righted her now twisted dress. 57

Muir and Armando converged on her. She stood, dusted herself off and began a slow but steady laughing fit. They both just stared at her. Only she would manage to fall on her ass in front of two of the sexiest men she’d ever seen. Shaking her head, she looked up towards the sky. Someone up there was laughing their ass off at her. 58

She looked over her shoulder and spotted Michelle walking quickly across the yard. “I’m heading home, hon. Call me if you need me.” 59

“You are leaving?” Muir asked, reaching out to touch her. 60

Afraid she’d catch whatever bug he’d picked up that was making him act weird, Mandy took a tiny step back. Michelle rushed towards her. Their eyes locked and it was clear to see that Michelle wanted to talk. 61

“Yoohoo, girls!” a sharp, yet dainty voice called out, causing Mandy to huddle close to Michelle. 62

Michelle grabbed her hand. “No. Please tell me you didn’t invite her to my barbeque.” 63

Mandy’s jaw dropped. “Oh, like I’d invite Susie Sunshine.” 64

The tiny, waif of woman came rushing towards them carrying a covered dish. Michelle perked up. Mandy laughed. “Oh, she’s fine if she come bearing food, huh?” 65

“Of course, geesh, I’m a lot of things, a turner downer of good food is not one of them.” 66

Mandy arched a brow. “Turner downer?” 67

Michelle smiled, ignoring her teasing. “Tru, I’m so glad you could make it. What did you bring?” 68

Mandy snorted. “Not obvious at all.” 69

“Shut-up,” Michelle mouthed out of the corner of her mouth. 70

Tru smiled and her gaze flickered over Muir and then Armando. She stilled, only for a moment but long enough for Mandy to get the sense something was wrong. Something was going on. But what? 71

Pulling back the foil cover, Tru beamed. “I brought brownies.” 72

Brownies? What was I thinking about again? 73

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Chapter 37 Vampire Ball Part I84

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Garmor couldn’t hide his scowl as he listened to Pavel, the elder to the cat shifters, state his case. He’d heard enough about Conner being an innocent victim in Muir’s plan to salvage something of Michelle and Mandy’s past. “Enough!”
Pavel sighed. “It would be wrong to punish Conner.” 86

The man was clearly a moron if he thought Garmor could punish any of those involved. That damn meddlesome pixie, Tru, had seen to it that the elders could not interfere the way he normally would have—killing Muir, Armando, Dimitri and Conner. Hell, for good measure he would have issued the order to kill that other shifter, Mike, as well. 87

A knock on his chamber room door sounded and Garmor inclined his head. “Enter.”
One of his servants hustled into the room, keeping her gaze on the floor, knowing better than to meet his gaze head on. She held something in her hand that looked oddly like a paper coffin. He took it and instantly saw red. “That bitch has gone too far!” 88

Pavel and the servant jerked back slightly. It was Pavel who was brave enough to approach Garmor once more. “What is it?” 89

He flicked the invitation to a Halloween party across the floor and let
it skid to a halt all on its own. “Tru is throwing a party. It’s a vampire’s ball.”90

Arching a brow, Pavel seemed to weigh the significance of this. “But Armando is a vampire. Is she trying to push Mandy and Armando together by means of a party?”
The thought of striking Pavel dead on the spot to save mankind from the man’s stupidity did occur to Garmor but he held back. It was difficult. “Precisely.”91

“What are you going to do about it?” 92

“We were invited to a party. It would be rude not to attend.” 93


~*****~ 94


Michelle stared at the invitation once more, still unable to believe what she was seeing. “Mandy, the thing has real hinges on the coffin.” 95

“Yep,” her friend said, rifling through her walk-in closest. Mandy had gone into the closet with a mission to find them something perfect to wear to Tru’s party over an hour ago and had not been seen since.96

“Is it safe to say we need a search party for you now or should I hold off on the rescue dogs?” 97

A tiny, muffled laugh was the only response she got. Sighing, Michelle rolled onto her back and stared at Mandy’s ceiling. The woman had spent months painting a mural on it and the thing was downright spooky. Only Mandy would enjoy sleeping under something that looked to be depicting a legion of demons rising up from hell to claim souls. No, she didn’t expect her friend to paint daisies above her bed but she did think the various paintings framed on the walls were more Mandy’s speed. Each showed a couple in the act of sex. 98

Different positions, angles, and some downright impossible-looking poses graced each canvas. Now that was what she thought of when she thought of paintings in Mandy’s room. The woman had no off switch when it came to sex and as of late, neither did Michelle. 99

If she wasn’t sharing her bed with Conner, she was daydreaming about the all too arrogant guy down the street—Dimitri. Twice already she’d had to jerk herself out of thinking of him while Conner was kissing her body, caressing her slowly.
It had taken Michelle a good deal of time to allow Conner’s seductions to come to fruition and they were all he promised they’d be but for some reason, she couldn’t stop thinking about Dimitri. 100

Tru’s invitation fell to the floor and Michelle wondered if Dimitri would be there. Conner was out of town for the weekend on business and had insisted she spend time with Mandy and enjoy herself. 101

“Oh, how about this one?” Mandy asked, appearing from the black hole of clothing and holding up a long, black dress. The sleeves went to the floor as did the dress itself. That wasn’t the shocking part. The shocking part was the fact the dress dipped down in the front and would no doubt leave most of Mandy’s breasts showing as well as her navel. 102

“Umm, the dress is gorgeous but are you planning on taping it to you to keep it in place?” 103

“Oh, it’s not for me. I’m wearing the red one I showed you earlier. This one is for you.” A wicked grin spread over Mandy’s face. 104

“For me?” Michelle gulped and felt her cheeks flushing. 105

“I’ve got a black wig somewhere around here that would look great with it. I’m sure I’ve got an extra pair of fishnet stockings as well. You need to grab a pair of black heels and a black thong.” She bit her lower lip. “You do own heels and a thong, right?” 106

Michelle groaned. “Yes. You buy me thongs for every birthday and I’m pretty sure you’re the reason I have black heels.” 107

Mandy beamed. “You’re the reason I stopped sleeping naked every night.”“Okay, I’ll bite. Why am I the reason you stopped?” 108

“Because for my birthday’s you get me flannel pajama bottoms. I realized when they began overflowing in my draw that I should probably see what the appeal to them is.” Mandy shrugged. 109

“I’ve got to admit, they’re damn comfy.”110


~*****~ 111


Garmor stood glaring at the pink Victorian home decorated to look like a haunted mansion. “I cannot believe the nerve of that woman.” 112

Pavel snickered and quickly tried to cover it with a cough. “The invitation did state that costumes were required.” 113

It took everything in Garmor not to hit Pavel. “Yes, Tru made that abundantly clear when she refused to allow us to enter.” 114

“We could always zap ourselves into a costume. We are all mighty you know.” 115

He glared at his long time friend. “Did you miss the stipulations associated with Michelle and Mandy? We are not permitted to use our powers to interfere. Tru would get us on a technicality and bind our hands permanently.” Garmor glanced around and took a calming breath. “No, we will do as humans would.” 116

“And what would humans do?” 117

Garmor’s gaze landed on the neighbor’s house. Long sheets hung from the front porch. Each was spray painted with a number and “Go Team!” He nodded more to himself than anyone else. 118

“Come.” 119


~*****~ 120


Michelle held the bottom of her dress up enough so as not to trip. The idea of moving too fast in any direction terrified her. She’d no doubt pop right out of the thing and flash the entire room in the process. Mandy had been nice enough to use double-sided tape to help keep the dress in place but it wasn’t something that would hold up should strong winds come. Thankfully, Tru was holding the party indoors. 121

She eyed the room and did her best not to laugh. Leave it to Tru to go all out. Not an ounce of the place was left untouched by artificial cobwebs. Michelle’s gaze landed on Dimitri. He was dressed in a tux and had a long cape on. He was also staring at her like she was on the menu. 122

Her breathing grew shallow and she decided to flee instead of acknowledge him. Turning, she ran smack dab into someone wearing a sheet over their head. If they were aiming at being a ghost, they were sadly off course.123

Mandy moved up next to her and laughed. “I didn’t realize the haunted pep squad was coming too. Nice costume.” 124

Whoever was under the sheet growled and said something under his breath. Michelle couldn’t help but laugh as another ‘pep squad ghost’ walked in. It only took Mandy a second to jump on that one. 125

“Ohmygod, they travel in packs.” She grinned as she poked the first one in what Michelle could only hope was his ribs. “Did you miss the fact this is a vampire ball?” 126

The man grunted. Mandy ignored him and turned Michelle to face her. “Looks like someone here really likes your dress.” She tossed a glance over her shoulder at Dimitri and smiled wide. “Go talk to him, Michelle.” 127

“Umm, uhh.” 128

Rolling her eyes, Mandy snorted and took Michelle by the arm. “Come on. I’ll pick his jaw up and do my best to help you stop stuttering. Beyond that, the two of you are on your own.” 129


~*****~ 130


Dimitri loosened his collar and silently cursed Armando for insisting on the cape. Sure it was a vampire ball but his vampire best friend forgot to take into account Michelle. The minute Dimitri had spotted her in that all too revealing dress, his cock had hardened and the temperature in the room jumped dramatically. It now bordered on stiflingly hot. 131

His eyes widened as he watched Mandy leading Michelle towards him. Mandy had proven to be quite the little matchmaker and didn’t seem all too fond of the ultra-blond dumbass in Michelle’s life. That made Mandy all right by him. 132

Mandy thrust Michelle forward and Dimitri instinctively reached out to steady Michelle. His hands glided over her waist and his thumbs touched her bare skin. Instantly, his dick throbbed with need and he thought he might burst. 133

“Thanks,” she whispered. 134

“Take the heels off before you kill yourself,” he bit out. It wasn’t what he wanted to say but had fallen out all the same. Clearly he was tossing up walls in an attempt to protect himself from the minx before him. 135

She jerked back and glared at him. “Excuse me.” With that, she stormed off.
Mandy moved up next to him and tapped his shoulder. “Smooth. Real smooth.” 136

He shook his head. “The dress was your idea, huh?” 137

“How’d you guess?” 138

“You seem to get a kick out of torturing me.”139

Mandy winked and moved to follow Michelle. “The night’s young, Dimitri. Find her and tell her you’re an asshole. Since she knows it’s true but still seems to be able to look past it, I think she’ll forgive you.” 140

“Was that a pep talk?” he asked, doing his best not to laugh. 141

“No.” She pointed towards two figures wearing sheets. “For that you’ll have to ask number twenty-three and number forty-four.”