Night Play(23)

Had Fang not come along…

"Get up, little brother," he whispered. "You can't keep living like this."

Fang didn't acknowledge him at all.

Vane ran his hand over his brother's dark brown fur, then turned to leave him there.

In the hallway outside, he passed Aimee Peltier. In human form, she held a bowl of beef soup in her hands as she came from the direction of the stairs.

The only daughter of the bear clan, she was a tall, thin blonde with an exceptionally beautiful face. Her brothers had a full-time job keeping the human men from coming on to her whenever she helped out in the bar that was attached to the house.

It was a job they all took very seriously.

"Is he eating?" Vane asked her.

"Sometimes," she said quietly. "I got a little soup in him at lunch so I was hoping he might take some more tonight."

She'd been a godsend to him. Aimee alone seemed to be able to reach Fang. His brother seemed somehow more alert whenever she was near.

"Thanks. I really appreciate your watching over him for me." In fact, she spent a great deal of time with Fang. It was enough to make him wonder, but Fang hadn't moved out of his bed once since the night Vane had brought him here.

She nodded.

"Aimee?" he asked as she started past him.

She turned.

"Never mind. It was a stupid thought." There wasn't anything between his brother and the she-bear. How could there be?

Vane continued on his way down the hall, to the stairs.

He made his way downstairs, across the foyer, and into the small antechamber where a door connected Peltier House to the Sanctuary bar next door.

It opened into the bar's kitchen where two Were-Hunters, Jasyn Kallinos and Wren, were guarding it innocuously from the human kitchen staff, who had no idea why no one but a select few could pass through the doorway to the other side. It was mostly because those of the bear clan who had young kept their cubs on the top floor of Peltier House. Occasionally, one of the cubs would escape their nurse and roll down the stairs.

The last thing the Peltiers needed was for someone to call animal control on them for the unlicensed zoo that made their house a home.

Of course the idea of a human coming in and finding a wolf, panthers, lions, tigers, and bears asleep in their various beds was rather amusing to Vane. Or better yet, the dragon who slept coiled up in the attic. Someone really should keep a camera handy. Just in case.

Vane inclined his head toward Jasyn, a tall, blond Were-Hawk who was one of the deadlier inhabitants of the house. The price on Jasyn's head made a mockery of Vane's death sentence. Mostly because, unlike Jasyn, Vane only killed when he had to. True to his animal predatorial heart, Jasyn was in it for the thrill of the kill.

Jasyn lived to stalk and to maim.

As Vane neared the swinging door that led out to the bar area, it was slung back. Kyle Peltier came running through it in human form like a bat out of hell.

Vane stepped back out of the way.

Remi Peltier, one of the identical quads with long curly blond hair, tackled Kyle to the floor just in front of Vane's feet and started slugging his younger brother. Kyle tried to fend him off, but it was impossible. Remi was a much older, stronger bear who loved to fight.

Vane grabbed Remi and pulled him away before he hurt the cub. "What are you doing?"

"I'm killing Gilligan," Remi snarled, trying to get past Vane to grab Kyle again.

"I happen to like the song," Kyle said defensively, wiping at the blood on his lips as he moved to stand behind an unamused Jasyn.

Wren handed the cub a towel to blot his face.

Remi curled his lips. "Yeah, but we don't just play that damned song for the hell of it, you idiot. Half the friggin' clientele ran for the door."

Mama Bear came in from the Peltier House side to see Kyle bleeding.

"What on earth?" she asked, taking him by the shoulders so that she could examine his split lip. "Mon ange, what happened?"

All maturity left Kyle as he faced his mother. He even let a portion of his short blond hair fall into his blue eyes. "Remi attacked me."

Remi twisted his arm out of Vane's grasp. "He played 'Sweet Home Alabama' on the jukebox, maman."

Nicolette rolled her eyes at her youngest cub. "Kyle, you know we only play that when the Dark-Hunter Acheron comes through our doors as a courtesy alert to our clientele. What were you thinking?"

Vane stifled a laugh. Acheron Parthenopaeus was the leader of the Dark-Hunters. He was a man of many dichotomies and unbelievable power, and most everyone Vane knew was scared shitless of him. Whenever he entered the bar, most Weres, and all Daimons headed for the door. Especially if they had something to hide.

Kyle gave her a sullen look. "That it's a good song, maman, and I wanted to hear it."