Dark Breed

Play Date

2012-02-12T18:41:00.000-08:00

By:Dorothy F. Shaw and Terrance D. Hoffman

A quick short story written from the point of view of two characters. Ivy and Knox have never been paired before and work surprisingly well together as they take charge of an unexpected, though not out of the ordinary, paranormal situation that presents itself inside Ivy’s bar, The Dionysus Vine.

We hope you enjoy our first ever adventure in writing together, we certainly did.

~ ~ ~

The energy in the bar was on full blast, then again, Friday nights always were. Knox Barrett showed up out of the blue, sporting his motorcycle club patch on the back of his vest, per usual. The wolf loved to do that, especially when he was out of state. Crazy fuck.

He strolled through the door and up to the bar, perching on the stool at the end closest to the wall. The man was built like a brick shit house, long legs, long dark hair. His arms covered with tats, of course.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” I nodded, giving him a playful smirk.

“Cats don't drag me anywhere. Pussy? That's debatable.”

I snorted. “Trudat. How ya been, Knox?” I grabbed a rocks glass. “Set you up with a Whiskey? What kind again?”

“Lagavulin. Three fingers. Straight.” He tossed his pack of smokes on the counter.

“Breaking the bank tonight, huh?” I grinned. “You got it.”

I grabbed the bottle off the top shelf and poured him his three fingers and slid it over to him.

~~ ~

My night had been uneventful so far, but I hoped to change that. An old acquaintance owned a bar in this town and when I walked in, we picked up as if I’d seen her yesterday. Pleasantries exchanged, heh, if you want to call it that. I got what I wanted: Irish whiskey and a damn fine lookin' redhead to match shit for shit with me.

“Place is packed tonight, Ivy.” I downed the whiskey like I hadn’t had liquid in days. “Glad I came by. Got another?” I slid my glass back.

The vibe was thick in her bar and I felt the eyes of her customers’ nervously taking note of my entrance. I’d grown used to that shit, and didn’t give it a second thought. The scent in the air held lingering pain though, and that had my attention. One look at Ivy, once I got past her strong front she always had up, and I could tell I wasn’t the only one that knew something wasn’t right.

“Yeah, sure, I got plenty.” She filled the glass and sent it gliding smoothly across the polished bar top. “This one’s on you though.” She grinned as she locked eyes with me briefly before letting them dart to one of the dark corners of her pub.

I tipped the glass back and drained half of it before returning it to the bar and casually tracking her eyes to see what had caught her attention.

“You mean this one’s in me.” The burn caused me to hiss through my teeth before grinning back at her. “Might as well let me in on what’s grabbin’ your attention… before I start writing tickets for being stupid in a no stupid zone.”

I knew damn well what was up, or at least who was raising her shackles. We’d known each other long enough and butted heads enough that I had grown a lot of respect for the woman and her ‘no bullshit’ policy. That being said, I wanted her to verify what I sniffed on the wind before I stepped on her toes and took matters into my own hands.

~~ ~

“Caught that too, did ya?” I snorted a laugh.

Movement caught my eye to my left and I leaned over the bar. “Back off ya fuckers! This is a no stupid zone,” I yelled over the music to the two idiots that started wresting over a pitcher of beer. Roman bounced the door for me tonight. He hopped off his perch and moved to their table when he heard the growl in my voice. I turned my attention back to Knox. “That dark mother fucker over in the corner.” I motioned with my chin.

Knox looked across the bar to where I’d gestured. “Yeah, smelled him when I got here. I'm watchin’, but you already know that.”

“You and me both.” I wiped the bar down with one of the towels. The music changed on the juke and two of my girls jumped up on the bar top. For the next few moments, Knox became useless, staring up hungrily at one of my barmaids in a short skirt and corset dancing above him. Typical male.

I continued my way down the bar, refilled a couple of drinks and kept my eye on my visitor in the corner. The dude was definitely not human. I had no idea what the fuck he was, though. He had some serious energy rolling off him. It made my bones ache and I had to tamp down hard on the slow boil that started in my gut.

Knox wore a grin a mile wide when I wandered back over to him. “Pay attention. We might have some trouble over there.” I snapped my fingers in front of his face.

He swatted my hand away and chuckled. “You got some damn fine eye candy here. Where do I put the dollars?” He winked then his smile faded. “You want me to play or just wait for your lead? Your place and all.”

I grabbed the bottle, refilled his glass and leaned forward. “What the fuck is he? That's what I want to know. The energy pulsing off him is grimy.”

“You smell the blood rolling off him? It's thick and fresh.” He tipped the glass back and downed a swallow.

I looked over at my mystery guest, again. “Nah, doesn't work that way for me. I feel the waves of energy, and his is dark and dirty. And not a good dirty, either.” I smirked.

“A little play date with him might just get me some fun.” He grinned.

“Fun is fine, as long as it’s out back.” I scanned the crowd for my bar manager Olivia.

Knox swallowed the rest of his drink. “Better pour me another whiskey, otherwise it's libel to get ugly quick. Too much blood on him.” He growled and turned on the stool, facing our unknown.

“Think he's waiting on someone? That's my guess.” He stood up. “Gonna take a stroll. See what I pick up when I'm closer.” He walked away from his stool.

“Shit.” Tossing the rag down, I motioned for Olivia to come man the bar and I followed after him.

~~ ~

Ivy was tensing, not that anyone in the bar could tell, but I could smell it on her. As much as we had given each other shit over the years, I called her a friend and I wasn’t about to let something this disturbing go unchecked in my friend’s bar. As I stood from my barstool, Ivy motioned to one of her employees to get behind the bar. Guaranteed she’d want in on what I was about to do. That or she was still unsure as to how much of a scene I could make. She'd never seen me go all out. She had no idea.

Kicking the bar stool back under the lip of the bar, I took deep breath, tasting all the scents in the air. All of it pricked my senses: spilled beer, hard liquor, false bravado, arousal and blood. The jukebox blared and the conversations nearly overloaded my senses; I had to strain to separate all the sounds flooding my ears. My long, confident strides took me around the perimeter of the bar so I could better gauge my surroundings. The scent of recent blood grew stronger the closer I got to the back corner.

Ivy understood the purpose of what I was doing now, clearly evidenced in her calculating eyes and the way she carried her lean body. She watched me for a split second before she walked off in the opposite direction, effectively flanking my motions. She grabbed a couple empty bottles off a nearby table and tossed them in the trash. Perfect example of why I gave this woman my respect. She played it off like business as usual, but I knew her head was in the game.

I pretended to let the jukebox grab my attention, flipping through the selections as my ears twitched and I swallowed down the darkness flooding the atmosphere of the bar. Damn,this shit is heavy, what is this guy? I heard the entrance doors swing open and the air grew heavier, if that was even possible. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the stranger’s shoulders tense as he turned and looked towards the woman coming inside. Ah, that must be who he’s waiting for. I risked a quick glance towards Ivy and nodded.

Shit was about to get real.

~~ ~

I closed my eyes and took a breath when the female sauntered into my tavern. Ominous intent flowed out of her in chilling waves and penetrated deep in my chest. I had to grab the back of one of the chairs to steady myself. I shook my head and got a grip on my own inner vibration before it breached its boundaries and started obliterating the homosapiens enjoying themselves while filling my till. Nothing like killing your own customers to show appreciation for their business right? No thanks. I might be a monster, of sorts, but I wasn’t an asshole.

I glanced at Knox, who casually stood at the juke, seemingly unaffected, while I cleared the table in front of me of the empties that littered it. I knew he felt it too, every disgusting bit of it. Question was, could the two cohorts feel us? They certainly weren’t human, so chances were they could. My skin pebbled with goose bumps at the near-certainty of violence.

We both watched the tall and shapely dark haired woman make her way, purse in hand, to the back corner. She glanced over to me and smiled with lips painted bright hooker red, before she reached the back corner table. Her long locks of hair flowed over her shoulders and back as she situated herself in the seat in front of the being that’d clearly been waiting for her. One for both of us? Sweet.

She’d actually put her back to me, stupid bitch. I snorted and approached their table slowly.

“How you two doing tonight?” I smiled and placed a hand on the back of her chair.

“Step away,” the man with the malevolent energy growled, but didn’t take his gaze from his companion. The guy looked to be built pretty well, though who could tell beneath the dark coat he wore. His hair, like his female companion’s, was also black, but shoulder length and hung in dried, yet greasy clumps in his face. Weird and creepy. Yay.

I arched a brow at him and felt the familiar sizzle begin to burn in my eyes. What the hell was this… thing? I turned my gaze to the female and she smirked at me. Finally recognition dawned. I knew what she was. A fucking furie. What the fuck was a furie doing in downtown L.A., and in my bar no less?

Knox approached and corralled the other side of them. “Problem here, Ivy?”

~~ ~

I watched a look of revelation streak across Ivy’s face momentarily. She knew something now. I unfortunately, was still in the dark. All I knew was that the wolf inside me paced, completely pissed off and howling to get out. I tempered my beast. Normally, I would have already ripped this guy a new asshole for talking to my friend like that. This is the problem with being on someone else’s turf.

“You guys going to order something? Couple of beers maybe? I have a good house wine in the back.” Ivy kept her attitude in check as she continued to press our strangers.

The woman kept a smirk painted across her lips as she eyed Ivy and me.

The man stayed seated, with his shoulders hunched, unwilling to look at either one of us, maintaining his stare in the direction of his companion.

“Why don’t you just give us a few minutes there, sweetie,” the woman replied, her condescending tone resonating between them.

“I said step away,” the man repeated, his underlying growl punctuating every word.

“Show some manners, asshole,” I barked at the man.“Don’t make me drag you outta’ here by your pretty hair.”

I knew my eyes had already shifted from brown to yellow, then finally, blue. Every breath coming from my chest echoed with the growl of my beast clawing to get out. I paused, all too ready for the final trigger, before my wolf took over completely.

I wanted to rip this guy’s arms off and play the drum solo from Ina Gadda Da Vida on his chest. Would that be so bad? The entertainment value alone would grant me a standing ovation.

“This is a bar,” I growled. “In fact, this is her bar. So drink, or get out.”

Ivy glared back across the table at me; too bad I couldn't read minds. I knew she tried like hell to tell me something, but we were rapidly verging on the ‘way too fucking late’ stage.

~~ ~

Mother fucking hounds from hell! If Knox didn’t cool it down there would be a mess in my bar. I had to get control of this sitch, and damn fast.

I leaned forward and pinned the raven haired furie with a stare. “I know what the fuck you are, furie. Him,” I nodded in the dude's direction, “I’m not so sure of.” I sniffed. “What I want to know is what brings you here?” I kept my voice low, though I knew she could hear me. They both could, including Knox.

She straightened in her seat. “This is a private matter, none of your concern, maenad,” she sneered.

I snorted a laugh. “See, that’s where you’re wrong.”I poked my finger in her chest and she gasped. “You brought your dark shit energy into my bar, it’s now become my concern.”

Her companion stood up, and up… and up some more,and holy fucking Christ he was at least seven feet tall. How the hell had I not seen him come in?

Knox let a loud growl free and stepped toward the male. Shit, shit, shit. This was about to get fucking ugly real fast.

The guy cupped his hands in front of himself and a blue ball of light began building between them.

A fucking death sorcerer? No wonder they both felt so dirty to me. Damn it.

I grabbed the mage’s arm, my supernatural claws, long and curving, dug into his skin, through his coat sleeve. “Uh, uh, uh.” I tsked and shook my head as he turned to meet my stare.

My eyes burned and had gone full amber glow now, like they always did in times like these. Thank Bacchus we were in the back of the bar so none of my customers saw.

He froze, caught in my thrall, and the magic dissipated into nothing between his hands. “None of that sorcery shit in my pub. Get the fuck out now!” I shoved him towards Knox.

I turned and grabbed the furie by the back of her hair and pulled her up and out of her seat. “Walk with me, talk with me. The view out back is great.” I spun her and ushered her towards the back hall.

“Knox?”

“Right behind you.”

“Don’t go furry in here,” I said through clenched teeth, keeping a death grip on the furie’s arm.

~~ ~

I had Mr. Tall and Mighty locked in my grip with his arm twisted tightly behind his back. By the look of amazement on his face when I'd grabbed him, he hadn't anticipated what he walked into tonight. He didn't struggle as much as I expected him to. Either the guy was still trying to shake off whatever Ivy did to pacify him, or he had resigned himself to his fate. His feet stumbled a bit, but my death grip on his arm and upper body kept him upright. Yet another moment to be thankful for my strength.

“Keep movin’, Paul Bunyun. No need to make a scene in this nice establishment.” I pushed him further ahead, following Ivy’s lead.

Roman had caught sight of the disturbance and started to walk towards us when I looked right at him and shook my head, mouthing the words not this time. He, being the good employee he was, glanced at Ivy for confirmation and returned to his post at the door.

As we pushed through the hallway that led to the back alley, Ivy continued forward with the woman she had a hold of. Although I had more than enough to keep my attention, my nose started picking up the scent of something burning, or smoldering. I risked a quick glance around the hall, but nothing seemed amiss. I decided that Roman could take care of it if there was.

The steel back door to the bar slammed shut behind me as we pushed Ivy’s exciting patrons into the alley.

“Somebody better start talkin’, Ivy. I’m holdin’ on by a thread here.”

My beast, now done scratching to get out, squatted in full on attack mode. It felt like he had shredded the inside of my ribcage with his fangs. My shoulders had already begun to pop out of place and I could feel my ears and upper palate threatening to stretch out and begin my shifting process.

“Take a deep breath, puppy. We’re about to find out what's up.”

Ivy spun the woman around and stared at her intensely. Her eyes that had begun to glow inside the bar were now so bright they illuminated the furie’s features. Crimson light reflected off the bitch's skin and deep black hair. The tattoo of a serpent winding its way up the side of the furie’s neck and face, cresting at her temple, surprised me.

“What the fuck made you think—” Ivy started to question the woman.

“I hate it when you call me a puppy,” I growled.

“Not the time for that, Knox,” she snapped back at me.

“As I was saying,” Ivy took a calming breath. “What the fuck made you think coming here was a good idea?”

The furie straightened out her hair and clothes from being ‘Ivy handled’ and took an appraising glance over in my direction. She seemed to be a little shocked and put off by the way I easily kept her friend at bay. The problem was my mind still struggled to keep its hold on my human form and I’m sure that was evident to her as well.

“He going to be ok?” The furie motioned in my direction and grinned.

“The better question is whether or not your friend will be. You better start talking before I tell Knox it’s okay to go Cujo on your boyfriend's ass.”

~~ ~

The twit struggled to avert my gaze. “I told you, it’s a private matter.” She glanced over at Knox and the mage he still had a grip on. “I only needed to consult with my companion there, and your bar is known among our kind as a place we could do that.” She winked at the tall sorcerer when their eyes met, and with that, I took a step back.

We were about to be in trouble.

“Knox, whatever you do, don’t let go of his arm.” My hair ignited into flames, the result of my power beginning to surge through me. I heard a quick scuffle to my left and spared a quick glance at Knox who’d been tossed off like a paper sack. Fuck.

Knox grunted as he hit the pavement and rolled once. He was back on his feet almost faster than I could track, fur already beginning its flow over his skin.

The sound of bones popping as he grew another foot or so in height reached my ears, and holy shit, I actually cringed a little. It looked like it hurt.

His jaw elongated into a snout. His metamorphosis now complete, he tossed his head back, mouth full of fangs glowing in the dim light of the alley way, and let out a howl that shook the ground beneath my feet. Shit, he was beautiful like that.

A blast of cold air hit me, knocking me back a few feet, reminding me that I had my own bitch to deal with. The furie was conjuring a storm in my alley to kick this shindig into gear. Little did she know it was last call for her ass. I intended to end this… end her.

She’d produced some sort of blade, a curved one about eight inches in length and two inches wide. Where the fuck had she been hiding that?

“Your kind isn’t welcome in my bar when you can't behave,” I said and raised my arms to my sides. I readied myself to throw all my maenad power at her. Furies were vicious fighters, pretty much my match where the gods were concerned. Only one of us would come out of this alive, and I planned on it being me.

“I was behaving, or at least I planned to.” She smiled and twirled the blade in her hand.

I let out a vibrating shriek and she stumbled back a few steps. “Not with the dirty energy that rolled off of both of you,” I hissed. My hair flew around my head in the storm she had brewed, flames licking out from the ends of my swirling red locks, as I hit her with another blasting pulse.

She screamed and dropped the blade.

There we go. I’d been ready to tear her arm from her body. I had claws for a reason, they came in handy.

“For fuck’s sake, Ivy. That shit hurts!” Knox bellowed.

A blue ball of flames whizzed past me, just missing my head. Fucking sorcerers. “Can you not control his ass? Come on puppy, bite him or something.”

“Fuck you.” Another growl.

Knox ran head first into the sorcerer, knocking him back about fifteen feet into the alley.

I took my opportunity and reached for the black haired beauty cowering before me and gripped her jaw, digging my claws into her cheeks. “We done playing yet?”

“Not… yet…” she gritted out and the dumpster behind me flew towards Knox.

“Knox! Behind you,” I yelled. “You fucking hussy.That is so going to cost you.” I slammed my forehead into hers, once, then once more for good measure. The velocity of it forced my claws deeper into the flesh of her cheeks and her jaw started to pull free from the rest of her face. I was pissed.

She let out a gurgled cry, choking on the blood pouring into her mouth from the wounds I’d inflicted, then her eyes glossed over.

I pressed my body firm against hers into the wall behind her. “Come on, sweetheart, stay with me.”

She focused on me then, her eyes doing that bleeding thing they tended to do when using their power, mixing with what was now oozing down her neck. So gross. I could feel mine glowing brighter than the sun.

I seized control over her mind and body, finally. I wasn't about to let this bitch into my head to conjure any sick hallucinations. Furies were quite capable of that, and more.

We were about to be done here, as long as Knox got the sorcerer under control.

“Cover your ears, Knox.” Turning my focus back on my little prize, I let the vibrations inside my body go and the ear splitting ringing sound came forth, bouncing off the walls of the buildings bordering the alley.The wind grew furious again, whipping dust and debris around us, this time brought on by my own power.

The tall, pretty furie started screaming. Such a fitting musical tribute to my god.

Distantly I heard Knox yelling, too, but I had no idea if it was because of me or the sorcerer. I hoped for the latter. Didn't want to damage my friend.

I knew the exact moment her internal organs turnedto mush. She just sort of… sagged against me and the blood flowing from her eyes and jaw slowed to a slight drip, then finally stopped.

~~ ~

A heavy clang resounded off the walls of the alleyas the dumpster slammed into my shoulder. It stung and knocked me back a handful of steps, but I was too angry to let the pain get to me. My claws were at full length as I narrowed my gaze back to the sorcerer.

He scrambled to get to his feet and collect himself for attack.

I wasn’t having any of that. With overwhelming speed and my fangs bared, I leapt at him, aiming for his throat.

He managed to dart to the side and surprised me with another of his conjured magical blasts, hitting me in the ribs. I yelped as I rolled into a crouch position and sprung back at him. This time I connected with all my weight behind me taking him down to the pavement. I sank my claws deep in his torso.

His eyes rolled back and he shrieked in agony.

“Finish that shit up, Knox.” Ivy hollered over her shoulder without taking her gaze off the furie.

“Fuck off and take care of your bitch.” I growled back through clenched teeth.

I removed one of my claw tipped hands from his side and grabbed the sorcerer around the throat. Shoving my muzzle into his face, I snarled and snapped my teeth at him.

“I told you to use your manners, fucker.” My animal growl punctuating every word. “Now it’s too late.”

Blood oozed from his nose and mouth. I had effectively punctured both his lungs with my claws. My jaws came down with vicious speed and eviscerated the front of his throat. I ripped my head back and spit the chunk of his flesh on the ground. My beast wasn’t convinced the job was done and I punched through the mage’s sternum with a loud crack of shattered bone.My fingers wrapped around the dark greasy lump of flesh I assumed was his heart and pulled it free of its protective cage. You can never be too sure with these immortal types. Content, I stood, heart still in hand and reared my head back in a victorious howl.

Breathing hard, I kicked the mage’s body over for good measure, and turned to face Ivy and the furie. Blood ran from the furie's eyes and what was left of her jaw, she glowed eerily from the light emanating from Ivy. I knew Ivy was full of old power, but I’d never seen her actually release it on someone. Holy shit, that’s one bad bitch.

“All done…” still catching my breath I panted,“here… What about… you?”

The furie looked like a corpse. Her skin had lost its luster rapidly and her body sagged against Ivy. She let the body drop to the ground in front of her and slowly began returning to her normal self, extinguishing her hair and letting the glow leave her eyes.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” I growled. “And, damn, that shit hurt my ears.”

“Ancient Roman secret, puppy.” She giggled. “Gods, that felt good.”

I felt the tension start to slip out of my body and began to slowly shift back to my old self. Blood still ran down my jaw and chest, and I was left standing in the alley with nothing on but my jeans, boots and my vest.

“Nice.” I grinned. “Um… what are we gonna do withthese two?” I licked the blood off my lips and started cleaning my fingers. “You got a shirt I can have? I think mine’s done for.” I chuckled.

Ivy eyed me up and down, but didn’t miss a beat and started for the door back to her bar.

“I got what you need, puppy. Come with me.” She snorted and opened the back door to the bar.

“I hate it when you call me puppy,” I grumbled and followed.

~~ ~

I ushered Knox into my office and tossed him a clean shirt. One with the name of my bar on it; advertising helped, you know.

“Put that on and go get that dumpster back in place. Tuck them away in there for now.”

“Nice. Done this before eh? He grinned.

“Done what before?” I winked. “After closing we’ll take a nice drive out to the desert.” I nodded. “The stars are always so prettyout there.”

“Whiskey on the house?”

Damn wolf is going to drink me out of house and bar.“Yeah, puppy. I think I’ll have one with you this time.” I laughed.

“One more question, Ivy. What the fuck is a furie?”

~ ~ ~

If you want to read more about Ivy or more by Dorothy F. Shaw, you can click these links:

http://thetasteofivy.blogspot.com

http://www.dorothyfshaw.com

Dark Breed - The Beginning

2011-11-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

Prologue

1966 – Germany,American Military Medical Unit

He awoke in a rush, blood pounding through his veins. Withhis body in a weakened state, he struggled to sit up, coughing and tryingdesperately to pull the oxygen mask free of his face. His eyes darted aroundthe room as memories of where he was and the vast amount of tests he hadundergone to volunteer for this procedure, came flooding back to him. As hefought to calm himself, he rubbed his eyes, willing his vision to stabilize. Heturned his head to see if the other men had started to come around. Theconsistent beeping of electronic devices in the room created an exotic cadencewhile men in long white lab coats read their clipboards and conducted theirexperiments. How long have I been out?

The various medical personnel checking charts and shufflingaround the large recovery room caught his attention as he took stock of hisbody. The hairs on his arms felt hyper charged with sensitivity. He couldn’tremember the smell of the disinfectants and sterilizing chemicals being sooverwhelming. Tentatively, he took in a deep breath and noticed that he couldstart to separate faint odors of the personnel’s different antiperspirants aswell as the few who chose not to wear any at all. Beeping from the nearby heartmonitor thundered in his ears and the awareness that his senses were onoverload made his heart race, forcing the monitor to speed up. A doctor, acrossthe wide open recovery room, jerked his head at the escalating alert and putdown the vial he had been holding to walk to the foot of his bed.

“Sergeant Andrews, nice to have you back with us. How areyou feeling?” The doctor grabbed for his personal chart hanging on the end ofhis gurney. “Any severe pain? Any trouble breathing?”

His throat ached from intubation during surgery, forcing hisreply to a strained whisper. “How’s Dub? Is he awake yet?”

“Sergeant Thomas is doing just fine, he is still resting. Now,back to my questions, focus for me Sergeant.”

“Yes sir, I’m feeling okay. Just a bit groggy still, sir.”

First Sergeant Anthony “Blaze” Andrews, along with a dozenother men, had been selected to volunteer for a top secret project to “enhance”a soldier’s ability. Master Sergeant Walter Thomas—Dub to his friends—wasBlaze’s best friend and had also passed the tests required to volunteer forthis experimental procedure. Heightened senses were expected results of theprocedure and Blaze wondered if this was a success, with physical reactionsbeing the true test.

The medical facility had scheduled intensive rehabilitation,including mental and physical courses, for the men. Blaze was a man of actionand had every intention of getting the worst of it behind him as fast aspossible and hoped his buddy, Dub, would be there with him the whole way.

10 months later, on leave in Saigon

“This round is on me Dub.” Blaze downed a shot of whiskey. “Wherethe fuck did they send you this time? I just got back from a little shit hole,deep in the North.”

A feral grin tugged at Dub’s lips. “Same here. They sent mein to take out some pain-in-the-ass officer.” He slammed back the rest of hisdrink. “I ripped him apart.”

“You didn’t take him out from a distance? You used to lovejust sitting on a hill and waiting for the target.” Blaze absently motioned tothe bartender. “Just leave the bottle.”

“Fuck that,” Dub growled back. “I snuck in the window, tiedand gagged the bastard.” His eyes glazed over as he shared his conquest. “I wasso fuckin’ amped up, I grabbed the woman he had with him and fucked her while hewatched. Then I gutted him with my BFK.” His voice barely contained the evilchuckle under his breath.

“What the hell is happening to you, Dub? That shit ain’tlike you.” Blaze leveled his eyes to meet his gaze with anger. “You didn’t pullthis shit before. What’d the woman do to you?”

“Fuck you, Blaze. You don’t know shit. Don’t tell me youcan’t smell the fear on their skin. Tell me that shit don’t drive you mad. Thatit doesn’t make you want to get up close and personal.”

“Bullshit. Attacking the woman? That ain’t you. You’reacting like a fuckin’ animal, Dub.”

Swallowing back another shot of whiskey, Dub grinned. “Exactly,Blaze… Exactly.” He slammed the shot glass down on the bar.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Don’t give me that shit. You know damn well who I am—thesame monster as you.”

Blaze stood up from his barstool, his emotions raginginside, and stared directly at who he thought was once his friend. “I may be amonster, Dub. But I’m nothing like you.” A snarl traced across his lips,intensifying his posture as his body seemed to double in size. His chestswelled and his muscles pushed at the confines of his skin. “Don’t ever makethat mistake again. We are not the same.”

“Who the fuck do you think you’re foolin’ here?” His handcame up to grab Blaze by the arm.

Blaze spun around and slammed his open hand into the man’schest, sending him crashing to the floor in a tangled mess of bar stools andalcohol. Bottles and glasses tumbled off the bar shattering on the floor aroundhim as nearby patrons scrambled to get out of the way.

“I don’t know you anymore,” Blaze growled out, his voice alow, menacing baritone. “I don’t want to know who the fuck you’ve become,either. Don’t cross my path again, Dub.”

1971 – Seoul, Korea, AmericanMilitary Base Landing Field

Anthony “Blaze” Andrews stood on the tarmac with his dufflebag slung over his shoulder. He awaited the clearance to board the planeheading to Germany and then back to the States. He finally received his papersand it was time to go home.

“First Sergeant Andrews,” a Corporal yelled as he rantowards him from the main office. “First Sergeant Andrews, I have a message foryou from the Base Commander.”

“Yes, Corporal. What is it?”

“The Base Commander thought you would want to know thatMaster Sergeant Thomas was killed in action. The Commander felt you deserved toknow about your best friend, sir.”

Void of any emotion, Blaze didn’t even blink as he stared atthe man. “Thank you Corporal, but my best friend died years ago.”

Chapter 1

Present Day

The last vestige of sunlight trailed across the top of the Rockies. Wispy clouds caught the final rays of anotherbeautiful sunset and painted the sky in hues of deep violet and magenta. Hestood inside the window of a high rise condo in the city, his muscled bodyadorned with tattoos. A tapestry of nightmares, conquests and beautyintricately woven into his skin with very little space left unadorned. His faceglowed with the bronze color of sun worship, while his eyes stared out thepicture window, his soul locked away and buried deep within himself. Anothernight of fun and frolic, another night of meaningless fornication coupled withaggression and release.

“Why are you staring out the window, Knox? Aren’t you comingback to bed?” Her voice sounded exhausted as she whispered from disheveledsatin sheets.

He pulled a long drag off his Camel Filter cigarette as hewatched the light fade behind the mountains and the first stars twinkled intoview. “Not this time, babydoll. We hadour fun, but I gotta get going.”

He looked over hisshoulder to the brunette laid out amongst the sheets. A thin sheen ofperspiration glimmered across her lithe body as she shifted to her side to meethis gaze. The sheets barely covered one of her long legs. Her thick lashes layupon half closed lids, a seductive look she had practiced over and over, hethought.

Wearing nothing but his Levi’s 501 blue jeans, he grabbedhis socks and glanced around for his boots on his way to the chair in thecorner of her room. Knox stabbed the remainder of his cigarette into theashtray, his well worn engineer boots slid on easily as his eyes scanned theroom for his shirt. After one more appreciative leer at her naked body, hefound his shirt hung on the lampshade next to her bed.

Damn, she really does look like her, doesn’t she? Hisbrothers constantly accused him of that. He never consciously went looking forthe same woman, but he always ended up finding her. One name echoed off thewalls of his mind and heart: Clarissa. She was the reason he didn’t stick around. “Love‘em and leave ‘em” had become his motto. Knox had to give her up and didn’twant any other, yet all the one-night-stands eerily screamed her name to himover and over. Why did it have tochange? Why did I have to change?

He trailed his fingers along her silky thigh on his way tothe lampshade and retrieved his shirt. He tossed it over his head and pulledhis long black hair through, letting it drop heavily across his back.

“God, I love your hair. You sure you won’t reconsider?” Shepurred and ran her fingers along the curve of her breast.

After he tied his hair back with a strip of leather, Knoxabsently looked towards the breakfast bar for his guns. He grabbed his twin SigSauer.45 handguns, nestled in his shoulder holsters and strapped them on.

“I got shit to do, babe. The brothers are calling me.”

The brothers, yup… my only family now. Only he could hearthe faint howl of wolves on the air. A low, melodramatic drone rode along thewind and called to his over-sensitive ears. He grabbed his black denim vestfrom the bar and swung it over his back. Adorned with patches, it meant more tohim than even his Harley. The bike could be replaced, his “Cut,” his station inlife, could not. He had worked hard for it, shed blood and traded his soul, foreverything that it stood for.

The patches on the front proudly proclaimed who he was,where he’d been, and what he’d done. The back was reserved for three patchesonly. The rabid visage of a howling wolf in the center with an “MC” to theright side, balanced out with top and bottom rockers that simply read “DarkBreed” and “Colorado,”respectively. If there were any doubt as to his approachability, that justslammed that box shut.

“Another time, babe. Duty calls.” The thought Not GonnaHappen raced through his mind.

He lit another cigarette and tied his blood-red bandanaacross his forehead before he escaped through the door. Those chicks were allthe same. They loved the club and all the brothers. Really they just wanted tofeel some portion of the respect the Club commanded wherever they went. PackRats, Alpha Chasers, Breed Bitches. They all got referred to as that. None ofthem anything like his Clarissa.

A deep cadence from his boots echoed off the walls of thenarrow corridor as he made his way to the elevator. He punched the call buttonand snuffed out his cigarette on the bottom of his boot while waited for theding of the elevator door. Stepping inside, he pushed the button for the garagelevel and the doors closed around him but not before he tossed the remainingfilter into a nearby potted plant.

The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors opened toreveal his Harley Davidson motorcycle parked close to an exit as was his usualcustom. Crimson red with plenty of chrome, the bitch looked fast parked. Heloved her for the long rides and peace she brought him. He hated her for allthe busted knuckles he suffered working on her and the many times caught ridinghome in the rain. At the same time, she was the sexiest thing on the road, andthe physical manifestation of the remainder of his sanity.

The familiar howl pounded at his eardrums, growing louder ashe realized he needed to get his ass moving or he would be late for Church. Thislife meant everything to the members of his club. They lived together, breathedtogether, bled together and, on some nights, bedded their females together. Whenit became essential for the brothers to be at every one of their weekly clubmeetings, they started referring to them as “Church.”

As his bike roared to life, the loping vibration of the 120cubic inch motor helped him focus on the task at hand, and he tore out of thegarage into the night. The transmission slammed between gears as his speedincreased. His bike leaned with ease as he weaved through light traffic. Thelights burned past him as he started to expand the distance between the cityand himself.