The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) Read online

  The home seems to have a large square footage, was recently built in the past five years, tan with a two car garage and a privacy fence in the back. There’s nothing to make this home stick out and that’s the point. We are to keep a low profile. Still, given that I am used to living in mansions, this will take some getting used to. But how can I even complain? Damien had set this up while I was gone to make sure I’d be safe.

  He walks inside with us giving us a tour of the house and also the security code to the alarm system. I have to admit that Damien did an excellent job with the design and layout. The first area of the house is the living room and dining room. The dining room has a nice square mahogany table with a dark brown contemporary rug with red and yellow swirls under it. There is a large mirror covering the wall that is almost 3D in its design. The living room has a black leather sectional, ottoman, beautiful forest green throw pillows that are nearly the color of Selene’s eyes, paintings with various greens and yellows, and a large glass table with a small silver statue of two women embracing on it. There are two silver lamps on either side of the sectional and an area rug that seems to pull it all together.

  Next, is the kitchen tour. Selene practically has an orgasm when she steps into the fully equipped kitchen with a center island. All the appliances are stainless steel and ready for her use. I have always tried to steer clear of any kitchen and I don’t foresee myself hanging out in here any time soon. The stove is gas and seems to have way too many knobs and buttons for me. Our sink even has a purple tiled backsplash wall. The counters are granite with multicolored flecks. The cabinets are mahogany as well as the pantry doors. There is no food in the house since he didn’t know when we’d be coming, so luckily we’d grabbed a few groceries on the way.

  Three steps down, lower than the area the kitchen, living room, and dining room sits is a den or family area. This room has a sixty inch flat screen mounted on the wall with speakers on each side. The cream suede couches in here are accompanied by a comfortable looking red chaise lounge. There’s not much else to this room which is fine because Damien’s done so much already.

  Our bedroom is upstairs from the main level and as we trek down the hall, I am glad that our room at least has a walk in closet and a master bathroom. These are two things I just can’t compromise on. The bed is a memory foam king with a black and gold comforter set and large headboard. I have to refrain from jumping in like a little kid. On each side of the bed are two nightstands with small bendy lamps.

  We also have two spare rooms and a large finished basement with nothing inside of it, making it perfect for training.

  Last, we go into the garage where there is not only a black Ducati parked, but a silver Jaguar. I give Damien a big hug.

  “Hey, I can’t let you just lose your love of nice things completely. Besides, most people have average looking houses but really nice cars or bikes. You won’t stick out with these in the city,” Damien tells me.

  “You’re right, but next time keep in mind that I like Lamborghinis too,” Selene jokes.

  “Well, once this shit is settled and Rayne stays safe, I’ll buy you two of them,” Damien promises.

  “I’m gonna hold you to that then,” Selene responds.

  We all stand there for a few minutes without anymore words, letting reality finish sinking in. This will be the last time for a while that I’ll be able to meet with Damien in person. This is the start of what I had fought so hard to do. I’m becoming that much closer to meeting my goal.

  “Thank you D. I owe you more than I could ever repay. I love you,” I tell him as tears threaten to blur my vision.

  “Just do what you have to do so that we can all start over. I love you too, always have. One more thing I forgot. I need to run to my car.” A few minutes later, he comes back in the house with a small box of things.

  “What is it?” I ask standing on my tip toes, trying to peek.

  “This was all the stuff in Jason’s office that I kept for you. I know that we had to burn down your house so everything else was mainly lost, so I knew you’d want to have something.”

  “Thank you. This means so much,” I tell him, my heart beating fast as I pull out a picture of the four of us. We had taken this picture on a vacation in Costa Rica four years ago. I can still feel the waves splashing on us just after the picture was snapped. My dad was holding my mom close and Jazzy was trying her best to give me bunny ears.

  This is the first time in over a year that I have even seen a photo of my family. Suddenly, it becomes too much as I touch each smiling face. I clutch the picture to my chest, set the box on the counter and kiss Damien on the cheek before I turn away and leave the room. Neither he nor Selene calls out to me. They allow me my sorrow in peace.

  When I come back out, Damien is gone and Selene is sitting on the couch with her legs crossed going through the papers and other items that he left for us. She looks up when I come into the room.

  Hey meu amor, how are you feeling?” she asks, her accent like silk.

  “I’m better. Can you show me what he left?”

  “Sure. There are a lot of documents to go through, but the basics are that you are now Kennedy Hopkins, twenty three, from Chicago, Illinois. You moved here two months ago and you were a ward of the state. No one knows who your parents were because you were left at a hospital when you were born. Apparently though, you have a pretty hefty bank account due to the fact that you were the victim of sexual harassment by a wealthy businessman at a company where you were interning that paid you off to keep you quiet.”

  I nod as I commit it to memory and also smirk at the background, surely he could have thought of something better, but I guess it’s just enough to explain my lack of work history and the amount of money that I have. One good thing about being gone for so long though, is that as long as I changed up my style frequently, mannerisms, and wore a pair of sunglasses or something when I went out, people wouldn’t really remember me. To the public, I’d just look familiar, they may ask my name, but then once I said I was Kennedy Hopkins from Chicago, they’d move on. We humans have a short attention span like that.

  “There are also a couple credit cards, two secure cell phones, account numbers, our keys, and things like that. Basically anything that we might need immediately, we have.”

  I look through all the paperwork a few times before I grab what I need and put the rest in the safe that he had built into the wall. Next, it’s time to go shopping and make plans for the rest of the night. I need to find that lamia, and to do that, I have to find out where it was hunting. I use my cell phone to browse the internet to see if I can find any hits on child disappearances in the immediate area, but there are none in the last week and I remember that Diana also said that I have to check other nearby cities and that if they are street kids, it may not get reported at all. Maybe I’d have to do it the Buffy way and go on nightly patrols.

  It takes us about ten hours to do all the shopping that we need. Rebuilding a wardrobe is a difficult job, especially when I quickly regain my love of fashion and “must” buy myself sexy things, everyday things, and also clothes to fight in. A lot of those clothes to fight in are also sexy. Leather jackets, leather boots, half shirts, half jackets, sexy rompers, low cut tank tops, and more. Hey, I am still a woman after all. I can avenge my family and look good doing it.

  Selene and I argued the whole time about what I needed right now and I ended up convincing her to let me pick out her clothes too. Let’s just say we’ll be the best dressed lesbian supernatural couple in town. I don’t even know why she was even pretending to complain. She adores my taste in clothing.

  Tonight, Selene is taking me to this club called Obsession and it is mainly all Wolf. If we wanted to find Anubis, he’d almost certainly be there. It is getting close to the full moon and wolves are looking for a mate to run with. That’s what they call it when they change under the moon, hunt, run free, and then have sex afterward. Even though a black market pill was developed years ago t
o keep wolves from having to change, the urge still drives their nature and many still choose to turn anyway. It will be packed in there tonight she promised.

  It does make me wonder just how many lesbian wolves are out there and how many she’s hooked up with. I know that there are hardly any gay male wolves because the urge to mate and make pups is very strong in a male wolf. It just doesn’t happen much.

  I guess survival-wise, wolves probably have the shortest life span due to the high possibility of being killed by other packs, their own pack if they break pack rules, killing themselves when their mate dies, or if they lose control of the Wolf inside. It is almost imperative to find a mate and have children to keep their numbers. In countless places in Europe, the war between Vampires and Wolves wiped out their numbers so great that they have yet to recover. Thankfully, there isn’t much bad blood between the races in America, or so I was told.

  Werewolves, luna dasa, lycans, vrkolak, whatever you want to call them are interesting creatures. Their nature keeps their body temperature slightly higher than a normal human due to their crazy metabolism. They also seem to age very slowly, possibly because of their natural healing process. It seems to treat aging like a disease. A werewolf may not have the life span of a vampire, but beating the odds against them, they could very well live to be one hundred fifty years old.

  I have just enough time to re-color my hair, then style it so that it’s partially covering my eye and also framing my face. Then, I decide to throw on a white v-neck half shirt with some dark blue low rise denim jeans. I also throw on my white leather boots and a red leather jacket and a red belt to stand out. If the club is going to be as crowded as she claims then I want my auburn hair and red jacket to bring me some attention, but also keep me prepared for a fight. Since I’m human, there’s no doubt I’ll be getting tested tonight. But, I can’t bring Katsu, my sword, with me. Not in a place like that, they’d never let me in the door.

  When Selene’s finally done, she ends up wearing a sexy ass black dress that hugs her round butt. I have to keep myself from slapping it one good time. Half of her long dark hair is up, with the other half falling in front of her breasts. When she pulls her hair out the way, I notice that the v-cut is so low that it’s almost to her belly button. My eyebrows rise in surprise.

  “I didn’t buy this one,” I say.

  “I bought this one while you weren’t looking,” she tells me all innocent like.

  “Sneaky, sneaky, you.”

  She does a slow twirl so that I can drink her all in with my eyes. “I wanted to surprise you. Do you think it’s too much? I know I don’t usually wear these kinds of clothes,” she says, growing a little insecure.

  “Baby, you look sexy as hell. If I wasn’t going to get into a fight on my own, I most certainly will now, poking people’s eyes out and ripping prying hands off of you,” I tell her, trying to sound jealous and protective.

  “Yeah, about that, we will have to go in separately. I don’t want them to know we’re together just yet. I want to see how they react to you first. I will go in, scope the place out, and then send you a text to let you know when it’s safe. Feel like riding the Ducati alone tonight?”

  “If you think that’s best. You know more about this than me. I’m going to just follow your lead and hopefully find some information that’s worth all the trouble,” I tell her as I anticipate the worst. “And what if they don’t even let me in?”

  “Then you make them,” Selene responds simply.

  “Great.” Just great.

  “It’s now or never Rayne. Welcome to my world.”

  “Yeah,” I say. “Thanks for the invite.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  It feels amazing to have the wind whipping against me on this beautiful night as I follow Selene to club Obsession. The ride is so smooth that I almost want to keep riding and put off what we are to do for another night. I know that isn’t possible though, so I have to get my head in the game. After all, who really knows what I’ll be walking into? I need to focus. This will be the first time I’ve really walked among supernaturals knowingly. I’ll be a super-minority.

  Once I see where Selene stops, I roll around the blocks for about five minutes before I check my phone. I get the okay to come in so I park my bike further down the street and make my way to the door. The street itself is empty of people but there are a lot of cars parked outside. The streetlights are on but they are shining low. I wonder if that was purposely done. Pop music is bumping faintly inside and I realize how much I miss going out.

  The building itself is nothing spectacular to look at and it doesn’t stand out in any way. There isn’t even a sign that announces that it’s a club. Before I even get about twenty feet away from the door, an overwhelming sense of wrongness hits me and I almost turn away. Then, I remember what Selene told me about the spells that almost all clubs for “other” races use to keep humans out.

  The spells are supposed to unconsciously make people too afraid or uncomfortable to go inside. Sometimes people would get so afraid that they’d get sick and vomit she told me. So, I’d just have to ignore the feeling, and hopefully since I’m not a “normal” human anymore, it will break once I push through my initial hesitation.

  Even though my mind is telling me to stop, I force my feet to move and a few seconds later, I can’t feel the weight of the spell anymore. By the time I get to the door, it feels like I’m entering any other club. Before I can even pull open the door, a mountain of a man dressed in black slacks and a tight red t-shirt opens it for me smiling professionally.

  He looks Native American, smells of pine and rain, his face average; slightly handsome, and showing proof of scars long healed. His nose is average sized with a tiny silver stud on the left side, his thin lips revealing white perfect teeth. His hair is cut into a short, stylish mohawk. I have no doubt that the rest of his body probably would have the same marks as his face.

  He smiles at me at first, but as soon as I take two steps through the door, he takes a deep breath, frowns, and blocks my entrance with his bulky arm. I look up at his 6 and a half foot frame as if I don’t understand why he’s denying me admission.

  “Whoa there. I think you’re in the wrong place,” he says, his voice as deep as he is big. There are two ways this could go: one, he would put me on my ass and I’ll never get in, or two, he would put me on my ass but respect the fight in me and let me in. Either way doesn’t look too promising for me.

  I decide to throw out the charm. I bite my lip and give him a smile. “Oh, I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

  I brush against him and he chuckles. “Trust me sweetheart, you don’t want to do this, I don’t know what you’ve heard or who put you up to this, but this club has a strict member’s only policy.”

  “Well how do you know I’m not a member, you were about to let me in a few seconds ago,” I respond, trying to sound slightly irritated.

  “Look,” he says growing more irritated himself. “You are not getting past me so don’t even bother. I thought you looked like someone is all. Think of it as me doing you a huge favor. This is not your kind of place, now leave,” he orders, trying to use the strength of his pack to put force behind the demand.

  It hits me and then washes away. He looks confused and I smile.

  Just then, another man walks up to the front, a lot smaller than my bouncer friend here. He decides he likes what he sees and gives me a slap on the ass, very hard. I see an opportunity. Before he can even walk past the man-mountain, I grab his arm in an iron grip. He turns to face me in surprise trying to pull away.

  “Like I said, I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

  The bouncer begins to reach for me himself but I slide away from his grasp quickly and give the touchy feely guy a roundhouse kick that sends him sliding across the floor and into the club. If people weren’t watching our exchange before, they most certainly are now, I can feel it.

  “What do you want?” The bounce
r asks me, pulling me close to him, showing me that he could squeeze me to death if he wanted. He shakes his head in the direction of the other guy and I know he is pretty pissed for what I just did to him.

  “I’m just looking for a good time is all,” I lie.

  “Blatant lies like that are easy for a wolf to smell. What do you want little human?” he asks, much more serious this time as his eyes begin to glow eerie yellow.

  “I’m looking for a certain wolf. His name is Anubis,” I tell him.

  He lets me go but eyes me warily. “You couldn’t possibly have business with him, but you interest me so I’ll let you go. But know this, one wrong move here tonight and I’ll kill you myself, do you understand.”

  “I get it. Thanks, uh,” I say, trying to catch his name. I like the man mountain.

  “It’s Jaxson. Now, be smart in there.”

  “I will,” I promise. I give him one last glance as he chuckles at me then crosses his tree stumps called arms as two more customers walk through the door.

  The music is not too loud, but fast and electrifying. A club with wolves can’t blast music without risking ear damage to all of their customers. I easily find myself sliding teasingly through bodies and notice that no one is really turning around and sniffing out the human. It must be from all the sweat and excitement in the air. My smell of humanity must be cancelling out. Good.

  I look at the dance floor sitting on a level lower than where I’m at now and notice how closely all the bodies are pressing together. People are making out, dancing topless, and just having a grand old time. The upstairs level seems to be more laid back, with soundproof glass, pool tables, and a smaller bar. A few people are looking out at the dance floor from the top. The floor I’m on has a large bar in the middle of the room and comfortable looking tables and chairs throughout. Right now there’s no sign of Selene, so I decide to just hit the dance floor for a few songs to release some of my tension.