mind to describe him. More like, satanic devil from the depths of the underworld, or at least Ra thought that was what one of the inebriated wolf shifters called him, when they had surprised the men drinking in an alley.
There hadn’t even been a fight. Wes had approached them first, and simply said he wanted to ask the men a few questions about why they were hanging around that particular area. One of the wolf shifters waved a booze bottle covered in a brown paper bag in Wes’s direction and said he was pretty enough to fuck, and that enraged Cass, who lumbered into the alley in full demon form. The drunken wolf shifters basically fell over themselves trying to get away.
Cass picked one of the bodies up and looked him up and down. Frowning, he dropped him, and hooked another one into the air by his leg. Ra wondered what the demon could see, beyond dirty jeans and jackets that had seen better days. None of the men were overly clean, but their jean/jacket combo was almost like a uniform. After the third one was scanned and dropped by the demon, Cass said, “these bastards are rogue shifters.”
He picked up the fourth and glared at him. The man’s head was lolling at an impossible angle and Ra was sure he’d have one hell of a headache when he woke up. “Yep. Rogues. What the hell are they doing working together? I thought they usually worked alone.”
“More to the point, who set them onto the alpha?” Ra pondered as one of the dropped men stirred.
“Vamp juice.” The scruff waved his hand weakly at one of the bag-covered bottles that had been dropped in their rush to get away from Cass. “Hey, you. Pretty boy.” He was looking up at Ra. “Gimme the vamp juice.”
“I can assure you, I’m a lot older than I look.” Ra glided over and picked up the discarded bottle. Removing the bottle from the bag, he frowned as he considered the label. It looked like a typical brand one could buy from a liquor store. The top was off, and Ra sniffed it, and then, loathe to actually stick his fingers near where anyone had been drinking, he flicked his finger up causing the fluid in the bottle to rise into the air.
“I’m not smelling anything unusual about that booze.” Wes had come closer, his gun still in his hand, his nostrils flared. “So how the hell did these guys get so drunk? They’re shifters. It shouldn’t be possible unless they’ve drunk a barrel of the stuff.”
“And yet, there they are lying about like beached whales.” Ra swiped his finger through the levitated liquid and stuck it in his mouth. He wrinkled his nose. “Ugh. Cheap. Nothing but typically low-priced booze that tastes like cat piss. I’d say there’s some other reason these guys are in such a state.”
“And yet, them calling it vamp juice strikes me as more than coincidental.” Cass strode over and picked up the only guy capable of making a sound, although he was still reaching for the bottle Ra was holding with grabby hands. “Oi, pay attention to me, not them.” He gave the guy a shake hard enough to rattle teeth.
“You ain’t pretty.” The man peered at him as though he couldn’t make out Cass’s features.
“I’ll be your worse fucking nightmare if you don’t start answering my questions. What do you know about the vampires in this area?”
“They pay real good.” The shifter twisted his head around so he could see the bottle. “Gimme the juice.”
“I told you, pay attention to me.” Cass shook the man again. “What did the vamps pay you to do?”
“Will you give me the juice?”
Cass nodded, his upper lip curled.
“Okay, for the juice.” The rogue looked around, but his friends were still unconscious. “We have to keep the alpha away from the bloodsucker’s coven.”
“Why?”
The man raised a shaky finger to his lips. “Shush. Big secret. The stupid wolf was seen by the head of the coven. Fang boy think’s the alpha is his beloved.” The shifter chuckled madly. “They locked him up. The coven master’s locked in the basement until we get rid of the alpha. But no killing. Just get rid of him. Can’t kill the alpha or the coven master might die. They kept saying hurry, hurry.” The man cackled again. “Why should we hurry this sweet gig? We’ve never had it so good. Now gimme that booze.”