5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kimble

Kimble refused to sleep while his flock slumbered. It was his job to keep them safe and so far, he’d done a horrible job. His human had come close to dying, and his poor bear was run ragged. Everything was constantly going wrong, and it was all his fault. If only his mind would work as it should!

It was as if his memories before finding Pike were locked behind a wall. He knew they were there, a rich history of a long, successful life, but he couldn’t make them come forward. The worst part was there had to be wealth somewhere that belonged to him, but if he couldn’t even remember his name, how would he find it?

One thing vampires did very well was amass money. Within several decades, a vampire was often quite rich, allowing them to live a comfortable lifestyle and focus on finding their flock. If he was old enough to go feral from lack of a flock, he must be wealthy. He should’ve been able to solve all of Pike’s money problems, but no, he was reduced to a simpleton instead. Young children could communicate better.

When his mind came back, he was probably going to die a second death from humiliation.

Not that his bear would ever be unkind to him about his feral state, and his new little human seemed tough but gentle. Still, it was humbling to be forced to rely on his flock to keep him fed and safe instead of the other way around.

The little human was curled up against, fast asleep. She was so much different from him or Pike. Small and delicate looking but possessing a will of iron. She hadn’t frozen with fear when he’d flown away with her. The moment he landed and shifted back to his human form, she’d attacked him with all the force she possessed.

Her little fist had bounced off him as she cursed and screamed. He’d been scared to try speaking to her and making everything worse. He knew Pike would return soon and make the human understand that she wasn’t in danger, but it was hard to listen to her curses and threats as he carried her inside the apartment.

As he expected, Pike arrived and calmed down the little human. It had all worked out and now they could be a flock! As soon as Cora agreed to exchange pieces of their souls, they’d all be stronger and safer. It was hard, but he forced himself to be patient. He couldn't force a soul exchange on her. If Cora didn’t wholeheartedly agree to the exchange, it would poison the relationship. Vampires had few instincts but almost all of them revolved around creating and protecting a flock.

That meant Kimble planned to ignore Pike's insistence that they give Cora time and space. She could have the time, but she needed him close. She was the most vulnerable of the three of them; he couldn’t let her go out in the world where anyone might hurt her. Especially now that she smelled of bear shifter and vampire.

Secure in the knowledge that everything was going to work out now, Kimble let his mind drift. If he was well fed and relaxed, sometimes a memory would float across the barrier. So far, they’d all been meaningless moments of enjoyment where he heard music or saw a work of art, nothing that would clue him in to who he was. Occasionally, there would be words in Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, or a language that felt ancient and without a modern country to tie it to. This led him to believe he might have been a human in eastern Europe before being turned.

Kochanie .

He knew it meant my beloved but wasn’t entirely sure which language it was. Probably Ukrainian, as that seemed to be one of the languages he favored the most after English.

Yes, that was perfect for his little human. He had sloneczko , his sunshine bear, and kochanie , his beloved human.

An awareness of someone powerful nearby made him tense. It was faint and could be a vampire simply passing outside, but he thought that unlikely. He’d only sensed one vampire nearby the entire time he’d lived here with Pike and that had been brief.

No vampire would come near here except to put him down or steal his flock.

Getting out of the bed, Kimble paused to gaze at his flock. Without him holding her, Cora made a grumbly sound in her sleep and rolled over. When she found Pike’s massive body, she snuggled up close and settled back down into sleep. The covers had fallen down to her hips, and he tugged them back up. It was too bad Pike was so far into sleep he couldn’t embrace the human.

No sooner had he thought that than Pike came awake enough to roll on his side and wrap a beefy arm around Cora. The tiny human made a soft, content sound as she rubbed her face against Pike’s broad chest. They were a perfect contrast both in bodies and temperaments, and he couldn’t imagine having a more beautiful flock than these two.

He might not have words, but he could show them his love and devotion with actions instead.

Moving silently, he walked into the living room and closed his eyes, sending his magic out. He kept his touch soft and found a familiar young vampire getting much closer than he liked.

What was she doing here? He’d saved her life and the life of her flock, the least she could do was stay far away.

She must want his kochanie . Cora wasn’t bound to him yet so another vampire could potentially steal her for their own flock. This young vampire was going to die due to her greed!

Stopping at the front door, he flung it open to find the vampire and her two flock members standing there. She looked surprised, but the shifters didn’t.

“Mine!” he growled. When he’d rescued Cora from the collapsed building, he’d found her being sheltered by this young vampire, Imani. It was clear this vampire and his human were friends, that’s why he hadn’t hurt her earlier. She had pressed her luck too far by showing up at his domain!

He was well fed, and it was full night, so he’d easily destroy all three of these intruders if they tried anything.

Understanding the danger, Imani took a step back and held up both her hands, palms out. Her long magenta braids swung behind her shoulders, revealing the torn and dirty state of her clothing.

“I’m not here to steal or hurt anyone,” she said in a calm, reasonable tone. “I only want to make sure Cora is safe.”

“I warned you this was a bad idea,” the chimera shifter muttered. His hand was behind his back, telling Kimble the male was probably hiding a weapon. If the chimera showed the weapon, he was going to lose that arm. Out of the three of them, this male was the deadliest. There was something about him that told Kimble he knew how to kill mercilessly and with great skill. If violence became unavoidable, the chimera was going to need to die first.

“Shut it, Lex. I’m not abandoning Cora,” Imani retorted.

“The sun is going to be up soon,” the bear shifter said. He was as big as Pike but looked far more dangerous. He didn’t have the deadly air of the chimera, but the male had scars indicating he was used to conflict. “We don’t have time to chit-chat. Let’s go. We’ll come back tomorrow night.”

“Cora might be dead by tomorrow,” Imani said to the bear. “I can’t abandon her like that, Mac.”

Kimble snarled, showing his fangs but none of them moved further away.

“I know you don’t like another vampire close by, but I’m here as a friend,” Imani said. “I have a flock I love; I don’t need to add anyone to it.”

Imani was showing concern for a friend. It could be a ploy to get close and steal Cora, or it could be honest worry. He didn’t want to kill Cora’s friend if he didn’t have to, that might upset his human.

“Safe. Mine.” There, that should convey everything important.

“I know you wouldn’t mean to hurt her, but something might be wrong, and you didn’t notice,” Imani said. “She went through a lot, and she’s a small human. Let me talk to her. I won’t touch her, I promise. ”

“Imani?” a sleepy voice called out. Kimble half turned to see Cora stumbling out of the bedroom. Her hair was an adorable black and purple mess, and she was rubbing her eyes. The shirt Pike gave her to sleep in hung off one shoulder and the bottom hem dropped past her knees. She almost looked like a child.

“Cora?” Imani said and tried to step closer. Kimble let out a snarling roar, and she scrambled back against her flock. Unfortunately the sound woke Cora all the way up.

“Hey, don’t roar at my friend,” Cora reprimanded, stomping forward and pushing him to the side. She tried to slide past him, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him.

“No!” he objected. “Flock!”

“Yeah, I know you want me to be your flock,” Cora said, craning her neck to look up at him. “But if being your flock means I don’t get to see my friend anymore, then it’s a hard no.”

Shock jolted through Kimble. She was saying no? He couldn’t stand it. Letting go of her, he dropped to his knees and put his hands together in front of him.

“Flock?” Fear made his voice come out high and scared. He wasn’t sure he’d survive if she rejected him. As long as there was hope that she’d accept a place in his flock, he felt mostly in control. If she refused, the madness might consume him.

“Fuck,” she exclaimed, eyes going wide. She grabbed hold of his hands and tugged. “Get up. You’re making me feel like I’m abusing you.”

He didn’t move. “Flock?”

“Are you asking me to be in your flock again?” Her frown deepened. “I can’t wait for the day you can speak in whole sentences involving more than one or two words.”

She wasn’t the only one who wished he could communicate better. He had the urge to slam his forehead to the floor in an attempt to knock more words out of his stubborn head.

“He needs you to say you’re not going to leave him,” Imani said from behind Cora. “He’s probably scared you’re going to walk out because you’re pissed.”

Cora looked over her shoulder at Imani. “Thanks for interpreting vampire. Don’t leave, okay?”

“I don’t have much time,” Imani warned her. “Sunrise is coming. ”

Cora nodded her head and turned her gaze back on him. “I’m not going to abandon you or Pike. I’m not sure what we are yet, but I’m willing to give us a chance. I can feel something here. Even when I was scared, I knew deep down you wouldn’t hurt me.”

Kimble slumped a little with relief at Cora’s words, but when he reached out to hug her, she drew back.

“Hold on, I’m not done yet,” she said. “I’m going to turn around and talk to Imani. I might even hug her because she’s family to me. You’re going to let me do that, understand? You can frown but no growling or starting a fight.”

“No!” Kimble protested, getting to his feet. He had to ball up his hands into fists to keep from reaching for Cora. Instead, he stepped between her and the open door. “No!”

“What’s going on out here?”

Looking past Cora, Kimble saw Pike clad only in his boxer briefs walking into the living room. Much like Cora, he looked sleepy and confused, but his eyes and senses adjusted much faster than hers did.

“Oh! Hi guys!” Much like an overly friendly dog, Pike hurried to the door to greet the intruders. Kimble was forced to hold his arms out to block Pike from stepping past him.

“These guys are friends,” Pike said, his smile still in place. “That’s Mac. He helped my sister once. And that’s Lex. He’s a great dancer. Imani’s their vampire, and they’re her flock. They’d never hurt me.”

Kimble knew better. If it came down to a flock or an outsider, a vampire would do anything. Despite Pike’s words, Kimble didn’t move.

“No.”

“That’s his favorite word,” Cora drawled, stepping up to stand next to Pike. Looking under Kimble’s arm, Cora waved at Imani. “You better get home before the sun comes up. I’ve got my phone; we can talk tomorrow night.”

Kimble looked over his shoulder to watch Imani and her flock. She was nodding her head at Cora while both her shifters had similar expressions of relief on their faces. They were eager to get their vampire to safety.

“If you don’t call, I’m coming to get you,” Imani warned. “And I wouldn’t be just me. I’ll call your family. ”

Cora grimaced. “Don’t, I'm begging you! That’s hellfire no one needs in their life.”

“Then we better talk,” Imani warned with a small grin. “Love you, Hellion.”

Kimble watched Cora blink rapidly, as if trying not to cry. “Love you back, Dance Queen.”

Pike called his goodbye to the guys as they tugged Imani down the hall to the stairwell. Kimble didn’t move out from the doorway until they’d disappeared. He was about to retreat into the apartment when a door down the hall opened and a small figure wrapped in a bright yellow, fluffy bathrobe appeared.

“What’s going on out here? It’s nearly five in the morning!”

“Sorry about that, Mrs. J!” Pike called out over Kimble’s shoulder. “Some friends stopped by unexpectedly.”

Kimble didn’t want this woman close to his flock. Snarling, he made sure to show his fangs and pushed power into his aura. He wanted to look big and scary because there was something odd about this woman’s aura. Pike and Cora couldn’t see it, but she wasn’t what she appeared to be.

“Yes, yes,” the woman said, waving a gnarled hand in the air. “You’re a big scary vampire.”

“Kimble’s just a little upset,” Pike said, tugging Kimble’s arm. When he didn’t move right away, Pike spoke firmly to Kimble. “Mrs. J couldn’t hurt a fly. Stop growling at an old woman and come back to bed.”

“Listen to your bear, vampire,” Mrs. J said as she turned and shuffled back into her apartment, mumbling to herself. “Vampires, all of them stubborn as mules.”

When her door closed, Kimble let Pike pull him into the apartment. It felt good to see the door close, shutting the world outside and his flock in with him.

“Cora, everything okay?” Pike asked.

Cora yawned. “I don’t know. My emotions are all jumbled up, and my brain feels foggy. I need more sleep.”

Eager to give his human comfort, Kimble took her hand and led her back to the bedroom. A small smile appeared on Cora’s face.

“Are you going to tuck me in?” she asked.

“Flock,” Kimble said as he pulled down the bedsheet .

“The word flock is starting to take on the same usage as fuck,” Cora commented, confusing Kimble.

Pike barked out a laugh. “What?”

“You can put fuck in just about any context and it works,” Cora explained, stifling another yawn. “Think about it. Flying fuck. My last fuck. Fucking great. We could fuck. Telling someone to get fucked. It can be a noun, adjective, adverb, or whatever. Kimble’s using flock in a similar way, and we have to figure out what it means from the context.”

Pike grinned as they reached the bed. Cora covered a yawn as he straightened out the covers. “So should we be saying flocking great or flying flock?”

Kimble hadn’t understood what Cora and Pike were talking about until then. The humor hit him hard, and he laughed. He hadn’t laughed in so long it was rusty at first, only a little chuckle. But the longer he chuckled, the stronger it got until he doubled over, having a hard time pulling enough air into his lungs between peals of laughter.

When the laughter finally abated, he straightened up to find Cora and Pike both staring at him with wide eyes. That’s when an entire sentence finally made it to his lips.

“ Kockam cie .”

I love you.