Chapter 5: Cast Your Burden

Logan licked his lips and opened various cabinets, grabbing an ornate dagger made from silver and a pair of pistols with intricate filigree along their silver barrels. He shoved the dagger into a thigh holster and made sure the safeties were locked on the pistols before jamming them into his leather chest holster. He reached into an ammo box and pulled out bullets filled with a variety of herbs. Each bullet had a clear tip filled with various weaknesses for most monsters that passed through the veil that stood between the human world and the supernatural one.

The invisible wall could not be penetrated by a mortal unless a monster permitted entrance for them. The structure kept them safe behind a kind of locked door, giving them a place to escape should humanity rise up against them in a great war again. The last war had occurred centuries ago and had lasted for years until they had settled on a treaty. The beasts not only had treaties and contracts between species, but also with the human world as well. A safety net for both sides to lean on in case everything went to h*ll.

His thoughts ran to Gwen, and he thought about placing himself in her dreams, but decided against it. He didn’t want to lead her on and needlessly break her. He would do that to anyone else, but she didn’t deserve it. However, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to. He wanted to keep himself in her mind as an option, but he was terrified of hurting her. He feared making a mistake and failing at being a good sire to such a bright light in the center of chaos.

He slammed his fist against the cabinet as he shut it, shattering the glass and cursing under his breath.

“You better fix that later,” Alex walked over and pointed at the cabinet with his index finger. “Cleo will kill you.”

“I know,” Logan sighed and threw his foot up onto a bench, yanking his laces tight on his black leather boots and breaking off the ends of the strands on accident. He growled and tossed the fragile, severed, laces aside before angrily tying the frayed ends.

“Can’t get her out of your mind, can you?” Alex peered over at him, turning a blade in his hand before shoving it into a holster on his calf.

“Who?” Logan tried to play dumb, but he knew his best friend could read through his words.

“You know who, man,” Alex shook his head and grabbed a couple guns from the wall.

Logan looked in a mirror, parted his lips, and extended his fangs. He inspected them to make sure they were in order by grazing his thumb along each sharp point, letting the poison drip onto his skin and dissipate into vapor.

He stepped back to adjust his black t-shirt, “Nope, I don’t know who we are talking about. There are plenty of women walking into that bar to talk to me.”

“Yeah, but she’s not just any woman, is she?” Alex raised an eyebrow at his best friend before yanking his dagger from the holster and throwing it at his best friend with astute precision.

Logan dodged the thrown knife and caught it by the blade between his index and middle fingers before throwing it back at Alex. His best friend caught it by the handle and jammed it back into place.

“She’s no different. Just a mortal looking for a way out of a mundane life,” Logan walked out of the room.

He made his way out of the old house to the black SUV so they could head to the location.

Alex caught up to Logan, “So you haven’t used any of your powers on her?”

“No,” Logan sighed, yanking open the driver’s side door to the SUV.

“Really?” Alex was surprised that he hadn’t thrown one power at her. “Not even that dream thing you do where you place yourself in their dreams and haunt them until they track you down again? You know everyone here is jealous of that power of yours. You could have any d*amn mortal you want and yet you choose to not partake in them.”

Logan grunted in response and climbed into the vehicle, starting it when his best friend climbed in. Alex grabbed the handle on the ceiling and spread his legs to get comfortable, as Logan drove towards the location.

“You didn’t use persuasion on her either?” Alex kept trying to pick his brain for something, anything, that he would have done.

“No. Will you stop pestering me already? I didn’t pull anything on her. I just talked to her, gave her a drink, and sent her on her way. It’s the same process I go through with all the humans that walk into my club.” Logan smacked the wheel as he gestured while he drove.

“Okay, okay. I got you.” Alex raised his hands and let his best friend focus on driving to the location to meet up with Mr. Morgan.

The dirt road winded through a dense forest before revealing a horror that Alex and Logan hadn’t anticipated. Mr. Morgan was hiding something far more sinister than they had imagined. It quickly became clear to Logan that he was holding kin against their will. Whether Mr. Morgan had tricked them into being there willingly or had found other means to steal them away, he was uncertain. But regardless, the horrific image before him of people shackled, thin, and dressed in ragged clothing was enough to make him sick.

A variety of beasts stood around the grounds, vampires, werewolves, witches, warlocks, demons, fairies, and ghosts. Young adults littered the area with saddened faces. Their expressions ranged from distraught to traumatized, but nothing made his stomach turn more than the ones that held content glances. Calm expressions that had been engrained into them from the time they were first abducted and added to the compound. His fists curled around the slender wheel, turning his knuckles white as he clenched his teeth and let out a low, menacing, growl that teetering on a purr.

“I didn’t sign up for this bullsh*t,” Logan about flipped a b*tch by whipping the wheel around but Alex stopped him by putting a hand on his forearm.

“We can’t. You know Cleo won’t be happy if we lose this deal.” Alex swallowed back bile, staring at the helpless around them.

“She would be upset if we supported this,” Logan whipped his head around to face his best friend with a loud roaring tone, forgetting all the plans they had carefully put in place before arriving there. His chest rose and fell as his breathing became harsh with his anger. “Ugh, what I wouldn’t GIVE to drive my fangs into this monster’s neck and drain him of all life until he begs for mercy.”

“Pfft, would you really grant him the privilege of begging you for mercy?” Alex rolled his eyes and swallowed hard.

“No, I’d rip out his vocal cords before he could.” Logan left it at that and slowly eased the vehicle up to park in front of the estate.

“You’re planning on coming back here later, aren’t you?” Alex smirked and peered over at his best friend, clicking his tongue.

“Business now, revenge later,” was all that spilled from Logan’s lips before he undid his seatbelt and shoved his door open to grab the crates from the back of the SUV.

Alex slammed his door shut and walked up to an older man with greying hair, taking the reins from Logan. “Evening, Mr. Morgan. The name’s Alex and this is my associate, Logan.” He held his hand out in front of himself to shake the middle-aged man’s hand.

Mr. Morgan peered up at Logan and held his hand out towards him after shaking Alex’s. Logan reluctantly slapped his hand against the man’s, gripping it harder than usual and cracking a few of the man’s joints before letting it go.

“Did you find the place okay?” Mr. Morgan led them towards the house, making note of the way Logan had crushed his hand.

“No, no. It was fairly easy to reach you.” Alex spoke instead of Logan, making sure to not let his best friend chime in and ruin it.

“Good, good. You can set the crates down over here.” Mr. Morgan pointed towards a spot in the back of the entryway and Logan walked past to drop them down in a stack. “Let’s talk business in my office.”

Logan kept his arms crossed over his chest and his stance wide to show off his dominance and to intimidate the client. That was his purpose for being there besides helping if the deal went bad. He swallowed hard and watched his best friend move the deal along by pulling out a non-disclosure form.

“Here is the non-disclosure form that we need you to fill out and sign. By signing it both parties vow to never speak of the other again. Got it?” Alex tapped the stack of papers with his fingers.

“Understood, Mr. Alex.” Mr. Morgan grabbed a pen from a cup on his massive desk before licking the nib to sign.

Alex nodded towards Logan once the paper was signed. Logan slammed his palm down onto the paper, locking his sinister gaze with Mr. Morgan’s and letting a low growl vibrate from his chest. He ripped the contract from the desk in a swift yet deliberate movement.

“Now, we just have to deal with the payment for them.” Alex went to pull out a folded sheet of paper when Mr. Morgan suddenly pulled out a pistol.

He aimed and cocked it against the middle of Logan’s chest. Logan growled as the man opened fire on his chest, succeeding at nothing but making him more furious.

Logan grabbed the barrel of the gun and shoved it aside before sneering, “It’s one thing to feed off humans, but far worse to accomplish what you have going on here with our kin.”

“We signed a form. There is nothing you can do about it,” Mr. Morgan threw back at Logan and pulled his gun free from Logan’s clutches. He brought his fingers to his lips and whistled for his men.

There was a rush of men in black suits and suddenly Alex and Logan were surrounded. Logan shouted, “Focus on the suits, I’ve got the client.”

Alex nodded and let a roar rip from his mouth, yanking a pistol and his dagger from the holsters. He hit the safety on his gun and aimed, spinning back and forth to shoot each man down.

Logan focused on Mr. Morgan, while his best friend took down the group of men. The group continued to be replaced by even more, while Logan pulled his dagger from his thigh to cradle it in his palm and block a gun shot. Each bullet hit his arm and lodged in it, causing Logan’s blood to boil from his irritation. They were mere splinters to him. Nothing more and nothing less.

He grabbed one of Morgan’s men and yanked him close, sinking his claws into his flesh and biting his neck to gather enough life essence to heal. The bullets slowly dislodged from his skin and clattered to the floor before he threw the body aside. A growl ripped through his chest as he lunged at the client and threw a high kick up to free the pistol from his hand.

Logan yanked the gun from the air and kicked the man onto his back, pinning him against the flooring with his boot. He pushed the magazine release on the side of the grip, ripped the magazine strip from the butt of the gun, and cleared the bullet from the chamber.

Logan tossed the gun pieces aside and shouted without looking at Alex, “put the crates back in the car!”

“What about the deal?” Alex went to argue dispatching the last suited man.

“F*ck the deal, I’ll take the consequences and deal with them myself,” Logan huffed and pressed his boot harder against Mr. Morgan’s sternum. Logan’s golden eyes shifted to a crimson hue and his voice tilted to something darker and more sinister, “You will listen to me, Mr. Morgan. You will free all these people and take yourself to the nearest authorities to turn yourself in for the atrocities you have committed. You will do NOTHING but focus on what you have committed here. Every breath you take will be littered with guilt and regret. Every d*mn dream and waking moment of your life will be filled with the horrific memories of what you have done. Do you understand?” He pressed his boot harder, cracking the man’s sternum and making Alex cringe.

“Yes, sir.” The client swallowed hard, unable to look away from Logan or defy him.

“Good.” Logan let his red gaze shift back to a warm honey tone before lifting his boot from Mr. Morgan’s chest. His voice came out loud in a barking order, “Let’s go!”

Logan doubted he had ever driven home as fast as he did after that bad deal. The traffic lights were a blur and by the time they approached the mansion, he was angry enough to destroy an entire army of men. Every attempt Alex made to distract Logan on the way home failed its mark, making his best friend give up on it.

Logan pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. He undid his seat belt and flung it back against the side of the window and shoved his door open. He stomped out of the car and slammed the door shut before storming up the stairs to the front door.

Cleo walked up to the two men to question them on whether they succeeded or not and noticed Alex carrying in the untouched crates. “I’ll give you one chance to explain why you two boys brought me back my inventory.” She placed her hands on her hips and stared them down.

Logan crossed his arms over his chest, shifted his eyes to the color of a sharp flame, and growled low in his chest. Alex grunted as he tossed the crates down onto the ground before standing up straight to roll his shoulders and stretch his head from side to side.

“Now,” Cleo demanded and stomped her foot, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Mr. Morgan pulled-” Alex went to start talking when Logan let a roar rip past his fangs before a long hiss. Alex nodded and hoisted the crates back up onto his shoulders, carrying them back to the safe where they kept their inventory.

“Follow me,” Cleo walked past Logan and moved her index finger in a come-hither movement.

Logan followed her to the other room and heard her shut the door before she whipped around to stare at him, “Explain.”

“Mr. Morgan was a human keeping monsters hostage against their will. I couldn’t sell to him. It’d put a black mark on our name, and we can’t have that much attention drawn on us. At the moment of sale, he pulled a pistol and called on his men. There was nothing we could do. I persuaded him to turn himself in.” Logan stood his ground and refused to apologize for what he had done.

“Do you understand what you cost us?” Cleo raised an eyebrow at him and cock her hip.

“I’m aware and I’ll take full responsibility for the loss of the sale. You can take a bigger cut from the next few jobs we get in. I’ll pay you back, but you can’t tell me that you wanted that blood on your hands, Cleo.” Logan licked his lips and searched her dark gaze.

“You’re right. I don’t, but you owe me big time for that loss, Logan. Your heart is too good for this life that we hold. It gets in the way again and I’ll have to do something about it.” Cleo smacked him in the chest. “Don’t let that woman from the bar get in the way of my job.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Cleo. I want nothing to do with Gwen.” Logan watched her walk over to pour herself a drink.

“Her name is Gwen, is it?” Cleo peered at her crystal glass and slowly turned it to coat the sides in crimson liquid before taking a sip of it. “Pretty name.”

He watched Cleo leave the room with her drink. He wondered what else there was to know about Gwendolyn and wanted to know why he craved her so much.