Wow! Such comments on the other two stories in this world have left me stunned. You guys are great! Thank you so much! Here is the opening gambit of Rafe's tale. It can most probably be read as a stand alone but reading FTI & TA gives the reader a better feel for a lot of the characters because they are already introduced in those stories. Be warned though...yes it is about Rafe, Aaron too and the other Weres, but Everyone is in this tale. The reasons for that will become clear as the story unfolds but there will be moments when the light is shining on other characters who have had their story told already. I hope you all enjoy it as you have the others. Thanks again for your feedback! My thanks also to WorldHistoryBuff who edited this chapter for me. As always, it is greatly appreciated.
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Lacey Hollister stood patiently in line, almost at the head of the queue for entrance into the ultra private, secretive club called Wicked. It was a warm night which was just as well considering she was wearing the skimpiest outfit she could find.
Her tall, lithe frame was sporting a little strappy top in crimson and the smallest black micro mini she could squeeze into. Her incredibly long legs were bare and her feet were encased in three inch high patent red heels making her even taller than her usual five feet eight inches..
Her friend Jennifer had told her it was a sure fire way to gain access into the secretive club. She hoped her friend was correct because she really wanted to get inside badly. She had heard everything and anything went on in the club and she wanted to see it for herself.
She watched more people being rejected from the door and felt her hands turn clammy with nerves. It was almost her turn to be inspected and she couldn't stop her heart from beating faster inside her chest. She shook back her waist length platinum blonde hair and ran her clammy palms down the side of her skirt as she stepped forward.
The enormous bald bouncer ran slightly bored eyes slowly down her body and then jerked his head signalling her to climb the half dozen steps up to the entrance. She gave him her most winning smile and quickly skipped up the steps in case he changed his mind. She pushed open the door and headed inside.
She hesitated, in the entrance way letting her eyes adjust to the sudden darkness which was interspersed with flashing strobe and glowing neon lights which pulsed to the heavy beat of the dance track blaring around the room. It was a photosensitive epileptic's worst nightmare come true and she was glad she wasn't subject to that crippling condition. She needed this so badly. She needed to be able to let her wild side loose and forget about everything in her more recent past.
Three months of being holed up in Jennifer's tiny basement flat had almost driven her insane. The first month hadn't been so bad. She had been healing then, her body slowly repairing the damage Richard had done. She had been too terrified to leave her sanctuary too. She knew Richard would be looking for her. Richard had constantly told her he'd never willingly let her go, that if she left, he'd do everything in his not inconsiderable power to bring her back.
The second month had been tolerable enough because she was still frightened enough to want to stay hidden from him. It was really only the last month the cabin fever had set in. There had been no sign of Richard and her fear had lessened enough to make her crave the need to get out again, to try and start rebuilding her life.
She moved slightly further into the room as the door behind her opened and more lucky people arrived to get what was possibly their first glimpse of the most coveted place to be seen in at the moment. It was the type of place Richard would never think to look for her, so she was reasonably confident she was safe enough.
Jen had said she'd try and stop by later on. She was working late tonight and would maybe be too tired once she finished work. Her friend was an up and coming hot shot lawyer and had worked to get the most stringent restraining order she could against Richard. She was certain it would keep him at bay but Lacey wasn't so sure. The expression on his face that day in the hospital was burned into her memory. It promised dire retribution as the police had escorted him from her room.
She shuddered slightly and moved away from the wall towards the bar area. She didn't want to think about it anymore and she really needed a drink, a good stiff one which would block the bad memories which were threatening to invade her mind and take away her enjoyment of this first foray back into the world of the living.
Rafe Hanlon reclined in his soft leather chair and surveyed the bank of walled monitors in front of him. The club was into its second month of being open, and so far things had been going really well, spectacularly well in fact. The slightly secretive nature of Wicked was its main attraction. People wanted to know what went on behind its closed doors and were often turned away before entering. It seemed to entice them to want to come back and try again for entry, and within two weeks of opening Wicked had taken on a life of its own.
It was pretty much a regular club like many others. Okay, it was Were owned and run, but the humans who frequented the place didn't know that. They had no idea that they mixed with Weres from many different animal packs. Hell, even a few vampires frequented the place, mainly because Annie and her vampire Caleb had come to the opening night. It appeared Caleb was widely respected in his community and his acceptance of the local Weres decision to suddenly branch out into the human business community, had fostered an almost friendly truce between Weres and vampires.
Rafe smiled fondly as he thought of his sister and her vampire boyfriend. Little Annie was breaking down so many barriers in the supernatural world and she had no idea she was doing so. She saw the good in everyone, treated them accordingly and everyone invariably fell under her spell. Hell, she'd even managed to tame Caleb's best friend Demetri. The vampire had gone from being a major prick into almost as good a friend to him as Caleb. Granted, a certain leggy brunette called Mara was mainly responsible for Demetri's more agreeable personality.
Rafe sighed deeply remembering a time when he had been so like his sister, always seeing the good in people. A lot had happened since he was that person. A year had passed since he had last been known as Rafe Armand, older brother to Annie and Millie, building labourer and all round pacifist.
A year since his entire life had been turned upside down and thrust into a direction he hadn't wanted it to go in. A rogue Were had bitten him while he was camping and thrust him into the life he was now living. He had had a hard time reconciling himself to becoming a wolf. He had done some pretty stupid things at the time and would most probably have died if it hadn't been for his sister and the understanding of his pack leader Jared Hanlon, the man who now called him brother.
It wasn't such a bad life overall. A lot of changes had happened in the pack and attitudes were changing almost daily. Jared had claimed Millie as his mate and she was just as much of a force to be reckoned with as his sister. She retained her apartment in the city and still worked her job, leading by example to the rest of the pack.
