Soar (The Empire Chronicles #1) (3 page)

“Crazy, I know. But it can’t be a coincidence.”

“What are they trying to accomplish? Lower shifters can be reckless, but they usually avoid violence for violence sake, and they don’t want to get The Society’s attention.”

“Unless that is what they want.”

“They want to get attention.” The reality dawned on me. “They want to get everyone’s attention.”

“Why? Just to stir up trouble?”

“Who knows.” I thought about the wolf I’d caught the other night outside the coffee shop. When he chose Casey, he’d made it personal. That barista was the one bright spot of my day. I weighed the pros and cons of telling my cousins about it. The pros won out. “I caught a wolf the other night.”

“You what?” Tom surprised me by speaking.

“He was about to attack a human outside a coffee house in the Village.”

“What did you do with him? You killed him, I hope.” Tim took a seat in one of the visitor chairs. They were covered in brown leather and starting to show their age. That oversight wasn’t like my grandfather.

“I doubt he’s shifting back.” It’s hard for shifters to heal in their animal form. I didn’t do him any favors.

Tim shuddered. “I’d hate to get on your bad side, cuz.”

“Then don’t.” I was kind of enjoying the reputation I’d developed after killing my grandfather with my bare hands. Everyone thought I was ruthless and seemed to be scared of me. What they didn’t realize is I’d only acted on instinct. I had to protect Allie in any way I could.

Tim faked a laugh. Always the kiss up. “Of course. So what do you suggest? Is it time to bring in the king?”

I sighed. “I’d like to avoid that as long as possible.” In addition to inheriting my grandfather’s position, I was also the leader of the New York contingent of The Society. Most humans have never heard of The Society, mostly because they aren’t important enough. Any paranormal or other supernatural being, or high ranking member of the human race, is well aware that The Society is the group that calls all the shots.

“Is this because of your personal issues with the king?”

“Personal issues?” I guess you could call the fact that the king had taken my girlfriend as his mate a personal issue.

“Levi’s king now, and he even gave you a good gig. Cut the guy some slack.”

“He gave me this
gig
because I protected Allie.”

Tim looked away, and I knew he was rolling his eyes. “However you spin it, he gave you some power. Embrace it. The city is ours.”

“Yeah. Just a few months in and all hell has broken loose. It’s like everyone was waiting for the old man to die before digging in.”

The brothers looked at each other.

“You think that’s what it is?”

“Of course. The lower shifters think we’re weak. We have to remind them we’re Pterons, and we don’t take their shit.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?”

“Either you let us have our fun, or we call in the king.”

I didn’t need to think over the options for long. “Have your fun, but keep it clean. No humans get hurt.”

“Got it. You want to join us?”

“No. I’ve got plans tonight.” Maybe there was something positive about agreeing to Emmett’s party. I had no desire to watch my cousins knock around a bunch of idiot shifters who thought that flexing their muscles was going to make a difference. If there’s anything that Pteron’s hate, it’s lower shifters causing trouble. We may have been shifters ourselves, but we were a hell of a lot stronger, faster, and smarter. That didn’t mean that anyone wanted to listen to us—but they always did.

Pterons have been running The Society worldwide for centuries. The North American region has been run by the Laurent family out of New Orleans for several generations. Levi, the current king and the bane of my existence, had just taken his place a few months before. The last time I’d seen Allie was at their coronation. She looked so happy that I decided to stay the hell away. Seeing each other wasn’t good for either of us, especially not me. With millions of human girls out there, Pterons date and mate with humans almost exclusively, I could have found someone new, but I wasn’t ready yet. At least that’s what I told myself.

By the time my cousins left, the sun had set, and the city was dark once again. I loved the night for one reason, and I was about to enjoy it.

I headed up to the roof, unbuttoning my shirt in the process. By the time I pushed through the door into the night, I had already shed the blue fabric. After checking that no one was around, I let myself transform. My large brown wings were easily concealed inside small slits when I wanted them to be, but it was always invigorating to have them out. Nothing felt quite as good as flying, and I did it every chance I had.

I jumped off the side of the building, falling for a moment before climbing again to make sure no one noticed. I headed away from the lights of the city, away from the stress and the constant reminders that I was completely alone.

Chapter Four
Jared

“When did this city get so boring?” I leaned back against the black leather couch in my apartment. I’d been living there since sophomore year of college, and graduation was only a few months away. I needed to find a new place to live, preferably somewhere without roommates. At twenty-two, I was ready for my own space.

“When you finally slept with every girl in the whole damn place.” Owen, my roommate, tossed his controller on the ground. He was in an uncharacteristically pissed off mood.

“I haven’t slept with them all, but I’ll agree I’ve gone through most of the good ones.”

“And you wonder why half the girls at Tulane want you dead.”

“Have I ever wondered that?” I smirked. My smirk always pissed Owen off. If he was already in a bad mood, I might as well make it worse. That probably makes me seem like an ass, but it’s just the way it was with us. We’d been butting heads since preschool. He knew as well as I did that a few angry girls didn’t bother me. I’d been spending a lot of time with the Loyola girls lately. There’s just something about catholic school girls…

“Two more months and we’re done with school. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of excuses to leave New Orleans.”

“Depends. Levi’s been keeping me busy.” I stretched my arms above my head. I needed to get a good work out in. That was probably Owen’s problem. Pterons tend to get cranky when we don’t get enough physical exercise. Maybe it’s because we descend from bird shifters—the whole stretch your wings thing.

“Yeah, because he was dumb enough to make you head of security.”

“You’re his chief advisor. What does that say about the new king?”

Owen grinned. “That he’s very well advised.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t actually need your sorry ass.”

“I wouldn’t worry.”

“I’m not worrying. Levi doesn’t care about much that doesn’t involve Allie.” Levi had been my other roommate until recently. He’d gone from prince to king and was living in a mansion with his mate. Although I found Allie to be annoying when I first met her, she’d grown on me. We’d fallen into a weird sort of friendship that worked for us.

“Can you really blame him after all the hell he went through to get her?” Owen grabbed a soda from the fridge.

Allie put Levi through the ringer when he was trying to get her to become his queen. Her resistance had made him miserable, but in the end, I got the sense that it made them stronger.

“No…but eventually he’s got to get tired of fucking the same girl constantly, right?”

“That is the queen you’re talking about.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.” I got off the couch and headed into the kitchen.

“I’m just saying, Levi can’t get tired of her.”

“I’m just saying, eventually he’s going to have to come up for air.” I opened a beer.

Owen laughed. “I’m sure Levi would love to know you want his sex life to suck.”

“I don’t even want to talk about it anymore. We need to go do something though. Where do you want to go?”

“Isn’t the question who do you want to do? Are you looking for a tourist or a coed?”

“Does it matter?”

“Is this your version of depression? You no longer care what girl you screw?”

“Shut up, dip shit.”

“Not a chance.”

“Let’s go to The Boot.” I suggested Tulane’s “campus bar” not because I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere, but because it was the fall back option on Tuesdays. Fifty cent night made it a happening place.

“Why not.” Owen scooped his keys off the counter, knowing we wouldn’t be coming back together. When possible, I went home with the girl. It made it easier to slip out in the morning.

The Boot was as packed as usual, but it wasn’t hard to find a table. Humans tended to stay out of our way, thanks to a combination of good sense and our reputation.

“I’ll grab us a pitcher of something.” Owen headed for the bar while I took a seat at the table. I wasn’t looking forward to drinking the cheap beer, but it was all part of the experience.

“Hi.” A cute enough redhead walked over. I could see her group of friends watching her approach.

“Hi.” You never wanted to seem over eager.

“My friends and I were wondering if we could sit with you?” She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger nervously.

I glanced over at her friends. There was a blonde I wouldn’t mind talking to. “Sure.”

The girl ran back over to her friends, and they took seats just as Owen returned with two pitchers. “Glad I grabbed two.”

I gave him a look the girls probably didn’t notice. At least they’d kill the time.

“I’m Ava, and these are Jackie and Katie.” The redhead introduced her blonde and brunette friends. They each smiled shyly. Clearly, Ava was the outgoing one of the group, which explained why she approached me first.

“I’m Jared and this is Owen.” I nodded to Owen who was already getting lost in his glass.

“Cool. What year are you guys?” Ava moved her attention between the two of us.

“Seniors,” Owen answered without looking up.

“That’s awesome. Do you have cars?” The blonde, I couldn’t remember if that one was Jackie or Katie, asked.

Owen groaned quietly enough that only I could hear. These girls were freshman. At one time, I would have been glad for that. They were the easiest mark, but now I was tired of them. Maybe I was getting old.

I smiled at Owen and decided I might as well have some fun with them. “Yes, and we even have drivers licenses.”

Jackie or Katie laughed. “Yeah, we figured that.”

“That was a joke.” I poured myself a cup, not bothering to offer any to the girls. We wouldn’t be staying long.

Owen pulled out his cell. “Just got a text from Anne. She wanted to see if I could give her a ride to Target.”

I laughed. “And you’re going to do it, aren’t you?” Owen had a soft spot for this little friend of Allie’s.

“Am I doing anything more interesting here?” He spoke quietly, still concerned with hurting the feelings of the girls across from us. They were whispering, but I could hear them clearly. They were deciding whether they should ask if we had a third friend. What were they, twelve? If we’d been interested, sharing wouldn’t have been a problem.

“I’ll join you.” I pushed away my nearly untouched cup. “Excuse me, ladies.”

“Are you guys leaving?” Ava asked.

“Yeah, we’ve got to be somewhere. Enjoy the beer though.”

“Oh. Bye.” She didn’t bother to hide her disappointment. Either did I. Was I really choosing a Target run over flirting with girls?

Chapter Five
Casey

Rhett took a break from packing to ask me the same question for the millionth time. “Are you sure you’re feeling better? You still look a little out of it.”

“I’m fine. Just tired. You need to go on this trip.”

“I could probably postpone.” He tossed more clothes into his worn out black duffel. Even my luggage was in better shape.

“And what did you do before you started babysitting me?” I took a seat on the one clear spot on his double bed. For such a nerdy guy, Rhett liked his clothes. I packed lighter than he did.

He grunted something unintelligible involving frustration and my name.

“I’m an adult, and I promise not to throw any huge parties or anything.”

He scowled. “Glad to know you’re going to miss me.”

“You know I will. Look at it this way, I’m a built in house sitter.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Case.” He pushed his wire rim glasses back up on his face. He usually wore contacts, but he didn’t bother with them when he got busy with research. I couldn’t relate. I had 20/20 vision.

“I won’t, but I’ve got to go. I’m late to meet Remy for dinner.” I stood up.

He hugged me. “Call me if anything comes up. I’ll still get service in Russia.”

“Good to know. If you decide to run off with a Russian girl, at least send me a letter so I can live vicariously through your adventures.”

He laughed. “You’re so weird.”

“Maybe I learned it from you.”

“Or from Vera. You get more and more like her every day.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” I turned and left. I wasn’t in the mood to discuss my older sister.

***

“I still can’t believe Eric did that to you.” Remy brought Eric up for the third time that night. I’d told her more as a warning than anything, but she wasn’t letting it go. She’d told the whole restaurant about it at dinner. Remy had the kind of voice that carried. It didn’t help that the whole way over to Jess’ I felt like someone was watching me. I was losing my mind.

“He’s an ass. Why does it surprise you?” I took a long sip from my red cup and set it aside on the end table. Like everything else in the apartment, the furniture was steps above the usual college grade stuff the rest of us lived on. Maybe their parents’ paid for the place. The rent had to be steep. Two bedrooms, with an eat-in kitchen and a giant living room, the square footage was almost unheard of in my group of friends. Add in that it was a doorman building, and you were talking serious cash.

“Still…why now? Why wait six months?” Remy always liked to find an ulterior meaning in things. If a professor called on someone first, it was because he played favorites. If a customer ordered a different drink, they were going through some existential crisis, and so on.