Sin on a Broken Heart: Sins, #2

One

Jasmine

Chloe puts the car in park, we climb out to take a good look at the house the three of us own. It is a two story colonial style, but with more space. Rather plain on the outside, but we don’t mind. It is better for us, if we live in a place that doesn’t draw attention. After all, three vampire women are bound to draw attention, so better if it doesn’t start early within the house.

Scarlett pulls into the drive while we are standing there, staring. She pops out of her car and says, What are you waiting for? Let’s go inside! It should be furnished, so we just need to bring in our things. I want to walk through first, though.

Chloe shrugs, Let’s do it. I’m starved. I think after we tour the place, I am throwing my stuff in my bedroom and heading for Club Five.

Club Five is Chloe’s favorite hunting ground. She gets a thrill out of seeing the guys faces when the hunter becomes prey. She tells me it is like an adrenalin rush for her. I can definitely see the draw. The few times I have gone with her were fun. She has a knack for choosing the predatory guys, the ones looking for a woman to abuse. Those are her favorites, and the worse they are the more she wants to drain them dry. I have taken to keeping a spell on the dumpsters there, to keep people from finding the bodies while they are near her hunting ground. Just a little something to keep them unseen until they are long gone from the area.

Scarlett unlocks the front door, and we walk into a very suburban house. The furniture is all quite floral, as are the curtains. There are live, laugh, love stickers on the wall in the kitchen. I raise my brows at Scarlett, as she and I watch Chloe snatch the stickers off the wall. She balls them up and tosses them into the trash bin. She looks up to find us watching, What? I hate those stickers. The flowers are going to have to go to, but I think I can hold off on violence to the drapery until we get some new ones.

We grin at her as she pushes through us and heads for the stairs. The staircase is pretty grand, dark wood with a green runner. The second floor branches to the left and right. We go to the left, opening doors and peeking in each. The first is an office, the next two are bedrooms. One on each side of the hall. I claim one on the back corner. It has a bathroom, and I like the view, I’ll be able to see the moon rise most nights. The room across from mine is roughly the same but a different view. We head for the far side of the hall to find two more offices and two more bedrooms. Chloe and Scarlett claim those, as the square footage is larger and each has their own ensuite. I hear someone knocking and head downstairs, telling Scarlett and Chloe it is probably Leonidas’s wolves with my stuff.

Downstairs, I open the door to find the same wolf that told me I smelled good. I snap my teeth at him, and he grins. Watch it ma’am, I bite back. Where do you want your things?

I laugh, Oh no, I just hate being bitten. Upstairs, to the left, last room on the right.

He chuckles and shakes his head as he walks back to the truck parked in front of our house. I walk back upstairs to find Chloe and Scarlett coming out of Chloe’s room. Scarlett says, Chloe got the short stick on a closet. We were talking about opening the office next to it and turning that into a closet. We could do that for all the bedrooms. What do you think?

I like it. It would give us each more of our own private space. It was the wolves at the door. They are bringing my bed up.

The guy I snapped at yells, If we were wolves at your door, it would really give the neighbors watching the wrong impression. Karen is standing on the sidewalk, she looks like she wants to call the HOA manager.

Good thing we don’t have an HOA. Karen can eat a dick. I look at Scarlett and Chloe, Do you all want to take care of her?

Chloe shakes her head no, as she rubs her stomach, Probably won’t make us popular with the neighbors, if I eat her.

Scarlett laughs, Depends on whether or not she has been pissing off the entire neighborhood. They might throw you a party.

I shrug, Ok, I’ll go talk to her. I don’t know if that is going to make things better, though.

I head down the stairs and out the front door to find Karen trying to question the guys as they carry in a lot more things than I should have. Leonidas and I are going to have a little talk about this. I walk up and step between her and the wolf, forcing her to step back as I put on my cheery customer service persona. Hi there, neighbor! So nice to meet you. My name is Jasmine, what’s yours?

I thrust my hand at her and watch as her eyes travel down my body, her lip curling in disgust. I look down and remember I am wearing cutoff shorts with fishnet stockings, boots, and a Slipknot crop top. Oh well, better Karen understands from the start. She takes my hand with her fingers, and I push in for a full handshake as she says, My name is Karen. I am the unofficial neighborhood organizer, she took her hand from mine to make little air quotes around the word unofficial. I watch as she wipes her hand on her slacks. I try to get to know everyone that lives on this street, so we all work together to maintain our property values.

I chuckle and put my hands in my back pockets, thrusting my chest out. I hear one of the wolves say, ‘fucking hell,’ under his breath, and I try not to laugh. Well, Karen. Huh, that’s really your name? Wow. Okay, well. Going to guess you don’t like large, pink flamingos, year-round Halloween decorations, or gargoyles. Which is really unfortunate, as I just adore all those things, and so do my girl friends.

She gasps, Girlfriends? What? She glances at the house and back to me, Are you saying you’re all, she swallows and then whispers, lesbians?

I laugh, Oh honey, it won’t make it less likely if you whisper it. And though it isn’t any of your business, no. We aren’t lesbians. We are all bisexual, though. Are you feeling a little frustrated? Is your husband not quite getting you there? I could introduce you to some competent professionals, but we don’t do that.

Karen has started to back away from me, with her mouth hanging open and her hand clutching for pearls she isn’t wearing. You godless women stay away from me! You devil women are ringing Satan’s doorbell and he is going to answer! You get out of this neighborhood! This is a good, god-fearing place and we don’t need your kind inviting evil! She turns and runs home, her little ballet flats tapping across the street and down two houses before she gets to her porch and rushes in. The audacity. Slamming the door behind her, like I was chasing her.

I hear the wolves behind me laughing, and I turn, Say, what are your names? And what is all this extra stuff?

The one I have been talking to walks over to sit on the edge of the truck. I am Banner, he jerks a thumb towards the others, these are Dario, Mario, and Elliot. As for the stuff, well, boss said to tell you that you should have things, so he went shopping for you. It is all gifts. No returns.

I am stunned. He bought me things because he thinks I should have stuff? What’s the catch? What? Why did he buy me things? What did he buy me? Why didn’t he tell me?

Banner ticks off reasons on one hand as he lists them, He bought you things because you deserve better than you think you do. He bought a variety of things with an emphasis on books. He didn’t tell you so you couldn’t veto the idea and because he is counting on you not wanting to be mean to us as a way to keep you from giving it back.

How would I be mean to you, if I gave it back?

If you want it to go back to him then we have to carry it.

Why? I ask as I cross my arms under my breasts and narrow my eyes.

He looks concerned for his health as he says, Because that’s what our boss said. He said if you don’t want it, we have to carry it all back out. And I have to tell you Jasmine, it is hot as hell out here. Wolves run hotter anyway, so this heat is brutal. We would really like to not carry it all back out.

Oh hell, I didn’t know that! You all keep a higher body temperature? All right, the stuff can stay. You lot, go get some air conditioning. Thank you for moving all the things. Come give me a hug.

Banner hops down to get his hug first. It starts with a normal hug, until he realizes that vampire skin is always cold. He straightens, holding me tightly to him as he lifts me off the ground. Holy shit guys, she is cold! I didn’t know vampires were cold. Damn shame you are seeing the boss. I think I could get down with a vampire. He presses his face into the side of my neck, and my legs wrap around his waist of their own volition. He seems to come to and pulls his head back. I should put you down. Karen is probably calling the police about the lewd display. I laugh as I drop my legs from around his waist. He sets me down and then stands behind me as the other three hop out of the truck and collect their hugs. Each one presses close upon finding me still blessedly cool to the touch, as Dario put it.

Banner collects one more, quick hug, saying the other one wore off, before he hops in the truck, and they leave. I walk back into the house with an extra sway to my hips for Karen because I can feel her beady eyes on me.

Closing the door behind me, I see Chloe and Scarlett over at the window, still looking out. They motion for me to come look, and they point toward Karen’s house. It would appear that Karen was prepared for scary, godless women. As she now has her husband putting up yard signs.

Super. Well, I guess the neighborhood will be leaving us off the potluck list. Probably better that way. More food for us.

Leonidas

I watch as everyone gets themselves sorted. The small warehouse we use for a clubhouse has seen better days. I am disgusted by the way it looks. I didn’t care about anything for so long, and then Jasmine. If I am honest with myself, I would have been ashamed for my mom to see this place. She would be disappointed in me. I haven’t cared about anything in a long time. That night I took everyone out for a feeding party, it must have been fate. I didn’t even feed that night. When I saw her driving up in that clunker, I thought she must be insane. When she told me to fuck off right before she ducked under the trailer to run, I was hooked. I could see in her eyes that she knew she was done for, but she wasn’t willing to give up. If Mikael hadn’t taken her with him that night, I would have turned her myself. As I look around the room, they are as settled in as they are going to be. I know they won’t all like the changes I have planned, but as I look out over my little gang, I know there are none that could beat me.

All right, shut up, so I can speak. It’s time for some changes here. A restructuring. The gang life isn’t for me anymore, most of them start shouting what about them, and how are they going to get by without their family. That is exactly where I want them going with this.

Quiet! I wait until every sound in the building has stopped before I continue, We are going to move out of being a gang and into being a real family. A clan, if you will. Acting like a gang and being vampire is going to get us discovered and either killed or turned into science projects. I am head of the family, and you will do as I say or get out.

I pause, allowing the words to process.

Speaking of getting out, if you don’t want to be part of the clan you can leave, with no ill will and with some money to start over wherever you decide to stay. A low hum of conversation begins, and I wait it out. As they go silent again, I tell them, "Those of you that stick around, I have big, legal things planned, and we will all profit from it with a lot less work and better hours. We are phasing out the drugs and starting a construction firm. I already have a successful one that has only worked during the day. However, with a