“Yeah, sure,” Colt said. Anything to get out of that room. He let Jason’s door fall shut and tore down the stairs, ignoring the strange looks he was getting as he rushed to his truck. He waited until the engine was on and the air was blasting to breathe. Jason’s scent was still clinging to his clothes, beckoning him back to damnation, so he tore the jacket off and threw it into the back.
“Fuck,” he gritted out, his knuckles white as he gripped the wheel and forced himself to focus enough to get to the one place he could think of to run to.
Chapter 7
“But you didn’t break the skin?” Susan asked, setting a cup of tea in front of Colt. He took a sip and it was bitter, like it had been spiked. Whether it was blood or alcohol, Colt didn’t care to ask. It did the job of soothing his frayed nerves, either way.
“No, but I wanted to. I think I would have if it had gone any further,” he admitted. When he’d arrived, Susan was the only one home, and Colt found himself hoping Stan wasn’t the jealous type.
“But it didn’t. There’s that,” she said, sitting across from him as she sipped her own tea.
“I could have hurt him. I could have…” Colt trailed off, unwilling to voice the horrible possibility he’d come so close to making a reality.
Susan watched him, smiling a bit. “You must care an awful lot about him.”
“Because I don’t want to eat him?” Colt asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Susan laughed. “Forgive me, I’m not used to being around a ghoul so…”
“Pathetic?” Colt offered.
“Human. There’s nothing pathetic about wanting to protect someone you love.”
“This is crazy, isn’t it?” Colt asked. “It’s not possible for something like this to work. A ghoul and a human, I mean.”
He wasn’t even sure what they’d be working as. He’d left before he got the chance to add that important point of clarification.
“I wouldn't say it’s impossible, but it’s certainly going to be a challenge. The strength of the instincts vary widely from one ghoul to another. It’s hard to say what your limits are until you’ve reached them,” she said, placing her teacup in its saucer. “For most of us, it’s not such an issue. When we make a mistake, there are ways of making it go away.”
“You mean making the body disappear.”
Susan gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s rare for a ghoul to form such a strong attachment to a human. We’re raised to see them as prey.”
“But you guys don’t kill humans. Why bother if that’s how you see them?”
“There are people who don’t eat meat, but that doesn’t mean they’d date a cow,” she said in a wry tone. “Truth be told, Stan is the one who turned me on to a more humane way of doing things, in a manner of speaking. I was raised like most ghouls. I went on my First Hunt, and I’ve killed humans.”
Colt stared at her, trying to see it. He just couldn’t picture the petite, sophisticated woman in front of him turning into a monster and ripping humans apart. “Seriously?”
“I was quite the huntress in my day,” she said with a chuckle. “But I fell in love with a bleeding heart. Ronnie takes after his father in that regard.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed he doesn’t like talking about dinner at the dinner table.”
“Ronnie is rather unusual, even for a ghoul,” she conceded. “He’s been squeamish about human meat ever since he saw a hunt years ago.”
“What happened?”
“Ronnie was staying with his grandparents. My mother and father. They’re not exactly as picky about their diet as we are,” she explained. “It was the first time he’d seen ghouls kill a human, and he’s been funny about it ever since. I’m afraid he gets teased quite a bit for it.”
“Ghouls bully other ghouls?”
“Oh, there are bullies everywhere. You’ll find that out soon enough.”
“Are the Moreaus bullies?” Colt asked, figuring it was his only chance to get a straight answer. “Is that why Stan doesn’t like talking about them?”
Susan didn’t answer right away. She blew thoughtfully on her tea. “You’re very perceptive, Colt. That can either be a curse or a blessing.”
“Both, in my experience,” he mumbled. “Are you afraid of them?”
“They’re Alphas. Any ghoul with a pinch of common sense is afraid of them.”
“What are Alphas, anyway? Is it a different type of ghoul?”
“Not at first. An Alpha is a ghoul that feeds on its own kind,” she said quietly, her gaze far off. “Consuming another ghoul’s blood here or there won’t do anything, but eating the flesh consistently turns you into something else. A monster among monsters.”
“What happens?” Colt asked, curious despite the fact that he could tell the topic was making Susan uncomfortable. He knew the Browns wanted to keep him from getting overwhelmed, but ever since he’d learned that ghouls were everywhere, he saw them everywhere. Not knowing whether the man behind the counter at the store or the woman walking by on the street was a monster like him made him feel vulnerable. He’d never been one to run from a fight, but he liked to know as much as he could to better his chances of winning.
“When they transform, it’s...different. It’s not just claws and fangs and black eyes, their whole body changes. Their face elongates, their fangs grow huge, their musculature changes, and sometimes, they even grow fur.”
“So, they’re basically werewolves?”
“If by ‘werewolf’ you mean nightmarish hellbeast on two legs, then sure, they’re werewolves.”
“And they eat other ghouls because it makes them stronger?”
“Yes. And the Moreaus run this territory. They’re a bit like the human mafia. As long as you play by their rules, everything is fine, but if you cross them…”
“You end up on the menu.”
“Precisely.”
“What I don’t get is, if the Moreaus are only in charge because they’re Alphas, why don’t other ghouls just become Alphas and challenge them?”
“For one thing, word travels fast when a ghoul is killed. If the Moreaus got wind that another ghoul was trying to become an Alpha, they’d put him down fast.”
“And for another?”
She smirked. “It’s uncivilized.”
“Right,” Colt said with a dry laugh. “And how do the infamous Moreaus feel about me?”
“They’re aware of you, but as long as you keep a low profile, we won’t have any trouble. Stan and I vouched for you.”
Colt swallowed hard. Not fucking up because he didn’t want to get killed was one thing, but knowing the Brown family had put their necks out for him raised the stakes. “That’s putting a lot of trust in a complete stranger. Especially one you met eating a guy’s corpse.”
“Stan and I both had a good feeling about you, Colt,” she said knowingly. “It’s a risk we’re willing to take.”