Scott

Looking from the flyer in his hand then to the club in front of him, Scott wasn’t sure if it was his type of club—a gay club, or at least gay friendly—but the flyer promised free cocktails, and he’d only moved to Salisbury a few weeks ago, so he knew no one yet and was looking to make new friends.

~*~

Wren

Wren Thorp had his eyes glued to the live security footage playing on his computer. He hadn’t been sure if his plan would work, but as he watched Scott Harken step into his club, holding onto the one and only flyer he’d had made, he grinned to himself. “Now we can get some info outta you,” he muttered.

“I’ll do the talking,” Mali said from where he was seated beside him.

As Mali stood, Wren stood too. “I can do it.”

“Really?” Mali quirked his eyebrow. “How many times have you been behind the bar in the last year?”

“Excuse me, but I’ve worked plenty of bars—”

“That’s not my point,” Mali interrupted. “If the regulars see you behind the bar chatting to the same person all night, it’ll cause suspicion. And we don’t even know if Scott has anything to do with the old soul coven. He could just be really unlucky about who he’s related to.”

Mali had a point. His ability to think logically was one of the reason’s he was a great right-hand man.

“You just wanna flirt with the little guy, Mali.” Hugh snickered as he moved from the wall he’d been leaning against to stand beside them. “Stop pretending he isn’t adorable.”

Wren laughed at the look on Mali’s face. Hugh being able to call them out on their bullshit was what made him also a great right-hand man. Wren knew he was lucky to have them both by his side. It had been only him and his brother Sterling, until Sterling fell in love with the leader of the old souls and deserted him—that was nearly eighty years ago but the pain still lingered. Wren had been on his own until he found Mali. While changing him into a vampire hadn’t been under good circumstances, it was the best decision he’d ever made. Choosing to help Hugh after the circumstances around his change was worse than both Mali’s and his, put together, but that too was a great decision. The men standing in front of him were his family.

“Oh, shoot,” Mali said, pointing to Wren’s computer screen, “Lindsay has no clue about the flyer.” He quickly rushed out of the office. Moments later, Wren and Hugh watched as Mali appeared on his computer screen, shuffling Lindsay, the barmaid, to another customer, before taking the flyer from Scott’s hand. Words were exchanged before Mali began making a cocktail and handing it to Scott. There was a lot of laughter going on and Wren wondered if Hugh was right, and Mali did just want to flirt with their mark.

Wren walked out of his office, ignoring Hugh’s chuckle. He wasn’t sure if Scott was important to their mission or if it was just a coincidence that he’d moved to the same city as the old soul coven, days after the last coven member from their last cycle of old souls had found the coven. Stepping into the main area of his club, Wren was cautious of making eye contact with anyone, he knew that would be all that they needed to think they could bother him. He’d owned clubs and bars for over seventy years, and always catered to supernaturals—it was also a good way to find new clients. Over time, Wren had managed to build a reputation for himself, Mali, and Hugh.

Wren stopped at the bar until Lindsay was free to serve him. He took the time to study Scott Harken. Seated on one of the bar stools it was obvious he was short—5’2—but the way the man laughed and gestured with his arms as he spoke, he got a lot of attention. Wren knew the man was gay, so he found it amusing to see some of the women around him were trying to get him to look their way. Scott didn’t seem to notice them, too focused on talking to Mali.

Wren had made a point of keeping an eye on the Harken family, but it wasn’t until Scott moved to Salisbury that they started monitoring him daily. They had seen eight different men go home with Scott, so Wren knew the guy had charm. Wren couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent time with someone in that capacity—it wasn’t high on his list of priorities—but as he watched Scott in his element, he wondered what it would be like to be so free.

Lindsay handed him a glass of whiskey—not needing to ask his order—when he suddenly realised Scott was watching him. Frowning, Wren wasn’t sure what his best move would be, but Scott thankfully turned back to Mali. Breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn’t just been made, Scott caught his eye again, Shoot. He knows I’m watching him… Wren couldn’t manage to look away though. Scott was smiling as he walked over to where Wren stood. He knew there was no way Scott could know who he was, or that Wren, Mali, and Hugh had been closely watching him for the past month. Holding his ground, Wren waited to see what Scott would say.

“Excuse me.” Scott’s voice was soft even with the DJ playing his loud music. “I lost my teddy bear; can I cuddle you tonight?”

Wren was…actually he couldn’t decipher how he was feeling. He guessed it was because he was so used to people wanting to discuss business with him or the odd woman brave enough to come onto him, he just wasn’t prepared for the cheesy chat-up line Scott had just said.

“So, aside from being gorgeous, what do you do for a living?” Scott asked, clearly not fazed by Wren’s inability to speak. Getting comfortable on the stool Wren was standing beside, he didn’t miss Scott’s subtle brush of his thighs against Wren’s legs. Oddly enough, the contact sparked something inside of him. Something that hadn’t been “sparked” in a long time.