Blood match

Doc

The dim fluorescent lights buzzed softly above the cluttered desk, casting flickering shadows that seemed to dance around the room. The air was thick with the sour tang of stale cigarette smoke and damp plaster. Peeling wallpaper curled at the corners like wounded flesh. My Brother Shelby lounged across the Desk from me in my cramped, half-dark office; his ocean-blue eyes gleaming with a mix of annoyance and concern under the dull flicker of a single bulb.  He leaned in; forearms braced against the cluttered surface. 

“You want to explain what happened the other night?” 

Shelby’s voice was low-controlled, like steel coiled tight. 

My chest tightened, a jittery knot of dread twisting my insides. I opened my mouth; words tumbled out before I could stop. “You’ll have to be more specific, big brother.” Shelby’s gaze sharpened, and I felt each ridge of skin burn under his scrutiny. 

“Don’t get cute. Ruiz already called me.”

I forced a crooked smirk, though my heart hammered. “Oh? And what pearls of wisdom did that mutt have for me?” 

 “Care to explain why you nailed beta Gavin to Ruiz’s God damn door with a note reading and i quote “I’ll skin your pretty little wolf fur from your bones and use it as a rug to put in front of my fireplace, and if you happen to catch on fire, then you can count on me to piss on it, to put you out”

Heat flared in my face. My pulse thundered—images of that night flashed in my mind: my temper sparking faster than wildfire, the heavy nail gun recoiling in my grip, the note fluttering like a warning flag against the warped wood.

“Shelby, in all fairness, I was upset”

“Doc, what happened?”  Shelby sat there, His tone softened just enough to throttle me with guilt.

I let out a shuddering breath, the sound torn from somewhere deep.

 “Jesus, man. Just Tell me What’s going on in that head of yours?, please, I’m here for you”

“It’s Raven,” Doc said, the name a poison on his tongue. “She left me again, a few days ago”

Shelby recoiled as if struck.

“And, I’m still processing it.” Shelby’s eyes widened, then narrowed, cutting to me with dawning, horrified understanding.

 “And you thought it was a good idea to nail a useless beta to Ruiz’s front door because she left you?” The words were hissed, accusing. “That’s Low, even for you”

“She left me for Ruiz okay.” Even as I spoke, I could taste how petty it sounded, how pathetic. A vampire, brought low by a romantic slight. “She chose a fucking mutt – over me” I pounded my closed fist on my chest “ And I’m her God damn bloody mate.”

“Maybe he had a bigger Dick then yours?”

 “My Dick is just fine!”

“I mean, I heard wolves are… blessed. Down there, It puts us vampires to shame by like…A lot”

I let out a little small snarl. Shelby just hurt my pride. Ruiz isn’t the only one who is well endowed, I have a big Dick too.

“I  mean, I would understand why your mate left you for a wolf this time”

“Not helping Big Brother” Doc said.

“If you say so” Shelby said as he sucked in a breath and slowly exhaled. “Doc, whatever the reason was…” He sighed, frustration etched on his face. “You could’ve handled this situation differently.”

“Maybe” I shrugged my shoulders “ Maybe not”  The words felt like betrayal on my tongue. “But sometimes you’ve got to send a message”

“And what message was that when you almost killed that poor innocent beta?”

Casualties can happen between love and war.

 “ To stop Fucking another males mate, or the same thing will happen to him, except I won’t be nailing Ruiz’s  ass on his front door for my Soul sucking tick to find, Oh no, I’ll be  taking his head and mounting it on my wall” 

Shelby’s voice was soft but fierce. “Because of your little stunt, Ruiz banned you from the feeding program.”

A cold dread pooled in my stomach. I muttered, “Figures.” I folded my arms tighter, trying to muster defiance. “Looks like he won this round, He gets me banned, And gets to Fuck my wife like she belongs to him, How is that fair?”

“It’s not fair, But she made her choice, it’s time to let her go, For good this time, she isn’t good for you, or, for your mental health…well…what’s left of it anyways.”

Doc sighed. 

 “Here, Little brother” 

Shelby slid a single business card across the table, my heart thudded with something like curiosity . I lifted the card: Bloodmatch—bold red letters smeared with a hint of fresh blood From Shelby’s fingers. “What is this?” I asked.

Shelby’s voice cracked, as if he meant it to be an olive branch. “It’s Called Help little Brother, Use it”

My thumb traced the fresh warning- bright red ink glittering. I lifted my gaze slowly “Help with what exactly?” I asked. 

 “Alright. Well.” Shelby took a deep breath and exhaled  “Don’t get upset with me, but, Last night I called the owner. Since he owed me a favor, he is willing to sell you one of his new donors.”

“Sell one to me?” I repeated Shelby’s words, my voice dangerously calm.

Shelby nodded, “He doesn’t want an unfortunate accident, like with the last three donors, that walked in here, and left buried in your cemetery .” His words trembled with reluctant sympathy.

I closed my eyes, the weight of everything crashing in: pride, fear, resentment, desperation. “I’m not buying a donor,” I  snapped.

“Think of it as your own personal walking blood bank, on tap,  available to you 24/7 when you need it.”

Was I really considering this? To buy a donor as if I was buying a prized cow.

Yes, you bet the fuck I am, but I’m not telling Shelby that.

Shelby’s eyes, hard and resolved, met mine across the desk. In them, I saw the decision solidify, the last shred of pretense falling away.

“Doc” He said sighing “I would consider this option. Since it is the last one you have, And your mate Raven isn’t here to feed you anymore to keep you settled, and this is the price you will pay for acting out childishly-You dug your own grave—now you’ve got to lay in it.”

My pulse thundered as I stared at the card, the tiny promise of blood and salvation pressed into my hand. Every moral fiber screamed against it—but Shelby was right. Out here, choices came wrapped in barbed wire. I exhaled a ragged breath. When I raised my head, my voice was low, strained with conflicting emotions. “Alright.”

Shelby’s tension eased into a thin nod, the smallest glimmer of victory flickering in his eyes.

 “Good “ Shelby said, “You better not screw this up”

I slipped the Bloodmatch card into my jacket pocket. A cold grin twisted my lips, though it tasted like ash. “I won’t,” The conflict churning behind my eyes.