Page 4 of Destined for Dreams
Chapter 2
Cori
She watched her last customer leave the shop, sighing. It had been a small job. Just a touch up of a small tattoo on the woman’s ankle that had faded during the last twelve years since she’d originally gotten it. Cori barely needed half an hour to fix it up.
“What’s wrong?” Melena asked, concern in her gaze.
The sensor was working late hours this week at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office in downtown Fairbanks—a supernatural affairs subdivision—so they’d been carpooling together. Cori always closed her shop at nine in the evenings, and since they were currently living together, taking one vehicle worked well. Cori needed to save the gas money anyway. Her newest vehicle was a ten-year-old Chevy Tahoe that could eat a lot of gas, and it needed a lot of maintenance since she’d gotten it cheap. She missed her last truck, but it had been destroyed when she was run off the road and kidnapped by her ex-husband’s minions.
Melena was letting her stay at her place since Cori’s cabin had also burned down in the same series of events. It was in the process of being rebuilt, but it would likely be another few weeks before it was finished. In the meantime, the sensor didn’t mind having someone around who could cook. Cori wouldn’t call herself a professional chef, but she could prepare meals that had people coming back for seconds. Melena’s culinary skills, on the other hand, left something to be desired despite her best efforts.
The two of them had been friends for a year and a half now. During that time they’d faced all sorts of dangers together, including Melena’s crazy brother who led a cult, a deranged nephilim called Zoe who took over Fairbanks briefly, and an outbreak of the black plague that targeted the supernatural community. Oh, and then there was the time Cori helped organize Melena and Lucas’ wedding that took place just outside of the pearly gates of Heaven. To say their friendship had been eventful since the start would have been an understatement, but they’d had each other’s backs no matter what they faced.
The sensor, who’d once been mortal until her nephilim mate changed her into something stronger and more resilient, was a total badass. She might not have the same bulk as the supernatural men they knew, but Melena had a tightly toned body and enough strength to pick up a car if she wanted. At the moment, she had her long, auburn hair pulled back into a braid. The unobstructed view of her features highlighted her creamy complexion and high cheekbones. Melena was pretty but in an understated way. She didn’t need to show off her looks.
While their body frames weren’t all that dissimilar, Cori had slightly more curves in the hips and chest, shoulder-length, wavy black hair, and she stood an inch shorter than Melena at 5’5”. They also shared the fair skin that was common to Alaska, particularly at this time of year. In November, the sun set far earlier than in the lower forty-eight states and rose much later in the morning. They were getting less than seven hours of daylight, and it was getting shorter every day.
“Business has been slow the last few days…too slow,” Cori replied, heading toward the back where her private booth was located.
She needed to start cleanup from the last job. She probably should have locked the front door and called it quits for the night, but the shop technically didn’t close for another twenty-five minutes. She’d take a minor job for the extra money if one came along.
Melena followed behind her, stopping in the doorway of the small room. “How bad is it?”
“Let’s just say I can count my total customers for the day on one hand and have fingers left over, which is not good for a Friday.” Cori grabbed some antiseptic and paper towels and began spraying down her work area.
“Including Asher?” Mel asked.
“I had to give him the day off.”
The sensor winced. “Has it ever been like this before?”
Cori paused her cleaning and gave her friend a pained look. “Only when there’s supernatural trouble.”
“It’s been quiet here.” Melena’s brows knitted together. “All my overtime has been spent advising offices in other parts of the country on how to handle their problems. Since most other places don’t have someone like me they can trust, every little problem the agency hasn’t dealt with before seems to fall to me. I’ve had to make day trips to three different cities on the west coast this week.”
Cori had noticed the lines of weariness around Melena’s sensor-blue eyes. It had to be a huge responsibility figuring out how to be fair to supernaturals and humans all while knowing whatever decisions she made—with the approval of her chain of command—would become the standard for all offices across the country. The higher ups in DHS listened to the sensor since she knew more than most anyone about supernaturals, and she’d served as a soldier in the army for six years before getting an honorable discharge. It gave Melena a certain standing and respect that couldn’t be duplicated by anyone else all that easily.
The shop doorbell chimed, alerting them a customer had just come inside. Cori quickly put her cleanings supplies away and led Melena to the front. Next to the counter, a man and woman waited for her with irate expressions on their faces.
This couldn’t be good.
Since nearly dying and ingesting some of the sensor’s immortal blood to heal severe burn injuries, Cori had developed a few new abilities. One of them was that she could see auras around people, telling her which race they belonged to—as long as they weren’t human. The stronger and brighter the aura color appeared, the older and more powerful the individual.
The man had a fuzzy red glow about him, indicating he was a young vampire who’d probably been turned in the last ten to twelve years, making his real age somewhere around his mid to late thirties. To look at him, though, one would think he wasn’t a day over twenty-five. With his short brown hair, dark eyes, and lanky figure, he could have been a local college student. The woman, who appeared a few years younger than him, had no aura. She was fully human. Her thin blond hair, pale and waxy skin, and slight form gave the impression she was likely a blood donor for the vamp.
Cori remembered the young woman, Tara, coming in the other day for an intricate band around her wrist. She’d brought the design on a sheet of paper with no explanation about the origin other than her vampire boyfriend wanted it on her. During the entire tattoo process she was quiet, and despite it being her first time, showed no signs of pain. This had bothered Cori. She remembered being worried for the girl and what kind of man she might be dating. Had he compelled her to do this against her will? The fact he was a vampire had twisted her gut and made her wish the girl was immune to compulsion so she couldn’t be manipulated.
“You,” the man said, pointing at Cori. “What did you do to my girlfriend?”
She stopped midway across the room, Melena next to her, and put her hands on her hips. “I gave her a tattoo like she asked. What’s the problem?”
“I can’t compel her anymore!”
“I’m heartbroken to hear that.” It was all Cori could do to keep a straight face at this unexpected turn of events. “But why are you assuming it has anything to do with me?”
The vampire gestured at Melena, practically spitting his next words, “Because you hang out with her, asensor, and everyone has heard how she did something to change you.”
“Little boy.” Melena crossed her arms. “You do not want to make an enemy out of me.”
