Deprived

Chapter 8 - The search

Music boomed through the air, filling the squirming bodies in the club with excitement as they cheered and danced their worries away. The incubus by the bar however, glanced back and forth at the clock with a worried expression, fingers drumming against the wood while he ignored the bedroom eyes from the young woman a few seats away.

He missed work... again. As long as Lucca had known Jesse, he'd never seen the pixie be late for work. Failing to show up without further notice was impossible... and suspicious.

One of the bartenders shot him a smile as she shook her head. "Come on Lucca, relax. Its the honeymoon stage of mating; they just can't keep their mits to themselves." Lucca let out a troubled sigh as he closed his eyes, forcing his fingers to stop their jittery rhythm.

Even if he was unmated, Lucca had the uncanny ability to sense something was wrong. It had saved his life a few times in the past and he relied on his gut instinct more than usual. Especially when it was screaming at him like it was now.

Shaking his head, Lucca replied, "I've went past Jesse's apartment yet nobody responded when I knocked the door." The Siren only giggled as she blushed, pushing her golden hair to the side. "Lucca, they were probably too... occupied, to answer the door."

The incubus gave her a dull glare as he tapped the side of his nose. "I would've picked up the scent of their lust, darling." He sighed, fingers tapping away again as his eyes bounced back towards the club before scanning the dance floor.

"I... I'm sure they just..." The siren shook her head to regain her composure. "Maybe Jesse went to stay at James' place for a while..."

The incubus sighed, inclining his head in defeat. That would make sense, especially if James was one of those territorial bastards and figured out Lucca would come and check on Jesse from time to time. He didn't know where James lived after all.

Pushing himself up from the bar, he shoved his hands in his jeans and weaved through the crowd. Eyes lingered on him as he danced with elegance, several hands grabbing hold of him before he shook them off, as he was not interested in a feeding.

His stomach churned at the thought of feeding and enjoying himself while something could be wrong with Jesse. As soon as he was outside, he closed his eyes with a sigh and shook his head, reveling in the cooling air.

The two berserkers up front nodded in greeting, a hopeful look in their eyes that quickly diminished when Lucca shook his head. No sign of Jesse what so ever, no phone call, no message. Nothing.

As if he vanished from the face of the earth.

A shiver coursed through Lucca's body and he cursed before setting out for a brisk walk. He needed to be able to clear his mind instead of trying to make it seem as if something was wrong with Jesse.

Lucca himself had several mated couples as friends, hell, his sister was mated as well and he hardly visited her, as she was always in the middle of undressing her lover.

His stomach grumbled lowly, reminding Lucca that without his feeding, he'd be subjected to physical hunger. He shrugged, as it had been a while he actually ate something and decided to go to the nearest restaurant for some quick take out.

The delicious smells in the air and waiters passing by with scrumptious dishes hardly did anything to him though; his stomach was growling in protest but also pinched together with worry.

Glancing up when his name was called, he smiled warmly and accepted the bag of food, his smile turning warmer when the young lad didn't make a sexual remark or cast him a flirty look. Sex was nourishment to him and after all these years without finding a mate, it was a relief when he wasn't groped, tugged or goggled at.

His eyes slid to the waitress beside the young lad and Lucca had to fight from rolling his eyes as he caught her dreamy look and the wishful sigh that slipped her glossy lips.

Spoke too soon...

Clutching the plastic bag in his hand, he quickly made his way out of the restaurant, holding the door open for the elderly couple that just passed him. At their warm and pleasant smile, he nodded once before setting out to his house.

He hummed a song while patting his pockets in search of his key, cursing as they slipped from his fingers and landed on the grimy floor. When he looked up, he frowned at the flashing blue and red lights a bit further up the street.

What are the cops doing out there? The place is deserted, safe for a few squatters...

Curiosity bit at his neck as the small hairs prickled and stood up. Even if Lucca wasn't the usually nosy guy, something about those flashing lights pulled him closer, luring him in to go and investigate.

Looking down at the bag in his hands, Lucca quickly decided to drop it off in the kitchen before checking the place out. Five minutes later, the food was safely set upon his counter, and Lucca was already halfway across the street, where a growing mass of people tried to take their fill.

Lucca rolled his eyes, cursing his instincts that were tugging him closer to where several cops were busy draping the bright yellow Do not cross plastic around the alleyway. He noticed a couple of werewolves already shifted, sniffing around for any odd scents before his eyes ventured to the coroners that were standing near a clothed figure on the floor.

His stomach sank at the obvious sign of someone deceased. The whispers of murder started amongst the crowd as they seemed eager to find out who the pour soul was, like vultures waiting to pick apart a corpse until nothing was left.

Shaking his head at his instincts and foolish curiosity, Lucca shoved his hands in his pockets angrily and glared at the floor as he turned on the spot and kicked at the trashcan in his way.

Honestly, he wished he hadn't done that. Not because of the cops that glared up at him with suspicion or the people that jumped away from him.

Lucca gagged and dropped to his knees, stomach heaving as it emptied its contents on the floor. Screams started up behind him yet he couldn't tear his eyes away from the unseeing eyes of James' head, that had probably been in the trashcan he'd kicked over and now laid exposed in the street for all to see.

A wave of worry flashed through his body, forcing another sickening flood to purge his stomach as his eyes watered from the force.

Jesse.

A cloth was tossed over James' remains while cops swarmed around him. Forcing himself to calm down enough to breathe, Lucca instantly grabbed a hold of the nearest cop with wide eyes. He needed to tell them what was wrong, that they needed to look for the Pixie.

Because from the brief glimpse he saw of James, Lucca knew the vampire's body had been hidden there for quite some time. Which meant that all this time, Jesse wasn't just enjoying the comfort of his mate and completely lost track of time.

For nine weeks, Jesse had been missing. And judging from the dead body of his mate, Jesse wasn't just missing.

Jesse had been kidnapped.

Several of the cops helped him to his feet, eyes suspicious as they called in one of the nearby coroners when they noticed Lucca was unable to speak. One look and Lucca felt his heart throb in relief, as the Satori that was approaching him would be able to read his mind.

And indeed, the second the ape shifter pushed his blue hair out of his face before reaching out to grasp Lucca's palm, it flinched back and recoiled as his memories flooded through the shifters' mind.

He almost wanted to apologize for the countless of sexual encounters the Satori had to go through but frowned when it turned around to look at the commanding officer with unseeing eyes and announced, "It is like we feared. We need to add one more."

One more? One more what? What the hell was going on?

Judging from the grim expressions on the officers' faces or the way he was being tugged quickly towards the nearest car, Lucca suspected that Jesse might be in a lot more trouble than he originally thought.

And as the Satori flinched, the memory of those damned Improba surfaced his mind, causing Lucca to pale and stagger on his weakening limbs.

Gods no...

Anything but them...