by C. T. Adams
“There’s no use running, Denis,” he warned. “I know your scent, the taste of you. I could find you anywhere you’d go.” Denis backed up until his spine was against the wall. He curled into near-fetal position and began to suck his thumb. His hazel eyes were wide and showing too much white. Bobby released the other children. They dropped gently to the carpet but didn’t move so much as a hair. Only their shallow breathing told me they weren’t statues. They didn’t want to turn Bobby’s attention on them for any reason. I couldn’t blame them.
“What are you?” the boy asked in a whisper before tucking his thumb back between his lips.
“You’re lucky, Denis,” Bobby said in a stern voice. “I’m a python—a very special member of Wolven.” The two older children looked at Bobby with new panic plain on their faces. The dark-haired teen opened her mouth in a silent ‘o’. A second wash of ammonia-laced hot and sour soup filled the air. Wolven is the Sazi equivalent of the bogeyman, and not just to children. Knowing that the cops had a license to kill—and wouldn’t hesitate to use it—was enough to instill fear in most anyone.
The kids hadn’t known who Bobby was. They all flinched when he stood to his full 6′2″ and reached down one nearly blue-black hand to touch Denis’s head.
“I’m the chemist for Wolven. You’re lucky I was here instead of one of the other agents. I can use my tongue to detect and analyze any organic or man-made chemical on earth—even the tiniest little bit—and know what it is instantly.” He glanced at me and Sue.
“When I used my tongue where you bit Mrs. Giambrocco, I didn’t find any traces of blood. That’s why you’re lucky, Denis.” He raised the boy’s face to meet his gaze. “Most Wolven agents wouldn’t have taken the time to check. You all know that biting and scratching is absolutely the worst thing in the world you can do, don’t you!” The blank stares from the kids weren’t just because they were frozen in place. They actually seemed confused.
Bobby’s face grew suspicious. “You don’t scratch and bite each other at home, do you? Your parents have forbidden that, like riding with a stranger, or crossing the street without looking—right?”
Denis shook his head until his hair raised a breeze. The thumb popped out of his mouth. “Mama doesn’t care if we bite each other. She said that’s what wolves do.”
I’d seen that tight, angry expression on Bobby before. Someone was going to get hurt, now or later. I might be forced to step in, but I hoped not. I didn’t have to, because he calmed down quickly when Denis recoiled so sharply from the anger that he nearly bumped into the wall. Bobby sighed.
“I know that Mrs. Giambrocco made you mad when she wouldn’t let you change the TV channel, Denis. But you need to understand that she’s human—and you’re not. If you bite or scratch a human and they aren’t wearing silver, they will become Sazi like us.”
“But that’s good, isn’t it? Mama says we’re better than humans.”
The hell you say! A growl rose from my chest before I could stop it. The children’s fearful eyes turned from Bobby to me. They huddled together in a quivering group, not knowing who to trust.
Bobby shook his head. “No, Denis. We’re different, not better. Let me explain how our law works, kids. Gather ’round.” Three of the children moved tentatively forward to sit down cross-legged in a semi-circle just out of Bobby’s reach. The older boy took Denis’s hand and had to tug a little to move him closer. Now that I looked, there was a strong resemblance.
“Sonya, Vera, Alek—and Denis.” Bobby looked at each one of them slowly and strongly as he spoke their names. He needn’t have bothered. He had their full attention. “It is against the law to scratch, bite or injure a human so that they bleed. The magic that makes us Sazi can get into their body through the blood. Most humans who are attacked will die when the animal inside tries to come out to greet the moon.”
Bobby pointed at me. “Mr. Giambrocco was attacked by one of us. He is lucky to have lived. If he hadn’t already been a predator in the human world, he wouldn’t have survived. He was a hunter, so it was easier for him to be like us.”
The two older children looked at me with a new level of respect. They suddenly liked me more. I tipped my head in acknowledgment. Nice to know it has value in both worlds.
“Sonya,” he continued to the girl of about six, “If Denis had drawn blood on Mrs. Giambrocco, what would have happened?”
She wasn’t as impressed by Bobby or me as her older counterparts. Innocence has its advantages.
“His aht-yets and maht would have spanked him?” she asked tentatively. Her voice was a soft alto. I could tell it would end up a really sexy contralto by the time she was a teen. Sue elbowed me in the ribs without the kids noticing. I stifled my amusement. It wasn’t the time.
From Sue’s mind, I heard Sonya’s Russian as father and mother. Hmm. Didn’t know she spoke other languages.
Bobby gave a negative shake of his head. “Vera?”
The dark-haired teen glanced at Denis before turning her eyes back to Bobby. Her strong soprano voice was confident and a little too predatory. She smelled amused at the child’s mistake. She smirked as she spoke.
“The Alpha would punish him.” The Alpha—as in the pack leader, Nikoli.
The children around her gasped and Denis lip started to tremble again. Hot and sour soup filled the air again and made my jaw clench. I needed a steak. And soon.
“I don’t want to go to the Alpha’s dragon!” he wailed. “It’ll eat me!” Alek looked at Bobby with wide eyes and hugged Denis to him protectively.
That was the second time someone mentioned a dragon. It made me more than a little curious. I couldn’t wait to meet this enforcer of Nikoli’s.
Bobby sighed deeply. He shook his head again. “Your parents have been careless in your schooling. Neither answer is correct. You need to understand that it’s not your parents, not your pack leader, but Wolven who would punish you for attacking a human.” The older children gasped a second time but the younger boy and girl just looked blank.
He looked around at all of them and then to us. “If Denis had drawn blood, even if Mrs. Giambrocco was wearing silver and wouldn’t have turned,” he said, pointing a shaking finger at each child in turn, “I would have found you guilty of grave damage and I would have killed you. Right here and right now, without anyone’s permission. Biting or scratching is as bad, or even worse than telling the humans the Sazi exist. There is no excuse that is good enough for attacking a human short of defending your life or your family’s life! And even then, you may die if the investigator decides it wasn’t justified.”
He waited until he knew that the words had full effect. I admit I was a little surprised. The children were apparently very surprised by scent of shock that rose from them.
The wolf who turned me, Babs, only got knocked around a little. Well okay. She got knocked around a lot. Of course, I was trying to kill her at the time so she could claim self-defense. Denis had no such excuse.
Bobby was continuing on with the children hanging on every terrifying word. The stench of ammonia would take a full day to air from the apartment. It was making my eyes water.
“Do you understand, kids? It is Wolven that enforces the laws of all Sazis. Your parents can punish you for violating the decisions they’ve made for your family. The pack leader governs the pack and enforces its rules. But if you don’t follow the laws of all of our kind—the principles we live by to protect us from being discovered by the humans—then your parents or your pack leader must call me. It’s why you must always be careful to not harm anything but proper prey. You must NEVER let your temper, your fear, or even your pride make you do something as foolish as Denis did today. Every human that joins our society increases our risk of discovery. Every single bloodletting can let a human in.”
I watched Denis carefully. His eyes were wide, his breathing was fast. He was still terrified, but overriding the scent of ammonia was the soured milk smell of disbelief.
Vera
tipped her head toward him to catch his scent. Her nostrils flared delicately as she inhaled. “Denis, you have to believe him if he doesn’t smell like black pepper. Trust your nose.”
The boy tentatively moved forward and sniffed the air around Bobby, who waited with reptilian patience until he was done.
“Denis, even for biting, I should punish you. You have caused Mrs. Giambrocco damage.”
Sonya furrowed her small brow and asked an innocent question in that so-adult voice. “She’ll heal, won’t she?”
Ah, yes. The standard line of the Sazi. Enough that it’s practically a joke to me. They’re just so damned casual about it. A shrug of the shoulder at a broken bone or a crippling wound with the words “You’ll heal.” And they will. In almost a blink of an eye.
Bobby shook his head. “You should know better than that.” His voice was stern, “Aren’t there other family members who don’t change with the moon?”
“Well, yes,” Sonya admitted, “But Mama doesn’t like for us to talk to them.”
I fought down another growl. Bobby just looked disgusted. “Fine, Sonya. But the rest of you should know. That bite will leave a mark and a bruise that will last more than a week.”
The jaws of the two younger children dropped simultaneously and the air filled with the mildew smell of their amazement. Even the older two turned to look at us curiously. The dusty scent of Sue’s embarrassment reached me. I knew exactly how she felt. It hadn’t been that long ago that I was a human—and I still thought and felt like one. In this place we were the freaks. Oddities to be put on display to help children to learn the foreign world of humans.
I’m still amazed by it all—that their perspective of time is so incredibly different. The Sazi live their whole lives with the sure knowledge that nothing will actually hurt for more than a day. They will live for decades longer than a normal human lifespan. The strongest Alphas can live for centuries.
Denis actually looked shaken, not just scared. He turned to Sue with an expression of horror.
“I didn’t know I damaged you. I know what that means. I’m really, really sorry.” Tears welled up until his eyes glittered like polished gems. He finally understood what he’d done and knew there would be consequences.
He took a shuddering breath and squared his small shoulders. He was going to be a man about it. Attaboy. He stood up and turned to Bobby. “What will happen to me?”
Sorrow overwhelmed my nose—thick and foggy and laced with worry. I guess they didn’t teach Sue everything in her classes in Colorado.
I heard her tentative whisper in my mind. Would he really kill a child, Tony?
I shrugged my shoulders. The law can be harsh in the world of predators. I just didn’t know. I’ve seen Bobby do things that would make other people blanch, though. It’s a question of order over chaos, Sweetheart. The boy could endanger all of the Sazi. Bobby might have no choice.
She closed her eyes to concentrate on hearing my reply. She stiffened for a moment as the words sunk home. Then she nodded her head numbly and bit on her lower lip. She looked about as uncomfortable as when we first met. The brief flash of our first meeting made me wonder about my old friend, Jocko. I hadn’t seen him since I “died” four months ago.
“Well, at least you understand that concept.” continued Bobby, bringing me out of my daze, “Fortunately, you’re young, Denis, and obviously haven’t been trained properly. No harm was done—this time. But I have to know what you’ve learned today, little ones.”
Denis looked up and the cool air of hope filled the room. His words were very serious and grown-up. “Never, ever bite a human.”
“Never bite anyone,” replied Bobby. “A Sazi would have torn your throat out.”
Denis nodded quickly. “Never bite.” He thought for a moment and added, “Or scratch.”
Bobby nodded and looked at the others. “And the rest of you?”
“Humans are just as good as us?” said Sonya with her head cocked and brows raised. She sounded a bit doubtful about it. When Bobby nodded, she continued with more confidence. “We’re only different.”
“Alek?”
Alek had apparently realized how little they knew and was annoyed. He shook his head and let out a frustrated sound. His hands had closed into fists.
“Tell our parents to find us a new teacher ’cause otherwise we’re going to end up dragon food or worse.” he snarled. A small smile turned my lips at nearly the same time as Bobby’s.
“And you, Vera?” Bobby asked as his lid blinked up again over the red iris.
The teen couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Bobby. With every upside down blink of his reptilian orbs, she flinched.
“Never do anything to make our parents or Alpha have to call you.”
This time Bobby smiled, showing broad white teeth that didn’t seem the least bit menacing. But both Vera and I knew better.
“Very good. Now, Vera, why don’t you call your mother to come get the lot of you. I think the Giambroccos have had enough excitement for today, hmm?”
Vera quickly went to the phone and called home. I glanced at Sue and then fought through the layers of haze in my brain to think a question into her head. What happened here? Who left these kids with you?
Her brow furrowed for a second and she closed her eyes. Then she shrugged and responded the same way. They just showed up on the doorstep. The car pulled away from the curb before I could see who it was. But I couldn’t just leave them in the snow. They knew my name and said I was supposed to watch them. They hadn’t even had dinner yet, Tony. I couldn’t just leave them outside.
Great. That probably meant that all the steaks in the freezer were gone. I needed to eat. It had been too damned long since I’d gorged on that deer—especially with the scent of fear so heavy on the air. I wasn’t going to ask for more details until they were gone, but I was going to find out who dropped a bunch of werewolf kids at my house to stay the night.
Chapter 3
I LET BOBBY handle gathering the children’s belongings and getting them ready to leave while I went and said a proper hello to my wife.
Sue was standing in the bedroom, glancing around for anything the kids might have missed when I entered and shut the door behind me. She started at the sound and turned around suddenly.
“Oh! You startled m—.”
Her voice fell off. I let all the intense feelings I’d been tamping down show in my eyes. She was looking really good. I stopped right in front of her and reached up one hand to brush back a few strands of hair that had covered one eye. My fingers traced slowly down the line of her jaw. I watched her shiver in the soft light. The need to touch her was impossible to ignore. Electricity tingled my skin, teased along my hand and flowed up my arm. Her eyes were suddenly wide and panicked. A light hot and sour soup smell rose and blended with her summer forest scent. The same desire and hunger that I felt burned right under the surface.
“But what about the kids? They’re just outside.”
My hand slid behind her head and I pulled her toward me slowly. My words were a whisper as I watched her shudder with pleasure. “That’s why I shut the door. Welcome home.”
I tilted my head and pulled her mouth to mine. A moan escaped me as the teasing tingles became raw need. My arms wound around her and pulled her tight against me. Electricity became fire as we fed at each other’s mouth. Blue light danced just behind my eyelids and I knew that my eyes were glowing. Our tongues tangled while magic began to swirl around us. It filled the room as I tore my mouth from hers and moved it to her neck. My hands slid under her shirt to caress her curves. I licked the scent from her skin and rolled it on my tongue. I showered her neck with little kisses and nips that left her legs shaky.
Her voice was breathless. “Oh, God! I’d almost forgotten how good this feels. I’ve missed you so much!” Her arms tightened and her fingers dug into my shoulders.
I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t even think enough to form words. There was only light a
nd heat and that intoxicating scent that was driving me wild. I shook my head, trying to clear it. I didn’t want to get so wrapped up that we ended up having sex and missed the parents arriving. I planned to have a little chat with them. The pain in her leg was washing away in the pleasure of my touch, but I knew it would be back. Nobody hurts my mate without a price.
Her fingertips reached up and smoothed through my hair, raising another series of shudders in me.
“We’d better stop now.” I said, but I didn’t want to. I pulled back and looked into those drowning deep green eyes and kissed her once more, softly. We stood like that for a moment, our lips just barely touching, the knowledge of what lay ahead hanging in the air.
A car horn honked outside. That, and the sudden scampering sounds in the living room, shattered the crystalline moment.
“Why don’t you lie down, Sue. It’s been a long night. I’ll be back in a few minutes to tuck you in.” My eyes reflected the humor in my voice. I pulled away from her and stepped to the door. Her responding chuckle was throaty and warm.
“I’d like very much to be tucked. Hurry back.” She walked toward me again with a sultry sway. She reached out and traced an electrifying pattern on the back of my hand and I had to shake my head again and take a deep breath to convince myself to leave. Better change subjects or I would drown in the need.
“When did you learn to speak Russian?” It had been nagging at me.
She stepped back and sat down on the bed. “I only know a few words. Lucas thought I should learn a bit—mother, father, sister, brother and some household things, because quite a few of the pack members are immigrants. And I had plenty of time to study. I learned some food words and what letters go where in the alphabet. That’s about all.”
I pursed my lips. “Great. You’ll have to teach me. Apparently, my new counterpart doesn’t speak very good English.”
She nodded and stretched out on the bed invitingly and closed her eyes. I started to move toward her. I wanted to touch her skin, kiss her mouth, cup her breas—