by E. Blix
Christoph stared at her as she grew in size. She was quick-shifting, and it looked like she was going full wolf. Usually that meant one sorry hazmat crew with mops to clean up the aftermath. Oh, fuck.
Mouse was still absolutely flaming with embarrassment in her room. She was trying desperately to think of some way to escape the apartment without having to face either Analie or Christoph.
She didn’t even really hear what they were saying to each other as she paced back and forth in her bedroom until it escalated to angry shouting.
Not good.
Even worse, the shouting stopped.
Still battling her embarrassment, Mouse crept out of her room to see what the hell was going on.
Jessica listened wide-eyed to Clarisse, forgetting her schoolwork. She hadn’t heard about the newcomers through the rumor mill since she’d been at class when they arrived and she’d been too busy studying to socialize. By the end of the tale, including the sly mention of the betting pool on when Christoph would let Mouse bite him, Jessica had slumped in her chair.
“The other guy must be terrified. Where’s he staying?”
“Sebastian and Thad did some moving around last night. Probably with them.”
“Oh, hell. I’ll check on him.”
“Such a love,” Clarisse said, smiling brightly at her. “Let me know if he’s a looker, hmm? I might take a bit for myself.”
Jessica laughed. “You are something else. Let the poor guy settle in for a couple days at least.”
“If I don’t, ye know someone else will. John already did,” she pointed out.
“True,” Jessica said, heading to the door. She paused. “Oh, and put me down for twenty dollars on three weeks.”
“Ye got it, lassie.”
Analie stood over Christoph, who was on his back. Her enormous muzzle was inches away from his face and her teeth were bared.
Gavin meant everything in the world to Analie. He taught her pack values, rules, ceremonies, and the Goliath tongue. He encouraged her to challenge authority in hopes that she would quickly shed her low-rank status once she came of age. He understood when she was so frustrated with pack politics she acted like a little kid, running to her room and bawling. He never made his points with violence. He loved her.
“I-admit-that-I-have-erred-and-so-place-my-life-in-your-hands,” Christoph stammered, praying to God she was in the mood for some ceremony.
Like Gavin, Analie was always in the mood for some ceremony. She closed her lips around her teeth and prodded him with her nose.
“Thank-you-for-sparing-my-life-I-will-perform-the-task-you-give-me-and-only-when-it-is-complete-will-I-be-considered-forgiven.” Christoph looked like he was going to cry.
Analie growled deep in her chest.
“Your-mercy-is-not-lost-on-me-and-I-will-remember…I will…remember…” Christoph gritted his teeth. “Damn it! I never remember this stupid line... your patience is not lost on me and I will remember your mercy always!”
Analie harrumphed at him.
Mouse, peering around the entryway to the hall, was gaping at the gigantic Were in her living room.
She was an elder vampire. Elder vampires are not easily ruffled and do not scare easily—but she was frozen, watching wide-eyed and open-mouthed from the shadows in the hall.
Clarisse waited in Jessica’s apartment, eager to hear the outcome. Jessica headed down the hall to Sebastian and Thad’s apartment, knocking on the door.
She waited.
No answer.
A louder knock this time.
She waited.
Just as she was about to try a third time, Thad cracked the door open, half his hair sticking up in all directions, the other half flattened against his head. He was only wearing pajama bottoms, and looked tired and disgruntled as he stared at her.
“G’mornin’!” she chirped, leaning in to give him a little peck on the cheek, which he quickly wiped off with the back of his hand. “Came to meet the new guy. Can I come in?”
He managed a weak smile, shaking his head. “Sure. Knock yourself out. I’m going back to bed.”
“Cool. Hey, Clarisse started a betting pool. I’ve got twenty dollars on the new guy downstairs with Mouse for three weeks.”
Thad perked up a little and looked thoughtfully at the room where Ashi had been hiding all day. A slow grin curved his lips. “Tell her to put me down for fifty dollars on two and a half.”
She laughed and headed over to knock on Ashi’s door.
Analie sat back. Christoph stayed down. She gave him a look and prodded him with her paw. He sat up slowly, feeling like he’d dodged a bullet.
“Okay, so what do I have to do?” he asked, proud that his voice only cracked a little bit.
Analie shoved her head under his hand and looked up at him expectantly.
“You’re shitting me.”
She stared at him.
“Are you serious? Head scratches?”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Okay, I’m scratching, I’m scratching.” Christoph shook his head. “That was not cool. You don’t force a guy into the freaking beg-your-forgiveness thing for head scratches.”
You’re lucky I didn’t send you on a suicide mission, Analie thought grumpily. She gave him a look and then settled down, her head on her paws.
Ashi heard the knock.
He heard the second knock, louder.
He also heard the third knock.
The closet was quite comfortable.
Though Thad had intended to go directly to bed, he watched with mild curiosity to see what would happen when Ashi opened the door. Jessica gave him a worried look at the lack of response.
“Why isn’t he answering?”
“I don’t know. He seemed okay when I talked to him last night.”
Jessica tapped her chin with a finger. Maybe he was just asleep.
Then again, maybe he was hurt. John had bit him last night.
Oh shit.
“What if he passed out from the blood loss and hurt himself?”
Thad looked dubious. “I don’t think John took that much.”
“Thad, he’s not answering.”
Thad rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up as she gave him a pleading look, and opened the door. He blinked at the decided lack of Ashi.
“Uh… maybe you better get Mr. Royce down here.”
Mouse was relieved that Analie wasn’t about to go on a rampage. As quickly and quietly as she could, she crept back to her room and shut the door, curling up on the floor beside her bed with a stuffed animal. It wasn’t the bear Ari had given her, but it was better than nothing.
“When can I stop?” Christoph asked.
Analie didn’t even bother to look at him.
Ashi remembered joining Goliath.
Gregory had introduced him to a Were named Luis, a young man a little taller than Ashi who gave him a crushing handshake and stared right in his eyes. It was a clear warning not to mess with him. Gregory had quietly admonished Luis for his challenging behavior toward a newcomer.
“He’s challenging me?” Ashi had asked.
“Well, his behavior—” Gregory had begun, but Luis interrupted him.
“I’m giving you the opportunity to see if you’re tougher stuff than me. If you want to keep things cool between us, you’ll listen to me and follow my lead.”
“But you’re challenging me, right?” Ashi had pressed.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Luis had gone to the hospital.
After that, no one wanted to be Ashi’s “buddy” or help him learn the ropes. He learned through trial and error. It made him an incredibly powerful Were and gained him a very high rank, but his
knowledge of Goliath rules, the Code, and pack lore was almost nonexistent. Sure, he could recite the Code if need be, but it had never been driven home what it meant. No one wanted to hang around Ashi for very long—any excuse to enforce his rank or climb a little higher was quite literally pounced upon.
Being at the bottom again, with no chance of beating someone up to gain rank, was disconcerting. Being abandoned by his packmates was more an issue of rank than of friendship. He was almost starting to see the benefit of not enforcing his rank quite so brutally. Or even enforcing it all the time. Maybe.
Maybe there was something else to it. He was too jittery to think about it right now.
Jessica didn’t like waking Royce and didn’t know what he’d be able to do if Ashi was gone.
Maybe Clarisse would know.
“Hold on a sec. I’ll be right back.”
Thad nodded, scratching his head. He hadn’t heard Ashi wander through the apartment, though he hadn’t been paying attention. He was supposed to be at work in two hours and had been hoping to get more snooze time. Damn it.
Jessica rushed down the hall, and Clarisse met her in the door. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s not there,” she said, hazel eyes wide with concern. “He wouldn’t have…” she faltered at even thinking it.
“Run away? Maybe.”
“But why?”
“Lovey, not everyone thinks we’re the greatest thing since some brilliant barman decided to serve green beer on St. Patty’s day, bless their soul.”
Jessica barked out a short laugh. “You are so weird sometimes.”
“All part of my charm, lass. Let’s have a look-see, shall we?” Jessica and Thad followed close behind, but Clarisse stopped before she even reached the door to Ashi’s room, cocking her head to one side. “Huh.”
“What?” Jessica asked, bringing up the rear.
“He’s there.”
“How do you know?” Thad asked.
“I can hear his heartbeat. He’s in there.”
Ashi usually got up at the crack of dawn, downed two eggs blended into some orange juice, and then went out the door to tackle the world. He didn’t have any leisure activities to speak of. He worked six days out of the week. On Sunday he slept in until eight a.m. and then did his laundry, cleaned his apartment, washed his car, did his shopping, cooked his food for the week, packed it, froze it, and went to the park to walk. He didn’t visit anyone. He didn’t rent any movies.
Sitting in the closet listening to the murmur of strange voices outside was maddening, trumped only by the idea of being out of the closet and meeting a vampire. He stayed put.
Outside, Jessica made a face. “I will never get over that Superman shit you guys do.”
Clarisse laughed. “I do nae ken that’s saying much for me, lass. Always liked Batman more; ʼe looks a treat in that rubber suit.”
Jessica and Thad snickered as Clarisse entered the room. She moved slowly, puzzled, looking around for a second before making a beeline to the closet. She didn’t open it, just stood by, brow wrinkled as she peered back at Jessica and Thad sticking their heads in the door. Jessica gestured that she should open it, her look a mix of confusion, curiosity, and concern.
Clarisse hesitated. The boy was probably scared out of his mind and wouldn’t want to be dragged out. However, she was positively burning with curiosity and did want to know if he was all right.
And if he was good looking. Really, if he was anything like the bit Mouse got her hands on downstairs, it might be worth the bother of coaxing him out. John really must’ve scared the life out of him.
“‘Ere now,” Clarisse said, tapping lightly with her nails. “Ashi, is it? Are ye all right, lad? I’m opening the door now.”
And she did just that.
As the closet door opened, Ashi recoiled with a thump against the back of the closet, a total distance of about six inches. Christ, it was bright out there. It took a few moments of blinking to focus on a very lovely woman staring down at him.
Though you couldn’t tell considering he was curled up on the floor in a blanket, Ashi wasn’t particularly tall. His black hair was cropped short but had gotten to that stage where he needed to have it cut again before it started to stick out and look fuzzy. His father was Thai and his mother Korean and his angular features were a blend of the two. He looked like he belonged in a K-Pop band more than a Were pack.
“Aw, lovey, ye look a fright,” Clarisse said, kneeling down to regard the little bundle jammed into the back of the closet. Not bad, she thought, though his fear was obvious. She liked her men with backbone though, and whatever John had done to the poor guy had robbed him of whatever courage he might have possessed before last night. Oh well. Maybe once he was a little more acclimated to the place… “Ashi, is it? I’m Clarisse.”
“And I’m Jessica,” she piped from the doorway, giving a cheerful wave.
Clarisse smiled, gesturing for him to come out. “Come on, now, nobody’s about to hurt ye. We’ll get ye cleaned up a bit and introduce ye to the others.”
Ashi hesitantly stood up, keeping the blanket wrapped around himself and slowly edged his way out of the closet. He looked around nervously, as if there was a vampire hiding just around the corner, ready to pounce. When he didn’t see any, especially John, he relaxed marginally. He nodded at Jessica, who seemed annoying.
“I’d... rather not be introduced, thank you,” he said quietly.
“Aw, John scared the hell out of you last night, huh?” Jessica said, clucking her tongue in sympathy. She squeezed around Thad. “Don’t worry, he’s not an ass all the time.”
“Just most of it,” Thad muttered.
Jessica shot him a look before scooching over to Ashi’s side and gently urging him toward the door, waving off Clarisse as she made like she was going to “help” him along, too. The Irish vampire hardly came up to his shoulder. “Come on, you’re probably cold from blood loss and need something to eat. I’ll help you.”
“Aw, lass, ye take the fun out o’ everything.” Clarisse pouted.
“Look at the poor guy. He’s been hiding in a closet for Chrissakes. No wonder he doesn’t want to play meet-and-greet.”
Ashi, once he realized they were going to leave the room, planted his feet. It wasn’t the frantic heel-digging that most would have done, but a very solid stance. Jessica was starting to get on his nerves. “Poor guy” was something he never wanted to hear applied to himself. Having his cowardice called to attention was not helping.
“I ate.” He glanced back at the closet. “I’d like to stay here.”
If she’d been a Goliath, he would have kicked her feet out from under her and stormed away. As it was, he settled on being a rock.
“Hiding won’t make the bad, fangy things go away, lad,” Clarisse pointed out, though her point might have been taken better if she wasn’t grinning while she said it. “We’re just trying tae help.”
“Besides, I’m a doctor—”
“Almost a doctor,” Thad interjected, smiling.
“—almost a doctor, and I want to make sure everything’s as it should be,” Jessica stated.
“C’mon, lad, ye won’t get bit going across the hall.”
Ashi looked at Jessica. If he’d been Were, his eyes would have been gold.
“Thank you, Dr. Jessica. I. Am. Staying. Here.”
Each word was ground out through clenched teeth. Wild horses couldn’t drag him out of the room. There were bitey things out there and at least one of them was an evil son of a bitch. It was safer in here.
Jessica was exasperatingly patient. “You could have a delayed shock reaction, collapsed veins, and other nasty things that will hurt a lot more to fix later than if you let me check now. Trust me, I know my stuff.”
“She does
,” Thad said, smirking. “C’mon, she won’t do anything but stick you with needles and shine bright lights in your eyes and—”
“Yeah, that’s enough from the peanut gallery over there.”
Clarisse was snickering. “Methinks ye’ve met a stubborn one.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “If you feel safer in here, I can bring my stuff over instead. Would that make you feel better?”
Clarisse brightened. “What if we brought little Analie up here? She’ll tell ye we’re not so bad, I’ll wager.”
With a snort, Thad headed back to the living room, leaving the girls to deal with Ashi’s unsociable ways as he slumped down onto the couch and shut his eyes. Looks like they’d be at this for a while.
Ashi took a step back from the two. “Thank you for your concern. I don’t need a doctor. I’d really just like to be left alone.”
It took all of his self-control not to say what he really wanted to. Jessica was infuriating. The short chick was almost as bad.
God, he should be at work right now. He should not be here!
Jessica gave him a look of bemused tolerance. “Look, it’s not like I’m going to be giving you a prostate exam. I just want to make sure he didn’t do too much damage.”
With that, she swept out, purposeful as she went to collect some of her medical equipment.
Clarisse beamed up at him, eyes twinkling with mirth as she took in his disgruntled attitude. “Can I give ye a word of advice, lad? Try tae make some friends. It might make all the difference in how pleasant ye find yer stay with us.”
At the look he gave her, she patted him on the shoulder, urging him toward the bed. “Let me tell ye a bit about how tae survive here. Ye might not yet have noticed, but Christoph was lucky enough tae have Mouse take an interest in him. She’s the only one who can touch him now. If ye would rather not whore yerself out to everyone in the building, make friends so someone will want to claim ye. It’ll be much easier on ye, trust me.”