by T. A. White
"Hasn't been much to talk about." Her voice was sullen and very un-Caroline like.
I paused before taking a seat in front of her cell. We sat in silence for several moments as we each regarded the other. What I saw sent worry crashing through me. She looked defeated and without hope. And angry—so angry.
"Enough of this shit," I told her. "You're a werewolf. That sucks. You have to obey an alpha. That sucks too, believe me I know. What other option do you have?"
The look she slanted my way was full of wrath. "That's rich coming from someone who refuses to complete the century's service and won't let the vampires train her. I know you’re planning to move back into your apartment. Must be nice."
"Is that it? That's why you're acting like a three-year-old? Because I never fulfilled my contract?"
She shrugged one shoulder and gave me a look that said, “if the shoe fits”.
I growled. "You look at me, and tell me you're not a danger to others. Then maybe we'll talk."
She looked away.
"You damn near killed me, not just once, but twice. Brax and his wolves managed to put off their transformation for over two hours on the full moon. How long did you last?" It did not feel good confronting her with these truths. "Caroline, you're barely keeping it together. Listen to them. Let them help you. They're not your enemies."
"Like the vampires aren't yours?" She met my eyes with a stubborn gaze of her own.
I turned my head slightly, knowing that Liam was just upstairs out of sight, no doubt listening to everything that was being said. I'd been surprised when I'd arrived to find him and Eric having drinks at the bar with the wolves watching them for any sign of aggression.
I sighed, feeling like a hypocrite. How was I to help her when I'd bucked the system at every stage, unwilling to consign my life to another's control ever again? I rubbed my forehead as we sat in silence.
"Unless you're here to get me out, you might as well go. We have nothing to talk about." She looked away from me, trying to shut me out.
“Why are you so angry with me?” I asked. “Really?”
She had been from the get go. Beyond reason.
“You know why,” she said, some of her wolf making itself known in her voice.
“Do I? Enlighten me.”
She was silent for a long time. I began to give up. If she didn’t want to talk, there wasn’t much I could do. I started to turn away.
“You left,” she said, suddenly standing by the bars. “You left me behind, and you never even thought twice.”
I inhaled a sharp breath, feeling stung by the accusation. “I joined the military. I didn’t exactly leave you behind, and you told me not to come back anyways.”
“It certainly felt like you left me behind. You didn’t even tell me before you did it. You just showed up with the papers and said you had to report to basic in two days. I told you everything.” Her voice was tight with emotion. “You knew about my mom, my family issues. I shared every dark secret with you. Yet, you shared so very little.”
Her words felt like little shards of ice. I had never thought she cared, let alone would notice my absence. She never asked me about my life. I was always the tag along. She was always the brains. The brain doesn’t ask what the arms and legs want, it just expects them to comply.
“You were so driven. You knew exactly where you were going and how you were going to get there,” I told her. “I felt lost and thought joining would help me find my way.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” she asked.
I lifted one shoulder. “I didn’t want you to think less of me.”
“Well, I did anyway.” She folded her arms and looked away.
That was the truth.
“Then, you came back, but you didn’t. Not really. You had this secret—one you kept for years.” She met my eyes with angry ones of her own. “How would you feel if our situations were reversed, and I had frozen you out while keeping this massive secret that could change everything?”
Furious. Hurt. Everything in between.
“I did it to protect you,” I said.
“Look how that ended.” She looked sad as she stared back at me.
There weren’t words to defend myself with. She was right, but so was I.
We were quiet for a long moment. I didn’t know how to fix what was broken, or even if I should. Still, I wanted our friendship back.
"I didn’t mean you harm,” I told her. “Is there any way you can forgive me?”
Her face crumpled. “We’re friends—even when we hate each other.”
My laugh was a little watery.
“What if I made you a deal?" I asked, clearing my throat and bringing us back to the matter at hand. "I'll be more open to establishing a relationship with the vampires if you learn what you need to know from the wolves."
Her head snapped back to me, her eyes surprised. My mouth was turned down as I stared back at her with a grumpy frown. Yeah, I'd said it. It was a major concession, something I wasn't really known for.
"It's still not fair," she said, looking like she was considering it. "My life is entirely controlled by them."
"I'm not joining a clan," I said in a flat voice.
She lifted her chin. "You have to receive training from them like I do the wolves."
I took a deep breath and blew it out with a disgusted sigh. "Fine."
"Every day."
"No. Once a week."
"Twice a week." Her expression let me know she meant it, that that was as far as she'd compromise.
"Fine." Her lips twitched, and then stilled at my next words. "You have to stay part of the pack, and you can't run again."
"Aileen, they want me to quit my job." Her expression was slightly shamed as her eyes fell from mine. "You know what that means to me."
I did know. Sondra had informed me before bringing me down here. They didn't think she was stable enough to be around humans, especially ones on the brink of adulthood with all the hormonal behavior that brought. Caroline defined herself by her work. She'd come so far in life that giving up her goals would feel like a major blow.
"If it makes you feel better, I got fired because of all this," I said with a sly grin when she gave me an exasperated look and rolled her eyes. There really was no comparison between the two, since my job was one I'd fallen into while hers was a career. "It's not forever, you know. Prove you can control yourself, and I'm sure they'll lift the restriction."
"And if they don't?"
"Then we fuck their shit up." I arched an eyebrow, feeling relief when she nodded. I grinned before standing. "I'll tell them you're ready for food."
I turned toward the steps.
"You'll be back, right?" Caroline's voice was insecure.
I looked over my shoulder and gave her my best daredevil grin. "Try to stop me. We'll both make this work. Together."
She nodded. Her eyes were still sad, but she didn't look like she was beaten. It was something. More than when I'd walked down here.
I paused before I headed up the stairs, turning to Sondra. “What will happen to Lisa?”
She looked at the other wolf with distaste. Lisa lifted her chin and gave us a snooty look. “That hasn’t been decided yet. She did kill two people, plotted against a fellow pack member, and conspired with an enemy.”
I hesitated, not sure it was my place to say anything, let alone whether it was wise of me to. Lisa had been painted with the same brush as her brother. While I got the sense that the woman had wanted to get away from him and his schemes, she had waited until the last possible moment.
“If it helps, she did try to free me,” I said, my conscious getting the better of me. “Even knowing it would have repercussions for her. I got the sense from Theo that the companions weren’t entirely her fault.”
Sondra considered that. “I will let Brax know, and he will factor that into his decision.”
I nodded then walked up the steps with grim purpose. That was all I could do for no
w—all I was willing to do. Everything else regarding Lisa was in Brax’s hands.
Liam leaned against the wall in the hall next to the basement, his arms folded over his chest as he watched me with an appreciative gaze. My steps faltered as I noticed him.
There were a lot of questions I had for him. This wasn’t the best place to ask them with prying ears all around, but I needed to know.
“Why do you keep helping me?” I asked. He’d had plenty of opportunity to wipe his hands of me and my problems. “Sondra told me you’re the reason they were finally able to track us down.”
The waking dream I’d had of him by the beach and ocean had been real—the mark he’d forced on me creating a link he could follow. I may have done most of the heavy lifting in saving myself, but he and the wolves’ timely arrival had gone a long way to helping the situation.
He studied me with hooded eyes, his head tilting in consideration. “You fascinate me.”
I blinked at him, nonplussed. “I fascinate you.”
Not the answer I had been expecting.
He gave me a wicked smile. “In so many ways.”
“Does that have anything to do with this?” I tapped the skin under my magic-seeing eye.
His eyes went to where I pointed and some of the amusement dropped from his face. “That’s part of it. I won’t lie. But, you’re so much more than that. You have potential. I’d like to see that potential realized, in more ways than one.”
Not exactly a romantic declaration, and it didn’t allay any concerns that his interest in me might have more to do with his own alliances. I turned his words over in my head.
His gaze was intense as he continued, “For now, I think it’s best to keep that piece of information to yourself. There are many in this world who would do anything to secure such a unique ability.”
I nodded to show I understood. I’d thought as much. “By that, can I take it that you have no plans to share this with our not-so-mutual friend?”
His smile flashed. “I’ll keep the news close to the vest for the moment.”
I didn’t like the thought of owing him. He was a vampire—one who probably had enough secrets in his closet to sink a ship. Owing him one thing might lead to a whole nest of problems that I didn’t need.
While we did share an attraction, it wasn’t one I entirely welcomed or even understood. His loyalties would always be to the vampires, and while I didn’t view them in the same light as I once had, I still didn’t trust them implicitly. I’m sure he felt the same way about me. It made any potential relationship between us a long shot. Not that I was all that sure he had designs on a relationship either.
"I hear we're going to be getting to know each other better," he said as I stepped past him.
I ground to a halt. Damn it. I knew he'd been listening.
"I said I'd get training. I never said who it would be from."
He straightened from the wall, his body brushing mine. "As your sire, Thomas will appoint a mentor. We've already agreed it will be me."
My head snapped towards him, he smiled with a smug expression and sauntered past me. "I'll expect you an hour after sunset on Monday."
"This is just temporary," I shouted after him. He lifted a hand in lazy acknowledgment. Just temporary until I learned what I needed to know and could convince Caroline of a better course of action.
Eric stepped past me, startling me. I hadn't known he was back here. He paused before turning. "The owner of the Book Haven's shadow side said he's looking for an assistant. Your friend is qualified and there are no humans to worry about in the night store."
I stared after him with an open mouth as he followed Liam on silent feet. The suggestion was a good one, and I kicked myself for not thinking of it before. The hint the book gave me a few nights ago made more sense now. It had been trying to tell me the solution to Caroline’s problem all along. I just hadn’t been listening. Even more shocking was that it had come from him, a man I could have sworn would prefer to drop me into a deep dark hole. It almost made me like the other vampire.
I'd talk to the shopkeeper before presenting it to Brax, but I was sure I could work out a deal for Caroline. With a solution in mind for her problems, I headed home. My real home. My room at the Gargoyle was luxurious with a shower and bed that would tempt a nun, but it wasn’t home. After the week I’d had, I wanted to be surrounded by my own things in the home I’d created for myself.
*
"Where are my stairs?" I shouted at the foreman who’d been less than helpful since I arrived home.
The man was middle-aged and looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Possibly because I had intercepted him and the others as they were leaving for the night. It might also have been because I'd been shouting for the past five minutes, beside myself since I couldn't get up to my apartment without that staircase.
"I told you, lady, the former stairs violated building code. The landlord wanted it torn down and a new one built in its place." He chewed a piece of gum, looking like a cow with a piece of cud.
I took a deep breath through my nose. How would it look to Caroline if hours after I chastised her for her lack of control, I murdered an obnoxious construction worker? Don't kill the human, Aileen. You need him to construct the staircase since the old one was currently in pieces on the ground.
"How long is that going to take?" I snapped, tired and wanting to be home, curled in bed with a good book.
He shrugged. "A few weeks."
"Weeks?" My voice reached registers not meant for human ears. The foreman winced, and his crew looked over at us with an assortment of expressions ranging from humorous to scathing. "What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"
All of my clothes were up there. My computer. Everything. I needed to start looking for a new job. How was I supposed to do that when I couldn't access my apartment?
He shrugged. "Not my problem."
My jaw dropped open, and I took a threatening step towards him. "How 'bout I make it your problem?"
He rolled his eyes, obviously not finding me very threatening. "Look, lady, all of the residents were informed of this via letter. You got a complaint, take it up with your landlord."
I hadn't seen a letter. Furthermore, that still did not solve my problem.
The foreman turned his back, not waiting for me to say another word and stalked off, muttering about hysterical women. It took more self-control than I was proud of not to follow him and show him just how hysterical I could be. Instead, I turned and headed to the mailboxes for the building, determined to find the landlord's number and give him a piece of my mind. I'd missed a few days of mail with everything that was going on. It showed too, with the mailbox crammed full of paper.
Even though we were in the digital age, I sure got a lot of junk mail. I sorted through the stuff I could throw away and pulled out two pieces of mail that looked like they were important. The first was from my landlord and included a notice of sale saying that the new owner planned to make a few improvements to the current building and its parking lot. I looked around at the newly paved lot, understanding its presence now. The second was addressed to me and was a form letter stating that construction of the steps would begin on a certain date, and that I would need to arrange alternative accommodations. I checked the date, realizing that was tonight. The letter went on to say my rent would be prorated for those days that I was inconvenienced and unable to get into my apartment.
I skimmed the rest, which was just a lot of fancy lawyer talk. None of which told me what I was supposed to do in the meantime. My gaze caught on the name at the bottom of the letter. A name very familiar to me.
Thomas Bennet.
My hand dropped to my side as I took in the apartment and its brand-new parking lot with a horrified gaze. Everything was owned by Thomas. My sire was my new landlord.
DISCOVER MORE
BY T.A. WHITE
The Broken Lands Series
Pathfinder’s Way – Book One
Mist’s Edge – Book Two
The Dragon-Ridden Chronicles
Dragon-Ridden – Book One
Of Bone and Ruin – Book Two
Shifting Seas - Novella
The Aileen Travers Series
Shadow’s Messenger – Book One
Midnight’s Emissary – Book Two
Moonlight’s Ambassador – Book Three
CONNECT WITH ME
Twitter: @tawhiteauthor
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Website: http://www.tawhiteauthor.com/
Blog: http://dragon-ridden.blogspot.com/
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Writing is my first love. Even before I could read or put coherent sentences down on paper, I would beg the older kids to team up with me for the purpose of crafting ghost stories to share with our friends. This first writing partnership came to a tragic end when my coauthor decided to quit a day later, and I threw my cookies at her head. Today, I stick with solo writing, telling the stories that would otherwise keep me up at night. Most days (and nights) are spent feeding my tea addiction while defending the computer keyboard from my feline companion, Loki, who would like to try her paw at typing
Excerpt for Pathfinder’s Way
The Trateri are about to learn a vital lesson of the Broken Lands. Deep in the remote expanse where anything can happen, it pays to be on a pathfinder’s good side.
Nobody ventures beyond their village. Nobody sane that is. Monstrous creatures and deadly mysteries wait out here. Lucky for the people she serves, Shea’s not exactly sane. As a pathfinder, it’s her job to face what others fear and find the safest route through the wilderness. It’s not an easy job, but she’s the best at what she does.
When the people she serves betray her into servitude to the Trateri, a barbarian horde sweeping through the Lowlands intent on conquest, Shea relies on her wits and skill to escape, disguising herself as a boy to hide from the Warlord, a man as dangerous as he is compelling.