A Nightly Howl

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  "Who was that?"

  "French reporter."

  "What? A reporter? Why did he take our picture?" I asked, bewildered.

  Nathaniel frowned and gave the taxi driver the address.

  "I'm famous in France."

  "Famous?" I laughed.

  "Yes. I still have a business here, and a lot of paranormals are aware of who I am."

  "So, I’ll be in the papers?"

  "You will be, mainly here, and in most paranormal magazines. I don’t think anyone from Britain is that bothered with my private life," he explained. "Besides, I want to keep you to myself."

  "I can’t believe that you didn't mention this."

  "What?"

  "That you’re famous!"

  "Known rather than famous," he said. "You see, Julia? Now you’ve got the perfect package: great in bed, rich, and famous."

  “Jerk."

  * * *

  It was evening when we went back to Charlotte’s home. Everyone was settled in the living room when we entered. Charlotte was reading a book in the corner, looking more like a teenager rather than a grown vampire.

  "Back already?" Philip asked.

  "Yes." I sighed. "We had a great day. I'm officially in love with Paris."

  "You aren’t the only one, my dear." Philip passed me a glass of blood. "I have to take care of my business in the UK."

  "Enough, Father," Charlotte snapped, pulling me away from him. "I need to talk to her before she leaves."

  "Our plane is at eleven tomorrow morning."

  Charlotte assured me that she was going to visit me and Nathaniel soon; she had a few friends in London. We talked a bit more and then I went to my room to change into something more comfortable. Nathaniel insisted on paying for the clothes.

  When I was putting a T-shirt on I noticed that he hadn't left any marks on my skin from his bite. At least I didn't have to worry about my dad seeing anything. He would go mad if he knew that Nathaniel had tasted my blood, and I couldn't even think about my grandmother.

  The housekeeper informed me that dinner was going to be served in a few minutes. I hurried downstairs to find Philip playing the piano in the living room while Nathaniel sat talking with Charlotte in the study.

  "Nate, Julia is wonderful. I don’t understand why you haven’t brought her here earlier," she said. I stood by the door, wondering if I should interrupt, but something stopped me, so I stood and listened.

  "I was going to, but things happened." He shrugged.

  "What things? Why don’t you forget about other women and settle with one?"

  “That's what I'm trying to do."

  "Good, because I like her, and I don’t want you to upset her."

  “I've made this mistake once already," he muttered sounding tired. I hesitated to enter.

  "Have you told her about Isabelle?"

  "She knows."

  "I'm glad, because I’ve never seen you so happy, not since—"

  “Don't Charlotte; don’t even go there tonight," Nathaniel warned her.

  "All right, I'm just saying that I could see you marrying Julia. You’re crazy about her."

  "You know good and well that I'm never going to get married."

  I walked back to the living room, knowing that I didn't want to be caught overhearing their conversation. It wasn't a mistake; I heard him right. Nathaniel was never going to marry me. He made a huge effort in bringing me to Paris, introducing me to his family, but marriage was out of the question. My body felt numb and my heart was racing. I shouldn’t have stayed there and listened.

  I shook my head, knowing that it was silly to even consider marriage. I reminded myself I was only twenty-two years old, that I had plenty of time to think about that. Eventually, I wanted to get married. I wanted to have a family—but I could forget about that if I was still with Nathaniel La Caz.

  I felt sick, but I pasted a smile on my face and sat down on the sofa. There wasn't any point dwelling on his words. We’d only been together a few months and he never promised me anything. Charlotte and Nathaniel came back with more drinks. I kept smiling, ignoring the sorrowful feelings inside. We were only dating; he had no idea how I felt about him, and I wanted to leave it like that.

  Jacque sat by me and started a conversation. He was more talkative than the previous evening. He asked me if I had any reservations dating a half vampire.

  "My grandmother doesn’t accept it. She went mad seeing us together."

  "That doesn’t surprise me," he said, drinking thick red liquid out of a wine glass. "Don’t misunderstand, but relationships between vampires and elves are rare."

  "Yes, I know, but Nathaniel is a Dhampir."

  "Of course. He’s still partly human. That’s why you’re still together. I wouldn’t be able to be around you all the time. Your scent is intoxicating."

  "Thanks."

  "That’s my theory,” he added. "You two seemed madly in love."

  We had dinner and after assuring Charlotte that I would be back, I excused myself to my room. I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly—alone. Nathaniel stayed up longer, and in the morning, I found him wrapped around me. He was still fast asleep. I gently pushed him away and went to the bathroom. Despite long hours of sleep, I looked tired. I kept thinking about his reluctance to the idea of marriage. Maybe right now he didn't want to hear about this, but who knew what the future would hold for us? I brushed my teeth and washed my face. By the time I came back Nathaniel was awake.

  "How are you feeling this fine French morning?" he asked, pulling me back to bed.

  Desire flew through my body as he wrapped me tightly around him. "Relaxed and happy. What about you?"

  "I'm hard for you." He growled, kissing me. "We should take this last opportunity and fuck."

  "Can I think about it?" I teased.

  "No, the jury has decided that we should have sex right now." He kissed me softly.

  I wanted him, but I also wanted to talk about what I heard yesterday. Lame or not, we had to discuss it at some point. When he climbed on top of me, I was at a loss for words. The flames of lust and desire were back, burning between us. He stopped kissing me and stripped off his boxers. He stood from the bed, naked in front of me.

  "Come on, firecracker, let’s have some fun."

  A small gasp escaped my mouth as I tried to construct a response. He walked me to the table by the window. I was wearing a short nighty that didn't cover much at all. His pupils dilated as his eyes darted down my body.

  "What are you doing?" I asked with an uneasy voice. My heart was pounding hard.

  "Admiring," he said and parted my legs pushing me down onto the table. His mouth was on mine again but only for a brief moment. Then his hands ripped my nighty off and I was sitting naked; nothing more divided us. We were both aroused and ready. I arched backwards, allowing him to kiss my neck; his hands were on my breasts. I tightened my core, feeling him between my legs. Before I knew what he was going to do next, he pushed himself inside me. My legs tightened, and I whimpered with pleasure. He was hard and thick, filling me. I moaned, biting his arm as a wave of electricity passed through my core.

  He pushed my hips towards his, slamming into me hard. My heart gave me a giant smack in my chest, my head was throbbing as the heat shuttered through me. He roared, burying his head in my breasts.

  "Oh, God, Nathaniel I can’t…" I begged, but he didn't stop, and continued pushing himself inside me faster. The orgasm rocked through me shortly after that and I screamed. He came, pulling me closer. I fell on his body, exhausted and drenched with sweat. This orgasm was intense, and my mind buzzed as my energy settled back. Nathaniel cupped my face and kissed me gently, carrying me to bed. I lay on top of his chest for a long moment. We fell sleep after that for another hour or two. We didn't have to talk. We held each other, and I thought about that emotion of love crawling and pinning itself in my heart.

  Chapter 25

  Bad news.

  We left Paris, boarding the plane in the lat
e afternoon. I sat down, knowing that in an hour I would be back in my apartment without him. I couldn't pretend that I didn't have feelings for him. Soon, I would have to reveal my secret.

  "Why are you so quiet, firecracker?"

  "Because I don’t want to go back."

  "Me neither, but we both have to get back to work."

  "I know."

  "Just relax. I'm not going anywhere."

  It would’ve been so much easier if I could’ve just told him what was mounting inside my head. I didn't want to be rejected. I was too afraid to tell him the truth. On the outside, I was a strong, independent woman, but inside, I wanted to be loved by Nathaniel La Caz.

  We arrived in London just after twelve, and Nathaniel dropped me home.

  When I passed through my door and went upstairs, I instantly knew that something was wrong. I remembered locking the door before I left, but now the door was unlocked. I swallowed a giant lump in my throat and pushed the door. Straight away, I was hit with the realisation that I had been robbed. My flat looked like it had been turned upside down. All my stuff was on the floor, all my furniture damaged. My books, clothes, and everything else that I had in the drawers had been ripped out and tossed on the floor. My skin tingled; I could smell and feel the magic. I was so glad that I had a landline. Shaking, I picked up the phone and dialled Nathaniel’s number. Then I called my dad and told him to come over. My thoughts were tangled as I went through my destroyed belongings. Someone was looking for something here. I felt like there was nothing else to do—I started sobbing.

  * * *

  "Are you all right?" Dad asked, releasing me from a tight hug.

  "I'm fine," I replied, wiping up my tears. I had to pull myself together, everything could be replaced. The Paranormal Unit was all over my apartment, checking the intensity of the spells and collecting evidence. My best clothes and jewellery were gone. At least I had the stuff that Nathaniel bought me in Paris, but everything else was either damaged or hexed. My clothes were torn, my dishes in pieces, and furniture was going to the skip. Someone made an effort not to leave anything at all and to make me very miserable. Whoever it was succeeded. When Dad arrived, I sobbed like an idiot for at least ten minutes, pouring out my tears and frustration. Nathaniel wasn't here yet.

  "Cheer up, hon, I’ll help you clean everything up," Dad said, patting me on the back. "Tell me about Paris; how was it?"

  "It was great. We both enjoyed ourselves; I met Nathaniel’s family," I sobbed. "They’re all very nice."

  "Good, I'm glad that you had a good time. You deserved a break." Dad nodded. "Oh, there’s La Caz now."

  Nathaniel arrived nodding to Dad.

  "Julia," he said, cuddling me, "I'm sorry that it took me so long. There was an accident and I was stuck in traffic."

  “It's fine. I'm just being silly."

  Nathaniel scanned my apartment and his body tensed. "Do you have any idea what went on here, Mr. Taylor?" he asked while my dad was in the process of giving orders to one of the officers.

  "The magic is still in the air, and the unit is collecting necessary evidence. Julia mentioned that all her magical artefacts are missing."

  The artefacts that were missing didn't have any value, so I didn't understand why anyone would want to take them. I bought them when I was younger during school trips. Some of them were given to me by friends and my grandmother.

  "They made sure that everything had been trashed, hexing the whole space." Dad said, then added, "While you were away, the unit got an anonymous phone call about Rufus."

  "So, what happened? Did you find him?" I asked, feeling that after an evening like this I could do with some good news.

  Dad shook his head. "No, it was a false alarm. I'm guessing that someone is trying to tell us that he’s alive."

  "Mr. Taylor, I presume that someone knew that Julia was away; this doesn’t look like an amateur job." Nathaniel shifted the subject back to my apartment.

  "I agree with you La Caz. Hon, I didn't mention anything to your mother because I didn't want to worry her, so keep it quiet, but this is starting to worry me."

  "I don’t understand why anyone would hate me so much."

  "What about your ex-boyfriend, Jasper? He threatened you before?" Dad confirmed, narrowing his eyes.

  "I don’t know. I wouldn’t think so," I replied, thinking about Jasper’s obsession with me. But after our last meeting, I would guess that he might be capable of doing something like this.

  "Your ex-boyfriend or not, we won’t be taking any chances. You’ll stay with me until your apartment is sorted," Nathaniel said.

  "You don’t have to do this, Nathaniel, I—"

  "No discussion, Julia,” he insisted, cutting me off. “Take whatever you need. You’re staying with me."

  "I think Nathaniel is right,” Dad agreed. We can’t worry your mum. Two officers will be outside checking for any intruders."

  "Thank you, Mr. Taylor. I promise to look after your daughter."

  "I'm sure you will, La Caz," he muttered, kissing my forehead. "I need to take care of this investigation, hon. I’ll call you later."

  I grabbed whatever I could and left with Nathaniel. Roberto picked us up outside. It started raining when we got to Nathaniel’s place.

  "Listen, I appreciate what you’re doing, but I’ll be out of here as soon as I can," I said when we were just about to leave the car.

  "Julia, you’re being silly," he said, kissing me. "We’re in a relationship and I wouldn't want you to stay anywhere else."

  I smiled and decided to shut up. Maybe I was being paranoid. He didn't want to get married, but I was still his girlfriend and he was going to take care of me. Once we were inside I put my stuff away and we both made dinner. It was late, and I still couldn't get over the fact that I was going to live with him, even if it was only temporary.

  "I'm sorry that I have to bring this up again, but I know that you like your independence and I’ll only distur—"

  "All right, enough. Tell me what’s on your mind." He was serious, standing in his pristine kitchen holding a knife.

  "Listen, here is the thing, maybe someone deliberately started a fire in our hotel? Then I arrive home and my whole apartment has been vandalised?"

  "I can check that," he said. "Stop worrying about your apartment. I’ll get people there tomorrow. No one is going to hurt you. McGregor lost his power and resources."

  "How do you know?” I protested. “I mean, Rufus is still out there."

  “I've got my people looking for him," he said, tensing his jaw. "Stop worrying and leave this to me and your father. You’re safe."

  "I don’t have any clothes here. The stuff you bought me is nice, but I can’t wear it to bed.”

  "There are clothes in my wardrobe that you can use," he said. "I asked my assistant to get something for you while I was stuck in traffic.

  My jaw dropped, and I stared at him bewildered for several seconds. "Thank you.”

  He smiled. Indeed, in his bedroom I found bags with a new nighty, underwear and some office clothes. Nathaniel’s assistant knew my style and size. He’d thought about everything. I had a long, relaxing bath and then we had a fabulous steak for dinner with wine. I had an early night, feeling slightly agitated sleeping in Nathaniel’s apartment. I fell asleep, and when he slipped in next to me later, I felt happy.

  * * *

  The following morning was hectic. We both woke up late and after a quick shower, Nathaniel dropped me at work. Two undercover officers followed us and watched me as I ran into the office around ten o’clock in the morning. Dad probably asked them to be more vigilant about what was going on around me, but it felt more like they were just stalking me.

  "Morning, Kate. I'm sorry that I'm late; it’s a long story," I said, breathless. Kate was already in the office going through some of her files.

  “Don't worry, you can’t be that late. Sara isn’t here yet." She chuckled. "So… spill; how was Paris?"

  "Fantastic."
I smiled widely. "Apart from the fact that we had to be evacuated from our hotel; a fire broke out on our floor. Then it was great again, and the next thing I knew when I turned up at my door, I discovered that I’d been robbed."

  "What? Someone broke into your apartment?" she asked in disbelief.

  "Yes, and trashed all my stuff."

  "Shit," she muttered. "Is anything missing?"

  "Some magical objects," I explained. "My father doesn’t think that it was just a random robbery. Whoever did it must have known that I was out of town."

  “It's easy, then: McGregor or your mental ex-boyfriend."

  "I thought about him, but that’s not his style."

  "He looks like that sort of scum," she said. "So where did you stay yesterday? Your parents?"

  "No, I stayed with Nathaniel in Canary Wharf."

  "Lovely, so, I guess the trip to Paris went well?"

  I smiled, remembering the happiest days that I spent with Nathaniel. It didn't matter that he didn't want to get married right now. Who knew what future could bring to the both of us?

  "It was amazing."

  "Are you sure?" she asked. "You don’t seem yourself."

  "I'm fine, just worried. I mean, I enjoyed myself, but Rufus is still missing while I was out having fun. His wife must be going through hell."

  “Don't beat yourself up over this. Everyone needs a break once in a while." She looked at me pointedly. “I've got some news as well."

  I sat on my desk and raised my eyebrow. "Yeah and what’s that?"

  "I had a date.” She smiled, waving her magic wand to switch the kettle on. "Kelsie introduced me to him on Friday. He’s a shifter, and works as an accountant."

  "Really? Wow."

  "Yeah, I know. I didn't see this coming either, but he seems intelligent and down to earth, so I decided to go."

  We were soon interrupted by a client, so our conversation had to wait. An hour later, I asked Lucinda to let me know if she was willing to hire Kelsie. I managed to get through to her after eleven. She wasn't very much impressed with her, but after some convincing she decided to give her a chance. Sara showed up in the office apologising for being late. I couldn't deal with her today, so I waved it off.