by Jayne Hawke
I wrinkled my nose. He had a point. I trudged off to the shower to douse myself in lilac shower gel.
IT TOOK ALL OF TEN seconds for me to understand why garou and shifters didn’t wear perfume or really use scented products. I was coughing and felt as though I’d been overloaded with lilac scent when I’d barely started washing. It was completely overwhelming, as though someone had dunked me in a vat of very strong perfume. I couldn’t breathe without the lilac scent coating my tongue in a weird film that made everything taste of chemicals. I’d have to get some unscented gel later.
The heightened sense of smell seemed to come and go, which was distracting to say the least. One moment the lilac was everywhere and made me nauseous. The next moment I could barely smell it. I really hoped that wasn’t going to become normal. Werewolves on TV could usually control their senses and use them in badass ways. I was really hoping that was close to reality.
I dressed in a pair of old faded blue jeans and a Supernatural t-shirt that was close to hand. There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to make an effort for Cole Loxwood. He was an arrogant dick. Sure, he had a tragic backstory, his family was killed in a huge blood sacrifice by some crazy Aztec or Mayan blood witches. I never could remember much, we didn’t really cover that in school. As far as I was aware, he was the last remaining garou in the town, which meant that he was my only source of information and advice.
There would be people on the Grim more than happy to tell me all about life as a garou, and a lot of them would feed me lies just because they thought it was funny. If Cole tried anything, I’d be right there in person to kick his ass.
5
JAKE DROVE A NICE SLEEK black Challenger that was barely six months old. He was a trust fund brat, which was how he could afford to pay two thirds of our rent and keep a roof over our heads. I was grateful for everything he did for me, but it still stung my ego. A lot. I paid as much as I could; unfortunately, trainee bakers were paid a pittance. That’s what I got for trying to get the job of my dreams instead of a nice sensible job.
I did ok in school. I could have gotten a useful college degree and gone into business or something. Or, I could have made more of an effort to follow in my and Jake’s moms’ footsteps and become a merc. They had never really appealed, though, and everyone had encouraged me to follow my dream. I was regretting that decision a little bit. If I’d have continued training as a merc, I wouldn’t have been in that situation.
The sun was shining, the birds were singing; it was a bright and cheery day. Jake wove his way around the increasingly narrow roads cutting through the vibrant green forest. I had to give it to Vermont, it was truly beautiful in every season. Everything felt fresh and clean. The wolf part of me was happy to have such a large and interesting forest right on our doorstep. I could cross the road in front of my apartment building and step almost directly onto one of my favourite trails. I’d spent many days just wandering between the trees and climbing the rock formations there.
I was glad that Jake had insisted on driving, as much as the need to be on my feet and in the forest itched within me.
“Walking will tire us out. We don’t know how much of a dick he’s going to be,” he’d told me.
I ran my thumb over the handle of my primary hunting knife. I carried it in a sheath on my hip, the rest of my knives hidden but easily accessible. This wasn’t my first time handling a difficult garou. We hadn’t had many dealings with Cole, but he was still an alpha, and this was his territory. Experience with other alphas had shown them to be dangerous. As a newly turned garou, I was sure that I was at the bottom of the social hierarchy. There was a very real risk that he’d kick me out of his territory. I wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
“What if he’s not there?” I asked as Jake turned off the main road onto a narrow road that only went to Cole’s place.
“Then we wait.”
I wrinkled my nose. I hated waiting. I was getting antsy just at the thought of having to wait.
The road was well maintained despite its only leading to Cole’s place. Rumours were that he’d become something of a weird hermit since the incident that killed his family. Some of the college students thought of him as this dangerous being, and his house was thought of as creepy and something to be avoided. I was sure that suited the alpha just fine.
“You know as well as I do that he’s the only garou in the area. We need someone to help you through this change.”
Jake squeezed my knee and gave me a gentle smile. I placed my hand on his and looked back out the window at the greenery surrounding us. The urge to run through it and enjoy the dirt beneath my paws was growing with every passing moment. There were new places to explore. There was an entire territory that I needed to learn and get a feel for. The realisation that I’d thought about running on four paws instead of two feet made me sigh. It wasn’t that I had something against garou. They were easier to deal with than fae. It was the fact the rogue had done that to me against my will.
“We’ll make the most of this,” Jake said softly.
I gave him a half-hearted smile. It wasn’t as though I had much of a choice. He was right, though. I wasn’t going to allow this change to destroy my life or steal away my dreams. Moping and whining weren’t in my nature. I was going to make the most of this new opportunity.
“I know. Sam and Dean went through far worse,” I said with a soft laugh.
“There could be good money in hunting demons...”
Jake grinned.
I laughed.
“No one can agree if demons really come onto this plane or not. Sounds like a big financial risk to me,” I said with a raised eyebrow and smirk.
Jake laughed.
“Just don’t go being dragged down to Hell,” he said sternly.
I gave him my most innocent expression.
“Would I really do such a thing?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, if something interesting caught your attention, you would. You should have been turned into some feline shifter.”
I laughed again.
“Come on, I’m not that bad!”
He looked at me with an expression of deep disbelief. His eyebrow was raised, and his eyes danced with laughter.
I grinned at him and watched him shake his head.
The tension melted away, and everything felt like it always had. I hoped this meant I wouldn’t lose Jake after all.
He pulled the car to a stop in front of Cole’s house. It was some grand old house set back into the forest at the end of a long private driveway. Three stories stretched up before us. Large windows were evenly spaced along the expensive-looking stone walls. If I remembered correctly, his family had been there a number of generations. Although, given garou lived for a few centuries, it could have been the same family that changed their names out. I didn’t know how that worked. I’d have to add it to my very long list of things to learn about being a garou.
I got out of the car and pricked my ears, listening, another thing I didn’t do when I was human. The sound of small birds flitting around the trees alongside squirrels was a little disconcerting at first. I hadn’t been able to hear such small movements before. Jake’s footsteps sounded very different. I heard the slight shift in his weight with each step and the way one of his sneakers had a soft squeak due to wear. Then it slipped away again, and I was back to my normal human hearing.
Jake strolled up to the shallow steps onto the generously sized porch and knocked on the heavy dark wood door. He had such nonchalance about him. I saw the slight tension to his movements and knew he was carrying as many knives as I was. Like most fae, he was very charming when he wanted to be, and he’d use that to disarm people given the opportunity. I followed him once I was satisfied there wasn’t someone hiding in the woods waiting to jump on us. Footsteps came from inside the house. Jake knocked again, harder.
Cole opened the door enough to glare at us with his pretty mouth pursed and his golden-green eyes hard.
&
nbsp; “Yes?”
“You really should smile, you’d look far more handsome,” I said sweetly.
I couldn’t help myself. Something about him made me want to needle at him.
Jake shot me a warning look, and Cole narrowed his eyes.
“You’re the one that got turned, and you’re here to ask me about being a garou,” Cole said coolly.
I grinned at him.
“You’ve heard of me.”
I didn’t want to know who else had heard by now. I must have been the talk of the supernatural circles, and it would all be bad.
Cole sighed, and his lips pressed even tighter together.
“So... can we come in?” I said as I took a step closer to the door.
I was pushing the local alpha, which really wasn’t my brightest idea. I couldn’t help myself, though. Maybe it was the wolf side.
Cole looked me up and down slowly, and I did the same in return. He was shirtless and had a thin sheen of sweat over his hard, well-defined muscles. I ran my tongue over my bottom lip as I admired the way the tail of the blood red and black dragon wrapped around his large bicep. He wasn’t all bad.
He finally stepped aside and opened the door to let us inside.
The interior felt distinctly empty. There was no art on the high pale grey walls, and the sound of our footsteps echoed through the space. Everything was clean and dust free, but it felt soulless. I didn’t see any signs of personal touches, or any attempts to remove the blank-canvas feel. Cole led us to the back of the house into a kitchen almost as big as my entire apartment. Like the rest of the house that we’d seen, it was clean and bland. Everything was hidden in cupboards and drawers, not a scrap of personality to be seen.
Cole leaned back against the butcher-block counter on the island as big as my bed, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked at me, waiting.
“You know everything I do,” I said with a shrug.
I knew I was demanding a lot of him and that I should have been showing deep respect, but I couldn’t make myself do it. Whatever it was that had gotten into me made me push and needle as much as possible.
He sighed again.
“I owe you nothing. You came into my home, and you appear to be expecting me to what, teach you everything about the garou? The least you could do was show some respect and make an offer in return for my time and effort.”
He had a point. In that moment, I didn’t see his point, as the wolf within me was rising and it was irritated at the way Cole was staring me down. It was me, but it wasn’t me. I was very aware of his body-language, and that only made more aggravated. The complete nonchalance and disdain he showed me. The fact he had his throat and abdomen on show without any fear while he lounged back highlighting that fact made me want to sink my teeth into him. He was not my superior, and I was not going to bow to him.
I felt my teeth beginning to sharpen into points, and the need to put him down overwhelmed whatever other thoughts were in my head. Jake wrapped his hand around my forearm. The contact with him gave me something to focus on and use to push the wolf back down. I had no idea where that had come from. It felt dangerous and exhilarating at the same time. I’d become used to everyone seeing me as some delicate little flower. Now I was a predator.
Cole smirked at me.
“You think you’re an alpha. How quaint,” he said with deep mocking and sarcasm.
I reflexively bared my teeth at him, then felt like a complete idiot. My teeth were still human teeth, and I must have looked absolutely ridiculous.
He pushed off the countertop and strolled over to me, never breaking his stare, which held my gaze. It took everything I had to hold the wolf down and restrain myself from leaping on him and trying to pin him down into submission. He reached out and gripped my chin in his hand, tilting it to look up at him.
“You’re in my territory. If you start showing some respect, then I’ll help you through this transition. You will join my pack and-” He spoke slowly with a deep growl just beneath his words.
I shook my head free and glared at him.
Fury was bubbling up from somewhere inside of me. It didn’t feel like mine. The wolf side of me didn’t like this pushy alpha, and it had no issues with making that very clear.
“I will not bow to you, Cole Loxwood,” I spat.
He moved quicker than my eye could track. His hand was wrapped around my throat. I was aware of Jake trying to get between us, but Cole gave him a warning look and squeezed my throat tighter. Screw that. I kicked at Cole’s lower abdomen, but the alpha was prepared. He dodged my kick, kept hold of my throat, and slammed me against the wall not far behind me.
My head throbbed, but I refused to look away from him. I was not going to submit. I didn’t care if it was his territory, all that mattered was not backing down and making him understand that I was not his inferior.
“Listen very carefully.” His face was almost close enough to bite as he snarled. “This is my territory. You have two choices. Get the hell out of my territory and hope you find a place where the local pack doesn’t tear you apart. Or start behaving yourself.”
All forms of shifter were incredibly territorial. Garou and shifter territories would sometimes overlap much like a wolf’s territory might overlap with a cougar’s, but I knew he was right. Many garou hated the turned and would think nothing of trying to kill me.
I couldn’t risk losing my home, my place at the bakery, Jake and my dad.
As much as it pained me, I lowered my eyes.
6
COLE RELEASED ME, AND I saw Jake was standing stock still with fury written all over his face. Every muscle was tense. He was practically vibrating. I stepped around Cole and went to Jake. He put his arm around my waist and glared at Cole, who smirked at us.
“Now. You’re going to move in here so I can keep an eye on you. Hunters have moved into the area, and I do not want some reckless, out-of-control turned bringing them down on my head. We already have a rogue in the area.”
“Screw you,” I spat.
Cole’s lips pressed together.
“I am a damn mercenary. I can handle whatever this is.” My anger at everything was bubbling over. “I am not a child that needs to be kept on a short leash.”
Cole snorted.
“Mercenary? You’re an errand girl,” he said coldly.
I ground my teeth together.
“Screw you, Cole Loxwood,” I growled before I turned and walked out with Jake at my side.
It wasn’t the best move I could have made, but I was not going to bow and scrape to him. I’d keep to myself and respect him as the territory owner, but the moment I had everything together, I’d challenge him for that title.
Jake squeezed my hand as I slumped in his soft leather seat and he started the deep growly engine.
“That could have gone better,” he said softly.
I closed my eyes.
“There’s something about him that gets my hackles up. The wolf inside me just wants to pin him down and sink its teeth into his throat until he submits.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
We had no choice.
THE ANGER HAD SLOWLY subsided on the ride back home. I’d never known anything like it, and it terrified me. Martial arts had taught me a calm control that I took great pride in, yet there was something about Cole that brought out a fury unlike anything I’d experienced before.
Jake hugged me tight once we were safely back in the apartment.
“I wanted to kick his ass, but we both know better than to get involved in garou business.” He kissed my temple.
“I know,” I whispered with a sad smile.
Jake had done the right thing, I knew that. If he’d have gotten between me and Cole, it would have made me look weak and put a target on Jake’s back. That would have led to a lot of bloodshed and who knew how much trouble landing on our heads. Now that I was calming down I was realising just how much I’d potentially screwed up the situation with Cole. All bec
ause I couldn’t keep my wolf side in check.
“As much as I’d like to put on some Supernatural, we need to get ready for the council meeting,” Jake said.
I sighed and glanced in the hallway mirror. My hair was a mess, and my t-shirt was rumpled. There was still that flicker of anger within me, and the idea of dealing with the council only made it rise. Cole hadn’t needed to work at all to pin me against that wall. Two decades of martial arts, and I still couldn’t last more than twenty seconds. I found myself growling and fought to calm myself again.
Jake stood in the kitchen doorway watching me.
“A dress might be a good idea,” Jake said.
“Really? Can’t I do jeans and all?”
Dresses were ok when I was in the mood, but that happened once or twice a year. The last thing I wanted was to feel even more uncomfortable and unlike myself when meeting the council. Cole had rattled me.
Jake shrugged.
“You know as much as I do. I just thought dressing up a little bit might help.”
He had a point. Showing up there looking like the scruffy merc I was probably wouldn’t help anything. I headed into my bedroom and looked through my pitiful collection of dresses. There was only really one choice for a situation like this, my simple white sun dress with thin straps and a dark pink ribbon trim.
I was more of a jeans and t-shirt, or yoga pants and t-shirt, kind of girl. Most of my t-shirts were geeky with references to The Last Airbender, Supernatural, and Firefly being the most popular. There were a couple of Yuri on Ice shirts in there, too. I looked longingly at my familiar, really soft from heavy wear Firefly t-shirt sitting on top of the heap of shirts I’d been meaning to put away neatly for the past month.
No, Jake was right. A dress would make me look a little more respectable. If I tried to wear my only suit, it would look like I was trying too hard, and I really hated that suit. I’d worn it to the interviews for my trainee baker position. Thankfully, I’d only needed to wear it twice.