Of Humans and Monsters

by Candace Blevins

  “Will you be there?”

  “I have an open invitation to parties. I can come for a few hours, but I won’t ask to spend the night and will pick you up in the morning. Up to you. You’re just as welcome to sleep on the sofa in my office, but you’ve been in all-work-and-no-play mode and I figure it’ll do you good to let off some steam.”

  Ryan was taking a nap while I worked with Mordecai and Adonis, and I wondered how Nathan knew he’d be okay with this.

  With Master James out of town, I needed to submit in the worst sort of way, but I wasn’t sure Dawg could give me what I craved. Our night had been great and everything had been perfect, but it wouldn’t be if I went to him that night. I was too needy, too emotional, too off-balance.

  I met Nathan’s gaze and shook my head. “The thing with Dawg was supposed to be a one-time thing. We agreed we might find time to do the friends-with-benefits thing, but…” Tears came to my eyes and I turned away from everyone.

  “When does James come back?” Nathan asked.

  “January. He’s visiting family and will be gone through the holidays.” I took a breath, centered, and texted Cora.

  Do you have plans for the evening?

  My phone rang within a minute, and Cora asked, “What’s up?”

  “I think I have cabin fever. Can we put our heads together and come up with something you and I can do — mostly alone, just us — that won’t put anyone at risk?”

  “Where are you now?”

  “Training, at Drake Security.”

  I could almost feel her smile through the phone. “I’m in the shooting range downstairs. I’ll be up in five or ten minutes and we’ll figure something out. I’ve missed you.”

  I sighed as I texted Dawg. I kinda wanted to go, but the adult in me knew it was a bad idea tonight.

  Thanks for the invitation, but tonight won’t work. I’m not brushing you off, please let me know when you have another party.

  I handed my phone back to Nathan with a thank you, and looked to Mordecai. “Sorry. I’m all yours again.”

  “Same exercise as before, but levitate ten feet up this time.”

  Cora, Ryan, and I arrived at Randall’s house just before the sun sank below the horizon. Our lead and tailing vehicles watched us turn into his driveway and kept going.

  Randall met us out front and helped me out of the passenger side of Cora’s SUV.

  “I’m pleased to have you and Cora for the evening.” Randall turned to Ryan as he got out of the backseat. “You’re here because I trust Bran, not because I trust you. I need your word you won’t use anything you learn here tonight against me or my people.”

  Ryan nodded. “You have my word for as long as you’re Alpha. You’re known for taking care of your own problems, so there should be no reason for me to be brought in.”

  “You’ll be paired up with one of my people for your patrol. Feel free to utilize him as needed to defend Kirsten.”

  Randall took my bags from me as I lifted them from the back of the SUV, and he walked towards the front door with them.

  “I can carry my own things,” I said as I closed the SUVs hatch.

  “I have them. Come on.”

  I looked at Cora with her duffel in her hands, and sighed. “Why are you carrying mine and not Cora’s?”

  “She’s a wolf, and she just has a duffel.”

  “Don’t argue with him,” Cora said with a laugh as she put her arm around my waist and urged me to walk with her. “He already has them and it isn’t likely you’ll get them back without fighting him for them.”

  “I have a garment bag and a small backpack!” I protested. “It isn’t like I have so much stuff I can’t deal with it!”

  “Breathe, Kirsten,” Cora said as we followed ten steps behind Randall. “Let the magic of this place inside you. It’s nice we could come here with less guards, but it wasn’t the main reason I suggested we stay here for the night.”

  I fell into step with her and took a deep breath. She was right — the magic of the Pack had soaked into the very ground we walked on, and I could even feel the trees around us resonating with it. I still hadn’t come to terms with the extra power boost, but it settled around me here as if I’d always had this much strength and energy flowing through me.

  We followed Randall in and up the steps, and he paused in the upstairs hallway to tell me, “Cora says the two of you are used to sleeping together, and requested a guestroom with a king-sized bed. I can give you separate rooms, or a room with two beds if you’d prefer?”

  If he’d asked what I wanted, I’d have said a room with two beds just to keep from feeling as if I needed to explain we’re only friends. Since she’d already asked for the king, I was good with it.

  “The room she asked for is fine.” I bit my tongue to keep from adding a sentence about us just being friends.

  “If you need toiletries, you’ll find bins of sample sized product under the sink. Feel free to use what you need. Baked potatoes are in the oven — I’ll put steaks on for Cora and me, and Portobello mushrooms on for you,” he told me before looking at Cora to add, “If you can put salads together once ya’ll are settled in, we should be ready to eat in fifteen minutes.”

  I settled my backpack on the floor by an antique colonial dresser, hung my garment bag in the empty closet, and looked at Cora. “I’m settled in.”

  “Your things are, but are you? Walk to the window and look out. Settle into the energy here a little more.”

  By the time we went downstairs five minutes later, I felt as good as I do after an hour-long massage.

  “When everyone’s here,” Cora said as we walked down the steps, “the energy’s all mixed up and chaotic, but when there are only a few people, the land is soothing. It’s as if the energy’s water — if you don’t stir it up, it’s smooth as glass.”

  “How does Randall keep people from just hanging out and bathing in the energy?”

  “Full-fledged Pack members are welcome on the grounds and in his kitchen anytime. He doesn’t act as host, but they’re welcome to hang out and fend for themselves. I stayed here two weeks once, when I’d split with a lion shifter who broke my heart. I slept outside in wolf form, and Randall told me when I needed to change in time to eat before work. If I’d let it go too long he’d have worked with me to help me through it, but I just needed time.”

  I took the lettuce, carrots, spinach, and croutons from Cora, and she let me make the salads while she mixed ingredients for fresh dressing.

  “As a Friend of the Pack, you’d likely be welcome if you needed the space for a few days to regroup, but you’d need to talk to Randall to be sure. We’re upstairs now at special invitation — Pack is only welcome to the land, the back porch, and the kitchen. No one goes upstairs without leave to do so.”

  “Yeah, but his kitchen is bigger than most people’s whole house.”

  Three sofas, two love seats, a huge table with eighteen chairs around it, plus a breakfast nook and large island with barstools. I’d been here on a full moon night when just about every chair was full, so I knew he needed the space. Still, it was cavernous when empty.

  Randall came in with the steaks and mushrooms, settled the platter and plate on the table in the breakfast nook, and asked, “Beer or wine tonight, ladies?”

  “I just want water,” I told him. “I’m not blessed with a werewolf’s metabolism.”

  Cora and Randall opted for beer, and we chatted amicably until Cora tensed as Randall said, “Tell me more about how you and Cora have played around with mixing your energies.”

  An inner voice was shouting Danger Will Robinson!, so I cautiously answered, “She’s still your wolf, Randall. She’s my friend and I don’t want to take her from the Pack.”

  “It’s more accurate to say she’s our wolf,” he said as he settled his fork on his plate and met my gaze.

  I shook my head and took my time slicing a bite of mushroom so I could look down and avoid his gaze. I didn’t want to get in
to a pissing match with him.

  When I looked back up, I stared at his chin as I said, “She’s my friend, and I know how important Pack is to her. I have no intentions of pushing any issue to force her to choose between her friend and her Pack. I believe her loyalties lie with you, and I’d like to keep believing it.”

  “You can look me in the eye — I’m irritated but not pissed. However, it’s important I understand the kind of power the two of you have when you join forces, so I’d like to observe some of your exercises once our food’s settled.”

  “I’d rather not,” said Cora. “Whatever connection I have with Kirsten, it feels private. Personal. My connection to you is very public, and I love having everyone know I’m your wolf. It isn’t like that with Kirsten.”

  He turned his gaze on her and I had to force myself to stay quiet. This was between the two of them, and I needed to let them work it out.

  “You’d refuse?” I could almost see the hackles raised on the back of his neck.

  “Never, and I hope I didn’t give that impression. If you demand it, I’ll do my best to follow your orders, assuming Kirsten will agree to it. I was merely stating my preference.” He continued to glare at her, challenging her, and she looked at her plate as she added, “You ask your top people not to be yes men, Randall. You want our opinions, spoken respectfully, even when we disagree. Once you’ve reached a decision you expect us to fall in line, but I thought you were still asking for input. I apologize if I mistook your meaning.”

  A moan escaped my lips as loving warmth enveloped me. I immediately understood Randall had blocked Cora from Pack energy for a few moments, and was now giving it back to her tenfold.

  “You weren’t meant to feel that,” he told me, his eyes hard.

  “I don’t think she realized she was sharing energy with me when you cut me off,” Cora said. “But since we had a conduit open, what you sent me went to her as well.”

  His eyes flashed to me, angry for a split second before he leaned back with a slight shake of his head. “I understand it’s ludicrous for me to be angry when you didn’t realize you were doing it, but do you understand how you undermined my authority? Blocking Pack energy from a wolf is one of the first steps towards reminding them of my power before things escalate.”

  “I promise you, I was intent on sitting here and staying out of it while the two of you worked things out. I don’t feel as if I have any less energy now that I had before. If I gave her energy, I’m not aware of it.”

  “Randall isn’t actually giving us energy, just allowing us to participate in the Pack pool of energy. We each have our own, but having access to Pack energy is...” she shrugged, as if unsure how to explain.

  “It’s always there, soothing, strong, magical,” Randall filled in for her. “What did Kirsten give you?”

  “She let me be a part of her energy, so I wasn’t all alone. I’m not used to being alone.”

  I decided it might be good to focus on something else, so I told him, “I’ll agree to show you what Cora and I’ve figured out, but there are a few conditions.” I wasn’t sure how to read his lifted brows, so I ignored them and continued. “You won’t speak with anyone of it — not Abbott, Aaron, Nathan, Mordecai, or anyone. Not even your other top wolves. Should you do so, you’ll owe me a favor of my choosing for every person who finds out as a result — whether you directly tell them or not.”

  This way, if he told one person and that person told ten people, Randall would owe me eleven favors. I felt Cora’s energy shrinking away as she realized what I’d asked, but Randall didn’t seem pissed.

  I ran things through in my head and added, “Same goes if you order Cora or another of your wolves to tell someone.”

  He tilted his head and I sensed irritation, but he merely said, “The rumors say you’ve been speaking with a demon. Your negotiation skills would seem to back the rumors up. I’ll agree to your stipulation, with the exception of telling my top people should it be necessary in battle. If there’s time I’ll get your consent, but I won’t stick to our deal if it comes down to winning or losing.”

  “Make sure I’ll agree with your decision. I’ll be fair, but the decision of whether it was okay will be solely mine.”

  We ate in silence for several long moments before Randall agreed to my stipulations. I wanted to ask who’d been spreading rumors about me, but was worried it’d put me in a position of having to confirm, deny, or explain myself. Since I didn’t figure he’d tell me anyway, it seemed best to keep my mouth shut.

  Cora and I have experimented around with numerous ways to merge our auras. If we hold hands while facing each other and form a circle with our arms, we set up a circuit with more power than I think either of us could handle if we tried to use it, but we lose nearly all of it when we drop the physical connection.

  However, if she stands behind me, her hands on my shoulders while I reach mine back to her hips, we can hold onto the energy once we step away from each other. It isn’t as much as we gain the other way, but it’s manageable and we can keep it with intention.

  Our auras are truly mixed when we do this, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to show Randall the extent of what we could do. However, I wasn’t going to ask Cora to lie to her Alpha. As we walked to the field where I’d sparred with Kenny the first time I’d come here, I considered the best way to find out how far she wanted to take our demonstration without letting Randall know what I was asking.

  “Facing each other, or you behind me?”

  “Can we start with me behind you? And, if you don’t mind, I think we should show him just about everything.”

  I took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and nodded. “Okay, but I won’t do it out in the open. I’ll show Randall because I understand why it’s important you’re open and honest with him. I won’t agree to show the other wolves or Ryan though.”

  “No one outside of this field and the immediate viewing area around it can see what happens. Randall had something done to it when the Concilio put out the edict about not changing where satellites could see, and we have special permission from the Concilio to change out in the open here.”

  It took us a good five minutes to join our auras at first, but now we could do it in about twenty seconds.

  I didn’t look at Randall as Cora moved from behind me until we were side-by-side. I formed a light-sword from our joined aura and handed it to Cora. She grasped and aimed it down while I formed another. Finally, I looked up to meet his gaze only to see his slack-jawed, stunned expression.

  “Our auras are joined,” I explained, “so we can both hold the weapons I create. It took a while for her to hold onto the intention needed to keep it in existence once she’s holding it, but she eventually figured it out.” When he didn’t say anything, I continued. “When Cora and I spar with our swords — or any other light-weapons — they act as normal weapons and neither attract or repel. However, when I touched my weapon to Josh’s, it knocked us both backwards.”

  “Can Cora create a weapon?”

  “No. She feels as if she’s closer to figuring levitation out than forming a light-weapon, so we’ve spent most of our time to that end. She can feel what I’m doing but hasn’t quite been able to do it on her own yet.”

  “I can absorb the weapon into my energy field though,” Cora told him. “I don’t have to give it back to her. It’s what automatically happened at first, until I learned how to keep it solid.”

  “I’d like you both to get rid of the weapon before I probe and see if I can still reach Cora as mine.”

  “Please don’t!” I said it louder and fiercer than I intended, and I rushed to try to explain. “I’ve learned a great deal about the power of three, and I worry about messing with this. You’re more than three all by yourself, and I’m not sure I want to know what happens if you join us.”

  “You keep telling me she’s my wolf. Prove it.”

  I think Randall and I both understood if I wanted to take Cora from him, I could easily
do so. She was his wolf because I wanted her to be, not because he was strong enough to keep her. I had no idea what I’d done to create the connection, nor did I have a clue how to break it. I wanted her to be a part of the Pack she loved and I’d figured out how to keep from pulling her from it, but I feared what might happen if Randall tried to give her orders or be her Alpha while she and I were merged.

  I didn’t realize he’d tried and failed until he stood taller, lifted his arms, and gave it his all. I felt him pressing and forcing as he attempted to breach my shields, but I instinctively knew he wouldn’t get in using his current level of power.

  I also knew he could pull from the entire Pack though, and I didn’t want him to do that.

  “Hang on, Randall. Give me a minute and I’ll invite you in. My shields are part of who I am, and when I join with Cora they encompass us both, plus hers are also woven in with mine. I’m not purposefully keeping you out.”

  I reached out with my energy and touched his, and he took two steps closer as I invited his energy to merge with ours and opened a spot for him to slide in. The instant he was part of us I felt him probing and squeezing into and under personal shields I don’t let anyone past, and I freaked and shoved him out.

  “Sorry!” I said, bent over double at the waist from the backlash. “Fuck! You can’t come into my head!”

  “I’m going to pull away from you,” Cora said, “so I can go to him.”

  I nodded as I gasped for breath and sank to the ground. Pushing him out had hurt, and the land and trees weren’t letting me replenish. I immediately understood it was Randall’s land and he’d blocked me from the energy of it.

  My hands went around my head as sharp, shooting pains made it feel as if it might implode. My heart fought to manage every beat, and I gasped for air like a fish out of water as my diaphragm couldn’t get enough energy to pull air into my lungs.