by JP Vasha
For someone who'd been pretty guarded before, Zack seemed so open now, so young, especially younger than his true age of twenty-nine. He also seemed to be somewhat at peace now, speaking about his past in this unfazed, confident voice of his. It made me respect him, something I hadn't really thought about before, but it was true now. Zack Grey deserved my respect.
"What about the others?" I asked after a short silence. "The other Biwole Wolves. How did Ralph find them?"
He gave me an apologetic smile. "That's not my place to tell. Each has their own unique past and story. I told you mine because you're my mate, and after you divulged your secret, true or not, it was only fair you knew a little more about me."
That statement struck a chord deep within me, and my chest contracted. He was loyal to his friends, not telling even me, who was supposedly his mate, about their secrets. And his ideals and morals, which I was just beginning to grasp...
He's dangerous. He's so, so dangerous. It's like God listened to me when I listed things I liked in a guy and put it all in this gorgeous package.
Khloe heard that thought and told me gravelly, Try not to fall in too deep with him, Carla. Don't forget who you are, who I am, and what our situation is. Until any of that is resolved, try to not fall in love with him.
Khloe was right. Of course she was right. Still, when I looked now at Zack and saw him smiling at me, I wanted to fall for him. I wanted him to catch me as I fell. I wanted to give him my all.
And that was dangerous. Because he might be Khloe's mate. He might not be mine.
I smiled at him, trying not to shake, as I said, "Tell me more."
The rest of the flight, Zack told me a lot more. He told me about his family, with which he was in constant touch. He told me more about his adventures with Ralph, and some of the really funny stories that happened to the two of them. He told me about first meeting Shell, the Gamma, and how they formed some sort of unspoken rivalry for a short while to which Ralph showed more respect and affection. I laughed about some of the pranks Zack pulled in order to prove Shell wrong, and how he found himself landing on his ass when Shell beat him up after those pranks were exposed.
Time flew by, and now we were in the Eugene airport at Oregon. After we landed, Zack and I found our suitcases and began making our way to the reception area. "Ralph texted me that Gorton sent one of his men to pick us up," Zack told me. "I hope it's not brother."
I chuckled at the mock-bitter way he said that. "Why not?"
"'Cause it will be awkward," he shrugged. "I haven't told my family about you yet, I'm not planning to do it until... all is sort out." He eyed me carefully when he said it.
I reassured him with a smile. "I understand," I told him. "Don't worry, it's fine."
He smiled back, evidently relieved. "Good then," he said just as we walked into the open area of the reception area. "So anyway, I don't think it'll be Zak, anyway. Much like my comrades, he's probably extremely busy. The situation with the Divine Hunters stresses us out, and there's the thing with the Morgans – " he paused abruptly, looking ahead. He waved at whoever was there. "Our pickup is here."
Since I couldn't see anyone in the sea of people, I waited until Zack led me away from the people and to where a man waited for us with a grin on his face. He had short dark blonde hair sticking in all directions, sturdy body, somewhere between a wrestler and a swimmer, with broad shoulders, bulky arms, and ripped torso. He was tall, as tall as Zack if not more so, and when I saw his eyes – an electric blue that looked straight into mine – something happened.
I froze in my place, and in my mind Khloe was hyperventilating. Suddenly my sight went black and I felt my back hitting the floor as though I passed out, but I was still aware. I just couldn't see anything, and barely felt anything as well. It was all dark around me, and a sudden fear engulfed me.
I was back to the void.
No, no, no, no, no! How was that possible? I couldn't be dead again! I was alive! With Khloe! Where the heck was I?
All of a sudden the black sheet over my sight was lifted and I saw Zack's shocked, worried face hovering over me. But my sight was still odd, because he seemed a little faint, as though I was watching him in an old television.
"Carla," He said, grabbing my head. That, too, I barely felt. "Carla, sweetheart, please tell me what's wrong."
An intimately familiar voice spoke through the body's lips. "Let me go, Grey."
Khloe was in charge of her body. And I was shoved to the dark place in her mind, the one she dwelled in before.
Stupefied, I almost missed what happened next. Khloe rose on her feet, which I could see clearly through he eyes, and turned to look at our pickup, who seemed like he was struck by lightning somehow. I heard Zack say, "Mike, what's going on?"
And Khloe's thoughts then told me everything I didn't need to know. So his name is Mike. This man, this beautiful man, is Mike.
This beautiful man is my mate.
Chapter Nine
The silence was intense in the car. Mike was rigid in the driving seat, facing the road, and Zack next to him had his hands balled into fists and his jaw locked so tight, I wondered he didn't pop a muscle or something.
Khloe was still in charge. She also enjoyed it way too much. "Damn, Carla," she said, cupping her breasts, "have you stopped eating since the resurrection? 'Cause I think my boobs are smaller."
I could see Mike's hands tightening on the steering wheel while Zack turned into an even more frozen popsicle. Why are you talking aloud to me? I asked. She'd been doing it since the airport, since she told Mike and Zack she was Khloe now, and the I was in the backseat. Zack had looked ill at that, finally realizing that what I told him was at least partly true; when Khloe he spoke, it was her voice and not mine.
Still, the situation couldn't get any worse. Mike was Khloe's mate – they recognized each other at once – and I... I was probably Zack's mate. But I was reined in for now, so I couldn't do anything.
I'm talking to you like that because I enjoy freaking them out, she told me silently and then spoke again. "So they're just the same. Oh well." Khloe sprawled herself all over the backseat, getting cozy. "Damn, but I missed actually moving around. It's stuffy in there, isn't it, Carla?"
You're being childish, I informed her. And you're hurting Zack, so can you please stop?
She sighed. "You're no fun," she pouted, and then checked her nails. "Boy, but do I need manicure. What color should I use, Carla?"
For the rest of the drive Khloe made it a point to talk to me aloud. She wanted both Mike and Zack to think she's – we're – crazy, for whatever reason. And so when we entered Lumen, the Wolf City, which pretty much looked like any other big city in the west, I was relieved. The drive was too tense in my opinion.
We stopped in front of a small urban castle, which was, I assumed, the local Pack House. Once we were there, both Zack and Mike got out of the car as though their asses were on fire. Even Mike, it appeared had been a little scare of Khloe's freak show.
Khloe took her time. She stretched, straightened her clothes, flicked her head behind her shoulders, and then stepped out of the backseat. Zack and Mike were talking to each other, toe to toe, and their conversation didn't sound civilized much. Zack's green eyes were flashing dangerously while Mike's lips were on the verge of a snarl.
Since, as I mentioned before, Khloe had zero tact, she simply strode in between the two, put her hands on their chests, and drew their attention effectively. "While I think it's hot you two are fighting over me Twilight-style, I really want to start with this whole getting-Carla-out-of-my-body thingy. No offense, hon," she added to me.
None taken, I murmured darkly.
Zack shook Khloe's hand off as though her touch was contaminating. Mike, on the other hand, took her hand and kissed her knuckles. It seemed to be an instinctive reaction, because he blinked with his lips on her skin, and then let go of her in the same manner Zack had. "Let's go," he said tersely, his face visibly contracting with pain.
Zack and Mike led Khloe and me inside the fancy Pack House, and into a lounge, where a few people waited for us. The most prominent ones were the Alpha of the Biwole and the woman sitting next to him.
I knew it was the Alpha only because I'd seen pictures of him before. He was tall and ripped, with gold skin, dark brown hair, and even darker eyes. He wasn't exactly handsome, but he oozed sex appeal in a very intense, specific way that spelled danger. But, unlike the tantalizing danger that was Zack to me, his kind of danger was far more scary.
The woman next to him was probably the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She had smooth long black hair, shimmering icy-blue eyes, and short, slim yet curvy body. Her alabaster skin was something to envy, because it looked flawless and smooth and basically perfect.
With this couple were more people. I recognized Gorton, too, from a picture; short brown hair, golden eyes, and the same body as Ralph, the Alpha, who was also his relative. Gorton obviously had the alpha genes in his blood, since he was the alpha of the West Coast Pack.
And with him sat the beta, whom I recognized from the slight similarity to his brother and the fact Zack told me about him. Zak had longish dark blonde hair, much different than Zack's dark one, and while his eyes were green, too, they were a slightly different hue, more seaweed-green than Zack's emerald. He was as tall as Zack, and as muscular, and had the same tanned skin.
The rest I didn't recognize, but I guess it didn't matter. At our grande entrance, the black-haired beauty rose and walked forward. "What's wrong?" she asked Zack and Mike, eyes flickering between them.
Both Mike and Zack looked like the last thing they wanted was to talk. "This is Khloe Daniels," Zack eventually said, his voice devoid of emotion, "she's the owner of this body, while there's another soul residing inside her called Carla Mill. According to Carla, who'd been in charge of the body until this afternoon, five months ago the two were resurrected and brought together into one body. The resurrection was meant to save Khloe only, but somehow Carla tugged along."
Mike stepped forward. "You need to check this story out right now, Evelyn. We need to know if she doesn't have some sort split-personality mental disease." He seemed desperate. "Because both Grey and I smelled our mate in her, and that's universally impossible."
At that last statement, the room turned deathly quiet. Khloe, forever the indifferent, gave a loud sigh. "There's no need to be so melodramatic," she said dryly, flicking her hair again. She flashed a grin to Mike, who seemed to turn a little ill. "You should be celebrating right now with your dick up my pussy, yet here we are, talking serious stuff and all that."
There was a snort coming, strangely, from the Alpha of the Biwole himself. "You got yourself a blunt one, Fox," he told Mike with half a smile, then turned to the black-haired woman – Evelyn. "Babe, please make sure what Zack said is correct so we can solve this issue and have two happy Biwole Beta and West Coast Pack advisor."
"You're right," Evelyn said and turned to me. "Khloe, right?"
Khloe winked at her. "The one and only, babe. By the way, you smell weird. What are you?"
That was news; when I was in Khloe's body, my senses were that of a human. You have werewolf senses again? I inquired.
Apparently, when I'm in charge, my wolf is attuned to me, Khloe responded almost haughtily. Now be quiet.
That last bit infuriated me. Don't tell me to be –
She cut me off audibly. "So, Evelyn, what are you?" she folded her arms. "I'm not letting you do whatever juju to my gorgeous body unless I know what you are."
Evelyn scrutinized Khloe quietly, and from her stark gaze I figured she wasn't impressed by her bravado. "I'm half-vampire, half-Sorceress," she told us, and I was confused. Vampire? Sorceress? "I have mental powers such as telekinesis and telepathy. I can rake your mind with one thought on my end. It won't hurt and it won't be too weird, so if you just let me do that, it'll be fine."
Khloe rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just do what you gotta do."
Zak, who eyed Khloe as though she was a weirdly put puzzle, grabbed two chairs and placed them next to Evelyn and Khloe. Then he turned to Zack and shook his head disapprovingly. "Somehow, I'm nor surprised you got yourself a strange complex of a mate, Zack."
Zack's faec reddened at that and growled deep in his throat. I wanted to reach out for him, to calm him down, but the body wasn't mine right now, so all I could was follow Khloe's lead, which was not so good a lead.
Evelyn and Khloe sat in front of one another, and Evelyn instructed, "Close your eyes."
Khloe rolled her eyes pointedly before closing them. Then Evelyn said, "I'm going to probe into your mind. Carla, if you really are there, I want you to talk to me when you feel me coming."
No problem about that.
Evelyn's palms cupped Khloe's temples and then I felt it. Something weird. The air inside Khloe's head was bursting with something I couldn't name, couldn't comprehend, and then I felt it. An entity sharing the same dark room with me. That entity felt like Evelyn, so I didn't frighten, but still, having someone else here besides me and the wolf –
Where was Khloe's wolf anyway?
Carla, Evelyn's mental voice said, Talk to me.
I'm here, I said, and felt myself turning desperate. Please get me out of here. We can't live like this anymore.
Evelyn sighed. It won't be as easy as it sounds. But now that I validated you're, in fact, real, I'm getting out. I'll tell my theory to everyone.
No! I panicked, Don't leave me here still! Please, I must get out! I don't want to return to the void!
In the physical realm, Khloe groaned. "Carla, shut the fuck up," she growled, actually growled, like a werewolf did, "your pathetic screams make my head ache."
Please, Evelyn, if I had eyes in the mental realm I would've cried, I beg of you, don't leave me...
I felt Evelyn's metaphorical hand touching my metaphorical soul. It was as thought she sought my essence and branded it to her mind. Since you insist, I can take you out, she told me reluctantly. You won't have a body, you'll just be a floating soul. You don't want this right now, Carla. Let me out and let me tell everyone my plan. If you still want to leave Khloe's body, we'll do this.
Evelyn was right. I knew she was right. Yet the panic refused to go away. Still, I told her to go before I did something I regretted. Soon enough I was alone in Khloe's psyche.
"Carla is in there," Evelyn said, and when I looked, I saw that both Zack and Mike looked relieved and frustrated. "The story she told you, Zack, are probably true. But I still don't get something." She turned to Khloe. "Do you know who's the one who resurrected you?"
Khloe sighed. "If I did, we wouldn't be in this situation," she said matter-of-factly. "My stupid mother hired him and he did the entire thing himself and fled the scene before my family could see him. The only thing they know about him is that he's a male, since when my mother talked to him over the phone, he had a bass voice."
"And the phone?" Evelyn probed farther. "Did you try to call him again?"
"Carla tried," Khloe shrugged. "She managed to steal Mom's phone and dial the right number, but it was disconnected. Probably a disposable phone."
"That's what I thought," Evelyn frowned, then looked at Ralph, who was simply sitting and listening to it all with an enigmatic smile on his face. "I need you to make a call to Kim."
At that, Ralph's calm languidness turned into irritated tension. "Why do I have to do this?" he growled. "He's your friend, not mine."
Evelyn gave a long-suffering sigh. "Because, sweetheart, you insisted to know everything about me." She gave him a saccharine smile that made him snarl again. "So deal with Kimberly is one of those things, yes?"
Still growling and making me want to cower, Ralph rose. "I'll have my revenge," he told her softly, but his eyes were now twinkling. He actually enjoyed that. Weird.
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Looking forward to that," she said dryly, then turned back to Khloe. "Anyway, it seems we're in league with a Necroma
ncer."
Mike blanched. "Necromancer? Isn't that even more mythical than your vampire-Sorceress-hybrid shit?"
"Let me explain some things first," Evelyn folded her arms. "There are more than just werewolves in the world. Vampires, like me, used to exist until I eliminated them all and so I'm the last Born vampire. Then there are the other race of blood-sucking monsters called vampyres, with a 'y', and they're Made, not Born. Then there are many types of magic-users – from Wielders to Elementals to whatnot. That the world only knows of werewolf is a conscious decision to keep the others a secret." She scowled at Mike. "I thought you listened in my history classes."
Mike scowled back. "Your classes suck, Evelyn. You know shit not about teaching."
"Okay, stop that," Gorton suddenly interrupted, massaging his head. "Your bickering is bad enough at these classes. I don't need a continuation."
Evelyn shrugged. "He started it."
Just then, Ralph returned to the room with a new man with him. The man was in his thirties, with golden haired looped into a small ponytail, matching golden eyes he put glasses on, a faint scruff, and slender built. He looked kind of homeless, to be honest, with worn-out flip-flops, faded jeans and plain gray tee.
Evelyn smiled at the man. "Thank you for coming so fast," she told him before turning the Khloe again. "This is Kimberly. He's a member of a group called the Men of Logia, or Deities. He can help you."
I stared at Kimberly, who seemed to stare right back at me through Khloe's eyes. Without saying a word, he strode over to where we stood, touched his finger to surprised Khloe's forehead, and closed his eyes. I felt something nudging me, scrutinizing me, testing me, before the man opened his eyes and sighed.
When he turned to Evelyn, he said tiredly, "Your mate was right, we do have a mess with a Necromancer." He sighed again. "But not jut one, darling, but two."
Evelyn looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean by two?"
Kimberly turned back to Khloe. "A situation such as yours can only occur when a Necromancer died and another Necromancer was trying to resurrect someone in the vicinity. The dead Necromancer can then cling onto the resurrected soul and then practically possess the body, unless something monumental happens and the souls change places. Like they did now."