Blue Curse (Blue Wolf Book 1)
Page 24
“I understand,” I said. I had braced myself for the possibility.
“Late last night, in her final moment of clarity, Baba announced that the Blue Wolf would protect all. I’m not sure what she meant, but you have a home here if you like. You would be revered.”
I looked over the village and lush fields, where the child shepherds continued to watch me, then around at the steep, thrusting peaks. The place resonated deeply with my wolf nature. For him, this was home. But when my eyes returned to Nafid’s, she could see that Jason Wolfe would not be staying.
“What will you do?” she asked.
To keep my wolf nature from the military, I had authorized Centurion to act as my legal representation, defending my desertion as a patriotic act to bring Colonel Stanick to justice. They were also going to ensure my men were cleared. Given Centurion’s clout, they would have little problem accomplishing either.
But there remained the question of Daniela.
I couldn’t return to her like this, a blue-haired creature with two-inch canines. It wasn’t that I thought she would reject me—Daniela was too good for that. But if there stood even the slightest chance I might lose control, that the wolf might harm her, then no, I couldn’t.
That left two options: Centurion United or Prof Croft and the Order.
Centurion had promised me a year to a cure, but it would mean contracting as a mercenary. A weekend marriage of convenience was one thing—and their legal representation had been offered pro bono—but this would fundamentally change the soldier I thought I was. As for Croft, I could easily see working with him, a wizard fighting the good fight for all the right reasons. But he had put the time to a cure closer to ten years.
I blew out my breath as I met Nafid’s soft gaze.
“I guess I have a decision to make.”
32
One week later
My heart beat like a bass drum as I stood in a dapple of late afternoon sunlight and knocked on a red door. Inside the house a pair of Weimaraners burst into barking. Their race to the front door was followed by a set of footsteps and calls for them to quiet down.
The lock on the door handle released, followed by the sound of the bolt sliding back. I swallowed and moved the flowers to my other hand. The door opened. She was stooped over, grasping one dog by the collar while moving her yoga pants-clad hips to keep the other one from thrusting past her.
“Daniela,” I said.
She raised her face, lips already turned up as though to make a wry comment about her hyperactive dogs, and froze. Loose bangs from her tied-back hair fell across her staring eyes.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t I get a hug?”
In the next moment, she slammed the door behind her and threw herself around me. Ankles clasped against my low back, she began kissing me all over my clean-shaven face. I closed my eyes and held her, inhaling the complex odors of her hair and body. At last her lips pressed against mine, something I had been waiting a long time for.
“You big jerk,” she said when we separated, giving my chest a thump. “Why didn’t you tell me you were home?”
I’d called her from Waristan to tell her everything was all right, that she had nothing to worry about. The situation in New York had been resolved, and I was back in good standing with the military. I hadn’t known when I would be home, though. There were things I needed to take care of.
That was before I’d known seeing her as Jason was possible.
“I guess I wanted to surprise you,” I said, setting her down and holding out the now-crushed flowers. “These are for you.”
She laughed as she accepted them, petals spilling over her bare feet, and grasped my hand. There was something so amazing about seeing my hand—my human hand—enveloping hers. My thumb rubbed her fingers and touched the diamond engagement ring.
But when she pulled me toward the house, I couldn’t follow.
“You are staying, right?” she joked. Seeing my grave eyes, she craned her neck toward the driveway. A black Escalade with tinted windows idled in front of the garage door. “What’s going on?”
“My transfer orders came through,” I said. “But my work out there isn’t quite done. I’ve signed on for something else in the meantime. Something classified that requires a longish commitment. I’ll take leaves as often as I can, but I have no way of knowing when that will be.”
Watching the joy drain from Daniela’s face was gutting.
“I am so sorry, Dani. But you deserved to be told in person.”
“You can’t stay for just one night, head out in the morning?”
“God, I would give anything for that,” I breathed. “Believe me.”
Her hand fell from mine and gripped her opposite arm above the elbow. “But you have to ship out,” she said quietly.
“I do.”
As she peered past my shoulder, I could see her steeling some inner part of herself as she’d no doubt had to do many times in the last two years. When her eyes returned to mine, they were glistening. “I’m sorry I doubted you in New York. That was wrong of me.”
“Hey,” I said, reaching toward her. But she held up a hand.
“No, it was selfish and … and stupid. You told me there was something you needed to do, and that when you were finished you would report back to duty and come home. And look at you. You did exactly that. You’re here.” Smiling, she clasped the arms of my leather jacket and massaged her fingers into my triceps. “Maybe not for good, but you’re here.”
She was telling me she trusted me.
I enfolded Daniela in my arms, held her head to my chest, and rocked her gently. “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
She nodded against me. “Our problem is that we were born to serve.”
That was true of Dani. Whether it was still true of me, I didn’t know.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you on the phone,” I said. “You of all people didn’t deserve that.”
“Hush. The only thing I want to hear you say is that you’re coming back.”
“I’m coming back,” I said. “And when I do we’re getting married.”
She leaned her head away to meet my eyes.
“I love you,” I said, beating her to the punch.
She started to respond but then the skin between her eyebrows creased in question. “What’s this?” she asked, her fingers tracing the faint scar on my right cheek—the mark of the wolf.
A curse? An honor? I wasn’t sure how to think about it anymore.
“A commitment,” I said at last. “I’ll tell you all about it one day.”
“Call me when you get where you’re going.”
“Definitely.”
When we kissed again, I felt the wolf stir inside me. It was time to go. At the back door of the idling Escalade, I raised a hand in farewell. Daniela’s head tilted as she waved back. I climbed in and the vehicle backed down the driveway, Daniela watching until we were out of sight.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t give you more time,” Reginald Purdy said from beside me.
The drug had been a mild dose of what Centurion’s bioengineering division was developing for me. I had been warned that it remained experimental, highly toxic, and that, at best, I could hope for a few minutes of normalcy. I could already feel my jaw beginning to jut and the itch of returning hair spreading over my back. But to be able to see and hold Daniela … the risks were worth it.
“I’m just glad it worked,” I replied. Besides being able to spend precious moments with her, it gave me hope that Centurion would find a cure—and that I would be able to keep the promises I’d just made.
Purdy shifted in the leather seat to face me. In the last week, I’d learned that the man wore nothing but pin-stripe suits. “Sure you want to chance a second dose?” he asked.
Though I could feel the drug’s toxicity burning through my system, I nodded. I had one more stop to make, this one in Hawthorne, Florida. Parker’s funeral was tomorrow, and his mother deserved a visit
from her late son’s commanding officer, someone who had considered him a brother and close friend.
And then it was on to Vegas to meet my new team.
“Very well,” Purdy said, clapping my knee. “We’re just glad to have you on board.”
“One year,” I reminded him, my voice starting to go wolfish again.
“One year,” he assured me, and smiled.
What’s Next?
The Blue Wolf saga is just revving up, with the next book due out this winter. Be sure to sign up to my newsletter to get an alert the minute it goes live:
http://bit.ly/blue_wolf
Signing up also gets you a freebie. Remember Prof Croft, the wizard who helped Blue Wolf? He has his own complete series, part of the evolving Strangeverse. And it all begins with your free novella, Book of Souls.
You can find all my current releases here: amazon.com/Brad-Magnarella/e/B00570JBHQ
And you can always find me on Facebook: facebook.com/bdmagna
Don’t be a stranger!
Books in the Strangeverse
PROF CROFT
Book of Souls
Demon Moon
Blood Deal
Purge City
Death Mage
BLUE WOLF
Blue Curse
* More to come *