Pack Obsidian Gold

by C. M. Stunich

  “Once they checked on you, they left,” Tidus said with a shrug and a slight shake of his head. “We just wrote it off as something to do with the silver. Silas even took Allister aside and told him a bunch of bullshit to throw him off.”

  “Like what?” I asked as I finished my tea and, with impeccable timing, Silas stepped into the room holding a Starbucks cup in one hand and a little paper bag in the other. Delicious smells hit me all at once—ham and cheese, the buttery sweetness of a croissant, and the chocolate and espresso kiss of a mocha.

  “Like, I told him you were an arrogant alpha who demanded we cover you in silver so you could prove yourself.” Silas climbed onto the bed and straddled my lap without spilling a drop of the coffee. As Tidus took my empty mug aside and set it on the side table, Silas handed me the mocha and the bag of food. “All lies, obviously, but he doesn't need to know that this … weird ass tattoo you got from some necromantic old deer holds magic like a piggybank holds coins.”

  I almost chuckled at the old deer joke … and then almost moaned at the feel of his weight on me, the mix of tobacco and cherries and vanilla that clung to Silas' tattooed skin like cologne.

  “Who came up with that idea?” I asked as Anubis slipped into the room, dressed to the nines in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, black and white Converse with checkered laces, and a black button up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, a navy tie hanging around his neck.

  “Guilty,” he said, raising a single hand and winking at me. “I can't say for sure, but that's what it felt like. Didn't you guys sense it? That shift in our pack connection?”

  “Bro, I have no idea what the fuck happened. All I know is that my alpha female was bleeding and screaming and it scared the shit out of me.” Che crossed his arms over his chest as Anubis grabbed a stack of clothes from the dresser and put them at the end of the bed.

  “Well, it felt like all the magic inside of Zara was funneling into those marks.” Anubis pointed at my wrist and sighed. “But I could be completely full of shit. It's just a guess.”

  “Your educated guess is better than my complete confusion,” I said, sipping my mocha and then reaching out to touch the pile. “Are these clothes for me?”

  “Nic says we have to leave in five minutes or we won't make it in time to meet Julian,” Anubis explained, looking slightly chagrined. “I don't want to be the douche-y boyfriend that tries to pick our his girlfriend's clothes, I just …”

  “Boyfriend,” Che said with a chuckle and I elbowed him in the side. He glanced over at me, hooked a sinful little smile and then curled his fingers under the hem of his hoodie, tearing it over his head and then dropping it over mine.

  His warmth and smell enveloped me as he tugged it down and freed my face while I glared at him with narrowed eyes.

  “I'll be one of those douche-y boyfriends that tries to mark his lady,” he said with a grin, and then climbed from the covers in sweats and bare feet and nothing else. “Let's go meet this Blood motherfucker and show him that wolves have teeth, too.” Che flashed a full grin of wolf's teeth, sharp and gleaming, and then snatched the first shirt he could find from the top drawer.

  It was one of mine. Pale pink and way too tight. It rode up high and flashed a whole hell of a lot of flat muscular belly, a trail of dark hair disappearing under Che's sweats.

  “Guess I'm rocking Best Friends Forever today, huh?” he said, pointing at the shirt, and then he swept from the room before I could get out a word … or a laugh.

  “If Faith sees him wearing that …” I told the other three boys, but honestly, I kind of couldn't wait to see her reaction. That tee was half of a set that she'd purchased for us in high school. “Let's just hope Che's nice enough to her to win her over.”

  “That asshole?” Silas said, leaning over and putting his forehead against mine. “Fat chance. I hope Faith punches him right in one of his too perfect pecs.”

  “Like you don't have too perfect pecs?” I asked, patting one of the glorious muscles in question before Silas swung his leg off of me and let me up. “In fact,” I continued as Tidus stood up and helped me to my feet. “I think you all do.” One flick of my eyes over at Anubis and … yep. Perfect pecs. It was sort of a werewolf thing, though. We had ridiculously high metabolisms and a tendency to develop long, lean muscles—even in human form.

  “Must be all the surfing,” Tidus said with a sharp grin and then an awkward sort of pause, like he was considering something. “Did you want privacy to get dressed?”

  “Are you kidding me?” I asked as I glanced down at my bare legs and the bit of red hair on my cunt. I grabbed the bra off the bed and passed it to Tidus, turning around and giving him my back. I knew the pale curve of my ass would be in perfect view, too. I wanted him to look. “There are some parts of human culture that I like … but modesty isn't one of them.”

  “Good,” Tidus said as he slipped the bra around my chest, making my breath catch as his fingertips trailed across my ribs. “I didn't think so, but I know some werewolves our age who ...” His breath hissed out as I grabbed his hands and lifted them to the lacy cups, encouraging him to help me fully into them. “Oh, fuck, Zara ...”

  “You've never had a girlfriend who let you touch her breasts?” I asked, but I knew what the answer was—probably not. A simple kiss almost cost Silas Vetter his eye. I didn't agree with controlling the mating habits of anyone—not even teenagers. That was a mark of most cults, the ironclad control over reproductive rights, and I didn't like that we were imitating it, even in small ways. But as things stood now? The chances of Tidus actually having touched another woman's breasts? Slim to none.

  And was it wrong that I liked that? That mine would be the first he would ever touch?

  “Not even close,” he growled out, swallowing hard like he was trying to regain control. Oh. Nice. Even Tidus Hahn could be made to act a little animal in the right circumstances. Anubis and Silas watched us closely as Tidus palmed the heavy, warm weight of my breasts and helped slip them into the cups. “But I have to say, maybe I'm glad I waited? I can't imagine anyone topping these.”

  I leaned back into Tidus' warm body and closed my eyes, smiling as Tidus helped me into the bra straps, slipping them over my arms as he made a sound low in his throat. I could feel the hardness in his jeans pressing against my ass.

  He stepped back suddenly and joined the hook and eye clasps with a long, deep sigh.

  “Time for business,” Tidus said, but like he could care less. I slid my arms into the sleeves of Che's hoodie and glanced over my shoulder with a small smile. Tidus' gray eyes met mine and even though they weren't a rich vibrant purple like Che's or glimmering gold like Silas', they were just as pretty. “But someday soon, I'll take you surfing.”

  “And touch my boobs again?” I asked as I shimmied into lacy black cotton panties.

  “If you'll let me,” Tidus said, still grinning brightly at me.

  I paused and looked down at my underwear before I glanced back at Anubis.

  “You went through my panty drawer again,” I said and he paled slightly, putting up both hands in surrender.

  “It wasn't like that,” he said, but his voice was rife with laughter. “I didn't sniff any this time.”

  I chucked the t-shirt he'd brought me at his face and he chuckled, catching it his hands in a wadded purple ball.

  “Let's get this meeting with Julian over with,” I said as I tugged on a pair of black leggings and took a deep breath. “Or non-meeting as it were. I highly doubt he's going to show up.” Glancing over at Anubis, I pointed his direction, the playful banter between me and the boys helping me forget for a moment how weak and dizzy I felt. “And when we get back, I'll think of a punishment for you.”

  “If it has to do with whips or handcuffs,” Silas added as Anubis threw me a saucy little grin. “Then punish me, too.”

  “Only if you're a bad boy,” I said, snatching up my bag of food and my mocha.

  Probably would've been sexier if I
hadn't giggled and rolled my eyes.

  “Vampire-witch war,” I said, exhaling and closing my eyes for a moment. “Let's just hope we don't get jumped—I'm not sure if I have the energy in me today to fight.”

  Faith was waiting for me outside the math building. I'd texted her to say I was meeting Julian in the study lounge before class and here she was with coffee.

  She raised her dark brows when she saw me coming, my harem of males fanned out behind me. As strange as I felt today—like I'd been sucked dry of the magic I hadn't even know I'd possessed two weeks ago—I wasn't about to go in alone. After the showdown on Saturday, I wouldn't put anything past them. Sending in a horde of daywalking soldiers to take us captive? Definitely within the realm of possibility.

  “Oh, Starbucks,” she said with a smile. “I can't beat that. Now, which one of your hundred boyfriends should I give this to?” She lifted up the styrofoam cup with the crappy school coffee in it and passed it over to Nic's waiting hand.

  “Showing favoritism already?” Jax purred, crossing his arms over his chest and giving Faith a cheeky sort of look.

  “Nic is Zara's true love,” Faith said, staring back at the Pack Azure Frost Alpha Son in his white wool coat and black sweater. He looked very chic—even if I knew the coat and sweater were total overkill. It wasn't all that cold out today even for a human let alone a werewolf. Although he looked damn good in his outfit and there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell I was going to complain.

  “Who says Zara can't have more than one true love?” Jax countered and Faith shrugged, tossing her braid over one shoulder

  “We'll see. And who's this?” Faith asked with a lift of her chin, glancing around me and Jax to peek at Harlem. The vampire girl was dressed in a long-sleeved black dress with a hat, sunglasses, and a parasol. Yep. With lacy and black and white stripes, like she was a mix between Vivien Leigh from Gone With the Wind and Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice.

  “This is Harlem,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest to hide the trembling in my hands. I'd noticed it in the Yukon on the way over; I was drained. But the mark on my wrist? It throbbed and burned with a wild heat that I recognized as the same breed of earth magic that arose when the boys and I touched or mated. “She's a friend of Aeron's,” I added, yet another lie scraping past my teeth.

  Faith looked at the two women and sighed, looping her arm through mine and dragging me into the building.

  “You don't look so good,” she said as we walked down the hall in the direction of Nic's and my calculus class. “And isn't it Monday? Unless the crappy weekend I had at work scrambled my brain, don't you have your wildflowers class today.”

  “We do, yeah,” I said as we meandered toward the student lounge in a big group. The few kids studying in there glanced up when we entered, most of them with gaping mouths and wide eyes. My boys had just sort of … stopped giving a fuck that their hair and eye colors weren't exactly normal … or human. And now walked around with violet or gold eyes, hair the color of a navy sky or freshly fallen snow. Beyond that, I swear, every single of them had their own version of swagger and style.

  I'd stare even if they did look completely human.

  Or maybe they were just staring at Harlem, her parasol, and her sunglasses.

  Easily could've been that, too.

  'Julian isn't here,' Montgomery said, which wasn't much of a surprise. 'He's probably dead.'

  'Hopefully it was painful,' Nic added, sipping his coffee and cringing slightly at the bitter taste. Pretty sure the student 'baristas' who worked the snack counter re-used the same coffee grounds over and over … and then, like, liberally scooped some of them into the actual coffee cup itself. I'd never tasted anything so gritty in my laugh and I gave Nic a sympathetic look as I took the last few drinks of my mocha. 'Fucker.'

  'Wherever he is,' I said as I stood there and felt this hollow, empty feeling in my chest. It stacked itself right on top of the nauseousness I'd been entertaining since waking up, 'if he doesn't show up in the next hour, we have our answer.' I tugged my phone from my pocket and checked the time.

  'We could go to the wildflowers classroom, see if he's there?' Nic suggested as Faith turned and stared at us like we were all crazy. Of course, to her, we weren't having a discussion about strategies, we were all just standing in a messy group near the snack counter staring at each other.

  “Let's check the science building and see if he got mixed up and headed over there instead. Maybe you guys can hang here and see if he shows up?” I said, giving the guys a pair of raised brows.

  “You said you needed to talk to him about your project?” Faith asked, looking confused. “Why didn't you just meet him at the wildflower classroom in the first place.”

  Because I wanted this to be a deliberate move on his part, meeting us in a busy lounge with security cameras, and I sort of didn't want to get caught skipping class in case we had to bail. Although it looked like we were getting a simple non-answer and therefore a supposed spark for this war I didn't want to fight.

  Guess I could make time for class after all?

  I could tell that Nic wanted to go, and I didn't blame him. A slice of normalcy sounded like heaven in that moment. Although I wasn't naive enough to think it would last.

  “Well, we have a few hours until class starts,” I said with a shrug and a smile. “Everyone knows the math lounge has the best chairs and the best coffee.” I flicked her styrofoam cup with a finger. 'Nic, Jax, Anubis, and Tidus, come with me.' I was definitely leaving Silas behind after what happened between him and Julian last week. “Don't you have a class like, right now, that you usually skip.”

  “It's once every other week,” Faith said, glaring at the mountain of coffee grounds in the bottom of her cup. “It's an online hybrid class. I have a lab today in like fifteen minutes.” She looked up at me. “I'll go with you … if you want?”

  Faith was clearly onto the fact that something was up with me; she knew me too well.

  “Of course I want,” I said, letting her take my arm again.

  'Human friends are too much trouble,' Jax said, falling into line behind me as I dragged Faith out of the lounge and back down the hall the way we'd come. I hoped she didn't notice how tense I was, expecting trouble around every corner.

  'Friends are never too much trouble,' I told him as Faith chucked her cup into a trash can. 'She makes me feel human when … I start to feel like a beast.'

  'If you do feel like a beast,' he added, and I had to glance over my shoulder to meet the sharp blue of his eyes. 'Then I'm always willing to help with that.' Jax's lips curved up in a sharp smile, his eyes half-lidded and heavy with invitation.

  I turned back to Faith.

  “Any news about Diya?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer to that question. There would never be any news about Faith's mom unless I told her the truth. My stomach twisted and I had to close my eyes for a moment to keep from getting dizzy. The thorn of a lie wedged deep in my heart mixed with last night's events … not a good combination.

  “Nothing,” Faith said, and I heard it in her voice. She was missing her mother, her dogs. The worry was eating away at her and the only solutions I had to offer were false reassurances or awful truths.

  “I'm sorry, Faith,” Nic said, staying on my left side and giving my friend—our friend—a sympathetic look. “If there's anything we can do to help, just let us know.”

  “Thanks,” she said with a long sigh, her false eyelashes thick and dark, curving up toward her forehead. “Honestly, do you think we could do like a double date this weekend?”

  “With Owen?” Nic groaned, glancing over at Jax. “Take him then instead. I'll stay home.”

  “Oh my God, stop,” Faith said, reaching past me to shove at Nic's shoulder. “Of course with Owen and no, you're not bowing out of this one. If Zara's dating seven guys, then Zara's bringing seven guys on our double date.

  “I'm so down for a double date!” Tidus said from behind us and I looked bac
k at him, I caught him grinning, his hands folded behind his head. “Can we do mini golf or something?”

  “Mini golf sounds fucking amazing,” Faith said, letting go of my arm and turning so that she was walking backwards and staring at me and the boys I'd brought with us. “So, let's say Friday at six? Pizza first then a round of golfing where I totally and completely kick all your asses or”—Faith held up a single finger—“vice versa. Because I can kick butt first and then eat if you want.”

  'We might be busy on Friday at six,' Nic said, but the look he gave me said he was actually on Faith's side for once. 'But I guess we can't stop living life because we might be, you know, dead.' He smiled to soften what was actually a pretty morbid joke.

  We could died at any moment.

  And that's why I was going to say yes.

  “It's a deal,” I said and Faith flashed me a grin, clamping her hands over her teal skirt to keep it from billowing up in the wind outside the math building's doors. Her outfit today was patterned with random clusters of tropical fruit tied with red ribbons. It was definitely a Faith sort of outfit—colorful, eclectic, food-themed. “The indoor course or the outdoor one?” I asked, subtly scenting the air.

  Not that it would help much considering the witch hazel.

  But a wolf trusts her nose and there were always other possible dangers waiting in the world. This war Kingdom Ironbound and Coven Triad wasn't the first or the last threat to visit Pack Ebon Red.

  “Indoor,” Faith said, studying Anubis, Jax, and Tidus. Nic, she was used to. But she was probably wondering why I'd picked three of the six other guys to follow after us. She didn't know we had to split up to anticipate a possible attack. “Just in case it rains,” she added, glancing up at the tumultuous gray clouds dotting the bright blue of the sky. Yesterday's rainstorm would not be the last. “So … what's up with your little entourage?”