by Roxy Mews
I felt like a ping-pong ball, bouncing my attention back and forth between Doc and Jake. At least I’d learned Jake didn’t like being called dude. Which was unfortunate, because I used that word a lot.
Jake let a fabulous little tidbit slip next. His role as Protector was because of some magic that had found its way into his head. It was for life. He told us there was no leaving. Looking at me, he let the big bomb drop. “So you need to become Family. Either that, or they take back my miasma.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” I shrugged. So he gave back his woo-woo magic. Big deal.
“They have to remove it from my skull. Along with my brain.”
Ouch. Okay, so Jake leaving was not a viable option. That left me joining the Family. One problem.
“Can I be turned? I mean, is it even possible? I’m not natural born. Can I go through another change?”
The looks that passed around the room. Oy. Basically nobody knew. Wonderful. At least I had barbeque sauce for my chicken nuggets.
Chapter Seven
The next morning brought a sunrise, but unlike those fabulous TV dramas, no brilliant ideas had popped into my head during my dreams. I was still stuck with a mate I shouldn’t have, but wanted more and more each time we were near. His touch was like a heady drug that knocked me senseless. I needed some time for my brain to reboot.
Jake was back at the cabin with Doc. I was on campus. Mary had been texting me like a maniac. She was worried I was flaking out. She also was digging for information on Jake.
What the hell could I tell her? I knew I should start pulling away. I always ended up having to sever all ties with humans sooner or later, no matter how much I liked them. That was the problem with hanging with those who weren’t of the paranormal persuasion. Yet every time we moved somewhere, I still made human friends. If I wanted to go all psychology on myself, I could conclude it was a desperate way to reconnect with the humanity I lost. I preferred to think I just happened to run across some really cool humans.
Take Mary, for example. She could sketch anything in her handy-dandy notebook, but she wasn’t an art student. She was majoring in nursing. Said she wanted to help people and do something that mattered. Mary didn’t have much of a family. She had been in foster care most of her life. She blended so well into our Pack when I brought her by that I had thought of turning her. Now, with all this stuff going down, I was glad I had restrained myself.
Lately, Mary was volunteering at the local kids’ hospital. She was working on a mural for their play area. Mary was good people. Good people who didn’t want me to flunk out of school. How sweet.
She was sitting beside me as I traced the matemark on my neck and tried to give a rat’s ass about this lecture. I’d ditched the choker on the way to class and just let my long hair be my cover.
To be honest, I needed a distraction. So I was sitting through a general studies class, chewing on my pencil and trying to decide when to show back up around my Pack. I had to smell different, and any wolf would notice my matemark—the fluid lines of that mark were like giant, neon blinking arrows.
Nope. Safer to stay away from supernatural beings as much as possible. My plan had worked through three whole classes. Then Vampire Barbie walked in.
Turns out Shelly was the TA, or more likely had compelled the prof to believe that she was the TA. I had never seen her in that class before, but she damn sure knew I was there. Her eyes found me immediately. Crap.
I gauged the exits. Not too far. I was sitting in the back row. Too bad my name and a request to stay after class were out of Professor Reagan’s mouth before I got one foot on the stairs.
“I told you, you were gonna catch trouble for missing that project.”
“Thanks. Your astute observations are infinitely helpful.”
“No problem. If you need help with the makeup work, we can hit the library study rooms together.”
Mary spent a lot of time on the third floor of the library. The study rooms were okay, but the hottie who worked on the janitorial staff there was the real reason my bestie was so studious. I knew the guy. He was of the furry persuasion. Not bad to look at, but not my type. I didn’t take kindly to him eying my human buddy the way he did, but that wasn’t my biggest concern at that moment.
As the room emptied and Professor Reagan found himself walking away without the benefit of knowing why, I pulled my wolf tight to me. I didn’t know what this was going to be, but I knew if it turned bad, I would need her strength. Jake’s skin was the toughest I had ever abused, but I wasn’t sure if it was his mixed heritage or the vampy side of him that caused it. Either way, if Vampire Barbie wanted me dead, it wasn’t going to be an easy fight.
“I find I have a little problem.” She reminded me of a shark circling prey as she paced in front of me. I tried not to fidget or check for open wounds.
“Blood stains on your shirt? Use cold water.”
She wasn’t amused. So much for charm.
“Jake is missing. And the last thing I heard was that he had blown off his dinner date to go find you.”
“Oh?” When unsure of what information the enemy had—or whether they were, in fact, the enemy—I find it best to play dumb. With my long, red hair and gum smacking between my teeth I could look the part.
“You reek of him.”
“So that sense of smell isn’t just a wolf thing? Damn. I thought I was special.”
She did that creepy statue-still thing vampires do, while I paced like the caged dog I was.
“Is he still alive?”
“Of course! He’s my ma—” Crap.
“He’s your what?” She barely moved her mouth. The words sizzled from between her teeth.
“Nothing. I gotta go.” I slapped my palm against my messenger bag. “Class.”
“You will take me to him. I may look young, but I have grown powerful over time. I will see my Protector, or I will slaughter you here. I will have no issue with tearing you apart if harm befell him.”
“Are all vampires this melodramatic and bitchy? Or is it just a hobby of yours?”
Her fist hit me for a first-rate face punch. I had to give her credit for not hesitating. I also had to give myself a minute. My face needed a reboot.
I was resetting my nose as we hiked through the trees toward the cabin. It had already partially healed, so breaking it a second time added a whole other smattering of blood to my not-so-new-anymore tank top.
“He better be unharmed. Or no treaty will save you.”
“You know, you keep jabbering about this treaty. Care to clue me in?”
“No.”
Glad I stopped walking for that friendly exchange. She’d already informed me that I was to produce Jake for her inspection or die by way of a tiny blonde vampire tearing the flesh from my bones in half-inch-wide strips. I didn’t think the building department had it in the budget to get werewolf blood and hair cleaned from their carpet, so being the humanitarian I am, I decided to escort my new sister-in-law to a meeting with my mate.
I was extra convinced when I tried to run, and she knocked me unconscious for a few with her fist.
The cabin came into view, and Doc and Jake were out front chopping firewood. Actually they were busy hacking up the pieces of the old couch to use as firewood. We had really thrashed that thing. We might as well make use of the pieces.
They both had their shirts off, but my eyes were glued to the hard planes of Jake’s chest. Muscles flexed as he swung the ax and accidentally sliced through both the piece he meant to cut and the steadying base below. Our eyes met as he looked up and brushed back the hair that had fallen out of place. I was still a good hundred feet away, but the “oh shit” that formed on those lips was easy to pick up.
Nose twitching, his expression went dark, and a nanosecond later he was at my side. I should say front, because he had my face in his hands and was looking for any injuries.
“Are you okay? Who did this? I will dismember them.” Jake took my elbow. He d
idn’t squeeze. It was like he didn’t want to hurt me more, but I had already healed.
“Awww. Honey, you say the sweetest things. But I doubt you want to dismember your little sister here. We just had a discussion, and after I came to, I decided she needed to see you. So here we are. Who wants beer? I do. Doc stocked the fridge like he promised, right?”
“Shelly did this? She would never harm you. She is not that unintelligent. The treaty would have her life for that.” Again he was spouting about things that were outside my knowledge base.
I pulled back and waved an arm behind me toward the little Vampire-Barbie statue. “Are we going with the theory that she fell on me with her fist?”
Shelly stepped forward. She wanted to be acknowledged. I wanted her to head back to her coffin.
“I thought she had you. I thought you were harmed. The treaty would have been void. I broke no code. Now that I have found you, we can go home.”
Jake looked at me. What, as the uninformed mate, I all of a sudden had something crucial to add? Fuck that. “I said I wanted beer. You two can discuss all the stuff I’m not meant to know. I’ll be inside trying to find clean clothes and something alcoholic.”
Now if my mate were a chivalrous wolf, he would have either told me to stay or followed me in. But my hybrid mate agreed and stayed outside to chat at the grownup table. So I did what any mature, even-tempered woman would do. I broke shit.
Chapter Eight
It was a good thing the grownup table walked through the door when they did. I was about to work back up into another round of throw-things-against-the-wall. Doc was working on sweeping up some of the damage, and I was headed to help him, but when a certain perky blonde was the first one into the cabin, I paused to consider if I could throw her first.
“I can see you’re living in a lovely environment, Jacob. No wonder you’re reluctant to leave.”
Vampire Barbie’s little snide comments would have gotten her ass kicked were it not for the slight intonation in her voice. She wasn’t looking down at me. There was something in her voice—in her stance—that clued me in on something I hadn’t seen before. Acceptance.
Weird. I still wanted to rub permanent marker on her perfectly blood-free clothes, but I refrained from more destruction. I could always key her car later.
Jake came to my side and looped an arm around my waist. His skin blazed against mine. He still had no shirt on, and I couldn’t help licking his shoulder before resting my head there. His skin was salty. Guess hybrids sweat. He tasted musky and manly, and when the surface of his arm erupted in gooseflesh, I wanted to taste more. The destruction had left me a bit calmer. I felt better, and I never really liked that lamp anyway.
Shelly’s nose wrinkled. Her cute mannerisms would have grated on me more were I not licking my mate. “What is that smell?”
“Mating pheromones. It’s a common occurrence in mated wolves. Lets all of us know to stay back. They’re taken.” Doc had trailed in before I chucked the ugly bubble lamp at the wall. He had helped clean up that. And the end table. And the radio. And a few dishes.
“No wonder you stay back. It’s not exactly the most pleasant smell.”
“I think your sister just said you stink.” I whispered to Jake as Shelly and Doc discussed the mating situation.
“How do you know it’s not you?”
“I am a fragrant flower of womanhood. You’ve been chopping wood all day. It’s you.” Actually it was both of us. Mating pheromones are only attractive to your true mate once the bonding has occurred. Because Jake and I had done the whole bite and claim dance, we both thought the other had a very attractive cologne. To any other shifter, and apparently vampire, we smelled like a shower was in order. One of those evolutionary fail-safes to prevent fighting among Pack.
Shelly broke out one of her opaque “water” bottles and took a swig. Ick.
“Are you betraying the Family, or bringing her in?” At least Vampire Barbie didn’t beat around the bush. I could respect that. Too bad I wanted to hate her so badly.
Jake tensed beside me. “I will not put her in danger.”
“She is in danger no matter your decision. I am just wondering if I can attempt to help without committing an act of treason. I owe you my life Jacob, but if you leave us, I will have no choice.”
Jake nodded. “I will need time.”
“The Family will be informed that you are taking a blood holiday for strength. With the time you’ve already been missing, it gives you another twenty-four hours. It’s what I can do.”
“Thank you, Shelly.”
She took another swig and headed for the door, hopping over a piece of lamp and an end table leg we missed on her way to the entry. “You might as well fill her in, Jacob. She should know where her options fall. There aren’t many. And giving her as much time to come to grips with that as possible…well, that would be to your advantage.”
A few minutes later, Doc made his excuses and booked it to yet another Council I was missing. Now I wanted cookies. I started scrounging the cupboards in search of some.
“Are you going to keep looking through the cabinets, or are you going to listen while I speak?”
Man he was proper with this stuff. I found my stash of Tim Tams. Only one package. This wouldn’t last long. Too bad getting them over from Australia took so long. Maybe we could move there while running for our lives. At least then we would have tasty chocolate cookies.
“I figure that we are about to go into something involving horrible circumstances, our poorly timed mating and overall demise. Times like this are why they invented cookies.” I popped two in my mouth and moaned. Seriously. Anyone who hasn’t tried these cookies has only lived a half-life.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” I licked my fingers and pulled them out of my mouth slowly. Like I said. This was going to be bad. I had to have a little bit of fun before the earth fell out from beneath me.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. With the amount of earth shaking we did last night, the ground was bound to crumble. In my experience, anything good usually preceded the bad. And last night had been amazing. The fallout was gonna be a doozy.
While I sat cross-legged on the counter and demolished my sleeve of cookies, Jake filled me in. He knew everything about his Family. He knew when they were moving and their plans for adjusting. Their past, their present and their future were all tied up in his brain. He didn’t keep notes. As the Protector, his memory was enhanced through the magical miasma of his Family. Leaving the Family meant the miasma would be taken from him.
This isn’t like returning an overdue library book. When the miasma finds the host, it bonds. Permanently. Or at least for a lifetime. Not to mention the fact that since it is tied to the memory—a.k.a. the brain—the only way to remove it is, you guessed it, full-on lobotomy. Might be hard to stay bonded with my mate when his brain was separated from the rest of him. Just because we were supernatural, didn’t mean we could operate without a brain. We leave that to politicians.
“So first of all, eewie.” I licked my fingers again. I liked the chocolate, but I liked the way Jake’s eyes flashed at me even more. “Second, does this mean we are going to go full-on Fugitive style? I don’t want to jump off a waterfall.”
“I can’t leave. But you could join my Family.”
“Yeah. There’s the problem. We don’t know if I can be turned into a vampire since I have already undergone one change.”
“If a similar ritual has been performed, it is not in my knowledge base.”
Since he had the entire history of his Family in his brain, his answer was a pretty good indication that it was rare.
“So my options are…” I ticked up a finger with each point. “Run and live our lives in fear of you having your thinker ripped from your neck, making you dead. Try and turn me, which we don’t know is possible, and risk a supernatural supernova of bad magic banging around my body, making me dead.”
“Not how I would
put it, but yes. Assuming you still claim me as your mate.”
Well crap. I had been so worried about all the other stuff, I had completely ignored the possibility of not being with Jake. But I looked at the first piece of vulnerability he had really shown, and any doubt about our mating fled my mind.
Anyone hearing about this would think I was crazy. Hell, anybody who knew me already thought that. This was the first time in my life that I could ever remember seeing something so clearly. I might not know what his favorite cereal was yet, or what size shoes he wore, other than big—and those rumors about big feet are totally true—but my wolf knew his. The human in me was screaming that this was nuts, but my wolf laid it out in black and white.
Great sex. Strong and responsible man. Great sex. Level-headed despite the smack from the pheromones. Great sex. He was trying to give me support and options, when we had a severe shortage of either. And did I mention the GREAT SEX?
My wolf was horny.
“Do you know how to change a wolf?”
“That is part of being my Family’s Protector. I know of all past turnings in my Family. Changing a born-were has been done. And wolves and vampires have mated.”
“Obviously.”
“But I am not sure, at least not to my satisfaction, what would happen were I to try and change you.” He rubbed his hands together and began to pace.
“Does it feel different being a vampire than being a wolf?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“What do you mean?”
“I get the feeling that the shared skin experience is different for you. I feel like there is always a part of me fighting for dominance. My wolf and I share my body. Kind of like having a part of me that is more tangible than a personality trait. You are reacting like you’re just recognizing your wolf. Kind of like a kid coming of age, or someone just turned. It’s a strange sensation when you haven’t felt it before. So I am guessing the whole vampire thing is different?”
I was going over my options. I always tried to have all information available before jumping into the deep end. Nine times out of ten, even if the road was rocky, I’d go for what I wanted. I wanted Jake.