There was no doubt in her mind.
Unfortunately, Dae couldn’t explain that to Iya. When she tried, Iya didn’t believe her. Of course, she didn’t explain everything but Iya did not need to worry when she snuck out at night. And Dae didn’t really blame Iya. She felt as though there was something big she was missing and she knew it was the key to this whole mess.
Koda watched Dae pace like an animal in a cage. How much freer would Dae feel if she knew how to shift from this form to one that can run for miles without getting tired?
Her pacing was making his skin itch for a shift and the freedom that came with it.
“It’s freaking me out that you’re so quiet, Dae.” Iya said.
Dae sighed. “I’m thinking.”
“Maybe you could fill us in on what you’re thinking so we can help. You know, bounce ideas off each other and see what fits.”
“It won’t help.” Dae couldn’t tell Iya about the scent of beady-eyed grease man. She couldn’t say that there was a crazy new voice that spoke to her sometimes and had warned her attacker was an ‘enemy’. Iya would never understand, nor would it mean anything to her except that her roommate is a food-crazed hog who was clinically insane.
“If you don’t try, then I guess we’ll never know.” Iya was determined to help no matter what Dae said and it was distracting to Dae’s fractured mind. Between the new crazy voice, the unholy urges and the shit storm that reared its butt-ugly head, Dae’s thought processes were stymied.
“I’m trying to figure out the big question: Why? And I have no answer. I’m 100% sure I don’t know them to have done anything to them. What do they want with me?”
Dae was just speaking aloud for Iya’s benefit but Koda responded. “Maybe its not you; what about your family? Use you to get to them. You know, it’s plausible.”
It was an innocent question but she couldn’t keep the venom out of her voice. “It’s not plausible, it’s impossible. I. Don’t. Have. Family.”
Koda scented the pain in that remark and was about to apologize before Iya interrupted him. “He doesn’t know Dae. It’s a valid question.”
Dae growled something in wolf that sounded like ‘whatever’. Koda wasn’t entirely sure but he was more interested in what Iya said he didn’t know.
Iya faced Koda with a pained expression. “We don’t have family. We’re orphans. Dae doesn’t have any information on her parents and can’t get it.”
Koda was shocked. “You have no family?” It was something he didn’t think he could comprehend. They were Supernaturals. The Supernatural community wouldn’t let humans raise any orphaned Supe child. It wasn’t allowed due to the risk of exposure being too great. If a child had no ‘like’ Supe to take them in, any Supe race would until they could relocate them with their own kind. The Tribe would have been notified. It was how it was done; there was no way around it. Humans couldn’t deal with Supe kids.
This revelation explained why she was going to take his head off earlier. It also blocked his plans as effective as a steel wall; he didn’t think he could get Dae away from Iya now.
“You see that short woman sitting down there?” Dae pointed at Iya. Iya looked stunned until Dae continued, “She’s the only family I got. And we just cleared her, so drop it.”
The air was tinged with the spicy scent of Dae’s anger.
Iya continued to stare at Dae while she paced the tiny area. Iya’s expression softened and her eyes became moist. Dae noticed immediately. “Hey, don’t start that. We’ll braid each other’s hair and talk about boys another time. Right now I have a solution that will make everything better.”
Uh oh, Koda did not like the sound of that. They said best laid plans of mice and men go awry. Apparently, his best laid plans shriveled into nothingness to never be seen again.
“You do?” Iya sounded so hopeful it almost made Dae’s eyes water. Or it would have if Dae could cry. Dae didn’t think her weird eyes worked right. Or maybe weird Dae didn’t work right.
Whichever.
Dae knew Iya wouldn’t be happy with this solution, but it was the only one that worked. It was the one that would keep Iya safe. Dae stopped near her bedroom door. She paused to look back at Iya. Then Dae thought better and focused her gaze on her lone window as she spoke without emotion.
“I’m leaving.”
Thirteen
Dae was already in her room by the time she heard Koda snarl and Iya’s shrill “What!!!”
Iya always got shrill when she was pissed; Dae often pushed her because her face would puff and her eyes would pop out as she tried to hold on to her control. Iya hid pieces of herself just like Dae did. But Dae was slowly breaking her out of it. Dae could say that Iya would no longer knowingly allow anyone to take advantage of her. Iya used to be so appeasing contrary to what Dae knew Iya felt inside.
Not anymore, Dae thought. Her friend wouldn’t hesitate to hand somebody their ass, even if it was Dae’s. Dae guessed she could hold that win close to her heart when she was gone.
No sooner than Dae had her army green duffle bag out, two very angry irrational people surrounded her. She would have been overjoyed if she didn’t have to leave. Now it was just plain sad. This crappy apartment was the closest thing she ever had to a home. Nevertheless, Dae had to go to make sure Iya had a safe place for herself. Whatever Dae did was not Iya’s problem and Dae would not allow Iya to be punished for it. That was unacceptable.
“You’re in my room.” Dae said feigning anger when all she felt was sadness. Damned emotions. They sucked.
Dae would have to make Iya so mad she would give up. Dae could do it; it was one of the things Dae could do better than anybody else could.
“You say that like it means something to me! What is that supposed to mean?” Koda growled as Iya started looking for things to throw.
Iya couldn’t find anything; Dae’s stupid room was stupidly organized by a stupid stupid person! Her. Iya had picked up Dae’s room that Saturday and for once, her sister had kept it clean.
“You’re not leaving!” Iya yelled. Dae was too saddened to take any satisfaction that the always calm Iya was yelling.
“Yes, I’m getting out of Michigan while the getting is good.” Dae said through her teeth to Iya. She turned to Koda and growled, “That meant get out before I find something to make you bleed with.”
Yeah, Iya thought, you’re going to a have a heck of a time with that. Iya took all of Dae’s sharp knives, blades and sharpened screwdrivers and hid them when she left Dae’s present on her bed this morning. Why Dae needed sharpened screwdrivers Iya didn’t know, but she found the six of them she hid weeks before back in their old duct tape harnesses.
“Threaten me; cut me, I don’t care Dae. If you’re going, you’re not going alone.” Koda said looking down at Dae. His eyes changed, Dae thought. The blue was nearly gone and his pupil was huge. Maybe he was going to pop a blood vessel or something. There was a teensy part of her rational self that felt worried at that thought and a larger chunk of her crazy self that felt flattered to know she could incense him like that.
Dae kicked those stupid parts of herself down until they were silent. Yeah, he gave her a good meal but Dae knew better than to form extra attachments. It was time to go. “I didn’t invite anyone along for a reason. This is the best option for me.” It was a lie but neither of them would know that. Dae knew it, and the lie made her mouth suddenly dry as the desert.
Iya couldn’t figure out what she wanted to do. She needed to do something but she didn’t know what. Iya opened her mouth and yelled “You big DUMMY!”
Dae blinked and turned on Iya. Did Iya just call her a big dummy?
“How is you leaving going to help anything? Who said you needed to leave? What the heck’s wrong with you?” Iya was making angry hand gestures that reminded Dae of rapper hands.
“It makes the most sense.” Dae said moving towards her dresser. She had to start packing.
Koda was in front of her in a heartb
eat. “It makes no sense. Wherever you go, they will follow you. You can’t run from this.”
“I don’t run from anything.” Dae spat out him with her lip curled.
“You ran from me and your still running.” He accused.
Dae felt the need to rip him to shreds. Her throat constricted and an inhuman growl escaped. Dae swallowed as Iya’s expression went from blazing mad to shock. Iya stepped back and Dae felt an emotion she rarely felt. Guilt.
Dae was scaring Iya.
“I’ve got no reason to run.” Dae said feeling much more animal than woman.
“Then stay with me where I can protect you.” Koda said, the blue of his eyes slightly returning.
Dae was flabbergasted. She blinked twice before her brain retained functional thought. “What?”
“That’s not a half bad idea Sasquatch.” Iya said, sounding more relieved than she felt.
“You can’t be serious! What’s he going to do that I can’t?” Dae snarled.
“He’s going to try to keep you –with your absence of common sense– alive so we can figure this thing out.” Iya knew what Dae was trying to do. Dae would leave so Iya wouldn’t get wrapped up in this. But it was too late; Iya would not let Dae go through anything alone. Like Dae said, they were family. Iya knew what a real family felt like. Iya was going to make sure Dae knew she wasn’t alone. Family was always there for you.
Koda offering up his protection was a plus. Iya thought he’d want to help Dae, but Iya was stunned at his proposal.
A proposal Dae wouldn’t take on her most reasonable days unless Iya pushed Dae’s buttons. Iya knew Dae better than Dae knew herself. And if Koda was going to have a chance in hell of protecting Dae, Iya was going help him get it. Iya sensed something extra in Koda but nothing that set off her alarms. He had some kind of gift but Iya couldn’t tell what. Koda looked furry in her other vision. Iya wished she knew what that meant but as long as she knew it wasn’t anything bad she would worry about that later.
First things first…
“What are you afraid of Dae?” Koda prodded, feeling like a million bucks. He was close and with the half-and-half on his side, he was confident he was going to win this challenge.
“I’m not afraid of anything, especially you.” Dae sneered at the smug Sasquatch as she poked him in the chest.
“Sure not acting like it.” Iya pressed. Dae didn’t have a colossal sized ego but her pride needed to start contributing to the rent for the space it took.
“If you’re not afraid then what do you have to lose?” Koda asked with an innocent expression.
“My time is precious–”
“Whoa, I thought you didn’t make excuses for yourself?” Koda asked feigning confusion. Iya wanted to smile at his deviousness. Dae snarled at him.
“Why so upset Dae?” Iya asked, playing along.
“Because it’s something I don’t want to do.”
“But what’s the big deal?” Iya questioned again.
“The big deal is–” Dae opened her mouth and closed it shut just as quick. The big deal was that Dae didn’t want anyone protecting or helping her. But the reason why Dae was losing control of her temper was because Dae was afraid to be alone with Koda for any length of time. Dae didn’t know if she could handle it and that was something Dae wouldn’t have a choice in if she complied.
Dae had to handle what she could and stay away from what she couldn’t. Since it was not something Dae could just blurt out to them, she decided to go along with a statement that had something to do with the truth.
“I don’t need anyone to protect me.” Dae said ‘protect’ with a face full of disgust.
“Two out of two sane people beg to differ. Next.” Iya dismissed Dae’s bull-crap claims.
“He smells funny.” The absolute truth was Dae couldn’t get his scent out of her head; it was strangling her and making her irrational. Being alone with him, and having no one else to delude the scent was going to make things much much worse.
“You can’t be serious!” Iya yelled.
Koda was taken back. He had let Iya take over pushing Dae into what had been turning out to be the inevitability of his plan concluding, but he couldn’t remain silent after Dae’s abrupt statement. He did not expect her to say that at all. His mate was chock full of surprises. “I smell funny?” Dae couldn’t have a wolf’s sense of smell before her first shift, could she?
“Yes ya do, and it’s strong.” Dae said emphasizing ‘strong’ without a moment’s hesitation. It was true; the scent of mountain laurel, winter snow, man and wild was smothering her the longer she stayed trapped in the hidey hole that was her room. She was not going to acknowledge that other scent. That one was just a figment of her imagination.
“DAE! He does not smell funny, you’re being ridiculous.” Iya went to Koda and, shockingly, inhaled a big whiff of him. Koda stepped back away from Iya when he noticed Dae’s pupils dilate.
“He doesn’t not smell bad Dae so cut the crap.” Dae did not like Iya sniffing around Koda like that. Something about that act made her blood run cold. The rational part of her brain wondered why the crazy part was insulted and angry at her only friend scenting Koda. It didn’t make sense. This was Iya, her family, and that was Koda, the Sasquatch. Since when did the sniffing of people who didn’t matter to her make her angry?
“You don’t smell what I smell.” Dae stated. It was the truth.
“What do you smell?” Koda asked before he realized it. He wondered how he smelled to her. Did Dae smell the home scent that told him she was his mate, too?
“It’s offensive! And it’s everywhere!” Dae wrinkled her nose as she felt the growl rumbling in her chest. Divert! Divert! “And what about you Iya?”
“What about me? Are you trying to say I smell?” Iya was irritated with Dae’s ridiculous excuses.
“What happens to you once he’s ‘protecting’ me?” Again, Dae said ‘protect’ so sarcastically Koda felt himself bristle. Did his mate think he could not protect her? Or was it her own independence the reason why she so adamantly refused him? He initially assumed Dae’s general stubbornness would be the barrier he had to penetrate. Her independence was a learned behavior and could be unlearned just as easily. Maybe his error was thinking anything relating to Dae was going to be easy. His mate made simple addition confounding.
“They don’t want me.” Iya grit her teeth as she spoke. Iya was definitely going to need dental work after today.
“What happens when they realize they can get to me through you?” Dae said with narrowed eyes.
Koda himself didn’t even think of that possibility. He had been so obsessed with getting Dae all to himself that he didn’t look at the consequences as thoroughly as he should have. He immediately felt remorseful that he had been oblivious to what could happen once he got Dae away from Iya. It was sobering.
But Iya was a powerful Nephilim, he could tell. He was pretty sure Iya had some whopper powers that he didn’t know about and if she went heaven –or hell, he didn’t know if she was ‘of the Light’ or ‘of the Dark’ yet– on one of the Cursed they would run with their tail between their legs. But would he take that chance? No, it was an affront to his honor. Iya was his mate’s Tribe so it meant Iya was his too and Koda protected what was his.
“That could happen whether you stayed with the Sasquatch or left all together!” Iya yelled.
And she was right. Dae had been so wrapped up in thinking they would box her into a trap that she didn’t think of the easy insurance policy they could get once Dae left Michigan: Iya. If they had Iya, there wouldn’t be anything Dae would not do to get Iya free, including surrender. They would pay –oh would they pay for it– but in essence, were these guys smart enough, they would realize sooner or later the shackles Iya would be to Dae. Dae would be the controlled little prisoner for anything they had planned.
Dae was not happy. Iya was a mucked up with this crap and Dae didn’t know how to get her out of it. Her growls escaped
unfettered and her crazy self became enraged.
Koda scented Dae’s anger, frustration and her wolf bristling behind the woman. It set his own wolf on edge and the man felt his control being plucked away. He felt a crack in Dae’s defenses and somehow he was let inside her. Then, ever so quickly, the glimpse he had of Dae’s anger and pain was gone.
Iya noticed the change in Dae immediately, even before she heard the growls. Iya was surprised to see a similar reaction in Koda. If Iya didn’t know any better… No. It wasn’t possible. Was it? It looked like Koda was reacting to Dae’s emotions, as if he shared them with her. Then it was gone just as quickly.
Hmmm, Iya was going to have to figure out Koda’s gift soon. Iya didn’t think he was trying to hurt Dae; Iya would have sensed that immediately but there was something odd about him besides being huge.
Dae found her control and kept her crazy snarling self at bay. “Ok. I’m not leaving. I’ll just figure something else out. “
“Oh yes you are leaving.” Iya said with certainty.
“What? Are you crazy now? It’s not safe–” Dae started but Koda finished. “It’s not safe for either of you. You can both come and stay with me.”
“Uh uh! That doesn’t make any kind of sense. We live here so if you’re still offering your protective services then you get the couch.” Dae snapped.
“Does he look like he can fit on the couch?” Iya questioned Dae.
“He can try dammit!”
“He can also try to fit in your bed.” Iya countered as she pursued her lips and put her hand on her hips.
Was Iya trying to help him or mess everything up? He didn’t know but the look on his mate’s face was priceless. He saw the absolute shock in his mates eyes, scented the arousal wafting off her body, and the anger he guessed she felt toward Iya.
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