by Kathy Lyons
“Are you done yet?”
The fucker wasn’t even winded. Though he did have to retie the bandage.
“How could you do this to us?”
“You were going to change eventually. We just did it safely.”
It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t fucking possible.
Except he had the memories. He knew it was true. And if he doubted it, all he had to do was look at the cages. And damn it, the redhead was still curled into a tight little ball, her green eyes huge in a very pale face.
“At least let her out. She doesn’t deserve to be caged like that.” And maybe together they could take down the Mack Truck.
“Wiz will take care of her. You’re my problem.” That commanding tone was back, the one that made it clear that he meant what he said. Whatever else was going on, apparently Josh was stuck with Nero on his ass.
Great… not.
“Look, I’m hungry, and you’ve got to be starving. I think I ate a cow after my first shift.” Then, at Josh’s horrified look, he hastily amended his words. “Not literally. We went to McDonald’s and I ate like ten Big Macs.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “We’re not monsters. We’re the good guys.”
“Except when you turn them into werewolves and throw them in cages.” Josh couldn’t keep the bitter tone out of his voice, and he was childishly satisfied to see Nero wince.
“Do you want some food or not?” he finally said.
He hadn’t thought he was hungry before, but at Nero’s offer, his stomach cramped with need. Not hunger exactly. More like fury translated to his stomach. But even as he was struggling to his feet, his gaze caught on the girl. He couldn’t leave her behind. But what the hell could he do here?
“She’s hungry too. We go together or not at all.”
Nero’s brows rose in surprise. Apparently he’d thought Josh was an asshole. Sorry, dude. He didn’t abandon caged girls. Except Nero was shaking his head.
“Wiz has food for her. She’s gluten-intolerant.”
Then, before Josh could respond, the door unsealed and the guy called Wiz strode in. He’d been Doctor Strange when they’d met at the con, and the guy looked tired to the point of being haggard. But his eyes were bright, and they landed heavily on the girl, who Josh had started calling Red in his thoughts. And even better, Wiz had brought a full tray of food that included a rib eye, a few protein bars, a water bottle, soda, flourless chocolate cake, and buttered broccoli. Josh took a step toward it, but Nero grabbed his arm.
“That’s hers. We go upstairs.” Then he turned to Wiz. “You got this?”
“Yeah. How you doing with yours?”
Nero shrugged. “At least I didn’t have to put a bullet in his brain.” It didn’t sound like a joke, and the horror of that slid chills right down Josh’s spine.
Wiz nodded. “Yeah. Looks like I’m good too,” he said with a grin as he turned to the girl, though his smile faded pretty quick when he looked in the cage. “Shit,” he murmured under his breath so quietly that Josh shouldn’t have been able to hear it.
“Come on,” Nero said as he manhandled Josh to the door. “I’ve got a feast for you upstairs.”
Wiz snorted in response, but there was no way for Josh to ask. He could do something for the girl, at least. He dug in his feet and twisted to look at her.
“I’m not abandoning you. Get what info you can. I’ll come back.”
Wiz rolled his eyes and glared at Nero. “Get him out of here. He can come back when you’ve explained the facts of life to him.”
“Yeah,” Nero said as he tightened his grip on Josh. “Come on, hero. Let me explain how you are not prisoners here and that this is a job offer.” Then he hauled Josh out of the room.
Chapter 7
NERO HATED lying. He’d been glib with his lies as a kid. Damned good at them, in fact. But ever since he became an alpha, every dishonest word bothered him. Most of the time he and his team were working with less than the full facts. The idea of purposely giving false intel set his teeth on edge. That he was lying to Josh made him sick to his stomach, but it was the only way to bring him into the fold. They needed him, and the world needed Wulf, Inc. So it was all for the greater good. And most important, Nero needed him to figure out magical fire.
Too bad his head didn’t care. It felt like it was held in a vise. He’d feel better after he slept, but for now he had a job to do, and that meant initiating Josh to the werewolf facts of life.
“The center of werewolf life is the kitchen. Sounds obvious, but we werewolves like to eat. You’ll take turns with kitchen cleanup, but unless you’re a gourmet chef, I’ll do most of the cooking. I try to make it healthy. You know, with vegetables and stuff. But we like our meats. Don’t know what we’ll do for Aine. I’ve never thought about gluten, but I guess I’ll have to research that soon.”
“Is that the redhead?” Josh asked.
“Yeah. But let her tell you that. She’s got a gaming name that she usually goes by. Straw—Strat—”
“Stratos?” There was shock in the word.
Nero looked hard at his newest charge. “Yeah. How’d you know that?”
“Because she’s infamous. In the gaming community, at least.” His tone was layered with “how could you not know this?” attitude. “She’s a kickass player with gorgeous looks. The whole package.” He looked back at the door to the basement. “That was her?”
“Yeah,” Nero said slowly. “So why is she infamous?”
“Because she’ll do whatever it takes to win. She’ll wear a push-up bra with drawn-on nipples, she’ll flirt outrageously with the opponents and promise the judges dates, and then when she feels like it, she’ll go all goth and tell everyone to keep the fuck away. She’s the definition of female attitude. Gamers hate her because they can’t stop watching, even when she gives them the finger. Especially when she gives it to them.”
Nero snorted. “Sounds like a female werewolf to me.”
“Seriously?”
Nero shrugged. “I was infected by a female wolf. I’m a traditional lycanthrope, like in the old movies. She bit me, and I got infected. She told me later it was because she wanted someone to be a bitch to.” He held up his hands. “Her words, not mine. And then she pranced around naked to see if I would get it up.”
“Did you?”
He looked away as he palmed the security reader on the way into the main floor of the west wing. “When I first changed, yes. At least I think so, it’s kind of fuzzy now.” Thank God. “But by the time she got around to explaining what had happened, I was traumatized and starving. I wouldn’t have gotten it up for a Playboy Bunny. Unless she was a real bunny—then I probably would have eaten her.” It was too soon to mention that he’d already figured out he was gay by then. Josh, on the other hand, had completely surprised him in that department. Something about the way the guy had gone thermonuclear meltdown in his attack turned him on like nothing else. No holds barred, full-on destroy, take out everyone and everything in his path. That was apparently the way to Nero’s heart. It didn’t make sense, but then he’d learned that nothing about sexuality made sense, so he should go with his gut. Or his dick. After all, a lycanthrope like him didn’t have many options. And he hadn’t missed the woody that Josh had sported when he’d been pinned. The guy hated Nero right now. He sure as hell didn’t trust him. But that hadn’t stopped the old dick from rearing its head.
Fortunately Nero was in better control. He knew not to play with the trainee. So he stepped back far enough to give Josh room to set his hand on the reader.
“Palm it. You’re already in the system, so the door will open for you.”
Josh frowned. “It already opened for you.”
“Yeah. Palm it anyway, okay? There are holes in our security system, so it’s best to be sure. Maybe you guys can help us out with that.”
Josh nodded and did what he was told. The reader scanned his handprint and beeped the okay, unlocking the already unlocked door.
“S
o I’m free to go?” Josh asked as he stepped through the door.
No. “Sure. But we’re hoping you’ll stay around long enough to hear what’s going on. You’re a werewolf now. There are precautions you have to take for your own safety and everyone else’s.”
“Like chaining myself up every full moon?”
Nero shook his head. That was the curse of humans who caught a specific strain of the lycanthropy virus. Not him, thank God, though he had his full moon moments, but some of his wolf-kin were really screwed when it came to the lunar cycle. “As far as we know, you should be fine on full moons. None of your ancestors were ruled by it. But we can never be sure until you live through one, so don’t go running off. If you do, I’ll probably be assigned to watch you until after the full moon, just to be sure. Don’t make me do that. I haven’t slept in….” A week. “…my own bed in forever.”
Josh looked at him, his eyes narrowing. “I can tell when you’re lying. You know that, right?”
“What? I’m not—”
“Your voice changes. It’s not as compelling as when you’re being honest.”
Nero felt his jaw drop and made an effort to snap it closed. He didn’t know where to examine that statement first. That he had compulsion in his voice or that it went out when he was lying. Or that Josh could tell one from the other. It wasn’t possible, but then again, this was a new day and age. All the normal rules—what few there were—seemed to be on their head right now.
“Josh—”
“Save it. I’m going to assume I’m a prisoner, what with the cages and all. So, are you going to feed me, or do I make a break for the nearest McDonald’s?”
“It’d be a long, cold walk. Nearest one is thirty miles away.”
“So where’s the kitchen?”
“This way.” Nero walked ahead of him, knowing he was on borrowed time. Eventually Josh was going to make a break for it. It was his job to start laying out the breadcrumbs and making sure that Josh gobbled them up. But first things first. They made it to the large kitchen with a center island and long dining room table. Waiting in the oven was a massive dish of shepherd’s pie. It had everything the new werewolf could want: meat, meat, and more meat layered over with cheesy mashed potatoes. He pulled it out and dished up a huge plate, which he kept for himself. He pushed the remainder of the casserole straight at Josh. Given the rumbling in the guy’s stomach, it was a miracle he’d waited long enough to grab silverware.
Josh ate with speed. That was part of the glory of shepherd’s pie. You didn’t really even need to chew. Water from the filtered tap was next, as well as a dish of green beans. All of it went down Josh’s gullet, which wasn’t a surprise.
What did surprise Nero was the way he seemed to be taking in all his surroundings even while he was shoveling food in his mouth. The guy’s eyes were never still, and he even picked up his dish to eat while walking around. Nero followed, fighting the urge to sit and let the guy run for it. Nero was drooping with fatigue, and frankly he doubted Josh could make it out of the estate, past the gate, and out into the world. But it wasn’t worth the risk, so he dug deep and tried to be persuasive.
“So while you’re checking out the mansion, how about I go through who we are and what we want you to do for us?” It was a rhetorical question, but Josh nodded anyway. “The company’s called Wulf, Inc. We’re all werewolves, except for Gelpack. We fight paranormal baddies. That’s mostly demons, but there are rogue vampires, evil fairies, and shifters who can’t control who and what they are.”
Josh gave him a wide-eyed look, but he didn’t stop eating. And when Nero paused to finish his own meal, Josh tried to slide open a glass door to the back lawn. It didn’t work, of course. It was locked and the glass was bulletproof.
“You might take note of what I said,” Nero said. “If you don’t stay here long enough to learn how to control your new abilities, it’ll be my job to hunt you down and force you through our training course.”
“And if I refuse?”
“We have permanent cages at a different facility. Sorry, but it’s for your own safety and everyone else’s.” He set down his plate. “But we’re hoping you’ll pick up the basics pretty fast and then help us out with a problem we have.”
Josh tilted his head as if he were listening closer, but Nero suspected he was looking out of the corner of his eye to their entertainment setup. The lounge was right beyond the kitchen, and it included a widescreen TV, couches, and several gaming systems. It was pretty sweet, and he wondered if Josh was tempted to forget everything and lose himself in video games. Nero certainly had been, especially lately.
Nero let himself wallow in yearning for a moment. Grief was still his constant companion, but work helped. As would video games, if he had the time. But his whole focus was on finding a way to defeat the plasma fire so he could go back in time and kill the demon bastard. That meant bringing Josh and the others up to speed. Surely one of them could figure it out, but they’d have to work fast. The fairy mulligan was available for seven weeks, and the clock was ticking.
A sound interrupted his thoughts, and he came back to the present with a lurch.
Holy shit, Josh was gagging. It began as a small cough but quickly progressed. Nero got to his side in a second, but it was too late. Josh’s body was rejecting the food. The guy was about to projectile hurl.
He half dragged, half carried Josh to the kitchen sink. They barely made it in time before Josh started heaving. His body convulsed and his hands gripped the counter until his fingers were white. Nero turned on the water and the garbage disposal, but beyond that, there was nothing he could do. He held the man, supporting his slender shoulders while his body rejected every bit of food he’d consumed. And he’d consumed a lot.
“You’re okay,” Nero murmured. “This happens sometimes. Let it go. You just need to get grounded a different way. Coming back to human is always hard, especially the first time.” He kept speaking like that. Soothing bullshit. The truth was that some wolves had trouble every time, but it did no good to tell Josh that now. He held the man while Josh’s body wrung itself out. And when it was done, Nero handed the man a glass of water and a paper towel, supporting Josh’s weight as the man rinsed, spit, and shuddered with revulsion.
“What. The. Hell,” Josh finally said. He was leaning heavily against the side of the sink, and his skin looked wan and dotted with sweat. Nero had a pretty good idea what was going on, but before he answered, he tried an experiment.
He rubbed his hand up and down Josh’s back in a soothing caress. The man shuddered and closed his eyes, clearly appreciating the touch.
Yeah, Josh was one of those, and it was going to be fucking hell on his own psyche to do what came next, but Josh was the important one here.
“Come on, let’s get you onto the couch.” He’d rather get the guy to bed, but that was too far away, and Josh needed care ASAP. “So look,” he said as he guided Josh in tiny steps to the nearest game room couch. Thank God it was the middle of the night and no one else was around. This could be really embarrassing for them both otherwise. “When you shift from human to wolf or back, you go through an energy state. Not everyone does, but most of us do, including you. Everyone has to learn how to settle into the body again afterwards. I think the Earth helps in the wolf state. There’s something about being an animal that connects you closer to Mother Earth. Don’t roll your eyes at me like that. I don’t fucking understand the details. I just know that no one has trouble grounding in their wolf state. In fact, many prefer being lupine instead of human.”
They’d made it to the couch, and Josh half sat, half collapsed onto it. Nero joined him there, keeping a hand on his arm as he settled in as close to the man as possible without full-on embracing. That would have to come next.
“Grounding back in your human form is harder. Wiz thinks it’s because we’re so much in our heads that we don’t really know our bodies that well. At least not the way we should. So coming back to human form requires
some form of grounding.”
He pulled his hand away from Josh, watching closely for the effect. The guy visibly paled, wavering in his seat. Nero quickly returned to him, not only stroking his arm, but twisting him slightly on the couch so that he could fall more fully against Nero’s chest.
“For me,” Nero continued, “I eat a lot of food. The more meat, the better. I love food in every way, shape, or form, so for me, going human means eating. Obviously that doesn’t work for you.”
Josh released a low moan. “Obviously.”
“That’s because you’re all about touch. That’s why your clothes are so old, right? Because they’re soft. New stuff doesn’t feel right, and you have to wash them like ten times before you like them.”
Josh twisted enough to shoot him a startled look. “How’d you know that?”
“Because I’m not as stupid as I look,” he said. Then he adjusted on the couch, lifting a leg and slipping it between the back of the couch and Josh, effectively putting the man between his legs. “Now don’t freak out by this. You need it, and if you don’t get it, bad things will happen.”
He felt the man stiffen. “What bad things?”
“You never fully ground into your body. You start to sicken and die. This is your first shift, so it’s the most dangerous. We need to get you grounded back into your human form right away.”
Josh swallowed. “How?”
“I told you. Touch. Human touch.” He pulled Josh back against his chest, surrounded him with his arms, and pulled him into a big bear hug. He stroked the man’s bare arms, up and down, and though he could tell Josh didn’t trust him enough to accept this easily, he didn’t fight it either.
“The woman on my team was like you. We called her Mother. It was short for ‘I’m not your mother,’ but that’s a different story. She had to be touched after every shift. Not necessarily an orgasm, though that worked the best.” He swallowed, trying to talk impersonally about something so very personal. “It’s about taking care of a teammate, and it kept her healthy.”