Pack of Freaks: Beasts Among Us - Book 2

by Jennifer Zamboni

  I finished off my water and was satisfied with all wide eyes glued on me.

  “So you’re a werewolf?” asked a blond chick.

  “Oh, you’re wicked smaht, ahan’tcha?” I poured on the Mainer accent thick.

  Her eyebrows knitted together. “Huh?”

  “Never mind. Yes, I’m a werewolf. Today is just my day off.” I settled my chair back down.

  “You get days off?” she asked.

  “Just during the new moon, as opposed to the full moon, which are mandatory wolf days.”

  She kept on with her blank stare, and I gave up.

  “Dinner is served, ladies. Can I get some help bringing everything out?” Isaiah appeared in the doorway from the kitchen, bearing good smells.

  Grace was the only one of the girls to stand from her seat and move towards the kitchen.

  Reluctantly, I joined her. It wasn’t these people’s fault they’d fallen under the family’s influence. Undoubtedly, they felt that they had indeed been rescued from their former lives, and therefore owed a debt of gratitude.

  Isaiah moved past us, carrying a huge bowl of mashed potatoes, and another of corn on the cob. The smell of steak wafted in my direction. My mouth watered in anticipation. I grabbed the covered dish from the pristine white counter.

  I knew for a fact that Lacey herself never used this state of the art kitchen, she was as much of a cook as I was, without the need to eat real food.

  Stainless steel, chrome, and white everywhere. It was almost blinding, but the smell and promise of food kept me sharp.

  I used two hands to balance the huge serving platter, then backed my way out of the kitchen, using my rear, to open the swinging door back into the dining room.

  Grace handled the sweet potatoes with apples and a hint of brown sugar, if my very human nose was detecting all the delicious scents correctly.

  Isaiah left and returned with a steamed bowl of broccoli and cheese.

  I was in heaven. I reclaimed my seat and noted that Lacey-Marie had not joined us. Apparently, one did not take meals with one’s supper.

  There was no preamble to the girls and Isaiah digging through the serving plates and enjoying their meals, so I followed their example without a thought and noted the little cups with iron pills dotting the table, and orange juice in several glasses. I was betting on something sweet for dessert.

  I wanted to inspect every neck in the room, to find out who it was. I needn’t have looked hard, I soon spotted Band-Aids on blonde’s neck, along with extra iron pills, a large glass of OJ, and a sizable serving of everything.

  I wondered if she pretended to be friends with any of them, or if Isaiah was her sole human relationship.

  I’d just shoveled in a heaping mouthful of steak when a commotion sounded off in the other room. I only got bits and pieces, but there were insults like “hairy beast” and “venomous bitch” being thrown about.

  The volume of the voices rose as they approached the door, just giving the happy meals enough notice before a group of four to smash themselves through the dining room door.

  “Gretchen, are you okay? I’m so sorry, baby. I swear it won’t happen again, just come home. That bitch hasn’t bitten you, has she?” My hairy mate halted inches from my chair and dropped to his knees.

  Behind him Hades, Percy, and Lacey-Marie gathered.

  “Get that maniac out of my dining room, he’s ruining dinner!” Lacey accused.

  “You’ve already eaten.” I stood from my chair and backed away from my apologetic boyfriend. “We’re leaving as soon as I’m done eating.”

  I held up my hands to signal my want for distance, but Doug didn’t take the hint, instead taking my hands and kissing the knuckles of each one.

  “Fine, I’ll forgive you,” I said, meaning it, despite the grumble in my voice. “But if you push me like that again, I just might kill you.” I freed my hands and sat once again to enjoy my meal.

  Lacey huffed and left the room with probably more stomp in her step than necessary.

  “Would you like some dinner?” Isaiah asked, standing.

  “Absolutely.” Hades took one of the empty chairs and let Lacey’s boy toy serve him as if it were his due.

  Percy remained standing, keeping her distance from the meat. Her expression was unreadable, even though she was in full-on goddess mode. She’d probably dropped her glamour as soon as she got in the building.

  Doug took another empty seat several girls down from mine.

  “So, how’d you find me?” I asked between mouthfuls.

  Hades chuckled. “It wasn’t hard, I could smell death in the park, so I asked around—”

  “He tracked down the nearest vampire and intimidated the soul out of him,” Percy cut in.

  “He was very amicable after he found out who I was.” Hades accepted his place setting and waited as the girls served him, before touching his food.

  The room thrummed with the purrs of adoring females. Isaiah’s charms had fallen to the wayside, and Doug didn’t even register on their radar.

  “So, do you ladies enjoy living here?” he asked after eating a bit.

  “Oh yes,” a brunette spoke up. “Lacey-Marie takes good care of us; we’re happy to help out where we can.”

  Happy meals.

  The others nodded and muttered their agreements, though if Hades had offered to make them his personal harem, they wouldn’t have hesitated to leave with him.

  Percy smiled beatifically as she leaned her tall frame against the wall.

  Isaiah approached the goddess.“Can I get you a seat, ma’am?”

  “Oh, I’m fine. I’ve been sitting for hours. It feels good to stand for a bit. Thank you for the offer though.” She flashed whiter than white teeth in a smile that could certainly convert him.

  “No problem, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” He smiled back.

  “Persephone.”

  “That’s a pretty name.” His grin threatened to crack his face as he leaned against the wall, unable to look away.

  “Thank you, my father certainly thought so.”

  “And you are?” Isaiah turned to address Hades.

  “Hades, god of the dead in exile and what not.” He waved his knife and followed it with, “Blah, blah, blah.”

  “Exile?” Lacey joined the conversation.

  “Yeah, exile. Apparently it was a big no-no to bring me back from the brink of death.” I pushed my plate away, sated.

  She crossed her arms and glared at me. “I said I was sorry.”

  “Yeah, well—” I didn’t bother finishing the thought. The blank could have been filled in with so many things.

  “Sorry” didn’t cut it.

  “Sorry” didn’t make up for my almost death.

  “Sorry” was only a word.

  Obviously, I was going back and forth on the idea of forgiving my former best friend. If I could drop it, that would be fantastic, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t be an option, what with Doug and company.

  “How on earth could you possibly think that ‘sorry’ would make what you did to Gretchen all right?” Doug stood from his seat and stalked toward my petite friend.

  I left my spot at the table to insert myself between them. “Stay out of it, Doug, I can take care of myself.”

  Besides the fact that he was also in a very human phase of things, the stupidest thing he could possibly do was pick a fight with a vampire. This was one lesson I had learned, due to my recent history.

  “Yes, Doug. Gretchen wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” Lacey-Marie turned to me. “I thought you two weren’t on speaking terms any longer.”

  “Things change, you know that. We’re leaving as soon as Hades finishes eating. Correct?” I turned to Percy for backup.

  “I think that would be wise.” Percy peeled herself away from the wall, drawing Isaiah’s gaze along with her.

  I wondered if Lacey-Marie would hold the same appeal after the queen of the dead had graced his dining room. How
could you not love someone as sweet and drop-dead gorgeous as Persephone?

  Hades, however, was in no hurry to leave. He was enjoying every bite brought to his lips, and the girls weren’t complaining.

  I’d had enough of the social scene. “Can I wait in the car?”

  “Gretchen, be civil for at least a minute,” Percy admonished me.

  “Oh, it’s not only me, Doug is coming with me. Right, Doug?”

  “Absolutely.” I felt him lift his hands to my shoulders, and I couldn’t stop my muscles from tensing.

  I felt him flinch back before his fingers even made contact.

  “Lace, wonderful to see you again, under the circumstances. I’m keeping the boots.” I turned on said boot heel and headed for the door, grabbing Doug’s wrist in order to tow him along.

  No one stopped us as we left the apartment and entered the elevator. No one even glanced up when we entered the lobby without an escort. I supposed they’d seen stranger pairings go in and out of those doors.

  Percy’s silver BMW waited, parked flush with the sidewalk.

  The doors were unlocked. No one would dare steal a car in this part of town. If anyone tried, they’d be hunted down. The riffraff was probably kept at bay by the guard.

  I crawled into the back seat from the sidewalk, then slid over to the street side of the car, allowing Doug to slide in next to me.

  He closed the door, and we listened to the quiet hum of the dome light before it faded out, leaving us in relative darkness.

  I didn’t know what to say, so I kept my mouth shut, crossing my legs away from my mate.

  “Gretchen, please talk to me; how can I make things right?”

  I stared out the window. I was in no mood to talk. I wanted to go home and move on with my life.

  He didn’t try for any further conversation, just brooded along with me.

  Nearly half an hour crawled by before the fae finally joined us.

  “About time,” I muttered as they climbed into their respective front seats.

  “What happened?” Percy asked as Hades pulled away from vamp street.

  “I honestly don’t know.” I filled her in on my last conscious moments. “Then I came to, walked down some streets buck naked, stole some clothes, almost got turned into a happy meal on Lacey’s table, then you guys showed up. That’s pretty much it.”

  “Huh,” Hades commented, without elaborating further.

  “That’s not good,” Percy said, after a moment’s pause.

  “Really? You think?” I replied, my usual sarcasm firmly in place.

  “I’m not just talking about your nude stroll or your theft. I’m talking about your complete lack of control. You may have killed someone, Gretchen.”

  “I know that. Do you think I don’t know that? Maybe you should just keep me locked up permanently, so I don’t hurt anyone!” Maybe I was overreacting a little, but I was panicking.

  “I don’t think that’s necessary, not all the time. You’re in control now.” Hades looked at me through the rear view mirror.

  “It’s new moon!” The panic edge of my voice grated on my nerves.

  “Cool it, Gretch. We’ll think of something, in the meantime, we’ll have to add something extra to your tea to keep you calm.” Percy turned, her movement hampered by her seat belt.

  “Like what, an elephant tranquilizer?” I settled back in my seat and crossed my arms over my stomach.

  “I was thinking something a little less . . . traditional.”

  “Pot?”

  “Don’t be dumb.”

  Did little miss priss Percy call me dumb?

  “Well, what are you suggesting?” I met her eyes.

  “Oh, a little of this a little of that. Maybe something that isn’t grown on this side of the boundaries.”

  “You’re going to mess me up with fae drugs? I don’t think so. I’d rather get locked in the kennel.”

  “Just to hold over until we can come up with a more permanent solution.” She was absolutely serious about the fae drugs. Probably some concoction that would mean I’d never get to leave fairyland, like in the tales where people went and ate with the fairies and had to stay for the rest of their lives.

  Well, the fae lands aren’t fairyland. They’re much more complicated than that.

  “No drugs,” I clarified.

  “Just a mild little—”

  “No!” I couldn’t believe her, Percy of all people, trying to pressure me into getting high as a kite. I’d take my chances with my temper, thanks.

  I’d rather be a murderer than addicted to fae crack, if there is such a thing. For all I knew, she was only suggesting lavender watered with bubble head juice. Who knew how a human system would react to something grown places other than known earth? That, combined with the spice of faewolf spit in my blood, could turn out to be an interesting cocktail.

  I turned my face away and watched as Hades wove through the traffic and onto the highway.

  The drone of the tires on the blacktop was soothing, and I soon fell asleep.

  Doug, most at ease during awkward silences, dozed on the other side of the car.

  I couldn’t wait to get home, to flush that damn key down the toilet, and take a long hot bath accompanied by much alcohol and chocolate. By the time I climbed out, I’d probably be wolfy again, with my luck.

  I woke with a crick in my neck, just as we crossed into Vermont.

  “We’re stopping for the night.” Hades pulled into the parking lot of a hotel.

  It probably wouldn’t be up to his standards, but the sheets would be clean at least.

  I’d much rather sleep in my own bed, thank you very much. “Can’t we just go home?” I pleaded.

  “No, it’s been a long day, and I want room service,” Percy stated firmly, as she shoved her shoulder into the door, thrusting it open.

  “I bet Christina would provide room service for you.”

  “Christina does not work in the house. She’s an employee.”

  “I’m an employee.”

  “That’s different.”

  “How? You’ve known her longer, she’s been with you since before you eloped with Hades.”

  “She has her own life now.”

  “Yet she chooses to serve you still.”

  “We’re staying in the hotel. We made reservations. You and Doug are sharing a room.”

  “I’ll sleep in the car.” I refused to get out. We weren’t married. We were mated.

  You could go on about how that’s practically the same thing, but I just didn’t care.

  “I’ll stay in the car, you can have the room to yourself.” Doug had also planted himself in his seat and had even remained buckled.

  I’d never buckled in the first place.

  “Actually, I think I’ll start walking home.” I pulled the door handle towards me, then tumbled out as the door swung away.

  “Don’t be difficult, Gretchen. We only reserved two rooms. We’ll share a room, and Doug and Hades can share the other room. It’ll be fine.” Percy blocked my escape path.

  “Fine.” I crossed my arms again.

  “Good. Let’s check in. It must be at least 11.”

  Are you supposed to check into a reservation that late? I suppose it didn’t matter if you had more money than Bill Gates. You could stay wherever, for whatever, whenever you wanted. Not that I had room to talk. I had plenty put away, and I wondered if I should invest in a cabin somewhere farther north, with a state of the art dog kennel, and become a hermit.

  The idea appealed to me, but I doubted my friends would let me follow through with it.

  As soon as we got to our room, I untied and pulled off my boots, then belly flopped onto my side of the king sized bed, not bothering to get further undressed or blankets, and tried to sleep.

  That was easier said than done. I’d had a pretty good nap in the car, despite the crick in my neck. I lay there and waited as Percy stripped down and pulled on sweats.

  That’s a sig
ht, let me tell you. The violet-eyed goddess in fluorescent pink sweatpants and a gray sweatshirt. Even with the off-putting sweats, she still wouldn’t look like an ordinary mortal.

  Normally, Percy wore a human glamour in public, but maybe it was so late at night that she didn’t see a point in it.

  She peeled back the blankets on her side of the bed and slid under the covers with a book.

  I continued lying there, waiting for sleep.

  She turned off the lights after a few minutes and snuggled down.

  And I still couldn’t sleep. I gave up and decided to go for a walk.

  Cautiously, I slid my feet to the floor, and pulled myself up into a sitting position, then lifted my weight from the bed.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Percy’s sleepy voice filled the darkness.

  “For a walk.” I headed for the door, barefoot.

  Her silhouette rose from the bed. “No.”

  “What do you mean no? I can’t sleep, I’m going for a walk.”

  “No, you’re staying right in this room.”

  “But I’m not tired.”

  The sheets rustled, and Percy’s bare feet hit the floor.

  “Then I’m coming with you.”

  “I want to go for a walk all by myself.”

  “No.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter, Perce.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “I promise I won’t eat anyone.” I edged towards my boots.

  “No. Either you go for a walk with me, or you don’t go for a walk at all.”

  “Fine, then I’m taking a bath.” I switched directions, and headed for the bathroom, hoping it had a roomy tub to accommodate my long frame.

  “That sounds like a wonderful idea. I packed some lavender stuff for you. It’s in the black bag with the rest of your things.” I heard her footsteps head back for the bed, and a quiet yawn as she crawled back under the covers.