Chapter 4

A few hours later, Royce returned, and he wasn’t alone. By then, I had tried somewhere in the range of forty to fifty different kinds of cookies and pastries Analie had made. Somehow she got it into her head that all my worries about what was going on internally could be smothered by sugar and chocolate.

And I’ll be damned if she wasn’t right.

By the time Royce entered the apartment with Mouse, Christoph, Ashi, Clarisse, and Sara on his heels, I was near ready to explode from sugar shock. I barely registered the others—seeing Sara for the first time in a month was enough to stun me into immobility. Which is quite something considering how much I had been vibrating from the sugar.

She looked fabulous. Not that she didn’t usually look like every man’s wet dream—damn her frizz-free blond hair, model-perfect body, blue eyes, and perfect skin—but whatever she’d been doing while I was gone really agreed with her. There was something different about her. A blush of health to her cheeks, a sparkle in her eyes, something not entirely tangible that I hadn’t seen before. Even though she was currently frowning and glaring at me from where she’d stopped in the kitchen doorway, giving me a look like I’d kicked her favorite poppy

The others (except for Mouse, of course) had been chattering away, but that died down when I stood and took a few halting steps toward Sara. That awkward silence probably would have lasted longer if I hadn’t thrown my arms around her and hugged her hard enough to force all the air out of her lungs.

She stayed stiff and unyielding at first, but soon gave in and hugged me back as best she could considering how her arms were pinned. Her voice was a bit thick as she wheezed out a few words.

“Don’t you ever run off like that again. You had me worried sick, you bitch.”

All the regret in the world wouldn’t bring back the lost time and resources or reverse the bad decisions I’d made over the last month. It had hurt to leave her behind when I had first abandoned her to Royce, but it hurt even more to know that she’d so easily forgiven me. I squeezed my own eyes shut so I wouldn’t start leaking tears all over her. In the last thirty days, I’d already cried enough to last a lifetime.

“Much as I like seeing two chicks all over each other, you’re blocking the path to the cookies. Mind shoving over?”

Sara and I both made sounds that were a combination snicker and snort, pulling away from each other to give Christoph room to get past us. Mouse gazed after him with a look of mixed dismay and amusement, her hands on her hips. That was when I noticed that all the newcomers, save for Sara and Royce, had returned in clubbing clothes. The leather-and-chains look was pretty distracting now that I’d noticed it, though I did my best to keep my eyes above Ashi’s and Christoph’s belts. Holy wow, could those two pull off leather pants. . . .

Analie was more than happy to stay busy preparing plates of sweets. First one for Christoph, and then one for Ashi, too, once he pulled away from Clarisse’s arm and slipped past Royce with a look of undisguised contempt.

Though I hadn’t dealt with them much on my prior visits, their behavior didn’t come as much of a surprise. The two were werewolves, though relatively harmless since the leather collars around their necks prevented them from shapeshifting. I had never asked for specifics—honestly, I hadn’t even known what they really were until Christoph had told me last night—but the two were almost always hanging out together even though they didn’t seem to like each other very much.

The pair wolfed down the cookies Analie gave them (ha—see what I did there?) as Clarisse and Mouse trailed inside, taking seats at the table with Wes, while Royce leaned against the granite breakfast bar. Seeing as almost all of the seats were taken, Sara and I joined Royce, who pulled out stools for both of us. Sara and I each took a seat, grinning and leaning against each other like a pair of happy drunks. Though she was startled by it, Sara didn’t protest when Royce positioned himself behind us, a hand on either of our shoulders.

Mouse’s hands moved, signing something. Wes, Christoph, and Royce all nodded when she was done.

Wes then glanced in my direction and, for the first time all evening, didn’t look like he wanted to throttle me. Instead, his facial muscles tensed, and the rest of his body went into that unnatural stillness I associated with a vampire experiencing a pang of guilt or discomfort. “You might want to advise them about what’s been happening over the last twenty-four hours.”

“Oh, give it a rest, love. This is just cozy—no time for that sort of talk,” Clarisse said, her green eyes positively gleaming with mischief. “I don’t suppose you’d reconsider, Alec? Just for a few nights.”

“Reconsider what?” I asked.

“Something I’ll discuss with you two later. Privately. ”

Clarisse pouted but didn’t protest, though she was clearly disappointed that she’d be missing out on what I assumed was going to turn into some quality drama the minute Royce dropped whatever bomb he’d saved up for us. The others shrugged and kept quiet as Sara and I exchanged mystified, and slightly alarmed, looks.

The vampire’s grip tightened on my shoulder, as he was probably sensing just how much I was bothered by his decision to wait to tell us whatever the heck it was he was hiding this time. “Try not to worry. I’ve found a way to keep the situation contained. For the most part, everything is under control.”

Sara twisted around to face him, shrugging his hand off her shoulder. “Hiding things from us is not ‘keeping the situation contained.’ If whatever you’re up to involves us, we deserve to know what’s going on.”

Mouse and Clarisse nodded, and Wes shrank down in his seat, while the trio of werewolves watched us with the kind of rapt attention I would expect them to devote to a good movie or daytime TV. Royce was not amused, and his clipped tones reflected that.

“Yes, you do. However, I had thought you might appreciate some time to relax and catch up with each other before discussing business.”

While Sara wilted under the pressure of Royce’s gaze—not that I blamed her, since he was pretty damned scary even when he wasn’t intentionally being so—I didn’t like the idea of backing down so easily. His words might have been thoughtful, but his tone was downright frosty, which told me he was more interested in putting it off than in telling us what was going on. Still, I thought it might be best to tread carefully since I didn’t want to make him genuinely annoyed with us after all he had done.

“We appreciate it,” I said, placing my hand over his on my shoulder, “but so much has already happened that we haven’t had any time to relax as it is. If we know what’s going on, at least we can come to terms with whatever else has gone wrong instead of incessantly worrying about what’s coming next.”

Sara was eyeing the way I touched him with undisguised speculation. No doubt she would demand to know what had happened between me and the vampire as soon as she could get me alone for a few minutes. Considering my phobia of vampires, and my prior obvious distrust of Royce, to say that times had changed was quite an understatement. Not a conversation I was looking forward to, but it wasn’t something I was going to be able to put off for long.

Royce, for his part, seemed less than thrilled about the way everyone else in the room was watching him, just waiting for him to reveal the latest bombshell. For the moment, I felt too emotionally drained to be terribly worried about what he had in store for us. After all I had been through, there was little left to get worked up about.

“You two can’t stay here.”

Except for that.

“You both must leave the city. Tonight. I’ve made arrangements for you to stay with an ally of mine across the country.”

I just looked at him.

“You know,” he said, his tone turning dry, “I did try to tell you that it would be best to wait until we had more privacy to discuss this.”

“Oy, lovey, are ye sure they can’t stay another day or so?” Clarisse seemed exceptionally put out, which led me to believe she had a bet riding on our presence here. “Seems a shame to send them away seeing as they’ve both just returned.”

Royce tilted his head down and lifted a hand to press his fingertips against the bridge of his nose. I got the distinct feeling he was as annoyed about the situation as I was, which was unexpected. After spending the last couple of hours thinking he was going to make a grab for any excuse to rid himself of me now that he’d finally had me in bed and tasted my blood, the thought that he would feel any sort of annoyance or regret over sending me away was beyond belief.

“Why do we have to go? I don’t get it—I just got here.”

He must have either read the hurt in my voice or felt it through whatever connection it was we now shared. His brow rested against my temple briefly, followed by the brush of his lips on my cheek. “I’m not doing this because I’m trying to get rid of you, Shiarra. If I could, I would keep you here, but it’s too dangerous. Not just for you, but for the rest of my flock. Until I can remove the threats and guarantee your safety, it would be best for us all if you stayed with one of my allies. It’s only temporary.”

Christoph mumbled a question around a mouthful of cookies. “Where’re you sending ’em?”

“Los Angeles.”

Christoph choked on his cookie as Analie and Ashi both straightened and started talking at once. I couldn’t make out a word since the three were talking over and shoving each other to get closer to us. Startled, Sara and I both shrank back, but there wasn’t any place for us to go. Royce’s grip on my shoulder tightened, keeping me from slipping off the chair.

His voice took on a note of command, a shiver tracing up my spine at the chill in the words. “Do not get your hopes up. She will not be contacting your pack while she is there.”

Christoph and Ashi’s faces fell, the twin looks of disappointment almost comical to see on the pair. Analie, on the other hand, looked close to tears, wringing her hands as her gaze flicked between me and the vampire.

“Please, I haven’t seen Gavin in so long. Can’t she just take him a letter for me? Maybe some cookies?”

As tough as the vampire’s attitude had been a moment ago, the frosty edge was soon replaced by a far gentler tone than I’d thought Royce capable of. “Analie, it would be dangerous for Shiarra to meet with him without me there to protect her. You know how your pack feels about vampires. What do you think they might do to her if they knew she was staying with one of my friends?”

“Gavin wouldn’t hurt her,” she insisted, turning that pleading look on me. “Please, I know I’m asking a lot, but if I give you a package can you bring it to him? Please? I’ll do anything to repay you, and I’ll call ahead and everything so—”

“Analie,” Royce interrupted, “don’t disobey me in this. You can mail a package to him, if you wish.”

“But I—”

“No.”

She ducked her head and hunched her shoulders, backing away. Christoph gave her an awkward pat on the back, but she twisted away from us, gripping the counter so hard I thought I heard the marble crack. Mouse glared daggers in Royce’s direction, which meant Sara and I were on the receiving end, too. We shared a look, uncomfortable meeting the mute vampire’s accusatory gaze.

Royce did not appear troubled by any of this. He shifted to rest his hip against the counter in a casual lean. “Clyde Seabreeze has agreed to take you two in while I sort out matters here in New York. I do not want to risk either of your lives, which is why I am sending you away. The White Hats have become unstable with the loss of their leader—”

I cut him off, alarmed. “Wait, what? What happened to Jack?”

The casual shrug Royce gave did not fit with the words coming out of his mouth. “I upheld my end of our bargain. Since he was turned, the local White Hats have fractured into two factions: those who believe that not all of us are monsters, and those who still feel that every Other must be exterminated. There are quite a few who blame you for Jack’s fall from grace.”

Turned. That meant Jack had finally caved. He was a vampire now.