Chapter Eight

FIVE DAYS PASSED, each one inching along like a glacier. Kana woke with his alarm, went to work where he did his best to chat with Beth and act like everything was normal, and then went home to sit by the phone and wait with his familiars.

Even over the weekend, when he at least had freedom from work, Kana was jumpy and twitchy, and simply too hyped up to settle on any one task. Every time his phone chirped to provide a weather report or something else innocuous, adrenaline rushed. Kana’s heart thudded frantically, and his fingers and toes would tingle.

Kana told himself over and over to calm down. There was no reason to be worried about a phone call during the daytime; the vampires were sleeping so if Ember called, it would only be to add something to their plans. After dark, he at least had the spell books he was studying and Mika and Sora to distract him.

And then Monday rolled around again, as if a week full of vampires and werewolves and crazy plans was inconsequential to the passing of time. Which it technically was, Kana reminded himself as he packed up his things after yet another long day at work. Overtime wasn’t fun, particularly when he wouldn’t be paid for the extra hours, yet his boss kept piling on the work.

“You’d think they would have wanted to air the vampire story already, since we had so many big meetings about it”—Beth grumbled as she stacked papers into multiple piles all over her desk—“instead of stalling with research and more rewrites.”

Kana hadn’t thought about it, but Beth was right. They had that big meeting last week to decide exactly what they wanted to air, and Beth and Kana had submitted a final draft of the article for the newspaper and website. It wasn’t like the station to sit on a big story like that.

“Maybe they’re afraid the vampires will want retribution for airing something negative about them?” Kana asked.

Beth shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think they’re waiting until they have more proof the vampires are up to no good. That clip of the vampire trying to bite Stephen was partially obscured by the magic flaring. My guess is they’re worried someone will claim it was doctored.”

“But if they’ve got another story of someone totally unrelated to the studio who was also attacked…” Kana trailed off.

“Exactly,” Beth finished with a firm nod. “More interested in covering their asses than getting out a public awareness story. Besides, none of our local competitors seem at all interested.”

Probably because they actually cared about the safety of their employees and knew better than to go near vampires, but Kana wasn’t about to say that aloud while in the office.

“Well, whatever,” Beth sighed. She shut down her computer and turned to wait for Kana to help Mika and Sora into his bag. “I hope I never become that soulless, but given I’m working here…” She sighed again. “I guess it’s just a matter of time.”

“As long as we continue to worry about stuff like that, I think our souls are fine,” Kana replied. He pulled his bag on and waved toward the door. “Shall we go?”

Beth gave one last look at all the piles of work on her and Kana’s desk, and then scurried to the door before someone else could come to give them more work. Kana followed and caught up with her at the elevator. They walked outside together, the setting sun already touching the horizon and casting long shadows on the sidewalk in front of their building. Beth sighed at the sight, disgust clear in the twist of her lips. They should have been able to leave work hours ago, but of course at four o’clock—just a half hour before they were supposed to leave—Amanda had emailed them with a massive project that had to be completed before close of business.

Beth let out another heavy sigh. “See you tomorrow,” she said.

“Yeah, see you.” Kana waved when Beth turned to go to the parking garage. He continued onward to the bus stop.

He was just stepping inside the bus shelter when his phone blared. Kana jumped and fumbled the phone out of his pocket. Ember, the caller ID read, and Kana quickly swiped across the screen to answer.

“Hello?” he said.

“Kana? Good,” Ember answered. “Lucas has decided to feed outside tonight. Where are you? I’ll send a car to get you.”

“The bus stop outside my office.” Kana’s voice was calm, but he had no idea why. His hands were shaking and his heart thudding, yet his knees were as steady as his voice as he left the stop and headed back to the curb.

“Okay. A car should be pulling up any second. I’ll see you in a few.” Ember hung up.

Kana stared at his phone for a long moment, then put it to sleep and stuffed it back in his pocket.

Abrupt, Kana said.

He’s probably busy, Sora replied easily.

True, but Kana couldn’t help wishing Ember had a desire to linger with Kana a bit longer. Before he could dwell on ridiculous hurt feelings, a familiar black SUV pulled up in front of him. Kana yanked the back door open and hopped inside. The door was barely closed when the car turned back into traffic. The driver took the car farther into the city, where a popular outdoor shopping center attracted all sorts of customers. People waited in lines outside restaurants, went door to door with their arms full of shopping bags, or hung out on park benches eating ice cream or drinking coffee. Prime pickings for a hungry vampire.

The car double-parked and Kana quickly opened his door and climbed out. The car drove away a second later, and Ember stepped into view on the sidewalk. He waved Kana over, and when Kana reached him, he backed into a nearby alley.

“I just got word Lucas left the compound. Are you ready?”

Kana swung his bag around and unzipped the top. Two grinning cats popped their heads free, and first Mika and then Sora jumped out and vanished into the darkened alley.

“They’ll know where they’re supposed to be. Where do you need me?” Kana asked.

“This way,” Ember said. He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the side door of a closed shop. The room was dark, but enough illumination from streetlights outside filtered through the windows to light the way as Ember guided him through the back of the shop to a stairway leading to an attached upstairs apartment.

The stairs let out into a living room as empty as the shop below, but two wooden chairs were pulled up to the window overlooking the street.

“How does your pack own so many properties around here? I thought you just moved here?” Kana asked.

Ember sat in one of the chairs and let out a heavy breath. “This is our home territory. I don’t know if Octavius forgot after twenty years of being away, or whether he’s taunting us, but he decided to move us back here. The house in the country is our pack house. This building is still owned by one of our families. Back in the day, it was a successful restaurant, and they couldn’t let it go.”

Kana took the other chair. “Hopefully, the new restaurant will be even better.”

Ember snorted and leaned his head against the back of the chair. “Another reason why we need to be free. Tonight’s going to bring us just a bit closer.”

He looked out the window and smiled, so Kana turned to look as well. Despite all the people, Kana’s attention was immediately snagged by a woman innocently walking down the sidewalk. She appeared completely innocuous. Black hair, simple green shirt, and black pants, and absolutely nothing unique and remarkable about her, except Kana couldn’t look away.

“What is she?” Kana asked. He dragged his gaze back to Ember, who had his half smile firmly in place as he watched Kana watch her.

“Magic,” Ember said. “Most people think new wolves are always bitten, just like vampires, and for the most part they’re not wrong. The majority of new wolves are bitten, but there are two types of wolves that are born: really strong ones, and really, really weak ones. In the strong ones, the wolf comes out in the DNA. For the weak ones, we think it’s a defense mechanism, something to protect them, but that’s just a guess. The rest of our children are born human and can choose to be bitten when they reach adulthood. Except, in rare cases, one of our children is born like her.”

Kana glanced out the window again and saw she had crossed the street and was walking down the sidewalk adjacent to their building. Kana breathed in and out, then released just a touch of his power to brush across her. She felt like a familiar, as if she were made of the magic of the other side, but she was much more rooted in the real world than Mika and Sora. She probably couldn’t access the other side to pull more magic into her, but Kana would be willing to bet he could make a pact with her and use her magic like he did with his familiars.

But you’ve got us, Mika said, his voice stern, yet joking at the same time. He knew Kana better than to believe Kana would take advantage of her like that. However, someone unscrupulous—like the vampires—would.

Why would I take a second look at her magic when I’ve got both of you? Kana sent back to Mika and Sora. He received contented purrs in reply. He turned to Ember instead. “The vampires don’t know about her, I bet.”

Ember shook his head. “We’ve been very, very careful. Children like her won’t change to wolves no matter how many times we bite them, but you’re right that a vampire would take them in a heartbeat. She volunteered when she heard about tonight.”

Lucas wouldn’t be able to resist. More than enough time had passed since Lucas was supposed to have left to go hunting, so Kana looked out over the shopping center hoping to see a glimpse of him. The girl stopped to look in a shop window just past where Kana was hiding, and when she resumed walking, she turned to come back toward them.

A dark shape suddenly dropped down next to her and looped an arm over her shoulder. She didn’t have a chance to let out even a squeak before he yanked her into the alley, but it was a masculine scream that echoed out a second later. Ember jumped to his feet as people immediately turned to look. One or two even started moving toward the alley.

Kana quickly drew in the dust of the windowsill with his pinky, a fast circle and pentagon with two runes tucked into each side: silence and avoidance. He pushed a bit of magic into the circle, which then glowed for a second before it faded away. A second scream cut off midway, and the watchers relaxed and continued about their business as if they hadn’t heard anything. Kana blew into the dust to obscure what was left of his circle. When he looked up, Ember was staring at him.

“You’re damn fast with those things,” Ember said, a touch of awe in his voice.

Kana’s checks went hot in a blush. “Thanks,” he mumbled as he focused back down at the disturbed dust. “I figured it was important to keep anyone from noticing.”

“Definitely. We want the scene completely undisturbed when Octavius demands we locate Lucas for him tomorrow.”

Kana looked back out the window, hoping his blush would die down soon. The woman walked out into the sidewalk, turned to look up at the second-floor windows where Ember and Kana were watching, grinned, and flashed the okay sign. A second later a familiar black car pulled up next to her and she climbed inside. The car drove off, and only once it was gone from sight did Kana feel safe to look at Ember again.

Ember was texting on his phone, his lower lip pulled between his teeth as he focused on the touch screen—and now Kana was blushing for a different reason. Did Ember have any idea how sexy he looked biting his lip like that? Probably not, since Kana was pretty sure the move was completely unintentional.

“Is she okay?” Kana asked, forcing his brain to focus on the task at hand.

Ember nodded. “Just before the vamp tried to sink his teeth in, she said a giant shape jumped on him. Shoved him down the open bilco doors, just as we planned.” He looked up at Kana. While his lip was free from his teeth, his grin was back and that didn’t do anything to quiet Kana’s libido. “How are your cats doing? Any problems on their end?”

Kana concentrated down the links he shared with Mika and Sora, opening them a touch wider so he could share some of what they were doing. Sora’s glee was plainly evident as he raked his claws down one of Lucas’s arms from shoulder to elbow, then hooked his claws in to yank. Kana heard the pop as the shoulder was pulled out of the socket and hurried to check on Mika instead. Mika was having fun pouncing. He dashed across the room, leaped high, and landed hard, and ribs cracked under his weight.

Mika! Careful of the heart! Kana admonished down their link.

His heart’s just fine, Mika replied smugly. His lungs aren’t, though.

Fine, Kana sent back, before shutting the link down again. “My two cats are playing with a helpless mouse,” he told Ember. “They’re cats, so they can’t help having a little fun first, but they’ll have it done soon.”

Ember rolled his eyes, but his smile didn’t dim. “Octavius will demand to know why Lucas hasn’t returned. If he makes the request before dawn, I’ll bring him to see the scene.”

He was repeating what they had already discussed at the meeting in the safe house, but Kana appreciated hearing it again. “But you think he won’t want to see it until tomorrow?”

Ember snorted. “He’s lazy. With dawn approaching, he won’t want to chance having to rush home. Means he’ll want to go first thing tomorrow night, though.”

Which was when one of Ember’s wolves would sneak Kana into the mansion. Ember was certain Octavius wouldn’t allow Sophia to go out at the same time, so she would be in the mansion. They had to wait for Octavius to return before they could attack Sophia, just in case she was able to get some sort of message out to him and he was able to escape the trap. One group would be lying in wait for her, and Kana and a second group would be waiting for Octavius. Then, both groups would attack at the same time.

“I’ll make sure I leave work on time,” Kana said. “I assume another car will pick me up?”

Ember nodded. “They’ll idle in the neighborhood until they get word Octavius has left.”

And that was all their plans hashed out yet again. Kana didn’t have anything else to say, and they lapsed into awkward silence. He had zero idea what to say. Should he ask more questions about tomorrow? But they had already gone through the plans twice now, so that seemed silly. Kana definitely didn’t want to ask Ember about his family, since the vampires had taken care of that. Did he dare say something about how hot Kana thought Ember was? No, this didn’t seem like an appropriate time or place for that.

Why not? Sora asked. He’s cute, you’re horny, and I know Mika and I would enjoy a bit of that too.

Because we’re about to go into battle. I’m sure he’s focusing on that and doesn’t want to be distracted.

Riiiight. Sora sank as much disbelief into that one, drawn-out word as Kana had ever heard. Well, whatever. Mika and I are done. Come down and pick us up.

“They’re done,” Kana said.

Ember stood, then paused to press his hands against his spine until his back cracked. Kana couldn’t tear his eyes away as that deliciously flat stomach and firm chest were pushed in his direction. Ember didn’t appear to notice, as he simply dropped his hands and turned toward the door. Kana scrambled to follow.

They exited the building from the same side door. Ember locked it, then turned to walk deeper into the alley. Mika and Sora were waiting there in their small forms, and they were both completely covered in blood, their fur matted with it. Ember heaved the metal bilco doors closed, then slid a chain through the handles and clicked a padlock closed.

A car pulled up as they were walking back to the street. A wolf jumped out and opened the back door for Kana, who climbed inside. Mika and Sora dashed in after him, moving fast so they wouldn’t be seen.

Ember waved as the car pulled away, so Kana waved back.

I need a bath, Mika grumbled, his voice disgusted.

Definitely, Sora agreed. And then maybe we can help Kana out with his horniness problem.

Mika laughed. Sounds good to me!

Kana’s cheeks were warm again, and he was glad he was the only one who could hear Mika and Sora. Still, a bit of fun would help keep his mind off tomorrow night so Kana welcomed the distraction.