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By the time we got back to the haven, Hern’s mother had blasted everyone in touching distance with her panic. I could feel the residual all the way at the end of the street.
When she spotted Hern, she let out a shriek and loped straight at us. Yes, I said loped—aura demons can run on all fours faster than on two legs. My jaw had practically bounced off the ground the first time I saw one of them do it.
“My sweetling!”
Hern cringed at the endearment she shouted across the length of the main street. I took his hand, startled again by how warm and velvet soft his scales felt on my skin.
“Mama.” He let go and backed away from me as she made a beeline for him. “I’m fine—oof—” Anything else he might have said was muffled against his mother’s chest.
Sam eased her away, before she stunned everyone with her relief. “He’s fine. Just wanted a little adventure.” With his arm around her, he led her back to their quarters, talking in that low, gentle voice that always had my heart pounding. Man, I loved him—more than was good for me. “Next time, I’ll take him out myself—with your permission. It’s good for a young demon to get out once in a while, see the world.”
I watched them until they disappeared into one of the buildings Sam had refurbished as living quarters, and let out a sigh. He took on the haven like it was his life’s work, putting out word through the underground network that Hyattown was open again.
Now it was half full, with more coming every day. I never knew there were so many kinds of demons. I have to be honest—when the first one showed up, I nearly had heart failure. Now I am more used to seeing horned everything. Horns seemed to be the one feature they all shared, and those suckers popped up in the, um, oddest places.
Right—moving on.
I headed to the building that served as office/welcome center, to stash my bow next to my desk and get off my ankle for a few.
Yeah—I had a desk, with all the cool office supplies scattered in drawers and neatly arranged on the surface. I love a good pen, and don’t get me started on sticky notes. All the colors, the sizes, the possibilities...
Okay, stop judging me.
I also had a big bowl of gourmet jelly beans on my desk, and my tongue could already taste the sugary goodness. After my mad sprint, my ankle ached, and I wanted the sugar rush to get me through the rest of the day.
I was still thinking of the latest organization chart I could create with all those lovely notes when I stepped into the office—and jerked to a halt.
A woman stood in the middle of the room. That was enough of a surprise. What had my jaw reaching for the floor was the number of piercings in both ears, the tattoos on her bare arms, and the way she stood. Like she was itching for trouble.
“Can I...” My voice died when she looked at me.
“You are Alex?” I nodded. She was French Canadian. I knew because Mom has a design colleague who was from Quebec, and I adore his accent. “I have come for the security position.”
“What?” Oh, yeah—I sounded like a drooling idiot. “Sorry—you caught me by surprise.”
“I have that effect.” She smiled at me, and pushed silver framed glasses back to the bridge of her nose. It made her seem a little less dangerous. Security would be a good fit for her. She could just walk into the room and scare the intruder away. “Candace sent me. You have need of someone to keep order here?”
Candace. Right. Why did she think sending someone who knew diddly about the haven would be a good idea?
But then, with the shield gone, we needed—something. I don’t think this was what Sam intended.
I cleared my throat. I was going to ask an obvious question. I knew she must have seen our unique residents on her way here, but she didn’t seem the least bit freaked out by them. “You do know what we do here?”
“Oui. I live near a haven. My brother, he was bitten by a Fenris. He did not survive the attack.”
Panic shot through me. “I’m so sorry. Maybe this isn’t—”
“You misunderstand. I don’t seek revenge for his death. It happened long ago, and the Fenris that attacked him was punished.” The way she said punished made me think dead was the most likely condition of that particular monster. “I helped at home. I would do the same here.”
“Okay.” I skirted around her and moved behind my desk, setting my bow and quiver in easy reach. Was it wrong to admit I felt safer with the heavy furniture between her and me? “You do know we don’t—punish here? We ban them, send word out to the other havens.”
One eyebrow raised as she studied me. “And this works for you?”
“Extremely well. When you have no other place to go, you tend to follow the rules.”
She nodded, and looked around the office. When she turned her back to me, I saw the holster at the small of her back, and what I thought had been backpack straps over her shoulders turned out to be the holder for a big, nasty looking crossbow. I’d let Sam hash that out with her.
We didn’t openly carry weapons down here. It made the residents nervous. And trust me, the last thing you want on your hands is a town filled with nervous monsters. I even gave up carrying my Swiss army knife.
“So.” I tried to sound casual as I inched around the desk. “I’m going to have Sam talk to you, get all your details—”
“Do I frighten you, Alex?”
“Hell, yes.” I blurted it out before I could stop myself. Mortified, I froze, waiting for retaliation.
She let out an explosive laugh. “I like you, Alex. I am Louise.” She held out one hand. Already embarrassed, I didn’t want to add rude to it, so I shook her hand. I had a feeling her grip was much stronger, and she went easy on me. I appreciated it.
A necklace swung out when she leaned forward, and caught my attention It was three initials in gold, on a thick chain. BDG. “What do those stand for?”
Her smile widened. “Bitch Daddy Gaga.”
My mouth fell open. “Oh. Um—not going to ask, okay?”
“Perhaps someday I will tell you anyway.” She winked at me. To my great relief Sam walked in, saved me from another embarrassing outburst. Louise turned around and smiled at him. “You must be Sam. Candace did not do you justice in her description. You are quite the handsome devil.”
He gave her his polite smile, and shook her hand. “You are—”
“Louise. I am here to help you with security. Candace believes that you need a presence, with your shield gone, and I agree.”
Sam glanced over at me. I nodded, knowing the questions he wasn’t asking. “All right. Let’s talk. Nice tattoos.”
“I always tell myself ‘just one more, Louise.’ Then I find myself standing in front of my artist with another idea.” She pointed at his scarred cheek. “Water demon?”
He blinked, as surprised as me that she got it in one—especially since Mrs. Hyatt had added a couple more scars when she held him hostage. “Yes. How—”
“I’ve seen the scar before. They do tend to strike out first, assess the danger after. Do you have any here?”
“No.” Sam told me once he hoped none showed, because he wasn’t sure he could be unbiased about them. “I can use some extra help here. Alex told you we don’t carry weapons?” He gestured to her crossbow.
“Oui. I would like to discuss the need for some kind of weapon. The more residents, the more chance for violence—”
“They’re banned. No questions.” Sam’s voice had gone flat and cold, which meant he was angry. He didn’t like to be challenged, especially by a stranger. “Until it becomes necessary, I refuse to police them like they’re criminals.”
“Of course.”
Jake chose that unfortunate moment to barge in.
“Sam—oh, hey.” He smiled at Louise, like he already knew her. That wasn’t going to go over well. “Sam, I need to talk to you.”
“Not now.” Sam hadn’t taken his eyes off Louise, or her crossbow.
“Yes, cousin. Now.” There was the intense Jake, the one I hadn’t seen for a while. Candace brought out his more human side. “I want to talk to you about the Fenris in England—”
“I already said no.”
Jake let out a sigh. “I met him, Sam. When I was still banished to our property. I took a tour of the havens, thinking I could live in one of them. At least I’d be among my own kind, and not completely alone.”
Sam finally turned to him. “You know this Fenris, and you didn’t tell me?”
“You never gave me a chance to get beyond the first few words, until now. Yeah, I know him. He barely smells like a Wolf, Sam. And everyone I talked to in the haven outside London told me they’d never seen him change. Let him help—us, Candace. I know I’m damn tired of fighting the Fenris every minute of the day.” He glanced over at me. “Sorry, Alex.”
I wasn’t sure if he was apologizing for the language, or what he’d just revealed. Did he really have to fight it, all the time? Did Sam?
“We’ll talk about this later, Jake.” Sam waited until Jake stomped out, then moved over to me, his grey-blue eyes shadowed. “Stop thinking what you’re thinking. Jake was doing his usual exaggeration of the facts.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” My throat was so tight, I could barely push the words out.
“Because there was nothing you could do. And I didn’t want you worrying about me, any more than you do already. I’ve got it under control, Alex.”
“Okay.” I wanted to believe him—God, I wanted to believe him. So I let it go.
He kissed me, cradling my face in the gentle way that always made my heart skip.
“I’ll see you later,” he said, and glanced over his shoulder at Louise. “I have to deal with her.”
The way she grinned at him told me it wasn’t going to be an easy battle.
I escaped, glad for the excuse to leave. Sam could sort that mess without me. Besides, I had to get home, before Mom and Dad forgot who I was. Yeah—spending too much time down here.
But with half days now at school, and no more dance classes, I had more free time than I was used to. I was also teaching myself Dragon Fan, a form of tai chi that was also for self-defense. It was graceful, but powerful, and the closest to dancing I would ever get again.
After what had happened with the Hyatts, I wanted to be able to defend myself—and as much as I enjoyed using it, walking around with a bow over my shoulder wasn’t an option.
The sun was setting when I emerged behind the McGinty house, a cold wind blowing off the ocean. I huddled in my hoodie, forgetting to bring a heavier jacket with me, and walked faster once I hit the sidewalk.
I knew I was being followed after about three blocks.
The itch between my shoulder blades, and the occasional scrape of a shoe on the sidewalk had me looking back every few seconds. I couldn’t see anyone, but I felt them, just out of sight.
I started moving faster. My MG was parked in the lot next to the county records office—under a streetlamp this time, thank you very much. And it was still early enough that there would be people around. Witnesses.
I wasn’t going to be caught alone again, on a dark street, with no help. Not like last time—
My heart jumped when I heard the tap of claws on sidewalk.
I gave up looking calm and collected and started to run. The last turn out of the neighborhood was in sight—one more street to cross and I’d hit the parking lot, where other people would...
That hope faded when I skidded around the corner and saw my car. In the empty parking lot.
Oh, God—it was Friday. Most of the county and local government offices closed early on Friday, to take advantage of the last good surfing of the day. You know, start off the weekend right.
Fabulous when you’re a surfer, living in a beach town. Not so fabulous when you’re running from something and expected to have ordinary people around to stop said something from attacking you.
I kept going, sprinting across the street. My ankle screamed at me. I ignored it, my one goal to get to my car. Of course, ignoring my ankle was never a good idea, especially with the still cold weather.
It buckled just before I reached the sidewalk and I stumbled.
I screamed when a strong hand grabbed my arm.
“Hey—are you all right?” The distinctly British voice jerked my head up. My rescuer smiled at me, concern fighting with amusement in his pale green eyes. “You nearly decorated the pavement.”
“Thanks. For stopping me.” I fought to catch my breath, studying him. He was only a few inches taller than me, looked about twenty, and was built like an athlete. He was also rumpled and appealing, in that way only the Brits seem to pull off. I don’t know why, but it calmed me. Maybe because it was so normal. I don’t get much of that anymore. “Where—I didn’t see anyone else when I started across the street.”
“I believe you were too focused on eluding your pursuit.”
My breath lodged in my throat. “You saw—”
“It? Yes.” He ran one hand through his wavy brown hair. “Your panic was part of the reason I followed after you. Once you left the neighborhood, the creature turned around.”
I had a feeling it was because he appeared on the scene.
He cupped one hand under my elbow, and I leaned against him as he helped me to my car. I was right; his baggy sweater hid some impressive muscles.
“Thanks again,” I said.
“Oliver Martin.” He smiled again, and I couldn’t keep from staring. Until now, pain had occupied most of my brain, so I didn’t notice how striking he was. Like movie star striking, with angular features and a presence that demanded attention. “I am here to meet with Sam Emmett.”
“Sam? How do you know—”
“I don’t, not yet. Jake invited me.” He studied me with those pale green eyes for a long moment, then he spoke again. “I am a Fenris.”
England. Fenris...oh, God—he was that Fenris. The one who never changed. Jake had obviously asked him here without Sam knowing.
That explained the conversation earlier. I had a feeling if they’d been alone, Jake would have told Sam what he’d done. Now Sam was going to find out along with everyone else. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be present for that meeting.
I pulled myself back to the present, and gave him what I hoped was a genuine smile. “You’re here to help?”
“As I can.” He took my hand. “If I do no more than offer my experience, it will be worth the trip, having met you.”
“I—” And cue the hated blush. “Thank you, for coming all this way.” I was grateful, even if Sam would want to tear into Jake for going behind his back. “Sam has been through a lot the last few months. Anything you add to their research would mean so much.” Especially to me.
“I will do what I can. How are you acquainted with Sam?”
“He’s my boyfriend.”
Surprise flared in his eyes, along with another emotion—one that disappeared before I could grasp it. “But you are human, not—”
“A monster?” I never asked Sam, but Jake’s comment earlier confirmed my suspicion that monsters could sense each other. “No. I just know far too much about them.”
“Sorry—I meant no insult. Most of us form attachments to those—like us. Humans tend to run before we can make a favorable impression.”
I smiled, thinking of Jake. I had run—and he had not made a favorable impression until much later.
“It takes more than that to insult me,” I said. “Or scare me.”
“Good to know.” His smile would have made my heart pound, if it hadn’t already belonged to Sam since first grade. Yeah—good looks and a British accent. Deadly combination. “You will be all right from here, then? I’ve already missed our agreed on time, playing hero.” He held up one hand when I started to apologize. “Absolutely worth the delay, since it brought us together.” He surprised me again by kissing my cheek. “Take care, Alex. I look forward to our next, less adventurous meeting.”
It wasn’t until after he dashed across the street that I realized I had never told him my name.