When I wake the room is dim, but not wholly dark. Curtains are drawn across the large bay windows and two light blankets cover my body from ribs to toe.
I’m stretched out on the sofa, as much as its length will allow, head propped on my rolled up coat. For a moment I’m not sure what’s woken me until I notice the silhouette of a person standing against the window.
I rub my eyes. Not even sure of when I fell asleep, but from the way the light has changed and the pattern of shadows on the wall, I can guess that it must be getting into late afternoon now. Perhaps even evening. If there’s something to be grateful for in the cooler months, it’s the shorter days and longer nights.
“Rayne?”
The figure at the window stiffens. Then chuckles.
“Oh. Sorry, Jadz. Is everything okay?”
“Noel isn’t back yet.” Her voice is flat and emotionless, but not quite enough to fool me.
“What time is it?”
“Late enough that he should be back. What have your people done to him? I tried to call, but he won’t answer. And when I went out to look, I could find no trace of him.”
I sit up. “I thought we all agreed to stay indoors.”
She growls and turns away from the window. A few steps and then the sofa gives as she perches on the other side. “I had to. I had to know.”
“And?”
Silence. Long, worrying silence.
“There are no wolves out there. At all. I scented one or two, but they’re very well hidden. And like your sister said, there are still drones outside spraying the streets. I had to duck three just to get back. Military everywhere and big tanks closing off the streets. City-wide lockdown.”
“But Noel? What did you find out about Noel?”
“Nothing.” She growls. “I heard a couple of rumours, but—”
I’m already pushing the sheets off my legs. “I’ll call Pippa. Maybe he’s still at the Foundation. Or he had to detour to find somewhere safe.”
As my eyes grow accustomed to the dim light, I can see more of Jadz in the shadows. She’s changed her clothes and brushed out her hair. It doesn’t shimmer with the same blue sheen in this light, but that bold cut is hard to miss.
“He would have called me. Sent a message. Something. This isn’t right.” Her voice cracks, not quite with panic, but as close to fear as I’ve ever heard Jadz get.
I scoot across the sofa toward her. “Hey, it’s okay. He’ll be fine.”
“Then where is he?”
“I don’t know. But if we have to, we’ll find him too. Let’s give it a little more time. He probably had to lay low until sundown to get more from Pippa before coming back. She’s a vampire too after all.”
I feel rather than see Jadz turn toward me. “I thought she was your sister.”
“She is.”
“And a vampire?” A soft exhalation. “Interesting. Now that explains a lot.”
“It was an accident. Nobody meant for her to—”
“Oh, I’m sure it was an accident. No one ever means to become a blood sucking parasite.” She sniffs. “Sorry, that was mean. I’m just worried.” Again, that note of fear in her voice. Before I realize it, I’ve reached out to put my arm around her shoulders.
She’s hot, and that near unnatural warmth in her skin reminds me of her werewolf blood.
“Listen, I’d worry too, but Noel had his guts torn out by a vampire and still sat up the next day cracking jokes about porn. Trust me, he’ll be fine.”
“Trust you?” She turns to me. Like this, with my arm around her, her face is close enough that her nose brushes briefly against mine. I can see her nostrils flare as she scents me out, picking out the aroma of my words.
“Hmm. I suppose I do trust you. I trust my senses and they seem to believe in you.”
“Thanks. I guess?”
“Thank me like this.” And then her lips are on mine, pressed hard against my mouth and parting them with a deft flick of her tongue. She tastes hot and vaguely meaty, almost savoury, and her hand slides up to curl into my hair.
Fuck, she’s strong. Very strong.
The overhead light flicks on. The bright flare startles and blinds me, jerking me back while I squeeze my eyes shut for several seconds.
By the time I’ve adjusted to it, I look up in time to see the door to the living room close. The sound of running steps retreats into the distance.
“What the hell, Jadz?” I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “How many times do I have to tell you? And who the hell was that? Who put the light on?”
“You can’t blame a girl for trying. Besides, I had to taste you at least once.” She chuckles and leans back against the sofa. “And thirty seconds after true sunset? Who else could it be but the little fanger?”
Shit. Oh, shit, fuck, shit and shit again.
I scramble off the sofa, half tangled in the blankets still clinging to my legs. I kick them free, then trip again, this time on the mug of unfinished coffee still nestled beside me. Dark brown liquid spills across laminate and into the rug, but I don’t care. I chase after her.
“Rayne.”
I’ve already lost the sound of her footsteps so I make my way to the utility room where she spent the day.
“Rayne? Is that you? Will you stop for a second? Please.”
There, standing beside the washing machine, forcing her legs into the second half of her jeans.
“Rayne—”
“Don’t talk to me.
“But you don’t understand—”
“Understand?” She glares at me, the wild light of vampire silver in her eyes. “I understand that I’ve been wanting you, needing you for weeks now. I understand you’re afraid of me. I understand that I’m a dangerous, monstrous beast and that now that there’s an easier, safer option, you’re happier to go with that instead.”
My mouth hangs open. “What? No, it’s not like that.”
“Then what is it, Danika?”
“I—she—we—”
Rayne snorts and jerks the zips of her jeans up. She shoves her arms into her blouse sleeves, and then fastens that too, all but spitting as her fingers fly over the buttons. “I’m leaving. Clearly you and Jadzia have this all in hand, so I’m going to report to SPEAR. I think it’s about time I had my debrief.”
She snatches up her socks and shoes, then shoves past me.
I’m chasing after her without thinking, half running, half skipping to keep up with her furious pace. “Wait, you can’t do that. They’ll just detain you until who even knows when. Come on, Rayne, will you wait for a second?”
“Wait?” She stops dead, sharp enough that I end up running into her back. “Wait? Do you have any sense of how long I’ve been waiting? No, I’m done with waiting. If you trust that werewolf stranger more than me—me!—then I’m not going to wait for the rest of my life. And I know my life is a really long time, but I’d rather not spend it pining over you.”
“Rayne, come on.”
She’s at the main door to the garage now, shoving past a startled Spannah to hit the switch that raises the shuttered door. “I can handle you being scared of me, Danika. You should be. I’m rather afraid of myself at times. But I won’t sit around and wait for you to make up your mind while first test-driving each edane you come across.”
Her words are a punch to the gut. I actually feel my breath catch, forcing me to take a moment to recover. “What? No, it’s not like that. This isn’t what you think.”
“Then what is it?”
“I…uh…”
She growls. “I thought so. Please get out of my way, Danika.”
“No.”
“Move or I will move you.”
“Wait, Rayne, please.”
She puts out a hand and gently, but inexorably shoves me to one side. Her next steps take her straight into Noel who appears on the other side of the door with a stack of papers and folders tucked under his arm.
“Ah. Ladies, so good of you to meet me. I have so much news for you.”
Rayne snarls, loud and vicious enough that Noel actually leaps back a step. The stack of stationery slips from his grip and fans across the floor.
“Guau, Rayne, what is this?”
“Move aside.”
He does so immediately and stares with a bemused frown as Rayne marches up the drive and left along the street.
“Rayne, come back.”
She doesn’t. Instead she increases her pace. She’s not running, but as I follow I’m aware that my pace is well above my usual walking one, even with my longer legs and stride. I trot along at her side, half skipping sideways to keep up. “Rayne, would you just give me a moment to explain? Please? It honestly isn’t what you think, and we need to settle this once and for all. You need to understand that—”
Again that sharp stop, only this time, she’s far enough ahead that I have space to avoid another collision.
“I understand, Danika. I understand that your prejudices against vampires are never quite going to leave. I understand that you don’t trust me. I understand that every other little thing up to this point has been more important than us sitting down to talk about your problems.”
“But I didn’t kiss her. I didn’t want this. This is all a misunderstanding.”
She glares at me. “You honestly think this is about something as stupid as a kiss?”
“I…well, I did. Until you said that.”
Rayne rubs her temples with her fingertips. “I’m not a fool, Danika. I know full well you don’t feel anything for Jadzia. She’s been stalking you like deer since we met, but I know you’re not interested. But do you have any idea how it feels, seeing her, a stranger, get close to you when I can’t even hold your hand? You swore a blood oath to her, let her lick blood off your palm, but the last time we shared a kiss, you all but leapt out of my arms. Duo, Solo, Willow, Erkyan, even Shakka, they all get closer to you than I have in the last few weeks, but I’m ‘the one you want.’ I’m ‘the one you trust.’” A tear catches in the corner of her eye. “You say it, but you don’t show it. I…I can’t believe you anymore.”
I think about the past few hours; my hand on Spannah’s shoulder, Jadz’s tongue against my skin, Shakka’s warty hand in mine as he shook it. Even the flimsy flutter of Hawk’s wings as he carried me through the night sky.
Oh, fuck, she’s right. She’s totally right.
“Rayne, I…” Words catch in my throat. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize. I didn’t know. I didn’t see that’s what I’d done. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Perhaps you are.” She shakes her head. “But that’s not good enough anymore.” Rayne turns and continues her walk along the street.
I step to follow, pulled up short at the sound of my name from further behind.
It’s Noel. He’s running full pelt, followed closely by Jadz with a dejected looking Spannah bringing up the rear.
“Dee-Dee, there is a problem.”
“Yes, there is and I need to deal with it first.”
“No, no, not jealous spats, my friend, it is the Dire Wolf alpha.”
I’m bristling. “This is not a jealous spat, Noel. Rayne and I have to—wait, what?”
“Wensleydale Gordon. He is gone.”
Oh. Great.
* * *
“What do you mean ‘gone’?”
Noel pauses long enough to direct a furious glare at Spannah. “This little one, he tells me the alpha decided to leave during the day. He crept out while you were sleeping.”
I drag a hand back through my hair.
Far in the distance, Rayne is becoming a smaller and smaller speck. Soon she’ll be wholly out of sight.
“I can’t deal with this right now, I—”
“He went to gather his pack.” This from Jadz. Her voice is firm and clear, though with a vague hint of what I hope is discomfort. Does she have any idea what she’s done to Rayne and me? Maybe, maybe not, but when she looks at me, her gaze flicks down rather than holding true to my own.
Good.
Spannah clears his throat. “I’m sorry. I know what you said, I know what we agreed, but he’s my alpha, I have to do what he says.”
“I know, I know. Just tell me what happened.”
“While you were sleeping Wensleydale decided to retrieve our pack. He said he couldn’t wait for more news, and that he had to make sure everyone was all right.”
“But his oath…he agreed to stay.”
“I don’t know about that. But he did say the night was over and that as soon as the sun rose, he could do what he liked. I didn’t think to question it at the time.”
Aaah. Smart little mongrel.
I’d told him he couldn’t leave tonight. Sure it was a technical loophole, but it was big enough for him to slip through and keep his word to me under his pledge. The night must have been over by the time he left.
Spannah goes on. “He had me make up a bed to look like he was sleeping and carry one of his coats through the house to settle his scent here.”
I sigh. “Then how did we even know he was gone?”
“I asked.” Jadz shrugs.
Of course. The Gray Tail ability to scent lies would make it impossible to hide the truth from her. The crazy plan might have worked if Spannah had been able to keep himself out of sight.
I’d applaud the plan, but now isn’t the time. Now I need to figure out how to fix it.
Once again, I look over my shoulder. Empty streets. Fuck.
“Um, okay…we need to find him and get him back. Noel, what did you find out?”
He glances back at the house. “Much, but we can talk about it as we drive. None of it is good and we must catch up with the alpha as quickly as possible. He is in terrible danger.” He starts walking, pausing only when it becomes plain that I’m not moving. “Dee-Dee, please. He is your friend, yes?”
“Of course he is.”
“Then we must stop him.”
I find myself staring at the empty street. Rayne hasn’t gone far, she can’t have. If I follow now, I might be able to track her down. I have to explain all this. She has to know that I never meant to avoid her touch. I have to make her see—
“Dee-Dee.” Noel’s voice cuts through it all. “Your sister tells me the alpha is weak. The chemical affects blood chemistry. I don’t understand it all, but the wolf is not himself. Do you want to save him or not?”
All three of them stand halfway back to the house, watching, waiting.
Noel’s words have brought a look of horror and fear to Spannah’s face. He is clearly regretting the decision to help his alpha leave, and now his whole demeanour seems to beg for aid.
I have no choice.
I turn aside from the empty street and join the others in a quick sprint back to the house.