Chapter Seven

I needed a break. When I noticed the deserted patio, I made an excuse and slipped out through the back.

The air was sharp and clear. There was a hint of pine in the air, probably from the tree farm a few miles away. The patio lights were off, but the full moon provided enough illumination.

I felt someone watching me. “Vaughn, I want to be alone for a few minutes.”

“Not Vaughn,” a voice said. I whirled around.

The Thirsty Thieves drummer was leaning against a wall. There was something reptilian about the way his tongue darted out to lick his thick lips.

“Want some company, darlin’?” the drummer asked in that same faux accent the whole band used since they morphed into the Thirsty Thieves.

“You don’t know me well enough to call me anything, but especially not darlin’,” I said.

Boris dropped the fake twang. “I don’t mean any harm,” he said. “Please excuse me, Miss Tansy Mariotti.”

Why did his presence make my stomach clench anxiously? Because it answered the question about why he was here. He was here to see me.

“Shouldn’t you get back onstage?” I knew he was a werewolf, but now that I was up close, there was something different about him. His eyes were flat, emotionless.

“Go out with me,” Boris said. He caught my hand, his gloved fingers pressed hard against mine. Despite the warmth of his hand, I shivered, then jerked my hand away.

“I have a boyfriend,” I said. Technically still true and he was headed our way. From the set of Vaughn’s shoulders, he had seen Boris touching me and did not like it. I wasn’t a fan, either. But I could take care of myself. I gestured to Vaughn to stand down. He knew I could handle myself, and I wasn’t going to be intimidated by another wannabe musician like Boris.

“I don’t care,” he replied.

I stared at him, surprised and uneasy. “The answer is still no,” I said. “Have a good night.” I was not going to take crap from guys anymore, even hot ones.

“I can change your mind.” His jaw jutted out.

“Others have tried,” I said. “And failed.”

“I don’t fail.” He didn’t take his eyes from mine. Great, now he saw me as a challenge.

“You’ll have to excuse me, then. I’d like a moment alone.”

He looked like he was going to argue but finally went back into the bar.

Tonight was supposed to be a way to forget my problems, to relax and have some fun. But my problems had found me. It seemed like they always did.

Vaughn stepped out of the shadows. “Are you okay?”

I glared at him, crossing my arms. “Do you care?”

“Tansy,” Vaughn said. “I missed you.”

“You barely even texted me when you were gone,” I said. “And then you just ghosted.”

“I answered you,” he protested, but his argument was weak, and he knew it.

“A two-word reply is not an answer,” I said. I felt angry tears welling up, but I tried to blink them away.

“I’m sorry I didn’t return your messages,” he said.

“Did you even know I’d be here tonight?” I asked.

“No,” he said.

We hadn’t seen each other in over a month, and he’d been ducking my calls. I turned to leave before I said something I’d regret, but he put out an imploring hand. “Let’s talk about this.”

“Oh, now you want to talk,” I said. “That’s not how you treat a friend.”

“Is that all we are now? Friends?” he replied, looking shocked.

This reunion was not going how I’d imagined it. I still wanted to kiss him, but I kind of wanted to smack him, too.

“I’ll tell you everything,” he said. I melted when he linked his hand in mine. “But first, can I kiss you?”

I nodded.

He cupped my face in his hands, his thumb brushing over the scar on my cheek, another permanent memento from Travis, before he leaned down to kiss me. His lips felt so good that I could barely stand it. I forgot I was mad at him, forgot that I deserved an explanation. He broke the kiss, but I leaned in for more, and he chuckled.

“You did miss me.” He was smiling. I always felt like I had won a prize when Vaughn smiled at me, even back when we’d simply been friends. He hoarded smiles like librarians hoarded books.

But then I remembered I was fuming mad and said, “That makes one of us.”

“You think I didn’t miss you?” he asked.

“You barely responded to my texts,” I said. “I thought you were going to break up with me.”

He sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry. Something happened in Texas. I was just trying to figure out how to deal with it.”

It wasn’t like Vaughn to be dramatic, so I tensed, expecting him to tell me something heartbreaking. Dating while deadly was complicated enough, but when you were a vampire and your boyfriend had spent the summer learning how to be a vampire hunter, “complicated” was an understatement.

“You shut me out,” I said. “You hurt me.”

“I didn’t mean to. You’re the last person I’d ever want to hurt.”

I leaned into Vaughn, and he rubbed my back comfortingly. He buried his face in my neck. “I missed you so much, I felt sick,” he said. He planted tiny nibbling kisses along the curve of my neck. He reached the bite scar, his tongue flicked out, and he licked the slightly raised abrasion.

When our lips met, he showed me how much he had missed me. I ran my hand through his hair. The ends curled, which Vaughn normally ruthlessly controlled with regular haircuts, but he’d clearly been too busy for a visit to the barber when he was gone.

He seemed to realize how our bodies were pressed together and took a step back. Ouch. I had to admit that stung. “Tansy, I’m sorry. As much as I’m enjoying this, I need to talk to you.”

We were both breathing heavily, and I wanted nothing more than to continue our reunion, but he was right. We needed to talk.

“Do you want to get out of here? It’s a perfect night for a moonlit stroll.”

“The moon?” Vaughn glanced up and swore.

“Why are you swearing at the moon?” I asked.

“It’s full,” he said meaningfully, but at first I didn’t get what he was trying to say.

“And a full moon is bad because…” My brain was catching up.

He raised his eyebrows and gave me a meaningful look, but before he could either confirm or deny my suspicions, Vaughn doubled over.

“Find Connor,” he said. “Now! Nobody…else.” His jaw clenched with the effort to control the pain, and sweat beaded his forehead.

I didn’t want to leave him, but I didn’t have any other choice. He was shaking so badly I was worried he was having a seizure.

Vaughn’s gray eyes had turned silver. There was something happening to his lush lips. His sharp jaw elongated.

I ran inside and grabbed Connor’s arm. “Vaughn’s hurt.”

“Xavier,” Connor said.

“Already on it,” he replied.

I didn’t wait to see if they followed me; I just ran back to Vaughn.

Before I could react, there was a wolf—a creature that used to be Vaughn—on the patio, and it had me by the throat. Our eyes met, his black and wild, no trace of my boyfriend. His hand that held me was covered in fur with long, jagged claws. He was standing on two legs, not four, but all traces of human were gone. He didn’t even smell the same.

“Don’t move, Tansy,” Connor said.

“He won’t hurt me,” I said. His hand was wrapped loosely around my neck, not squeezing. Vaughn let out a feral growl.

“You don’t know that,” Connor said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he was inching closer. The moon would be fully out soon.

“I do,” I said. “Vaughn would never hurt me.”

Carefully, I put my hand over Vaughn’s. The hair on his hand felt coarse and wiry. For a moment, his grip tightened. It wasn’t painful, but I kept my eyes on his, and gradually, his eyes returned to their normal gray. He didn’t shift back completely, but he was returning to his human form, just with more hair and a lot more attitude.

“We need to get him to the hospital,” I said.

Connor shook his head. “Xavier is on his way. He just went to get the first-aid kit.”

“We need a real doctor,” I said. “Not just a med student.”

“We can’t take him to a doctor,” Connor said. “Pack law. And besides,” he continued, “if you take him to a non-supe doctor, they might do more harm than good. He just needs to make it through the first shift.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Keep up, Tansy,” Connor said. “Vaughn was bitten by a rogue werewolf.”

“A werewolf bit Vaughn?” I asked. Cold dread settled in my stomach. “What does that mean?”

Connor kept his eyes focused on Vaughn. “In Texas. Vaughn didn’t say anything to you?”

I shook my head. “He hasn’t exactly been chatty.” My eyes narrowed as I realized something. Connor seemed unusually calm about the whole thing. “Why are you so unfazed?”

“Xavier is pre-med,” Connor said. “He’ll take care of Vaughn.”

“What’s taking him so long?” I replied.

Long minutes later, Xavier jogged to the patio, clutching an oversize first-aid kit. Skyler followed on his heels.

“I thought I told you not to let anyone else know,” Connor said.

“Like I could stop her,” Xavier replied. He turned his attention to Vaughn.

“Lucas is blocking the door,” Skyler said. “What’s going on?”

“Vaughn is going through his first shift,” Connor said. His tone was bleak, his eyes black with repressed emotion. “Some werewolves don’t make it through.”

“Connor,” Skyler said. “He’s one of your best friends. You can’t let him die.”

“He’s not going to die,” Connor said.

“And you know that for sure how?” I said, panic and disbelief seething behind my words.

“We’ll take care of him,” Connor argued.

“He didn’t tell me,” I said. “A rogue werewolf bit my boyfriend, and he didn’t tell me. Why would I be angry?” Connor looked away as Vaughn screamed and then went limp. “What’s he doing to him?” I tried to keep my voice from trembling, but I could barely get out the words.

Vaughn started to pant, and then a low, feral growl came from his throat. There was the sound of crunching bones, flesh ripping and tearing.

“He’s helping him,” Connor assured me. “The flesh will re-form.”

“Xavier is helping him shift,” I said accusingly.

He studied my face. “Yes.”

“How did this happen?”

“Vaughn made a mistake,” Connor snapped. “Haven’t you ever made a mistake?”

My anger faded. “You’re right.”

“A bite doesn’t always turn someone,” Connor explained. But it did this time because Vaughn started to howl, and when I looked over at him, his face was covered in fur.

“How do you know so much about werewolf shifts?” I asked him, but I was pretty sure I knew the answer anyway. There was a reason Vaughn had turned to Connor for help.

Connor ignored the question. “Skyler, you and Tansy need to stay out of the way.” He kept his attention on Vaughn.

Panic sweat oozed from my body, and I felt my fangs descend.

“Jesus, get her out of here,” Connor said. “I can’t deal with her vamping out when my best friend is going through his first shift.”

His words cut through my growing bloodlust, and I snapped back into my body. I’d been thinking about blood while my boyfriend lay in agony.

My fangs retracted, and I took some deep, slow breaths until I was calm again.

The calm didn’t last. Vaughn let out a terrible howl, and then his whole body shuddered. He fought Xavier’s hold.

“Connor, I need your help,” Xavier said. “He’s too strong. I can’t hold him without shifting.”

I was focused on Vaughn. He sounded like he was in pain. When I glanced at Connor, he was gone, and a werewolf stood before me. Connor’s eyes peered out at me from the body of a creature of myth, a creature of the hidden world.

Just like my boyfriend.