by Quinn Loftis
“I think it’s a side effect of leaving the plane of the living. Brain cells die in the transition from death back to life and there’s just no repairing them.”
“With that said” —Vasile clapped his hands together and his voice rose to force the attention to himself— “Wadim and Peri will gather information and we will meet back here in twenty-four hours.”
“Twenty-four hours?” Wadim asked, eyes as wide as saucers.
“I have no doubt you can handle it,” Vasile assured the younger wolf and patted him on the shoulder. Peri didn’t see any consolation in Wadim’s face. Twenty-four hours certainly wasn’t much time, but time was of the essence. Setting unrealistic deadlines would get peoples’ butts in high gear and that’s exactly what they needed, Peri thought. High. Freaking. Gear.
“We’re also going to get everyone back into their own dens. Romania pack members need to be back here,” Vasile continued. “Decebel?”He looked at the other Alpha.
“I agree,” Decebel nodded. “Now that Jacque and Fane are better, we can all get moved back into our respective homes.” Jen started to say something but her mate held up a finger. “You can visit her anytime you want. Playdates and all that.”
“When you say playdates, it doesn’t sound near as kid-friendly as when Jacque says playdates,” Jen grinned.
Jacque groaned. “By all means, get me back to my own bedroom and away from the sex fiend.”
“It takes one to know one,” Jen cooed.
Peri rolled her eyes. “The next time their lives are in peril and I have some grand plan to swoop in and rescue them, someone remind me of this moment.”
“And all the other ones when they’ve been annoying?” Wadim asked. “I have a record of them.”
“Ha, ha, history boy,” Jen said dryly. “You might want to sleep with one eye open.”
“Already do,” Wadim said absently as he typed away on his keyboard. “I’ve been dragged out of bed too many times by Peri to sleep with both of them closed.”
Peri glanced over to Vasile. “I’m going to go visit my mate while everyone gets themselves situated back in their own quarters, and then I’m going to take care of getting more info on our new wolves. You have fun with that.” She pointed to the group. Jacque was batting Jen’s hand away from Wadim’s head while Decebel pried Thia from his mate’s free arm while at the same time telling her to keep her hands off of other males.
Vasile glanced at his mate, who had an amused expression on her face, and then back to Peri. “Thanks,” he muttered.
Peri bowed theatrically. “I aim to please, Alpha.” She gave another bow to Alina and then flashed from the room.
Chapter 8
“Even though I am moving, I feel that time is standing still. Tucked away in these rooms with Drake where nothing and no one can touch us, everything else has simply ceased to exist.” ~Bethany
Bethany watched Drake as he made them each a turkey sandwich. Over the past few days of living with him, she’d began to notice that his movements were always precise and deliberate. He didn’t allow himself to lose control in any capacity, even over the subtlest shift of weight. She wondered if it was because of the way his previous Alpha treated him. Bethany had wanted to ask, but at the same time, she didn’t want to pry into his personal life.
“My personal life is your business.” His voice drifted from the kitchen island to the bar where she sat resting her elbows on the counter. “You have every right to know anything you want to about me.” He turned to face her, a plate in each hand. His eyes were intense and gentle all at the same time.
She watched him as he walked over to her, his steps smooth and confident. He placed one plate down in front of her and the other in front of an empty barstool next to her. Then he grabbed them both a bottled water from the fridge.
“Losing control is a dangerous thing for any male of my species. My previous Alpha is a testament to that,” he began. Drake motioned to her sandwich. Bethany picked it up and took a bite as he continued to talk. “But it’s especially dangerous for an unmated male.”
“Because of the darkness?” she asked in between bites.
Drake took a swig of his water as he nodded. “Sounds cliché doesn’t it?”
She shook her head quickly. “No. No, not at all. Everyone has darkness.” She set the sandwich down and dusted the crumbs from her hands. “I’ve lived with darkness for a very long time, Drake. And in that time I’ve realized that it isn’t only the monsters that have the darkness within them. We all have a touch of darkness in us. How could we not? Without the darkness, we wouldn’t recognize the light.”
A small smile tugged at his lips. “So you think there is light in me as well?”
Bethany nodded. “It’s there, whether you see it or not.” Their eyes met and she felt her heartbeat speed up. It wasn’t the first time that she’d felt herself respond to him on a level that she didn’t understand. For the most part, Drake made her feel every bit his equal. But then there were instances like this one when her heartbeat would pick up, her palms would begin to sweat, and her chest would tighten. It was in those instances that she felt completely out of her league.
As their day continued on, they talked in little spurts about anything and everything. Drake filled her in on current events, as well as important past events that had happened while she’d been imprisoned underground. At one point, he even got out his laptop and started pulling up pictures of the World Trade Center towers and told her all that had happened in New York City the very year she’d been snatched. Bethany had missed so much by being tucked away by the vampires. Who knew how much the world could change in eleven years?
By the time the sunlight was fading, Bethany’s head was hurting and it felt as though it might explode from all the new information she was absorbing, and her stomach was beginning to hurt right along with it. She pressed a hand to her lower abdomen and cringed.
“You okay?” Drake asked as he placed a hand on her leg.
She nodded. “Just have a stomach ache.”
“Perhaps, it’s time we get some rest?” Drake suggested.
Bethany stood up from the couch where they’d been sitting for the past several hours. She put her hands over her head and stretched up onto her toes. Drake watched her in that intense way of his, and she found that she liked it when his eyes followed her movements.
“I’m going to take a bath, if that’s all right?” she asked, thinking that a good soak might make her stomach feel better. A knock at the door interrupted Drake’s response. Instinctively, Bethany took a step toward the door. Her hand was reaching for the door handle when a strong arm came around her waist and smoothly moved her behind an equally strong body. Drake’s movements were so quiet that she hadn’t even heard him behind her.
The knock came again and he growled in clear irritation.
“Do not growl at me you mangy, ticking time bomb. Open this door. We’ve got business.” Jen’s voice came through the door practically slapping them both in the face.
Drake glanced over his shoulder at her and Bethany shrugged and then mouthed “open it.”
Drake let out another growl as he snatched the handle and jerked the door open. Jen strode into the room as seamlessly as if she’d been the one to open the door.
“Bethany,” —she nodded to her— “good to see he hasn’t eaten you.” Jen looked over at Drake. “Your Alpha wants to see you in his office.”
Drake looked from Jen to Bethany and back again. Bethany could tell that he didn’t want to leave her alone, but she could also tell that Jen wasn’t feeling gracious and her patience was about gone. She walked over to Drake and placed a hand on his chest, just over his heart. Then she used the bond that she was still getting used to. “I’ll be fine. You go do what you need to, and I’ll be here when you return.”
Drake stared down at her for several seconds before finally wrapping his large hand around the back of her neck and pulling her to him. He pressed his lips to her f
orehead and then she felt his breath blow out over her. She shivered under the sensation.
“I’ll be back soon,” Drake murmured and then turned on his heel, exiting the room and closing the door sharply behind him.
Bethany looked at Jen and she opened her mouth to ask a question but Jen held up a finger to stop her. Bethany snapped her mouth shut and waited. After a few minutes the Alpha female let out a sigh and sank down onto the couch. “Good grief, I didn’t think he’d ever get out of earshot.” Jen rubbed her hands together and looked up at Bethany. “Now, tell me how things are going. Do you have any questions? You’re looking a little tired. Is he letting you rest? I’ll skin him alive if he’s not giving you time to rest.” Jen’s words poured out of her faster than Bethany could answer so she waited until she was sure nothing more was going to be said before she finally spoke.
“I’m fine,” the young girl responded. “Tired, but not because Drake isn’t letting me sleep. Still trying to get my days and nights worked out, or at least that’s what Drake says must be happening. Since I was underground for so long, my body had lost all sense of…circadian rhythm, I think that’s what Drake called it.”
Jen’s mouth opened in an ‘O’ movement, but she didn’t say anything.
“As for questions, well, Drake’s been answering anything I ask.”
“What about girl questions?” Jen interjected.
Bethany’s head tilted. “Girl questions?”
“Yep,” Jen said, making the ‘p’ pop. “You know, questions that you might not feel comfortable asking Drake.”
“I haven’t,” Bethany started to answer but then paused. There had been some things that she didn’t understand but hadn’t known how to bring them up to Drake. Her stomach cramped again, reminding her of the bath she had been wanting to take. So instead of diving into those concerns she said, “My stomach is hurting and I was just about to take a bath before you got here. Do you mind giving me a few minutes?”
Jen shook her head. “Chick, it’s your place. Do your thing. Do what you need. I’m not saying I won’t talk to you through the door, but by all means, soak that tummy ache away.”
Bethany grinned. She liked Jen, even if she was a little bit much to take in. “Oh, and by the way,” Bethany said as she walked into the bedroom and pulled out one of the drawers of the dresser. “Thank you for sending me clothes.” She grabbed a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, bra, and panties and then headed for the bathroom. As soon as she shut the door, she heard Jen’s voice on the other side.
“So, have you and grumpy-butt kissed yet?”
Drake’s hand was about to knock on the door to his Alpha’s office when he heard her voice in his mind.
“I’m going to take that bath I mentioned earlier so don’t worry when I, uh…”
He smiled. “Don’t freak out when you close the bond?” he offered.
“Yes, exactly. Don’t freak out.”
“How is your stomach?” Drake asked quickly before she could shut him out.
“Still hurting, but I’ll live.”
He felt her slip away from him, but not completely. She was still there, within his reach, and it brought him a level of comfort that he never thought he’d have. Drake focused back on the door in front of him and gave it two hard knocks and then waited.
The door opened and Decebel stood on the other side looking back at him.
“Drake.” Decebel’s deep voice vibrated as he stepped to the side to let him in.
“Alpha,” Drake said and bared his neck briefly.
They both stood staring at one another, as if waiting for the other to act.
“Did you need something?” Decebel finally asked after several minutes of silence.
“Your mate told me that you wanted to see me,” Drake answered as an uneasy feeling began to grow in his stomach.
“Did she now?” Decebel asked, a sly smile forming on his lips.
“You didn’t ask to see me, did you?”
His Alpha chuckled. “I believe the conversation went something like this. ‘Dec, I’m going to go check on Bethany and make sure Drake hasn’t scared her half to death. Don’t you think you should check on Drake?’ I answered with, ‘Drake will come find me when he’s ready. Why don’t we leave them be for now.’ And then she countered with, ‘Okay, I’m going to go check on Bethany now and you are going to talk to Drake.’ ”
“Do all your conversations end with your mate doing whatever she wants?” Drake grumbled.
Decebel laughed. “You just wait, my brother. Your female will have you wrapped around her little finger and before you know it you will be building doghouses for dogs you don’t even own.”
Drake chuckled. “Not every female is as high maintenance as yours, Dec, no offense.”
“True, but I don’t think there is anything such as a low maintenance female she-wolf.” Decebel walked over to a cabinet and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of amber liquid. “Since you’re here and my female has managed to manipulate us both, why not have a drink and fill me in on how things are going?”
Drake wanted to get back to Bethany, but then again she was taking a bath and it wasn’t like she was going to let him assist with that. Maybe one day. He quickly shook his head. He couldn’t think like that. He was already incredibly attracted to her simply because she was his mate, not to mention that she was beautiful and kind.
“You have that look,” Decebel said as he held out a half-filled glass to Drake.
“What look?”
“The look that a wolf gets when he’s found his mate.” Decebel met his eyes. Drake knew his Alpha understood what he was going through.
“How do you keep from claiming what’s yours?” Drake finally asked. And that was when the dam broke. “I’ve waited for her for so long and now there she is and yet I can’t touch her. She’s a grown woman but damn, Alpha, she’s a child in many ways too. And then my wolf is going crazy over the fact that she’s been in danger all these years, being treated like a damn juice box! She’s my mate. No one should have ever touched her in any way.” Drake’s voice broke. He slammed the glass down on the end table by the couch and began to pace. His fingers ran restlessly through his hair and his chest felt as though a ton of bricks had descended upon it. “On the outside I’m calm. But inside I’m going crazy.” He rubbed his hands down his face and his pacing increased. “I want to give her space and yet at the same time I want to hold her and never let her go. Being near her is torture, but so is being away from her. I’m so scared I’m going to frighten her by being too forward. I feel like I’m going to screw things up before they even have a chance.” By the time all of the words had poured out of him, Drake was leaning on his hands against the wall, his head bent and his shoulders heaving.
“It nearly drove me crazy when I met Jennifer.” His Alpha’s voice broke through the sharp silence. “I knew she was my mate, and yet there were no mating signs. My wolf was snarling inside of me to take her, to claim her, to mark her, but I couldn’t. She drove me crazy. I was terrified of what having her meant and yet terrified of losing her as well.”
“Does it ever get easier?” Drake asked.
Decebel laughed. “If it does I’ll let you know, but so far, no, it definitely hasn’t gotten easier.”
Drake was lost in his own thoughts when the scream came. His head snapped up and on the second scream he was on his feet running without a second thought.
“Jen is with her, Drake. She isn’t alone.” Drake heard Decebel’s voice somewhere behind him along with the Alpha’s footsteps. He knew that Bethany wasn’t alone, but that didn’t stop his driving need to get to her and make sure that she was alright. Her scream and the fear he felt through their bond was like the crack of a whip against his flesh that only pushed him harder. Drake could feel her heartbeat racing, or maybe it was his? He wasn’t sure. Their emotions were so intermingled that he couldn’t tell where hers started and his ended. The only difference was the amount of fear rolling off of her
. Even when he’d been crouched over her as a snarling wolf, the fear coming from Bethany hadn’t been this potent. Whatever it was, it wasn’t just scaring her; it was terrifying.
Jen glanced at the closed door and then resumed her pacing. Bethany had been in there for about twenty minutes and, though she’d been pelleting the young girl with questions, Bethany just wouldn’t crack. Jen knew she had to be dying to ask questions about Drake and the whole mated to a werewolf thing, but no matter how many openings she gave the new she-wolf to speak up, Bethany didn’t take the bait. “Time to get serious,” Jen muttered. “So, Bethany,” she called through the door.
“Hmm?” came the reply.
“Do you like Drake? I mean not just like as in hey how’s it hanging, caught any good fish lately kind of like. I mean does he make your kitten purr?” Jen paused as she thought about how that sounded and then grinned to herself. Jacque and Sally would have totally appreciated that one. “I mean, do you—” Jen’s words were cut off by a toe curling scream. Okay, so either Bethany really doesn’t like Drake or something was terribly wrong.
“Bethany!” Jen banged on the door. “Are you okay?” She hated to ask such a dumbass question. The girl had just screamed as though she’d been thrown out of a window thirty stories high. Of course, she wasn’t okay. “Bethany unlock this door, now!” Jen tried the door handle but it was still stubbornly locked. The scream had subsided and now Jen heard only sobs and unintelligible words, but the younger girl still sounded quite hysterical.
“Please let me in. Beth, let me help,” Jen pleaded with her. “What’s wrong?” Still no answer, just more tears and strained breathing. “You do realize that at any moment that mate of yours is going to break down this door right? Are you dressed? Bethany, please answer me!” Jen put some power behind her words.
“Drake,” Bethany finally said something that Jen could understand. “Where’s Drake?”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in first?” Jen asked, thinking that perhaps the girl was in shock, not realizing what she was saying.