by KT Strange
Milen smiled at me, tucking her long hair behind one ear, and the tiny ceramic succulents in each ear were just visible. Definitely hipster-goth. I didn’t even know what kind of music she played, although I was guessing she was a solo artist.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, her voice delicately accented. Right, British. Now that I was closer to her, she definitely had violet eyes. I shook her hand, and glanced at Willa, who was smiling like an excited mother at a soccer game who’s realized she brought the most Pinterest-worthy potluck dish to lunch.
“Is it just Milen?” I asked. The girl nodded.
“Professionally, anyway, it’s French, for my mother,” she explained even though I didn’t ask, with a shrug of one curvy shoulder. She smiled at me and I was disarmed again. She was so pretty it was almost unfair.
“Well you two are hitting it off, that’s great,” Willa edged toward the door. I shot her a glare. No way was she just ditching me with a brand new project and no direction. She’d sorta done that with me and Phoenixcry, and I’d ended up sleeping with and bonded to half the pack. Not that I thought I’d fall on Milen or something, in a fit of passion, because girls weren’t my thing and I was in what I guess was a healthy-ish polyamorous relationship with a bunch of wolves. I needed more guidance.
“Hang on,” I said, and Milen’s lips twitched. “What do you need me to do…” I gestured at Milen who laughed. Even her laugh was musical. It wasn’t often that I felt unattractive, not with a pack of werewolves chasing me around a tour bus on the regular, but still. Some people were just out-of-this-world pretty.
“Oh, sorry, so, Milen’s here for a few weeks, and she needs someone to show her around town, and also go with her to label showcases we’re putting on for the big agencies,” Willa said. Milen coughed, behind me.
I swallowed hard. Willa needed to know that I was probably going to want to take a bit of time off. She didn’t need to know why, exactly, and I hadn’t had time to call my professor.
Because I was too busy screwing half of my assignment to call.
“You’ll have a transportation allowance,” Willa assured me, totally reading my hesitation in the wrong way.
“I don’t bite,” Milen offered, and I glanced her. Her smile was friendly, and she did seem kinda nice. But the responsibility right then and there was too much. I couldn’t turn it down without a good reason though, and Willa was edging to the door again.
“I’ve got a conference call,” she said, apologetically, “go get some petty cash out and why don’t you two go for coffee? Get to know each other.” With that she was gone. Milen gave me a furtive smile.
“I know you’ve just been dumped with me,” she said as I turned back to her.
“Oh, no, that’s not it—”
“No, really, it’s okay,” Milen said, pushing her hair behind her ears again. She sighed, the sound resigned. “I don’t think they know what to do with me. My label back home, well, the guy who signed me got the sack, and then the label head said he didn’t ‘believe in the package’, if you know what I mean?” She bit her lip, eyes sliding sideways.
“I’m sorry, that is awful, but what package? Like, the CD packaging?” I frowned. Milen gave a soft, sad little laugh.
“No, he meant me.” She fluttered her fingers at her body. “He said curvy doesn’t sell, and that plus-sized definitely doesn’t sell. When XOhX said they were interested in working with me in the US market, I jumped on it because I knew they’d probably do more for me than SoDa. At least it was a fresh start, right?”
Seriously? Her pained smile, her desire to put a positive spin on a shitty situation was just more infuriating. Sure Troy, our label head, was kind of a dick to get business done, and he’d leveled a few inappropriate glances at my chest from time to time, but he had a few plus sized girls on his roster and I hadn’t heard any rumor that he didn’t think they were worth pushing. Definitely no one ever said anything like them not believing in the ‘package’ that an artist presented.
“Did you tell Willa that, what SoDa’s head said?” My voice was quiet, and Milen looked taken aback.
“N-no, you know how things are, I’m just grateful to have this chance, really.” Her lips pressed together in what was an attempt at a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I don’t even know why I told you—”
“It’s okay, if you don’t want her to know, I’m not going to say anything,” I assured her. “Let’s go get a coffee, and you can tell me about where you’re from, and what it’s like in England.”
This wasn’t where I needed to be right then. I needed to be back at the jam space, watching over Max, being close with my wolves, and convincing Eli that learning from a vampire wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
But there was an ache in Milen’s voice, and in her eyes. She was so beautiful, and I had no idea how anyone at a label could ever tell her that she wouldn’t sell records as a plus-sized artist. She hesitated at the door, uncertainty in her violet eyes.
“Hey,” I said, giving her the bravest smile I could. I’d faced down hunters. I could handle an artist and her self-esteem issue. “There’s a million girls, more than that, in this country, hoping that someone just like them is going to have a song come on the radio. I haven’t heard you sing yet, but if Troy took you on then I bet you’re amazing. So I believe in the package, okay? Once Willa gets off her call, we’ll talk to her, alright?”
Milen’s eyes burnt bright and she nodded.
“Thanks, Darcy,” she whispered. My heart was torn in two. I didn’t owe this girl anything, but I knew what it was like to be the odd person out, to not fit and to not be wanted by people who should have cared for you. I could manage helping her acclimatize to the music scene here, get her ready for her showcases, learn to control my magic, and keep Max and the pack safe, right?
Six
Charlie
Darcy was quiet when we left the label, her expression thoughtful. My emotions were more aggressive, threatening to burst through to the surface and never mind that I needed to be on my best behavior. Something was going on at the label, and I needed to report back to Elias, not pop off at Willa in the middle of XOhX’s offices.
“You okay?” Darcy’s fingers traced along the line of my arm as I pulled up in front of the jam space. The long, low industrial building was home and I felt better for being there. I ignored the mark of the fire on the cement just outside our parking lot. That was a problem for another second. Right now, Darcy had my focus.
“I’m good,” I lied easily, until I turned to look at her. The blue shades of her eyes were intense, her thick lashes low as she narrowed a glare at me that told me she knew exactly what I was thinking and feeling. “I don’t like it,” I said after a moment of hesitation.
“I’m going to figure it out,” she promised me. “Troy can’t treat you guys like shit just because you bailed on the tour with Glory Rev.”
“Well, he can,” I said, discomforting crawling up my throat. “He could shelve us. Not put any money into our promo beyond what is in the contract, and what’s written down is barely anything… like, some merch production, not even a radio tracker.”
Her eyes widened for a moment.
“You guys didn’t negotiate for that?”
“We were in a tight spot. It was take the deal or not. They were on a signing binge at the label, and there were a hundred and fifty other bands that would have taken the contract, whatever the terms offered. We’ve been getting the extras because Troy liked us, and then, I think, cause we started to do so well.” I smiled at her. “Mostly ‘cause of you.”
There was a pretty flush of pink in her cheeks. I wanted to put that there again. I wanted her to always look like that, like she was on the cusp of a mind-bending orgasm, or hearing something sweet from my mouth.
“Oh, whatever, it was easy—”
“Nothing about managing us was easy for you, Darce.” I reached over. I could almost hear the faint pulse of her heartbeat, and k
new if I put my fingers to her throat I would feel it there, flickering right under her skin. The desire to push her up against the back of her seat was burning inside of me, to get my hands on her and kiss her until she was panting into my mouth.
I held back.
“Maybe not,” she agreed, glancing out the windshield. “But I love it. I actually—” she paused and cleared her throat. “They’re assigning me to another act.”
“What?” The bottom dropped out of my stomach. “Who is he?” My words must’ve come out more possessive than I’d meant because she leveled me with a glare that would have flattened a building.
“It’s a girl, idiot, and even if it wasn’t, or if I swung that way too, you really don’t have any place to take that tone with me,” she said, each syllable clipped and irritated. I let out a slow breath to calm myself.
“Sorry, I just pictured another Jake,” I explained.
“If it was, I could handle it,” she said, then took pity on me, patting my hand gently. “I know you can’t help it.”
“Well I should learn to help it. Didn’t mean to go all grrr-argh right then,” I said. I hadn’t meant it. Maybe Elias was all grouches and growls, same with Cash, but that wasn’t my style. I knew our girl was ours. She didn’t look twice at other guys. I was being an ass. Darcy squirmed in her seat.
“It’s not all bad,” she finally admitted after a minute. “Sometimes a girl likes to be fought for.”
“Oh really?” I raised an eyebrow at her. A smile was threatening her stern expression and she finally burst into laughter.
“Well, yeah! But only a little bit. No telling me where I can go or who I can be friends with. I wouldn’t do that to you and I’m not into some guy controlling my every move. And with five of you? I’d murder you all. Probably.” She was still smiling despite her words. I laced my fingers through hers and lifted her hand to my mouth, kissing the back of it.
“I promise I will only ever be the right amount of possessive and I will back off when you need your space.” Her eyes lit up and I knew I said the exactly right thing.
Finn wasn’t the only smooth bastard in the pack.
“C’mon,” she said, tugging away from me. “I want to check on Max. She’s not answering her messages.”
The scene we walked in on told us why.
“I’m going the fuck home!” Max, a few inches shorter than Ace, had the youngest wolf in our pack backed up against the door so close that we nearly hit him with it when we walked in.
Ace shot me a wild, panicked look.
“Where’s the rest of the pack?” I asked as Darcy frowned, stepping up next to Max.
“They went out,” Ace said.
“Yeah, leaving me here with the freshman and telling him not to let me go back to the dorm,” Max growled, doing a pretty good impression of Eli on his bad days. Ace ran a hand through his hair, his hand trembling.
“We just didn’t want you to get hurt, or—” he tried to speak but she cut him off.
“I haven’t set anything on fire in an hour,” Max bit out the words.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Darcy said, reaching a hand out to her friend’s shoulder. “Calm down, please? We’ll talk about it.”
Max shot a vicious look at Ace that he probably didn’t deserve, and stormed toward the couches, sinking down on one, her arms crossed. Darcy glanced at me, expression troubled, and followed her friend.
“I’m sorry,” Ace whisper-hissed to me. “But Cash and Eli told me not to let her go anywhere, and I didn’t want her to walk out of here and end up dead.”
“It’s okay. Let’s just all work on communicating better. They shouldn’t have left you like that. I’ll talk to them about it later,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “You kept her safe.” Ace’s lower lashes looked wet from unshed tears. “What’s wrong?” I gentled my tone. Sometimes he needed a little extra coddling, and I had no problem giving it. We were closest in age, and he was like my brother, even more so than the rest of the pack.
“It’s just… it feels right, having her here. Our own phoenix. We have our mate, and now a real phoenix? It doesn’t feel like it should be real. My mom would have been so excited, right?” Ace’s voice was husky and he blinked a few times before he looked away.
“I get it,” I said, my own voice low too. I wrapped an arm around him and pulled him in for a tight hug. He let out a shuddering breath. “It’s the closest thing we’ve ever had to it being home, right?”
“Yeah, it is,” he said, tone soft. “This is how it’s supposed to be. Except you know, more wolves and their mates with them, that kind of thing.”
I pressed my temple to his, hugging him tighter.
“One day,” I promised him. “We’ll have that again one day, with more puppies running around, making you feel old.” Ace laughed and pulled away from me. I glanced over to Max and Darcy.
Max’s arms weren’t crossed over her chest anymore, and instead she was staring down at her hands, a frown on her face. Darcy was talking low and fast, I almost couldn’t make out what she was saying. I nudged Ace and nodded at the two girls. His gaze cut to the door and he leaned against it. I left him there, shoving my hands in my pockets.
“So,” I started as both girls lifted their chins to look at me on my approach.
“I’m not a prisoner, and I do need to go home,” Max said, peeking at Darcy for a second before looking back at me. “But I get it. I’m not mad at Ace, and I know that I’m a danger to myself and, also, there’s someone out there looking to hurt me. Maybe. Probably.”
Darcy coughed.
“Well, we’re assuming, but yeah, I think considering that guy stabbed you, it’s a pretty good indication that someone is trying to hurt you,” she said, reaching over to take Max’s hand and squeezed it. “But you do need to go home and get back to your life. We just need to figure out how to do that and keep you safe at the same time.”
Footsteps shuffled over the floor behind me. Ace came to stand next to me.
“What I don’t get is the guy could’ve done that right outside your dorm, or attacked you along the whole route. Why wait until dropping you off?” Ace shifted his weight from leg to leg as he spoke. Max and Darcy exchanged looks that rode the line between confusion and worry.
The door to the jam space slammed open. I jerked and looked over my shoulder. Cash led the pack, Elias and Finn right behind him, twins with murderous glares on their faces.
“We did a little recon,” Eli said. Darcy sat forward; Max’s fingers clamping together as the guys joined us in the sitting area. Even Finn was angry, his usual grin wiped from his mouth.
“Hunters are staking out your dorm, ladies,” Cash said. Max went white, and Darcy reached for her, wrapping a hand around Max’s wrist. Whether she was steadying herself or comforting her friend, I had no idea.
Ace looked grim.
“I’m guessing that the guy Max fried was a hunter, then,” he said. Eli grunted and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Looks like it, but right now, it’s not safe for any of us to go near campus. I’m guessing they’ve got your classes covered too.”
“Are they looking for Max though?” Darcy’s eyes cut from Eli to Cash then to Finn. She gazed at Max and wrapped her best friend up in a tight embrace. “Or me?”
“Guessing Max. How they know about her…” Cash’s words trailed off and he spread his hands. Max looked lost, and she turned her head to bury it in Darcy’s hair, hugging her friend back. Her shoulders hitched like she was crying.
“You okay, Max?” Ace asked, stepping forward to sit down next to her, sandwiching her between him and Darcy. Max let out a shaky breath and lifted her head for a moment. Her expression was thoughtful, and distant.
“I’m angry. I wanna show them exactly who they’re messing with,” she said, looking down at her fingers. She spread them wide, a frown tugging down the corners of her mouth. Her lips parted and, in the next moment, her finger-tips lit up, tiny flamelets dancing
there. They wavered, grew. Darcy pulled away, so did Ace.
Even I could feel the heat on my face. Max clenched her hands into fists, the flames extinguishing. She fell back against the couch cushions with a sigh.
“Fuck, I don’t… I don’t think I could do that again without flaring up completely,” she admitted. “I don’t have any control over it. I feel like it’s fighting me.”
“I know how that feels,” Darcy said, her voice weary. “Maybe don’t do that when I’m a few inches from you, until, y’know, you know you’re not going to explode me or something. Or spontaneously combust.”
Max shot her a hurt look but sighed.
“You’re right. I’m sorry, I just, I’m really angry at these assholes.”
Eli rolled his eyes so hard it was almost audible.
“Join the club, sweetheart,” he said. Max’s chin snapped up, her eyebrows pulling tight until a crease appeared between them. Finn growled and shoved him.
“Don’t be an ass.”
“Alright,” Cash interrupted with a quelling look at the twins. “So what’s the plan then?”
“I need to go to class, my internship, everything,” Max said. “I’m not going to live like I’m afraid. My dad’s a cop for fucks sake. I’ll tell him that… I’ve got a stalker or something. He’ll pull some strings, get some uniforms on me.” She shrugged one shoulder. “He did it when he was really pissed at Craig once…” she bit her lip and exhaled. “But I’m going home. At least to get some clothes.”
