by Heather Karn
Raven paused mid reverse as he backed the truck into the garage to stare at me. “A list, huh?”
“There is no list,” I retorted, rolling my eyes and wishing Lee had kept his mouth shut. He was more like Luella, dating anyone of the opposite sex, no matter who they were. “When I date someone, I want them to have more than two brain cells, and the brain below the belt doesn’t count.”
Avery barked out a laugh, half choking on the water he’d been drinking from a bottle. Even Raven snickered.
“I’ll accept that as a valid reason,” Raven announced, smiling wide enough for his mini fangs to show. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to drop my sun visor to check if I had fangs, or rather, larger canines. Luck was on my side and Raved distracted me from my thoughts. “Let me ask you this: if they have more than two brain cells, what else stops you from dating them?”
“Whether or not they can hold a conversation, and about more than sports. How big his ego is. If he can make me laugh. What his temper is like. Stuff like that.”
Raven tapped the steering wheel. “You know, some of that stuff you find out on a date.”
“Yeah, but the important things I can also pick up ahead of time. Also, it helps to be attracted to them, and there hasn’t often been much attraction.”
“Because our kind are mostly drawn to humans and vamlures. I don’t know if any vamlure has ever been drawn to a shifter or magic user. So, your choices were limited to begin with.”
That wasn’t comforting. It also didn’t help my chances that most of those surrounding me were off limits. Not that I was ready to start dating and settling down. With training and learning my Elite duties, there wasn’t time for that distraction.
“I guess maybe I should tell you I’ve got a date for the Ball,” Avery announced, opening his door like he was making ready for a quick escape.
Raven lifted his head to stare over his shoulder at his friend. “Really? When did that happen?”
“Two weeks ago when I had to take that trip to headquarters. I ran into a tigress, and the two of us talked for a few hours since her shift was ending.”
Swinging his door open, Raven climbed out and the rest of us followed. “Yeah, I remember that day. You were late and I couldn’t figure out why. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Avery shrugged as we all met in front of the truck. “We’ve been texting back and forth, and I only asked her last night. You’ve been far too grumpy to talk to, so I decided to wait. I guess you’re going stag solo.”
“Please tell me you didn’t ask her to the dance via text,” I grumbled. “Because that is so lame.”
“No, I called her.” Avery shook his head and watched Luella park a few stalls down. “Don’t tell Luella. She’ll grill me for more info than I’m willing to give out if she finds out I have a date.”
“We won’t say a word,” Lee and I responded together. “Oh, and do the dates have to be Elite?”
“No, but they have to have a background check done.”
Raven checked the time on his cell phone. “We still have a full night ahead of us. Let’s pray no more weres break out of quarantine tonight.”
“Wait, they broke out of the holding facility?” I asked, shocked that such a thing was possible. Once inside, there should have been no way for them to break loose.
“Yes, but I don’t believe for a minute that it was innocent. Either someone let them loose or their animal side was more conniving than the normal were. If those options turn out to be true, then we have big problems. I’m calling General Davis in the morning to discuss it with him.”
“Shouldn’t you call tonight?” Shannon asked as the rest joined us. Jackson was in wolf form, and I was reminded of how huge he was when he rubbed his gray and black furry head against my hip, requesting I pet him. So, I did, rubbing his shoulders and behind his ears.
When Raven growled, Jackson broke away and winked at me. “He’s asked not to be bothered tonight. Family business.”
The general had a family? He didn’t seem the family man type. Then again, I was judging on first impressions, and my first impression hadn’t been a good one.
“Okay, let’s stop congregating out here when there’s a perfectly nice house right there, and better privacy,” Shannon quipped. “Oh, Raven, did you tell Koda about tomorrow?”
“He did,” I responded, giving the women a wide smile. “I can’t wait.”
“Good.” Luella slung an arm around my shoulders. “You need a day on the town, and technically so do we, so you’re joining us for a girl’s day.”
By the time we reached the foyer, my head was throbbing again. The lit room was murder on my eyes, and they watered uncontrollably until I had to stop and wipe them so I could see where I was going. Someone took me by the elbow, leading me in the direction of the stairs.
“I’ll help you,” Raven murmured, his voice soft and gentle.
When we reached the staircase, the glare of the light on my unshed tears brought on another wave of tears until I couldn’t open my eyes at all. True to his word, Raven assisted me, telling me when to step and guiding me.
“That was the last step, and you can open your eyes.”
Shaking my head, I wiped at the moisture on my cheeks. “If it’s all the same, I’d rather keep them closed until I reach my room where it’s dark.”
“It is dark,” Raven countered, his words surprising me into opening my eyes. “See? I texted Avery after we ordered our ice cream to turn the lights off down here when I smelled that you carried my blood in your purse, just in case.”
“You smelled the blood I carried?”
“Yes. You’ll find your sense of smell zeros in on blood now, especially if you’re thirsty or the blood has been extracted from a body. When you’re sated, you won’t be tempted, but if you’re thirsty, the scent will drive you crazy. That’s another reason why you shouldn’t let yourself fast from blood.”
That was a good warning. Now if only I could remember them all.
Taking a deep breath, I stared around the room. Even without much light, since the only light available trailed down the staircase from the foyer above, I could see nearly every detail of the room. It amazed me how much my body had changed within minutes of consuming Raven’s blood.
“I’m not sure going out into the sun tomorrow is such a good idea,” I warned, enjoying the darkness surrounding us far too much.
Raven set a hand on my shoulder and squeezed before nudging me toward the apartment area of our level. “You’ll be using a pair of my sunglasses, and the sooner you reacclimate to normal life, the easier it will be for all of us. If we’re called out, I can’t risk your life if the daylight hurts your eyes and you can’t see. This is now part of your training, and I’ll have Shannon and Luella take you out as much as possible for your eyes and ears to adjust.” He stopped us in front of my bedroom door, one side of his lips lifting in a crooked grin. “For a normal girl, tomorrow would seem like a nice day to get out, but for you, it’s going to be misery. Good night and sleep well.”
He left me at my bedroom door glaring daggers into his back. There went all of my excitement as dread took its place. So much for sleep.
Chapter 20
The sun was shining and the forecast couldn’t look better for the day when we stepped out onto the mansion’s front porch. Well, it could look better for me. While the warmth caressing my skin was delightful, the brightness was killing me, even with Raven’s dark sunglasses shielding my eyes. When Luella pulled up in her bright yellow convertible, I turned on my heel to run inside and lock myself in my room, but ran into Jackson instead.
“They thought you might try to escape, so I’m here to corral you.” He gave me a cheeky grin that only a wolf could pull off before turning me around and steering me to the car, keeping his hands on my shoulders the entire time so I couldn’t veer away.
“You aren’t coming with us, are you?”
Jackson opened the door for me and I slid into the ba
ck. “Keep scooting. Yes, I’m coming with you. I’m going to catch some sleep in the car. Your brother snores loud enough to wake the dead.”
“Tell me about it,” I retorted dryly, moving across the back seat to give him space.
Shannon joined us a few minutes later, taking the front passenger’s seat. For the person with the shortest legs in the car, she had the most leg room. She was also more senior than I was, so I didn’t have a right to challenge her for the seat.
“Let’s hit the road, people,” Luella shouted as we pulled from the driveway and she revved the engine. The sound was almost deafening, but I refused to comment. She knew my senses were on overdrive and was likely doing it on purpose.
“Can I ask a personal question?” I asked Shannon, who turned in her seat to stare at me. The wind blew her hair around her face, so she tucked it behind her ear. From the driver’s seat, I could see Luella’s eyes flicker to keep tabs on the conversation.
“Sure, ask away.”
I looked between Shannon and Jackson. “What exactly is your relationship?”
Jackson snorted. “I’m leaving this one to you, Shan.” With that, he turned away from me to curl his body into as much of a ball as he could with the seat belt restraining him. I wasn’t sure how long it would take him to fall asleep, but once he stopped moving, he didn’t move again.
“Well, it’s complicated,” Shannon giggled, answering my question once Jackson was asleep. “We’ve known each other since high school, and he’s been at my side ever since. We were seniors in college when he bonded himself to me as my familiar. Now he can belong to no one else. Me, I’m still free as a bird, but I can’t do that to him. He’s my best friend, and maybe someday more than that. Until then, he’s bound to protect me and assist with my needs.”
“Gotcha.”
“Speaking of men,” Luella crooned. “What about you and Raven? He sure has mellowed out since you drank his blood.”
“Maybe to you,” I grumbled, remembering Raven’s less than stellar mood this morning, “but to me he’s still the same old Raven.”
“Uh huh. That’s why he can’t keep his eyes off you whenever you aren’t looking.”
He did what?
“He likes my eye color.” My floundering retort only served to give Luella another case of the giggles. Even Shannon snickered.
“I hate to say it, Koda, but Luella has a point. He may have been grumpy this morning, but Raven was more mellow this morning than he has been in the years I’ve known him. What happened between you two yesterday?”
At that moment I wanted nothing more than to rub my hands over my face, but that would mean removing the sunglasses, and there was no way that was happening. I settled for rubbing my forehead instead.
“He explained more about the Blood War and how he’s trying to get me to be an example to the women of our race, and he’s trying to train me to protect myself so that one day I can marry a vamlure. Before you get any ideas,” I interrupted when Luella sucked in a breath and opened her mouth to speak, “he already made it clear he knows he’s not on the hit list.”
Shannon’s eyes narrowed. “He’s not on the list? Why not? He’s good looking, respectful, and loyal. Not to mention he can make a mean chicken pot pie. I’m telling you, after you eat that, you’ll want to marry him. He says he can’t cook, but that’s one dish that man certainly can cook.”
I raised my hand to stop her listing Raven’s redeeming qualities. “It wasn’t my idea to put him on that list. He put himself there. I shouldn’t say anything else. It was a private conversation that I don’t know if he wants me to talk about.”
“I’ll respect that.” Shannon poked Luella hard in the ribs. “You’d better as well, or so help me I’ll key this car.”
“Fine, I will. Just stop poking me,” the naiad grumbled. Her voice was low, and shouldn’t have been audible for me, especially with the wind whipping around us like it was. Everything served to remind me that life as I knew it was over. This new life had begun once I’d met Raven, and I wasn’t sure how much I cared for it yet.
Shannon wasn’t done with me yet, and I knew I wouldn’t like her words when she kept tugging at her bottom lip with her teeth. “At least give him a chance to prove himself. He may have already written himself off your list, but I want you to hold off passing judgment. The Elite have no rules about not dating your trainer or trainee, so you can if you want. I’m not saying you have to, but be open to the idea. When you look past his chronic grumpiness, he’s not such a bad guy.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” And I would, for when the time showed up that I was ready to look.
“Good. Now, I think we’re here.”
I’d lived in this city since my freshman year of college and I could count on one hand how many times I’d come to this mall. They weren’t my favorite places. I found most items that interested me far too expensive unless it was on sale or clearance, so I was left hoping I’d find something gorgeous on the clearance rack for the Elite Ball.
“You coming with us, Jacks, or are you planning to stay in the car the whole time?” Shannon asked the man still sleeping beside me as Luella parked the car. Her voice and his name appeared to wake him long enough to moan and lift his groggy head.
“I’ll stay here. When you all head inside, I’ll shift and curl up on the back seat.”
Luella chuckled as she hopped out and tipped the front seat forward so I could climb out easier. “We’ll be sure to give you a call before we head back to the car so you can shift back.”
Opening one eye, Jackson grinned. “What? You don’t want a show?”
The naiad responded with a snort as she closed the car door. “No thank you. I get enough of your shows on the job.”
“Well, you may not, but what about the new girl? She may want a show.” His devilish stare found me and he winked. “What do you say, new girl? Want a show?”
My cheeks flamed. “No, thanks. I’m good.”
Jackson opened his mouth to respond, but Shannon swatted the back of his head. “Leave her alone, you silly wolf. We want her to like us. Not avoid us. Come on girls. Let’s leave the man to his business while we take care of ours.”
As Jackson reached for the hem of his shirt, Luella looped her arm in mine and drug me away. Shannon kept pace with us, even with our height differences. Soon enough, we were striding through the food court entrance and the scent of food assailed me. Most of it was delicious. Some of it, not so much.
“All right, where do we want to go first?” Luella asked, tugging us to a kiosk type map in the middle of the mall’s walkway which displayed all the stores and their locations. “Ooo, let’s check out the kitchen store. Maybe tonight we can have Raven make his pot pie and I can make dessert.”
“You bake?” I asked her, dumbfounded that a warrior like her with water magic wanted anything to do with the oven.
“Yes, ma’am, I do.” Luella took a deep breath like she was already sniffing her baked goods. “It’s stress relieving, and who doesn’t like a pie or cake straight from the oven? I’m not amazing by any means, but it’s edible, and I like doing it.”
Shannon nudged me with her elbow. “For once she’s being humble. Trust me, you won’t be able to eat another store-bought cake after you’ve tried Luella’s. Or brownies. I’m not sure how she does it, but they’re the best my taste buds have ever had. We got a call once mid dessert. Raven ended up having to chuck the rest of the pan into the garbage to get us to move, and let me tell you, when we arrived back home, it was ugly.”
“You aren’t kidding,” Luella grumbled, leading the way through the mall. “I think that was the best batch I’ve ever made and he ruined them.”
“Okay, so Luella loves to bake. What about you, Shannon?” We arrived at the kitchen store and stepped inside. Since I disliked cooking and Shannon didn’t seem eager to look around, we stood near the front of the store while Luella swept inside to stare at everything, her excitement palpable, even from
a few aisles over.
“I love to dance. It’s been a passion of mine since I was little. My parents enrolled me in ballroom dance lessons when I was young, but old enough to control my power. That’s why I was homeschooled. Most witches have excellent control. It’s natural for them. But not for me. I was one of the few witches who had to fight to control it. I’d have random outbursts of power, mostly when I lost my temper, and I was an angry child. Eventually I worked through it all. Dancing helped with that. I watched movies with dancing and tried to mimic their moves. When my parents saw I was controlling my power with the help of dance, they decided I needed lessons.” She shrugged. “That’s actually where me and Jackson met. It was summer and he was new to the class. His family had recently moved to the area, and he wanted to take lessons. He smelled I was a witch, and I could tell he was a shifter. We became friends after that.”
“Were both of your parents magic users?”
“Yup. Mom was a witch and Dad a warlock. My brothers are both warlocks, even though my youngest brother, Seth, doesn’t use his magic much. Timothy helps with security at a bank in New York City. We never see each other, and we honestly weren’t close as kids. They had excellent control of their power, so they went to public school. The two of them always looked down on me for my lack of control, and then my friendship with a shifter.”
I tipped the sunglasses up so I could see how well my eyes were adjusting. It took seconds for them to water to the point of tears, so the sunglasses went back into place. How long would it take for me to be normal again? Or as normal as I would be from now on.
“My parents have no idea what I am. I’m worried about what they’ll think of me.”
Shannon squeezed my hand. “They love you, and blood drinkers aren’t all bad. Heck, Raven is one of the most level headed people that I know. He’s fair, and he controls any urges he may feel. If he gets short of blood, he asks for more from the rest of the team if they can spare it, and he lets them know they have a choice and they shouldn’t feel obligated. He will never take it without asking and without thanks. As much as Luella and Raven act out that they dislike one another, they do care about each other. If he needed blood in an emergency, she’d be one of the first to give it to him, straight from her body if she had to.” The witch rolled her eyes at the woman she’d mentioned. “I need to go stop her. We do not need another pie plate or spatula. Those need to go back on the shelf.”
