There was something wrong with me. Yeah, I was convinced.
No more drink for me for a while.
* * *
It was lunchtime, and I was showered and sitting in my armchair with more water—a spot I should have stayed in last night.
“I can’t explain it any other way,” Mama Rita said. “You were jealous.”
“Fuck.”
“It happens.”
“I’m not in love with him or anything.”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t mean you can’t be jealous. Separation trauma?”
I pulled a face. “I don’t think so.”
“Then why don’t you come up with a word for it?”
“I’m not traumatized, I was being a dick.”
She nodded. “I’m not shocked this happened. I think you both need to talk this out, though he couldn’t get out of here quick enough.”
I paused before taking a sip from my glass. “You what?”
“He brought you home with Beth, wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“What?”
“Has all that Sambuca made you deaf?”
My stomach rolled. “Please, don’t mention the S word again.”
“Well, he was here. Put you to bed, then was gone like a shot.”
“His date. Tristan.”
“Probably.”
“Good for them.”
“Really?”
“Why do you say it like that?” I demanded. “So, I freaked out. Sue me.”
“You know what? There’s a certain S word I haven’t heard come out of your mouth yet.” She leaned back in her chair. “Think on that for a bit.
“Sorry,” I said. “I know I bailed on our night.”
“Really shitty thing to do. I’d been looking forward to it.”
“I know. Me too.”
“Yet out into the night, you went.” She opened a bag of crisps.
I couldn’t look at them for fear of puking. “I’m so, so sorry. I’m a shit friend.”
“You are, but I forgive you. I know what it’s like to be young and dumb.”
“Who you calling dumb?”
“Don’t act offended, sweetie. I’m the hurt one here.”
She was one-hundred percent right. “Lost my head big time.”
“Happens.”
“Lesson learned.”
“No, I don’t think so. You’re twenty-four, Akira. There are plenty more of them to come your way. Maybe even next week. Take it from a woman on the other side of fifty.”
“Sober September coming up,” I said.
“I’m not involved. You do you, sweetheart.”
Thank the tenshi there was no hunting job on the cards today. I couldn’t handle any acrobatics and swordplay today.
“I also think you need to talk to Paul.”
“That’s the last thing I wanna do.”
She sighed. “What a messy boy you are.”
Chapter Ten
Mama Rita went home just after seven, after making me sit through three rom coms. I owed her and watched them gladly. Breaking the friend code sucked, and I was all about maintaining the friend code. And the movies had been pretty fun.
With nothing to hunt, I channeled my energies into cupcakes, trying not to think about last night and my stupid brain. Red velvet cupcakes. I was baking a batch of twenty-four just ‘cos it made the soul feel better.
Baking always helped calm down or clear my mind, but it was always hell on my kitchen. I’d never mastered the art of being a tidy chef. There was flour all over the sides, the oven top, the floor, and eggshells scattered around me where I’d just dumped their innards into my mixing bowl and flung what I didn’t want out of my way.
The crimson mist was what descended when you’d really lost your shit, and the baking mist came when you were well into making the goodies.
“Fucking hell,” I proclaimed to the mess.
Even if I did have to go on a cleaning spree now, I felt much better. Seeing the perfectly frosted cakes sitting like little red soldiers with white bouffant hair, ready to go straight into a willing gob, made my dark heart happy.
A willing gob like mine.
Yep. Bangin’. Perfect texture and flavor.
Boom.
Cake inhaled, reality was creeping in again, the memory of all my common sense being lobbed out the window coming back to bite me in the arse.
Clean, then bake again.
Perfect medicine. And did I ever need to take my bloody medicine!
* * *
Another twenty-four cupcakes made, every surface of my kitchen covered by them, along with more mess to clean up, I was actually proper chilled. No more grief, for now, just a happy me in the kitchen without a care in the world.
I didn’t trust the bubble I was in.
Before I started cleaning, something caught my attention outside. I went closer to the window for a better look.
A blue Mercedes.
G.
He wasn’t hiding himself tonight, then, throwing his stalking job in my face. He didn’t rattle me, though. Which was kinda weird. Nothing. Not one bit of ARGH. Those cupcakes were like fucking Prozac.
The bubble hadn’t gone pop.
Go down to him…
Was he back on the job? I checked my phone. Nope. No message. But he wasn’t hiding himself, blatantly advertising his presence to me.
Did he wanna kiss and make up? Well, not kiss…
I rang Beth.
“Hello,” she answered. “How’s your head?”
“Better, cheers. Are you working tonight?”
“No, I have the rest of the weekend off. Gabriel’s back, though. Sorry, but he didn’t want me to tell you.”
“No. It’s cool.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, everything’s cool. Have a wicked weekend.”
“Thanks. You too.”
I hung up.
Back on the job? Was that a good idea?
Pop went the bubble.
His head was down, the glare of his phone illuminating his features. He hadn’t noticed me yet, so I watched him like some freak.
I’d really fucked up with him. I needed to put this right, so I grabbed my keys and went down to the street, striding over to his car.
I knocked on the window. He rolled it down but said nothing.
“Want a cupcake?” I asked.
He quirked an eyebrow. “It’s late. Shouldn’t you be sleeping off your hangover?”
“You know me.”
“There’s flour on your nose.”
“Come up for a cupcake.”
“I’d rather stay here.”
“Just come up.”
“Why?”
“For cupcakes, and so I can stop looking like a dick head with flour on his nose.”
A faint smile spread across his plump lips, then quickly died. “No, thanks.”
I didn’t push it. “So, back on the case, are you?”
“Yes.”
“What about this second werewolf murder? You looking into that? Bit weird being the same ritualistic stuff, eh?”
“It is. Yes, I am part of the investigation.”
“Wanna come up and tell me more?”
He shook his head.
I sighed heavily, probably sounding a bit dramatic. “Look, G, I hate this. Things have been tense between us, and they shouldn’t be. We’re mates, and I don’t wanna lose your friendship. Despite what you think, I actually like having you around—most of the time.”
The gold in his green eyes glinted. “You’ve been an idiot lately. What was that about last night?”
My shoulders slumped in defeat. “Jealous.”
“Jealous?”
“Yeah, jealous. Not in that way, but because I thought you were…moving on.”
“Oh.”
“And you can move on all you like…not that you need to move on. What I mean is…can we go inside?”
He leaned out of the window. “What
do you mean, Aki?”
I shuddered at the deep baritone. “I, er, well, I mean that even if you marry Cheekbones or whatever, I still wanna be friends.”
“Cheekbones?”
“That guy you were with last night.”
“Tristan.”
“Yeah, him.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Shit first impression, eh?”
“I’ll say. Never seen you get like that before.”
He put the window up, and for a moment I thought he’d shut me out. Then he opened the door. I stepped back to let him out.
“I think we should have a talk, Aki. Clear the air.”
“Yeah. Good. Come in. I’ll stick the kettle on.”
* * *
I poured some of the freshly boiled water into my Snoopy teapot, swilling the water and emptying it down the sink. Gotta warm the pot first. Then I chucked in some tea bags and more hot water, popped it on the kitchen table to brew, then plonked myself down to join Gabriel.
“Good?” I asked him as he bit into a cupcake.
He nodded, chewing, being a good lad, and not talking with his gob full. Mama Rita would be so proud.
“So good,” he said. “One of your best ones yet.”
“Ah, shucks.”
When it was ready, I served him some tea into a china cup, letting him finish the sugary goodness. It was great to see his body in my kitchen again, enjoying my grub.
When the pleasure was over, though, his face went all serious—all beta wolf. “Aki, there need to be some ground rules established.”
I nodded, keeping silent.
“Firstly, I’m not saying you can’t have any fun. Not at all. But there’s a time and place for bringing guys home. That was stupid the other night, could have been a disaster.”
More nodding from me as I stirred milk into the tea.
“Secondly, you need to drop the attitude. You don’t need to get the way you get. You want to be left alone? Tell me. If you want to be friends, you need to start behaving better and stop trying to pick a fight.” He shook his head, laughing. “I’m all for a ribbing session, some playful banter, but recently your mood has been off. Sometimes, I can’t read if you’re being serious or not.”
Wow, wasn’t I getting the dressing down? I nodded, added some sugar.
“Sorry, if I sound condescending.”
“You’re not. I deserve it.”
“We have a good friendship on the whole. I know I have to hang around you on your father’s orders, but why can’t we take the good stuff and drop the bad bits?”
“Reset?”
“Yes. Because I want to stay friends. We’ve been through a lot. Honestly, I was thinking this was it for us, that I couldn’t take any more of your crap. But then I’d hate that because I don’t want to lose you.”
For all my guff about G, he was a good egg. A real good egg. He’d had my back over and over again, even sat up all night once listening to me talk about my mum.
“I’m really sorry, G.”
He offered me his hand. “Reset?”
“Reset.” I took his big hand, and my tummy flipped as our skin met.
Probably just relief.
Probably.
I stared at him a little too long, quickly looked down, and changed the subject. “Tell me about Tristan.”
“That was our second date.”
I looked up. “Your second?”
“Two nights in a row.”
“Cool. You like him?”
He shrugged, picking up his teacup. “I guess. He’s a lot of fun.”
Looked like a miserable wanker to me. “He a model?”
“That obvious?”
“Yeah. Big time.”
Gabriel nodded. “I don’t really get that world, but he does runway, apparently, and will be on a few magazine covers next month.”
“Cool.”
“Been a while since I’ve been with a guy and just cut loose.”
“Always good to have fun, G.” I was looking anywhere but his face.
“It’s not my grand plan because I do want to settle down eventually. Tristan isn’t a settling down kind of guy. But for now, I just need to—”
“Blow off the cobwebs,” I blurted out.
He chuckled. “Correct.”
“Well, good for you. Another cupcake?”
“Please. What about you?”
I handed him another cake. “What about me?” I did look directly at him then.
“You and…Paul.”
My face went hot. “Paul?”
“The SCU…sorry, I should just be honest. I know what happened with you and him in the alleyway. Plus, you were all over each other in Lunar.”
Ah, shite bags! “You know?”
“I know, Aki.”
I covered my face with my hands. “I think my hangover’s coming back.”
“I thought you hated Paul.”
“I do.”
“Then—”
Exposing my face again, I said, “Let’s just put it down to me fucking up and leave it at that.”
“Okay. That’s fine.”
Stupid little grin on his face!
I gulped back my tea. Did I really have to talk to Paul about what happened? He’d only be a dick about it, deny everything. Best thing for it was to be swept way under the rug and kept out of my sight!
“So,” G said, “the banshee. Daria.”
“What about it?”
“How was it?”
“As fun as a banshee fight can be. Got slashed, but Mama Rita fixed me up.”
“Good. Banshees can be vicious.”
“Ah, who ain’t vicious these days?”
“True.”
I leaned forward. “Fancy chilling with a movie?” I was pretty tired but didn’t wanna kick him back out to his car.
“Sure. Cool.”
“Great. No romance, though. I want action—explosions, car chases, all that good shit.”
“Sounds awesome.” He tilted his head, eyes boring into me.
“What?” I questioned.
“If anything does ever happen with Tristan or whoever, we’ll always be friends. I won’t forget about you, okay? No need for jealousy.”
“Good to know.”
I quickly got up, not able to take his eyes on me.
Man, I was like a teenager! What was my problem? This was a good thing…
Right?
* * *
Snow under my feet, a cylinder of white light locking me in.
Shadows all around me, nothing but a black void everywhere I turned.
I looked up, seeing something drifting down toward me. Pink. Snow? Was it pink snow?
No.
It was—
Petals. Pink petals falling like snowflakes, coming down to meet me. I wanted to grab one, but they were too far away. Trying to jump failed. My feet were stuck.
Petals.
I wanted to touch the petals.
But they never quite got close enough.
* * *
A hand on my shoulder, gently trying to rouse me.
“Aki?”
I moaned. “Petals.”
“Aki?”
“What?”
“You need to wake up.”
My eyes sprang open, me shooting forward. “The fuck?”
“You okay?”
I blinked, trying to clear the heaviness of my lids. “G?”
He was looking down on me, his expression serious. “Yes.”
“You…stayed the night?”
“I did. Hope you don’t mind.”
“That’s fine.” I rubbed my eyes. “Where did you sleep?”
“In the chair, but that’s not important right now.”
“I need coffee. You want some?” I yawned.
“Aki—”
“I missed the movie!”
“Aki, I’ve got something to tell you.”
Ah, that serious face. “What’s wrong?”
He drew in a deep breath befor
e answering. “You’ve been summoned to a meeting with your father.”
Chapter Eleven
“You can’t tell me what this is about?”
Gabriel turned his car onto The Mall, heading for Green Park. I could see the top of The Spire through the tall trees lined up along the road—a huge tube of glass with a massive frosted wolf head crowning it.
This wasn’t how I’d planned to spend my Sunday!
“For the tenth time,” G answered, “no. Sorry.”
Arms folded, my fists clenched along with my teeth, I was thinking about the face of the sperm donor who’d made me. And the petals. Dad and those petals. What the hell had that been about? Was it some aftereffect of the Sambuca? I mean, I hadn’t eaten any cheese.
Straight ahead was the old royal palace, nothing more than a tourist attraction. G took a right, heading down a road to the gates of The Spire, trees smothering any view from this perspective, huge iron fences stretching east and west through the greenery.
The gates rippled as if they were the surface of a pool, and someone had just dropped a stone in it. Then they slid open.
G slowly drove through, meeting a second set of gates which rippled the same before opening.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Ask me that again when we leave here.”
He didn’t say anything. Wise move. Yeah, he was loyal to my dad, but he also knew when to shut the fuck up—most of the time.
If my teeth could clench any tighter, all the enamel would crack away.
The trees cleared away, revealing the lush grass of Green Park, the wolf topiary surrounding the bottom of the huge glass monolith, colorful flowers in their perfectly sculpted beds tended to by dozens of gardeners. It was a floral wonderland.
Where was the weed killer when you needed it?
The road to the main entrance of The Spire wove like a snake through the green, more wolf topiary lining it. Nothing had changed here since I could remember, not one plant or leaf different. That was probably bullshit, but that’s what it looked like.
“You’ve got this,” G said as he slowly maneuvered his car to the steps of the entrance. That was a welcoming committee waiting there.
Of course, there was!
Four Moons: The Complete Collection: (Books 1 - 4) Page 9
