by Laura Del
“See you in your dreams.
“Love…” my voice trailed away, as I handed the letter to Angel. She took it without hesitation and I sighed. “It was dated almost a month ago.”
“Wow,” Angel breathed. “That was the most beautiful letter that I have ever heard, even if it was written by a blood-sucking leech.”
“Samuel does have a way with words, and women, for that matter.”
“I wonder why he stole it.” Angel asked herself as she turned the paper over in her hand. “And why did he read it so much?”
“You have to ask?”
“Are you suggesting that he…” her voice trailed away, and I raised my eyebrows at her. “Gross,” she said when the realization hit her, and she dropped the letter on the coffee table. “That’s nasty. But at least it explains why it’s kinda wet.”
I laughed a little, but it really wasn’t funny. Stag had stolen that particular letter because he knew Samuel would think that I took one look at it and threw it in the trash, or maybe that Mike had seen it and shredded it into a million pieces. This would lead Samuel to show up in my dreams, wreaking havoc, and eventually he would show up here to have a conversation with me. That would lead to me being rescued from the vampire, and thus to me trusting Stag, who would be the rescuer. It was all just wild speculation at this point, but I knew that I was more right than wrong.
Angel sighed. “This is just too weird. I mean, why would Stag do this?”
I shrugged, trying not to let her see the panic in my eyes. “I don’t know,” I lied, taking the letter and placing it in the box. We put everything in order, and then slid it back under the couch.
“Let’s go,” I said, getting up and grabbing my purse. I quickly placed my cell inside and we left without another word.
Once we were outside, she showed me over to her black Mini-Cooper with a white top. I didn’t picture Angel in that kind of car. Then again, I didn’t look like much of a Mustang person myself. With that thought not far from my mind, we drove to Big Bears in blissful silence.
Fifteen minutes later, we were outside the diner, and it was just as packed as the other night. Angel pulled her car into a spot out front, and when she turned it off, she faced me. “You sure you wanna go in there, fleshy girl? We could go somewhere else if you just wanna talk.”
I shook my head. “No, this is fine.”
“Are you really sure?”
I nodded. “Positive.”
She smiled at me, getting out of the car. I followed her and we walked into Big Bears together. She showed me to a booth in the back by the window, and as soon as we sat down, I just stared out at the parking lot. I thought of all the twists and turns my life had taken in the past few months, which got me thinking about Mike. Hateful, awful thoughts.
“Hey,” Nathan’s gruff voice said from beside us, catching my attention. He wore jeans and a t-shirt today, both of which strained against his muscles. “I thought you were takin’ the day off?”
“I still am, moron,” Angel growled. “Fleshy girl is having a bad day today, and she needs to be in a safe place right now.”
He smiled down at me. “Well, there’s none safer.”
Angel hit him in the gut, and I turned my head to look out at the rain that started to come down. “All right, wiseass,” Angel said. “Give me a burger, rare. And get Patty one, too. Make hers well-well done. Do ya hear me?”
“I got ya,” he answered, and then he chuckled. “A well done patty for Patty.”
“You’re real funny,” Angel said sarcastically. “Ya know what else is funny? A bloody nose.”
“All right,” he breathed. “I’m goin’.”
I heard him walk away, and then Angel asked, “What’s with you, fleshy girl?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. Why?”
“You walked out of the apartment without a jacket.” When she said that, I looked down at myself, realizing that she was right. “And the last time I saw you, you were all happy and stuff. Now you’re all miserable. What happened?”
“Stag,” I said. “He’s running me ragged.” I winked at her, but that brought a tear to my eye. “I have to get some fresh air.”
“I’ll go with you.” She told me, as I stood up.
“No, you wait here. I’ll be right back.” I almost ran out of the doors, making my way out back. It was barren except for one of those garden swings near the woods.
I walked over to it, noticing that from behind, the diner had no windows, just one of those bolted metal doors. And before I knew it, I was at the swing.
When I finally sat down, I took a deep breath. And as the soft rain pelted my forehead, my stomach growled and I realized that I hadn’t really had anything to eat since yesterday afternoon. That wasn’t out of the ordinary. When I was on assignment, sometimes I didn’t eat until dinner time. It all depended on the research I needed to do and the food that was available.
“Mind if I sit?” An all too familiar voice asked from beside me, and when I looked up, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.
I blinked a couple of times, and he when didn’t go away, I knew that Mike was actually there. “Well?” he asked with a smile. “May I sit?” I nodded, scooting over, and he sat with a frown. “You’re not lookin’ too good, Pat.”
“Thank you,” I hissed.
“Are you mad at me, bébé?”
“All of a sudden I’m your bébé again?”
He smiled that green-eyed, sparkly grin. “You will always be my bébé.”
I rolled my eyes, getting up off the swing and walking into the woods.
“Where are you goin’, Pat?” he asked, following me.
“Not here,” I whispered heatedly, going deeper into the woods.
He was right behind me the whole time, trying to get me to talk to him, but there was no way in hell that I was going to have a discussion anywhere near Big Bears where the pack could hear us.
About ten minutes later, I figured it was far enough into the woods, and I knew that if we went any further we would be in some serious snake country.
I turned on my heels, looking up at him. “Can they hear us?”
He shook his head, his dirty-blonde hair falling into his eyes. “No.”
“Good,” I breathed. “Why are you here? I thought you never wanted to see this heartless bitch again?”
“I’m so sorry I said that, Pat.”
“But you meant it, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “Yes, I did mean it.”
“Good,” I said, while he stood there looking confused, “because now I can do this.” I punched him in the face so hard that his head actually rocked backwards.
“Shit, bébé,” he hissed, holding his now bloodied face. “I think you broke my nose.”
Pain shot through my hand, and when I looked at my knuckles, they were red and starting to swell. “Your nose? My hand! Jesus, Mike, your face is hard as a rock.”
“Do you feel better?” he asked, and I fished a tissue out of my purse, placing it under his nose to stop the bleeding.
“Yes,” I said with a smile. “I do.”
He was quiet for a minute, and then he said, “I really am sorry for doubtin’ you, Pat.”
“What do you mean?” I asked confused.
He smiled down at me. “I think you forgot for a minute how good our hearing is. And I quote, ‘I’m so sorry, Mike. And I wanted to tell you, I was in love with you.’”
I frowned. “You heard that?”
He nodded, leaning down so his face was inches from mine. “Yes. And I want to tell you that I’m in love with you, too.”
“I said ‘was,’ Mike. Was.”
He blinked, looking shocked. “Are you tellin’ me you don’t love me anymore?”
I took the tissue away from his face. “I don’t know. After what
you said, I just don’t know.”
“Please,” he said quietly, grabbing my wrist, “can you ever forgive this old fool for sayin’ that and for not believin’ in you?”
I shook my head, and he frowned. “No. But you could try to make it up to me.”
He smiled, his green eyes shining with that light from within. “Bébé, I—”
I placed my hand over his mouth. “Are you going to kiss me, Wolf, or what?”
“Do you want me to?
I rolled my eyes. “What do you think?”
“Yes?” he asked.
“Yes.”
A second later, he was on top of me.
chapter
TWELVE
“I’m still pissed at you,” I said, wrapping my arms around Mike’s neck while I sat on his lap. The woods were so peaceful that I didn’t want to go back to the craziness that had become my life. Besides, Mike had told Angel that he wanted to talk to me in private, so we had all the time in the world just to sit under a big tree and relax.
He nodded. “Yeah, I know. You still love me, right?”
I looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “Don’t push your luck, Wolf.”
He laughed. “Okay. I’ll stop askin’. But what the hell are we gonna do about Stag?”
“I honestly don’t know. He obviously heard me say that I loved you, so I’m kind of on the fence about this whole plan of mine.”
“I was on the fence about it to begin with,” he stated, and I pursed my lips. “Well, I was.”
“I realize that,” I huffed, “but it was something that had to be done. Do you know what’s really bothering me about this whole thing?” I asked, and he shook his head. “How in the world did Stag become a Lamia…whatever it is, to being with?”
“There’s only one way that he could have become that kind of monster. A vampire would’ve had to drain him to make him into a half-breed.”
“How? Isn’t that against the laws of nature?”
He sighed. “Not exactly. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a creature that should exist, but it’s not somethin’ that’s impossible. Technically, a vamp could bite a werewolf, drain him, and do whatever needs to be done to make him into the vamp-wolf that Kathryn was talkin’ about. On the other hand, when a werewolf bites a vampire it’s toxic, and it can kill the vampire. At least, that’s what we’re taught.”
Just thinking about that started to give me a headache. “Why would any werewolf want to do that to himself? Especially since vampires and werewolves are notoriously known for not getting along.”
“I don’t know, bébé. The only thing I can think of is that he wanted the power that comes with that kind of transformation.”
“Something isn’t adding up here,” I said, more to myself than to Mike. “He already had power. Why would he want more?” I looked at Mike and his eyes were closed. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, looking at me. “How could I have been so stupid? It’s my fault.”
“I doubt that.”
“You don’t understand,” he said with a sigh. “My presence here caused this.”
I grimaced. “You lost me.”
He took a deep breath, his chest moving under my cheek. “I’m gonna tell you somethin’, Pat, and I don’t want you to get how you get when we talk about the supernatural stuff.”
What he meant was that he didn’t want me fainting on him. “I haven’t gotten that way in a while,” I huffed, poking his chest. “Besides, how bad could it be?” Those were famous last words, and I knew I shouldn’t have said them.
“I don’t know where to begin,” he mused aloud. “I guess I can start with Stag becoming a werewolf. He was really young when he was turned, not even thirteen. It was one of those things where the old Alpha wanted some new blood and the pack went overboard with changin’ people. I was about sixteen then, and I took Stag under my wing. We were like brothers, really. I mean, we did everythin’ together, but Elliot was always screwin’ up when it came to pack stuff. He had a typical teenage-sized chip on his shoulder. He thought he was invincible.
“One full moon, Elliot decided that he was gonna be stupid and…well…he wound up fightin’ the Alpha.”
My brows shot up. “What?”
“It gets better,” he breathed. “I remember this vividly, even though I was in werewolf form. I changed as fast as I could and put myself between them. It all happened so fast…the next thing I knew, Adam, the old Alpha, was on the ground bleedin’ with his belly up.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, frightened by the look on his face.
He smiled. “It meant that I had beaten him, and that I was the new wolf in charge.” My mouth fell open and I just stared at him for a minute, speechless. “Bébé? Are you all right?” I nodded a little, closing my mouth. “Are ya sure?”
“Yes,” I finally managed to say. “So let me get this straight. You fought the Alpha and won, which in turn made you Alpha.”
He nodded. “Yup.”
“Then how the hell did Stag become top dog?”
“I never said I took the position,” he clarified. “I didn’t wanna be Alpha. I just wanted to live my life. So I turned down the job, and let Adam remain in charge.”
I thought for a minute, and then realized something. “That’s why they didn’t want you to go to law school, because you were next in line for the throne.”
Mike sighed. “Bingo.”
“So what you’re saying is Stag turned himself into this monster because he didn’t want you to reclaim your title?”
“That,” he explained, “and the fact that Elliot’s power crazy. He’s always wanted more than he has! Elliot’s cocky like that.”
I shook my head. “I guess the next thing we should try to figure out is what vampire was dumb enough to turn him?”
“That would be the next logical step.”
I shivered and Mike rubbed my arms, holding me tighter. “This will not end well,” I said, as the images from last night went through my head.
He stiffened, and I wondered what was going on. “Don’t move.” He told me quietly.
“Why not?”
“You have a snake on your leg.”
“Get it off,” I said, panicked.
I felt him move but I didn’t look, I just buried my face in his shirt and waited.
“Got ‘em,” he exclaimed, and I relaxed. “You know, it’s kinda funny.”
“What is?” I asked, looking up at him.
“That you’re afraid of snakes, but not monsters like Elliot and me.”
“I never said that I wasn’t afraid,” I corrected him. “I just choose not to let it get the best of me.”
We sat there in silence for a while, and after I finally had some time to think, I said, “If Stag really is this vamp-wolf, how would he have gotten away from the pack long enough to get himself turned?”
“I’ll tell you how,” a familiar voice said from beside us. Both Mike and I stood as fast as we could, in order to see Angel leaning against a tree with her arms folded. “He said he was going on a business trip.”
“How long have you been standin’ there?” Mike growled.
She smiled at him. “Relax, Wolfman, I’m not gonna tell on you.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
She sighed. “Long enough to know that what you’re saying makes a lotta sense. Ever since he left on that trip, he’s been weird. Like when he gets angry, his eyes don’t go yellow anymore. They’re more of an orange color.” She shook her head. “It’s not normal.”
“Do you have any idea who could have turned him?” I asked.
“No,” she breathed. “I have no clue, and I don’t really care. What I do care about is Stag betrayin’ his pack to become what he is now. He’s taken our Alpha away from us, and I want revenge. So th
e question is,” she said, walking over to me, “what can I do to help you kill him?”
We both smiled at each other, and I had a thought. “You know what could work? Why don’t you suggest that you make someone into a new member of the pack?”
She cocked an eyebrow at me. “Do you have someone particular in mind?”
“Me.”
“What?” Mike asked, placing himself between Angel and me. “How is that gonna help?”
“I’m well-liked by the pack, Mike,” I explained. “If it’s suggested that I want to become what you are, who do you think will want to turn me?”
“Stag,” Angel and Mike said at the same time.
“Exactly,” I said with a sly smile. “This way he will expose himself to the whole pack, and we will be able to pick a remote location for him to change me. Then I can prepare to…” I paused, thinking of Kathryn’s wordage, “vanquish him. Hopefully with a little help from the wolves.”
“You know,” Angel breathed, “I never really liked Stag, and I know for a fact that some of the pack can’t stand that asshole either.” She smiled at me. “Let’s get this half-breed bastard.”
“Pat,” Mike said, with a frown toward Angel, “this is really dangerous.”
“Don’t worry,” I comforted him. “I’m sure we won’t have to do it until the next full moon.”
He sighed. “Which is on the thirty-first.”
“Say what now?”
“It’s a blue moon,” Angel explained, “so we’re only gonna have a little over a week to get our plan together.”
“Well, shit,” I breathed.
“You can say that again,” Mike mumbled.
“Hey,” Angel said, “a week’s better than nothin’, right?”
I nodded. “True. You start hinting at the fact that I want to turn immediately. I’ll figure out some way to prepare myself to fight without him knowing.”
“Will do,” she said with a nod, leaving Mike and me alone.
“Are you okay?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Yeah, I’m all right. It’s just that I wish I could help you with this.”
