He shifted back and sat down. He tried to guess what she was thinking, if she could accept him.
She bent over and gave him a kiss on the forehead before going into the bathroom. She left the door open, and within a minute, he heard the shower turning on. He knew she wanted him to follow, but he sat on the bed, waiting.
Five minutes later, the water turned off. Aiden watched the door until Claire appeared, a towel wrapped around her. She sauntered, her hips swaying, until she was in front of him. With a flick of her wrist, the towel fell away.
“We never did consummate our engagement, Aiden. Now it’s time.”
And so they did.
Chapter 45
“I’m not sure, sir. I think it took me about three weeks, but it may not even happen to you. Hozan says there are cases like that,” Aiden said on the phone from Claire’s front room.
Claire had to work, so they had come back to her apartment on the K-Bay side of Oahu. She was still asleep, which gave Aiden the opportunity to take the call. MAJ Ward had gotten his number from his mother, and he was full of questions.
“Aiden, I told you I think it’s about time we dropped the ‘sir’ thing. If you are my patron, then I think we are beyond the military formalities.”
“Uh, right, sir, I mean Keenan,” he said.
Some habits die hard.
“But with you, how did it happen? You told me this Hozan came after you turned into a werewolf the first time. Did you try to change, or did it just happen?”
“It just happened. I was hit in an ambush, and I think my body just tried to save me. I didn’t try and change because I didn’t know anything about it.”
“Yeah, I forgot about that,” the major—Keenan—said. “It just that, I feel weird, like a pupa in a cocoon, trying to get out. And it’s been more than three weeks. My nerves are tight.”
“I felt like that, too!” Aiden exclaimed. “For a week or so before I shifted that first time.”
“Maybe I should just try and force it tonight,” Keenan said.
“Uh, I wouldn’t do that, sir. Like I told you, I might not have been able to shift back without Hozan there. It’s not, well, it’s not easy. Look, I’ll be going back to Lejeune in a week. If you can get down there, let’s get together. But don’t try anything until then. Remember, all we know is that you survived the sickness. We don’t know if you’ll ever be able to shift.”
“Who’ll never be able to shift?” Claire said from her bedroom door.
“Oh, shit, sir, I need to go. I’ll call you back,” Aiden said, hanging up.
“What?” he asked stupidly.
“Who are you talking to?”
“Uh, nobody important.”
“Look, Aiden, I told you we need to trust each other. You are talking to someone who’s been infected, someone who survived the ‘sickness,’” she said, making the quotation marks with her fingers. “I need to know who infected this person, this officer I’m guessing from how you’re speaking to him. Tell me.”
Aiden wrung his hands. He’d lied to her, the one thing she said was unacceptable. But she’s seemed so excited, so intrigued, he hadn’t wanted her to be tempted to become a werewolf. Even if the major had survived, Aiden was not willing to risk Claire like that.
As she looked expectantly at him, Aiden sensed this was a turning point. If he lied to her, she would be gone.
“That was Major Keenan Ward. He was sent to watch over me, to find out what I was. Someone tried to kill him in Afghanistan, and not knowing the consequences, I infected him, trying to save his life. I didn’t know at the time that as a kreuzung, I was killing him.”
“He didn’t sound too dead to me, or can werewolves also talk with ghosts?” she asked dismissively.
“No, of course not. Somehow, on a million-to-one shot, he survived. I don’t know how. And Hozan, he says the major probably won’t ever be able to shift.”
“I suppose it was Hozan who told you that this major would die, too?”
“Uh, yeah, it was him.”
Claire stepped into the front room and took a seat next to Aiden on the couch. “Aiden, I love you dearly, but you are so fucking naïve at times. You told me about the conflict in this Council over you, and you told me that Hozan was sent to watch over you. Don’t you think he would want to discourage you from bringing in yet another unsanctioned werewolf?”
“No, it’s not like that. Hozan’s my friend. I trust him.”
“You trust too many people. You even said this major was sent to watch you, too. So at least two people were sent to watch you, and these are the people you trust?”
“Hozan helped me, and he still does. He’s my friend.”
“And why didn’t you tell me before that you’d infected this major, and that he was still alive?”
“Because I didn’t want you to be tempted. I can’t bear the thought of losing you,” he said, taking her hand in his.
“So because you love me, you lied to me,” she pointed out.
“Yes, and I’m sorry, so sorry,” he said, afraid of what she would say next.
“And maybe your friend lied to you, to protect you?”
“I . . .” he started before stopping and thinking over what she had just said.
“I don’t think so,” he finally said.
“If you could lie to me with all the best intentions, then Hozan could have lied to you, too. If the Council got word of what you had done, there could be pretty serious ramifications, from what you told me. Maybe it has already started. We still don’t know who sent those men who attacked us.”
If the Council had sent a death squad, Aiden was pretty sure it would have sent vargs. He didn’t bring that up, though.
“Look, I’ve got to get to work. Go ahead and call back your major. We need to see if what Hozan said was right or if the major’s now a full-fledged werewolf, too.
“I’ve got to shower and get into my uniform, but we’ve got some serious talking to do tonight,” she told him in a brook-no-argument tone of voice as she stood and kissed his forehead.
Aiden’s life was on a roller-coaster ride at the moment, and he had no idea when it would stop.
Chapter 46
Claire seemed in a good mood as they drove back from dinner. They had just gone to Roy’s Waikiki for dinner, which was fabulous. Aiden’s short ribs and Claire’s duck breast were fantastic. The meal was not cheap, but it was about the best food Aiden had eaten in a long time.
The meal put them in a good mood, but still, this was Aiden’s last night on the island, and he would have expected Claire to be a little sad about that. Her happiness disappointed Aiden in a way that he couldn’t explain.
The week together had been good, but there had also been an undercurrent of strain. For two days, Claire had tried to convince Aiden to bite her, to turn her. She was sure that she was strong enough to survive the transformation, especially after browbeating Aiden enough for her to talk to the major on the phone.
Aiden didn’t think the major was too happy about that, but screw it. If he was going to make anyone happy, it was Claire, not him. But he had spoken to Claire at length about his experiences, and after Claire had gotten off the phone, she had been ever more convinced that she could handle it.
But no pressure was going to change Aiden’s mind. He was not going to risk her. The major had been lucky, and that had no bearing on Claire. Aiden refused, flat and simple.
They chatted about the future as he drove them back. Rather, Claire chatted, mostly about the wedding plans back in Texas. Her father insisted on having the wedding in San Antonio, and other than his mother, there was no one in Vegas he really wanted to invite. Aiden just listened, interjecting enough “uh-huhs” and “yeses” to show Claire he was listening.
His mind was wandering, however. During the major’s last call, he had told Aiden that a patrol of 12 ANA soldiers and five US soldiers from the FOB had been ambushed. All seventeen men had been killed and “mutilated,” the reports
read. Both of them were concerned that the men hadn’t been mutilated after death—that the damage had been done in the attack, and by vargs. The fact that it had happened to soldiers from FOB Ballenstein couldn’t be a coincidence. Aiden wanted to speak with Hozan, but he wasn’t sure how to contact him.
They pulled into the apartment complex, and with Claire chatting away, climbed the stairs to her second-floor unit. He plopped down on the couch as Claire opened the fridge and got out a Primo for him. Aiden rather liked Longboard better as far as Hawaiian beer went, but Claire liked Primo, so Primo it was.
“I need to use the head,” she told him as he turned on the TV.
An episode of COPS was on, this one from Kansas City. He settled back to watch.
It took awhile, maybe 20 minutes, and COPS was almost over when the door to the bedroom opened, and Claire came out. Aiden almost choked on his beer. She was in a lilac barely-there negligee of some sort, one that left nothing to the imagination. With the confidence of a lioness on the hunt, she glided across the room and took the beer out of his hand. Picking up the remote, she pointed it back over her shoulder and turned the TV off.
“Since it’s your last night here, I think we’ve got better things to do than watch the tube, dontcha think?” she asked as she straddled his legs and sat down on his lap.
She leaned in for a kiss, cutting off his response, as his hands reached up under the negligee to her breasts.
“Maybe, this time, before you go, we can try this as a werewolf,” she whispered into his ear.
They had actually discussed this, and while Aiden wasn’t sure about it, he was at least open to the idea. His varg sure was, but his human side wondered if it was too far, too weird to be OK.
She started grinding into his crotch, and he could feel his blood pound. Ever since he had been turned, he thought his sexual drive was much stronger, but his experiences pre-werewolf had been so limited, he wasn’t sure. Stronger or not, it threatened to overcome him.
Claire reached down and unzipped his jeans, a hand grasping him. He gasped and pulled her tighter. He had to get completely out of the jeans, and he pushed her aside. If he’d known they would go at it so soon, he’d have left the Levis off and worn something more accessible. He had to half lift Claire off of him, where she perched, like a porn movie on pause, until he managed to get the jeans off. Then, the play button was punched, and she was back on him as if there was no interruption.
Aiden started to lose it. He wanted to extend the session, to make it longer, but he knew it was early. There was plenty of time for encore performances. There had been almost no foreplay, but he slid into Claire as she sat on his lap.
“You can change now,” she said, biting his ear.
His varg roared inside to get out, to take over. He wondered if he should fight it or just let it go. The varg had just about won out when fire lanced through his shoulder, and that snapped him back. He stared incredulously at Claire, her mouth clamped onto his shoulder and she ground down.
Claire? She’s into pain? he wondered in shock.
He tried to push her away, but she resisted, clamping down even harder. He tried again with more strength, tearing her off of him.
“What the fuck, Claire?” he asked, his ardor disappearing.
Claire sat back triumphantly, blood streaming down her face. When she reached up and sank her fingernails through his blood and deep into her cheek, it all clicked into place.
“What the hell did you do, Claire!” he shouted.
“You know what I’ve done, Aiden. I’ve joined you!”
Chapter 47
“It’s started,” Hozan said as Claire started shivering.
When Claire had infected herself, Aiden had gotten on the phone and called the major. Keenan had said he could pull strings, more than a mere major should have been able to pull, so Aiden had demanded that he get Hozan to the States, and that he arrange for both Claire and him to get on TAD[102] orders somewhere together.
The major had not asked questions nor offered recriminations. As soon as Aiden reported back to Lejeune, there were orders waiting for him to go to Ft. Benning. A quick phone call to Claire revealed she had orders there as well. They met up at the Holiday Inn Express in Columbus four days later. Claire enveloped him in a hug, one she didn’t seem to want to let go. She was still upbeat and outwardly confident, but Aiden knew she was worried as she realized just what she’d done.
Keenan was in the adjoining room. Aiden hadn’t expected him to be there as well, but it would make things easier for them. Two days later, Hozan arrived, his papers all in order.
Hozan was angry, but not as much as Aiden had expected. He had taken Aiden aside, away from the other two, and they’d had a heart-to-heart. Hozan had stressed how dangerous this was, and how they had to keep this from the Council. He’d already scanned the area for others of the Tribe and declared it clear, but there were a hundred ways this could leak out. That could be a death sentence for all four of them, four if Claire managed to survive, that is, something Hozan doubted very much.
The major had obtained a small office space just down the road from the hotel. It had an innocuous front, but in back was a small room. In the room was an athletic tub—the kind athletes soaked in after a game—a bed, IV trees, and some sort of medical contraption. Aiden thought the restraining straps on the bed scared Claire more than anything else.
Aiden only asked Keenan once how he’d arranged for all of this. Keenan said it was better left unsaid, but he did say that all of this was being kept from his boss. Only the four of them knew what was happening.
Aiden and Claire may have been on TAD orders, but they didn’t have any real duties. They just killed time, playing cards with each other and the other two, watching TV, and eating what Keenan brought in. Hozan had to be taught poker, but he sucked at it, often quitting in a huff only to come back in 30 minutes to try again. Within a week, he owed the others over $12,000,000 and the country of Iraq north of Mosul.
Hozan and Keenan seemed to form a tight bond as the time progressed. That made Aiden slightly jealous, but his worry about Claire kept that jealousy at bay. When Hozan started to teach Keenan how to shift, despite his assurance that Keenan would not actually be able to achieve it, Claire listened intently. She might be scared, but her warrior’s heart would not give up. She was sure she would survive.
After three fruitless days of trying, while Aiden and Claire were eating their KFC, Keenan’s body seemed to flow together for a moment before coalescing into a large, silver-streaked varg. Keenan’s prosthetic leg clattered to the floor as the varg stood up with two whole legs.
Aiden stopped mid-bite, the chicken leg in his hand, his mouth open. Hozan had thought Keenan would never be able to shift, yet here he had done just that. He remembered how painful the first shift had been, and he could see the panicked look in Keenan’s varg eyes.
Immediately, Hozan shifted and put his hands on Keenan’s shoulders. He quietly spoke to him, his guttural words too low for Aiden to make out. He remembered how Hozan had calmed him in the Iraqi desert after his first shift. At least Keenan knew what was happening to him. Aiden had been completely in the dark when he shifted without a clue as to what happened.
Claire couldn’t take her eyes off of Keenan as Hozan talked him down. It took almost two hours, but finally, Keenan shifted back. He was back to missing a leg, and he seemed dazed as he tried to gather the torn shreds of his shirt around him, but there was a glint of triumph in his eyes. He had done it.
They had both steered clear while Hozan talked Keenan down, but with him back, they went and hugged him. Aiden was just glad that he hadn’t killed his friend, for that is what he considered Keenan to be now, but Claire probably hugged him with hope that she could make the journey, too.
“I may not be a werewolf, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night,” Claire said, trying not to laugh.
Both Aiden and Keenan groaned theatrically while Hozan looked confused.<
br />
“I bet you’ve been planning that gem for days,” Aiden said, giving his fiancé her own hug.
The fact that the varg Keenan had two whole legs while the human was still missing one was fuel for quite a bit of discussion. They couldn’t come up with an explanation that they all could accept.
Keenan tried for the next few days to shift again without success. This didn’t concern Hozan. Keenan had done it once, and after he learned the technique, it would become easier.
While Keenan tried to conquer the technique, Claire became more withdrawn. She and Aiden slept together, but he merely held her. There was no sex, no passion. He was there to support her and keep the demons from invading her dreams. When she moaned or muttered in her sleep, he just held her tight until she relaxed.
Ten days after arriving in Columbus, Claire complained of a headache, then sat down as dizziness overcame her. She sat on the end of the bed and started shivering.
Aiden didn’t need Hozan to declare the onset of the sickness. Like a father who had rehearsed his wife’s delivery of their child, he sprang into motion. He had a small bag packed, and he whipped it up. He sent Hozan to get Keenan from his room, and helped Claire to her feet. By the time he’d helped her out the door, Keenan was there, and the three men got her to the rental car. Two minutes later, they were escorting her into the office and to the back room.
Aiden had to push down the panic that tried to overwhelm him. This was where he could lose his fiancé, and that was something he didn’t want to contemplate.
Hozan had already been briefed and rehearsed. He filled the tub with ice and ran the water. Claire was already burning up, so they stripped her and put her in. Aiden sat on the outside and kept her head out of the water. She was only semiconscious by this time, and she was not in control of her body.
It took almost an hour before the bell rang. Keenan stepped out, returning a few moments later with a no-nonsense-looking woman. Aiden didn’t know who she was or where Keenan had found her, only that Keenan assured him that she would ask no questions and was reliable. Aiden decided he didn’t want to know more, so he left it at that.
The Werewolf of Marines Trilogy Page 40
