Wolves and Roses

by Christina Bauer

  The doors close with a metal hiss. I turn to Elle and give her a high five. “That was so awesome, girlfriend. We got totally lucky with that second elevator.”

  “It’s not luck,” says Elle. “It’s human nature. People are sheep. Everyone gets on the first elevator that stops on their floor. They pack in like sardines while a second, totally empty elevator follows right behind.”

  “True that. Either way, I’m glad we missed Comb-Over Guy.”

  “Me too.”

  The doors open again, and we step off into reception. It’s a huge, funky space with high ceilings, low tables, and leather couches. Everything is LeCharme purple. There’s no one around except for a reception desk with a long line of people waiting in front of it. Elle marches right past the desk.

  “Whoa, there.” I pull on Elle’s sleeve. “We have to visit reception, right?”

  Elle’s big blue eyes are blank for a moment before reality kicks in. “Yes, of course.”

  Here’s what that was all about. Usually, Elle and I are here after hours, so we don’t have to bother with checking in. But now, we have to play nice with others, so we get in line along with everyone else.

  I scope out the reception desk and see two girls sitting behind it. They aren’t much older than Elle and me. The first girl has cocoa skin, long hair, and a nametag that reads “Tamara.” The other has exotic almond-shaped eyes and long straight hair. Her name tag says “Cinnamyn.” They’re both helping out the first person in line who’s a middle-aged dude in a blue suit with a goatee.

  This will be a long wait. We’ve got about eight people ahead of us, I’d guess. I turn to Elle. “When were we supposed to get here?”

  “Ten a.m.”

  I check my watch. “It’s five after. We’re running a little late. Should we text him again?”

  Elle scrunches her mouth. “I did text him. It still isn’t going through.”

  “Maybe he turned off his phone or something.”

  “Maybe.” Elle goes on tiptoe to check out the line. It’s not moving. “Let’s give it another couple of minutes and see where we are.”

  Tamara starts gabbing away to her coworker. There’s nothing else to do, so I listen in. “Did you hear?” she asks.

  Now, I know the opening salvo into gossip. And the way Tamara asked that question while raising her voice when she said “hear?” Something good is coming up.

  “Hear what?” asks Cinnamyn.

  “Alec came in early today.” Tamara bobs her perfectly coiffed eyebrows up and down. She looks like a million bucks.

  Elle and I share a side-eye glance. This look says, maybe, as in maybe they aren’t talking about OUR Alec.

  “How early?” Cinnamyn slowly pulls out a purple Sharpie and writes a name on a sticker badge with such care, it’s like she’s moving in slow motion. I know this trick. I use it in tutoring sessions all the time. Elle calls it the labor fake. I call it goofing around. Either way, I’m glad it’s happening since it might be giving Elle and me some useful information.

  Tamara pauses for dramatic effect. “Eight a.m.”

  “No. Way.” Cinnamyn gasps. “The vice president of who knows what never saunters in before noon.”

  Elle and I share a knowing smile. Vice president of who knows what? Check. Sauntering around? Check again.

  Oh, they’re talking about our Alec, all right.

  Now, you might think that receptionists wouldn’t spend their time gossiping when there is a long line of people waiting for badges, but I’ve seen the LeCharme payroll. These ladies are sorely in need of a raise. It’s something I plan to bring up to Alec one of these days. So, a little gossiping is like a makeshift bonus, really.

  Tamara sets down her Sharpie. “Why was he in so early?”

  The Goatee Dude pulls on the neck of his dress shirt. “Aren’t you done with my name badge yet? I have a very important appointment.”

  Tamara glares at him. “One moment, sir. I’m almost done.”

  I think I like Tamara.

  After that, Tamara writes the guy’s name so slowly you can barely tell she’s alive. It reminds me of those people who pose like statues in Central Park.

  “Well.” Cinnamyn looks around, probably to see if any LeCharme employees are milling about. It’s just us and the other badge-needers, so she keeps right on going. “He showed up with a specific list of rare and unusual jewels, and he asked that they be brought up from the vaults to his office.”

  “Why would be do that?” Tamara keeps staring at Cinnamyn, the finished name badge held between her fingers. Goatee Dude snaps it from her hand and marches off in a huff. The next person in line steps up to the counter, and Tamara holds up her pointer finger. “One sec.” She lowers her voice. “So, what was that all about?”

  “I don’t know,” answers Cinnamyn. “But he also asked for fresh flowers to be delivered to his office. And he’s having lunch for two being brought in today from Chez Monique, which is only the most romantic restaurant in Manhattan.”

  Tamara gasps. “No.”

  Elle grabs my hand so hard she digs her nails into my palm. That’s her “holy crap” move. Alec arranged jewels, flowers, and a fancy lunch? I swear, if Alec isn’t doing all this for Elle, I’m going to take a baseball bat and smack in his surfer-dude face.

  Suddenly, the lobby fills with dozens of stylish men and women, all in black suits. Folks stand around tables, lounge by the windows, and talk in small groups. Tamara and Cinnamyn immediately stiffen in their chairs. It’s like someone jammed a cattle prod into their backsides. The two of them start tearing through the line of folks waiting to get badges. In fact, they go so quickly it’s like watching a movie on fast-forward.

  Seconds later, Alec strides into the lobby. Instantly, it’s clear why everyone just so happens to be hanging around right now. The crowd swarms Alec the moment he shows up. As always, he looks very handsome and surfer-guy smiley in his black suit. He’s no Knox, but Elle’s panting up a storm.

  Not that either of us care about those boys.

  The suits start to move in and out of Alec’s hearing range. It’s like some complex dance as they call out different requests and greetings.

  “Good morning, Mr. LeCharme.”

  “Mr. LeCharme. It’s Lou in Purchasing. I’d like to show you my proposal for Asia Pacific.” Lou then whips out said proposal and flashes it in Alec’s direction. “Maybe you could put in a good word with your parents?”

  “Hey, Al. Don’t know if you remember me. Paulie from Sales. Some of the guys are going out to a club tonight, if you want to go.”

  It’s amazing how Alec absolutely ignores them all. I’d think it was kind of rude except his gaze is locked on Elle, and she’s blushing her face off. He raises his arm. “Elle, Bryar! I was wondering where you were.” After sauntering up to the reception desk, Alec gives Tamara and Cinnamyn his best surfer-dude smile. “They don’t need badges.”

  Tamara and Cinnamyn only stare with their jaws open. Eventually, they nod. After that, Alec and Elle go back to staring at each other but don’t actually go anywhere or say anything. Awkward.

  Finally, Alec leans forward to give Elle a quick peck on the cheek. “Good morning.”

  She blushes an even darker shade of red. “Hi.”

  I shoot him a wave. “Hey, Alec.”

  “I’m so excited you’re both here. I can’t wait to show you your new workspace. I got it all set up.”

  “Thanks.” Elle frowns. “So we’re not…going to your office?”

  “No, you’re here for the internship, right?”

  Elle’s frown deepens. “Oh. Yes. Sure.”

  “Then, follow me.”

  Alec leads us through a maze of hallways until we reach a huge storage room. After entering in the longest key code ever, he lets us inside. Everything here is bare concrete. Wide filing cabinets line the left-hand wall. Along the right is the biggest computer setup I’ve ever seen. My fingers itch to get on the keyboard. This thing makes wh
at I had at Elle’s cabin look like crap on a cracker.

  Alec rubs his neck. “This room isn’t too big, but you know real estate in Manhattan.”

  “I don’t know, Alec.” I step around. “It’s pretty big.” Three of Elle’s condos could fit in here.

  “It’s not furnished, though. This is where Knox and I have been working on our papyri stuff.”

  At the mention of Knox’s name, my stomach decides that now is a great time to do somersaults. Stupid stomach. After that, my mouth comes to the decision that it should move on its own. “Is Knox around?”

  “Mister Moody?” Alec does another one of his men’s catalog poses where he sets his hands in his pockets while rocking back on his heels. “I don’t know. Haven’t seen him in a while. Why do you ask?”

  “No reason.”

  Elle shoots me a look that says, I know the reason.

  I stick out my tongue at her, just a little bit. “Actually, I was wondering if he knew the computer system and where the images of the papyri were stored.” So there.

  Alec rubs his chin. “He does know this setup better than me. I’ll send him over when I see him.”

  “Sure. Or don’t. I really don’t care either way.”

  Shut. Up. Mouth.

  After that, Alec shows me all the papyri images stored on the computer system. It’s pretty sweet. They even have a high-speed web connection with badass encryption, so I can download all my old images from the cabin as well. Perfect.

  I sit down in the high-back roller chair before the wall of computers and monitors. “I can’t wait to get started.”

  “Great.” Alex motions to the far wall. “There’s a photo station over there. We’ve got a hi-res camera hooked up with a FireWire to your system.” He turns to the wall of long cabinets. “All the new papyri are in the first four cabinets.”

  My brows lift. “That many have just come in?”

  “Well, let’s just say they’re new to you. You’ll find them on your hard drive marked with ‘NB’ on the file name.”

  I’m still not following. “NB?”

  Alec winces. “No Bryar.”

  “Wait, what? I thought I got all your shipments.”

  “Not exactly,” says Alec. “I always got photo evidence before I made my final payment for papyri. I’ve been letting you find all the shipments that I was sure Knox and I couldn’t decipher.”

  “You’re kind of a dick.” I set my fist on my hip. “You know that, right?”

  His surfer-guy grin is back. “It’s one of my best qualities.”

  “I’m so not commenting on that one.” Instead, I sit down before my new supercomputer, and I click through the NB folders on my desktop. My eyes widen so much, I’m surprised they’re still in my head. This is like seeing another half of a sheet in my treasured five-foot-long papyri puzzle, only with a bunch of the missing pieces filled in. “Wow. These are amazing. I can already see a few scraps that will really help.”

  “Great.” Alec turns to Elle. “And as for you…” He rakes his hand through his wavy blond hair. “There’s some stuff I want you to see in my…” He opens his mouth, but no words come out.

  Elle smiles sweetly. This really is one of her best faces. “Yes?”

  “This might seem over the top, but maybe you could come to my…”

  Enough already. At this rate, it will take them an hour to leave, and I have papyri to investigate. “Why don’t you two go to Alec’s office?”

  “Yes.” Alec exhales. “I mean, if that’s all right with Elle. You see, I found some more jewelry pieces that might be stolen. Thought you might want to take a look.”

  “Sure. I’d like that.”

  Alec beams. “Good.”

  They do that thing again where they stare at each other without moving. I’ve just about had it with this. I point toward the door. “The exit is that way.”

  Now, I’d worry about my best friend and Alec, who’s a warden, player, and clearly not boyfriend material, but I happen to know for a fact that she is not interested in him at all. Just like I don’t care about Knox. So there.

  At last, Alec and Elle leave the room. I dive into my papyri work. Hours fly by. At some point, my stomach starts growling, but I ignore it. The information I’m turning up is simply amazing. And Alec is right about there being a pattern to the glyphs. If you use a repeating sequence of choosing every fourth symbol, you come up with an entirely different set of messages.

  My pulse speeds as I link together my first sentences from his hidden code. “In using this magic, you will be able to achieve eternal life by becoming a…”

  I stare at the glyph. That can’t be right.

  Nope, it’s right.

  “I mean, your body can achieve eternal youth by becoming a mummy. Sort of.” I scrub my hands over my face. This must be a mistake. Sure, in ancient Egypt, it was believed that mummies gave the spirit a place to return, but that was only the spirit. No one thought the body actually stayed alive.

  I look at the glyphs again. Retranslate. It still says the same thing. I lean back in my chair, ready to give up for a little while and take a break. There has to be a snack machine around here somewhere.

  That’s when the small hairs on my neck prickle with awareness.

  Someone’s here.

  I slowly swivel in my roller chair, and there he is. Knox. He looks badass in blue jeans, boots, and a black T-shirt. I wave, which is dumb, but I can’t think of anything else to do. “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  “How long have you been watching me?”

  “A while. You looked too engrossed for me to bug you.” He holds his hands up with his palms forward. “I’m not a stalker; I swear.”

  “I believe you. Maybe.” With that, my head gets a little swoony, which means one of my attacks is coming on. “Can you excuse me for a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  I head for the nearest bathroom at warp speed. Luckily, there’s one in the workroom, so I don’t have to go outside, meander the halls, and then figure out that complex key code to get back in. Once I’m safe inside the ladies’ room, I pull out my inhaler and take about a half-dozen deep puffs of medicine. Then I fix my lip gloss, fluff my hair, and try not to look like I just freaked out because Knox walked into the room.

  The whole experience takes less than five minutes, after which time I’m back at my work chair, trying to look casual. “So, why did you stop by?”

  “First, to apologize for being an ass. Again.” He rubs the scruff along his chin. “You drive my wolf a little crazy.”

  “I do?” The question comes out as a squeak, so I force my voice down an octave. “I mean, I do. Is that normal?”

  “Not for me. But it’s cool. I’m getting the hang of it.” He gives me a lopsided smile that melts my insides. “I also came here to show you the truth about the Denarii.”

  “The truth?”

  “Remember, I promised you that in the car ride back from the Adirondacks.”

  “Yes, I remember.” I was just freaking out too much to access any memories.

  “That’s why I came by.” He tilts his head, a move I’ve seen him do before. “But now, I’m thinking that may have been a bad idea.”

  “Is something wrong with your wolf?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “When you tilted your head in the car, it was because your wolf was talking to you.” Not that I memorize every little thing you do or anything.

  “Yeah, about that.” Knox grits his teeth. “I need to change.”

  I hop to my feet. “Now? This very minute?”

  “Yeah.” Knox laces his fingers behind his neck. “My wolf wants to see you. Know that you’re safe. It’s how we shifters are. Touch is really important.”

  “Touching.”

  “Yeah. If I don’t change now, I’ll need to go.” Knox takes a few steps away. I step into his path.

  “No, you can stay.” I walk toward the door. “I’ll wait outside.”

 
; “No!” Knox winces with pain. “No. Wolf wants you here. Just…” He keeps wincing and not talking, so I decide to offer up a plan.

  “How about this? I’ll turn my back.” I turn myself toward the computer monitors, but I can still see some of Knox’s reflection. Oops. For some reason, I decide not to share that fact. “We all good?”

  “That works. Thanks.”

  “Oh. What about the door?”

  “Only Alec has the key code, and he’s seen everything before.” After that, I hear the swish of fabric and the hum of a zipper opening. And yes, I see lots of muscly muscles reflected in the computer monitor. I am a very bad person.

  Suddenly, Knox hunches over. Loud cracks sound. I wince in sympathy. Those are his bones breaking and taking a new form. Yow. The reflections in the computer monitor disappear. A few seconds later, something wet nudges my hand.

  Looking down, I see a huge black wolf at my side. His upper haunches reach my shoulders. His muzzle is angled low to touch my palm. That scent I smelled before—sandalwood and musk—becomes overpowering in its yumminess.

  I gently stroke along the wolf’s neck. “Aren’t you beautiful?” Wolf-Knox wags his tail, so I guess I’m doing this right. “I didn’t get a good look at you when you were killing Madame.”

  Mentioning the attack from Madame seems to set off Wolf-Knox’s protective instincts. He prowls around me in a circle before setting his paws on my shoulders. They’re big as dinner plates and super-heavy. After that, Wolf-Knox moves in to nuzzle my cheek. A sense of warmth blossoms through my chest.

  On reflex, I stroke Wolf-Knox’s fur. It’s both feather-soft and warm. “There we are.” My voice is gentle. “I’m safe.”

  Wolf-Knox nuzzles me some more, and we stay like that for a while. A sense of contentment washes through me like nothing I’ve ever felt. Warmth pulses through my veins. Our eyes meet, and Wolf-Knox’s irises turn from gold to blue. I don’t know why, but I feel certain that’s a good thing.

  I pat his neck again. “Better now?”

  In reply, Wolf-Knox nuzzles my neck one last time and turns away. The crack of bones sounds again. His body contorts at painful-looking angles. Some little part of me knows that Knox is changing back into his human form, and I should turn away. However, that little insight isn’t making it from my cerebral cortex to any other part of my body. I can only stand around and watch him make the change.