“I do, and it was. I managed to make my point in a painful way without making him even more of an enemy.”
I could sense his surprise without even looking at him.
“You actually tortured him?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss what happened behind closed doors. However, I believe he respects me now.” I shrugged. “Everyone assumes I had a threesome with him and Abbott, so appearances are fixed. I don’t think he’ll have to do something else to save face, at any rate.”
“When you and I finish with Aaron this evening, it’s my hope the three of us can have a meal together. I’ll have to take you home when we finish though, because I need to sleep with my Pride tonight. We’re still healing from the damage inflicted during the battle in Mexico.”
“I’ve wanted to ask about it, but figured you’d tell me if it’s something I need to know.”
“Abbott and I aren’t okay. We’ve been at odds before, but never like this. Our truce will hold, but it won’t take much to break it.” He shrugged. “He’s old and he has tricks up his sleeve I didn’t know were possible. No one gives you an instruction book for how to be the Amakhosi when you take over the office. I feel like I should know what I’m doing after eight-hundred years, but Abbott blindsided me.”
“Perhaps eventually you’ll be able to thank him for the lesson instead of wanting to kill him for providing it.”
He laughed, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “The top two things on my list for today were to make sure you and I were okay, and to fix things with Aaron.”
“You know how long he waited for Sophia.” I kept my voice soft. Nathan needed me on his side, but I needed to remind him of exactly why his best friend was so angry with him.
“I know. Abbott wouldn’t have hurt her for just that reason, but I still understand why Aaron’s so mad. Thanks for standing by my side for this.”
“You pissed the dragon off. I’ll help as much as I can, but it might be wisest for me to keep my mouth shut.”
“I’ll trust your intuition. If you feel you should speak up, please do.”
It took four hours for the dragon and lion to hug, and at one point, Aaron whaled on Nathan while the Lion King stood and let him. Pieces of Nathan’s face flew off, but he didn’t move to defend himself or attack back. When Aaron stopped, Nathan shifted his head to lion and back to human before saying, “I deserved that, and possibly more.”
Aaron shook his head. “You’re correct — Abbott would never hurt her, but allowing her to go was a bad call. However, you didn’t put her in actual danger so you get to live, but if you ever put her security in a holding cell again, I’ll put you in one for six months. Are we clear?”
“Crystal.”
There were more threats. Lots more. Finally, the two hugged and it felt right. Aaron ordered in enough barbecue to feed an army, and the two of them put it all away without help. I got a loaded baked potato and fried cheese sticks.
“I’m glad the two of you are okay again,” I told them. “I hate having everyone at odds.” And it’d been hard to stand witness to their fight without butting in, but I’d known they had to resolve it.
“This hasn’t been too bad,” said Aaron. “Everything that’s happened can be fixed. Not overnight, but no one’s passed the point of no return.” He eyed me, Nathan, and then me again. “Want to tell me what’s going on with the two of you?”
I noted he asked me and not Nathan, which meant I was the weakest link.
“I have no idea, and I’m trying my best not to analyze the shit out of it. He’s my friend, and we enjoy spending time with each other. We’re figuring it out. We can’t ever be an official item, and I’ll probably get my heart broken eventually, but he’s taking the same risk because I’ll almost certainly die before him.” I shrugged. “Friends with benefits, for now.”
He glanced at Nathan and back to me. “Isn’t that what you have with Dawg?”
I chuckled. “No. Dawg says we’re friends-who-fuck, which I think in his eyes is a step up from fuckbuddies, but I don’t see it going any further.”
“Ryan’s taken an interest in you.”
I sensed the dragon. Testing. Aaron wasn’t sure what Ryan’s game was. That made two of us.
“Not sexual. I think he has whatever concerns Apollonius has. It’s like they need to stay aware, so they can kill me if they think I may become uncontrollable. They keep saying a human’s never done this before, but I’m not sure I believe them because I get the sense they’re waiting to see if I turn into the same thing the last human who could do this turned into — whatever horror that might have been.”
“To my knowledge, you’re the first,” said Aaron. “I think it has more to do with your connection to divinity. It seems to come and go, which tells me it’s more about how you’re controlling your energy than something in your DNA, but it has everyone scratching their heads.”
“Ryan worries she’ll lean towards Xaephan instead of Mordecai, I believe,” said Nathan. “He asks a helluva lot of questions about her relationship with the Lord of Lust.”
“There isn’t a relationship,” I said.
“Yeah, there is,” said Nathan. “He doesn’t usually take this kind of interest in humans. Just remain cautious around him, and don’t commit to anything without getting input from Aaron, Mordecai, or perhaps even Apollonius.”
“I’m not doing anything until Lauren leaves for college.”
“I hope you have the luxury of the year you wish for,” said Aaron.
5
The full moon fell on a Tuesday, and I went straight to Randall’s house after work. He met me at my car and walked me in the front door.
Randall’s magic caressed me, soothed me. Perhaps I felt what Cora felt, because the Pack lands felt a lot like coming home. I had no doubt Randall could attempt to crush me with his power at the drop of a hat, but I breathed in the energy he swirled and wrapped around me, accepting it instead of rebuffing it.
“For someone who says she’s trying to back out of our world, you’ve been pretty active the past two weeks.”
“I’m aware. I had a list of things to handle before I could back out.” My heart rate slowed. My steps fell into time with his.
“I hope we aren’t just a checkmark on your list.”
I chuckled. “You’re my last checkmark, but you should understand the things I put on the list were of the utmost importance.”
“I hope we see you again before your daughter starts college.”
“Me too, but I’m not making promises.”
We walked through the front door and he waved me towards the steps leading to the second floor. “Take the same room you were in last time. I know you aren’t staying, but I wanted to give you a space to change clothes and get comfortable. I’ll be in the kitchen — come find me when you’re ready.”
I’d brought blue jean shorts, a lavender shirt, and my Tevas. I’d worn my hair in a bun on the back of my head for work, and I let it down with my fingers crossed it would behave. It did, and I hoped it was a sign the rest of the evening would run smoothly.
A half-dozen wolves were already hanging out in the kitchen when I went down, but I knew the room would be packed before long.
“Do ya’ll wait until dark during the summer, too?”
“We don’t need to since we have the obfuscation enchantment on the field,” Randall answered, “but we usually wait until twilight.”
“Wolf fur and sun — not such a great combination,” said Cora.
The calming effect of Randall’s home, the Pack’s home, settled me even more. “I’m looking forward to feeling the Pack energy, but just being here seems to soothe my soul.”
“I think you pick up on how Cora feels,” said Randall. “I’d like for you to try to stay in tune with her when she changes tonight, if you can.”
“Is there any precedent, so you know what might happen?”
He shrugged. “Wolves with a relationship bond sometimes keep
open, so their human spouse can see and hear what they do. Your connection to Cora is different, but it seems to me we should experiment around and see what else you can do. I’d like for you to eventually learn how to pull her wolf from her, because if she’s ever at death’s door and can’t change to heal, you could save her life.”
“Okay. I’ll follow my instincts and we’ll see what happens.”
I grew happier and more relaxed as more people arrived. I don’t want to be a werewolf, but I admit the prospects of belonging to the Pack are tempting. Not tempting enough to give away my free will to get it, though. Cora says Randall rarely exercises his power in that way, but even once would be too much.
When we moved to the field, he introduced a family who were moving from the Ringgold Pack to the Chattanooga Pack. I’ve been on the stage with him before, but I was in the front row on this night.
Cora was on the stage with Randall and his other top people during the welcoming and initial joining, but she jumped off the stage and held my hand once the Pack energy began circulating. It was warm, comforting, accepting. Tears filled my eyes at the feeling of being at one with everyone. Once again, the time is a blur when I look back on it, and I only remember being bathed in love and magic.
I knew people were undressing and changing, but I didn’t need to watch to know. I felt it. Cora let go of my hand to pull her loose dress off and put it in her cubby, but came back to me before she changed.
I didn’t connect with her one-on-one, but focused on her more than the rest of the Pack, and the swiftness of the change caught me off guard.
The wolf isn’t Cora in a wolf body. She’s another being. Another soul. I’d known on an intellectual level, but experiencing it caught me off guard. She bumped my leg with her shoulder once before running off with the other wolves, and I was left sitting on a bench, alone.
Randall had offered to wait to change, so he could walk me to my car, but I’d assured him I’d be okay.
A few hawks patrolled the house and gate to be sure the wolves weren’t disturbed, and I wondered how Randall had recruited them. They weren’t Drake employees — was there another supernatural security company I didn’t know about? Or maybe it was part of their treaty; I knew wolves had various agreements with other animal groups.
My phone rang on my drive home, and I almost didn’t answer when I saw it was Ryan. I had peace in my soul and Ryan would screw with it. However, a sigh escaped my chest when I acknowledged I needed to know what he had to say.
Ryan didn’t mess around with small talk. “Griffin’s second decided he enjoyed being in charge while his Master was incapacitated. Griffin is helping his second take over a neighboring territory, so the two can be allies. You shouldn’t have to worry about either for at least a year.”
“Thanks. Good to know. And Rinaldo?”
“No word on him. Also, the Celrau have gone dark. We don’t know where they are.”
“Is there anything I should do to stay safe?”
“Colloidal silver, so they’ll have to wait until it’s out of your system to drink from you. Otherwise, stay alert and don’t relax your training.”
I’d done colloidal silver in the past, but it bothers Cora and makes sex with Nathan and Dawg impossible. I’d start taking it again if we were at a critical alert, but I didn’t think we were.
6
I had months of peace. Months. I spent one or two nights a month with Dawg, and usually one night a week with Nathan, at his house. Both were understanding about working me in when Lauren was spending the night with friends.
I even had dinner with Bran once or twice — without sex. I had a girls’ night with Kendra a few times, and talked to Abbott frequently enough to touch base and catch up, but I managed to completely avoid Gavin. I wasn’t clear on exactly why, but Kendra was officially Abbott’s Third again, and Gavin had moved back to his Second.
Cora permanently moved into the guest room and once again became part of our little family. Xiaolan lived near campus with her boyfriend, but she still came for dinner at least once a week, often more. The boyfriend came sometimes, too.
Lauren’s friends were in and out, and we often had girls spending the night or even the weekend. Our house was happy, loving, and normal.
Lauren’s senior year went way too fast, and before I knew it, I was sitting in an auditorium watching her walk across the stage.
We’d made some huge decisions in the early months of the year, and the two of us would leave for a six-month trip to China a few days later. Lauren had been accepted to Harvard, but would start in January instead of the fall. She’d major in business and theater. Harvard doesn’t call it a double major, but a joint concentration. Since she’d need an extra semester to fit the extra classes in, and the administration had approved of her going to China to touch base with her roots, they’d approved her starting in January instead of the fall. We didn’t tell them why she wanted to spend six months in China — they assumed, and we didn’t correct them.
Mainly, she wanted to learn Kung Fu from the man who’d taught me, and I’d been thinking of going for a long visit anyway. It seemed to work out.
China doesn’t usually hand out eight-month tourist visas without a lot of questions, but we noted Lauren had been adopted from China, and that this trip was for her to reconnect with her homeland. It worked, thank goodness. Also, come to think of it, perhaps that’s where Harvard got the idea of her reconnecting.
We didn’t tell anyone we were going so Lauren could learn from my teacher. Everyone thought we were visiting her old orphanage, seeing friends, and being tourists. I wanted to tell Cora, but I didn’t want Randall to know, so not even my best friend knew our true plans. Neither did Aaron or Nathan. I’d long ago made a promise to my Shīfù to keep the identity of my teacher secret. Gavin had torn my mind apart and found out more than he should’ve, but surely he wouldn’t be interested in a Kung Fu teacher in the middle of nowhere?
I’d stopped accepting new patients in the fall, and a month before we left, I moved those patients still in need of therapy to mental health professionals I trusted to take care of them. My assistant went to work for another therapist, and I closed my office. I’d started from scratch once before, I could do it again when I returned. With the millions of dollars I’d recently acquired, I could afford the risk.
Cora would live in my house and take care of Smokey while Lauren and I were gone.
Everything had literally fallen into place, so this had to be the right thing to do.
Lauren’s celebratory dinner after graduation included Nathan, Cora, Randall, Aaron, Sophia, and my parents.
Yes, it was awkward as fuck.
My mom asked nosy questions, I deflected, and Nathan — the arrogant cat — finally told her how often we have sex is none of her business. Lauren choked on her drink, I hit her on the back, and Cora changed the conversation and asked how my mom was liking her new car.
Our waiter flirted with Lauren outrageously and she wasn’t sure how to respond. Cora talked her through flirting back while the waiter wasn’t around, and Nathan even gave her a few pointers.
At what age do you go from being relieved your daughter’s still a virgin, to being concerned? She was nineteen and the last of her peer group to take the big plunge. While I was pleased with the choices she’d made, I worried. Her sensory issues kept her from being able to enjoy a whole lot of touch, while her attachment issues made her ultra-clingy. I’d been around to be a sounding board during high school, and I worried about her going to Harvard a virgin.
First though, she was going to learn martial arts from a true Shīfù.
Lauren went out with her friends the next night, and I spent the night with Nathan — our last night for goodness knew how long.
I was comfortable in his bed by then, and he’d learned all the best ways to hurt me and make me orgasm. We’d fall into bed for a while, have a meal, a little more sex, sometimes a lot more sex, and then sleep till morning. Not that
it was routine because nothing about sex with the Amakhosi is predictable or boring in any way, but on this night he took me to his sparring area and tossed me a wooden quarterstaff.
“You aren’t just taking Lauren to see her homeland.”
“Why are we in here?”
“A few weeks after Gavin was in your head, he left for nearly two months. Rumor has it, he was in China. Now you say you’re going to China and I have to wonder if the two are related.”
Gavin went to China? My heart sped and I knew Nathan would pick up on it, but lifted the quarterstaff to be clear I was asking about it, and said, “I don’t give a fuck about Gavin’s vacation plans. Why am I holding this?”
“How many of Mordecai’s race do you figure have been rendered to pieces like Sutherland and Striker?”
“I assume not many, though I suppose it could be a lot.” I dropped one end of the quarterstaff so it rested on the floor, and I held it vertically like a cane. “I always assumed the gods left us because their presence created so many wars, have I been wrong? Did they leave us because they were torn apart?”
He shook his head. “No, my understanding is that they left to keep humans from fighting over which god was the true God.”
“Then what are you asking?”
“Is it possible the man who taught you is one of Mordecai’s race?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Anything’s possible, but what are the odds?”
“Did Gavin see him in your memories? Did Abbott?”
Fear shot through my veins. “Yes.”
“Attack me. Now. Ten minutes of all out fighting — just don’t take my head off, please.”
I dropped the quarterstaff and stepped back while the echo of it falling sounded against the walls. “You sense more of me when we spar. It’s like, while we’re on the same wavelength, you pick up more stuff.” I shrugged. “Or maybe it has to do with the fact I was a cat in a past life.” I turned to the door, opened it, and stepped into the hallway. “I’m not fighting you tonight.”
Edge of Humanity (Only Human Book 5) Page 5
