by Trisha Telep
Selina lifted her head. It was starting to pound, the hangover of embracing all that fear and rage. “Lock-up?”
“Sort of house arrest, until he changes all the way to wolf form. Once that happens, usually everything’s okay. It’s like the body learns what to do and can start developing some control.”
“How long is that going to take?”
Jake shook his head. He looked as exhausted as she felt. “Hard to say. He has to stay aware to gain wolf form. A lot of first-timers keep passing out from sheer terror. It takes a few times before they make it through.”
“This wasn’t his first try, was it?”
“I don’t know. This guy had just come in for initial tests. Really didn’t want to talk. I had no idea his situation was this far advanced, or I wouldn’t have had him sitting in the office.”
Selina heard the defeat in Jake’s voice. She guessed past cases hadn’t gone well. “Isn’t there a sedative? Something to relax him but not knock him out?”
“Not so far. We try new drugs as they come on the market, but the werewolf body does odd things during the change.” His warm brown eyes were serious. “What you just did took serious guts.”
Selina didn’t feel brave. She felt depressed and slightly, inconveniently turned on by the concern in his gaze. Guys wanted her, but usually vanished once they got a whiff of her magic. Dr Jake Hallender wasn’t a coward. Then again, he wasn’t a human, either.
She managed a small smile, but it quickly faded. “I’m glad I could help. On the other hand, I guess I didn’t. He needs to change. I stopped him.”
Jake shook his head. “That wasn’t going to happen today. He was too afraid. Besides, we need to get him someplace safe – for himself and others. You gave him that.” He touched her shoulder, the contact light yet comforting as an embrace.
Selina dipped her chin, looking sadly at the now-human Steve while Jake gave some instructions to Tracy. Selena looked at her watch, realizing how much she used the gesture as a shield. Being busy kept people at a safe distance.
“I need to go. Please don’t say anything about what I did here. I have to be able to pass for human.” She swallowed hard, feeling suddenly awkward.
Jake nodded, his expression filled with understanding, but that intense gaze dimmed to a socially acceptable wattage. He was giving her space. The wolf no longer looked out of his eyes, just a tired man.
His withdrawal was a relief, but a disappointment at the same time.
The transition from the vet’s office back to her normal life was disorienting. It was like leaving Friday Night Fright Night and landing in an episode of Antiques Road Show. Not that she wasn’t grateful for the upgrade, but it was a weird segue.
Selina dropped Gary off at home. She made him a nest of towels in the bathtub where he couldn’t hurt himself or anything else, filled bowls with food and water, and shut the bathroom door. She’d gargoyle-proof the rest of the apartment when she got home later and had more time.
As it was, she barely made it back to her office in time to meet with Mrs McAdams about the sale of her snuff box. An ivory oval no more than an inch and a half long, it was decorated with a coat of arms in delicately worked gold. Though small, it would be one of the attractions of the gallery’s upcoming show – if she could get the elderly widow to part with it.
Despite the afternoon’s drama, or maybe because of it, Selina presented the gallery’s offer with extra elegance and passion. She’d always been content to work behind the scenes, but today she sparkled as Old World’s negotiator. Some day, she thought breathlessly, I might even have a gallery of my own.
But not if you keep tempting fate. You have secrets to keep. What do you think you‘re doing, stirring up your magic like that? You know better than to play with other monsters!
Selina pushed her nightmares and daydreams aside, returning her attention to Her Lady of the Snuff Box. “It’s a very good offer,” Selina insisted.
“I just don’t know, dear,” Mrs McAdams wavered – more a negotiating tactic than any sign of weakness. The old lady was herself a keen collector and one of the gallery’s best clients. “The box has been in my family for generations. It would stay in the family if only I’d been lucky enough to have children. Are you planning any children, my dear?”
“Not right now. But did I tell you about my new gargoyle?”
“Once or twice since I arrived,” Mrs McAdams nodded. Laughter softened the sharp, shrewd look in her eyes. “I think your new pet is going to be a keeper. You seem happier than I’ve ever seen you. Much more chipper than old Janos.”
“But about the box – what if I sweetened the deal a little?”
Selina was tempted to add a pinch of fey charm to her smile, but wouldn’t give in to the impulse. She just smiled with all the happiness she’d felt rescuing her new housemate.
Not even Mrs McAdams could resist that.
After the papers were signed and her client shown to a cab, Selina hurried home, conscious that for once someone was waiting for her. It was nice, even if he was short, fuzzy, and an odd shade of grey.
She stopped at the Pet Play Barn to buy a few more supplies. It was a good thing she was warming up to the idea of keeping him. So far Gary had cost as much as the pair of really nice designer shoes she’s been eyeing at that cute downtown boutique.
As she lugged a large driftwood perch up the stairs of her elevator-free apartment, she tried to focus on the fact that shoes weren’t cuddly. Nor did they require squeeze toys, organic Gargy-Treatz at ten bucks a bag, or a freaking thousand-pound perch that shed slivers like a porcupine shooting quills. She was used to flying solo, not catering to another creature’s needs.
That thought ricocheted her mind to Dr Jake and his capable hands. What am I thinking? That whole Hairy Met Sally thing would never work.
She unlocked the door and switched on the apartment light. When she opened the bathroom door, Gary was still burrowed into the terry cloth heap. He cheeped when she came in.
“Hey, champ, how’s it going?”
Gary reached up. She picked him up, careful of his bandaged wing. He tucked his head under her chin, snuggling close. To her alarm, he was burning hot. Do gargoyles get fevers?
She went straight to the phone, where she’d left the number for Dr Jake’s after-hours pager.
Gary clung to Selina, refusing to let go of her blouse, so she stood in front of the big balcony window, looking out at the twilight. With her arms full of baby monster, there wasn’t much else she could do.
She thought about facing Jake again. She normally tried to stay away from other supernaturals because, like him, they could sense her fey blood. Everyone assumed the fey were cheats, which was unfair. Sure, their species had different cultural concepts about bargaining. Back in the day, they’d pay in gold that turned into dead leaves or horses that became a pile of straw – but they only did that to people who deserved bad luck. Plus, this was the twenty-first century. Everyone played by human business rules. She hadn’t charmed the snuff box out of Mrs McAdams; she’d negotiated the price fair and square.
Unfortunately, old ideas died hard. Janos certainly wouldn’t keep her if he knew what she was. If Selina wanted to work in a human company, she had to bury half her identity.
By living a lie, was she cheating? Or was she cheating herself? Why, oh, why had she used her magic on Steve? For all the right reasons, her soft heart had dragged her into a mess – with a vet who knew she was fey just by her scent. She felt horribly exposed.
As if picking up on her mood, Gary fussed, restless and uncomfortable. Selina paced back and forth, hoping the motion quieted him. One by one, lights in the surrounding buildings came to life.
The apartment buzzer rang, making Selina jump and Gary chirp. Selina pushed the intercom button to the downstairs door.
“It’s Jake Hallender.”
“That was quick,” Selina said.
“Fast, furry and fabulous.”
That surprised
a laugh out of her. “Your self-esteem is doing okay, too.”
Selina pushed the button to unlock the downstairs door, dismayed to find her stomach fluttering like a schoolgirl’s before a big date. Give me a break. Then she opened the apartment door, still holding Gary like a security blanket. Jake arrived dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans and carrying an old-fashioned doctor’s bag.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.” Selina swallowed. “Come on in.”
He did, filling the room and making her antiques seem small and flimsy. “You said Gary had a fever?”
Selina suddenly felt feverish, too. “Just feel him. He’s burning up.”
Jake put his bag down and took Gary from her. The gargoyle resisted, nearly taking Selina’s blouse with him. Finally, Jake nestled Gary into the crook of his arm. “A fever’s not all that unusual after an injury.”
“Is there an infection?”
“There was no open wound. It’s more likely the stress of today’s adventures. I can give him something to take his temperature down but the real medicine will be rest and good food.”
Jake’s eyes met hers. “Don’t look so worried. Gargoyles were bred to protect sacred places. They can take knocks and bumps better than most creatures.” He saw the perch and smiled. “I guess you’re keeping him.”
Selina sighed. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
The smile turned to a grin. “I’m glad. He really likes you.”
Jake set the gargoyle down on the driftwood arm of the perch. Gary’s bird-like hind feet clamped around it, leaving his front paws free to reach for the array of toys that Selina had hung from the perch’s other arms.
“So, how are you doing?” Jake asked Selina. He opened his bag and pulled out a stethoscope and thermometer. “I can’t apologise enough for what happened back at the office.”
Selina watched him calmly examine the gargoyle. She could hear the regret in his voice, but also resignation. Maybe wrestling wolfmen was just a day in the life of a veterinarian to the supernatural.
On the other hand, he was opening the door to more than pet owner chit-chat. Part of her wanted to hide, like she always did. A larger part of her wanted to talk to someone about everything that had happened, and Jake was the only choice. No one else knows my secret.
“I’m fine. A little stirred up. Glad what I did for poor Steve went okay. Being a half-breed, I don’t risk using my magic much.”
“Risk?”
She grimaced. “An empath’s powers are fragile. At the best of times, they’re sort of – well – sometimes they just go sideways.
One time my older sister was dating a vampire, and I kept thinking Ew, this guy is dead. Suddenly, he was.”
Jake looked shocked and a little amused. “Dead? You killed a vampire? That’s not exactly empathy.”
“Like I said, my magic is wonky. And I don’t know that killed is the right word. I sort of de-lifed him for a while. And there he was, rotting on the kitchen floor, half an hour before prom. I don’t think my sister ever forgave me. I mean, he was supposed to be the hottest guy around, all pale skin and tousled hair. Suddenly he was Mr Stinky in a cummerbund. I was so in trouble.”
Jake shook his head, laughing softly.
Selina slouched miserably against the wall. “Hey, it wasn’t like I meant to do it.”
“What does your family do?”
“My dad and sisters are sorcerers for hire. My magic wasn’t reliable enough for that.”
“So you struck out in your own direction.” He gave Gary a treat and then slipped the gargoyle a shot when he wasn’t looking. “I did that too. There were four boys in my family, and three of us wanted to be alphas.”
Selina squirmed. It was a strange conversation to be having with a near stranger but Jake listened with the same intensity with which he looked at her. She could tell he was absorbing every word. It must be something to belong to a wolf pack, if they’re all like this.
She’d never been so very much the centre of attention. She could feel herself craving it, like an instant addict – and the gentle, clever way he handled Gary was mesmerizing. Whoa, slow down there, kiddo. Don’t make this more than it is.
“Where does your family live?” he asked.
She cleared her throat, drawing herself up. Distance yourself. “A long way away. I’ve kept what I am a secret up until now.”
Jake put his medical instruments away. “Don’t worry. I get it. The business world is fey-averse. I won’t tell a soul.”
The way he said it made Selina feel bad about involving him in her lie. “Sorry.”
He snapped the bag shut, his expression suddenly tight. “It’s not just the fey who’ve got a bad rep.”
“But we’re the only ones who can’t join the Chamber of Commerce, or get an import/export licence, or bid on government contracts. Wereanimals aren’t treated that way. Neither are vampires.” Selina heard the heat in her voice, but couldn’t help herself. “Not all fey are leprechauns, you know. Most of us are honest.”
Jake shook his head. “Some humans still think my people carry lycanthropy. I wanted to be a doctor. Only the vet school would accept my application. Of course, to a werewolf, vet and doctor are pretty close to the same thing. Then again, I might have tried to be a cop and ended up the dogcatcher.” He laughed ruefully.
“So you don’t even get the prestige of being an M.D.?”
Jake continued to smile, but something more serious lurked in his eyes. “The prestige I can live without, but I wish I had more resources. There’s a lot of work to be done in supernatural medicine. As you saw first-hand, no one has even discovered an effective sedative for people like Steve.”
Selina swallowed. Her clients could drop a fortune on an antique vase. How much research would those dollars buy? “You’d think people would do the research just for the sake of science.” The moment she said it, she realized how naive that was, coming from a businesswoman.
For a moment, it looked like he struggled with how much to say. “The medical community doesn’t understand us, and doesn’t want to. I even had to fight to get a veterinary licence. The board was seriously afraid I would eat some old lady’s chihuahua. Get serious. One of those things wouldn’t even cover a piece of toast.”
Selina smiled at his jibe, but she could hear his bitterness. She dropped her shields a notch. His emotions were clear: frustrated, passionate, but also relieved to be sharing his feelings. That threw her. He was the perfect listener, but he also needed to be heard.
But why me? Why was he talking to her, a half-fey recluse?
The answer wasn’t hard to find. As an empath, she could feel what he felt in her own body. Jake faced the world with squared shoulders, feet firmly planted, his muscles braced to take everyone’s burden. He was the go-to guy for his community, always on call, always ready to answer someone else’s needs. He didn’t get much chance to let his fur down. An alpha.
She was isolated by choice, he by responsibility. Suddenly, they had something very important in common.
“Do you want to get a pizza?” she said impulsively. “I know a good place that delivers.”
Selina felt suddenly faint. The impetuous move had taken her breath away.
His eyebrows lifted. “Are you sure? I didn’t think you were into wolves.”
She looked out the window, unable to meet his eyes. “I’m more of a cat person, but I’d feel better if you stuck around for Gary’s sake.”
“I’m happy to be of service but, uh, Gary’s going to be just fine.”
She gave him a sidelong glance. She felt that hot, hard focus again, as if every cell of his being were paying attention only to her. It was unnerving, but there was something incredibly attractive about finally being seen. All at once, she wasn’t the family misfit or just the numbers gal. She was, judging from Jake’s expression, someone wonderful. Go, me.
“What do wolves take on their pizzas?”
“This one likes pepperoni. The hotter the better.”<
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Selina ordered two huge pies, and it was a good thing. Werewolves were bottomless pits. So were baby gargoyles. Gary revived enough to flop off his perch and waddle over to the Victorian-era clawfoot side table, where Selina and Jake had put the pizza boxes while they watched a baseball game on her woefully tiny TV.
Jake, it turned out, had a thing for the Mariners. Gary had a thing for pepperoni, napkins, hand wipes, and anything else that would fit in his beak. Selina was grateful when Gary finally slumped against her side and started to snore. She’d begun to daydream about duct taping him to the perch before he choked on the remote control.
Jake wiped the gargoyle spit from the remote on to his jeans and muted the commercials. “So, I’ve got a question.”
“What?” Selina asked around a mouthful of pizza.
He frowned, lacing his hands behind his head and stretching out his long legs. He was utterly at ease, taking up as much space as he wanted. “I totally understand wanting to hold down a humans-only job, but did you give up magic just for that reason?”
She chewed and swallowed. “My magic’s not very good. I have the family talent but not always the strength to control it.” She could feel her powers now, moving of their own accord, testing the atmosphere. They sometimes did that when her emotions were aroused.
“But you can help people. I don’t just mean like Steve, but you can tell what people really need or want. Doesn’t that apply no matter what you do?”
She stopped and took a swallow of cola, telling her magic to go back to sleep. “I don’t need superpowers to do my job. I’m successful in the human world.”
He pinned her with that hundred-watt stare. “But your non-human talents?”
“Spending my day around beautiful art and antiques makes my fey side happy.”
“Is that enough? Doesn’t it bother you having to hide who you are?”
“I’m fine with things the way they are.” The lie tasted ashy. “Someday I want a gallery of my own. I have to play by the rules.”
“You can partner up with other people. Other supernaturals, maybe. Get them to buy the import licences.”
The idea momentarily stunned her. She’d been so set on living as a human, that this was an option she’d never considered. It flew in the face of the things that made her feel safe: working alone, and hiding who she was.
