He’d deemed the original Godzilla child-appropriate, forgoing a babysitter in favor of family time. He and Iva would have to get used to this sooner rather than later. He refused to allow the kids to be brought up by anyone else, and this was the consequence of that decision. He just hoped Iva agreed with him. Besides, with his pack, he was sure there would be plenty of available babysitters when he and Iva needed a date night.
“Milk Duds, huh?” Iva handed over a tray filled with popcorn, soda and candy. She dug out a familiar yellow box. “Here you go, buddy.”
“Yay!” Milo hugged her tight. “I knew I liked you.”
Noah chuckled. “Okay, that’s enough, buddy, or you might steal my mate away from me.”
Iva winked. “I dunno. Milo’s pretty stiff competition.”
Milo beamed at his uncle. “Told ya she likes me.”
“Hmm.” Noah followed Iva as she led the way into the theater, his gaze straying to her swaying hips. For such a tiny woman she had one hell of an ass.
“Uncle Noah?” Sana’s small hand tugged on his pants, bringing his attention immediately to her.
“Yes, sweetie?” Noah smiled. Sana rarely spoke in crowds, preferring to hide behind him. This was a step forward for her, one he hoped would lead to her being more comfortable in such situations.
“Why are you staring at Auntie Iva’s butt?”
Iva stumbled ahead of him but caught herself before she fell. From the way her shoulders stiffened, he was pretty sure his mate was either embarrassed or trying not to laugh said butt off.
“Because I like her rear end.”
“Oh.” Sana shrugged. “Daddy used to stare at Mommy’s butt too.”
He wasn’t about to touch that one with a ten-foot pole. Both kids needed this almost as much as he did. They all needed to relax and enjoy something innocent and carnage-filled. Talking about Allan and Lily wasn’t on the agenda for the evening.
Iva took a seat and gestured for Sana to sit next to her. Noah took the seat on her other side, with Milo next to him. Noah brushed Sana’s hair from her forehead. “Do you like Godzilla?”
Sana glanced up at him. “I dunno. I’ve never been to church.”
Noah bit his lip to keep from laughing. “No, baby, not that kind of god. Godzilla is a big, radioactive lizard.”
“What’s radiopactive?” Sana’s little face screwed up in confusion.
There was no way Noah was going to sit through the whole movie explaining that one. “You’ll see.”
Milo peered across Noah toward his sister. “It’s when someone glows in the dark like my Minecraft T-shirt.”
Sana’s eyes got huge. “You’re gonna turn into a lizard?”
Milo rolled his eyes. “No. There ain’t no were lizards, silly.”
“Oh.” Sana sat back, slumping in her seat, obviously relieved that her brother wasn’t going to start gleaming like a nightlight.
Iva and Noah exchanged a glance, each one of them trying not to laugh. Seriously. Where do kids come up with this crap?
Everyone in the theater cheered when the lights dimmed, and the screen lit up. The music and credits began to roll, almost drowned out by the cheerful mayhem of the residents of Maggie’s Grove. They’d chosen to watch the dubbed version rather than the subtitled Japanese version so the children could fully enjoy the movie. Already Milo and Sana were whispering together, almost drowning out the music with their volume. Kids had this amazing ability to forget that other people could hear them, especially shifters, no matter how quiet they thought they were.
Hell, even some of the humans seated near them were glancing at the kids in amusement, so maybe he wasn’t the only one who could hear every word of their conversation. They were excited, happy, eager to watch the movie. It was a sorely needed bit of normality in their lives, and he was thrilled that he was able to give that to them.
Iva twitched, then shifted in her seat.
“You okay?” Noah put his hand in hers, and it was cold. Probably from holding the drinks, but he’d been worried about her for far too long for him to do anything but ask.
“I...think so?” Iva sighed. “We’ll talk about it later.”
Oh, that sounded good. Every man loved it when his woman said those words. It usually meant he was about to receive an epic ass-kicking. “Should I be worried for my safety?”
She laughed low as the credits ended, showing a revolving Earth as a man quoted Shakespeare’s Hamlet. “It’s not you, it’s me.”
Awesome. That was even better. He was pretty sure the evil wench was enjoying watching him squirm. “Watch the movie.”
She patted his arm condescendingly. “Yes, dear.”
Grr.
He settled down to watch the movie, quietly answering Milo’s questions as the movie progressed.
“Uncle Noah? Something’s funny about their lips. They aren’t moving with the words.”
“Uncle Noah? What’s a geiger?”
“Uncle Noah? Why didn’t they see the iceberg? Didn’t the guy warn them? So why did they run into it?”
Ten minutes into the movie and he wanted to muzzle the kid.
Iva jumped in her seat, scanning the theater with wide, frightened eyes.
“Iva?” Something was wrong with her, and it had nothing to do with Noah.
“What was that?” Her tone made every hair on the back of his neck stand up.
“Was it something from the movie?” Could something happening up on the screen be triggering flashbacks?
Damn it. He needed to know what had happened to her, but he didn’t want to push it. Maybe someday she’d be able to speak of it. Until then, all he could do was hold her until the shakes passed.
“No. It was a voice.” Iva turned around in her seat to glare at the poor man sitting behind her. “Did you say something to me?”
The man appeared confused. “Nope.”
“Oh.” Iva turned back around. She shook her head. “Never mind, then.”
This time he was going to make her answer him. “Iva.”
She ignored him right up until the very American man was telling them what trajectory Godzilla was taking toward Japan. She leaned toward him and whispered, “There’s this...voice I remember from the labs. It’s telling me that something is going to happen, something I’ll have no control over. Something bad.”
Noah went on alert. He glanced around to find that all the wolves in the theater were paying attention to him rather than the movie. Even little Sana was staring at him with wide eyes, probably wondering what was going on. The wolves were detecting their alpha’s tension and were responding accordingly. Of the four of them only Milo seemed unaffected, watching the screen with unholy glee as the giant radioactive lizard laid waste to a military base.
“Move or lose it, Windy.” Paisley pushed the man, probably an air elemental if that nickname was any indication, and sat behind Iva. She leaned in until her colorful head was between him and Iva. “What’s up, boss man?”
“Iva is sensing a threat.” He wasn’t about to tell his beta in a crowded movie theater that his alpha mate heard voices. Those comments were best kept in the privacy of his home, not where anyone could find out and, worse, judge. “Keep your eyes, ears and nose open, okay?”
“Gotcha.” Paisley sat back in her seat, seemingly absorbed in the movie. The truth was, Paisley was watching everything around them with a keen gaze. She’d been one of his best pack enforcers before he’d made her his beta. She was using her training now to keep his family safe.
Just as a giant octopus attacked Faro Island, the home of King Kong, the theater went dark. The screen went black, and even the emergency running lights went down. Everyone around him started muttering to one another in surprise. A couple of them even yelled, “Hey, turn on the lights!” as if that would solve whatever the hell was going on. The b
ackup generator that should have kicked in didn’t, keeping them in darkness so deep even Noah was blind.
He doubted shifting to his wolf would change a thing, as even wolves needed some light to see by. Other than the voices around him there wasn’t a sound. No electrical hum filled the pauses between murmurs, and no street noises came through the emergency exit door.
“Was this what you were talking about?” Paisley asked, her voice right by his ear.
“Fuck,” Iva whispered next to him. “Here it comes.”
From somewhere off to Noah’s right a soul-shattering scream ripped through the darkened theater. The theater erupted as everyone brought up their cell phones, using the light to try to navigate their way to the exits or toward the screamer depending on their temperaments. Fire elementals created small flames on their fingertips, using them as candles to guide themselves or others.
Noah moved toward the screamer. “Paisley, get the kids out of here.”
“On it.”
He had to trust that Paisley would do as asked, taking hold of Sana and Milo and following the crowd out the emergency exit.
“Man, I really wanted to finish the movie,” Milo groaned as they were led away.
“It’s Blake!” The voice of Eddy Warren, Dragos’s Renfield and right-hand man, drowned out the panicked chatter in the theater. “Dragos, Trajan, Blake is in trouble!”
Eddy had called in the cavalry. No doubt his mate, Trajan, would respond. Trajan growled if a fly landed on Eddy. The panic in the Renfield’s voice would no doubt send him into a rage. Add in Dragos, who considered Eddy to be his child, and Eddy would be surrounded by people who’d kill for him.
Hopefully whatever was wrong with Blake wasn’t a danger to Eddy. Noah was rather fond of the young witch. Blake had lived in hell until he’d found Maggie’s Grove, and the town leaders had taken the boy under their collective wings. Noah was one of those leaders. He’d hate to watch as Trajan barbecued his ass.
“I’m right behind you,” Iva panted. “Be careful. I’m not sure what is going on, but we’re not going to able to stop it, not now anyway.”
“Wonderful.” Noah finally managed to push his way through the crowd to find Eddy, Trajan, Dragos and Mina staring at a hunched over figure, leaning against a wall for support. It was Blake, and he was vomiting violently.
The smell hit Noah’s nose, acrid and familiar. “Fuck, that’s black blood.”
“Shit.” Dragos’s accented voice was filled with quiet fury. “I thought we’d checked him out.”
“He was clean,” Mina replied quietly. “Whatever is going on, it’s new.”
Eddy was retching, his hand over his mouth. Trajan was rubbing his back, murmuring softly to him. If Eddy had made contact with Blake, he’d be throwing up right next to him. The young psychometrist could read emotions and intentions with a touch. If those emotions were strong enough, he’d sense them just by being in the same room with the person or object. Iva reached for Blake, but Noah blocked her. “No. Not until we know what’s wrong with him.”
She glared at him. “I’m pretty sure I’m immune, Noah.”
“Fuck that. When you’re one hundred percent positive, then talk to me. Until then, hands off.” Noah wasn’t about to budge on that one.
“Help,” a soft, anguished voice whispered. It was Blake, his face pale, his teeth stained dark. He was softly crying and obviously terrified. “Please, help.”
Noah nodded. “We will, I swear.” He turned to Dragos. “Where’s Gideon?”
Gideon Brantley was the coven leader, the one responsible for Blake and all the other witches in town.
“He’s outside, calming some of the others. The smell of the blood is giving some of them flashbacks of their torture,” Trajan replied. His fangs were showing. “Vasile is with him as well.”
The dragon prince would make sure everyone who was outside the theater was safe. Not much could take him down. Between Vasile, Gideon and Paisley, Noah’s pack was in good hands.
“Let’s get Blake out of here.” Noah put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, gently steering him toward the exit. “Your place, Dragos?”
Dragos nodded. “Mina, please call Greer and Selena and ask them to meet us at the mansion.”
“I’ll call Dr. T as well. Maybe he’ll have some insight,” Iva added, pulling out her cell phone.
“I’ll try not to puke in the car.” Eddy burped. “No offense, but I think from now on I’ll watch my movies at home.”
Chapter Seven
“You’re lucky, kid. I don’t make house calls for just anyone.” Dr. T stood, his arms crossed over his chest, and glared down at Blake.
He’d have been a lot scarier without the well-worn SpongeBob pajama pants and the T-shirt with a tiny Deadpool waving hello from a drawn-on pocket on his chest. His dark hair was rumpled and there was stubble on his jaw. The man must have come straight from bed. Iva had a hard time not laughing at his sleepwear.
Blake was lying on the couch in Dragos’s office, his skin still pale and sweaty, his lips stained black from the blood he’d thrown up. “Sorry.” Even his voice was somehow pale, barely there as he responded to the doctor. “I threw up.”
“So I’ve been told.” Dr. T pulled one of Dragos’s office chairs over to the sofa so he could sit across from Blake. Iva was impressed. Those weren’t your run-of-the-mill office chairs. They were heavy wingback chairs, but he moved it like it was on casters. “Black blood, huh?”
Blake nodded then swallowed loudly. “I don’t feel so good.”
“I bet.” Dr. T pulled some gloves out of his pocket and put them on, the rubbery sound reminding Iva of her own visit with the doctor the next morning. “Let’s check you out, hmm?”
While the doctor started his examination, Iva wandered over to where Noah stood. He towered over everyone except Dragos, his strength apparent when he turned the other office chair and pointed. “Sit, sweetheart. This could take a while.”
For some reason the man thought she was fragile. “I’m okay.”
He stared at her for a moment, assessing, before his shoulders relaxed and he nodded. “You may be, but I’m not.”
She smiled at him and sat. If it eased some of his anxiety, then so be it. It was a small thing to do, and she wanted to talk to him anyway. “How did I know?”
“Funny, that’s what I wanted to ask you.” He knelt in front of her, his hands held loosely between his knees. His gaze on her was keen. “You said you heard a voice you recognized.”
She noticed she was now the center of attention of everyone in the room except Dr. T and Blake. “Um.” She rubbed her hand over her shorn hair. Damn, she still hadn’t made time to get it fixed. With everything else going on it hadn’t pinged on her radar. “I need a haircut.”
“Iva.” Mina was there, on Iva’s right, her gaze implacable. “Tell me.”
Iva could no more resist the command of her queen than a bee could resist collecting pollen. She was born to follow Mina, and would until she went to her grave and beyond. Iva kept her gaze on her queen, refusing to glance at Noah even when he growled. “One of the scientists really enjoyed...playing with me. In the theater I thought his voice warned me that something bad was going to happen, something we couldn’t stop, but I was the only one who could make it out.”
“Do you think he was in the theater?” Mina was sliding into warrior queen mode. If Ash and Greer were there no doubt Ash would be at full attention and Greer would go languid, his hands resting easily at his sides. Ash was dangerous, but Greer was deadly.
“No.” What she thought was insane, impossible. “I think he was in my head.”
Mina shared a glance with Dragos. “Been there, kicked that ass.”
Huh?
“Tell me what it was like, what it sounded like and most importantly, where you think it came from. I knew someone was
in my head the whole time, but I thought it was Terri, the witch who’d stalked Parker, torturing me from beyond the grave. Turns out it was a crazy witch, just not that one. Kate had been Dragos’s lover—”
“Oh?” Iva shot Dragos a look.
Dragos ignored them both, his attention on his Renfield.
“She thought she could take my mate from me.” Mina’s jaw clenched. “She was wrong.”
Iva nodded. “You fought her off.”
“And in the process, killed her.” Mina’s gaze became commanding once more, her attention focused back on Iva and not the past. “Could you tell if it was inside or outside your head?”
Iva had never had the pleasure of mind speaking with one of the town’s psychics, but now that she’d had time to think about it... “It felt internal, like I was talking to myself but not.”
Mina nodded. “Then there’s someone else in there with you.”
Iva couldn’t sense anyone else rattling around in her head, but her friends had more experience with the demon’s tricks than she did. “How do we kick them out?”
Mina opened her mouth to answer but wound up wincing instead. Blake was puking again into Dragos’s waste basket.
“Can I have a baggie? I want to take a sample,” Dr. T said calmly.
Iva shuddered. Eew. “That’s so gross.”
“I can show you where we keep them,” Eddy offered. He’d stayed at the far end of the room from Blake. Iva couldn’t blame him.
“Thank you.” Dr. T stood and followed Eddy out of the room.
“What I want to know is, how did Blake get contaminated?” Dragos was staring at Blake curiously. “He’s been immunized. He should have been fine.”
“There must have been a mistake somewhere,” Noah rumbled. His animal must be close to the surface for his voice to be that deep. He was really upset over the voice thing.
“He’s been volunteering in the lab as an assistant. Maybe he got infected that way.” Trajan’s voice was tight. Apparently, he didn’t like having his mate out of his sight for a moment, even in the safety of Dragos’s mansion. “He wishes his father was never involved with the Van Helsings and Iva’s abduction. He wants to help any way he can and prove that he’s not like his old man.” Trajan smiled grimly. “I understand, better than most.”
Hour of the Wolf Page 7
