by M. J. O'Shea
“What’s this Silivasi guy’s deal, anyway?” Leila asked. “Did you do something to him, or does he just have some kind of Dr. Evil complex?”
“Andrian Silivasi has a… complicated past,” Komarov answered. “One that I’m not sure even you,” he nodded at PC, “would be aware of.”
The 10 percent of my brain not consumed by PC’s touch was fascinated. Talk about being right out of one of my stories! A werewolf with a “complicated past” and a chip on his shoulder who wants revenge on the lycans? I was more than ready to hear the rest.
“He was born in Romania, three hundred years ago, near the Black Forest.”
“But I thought the werewolves came more from Russia than our part of the world.” PC looked perplexed.
“They do. Silivasi wasn’t born a werewolf. He was a lycan.”
I could feel waves of shock rolling off PC. It had to be unthinkable to be turned from a lycan into a werewolf. I didn’t know it was even possible.
“That’s impossible,” PC scoffed.
“No, it’s not impossible,” PC’s mother answered. “It almost never happens—he may actually be the only case—but it’s not impossible. Andrian Silivasi was like you, PC, half human and half lycan. But instead of beginning to shift late, he never did at all. That was one of the reasons we were so concerned about you.”
“And instead he chose to become a werewolf?”
“No. He was attacked. His family was nobility, not just in the lycan world, but with the humans as well. They were at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg for a Christmas ball or some such thing when it happened. He was in the forest outside of the city, on a hunt with the other young men, and a pack of werewolves cornered him when he was alone. He was surrounded, nearly killed, and left for dead in the forest for days. When he woke, he crawled through the Russian winter back to the palace and his family. He hoped they’d show mercy to their only son and help him, but they didn’t. They pushed him away and told him he had no place among the lycans any longer. Only his youngest sister had any compassion. She helped him with food and a horse so he wouldn’t die in the wild. Within a year, they were all dead save her. Silivasi exterminated them. He’s hated our entire race ever since.”
“And the werewolves follow him?”
“Yes, they do. It’s too bad, really, what happened to him. He’s a natural leader. He would have easily had a place on our high council in Bucharest.”
“As a human?” The question just slipped out. I hadn’t meant to speak.
“He would have been changed at twenty if the lycan genes didn’t show up by then. In hybrid cases, we always like to give it two full years after adulthood to manifest. The werewolves got to him three months before his twentieth birthday.”
“And you know for sure he’s behind all of these attacks?” Noah was being fair, as usual.
“Yes, we’re sure. He sent messages to all of the elders at the moment their loved ones were attacked. It was a very well planned-out and deliberate act. There’s no way he would’ve remained anonymous.”
“He wants you to fight back.” Zack’s statement was quiet, contemplative.
“He does. And he’ll get what he wants. The lycans cannot let something like this go unpunished. He killed our children, so much of our future. We will fight, and we will take him down.” Komarov’s voice was calm, resolute, nothing like the rage I knew I would feel if PC were taken from me.
“What can we do?” Noah asked.
“The information you have for us will be more than enough help, and we thank you for that. Beyond tonight, this is a matter for the lycans to solve, and we cannot ask you to risk yourselves by getting in the middle of this.”
“We want to help, and not just by giving you information. Dealing with rogues is what we do.”
Komarov shook his head. “Not this time. But please, tell us what you know. If we can detect a pattern, then perhaps we’ll be able to anticipate Silivasi’s next move.”
I could tell Noah was seething, but to anyone who didn’t know him, he looked like the picture of calm. He nodded and then gestured to Leila for her to start, since she’d been out on her own investigating the night before. It was nearly imperceptible, but I could see Zack brush his hand along the underside of Noah’s thigh to help him relax. That soft, loving gesture reminded me so much of the way PC’s hand was resting on my lower back. I smiled and leaned into his touch, forgetting for a moment my embarrassment at showing pleasure in front of the elders.
I probably would have been happy to stay there forever had it not been for the sudden vibrating of my phone. At that second, when I felt the annoying buzz against my thigh, I remembered I was supposed to be at work and I was over an hour late. I cringed. The normal world had slipped my mind so completely that I hadn’t spared a single thought to it all day.
I stood and excused myself before walking out to the hallway to call Ralph back and apologize. When I flipped my phone open, I noticed it was Lisa texting, and Ralph had called about six times. It must have been earlier when I was practicing with Zack. I hadn’t heard my phone buzz until just then.
Where are you? Ralph is freaking out because he thinks you’re dead or something!!!
I felt awful. I’d always been so reliable that he would think there was something wrong with me if I flaked.
OMFG!! I’m ok, just a big idiot. Tell Ralph I’m really sorry and on my way right now!
As I turned to go back into the apartment, my phone buzzed one more time.
Hurry up. I’m watching your register. Your excuse better be good.
I laughed and typed: You have no idea….
There. Let her stew over that for a few minutes.
When I got back into the apartment, the others were still talking quietly. I came up behind PC and put my hand on the back of his neck. Then I leaned over and whispered, “Babe, I gotta go. I was supposed to be at work a long time ago. You wanna meet me there when this is done?”
His eyes widened in surprise. “I forgot about work. I want to come with you now, but….” He gestured toward the elders with his head. “I better wait till this is over.”
“I understand. Lisa’s waiting for me there. It’ll be good for me and her to have a chance to talk.”
I waved quietly, wanting to let them know I was going but too nervous to say anything out loud while everyone was staring at me.
“Miles has to go to work. He stayed as long as he could.”
I was grateful to PC for talking. A hundred years could pass and Michael Komarov would still make me uncomfortable. I hoped I wouldn’t have too much contact with him.
“Darling, do you think it’s safe to walk alone?”
I smiled at PC’s mother, loving that she accepted me so freely even after my unfortunate transformation and our little transgression from the night before.
“I should be okay. The streets are still crowded and I am a vampire now.” I relented a little. “But I’ll let PC know when I get there.”
PC got up to walk me out to the hallway.
“Be careful, baby. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I will. Don’t get too annoyed with the elders.” I grinned at him, and he pinched me gently on the side.
“I’ll see you soon.” He brushed my lips with a soft kiss.
“Okay. You be careful too. Don’t walk to the shop alone.”
He smiled at me and walked back into the apartment.
Chapter 17: Déjà Vu, Public Indecency, and the Truth
THE SECOND I got to the bookstore, I knew I was in for the grilling of a lifetime. Lisa was practically clicking her nails on the counter, waiting impatiently for me to show up.
“Finally!” she huffed when she looked up to see me there. “Have you had your head buried so far up PC’s butt that you forgot about the rest of us? Why haven’t you called me?”
“Well, that’s an interesting story,” I hedged.
“Jesus, Miles, just tell me. You know I hate not knowing what’s g
oing on.” She sounded laughingly exasperated.
“God, where to start. Last night seems like ten years ago. I’m honestly surprised Leila didn’t tell you.”
“I haven’t talked to her yet today. Spill it now before I start hitting things.”
“I’m a vampire. There, I spilled it.” I grinned at her, waiting for the volcano to erupt. I could already see the steam.
“What? How the hell did that happen? You better start at the beginning, mister.”
I actually chuckled at a situation that had seemed so dire just twenty-four hours before, enjoying her fuming for a few moments before I had to begin the long explanation.
“It happened last night as I was walking out of the shop with Zack and Noah. This vampire jumped on me and bit me. He wasn’t trying to drink my blood, just inject me with venom. It was over pretty quickly. Noah and Zack went after him, but it was too late. He didn’t manage to get a ton of venom into me or I’d still be passed out. It’s going to take me a while to turn completely, but I’ve already had my first drink of blood.”
Her eyeballs nearly popped out of her head.
“Okay, so why? I mean, do you guys have any idea why? It doesn’t make sense, some random vampire out there attacking humans and turning them!”
“It wasn’t random, Lis. I was attacked because I was with Zack and Noah. The vampire thought I was PC.”
It took a while, but I eventually explained the whole thing—the lycan attacks, the werewolf king, the bond with PC being broken. By the time I was done, her mouth had dropped open so many times I thought it might permanently stay that way. Right around then, PC got to the store, slipping in quietly and sneaking up behind an overwhelmed Lisa.
“I vaaant to suck your blood,” he moaned in a hilariously awful vampire voice. Lisa jumped about ten feet off her stool anyway before she turned and thwacked PC over the head. We both collapsed into giggles, only calming down enough for him to come around the counter to give me a long kiss hello.
“I missed you,” he whispered against my neck.
“I missed you too.” And I realized I had missed him. We’d only been apart for maybe an hour or so, but I was much happier with him back in my sight. And the skin of my back where he was touching was happy to have him too. I sighed and leaned into PC’s embrace, forgetting everything but his touch.
“Wait a sec, I thought the bond was broken. Why are you two still together?”
I’d kind of skipped over a few points in my story… like the part where PC told me he still wanted to be with me no matter what. It was too private to dish about. PC wrapped his arms tighter around me.
“It just took a second, that one moment when I thought Miles was gone, to make me realize that no matter what, I didn’t want to be without him again. Even if I could walk away, I don’t want to.”
“Wait, are you saying—?”
“Yeah, bond or not, I’m his.”
I couldn’t believe PC had just said that out loud to my friend. He’d come so far in the past weeks. His words made my heart melt, but I couldn’t help but still be worried that he’d change his mind. Lisa made a little clapping gesture.
“That’s so adorable. I think I might go throw up.” We both grinned at her, since she was kidding… mostly. “Seriously, where’s my cute lycan to bond with so I can get turned into a wolf and have cool adventures?”
“I didn’t get turned into a wolf. I’m a bloodsucking vampire, remember?”
Lisa grinned. “Well, if I can get a Noah or a Zack, that’d be okay with me too!”
I gave her a mock hurt look. “What? Noah, Zack, and PC are all cute enough but I’m not?”
“You’re my friend, silly, and I already told you that you have an awesome butt and pretty eyes. Besides, this one might rip my neck out if I tried to flirt with you. He’s a little possessive.”
PC chuckled and pulled me closer. “No I’m not. Just as long as nobody touches him or looks at him, I’m fine.”
At that we all burst into laughter. We were interrupted by the bell ringing over the front door.
I detangled myself from PC and moved to help the new customers. PC went over to Megan’s counter and got him and Lisa coffee. Megan actually smiled at him and giggled… giggled, for Christ’s sake, when he told her the new sweater she was wearing looked nice. And she made his coffee without a single eye roll or bitchy remark. It was amazing. Someday I’d have to take lessons from PC.
The smell of the coffee was vaguely nauseating, but it was nowhere near as bad as solid food. I figured I could handle the smell every day, but I hoped it didn’t get more intense once my transformation was complete.
Even as I was helping customers, my eyes were drawn to where PC and Lisa sat talking in the cushy armchairs in the corner. I couldn’t stop looking at him. I loved to look at him, my skin craved his touch, and every time we happened to catch each other’s gaze, I felt like laughing out loud because I was so happy. It was fantastic… and to know PC felt the same way? There wasn’t anything better. I was worried he’d change his mind and go back to wanting to be alone, but I pushed that worry down and concentrated on my happiness. One day at a time, Miles.
He must have known I was thinking about him, because he looked up and winked at me. I couldn’t help the customers fast enough. I wanted to shuffle them out the door so I could go be next to PC. I nearly growled in frustration when the overhead bell rang again as another set of customers walked in. It was nearly more than I could stand to wave and act like I wanted them there.
And it was like that all night. It seemed like every time I thought the store was finally going to be empty so I could touch PC, another group would come waltzing in and take their sweet time picking over the books and walking as slow as evolution. I spent most of the night wanting to take my customers by the elbow and drag them out the door. I had a strong feeling of déjà vu, remembering that second night when we were at the store together, PC and Lisa hanging out while I worked, and all I wanted to do was go to PC and touch him. It was kind of like we were starting there again, except things were so much better this time around. It was real, we were real, and most of the time I could ignore the terror I still felt when I thought about losing him.
Finally, I looked at the clock and it was ten minutes to closing. Lisa had followed Megan out about half an hour before to go to work, and PC was reading a magazine and waiting for me. I nearly did a cartwheel when I realized I could lock the people out in a few short minutes. That last stretch of time was excruciating. It felt longer than the previous few hours had felt combined, but finally it was over and I could lock the door and pull the shades. The sound of the deadbolt clicking shut was the most satisfying thing I’d heard all day. It took every ounce of control I had not to run over and pounce on PC right then and there….
Oh, screw it. The damage is done.
PC was startled by the pile of warm horny vampire that landed in his lap, but he laughed and tossed the magazine he was reading to the side before he wrapped his arms around me and gave me the kiss I’d been craving for hours. He slid his hands under my shirt to travel along my ribs and the lines of the tree that he’d memorized weeks before. I groaned and did the same, straddling him and tugging on his hem to pull it up and out of my way.
“You want to do this here?” PC asked but didn’t hesitate too long before fastening his lips to my neck.
“Sure, ohhh, why not? Who’s looking?” I leaned my head back to give his mouth as much room as possible. I felt blindly for his belt and zipper, trying to get to the flesh beneath.
“I can’t believe I used to think you were such an innocent,” he chuckled, then drew his breath in sharply when I found pay dirt. Mmmm… he was so warm and velvety hard. I could touch him for days.
“It’s always the quiet ones who surprise you.” I grinned at him and dropped a small kiss on his nose. His cheeks grew pink when I stroked him more firmly. “Besides, I had a lot of time to think about sex all those years when I was being shy.”
PC chuckled and gave me another deep, breathless kiss before withdrawing my hand from its happy cocoon.
He doesn’t want to? My face turned red. “Sorry I pounced,” I murmured.
“Sorry? What for? Do you have any idea what it does to me to know you want me like that? I love it—just want to wait till later when I can really touch you.”
I grinned at him and kissed him again, but I forced my hands to behave themselves.
“You know, I don’t always want it to be like this,” PC murmured when we finally separated. He gestured between us.
My heart thunked and I jerked my head up, looking at him with what must have been abject fear in my eyes. He chuckled.
“You’re going to have to quit panicking every time something comes out of my mouth wrong. I’m an idiot; it’s going to happen. My brain skipped a few steps in the conversation. What I meant was I don’t always want to be the one who… you know. I want to feel you, too, to know what it’s like.”
That was the last thing I’d expected. It hadn’t even occurred to me to want that. I was still busy exploring the first option.
“Really?”
He chuckled again. “Yes, really. I want us to be equal, and like I said, I want to feel it too. I want to come with you inside of me, to know I’m completely yours.”
I swear I practically drooled. Damn. There goes all rational thought.
“Okay,” I answered shakily. Okay? It was fantastic, but a little nerve-racking at the same time.
PC brushed his thumb across my cheek, then he started to shift me off his lap.
“So Zack says you need to get more blood in you. You won’t want to go more than a day between feedings for a while. Your body needs the strength so you can finish the transformation, get all regulated or whatever.”
Mmmm… blood.
It was amazing how quickly the thought jumped into my brain and stuck. All of a sudden it was the only thing I could concentrate on. PC grinned at the obvious lust on my face.
“I guess that means we’re going to Red. The others are already there. I think I’d better go anyway. I’m afraid Noah’s scheming. I know him too well; that whole ‘sit back and let other people have all the fun’ plan isn’t going to sit well with him or Leila—or Amanda, for that matter.”
