by Limelan Z
We stumbled through the park back to my flat after far too many drinks and stupid shape-throwing. He’d given me a piggyback for the last few hundred metres since I’d lost my shoe in a fountain. After a good twenty minutes of looking, I’d thrown the other shoe into a bin.
I slid off his shoulders laughing as we reached the doorstep.
‘As a gentleman, this is where I leave you,’ he said, holding my hips to steady me as I flinched at the cold ground. I held onto his arms.
‘I’m pretty sure you’re not a gentleman,’ I laughed.
He looked serious a second and then kissed me. It was slow and hot and made my stomach dip. And then suddenly it was over, and I felt nothing but air at my fingertips.
‘Forgive me. We may not be mated but I am not yet comfortable seeing you with another.’ I opened my eyes to see Wolfe in front of me – not Vince – all dark and brooding. Emotion rushed me. Relief. Frustration. Excitement.
He kissed me then.
It was rough and urgent and everything I needed.
I pulled back to punch him in the arm.
‘I deserve that. I deliberately ruined your date.’
He kissed me again. Unapologetically. Christ, he tasted good! Maybe it was the magick, or the alcohol, or maybe he was just that good a kisser – whatever it was, my body had gone into overdrive for him.
No more excuses.
No more interruptions.
I pulled him into the flat.
Chapter 16
‘My legs feel like jelly,’ I said as I collapsed in a sweaty heap beside Wolfe. We’d spent the better part of a week in my bed getting properly acquainted.
He pulled me onto him and nipped at my lips. ‘Rest.’
‘You said that a few hours ago and look how that worked out.’
Pure satisfaction. It rolled off him in waves. I had sensed something similar a few times before, but never so clearly. He must have sensed it in me too. We seemed to feed off each other’s emotions. Mated or not, we definitely had a few things in common.
‘Then I will give you a proper break and go to my house.’
I fought the need for sleep. ‘To see the pack? Do they know where you are? That you’re back?’
He trailed a hand down my hip then laced his fingers through mine. He seemed delighted by the simple act. ‘Not yet. I will explain before it descends into chaos.’ He paused. ‘It is important they learn we are not mated.’ His brow grew pensive.
‘What does it mean? For the rest of the pack, I mean,’ I asked.
‘To have an unmated alpha?’ I nodded. ‘Little, but it means I will most likely be targeted by those looking to mate.’ Jealousy stabbed through my lungs. ‘You too.’ That was at least fair, but still… ‘I do not care for it either.’
By the time he had left, it was the afternoon. I stretched and then slept straight through until the morning. Friday morning. I rolled over and pulled my phone out of the charger. It was jammed with messages from Fi. First cheering me on with what embarrassingly enough hadn’t been quiet acrobatics, and later asking when it would be safe to come back to the flat. The last one had been two days ago. I guiltily messaged her back and suggested we meet for lunch.
‘Spill it!’ she squealed when she saw me, giving me a hug. ‘I’ve been living out of a suitcase at my sister’s for the best part of a week. I was starting to get worried!’
We sat and I blushed. ‘Well, we’re—’ I stopped myself. We were what? We weren’t dating. We weren’t mated either so there was nothing long term about it. ‘We were getting reacquainted.’
She tipped her head back and laughed. ‘I can tell that! You look like someone who’s done some serious reacquainting over the last few days. For some reason, I thought you were with that guy from your office. Vince,’ she said as we opened the menus. ‘But I guess you wanted the Ferrari rather than the Harley-Davidson.’
‘Vince is not a Harley-Davidson,’ I said defensively. Then frowned at why that would be an insult. ‘I like Vince. A lot. More than a lot, in fact.’
‘Good. I’m glad we cleared that up.’
‘I just…’
‘Like Zosimos Wolfe, multi-billionaire and all-around hottie more than the easy-going academic,’ she finished for me.
‘You make me sound so mercenary.’
Fi laughed. ‘You’re not mercenary. I’ve watched you go through the longest dry patch any woman has had to endure in history,’ she smiled. ‘And now you’re finally getting back on the horse. So to speak.’ Her smile became a grin. ‘Should we speak? Was it like getting on a horse?’
She laughed as my ears went pink and ordered two glasses of wine to tide us over until our food arrived.
‘Anyway, when can I come back to the flat? I have a dinner next week I need to dress up for.’
‘It’s safe,’ I said, still blushing. ‘What’s the dinner?’
‘Amusingly enough, it’s Wolfe International. We’re reviewing a second sweep at my expansion pitch. I’ve got James Trevelyan sitting in. He’s crazy smart. He must have a photographic memory because he can remember shipping routes, timetables, schedules around the Strait of Malacca…’ She trailed off. ‘Okay, so this is boring to normal people but I’m loving it!’
I smiled. ‘Good. I think James’ a good guy, too.’
‘Have you spoken to him much through your catch-ups with Zosimos?’
‘Not at all,’ I said honestly, ‘but I’ve met his wife a few times. She’s really smart too. A doctor. Not like me – a proper doctor.’ The pirate and the monk. Now that was a power couple I wanted to hear about. Although, I didn’t know anything about Trevelyan. In fact, come to think of it, he might not have been a monk at all. All I knew was that he was hobbled by them.
I sighed. More questions. Any time one was answered, a billion more would pop up. Presumably Wolfe would know the answers. If we could spend long enough in each other’s company not touching.
Chapter 17
When I walked up the steps to pack headquarters, I could sense my position had changed. Even though the Intervention hadn’t been fully lifted, I was no longer Wolfe’s mate. I also was no longer a chancer pretending to be a werewolf legend. They’d all had categorical proof that I was Ariane when they’d seen me maim Victor.
But most importantly, I wasn’t pack.
I felt it. Despite demonstrating my loyalty, I felt even less welcome than I had the day I’d first stepped foot through the threshold.
Armande was already downstairs in the cell. So was Elvira and a few other people I hadn’t seen before. They looked like witches. That was to say, they didn’t have the typical athleticism of the wolves I’d seen before.
‘Where’s Wolfe?’ I asked Armande looking around the scant room. ‘Don’t we need him here as well?’
‘In a meeting. Apparently, his time is more important than everyone else’s.’ He was in a bad mood. I decided to move on.
‘Who are they?’
‘Them?’ he gave me an incredulous look then rolled his eyes. ‘They are the most powerful witches in this country. Maybe the entire world.’ He let out a breath.
‘Shouldn’t you be in there talking to them?’
‘I don’t do politics.’ Fair enough. ‘And Macy is a bitch. I don’t have time for people like that.’ I gave a slow nod.
‘So how does this work?’ I asked. ‘They lift all the spells at once?’
‘No, you may go crazy,’ he said matter-of-factly. ‘Think of it like a slow reveal. We keep raising the curtain as long as no one tries to kill the other.’
My neck felt suddenly cool. ‘You mean, in case I suddenly try to kill Wolfe. Or he tries to kill me.’
He looked at me like an idiot. ‘What did you think would happen? Tea and cakes?’ He had a good point. I hoped mine and Wolfe’s newfound friendship would act as some barrier to mayhem.
‘Why are there so many of them? Is it complex?’
‘No. Elvira will do it. The rest are backup.’
; ‘Backup for what?’
‘In case someone needs to recast the spell.’
In other words, there were eight people in case seven died in the time it took to cast the spell. I swallowed. It didn’t fill me with confidence. ‘Why are you here?’ I didn’t want anyone hurt.
He shrugged. ‘Learning experience.’
You know that feeling you get when you really don’t want to do something? Like really don’t want to do it. Like when you go into an exam and know you have no chance of doing well because you fundamentally don’t get the subject matter? I had it.
‘What if we just don’t do this? If we leave the spell in place?’ I asked as if I could negotiate a way out.
‘You mean if you and Zee pretend to be mated forever? I don’t think that is an option. Even if we could remove the Intervention, a mate is a big deal for a werewolf. I doubt either of you would give that reality up, no matter how much fun you are having.’ He then stopped a moment and a slow smile appeared on his lips. ‘Speaking of, you are looking very relaxed.’
I glanced around the room. At the bare walls, the circle of gossiping witches, the thick door. ‘I am the opposite of relaxed.’
He continued to stare at me and then his eyes widened in excitement. ‘You had sex!’
‘Shh!’ I batted my hands and looked around. ‘And no, I didn’t.’
‘You did!’ he said just as loudly as before. ‘Lots of sex! I see that twinkle. It was good!’
Wolfe chose that moment to enter. Armande applauded with glee but thankfully said no more about it. Meanwhile, I felt my body go on overdrive.
Wolfe nodded to me but walked over to Elvira first. I was grateful. I was still trying to make sense of what was about to happen and having his scent, his warmth in the room was distracting enough without increased proximity. Trevelyan and Patrick were with him but they stayed by the door.
‘So, what will this feel like? The same as the times before?’ It had hurt. A lot.
Armande shrugged. ‘I don’t know. We are releasing different things. Perhaps it tickles.’ I doubted it. ‘If I were you, I would focus on not killing everyone in this room.’
Wolfe chose that moment to turn to me. ‘Ready?’
I gave a nod despite myself.
Elvira stepped forward. ‘Prepare yourselves,’ she said with a warm smile, ‘and then come to stand facing me in the centre of the room.’
‘Prepare how?’ I asked as the others began pushing furniture out of the way. She gave a nod to Wolfe, who had removed his suit jacket and was starting on the buttons of his shirt. My body immediately flamed with want. ‘In case you choose to change, you may wish to set aside certain belongings for now?’
Passion doused. I had no intention of stripping in front of these people. ‘I’m not planning on changing,’ I said. Please don’t change, Ariane!
Elvira seemed indifferent. ‘Whatever you prefer.’
I moved to the middle of the room and watched Wolfe. I had thought he might leave something on, but his underwear soon followed the rest of his clothes neatly set on a chair. I glanced at the witches and tried not to feel proprietorial over him. It was hard. I didn’t like their eyes on him, but where else could they look? I swallowed my jealousy. I didn’t want to goad Ariane.
Wolfe’s eyes were on mine alone as he made his way beside me. When he stopped, he leaned in, his lips brushing my ear.
‘You are in control,’ he whispered.
He held my eye for a few seconds and I felt myself calm. Was that his alpha? Whatever it was, I was grateful for it. Even if it might be the last time it worked on me.
We both faced Elvira.
‘Is everyone ready?’ that had been directed at the other witches who had spread around the room. Some were excited, some scared. Some like Armande were simply intrigued.
‘Good.’
‘Wait!’ I said, quickly reaching my hand into my jeans pocket. ‘My phone.’ I hurried over to a table and threw it and my keys down. ‘Okay. Sorry.’ I hurried back and brushed my hair behind my ears.
‘Good,’ Elvira said again with a slight smile.
She reached her hands out towards us as if we were about to hold hands but she was too far away. And then she closed her eyes.
I watched. And waited. There was a hole in her cardigan, I noted. It looked well-travelled. Maybe it was a favourite. It was a kind of peachy-pink colour and fell down to her knees.
I probably needed to focus on any new sensations in my body. I gave myself a mental shake and scanned down. My head felt the same, my neck, my shoulders, my chest… I reached my toes then glanced across at Wolfe. His eyes were alert, ready, fixed on Elvira.
I turned back to her. Her lips were moving but there was no sound. I couldn’t make out any words, either.
Then, far too suddenly, she opened her eyes and smiled fully.
‘Done.’
I blinked. ‘Done?’
‘Done,’ she said again.
‘No Intervention, no mate magick?’
She smiled at me. ‘No more.’
I frowned. ‘I feel the same.’
‘Do you?’ she said almost as if she didn’t believe me. I glanced at Armande who was staring at Wolfe’s arse.
I took a deep breath and turned to Wolfe. ‘I feel the same. Do you?’
He wore a frown as if he was concentrating on something. ‘It is not clear to me yet.’ There was a glint to his eyes. Gold flecks. Was his wolf getting worked up about something? Was he trying to keep it at bay? Perhaps it sensed Ariane and was readying for a fight.
‘Are you about to change?’
Before he could answer, my arm shot out to the side of its own accord. I heard a bone crunching snap and screamed. The witches all took a step back. Wolfe took a step forward. He put his hand on my jaw and tugged my face to face him.
‘You are,’ he said. I could tell he was warring to keep his wolf inside. ‘It will hurt, Ceri. You have not changed in a long time. It will hurt. But you are strong.’
My other arm whipped behind me and snapped. I screamed again at the pain. My eyes watered. Why was it so slow? Why was it making me feel every crack and change in my bones? Couldn’t I just black out and wake up when it was all over?
‘Ceri,’ he pressed his forehead against mine and I felt his alpha soothing my pain.
I blinked away my tears. ‘You need to go. All of you need to go.’
My knee snapped back and I fell to the floor. Wolfe came with me.
‘The first change is hard. Lift your mind. The pain is in your body only. It will be done soon.’
As an alpha, he must have seen this a thousand times. In a way that reassured me. I had no idea what was happening to my body, but it was familiar to him. He would help me through.
My back went next. The sounds were wet and sharp all at once. The pain was indescribable. I could feel my body stretching and squashing itself into a different shape. Ribs, cracking one by one; organs swelling; each bone, each joint.
The skin I could still feel felt wet. Was it sweat? Blood? I couldn’t bring myself to look. I just stared at Wolfe.
‘I am with you. You are not alone.’
I had been, though. The first time this had happened to me I had been alone. And a child. How could I have survived it? No wonder I hadn’t changed back for years.
I couldn’t speak through the pain. God knows how long it went on for. The pain, the screams, Wolfe’s soft words of courage. A mangled mess on the floor, I finally felt I could go on no more. I closed my eyes.
Chapter 18
It’s hard to explain what it’s like when you turn. You are in your body but you aren’t. It’s not your body anymore. Someone else is controlling it. And yet you are a part of it too. Like you’re inside a costume that’s doing its own thing.
Ariane was in charge. When she opened her eyes I marvelled at what I could see. The room was the same and yet there were more colours, pulses, sounds. Wolfe was on his knees in front of me as I stood up. He
was still in human form which put our heads on the same level.
He held my – Ariane’s – eyes. I sensed her unease at it. He is a friend, I wanted to say. Don’t hurt him. She snorted a few times. Was that in response to me? He is! Don’t hurt him!
Then she yawned and stretched and shook out her coat. It felt marvellous! My body felt powerful.
Wolfe turned to the room. ‘Go.’ It echoed in a strange way in my head.
I – Ariane – looked at the witches. They seemed almost purple through her eyes. They looked to Elvira, who nodded, and gradually gathered.
Ariane stalked over to the door just at is opened and sat down next to it. Four of the witches left the room. When the fifth passed, she growled at her. The woman jumped and hurried through.
When Armande passed, he leaned down and scratched her ear. ‘Good puppy,’ he said with a smile. Presumably I had growled at Macy. At least that meant Ariane liked Armande. Of course, she would – he had been letting her out.
‘She will want to run,’ Wolfe was saying to Elvira.
‘You are so confident in her newfound control so soon?’
A growl curled its way up my throat. ‘Four hundred years is not “newfound”. Her want to run should be embraced.’
Wolfe was right. I did want to run. Or at least be outside, away from the building.
‘Will she run with you as a wolf?’
He looked at me. And then across to Patrick. ‘Wait outside and see.’
Slowly, Patrick, Trevelyan and Elvira left the room. The door was shut. Ariane tilted her head to look at Wolfe.
Do. Not. Hurt. Him.
‘I will change.’
And then he did. I tried to get Ariane to look away but she didn’t. Had I just done that? Watching it made me want to throw up. At least he was a lot quicker than I had been.
Not long later, Wolfe shook out his coat. Ariane leapt to her feet and started jumping around him. Jumping! Playfully! As if she recognised him as an old friend, if not a mate.
The wolves brushed against each other. The sensation was incredible. The stroke of him against my fur. And then the door opened and Wolfe led the way through the house. He was running already at a sprint, or it’s wolf equivalent. The doors opened for him.
