“Are you sure you don’t mind staying here?” Perhaps a change of subject will help. It’s clumsy and obvious, but the best I can manage right now.
Rayne shrugs. “I won’t make it back to the house now and the Foundation is too far away. Besides, at least this way I can keep an eye on you.”
“How? You’ll still be asleep.”
“I…” She clears her throat. “At least if I’m close I can help you when I wake up. During the day you’ll have Jadzia and Spannah to help you out. And Mr. Gordon too.”
“Wendy’s in no state to help anybody.”
She grinds her knuckles into the last of the masking tape strips and stands back to survey her handiwork. “That should do it, I imagine.”
“Well, we need to make sure. A mistake with this could be fatal.”
Rayne’s lips quirk into a strange half-smile. “You carried me out of SPEAR in a body bag. Then you stored me in a cupboard.”
The memory still makes me uncomfortable. Though not as much as the thought of what might have happened if I hadn’t done so. “Desperate times.”
“Mm-hmm. Tell the others to shine the torch. I’ll shut off the lights in here.”
I can’t tell if it’s an excuse to get me out of the room or not, but I do as she asks. Out the narrow room, back through the house, and out to the rear garden where Spannah and Jadz stand with hammers in hand.
“Well?” Jadz cocks an eyebrow at me as I approach. “Will it hold?”
I glance up at the sky. No sun yet, but the skyline is paler than it would otherwise be. “I think so.”
“You need to do better than that.”
“I know, I know. Just shine your torch through it, okay? We’ll find out.”
Spannah is first to obey. He takes a battery powered torch off the ground and shines it in slow, systematic lines across the mishmash of boards and nails hastily shoved against the windowpane. He doesn’t speak, just concentrates with a visible tightness to his jaw and neck. “Seems fine to me.”
I open my mouth then, an instant later, think better of it. Instead I smile at him and take the risk of patting him on the shoulder. “It’ll be fine. Promise.”
He sniffs deeply but says nothing.
Jadz rolls her eyes. “Calm down, pup. It’ll all work out. Noel will find out what’s wrong with Wensleydale and then we’ll get on with it.”
“With what, though?”
She grins and, for a moment, a hint of werewolf amber flashes in her eyes. “We find that prick Aleksandar and teach him a lesson he’ll never forget.”
“He’s a Dire Wolf. Aleksandar and his punishment are nothing to do with you.”
“Oh? And when he marched his little Dire pups through the streets and picked fights with everybody he came across, that didn’t make it something to do with me? And every other wolf in this city? He brought humans down on us like an avenging hammer. Who knows how many of us are hurt or captured or both? Trust me when I say this, kid, if I see him…he’s going down. Whether any Dire Wolves are there or not.”
Spannah swells like an overripe peach, and I make my getaway before the conversation escalates. Not that I’m worried exactly, but Jadz’s devil-may-care attitude is exactly the right thing to wind the loyal and faithful Spannah up the wrong way.
* * *
Back inside, Wendy is in the spare room with Rayne, doing his own part to inspect the walls and window. The pair are as far away from each other as the room will allow, but I’m grateful their argument has stilled enough to allow this.
“No light from outside,” he mutters. “No air, either. Smells clean.”
“Good. Rayne, how long?”
She closes her eyes for a moment. “Ten minutes. Maybe.”
“Okay.”
Silence.
Wendy gruffs softly at the back of his throat. “I’ll…I’ll check on the pup.” Gone.
Chuckling, Rayne tugs off her shoes and socks. “Not exactly a master of subtlety, is he?”
“He’s trying.”
“I suppose. Maybe I should just be grateful.” Blouse next, which she lays on top of her shoes and places in a corner.
The room has no bed or even a chair. It seems to be a utility room, because there is a washing machine against one wall and a tall drying rack beside it. The shelves on our side are stacked with detergents, fabric softeners, and garden tools, while the wall nearest the window has a bicycle leaned up against it.
Rayne continues to undress, neatly stacking her clothes under the shelves.
I’ve no idea why she chooses to be naked when sleeping for the day. Not that I mind, the view is wonderful, but somehow watching her strip down in this environment is even stranger than usual. None of the comfort and normalcy associated with our safe, high-tech home.
Moments later, she stands before me in her underwear, soft white cotton with a teasing hint of lace. Nothing fancy, but then it doesn’t have to be for Rayne.
She holds up a roll of black bags. “Ready?”
Not really, but what choice do I have? Instead of answering, I take the roll and begin to open up the bags. Each has an eighty-litre capacity, and while not big enough to fit a human standing, a few of them joined with more of the masking tape are enough to secure Rayne.
She helps by climbing into the first like a sleeping bag, tugging it up until the top reaches her ribs. Then two more after that. She smooths down the plastic, as though preparing for some bizarre sack race, then stretches out across the ground.
“Come on, Danika. I can feel it coming.”
As if to compound the sentiment, my watch gives a familiar beep. Five minutes to sunrise.
I arrange the next three bags like a hood over Rayne’s top half. It’s awkward, but I can’t help but feel wrong about covering her up this way. Like a kitten some awful person is about to throw in a river.
The bags rustles as she twists and twitches to get comfortable.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Not entirely, but it’s a little late now, wouldn’t you say?”
She has a point. I stretch the three flaps of plastic out across her face.
“Wait.”
I pause with the masking tape halfway to my lips to cut with my teeth.
“You won’t do anything foolish while I’m asleep, will you?” She bites her bottom lip. “You will wait for me before you do anything rash?”
“I—”
She frowns. “Promise me. Please. Don’t do anything until I’m awake again. Promise me.”
The words catch in my throat. “On my locs and hope to trim.”
Rayne smiles. The gesture lights up her entire face and then, the brightness dies. Her eyes flutter closed, breath gusts from her parted lips with a sigh, and her entire body becomes still, floppy, and loose. Dead.
One last beep from my watch and I know the sun is up.
I fight away the last of my unease to finish taping Rayne into the bags, taking especial care not to stick any of the tape to her face and nose. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best I can do for now, and that’s going to have to do.
* * *
Back in the living room Jadz sits on the sofa with her legs up and a mug of something steaming resting on her knee. She holds it out of me as I enter the room. “Coffee?”
I want it. Or part of me does, but the rest of me, the part still yawning and struggling knows the caffeine hit won’t do me any favours.
As if reading my mind, Jadz turns the mug to point the handle toward me. “Decaf. Just thought you might want something since…y’know.”
“Wait, what?”
She shrugs. “Lunar blood always makes me thirsty. I thought maybe you were the same. I’d offer you some chocolate, but I don’t have any in the house.” Her smile is crooked, the tilt of her head suggestive and playful.
I’ve no idea what it means, but I accept the mug with a nod of thanks and take the other end of the sofa seats. “Rayne is safe now. It’s not great, but the best I can do.”<
br />
“Mm.” Jadz toys with a lock of her hair. “Pretty vampire all tucked away for bedtime. Ready to pull out again when playtime begins in the evening.”
“Jadz—”
She raises her hand at me. “Hey, I’m not here to judge. It’s none of my business what you get up to. But I am a little curious, if you don’t mind me saying.”
“About what?”
That smile again. “Why a vampire? There’s no shortage of pretty human women, if that’s your thing. But a fanger? You? Danika Karson? What happened?”
Now I’m gnawing on my own lip. A nervous tic I’ve most certainly picked up from Rayne. “Nothing happened I just…”
“Wanted to try something new? Exotic? Special?”
She’s closer. I’m not sure when she moved, but the space between us is suddenly smaller. That and her knee is brushing against mine.
She’s warm and solid against me, a sensation I can’t place when I last felt.
“It’s not like that. I—she—” The mug wobbles in my grip.
“Oh, I’ve flustered you.”
“No, I just—”
“It’s okay. You’re cute when you’re flustered. The big, bad SPEAR agent all tongue-tied and nervous. Wait until I tell my pack about you. They’ll be fascinated.”
I sit straighter. “Now, wait a second—”
Jadz’s laughter cuts right across me. It’s big and bright, just like her, and the gesture rolls through her entire body like a liquid ripple. “I’m joking. Wow, Agent, you are a little high-strung. What’s wrong?”
“You really have to ask?”
“Look. It will be fine. Noel will be back before you know it and we’ll have all the information we need to help your little Dire Wolf friend. Then we can deal with that pus-boil Aleksandar.”
I sip the coffee. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.”
“Why not? Things are as easy or as difficult as you make them. If you want something, you take it. If you want to be somewhere, you go there. If you have an itch…you scratch it.”
Her hand touches my knee.
I find myself swallowing harder than I should need to. “Jadzia, I—you—we can’t—”
“Can’t what?” The hand becomes a fingertip, swirling light, teasing circles around my kneecap. “I’ve never had a lady SPEAR agent before. And Noel tells me some delightful things about your body.”
“What?”
She laughs at my indignant outburst. “Calm down. I only mean that he tells me about how well you spar and how strong you are. You sound almost like a werewolf. A real queen bitch. I’d love to see for myself sometime.”
Queen bitch. Nice. I think. I mean, it must be a compliment coming from a werewolf, right? I’d be flattered, but for some reason my mind is all foggy now. I can’t really think. Instead, I take another sip of the coffee and set the mug on the floor.
“I’m going to get some rest. While we’re grounded maybe the best thing to do is sleep.”
“Good idea. Why don’t you come upstairs? You can bunk with me.”
“Uh, actually down here is just fine.”
Again with the smile. “The bed is far more comfortable, Danika. I can make it comfortable for you. With you.”
A gentle warmth rises in my cheeks and neck. Is she actually hitting on me right now? “Uh, I know you and Noel do the poly thing, but I don’t—I mean, I’m not—fuck.”
“You could try? You never know, you might enjoy it. Have you ever had a werewolf before?”
“No. I wasn’t planning it either.”
Jadz finally stops running her finger over my knee. The smile wilts and she takes to her feet with a graceful bound. “I’ll grab you some blankets.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem,” she says and leaves the room.
Chapter Twenty-two
When I wake the room is dim, but not wholly dark. Curtains are drawn across the large bay windows and two light blankets cover my body from ribs to toe.
I’m stretched out on the sofa, as much as its length will allow, head propped on my rolled up coat. For a moment I’m not sure what’s woken me until I notice the silhouette of a person standing against the window.
I rub my eyes. Not even sure of when I fell asleep, but from the way the light has changed and the pattern of shadows on the wall, I can guess that it must be getting into late afternoon now. Perhaps even evening. If there’s something to be grateful for in the cooler months, it’s the shorter days and longer nights.
“Rayne?”
The figure at the window stiffens. Then chuckles.
“Oh. Sorry, Jadz. Is everything okay?”
“Noel isn’t back yet.” Her voice is flat and emotionless, but not quite enough to fool me.
“What time is it?”
“Late enough that he should be back. What have your people done to him? I tried to call, but he won’t answer. And when I went out to look, I could find no trace of him.”
I sit up. “I thought we all agreed to stay indoors.”
She growls and turns away from the window. A few steps and then the sofa gives as she perches on the other side. “I had to. I had to know.”
“And?”
Silence. Long, worrying silence.
“There are no wolves out there. At all. I scented one or two, but they’re very well hidden. And like your sister said, there are still drones outside spraying the streets. I had to duck three just to get back. Military everywhere and big tanks closing off the streets. City-wide lockdown.”
“But Noel? What did you find out about Noel?”
“Nothing.” She growls. “I heard a couple of rumours, but—”
I’m already pushing the sheets off my legs. “I’ll call Pippa. Maybe he’s still at the Foundation. Or he had to detour to find somewhere safe.”
As my eyes grow accustomed to the dim light, I can see more of Jadz in the shadows. She’s changed her clothes and brushed out her hair. It doesn’t shimmer with the same blue sheen in this light, but that bold cut is hard to miss.
“He would have called me. Sent a message. Something. This isn’t right.” Her voice cracks, not quite with panic, but as close to fear as I’ve ever heard Jadz get.
I scoot across the sofa toward her. “Hey, it’s okay. He’ll be fine.”
“Then where is he?”
“I don’t know. But if we have to, we’ll find him too. Let’s give it a little more time. He probably had to lay low until sundown to get more from Pippa before coming back. She’s a vampire too after all.”
I feel rather than see Jadz turn toward me. “I thought she was your sister.”
“She is.”
“And a vampire?” A soft exhalation. “Interesting. Now that explains a lot.”
“It was an accident. Nobody meant for her to—”
“Oh, I’m sure it was an accident. No one ever means to become a blood sucking parasite.” She sniffs. “Sorry, that was mean. I’m just worried.” Again, that note of fear in her voice. Before I realize it, I’ve reached out to put my arm around her shoulders.
She’s hot, and that near unnatural warmth in her skin reminds me of her werewolf blood.
“Listen, I’d worry too, but Noel had his guts torn out by a vampire and still sat up the next day cracking jokes about porn. Trust me, he’ll be fine.”
“Trust you?” She turns to me. Like this, with my arm around her, her face is close enough that her nose brushes briefly against mine. I can see her nostrils flare as she scents me out, picking out the aroma of my words.
“Hmm. I suppose I do trust you. I trust my senses and they seem to believe in you.”
“Thanks. I guess?”
“Thank me like this.” And then her lips are on mine, pressed hard against my mouth and parting them with a deft flick of her tongue. She tastes hot and vaguely meaty, almost savoury, and her hand slides up to curl into my hair.
Fuck, she’s strong. Very strong.
The overhead light flicks on.
The bright flare startles and blinds me, jerking me back while I squeeze my eyes shut for several seconds.
By the time I’ve adjusted to it, I look up in time to see the door to the living room close. The sound of running steps retreats into the distance.
“What the hell, Jadz?” I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “How many times do I have to tell you? And who the hell was that? Who put the light on?”
“You can’t blame a girl for trying. Besides, I had to taste you at least once.” She chuckles and leans back against the sofa. “And thirty seconds after true sunset? Who else could it be but the little fanger?”
Shit. Oh, shit, fuck, shit and shit again.
I scramble off the sofa, half tangled in the blankets still clinging to my legs. I kick them free, then trip again, this time on the mug of unfinished coffee still nestled beside me. Dark brown liquid spills across laminate and into the rug, but I don’t care. I chase after her.
“Rayne.”
I’ve already lost the sound of her footsteps so I make my way to the utility room where she spent the day.
“Rayne? Is that you? Will you stop for a second? Please.”
There, standing beside the washing machine, forcing her legs into the second half of her jeans.
“Rayne—”
“Don’t talk to me.
“But you don’t understand—”
“Understand?” She glares at me, the wild light of vampire silver in her eyes. “I understand that I’ve been wanting you, needing you for weeks now. I understand you’re afraid of me. I understand that I’m a dangerous, monstrous beast and that now that there’s an easier, safer option, you’re happier to go with that instead.”
My mouth hangs open. “What? No, it’s not like that.”
“Then what is it, Danika?”
“I—she—we—”
Rayne snorts and jerks the zips of her jeans up. She shoves her arms into her blouse sleeves, and then fastens that too, all but spitting as her fingers fly over the buttons. “I’m leaving. Clearly you and Jadzia have this all in hand, so I’m going to report to SPEAR. I think it’s about time I had my debrief.”
She snatches up her socks and shoes, then shoves past me.
Moon Fever Page 19
