4: Jack - In The Pack (17 page)

Fera listened intently, picking through her food, asking a few questions. And then came the hard part, she asked me about the time I’d spent with Giselle. Of course, in my original telling, I just glossed over the first portion of that and explained that Giselle had been my tutor.

“Tell me what Giselle taught you about.”

“I told you. Lobos, history of garou and their breeding practices. That sort of thing. She let me at their database.”

“It is odd that they would give a newcomer, an unnatural, such access to so much information.”

“That’s what I thought. You know I’ve been set up for something.”

She didn’t respond to that, but she did set down her fork and look me in the eye to say, “I was under protection.”

“From...what?”

“Pack City is a safe place.”

“A neutral zone?”

“Yes.”

“I should not have left there.”

It was time to truly come clean about her brother. “Hood wanted you out.”

“I have no doubt about that. He has told me many times that the time would come that he would send someone for me.”

“So...you were actually expecting me?”

She shrugged. “Hoping.” She looked away. “Actually, I had given up hope. He’d been promising for a long time.”

My hand found hers, lying on her thigh, and I squeezed a hold of it. “Why were you in Pack City?”

Chapter Nine

A part of me didn’t want to know. One thing I knew, up front, without her telling me was this...she was just a pawn in somebody else’s game. With every word she uttered, every sigh, I knew that she needed me for her champion. As much as I suspected Hood of foul play, and my lawyer, too, I was beginning to question if they hadn’t chosen me for the purpose of saving Fera.

And I’m not just talking about getting her out of Pack City.

She smiled down at our hands entwined and put her other one over them. Sniffing, she shrugged. She’d already told me it was a neutral zone, but I had a feeling there was something more. “At Pack City, you are rarely alone. There are too many people there. Ya know?”

When she looked up at me, her eyes were bleak, and almost apologetic.

“My mother killed herself.”

I blinked. Wasn’t expecting that. And I had no idea what that meant to the rest of it. Fera’s hands started shaking and within a few seconds, it looked like her whole body was going into a seizure.

As fast as I could, I scooted in the booth to put my arm around her, pull her into my arms, let her bury her head against my chest. I knew I couldn’t do anything about her mother dying, and that just made me feel helpless. I crooned to her, “It’s okay,” a few times. I didn’t know what else to say.

It only took me about two seconds of holding her before my mind started to go down the ‘gutter path’. I can’t help it. Fera turns me on.

Her hair was so silky, smelled so...fresh. And that brought back memories of our washing session that morning. It seemed like so long ago.

I asked her, “Would you like to go lie down?”

We needed to get a motel room. Our cruise wasn’t supposed to leave until morning.

“Yes, maybe.”

A little awkwardly, not letting go of each other, we slid out of the booth. I used Hood’s credit card with my new name to pay the bill and we went to the closest motel. Well, hotel. I figured, since it was on Lobos, we were good for four star.

The room was typical upscale. Real cherry furniture. Textured wallpaper and Berber carpet. Marble threshold in the bathroom. Great view...of the back alley to the port, I think. But with the lights out there coming up, it looked pretty.

I waited until we were in the room to broach the subject of her mother dying again. I sure as hell didn’t want to talk about it, but she, just as surely, did. Well, maybe she didn’t want to, but she needed to.

“You want to talk about your mother?” Yeah. You can bet I was hoping she’d say no. No guy likes to talk about that awkward shit...because it makes us feel useless.

I sure wasn’t thinking that I could comfort her right into sex. I want to make that clear up front. My head really was, well, never mind. Maybe it was up my butt--pushing her to talk like that.

“I don’t know.” Fera arched and stretched, like she was going to go out running.

“Are you sore?” I was just worried about her. “I could give you a massage while you talk.”

“A massage?”

“Here.” I turned her around, and standing there, I started on her shoulders, telling her, “I can do this all over, if you like.” The idea made me happy, because that was something I was not useless at. “All the way to your toes.”

“Mm.”

That sounded promising. She closed her eyes, tipped her head and seemed to be appreciating my ministrations.

But any gathering of blood in my groin was quickly cut off when I noticed her features slipping...her chin and nose stretched.

Now, I wanted to let go, and scream, “Holy shit!”

And I’m sure my grip tightened, because she growled, “Ouch! That hurts,” at me.

I put my lips to her cheek, the part that was still human flesh, pale and...her. And pressed a little kiss--still massaging, just not so deep into the tissue. I asked, “Are you shifting on purpose?”

She jumped out of my arms, backed against the wall and held her arms out. Sure enough, hair was growing. Her claws were extending. She started pulling at her clothes.

That was something to see in the light, while I was fully awake and coherent. It didn’t take long, and she sure as hell didn’t take as much pain, popping, grinding, or stretching as I did to do the morph. I didn’t even think to be afraid. I mean, her in crinos, me in human--I could not have defended myself from her. Not to mention that I couldn’t imagine hurting her in the first place.

Warily, I asked, “Honey?”

She snarled. Her gaze darted to and fro. I thought she might run and dive through the window. It looked clean and open.

Fera knew about windows, but she might not be thinking clearly. Might not have heard of Plexiglas. I postured, arms up a little, in front of it. “Talk to me.”

That may have been a little self-preservation begging. I knew as long as she kept control of her head, we could work through whatever was making her shift. It absolutely had to be emotion induced. Her mother’s death?

See? I’m not that slow.

Wish I’d never brought ‘the bitch’ up.

“You want to talk about it?” Again, I could feel my inner self kicking me in the butt repeatedly for that. Like, why you gonna go and ask her that again, fool?

She was hulking up, getting taller, looming over me. Her shadow climbed up and curved onto the ceiling. I remember looking up at that and thinking...holy shit, I wouldn’t want to run into her, like this, in the dark.

“I’m so angry,” she growled.

“Uh. Okay.” Now I was looking for a way to get to the door. You know, suddenly thinking I should probably not be the only thing in front of her that she could rip apart. There was no way I could get past her to the door. So, I had to try and talk her through it. Yeah. You know how I feel about talking.

“Why are you angry?”

She swiped at the lamp on the table beside the bed. It went crashing into the wall.

I said, “Fera, calm down.”

“I don’t want to calm down!”

Yeah. That was at pretty loud volume. And here I am thinking, shit, someone’s gonna call hotel security, or worse, the fucking police on us. Domestic disturbance or something.

I tried another tack. I straightened my back, pointed toward the door. Yeah, I know this was a stupid move--now--but I was working off the top of my head. I said, “Go kill something, Fera. Maybe you’ll feel better.”

I’d have been up shit creek without a paddle if she’d taken me up on it.

But no, instead, she bounded onto the bed, stretched her neck toward me, put her beady little eyes on me, flashed them and said, “Why go out?”

Okay, Fera’s eyes had never seemed beady to me before--or since. But, at that moment, I thought she wanted to eat me. I’m sure she could smell the sudden, shocked fear I was feeling.

It took me a minute to work my jaw, but, finally I managed to say, “Right. Kill me now, Fera. Maybe that’s what your brother had in mind.”

She didn’t back down.

I pretty much figured I was dead. I’d hoped mention of Hood would bring some measure of sanity into her head.

There was a certain feeling of staring the devil down, there. But I held her gaze. Actually, I was afraid to turn away, afraid she’d slash me in the back.

Wait. Actually, I was afraid she’d revel in the kill, you know, hurt me a little, watch me bleed and cry for a bit. A quick death, I could face. And if it took a stare down to bring it on, I was gonna give it to her.

But she surprised me; she got control. She looked away first.

Now, that’s basic pack and pecking order shit. He who can hold the stare longest wins. Dog knowledge. But honestly, I couldn’t remember that at the moment. But I’m taking notes now.

I also know that staring a vicious dog in the eye can provoke an attack...they have a need to put you in your place. Ya know? So, bottom line--not a good idea. Don’t try that at home.

She pulled her nose out of my face and sat, like a dog, on her haunches on the bed. Within seconds, she shifted to full lupus and lay down, putting her nose between her paws. “I’m sorry.”

I was afraid to move. If she could shift that fast, without warning, I knew she was a cut, a breed above, anything I’d met at Lobos. I’d watched a few of those bitches shift. And the losers at Pack City, too. I’m talking painful, muscle rending shit. But Fera, her move was grace, like something out of the movies, except...prettier.

I tried for humor. “Please tell me your bark is worse than your bite.”

She smiled.

You know how a dog smiles, mouth open, tongue lolling, eyes alight, head up.

She joked back, “I’m not saying a thing.”

My legs finally got some feeling back in them. Did I mention that at one point they’d gone numb? I couldn’t have moved from that spot to save my life. Not when she was in my face like that. I was scared shitless. I didn’t realize it until later.

I staggered backward into the chair in the corner of the room, just watching her.

After several minutes, I said, “Are you holding something in that I should know about?”

Sure as the freaking sun was gonna rise, her face started changing again, going crinos. I leaned my head back, hooded my eyes and pretended like it didn’t bother me. I shrugged it off and turned my head to the window. I could see her reflection, and I told myself it wasn’t so scary.