Once Bitten (16 page)

“That
doesn’t surprise me.”

“Is she
doing it just to torture him?”

“Knowing
Beth, yes. I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t something else going on
there, though.”

“What
does that mean?” She could hear his confusion.

Lila
shrugged and quickly changed the subject. “What time do we have to be at
headquarters?”

“I want
to be there by nine thirty, but I wanted us to grab a bite to eat first. I don’t
know how long it’ll take.”

“Well,
I’m ready,” she said, turning to face him finally, unable to put it off any
longer.

He wore
his usual jeans and T-shirt but still looked sexy as hell. His eyes were dark
as he took her in, his gaze sweeping from head to toe. She felt exposed and had
to stop herself from wrapping her arms around her middle. Anger was in his
eyes, but she didn’t feel as if it was directed at her. It contorted his
features to the point where he almost looked like a different man. He was
hardened to her. He wasn’t the same Gabriel anymore.

It was
going to be a long day.

* * * *

Gabriel
had spent the night tossing and turning, struggling to keep himself from
busting through the door that kept him away from her.

He had
locked the door to keep her from trying to check on him. If she had walked into
his room last night, he would have claimed her as soon as she crossed the
threshold.

 
Two ice cold showers hadn’t helped in the
least. His body still felt like it was on fire but at least his beast hadn’t
returned uninvited.

That
morning he had lain in bed, staring at his now healed arm and listening to her
side of the conversation she had with her friend. Judging by the way she was
chastising her friend, he knew it wouldn’t take long before Kaleb called him
and when his phone rang, he had been ready.

He
hated doing it, but he evaded every question his brother asked. The only thing
he had freely admitted was having sex with her since it was obvious based on
his brother’s accusations that he knew that much already. All his other
questions went unanswered, mostly because he didn’t know the answer himself.

Had
they mated? He didn’t know.

What
was he going to do? He didn’t know.

Why
hadn’t he told Kaleb as soon as he had slept with Lila? He didn’t know.

He
hated keeping his brother in the dark, but he didn’t see any other way around
it. Involving him at this point would just put him in more danger than he
already was. Gabriel was on his own from here on out when it came to Lila.

Luckily,
talking to Kaleb and listening to his troubles with Beth had given him
something to say to Lila when he saw her. He worried about his brother with
Lila’s crazy friend. The last thing he wanted was Kaleb snapping and kicking
Beth out. It would devastate Lila knowing that her friend was in more danger
than she had been before.

Lila.
She was all he could think about. This was what a one-sided claim felt like. It
was torture and there was no end in sight.

He
couldn’t claim her and he certainly didn’t feel as if it would be possible to
ever touch her again without crossing that line. If he had all the will power
in the world, it wouldn’t be enough. As soon as she got close, he would sink
his teeth into her neck and end the madness. And then most likely get her
killed.

“Let me
just get my stuff,” she told him, swiping the cosmetics into her bag in one
swoop of her arm. The glint of metal caught his attention.

“Is
that a gun?”

“And
what if it is?”

“Jesus,
Lila. Why didn’t you tell me you were carrying?”

“I
carry concealed.”

“That’s
not what I meant.”

“I know
what you meant and I don’t know. I just figured I’d bring it. I never know
anymore who we’ll run into.” He couldn’t fault her logic and part of him was
glad that she had brought it. At least she was thinking about her own
well-being for once.

He was
just lucky she hadn’t been searched last night or they would have been in some
serious hot water. “Make sure you hide that piece in the Jeep somewhere before
we get there. If it’s in the vehicle and they find it, it won’t be nearly as
bad as if they found it in your bag or on your person.”

“All
right.”

“Is
there anything else I should know about? Knives? Mace? A fucking Taser?”

The
corner of her mouth turned up. “That’s it. Unless they care that I’ve filed my
toothbrush into a shiv.”

He
couldn’t help himself, he laughed. He could see the relief in her face, her
entire body relaxing slightly.

“Let’s
go get breakfast,” he said, going through the connecting door and locking it
behind him.

She
came out of her room a minute later, pulling her own door closed and walking
over to the Jeep. He unlocked the door for her and she threw her bag in the
back before hopping in and buckling her seatbelt.

He
stopped at the office and handed the keys over to an older male werewolf,
letting him know that they were headed over to headquarters and would probably
not be returning that evening, unless the district leaders wanted them to stay.

The man
took the keys with a curt nod and Gabriel went back outside to the Jeep and
Lila.

“What
do you want for breakfast?” he asked her, pulling his door closed.

She
didn’t hesitate. “Pancakes.”

“Sounds
good,” he said, pulling away from the hotel.

Gabriel
stopped at the first diner they passed that advertised pancakes. He parked the
car by the front door and waited while Lila stowed the gun under her seat. When
she got out of the Jeep, he waited until she walked in first, coming up close
behind her.

Her
delicious smell wafted up and he instantly felt drunk. His cock hardened as his
teeth started to elongate in his mouth.

It was
going to be a long day.

* * * *

After
they ate, Gabriel and Lila headed over to headquarters. Lila didn’t know how
she felt about meeting with the district leaders. It was intimidating, the
thought of being in a room with a bunch of werewolves that were involved in the
decision making process. She just hoped she didn’t embarrass Gabriel or get him
into trouble. Or both.

Determined
to keep her mouth shut unless she was asked a direct question, Lila followed
Gabriel inside the two-story log cabin that looked more like a winter getaway
for a family of five than a werewolf headquarters.

The
first thing she noticed when she stepped inside was the wet dog smell.

“You’ve
got to be kidding,” she muttered under her breath. Gabriel frowned at her and
gave her a quick shake of his head. She got the hint.

They
stood inside a small vestibule. There was one door that Lila guessed led to the
rest of the building. Gabriel rang the bell and a speaker Lila hadn’t noticed
before blared into the room.

“Identify
yourselves,” the box said in a distinctly feminine voice.

“Gabriel
Azarov, werewolf, and Lila Blackburn, witch, here to see the district leaders
at the request of Malcolm Azarov.”

The box
fell silent and Lila was just beginning to wonder if they had been forgotten
about when the same faceless voice spoke again. “Mr. Azarov, please proceed
through the door. Miss Blackburn, please remain where you are to be searched.”

“Gabriel?”
She didn’t want him leaving her while some unknown person felt her up.

“It’ll
be quick. They won’t hurt you. I’ll be on the other side of the door, waiting
for you.”

Lila
heard a series of locks turn and the door popped open. He gave her one last
lingering look over his shoulder and stepped through. A petite blonde woman who
had the same facial expressions as Cruella DeVil replaced him.

“I need
you to turn around and put your hands on the wall,” she instructed. Cruella
DeVil was the voice from the box.

Lila
did as she was told, wanting to get it over with. Cruella wasn’t heavy handed,
but she was thorough, Lila would give her that. The woman didn’t miss an inch.
Unfortunately.

“You
and Mr. Azarov have been in each other’s company for a little while now.” Her
keen nose picked up his scent all right. Lila just hoped she had scrubbed
herself well enough that morning to get rid of any lingering smells of sex from
the night before.

If
Cruella picked up on it, she didn’t say anything. “Well, we did just drive nine
hours to get here yesterday.”

She
nodded and stepped away from Lila. The door popped open and this time Cruella
let her through.

“She’s
clean,” Cruella informed Gabriel, who was patiently waiting for them, leaning
against the wall, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

“Of
course she is.” Lila didn’t miss the glare Cruella gave him at his comment. The
more she was around werewolves, the more she realized they weren’t big fans of
witches. Thankfully they didn’t know she was actually a human. She bet that
would’ve gone over real well with Cruella.

“If you
two would follow me to the waiting area, I’ll let them know you’re here. The
district leaders are overseeing a local dispute at the moment and will be with
you shortly.”

 
Lila followed Gabriel and the woman into
another small room that held a handful of uncomfortable looking metal chairs.
Following Gabriel’s lead, she sat down.

 
After Cruella left them there to go
murder some helpless puppies, Lila looked at Gabriel. “How long are they going
to make us wait?”

“Your
guess is as good as mine,” he said, stretching his long legs out in front of
him, getting comfortable.

Five
minutes turned into ten. Ten minutes turned into thirty. And before Lila knew
it, thirty minutes had turned into an hour. Her ass hurt from sitting in the
unforgiving chair and there was no relief in sight.

After
two full hours with very little spoken by either her or Gabriel, she couldn’t
take sitting in the chair anymore. Just as she got up to pace the cramped room,
Cruella was standing in the doorway.

“They’re
ready to see you now.” Lila stepped toward the door, but Cruella shook her
head. “Him, not you.”

Lila
couldn’t help throwing the woman a dirty look as Gabriel got up from his chair.

“Be
patient. This shouldn’t take long,” he told her as he walked out the door,
leaving Lila staring after him.

* * * *

When
Gabriel entered the room that held the district leaders, the first thing he
thought was that he should have stayed home.

The
five men looked none too pleased to see him.

He didn’t
know any of them personally, but he had heard enough about them through word of
mouth. What the council, the regional, and the district leaders didn’t
understand was that people talked. Hell, even the different factions who were
barely civil to each other talked and the one thing they could all agree upon
was the incompetence of their leaders.

“Gabriel
Azarov, welcome.” The man who sat behind the sign that read District six said.
The glare on the man’s scrunched face was far from welcoming.

There
were six seats at one long table, but only five of them were filled. The chair
behind the sign that read District one remained empty—the seat his uncle held
before his election onto the council.

“Thank
you for seeing me on such short notice,” he said, nodding to each man as he
spoke.

The
only person who didn’t seem to care that he was there was the man from the
third district, but he just looked lost altogether. His hazel eyes were cloudy
as he stared at a bird outside the large window. Age had weathered his skin and
apparently his mind as well.

“Short
notice? I would hardly call it that. No notice would be more like it.” The man
from district five had no more love for him than the one from six.

Gabriel
hated them all—except for the man from district three who was currently digging
his finger in his large ear—from that moment on.

Clearing
his throat, he figured the best thing he could do was say what he came to say
so he could get Lila the hell out of there. He saw no reason to wait.

“It has
recently come to my attention that there is an alliance between the warlocks
and the fae.”

Their
response was not what he expected. It ranged from the district two spitting on
the floor to district four howling in disgust. The men talked loudly, all
instantly denying any sort of alliance between their unspoken enemies.

Once
silence engulfed the room, district six was the first to respond. “That is a
ludicrous accusation!”

“It is
not an accusation. It is fact.”

“Don’t
be absurd, my boy!” District three piped in, a frown on his wrinkled face. “The
fae and the warlocks don’t dance anymore. The warlocks don’t dance with anyone,
especially the fae.”