Sex Symbol (25 page)

“Let’s just find James. If we both survive the night I want a full explanation on all this bullshit.”

“You got it.”

“What were those chains made of anyway?”

“Reinforced steel plated with silver.”

That sounded impressive. “Would it have stopped you?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

“No offense, but you don’t seem like you needed to be chained.”

“I’ve been suppressing the change for months now. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Guess I overreacted.”

Once I was dressed Eramus headed for the door. The ceiling was nine feet high. He didn’t need the ladder to open the door. I estimated him to be just over seven feet tall once he was transformed. Now that was intimidating.

“Shouldn’t I take a weapon or something?” I asked.

He smiled and it was frightening coming from a wolf’s face. “You are taking a weapon.”

It was at this inopportune moment that I noticed he was completely naked. And all of him had grown when he changed.

Eramus laughed. “That is not the weapon I was referring to.”

I smiled, embarrassed that he’d caught me staring. “Well, you could probably knock someone out with it in a pinch.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He put his hand on the door. “Are you ready?” I nodded. “Let me take a look first. Get on the ladder and be ready when I reach for you.”

Eramus opened the door and rain splashed to the floor as he leapt outside. Wow. He could jump nine feet high? He closed the door and I climbed up as far as I could without hitting my head. It seemed like no time at all before he opened the door and pulled me outside.

“He’s not around the house, but he has been. Traces of his scent still linger. I’m betting he went back to the car. We should hurry.”

Eramus knelt down in front of me.

“What are you doing?”

“No offense, babe. I’m sure you’re a fast runner, but I doubt you can beat my time. Just climb on and point me in the right direction.”

I never expected to ride a werewolf, but what choice did I have? I climbed on his back and wrapped my legs around him as best I could. I was too short to lock my ankles in the middle, fully transformed he was just too damn big. I put my arms around his neck and Eramus put his hands underneath my thighs.

“That way.”

He took off in the direction I’d pointed and I had to hold on for dear life. I knew werewolves were supposed to be fast, but damn. It was like riding a motorcycle in the rain without a helmet. Not entirely a fun experience, but exhilarating just the same. He leapt over the ditch I’d fallen in earlier and I resisted the urge to squeal.

Eramus went to all fours as we raced across the field and I held on tight, riding him more like a horse. It didn’t matter if my legs couldn’t wrap all the way around him, just as long as he stayed down.

“Is this the barn?”

The rain beating into my face was nearly blinding, but I could still make out the barn.

“Yes.”

He came to a stop only long enough to tell that Ron was not inside.

“Which way?”

I pointed to the right. “Through there, then take a left until you reach the road.”

“Keep your head down, that way you won’t catch branches.”

I hugged Eramus tight, burying my face against the fur on his back. Riding him through the woods was definitely a rush. But knowing that we might find James dead made it a whole lot less exciting. Maybe we hadn’t wasted too much time. Honestly, I thought he was dead on impact. Otherwise I never would have taken so much time with Eramus in the shelter. But when he asked me, I couldn’t say for sure. If James was still alive and ended up dying because I never came back, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.

The moment his claws hit pavement Eramus stood up and lowered me to the ground. Ron was standing in the middle of the road. The car was still running and he was right in front of the headlights, casting his gruesome shadow into the ditch on the other side. He looked more like a scarecrow wearing a wolf suit than the enormous wall of muscle standing beside me.

It took me a minute to realize that Ozzy was standing on my other side. Of course, I’d figured out by now that Ron was the wolf he’d been sent here to find six years ago. But I didn’t expect to find him here. If I had known for certain just a day ago that he was definitely looking for Ron, the Ron I used to know, I would never have told Oz his whereabouts, even if I’d known. But after tonight, fuck Ron.

Screw all these fake friends. My real friend was here—and he’d brought a big gun.

“What’s going on here?” Eramus growled.

Ron gnashed his teeth at us and Ozzy cocked the rifle he had aimed.

“Go check on James,” Eramus said, nudging me in the direction of the car. “If he comes near you, I’ll tear his head off.”

Ron howled with frustration, but he didn’t make a move toward me. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who believed Eramus’ threat.

I hadn’t actually looked at the car since getting out of it and seeing it now was difficult. James’ legs were hanging out over the hood and it looked like his upper body was inside the car. He’d definitely gone through the windshield headfirst. I got in the passenger side and scooted toward him.

Being mad at your ex is one thing, but seeing him hurt is quite another. It felt as if someone had kicked me right in the chest. I’d have given anything to take back what had happened tonight. I couldn’t bring myself to check for a pulse. Instead I brushed my hand across his forehead, dusting off a few small pieces of glass. Rain poured in the car and over his body, leaking onto the floorboard. He must have been freezing, but he wasn’t responding to the rain or the cold. Ever since we’d split, my chest hurt when I looked at James. Now it ached for an entirely different reason. I moved closer and cradled his head in my arms as best I could. The steering wheel blocked me for the most part, but still I held him. My tears mixed with the rain, pouring over his face. There aren’t words for moments like this. I knew that Eramus was waiting for me to say something—but what do you say?

Finally I took a deep breath and released him. I had to do this, might as well find my voice and get it over with. I was just about to call back to Eramus that James was dead when he opened his eyes. No matter what had happened between us, I had never been more excited to see those green eyes looking up at me. I stroked his face and kissed his forehead. James tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace. There was no telling how badly he was injured, but at least he was alive. My immediate fear was that his back was broken, but I didn’t want to upset him by blurting it out.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Shh. Don’t try to move. We’re going to get you help.”

James grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me closer to his face. “That man in the road—he isn’t a man.”

“I know, James. He threw you through the windshield.”

About that time I could hear raised voices outside, but with all the rain and James talking, I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“He’s alive,” I called. Just in case anyone wanted to know besides me.

“I want to get up,” James said, bringing my attention back to him.

“That’s probably a bad idea.”

“This fucking hurts. I want to sit up.”

He wiggled a little, then fell back down.

“At least wait until Eramus can help.”

He looked defeated. “You brought your boyfriend? How long was I out?”

“I’m not sure, maybe an hour. Honestly, I thought he’d killed you or I would have been back sooner.” James continued to fidget and I put a hand on his chest to hold him still. “You might injure yourself further. Can you even feel your legs?”

“Yes, and they fucking hurt.”

Well, that was a good sign.

“Lucy!”

Ozzy yelled for me and I got back out as I told James, “Stay put. I’ll be back.”

I approached Ozzy cautiously. It was evident that he and Eramus had been having some sort of an argument with Ron. He kept his eyes trained down the barrel of the gun as he spoke to me.

“Reach in my pocket. I found your phone underneath the car. Call for help.”

I did as he asked, amazed to find my phone still in working order. I had just dialed the ambulance when Ron roared, “Enough of this shit. She’s coming with me!”

Ozzy took him down before he got halfway to where we stood. He fell to the ground with another roar, clutching his chest.

“Who is the alpha?” Eramus asked, stepping forward. “Who has Lucy been marked for?”

Ron laughed and blood spilled from his lips. “You’ll find out.”

“Tell me!” I screamed.

“Who ordered this?” Ron asked, looking directly past me at Ozzy.

Did everyone know he was an assassin except me?

“Elsa. She sends her regards.”

“That fucking bitch.”

Those were Ron’s last words. Not so great as far as last words go. Somewhere during all this I’d hung up on the ambulance.

“Shit. Let me try again,” I said.

Eramus walked over to James and about the time someone picked up on the other end of the line, he screamed. Great, just great.

It took me a while to explain the “nature of our emergency”. I told them I and some friends were driving along when we found Ron in the road. Hey, no need to lie about a perfectly good explanation. Since it was legal to shoot werewolves who attacked you, I told them that he had attacked James and Ozzy had shot him. It was the truth. Sort of. I left Eramus out of the story entirely. By the time I hung up he had helped James to a sitting position on the hood of the car.

“They’re on their way.”

James still looked terrified while Eramus checked him for injuries.

“He must have curled into a ball on impact. His back took most of it. He’s probably got a few broken ribs and a bad concussion.”

“I feel like shit and I can’t see straight,” James added. “So, you prefer a werewolf to dating me again?”

I laughed. After all that had happened tonight, talking about our relationship was so ridiculous. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Yes I do, James. Especially when you act like this. Although I am glad you didn’t completely cave your head in tonight.”

He looked back toward Eramus and apparently noticed he was naked for the first time. “Holy shit. No wonder so many women have turned into gravediggers. Not to be crude, but do they all look like that?”

I laughed, but his question still rubbed me the wrong way. “I wouldn’t know James, I’ve only been with this one.”

Even though he still had a wolf’s face, I could see the grin Eramus was trying to hide. Hey, who wouldn’t want to know that their girlfriend’s ex was intimidated just by looking at their dick? At least he was enjoying the conversation.

I heard a click and turned around to find Ozzy photographing Ron’s body. I walked over to him, grateful to get away from the “mine’s bigger than yours” discussion.

“This is the only way I can prove it was finished,” he explained.

“I hope I didn’t ruin anything by saying that you shot him. I didn’t want them to start a manhunt or anything. Or would that be werewolf hunt?”

“No, you did the right thing.” He stepped closer and angled the camera for a different shot. “There’s a chance they heard the gunshot over the phone anyway. Now we don’t have to alter our story. Plus, I’ve got a permit for the gun. We can just say it was in the trunk because I’d been hunting.”

Practically everybody hunts in Mississippi. Oz didn’t seem to have the slightest worry that his excuse wouldn’t work. He was probably right.

Eramus put his hand on my shoulder and I jumped.

“Why don’t you ride with James to the hospital? I’ll catch up later after I…change.”

I could hear Oz laughing behind me at Eramus’ choice of words.

“I’ll bring you some fresh clothes if you want.”

“I’ll be okay. My coat is in the car. I’ll just wrap up in that until I can shower. It’d feel weird to put on clean clothes and still have mud in my hair.”

Eramus patted the top of my head. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

He took off through the woods and was gone before I could take a deep breath. Oz borrowed my phone and called a wrecker while I got my coat. The only way to keep halfway dry was to get in the backseat. So, that’s where I waited.

Oz eventually came and sat in the back with me. James was afraid to move too much, despite his insistence at needing to sit up. He stayed on the hood and talked to us through the broken windshield.

“I think I’m in shock. I really don’t hurt that much anymore.”

“Yep, that’s shock,” Oz said.

“I can’t believe I saw two werewolves tonight. I can’t believe you’re dating one!”

While James rambled on I turned to Ozzy and asked, “Who’s Elsa?”

“The vampire whose blood he stole to become…” He gestured toward where Ron lay in the road. “Whatever it is that he is. She said he was an abomination and had to be put down.”

“Wow. How the hell did a man in a wheelchair steal a vampire’s blood?”

He shrugged. “According to her, he drew it from her during the day when she was powerless to stop him. What makes matters worse is they’d become friends, or so she thought.”

I pulled the coat closer underneath my chin. “There’s a lot of that going around.” Ozzy put his arm around me and I leaned into his embrace. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Is anyone even listening to me?”

“No,” Oz and I said together.

The ambulance arrived within ten minutes. That was bad if someone had been dying, but not too bad considering we were in the middle of nowhere.

Ozzy stayed behind with James’ car to wait for the wrecker and the police. I rode with James to the hospital.

By the time the ambulance arrived, Ron’s body still hadn’t turned back to human. Nick transformed before he died. I guess that a transformation required energy and Ron didn’t have enough left before dying to turn. He was one hell of a mess for a coroner to have to figure out, that’s for sure. There was only the wound in his chest as far as cause of death went. But his anatomy? Holy crap I wouldn’t want to have to categorize a mixed up monster like him.

These were the thoughts running through my head while I waited for further word on James. The ambulance driver had given me a blanket and I was wrapped tightly with a cup of coffee in my hand, sitting in the corner of the small waiting room. Ozzy was the next one to arrive. He sat down and put his arm around me. No doubt he’d seen that I was still shivering and wanted to offer some warmth.