Successors (19 page)

He hesitated, understanding the full extent of the damage he had caused. “We do,” he stuttered. “Cori.” He moved to sit on the bed with her. “We do. I was being stupid.” He squeezed her hand tightly, as if he could express regret through the strength of his grip.

“What was so important that you were willing to use a mind reader instead of just asking me yourself?”

Ethan frowned and shook his head. “Nothing. I made a mistake. I won't make it again, I promise you that.”

Cori stared at him for a long moment before pulling her hand from his. She rubbed her throat. “I'm thirsty.”

“I'll get you some water.” He jumped out the door and bounded downstairs in hopes of doing anything that might repair the wedge he had put between them. With only slightly less bounce he brought the water back up the stairs. Her door was closed. He tested the knob, but it was locked. He knocked. “I have your… water.” He sank down against the wall when he realized she had no intention of letting him back in. “I’m just going to sit out here for a while. Just yell if you need anything else, anything at all. I’ll take care of it.”

He banged his head rhythmically against the wall behind him and wondered if it even mattered if she was in love with the werewolf, since there was no chance any spell could overcome the hatred she now held for him.

Later that night Cori emerged from her room to start supper. He helped by setting the table, but he didn’t have the nerve to speak to her. When he had finally mustered some backbone, Danato came home and interrupted him. “Where were you all day?” he asked Ethan.

“Just some hands-on studying. The pictures don’t always do it justice.”

Danato grunted in response and finished hanging his coat. He sniffed the air and smiled at Cori. “That smells wonderful.”

“Good.” Cori smiled over from the stove.

Danato looked back at Ethan suspiciously. He wasn’t sure what had prompted the inquisitive look, but Danato continued to look back and forth between them. He was a bloodhound on the scent of trouble.

“I like the pictures in that eighth volume though,” Ethan said, trying to break his concentration.

Ignoring his comment, Danato went to the stove and pushed the skillet of food off the flame. He grabbed Cori’s shoulders and turned her to face him. He pulled her chin up to look at him as if her eyes would tell him everything he needed to know. She stared at him wide-eyed and wavering, unbalanced by the unexpected analysis.

“What’s this? Your eyes are bloodshot.” Danato’s voice was low and threatening. “Don’t tell me you’re just tired.”

Ethan broke into a cold sweat wondering what punishment he would receive for defying the rules. He had never gotten the full brunt of Danato’s anger. Cori was usually on the receiving end of his ire, but only because he was ultimately concerned for her. This time it was Ethan who was putting her in danger.

“It was cleaner. I got it in my eyes,” she lied.

His panic eased, thankful that Cori could lie comfortably, but the reason she had to lie made him sick with guilt.

“How?” Danato asked, narrowing his eyes on her.

“It fell off the cart. A transmorph sprayed it in my face. I washed out my eyes. I think the water was worse than the cleaner,” she quipped.

“You didn’t call me,” Danato said.

“I asked one of the guards to help. It really wasn’t a big deal. A stupid mistake; it’s not like I don’t have a trophy case of stupid mistakes.”

“Stupid or not, I want a call. Understand?” His voice was soft, or as soft as it ever could be. She nodded. Apparently satisfied, he backed away, making sure she was balanced before letting her go. “That smells delicious,” he said, pulling the pan back onto the burner.

“Thank you.” She glanced at Ethan. He exuded as much thanks as he could without giving away anything.

Danato sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of milk as an appetizer. “I suppose that burn mark on your right hand is from making dinner?”

Ethan’s heart went back to super speed and his stomach clenched. Cori looked at her hand. He shifted to get a view of the red mark between her thumb and forefinger. She glanced over to him and he pleaded with his eyes for another lie.

“Yeah, hot pan.” Cori nodded at Danato and shuffled the beef in her skillet.

Dinner was tense and quiet. Ethan tried to make eye contact with Cori, but she was denying him all forms of communication. Danato kept a watchful gaze on both of them, no doubt trying to discern the reason behind the obviously awkward meal.

“I’d like to go see Vince tonight,” Cori said abruptly halfway through her plate.

Danato’s fork dropped loudly on his plate, and his partially chewed mouth full of food sat immobile for several seconds before being forcibly swallowed without its final mastication. “You’re confused,” he informed her.

“Tonight,” she repeated.

“You know what tonight is.” His eyes were fixed on her like an attack dog.

When neither of them spoke, Ethan decided to spell it out for both of them. “It’s a full moon, Cori.”

She looked over at him with bold defiance. “I know what night it is.”

“He isn’t Vince anymore,” Danato said.

“I know.” She pushed her food into a blob on her plate.

Ethan looked at Danato, hoping for the angry reactions that, up to this point, had defined his character. Instead, Danato appeared to be thinking about it. “He’s an animal!” Ethan slammed his fist into the table, unable to contain his repulsion at her interest in the werewolf.

“Ethan, enough.” Danato raised his hand to shush him. “Cori, this won’t do anything to subside your fears. He isn’t human, not in
any
way.”

“I want to see Vince tonight. I want you to take me there and show me this horrific beast. I want to know exactly what it is I’m supposed to be afraid of, before…” She lowered her eyes for a moment. Her eyes returned to him with pleading in place of the determination. “I need to see for myself.”

Danato shook his head, but Ethan could already see the shift in his body. His tense muscles relaxed and he leaned back in his chair. His upper lip twitched as it usually did when he was disgusted. “I will take you there once.” Danato jutted his index finger at her for effect. “You will leave when I tell you. Your presence will agitate him. I won’t allow your infatuation to endanger my men. Do you understand?”

Ethan’s mouth dropped and he struggled to find an objection comparable to his astonishment.

“I will see him and then I will leave. That’s all I want.”

Danato growled under his breath as he stood and grabbed his coat. Cori jumped to grab hers. She was ready, complete with scarf and gloves, before he had even finished buttoning up.

Ethan watched them from the back seat of his eyes. “What?” He jumped up, finally finding his voice. “I can’t believe you are allowing her in there.
I
haven’t even been in there on a full moon!” Danato glanced at him, but he seemed too annoyed to bother with Ethan’s petty jealousy.

Ethan went from sick with guilt to hot with rage in an instant. He couldn’t stand watching her walk out the door to see Vince, again. “I took Cori to see Mezula!” He blurted out without thinking about the consequences. Danato shot him a shocked look.

In for a penny.

“That’s why her eyes are bloodshot. The burn is from their connection.”

In for a pounding.

Danato took a menacing step toward him. “You did what?” His voice was a whisper of his normal level.

Ethan tensed, prepared for his verbal and possible physical beating.

Cori stepped between them. She placed a firm hand on Danato’s bicep. “Danato, he’s just saying that to distract you. He’s jealous. Look.” Cori moved to the skillet on the table and placed her hand high on the handle. The cleft of her hand met up with the metal pan. Danato glanced over. “See, he’s a smart boy. Let’s not argue about this now. He just wants to delay this.”

Danato glanced between the two of them. He probably didn’t know whom to believe at this point. Ethan’s seething anger only added to her case.

“Let’s go,” Cori said, calmly ushering Danato to the door.

“I’m coming too,” Ethan protested.

“You stay here!” Danato boomed. “Clean up these dishes and get to bed.”

He stormed out behind Cori and slammed the front door. Then Ethan heard the unthinkable: the exterior lock latched.

He couldn’t help but see his future before him in that one moment. His future alone in that house.

34

The
elevator felt a great deal smaller to Cori with Danato in it with her. He hadn’t said a word since they left the house, but his expression told her he wasn’t happy about doing this for her. Before they reached the part-time floor, he pressed the stop button and turned to her for yet another lecture.

“You must understand that he won’t recognize you. He won’t feel something deep down inside for you. There is nothing human in him at all. He would kill you just as he would kill a wounded animal: no mercy, no recognition, and no sorrow. He wouldn’t even know he had killed you when he returned to human form. The memories don’t transfer.”

She stared at him, patiently waiting for the end of the sermon. She understood everything he was saying. She didn’t even care whether Vince recognized her or not. It was curiosity that had brought her there.

“Why are you really doing this?” Danato asked when she didn’t defend her actions.

“I think the best way to get to know someone is to see them at their worst moments. If someone can still love you after they’ve seen you at your least proud, then there is nothing that can come between you.”

Danato took in a deep breath. “I like that reason. I don’t like it in this case, but I suppose I can’t protect you from this.” His gaze lingered on her, begging her to change her mind.

“If you don’t take me now, I’ll just have to find a way. At least this way you can say it was your decision.”

Danato’s jaw clenched. “You are stubborn to a fault,” he grumbled. “Stay to the red line. Not the yellow. The yellow is for human containment. The red is for the wolf. Don’t reach out. Don’t speak to him.” He yanked the stop button and the elevator continued to the part-time floor.

“Follow me,” Danato said as they stepped out of the elevator. He followed the red line to the cage. She waited by the elevator to prepare herself.

Danato saw her lingering and waved to her to come over. She followed the line carefully and precisely to the other side of Danato. Her peripheral vision detected the great mass to her right. She could smell wet dog. She heard a breathy snort that sounded like a bull preparing to charge.

She swallowed hard and turned to see Vince’s other self, head-on. She had expected the furry coat, the wolf face, and the claws, but what she hadn’t been prepared for was his size.

The cages were oversized for his human form, but the beast filled the space. It left him room to stand, but barely enough to turn around. The creature that stood before her was ten feet tall and at least 300 pounds bigger than his former self. His frame was burly at the neck and shoulders, and leaner through the waist. The legs were strong, but she could see the upper body was where the bulk of his strength was.

His black, bulbous eyes stared her down, like she was delivering his dinner via a not-so-virgin sacrifice. Bright white canine teeth overhung his lower jaw by at least an inch, dripping drool on the cement floor below him. His paws needed only to make contact with her and “decapitation” or “shattered spine” would be on her autopsy report.

Three guards stood watch, poised with electrical shock prods, prepared to stifle any malevolent behavior that was beyond acceptable limits. She could see Danato out of the corner of her eye watching her. Everything she did or said would be under microscopic analysis. She revealed nothing. The less he construed from her actions now, the better her plan would go later.

“How is this possible?” she whispered. “How can he be bigger?”

“Hyper-hydration of the muscle tissues, the bones become like rubber, they stretch and solidify. The claws are recessed into his hands, the lungs expand…”

“Does it hurt him?”

“Oh, yes, the transformation is very trying on the body,” Danato offered with a twinge of sympathy in his voice. “He can smell you now. Watch yourself.”

The creature hunched over and looked at her, eye to eye. There was a moment that, if she had not been warned so vehemently, she would have thought he recognized her.

As soon as the moment came, it went. His claws extended in a broad reach and ripped the air just inches from her face. Her hair lifted from the gust it produced. The entire room took a step back. She didn’t move and didn’t flinch except to blink from the air wafting in her face.

The guards prodded the beast in retribution for his attack. He reared in anguish, howling more than yelling.

Danato looked between her and the creature, still trying to decipher her emotions. She looked down at her feet, realigning herself perfectly with the life-preserving red line. She turned and followed it to the elevator.

Danato followed her. At the elevator, she stepped in and pushed the button. She looked back at him as he watched her go. His face was wrought with concern. She kept her expression passive until the doors had closed. She didn’t want to reveal anything to Danato.

35

For the first time ever, Cori visited Ethan in the gym. His workouts must have been going well, since he had already gained a good deal of muscle size. Soon she wouldn’t be able to see his boyish features past his brawn.

A punching bag was taking a good beating when she came in. She sat on the bench and patiently waited for his attention. He looked back at her, sweating and panting from his cardio. She didn’t smile or say hello. “You should keep your right arm tucked a little more on the upper cut. You’ll get a better hit.”

He nodded absently. “You’re the expert,” he said as he continued to punch. She was sure he had meant it sarcastically, but it came across as an admission. She wasn’t really an expert. She had taken a self-defense class her freshman year of college per her mother’s request, but given her current situation it hadn’t really done her any good.

“They should put mirrors up in here. It would help you watch your form.”

He punched the bag one last time and leaned against it. “What do you want, Cori?” His voice was hard. It stung a little, but she pushed the feeling aside.

“I want to know what Mezula told you about me.” She was sure that Ethan had not been entirely honest about his purpose with Mezula. She couldn’t imagine he would have risked her safety over a lame matchmaker scheme.

“Nothing I don’t already know.” His ripped off his gloves. “I never went back to see. I’m not going back. It was stupid, right?” He leaned over and snatched up his water bottle for a long swig.

She picked up a random weight at her feet and did some bicep curls. “What was she supposed to tell you?”

He looked at her through hurt and angry eyes. “I got my answer last night. Better a beast than a boy, right?” She looked up from her weight, surprised he had voiced anything resembling his real feelings. When she didn’t respond, his jaw clenched and he shouted. “
Right?
”

She dropped her weight and stood up straight and tall. “What do you want me to say, Ethan? Yes, I choose Vince. I told you I wasn't the girl for you. It doesn't mean I don't care about you.”

“You told me you couldn't be anybody's girl. When did that change.”

“Vince is...different.”

“What, because he isn't technically a man.” He moved over to her and put his foot up on the bench behind her. “So you went from never being able to love a man again to… loving a werewolf. I didn't know that you were into bestiality?”

She knew he was just trying to make her mad, but she couldn't help being baited by the insult. “That's disgusting, Ethan!”

He chuckled. “You're telling me. You know they really are just glorified upright dogs.”

“He is not a dog. He is gentle and affectionate—”

“Until the full moon, when he could not so metaphorically rip you two.”