Page 8

Chapter Eight

I passed out for a second, but then woke up from the pain of being dragged upright. Was that Max? What was he doing? Where was I? Where were my clothes? Then again, who needed clothes when you have open flesh wounds?

No, this hurt too much to be a hallucination. The pain of trying to put weight on my broken leg cleared my head astonishingly well.

“Stand,” Max murmured and then released me, which didn’t hurt as much as him holding me up, but on the other hand, balancing on one leg while my other broken limbs dangled wasn’t exactly fun.

“Do you accept the senator as your protector?” the Alta asked me while he pulled on a nice blue button-down shirt.

“Pardon?” I mumbled through swollen lips. I blinked and then looked up to see if it was possible that I hadn’t hallucinated.

Senator Silverton leapt lightly down to another ledge, then another, until he was in the circle with us. I stared at him. Yes, he really was wearing a tuxedo. He came forward with his charming politician smile, holding out a hand to the Alta.

They shook hands, and then Silverton gestured above us. Light flickered and then lightning lit up a figure in a cloak with a large decal on his chest that I recognized as the sorcerer’s guild. I was definitely still hallucinating.

A wind rose, and then the silhouette of an enormous winged beast flanked the sorcerer while on his other side another creature crouched with cruel twisted features, cast from stone. A gargoyle. So we had a sorcerer, a dragon, and a gargoyle up there. That made absolutely no sense. Were they having some kind of political thing and needed the Alta to join them?

Silverton said, smiling persuasively, “As you see, I’ve brought a few guardians who can assist me in escorting Miss Era home. Her safety is assured.”

“Delphi’s a werewolf.” The Alta looked Silverton up and down. “Unless I’m mistaken, you aren’t.”

“I’m not, but I have recently read your entire werewolf code of law. You can only force her to mate with someone who can defeat her. That leaves you. Aren’t you a bit old for her?”

The Alta scowled at Silverton, rubbing his black beard. “I’m not going to force her to mate to an outsider. I refuse to let you challenge her.”

“I’m not going to challenge her. She already chose me. She’s living in my house. She asked me to let her stay when this Ridley threat arose. She asked me to be her protector. It was one thing to date her, but taking on such a role is serious. I had to consider, but now that I have thought it over, I accept the role of her protector and will serve her faithfully.”

Dating? We weren’t dating. Were we? His tuxedo was ready, but my outfit was distinctly lacking. And there he was, getting his first glimpse of my gorgeous nudity. I sighed and then winced when so many things hurt. Ow, ow, ow. Who cared if the Senator would always see the poor helpless girl wearing bruises? I did. I didn’t need to worry about anything else, but here I was, worried about something as stupid as what the Senator thought about me naked.

“Max, is this true? Were they dating?” the Alta asked with a frown.

Nobody asked me. Good thing. Breathing was tricky enough. Also, my thoughts were still muddled. Was this really happening? Surreal. The elf had such pretty eyes, and his tuxedo was so fancy. He could make an event out of anything, even a circle of barbarians.

Max rubbed his chin and glanced at me, a warning in his eyes. “He washed the blood out of her fur. You could smell him on her, but she never stated directly that he was her protector.”

“Because I hadn’t committed myself,” Silverton said, like that was perfectly reasonable.

The Alta frowned at him, then up at the ledge where Silverton’s backup watched. The Alta didn’t seem worried, but that was a serious threat that Silverton had walked into his territory, er, flown into his territory. “You’ve been hunting a monster for a long time. Do you think it’s connected?”

“You’ve seen Ridley’s death strike. It doesn’t match her claw size. Or yours. The killer’s bigger than any wolf’s.”

The Alta rumbled low in his chest. “So, you’d use her as bait?”

“You doubt my genuine concern for a charming member of my city?”

The Alta grunted, still rubbing his chin. Finally, he turned to me. “Did you ask him to protect you?”

“Did I?” I frowned, trying to remember, but everything was so surreal. “I went to his house and asked him for something.” Help finding a loophole in the werewolf law, but safety from my stalker had been mixed in that. I finally said, “I asked for his protection,” but I wasn’t entirely sure.

Silverton threw his cloak around my shoulders, the sudden weight knocking me off my one leg, but before I could sprawl into the dirt, I was in the Senator’s strong arms. Weird.

I stared into his eyes, aware that I must look about as appetizing as a smashed slug. “This is going to ruin your tuxedo,” I said.

“Such is the price of chivalry.” He stepped into a loop attached to a rope that disappeared into the inky darkness above us. He shifted my weight until I was more securely against him with one arm, and with the other, he held to the cord.

I looked up into the darkness, but I couldn’t see a sign of wings or lightning. “Where did you get a dragon and a gargoyle?”

“Libby’s husband is one, and her best friend’s daughter is the other. The sorcerer is here because I bought him."

"Are sorcerers very expensive to buy?” I gasped as we rose into the air more quickly than I’d expected. When hands grabbed me, pulling me into the cockpit of a silent helicopter, I could only stare around at the angels who manned the war chopper.

Definitely a hallucination.

“You didn’t buy the angels,” I whispered when Senator Silverton put me in a seat and fastened the belts.

“No, they can’t be bought,” he agreed evenly.

“Then why are they here?” I looked over at a particularly terrifying archangel with wings and an aura that clung to him like the shadow of death.

He glanced at me and I looked down at my blood-stained hands, not wanting to meet his eyes.

“It’s their chopper. They refused to loan it, but agreed to come along for the ride.”

“The beast,” the broody angel of death said softly, but it wasn’t soft enough for me to be able to pretend not to have heard him.

“My beast’s going to stalk the pretty elf,” I mumbled and then wanted to stuff the words back into my swollen mouth when I realized what I’d said.

The angel smiled and, for a moment, the heavens sang. He was magnificent when he smiled, like sunshine parting through the rain. “Not that beast. The one who murdered Ridley. Have you seen it?”

I shook my head and let it flop over until it landed on the Senator’s shoulder. He had such nice shoulders. “No, but I never see anything. I didn’t even see the wolf who bit me.”

The chopper took off, pressing me back into my seat as we accelerated, the wind blowing through the open doors as we shot through the night. I couldn’t breathe, we were going so fast. Or maybe that was from my broken ribs. Both.

When it stopped, I started breathing again, at least until the Senator undid my straps and picked me up, carrying me once more to the door. I looked out into the darkness and gripped the lapel of his tuxedo with my one good hand.

“Don’t drop me,” I whispered.

“Mm. I’ll make a point of it.” He stepped out, and we fell, but not wildly, like we were rappelling down a cord. He hit the ground and then carried me to a black van that blended with the night remarkably well. He opened the back door, climbed in with me, then closed it.

The engine turned on, and the van started moving. The senator put me down on a bed that was attached to the floor so it wouldn’t move around, however bumpy the terrain, and drew his thick cloak back over me.

“What are you doing?” I asked as I lay there on my back, feeling terribly vulnerable, both from my injuries and my shocking lack of clothing in the face of his tuxedo, even if I had his cloak.

He smoothed back my blood-soaked hair. “I’m going to set your bones, and then I’m going to pour healing spells over you. Once we’ve made sure that everything is healing well, you’ll shift back to your best healing form.”

I frowned, then nodded. This was logical. I grabbed his sleeve again before he could turn away to grab his bone setting equipment. “What do you know about setting bones? And how did you find me? And why did you come? You can’t pretend to be my protector. They’ll be watching and…”

He took my hand and kissed the back of it, sending a shocking sensation through me before he tucked it back onto the bed. “I am your protector, Miss Era. From the moment you came into my house and asked for assistance, I have been so. If you had told me that you intended to leave the house, I would have accompanied you and assisted you in your endeavors. Then we could have avoided this unpleasantness.” He brushed his fingertips over my broken wrist so lightly that it didn’t even hurt before he turned and got to work. The van was very well-stocked, and he was very good at medical emergencies.

I breathed through my nose while he set things in place. He kept the cloak over everything that he wasn’t required to see and touch in order to set, but it was still shocking to know that I wasn’t wearing any clothing under it.

Once he had me all set, snicker, he put his hands over me and started weaving spells. They were beautiful, sparkling dots of energy and healing that floated over me before they slowly sank into my skin. His magic was strong, but so gentle that I relaxed into his healing, trusting him more absolutely than I should, considering the circumstances.

The Alta had mentioned a beast, using me as bait to catch it. Why would the senator care about that? I didn’t know. But I did know that he was bringing me home. His pool house was already home to me. I should be terrified by that. I needed to warn him of the very real danger my beast posed to him.

“Silverton,” I mumbled, still too relaxed in the delicious healing spells to speak clearly.

“Mm.”

I smiled slightly. That was his favorite response in the whole world. It was a universal response. ‘The world is ending!’ ‘Mm.’ ‘Your tuxedo needs to be taken to the dry cleaners.’ ‘Mm.’ ‘My beast wants to gobble you up like a cream puff.’ ‘Mm.’

“Silverton, my beast wants to gobble you up like a cream puff. I think she’s going to stalk you.”

His answer was surprisingly eloquent, considering I’d expected a non-speak elf-grunt. “That will be difficult, as she’ll be living with me. Also, I’m nothing like a cream puff. I’m more of a dark chocolate brownie dipped in moonlight.”

“How do you dip chocolate in moonlight?”

“That’s another word for white chocolate.”

“Mm,” I murmured and then giggled. He definitely wouldn’t get the joke, but I was having a hilarious time. His magic must have some properties that dulled pain and gave everything a glow of happiness. In other words, he was drugging me. I giggled again.

“You may shift now into your best healing form,” Silverton said, straightening up and letting the magic sparkles fade from sight. They were still in his eyes, though, sparkles like an entire universe contained in those mysterious depths. They looked indigo in this light. How absolutely mesmerizing.

“But then I can’t make jokes.”

He smiled slightly and rested his hand on my forehead. “That is a tragedy, but somehow we must bear it. Please shift, Miss Era. I look forward to seeing you healed as quickly as possible.”

“So you can use me as bait more easily?”

“So I can assuage the guilt I feel after a member of my household was brutalized so thoroughly. I understand that werewolves subject each other to this kind of pain, but I dislike it almost violently.” His slight smile mixed with his violet eyes to give me an understanding of what it would look like if he were violent. It would be absolutely beautiful.

I nodded and closed my eyes, shifting into my adorable wolf. I curled up on the bed as well as I could with the splints that had shifted with me. Magic splints? How expensive.

Silverton rubbed my head and flopped onto the bed next to me, draped a hand over his forehead, and promptly fell asleep. Maybe he’d fainted. Either way, I curled next to him and closed my own eyes, because there was nothing nicer than dozing and cuddling with the prettiest elf in the world.

I woke up to the senator ruffling my fur. “Miss Era, I’ve left some clothing here. Please shift and then come inside when you’re ready.” He opened the van door and went out before I could properly look at him. I nosed the slacks and blouse stacked beside me and then shook off my lethargy, shifted back to human, and quickly pulled everything on. It was new, but everything fit perfectly.

When I got out of the van and went into the house, I found Mossy in the kitchen eating an enormous bowl of ice cream sprinkled with cold cereal while the kitten pounced after a ball of red angora yarn that I’d left in the pool house.

“Lynx!” I scooped up the kitten and snuggled her while she purred and nuzzled my neck. “Such a good kitty. Do you need a treat? Of course you do.” I went to the fridge and fished out a chicken. I broke off bits and fed them to the kitten while Mossy stared at me.

“So, you’re a werewolf,” she drawled.

A shock of horror flashed through me before I retorted, “And you’re a coward, so that wasn’t a clumsy attempt at blackmail, was it?”

She grinned and stuffed her face with another bite of cereal-covered ice cream. “Nope. Just glad you’ve got an inside scoop on this Ridley case. The Nanny’s going to go ballistic if you don’t get something handed in before eight.”

I blinked at her, then at the clock. Six thirty in the morning? I carefully put Lynx down with more pieces of chicken on a tea plate, then I grabbed my bag with its laptop, put on my glasses, and sat at the breakfast nook and wrote the most salacious, grabby copy I could come up with. The gist was that Ridley, of the Golden Pack, had come to Singsong City for mysterious reasons that may have something to do with rival pack warfare. Was it murder, or an inter-pack outbreak of violence? Was it a solo incident or the first of many such conflicts to come? I wrote the tale the way that Loren would have written it if she couldn’t come up with any solid leads.

“Read it for typos,” I told Mossy, slumping back.

She went over it quickly, corrected a few cases of commas and one outright typo, then nodded at me. “So, what happened after the hot alpha grabbed you?”

“I’m not talking about Max.”

“Ooh, you’re on first name basis with the hot alpha?” She raised her brows mischievously.

I was still incredibly exhausted, injured, and just wanted to go back to bed. Not that I’d been there recently. I sent the email. “I’m going to bed. You should go home too.”

She smiled, but it wasn’t a nice smile. “Don’t you mean you’re going to go shower and bake cookies and then take them to the bi-annual Bouquet Brunch?” She batted her lashes at me while my heart sank.

“I don’t have anything floral to wear.” Women had to wear florals. Men wore floral ties. They literally wouldn’t let you in without a floral print. Also, I didn’t want to go. I desperately didn’t want to go face polite society when I’d been rolled through a meat grinder last night. Werewolf super healing was one thing, but you didn’t heal from broken legs that fast.

“Of course you do,” Silverton said, coming in and straightening his floral tie. I stared at the incredibly tasteful thing that was more abstract wallpaper in green and cream than an actual traditional floral.

“I see that you’re going. Maybe you can do a few interviews for me,” I said, smiling wanly. I still didn’t know how to deal with him showing up to claim to be my protector. How did he find me? Why did he want to protect me? There were secret societies and mysterious beasts behind those questions, so I wasn’t going to ask them, at least not out loud.

He gave Mossy’s ice-cream-and-cold-cereal breakfast a look. “I see you’ve figured out my stocking system.”

She stuffed her face and hid it in the bowl.

“Miss Era,” he said, facing me with a slight frown. “Would you allow me to escort you to the bi-annual Bouquet Brunch? I believe it would be an ideal opportunity to announce our relationship publicly.”

“What?” was all I could think of to say. Writing an article had used up any remaining brain cells I had after last night.

“We are dating.” He glanced at Mossy. “I know that you’d rather keep it private, but after last night, it seems essential to be bold.” He took two steps, closing the distance between us, and took my hand. It wasn’t a grabby grip, just nice, cool, with the good energy you’d expect from an elf who had no idea how to hold hands. I stared at him. He’d never held hands before or he wouldn’t be doing it like this.

The werewolves would be watching. They expected more than just protection. It wasn’t any of their business, but at the same time, as a werewolf, they had power over me. And honestly, if Senator Silverton had actually asked me out on a date, if my whole werewolf thing didn’t keep me from dating anyone, I would have said yes.

But, “Dating me isn’t going to be good for your career.”

He raised an elegant brow. “Trust Henrick. He’ll spin it perfectly so that you’re an asset.”

“But, I’m a werewolf,” I said, glancing at Mossy, who flashed me a sharp-toothed smile dripping with ice cream. Shudder.

“He’ll spin that too if it comes out. It’s not public knowledge, and hopefully won’t be until you’re prepared for it.”

I squeezed his hand until his fingers curved around mine properly. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

His lips twitched. “I’m sure.”

He said it in a way that sent a rush of nerves through me. He was sure of what, exactly? Did he want to date me? He couldn’t, not possibly, and yet, he’d slept with me on the hospital bed last night, letting me snuggle up to him. If he didn’t mind that, he probably wouldn’t mind anything. For some reason, he’d let me into his very personal space that elves guarded above everything. He must really want to catch the monster.

“I’ll try not to make you regret it,” I said with a bright smile, then dropped his hand and edged away. “I’ll go get dressed.”