“Will you sing it to me some day? The Queen
of the Night aria?”
Astrid swallowed hard. Her eyes burned with
tears, and she tried hard to push them back. Sometimes, just
sometimes, she wished she could be more like her rational,
emotion-controlled kin. “Are you going to stick around long
enough?” she whispered and opened the door.
He stretched his arm and closed it again. “I
am.”
He opened his door, walked around the car and
then opened Astrid’s side. He held out his hand. Astrid took it and
stepped out.
Sharp night air cleared her thoughts.
“Ridiculous,” she murmured to herself, walking toward the main
door.
“What’s ridiculous?” The voice came from
behind. He was unpacking the trunk.
She turned sharply. “You came yesterday.
Today you... you...!” She let out a frustrated sound, and stepped
into the hallway.
“Don’t be so surprised. You’re not a stranger
to things out of the ordinary, asanni.”
She turned toward Jack, arms braced on her
hips. “And you better hurry up, blaidd. I don’t want to let Liv and
Tristan wait.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, laughing.
Astrid disappeared into the house, slamming
the door behind.
ONCE INSIDE, she angrily kicked her shoes off
and threw her coat over the chair. What was going on? Everything
had been out of the ordinary since last night, she thought,
confused, as she proceeded toward the bathroom. She didn’t know
what to think about Jack and his unexpected visit. He was bossy and
that pissed her off. He’d made her pretend she was his girlfriend,
and she even sort of liked it. Now he’d made her almost cry.
Tonight she had to sleep with him under the same roof. A total
emotional chaos. “‘Tell me about music,’ she mocked Jack’s voice.
“You know the right questions to ask, don’t you?” She continued
with her quiet tirade until the hot water from the shower soothed
her enough to face him again.
JACK WAS sitting on the sofa in her living
room, relaxed as if he’d always belonged here.
“The bathroom’s yours. Hurry up.”
“Hmm, a bit bossy tonight, aren’t we?” he
said with a wry grin and stood up. “Give me ten minutes.”
Astrid sat in the same spot he’d been sitting
a minute before, still warm from his body. She closed her eyes and
leaned her head on the back of the sofa. His scent was trapped in
the fabric, and she inhaled it deeply. “This is insane,” she
whispered and then winced—she still didn’t know how sharp his
hearing was. All she could hear, however, was the sound of the
shower. Until Jack’s voice interrupted the flow of pleasant
thoughts.
“Astrid, can you please bring me my shampoo?
It’s in my room.”
Your room, my ass
, she thought, glad
that he couldn’t read her thoughts. Well, she hoped he couldn’t.
“Use mine,” she yelled.
“I’ll smell like a bowl of strawberries.” His
voice didn’t sound loud yet she could hear him clearly.
“There must be an old bottle with wolfsbane
extract,” she said. “Try that.”
Astrid heard him laughing, and couldn’t
suppress a smile.
She sighed and walked toward his room.
“Too late, but thanks anyway,” he said at the
same moment she passed the bathroom. “And you don’t need to yell, I
can hear you fine if you use your normal voice.”
Astrid rolled her eyes and proceeded to her
room to dress. The moment she stepped out, Jack appeared from the
bathroom in a cloud of steam. He only had his jeans on. Caught in
the narrow hallway, Astrid took a step back to make more room for
him.
Jack just smiled at her and went to his room.
Through half-closed eyes, Astrid looked at his back, strong,
muscular and broad. “Show-off,” she murmured.
“I heard ya!”
“I counted on it!”
WHEN HE came out, he smelled of strawberries
indeed. But it wasn’t the smell of her shampoo in his hair that
made her legs weak. His body radiated an inviting, disturbing and
arousing scent of a healthy male in his prime. Astrid didn’t know
where that specific description came from, but she seriously
considered asking Tristan and Livia if she could stay at their
place overnight.
She was ready, dressed in jeans and a
dusty-pink angora sweater. “Let’s go,” she said and grabbed her
handbag. “We don’t need the car; it’s two blocks from here. For
safety reasons,” she added.
“Put a coat on. It’s fresh outside.”
Astrid took a deep breath. “I’ve had enough
of your assistance for one day, Jack Canagan. I do not need a
jacket. I’m almost never cold. Tristan and Liv live three houses
from here. You’ll give me your jacket if necessary, and you won’t
even mention you warned me to take mine,” Astrid said slowly and
looked straight into his eyes.
JACK SMILED, amused. Most people would never
lock eyes with him on purpose, or at least not for long. Astrid
had, of course, a refreshingly different approach to werewolf
hierarchy, at least in her human form. She was neither submissive
nor dominant, Tristan had told him. Well, he’d absolutely agree
about the submissive part. She might not be an openly dominant
person, but she sure displayed a healthy measure of natural
authority. Her werewolf nature was still a bit of a puzzle—he
hadn’t seen Astrid in her alternative form—but the wolf
characteristics usually mirrored human attributes, only they were
more prominent.
Unless the bond had completely screwed up his
common sense, it seemed to Jack that Red Cliffs would get not only
their spiritual leader, but also their bona fide Alpha female.
MORE THAN anything else I wanted a half hour
with Liv, but of course that was impossible, so we ate, drank some
excellent Canadian white wine, and talked. Actually, the three of
them chatted and laughed about events and people I didn’t know. It
suited me fine. I’d had enough of Jack Canagan and I was glad that
there was somebody else to occupy his attention.
I concentrated on my plate. Tristan and Livia
never fussed about the menu when I was at their place. I’d always
liked healthy, simple food, but in my case, a balanced diet meant
plenty of meat proteins in addition to vegetables, fruit and
grains. Tonight we had grilled rib-eye steak with peppercorn sauce
and sautéed mushrooms. Jack’s and my meat was medium rare. The two
remaining steaks were grilled a few minutes longer because, oddly
enough, our vampire friends didn’t find the sight of blood on their
plates particularly appetizing.
Contrary to popular belief, Tel-Urughs, or at
least the majority of them, were not horrific bloodsuckers feeding
on helpless human prey. They ate regular food. Human blood was the
source of their energy, vitality and longevity, their physical and
intellectual power, but they needed only a small amount of it and
certainly didn’t need to kill humans for it. As for the
misconception that they were cold and lifeless, it couldn’t be
farther from the truth. Human blood, in fact, made their body
temperature higher than average.
Tel-Urughs were immortal, not undead. The
death-cold monsters, who fed on humans to the point of killing them
and who perfectly fit the human concept of ‘vampires,’ did appear
from time to time. They were not stray Tel-Urughs, though; they
were humans brought back to life with the darkest of powers.
Tel-Urughs called them Upiri. It was mostly a Tel-Urugh duty to
look for Upiri, find them and kill them for good.
Most Tel-Urughs, however, were like my two
friends: altruistic creatures who discreetly tried to make the
world a better place for all of us. In that way they were similar
to most wizards and werewolves. And to most humans, needless to
say.
Most, not all, because, sadly, we all shared
another common trait: we could turn evil. That was more prominent
among humans because of their greater number. It wasn’t less
dangerous, however, when some of us crossed to the dark side
because of the immense powers we possessed.
Tel-Urughs were an ancient race, originating,
not surprisingly, in Mesopotamia, which would, much later, become
the cradle of human civilization. Humans would establish their
first cities there. One of them, the city of the legendary hero
Gilgamesh, they would name Uruk, preserving the early connection
between the two races in its name. The Tel-Urughs had played a
crucial role in humans’ transition from nomadic hunter-gatherers to
settlers of the first human cities. And as it often happened
between humans and their supernatural relatives, Tel-Urughs had
become immortalized in human mythology as deities, heroes and
sometimes, villains.
Langaer—werewolves, wizards and
Tel-Urughs—were fascinated with humans, our genetically youngest
cousins. Without the powers we possessed, armed only with their
intellect and endless curiosity, they had set themselves on the
brave quest of explaining the world around them since the dawn of
humankind.
MY FRIENDS and my accidental roommate
obviously knew and liked each other well. They talked among
themselves most of the time, and I could have easily felt like an
outsider, but I didn’t. Tristan and Livia were my friends too, and
I knew how much they loved me. Besides, with my head full of
confusing thoughts, I was glad to be left alone with my
thoughts.
I’d chosen the chair beside Liv before
anybody had a chance to seat me close to Jack. I didn’t know if the
Blakes had noticed that, and I didn’t care if they had. I was tense
like a wind-up toy and Tristan and Livia must have known that the
reason for that sat across me. They wisely decided to ignore it,
however.
When dinner was over, I followed Liv into the
kitchen under the pretext of helping her with the dishes.
“I was hoping to talk to you,” I said in the
softest voice I could produce, but Livia put her finger across my
mouth and shook her head. “
They can both hear you if they bother
to listen
.” I read from her lips. She smiled. “
Jack makes
you nervous?”
I nodded and realized that I wasn’t beyond
flushing.
“
He’s a great man, Astrid
.” Only
Livia’s lips moved, but no sound came out of her mouth. She came
close to me and hugged me tightly. “
You don’t need to be afraid
of him
.”
“
It’s me who I’m afraid of
,” I mouthed
back. “
I’ve been feeling strange since he came.”
“
Define strange.”
I shrugged. How do I explain that I liked it
so much when he touched me. That I had the feeling I’d known him
all my life. That I belonged to him and he to me. That he was
mine.
“
I can’t.”
Liv read from my lips.
“
It’s not logical
.”
“
I’ll take you out for lunch tomorrow, and
we can talk
,” Livia said.
I shook my head. “
Not tomorrow. Jack’s
taking me to the mountains. Hiking
.”
“Oh, dear,” she said again, this time
audibly. “Let’s make coffee and join our boys.”
LATER, JACK and I walked home in silence. It
was a cold night and I shivered. Without saying a word, Jack took
off his black leather jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. It
had captured the warmth and scent of his body and I had the silly
thought of sneaking it into my room and using it as pajamas.
I glanced toward the sky. Waxing crescent. I
didn’t need to look at the moon; I felt its phases under my skin.
Or I didn’t feel almost anything, like now, but that was a sign,
too. Ten more days before the first significant discomfort and my
PWS, fourteen before the pain and darkness...
We reached my place. I wanted him to scoop me
up and carry me to his room.
“It’ll be all right, Astrid.” I heard Jack’s
voice dangerously close. His hot, sweet breath sent shivers down my
spine.
Instead, I took a step back. “Jack, please go
to your room and stay there till morning.”
“Unless you show me the path, I don’t think I
can cross your nightingale floor unnoticed, but I would be willing
to try.”
“There is no path across a nightingale floor.
I’m a wizard, only I can walk upon it without making a sound...
Jack, stay away from me, please.”
“I can’t, Astrid. But I can’t rush you
either.”
“Rush me? I don’t think I understand a word
of what you’re saying, but it’s been a long day. Are we still going
tomorrow?”
“I’ll wake you up at six.”
“Just knock on my door, okay? I’m a light
sleeper.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Spock. No harm will come
to you from me.”
I turned and walked to my room. As I sat on
my bed, I realized that I still had Jack’s jacket over my
shoulders. I lay down on the covers, wrapped myself with his warmth
and scent, and blissfully fell into a deep sleep.
IT SEEMED that no time passed between her
last conscious thought—about Jack’s scent trapped in his jacket—and
the smell of fresh coffee and grilled cheese sandwiches that woke
her up. Astrid glanced at the clock: ten to six. She rushed to the
bathroom, afraid that Jack could knock on her door any moment. She
quickly showered, dried her hair and got dressed.
She found him at his usual place on the sofa,
reading newspapers. His tousled brown hair was still wet and
smelled of strawberries. Astrid tried hard to ignore the other
scents that reached her nostrils. She sighed. It was going to be
another long day.
“Are you using my shampoo again?” She crossed
her arms on her chest and tilted her head.
“I’ve become rather fond of it. I hope you
don’t mind.” He folded the newspapers and stood up. “Breakfast’s
ready. You like grilled cheese sandwiches?”
“Uh-huh,” she confirmed and retreated to the
kitchen.