Once Bitten (17 page)

Gabriel
didn’t know how to respond to the old man and luckily he didn’t have to.
District five saved him from that at least. “And what proof do you have?”

Reaching
into the pocket of his jeans, Gabriel pulled out the
bainise
bracelet and held it out to them, dangling it from his
fingers. District three was the first to grab it, reacting faster than Gabriel
had given him credit for.

He held
the bracelet up to his nose and chuckled before District two snatched it from
his gnarled fist. “They’re at it again! Those poor bastards.”

Gabriel
was sure he had entered the twilight zone. How the man from district three had
managed to stay on as a district leader was beyond him but so far he seemed to
be the only one who was agreeing with him.

“I
smell the fae but only a trace of the warlock,” District two commented before
handing the bracelet over to the leader from district four.

One by
one the men took turns each sniffing at the bracelet before silently looking at
Gabriel, all of their faces impassive. Except for District three, who was
slapping at the table as if swatting at a nonexistent fly.

“Don’t
mind him,” District four said suddenly. “Henry has had a long and productive
life, but sometimes his mind just takes him somewhere else.”

“Then
maybe you should seek a replacement and let him retire in peace.”

“Unfortunately,
Henry won’t give up his spot,” District six said, fingering the bracelet that
sat in front of him on the table. “He, regrettably, has no desire to retire.”

Gabriel
felt sorry for the werewolves of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut—all
areas that fell under district three’s jurisdiction.

“Mr.
Azarov, would you mind explaining how you came across this bracelet?” District
five asked him, leaning back in his chair and surveying Gabriel through
narrowed brown eyes.

“Sir, I
came across the bracelet and its owner when I was leaving my place of
employment one night. I was attacked by three warlocks, none of whom were
approved to even be in my territory. One of them was wearing that bracelet. In
the struggle, he lost the bracelet.”

“And
where are those warlocks now?”

“Two
fled and the third—the bracelet’s owner—was taken care of.” Gabriel saw no
reason to elaborate or include his and Lila’s trip to Andrea’s.

The
room was silent for a moment before District two asked, “And you are positive
that that bracelet came off the wrist of a warlock?”

“I am.”

“What
you’re implying here son is that the fae and the warlocks have an unapproved
alliance. That’s a terrible thing to accuse two factions of, even factions as
despicable as the fae and the warlocks,” District four said.

“I’m
not accusing anyone of anything, sir. I am merely repeating to you what I saw
with my own eyes.”

“It is
not enough to go on the word of one werewolf alone. It doesn’t matter who your
uncle is,” District six snapped at him, his fists coming down on the table in
front of him.

Gabriel
struggled to maintain a calm expression, but inside he was reaching his boiling
point. The man had some nerve accusing him of using his uncle’s position to
gain favor.

“I’m
not using my uncle to influence you or to seek out a war with the fae and the
warlocks. I’m here for the sole purpose of reporting to you what I have
discovered,” Gabriel’s voice was unwavering and he met District six’s eyes with
an icy glare of his own.

“Be
that as it may, it’s not enough. Not without anyone to back up your story,”
District five said, shaking his head.

Gabriel
saw no way around what he had to do. He just didn’t know how she would hold up
to their interrogation. It was a risk he would have to take, although now he
regretted not sitting down with her to make sure their stories matched before
they came there.

“I do
have someone to back me up,” he said finally, making up his mind. He would just
have to hope that she wouldn’t say something that contradicted what he had
already told them.

“And
who might that be?” District five asked him, clearly not believing him.

“Her name
is Lila Blackburn and she’s waiting outside.” Any interview they had with her
would end immediately if she couldn’t remember the fake last name he had given
her.

“The
witch you came with?”

“Yes.”

They
looked at first like they were going to deny hearing her, but then District two
said, “Fine, Mr. Azarov. We’ll hear what the witch has to say. Bring her in.”

Yup. I should’ve stayed home.

Chapter Eight

Lila
was going nuts. She figured they could at least have a magazine in the room,
but no. Nothing but five horribly uncomfortable chairs and a wall to stare at.
No pictures. No windows. It was a nightmare.

Gabriel
had been gone longer than she had hoped he would. She wasn’t comfortable being
there and was more than ready to leave. She had been ready to leave within five
minutes of them getting there. The sooner they were out the front door, the
better.

Freaking
werewolves. Who didn’t decorate their waiting room? Even gynecologists did that
and those sadists got off sticking cold metal objects up a woman’s hoo-ha.

Okay,
maybe I’m being a bit overdramatic, she thought as she paced the room.

When
Gabriel finally shadowed the doorway, Lila almost launched herself at him. She
wanted nothing more than to get out of there, but the grim look on his face
told her that they weren’t going anywhere. Her shoulders slumped.

She
opened her mouth, intent on asking him what had transpired between himself and
the werewolf leaders, when he stepped forward and pushed a loose strand of her
hair out of her face. His unexpected touch rendered her speechless. She hadn’t
realized they were back on touching terms, but when he bent down, his whisper
just barely audible, she understood that she had read too much into his simple
gesture.

“We
were never at Andrea’s, Miss Blackburn.”

She got
the hint. She didn’t nod, she didn’t do anything except stare at him as he
stood up, his fingers lingering longer than necessary in her hair.

“The
district leaders want to ask you a few questions,” he told her in his normal
tone. Walking out of the room, she followed him down the hall to an open set of
double doors.

Lila
stepped inside the room and stared at each of the five men. And they all looked
at her as if she had just run over their prized hounds. Except for the man
sitting behind the sign that read District three. He was ancient and looked
genuinely happy to see her.

Lila
liked him instantly.

“Your
name?”

She
never would have remembered the fake name Gabriel had been using for her if he
hadn’t just reminded her. Lila didn’t miss a beat. “Lila Blackburn.”

“And
you’re a witch, Miss Blackburn?” The man who sat behind the sign for district
four asked the question.

“I am.”
They had asked the question, meaning they didn’t think she was human. She
relaxed slightly.

“Tell
us about your relationship with Mr. Azarov.” Crap. She didn’t know what Gabriel
had told them, if anything, but she doubted that he had told them the full
extent of their relationship.

“I go
to his and his brother’s bar on occasion.”

“And
what sort of relationship do you have with him?” District four wasn’t going to
let the question go any time soon, much to her chagrin.

“One of
bartender and patron.” And lover.

“And
how long have you been going there?”

“For
the past two years or longer. I don’t remember specifically.”

From
the curious looks on their faces, she hadn’t yet said anything wrong, so she
just went with it. Their line of questioning was quickly irritating her. She
had yet to figure out what she and Gabriel’s relationship had to do with their
discovery of the
bainise
bracelet.

District
six was the next to ask a question. “You drink a lot, Ms. Blackburn?”

“I’m
over twenty-one, sir. Whether or not I drink, and how often, is my own business
and none of yours.” Nosy prick.

Lila
could hear Gabriel’s exasperated sigh next to her. She wasn’t sure if he was
annoyed with their questions or her last answer.

She had
just decided she was going to try her best to bite her tongue, when the old man
from district three abruptly yelled, “She told you, you sorry bastard!” He was
laughing hysterically. Lila couldn’t help but crack a smile, but then quickly
suppressed it when she saw the man from district six frown.

“Miss
Blackburn, you may find this funny, but I can assure you, miss, we do not,”
District five told her, frowning.

Bite your tongue. Bite your
tongue. Oh, fuck it.

“I’m
sorry, sir, if my smile displeases you, but frankly I don’t give a shit. I’m
here because you asked to speak with me but I will not continue to answer ridiculous
questions about my personal life that you have no business asking. So, by all
means, ask your questions about the bracelet or the warlocks and I will answer
them honestly,” Cough. “But ask me another question about what I do in my free
time and I will turn around and walk out of here.”

She was
hardly in the position of knowing whether or not the werewolves would even let
her leave, but she thought her threat sounded pretty damn good. It had the
impact she was looking for anyway.

The
expressions on their faces were priceless. The five men stared at her in
complete shock. District two’s jaw had dropped. Lila doubted that anyone had
ever dared speak to them like she just had.

Gabriel
stiffened beside her. She hoped she hadn’t just gotten him into trouble. She
was busy worrying about him when the man from district three stood up behind
the table.

She
hadn’t realized how tall the old man was. Even hunched over, he still had at
least a foot on her five six. She could only imagine how tall he must have been
years before when he was in the prime of his life.

He
walked around the table, the other men’s eyes following him as he moved. Lila
was wary of his movements, unsure of what he was going to do. When he stood in
front of her, a frown plastered on his weathered face, Lila thought for sure
she had gone too far.

The
frown dissolved into a broad smile a second later.

“That,
my dear, was an incredible speech.” His hand came up and he slapped her arm,
knocking her into Gabriel who reacted instantly, his arms wrapping around her
waist to steady her.

“Thank
you?” she asked when she regained her balance.

“Brilliant.
Absolutely brilliant,” he said before his hand shot out and clasped her wrist. “Let’s
go have lunch.”

And
with that he pulled her from the room.

* * * *

Gabriel
didn’t know how they ended up having lunch with five werewolves, four of whom
he would’ve liked nothing better than to challenge only an hour before.

He was
sitting at a long patio table outside headquarters on their massive back deck.
The woods and mountains around them were alive with wildlife, the sun peeking
through the trees to cast small patches of bright light.

Lila
sat across from him, carelessly laughing with Henry, the man from district
three. He was telling her some story about a time when he had stumbled across a
witch practicing her magic alone in the woods, naked.

“You
should have seen her! There in all her glory, arms raised above her head as she
worshiped the moon. It was a sight. I’ve never seen such fantastic tits in all
my life.”

“What
did you do?” Lila asked, clearly entertained by his elaborate tale that had so
far included him running from a pack of shifters after he had unknowingly
crossed into their territory.

“Why, I
mated with her of course. Best night of my life.”

Gabriel
was shocked at the man’s sudden revelation.

“Henry,
don’t be ridiculous. You’re not mated,” Amos, the district six leader, said. He
was shaking his head along with the other werewolf leaders. It was obvious that
no one at the table believed his fantastical tale.

“Young
man, my wife Lucille was a witch. Don’t speak about things which you do not
know.”

District
five, or Kevin as Gabriel had later learned, appeared just as confused as
Gabriel felt. “It doesn’t happen that way, Henry. You can’t be mated and then
un-mated.”

“I didn’t
want it to be like that. When I claimed Lucille, I had meant for it to be
forever. It was on her deathbed a few years later that she removed the claim in
order to save my life.”

“That’s
impossible,” Amos interjected.

Gabriel
had been taught all his life to believe the same as Amos. It was impossible for
a couple to be mated and then have the mate-claim removed. The claim only ended
when both were dead. Henry believed that he had been mated to a witch and
Gabriel was having a hard time doubting the old man’s tale, although everything
he knew up until that point told him otherwise.

“I had
thought so too, but my Lucille was a witch with unique power. Honestly, I would
have preferred she left the claim in place. I wanted to die with her. Most
days, I wish I had but for now I seem cursed with good health.” Henry turned
back to Lila. “Witches have a funny way about them, don’t you think? Take
yourself for example, you’re the most peculiar witch I’ve ever met.”

“And
how is that?” Her smile was bright, her entire face was lit. She knocked the
breath from Gabriel’s lungs.

“For
one, you don’t have the same magic coming off you that Lucille did. Even at my
age, I can still smell it on you but it’s nothing like I’ve ever smelled on any
other witch before. You’re almost human.”

When
Henry uttered the word human, Gabriel felt himself tense. He held his breath
but then Henry began laughing again.

“Now
wouldn’t that be a sight! Six werewolves having lunch with a human miss.”

When
Lila started laughing again, Gabriel hoped he was the only one who was able to
make out the nervousness she was trying to hide. The talk of humans ended when
the woman who had let them in earlier that morning wheeled a squeaky cart onto
the deck.

The
cart held their plates and two bottles of wine. One by one she served them,
ending with Lila. Gabriel didn’t like the woman’s cold disapproval of Lila, but
at that point there was nothing he could say to her that wouldn’t immediately
draw attention to his and Lila’s relationship.

With
their wine glasses filled, the men dug into their food. Grilled chicken with a
balsamic reduction, roasted asparagus and wild rice. Gabriel barely tasted it,
he ate so quickly, as did the rest of them. All except for Lila who was still
cutting the chicken on her plate by the time the rest of them had finished.

“So,
Miss Blackburn, we get to the point where we would like to know what happened
with you and Mr. Azarov the night you came across the
bainise
bracelet,” Carl, the leader from district four, said.

Gabriel
didn’t worry about what she would tell them, sure that he could twist anything
she might say to coincide with the story he had given them.

Lila
finished chewing her piece of chicken before looking at Gabriel, watching his
face for any indication that she was heading down the wrong track.

“I was
on my way home when I stopped for gas. I had just finished filling my tank when
I heard a commotion at the side of the building. It was there that I saw
Gabriel being attacked by three warlocks.”

So far,
so good.

“What
did you do then?” Kevin asked her, clearly interested in how she had responded
to seeing a werewolf being beat down by a few warlocks.

“I
intervened.”

“Oh,
this is getting interesting,” Henry commented, already smiling.

It was
Carl’s turn to ask the question everyone else was thinking. “And how did you do
that?”

When
Lila hesitated, trying to figure out how she should answer, Gabriel responded
for her. “She jumped into the fight. They never saw her coming.”

“I’ve
never seen a witch’s spell that could be used in an offensive maneuver. Witches
defend, they don’t attack. That’s what warlocks do,” Carl commented, watching
Lila warily.

“She
didn’t use magic,” Gabriel responded.

“My
dear, did you give them a hard time? Lucille packed a mean punch too. I
remember a time—”

“That’s
enough Henry,” Amos barked. Henry shot him the dirtiest look Gabriel had ever
seen on an old man.

Lila
hesitated, glancing from Henry to Amos. When Amos looked at her expectantly,
she said, “Gabriel’s right, I didn’t use magic. It was more of a hand-to-hand
combat situation.”

It took
a second for what she had said to sink in. Alfred from district two, who had so
far remained silent through their meal, was the first one to respond. “I find
it hard to believe that you, a witch clearly not strong enough to take on one
fully grown human male, was able to take on three warlocks bent on destruction.”

The
only thing the man’s assumption did was piss Gabriel off. How dare he? He had
seen Lila in action, not once but twice, and she was more than capable. A
little foolhardy at times, but brave. And resilient. And smart.

“You
may think I’m just a girl,” she spat the word out as if it left a bad taste in
her mouth, “but I’m telling you the truth.”