Chapter 3

A bemused Ambrose knelt beside an unconscious Orion and poked him with a finger.

"Wake up, dumbass." He'd warned his friend to not rush in. Ambrose had wanted to observe what the wererat wanted. Yes, clearly it wanted inside Adeline's apartment; however, he couldn't help but wonder why.

Wererats weren't confrontational. Not usually. They also didn't break into places with people. They were scavengers of opportunity, enjoying freshly filled dumpsters, open windows of empty buildings, items dropped in passing. So to see one using its claws to pick a lock to get inside someone's home? Very strange.

But did Orion listen to Ambrose's caution? Nope, he went full-on furry hound and rushed in, got clocked, and now lay still in dog form on the stoop by the woman's door. Ambrose still had the wererat hefted atop his shoulder. It appeared to have a broken neck but remained alive. Good because he had questions.

Ambrose offered up a quick and silent prayer. Hekate, sorry to bother, but it appears my companion is in need of healing. Warmth filled him as she chose to reply.

Done.

Heat spread from his poking finger to Orion, who suddenly shuddered before his shaggy head rose and he snarled.

"Quiet," Ambrose hushed. "Let's get out of here before we draw attention." The basement apartment had a door more or less on the street, tucked under a stoop, so fairly secluded from passing foot traffic—not that there was any this time of night. But still, better to not take chances.

With the wererat firmly on his shoulder, Ambrose led them out of that cramped stairwell entrance and across the street to the SUV they'd rented. He dumped the body in the back before opening the passenger door for Orion to leap in. He took the wheel and pulled away from the curb as his friend shifted back to his human form.

A naked and grumpy-looking Orion grumbled, "She tasered me and then whacked me with a bat!"

"I told you not to rush in."

"The wererat was attacking her."

"From the looks of it, she was prepared to handle it, and you got in the way."

Orion, head stuck in a shirt as he struggled for the sleeves, snapped, "Excuse me for trotting in for the rescue."

"Again, seems like she didn't need rescuing, or do you know many women who greet intruders with a taser and a bat?"

Orion's head popped through the fabric as he grudgingly admitted, "She's got a pretty good swing."

"She also didn't seem all that surprised," Ambrose noted. Most humans would have panicked. Yet she'd remained calm and collected, also cautious. She'd not once let her gaze stray from him.

"Probably gets home-invaded on a regular basis given her location. Why not opt for somewhere more secure?"

"I would imagine the price of rent has much to do with it." Not something Orion thought of much since Hekate provided the funds for their day-to-day expenses.

Orion shimmied into his pants, the space in the front seat making it challenging, but shifters were used to dressing in odd and tight places. They had to learn since humans had a thing about nudity in public. When done, Orion glanced behind at the cargo area.

"Where are we dumping the body? You should find somewhere close since we really should get back to her."

"First, we're going to question the rat."

"Dabbling in necromancy now, are we?" Orion stated with a smirk.

"It's not dead."

"Yeah, it is. I snapped its neck."

"But it's still breathing," Ambrose pointed out.

"Fuck off. Seriously?" Orion full-on turned in his seat. "Shit. Not sure what you think you'll get out of it, though. Wererats aren't known for their conversation skills." Unlike some shifters, the rats tended to be more like their animal counterparts.

"I want to know why it chose her," Ambrose stated, pulling into a parking lot of a business that had been boarded over. He tucked them behind the building out of sight before exiting the SUV.

Orion followed. "What makes you think it wasn't just a crime of opportunity?"

"Rats don't usually pick locks, and while they scavenge, they aren't burglars."

"Maybe this one got tired of garbage-can diving."

Ambrose shot him a look.

"What? It's possible this one craved fresher food."

"And so a carnivore went after a woman who is vegetarian."

Orion pursed his lips. "Maybe it wanted her cats. She's got two of them inside that tiny place."

"I think you should lie down. That blow to the head obviously addled what few wits you still own."

"Ha. Ha," Orion muttered. "I still can't believe she hit me."

"She hit a giant dog in her apartment," Ambrose corrected. "Not sure what you expected."

"Belly rub of thanks, for starters."

Ambrose didn't reply as he opened the trunk and heaved out the wererat with its floppy head.

He set it on the ground and crouched. Hekate, he called her with his mind. If you don't mind, a little healing magic. I want to interrogate this creature and find out why it broke into the apartment owned by Adeline.

I can't fix it. Her short reply.

His brow creased. I know it's not an ally, but I really want to ask it a few questions before sending it on its way.

Can't heal the dead.

He rocked back on his heels, mostly because, despite what his goddess claimed, he could see the chest still rising and falling.

Um, it's not dead, goddess. Just tasered and neck snapped.

The flesh might still appear alive, but its soul is long gone.

Well, that was unexpected. I thought souls only left a body after death.

That is the usual order of things. This is unnatural. His goddess didn't sound impressed.

Do you know why it was after Adeline? he asked.

Rather than reply to his question, she stated, This isn't the first time she's dealt with such a threat.

He'd already figured that out, given the way she'd handled the situation. Why would a soulless wererat attack her?

Because she is special.

Special how?

You will soon find out.

And with that final statement, the goddess was gone. The warmth that filled him when they talked quickly evaporated as the chill of night enveloped him.

"So Hekate says she can't heal the wererat because—"

"It's missing a soul," Orion interjected. "I heard, and gotta say, that's fucked up. So is it like a zombie?" Orion poked the wererat with a finger. "I thought the undead were all like rotted and stuff. Not to mention, stupid. This one opened a locked door."

"I don't know. Necromancy isn't common enough for there to be many studies."

"Was it after her brains?" Orion's eyes widened.

"Who knows," Ambrose muttered. He eyed the wererat and thus caught the flutter of its lashes.

The eyes opened, red irises kind of evil-looking, in his opinion. It hissed and snapped its teeth but couldn't lift its head or flail its arms.

Orion didn't sense any intelligence in the creature but still found himself questioning it. "Who are you? Why were you after the woman?"

Grawr. Hisssh. Blerga.

"I think it wants to eat your brains," Orion confided.

"At least I have some," his snide reply.

"Not my fault I'm extra developed below the belt instead," Orion punched back.

Ambrose snorted. "Yeah, it makes you extra stupid when aroused."

"Ouch!"

The wererat stopped snapping to eye them.

"Is it me, or is it listening?" Ambrose asked, cocking his head.

"I thought it was dead."

"Soulless. Which I'm not sure is the same thing." He'd have to brush up on his undead knowledge.

"If it's already dead, then how do we kill it? Because I assume we're not just leaving it here like this."

"Decapitation followed by fire is the usual modus operandi with zombies."

"I didn't bring a sword, did you?" Orion stated.

"No." In their line of work, usually being hounds with a bit of their goddess' magic proved to be enough.

"Chewing through its neck, then?"

Ambrose grimaced. "Also no."

"I'm open to suggestions."

"Maybe we should place an anonymous call to the CA?" The CA standing for Cryptid Authority, those who handled non-human crimes.

"What if they trace the wererat back to Adeline?"

"I don't see how they would." Ambrose leaned in for a sniff, ignoring the stench of whatever garbage pile the wererat crawled out of to see if the woman's tantalizing scent lingered. It didn't.

"It's got nothing identifying on it," Orion remarked, studying the body. It wore no clothing, just ratty fur.

"So, we're agreed? Let the CA handle the body?"

"Yeah. We can give them a shout on our way back to watch Adeline," Orion stated as he headed for their ride.

"Already on a first-name basis?" Ambrose followed, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Well, you know, she did make me a sandwich," Orion boasted.

Ambrose rolled his eyes. "She made me one too. And?"

"You know they say the way to a man's heart is his stomach."

"Since when do you want your heart involved?"

Orion's step hitched before he offered a nonchalant. "Always a first time."

The unexpected reply almost made Ambrose fall over. "You like her?"

"She's interesting."

"You barely know her."

"And? Isn't that how the whole relationship thing starts?"

"I can't believe you just used the R word."

"I'm not getting any younger," Orion pointed out.

"Neither am I, courtesy of our goddess. But she's human."

"Who says Hekate doesn't want another scion?"

"Going to dump me?" Ambrose tried to sound light, but inside a knot formed. Didn't matter that he and Orion were complete opposites, they'd been friends for so long the thought of splitting hurt and panicked. What would he do without Orion?

"Fuck splitting up. You're my bro," Orion reassured as he buckled up. "Who says we can't become a threesome?"

For a second, Ambrose misunderstood. "Dude, I like you and all, but I am not interested in sex with you."

"Not that kind of threesome," Orion laughed. "Although it should be noted they can be fun."

"If you're into dick, which I'm not." Some might call him close-minded for it, but Ambrose only ever found himself attracted to women.

"For your information, the swords don't need to cross in a menage."

"Don't see how you could avoid it," Ambrose stated, even as he couldn't believe they were having this conversation.

"Because you can make it all about the woman. Her pleasure. Her needs."

"One hole," his crude reply.

"Only if you lack imagination."

"Enough of this. We are not having a threesome with Adeline or anyone. I'll get my own girlfriend, thank you very much."

"Spoilsport."

Was he? They returned to Adeline's place in time to see her exiting at an ungodly early to head to work. Seeing her made his heart race. It wasn't just Orion intrigued by the woman at the midst of their mission.

One brief conversation, one sniff, and Ambrose hated to admit he might be smitten too. The sandwich helped.

However, he wouldn't act on it. Not just because Orion kind of claimed her first. While he wanted to find love, Ambrose remained aware that he wasn't an ordinary guy. He worked for a goddess. A human wouldn't understand his first duty would be to Hekate. A human would probably have a problem with the fact he could shift shapes and travel where his goddess commanded.

Or was he projecting the conventions of the time he was raised in on the modern day? Magic had become a mainstream part of life, the witch and werewolf hunts abolished, but that didn't mean everyone accepted the cryptids living amongst humans.

"Why are you looking more serious than usual?" Orion asked.

"Just thinking of the rat and why it was there."

"Maybe it wanted her cats."

"Possible. But again, why break into a tiny apartment smelling of fruits and vegetables when the alley dumpster had plenty of meat scraps? Speaking of the rat, guess we should call the CA and report it."

"No need. I filled in their anonymous tip page on the website." Orion held up his phone.

"Good."

"I'll check in later with a friend to see what they can tell us about the rat. Think they'll cremate it once they realize it's a zombie?"

"More likely they'll want to study it."

"Speaking of study, I'm going to watch the inside of my eyelids. Want to look my best for when I go see Adeline."

"Wait, why are you going to see her?" Ambrose asked.

"She makes an awesome sandwich."

She also had an awesome ass.

Ambrose parked a few stores down only moments before she passed with a brisk stride. He slumped down as she came even with the SUV but kept an eye as she paused to unlock the store door.

When she went inside, he found himself fidgeting, not liking her being out of sight. Never mind the fact they'd placed a camera by the rear entrance that would notify him if anyone entered the alley.

Ambrose wanted another face-to-face meeting. Wanted to sniff the air she perfumed. Stare at her beautiful features. Have those tightly gripping hands—

Whoa.

He just about slapped himself for even going there. Being a perv was Orion's thing. Ambrose treated the opposite sex with respect.

But for some reason, he found it hard today.

So very, very hard .