Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

“ C harlie, is that you?”

Charlie nearly jumped out of her skin. She’d been so deeply immersed in watching Max’s broad shoulders and lean hips as he went to grab the menus that she hadn’t noticed the large orc approaching.

It was her ex, Tod, gawking at her, his face flushed a deep green. Gosh she hadn’t seen him since they split up six months ago.

“Tod, hi. How are you?”

“I’m good, yep, great. What are you doing here? I thought you had a job in Be-Tween.”

“I did. But now I’m working in Motham.”

“Cool.” Tod grinned like an idiot, unable to take his eyes off her. “Doing what?”

“I’m research assistant for Professor Hunt.” His blank look told her Tod didn’t know who that was. He’d never shown much interest in history; that was another reason they’d split. They didn’t have enough in common. “He’s an expert on the Great War and the early days of Motham City.”

Tod nodded, far more interested in staring at her. “You’re looking great, Charlie,” he said.

“You too, Tod.”

Suddenly Max appeared. He gave Tod the once-over, his topaz eyes inscrutable.

Charlie jumped up. “Professor Hunt, this is my friend Tod, from uni.”

“Hello,” Tod said. For a second it seemed like both males grew in stature, almost as if they were muscling up to each other as they stood their ground, chest to chest. Tod was tall, but Max stood an inch taller than the young orc.

There was definitely a wolfish energy in Max’s demeanor. Almost… surely not… a possessive energy?

Whatever it was, it made Charlie’s pulse quicken.

In a second it was gone, and she had to wonder if she’d imagined it, as the two males shook hands. Then Max handed her the menu and Tod hovered. “Well, um, maybe now you’re working in Motham, we could catch up.”

“Sure, that would be nice,” Charlie said as she took the menu from Max and sat down again.

When the orc turned to leave, Max flashed those white teeth at him. Or had he bared them?

“I think the young man is smitten with you,” Max remarked as he sat down opposite her.

“Oh, it’s not that, it’s just…” Charlie felt her cheeks heating. “We used to date at uni, that’s all.”

“You ended it, right?”

“How can you tell?”

“His lovesick look.”

She felt his gaze on her face as she searched for an answer. “He wanted to get serious, and I guess I wasn’t ready to.”

“Because he was monster and you’re human?”

“I didn’t say that.” Charlie held the menu tightly and eyed it without seeing a thing. She glanced up to see his eyebrows hitch over the top of his glasses. “Because your mom wouldn’t approve?”

“It wasn’t that simple,” Charlie demurred. For a moment they both stared at their menus, and then Max said stiffly, “I apologize. I shouldn’t pry into your private life.”

“No, it’s fine, I don’t mind you asking. I guess I didn’t feel strongly enough about Tod. If I had, I would have ignored what anyone thought about me dating a different species.”

If it was you…

“Ah yes, the human/monster divide.” Max’s tone was pensive. “There’s a veneer covering the prejudice these days, but it’s still there. There’s no getting away from the fact that monsters are rated as less than humans in the valley.” A moment’s hesitation ensued, and then he said, “I was conceived in Motham, but my mother left soon after I was born.”

“Oh, really?” Charlie tried to sound casual, but inside she was desperate to hear more. His biography and the info she’d looked up on his Linkd In mentioned nothing of Max being originally from Motham. “Why did your mom leave?”

“When she fell pregnant, she decided she did not want to raise me here and went to start a new life in Selig.”

“With your father?”

His face tightened. “I never knew my father. My mother never spoke of him. She was a fiercely independent woman and not one for pack conventions. Being a lone wolf is less common in females, but it can happen. My mother was such a wolf.”

“Was?”

“Yes. Sadly, she died of cancer, a year ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thank you. I miss her presence in my life. The first wolf female from Motham to ever get a Ph.D. She was a gifted writer and poet. Well recognized over the mountains, of course. But not here in Motham.”

“That must be where you get your writing talent from.”

His lips twisted. “I would like to think so.”

Charlie sensed his sadness and had a sudden overwhelming urge to reach out and pat his arm. Ridiculous. No doubt he’d stiffen with discomfort and frown, as he’d done several times already in her presence. Thankfully, the waitress appeared to take their order. Charlie blurted out the first thing she saw on the menu, a cream cheese bagel, and a peach iced tea.

Max ordered a corned beef on rye, with extra pickles, and a black coffee.

“Do you still have pack living in Motham?” she asked as they waited.

Max’s face immediately closed over. “A few distant relatives. Not ferals, of course.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t have thought that for one moment.” Judging by the dark look on Max’s face, it was clearly best to avoid any further talk of family.

“So in Selig, things are very different between humans and monsters, I gather,” she asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Yes, very different. There’s a much greater sense of equality. There was no bitter war in the Selig region, the humans who arrived there were fleeing the oppressive rules of Tween and Twill and thus were never aggressive in their dealings with the monsters. In fact, they were soon united against the ogre bands that descended from the mountains and massacred all species indiscriminately. And of course, there were no major resources in the Selig region. The oil and minerals found around Motham made the humans greedy. The Great War was always about resources. Humans refusing to share equitably with monsters. Where there is wealth to be harnessed, there will always be greater rivalries. Winners and losers.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Did you attend my lecture on the subject last year?”

“I did. It was riveting.” Charlie felt hot all over, remembering as much about her crazy attraction to Max as his actual lecture.

He looked pleased. “I’m glad you found it so.”

“I mean, it’s so different from what we learned at school. The crimes humans perpetrated were completely glossed over, particularly those of the Jordak family. Their descendants still run The Council of Towns with an iron fist. They think of themselves as Tween royalty, but they are a malicious, lying bunch. I daresay my mom—she’s a bit of a snob—would love me to marry one of them, but I wouldn’t touch a Jordak with a barge pole. I’ve only dated one human.”

Max’s eyebrows slanted over the top of his glasses, but all he said was, “I see.” Maybe he was perplexed as to why she would steer the conversation toward dating. Oh dear, her hormones were scrambling her brain.

When their order arrived, she ate self-consciously. Charlie nibbled at her bagel, getting cream cheese on her fingers, and once or twice sensed Max’s gaze lingering as she delicately licked it off. It was hard to eat, to be honest, with the tension channeling through her body at his nearness, his energy at once endearingly geeky and at the same time, innately powerful.

Was he aware of it? That power? And what if he unleashed it? A sudden image of running… running… with Max in pursuit played out like a movie behind her eyes. Feeling him gaining on her, about to possess her… his hot breath on her neck, his big hands curling around her hips, dragging her under him.

Charlie blinked, stifled a little gasp at the sudden ache of longing that stirred low in her belly. She had to shift her position a few times as she sipped her iced tea, not daring to look at Max as he pensively drank his coffee and ate his sandwich, just in case her face gave away her feelings.

She glanced around at other folks in the café, a laughing group of dragonling girls in school uniform, bright green with pointed noses and sparkling eyes. And puffing the odd—probably illegal—waft of smoke at their table in a far corner. An elf and a goblin were seated in the booth opposite, the goblin trying desperately to impress the pretty elf with his loud laugh and pumped biceps. The elf, pale skinned with a blonde bob, slurped at a huge strawberry milkshake, looking bored and barely saying a word. A centaur swaggered in on his strong hind legs and his eyes swung over with interest and lingered on Max, who to all intents and purposes looked human, although Charlie guessed another monster would quickly detect his werewolf characteristics. Clearly, she wasn’t the only one to feel it. The energy Max exuded was too wolf to ignore, despite his studious demeanor and human form.

After a few more moments, Max started to recount little snippets about this part of Motham just after the Great War. Charlie listened, mesmerized, until Max glanced at his watch and with a rueful smirk said, “You shouldn’t get me started on that era, I forget the time entirely.”

As they left the café, Max having insisted on paying, Charlie couldn’t help but enjoy the scene around them.

The late fall air, redolent with the sounds and sights and smells of a vibrant multi-species city, always made her inordinately happy. She guessed it was her natural exuberance, a quality she’d gotten from the Sullivan side of the family. She certainly hadn’t inherited her mom’s nervous disposition, thankfully, but she had gotten her bookishness from her, and she was proud that her mom was chief librarian at Tween Library.

It just wasn’t the life for her.

Charlie had always known she needed more excitement, more challenges.

Suddenly there was a touch on her arm. She was surprised to see Tod again, grinning down at her. She hadn’t noticed him in the café, but he must have been there all along. He was panting as if he’d run after them. “Couldn’t let you disappear without telling you I’m having a birthday party next Saturday. Wondered if you’d like to come.”

“Oh, goodness, of course, I remember?—”

“Yeah, well you were at my last one, so…”

She blushed. She and Tod had first made out at his birthday party last year. “Oh yes, um—sure, give me the details.”

“I’ve moved house, I’ll give you my new address. Hope you can make it.” He rummaged in his pocket, got out a pencil stub and piece of paper and scribbled his address down.

“Thanks.” She took the paper he handed her and turned back to Max.

Except Max was nowhere to be seen.

Bewildered, Charlie stared into the bustling crowd. Finally she spotted him, almost at the corner of the street, striding away at speed, his broad shoulders squared.

Well, that was pretty strange.

“I better go, my boss seems to be in a hurry to get back to work,” she explained, then turned and dashed through the crowds after Max.