Chapter 11

11

“That was your cousin, you say?” Duncan refused to lean on me as we walked from the parking lot to the apartment complex, but he had grabbed a towel that he was pressing to his ribs. In his van, he’d found that and jeans to put on, but he apparently didn’t keep a first-aid kit in there.

“Yes.”

“Affable chap. Is your whole family like that? Your whole pack ?”

After he’d woken, we’d driven the van back to the parking lot, and he’d let me talk him into going to my apartment. Like a responsible human being, or maybe just a mom, I had a first-aid kit.

“They weren’t when I was one of them. Me leaving changed things, at least in how they interact with me.” I guided him up the walkway toward my open door. The lady who’d been calling Animal Control from her balcony had disappeared. The blood spattered on the concrete reminded me of the vigor of the fight. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the ER?”

I felt compelled to offer, though I expected him to say no. As I well knew, there were enough oddities in werewolf blood that it raised eyebrows at hospitals. I’d given birth to my boys in the house of a doula experienced with the paranormal. I’d been afraid of being discovered as not as fully human as I looked. Fortunately, nothing had gone awry with the deliveries, and I hadn’t needed more serious medical attention.

“No, thanks.” Duncan eyed me sidelong, a bruise rising on his jaw, and went back to speaking about my family. “I’m fuzzy on why you left and why you choose to dull your werewolf side.”

“Good. I wasn’t looking to unfuzz a stranger.” I tilted my head to give him an equally sidelong look. “A strange stranger.”

“That adjective does apply decently to me, but we’ve gone into three battles together now. We can’t possibly still be strangers.”

“It’s only been two days, and you haven’t told me what you want from me. I know it’s not my kindness and generous heart that has you lurking.”

“You did make me espresso. That was generous. Especially since American coffee shops are outrageously expensive.”

He didn’t explain what he wanted from me. I didn’t explain my relationship with the pack.

Instead, I helped him into my apartment and onto my couch. His sigh as he sank back into it was the only sign he gave that his wounds hurt.

“Try not to bleed on my furniture while I find my first-aid kit.” I took his bloody towel from him—it had grease stains on it and couldn’t possibly be hygienic—then dampened one of my own and handed it to him.

On the way through the bedroom, I eyed the dresser drawer that held the camera and the mysterious case and glanced at the two new holes in the ceiling. After my encounter with Augustus, I had more questions than answers.

Would I have learned more if I’d let him speak privately with me? Maybe, but I believed he truly would have killed me. I just didn’t know why. What had changed after twenty-odd years with so little contact? And did the whole family want me dead? Or only Augustus and the two cousins he’d wrangled into helping?

As I padded back through the bedroom, first-aid kit in hand, I eyed the drawer again. It seemed an unlikely coincidence that the case and cameras, items that might have been there for years—that had probably been there for years—had anything to do with this. But who knew?

Though nerves twisted in my belly at the idea of returning to my childhood home, I needed to talk to my mother. I doubted she wanted me dead. And she might know what had crawled up Augustus’s butt.

I halted in the doorway, a thought surfacing. What if Mom had died?

She was about seventy. It was possible. As I’d been considering before, maybe she had kept the others from going after me over the years, but now the restraint was gone. My shoulders slumped at the thought that she might have passed without me having a chance to say goodbye. But wouldn’t someone have told me if she’d been ill?

I didn’t know. Besides, werewolves tended to go out in a blaze of glory. In battle or a hunt. They didn’t like to give in to the burden of time, of age and disease.

For even more reasons, I knew with certainty that I had to go home and find out what was going on.

I stepped into the living room with the first-aid kit. “I need to go after I bandage you.”

Duncan perched on the edge of the couch, holding the towel to his ribs to keep the blood flow staunched. He’d also spread paper towels across the cushions, the arm rest, and on the floor under his feet.

“Go where?” He followed my gaze to the paper towels—the rest remained on the roll on the coffee table. “I’m trying to be a conscientious guest and obey your wishes.”

“That’s appreciated. I need to see someone. In person.” As far as I knew, my mom didn’t have a phone or any other trappings of modern civilization. She lived in a cabin in the woods, with several relatives in similar homes within a few miles, and she still hunted and followed the old ways as much as she could while ignoring humanity and the outside world.

“Do you want company?” Duncan asked.

“To see my werewolf family? No. They would hate you as much as Augustus does, simply for being an outsider. Well, for being an outsider and not asking permission from them to be in their territory.”

“Does that mean that if we fall in love and get married, they won’t come to the wedding?” He waggled his eyebrows at me.

“They might come to stop it. Or to kill us.”

“I’m getting un-fuzzier about why you left.”

“It’s probably not what you think.” Not explaining further, I removed gauze and antiseptic and waved for him to let me see his gouges. “The pack, my family, isn’t that bad when you’re one of them. They’re just uppity about outsiders.”

“Which you are?”

“These days, yeah.”

“And if you find a new potion supplier, you’ll continue to be one, right? That’s what you want?”

I focused on cleaning his wounds and didn’t answer. I wasn’t positive I knew the answer.

When the boys had lived at home, and Chad and I had been together, I’d been certain. I’d never wanted to endanger them with what I could become. But now? My plans for the future involved continuing to live in the human world, saving enough to buy a small multifamily property, living in one of the units, and being there whenever my kids came to visit. Being there when they had grand kids. There were aspects of the wolf way that I missed, but it was hard to imagine returning to the pack. Besides, the reason I’d left remained. My lack of ability to control myself and what I did in wolf form.

Duncan didn’t clear his throat pointedly, but he did stir, his intent gaze upon me as he waited for an answer.

I didn’t owe him one but caught myself saying, “It’s what’s safest.”

A tentative knock at the door made me pause. Certain Augustus wouldn’t do anything tentatively, I handed Duncan the gauze and went to answer.

Bolin stood on the threshold with two women I didn’t recognize. “The plumber just left. He opened up the wall and started fixing those leaky pipes. He said the job won’t take long, and then we can take care of the mold. I’ll look into that. Like I said.”

“There’s mold here?” one of the women asked, looking at the other.

Both in their early thirties, they might have been sisters.

“Not for long,” I said.

“These are potential renters who are here to look at an apartment.” Bolin beamed smiles at both of them. He stood painfully straight, his face earnest, and he wasn’t toting around his man purse.

I’d forgotten we had an appointment for that this evening. I’d been understandably distracted, but that didn’t make me forgive myself for the lapse. Maybe having an intern around to man the leasing office, at least when my relatives were attacking me, wasn’t a bad idea, after all.

“I’m allergic to mold,” the other said, wrinkling her nose.

“We fix any problems as soon as our tenants alert us to them.” I stepped out onto the walkway and waved into my apartment. “As you can see, I live on the premises, so if anything happens, day or night, you can let me know.” Usually, I encouraged tenants to come by during office hours, but I did let them know I was here. Since the owners paid me a reasonable salary and let me live in one of the units, I always felt compelled to be as helpful as possible.

“I’m going to take care of the mold personally,” Bolin hurried to add.

I resisted the urge to ask whether he’d found a potion that could handle that. The two ladies appeared completely human and normal. They weren’t paying attention to Bolin anyway but peering past my shoulder.

When I’d gestured into the apartment, I’d meant only to indicate it was my home, but they had spotted Duncan sitting shirtless on the couch and were staring at him. I winced, certain they were also noticing that he was attempting to wrap a roll of bandage around himself. They might think the complex was attacked all the time and that this wasn’t a safe area.

But the biker gang had been a fluke, and my family… hadn’t been here for any of the tenants.

“Who’s he?” one whispered.

Duncan looked over, smiled, and waved. “Evening, ladies.”

“Oh, he’s got an accent.” One clasped a hand over her chest. “I love that accent.”

Maybe they hadn’t noticed the bandages and were simply ogling him. He had to be twenty years their senior.

“Does he live here? Is he a tenant?” the first asked, mold concerns forgotten.

“He lives in a van,” I said more tartly than I should have. But if they rented an apartment, it should be because they liked the location, the layout, and that I maintained the complex as well as I could, not because a hunky werewolf was loitering in the area.

“Is the van here ?” The other flipped her hair and tried to catch Duncan’s eye.

“Not for long,” I muttered .

Duncan didn’t seem to notice the exchange. He’d turned his attention back to the bandage, and his muscles flexed nicely as he tore the end off the roll to tuck in.

“I can show you the apartment now.” Bolin sounded flustered. He addressed the women but peered into my apartment, as if trying to figure out what held their attention.

“Okay,” one said.

“Does it have a view of the parking lot?” the other asked, smiling. Assuming Duncan’s van might be there and that he wandered shirtless in and out of it all day?

“There’s some grass and trees to look at between the unit and the parking lot,” Bolin said, “but you’d be able to see your car from the living room if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Not exactly.”

They giggled as they followed him away.

“Thanks for showing them the unit,” I called after Bolin.

He waved a hand in acknowledgment.

“Do I get a bonus if I flirt with prospective tenants and convince them to sign a lease?” Duncan asked after I closed the door and returned to the couch.

I’d thought he’d been oblivious to their interest but apparently not. My first instinct was to squash his ego, but he’d been too helpful today for me to want to snark at him.

“We don’t have a budget for bonuses for itinerant werewolves, but if those two sign a lease, I’ll let you metal detect on the grounds.”

“Oh, enticing. That could prove fruitful. And would my van be able to stay in a guest or staff parking spot without fear of being towed?”

“It hasn’t been towed yet, has it?”

“It has not. It’s possible my charisma is keeping you from following through on your threats.”

“I’ve also been busy.” I would have to thank Bolin for manning the office and giving the tour. “And I need to continue to be busy. In the woods north of Monroe.” I eyed the night sky outside the window. It wasn’t that late, but it got dark early this time of year, making it feel late. Visiting werewolves, even one’s own mother, at night wasn’t the best idea, but it was easier to slip away outside of the complex’s office hours. “Before I head out, do you need a ride to a healer of the paranormal or anything like that?”

“That won’t be necessary. I have an excellent immune system, nearly as vigorous and virile as the rest of me, so I heal quickly. I’ll remain here snuggled up to your first-aid kit. I do have a few other fang punctures to attend.” Duncan waved to his jeans and whatever gouges lay under the denim.

“Attend away, but do it in your van.” I grabbed the kit, pointed to the door, and offered him a hand up.

“You’re kicking me out? I was very careful not to bleed on your furniture.” Duncan looked at the crinkled paper towels blanketing the couch, then licked his thumb and rubbed what might have been blood off the edge of the coffee table.

I made a note to sanitize the furniture later. “I’m going to lock up my apartment while I’m gone.”

He was too interested in the wolf case for me to leave it where he could find it. Maybe I would even put it in the glove compartment of my truck and take it with me. Of course, bringing a magical item into werewolf territory might not be a good idea either. The pack would be able to sense its magic, and if it turned out that Mom was gone and my cousins were all gunning for me…

“I can lock your door on my way out,” Duncan offered, his eyebrows up, his face the picture of innocence.

I didn’t trust that look—or him—and gripped his elbow to help him to the door—or maybe hoist him out the door. “You can’t lock a deadbolt on the way out, and this neighborhood isn’t as safe as it used to be.”

He opened his mouth as if he might protest further—which made me doubly suspicious about why he wanted to hang out here while I was gone.

“Besides,” I added, “you’re heading off with that list of ingredients to find me an alchemist who can make my potion, right?”

“You think I should do that when I’ve so recently been grievously injured?” He waved at his bandaged chest.

“After you spoke of the excessively virile vigor of your immune system? Yes, that should be easy.” I handed him the first-aid kit in case he needed to bandage anything else.

“Very well, my lady. I shall depart. Can I at least have some more of your fine chocolate to take with me? I haven’t eaten in some time.”

I was tempted to say no , but he was doing me a favor. If he found a new alchemist to supply me with potions, I would buy him a whole stack of chocolate bars.

As I moved into the kitchen to snap off a couple more squares for him, I caught him gazing thoughtfully at my bedroom. Despite his proclamations of my beauty, I doubted his musings involved us naked together.

No, I decided. I wouldn’t leave the magical case in my apartment.