Deceived By the Others (6 page)

“‘Oust’ him? Why would he do that?”

“Not everyone is happy with having Chaz lead us. He’s not made many friends by calling us in to help the Moonwalkers before, especially since we never really got anything in return. And working with that leech, Royce? Not a popular move either. Seth’s young, so he can get away with some open opposition, but there’s grumbling in the rest of the ranks. Not everyone agrees with having you here, either. Just the way it is.” She laughed again, Paula snickering along with her. “At least, until he cracks some heads together. Then it might settle things down again. For a little while anyway.”

I frowned at her, not finding the idea particularly funny. “Is that true, Chaz?”

He was giving Kimberly a pointed look that she was just as pointedly ignoring, sipping her OJ. “Sort of. The ones who disagree are in the minority. Seth won’t get too many people willing to back him up against me. I’m still the alpha, and he knows it.”

The laughter and knowing looks faded under the bit of emphasis Chaz put to that last statement. Sean cleared his throat to break the silence, and then smiled encouragingly at me. “Don’t worry. We won’t let anything happen to you. Just be careful once everyone shifts, and stick close to the cabins and lodge at night.”

“Yeah, don’t wander off into the woods alone. I heard there are a couple other shifters in town. Don’t want to tempt them,” Nick said.

I made a face. “No worries of that. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere without Chaz.”

He slid his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close enough to brush a kiss over my temple, some of the tension in his frame filtering away. “I’m going to have to do some work with the pack while we’re here, but it shouldn’t keep me away too much. If I’m not around, any of these guys can help keep an eye on you and show you the ropes. Right?”

There was hurried agreement from everyone else, and we all quieted down a bit as Mrs. Cassidy returned with our drinks. As I sipped my coffee, I took a look around at the others, thoughtful. Paula’s pixie cut made her look innocent and cute, but her laughter at Kimberly’s mocking comments about Chaz’s enemies made me wonder if those two were among those not happy to have me here. Kimberly seemed nice enough, if a bit brazen. She offered me the cream for my coffee when she saw me searching for it, reaching over to give me a light squeeze on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, we’ll protect you. Whether it’s Seth or someone else, we’re behind Chaz all the way.”

I smiled thinly at her. “I think I’ll be okay.”

Mrs. Cassidy chimed in, leaning over to give Nick a refill on his coffee. “Oh, are you a norm? Sorry, my dears, couldn’t help but overhear.”

I shrugged uncomfortably, flushing at the amused looks the others were sharing amongst themselves. “Yeah, I’m here with the Sunstrikers, but I’m not a Were.”

“Oh, lovely, lovely. So good to have you here. If you run into any trouble with
any
of our guests, you just tell me or Bruce, and we’ll set it to rights.”

I was starting to feel like I was surrounded by overprotective parents. I already had two; I didn’t need any more. “Thanks, Mrs. Cassidy. I’ll keep that in mind.”

We ordered breakfast and got to know each other. Sean was a waiter at some diner and was taking college classes through the Internet to get a business degree. Paula was an interior designer with aspirations to get a regular part on one of those home makeover shows. Nick was a tattoo artist, and Kimberly a massage therapist whose office was next to the gym where Chaz and I worked out. She had met him when she signed up for one of his cardio classes. I couldn’t recall having seen her around, but she wasn’t particularly surprised.

“I keep odd hours,” she explained. “Especially since I got infected with lycanthropy. It changed everything.”

Amen to that.

Chapter 5

Nick and Sean offered to take me out hiking tomorrow once the rain cleared up. Chaz was going to be busy dealing with some pack politics and helping their newest member cope with some of the pre-change weirdness his body was going through. Ethan had accidentally gotten caught up in a scuffle between two Weres that became too heated. One of them nicked him with its teeth when he tried to rush off, and he’d been too afraid to go to the hospital to get the vaccine.

This was not altogether surprising. Most of the big hospitals report lycanthropy infections to a database that’s only supposed to be accessed by government and law enforcement agencies. Theoretically, the database would help lead to the culprits of any unauthorized Other attacks, since a good ninety-five percent or so were by newly turned vampires and Weres who hadn’t mastered their hungers yet.

However, the number of Others who had disappeared over the last couple of years—even accounting for violence by groups like the White Hats and the Anti-Other Alliance—had caused enough comment and speculation that few Others were willing to risk going to hospitals. There was even some paranoia about going to private practitioners, since some of them reported their findings as well. The problem was that the major hospitals were the best source of the vaccine that could, if administered quickly enough, halt the spread of lycanthropy infection. It didn’t work every time, but if it meant the difference between staying human or becoming part of a Were pack, most people would damn the consequences and take the medicine.

Ethan had been infected and had waited too long to treat the virus. A couple days ago, one of the other pack members had found the poor guy freaking out in the parking lot outside a doctor’s office. Someone inside had just delivered the news that he was beyond treatment. The Sunstrikers had taken him in, made him part of the group, and would help him through his first change.

This was as much for their protection as his. Without a mentor, Ethan could have gone rogue and ended up injuring himself or, worse, some innocent human, in the process of the change. No Were or vampire likes to hear the news that innocent bystanders got hurt by one of their own. It was bad publicity, made it harder for them to bolster their ranks, so the majority of the time they’d take in the strays. Plus, the rash of panic and angry hunters that inevitably followed in the wake of a newly turned Other with no experienced mentor to guide them or rein them in made life hard on all the rest.

I’d heard stories about what some of the vamps did to their own after unsanctioned kills. It was the stuff of nightmares. The only time I’d ever witnessed it happen, it had turned into a bloodbath. Max Carlyle had negotiated his way out, but I’m reasonably certain the only reason he wasn’t toast was because Royce would not have been able to kill him without too much cost to himself.

Weres were more understanding, but no more tolerant. They were as likely as vampires to hunt and put down one of their own who made an unsanctioned kill, though perhaps they did it a little more cleanly.

Ethan was currently holed up in one of the cabins with a couple of other pack members. Chaz had promised to check in on him frequently and had cautioned me to stay away from him until after the height of the lunar cycle was over. They weren’t so concerned he would accidentally Were. The problem lay in his becoming attuned to my scent and trying to hunt me down the first time or two he was shifted. Curious as I was about him, that was deterrent enough to keep me away.

Through the rest of the day, I met a lot of Sunstrikers whose names I did my best to keep straight. As Chaz had mentioned, they were people, too. Every one of them came from a different background and walk of life. Some of them were as friendly and cordial as I’d been promised. Others did not seem so happy to meet me and, I was sure, only shook my hand because Chaz was standing next to me.

Later in the afternoon, just before dinner, we were hanging out in the game room playing pool with a bunch of Chaz’s buddies. Seth and his cronies swaggered in, trying to look tough in their piercings and leather jackets. Mostly they looked like teenagers trying too hard to be cool. We ignored them, getting on with our game, chatting amiably as we took turns at the two pool tables. The foosball game across the room was free, and the four troublemakers headed over there, not bothering the rest of us—probably because there were three times as many of us as there were of them. A few too many for them to pull anything obnoxious.

I sat on the edge of one of the chairs lining the room while I waited for my turn, talking quietly with Paula and Kimberly. They were a lot nicer and more willing to chat than I’d thought they would be. Turns out they were both fascinated with my job, about as much as I was fascinated with the fact they were Weres, and we were having a great time swapping stories between turns.

“How long have you been doing the P.I. thing?” Kimberly asked, sipping her beer. Chaz kept glancing over, clearly listening in, but I wasn’t quite sure what he was so concerned about. Aside from the comments earlier, she and Paula seemed nice enough.

“Since a few months after I graduated from NYU—about six years ago. My friend Sara put up most of the collateral, and together we started H&W Investigations.”

“Wow, that long? I’m surprised Chaz has let you keep doing something so dangerous for so long.”

I frowned at her, not liking that turn of phrase at all. “‘Let me’ do it? It’s not his choice; it’s mine. Besides, I’d been at this since long before I met him, and the type of investigative work I do isn’t as dangerous as the books and movies make it out to be.”

“Oh,” she said, her brows furrowing in confusion. “What sort of investigations do you do, then? I thought I heard something about divorce cases and cheating spouses—”

“You’re up, Shia,” Chaz cut in, stepping aside and leaning casually on his pool cue.

“We’ll chat more later,” I promised, excusing myself. I rose, studied the layout for a moment, and bent over to line up and take a shot. “Five solid, corner pocket.”

“You’ll scratch if you take that shot.”

I threw an annoyed glance over my shoulder, not liking Seth’s amused smirk as he eyed my backside. “Who asked you?”

“Nobody. I’m just saying.”

“Fuck off,” I muttered, ignoring him again and concentrating on my shot.

“You’ll mi-iss,” he singsonged.

“Shut up,” somebody muttered from the other table. Chaz growled softly, low in his throat, eyes narrowed in anger. Seth raised his hands and took a step back, still smirking.

I gritted my teeth and took the shot, pleased when the cue ball hit and the five slid smoothly into the corner pocket. Stepping back, I gave Seth my own smart-ass smirk, though I didn’t keep it up for long. Taunting Weres is never a good thing, even when you’ve got a bigger, badder Were there to protect you.

“Nice shot,” he acknowledged, turning away. I fought back the urge to stick out my tongue at him, and just returned my attention to the game.

We continued for another set, and by the time we were done, the smell of dinner drew us out toward the dining hall again. It was early but, as everyone would be furry tonight, it wasn’t a bad idea for us to eat while the sun was still up.

Seth stayed behind, but it was unnerving how he and his buddies watched us go, mostly keeping an eye on me or Chaz. Nobody else seemed concerned, but I had to wonder what was up his sleeve. When he saw me staring, he blew me a little kiss. I curled my lip in distaste and pressed closer to Chaz, doing my best to take no notice of him as the others were doing.

Mrs. Cassidy had made a few dishes in bulk to feed the Sunstriker pack. Everyone had turned out for this little get-together, and the few members of the pack who hadn’t been present to fight against Alec Royce and the Moonwalker Weres had come along for the ride this time. Some of those I hadn’t met were too young or too old to fight. Others were just new to the pack, strays like Ethan who had been taken in and one or two who had left other packs to join this one. There were just shy of fifty members, and all of them except for Seth and the three yahoos shadowing him, as well as Ethan and his two babysitters, were here for dinner.

“Hey, good to see you,” one of the Weres seated near the door said, smiling warmly at me as he leaned back in his chair to brush his fingers over my hand. As the others took note of our entrance, the hum of conversation died into a low murmur of welcome, some of them lifting their hands in cheerful waves, others rising to greet us. A handful moved to the back, out of the way, but their dark looks were easily lost in the crowd of well-wishers.

“It’s her, look… .”

“Remember me? Hi!”

“I can’t believe she came!”

I suddenly found myself surrounded by warm, friendly hands, brushing over my hair, shoulders, arms, crushing my hands as they shook them. One of the guys who’d grabbed my hand shouldered his way a little closer, grinning at me happily. “I know I look different without the fur, but I hope you remember me. Thank you so much!”

I turned wide eyes on Chaz, who had stepped to one side and was simply grinning with amused tolerance. “What the hell is going on?”

“You saved them from getting overtaken by the
Dominari
Focus, remember? They’re just happy you’re here.”

“You’re a hero,” another said, pounding me enthusiastically on the back. “Better, you’re one of us, not one of those pansy Moonwalkers. It’s an honor to have you here.”

The nods and words of agreement that flowed around me were so embarrassing, I thought strongly of retreating to our cabin and forgoing this weird dinner. Sadly, I was surrounded. Though I had wanted to get to know Chaz’s pack, I certainly didn’t want to be fawned over like this. The Focus had been designed to give a dangerous amount of power to its holder, and I’d destroyed it mostly out of fear of what Royce or Chaz or even Sara’s boyfriend, Arnold, might have done with it. That it meant assured freedom for these guys was just an added bonus.