Must Love Fangs (Midnight Liaisons) (30 page)

I moved to the bed to grab the sheet to cover me. For some reason . . . the bed was made. When had that happened? I pulled the sheet off and wrapped it around my body. “Come in.”

Sara poked her head in and beamed at me. The scent of wolf filled my nostrils. “Oh, good, you’re awake. And back to normal, I see.”

I rubbed my bleary eyes, then wondered how well I would see with my new eyesight. I squinted at Sara’s face, then sighed and reached for my glasses. Nearsighted as a human, perfect vision as a were-cougar. Guess you couldn’t have everything. “It’s all me again, yeah. Thanks for talking me through it.”

She grinned, sauntering in. “Yeah, men see a woman in pain and they flip out. Sometimes you need another calm presence nearby. I’m just glad I could help.”

Speaking of . . . “Where’s Josh?”

Her smile was a little too bright to be natural. “He’ll be along shortly.”

I nodded, then glanced at the room. “Um, have you seen my clothes?”

She snapped her fingers. “Oh. I had them laundered for you yesterday. Just a sec.”

Yesterday?

She left before I could ask her.

I glanced at the window, but it was dark.

Sara returned a minute later and presented me
with my clothing, neatly folded. “No detergent, since that sort of thing bothers the nose when you’re new. You’ll get used to it eventually.”

I took the clothing with one hand, the other holding the sheet closed. “Um. What did you mean about yesterday? Was I out long?”

She laughed. “Out long? Girl, you slept for three days straight.”

“Three . . . days?” I hardly dared to believe it. I dropped onto the edge of the bed. “I slept for three
days
?”

“And snored for most of them, too. I didn’t think cats could snore, but there it is.” She looked pleased. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to stay in cat form the whole time, but we didn’t want to wake you just for that, so we let you sleep.”

Three. Whole. Days.

I’d slept. I’d finally
slept
. I swiped at a tear that slid down my face.

I was free. I wasn’t going to die. I was healthy, and I was going to live! I laughed, though the knot in my throat made it come out more like a snuffle.

Sara looked worried. “Marie? You okay?”

“I slept,” I blubbered. “Oh, my God, I slept.”

“You did,” she agreed, mystified.

I stared down at the bed and ran a hand over the rumpled covers. “Can I . . . can I sleep again?”

She laughed. “Sure, if you want to.”

Oh, I did. I wanted to see if I could do it again.

But I wanted to see Josh, too, and share my excitement with him. I gave the bed another longing
look, then glanced at Sara. “You’ll wake me up when Josh gets here?”

She nodded and shut the door, leaving me alone with the bed. I stared at it for a long minute.
Please don’t let this all be one massive and incredibly cruel hallucination
.

I slid into the center of the bed, nestling my head in the pillows and snuggling deep. Could I fall asleep again? My body was tense, as if I didn’t quite believe it yet. What if it was just false hope?

But even as I worried, my eyes drooped closed and I fell back to sleep.

• • •

I woke up at dawn and felt incredible.

I was going to live. Glory
fucking
hallelujah, I was going to live! I danced flat on my back in the bed, grinning like a fool. And it was all thanks to Josh. Beautiful, wonderful, thoughtful Josh. I wept with joy as I dressed.

I was giddy with excitement, and for the first time in months I felt strong and healthy and powerful. I didn’t even mind the were-cougar part. Turning into a cat would take some getting used to, but I’d have Josh on my side.

I wasn’t looking forward to exile, but I pictured cozying up in a snowy cabin with Josh at my side, huddled under the blankets, and decided that it might be fun. Everything seemed like fun now.

I left the bedroom and went downstairs, my stomach growling loudly. Either I was starving or
this, too, was amplified in my new state. Probably both. I found Sara in the kitchen, setting two plates at the table near an enormous stack of pancakes. At the sight of her, I was so overcome with giddiness that I enveloped her in a hug.

She stiffened at my touch, then relaxed. “I take it we had a good morning?”

“I feel amazing,” I told her, unable to stop smiling. “I’m so happy I could burst.” My stomach growled and I slapped a hand to it in embarrassment. “I might also be hungry.”

She laughed and gestured at the table. “I thought you might be, so I made breakfast. No meat, though. You might want to ease off on that for the next few weeks until you get used to controlling your shifting. The predator in you gets excited by meat, and your animal side’s harder to control when you’re hungry.”

I nodded as I sat down, soaking in the information. The pile of pancakes looked so good that I stabbed one with a fork and ate it whole, no syrup. I needed something in my stomach
now
.

Sara ignored my bad manners, pouring two cups of coffee and moving back to the table.

I glanced around. No scents of anyone but Sara and me. No Ramsey. No Ellis or Everett. No Lily. And no Josh. I missed him. “So where is everyone?” I asked between bites.

“Giving us some space,” she said cheerfully. “A new shifter is under a lot of strain, and the others thought it might be best to keep your exposure to a minimum while you adjust.”

“Is Lily okay? I can’t see her going with the others willingly.”

She grimaced. “Well. Lily is a problem. She’s human, but she’s seen too much for them to just send her home. The first night you were here and unconscious, Lily bolted. The twins gathered her up again. She’s now being kept in a safe location until the Alliance decides what to do with her. They’re meeting with the vampires this week to discuss ‘the incident.’ ” She made air quotes.

“Apparently the vampires didn’t believe the story until Josh pointed out that Andre had been keeping Lily captive for quite some time. Now they’re bending over backward to try to smooth things over, but Beau’s people are furious and questioning everything. As they should. It seems like this isn’t the first incident with that vampire, and now the Alliance wants stricter guidelines for vampire interaction. There’s talk of setting up a permanent liaison, which means that the dating agency would have to work with them.” She grimaced.

I grinned. “Not my problem, now that I’m fired. And turned!”

“Yes, you are,” she said with a small laugh. “And I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly.”

And she’d given up her time to teach me the ropes. I thought of her mate, Ramsey, and how they seemed to constantly touch when they were together, and I said, “I’m sorry. This must be a big chore.”

She shook her head and reached over to pat my
hand. “Not at all. I had no help when I was newly turned, and I’m happy to be of assistance. Ramsey is patient. He knows I’ll be back.” A smile curved her face. “I gave him homework. He needs to improve his PvP skills in WoW, or else I’m going to totally school him the next time we play. And he’s not a good loser.”

I had no idea what that was, but it sounded like they enjoyed it. As she chatted about shooters and techniques, I ate methodically. When she got up to bring over more coffee, I noticed a massive, dark red mark at the base of her neck. I tried not to stare at it, but I couldn’t help but ask, “What happened to your neck?”

She blushed bright red and clapped a hand over the mark. “Um. So that’s probably new to you. It’s a mate mark,” she said with a hint of pride. “A man gives it to his mate when he wants to claim her before all others.”

My eyes widened. I had forgotten about my mate mark. I got up and went into the bathroom, suddenly curious to see it on my own neck.

I paused at the sight of my reflection in the mirror. I looked tired, but not as hollow and wasted as before. The hunted look in my eyes was gone. I touched my hair. It was shiny for the first time in weeks, instead of dry and flat. Huh. My gaze dropped to my neck, and I brushed my hair back.

There, just below my ear, was a single reddish mark on my neck, like the world’s largest hickey.
How was it that only shifters could see this? That didn’t make sense . . . but then again, neither did turning into a cat. I thought of Josh’s mouth on my neck as he’d kissed and nipped at me, and my body flushed.

Suddenly I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, to share my utter joy at being cured. He’d saved me.

I rushed out of the bathroom and almost smacked back into Sara, who had followed me. “Can I see Josh now? I want to talk to him.”

She bit her lip. “There’s a bit of a problem . . . He’s been arrested for turning a human. And it’s not looking good for him.”

“But he changed me to save my life,” I pointed out, even though I’d expected repercussions.

“The reason behind it doesn’t matter,” she said gently. “All the other alphas can see is that a Russell broke the rules, and Beau’s backed into a corner. He can’t let his brother get off scot-free while throwing down the hammer on anyone else who changes a human. It’s just really bad timing. It just looks like the Alliance playboy decided to take a human playmate.”

“That’s not it at all!”

“Unfortunately, Josh refuses to discuss any of it.”

I sighed. “Well, he’s not going into exile alone. I’m going with him.”

She stared at me. “Marie. This is far worse than that. Josh deliberately flouted the rules set out by his own brother, so this is huge. He’s going to be
made an example to others. We’re talking permanently exiled from the Alliance, which would make him fair game for any Alliance member. He’d be completely unprotected—anyone could attack him without repercussion.”

I swallowed hard.

I
t was three long, horrible weeks before the Alliance tribunal met at City Hall.

While we waited, I was kept under lock and key at the Russell house. Though only Sara and I were there, I could smell another shifter in the air the few times I was allowed out onto the grounds. We were being watched, even if it wasn’t overt.

I wasn’t allowed to go back to my apartment, so my father was allowed to occasionally visit me. Beau and the other Russells were carefully watching him, but I knew he would keep the secret. He didn’t have to be told.

Sara told me that if anyone asked, I was to say that Lily and I had been alone that night, and that we’d dragged Josh to the Russells’ without assistance. Lily was being kept at a secure location separate from me, and I knew she had to be frightened.

Sara was my shadow the entire time I stayed at the Russell house, always there with a helpful word. I shifted a few more times in the three weeks, each one messy and painful, but she assured me that
was normal until my body adjusted. Shifting rarely pained her any longer, and she shared tips on easing into the process. When we made it to the woods she ran alongside me, her dog nipping at my cat’s heels. It was good to not feel alone, and I was grateful to have her at my side.

I’d have rather had Josh, of course; I missed him terribly. He was the last thing I thought of when I went to sleep, and the first when I woke up. Was he safe? Was he under the same lockdown I was?

Would someone really kill him just for turning me? It seemed ridiculous, yet Sara was quite grave.

I refused to accept the possibility. There had to be a way to reason with them.

• • •

As I entered the small courtroom in Little Paradise, I stared at the seated council. Every face there was stony and stern, and every member glared at me. I clung to Sara’s arm as she led me forward, soothing me with low murmurs. There would be no reasoning with them, I realized with dread.

I recognized some of the council members from the agency. The two werewolves at the end of the row were Alice and Jackson. There was an angry-looking man named Declan, who, I seemed to recall, was a were-lynx (and not a popular one). The leader of the were-tiger clan, Vic, as stern and fierce as ever. An older man I didn’t recognize, who likely didn’t use the dating service. The biggest clans in the area would be represented, and I mentally paired up the
unknowns. Were-badger. Were-lion. Another man who smelled like a wolf, two others who smelled like cats that I couldn’t identify, and one who I was pretty sure was a were-otter. All of the local alphas.

At the end of the long row of leaders was Beau, shuffling paperwork. He was dressed in a gray suit and tie, and his mouth was pinched and unhappy. Bath sat in the audience, her long blond ponytail wrapped around her hand as she anxiously watched her husband.

Sara nudged me toward a chair at the center of the room and I swallowed hard, my muscles leaping and tightening in alarm. I fought back the sensation, hoping I wouldn’t go into a surprise-shift. That would be really bad.

I sat down in the chair and looked around at the sea of faces, but Josh was nowhere. My heart hammered in my breast.

Beau cleared his throat, then his piercing gaze scanned me impassively. “Thank you for joining us, Marie. I see that you are well. Have you had any problems with shifting after the first attempt?”

I shook my head, my throat dry. “I’m okay, thank you.”

His gaze shifted to Sara, hovering over my shoulder. “How many times has she shifted since turning?”

“Four,” Sara said, her voice small in the room. “Each time was successful, with no problems. She should be fine with practice.”

He nodded and glanced down the row. “Let
the tribunal record that the turning has taken successfully.” He looked back to me and gave another crisp nod. “You may take a seat in the audience, Marie.”

Confused, I stood up. “Do you want to ask me anything else?”

“You’re not on trial,” he said, his voice neutral. “Please have a seat.”

I gave Sara a questioning look, but she only pressed a hand to my back and nudged me toward Bathsheba, and I sat between the two sisters. Bath smiled nervously at me, tugging at her long ponytail. Her scent was a mixture of human and cougar, and I noticed her neck was covered in mate marks.