Wolfsbane, A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy (The Maurin Kincaide Series) (9 page)

7

I made i
t to the reception before the dj announced Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun. After giving Conry explicit institutions to stay in the lobby doing his invisibility trick I grabbed my place card on the way into the elegant ballroom of the Liberty Hotel. I finally found my table and took my seat. It wasn't with the rest of the family but hey it wasn't the kids table either.

Frankie and Michael walked in to a thunderous a
pplause, the entire room oblivious to the premarital drama that ensued earlier in the day. She looked happy as he spun her onto the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife. Michael caught sight of me as he twirled my sister and I could practically see the sweat beading on his forehead. I didn't foresee a lot of holidays at the Calhoun's. Appetizers that I didn't have to serve this time came and went. Filet mignon was served followed by chocolate soufflé. Followed by several top shelf drinks from the open bar. Couples danced and moved about the room socializing. I was still sitting at my table polishing off yet another amaretto sour when a hand extended in front of me.

"Nobody puts baby in a corner."

"I'm not in a corner but I am a little concerned that you were able to pull that movie line." I let Cash take my hand and lead me out to the dance floor. "I should warn you I can't dance."

"Sure you can. It's like fighting, imagine you're in a ring moving around your opponent. And for the record it was my mother's favorite movie. It's iconic."

"Iconic is not the word I would use." I laughed. "So councilman what brings you to the social event of the season? Don't you have a ceremony of your own to attend?"

"Yeah, I do but..." He stopped leading me around the dance floor. I caught that same look I saw him give Tybalt when they applied the Wolfsbane.

"What? What is it?" Something told me I really didn't want to know the answer.

"I needed to be sure." He hesitated.

"This dance is about to be exactly like a fight because I am going to knock you on your ass if you don't spit it out." I wouldn't make good on the threat in the middle of my sister's wedding reception and Cash knew it but he had the good sense to pretend I would.

"I needed to make sure the Wolfsbane was working." He blurted out.

"What? Why the hell didn't you do that before? Like at Risqué? It would have been a hell of a lot easier to cover up me shifting and attacking a pole dancer than an entire wedding party!" I managed to yell in a whisper.

"It's not like I haven't had a lot going on. You haven't displayed any signs of shifting. I just needed to be sure." He said.

"If I haven't shown any signs then why are you here?" I asked.

"Because you're in a room full of Boston's elite and I'd rather you not try to eat the bridal party in front of them." He smirked.

"Nice. While most days I wouldn't mind feeding my mother to a pack of wolves, I actually like my sister." I teased.

"The full moon is at its peak. I think it's safe to say you're not going to go all big, bad wolf on the bride and groom." Cash started moving us around the dance floor again. "You just heal so fast and I was second guessing m
yself. I just wanted to be sure you were alright."

"And why wouldn't she be alright?"

"Aidan." His name escaped my lips in a breathy whisper. He looked amazing in Armani.

"Mind if I cut in?" Aidan held out his hand.

I took his hand and let him pull me out of Cash's arms and into his. I think Cash said something about calling him if I needed anything but I was too lost in Aidan's eyes to hear it.

"You're back early." I said as he led us in a waltz. The dance was a little slow for the music but I wasn't complai
ning as long as I was this close to him.

"I followed every possible lead in Iceland. Unfortunately they all pointed in one direction. Salem." I thought he would elaborate but instead he
abruptly changed the subject. "I went to your apartment and you weren't there. It occurred to me that you might actually attend your sister's wedding. I had hoped to be your plus one but I see I'm too late and you've already found an escort for the evening." Aidan actually looked worried.

"We already had this conversation." I cut off his r
esponse with a kiss. I didn't care if people were staring. His lips parted, opening his mouth enough for me to slip my tongue inside. I couldn't get enough of him. I ran my tongue along his teeth, intentionally pressing against a fang causing just the smallest drop of blood to well up. It was enough to get a small groan out of him. We kissed until I couldn't breathe any more. I nibbled his bottom lip as he pulled away for me to catch my breath.

"
Mmm, I love the way you smell. Vanilla and cinnamon with just a hint of tangerine." He nuzzled into my neck. "And wolf. I'd rather you not have his scent on you." He dipped me causing my bodice to ride up and expose the claw marks on my stomach. He jerked me up and pressed me tight against his body. "I can't leave you alone can I?"

I didn't know what to say that wouldn't send him over the edge. Before I could tell him I was fine and it was no big deal - which would have been the understatement of the year since I was a hairs breath away from going fury every full moon - he left me alone on the dance floor. Only the couples closest to us saw him move. One woman let out a little gasp as her husband quickly fox trotted her away from me. I knew he went after Cash. I needed to find my sister and say good night. Which was code for goodbye. She would slip into her new life and I would forever slip out of this one.

I tapped Michael on the shoulder. He stopped dancing and for a second his heart stop beating. I raised my hands in mock surrender. "I just came to say goodnight."

Michael seemed to deflate as he let out a heavy sigh when he realized I wasn't going to choke him again. Frankie slipped out of his arms and gave me a tight hug. "I love you."

"I love you too." It was easier than saying goodbye even though we both knew it was. I squeezed her back and headed out after Aidan and Cash. Conry was on my heels as soon as I hit the lobby.

I found them in the hotel bar Clink, aptly named since it utilized the original jail cells in its decor. The bar was empty since my mother had basically reserved the entire hotel but if this conversation continued in here we were going to end up behind bars for real.

"I leave her side for two days, two dammed days and you let her get mauled by a bloody werewolf?" Aidan had Cash by the throat.

Cash was keeping remarkably cool despite Aidan's a
ggression. "If you're looking for someone to blame you can start with your boss. She's the one who sent Maurin to witness the challenge."

"It looks more like she refereed the fucking challenge. You damn near disemboweled her! Is she infected? Is she?" Aidan was angrier than I had ever seen him. His Irish a
ccent was so thick I had a hard time understanding him. He slammed Cash against the wall.

"She's right here and she's fine." I said, apparently tal
king to myself.

"We gave her Wolfsbane. I just needed to be sure.." Cash was trying to explain but Aidan cut him off.

"Wolfsbane? You could have killed her. I should just break your neck and be done with you." Aidan squeezed his throat a little tighter.

"Killing an Alpha is tantamount to war
fanger." Cash pulled a little more power from the pack and broke free of his grip. "As your councilman I would advise against laying your cold, dead hands on me again or I'll have you organizing blood drives for the rest of your miserable existence." He shoved Aidan back, knocking over two of the tables.

Aidan rocketed off the floor. I jumped in between them before he got his hands on Cash again. Standing in the middle of a pissed off vampire and werewolf probably wasn't the smartest idea I'd ever had. I'd have better luck trying to
stop a head on collision with two eighteen wheelers. Conry tugged my pant leg in an attempt to pull me out from between them. I threw my arms out slamming a palm into each chest and prayed my wrists didn't snap.

"The bar is closed for a private party." A hotel employee came in expecting to chase out some of the local bar ho
ppers. He took one look at us and the upturned tables and started yelling. "Hey, what the hell's going on in here? Get the hell out of here before I call the cops!" Cash and Aidan were each waiting for the other to back down and I was too busy trying to keep them apart. The guy grabbed a cell phone out of his pocket. SPTF was going to come in like gang busters if I didn't get us out of here. Before the bellhop could dial nine I grabbed a hold of Aidan and Cash and jumped us back to my apartment.

We landed hard on my living room floor in a tangled heap. It was by far the sloppiest jump I'd made to date. They jumped up ready to go at each other for real. I should have picked Cash's apartment. They could break as much of his shit as they wanted. I swallowed back the five star meal that was working its way back up and pushed myself off the floor.

"Enough!" I gave Aidan a hard shove. "If it wasn't for Cash you'd be out shopping for chew toys right now! So knock it off!"

"Call off your dog Maurin." Conry had Cash backed up to the wall separating the living room from the kitchen.

"Not unless you two are going to play nice. It may not be much but I'd appreciate it if you didn't destroy everything I own trying to beat the shit out of each other."

Aidan eased back a little. "He could have killed you. He couldn't possibly know what effects Wolfsbane will have on you."

"It had exactly the effect I hoped. It stopped her from becoming infected." Cash had relaxed a little too since Conry backed off.

With each of them in their respective corners Conry and I had a better chance of keeping the situation under control.

"Yeah well that's not all it did. She stinks to high hell like dog and in case you didn't notice she's having some kind of reaction. She's sick, weak." At least Aidan wasn't yelling anymore.

"Are you sick? Why didn't you say anything?" Cash started to close the distance between us.

I shook my head, stopping him where he was. It was better if there was still a little space between them - and me. "I've practically thrown up every time I've moved through the between since you gave me the Wolfsbane. Maybe that's why Kellen was able to shove that much power into me?" I didn’t expect anyone to know the answer to that.

"
Kellen? What the fuck does he have to do with this?" Aidan had a hold of my forearms and gave them a little squeeze. "I told you to steer clear of him."

"She can't steer clear of a council member anymore than you can." Cash leaned arrogantly against my wall as he reminded Aidan of his new position.

I shot him a nasty look over my shoulder. "Not helping. You need to get back to your pack and I need to talk to Aidan."

"In other words get the fuck out." Aidan definitely wasn't thrilled with Cash's sudden rise to power in the super nat
ural community.

"Any side effects from the Wolfsbane should be gone by tomorrow. If you're still having problems let me know. You've got my number. See you at the next council meeting
fanger." Cash let himself out.

Aidan dropped to his knees, his face pressed against my midsection, as soon as the door clicked shut. "You're going to be the death of me Maurin."

I ran my fingers through his hair. I was in so deep where Aidan was concerned. He looked up at me with eyes filled with concern. He unbuttoned my jacket and slid it off my shoulders. His fingers grazed the edge of the scars that weren't covered by my top. I unzipped the side zipper and pulled the bodice over my head. With just a strapless bra covering my upper body Aidan had a full view of exactly how much damage had been done to my stomach.

"If you had.... If they couldn't..." He couldn't seem to find the words.

"I'm fine." At least I thought I was.

"One of these days you might not be able to say that." He sighed, giving me goose bumps as his breath danced across my stomach. "I need to know exactly what happened with the Council, with
Kellen."

"Right now?" I asked
seductively as I slid down into his lap.

His mouth crushed mine, devouring me like a man on the brink of starvation. "I suppose it can wait."

Dear Reader,

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Rachel

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