I spent a lot of time hovering over the bathroom sink, splashing cool water on my face. My body was conflicted, and it shifted back and forth between a cold and hot sweat. I cursed a series of things all the while, needing a place to point the finger and lay blame.
I began by blaming Arys. This had to be all his fault. If he hadn’t been after me, pursuing my living power as if it were a treat to snack on, this wouldn’t have happened.
From there I moved to pinpointing the moon. The lunar cycle had influenced my poor decision. Inevitably, I came to rest my accusations solely on my own half-assed attempts to resist temptation. But, the power had called, and after resisting for so long, I gave in. Like a fool.
My face was still dripping over the sink when the doorbell rang. I sucked in my breath and willed my stomach to stop flip-flopping. I dried my face and prepared to leave the security of the bathroom. I sure hoped our visitor wouldn’t mind my t-shirt and sweat pants attire.
“Shaz is here,” Kylarai called. “It looks like he brought us dinner.”
When I rounded the corner of the kitchen and was greeted by Shaz’s characteristic grin, my hand actually flew to my neck to ensure the bite was hidden by the t-shirt. I was ashamed and afraid. Would he smell it?
Ky was already digging into the greasy bags of Chinese food and pulling out Styrofoam containers. The scent of ginger beef, rice and steamed vegetables teased my senses, and I was suddenly starving.
“You came to feed us? Awesome! I was just wondering what to order for supper,” Kylarai said as she grabbed plates from the cupboard for the three of us.
“Well, I figured, since I never really got a chance to talk to you guys last night and we haven’t done this in awhile, I should treat.” Shaz replied as he helped himself to our cold beer stash in the refrigerator. Was it wrong to check out his cute rear end while he bent over?
“The bar was busy last night.” I tried to sound casual and wondered if I sounded suspicious instead. Despite having showered, I worried that he would somehow scent Arys on me. “Julie Price’s husband assaulted me in the parking lot. He was bound and determined to find Raoul.”
“What?” Shaz looked up from the box of chicken balls he was attacking. “Are you kidding?”
“Hell no,” Ky laughed. “The bastard slapped her across the face so I broke his damn nose.”
“You just beat me to it.” I interjected and stuck out my tongue at her.
“Holy shit. I always miss the good stuff being stuck behind that damn bar.” Shaz shook his blond mane so that a stray lock fell into his eyes.
“It would have been better if Arys hadn’t shown up so soon. That chicken shit Price took off too fast.” My eyebrows must have risen in alarm at Kylarai’s mention of Arys’s name because she quickly went on. “But I guess its best that he took off. Things could have gotten really ugly.”
“I wonder if he ever found Raoul.” Shaz began to reach for a fortune cookie, but I playfully smacked his hand away. He knew it was bad luck to eat the cookie before the end of the meal.
“I doubt it. He didn’t seem to be too coherent.”
“Mmhmm,” Ky nodded. “He was a mess. But, that makes sense considering he did just lose his wife.”
“I would probably want a piece of Raoul, too, if I were him.” I spoke between mouthfuls of beef. I felt like I hadn’t eaten in weeks. “I already do.”
“Well, you’ll have your chance tonight. I’m sure the death of an ex-lover won’t be enough to stop him from running during the full moon.”
I looked at Shaz thoughtfully while I chewed. I could only assume Raoul would show up. Usually, we ran as a pack at midnight, which was still hours away.
The voice of the newscaster on TV carried to me from the living room. The news had been background noise until I heard the name Sheridan Boyd. I stopped chewing and, when they continued to chat, held my chopsticks up for silence. The news anchor rambled a little spiel about her body being found this morning in a dumpster behind a popular city nightclub.
“Isn’t that another of Raoul’s exes?” Kylarai’s eyes were huge with incredulity. I merely nodded.
When we had finished eating, I dialed Raoul’s number, effectively quieting Shaz and Kylarai. He didn’t answer, but he screens his calls.
“I’m on my way over,” I said when the voicemail picked up. “If you have company, get rid of them. You don’t want witnesses for this conversation.”
“Uh oh,” Ky’s tone was teasing. “Things are going to get ugly.”
“Yeah,” I couldn’t prevent the sigh that escaped me. “Lucky me.”
Before I left, my curiosity won out, and I broke into my fortune cookie. ‘A new friend will prove too good to be true.’ That was reassuring. I didn’t have any new friends.