This kitchen wasn’t going to be big enough for all of us if everyone decided to sprout fur. This had to end quickly. My one weakness was that in this form I had little to no use of my psychic side.
I’d have to trust Arys with that as I trusted Jez and Shaz to be the fangs and claws at my back should I need them. I had a feeling Raoul may be the unpredictable one here.
‘If I didn’t know better,’ a cool velvet voice echoed in my thoughts. ‘I might think the lady wolf has feelings for me after all. I’m honored to have your trust.’
‘How is it that you’re able to do this when I’m wolf?’ I thought back to what he’d said in the coffee shop about seeing me running with Shaz.
I knew I’d sensed his presence then, but I had been distracted by Zoey. Our link seemed to vary quite dramatically based on what form I was in. Strange.
‘Be thankful for limitations.’
Raoul leaned heavily on the kitchen counter. Heavy lines in his face betrayed his distress. Four ugly cuts marked his neck as well as his face just below his right eye. I doubted if he could stand much more.
He stared in mixed horror and relief at Zoey. With her slow metamorphosis complete, a small black female wolf stood on shaky legs and fought to get her bearings. She was wearing a wolfish expression of absolute shock. She sniffed the air and eyed each of us in turn. With a gentle swish of her thick tail, she shook off the remnants of her shredded clothing. She pawed lightly at the floor and a confused whine escaped her.
Raoul moved with the instinct of a parent to comfort her, and she turned on him in a blur of black with her hackles raised and her lips peeled back in a snarl. Hands up in defense, he stared down into her dark face with a strange look on his hard features.
I wanted to speak, to warn him not to get so close. I wasn’t sure how much of her human mind remained. All of it, I hoped.
I glanced at Arys, as if he should speak for me, but he carefully ignored my eyes.
What the hell was Raoul thinking to walk up to her like that? She could tear his balls off and spit them back in his face before he could react. Ok, maybe not. She didn’t know how to use her new body yet, but her instincts drove her actions.
“Might want to back up a little, buddy,” Arys decided to give voice to my concern.
He had moved so that he stood a few feet behind me, where he could also see the entire room. His fingertips danced with blue energy outlined in yellow gold.
Raoul didn’t look up from Zoey’s true wolf eyes. “I’m not your buddy, you useless f**king vampire.”
Everyone else immediately looked at Arys. I expected him to launch that power ball at the arrogant werewolf, but Zoey and Raoul had eyes only for each other, though they wore extremely differing expressions.
I felt rather than saw Arys bristle because he never moved a muscle. An absolutely wicked smile tugged at his lips, warming my insides against my will. He gave me a quick wink as he sensed my reaction to him. I wanted to glare, but my furry eyebrows wouldn’t form the expression. Cocky vampire.
“Zoey please, you have to listen to me.” Raoul begged, his tone both pleading and placating. “I can help you through this. But, you have to trust me.”
I scoffed mentally to myself. This was ludicrous. The man had truly lost his mind.
“You can’t do a damn thing, and you know it. She’s not ever getting back into a human body.” Jez feigned casual with her crossed arms and relaxed stance against the fridge. She was in a good position to keep everyone trapped within the kitchen with just one step. The double paned glass sliding doors were an unlikely exit for those of us without fingers.
“Shut up!” Raoul snapped. He glanced at the leopard who clearly wanted another shot at clawing his eyeballs out. “None of you have any right to be here.”
“We were invited. And now, we’re not leaving until somebody’s dead, or Lex decides you’re not worth all this trouble.” Jez nodded in my direction.
A sliver of guilt nagged me. I shouldn’t have dragged my friends into this personal drama.
‘You know she didn’t mean it that way.’ Arys’s voice was soothing in my mind. ‘We’re all going to call in our favors down the line.’
‘Stop that.’ It felt like a mental fly that I wanted to swat. ‘I don’t even want to hear your favor.’