Chapter 7 Warren
WARREN
“And then what?” Josh asked, his food forgotten as he interrogated Warren about his date. They were at a sandwich shop close to campus, having lunch, and the interrogation had started the second Warren took off his coat and revealed the mess of hickeys and healed-over bite marks on his neck.
“And then we watched a movie.” Warren blushed at the memory. Sitting on Marcus’s lap, held tight while the werewolf breathed into his hair and casually stroked his stomach, had felt way more intimate than the rough and intense sex they’d started the date off with.
“Watched a movie–” Josh made air quotes around the sentence “–or actually watched a movie?”
“We actually watched a movie.” Warren’s stomach tingled pleasantly at the memory. “I mean, we cuddled, but we were watching.”
“And after the movie?”
“I went home. He offered to let me stay, but I figured with school in the morning and everything, it would be easier to go home, so he drove me back to my apartment and dropped me off.”
Warren made it seem like it had been easy, but it had been anything but. Marcus had been incredibly reluctant to let him go home – to the point of being annoying about it – and it was the one bad mark on an otherwise delightful date.
“Did he kiss you at the door?” Josh asked, teasing.
“Yes.” Warren grinned at the memory.
“And?”
“And it was very nice. He’s a good kisser.”
Marcus kissed like he was trying to conquer Warren’s mouth. It was intense – the air had literally been sucked out of his lungs a few times – but in a way that felt immeasurably good.
“Did you set up another date?” Josh finally reached for his sandwich and took a bite.
“We did. On Sunday.”
Marcus had asked for the next date to be that night, or barring that, Saturday, but Warren had demurred. He needed some time to think and process. He would have said yes to Saturday, but Warren didn’t like to go out after donating blood.
Thinking about his appointment with Hill, and then by association, Max, Warren felt uneasy. Hill still hadn’t contacted him about the date that Max had talked about, and now that he’d promised Marcus that he would go out with him again, he didn’t feel like that was something he could say yes to.
Warren was a one-werewolf-at-a-time kind of guy.
“I can't believe you bagged a werewolf.” Josh shoved more of his sandwich into his mouth, chewing as he spoke. “And a fucking billionaire. You better not fumble this. I am going to live vicariously through you so hard.”
Warren laughed.
“He’s not a billionaire.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “He totally is. His pack owns the N.W.P Investment Group, and as the alpha of the pack, all that money is basically his. He’s filthy rich.”
“I’m not sure it works that way.”
“I am,” Josh said, very confident. He sat up a little straighter. “You should ask him to set you up with a job.”
Warren groaned, not mentioning that Marcus had offered to do just that. He still wasn’t sure whether or not he’d been joking.
“I have a job lined up,” Warren reminded Josh.
“A tentative job,” Josh shot back. “They still haven’t given you an offer.”
That was true, Warren conceded, worrying. He’d passed the internship program last summer – one of three people out of a group of eight – and in past years, the company had already sent out employment offers by this time.
“I have a few other options I’m considering.”
“Yeah, but now you know a billionaire with a massive web of companies who can hook you up.”
“I’ll keep that in mind if I get desperate.”
“Nepotism is only bad when it’s other people,” Josh said, nodding his head wisely. “You can’t afford to be all high and mighty. You can’t keep being a vampire chew toy forever.”
“I’m not a chew toy,” Warren snapped. “And why not? I make good money, and it’s not like I’m going to stop having blood.”
“It can’t be healthy. I mean, twice a week-”
“They don’t take that much blood. I go to the doctor every month, and my iron and everything else is fine. Unless I get sick, there’s no medical reason I should stop.”
“Sorry.” Josh held up his hands defensively. “I just worry about you. Vampires aren’t like werewolves.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that we have a truce with our werewolf population. There are treaties and rules, and we know how they operate. Vampires are just like… a mystery. We didn’t even know they existed until, like, thirty years ago.
” Josh leaned in. “And do you honestly believe them when they say that they’ve never had to kill people to feed? ”
“Yes,” Warren said, crossing his arms. He did not want to have this discussion again. “Because I know how little blood they actually drink.”
“I just think it would be best if you graduated, got a good job, and left the whole vampire thing in the past. If your hot werewolf can help you with that, I think you should go for it.”
“Noted.”
Josh huffed. “Fine. You’re so sensitive. I’ll shut up.”
“Thank you.”
Josh laughed. “Where are you headed after this?”
Josh had class, while Warren was done for the day.
“Home,” Warren answered, glad that Josh was willing to drop the whole vampire thing. He’d thought that they’d put that discussion to rest ages ago. “I have a group project I need to work on, and then I was just going to study for my marketing class.”
“Nice.”
They finished eating, chatting about nothing and keeping things light before heading out.
As he made his way back to his apartment, Warren couldn’t stop thinking about the job he supposedly had lined up.
The rule was that interns who passed the internship got jobs, but it was worrying that he hadn’t received an offer yet.
He decided to call his mentor from the program.
“I’ve been meaning to call you, actually,” Mary said, after greeting him and asking how he was doing.
The tone of her voice made Warren brace himself for bad news.
He stopped walking, taking a step to the side and coming to a stop under the awning of a boutique clothing store.
“Leadership hasn’t officially decided anything, but they just announced a round of layoffs and across-the-board cost-cutting measures.
Like I said, nothing has been announced, but from what I understand, they don’t intend to send out any offers. ”
Warren closed his eyes and took a deep breath, anxiety climbing up his throat. He’d really enjoyed his internship at B & SHJ, and he’d been looking forward to starting his career there.
It was okay. He still had his blood donation gig. Even if he graduated without a job, he wouldn’t be out on the street or unable to pay his bills.
“Thanks for letting me know.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I’ve been waiting for the official word, but the writing is on the wall. Of course, if you need a recommendation or reference, I know that both I and John would be happy to provide it.”
Mary sounded genuinely upset on his behalf.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Saying goodbye and feeling despondent, Warren put his phone away and tucked his hands into his pockets.
His fingers were freezing, and standing still had allowed a chill to creep past the barrier of his thick new coat. He resumed walking.
“Warren!”
Warren froze, the sound of his name stopping him in his tracks, and turned around. Max was waving at him from across the street. The towering werewolf checked to see if traffic was clear before crossing the road and jogging toward him.
“Hi! I’m so glad I ran into you. I-”
Max came to a screeching halt a few feet away. His eyes went wide and crazed as he inhaled through his nose, nostrils flaring, and let out a growl. He advanced, and before Warren could scramble away, he picked him up and lifted him up to start sniffing him like a wild animal.
Warren fought to get out of Max’s iron grip. “What are you doing?” he cried. Max was spinning him around, smelling him up and down with grunting sniffs that only seemed to make him more and more agitated.
“Who is that?” Max growled, shifting his grip on Warren and holding him in a princess carry.
“What?”
“The alpha who pissed all over you?” Max growled, sniffing him again. “Who is he?”
Warren made his voice as firm as he could. “Put me down.”
It was hard to sound authoritative when a nearly seven-foot-tall werewolf had him bent up like a pretzel. People were staring. “Max, I’m serious. Put me down right now.”
This had to be about Marcus, though Warren really hoped that Max didn’t think he’d let the other alpha pee on him. Warren would never let anyone do something like that, no matter how hot they were.
Max growled, clearly frustrated, before seeming to pull himself together and lower Warren back down to his feet.
The people who had stopped to stare at the spectacle resumed moving after Max glared at them.
“We have to see Harland.” Max grabbed Warren by his arm and started dragging him down the sidewalk.
“I have to go home to work on my school stuff,” Warren objected, trying to resist Max’s grip but getting nowhere. He was forced to jog to keep up with the huge werewolf as he marched him decisively down the sidewalk. “I’ll talk to Hill tomorrow at our appointment.”
“No, now!” Max growled. He lifted Warren up and tossed him over his shoulder, his patience snapping, before starting to sprint down the sidewalk like a lunatic.
Bouncing and holding on for dear life, Warren wondered what in the fuck was going on.
“Max, let me down!” he demanded, slapping Max’s back.
“No.”
There was no room for argument in Max’s voice. After running for a few minutes, Warren’s stomach getting sore from bouncing on the huge werewolf’s shoulder, they reached the fire station where Max worked.
Max went into the parking lot behind the station and tossed Warren into the front seat of an old Ford pickup truck.
Warren immediately tried to exit the vehicle, but a truly terrifying growl from Max as he climbed behind the wheel froze him in his tracks.