Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
By the time Mallory had returned home, showered, packed a small bag with enough clothes to see her till the end of the week and spoken to a sniffy Boris, she felt like a new person.
‘I’m never drinking again,’ she declared.
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Okay,’ she conceded, ‘I’m never drinking whisky again. And I’m certainly never getting that drunk again.’
‘Until the next time you need something from Salty Miller,’ Boris scoffed. ‘It’s not even as if he was any help – meeting him was a total waste of time. And Alan North and Freda Vargas were no use. I’ve spoken to both of them and they can’t help.’
Mallory wasn’t deterred. ‘There will be an empty bellarmine jug somewhere in Coldstream. Several, probably. It’s simply a case of finding one.’ She grinned.
‘I’ll do my best,’ he said dubiously, though his expression suggested his best wouldn’t be good enough.
‘That’s all I can ask.’ Her grin widened. ‘As long as we all do our best, there’s no such thing as failure.’
‘You sound like a motivational slogan hanging on the wall above the fireplace of a twee cottage in the Cotswolds.’
‘Live, laugh, love, Boris.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘There are two client contracts that have almost come to an end. What do you want to do about them while you’re off playing with werewolves?’
‘Oh. Uh…’ Mallory tried to think of anything she needed other than the magical jug. ‘Perhaps one of them could provide coffee? There’s none left in the flat.’
‘Coffee?’
She shrugged. ‘It’s what I need.’
The spriggan clicked his tongue. ‘Anything else?’
‘Nothing’s coming to mind.’
‘What about the Wolf Ball?’
Mallory gave him a blank look. ‘What about it?’
He raised his eyebrows patiently. ‘You’ve agreed to attend it with His Furry Highness. What are you planning to wear?’
She hadn’t given it a moment’s thought until now but she suddenly had an inkling as to what Boris meant. ‘Does Gia Vanderlan happen to be one of those clients who is running out of time?’
He smiled approvingly. ‘Yes. You helped her source black jade last year so she could complete a design for a Fae prince.’
‘I remember. How long is left on her contract?’
‘Twenty days.’ Boris looked at her pointedly.
‘Perfect. Ask her to conjure me up a dress for the Wolf Ball. It doesn’t need to be fancy or anything. I don’t want to draw too much attention to myself.’ She patted his shoulder. ‘Good thinking!’
He shook his head slowly. ‘How did you ever manage before I came along?’
She beamed. ‘It’s a genuine mystery!’
He sighed. ‘You will be careful with that damned wolf, won’t you? I swear he’s up to something with the offer of these lessons.’
‘Alexander MacTire can be a bit tetchy but he’s a good guy.’
‘If you say so, Mallory.’
‘I do. Understanding people and their needs is what I do.’
‘And what does Alexander MacTire need?’
‘The love of a good woman. And in three days’ time, when he has a date with Cathy West, he might achieve it.’ There was an odd twinge in the centre of her chest as she said those words.
Boris tilted his head. ‘Fingers crossed,’ he muttered.
Mallory’s smile was a fraction too bright. ‘Indeed.’
Mallory’s entire flat could have fitted inside the MacTire fitness suite three times over.
There was a large area for sparring, several running machines, and complicated looking weights machines.
A door to the right opened to a sauna while another led to a lap pool.
There were two changing rooms. There was an array of small jars along one wall, each neatly labelled with the names of various magicked concoctions, and a special warded area for practising with them.
Every single thing had been thought of; it was truly extraordinary.
Mallory whistled. ‘Wow.’
Alexander, dressed in loose sweats and a tight T-shirt, was observing her. ‘It’s important to stay in shape and be prepared for anything. I like to work out for an hour or two before breakfast, and I encourage the other MacTire werewolves to maintain a healthy regime.’
She gave him a mock salute. ‘Sir! Yessir!’
He rolled his eyes. ‘You should tie back your hair or it’ll get in the way.’
Mallory patted her springy curls. ‘I’ll try, but my hair doesn’t tend to obey orders.’
Alexander flashed a grin. ‘Par for the course considering you don’t obey my orders.’
‘I’m not yours to order,’ she told him, but she found a scrunchie in the bottom of her bag and did her best to tame her curls into temporary submission. One could only try.
As she took up position at the side of a mat, Alexander wheeled over a dummy. ‘We’ll practise on this to begin with.’
Mallory eyed its blank face. ‘What’s his name?’
‘He doesn’t have a name. He’s a dummy.’
She gasped and covered its non-existent ears. ‘Shh. You’ll hurt Kevin’s feelings.’
‘Kevin?’
‘If you’d rather call him something else…’
Alexander was already shaking his head. ‘Kevin is fine. Now,’ he instructed, ‘imagine that the dummy is threatening you.’
‘Kevin, you mean.’
‘Whatever. Kevin is threatening you.’
Mallory pouted. ‘Kevin is mean.’
‘Very.’ He pointed at the dummy. ‘He’s coming at you and there’s nobody around to help. What are you going to do?’
Mallory considered the matter. Then she shrugged, twisted her body to face Kevin and kicked him hard in his stuffed groin. ‘Now Kevin is crying.’
Alexander blinked rapidly. ‘I think I might be crying on his behalf, too. That was a good move, Mallory. Do you have anything else?’
She slammed the base of her palm into Kevin’s head and the dummy fell backwards. ‘Don’t bother me again, Kevin!’ she yelled. ‘I’m friends with Alexander MacTire. I’ll tell him about you and next time he’ll bite you!’
She looked up at Alexander, who was gazing at her with an odd look on his face. ‘We’re friends now?’ he asked.
Mallory shrugged and returned her attention to the dummy. ‘I’m not friends with Alexander MacTire, but he’ll still bite you because he’s an over-protective alpha!’
Alexander hissed and she grinned. ‘Alright,’ she said. ‘We’re friends. But stop shouting at Kevin.’
‘Okay.’
He picked up Kevin and returned him to his original position by the wall. Mallory shook her fist. ‘Nobody puts Kevin in the corner!’
‘Let’s forget about Kevin,’ Alexander said dryly. He moved to one of the doors and pulled it open. ‘Out you come,’ he said. A moment later his nephew Nick appeared.
The teenager grinned awkwardly. ‘Hi, Mallory!’
‘Hi, Nick.’ She glanced questioningly at Alexander.
‘You can beat up a dummy, but can you beat up a real person?’ he asked.
‘Nick?’ Mallory squeaked. ‘He’s a kid! I’m not going to beat him up.’
‘Nick is young but he’s still a werewolf. Before I put you up against someone stronger, I thought it would be wise to try you against someone your own size.’
She looked at the boy dubiously; Nick might be young but he was at least a foot taller than Mallory.
‘He’s the best I could get on short notice,’ Alexander continued as he pointed them to opposite sides of the room.
‘I’ve been practising, Mallory,’ Nick assured her. ‘I won’t hurt you much.’
‘Much?’
‘He knows what he’s doing. Now concentrate. You’re walking down the street. Nick is coming towards you and it’s clear he’s planning to attack.’
Nick pasted on a mock-angry expression and clenched his fists. ‘What’s your first thought, Mallory?’
‘Avoid him.’
‘Good instinct.’
She nodded and turned away to walk in the opposite direction.
‘Nick is on a mission and you have no choice but to defend yourself,’ Alexander went on. ‘He’s coming from behind. What’s your plan now?’
Mallory paused. ‘I can’t get away?’
‘No.’
‘He’s definitely going to attack me?’
‘Yes.’
She thought about it, then turned and swung her fist at Nick’s head. He dodged it easily – but what he didn’t see was her right foot snaking out and connecting with his ankle. He yelled sharply and collapsed onto the mat with a thud.
Mallory winced. ‘Oops. Sorry, Nick. I tried not to kick you too hard.’ She held out a hand to help him up.
‘I’m alright.’ He glanced at his uncle. ‘I don’t think Mallory needs self-defence lessons.’
Alexander frowned. ‘You can go, Nick. Thanks for your help.’
‘Any time you need a punchbag, give me a shout,’ he said.
Both Mallory and Alexander winced. ‘Sorry, Nick,’ she apologised again.
‘I didn’t mean for that to happen,’ Alexander told him.
‘You mean you wanted me to be the punchbag?’ Mallory asked.
Alexander ground his teeth. ‘Nobody is a punchbag!’
‘Apart from Kevin,’ she pointed out.
Nick’s eyes widened. ‘Who’s Kevin?’
Alexander ran a hand through his hair. ‘No one. Grab a shower, Nick. If you need a doctor…’
Nick made a show of limping badly and groaning, then laughed and straightened up. ‘I’m not hurt, honest.’
Mallory breathed a sigh of relief that she’d not done the poor boy any real damage and watched him leave the room.
As soon as he’d gone, Alexander turned to her.
His expression didn’t give much away but eventually he nodded and walked to the opposite side of the mat.
He gestured to Mallory to return to her original position.
‘Are you the bad guy now?’ she asked.
‘I am Kevin. I won’t hold back.’
‘Okay.’
‘I mean it, Mallory. A real attacker wouldn’t hold back and neither will I.’
‘Okay,’ she repeated, smiling brightly.
Alexander started to stalk towards her, his muscles tense, his eyes sharply focussed. She gave him a little wave and strolled forward to meet him. His arm snapped out and he grabbed her right wrist. Mallory thrust her left hand across her body and jabbed his eye with lightning speed.
He recoiled and released her. ‘That was effective,’ he grunted. ‘But what if I do this?’ He lunged for her again and twisted her around until he had her pinned in a bear hug, her spine pressed against his chest.
Mallory didn’t hesitate. She dropped her weight and spread her legs wide before swinging her hips first left and then swiftly right. She hooked one leg around his ankle then crouched lower until she could free enough of her arms to grab his knees and yank them hard enough to shove him away.
He came at her again and reached for her hair, which was already escaping the scrunchie. Mallory ducked away in the nick of time. Alexander’s eyes darkened.
‘I did tell you I could look after myself. Although it helps that I’m sober,’ she admitted ruefully.
‘You’ve had training.’
She shrugged. ‘I’m a squib in Coldstream – of course I’ve had training, though I’m not dippy enough to believe my skills are foolproof. You said you wouldn’t hold back but you’re obviously doing just that.’
Alexander growled, ‘I don’t want to hurt you.’
‘I’m not made of glass.’ Mallory pulled away the irritatingly loose scrunchie and shook out her curls. Alexander’s nostrils flared and a split second later there was an explosion of colour as he leapt towards her, not as a man but as a wolf.
Mallory was so shocked that she froze. Before she could draw breath, his massive front paws landed on her shoulders and knocked her backwards. She fell onto the mat with the huge werewolf on top of her, his yellow eyes piercing into her soul while his hot breath scalded her cheek.
‘I didn’t know that was possible,’ she whispered.
‘I didn’t know you could transform like that.
’ The full moon was only hours behind them, but she was still astonished.
‘Okay, you’ve made your point. I can defend myself against someone on two legs but I don’t know what to do when I’m faced with four. ’
He didn’t react even though his snout was barely an inch from her nose.
Mallory licked her lips. ‘Uh, Alex?’
He blinked and sprang away. There was another colour explosion and she caught a brief glimpse of smooth human skin before he vanished through the door leading to the male changing room and she was left alone.