CHAPTER 10
Thank you again for this, Emma,” I said.
“I’m happy to help,” she answered.
We stepped into the elevator and took it down to street level.
The security meeting had ended half an hour ago.
Michael’s mother called while we were sequestered in the interrogation room and, in her message, made it clear in no uncertain terms that the only way I was getting my stuff back was if I came for it myself. With Michael.
Hard pass on that.
Emma volunteered to take me out to buy some essentials and a capsule wardrobe to tide me over until the alpha saw reason. I just hoped Mary didn’t set my things on fire in a fit of rage before then. College textbooks were expensive.
The elevator slowed to a stop. A soft chime announced the doors opening.
Emma and I walked through them into an understated hallway.
Three wolves waited for us in it. They were serving as my security team, with Kevin—Goddess help us—heading it up.
He’d changed, now in a pair of cargo shorts and a long-sleeved, collared shirt that hid his scars and proudly displayed the emblem of a European soccer team on it.
A hat covered his bald head, and with sunglasses on and a camera hanging around his neck, he looked like a tourist.
“This is Andrea and Sam,” he said, introducing the others.
We all said hello, shaking hands. Andrea was around my height, with the lean frame of a distance runner.
She had her long dark hair pulled into a high ponytail and wore a sundress and gladiator sandals.
Sam looked like he’d just stepped out of the Irish stronghold in Southy.
He was a ginger, with pale skin and freckles, and wore a Red Sox T-shirt with faded jeans.
“We don’t plan on clinging to you,” Kevin told me.
“But we’ll be nearby at all times. It’s daylight, so the vamps are safely tucked away in their vaults beneath the city.
The witches are what concern me now. They’ve taken to cloaking themselves if they come into our territory, so we don’t know they’re here until we’re right on top of them. ”
“I still don’t understand how that works,” I said.
Kevin took off his shades and put them on his head, resting them on the visor of his hat.
His dark eyes bored into mine, all earlier signs of goading gone.
Out here, he was in charge, he was responsible, and he seemed like a completely different wolf from the one I’d first met, to the point that I actually began to trust his ability to keep me alive.
“There’s a lot you don’t understand about living down here in the thick of it,” he said, but not unkindly. “Emma can fill you in as we walk. Ready? We need to grab everything and get back here in time for that dinner you and Michael have to go to.”
“I’m ready,” I said.
The three of them stalked down the hall on stealthy feet and slipped outside. Emma and I followed slowly after, giving them time to fan out ahead of us.
“Tell me more about this dinner?” I said.
She pulled her tablet up. “It’s at Henry Montague’s house, just outside of the city.”
Which is why I needed to go with Michael. The bond wouldn’t allow him to get that far away from me without throwing us into panic mode. “Is Henry human?”
“He is, but the crowd will be mixed. Shifters aren’t the only preternatural species to ingratiate themselves with humans and rub elbows at their parties. The witches will be there, too, and I see at least two known vampires on the guest list.”
“Old or young ones?” I asked her.
“One is relatively young. The other is old enough that you may need to upgrade your weapon of choice to a larger class of SUV.”
I stopped with my hand on the doorknob and turned to look at her. “Emma St. Claire, was that a joke?”
She grinned at me, one side of her lips a little higher than the other. “Perhaps.”
I shook my head, opened the door, and then immediately slammed it shut. “Ow.”
“Are you okay?” she asked, worry replacing humor.
I lifted a hand. “Just give me a minute. There’s a lot going on out there.”
I bowed my head, counted to three, and tugged the door open again.
Sound flooded in. Car horns blared, engines revved, construction equipment rumbled in the distance, and a million lesser sounds crowded into the noise level beneath them.
This was a quiet alley. How was I going to handle the cacophony a few blocks over where the streets were lined with shops and humans?
I shut the door again and stepped back, struggling to breathe.
Kevin cracked it open and stuck his head in. “What’s the problem?”
“She’s a little overstimulated,” Emma answered.
A smile tugged at Kevin’s lips. “First time in a big city?”
I nodded.
He came in and shut the door. “The trick is to bokeh your ears.”
I frowned at him. “What the hell does that even mean? Bokeh, like the camera trick?”
He held his pointer finger up and slowly moved it toward my eyes.
“Yup. Kind of like how when you focus on my finger, everything else blurs in the background. Pick a sound out there to hyperfocus on. Your footsteps. Emma’s breathing.
Anything close that will stay close. Then let the rest sort of fuzz out. ”
“You mean ignore all my predatory instincts?”
The smile that spread over his face was antagonistic. “Should be super easy for someone of your lineage.”
I stared at him. “Ha. Ha.”
Emma gripped my shoulder. “You don’t have to go. I have your size. I can grab everything you need.”
I shook my head. “Thanks. But I need to do this. I can’t hide inside forever.”
“That’s the spirit,” Kevin said. He clapped me on the back and then disappeared out the door.
I shrank the cage around my power as much as I could.
There. That should be marginally better.
With a deep breath, I gathered my courage and stepped outside.
It was like I’d been watching TV on the lowest volume level and then some asshole suddenly cranked it all the way up.
If my eardrums had vocal cords, they’d be mewling in pain.
Tune it out, I coached myself, focusing on the sound of my own footfalls as I took the stairs down.
“Are you okay?” Emma asked.
“Nope. But hopefully, I will be. What I really need is a distraction. Want to tell me how you became part of Michael’s inner circle?”
“My husband is a shifter and the head of Kolbeck Industries’ accounting department.”
Damn. That would work. “How’d you meet?”
“In college. We started dating our sophomore year, fell in love, and the rest is history.”
“Are there a lot of interspecies marriages in the city?”
“It’s not unheard of,” she answered, glancing at me. “I’m guessing it’s less common where you come from?”
“You could say that.” This was literally the first time I’d heard of one.
“Of course, it’s much more typical among vampires, because they usually end up turning their partners, and with witches, since they can have viable offspring with humans.
Most of the other preternaturals in the city keep their distance, though.
Well, with the exception of the succubae stronghold down in Quincy. ”
“There are succubae in the city?”
She nodded. “Give me your email. I’ll send you a spreadsheet and a map so you know how many other preternaturals we have and where you’re most likely to bump into them.”
I rattled off my address. She tapped the screen a few more times, and my phone chimed from my back pocket, indicating a new email.
“Just to give me an idea, how many species are we talking about?” I asked.
“Several dozen, though none have the numbers to threaten the big three. Wolves, vamps and witches rule here. Head over to Africa or Asia and it’s a totally different story. You’d be the underdog there.” She grimaced. “Sorry, pun not intended.”
I grinned. “It’s fine. Are there any I should watch out for in particular?”
She glanced over at me and then away, checking to make sure no one was close enough to hear us. “There’s a dragon in the downtown area.”
I was so shocked I nearly tripped over my own feet.
She leaned in closer. “Every now and then, he likes to gobble up a couple of vampires, just because no one can do anything about it.”
I stared at her in disbelief. Her heartbeat picked up, and her scent changed slightly, becoming tangier.
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re totally pulling my leg right now, aren’t you?”
She laughed. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. All the rest was true, though.”
I decided then and there that she and I would one day be great friends. A human that could successfully pull one over on me was a human I needed in my life.
“How do you know so much about all of us?” I asked.
Her pulse picked up again, this time in excitement.
“Imagine going about your boring day-to-day life and then suddenly meeting a beautiful wolf-boy, finding out that magic is real, vampires stalk the city streets, and djinn aren’t creatures that grant wishes but beings of angelic origin.
I became obsessed with learning as much as I could, because how could I not? ”
“I get it,” I said. “I’m from this world, and even I’m still awed by it sometimes.”
We fell silent for a moment, and in the absence of our conversation, the noises of the city swam up to fill the void.
“So, back to tonight,” I said, hoping to keep overstimulation at bay. “What’s the dress code?”
“Semiformal. A cocktail dress will be fine. Or a nice pantsuit. Whatever you’re into.
” She lifted her tablet and began tapping away as she walked, careful to check her path every now and then.
“The menu looks like your standard three-course meal. There’s music afterward, and dancing.
Michael usually leaves these events early.
He’s only making an appearance because the Montagues are old family friends.
Speaking of…” She frowned. Her tapping turned furious.
“What is it?”
She locked her tablet and slid it into her designer handbag. “Michael’s parents will be there.”
I swore.
She glanced over at me, a wily look on her beautiful face. “How bad was it last night?”