Chapter 1 Will #2
“You’re a werewolf running from loups-garous.
How did that happen? And be concise.” The vampire came over to the table and put a saucer down in front of Will with a few chunks of chocolate on it, then went back to the stove.
Will wasn’t really sure whether he was hungry or not.
It felt wrong to eat anyway, what with the vampire still cooking.
You didn’t eat while the alpha was working, not unless the alpha told you to.
“And eat the chocolate,” the vampire added, almost as if he’d heard Will’s thoughts.
“You look about ready to pass out, and I don’t care for that.
Dealing with unconscious people is one of my least favorite activities. ”
Will stuffed some of the chocolate into his mouth while the vampire went back to the stove. It was so good. Not too sweet, but so rich, with the kind of deep flavor you didn’t get from the cheap stuff. Will couldn’t remember the last time he’d had anything this good.
“I… The loups-garous came into my pack’s territory.
They didn’t want to stay there, I don’t think, but they weren’t going to leave without the pack paying them.
” Will swallowed. He hadn’t been prepared for this, hadn’t been prepared to tell this story, but then it had been such a long time ago.
It shouldn’t have hurt anymore, but it did.
“My grandfather is the alpha. It’s not a rich pack, but we’re known for, you know, breeding witch wolves. ”
The vampire mumbled something under his breath then poured a steaming cup of hot chocolate, turned off the stove, and sat down across from Will.
“Here, drink this. And when I say concise, I really do mean I don’t care about the minutiae of the situation.
You were given to the loups-garous as payment, is that it? ”
Will nodded. He eyed the hot chocolate. It was right in front of him, but just taking it without permission was wrong.
“Go ahead and drink,” the vampire said, so Will did.
It tasted just as good in liquid form as it did in solid, and it was warm. But it didn’t mean anything. It didn’t mean the vampire would help him. It didn’t mean he was safe.
“And you are a witch?” the vampire went on. Will nodded. “Why not kill them yourself then? I’m sure a witch could manage.”
Will put the mug down. “I’m not…I can do little stuff. My parents died when I was little, and my grandfather never taught me much. I helped them—the loups-garous, I mean—helped them hide and stuff. But I can’t do murder spells or whatever.”
“Murder spells? Aren’t you a precious pup.
” The vampire stood. “The rules are as follows. You stay out of the basement and stay inside the house. Take the guest room on the second floor, first room to the left of the staircase. There are clothes in there. Use them, because there are holes in what you’re wearing.
I’ll look into this tomorrow, and then I’ll see what the best course of action is.
What are the names of the loups-garous?”
“Ed. That’s the pack leader. Jeff, Harry, and Oz. I don’t know their last names.”
“And where do they live?”
“225 Lorraine Avenue. It’s a dump, and I don’t think it’s theirs, but I’m not sure.”
The vampire rolled his eyes. “Why did they form a pack? Loups-garous tend to be solitary.”
Will shrugged. He’d wondered that himself. “I guess they knew each other? From before they got bit, I mean. But I don’t really know.”
“Well, I’ll just have to figure all of that out then, won’t I? Good thing you’re a witch and not a spy.”
Will’s head sagged further. “I will pay you back.” He looked up, but he could only meet the vampire’s eyes for a second. “In whatever way you want.”
“For a start, you will finish the chocolate. I rarely get the chance to entertain, and even more rarely the people I actually want to entertain, and what a bother that is. I’m assuming you have no intention of going back to your original pack, seeing as how they basically sold you into slavery?”
The words stung, but Will could handle that.
The direct harshness of the vampire was easier to deal with than pity.
Not that Will thought he deserved pity. He wasn’t a good pack wolf, never had been, and the traditional way in which his grandfather ran his pack had never worked for Will.
In a way, Will’s grandfather had probably been happy to have his problem grandchild taken off his hands.
Will shook his head. “No, they’re… There’s nothing there for me.” That wasn’t exactly true either. Will’s sister was still there, but she was an alpha in her own right. There was no reason to assume she wanted anything to do with him after the way he’d been living for the past four years.
Will saw the vampire nod out of the corner of his eye. “Good decision. Since I just discovered a new stock photo database, I will be busy through the night. Remind me, what are the rules?”
Will’s brain blanked, and he blurted out, “Don’t talk unless I’m talked to, and do as I’m told.”
The vampire froze. Will started trembling when he realized those had been Ed’s rules. The vampire hadn’t asked for those. Something inside of Will wanted to curl up in a ball, because he was afraid, afraid there would be a beating. Tears welled up in his eyes.
The vampire slowly leaned forward and reached out. Will squeezed his eyes shut, but the blow never fell. Instead, the weight of the vampire’s palm settled on Will’s neck.
Alphas would do this to calm their own. Will knew the vampire wasn’t his alpha, and he understood they weren’t that close, but it still helped. The knot that had kept his chest tight eased slightly, and Will managed to breathe.
“You stay inside. You don’t go into the basement,” the vampire said, voice steady, “and you don’t have to fear violence in this house. Do you understand?”
Will just nodded. The hand on his neck felt too good.
“Your room is upstairs. Second floor, first door on the left. You are welcome to everything you find in there. Do you understand?”
Will nodded again.
“And once more, do you need medical attention?”
Will hesitated for a moment. The way the vampire was speaking to him was exactly like an alpha would, and that made Will really take stock. But he wasn’t bleeding, and nothing was broken as far as he could tell. The soreness would fade.
Will shook his head.
“If that changes, you will let me know immediately,” the vampire said, and Will promptly bobbed his head. He could do that. This was easy. Finish the chocolate, go to the room. He could handle that much without losing his shit.
The vampire took his hand off Will’s neck, but the calm the simple gesture had brought stayed with Will.
Will blinked. “What do I call you?”
“Peter. It’s Peter Collins, but Peter will do.” He stood. “Well, stock photos wait for no man. Make yourself at home, William.”
He walked out of the kitchen, as silently as any vampire.
This left Will with the chance to look around a little more, but the energy that had kept him running and his heart pounding just drained like a leaking water bottle.
He finished the chocolate, of course, both the drink and the pieces. There was still more in the pot on the stove, so Will finished that as well, because for a vampire, Peter really knew his hot chocolate.
After that, Will washed the pot and the dishes in the sink, and left them out to dry. He headed up the staircase in the foyer. He was so tired, and he just wanted to pass out.
The house smelled good in an unspecific way.
Will didn’t even get the scent of blood, which he found odd for a vampire home.
And there didn’t seem to be anyone else in the house.
Will would have thought a vampire as rich as Peter would keep one or two humans around for blood and company, but Peter seemed to be solitary.
Will decided he could wonder about that tomorrow. He found the guest room on the second floor, first door on the left. It smelled of detergent and lavender.
There was a second door, and Will could hardly believe his eyes when he found a small bathroom behind that, complete with a shower and clean towels on a shelf set against the wall on his right.
Despite his exhaustion, he stripped out of his clothes after firmly locking the bathroom door behind himself and turned on the water.
Will would have taken a cold shower. He’d have taken skinny dipping in a kappa-infested lake.
But the water was hot, and there was shower gel and shampoo.
Will used both. He washed three times, then a fourth, then just stood there under the running water.
“I’m out,” he said, because saying the words had to make it truer, didn’t it?
Trembling in the hot steam, he turned the water off and dried himself.
He looked at his clothes where they lay on the floor.
The fabric smelled of them. There were only a few holes in them, but he hated them.
There was a small trash can in one corner, and Will pulled the bag out of it to shove the clothes inside it.
He couldn’t stand the smell, couldn’t stand seeing that tangible reminder, but they were the only things he had, so he just left them in the trash bag on the floor until he’d had a chance to go through the drawers and wardrobe in the other room.
Before Will went into the bedroom, he listened at the door. The house was just as quiet as it had been, and when he unlocked the bathroom door, no one was waiting for him. Will made sure to lock the bedroom door before he finally collapsed on the bed.
He was exhausted, and sleep took him, but all through the night, he kept jerking awake and listening for noises, for fists banging on the door, for shouts.
All he ever heard was the quiet, upper-class neighborhood coming awake, cars starting, bikes going by, but that did little to put Will’s brain at ease, and he slept like he had for most of the past four years—barely, and afraid of what he would wake to.
Paradoxically, after a while the background noises of the city waking lulled Will into a somewhat deeper slumber, and when he woke again, he could tell from the light that it was late in the afternoon.
There was disorientation and a bright spark of panic when he came to, but then he remembered. He was out. He was in the vampire’s house.
He’d fallen into bed with just a towel around his middle. A quick perusal of the clothes in the chest of drawers produced an old pair of jeans that might have been Peter’s, although Will couldn’t imagine the lawyering vampire wearing anything but tailored pants.
Wherever they had come from, they fit Will okay. There was also a sweatshirt that was plain and dark and comfy, and it smelled strongly of lavender. Will found a small satchel with lavender inside tucked in among the clothes. He’d always liked lavender. He’d never imagined that a vampire might too.
Dressed, and after brushing his teeth and washing his face, Will felt a little more like a person—more like one than he had at any point over the last four years, anyway.
He thought he was ready to have another conversation with Peter.
Last night, Will hadn’t asked a single question.
What the vampire would want him to do in return, for example.
How he would even deal with Ed and his pack.
Will opened the door to go and look for Peter—and found a note on the floor just outside the door instead.
William, it read. I am at work, and you have the house to yourself. Order food, watch television, or read a book. You’ll find the landline in the office on the ground floor.
The note was paperclipped to several delivery menus, Peter’s card with his cell number written on it in a neat string of numbers, and a fifty.
Will gaped. That was a lot of money. When he had been allowed to go out to buy things, one of the pack had always gone with him, and they’d never given him money.
Will read the note several times so he could be sure he understood it correctly. Then he sank to the floor and cried.