9. Harper
CHAPTER NINE
harper
"This is a bad idea," Bloom whispered for at least the third time, as I followed the YouTube video's instructions closely.
"Close your eyes," I said.
She sighed, but closed them while I typed the new code into the door's keypad.
She was sitting cross-legged in the hall, still wearing her sweaty workout clothes, while I sat on my ass in the open doorway and reprogrammed the lock on Rhone's door.
I'd seen him type his code into his phone before.
1020.
I wasn't sure if the numbers had any meaning to him, but I figured he might've used the same code on his apartment door. Sure enough, it had opened right up when I put them in.
If he was going to lock me out of my home, I was going to do the same fucking thing to him.
"Territory is important to werewolves," Bloom reminded me.
"I know."
"If you mess with his stuff, he's going to be pissed."
"He's always pissed."
"He might go into a rage or something when he smells your scent on everything."
"He frequently goes into a rage." I patted her arm. "You don't need to help me with this crime. Go fuck your mate in a supply closet."
"We did that once."
"You were in there for ages."
Her face went red. "I owe you a conversation about werewolf anatomy."
I wrinkled my nose. "No thanks."
"If you and Rhone—"
"Me and Rhone are ninety percent rivals and ten percent friends. That's it."
"You kissed him, Harper."
"To get the enforcers off his back and prevent other women from feeling unsafe in the pack. He didn’t even like it."
"Are you sure that was the only reason?"
"Positive."
Never mind the erection I'd checked for after he got up.
I should've sat closer to his chest so I could feel for it when I kissed him. He'd been hard in the shower when his fingers were inside me, but that was different.
"Your friendship-slash-rivalry with him is slightly concerning."
"I'm a murderous monster. Concerning friendships are part of the job description." I hit the final button to confirm the new code, then looked up another video.
"What are you doing now?" Bloom asked.
"Disconnecting the lock from the internet until I type the code to enable it again, obviously. I had to do random shit like this for Steven all the time when I was his assistant. Now that I’m Rhone’s assistant, I can use my skills against him."
"You're not even going to let him ask the tech guys to hack it?"
"Nope."
"He's going to kill you!"
"I asked him to do that a month ago, and he said no, so I don't think this will be enough to convince him. We can cross our fingers, though."
"You what?"
"It was a dark moment. He made me bite him again after I asked, and I was fine."
As fine as I ever was.
Which wasn’t very fine.
"This is a serious violation, though. Don't you remember how Maverick was when your scent was in our place?
He literally washed everything afterward.
He brought three tubs of disinfectant wipes and spent a few hours scrubbing everything.
Our apartment smelled like cleaning supplies for an entire week. "
"That's exactly why I'm doing it."
"Harper..."
I looked at her. "Rhone locked me out of the only place in this tower where I don't feel like I'm a danger to everyone around me. If he's going to try shit like that, he's going to suffer the same way I am. That was my territory."
"If he gives you the code for your room, you'll let him back in?"
"Depends how nicely he asks." I followed the instructions on the video.
"Just try not to touch too many of his things," she said. "Getting your scent off some of them would be difficult."
"Maybe I'll be respectful. Maybe I won't be."
I hit the last button, and the keypad made a sad noise as it disconnected.
Bingo.
"Someone else should know the code." Bloom's expression was hesitant.
She was understandably worried that I'd lose my mind in Rhone’s apartment, and no one would be able to get in. They’d have to break the door down or something.
"I'll send Sutton the code and tell her she can't share it unless I'm in mortal danger. She hates Rhone enough to keep the secret." I grabbed my phone off the floor beside me and texted her, deleting the messages after she gave me a thumbs-up.
Bloom's phone dinged, and she looked down. "Sutton is asking me why you're changing his code. Can I tell her?"
She could ask Bloom all the questions she wanted. I was trying to support their friendship so Bloom would have her when I was gone.
"As long as she agrees to keep her mouth shut." I eyed the doorframe. "How many times do you think he'd have to ram this thing to get it open? I don't want to be near when he does."
"The whole tower is reinforced against werewolves' strength. No one wants their neighbor to be able to take their door down with a bump of their shoulder."
That was good.
It would probably be difficult to follow a video on werewolf-proofing, considering I didn't currently own any power tools. I had to build a piece of furniture for Steven’s teenage daughter once, so I sort of knew how to use the tools, but I wasn’t an expert.
God, I couldn’t think about his daughter.
She lived with her mother 99% of the time, and hated him, but still. I had taken him from her.
How was I supposed to accept that? To live with his face in my head constantly?
He’d been a shitty boss, but that didn’t erase that he had a life and a family and people who might miss him once in a blue moon.
"I think our work is done." I scooted back to lean against the doorframe, grabbing my phone off the floor and grimacing when I saw a message from the guy who'd replaced me at the investment company. He thought he was texting one of the werewolves for help, not me.
Everyone who worked at Darkwood Investment had undoubtedly seen the viral videos of me devolving at the gathering.
I could still feel the thud of that human’s body under me, and the pressure as Timber pinned me down and debated whether or not to kill me. I hadn't been sane, or capable of control, but I'd experienced it anyway.
"I have to call Charlie to walk him through the scheduling system for the fifteenth time," I told Bloom.
Bloom made a face. "I have work to do too, and family dinner is in an hour. You should come. Everyone misses you."
She refused to acknowledge that I might not continue living as long as she did. Hence staying alive to give her time to process it.
"Maybe next time," I lied.
Maverick would be there with her, and for her. My role in her life and family had been mostly usurped by the charming asshole. He treated Bloom like gold, so I was trying not to be devastated by it.
Luckily, my horrendous bloodlust prevented me from having to face any potential devastation.
We hugged goodbye from our respective seats on the floor before I scooted into Rhone's room and shut the door. I eyed the extra latch above the normal deadbolt, but decided against sliding it into place.
My plan was truly fantastic.
Honestly, it felt good to have a plan again.
Calling the horrible new executive secretary did not feel good, but I explained the system to him again. Twice.
And re-explained part of it a third time, verbally walking him through the steps as he tried to adjust the settings on a repeating task in the schedule.
They were going to have to hire someone else, because he sucked at the job.
While I explained, I walked around Rhone's apartment, snooping. It was similar to all of the others I had seen in the tower, with gothic windows, wood-like tile everywhere, and too many decorative and/or real plants.
Rhone's place was in the very corner of the top floor of the building, and he had a shitload of windows that looked out on the sprawling city below us.
His scent was deliciously thick in the space. Layers and layers of marshmallowy, sugary goodness, with the tiniest hints of peppermint.
I didn't plan on living in his room, so to really drive him crazy, I touched everything I passed. Especially things that would hold on to my scent and be difficult to clean, like his furniture, the inside corners of his fridge, and the rugs.
The rugs were soft, squishy, and smelled so much like him that I fought the urge to lower my nose to the fabric and just breathe him in.
I had his blood on my tongue every day, so I had no need to stoop that low.
When I stepped into his bedroom, I went to his bed and plopped down right in the middle, taking my time to hug every single pillow to my chest so they all smelled like me.
I touched all of his clothes, too.
I finally finished talking to the new assistant and hung up the phone as I finished up with his closet.
Since I now had two hands, I pulled his gigantic, forest green comforter around my body and dragged it with me to the spare room that was set up as an office.
I gave the couch, bookshelf, and computer the same treatment I'd given everything else, before walking back to his bed and throwing the comforter over the mattress.
There was no need to make it look the way it had when I walked in.
He would know I'd been in there.
Satisfied that my work was done, I walked across the hall, to the apartment he'd moved my stuff into.
My excitement lingered a lot longer than it had since I'd been turned, but the bloodlust wiped it out again eventually.
I was mostly zoned-out on my new apartment's uncomfortable couch, my knees to my chest and my arms wrapped around them, when I heard Rhone's growl in the hallway.
I'd left the door cracked open with my wrecked high heel in preparation for that sound.
My lips curved upward, just the tiniest bit.
My apartment's door flew the rest of the way open moments later, an extremely pissed Beta storming into the living room.
I was wearing another pair of the shorts I liked, with a cropped graphic tee that had a pair of fangs on it and said, "BITE ME".
It would've been unhinged for a human to wear it, since they were all afraid of vampires. It had probably been sold on some hipster human website, along with the other unique graphic tees hanging in my closet.
I loved it, though.
"You changed the code to my door?" he demanded.