11. Harper
CHAPTER ELEVEN
harper
Stepping outside the tower for the first time in months was surreal.
There weren't many people on the streets, and I found myself tipping my head back so I could stare up at the sky above me.
There were so many stars.
The moon was shining so brightly.
I took a deep breath of fresh air.
The iron grip Rhone had on my hand became a tug, and I stumbled after him.
"Watch your feet."
"I missed the sky," I murmured back, taking in the darkness above the towering skyscrapers around us.
He didn't stop for me, but he did slow down.
"Here." Maverick handed me a pair of mirrored sunglasses that I recognized as Bloom's. "Just to make sure no one in the office recognizes you."
"Thanks. Does Bloom know this is happening?"
"Not yet. I'm sure she'll realize partway through and get involved, but I want to scope it out first."
"She's going to castrate you."
"She'd miss my balls too much."
I slid the sunglasses onto my face. "Just text her."
"That's not going to happen."
"Mated werewolves are even more obnoxious during breeding season," Rhone told me.
"That's annoying."
"I'm going to be polite by not pointing out the irony of you mocking my protectiveness while dragging your favorite vampire out of the tower for the first time in months," Maverick drawled.
I put the sunglasses on and stayed behind Rhone as we approached the building. He moved me further behind him, but closer to his back.
The building was pretty much dead when we entered. The lobby was empty.
Rhone and Maverick muttered something about their security team, so I took the opportunity to send Bloom a quick text.
Me
911 at the investment company
I've been dragged out of the tower, and your mate is trying to keep the emergency a secret so he can scope out the scene without you
Bloom
WTF
Coming
Me
Want me to castrate him for you?
I can put his balls on a necklace so you can have the werewolf equivalent of my fangs
Bloom
LOL
Unfortunately, I'd miss his balls too much
Me
You've been corrupted
Bloom
Thoroughly
I slid my phone back into my pocket as Rhone glanced at me.
He scowled, but didn't announce what he undoubtedly knew I'd done.
Rhone and Maverick continued a boring argument about their security team while we rode the world's slowest elevator up.
And up.
And up.
I almost zoned out, but the memory of finding Rhone with his face in my shorts made me just warm enough not to lose myself to the bloodlust that was already fighting its way back to the front of my mind.
As soon as the elevator dinged and the doors opened, the strong scent of blood made my nostrils flare. I stepped forward automatically, but Rhone stopped me with an arm in front of my waist.
Maverick strode out of the elevator without a word.
My fangs throbbed.
My bloodlust roared louder.
I recognized the scent of the person behind the blood, and it made my chest hurt.
Ozzy.
He was definitely dead.
My stomach churned.
Rhone hit a button to hold the elevator there, with the doors open, and didn't move.
"You can go," I said. "I'm fine."
It was a lie.
Rhone didn't reply.
Maverick's eyes were dark when he returned. "Take her back to the tower."
"She stays with me," Rhone said bluntly.
Maverick gestured over his shoulder. "Take a look before you make that call."
Rhone glanced at me.
"I can play guard dog," the Alpha said. "Go."
Rhone reluctantly strode out of the elevator.
If I'd been any less bloodlusty, I would've stared at his ass. But I wasn't. All I wanted was blood.
"Ozzy's dead," I said.
"Very."
"How are you going to get the system back online without him?" I asked.
"We need a tech guy. Zach Harker. He's hiding out in another pack."
"Are you going to be able to get him back?"
Maverick made a noncommittal noise.
"I don't know why you'd feel the need to keep secrets from me. This is the first time I've left the tower in months," I said.
"Rhone would be pissed if I told you."
"Wow. Hiding secrets from me because the guy who thinks he owns me wants you to. Sexist, much?"
Maverick looked at me. "The pack he's hiding out with won't let us have Zach unless we give them a stable, turned vampire. Obviously, we can't give them one of you."
Suddenly, I understood.
The options were Oren, who was Nolan's mate. That was never going to happen. Or Riley, who was barely twenty, and ridiculously innocent. That was just a terrible idea.
Then there was me.
My stability was debatable, but I could at least pretend to be stable long enough to get the other pack to give Maverick the guy he needed.
The only two problems were my best friend, and Maverick's.
"Does Bloom know?" I asked.
His grimace said she did.
"Has anyone suggested I can go?"
"Only me."
I nodded, looking back out at the wall in front of the elevator.
The scent of Ozzy's blood still sang to me.
"They would kill me or return me as soon as I devolved," I said. "And I would devolve. Rhone would follow me, though."
"Probably."
"If I went, I could get the guy you needed, and Rhone would protect me until I devolved to the point that they returned me."
"It seems likely."
I glanced at Maverick, but he was staring straight ahead.
Bloom would actually castrate him if she found out about this conversation.
"She's doing better," I said. "Making friends. Establishing herself with your pack. You guys seem more solid now, too."
"We are," he admitted. "And she is."
"It would be better if I devolved permanently away from the pack, too."
"I'm not allowed to talk about that."
"But it would be, if I did. We both know it."
He sighed. "She would still fall apart. I don't know how Rhone would react now, either."
"You can't know everything."
"He thinks you're doing better."
"She doesn't." I handed him my phone. "Pull up the location."
Maverick didn't take the device.
"She loves the investment company, Mav. She can't lose it and me at the same time. It has to go back online, fast."
There was a long pause before he took the device. "You'll need to leave tonight, after he takes you back to the tower, to buy yourself time."
I nodded.
He handed the phone back, and I saved the location before slipping the device into my pocket again.
"You're about to have another problem. Sorry," I said, unapologetically.
The second elevator dinged just as Rhone came back to us. His expression was tight.
"Oh my god," Bloom breathed from the other elevator. "Ozzy?"
Mav shot me a look that said, "Seriously?"
I shot one back that said, "You should've told her."
Maverick strode over to her while Rhone grabbed me around the waist and walked me deeper into the elevator. "You're going home."
"Wait for Bloom," Mav called out.
"I'm staying," she said, though she sounded ill.
"Just give them a minute," I told Rhone. "I'm not on the verge of devolving right now."
He jerked his head.
Two minutes of quiet murmuring later, Maverick and Bloom stepped out of the other elevator together.
"She's staying," he said.
"I'll be back in a few," Rhone told him, and Mav nodded.
Bloom mouthed to me, "Thank you."
I nodded at her before the elevator's doors closed, and the thing began descending slowly.
"You did well," Rhone said.
"Thanks."
"Here." He tapped his throat. "You need to top up."
"I've bitten you plenty today."
"That wasn't a request, Harper. I need to know you're not going to devolve while we're apart."
I sighed, but stepped closer to him.
The elevator was still descending.
I set my hands on his shoulders, and he lifted me off my feet before I bit him.
Like usual, I only allowed myself three swallows before I pulled away.
He set me down just as the doors opened, and tucked me behind his back once again as we walked out of the elevator.
"Did they leave a message?" I asked him.
"The way they left the body was a message enough."
"What are they doing?"
"Threatening to start turning vampires again."
Fuck.
"Holly probably knows that you killed Velour and her husband. You killed her daughter Pepper, too. She's got nothing left to lose."
"We've been looking for her since we got her name from Riley," Rhone said. "We'll find her, and she'll die too."
"If the entire Guild is involved now..."
"We'll figure it out. You need to focus on finding your new normal." Rhone and I stepped through the doors. There were rows of enforcers waiting inside, and he looked at one of them.
Elise. I recognized her, and liked her as much as I liked anyone since I'd been turned. Which was to say, I was neutral.
"We'll make sure no one gets in or leaves," Elise promised.
Rhone gave me a long look before barking out a few names and disappearing back through the doors with them behind him.
I watched through the thick glass.
My chest squeezed when he didn't look back.
Elise didn't say another word as she escorted me to the elevator. When she turned her back to it, I hit the button for the parking garage.
The pack had a whole row of SUVs that had the keys in them. They were always ready to go for the enforcers.
It didn't take me long to slide behind the wheel of one and start the engine. The smallest bolt of excitement rolled down my spine when I did.
I hadn't driven anywhere since I devolved.
I adjusted my sunglasses on my nose and put the car in reverse.
Then, I backed out of the parking spot.
Slowly.
Another beat of thrill had my lips slowly tilting.
Maybe my life wasn't completely over.
I turned the wheel and pulled slowly out of the garage. The werewolf at the guard booth saluted me as I passed through, and that small smile widened slightly.
Maverick must've warned him.
I saluted him back.
It felt good to matter again, for more than just Bloom's sake.
I pulled out onto the road, and for the first time in what felt like ages, I barely noticed my bloodlust.