Chapter 18 – Arlan
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHARMING APOLOGIES
ARLAN
Rodderick hovers as close as the bird while I carry the unconscious, bloody-nosed Nom through the house.
They vie for equal place in the concerned stakes, though the bird is a beak ahead.
Then you throw Cane into the mix, and my plans for a quiet night in, relaxing on the sofa and ignoring the new girl, are blown out of the water.
Cane’s plan for all of us to act like the Nom was not living in the same house as us was honestly the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard him say. The only reason I’m not laughing in his face right this second is how close he is to taking fur.
I get it, she’s a handful. Although a very tiny handful.
And yeah, I’m the self-appointed individual tasked with cleaning her up, because I’m the dick who got the house to cast her out on her ass, so a lot of this is on me. But something isn’t adding up when it comes to her. Quite a few things, actually.
“So,” I break the awkwardness that her hitched breathing causes. It’s not that it’s loud; it’s that it’s so obviously filled with emotion that I feel it like my own. “I’m sorry about the threshold.”
Her whole body locks up. It’s like she’d temporarily forgotten where she was, or what was going on.
Then she sags against me again, her response as noticeable as the way she’s white-knuckling my shirt with one hand and cupping half her face with the other.
Though despite her best attempt, blood is dripping down her arm.
My incisors drop. It’s not a surprise; she’s a cutie, and her blood sings a sultry song. “Given how much blood there is…”
I don’t get to finish before she goes limp for the second time in as many minutes. Her head flops backward so fast that the raven takes flight.
I swing around looking for a little assistance, and maybe to show the room I’m not guilty.
Cane’s eyes laser in on her unconscious form in my arms. “What the hell did you do, Arlan?”
He’s not the only one who jumps into action. Rodderick, who knows me well, whips out his necklace—a vibrant blue, white, and black apotropaic. He holds it up level with his face, so the evil eye and he can stare me down.
I can’t help but laugh. “Rodderick, honestly, you know that doesn’t work. Unless you’ve traveled to ancient Greece and had it blessed in the water virgins bathe in, which I know you haven’t. I gave you a sigil to wear, and that is not it.”
My words get lost under the constant caws of the raven and Cane’s steadily increasing growls, which I’m sure he isn’t even aware he’s making. Afterward, when we’re alone and the drama is behind us, I’m going to enjoy giving him so much shit for how he acted.
“I didn’t do anything, she just fainted again. Maybe if we get some air in the room, and…”
All the chaos and noise stops on a dime as she comes to. I move at a speed that scares people, laying her on the countertop, then I hold her legs up so the blood rushes back to her head.
After taking a couple of slow blinks to regain her senses—something that happens a little too fast in my opinion. It’s obvious she’s been in this position on more than a few occasions, given how hard she’s pushing herself to recover and how determined she is to stand on her own two feet.
Until she looks down and sees proof of her run-in with the ward again. She instantly turns green and slams her eyes shut, then sits up and slides off the counter to sit on the floor before shoving her head between her knees.
“Possum, you want to tell me what the heck is going on?” I prod. “Rodderick and your raven are about to throw down. Professor Cane’s about to show you his wolf. If we could use some words to reassure these good folk, that’d probably be best.”
She mumbles something without raising her head. I glance back to see if the others heard her, but they’re all drawing blanks too.
“Can you repeat that louder for me?”
“It’s…” She waves her free hand around but won’t look up again as she stirs the air. My supersonic hearing picks up the splatter of a drop of her blood—it is, after all, my weakness—but I also hear her desperate whisper. “Please stop dripping. Please.”
Since we’re not hiding we’re supernaturals, I blur around the room, getting what I need. I now have a suspicion of what we’re dealing with, as well as trying not to chuckle at the irony.
Settling back in front of her in no time at all, I fit an ice compress around the back of her neck while also maneuvering my hand into where she’s hiding, gently pressing a wad of tissues against her nose.
“Close your eyes and sit up, Possum. Alpha, if you can grab me a T-shirt from the laundry, that would be a great help.”
No one argues with my instructions.
She keeps her eyes closed as she rests her head back against the kitchen cupboard doors. The paper stays against her nose, but I can sense and smell that the flow is slowing.
Cane passes me one of his T-shirts, confusion mixing with the usual hint of irritation he wears. He nearly erupts when I pull his shirt over her head and guide her arms through the sleeves.
The raven hops from the fridge to the counter, then to the floor where he stomps his way closer to her. He then inserts himself between her legs, like he’s her security detail.
Maybe he is.
I get down so the bird and I are eye to eye, searching for any signs we’ve inadvertently invited another goddamn shifter into our humble abode.
“Leave Bugby alone.”
“Bugby, huh? He’s very protective.”
She pops one of her eyes open, then the other, and I’m struck by a sense of meeting her again. It is impossible. But now’s not the time to figure that out when we’ve already got enough to resolve.
“How long have you had hemophobia?”
She shrinks in on herself and gets a slight green tinge, which confirms I hit the nail on the head.
I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but given her visceral response to even hearing or saying the word blood I’d say she’s got an intense phobia.
It’s also clear she’s got coping mechanisms in place; I watch as she reins in her terror to become something more manageable.
When she lifts her head, she’s back in control. I was expecting some residual emotions to show, but instead, her blue-gray eyes are enchanting. “It’s been a while. I have it managed.”
The way she gazes at me, as if we’re living simpler lives.
One where I’m a male, and she’s a female, and together, we embody the concept of fate and happily ever after.
Honestly, it appears she’s completely abandoned any worry she should have in the presence of supernatural beings.
Especially ones with pointed teeth, who exist on blood.
I know without a shadow of a doubt she would taste heavenly, and that insight grows in strength the more she stares until the strange, vibrant connection we share slowly drains away.
Her voice is as alluring as the promise of her blood. “I’ve been regressing lately. Coincidentally, I’ve also been seeing a lot more of the stuff, through no fault of my own, since I arrived. But apparently that’s par for the course of being a Nom, and I just need to accept my fate…”
She throws me again when she stops talking mid-sentence, her eyes flare wide before she slams her plush lips shut and she eyes me like I’m the enemy again.
“Please go away. Somehow, you’re making me say things with your vampirey powers that you have no business knowing.
” Her eyes fall immediately to my fangs.
I stand up and back away… for now. Or else, Cane’s going to mark everything we own.
I get it, what we have needs to be protected, and that includes from our new housemate.
Though given she’s a Nom, I think Cane’s wasting his energy warning her away.
It’s not like she’s the missing piece to our puzzle.
Admittedly, if the opportunity presents itself, I’d tap it and take my fill from her dainty throat—preferably at the same time.
But if she’s not into roomies with benefits, then it’s no loss either.
Her personality continues to change as she stands up and ignores both Cane and me, sweeping her bird up and putting him back on her shoulder as she makes her way over to Rodderick. “I’m really sorry that I’ve made you late. I can move my stuff and be back with your trolley in just a minute or two.”
Before he can formulate a response, she walks over to Cane, wary as she approaches. “Professor Cane, I apologize for the mess I made. I’ll clean everything up, but first, if you can tell me where I’m staying while I’m here, I will drop my things off so Rodderick can go home.”
Cane’s eyes get a weird light behind them, the one that shows his wolf is hovering close. His eyes aren’t on her face but on his T-shirt she’s wearing.
“I can change right away, and as soon as I’ve finished cleaning up, I’ll wash your shirt, sir. I know it isn’t easy to have a student invade your space, and I did tell Master Maddern I’d stay back at Nom House, but he was insistent that I isolate here.”
The luminosity in Cane’s eyes deepens. Either at her words or the reminder that she’s already in his house, wearing his clothes. In the next blink of his eyes, he’s back to being his normal Alpha-self, sans his wolf.
“The faculty insisted on this arrangement, Miss. Ellis, but you’re right. I’m not happy with you being here. I don’t need to…”
Rodderick clears his throat behind us, his eyes on his watch. Good timing on his part, as I doubt Cane wants an audience when he reads her the riot act.
Cane storms off in the opposite direction to where our bedrooms are located.
We won’t throw her under the stairs, but like he insinuated, she’s not a welcome guest. Besides, the room in the basement is fine, it’s dry and has hopper windows for fresh air.
The bonus is that it’s right next to our gym, so she can use that bathroom and hopefully not venture upstairs too often.
She wheels her trolley after Cane, leaving the other bundle of her belongings next to Rodderick, and he goes to lift them.
“You’ve done enough already, Rodderick. You know you’re not supposed to encourage the students in any way.”
The Thales maintenance manager, who is giving me the evil eye, is a mountain lion shifter. Though well past his prime, he still has claws on him, though these days he walks away from any kind of conflict. Not today, though.
He checks to see where she is before using his preternatural agility to leap over the counter and come at me like a train.
“You would have had a lonely childhood if I had followed those damn rules. Pull your head out of your ass, Arlan, and remember your manners. She’s a Nom, not a threat.
” He barely takes a breath, his anger and energy blistering like the sun.
“And while we’re having this chat, put your focus where it should be. ”
By the time he’s finished speaking, he’s encroaching on my space, jabbing one of his bony fingers into my chest.
As soon as he stops speaking, I answer him. “Message received.”
He flashes me a grin, stepping away, all carefree again. That’s the thing with Rodderick—he tells you how it is, and if you take responsibility, he’s back to being your staunchest supporter.
“Get Emrys to change the ward to let her come and go without being accosted. The last thing we need is her tiring of this bs and deciding her time at Thales is done.”
I shake my head, disagreeing with him. “Maybe that’s exactly what Cane needs, Rodderick: a good hunt.” I take off laughing before he can have another go.