A Werewolf's Moon (The Council) (11 page)

“What are they?”

“No phasing if you don’t know what you’ll be going into. I know that alley is empty and someone seeing us was slim. No phasing if you risk a human seeing you. And we are not, under any circumstances, to phase into a fight.” He frowned. “You appear in a situation, not knowing who or what is around you. It’s dangerous.”

“Why didn’t you
phase
us out of the mill?”
Henry
had gotten Venna out in a blink.

“We’re not supposed to
phase
humans. Would there have been a chance of you getting killed, I’d have phased.”

I smiled. “You are one tricky guy to figure out. Tellin
g me you’re a werewolf, and then
not using your powers as a building collapsed around us?”

“
Yeah, not my best call. Sorry.”

“Forget it.” I nudged my shoulder against his arm, really liking how easy it was to be with him.

So maybe the wolf was right.

Maybe I was his mate.

Chapter 12

Quinn

After we’d finished off half the pizza, I decided to change our tickets. We could fly out of JFK tomorrow morning. There wasn’t a reason for us to phase back to Virginia. By the time I hung up with the witch who handled travel for the Council,
Pepper
was out cold. She’d curled up in the far corner of the couch looking like an oriental angel. I flipped the TV on and caught up on the news, nothing exciting, and stayed tuned for the seven day forecast. I liked knowing the long term weather reports since I could only sense the imminent storms.

My phone rang and I fished it out of my pocket before it woke
Pepper
.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Quinn.”
It was my younger brother
Garret
. “What’s up?”

I phased into the bedroom.
“Nothing, thinking about hitting the sack.”

“Cool, so I was wondering, is it okay if Kylie and I stay with you for the weekend? She’s never seen New York.”

“Sorry, man, I’m not going to be here.”

“Oh,” he sounded disappointed. “That’s cool.”

“I know I’ve been hard to get a hold of.”

“Dude, you’ve got responsibilities, and there was almost a war. I get it.”

“Well, there’s something else I haven’t told you about.” Rubbing a hand over my face, I decided to let my brother in on what was going on. “I’ve met my mate.”

Garret
howled with surprise.
“No way!”

“Yeah.”

“What’s she like?” Kylie’s soft voice trilled in the background. The little mongrel had me on speaker. “Is she pretty? What’s her name?”

“Well, yeah.
Pepper
’s beautiful, and she has an attitude that would send some people running with their tails between their legs.”

“Do we know her family?”
Garret
asked.

“No, she’s the girl that was kidnapped with Venna.”

Kylie gasped. “Human?”

I kicked off my shoes. “Not for long. I accidently turned her when we were trapped in the mill.”

No doubt
Garret
was ginning ear-to-ear. “That’s a big
deal
.”

Kylie agreed, “What about your parents, have you told them?”

“Not yet, so don’t say anything.” I paused, glancing at my watch. “H
ang on, what time is it there?”

“Uh, ten.
Not that late.”
Garret
sounded a little caught off guard.

“Where are mom and dad?” I asked.

“Out with the rest of the Council.”
He supplied. “It’s karaoke night.”

Right.
“And do they know Kylie is with you?”

The silence on the other end of the line went tight with tension. I’d caught them again.

This was a problem mates faced when they found each other young. You craved contact, even if it was just being in the same room together, and getting any sleep without
the other close by was impossible. I should know. I haven’t slept more than a couple hours each night for the last month. I’d sleep tonight, no problem. But that wa
s because I had
Pepper
with me.

It was annoying, and could g
et you in some serious trouble.

Garret
and Kylie liked having sleepovers. My brother had a bunk bed in his room, and ever since they met three years ago Kylie spent most nights at the Council Compound, on the top bunk, and
Garret
curled up on the bottom.

Our parents were fine with it, until they became teenagers. I’m waiting for the day someone finds them sharing the same bunk. Not that
Garret
would do an
ything more than sleep—I hoped.

Nevertheless, he was a thirteen-year-old boy. He and Kylie were bound to try something sooner or later. I only hoped it was later. If he could wait to mark her, then he could wait until they were old enough to start experimenting.

“Quinn, I know what you’re thinking,” Kylie sounded embarrassed. “But we’re just sleeping in separate bunks. I don’t function well when I wake up every hour, and neither does
Garret
.”

“Yeah, you’ve only been around
Pepper
for a month. Think of how we feel…three years is inhumane.”

I couldn’t fathom spending years tossing and turning all night long. “I understand, just keep it PG.”

Kylie laughed nervously. I knew I was being a little intense. “Oh, don’t worry, we will.”

They said goodnight and I hooked my phone to the charger, flipped off all the lights. I was beat, after a month of sleepless nights my eyelids were starting to stick shut.
Pepper
was still out on the sofa. I wasn’t going to leave her there. I
phased
her into my room and set her under the covers. She didn’t wake up. I grabbed a pillow and a spare blanket to make a bed on the couch. And the second my head hit the pillow I was gone.

It wasn’t all that early when I heard the sounds of feet shuffling toward me. I’d slept better than ever, seeing as how I could hear
Pepper
breathing in the next room and the soft beat of her heart, if I made myself focus. Mostly I’d been too tired.

I opened my eyes to find her s
ipping a glass of orange juice.

Then I saw her outfit, and I didn’t know if I wanted to howl or growl.

She was looking uniquely gorgeous in a short lime green skirt, a black sparkly top, and fishnet stockings. She set her glass on the coffee table and sat at the far end of the co
uch to pull on silver sneakers.

She gave me a confused smile. “Why are you watching me like that?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way—you should look mismatched, weird even. But you don’t. I can’t think of anyone else on the planet that could dress like you and look just as cute.”

Her eyes widened. “Really, you think I’m cute?”

I shook my head, mentally kicking myself for slipping up and pushed off the couch to shower and pack. “You have no idea.”

It was hard to keep my distance, not treat her like my other half. I haven’t even kissed her, except my natural instincts were ready to kick in. It was normal. What wasn’t
normal was keeping this distance. Damn instincts. The ones arguing—who cares if you bite her for her own protection, she’s your mate!

As a w
erewolf, I bite, and that’s it.

There’s no wait and see, no time t
o figure out likes or dislikes.

The instinct was just to p
oint me in the right direction.

After we’d eaten leftover pizza for breakfast, I called the bellman downstairs to hail us a taxi.

Pepper
caught my hand and took her suitcase from me, rolling it behind her. She wasn’t rude about it, but she liked to do things herself.
Something I admired about her.

“Your smile.”

I stopped on my way out the front door. “What about it?”

Her cheeks flushed a deep pink, “Uh, it’s nice…when you do smile.”

I grinned. This was good. “Are you complementing me?”

“I’m just returning the sentiment.” She went out the
door and I locked it behind us.

“I like this game.”
A lot.
I’d have to complement her more often.

“So, it’s a game now?” her skirt made a swishy sound as she walked.

“Definitely, and we can play it the whole way to Georgia.”

Her blush returned, “I don’t think so.”

“Why?”

She hit the down button on the elevator. “We need to get to know each other, favorite foods, quirks, personal information. You’re pretending to be my boyfriend. I have to know this stuff.”

“I’m not pretending.” I said, and then held back a wince as she wrinkled her nose. It was going to take a while for her to get used to it. “But you’re right. We don’t want your mom thinking our relationship is recent.”

We reached the airport in good time. I checked our bags and we sailed through the terminal without any trouble.
Pepper
’s clothes turned some heads, and I didn’t like that. She was too appealing for her own good. But the one benefit of having such a nasty scar on my face was that it kept people away. They didn’t want to come near me, and
Pepper
was keen sticking close to my side. So that meant people, mainly men, weren’t getting anywhere near her.

“What’s your favorite food?” The questions she asked made the time fly in ways that boggled my mind. I’d never been a big fan of flying. It just didn’t seem natural.

“Steak.
You?”

“Pizza, extra cheese and
Pepper
oni.”
She smiled. “You know, I never used to like meat. Now I’m a huge
Pepper
oni fan. What about music?”

“Anything fast, loud.
Rock, I like rock.”

“I’m good with rock, I like pop too.”

“How about your full name?”

“Oh god, not that.”
She turned to look out the window, trying to hide her face. “Not even Venna knows.”

“Why, is it embarrassing?”

“My mom hated the name,
Pepper
. But she let my dad have his way, as long as she got to choose my middle name.”

“And what did she choose?”

She opened her bag and handed me her driver’s license. “If you laugh, it’s okay.”

“
Pepper
Ingrid Marie Peterson.”
I frowned, not seeing what upset her. “That’s not so bad.”

“No, not until you read the initials.”

“Pimp,” I smiled. “That’s interesting.”

“Okay, so what’s your full name?” She grabbed her license and stuffed it in the depths of her bag.

“Quinton Langford Brighton,” I said. When she snorted with laughter I supplied, “it’s a family name.”

“I’ll say. You don’t hear names like that much more.”

“You’re parents aren’t over six hundred years old.”

“Yeah.
I don’t have a lot of room to talk, I guess. Ingr
id isn’t very popular either.”

After landing, we found our luggage and headed to the rental station so I could pick up a car. No way was I going to pretend to be a human boyfriend and not have any transportation. When we got to the lot,
Pepper
laid eyes on a sleek red convertible. She liked it because it was pretty, and I
rented it because it went fast.

It was about a thirty-minute drive from the airport to
Pepper
’s mom’s house. We mostly rode in silence.
Pepper
’s tense posture was a dead giveaway that she was prepari
ng herself for a confrontation.

If I could kill a soulless vampire with my bare hands, getting us through the time at her mom’s should be a breeze. We could do anythi
ng for ninety-six hours.

Overhead, a line of dark clouds gathered, slate grey and green. They blanketed the horizon, sending bolts of lightning to the ground and across the sky. I put the top of the
convertible up before the first raindrops fell. Cars had to pull over to the side of the road. Drivers couldn’t see through the downpour as the sky opened up. It was clear to me, barely fuzzy at all. I slowed down some, so I didn’t hit a large puddle or float the car. In the residential area the hills were higher, puddles deeper. Driveways sat at such a steep angle, a normal person would have to be in great shape to retrieve their paper every morning.

Pepper
directed me down a long winding lane to a dead end, and then to a driveway set at a steep angle. I took it slow, not wanting to hit the undercarriage of the car, and parked on a flat expanse of driveway next to a white sedan.