So here she was, sitting in Matt’s disgustingly messy apartment, with him waiting to hear what was on her mind. Only thing was, she couldn’t be completely honest. Not that Matt would believe that Noah was a real shapeshifter anyway. But she wouldn’t betray Noah’s secret either way.
She embarked on the other subject that was consuming her. “Do you think that dreams carry messages?”
“Why? Did you have a weird dream?”
“No.” At least that wasn’t a lie. “I was just wondering how potent you think they are.”
He grinned. “Wet dreams can be pretty potent.”
“Matt.”
“Sorry.” He laughed. “But hey, you’re the one who’s messing around with a guy who owns a sex club.”
She knew exactly whom she was messing around with. “I wasn’t referring to erotic dreams. Just the normal kind.”
“Like falling and flying and things like that? Yeah, I think they carry messages about our emotions, thoughts, and impulses. Are you sure you didn’t have a dream that’s bugging you?”
She edged a little closer to the truth. “Someone had one about me.”
“Someone who?”
“Noah. But I swear it wasn’t about sex. It involved magic.”
“Geez, is it any wonder? The stuff you told me about his club is freaky. People dressing up like mythical beings. It actually sounds kind of fun, though, and now I totally get why he went after you. A guy who’s into mountain lions with the chick who rescues exotic cats.” He made a thought-provoked expression. “If I was going to pretend to be part animal, what type do you think I’d be?”
She glanced at the crusty plates on the coffee table, left over from heaven only knew how many meals. “Maybe the pig variety?”
“Ha-ha. Pigs aren’t even dirty animals. They wallow in the mud to keep cool.”
“I know. I’m a zoologist, remember? I was just making a stupid joke.”
He shrugged. “So why are you concerned about the dream Noah had? Did it involve scary magic?”
“It could have, I suppose. But he protected me from it.”
“Then that sounds like a good message.” Obviously Matt assumed Noah’s protection had been part of the dream, not something after the fact.
“It
is
good.” No matter how it came about. But the mystery of why the
sapiya
had drawn Jenny into it in the first place was weighing her down. To her, it didn’t make sense if the end result was nothing more than an affair with Noah.
“You’re really into this guy, aren’t you?” Matt asked.
She nodded. She wasn’t going to fib about that.
“Once you stop sleeping with him, you’ll get over him.”
If only it were that simple.
A moment later, her cell phone rang and she grabbed it out of her purse, hoping it was Noah, but the number on the screen was unfamiliar. She let the call go to voice mail.
But a little later, while Matt was in the bathroom, she checked the message and discovered it was Stanley Truxton, aka Noah’s accountant, aka Coyote from the club.
And he wanted to talk to Jenny about Noah’s dream.
Noah’s phone rang. He answered it, and Coyote came on the line and said, “Guess who I’m meeting for dinner?”
Seriously? That was the reason for this call? Noah had better things to do with his time. “I couldn’t care less.”
“But this is someone I’m excited about.”
“Fine, then tell me who it is.”
“You’re supposed to guess.”
For cripe’s sake. “I don’t fucking know.”
“Come on, play along. Think about it.”
Noah took a moment to consider what type of person Coyote would be excited about dining with. A celebrity, probably. He was always clamoring after the stars and already had a fairly impressive roster of A-list clientele.
Off the top of his head, Noah recited the name of a spoiled young actress who loved to pose for the paparazzi.
“Nope,” Coyote said.
He rattled off another party girl’s name.
“Wrong again.”
“Do I have the gender right?”
“Yes. But aside from her being blond and female, you’re way off base.”
So it wasn’t young Hollywood. “You’re getting together with Jean Harlow.”
“Smart-ass. She died in 1937.”
Noah smiled. “You should be dead by now, too.”
Coyote laughed. “So should you.”
“True. But Harlow was hot in her day.”
“This woman is hot, too. But she’s not a bombshell. She’s much more innocent.”
“An innocent actress? Does that even exist?”
“I never said she was an actress.”
“Then just tell me who it is. I don’t have all day to screw around playing guessing games with you.”
“Okay, but you’re not going to like it.” A pause, then, “It’s your latest lover. The lovely Ms. Jenny.”
Noah snapped. “You little prick. What the hell are you up to?”
“I didn’t have anything to do today, so I took the liberty of calling her. She was surprised that I knew what was going on. But apparently my timing is perfect because she’s anxious to get my take on the dream, and I’m looking forward to sharing my ‘Beauty and the Beast’ thoughts with her.”
“That’s what this is about? That fairy-tale cock-and-bull?”
“I already told you that it’s a perfectly lovely story.”
Noah damned himself. Confiding in Coyote was a mistake he never intended to repeat. “I should fire you as my accountant and ban you from Aeonian.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. You should be grateful that I’m giving you a heads-up.”
“You’re not telling me for my benefit. You’re playing both ends of the field.”
“Of course I am. Everything I do is for my own amusement. But somewhere in my trickster heart, you know that I love you. You’re like a brother to me.”
“The way Cain was a brother to Abel? Go fuck yourself.”
The traitor chuckled. “I would if I could. I’m not big and handsome like you. I hardly ever get laid, even at that raunchy club of yours.”
“Your half-assed sex life is the least of my concerns.”
“Says the shifter who’s bored with all of the pussy that’s available to him. But that’s why you seduced Jenny, isn’t it? To combat the boredom? Then you go and have a powerful dream about her. Gosh, who knew it would be this exciting?”
A moment of nerve-grating silence passed.
Coyote spoke again. “Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, I’m meeting her at a quaint little eatery in Santa Barbara. She suggested it, and it sounds fabulous.”
“I wasn’t wondering about the damned restaurant.” But now that it had been mentioned, he envisioned Jenny at a candlelit table, listening to Coyote spin his yarn. Would she think it was ridiculous? Or would she hang on every word?
“I’d better go,” the other man said, much too gleefully. “I don’t want to be late.”
Coyote hung up, and Noah cursed. The last thing he needed was Jenny getting storybook notions about him.
Eight
J
enny studied her dinner partner. He was an average-looking guy with short brown hair, narrow features, and conservative clothes. Although he fit the stereotype of an accountant, she’d met him at the club under the guise of Coyote, and that was how she’d come to think of him.
“Why did Noah tell you about his dream?” she asked.
“He needed someone to talk to, and I’m one of the few mortals who knows that he’s a real shapeshifter.”
Was Coyote mortal? With his thin lips and pointed nose, he actually resembled the animal he likened himself to, much in the way that Noah had natural catlike qualities, even in his human form.
He looked about, taking in the atmosphere. “This place is as quaint as you said it would be.” He opened his menu. “I like Italian food. But I like everything. I’m not a fussy eater.”
Jenny continued to study him. In the wild, coyotes were capable of adapting to different environments and often changed their breeding habits, diet, and social practices to go along with it.
“Any recommendations?” he asked.
“I normally get tortellini Alfredo.”
“That sounds good. I’ll order that, too. Do you want to share an appetizer? Let’s see . . .” He scanned the selections. “How about calamari fritti?”
“Sorry, but squid always sounded a bit icky to me. But you can get it, if you want to.”
“No, no. I’d rather share.” He gazed at her from the top of his menu. “What about a nice, safe antipasto platter?”
She agreed and soon the waiter appeared and took their orders. Once the appetizer arrived, they nibbled on a variety of deli meats, cheeses, and vegetables.
“I told Noah that I was having dinner with you,” Coyote said. “And now he’s upset with me.”
Jenny didn’t know what to think. “Why did you tell him?”
“For the fun of it.”
The salami she’d been eating hit her stomach like a rock. “This isn’t a game to me.”
“I know.” He skewered an olive. “Now, why don’t we get down to business, and I’ll tell you my theory. You’re dying to hear it, aren’t you?”
“Dying” wasn’t the word she would have chosen, at least not while she was seated across from a man who might be a real coyote. Then again, she’d been sleeping with a lion shapeshifter, and that was far more dangerous.
He said, “Since the
sapiya
referred to Noah as a beast, I think they want you to try to save him.”
“Save him?”
“In a ‘Beauty and the Beast’ kind of way. Are you familiar with that story?”
“I know it’s a fairy tale and that Disney made a movie of it. But I’ve never seen it.”
“Actually, the original author is unknown, but the first published version was in the eighteenth century. It’s been rewritten many times since.” Coyote leaned forward. “Would you like me to highlight my favorite rendition for you?”
Unable to contain her curiosity, she nodded.
He started with, “Belle, or Beauty as she has come to be known, is a dear girl, beautiful and pure of heart. She has two equally beautiful sisters, but they are selfish and never satisfied.” He popped another olive into his mouth. “Their father is a merchant who lost his wealth, but he is pursuing a means to regain his assets. Before he embarks on a trip, the older daughters insist that he bring back costly gifts. All Belle wants is the safe return of her father, but she doesn’t want to offend her sisters by not asking for anything, so she requests a rose.”
Jenny remained glued to her seat, foolishly seeing herself as Belle.
Coyote continued, “The merchant is unable to regain his wealth and on his way home, he becomes lost in a cold, dark forest. He finds shelter in a castle, where a feast awaits him. He eats the food, drinks the wine, and falls asleep by the fire, but he doesn’t meet the owner of the castle.”
“Is it Beast?”
“Yes, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“Sorry; go ahead.”
“The next morning, the merchant leaves the interior of the castle and wanders the grounds. On his way out, he notices a rose garden. Recalling that Belle wants a rose, he picks the prettiest one he can find. Then he is approached by a horrid beast.”
Jenny envisioned Noah, only he wasn’t horrid, of course. But he was still a sight to behold.
“Beast claims that the merchant has just taken his most prized possession and must die for his crime. He locks the merchant in the castle, intending to kill him.”
The waiter arrived with their entrees and interrupted the story. Once the server was gone, Coyote didn’t resume talking. He tasted his tortellini first.
Finally he said, “When Beauty hears that her father has been imprisoned and is awaiting death, she goes to the castle and offers herself as his replacement. Beast agrees to the arrangement and releases the merchant.”
Jenny ate a bite of her meal. “Is Beauty frightened when she first sees Beast?”
“Oh, yes. Terribly so. She trembles when she speaks to him.”
“And what does he think of her?”
“He is impressed that she is willing to die for her father’s crime. As the days pass, Beauty wonders when Beast is going to kill her and worries about the manner in which it will happen. But he treats her kindly instead. They dine together each night, and although she still finds him frightening to look at, she is pleased by his goodness.”
“Noah is much wilder than Beast. He would’ve seduced Beauty by now.”
“I suspect that Beast wanted to, but it wouldn’t have been seemly then.”
“What happens next?”
“Beast asks Beauty to marry him. This shocks her, and she refuses. But he doesn’t give up. He proposes every day, hoping that she will be become his bride.”
“But she never agrees?”
“No, but she vows that she will never leave him altogether. Still, she asks if she can visit her family and promises to return in a week. Beasts allows her to go and tells her that he will die of a broken heart if she doesn’t come back.”
Entranced, Jenny waited to see the outcome.
“Beauty goes home, but she gets trapped by her sisters and isn’t able to keep her promise to Beast. When she finally returns to the castle, she finds him unconscious and near death. She throws herself across his body and listens to the faint beat of his heart. Knowing that she loves him, she begs him to live so they can be married. As soon as she says this, the castle lights up and Beast turns into a handsome prince.”
Like the silly female she was fast becoming, Jenny visualized the sparkling scene in her mind. “How did he become a beast in the first place?”
“He was cursed.”
“Do you think the woman who turned Noah was cursed? Do you think that’s how she became a shifter?”
“I don’t know, but it would be interesting to find out.”
“If she was cursed and the spell could be broken, then Noah would probably go back to normal, too.”
“Like Beast?” Coyote smiled. “Do you want me to look into it? To try to find out who she was?”