Gaia help me, I had a nose for them.
When I talk about an unnatural, I mean...the bitten werewolves like Hollywood makes movies out of. If the word about them, that they really do exist got out, we’d be up shit creek and shut down faster than we could count to one. Wolf E. fronted like a worldwide advertising agency, but, really, we minimized damage, eliminated issues that would reflect negatively--that sort of thing. A full-fledged public relations company in the old mob sense of the word. We handled the front and the back doors of Lobos and all her subsidiaries.
But I was a fraud.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I hunted every unnatural I could find down and killed them. That was my job.
But Amber was a prime example of my fucked up brain. I was drawn to them. I harbored the idea of keeping one for a pet. Now, that’s some fucked up shit, isn’t it?
It dawned on me then that Hood had an unnatural under his roof. A pet? And not only that, from the way she and Giselle had interacted, I could guess that Giselle was one, too? Hood had two pets?
What was that Giselle had said?
You gotta help him to relax or we’re all dead.
They were afraid Hood would find out about...what? Surely he could smell them? How could he have them under his roof and not figure it out? He had to know, didn’t he?
I sniffed again. Amber
did not
smell like an unnatural, and neither had Giselle. It was my second sense on the matter that had tipped me, I think.
Amber asked, “What are you thinking?”
I said, “Shouldn’t have given me that pill.”
Her eyes gleamed. “I can make you tell me.”
“Go ahead. Try.” I’d forgotten the ball grabbing she’s prone to enjoy.
At that moment, I was thinking...the bitch is gonna go down. I didn’t care if she disemboweled me. Hood would find out about the friggin’ unnaturals under his roof.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t turned on by her, and what was going on between us. I’d often been turned on by the hunt of an unnatural female. At least, that explained my abnormal preoccupation with Amber.
Yeah. I’m saying I’ve always had a thing for unnatural women werewolves. Considering my breeding and position in the company, it wasn’t something I could advertise, though, was it?
And I never gave Bark the time of day when he tried to talk to me about it...about his ‘let’s all live happily ever after’ horseshit. What kind of fucking fantasy world was he living in?
They hunt you down and kill you for thinking about that shit, let alone going after it. Nah. You gotta keep those secrets to yourself.
But my secret wasn’t my own any more. Amber said, “You’ve got to relax.”
“Mark.” Call me crazy, but I didn’t want to die at Hood’s hands--or anyone else’s--before I heard her say it.
We’d already been through the fact that she knew my name, and who I was. What they’d done, by giving me that pill, was force me to their side. They had a secret on me. I had morphed wrong. There was the joke of the century. No one would care that it was drug-induced. No one would believe that.
The other, about me liking to screw unnatural females? Seemed like a small thing in comparison.
Amber smiled and said softly, like a mother crooning to a child. “Relax, Mark.”
Soothing to my ears. I asked, “Say it again.”
She did, and again.
“Just say my name.” I don’t know why, but I loved hearing it from her lips.
It came out more of a sigh, then. “Oh, Mark.” Sadly, she moved away from me, turned her back, and buried her face in her hands.
I didn’t even think, I moved toward her, slipped my arms around her and said, “It’s all right. I won’t tell.”
Okay, those were death words. I hoped to Gaia that Hood didn’t have cameras in the men’s room. And where the hell was he, anyway?
Some meeting. The habitat, everyone knew, was the orgy room as much as anything. Everything ‘pack’ goes there.
Working off frustration before meeting with me? He could have at it. I’d like him as relaxed as possible before we met face to face. My gaze strayed to the mirror. Gaia, was I fucked up.
I wasn’t mad anymore, though.
Serves you right, you lying bastard.
How many times had I told Bark to shut up, that I didn’t want to hear about the tail he’d chased down in Garouville--a seedy part of town that lined Cat City, where those who went both ways lived, and some of us slummed from time to time.
Nobody cared if you took a whore for a spin--no matter what her persuasion. You just didn’t brag on your bad taste.
Amber turned her head into my chest and let me wrap my big, stupid arms around her. I felt her breath against my throat as she lifted her head and said, “I think I know how to make you relax.”
With that, she hopped up onto the counter and said, “How’s this?”
I blinked.
She spread her legs. “Please. We don’t have a lot of time.”
She wanted me to enter her? Even as a morphed out freak?
I reached out and touched between her legs. Soft, slick. I wanted to go down on her. I frowned when I realized that she hadn’t gone and washed me off of her.
“You didn’t wash.” It was an accusation.
Showing no remorse, she said, “Hood knows where we stand on things.”
“Yeah, but will I be standing once you’re done playing your games?”
“That depends on you.” Matter-of-factly, she prodded me, “He will be here any minute.”
She was right. The quickest way to relax was to get off. I didn’t wait for another invitation. I moved right into her, guiding myself by hand, touching the folds of skin, spreading them, feeling the natural wetness on my fingers and my manhood.
I’m not always a minute man, but those first few times with Amber, I don’t know...it didn’t take long. And I know I wasn’t the perfect lover, getting it fast like that. I’ve really tried to make it up to her.
Not that she was complaining. Clinging, she whispered, “Harder.”
I put it all into her, too, and she moaned with every thrust, which only tuned me up quicker. I emptied into her in no time, and just hung on through the shudders.
When I got coherent again, we were both human. I smoothed her hair over her back, and pressed a kiss to her temple. Rather sadly, she looked up at me, and asked, “You won’t talk to Hood about this, will you?”
“He’ll smell me on you.”
“The other thing. The pill.”
“Hood doesn’t know about the mind block pill?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “You won’t tell him about all this, will you?”
That I morphed like a--no, I wasn’t telling a soul. And I wasn’t turning my back on Frank, or letting him out of my sight again. What if he told on me?
Chapter Six
Wait. I could trust Frank. If I went down, they’d probably clean out the whole line. No. He’d come to Lobos to watch my back, and I could count on him.
But what about Amber and Giselle?
I had a sudden urge to know more about Giselle and why she dumped Bark, and what the hell she was doing under Hood’s nose. Something wasn’t right.
“I wish I knew what you were thinking.”
I pulled free of Amber’s womanly parts, squeezed off the excess juice, flung it, and said, “Listen, honey...you don’t wanna know.”
Her fingers reached out. “I’m glad you’ve relaxed. You’re kind of cute.”
That got a small harrumph of a smile from me. “Yeah. I’m relaxed. And friggin’ naked at L.I., smelling like Hood’s woman.”
I’d never been called ‘cute’ before, and I wasn’t feeling particularly cute at all.
She shook her head. “Giselle is Hood’s woman.”
That made no sense to me. “I thought--”
“Oh, he has sex with me. And everybody else, too. But he doesn’t care about the rest of us. Now, if you slept with Giselle, he might just kill you.”
A second later, she said, “Correction. He would kill you.”
“How long have they been together?”
“Off and on for a while.”
“How long a while?”
I was thinking about Bark. Had he stepped into bad territory with Hood? Over Giselle?
“You’ll have to ask her, to get the exact date.” She pushed me out of her way, hopped down, and reached into her pocket, pulling out a tie belt. She slipped it on while I watched. Apparently, my questions bothered her.
“It irritates you that I asked?”
“Everybody wants to know, and it’s nobody’s business.” Amber reached up and pushed her hair out of her face. “I’ll tell you one thing...Hood never had eyes for anybody like he’s got for Giselle, and she’s got him coming and going.”
“They’re playing games with each other or what?”
She groaned. “I can’t tell who’s playing and who’s serious.”
“What are you doing?”
She edged toward the door. “Playing.” With a grin, she said, “Let me see if I can find you something to wear.”
Left alone, I thought, What world did I step off into?
So now I had to wonder if Hood had been responsible for my brother’s disappearance. Bark and Giselle had spent quite a bit of time bouncing off one another, if I remembered right. I’d just been happy that he’d been with a natural garou.
I put a hand to my forehead. I was a fucking idiot. Bark had to know that Giselle wasn’t. He’d spent too much time with her. No wonder his interest had clung longer to her than anyone before or since. “What did you get us into, Bark?”
If he’d walked in right then, I would have killed him.
Thank Gaia Amber returned swiftly with an armful of clothes. She said, “Hood’s coming down the hall. Be quick.”
I was, but my hands shook. I wondered what the confrontation would be like.
* * * * * *
Hood arrived before I did. When I came out of the bathroom, he and the others were standing stiffly over by the seating area. I wish I’d been trying to tune in. It had never occurred to me to try and listen. I’d just been getting dressed as fast as I could. The clothes fit fine. In fact, so fine that you would not have guessed that they weren’t mine--which made me question the depth of the deception I was dealing with. Amber had been prepared for the event that I would morph?
Displeasure marred my face as I came out of the men’s room, looking for her, tugging at the shirt cuffs. It wasn’t the same shade of suit I’d worn in the door, but very close. I liked dark blue, always wore a red tie.
All eyes were on me the minute I came out. I rolled my shoulders and said, “Hood,” extending my hand, “Nice of you to join us.”
He took my offering, no smile on his face or in his eyes. “I was just going to say the same.”
“Bad breakfast.” I flashed some teeth.
His free hand swung around and grabbed my elbow as he shook, drawing me close for a half hug. He sniffed.
I knew what he was doing. He’d smelled Amber, nice and fresh, and was simply double-checking the info before responding. He’s nothing, if not thorough.
When he let go of me, I felt his gaze bore into me. I remembered Frank’s comments about looking him in the eye. I didn’t have a choice. I stared him back, but it was tough. I felt more ‘seen through’ in those few seconds than all the rest of my life put together.
He didn’t waste any time. He said, “You saw the report?”
“Yeah. Right before you called.”
I sniffed the air, too. Hood had the scent of every bitch within a hundred miles on him. His back was straight, and the whole Wolverine/X-men thing he had was going on big time. I glanced down at his hands, and was half-surprised to see them--almost effeminate in their human form. I knew he had some slashing claws. They were legend. He’d gutted more--
Doesn’t matter.
He gestured. “Why don’t we sit.” It wasn’t a question. More like an order.
Frank dropped immediately into a chair. I got the impression he’d have rolled over belly up too, if Hood had suggested it.
Giselle slipped, fluidly, onto the closest surface, the corner cushion of the sofa. Amber followed suit, moving to the spot next to her. That left a chair and the end of the couch open.
There was a dilemma. Sit by the bitch that I’d probably end up dead over, where Hood could stare between us with his laser gaze--or take the chair across from her, and force him to sit close enough where he couldn’t ignore her fragrance.
I took the chair. I figured it was closest to the door. I had a fighting chance there.
Everyone else watched Hood.
I, personally, hated to glance up at him from that sitting position. The minute I took a seat, I gave him control--not that he hadn’t had it before--but that was when I became ‘less than.’ Licking my lips, I thought about the politics of staying alive, and being second best, and renewed my vow--if I got out of there alive, I’d find Bark and give him back his damn job, no matter what it took. I didn’t want to deal with Hood regularly. How on earth had Bark done it? Especially with his preferences running--okay, I’ll say it--Bark had a thing for bastet whores.
That was one step above unnaturals, wasn’t it? To tell the truth, I didn’t know any more. Thank Gaia no one could read my thoughts.
Hood took his sweet time looking us over before he made his way to the open spot on the sofa. For a minute, there, I didn’t think he was going to sit. I thought he was going to stand over us until one of us began to babble.
Frank, of course, was the one to crack first. He said, “Mark and I are going to Missouri when we’re done here. We’re going to check into things.”
“I have people down there already.”
Hood’s announcement wasn’t really a surprise. It didn’t matter that Missouri was a backwater. Lobos had people virtually everywhere.
Amber said, “I already told them that I’d be going with them.”
I sat forward, rubbing my hands together. I wanted to get it straight up with Hood. Suspense kills, ya know. “I’d rather she didn’t, if that’s all right with you. I see no reason for a...what are you? Pharmacist? To go with us.”
At that, Hood appeared to relax. He chuckled even, and leaned back, crossing his legs, spreading an arm out over the back of the overstuffed leather sofa. In one smooth move, he drew her up against him, sniffing her hair, dropping a kiss to the top of her head, saying, “Amber’s much more than a pharmacist, Mark.”
Giselle’s fingers curled up. I don’t think she realized it, but she pulled the edge of her skirt up as she did it. It drew my attention. I knew how she felt. The muscles in my arms were bulking. The hair on the back of my neck was prickling again.
Frank kicked my foot. Accidentally, of course, and said, “Oh. I’m sorry.”
It drew my gaze--which had been hazed over with instant fury--from Giselle’s knees. I sniffed without thinking.
That must’ve pissed Hood off. He practically forced Amber’s head around and kissed her. Shoved his tongue down her throat.
I jumped up off the couch, my hands bunching into fists. “I don’t have time for small talk.”
Hood pried his lips from hers, but not too fast, and said, “You have two minutes. Sit down.”
I sniffed again. To Amber, I said, “If you’re going with me, you better pack your shit.”
He didn’t let her up. I could see that she tried to move from beneath his hold. Hood said, “If you tell me you want to stay here with me, I won’t make you go.”
Everyone tensed. He was pushing all the buttons. Was he making her go, or asking her to stay? I wasn’t sure any more.
Frank tried to relieve the tension. “What do you hope for her to do, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Hood chuckled. “Amber, among other things, is a scenter.”
Swinging his head around, Frank said, “‘Scuse me?”