Once Upon a Shifter (56 page)

Mena burst out laughing. "You thought Phoenix was gay?"

"At the time, yes, and they even went along with it until we got to the witches' house, and I realized he—"

"Wait—what? Witches' house? You need to explain, Alex," she said, and any trace of humor was absent from her expression when he glanced over at her.

"There are three of them. Some pretty freaky stuff happened to us on the ride there, but Phoenix acted like he was used to it or something. The other guys all gave the witches some of their blood, but one of them cut some of my hair." He reached up and rubbed a place behind his right ear where Magnalayna had taken his offering. Mena's eyes were drawn there. "She said the spell would be ready by tonight, and I didn't get back home until almost dawn."

"You've been working on Marc's case and other cases all week and you're expected to stay up all night with Phoenix and my—my friends at night and then babysit me during the day?" Mena huffed. "Damn you, Phoenix," she growled.

"I'm not babysitting you, Mena. I want to ensure you stay safe—"

"Are you planning to go with them tonight?"

"Well, yeah—"

"Did he ask you to go?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, he said if I wasn't too tired, I was welcome to come—"

"Turn the vehicle around and go back to his house!"

Alex's eyes popped wide, but he kept his eyes trained on the road as he spoke. "I won't go if you don't want me to go, Mena. I didn't know me being there would upset—"

"It's not what you're doing that's upsetting me, Alex; it's what he's doing to you that's pissing me off!"

"What is he doing to me?"

"Isn't it obvious? He's trying to keep you exhausted, keeping you out all night and day, so you won't have the energy to do anything with me."

"Do anything with you?" He didn't get her meaning at first, but when he turned and looked at her face, her expression told him everything; she was talking about sex. And she was upset that he might be too tired to perform, or even want to. At least he thought that's what she meant. Maybe she was worried about her safety. If he was too tired to protect her that would definitely be something that would upset her this much. "I'm fine, Mena. I'll take a nap after I take you back to him this evening and get a full night's rest after I get back home. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you—"

She slumped in her seat and looked out her window as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not worried about my safety, but Phoenix should be worried about his." She winced again, and then covered her eyes with her hand.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he said.

"I'm fine. Look, I'll be in meetings all morning, Why don't you go home and get some rest? I'm sure Phoenix has already ordered extra bodyguard detail to stand watch while I'm talking with the lawyer and insurance agent. A person can't function on ten hours' sleep a week. He knows that, and that is why I'm angry."

"I promised—"

"I don't care what you promised, Alex. Phoenix already knows you are dropping me off at my meeting and picking me up after it's over. Either go home and catch a long nap or don't go tonight. This will more than likely be the most dangerous case you have ever worked before, and I need you thinking straight, so please don't argue with me. Being careless will get you killed."

"All right, okay, I will go home and get some sleep."

"Promise me," she said.

Alex let out a long breath as he parked in a vacant spot in front of the law firm and cut the engine. He honestly didn't know what to do; he'd already promised Phoenix he wouldn't leave, and he himself didn't want to leave her there alone and unprotected. "I promise I will get some rest. Call me when you are finished and we'll go have lunch, my treat."

She smirked. "After we eat, maybe you can show me where you live and you can rest some more before you have to take me back to Phoenix."

"If you are ever in my apartment alone with me, I think sleep will be the last thing on my mind."

She leaned over and kissed him softly on the cheek and then whispered in his ear. "Who said anything about sleeping?" She grinned wickedly as she pulled away and opened the passenger door. "I'll call you later." She winked. "Sweet dreams."

"Maybe Phoenix was right, Rhodes," Alex said to himself. "If you aren't in love with her now, you're definitely damn close. You are so screwed, dude."

Phoenix

Phoenix slowly pushed through the door of the infirmary, knowing right away that there was a werewolf-bitten vampire in the room by the smell alone.

Alhana raised her head from her arm that was rested on April's bed, her hand grasping her friend's, trying to give her as much comfort as she could. Alhana's eyes were red-rimmed and swollen as she looked up at her master.

Phoenix exhaled hard when her face twisted in anguish and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. Placing a gentle hand on her back, he sat beside her and just let her have the comfort of his presence to soothe her pain.

He wasn't good at this sort of thing, but he knew there was no need for words—nothing said aloud would help either of the girls deal with what they were going through; one wasn't even conscious, and never would be again. But even in April's unconscious state, she groaned then clenched her hands into tight fists and tears leaked from her eyes as the pain engulfed her.

It wouldn't be long now, and that was something to be happy about, he thought; her suffering would soon be over.

There was no cure for lycanthropy infection, and Alhana had forbidden anyone to help April into the afterlife early. Phoenix had thought that selfish of her, but he had never cared about anyone in his long lifetime as Alhana did April. True friendship was hard to find, and the girls had been close for over two centuries. Knowing he had no choice but to honor Alhana's wishes, Phoenix ordered that April be brought into the infirmary and kept comfortable until the time came for her to pass on.

"You should get some rest," he said, but Alhana only shook her head in refusal.

"I won't leave her until she leaves me," she said, her voice low and unsteady. "I promised her I wouldn't."

Phoenix nodded as he stood. "Very well. Lea will bring you a blood bag. I know you haven't hunted in over five days. I won't accept no as an answer. Your safety is important to me, Alhana."

She let her head fall back down, so her arm could hide her eyes and the little interest she had in her own health. "Yes, Master."

It pained him to see how she had all but given up. It was as if she would die herself when April took her last breath.

Phoenix didn't understand it at all. He shook his head as he left the room.
Love
. And it wasn't like the two girls were intimate with each other. It was more of a sisterly bond. He hadn't had any siblings, so he didn't know if he would have cared about someone if his father had spawned another child.

Regardless of how he felt about the horrid emotion, he didn't mind that others wasted their time with it. They could do whatever they wanted to; it wasn't any skin off his back, but Mena needed to know his view on the subject. He wanted to believe that he'd be okay if she decided she couldn't be with him, but just thinking about never seeing her again made him want to torture someone.

Was that love? No, that was insanity. The woman made him bat-shit crazy. No matter what it cost him, he knew he couldn't let her just walk out of his life for the sole reason that he didn't love her.

He liked her.

He lusted after her.

He wanted to make her his. Of course, he wasn't quite sure how he felt about him being hers, too, but he could think about that later. He was almost positive it would only take one more kiss to make up his mind about that one.

He smiled as the memory of her mouth on his flashed through his mind.

It had been too long, he thought. Much, much too long. How long had it been? A week? No, he hadn't even known her a full week. Their last kiss had been right before Katie's death… last night!

He growled in frustration as he slammed the door of his chamber and headed for the shower. "Maybe Rhodes was right," he said to himself. "If you aren't in love with her, it's definitely something close." Then he chuckled as he shook his head, refusing to believe such absurdity could happen to him. "It's just a crush, Phoenix. It is only a silly crush. Nothing more."

Chapter 30

The Wolf

If Phoenix thought she was dumb or that she was going to let that shit fly, the cute little vampire clearly underestimated her.

"You deal with your man and let me deal with mine, Wolf,"
Mena said through her mind, causing a broad smile to creep across her face.

"As long as your man doesn't keep me from getting what I want, I won't have to deal with him,"
the wolf said.

"Well, if your intention is to screw Alex with my body later today, you're going to have a lot more to deal with than my boyfriend. It's not going to happen."

The wolf sighed and theatrically rolled her eyes as she pushed the button for the elevator. She didn't miss that Brad was sitting in the front lobby with a magazine hiding his face.

Since when did Phoenix take it upon himself to start giving her pack orders? Hmmm…

"Good morning, Brad," she said, and the magazine fell away as he shot to his feet.

"Mena!" He gave her a surprised and embarrassed expression. She frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Save it. I know Phoenix contacted you and ordered you to come here and watch over me. I assume I will bump into Heath and Roel on my way to Jack's office, as well. Am I correct?"

Brad looked at the floor. She approached him slowly, and it appeared as though he was smart enough not to back away. "Yes, ma'am. Phoenix didn't want anything—"

"The next time Phoenix gives you an order, you'd better clear it with me before you obey him," she said, just a little above a whisper. "
He
isn't your Alpha. Am I making myself clear?"

He nodded once. "Yes—yes, ma'am."

She huffed in annoyance. "Very well… I suppose there is no point in sending the three of you away, now that you are already here. Man the lobby and text me if you see anything out of the ordinary."

"Yes, ma'am," Brad said as she turned around and headed for the elevator doors that were just beginning to part.

"And Brad?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Don't call me ma'am."

"Yes, ma'am—I mean, no… Mena, I won't do that anymore."

Grinning as she stepped into the elevator car, she decided to use the short amount of time it took the elevator to get to the third floor to powder her nose and apply red lipstick.

"Stop putting all that gunk on me,"
Mena snapped.
"You're making me look like a two-dollar whore!"

"A little color never hurt anybody, Mena. It brings out our eyes. Relax,"
the wolf said as she put yet another coat of mascara on Mena's thick lashes.

"Give me back control during the meetings. I don't want you coming on to my late husband's lawyer or the insurance guy."

The wolf giggled.
"Oh, please, I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize our reputation."

"MY reputation! Nobody even knows about you!"

"Ugh!"
The wolf massaged Mena's temples.
"Will you please stop shouting? Honestly, it's not like I'm your enemy."

"The jury is still out on that one,"
Mena said, and the wolf could tell she had crossed her arms over her non-literal chest and was now pouting.

She grinned as the elevator doors opened, but just as she took a step forward, she was quickly shoved back into the box, spun around and thrown up against the far wall by someone very strong. Only seeing that the person was clothed in jeans and a black hoodie, the wolf couldn't identify the person without them speaking, but she was almost certain the person was a female.

Mena's wolf laughed lightly. "And here I thought it was going to be a boring day. I don't know whether to kick your ass or thank you."

The forearm of the person pressed into the back of Mena's neck, causing the side of her face to squish against the elevator wall. She was almost certain the culprit was of the wolf variety; he or she was too strong to be human, and any of Phoenix's clan couldn't come out in the daylight, so it must be one of the eight who had receded from her pack or a spy on the inside. Either way, this person was no ally.

"Fight back!"
Mena shouted.
"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm sure he or she has some sort of silver-coated weapon pointed at your back, Mena. Believe me when I say that you do not want me to move just yet."

Loud pounding sounded from the doors just after they closed.

"Mena!" Roel's voice shouted as the elevator car began to move up. "Christ, Mena, answer me!"

"What do you want?" Mena's wolf said in a low, steady voice.

A girl laughed wickedly from behind her. "What do I want? You once offered to challenge me. I'm just accepting the offer."

"It's Dana!"
Mena shouted.
"She was screwing Marc. I challenged her the night I accepted the moon. She cowered—"

"I remember,"
the wolf interrupted, and grinned slyly as she said aloud, "Are you sure you want to do this, little wolf cub?"

There was a short snort, and then the girl spoke again. "Are you kidding me? You got lucky when you killed Marc. I'm over a century older than you—"

Mena's elbow quickly shot back and nailed the girl right in the mouth, and then she turned and threw her to the floor with one hand, pinning her there with a knee to the throat while she grabbed the blade with the other. She pressed the sharp tip of the silver into the flesh just beside the jugular vein and Dana cried out, the searing pain the silver was causing evident in her wails. The wolf glared at her panic-stricken expression with silver eyes, feeling no sympathy for the stupid girl.