Wolves in the Shadows (The Wolf Clan Chronicles) (6 page)

Chase finished his coffee and set his cup down with a gentle chink.  “You’re definitely an odd one, Elizabeth.  It’s not every day that you meet someone who gets so distracted that she runs into a complete stranger one minute and then next starts talking about changing the world the next.” 

Elizabeth let out a nervous chuckle and glanced down at her watch.  “I have to go to class, and for the record, I didn’t run into you.  I walked into you.” 

“What’s the difference?” Chase asked with a grin.  “Maybe we could walk or run into each other later today.  Say around dinner time.” 

“Sounds painful,” Elizabeth said.  Her embarrassment was beginning to fade. 

“We could wear helmets.” 

“I’m sorry, I can’t tonight.”  Elizabeth was genuinely sorry, but she didn’t want to be late for her meeting in the groves.  She laughed inwardly as the scenario played in her mind.  Sure we can get dinner, but then I’m going to go meet my undead friends that I just met, so I we’ll have to be done by the time the sun sets. 

“Got a hot date?” Chase asked.  He looked as disappointed as she felt. 

Elizabeth shook her head.  She worried that as soon as she opened her mouth, she would say something that she didn’t want to say.  There was something about Chase that she instinctively trusted.  He wasn’t like Michelle, who was as interested in hearing gossip as she was in spreading it.  Part of her screamed at her to tell him everything, but she had no idea why.  She hastily tucked that part of her far in the back of her mind.  Where was the impulse coming from? 

“How about tomorrow
or maybe next week?” Chase asked. 

“Lots of studying to do,” Elizabeth managed to say.  Her head was spinning.  There was something wrong that she just couldn’t quite put her finger on.  She had to get out of here.  “Thanks for the coffee,” she said hastily as she hurried away. 

Chapter 5

Elizabeth struggled to catch her breath as she sat in the rose garden behind the Goldberg Memorial Hall.  She had vaguely remembered a tour that she had taken just before her freshman year where the guide had said something about the garden being a gift to the school in memory of someone’s mother.  It hadn’t seemed important then.  It didn’t seem important now either.  It was just a random memory. 

She had run all the way from the campus café, looking for a quiet spot where she could just sit in solitude and gather her thoughts.  She cursed inwardly.  What had it been about Chase that made her want to spill her guts to him?  It was so strange.  She had liked him from the moment that she had met him, trusted him even though she had never met him.  Maybe it was just because everything was so fresh in her mind.  Yeah.  That had to be it. 

Part of her wished that she could somehow avoid going to the grove tonight.  But she had to.  It was l
ike there was some invisible line tethering her to the vampires and to Romulus.  It was so frustrating that there was no one that she could talk to about everything that had happened.  There was no one to ask for advice or support. 

S
he sighed and pulled her journal out of her backpack.  She would write down everything that she was feeling.  After all, that was the whole point of a journal right?  She laughed out loud at the realization that there was finally something interesting enough going on in her life for her to want to write about it.  Surely that would at least help her to organize her thoughts. 

She ripped out all of the pages that
she had already written on.  They were boring anyways.  There was a part of her that felt like her everything that had happened in her life before this point was completely unimportant.  

#

It took her hours to write down everything that she remembered about last night, starting from when she first heard Sir Marcus’s voice, but she hardly noticed the passing time.  Her hand ached by the time she had finished.  As she looked back over everything that she had written, she couldn’t help feeling like there was something very important that she had left out.  She was frustrated at how poorly she had described what it felt like to be in Lord Reginald’s presence, but she did feel much better know that she had gotten her thoughts out on paper. 

She realized that part of what was missing from her account was exactly why Lord Reginald had wanted to meet her in the first place and what was so important about him tellin
g her about Lady Anya.  That must be why she had to go back. 

Chapter 6

“So who’s Chase?” Michelle asked with a smirk as soon as Elizabeth walked into their room.  She was sitting on the ground by her bed with her laptop computer on her lap. 

“Hi Michie,” Elizabeth said, pointedly ignoring the question.  “I’m fin
e.  How was your day?  And how’d your chemistry exam go?” 

“Don’t talk to me about chemistry, Lizzy.  Tell me about this Chase fellow.”  Michelle looked up at her with a mischievous glint in her eyes.  She loved playing matchmaker even though she wasn’t very good at it. 

Elizabeth frowned.  She had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to put Chase out of her thoughts.  Her life was too crazy right now to have to worry about some guy that she had randomly met. 

“He’s a guy that I met this morning,” she said.  “But how the hell did you find out about him?  Do you know him or something?” 

“Obviously I don’t know him,” Michelle said as she rolled her eyes.  “If I did, do you think I would be asking you about him?” 

Elizabeth dropped her backpack by her desk and went to sit next to Michelle. 

“I don’t know, Michie,” she said with a sigh.  “We met this morning and got some coffee and then he invited me to dinner.  I said I was busy, and that was it.  Nothing to get too excited about.” 

“Really?” Michelle asked like she knew something that Elizabeth didn’t know.  “Well, he called asking for you a few hours ago.” 

“What?” Elizabeth’s voice jumped an octave.  Michelle looked at her in surprise. 

“I never gave him my number.  I didn’t even tell him my last name.” 

An evil grin appeared on Michelle’s face.  “I know,” she said.  “He said that he asked around in the café after you have left to see if anyone knew your last name or who your roommate was so that he could look you up in student records, and then he sweet talked to switchboard operator into giving him the number to our room phone.  He said that he had a lovely time with you this morning and that he was sorry that you had plans tonight, but he hoped to see you again soon.  And I hope you’re not just blowing him off by saying you have plans because he sounded super cute, and it’s super adorable that he went to so much trouble to find you.” 

“Super creepy, you mean,” Elizabeth said. 
“Did he leave a callback number?” 

“No, he said that he’ll call again tomorrow.”  Michelle’s expression was dreamy.  She sighed.  “So romantic.” 

“Again, creepy,” Elizabeth said, though she found it hard to keep from smiling.  It was nice to be pursued even if she wasn’t even remotely available.  “And even more so that he didn’t leave his number.  Then at least you’d have some sort of lead when I turn up missing.” 

Michelle giggled.  “You’re so jaded and melodramatic!” 

“Me, melodramatic?” Elizabeth poked her playfully in the ribs.  “This from the girl who spent a week eating nothing but cookie dough and marshmallows and listening to nothing but the soundtrack to Titanic after Bob the bum broke up with her.” 

“Robert and I were soul mates,” Michelle tried to sound dignified but her comical squirming kept her from succeeding.  Living together in close quarters for almost two years had ensured that they both knew exactly where the other one’s ticklish spot were. 

“You went on like three dates,” Elizabeth said with a grin

“That’s it!” Michelle said dramatically.  “It’s on!”  She slid the computer off her lap and started to tickle Elizabeth’s neck. 

Any further discussion was drowned out by giggling until they were both red in the face. 

#

“Okay, okay, truce!” Michelle threw her hands up in surrender.  “You’re just too fast, Lizzy.” 

“One of the benefits of being small,” Elizabeth said.  “I need something to drink now.” 

“There’s some soda in the fridge,” Michelle said.  “Get me one while you’re at it.”

Elizabeth tossed a can to Michelle and sat down at her desk to drink her own. 

“Are you coming out with us tonight?” Michelle asked after she had taken a gulp of her soda.  “Emily is going to get us some vodka, and we’re all going to that party at Sigma Tau.” 

“I can’t tonight,” Elizabeth said. 

Michelle tilted her head to the side at looked at her suspiciously.  “What are you up to, Lizzy?” 

“I’m just busy,” Elizabeth said.  “I’m not trying to blow you off or anything.” 

“It’s a Friday night.” 

“And you know I like to get my homework done early.” 

Michelle rolled her eyes. 

“Lizzy, you need to get a life.  You’re always studying and being a little hermit.  We’re in college!  We have to live it up!” 

“I’m sorry, Michie, I really am.  I just have something really important to do tonight.” 

“Just please tell me that it has absolutely nothing to do with school.” 

Elizabeth smiled.  “Michelle, I promise that it has nothing to do with school.” 

“Yes!” Michelle said.  She
pumped her fist in triumph.  “Is it some hot date that’s not Chase?  Do you have multiple guys interested in you?  Tell me everything!” 

Elizabeth opened her mouth to reply, but Michelle was not finished yet. 

“Does it have something to do with why you were out all night last night?  You wouldn’t tell me anything, and I let it go because you were obviously tired, but now that you’re awake-” 

“Michelle!” Elizabeth interrupted.  She knew her roommate well enough to know that she was about to go on one of her rants.  It was best to stop her early.  “It’s not a date.  I’m just meeting some friends.” 

“Who do you know that I don’t know?” 

Elizabeth chuckled and shook her head. 

“You don’t know everyone in the world, Michie.” 

“Well, I should,” Michelle said with a grin. 

“Shall we get some food?” Elizabeth asked.  “The commons should be open for dinner, and you know what happens to you when you drink on an empty stomach.” 

Michelle grimaced at the thought.  “Good point.  Let’s go.” 

“Excellent,” Elizabeth said.  She helped Michelle to her feet and got her keys and meal card out of her backpack.  “I don’t know what it is, but I’ve been starving all day.”

Chapter 7

Sir Marcus was leaning indolently against the wall with his eyes half closed as Elizabeth slipped through the gap into the grove.   

“Hi,” Elizabeth said with a shy smile.
He seemed so much less threatening tonight even though he was every bit as big as she had remembered.  She noticed that he wore a silver hilted sword at his hip that contrasted jarringly with his dark jeans and collared shirt.  She hadn’t remembered seeing it the night before, but then again she had been too surprised by their sudden meeting to really notice what he might have been wearing.  She was happy at least the she had chosen not to wear her old university sweater.  Her roommate may have had a point about that old thing. 

Romulus trotted up to her
through the trees and licked her hand.  She patted his head in greeting. 

Sir Marcus greeted her warmly, but then wrinkled his nose and said, “The smell of garl
ic precedes you.” 

“I brushed my teeth,” she said.  She was not sure if she should be offended
; he hadn’t sounded like he was trying to be rude. 

Sir Marcus chuckled. 

“Forgive me, I’m not laughing at you,” he said.  “It just brings back memories.” 

“I didn’t even think about it,” Elizabeth said, embarrassed in spite of what Sir Marcus had said.  “
It was Italian night at the commons, and I love the garlic bread.” 

“I’ve never cared for it myself,” Sir Marcus replied.  “Even when I was human.” 

“So, garlic really does repel vampires?”

Sir Marcus let out another snort of laughter before he replied, “garlic repels just about everything
.”

“Sorry,” Elizabeth said.  She dreaded that he would send her home for the night all because she had been too ignorant to realize that eating garlic bread would make her smell bad. 

“It suits you oddly enough,” Sir Marcus said.  He tilted his head to the side and frowned ever so slightly.  “I think it will be a good way to keep us from forgetting that you are human.” 

Elizabeth tilted her head and mirrored his expression without even realizing it. 

“Garlic doesn’t actually repel us,” Sir Marcus said.  “It just makes the blood smell and taste different, but so does just about everything else that people put in their bloodstream.  I’ve known a number of vampires who actually like the taste.  The idea that it’s so repellent probably came from hunters using garlic to mask their scent.”