Half-Breed Page 5

  "What did your parents do?"

  "The neighbors called the police and reported the disturbance. The ambulance arrived and took me and my siblings to the hospital."

  "Siblings?” Aiyana said. “I thought you only had a sister."

  I couldn't say anymore. The tears that I fought so hard to control were about to well up the bottom of my eyelids. I didn't want to cry in front of these people. Hell, I knew nothing about them. The clot squeezing off my throat only enticed the unshed tears.

  Matt smoothed a hand along my thigh. I struggled not to bat him away. These werewolves needed to see a united front, not a soured one. Matt tilted his head and darted his eyes in their direction. He wanted me to give them the grim details anyway. The pack had a right to know some things, but there had to be a limit.

  The last of my indignation clutched my chest. Matt nodded again, motioning me to go on. Moving his hand from my thigh, he clutched the back of my hand, thumb smoothing my skin.

  Staring at the table, I could fight back the tears, but I couldn't keep the tremble out of my bottom lip. I would have given anything to shove that terrifying night to the back of my brain, if not get rid of it entirely.

  "My baby brother died from his bite,” I muttered.

  Avery Jr. died two days after the attack while I was in a coma. All the homage went to my parents. To this day, I couldn't imagine what they went through. To lose one child while the other ones still needed them ... It wasn't right.

  After I came out of the coma, I woke up screaming for someone to help Avery Jr. because I couldn't get to him. Months turned into years and all the nightmares ended in the same way, with him slipping through my fingers. While I hid in the safety of my coma, Genevieve suffered from post-traumatic shock. Mom and Dad clung to us, one practically living at the hospital while the other went to work. When Viva stopped sucking her thumb and rocking back and forth, my parents yanked her from the hospital. Dane, Uncle Graham, and Aunt June were there to take care of her while my parents stayed behind with me. Everyone feared that we might die just like Avery Jr. Genevieve came out of the hospital barely able to remember anything except that night. Years later, she had won a full scholarship to UCLA, but she refused to leave home. Genevieve worried that no one would be there to wake her from the nightmares.

  "I'm sorry,” Stephan murmured, eyes downcast again.

  Aloof, I continued. “Everyone thinks I survived my bite because I was a little older and stronger than my brother. The transmutation fever kept me in the hospital, but I never changed into a wolf pup.” I smiled to myself. “Can you imagine the look on the nurse's face if she found a puppy in my bed? Snarling, yipping, monitors and tubes sticking out of my butt. My blood wasn't the same anymore. It was never 100 percent normal, but the bite made it worse, I think. The doctors didn't know what to do, so they called in specialists. They thought they'd discovered a new rabies strain."

  Aiyana leaned forward concentrating on a piece of napkin she rolled between her fingers. “So who helped you guys out of the whole hospital mess?"

  "My uncle,” I lied. In actuality, it was both Graham and Dane who saved us from a second catastrophe of having our race revealed. I continued, “Graham had decades of experience in knowing how to work the system from within the system. He told my parents not to drop a dime towards the bills. So when my parents asked for a discharge, complaints and advice came from everywhere except the money-hungry billing department. We got our transfer, but my parents took us home to a new house. When the hospital started calling about their money, Graham paid every last cent. We should have been home free, but the doctors wanted us to come back for checkups and more tests."

  Matt chuckled. “And needless to say, they're still waiting,"

  Snickering fluttered around the table.

  "Your family is quite remarkable,” Stephan said. “It would be interesting to meet your sister one of these days. To see if she's anything like you.” After signaling the waitress for refills, he took a bite of his second roast beef sandwich.

  "If you mean in the personality sense, we have similar likes and dislikes. She's my closest friend, sometimes closer to me than our parents. Not that we have bad parents. She just understands me better."

  "That's putting it mildly,” Matt muttered.

  "What do you mean?” Aiyana asked.

  I rolled my eyes. “He sometimes feels neglected because he's not a member of our sisterhood. As if my father treating him like a son isn't enough."

  Matt snorted. “When you two get together I feel like I have to watch my own hide. It's like you two have your own unspoken language or something."

  "Jealous.” I crossed my arms on the table. “You're just upset because Viva, a true quarter werewolf, sniffed you out the first time you two met."

  "Who's Viva?” Stephan asked.

  "It's our pet name for my sister. Just like everyone calls me Lex."

  "So,” Matt said, folding his hands on the table, “now that you know some things about us, do you want us out of your territory or not?"

  Stephan locked his gaze with Matt's, inviting a challenge if my husband wanted one. No one wanted a fight in public, so this was nothing more than a staring contest. I think. So why did a full minute feel more like a full hour?

  Chapter 6

  Stephan broke the staring contest with a smile and by batting his overgrown bangs out of his emerald eyes. “It's not my choice to decide that. I'm not the Pack Alpha."

  "You're not? Then who the hell are you?” It came out of my mouth so fast that pack protocol never crossed my mind.

  Matt pinched my thigh and threw his napkin on the table. “Aiyana, could you take my very human wife for a walk before she gets both of us lynched?” He grabbed my hand, dragging me across the plastic cushion.

  I didn't say a word. Based on Matt's reaction, I knew I had messed up big time.

  Stephan stood. Aiyana slung her long black hair out of the way and slid out of the booth. Leaving the men to discuss pack business, she wound her arm around mine and we exited the café like best girlfriends. We sauntered to the street corner in silence and waited for the light to change. By the time we were halfway across the intersection, Aiyana broke down in giggles. I shook my head and smiled. Good to know someone had a sense of humor.

  Aiyana squealed as she spotted a shoe store not that far away. It was a novel place for two women to spend some quality time getting to know one another.

  Two years ago, I left a pair of Tods behind in a mad dash from the Ottawa Pack. Since then, I never bought another pair. I damn well refused to leave another pair of swank shoes behind if this turned out badly. That goes to show where my priorities are.

  "I hope Stephan doesn't take me up on my challenge,” I said. “I'd hate to see Matt with a bloody nose on my account.” A pair of thick-heeled black shoes caught my eye. They could replace the ones I ruined during the mugging. Correction: the ones my mugger helped me ruin.

  "Oh, please,” Aiyana laughed, “I'm sure Stephan is all broken up inside. He won't take you seriously because he knows you didn't mean to challenge his authority. You've had a human upbringing, so we don't expect you to know everything about pack courtesy."

  "How many are in your pack?"

  "We had forty-two adult members, which is too high by werewolf standards. So the pack split in half. The others found new territory in Orlando. We have twenty-one now, not including four teens, three middle-schoolers, and a preschooler."

  Aiyana picked up a navy blue sandal from the display and showed it to me. I shook my head, so she returned it.

  "That anonymous tip...” I broached the subject carefully. “How did you find us? We've lived the perfect suburban life for two years and our paths never crossed until now."

  Packs lacked organization because they keep to themselves. However, the Manhattan Pack ran a website that purported to provide movie information. Each pack had its own 9-digit pin for access that redirected to an RPG site. So if hackers ever broke in, it w
ould look like a stupid computer game. In actuality, packs used it to communicate back and forth, including passing information about contracts. Any werewolf who signed up for it gained access. Those who didn't care were usually behind the times and lived in extreme seclusion.

  Aiyana sat on a cushioned seat and began removing her shoes. “We didn't know someone had invaded our territory until we got the tip. So if you don't mind me asking, because Stephan is probably already doing this ... why are you here? What did you guys do to piss someone off so bad that they would sic our entire pack on you?"

  I lifted the half-empty shoe box onto my lap and sat next to her as she slipped a caramel sandal onto her dainty foot. Keeping my voice low, I detailed everything from Matt's excommunication to the Georgia Pack visiting him at the law firm. Aiyana listened the whole time while she boxed up the shoes and continued perusing aisles.

  When I got to the part about my mugging, Aiyana confessed to hearing about it from Stephan. During the lunch arrangements, Matt had asked point blank if his pack had had anything to do with it. Stephan denied any involvement but he asked around the den to make sure no one had arranged it. Nobody dared to take matters into their own hands behind their Alpha's back. When Seth Lockwood, their Pack Alpha, found out, he made sure we took the necessary precautions regarding police and hospital records. Aiyana shrugged when I asked her how he had managed that. Since no backlash incurred, they assumed we squelched the situation. Most rogues would have killed the mugger, given the police hell, and made a scene that would have landed them on the six o'clock news. Our nonviolent solution peaked their Alpha's interest even more than finding out that my husband was a lawyer.

  "So other than legal advice, what do you guys want from us?” I asked. “You could have killed us at any time, and you didn't."

  She smiled and shook her head. “Would you relax? We only need Matt's help on getting one of our pack brothers out of a mess he got himself into. Anything's possible, and that doesn't mean it's all bad. Plus, you guys are the first people who've invaded our territory and haven't caused any trouble. The minute a rogue comes to town, bodies usually turn up. You guys have lived under our noses for two years without an ounce of trouble."

  I grinned. “I wouldn't say that. Matt and I are on our subdivision's Halloween decoration committee. The way Matt's looking at it, anything goes."

  Aiyana chuckled and shook her head.

  I returned to the serious side of our parley. “We're not out to stake a claim in Atlanta or in any other part of Georgia. We're simply tired of running. If we had known a pack lived here, we never would have come. Certainly we wouldn't have stayed this long. Matt said wolves will migrate from time to time, depending on job opportunities in the area. It's hard keeping track of who lives where."

  "Believe it or not, you guys haven't given us a reason to kick you out of the state yet. Unlike some Alphas, Seth isn't power hungry or psychotic. He's a father when we need one and an executive when it comes to our survival. That's why we're a healthy pack. Power hungry rulers don't last very long at the top.” Aiyana placed her shoes on the counter.

  I snorted. “Some needs to tell Parry that. He's been in power more than twenty years now."

  "Really?"

  I nodded, looking for a way to change the conversation. The more I got to know this woman, the more questions I had. Sooner or later, she'd stop my nosiness. So for the time being, I'd keep pressing until she said otherwise.

  "If you don't mind me asking, were you born into the Georgia Pack?” I asked.

  "Wait till we get outside."

  Aiyana took out her wallet and paid for the shoes in cash. When the cashier finished with both our purchases, we walked out of the store with our bags swinging at our sides. This time, we slowed our pace. As long as the café remained standing on the corner, we knew the boys were doing fine on their own.

  "My parents live on a Cherokee reservation in North Carolina,” she said. “My brothers live in Phoenix. I'm the middle in a set of triplets. So if nothing else, we have our Native American heritage and a love for shoe shopping in common."

  I chuckled. “Then how did you wind up here?"

  A half-smile. “I came for interior design school ... with Seth's permission, of course. I've been here ever since. Each year I visit my family, otherwise I'd never hear the end of it from my parents. Except for my parents and two others, everyone on the reservation is human."

  "What about Stephan? What's his story?"

  She paused, her visage turning somber as she lowered her head. “It happened a year after he graduated from Columbia University. His six-figure salary more than paid for his MBA degree. He also met his fiancé while living in Manhattan."

  "I don't remember seeing a ring on his finger,” I said, thinking aloud.

  Aiyana slowly turned and smirked. “I see you've noticed."

  "Stop looking at me like that.” Heat rushed my frazzled cheeks. “I can't help it if I still notice certain things. Being married doesn't mean I'm dead."

  She chuckled. “From the way you and Matt adore each other, I'd say you guys couldn't be more alive. Your husband looked as though he wanted to kill Stephan when he helped himself to your picture on Matt's desk."

  "That's my man.” I giggled.

  "And what a man he is.” Aiyana had a faraway look in her eye that probably matched mine. Shaking her head out of the clouds, she returned to the conversation. “Anyway, Stephan's fiancé was a werewolf and he didn't know it. Thieves broke into their condo at gun point and one of them forced his fiancé into the bedroom. Stephan tried to stop them, but he got knocked unconscious. What happened afterwards, no one knows. He woke up, blood covering his face, and his idiot fiancé licking his wounds."

  "Oh, God. Please tell me you're kidding.” If that woman lived in the Georgia Pack, she would become my next assassination attempt.

  "Stephan had the fever for a week, tipping the scales at 107 degrees. To make matters worse, he tried committing suicide three times, before the dumbass broke down and asked her Alpha for help. The Manhattan Pack took him in and made him comfortable. When the fever broke and his metabolism stabilized, he changed. The pack taught him everything he needed to know to prepare him for his new life."

  "Matt took his usual shortcut home from Boston University,” I started. “He was out studying late at the library. Anyway, he turned down the same alley he'd used for years, carrying two bags of donuts. He tossed one bag up to a second story fire escape. Mr. Eucar, some old guy he befriended, lived there. Eucar wasn't out on the fire escape that night though. Matt didn't think much of it, so he kept going. He came upon four werewolves he thought were large mix-breed dogs. Three were trying to teach the newest member how to live in the city and scavenge from garbage cans. The newer one saw my husband as a better prize and attacked him. The werewolf scratched up his back and bit the muscle between his shoulder and neck."

  "How the heck did he get away?"

  "An older werewolf plowed into the newer one, slamming him into a brick wall. Matt jumped to his feet and got the hell out of there. He spent days on his back, going through the worse fever of his life. Every bone in his body ached and he was barely conscious most of the time. He said he couldn't stand clothes touching his skin, so he ripped them off and passed out naked on the bed. He thought about going to the hospital, but he couldn't even sit up to use the toilet. That's assuming he was coherent enough to know when his body needed to go."

  Aiyana and I stopped at the curb, waiting for the cross signal. When the light changed, we crossed.

  "That had to be hard,” Aiyana continued. “Having nobody to usher him through the change."

  "Oh, he had help. Around one or two in the morning, on the third day, someone broke into his apartment. No fighting or asking where the money was. They simply looked around and took pity on him. One of the guys went to find a phone and the other started examining him."

  "They tracked his scent.” She made it a statement.

  "Yeah.
They called some of their friends over to help with the nursing and stuff. They spent the next few days dunking him in ice baths whenever his temperature spiked. When the fever finished, he changed and the others changed with him. From that point on, the guys trained him."

  "I'm surprised they didn't kill him.” Aiyana dropped her attention to the pavement and kicked a small stone off to the side. “Most werewolves don't bite with the intention to change someone. Biting a human to werewolf-hood is too unpredictable. Whoever sires you isn't necessarily the one who can control you. It's a dangerous game that even some rogues don't condone."

  "My thoughts, too. But then they found out Matt was a year shy of finishing up his law degree and decided he was too valuable to toss aside. They brought him to meet their Alpha, pre-Parry, and he continued his training at their den. Matt also found out that Mr. Eucar was high in the ranks and made sure the werewolf who bit him had a fatal accident."

  Aiyana smiled in surprise. “Now, is that sweet justice or what? Eucar had been watching out for him all that time."

  "He was also the one who saved Matt in the alley.” I touched Aiyana's arm before she turned inside the café. “You never finished with Stephan. What happened to his stupid fiancé?"

  "Oh. The Manhattan Pack Alpha sympathized, but he kicked her out anyway. She got off light. Like I said, most Alphas would have executed her for infecting a human without consent. Then again, she was his daughter. Stephan never bothered to track her down after that."

  Relief washed through me.

  Staring, Aiyana half-laughed. “What? You think we'd let that dumb bitch into our pack? Seth would have killed her for what she did just to make sure it never happened again. Child of his blood or not, if she was stupid enough to lick Stephan into the werewolf world, heaven only knows what else she'd do next.” Aiyana looped her arm around mine and we strolled inside the café.

  Stephan made eye contact and dropped his head in his hands. Matt turned around, attention drawn to our bags. He smiled and stood to let me back inside the booth. Stephan did the same for Aiyana.