The flat seems empty with Aiden gone, yet twelve hours ago I was not at all sure that I ever wanted to see him again. Twenty-four hours ago, I was terrified for his life. I’m self-aware enough to know that my feelings about him, and my reactions to him, have swung alarmingly from one extreme to the other and back within only a handful of time. It seems we have had no time to just exist around each other. No time to do all the mundane and everyday things that allow two people to learn about each other. Every time we stop to draw breath, some other calamity befalls one of us.
I do not have time to slow down even now. I start up my laptop to confirm my recollections of the names Aiden mentioned, and to find out how many of yesterday’s adventures have made it into news and social media. The names in my spreadsheet match my memory. It makes sense, I suppose, that vampires are as diverse as the humans they prey on, and that they have their own rivalries among themselves
I haven’t thought this through properly. I’ve been thinking like a werewolf, not like a human. I shouldn’t even be here. I should be at the college office, letting them know I’m safe and I’m back. I don’t know how much Reese knows or guesses. The only person from college who knows I’m a werewolf, that I’m sure of, is Shelley. Jade too, if she manages to find a way to come back. I should have checked with Shelley to find out if she’s told Reese anything.“Did you know that werewolves run a degree or two hotter than humans?” Reese asks. They’re trying to sound casual, but I can pick up the tension in them. They’ve got something tucked in their hand and sleeve. There’s silver on them, somewhere. I can sense it, all werewolves can, but I haven’t been paying attention since I got to London. So many people wear silver jewellery that the sense would be bugging me the whole time if I didn’
“Make. Them. Stop!” Watch his chest. I remember my instructor’s voice. Watch his chest, not his hands or his eyes. The chest telegraphs your opponent’s moves. I don’t want to give away how much training I’ve had, but I’m not about to let Amos hit me. His hand, clenched in my clothes, bunches more tightly. I relax and let my weight sink into my toes. “Stop it!” The demand is snapped at us from right beside us. Francesca has come storming up to us, waving her mobile phone. “Back off, Amos, or I’m calling the police to report an assault in progress.” Amos’s head turns abruptly to glare at Francesca, but he doesn’t let go of me or lower his other hand. “It’s not an assault-” “Looks like assault from here,” Francesca says, starting to tap numbers in on her phone. “Where’s your fist, Amos? What exactly is it doing there?” It’s still in the air, and it might still come my way. I’m not taking my eyes off hi
“Seriously?” Reese looks like they just found a winning lottery ticket stuck to their shoe. “My parents would really, really hate that. I’d love to! So… do you have to ask permission, or are you the Alpha?” “I’m not Alpha,” I say automatically, then heave a sigh. “But people keep putting me in charge anyway.” Reese gives me a weird look. “So… you are the Alpha?” “It’s complicated. I don’t have a proper werewolf Pack. There’s a London Pack that asked me to join, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to so I didn’t. Then… well, long story, and that Pack’s miles away anyway. The only other werewolf who might count as Pack keeps calling me ‘boss’,
The complaint to HR doesn’t take long, but it serves as a distraction. A distraction from the problem I now have. I should laugh at myself for it: suddenly having my friends back has presented me with more of a problem than suddenly being without them. I had all but made up my mind to leave the orchestra. The music is not exclusive to the Britannia. I could readily find orchestral work elsewhere, if I wished. I have other options. The company was one of the reasons to stay, and without that it was a much less desirable possibility. If I leave now, it will be so much harder to keep in touch with Francesca and Holly. Charlotte. Amos. The others who, with that one rather large road-bump and a few notable exceptions, have been companionship and support for a long time now. Aiden will be staying in London for years, of course, if he keeps up with college. Th
What I’d really like to do is to get home… to get back to Sarah, and talk things over with her. What Reese and I have come up with, between us, could become huge. It’ll need her support, because the ghosts will be part of it too, and Blackmarsh. Not directly, not if they don’t want to be, but it’s bound to have some sort of effect. If one group of vampires has thought to infiltrate the place, it’s likely other groups will have the same idea. What I have to do instead is get on with the day at college. I take myself to the office and let them know I’m back, then get with the timetable. That means tutor group. I wish I’d remembered sooner. Everyone is full of questions. What happened, where’s Jade, do the police know? Mrs Bird is brisk about it rather than motherly. Guess that’s a good thing. I haven’t had anyone be properly motherly over me for years. Even my mother treated us more like adults than k
There is no race tonight. No contest. Neither of the pieces are extraordinarily demanding. They are not easy, of course, but nor are any of them beyond the skill of any reasonably proficient musician. Despite this, I can feel weariness tugging at me by the end. Or perhaps because of it, and not in spite of it. An audience can fill you with its energy and carry you along if they are caught up in the performance. If they are merely observers, the performers carry all the weight.The rave reviews for the previous night will not have affected audience numbers. The tickets will have been sold days or weeks ago. It may have set the audience expectations, however. We set the bar very high with that little tiff. Ironic that anger and misery should produce a result greater than that of accord and peace.“I think I’d rather be playing your piece,”
I’m not sure whether Sarah will welcome me at her place. She seemed to have forgiven me for Jade, just a little bit. To understand better, anyway. I’m hoping I can tell her all about the parcel, and the magical tracker, and how I’ve let my friends go off with it without having me there to help. I’m hoping she can tell me I’m an idiot for not getting their numbers, and soothe my worries that they’re all in terrible danger.I don’t know exactly what I expect, but I do not expect to be shoved up against the wall and… oh. Oh!&*&%@$$*#£$!$%£#@%^**&%^%&**&*!!!I might have blacked out there for a moment. All my blood has run south. I think Sarah just sucked my brains out through my cock. There was something I was worried about, but I can&rsq
I’m not completely sure that I am awake. I feel loved, as if I am wrapped up in a soft, warm, fluffy blanket of tenderness. Awareness dawns slowly, one sense at a time. The enveloping sensation of adoration and intimacy. The scent of pine resin and fresh snow mingled with jasmine and cotton sheets. The faint sounds of traffic and distant aircraft filtering through the window. The puffs of warm breath against the back of my neck. The gentle trail of fingertips across my ribs and waist.I finally open my eyes.The light in the room is dim and blue-tinged. My curtains are thick but not perfectly light-proof. Yawning, I flop over a little, my shoulder pressing back into my bed-mate’s chest and my head rolling onto his shoulder in a cloud of unruly hair. “Morning.”