HOPE I drifted in and out of consciousness. I was crazy tired, and my throat was so sore. I had a vague recollection of someone stuffing something down my throat and choking me, but it was fuzzy. I moaned. Someone was instantly there, wiping my head with a cloth. I could hear Nicco, speaking in a worried tone. “She’s so hot, Charlie. Is she okay?” “She’ll be fine, Alpha. She just has a little fever, that’s all. That’s how human bodies deal with infections. They don’t heal like we do. As soon as the doctor figures out what poisoned her, we can treat her. Shouldn’t be long, now.” My brain was screaming at me to pay attention because something important was just said, but I drifted off again in a fog. The next time I woke up I felt a lot better. The light was barely peeking into the room. Nicco was laying on the bed next to me, asleep, and Charlie was in a chair, bolt upright, his head leaning against the wall. His eyes opened when I moved. “You’re awake,” he said, s
NICCO I was looking through my papers when there was a light knock at the door. “Enter,” I barked, thinking it was probably Vinnie.Instead, it was Hope holding my laptop.I immediately stood up. “Hope!What are you doing up?”It had only been five days since she was poisoned.I wanted her to take it easy. She flushed bright red.“I can’t take Vinnie’s cooking anymore,” she confessed.“I made lunch for everyone.It’s laid out in the dining room.”She gestured behind her shoulder, arbitrarily.“But I wanted to show you this, first.” She plopped down on the couch and put the laptop on the coffee table, twisting it so I could see the screen.“I was right,” she said.“They used me as a distraction to move some money around.And I can tell it’s temporary.It’s set to go back to the original
NICCO I opened my eyes and looked at my Sweet Hope lying in bed next to me. She was curled in a ball, showing no effects from her nightmare. I sighed. It was time. She had her secrets, but I had mine. And it was time I shared. I was decidedly nervous. I spent most of the rest of the night trying to figure out how to do this. I thought about taking her to the Packland Village and letting her find out there, but if she reacted badly there would be no where for her to go. I needed to take her back to the city. Hope opened her eyes and looked at me. A slow smile spread across her face. “Good morning, beautiful,” I said, giving her a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Good morning,” she said. “What’s on the agenda today?” “We are going back to the city,” I said. Hope sat up in bed, excited. “Really?” she asked, in excitement. “What changed?” I shrugged.
HOPEI walked through the door and gasped again. The entire floor was done in polished stone with very contemporary furnishing. Even though it was contemporary, it also looked comfortable, and I fought the urge to flop down on the nearest couch.I looked at Nicco. “This is gorgeous,” I said. He looked pleased at my praise.“I have two floors,” he said, almost shyly. “The balcony goes all the way around the building, so I have different areas. It’s important to me to have fresh vegetables, so the part of the balcony that gets the most afternoon sun has been set up as a little greenhouse. I have a place where I take my coffee in the morning and my dinners in the evenings. Would you like to see?”“Oh, yes please,” I breathed, letting him pull me out of the double doors. We started walking left and he pointed out the different sights.
NICCOI came out of the bathroom and smiled.Hope was curled up on the bed, sleeping.I looked at her with a smile.She looked so innocent and unburdened, rolled up in the fetal position.She must have been dreaming about something pleasant because she smiled in her sleep.I hoped she was still sleeping as soundly tonight, after she and I had our conversation.I shook her gently and she opened her beautiful blue eyes and smiled at me.“My turn in the shower?” she asked.I nodded.“Be quick.I would like to be at the restaurant in an hour.”I should have known that wasn’t going to be an issue.Most women take forever, but Hope was in and out of the shower, had her dress on and her hair up before I had finished tying my shoes.She was wearing the crystal sandals that she had worn at our first dinner, and I had t
NICCO“I’m a werewolf, Hope. We’re real. So are vampires, Lycans and fairies.” I gestured to the other folks patronizing the restaurant.She looked at me with horror and then back at my hand, still Lupo’s paw. She looked around and then at me again. Her eyes were wide and she looked scared.“Talk to me, Hope,” I begged. “Please. Talk to me.”Her mouth opened and closed a few times but nothing came out. Finally she managed to croak out a one word question. “Vinnie?” she asked.“Werewolf,” I said.“Eloise?” She seemed to be grasping at straws.“Werewolf. Most people in my employ are wolves. All the people you saw at the house. Charlie, too.”“Caleb?” asked Hope. I chuckled.“No. He&rsq
HOPENicco looked so sad. “Do you want to reject me, Hope?” he asked.I looked down. I knew the answer to that question, but I didn’t want to say it. Saying it would somehow feel like a commitment and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. I wanted to leave my options open.“Hope?” Nicco asked again. I raised my eyes to look at him. He looked so forlorn that it tugged on my heart.“This is overwhelming,” I said softly. “I have always suspected something was different. You are constantly in my thoughts. I crave your touch. You smell divine,” I grinned ruefully. “I tried figuring out what cologne you wore but turns out it’s just you.”His eyes never left my face. He was barely breathing. I could feel his angst and now I knew why. We were bonded together.“I am scared, N
NICCO“So how does this work?” Hope asked, plopping herself in the back of the Tahoe. She looked excited. Vinnie looked at me in the rearview mirror.“Alpha?” he asked.I looked at him and then let myself smile. “She seems okay with it,” I said to him. Vinnie grinned back at me.“Do I get to meet your wolf, too?” Hope asked Vinnie with interest. He looked back at me again, and raised an eyebrow.“She wants to meet Lupo,” I said. “Where can we do that?”“One of your warehouses, probably. Or we can cross into Jersey and find somewhere out there.”“Jersey, please,” I said. I knew Lupo would like to run a bit and I didn’t take that opportunity when I was back on the Packlands.I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes. Things went a lot better than I had expected.&