Forbidden Alliance: A Werewolf's Tale (Forbidden Alliance Trilogy) (32 page)

“You think so do you?”

“
The whole damn Res smells like
jerky
, Joe
,” I amusingly informed him.

He
laughed.
“Of course.
Close up shop and I’ll stop by tonight with your Twinkies
and jerky
.
Thanks, Jay.” He kissed the side of my head before heading out for the day.

For twenty minutes I argued with Dad
on the phone
about dinner. “Just think about it, Daddy,” I pleaded, the phone resting between my shoulder and cheek why
I
drained the o
il from Mr. Hairychin’s Bronco.

“It is bad enough that you allowed that goddamn vampire into
this house. Now
we can’t get rid of him even we if wanted too!” he snapped.

I groaned. “Dad, can I talk to
Mom? She might understand better than you…she’s a chick after all.”

Thankfully Mom took the phone. “I don’t like this
,
Jay Dee.”

“Please
,
Mommy?” I pleaded. “It’s just dinner…I’ll even attempt to cook and
will totally clean up afterward
. Please? I want you to meet him and see what a great person he is. That’s it. I don’t think
I’m
asking for much.”

“You have no idea,” she mumbled.

“Mom, when was the last time I asked for something?” I countered.

There was a moment of silence on the line before she snarled.

“What was that? I didn’t hear you,” I said with a
triumphant
smile.

“Goddamn it,” she said, louder
that
time. “I swear, you will be the death of me.”

“Mom, don’t say that,” I groaned.

Guilt trip much?

“Thanks for
listening
and understanding and f
or letting me bring a boy over.”

Mom laughed. “I’m sure he’s better than any of those old bitches your brother brought to
the house
.”

“No shit!” I agreed.
“We’ll stop by the store on the way home. I don’t think Tanis would be caught dead eating meatloaf.”

“Ooh, Mr. High and Mighty,” she scoffed before giggling. “Have fun, Sweetheart. I’ll see you soon,” she whispered so Dad didn’t hear.

There was a part of me that didn’t know why I was
bothering
at all
.
Tanis was way out of my league, older, much more mature, and so refined that I sometimes felt like dirty, welfare, Reservation trash in his presence.
It was never intentional, on his part, it was just the obviousness of th
e centuries apart we were born…speaking of, how anyone could believe that he was a twenty-first century
nineteen-year-old was beyond me! Half the time I felt like I was watching a goddamn PBS period piece, but at the
same time, it was hot as hell.
Maybe he
had
a soft spot for strange werewolf girls who
lacked
in self-worth
and money.
But a
s much as I hope
d
that
was
the case, I
prayed that it wasn’t
. I didn’t want Tanis
thinking of me like that.
It was
bad enough that
the Lhaq'temish
and pack
thought of me like that, not to mention myself, but
the thought of Tanis thinking of me like that turned my stomach.

“What in the hell am I doing?” I groaned.

The whole crawling through my bedroom window just to kiss me goodnight
thing
was very Shakespearian.
I’m no Juliet but Di Caprio ain’t got nothin
g
on Tanis
Ashton
.
He is
so
mouthwatering, weak in the knees, forget how to breathe, I want to dress up as a princess and have him be my prince charming, hot.

I looked at the clock on the wall.

How many more hours until he picks me up in his pearly white European carriage?

N
ot nearly soon enough.

The oil changes took me all of an hour to do,
and even then
,
I took my time with them so I had something
to preoccupy myself with
. But there was only so much time one, such as myself, could spend on simple oil changes.
Before sixth period even started, I found myself sitting
sat at the
front counter
, hands covered in grease,
taking apart
a
carburetor. The boredom was so bad that I actually contemplated getting my nails done…obviously Tanis was driving me bat shit crazy without even knowing it
.

The door
to the office opened, the bell above it jingled, and my eyes instantly snapped
up
. An unfamiliar man walked in with a smug, up to no good, smile on his face. I suppose a white girl
or slutbag
would have found him attractive,
and
it was more than obvious that he wasn’t from Lummi: he was much too white. The way he carried himself was familiar, with a sense of pride and confidence,
his strong jaw line and the shape of the chin was familiar as well, but the familiarities
ended there. He was taller than me, but not by much, with broad shoulders
and a slender waist. L
ight
brown hair
in waves of soft curls covered the top of his head
,
giving him that ‘natural’ disheveled look that was anything but natural,
his
light blue eyes
h
ad flecks of muted gray in them
but they still sparkled
like topazes in the sun
,
and
proudly displayed with
his
vibrant white smile
was the unmistakable to a werewolf: fangs
.

I smiled
politely, trying to hide my fear but I’m sure he smelled it.
“Hello, can I help you with something?”
I asked.

The man sighed dramatically and leaned on the counter.
“Maybe
,” he said in an amused
tone
that instantly replaced
my
fear with irritation
. “
There’s a strange sound coming from my car.
Is the mechanic around?”

My eyes flickered outside before returning to his; there was no car out there.

“You found her,” I
said and
continued to smile.

He laughed and tap
ped his finger against his
pouting bottom lip
, and that was the confirmation I needed
.

“Can you excuse me for just a moment?
I need to return a p
hone call real quick,” I said.

Dismissively, he waved for me to go ahead, and he started wa
ndering around the small office, looking around at everything, most likely making sure we were alone.

Smug prick.

I
grabbed
the office phone and
dialed Tanis.

Tanis
picked up
on the first ring
, but never got a chance to say anything.

“
Hey Jarvis,” I greeted. “
I just wanted to let you know that I found tha
t ring you thought you
lost
in the backseat when you knocked boots with that nasty, rude, self-righteous bitch
.”
I
chuckled
, but it was forced. “I found it on the floor. I
t was covered in some type if icky
,
black gunk that smells
funky
, so you’ll have to wash it off.”

“
I am
on
my
way-
” he
started to say
but the line disconnected when a long, slender pale finger pressed down on the handset cradle.

Reluctantly I pulled my eyes from the base of the phone to the smug
vampire
in front of me.

“How is my lovely
little
brother?” he
asked with a smirk
.

This isn’t going to end well for anyone, I just know it. Would Tanis get pissed if I ripped his brother’s throat out? I don’t think they like each other, but I know that I’d kill a bitch if she hurt Jarvis, us liking each other or not.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I
said, trying to play
the dumb blonde routine
,
but
I wasn’t
a very good actress.

The smug jerk took the receiver from me and hung it up.
While his
eyes moved over me many times,
they
lingered on my breasts with each assessment,
I snaked one hand be
hind me to the back of my belt and wrap
ped my fingers aro
und back of the belt
.

“Can I help you with something, mister?” I asked.

He leaned over the counter
more
so
I leaned back. “
So you
are the
poor,
reservation trash
that my lovely
little brother has been fraternizing with,” he said.

Georgian is a bitch.

“Depends, who’s your brother?” I countered.

A smile filled his face
and
I didn’t miss the intent behind it: he was an evil sonuvabitch,
there
was no mistaking that. “An annoyingly cynical, overly prim and proper,
seventeenth
century vampire who most likely has been having a tantrum due to th
e hasty relocation to this shit
hole,
not to mention
the fact that he is surrounded by disgusting, vile fleabags. It must turn his
stomach
to be surrounded by immortal lapdogs of servitude
and yet can’t voice his opinion on it because of his
father’s
opinion of the mutts
.”

Screw it, I’m going to show him firsthand what this little immortal lapdog can do!

“Cat got your tongue?” he mused.

I shook my head, biting my tongue to keep all of the colorfully vulgar profanities from spilling from my lips.

He
looked inte
ntly into my eyes and his pupils dilated
, consuming
the light blue
in black
. “What are your intentions for my brother?” he asked, his voice coming out soft and very persuasive.

That wasn’t the question I thought he was going to ask.

“I don’t have any,” I admitted, slightly dumbfounded by the look of apparent concern washing across his face as the question left his lips.

“Don’t lie to me, little girl,” he
hissed, bringing his face uncomfortably close to mine.

“I’m not,” I whispered, struggling to swallow the lump in my throat.

He shook his head. “Such an interesting looking
girl,” he said softly, his eyes working over my face. “Eyes that black have to be hiding a heart equally as dark.
My
little
brother is not worthy of such a creature.”

Wait, what?

“Kiss me,” he whispered.

Oh hell no! I’m about to go all wolf girl up
in here…inner
Springer
guest aside, I will cut him first. Actually, that might work.

“Okay,” I said
breathlessly
, like the waitress at the restaurant, and
tightly
wrapped my grease-covered hand around his and he cringed, but didn’t pull away from me.

“Just like I said,” he
sneered
.

That isn’t right, is it? Shouldn’t he be gloating?

“I have to warn you,” I whispered, closing the
remaining
distance
us, leaning over the counter more. I leaned into his ear. “I don’t play fair,” I whispered and
slid my
grease covered
hand away from his, pulling his
family ring off as I went, and at the same time, pulled one of the silver throwing knives from the hidden sheath in the back of my belt and slammed it into his
free
hand
in a blur of movement
, hilt deep
into his flesh
, pinning it to the counter, then
ran for the sunlight.