Full Moon Rising (8 page)

He waved the comment away. "Really. I've always been curious about it."

"And you've never thought to ask a wolf? Or taken a wander through their thoughts to find out?"

"Never really cared enough to do either."

"So why ask now?"

"I hate silence."

"Yeah. Right." He hated silences as much as I hated the moon dance. Still, I couldn't see the harm in answering his question--and it wasn't like I hadn't been asked it before. "Werewolves don't take contraceptives, but we are electronically chipped to prevent conception. Don't ask me how it works, it just does. The chips are inserted under our skins at puberty and until they're taken out, we can't get pregnant."

It had been a pretty pointless exercise with me, because apparently I had some weird hormonal imbalances that meant my eggs never made the journey down to my womb. The good thing about it was the fact I didn't menstruate. The bad thing, the fact I couldn't become pregnant without medical assistance. Even then, the doctors weren't sure if I would ever get pregnant or carry to term. Actually, most of them figured I was the werewolf equivalent of a mule--all the right bits but none of the functionality. But rules were rules, and there was no getting around them even if you couldn't conceive naturally.

"What happens if you do want to become pregnant?"

"You pay the government medicos five hundred bucks to take the chip out, and you can become pregnant within twenty-four hours."

"And the government forces this?"

"Yep."

He snorted softly. "Amazing. They have one rule for humans and another for everyone else."

"I'm figuring they don't want the world overrun with wolves."

"It's overrun with humans, and they cause more damn damage than the rest of us ever could."

"That's not a nice way to talk about your food source."

He shrugged and left it at that. Odd, to say the least. Midday eventually rolled around, and I climbed the stairs to the kitchen on sublevel two to check out the meals--which were mainly blood, and not the synth variety--for the guardians. Once it was all onboard, I escorted the trolley to the elevator then down to the fourth level.

The doors swished open and darkness greeted me. I swore under my breath. The bastards were playing games again. And while darkness didn't worry me, the fact that there were over twenty vampires in that room, all of whom could become shadows in the night, made me wary. I couldn't watch them all, even with my vampire vision, and the security cams didn't work too well in darkness.

"If you fuckers don't turn on the lights, you can go hungry."

The lights came back on and Gautier's feral form strolled toward me. "Afraid of the dark, are we?"

I snorted and pressed the button on the trolley. With an electronic groan, it rolled forward and made its way toward the dining room. "Why don't you go have a shower, Gautier? You smell like shit."

He smiled, revealing bloodstained teeth. He'd fed before coming in, and I wondered who on. Was it an official source, or had he started hunting up his own meals?

"It's only blood, and the aroma is one I find intoxicating."

"Believe me, I know blood when I smell it, and what I'm smelling ain't blood."

I followed the trolley toward the dining room. Gautier followed me, a forbidding presence I could feel but not hear.

"Rhoan hasn't come back yet," he stated. "You heard from him?"

The small hairs on the back of my neck rose. He was so close I could feel the wind of his foul breath past my ear. But I didn't acknowledge him and didn't alter my pace, because that was what he was waiting for.

"He's on an assignment."

"The moon heat stirs for you wolves, doesn't it?"

"What's it to you?"

"Well, how are you going to cope without your lover?"

I snorted. "I'll find another. Werewolves generally aren't monogamous, you know." Not until they'd found their soul mate and sworn their love to the moon, anyway.

"Ever considered trying a vampire as a lover?"

His hand came down on my shoulder, his fingers pressing deep into my barely healed wound. Pain flashed white-hot through my body and I couldn't stop my knees buckling. Swallowing back bile, I kept going down until my knees hit the floor, then, before he could react, shot a hand to his crotch and grabbed a fistful of balls.

He made a gargling sound, and froze. Dead or not, vampires were still men and still very attached to their dangly bits.

"Touch me again, and you'll be finding these"--I squeezed his balls a little harder--"up in the vicinity of your throat."

His brown eyes were almost molten with fury and pain. I squeezed again and could swear I saw sweat break out across his brow. Impossible, surely, given Gautier's fierce reputation. Maybe it was just a trick of the lights.

"Do you understand me?"

His nod was barely perceptible. From behind us came the sound of clapping.

"Well done, Riley." Kelly's smooth and sultry voice came from close behind, and a little of my tension eased. If she was there, then my back was safe. "How about you give those sacks an extra squeeze for me? The great Gautier in pain is such a rare but welcome sight."

Gautier's gaze went past me. "Watch your step tonight, bitch. You might just hit trouble."

"Oh, I'm so scared." Kelly's voice was dry.

I couldn't help smiling, but resisted the temptation to do as she asked and released him instead. I wasn't a fool--and if I inflicted too much damage, I'd catch hell not only from the Directorate, but Gautier himself. He wasn't above lying in wait for someone, and for all my bravado, I had no real desire to go head to head with the creep.

I rose and turned my back on him--which, in itself, was an insult of the highest form to a vampire like Gautier. His fury scorched my skin, but I didn't flinch and didn't turn around. Just kept on walking.

Kelly leaned against the doorway into the eating area, a wide smile softening her sharp features. "In a bit of a mood, are we?"

I grinned and tossed her a meal. "I'm just a little tired of being threatened."

"So I gathered. I'll have to pinch that move off you. It certainly immobilizes male quarry."

My gaze went to Gautier. Dark didn't even begin to explain his expression. Maybe I was crazy, but it cheered me up no end.

"You got any plans for Tuesday or Wednesday night?" I stopped the trolley and opened the sides so the other guardians had access.

Kelly shook her head, her black hair gleaming almost blue in the harsh lighting. "Nothing. Why?"

"The full moon is beginning to rise, so if you still want to catch a little werewolf action . . ." I trailed off and grinned.

"Oh, yes please." Anticipation flicked in her gray eyes. "The male of your species sure can show a girl a good time."

Ain't that the truth. "I'll ring Tuesday and we'll arrange a meet time."

She nodded and leaned forward a little. "I haven't heard any whispers here about Rhoan's mission, by the way. Jack's sending me out tonight, though, so if I find anything, I'll give you a call."

"Thanks. But be careful out there."

She smiled and touched my arm lightly. "The great Gautier doesn't worry me."

Well, he worried me. And I didn't like the way he was watching us. "I was thinking more about the disappearances than Gautier. I don't want you to join the ranks of the vanished."

"It's not something I want, believe me." Her tone was one of dry amusement. "But I will be careful."

"Good."

Once the trolley was empty of its packaged blood, the two of us dished out the coffee. But all the while, I was aware of Gautier's heated gaze. His expression reminded me of the man who'd shot me, and I decided to ask Jack about Gautier's background when I returned upstairs.

Once we'd finished serving, I walked the trolley back to the kitchen. Jack gave me a sweet smile when I got back to the office. "Like the way you handled Gautier."

I grimaced. "I just hope our bosses don't mind me roughing up their star guardian."

"You gotta show the guardians you're more than capable of protecting yourself down there, or there'll be trouble."

I nodded. Guardians seemed to have a whole different set of values than the rest of the population. Show the slightest weakness and they thought you were theirs to do with as they pleased. And while those in charge didn't condone the behavior, they weren't above turning a blind eye to it either, particularly if the guardians didn't kill their "toys."

I often wondered what would happen if the public or the press ever found out about some of the darker habits of those paid to protect them. Not to mention the true purpose of the guardian force--to kill without recourse to the courts or justice. Would there be outrage? Or would humanity simply accept it as a price that had to be paid for their safety?

Considering the unreasoned--almost instinctive--fear many communities had about the nonhumans in their midst, I pretty much figured it would be the latter.

Or that maybe they'd simply call for all of us to be shot. No nonhumans, no problems.

I propped on the end of Jack's desk and swung a leg. "Have you ever run a check on Gautier?"

"I ran complete checks on all personnel when I first came into this position." Jack leaned back in his chair. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm nosy."

"All wolves are, but that doesn't explain the sudden interest in Gautier or why you're now asking me about him."

I grinned. "I'm asking because you have a little more access to file information than I do."

A smile twitched his lips, but there was a coldness in his eyes that suggested he not only knew where I was going but had been waiting for it. And I knew in that moment that this was the reason he'd been trying to keep me talking before.

Though why he didn't just come out and ask his questions, I had no idea.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Has Gautier got a brother?"

"None on record. His whole family is listed as dead, in fact."

"Well, the guy who shot me last night was the spitting image of him. Except that he was a werewolf rather than a vampire."

"Coincidence?"

"You don't believe in coincidence."

"No." He hesitated. "I've secured what's left of the body and have asked our scientists to do an autopsy and cell analysis. That way, we'll know if he is kin, or something else."

I raised my eyebrows. "So if you knew about the shooting, why not say something when I first mentioned it?"

"Because I wanted to see if you would mention it or want it followed through." He smiled. "Good guardians always finish what they start."

"So do good liaisons." I rose and brushed a kiss across Jack's leathery cheek. "And thanks for doing the check."

He actually blushed. "You're welcome. Now, hadn't you better get going? You've only a half day today, and you know how those upstairs feel about overtime."

"If it ain't approved beforehand, it ain't paid," I quoted, in my best Jack imitation.

He snorted. "Go find that flatmate you're so worried about before I
do
find a reason to make you stay."

With a grin, I bounced back to my desk. After logging off, I grabbed my bag, waved him good-bye and headed out the door.

Though it was barely one, the sun had disappeared behind heavy clouds, and the day had become gray. I buttoned up my woolen coat, thankful I'd chosen it over the trendy, but short, leather one I usually wore when I did the club circuits.

I caught a tram to Lygon Street, but hesitated once I got out, sniffing the air and reveling in the mouthwatering aromas of meats, spices, and breads wafting down from the street's famed restaurant precinct. My stomach rumbled a reminder it hadn't eaten lunch, but I ignored it and walked on. Just then, I had deeper hungers to satisfy.

The Blue Moon was situated in a side street just off the corner of Lygon Street. Though it was my favorite club, the name always made me smile. It was such an obvious choice for a werewolf establishment that there were hundreds--if not thousands--of Blue Moons all over the world. Humanity at large probably thought we lacked imagination--but anyone who had ever stepped inside a club would know that definitely
wasn't
the case.

This Blue Moon was the smallest of the five werewolf clubs in Melbourne and the only one that allowed humans to enter--though it did have restrictions on which days, and no human was allowed to enter during the full-moon phase. The other clubs had a strict nonhumans-only policy, something the wankers in government were currently legislating to change. Which was amazing, really, when you consider that twenty years ago, the clubs weren't even legal and had regularly suffered raids from the police.

The doors swished open and Jimmy, the mountain-sized half-human, half-lion-shifter bouncer, gave me a grin in which half the teeth were missing. He'd lost them in a fight there a couple of weeks ago, and obviously still considered his toothless smile a badge of honor. And considering he'd come out on top of three wolves, the big man had a right to be proud.