Magestorm: The Awakening (11 page)

24

“I have been a were
wolf
for twenty six years now, since I was about seventeen.”

“So, you’re forty-three? 
Wow, y
ou look so much younger.”

Amelia blushed
.  T
hough it was a common trait among werewolves
, she
took it as the
compliment
it was meant to be
.
  She continued her story.

“I was in Japan when the change happened.  Bitten by a seemingly common wolf while playing with my brother in a forest, I was stolen away just before the first full moon.  For three months I was locked in a cage, not really knowing what was happening to me.”

“Jesus Christ!”

Amber sat down far from them.  Stories of past lives made her uneasy.  She would avoid hearing the rest of this one, and instead hummed to herself while she waited. 
Dhane
gave her a glance to make sure she wasn’t planning on
slipping out
before
returning
his attention to Amelia.

“I was fed and given blankets by this woman
.  She never spoke to me
.   One day an American man came and purchased me.  That is when I came to this country.”

“Was that Sebastian?”

“No, it was
Xander
.  He brought me here to be free, but with the new society being built to what we have now, I was still considered a slave
to an extent
.  To help the society in negotiations, they made me a greeter.  I help
put men’s minds at ease and put them in a more agreeable mood
, which then helps the leaders make deals to benefit us all.”

Wow.

Dhane
couldn’t believe there were slaves in this country
, even if it was to a limited extent
.  And a werewolf slave? 
It s
eemed almost absurd.  Now he felt
a little
sick
,
thinking
he had taken advantage of her
. 
It was one thing if she was doing a job she had chosen to do.  Instead s
he had been forced to be with him, rather than just being attracted to him. 

“I’m sorry.  If I had known, I never would’ve, you know…  I didn’t know it wasn’t a choice
for you
.”

“Do not be sorry for me, sire.  I benefit the society with my service.  I don’t usually enjoy it, though with you, I…”

“Well, well, is
Dhane
all grown up now?  Did you
fina
lly do the deed with a woman?”

The door had swung open, and much to Amber’s disappointment, it was Nicole that strolled in, running her mouth. 
Dhane
glared at her.  He was already in trouble for using a spell on a witch, what’s one more time going to hurt?

“Sorry, let me introduce you.  Amelia, this is the wicked witch of the East. 
You can never
find a good flying house when you need one.”

“Fuck and you.”

“No thanks, you haven’t had your shots, and I don’t want anything falling off.”

He knew he went
a tad
too far, and she became enraged.  She marched up to him until their noses touched.
  The heat coming off her and sweat running down her face told him
that
she had been exerting herself recently.

“What have you been up to
?  You’re sweating like you’ve run a marathon.”

She blushed and stepped away.  No way was she telling anyone about what she had been doing, at least not until Cassandra decided what her punishment might be.  For now, she needed to keep that
as
quiet
as possible
.
  Potentially being labeled the council slut didn’t particularly appeal to her.

“You mind your own business and I won’t turn you into a toad.”

He rolled his eyes
as she turned and walked back to stand near the door
.  She couldn’t turn him into a toad if she wanted to.  Not many had that kind of power
, changing humans to creatures
.  He
looked to
Amber
again
, who was sitting in the same spot, watching the door.
  She was unaffected by the petty bickering.
  Amelia stood
near
by
,
wondering what would happen next.

Dhane
took her by the arm and gently led her away from the other two.  He then spoke in a quiet voice so only she could hear
, and he could avoid any more jabs from Nicole
.

“I would like to come by and see you again, if that
would be
okay.”

“Of course, sire.  I can be yours anytime you like.  It would be my pleasure.”

“Mine as well, that’s for sure.  However, I would also like to talk
more
, get to know you better.”

She turned away
from him, looking a little confused or worried
.  Gently leaning over, she smelled a tulip planted nearby and closed her eyes.

“I love the way this flower smells.  I don’t need to know why it smells this way, or how it came to grow.  I
can
just enjoy it
for what it has to offer
.  That is how we should be.  I am a
greeter, I have always been a greeter, and I
presume I
will always be a greeter.  We should continue as such.
  A deeper relationship would not work.
”

“Oh, I see.”

He wasn’t sure what to say beyond that.  Lately sex had been falling into his lap.  No
w that he sought something more, i
t wasn’t to happen; at least that’s how she seemed to feel
.  He wanted to argue, but she stepped up t
o him and kissed him gently
, her tongue just teasing
his lips.

“I want to feel the warmth of your body again.  You should return here soon, and next time I won’t hold back.”

He was instantly ready to climb all over her.  She held back last time?  That couldn’t be right, but if it was, holy shit!  He realized her hand was brushing against his jeans and thought he might explode
right then and there
.

Suddenly the door burst open again and Cassandra stepped inside.  She glanced around at everyone and waved
Dhane
to come over and join her and
Nicole.  He
gave
Amelia
a quick kiss
before join
ing
the others.

“We move ahead as scheduled.  Search parties tonight, but we have to stay on high alert. 
Xander
can’t help us
right now
, but I’m sure he’s not working against us. 
Dhane
, you’re free to go home until the
n
.  Nicole, you’re relieved from duty until further notice.”

“I’m what?  No, I haven’t done anything wrong!  I mean, other than…”

She glanced at
Dhane
and he almost had to laugh.  That explained why she was sweating. 
And she had the nerve to make fun of him having sex in the werewolf lair?

“Do you want to air your dirty laundry right now?”

Nicole shook her head.  She knew she didn’t really have a leg to stand on.  Arguing was futile, unless she wanted to confirm in front of
Dhane
that she was
doing the horizontal mambo with
Xander
, and had been for some time
.

“Good, now go home and we’ll
deal
with things tomorrow night.”

Amelia escorted
Dhane
while Nicole stormed off ahead
and out the front door without even looking back
.  Soon she was gone, leaving them alone at the entrance.

“You will come back then, sire?”

“You can count on it.”

He pulled her close and kissed her deep.  Their bodies heated up quickly, but they both knew he couldn’t stay.  Not tonight.  The farewell kiss would keep them thinking of each other until they met again, though.  He departed and she stood in the entranceway,
smiling,
waiting.

Once they were alone, Cassandra walked over to Amber, who
was
st
anding
and wait
ing
anxiously
to be addressed
.  Face to face, Cassandra put her hand on Amber’s face and
kissed her gently.
  The smell of honey again filled her nose and stirred her arousal.

“I apologize for earlier, but
with everything going on,
I…”

“The young man explained I should not take it personally, so I don’t.
  He made it seem you wanted to see me, even if you were too busy.  I wanted to see you too.
”

Cassandra smiled.
 
Dhane
had her back.  Her hand slid down from Amber’s face to her chest and rested in the center
, feeling her heart
as she spoke
to her greeter
.

“I want to come back, to see you again
,
to
do more than just see you. 
It can’t be tonight, but I promise it will be soon.”

“
When you are ready to see me again, to touch me, to taste me,
I will be
here,
waiting.”

25

Dhane
checked his watch
.
It was five after
the arranged meeting time
, and no sign
of Lila.  Maybe she changed her mind and decided to go with one of the others. 
It m
ade sense, really.  Going into such a dangerous situation, you would want people you’ve trusted for a while watching your back, just in case
anything
…

“Hey, sorry I’m late.  Cassandra called at the last minute and changed our mission a little.”

“Oh.  I thought maybe you went with someone else.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Thought you might feel safer with someone you were more used to working with.”

“You saved my life.  So, I know for a fact you would help me if I was in trouble
, which is more than I know of anyone else
.
”

He returned her sincere smile and they started walking towards the werewolf area.
  A sudden awareness hit him of how little he was alone lately, compared to the past few years
when
Cassandra was really his only personal interaction.  It wasn’t a bad thing, just very different for him.  Now was not the time for self-observation
, though
.  He had to focus
on the task at hand
.

“So, what’s the new mission?”

“Oh right, we’re not going into the sewer
.  In case the search below stirs something up here, she wants us to find a spot to catch it.  Since the werewolves are still working on moving into that new apartment building, and it
i
s five stories
high;
I thought the top of it
would be a good spot.”

Dhane
agreed and they made their
through town and to the rooftop.
 
From there it
was even colder, much to his dismay. 
The two of them paced around the roof, peering into the streets below as they made idle chit-chat.
  One end of the building was right on the edge of werewolf land.  The force field had the hint of an orange aura that could be seen, but was only visible to them and werewolves.

It was a pleasant visit for
Dhane
, as he learned Lila shared his appreciation for Shakespeare, if not his affinity for rap music.  She was more the pop and country kind of girl.
 
Then she suddenly became very serious.

“
Dhane
, I’m sorry about the way I treated you.  It didn’t occur to me until now exactly why you thought I wouldn’t show up.  It must be hard to trust someone who shunned you for so long.”

“That’s fine; you were doing the same as everyone else.”

“No, it’s not fine.  I didn’t even have any real reason to act that way, other than following the others.  It’s amazing that the fear of your father could result in such contempt for you.  You’ve done nothing to warrant that, and I really am sorry.  Maybe someday I’ll be able to make it up to you.”

Arguing would accomplish nothing, so he smiled and nodded.  The conversation turned lighter again as they returned to their watch.

After about twenty minutes,
Lila
spotted something in the shadows on the streets.  Someone was there, lurking.  She pointed it out to
Dhane
, and he searched up and down the streets to see if anyone else was
around
. 

“I
t looks like they’re alone
.  Can you tell who it is?”

Lila responded to his whispers with a shaking of her head.  They watched silently until the figure moved into more light. 
Dhane’s
eyes got wide
when he recognized the woman
.

“Holy crap, that’s Veronica!”

“
You’re right! 
What is she doing?”

Veronica stepped up to the force field and opened a hole in it.  Then she waited.  A moment later, a werewolf
with a grey stripe down the back of his head
came out from a dark alley and raced through the hole.  She followed, closing the hole behind her.

“That’s it then
;
she’s the traitor.
 
Dhane
, we have to report this.
”

Dhane
didn’t feel right
about something
, but he couldn’t disagree with what he just witnessed. 
Maybe it was just the cold getting to him. 
Cassandra had to be informed immediately
regardless
.  They
may have
identified the traitor and a werewolf had escaped.  He shivered.

“Are you okay?”

He nodded yes, but meant no. 
The
ache in his stomach
had to mean
this
wasn’t r
ight
.  Or maybe it was the fact he had forgotten to eat?
  No, he was sure it was something else, something worse.  Pushing it aside, he started towards the fire escape.

“We better get downstairs.  The sooner Cassandra knows
about this
, the better.”

They hurried downstairs and
to
the street.  He could swear there were eyes on them, but in the darkness, it could be from anywhere.  They reached the barrier and he breathed a sigh of relief on the other side.

“Do you really feel right about this?”
Dhane
asked.

“I know what I saw, and you saw it too.  Why do you think it’s not right?”

“
I’m not sure.  Just a gut feeling, like maybe we didn’t see what we think we saw.”

“That’s not enough though.  All we can do is report it, and tell Cassandra your concerns.  It’s her decision on what to do from there.” 

“Yeah, you’re right.  Guess it’s t
ime to call off the wild goose chase.”