Once Bitten (13 page)

“Don’t
worry about that.”

“I
trust you took care of the situation?” All Malcolm cared about was whether or
not the warlock was out of his territory.

“I
have.”

“Good.”

Gabriel
poured water into the machine and turned it on, leaning against the counter. “What
should I do with the bracelet? Should I bring it to Boston?”

“You
can’t do that, not yet anyway.” He could hear his uncle sigh. “I can’t go
before the Council accusing two factions of forming an unapproved alliance. If
this is real, and I’m not doubting you for a second, then this could mean war
for us. I need national approval from the werewolves.”

Gabriel
could understand his uncle’s predicament. Any alliances, which included mating,
outside of one’s own faction required the Council’s approval first. The threat
of an alliance between two of the more hostile factions was something no one on
the Council wanted to see, especially the werewolves. The werewolves had
already threatened to go to war with both factions if an alliance was ever
made, approved or unapproved.

Malcolm
still hadn’t answered Gabriel’s question. “So what do you want me to do?”

“Go to
Long Lake and present it to our region’s district leaders. Let them take it to
the different regions for approval from there. I cannot be directly involved
because of my work here in Boston. I’m supposed to be keeping the peace, not
condoning a war. And that’s what it’ll be. War.”

Long
Lake. That was one place he wasn’t too keen on taking Lila, but he didn’t have
a choice. “All right, Uncle. I’ll be there by late this afternoon.”

“They
won’t convene again until tomorrow morning. Just be prepared to present it to
them by then.”

“Will
do.”

“And
Gabriel?”

“Yes?”

“Good
job, son. Be careful.”

“Of
course. I’ll talk to you later.” Gabriel ended the call and placed his phone on
the counter while he poured himself a cup of coffee.

Drinking
the brew, he looked out the window and wondered how on earth he was going to
tell Lila that they were going on an eight-hour road trip only to end up in the
most aggressive werewolf territory east of the Mississippi.

* * * *

Lila
awoke to the sound of her shower. She had her best night’s sleep in a long
time. Stretching in the bed, she could feel the ache between her legs but didn’t
regret it in the least. Quite the opposite, in fact. She was all smiles.

She was
climbing out of bed, the smell of coffee calling her name in the kitchen when
the water cut off. The door opened a second later and Gabriel stood there in
all his naked glory, drying his hair with a towel.

“Good
morning,” he told her, smiling. “I tried not to wake you.”

She
stood at the end of the bed, gawking. “Good morning yourself.” She grabbed her
terrycloth robe out of her closet, grinned at him and left the room to get some
coffee before she jumped him right there in the doorway. It was mighty
tempting.

She
felt like laughing out loud as she stood in the kitchen, sipping her coffee.
Last night had been amazing. She felt like a giddy teenager who had just had
her first kiss with the high school quarterback. Only it was more than a kiss.
And with a werewolf.

Gabriel
came up behind her and kissed her neck before leaning against the counter next
to her.

“Sleep
well?” he asked. She hated seeing him in clothes again, but he had chosen well
with his jeans and gray U. Maine sweatshirt.

“Very.”

“Good.
I need you to be well rested today.”

She
liked where this was going. “Oh, yeah?” she asked before taking a sip of her
coffee.

“Yep.
We’re going on a road trip.”

She
looked at him in disbelief. “What?” Not what she had been expecting to hear.

“We’re
going to the Adirondacks to the werewolves’ northeastern regional headquarters.”

“The
Adirondacks? Wait a minute. Werewolves have a headquarters?”

“Yes
and yes. Several of them actually.”

He was
serious. “Damn.” She had a hard time imagining what a werewolf headquarters
would look like. Something resembling a military base? Or perhaps a cave in the
middle of the woods where they all sat at a round table playing spades?

“Go
jump in the shower and pack a bag because we’re going to be gone at least one
night, possibly two.” He was being way too chipper about this and she wondered
if something was up. She decided to go with it if only for curiosity sake, even
if she wasn’t too excited about walking into werewolf headquarters.
Stupid name.

“Okay…”
She took her coffee and left him standing in the kitchen while she went to do
what he had instructed.

She
showered, did her makeup and dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeved
flannel shirt. After pulling her overnight bag down from the top of the closet,
she was at a loss as to what else to pack. What did one wear to the werewolf
headquarters?

“Gabriel!”
she yelled for him, hoping he would have some insight.

He was
at her door in a second, alert and scanning the room as if looking for an
intruder that had managed to slip past his supersonic hearing.

“What
should I pack?”

He
shook his head. “I don’t know. Don’t yell like that. I thought something was
wrong.”

She
ignored his last comment. There were more important things at hand. “No,
really. I need you to be more helpful than that. Are jeans okay? Or do I need
to dress up?”
Please don’t tell me I need
to dress up
, she silently prayed. Lila and dresses didn’t mix.

“Jeans
should be fine. They’re werewolves. They don’t give a shit what you look like.”

She
hadn’t thought about it that way. “Fair enough,” she said, shrugging and going
over to her dresser to pull out two pairs of jeans.

He
watched her as she packed the remainder of her clothes, commenting only briefly
when she asked his opinion over what tops to bring. To her surprise he had
opted for the higher cut blouse. If she had pulled out a turtleneck, he
probably would’ve chosen that. Thankfully, Lila didn’t own turtlenecks.

Lila
was throwing in an extra pair of panties when she thought about the gun in her
bedside drawer. She kept it there just in case of emergencies and for whenever
she went to the gun range with Andrea, but now she wondered if it was something
that she should bring with her. Figuring it wouldn’t hurt, she tossed the nine
millimeter into her bag with an extra clip.

She
went through her bag one more time to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything
before zipping it up. She was throwing it over her shoulder when she heard the
screen door bang.

“Ready?”
Gabriel asked her when she came into the living room.

“As
ready as I’ll ever be.”

He
sighed and she thought she heard him mutter, “Finally.”

“What’s
that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

He tried
to look innocent, but failed miserably. She stared at him, waiting for him to
explain himself.

“It
just takes you awhile, that’s all.”

“Are
you calling me high maintenance? Because, let me tell you, you haven’t even
begun to see high maintenance until you’ve been around Natalie for a few hours.”

He
laughed. “No, you’re not high maintenance. Just particular.”

“I don’t
know these people. You’re only as good as your first impression anyway.”

Trying
to usher her in the direction of the front door, he said, “I don’t think you’ll
have anything to worry about.”

She
stopped once more to make sure she had her phone and charger with her before
grabbing a jacket and closing up the house behind her.

The
drive took forever. First Lila couldn’t leave the radio knob alone, constantly
switching the channel when a commercial or a song came on that she didn’t like.
Then when Gabriel was on the phone with his brother explaining where they were
going, she dozed off, only to wake up when he stopped for gas and food.

Armed
with a Big Gulp and a foot-long sub, Lila got back in the Jeep.

“Are
you sure you need all that?” Gabriel asked, nodding toward her drink.

“I’m
thirsty.”

“I can
see that.” She stuck her tongue out at his comment. Somehow Gabriel managed to
drive and eat simultaneously, something that Lila had never mastered without
making a mess. He did it without dropping a single crumb.

She put
their trash into a plastic bag and relaxed back in her seat, enjoying the
scenery as it rolled by the passenger side window. She had never been out of
Maine before and although this wasn’t what she had imagined for her first out
of state vacation, she was actually enjoying herself. Even the drizzling rain
wasn’t getting her down. The earth’s perfume seeping in through the cracked
window was refreshing.

And as
far as she could tell, Gabriel was enjoying himself too. She had even convinced
him to play the license plate game which he won, thanks to his superior vision.
He saw plates that were too far away for her to make out and part of her couldn’t
help but wonder if he was cheating. She found it hard to believe that he had
actually spotted a New Mexico plate like he claimed.

Just as
she was slurping down the last of her soda, it hit her.

“Uh-oh.”
She put the empty cup back into the cup holder.

“What?”
he asked, jerking his attention from the road to look at her.

“I have
to pee.”

He
laughed. “You just drank thirty ounces of soda. I was wondering how long you’d
last before we had to stop.”

“Well,
we have to stop.”

“There
aren’t any places to stop for at least another ten miles.”

“I don’t
know if I can wait ten miles.”

“What
do you want me to do?” Thick trees and bushes were whizzing by her window. No
civilization in sight.

“Pull
over.”

“Are
you serious?”

“As a
heart attack.”

Cursing,
he pulled the car to the side of the road and she jumped out as soon as he came
to a stop.

“Don’t
wipe yourself with poison ivy!” he called after her as she scurried up the
embankment.

“Please,
I’m not that naïve,” she muttered, finding a decent bush to squat behind so she
was away from the spying eyes in the cars that passed by.

The
cold rain hit her at a steady rate, soaking through her jacket and shirt to her
skin and chilling her to the bone. Grabbing the one jacket she owned that wasn’t
waterproof was the first mistake she had made on their trip. Well, actually it
was the second. The Big Gulp she had sucked down wasn’t the most brilliant idea
she’d ever had.

She hurried
as fast as she could, running back down the hill to the waiting warmth of the
Jeep. She jumped into the car and shivered. He had already turned up the heat
and she welcomed the hot air that hit her face as she buckled her seat belt.

“Okay,
let’s go.” She held her hands up in front of the vent, rubbing her palms
together.

Gabriel
raised his brow, a trace of a grin on his lips. “You sure you’re done?”

“Good
to go. Let’s hit the road.”

He
eased back into traffic as she changed the radio station yet again. Out of the
corner of her eye, she saw him moving around in his seat as she redirected her
vents so that they were blowing directly on her. Shivering, she prayed her
clothes would dry quickly. She didn’t want to be cold for the remainder of the
drive.

“You’re
freezing,” he commented.

“I’ll
be fine. The rain really picked up when I was out there. It was as if it was
just waiting for me to leave the car.”

“Here,”
he said as his heavy sweatshirt landed on her lap. “You shouldn’t sit there in
wet clothes.”

“Thanks,”
she said as she pulled off her jacket and flung it into the backseat. Her wet
T-shirt followed.

Goose bumps
had erupted over her skin. Her nipples had tightened painfully under the thin
fabric of her bra. The hot air from the vent felt almost blissful on her skin
as it dried.

His
hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Are you going to put it on or what?”

She
couldn’t help but smile. It was impossible not to notice that her semi-naked
state was having an effect on him. The tight line of his mouth and the
straining bulge beneath his jeans told her that much.

“I am.
I was just trying to dry my skin a bit first,” she said as she pushed her
shoulders back, her breasts jutting forward. When it became apparent that the
steering wheel was getting ready to crack under his tight grip, she decided
that she had teased him enough for one road trip. She pulled his still-warm
sweatshirt on, cocooned in the warmth that had come from his body heat.