The Cougar's Pawn (11 page)

Agatha laughed. “Cat stays here. It’s her familiar and she doesn’t trust you. She’ll keep trying to get here, and even without supernatural assistance from a goddess, I’m almost certain she’d figure out a way. Take care, precious.” She planted a kiss on Ellery’s forehead. “I’m sorry. This is mostly my fault, I’m sure.”

Ellery sighed. “Shit happens. Usually to me, sadly.”

The goddess vanished.

Mason let go of Ellery.

Ellery smacked the ever-loving shit out of him.

He couldn’t say he didn’t expect it.

“What kind of crack are you smoking?” Ellery spat at the stunned Were-cougar in the corner.

“That hurt.” He rubbed his cheek and made doleful eyes at her—the same ones Pumpkin Pie tended to make when she’d been caught eating out of the trashcan. Apparently, he
did
feel some things after all.

“I wish I could make it hurt more. You keep expecting me to be gracious. Are you forgetting I didn’t come here of my own accord?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten. It’s the Cou—”

“Yeah, yeah. The Cougar way. I get that. I just don’t agree with it.” She pushed her chair back up to the table and sat in front of spaghetti that had to be cold.

He crossed his arms. “So, it’s true? Is Agatha responsible for the rise in paranormal activity out here?”

She shrugged. “I believe there may be a connection.”

“What happened?”

“Long story.”

“I’d like to hear it.” He sat in front of his plate, but pushed it away and put his elbows in its place.

“Fine.” She picked up her fork and twined some noodles onto it. “If I gloss over anything it’s because I wasn’t there personally and am simply relaying what I know. My sister is married to a witch whose father was, or
is
—I’m not sure at this point—a demon. Not of the gaping-maw noncorporeal sort, but a fallen angel who turned. He goes by the name of Gulielmus.”

“Fallen angel. Wow, the company you keep … ”

“Shush.” She shoved food into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed without even tasting it. Her belly didn’t care. “Guilelmus is a man with many enemies. Suffice it to say, there was a battle, and during it, my sister was threatened. Agatha saw to it that the entity that tried to harm my sister would never see the light of day or anything else ever again. In the process, she may have roused the attention of certain gods.”

“Those gods opened the hellmouth?”

“No, I think the general increase of supernatural power in this realm may have weakened the barriers enough for the creatures on that side to break through them.”

“So Agatha is on the run now?”

“Hell no. Agatha wouldn’t run from shit. If something picks a fight, she deals with it.”

“And I imagine she gets into a lot of fights.”

Ellery grunted. “Mostly with demons and malevolent spirits sent by gods from a distance. They wouldn’t fight her one-on-one.”

“She that powerful?”

“She’s a wind goddess. Hurricanes can destroy entire cities, so what do you think?”

“Point taken. Do you think she can find three angels?”

“Sure.” She scooped up some more spaghetti and hoped he didn’t notice how badly her hands were shaking.

Agatha could certainly find three
fallen
ones. If they had enough remaining power—which really depended on why they fell and how they were punished for it—they could probably do the job. The issue would be getting them to do her the favor. She’d burned a lot of bridges in her long life.

Ever since Gulielmus had gone into his supernatural coma, ex-angels had been coming out of the woodwork to advise his sons. At the time Ellery had left for her ill-fated camping trip, none had seen before the particular phenomenon afflicting Gulielmus, and therefore could offer no guidance in how to wake him.

“Talk about something else,” she said, “or nothing at all.”

At the sound of scratching behind her, she turned and watched her familiar defile the corner behind the back door.

“That little fucker.”

Ellery grinned.

“I bet you impelled her to do that.” He stood and ripped a few squares of paper toweling off the roll. “With witchcraft.”

“Maybe I did.” She wasn’t
that
cruel. Cat piss was nearly impossible to clean completely. Once it soaked into wood, the only remedy was to either replace the wood or keep the cat from returning. For all she knew, there was some cleaning spell that might do the trick. She rubbed her chin.
Oughta ask Claude.

Pumpkin Pie tottered away slowly. She’d only made it a few feet from her spot of soiling before she stopped to bathe her nether-bits.

“I guess you don’t have a litter box here, huh?”

“I’m not that kind of cat. You’re going to have to keep yours outside.”

“So the coyotes or birds of prey could eat her? Nope. She’s not just a housecat. We have a spiritual connection.”

Pumpkin Pie swatted at Mason’s ankles as he walked past her to the trashcan.

He bared fangs and hissed at her.

She ran.

“It’s my house, you furry little—”

“Hey, buddy-roe. You insulted my mee-maw. Don’t go insulting my cat, too.” Agatha could fight her own battles, especially considering she’d left her there with the fool. Some mee-maw.

He tossed the paper, mumbling under his breath, and washed his hands. “What’d you call me?”

“Buddy-roe.” She scraped up the dregs of her noodles and slid them into her mouth.

“Is that a southern term of endearment?”

“Nope.”

He pulled her chair back, stood her up, and pressed his hands to her cheeks, tilting her face up to see his. “Then you need a reminder. My name is Mason. You can call me Mase if two is too many syllables.”

“Stop manhandling me.”

“I’m not manhandling you. I’m simply guiding you through the motions of what you should be doing right now. My eyes are up here. You could try looking at them when you speak to me.”

“You mean, like people who respect each other do?”

“Yep.”

She got on her tiptoes and squinted, giving him all the eye contact he could possibly stand before stepping away. “You haven’t earned it.”

“Cold as ice. I hope you’re kinder to your patients.”

“I’m a professional. I get paid to be kind, even when I don’t feel like people deserve it. You’re neither paying me nor motivating any sort of friendship.”

“If you have to be here for the next two weeks, you could at least try to be civil.”

“I’ll be as civil as
you
. In the past ten minutes, you threatened to maul me. Before that, you smacked my knife away when I was only trying to help you. Previous to that incident, there was a very bumpy ride in the back of a truck that reeked of burnt oil and polyurethane. And of course, there was the abduction. Given the circumstances, I think I’m being as polite as anyone could expect.”

He threaded his fingers behind his head, and she watched that cheek of his twitch.

“Go on and say it. Tell me you’re a nice guy and that I’m just being sensitive.”

“I never said I was a nice guy. I said I wouldn’t
hurt
you.”

“But you said you were going to claw me. That counts as hurting.”

He dropped his hands and scoffed. “I wouldn’t really claw you. I don’t need any new Cougars in my glaring, and I certainly wouldn’t turn anyone against her will. It was just posturing. I’m certain your
mee-maw
did some of her own.”

Ellery balled her hands into fists at her sides. “What?”

“I didn’t invent the rules. I’m just playing the game.”

“So you lied?”

He shrugged. “Not a habit of mine, I assure you, but if I’ve learned anything about being Alpha is that I have to sometimes make sacrifices for the greater good.”

“Your greater good is selfish.”

“If you say so. If giving a damn about my family makes me selfish in your mind, then so be it. I’m not going to try to convince you otherwise.”

Her jaw flapped wordlessly for a few seconds and he pinned her in his unforgiving stare. He’d cut to the quick without even knowing her weakness. Of course she felt like her estrangement from her family was her fault. After all, she’d
chosen
her allegiances, and they didn’t match the ones she’d grown up with. She could have stuck with the status quo, but not without irreparable detriment to her growth as a person and a witch. Her sacrifice was just, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less.

“Are you done eating?” he asked quietly, pulling her from her mental torrent.

Her turn to shrug. “I guess, seeing as how I lost my appetite. Why?”

“It’s bedtime.”

“So go.”

“I’ll rephrase.” He walked around her, set his hands on her shoulders, and started her walking toward the hallway. “We’re both going to bed. I don’t know if you noticed, but this house only has two bedrooms. Doesn’t matter where we sleep, but it will be in the same room. You sleep on the sofa? Fine. I’ll sleep on the floor in front of it. Want the bed? That’s fine, too, because I’ll share it.”

Well, there went her planned escape attempt, if she could even go through it now that she’d made her deal with him. She didn’t break promises in the same way she didn’t intentionally do people harm. That wasn’t just because she was a witch and feared karmic backlash, but because she was a citizen of the world. Sometimes, being decent was hard, but she tried anyway.

“You can sleep on the floor,” she said, resigned.

“Right next to the door, if you’d like, but I should tell you that there’s no heat in the master bedroom. Heater’s busted and I haven’t had a chance to fix it. It may feel okay in here right now, but come two, three in the morning, you’re going to be freezing your cookies off and will want some body heat.”

“You seem to tolerate it fine.”

“In cougar form.”

“You’re not sleeping in cougar form. What if your kid calls out for you in the middle of the night?”

She’d probably go to him. The nurse in her wouldn’t leave that baby to cry for long, nor would the part of her that was just woman who wanted kids of her own some day. Listening to Nick cry would very likely make her ovaries explode. Mason didn’t need to know that, though. He was already playing her like an accordion and poking at every one of her weak spots without knowing them.

He grabbed the monitor from the counter. “Thanks for the reminder. Your choice. I sleep as a cat by the door or we share the bed.”

“I’d bet good money you were the one who broke the heater.”

“Alas, no. I’ve got a to-do list the length of my arm already. I wouldn’t add to it on purpose.”

“Fine. Stay on your side of the bed.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Not a problem. I suspect it won’t be me crossing into enemy territory in the middle of the night.”

“In your dreams.”

“We’ll see.”

• • •

At the end of an REM cycle, apparently, Ellery opened one eyelid and focused on the digital clock to her left.

Three twenty-one.

The mattress under her chin moved slowly up, and down. Up, and down.

She was in the process of wondering why it was suddenly so fucking hard, when the mattress slung an arm around her waist.

“Goddammit.”

“Told you,” Mason said groggily. “It’s unavoidable.”

“It’s voodoo.”

“Nope. Biology. Your body recognizes its mate even if your brain doesn’t. Knows I’ll take care of you. Keep you safe.”

“Let go of me.” She closed her eyes and let her muscles relax one by one. He was so warm.

“You can roll over at any time, sweetheart.”

“Okay, I will.” She settled her cheek over a less bony part of his chest.

He rubbed her hair, tentatively, it seemed, because he drew his hand back.

“You could at least be decent enough to not smell so good.”

“I smell good to you?”

“Yeah, like sawdust and musk and … powerful green soap.”

“I’ll try not to smell so good tomorrow, then. I wouldn’t want to give you any reasons to compliment me. I’m sure it pains you.”

“Don’t do me any favors.”

“Trying not to. It’d be easier if you rolled off me.”

“No problem, bud.” She inched to the right, only for him to pin her with one of his telephone pole arms.

“My name is Mason.”

“I know that.”

“You seem to have trouble remembering. How long was your camping trip supposed to be?”

“A week. We usually hit a couple of sites. We were going to move on to Canyonlands tomorrow. Today, rather. And I can’t roll over with your arm clamping me.”

“Might as well stay. I’m not especially eager to give up the body heat. Don’t worry—I’ll do everything in my power not to enjoy it.”

She rolled her eyes, not that he could see them with her ear against his chest. It wasn’t a bad place to be. Hell, she was lying atop two hundred pounds of delectable shapeshifter who
might
have been her type if it weren’t for his chronic assholery. He hit all the right notes: he was supernatural, had some power, could string a sentence together when he wanted to, and beneath the veneer of pompous dickheadedness was a damned fine man. If circumstances had been different, she sure wouldn’t kick him out of her bed.

“So you’re not going to be missed at work immediately?” he asked.

“Do you care?”

“Yeah, I do. You have an important job. I don’t discount that. Being a nurse is probably a lot more noble than what I do for a living.”

She managed to lift his arm and roll off him.
So cold
. “Save the corny lines.”

“I mean it.”

“Sure you do. I think you’re more concerned someone will call the cops and report me missing.”

He didn’t respond. She looked over at him in the dim light and saw that his eyes were lidded, lips parted, and his chest moved slowly in sleep. Just like a cat, he’d shut down the moment he’d shut his eyes.

She pushed up onto her elbows and looked over his body to the door. It was closed.

Time to test his hearing again?

If she opened the door quietly, she may have some time to make a phone call. If she could get in touch with Miles’s or Hannah’s families, she could at the very least coordinate rescue for them, even if Ellery was stuck for a couple of weeks.