The Recruit (Book Three) (4 page)

“The point is,
Will feels just as terrible for what he’s done as your father did
for giving me that haircut. It’s going to – “

She stopped.
“Oh dear, that wasn’t a very good analogy at all was it? I thought
it was but I hardly suppose that being turned into a Lycan and
getting a bad haircut is in any way remotely similar.”

She sighed.
“I’m sorry, Hannah.”

“It’s fine,
mom. It was a good story.” Hannah squeezed her hand.

“Will loves
you. He won’t be able to stay away for long, even with the guilt he
feels. And when he returns to you, you can give him the
tongue-lashing he deserves for running away and then tell him that
you love him and he has nothing to feel bad about.” Natalie said
firmly.

Hannah didn’t
reply and Natalie frowned at her. “Does he need to feel bad about
it?”

“No. It’s just
– I’m afraid, mom. I got angry and upset yesterday and I shifted
for the first time and nearly killed Douglas. If Selena hadn’t shot
me, I think I might have.”

Natalie
twitched a little. “Selena shot you?”

“Yes. Don’t
worry. It won’t kill me if it isn’t a silver bullet.”

“Fascinating!”
Natalie said brightly.

“But I can’t
control it. I don’t want to hurt people but when I shift, I just…
Douglas says that some humans who are bitten become dangerous. They
never learn to control it.”

“You will.”
Natalie said firmly. “You’ve never given up on something you wanted
before, and this will be no different. Now, let’s go sit with your
father and the boys for a bit and then you can help me start
dinner. Alright?”

“Okay. I love
you, mom.”

“I love you
too, dear.”

Chapter 4

Hannah joined
Selena at the cafeteria table, ignoring the stares of the recruits
scattered among the other tables.

Selena eyes
widened at the giant slab of steak on Hannah’s plate and Hannah
gave her a guilty look. “I’m craving meat like you wouldn’t
believe.”

“Yeah, I’m not
surprised.” Selena grinned at her. “At least you’re still eating
vegetables.” She stared at the small amount of steamed broccoli on
the plate.

“Only because
my mother made me promise to continue eating my veggies.” Hannah
laughed as she cut into the steak.

“How are you
feeling?” Selena asked curiously as she ate her chicken.

Hannah
shrugged. “Honestly? Really weird. I have this crazy amount of
energy. I did a 10 km run this morning without breaking a sweat.
Douglas said my eyesight and hearing would improve and it has. I
can hear everything and it’s nearly impossible to sleep. I don’t
know how to drown it out – people are so fucking loud, Selena.”

She glanced
around at the other people in the cafeteria. “I swear I can hear
all of them chewing.” She grimaced. “And last night I could hear
Leanne having sex with someone, and her room is three doors down
from ours.”

“Glad to see
some things don’t change.” Selena rolled her eyes.

“It’s good to
have a routine again.” Hannah replied. “The recruits started
training yesterday and I think everyone is feeling a little better
because of it.”

“Yeah, maybe.”
Selena toyed with the salad on her plate. “Have you met any of the
recruits they sent down to help us patrol?”

“A couple of
them. I just finished patrol and there were a few on patrol with
me. I think the other recruits have been sharing information
because they were decidedly nervous around me.”

She chewed
happily at a piece of steak before swallowing and smiling at
Selena. “By the way, I hear congratulations are in order. Mannie
said that you had graduated.”

“Yeah.”

“He also said
that you told him you were quitting.”

Selena sighed
and pushed her plate away. “Reid convinced me to stay.”

“Good. We need
you.”

Selena shook
her head. “I’m not sure that’s true. I’m – I’m not like you,
Hannah. I freeze up and I’m afraid and I – “

“I’m afraid
too. I told you that before.” Hannah said firmly. “Besides, you
don’t freeze up. You saved Reid’s life, and Mannie and Mallorie and
Ryan. Not to mention a bunch of the babies. You’re good at this,
Selena. As good, if not better, than the rest of us.”

“Maybe.” Selena
said moodily.

“What are you
doing tonight? We could go to the farmhouse and visit with my
parents and the twins for a while. I know they’d like that.”

Selena shook
her head. “Thanks but I’ve got the late shift in patrolling
tonight. I want to sneak in a quick nap before – “

She stopped,
her face flushing, when Reid sat down next to Hannah. “Hey.”

“Hi, Reid.”
Hannah smiled at him. “Where have you been? I feel like you’re
avoiding me.”

“No. Just
busy.” His gaze flickered to Selena and Hannah watched curiously as
his cheeks reddened. “Hello, Selena.”

“Hey, Reid.”
Selena mumbled. She had suddenly become fascinated by the table
surface as Reid cleared his throat.

“Have you heard
from Will?”

“No.”

“He’d better
get his ass back here before the new guy shows up tomorrow.” Reid
replied. “It won’t exactly make a good impression for him to be
missing in action, and Jordan’s a hard ass.”

“You know him?”
Hannah asked.

Reid nodded.
“He was second in command at my old facility in LA. Honestly, I’m
surprised he agreed to come here. The small town scene didn’t
really seem to be his thing. But, he was anxious to move up so
maybe he figures this is his only chance.”

“What’s he
like?”

“I didn’t know
him that well, to be honest. He seems like an okay guy, just a real
stickler for the rules and,” he hesitated, “I know he doesn’t like
the idea of allowing supernaturals to be involved with the
facility. He’s not an outright racist, but he doesn’t believe that
we can trust any supernatural.”

“Great.” Hannah
sighed. “Just great.”

“I’m sure it
will be fine.” Reid said soothingly. “Just don’t piss him off and
when Will decides to show his hairy face here again, maybe tell him
to keep his wolf under control.”

“Right.” Hannah
replied grimly.

He squeezed her
shoulder reassuringly before glancing at Selena again. She was
still studying the table and he cracked his knuckles nervously
before standing.

“I should go.
See you later, ladies.”

“Bye, Reid.”
Hannah smiled at him as Selena gave him a brief wave without
looking up.

It wasn’t until
he had left the cafeteria that she raised her gaze, and she blushed
hotly at the look Hannah was giving her.

“What?”

“What do you
mean - what?” Hannah replied. “What’s going on with you two?”

“Nothing!” She
said quickly. “There’s nothing going on with us. Why would you
think there’s something going on with us? There isn’t. I hardly
know the guy.”

Hannah took
another bite of steak and stared thoughtfully at Selena. “Are you
going to tell me or do I have to ask Reid?”

Selena glared
at her and took a large drink of water. “Alright, fine. We kissed,
okay?”

A grin crossed
Hannah’s face. “That’s great.”

“No, it
isn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because.”
Selena scowled at her again.

“Because
why?”

“Oh for the
love of – because I learned the hard way that getting involved with
anyone in this program means heartbreak, because Reid’s an
instructor, because he has a thing for you!” Selena snapped.

“He doesn’t
have a thing for me.” Hannah replied.

“Please, don’t
even try and tell me that – “

“He might have
had a thing for me at one time,” Hannah interrupted, “but trust me
– he doesn’t now. He knows I love Will and besides, he’s not real
fond of Lycans. He tries to be accepting but…”

She trailed off
and took a quick glance around before leaning closer to Selena.
“C’mon, girl. Spill your guts.”

Selena sighed
before resting her chin on her hand. “The night that Samuel
attacked the facility, Reid, Douglas and I went to the common room.
Mannie and the others were in there and they were being decimated.
There were leeches everywhere and all three of us knew that we were
going to die when we stepped into that room. You know?”

“I do.” Hannah
said gravely.

“Anyway, Reid
looked at me and basically just said, fuck it, that no one lived
forever and then he kissed me and we ran in.”

Hannah grinned.
“He has a way with words.”

Selena snorted
softly. “Anyway, after I told Mannie that I quit, Reid came after
me to convince me to stay. I asked him why he kissed me that night
and he said he didn’t know, that it seemed like a good idea at the
time.”

Hannah rolled
her eyes before motioning at Selena with her fork. “Go on.”

“He took me
into Chen’s training room and kept questioning me and finally I
told him the truth. Then, like a complete idiot, I started crying.
Reid hugged me and God, it felt good to be hugged by him. The guy’s
body is hard as a rock but he was so warm…”

She trailed off
and stared absentmindedly at her dinner plate as Hannah waited
patiently.

“He wiped the
tears from my face and I was staring at his mouth and, I don’t
know, I just lost my damn mind and kissed him.” Selena dropped her
face into her hands. “I’m such an idiot.”

“What did he
do?” Hannah asked curiously.

“He kissed me
back. The next thing I know we’ve got our tongues in each other’s
mouths and he’s got an erection, and I’m ready to just rip his
clothes off and take him right there.” Selena’s voice was
muffled.

Hannah laughed.
“Nice. He likes the saucy girls. What happened then?”

“I came to my
senses, told him I was sorry and I shouldn’t have done that, and
ran away.” Selena said miserably.

“Oh.” Hannah
patted her arm gingerly. “That explains the awkwardness.”

“Yeah.” Selena
sighed.

“Why did you
stop? Is it because of Tyler?” Hannah asked gently.

Selena shook
her head. “No, I don’t think so. I mean I miss him terribly and I
still love him, but it’s more because of what I said before.
Falling in love with someone at this place means heartbreak and
loss sooner or later.”

She gave Hannah
a quick look. “Not that I’m falling in love with Reid, because I’m
not.”

“I know.”
Hannah smiled at her. “Reid’s a pretty good guy but he doesn’t seem
like the settling down type to me so it’s probably better if you
don’t fall for him.”

“Yes, I know,
that’s why I – “

“Of course,
that doesn’t mean you can’t boink the hell out of him. I bet he’s
super fun in the sack.” Hannah said cheerfully.

Selena blinked
at her. “Reid’s an instructor.”

“So? You’re not
a recruit anymore.”

“It’s not a
good idea, Hannah. Besides, it’s still against the rules.”

Hannah
shrugged. “Fuck the rules. The rule-makers are idiots if they think
they can keep people from having sex in this place. People need to
blow off a little steam and sooner or later, the higher-ups will
figure that out.”

She looked
earnestly at Selena. “You’re a grown woman so I’m not going to tell
you what to do, but I do think that a little no-commitment nookie
might just be what the doctor ordered. And it sounds like Reid
would be a-okay with it.”

A small smile
crossed Selena’s face. “I know you think that I need – “

She paused,
watching curiously as Hannah stiffened and dropped her fork to her
plate with a loud clatter. She raised her head and inhaled
deeply.

“Hannah? What’s
wrong?”

“He’s back.”
She said softly.

“Who? Will?”
Selena turned and looked around the cafeteria. There was no sign of
the large Lycan and she turned back to Hannah. “How do you know
that?”

“I can smell
him.” Hannah inhaled again before standing. “I have to go,
Selena.”

Selena caught
her hand. “Are you alright?”

She dropped
Hannah’s hand when the woman smiled at her. Her eye teeth had
become sharp fangs and her eyes had lightened to a brilliant
jade.

“I’m fine.” She
said dreamily as her eyes began to glow. “I’m just fine.”

“Hannah – “

Hannah made a
low, soft, growl and Selena watched as she turned and ran nimbly
from the cafeteria.

* * *

Hannah stood
outside the door of Will’s apartment and took another deep breath.
Despite the barrier between them she could easily both smell and
hear Will. She closed her eyes, listening to the rasp of his jeans
as he pulled them over his hips and the louder purr of the
zipper.

He won’t need
those.

Lust had
exploded in her belly from the moment she had smelled him. Despite
being in the hallway where anyone could see her, she slid her hand
into her pants and underwear and cupped her warm center. Her
fingers were soaked instantly and she grinned again, baring her
fangs, as she reached for the door handle.

It was unlocked
and she entered the room, shutting the door firmly behind her as
Will looked up from the middle of the living room. He didn’t look
surprised to see her and smiled nervously.

Mine.

Her nostrils
flaring, her desire beating within her like a steady, unrelenting
drum, she stalked toward him. She could feel her need to shift
bearing down on her, and she touched her fangs with the tip of her
tongue. Her anger with him had been buried beneath her overwhelming
need to claim him and his eyes widened as he caught the scent of
her need.

“Hannah – “

“Mine!” She
growled at him and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. She
mashed her mouth down onto his, her fangs cutting into his lips, as
she thrust her tongue deep into his warm mouth. She ripped his
t-shirt in half, the fabric tearing with a low purr, and yanked it
from his body before pulling her mouth away from his and tracing
his hard chest. Her fingernails had lengthened into sharp claws and
he let his breath out in a low hiss when she ran them along the
waistband of his jeans.