Howling Moon (35 page)

Raphael stretched. The
bones in his spine popped audibly. He’d been standing in one position for a long time now, putting the last detailed brush strokes on the canvas. He stepped back to look at it. It was good,
damned
good, even if he did say so himself. It was, without doubt, the best tiling he’d ever painted. He wanted so badly to get it exactly right.

“Ivan, come in here a minute.”

“In where?” The bear’s voice came from the direction of the den. Raphael could hear the familiar sound of the movie
Casablanca
playing on the television. The delectable scent of buttered popcorn filled the house.

The two men had come back to Raphael’s house after they dropped Cat off for work. Ivan had wanted to relax. Raphael had needed to finish a project before Cat’s birthday tomorrow.

“The spare bedroom.”

Ivan stepped through the doorway. He was still wearing the worn jeans and work shirt he’d had on this morning. He stopped abruptly, his eyes widening as he stared at the painting propped on an easel in the center of the room.

“Well?” Raphael turned to his friend, who stood staring in awed silence.

“It is perfect.” Ivan stepped forward, but kept his hands clasped behind his back. “I don’t know how you did it.” He shook his head in amazement, “but you breathed life into their picture. You can see the laughter in Janet’s eyes, and the love in his.” Ivan leaned close to examine the details. “I know you never met them. Did you get the image from Cat’s mind?”

Raphael let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. If Ivan thought he’d gotten the image from Cat, he’d done a very good job indeed. “Nothing that exotic. I was afraid she’d catch me.” He shook his head with a laugh. “I had to stoop to having Charles send me a photo by e-mail. Think she’ll like it?”

Ivan smiled gently. “She will
treasure
it, as well she should.” He turned to Raphael, his expression serious. “I think I owe you an apology, my friend.”

Raphael tilted his head sideways in inquiry, but didn’t say anything.

“I was afraid you would toy with her, break her heart. You have, after all, always had something of a reputation.”

Raphael snorted. “Don’t remind me.”

“Do you love her? I know you are mated, but that is not the same thing at all.”

Raphael smiled ruefully. “Yup. And it scares the shit out of me. Because I can’t help thinking that
that
is exactly what Jack has been counting on. It’s not like him to wait like this. I don’t like it.”

Raphael gathered up the various brushes he’d used and dropped them into an old coffee can that he’d half filled with water. Acrylic paints cleaned up easier and dried fast, which is why he’d always preferred them. He’d never had the patience to work in oils. He used a damp cloth to wipe spots of black paint from his hands.

“Neither do I,” Ivan agreed. “How is the training coming?”

Raphael wiggled his hand up and down. “Cat’s got plenty of talent, but she needs to practice harder and more consistently.”

“A lot has been happening to distract her.”

“She can’t afford to
be
distracted. When Jack comes for her, she’ll need every ounce of skill and more.” Raphael sighed.

“You don’t think she’ll be ready.” It was a simple statement of fact.

“I don’t know. Hell, I’m not sure I could be ready, or you, or… hell, Lucas if it came to that. Jack may be totally insane, but he’s damned good.” Raphael gathered up the paint tubes lying on the top of the dresser, checked each to make sure the lids were screwed on tight and placed them neatly in the carved wooden box he used to store them.

“So are you. Between the two of you, you and Cat will be a match for him. You’ll see to it.”

“That’s the plan.” Raphael glanced at the clock. “Why don’t you go get dressed while I clean out the brushes? We can go up to the Run for dinner.”

“We
could
hunt,” Ivan suggested.

“I thought you didn’t like hunting with wolves,” Raphael joked.

“I don’t like hunting with
most
wolves. You, my friend, are
not
most wolves.” Raphael acknowledged the compliment, for it was meant as one. “Normally, I’d love to, but Raven’s due back with his pictures.”

“And
I
for one do not want to wait an extra minute to see them.” Ivan’s face was alight. “I cannot say how much I’m looking forward to ending this. I haven’t slept well in decades.”

“My fault. If you’d stayed out of it – “

“I’d have lost sleep from a guilty conscience instead,” Ivan said wryly. He ran a meaty hand over his balding pate. “No. I have no regrets. Frankly, I enjoy working for the Chief Justice much more than I did being an agent. And I
like
coming to Boulder and drinking your beer.” He gave Raphael’s shoulder a friendly squeeze. “We’ll eat at Wolf’s Run.”

Raphael finished cleaning up the mess while Ivan showered and changed into clean clothes from his bag in the back of his car. In a matter of minutes they were in Raphael’s Jeep on their way to the Run for dinner chatting about friends they’d known in the old days, arguing good-naturedly about who was the better shot.

It was a beautiful night: clear, with a biting wind that made Raphael want to slip into wolf form and run beneath the silvered light of the waxing moon. The parking lot was half full. Raphael recognized a number of the vehicles. Lucas’s SUV was parked next to Tatya’s Saab; Jasmine and Max’s shining new Beemer was parked at an angle over two spaces so that there would be no chance of someone dinging its doors. The sound of the jukebox playing Bob Seeger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll” carried clearly to him as he climbed out of the vehicle.

He took a deep breath of air tinged with the flavor of roasting meat and grilled onions, his mouth watering in response. “Damn that smells good!”

Ivan nodded wordlessly, crossing the parking lot in swift strides, his dress shoes crunching on bits of loose gravel. Raphael followed at a more leisurely pace, in large part because his feet hurt just a little. The old boots from his Wolven days didn’t quite fit like they used to. Still, it felt good to be wearing them again, to
know
that his old knives were right back where they were supposed to be. Betty had been right. Not that it was exactly a surprise. She was, after all, a talented psychiatrist. But he’d given up a part of himself when he’d given up his weapons, and it was
very
good to be back.

He walked through the door with a smile on his face. Ivan was shoving a pair of tables together and pulling up extra chairs so that they could join Lucas and Tatya in the center of the room. They waved him over, calling a little
too
heartily for Larry to bring a round and a pair of steaks for the new arrivals.

Throughout the room conversations stopped, and re-formed. Some of his pack mates smiled and nodded their respects. Others gave the minimal acknowledgment due his status, and that only grudgingly. In the far corner Jasmine and Max were glaring daggers at him, a fact that he pointedly ignored. Yes, technically it was disrespectful. But he was not going to play into their game and get into a huge family argument in the middle of the restaurant, in front of dozens of witnesses. It was exactly the kind of thing Jasmine reveled in, and Raphael wasn’t inclined to indulge her.

Lucas gestured to the chair across from him. “I’m glad you came. I was afraid I’d have to
try
to catch you at your office.” His eyes were sparkling, and the scent of his amusement filled the air. Tonight, apparently, he’d chosen not to wear the Wolven cologne.

Raphael shrugged, looking a little guilty.

“Don’t.” Lucas shook a finger at Raphael, but he was only half joking and his voice showed it. “You don’t have to justify yourself to me or anybody else.
You’re
the one in charge now.” He moved his elbows from the table so that the waitress could set his steak on the table in front of him. “Which leads to my first question. How do you want to handle the full moon? It’ll be Holly’s first change. I thought you might want to spend the first night with her. Tatya will be there, of course. If you do, I’ll be happy to lead the pack for one last hunt.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Raphael was grateful for Lucas’s understanding. “I know we need to do the severance ceremony – “

Lucas shook his head. “It can wait until the second night of the moon. Unless,” again his eyes were sparkling,
“you
are in some sort of a hurry.”

“No,” Raphael answered dryly. “I’m not.”

“Have you decided how tightly you’re going to bind the pack?” Lucas cut a big chunk off of his steak and began chewing it vigorously, his expression rapturous. “I’d suggest a light binding at first, it’s what they’re used to. You can always tighten the bond later.” Across the table, Tatya smiled indulgently at her husband.

“That’s what I intended. But I have to say, you two are certainly in a good mood tonight.”

“We got a call from the doctors right before we came. It’ll take awhile, but Mike is going to be all right!”

“Congratulations!” Ivan and Raphael chorused the word. Raphael felt as though a load lifted from his shoulders. He’d been damned worried about Mike, and had felt irrationally guilty as well. It was good to know that eventually the boy would be okay.

“Which leads me to
my
question.” Tatya set her knife and fork delicately on either side of her plate. Her gaze was earnest, but she kept her eyes downcast, as was appropriate for her new status as Omega.

“Alpha, I would ask your permission to travel to visit my son for a few days over the holiday weekend, and spend the first week of December at a convention in Chicago. It’s been scheduled for some time, and I would rather not miss it. If you will allow it, I will make up the time by serving at Jake’s an additional two weeks.”

“Granted,” he agreed. “But make sure that Jake has somebody else to cover the restaurant. Now that Holly’s not working there, he doesn’t have anybody on hand to cover your shifts.”

“Yes, sir. Of course.”

Raphael fought not to show his surprise. Tatya was
never
this docile. It had to be an act, probably for the benefit of all the pack members who were pretending not to stare and listen. But even if it wasn’t entirely sincere, he appreciated the gesture. Their support carried a great deal of weight within the pack, and judging from the way people were acting, he’d need every bit of it.

Raphael felt a pang of bitterness at that. To his surprise, Tatya reached across the table, setting her hand on his in a gesture of comfort. Lucas pretended not to notice, taking another bite of steak.

Raphael heard die sound of a chair scraping harshly across the wooden floor, and the rapid staccato rhythm of Jasmine’s high heels as she stalked across the room to their table.

“Well,” her voice was cold. “I suppose you’ll be sharing Thanksgiving with your
mate
instead of your family this year.”

She stood at the table, lovely face twisted with anger. She stank of rage, bitterness, and other darker emotions.

All conversation in the room stopped. Everyone was staring, just as Jasmine had planned. Raphael started to rise, but Tatya’s nails dug lightly into his hand.

“Alpha,” her voice was light. She was almost purring. “May I request an indulgence?”

Raphael froze, half standing. “What?” One word, but it was filled with suspicion.

“I know that you dislike disciplining family members. May I
please
be me one to punish Jasmine for her impertinence? I promise to be
very
thorough.” The dark light in Tatya’s eyes, and anticipation in her scent showed just how much she meant it.

Jasmine paled, and the ammonia scent of her panic filled the area near the table in an instant.

“Feel free,” Raphael answered with a smile as he settled back into his seat. “But take it outside. We don’t want to annoy Larry or damage the furniture.”

“Of course, sir.”

She put her napkin onto the table and rose. With a graceful flick of the wrist she gestured politely for Jasmine to precede her, and Raphael felt the pulse of power that forced the woman to do so.

More than a few people rose from their tables, drinks in hand, following the women outside so they could watch.

Raphael kept his seat. He was sorry for the necessity, but Jasmine really
did
need to learn how to behave. Unfortunately, she was as dense as she was proud. He doubted that one beating would do the job. Still, if anyone could manage it, it would be Tatya. She might not choose to discipline people often, but she was exceptionally good at it.

Lucas watched the room empty, shaking his head slightly with amusement. “She’s been wanting to do that for a
very
long time.”

When Raphael raised his eyebrows, in inquiry, Lucas answered the unspoken question. “Your niece can be
extremely
irritating.”

Larry brought their food himself, carrying a large tray to the table. He set the steaks for Raphael and Ivan in front of them, adding a large bowl of fresh berries to the bear’s side of the table. He set an elegant display box with a big red bow in front of the new pack leader. Raphael blinked as he read the label on the package. Herradura Selección Suprema was one of the world’s finest tequilas, and not easily obtainable in the United States.

When Raphael gave him a look of inquiry, Larry smiled. “It
is
traditional to give the new pack leader a gift.”

“Thank you.”

“I do hope you intend to share,” Lucas suggested. “I happen to love tequila, and it has the most interesting effects on my wife.” His grin was lascivious enough that he didn’t need to elaborate.

Raphael gestured for Larry to bring enough glasses for all of them and opened the bottle. Each man lifted his glass, but it was Ivan who proposed the toast. “To the future.”

“The future.”