Silent Cravings (19 page)

Her hands started going in sharp, angry motions, occasionally gesturing at Analie or Isabelle in the process. Isabelle seethed off to one side, the other vampires edging farther into the room as curiosity got the better of them.

“Thank you,” he said to Mouse when she was finished, turning to Isabelle. “And your side, if you please?”

Frightened, angry eyes focused distrustfully on Mouse, Isabelle started up her rant again. “I was told when I had lessons to give, they wouldn’t be interrupted. She’s been through here
three times
today.
Three!
She looked like she was going to do something, I don’t know what, and I growled at her to warn her off. She was just going away when Analie got scared or something and howled and then the
rest
of you came barging in—”

Once again, Royce interrupted, his usually smooth voice rather throaty and tinged with a husky growl of his own. “Thank you, Isabelle.”

Lastly, he turned to Analie.

“Is that true? You weren’t hurt, were you?”

Analie swallowed.

“Mouse walked through a few times,” Analie began, trying to keep her voice level. “It sounded like she got water. The last time Isabelle sort of hissed at her. Mouse stopped and turned back to her. Then Isabelle showed some teeth, and I thought it was, um...” She wondered how stupid this was going to sound. “I thought it was a challenge. Then Isabelle stood up, and I got out of the way. I sorta freaked out. I mean, I can’t see Mouse so great so I dunno if she
was
doing anything.”

Analie trailed off, at a loss. The last thing she wanted to do was get either Mouse or Isabelle in trouble with Royce. Even worse, Isabelle could get in trouble with her alpha.

Angry alphas, as evidenced by Royce’s current terrifying demeanor, were not fun.

Royce made a soft sound of irritation in his throat, eyes briefly flaring red before he closed them and turned to Analie’s tutor.

“Isabelle, please remember that you are a guest in my territory, in Mouse’s personal space. She’s allowed to use the facilities in her own home. The agreement was for no interruptions, and it doesn’t sound like she stood around to bother you.”

Isabelle deflated a little, nodding sullenly.

“Analie, in the future, please try not to overreact. The most dangerous time of day for us is when the sun is up, and most of us like our rest to go uninterrupted. Making a ruckus like that is guaranteed to get a reaction like what you just saw, and I don’t think any of us want a repeat performance.”

That was about the closest thing to a reprimand as he’d give. He turned to go the way he came, along with the rest of the vampires.

Analie wouldn’t have noticed, but everyone except for Wesley had been in PJs of some form or another. The vampires started whispering to each other, speculating on whether Isabelle would return and questioning each other about Christoph. John stayed smugly silent, not answering their questions, and Mouse managed to look a bit irritated as someone muttered that it looked like her “latest catch was a bit on the scruffy side.”

Christoph and Analie both caught that one.

“Scruffy?” Christoph muttered. “No shit, I headbutted my way into a building and met up with an ancient vampire. And they wonder why I’m scruffy.”

“They can hear you,” Analie said, standing by his side. He leaned heavily on her, taking weight off his right leg.

Analie watched the shadows file out of the room. There was schoolwork to be done, but she didn’t want to move back to the table.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” she said, shuddering. “Jeez, I thought they would just chalk it up as an annoyance.”

One of the vampires hung back after the others left, waiting until they were gone to poke her head back in and speak. She talked to Mouse, her Irish accent thick but understandable. “If ye cannae rest here, ye can come stay with me for the day.”

Isabelle looked like she was going to choke on her disgust, instantly coming to the conclusion that the two of them were sleeping together.

Mouse shot Isabelle a dirty look, then proceeded to sign in a short bout to the other lady. She started back to her room, but the other woman called out again. “Nae, Mouse, running off willnae handle your problems.”

Mouse made a sharp slashing motion with one hand, a gesture to tell the second vampire to be quiet. She stalked off and slammed her bedroom door. The other vampire stood there, frowning in consternation. She wasn’t much taller than Mouse, a diminutive woman, with a scattering of freckles and eyes the bright green of Easter basket grass. Her hair was long, black, and curly. She looked about as threatening as Shirley Temple, but she was older than Mouse, with a legendary temper.

Analie almost laughed at the Irish vampire. It was odd seeing a faint outline that suddenly spoke up with a thick accent. She choked it back, in case this one had no sense of humor and would grind her to a thin putty against the wall if offended.

Christoph hobbled back to the couch. Way too much excitement for one day—for the whole
year
. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face. Stubble. God, he felt scruffy.

Analie followed him, crouching next to the couch. She wasn’t sure if lessons were going to continue today. Hell, they might not ever continue—not with Isabelle, anyway. Analie wasn’t about to approach her and ask how she was supposed to find the center of a line using a compass right then. Better to let her cool off or leave. It was generally a terrible idea to approach a keyed-up Were.

Clearly someone else would have to take her to
La Petite Boisson
for her lessons with Jacques tonight.

Isabelle stood stiffly by the bookshelf for quite a long moment.

“Analie, do the lessons I assigned. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

With that, she practically ran out of the room, ducking past the vampire, who stood there awkwardly for a second before saying anything.

“Bit of a twist in ʼer knickers, eh?” Shaking her head, the lady walked in, frowning down at the paperwork on the table, then looking back and forth between Analie and Christoph. “I have nae met ye before, but I’m Clarisse. I’ve heard of ye, lass, but have nae had the chance to introduce m’self.” She looked at Christoph, her frown deepening a bit as she noted how stiffly he was moving and ragged his clothes were. “I have nae heard of ye. Are ye Mouse’s new pet?”

That last question would probably have been more offensive if she hadn’t asked it so offhandedly. Christoph hooked his thumb under the collar and gave it a tug, his expression going glum again. Analie hoped he’d come up through the violent stage quickly.

“That’s Christoph,” Analie told Clarisse. “He’s part of my pack. He arrived last night. Unexpectedly.”

“It wasn’t my idea,” Christoph muttered.

“He came with Ashi. I dunno where Ashi is now. I guess he’s up on the second floor or something.” Analie shrugged. “It’s nice to meet you, by the way.”

“Aye, ye as well,” she said, smiling brightly and offering her hand. “Ashi, is it? Do ye want me tae check on the lad? I have nae heard of anyone else in the house making a claim on anyone, but if ye are here, I would assume Mouse took ye. She’s a wee bit on the quiet side about that sort of thing. The other lad may not be faring so well, if ye ken what I’m saying.”

Clarisse wasn’t too sure that Analie or Christoph would have a grasp on the donor structure in Royce’s house to know what she meant. Mouse was particularly picky about her donors, and absolutely would not force her hand on anyone, no matter how hungry she was. As Christoph was new, injured, looked like he’d been through hell, and didn’t have any visible bite marks, most likely that meant Mouse had laid claim to him. She’d always had a weak spot for the less fortunate, and tended to baby her donors the way some humans did with a favored pet.

While Clarisse wasn’t beyond a bit of the rough-and-tumble method herself, she was fairly certain that someone had probably tried their hand at the other one by now if he was on the second floor. If he was brand new, that meant he was sharing a room with Sebastian or Angus, or he was free game. Neither of them were particularly gentle or kindly to their donors beyond seeing that they wouldn’t keel over after the vampires took their fill. Plus they would’ve been bragging all night if Alec had given them rights to claim another donor all to themselves. That meant this Ashi fellow was free game for any vampire who had a mind to snatch a taste.

She wrinkled her nose, wondering how long it would be before word spread that there was an unclaimed donor in the house, how long he would be used in free-for-all feedings, and who would vie to have sole rights to him. No one would gainsay Mouse for taking one, and if John or Royce did the same, no one would think anything of it. Jessica was an excellent example, since she was one of Royce’s personal donors, leaving her off limits to everyone else in the house. It gave her a measure of prestige among the other donors, and every other vampire had a soft spot for her since she would be turned into one of their own as soon as she was ready to leave the mortal coil behind. Not to mention that she was so bloody nice and cheerful, it was impossible
not
to like her.

If the boy was smart, he’d look for a way to ingratiate himself to someone quick, or he’d find himself used and abused by the vampires in the house who didn’t mind taking what they wanted without any thought as to his feelings on the matter.

Hmm.

She might just have a look-see and a nip to see if it would be worth the bother of asking Royce for him.

Analie sort of saw Clarisse extend her hand. It took three tries before Analie managed to grab the shadow’s hand and shake.

“Sorry,” Analie said sheepishly. “I can’t see you so great.”

“She can’t see you at all,” Christoph mumbled.

Clarisse shook her hand, giving voice to a girlish giggle that was so infectious and entirely un-vampire-y, it would be a wonder if Analie didn’t fall into fits of laughter herself. “Mayhaps we should look into getting ye some glasses, then!”

“I can see your shadow,” Analie specified. “Honestly, I don’t think checking on Ashi is necessary. He’s kind of an asshole and most likely he’ll just spaz out if you try to get anywhere near him.”

“John bit him, and he damn near had a breakdown,” Christoph added.

“What did you mean by ‘making a claim’?” Analie asked.

Clarisse gave Christoph an amused, tolerant smile, reaching out to pat his knee like one might an old friend—or an old friend’s dog. “He’s hers now, lass. No one else will touch him, or try to take a nip.” Her smile widened a little, showing the tiniest hint of dainty fangs, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. She was trying not to be overheard by Mouse who she knew was likely hanging on their every word from her bedroom. “She’s a bit sensitive, lad, so be nice to her, and she’ll be
very
good to you. Do put out a bit though, she’s horribly shy about asking for what she wants.”

Those cheerful thoughts in mind, she rose to her feet, brushing her hands over silk pajamas that matched the color of her eyes. Her voice returned to the chipper tones she’d been speaking in before, sounding overly loud now that she was done whispering. “John’s never been the kindly sort. I’ll ʼave Jessica give the poor lad a look and see if there’s anything left.”

Christoph was sure when Clarisse had said, “put out a bit” she hadn’t meant in a way he was more familiar with. The idea of having a vampire chomp on him was enough to make him go into conniptions, so he didn’t pick over what he imagined the details might be.

“I liked it,” Ashi had said while he was a quivering, broken heap on the floor. Christoph couldn’t imagine and didn’t want to know why. He was hoping he didn’t like it. At least no one could bite him but Mouse. That meant John would keep his distance—a blessing. Being bitten by a
guy
and
liking it
was way too much for him to handle.

He realized he had been rubbing the little cross-shaped scar on his arm. He stopped.

Clarisse turned her attention to Christoph, still grinning. “I saw ye cringe there. Don’t be such a prude. Ye don’t know what ye’re missing. And trust me, ye cannae do much better than being claimed by Mouse here. Unless ye’d rather be mine.” That grin only widened, the wicked gleam in her eyes growing brighter at his horrified reaction.

Without waiting for his answer, she started toward the door, reaching out to ruffle his hair on the way. “I’ll start a betting pool on when ye fold, lovey. Between your fear and Mouse’s prudishness, I’ll start the bet at a fortnight, minimum. This is going to be great fun, I’ll wager.”

Christoph rubbed his face again, feeling a headache coming on. A betting pool? Oh, God. This was as bad as when one of his packmates started a pool on when Gavin was going to get a girlfriend.

It had been going for ten years and had amassed to quite a hefty sum.

Analie grinned after Clarisse’s shadow and moved back to the table to finish her work. It was a perfect time to sneak away and read more, but she didn’t want to make Isabelle blow an artery. She scribbled away in silence for a good hour before Christoph spoke up.

“You say Mouse is nice.”

“Yep.” Analie glanced at him.

“How is she nice? I mean, what kind of nice is she?”

“I dunno. She’s just nice.” Analie picked up her compass and started on the next page. “She’s not Goliath-nice. Maybe she’s pink-nice. I dunno, I don’t associate with humans so much.”

Christoph picked up the blanket and covered himself with it. “You like her?”

“ʼCourse I do. Mouse helped me stay sane my first week here.” At that, she turned and fixed Christoph with a very unnerving stare.

Christoph ducked his head slightly. “Uh, yeah. That’s good.”

“Yeah. It’s good.” Analie turned back to her work.

Mouse, for her part, was positively mortified and wouldn’t show her face for a good, long while. Clarisse had embarrassed her beyond belief.

Especially because she was completely right.

Not too many of the humans were awake. Almost all of them worked for Royce in one of his businesses, so they kept a nocturnal schedule in keeping with their work and the needs of their hosts.