Silent Cravings (24 page)

Angus thought about it.

“Mouse?”

“She’s too softhearted.”

“Wes?”

“He’s not the forgiving sort. Might hurt the lad if he got too angry.”

“Oh, and I’m that much better, aye?” he replied, laying the sarcasm on thick. “Wha’ abou’ John?”

Jessica answered that one. “Hell no. Why do you think he’s hiding in the closet to begin with?”

“Lass, ye aren’t helping.”

Analie watched the closet door to see if Ashi would re-emerge. He didn’t. She wondered how he could spend so much time in such a cramped space. Sure, it was dark and enclosed and den-like, but it was also tiny.

Hearing Clarisse and Angus talk about who should claim Ashi was starting to unsettle her. Goliaths didn’t belong to anyone. Even though it was in Ashi’s best interest to find someone fast, before other vampires came around looking for a sip, it seemed
wrong
. She wasn’t going to say that in present company, but it didn’t sit well with her.

“Unless you need me to drag Ashi somewhere else, I’m gonna head out,” she said to Jessica. She smiled and tried to sound cheerful to mask her unease.

Jessica nodded absently, fiddling with some things in the bag of equipment she’d dragged over. “Just make sure he hydrates, okay? I have to get some more homework done, but I’ll come back in a little to check in.”

She left the bag where it was, took a sidelong look at the arguing vampires, and headed out. Clarisse and Angus, not paying her any mind, followed her out, the sounds of their argument fading as they followed Jessica back to her apartment to continue the “discussion” there.

Analie booted the closet door with the side of her foot. “Hey, drink water sometime today.”

“Screw you.”

Analie stuck her tongue out at the door and started to leave. At the doorway she paused, then stormed back, opened the closet, and glared down at Ashi.

“Okay, listen up,” she snapped. “This is from packmate to packmate, and don’t give me any of that dominant bullshit.”

Ashi stared up at her.

“The people here can be nice. Okay, I don’t know about John. But everyone else I’ve met can be nice. This place is
exactly
like a pack, with the exception that you
can’t dominate others to rise in rank
. It doesn’t work like that here. I figure you can’t make friends—whatever. You can make yourself tolerable to be around. If someone shows an interest in you, I suggest that you be
silent
because ninety percent of the time what comes out of your mouth is caustic. I don’t want someone to own you. I don’t want someone to own
any
of my packmates. But Christoph isn’t going to be bitten by anyone but Mouse and she’s
really nice
. So try not to be a giant asshole and make the best of your situation until you figure out something else.”

Analie slammed the door and hurried downstairs.

When she got back to the first floor, Wesley was consoling Thad, who was quietly having hysterics at the end of the hall. The vampire was looking a bit sour about it, but Thad was shaking and demanding to know what the hell a monster like that was doing in the house, was it really safe here, should he and Sebastian leave come nightfall, so on and so forth. Christoph had long ago lost interest in trying to explain that she wasn’t a monster and he’d retreated back to Mouse’s apartment and shut the door.

Wesley glanced up when he saw Analie standing there and casually put a hand on Thad’s shoulder so he wouldn’t look back and see her. All he needed was to have the poor guy clawing the walls to get out again.

Analie quickly, quietly hurried back into Mouse’s apartment, grabbed her studies off the table, and shut herself in her room.

She’d had very little experience with humans. She was homeschooled, she hung out with Were friends, and the only interaction with non-Weres before she came here had involved them taking her order at the taco stand on the corner or ringing her up at a cash register. Humans were like little incomplete Weres; they were physically weak, didn’t have a fuzzy side, and regarded her as a monster.

This didn’t bother her, usually. Humans spooked easily. Avoiding them was easy at night. It weirded her out that Thad was so distressed over her full wolf form. Living here, shouldn’t he be used to some pretty freaky stuff? Sure, big animals were
scary
, but jeez—wasn’t that overreacting?

Analie heard her phone buzz under her bed. She walked over and dug it out. Freddy had texted her.

hey, u asked R if w/h r in penn? need 2 kno, don’t want to get shot runnin in woods. kk, thx.

She’d forgotten to ask. She’d check with Mouse when she saw her next.

Mouse, like Analie, had holed up in her room. She was a little afraid of Analie now and, even more so, was horribly embarrassed of what either Analie or Christoph must think of her after Clarisse started yammering away. She usually took months to cultivate relationships with potential donors, not hours, so she was feeling particularly self-conscious about herself and her needs. Now that the initial bout of possessiveness and “Look what I got!” had worn off, she also felt badly about how much she must have scared Christoph.

The bet on how long it would take before Christoph gave in made her feel even worse.

Chances were, she wouldn’t come out of her room for quite a while.

Chapter Eleven

C
hristoph watched Analie dash from her room to the bathroom and back to her room. She’d changed from jeans and a T-shirt to black slacks and a clean white shirt, and she was carrying a white jacket with a stiff collar. Her hair was mostly hidden underneath a black bandana.

“I have to say, I have never seen a woman get ready that fast.”

“I forgot the time, and I forgot I don’t have a ride,” Analie said, grabbing her brand new backpack. “Jacques is going to
murder me
and serve me with mint.”

“Where are you going, anyway?” Christoph asked.

“Cooking class. I’m being taught by the best. I really like it, actually. Jacques would make one scary pack leader.” She ran back into her room and emerged a moment later, stuffing her jeans and a T-shirt into her bag. “I can’t
believe
this. I
can’t
be late.”

“So rooftop it,” Christoph said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Analie looked sharply at him. “No way.”

“When’s the last time you ran somewhere? A month? Longer?”

Analie bit her lip and nodded. “But it’s different here.”

Christoph rolled his eyes. “So don’t be seen, idiot. Come on, you’re the second-fastest runner in Goliath. You could totally rooftop it there.”

Analie frowned, but Christoph could see the light in her eyes. “I dunno. I mean, it
would
be the fastest way. I wouldn’t have to wait for a cab. I’d probably have to take one back, but—yeah. Okay. Just don’t tell anyone, promise?”

“I promise.”

Analie grinned at him. “Sweet. See you later!” She slipped out of the apartment.

Shortly after Analie left, Mouse crept out of her room for the first time in hours, casually dressed in a long brown skirt and simple white blouse. She froze for a second when she saw Christoph in the living room, quickly looked away, and rushed for the door. He might not be putting out, but there were other donors who were, and she needed to feed.

She was unused to having someone sleeping on her couch, watching her come and go, questioning what she was doing or why. Though she did make a mental note to pick him up some clothes while she was out. He probably needed a few toiletries and such, and she could handle the basics, but she wasn’t going to rush to take him to get new things the way Royce had insisted she do with Analie. Maybe after she’d gotten over her horrified initial reaction at Clarisse’s betting pool.

Christoph was used to having people react to him weirdly, but having something he definitely feared acting nervous around him was new. He was glad for it. The longer she kept her teeth to herself, the better.

Since she was out of the apartment, he decided it was time to shower. He wondered if he still smelled like a Were. At the moment, he smelled like a locker room. He’d have to figure out how to get at least one other pair of pants. Shower first, figure pants out later.

Ashi did not idle well. He was always a bundle of kinetic energy which he relieved by way of his job. Now he was forced to figure out another way of bleeding it off. He’d been hopping in and out of his closet, doing sets of push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, and anything else to wear him out. In between sets, he hid. Since he was pink, he might even be able to use a punching bag without the risk of ripping it out of the ceiling.

Small comfort.

Mouse was gone an hour and a half. When she came back, she was mobbed.

“Everyone! She’s back!” Clarisse yelled, as soon as she spotted Mouse in the hallway with the bags of clothes, shaving kit, and such that she’d picked up on her way back from “visiting.”

Everyone in the building must have heard the news about her taking on a new donor. Worse yet, word of Clarisse’s betting pool had spread. Everyone wanted to meet Christoph so they could take their measure of him and throw in their bets, congratulate Mouse, and welcome the new guy. Clarisse was looking mighty smug about it, too.

“Och, now, make some room,” she said, waving the eager crowd out of the way so Mouse could get inside. If she’d still been human, her cheeks would’ve been flushed hot red. As it was, she was glaring daggers at the cheerful vampire at her side.

Sebastian and Thad were some of the few people in the building who weren’t particularly interested in joining the festivities downstairs. Sebastian had fed and was lounging on the couch with his brother while they watched
The Transporter
. He was in a slightly better mood than he had been last night, mostly because he’d eaten. Thad was feeling more secure now that some hours had passed and he was back, safe and sound in his own apartment.

He was getting hungry though.

“Hey, Ashi!” he shouted, not bothering to get up off the couch. “I’m going to order pizza. You want some?”

Ashi paused mid-form at Thad’s shout. He walked over to the door and opened it a tiny bit.

“Uh... sure.”

He was halfway into his next form when he went back to the door and opened it again.

“Thank you.”

He would never understand sitting around on a couch. Even though he was tiring out much faster than he used to, he was happy to discover he was by no means a weakling. Lounging around was something you did when you were injured or ill. If you could move, you moved, and you moved as hard and as long as you could until you couldn’t move anymore.

He frowned as he attacked the air. Could he take down a vampire like this? Not Royce—he was too fast, too strong. But if there were younger vampires here, maybe he could do some damage and escape. That thought almost made him smile. He really wished he had a punching bag.

Christoph was pleased to find that there was food in the fridge—good food. Analie’s lessons were paying off. He grabbed a container of meat and veggies and leaned against the counter, eating with his fingers. At least he wouldn’t starve to death. He’d have to ask Analie about making cookies or something.

He felt better now that he wasn’t smelling like a gym bag. More confident. He wished he had a shirt. And the collar was embarrassing. Trying to scrub under it had been difficult. He’d tried to snap the leather, but had only succeeded in chafing the back of his neck. Pretty pathetic.

Thad put in the order for pizza, figuring if Ashi wanted something other than the Meat Lover’s special, he could order next time. He was very glad to get back to the movie, sitting on the edge of the couch to watch as Jason Statham beat the shit out of some guy on a bus.

Most of the remaining vampires in the house and more than half the donors followed Mouse into the living room as she dashed inside. She turned a horrified look at Christoph as Clarisse led a flock of cheerful, chattering people into her home, then dropped the bags so she could hide her face in her hands.

“Christoph, lad, come meet yer new fans,” Clarisse drawled, stepping aside so everyone else could file in the door.

“Och, that’s the lad? Needs some new clothes, methinks,” Angus said.

“Where’s his shirt?” one girl asked, none too quietly.

“Mm, he doesn’t need one, love,” drawled a thin, handsome vampire with immaculately styled blond hair, a fashionably tailored suit, and nails so thoroughly manicured they gleamed as he rubbed his chin. His voice was smooth but slightly falsetto, carrying a touch of a lisp. “Oooh, Mouse, you’ve caught a looker. Good for you, honey!”

The low murmur of agreement through the crowd made Mouse cringe.

Christoph stared at the group and swallowed his bite of food. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a crooked smile. The fates had been especially cruel this month. This was almost as bad as being introduced to all the Weres in Goliath for the first time. Actually, it was worse. Far worse. His heart was in his throat, and he wanted to lock himself in the bathroom until everyone went away.

“Hi,” he said.

That one guy, the pretty one in the suit, was definitely someone to avoid. When he wasn’t being gawped at, he’d have to direct the guy to Ashi upstairs.

Angus barreled his way through the gathering with ease. Mostly because he was the tallest, most muscle-bound, and no one was interested in getting in his way.