The Hunt (By Kiss and Claw #2) - Melissa Haag Page 0,53
say that I was going to figure out my own way to feed and zapped me here. Do you see the theme? Adira needs to butt out of my life.”
“I do like that wolf boy. Adira is another issue entirely. You made a valid point this morning that I can’t outright kill her or you’d be alone to deal with her crap.”
I smiled at Mom’s use of crap. She believed in swearing but knew I didn’t like it and refrained around me when she remembered. That she remembered now meant she really was focused on me, despite the noise still emerging from the workers.
“I’ll need to find another way to deal with her that doesn’t involve permanent death.”
While she contemplated that, I grabbed for my buzzing phone.
Fenris: Where did she take you?
Me: I’m at Mom’s club.
Fenris: Need a ride back?
Me: Yes, please.
“You don’t need to go back,” Mom said, having seen the messages. “You can stay here and ignore Adira.”
“Staying here is exactly what she wants. And I’m not going to give her what she wants. Oh, and, Mom? If Adira suddenly loses track of me, don’t worry, okay?”
Mom smiled, her eyes darkening.
“Show her who you really are.”
“I will.”
Chapter Eleven
Fenris smelled different. I hadn’t exactly been paying attention to his scent when Adira had grabbed me, but I felt fairly confident it’d been his usual sweet, lusty fragrance. Now, in the closed confines of his car, I could still smell the underlying sweetness, but there was a tartness strong enough to overpower it. I struggled to put my finger on what the tartness reminded me of. Citrus or some kind of fruit.
I thought of the tiered lemon cakes from my dream and felt my hunger rise. Belatedly, I realized I was comparing Fenris to my cakes and hurried to distract myself with conversation.
“Thanks for picking me up. Mom could have called Dad, but I really didn’t want to explain how I’d gotten there or why Mom wasn’t ready to go home yet.”
“Any time. Are you sure you want to go back to the Academy? Adira might just portal you, again.”
“If she wants to do that, she’ll do it no matter where I am, thanks to the dumb tracker spell. The druids are removing it tomorrow, though.” I glanced at him. “If the offer to use your cabin is still open, I think I might need it soon.”
“It’s open for you at any time. But why do you think you’ll need it? Is there something else going on that you haven’t told me?”
“No. I’m just so tired of everyone trying to manipulate my life in the direction they think it should go. Right now, there’s nowhere for me to escape, not even the caves, until Adira’s spell is gone.”
“I miss the caves,” Fenris said wistfully. “Let’s make plans to go there soon. Just the two of us so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“I’d like that.”
“So, do you want to tell me why Adira portaled you to your mom’s club or why you asked if she had a nice conversation with your mom?”
I glanced at him for a puzzled moment. Then, I recalled what I’d said to him before Adira had interrupted us.
“Adira was waiting for me in the dining room this morning. She was upset that I wasn’t at the Roost last night. Then, in the halls before class, she overheard me telling Eugene I hadn’t been feeding, and she threatened to tell my mom. I told her to go ahead, which she didn’t appreciate. I guess hearing me tell you that I’d find another way pushed her over the top.”
“Seems so.”
As soon as he pulled through the Academy gates, Fenris pointed at the building’s roof.
“Oh, look, there’s the meddling frost giant now. Keep your phone on you in case you need another ride.”
His warning wasn’t necessary, though. We spent the next several hours in the red room, playing board games Fenris had stolen from the Human Studies supply closet. I knew it was getting close to lunch when his stomach kept growling. However, Fenris seemed in no hurry to acknowledge his hunger. That was something I could understand much better than all of his attempts to get me to make bets on our games.
“Pay up,” he said, holding out his hand. “That’s three hundred and forty dollars.”
“You know I don’t have that much.”
His grin widened, and he considered my meager stack of fake money.