Bloodfire (Blood Destiny 1) - Helen Harper Page 0,67
wasn’t too bothered. Alex sat down next to me and stretched his legs out in front of him.
“What gives, Alex? I thought you weren’t the fighting type?” I asked him, archly.
He took a swig of Coke and regarded me seriously. “Oddly I find myself suddenly invested in what happens in this quiet little corner of England. Not that I’ll be squaring up to any heebie jeebies any time soon, you understand,” he added hastily, “just that I find myself wanting to stick around. You never know when there might be a damsel in distress who needs me to run away in the opposite direction for her.”
I laughed and clinked my Coke can against his then became serious. “What Craw said – about it being my fault that John died. You really think that was true?”
He sighed heavily. “All I know is that the wichtlein definitely thought it was true. And, no, before you ask, I don’t anything about what a Draco Wyr is, other than it must be some kind of dragon.”
“So where do we go from here?”
“We do what we’re doing right now and wait to see what comes out that.” He nodded towards the portal and I was rather taken aback at the confidence in his voice. For someone who was a self-professed non-combatant, he actually displayed a lot of guts.
We sat in companionable silence for a few moments before it occurred to me that I really didn’t know very much about him at all. I could do small talk – at least it might make the time pass by a bit faster. I arched a look over at him. “So what would you be doing if you weren’t here?”
“Nothing much of anything. I spend a vast amount of time in London tracking down lost objects and trailing unfaithful spouses. You’d be surprised at what a fickle bunch the otherworld pop can be.”
“I don’t doubt it,” I said drily. “But you don’t always work for shifters?”
“God, no!” he said. “My services are for hire to the highest bidder. I have to work within the dictates of the Ministry but for the most part I can be employed by virtually anyone. Fae, vamps, trolls, even a unicorn once. I’ve worked for them all.”
“Have you ever worked for a human?” I asked softly. “I mean, an out and out human who’s not a mage or a wicca or anything?”
Alex was silent for a second. “No,” he answered heavily. “I’m afraid I’ve not.”
So there was no-one like me then. I changed the subject. “You look rather, um, young to be doing all this.”
“I might make the same comment about you, dude.”
I acknowledged his point. A plane rumbled softly overhead and we both leaned back and tracked its jetstream through the sky.
“It really is very lovely here,” he commented after it was long gone. “I can see why you are so keen to stay.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “It is lovely. But that’s not why I stay. These guys are my family. Since my mum split, I’ve never had anyone else I could depend upon. But the pack, they’re always there for me. Even though…” my voice trailed off and I looked at the Brethren.
“You don’t get bored?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Of beautiful weather, pristine beaches, lots of friends? Yeah, I get bored. But no-one’s life is ever perfect, Alex. And these last few days have reminded me that living in interesting times isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. I’d give anything to be bored right now, instead of trying to hunt down the vicious murderer who killed my alpha.”
“You think of him – John – like that? As your alpha?”
“Yeah, I do.” I finished off the Coke and scrunched up the can in one hand. “I might not be able to shift, but I feel like a shifter.”
He nodded with a serious expression on his face and lay back in the sand. I traced little figure of eights in the sand and watched the portal with half an eye. The sun was getting hot, but at least there was a cool breeze wafting in from the sea.
Mackenzie? Are you still at the beach?
I sat up a bit straighter. What’s up, Julia? Did you talk to Anton?
Yes. He’s not trying to expose you, dear.
What? I got up to my feet, drawing the Brethren’s attention. I ignored them completely and started pacing. Julia, he had my t-shirt. With my blood.