wrapping me up in a rug so I wouldn’t be bare-assed naked in front of my packmates, your packmates, and a mage.” Or perhaps, “Thanks for carting me to who knows where. Don’t kill me, m’kay?” Or maybe, “Sorry for causing a hullaballoo.”
Ms. Brain-to-Mouth Pilot suffered a massive coronary mid-flight and her usually wayward train of thought took over the controls.
“One time there was a mage in the area who was causing trouble with Weres in general and everyone was on edge and on the lookout. There was a party at Gavin’s house and there were a ton of people there and Freddy started itching like crazy. Totally freaked everyone out. Everyone was searching and sniffing around for the hidden mage.”
She laughed and then sniffled. 'Oh, no. You are not crying.'
“Turns out he had chicken pox. Half the people there got it.”
Royce gave a faint snort of laughter. “Yes, I hear that’s a frightfully contagious disease. And I’m sorry about what happened up there. If I’d known you’d have a reaction like that, I would’ve sent you away before he got started.”
He shifted his grip a little, quieting while he navigated the stairs. He paused when he reached the first floor, briefly considered taking her to her room, then shook his head and continued down to the basement. There were a couple chairs scattered around, and he lightly set her in one, kneeling to examine her face and see exactly how traumatized she was. His usual methods for handling a human in hysterics would not apply to a Were.
“Are you going to be okay?” Perhaps a silly question to ask, but he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t lose it if he left for the few minutes needed to get Arnold wrapped up with the spell and paid, and Ashi and Christoph settled in to their new roles as house pets.
Analie nodded. “I don’t feel all fire-ant-y anymore. Um, thanks for getting me out of there.”
'Thank you for not picking up on the thought that, for a second there, I wanted to eat you.'
All her previous ideas about vampires were being crushed to dust. So far things had gone more smoothly than they could have ever gone if the same situations had presented themselves in Goliath. Analie was not under some high-rank’s foot or pulling her face out of the ground. She wasn’t in the middle of an amends task. Aside from the whole “fire ants on steroids” thing, and the whole “I’m wearing a rug” thing, she was doing pretty damned well.
“Like, I’m really okay. And sorry for the hullaballoo.”
'And the thoughts about eating you.'
“You don’t need to apologize,” Royce said, reaching up to ruffle Analie’s hair before standing. “I should probably be apologizing to you. I know it must have been hard to watch, but Arnold’s skill will ensure those two can’t cause any more trouble. Not for you, me, or anybody in this building. Maybe being incapable of relying on brute strength to get their way, they’ll learn some respect and temperance.” He started toward the stairwell, not looking back as he spared a few last words. “Stay here. One of us will get you when it’s safe.”
Analie nodded. When Royce was almost out of the room she took a deep breath and called after him, hoping she wasn’t making a big mistake telling him this.
“I know Christoph’s been the troublemaker, but Ashi is the one who’s dangerous.”
* * *
Upstairs, Ashi was clutching the collar in both hands, expressionless and pale. Christoph was grinning at him.
“Forgot what it was like, huh? Feeling blind? Deaf? Anesthetized? You’ve been a Were longer than I have. Hey, I know. When we’re settled in, we’ll head out and go for a run—oh, wait. You can’t. Because you’re weak.”
“The same thing is going to happen to you,” Ashi snapped, the underlying rumble in his voice gone.
“And in the meantime I am going to gloat. Did you know right now if I stood on you like you stood on Jo-Jo, your spine would shatter? I wish I had the opportunity to do that. You’d see what it feels like.”
“I know what it feels like. I started out as a low-rank.” Ashi glared at Christoph.
“No.” Christoph’s voice was sharp. “No, you don’t know what it’s like to be treated like that. You know why? Because no one was ever as cruel and cold to you as you are to others. You had it easy. So do not give me any weaksauce complaints about your