Could I Be A Werewolf? [BOOK 2]

"Great," I drew the word out. "Please tell me you think I'm a werewolf?"

Thea laughed softly. Behind them, a panel opened in the wall. A girl came out, took the baby, and disappeared. "You are most certainly not a werewolf."

Lorenzo nodded along with his wife and pulled the woman closer to him. "Thea's right. You might have the appetite of a wolf, but not the scent. And from what Bane has told me, not the powers either. So no, you're not—"

I leaned forward and propped my elbows on my knees. "You're one hundred and ten percent sure that I'm not a werewolf?"

He smiled coolly and mimicked my move. "No one is that sure, but I would bet my wolf that I'm right."

We had a staring contest for a second. Apparently werewolves, like vampires, have very chatty eyes. His eyes said that me questioning him was stepping out of line. That everything that was happening was because he let it happen, and because Bane was a friend. But if I kept pushing him, that friendship wouldn't mean jack squat.

I leaned back, and tried the regal nod on for size. I wasn't a human anymore; why not look down my nose at him and nod like there was a crown on my head? The one move said, "okay." That was it. Partly because, just like Bane, I trusted that the alpha kept his word and really would throw us out if I kept questioning him; but partly because I hadn't exactly gotten down how to eloquently say, "I'm powerful too, so you better watch it," without it sounding like the threat it was, "okay" sufficed.

"Not many people interrupt alphas when they're speaking," Thea said softly.

"She means to say no one interrupts alpha when they're speaking," Samantha corrected as she and Luther entered the room.

Thea laughed and waved them to a couch adjacent their own, so everyone sat in a circle. I was waiting for the Ouija board to come out, or a vampire fight. Isn't that what happened in richly decorated studies in movies? I mentally groaned at myself, mad that I'd compared my life to a movie yet again. Would I never learn?

"Probably not," Casper poked.

I snapped my gaze to him. "Get out of my head or I'll be so far in your thoughts you'll see me in your dreams."

He gave me a toothy grin. "The sex ones, too?"

My jaw dropped. Had Casper just made a pass at me? I smiled and spoke out loud. "Ooh, I'm gonna tell Bane what you said."

His face seized in panic and I laughed even as Bane growled beside me. "Tell me what?"

I turned to him and winked. "Nothing much, o' hubby of mine."

"Your eyes glow now, Peaches," Luther interrupted, startling everyone. "Can I see it?"

I looked at him, than at Bane, then back to him. "Bane told you?" I demanded.

Luther ran a hand through his sandy locks and I noticed, for the first time, that both he and Samantha had changed. She was now in a flirty purple dress with silver heels looking like she was ready for date night, and he was in a white dress shirt, a gray vest that matched his gray dress pants, and a royal blue tie. No jacket, sleeves rolled up, and the guy pulled it off. Man, if Luther looked five years older I'd—

"Not finish that thought because your husband might murder me," Luther interjected easily, smoothly. "Your eyes, please."

I looked around the room, then sighed and flopped back against the soft chaise. "I don't know how I did it." I threw my hands up and breathed out an angry breath. "I don't know how I do anything. In case you all haven't noticed, I'm just as clueless as you."

"Holy crap," Casper whispered, and I instantly noticed that everyone was leaning closer to me and looking at my eyes.

"Interesting," Luther whispered.

"What other powers does she possess?" Lorenzo demanded.

"I wonder what it means," Thea sighed.

I looked around wildly for a mirror. "What? What? Did my eyes change color? What color are they?"

"Dark yellow, almost gold," Bane answered.

Well, that wasn't normal. I started to freak out, and everyone leaned closer and more murmurs went around. Only Samantha had anything helpful to add. "Perhaps the change is due to her emotions. Strong emotions."

I stared at the witch as she very calmly stood up, came to me, and took my hands between her own. "A witch's power is tied to her emotions, too. We don't even have to speak. If we feel something keenly, our powers will react to it."

Her fingers were cool against mine as she stared into my eyes. I noticed the brown of her irises had flecks of blue in them—dark blue, but it was there. Her voice was soothing. "Concentrate, Georgia. Calm yourself down. Picture a white ball. Now put all your emotions into that ball and place it back inside yourself. Let it become you, let it soak in, let it rest."

I took a few deep breaths in as I concentrated on her words. A few seconds later, she smiled and patted my hands gently. "Good. Feel better?"

I could almost hear my mom's voice in my head. She'd said the same thing so many times. Samantha might look young on the outside, but everything about her seemed older and matronly. "Much. Thanks."

The room was quiet a moment as Samantha moved back to her seat. I was the one to break it because I just really hated silence. "Uh..." I didn't know what to say, so I said the first thing that popped into my head. "How's the skiing up here?"

Everyone smiled, and the heaviness in the room went away. "What other gifts do you have, Peaches?" Thea asked curiously.

I shrugged. "I can spit acid, or I did. Not sure if I can anymore. My blood—" I turned and looked at Samantha remembering what she'd said the night before. She smiled at me, and I assumed it was okay. "—is poisonous. Apparently my eyes can change color. And I'm growing fur."

Lorenzo smirked. "Don't forget you have one hell of an appetite."

I nodded. "That, too."

Lorenzo moved his arm behind Thea and uncrossed, and crossed his legs. "When did these powers manifest?"

"When she died," Bane answered for me. I turned to him. His eyes were still red, and I remembered that he hadn't taken my blood when we'd been, uh, doing it. Was he afraid I would poison him?

"You need to eat."

He smiled gently at me, reached for my hand and raised it to his lips. "I'm fine, habibiti."

"I think you've left out a few powers, Peaches," the alpha growled warningly, pulling my attention back to him. "I don't like being lied to."

"You calling me a liar?" the words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. I'd never had a filter. It was head to mouth, no in between. That had never been a problem when I was human, but now? Goodness, say "bless you" the wrong way and there could be a knife at your throat.

I watched Lorenzo's eyes narrow, and I heard a growl come from him. It wasn't like when Bane growled, where the sound still resembled something human. Nope, this was a wolf growl. Thea, thankfully, put a hand on her husband's thigh and said his name in a sort of voice that was probably only meant for the bedroom, "Lorenzo."

I watched the man pull back. I wondered why he had such a strong dislike for me. I was just little ol' Peaches. I hadn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. Plus I'd even kneeled to the guy. Freaking kneeled! He should love me. I was adorable.

His lips quirked. "I don't like you because I don't trust you," the guy said as if he were reading my mind. "I don't like wild cards, especially when they're in my home."

Oh, I get it. Wolf protectiveness and all that. It made sense, not in a weird way, but in an even-if-I-wasn't-a-supernatural-whatever-I'd-understand sort of way. I shrugged and crossed my arms. "Yeah, okay."

His smile was all teeth. "Your other powers."

Oh, that's right. "Let's see, I can also talk to vampires in their minds. I mean, like read their minds. And I think—I'm really not sure though, so don't quote me—that I can go into vampire memories and, uh, bring the past to the present, if that makes sense."

"Was that where the blood came from?" Lorenzo asked.

"Yes." It was Luther who spoke. "Just before I was turned, someone from the enemy camp drove a sword through my gut."

Bane turned to Luther. "You knew she was in your mind?"

He shrugged. "I could... feel her there. It was like she took me back to that moment, made me experience everything. It wasn't so much a memory as it was traveling back in time."

I could travel through time? OhmyGod, that would be awesome. I wondered if I could travel anywhere in time? Luther shook his head. "I don't think you can time-travel, Peaches."

"Why?" I had a bunch of other powers, so why couldn't I jump through time?

Luther folded his hands in his lap and looked around the room at everyone before settling his gaze on me. "Vampires have fangs so we can cut the flesh easily and get to the blood quicker, with less hassle. Werewolves have heightened senses to track down their prey efficiently." He paused, and raked me with an assessing glance. "In this world efficiency is key. If you were able to time travel, Peaches, you would not need to shoot acid, have poisonous blood, or communicate with vampires, because you would have the ability to escape every and any danger simply with a thought."

Well, I just got schooled. "So you're saying that whatever I am has evolved to be some kind of dangerous monster?"

He shook his head. "Your powers only seem to come out, mind reading excluded, when you are in danger and fear for your life. I think whatever you are might have been hunted down, for one reason or another, and has adapted to protect itself from predators the best way it knows how."

Wow. Okay. I hadn't even thought of all that. But it was obvious Luther had, and no doubt Bane had probably thought the same way, too. "Yes," Luther said out loud. "Miliki most likely shares my sentiments."

I looked at my husband, the man I would spend the rest of my life with, however long that was. I looked at him, but he didn't look at me. He didn't need to look at me, I had my answer in his silence, in his averted gaze. "You weren't kidding when you said I wasn't a werewolf. You never thought for even a split second that I could be. You tricked me, manipulated me."

I saw his jaw clench and I looked away, hurt and angry. I eyed the alphas, and bitterness colored my tone. "We never came here to find out if I was a werewolf. We came here because it was remote and hard to get to. The perfect place to test me, and find out what I really am and if it's dangerous. This is a prison."

Thea's eyes softened, and she reached towards me, but I flinched away. "Don't think of it as a prison, Peaches."

I could dress the word up however I wanted, but that was still what it was. He had probably brought me here to study me, to see what other powers I had, to see how he could use me, all while a pack of werewolves stood at his back, caging me in.

I shot to my feet and glared at every person in the room. The fuzz on my arm meant nothing. It was just one more thing to study so they could all see what I was. Luther had said it himself. All my powers were defense mechanisms to protect me. What was inside of me that needed so much protection? That was what everyone wanted to know; that was what made me so freaking special.

"Fuck all of you," I spat, before I stormed out of the room and slammed the door.

Chapter Eight: Is That the Best You've Got? I've Seen Better

When I was mad at my mom, which was a lot in my angsty teenage years, one thing that always cheered me up was marathons. TV, not the running kind. I did not run, unless it was for my life. But, considering we were in the mountains with zero reception, and there was no computer or TV around, I was out of luck. That was, until I heard kids.

I'd always liked kids, and nine times out of ten, they were just as amusing as television. I was still spitting mad, don't get me wrong, but thinking about all the supernatural beings who had blatantly lied to my face was not going to help my case. I hated being in a funk; messed up my vibe. I liked being happy, or angry, but I didn't like being depressed. And that's what I was.

Anger I could use as fuel and happiness was just a pretty great emotion, but depression? Ach, depression was useless and brought everything down. So I followed the high-pitched voices in the mansion to a playroom. The door was open and there were about twenty or so kids running around. Pieces of a foam alphabet were on the floor and mini slides and games were scattered around. There were two girls in the room trying to manage the kids, but they looked like they were doing a piss-poor job of it.

I stepped into the room. All activity stopped and all heads whipped in my direction. A little girl a few feet away held a little silver ball between her hands, but it dropped to the floor and rolled to my feet. I bent down and rolled it back to her. She caught the ball, blue eyes still wide, held it for a second then bounced it back to me. I smiled and returned it.

That broke the tension, and all the kids came up to me, asking me who I was, and what games I liked to play. I enjoyed it. The two older girls hovered close, worried about the kids. I understood that. When I used to babysit, crowded parks were my nightmare. I used to hover like a stalker over the kids because they were not about to be kidnapped on my watch. Didn't matter where it was, I was a hawk.

But sooner than later, the two girls warmed up to me and joined in. My arms were tugged every which way, and several kids tried to convince me that I would fit down the little slide. I rode down it once with a little boy named Danny on my lap, and he had more fun than me, especially when my hips got caught and I got stuck.

But hanging out with the kids was fun. It took my mind off the steaming pile of shit at my mental door. Plus I got to learn more about werewolves and the pack. See, what people don't understand is that kids know a lot; they just didn't always think their information is important. Like telling me about Barbie's new Dream House trumped the conversation she'd heard about the vampires coming to visit. And it was definitely more important than the special package they brought with them. Yup, kids knew a lot.

"Hey," I said to the little girl named Penny I was playing with, who was, coincidentally, one of the alpha's kids. "Do you know how to get out of here that's not through the cave?" I kept my voice light as I put on Barbie's purple wrap-around skirt and matching heels.

The girl nodded as she combed her doll's hair with a mini brush. "Yup. Daddy bought out the old mine and redid it so cars could go through. But when you see it, there's this big warning sign and a bunch of chains so that humans don't pass through it. And Mommy's friend Clare warded it against vampires and other things so no one can go in."

"But people can go out?" I pressed. I needed to get out of here and I wasn't above asking a kid for help. Something caught her eye, and she scrambled up, racing to the door. I looked over my shoulder to see Lorenzo and Thea in the doorway.

Lorenzo was wearing a forced smile, and Thea didn't look much better. Guess it wasn't just her husband that didn't trust me or want me here. What was I? Fine, but only when I wasn't around anyone.

I ignored the pair because something told me they wouldn't do crap in front of the kids. I turned back around and found a little boy with a truck in front of me. He decided that I needed to learn the finer points of his truck right then, while he sat on my lap.

"Pups," a deep voice called out, no doubt the alpha. "Time for bed."

A couple kids grumbled, but all of them obediently went. Most of them came and gave me hugs, and told me that I had to do x, y, z before I left. I squeezed and shook them all, tickled a few, and then the room cleared and it was only me, the two young caretakers, and the alphas.

"Who gave you permission to come here?" Lorenzo asked, fury lacing the words.

I sighed and pushed to my feet. "No one." I dusted off my pants as I turned to him. "I did it all on my own."

He took a menacing step toward me, and his eyes turned silver. Becky, a cute little five year old, had told me that a werewolf's eyes turned silver right before they were about to shift. Was Lorenzo about to shift and rip me apart? I'd like to see him try.

"You are never allowed to come in here again. And if I catch you, I'll—"

"Kill me?" I laughed. I was getting real sick of being threatened, being blindsided, being lied to. I was better off on my own. Sure I felt a little somethin' somethin' for Bane, but after what he'd done, screwing him would be pointless.

"Kill me and Bane'll kill you. I know that because I'm pretty sure I would have been dead five times over by now if he wasn't here."

"You test my patience."

I gave him a mock look of horror. "Oh no, I'm testing your patience? Wow, is that the worst you got?" I snorted. "Forgive me if I'm in a bitchy mood after finding out that I have absolutely no one to trust."

Thea stepped forward. "We trust Bane."

I snapped my gaze to her. "And I should trust Bane because you do? Give up the sweet hostess act, will ya, Thea?"

I was dangling three feet in the air with claws at my throat and silver eyes boring into mine. I blinked and suddenly a dark, long fingered hand was at Lorenzo's throat, blood on the fingernails.

Bane's voice was deadly calm. "Let her go, my friend."

"She has disrespected me for the last time."

I rolled my eyes. I was getting real sick of being defenseless and the one with a hand constantly wrapped around her throat. Me being mad and taking it out on the alpha, did nothing but cause tension, and make everyone want to rip each others throats out. And it wasn't like Lorenzo had been rude to me, per se. I'd been given a room and food, and Thea had been really nice to me. It wasn't like they deserved my attitude, they didn't. Not even Casper, Samantha, and Luther deserved it. It seemed everyone had been following Bane's orders, and he was the root cause of everything.

I touched the hand at my neck, and the alpha turned his silver gaze back to me. I took a deep breath, and made sure I sounded sincere. "Look, I'm sorry. It's not your fault that any of this has happened and I get you're just trying to protect your pack. That's wolf stuff one-o-one. And I'm not trying to test your authority, or undermine you and get away with stuff. So, um, thank you for letting me in your home."

Lorenzo blinked back, like he hadn't expected me to say that. Seriously? Did everyone just think I was an idiot? I'd had three—okay, two—years of college. Granted, I hadn't really done anything, but I'd also had pretty great parents. Maybe I wasn't the smartest girl on the block street-wise, but I could usually come around to seeing the mistakes I'd made.

He held me for another second before putting me down. "Thank you."

I nodded my head at him. "And thank you, Alpha Lorenzo." I turned and smiled at Thea. "And Alpha Thea."

Lorenzo raked a hand through his hair, and I noticed Bane's hand wasn't around his throat. Suddenly, it was around my waist. I stepped out of his embrace. "Don't touch me," I hissed at him.

I smiled at the alphas. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I was wondering if I could have my own room."

Bane stiffened behind me. "I meant what I said about you sleeping with me, habibiti. You will always— "

I looked straight ahead and didn't turn back once. "You don't get to decide what I do anymore."

Thea came over to me, clucking like a mother hen. "Of course. Come on, I'll take you to another room."

I heard Bane argue with Lorenzo behind me. "Your wife has no right— "