celiabreslin

“Wolf!”

I stumbled into an enclosed drinking hall, flames belching from ovens of brick and the overpowering scent of nightshade in the air. The wolf glared at me as if I walked in upon him attempting to lick his own genitals. Instead of what would be a far more appreciable sight, he sat between two humans whose muzzles were coated in a red sauce and cheese. They seemed to care little for my flustered approach, a tournament on the television far more to their liking.

Crossing faster than the eye could carry, I stopped beside the werewolf just as he rose to his feet. “Don’t call me that.” he growled.

“For what purpose?” I inquired, confused as to why he’d care what I named him.

“You know this guy, Cal?” one of the men asked. He wore a red cap while the second wore a blue. Ah, clan colors. No doubt a duel was about to commence.

The wolf stared harder at me, then he clasped his fingers to my wrist and pulled. “No,” he said, confounding me even more.

“That is a…” I gave in to his tug, not because he used all of his werewolf muscles, but because it seemed more prudent.

Tucked in a back corner beside a machine pulsing with light and tempting us to roll the digital bones, the wolf pushed me against the wall via his human digit. I rebounded quickly but held my hands up in mock defeat. “Why did you lie to them?”

“Why are you here? Are you following me?”

“Yes, my time is of so little interest, I spend my days trailing from one drunken den of debauchery to an ether-filled symposium.”

He shook his head as if a buzzing clung to his ear. I would not put it past a werewolf to attempt to devour a bee out of curiosity. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I did not see a ‘No Demons Allowed’ sign on the door. Though I must say the shirt prohibition is rather restrictive in the event of alcoholic coitus.”

“Don’t…” He pressed me tighter to the wall then glared back at his friends. The two waved their arms through the air as if they could have an effect on the teams miles away. “I am not in the mood to put up with your incubus bullshit.”

I snickered at the idea any of my skills could ever be on the level of bull feces. “And, pray tell, what mood are you in? Is it the wallowing in self-pity and hot wings mood? Or perchance the ‘woe is me, I will drown my sorrows in beer until a warm smile catches my eye’?”

The dodging gaze sharpened to one of death and he slammed both of his paws onto my shoulders. “I put up with a lot of your tongue, Ink.”

“Hardly. It’s never even touched your lips, much less…” I drew my eyes lower and jerked my brows once.

Instead of recoiling, the wolf rolled his eyes. “If that bothered me, I’d have run from her place after the first night.”

“Yes, that is the topic of conversation…” I began, but the wolf wasn’t done manhandling me. Given how he seemed unable to stop touching me, it appeared his protestations might be in vain.

“No,” Cal repeated. “I’m not dealing with this now.”

“Then when? Shall you run, as is your wont, until your paws become bloody stumps and the fleas have chewed off your fur?”

He finally retracted his grip, allowing me to adjust my shirt. Cal glared at his hands, as soft and smooth as any middle-class human’s could be. But I knew his desires nearly as well as my bond’s. Rarely sharp, lest the moon was high, but forever throbbing in the background. A sliver of white would send him chasing after her until he dragged her back to his nest. It was the black, forever circling him, that pushed him deeper and deeper into the forest. What he was chasing, I didn’t much care.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” the wolf said, clenching his fists tight.

“So people keep surmising, despite the evidence.”

“Did she send you? Why you of all people? I don’t want to talk to you. I’m not…I don’t want to talk to her.”

Petty drama between conflicting hearts was not what I needed. “Well, that’s a delightful turn for you, because she’s gone.”

All of his posturing snapped away. The gruff, closed-off werewolf transformed into the panicking boyfriend. “What are you talking about? Gone? How can Layla…?” His voice peaked to rockslide levels, directing eyes to us. Dropping it lower, he whispered against my face, “Even if she left…you’d find her. You always find her.”

“Yet I cannot,” I said, waiting for his feeble mind to catch up.

He twisted on his heels, keeping his feet planted while trying to pace with only his hips. The fangs elongated and he spat out, “How can she be gone? How can’t you find her? Did you even try?”

“Do you take me for an imbecile? Of course I tried. I pulled myself to her location, sliced apart three cars, and each time I found nothing.”

Cal wrapped his hands to my collar and raised me off my feet. In a great growl, he snarled, “Where is she?”

“Why do you think I came to find you?” I asked, swaying my feet through the air.

“Are you okay?” a soft-spoken woman asked from near the front door. She stared past the animal nearly sprouting fur to me dangling off the floor.

I gave a little wave to assure her I had this under control. “No problem,” I said. “Merely a lover’s tiff.”

Cal snorted, but he placed me back on the ground. “Is she hurt? Or worse… Who could keep her from you? I can’t even get two minutes alone with Layla.”

Hyperbole. I’d left them alone for a good half hour at a time. More than enough for him to finish his dance. Confronting the wayward boyfriend had cooled my temper and distracted me. But now, with him in agreement, the panic in my soul returned. I spoke in a dark voice. “Someone who knows how to ward off demons.”

He ceased tugging on his hair and turned his glare upon me. “You don’t mean…?”

“I think we need to find her fast, before they prepare the kindling.”