Could I do it? Could I offer myself as a servant to this vampire to save werewolves I barely know? Would my sacrifice be worth their lives?
Now really, what the hell kind of choice is that? Soldiers die to protect our country every damn day. They do it for people they’ve never met and for rights and ideals that sometimes get distorted over time. But they do it nonetheless.
Back in Manitoba, I talked all the time about uniting wolves and creating a communication network. What would the purpose of such a network be if not to save packs from fates like the one Raine’s is facing?
Resolve spills through me, clearing my brain for the first time in months. I have no idea what offering myself to Dria will bring me, but I know in my heart it’s the right thing to do.
Now, I just have to convince that stubborn redhead and her husband they need me in their lives. I wonder if dressing in skimpy shorts and a tight t-shirt would do the trick or if I should be my loveable smartass self?
I’ll go for smartass. I don’t think her husband would appreciate the skimpy shorts.
Nine by Night: A Multi-Author Urban Fantasy Bundle of Kickass Heroines, Adventure, Magic
Chapter Ten
Now that I have a plan, I’m reluctant to wait the full two days Rafe suggested. Instead, I trail the couple wherever they go the next day. Surprisingly, they continue to do the tourist thing, venturing outside their hotel and into museums once the worst part of the afternoon sun has past. When the museums close, the couple visits outdoor monuments, lingering again over the new World War II one.
I keep my distance, giving the couple privacy. But Dria knows I’m here, shooting a dirty look my way every hour, discovering my location no matter where I hide. Her advice to calm my surface thoughts seems to have helped my involuntary projection of what I’m thinking. Or at least, I assume it’s helped since she hasn’t tossed my inner thoughts back in my face.
That vampire is unnerving. From what I was told, her kind has to avoid the sun, but she seems to have no problem walking in summer daylight after four o’clock. Could she handle being out earlier or would she still be susceptible to damage at high noon?
The couple’s love for each other is an almost tangible thing. People standing near them smile, and laughter spills from the two frequently. There’s got to be more than a small shred of humanity left in this woman or she’d never be able to blend in with humans so easily—and I doubt her husband would be so devoted if she was a horrible creature.
Everyone has to have a few redeeming qualities, so even if she is shooting me death-ray looks she must be a decent person inside.
Or so you keep trying to convince yourself.
I’m not a monster just because I turn into a werewolf. At the root of who I am, I’m still me. Could this vampire be the same? And if that is the case, can I devote my life to serving her?
I watch the pair as they stroll hand and hand toward the long reflective pool outside the Lincoln memorial. The summer evening holds a refreshing breeze, chasing away a bit of the humidity the area is famous for. Dria and Rafe pass a bickering couple whose wandering toddler aims straight for the shallow water.
Dria notices the child and my body tenses. She wouldn’t be contemplating taking that kid, would she? A chill steals over me as I see her attention zero in on the small body climbing the stone edge of the pool. A quick glance at the parents reveal they are unaware of the danger lurking so close to their little one.
The vampire drops her husband’s hand. The small teetering body miscalculates on the wide edge of the pool, and plunges toward the dark surface of the water. Instantly Dria crosses the distance between herself and the child.
I leap into action, drawing level with Rafe, while Dria calmly grasps the child and rights him before his parents notice. She twists and sits, quick as a wink, making it appear as if she was headed to the water’s edge to take a seat the whole time.
A pent up breath I didn’t know I was holding whooshes out. Heat burns my face as I realize I immediately thought the worst of the vampire. Like she’d be bold or stupid enough to grab a child to feast upon.
Rafe’s low chuckle has me spinning to face him. “You should see your face. Fucking hysterical. Did you really think she meant the child harm?”
Shame courses through me. “I... uh...”
He nods his head in the direction of Dria. “My wife is very old. She doesn’t need much blood to survive.” Rafe stares me in the eye. There’s a hardness to him I hadn’t seen before. “And if you think she’d ever harm a child then you should never have asked her for help.”