Night Play(18)

She was marked.

Damn.

What was he going to do now?

"He likes you, Bride."

Tabitha had no idea just how true her words were.

"I think he likes her leftovers," Mina said with a laugh.

Bride knelt down while she stroked his ears. She cupped his head and examined him carefully. "I think he's a wolf."

"A wolf?" Tabitha asked. "Are you nuts? How did a wolf get in the city? Besides, he's way too big for a wolf."

"You are a big boy, aren't you?" Bride said as Vane nuzzled her face. She looked up at her friend. "Contrary to popular opinion, Tabby, wolves are the largest of the canines. But I think he might be some kind of mixed blood."

If she only knew…

She stood up and started off with her friends.

Vane followed. In wolf form, it was compulsory. His human half had very little control now. He could still understand and listen, but his animal ruled him in this state.

So long as he was in his current body, he was feral and lethal.

Bride had the strangest feeling down her spine. She paused and looked back over her shoulder to find the white wolf following behind her. She could swear his eyes were an exact match for Vane's hazel green, and the way he looked at her…

At them…

It was as if he understood exactly what they were saying and doing.

It was really weird.

Tabitha and Mina walked her back to her shop.

"You sure you don't want to spend the night over at my place?" Mina asked. "I can easily kick my guy out."

"Or my apartment," Tabitha offered. "I have no guy to kick out, and since my twin absconded with my dog and Allison wanted to find a saner, safer bunkmate, I have all the room in the world."

"I thought Maria was living with you now?" Mina asked.

"Nah," Tabitha said. "Her stuff is there, but she's been spending all her time at her boyfriend's house. I never see her anymore."

Bride smiled at their kindness. "It's okay, guys. I have to get used to being alone again. Really. I just want to curl up with a good book and put him out of my mind."

But what disturbed her most was that all she had to do was think of Vane and all thoughts of Taylor went flying out of her head.

Maybe her "encounter" with him had been a good thing after all.

"Hey, just keep dreaming about the guy you met," Tabitha said, winking at her.

Bride frowned at that spooky coincidence. Of course, Tabitha claimed to be able to read minds. At times such as this, Bride could almost believe that.

"Yeah," Mina concurred. "Maybe he might pass back by."

Bride sighed wistfully. "I have a feeling I've seen the last of Mr. Bodacious."

Mina gave her a sisterly hug. "Call me if you need me."

"I will. Thanks."

Tabitha hugged her too and patted her on the back. "Remember, if you need Taylor's kneecaps broken, I have just the tire iron and I won't ever tell the media who put me up to it."

Bride laughed, grateful for her friends and their kindness to her in her hour of need. "You're such a nut."

"I'm serious, though. You change your mind, speed dial the number. I can be at his place in under twenty minutes."

"Ha!" Mina said. "With your driving? You'd be there in less than ten and that's with a flat tire going against traffic."

Bride shook her head at their teasing as she pulled her keys from her pocket and opened the door on the side of her building that led to the courtyard and the wrought-iron stairs in the back. Her store took up the entire bottom floor of the building, but the upper three floors had been made into apartments by her grandmother. The stairs back here led to each of the apartments above. There was one more tiny studio apartment in the back near the garage that used to be a barn back in the days before New Orleans was paved.

Up until Taylor had talked her into living with him, she had lived in the biggest apartment on the top floor. Now all the apartments were rented except for the one studio out back. It was so small that she had never felt right about taking money for it. Instead, Bride used it for storage.

Now it was going to be home sweet home for a while.

She wanted to cry again, but she refused. If the worst thing that ever happened to her was Taylor leaving her, then she was truly blessed.

Still, it did hurt. Deeply.

As Mina and Tabitha walked off, the wolf came forward to stare up at her.

"You are beautiful, aren't you?" she asked, reaching down to stroke his ears again.

He licked her hand before he rubbed himself against her legs much like a cat might.

"C'mon," she said, indicating the courtyard with a nod of her head. "I don't really want to be alone tonight and you look like you might appreciate somewhere warm and dry to sleep."