"Don't, Bride. As a recent member of the I-Ain't-Got-No-Man-and-Don't-Ever-Want-Another-One Club, I know the last thing you need is to be alone tonight." She pulled a set of silk sheets out of the sack.
"What are these?"
"I told you, creature comforts. We have everything in here. Krispy Kreme doughnuts, beer, soda, creme horns, potato chips, dip, and enough hunk-filled DVDs to sink the Titanic. It's time for a hunk fest of men who can't break your heart." Tabitha handed her a small bag.
Bride shook her head. "Thank you, Tabby. I really appreciate this."
"No prob."
Vane sat back as Tabitha hooked up the TV and VCR while Bride opened up boxes that held plates and silverware.
"I'm glad I kept all this," Bride said as she dusted off a crate and set it up like a coffee table in front of the TV. "Taylor didn't want all my things mixed in with his. I should have known then, shouldn't I?"
It was all Vane could do to stay in wolf form. He wanted to soothe her so much, but didn't dare. Especially not with Tabitha present.
"Don't think about it, hon," Tabitha said as she popped the sealed top off the beer with her bare hand and handed it to Bride. "We never see the signs we don't want to see. You know? Look on the bright side, at least your guy didn't leave you because you were nuts."
"You're not nuts."
Tabitha gave a disbelieving laugh at that. "Yeah, right. Amanda aside, only fruits and nuts come out of my family tree. But hey, at least we're entertaining."
Bride gave her a chiding stare. "Does Mina know you say that?"
"Mina? She's a bigger loon than I am. Have you seen her collection of ancient vampire-killing kits? I swear she's the one who made that anonymous bid at Sotheby's for that turn-of-the-century vampire-slaying kit."
Tabitha placed an entire doughnut into her mouth and swallowed it whole.
Bride wrinkled her nose at the action. "Please tell me how you stay so skinny eating the way you do. I barely eat half a Pop-Tart and I gain thirty pounds. I swear I've seen you eat more tonight than I eat in an entire week."
Tabitha licked the sugar from her fingers. "You sound like Amanda."
"Why would she say that? You guys are twins and she's every bit as twiggy as you are."
"Yeah, but she's a good fifteen pounds heavier than I am and she hates me for it. I don't know why you guys complain, at least you two have boobs. I have the body of a twelve-year-old boy."
Bride scoffed. "Any time you want, I'll trade you."
Vane growled at that. The last thing he wanted was a skinny mate. There was nothing wrong with Bride, and if he were in human form, he'd show her exactly what those lush curves did to him.
Unfortunately, he needed her girlfriend to leave first.
"Is something wrong, boy?" Tabitha asked as she came over to him.
He trotted over to Bride.
Tabitha gaped at him. "Well, I've just been dissed by Benji. Jeez. I think you've picked up a lifelong friend here, Bride. Just wait until he finds out your dad is the if-you-love-them-neuter-them king."
Vane cringed in spite of himself.
They wouldn't dare…
"Shush, Tabby, you'll scare him." She looked down at him as she stroked his chin. "But you're right, he hasn't been fixed."
And he damned well wasn't going to be, either.
"Maybe I should take him over to Dad's tomorrow and have him look him over."
"You going to keep him, then?" Tabitha asked.
Bride lifted his head so that she could look him directly in the eyes. "What do you think, Mr. Wolf? You want to stay with me for a little while?"
She had no idea. If he had his way, he would be a permanent addition.
Chapter 3
Vane stood outside the bathroom in human form while Bride took a shower. Tabitha had left a short time ago after threatening one last time to hunt down Bride's ex and hurt him.
If Vane ever laid hands on the bastard, there wouldn't be enough left of him for Tabitha to bother with. Not that he should feel that way. After all, if Bride hadn't been on the outs with the man, she wouldn't have been his tonight.
And he might never have known that she was his mate.
But that was human rationale and human rationale had no place in his animal world.
"I'm not human," he breathed, feeling the profound pain of that statement. At least he wasn't fully human.
No one, not even him, was really sure what he was.
He was a cursed hybrid who belonged to no real group. Half Arcadian, half Katagaria, Vane had been born in the native form of a wolf pup only to find his native form changed to human once he hit puberty.
He flinched as he recalled the day he'd changed over. The terror of it. The fear. The confusion. All of his life, he'd existed solely as a wolf, and then for a few months, against his will, he'd been locked inside a human body and unable to transform back into a wolf at all. His new body had been alien to him. He hadn't known how to eat as a man, how to survive or to cope. Even walking had been difficult at first. He'd been assailed by human emotions and feelings. Human sensations.