KNIGHT
Chapter 7
Leaning on his forearms, Erik Leonid clasped his hands between his opened knees as he sat looking at Alexia in the opposite chair. He waited for her reaction to his last statement, bracing for the betrayal to explode out of her like a ticking time bomb.
Still, it wasn’t him that Alexia was furious with right then. It was her mother.
All these years Rebecca Raine knew that her former lover, Alexia’s biological father, was a full on-demand shifting werewolf, knew that her daughter might very well carry the gene. And her mom didn’t tell her. Warn her.
Alexia’s heart went into her throat. What if she had shifted at some point? Not that she obviously had the ability since she was well over the minimum age to do so, but still.
She wanted to scream at her mother for this irresponsibility.
“Did my dad know too?” she asked, remaining calm.
“Not unless Rebecca informed him at some point,” Erik said. “There probably was never a need. I understand that you did not change?”
She sneered at him. “Of course not. I keep telling everyone that I’m only human.” She had another disturbing thought. “Could I pass the gene onto my kids?”
He frowned. “In theory, yes. You, I do not know. I am a complete instinctive shifting were-being. Your mother was fully human. Your birth is—”
“I know, a freak of nature. Talk about an unplanned pregnancy.”
“Indeed.” He raked a hand through his styled platinum hair. “It was an impossibility for us to conceive, you see. I knew this. That is why I never…took precautions.”
Alexia grimaced, not wanting to think about her mother’s actual sex life.
She was also conflicted about her parents’ reckless behavior. As a physician, she was disappointed in their carelessness. As the person who actually came from that accident, she was rather glad they had been.
Talk about a moral dilemma.
“Could my mother have been a were-being, maybe the non-shifting kind?” she posed.
Erik shook his head. “I knew her trace scent well. She was all human.”
“But Neil just told me that were-beings are never even attracted to human beings.”
He hiked a brow. “He is a young Wolf, and has much to learn about the ways of this world. I am not the first were-being to be drawn to a woman not of our kind, and I am certain I will not be the last.”
“Is there any possibility that you’re not really my birthfather?” she asked, trying to explore all the possibilities.
“Your mother assured me there was no other man in her life at that time. I trusted her word, but like you, I believe it is always best to eliminate any doubt. We have the ability here to verify it medically, if you would be willing.”
“A paternity test? Sure, I have no problem with that.”
“Our research specialist here would like to perform the test, along with a few others. With your permission, of course.”
Alexia eyed him suspiciously. “What kind of tests? It doesn’t involve strapping me down to some surgical table, does it?”
Erik chuckled, patting her hand. “Nothing so barbaric. I would never allow anyone to assault you in such a way. Merely a few blood tests, I am told. She is very interested in your human-lycanthrope genetics and how they can mingle. You are one of a kind, and this might be her only opportunity to have some of her questions answers.”
“Yeah, that’d be fine, I guess. When?”
“Now, if you are willing.”
Sounded good to her. The quicker she was proven human, the sooner she could go back home to her normal life. Although, her definition of normal was now relative.
Erik guided her out of the office. Alexia drew up short at the intimidating man with a military crewcut waiting by the door dressed in an odd blue and black uniform. When he followed them out of the main Lodge, Erik checked behind his shoulder, turning back with a heavy sigh.
“My apologies, but I have been informed that I am to have a personal guard until an issue with our gifted Pack members is resolved,” he said. “Enforcer Tagley here is at least not as imposing as a few of the others.”
Alexia snorted. And she thought she was the only prisoner here.
“We could drive to the medical facility,” he added, “but it is not far, and you might enjoy the walk on this sunny day?”
“Sounds great.”
Erik pointed to the various buildings they passed, explaining their purposes, nodding and waving to people. Then he pointed to the building labeled Montclair Software that he managed. Alexia was impressed with the very modern, organized business community. It was like some large Microsoft campus.
“So how did my mom find out about you being a Wolf?” Alexia asked finally.
“We were very much in love,” he said. “I wished to make her my whole life, but I kept that part of myself hidden from her at the beginning. It is one of our natural laws, of course, but to be honest I was afraid of losing her once she discovered the terrifying truth of what I was. Then there was a… confrontation.”
“What sort of confrontation?”
He hesitated a long moment. “I was walking Rebecca back to her dormitory at the university late one night when five men attacked us.”
Alexia pretty much guessed what happened next. “You wolfed out in front of her.”
He nodded. “To protect her, of course. There was no other choice.”
Her mom must’ve been terrified by the sight of her boyfriend going all teen-wolf on her.
“She was very frightened of me at first,” Erik continued, “and I was prepared to let her go forever. We broke up for a time, but she returned to me with full acceptance of who I am, loving me in spite of it.”
“That sounds nice. Why did you end it then?”
Erik shook his head. “I had just defected from the Talanovs and sworn allegiance to the Bryants. As protocol dictates with an exceptional relationship such as ours, I went to Rob with my request to marry and mate-bond with Rebecca.
“I assured him that she was fully aware of us and could adapt to our lifestyle and become a contributing citizen, even if not a Pack member. But a mixed relationship such as ours has always been traditionally frowned upon. Strongly. He as my High Alpha ordered me to either break off my relationship with her, or be shunned from the Pack and exiled out of their territory.”
“And if you left with her, the Talanovs would have tracked you down and killed mom and me,” Alexia finished for him.
“You understand my dilemma.”
“A little better, anyhow,” she said.
“In the end, I did what I thought was in Rebecca’s and your best interest.”
At the end of another road, they reached a five-story medical clinic which probably handled their entire township. They took the elevator to the top floor and headed to a door at the end of the long hallway. He buzzed the intercom.
“ID?” came from the callbox.
“Leonid, Alpha-Two-PBG,” he called.
There was a laser eye-scan, then a lock clicked, and Erik opened the door, holding it for Alexia to enter first. The guard followed them inside, but waited in front of the door at military parade rest with his hands clasped in front of him.
The spacious room was similar to any other hospital laboratory with counters filled with beakers, test tubes, microscopes, computer terminals. Two lab workers were intensely focused on their respective projects on opposite tables. They looked up simultaneously when she and Erik walked inside, and it was the young woman with a relaxed auburn bun in a lab coat who rushed over first.
“Is this her?” she asked eagerly.
Erik placed a light hand on Alexia’s shoulder. “This is her. Alexia, please let me introduce you to our most brilliant research scientist, Dr. Rachel Meadows.”
She shook Alexia’s hand vigorously. “Very pleased to meet you, Ms. Raine.”
“Alexia, please,” she offered. “You promise no poking or prodding, right?”
Rachel laughed. “On my honor. Just a few cheek swabs and a blood draw. Good enough?”
That seemed innocent enough.
She then introduced Alexia to the tall, lanky man joining them. His dark red hair in a short man-bun and clean trimmed goatee gave him a young, trendy look. “And this is my associate Dr. Scott Piper.”
They shook hands, Alexia adding, “It’s nice to know that the Pack allows actual medical personnel and scientists to work around here.”
“I’ve been a Gamma-five-science researcher here since I transferred from Portland a year ago,” he said with a wide grin. “It’s been very challenging working alongside the renowned Rachel Meadows, but really great. Her program here is the only one dealing with the Lycanthrope genome.”
“Gamma, like Bruce Banner.” At the man’s frown, Alexia cleared her throat slightly. “Of the Avengers? Exposed to gamma radiation? Sorry, it’s just how I’m trying to process all these different ranks.”
“The Avengers are awesome!” he burst out. “Isn’t it great that an academic genius can be a cool superhero too, right?”
“Oh wonderful, now you’ve done it,” Rachel groaned good-naturedly.
“Most Marvel followers say that Tony Stark was the smarter one, but it’s really Bruce Banner for several reasons—”
“Oh-kaaay,” Rachel said cutting him off. “Erik, do you want to stick around at watch the festivities?”
“Thank you, no,” he said. “My own team needs me back at my office to join them on a scheduled conference call. Alexia, perhaps we can have dinner together this evening? We still have much to catch up on.”
She agreed, and Erik left with his bodyguard in tow.
Rachel showed Alexia around their facility, which for the size of the clinic was surprisingly extensive. Enthused by her own medical knowledge, both researchers eagerly showed her various projects they were working on. Alexia soon found herself caught up in looking through microscopes and scanning through files and graphs on computer terminals, posing a few questions and suggestions of her own.
For the first time since she arrived, Alexia started to relax, and even became enthused. It was exhilarating to be working as a team member again, contributing to something substantial and interesting. She was enjoying herself so much that she forgot her original reason for being there until Rachel smacked her forehead.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry for keeping you this long! Let’s get these DNA tests out of the way, and I’ll let you go meet your father.”
The familial term everyone used for Leonid soured in Alexia’s gut. He seemed to be a decent enough man, but she still didn’t consider him her father. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Not to mention that it was very disconcerting that he looked no older than herself.
“You will come back here another time though? There’s still so much to show you,” she said while drawing and filling two tubes with her blood.
“I’d really like that,” she told them, and meant it.
Scott did three different cheek swabs, promising to test them right away and hoping to have some of the results back by tomorrow if she wanted to stop by. Alexia assured both that she would, eager for the answers as well.
“And we have to catch the next Spiderman flick at the Cinemaplex in town,” Scott added. “The next one’s coming out in a week, and Rach refuses to go. She thinks they’re all stupid.”
“Not stupid,” she said. “Just tired of them already. How many can they make anyhow? Alexia, I’m so glad you’re here to take my place with his comic book addiction.”
Alexia didn’t remind them that her time in this elaborate wolves’ den was temporary at best, that as soon as their tests proved she was all human, she was heading back home in San Diego.
At least she’d better be.
After heading back inside the main lodge, Alexia scanned the lobby for Erik, but instead spotted Neil leaning against a wall near the crackling fireplace. He was dressed in a black, long-sleeved button down shirt and black jeans. He jutted a chin and headed towards her.
“Erik extends his apology. Something urgent came up,” he said. “He asked me to fill in for him at dinner. If you’d like to eat here in the Lodge dining room, I’ll wait until you get cleaned up. It’s a little formal.”
She groaned, not really up for anything fancy. Nor did she want to run into any of the royal Bryant clan right now, particularly the ultra-charming High Alpha.
“I don’t really have the right attire. Maybe we could just go back to the cafeteria.”
He shook his head. “Closed. Anyone who would eat there has already gone home for the night. Most Pack members who work here live in the outlying towns.”
“Oh. Well, I could…No, I guess I can’t order pizza. This really isn’t a real city with fast food places everywhere. I keep forgetting.”
“Is that what you’d like, pizza?”
She jerked a shoulder. “Not particularly. It’s just that they usually deliver.”
“Come on,” he said.
Alexia followed him back out of the Lodge and down a winding, single lane forested road on foot, stopping at a small secluded log cabin that overlooked a mountain lake. It was a stunning view with the sun setting over the distant peaks, ambers and oranges burning below the darkening blue sky with a few stars dotting the expanse.
Neil walked up the covered porch and opened the front door for her. Inside Alexia surveyed the rustic hunting lodge. Definitely a man cave.
Or a wolf’s den.
The idea made her wince. She was still having trouble wrapping her mind around all of this.
“Your place?” she asked.
He nodded, observing her closely. “I don’t keep a lot of stock in the pantry, but I can fix some sandwiches for us.”
She sighed. “That sounds awesome actually. Need any help?”
Neil pressed a hand on her lower back and guided her towards the small kitchen to the right. His light touch shot a burning streak all the way down to her feet and back up again, and she quickly shifted away.
“You okay?” he asked.
Alexia forced a nervous smile, trying to cool down her flushed cheeks and neck. “Never better. So what’s on tonight’s menu?”
Together they pulled together a grilled cheese and tomato soup feast. He added slices of ham to his sandwich. He offered some on her own, then saw the disapproval on his face when she declined.
Too bad. She had been raised a vegetarian and would stubbornly remain this way, no matter what she turned out to be.
They sat eating at a small table by the window. It was pitch black outside now, but Alexia imagined how spectacular the view would be from here in the morning, particularly as dawn broke over the mountains, the blue-green lake glittering with light.
“You live here alone then?” she asked, dipping into her steaming tomato soup.
“Yes.”
She waited for more, but Neil continued to eat in silence.
Always the conversationalist, Alexia grumbled inwardly. “Does the rest of your family live here in town?”
He was quiet a long moment, then shook his head. “Mom died when I was thirteen, and I came to live here in the community as a ward of Rob Bryant. I lived with the family in the Great Lodge on the fifth floor residency until I turned nineteen. After that, I wanted to live on my own, so Rob had this place built for me.”
“Wow, that was generous,” she said. “To take you in, I mean. Not to mention giving you this place. All I got for my nineteenth birthday was a Nordstrom’s gift card from my mother and a lecture on safe sex by my neuro-surgeon father.”
Neil chuckled.
Maybe there was a decent side to the Bryant High Alpha that Alexia hadn’t seen yet. That would explain much of the loyalty of his followers she had observed thus far. She would have to keep that in mind next time they met.
“A Pack takes care of its own,” Neil said. “Although, yes, it was good of Rob to personally take me in. Usually other lower ranked families are designated to take in our foster kids.”
“So your father was gone then too.”
His jaw muscles worked. “Long gone.”
“I’m sorry.”
He frowned down at his plate. “Not a big loss. He knocked me around a lot, until Rob finally stepped in and officially exiled him. I haven’t seen him since. He wasn’t a nice guy.” Neil arched a brow at her and quirked a cheerless smile. “Maybe I’m more like him than I thought.”
Alexia pursed her lips, wanting to reach out and give him a long, breath-squeezing hug, offer comforting words. But she also sensed that this military stoic man wouldn’t want that, not wanting to be construed as weak or vulnerable.
Something softened inside her for Neil Duran then, and Alexia finally understood his need for all the outward intimidation. It was armor against his own personal demons, the ones he battled as a little boy under the abuse of a father who should have cared for him, ones he probably still fought when no one else was around to see.
You are a good guy, Neil Duran. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Not even me.
“I’m sorry for giving you such a hard time last night,” Alexia did say. “I understand now that you were just trying to help me. Most people would’ve handed me over to those wolf goons and ran like the wind. You were a real hero. Thank you.”
As she suspected, he looked down at his plate, shifting uncomfortably with the direction of the conversation.
“Just doing my job.”
Of course, he would say that. True heroes never took credit for the good they do.
When the atmosphere grew too thick and heavy, Alexia decided to lighten the mood.
“Hey, guess what? I have a movie date,” she remarked, picking up another cheesy sandwich triangle.
Neil stopped chewing and looked up. “With Bryant?”
Alexia grinned at his obvious disapproval, then wondered if he meant Jake or his dad. “Scott Piper. He wants us to go see the next Spiderman movie when it comes out. Rachel refuses to go to any more, so he tagged me as his next victim.”
He resumed eating. “Watch out, or he’ll drag you to Comic-Con in Seattle too when it comes.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, I figured he’s a hardnosed Sy Fi-Fantasy geek. Actually, I don’t mind. I’m kind of one, too. Thanks for all this tonight, by the way. Sorry you got stuck babysitting me.”
“It’s no trouble. Finished?”
She nodded, and he took both their plates and bowls to the sink to rinse out and lay in the dish strainer. Then he guided her to the small living area couch and flipped on the television. After negotiating a few different channels, they settled on an old action movie that they both liked.
Neil switched it off when the credits finally rolled and Alexia covered a huge yawn. “It’s late. I should get you back to the Lodge.”
She stretched and twisted the kinks from her neck and back. “You’re probably right. But not until you show me.”
“Show you?”
“Remember? You promised to go full commando wolf for me.”
His expression eased. “You up for it?”
“Absolutely. Get your inner wolf on. Just don’t scare me, okay?”
“Promise to keep the monster in his pen,” he assured. “I’ll just do normal wolf.”
Neil stood up and unbuttoned and pulled off his shirt, exposing his luscious tanned six-pack, then kicked off his shoes. When he unbuckled his belt, Alexia’s stomach dropped.
“Whoa, what are you doing? Put your clothes back on! When I said full commando, I didn’t mean full commando.”
He quirked a grin, the top button on his jeans undone. “If I don’t, then I’ll ruin a decent pair of jeans.”
“I’ll take that risk,” she said, heat burning from her forehead to her neck. “Keep your pants on, bucko. At least until you wolf out of them. I’ll spring for the new threads.”
He shook his head, grinning. “The were-sex talk you have no problem with, but nudity? I thought you’d be used to it since you were studying medicine.”
She thought so, too. Tending to people without their attire had never been a problem in the past. Of course, it was the professional frame of mind when she was interning back then. But now Neil stood in front of her like a living, breathing Adonis, and there was nothing at all professional about her thoughts. Or where those thoughts might lead.
“Does everyone strip down before they change?” she asked. “Into wolves, I mean.”
He shrugged. “If they don’t want to go broke buying new clothes. So do you want me to shift or not?”
“Yes, but…”
“I could go into the bedroom and come back a wolf, if that would help your delicate sensibilities. But I thought you wanted to see how it was done.”
Alexia narrowed a stare at him. Checkmated by her own stubborn curiosity. “No, don’t do that. I really want to see the change firsthand. I mean, I did with the Talanovs, but please tell me it’s not always like that.”
“No, they were going for scary on purpose. Some of us can do that.”
“Can you?”
“Yes. When the need calls for it.”
More questions puzzled through her head then. “Do other were-beings morph into scary creatures?”
“They all have their variations, but yes. Eagles become what mythology lists as griffins. Hawks as the Phoenix. Coyotes as the fabled Chupacabra.”
“Wow, interesting. What about Big Foot or the Abominable Snowman?”
He grinned. “Nothing. They really are just actual myths.”
“As far as you know. Maybe they’re some kind of morphed out were-guerilla or something.”
He laughed, shrugged.
That raised another question. “So why didn’t you shift into scary werewolf to fight the Talanovs? Wouldn’t you have been more powerful?”
“I would’ve been, yes. But I didn’t want to scare you more than you were already.”
“Good call. Yeah, I don’t think I would have followed you out of that dark alley, if you had morphed into a scary were-beast too.”
“See, I knew what I was doing.”
“Okay, go ahead. I’m ready. Just…try and keep covered as much as possible.”
Neil rubbed the smile from his mouth. “Wait, I think I have an idea.”
He headed into the small bathroom and closed the door, then exited a couple minutes later wearing a towel wrapped below his navel and narrow waist. Alexia’s throat went dry, not sure if this was much better.
“Ready?” he asked. She nodded, sitting cross-legged on the couch. “I can shift in seconds, but this time I’m going to go very slow, so that you can see what happens during the actual change. Be patient, because I’m going to have to focus to keep from instinctive shifting.”
“Great, go for it.”
He pushed the coffee table aside, then crouched down to one knee with his fists on the braided rug. Hanging his head, he breathed deeply several times, then raised his head slowly to face her with glowing silver eyes that turned yellow-gold and slowly lengthening canine teeth.
A low growl rumbled from his chest, and Alexia forced herself not to panic and flee, reminding herself that he promised not to do monster-beast, just normal wolf.
With fiery eyes.
And teeth the size of a sabretooth tiger’s!
No, wait, they weren’t that big, thank goodness.
His breathing grew rapid and shallow as he leaned his head back, his face changing, elongating. Jet black hair sprouted, then smoothed over the new canine muzzle and pointed ears. His torso contorted and lengthened, his legs and arms changing into flanks and paws, thick black fur growing and covering every inch of skin as it changed. The towel dropped as the rest of his body took on the perfect form of a large timber wolf the size of a Great Dane.
The wolf gruffed, pawing the ground for Alexia to approach. Hesitantly she eased off the couch and inched over, then kneeled down next to him. The midnight black wolf with the too humanly aware yellow eyes sat back on his haunches.
“Wow, it’s so…” She bit her bottom lip, raised her hand, halting before she reached out and touched him.
The wolf half-barked again, gave a nod, pawed her arm.
“It’s okay? To pet you, I mean. I don’t want to offend. I know you’re not really like a dog or anything.”
The wolf bobbed his muzzle, and she gently touched the long, course fur on his shoulders. When she nervously pulled back, the wolf nudged her hand with his nose to continue, and finally Alexia dug her fingers fully into his thick, rich pelt. It felt wonderful actually.
“You know, if you were running with a bunch of others, I would’ve pick you out right off the bat. This would be just how I would’ve imagined you as a wolf. Except for your eyes. They changed color from gray to gold. Interesting. I would’ve thought…I don’t know what, I guess.”
She continued to stroke him for a long time, and he rumbled an irritated growl. “Sorry, I know I should stop. It’s just that I’d always wanted a dog, but my mother wouldn’t allow it. I think she was a cat person, although we never had cats either. Actually, we never had any pets, I don’t know why.”
The wolf’s eyes narrowed at the reference. He gave a deeper, guttural growl.
“Sorry,” Alexia said with a nervous chuckle. “I didn’t mean to say that you’re my substitute pet. You’re really still you, right? I take it you can still think like a person. You just don’t have the physical capability to speak language while in wolf form.”
The wolf gave a nod.
“Guess there has to be some liability to all of this.”
The wolf laid down, his muzzle relaxing in Alexia’s lap, allowing her to continue stroking his head and ears and fur. It gave her the strangest sense of calm. She could have curled up beside him and drifted to sleep using him as a pillow.
After several minutes, she covered a long yawn with her hand, and the wolf rose on all fours. He licked her hand, then nudged her back and gave a warning bark. Alexia scooted away, understanding that he needed room to change back.
The black wolf lowered his muzzle as he started the reverse process of returning to human. It took less than thirty seconds until Neil’s perfect human frame shivered, retracting the last of the fur. He stood up, grabbing and tucking the towel below his navel again before turning around to face her.
“Wow, that was…freaky,” Alexia said, sitting back on the couch. “But kind of cool.”
“Do you want to see scary wolf now?”
“No, thanks,” she said with a snort. “I’d be happy never to see scary wolf ever again.”
He laughed. “Wait here. I’ll get dressed, then take you back to the Lodge.”
Neil turned towards the bathroom just as the front door burst open. Jake Bryant stalked inside huffing.
“Neil, dad wants us in his office right now to…” He halted and silenced, seeing Alexia there on the couch, then hiked his brows at Neil wearing nothing more than a bath towel. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
Neil sneered. “Mind out of the gutter, Bryant.”
“Uh, it’s not really what it looks like,” Alexia tried to explained, her reddening face not helping the awkward situation. “He was just showing me—”
“What do you want?” Neil ground out.
Jake studied Alexia a few seconds, then turned back to him. “We’re needed in dad’s office. Right now. There’s been another…problem.”
Alexia’s mouth dropped. “Another one of your friends was murdered?”
Jake shot her an astonished stare. “Neil, how did she—?”
“I told you she was awake last night. Who was it?”
“Theresa Kincaid,” Jake answered, and Alexia saw the grim look exchanged between them. “That makes four of our gifted now. But it gets worse. She was found in our territory like the others. But this time less than fifteen minutes away.”