Chapter 19
Cori
Giving a werewolf a tattoo was always a little more intimidating than giving one to a human. They tended to let out a low growl or snarl if the needles bit too deep into the skin, and more than once Cori could have sworn she saw their nails grow a centimeter or two as they curbed the urge to attack her. It wasn’t easy for them to fight the animalistic urge to kill anyone who harmed them. Her nerves were already frazzled since yesterday evening when she’d suddenly felt a chill that wouldn’t go away—the kind that warned of something being wrong, very wrong. Bartol had called soon before that, so he had to be alright, but she couldn’t shake the feeling he might not be.
Cori knew she was just being paranoid. Really, she did, but she couldn’t explain that logic to her gut. It had been twisted into knots since she woke up, making it that much harder to concentrate on her work. Cori lived in fear that she might hurl at any moment.
Not a good idea while working on a tense werewolf.
“Almost done,” she said, surprised the heavyset man in her chair had such a low pain tolerance. Cori had figured he might be one of the tougher ones among his kind.
The design she did today was different than the week before. This time, Derrick gave her a sketch of the moon and sun together—one slightly overlapping the other. She was using reds, yellows, and oranges to shade the sun. For the moon, it was mostly blue, gray, and white. Cori might not be able to make the design intricate and fancy since the alpha preferred simplicity, but she could at least give it nice shading. For this tattoo, it was on the guy’s upper back.
Cori was glad she didn’t have to face the man since it was clear from his profile that he was contemplating her imminent demise. Derrick sat in the same chair as when she’d given the humans tattoos a week ago, watching her every move. Asher was nearby too, watching from the doorway. When she’d told him she would be opening the shop early for a special experiment, he hadn’t wanted to miss it. Cori almost didn’t allow him to come, but he’d been affected financially by her new ability almost as much as her, and there was a chance this could become a regular thing at their shop, so it was best to let him see what all the fuss was about.
“Good choice of colors,” Asher said, nodding approvingly. “I wasn’t sure if it would work when you first set out the ink.”
Cori rinsed her needles before starting on the next shade, then grinned up at him. “Believe it or not, sometimes I know what I’m doing.”
“You’re makin’ it look too pretty,” Derrick grumbled.
“Not that pretty.” She shot him a disgruntled look. “And by the way, you said I’d be doing two tattoos today. Where’s the other guy?”
She’d kept expecting another werewolf to show up at any time. This experiment wasn’t the same as the humans since she wasn’t giving immunity to compulsion, so they didn’t need to be mesmerized and led into the place. She figured they’d come on their own.
“I’m the second guy.”
Cori nearly dropped her tattoo machine. “You?”
“That’s what I said.”
Her stomach was already a knotted mess, and he expected her to give him a tattoo. Cori could handle Derrick from a distance and even show some bravado when necessary, but she didn’t know how she could do actual work on him. One look at the rugged man and you just knew he could rip your head off if the notion took him.
She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath. “Okay, but I hope you have a better pain tolerance than this guy.”
The werewolf in front of her growled. “I’ll give you pain.”
“Shut up,” she ordered, feeling some of her courage return as she focused on the weaker werewolf. He was nothing compared to his alpha. “Or else I’ll dig these needles a hell of a lot deeper than I have been.”
His chest rumbled with a low growl, but he didn’t say anything more.
“You mighta made a good werewolf if Melena didn’t change you first,” Derrick said, eyes gleaming in amusement.
The nerves in her stomach eased slightly. “Thanks.”
“And, yeah, pain ain’t a problem for me.”
“Good.” She returned to focusing on her work.
It only took a few more minutes to do the final shading while concentrating heavily on the fact she wanted this man to be able to change into a werewolf during the day. She had to keep remembering that she needed this experiment to be successful. Derrick was paying her even more for the werewolf design than the human one—should she do it right. That could turn into some serious cash down the line and get her back in shape financially. Cori couldn’t afford to mess this job up, which was why she took a bit longer than necessary to instill a last breath of her will into the design. It had to be perfect or else she was in trouble.
“Done,” she said after wiping the skin clean and rolling her stool backward a foot or so, allowing everyone to take a closer look.
Derrick went first. “Looks alright.”
Asher leaned past her. “It gets my seal of approval, but I could have come up with some better design ideas.”
The alpha glared at him, and the young man took a few nervous steps back. Poor Asher was all human. He didn’t stand a chance against either of the men in the room. Cori didn’t either, but she could at least put up some semblance of a fight with her enhanced strength and ability to heal faster.
“If I want a design from you,” Derrick growled at Asher. “I’ll ask for one.”
Cori felt bad for her employee and moved to stand between him and the alpha. “He’s really good at what he does, so give him a break. And is it really necessary to intimidate people weaker than you, especially if they’re human?”
The master of Fairbanks worked his jaw. “You’re right. I apologize.”
She looked at him in surprise. She didn’t think strong immortals like Derrick were capable of being sorry or backing down. “Thank you.”
He nodded.
“So how about we go test that tattoo?” she asked the younger werewolf.
Unlike with her human customers, she didn’t have to bandage supernaturals. They healed too fast for it to be worth the trouble. Cori didn’t even bother to give them any ointment other than a small amount right after she finished to help give the design a shiny appearance. This werewolf was already halfway through the healing process, and he wasn’t even that strong compared to some others she’d worked on.
“Yeah, let’s do it,” he replied, standing up and stretching his body.
She led everyone to the reception area where there would be more room. Glancing at the large windows in the front, she decided it would be best to close the shades and secure the entrance. As soon as she reached up to turn the lock, the door flew open, and she had to jump back. A familiar female troll entered, her putrid scent stronger than usual. Cori’s already weakened stomach clenched.
“Bambi, what are you doing here?” Cori asked, barely getting out the words as she covered her mouth and nose. Trolls weren’t that big on hygiene, and this one was particularly ripe.
Bambi scowled at her. “I just showered a few days ago, ya ninny. I ain’t that bad!”
Cori backed away a few steps, disagreeing with that assessment heavily. A pig sty would have smelled cleaner. “I’m closed right now.”
In fact, the shop wouldn’t be open for almost an hour. They would have started even earlier, but in this part of December, the sun didn’t rise until almost 10:40 a.m. She had to time it so that she wouldn’t finish the first tattoo until it was full light, or else they would have had to sit around waiting to test the experiment.
“I heard what yer up to.” The troll looked around the shop at the others surreptitiously moving away from her. “I wanna watch.”
“But…”
“It’s alright,” Derrick said, taking a reluctant step forward.
Cori gave him a pleading look. Sure, Bambi had protected her in the past when her ex-husband was after her, but she really couldn’t handle the smell today. Her nerves were shot, and her stomach was barely holding down breakfast. “Um, are you sure?”
He nodded, not appearing all that pleased about the matter himself. “I got a call from her last night askin’ about it. According to her, you owe her a favor, and she’s callin’ it in now. Better this than somethin’ else.”
That was great, just great. Cori had known the troll would want something from her eventually, but she’d hoped that maybe it would be a long time from now. As far as favors went, though, it wasn’t that bad. She only wished it could have been some other time.
“Okay, fine, but stay out of the way so the werewolf can shift,” she said, waving Bambi toward the corner of the room.
The troll huffed. “I wasn’t born yesterday, ya fool. Course, I’ll stay back.”
She moved to stand by the counter and bared her razor sharp teeth. It was a reminder to them all she was a predator as well, and she wasn’t picky about her meat. If a werewolf attacked her, she might actually win and happily make a meal out of him. One could never underestimate a troll, and according to Melena, Bambi was deadly even without a weapon.
In situations like this, Cori often wondered how her life could have changed so much in less than two years. She’d only thought her problems were bad before, but entering the supernatural world was sometimes like living in a constant horror show.
“Go ahead,” Derrick instructed his pack member.
The werewolf hadn’t bothered to put his shirt back on. He kneeled to remove his shoes and then take off his pants. Cori averted her gaze. The man might not feel any shame, but it felt like cheating on Bartol to look at another guy while he was naked. Instead, she watched from the periphery as he began the shift.
Bones contorted and crunched as they popped into new positions. The sound of it made bile rise in Cori’s throat as she thought of the pain it must cause. As hair started to sprout, she finally looked at the man fully. He was bent over, standing on all four limbs as his spine rolled into its new shape. His muzzle lengthened, and his ears sprouted upward. She wasn’t normally that squeamish, but seeing his body change and contort bothered her today.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, barely above a whisper, and hurried to the bathroom in the back.
The mostly-formed wolf growled.
“Stay,” Derrick commanded.
“What’s a matter with her?” Bambi asked.
Cori was horrified by her behavior, but the nausea was overpowering what was left of her pride. She slammed the bathroom door behind her and fell in front of the toilet, hugging it just in time to empty eggs and pancakes into the bowl. Something was seriously wrong. It wasn’t like her to throw up for no reason, and yet she’d been feeling sick all morning. And even last night, the chill she’d developed had made her think she could be coming down with something—if not for the sense of doom that came with it and her concern for Bartol.
It took a few minutes until she stopped heaving and managed to get up and rinse her mouth out. With her enhanced hearing, she could tell Asher was on the other side of the door, waiting for her. Cori washed her face for good measure and dried off before facing her employee.
“I’m okay,” she said as she stepped into the hall.
He gave her a concerned look. “You sure?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I think I might be coming down with the flu or something. Last night I was feeling cold and now this.”
“If you want, I could run the shop for the day after you’re done with the other guy,” he offered. “It sounds like you should get some rest.”
That actually sounded like a great idea. Between her nerves and the nausea, she didn’t know how she could do a full day of work. “Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”
“No problem.”
This was exactly the reason he was her employee, and why she worked hard not to lose him. It was hard enough to find good artists, but even more difficult to find ones who were reliable and trustworthy enough to cover her store when she was gone.
They headed back to the front where a gray wolf stood. The animal wasn’t much bigger than a healthy Alaskan wolf at the end of summer and had maybe an extra twenty pounds of meat and muscle compared to the native breed. No one would guess he wasn’t native to the area with such a small difference in size.
“So I guess it worked,” she said, meeting Derrick’s gaze.
He studied her closely, a hint of concern in his expression, before turning his attention to the wolf. “Appears so.”
“Are there any more bets you have to pay out?” she asked.
The alpha chuckled. “Not this time. I learned my lesson already.”
That was good to hear.
“He can’t leave here like that,” Bambi pointed out. “When’s he gonna shift back?”
“Give him a few minutes. Younger wolves gotta have a break first before they can shift again,” Derrick explained.
Cori took a deep breath, glad her nausea had subsided enough she could handle being in the same room with Bambi. “I’ll go get my booth ready.”
Doubt entered the alpha’s gaze. “You sure you’re up for it?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, giving him a dismissive gesture. “My nerves have just been shot, and I might be coming down with something.”
He frowned, looking like he was about to argue that idea but then thought better of it. “Alright—if you’re sure.”
“I am.”
Cori headed back down the hall to her booth and started cleaning up the mess from the first guy. Then she prepped her tools for Derrick, wanting to ensure everything was laid out and perfect before he came into the room. He might have a higher pain tolerance than the first werewolf, but he’d still be more intimidating to work on. Seeing what he could become only reminded her that he wasn’t even close to a normal human.
“Ready?” he asked, coming in just as she finished her preparations.
Cori gestured at the chair. “Yep, have a seat and put your bare back to me.”
He did as requested, pulling his black t-shirt off before doing so. He had a very broad and muscular back that spoke of pure, raw power. The man could probably lift a bus if he were so inclined. After hesitating a moment, she set the outline right over his spine between his shoulder blades.
Once she pulled the paper away, she started her tattoo machine and readied it with ink. Cori would do the permanent outline first before shading with color. The first guy had taken her about forty-five minutes, but she hoped she could go faster with Derrick.
He looked over his shoulder and sniffed at her. “You smell…different.”
“It’s probably the gloves and all the cleaners I use for sterilization,” she said, bracing her hand on his back as she began to work.
He didn’t flinch as the needles poked into him. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.”
She worked quietly for a few minutes before speaking again. “Do you know anything about the mating bond?”
Derrick stiffened. “Why do you ask?”
She lifted the tattoo machine from his skin.
“Well, it’s just that I’ve been getting this bad feeling since yesterday. First, it was cold chills, and today it’s been nausea, but through everything, I’m feeling this horrible sense of doom. If Bartol hadn’t called me about an hour before it started, I’d swear something was wrong with him, but he was just about to leave to Prague. I can’t imagine he’d run into trouble that fast.” It felt good to voice her anxiety, so much so that it took some of the edge off of her tension.
“I know a little about the bond,” he said carefully.
“Do you think I’m being paranoid?”
“I wouldn’t say that.” Derrick paused and bowed his head in thought. “But I’d wait a while longer before jumpin’ to conclusions. It might be your own fears causin’ you to worry, or maybe you’re just gettin’ sick, like you said.”
He must have overheard her and Asher talking.
“Maybe,” she agreed.
Cori went back to work on the tattoo, forcing herself to concentrate on him being able to turn into a wolf during the day. She thought of how unfair the rule was and that there was no reason he shouldn’t be able to shift when he wanted. It was hard to say whether she totally believed that since every powerful race should have some handicaps, but Derrick was a decent man for the most part. He’d never intentionally hurt an innocent human that she’d heard about. Melena had also mentioned a few times that the alpha wanted nothing more than for supernaturals to live in peaceful coexistence with all the races, which was something she could appreciate even if he could use an adjustment on his personality.
It was a little over half an hour later when she finished. Unlike with the first werewolf, Derrick’s skin healed within minutes of her working on it. She’d had to go more quickly and deeply to get the tattoo to stick, but at least he bled less. As she wiped his skin clean, she found the cloth was barely tinged red.
“You’re done,” Cori announced after applying a bit of ointment.
She held up a mirror so he could see the work she’d done from over his shoulder. He studied it closely for almost a minute. “Not bad.”
“Do you have any other tattoos?” she asked, setting the mirror back down. “I didn’t notice any.”
“Nope.”
He’d acted like it was nothing and showed no signs of this being his first time. She felt a little humbled that he’d let her experiment on him. “Thanks for trusting me then.”
“We still gotta see if the tattoo works,” he said gruffly, standing up.
Derrick grabbed hold of his t-shirt and led the way out of the room. Sometime while they’d been away, the younger werewolf had shifted back to human form and gotten dressed. He was relaxing in the seating area she had at the front of her shop by the windows.
Bambi had crawled up onto the stool behind the counter and sat there with her legs dangling. If not for her pudgy nose, oddly shaped ears, and unusual orange hair—all making her look like she was at least forty years old—she might have appeared like a child sitting there. She was certainly kicking her feet back and forth like one. Cori made a mental note to scrub the stool with her strongest cleaners before she left for the day.
“Well, ‘bout time,” the troll said, annoyed. She’d come to the back and looked in a few times, but mostly she’d stayed at the front of the shop while Cori worked on Derrick’s tattoo. “I gotta get back ta work soon, been wastin’ my lunch break on this.”
Bambi ran the herb store just a little ways down the same shopping center. It was one of the only reasons she bathed more frequently than most trolls since she didn’t want to scare all her customers away. Cori often wondered if she took over the business after the last owner, Felisha, died as a sort of remembrance of the fairy. Bambi would never admit to sentimentality, but the one positive thing that could be said about her was if she liked you enough to hang out with you, then it meant she cared in her own way.
“Keep complaining, and maybe I’ll give you a tattoo that will undo your anti-cleanliness curse,” Cori warned. She had no idea if that was possible, but one could dream.
The troll bared her sharp teeth. “Ya’d never get close enough.”
Asher snickered but shut up when Bambi growled at him.
Cori turned her attention to Derrick and found he’d already stripped his clothes off. She kept her gaze on his face, not wanting to see anything she shouldn’t and yet not wanting to appear weak like she had with the first werewolf. That had been too embarrassing. She would ride it out this time without getting nauseous if it killed her.
His muscles and skin began contorting. She waited for the nasty popping and crunching sounds, but the shift went much more quietly. Derrick’s body was going through the change with hardly a noise to give it away. Fur sprouted from his skin and then his muzzle elongated. When he reached the final step, his legs bent into the proper angles of his animal form. In a matter of moments, they had a massive wolf standing in front of them that easily outweighed any others she’d seen by at least twice as much.
“Holy shit,” Cori said, gaping at him.
Bambi hopped off her stool and came a little closer. “I swear he’s gotten bigger since last time I saw him like this.”
Cori wasn’t sure if it was because he was an alpha, over a century and a half old, or because he had a mix of demon and angel blood in him. All she knew was she’d never imagined he could become a wolf that huge. Suddenly, he seemed a lot more intimidating than any of the other supernaturals she’d met. This was an animal that could tear anything apart with little effort and probably take on several enemies at once. A person would have to be stupid to challenge him, which explained how he beat a vampire who was over a thousand years old in a duel—or he would have if Felisha hadn’t gotten in the way. Then again, he’d fought as a human that time, so she didn’t know how much that affected his fighting abilities.
Derrick paced around the shop for a few minutes, stretching his legs. When he finally came back to his original place, he started shifting back. The alpha didn’t need the longer break his younger pack member had required, and the return to human form went as smoothly as it had to his wolf body.
Cori waited until he got his pants and shirt back on. “So are we good?”
“I’m satisfied.” He grabbed his jacket and pulled an envelope from the inside pocket, handing it to her. “Here’s your payment for today.”
She opened it and silently counted three thousand dollars in there. He’d said she’d get more for each of the werewolf tattoos, but he hadn’t said how much exactly. “This is…more than expected.”
“It needs to be. I don’t want my whole pack runnin’ in here botherin’ you to get the same tattoo.” He ran a hand through his long, brown hair. It had been tied back in a queue, but he’d lost that during the shift. “If you charge high enough, they’ll think more carefully about it.”
“Why not have the whole pack be day shifters?” she asked, though it wasn’t because she was greedy. It just seemed like it would be a good deal for the alpha and would make his pack more sought after for membership if they had such an advantage.
He gave her a rueful smile. “If you spent more time around werewolves, you’d get it. For our newer members, it takes months and often years to learn how to handle their animal side. Some never get control all the way and have to be watched closely. The last thing I need is to have to keep an eye on them durin’ the day, too.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
Derrick sat down to pull on his boots. “Don’t let any of them get the special tattoo without my approval first. You can do regular ones on them all you want, though.”
“You didn’t test me to see if I could control myself without giving the gift,” Cori pointed out.
“I’ve seen enough,” he said.
“So what’s next?” she asked.
“I’ll let you know, but for now let’s leave it at humans and werewolves.” He stood. “Handle that alright for the next few months, and we’ll see if there’s somethin’ you can do for other races.”
“What about that vampire?” She hadn’t gotten an update lately and had worried about it.
“He’s fine, just weaker and don’t need or like blood no more.” Derrick grimaced. “You probably won’t get many takers askin’ for that, so I wouldn’t worry about it, but give me a call if it ever comes up.”
“Sounds good.” She shook his hand. “Thank you for the business.”
“I appreciate you as well for fixin’ a long-term problem I’ve had.” With a final nod, Derrick grabbed his fellow pack mate, and they left the store.
Bambi came to stand next to her. “Well, I guess you fucked up good there.”
Cori frowned down at her. “What?”
“Only you’d manage to make a screw-up turn into somethin’ good.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without your glowing encouragement,” Cori said, shaking her head.
“That’s what I’m always tellin’ ya.”