“I will be back.”
“How the hell am I supposed to get home?”
“That is not my concern.” He shoots what almost feels like a bullet of regret down the line of our connection. I know, I know. It's still hard not to be hurt by the cold way he says it. But seriously, how am I getting home? We're in freaking Florida.
“You can take your Claimed home if you like. I will come with you. I have not seen Maine in a very long time.” Oh doesn't that sound like a fun roadtrip. Skytrip?
“That might be best.” Peter is both relieved that he can take me home. But there's something else there that he isn't telling me. Not for the first time, I wish I had telepathy.
“Shall we go?” Cal looks between me and Peter. I make a huffy face and roll my eyes like a petulant teenager. I want Cal to think I am. I want him to underestimate me until I know what the hell is going on.
We all walk calmly out of the house. Tex catches my eye and mouths something at me, but I give her a look that shuts her up. I have the feeling this wasn't what she had in mind. I thought it was going to take me physically putting my hand on her mouth to get her to stop talking. Seems as if the gravity of the situation had finally penetrated her thick skull. It's about time.
The air outside has a chill in it that I know is only going to get worse. Why it's a good idea to let Cal know where I live is beyond me. But it looks like he's coming. I wonder how he's getting there. Peter has never told me about his other form.
I watch as he takes his jacket off, folds it and places it just inside the door. He then removes his tie and then his shirt. I really hope he isn't going to strip down. Then he takes off his shirt and folds it. Then shoes.
“You may want to turn your back to protect your human sensibilities. I know how you can be about the naked body.” I do as I'm told and turn my back. Peter comes to stand behind me. I wish I could say something to him, but I know Cal would hear. Instead I lean back against him for a fraction of a second. His fingers nip at my back. A warning.
Without at word, Peter lifts me into his arms. Viktor does the same with Tex. There is no squeal of delight this time. We are all quiet. I turn my head to see where Cal is. Instead I meet the face of what looks like a cheetah. Only a half-human one. His face is covered in patches of gold and black and white. There is a cruel beauty to him that takes my breath away. His whole body is covered in short fur, sparkling in the moonlight. He smiles at me, and I turn away. The savage beauty could kill me. Even though I know Peter wouldn't let that happen. It doesn't make me feel less uneasy.
A growl signals our departure. Peter ruins another shirt, but I don't really care. Viktor stays in human form and takes off with Tex. I pray that he can keep her safe. Peter is silent as the wind whips around us, as if it's angry.
He stays silent until we are well into the sky.
“I am sorry.”
“I know.” His arms tighten around me. “What's going to happen now?”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know? I thought you were sending me all those vibes because you had a plan.”
“I did. Cal changed it.”
“Then you have to change the plan. God, have you ever watched an action movie before? They go to diffuse the bomb and the thing they'd planned on never works and they come up with something that might work and puts all of them at risk. And it pays off. Most of the time. So we just have to think of a crazy way to diffuse the bomb.” He doesn't say anything.
“Well, you've gotten us into a pickle.”
“Indeed.” He pauses as I wait. Wait for a new plan.
“There's something you aren't telling me.” This has been my suspicion all along. That Peter does know what he's doing, even if he isn't telling me about it.
“Yes.” Thought so.
“And you're not going to tell me. Again.”
“No.”
“So I'm just supposed to trust you.” Again.
“If you can.”
“Oh sure, I can trust you. I just don't understand why keeping me in the dark is a good thing. You told me if you were going to do that to me again, you were going to tell me ahead of time.”
“There are things I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“The time will come. It has not yet.” I can't think of anything good to say to that, so I go with...
“You suck.” Brilliant.
“I am sorry. It is for the best.”
“That's what your parents say when you have to go to the doctor and get a shot, just before they stick you with the needle.”
“I would never hurt you.”
“Intentionally.”
“Yes.” Neither of us is dumb enough to deny the fact that he could just as easily hurt me unintentionally. He just hadn't yet.
I shut my mouth and try to stay calm for the rest of our little ride. It seems to take forever. I keep looking down at the ground, even though it makes me want to hurl. I'm just worried about Tex.
“She will be fine.”
“How did you –”
“I just knew.”
“Oh.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Peter
I had told her a lie. Cal had not changed my plan. He had simply confirmed my suspicions.
Since Ava had entered my life, things had changed. My sensibilities had sharpened. It was almost as if I had lost the knack of noticing things when I became a noctalis. Not that my powers of observation were ever poor. Since my life had no meaning, I chose not to pay attention inconsistencies.
When I had first met Ava and before I Claimed her, I had seen Cal. He seemed to sense times of turmoil in my life, but that was impossible. We had talked. He had told me of his new house. It was an inconsequential meeting. I went back and saw Ava the next day. And that was when it started.
I did not see him again until after the Claiming. I had changed so much since then, little as I would admit it. Noctali are stagnant. We stay the same, never growing, never bending, breaking, ending. But the Claim had changed me. She had changed me.
I saw that he was different when I brought her. That he looked at her in a way I had seen him look at hundreds of other humans. Only this time I cared. I cared so much I wanted to rip his throat out of his body. I wanted to cause him so much pain he would never recover. But of course, we are incapable of causing pain or experiencing it. I had not remembered pain until I Claimed Ava.
It was a mistake to bring her the first time. I needed the information, and I did not know how he would react. I had my answer quite quickly. But I kept it from her.
I was willing to go back and see him. But the moment he opened the door I knew. He meant us harm.