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“I wasn't doing anything. If you must know, he took me on a picnic.”
If possible, Raphael's black eyes grew even darker, narrowing to ominous slits. “You're dating a Were?”
“He's not a Werewolf. I asked him if he was, and he said no.”
A mild oath escaped Raphael's lips. He raked a hand through his hair, then resumed his place on the sofa. “Werewolves aren't the only Were-creatures. You know that, don't you?”
I shook my head.
“There are a number of Were-creatures,” he explained. “There are Were-leopards, Were-coyotes, Were-bears, Were-lions, and Were-tigers, to name only a few. Cagin is a Were-tiger.”
I envisioned Cagin with a mouth full of sharp teeth. The better to eat you with, my dear. “I didn't know. I mean, I had no idea.” But it explained the funny feeling I'd had when I met him, and it made me wonder anew how I was able to discern Vampires and Were-creatures from other people. I'd never been psychic or anything before. Or maybe I'd just never had the chance to use my gift, if that's what it was, until now.
“There's a big difference between Werewolves and other Were-creatures,” Rafe went on. “The Were-tigers and such don't have to change when the moon is full.”
“So they're really just shape-shifters?”
“Right. They're born that way, not made. Most of them are harmless, but you never know when one will turn on you. And once a Were-creature gets a taste for human flesh, they're just as dangerous and vicious as the Werewolves.”
“So, where do the other Were-creatures stand in the war? Whose side are they on?”
“The Were-tigers are the only other Supernatural creatures involved. The rest have remained neutral so far.”
“Why are the Were-tigers involved?”
“They like to fight.”
I blew out a sigh, thinking I had been much happier before I knew Vampires and Were-creatures existed. It made me wonder what other monsters were lurking out there in the dark.
“Stay away from Cagin,” Raphael said flatly. “You're not safe with him.”
“But I'm safe with you?” I tapped my fingertips on the arm of the chair. “Seems to me that it's just a case of choosing who I want to bite me, a Vampire or a Were-tiger.”
“You can't trust the Werewolves,” he said curtly. “You can't trust Cagin.”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
“Good point.” He gazed into the fireplace for several moments, then said, “I told myself I wouldn't see you again, that no good could come from it.”
“Then why are you here?”
He turned to look at me, his dark eyes intent upon my face. No other man had ever looked at me quite that way, as if every fiber of his being was focused solely on me. My breath seemed trapped in my throat as I waited for his answer.
“Because,” he said quietly, “I couldn't stay away.”
His voice was so warm and filled with such desire, I was surprised I didn't melt on the spot.
“Raphael…”
“I know how you feel. You're afraid to trust me, and I don't blame you. Hell, I don't trust myself sometimes, but…” He blew out a breath that seemed to come from the very depths of his soul. “If you won't be my lover, would you at least be my friend?”
I didn't know what to say. Raphael Cordova was eighty-five years old. He'd been a dyed-in-the-wool Vampire for seventy-two of those years. Yet, at that moment, he sounded far younger than his years. Looking into his eyes, I saw the boy he must have been before his life was turned upside down. He probably hadn't had many friends, what with being tutored at home and all. And later, after he had been turned, it probably hadn't been any easier to find guys to hang out with. After all, not many thirteen-year-old kids were out on the town in the wee hours of the morning.
“What was it like, sleeping during the day and being awake all night? What did you do for fun? Did you get to go out late at night?”
“Not as much as we wanted to.” A slow grin spread over his face. “Rane and I snuck out of the house a lot. Worried my Mom no end, the way we were always sneaking out. My dad was more lenient. He understood our need to explore the night, to learn what it meant to be what we had become, especially as we grew older.” He grunted softly, and I knew from his expression that he was remembering his past. “Rane and I got into some hellacious situations. There were a couple of times when we'd have been in a world of hurt if our old man hadn't come to our rescue.”
“What kind of situations?”
“Nothing too bad until we turned sixteen. It was about that time that we really started stretching our wings, so to speak, testing our powers, seeing how far we could go. One night we got into a brawl with a motorcycle gang. Those guys really knew how to fight,” he recalled with a wry grin, “but they were no match for a couple of teenage Vampires.
“The closest call we had was with a Vampire hunter. He trailed us one night. Being young and stupid and overconfident, we didn't pay any attention to him until he followed us into an alley that dead-ended against a six-story building. We were trying to decide whether to scale the building or turn and fight when he sprayed us with holy water. That stuff burns like hellfire. Some of it splashed in Rane's eyes, momentarily blinding him. While he was trying to shake it off, the hunter came after me. He had a silver dagger in one hand and a thick wooden stake in the other. If the old man hadn't shown up when he did…” Raphael shook his head. “I guess I wouldn't be here now.”
“I'm glad your father found you in time.”
“I guess it's pretty stupid of me to be telling you all this, isn't it?”
“I don't think so. Friends shouldn't have secrets from one another.”
He stared at me for a full thirty seconds, and then he smiled. “So I haven't scared you away for good?”
“I don't know. What does being your friend entail, exactly?”
“Whatever you want it to.”
“You mean like being there when you're feeling blue, driving you to the airport, and listening when you need someone to talk to?”
“Pretty much,” he said with a melancholy smile, “except for driving me to the airport. So, what do you say?”
I couldn't resist the soulful expression in his dark eyes, or the barely suppressed note of hope in his voice. Here was a being with Supernatural powers, a man who could probably destroy me with a glance, and yet he wanted me to be his friend. How could I refuse? Besides, I didn't have any friends in Oak Hollow, either.
