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“So why all the doom and gloom?”
He sighed. “Because I’ll have to break it off. She really is nice.”
I frowned as I took a sip of drink. “I’m not understanding the logic of that statement.”
“It’s this.” He waved a hand down the length of his body. “How can I commit to anyone for any amount of time when I have no idea just how long—if ever—it’s going to take me to control this thing?”
I just about choked on my Coke. “Good grief, did you just admit to a connection? Is the lone wolf—the man who doesn’t believe in long-term commitments—actually thinking he might have found the woman who could change that?”
He grimaced. “We went on one date—”
“And sometimes that’s all it takes. You’re a wolf, not a human or a monk.”
He snorted. “I’m half wolf, and I’m certainly not a monk.”
“Neat sidestep of the actual question, my friend.”
He smiled. It was a somewhat pale reflection of his usual smile, but I was happy to see it nonetheless. “God, you’re more tenacious than a dog with a bone. And yes, there was a connection.”
“Then I can’t see the harm in chasing it.” I hesitated. “And it might just give you another reason to fight.”
“Or another person I’m fearful of hurting.”
“You won’t.” I nudged him gently. “I have faith in your strength, Tao.”
He took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Yeah. And that scares the hell out of me, because you’re seeing what I’m not feeling.”
“Risa?”
I glanced up as Rachel appeared in the doorway. “What?”
“There’s a gentleman here to see you.”
“Business or personal?” I frowned as I glanced at my watch. It was after midnight, so it could hardly be business.
“He didn’t say. Just said it was urgent.” She shrugged, then added, “Tao, I may need help in a couple of minutes. A big group just came in from the Blue Moon wanting burgers.”
“I’ll just finish my drink and then I’ll be in.”
She nodded and disappeared. I climbed to my feet, then hesitated and looked down. “I can pull Danny off waiter duties to help Rachel if you’d like a few more minutes out here.”
“It won’t help much. I’ll be fine.” He squinted up at me, expression half-mocking. “Isn’t that what you’re constantly telling me?”
It was a rebuke—a gentle one, but a rebuke nonetheless. I smiled, though it felt a little tight. “Yeah. And I’ll keep saying it until you damn well believe it.”
And with that, I left him. There was only so much I could say and do because, in the end, I couldn’t help him win his war. He had to find the strength—and the desire—within himself to stop the elemental from taking over completely.
And, despite what I kept saying, part of me feared he wouldn’t find either.
I walked back through the kitchen and into the café. The place was beginning to fill up again with wolves and a spattering of other non-humans, but we’d rolled into the next shift roster and there were plenty of people to deal with the rush. I couldn’t see anyone obviously standing by themselves, so I poked my head back into the kitchen and said, “Where did you put him?”
“End booth, near the bathrooms,” Rachel replied, without looking up.
“Thanks.”
I headed down to the last booth, only to discover there was no one in it. But there was certainly someone standing in the shadows to the right of the booth. My gaze traveled up the long, lean length of him and clashed with his darkness.
This was no stranger. This was Markel Sanchez, one of the vampires who’d been ordered to not only follow me about astrally, but report my every move back to Hunter.
