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Chapter Eleven
Troy held up two containers of food like some conquering hero returning from battle. Thank fuck I’d called him.
Anyone else would have mocked me, but not Troy. After shutting the door to the office, he peered around the salt and candles. “So, serious work going on?”
The fact he’d come over without question, without making me explain what I was doing or why, made me smile. It was an odd feeling, and one I wasn’t sure how to deal with.
I took a seat in the circle, and Troy stepped over the line of salt and candles. He sat cross-legged beside me, then set the food containers down in front of us. He paused as he looked at them. “The food won’t mess up the whole flow of this, right?”
I gave him my best ‘you really are an idiot’ look and opened the container of food closest to me. “You think a few nachos are going to throw off the cosmic flow of a spell?”
He huffed as he opened his own container—tacos. “I don’t understand how this all works. In case you’ve missed it, we werewolves like to avoid magic.”
“Says the man who turns into a wolf.” I lifted my eyebrow.
“Point taken.” He popped a piece of the shredded beef into his mouth, chewed it slowly, then swallowed again before speaking. “So how does this all work?”
I thought about it, trying to figure out how to explain it. Troy being a wolf was the only reason he could be there at all. Spirits didn’t care much about werewolves. I had to figure it was because they were, in many ways, far more ‘natural’ than the other types, which was probably why I could do a seance and not worry about him being there.
It was also why spirits had no problem bothering me, despite a werewolf living next door.
That was the first time living close to a vampire sounded like a benefit. If Kase shacked up nearby, maybe I could manage full nights of sleep without anything weird showing up.
“A seance can be done by anyone, and it is really just catching the echo of a person, the imprint they left behind. It doesn’t take a medium because it uses basic energy. It’s like the different between a mechanic and someone who can change the oil of a car.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
I shifted, then sighed softly. “It means I’ll have to relive her death. That’s what I need, to know what happened to her, what Olin did to her, so the echo will be the last hours of her life.” I shivered as I thought back to the body. “I reallydon’twant to relive that, though. Dying is the sort of thing you’re only supposed to experience the one time.”
Troy stared at me for a long moment, his silver eyes so familiar. “Don’t forget that all of us immortals die. Trust me. I know what you mean about it being something that should only happen once.”
“I’ve never thought much about how werewolves are made,” I admitted.
His words were slow, measured, as if recalling something he tried not to think about often. “To become immortal, a human’s life has to end. It’s true of any type of supernatural. For werewolves it requires a massive infection. A tiny cut won’t do it. Every werewolf was mauled by one that came before, and we all died in agony.” His voice didn’t tremble, but the shadows in his eyes told the story.
I’d known a werewolf needed to be bitten to turn, but had no idea the extent. Troy seemed bigger than life now—werewolves had an amazing amount of strength that helped them seem that way—but to think he’d been stalked and attacked by a wolf seemed impossible.
Werewolves didn’t look after changing quite like they had before. They tended to become larger and more muscular—talk about a good workout plan—which made me wonder what Troy had looked like back when he was human.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly, unsure what else to say.
Troy shuddered, as if that would dislodge the memories of whenever it had happened, then offered a tired smile. “I wouldn’t be who I am without it, right? But, yeah, I get it. I wouldn’t want to sign up for experiencing that again. There’s no other option?”
I shook my head. “I’ve run into walls over and over again. Trust me. I’ve been looking for another option, but this is it. It’s all I’ve got, but it isn’t exactly coming easily.”
He nodded, then rubbed his fingers along his chin. He looked good pensive like that. It was hard to ignore or forget.
Honestly, he looked even better when not at least slightly annoyed with me.
Troy closed the food and pushed it toward the side of the circle to give us room. Afterward, he shifted his position and crooked his finger at me.
I must have sat there too long, wondering just what the fuck he was talking about, because he caught my arm and tugged me toward him. He settled me in front of him, his large, warm body behind me. His breath was slow and deep and even if I hated to admit it, it was calming.
Something about him eased me. Whereas Kase put me on edge, Hunter amused me and Grant annoyed me, Troy felt like a solid wall behind me, something unmovable.
Which was hilarious, given he changed into a wolf…
“If you just wanted to get handsy, you could have asked,” I said.
