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Oh.
Oh.
“Mom?”
She was in the middle of saying something, but she immediately stops short before answering with a, “Yes, baby?”
“I’m going to have to call you back.”
“One hour, Gemma. If I don’t hear back from you in an hour, I’m calling your father. He’ll send Max to make sure you’re okay and you know you’ll never hear the end of it.”
Great. Max?
That’s even worse of a threat.
At least Dad knows that I’m an alpha and I can take care of myself. My older cousin still thinks of me as a little girl, and an omega to boot.
“Okay. Sure. One hour.” I shove the ruby in my front pocket, then grab the fire escape railing, taking the stairs two at a time. “Love you. Bye. Don’t send Max!”
I end the call as I race up the stairs. My wolf is urging me to go faster, as if she’s afraid that he’ll be gone by the time I get up there, and no matter how we left things six weeks ago, my wolf’s always been fond of my vampire friend.
When there’s only one flight separating me from our apartment on the twentieth floor, I pause, taking a moment to compose myself. The aura tickles at me; it’s even stronger after my mad dash up the steel stairs. Swallowing back my sudden nerves, I jam my phone in my back pocket, then lope gracefully up the last few steps.
And there he is.
Aleks.
I can see him from where I emerged onto the balcony. The sliding door is transparent, and he’s turned the light on so the whole living room is illuminated. As if he’s waiting for me, he’s perched on the edge of the couch, nose in a book like always.
A sound of pure amazement escapes me.
Finally.
He’s home.
* * *
I knew I missed Aleks—Ieven sent him a text early this morning saying exactly that—but I don’t think I realized just howmuchI missed my friend until I see him sitting on the couch like I have a hundred times before. Those wire-rimmed glasses of his sliding down his nose, pale green eyes drawn to the page of his book. Always a physical copy, rarely tech, because despite living through the last couple of centuries, he’s a product of his times.
As I stare at him from the other side of the glass balcony door, he reaches for the corner of the page before pausing. Slowly, he closes the book, setting it down on the coffee table in front of him.
Ah. He must’ve finally sensed me out here.
As a vamp, his senses are keen. For the year I lived with him, he always seemed to know when I was on my way back to the apartment. He’d have a cup of tea waiting for me nearly every time my end of shift coincided with him getting ready to go out on patrol. I thought it was because he was a vamp and could smell me despite his tea concoction covering up my shifter scent.
That would be a big, ol’ nope. Aleks scented something all right—himself. The charmed fang he had me wearing around my neck made me smell more like him than anything else.
I don’t have his fang anymore. Tucked beneath my Charlie’s t-shirt, I’m wearing Ryker’s canine fang. Not that I plan on telling him that.
After all, I just got him back after being gone for six weeks.
I push the door open, stepping inside.
“Gem?” He rises up from his seat, moving so that we’re facing each other. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
It’s his voice that does it. His cultured, softly accented voice that draws me out of my shock at finding him sitting there as if he’s never left.
“Really? I’d say it’s more like you’re the one who ghosted me.”
