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Chapter Eight
Ordys
Originally,whenhesawthe delivery truck pull up in front of the academy’s main building, Ordys assumed it was a normal order of toiletries, office supplies, and anything else they ordered for the staff. Even when the driver unloaded the pallet of identical boxes secured with plastic, he didn’t suspect anything was amiss.
It was when the driver handed over a note to Commander Cox that piqued his interest.
“And what is your name, sir?” the driver asked and pointed at the screen of the device in his hand. “It’s so I can notate who I delivered it to.”
“Richard Cox. C-O-X.”
“Thank you. Have a great day.” Then the driver secured his truck, got in the driver’s seat, and left.
Ordys had been relaxing in the shade, taking a much-needed break, but he walked over along with several other hunters when Cox began to read the note out loud.
“‘Don’t bother fucking yourselves, because we’re about to do it for you.’ Signed, The Monsters.” Cox pulled a knife from his pocket and cut into one of the boxes. He opened the flaps, and they all leaned forward to look.
Neon pink dildos.
As he watched Cox’s face turn red with anger, it took everything in Ordys to keep it together when all he wanted to do was laugh his ass off. He knew where the order came from — The Howlers.
Trick
After making a run to the local pharmacy, Trick returned to the cabin and carried in the four plastic bags of items he had bought based on Diamond’s list. Two of the bags had a few boxes of tampons and pads in them. Diamond said to get the variety boxes and just pay attention to which ones were gone, but there weren’t many of each size in them. Trick decided it was better to get a box of each of the three sizes of tampons and a few different styles of pads.
The other two bags had different chocolate snacks, popcorn, pretzels, a pain reliever made for menstrual cycles, and a heating pad. Once they broke through their trust and communication barriers, he would ask her what she needed for comfort during her period. Until then, she would have to make do with what he brought her.
When he entered the cabin, he didn’t even look her way. Irritation was still simmering in his gut. Instead, he headed for the kitchen area and unloaded the bags. Leaving the snacks on the table, he brought the feminine products into the bathroom and put them in the small shelving unit over the toilet.
He returned to the main room of the cabin and lifted item after item to show her, naming them as he did so. When he was done, he finally looked her way and asked, “You didn’t give me anything to go on, so I got you a variety of products. They’re in the bathroom.”
She was lying on the bed, facing away from him. When she didn’t so much as look his way, he walked over and checked to see if she was sleeping. She wasn’t. She was staring at the wall.
“Look. I get it. You hate shifters. I’m not too fond of your career choice. But you agreed to help us. And we need to find a way to get past all this mistrust and secrets. How are we going to do that?”
“Why would I trust you when you won’t even let me walk around without cuffs on?”
Trick sighed. “If I take the cuffs off while you eat, will that help?”
“It’s a damn start,” she grumbled.
“Fine. Are you ready to tell me what you know about the other hunters?”
“If I can have some of that ice cream, I’ll see what I can remember.”
Trick knew damn well that she remembered everything she ever learned about the people she worked with at the academy. Hell, he was pretty sure she did her own research on the founders of the place, but he wouldn’t call her out on her lie just yet. He’d see what she gave him willingly.
He reached out and uncuffed her from the headboard. As she sat up, she swung and hit him square in the balls, making him collapse next to her on the bed in pain.
“Don’t threaten to take a woman’s ice cream.” Then she bolted for the door.
Trick tried like hell to fight through the pain. Bent over, he took several deep breaths. Once it was tolerable, he headed for the door, intending to follow her, but he only made it to the door, when he saw her sit down on the porch steps.
Stella
When she reached the van, Stella realized she hadn’t grabbed the keys, and there weren’t any in the vehicle as far as she could find. She contemplated making a run for it through the woods or down the driveway, but she had no idea where they were. The closest store had to be within twenty minutes of the place, judging by how quickly he returned with the period supplies, but that’s all she knew. By the time she made it to the end of the driveway, Trick would have recovered and chased her down.
With a sigh, she returned to the cabin and plopped down on the steps. Even the thought of running and never seeing him again made her feel like shit. She didn’t want to run from Matthew, the man she met months before. Trick was another story. Trick was the man who lied, the shifter, the monster, and her prison guard. If she could have Matthew, she would never run away.Shit. She was pining for a lie.
