Андреа Кремер - Nightshade

“Be glad it’s not Efron,” I said, handing him the dustpan.

He caught the dark expression on my face. “Why?”

I swept slowly, tightening my grip on the broom.

“Because of Sabine?” he asked in a low voice.

I froze. “You know?”

“Neville told Mason, and Mason told me.” He stared at the pile of sugar.

“Ren told me,” I said softly, and began to sweep again.

Ansel maneuvered the dustpan to catch the sugar. “Mason said Ren is really broken up about it. I mean that’s third-hand info, but I believe it. He can’t protect Sabine from Efron. I can’t imagine what that feels like for an alpha. Master or no, it has to go against Ren’s instinct to protect his packmates.”

I didn’t respond but continued pushing the sugar toward Ansel.

“What do you think about it?” he asked.

“For the first time I was glad Lumine is our mistress,” I said. “And I hope Logan is different. Ren said he’s not like his father but that he’s unpredictable.”

He shrugged. “Well, Logan would be different no matter what. I mean he wouldn’t want—”

The front door banged open and Bryn bounced into the kitchen.

Ansel straightened abruptly, dropping the sugar in his dustpan back on the floor. I groaned.

“Oh. Sorry.” He threw me an apologetic glance, taking the broom from me.

“Ready for the great outdoors, Cal?” Bryn smiled and then looked at the floor. “What happened?”

“Ansel believes that coffee should be drunk in equal parts with sugar.” I smiled at my still-blushing brother. “He got a little enthusiastic about it.”

Bryn laughed, turning to head back out the door.

“Hey, wait a sec,” I said, catching her arm.

She raised a surprised brow.

“I’d like to make a solo run today. Do you mind?” It was hard to keep my voice even.

“What?”

“I’d prefer to do the patrol alone,” I said, fumbling for a reason and finding nothing. Lame, Calla, so lame. She’ll never buy this.

“I see.” She wandered to the kitchen table, settling into a chair. “So you’re meeting Ren?”

“What?” I blurted.

“What?!” Ansel jumped up, spilling the sugar again. He swore, but he didn’t bend down to resume his cleanup.

My eyes darted from Bryn to my brother. “I am not meeting Ren.” It wasn’t what I’d expected but I realized it might be enough to keep Bryn away from patrol. Even if it meant suffering a week or more of teasing from these two.

“Really?” Bryn fingered the empty sugar bowl on the table. “I thought you two seemed to be getting along rather well at Eden. He’s a great dancer. Isn’t he, Ansel?”

She winked at my brother, who snickered.

I glared at each of them in turn. “I am NOT meeting Ren.” I knew if I didn’t protest, she wouldn’t invest in her new conspiracy theory.

“Fine.” She smiled, her eyes telling me she didn’t believe me at all, which in this case worked in my favor. “That’s good because it’s technically against the rules for two alphas to patrol together. You know, in case anything were to happen and both of you were killed.”

“Technically we’re not alphas of the new pack yet. We’re still a Nightshade and a Bane,” I snapped.

“So you are meeting him, then.” Her grin became so broad I thought her face would crack.

“I am not!” I snatched the sugar spoon from Ansel and threw it at her, but she dodged it easily.

My stomach tied itself into painful knots. I was fairly certain that over the course of our night at Eden, I’d succeeded in pushing the Bane alpha away.

Bryn laughed and went to the cupboard. “Whatever.” She grabbed a coffee mug. “If you want to go alone, that’s fine with me. No matter what you plan to do up there.”

Still glaring at her, I returned to the kitchen table to finish my coffee.

Ansel finally managed to get the spilled sugar into the trash can.

“So, Bryn.” He grabbed the empty sugar bowl and went back to the pantry. I was surprised there was any sugar left considering the amount we’d swept from the floor. “If you’re not patrolling today, would you mind doing me a favor?”

Bryn took a sip of her coffee, squishing her face up. “If you can bring me sugar for this bitter stuff.” She looked at me. “I don’t know how you drink this straight. You’re badass.”

“That’s why I’m your boss.”

Ansel swept back to the table brandishing the refilled sugar bowl.

“Stop swinging that around; you’ll spill it all over again,” I muttered.

“Good man.” Bryn grabbed the bowl.

He opened a kitchen drawer and tossed her a spoon.

“Thanks.” She began to shovel granules into her mug. “What’s the favor?”

I shook my head. “If you guys were humans, you’d already be diabetic.”

Ansel laughed, but his gaze fell on Bryn. “Uh. You had Ms. Thornton for English as a sophomore, right?” He sounded nervous.

“Everyone has her.” Bryn stirred her coffee. “She’s the only English teacher for sophomores.”

“Oh yeah, right,” he mumbled. “Well, we’re at the poetry unit now, and I’m just not getting it.”

“Uh-huh.” After one taste of her coffee, she wrinkled her nose and reached for the sugar once more. After a quick glance at the clock, I got up and carried my mug to the sink.

“So I know you write poetry,” Ansel continued, his eyes fixed intently on the depths of his mug. “And I thought maybe you could help me out.”

Bryn shrugged. “Sure. Since Calla’s dumped me for her new boyfriend, I’m free.”

My mug clattered into the stainless steel basin. “He is not my boyfriend!”

She ignored me. “You know, An, if you really want help with poetry, you should talk to Neville. From what I hear, his poetry is much better than mine. He’s even had some stuff published.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ansel said quickly. “I’ll do that, but the assignment is due tomorrow and you’re here now.”

“Okay. Good point,” she said.

“I’m glad you’re doing something useful today.” I stormed from the kitchen.

I could hear their laughter trail after me as I shifted into wolf form and bolted into the woods behind our house.

I ran up the eastern slope of the mountain. The frosted earth bit into my paws. I knew where I was headed and didn’t pause until I arrived at my intended destination. When I reached the ridge, I dropped onto my haunches. He was there, quietly waiting for me, and I wasn’t as surprised as I thought I would be.

I watched him from my elevated vantage point for several minutes and considered my options. Finally I rose and leapt from the ridge, landing just a few feet away from him. He yelped in surprise, scrambling to his feet.

I stared at him, silent, unmoving. He blinked at me. Then he slowly stretched out his hand, taking a few steps forward. He bent down. When I realized what he was about to do, I snarled, snapping at his fingers. He jumped back and swore. I shifted into human form.

“You’re like a dead man walking.” I pointed an accusing finger at him. “Don’t ever, ever try to pet a wolf. It’s just insulting.”

“Sorry.” He looked chagrined, then he laughed. “Good morning, Calla.”

“Good morning, Shay.”

NINE

“I’M SURPRISED YOU SHOWED UP. YOU MUST be an early riser.” I paced back and forth uneasily, scanning the edge of the forest that surrounded us. “Why did you want to meet me here?”

I was more worried about why I’d wanted him to be in the clearing.

“Not so much an early riser as a non-sleeper. I’m trying to figure out what all this crazy I’ve fallen into is,” he said. “Besides, I wanted to keep our coffee date.”

He reached down and unzipped his bag, withdrawing a slender stainless steel thermos and a small tin cup.