Stephanie Tyler - Dire Desires

After half an hour, he knew Jinx was closer to the house and he stepped out, dripping on the floor. He used his hand to squeegee the water out of his hair. No one had cut it while he was sleeping and he needed a haircut, never liked wearing it this long.

He grabbed a pair of scissors and began to chop. Maybe he should wait until he could get a professional to do so, or maybe he should just start fresh. Completely, totally new.

He hacked until his hair was an inch from his scalp, and then he grabbed the buzzers and went to work. After he’d cueballed himself, he noted that the markings were all along his skull as well. “Might as well not try to hide it.”

It fit with the biker mode they had going on. Made his eyes darker.

If anything, maybe the spirits would stay away from him when they saw he’d been marked by hell.

The deadhead drove as Jinx kept checking Gillian’s breathing, her pulse—which was racing—until Jez asked, “Are we just storming the mansion or are you calling ahead, wolf?”

Shit. He pulled his phone from his pocket, keeping one hand on Gillian and dialed Gwen. The new queen had been most kind to him, calling to check on him. He was sure she wasn’t doing it behind Rifter’s back, but Gwen definitely had a mind of her own.

“Jinx, what’s wrong?” she asked without saying hello.

“I’m bringing a Dire wolf in.”

“Who’s hurt?” she demanded.

“No one you know. It’s a full female Dire.”

There was a long silence and then, “I’ll open the garage for you. Come right into the clinic.”

She hung up and Jinx directed Jez to park in the garage in between the Hummers and the Harleys and various other sports cars and classics. He moved quickly, with Gillian in his arms and Jez trailing behind him until he saw Gwen waiting in the hallway. She motioned for him to follow her and he did, placing Gillian gently down on the stretcher before backing away to give Gwen room to work.

But for a long moment, Gwen simply stared down at her.

“She’s full Dire,” she finally breathed.

“Yes. She was in a psych ward.”

“So she has no idea what she is?” she asked as she turned her full attention back to Gillian. “She’s pretty.”

Jinx agreed, watched Gwen put two fingers on Gillian’s wrist as she placed the stethoscope on Gillian’s chest under her T-shirt. Jinx heard his growl, low, warning, before he could stop it.

Gwen stilled and stared at Jinx, her canines elongated.

“Jinx, you’ve got to back off and let Gwen check her. She’s not hurting her,” Jez said and when Jinx looked at the vampire, his fangs had come down too.

“Jinx is feeling . . . protective,” Jez told Gwen and she stared between Jinx and Gillian. The bond was palpable, at least to Jinx and from the look on her face, she felt it too.

She looked back at the vampire, who simply smiled.

Christ. He stared at the floor, took a deep breath and tamped down that reaction because what the fuck? “Sorry,” he mumbled after a long, tense moment and Gwen went back to her exam.

“Do you know if she’s been drugged like this for five years running?” she asked.

“I’m assuming so, but maybe not as heavily. If they have her birthday listed correctly, she’s due for her first shift in three months.” Jinx went for the intercom. “Maybe Stray can look into her records.”

“That’s a good idea,” Gwen said. “Because I have to know how bad her withdrawal’s going to be.”

Jinx put his finger on the button but he hadn’t pressed it yet. Gwen went over to him and pressed, called up to Stray. “Come to the basement and bring your laptop. Stat.”

Stray gave a sharp “Will do,” and she added, “Bring Killian.”

Jinx looked at her with a furrowed brow.

“Gillian might be from the Greenland pack,” she offered.

“Right. They might know her.” His entire body tensed at the thought of other Dires coming down here, coming near Gillian. And it had to have shown, because Gwen asked, “Are you going to be able to hold it together?”

“Of course he can,” Jez said. “What? I have impeccable hearing. It’s not just you wolves.”

Gwen gave Jinx a lingering look and then went back to Gillian. She ran some IVs, explaining to Jinx, who’d been a medic in the Army, what each one was—he’d know what they’d do. It was nothing he wouldn’t have done for any of the Dires, nothing that could hurt Gillian. Rather, this could push the drugs out of her system, but not so fast as to cause a reaction.

It dawned on him then. “You think her body’s addicted to the drugs?”

“I don’t know. Can wolves get addicted? Don’t forget, this is all preshift,” she said. “I mean, our metabolisms are really too fast for drugs to stay in long, but this kind of exposure, day in and day out . . .”

“She ran away for days at a time. And she always came back. Wouldn’t she have gone through withdrawals then?”

“Maybe she was. Or maybe the wolf was urging her on. I can’t be sure, Jinx. But I’ll do everything to make sure she’s comfortable,” Gwen promised and Jinx believed her.

He heard Jez at the door talking to Killian and Stray, and he could make out the bare-bones conversation that consisted of If you get close to her, Jinx will flay you.

Message received, because Stray and Kill both gave him a warm greeting but stayed by his side when looking at Gillian.

“Do you recognize her?” Jinx asked.

“She’s got to be from the Greenland pack but I don’t recognize anything about her,” Stray said tightly. “Then again, if she’s not immortal, I might not ever have known her.”

They both knew Stray wouldn’t have known her at all, the way he’d been caged and isolated by his family in Greenland. There was no love lost for that pack from anyone in this household.

Kill walked to the end of the table and uncovered Gillian’s feet. Gently, he lifted the left and checked the heel, nodded as though he’d found what he expected. “There’s a marking here. A brand given at birth to everyone born to the Greenland pack, for tracking purposes.”

Stray went to look at his own heel but Kill said quietly, “You weren’t given one. It’s a good thing, brother.”

Stray’s brow furrowed. “I guess it is.”

Kill recovered Gillian’s feet. “She looks like Arrow’s family,” Kill said decisively. “Are her eyes blue? Aqua?”

“Yes,” Jinx confirmed.

“That’s their signature. Never seen a color quite like it before. Arrow’s one of the nobility—their family’s been running the pack since forever. But this doesn’t make sense. She’d have been too young for any of them to detect powers. No prophecy on her. Why would they let her go like that?”

“Stolen?” Jinx suggested.

“Could’ve been,” Stray muttered. He had his laptop open and went to the corner where Gwen had a small desk set up. “Let me get on her records.”

Jinx stroked the hair from Gillian’s face. Gwen had given a quick sponge bath to the unconscious Dire, so now her golden skin seemed to glimmer under the lights. She’d also brushed Gillian’s hair so it shone with health. But despite how healthy she looked, this would still be a rough road for her.

“I’ve got to go,” Jinx told Gwen.

“Rifter’s on his way,” she started but he shook his head. This was too hard—leaving her—without seeing his king again. He wasn’t ready, wasn’t accepted back and none of this was right.

“Just take care of her. And keep me up-to-date.”

“I will, Jinx.” She turned to the vampire. “You take good care of him or I’ll kill you myself.”

“Impossible, but point taken,” Jez said dryly.