Page 14 of To Challenge a Wolf

A low rumble again. Not disapproval this time but contemplation. “Until tomorrow then, Vivian.”

“Sounds like a plan. Thank you, Malachi.”

“You’re welcome.” The call ended.

Well. Wow. That had just happened.

Vivian tapped to her contacts list, then to favorites. The line rang twice.

“Hi, Viv.”

“Are you busy?”

A mock sigh. “I told you to call me.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I am not busy.” Already Blaine’s smooth voice had begun to calm her though she hadn’t realized she needed calming. “Did you see him?”

“Breaking news: he’s still an idiot after all these years.”

“Mmm.” Blaine turned the syllable into music. He could do that to any syllable in four languages. “But the search is over. That has to be a relief, even if he told you to get out of town.”

“That’s exactly what he did.”

A hiss came over the line.

“Just a flesh wound, Blaine. Lay off the protective bit, okay?”

“I get to be offended when a wolf upsets you.”

“Do I sound upset?”

“Means nothing.”

Vivian sighed. “Incorrigible. That’s what you are.”

“So now what? You spoke in person, confirmed he’s alive and well, and you’re driving home?”

“Not quite.”

“Oh,” Blaine said as though he could read her mind, which occasionally did feel true even over the phone. “You’re sticking around for a few days just to make your point that nobody dictates to Vivian Rossi where she can and can’t be.”

“That’s not why.”

Even Blaine’s chuckle held music. “At least be honest with yourself.”

“Fine, it’s a fraction of why. But I need you to hear me out and tell me if…well, I don’t know what I want you to tell me. Maybe I just need to say this out loud.”

He went utterly silent. Had she been in the room with him, the metallic shimmer in his silver-blue eyes would be focused entirely on her. Blaine tended toward either scattershot activity or motionless fixation; middle ground wasn’t his thing. Vivian was no expert on ADHD, didn’t even know whether or not it could affect vampires, but her friend fit at least a couple checkpoints on the list.

“You’re allowed to keep breathing,” she said.

“Not while I’m listening.”

“Okay, well, here it is. I thought I could just confirm he was okay, apologize for refusing to listen back then, offer to keep in touch casually and maybe rebuild a friendship over time, but now I’m here and he’s mad at me for it, which is just maddening.” Her left eyelid twitched. She pressed one palm against it. “I want to know what his problem is. With me. I mean, he has no right to act like this. I haven’t done anything but show up finally to check on him. Then again, he’s alwayshatedit when you dare to ask if he’s okay. So maybe that really is why he behaved like a total…”

Her words trickled away as she saw him again at the park, his posture precise and stiff. If he’d had actual hackles, they’d have been up. If he’d had fangs, they’d have been bared. Rhett had met her in full-blown self-protection mode. The idiot.

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