Page 87 of It All Started with a Bite

“It’s okay.” I winced and looked at my knuckles. I’d scraped them raw.

“Marcus?” Gavin was staring at the figure hovering behind Camilla.

It was a timid-looking young man with dark hair and eyes. He gave off a werewolf scent not dissimilar to Priscilla’s. His shoulders hunched at my stare.

“H-hi, Gavin,” he stammered, avoiding my eyes.

Camilla glanced at her companion in surprise. “Do you know each other?”

Marcus nodded hesitantly. “We w-went to school together.”

“Oh.” Camilla recovered her composure and gave us a chagrined look. “I’m sorry, we have to be somewhere.” She glanced at me uneasily before guiding Marcus into the crowd.

Didi scowled. “Dammit. We almost had Wheeler.”

“How did you know that woman was him?” Gavin asked me curiously.

“The way she walked. It reminded me of the footage from MoonlightCouture.” I clocked the dragon newt’s awkward stare and the strange glances I was receiving from some of the human passersby. “What is it?”

“You might want to rein in your inner wolf,” Didi advised. “Your eyes are glowing and you’ve gone all—” She waved a hand vaguely.

I touched my face gingerly and groaned at the facial fuzz that had sprouted during the chase. No wonder Camilla had given me a weird look.

Bo plopped down on his haunches and watched me with shiny eyes, his tail thumping the cobblestones.

“You were so cool! Like a superhero. But a hairy one, with anger-management issues.”

Trust my dog to ruin my brief moment of glory.

28

First Aid, with a Touch of Romance

“Yikes.”Fred stared as we trudged into Hawthorne & Associates half an hour later. “You look like you went ten rounds with a brick wall.”

“She face-planted in front of half of Amberford,” Bo said helpfully.

I swallowed a sigh. My knees and elbows still stung from my encounter with the cobblestones, though the scrapes were already starting to feel better.

The Hawthornes had told me werewolves had accelerated healing powers.

“Did one of your surveillance ops go awry again?” Charlene asked sympathetically. The banshee shot a worried look at Gavin. “Wait. He didn’t set fire to something again, did he?”

“I did not.” Gavin huffed indignantly and almost set a lobby plant ablaze.

We left Charlene and Fred hastily patting down smoking vegetation and took the express elevator to the fifth floor.

Barney looked up from his typewriter when we emerged in the open office area. “I smell blood.”

Hugh stared at me where he was leaning a hip against the vampire’s desk. “You look terrible.”

“Thanks for those useless observations,” Didi muttered.

“What are you doing here?” I asked Hugh.

He shrugged. “Mother and Samuel decided I could return to work.”

“He’s our social media manager,” Barney explained.

---