Page 51 of Act of Brotherhood
Why in the hell did he keep thinking in terms of “his”? When he’d called James in the middle of the night from the local Paranormal Regulator’s office, telling him he thought his drug concoction was total shit, he’d forgotten to mention the burning-need-to-claim-a-human side effect. He should have probably led with that. James had ended the conversation by telling Garth he couldn’t wait any longer, that he had to at least try it with Gram.
It was best everyone knew that if the serum was a success on Gram, the guy would wake up and want to claim the first human he spotted.
“I’m glad you remembered,” said Nicolette to Cody. “I haven’t talked to you in weeks. How long have you been back in town? And is there a reason you didn’t call me?”
It was then Garth put together that Cody was the same Cody who had slept on the pull-out sofa at Nicolette’s. The friend who had left clothing at Nicolette’s home. Another growl came from Garth at the thought. A sinking feeling came over him. Had Cody bedded Nicolette?
Garth would tear the man limb from limb. Fuck the fact Cody was a fellow shifter and a man he’d once called friend.
Suddenly, Garth’s eyes burned, and he knew they were shifting colors. It normally never hurt and the fact that it did now should have helped him to snap out of the rage. It didn’t. Thoughts of Cody knowing what Nicolette looked like beneath her dress sent Garth tumbling into the abyss.
Cody sucked in a large breath, wrapped an arm around Nicolette, and shooed her in the direction of the school. “Hurry. The cupcakes are looking like they might melt. Why do they smell funny? Never mind. Go on in. I’ll stop by your class before I leave today.”
Like hell!
Garth growled more.
“But I have to say good-bye to Garth,” protested Nicolette.
“I’ll bring him to see you here in a second,” said Cody, a certain note of desperation clinging to his every word.
Nicolette accepted the response and hurried into the school with her fake cupcakes in hand.
Cody pointed in the direction of the side of the building, and Garth followed as they walked quickly. Cody twisted and shoved Garth into a small alleyway and out of view of the public. “What the hell, Viking? You’re about to do a full shift out in the open.”
Garth advanced on the man, thrusting him back and against the wall of a building. “Keep your hands offmy woman, shark!”
“Your woman?” asked Cody, punching Garth back from him and straightening his T-shirt. “Nicolette is not…oh shit…isshe your woman?”
Coming to his senses, Garth backed away slightly and looked down at his hands. It was then he saw they had started to shift forms. “W-what?”
“Dude, what’s up? You’ve always been weird, but even for you this is out of the norm. Tell me you’re not armed to the teeth. Your love of weapons is beyond weird,” said Cody, shaking his head. “Why are you with Nicolette?”
Garth had to take several deep breaths to get his body to calm enough to permit him to return fully to human form. “I spent the night with her.”
“With her, with her? Or on-the-pull-out-sofa-that’s-apparently-for-wayward-shifters kind of withher?” asked Cody, his voice rising a touch.
“Haveyoubeenwith her, with her?” questioned Garth, teetering on the brink of losing control once more.
Cody put his hands up slowly. “Take it easy. I have not slept with Nicolette. We’re friends. Good friends. And she’s never mentioned you before. I’d have remembered.” He touched his chin. “Hold up. Was ityouwith her last night near some bakery or something?”
“Yes,” replied Garth evenly.
Cody laughed. “My buddy Wheeler Summerbee does me a solid and keeps an eye on Nicolette and Clara for me when he can. He called me up, worried about some big-ass shifter dude who was near Nicolette. I tried Nicolette’s cell phone, but she didn’t answer. I tried Clara’s then, and she told me Nicolette had a Viking popping out of a cake or something. I don’t know. I didn’t catch all of it. All I got was not to worry. Nicolette was fine. Did you jump out of a cake for her?”
Garth latched on to part of what Cody had said. “You’ve not bedded her?”
“Christ, Viking, you have a one-track mind. No. I’ve not boned her,” stated Cody. “But from the way you’re acting,youhave.”
Garth grinned. “Yes. And I plan to do so again.”
Cody rolled his eyes. “Too much information, man. Just be cool about your exit strategy. She’s my friend. I don’t want to see her hurt.”
“Exit strategy?”
“Yes, as in when you leave to go back to your life, which isn’therebecause I know all the PSI guys in Savannah. You’re not one of them.”
Garth wiped a hand over his face. Leave Nicolette? He couldn’t simply walk away from her. The very idea of it made his body tense and his pulse race. He turned in a half-circle, nervous energy filling him quickly.
