Page 26 of Werewolves Don't Howl
The Alta grunted, still rubbing his chin. Finally, he turned to me. “Did you ask him to protect you?”
“Did I?” I frowned, trying to remember, but everything was so surreal. “I went to his house and asked him for something.” Help finding a loophole in the werewolf law, but safety from my stalker had been mixed in that. I finally said, “I asked for his protection,” but I wasn’t entirely sure.
Silverton threw his cloak around my shoulders, the sudden weight knocking me off my one leg, but before I could sprawl into the dirt, I was in the Senator’s strong arms. Weird.
I stared into his eyes, aware that I must look about as appetizing as a smashed slug. “This is going to ruin your tuxedo,” I said.
“Such is the price of chivalry.” He stepped into a loop attached to a rope that disappeared into the inky darkness above us. He shifted my weight until I was more securely against him with one arm, and with the other, he held to the cord.
I looked up into the darkness, but I couldn’t see a sign of wings or lightning. “Where did you get a dragon and a gargoyle?”
“Libby’s husband is one, and her best friend’s daughter is the other. The sorcerer is here because I bought him."
"Are sorcerers very expensive to buy?” I gasped as we rose into the air more quickly than I’d expected. When hands grabbed me, pulling me into the cockpit of a silent helicopter, I could only stare around at the angels who manned the war chopper.
Definitely a hallucination.
“You didn’t buy the angels,” I whispered when Senator Silverton put me in a seat and fastened the belts.
“No, they can’t be bought,” he agreed evenly.
“Then why are they here?” I looked over at a particularly terrifying archangel with wings and an aura that clung to him like the shadow of death.
He glanced at me and I looked down at my blood-stained hands, not wanting to meet his eyes.
“It’s their chopper. They refused to loan it, but agreed to come along for the ride.”
“The beast,” the broody angel of death said softly, but it wasn’t soft enough for me to be able to pretend not to have heard him.
“My beast’s going to stalk the pretty elf,” I mumbled and then wanted to stuff the words back into my swollen mouth when I realized what I’d said.
The angel smiled and, for a moment, the heavens sang. He was magnificent when he smiled, like sunshine parting through the rain. “Not that beast. The one who murdered Ridley. Have you seen it?”
I shook my head and let it flop over until it landed on the Senator’s shoulder. He had such nice shoulders. “No, but I never see anything. I didn’t even see the wolf who bit me.”
The chopper took off, pressing me back into my seat as we accelerated, the wind blowing through the open doors as we shot through the night. I couldn’t breathe, we were going so fast. Or maybe that was from my broken ribs. Both.
When it stopped, I started breathing again, at least until the Senator undid my straps and picked me up, carrying me once more to the door. I looked out into the darkness and gripped the lapel of his tuxedo with my one good hand.
“Don’t drop me,” I whispered.
“Mm. I’ll make a point of it.” He stepped out, and we fell, but not wildly, like we were rappelling down a cord. He hit the ground and then carried me to a black van that blended with the night remarkably well. He opened the back door, climbed in with me, then closed it.
The engine turned on, and the van started moving. The senator put me down on a bed that was attached to the floor so it wouldn’t move around, however bumpy the terrain, and drew his thick cloak back over me.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I lay there on my back, feeling terribly vulnerable, both from my injuries and my shocking lack of clothing in the face of his tuxedo, even if I had his cloak.
He smoothed back my blood-soaked hair. “I’m going to set your bones, and then I’m going to pour healing spells over you. Once we’ve made sure that everything is healing well, you’ll shift back to your best healing form.”
I frowned, then nodded. This was logical. I grabbed his sleeve again before he could turn away to grab his bone setting equipment. “What do you know about setting bones? And how did you find me? And why did you come? You can’t pretend to be my protector. They’ll be watching and…”
He took my hand and kissed the back of it, sending a shocking sensation through me before he tucked it back onto the bed. “I am your protector, Miss Era. From the moment you came into my house and asked for assistance, I have been so. If you had told me that you intended to leave the house, I would have accompanied you and assisted you in your endeavors. Then we could have avoided this unpleasantness.” He brushed his fingertips over my broken wrist so lightly that it didn’t even hurt before he turned and got to work. The van was very well-stocked, and he was very good at medical emergencies.
I breathed through my nose while he set things in place. He kept the cloak over everything that he wasn’t required to see and touch in order to set, but it was still shocking to know that I wasn’t wearing any clothing under it.
Once he had me all set, snicker, he put his hands over me and started weaving spells. They were beautiful, sparkling dots of energy and healing that floated over me before they slowly sank into my skin. His magic was strong, but so gentle that I relaxed into his healing, trusting him more absolutely than I should, considering the circumstances.
The Alta had mentioned a beast, using me as bait to catch it. Why would the senator care about that? I didn’t know. But I did know that he was bringing me home. His pool house was already home to me. I should be terrified by that. I needed to warn him of the very real danger my beast posed to him.
