Page 72 of Destined for Dreams
Chapter 19
Cori
Giving a werewolf a tattoo was always a little more intimidating than giving one to a human. They tended to let out a low growl or snarl if the needles bit too deep into the skin, and more than once Cori could have sworn she saw their nails grow a centimeter or two as they curbed the urge to attack her. It wasn’t easy for them to fight the animalistic urge to kill anyone who harmed them. Her nerves were already frazzled since yesterday evening when she’d suddenly felt a chill that wouldn’t go away—the kind that warned of something being wrong, very wrong. Bartol had called soon before that, so he had to be alright, but she couldn’t shake the feeling he might not be.
Cori knew she was just being paranoid. Really, she did, but she couldn’t explain that logic to her gut. It had been twisted into knots since she woke up, making it that much harder to concentrate on her work. Cori lived in fear that she might hurl at any moment.
Not a good idea while working on a tense werewolf.
“Almost done,” she said, surprised the heavyset man in her chair had such a low pain tolerance. Cori had figured he might be one of the tougher ones among his kind.
The design she did today was different than the week before. This time, Derrick gave her a sketch of the moon and sun together—one slightly overlapping the other. She was using reds, yellows, and oranges to shade the sun. For the moon, it was mostly blue, gray, and white. Cori might not be able to make the design intricate and fancy since the alpha preferred simplicity, but she could at least give it nice shading. For this tattoo, it was on the guy’s upper back.
Cori was glad she didn’t have to face the man since it was clear from his profile that he was contemplating her imminent demise. Derrick sat in the same chair as when she’d given the humans tattoos a week ago, watching her every move. Asher was nearby too, watching from the doorway. When she’d told him she would be opening the shop early for a special experiment, he hadn’t wanted to miss it. Cori almost didn’t allow him to come, but he’d been affected financially by her new ability almost as much as her, and there was a chance this could become a regular thing at their shop, so it was best to let him see what all the fuss was about.
“Good choice of colors,” Asher said, nodding approvingly. “I wasn’t sure if it would work when you first set out the ink.”
Cori rinsed her needles before starting on the next shade, then grinned up at him. “Believe it or not, sometimes I know what I’m doing.”
“You’re makin’ it look too pretty,” Derrick grumbled.
“Not that pretty.” She shot him a disgruntled look. “And by the way, you said I’d be doing two tattoos today. Where’s the other guy?”
She’d kept expecting another werewolf to show up at any time. This experiment wasn’t the same as the humans since she wasn’t giving immunity to compulsion, so they didn’t need to be mesmerized and led into the place. She figured they’d come on their own.
“I’m the second guy.”
Cori nearly dropped her tattoo machine. “You?”
“That’s what I said.”
Her stomach was already a knotted mess, and he expected her to give him a tattoo. Cori could handle Derrick from a distance and even show some bravado when necessary, but she didn’t know how she could do actual work on him. One look at the rugged man and you just knew he could rip your head off if the notion took him.
She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath. “Okay, but I hope you have a better pain tolerance than this guy.”
The werewolf in front of her growled. “I’ll give you pain.”
“Shut up,” she ordered, feeling some of her courage return as she focused on the weaker werewolf. He was nothing compared to his alpha. “Or else I’ll dig these needles a hell of a lot deeper than I have been.”
His chest rumbled with a low growl, but he didn’t say anything more.
“You mighta made a good werewolf if Melena didn’t change you first,” Derrick said, eyes gleaming in amusement.
The nerves in her stomach eased slightly. “Thanks.”
“And, yeah, pain ain’t a problem for me.”
“Good.” She returned to focusing on her work.
It only took a few more minutes to do the final shading while concentrating heavily on the fact she wanted this man to be able to change into a werewolf during the day. She had to keep remembering that she needed this experiment to be successful. Derrick was paying her even more for the werewolf design than the human one—should she do it right. That could turn into some serious cash down the line and get her back in shape financially. Cori couldn’t afford to mess this job up, which was why she took a bit longer than necessary to instill a last breath of her will into the design. It had to be perfect or else she was in trouble.
“Done,” she said after wiping the skin clean and rolling her stool backward a foot or so, allowing everyone to take a closer look.
Derrick went first. “Looks alright.”
Asher leaned past her. “It gets my seal of approval, but I could have come up with some better design ideas.”
The alpha glared at him, and the young man took a few nervous steps back. Poor Asher was all human. He didn’t stand a chance against either of the men in the room. Cori didn’t either, but she could at least put up some semblance of a fight with her enhanced strength and ability to heal faster.
