“I’m not a good person either,” she persisted, trying to imagine an entire race of beings out there whose existence she’d been ignorant of until now. Jude lifted her chin, defiantly when he flashed her that moon-like grin. “I’m glad I’m causing them all this trouble. Ihopetheir pack starts to ask questions.”
At that, he laughed again, full throated and ringing.
“I’m sure you are. And you have every right to be. There’s a difference though, little one. The places we come from and who we are are not one and the same. You were railroaded. Being glad that the people driving the engine hit a few speed bumps along the way doesn’t make you a bad person. And you’re still stuck here with me, so it’s not as if you got anything to write home over just yet.”
“I don’t have a home to write back to anyway,” she shot back. “But why you? I mean, why do they haveyouhere? If you’re the old man’s security, why do they have you guarding me?”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, and she shifted, waiting him out.
“The pack’s business dealings are drying up,” he admitted at last, with a small huff of disgust. “The old man barely leaves the house these days. They’re running out of money fast, probablyanother reason why they don’t want to parade you around in front of the pack. Don’t want anyone questioning bad deals struck.”
She winced, understandingshewas the bad deal, but he went on without notice.
“If they let me go, I might be snapped up by one of their rivals, and they don’t ever want to have to meet me on the wrong side of an argument. So instead I’m here. A glorified babysitter for an adult woman in no need of supervision.”
“I’ll pretend not to be offended by that.”
“Hey, this is the best gig I’ve had in years, little princess. No complaints. Other than the broken record questions and the distinct lack of lap dances.”
She dissolved into laughter, in spite of herself. It surely must have been the weeks of solitude finally taking their toll, she told herself, for there was no other reason for her to feel so at ease in the shadowy bodyguard’s presence, no reason for her to be seeking out his company with the frequency she did. It must’ve been her desire for company, she told herself, and nothing more.
That didn’t quite explain why she twisted in her sheets at night, her dreams weighted down by something heavy and dark, and the black, faceless figure that pressed her against the mattress, but she pushed the thought aside. The white stars of his eyes glanced down to her, and Jude was certain she heard the smile in his voice, even if his white fangs did not appear.
“Don’t worry, little one.” His voice was softer, and her stomach flipped. “I’ve been charged with ensuring you don’t disappear. I intend to carry out that duty, no matter who places an order to the contrary. You have my word.”
***
“So are the wings the default? Do you really have two heads? Is one pulled into your neck like a turtle right now?! You don’t need to do that just for me, you know. You can let it out if you need to. Give that thing room to breathe.”
He sighed, long and world-weary, and she giggled in response, his reaction exacerbated by the way he slumped against the counter. “I can take any form required of me. Shadows are malleable. All I need is a bit of light.”
“So if I wouldactuallygive you a lap dance, would I sink right through you like a mist? ‘Make me dinner. Give me a lap dance.’ You’ve got a lot of big pie-in-the-sky aspirations for someone made of fog.”
“Shadows,“ he corrected haughtily, his shimmering white laughter joining hers after a moment. “You’re utterly incorrigible. It’s no wonder they needed to get rid of you. You were probably harassing all the neighbors with your questions.”
Jude snorted. “Just the opposite, actually. They were the ones who would’ve been asking the questions, that’s why they needed to get me out of there. ‘Why doesn’t she turn? Is she even a wolf? Is she broken? You’re not actually going to marry her, are you?’ I could almost write the script myself.”
He said nothing for a long moment, but Jude felt the weight of his eyes as she turned back to her popped, engrossing herself in turning the meat.
“I’m sure that must’ve been difficult growing up,” he murmured thoughtfully.
She remained silent. She had nothing to say to that, other than overwhelming agreement.
“But you know, there’s a place for everyone, somewhere. You just haven’t found it yet. It’s not with these people.”
“Should you really be talking about your employers that way?”
“Myemployer,“ he stressed the singular form of the word, “is egotistical, greedy, and paranoid. That’s a losing trifecta whenit comes to keeping order of any situation, let alone of others. I don’t work for anyone else, and I don’t owe allegiance to anyone who’s not paying me. The old man and his son have the combined IQ of a shovel. I repeat, little princess — there’s a place for you out there. It’s not here.”
“Well, where would that leave you? Besides, if I up and leave and findmy people, you’ll be back to working for the shovels, so I guess it’s a good thing I’m here for now. I’m not a real wolf, I’m never going to fit in with them, it doesn’t matter where I go.”
His chuckle seemed to vibrate the air around her, making hairs stand up on the back of her neck and something flip, deep in her belly. Jude bit her lip again.
“We’ll see about that. Youarea wolf, little one. You just haven’t found the right pack. But whenever you’re ready with that lap dance, princess, I got a fistful of dollar bills with your name on it.”
Chapter 5
She felt it the moment she woke up that morning.
