Bruce held his tongue as they got into the car and reversed out of the barn. He waited in silence as Laddin pulled up the directions on his phone and passed it to him. Bruce had no problem playing navigator, but he was appalled by the length of time it would take to get to the lake, and that pushed him to voice his objection out loud.
“He’s being ridiculous if he thinks we have time to wait for him to get to us. It’ll take us an hour to get there.”
“I know,” Laddin said, his voice grim.
“If we have a chance to take out this demon, I’m taking it. We can’t afford to let it disappear again.”
“I know.”
“And if Nero is any type of leader, he would know that too.”
“He is.”
Bruce looked at Laddin, seeing the tight set to his shoulders and his hard grip on the steering wheel.WTF?“Care to explain what’s going on with you? The only time I’ve seen you this stressed was when your life was in danger. Or mine.”
Laddin cut a hard look at Bruce, then blew out a breath before focusing back on the road. “My guess is that he’s given Wiz detailed instructions on what to do. Wiz is the only werewolf who has magic, and he’s as experienced as Nero. Stratos is a newbie like me, but she’s got some special woo-woo of her own. Don’t ask me what, because I don’t know. Those two keep their secrets close to the chest.”
Okay, that made sense. He’d have to meet this Wiz and Stratos to judge how well he could work with them, but he had no problem handing off the dangerous part to the more experienced fighters. He’d had enough danger from the pixies to last a lifetime.
“So that explains the mission parameters. Now tell me what’s going on with you.”
Laddin didn’t answer, but his jaw clenched hard enough that his neck bulged.
“If you’re supposed to be the sunshine and light person, you’re not doing a good job right now.”
“I know!” he huffed. Then he visibly relaxed his hands on the steering wheel.
Bruce waited, watching as Laddin drove hard and dangerously fast on the country road, as if he was trying to outrun something. But the only thing following them was the full moon.
Oh shit. Thefull moon. He wouldn’t have put it together if Laddin hadn’t also glanced—repeatedly—out the window at the bright orb.
“Um… you’re a moon werewolf, aren’t you? You said I wasn’t but that you—”
“Yes.”
“So what happens to you?”
“I rampage around killing rabbits. No people so far.”
“So far?”
Laddin shrugged as he gestured ahead. “Everything’s wonky out there.” He again took a deep breath and relaxed his hands. Then he also shot a hard glance at the moon. “Here’s what I know. During a full moon, everything feels more intense. Feelings, hungers, desires.”
“Desires?” Bruce echoed as he put the pieces together. “Desires like….”
“Like love.” He shot Bruce another look, this one filled with confusion. “With you. It’s intense and real and—”
“And it’s only been two days.”
“I know.”
“It can’t be real, Laddin. We’re just….” What? Just getting to know each other? True, but in that time, they’d saved each other’s lives and had conversations he’d never have with his closest friends. He’d talked about his father, Josh, and the fucked-up way he was raised. That wasn’t something he spilled to anyone, but he’d felt like Laddin knew it all before he spoke. The guy saw through his bullshit to the stuff underneath. So he’d talked, and once the words were shared, he felt closer to Laddin than he did with his own family or anyone at the firehouse.
But while he was thinking how it might be the L word, Laddin was busy reiterating their previous arrangement.
“Just friends. A quick fuck to release the tension.I know.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Bruce said, though he sure as hell didn’t know what hedidmean.
