“Please pick up and be okay,” she whispered.
Five rings later and it clicked. “Hello?” It was a woman’s voice.
Her eyes flew open. “I’m sorry. I must have the wrong number.”
“You don’t. This is Stellia, correct?”
Gerri was taken aback. That was the clan healer’s name.
“Trayis said you might call,” the woman rushed on. “I apologize for answering Wen’s phone but he’s in the shower. I heard his phone ringing in his pants so I answered it. He’s feeling a lot better since he drank some of my blood.”
Gerri finally managed to speak again. “Who is this?”
“Trayis didn’t tell you my name? Well, he did say you were out hunting and he’d have to send someone to get you when I spoke to him earlier. You probably didn’t get many details. I’m Sherry. I work for your clan, and I’m the one Wen bit so he could heal faster. Tell Trayis he was right. My blood worked. I ordered Wen and I room service. I admit I’m a little lightheaded, but Graves pulled him off me before he took too much blood. I figured we both could use some food.”
“I want to speak to Wen.” Sherry was with him? He’d bitten her? What the hell was going on? Anger and pure jealousy hit hard.
“Sure. Hey, babe…”
“What?” Wen’s voice could be heard faintly in the background.
“Your doctor is on the phone and she wants to speak to you.”
“Tell Stellia I’ll call her back.”
Gerri lowered the phone and disconnected it. Her chest hurt. Sherry had called him “babe” and he’d answered to it, as if it were normal. It was blatantly obvious they were sharing a room if she could talk to him while he showered. Hot tears burned her eyes but she blinked them back.
Time passed slowly, and finally Micah came back from where he’d disappeared with the airport worker.
“We’re all set. Ready to go home?”
She managed to stand. “Yes.”
Micah stopped in front of her, studying her face. “Are you okay? You look really pale.”
Wen had finished his mission and he didn’t need her anymore. He was with Sherry. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
She spun, darting toward the ladies’ room, barely making it to a stall before she threw up the breakfast burrito she’d had with Wen earlier that morning.
* * * * *
Wen felt better. Blood wasn’t stuck to his skin or matting his hair anymore. He walked out of the bathroom and flinched when he caught sight of Sherry. She sat on the edge of the bed, gripping his cell with both hands, looking ready to faint.
“I told you to stay flat.” He crossed the room, taking the phone from her with one hand, gently pushing her onto her back with his other. Guilt came next. He’d done that to her. His gaze went to her bandaged arm, glad it was covered. He couldn’t remember biting her. Everything had been a blur, from the time the fight ended to waking up in the SUV with Graves and Sherry.
“Good idea.” She chuckled. “I hope the food comes soon. I usually get a cookie and some orange juice when I donate blood at the annual hospital drive, but this is worse. I think I need a cake and an entire orange tree.”
“It’s not funny. I could have killed you. What in the fuck was Graves thinking? Why the hell are you even here?”
She cracked her eyes open, her smile fading. “You sound mad.”
“I am. I don’t even remember taking blood from you.”
“You wouldn’t because you were unconscious. Your fangs were out though. You looked like you were dying. Jesus, Wen. I was so terrified I called Trayis, and he said you needed blood. Graves was going to give you his but I volunteered. It made sense. Blood loss was the last thing he needed, since he’d just told me about all the bodies he had to burn. I sure as hell couldn’t do that job for him while he recovered. He scratched my arm and I put it in front of your mouth. You latched right onto me.”
Wen crouched next to the bed, careful to grip the towel around his waist so he didn’t lose it. “That doesn’t answer why you’re here.”
“Trayis asked me to come. We didn’t know until I got here yesterday that your cousins were around in case you needed help.”
“Why would he send you?”
“In case you got arrested or something, I guess. I don’t ask Trayis why. He says go, I go. I might handle business law, but I know how to bail someone out. You know that. Imagine my surprise, though, when I ran into Micah at the bar last night. What are the chances of us staying at the same place?”
“You always pick a five-star hotels when you travel. So does my cousin. This is the closest one to where I was undercover.”
“True.” She smiled again. “Why don’t you lie down with me? That would make me feel better.” She patted the bed. “You could distract me with amazing sex until room service comes with our order.”
Wen rose up and backed away. “I could have killed you, Sherry. Did Trayis mention that? You never bleed for an injured one of my kind. I’m half Vampire and have no control of how much I drink in that condition.”
“Graves pulled you off my arm when he said you’d taken enough. You were fucking bleeding from like thirty places. What was I supposed to do? Let you die? What’s wrong with you?” She tried to sit up but then lay back down. “Shit. The room is spinning.”
“Of course it is. I took too much blood. Goddamn it.” He reached up and shoved his wet hair back from his face. “I should take you to a hospital. You probably need blood now.”
“You could give me some of yours.”
He backed up until he hit the wall. “No!”
She flinched. “Why are you snarling at me?”
“We can’t ever exchange blood. Never, Sherry.”
“Oh, that’s right. It’s how you VampLycans mate, isn’t it? Would that really be so bad?”
“I don’t feel that way about you.”
“We’re good together, Wen. Don’t we have a lot of fun? I wouldn’t mind spending all my time with you. I can’t say I’m a big fan of Alaska; it sounds like a godforsaken kind of barbaric hell, between the winters and all those animals I’ve heard about. But I’d deal with it to be with you. That’s saying a lot.”
“It was just sex. You know that.”
“It could be a lot more.”
He shook his head. “It’s over, Sherry. I’m sorry.”
“What in the hell do you mean by that?”
The door beeped and then opened, admitting Graves. He stepped inside and smiled at Wen. “You look a lot better.”
“Thanks for your help, but why are you even here?”
“You mean because you didn’t ask for my help? You should have. Micah asked me to come.”
Wen frowned.
“It was getting boring in Colorado.” Graves crossed the room. “How you doing, legs? Feeling better?”
“Wen is being an asshole. I saved his life but he’s acting as though I cunt-punched his mother.”
Graves arched his eyebrows, glancing between them.
Wen sighed. “You shouldn’t have let me feed off her.”
“You had more blood outside your body than left inside by the time the fighting was done. I had to carry you out to the SUV—which was a bitch, by the way. Broad daylight. I wrapped you in a blanket and stuffed your body into one of those plastic garbage cans with wheels, then rolled you out of the building. You don’t fit well inside one, either.”
“Then what happened?” Wen asked, curious.
“I got you to the SUV we’d parked in the alley next to the building. Micah stayed behind to guard the building. Sherry flipped when she unwrapped you to see how bad you were, then called your clan leader. He said to give you blood. I would have done it, but we had a basement full of corpses to deal with. I shoved her arm against your fangs, you did your Vampy auto-drinking thing, and when she almost passed out, I yanked her away. At that point, you woke up enough to growl at us. I bandaged her up, and she babysat you while I went back into the building.?
??
“Where’s Micah?”
“You told me to tell him to leave. You were demanding he fly G.L. to Nevada immediately, so he took off to do that. Who the hell is G.L.?”
Wen softly cursed. “Fuck. You’d know her as Gerri or Geraldine. Micah didn’t tell you she was with me?”
“No.” Graves frowned. “He didn’t tell me much at all.”
In all the confusion after Wen had woken, he’d figured she was still waiting at the airport. He needed to speak to Micah. He was stunned at the amount of time that had passed when he saw the hour displayed on the phone screen. The call went to voicemail.
“Call me.” He hung up.
“Who’s woman you two are talking about?” Sherry sat up.
He ignored her, focusing on Graves. “How did I get into the hotel? I can’t remember.”
“Sherry stayed with you in the SUV. Micah had taken off to pick up my car, to do what you’d told him. I set fire to the house your Vamp had been playing in, so the humans wouldn’t find a body dump. I made it go boom.” Graves chuckled. “Big boom.”
“The hotel,” Wen prodded.
“We dumped a shitload of water on you after stripping you out of your clothes, since you’d stopped bleeding. I had grabbed your bag Micah had found inside the building before he left and took it to the SUV. We dressed you, shoved a baseball cap I found on your head to cover that mess, and you stumbled next to me. You don’t remember that?”
“No.”
“People thought you were drunk. Graves helped you walk.” Sherry was watching him with narrowed eyes. “No one gave either of you any shit. You’re both muscled as hell, so they probably thought you’d get into a brawl.”
“I laid you on the floor in the bathroom so we wouldn’t have to explain bloodstains to the maid later, and then I went to buy you some more clothes.” He wrinkled his nose. “All yours were dirty in that bag. The new stuff is in the room next door. I wasn’t sure if you were up or not yet, so I dumped the bags in there.”
Wen reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. He glanced at his phone. “How long ago did Micah leave?”
“Hours ago.”
It meant he’d had time to get to Gerri at the airport and board his plane. They were probably in the air. “Fuck.”
“Who is G.L.?” Sherry sounded more agitated.
Wen dropped his hand from his neck and glanced at Graves. “Can you get me those clothes, please?”
“Sure. I’ll be back in minute.”
“Make it five. Sherry and I need to have a talk.”
“Okay.” Graves left.
Wen waited for the door to close before he held her gaze. “Remember how I told you one day I’d find a woman and realize she was my mate?”
Sherry tensed. “Don’t say it.”
“You asked. I answered. That’s why it’s over between us.”
She licked her lips, then frowned. “Why did you send her to Nevada?”
“Because I was out of my head. I don’t even remember doing that.”
“She’s a Lycan? Isn’t Trayis going to have a problem when you bring some rogue home with you that you met during this mission?”
“She’s not a rogue.”
“Bullshit, if she was hanging out with those assholes who almost killed you.”
“She’s not one of them. I can’t mate her because she’s human. My parents would kill her.”
Sherry looked relieved.
That pissed him off. “It’s over between you and I, Sherry. She found out about you and it hurt her. I swore to her that I’d never touch you like that again.”
“And you always keep your fucking word, don’t you, babe?”
“Yes.”
“Just like that, huh? We’ve been seeing each other for years. You go home but you always come back to me.”
“You’ll travel with Graves or Micah for clan business from now on. I’ll send another VampLycan if one is needed. It just won’t be me.”
“Over a woman you say you can’t even be with?”
He hesitated. She would probably rant to Trayis, repeat what he’d said, but he and the clan leader were friends. Trayis wouldn’t tell his parents about Gerri, especially after he talked to him. And he planned to do that today. “I can’t mate her. I didn’t say I won’t see her and spend time with her every chance I get.”
“In other words, I’ve been replaced. Is she younger than me?”
“You and I weren’t committed, Sherry. It was no secret I had other lovers. So have you.”
“Fine. See both of us. I’ve shared you with other women before. We’ll just keep doing that.”
“No. There’s only one woman I want. I might not be able to make her my mate, but she owns my heart. I don’t want anyone else.”
“You son of a bitch! She is younger, isn’t she?”
“No.” He regretted hurting her. “I have to call Trayis and Stellia now. I’m sorry.”
“You’ve been through a lot and aren’t thinking clearly. It was a tough mission. You’ll change your mind and want to see me again.”
“It’s not going to happen.”
Chapter Thirteen
Gerri had climbed into the back of the plane during the flight, lying about needing a nap. She just hadn’t wanted to talk. Micah would either flat-out lie to her or try to give her some clan bullshit on why Sherry was with Wen if she asked. The attorney did work for the clan, after all. That excuse didn’t explain the intimate setting she’d pieced together from that phone call.
At least Wen hadn’t totally screwed her over by sending her home unprotected. As long as she stuck close to Micah, he could fight off anything nonhuman who got a whiff of her. Of course, they’d be in trouble if an entire pack or nest came after her. He was just one Lycan.
Micah secured the plane and got their bags out. “I have to fill out paperwork and then we’ll head to your place. I hope you have a comfortable couch, since I’ll be staying with you until Wen gets here.”
She nodded.
“Are you okay? I swear Wen will be fine. I’ve seen him recover from far worse. Hell, six years ago he took four slugs to the chest.”
That didn’t help. She might be hurt and angry, but the thought of someone shooting Wen didn’t sit well with her. He might deserve a punch to the balls though. “I just want to get to my place and eat something.”
“I know I’m not the man you want here, but Wen will come as soon as he can.” He locked the storage compartment and pocketed the key, then pulled out his phone to glance at the screen. “Wen called.”
Her heart hammered. “Call him back once we’re out of here.”
He frowned but shoved his phone back into his pocket. “I thought you wanted to talk to him.”
“I do. I just want food first.”
“I forgot.” He assessed her.
“That I’m human?”
He nodded.
She usually would have been insulted but this time she used it to her advantage. All nonhumans were arrogant. “I’m not as sturdy as you are. Guilty. I’m still exhausted. I feel like ten miles of bad road. I’ll be back to my normal self after I eat and get more sleep.”
He led her inside the small airport through a door and jerked his head toward the public waiting area. “Use the bathroom. This won’t take long.” He passed her backpack over.
“I’ll be waiting. Just do what you’ve got to do so we can leave.”
He turned and strode toward one of the employees. It left her alone with her thoughts. Would Wen actually come see her or did he plan on making Micah be her protector until his scent faded? Only time would tell. He’d either show or he wouldn’t.
She had no idea what to say to him. Maybe yell because she was hurt over what she’d learned with that phone call…or should she just let it go? He couldn’t mate her. That was one fact she did know for sure. He’d have to return to Alaska without her either way.
At least he couldn’t mate Sherry either. She was human. It was
petty, she admitted that, but it eased some of the pain of Wen being with the other woman at the moment. He was also injured, so she doubted he was in any condition to have sex.
Loud voices drew her attention and she turned her head, watching four large men walk into the airport together. They were having an animated conversation, one of them laughing, as they each pulled black wheeled suitcases behind them.
She dismissed them and dropped her head, debating on if she should just get it over with when Micah came back by asking him to call Wen. He obviously wasn’t in the shower anymore. The flight had taken hours. Whatever he had to say about allowing Sherry to stay with him while he’d sent her away, he owed her an explanation. She wanted to hear it.
“What do we have here?”
Gerri startled and lifted her head, staring up at the four men. They had changed direction and approached her without her noticing. She glanced at each face. They weren’t bad-looking guys, ranging from their mid-twenties to maybe late thirties. One of them released the handle of his suitcase and dropped into the seat next to hers. He leaned in, putting his arm around her. Her body went rigid as she turned her head, holding his gaze. They were brown with amber highlights. She was pretty sure he wasn’t fully human.
His nostrils flared. “Hello, sweetheart. Don’t make a scene.” His hand on her side dug in and she felt four sharp tips. Claws. He could rip her open if he wanted to. The silent threat was there.
She glanced around, searching for cameras, but the bulky bodies standing in front her blocked most of her view.
“No one can see,” the man pressed up against her said. “What’s your name?”
Options filled her head on how to get out of the mess she was in. The sun was still in the sky, so they had to be Lycans. Fur bats wouldn’t need an airport. They’d just wait until dark and fly anywhere they wanted to go. They’d smelled Wen and come after her. She studied their clothes. They dressed nice, with expensive shoes, and those suitcases weren’t cheap. All those clues hinted that they weren’t rogues. They more than likely belonged to an established pack, probably a local one.