Bloodlines (20 page)

“Thank you,” Anthony whispered to her. He stepped back, and inclined his head, the lines of tension eased out of his expression. “Thank you, ma’am.”

He turned and hustled his brothers out of the building. Redford followed at a slower pace, absently finding Jed’s hand with his own. Jed’s fingers tightened on his immediately, though he kept cutting glances back as they left the cabin and the door was shut firmly behind them.

“So,” Jed drawled once they were all huddled around together, blinking in the sunlight once again, “that was a trip. Not exactly big on welcomes here.”

“I’m really sorry, Jed. Victor.” Anthony shook his head, looking surprised. “I wasn’t aware they’d be so xenophobic.”

“No apology needed,” Victor said. He didn’t sound bothered by it at all. “If you think that’s bad, you should see some sections of the half-blood community. You’d think it was the apartheid all over again.”

“Wait, so, she hates bugs?” Jed was looking between them, confused. “Doesn’t everybody?”

Redford, like everybody else, gave Jed a questioning stare. “No, she hates humans,” Redford explained. “Not bugs.”

“Oh.” Nose wrinkling, Jed turned to Redford. “Isn’t xeno-whatever a bug? The one with the legs all….” He wiggled his fingers and did a face with all his teeth showing. “Or wait. No. That’s the alien from that movie, right? So she hates bug aliens.” Knievel, disrupted by his motions, jumped lightly down and wandered away, tail waving, eyes shining in the sunlight. She apparently wanted to explore, though she didn’t go far.

Anthony started laughing, a deep, full-throated sound. “No, Jed. Xenophobic means she doesn’t like people foreign to her.”

“But you have a good point about the xenomorph aliens,” Victor said brightly. “The key word is
xeno
, meaning foreign or alien, hence—”

“The point is,” Anthony cut in, still smiling, “She doesn’t trust anybody that’s not a full-blooded wolf. I’m sorry, again, I didn’t want you to get treated so….” He glanced back at the cabin, seemingly torn between bluntness and reverence. “Rudely.”

“But at least we have a chance to speak with her again,” Randall said, stubbornly clinging to the good points. “For now, at least, she hasn’t forced us all to leave.”

“Just the humans.” Mallory had come up behind them, smiling, clapping Anthony on the shoulder. “And then, only after the meal tonight. That’s practically a warm welcome.”

“Hold on.” Jed’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean we’re getting kicked out?”

Mallory shrugged. “Just got my orders. You and the half blood are to be escorted out of the camp after evening meal. We don’t allow humans on our territory, not while everyone’s sleeping.”

“What, cause we’re going to slit your throats?” Jed bitched.

That scenario didn’t seem to be too far-fetched to Mallory, though, who simply said mildly, “Or something like that. Look, friends, I’m sorry. That’s just how it is. No one trusts humans, and half bloods are too close to them. Especially with the trouble we’ve had with hunters. There’s a town two hours north. You can find a room there, I’m sure. And it’s not as if we’re kicking you out immediately. Food gets served a little before sundown. That’s plenty of time to visit the gift shop on the way out.”

Redford saw Victor give Jed a horrified look. Jed nodded, seemingly accepting this. “Fine. Red, Vickie, and I will go have a spa day and—What now, Pippi Longfur?”

Mallory had been shaking his head, then arched an eyebrow at the nickname. “We can’t just let a wolf wander off. Even if it’s with you. Aren’t you listening? We’ve got hunters out there, looking for us. A lone wolf is a danger to the whole pack. I’m sorry, but until the Gray Lady says otherwise, the wolves stay inside, the humans stay outside. End of story.” He paused, eyes flicking to where Knievel was happily fighting with a flower stem. “Though if you’d like to keep your cat with you, I can’t see a problem with that.”

Redford hated that idea already. The concession for Knievel was hardly the same. Redford had barely spent a night apart from Jed since Jed had first burst into his grandmother’s house pretending to be a repairman. There had been a few nights, times when Jed had been out on a job in the early days when Redford hadn’t helped as much—but even then, Redford had stayed at Jed’s apartment.

He’d never told Jed this, but staying there surrounded by Jed’s scents had reassured him far more than Jed’s occasional postcard had. Though Redford did appreciate the postcards!

But Mallory looked like he wouldn’t be swayed. There were a lot of wolves around too, ones that would probably back him up if they argued the point.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” Jed moved a step closer to Redford, arms folded, an almost bored expression on his face. That wasn’t a good sign. “Me and Red, we’re together. Period. End of story. Finito. Whatever wolf barky thing that means full stop. Where he goes, I go. So either find me a place to bunk or he and I will head to the van.”

“Jed,” Victor said. He gave a nervous glance over his shoulder, where several wolves were beginning to look distinctly unhappy at Mallory being disagreed with. “Perhaps this isn’t worth a fight. We are in
their
culture, on
their
territory.”

“Fuck you, princess.” Jed’s voice rose. Mallory shifted a bit, eyebrow raising, moving a step closer to them. Jed’s hand was on his gun, eyes flashing in anger. “You think I’m going to let some teen wolf with a hair gel problem separate me from Fido, you—”

Randall shoved Jed backward, giving them space. Redford instinctively straightened his stance, scowling at Randall—though it looked like the flash of yellow in his eyes went without notice. Randall’s hands were on Jed’s shoulders, voice low and urgent, a thread of steel and worry running through his words. “Listen to me, human, and listen very carefully. You are not in your world. You are not anywhere you understand. You can use your guns and your explosives and start a fight, but if you do, the very
best
thing that could happen is that we’ll be shunned. And I know you don’t care. I know right now you think that’s a great idea.” Randall’s eyes slid over to Anthony, and something painful entered his expression. “But if you do that, you are killing my brother. Do you hear me? You will be killing him. All for a night spent with Redford.”

Redford could hear the very distinct sound of Jed’s teeth grinding, his hand tightening on the butt of his gun. Redford knew that look, he knew the way Jed’s shoulders were tightening, how his gaze was flicking between Mallory and the other wolves—he was trying to decide if he could fight his way out, if there was a way beyond the path he really didn’t want to take. But, in the end, he let out a slow breath and nodded, a sharp jerk of his head.

“Fine, Cujo,” Jed relented, jaw tight. “One night. One. We solve this shit or I am going to get really cranky.”

Randall seemed relieved at that, his shoulders slumping slightly as he nodded. His “thank you” was ignored as Jed shoved past him, going to Redford and wrapping an arm around him possessively.

“I was going to get really cranky too,” Redford said. “You know, if anybody cares to actually feel threatened by that.” He doubted they would. Explosions were a lot scarier than a man who couldn’t even really shift properly.

“I’d feel extremely threatened,” Anthony said, patting Redford’s shoulder consolingly. “I’m going to take Edwin and Randall to unpack, check out the guest cabins.” He looked at Jed and Victor, apology crossing his expression once again. “I’ll see what I can do to sway their decision to keep you out.”

“Or you’ll focus on the reason we’re here,” Randall said under his breath. “Honestly, you people are acting like it’s the end of that movie with the boat and the iceberg.”

“Nerd,” Anthony said fondly. He gave Randall a light shove. “Come on. Mallory’s taking us to our cabin.”

“
Titanic
. Even I know that.” Edwin had shifted back, not bothering to find pants as he curiously walked around, eyes wide while he watched all the other wolves. Redford determinedly kept his eyes above waistline—that was just awkward. “Come on. Let’s see if we can figure out where they keep the food. I’m starving!”

Redford’s gaze went over Edwin’s shoulder to a pack of wolves walking past. His eyes widened. Apparently Edwin’s clothing choices—or lack of them—weren’t actually all that unusual here.

“Is this part nudist colony?” Victor grumbled. He sounded torn between being scandalized and giving a few of them an interested eye.

A growl rumbled in the back of Randall’s throat. He bit the noise down with a quick cough. Victor looked even more startled at the sound than Randall did. “Right. Edwin, pants. Now. We’ll put our bags away, and Anthony can rest while we get food. Redford? Do you want to come with us to the cabin?”

Edwin protested, shifting back to wolf form as if to keep away from the dreaded clothing, streaking off after Mallory, who was waiting a short ways away. Edwin yipped loudly back to them, tail wagging eagerly. Knievel gave him chase, speeding off like a demon and then stopping, grooming herself and pretending she wasn’t the least bit interested. She, at least, seemed fully comfortable here. Jed was keeping half an eye on her, but the cat seemed perfectly content to explore and stay within sight.

“I’ll stay with Jed until dinner,” Redford replied. “I’ll find you later?”

Randall nodded, hand easily cupping Anthony’s elbow like he wasn’t doing anything odd. Like he didn’t need to help hold his brother upright. “Sounds good. Try and stay out of trouble.”

Redford watched them leave. Anthony was walking slower than usual, his shoulders hunched, though Redford wouldn’t have noticed anything wrong if he didn’t know that Anthony was sick. A glance at his watch informed him they had about an hour until dinner.

“I don’t know how I’m going to sleep,” Redford admitted. “It’s usually… you’re usually there.”

Rumbling out a sigh, Jed reached up to rub his fingers across Redford’s cheek. “I know. But hey, you’ll be with all the wolves, right? That’s going to be good.”

Redford just shrugged. “Still nothing compared to you.” As soon as he heard his own words, he sighed mentally at himself. Moping wouldn’t help anything. “Maybe I’ll stage a jailbreak,” he continued, perking up at the thought of it.

Jed drew him in for a kiss. “You stay put,” he ordered, nipping lightly at Redford’s lip. “Last thing I want is a bunch of flea-bitten mutts getting pissy. Besides, I won’t be that far away.”

“Venturing outside for a wolf may not be the smartest idea, either,” Victor said cautiously. “Twice now we’ve heard mention of hunters.”

“You think that’s legit?” Jed, arm still looped around Redford’s waist, keeping him close, squinted out into the woods, like he could magically see everything that lay beyond. “Might have to do a little hunting of my own, we stay here much longer. Just to see what everyone’s so worried about.”

“Just not tonight,” Redford insisted. “I don’t like the thought of you tracking hunters on your own.”

Huffing out a little laugh, Jed drew Redford in, both arms slipping around him, fingers pushing up under Redford’s shirt to play along warm skin. “No hunting tonight,” he murmured, lips trailing along Redford’s jaw. “We’re a team. I’ll just be sleeping right on the other side of this damn camp, dreaming about you. Deal?”

“Deal,” Redford replied, smiling against Jed’s cheek.

“
Ew
.” An unfamiliar voice broke Redford out of his Jed-induced distraction. Startled, he glanced over Jed’s shoulder to see a woman watching them, her nose wrinkled.

“Um, sorry,” Redford offered, flustered. “Are public displays of affection not okay here? I’m really sorry, I’ll—”

“It’s not that.” She cocked her head, staring at Jed. “It’s just…
him
.” She nodded toward Jed, looking baffled. “How can you even stand to get so close, with that scent?”

Redford growled in response before he could restrain himself. The dark instinct that had made itself at home ever since Fil was curling hot in his gut. Redford dug his nails into his palms to try to force it away. “Jed smells fine,” he said, his voice more a snarl than anything else.

There was the light touch of Jed’s fingers on his back, Jed’s voice interjecting calmly, “I shower and everything. Pardon us, sweetheart. We’re just going to keep moving, if you don’t mind.” Then Jed was leading him away, Victor following worriedly behind. “It’s okay, babe,” Jed was saying. “Doesn’t even matter. We’re fine.”

Redford made himself close his eyes, take a deep breath, and then another one. The woman was shaking her head in disbelief as she walked away—Redford could hear her murmur something about
humans
under her breath, the tone of it distinctly displeased.

He rubbed his hands over his face, hard, hoping there wasn’t any yellow in his eyes. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I just don’t like it when people insult you. Or
us
.” It had been a problem a few times before. Once, a client had been confused about why Jed would hang around with a hobo. Another time, a complete stranger in a bar had told them they looked completely unsuited for each other. Redford had not quite figured out how to just ignore the comments.

Jed’s hands ran through Redford’s hair, pulling him in close so that Jed could circle him in a tight embrace. “I just figured,” he drawled, voice sounding a little amused, “that as much as I like to stir up fights, maybe you shouldn’t. These are kind of your people, right?”

Redford looked over toward the center of the camp. As dinner was getting closer, more and more wolves were gathering around the bonfire. They looked content in one another’s company, easily sharing space and cooking duties alike. There were no scuffles for dominance, and nobody looked miserable. He still didn’t quite believe Anthony when he said that ranks like alpha weren’t actually a thing. But looking at them now, maybe Anthony was right. Maybe these wolves—these Cano that could shift painlessly whenever they liked—had no rankings. That still didn’t ensure that Redford would fit in any easier, though. He wasn’t a werewolf, and he wasn’t a Cano either.

“Not really,” Redford finally murmured in reply to Jed. “Should we get ready for dinner? I don’t want to be late.”