King Hall (35 page)

I nodded unintelligently, eyeing the wolf Shifter from head to toe.

He was giant. Like, seven feet tall giant. He was muscular like most Shifters, so he took up that much more space. His shiny silver hair hung almost to his shoulders, his eyes dark. His features might have been plain if evaluated separately, but together they made a perfect unity of naturally arched silver brows, a nose a smidge too long, and plump lips.

I was pretty sure I might have panted there for a moment.

The really beautiful part was he held eye contact with me for a long damn time before his gaze traveled over my facial features, and lower, giving me the exact same treatment I had given him. He didn’t even seem too impressed. Meaning, he had some balls to go along with all that scrumptiousness. It was possible I might, in fact, partake in a blind booty call, after all.

“He’ll break her,” Ezra complained in a whisper from my bed. “She’s too small for him.”

“I don’t know,” Pearl stated just as softly, sounding factual. “She likes her men big.”

“I think I’m with Ezra on this one,” Jack grumbled almost silently.

My face flushed, my friends not so quiet when it was dead silent to begin with.

King Kincaid glared over my head, probably at Ezra, but said to me, “I’ll leave you two to it.” He patted Broderick’s shoulder before walking away.

He held out his hand. “Broderick.”

I shook his ginormous appendage. “Lily.” He nodded in greeting, releasing my hand, and I asked him bluntly, “Do you know why you’re really here?”

“We’re being set up,” he said with a slightly crooked grin that had my knees weakening. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “This has nothing to do with you, but I can’t say I’m all that thrilled about it.” He tilted his head, his silver hair dangling over his shoulder. “I’m not looking for anything serious. And,” he jerked his head at my friends, “they’re probably right. I’d break you.”

Jack stated not so quietly, “See? Even he agrees.”

Pearl hummed, not sounding convinced.

Neither was I.

“How about we go for a run?” I asked slowly, thinking this through. At least, trying to think, since my hormones were on overdrive. It had been a very long time since I had a bed partner. “See how it goes from there?”

Once more, his gaze roamed my body, and he nodded unhurriedly. “You’re good with nothing serious?”

Pearl chuckled behind me, but quickly coughed, trying to cover it.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Not into serious.”

“Okay,” he murmured quietly, his voice getting deeper. “I’ll give you a head start.” He pulled his shirt over his head and started undoing his pants. He jerked his head in the direction of the stairs at the end of the hallway, obviously not shy. “You’d better hurry.” His voice was half growl.

A shiver of allure ran down my spine, and I mumbled over my shoulder, “Watch the movie. Don’t care.” Slamming the door behind me as I hurried out of the room, I raced down the hallway, tossing my own shirt over my head. Oh, hell yes. It had been too long.

Running back up the stairs a half-hour later, I dashed down the hallway with my tail hanging. I whimpered at the door and thumped it with my paw, careful not to chip the paint. I was seriously in need of comfort, and I didn’t feel like explaining, hence, my wolf form.

The door flew open, and Jack dropped to his knees, his hands instantly scratching behind my ears. “He hurt you, didn’t he?” He sounded furious and smelled of aggression.

Ezra exited the bathroom and blinked, seeing me. Abruptly, he was behind Jack, blurring, and leaned over him. He actually picked me up. I squirmed a little until he adjusted his hold. His fangs were descended, obviously furious, too, as he crushed me against his chest.

Pearl stated with an eerie voice, her eyes glowing, “It’s not that.” She breathed out slowly, her head tilting even though she wasn’t looking at anyone. “She’s not physically hurt. He didn’t touch her.”

Incredulous, Jack muttered, “What? With the way they ran out of here?”

Her lips pursed, and she shook her head, her eyes going back to normal. “He didn’t try anything on her. I got that,” a wave of her hand, “impression.” Her power at work, going all dreamlike, then her knowing what I wouldn’t wish her to.

I was woman enough to admit it was creepy at times.

This time, I only stuffed my snout against Ezra’s neck, sighing in embarrassment and disappointment.

“Seriously?” Jack asked, still unbelieving.

Ezra moved to my bed and lay down, keeping me on his chest. He didn’t comment, and his fangs had retracted when he kissed the tip of my nose. He stared me in the eyes and began scratching behind my ears.

I was grateful he didn’t say anything, with his sensitive nose for emotions.

“Is he not into women?” Jack asked, still throwing a fit, even with Nikki trying to calm him. “Because who the hell wouldn’t want her?” His mate abruptly scrutinized him, and he rolled his eyes, muttering, “Don’t go there. You know what I meant.” His expression turning furious again, he started marching toward the door. “I’m going to have a talk with him.”

Sighing, my nose wiggled. So much for being able to keep quiet…and the ear scratching had been so nice, too. I lifted on Ezra’s chest, hopped to the floor, and raced in front of Jack. I bared my teeth for a second, stopping him, then sped into the bathroom. After shifting in privacy, since I still didn’t bare all to all, I called, “He’s bi, not gay. When we were running, we met up with a drifter that’s staying here. He’s a wolf Shifter, too. They hit it off better than he and I did. End of story.”

I shifted back. The hell with it. I wanted my damn ears scratched.

Tail still hanging, I left the privacy of the bathroom and jumped back onto my bed. Almost everyone was staring at me with shock — yeah, someone had turned me down — and I whined. They stopped gawking.

Ezra patted his chest — one of the few that had worn a carefully blank expression — and I whined a little from my melancholy as I got on him, turning in circles on his hard chest until I found a comfy way to lie. He ran his fingers through my fur and shook my head roughly, ordering, “Quit moping. There’ll be more opportunities for an alpha.” He paused. “Although, don’t do it if they resemble Goliath. He really was too big for you.”

“She’s only moping because she’s going through a dry spell,” Nikki said, trying to be helpful. I closed my eyes in dismay. She noticed everything. Heard and saw way too much about a lot of people. Of course she had noticed that.

“I’m sorry?” Pearl asked, pausing the movie everyone had been ignoring. “What are you talking about?”

“Sugar, I don’t think Lily even knows what a dry spell is,” Jack muttered. “She’s got more dick lined up than she knows what to do with.” Crude, but factual.

“I didn’t say she doesn’t have her pick of Shifters,” Nikki countered. “I said she hasn’t been sleeping with them.” She blinked in the quiet following that, and her mouth gradually shut as she ever so slowly recognized that might not have been information I wanted out there. Nervously, she glanced at me, mumbling, “You know, maybe, I…” She nodded. “I’m wrong. I remember that guy…um…” She trailed off, her mouth bobbing noiselessly.

Okay, she was officially worse at lying than Pearl.

I closed my eyes again. This evening had gone from bad to worse.

Silence.

“Perhaps she’s sick,” Gideon whispered. “It’s not like a Shifter to not have sex.” Pearl had never spilled the beans to him about me, but a Vampire had just as much
friendliness
as a Shifter.

“No. She wanted it an hour ago,” Pearl mumbled, sounding thoughtful.

A rough shake of my head by powerful hands, and I blinked my blue eyes open to stare into green ones that were analyzing me before Ezra asked, “How long’s it been, sweetheart?”

As if I could answer him. Not that I would.

His eyes darted to Nikki.

She mumbled, “The kids at school say the last person she slept with was Felix.” She paused. “There’s lots of talk about it.” Her eyes met mine. She was even starting to look worried. “Did you fall for him?”

Everyone in the room froze, watching me.

All over again, Ezra shook my head, hard, and growled, “Shift.” I stared at him and, slowly, he blinked, before grabbing the edge of my comforter and throwing it over us.

I shifted.

My face buried in my hair and Ezra’s chest, I explained, “I didn’t fall for Felix.” I paused, licking my lips. “But, I’m not someone that sleeps with everyone and their brother.” Another pause. “Although, I did push the extreme when I first started having sex again after Dominic died. And, even though I didn’t fall for Felix, I realized I didn’t want to sleep with someone who fell in love with me after one kiss. Felix reminded me of what it was like to be with someone strong-willed. I don’t want to have a relationship with anyone, but whoever comes to my bed from now on is going to have their own mind and their own thoughts, not beg to know what mine are, so they can conform to them.” I sighed. “Never mind. You guys won’t understand. You’re mated, and the only one that’s not is a man-whore.”

“Hey,” Ezra grumbled instantly, sounding affronted, and grabbed a handful of my hair, lifting my head to stare me in the eyes. “I’m not a man-whore.”

I snorted. “When was the last time you had sex?”

Instant. “Last night.”

“And the time before that?”

“The night before.”

“And, before that?”

“Three days before.”

“And were any of those encounters with the same woman?”

“No.” Black eyebrows were gradually furrowing.

“I rest my case,” I muttered, tugging on my hair, which he didn’t let go of.

His brows finished scrunching with a slam, before lowering deeply.

“I think it makes sense,” Pearl stated. “Even though I’m mated, I remember what it was like to be single.” She paused, and sighed — someone must have been giving her a look, but I couldn’t see anything except Ezra’s glower thanks to his hold. “She wants her lovers to be men in their own right. Not a bunch of pussy followers.” She made a gagging sound. “Who would want that in their bed, anyway?” A pause. “Other than Ezra. He doesn’t have a preference.”

His scowl intensified, his eyes rocking in her direction, and he grumbled, “You think I’m a man-whore, too?”

Immediate. “No. I don’t.” A short pause, then she whispered, “But, I do think you fill your bed to forget.”

Silence.

His jaw clenched.

Damn, I hadn’t even had the balls to say that.

Gideon cleared his throat loudly. “Who wants to finish watching the movie?”

Quickly, Nikki stated, “Let’s put the other one in. It’s a comedy.” She busied herself doing just that, talking a mile a minute with her soft voice to fill the strained hush.

Ezra turned his head away from the television and shut his eyes, the action so desolate, hiding his face like that.

My heart swelled even further for him, knowing the obvious pain he tried to hide.

His hand had slacked in my hair, and I moved up, placing a gentle kiss against the corner of his mouth. His eyes opened, and I saw his pain there as he stared back. It was deep. So much more profound than he let on, keeping it tucked away much better than I fared.

His lids drooped closed, and he murmured, “Shift. I’ll scratch your ears.”

Shaking my head, I kissed his temple this time, whispering, “No. I think I’ll pet you instead.” I did just that, running my fingers through his spiked hair until he fell asleep.

Awakening.

If I had thought I was nervous before in the past four weeks, well, that was a joke.

Today, I had actually barfed three times throughout the first half of the day. With my stomach in knots, I had only stared at my pizza at lunch. Now, my friends were, literally, yanking me down the deserted hallways after failing to talk me into moving from the cafeteria bench when lunch was over.

“I’m gonna puke again,” I mumbled, jerking with the tug Pearl gave my left arm.

“Again, huh?” Jack murmured, hands on my hips, shoving me from behind. “I thought she looked pale.”

“Pale?” Ezra snorted, yanking on my right arm. “She looks like shit. The Kings are going to notice.”

“I should run now,” I mumbled, trying to plant my feet, which didn’t work because Jack kicked the back of my knees, making me move forward. “Really. I should just go before I get anyone in trouble.”

Pearl jerked my chin around. “They’ll catch you if they think you’re just trying to skip out on being Queen.”

I blinked, my feet stumbling forward with their insistent hauling. “Are you saying they won’t catch me if they think I’m running because of something else?”

“There’s a real possibility of that.” She nodded. “They’ve gotten to know you. You’re someone to them now, not just a type.”

Ezra rumbled, “They’d at least give her a head start before they let the hounds loose.”

I whimpered, attempting to plant my feet again.

Ezra was done with this. He sighed heavily and moved too fast. The next second, I was over his shoulder with my stomach firmly planted against his shoulder, my head and arms dangling over his back.

Jack and Pearl were both left blinking as he marched down the hallway.

He swatted my butt when I started squirming. “You’re going. Hold still and try not to puke on me.” The puking thing was a real possibility upside down like this. He smacked my butt again. Harder. “That’s for being a pussy.”

Jack and Pearl caught up with us as he stalked toward the gym, where the Kings waited.

With four Mys, one of each faction, ready to be Awakened.

The first four days of the week had mainly been used to train us…to keep a blank face.

Seriously.

The Kings had pretty much done everything possible, magically, or not so magically, to get us to crack and show emotion. It was very important not to show any type of reaction to someone’s power level — no hurt feelings — after their Awakening, which was damn ironic with the way they had reacted at mine.

But, I was “unique”. How special.

Also, I had been given a book to study in my off time. It was a book on Earth’s animals worldwide. A Shifter’s Awakening could result in any animal that was a bird or mammal as long as its primary habitat was land based, so I was required to know what they were in case there was ever any question.