Nights Embrace (Others of Seattle) (24 page)

“You will.” Sorcha grinned as Joey, Shane and Trevor stepped into the clearing.

“So,” Joey moved closer, his hands out at his sides, “
you can dodge me, and you can outrun me, but can you land a hit?”

Roxy blinked slowly.
“You want me to hit you?”

“You won’t hurt me. Come on now, you can do this.”

Trevor walked to her, a tight smile on his lips. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. With barely a whisper, he told her, “Knock him on his ass for me. Don’t go straight on, though.” He leaned in and placed a kiss on her nose. “You can do this, love.”

She nodded and
considered the clearing. An idea took root. She darted into the trees to her right, and circled around, behind where she had been standing. From there, she rushed behind Joey while he frantically tried to keep her in view. She darted out, sweeping her leg low to knock his feet out from under him.

Roxy shot
to her feet, a shocked laugh rolling off her lips. “I really knocked you on your ass?”

Joey was up, and had his arms around her waist in the next second
. He brought her to the ground without squashing her, but held her pinned. “Yeah, but you lost your focus,” he taunted, a smirk on his face.

When she tried to shift
his weight, he tightened his hold. She knew she’d have to get creative.

“You okay, Roxy?” Trevor asked, a slight growl to his tone.

“Fine. Let me think. I’m not used to wrestling,” she answered, glaring up at Joey who had the audacity to wink at her.

The man was solid muscle and there was no way she was going to manage to move him without some leverage. She looked around and spotted a root.

Roxy reached out, grabbed it and rolled with all of her might. It wasn’t easy, but she managed to flip Joey over like a sack of potatoes. His arms tightened around her waist, just shy of painful.

She grabbed his biceps, squeezing and pushing, but trying not to hurt him.

Joey barked a laugh. “Trust me, I can take it. Give it your all, or are you just that pathetic?”

That was it, she dug her fingers in hard and shoved.
Gasping, Joey let go. She rolled away, and into a crouch.

He sat up slowly, rubbing his arms with a frown.
“Damn girl, that’s a hell of a lot better.”

“Sorry,” Roxy answered lamely.

Sorcha giggled. “Oh, don’t worry about the big dolt. I swear he’ll survive.”

Joey pulled his sweater off to look at his bulging biceps. He laughed when he saw the bruises already forming.

“Shit, now I feel bad,” Roxy told him.

“You stop.” Joey
gave her a grin. “I told you to give it your all, and I have a feeling that still wasn’t everything you’ve got. These marks will be gone in an hour.”

“
Really?” Roxy asked.

Joey nodded.

“Okay then. Now what?” Roxy challenged.

“Can you do it again?”
His dark brow arched.

“What?
Hit you, or get away?”

“Both.”
Joey didn’t wait for an answer, instead he charged.

Roxy
lunged to the side, spun, and climbed up his back to cover his eyes. He ran straight into a big oak tree.

She jumped down, moving back to Trevor who stood there shaking his head
with a chuckle. “Serves you right, Joey. I told you Roxy could handle herself,” Trevor called.

“Aye, but you also threatened to beat my ass if I harmed her.”

Trevor shrugged, his jade eyes sparkling as he looked over at her. “Couldn’t help it. Had to make sure he knew.”

“Oh, I knew. We all do the same thing.” Joey grinned at Roxy. “You’ll threaten me before Trevor and I train too. I guarantee it.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second.” Roxy leaned into Trevor. “This the part where you take off?”

“It is, unfortunately. Don’t worry. It won’t be long before Fiona gets here, and then you’ll have a whole new set of things to learn.”

She pouted. He grabbed her face and planted a heated kiss on her lips. Roxy took it a step further, tasting him before he took a step back with a single arched brow. “Behave. There will be time for that later,
A Chroí
.”

“Promise?”

“Aye, I do. Now kick his ass for me,” he winked before starting toward the path.

Sorcha waved.
“I trust you won’t do any permanent damage.” Her pointed look aimed first at Roxy, then swung to Joey. “Either of you.” She took Siobhan’s arm and strode away.

“Good luck, Roxy,” Siobhan called before
disappearing.

Roxy turned back to Joey and Shane, who stood with their arms crossed over their chests.

Shane spoke up. “I’ll go over the ground rules, then we’ll begin.”

* * * *

“Anxious doesn’t even begin to cover what I’m feeling, Sorcha,” Trevor growled. He paced beside his Land Cruiser, waiting on Fiona to show up. The sooner she arrived, the sooner he could stop stressing.

Sorcha stood with her hands on her hips, tapping her toes in the gravel.
“You’re as bad as Joey was. You know how he is. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it.”

“I know, but that doesn’t make it any easier,” he
griped, shoving his hands in his pockets.

The sound of an engine
drew his attention. He looked up to find Nick pulling up in his white Dodge Journey.

Fiona climbed out
of the passenger seat. One corner of her mouth tipped up as she nodded to him. “I know that look.”

“You ready? I think she’s more worried about your part in the training than she is the fighting.”

Fiona shrugged. “If I thought her magic wasn’t in danger of breaking free at any point, I might hold off on helping her get a handle on it. I’ve seen druids come into their power in scary situations and I don’t want to see that happen to her.”

Unfortunately, he
’d heard enough stories to be worried, and he had to wonder if maybe that was why Dina and Boyd hadn’t made another try. Could she have harmed them more than she knew?

Trevor nodded back to the trail.
“Let’s go then.”

He
walked into the woods with Siobhan, Sorcha, Fiona and Nick behind him. Then his nerves caught up and he ran, letting the wind blow through his hair until he came to a stop at the edge of the clearing.

Roxy was doubled over, her hand wrapped around her elbow. That was all he saw. He stormed o
ver to Joey with a fierce snarl. “What the fuck did you do to her?”

Joey
sat on a boulder, his head between his knees.

Shane was the one who answered.
“Calm down, Trevor. He didn’t do it. She tripped, whacked her elbow on the rock. Joey went to help her, and she spun, kicking him in the stomach, knocking the air from his lungs. Let him catch his breath.”

Joey grunted.
“Yeah, remind me not to piss off your little lady. She’s meaner than she looks. I kind of like it.”

Sorcha hurried over, raising
Joey’s face to step between his legs. “You okay, babes?”

“Mmm, am now,” he murmured.

Trevor pulled Roxy into his arms. “Hey, love. You okay?”

“Yeah. Just caught my funny bone and saw stars,” she grumbled.

He lifted her chin and brushed his lips over hers. “I can make you forget about it.” Another kiss, this one deeper. She melted into his embrace and he forgot all about Joey and the rest of them.

That is until Fiona cleared her throat.
Her tone was stern. “You two can get back to that later. I’m here to teach Roxy a few things.”

Trevor took a step back.
“You up for this?”

She nodded.
“Sure… I think. I’m still not sure why you all think I have any magic.”

“Trust me, you do” Fiona told her.

“Good luck, little sis,” Joey teased.

Roxy rolled her eyes and waved.
“See ya, Gramps.”

Joey grumbled while Sorcha grabbed his arm to drag him off.

“I still think it’s funny she calls you gramps, and not me,” Shane managed to say before Siobhan took his hand and pulled him toward the trail.

“Can I stay?” Trevor asked.

Fiona nodded.

Nick
spoke up, “I’m staying too.”

“Don’t laugh too hard,” Roxy
warned them.

Fiona smiled as she raised a hand. A ball of arcing blue energy formed.
“Try it.”

“Wha
—what?” Roxy stammered, her nose scrunching up.

“
First, hold your hand out. Then imagine the energy being drawn into a point above your palm.”

One dark brow arched as she raised her hand, staring at her palm. A blue spark formed and she gasped.

“Steady, focus. You can do it.” Excitement laced Fiona’s accent.

The spark flashed and twined around itself, expanding and dancing in her hand until it was the size of a honeydew.

“Shit. I guess I can do this.” Roxy’s tone reflected her pure surprise. “What’s next?”

Roxy had been quiet since they climbed into his Land Cruiser. He knew she was still trying to wrap her head around the magic she possessed. Trevor drove, letting her have time to process until he crossed into Edenton’s city limits.

Trevor smiled, reaching over to take her hand.
“You were amazing. I want you to know that.”

“My mind is blown. I don’t even know what to say.” She pushed her fingers through her hair and glanced over to find Trevor smiling.
“Although, I couldn’t shift into another animal. I don’t know if I should be upset about that or not.”

“Fiona says not to be. Either you can, or you can’t.
Usually it takes something to scare you into it the first time.”

“Don’t you think Dina’s attack should have done that?”

“You were injured.” He shrugged a single shoulder. “I don’t know what to tell you. I still sort of think something might have been blocking your magic. Why does it bother you? You want to shift into something meaner than a werewolf?”

“No,” she sighed, looking out the window. “
I keep thinking it might be cool to fly. I used to dream about being a snowy owl, flying through the sky.” Her laugh held an edge of embarrassment. “Silly, huh?”

“Not so much.
You should have mentioned that to Fiona. Maybe you needed to focus on a specific animal.”

“Maybe.”

“You have the most beautiful white fur when you shift. It would make sense if you are a white owl in one of your forms. I know Fiona can pull off four other animals.”

“Four?”

“Yup. I understand she could pull off a cat at one point, but not since becoming a wolf.”

“She said something about her clothes shifting with her?” Roxy asked tentatively.

Trevor nodded. “Fiona says it’s something about the shift to a druid animal is based on magic, but your werewolf form is physical. I don’t understand it entirely.”

“Hmm.” She chewed on her lip as Trevor followed the directions to a shop.

A frown pulled at Roxy’s lips. “Why is it Joey’s bruises are gone, but that
bite
—god I feel bad about that now—is still there?”

He pulled her hand to his lips and placed a gentle
kiss. “Don’t feel bad about it. I loved it.” He took a slow breath as he thought out his answer. “As I understand, it’s something to do with a mate’s bite and marking. It’s not considered a bad thing among wolves and other wereanimals. So consider that your invitation to bite anytime you want.”

“Good to know.” Her smile returned as she squeezed his hand.
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Edenton.”

He gave her a knowing smile.
“It’s one of those hidden places. Except it’s not so much hidden, as… um….”

“What? Like normal people who don’t know about werewolves are naturally repelled?” She half
-laughed.

“Actually, yeah,
something like that. We aren’t the only Others in the world. There are witches, mages, fae, and everything else that resides in the town. The people who don’t know about Others don’t tend to remember a whole lot. The ones who do, well they sort of have a free pass.”

“So, there are a lot of different kinds of Others?”

“Aye, many. Most are fine, some, not so much.” He reached over to squeeze her leg. “It’s not about what they are, so much as who they are.”

“Right.
The same as plain humans.”

He gave her a reassuring smile.
“Just so you know, we’ll run into other werewolves. One of the larger US packs are up here. I hear the druid that is doing your tattoo recently mated the pack’s second.”

“Second?”

Trevor chuckled as he pulled up to the shop. “Yeah. Most packs have an alpha. They tend to be in charge, lead the pack. The second is the alpha’s next in charge. Then there are enforcers, sort of the police of the pack. And then everyone else.”

“Should we be here?” she asked with a raised brow.

“Slater’s a good guy. I hear the same about Brody, Fallon’s mate. We considered joining them before settling on Seattle. Fiona insisted we needed to move to the city though.” Trevor paused, and shook his head. “I think she knew I would find you.”

Her brow lifted.
“Me?”

“Well, not you exactly,
but that I would find my mate. She rarely cares where we move. Every time she has suggested a location, one of us found our mate. I should have known. I was the last.”

“So you’ve met Slater? Is he the
alpha?”

“Yeah
, briefly. In fact, if Dina’s whole pack shows up, we will need to let Slater know what’s up. Our groups mix well, even though we run a little differently, more like a clan than a pack. Not much would change if we joined, but we would have to follow orders, which I understand Slater rarely gives, and only when he has cause.”

“Okay, enough about politics. Let’s get some ink,” she winked before c
limbing out of the Land Cruiser, again thwarting his chance to help her down.

* * * *

Excited, and a little nervous from information overload, Roxy wondered when she would finally feel some semblance of normalcy. She had a feeling she had only scratched the tip of the iceberg as far as this whole new world was concerned.

Trevor caught up to her, winding his arm around her waist.
“Nervous?”

She shook her head.
“You may have noticed, needles don’t bother me.”

He chuckled.
“I may have.” He pushed the door open and let her step inside.

A fami
liar face smiled in greeting. Though Tomahawk grinned, it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Long time no see, Roxy.”

Trevor gave her a funny look.

“Hi, Tom. I was wondering where you’d disappeared to.” She smiled back at Trevor. “Trevor, this is Tomahawk. He’s the artist that did all my other work. Tom, this is Trevor, my… boyfriend,” she finally said.

Trevor
nudged her shoulder. “He lives in Edenton, I’m sure he knows what we are.”

“Yeah, when did you go all furry, Rox?”

“Um, not that long ago,” she answered softly.

“Oh? Now this sounds like a story I want to hear. Though, I take it you’re here for Fallon?”

“Yeah. Something about a ward and a tattoo to match Trevor and his clan.”

“Well, Fallon handles all of that, but if you want anything else, I’m happy to do more work on you.”

Roxy couldn’t help herself. “Is it rude if I ask what you are?”

His eyes twinkled.
“Shaman. I have a little magic. Nothing like Fallon.”

A stunning red head with full
tattoo sleeves walked out. Something about her was familiar. “Good to see you, Trevor.” Dazzling green eyes met hers and her head tilted to the side. “Roxana Nights? Brody took me to your show last weekend.”

“Oh?” Roxana
let out an embarrassed laugh.

“You were there?” Trevor asked.

She nodded. “You guys put on a good show, Trevor. Brody told me Nights Embrace was better. I think different is appropriate. You were both incredible.”

Roxy relaxed. The way Fallon
’s eyes softened, and her smile brightened when she said her mate’s name, set her at ease. She hadn’t realized she had jumped right into jealousy, but she had.
Shit, that’s not like me.

Trevor pulled her closer.
“This is my mate, Roxy, as you already know.” He turned his attention to Roxy. “Fiona is friends with both Fallon and her mentor.”

“I was hoping Fiona would come. I had a piece I wanted to discuss with her
. At least you all are close enough that she can come in soon.”

“Did you mention
it to her?” Trevor asked.

“Nope. I came up with
the idea about twenty minutes ago.” Fallon nodded toward the hall. “Come on back. I know the piece well, I can freehand it.”

“She can,” Tom
chimed in. “She’s the best.”

“Aww, you know I love your work, Tom. If it wasn’t for this ward, I would have you do it,” Roxy
answered.

Trevor gave her another look, more amused than anything.
“He did your dragon?”

Roxy blushed.
“Yeah, over a few sittings. The outline, then a good chunk of the coloring, and finally the shading.”

“Dragon?” Fallon
’s scarlet brow arched.

Trevor
shared, “Yeah. He’s beautiful.”

“I’d like to see,” Fallon told her.

“Sure.” Roxy glanced at Trevor who nodded. She opened her pants and pulled them down to her knees.

“Holy shit, Tom did that?”

“I did,” he said proudly, from the door.

“You are one brave woman. That’s your whole hip, thigh and then some. And back when you were healing like a human?”

Roxy snorted a laugh. “Um, yeah. I never knew there was another way.” Roxy pulled her pants up, but left them open. She pointed left of her pelvis. So, I was thinking the crest could go here, the edge riding that line.

Fallon smiled.
“That’s easy enough to do. Get comfortable.”

Roxy climbed into the chair and sat back. Trevor leaned against the wall, out of the way.

“Oh, Trevor. My mate will be coming in to talk to you. He has a few questions for you, and maybe Roxy too. Brody will be here in a little bit. They want to know exactly what happened, and why.”

“Of course,” Trevor answered.

Roxy took a slow breath. “If it helps, I can tell him. Trevor showed up after they left.”

Fallon patted her shoulder.
“It’s still fresh in your mind. If you can’t…”

“I don’t mind talking about it. I haven’t really yet. And after
today, I really don’t think avoiding the topic does me any good.”

“If you’re sure.” Fallon pulled up a chair, grabbed her tattoo gun, and went to work.

* * * *

Trevor watched
as Roxy reclined in the chair, seemingly relaxed. She smiled up at him. Not a single flinch or wince.

Fallon glanced up at him with a smirk but kept her mouth shut.

“Really? Nothing?” Trevor asked Roxy.

“What? It’s not like I haven’t sat under a needle for hours at a time. It’s not bad.”

“It’s not that it’s bad, but you don’t even seem to notice it.”

Fallon shook her head.
“Trevor made a few ugly faces when I did his crest, and that was on his arm, which isn’t nearly as sensitive as the pelvis.”

He rolled his eyes.
“Okay. So I’m not used to needles.”

Roxy laughed.
“Your entire back is covered, Trevor. How can you not be used to needles?”

“
I didn’t grow up around needles,” he answered gruffly. “For the record, I’m man enough to admit that parts of the tattoo hurt.”

“You’re cute when you’re snarly,” Roxy teased.

“Cute? I’m cute?” He gave her a smoldering look and she licked her lips.

“It’s okay. Fallon has been known to call me cute,” a deep voice said from the door. Trevor looked up to see the
second. “Hey, I’m Brody Dean.”

“Trevor Malone, and this is Roxana Nights,” he answered.

“A pleasure.” He shook Trevor’s hand and then Roxy’s, who still hadn’t winced.

“Mind taking a walk with me, Trevor? If I have more questions, I can ask Roxy when she’s done.”

Trevor took Roxy’s hand. “You okay here?”

Roxy smiled up at him.
“I am. Go on.”

He brushed his lips over her knuckles
. She caught her bottom lip in her teeth as she gazed up at him.

“See you soon,” he promised.
Then he followed Brody out the back and down the road to a little park. Brody took a seat at a picnic table, so Trevor sat opposite.

Jumping right into business, Brody began
, “I’ve only heard good things about your clan, but some pretty disturbing things about the other involved. Is there anything we can do to help?”

Trevor took a slow breath and folded his hands on the table.
“I’m not sure you can, or really want to. The problem runs deeper than a couple of rogue werewolves. I think two ancient wolves, who happen to also be some form of evil druid, are either here, or coming soon. They’ll bring the rest of their pack.”

“What makes you think that would stop us from helping?” Brody asked as he leaned forward.

“It’s not your problem.”

“Sounds like it could be. Look
, we don’t expect every werewolf in Washington to be a part of the pack. That doesn’t mean we can’t be allies. Nothing I’ve been told, and nothing I see, makes me think we can’t work together, for mutual good.”