The Altered (15 page)

“Yeah. Or I
will be when I talk to Jordan, and sort this out.”

He hoped so
anyway.

The cool night
air did nothing to calm Jordan’s temper. He kept his mouth clamped
shut to hide his fangs, but had dug his claws into his palms. Blood
trickled out between his fingers, so he shoved his hands in his
pockets to hide it. With the full moon so close, Jordan found it
hard to keep himself from shifting when he was this angry.

He should have
known not to go to Daniel’s house tonight. His temper was frayed
almost to breaking point from arguing with Keira all weekend, and
it had hardly taken anything to set him off again.
Christ
,
he didn’t know who he was more cross with—himself for letting
things escalate like that, or Daniel for needlessly putting himself
in danger.

Now that he
wasn’t surrounded by Daniel’s scent and his obvious arousal
clouding his senses, Jordan could accept that he might have
overreacted. But Daniel had been right there under his hands, all
but begging Jordan to claim him. The thought of anything happening
to him had triggered Jordan’s protective instincts.

The words had
kept spilling out of his mouth without his permission, and even
though he saw Daniel closing himself off with each word Jordan
threw at him, Jordan couldn’t seem to stop. It had been a reckless,
careless thing to do on Daniel’s part, but Jordan should have
handled it so much better than he did.

He’d probably
fucked everything up by walking out like that, but he had to get
out of there before he said something they’d both regret.

The urge to
turn around and go back was so strong that Jordan had to clench his
fists and concentrate on the pain to keep himself moving forward.
His night had gone to shit, and he had a horrible feeling he might
have ruined things for good.

His chest
ached at the thought. He hadn’t realised just how hard he’d fallen
for Daniel until faced with the prospect of losing him. If Jordan
were a real wolf, he’d be howling in desperation right then.

But he
wasn’t.

He was just
some genetically altered human who had the ability to turn into
one. And what he wouldn’t give to shift right that second and run
through the streets. Thankfully he wasn’t that far gone that
shifting in public seemed like a good idea.

By the time he
got home, he had calmed down a little, but his temper simmered just
below the surface. He hoped for both their sakes that Keira would
be in her room when he entered the house.

As soon as he
opened the front door, though, he could sense his three housemates
in the kitchen. He locked the door behind him and ducked into the
downstairs toilet to rinse the dried blood off his hands. The pad
of paws along the wooden floor of the hall told him who would be
waiting when he came out.

Sam sat
blocking his way, teeth on show, but not growling. Jordan sighed
and took off his coat, taking his time to hang it on the rack
before walking forward to crouch down in front of Sam. “I don’t
want to fight any more tonight,” he said, knowing full well the
others could hear him and hoping they would get the message too.
“I’ve had a shit evening, and I just want to go to bed.”

Sam whined and
stood, butting his head against Jordan’s shoulder and nearly
knocking him off balance.

“Hey.” Jordan
slid a hand into the thick fur at Sam’s neck and held fast. “I know
you hate it when we fight. Believe me, I don’t like it much
either.” He heard Keira huff in the kitchen, and it brought a wry
smile to his face. “Well, maybe I like it a little bit.”

Sam took the
sleeve of Jordan’s T-shirt between his teeth and tugged hard,
growling when Jordan didn’t move.

“Okay, fine.
I’m coming.” Jordan stood and followed him, resigned to the fact
that he was going to have to face Keira now and not escape to his
bedroom as he’d planned.

Charlie and
Keira sat at the table watching them walk in. Charlie had his arm
around Keira, her head on his shoulder. They both looked tired, the
strain of the last couple of days obviously taking its toll on more
than just Jordan.

“Rough night?”
Keira asked, kicking out a chair for him.

Jordan
laughed, but it sounded hollow. “You could say that.”

She sat
forward. “I’m sorry about….”

She paused,
and Jordan stared at her. This wasn’t what he’d expected at all.
Charlie nudged her and she tried again.

“I’m sorry I
gave you such a hard time about Daniel.” She glanced down at her
hands, and picked at a knot in the wood of the table with one of
her claws. “I trust you with my life—with all our lives—you know
that. And I should also trust that you wouldn’t risk them for a
quick fuck.”

Jordan met her
gaze. “Never.”

She swallowed
and held out her hand, her claws now safely sheathed.

Jordan took
it.

“If you say
you trust Daniel,” she began, and Jordan winced. “If you trust him
enough to keep on seeing him,” she amended, “then that’s good
enough for me.” She looked at Charlie, who nodded. “For us.”

Sam woofed
next to them, eyeing Keira with what Jordan could only call
exasperation.

She smiled and
reached out to ruffle his fur. “For all of us.” Sam licked her
face, making her push him away with a few choice curse words. “But
we want to meet him,” she said as she wiped Sam’s spit off her
chin. “Him and his friends.”

Jordan thought
about Keira, Charlie, and Sam meeting Daniel, Matt, and Ash, and
gave himself a second or two to panic. It would be interesting, to
say the least. “Okay,” he said, managing a smile. “I’ll arrange
something with Daniel. As soon as we’re on speaking terms
again.”

Three confused
faces stared back at him, and Jordan groaned. It looked like it
would be a while before he could escape to his room.

Jordan usually
spent Monday working at the gym. He only had two personal training
sessions today, though, and they were both done by eleven thirty.
That left him watching the clock as it approached twelve,
alternating between rubbing his thumb over the pads of his fingers
and checking his phone.

“Oh, for God’s
sake.” Keira snatched the phone out of Jordan’s hands before he
even realised she was behind him.

He’d never let
her sneak up on him like that before. He needed to get a grip.

She thumbed
through his contacts list, and he sorely regretted telling her his
password. “There.” She thrust it back at him, and when he looked
down, Daniel’s details were displayed on the screen. “I can’t take
your pining any longer, and neither can anyone else.” She pointed
around the gym, where some other altereds were working out and
throwing concerned glances his way. “Either you contact him right
now, or I will.”

He turned so
his back faced the rest of the gym and bared his teeth at her, a
soft growl rumbling out of him.

Keira put one
hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at him. “Really, Jordan?” She
eyed the phone in his hand, and he quickly drew it to his chest and
out of her reach.

“I was waiting
for him to call me. Or text. But he’s done neither, so….”

“One of you
needs to make the first move.”

She was
absolutely right. Jordan knew that. But he didn’t want Daniel to
feel pressured, and he had a suspicion that Daniel might need a
little space right then. “Yeah, I know, but….”

“But?”

“I just want
to give him a couple of days, okay?” Jordan pocketed his phone and
met Keira’s gaze. “And I think it would be better for both of us if
I don’t try and talk to him on the day of the full moon.”

Keira cracked
her neck and rolled her shoulders, the tension still evident even
after their weekend away. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

“If I haven’t
heard from him by Wednesday, I’ll call him. All right?”

She studied
him for a good few seconds. “Fine, but you need to stop with the
sad eyes, and for God’s sake leave your phone in your pocket while
we’re at work. You’re upsetting the regulars.” She grinned to show
she wasn’t serious—well, probably only half-serious. It was always
hard to tell with Keira.

“Done.” Jordan
patted his back pocket. “I won’t touch it for the rest of the
day.”

And he
didn’t.

But then
again, he didn’t need to. It hadn’t so much as vibrated once all
day.

Monday night
dragged on endlessly, or that’s how it felt. Jordan, Keira, and Sam
kept out of each other’s way as the moon shone full and bright
outside.

Jordan ate his
dinner in his room, not trusting himself to be civil in anyone’s
company. He’d not heard from Daniel yet, and that combined with the
moon’s affects, made him edgy and desperate for someone to lash out
at.

With the
curtains open, he had a good view of the night sky, and he lay on
his bed staring out at the stars until he final fell asleep in the
early hours.

By Tuesday
morning some of the tension had passed, but Jordan was exhausted
from lack of sleep and Daniel’s continued radio silence made him
quiet and miserable. He spent all night in his room again, avoiding
everyone and their pointed looks.

By Wednesday,
he was almost ready to throw his damn phone against the wall.

He came out of
his office and immediately stopped when the faint but familiar
scent hit him. His stomach dropped when he saw it was Matt, though,
standing by one of the running machines talking to Keira. She had
him cornered between the running machine and the wall and appeared
to be talking at him. Matt looked kind of pale, and the way he
leaned away from Keira made it obvious she was probably threatening
him.

They both
turned around at the same time—Matt with a “help me” expression and
Keira looking fed up with everything. Jordan hurried over before
there was bloodshed.

“Tell him,”
Keira prompted Matt, stepping away from him. Jordan didn’t miss
Matt sag in relief. “And you better listen,” she said, poking
Jordan in the chest.

Jordan glanced
over at Matt and waited.

“You need to
call him,” Matt said, leaning on the bars of the machine next to
him. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I’m on his side,
obviously.”

“Obviously,”
Jordan agreed.

“But
seriously, just call or text. Anything. He’s been a right miserable
bastard these past couple of days, and he’s driving me and Ash up
the wall. But don’t tell him I said that.”

“It’ll be my
conversation opener.”

Matt scowled
at him, and Jordan smiled back with all his teeth. Rather than look
intimidated, which Jordan had been half expecting from the way Matt
had reacted to Keira, Matt drew himself to his full height and
squared his shoulders.

His voiced
dropped to just above a whisper. “I know you could probably take me
out before I even landed a punch.” Matt’s gaze fixed firmly on
Jordan’s. “But I love him like a brother. If you hurt him, I will
do my damnedest to make you regret it.”

“Noted.”
Jordan nodded in acknowledgment. He was more than a little
impressed, and judging by the small smile playing on Keira’s lips,
she was too. Matt might not be as strong or dangerous as a full
shifter, but Jordan was glad Daniel had someone so fiercely
protective watching his back.

He quashed the
part of him that bristled at Matt’s obvious display of affection
and possessiveness. Matt and Daniel had known each other a long
time, and they were bound to be close. Whereas Jordan and Daniel…
well, Jordan didn’t know what they were.

A quick glance
at the clock told him he had forty minutes before his next client
came in at five.

Damn
it
.

Keira must
have read his mind, because she gripped his arm and squeezed. “Hey.
Charlie can take your next appointment. He won’t mind.”

Jordan shook
his head slowly. “I can’t do that. She booked m—”

“Ms.
Harrington-Smythe”—Keira raised her eyebrows at the ridiculous
name—“has been lusting after both you and Charlie ever since she
joined. Believe me, I doubt she’ll be bothered as long as she gets
one of you holding her down while she does crunches.”

Jordan
shuddered. The lady in question was in her late fifties at least.
“You are an evil woman.”

Keira
shrugged. “Thanks.”

“Well,” Matt
said, looking between the two of them. “He’ll be finishing work
soon.”

Jordan
swallowed down the apprehension threatening to surface. He’d given
Daniel almost three days’ worth of space. He couldn’t stay away any
longer, and if Daniel still didn’t want to see him, then at least
Jordan would know where he stood.

He tossed his
keys at Keira. “Lock up my office when you leave.”

He was out the
door before either of them had a chance to reply.

Jordan paused
on the library steps and looked up at the imposing building. Daniel
was up there on the second floor, hopefully. Jordan would be pissed
off if he’d come all this way and then missed him. He breathed in
deep, scenting the air around him, and relaxed a little.

Daniel hadn’t
been out of the front door in the last thirty minutes or so, which
meant he should still be at his desk. Jordan checked his watch
again—ten to five. Plenty of time still if Daniel kept the same
hours as the week before.

Unable to put
it off any longer, Jordan climbed the rest of the steps and entered
the building. He faltered as soon as the doors closed behind him,
cutting off the outside air. Daniel’s scent, although faint,
drifted down from above, teasing him and drawing him upward.

Jordan didn’t
hesitate. He took the stairs two at a time, reaching the second
floor without even breathing hard. Sometimes he loved what the
pathogen had done to his body—other times not so much. But for now
he was thankful there were no outward signs he’d just run up the
two flights of stairs as fast as possible, unwilling to wait
another minute to fix things between them.