The Wolf Fount (17 page)

Jake shrugged, his eyes leaving hers for less than a second. “Don’t know. They’ve faded a lot. We think one day, they’ll fade completely away.”

He wasn’t telling the full truth. Morgan nodded. “Calhoun has a scar on his chest.”

“You’d have to ask him about that.”

Right, he was done giving her information. “Maybe I will sometime. Thanks. I feel better having a little background on my roomie.”

They both stood and Jake smiled. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, causing the hair on the nape of Morgan’s neck to stand at attention. “Do yourself a favor and don’t hurt Thane.”

She scowled. “I have no intention of hurting him. He’s the only friend I’ve got right now.”

“You could have more, if you wanted them. Not trying to beat the hell out of people would be a good start.”

“I haven’t beaten the hell out of anyone lately.” With that, she turned and left the office. Thane was right where she’d left him and Morgan climbed onto the barstool beside him. “How’s that beer?”

He slid it over; she took a drink.

W
hat the hell is she doing here
? Cal stood frozen at the edge of the dance floor, staring at Morgan. It took him a few seconds to realize Thane was beside her.
Son of a bitch, I didn’t specifically tell him she was on lock down
.

“Are we going upstairs?”

He looked down at the brunette clinging to his arm. “Not right now. I just remembered something I need to do.” She pouted and he smiled before dropping a kiss on her lips. “Sorry. I’ll find you in a little while, unless you make other arrangements.”

She smiled, apparently satisfied with his response. “I won’t.”

“Good. Your drinks are on me, just tell Ish I said so.”

“Cool.” She bounced off toward the bar and Cal slipped into the crowd. He headed for the DJ booth, surprising Daniel.

“Request?”

“No, I’m going to hang out with you for a while.” He couldn’t go to the office or upstairs, not with Morgan at the west bar. Cal hitched himself onto the back cabinet in the corner away from the entrance and whirled his hand at Daniel. “Just pretend I’m not here.”

The booth afforded a good view of the dance floor through one-way mirrors. Cal liked having semi-private spots to watch the club’s activity, and had made certain the plans had been drawn up to include as many as possible. Unless someone came to the booth’s entrance, no one would know he was there.

He had a great view of the end of the west bar, where Morgan and Thane sat drinking. She drank more than the were-liger as the night wore on, but only left Thane’s side for a few trips to the ladies’. Eventually, they left, and Cal finally moved, realizing he’d gotten stiff from being still for so long. Daniel gave him a puzzled look, and he just shrugged. “I was avoiding a persistent admirer.”

“Oh.” The explanation didn’t remove the other’s puzzlement, but Cal wasn’t about to say more. He left the DJ booth to hunt down Jake, having seen him stop to talk to Morgan a few times.

“What was she doing here?”

Jake leaned back. “Are you pissed at me? Because if you’re not, mind getting out of my face?”

“Sorry.” Cal straightened. “Why was Morgan here?”

“Case of cabin fever and curiosity.”

“Curiosity about what?”

“Not what, who. Or is it ‘whom’? I always get those two mixed up.” Cal growled, and Jake grinned. “She wanted to know about Thane, what with the fact she’s living with him and all.”

Was that a good thing? Cal couldn’t decide. “What did you tell her?”

“The truth. Abbreviated version. She was worried, boss. He’s a big guy, doesn’t talk, and she’s been locked up with him for a week.”

“Okay, yeah, that makes sense. How do you think they’re getting along?”

Jake’s grin began to fade. “Fine, why?”

“Fine enough they’ll stick?”

“Stick as in be a couple?” Cal nodded, and Jake’s brows drew together. “Little soon for that, don’t you think?”

“The sooner she’s paired off, the better for everyone.”

“Uh huh. Everyone, or you?”

Cal snorted. “I’m part of everyone.”

“Yeah, you are.” Jake smiled and walked away.

J
ake dropped into a chair at Sebastian’s table. “You been watching him?”

“I have.”

“Something’s going on. Any ideas what?”

The vampire smiled. “Perhaps.”

“Mind sharing what they are? Because I’m beginning to worry about him.”

Sebastian’s smile faded. “It could be the years beginning to take their toll on him.”

The other scoffed. “He’s the Fount. They were made to weather time. Next?”

“I didn’t mean the passage of time itself, but the passage of time without his Chimaera by his side.” Sebastian paused for a drink. “Uncle has never spent longer than a few weeks with a woman. He doesn’t believe it would be fair to become too emotionally invested, or for them to, and then have to set them aside if his Chimaera appeared.”

“I know that. You’re saying he’s waited so long, he’s ready to settle?”

The vampire frowned. “That’s rather disrespectful to Morgan, don’t you think?”

Jake rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean it disrespectfully. Cal was promised a Chimaera. She’s not one, so he’d be settling for not having what he was promised.”

“What if she is?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow when the other snorted.

“She’s not. I was there. She’s a wolf. It’s the only thing she changed into.” Jake stretched his legs out. “According to Lucas, she hasn’t changed into anything but a wolf since being sent to headquarters.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“But you think because Cal’s worked up over her to the point he’s acting like an idiot means she could be his Chimaera, unless I’m reading you wrong.”

Sebastian’s smile returned. “How old are you?”

“I was a Roman soldier.”

“Then you weren’t around when the other Founts’ Chimaeras appeared.”

Jake scowled. “And?”

“No one knows what happened. Just that from one day to the next, each of those three Founts went from not having to having their Chimaeras by their sides.”

“They couldn’t have appeared from thin air.” Jake contemplated his statement for a second. “Could they?”

“We don’t know. The information wasn’t volunteered. At first, Uncle didn’t want to intrude and thought his Chimaera would also appear soon. Later, when it was obvious she wouldn’t, he was too proud to ask, and of course, then all the trouble started with the other Founts. I wasn’t too proud, and did make inquiries before the troubles, but discovered nothing.”

“You’re telling me no one knows what the hell goes on before a Chimaera appears?”

“No one.”

“That’s some grade A bullshit right there. The Guardians didn’t drop a hint at all?”

Sebastian lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “Uncle was told his promised mate would appear when the time was right.”

“But,” Jake paused. “That means it could be any of the women, not necessarily Morgan. Or one who hasn’t even Awakened yet.”

“Exactly. She’s not the first he’s been extremely attracted to, though he’s usually been better at hiding it. Which is why I think all the years alone, anticipating the appearance of his Chimaera, have become too much of a burden for him.”

Jake scratched the back of his neck, trying to recall the other women Sebastian meant. “What can we do about it?”

“I’ve already done something about it. I’ve sent a request to Laney to come here when she’s able.”

“Okay, and how do you expect her to help?”

Sebastian tilted his head. “The Chimaera, whoever she is, doesn’t know what she is, so finding her by telepathic scanning won’t be possible. Uncle has no idea how to identify his Chimaera, and neither does anyone else.”

“Then what the hell good is it to bring Laney in?”

The vampire smiled. “She’s one of the women Uncle is highly attracted to.”

Jake rolled his eyes again. “She turned him down. I was there.”

“I’m aware of that, and I’m also aware that Laney is extremely loyal.”

“She’s not going to change her mind. Laney does not change her mind.” He knew, because she’d turned him down too—twice. She’d been so nice about it the first time Jake had thought she meant just at that time. He’d realized he was wrong the second time, apologized, and hadn’t tried again.

Sebastian waved the comment away. “She doesn’t have to, just needs to spend some time around him. Her presence will remind Uncle he’s felt the same strong attraction before. That reminder should be enough to return him to normal.”

Which would be good. Jake didn’t like seeing Cal unsettled to the point of actually hiding from anyone, woman or man. But a thought occurred to him. “What if he doesn’t?”

“Doesn’t what?”

“Still feel a strong attraction to Laney?”

The vampire’s smile would’ve done the Cheshire Cat proud. “Then we may have a solution to determining who the Chimaera is.”

“Meaning it would be Morgan.” Jake didn’t like the idea. The woman was too volatile. “If that’s the case, I see a hell of a lot more trouble ahead.”

“As do I.” Sebastian sighed. “However, I don’t see a way to force them to make peace. Uncle’s positive staying away from her is the right thing, and Morgan seems to have developed a rather virulent hatred for him.”

“Plus, Cal’s hoping she gets attached to Thane.” Jake tapped the table top. “If she does, and it turns out she is his Chimaera...”

“Let’s not borrow trouble.”

“Right.”

T
o Morgan’s displeasure, alcohol didn’t have the same effect on her as it had prior to Awakening. Instead of building and keeping a nice buzz, she’d sobered up completely on the ride home.
Guess I don’t have to worry about becoming an alcoholic
.

On the elevator ride down, she poked Thane in the side. “Are you ever going to talk to me?”

He shrugged.

“Calhoun said you can talk, so you just don’t. Why?”

Another shrug in response. She sighed. “Well, thanks for taking me out tonight. Think we can do it again...” she tried to pick a time period that wouldn’t seem too pushy, “maybe next week?”

Thane nodded and Morgan grinned. “Great.”

She didn’t say “it was fun” because it wasn’t. Jake had stopped several times, checking on them, and there’d been a few times she’d felt like someone was staring at her, but Morgan hadn’t spotted anyone doing so when she’d turned around to look. And of course, Thane hadn’t spoken a word, just listened to her whenever she felt like saying something.

She hadn’t said much, too busy thinking over what Jake had told her, and trying to figure out what had caused Thane’s scars, and Calhoun’s single scar. Morgan had also devoted more than a few minutes to trying to wrap her head around the idea of living for centuries, but thinking about that too long threatened to cause a headache.

I have a lot to learn
. The elevator doors opened and she followed Thane down the corridor to the apartment.
We can heal, but we’re apparently not indestructible
.

Calhoun hadn’t been afraid of her slitting his throat. In fact, he’d joked about it. Morgan went straight to her bedroom to change into an oversized tee.
He said only one thing can kill him
.

But that couldn’t be correct. Surely a nuclear bomb would kill anyone. She smirked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror before brushing her teeth. Finished, she wandered out to the living room, and then into the kitchen. Thane was making himself a sandwich.

He offered to make her one with quick hand wave from it to her, and a lift of his eyebrow. “Yeah, thanks.”

I’m getting good at figuring out what he’s not saying
. Morgan suppressed a laugh, leaning against the counter to watch him. Jake’s information resurfaced, and she knew she’d have to make some changes to her plan. Whatever hell her life had been, Thane had gone through far worse, because big, strong men like him didn’t spend years terrified someone was going to find them. They found the others first, and dealt with the problem.

She couldn’t purposefully hurt him, not even to get out and away.
I’m not a good person, but I’m not that bad of one either
.