The woman climbed into the third seat in the back near the still unconscious Nicky. She sort of scrunched down on the floor. Then she poked her head around the edge of Jazzy’s seat as the one she called AJ slowly drove the car away from the curb. “A couple of you guys, duck down so the cops don’t pull us over for not having enough seatbelts. That’s the last thing we need. We’re just a couple blocks from home.”
Beth and Jazzy hit the deck in a tangle of legs. “Oh shit.” Jazzy slapped her hand over her mouth, but she still got the giggles. Crap…that always happened when she got nervous. Beth just looked totally shell shocked, but she had it bad for Nicky, not that he’d ever noticed her. She had to be worried sick right now.
They drove for no more than a couple minutes when it suddenly turned dark. Jazzy poked her head up and realized they were pulling into a garage. “You weren’t kidding. We got here fast.”
“Your friend’s coming around. Let’s get him inside.” The lady turned to Jazzy. “I’m Tala, by the way. The big guy with your buddy is Mik, and the cover model behind the wheel is AJ.”
AJ flashed her a wide smile. “Cover model? That’s a new one.”
“Ah, you know you’re gorgeous, sweetie.” Tala opened the back door and helped hold the towel around Nicky’s waist. He was definitely coming around now. Wide-eyed and scared, he jerked his head from side to side.
When he spotted Beth, his eyes closed for a moment. “Beth? What happened?”
“Wait until we get inside. I’ll help you.” Mik had Nicky in his powerful arms before Nicky even had a chance to protest. Beth followed quietly. Tala led them all up the stairs from the garage, into a surprisingly large, sunshine-bright hallway.
Mik kept going. Jazzy and the rest trailed along behind him. AJ passed them in the hallway and opened a door into what looked like a separate apartment. “Let’s put them in the rooms we had for Adam and Eve. I doubt they’ll be back anytime soon.”
Jazzy nudged Logan in the ribs with her elbow. “Adam and Eve?” she whispered, grinning. He just looked at her and frowned. She ducked her head. He made her feel so damn small sometimes.
“Good idea.” Ignoring her stupid comment, Mik carried Nicky through the door, across a large living room, and into a larger bedroom. Tala fluffed up a couple of big pillows and leaned them against the iron headboard. Mik set Nicky carefully on the king-sized bed.
Nicky shook his head, confused, looked down at the towel that had slipped away from his waist, and quickly covered himself. He frowned and glared at Mik. “Is anyone going to tell me what the fuck happened?”
Before anyone could answer, he lifted the towel and stared underneath, then slammed it back in place. “Where’s my studs an’ rings? There were studs and rings in my dick.” He lifted the blanket again, flopped it back down and looked at his chest and then his arms, frowning. “I had a nipple ring. The hole’s still there. My tats are all gone!”
Beth stepped forward. She unclenched her fist. Inside were half a dozen metal studs and rings. “These were on the ground after you…”
Logan turned toward Mik. “After he what? What the hell happened to Nicky?”
Mik shrugged his big shoulders and grinned. “He shifted. Turned into a wolf. Piercings, tattoos, anything foreign to the body…it doesn’t make it through the shift.” He turned to Nicky. “Your tats are just dust in the dirt now. The ink flaked off when your skin changed. The studs and rings fell out. If you want to put them back, the holes might still be there, for a while, anyway.”
AJ started laughing. “When you know Tala better, you’ll have to ask her what she lost during her first shift.”
Tala elbowed him in the ribs.
“Oomph! What’d ya do that for?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled at Jazzy. “My IUD fell out on the ground. So much for birth control.”
“That’s all a bunch of crap. People can’t turn into wolves. It’s physically impossible. Nicky just, he just…” Logan took a long, shaky breath.
Jazzy actually felt sorry for him. She wasn’t sure why, but for some reason everything Mik was saying made perfect sense to her. Why couldn’t Logan accept it? They’d both seen Nicky change. Watched him tear that guy to shreds.
It even helped explain the dreams she’d been having, as if anything could.
Mik glanced at AJ and shrugged. AJ grinned, and suddenly he was taking off his shirt. Jazzy’s mouth hung open. The guy really was gorgeous, and he wasn’t stopping at his shirt. Before anyone could say a word, he’d kicked off his sandals and slipped out of his jeans.
Okay, so AJ went commando. Jazzy heard Logan’s quick in-take of breath behind her and wondered if he was reacting to the guy’s package or just circumstances in general. Beth moaned, but it was a sound of fear, not desire. Jazzy grabbed Beth’s hand and hung on tight, but she didn’t take her eyes off AJ.
“What the…?” Matt’s voice clipped off when AJ turned and smiled at all of them, and disappeared.
Just like that.
“Fuck.” Logan grabbed Jazzy’s other hand. Beth fainted and almost pulled Jazzy down with her. Deacon and Matt stood perfectly still. Tala quickly knelt beside Beth.
Jazzy slowly released Beth’s limp fingers. Her heart was pounding in her throat. She heard a weird buzzing in her ears and wondered if she was going to throw up or join Beth on the floor. She glanced down at Beth, who was awake now and blinking owlishly, then back at Nicky. Anywhere but at the big wolf sitting calmly on the floor in front of them.
Right where AJ had been. Then suddenly AJ was standing up and slipping his jeans on over his long legs. “It’s easier to show someone than to try and explain,” he said, as if he’d done nothing special at all.
Beth sat up and shook her head like she was trying to clear it, but she didn’t get off the ground. Jazzy reached over and took her hand again. She really wanted Beth to know she understood how she felt.
“You just turned into a fucking wolf.” Logan’s voice actually shook. Jazzy jerked her head around to see if he looked as scared as he sounded.
Yep. His face was white as chalk.
“So did your friend. And I want to thank you, Nicky.” Tala smiled at Nicky as she stood up. “You got me out of a really ugly situation. I couldn’t shift without giving our species away, but I doubt either one of those punks actually saw you shift. I imagine the police report will come out that there’s a wild wolf on the loose or a vicious dog or something like that, so we’ll have to be really careful about running in the park, but because of you, I’m safe and our secret is safe.”
“Nicky, do you think you could do it again? Can you shift now?” Mik gazed steadily at him.
Nicky shook his head. “I don’t know how it happened. I’ve been having these weird dreams, you know—running in the woods, chasing rabbits and stuff—so I was joking about being a wolf.” He held his hands out in a helpless gesture. “Just now, when AJ shifted, I tried to do it, too. Nothing happened.”
Mik nodded. “Probably the adrenaline rush. When you saw that punk grab Tala, it kicked in and instinct took over. It’s happened before. To Tala, for instance.”
“We don’t need to go there,” she said. “But don’t worry, Nicky. Once you start taking the pills we’ve got with the nutrients you need to shift, it’s going to be a snap.”
“I hope so. I want to do it again.” He grinned sheepishly. “But this time, without ripping some dude’s throat out.”
“There is that.” AJ finished