A Spell of Time (A Shade of Vampire #10)(26)

I recalled the way she’d been laughing that fateful day I’d discovered the two of them in each other’s arms in the boathouse by the lake.

“I’m sure,” I said, my jaw tensing. “Unfortunately, I’ve never had the privilege of seeing that side of him before.”

“Maybe you need to get to know him better.”

“Clearly.”

She swallowed the last of her tea.

“Do you want some more?” I asked.

“No, thank you. It was lovely though. I really have to get going. I just stopped by to check you were all right.”

We both got up from the table and she picked up her papers, replacing them beneath her arm. I led her back to the front door.

She gave me another hug, her perfume tantalizing my senses.

“I’ll see you around, okay?” she said, squeezing my arm.

“Yeah. Bye.”

She threw me another smile and vanished from the spot.

Late for a date with Eli, no doubt…

Chapter 21: Rose

There was a sharp rapping at our door just before sundown. I hurried to answer it, but my father got to the door before me.

Micah stood in the doorway, dressed in a shirt and jeans. My mother had arranged for clothing for our guests, since they’d arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

“Yes?”

“I’m here for—” Micah began.

I reached the door and placed a hand on my father’s shoulder.

“He’s here for me.”

My father raised his eyebrows, looking from me to the werewolf, before stepping aside and allowing me to exit.

“Watch your step with my daughter, wolf,” he said.

“Of course,” Micah said.

“And Rose.” My father’s eyes bored into mine. “Don’t stay out later than nine-thirty.”

“Okay,” I said, hurrying toward the elevator with Micah before he could impose more restrictions on me.

“Don’t mind my dad,” I muttered as we descended to the forest ground.

“I think it’s hard for anyone to not mind your father considering he’s the king of this place.”

I let out a dry chuckle.

As we hit the forest path, I looked around. “So where do you plan to turn?”

“Wherever it starts to happen. It won’t be long now. We may as well keep walking.”

We continued walking in silence. I kept shooting glances at him, expecting to see fur start sprouting through his skin. It wasn’t until we reached the beach that he grunted and stopped short.

“It’s time,” he said, his voice constricted.

I took a few steps back and stared as he sank to the floor, on his knees and hands. His body began to shake. His clothes burst beneath his expanding form and lay strewn on the ground. His head expanded. Thick fur grew over his skin. His teeth lengthened and became razor-sharp. His hands and feet balled up as his legs took shape. His whole body rippled with muscle as the transformation completed and he lifted himself up onto all fours.

“Normally, I’d try to be undressed during this time to avoid this.” His voice gravelly, he jerked his head toward the shreds of clothes on the ground. “But present company precluded that…”

I gave him a weak smile.

He shook his thick brown coat and stretched out his limbs.

“Well, you’ve seen it. What did you think?”

“Um, it was faster than I thought it would be.”

“Want a ride?”

“A-a ride?”

“Yes.”

I bit my lip, eyeing his broad back. Of course I wanted a ride. How many girls could say they’d ridden a werewolf before? But I felt shy to admit it. I’d only just met Micah.

“No?” he said.

“Okay. Just a short ride.”

He knelt down so I could mount him. I gripped the fur nearest his head and hauled myself up, one leg over either side of his back.

“Holding tight?”

“Uh, not yet,” I said, burying my hands into the fur at the back of his neck and gripping tight. “Does this hurt?”

His back shook as he laughed. “No.”

I gripped harder—just in time. He lurched forward, knocking the breath right out of me. We hurtled along the beach, spray and sand flying everywhere. I dug my heels into his sides, holding on for dear life. Werewolves seemed to be as fast as vampires. We raced around the island and soon enough my nerves cooled and I started to enjoy myself.

He ran once around the island, and then he left the beach and started whipping through the woods. I ducked down and closed my eyes on his order to avoid the low-hanging branches. We reached the door of the Black Heights and he began scrambling up the mountain. This was a level of daring I hadn’t been prepared for. We were almost at a sixty-degree angle as he scampered up.

“Micah,” I gasped, the blood draining from my knuckles. “I’m slipping.”

Either he didn’t hear me or he deliberately ignored me as he continued racing up the mountain. I fought to hold on, and in the end ended up locking my arms around his neck in an attempt to secure myself.

After a particularly bumpy patch in which I was sure I would finally lose my grip, we arrived at the top of the mountain. I let go of him and collapsed on the ground.