Jagged Embrace

Chapter 37 - Will

 "Is it done?" Mason's throaty voice asked on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah," Will answered her. He'd purposely waited until after they ate to call. He was still pissed off, but thought he'd be able to talk to Mason without screaming now.

"Did Ander already send the report?"

"No."

"Why? Were you hurt? Is Ander okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Look, the file was fucked - it said the monster was solitary, it wasn't-" Will started. He fucking hated it so much. He wasn't sure why, after all this time and so many deaths, monster kids still bothered him, but they did. Didn't matter the age, although younger ones were worse. It always screwed with his head and made him question things.

"Okay, well, I'm glad you both are okay. Did she have a mate or something?"

Will gritted his teeth. "Where did the information come from?"

"Our database, same as all the others. Maybe she just took a mate. Last update on the file was over six months ago," Mason offered.

"You need to find out who updated the file." Will pulled out his black cigarettes.

"That's gonna take a bit of time, but why the fuck is it important? If the Aswang is dead, it doesn't matter. Ander can just update the file and-"

"Find out, Mason," Will cut her off. He was gonna call that lazy shitbag and remind them why it was important to be accurate. If Maeve wasn't with them, he'd have paid that fucker a visit.

"Okay - what has your panties in a bunch? Is it the girl again?"

"Fuck off. It has nothing to do with her."

"You're the one who keeps fucking up because of her," she snapped at him.

"This has nothing to do with Maeve!" His voice rose before he could stop it. He took a deep breath and then a long drag from his cigarette. "This is about the fucking file not being right. There was a family of them - a whole fucking family." Will stopped and swallowed as the images of dead kids filled his brain. He needed a drink. 

"Oh," Mason said quietly. "Did you take care of the others?" Mason asked carefully.

"Yeah, there's nothing left. It'll be in Ander's report." Will inhaled his cigarette again.

"I have some things you can test out with her if you want. I mean, if you still want to find out what she is," Mason offered to change the subject.

Will was glad she didn't ask him anything else about the mission. "Of course I want to fucking know. She still hasn't been cleared. Until we know what she is, she's still a mission," Will said, but not enthusiastically. The words tasted bitter in his mouth.

"Glad to know your head's still in the right place. You want me to send the info to you so you can review it, or do you think you'll remember if I tell you?"

He rubbed the back of his skull. Most of the time he'd remember it, but goddamn, his head was a mess the last few days. The Aswang mission only made it worse. "Both," he said in a rough voice.

"Okay, I'll send you a message. It ain't conclusive, but if you test some things out, it'll help narrow down the possibilities."

Fuck. Did he really want to do it? The night in his room with Maeve, her lips on his, how she touched him even when she was terrified of what he might do. He shook his head. It didn't matter if she was a monster, he had a duty.

"The soul touch nonsense she and your cousin keep talking about... it might be tied to latent psychic abilities."

"Yeah, I get that, but she doesn't have any other powers those mindfuckers have," Will replied.

"None she knows of or that've been triggered yet," Mason retorted.

Well fuck, that could be true. "Okay, so what am I supposed to do? Hold a card and have her tell me what it is?" Will chuckled before he inhaled his poison.

"Do I need to remind you how dangerous powerful psychics are if they aren't controlled?" Mason's voice was bitter as she spoke.

"No, I didn't mean it that way. You get that."

"Good. So that's one possibility, and the other gets into creatures that use their feminine wiles to seduce men."

"Feminine wiles?" Will tried not to laugh, but couldn't help it. He wanted to fuck Maeve. He wanted it so badly he could barely think about anything else, but it wasn't because she was using any seduction. He'd known women like that. Hell, he'd stupidly fucked women like that. They used men like people used tissues and those were just human leeches who wanted others to support them. Monsters with powers to seduce would be much worse. They'd both just killed a succubus, but he wasn't the one that had been sucking face with it.

"Goddamn it, Will! You gonna take this seriously or not? You asked me to look into it!" she yelled in his ear.

He forced himself to stop laughing. "Sorry, I'm not trying to be a dick, I just... Maeve isn't like that. She doesn't act like normals that seduce men for shit they want, and she definitely doesn't act like a monster who has powers to seduce people."

"Did it ever occur in your thick head that maybe she's a smart monster who knows a Soldier of Night would spot that from a mile away?"

Well shit, no, it hadn't. God damn it, he was off his game. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She is not a threat, the voice in his mind reminded him.

It was rare anything that asshole said was comforting, but at the moment Will felt like he could breathe again. "Good point. What do you want me to do?"

"I'm not going to waste my breath to tell you right now. Your head is up your ass or hers. Anyway, I'll send you the details in the message. Get your shit together, soldier, and tell me how the tests go." she paused. When she began speaking again, the hard edge was gone from her tone. "I'll find out about the Awang file and let you know. Good hunting, soldier."

He closed his eyes for a heartbeat and swallowed. "I'll keep watch," he said in a raw voice and ended the call.