NomiDomiLight: The Good Girl's Blood Boy

Frivolously Five

Jordan growled, backing up hesitantly. I patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. I've got this."

I slipped off of his shoulder and made a big deal of spreading my arms in front of him. "Stop!"

The park rangers ignored me, so I tried again, this time storming right up to the lead one. I was shorter than him, but I stuck my nose right in his face.

"If you harm that animal, you'll have a lawsuit so far up your butt you'll be picking it out of your teeth."

He looked startled. "That's a wolf- it's a threat!"

I gestured at Jordan, who was sitting up like any domestic dog. "That is a lupas magna nimis. It's the rarest species of wolf in the world! If you harm this creature, you could be arrested for international animal endangerment and be scorned from the park service eternally."

The rangers glanced at each other. "No such thing exists," the lead one determined.

I popped a hand on my hip and pushed my glasses defiantly up my nose. "You could very well be looking at the last one! I've been recruited by the Endangered Species Protection Society to bring this animal to a sanctuary. So you can either let us go or you can report to my lawyer."

The ranger swallowed, then nodded at his buddies. They glared at me, mumbled an apology, and trudged away.

I grinned, scuttling back to Jordan. "Okay, lupas magna nimis. Let's get back to normal, shall we?"

Jordan whined. I blinked, and he was back to normal. "Lupas magna nimis?" He repeated incredulously.

I shrugged. "Very big wolf. But in Latin."

Jordan rolled his eyes. "You are so ridiculous."

I beamed winningly, then stifled my grin. "I'm still mad at you," I told him. He sighed. "I don't blame you, Naomi."

Baffled by the mood swing, I didn't speak as Jordan and I progressed back to the car. I slipped into the shotgun seat and propped my feet up. Jordan whistled, breaking our silence. "You've got a death wish."

I stuck my tongue out. "Like you'd tell on me."

Jordan's eyes flicked past my shoulder to the woods. "Maybe I don't have to."

I paled, bringing my feet down and whipping my head around to stare at the woods. There was no one there. I turned and gave Jordan a light slap. "Not funny!"

"Funny," Jordan corrected, putting the car into gear. We stopped at a Wendy's and got frosties and fries before going back to the base. Deftly ducking under the tranquilizing dart, Jordan and I dropped our loot on the kitchen table.

Jordan's green eyes danced. "You wanna have a race?"

I grinned, popping a fry into my mouth. I swallowed it, along with my anger. I'd rain down on all of them- it wouldn't be fair to Jordan if he got all of the yelling.

Hours flew by as I destroyed Jordan at Forza, then Star Wars, then (breaking out the DS stash) Pokemon battles. When the fake bookshelf opened again, I was doing a victory lap around the living room. I stopped cheering abruptly to glare at Declan and Bennett.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring your buddy Raymond with you," I said coolly. Bennett blinked. "Whoa. Raymond's our packmate. He's not our friend. And he's certainly not a buddy."

I folded my arms and sat on the counter. "Sure."

They all began to speak at the same time, staggering the sentences.

"Naomi," Declan began. "We didn't want to..."

"Keep you in the dark," Jordan supplied. "But at the same time..."

"The more you knew, the more danger you were in," Bennett finished smoothly.

I held up a hand. "Wait, let me guess. The Lost Boys-" they all flinched at the sound of the rival gang's name "-are wolves, too?"

They gave me identical stares so pitiful that I was surprised that they didn't have tails to put between their legs.

I cupped my face in my hands, rubbing my eyes under my thick glasses. "Okay. My best friends are werewolves, along with my mortal enemy. My ex-best friend is a vampire, who managed to lead five enemy vampires into Werewolf World, and wait, there's more, the werewolves are in a gang pitted against yet more werewolves."

Jordan spoke cautiously. "You're taking this pretty well."

I glared at him. "What other choice do I have? It's not like I can change it. But I can help."

Instantly, there was a chorus of 'no', 'it's too dangerous', 'you'd get hurt', the whole shibang.

I slid off of the counter and stalked towards them. "I know how it feels to get hurt. I also know how it feels to be in the midst of something dangerous. But I also know that, not to brag, but there is no brighter mind in this city that you can have on your side. I can, like, do microanalysis on hair and blood and stuff. I can research things, figure out their plays."

Declan's words were gruff and solid. "No. Naomi, I appreciate the offer, but these are vampires. You're human. There is no universe in which you'd be safe with a vampire. They will suck you drier than a Caprisun. It's safer if you stay out of it."

"But-"

"No.