Hooked

Chapter Twenty: Knowing

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, N.L.PETIT 2014.

Chapter Twenty: Knowing

"Does it hurt?"

Adrian's claws drifted across my skin lightly. The action was extraordinarily comforting in the strangest way.

"Shifting?" he asked. "Rarely. The first few years felt unnatural and forced, but it's simple now. It's only uncomfortable during the full moon."

He suddenly peered into my eyes as if he'd divulged too much.

I laughed quietly. "I know about the full moon, too, Adrian. You look like a deer in headlights every time you mention something new."

He laid his head back against the pillows of his bed, eyes closing for a moment. "I never expected you would be so accepting."

"Did you think I was that closed-minded?" I murmured jokingly. I currently lay on my stomach beside him on the bed, my head on his chest. My arm rested on his stomach, bent slightly, as he smoothly drew patterns on my skin.

His hand paused on my arm, and he rolled over so quickly he would have been a blur to human eyes. It was so strangely comforting to me to see him move at a supernatural speed. He rested on his elbows above me, and I shimmied down to keep my hair from being caught beneath him.

"You know I didn't think that, but the chances of my m-," he cut himself off sharply. "Many people aren't accepting of the things they fear. Werewolves aren't exactly considered to be domestic."

If only he knew how much worse the reactions could be for Mer.

"More than that," he continued, "I'm surprised you know anything about the supernatural at all. You never showed any signs when we were in Chalance. Not even on the plane when you met the Kapre."

I grimaced slightly. "They aren't the most appealing species of demon. I've only met two, including that one." I paused, looking at him. "You know, I remember him recognizing you. How did you manage to scare a Kapre so much?"

Werewolves were formidable, but the usually lazy Kapre could be just as dangerous. Was Adrian notorious in the supernatural world? Since I hadn't been a part of it in the past five years, I had absolutely no idea.

He hesitated. "I hold my own in the Were community, I guess. He must have heard of me when passing through."

He was holding something back, but I didn't press. He had offered me enough information tonight, and he had to be uncomfortable. I knew I would be.

I was about to respond when a thought crossed my mind.

"You saved Roxanne and me in that alley."

He looked down at me, surprised. A foreign emotion crossed his face before he became guarded. "I did."

"You saw them too. The... creatures. I've never seen anything like them before. Adrian, what in the hell was that?"

"Zamphyr," he muttered with distaste. "They're related to vampires, but more detached and harder to... eliminate. They were originally a band that detached from the Renaissance vampires and evolved from there. Have you met a vampire?"

I swallowed uncertainly. "A few."

I knew he did not like that fact, but he tried to avoid it. "I'm sure you were able to hold a conversation with them. Zamphyr are different: They're so detached from their humanity that their only conscious thoughts are to their covens and certain vampire divisions. Anything else is not considered intelligent enough to socialize with."