down into the inevitable deep sleep sooner rather than later.
That was likely better for them both.
“I’m going to take you someplace where you can get some rest for the night, remember? You’ve been through a lot. Some sleep will do you good.”
He kept his voice casual, reasonable, and that, coupled with Mia’s fatigue, was enough to get her in the truck with little more than a resigned sigh.
“I’m not going to wake up with fur, am I?” she asked when he’d gotten in, found the keys beneath the seat, and turned on the engine. Jenner chuckled at the expression on her face despite himself.
“No fur. Not even a headache. Trust me, when you make your first change you won’t sleep through it.”
“Oh, yay.”
He snorted at the way she wrinkled her nose and closed her eyes. Pretty—yeah, she certainly was, and stubborn to boot if he’d been reading her right. The smile faded quickly when he thought of the choice Mia would have to make in the coming days.
There were only two ways to link into a pack. Being born to at least one parent of the blood…or a joining of a much more intimate nature. It was why there were such strict rules, why packs rarely saw newcomers who weren’t already part of a love match. The bite was only part of the equation. The bond, the connection with the pack mind, would only be complete after she’d joined with a Black-paw in a physical sense, at least once.
He didn’t want to be the one to tell her. No doubt she’d be furious, and with good reason. But the alternative was one he didn’t think she’d find acceptable, to turn feral, to lose all sense of right and wrong, all humanity. Jenner was already sure she’d have her pick of the young, single males in the pack.
All but him. The only joining he would ever be a part of was the one he’d already gone through. That couldn’t have turned out a whole lot worse.
Jenner frowned. He didn’t want to think about Tess tonight.
“Oh, crap,” Mia muttered beside him.
“To which part of the night so far?” he asked.
“My stuff. I mean, I have stuff. At the hotel.” She shoved the heels of her palms against her eyes and growled her irritation. The noise had Jenner’s senses kicking into overdrive before he could think to try and block them, and in an instant he found himself breathing in air scented with light citrus, some sort of vanilla body wash, and beneath even that, clean, feminine skin. He could hear every breath. Every heartbeat.
Then it was his turn to feel like growling.
“You staying at the inn? Down the road in Greenview?” he asked instead, irritated all over again when he realized she’d had a room with the biter at a fancy, scenic, known-for-its-romance hotel, had no doubt planned on sharing a bed with the psycho…hell, maybe they were engaged, how did he know? And more important, why did he care?
“The Sylvan Inn, yes,” Mia said, taking her hands away from her face and blowing out a breath. “God, why can’t I think?”
“It’ll get better.”
Jenner could feel her eyes on him, trying to bore holes in his skin, but he kept his own on the road. He needed to get it together. Hadn’t he told himself a million times to keep life simple, to avoid complications? Because he had the distinct feeling that Mia D’Alessandro could be one huge complication if he let her be.
“Better when?”
“Tomorrow, probably.”
“Probably?” She managed to sound both sleepy and outraged at the same time. Jenner bit back a smirk. She was fighting the sleep hard…she should have gone down by now, but that stubborn streak he’d suspected seemed to be preventing it.
He couldn’t help but egg her on a little.
“Yeah. Tomorrow or the day after.”
Her tone was acid. “Wow. You’re a font of information, Nick.”
“It’s Jenner,” he said quickly, not liking the way it felt to hear his given name roll off her tongue that way. It was too familiar, reminded him too strongly of his old life, and his journey into this one. “Everyone calls me Jenner.”
“Jenner,” she repeated. “Like that big rat in the kids’ movie. Secret of NIMH.”
“Rat?” Jenner looked over at Mia, and immediately understood what the problem was. She was no longer just fighting sleep. Sleep was actively fighting her, and the two appeared to be locked in an epic battle for supremacy. It seemed pretty obvious sleep was gaining the upper hand.
Not a surprise, since after a werewolf bite it was less like sleep and more like falling down a black hole for a whole bunch of hours.
“Bad rat,” Mia said. “Got stabbed. Was a happy ending.” She yawned.
Jenner grimaced. “Stabbed. Great. You’re making my night, Mia. Thanks.” What kind of literary asshole named an evil rat Jenner, anyway?
“I like Nick better,” she said, slurring her words. “Iss nice.” She yawned. “Nick the werewolf. Awoo.” Another chuckle.
This time, she sounded so young and exhausted that he didn’t have the heart to correct her. And he guessed he had to give her points for the little wolf howl she did at the end before falling silent. He drove on in silence, making the turn onto the heavily wooded road on the outskirts of the Hollow where he lived. It occurred to him all at once that he’d never brought a woman out here. Whenever he’d scratched that particular itch, a thing he did only infrequently because of complications he wanted to avoid, he’d done it elsewhere.
Well, it wasn’t like he was bringing her home to go to bed with, Jenner thought with a frown. And it wasn’t like she was staying long. And if she made him feel a little itchy that way, well…he could deal with it.
Mia sighed in the seat beside him, a breathy exhalation of pleasure that had his mind immediately racing for the gutter. He was pretty sure that after he got her carried into the house and tucked into bed, his mind was going to stay in that gutter for the night and roll around for a while.
He could handle it, Jenner thought, his jaw tightening. He could handle most anything.
But really, did their first feral victim in ages have to be quite so appealing?
The soft gasp beside him made him jump a little as he pulled into the long drive. The lights he’d left on glimmered through the trees ahead.
“What is it?” he asked. “Mia? You okay?”
“We forgot my stuff,” she slurred, her voice soft and getting softer with every word. “Di…did I tell you I was staying at…at the…”
“I’ll have someone get your things,” Jenner said, relieved. “No problem.” Bite complications were rare, but always a worry. This, though, was just Mia’s last stand against unconsciousness. He smiled a little. It was hard not to appreciate her effort, futile though it was. She’d lasted far longer than most. He pulled the truck up in front of the garage, put it in park, and
