He left them to their devices and went out, the raincoat keeping him dry. True to word, he hung out with Charlie and Daria for a while, their atmosphere lighter and just slightly odder.
“You are wrong. There is no such thing as a reptile shifter mating with a Fae,” Charlie said.
“Your cousin mated with a dragon shifter,” Daria pointed out.
“A dragon shifter is a different breed altogether. They are not looking to fight all the time.”
“A reptile shifter’s inclination to fight and get physical cancels out a Winter Fae’s hunger to manipulate and play. Imagine them meeting and one-upping each other perfectly.”
“That’s not how it works.”
“Itcouldwork.”
They both turned to him expectantly. He reflected over it and shrugged.
“They have a thirst for blood. So, either it creates some crazy chemistry, or they will end up killing each other at the same time. Don’t you guys have schoolwork to do?”
“I don’t go to school,” Daria announced. “He does. But he mostly spends the time locked up in his dorm room with his girlfriend and making all those annoying sounds—”
Charlie glared, muffling her mouth with a hand. “Shut up, Daria.”
“It’s true,” she said faintly. “She always calls out your name, and it sounds so dramatic. I think she’s faking it.”
Nico tried very hard not to laugh as the two argued, more good-natured than anything. When the rain stopped hours later, he bid them goodbye and wandered about, and it didn’t take long for his feet to direct him to the West. The occupied tent lights were turned off, but the moon was up, eager to show its light after the passing storm. He went to the very back, expecting her lights off, too, but found something else that had him growing cold.
The tent was intact, dark, and still…with a bright, slashing tear at the side.
When the tear became bigger, Nico was on the run.
Chapter 6
It felt like her organs were being squeezed the more she tried to fight it, but Anne couldn’t help violently thrashing about as it did so over and over. She wanted to scream. She wanted to shout very badly, but her voice didn’t cooperate, perpetually lodged in her throat as the full moon wreaked its havoc on her. She had expected the rain to last. She hadn’t expected the moon to come out after it, but maybe she should have planned better. Now it was too late, and the long, excruciating change had started—and there was nothing she could do about it.
The beast roiled inside her, clawing to be let out. It added to the pain. When it couldn’t get out, it went wild, adding another layer of difficulty. She felt the give when patches of fur sprouted out, but not enough. Then a claw grew as she held on to the tent before she had the presence of mind to transfer it to a wooden post and clamp it with all her might.
Anne. Anne…
“Anne?”
Nico’s voice came bright and clear, and her body reacted. A second later, her organs were squeezed again, so she curled in on herself as two hands shot out, desperately locking herself against the post. Humiliation washed over her as she made out his figure just standing outside the tent, and a moment of clarity allowed her to see his stupefied expression. Now there was a secret out: her ugly side during the full moon, where she had nowhere to hide and nothing to keep it at bay as it continued its assault on her.
She closed her eyes and turned away. She gritted her teeth and cursed herself for moving again, but she couldn’t help wanting to retreat from whatever judgment was in play. Waves upon waves of different levels of agony came, rocking her body until she shook endlessly. When her hands fell away from the post, another pair of hands covered them and placed them on the post again.
“Don’t move. Hold on to that. Just…let it happen.”
He wasn’t supposed to be here. He wasn’t supposed to witness this, but here the man was, refusing to go away. His words washed over her dazed mind, puzzling her. His hands cruised down her back, steadying even as she stiffened.
“Shout if you must. Let it out if you must. I will stay here and protect you.” A pause, then. “I will protect them, too, if that’s what you are afraid of…if you want to keep quiet and don’t want anyone to know about this.”
Something inside her quivered, shuddering outwards until it was uncontrollable. She whimpered soundlessly as the agony became unbearable. Her body followed suit and tried to roll again. To her astonishment, she couldn’t move as a barrier held her in place, and it took her fuzzy senses a while to register that it was Nico’s arm banded around her to lock her in. His body was there, too, pressed against her back and holding her tight, as if the possibility of her free claws slicing at him wasn’t a problem.
A palm brought a blanket to her stomach and splayed there. More blankets were inserted between her back and his chest, building a fort of cushion while he stayed where he was. Even then, she felt little bits of him pulsing through: a hand brushing her hair away from her sweaty face, a stream of murmurs that was only for her ears. Everything was kept at a respectful pace, but she felt the intimacy of his closeness digging its way into her skin.
“Nico,” she blurted out.
His hand stilled on her shoulder but didn’t leave. She felt him swallow. “Yes?”
There was a long pause and blinding anguish. “It hurts.”