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Chapter 89: Aiden
I step out of the door, and all the worries of the day before come crashing back. I have to tell myself not to run. I’m walking a lot faster than usual. The first thing I will do when I see my friends, I promise myself, is to get their numbers. I did remember to get Sarah’s, finally. I think she was as embarrassed as I was that neither of us thought of it sooner.
The subway… the tube, I must get used to calling it that… seems to take way longer than usual. The final walk to the college has gained an extra few miles. Maybe I should have gone to Shelley’s first. I could have left earlier. I’ve probably put Gabriella in danger, not just Reese, Shelley and Tala. I’ve only just started as Alpha and I’m making mistakes already.
I’m saved from worrying myself into a total mess because they’re all there hanging about near the front steps. My… it’s getting harder not
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Rhapsody for a Wolf Chapter 90: Sarah
The flat seems empty once Aiden has gone. I am starting to resent our other commitments. His college, his job, my orchestra. Our conversations are snatched moments of time that we end up… not wasting, never that, but spending on our physical connection rather than that of our minds. There is so much we have yet to learn about each other, and I cannot help but feel there will be many more misunderstandings and arguments until we have a chance to learn each other inside as well as out. An innate sense of what we are each feeling is less useful than one might guess. I have the entire morning stretching ahead of me. I pull on joggers and trainers and go for a run, then spend an hour practicing scales and arpeggios, which, to the disgust of many a learner, you never get to leave behind. I keep Eddie ready to use and get out the manuscript sheets with my Rhapsody. I have a whole orchestral version to work on, a
Rhapsody for a Wolf Chapter 91: Aiden
Nothing horrible happens on the way to the drive thru. Well. Nothing worse than the usual London traffic. We get extra, because of Ella, and we’re going to have to work out what to do about her. The way things are at the moment probably isn’t even legal. I’m kind of out of good ideas, because trying to ask Ella for straight answers isn’t going to work, but maybe the others can come up with something. The others have met Ella already, of course. There’s no need to work out how much to explain to them in the cab. We stop on the corner of Shelley’s place, and watch the cab drive off before we go any further. I know I’m on edge, alert for another ambush like that in the park. The others don’t seem so bothered. Maybe they’re right. Maybe the threat is over now that Whitfield is gone. On the other hand, maybe Sutcliffe and Ewing will want revenge.
Rhapsody for a Wolf Chapter 91 Part 2: Aiden
I can see how hard this is for Tala. I know how hard Sarah has found sone things. She’s had longer than Tala to come to terms with everything, and she’s still struggling. I know what I can do to make it easier for Tala now. “You don’t have to say yes right this instant. You can think about it as long as you want. And I’d like to stay friends even if you say no. Just, there’s stuff we might not be able to talk about with you, if you’re not Pack. And, you won’t have the same protection.” I see Tala glance at Shelley, and shake my head. “I have that agreement, with a vampire. He’s called Aloysius Cavendish-” I catch Reese moving, out of the corner of my eye, as if they jumped or flinched. “-and he’s the second of the Vampire Prince. Uh, not sure what the Prince is Prince of…”
Rhapsody for a Wolf Chapter 92: Sarah
Aiden wraps me into his arms. I feel his emotions shift from satisfaction and worry to something both worried and more predatory. “Won a battle, maybe, not the war,” he tells me comfortingly, and I wonder if he is already plotting the next move. “Not if their goal is Blackmarsh.” He falls silent. I draw back enough to look into his face, and his expression is distant. He focuses on me again after a long minute. “Let’s talk,” he says. “I have things to explain.” We snuggle on the sofa. I want the strength and reassurance of him against me, holding me. I could face this alone, if I had to. I need to remind myself of that. I don’t need to face it alone. “I asked my friends from college to join my Pack,” Aiden says when we are settled. “Most of them said yes, and the only one w
Rhapsody for a Wolf Chapter 93: Aiden
I’m doing this for Sarah, but I’m putting her in more danger. Or maybe, making some things less dangerous for her in one way but more dangerous in another. The protection from Cavendish has never been enough to keep her safe from vampires as a whole. She’s proved she has power to face them herself, with the help of Blackmarsh. I’m so twisted up about this. Partly because I don’t really know the true value of any of it. Sarah seems to think that having a vampire controlling their next door neighbours is a threat to the whole country. Why there, instead of the places owned by the British royal family? Does’t Blackmarsh have other neighbours anyway? There’s the coast on the West side of them. A bit more than one side, the coastline cuts in on the South side. East of Blackmarsh is wild moorland. Why wasn’t that under threat too? Trying to answer that, I found the
Rhapsody for a Wolf Chapter 94: Sarah
As the taxi drives away, I wonder if I should have gone with Aiden. Stood by his side. Werewolf or not, it seems I’m the one the vampires should be afraid of. Have I let down the whole of my gender by standing back and letting my man face danger on his own? Perhaps, but I’m glad I don’t need to face Cavendish.Besides, I have no idea how much control I really have over Blackmarsh’s army of ghosts. Bellmouth has always just seemed to show up on his own. Mind you, he shows up when I am not in mortal danger, and merely feel in need of comfort. Have I been summoning him all this time, and not realising it? The Grey Woman and Great Uncle Mathewe showed up for me when I had no idea I needed rescuing, though, so I couldn’t have summoned them. Then again, I don’t think any of the ghosts except Bellmouth have ever left Blackmarsh for anyone else in the family.
Rhapsody for a Wolf Chapter 95: Aiden
Nobody’s laughed yet. That’s good, right? If they haven’t straight up mixed the idea, they’ll maybe think about it. So they’ll want time to talk about it without me in the room. “You’ll want to get back to your guests, and I’m keeping you.” I’ve been talking to all of them, but I look at Cavendish now. “There’s just the matter of a favour.” Maybe he’ll want to discuss that alone. Maybe not. He waves a hand in a ‘go on’ gesture, without even pausing to think about it, so I carry on. “You know of Walther Sutcliffe.” I pause just for a moment, checking. I’m pretty sure of it, but pretty sure isn’t certain. The vampire I think is the Prince keeps his expression blank. I guess he’s had a lot of practice at that. Hell, he’s got the right sort of unreadable face to keep every secret in the world. His lack of expression now is the blank of not giving away what he thinks about Sutcliffe, not the blank of someone w
Rhapsody for a Wolf Chapter 96: Sarah
Mary has gone. Back to Blackmarsh, I presume, but clearly she is not confined there so who knows. Perhaps ghosts take holidays and have night clubs and a life… a death?... beyond what we see of them. I am pacing the floor, which is not productive. I should have gone with Aiden. I would know what was happening. What use is Aiden being able to speak to me in my mind if he doesn’t? Rationally, I know he’s probably concentrating and doesn’t need the distraction. Perhaps he’s not even there yet, and has nothing to report. Perhaps he cannot use the link at any distance anyway. His emotions remain steady, wary and anxious but no worse. It seems like hours but it is more like five minutes that go by. I am still pacing the floor, and will wear a hole in my rented carpet, and lose my
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