Page 26 of Loup Garou

“Yes.”

“We’ve officially bonded now.”

Chapter Six

Gina staredat me with wide eyes as she artfully juggled several bags of Italian food. “You took Exavier Kedmen to the Neonatal Unit?”

“Yes.” I kept walking, carrying two pizzas. We’d decided to go for dinner together at the center since it was closed and we didn’t really feel like sitting in a stuffy restaurant or going home quite yet. Besides, I was still a little worried about Exavier. He and Jay had left for a beer midafternoon and I hadn’t seen or heard from him since.

Jay had called Gina to let her know that he still had “the rock star” and they were fine but wouldn’t be back until late. Since I didn’t own Exavier, I had little say, but I was concerned about him and Jay getting into a physical fight. Jay was a were-wolf. Exavier was just a human. Serious damage could be inflicted.

Myra had spent the greater part of the evening trying to convince me that Jay would never hurt Exavier, especially since Gina told him who he was. I didn’t put much stock in that theory. Jay was the type of man who could give a shit about someone’s status.

“Myra, can you ever remember our girl dragging anyone other than Harly with her to the hospital?”

“Nope, and I for one am happy. I hope Lindsay gives him a chance. She’s never going to settle down and find Mr. Right if she’s surrounding herself with Mr. Can’t Remember Their Names.”

I laughed. “Watch it, babes, or I’ll be knocking one of those bottles of wine you’ve got there over your head.”

Myra leaned forward, as if she was going to hand me a bottle. “I dare you.”

“It’s no fun threatening you. You aren’t scared of anything.”

“Yes, I am. I’m scared of bad hair days, leaving you in charge of your own schedule, finding out my mother will be visiting, watching movies of the week…”

Rolling my eyes, I snickered. My friends were so far from what people considered normal that I wasn’t exactly sure what the baselinefor it was anymore. Not that it mattered. I loved them for them. For some freakish reason, they seemed to love me for me.

Misfits. There’s no other term for us.

“Oh, news on the Gina love front,” Myra said, lifting a well-defined brow. “I think she has someone serious in her life.”

There was no way I could hide my surprise, so I didn’t bother. “No way.”

Gina huffed. “Hey, don’t act so shocked. I’m lovable too.”

Myra and I exchanged looks and burst into laughter. “Oh yes, extremely lovable. Snuggly even.”

“Mmm-hmm, like a rabid teddy bear.” Myra snorted and we all began to laugh. She was always so proper. To see her letting herself go was a treat. It wasn’t that she was opposed to having a good time. No. Myra was just driven and businesslike in almost all aspects of her life.

We turned the corner towards the center and I bumped Gina with my hip. “Spill it. I want to hear all about him.”

“You’re joking, right?” She lifted a handful of bags and used them to point at me. It was cute. I didn’t bring that to her attention though or I’d end up wearing the contents of the bags. “I’m not letting you two anywhere near Paco.”

She froze.

I gave her a big grin. “Oh, we’ve got a name. Paco. Mmm, is he hot?”

“The better question would be,” Myra licked her lower lip, “is he hung?”

“Yeah, because we’ve got a strict ‘no guppies allowed’ policy,” I added, doing my best to keep a straight face.

Gina shook her head. “Huh?”

Myra began wheezing and I knew she got my reference to her ex-boyfriend, The Shark. The memory of her walking around a party shouting “guppy” would be stuck in my head forever. It was a classic Myra response to an issue—attack with claws erect. I think it had something to do with the cat shifter in her. She was born to be a bitch.

“Hey, since when did the boys who hang here start leaving their stereo and stuff lying around the parking lot?” Gina asked, slowing her pace. “Aren’t they afraid that it’ll get stolen?”

I stared at the portable stereo sitting on the ground and glanced around the parking lot. It was covered in a blanket of darkness and hard for me to see too far out. It didn’t matter that my night vision was nowhere near as sharp as Myra’s. There was no way the boys would leave their things lying around unless something happened.

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