Page 14 of Backstage at the Freak Show
"Holy..." Gabe whispered, unable to finish the thought as we just stared at him.
Tak looked exactly like a wolf, but was the size of an elephant. He fell to all fours, arms and legs the length of my body, and roared in the terrified human's face.
With one massive paw the size of my torso, Tak pinned him against the wall. Jaws gaping wide with rows of dagger like teeth on display, the gigantic wolf almost seemed to be smiling.
Don't you know you shouldn't go hunting at night, little human.
Tak's voice rang with a calm, almost soothing quality in my head. Gabe and I stared at each other, our looks confirming that we both heard it. I never heard anyone but Mel communicate like that.
The stench of piss filled the air and Tak seemed he had enough. Bringing his paw to the human's face, he gripped his whole head, claws curling around like that of a human hand.
With one quick snap, the human's head jerked to the side like a Ken doll, then he slumped to the floor as Tak released him.
Colt and the security team came running just as the large man began shifting back to human.
"Nice of y'all to show up," Gabe spat.
"What the hell happened?" Colt pulled me to him, squeezing me tightly as his fingers closed possessively in my hair. "I heard you scream, Mir. Fuck--"
"Tak saved us." My own voice sounded far away as I turned to look at the large, now naked man. "He probably saved everyone here. That guy was armed like a terrorist and said he was going to kill everyone."
"We'll take care of this," John, the head of security tapped Colt on the shoulder as he and his guys went to remove the body.
"Normally, I spill more blood, but," Tak looked at the human's body, then us sheepishly, "I didn't want to create a mess to clean up."
"What the hell are you?" Gabe demanded. Normally I would have chastised him for being rude, but the shock left me stunned.
"I'm an Amarok," Tak replied calmly. "My species used to roam the most frozen parts of the northern hemisphere. Now we're monsters in Inuit legends."
"Cool. Next question," Gabe said dryly. "What the hell were you doing with Miriam?"
"Hey," I spun to face him. "I'm right fucking here, you know."
"Alright, fine." He crossed his arms, turning his gaze on me. "What the hell wereyoudoing withhim?"
"Dancing," I fired back. "And talking. You know, stuff people do at weddings. Not that it matters to you, anyway."
"Of course it matters to me," he huffed, eyes narrowing. "You're withus.And it looked like you were about to kiss him."
"So?" I challenged. "At least he wanted to kiss me."
Gabe's expression sent a crack shattering through my heart. After all this time, I finally saw what he kept hidden so far beneath the surface.
"I do want to kiss you," he breathed in a pained voice. "Constantly. It's all I think about, Mir. I just--" he raked a hand through his auburn hair. "I just don't want to lose you like I lost my pack."
A pin could drop in that hallway and it would be deafening. Colt stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, and I knew those were the most honest words Gabe had spoken in a long time. To me, maybe ever.
"Then why are you so hot and cold with me?" I asked, holding onto this raw, honest moment like it might be the only time I see it. "Why do you act like I don't matter to you, but do sweet little things that no one else would think of?"
"I can't lose you if I tell myself you're not mine," he muttered, eyes flickering down in shame. "But no matter what, I love seeing you light up. I live for the smile on your face when you're happy, then die a little at the thought of someone like that," he nodded at the human now being zipped into a body bag, "taking you away from me."
"Gabe," I voiced more breathily than I intended. "Then what's with the interrogation about Tak?"
"I don't know, I--" he sucked in a deep breath. "I fucked up, Miriam. I'm sorry. I've been such a dick and I thought you wanted to replace me with him." He looked at Tak. "Sorry, dude. You did a good thing here. We all owe you our thanks."
"I'm just glad the two shaman are safe," Tak looked at me before raising his eyes to the main room where Mel's men fawned over her, blissfully unaware of the fact that someone just burst in to kill them.
All the better. No one needed that stress on their wedding day.
