Page 58 of Wonder
Keeping an eye on my watch, I let Simon suck on my wrist for another five minutes. The blood in my throbbing dick counted off the seconds for me. When I pulled my wrist away, his lips and tongue tried to reach for more, but he quieted almost immediately.
I jumped out of bed and hurried into the shower to get cleaned up. I didn’t want to give Shirley an eyeful of my erection. Fuck, Simon needed to get better quickly, because I wanted to sex him up like now.
But was that even fair to him, if I was still planning on asking him to sever our bond? A piercing pain went through my chest as my magical core expressed its opinion of the idea.
But my magical core wasn’t in charge. I was still planning to ask him to sever it.
Right?
I didn’t have an answer I was happy with by the time I’d showered and put on clean clothes. I mean, I wasn’t enough of a dumbass that I didn’t know Simon was a complete catch. Why he thought I was the guy of his dreams, I didn’t understand. But if I were to be mated to anyone, he was the one I wanted. I was just having a hard time letting go of my desire to carve out some time to just beme. To be selfish for once.
And then there was the fact that we'd bonded so I could call a vision, which had turned out to be impossible. I still felt horrible about putting Simon through all this for no reason. Although, if I hadn't been bonded to Simon, I wouldn't have been able to see connections like vampires did, and Nicky might not have been able to help me kill the rogue vampires.
So in the end I guessed I could justify our temporary bonding. But if we were going to sever it, we’d need to do it now, before we got even more emotionally entangled.
The bond and my magical core vehemently let me know they did not approve of that idea, and this time the pain lasted even longer than before.
FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 31, 1999
I followed Dermid and Hendry through the crowds around the clubhouse of some fancy golf resort. It was closing in on midnight, and the humans were drunk, attempting to dance to “Livin’ La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin while holding glasses of champagne. The celebration would provide good cover for kidnapping a Wonder.
Theluchd-òl folahad never taken a magic carrier, probably because Wonders were naturally more resilient and longer-lived. A magic carrier wouldn’t last being fed from every few days.
Yesterday I’d seen some online chatter about a dryad going missing ten miles or so from here. I’d developed a technique of scanning my surroundings for teammate-type connections, and tonight I’d been lucky enough to pass Dermid and Hendry on the highway. It’d been ridiculously easy to make a U-turn and follow them. They’d parked on the street in a residential area near the resort and just walked between two houses and onto the golf course, easy as you please.
Which meant they’d planned this. They were hunting a specific person.
I saw her right as they did. An alligator shifter. Long-lived and tough as hell. No wonder they wanted her. She was standing at the edge of the crowd, talking to three or four humans. She was dressed in golf clothes, as if she’d been playing a round this afternoon and hadn’t bothered to go home and change.
Dermid and Hendry went up to the bar, apparently trying to blend in so they could approach her. I scanned the area. The golf course was shrouded in darkness, and there were several stands of trees they could drag their victim into. The question was how they intended to get her away from the human witnesses.
Hendry faded from view, melting into the shadows around the side of the building. Dermid chatted with a group of humans to their target’s left. There. He bumped into her, spilling his drink all over himself—nice touch, not as suspicious as spilling it on her. She apologized, and, as midnight came and the humans nearby lost interest, he mesmerized her before drawing her away from the others.
I’d lost sight of Hendry, so I kept to the crowd as Dermid walked with the woman, his hands gesturing as if they were talking. Once they were around the corner, I sped up until I could peek after them. Yes, now Hendry had joined them. They’d thrown a dark cloth over the woman and were carrying her at high speed to the closest stand of trees. No human would catch a glimpse of them.
I waited to give them time to be far enough in the trees so they wouldn’t see me coming after them, then I went into battle form. Claws and fangs at ready, I ran in a blur across the short grass.
They’d gained a significant amount of distance, so I misted to get ahead of them. I reformed where they could see me, and both of them came to a dead stop. Dermid was carrying the woman, and Hendry told him, “Get her to the van!”
I grinned as Dermid ran off through the trees. I’d put a tracking device on their van. They’d almost caught me doing it in Mexico, but I’d managed to get away in time. That tracking device had led to fourluchd-òl foladying, and I hoped this one would do the same. But first, Hendry.
The fight was over quickly. More and more I was noticing poor techniques and form among them. They weren’t keeping up with their training, even though they all knew I was after them. Whoever was in charge—if anyone—wasn’t doing them any favors, not that I was going to complain.
After beheading Hendry, I left his body where it was. No one would find it in the trees for a few hours at least. I ran for my car, which I’d parked half a block from Dermid and Hendry’s van, but their van was still in place. I jogged more slowly back onto the golf course, and then I could hear it. Thrashing amid the trees near the ninth hole.
Dermid hadn’t been able to maintain his control over the alligator shifter while she was wrapped up and being carried. When I found them, she’d shifted into her alligator form, a 10-foot beast with wicked teeth and claws. Dermid was bleeding from his arm, and he hadn’t been smart enough to give up and leave. His connection would’ve told him Hendry was dead.
I crunched twigs and leaves so the shifter would hear me approach, but I didn’t give Dermid time to react. I didn’t want him shifting to mist form, and even someone who made poorchoices like he’d done would know he couldn’t win against me plus an alligator shifter.
I was on him, tearing his throat out with one swipe of my claws. The shifter went quiet, watching me carefully to see if I would attack. “Hello, there. My name’s Simon.” I put my foot on Dermid’s upper spine and tore his head from his body. “I’m no threat to you. I was after these guys. The other one’s dead too.” I sighed as I looked down at my blood-covered hands and clothes. “I don’t suppose you know which of the golf course ponds are free of alligators, so I can wash off?” I grimaced. “After I bury the bodies, of course.”
She turned back into her human form. “I’m Roberta. I can dig holes for you, if you’ll help me find what’s left of my clothes so I can get my car keys.” She glanced down at herself and sighed. “And I might need to borrow your shirt.”
I grinned. “I’ve got clean clothes in my van, no worries.”
We found her clothes, and as she helped me bury the bodies, I explained about vampires and that she should stay with friends for a few days, but theluchd-òl folahad probably already left the area.
We rinsed ourselves off in one of the alligator-free ponds, and then we went to my car where I gave Roberta a pair of my sweatpants and a t-shirt. I put on clean clothes as well.
