He’d said he wouldn’t hurt Aden, but would he help her help him? She could use all the help she could get, and she did trust him. Sighing, she told him some of what Aden was going through. “I think we need to find out, if at all possible, exactly who the people inside him are. The best place to start is with Aden’s parents. From there, we can find out where he was born and who was around him. Only problem is, I don’t know who his parents are.”
“Call and ask him.” He nudged her with his shoulder.
For a moment, she remained unmoving. He’d purposely touched her. And his skin, even through their clothing, had been hot. Wonderfully hot. “I can’t. He lives at a ranch for kids who’ve been in trouble with the law and stuff. A phone call from a girl could maybe get him kicked out since he’s not supposed to think about dating, but about improving his future.”
“You told me you weren’t dating him.” Riley said it quietly, but the words were no less intense.
“I’m not. I was just explaining what the man in charge of his care might think.” Why did Riley care if she was dating Aden? For the same reason she cared if he was dating Victoria? Don’t think about that now. She pondered her options with Aden and almost clapped when an idea took root. “You could visit him without causing any problems. You could ask him about his parents for me.”
Riley was shaking his head before she finished her sentence. “Hell, no.”
“Please. You can run to him and run back to me in no time. I’ve seen how fast you are. Please,” she repeated. “Helping Aden will be beneficial to me, as well, you know. The more we learn about his abilities, the more we could learn about mine.”
He scowled. “Stop batting those lashes at me. I’m immune to feminine wiles.”
She was batting her lashes? And she had wiles? She wanted to grin. “I could find out tomorrow at school, I guess. I probably won’t get any sleep tonight, my mind will be so active. And of course, lack of sleep will affect my English test, which is sure to bring down my perfect grade. But I’m sure I’ll get over it. Eventually.”
For a long while, there was only silence.
“I am such a moron.” Riley scowled at her and stood, striding to the bathroom to remove his clothes. “You’ll owe me for this,” he called.
So she really did have wiles. This time, she wanted to laugh.
ADEN HAD THE PAPERS he’d printed off at school, research about Vlad the Impaler, hidden in his geometry book as he lounged on his bed. This was his first peaceful moment since returning home. He’d had homework to complete and chores to do. During said chores, Ozzie had threatened him again—this time with decapitation—if Aden ratted about how he was buying his drugs.
The boy had sounded desperate, and Aden figured it was only a matter of time before Ozzie tried to get rid of him. Not by killing him, of course. Ozzie wasn’t a murderer. At least, he didn’t think so. But a liar? Yeah. Perhaps Ozzie would hide drugs in Aden’s room and send Dan looking for them. Perhaps he’d just claim he’d seen Aden do something vile.
He’d have to stay on guard.
As for now, this moment, he was determined to relax. With a sigh, he buried his nose in the book. But relaxing, he soon realized, was nothing more than a dream. The more he read, the more he realized Victoria was right to fear what her father would do to him if he proved less than useful. A knife in the heart, perhaps, for that was how he would die. Or would the vampire king simply torture him, as was his habit?
Vlad Tepes, Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, Vlad the Impaler, Dracula, had been known—when he’d been human—for his cruel punishments. He’d loved impaling his enemies and leaving them out in the open to die slowly and painfully. Allegedly, he’d done this to over forty thousand men and women.
Not like Aden could really say anything. He cut the heads off corpses. Still.
Some people believed the warrior had been killed in battle against the Ottoman Empire; some believed he’d been assassinated. Bram Stoker had been the first to immortalize him as a vampire, and Aden had to wonder why. Had the two actually crossed paths?
A scratching at the window had him bolting upright. He glanced at the clock. 9:00 p.m. Could it be Victoria? She’d never come to him so early, but her father could have decided it was time to eliminate him. Had she come to warn him?
What has you so afraid? Eve asked.
“An overactive imagination,” he said, forcing himself to calm.
A paw met the glass and the scratching began again. Frowning, he stood and padded over. A stray animal?
When he saw Mary Ann’s wolf, he jolted backward.
More scratching.
So. The wolf had finally come for him. The night would only be better if Vlad decided to join the party. Aden grabbed his daggers from the insides of the boots he’d pushed against his bed.
Since Aden had broken the lock, the wolf was able to pry the window open with his paws. Aden remained in place, armed, ready. This wasn’t how Elijah had predicted his death, so perhaps he’d just be mauled. That didn’t lessen his determination to defend himself however necessary.
Rather than leap at him, though, the wolf remained outside and peered into the bedroom. A tense moment passed in silence. Then: Do you know your parents’ names?
The voice drifted through his head, but that wasn’t what held him immobile with shock and disbelief. His parents? Really? “Look, I’m sorry about your leg. I went back to bandage you up but you were already gone. I didn’t want to hurt you that day but you gave me no choice. You were going to kill me. I had to do something. Just like I’ll do something tonight if you attack.”
You and I will settle that soon, but not now. Now I need to know if you know your parents’ names.
Confusion beat against the shock and disbelief. What was going on here? “No. I don’t. They were just Mom and Dad, and I was three last time I saw them.” He could have asked one of his caseworkers for their names, but hadn’t allowed himself to do so. They hadn’t cared about him, so he wouldn’t care about them. “Now, if you want a fight, you won’t walk away unscathed.”
Could you be any more uncooperative? I’m trying to help you here.
“Yeah. Right.”
With a growl, the wolf twisted around and raced off.
MARY ANN WAS AT HER DESK running a Google search on the best way to track down a birth certificate when Riley reappeared.
He doesn’t know.
She rubbed her temples. “I was afraid of that. Did he know where he was born, at least?”
Riley had been stalking toward his discarded clothes, but stopped. I didn’t ask him.
“Oh. Well, I’ll ask him tomorrow, I guess. If he doesn’t know that either, it’ll be okay. We’re going to order his birth certificate. It’ll give us his parents’ address, as well as the hospital he was born at. I just need his driver’s license. Do you think he has one? If he does, I can get that tomorrow, too. If he doesn’t…I don’t know what I’ll do.” She pushed out a frustrated breath. “Waiting is going to be hard. I wonder if I’ll sleep, after all.”
Riley ran his tongue over his teeth and jumped back through the window.
THE SCRATCHING STARTED UP again.
Aden stormed over, ready this time. He had a dagger hidden at his side. “Decide you want a piece of me, after all?”
Do you know the name of the hospital where you were born?
This became more confusing by the moment. “No. Why do you care?”
Do you have a driver’s license? The wolf sounded irritated and out of breath.
“Yes. But I’m not allowed to drive. It’s only for identification.” He’d gotten it a few days before coming to the ranch. He’d been one question away from failing the written test, the souls “helping” him with his answers, but had aced the driving itself. Everyone had loved the illusion of freedom and had been quiet, lost in the moment.
Aden, the wolf snapped. Concentrate. I need you to give me your license.
“Why?”
Mary Ann wants to order a copy of your birth certificate. Since you don’t know who your parents are, I’m guessing you don’t have one handy.
Wait. Mary Ann wanted his birth certificate? That had to mean she believed him. That had to mean she was going to help him. He wanted to laugh—even though he’d told her to stay away from the beast, not recruit it to his cause. “No, I don’t. But I’m not giving you the license until I hear from her. I don’t trust you.”
Well, you’d better start, because she’s trying to help you and your friends and won’t be able to sleep until she has that license. I don’t like the thought of her tossing and turning.
She’d told the wolf about the souls; she’d confided his darkest secrets to his enemy. Aden waited for a sense of betrayal to overtake him, but it never did. She was trying to help him. Nothing else mattered.
“What does the name of the hospital I was born at matter? What do my parents matter?”
You’ll have to ask her.
“I will.” Aden crossed the room to his desk and dug through the top drawer for the requested item. “Here.” He held it out and the wolf clasped it between his teeth. “I don’t want her tossing and turning either. If you hurt her—”
She has nothing to fear from me, human. I wish I could say the same about you.
HERE YOU GO. Riley dropped the license in her lap.
Mary Ann bent down and hugged him. “Thank you.”
My pleasure, he said, purring against her hair.
Now that she’d seen his human form, the action made her want things she shouldn’t. Things she didn’t want to name, not to Riley and certainly not to herself. But she couldn’t help but wonder if Riley wanted those unmentionable things, as well.
Why else would he hang out with her so much? Unless…
She pulled back, a smile frozen on her face. Did she make him feel calm, as she did with Aden and apparently Tucker? Was it part of his job, something that helped him protect Victoria?
