Page 17 of Wolves Always Bite

“Maybeput your notebook away,”Isuggested as we pulled up beside thePinkLady.Icouldn’t imagineGagebeing thrilled to haveJeremyscribble down notes during our meeting.And, for some unknown reason, it was important to me that they got along. “Youcan leave your backpack here, if you want.”

Jeremyfrowned but tucked his notebook into his backpack. “Areyou leaving me here to find my own way home?”

“No.Unlessthat’s what you want.”

Jeremynarrowed his eyes at me, as if to gauge ifIwas telling the truth.Thenhe nodded sharply and hopped out, leaving his backpack in the truck.Itlooked likeI'dhave a traveling companion for a little longer.Mysteps were a little lighter at the realizationJeremywas staying.

Iliked the guy, even if some of his questions were crazy.Magicalwerewolf jizz?WherehadJeremycome up with an idea like that?Istifled a laugh.Ialmost wished the others had been there for that part of the discussion, because everyone should know humans thought werewolves had magic dicks.

Themotorhome door was open, soIclimbed inside.

Igagged at the overwhelming stink of the place.LikeanywhereGagespent too much time, the place reeked of brimstone and ash.WhenI’dfirst met the demon, the smell bothered me.Afterall these years on his team though,I'dgotten used to it.Usually.Butmixed in with the horsey scent ofIsaac’scentaur, and the ozone scent of magic that always surroundedTeague, well, let's just say there was a reasonIliked having my own truck.Nelsonwas the only neutral.Likehis magic that let him blend into shadows, his subtle scent got lost beneath the others.

"Opena window or something,"Icomplained, purposely standing close to the door asIwaved my hand through the air. "It'srank in here."

Nelsondutifully cranked open one of the windows at the table where he sat withTeagueandIsaac.Theothers ignored me and stared atJeremy, who was right at my heels.

"ThisisJeremy,"Isaid asIgestured for the guy to take a seat in the swivel chair behind the driver's seat.Gagewas already seated in the chair closest to the door, like he wanted to haveJeremysurrounded by supes and cut off from the exit just to see how he would react. "Hegot caught up in all this andIdidn't think it was safe to leave him withBabette."

"Human,"Gageclarified for the others.Hisgaze did that creepy red swirly thing as he stared atJeremy, which meant he was assessingJeremywith his demonic magic.Hisearlier stare down ofJeremymust have just been a quick check to make sureJeremydidn’t intend to do us harm.Gagecouldn't read everything a person was thinking, but he could find out enough.Whenhe finished, he glanced at me and raised his eyebrow and his lips twitched.I’dbet he’d just discovered the whole magical jizz and baby making thing.

Jeremywaved at everyone with a giddy smile on his face. "Hello.Yep.I'mJeremy.JeremyCrane.Andas far asIknowI'mone hundred percent human."Hisgaze bounced over the others, as if waiting for them to introduce themselves.Itried to figure out what he was thinking as he studied us.

Theonly one who smiled and introduced himself wasIsaac.Hiscentaur form didn’t reveal itself until he shifted, so he looked like a laid-back college student who was more interested in parties than academia.

TeagueandNelsonglanced at one another, then back atJeremy.Theydidn’t say anything.ForJeremy,Idoubted they’d appear non-human either.Teagueas a death mage didn’t have an alternate form, not like us shifters, so even when he used his magic his physical form didn’t really change.Hehad a boy-next-door energy about him, right down to the clean-cut way he styled his auburn hair.Nelsonwouldn’t look different from a regular human either, but with his dark, almost black hair and eyes, most humans took one look at him and decided he was a bad boy who didn’t care about morals and was either going to kill you or fuck you hard.Maybeit was his looks combined with his constant scowl and love of black clothing that made people think that.Butnot everything was as it appeared, becauseNelsonwasn’t sinister.Gagewould never have let him on the team if he meant anyone harm.

No, the only one who’d appear to be anything other than human, even to other supernaturals, wasGage.Oncesomeone saw under the glamour, his horns were always there for people to see.Whenhe transitioned into his demonic form, his appearance became more stereotypically demon-like with red skin and eyes, black talons and wings, and a larger, more muscular body.EvenIfound him terrifying when that happened, andIknew he’d never hurt me.

Irolled my eyes after a moment when no one spoke up afterIsaacintroduced himself.Ipointed at each person and gave their first names.Jeremystared intently at them, as if trying to determine if they were supernatural beings or not.WhenIfinished,Jeremynodded and sucked in a deep breath like he was calming his nerves.Notthat he looked scared or worried.No, not this guy.Hewas bouncing excitedly in his seat, eyes sparkling and toes tapping.Butas soon as he inhaled, his nose wrinkled.

“Youneed to check your eggs;Ithink some of them might be off.Thereseems to be a lot of that going around today.”

Weall stared at him.

“Whatdo you mean?”

Jeremyshrugged. “Therotten eggs.Thebooth at the farmers’ market had that same smell first thing this morning.Ithought eitherBabettemight have farted or one of the vendor’s brought rancid food, but nowIsmell it here too.Ifyou don’t have eggs, maybe there is an industrial plant close.Idon’t know.”

Weall glanced atGage.Thesmell of brimstone usually meant there was a demon nearby.Thesmell must have dissipated by the timeIarrived, so the demon must have left.Butwhy would a demon bother with the goblin’s boxes of stolen magic?

“Didyou see anyone at the booth when you smelled that?”Iasked.

“JustBabette.”Jeremyshook his head.Hishead was cocked slightly to one side, like he knew he’d missed something and was trying to figure out what. “AlthoughIhad been away from the booth before that.Someonemight have been there whenIwas gone.”

"Adrian, go over what happened."Gagesteepled his hands in front of his mouth and listened quietly to my debrief.

"Youcan smell magic?"Jeremyasked afterIwas finished. "That'sso cool.AlthoughIbet your extra strength sniffer sucks balls when you get close to those portable toilets, hey?"

Nelson'smouth twitched.Ididn't bother answering because the answer was obvious.

"Andthe boxes?"Gageglanced at theJahaller, who stood stiffly on the kitchen counter.Thelittle guy already had a healthier tone to his skin.Atleast his lips were moving a bit, as if he was trying to smile.Iwas sureGagewould have offered to heal him, but the guy must have turned him down.EvenifGagehad only suggested a miniscule payment for his help, whichIsuspected he would in this situation, not everyone wanted to be indebted to a demon.Ifit was possible, he wouldn’t have asked for any payment at all, but that would throw his magic out of balance and that was the last thing anyone wanted.Itwas usuallyDavinawho watched over how he spent his magic, but when she was away, the rest of us shouldered that responsibility.

"Inthe back of my truck.Ihaven't opened the second box yet."

Gagepanned his head towardJeremyand stared at the human again.Hiseyes weren't red this time, butGagereleased some of his power.Thestench of brimstone strengthened.

"Holyshit.That'sintense,"Jeremymuttered as he gave himself a shake. "What'sup, horny dude?"