"I thought fights for dominance in the pack, except for pack leader, weren't to the death," I said.
"People forget," he said.
"I'll have to talk to Richard when I get back in town. He hasn't been mentioning any of this."
"Nothing to mention," Jason said. "Just business as usual."
Great. "Did anybody see who took the coffin?"
Larry answered, his voice sluggish even with the caffeine and sugar. There's only so much you can do on no sleep at all. "No one saw anybody take it. In fact, the only guy left from the night shift said, 'I just turned away for a second, and it wasn't there. Just the luggage standing there by itself.'"
"Shit," I said.
"Why take the coffin?" he asked. He drank most of his coffee. His Egg McMuffin sat untouched in front of him. They'd put hotcakes in front of me with a little tub of syrup beside it.
"Your breakfast is getting cold," Jason said.
He was enjoying himself too much. I frowned at him, but I opened my coffee. I didn't want the food. "I think the master is flexing a little muscle. What do you think, Jason?" I kept my voice casual.
He smiled at me around a mouthful of food, swallowed, and said, "I think whatever Jean-Claude wants me to think."
Maybe my voice had been too casual. I should really give up on subtlety; I just wasn't good enough at it. "Did he tell you not to talk to me?"
"No, just to be careful what I said."
"He says jump, and you say how high; is that it?"
"That's it." He ate a bite of scrambled egg, his face peaceful.
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"I don't make the rules, Anita. I'm not an alpha anything."
"And it doesn't bother you?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Sometimes, but there's nothing I can do about it. Why fight it?"
"I don't understand that at all," Larry said.
"Me either."
"You don't have to understand it," he said. He couldn't have been more than twenty, but the look in his eyes wasn't young. It was the look of someone who'd seen a lot, done a lot, and not all of it nice. It was the look I was dreading to see on Larry's face someday. They were nearly the same age; what had people been doing to Jason to give him such jaded eyes?
"What do we do now?" Larry asked.
"You're the vampire experts. I'm just Jean-Claude's pet."
He said it like it didn't bother him. It would have bothered me. I shook my head. "I'm going to call the cops, then get some sleep."
"What are you going to tell them?" Jason asked.
"I'm going to tell them about Xavier."
"Did Jean-Claude say you could tell the cops?"
I looked at him. "I didn't ask for permission."
"Jean-Claude wouldn't like you bringing in the police."
I just stared at him.
He blinked at me. "Don't do it just because I said that, please."
"He knows you pretty well for someone who's only met you twice," Larry said.
"Three times," I said. "Two out of three times, he's tried to eat me."
Larry's eyes widened a little. "You're kidding."
"She just looks so tasty," Jason said.
"I've had about enough of you," I said.
"What's wrong? Jean-Claude and Richard both tease you."
"I'm dating both of them," I said. "I'm not dating you."
"Maybe you've got a thing for monsters. I can be just as scary as the next guy."
I stared at him. "No," I said, "you can't. That's why you're not alpha. That's why you're Jean-Claude's pet, because you aren't scary enough."
Something flowed through his pale blue eyes. Something angry and dangerous. Sitting there with his forkful of scrambled eggs, and a Coke in one hand, he was suddenly different. It was hard to put into words, but it raised the hair on the back of my neck.
"Ease down, wolf-boy," I said. My voice was soft, careful. I was sitting less than a foot away from him. At this distance he could jump me easy. The Browning was an inch away from my right hand, but I knew better. I might grab the gun, but I'd never get it pointed in time. I'd seen him move before, and I wasn't quick enough. Lack of sleep was making me trusting, or stupid. Same thing.
A low, trickling growl rumbled out of him. My pulse beat a little faster.
Larry's gun was suddenly pointing past my nose at the werewolf's face. "Don't," Larry said. His voice was low and even, and very damn serious.
I eased back off the bar stool, bringing the Browning with me. Didn't really want Larry's gun to go off right next to my face.
I pointed my gun at Jason's chest, one-handed, almost casual. "Don't ever threaten me again."
Jason stared at me. His beast lurked just behind his eyes like a wave rushing towards the shore.
"You start going furry, and I won't wait to find out if you're bluffing," I said.
Larry had one knee on the bar stool, gun still pointed nice and steady. I hoped he didn't fall off the bar stool and accidentally shoot Jason. If he shot him, I wanted it to be on purpose.
Jason's shoulders relaxed. His hands unclenched, leaving the fork and the drink on the bar. He closed his eyes and sat very still for nearly a full minute. Larry and I waited, guns still pointed. Larry's eyes flicked to me. I shook my head.
Jason opened his eyes and let out a deep, sighing breath. He looked normal again, that tension drained away. He grinned. "I had to try."
I took another step back, putting my back to the wall. Out of reach, I lowered the gun. Larry hesitated, but followed my lead.
"So you tried; now what?"
He shrugged. "You're dominant to me."
"Just like that," I said.
"Would you be happier if I made you fight me?"
I shook my head.
"But I backed her up," Larry said. "She didn't do it alone."