And if the moon-spun hunger was that strong already, I was in for a rough but exciting week
"So," I said, trying to shake off images of mating with this vamp right there in the hall - and trying not to think of the delicious possibility of shocking Mrs. Russel's puritan sensibilities. "You obviously didn't come to your senses during the night."
"Well, that depends on how you define 'coming to your senses.'" Warmth sparkled in his dark eyes. "If you're referring to the fact that I'm still here, then obviously not. If you mean did I regain some memories, then yes."
"So you remember why you're here?"
"I told you that last night."
That he had. I was just curious as to whether he'd changed his story. "And as I said, if it's something urgent, just go to the Directorate. Any of the guardians will be able to help you."
"It's your flatmate I must see."
I speared some bacon, and dipped it into the yolk. "You another of his boyfriends?"
He jerked back so quickly anyone would have thought I'd hit him. "No, I am not."
I grinned. "No offense meant. It's just that many vampires who are older than a century or two tend to swing between the sexes."
He studied me, face expressionless, eyes deep, dark pools the unwary could easily get lost in. "You are a werewolf, are you not?"
"Yeah." I tore off a chunk of muffin, covered it in egg, and ate it. Ladylike, that was me
"Werewolves are no more intuitive when it comes to vampires than humans," he said softly. "So how is it you knew I was a vampire, let alone one who was more than two centuries old?"
I shrugged. "My flatmate is a guardian, and I work with guardians. You pick up on those things."
One look at his expression suggested he wasn't buying the lie
"Can I ask another question?"
"You can ask. Won't guarantee I'll answer it."
His smile crinkled his eyes. Not only was he polite, but he had a sense of humor. Amazing
"You are not the... shall we say, typical?... shape of a werewolf."
"Meaning I've actually got curves and boobs?" Boobs that had been my saving grace when it came to job-getting in the past. Despite the fact it was illegal to discriminate, few people wanted werewolves in their employ simply because the moon cycle meant wolves were away one week in four. But, thanks to said boobs, few people ever guessed what I was
His gaze drifted upward. "Your hair is red, yet I thought there were only four packs - silver, black, golden, and brown."
I nodded. "Most people think that, simply because the number of red packs is extremely small and they're all somewhat isolated. They originated in Ireland, then migrated to the center of Australia. They mostly still live there today."
"Ireland and Central Australia are two vastly different locations."
Having visited Ireland eight years ago, I could certainly attest to that. I'd never seen so much rain in my life - at least until I'd gotten to Melbourne
"They were chased out during the race riots of 1795. England was using Australia as a penal colony at the time, but there was plenty of land to be had so that's where they went." I shrugged. "I guess after the chill of Ireland, the heat of Central Australia was a dream."
"At that time, they could have had their pick of locations. Why go to a desert?"
"Who knows?" Not me, that was for sure. Pack history had never been my strong point. But then, they hadn't exactly gone overboard to teach us - after all, why would they bother when they had every intention of kicking us out once we hit adulthood?
Some wolf packs were tolerant of half-breeds. Ours wasn't. The main reason we'd been allowed to survive at all was the fact that our mother was the daughter of the pack's alpha - and had threatened to walk away from the pack if we were sentenced to death
And yet when we had finally left, it had been as much of a relief for her as it had been for us. She loved us, we both knew that, but she'd made it very clear that she never wanted to see us again
That decision had hurt - still hurt - and yet I could understand her need to regain a normal pack life. It couldn't have been easy raising pups who were unwanted by everyone but her