Blood and Chocolate

"Gabriel," Lucien said, almost blubbering. "That bastard, Gabriel."

A hum swept around the circle.

Am I responsible for the state he's in? Vivian wondered. She felt slightly sick.

"Why would Gabriel do that?" Bucky demanded.

" 'Cus he's power mad," Astrid said. "He wants to beat us into following him. Do you want a leader who'd treat us that way?"

Vivian would have agreed with her any other time, but it was Astrid who had risked exposing the whole pack. That was worse than being a bully. She couldn't lead a run that size in the suburbs and expect no one to notice, and if humans noticed. . . Vivian looked around at the humans anxiously. This was too public.

Esmé echoed her thoughts. "This isn't the place, Astrid."

"Who cares what you think, bitch?" Astrid answered.

"I do," said Bucky. His eyes were narrow and dangerous, his clean-shaven face now slightly shadowed. More than half the circle muttered agreement.

Lucien grabbed his side, moaned, and collapsed to the floor. He sat there looking vaguely surprised, a bubble of blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Ain't one of you gonna get him to a hospital?" Tooley called over.

"Yeah, come on," Vivian agreed. They should get out of there before someone phoned the police. They wouldn't be going to the hospital, though; they would take him to Aunt Persia.

One of Bucky's friends put his hands under Lucien's armpits and hauled him up. Bucky grabbed Lucien's legs. They carried him to the door.

The door where Gabriel stood.

Bucky stopped dead. "Hey, man," he said quietly.

Gabriel only nodded. He stood there a moment longer, silent and dark against the glare of a streetlight outside. His fathomless eyes took in the people around the room, daring anyone to challenge him.

"It's not healthy to party with Astrid right now," he finally said in his subterranean growl. "I'd advise against it."

Vivian checked out the others who'd run with Astrid. Their faces were pale and grim. She almost felt sorry for them.

What now? she thought, but when she looked back at the door, Gabriel was gone.

Chapter 13

13

"Where are you going, looking so pretty?" Esmé asked.

"I'm meeting Aiden," Vivian told her.

The smile left Esmé's face. "Baby, I know you're lonely for kids your own age, but I wish you'd be careful. If you gotta wag your tail, wag it for one of the Five."

"The Five are jerks."

"But they're our jerks. You know what to expect from them."

"I know what to expect from Aiden." She thought of his gentle caresses and his dreams of magic.

"But he'll never know you, not really."

Vivian opened her mouth to speak, then clamped it shut.

Esmé must have read the argument in her eyes. "Don't even think about telling him about yourself," she said. "That would be the stupidest thing you ever did in your life. If the pack found out, you'd be cast out in case you brought danger back  to the den. How would you like to lose everyone you care about and be alone in the world? And if what you did led to death ..."