The Undead Pool

Jenks rose up in a wing-clattering alarm as the woman I’d seen in my thoughts appeared in the doorway, her Were-soft steps silent on both the steps and in the hallway. “Holy mother of toad piss!” he exclaimed. “Give a pixy a little warning, huh?”

I didn’t know her, but clearly everyone else did, and I couldn’t help but notice David’s eyes light up. “David,” she said flicking a glance at me that was neither subservient nor challenging, and I warmed when it lingered on my hair, frizzy and full—like a red wolf’s mane. “I know the meeting is about to start, but that issue with the Black Sands has come to a head. You want me to facilitate an alliance while it might be still effective?”

David set his coffee down and stood. “Yes. Megan, come in and meet Rachel now that she’s not delirious with magic.”

Smiling, he gestured for her, and she eagerly strode into the kitchen. “It’s a pleasure,” she said, hand extended. “I saw you last night, but I was on paws and you were a little out of it.”

She was wearing my pack tattoo, and I stood, feeling a flash of guilt the mystics buzzed over until I told them it was a task I’d failed to give the proper attention to. “I’m sorry,” I said, taking her hand firmly. “I really should know everyone in the pack. I’ve been . . .” My words trailed off. Preoccupied didn’t seem to cut it, but it was hard to be involved in mundane matters when the world needed saving every three months.

Megan let go of my hand, her smile widening. “I meant to get to that last pack meeting you were at, but my youngest was graduating from kindergarten. We’ve both been busy,” she said, not a hint of recrimination in her voice. “In times of unease, alphas range far afield to shake danger to death. The pack is content. If it wasn’t, I’d pin someone.”

Pride crossed her, and I liked seeing it there. She was a good woman, and a second flash of guilt flickered and died. The mystics currently within me pondered my immediate trust. Some liked her, others didn’t, and a tiny, almost unheard faction shouted it was dangerous to like everyone just because they wore no cap.

I blinked, and David fidgeted as both he and Megan realized that I wasn’t quite with them at the moment, but I think the mystics had made a joke. Oh God, the Goddess wasn’t going to be happy. Humor?

Megan got an awestruck look, backing up a step. “When you get a moment,” she said, eyes flicking between us, “there’s a few things you need to know about. Nothing pressing.”

David nodded, and I shoved the voices away. “You’ve got me all afternoon.”

“It was good to meet you,” Megan said, and I winced, realizing just how badly I was serving my pack. Sure, I was busy with other stuff that mattered, but that was no excuse. David needed a real alpha to help him. It had never been meant to be anything but us two, but now it was more, and I needed to let go.

“You’re not staying?” I asked, and she halted, clearly uncomfortable when David winced. “I wish you would,” I added, ignoring him. “Unless there’s something you need to do.”

Her eyes lit up. “No, I’ll stay.”

Her head a little higher, her hips swaying a fraction more, she headed for a cup of coffee. Ivy snickered from her computer, and I went to David to explain. “I thought you’d rub each other wrong,” he whispered. “She has the bearing of an alpha.”

Which was why he was attracted to her, I decided, inching closer yet, glad when a flicker of irritation crossed Megan’s face, quickly squelched. “David, I’m not a Were,” I said quietly to him, and his eyes flicked from her to me. “She’s a capable woman, and I like seeing capable women doing important things. Besides, if she’s doing my job, she ought to be able to have the same info you’re getting.”

He thought that over, the first hints of regret in the back of his eyes. The pixy kids trying to stay out of sight in the hanging rack flew out without warning, and from the front of the church came a familiar hail. “ ’Scuse me,” Jenks said, following his kids. It was Edden, and I ignored David’s denial that nothing was happening between him and Megan as I looked for somewhere to go with my cup of coffee. It was going to get crowded in here, and I already felt cramped, what with the mystics and all.

“David. Ivy.” Looking tired, Edden strode in with a wreath of pixy kids and headed immediately for the coffee. “Rachel,” he said as he poured it in a mug with rainbows. “I like your hair like that,” he said, making me touch it. “Where’s Kalamack? Shouldn’t he be here?”

Yeah, I kind of thought the same thing, but it got noisy as Megan was introduced and I was hesitant to bring it up. Setting my drink aside, I went to open the window. Al’s chrysalis was still safe under its overturned water glass, and I wavered on my feet when every single mystic in me left to look at Trent’s pinkie ring, trying to figure out how something solid could cause so much emotion.