Chapter 57

We spent the whole afternoon playing with the dolphins, making love, eating sandwiches, and drinking champagne. It was heaven, and I didn't want to leave. I had never had so much fun in the water. Thor one, Paranoia zero.
When it started to get dark, we showered together in the main cabin and then rested a bit on his huge bed before heading in to shore. Thor steered while I helped. Which basically means that I held the wheel, and he stood pressed up behind me as he did the real steering. Lately, life had felt like a car chase and letting go of the wheel was not an option. It was almost a relief to let someone else have control for a little while.
The Sun was making its last curtain call as we approached Waikiki. It clung to the tips of the buildings; turning glass and steel into a sparkling masterpiece. From a cheap print to a priceless original, the city had a moment of supreme glory before the Sun finally left the stage. Artificial lights were already sprinkling on all over the island, but the man-made illumination seemed a cheap impostor. I was never one for worshiping the Sun—being more of the moonstruck variety—but right then, as I watched those last rays die out, a chill crawled over me, and I had the strangest feeling that I'd appreciate the Sun more when next I saw it.
I shook off the unsettling sensation as Thor docked the boat and took me ashore for some dinner. We walked up into Waikiki from the Yacht club and then into The Hawaii Prince Hotel. On the ocean side of the hotel, the lobby had a two-story wall made entirely of glass. It was beautiful, but glass walls made me nervous. Nothing to hide behind. So, I passed through the cavernous lobby; sneaking glances over my shoulder at the fragile barrier. Night had turned the glass into a mirror; making it even more disturbing. There could be monsters lining up outside, and I wouldn't know it until they came crashing through. I shook my head free of my violent musings and focused back on Thor. If I could face the ocean, I could handle a simple glass wall.
Thor led me up an escalator to the hotel's restaurant for a meal that we were both supremely underdressed for. The staff barely looked twice. It's Hawaii; casual is the dress code everywhere. You can get dolled up if you like but being underdressed doesn't earn you the same stares as it would on the mainland. So, I stopped worrying about dining in my bikini-sarong combo and just enjoyed my dinner.
It was fabulous. The food, the view, and the company. I forgot about my earlier unease under Thor's admiring stares. How could any woman keep thinking morose thoughts with that kind of attention? It's just not possible. I let it all go and allowed myself to relax.
It was one of the best days of my life; right up until I headed into the ladies room. Someone grabbed me by the hair and pushed me against the cold marble counter. My forearms took most of the impact, and I used the force of it to fling myself around and face my attacker. She was blonde and very pale.
"You think he loves you?"She spat at me. "He doesn't love you. Just look at you; you're disgusting. Fat and ugly with hair the color of dirt."
"What the hell?"It took me a second to figure it out. "Oh. Sif, right?"
"Yes, right,"she sneered and threw a punch.
I ducked and punched her in the belly. Sif made a nice satisfying grunt, and then I slammed her head into the marble and heard an even more satisfying sound. Crack.
"I don't give a shit what you think about me,"I spat into her ear as I kneed her in the stomach. "You're not the one he just had crazy ocean-sex with."I pushed her away, and she landed sprawled against the far wall. "I am."
I walked out of the bathroom and back to our table with a huge grin. It was terribly petty, and part of me was disappointed in myself, but I had enjoyed beating up Thor's ex-wife. The only problem was; I still had to pee.
Fortunately, Thor had already paid the bill so we were able to leave immediately. He raised his eyebrow when I headed into the first public restroom we came across, but he was a gentleman and didn't say anything. I wasn't sure if I should tell him about Sif or not. Would it make a difference for him to know that his ex actually was hunting me now?
As we headed down the back streets towards the Yacht Club, a growl came out of the darkness, and I automatically threw down my hands to release the blades from the gloves I wasn't wearing. You'd think I'd have remembered from my recent fight with Sif that I was completely unarmed, not even a protection spell handy. You would also think that I'd be more on my guard just in case she had followed us. And while you're doing all of this thinking, maybe you could think up a way for me to not be such an idiot.
"Damn it!"I searched the shadows. "Another werewolf."
"Froekn?"Thor glared at the shadows around us.
As I continued to scan the night, I heard a second and then a third growl. They were getting cautious and increasing their numbers. I should've been flattered I guess.
"How many are there?"Thor wondered just as a wolf launched itself at him.
"Thor!"I screamed, but the wolf wasn't actually after Thor.
He kept sailing over Thor's head and landed on me; knocking me to the ground. I felt the asphalt tear into my back and hissed as the road-rash spread, but my main concern was the wolf snapping at me from my chest.
I had raised my arms as I fell so he didn't get my throat, but he was snapping at my arms and clawing up my belly. The sharp tang of my blood was already in the air and the pain from multiple wounds was beginning to consume me. In seconds, I'd either be gutted by those thick claws or lose my throat to his teeth. Thor would never make it in time.
They say before you die your whole life passes before your eyes. Well, I don't know about everyone else, but my past didn't show up at all. What I saw was my future, or maybe it was just what I hoped my future would be. I saw everything I wanted to do, places I wanted to see, and people I hoped to meet. I saw the children I'd never have and felt a great despair that they'd never be born. Which was weird since I wasn't even sure I wanted children. In fact, my lifestyle worked against it. Then I saw Thor and the kind of father he'd be to those potential babies.
All of it flashed by in a second and before it was through, the wolf was off me; dangling in the air above me. I looked up—a little shocked to be relatively whole—and saw a werewolf shaking the wolf as if he were a bad puppy. In the shadows around us, more wolves crept; snarling and snapping in our direction.
"Enough!"the werewolf growled back at them. "Don't make me kill you all to protect a human. She's mine, you smell my scent on her, and still, you've tracked her. You've brought this on yourselves. You know I'll fight you all if I have to. Is that what you want?"He threw the wolf at the others; barreling them down like bowling pins, and they rolled quickly away; whining as he continued to shout. "I don't want to, but I will. A life for a life; I'm bound."
The wolves receded, and the werewolf reached a paw down to help me up. I eyed the dangerous claws sticking out of that monstrous paw but had no reason to fear them. He'd just saved my life after all. So, I took the soft but dangerous paw, his claws closing gently around my hand, and let him help me up. Thor was standing beside us; lightning flashing not only in his eyes but also in the sky. He reached for me as I regained my feet.
"Vervain, I'm sorry I failed you."Thor pulled me against him, and I hissed in pain when his stomach brushed mine. "Shit,"he swore and pulled away. Then he bent over to inspect the cuts carefully. "They're superficial. Teharon can take care of them when we get home."
Thor looked up at me, but I was staring at the wolfman who had saved my life. Thor stood and turned to face him too.
"Trevor?"I peered cautiously into the werewolf's face.
He was even bigger than the last wolfman who had attacked me, taller and broader even than Thor, and he had a thick, beautiful black coat that shone silver in the moonlight. His muscles rippled under all that fur and although he had the head of a wolf, he practically oozed virile masculinity. Man and beast together in one fuzzy package. I knew then why Persephone thought they were sexy.
"Yes, I'm sorry I couldn't prevent the attack entirely."Trevor looked down toward his wolf feet, took a deep breath, and then stared up at me as if he'd made an important decision. "I vow it will not come to that next time. I'll defend you with my life."
"You did more than enough."I reached out a hand to him and after a moment, he gave me his paw. "I saved you, and you saved me. Thank you for your offer, but we're even now; consider the debt paid in full."
Trevor nodded curtly, as if I'd said exactly what he'd expected me to. "We Froekn are a stubborn race, and we take our obligations very seriously. As long as the contract stands, they'll come after you. You must be more careful, Godhunter."
"We will be."Thor put an arm around my shoulder, and I rolled my eyes.
He was being a possessive ass in front of someone who had just saved my life.
"Thor,"I chided. "This is Trevor; he just saved my life. Trevor this is Thor, my well-meaning but rude boyfriend."
Trevor smiled, at least I think it was a smile, and surprisingly enough Thor smiled as well before he said to me, "I like it when you call me your boyfriend. I don't think anyone's ever called me that before."
"Okay."I shook my head. "We can talk about your strange Atlantean ways later, but for now I'd appreciate it if you showed a little gratitude to the man who just saved your girlfriend's life."
Thor grimaced in embarrassment and extended his hand to Trevor immediately.
"My apologies and heartfelt thanks,"Thor said as they shook. "Vervain's right; I wasn't able to reach her in time. I owe you a great debt."
"You owe me nothing,"Trevor's voice was still that deep rumble. "Vervain spared me, and I spared her, but watch her well in the future, Thunderer. I can't control every wolf, and I won't be able to hold off the entire Pack."
"I'll do my best,"Thor said stiffly. "Give my respects to Fenrir."
"He'll be pleased that you sent greetings. Although, probably not in the way he'll receive them."Trevor smiled that wolf grin again; full of teeth and a shockingly long tongue. Then he nodded goodbye to me and disappeared into the night.
Yep, when the Sun came up again, I'd be happy to see it.