Chapter 24

I knew lots of immortals had served in wars. There have always been a few humans who knew about us and were willing to make use of our special abilities. Most immortals were given special assignments rather than serving in the trenches since they couldn't afford to have humans see them regenerate if they were wounded. I was absolutely sure some of those "special assignments" had been pretty horrible. I picked up his hand and kissed it then changed the subject. "Your niece I met - she was actually your brother's granddaughter, wasn't she?"
"Yeah, the whole overlapping generations thing takes some getting used to, I guess. Mostly we just say cousin and ignore the details."
"All these years I never knew there were immortals who lived like this," I told him. "Not always moving, changing identities, living alone. It's like I've been in a box for the last century."
"Well, we do have to move and change identities now and then. The perils of being an immortal. But we have things set up so we can mostly bounce back and forth between the pack here, the one in Wisconsin and the one in Canada. That's why we always keep our last name, just changing around the first and middle ones. So we always know we belong."
"That's so cool." I sighed, leaning my head against his shoulder.
For a little while the only sound in the room was the crackling of the logs in the fireplace. Finally I said, "You know, there's one more thing about you - after all we've done together, I've never seen you as a wolf. You said you can change at will, right? Not just at the full moon." That last was a tease. Most immortals thought the Hollywood versions of our races were pretty funny.
"Right."
"Would you change for me? Let me see that other side of you?" I didn't know why I suddenly wanted this so badly, except that it was important to me to know everything I could about Jackson Marczeski. I didn't want any secrets between us. If I couldn't deal with his wolf side, I wanted to know about it now.
"Okay." He set aside the beer he'd been sipping from and stood. He kept his gaze locked on mine as he toed off his sneakers and socks then unbuttoned his oxford shirt. "You sure?"
"I'm sure." He'd seen my fangs. Seemed only fair for me to see his fur. I watched closely, enjoying the show as he stripped.
"Here goes." He stood naked in front of the fireplace, the logs cracking cheerfully behind him. The air around him seemed to blur, like steam rising from a kettle. Then in place of the man I loved stood a large gray and brown timber wolf.
I gasped. He was beautiful, strong and proud. Those eyes, still dark, still intense, watched me just as steadily as they had a moment ago. I dropped to my knees on the floor beside the sofa and held out my arms.
"Come here, Jack."
He moved slowly, gracefully into my embrace. I hugged him, feeling the thick, coarse fur, the strong muscle underneath. He swiped out his tongue and licked my face, making me giggle.
And suddenly he was human again and naked in my arms. The rest came naturally to both of us.
I saw Jack every night for the next week. Each time the passion flared almost immediately, but we finally got to the point where we could actually go out in public - as long as we'd had time to ourselves before and afterward. On Friday night we sat in the private booth at Lunatics, listening to a band featuring several of Jack's friends and cousins. The music was a little less pounding than before - this group had more of a classic rock sound - and I was actually enjoying it, tapping my foot along with the music. I had my laptop with me, as I did most nights now, and while Jack worked so did I. The arrangement was actually improving my productivity. Who'd have guessed that quiet little Ariana really craved company? I was thriving in the middle of this cheerful, noisy place.
Dani slid in across from us, a worried look on her face. She and Jess had met Jack a few nights earlier, and were being very supportive of our relationship. I was so lucky to have such wonderful friends.
"What's wrong?" I closed my laptop and studied the lines of concern around her eyes. I hadn't expected to see her tonight.
"Do you remember I told you Frederic might be looking for you?" Her eyes widened as she looked up at Jack.
"Ari told me about it," Jack assured her. "Go on."
"I think he's here in Chicago," she said. "One of the witches at the bookstore said someone had come in asking about you this morning." Dani worked nights at a Wiccan bookstore.
I gnawed on my lower lip. Even if it was Frederic, what could he possibly want with me after all this time?
"Thanks for letting us know," Jack said thoughtfully. "I'll do some asking around. He's not going to get anywhere near Ariana."
"Thanks," Dani said with a sigh of relief.
"Are you staying?" I asked her. It would be nice to spend some time with her, but I'd been looking forward to going upstairs with Jack in a little bit.
"No." She winked at me. "I've got a date of my own."
I grinned. "I'll call you tomorrow to get the details."
With a laugh and a peck on my cheek, Dani breezed out of the bar.
"Well," I said to Jack, "this is a little weird."
"You're not afraid, are you? You could move in with me, full-time."
That sounded wonderful, but I didn't want to be asked because he was worried about me. If Jack and I moved in together someday, I wanted it to be for the right reasons, and we weren't there - not yet at least. I leaned my head against his shoulder and laid a hand on his rock-hard thigh. "We'll see. I'm not really worried about it. I can't imagine why he wants to see me. He's ignored me for thirty years."
"I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." His growl was so deep it made me want to wrap myself around him and hold him close.
"I know."
We sat there for a while, listening to the music.
"So," Jack whispered in my ear, finally breaking the silence, "any fantasies left we haven't covered?"
I shook my head. He'd been so good for me this week, making me explore myself and my dreams, both sexual and otherwise. Talking to Jack about my past made me see myself in a whole new light. He'd given me an amazing gift. Even if one day he did move on to another woman I'd still have the self-awareness and confidence he'd helped me discover. I was a strong, independent vampire. I'd survived five decades of virtual slavery, followed by three on my own. If he left me I'd be devastated but I wouldn't be defeated.