Chapter 2: sdwssssdw

Dawn had broken through Tasia’s bedroom window, prompting the werewolf to groan and pull the nearest pillow over her face. She had stayed up far later than she intended, most of it driven by anxiety over the picture she had sent Eulalie along with Dana’s complete lack of a response. Tasia had typed out numerous unsent text messages to Eulalie in an effort to beat around the bush, but knew that the Arachne would see right through them.

Feeling like an idiot teenager wasn’t a good fit for Tasia. Her father had found a discreet therapist to help her deal with the fallout of being exiled from the Order. The man had been good enough to dig up some long-repressed issues that stemmed from not having a real childhood. Those revelations had paired nicely with the impulsive nature of her inner wolf, meaning that she often found herself acting before thinking. The wolf inside of her wanted to make up for lost time, no matter what the human part of her desired.

When it came to Dana, both parts experienced plenty of desire, and now there was a picture of Tasia’s tits floating around the world. She groaned again and reached for another pillow, wondering if two of them would be enough to smother her out of her misery. This was what she got for acting like an impulsive college co-ed.

“Rough night?” asked someone through five inches of compressed goose down feathers.

Tasia pulled her head from beneath the pillows and saw that Aurora had come in. The woman smiled politely and set a tray down on the dresser. The tray had a plate of bacon along with some herbal tea, the smell of both making Tasia’s stomach gurgle.

“Maybe.” Tasia scooted to the edge of the bed, completely naked. Aurora, a former Order operative who has seen it all, didn’t even acknowledge this. The werewolf usually slept hot and ended up naked halfway through the night as a result.

“I figured as much.” Aurora smirked. “Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” Tasia got up and walked over to eat some bacon off of the tray. As she shoved the greasy meat into her mouth, she felt Aurora’s fingers along her left shoulder blade.

“Not even a scar,” said Aurora, who gently probed the area with her fingers. “There’s no tenderness here?”

“None.” Tasia had gotten into a fight with a Rākshasa the previous week. The bastard had been masquerading as a businessman while doing some wetwork for the Order. The man must have done something pretty bad to get on her father’s shit list, and so Alexandros had ordered a hit. Typically, Tasia healed pretty fast from her wounds, but the Rākshasa’s claws had been sharp and packed with some kind of magical venom. The demon had broken most of her ribs and properly fileted her back before Ingrid had sealed it in a binding rune, stripping away its powers.

“Does it hurt when I do this?”

“Huh?” Tasia frowned. “I don’t feel you doing anything.”

“That’s because I’m not touching you. I’m making sure you aren’t faking.” Aurora slapped Tasia’s healed wound with an open palm. “And if that didn’t startle a wince out of you, then I proclaim the injury fully healed.”

“Werewolves are good at that kind of thing.”

“It sure seems that way.” Aurora picked up Tasia’s robe and helped her slide it on.

“It feels weird, still. You being so helpful, like you’re my butler.” Tasia frowned.

“Your father has his own manservant devoted to the family. How is this any different?”

“I’m not my father.” Tasia picked up the tea and sipped it. “Chamomile?”

“Hibiscus.”

“Damn.” She wrinkled her nose. “Some of the floral scents still confuse me.”

“You can’t tell them apart?”

“Oh, I can,” Tasia replied. “I’m just an idiot who can’t remember which is which.” She smiled at Aurora. “I do, however, smell more breakfast downstairs.”

“You do. I made pancakes and sausage.” Aurora walked over to the bed and quickly made it. “I just thought you might want a little snack before eating.”

“How has some lucky man or woman not snatched you up yet?”

Aurora laughed, then fluffed Tasia’s pillow. “I was too busy climbing the corporate ladder,” she said. “Thought I had a shot at a Director job someday.”

“Director of operations?” Tasia drank her tea and frowned. “You didn’t strike me as someone who wants to get their hands dirty.”

“Facilities. I could have been in charge of a dozen places just like Paradise.”

Paradise had been where Aurora worked before. A resort for Order personnel who needed a break, the whole thing had been brought down by some betrayal from within along with a clash between two powerful naga whose lovers’ quarrel leveled the entire facility. All of that happened before the undead stormed the beaches and a kraken had helped itself to the US Navy like a kid at a candy buffet.

Dana had also been there, cracking heads and saving people. Tasia had watched some of the footage, recognizing her girlfriend immediately despite wearing a motorcycle helmet the entire time. Okay, not her girlfriend, they’d never actually put a label on it and they’d been out of contact for a year, yet—

“Hey.” Aurora threw one of the spare pillows at Tasia, who caught it subconsciously with her free hand. “You’re making that face again.”

“Werewolf problems,” Tasia lied. “It’s a whole thing, the snout tries to come out, and—”

“Uh huh.” Aurora grinned conspiratorially. “You were thinking about her again, weren’t you?”

“No. I was just ... savoring my bacon.” Tasia picked the rest of it up and jammed it in her mouth. She chewed slowly to ensure that she had an excuse to not answer any further questions.

Aurora’s eyes softened. “It’s a shame that you’re essentially on lockdown,” she said. “I’ve had my own share of what-ifs and near misses with love. There was one boy I was getting pretty serious with, but he got flagged by the Order as an intel risk and I was told to break it off. That really sucked.” The woman sighed. “The last year has been ... difficult enough that my old problems feel so small as a result. Do you know what I mean?”

Tasia had undergone her own fall from grace. After being suspected of becoming a thrall to a succubus, she had volunteered for an experimental program that turned her and several others into werewolves. She was not only the sole survivor of the program, but had been forced to flee after being framed for the murder of several agents by a demon. Rather than compare emotional scars, she decided to speak from the heart.

“Ith bin—”

“Chew your food, Tasia.” Aurora smirked and walked past the werewolf. “I’ll see you downstairs. Since you’re so hungry for bacon, I’ll fry up some more.”

“Thanksh.” Tasia managed to spit out around a thick piece of bacon. Scowling, she chomped her way through it and swallowed a piece of meat that would have choked an ordinary person. Shaking her head, she tied the obi on her robe and checked her phone again to see if Eulalie had said anything.

Disappointed at the lack of response, she just sighed and went downstairs. The small flat they had rented smelled like dust when they moved in, but Aurora and her team had cleaned it up. It was one of many “off the books” properties sold off by Tasia’s family from a couple of generations back. While the Order was absolutely thorough in ensuring that their members weren’t involved in shady dealings, they were extremely unlikely to look into shell property purchases in the 1800s.

That, and the fact that the Order no longer had their shit together meant that the odds were quite small that they’d be able to investigate anything non-digitized. From what Tasia remembered, the hard copy Archives had been low on personnel when she was still in training, and now that they were lowering requirements for mage and knight recruits, the number of researchers were at an all-time low. The Order would have to suspect that one of their upper members was actually up to something, and that simply wouldn’t be the guy who had publicly cast away his own daughter.

She looked at the black band on her wrist and smiled. It was a magical blade that her father had given to her as a sign of his support. Other than the rare training sessions she had received from him, it served as the only reminder of his paternal love.

In the kitchen, Ingrid was already dressed and reading something on her tablet. She waved half-heartedly at Tasia, who took a seat at the table across from her partner.

“Here.” She slid across a plate with half a donut.

“You’re not gonna finish this?” asked Tasia.

Ingrid frowned. “My pants were a bit tight this morning,” she grumbled. “Too much sitting around on our asses lately and not enough exercise.” Their current location didn’t have a training yard, and their lack of missions had meant that Ingrid was all caught up on some interesting shows she had found on Netflix.

Tasia stared at the donut for roughly two seconds before shoving it in her mouth. She grinned at Ingrid. Being a werewolf had its own problems, but being able to eat whatever the hell you wanted and keep an athletic figure was a definite plus.

“Any word from your person?” asked Ingrid. “If not, you might want to give her another call. We need to know sooner rather than later where to go. I’m willing to bet that we won’t be the only ones going after it.”

“Ummm...” Scowling, Tasia pulled out her phone again. She let out a sigh and sent Eulalie another text. Setting down her phone, she managed to pack away several pancakes as well as some more donuts that Aurora had bought. Ingrid kept throwing the werewolf dirty looks, then eventually got up with her coffee and left.

Aurora, who had finished serving everyone, took Ingrid’s seat across from Tasia to eat her own breakfast. The werewolf looked up at her and smiled. She couldn’t help but notice the way that Aurora twirled a lock of hair, or how she tugged at her own collar while quietly reading something on her tablet. When she pulled on the fabric, it caused her blouse to shift, revealing just the edge of her bra.

“I’m, uh...” Tasia stood up from the table, causing Aurora to look up at her. “Gonna go get dressed now.”

“Okay.” Aurora went back to her tablet. Tasia walked away, making sure to tighten the belt of her robe as she quietly went back up the stairs. Occasionally her thighs would rub against each other, sending a small shockwave through her pelvis.

Back in her room, she opened up her robe and let out a sigh as she slid her fingers down through the thick patch of hair on her groin to tease at the swollen folds of her labia. Her clitoris immediately popped free, and she squeezed the skin around it, letting out a tiny gasp at the sensation.

She was horny. Thinking of Dana all night had lit a fire inside of her, and now was the time to put it out. Doing an awkward waddle across the room toward her bed while flicking the bean, she finally fell onto the mattress. Rolling onto her back, she let out a sigh as she frantically fingered herself.

Tasia was just building up some steam when someone knocked on the door. Letting out a hiss of frustration, she slammed her legs together around her hand.

“What?” she growled, her canines elongating.

“Your phone just buzzed,” said Aurora. “I think your contact just replied. Can I come in?”

Scowling, Tasia sat up and adjusted her robe. “Yeah,” she replied. Doing her best not to give Aurora any attitude, she took the phone from the human and unlocked it. Sure enough, there was a response from Eulalie.

“Huh.” She clicked the link and frowned at the phone.

“What’s wrong?” asked Aurora.

Tasia chuckled. “Nothing,” she said. “Can you tell Ingrid to be ready to leave? We have a meeting set up.”

“Really? I can start the computer in the living room, just let me know what program she’s running so that I can get our VPN enabled to bypass any tracking protocols.”

This time, Tasia laughed. “It won’t be necessary. The meeting is in person.”

“Huh?” Aurora blinked. “Is your source staying somewhere nearby?”

“Something like that. Let me get dressed and we can be on our way.”

“I’m coming with you,” said Aurora. “In case you need backup.”

“We won’t,” Tasia replied. “It’s not dangerous.”

“I haven’t left this place in two weeks and am really fucking bored.” Aurora grabbed Tasia by the hand and begged. “Please take me with you.”

“Fine, fine.” Tasia pulled her hand away, hoping that Aurora wouldn’t notice the faint musk that now clung to them. “Your fingers still smell like bacon grease. You should wash your hands or that’s all I’ll smell once we get there.”

“If it means getting out of this place for an hour, I’d shave my damned head.” Aurora practically skipped out of the room, leaving Tasia behind.

The werewolf dug through her wardrobe to pick out an appropriate outfit, then sent Eulalie a message informing her that Aurora was coming along as well. She got a Thumbs Up emoji in reply, but nothing else.

“Okay,” she muttered quietly to herself. It had been quite the shock to learn that Eulalie was actually an Arachne, but times had been desperate and she hadn’t really had much of an opportunity to freak out. Ingrid and Aurora? Plenty of both.

However, that was Eulalie’s choice, not hers. The last thing she was gonna do was remind the Arachne that she had eight legs and was supposed to be extinct.

Once Tasia was dressed, she walked downstairs where Ingrid and Aurora were waiting. The mage nodded at her and gestured toward the front door. Aurora held a binder close to her chest, which was likely for note-taking purposes. She had changed her clothes as well and was now in a blazer with a matching skirt.

“So where are we off to?” she asked.

“The attic.” Tasia smirked and pointed back up the stairs.

“What?” Ingrid frowned. “There’s nothing in the attic.”

“And you’re still correct. C’mon.” Tasia led them upstairs to the hallway outside of Ingrid’s room where a hatch had been installed in the ceiling. She jumped up and grabbed the ring to pull it down. “Go on up,” she said.

“I don’t understand. Did you let someone in earlier?” Ingrid looked at Aurora.

The Hawaiian shook her head. “I’ve seen nobody else today,” she replied.

“It’ll make sense if you just go up.” Tasia shooed both of them up the ladder and followed. Once in the attic, she retracted the ladder and pulled the hatch shut. They should have been plunged into darkness, but a faint light glowed behind a stack of boxes toward the back.

“This is some Narnia shit,” Ingrid muttered as she walked toward the light. The others followed, and they discovered a glowing portal in the wall. Ingrid paused to inspect it, then turned to Tasia. “This is like what we saw all over Hawaii. We had reports of rats that could do it.”