Page 10 of Bonded By Blood
Trista pursed her lips and stepped away in contemplation.
Brianna held quiet as she let her mother think.
“Very well,” Trista finally said, facing her again. “I’ll consider that possibility still.” She crossed her arms. “I want you to keep in touch with him, Brianna. One way or the other, it’s possible Tobias will come for him. Or perhaps through him we can learn something more of their motivation.”
Brianna frowned. “You want me to use him, you mean.”
“Well if he was involved, it would defeat the purpose for you to come out and tell him what you’re after,” Trista replied.
Brianna’s stomach twisted. She wasn’t opposed to the idea of seeing Joe again, as odd as that was. But she disliked the idea of using him the way her mother suggested.
Trista narrowed her eyes at Brianna. “Are you refusing me?”
Schooling her expression back to neutral, Brianna briefly shook her head. “No, Mother. I’ll do it.” If she was the one who did it, at least she could ensure he wasn’t harmed. Her mother would send someone else, someone less patient or less polite or less peaceful. If it was her, she could find out what she needed—whatever it ended up actually being—without any violence. It might not be so bad at all.
****
For the sake of peace, Joe had agreed not to talk about the incident with the Wilson brother whose name he didn’t know. It was a vampire matter. If his werewolf friends found out about it, they’d only become angry and itchy for their own kind of solution. But Joe really only cared that he didn’t have to worry about another visit from Wilson. It made no difference to him which species handled the problem.
He knew the First Family had taken Wilson into custody, whatever that meant for them. He still felt a twinge of unease mixed with a heap of confusion when he opened his door the following evening to see Brianna standing before him.
The sun was low, but hadn’t actually set yet. Though of course that didn’t matter. What probably should have mattered was that Joe knew he’d never given his contact information to her, or to Kendall. He’d moved since the attack, so if that address had been retained it wouldn’t have helped. But there she was, on his doorstep, wearing a soft smile to go with her tasteful dark blue dress. Her blonde hair was loose this time, almost reflecting what natural light remained in the sky. Modest heels added a couple of inches to her height, though she still didn’t match his six-foot-two.
For the life of him, Joe caught himself thinking she must be the reason Hollywood always portrayed vampires as unrealistically beautiful.
“Sorry to drop in unannounced,” Brianna said calmly, her hands clasped in front of herself and holding a small purse. “I wanted to see how you were doing.”
Joe grinned and stepped aside. “Come on in, then.”
She swept past him, pausing in his entryway to wait while he shut the door. “You have a nice property,” she said. “I apologize for stalking you a little. I didn’t know how else to find you.”
Gesturing toward the open sitting area, Joe said, “You’re already forgiven. I’m just glad you didn’t send Jasen after me.” He’d met the other vampire once before, after his attack, and was certain now that Jasen was the definition of the nightmare everyone feared.
Brianna’s smile turned into a faint grin. “I’m not so cruel,” she promised. “Not without reason, anyway.” She settled on the side of Joe’s couch and rested her purse on the side table. “I don’t like violence, honestly. What happened at the market wasn’t my finest moment.”
Joe claimed an armchair across the coffee table from, and facing, her. “You gave him every chance to stand down,” he said. “The way I see it, the only way you could’ve been less … violent, if you will, would be if you’d just stood there and watched.” He offered her a smile. “Which I’m personally glad you didn’t do.”
“I’m not especially passive, either,” Brianna said with another twitch of her lips. “It’s a bit of a conundrum sometimes.” She was quiet for a couple of seconds, long enough for him to chuckle in understanding. Then she crossed her ankles and tucked them up against the base of the sofa, as if preparing to lean forward. “I have to confess to being a little curious about you, Joe Pearce. It’s not often a human considers himself friends with a supernatural being, let alone an entire pack of werewolves. How did you meet them?”
Guess it’s not surprising she’s figured out my name. She had found his address, after all. Joe sat back in his chair. “I actually met Adam, the Alpha, when he was a whopping pack of two—himself and his Beta. We met in Idaho. I was camping and they were traveling, but they’d come to a small convenience store for something at the same time as I did. The next day I found a bear on the trail I was hiking and, I don’t know, I guess it was hungry. The bear spray I’d had didn’t work worth a damn. But this massive black wolf showed up and shoved his way between me and the bear.” He grinned a little at the memory. “I already knew about werewolves and vampires and all that, so I figured the only logical explanation was that the wolf was a were. He had to shift to finally chase the bear off and I think he expected me to freak out at that point.”
“But you didn’t,” Brianna guessed.
“I think I sat down and said something like, ‘Thanks for the save, man’,” Joe replied.
She looked like she was trying not to show her amusement. “Didn’t it occur to you that he might want to eat you? Not all werewolves are friendly.”
“You’re not wrong,” Joe said, “but it didn’t cross my mind. Not until sometime later when Adam asked me why I didn’t consider that possibility.”
Brianna shifted in order to rest her elbow on the arm of the sofa. “So Adam revealed himself to you to save your life, without really knowing you.”
“Yep,” Joe replied. “And that was about when I decided to make him my best friend.”
“That is generally a good indication of character,” Brianna agreed. “But then I guess what I truly want to know is, how long have you known about our world?”
“Most of my life,” Joe said. “I met my first werewolf when I was ten. She explained a lot of it to me. More than she probably should have, in retrospect. Met my first vampire when I was seventeen. That experience wasn’t quite as pleasant as the other, but obviously it could’ve gone worse.”
Brianna sighed as if greatly burdened. Her eyes closed for several seconds. “Too many vampires take advantage of their immortality and enhanced abilities. It’s pitiful.”