When the Dead Come Home Read online

  We chuckled. Asher wouldn’t get to leave that couch until Miles understood everything he had to watch for with Asher as a new werewolf.

  “Then let’s order some pizza.” I pulled out my phone to call. “I’m starving.”

  “Don’t order pizza,” Asher shouted from the living room. “I’ll make a couple.”

  I went still. Asher had always had amazing hearing but now, how far could he hear? “Okay. I guess he’s not pretending to not hear us anymore.” I set my phone down. “Is Zeke coming?”

  The twins shared a look.

  “Probably not. He’s dealing with some stuff.” Ethan turned back to me. “I thought you two were talking to each other?”

  I reached into the cookie jar and pulled a few more out. “We are, but I haven’t seen him lately.”

  Isaac shrugged. “He sent Miles his schedule for school earlier this week.”

  “Miles will fill him in.” Ethan bounced his heel off the cabinet under him.

  The door to the kitchen opened. Miles came through the door and spied the cookies. Angled jaw, high cheekbones and wavy brown hair. Miles was cute. His rimless rectangular glasses only made him look older and, well, yummy.

  “Asher is ordering pizza,” Miles announced as he met my gaze with warm eyes.

  I gave him a welcoming smile even though he’d been rather stand-offish since we came back. He kept our talks light and if I asked if he was alright, he’d change the subject. Very not the Miles I knew, but he kept refusing to talk about it.

  “Wait, what?” Isaac turned to him as the door closed.

  Miles pushed the glasses up his nose. “Apparently, Jessica has been staying with friends the last few days. She’s coming home in a couple of hours and cooking would take him too long.”

  Well, that made sense, but… “Why has she been at her friend’s house?”

  The door opened as Asher came in and spotted the open cookie jar. His gaze narrowed on me. “Already at the cookies?”

  I smiled my wicked grin. “Not me, I’m innocent. It was the twins.”

  Asher shook his head as he came around the island and snagged the jar from us. “I don’t buy that for a second.”

  Everyone chuckled.

  “Also, I don’t know why she’s at a friend’s house.” Asher set the jar down away from us.

  “She stayed with us a few nights while you were gone.” Ethan turned to Asher. “She said she kept hearing weird noises outside.”

  Miles’ brow furrowed together creating a wrinkle. “She said the same thing when she called and asked if she could sleep in Asher’s room at my house.”

  I raised an eyebrow. Jessica wanted to sleep at Miles’ house. That was beyond strange. I pulled out my phone and texted Zeke.

  Alexis: Hey, did Jessica ask you to crash at your house while Ash was gone?

  It didn’t take long for him to respond.

  Tough Guy: Yeah, two or three times a week. Sylvie ended up crashing at Asher’s a few times.

  I read his answer out loud then looked up at the others.

  “So, between all of us, she had someone spend the night or slept elsewhere most of the month?” Miles asked, a wrinkle forming between his eyes.

  The twins nodded.

  “That’s weird.” Asher rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll ask her about it tonight. So, what did I miss while I was gone?”

  “Most of the supernaturals in town have found places to live,” Miles began, tapping his fingers along the counter. “Except a couple of shifter families and the vampires.”

  “Dupont is still at your house?” Asher raised an eyebrow.

  Miles nodded. “Spring Mountain isn’t a big city like New Orleans. It’s harder to buy a place or even rent one if you can’t go out during the day.”

  Ethan shook his head. “I still don’t like that he’s at your house.”

  Miles scratched his chin. “I’ve already had an offer accepted on a large piece of property for them just outside of town. After it’s in my name, I’ll sell it to Samuel and his vampire nest for the same price.”

  “How long is that going to take?” Isaac asked before he crossed the room to the pantry and opened the door.

  “They’ll be out this week,” Miles stated.

  “What have they been doing for blood all this time?” Asher asked as Isaac came back to stand next to Ethan and opened a large bag of chips. My stomach growled, reminding me it had been a while since breakfast and those cookies weren’t going to do it. Ethan took a handful of chips before he handed me the bag.

  Miles sighed. “They have several donors.”

  The room fell silent.

  “What do you mean donors?” I asked before pulling out a handful of chips and passing the bag to Isaac.

  Miles pushed his glasses up his nose. “There are some people who they pay to let them drink their blood.”

  I stopped chewing. “Seriously?”

  Miles nodded.

  “And they’re in your house too?” Isaac asked before popping a chip into his mouth.

  Miles shook his head. “No. I drew the line there. They go to meet them out of town for a feed from the vein. Otherwise, they drink from a bag.”

  Asher eyed Miles. “You’ve been talking to Samuel.”

  Miles sent me a look. “He’s a great source of information on vampires. Besides, I’m not the only one.”

  Asher’s gaze went straight to me. “Ally? You’ve been hanging out with that vampire?”

  “We’ve had movie nights at Miles’ house in the last month that did involve Sam and a couple of his vamps.” I shrugged. “I’ve gotten to know him a little.”

  Asher’s head snapped around, his gaze darting to the kitchen door. I was about to ask what was wrong when it was pushed open.

  A tall, bulky figure moved through into the kitchen. Zeke was a mountain of muscle. Six foot five, he towered over most of us. His wide jaw and wide cheekbones gave him a dangerous look. But in truth, Zeke was… well… Zeke. And the black scruff along his jaw did interesting things to my insides. His ice blue eyes met mine making me smile.

  The corner of his lips quirked up before he moved out of the doorway and put his back against the wall. “Hey.”

  When I pulled my gaze from him, I finally noticed the others. Asher’s eyes were a little wider. Ethan and Isaac’s jaws might as well have been on the floor. Even Miles’ face was blank.

  Not understanding, I turned back to Zeke. “Hey, you.”

  His eyes grew warm, his face softened a tiny fraction.

  “Hey,” Ethan said, his jaw lifting off the floor. “I… we didn’t expect to see you tonight, man.”

  Zeke lifted his left shoulder and let it drop back down.

  Everyone seemed to struggle to go back to normal as Asher turned back to me.

  “You haven’t been alone with Samuel, have you?” Asher asked, bringing us back to the topic.

  I tilted my head to the side. “What are you worried about, Ash?”

  “I don’t want any of you getting bitten.”

  I grinned. “Neither do we.”

  Asher’s shoulders relaxed.

  Miles shifted, drawing my attention. “But to answer your original question, they’ll be moving out soon.”

  I smiled. “Then you’ll have your house back.”

  Miles’ eyes shifted away from me to the sink. “Not exactly.”

  Asher eyed Miles. “Let me guess. Lucy. She’s still at your house?”

  Miles lifted his head. “Yes.”

  I went still as the guys shook their heads almost in unison. Lucy was a genius alchemist from New Orleans. She’d lost almost everything in the fire that took the safehouse. Apparently, she had been living there for some time. When she had nowhere to go, Miles offered her a place to stay until she got back on her feet. That was over a month ago, and she was still in his house. And she was pretty. I started tapping the heel of my foot against the cabinet door.

  “You need to give her a deadline to mov
e out.” Ethan popped another chip in his mouth.

  Asher nodded. “Otherwise, she’s just going to stay there.”

  Miles nodded. “I know you’re right. I just… feel bad. She lost everything in the fire.”

  “She wasn’t the only one,” I reminded him.

  Asher met my gaze as we both remembered Louis. The necro had died in the same fire.

  A dark silence fell in the kitchen. It was almost palpable. I chewed on the bottom corner of my lower lip.

  The twins continued snacking as the awkward silence settled in the room. Miles shifted his feet while Asher cleared his throat. My shoulders grew tense just waiting for someone to say something about the elephant in the room.

  “So, did everyone get their class schedules?” I asked, mostly to break the silence I’d created. Everyone jumped at the topic and pulled out their schedules.

  By the time the pizzas arrived, I learned that I had one of them in almost every class this year. Miles answered the door while I followed Asher and Ethan into the family room with napkins. I started to go for the couch with Asher, but I hesitated. Where should I sit? Was it going to cause a problem between the guys?

  Isaac stepped through the family room doorway carrying paper plates. He glanced around the room before looking down at me with a glint in his eyes. “You should snag Zeke’s chair while you can.”

  I smiled up at him. I loved that twisted side of him.

  He winked at me before moving into the room and setting down the plates on the coffee table. I moved around the coffee table and sat in the armchair next to the couch and Asher. Isaac passed out the plates before sitting down in front of the tv on the floor. Zeke strolled into the room and spotted me sitting with my feet crossed under me in his usual chair.

  I grinned happily while he narrowed his eyes at me before taking the armchair beside mine. The scent of engine grease reached me as he settled in. My fingers itched to tangle with his. Miles brought the pizzas and set them on the coffee table.

  “Eight pizzas?” My eyebrows shot up. “Why'd we order so much?”

  “I eat more now, remember?” Asher answered as he opened the box on the top.

  “Oh yeah.” I leaned forward and started handing out napkins.

  Ethan reached out to grab a piece of pizza.

  A growl rumbled from Asher’s chest, freezing everyone in place. Ethan raised an eyebrow and pulled his hand back.

  Asher’s cheeks tinted pink. “Sorry, it’s a… wolf thing.”

  “Alright, what do you need to get around it?” Miles asked, his voice calm, as if this stuff happened every day.

  Asher grabbed his plate and hurriedly picked up several slices as his face burned red. He handed it to me without looking at me and took my empty one. “Serve Ally first, then everyone else.” His voice was so quiet I could barely hear him.

  “So, I don’t have to wait in line anymore for you guys and your bottomless stomachs?” I asked cheerfully. I shot a fist into the air in triumph. “Yes!”

  The guys chuckled as Asher’s face cooled down.

  Everyone began grabbing slices as I settled in my chair and started eating. “I could get used to this.” I turned to Asher. “Does this by any chance extend to ice-cream too?”

  He chuckled with the others. His shoulders relaxed as he leaned back against the cushions. “It does.”

  “Awesome.” I did a little dance in my armchair. “Do I have any other powers?”

  The others started laughing.

  Asher met my gaze; that warm silver slipped through the blue. “I’ll tell you later.”

  My stomach flipped low and hard at the note in his voice before I winked at him and took a big bite of pizza.

  “So, what was werewolf bootcamp like?” Isaac asked as he settled back on the floor.

  “Exhausting.” Asher grinned. “A lot of control exercises, note taking, a lot of shifting and getting to know my wolf.”

  I turned a little in my chair to face him more. “What’s it like? Having a wolf?”

  Asher swallowed his bite. “Well, it’s like…” He put his plate on the arm of the sofa. “It’s like this stranger is living inside you. They have their own habits, their own needs. And they’re not shy about letting you know.”

  “So, what happens if you two don’t get along?” I set my slice down on my plate to grab a packet of cheese.

  He shook his head. “It doesn’t really work that way. Since the first change, we’re separate but not. It’s like he’s a more… instinctual part of me that’s also my partner.”

  Ethan grinned. “Aw, you’ve found your soul mate.”

  Everyone burst out laughing again while Asher threw a decorative pillow at Ethan. It was almost as if no time had gone by.

  “What do we need to watch out for with you anyway?” Isaac asked before wiping his lips with a napkin. “’Cause I’m assuming humping legs and mange is a bad sign.”

  Everyone chuckled again.

  “Basically, if I shift to my wolf eyes and I’m growling then back off.” Asher reached forward and grabbed a couple more slices.

  “What do those eyes look like?” Miles asked.

  “My eyes get lighter and turn into a weird blue-silver color.”

  Ethan gestured at Asher while he swallowed the food in his mouth. “Like what happened to your eyes when you started yelling at Tara. Right?”

  Asher nodded with his mouth full.

  “By the way, how is Tara?” Miles asked me from the other end of the couch.

  I lifted my shoulder into a half shrug. “She’s okay, I think.”

  “Still not talking to you?” Asher asked.

  “No, she is. Just in short sentences. I’m not worried about it.” I wiped my hands with my napkin. My cousin Tara had been camping with us last month when I accidently raised a zombie bear. That’s right. Zombie bear. She freaked out. I don’t really blame her. I turned to Asher. “I explained everything going on to Rory, so he’s up to speed on your changes and the supernaturals that have come into town.”

  Asher nodded. “Yeah, he called and lectured me about not telling him myself.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at that. “Well, you have backup to get you out of any situation in town.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So, what do you look like as a wolf anyway?” Isaac reached for another piece of pizza.

  Ethan’s head snapped up. “Are there pictures? We need pictures of you as a wolf for the scrapbook.”

  “We already missed his first run as wolf,” I added, turning to Miles. “Can you call Astrid? Ask her for pics of his next run? Save a few wolf hairs for posterity?”

  Asher shook his head at us as we broke into laughter.

  Isaac pulled out a small wrapped gift and tossed it to Asher. “Welcome home, man.”

  Asher caught it against his chest. While he eyed the twins, he began to tear at the paper. “What is this?”

  Ethan and Isaac shared a smirk before Ethan answered. “Oh, just something to help with the transition.”

  Everyone watched as our new werewolf unwrapped a sparkling, blue leather dog collar. I snorted as the guys started laughing. Even Asher joined in. All the tension from earlier disappeared as everyone lost it.

  I was wiping tears from my eyes when Ethan spoke up. “Read-read the tag!”

  Asher was still chuckling as he flipped the tag over. He started laughing even harder. “‘If found, call Alexis.’ It actually has your number.” He shook his head. “You guys are such dicks.”

  That set us off again. My stomach was hurting by the time that we settled down.

  Asher sent Ethan a look across the coffee table.

  Ethan nodded, his smile disappearing as he set his plate on the table. “Um, yeah… I’ve got something to tell you guys.”

  Isaac shifted closer to his brother and pressed his shoulder against him.

  “I’m not exactly human anymore,” Ethan announced.

  Everyone but Asher and Isaac stared at Eth
an in stunned silence.

  My heart pounded. “Um. What?”

  Ethan’s chocolate eyes met mine as he swallowed hard. “Ranulf and Astrid noticed it on the camping trip. I didn’t smell completely human to them anymore. They… they don’t know what I am. Or what the witches did to me.”

  Miles leaned forward. “Is that all you’re basing this on? Their sense of smell?”

  Ethan turned to Miles and shook his head. “I haven’t had my pain meds since New Orleans.”

  The silence was deafening. Ethan hadn’t been able to go three hours…

  Miles’ jaw grew tense. “You noticed a change two months ago?”

  Ethan nodded.

  “And you’re just telling us now?” Miles’ voice had an edge to it.

  Ethan’s eyes started to boil. “I wasn’t ready to talk about it.”

  I shook my head, trying to grasp what he was saying. “Okay, you’re not hurting, and they think you don’t smell human. That’s it?”

  Ethan glanced at Zeke then back to me. “When Zeke pushed me on the camping trip, my hand came down on a burning log. No burns.”

  I cursed. Zeke grew still.

  “Are you okay?” I asked the only thing I cared about.

  Ethan’s warm eyes met mine. “Yeah, I still feel like me.”

  I nodded, still trying to process everything. “That’s all that matters.” Why the hell had Zeke pushed him?

  Asher’s gaze was still on Ethan when he reached over and slipped his fingers around mine.

  A heavy silence fell as all eyes turned to us. It took me a full heartbeat before I realized why. I pulled my hand back.

  His fingers tightened, refusing to let me go.

  I looked up at him. “Ash.”

  His eyes refocused as he looked down at me. “Hmm?”

  I squeezed his hand, reminding him.

  Asher sighed and pulled away.

  Miles’ ears were pink as he checked his watch. “We should probably talk about the dating schedule. As before, we agreed that no one would be openly affectionate around the rest of us.”

  Everyone nodded. I resisted the urge to squirm in my chair.

  “We know, Miles.” Isaac sighed. “Lexie will have a date night with each of us every week.”

  “And it’ll be after homework, so we all still get to see her every day,” Ethan added. “We’ve talked about it a million times.”