The tiles beneath his feet were eaten up by his long strides as he paced the room. The weight of Drew and Alice’s stares tracked his movement. They were probably wrung out from stress and worry, especially Alice, but he couldn’t stop now. Not when he’d just discovered this vital part of himself.
“They don’t know what to think about you,” Drew responded. “No one knew what you were going to do last night. If you were going to hurt anyone. If we had to hurt you.”
Bast checked his watch. “I have a little over twelve hours to research who I am and what this all means. Less than a day to gather what intel I can to convince the Council I’m not a threat to them.”
“I’ll help you.” Alice stood near the overstocked bar area.
“But you shouldn’t have to. I’ve served them faithfully all this time, and that they would turn me away so easily is an insult. Over a hundred years of searching, and they would turn my triumph into a reason to be afraid of me?”
When others had doubted the Council could exist, a cohesive body of men and women whose sole purpose was the advancement of the vampire nation, Bast had stood beside them. He’d been one of the ones to insist upon a guardianship, to ensure that everyone surrounding them knew their importance. He’d been one of their fiercest advocates for a very long time. Had he really placed a blind trust in them so erroneously?
“Your best bet is to make them see that you’re not a threat. What can you do about those wings of yours? You have to admit they’re intimidating.” Drew would stand beside him, at least. Bast would have expected nothing less from his friend.
“Sexy,” Alice corrected.
Bast smiled, despite himself. “Stand back. Let me see what’s what.”
He waited until they were on the other side of the living room, far enough away that should something go wrong, they’d be in a good position to protect themselves. Not like he had any idea what could go wrong, but he just didn’t know how this thing would work.
Alice must have felt the same way, for her hand rested on top of Drew’s arm. He could imagine the pressure she applied as she waited anxiously for whatever would happen next. It was a stance of nervousness, as if she needed the anchor to keep her from doing something impetuous.
Bast waited for a twinge of jealousy to announce itself, but when his gaze met her face, only admiration filled him. She probably wasn’t even aware of her hold. Instead, Alice returned Bast’s focused look with something very similar to...wonder? Pride? Love, maybe?
God, he hoped it was the latter. He didn’t have to think too hard or too long to know he was there as well.
“You are so beautiful,” he told her. There was much more to be said. Things he wanted her to understand, but this declaration made its way to his lips first. “Alice, thank you for...” For helping him search for the lines of his lineage. For staying by his side when things started going downhill. For choosing to be with him even now when things were at their worst. “Everything. Whatever happens, I won’t ever forget what you’ve done for me. And I vow that I’ll repay you one day. Somehow.”
He took a deep breath, mostly for show. He rolled his head over his shoulders, using the motion to help him pinpoint the pull of muscle where wings met back. It took more effort than he realized to concentrate on just that singular area. He’d been spending so much time trying to get the entire wing to move, he’d never thought about the individual components.
But he recalled the conversation with Locke and his werewolves now. They implied they could shift at will and not just with the call of the moon. Bast had no idea what instigated his own shift, but if he was like the werewolves, he should be able to turn by thinking about it as well.
He tensed, gritted his teeth and focused. His eyes closed, and Bast willed his wings out of existence, temporarily. They shuddered and then...
Nothing.
“Fuck,” he grumbled.
“Try again,” Alice said softly. “They’ve gone away on their own before. Something must trigger it. A thought or an emotion, perhaps.”
She was right, of course. The morning after they’d had sex for the first time, his wings had just vanished on their own. “What were we doing when they disappeared before? Do you remember?”