Free Blood Life Seeker by Nicola Claire Page B

the Egyptian accent unmistakable.
    “Change of plans Nero. My apartment is not safe right now.”
    That got a response. He raised his eyebrows and cocked his head, then proceeded to come forward and sit on the couch next to me. There was room for him to have sat further away, but Nero was a touchy feely kind of man, he liked a closer proximity.
    “Do tell, Kiwi. What have you been up to now?”
    Why is it that everyone thinks I get myself into trouble? I know I attract a certain amount of otherworldly attention, but it's not always my fault. Somehow, when someone asks me what have you been up to now , I get the feeling it's all because of me. All my fault and no one else's, as though contemplating that I was a mere innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time, is impossible.
    Then come to think of it, they're probably right.
    I sighed and told him all about my adventures with homicidal Taniwhas.
    “I thought you had an alliance with the shape shifters,” Nero asked.
    “I do, or at least I did. Maybe that was forfeited when they fought alongside me against Max. Maybe the alliance no longer stands.”
    “From what you have told me, Kiwi, this should not be so. The Beta has made an error. His Alpha will put this right.”
    “I wish I could be as optimistic as you, Nero. But, I saw the look in Rick's eyes.” I shuddered from the visual memory, Nero's hand came to rest on my shoulder, the warmth spreading through my body and chasing away the chill. “Jerome has issued a directive, so for now, I should be safe, but I can't get my head around why Rick would do this, how he could be so cruel. He is my friend Nero, friends don't do this to each other.”
    “You value friendship.” It was a statement, but I answered any way.
    “Yes. Once someone is my friend, they are for life. I don't take it back when it's been given.”
    “Am I your friend?”
    I turned to look at him then, really look at him. What was he asking? Of course he was my friend. He was my trainer, my link to the Nosferatin side of me. I relied on him, I counted on him to teach me what I needed to know, I enjoyed being with him. He was definitely my friend.
    “Yes.”
    An emotion fluttered across his fine features, I couldn't quite make out what it was. Relief? Happiness? Confusion? It didn't make sense, but then often Nero didn't quite make sense.
    He reached up, as if to stroke my cheek, but his hand stilled mere centimetres from my face. I fought the urge to bring my face closer to his hand, to rub it against his warm skin. I would have done it, but the look of anguish that briefly touched his eyes was enough to stop me in my tracks. I shook my head, unsure what to do. His hand fell back into his lap and he flashed me one of his trademark dazzling smiles. He uses them sometimes, I think it's a ploy to distract.
    “So, we train here tonight, Kiwi?”
    “Actually, I need your help, your advice on a different matter, Nero. It's a little more pressing than training tonight.”
    “I am all yours, Kiwi. Use me as you feel fit.”
    I shot him a look, but his face was serious, no hint of flirtation within. Nero could flirt when he wanted to, but lately that had taken more of a back seat. The more serious and intense Nero had been on display recently. I kind of missed the flirt.
    “I Dream Walked last night in my sleep. I didn't have any control, I just got sucked into it and ended up on a street in Rome.”
    Nero had stiffened slightly, his forehead was creased. “No control at all?”
    “None.”
    “Were you aware you were about to Dream Walk, or did you just wake up standing in the street?”
    “It happened suddenly, I was in a dream and fell away to that nothingness before Dream Walking, but it was a stronger pull than I usually get. I felt like my body was being yanked around on the path to the Dream Walk.
    “You were in a dream, or having a dream?”
    Trust Nero to pick up on that. “Michel visits me in my Dreams, I was with him.” Even