Chapter 32

When Devin had said they were flying, Rayne didn’t realize he meant on a private jet. He had a private jet at his disposal. They’d driven in his SUV to a small airport of and from there they had loaded up his carefully packed paintings and flown to a much larger airport. How much were his paintings worth? She knew art and knew they were good—but he had a jet.

She sat looking out the window, even though he had suggested she get up and wander around. The interior of the jet wasn’t overly decorated, but it was nice enough that she knew it was a personal private jet and not one that was rented to the public.

Rayne wasn’t feeling quite right, but she didn’t want to bother Devin with it though. He was talking to the pilot. She rubbed a hand over her forehead, she felt really off today and she hoped it was just from the packing and flying. She didn’t want to spend the next few days in bed with the flu or something. Rayne meant it when she’d told him she would mingle at his opening. She had a few moments of panic at the thought of going, afraid of Aiden showing up or finding out she had been there. It had taken a bit of time before she realized that in all the years she’d known Aiden, he’d never gone across the border for any reason that she knew of, so the chances of him coincidentally showing up at a gallery show in Toronto was slim enough to push worry from her mind.

Leaning her head back she closed her eyes. She was coming down with something, her head felt fuzzy and skin felt like it was too tight. This wasn’t what she needed right now.

“Are you tired?”

Rayne almost slid out of the seat to the floor when Devin spoke a few inches from her head. She huffed out a breath. “You startled me.”

“Sorry, I thought you heard me come back.”

“I’m fine.” She took a slow breath trying to steady her heart again. “I’m not tired, just not feeling one hundred percent.”

He sat down beside her. “Can I do something to help? Was the trip too soon after your ordeal?”

Rayne shrugged. “I don’t think so, I just feel... I’m probably coming down with the flu.” She rolled her eyes, annoyed that she felt bad enough he’d noticed. “I’m kind of achy and have that numb feeling you get in your head when a virus is setting in. It might just be a girl thing though, one minute I’m cold the next sweaty...”

An odd look crossed his face. “Oh.”

It wasn’t the kind of oh that was sympathetic, it was more of an ‘oh, I know that’. Devin continued to look at her and she started to feel like she was missing an important piece of information. He picked up her hand and held it gently between his.

Rayne tried to think beyond the touch of his skin against hers, but couldn’t. She felt like a pet being soothed and distracted and didn’t like it. She pulled her hand out of his and cradled it against her chest.

Leaning back in the seat he watched her, many emotions flashing through his eyes. “What you’re feeling is normal. I don’t know the female version of it, but I know what it feels like.” He frowned, not sure what he was saying. He continued in a quiet steady voice. “I’m not sure if being close to one of your own has triggered it to move a little faster or not, but it’s possible.”

Rayne sat there still hugging her own hand, trying to understand. “What are you saying?” She didn’t give him the chance to answer when it hit her. “I’m not getting the flu, am I?”

He shook his head. Rayne knew her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, but it was the only reaction she could muster. Yes, she believed what he’d told her about his parents and what she would someday be—but she didn’t think that day was this close.

“It’s okay, Rayne.”

She brought him back into focus. “What if I’m not ready?” He gave her a look that said her body was whether she was or not. “I don’t mean the physicality of it, I mean the mental aspect.”

“I don’t think it waits for anything.”

Rayne blew out a breath, feeling overwhelmed and a little excited. Then it hit her. She sat up and leaned closer to him. “Will it... I mean I won’t... what if...”

Clasping both of her hands in his larger ones, he brought them to his warm lips. “Relax, it’s not a magic trick and presto you have four paws.” He offered her a gentle smile. “You’ll get plenty of warning in the beginning, before you learn how to control it.” She must have looked like a frightened rabbit because he bit back a grin. “I’ll be with you, I won’t let you go through it alone.”

Rayne took as much comfort in his words as she could. “How long until I can control it?”

He was silent, as if he was searching for the right words. “It varies, but women seem to learn control a lot faster than men.”

That made her feel somewhat better, if anything could make her feel better about turning into a wolf. She had nothing against animals, just wasn’t sure she wanted to be one. A little late for that, she thought sarcastically. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before opening them and looking at him again. “So, I just walk around feeling yucky until this happens? How long?”

“I can’t say.” He kissed her hand again. “If you like I could talk to one of the women and get a few more details for you.”

She nodded. This took puberty and everything you went through then and blew it right out of the water. This was serious life-altering stuff. He stood up and pulled on her hand until she was standing too. Rayne let him lead her over to the sofa on the other side of the plane.

“Sometimes,” he said in a whispered voice, “being close to another of our kind can help during harder periods.” His eyes flashed something she couldn’t label. “The animals like the close contact.”

She didn’t know exactly what he meant. He sat down and then pulled her hand gently until she was sitting between his legs, her back resting against his chest. Rayne took a deep breath and tried to relax a little. She could feel his breath on her cheek and feel the warmth of his body through her clothes, it felt like home.

He ran his hands slowly down her arms and back up, leaving a trail of goose bumps in the wake. “Is this better?”

She let out a slow breath. It was. She didn’t know why it was helping, but she felt better. “So, I just have to stay against you and I’ll feel semi-normal?”

He chuckled in her ear. “I won’t complain if you stay against me.”

“I didn’t mean in that way.”

His lips brushed her cheek lightly. “I know, I’m just teasing.”

She wasn’t in a teasing mood, she just wanted to turn the few minutes of feeling at ease to let her relax. If she was forced to digest much more of this new-in-my-world stuff, she wasn’t sure how she was going to come out of it.