Sean leaned back and took another swallow of tea. "I fought them on it as long as I could, and when I couldn't anymore, I finished out my time and got out. When I first got to my permanent-duty station, a buddy and I went in together on a restaurant. Nothing fancy, just a good solid lunch place that served Korean food. It had a good location and it did well. When I got out, it had two other locations and was turning into a small chain. My buddy bought me out. With what I put away and the buyout, I had about five years or so to figure out what I wanted to do. Thought about going private, but I'd worked with contractors before and I didn't like it. Something rubs me the wrong way about the soldier-for-hire gig. I'd been through Texas a few times, and I enjoyed it. So I picked a small town, bought a decent house, and tried being a civilian to see how long I would last. And then some alien piece of shit came into my territory and started killing dogs and people, so here we are."
That was the longest I've ever heard him speak. It must've been rough to keep looking and looking and never finding that right spot, that place that said home.
"Even a generation later, with all the opportunities in the world, still a soldier. The genetic programming held in the next generation." Wilmos studied him. "They didn't tell you about Auul?"
Sean shook his head.
Wilmos sighed. "I can't say I blame them."
He turned to me.
"Are those Anansi pearls in your cart?"
"Yes."
"What are you going up against?"
"A dahaka," I said. Why not? Maybe he knew something about it.
"A nasty breed. Need all the ammunition you can get."
He glanced at Sean. Sean was looking at the corner again, at the scale armor.
"Why don't you take a closer look?" Wilmos said.
Sean rose and walked over to the armor. "What is it?"
"Auroon Twelve. Stealth armor, made specifically for alphas."
"It looks..." I searched for the right word.
"Flimsy?" Wilmos nodded. "It's nano armor. Meant to fit under your skin. Once you put it on, it never comes off. Every alpha wore some version of it. They used to say you don't wear the armor, the armor wears you. It's designed to change with your body, any form, any shape. Ever seen your mother or your father show tattoos on their necks when they're upset?"
Sean nodded. "Sure."
"Then you know when the tattoos show, you're in trouble. It's an instinctual response. When you're angry or threatened, the armor expands to cover vulnerable areas. It's calling you, isn't it?"
"Yes," Sean said.
"Is it for sale?" I asked.
"No. But it can be had." Wilmos smiled at Sean. "If you want it, it's yours. I have no use for it. But sometime in the future I might call on you for a favor, alpha. That time may come never or tomorrow."
Sean thought about it.
"Take it," Wilmos said. "It's a good trade."
"No. It's a bad idea." I knew he would never take it. Not in a million years He didn't trust Wilmos and it was a sucker's deal...
Sean held out his hand. "You've got a deal."
Wilmos shook it. "Good. Take your shirt off. We'll get it fitted."
"Sean...," I said.
He looked at me. "I don't know why, but I have to have it. I can't stop myself."
"It's a built-in compulsion," Wilson said. "Don't worry. Once it's on, the feeling will pass."
"If it's a compulsion, it might not be a good idea," I told him.
"I know." Sean's eyes were open wide, his pupils so large that his irises looked completely black.
"It will be useful to you. I promise," Wilmos said. "You'll feel better."
He turned off the force field. Sean stepped forward, pulled off his shirt, and touched the shiny scales. The metal melted, wrapping around his fingers. Thin streaks of gray slid around his arm like metal snakes, over his shoulders, over his chest... The metal expanded, coating him, and broke apart into a thousand tiny metal dots. For a second nothing happened, then the dots moved as one, piercing Sean's skin.
He screamed, a guttural, brutal shout that turned into a roar.
His back arched, his shoulders gaining bulk. His flesh whipped around him in a furry whirlwind and a huge werewolf stood in Sean's place. I had forgotten how big he was.
Wilmos blinked. "That's one hell of a wetwork shape."
Werewolf-Sean growled, displaying huge teeth.
"Feel the armor move through you," Wilmos said. "Let it bond. It will make you stronger. You should feel some feedback right away, but the complete merger will take time. Give it twenty-four hours and it will be in your bones."
Sean turned. Armored plates formed under his skin on his chest, guarding his pectorals and the flat ridges of his stomach. The armor melted and the bulk of it shifted to his shoulders, forming pauldrons. His neck thickened. He snarled. The fur vanished, his body slimmed down in a blink, and human Sean was back. Swirls of dark blue-gray pigment crisscrossed his chest and stomach like tiger stripes. He looked down at himself. The pigment moved.
"That's it," Wilmos said. "Shape it."
The pigment melted and turned into a tribal design that covered most of Sean's torso. It wrapped around his ribs, flowed onto his back, and settled.
Sean exhaled.
"And now you're ready for battle. Good luck, soldier."
Chapter Sixteen
When we came back, Arland was waiting for us in the kitchen. He'd found the guest laptop I'd left in the room for his convenience and was reading something on the screen. A cup of tea with small roses on it sat next to him. The air smelled like mint. Even in a white T-shirt and jeans, Arland didn't fit into the kitchen. It was like walking into your room and finding a medieval knight with the face of a superstar casually sipping tea from your flowery porcelain cup.
The vampire saw Sean. His eyes narrowed. "Did something happen?"
"No," Sean told him.
Arland studied him. "You look different. You look larger." He inhaled. "And your scent has changed. Something did happen."
Something happened all right. Sean hadn't said a word after we left the shop. He did look larger, better defined, as if he'd gained about ten pounds of muscle and it all went to the right places. His eyes, more golden than amber now, looked into the distance. He was wandering somewhere inside his head, and antagonizing him right now wasn't wise. Somehow I didn't think that he'd respond with werewolf poetry. He kept shrugging his shoulders as if he wanted to test them out.