Second question, I say. What is the Wyvern ?
Her eyes darken, and I know she doesn’t want to answer, but
It’s a drug, she says, and it finally clicks into place. A powerful one. A new one. There’s a loophole in the narcotic market every few years. If you mix together raw chemical elements, then you make a substance that can’t be illegal, because there are no laws against it yet. So the gangs sell it, as fast as they can, and they make new variants of it. Only this time . . . Kogu-Ryu made a trade deal. With Europe. When you picture the Wyvern, think of it as the biggest, baddest thing on the market. It is highly addictive, and one dose is enough to get you hooked.
What do I have to do with this ?
The raw chemical elements . . . there’s a recipe for it. The Wyvern is so addictive it will be revolutionary to the black market. The So-Cais, our rival gang, they want that recipe bad. It’s encoded, protected by a firewall made by the three best hackers in the world. And because you, you, Kaya, might be one of the only people who can get that recipe, the Cais want you kidnappedand Kogu-Ryu wants you dead. Which is why they sent me, and why we were chased by Imai.
Why do they think I can hack into the firewall ? And why I am one of the only people who can ? Surely there are others
You’re the only one left, Veah cuts in.
And I can suddenly guess what happened to anyone else who was a threat to the Wyvern.
But why do they think I can do it ? What did I do ?
Veah glances away. I . . . can’t answer that.
What do you mean you can’t answer that ? I snap.
I don’t know, Veah whispers. That’s the truth. I don’t know. I know you have an IQ of 162. I know you passed every single standardized test with flying colours. But there are rumoursthe reason they found you. You did something, something bigsomething that got their attention.
But . . . I don’t even know what I did. It has to be a mistake
Veah shakes her head once. It wasn’t a mistake. You have to remember, Kaya. She searches my eyes. Is there anything you did, anything, that could have alerted them ?
No ! I say, frustrated. It’s a mistake. It has to be. I can’t remember doing anything that would have gotten the attention of the freaking Yakuza.
Veah lets out a breath, almost . . . disappointed.
I realize, then, that she is close enough to me that our sides almost touch. My knees are curled up. Her legs are spread out in front of her.
And later, I won’t remember how it happened, but eventually my head slips onto her shoulder.
Tomorrow, we’re going to see Skullcrusher, she tells me. The one who’s going to forge a fake identity for you.
Skullcrusher ? I mumble, my eyes already closing. Sounds like a nice guy . . .
Sleep comes easily. And for the first time in a week, I don’t have any nightmares.
I dream of her mouth between my legs.
Her touch is soft, laced with simmering fire, and her lips trail down my inner thigh. Her tongue finds its way to the heat hidden there, and when she tastes that flame, she grins up at me. I’m going to fuck you now, she whispers. Hard.
At the first finger, my back arches.
At the second, my eyes roll back.
And when she begins moving, thrusting them in and out of me ? I lose all control. I abandon the rules. I just give into her touch, rough and frenzied with every ounce of tension and pent-up desire between us.
What do you have to say for yourself, Kaya ? she murmurs.
Fuck me harder, I say, and it’s blasphemy.
Her fingers inside of me force my hips to writhe. My legs begin to shake with the onslaught of pleasure, the inescapable sensation. She doesn’t stop the plunging of her two fingers within me, relentless, wringing the ecstasy from my body in glorious bursts.
And just as the climax barrels into me
I wake up.
The scent of cherry and something baking in the oven compels me to open my eyes. Breakfast is my favourite part of the day.
But then I hear voicesVeah and Ren.
Okami knows she’s here, in Tokyo, Ren says. She doesn’t know you have her yet, but you have less than a day before she finds out. She’ll wonder why you haven’t done your job.
Let her wonder, Veah says sharply.
Are you insane ? Ren hisses. You know who Okami is, don’t you ? You know what she’s in power of ? You have to come up with something. You have to talk to her before she decides she wants you dead, too.
The only thing I care about is protecting Kaya.
You know what they call her, don’t you ? The Wolf ? Veah, you’ve always been reckless, but this is another level. You’re not protecting Kaya by hiding her, not this time !
Unfortunately, at this point, they both notice I’m awake.
An easy grin spreads over Veah’s mouth. Come and eat, Kaya. I made breakfast.
Ren narrows his eyes. You made whatever is in that oven ? Um . . . I’ll be right back. I’m just going to go call the restaurant down the street and see
You are going to do no such thing, Veah tells Ren. Sit down. Shut up. And eat. She swivels towards me, pinning me with only a look.
With her hair up in a messy bun, strands slipping away to frame her face, I can see the back of her slender neck when she turns. There is a little tattoo of a bee there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her with her hair up before, and