Raphael (The Immortal Youth Book 1) Read Free

complained about his colorful outbursts. “I didn’t mean to curse—”
    She laughed then. “It’s okay.”
    Shifting his weight from leg to leg, he glanced at the bus controller, then back at the girl and sighed. “I don’t have a ticket.”
    “Me neither.” The girl’s smile deepened as she offered her hand to him. “Come with me.”
    A sense of déjà vu possessed him as he took her hand. All his senses went in overdrive, while his wolf roared to be let out.
    “Hurry—” She pulled him toward the back of the bus. The bus controller was almost on them when they reached the next stop. The girl jumped down as soon as the doors opened and he followed her to the sidewalk.
    “We made it—”Raphael’s joy didn’t last long.
    On the other side of the street, the demon was waiting for him. The Controller must have run the three blocks at full speed and looked pissed.
    “You never quit, do you, demon?” Holding the girl’s hand tighter, Raphael sprang into action.
    The girl tugged at him. “Friend of yours?”
    Without relenting, he said, “We’ve been playing cat and mouse for a while.”
    “That must be quite annoying, you being a wolf and all that.” Her small laugh reached him.
    A smile escaped his lips. “You have no idea.”
    Ahead loomed the majestic building of Coin, the four-story department store Raphael never entered because of its extra-large security guards. The merchandise offered was too elegant for him in any case. His style ran more toward the homeless-seven-day-a-week kind of look, and less toward golf club-on-a-Sunday-morning. But, hey, it was never too late for a change of heart.
    Before entering Coin, he gave a perfunctory glance at himself and was relieved to see his clothes didn’t have visible holes. One glance at the girl and he couldn’t pass her eyes. She could have worn a burlap sack for all he was concerned and she would have looked perfect. He powered through the entrance with the girl in tow, and the demon only steps behind.
    “Up or down?” He tilted his chin toward her.
    “Up,” she answered.
    “Up it is.” He took the large, marble stairs two and three at a time, and the girl kept up with his pace without complaining. Not knowing the layout of the store, at the landing he hesitated. The Controller’s heavy steps echoed in his ears and propelled him forward, forcing him to decide on the fly where to go and what to do next.
    “There.” The girl squeezed his hand and pointed at the women’s sportswear section.
    Still tethered to his hand, she jogged past him and pulled him forward. They entered the maze of shelves and mannequins, and the girl gracefully picked items here and there. With a handful of bras, panties, and yoga pants with matching jackets, all in several sizes, she headed toward the dressing rooms. There, she asked one of the pretty girls wearing the blue uniform to open a room for her.
    Fidgeting with the gold Coin logo appointed on her shirt, the saleswoman gave them a raised eyebrow—but Raphael smiled at her. A moment later, she opened the door of a large dressing room.
    Raphael followed the girl into the brightly lit space and couldn’t help a low whistle. “This place is bigger than the hole in the wall where I live.” As far as catacombs’ space went, he couldn’t complain though. And to be precise he only slept there, but realized he had already overshared.
    The girl’s eyes widened, and the saleswoman’s nose twitched as she pointed a finger at him and said, “You wait outside.”
    “Yeah, sure.” With a shrug, he stepped back out into the hallway, but as soon as the saleswoman turned the corner, the girl grabbed the lapels of his sweater and pulled him in. He repressed a laugh and closed the door with his boot, then relaxed against it.
    “What’s your name?” she asked, opening her light pink jacket which she promptly let fall on the cream, padded bench.
    “Raphael. Yours?” Fascinated, he stared as she grabbed the hem of her