by Heather Karn
After wrangling Luella out of the store with only the cute spatula with lady bug designs, we headed further into the mall. Then we lost Shannon in a shoe store for nearly half an hour, which left me time to quiz Luella on her life story.
Her family was originally from Greece, go figure, and she’d been born and raised in Michigan where water was plentiful. She was an only child and her parents still lived in her childhood home. Several aunts and uncles on both sides of her family lived on the same lake as the one she’d lived on, so she was never lonely for supernatural company. Her last assignment had been in Arizona, and she’d put in a transfer the moment the plane had landed on her first day. It had taken six months for it to go through and she’d ended up on Raven’s team.
Luella’s energetic mood mellowed and her voice dropped until it was just above a whisper. “I know we teased you about him in the car, but you really are good for him, Koda. He needs you around, and not in a romantic way.” Her eyes scanned the room as she spoke. “I’m not sure how long it’s been since Raven was around one of his kind. We certainly don’t run into many of them, and vamlure are similar to other species besides vampires. They need to feel the connection between their kind, that unity and closeness that one only feels with their species. And I think that connection has grown since last night. I’ve never seen him so at ease or calm at breakfast, even with his grumpiness.”
“I noticed he was different, but since I still don’t know him well, I didn’t know if that was normal.”
She snorted, energy lighting her face and body once again and her voice tripled in volume. “No, my dear, that’s not normal. Grumpy as sin and scowling is normal. He may have been grumpy, but he wasn’t scowling. In fact, I think I even saw the hint of a smile on those lips of his once or twice.”
My companion’s words made me pause. Was I really affecting Raven like that so quickly? And was this change just his needing to be near one of his kind? After our conversation last night in the truck, I was certain it wasn’t romantic. My heart still broke for him and his hopelessness for his future, and the future of our kind.
“Okay, now that I know what shoes I want to buy,” Shannon announced, meeting us in the store’s entrance, “let’s go find some dresses so I can come back and buy them.”
Chapter 21
“What do you think of this one?” Luella asked, and I lifted the sunglasses from in front of my eyes. The lighting in this store was duller than most, allowing me to see a few seconds before having to replace the sunglasses on my nose. When I looked, I found her holding a blue satin gown with barely enough material to cover a toy doll.
“For you or for me?” I asked her, dubious of her intent.
“For me.” She laughed at the expression on my face. “I was thinking about this one for you.”
My nose scrunched as she lifted a black dress from the same rack where she’d pulled out the little blue number. There was even less material on the black one. When I’d said I wanted to go dress shopping, I was thinking I’d buy something elegant, not skimpy. To me, there was a difference.
“Um, first of all, I’m going to be wearing black for pretty much most of my foreseeable future. The one time I’m allowed to wear colors, I’m doing it. Plus, I love long, flowing dresses.”
Giving up on my rack, I decided to wander the store to find a new pair of pajamas. Not that I needed more, but I couldn’t not look while I was here, and my brain needed a break. I loved clothes shopping, especially for dresses, but my heart wasn’t in it today. I wasn’t sure what had happened to take my excitement away, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
I was checking out a matching pair of shorts and a tank top with sleeping wolves on them, thinking I’d get them as a gag gift for Shannon, when someone tackled me in a hug from behind. After the last week, I was ready to turn and knife the person, until I recognized the woman’s voice anyway.
“Koda it is you!” Clara squealed. “I wasn’t sure it was, but then when I got close, I just knew it was you.”
“Clara!” I greeted with just as much enthusiasm. Until this moment, I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed my friend and former housemate. It seemed like forever since the day we’d bumped into one another at my parent’s house, and even longer since we’d been able to hang out. “What are you doing here?”
She released me and shrugged. “End of the school year celebratory shopping. What else? I’m here with a few friends from back home who’re visiting. Your mom said they could stay at the house, but don’t worry, no one is using your room,” Clara rushed to assure me, which was good because I didn’t want anyone in my room, friend or not. At least not until Mom and Dad were able to pack up my stuff, or Raven let me take it back to the mansion.
“I was glad to see you the other day, even if it wasn’t for long,” I told her, scanning the area for her friends and coming up empty.
Clara’s smile faltered and she nodded. “Yeah, I wish we could hang out and watch a movie or something so we can talk and catch up. Wow, I still can’t believe that you and Lee both made it into the Elite program. That’s insane. How’s it going?”
Now it was my turn to shrug. “As well as it can.” I wasn’t sure how much I could say, so minimal was better.
“Have you seen any action yet?” a girl behind me asked. I’d sensed her moving in, so her voice didn’t surprise me as much as her appearance when I turned to face her. The scent she gave off raised the hairs on my arms. Chameleon.
“Yeah, a little,” I murmured, taking a step away from the new arrival. She tracked my movements with her eyes, a hurt look filling her gaze.
My intent wasn’t to hurt her feelings, but chameleons were some of the most dangerous supernaturals there were. With one touch, not only could they mimic your appearance, but your power as well, whatever that may be. For magic users it was all of their magic properties. For shifters, the ability to shift. I didn’t want to think about what she’d have the ability to do if she touched me.
“There you ladies went,” a high pitched feminine voice squealed as a red headed witch joined our group. “I’m over there looking at earrings and you’re around. I look up, and you’ve disappeared. Who’s this?”
“My old housemate, Koda. Her parents are the ones who own the house,” Clara explained.
The red heads eyebrows shot up. “Oh, you’re Koda. It’s nice to meet you. Too bright in here for you or are you trying them out?” She pointed at my sunglasses and my heart skipped. Clara didn’t know what I was, which meant these two didn’t either, and I certainly didn’t want the chameleon to know. That wasn’t fair, but she made me nervous all the same. There was one me in the world, and that was all that I wanted.
I opened my mouth to say something, who knew what, but my phone started ringing. Sliding it from my jacket pocket to make sure it wasn’t Raven or anyone else on the team, I almost sighed with relief.
“It’s my mom. I have to take this. Sorry.” I held the phone up so they could see I wasn’t lying and said a quick goodbye before answering and walking away for some privacy. “Hey, Mom, what’s up?”
“Good morning, Koda. How are you doing? Are they treating you well?”
“Yes, Mom, I’m fine. I’m actually out shopping with a few of my teammates.”
I walked around the underwear department, keeping a watchful eye and nose out for the chameleon. A week ago I wouldn’t have cared about her hanging around, but at that point I wouldn’t have thought the girl anything more than human or a witch like Clara. Now, I was paranoid of everything and everyone, especially after my talk with Raven about the Blood War and the Salem Witch Trials. If Clara found out what I was, would she hate me? Shannon didn’t seem to, but then again, she was used to having Raven around.
“Listen, the reason I’m calling,” Mom spoke up after we’d finished our short pleasantries, “is that we’re late heading to Grandma’s house, so I sent out your package this morning. It should arrive in about three to four days.”
“Yes. I thought that might be easiest.”
“You’re probably right. I’ll let Clara and Oscar know it’s coming so they can let me know when it arrives. Thanks for sending it to me.”
Mom’s sigh was full of exhaustion, probably from chasing my younger siblings around with all of their activities. “We should have remembered to give it to you when you turned eighteen. We’re so sorry that we forgot.”
“Don’t be. It’s fine. Really.”
“Okay, good.” She sighed again, this time with a bit of frustration. “I need to go. We’re heading out the door and Joel can’t find his shoes. He probably packed them in his suitcase for as much as he pays attention to what he’s doing.”
I couldn’t stop my laugh. Joel was our next youngest brother, and he’d just turned sixteen. He’d also just discovered that girls existed beyond teasing and irritating them. Too bad it took him so long. He was good looking, but too many of Joel’s female classmates had been teased by him to ever want to date him. I’d warned him. He hadn’t listened.
“Tell everyone hello from me and that I love them. I love you too, Mom.”
Her voice broke. “I love you too, honey, and I’m so proud of you and Lee. You’re making your dreams come true. Tell your brother I love him and to be good. I know how much he likes getting into trouble too.”
“Not as much as Joel.”
“No one is as bad as Joel. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye, Mom.”
I hung up the phone and made my way back to the dresses to find Shannon and Luella both staring at a dress made of a purplish material. From where I stood, I couldn’t make out anything else. At least not until I got closer and Luella held it up for my inspection.
“Wow, that’s gorgeous,” I breathed, reaching my hand out to touch the dress. “Which one of you is this for?”
“It’s yours,” Shannon piped up, setting her hand on my shoulder. “It’ll match your eyes enough to make them pop.”
Lifting the sunglasses, I got a glimpse of the true color. She was right. It almost did match my eyes. To add to its beauty, the skirt was long and the bodice was covered in sequin designs that sparkled without taking away from the rest of the dress. I was also relieved to see that neither the back or the front plunged to deep. That wasn’t my style, and since I wouldn’t have a date, there was no one to try to impress, not that I could pull it off anyway.
“It’s beautiful. I guess I need to go try it on.”
“We all need to try ours on. Let’s go.”
Twenty minutes later, Luella was calling Jackson as we strode out of the mall, dress bags in hand. Luella had gone with the little blue number, and Shannon’s choice was a knee length yellow dress that was stunning. Of course, she could probably make the ugliest dress on the planet look good. My own dress had managed to show off my curves better than most clothes did. We’d made a short pit stop at the shoe store for Shannon to pick up the pair she’d spotted, and she’d bought a pair for me to wear since it was buy one pair and get the second fifty percent off. When I’d offered to pay her back half, she’d declined and threatened to set my hair on fire if I mentioned it again.
Jackson was fully dressed and grinning like a wolfish idiot when we returned to the car. He was ready to take on the day now that he’d had his nap, and assisted us in loading our goods into Luella’s tiny trunk. When I climbed into the backseat with him, he gave me a wink, making my cheeks blush, which earned him another smack to the back of the head, this time from Luella. There was something about Jackson and his carefree, flirty attitude that made him easy to be around, and to blush.
“Who wants ice cream?” Luella cried as she backed out of the parking space.
“But we haven’t even eaten lunch yet,” I argued, noticing that it was time for the second meal of the day.
Shannon stared at me over her shoulder. “Girl, you’re a woman now. You can choose whether you want a sandwich for lunch, or an ice cream cone. Me? Today I want ice cream as much as Luella.”
Even though I’d had ice cream last night with Raven, the sweet treat called to my taste buds. Today I’d enjoy it far more than when my throat was throbbing. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
We were just about to pull into the ice cream shop Raven had taken me to last night when I spotted a familiar car. Searching for its occupants, I found them standing in line, laughing together. Panic surged at being so close to the chameleon again with no way to escape them this time. It wasn’t like I could call up my mother and say “Call me in two minutes” to get away from them again. That would look odd.
Ducking, I tried to keep my voice even and not panicked. “Keep driving, Luella.”
“What?”
“Don’t stop. Keep going.”
Without needing an explanation, the naiad released the brake and returned her foot to the gas pedal. Jackson looked down at me, but Shannon kept her face forward. Setting his hand on my arm, Jackson rubbed it, his touch calming my racing heart. No one said anything until we were a few miles up the road, pulling into a different ice cream shop parking lot.
“This isn’t the best ice cream in town, but it’s still good,” Luella explained, shutting the car off. “Want to explain what that was about back there? See someone you don’t like?”
“Not exactly,” I told her, sitting back up. I hadn’t dared to move until we were well away from the girls. “It’s probably nothing, but I can’t shake the feeling.”
“What feeling?” Shannon asked. No one was moving to get out, so I was forced to sit there and explain. Unless I wanted to hop over the side of the car to get out, and something told me I’d receive more than a tongue lashing from Luella for doing that to her car.
“In the mall, I ran into my old housemate, Clara. She’s a hedge witch. I guess she has a few friends visiting her until they go home in a few weeks. One was another witch. The other was a chameleon I’ve never met. I’m not sure why, but she gives me this sinking feeling in my chest and gut, and I can’t shake it. They were standing in the line at the last ice cream shop, and I kind of overreacted.”
“It’s not an overreaction if you’re concerned,” Shannon replied, opening her car door and easing the seat forward for Jackson and I to climb out of the back seat. “There’s nothing wrong with being cautious. Now, come on. Let’s grab something to eat. I’m starving.”
“Ditto what she said.” Luella grinned in the rearview mirror. “It’s my treat.”
Chapter 22
When we pulled in the driveway of the mansion, the first sight to greet my eyes was Raven and Avery rounding the corner of the building, coming from the back yard, which I had yet to explore. It wasn’t them that surprised me, but the amount of skin that greeted us. Both were shirtless, and they carried two swords each on their backs, like they’d just come from sparring.
“Breathe,” Jackson murmured in my ear, his amused voice shaking from stifled laughter. This time no one needed to hit him. I nailed him in the gut with my elbow, making him grunt. At least he was quiet after that.
Luella pulled up in front of the garage, and the men joined us. I had to make a special effort not to ogle them, especially Raven. I’d known the man was fit, having seen his naked arms every time he wore his uniform shirt, which was most of the time, but I hadn’t realized his abs were so defined or that his back was muscle upon muscle as well. Avery was just as brawny, but without as much bulk. They were muscular enough to be hot without being so beefy they were unattractive. Not that I needed to be attracted to either one of them.
“Find anything nice?” Avery asked the group of us, setting his hands on Luella’s door so he could lean against it. He looked too comfortable, and grinned down at the naiad, who wasn’t paying him an ounce of attention. The feline was trying to work her up on purpose, but she wasn’t taking the bait.
“We found dresses,” she shot
back. “Now step away from my car, please.”
“Fine. Want some help taking your dresses inside?”
She shot him a rueful glare. “I don’t want a sweaty man touching my shopping bags, but thanks.” Avery chuckled at her and stepped aside, but Raven stayed standing beside me. It was becoming awkward not looking up at him. I didn’t want him thinking I was checking him out, but gosh my eyes wanted to.
“Do you want help, Koda?” Raven asked, his voice low and slightly pinched. “I can carry it downstairs for you. I’m going that way to shower and change.”
“Sure.” My voice came out in a squeak, so I cleared my throat and tried again, definitely avoiding locking eyes with him now. “Sure. Thanks. I’ll take my shoes down, but you can take the dress.”
Luella had already climbed from the car, and she winked at me over Raven’s shoulder before heading to grab her dress from the popped trunk. Now I really wasn’t going to look at Raven. Instead, I rubbed the bridge of my nose above my sunglasses. I could feel an ache coming on, and I couldn’t tell if it was sun related or stress from a half-naked trainer getting to me.
“Feeling okay?” Raven asked me after I climbed out of the car, my dress in his hands. The white bag over the dress covered it enough so that none of the dress showed. I wasn’t sure why I didn’t want him to see it, but he didn’t seem interested in checking it out either.
“Okay, ladies, when do we get to see the dresses?” Jackson called over his shoulder as he headed toward the house. “I want to see them.”
“You can wait until the night of the Ball,” Luella shot back.