by Karen Lynch
“Something came up,” I said.
That something had been Nate arriving at Westhorne as a vampire. Nikolas had sent the Mohiri jet for Pete and me so we could be with Sara.
Allison stood so close our arms touched. She nudged me with her shoulder. “Hopefully, you won’t have to take off this time.”
“We’ll be here,” Pete told her.
“I saw your Mustang in the driveway,” Allison said to me. “Paul told us you restored her yourself. Maybe you could take me for a ride in it while I’m here.”
Before I could come up with a polite excuse not to let her in my car, we were joined by two more girls. They didn’t look familiar, so this was probably their first pack gathering. Some wolves didn’t attend unless they had business to take care of or were in the market for a mate. I had a sinking feeling I knew which category these two fell into.
My suspicions were confirmed when the taller one, a curvaceous brunette who looked to be my age, came right for me. She wore tight jeans and a small top, and if she’d been human, she would have snagged my interest right away.
“Hi,” she said huskily, sidling up to me and nudging Allison out of her way. “Alexandria Waters. You can call me Lex.”
“Roland,” I replied, glancing at Pete for help. But he’d been set upon by Lex’s friend, a pretty raven-haired girl.
Lex smiled. “I know who you are. We heard about your little cross country adventure from our friend Dell. Julie and I have been looking forward to meeting you and Peter.”
“Great,” was all I could say.
She leaned closer, and her breast brushed my arm. “Dell told us about a small lake just past the Knolls that’s great for swimming. Why don’t we all go there later during the pack run? I bet you look as good in your fur as you do in your skin.”
I swallowed. Aggressive girls were usually a turn-on, but not when they were looking for a lot more than a hookup. The gleam in Lex’s eyes told me she was mate hunting, and she had me in her sights.
“Sorry, I can’t,” I said. “Paul and I have some business to take care of at the garage tonight.”
Paul frowned at me. “We do?”
“Yeah.” I gave him a meaningful stare. “You know, that Chevelle job we were talking about.” Right now seemed like the perfect time to tell him I was going to work on the car.
Lex pouted. “Work? That can wait until tomorrow.”
“I have to work at the yard tomorrow.” I’d never been so grateful to work for Maxwell. “This is a big job Paul asked me to help him with. Unless he doesn’t need me for it anymore.” I shot my cousin a hard look, and he shook his head.
“No, I still need you. What time are we supposed to meet?”
“Eight.” That would give us plenty of time to eat and be seen here. Maxwell wouldn’t say anything about us leaving for work.
“But that’s so early,” complained Julie, who was practically hanging on Pete’s arm. “You don’t have to go too, do you, Peter?”
“I’m sure Pete would love to go for a swim with you,” I said slyly. Panic flashed in his eyes, and I tossed him a lifeline. “Though we really could use his help at the garage. If he’s not too busy, that is.”
“Yeah, sure,” he said quickly.
My mother waved and called us over to eat. The four girls started over, and I hung back with Pete and Paul.
“Damn, those two are something else,” Pete said in a low voice.
I grinned. “You can always stay and go for that swim with them.”
He made a face. “No, thanks.”
“Didn’t you just say if it happens, it happens?”
“Don’t remind me.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Is this what we have to look forward to for the next month?”
Paul chuckled. “Better get used to it, boys, because it’s only going to get worse.”
I stared at him. “Worse?”
“Pete is Maxwell’s son and you’re his nephew, which means you both have Alpha blood. You could be butt-ugly – which you’re not – and the females would want you.” He nodded at the girls standing in a group with several others. “You’ve also built up a bit of a reputation over the last year, not good if you want to stay off their radar. I think you’re both going to be very popular at the gathering this year.”
“Shit.” I rubbed my jaw. “You really know how to ruin a guy’s appetite.”
Paul smiled. “Look on the bright side.”
I scoffed. “There’s a bright side to all of this?”
It was easy for him to joke about it. He and I were cousins on my dad’s side, which meant he wasn’t directly related to Maxwell. His lack of Alpha blood made him less of a catch to some females. Not that he cared.
“Yeah. You’ll spend so much time hiding out at the garage, you’ll get the Chevelle done in half the time. And make some good money to boot.”
I wasn’t sure if hanging around a garage was enough to dissuade a bunch of unmated female wolves, but it was all I had.
“You still have that cot in the back room?” I asked him glumly. “I might need that, too.”
Emma
“I’ve shown you the marina, the Hub, the mall, and my house. That pretty much covers the most exciting places to go here,” Scott said as we pulled away from the mall. “Where to now?”
“Are you sure you don’t have anything better to do with your Saturday than chauffeur me around town?” We’d spent the morning driving around New Hastings, and Scott had proven to be an entertaining guide. But I didn’t want to hog all of his day off.
He shrugged one shoulder. “I could call up some of my old school buddies, but you have a much prettier face.”
I didn’t respond, unsure if he was flirting with me or just being sweet. I liked hanging out with him as friends, but I didn’t want anything more than that.
He tapped the steering wheel. “I could show you the lighthouse if you want to see it.”
“I’d love to.”
The Signal Point lighthouse was one of the places Sara had told me I had to visit. She thought it would appeal to the painter in me. I’d been in town two weeks, and I still hadn’t seen it.
My stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, and I let out a small laugh. “Sorry, I forgot to eat breakfast this morning.”
“I have just the thing for that.” He drove for a minute and then pulled up beside a small deli. “The sandwiches here are pretty good. Why don’t we get some to take with us?”
Five minutes later, we set off for the lighthouse with our food. Signal Point was on the north end of town, and there were no houses or businesses close to it. Scott told me it was a great spot for parties in the summer and fall because they didn’t bother anyone with the noise.
“It’s beautiful,” I said when we pulled up to the white tower surrounded by a low white picket fence. Tall grass waved in the wind, and the air was filled with the sounds of seagulls and crashing waves.
I grabbed my messenger bag, and Scott took the food. We walked through the grass to the edge of the bluff where I could see nothing but blue sky and ocean for miles.
It was no wonder Sara had insisted I come here. She was right; it was an artist’s dream. To my right was a line of small cliffs and bluffs, much like this one. On my left, it was heavily wooded and a rocky beach led into what looked like a small cove a quarter of a mile away.
The old lighthouse itself inspired me. Its paint was peeling and the signal light no longer worked, but that only added to its beauty. Framed against the blue sky and ocean with waist-high grass around its base, it had a wildness that called to me. I could stay here for hours.
I turned to Scott. “I love it. Thanks for bringing me here.”
He smiled. “My friends and I used to ride our bikes up here when we were kids. We wanted to bring tents and camp here, but our parents wouldn’t let us.”
I pulled my Nikon camera from my bag and snapped a picture of the lighthouse. “I can see why you’d want to camp here.”
Scott followed me, and I took a few pictures of him, too. Then we sat near the edge of the bluff to eat our lunch.
“So, you’re Sara’s cousin,” he said after a few minutes of light conversation. I gave him a questioning look, and he smiled. “My mother told me.”
“Were you and Sara friends?” Sara hadn’t mentioned Scott to me, but I assumed she’d had other friends besides Roland and Peter.
Scott looked away, but not before I caught a glimpse of regret in his eyes.
“A long time ago we were friends, back when she first moved here. I did something stupid and mean, and we argued. She was right and I was wrong, but I was too proud to admit it. Instead of saying I was sorry, I became a total jerk toward her.”
He stared at the waves, and his voice quivered as if he was struggling to get the words out. “I never understood how things went so wrong or why I acted that way. I never stopped liking her, but she couldn’t stand me after that. Not that I blame her. I wasn’t a nice person for a long time.”
“You’re nice now.” The person he described didn’t sound like the one who had been so kind to me since we met. “What changed?”
He took a deep breath. “When she left town last October, it made me realize how stupid I’d been. All those years I wasted when we could have been friends.”
Sara had told me everything that happened here last year and how the whole town thought she’d drowned after she fell off the cliff. For months, everyone thought she was dead, until her faerie friend Eldeorin glamoured the town to think she’d moved away instead.
“Do you talk to her much?” Scott asked quietly. “How is she?”
“She went to live with her – our grandfather out west. She’s very happy.”
“I’m glad.” He gave me a warm smile. “You know, I’ve never told anyone that stuff, not even Ryan. You’re really easy to talk to.”
“Thanks, so are you.”
Something more than casual friendship sparked in his eyes, and I looked away, pretending not to see it. He was a great guy and good-looking, too. The old me would have been thrilled to have a boy like him show interest in her. The new me didn’t see him as anything but a friend. I wasn’t sure I could even be attracted to someone at this point in my life.
Not true, said a voice in my head. My stomach fluttered at the memory of sapphire eyes peering into mine and a warm hand touching my face. I quickly brushed it aside. He wasn’t even human, so it didn’t count.
“Argh.” Scott put a hand to his forehead. “I completely forgot I’m supposed to take Nan to her hairdresser at two. Mom usually does it, but she and Dad are in Portland, so that leaves me. I’m sorry.”
I swallowed my disappointment. “No, I understand. I can come back here another time and look around.”
“Hey, if you don’t mind hanging out with my grandmother for an hour, you can come with me, and we can come back here after.” He grinned as he stood. “I don’t think I showed you the salon.”
“No, you forgot that part of the tour.” I laughed and let him help me to my feet. “Would it be okay if I waited for you here? I really want to get some pictures while the light is good.”
“You don’t mind being here by yourself?”
I waved an arm around me. “Are you kidding? This place is amazing. And you won’t be gone that long, right?”
He shook his head. “No more than an hour.”
“Good. It’s settled then,” I said. “You take your grandmother to the salon, and then come back for me.”
It took another few minutes to convince him I’d be alright here alone for an hour. Finally, he left, and I looked around, trying to decide what to explore first. I took a few more pictures of the lighthouse and then climbed down to the beach to get some shots of the waves.
I loved the ocean, but for some reason, I could never quite capture its power when I painted. My attempts always felt like they were missing something. For two weeks every year growing up, I’d sit on the dunes at Virginia Beach and try to put what I saw on my canvases. Maybe living by the ocean year-round would help. This place was definitely beautiful enough to inspire me.
I stuck my camera back in my bag and began making my way along the beach toward the cove I thought I’d seen from the bluff. It felt isolated here and far from people, even though I was only a few minutes’ drive from town. I was used to being alone, but this was different. It was kind of nice. I felt…free.
It was hard to believe I’d been in New Hastings for two weeks. I was living on my own, I had my first real job, a new friend, and I was slowly learning to be a normal human girl again. Or as normal as anyone could be in my situation.
The walk to the cove took ten minutes, and it was worth the effort. Surrounded on three sides by tall trees, it had a narrow strip of sandy beach and a flat grassy area where you could sit. I left my bag on the grass and walked from one end of the small beach to the other, taking more pictures and picking up a few shells and an interesting piece of driftwood.
It didn’t take long to explore the cove, and I decided to sit for a few minutes before I headed back to the lighthouse. Pulling out my water bottle, I sipped and watched the small waves that were nothing like the powerful surf at the point. I set down my bottle and leaned back on my hands, feeling more at peace than I had in a long time. I wished I could carry this tranquility with me at all times, especially at night when I needed it the most.
A branch cracked in the woods behind me. I jerked upright and twisted my upper body to peer into the trees. I saw no one, but the feeling I was being watched made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
You’re just being paranoid. Not that I could blame myself after some of the things I’d seen. All the same, I should probably get back to the lighthouse.
I started to stand when a low growl came from the woods.
My head whipped around again, and my lungs seized up at the sight of the two shapes emerging from the trees. One was covered in light brown fur, and the other was snow white. They were twice the size of an Irish Wolfhound, with yellow eyes and short pointed ears, and their bared fangs told me they weren’t happy to see me.
Chapter 5
Emma
Terror gripped me. Sara had assured me the werewolves here would never harm a human, but the snarling faces on these two wolves said otherwise. I was alone here with no way to protect myself and no one to hear me if I screamed. Running would do no good. These two could chase me down in seconds. I was completely at their mercy.
The werewolves slowly stalked me, their hackles up and their heads lowered aggressively. When they were a few feet away, the white wolf let out a low, threatening growl.
A whimper escaped my lips, but I couldn’t look away from the werewolves. The brown one moved to my left, and the white one advanced from the front. Their intent was clear.
From the trees came another growl, louder and deeper. The two wolves froze, and I looked past the white one at the massive black creature standing at the edge of the woods. The new werewolf was as big as a bear, and he stood on his hind legs, making him at least eight feet tall and one of the most frightening things I’d ever seen.
He took a step and growled again, turning my veins to ice.
It took me several seconds to realize his attention was not on me, but on the two smaller wolves. They didn’t respond, and his growl deepened.
The wolves turned to face him, and the white one made a whining sound. The newcomer snarled and took several more steps, towering over all of us.
I struggled to drag air into my lungs.
The smaller wolves whined and lowered their heads in submission. The black wolf made another frightening sound, and the two of them ran into the woods without a backward glance at me.
All I could do was sta
re at the giant wolf who watched me through yellow eyes that were impossible to read. Had he driven the other two off so he could kill me himself?
He moved, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Falling to all fours, he walked toward me. I froze as he closed the distance between us and leaned down to me. His hot breath washed over my face, and I closed my eyes, waiting for him to strike.
The wolf sniffed my hair and then…nothing.
My eyes shot open to see the huge body sink down to the grass a few feet away. His head lowered to rest on his paws, and his amber eyes fixed on me.
I stared at him for a long moment before it hit me he was not going to attack. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was guarding me. But then, maybe he was. Sara said the local pack was safe, and werewolves were known to protect humans, not kill them. That didn’t explain why the first two had been so aggressive, but as long as they were gone, I wasn’t going to question it.
The fact that he’d sniffed me and hadn’t gotten aggressive filled me with enormous relief. It meant there really was no trace of the vampire left in me. Deep inside, I’d feared it was still a part of me, but now I knew I was truly free of the demon. If it wasn’t for the werewolf lying five feet away, I would have laughed or cried, or both.
We stayed like that for the next twenty minutes. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave, and I was afraid to move and test out my theory that he was only watching over me. His size and the way the other wolves had submitted to him made me think he must be someone with authority in the pack. Not the Alpha or the smaller wolves would not have challenged him in the first place, but definitely someone dominant.
“Emma.”
Scott called to me from the direction of the lighthouse. He must be wondering where I’d gotten to. He hadn’t reached the cove yet, and he was in for a hell of a shock when he did.
He called my name again, a little closer this time.
The wolf growled, and I turned back to him, my heart pounding. But he was looking down the beach and not at me. I didn’t know if he was being protective of me or aggressive at the sound of Scott’s voice, and I didn’t want to find out.