by Lynn Veevers
Kenneth’s father was not messing around when it came to throwing a birthday bash. Kaya could smell whatever Owen was grilling on the back patio as soon as she hit the front porch steps. There was Kenneth standing on the far right side of the huge wraparound porch. He was half talking to a perky little blonde and half scanning the crowd like he was looking for someone. He saw Kaya standing at the bottom of the steps, grabbed both of the blonde’s hands excitedly, said something, and then started toward her.
Kaya was still curious about the little blonde. She turned around and Kaya realized it was Samantha and felt ridiculous for getting jealous. Kaya had never seen her so made up. Her hair was down and rampaging with curls that must have taken her all day and a couple cans of hairspray to achieve. She waved at Kaya and gave her a mischievous wink and smile. Unlike Kenneth, Samantha definitely got her looks from her father; the same crooked smile, fair, flawless skin, and glinting ice-blue eyes. She was not tall, maybe five foot, two inches.
“Hey Kays, you look amazing!” His comment snapped her out of her observation of his sister.
“Well, thank you, handsome sir,” she said dramatically.
This made him blush viciously and she laughed. He ran his hand through his hair and they started up the stairs.
“Here, let me get that for you,” he said, reaching for the gift.
Kaya dodged his grab.
“Nope. You are not going to get the chance to shake this around and try to guess what it is before opening time. A lot of thought and time went into this gift and you are just going to have to wait, mister.”
He threw his hands up in mock surrender.
“OK, whatever you say, boss lady.”
They were both living in the humor of the moment as they made their way up the stairs, onto the porch, and through the front door.
“I want to say hi to your dad. Can we go see what he’s cooking up?”
He offered her his arm and led her through the empty house and out onto the back portion of the porch where his dad was busy basting ribs and flipping burgers.
“Nice to see you could make it, Kaya,” Owen said.
“Thanks, Mr. Owen.”
He frowned at her formality in addressing him and then smiled and pointed at her with his spatula.
“Eh, we’ll get there eventually, young lady. Like I said before, you call me Owen. While I appreciate the ingrained respect you were obviously raised with, you are as good as family, so it is not necessary.”
Kaya just stood there silently, at a loss for words. Owen let out a roar of a laugh. It shook his whole body.
Kenneth squeezed Kaya’s hand and whispered in her ear. “I have something I want you to see.”
As they walked back through the house, they came to the stairs leading up. They had been blocked off by a baby gate, making it unmistakably clear to the guests that this area was off limits. Kenneth helped Kaya over and then stepped over the gate himself. When they reached the top of the steps, he pulled her to the right and down the lit hall to the third door on the right. When he opened it, she realized it was his bedroom and she froze where she stood.
“I didn’t bring you up here for the reasons going through your head right now, Kays,” he said, insulted.
She looked up into his grey eyes and saw no trace of the yellow hue. Knowing that, she let him lead her into the room and over to his dresser, which displayed five neatly positioned picture frames. She examined the first picture where a petite young woman with black hair and gray eyes smiled happily at the camera from her place on the front steps of a church Kaya had seen in town. She wore an exceptionally lovely white wedding gown and was wrapped in the arms of a younger Owen. They looked so blissfully happy.
The remaining four pictures were of the same young woman at various stages and ages in her life, two of which showed her holding a newborn baby. When Kaya looked closer, she realized the babies where not the same child because one was swaddled in a blue blanket and the other in a pink one.
In the next picture, she stood smiling, leaning against an oak tree in a floral print, summer dress and hugely pregnant. Kaya got the feeling that, in this picture, she was pregnant with Kenneth. The last picture was of her holding up her left hand showing off a large diamond ring. It was more of a snapshot, caught in the moment of a wonderful surprise.
“I never knew her. She never even got the chance to hold me more than a few brief moments, but it doesn’t make the want to know her any easier. Samantha barely remembers her. She says her memories of Mom are more like still frames than moving memories. Our brother, Cole, actually has working memories of Mom and, naturally, so does my father. Cole resented me for years. He said I was the reason Mom died, and from the time I was old enough to understand it, I started to believe it myself.”
On what should be a joyous day for Kenneth, he was sad and Kaya felt for him. Kaya couldn’t imagine how hard growing up without a mother must have been, but she understood as he talked that the guilt he’d carried feeling it was his fault had made it that much harder. All the memories she had of her parents, both happy and sad, made her feel so fortunate.
“I know now the complications were not my fault. First off, Mom had all of us at home. The doctor was and still is a friend of the family who knows our, um, history. My brother and then my sister were born like Gnáths. I, for whatever reason, came out in my Pure Form. Mom was one hundred percent Gnáth, and not built to give birth to a baby shaped like I was. In exchange for my life, hers was taken. It’s why I always have such a hard time being happy on my birthday. Sure, it’s the anniversary of my birth, but it is also the anniversary of my mother’s death. My father’s love is wholly unconditional and supporting. He always says he lost his wife, but she left him the greatest gift when she departed from this world; another son. I would give anything just to be able to hear her voice one time so I can say I know what it sounds like. So I can say that I remember anything at all about her,” he finished, close to tears.
Kaya felt bad, because as much as she wanted to do something, to say something, anything to change it, she knew she couldn’t. She put her hand on his shoulder, silently letting him know she was there for him. Kaya glanced back at the picture display on his dresser. Sitting directly behind it was a tree made of some kind of metal. It resembled an oak tree in the dead of winter; strong, sturdy, and leafless. On either side of the tree’s branches hung a ring. On the left side was a band with a row of four small round diamonds set flush in the white gold. On the right side hung a white gold solitaire with a perfect, large, round diamond in it. The ring was glinting in the low light and Kaya thought it was beyond beautiful.
She leaned closer to get a better look at it and realized it was the ring from the picture. She looked back to the band on the left side and then gazed over her shoulder to where Kenneth stood.
“Those were my mother’s. Even after all these years, her scent is still on them. The tree was hers as well. I got the rings last year from my father for my birthday. They had been sitting in her jewelry box all these years, untouched. She had told my dad that one day her rings would be worn by a woman who would give her grandchildren,” he said smiling.
“Everyone thought she meant Samantha, except Dad. He knew better,” a voice said from the doorway.
Kaya spun around so fast she almost lost her balance.
There in Kenneth’s doorway stood a man who resembled Kenneth so much, they could have passed for twins if it wasn't obvious that this guy was a bit older. He stood as tall as Kenneth with a similar weight and build. They shared the same hair color, but where Kenneth’s eyes were grey, this man’s eyes were the same ice-blue as Owen’s.
The two stood there a moment, regarding each other intently. She could feel the energy arching between the pair and it was palpable. Kenneth broke the standoff between the two and crossed the room to embrace his brother. Cole returned the hug, then pushed Kenneth away to an arm’s length and looked at him.
“Wow little brother, you h
ave grown since last spring.”
Kenneth laughed and said, “Well yeah, I guess I have. So when did you get into town?”
“I just arrived about five minutes ago. I swung by the back patio and said hello to Dad and he told me I would find you up here.”
He then turned his attention to Kaya, but did not say another word. Kenneth crossed the room and put his arm around her waist.
“Cole, this is Kaya Hunt, my girlfriend,” he said without reservation.
Cole raised an eyebrow and broke out in the same all-knowing grin Kenneth always did so well.
“It’s nice to meet you, Cole,” Kaya said.
He inclined his head and said, “Likewise, Kaya. Samantha told me on the phone you were pretty and I see now she was right.”
Kaya felt her cheeks flush and she was fairly sure they were pretty red right then. Kenneth laughed and they walked out the door. Kaya was flanked by the guys as they walked down the wide hall. She found it just a little agitating how Cole, like Kenneth, was a considerable amount taller than her. They were literally holding a conversation over her head.
They reached the bottom of the stairs, stepped over the gate, and headed into the kitchen. They sat down at the small round oak table. Kenneth sat next to Kaya and held her hand under the table. Cole took the seat opposite Kaya.
“So Kaya…” Cole had begun to say but then stopped. Kaya saw the same yellow hue she had seen so many times in Kenneth, creeping into Cole’s blue eyes. She slowly followed his gaze to a tall, slender woman standing at the counter behind her. She had a fair complexion with amber eyes and a shoulder blade length head of rioting dark red curls. She had the slightest speckling of freckles on her cheekbones. She was staring at Cole as intently as he was staring at her.
“Blaire!” Cole said, surprised.
She smiled a bright smile in return.
“Hello Cole,” Blaire said, half laughing.
Cole was obviously completely shocked to see this young woman. She kept the smile in place and walked over to the remaining chair to take a seat next to Cole. He just stared in disbelief. She laughed, then leaned in and kissed him. Kenneth started chuckling and Kaya wanted to know what was going on.
“Cole and Blaire have been together since their sophomore year in high school. When they graduated, it was rough on them because while Cole went to OSU to study medicine, Blaire decided she wanted to be a marine biologist and went to the University of Alaska Fairbanks,” Kenneth said.
“When did you get in?” Cole asked Blaire.
“I got in yesterday evening around six and then drove up to my parents’ house. Your father called me three weeks ago and told me you were coming home for this weekend to surprise Kenneth, and asked if he could fly me home to surprise you. Of course I said yes,” Blaire finished with an adoring smile for Cole.
Clearly it had been some time since the two had seen each other, so Kenneth and Kaya decided to take their leave to give the couple some privacy. They were standing in the foyer and Kaya was getting a short lesson on the bond mates shared.
“Lycans choose their mate and this is where the bond starts. The bond has to be sealed, and the only way for it to be sealed is for the person to accept us as we are and, of course, to love us in return. So in essence, it has to be a mutual thing,” he explained.
They stood close and took each other in for a time. Then their most romantically intimate moment yet was broken by, who else, but Samantha. She came bursting through the front door and into the foyer with a goofy grin plastered on her face.
“Of course that doesn’t mean we can’t have relationships before our bonded relationship. Cole found his mate and it would seem Kenny-poo here, has as well. As for me, well, Paul is great. I adore him, but something is stopping me from choosing him. We have been paired for three years and he doesn’t know my secret. I just can’t seem to tell him. I’ve tried,” she said in a small, sad voice as she sat at a side table next to the stairs.
Samantha saw the completely confused look on Kaya’s face and started laughing hysterically.
“Don’t worry, Kaya, one day you will get used to our acute sense of hearing. I heard you and Kenneth talking from outside,” Samantha explained.
Samantha peered around Kenneth and Kaya with interest, then quickly got to her feet and blew past them at remarkable speed. Kenneth and Kaya spun around just in time to see her tackle Cole to the ground. A bewildered yet amused Blaire stood there and watched the transaction between brother and sister on the floor. Samantha was crying and laughing while she effectively squeezed out what air she hadn’t initially knocked out of Cole. He was gasping, but hugging her back.
“It’s good to see you too, Sis.”
“I missed you so much. When did you get back?” she asked Cole.
“Just a little while ago.”
They both got to their feet and collectively walked over to where Kenneth and Kaya stood, their eyes ringed with the yellow hue. Kaya stole a glance up at Kenneth and he, too, had the yellow. These three were close, she realized. They all came together in a hug Blaire and Kaya stood on the outside of.
“Tonight we should go on a family hunt with Dad,” Kenneth said with excitement.
“Hey sweetie, are you going to come this time?” Cole asked Blaire.
“No, not this time, honey. Killing goes against my nature, but if you guys get hurt, you know you can come back here and my gift is at your disposal,” she said smiling.
That grabbed Kaya’s attention as soon as it was said and she stepped forward to address Blaire. “What do you mean gift?”
Blaire seemed to suddenly realize Kaya was still standing there. Her eyes got huge and she started to fumble with the words she was trying to get out. It was Kenneth who stepped in and rescued her from her unintelligible stuttering. He laid a brotherly hand on her shoulder.
“It’s OK, Blaire. She is one of your people.”
It took a whole two seconds for what he had said to sink in. Lucky for her, Kaya’s reaction was a carbon copy of hers. They stood there for what seemed like forever, examining each other, but seemingly speechless at the same time.
“She’s a Mystic? What’s your gift?” she asked, eyeing Kaya skeptically.
Kaya found herself wondering why Kenneth insisted on putting her on the spot. She sighed in resignation and glanced back to the small table. There was a vase with silk daffodils and a small bowl with candy in it. Kaya mentally took a single silk daffodil from the vase and floated it across the hall to where Blaire stood.
She reached up gingerly and plucked the flower out of the air. “You are so lucky. Manipulation is awesome!” she said enviously.
“I agree, if only I could use it on myself but unfortunately as you know it can be used on everything but yourself,” Kaya said.
Kaya hummed in her throat and then concentrated on her body lifting off the floor until she was about six inches above it. Blaire gasped.
“You also have levitation!” Blaire blurted out.
“Yes, and I am a testimonial as well, and that’s just what I got from my mother’s side. I can shape shift, or rather morph, on my father’s side, as well as spirit speaking.”
Blaire’s jaw had hit the floor as had Cole’s and Samantha’s. Samantha recovered first and was taking note of the party guests who were making their way inside.
“We will have to pick up this conversation later,” she said in warning.
Kaya was suddenly inexplicably terrified and Kenneth picked up on her mood shift immediately. Kaya could feel it building and getting stronger with every passing second. This anxiety her body insisted on feeling every time she was around a big crowd was getting old. She had never had issues with it before her parents died, but since? Well, it popped up at the most inopportune times. It had happened when she went to the city with Di and on the first day of school, not to mention a handful of times before she had left Washington. Every time it happened, it got progressively worse. She felt the unmistakable sensation of bei
ng watched when it happened and it unnerved her.
When she heard Kenneth start growling then saw Cole and Samantha stop so abruptly that Blaire plowed right into Cole, it occurred to her that she wasn’t the only one who felt something weird. Both Kaya and Blaire looked from sibling to sibling noticing that they were all on high alert. “Cole, what’s wrong?” Blaire asked.
“I don’t know, but something isn’t right,” Cole said.
The siblings had formed a small circle and were scoping the area out without being conspicuous. The party guests were milling around and socializing. Every once in a while, someone would stop and say hi or happy birthday to Kenneth and he would smile or nod in their direction. They had no clue anything was out of the ordinary. Kaya took Kenneth’s arm casually and steered him toward the patio. She talked in hushed tones as they walked cautiously.
“What do you sense?”
“I have no idea but, something is definitely off though. What I sense is new, I’ve never sensed anything like it in my life,” he whispered to her.
They made it to where Owen was cleaning the grill and his head immediately shot up from what he was doing. For the first time, Kaya saw the yellow hue touch his ice-blue eyes and she knew he felt it too.
“Do you know what it is, Mr. Owen?”
He needed no explanation as to what she meant by 'it'.
“No, but whatever it is, isn’t good,” he said tightly.
“Mr. Owen, I have been having this feeling of being watched. The first time I felt it this strongly was while I was in Tulsa, then again the first day of school, and now, every time there are a large number of people around. I thought it was just anxiety getting the best of me, so I never said anything to anyone about it.”
“It’s not your anxiety, Kaya. My guess is that someone is watching you, and they only get close enough to be detected when there is the opportunity to blend in. What I am sensing is far too strong of a presence to be just one.”
He was actively trying to pinpoint where the presence originated from. Then just like that, her feeling of being watched was gone.