by Maeve Hart
I knew trying on these dresses might send me into a depression and make me eat more. Every time I went on a diet I focused on food, thought about nothing else and got fatter. The less I thought about food, the chances for me of losing weight were better.
After a few minutes, I left Abbie seated and tried on the first dress. I was astounded that it fitted perfectly.
“It looks perfect,” she said.
I looked at the sales assistant and read her thoughts. Yes, she was being sincere. “I like it a lot.”
“Would you like to show your friend?” the assistant asked.
“Yes, I will.”
I walked out to Abbie and her face beamed. “It’s perfect. Get that one.”
“There are others to try on,” I said.
“Why?”
“They might be better.”
Abbie shook her head. “When you find something perfect, why keep looking? A wedding dress is like a man—when you find the perfect one you stop looking.”
“What do you think?” the assistant asked.
I knew she was counting up her sales commission. Not that I blamed her. Everyone had to make a living somehow.
“I like it, but the wedding’s not for months and I might lose weight.”
“We can adjust it to fit,” she said.
Shaking my head, I was about to say something, when Abbie said, “She never makes up her mind quickly. Can you write the style down for me on a card?”
“Certainly,” the assistant said.
“I should go. Jacques will be waiting.”
“Okay, but aren’t you glad we did this? You can never start preparing too early.”
After our shopping expedition, I successfully sent Abbie home in a taxi, and then went back to meet Jacques at the penthouse. He’d said he’d be ready to go at five and it was nearly that time now. From the penthouse, the helicopter would take us back to the compound and I knew Jacques wanted to get back before darkness fell.
“Where were you?” Jacques asked when I walked in to the living room. He was sitting on the couch and had been doing something on his phone.
“Sorry I’m late.” I hurried over to sit next to him because he looked so worried. He placed his phone on the coffee table in front of him. “Lunch went a little longer than I thought it would. Abbie had too much to drink and then I ended up having to put her in a taxi. She’s having relationship problems and work problems too.” It wasn’t easy being a woman in some firms. Abbie’s firm was one of those. I didn’t want to tell Jacques I’d been trying on wedding dresses since I didn’t want to be one of those girls who focused on the wedding day itself rather than the marriage that was to follow.
“I was getting concerned,” he said.
“You could’ve called me.”
“I don’t want you to think I’m keeping tabs on you.”
He knew what I’d been through with control-freak Donald. “I wouldn’t think that. Anyway, it was hard to get away from Abbie. She was so wound up.”
“She’s having problems with Steve?”
I nodded and he put his arm around my shoulders and kissed me. “I thought they got along great.”
“I think they do, but then there’s the issue of his mother.” He lowered one eyebrow in a quizzical manner. I explained, “She thinks his mother has too much influence over him and that he’ll end up just like her, living off the land, and she’ll be forced to become a vegan trapped on some remote property eating vegetables for the rest of her days.”
Jacques chuckled.
“What I’m worried about is that she met that detective when she was out one night, and they got along well. Do you think he was following her?”
“It could be a coincidence.”
He couldn’t fool me. I knew that information worried him. “They exchanged numbers. What I think is he’s using her to get to you.”
“She doesn’t know anything, though,” Jacques said.
“He doesn’t know that.”
Jacques stood up and pulled me to my feet. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Jacques wasn’t letting on that he was bothered about the detective deliberately getting closer to Abbie. I knew I’d have to monitor the situation closely.
He looked down at my bag. “You didn’t go shopping?”
“No. There was no time.”
“I’ve got to come back here in a few days. Maybe you could do some shopping then.”
“Okay.” Perfect. I’d seek out the detective and do my best to look at his handwriting.
We headed to the rooftop where the helicopter waited.
When we were halfway back to the compound, I brought up the subject of meeting my parents. “What do you think about meeting my grandmother, my mother, and my aunt before the wedding?”
“Not much.” He grinned.
“Stop it. I’m serious. You’ll have to meet them eventually.”
“You don’t have to see them again.”
I sighed. He wanted me to cut them off and he kept telling me they’d kill me if they found out I was a shifter. I didn’t want to believe it, but I was also nervous that my grandmother might see a similarity in Jacques to his grandfather.
He grabbed my hand. “If that will make you happy then yes, I will meet them.”
“Good. Why don’t we do that in a few days when we’re back in the city? We’ll take them out for dinner somewhere rather than going to one of their houses. And I know you don’t want them at the penthouse.”
He nodded. “That seems like a good idea. Do you want me to choose the restaurant?”
I nodded.
“Good. We’ll make it Friday night at eight o’clock. I’ll give you the details of the restaurant later, and you can make sure that I’ll be there.”
“I can do that.” I settled back into the seat, relaxed now that things were coming together. And I was relaxing now because I knew I wouldn’t be on Friday night. I had the feeling it would be a dinner I would never forget.
CHAPTER 5
I t was hard for me to socialize with the pack sometimes when all I wanted to do was be alone with Jacques. We were to be at the compound for a couple of days before we went back to the penthouse.
We were rarely together at the compound except for the nights. The pack hung out in the massive living area and it seemed everyone wanted to have their own private time to speak with Jacques. I usually found myself sitting with one of the friends I’d made or talking with Byron behind the bar.
I was sipping on a sparkling water when out of the corner of my eye I saw Kylie walking toward me. The hatred she held for me swirled in the air like a dark tornado gathering strength. She sat on the seat next to me, and Byron being a calm man, walked away from the tension that he’d guessed was about to unfold.
“Hello,” I said.
“I hope you’re marrying Jacques for the right reasons.”
I wanted to ask her what business it was of hers, but instead I said, “Yes, of course I am.”
She moved her face closer to me, and sticking out her bottom jaw asked, “Are you sure?”
I pressed my lips together, trying to remain calm at the interrogation when all I wanted to do was lash out and hit her. “And what do you think the right reasons are?”
“I thought so.” She leaned back as she scoffed.
Just one little push, I told myself, and she’d come off that stool and land flat on her back. “What exactly is your problem with me, Kylie? I’ve done nothing to you.” I’ve only thought what I’d like to do to you.
“I don’t like you and I never have.”
“I’ve done nothing to you,” I repeated calmly.
“I don’t trust you.”
“Well that’s your problem then, isn’t it?” I was going to stand up for myself, not like when I was at school. Back then I had walked away from the kids who teased me about everything from my weight to my braces to the fact that I had no father.
“You know Eloise is comi
ng back, don’t you?”
“This Eloise that you keep talking about has nothing to do with me.”
“Maybe you’re right. Eloise has nothing to do with you because she has everything to do with Jacques.”
“Kylie, are you going to get to the point and say what you came to say? Because if you’re not, I’d rather you go away and leave me alone.”
Narrowing her eyes, she looked me up and down with disdain. “Well, you think you’re all that, don’t you?”
I ignored her and sipped on my drink. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Byron was listening in.
She lifted a hand to strike me and before I knew it, Lewis was standing between us having grabbed her arm. “I don’t think that’s necessary, Kylie,” he said firmly, pushing her hand back.
Kylie pouted. “You don’t know what she’s been saying to me, Lewis.”
“Just drop it. We don’t need to be fighting amongst ourselves. We’ve got to stick together. A squabbling pack is a weak pack, just remember that.”
“Tell her that.” Kylie gave me another evil stare.
“Just as well Jacques didn’t see you about to strike his bride. What were you thinking?”
Kylie scowled at him before she slid off the stool and slunk away.
“Sorry about that, Destiny. We’re all a bit on edge. We haven’t been for a run in quite a few nights. Jacques doesn’t like us going out when he’s not here,” Lewis said.
“Why’s that?”
He shrugged. Either Lewis didn’t know or he didn’t want to say.
I took the opportunity to ask something I’d been wondering about. “I’ve been meaning to ask your brother something, but I always forget. What is that tattoo on his wrist? What does it represent?” I’d caught a glimpse once of an unusual tattoo on Detective Andrews’ wrist. Then I saw that Seamus had exactly the same tattoo in the very same place.
He narrowed his eyes. “Why do you ask?”
“It’s unusual, that’s all.”
“Back a few years ago Seamus joined another pack of shifters.”
I remembered Lewis telling me that he and his brother had been alone for a long time before they joined Jacques’ pack just a couple of years ago. This was new information to me.
“And you didn’t go with him?” I asked.
“No. They were from the dark side. They killed humans for no reason.”
I gasped. “They killed?”
“Yes. My brother didn’t kill anyone and when he refused to go along with their plans, they tossed him out and he came back to me.”
“Does Jacques know this?”
“Of course he does. Jacques knows everything.”
“Is that shifter pack still around?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
“Do they have a name?”
“They call themselves The Light.”
“They don’t sound very much like light to me. They should call themselves The Dark.”
“Well, at least Seamus got out of it and came to his senses.”
“So other people with that tattoo would’ve belonged to the same pack?”
“Destiny, have you seen that tattoo on someone else?”
He looked a little too interested, so I shook my head.
He seemed relieved. Byron put a small bottle of beer in front of him. Lewis nodded his thanks.
I had to ask again, “You said everyone has got that tattoo in The Light?”
“Yes. They put it on all their initiated members.”
I wondered what the members would have to do for the initiation, but I didn’t like to ask. I’d already asked too much. And it couldn’t have been to kill someone because Lewis had just said that Seamus had never killed. Did that mean that Detective Andrews was a shifter? It would be dangerous to have a detective who was also a shifter with The Light.
I changed the subject. “I’m happy to be going for a run tonight. It seems like it’ll be a nice clear night.”
“We’re all looking forward to it.”
I looked around the room for Jacques and saw him talking to someone and then I sensed someone looking at me. It was Kylie, still with a look of hatred plastered all over her face.
BEFORE I JOINED the others who were leaving for the run, Byron said, “Stay close to Jacques. And stay away from Kylie. She’s got it in for you.”
I nodded. “Thanks. I kind of figured that.”
He smiled. I counted Byron as one of the shifters I could trust the most. The other ones were Celia and Janie. Janie reminded me of Abbie.
Now that I’d been a shifter for months, my sense of smell was heightened. I could detect each unique scent of each member of the pack.
While the pack waited as wolves in one place for everyone to come together as a group, I breathed in deeply, closed my eyes and focused on reading the emotions of the pack. Jacques had told me that this was something I’d soon be able to do. With my mind, I sent tentacles of energy out to one wolf and then another. From one I got excited energy and from another there were slight ripples of tension. When I opened my eyes I saw we were still waiting and waiting for one wolf who was walking slowly toward the pack. It was Kylie. I didn’t need to close my eyes and focus on reading her energy—I read it loud and clear. Just as Kylie joined us, an eerie breeze whisked past us and an owl in a tree above us hooted.
Even with putting up with Kylie, there was something liberating about being a shifter. As a wolf I was acting and living on instinct rather than the painful, calculating, thought-laboring way I lived as a human. Nothing was done in my human form without me thinking of things from every angle. As a wolf, I knew what to do in an instant.
The nights I liked best were those when Jacques and I broke away from the pack and were alone. But I couldn’t deny the energy and the sense of family that surrounded the pack when we were together.
Jacques took the lead and ran into the undergrowth. We were already outside the compound, needing new regions to explore since we already knew every inch of the compound. There was nothing more exhilarating for a wolf than to explore new territory. I did what Byron suggested and stayed as far from Kylie as I could. I ran as fast as I could, bounding my way through the thick undergrowth of the forest floor.
Every now and again, Jacques glanced around and I knew he was checking that I was okay. Even in wolf form he was attentive and protective.
CHAPTER 6
T he next morning after breakfast, I slipped back up to the bedroom to call my mother. Rather than tell her I was getting married, I thought it best to start off with saying I would like her to meet my new boyfriend. After a deep breath to ease the tension in my shoulders, I pulled my phone out of my bag and slumped on the bed. I plumped the pillows behind me and got comfortable before I pressed the speed dial button.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Destiny?”
“Yes, it’s me.” How many other people would call her Mom since I was an only child?
“Where have you been? I’ve gone several times to your apartment and you aren’t answering your phone.”
“Several times?” I asked, knowing how prone she was to exaggeration.
“Well, once or twice.”
“I turn my phone off a lot. I didn’t have any messages from you.”
“No one leaves messages these days. You simply see a missed call, and then you call back.”
“I don’t think that the caller ID comes up when you’ve got your phone off, though, Mom.”
There was silence for a moment. “Have you been avoiding me?” she asked.
“No, I haven’t. In fact—”
“Where are you?”
I cleared my throat and changed the subject. “The reason I’m calling is I’d like to invite you, Aunt Flora, and Granny to dinner on Friday night to meet my… my new man.”
After a moment of silence, she responded, “So that’s where you’ve been? With the ‘new man’ instead of returning your mother’s phone calls?”
I rolled my eyes at my
mother. She always found a way to put a negative spin on things. “Can you come or not, Mother? Or do you have a gallery opening on that night?”
“No, I don’t have one on Friday night. I’ll be able to make it. But I have a gallery opening on Saturday night. Would you and your new boyfriend like to come to that? I’d love it if you could. I know you didn’t like the art at the last one, but this is very different. It’s a young artist I discovered and I think he’s going to be huge.”
“Maybe. I’ll see. I’ll try to get there.”
“Good. Does this mysterious man have a name?”
“Yes, he does happen to have one and it’s Jacques Hunter.”
There was another moment of silence. “The Jacques Hunter? The billionaire?”
“Yes. I only know of one. It’s not a common name.”
“Well done! If you’re going to put up with a man he might as well be rich. As long as he’s not mean with his money like that horrible Donald was. I never liked him from the get go.”
I screwed my face up. I hated thinking about Donald, much less talking about him. “He’s nothing like Donald. He’s lovely. I think you’ll really like him.”
“I already do. And I’ll keep on liking him as long as he treats you properly. But if you’d take my advice, you’d soon realize that you don’t really need a man.”
“Yes, I know that, Mother.” I’d had that drummed into me since day dot and I’d grown up surrounded by women as a result of my family’s distrust and disdain for the male of the species.
She continued what I knew was going to turn into one of her rants. “You can speak sarcastically to me now, but one day you’ll know that I was right. And then I’ll most likely be dead and then you’ll be sorry. I don’t know why children never listen to their parents. It’s only when they grow up and get older they realize their parents were right all along.”
I felt like pointing out that I was already grown-up, but it was too early to get into it with her and no amount of coffee would’ve prepared me to verbally spar with her that early in the morning. “I’ll text you the address of the restaurant.”