"Elliot, you shouldn't be in here with me!" I hiss, trying my best to keep my voice low. Denny would have a fit if he knew Elliot was in here with me. Hell, I think that's why he insisted on coming out with us. I don't think he trusts the man in front of me. Apparently, for good reasons.
"Hush," Elliot whispers, placing his finger across my lips, "I just came to make sure you were alright. You're partially dressed, so it's not like I walked in on you naked."
I grow a pair and bite his finger with a small growl. I hate it when people cover my mouth. I look up into his face and take a step back. My spine presses against the freezing cold glass of the mirror as I watch a dark, primal look cross his eyes. A light, molten silver swirls within their depths as he steps closer to me, a low growl building in his throat.
"Hmm, you might not want to do that," he growls deeply.
"W-why?" I whimper. Shit, I seriously fucked up. What the fuck was I thinking?
"Because it makes me do things like this...." he growls before sliding his hands into my hair to caress my head and his face drops, his lips pressing against mine hungrily.
My heart does a somersault within my chest, his touch eliciting pinpricks of electricity that flows from every single one of my pores. His fingers in my hair curl, his nails carefully scraping against my scalp as he pulls me impossibly closer to his hungry mouth. A deep, low growl vibrates in his throat as his free hand slides down to the small of my back.
A moan erupts from my lips and I grip his hair in one hand while I run the other up and down his spine. Our lips move in perfect sync, his touch so soft, yet so rough at the same time. I don't know how it's possible, but it's almost as if I can feel his heart beating within my own chest.
I growl into his lips and wrap both of my arms around his neck in an attempt to pull him closer. My entire body feels as though it's immersed in flames and all I want to do is be consumed by them. Elliot pulls his lips from mine for a moment as he grasps me by the thighs and wraps them around his waist.
His lips are back on mine after only a few seconds and I devour his with mine eagerly. He's like a nectar, completely addicting and intoxicating. His hands move up my thighs to grasp my ass and I groan into his lips. A feral growl passes his lips as I pull away for a moment to look into his eyes. My breath catches in my chest when I see the molten silver consuming the familiar icy blue irises.
Reality dawns on me like a bolt of lightning and I slap my hands against his chest to push away from him. He drops me and takes a step back, his fingers pressing against the bridge of his nose. I clasp my hand over my heart, willing it to slow its traitorous tempo.
"What the fuck was that about?" I hiss, quickly grabbing a shirt and sliding it over my half naked torso.
He has the nerve to hold a finger up, telling me to hold on. Oh, hell no! I'm not waiting. He needs to give me an answer now!
"Elliot!" I hiss, my hand reaching out to snatch his hand down, "Answer me!"
"Give me a minute!" he growls, causing me to look up into his face.
A shiver runs down my spine as I gaze into his mismatched eyes, one a startling, frozen blue, the other the color of molten silver with a thick charcoal edge. He leans his head back, against the wall of the dressing room. The veins in the side of his neck bulge with every beat of his heart. I reach a hand out, but he growls at me and clenches his jaw.
"Don't touch me right now!" he hisses through his teeth, his large hands in tight fists at his side.
"What's going on?" I ask, taking a step closer to him.
"I'm sorry, Macy," he whispers, his voice deep and gravely, "I'll meet you at the checkout counter."
With that, he slips back out the dressing room, leaving me behind flustered and confused. What the hell was that? What's going on with him? Why the hell did that feel so fucking amazing? It shouldn't have felt so good, but it felt like I was in the middle of an electrical storm when his lips were on mine. It's wrong...but God, why did it feel so damn perfect?
"Here!" Denny yells before launching a pair of jeans over the curtain, nearly scaring the daylights out of me.
I attempt to slow my startled heart and look to the jeans in my hands. If Denny was here a few minutes ago.... I shake my head, clearing the thoughts from my mind and try the pants. Once I'm satisfied with my choices, and after having a few moments to give a pep talk to my inner whore, I exit the dressing stall. Both of my arms are weighed down with dozens of articles of clothing. Thank God, I didn't spend everything in my savings account. All of this is going to cost a fortune!
Elliot appears out of nowhere and grabs a stack from me. He doesn't even give me a second glance, like nothing just happened between the two of us.... I glare daggers into the back of his head as he leads us to the checkout counter. The small woman from before looks up to us, a broad smile appearing across her wide face.
"How're you doing, Mamma Kate?" Elliot coos before placing my clothes on the counter top.
"Doin' good, Eli." She says with a smile before sorting through the clothes laid before her.
"That's great!" he says, a large smile spread across his face, "Mamma, This is Macy and Denny."
"Well, hello there!" she says, her dark brown eyes looking me up and down before turning back to Elliot, "You've got a fine beauty with you this time, Eli."
I give her a small smile before turning to the tall man at my side. This time? How many women has he brought here? Oh God, Macy...don't be such a jealous idiot. A... he’s not yours to be jealous over. B... he’s a fucking Alpha...he's probably had to bring other women here before for the exact same reasons. C...C... just don't. You don't need a complicated man like this in your life right now....
"That'll be two-hundred and seventy-nine bucks," she tells me. Damn, that's not bad. I look over to the six huge bags waiting for me to take and I can't figure out how it's so cheap.
"Ya get a discount if you've gone through the first stage," she says, a kind smile on her face, "I can tell you're new by the way ya kept tossin' clothes over the curtain. It was hard for me as well."
"Thank you!" I exclaim as I turn to Denny to give me my wallet.
"Don't worry about it...." Elliot grumbles before handing her a stack of cash.
"You don't have to do that!" I argue, shaking my hand in front of Denny to hand me my damn money.
"Seriously," Elliot chuckles, "it's not a problem. Damn Ronan pays me more than I know what to do with."
"Fine!" I huff. I pluck my bags from the counter top and walk to the front door, ready to get the rest of the things I need.
Denny hangs behind, paying for the few items he picked up, his eyes looking between Elliot and I. God, does he know what we did? He was gone an awful long time to just look for a pair of pants. Did he see Elliot sneaking out?
I duck my head and open the door, the warm humidity slapping me in the face as Elliot reaches from behind me to help with the door. I take a deep breath, anticipating the electrical shocks that turn me into a pile of goo. But, he avoids contact with me and walks past once I've passed through the doorway.
"Be safe, y'all!" Kate yells at us as we walk out onto the sidewalk.
"So, what do you need now?" Elliot asks as he takes half of my bags from me. Denny walks to my other side, doing the same. I look down to my hands, noticing that they've somehow commandeered all my stuff.
"I need hygiene products and shoes," I tell him.
"There's two shops side by side up here. They'll have what you need...." he tells me, a distant look in his eyes. I take note that he still hasn't looked me in the face since sneaking out of my dressing room.... He takes off ahead of us and I have to run to catch up with him.
A few minutes later, he walks into a small, well-lit shop at the corner of the street. The moment we walk through the doors, the smell of a thousand different scents hit me.
"If you want to shop around in here. I can go put your stuff in the truck...." Elliot says as he motions to the door.
"Sure," I mumble as I glance a
t all the different scented body scrubs and soaps.
I grab a basket before placing all the body and hair products that I'll need inside. Denny walks up to me, tossing a bottle of body wash and shampoo in before smiling at me.
"It's really not so bad here," he says as we walk through the store. I grab a few candles and some body lotion before finally approaching the register stand. A freakishly tall woman is leaning against the counter, a fashion magazine in her hands.
Her skin's the color of rich chocolate and her eyes are the most breathtaking shade of amber that I've ever seen. She looks up to us, a broad smile plastered to her face.
"Hello!" she says, her voice low and inviting, "Are you ready to check out?"
"Yes," I mumble shyly, "that'd be great."
I walk to her and set my things on the smoked glass counter top.
"What's your Umbra?" she asks. I nearly choke as I look at her wide eyed. Is this really a topic of every day conversation.
"Um," I mumble, "I don't know yet."
"Oh!" she says excitedly, "You're Turned? That's cool! I haven't seen one of your kind in transition for some time!"
"Yeah, it's cool...I guess...." I sigh as Denny hands me a few bills to pay for my purchase. I give him a look, but he simply shrugs his shoulders before passing the money to her.
"My name's Aisha. If you ever need someone to talk to, I live just a few miles down the road," she says. I can't help but like her immediately.
"I'm Macy," I reply, "it's nice to meet you, Aisha. What's your Umbra?"
"She's a lioness." She says proudly.
"Oh, that's cool!" I exclaim, "I don't even know the person who turned me, so I won't know my Umbra for some time."
"Someone turned you without your permission?" she exclaims, a horrified look on her face.
"Yeah," I mumble, "it sucks."
"Poor baby," Aisha coos as she places my items inside a bag, "that's terrible. Who would do something like that?"
"You know as much as I do," I mumble, biting my bottom lip.
"Well, here's my number...." she says as she writes something on my receipt, "I would love to go out for lunch one day. I'm fairly new here myself and the locals, let's just say they don't take to newbies too well."
"Thanks!" I say, turning to Denny to see the small smile on his face. Oh, he thinks she's hot!
"Can I bring my friend?" I ask, pointing to Denny who hasn't said a word.
"Of course!" she exclaims, "Aren't you a cute little human!"
"H-how'd you know?" Denny stutters, a bright blush spreading to his cheeks.
"Oh, hon," she chuckles, "you have the stench on your kind all over you. Don't worry though, I love humans. Only if they like my kind though. I'm going to assume you're okay since this one here's with you."
"Thanks...I guess...." Denny mumbles, his face nearly purple from the deep blush consuming his face.
"Macy, are you ready to go?" Elliot calls from the door. I turn to see his tall body leaning against the frame.
"Sure...." I say, grabbing my bags. I walk in his direction, brushing my shoulder against him on purpose as I shove my way to the door. A deep, warning growl vibrates in his chest, but I nearly break out into a run to get away from him.
"Have a great day, Macy!" Aisha says, “Call me sometime!"
Chapter Thirteen
Do you think you bought enough stuff?" Elliot scoffs as he places the rest of my bags in the backseat of the truck. I duck behind him to look and laugh when I realize that I'm going to be squished between bags on the way home.
"It's not my fault that I was bitten by some rabid shape-shifting psycho...." I say as I hop into the backseat. I have to basically hug the door to fit, but I won’t have to worry about my items flying out of the bed of the truck.
It doesn't take us long to make it back to the house and I find myself nodding off by the time we pull into the gravel driveway. I glance out the window and a whistle escapes my lips. The house is in the middle of a clearing several acres wide. Along the furthermost edge of the property lays the huge, vast lake. It's quite a sight to drive upon, even more breathtaking than it was before.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Elliot asks as he puts the truck in park.
"Yeah...." I breathe, grabbing at my seat belt to unbuckle it.
Elliot glances at me through the rear-view mirror, but I drop my head, avoiding his gaze. I've not forgotten about earlier...like he apparently has. It feels weird, I mean...I wasn't the one to instigate our encounter, but I feel like he's stomped all over me. Why start something and completely ignore me afterward? It just doesn't make sense....
As I hop out of the truck, I notice a large, white delivery truck parked beside the house. There's a mammoth of a man unloading a few boxes onto the front porch.
"Who's that?" I ask Elliot who walks to my side.
"It's a friend of mine, Michael," he says as he grabs several of my bags, "He's been installing some furniture I ordered from him."
"Oh...." I sigh, grabbing the rest of my stuff from the truck.
Denny and I follow Elliot to the front porch where the large man's lounging on a rocking chair. He jumps from the chair to pulls Elliot into a bone crushing hug. He's probably the only person I've met so far that's taller than Elliot. I swear, this guy should play basketball or something. Well, maybe not. Being a Shifter would probably be considered cheating....
"Elliot, how have you been doing, Brother?" he asks. He's an older man, nearly my dad's age. His short black hair is peppered with white and his eyes are wrinkled right at the edges.
"I've been great, Man!" Elliot says as he slaps Michael across the back, "Ronan ordered me to take care of this lot. This is Macy and Denny. She's a Turned in transition and he's her human friend."
"Human?" Michael asks worriedly as he turns to look at us.
"Yeah," Elliot says, "don't judge him too much. She was turned against her will and he refuses to leave her side."
"Well then, you're a good kid in my eyes then!" Michael exclaims. He approaches us and holds his hand out to Denny, "Michael Carrick, nice to meet you!" he says, his loud voice booming throughout the clearing.
"Dennis Walker...." Denny says, trying his hardest to sound macho.
"So," he says, turning to Elliot, "this is why you needed me to set up furniture in those dusty spare bedrooms of yours."
"Yeah, thanks for that," Elliot says as he walks through the open front door.
"You got me a bed?" I ask excitedly, running through the door behind him. I decide to put the stint from earlier behind us. I'll talk to him about it later, when Denny's not around.
"Of course, I got you a bed!" he laughs, "I would like mine back. You think mine's too big. Plus, if you're going to be here a while...you might as well be comfortable."
I carry my bags through the spacious living room and notice a large box sitting in the corner.
"Did you get a new television?" Denny exclaims from behind me.
"Yeah," Elliot says with a shrug, "I called Michael while you were shopping and he brought one with the furniture I ordered for y'all yesterday. I hope sixty inches is large enough...."
"Man, I think I love you!" Denny gushes as he runs to the box.
Elliot chuckles with a shake of his head and grabs the bags from me. He motions to the hallway containing his bedroom with a tilt of his head. My heartbeat thuds painfully in my chest, but I take a deep breath and follow behind him. We pass by several rooms, including his and the hall bathroom. God, this house is bigger than I expected.
"Here's your room...." Elliot tells me as he opens a door. I follow him in and gasp.
The room is like all the other rooms in the house, grey walls and dark, almost black, hardwood floors. The furniture he moved in accentuates the paint nicely. There's a large, king size sleigh bed in the middle of the room. It's covered with navy blue sheets and a powder blue quilt. There's a matching dresser on one wall and a vanity on the other. He's even moved in a black, leather chaise lounge in
. I can absolutely get used to this room.
"You can put your clothes in the dresser or the closet...." he tells me as he opens the door to a decently sized closet.
"Thanks," I mumble as I brush by him.
He leaves the room without a word and I sigh before exploring my new room. It takes some time to unpack all my clothes. All the drawers of the dresser are packed to full capacity and I've lined every inch of the closet with hanged clothes. I let out a deep sigh and flop down onto the mattress. My heavy eyes close on their own and I take a moment to sort through the thoughts overflowing in my mind.
It's weird, all that's happened to me this fast. I went from being just a regular girl getting over the loss of her soulmate... to a creature I would have never imagined to really exists. I still don't know how I feel about all of this, but I know nothing will change it. So, I might as well get accustomed to my new life, because it isn't going to change.
The feelings that are slowly building are what worry me the most. Elliot, sure he's hot...and sweet...and caring.... But, I can't help the feeling of weariness that overwhelms me. Is it too fast to begin moving on? I mean, Henry was in my life for nine years. I feel like I'm betraying him by moving on so quickly. Elliot though...there's something about him that I can't place. Being around him just...feels right. It's almost how it was with Henry, but so different at the same time....
"Macy?" Elliot asks. I open my eyes and roll on my side to see him standing in the doorway. He's changed into a pair of pajama pants and a thin, white t-shirt.
"What's up?" I mumble, rubbing my eyes. Weird, I don't remember falling asleep. It doesn't surprise me though, this has been one of the longest days of my life.
"I've made us some dinner...." he says before leaving me alone. I make my way over to my new dresser and pull out a pair of sleeping shorts and a tank top. I slip them on and pull my long hair into a messy bun before leaving my room.
The scent of spices hits me in the nose and my mouth starts to water. I walk into the kitchen and spy Denny dishing out some food. He's wearing his favorite pair of Batman pajama pants and nothing else.
The Dying Fate (The Umbra Chronicles Book 1) Page 14