Dare

by T. A. Foster

  I squeezed the back of his neck. “Where are they, Trev?” I growled lowly in his ear.

  “Shit, Dare. You scared me.” He picked up the pizza as if I hadn’t just threatened to hurt him.

  “Good. You should be scared. Tell me where Abi and Tegan are.” I sat next to him.

  “Girl, I’m so not talking to you about this.” He reached for his phone, but I grabbed his wrist, twisting it until he dropped the phone on his tray. “You know I’ll scream, right?”

  “I don’t care if you scream. You’re a kidnapper,” I hissed.

  “I didn’t take them. Don’t get like that with me.”

  Trev had a way of exaggerating his words.

  “Come on, I need a hint. Something. Don’t let Case drag you into this, Trev.”

  He shook his head. I noticed he had added a new tattoo on his wrist since the last time I had seen him. It looked like tribal markings.

  “Case will kill me. I am not getting mixed up in your business.”

  I slid my chair closer to him. “You’re already mixed up in it. You know as well as I do that you have no interest in marrying one of the Nox girls. So, it’s to your benefit to help us, don’t you think?”

  He scrunched his nose. “I’m not supposed to bond with any of you, so it’s nothing for me to worry about. He’s not going to force me to go through with it. He won’t.”

  “Until he changes his mind. Is that what you want?”

  He shook his head. “No, I guess I don’t.”

  I sighed. Finally. Someone else saw what an idiotic tradition this was. Forcing bonding and marriages was pure insanity.

  “But, I’m in Case’s tribe. I’m loyal to him, not the Nox. Not to you, Dare, the high and mighty princess.”

  I threw my hands in the air. “Why does everyone have to be so stubborn?” I banged the chair against the table as I stood to leave. “And I’m a queen.” I thought about grabbing his neck again, extending my claws so he would take our encounter seriously.

  “Trev, you can’t believe anything Case says. He’ll tell you whatever he has to to gain your trust. Open your eyes. You are as much a pawn in this as Abi and Tegan are. He’ll do anything to get what he wants. You see that, right?”

  I had always liked Trev. He wasn’t like the rest of the Tribe. I always thought he was someone I would have been friends with if we weren’t on opposite sides of a war.

  “They’re not in the woods,” he whispered.

  “What did you say?” I leaned over his shoulder.

  “That’s it. That’s the clue, girlfriend. Now let me eat in peace.”

  I was tempted to shove his face in the pizza on his plate, but he had already broken code to help me. It had to be enough. It was barely a clue, but it was more than what we’d had in two days. Trev’s loose lips would work against me too. I had to use the information while it was still fresh.

  I dialed Vix, but got her voicemail.

  I spoke quickly after the beep. “Hey. We’ve been looking in the wrong place. I’m on my way home. See you soon.” I left the message.

  When I got back to the house, Vix wasn’t on the couch. I checked the kitchen and then her bedroom.

  “Vix?” I called. “Vix?” My heart raced.

  “Yeah. I was in the shower.”

  “Thank God,” I breathed.

  “What? You thought something happened to me?” She had a toothbrush in her hand.

  “We can’t be too careful, I guess.”

  “I dare Case to break in her and try to kidnap me. He hasn’t heard my roar.” She walked back to the bathroom.

  I followed her. “Yeah, I think there’s a reason he picked Abi and Tegan.”

  I didn’t mean to imply they were weak. None of us was, but they were the least trained. The most trusting. I would have preyed on them too if I were trying to infiltrate our clan.

  “I got your message. Where are they?” Vix continued to brush her teeth.

  “Trev wouldn’t tell me, but he did say they aren’t in the woods.” I leaned against the door jam and watched her pluck at her eyebrows next.

  “He could be screwing with us. You realize that?”

  I sighed. “I know. He’s hard to read, but I reminded him it’s not like he wants to marry one of us. He’ll be better off if Case forgets the stupid fate crap and lets him ride off into the sunset with a leopard of his choice. Helping us, helps him.”

  Vix giggled. “I think I kind of want to see that.”

  “So, I have a favor to ask.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I need to borrow a dress.” I waited for her eyes to bulge. “For a date tonight.”

  “Date? You have a date?”

  I knew she’d make a big deal out of it. “It’s with Zac, the history expert. He sort of asked me to go to a dinner tonight for the festival kick off. I thought it might be a way to find out what the plan is tomorrow night.”

  “Sure. And that’s the only reason?”

  “Can I borrow a dress or not? He said it’s black tie.” I wasn’t about to talk about how cute he was or what a flirting expert he had been over coffee.

  “Of course.” She puckered her lips to apply a deep liner on the edges.

  “Thanks. I’ll go pick something out.”

  I left Vix to her beauty regimen. There was a black dress she had worn to a semi-formal I had always wanted to try. I held it up to my body. We were both tall; it should fit.

  I walked back to the bathroom. “This ok?”

  “Yeah, I’ll never wear it again. It’s yours.”

  “Perfect.” I took it to my room.

  I had suppressed the yawn all day, but at the sight of my bed, I couldn’t hold it back. It was followed by another one. I stretched my arms over my head. I hadn’t slept in thirty hours at least. I could take one little nap before dinner.

  I slipped between the sheets and pulled the quilt up to my neck. Seconds later, I was sleeping like a purring cat.

  Everything was blurry, but the more centered my breaths became, the clearer the room was. We were sitting around the fire. All seven us. All of the Nox were together in the lair.

  Their faces were happy. Vix was arguing with Maya about something, and Abi snuggled next to Tegan. Sloan was showing off pictures of her boyfriend to Eva. The circle was complete, only I was on the outside looking in.

  It was as if a glass wall separated us. “Vix!” I shouted.

  She was too busy proving her point. Maya wasn’t backing down.

  “Tegan!” I called her name.

  They never looked up. The fire made their cheeks look rosy, and their green eyes brighter.

  “Hey, I’m over here. Why can’t you hear me?” I circled them, realizing I was the only one in panther form.

  I sat on my hind legs, watching them, listening to them talk.

  “You can’t be serious.” Vix rolled her eyes. “Dare would never go for that.”

  Maya giggled. “I’m completely serious. We should plan it.”

  Abi joined in. “The whole thing could be like a double birthday and graduation present. She’d love it.” Her auburn hair shimmered.

  Tegan shook her head. “No, we shouldn’t surprise our queen like that. It’s not a good idea. She’s going to want it to be done properly.”

  “Oh, come on. I can do most of the planning. It’s not like we haven’t all been thinking about this our whole lives.” Sloan stood from the circle, grabbed another log, and tossed it in the center of the fire. Sparks jumped off the log.

  “Really? She’s going to be happy we did this?” Vix needed more convincing about whatever they were debating.

  I wished they would just spit it out. I guessed it was some kind of surprise party, but I wasn’t sure.

  Maya grinned. “I think it’s decided. We’ll plan the whole thing, and then when she shows up, she’ll be so excited and so grateful. Sloan, you’re the perfect one to start the process.”

  “I was thinking her majesty would like light touc
hes of lavender, but mostly white. Big bouquets of hydrangeas and gardenias would be perfect.”

  “Yes, all of that. She’s going to be the most gorgeous bride we’ve ever had,” Maya stated proudly.

  My stomach flipped. “No!” I screamed at them. “No!” What was happening?

  “And it’s not like Case won’t look sexy as hell in a tux. I’ll get Noah to hook him up with something special.” Vix smiled. “He does anything I say. It’s like he can’t wait for our wedding or something.”

  Sloan scolded her. “No. This is about the queen’s day. Once she has her wedding, then the rest of us can start planning.”

  Abi and Tegan giggled. I couldn’t believe any of it. How could this be happening? My wedding. Case. They looked so happy. My ears flattened along my head. I hissed at each of them, ready to defend my choice, my decision in all of this. I squeezed my eyes together, forcing the image of them out of my head.

  “Hey, Dare. Wake up. Your date is here.” I heard Vix’s voice.

  “What time is it?” I rubbed my eyes.

  “You slept for four hours. It’s six.”

  “Oh no.” I sat forward, the quilt falling off my chest. “He’s here?”

  “Yeah, and I have to say he looks amazing in person and even more amazing in a tux.”

  I sat forward, my face felt flushed. I felt sick from the dream.

  “Hey, are you ok?”

  “Yeah.” I rubbed my arms. “It was only a dream. I’m just worried about Abi and Tegan.”

  “That makes sense.” She looked worried. “He’s out there waiting for you.”

  I threw my feet on the floor. “But I’m not dressed. I was going to do the whole shower thing. Wash my hair. Makeup.” I was having a hard time focusing after waking up from that nightmare.

  “I’ll bring you some dry shampoo. It’ll be fine. I’ll help you with the makeup too. Be right back.”

  I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The dark circles were gone under my eyes, but my hair was tangled. I stepped out of my clothes and slipped the black dress on.

  “Ok, I stalled for you.” Vix was back in the room.

  “Thanks. What do you think?” I spun in front of her.

  “It looks better on you than me.”

  “I doubt that.” Sure, I was pretty, but Vix had this whole exotic look that made her irresistible. I couldn’t touch that.

  “Come on, let’s get you ready.” She attacked my hair with a spray can and lined my eyes with eyeliner.

  Ten minutes later, I walked into the living room, a few inches higher in a pair of strappy stilettos.

  “Whoa.” Zac’s mouth almost dropped.

  “Will this work for a bunch of storytellers and historians?” I held a beaded clutch in my hand. Vix’s closet was an endless pit of accessories.

  He held out his arm. “It works for me.”

  I was usually better than this in social situations. I had been trained to accept compliments and how to give them. I knew how to talk to any shifter and settle a dispute. I could bring regions together. I could charm anyone’s witchy grandmother, but looking at Zac, I felt as if I’d be lucky to put a first grade sentence together.

  His tux was fitted through his shoulder and waist. I liked that he wore a bow tie. It seemed fitting for a historian. I caught a hint of mint and juniper as I stepped closer to him. This guy was intoxicating. I needed to steady myself.

  I looped my hand through the bend in his elbow. “Don’t wait up, Vix,” I called over my shoulder.

  “Yeah, definitely don’t wait up.” Zac grinned then opened the door.

  Dare was stunning. I would go so far as to say breathtaking. I had asked her in a spontaneous moment. I didn’t think she’d actually want to go to a stuffy museum dinner, but looking at her in my car, I was glad I had been impulsive.

  I turned the radio up.

  “What do you like to listen to?”

  She stared out the window. “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Show tunes it is.” I fiddled with the tuner, pretending to search for a station.

  “Ok, maybe it does matter.” Her hand landed on mine. “Anything but show tunes?”

  I laughed. I liked this girl.

  “How did your research go today?” she asked.

  “Which one? I’ve got several projects going on right now.”

  She twirled a strand of jet black hair through her fingers. I hadn’t seen hair that color before. “The one you were working on this morning in the library. Ghost of the Forest, wasn’t it?”

  She seemed like a cool girl. Maybe even the kind who wouldn’t think I was high if I told her about last night, but I kept it to myself. I wasn’t ready to talk about what I saw. What I experienced when the jag attacked me. What I felt when the panther rescued me. It was too much to talk about on a first date.

  “I don’t have anything new. But the crazy thing is I have to give a lecture about her tomorrow night at the park.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, the museum deemed me an expert on her, but I think I still have a lot to learn. I have time, I guess.” I turned onto one of the downtown streets. We were far from Oaks Park and the site of the attack.

  “Does that mean you’re staying in Sullen’s Grove for a while?”

  “I don’t know. We’ll see. I think I’d like to, but I haven’t stayed anywhere very long.”

  “Why is that?” she asked.

  I parked in the garage across the street from the museum in my assigned spot. I cut the ignition and turned to face her. “I guess I never had a reason to stay anywhere.” A small lump formed in my throat. It was hard to think about.

  “And you want that now?”

  She tilted her head to the side, her green eyes gleaming. Those eyes. I had noticed them this morning in the library, before I had a chance to register anything else. They were piercing, mesmerizing; they were deep pools of emerald that tempted me. I just didn’t know what the temptation was. I couldn’t figure her out.

  “Maybe.” I snatched the keys and hopped out of the car. I rushed to the other side to get the door for her. I wasn’t ready to go through my work history. Three towns in fourteen months made me sound like a drifter.

  She stretched one leg and then the other. Her movements were graceful and deliberate.

  “Are you a ballerina?” It sounded like a dumb question when I said it, but I had to know. Every move she made was elegant, as if her limbs flowed with water.

  She giggled. “No. Afraid I’ve never taken dance.”

  “Huh.” I gave her my arm. “Shall we?”

  The tables were full. We were one of the last couples to arrive at the dinner. Lacey glared at me from across the dining room. I noticed she was sitting alone, probably hoping we could go home together afterward. I tried not to think about how likely that possibility had been.

  We found our seats before the museum director grabbed the mic. He welcomed everyone to the dinner. He introduced the speakers for tomorrow’s event. I stood and waved when he called my name.

  “This is a big deal,” Dare whispered to me.

  “Yeah, I guess it is.”

  “Thanks for bringing me.” She smiled. “It seems like a big night for you. I hope I didn’t take someone else’s place. You could have shared this with someone you know.”

  I didn’t know what it was about her, but when she spoke, my ears perked. I didn’t hear anything else. She drew me in with slow, luxurious words.

  “Don’t say that. I asked you. I’m glad you came with me.”

  She nodded at the waitress who refilled our water goblets. Even that gesture was graceful.

  “Would you like a tour?” I asked.

  “Can we do that?” She looked around. “Isn’t the museum closed?”

  “I’ll give you the behind the scenes look at the glitz and glamour of Sullen’s Grove’s most treasured museum.”

  “It’s the only museum,” she teased.

  I stood from the table, and pulled he
r seat out. “Shall we?”

  We walked behind the table and I opened the side door, leading us into a dark hallway. The first level was where the main exhibits were displayed.

  I pushed open a set of double doors. “We’ll start here at the pirate exhibit.” Each of the displays was lit with a soft spotlight. It was almost eerie at night.

  “Oh, yes. I know about the pirates.” She walked over to a glass case. “What’s the story with this dagger?” She pointed to a silver knife. The blade gleamed.

  “This one was actually found at a construction site. Most everything else in here was found in underwater digs on some of the shipwreck sites. This was left behind by a hopeless romantic.” I stood next to her, studying her eyes as she read the inscription next to the dagger’s pedestal.

  “I didn’t know pirates could be hopeless romantics. I thought they just pillaged every ship they saw. How is this one different?”

  “Well, you see this particular pirate fell in love. When he was in port in Sullen’s Grove, he met a girl. He gave up his pirate ways for her and stayed behind in Sullen’s Grove when the ship set sail.”

  She turned toward me. “He gave it up? I thought pirates were indentured to their captains?”

  “He was the captain.” I smiled. “He gave it all up. His crew, the ship, his treasure. Everything he had accomplished for her.”

  “Wow.” Dare ran her finger over the top of the glass barrier above the dagger.

  “Want to hold it?”

  “It’s in the case.”

  I reached below the cabinet and dialed the combination until the case clicked. I lifted the lid, and picked up the dagger delicately.

  “Here.” I placed it in her open palms. “It’s sharp. Be careful.”

  She closed her fingers over the blade. “He gave it all up because he was in love?” She flipped the knife over. There was an inscription on the other side I wanted her to see.

  For whatever reason, the museum displayed the dagger with the embellished side facing up. I thought they were missing the real history of the dagger by displaying it that way.

  “Read it,” I urged her.

  “Garson, let this dagger pierce my heart if you are ever taken from this earth. Yours eternally, Amelia.” Dare looked at me, placing the dagger in my hands.