by C Zinnia
“No, I get what you’re saying,” she said. “Like anything is possible within the darkness.”
“Yeah, exactly,” he said as he beamed at her. “You’re pretty cool.”
“You too, Daren,” she said.
By the time they reached the B&B, Mel was exhausted. “Thank you again for taking me, Daren,” she said. “Tonight was a memorable experience. I’ll have to make it up to you.”
“I’m glad to hear. Now go to bed before Mom and Dad get home and catch you up so late,” Daren said. “I doubt you’d be able to keep yourself from telling them right now.”
“You’re probably right,” Mel said with a laugh.
Mel went upstairs. As soon as she put her hand on the bedroom door, she saw Bill come out of his room. Trixie wasn’t back yet.
“Where were you and without your car?” Bill asked as he leaned against the doorway. Mel felt the weight of his presence. Bill’s energy tried to pry into hers. He was trying to force the answer out of Mel, but she wasn’t having it.
“Just out admiring the night,” Mel said. She turned to open the door.
Bill moved closer. “Are you sure about that?” he asked.
She tensed up.
He thought they were the only two in the house. Bill’s energy showed he would be more forceful than he had been when others were around.
“Yes, I am,” Mel said. “And I’m also sure it’s none of your business, so I suggest you leave me alone.”
Bill grabbed the doorknob to keep the door closed so Mel couldn’t go into the bedroom. Mel jerked her hand away. “What if I make it my business?” Bill whispered against her ear.
Fear and anger swirled together causing Mel to snap. She couldn’t stand it when someone had the audacity to try to threaten her. Mel rammed her elbow hard into Bill’s abdomen. He cried out in pain and doubled over. Mel grabbed his head between her hands and kneed him in the face.
Crunch! He cried out as he fell on his back. He grabbed his bleeding nose.
“I don’t take kindly to my personal space being invaded. And I will not tolerate threats. I suggest that next time you think about trying to intimidate me; you don’t,” Mel said. “And if you ever try to threaten me again, I’ll call the police.” She slammed the door and locked it before he recovered.
Bill slammed his fist against the door, causing it to shake. “Open the God damn door,” he said.
Before Mel could reply, she heard Daren ask; “What’s going on here?” Daren must have heard the commotion. Although he sounded calm, his energy was wild. At that moment, Daren was ready to fight Bill.
“Nothing,” Bill answered. His voice sounded strained from anger and pain. “I was just using the bathroom. But thanks for checking on me. Say, what are you doing up so late anyway?”
“I’m a night owl,” Daren said dryly. “What are you doing with a bloody nose?” He didn’t try to hide the amusement from his voice. “Hit your nose on the bathroom door or something?”
Bill seethed. “Be careful who you mess with, boy ,” he said.
Daren didn’t baulk at the term. “You may want to take your own advice, Bill. You’re the one bleeding,” he said.
Mel felt Lee and Dana on the porch. She could hear their voices as they spoke to each other, but not what they were saying.
“I guess your whole family is a bunch of night owls, huh?” Bill said. “And on a full moon. How interesting.”
Daren didn’t react to the underlying accusations. “Good-night, Bill,” he said.
Bill’s anger boiled. He wanted nothing more than to kill Daren.
Mel was shocked by the level of Bill’s emotions. Why would Bill want to kill Daren? Mel thought. She had a glimpse from Bill’s point-of-view of taking a gun and putting a bullet through Daren’s head.
Images of a person’s thoughts normally never occurred for Mel. She shook it off as being fatigued. I was just taking an emotion I felt from Bill and my imagination ran with it, she thought.
“I said good-night, Bill,” Daren said.
Bill went to his room and locked his door.
Daren waited a moment. “Lights out, Mel,” he said to her through the door. “By the way, nice work. You really are a badass at heart.”
Yeah, a real tough gal, she thought sardonically. She frantically wiped away her tears and snot with her shaking hands. She could feel panic welling in her throat. She felt like she could barely gasp for air. Mel hadn’t realized what she did to Bill until after it was done. Thank God for those self-defense classes. She just had to make sure she was never alone with him. Mel knew she wouldn’t be able to take Bill by surprise again.
“Mel, lights out,” he said softly. It was almost as though he could hear her sniffling.
Daren’s voice helped her regain enough composure that she was able to quickly take off her shoes and turn off the light. Daren went upstairs as she got in bed and composed herself.
Mel heard Lee and Dana come inside of the house. Their energies seemed like they were unaware of what had just transpired. They walked upstairs. Dana paused at Mel’s door before continuing upstairs with Lee.
Mel wondered how Bill, Trixie, Lee, Dana, and Daren all inter-related. And where do Viola and the fighting fit in the picture? Where is the Al guy? Had Al been at the fights too? Mel thought. Was Al short for Alura? She realized she had forgotten to tell Daren about her vision.
It seemed like Bill had his theories about the whole situation.
What was important about emphasizing a full moon? And who did Viola need to see? It wasn’t the woman. Was the woman Viola’s ex? More and likely, Mel thought.
Thinking about Viola again caused Mel’s body to warm, especially her groin. She wondered what it would be like to kiss Viola.
Mel closed her eyes and fantasized that Viola had seen her at the fight. She imagined Viola carting her off into a secluded part of the woods. She imagined them kissing and caressing each other.
Mel stroked her clitoris as she thought about all of the parts of their bodies they would explore together. She bit her lip to hold back her moan as she climaxed.
As she laid there, she tried to recall her previous questions and concerns. Instead, her adrenaline wore off and she drifted into a dreamless sleep.
~ * ~
Viola felt frustrated and exhausted by the time she jumped in the shower of her home. She knew she should feel elation about the match, but Viola felt there was a more important situation at hand.
Viola had smelled her mate. And I didn’t find her , she thought. She had searched the whole field for her. It was like her mate had disappeared into the wind.
The most Viola was able to figure out was that her mate had been sitting in the tree during the fight and then she left into the woods. Too many other people had trampled through the woods, diluting the scent while Viola was in human form. She had wanted to ask Daren for help, but he had already left.
Viola would have had to turn into a wolf to track her mate down, but she knew it would have gotten everyone’s attention and the gossip would have started.
While Viola knew she smelled her mate, she was also terrified that she may have imagined it. How terrible would it have been if both packs found out I was imagining the scent of my mate? That would have been humiliating and sad, she thought.
Jesse was already figuring out too much as it was. Viola didn’t need Jesse finding Viola’s mate before Viola did. Viola worried Jesse would do something reckless to prevent Viola from meeting her mate.
Viola got out of the shower and went to bed. It must have been a female from the other pack. She must have left early. Viola would ask Bruce tomorrow if she could go to Mason’s pack to see if she could find her mate. Maybe Daren can go with me, she thought.
Feeling like she had a good plan-of-action, Viola fell asleep.
Chapter 16
Viola sighed happily. Warm lips rubbed across her lips. Her hand trailed down her mate’s back and to her waist. She pulled her mate closer. Her to
ngue slowly caressed her mate’s lower lip as Viola softly stroked her mate’s cheek.
Her mate sensually kissed her back as she twirled her fingers through tendrils of Viola’s hair. It made Viola want to purr in response.
The kiss was perfect. It was intense enough that Viola was able to show her mate joy of finally finding her. She could feel her mate’s racing pulse as her hand caressed her neck.
Viola pulled away so she could look into her mate’s beautiful eyes and embrace this moment of bliss.
Viola awoke in bed. Alone. She cursed out loud as she rubbed her face. She had to find her mate. “God, please help me find her,” she prayed. Viola wondered if their first kiss would be that intense.
Of course, it will be, Viola thought. She’s my mate after all. That sort of chemistry comes with it. She closed her eyes as she imagined what it would be like to kiss her mate. To touch her. To taste her. Her hand moved between her legs and she stroked herself as she thought of all of the ways she could show her mate her joy of finding her. It wasn’t long before she found her release.
As she laid there post-orgasm, she quickly realized lying in bed wouldn’t provide any of the answers she wanted, so she got up and got dressed. In no time, Viola quickly went downstairs and made her way towards Bruce’s office.
“You know he’s still in bed, dear,” Silvia said from the living room. “And good morning.”
Viola frowned at her carelessness. She had been too distracted to notice Silvia sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper. Viola fought the urge to go wake up Bruce. “Sorry, Silvia. Good morning. How are you doing?” she asked politely.
Silvia gave Viola an all-knowing smile. “Spectacular. The baby only kicked my bladder once last night,” she said as she put down her paper. “Now, what’s up? You’re acting like you’ve got a wild hair about something.”
Viola sat down with her. “I need to go visit Mason’s pack,” she said.
Silvia hadn’t expected that reply. “Right after defeating Chris? That doesn’t seem like a good idea. Why do you need to go?” she asked
Viola paused. She was afraid that saying it out loud would jinx her. Finally, she said; “I found a particular scent last night that I need to re-examine.”
Silvia was confused. “A scent. How cryptic of you. Could you be a little more specific? I think my pregnancy brain is acting up,” she said.
“Of a person,” Viola added.
Silvia frowned at her. “Viola, you’ve never had an issue being straight forward before! What’s with you?” Viola blushed. Then, Silvia understood. “Oh! Oh!” Silvia exclaimed as it sunk in. “That scent! Oh! That’s wonderful to hear!” She stood up faster than Viola had ever seen a pregnant woman move. “Wait right here.” She disappeared upstairs.
Viola jumped up and paced around the living room impatiently. She knew she should wait to talk to Bruce, but every moment here was a moment away from meeting her mate.
Silvia returned, triumphant. “Bruce and I give you our blessing to go to Mason’s pack to find your mate. I’ll give Mason a call to give him a heads up about your visit. I’ll let you explain the whys when you get there.” She rubbed her belly unconsciously. “We just hope you will bring her back here with you,” she said.
Viola hadn’t thought about that aspect. She had assumed her mate would join Bruce’s and Silvia’s pack. But her mate may have parents and siblings she’s close to in Mason’s pack. Then what? Viola thought.
“Hopefully, that won’t be an issue,” Viola said to Silvia. “This is my home and I’m sure my mate will feel that way too.”
Silvia grinned. She hugged her. “Be safe and let us know if you’re staying over there tonight. Okay?” she said.
“Okay,” Viola said.
“You ought to take someone with you,” Silvia suggested. “You did just defeat one of their favorite betas. Mason is honorable, but there are bad seeds in every pack who hold grudges. All of the bad seeds seem to like Chris.”
“True,” Viola agreed. “I’ll ask Daren.”
“Good idea,” Silvia said.
“I better get going. Bye, Silvia,” Viola said. She left the house.
Before Viola was able to leave the village to walk to the B&B, Daren appeared with a wide grin on his face. He was wearing his normal training gear. “Hey! You ready to train?” he asked.
“Train?” Viola asked, confused. “Were we supposed to train?”
Daren paused. He was suddenly worried. “Holy cow, V, are you okay? Where’s Bruce? We need to get you to Myra,” he said as he felt her cheeks. “I don’t think you’re running a fever, but Myra should double check.”
“No, I don’t have a fever! Why are you acting like this?” Viola asked.
“You’ve never forgotten a training session and you always train the day after the fight,” Daren said. “You must be sick or something.” He was trying to lead her into the house. “Let’s get you lying down.”
“I’m not sick,” Viola said. She pulled away from him. “I’ve just got more important things on my mind.”
Daren was really concerned. “More important than training?” He was almost in a panic. “Are you dying? We need to get you to the infirmary!”
“Daren! Relax!” Viola snapped. She sighed loudly. “I found a scent last night during the match. I think it’s the scent of my mate and she left before I could meet her. She must have been a relative visiting Mason’s pack and I want to get over there before she leaves. I’ve gotten permission to go to Mason’s pack to find her.”
Daren stared at her as the words sunk in. He broke out into a smile. “Congrats, V! I know you’ve been praying to find her. I’m glad it’s happened. Can I go with you? You shouldn’t be going there alone, you know,” Daren said. Viola didn’t notice the subtle sadness in his smile. Daren was sincerely happy for Viola. He also knew Viola finding her mate would change the dynamics of Viola’s and his friendship. While it was the natural way of things, it did make him sad, but he was able to successfully hide it from Viola.
“I was about to come over to the B&B to ask you to go with me,” she said.
“Awesome,” he said. “I’ll drive. We can get some breakfast before we head out. Mom’s making pancakes.”
“Actually, I would like to head over now,” Viola said. She knew going to the B&B first would include getting the ninth degree from Dana. She also knew Dana would then go over out loud all of the women she saw at the match and try to guess with Lee which one it would be. Viola knew she wouldn’t be able to handle this ordeal being dragged out any more than it already had.
Daren was blown away. “V turning down food? Now I know this is serious,” he said. “All right. Let’s get going.”
As they walked to Daren’s car over at the B&B, Viola prayed to God that she would find her mate today.
Daren glanced wistfully at the B&B, knowing Mel and Lee were enjoying Dana’s famous pancakes. Lucky, he thought.
Neither Viola nor Daren had been aware of Jesse’s presence as she eavesdropped on their conversation. Rage and dismay overwhelmed Jesse. I hope Viola won’t find her mate, she thought. And if Viola does, something will have to be done about it.
Last night, Jesse had noticed a sudden shift in Viola after the match and had feared the worst. Jesse woke up early to hang around the main house to see if she could gain any information on the matter.
Jesse went to her father’s house and grabbed his keys. She left a note with plenty of hearts and “I love you’s” while hastily mentioning borrowing the car to go shopping. She got in the car and flew out of the gravel parking lot, skidding rocks in her wake.
Jesse needed more information on the matter. She knew better than to go to Eli because he would run and tell Bruce anything that could jeopardize a pack member. Such a goody two shoes, Jesse thought, regarding Eli. Always trying to do good, what a pest! She couldn’t fathom how someone with Eli’s gifts would be so kind and look out for others like he did. If Jesse had had his gifts, she would have
gained a more powerful position in the pack a long time ago. Naturally, Jesse would have taken over multiple packs if she had Eli’s gifts. Isn’t power and control the point of all of it? she thought. It was power that made Jesse feel alive. She never liked Eli because she couldn’t manipulate him. He’s motivated by love, family, and “God”, what a moron!
It was tiresome because it forced her to travel further to get her answers. She had known the witch in passing when she would see her at various pack events, but five years ago the witch was banished from Mason’s pack for using her powers to harm a pack member and it ended in the death of another pack member. The pack member who was harmed was the witch’s ex-lover. There was no better ally than a jaded, bitter woman who had power. Especially when she saw Jesse as a younger version of herself.
Jesse realized the witch was just the person she needed in her back pocket. The witch had no problem defying the rules and doing what she wanted when she wanted.
Jesse passed through Roanoke and got on the Interstate 81.
Viola couldn’t have found her mate! She just couldn’t! What am I going to do? Jesse thought. Jesse had always been well-known in the pack due to her father. Even some in the other packs knew her because of him. Her status when she was with Viola had reached a new level. Men and women alike from packs all over knew her and were envious of Viola’s and her relationship. Jesse had thrived on their jealousy. She reveled in having something others wanted. Not to mention the gifts and acclamation she received from dating Viola. Jesse liked her status when she was with Viola and she didn’t want to give it up.
Chris had been attractive enough, but Jesse refused to be with a loser. After Chris’ loss against Viola, Jesse doubted he would be able to hold his beta position for much longer.
Jesse ended up in Catawba at a small cottage in the middle of the woods by a stream. She hadn’t even turned off the engine when the witch opened the front door. She was a short plump pretty woman with dark eyes, warm white skin, and medium light brown hair.