by Milly Taiden
“I’m fine. Just need to stop moving in ways we’re not meant to,” she said.
Jim looked around and down at his watch. “Francesca, since you’re here, I got a question to ask you.”
This sounded almost serious. “Sure, ask away.”
“I got this friend who likes this girl and he doesn’t know how to ask her out.”
Was he serious? This guy was almost thirty years old, as were his friends. Not only should he know how to ask a girl out, he and his friends should be mated and thinking about kids. But she wasn’t much younger and she hadn’t thought much about it until last night.
Francesca didn’t know what to say really. Treat the girl like a lady and respect her wishes and give her all the love and sex she wanted. Sounded reasonable to her.
Jim kept asking lame questions and glancing at his watch. She felt like she was taking a timed test where she had only so long to spit out the answers. Just abruptly as his first question, Jim said he knew what to tell his friend.
“I’ll walk you back to the house,” he said.
“Thanks,” she replied, “but I’ll hang around here for a while. It’s been a long time since I was in these woods. Used to play here a lot.” He said bye and hurried off. The man was stranger than she thought. But he seemed nice and he did their taxes and banking stuff, which she didn’t want to do with everything else she had on her plate.
She loved the peaceful solitude of nature, even though the outdoors didn’t love her too much. As long as she had her allergy medicine, all was fine. Sort of. It was getting late and she’d had enough of parties with the past two nights.
The closer to the house she got, the louder the music. Someone needed to turn it down, seriously. If there were any neighbors within a half-mile radius, they would’ve called the cops by now. The only reason she heard the whimper was because the music was between songs.
She stopped walking to listen. The sound came from the sitting area where she used to watch hummingbirds sip at the bird feeders. She went in search of the quiet cry. Closer to the area, she heard it again. This time mumbled words made it to her ears, but the music had returned, blocking out most of it.
Her step quickened, hands batting away limbs as her eyes recognized the obstructions. She burst into the small clearing to see a couple guys her brother’s age standing around, deeply entranced by something happening in the center of the cove.
Francesca shoved past the men to see a female held face down over a small table, her skirt pushed up around her waist. A second man was unbuckling his pants.
The guy forcing the woman to lie on the table spoke. “Hurry up, man. I want to fuck her before the alcohol wears off. I’ve wanted to do this bitch since she turned me down. I’ll show her who gets the last fuck.”
The hate in his voice was so harsh, it froze Francesca in her place.
“It’s not supposed to be like that,” another said. “We’re growing the pride—”
“I don’t give a fuck what—” The pissed-off guy looked over his shoulder at the men and saw Francesca momentarily in shock.
The man she recognized as a relative newcomer, Nielson something, released his hold on the female and came toward her. “Well, look here. The prima bitch wants fucked, too. You definitely need it, you’re so—” The man didn’t finish as Francesca lifted her knee to the side, pivoted, and delivered a kick to his chest, sending him ass over head into a tree.
The man who’d dropped his pants next to the woman fell over backward, trying to scramble away and jerk his pants up at the same time. Behind her, she heard leaves crunch under a footfall coming closer. The attacker was too close to pop a kick, so she stepped forward, spun around, and slammed a punch to his solar plexus with the heel of her hand. He dropped like a rag doll.
She glared at the other man standing around. “Anyone else want to try?” Within a blink, he’d disappeared into the trees. Francesca scooped the female off the table, straightened her skirt, and set her on a bench. The girl was a neighbor of her parents, in her senior year of high school. A baby.
Fury swirled in Francesca’s heart and soul. The men she’d taken down were gone. If she’d vented on them, they would be dead. Instead, she gathered little Luci into her arms and stomped off for the house. So much shit was going to hit the fan, it wasn’t funny.
Francesca placed the girl in the guest bathroom in the house. “Lock this door, and don’t let anyone in but me. Understand?” She had to verify the girl heard her because the music was so fucking loud. Which was another thing she’d take care of.
Francesca caught Nielsen limping toward the front of the house. “You!” she yelled. “I’m not through with you, you son of a bitch.” She dropped kicked him into the cabin’s side. He hit and slid down. He started a shift, but she wrestled him into a choke hold and dragged him around back and tossed him into the pool.
She ran through the patio and first floor, turning lights on and slapping drinks from hands. When she reached the sound system, she punched the power button with her finger and ripped off the volume control. The sudden silence threw her off balance for a second.
Sounds of groans and voiced complaints peppered the air. She turned and shouted get out. As if coming from a daze, others looked around wondering what was going on. Some fixing eyes on her. She was sure she was a sight to see. But no one was moving fast enough.
Her feline said she’d take care of that. Bone snapped and tendons stretched as Francesca’s cat came to the surface. She took a deep breath and roared with the prima power she was born with.
That did it.
An eruption of mass proportion of bodies flying into the forest and out the front door satisfied her. Only one came at her. Shane.
“What the fuck are you doing? This is my party.” He was so angry, he’d started a partial shift also. But she had a head start on him. She loved her brother, but what she’d just experienced with Nielson and Luci set her on the edge.
Her body transformed further, ripping her dress, and she lunged at Shane, taking him down and rolling them both across the patio. Her martial arts practice came in handy. She easily pinned him on his stomach and shifted enough to speak.
“Then control your fucking guests, or I will make sure there are no more parties.” She pushed off him, back to her full human form, and headed toward where she left Luci in the bathroom.
12
Francesca lay on the sofa in her cottage listening to the birds chirp in the late-morning sun. She thought back to how Luci had begged her not to tell her parents what happened. At first, Francesca flat-out told her no. Her parents needed to know exactly what happened.
After thirty minutes of tears and a near anxiety breakdown on the girl’s part, Francesca relented on the condition that she and her friends at the party be at Francesca’s house at 11 a.m. sharp. They were also to bring any other females they knew from the party. She didn’t expect many since it was such short notice and she was right.
At 11 a.m., her doorbell rang. Luci and two others her age stood contrite at her screen door. “Come in,” she said. The girls followed her to the kitchen where Francesca had hot waffles and sausage waiting in covered dishes. “Have you eaten breakfast yet?” The girls shook their heads.
Francesca motioned for them to sit while she pulled plates and forks. If these girls were like she was in her teen years, sleep was far more important than eating breakfast and getting up early, before noon, on a weekend was a killer.
As they ate, Francesca asked about school, and they talked and laughed about teachers they shared and ragged on the ones everyone disliked for one reason or another. Not much had changed since her time there—only the kids themselves change as each year graduates a group and brings in a new.
After the table was cleared and the girls helped to wash and put away dishes, they sat in the living room. The air became awkward, but Francesca expected that. What she was wanting to talk about was awkward. She’d never experienced such violence before and didn’t
know how to approach it. But it had to be talked about. She couldn’t let this go.
“All right, young lady,” Francesca said, “tell me how you let yourself get in such a situation. You have to know better.” The girl stared down at her hands in her lap. “Luci, what can you tell me? Do the others know what went on?” She referred to the friends beside the girl.
Luci said, “I don’t remember much. Just you telling me to lock the bathroom door then I threw up in the toilet. Later you dropped me at my house.”
“What do you girls think happened?” Francesca asked them.
They shrugged, still not saying anything. How was she going to get through to three seniors in high school who thought they were invincible and life was always going to be as good as it was in their parents’ home where they had everything their hearts desired, including safety?
“Okay, since you don’t want to share, I’ll start. I will layout a scenario, granted a worst case, but very likely based on what I’ve seen in the world. Are you all willing to picture this in your minds as I tell it?” Again, they quietly nodded.
“Good. Let’s say I wasn’t at the party to stop those men from what they were about to do.” Francesca quickly put together a scene that would break her heart when she saw it, which unfortunately was too often in the world.
“Luci, you work ten-hour days cleaning houses for minimum wage which puts you at poverty level. You share a roach-infested room in a condemned shack which means half the time you and your baby sleep on the floor while your roommate takes the bed.
“You didn’t finish school because the sneers and bullying about being pregnant became too much, not to mention your parents were so ashamed, they didn’t want you living in the house to make a bad example for your little sister.
“All the food you can afford consists of bouillon cubes you dissolve in water. You tear mold off the hamburger buns you found in the trash behind a burger shop and soak that in the broth. You hope it keeps the baby’s stomach from growling, because you became too thin for your body to continue producing breast milk.”
“Stop,” Luci said with tears on her cheeks. “I’ve heard enough.” She looked at her friends then her hands again. “We’d heard things from other girls about how some of the guys were looking at some of the younger ones. Like us. No one ever pays us any attention. When guys like them, like girls like us, it’s special. It makes me feel good inside. Like I’m important.” She wiped a tear. “I didn’t think they’d get so…pushy and spouting things like how it’s the guys’ responsibility to bring honor and power to the pride. The males protected the females and the females…”
“The females what?” Francesca asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Francesca sighed. “I’m sure I don’t have to mention how underage drinking played you right into their hands, do I, Luci?” The girl shook her head. “Here’s the rule you three are going to follow until each of you have a mate.”
They looked at her like she was crazy.
She laughed. “I know that seems forever away, but time disappears the older you get. You’ll see. Anyway, the rule: Never, ever, leave one of you alone except to go into the bathroom stall. Got it?” They smiled.
“I mean it. We girls have to watch out for each other. Especially when there are others around we don’t know. Do any of you know this Nielson guy?” They shook their heads. “Didn’t think so. He’s new around here. Been here a few months now.
“Think of it this way, even though it sounds harsh: if something bad happens to one of you because you weren’t together, you are all responsible because you now know to always be together.”
“Like Juliette,” Mirla said.
“What happened to Juliette?” she asked. Francesca knew the girl transferred to a different high school not too long ago, but didn’t know why. Last time Francesca saw her was at a get-together at the prime house a while back.
“She’s pregnant,” Luci whispered. Francesca about choked. Now she felt bad about the example story she made up earlier. It must’ve hit closer to home than she intended for the girls.
“Is the father her mate, even though she’s so young?” Francesca asked, hoping they could be high school sweethearts or something as nice.
Luci shook her head. “She doesn’t know who the father is. She said she never had sex.”
Francesca sat back in the seat. That shouldn’t be possible. She was speechless. The girl had to be protecting the male’s identity. She hoped the couple loved each other and the child would have a good life.
“I’m sorry, Miss Virgata, for not being more vigilant,” Luci continued. “It was the prime’s house. I knew you wouldn’t let anything bad happen. We won’t let it happen again.” All the girls agreed.
Francesca definitely had to talk with Shane. This would never happen again. Times like this she really wished her mother was still alive. She didn’t know what to ask or what to do. She had no experience with this kind of thing. Neither of the guys had actually done anything to Luci.
Could she press charges even if the victim didn’t remember anything and nothing happened? This was so frustrating for her. Maybe Marcus could help. He was so intelligent. She glanced at the clock.
In the text she received from Marcus last night, he said he’d be by around 4:00 p.m. to pick her up for an early dinner before the show. He didn’t give any hints to where they were going except the words “a lion among ladies is a most dreadful thing.” She had no clue what that meant. As far as she knew, there were no lions in the pride. Only tigers. Theo was a lion, but as far as she knew, Theo and Marcus didn’t know each other.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” Francesca said. “Luci, keep your distance from the new guy, Nielson. Don’t let him near you, don’t go into a room or vehicle with him. He really doesn’t like you for some reason.” The girl blushed, “I mean it, Luci. He wanted to hurt you.”
The teen looked up with fear in her eyes. Good, she understood the seriousness of the situation. Francesca continued. “I want you girls to be extra vigilant when older guys are around. Don’t let them bully you into something you don’t want to do. Remember my story about getting pregnant. None of you are ready to start a family. Finish school first. Got it?”
They nodded. “Yes, Miss Virgata,” each said. Nothing else came to mind so she walked them to the door and told them to be careful driving home.
God, she hoped she did the right thing.
13
Marcus had to rope down his bear to keep it from jumping on their mate the second they saw her. She wore a sexy, flowy skirt with a top that hugged those delicious curves. When she answered the front door after he rang the bell, they almost didn’t make it to the show because he wanted to haul her into her bedroom and show her how much she affected him.
Instead, he smiled and straightened his tie, “Ready?” Then she looked at him and his body tingled, his heart raced. How was he so lucky to have found his mate?
“Yup.” She locked the house and he escorted her to the passenger side of his Accord. One thing about being an accountant was you’d never become a millionaire. Only those with the letters CEO after their name received that privilege. But that’s not why he did what he did.
The drive over was quiet but comfortable. He’d never been to this place and depended on Siri to get them there. After finding a parking spot in the crowded lot, he let out a breath and relaxed. He wondered if he held his breath the entire drive.
Damn, he was pathetic around his mate. He really needed to socialize more to get into the habit of talking again. Sitting all day in front of a computer killed that urge to communicate. Except when he got frustrated and yelled at the damn thing, threatening to throw it out the window.
Francesca looked around the grassy area that sloped steeply to an outdoor amphitheater. “Are we watching a play? Outside?”
“Yeah,” he said, “it’s ‘Shakespeare in the Park.’ Actors come from all over to perform Shakes
peare’s many plays. We’re seeing A Midsummer’s Night Dream.”
“I’ve heard of that one, but never read it,” Francesca replied.
“Good, then you’ll be entertained,” he said. “It’s a comedy about the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and Hippolyta.”
“Oh,” was all she said. He knew she’d love it. Mates were always compatible.
He opened her door and offered a hand. Like velvet, her hand slid into his. They fit perfectly together. He popped the trunk with the key fob and took out a blanket, grocery bag stuffed with food, and a huge bean bag.
When sitting on the ground, one had to prepare to be comfortable. Hard dirt did not conform to the ass, but a bean bag did. Unfortunately, it was Theo’s, which the doofus used when he played video games. So the bag was bright yellow with Hulk Hogan and other WWF wrestlers on it. He’d just throw a blanket over it and no one would know the difference.
After finding an open spot on the steep grassy incline, he helped Francesca sit then proceeded to unload the paper bag. He had no idea what she liked, so he bought the shifter basics: T-bone steak bites, filet mignon bites, stuffed bacon wraps, wienies on a stick, and chicken wings.
“Wow, Marcus,” she said. “You didn’t have to go through so much trouble for me.” She took a bacon wrap and bit off half. “Mmm. I’m glad you did, though. These are great.” Pride soared through him and his bear. They showed their mate they could feed her.
Nestled into the bean bag with food surrounding them, Francesca asked what he did for a living.
“I’m a forensic accountant,” he said.
Francesca raised a brow. “It sounds half fun, half boring.”
He laughed. “Often times, it’s both. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. There are hundreds or thousands of transactions and I have to find the few that show the crime whether that’s laundering, embezzlement, fraud of any kind.”