by H. L. Graham
I didn’t respond, standing my ground like a stubborn child.
“Hannah, there is more for us to discuss but I’ve spent much too much time already. I fear my other guests have begun to gossip about your small outburst. May we meet again to finish our conversation? We have many things to decide before the next full moon phase.”
“What could we possibly have to discuss?” I asked rudely. I was really starting to hate this guy.
“Well, since you will become my new co-leader, we must work out the details. I fully intend to back you for the upcoming duel.” He was both pompous and presumptuous if he thought I wanted to co-lead his stupid pack. I was just fine with Rebecca and me, she was all the pack I needed. I didn’t want anything to do with the Kristi situation and now it looked like I was stuck with both of them. Crap-o-rama.
“There are safety concerns and territorial issues and of course, Kristi, to discuss,” he added.
“The Bitch?” I stated so that only Jacob and Rebecca could hear. “Fine, be at my house on Sunday, noon.” I thought of Rebecca, “and bring that Roger guy from the gate, I want a witness.”
I sure hoped Roger and Rebecca hit it off. I couldn’t help myself, sometimes the most girly things enter my brain at the most inopportune times, and tonight it was matchmaking.
“Done. I’m sure your husband fully understands the need for politics and diplomacy,” Jacob answered softly. Raising his voice, “it was a pleasure to meet your acquaintance Mrs. Dorian and I will have that dog out of your hair by tomorrow,” he added to confuse the gossipmongers.
What a jerk! He had no right to talk about Gaven like he knows his Magique Aqua stuff. Crap, I just learned about. AHHHHH. My brain was on fire and I could feel my eyes starting to change.
Jacob bowed his head then resumed mingling with the crowd. He was very much the politician.
Gaven and Rebecca quickly appeared at my side. “Are you ok?” Gaven asked first. He caught sight of my eyes and turned me toward the painting. “Your eyes, you need to gain control before we leave.”
“Okay,” I answered closing my eyes. I settled my breathing, reining in my power. It was becoming more difficult to controlling. Instinctively I knew I needed to shift sooner than later.
“That guy is such a pompous ass. The nerve of him assuming I would be his co-leader,” I blathered on.
Rebecca interrupted, “Maybe we should have this conversation elsewhere. How are your eyes?”
I looked at her to prove I was back to normal.
“Rebecca’s right, let’s make our way out of here and head home where we can talk.” Gaven offered his arm.
“You’re right.” I took Gaven’s arm and the three of us headed to the front exit. I nodded goodbye to Mr. Jefferies on our way out. Our truck magically awaited our arrival.
“We need to get us a Mr. Jeffries,” I joked trying to lighten up my bad mood.
Driving away, Rebecca chimed in, “So you trying to fix me up with Baldy Bean?”
I blushed, “You heard that?”
“Hannah, who do you think you’re talking too? I heard everything. I also have bionic ears, remember?” Rebecca asked laughing.
“Well, so you’re not interested?” I asked.
“I didn’t say that,” we both started to giggle.
Gaven drove the truck through the gate and when we were a few miles away asked about my conversation with Jacob.
I recalled as much as I could, anger sometimes hinders my memory. Rebecca filled in the gaps. Rebecca reported that she came across about ten distinct wolf scents at the party. They all held a variation of Jacob’s scent, but weaker. She felt that they also recognized her and were unhappy about her presence. She got the distinct feeling they were ordered to stay away. She could sense anger, confusion and aggression.
“I think Jacob might be having a hard time convincing the pack that you’ll be beneficial. They might think like Kristi…”
“The Bitch,” I interrupted.
“You’re a threat to their way of life,” Rebecca stated.
“So, he is coming over on Sunday?” Gaven asked.
“Yeah, and he knows about your Magique Aqua stuff. He also said some crap about you knowing about politics and diplomacy. It seems he knows you. That pompous ass.” I was getting pissed again.
Gaven suddenly grew quiet and stared ahead at the road.
“Why aren’t you getting pissed?” I asked Gaven. “How would he know all about you?”
No response. He continued to drive in silence.
“Gaven, what are you not telling me?”
He remained silent until we were home, which I might add was extremely frustrating. Rebecca on the other hand just looked out the window watching the scenery.
I shut the front door, kicked off my heels, and left everything in my tiny foyer which doubled as part of my living room. Rebecca headed to the kitchen to get some water.
“Ok, Gaven, spill it!” I grumbled at him.
All the excitement of my conversation with Jacob and now this, men were so frustrating.
Gaven answered, “The Magique Aqua’s have an association with werewolf packs.”
“An association, what exactly does that mean?”
Gaven leaned against the kitchen counter, “Well, that’s the major reason I left California. My family are members of the local Magique Coven. They have a long-standing association or partnership with the local werewolf pack. This relationship worked well as long as we kept to our own.”
I waited silently hoping Gaven would continue. He took off his tuxedo jacket and hung it on the back of the barstool. His eyes were red from fighting back tears.
“I haven’t thought about this in years, it still hurts like hell.” He wiped at his eyes.
“My older sister, Isabelle…”
“Wait, you have a sister?” He never mentioned a sister in all the years we’ve been together. I thought he was an only child.
“Had a sister. Isabelle was 6 years older than me. She was a generous, loving person and was full of life. She fell in love with the wolf leaders’ eldest son, Michael. It’s forbidden for a Magique and a wolf be together for fear of turning the Magique. In addition, its considered an abomination to have a mixed child, due to the danger posed to the mother during pregnancy and the potential magical repercussions of the child.”
I physically reacted. What about Gaven and me? Were we not allowed to be together? I couldn’t lose Gaven, I just couldn’t.
“Don’t worry Hannah, you can’t be infected by a scrape or cut. We have supernatural defenses against the others supernatural infectors. My sister and Michael chose to try and turn my sister into a wolf. They intravenously injected a pint of his blood with the hope that she would become a wolf with Magique powers. It didn’t work that way. She became very ill yet refused tell my parents what they had done. She didn’t want to get Michael in trouble. Her body rejected the blood, causing internal bleeding. She weakened and died. It was too late to help her by the time we knew what she’d done. There was nothing my parents could do to save her life. When Michael found out about Isabelle’s death, he became so distraught he committed suicide. His family blamed my family and vice versa.”
Gaven sat silently. When he spoke again his voice cracked with emotion. “I blamed my parents, the coven and my powers. I couldn’t bear to stay with them and feel that pain every day. I asked my parents to send me to Lake Placid to live with my Aunt and Uncle and I rejected all things Magique. I learned to control my powers and satisfy them by being near water and my sculptures,” he paused. “It seems I cannot escape my fate.” Gaven looked into my eyes, “I guess your past always catches up with you eventually.”
“I guess so,” I said putting my hand on Gavens arm for support. “I’m so sorry about your sister. I had no idea you’d been carrying around so much pain. I’m glad you were finally able to share with me.”
“And me,” Rebecca said quietly.
“So why now? Why come out of the Ma
gique closet now?” I had to ask, trouble maker that I am.
Gaven smiled, “Do you think with all that has happened recently, we could live a normal life? I knew Rebecca immediately sensed my power when I helped her move in. And tonight, I was certain Jacob’s power recognized mine immediately. He confirmed it very quickly. Jacob knows my power can only make his pack stronger. He gets both of us for the price of one.”
“A twofer,” I said with sadness in my voice.
“I’ve accepted my past life is no longer mine to hide. You’ll need my powers to help protect you and the pack. As you discovered in your dream, witches, wizards and Aqua’s have always had a connection with wolves. We can choose to act as Guardians or protectors of the pack or like your witch, we can cause harm. We can coexist because we can combine energy to make ourselves stronger,” he continued to explain.
“Are we even allowed to be together? Will your family try to tear us apart now that I’m a wolf?” I worried.
“I don’t know, but I suspect since you’re a new breed of werewolf, it may be different.” He looked into my eyes, “just know that no one will ever convince me to leave. You are my wife, my love, my home.”
I hugged him tightly afraid to let go. He pulled away to gently kiss me on the forehead.
Chapter 18
I woke up the next morning with a headache. It must have been from the flood of emotions and stress of the party. Sliding into my favorite fuzzy slippers and pink bathrobe, I headed to the bathroom to throw my hair in to a pony tail and brush my teeth. I could hear Leslie downstairs having coffee and pastries with the troops. I needed a few minutes to wake up and release my inner morning grouch. Last nights’ conversation with Jacob flashed into my head along with Gaven’s Magique Aqua revelation. I felt like I was in too deep with no way to escape. Just a few weeks ago, I was a regular boring person. I had a good career, normal marriage, and things made sense. I put myself into a pretty box and I was happy. I understood how the world worked and my place in it.
Then I had that awful dream and my life has shifted 180 degrees. I was now a werewolf who was destined to be the wolf leader. I had discovered a long-lost cousin who was also a werewolf. I was expected to defend myself against the old co-leader of the local werewolf pack in less than a week. And to top it off, my husband is some type of water wizard which he has kept from me for the entirety of our relationship. I guess I earned this headache.
I threw some water on my face and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Rebecca and I decided we would change into wolves and roam tonight. This would give me an opportunity to get a better sense of my powers in wolf form. Just one little problem, I had no idea how to make myself turn into a wolf. When I lost my temper a few nights ago, my eyes and nails changed a little and then changed back after I calmed down. Maybe a surge of strong emotions would bring on the change. I remembered getting pretty pissed at Jacob last night and my eyes changed. But I had no definitive plan how to make this happen.
I also worried about how I was supposed to launch Rebecca’s change. I didn’t have a damn clue as to how this was supposed to occur. Something to do with power exchange, but that was like telling a teenage boy to control his hormones. Impossible.
And what if I turned into a wolf and attacked Rebecca? Killing her before I realized I was supposed to help her change. Man, this was a mess. My head throbbed. I wondered if Tylenol helped wolf headaches. I know you can’t give Tylenol to dogs maybe I should try some aspirin instead. I pulled the bottle down from the medicine cabinet and popped two into my mouth, washing them down with a swig from the faucet.
“Yuck,” I should have remembered our water tasted terrible unless filtered. See I couldn’t even remember to drink filtered water. How was I going to be a wolf leader?
“Enough worrying. Now I sound crazy talking to myself in the mirror.” I imagined myself clothed in pajamas and a strait jacket sitting in the back of a paddy wagon headed to the loony bin. “Great.” Deciding my conversation wasn’t going anywhere good, I headed downstairs to be crazy with others.
Padding down to the kitchen, I overheard Leslie and Gaven telling a fishing story to entertain Rebecca. She laughed easily and suggested maybe the story was not as true as they insisted. I smiled. I remembered reacting the exact same way when they regaled me with a similar pack of lies. As I entered the kitchen, the coffee wafted up my nose promising good things to come.
“Morning,” I grunted while pouring myself a cup of Joe. I snatched Gaven’s pastry and sat on the empty stool. Leslie has never in the history of our friendship appeared at our house without baked goods. Thank you, Baker Bob.
“Hey, I was eating that!” Gaven attempted to grab the last bite, but I was too quick for him. Quick enough to catch Leslie’s attention and prompting Rebecca to change the subject, diverting Leslie’s attention.
“So, I was thanking Detective Conway for his police work. Without him, we wouldn’t have discovered we’re related and I would be living in my car.”
Leslie smiled stupidly at Rebecca, a little too stupidly. I glanced at Gaven who shrugged with the ‘you got me’ expression on his face.
“Please call me Leslie and you’re welcome. I just hope we can keep you safe until the killer is apprehended,” he answered. I detected a bunch of flirting which I’d never seen before so it took me a minute to identify the alien behavior. Leslie was struggled to act professionally, but it was obvious his interest was seriously spiked. So, this was guy number two whom Rebecca seemed interested in since yesterday. I wondered if heightened pheromones were also one of our new superpowers. I did attack Gaven the other morning, I remembered with much pleasure.
“Hannah, what are you thinking about? You turned about two shades of red.” Gaven asked.
“Is that new perfume? I don’t remember smelling it before.” Gaven’s lightbulb flicked on and he turned red. “Oh wait I do remember. Pastry anyone?” he asked, quickly holding the bakers box under our noses.
I smiled at Gaven, squeezing his knee under the table. “So, Leslie, what do you have planned for this lovely Saturday?”
Snapping his attention away from ogling Rebecca, “ummmm, more work, but I was hoping to head to the fishing pier at Ponce de Leon Park around sunset.”
The blood flow returned to his brain allowing his intellect to take control. “Oh, that’s actually why I stopped by. Gaven, do you want to join me? The park closes at sunset, but I’ve got lock up duty tonight, we could stick around and have the place to ourselves for the rest of the evening. I’ll even bring sandwiches. I’ve been working so much, I really need a break. What do you say?”
“Sure, I’ve got a few things I need to finish today, but I’m kicked out of the house tonight anyway. Girls movie night! I have no desire to see Steel Magnolias again,” Gaven replied. I gave him a confused look and then it dawned on me, Rebecca and I were changing into wolf form tonight. Not being here was probably a good idea for his safety until I mastered wolf self-control.
“Yup, chick flicks, mud masks and toenail painting,” Rebecca added quickly giving Leslie her sweetest smile.
Leslie looked dazed again, “Hey Leslie, didn’t you say you had to get to work?” I asked poking him and giving Rebecca a back off look. She raised her eyebrows indicating ‘what, innocent me?’
“Yeah, you’re right.” He gathered himself up, “see you at sunset.”
“Bye Leslie,” we all said as he walked out the door.
As soon as I heard his car door slam, “Rebecca what in the hell where you doing?”
“I’m not sure,” she answered. “I thought he was cute and he couldn’t stop staring at me.”
Gaven stood up and opened up a window, “Well I know what happened. This room reeks of woodsy, musky perfume. Rebecca, you were leaking pheromones like crazy and Leslie was at your mercy. Hannah had the same experience a few days ago, but I didn’t piece it together until this morning. You guys have to figure out how to get a handle on that before all the men in town atte
mpt to break down our door to get to you.”
“Wait a minute, it only seems to happen when one of us finds someone attractive. Has it occurred when you and Rebecca are alone?” I asked Gaven.
“No,” he answered.
“No offense Gaven, but I just don’t see you in a sexual way, more like a brother,” Rebecca added.
Gaven feigned offense, “I must be so offensive to gaze upon.” He covered his face with his arm while holding his other arm outright to block us. “Turn away, I’m hideous, don’t look at me lest you turn into stone.”
Rebecca laughed as Gaven continued.
I approached Gaven, wrapping my arms around him, “You are not ugly to me, my love, let me kiss you and take away the evil spell, and let the world see your beauty.” I kissed him while giggling.
“AHH, I am cured.” Gaven smiled, kissing me back. He dipped me as we kissed making a big show of it. I loved this man with all my heart. Good looking, supportive, and funny. And all mine!
Rebecca watched with amusement, “Is the show over?”
Gaven spun me out of his arms until we were standing side by side still holding hands. We bowed at Rebecca who snorted back at us.
“Okay back to reality. We need to gain control over our pheromones and the best way to do that is to avoid anyone we find attractive,” she explained. “It should be fairly easy considering we live in Florida, retirement capital of the universe. Everyone is three times our age.”
“Well what should we do if a young attractive man wanders into our vicinity, close our eyes?” I asked sarcastically.
“You just have to figure out how to control it,” Gaven said. “It’s another power that you must develop. Think how effective it could be if some guy was threatening you? Emit your pheromones and have him mowing the lawn. Actually, not such a bad idea, saves me some work.”
“Ha Ha. Alright, we’ll work on that along with a million other things, like trying to figure out how to shift into wolf form,” I said.
Rebecca shifted in her chair, “I have a few ideas on that Hannah.”