Chocolate Damsel

by A. C. Mason

If only she knew the answer to that question. Why did she want someone who didn’t want her back? The world didn’t make sense.

  Gabby leaned into her. “I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you to speak to.”

  * * * *

  A small hand slid into VanWolf’s. The tiny, weary-looking girl had a gold star pinned to her navy shawl. Griselda had found her hiding in the sewer.

  “You are an angel.” Yawning, she stood beside him as the older children climbed up in the back of the truck and sat on benches. In the center were cloth bags of rations for their journey.

  Hurt ripped through his chest. He certainly was not an angel. More of a lost soul afraid of a woman who’d demonstrated great courage to warn him and save his life. A coward. He knelt next to her, removed the pin branding the Star of David as an item of shame from her.

  “Don’t ever be ashamed of what you are and where you came from.” He removed the Wound Badge in gold clipped to his jacket and fixed the medal to her shawl, then lifted her onto the truck.

  She placed her little fingers over his gift. “Thank you.” Eye-to-eye with him, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. He couldn’t save his own wife and child, but he did his best to protect other innocent lives from senseless death.

  VanWolf flipped up the flap. “Look out for her,” he ordered one of the older boys, who saluted him in response. A space was cleared next to the boy and she took a spot. The only way to ensure their safety was to put distance between the pack and the children.

  Three trucks moved out in opposite directions. Hopefully all would live to see the end of the war. Each headed to ships destined for America.

  He climbed into his truck. How could he explain his actions of the night before to the chocolate beauty?

  The song Ma Créole came to mind. He sang the lyrics.

  La nuit et le jour, je pense toujours. Night and day I always think.

  À ma créole. Of my Creole.

  Ses cheveux crépus, ses lèvres lippues. Her curly hair, her lush lips.

  Moi, j’en raffole. Me, I love.

  Sa belle couleur chocolat. Her beautiful chocolate color.

  Me met dans des états. Puts me in a state.

  As he pulled up to the inn, he took two deep breaths, then he headed inside to apologize and tell her how much he loved her. And what a fool he’d been.

  Alexia stood leaning against the archway at the bottom of the staircase, wearing a pretty fitted flower print dress, which showed her curvaceous figure. One more thing about her he couldn’t resist.

  Chapter 14

  Alexia leaned on the archway of the common area. Three days had passed without as much as a glimpse of VanWolf. Not that she’d wanted to see him. She’d kept herself mostly locked up in the room she shared with other unpaired females. A hot swing tune played from a record in the corner. The pack was on a high from their mission and she was in the depths of a low from her heartbreak. The music was kicking her while she was down because she couldn’t shake her pain away by dancing or singing.

  “What are you doing here all alone, coquette?” Cathen lowered his tall frame into the seat next to her. Anticipation of him nearly stole her breath. What VanWolf lacked in suaveness, Cathen more than made up for with his thoughtful behavior. His beautiful flawless olive skin appeared freshly shaved. The cleft of his strong jaw caused her finger to twitch with the desire to trace along its ridge. Since he’d found her outside crying, he had given her the white glove treatment.

  “I’m thinking about my decision.” She sat down across from him.

  The corner table provided them some privacy. The pack boogie woogied to It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got that Swing at the other end of the room where the tables had been cleared for space. The women’s bright colored dresses flowed and twirled as the males spun them.

  “Oh.” As he moved in, his amber eyes narrowed. “About?”

  Heat stirred in her womb. “If I should stay or not with all of you, I mean.” A few days ago, her answer would have been different. Now she understood her own needs--herself better.

  The heavy decompression of his chest sent disappointment crashing into her body. “You don’t need to rush, given what you’ve been through. None of us expect an answer right now.”

  Waves of worry radiated from him. The tension in his jaw made his expression appear strained.

  “I know, but I’ve figured things out.” With VanWolf gone most of the time, things were slowly returning to a more stable state with the pack. The cargo was safely moving off the continent, and the pack about to head south to continue the dangerous war efforts they carried out. A life amongst people she loved and who returned the feelings would be one she could live with. Plus, they were making a real difference in such dark times. She too wanted to be part of the important work they did.

  “And what will you do?” He brushed away a curl from her face.

  “I want to be with all of you.” Alexia smiled.

  The warmth of his large hand covered hers. “This makes me very happy.”

  She met the shimmer of hunger in his piercing amber gaze. Butterflies danced in her core, forcing her to cast her gaze downward.

  “Will you sing for us, for me?” A gentle rub of his fingers on her skin caused her to shiver.

  “Please. A song,” Gabby said, strolling over.

  Malian, Dee, Sarah, Matt, and Franko crowded around. “Come on,” they said as one.

  Sitting in the corner, Jean lifted his glass. “Do us the honor.” Since Sandra’s death, he wasn’t the same. The light inside him grew dim.

  Hard to turn them all down when they’d ganged up on her.

  Serafin pulled the needle from the record with a devilish smirk.

  “Okay.” As she stood, Cathen lifted her under her arms, set her on the bar a few feet behind them and took a seat on the stool beside her.

  “A bluesy one.” VanWolf leaned on the frame of the door dressed like Clark Gable. His lone eye shimmered in the darkness cast over his face.

  The others nodded as they turned their chairs. Pain filled her as she took a cleansing breath. The slow sound of a trumpet in her head set the mood. Cathen locked his fingers with hers. Heat shot through her.

  “I first heard Ivie Anderson give life to these words.” She too, probably had known her pain. “Never treats me sweet and gentle, the way he should. Cause I got it bad, and that ain’t good,” she sang. The emotions swirling in the room faded as the velvet tones of her voice filled the space. The words poured out the hurt and rejection she’d bottled up over the past few days. VanWolf’s intense stare held hers powerless and her hand stroked Cathen’s face. As she sang the last verse, she forced her gaze away from the one who tore her insides up, to meet the eyes of the man holding her near. “The way I hug my pillow, no woman should. Because I got it bad, and that ain’t good.” The last note hung in the room.

  Posturing exchanges between VanWolf and Cathen as he reached up and helped her down unnerved her. Why did she feel guilty when he clearly didn’t want her? She’d found him in bed with a woman.

  “Beautiful.” Just a light stroke of Cathen’s thumb on her wet cheek, and silky warmth flooded between her thighs. She blushed at knowing the scent of her arousal permeated the air. His mouth curved upward.

  “VanWolf, sing a song too, please.” Malian looked back at him.

  “Just one.” The glaze in his eye as he crossed the room sent a shiver up her spine.

  An empty seat awaited next to Cathen, whose hungry expression made it apparent he desired her to join him.

  “Thank you, but I need to use the powder room,” she told him.

  “Okay. I’ll save this chair for you,” he replied.

  “That’s very thoughtful of you.” She touched his shoulder, then strutted to the back.

  “Il y a des hommes qu’aiment les femmes genre nordique, There are men with interest in fair women,” VanWolf sang, and shook his head. “C’est trop lymphatique, ça ne m’emballe pas, Th
ey do not suck me in, too similar to myself. Moi, j’ai un faible pour ce qui est exotique, The exotic has a soft spot with me.”

  How dare he sing those words?

  “You made quite the impression on VanWolf.” Gabby grabbed her hand.

  How could she say that when he mocked her? Or tormented Cathen. Either one was aimed with her in mind. While she had poured the pain in her heart out, he made jokes of his attraction to her. The song was Ma Creole from the film Ernest le Rebelled, about a white man with an attraction to a woman of color. The parody stung. Despite the knowledge that the pack loved going to films over and over again, his ridicule hurt. They’d learned French and English this way. Hence the movie star talk, which she found endearing. But this was humiliating.

  “Yes, seems I did.” Alexia smiled, retracting her hand from Gabby’s grasp.

  She ran into the bathroom. Every part of her shook. He was heartless. Why would he? His actions weren’t painful enough, bringing that street woman to his room within an hour of their return?

  The reflection staring back at her worried her. Dark circles sunk beneath her usually bright eyes. A red nose and swollen lips didn’t help. She turned the cold water on and cupped some in her hands, then splashed her face. In a few days, he’d be gone and she wouldn’t see him for months, giving her time to get past the turmoil inside. One moment she wanted him and the next she never wanted to see him again. A quick pat to her face with the cloth to remove the water, then she put the material back. Her hands trembled. Tears burned her eyes. Tonight she’d pushed herself too hard. She wasn’t ready to be around others, still too shook up from her time with VanWolf.

  She opened the door. Cathen spoke with Sarah by the hall, so she headed for the stairs. Tomorrow she’d explain her sudden disappearance.

  “Not even a good night?” His deep voice couldn’t be mistaken for any other.

  “Good night, VanWolf.” She mustered every ounce of strength she had left.

  “I meant to Cathen. Were you not working your spell on him a few moments ago, batting those pretty eyes of yours at him, followed by a stream of crocodile tears? I remember you using much of the same seduction on me.”

  How could he say such things? “I never.”

  “Never, huh? Kind of how you didn’t throw yourself at me, then him too. I could smell your arousal across the room.”

  How dare he question her! She’d found him with a local woman of the night.

  She climbed the steps.

  “Do not walk away when I’m speaking to you.” The hardness of his chest pressed to her back and excitement flared within her. “How about? How I poured my heart out, making a fool of myself in front of the pack to express how I feel about you and you couldn’t even pay me the respect to listen.”

  A rush of heat moved through her like lightning. “Is that what you call it?” Pulsating between her legs caused her nipples to harden. Her heartbeat accelerated. Had she misunderstood his reasons for the song?

  “Alexia.” Cathen called to her from below them. “Is everything all right?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be?” VanWolf bit out.

  Griselda stopped a few steps above.

  He moved the tip of his nose up the nape of her neck, leaving a trail of fire on her skin. “Given Alexia’s reaction to me then you, I get the impression she doesn’t care which of us touches her. The effect is the same, so my invoking first right won’t be an issue.”

  The horror on Griselda’s face scared her.

  “What does that mean?” Alexia squeezed her hands shut.

  He skimmed her jaw line with his silky lips. “You’ll come to my bed before I’ll allow you to go to your mate’s, human or Shunu. That is, if you want to remain with the pack.”

  Griselda gasped. “Engel Thedo VanWolf.”

  On the next step, Alexia turned to meet his lustful gaze. Despite his ability to make her legs weak, she wouldn’t let him treat her this way.

  “I won’t.” She crushed her lips together.

  “Just put on your usual act and remember Paris, or when we were trapped in the trench. You’re such a good actress. It shouldn’t be much of a stretch for you.”

  How embarrassing. She slapped him across his face, which didn’t move. The smack resounded in the staircase. “I hate you.” Pivoting, she ran past Griselda, out the door into the street.

  “Alexia,” Cathen shouted from behind her.

  Why would VanWolf treat her this way? He’d made the advance on her the first night they met. The pleading in his voice for her not to send him away had touched her loneliness. He woke a part of her she didn’t know longed for such things. Now he threw those precious moments in her face. She jogged along the dirt road, running as fast and far as she could until the night and the mist seemed to swallow her whole. Losing her sense of direction, she searched up and down streets and alleys. Then the edge of the town approached. All she wanted to do was hit the open field. She slammed into a large frame.

  “I’ve been looking all over for you.” A man, and his eyes shimmered down at her. His dark uniform with the SS marking, Nazi symbol and white trim was that of the Gestapo.

  “You are a sight, schön.” Beautiful. A wet cloth covered her mouth. Her body grew heavy as her eyelids slid closed.

  Chapter 15

  VanWolf massaged the spot she’d slapped. The sting he deserved for his unkind words.

  “Are you going to clue me into what that was about?” Cathen stared at him as he loosened the top button on his shirt.

  “No.” Tilting his head, he met Cathen’s angry eyes.

  “Why not?” A huff pushed from his lips as he shut the door. “So let me get this straight? You don’t want to mark her, but you want to bed her first?” He stopped next to him on the step.

  “Exactly,” he said through his clenched jaw. It was the only way he could see to put an end to this madness lusting after her created inside him.

  “Why, because I’m the one interested?” Cathen ran a hand through his slick hair.

  “No.” Squeezing his fingers into a fist, he opened then closed them.

  “You’re being an asshole.” Cathen shook his head. “What has she or I done to you?”

  VanWolf grabbed Cathen’s khaki jacket and shoved him into the wall, cracking the plaster. “And you’ve overstepped your place. So back off. Understood?”

  Cathen growled. “Loud and clear.”

  The tight muscles in VanWolf’s jaw felt ready to snap.

  “But you better get your shit together, because from where I stand, you’re not acting fit to lead.” He forced his chest out and rammed VanWolf back.

  VanWolf took a slow deep breath, followed by another, then released him.

  The others stared from below with long faces. It wasn’t lost on him that the pack loved his witch. Amyrsana, the chieftain ran in Alexia’s veins. Had she put a spell on him unknowingly, which caused him such aggression? He marched up to his room.

  What could he do when she provoked him so? First right. Of all the things to invoke such a demand on her. In all his years since he’d fought Reeme for Alpha of the pack, he’d not once bedded a female before permitting her mate. With her, he’d have his way.

  The knock at his door came as no surprise, nor did Griselda entering without awaiting a response.

  “I’ve never seen you act this way.” She slumped her shoulders. “She’s a good woman.”

  “I know.” Something about Alexia made him this way. Since he’d allowed himself to taste her, he wasn’t behaving rationally.

  “Then why did you embarrass her?” Griselda frowned.

  He grumbled. Seeing her with Cathen had burned him inside and out. He’d come back to tell her how he felt about her and found her in another male’s arms.

  “Whatever went on between you two has kept her locked up in her room for three days. And usually when you come home to the pack, you remain among us, but we’ve barely seen you. Now you invoke first right on a non-pack member.”

/>   “If she wants to be one of us, she’ll have to live by our ways.” He met her glaring eyes.

  “You’re one to talk.” She shook her head. “You don’t stay with us, and you have no mate.”

  “I have a mate.” He pointed to his heart. “She’s dead. Emmiline, or have you forgotten?”

  “No. I hunted down every last one of the humans who came to our homes, murdered our young and mates during the thirty-year war. I sided against Reeme’s orders. I too buried my partner and child. And …”

  He exhaled. His words had been cruel. Griselda had been taken, raped and tortured until the pack tracked her down and freed her. Why was he lashing out? He was usually so controlled. None of this made sense.

  “Alexia brings out anger in me, and I have no reason for it. I saw her with Cathen, and the scent of her reaction to him, I just... I know it’s natural, given she is part Shunu, but I…” He paced.

  “Has she said things about your past? Kicked up pain you’re happy to keep buried? She has visions of memories better forgotten.” Griselda sat at the end of his bed and hung her head.

  So he wasn’t the only one haunted by the images Alexia saw. Or the things she said of events long locked up inside.

  “You could take her as your own. None of us would think less of you. You’ve mourned your beloved. There is no dishonor in finding new joy in life.” Tears slid from her eyes. “I hate to see you this way, and hurting her.”

  If only his emotions were that simple. Insatiable hunger ravaged him when he was with her. Anger consumed him when he saw her with another. Yet, he couldn’t wait to be set free from the pack. In those moments of freedom when he escaped his duties, he counted down the days to his death. “Doing so would not be fair to her. In my dreams, I see only my death. What kind of future would that be for her?”

  He knew as well as Griselda what it was like to live on after the death of his mate.

  “You see possible futures. We don’t know that you’ll die. Do you regret the time you had with Emmiline and Fritz?”

  He growled. How dare she question such a thing? “No, of course not.”