by Livell James
Once she opened the door, the smell of burnt bacon and coffee hit her right in the face. Oh lord, her grandma was great at many things, but when she got distracted, watch out. Kaylee often wondered if she didn’t get that trait from Grandma Ruth. She could be doing something, a thought or something as simple as a flash of light would distract her, and she would be off to something else.
She was ashamed to admit the Birmingham Fire Department had been at her apartment three times, just this year alone. When she was younger, her Mother took Kaylee and had her tested for ADD. She didn’t have it; all the psychological tests had come back negative. The psychologist said she was a daydreamer and needed to focus more on reality.
She remembered that time well. She would see things which were like colors surrounding people; she found out later those were auras, but as a little girl she could only see the colors. She saw how certain people had shadows following them, sometimes another person, other times it was an animal. There was one time when she was in the park, one of the rare occasions her mother had taken off work to spend the day with her, she had to have been about eight at the time. A little boy came up to her, and she asked him about the little puppy following him.
He told her he didn’t have a puppy. But Kaylee didn’t give up, she pointed to the spot she clearly saw the animal and said, “It’s right there.” He looked behind himself, looked back at her, and told her she was crazy, there wasn’t a puppy there. Kaylee had been determined, not to mention a little stubborn because of her curiosity about the puppy and pointed again, saying, “I’m not crazy, you’re crazy because it’s your puppy.”
The whole thing escalated from there; the little boy started crying and so did Kaylee. His mom and her mother came over and started in on each other. Kaylee tried to explain it to her mother, but she kept saying it wasn’t real, there wasn’t a puppy, and Kaylee needed to stop saying there was. That wasn’t the first time her Mother didn’t believe her or take her side.
After what happened at the park, Kaylee was sent here to her grands house. Her Grandma Ruth listened to her and gave her some of her special tea and cookies, but Kaylee couldn’t remember what happened next. When she went back home though, the shadows and colors were different, muted somehow, not as distracting, making it easier for her to ignore them. She knew better than to mention them again.
Once she made it to the door of the kitchen, Kaylee leaned up against it and smiled. She loved seeing her Grandma Ruth in here; it wiped out the bad memories and brought on so many good ones. The food might be burnt, but the company was top-notch. Looking at the scene in front of her and remembering many others, she hadn’t noticed Grandma Ruth had turned around until she heard her voice.
“Good morning, Kaylee. Take a seat, breakfast is almost ready.”
Kaylee knew her hands were clean, but this was another one of Grandma Ruth’s rules, everyone washed their hands before sitting at the table. Kaylee walked to the sink to wash her hands like a good granddaughter. Grandma Ruth’s smile over her shoulder was reward enough.
Sitting at the little table next to the window, Kaylee enjoyed the crisp, bright colors of the scene outside. Winter was making its way out of the area and Spring was coming. Everything had already started to bloom outside. She loved this time of year.
The view from the window was beautiful, but Kaylee knew if she took a walk outside and around the house, she would see all of her grandma’s flower gardens. The woman had a green thumb, something Kaylee hadn’t inherited from her. She killed an air plant not too long ago, but she was going to keep that to herself. Not only did Grandma Ruth have multiple flower gardens, she had an herb garden and various fruit trees she tended to. Some of Kaylee’s favorite memories were of spending hours out there with her, pulling weeds and talking. Grandma Ruth would explain what each plant and flower was and what they could do. The way she would explain, it was almost like a story.
“Where's Grandpa this morning?” Kaylee asked, getting her head back to the here and now. “I would really like to see him, he wasn’t around at all yesterday.”
“I think he’s down at the cabin with Lucas already. They’ve been working so hard; you know your Grandpa wants to make it perfect for you, child.”
“I know, I was just kind of hoping to see him today,” Kaylee said, crestfallen. Her grandpa hadn’t come to see her yet. She quickly changed the subject. “So, Lucas? What do you think of him and where did he come from? He doesn’t seem like the type of guy to have come from around here.”
“He’s a hard worker, we’ve been blessed to have him around. We aren’t as spry as we used to be, and he picks up a lot of the chores around this old place. His family lives up the road. He came back to town a couple of months ago.”
“So, he’s from around here or did the family just move here, too?” Kaylee asked. “I noticed the new house down the road.” Kaylee watched as her grandma fidgeted until she turned around and started washing the few dishes left in the sink.
“He used to live here as a child. I’m amazed you two didn’t meet before on one of your visits. No matter though, he’s a sweet boy, always willing to help, but you need to remember Kaylee, he’s working here. You need to let him do his job and stay out of his way.”
Okay, Kaylee thought, that statement was weird, and her grandma was acting more bizarre than she’d ever seen, which was saying something. Grandma Ruth was all about southern hospitality. She didn’t know Kaylee’s thoughts for Lucas were anything beyond being friendly, or did she? Damn, that would be embarrassing. Well, she did call out his name last night, but she had explained that away or at least thought she had. Fuck a duck, no one wanted their grandma knowing they had a crush or more scandalous thoughts about a man.
“I can't wait to go down and see what they’ve done to the cabin,” Kaylee said, changing the subject quickly. “It’s been so long since I’ve even seen the place. I think after breakfast, I’m going to take a walk down there and check it out.” Grandma Ruth started to put the food on the table, and Kaylee grabbed a plate.
“Oh, child, let the men be, for now. Edwin will let you know when the cabin is ready, and then you can move right in. I was hoping you would go with me into town today.”
Kaylee started to make herself a plate, but after looking at the food, she decided an egg sandwich, minus the burnt to a crisp bacon, was the way to go. After she got the sandwich together, she got up and went to the refrigerator, smiling when she saw the six pack of Diet Coke.
“Sure, I could pick a couple of things up for the cabin while we're there. Where all did you want to go?” Kaylee asked, her back still turned away from her grandma.
“Oh, the usual—the bank, post office, and grocery store. It shouldn’t take long.”
Kaylee knew better than that. Every time they went to run errands, it took her grandma all day because the woman was a social butterfly. Her family was the only ones who ever got to see the real Ruth McClane—the cantankerous, sarcastic, and blunt woman. Strangers always got the sweet grandmother version; little did they know, she was only out for gossip. Kaylee knew this trip was going to be a pain in her ass, hell, a simple trip to the gas station with her grandma could take an hour, and they were stopping at three places.
Groaning inwardly because she really wasn’t feeling up to a day trip to the tiny little town, but didn’t want to disappoint her grandma, Kaylee just smiled and agreed. Kaylee wanted to see Lucas again, but if they were in town, and he was working at the cabin that wouldn’t happen. Damn, that tall, dark, and handsome man was taking up way too much of her brain space.
She was still bothered by her Grandpa Edwin's absence, and then there was how her grandma responded to any question about Lucas. Her answers were clipped and rushed as if she didn’t want to talk about him. That wasn’t like her. Grandma Ruth loved to gossip. Kaylee couldn’t help feel her Grandma Ruth was trying to caution her away from Lucas. She couldn’t figure out why Grandma would let the man work at their home if she didn’t trust
him with Kaylee. It was like she’d entered the Twilight Zone and her grandma was the same, but different.
Chapter 5
Lucas was out of sorts; his nightly confinement was wearing on him more than it had before. The blood he drank to survive, bagged from a local blood bank, wasn’t helping his thirst. In all the years he had been a vampire that hadn’t happened to him. The bagged blood provided what he needed, but was never very appealing. He tolerated it, sucking down a bag a night. It held off the hunger enough for him to function. Last night, he had drunk four bags and still felt as though he was starving.
Lucas was an anomaly; he could eat real food, human food, even enjoy it. The difference was it did nothing to nourish his body. When in his wolf form, he could hunt, and his catch for the day would slacken his need; the fresh blood satisfied the vampire and the meat appeased his wolf. But to stay strong, he still had to have human blood. He never drank from the source, it only brought temptation and bloodlust. He had thought he had that need well in control.
With his dual nature, Were and Vampire, it meant death for the person he drank from; it had happened. When he was newly changed, he didn’t know what was going on, hadn’t learned to control his urges, and had done some horrible things. He refused to let that happen again. That brought to light his newest problem, Kaylee. She was the reason for his current state of discontent.
He wanted her. His beast wanted her, and nothing would curb that need and hunger inside of him. When he was finally able to sleep, he couldn’t even escape her there, dreaming of only Kaylee—touching, tasting her skin, and feeding from her veins. He knew what this was; Were lore was clear. When a Were met his mate, they needed to be together, if not physically, then through their dreams until the claim was complete. He took some consolation that Kaylee would be having the same type of dreams about him.
But it didn’t help his current state, it was driving him wild with the need to run and feed. There wasn’t a shower cold enough anywhere on the planet which would have lessened his arousal. Even taking matters into his own hands had only added to his frustration.
It took him hours of meditation and physical exertion to pull his beast back far enough to leave the pack’s home. Flynn’s words weighed heavily on him, repeating in his mind over and over again. It was time; Marcus was out of control, he would destroy the pack. Lucas knew all of those things were true, but he couldn’t figure out a way to help them. His first and only priority were the McClane’s. If he failed in that, he would be put to death.
It was what Marcus was hoping for. That was why Lucas was confined every night and not allowed to shift without supervision. Lucas needed to join with his beast to make himself stronger. All shifters and vampires did, they needed to let their true nature thrive. Lucas knew Marcus was stifling him to make him weak, so when the time came, he would be unable to uphold his duty.
As soon the first rays of light lit the sky, Lucas left his room in the basement. He didn’t stick around the pack house to eat and make friendly conversation, he knew they didn’t want him there. He chose the solitude of walking in the woods until he was needed at the McClane’s house. He hadn’t even made it ten steps before his twin made his presence known. After the night Lucas had just had, he really didn’t want to deal with his brother.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work or something?”
Matthias sneered at him. Lucas could barely remember a time his twin looked at him with any type of kindness. From the time they were able to comprehend what was going on in the world around them, Marcus had worked his hatred for Lucas into Matthias. Pitting them against each other because of things beyond Lucas’ control. Envy, greed, ego, and entitlement tainted them, when they should have been close.
Twin births in the pack were revered. It didn’t happen often, and it was said the twins, two sides of one whole, would have more power, strength, and magic than a single birth. If they were Alphas that power would be legendary. He and Matthias were Alphas, only Marcus had severed their bond, making that power useless.
“I saw you yesterday,” Matthias stated as if he had just revealed the biggest secret in the world. Lucas didn’t play into him; he learned a long time ago if he just waited his brother out, Matt would eventually get to what he really wanted to say.
“Yeah, I saw you too, Matt, kind of hard not to when we live in the same house,” Lucas replied as though the conversation meant nothing to him.
“No,” Matthias growled, grabbing Lucas’ arm, forcing him to turn and face him, “I saw you in the woods yesterday when you shifted.”
Lucas knew this was bad, he was forbidden to shift without Marcus present. If Marcus found out, he would be punished, and with Kaylee’s ceremony approaching, he couldn’t let that happen.
“I don’t know what you think you saw Matt, but it wasn’t me in my shifted form, I know rules,” Lucas stated without showing a bit of the fear he now felt.
“What I want to know, Guardian, is how you were able to lie to our Alpha without him detecting it,” Matthias snarled.
Lucas knew better than to confirm any of Matt’s suspicions. Over the years, he had tried to take his brother under his wing and teach him things, so they could rebuild their bond, but it always backfired. Matt would find a way to use anything Lucas showed him against him. Not that it would matter in this instance, Matt could tell Marcus a lie about him, so Lucas would be punished, and the man would swear it was the God’s honest truth.
All Shifters had the ability to detect lies, but only a few had the capacity to deceive; Lucas was one of them. He believed it was one of the gifts he received being the Guardian. The gifts were sacred, and he wasn’t permitted to share them with anyone, even his brother, so he evaded.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Matt. I’m not able to lie to Marcus anymore than you or any member of the pack.”
“See, that’s just the thing. I know you just lied through your teeth, yet none of my senses picked up on your deception. I want to know how you do it, otherwise, I’ll be informing our Alpha of your little tromp through the woods in wolf form yesterday.”
“Don’t threaten me, Matt, it will get you nowhere,” Lucas growled back, his wolf riding him to attack.
“That might be true, Lucas, but I’m sure the photos I took on my phone will provide me with proof enough to give to our Alpha. Of course, if you’re willing to tell me, we could always avoid that.
“What’s your deal?” Lucas yelled, pulling away from Matt’s grip. “Do you even pay attention to what Marcus is doing to the pack, do you care? Or are you so blinded by your dedication and devotion to our father you can’t see what’s right in front of your face?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lucas. You’re the one who doesn’t pay attention to the pack’s needs. It’s all about your guardianship. You come only when required. You don’t see the struggle our Alpha goes through just to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. You’re the selfish one, not our father,” Matt sneered.
“Really, brother, I never once, until this moment, thought you were naïve. The Council pays for the pack house, and all packs in the area provide a stipend to our pack because of my status as Guardian. Marcus is using the money for something other than the pack. If you don’t believe me, contact the Council, it’s all public information, including the amount each pack provides every month,” Lucas said.
“That’s not true. You’re lying again. Our Alpha would never do that. The pack and its wellbeing come first, in all things. Those are his teachings. I will not be turned by your lies,” Matt screamed.
Lucas had enough, he didn’t want to play this game with Matt anymore, so he challenged.
“Believe what you want, but think about this while you’re packing up groceries at your job at the Piggly Wiggly; it isn’t needed. The Valentin pack is provided for so we’re available to the McClanes at all times. All you have to do is make one simple phone call to confirm it. Do you have the balls to go aga
inst everything our father has taught you and think for yourself for once in your life? Or do you want to remain clueless as well as penniless while he reaps the rewards of the Council, outlying packs, and the blood sweat and tears of our own?”
Lucas’ statements had the desired effect; he watched Matt storm away. Lucas waited because he knew, just like his father, Matt always had to have the last word, and he didn’t make him wait long.
“I will prove you the liar you are, Lucas, make no mistake. When I do, I’ll take all of this—your shift, your lies against him and the packs—to our father, and you’ll be punished.”
Lucas started walking, but needed to say one more thing. There would always be a part of him which hoped he could get through Marcus’ lies and reach Matt.
“I believe you are the one who is about to learn some hard truths about the man you hold so dear. What will you do with the answers?” Lucas hadn’t raised his voice or even turned to face his brother. Their Shifter hearing was impeccable, he knew he had heard him, only this time Matt didn’t respond. In Lucas’ book that was a victory.
Lucas continued his journey through the woods; his earlier agitation amplified by his confrontation with his brother. The cabin for Kaylee was almost done, but he knew she would need firewood to stave off the cold winter months to come. It would also calm his beasts and his mind.
When he broke through woods into the clearing, Edwin was waiting for him on the porch. The man wasn’t usually at the cabin until after ten in the morning. His being here now concerned Lucas. He walked a little faster because he knew something was wrong.
“Is there a problem? Is Kaylee okay?”