Haven

by Mary Lindsey

  “So, what did you think of Enchanted Rock last night?” Thomas asked in an obvious attempt to test him.

  Freddie stiffened, and Merrick stopped chewing.

  “It was cool…” He furrowed his brow. “The sunrise this morning was…” He turned to Freddie. “I’m sorry. How bad did I blow it?”

  “Pretty bad,” she said.

  “Dude, you were wasted,” Merrick said with a laugh.

  Kurt and Thomas glared at their cousin as if he’d spoken out of turn. Clearly Merrick occupied the lowest rung of the ladder.

  “You were there?” Rain shot a surprised look at Merrick, then at Freddie, who rolled her eyes. He could win an Oscar for this performance.

  “Sorry. Let me make it up to you.” He kissed the red mark rising on her neck. Behind her, he caught a glimpse of Grant watching from several yards away. Well, wasn’t that interesting?

  She closed her eyes, and he knew she was psyching up for something. “Look, Rain. You’re a cool guy, but this isn’t working for me.”

  His gut did a somersault. Wait. She said she’d end it in a few days. He needed those days to convince her he was cool with whatever the hell she was. That they could find a work-around.

  She scooped up her sandwich and backpack and struck out for the school.

  Oh, hell no. No way was he letting her do this.

  “Easy come, easy go,” Thomas said.

  One hard punch, and his teeth would go easy. But he didn’t have time to demonstrate.

  “Freddie!” He grabbed his backpack and caught up with her in just a few strides. “Stop.” He blocked her way and was surprised to find tears in her eyes.

  “Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be,” she said under her breath, eyes focused on the ground. Students had taken notice of them. Probably not a good thing, considering…

  “It’s already difficult but not impossible. Hear me out.”

  She hugged her backpack to her chest. “I’m trying to save your life.”

  “I’m trying to make my life mean something.”

  Her gaze snapped to his face. “What are you saying?”

  “Don’t end this.”

  She kept her voice barely a whisper, far too low for anyone else to hear. “But you saw me last night. What I am…” She shook her head as if to clear it. “You should hate me. Be terrified. Hide from me.” She pointed to the boys under the tree. “Instead, you bit me in front of my pack. That’s like a throw-down.”

  Exactly. He smiled.

  “You’re taking the act too far. I had to stop you.”

  “It’s not an act.” He lifted her backpack from her arms and slung it over his shoulder next to his. “We need to talk.” He raised the sandwich in her hand to his mouth and took a bite. “Delicious.” He arched an eyebrow. “Almost as delicious as your neck.”

  “You must have a death wish. You’re not normal.”

  “Says the girl who morphs into Moon Creature.”

  Finally, she smiled, and he could take a full breath for the first time since last night. Over her shoulder, Rain checked on the boys. Grant had joined them and he, Kurt, and Thomas appeared to be in a serious discussion while Merrick calmly watched Freddie. When he noticed Rain staring, Merrick smiled and gave a nod. One simple action that said something incredibly profound: I accept you. Now if only he could get Freddie to do the same.

  Nineteen

  Rain needed to talk to Freddie in private—without interruption. After rejecting several empty classrooms, he stopped outside a door labeled Authorized Personnel Only. Of course it was locked. “Watch for teachers,” he said, pulling out his lock pick. He’d considered not carrying it anymore, thinking it useless here. Fortunately, old habits die hard, and he’d grabbed it up this morning, along with his pocketknife. With a few practiced moves, the lock popped easily.

  Her surprised eyes widened when he grabbed her hand. He pulled her inside, closing and locking the door behind, plunging them into jet-black darkness.

  “Well,” she said, voice breathy. “That’s a useful skill.”

  The warmth of her body, so near to his, made it hard to focus. “I have lots of useful skills.”

  “I bet you do.”

  For a moment, he did nothing except listen to her deep breaths, finding his own chest expanding and contracting in sync with hers, then he lit his phone screen and located the light switch. Both blinked in the harsh light of the bald bulb housed behind a safety cage on the wall. The room held maintenance supplies—tools, ceiling tiles, long fluorescent light tubes.

  “This is a bad idea.” She brushed her hair over her shoulder.

  “You say that a lot.”

  “Well, you have a lot of bad ideas.”

  He slid both backpacks down his arms and leaned them against a metal shelf. “I have some really good ones, too.”

  They stared at each other for a moment, and he imagined how she’d looked last night when the hair had sprouted and her face had elongated. He’d expected seeing her today would bring back that horror, but none came. Just an additional burst of intrigue added to his already raging curiosity.

  No time for bullshit. They only had a short while before the bell rang. He leaned back against the locked door. “What are you?”

  Suddenly, her tattered black Converse high-tops were the most interesting things in the room.

  “Around your cousins and everyone else, I’ll act like I didn’t see anything last night,” he said, “but I did see something. I want to know what the hell it was.”

  She gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I’m not allowed to talk about it.”

  “Or what?”

  Her cool eyes met his. “Or we die. Revealing the magic results in a death sentence for both of us.”

  Magic. “So, what if I guess it?”

  Again, she studied her shoes.

  “Because I think I’ve got this figured out.”

  “I need to go. The guys’ll come looking.”

  She was so closed off. Arms crossed, head turned away.

  “I’m calling bullshit. You’re scared to hear what I have to say. Scared I’m right. Scared I want to be with you anyway. Most of all, you’re scared of how I make you feel.”

  The bell to end lunch rang, and she flinched. “I asked you to not make this harder than it has to be.”

  He took her hand and placed it over the front of his jeans, and her breath hitched. “It can’t be harder.” It was a shitty move, but he wanted her to know he was for real about this. She didn’t pull away when he removed his hand. Instead, she traced his zipper on the way up to hook her finger through his belt loop and met his eyes. He had her attention now. “Listen to me. I don’t care what you are. I care who you are.”

  “Only because you don’t know me. You don’t get it.” She dropped her arms to her sides. Her breaths quickened, he suspected from some kind of fear of her own.

  “I get this.” He took her face in his hands and lowered his face to hers, meeting her lips with a gentle, soft kiss. She didn’t kiss him back. Hear me, he willed her. She pulled away, shaking her head. Closing him out. No. Not going to happen. Time to lay his cards on the table.

  “I’m not exactly sure how the necklace or Grant or your cousins play into things,” he said, figuring he needed to let her know he understood more than she gave him credit for. “But I know your anger brought on the change last night. It’s also tied to the moon and maybe Enchanted Rock.”

  She held her breath, unmoving, like someone about to jump off a cliff into the ocean for the first time.

  “I know the necklace works like an antidote or suppressant, but yours malfunctioned. All three of your cousins wear them, so I assume they transform as well.”

  Her only response was to look away.

  He tipped her chin up to force her to look at him. “Grant doesn’t wear a charm, but he provides them. I don’t get that connection, but I’m working on it.” Her breaths came in quick, shallow pants.

  “You ref
erred to your cousins as a pack,” he continued.

  She paled.

  “Your cousins call people livestock.”

  Undoubtedly uncomfortable that he was nearing the heart of it, she took a step back.

  “You didn’t change enough last night for me to see exactly what you turn into, but I saw one of your pack at the shed the night before last.”

  “What shed? What did you see?”

  “A large brown dog with missing patches of hair.”

  She shook her head. “Not one of us.”

  “Wolves.” He took her by the shoulder. “You and your cousins change into wolves.”

  She stilled completely, eyes wide.

  “You’re a werewolf.”

  Then she squeezed her eyes shut as if willing his words away. Boom. Direct hit. He waited, hands on her shoulders, steadying her.

  “Go away, Rain. Go now and go fast. Back to Houston. Anywhere but here.”

  “No.”

  When she opened her eyes, they were full of tears. “People are going to die.”

  “People already have.”

  Her brow furrowed as she undoubtedly thought about her dad.

  “I’m not scared. I can handle it,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “I’m not some sheltered starry-eyed kid just looking to get laid.”

  One dark eyebrow arched.

  He threw his hands up. “Okay. Getting laid would be great, but you know what I mean. I can handle rough times. I can handle danger. I can handle you—what you are.”

  After a moment, she took a deep, shuddering breath. “Watchers.” She blinked rapidly a few times, and he released her shoulders, giving her space. “We’re Watchers. We protect the Weavers.”

  “Watchers are werewolves,” he prompted. She didn’t respond, as if it were difficult to admit. He pulled her hair over her shoulder and wrapped it around his hand as he’d seen her do in his room. She watched as he wound it around again.

  “We shift into wolf form.”

  There it was. Straight up. He should have been freaked or at least troubled, but instead, he was intrigued and surprisingly turned on. “And what do Weavers do?” He wound the hair around one more time, pulling them together, bodies touching from chest to knee.

  “They weave the spells that hold the magic in place.”

  Werewolves and witches. Holy fuck.

  “You realize what will happen if you tell anyone, right? Like your aunt. It would be a bloodbath.”

  The thought of something happening to Aunt Ruby made his body feel colder—like ice filled his veins. “I would never reveal you. You need to trust me.”

  She barked a laugh. “I’m in a closet that you broke into, telling you secrets that could get us both killed. We’re past trust, Sprinkles.”

  He leaned down and tugged on her hair just enough to pull her face up to his. “Yeah, we are.” This time when he kissed her, she kissed him back, and his body roared to life. Her hands roamed his body. Urgent. Bold. When the tardy bell rang, neither of them even acknowledged it.

  “I think you must be insane,” she whispered against his lips as he ran his hands under her shirt, unclasping her bra. “Or have a death wish.”

  “I have one wish right now, Freddie Burkhart. Only one.”

  Her smile broadened into a grin he could only describe as wolfish.

  Twenty

  Freddie suggested they should show up to calculus at different times, but Rain insisted they arrive together. He wanted the boys to know they were good. Tardy slips in hand, they entered the room and took the quiz that was already in progress.

  Every now and then, one of the boys would glance back, and Rain would smile, knowing they could see the bite mark Freddie had left on his neck. He figured there’d be hell to pay for it, but he didn’t care. She was worth it.

  Before they’d left the closet, he’d asked her to meet him for a ride tonight, but she said she couldn’t, that she had to work late every Friday night. She’d also asked him to lay low until she ironed things out with the boys, so he held back when the end-of-class bell rang, letting her leave flanked by her cousins.

  Right as he finished packing up, his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a message from Aunt Ruby asking him to call, which was unusual.

  Hitting the hallway, he dialed her.

  “Hi, Aaron,” she said. “Sorry to bug you at school.”

  He shifted the phone to his other ear, pressing it close to muffle the noise of students filling the hall. “No problem. What’s up?”

  “Um, well, did Gerald say anything to you when you were in the office Wednesday?”

  Like heat lightning, his adrenaline flashed, and he froze. “Like what?” He covered his other ear with his palm to block out the noise.

  “I dunno, like anything unusual? He left before I finished scanning that file and he usually says good-bye.”

  Every red flag in his system went up. “Has something happened?”

  “Yes. No. Well, I don’t know.”

  He stepped out of the way of students rushing to class and flattened against the wall, stomach roiling.

  Ruby continued. “He didn’t show up for work yesterday, and he never called in. He didn’t come in again today. I went by his house, and it was unlocked, but he wasn’t there. His car was in the driveway. He’s done this before, so it’s probably not a big deal.”

  “No, he didn’t say anything unusual.” He felt like shit lying, but at this point, he wasn’t sure how dangerous the situation with Freddie really was, and mentioning what Gerald had said could put Ruby in danger—something he’d never do.

  “I didn’t figure. Worth a try. Hey, I won’t be home until really late tonight. My shift ends at two a.m.”

  “That’s late.”

  “Yeah. All the wineries have bands and stuff going on Friday nights. It’s my big night. Somebody might lose a phone or lock keys in their car or something.”

  He smiled at the sarcasm in her voice. “There’s always the possibility of a rogue raccoon.”

  “Or a mermaid.”

  His heart stuttered. “Yeah. That, too.”

  “Well, get to class. See you tomorrow. Let me know if you head out somewhere or need anything.”

  “Will do.”

  Shit, shit, shit. Keeping Aunt Ruby in the dark about the wolf business was going to be a constant challenge. He’d sensed something was up from the moment he set foot in New Wurzburg. It was a wonder she hadn’t picked up on it, as long as she’d lived here.

  In track, they ran sprints, taking the top two from each of four rounds to progress to the final race that day. He was the only one in the final round not on the varsity track team, all of whom were in this class and stayed over to practice after school. Of course, there would be no practice after school today because it was the last day of classes before spring break.

  “Sure you don’t want to join varsity?” Grant asked, taking his spot in the lane next to him.

  “Positive. Got a job, remember?”

  The guy grinned, like he knew the punch line to a joke.

  The coach called, “On your marks,” and then the whistle blew. Rain and Grant were in the front of the field from the start, neck and neck, arms pumping and legs screaming from maxing out. Wouldn’t let him win. Couldn’t let him win. Within ten strides of the finish, Grant migrated over into his lane, foot somehow getting in front and tangling up with Rain’s, sending them both down on the track.

  For a moment, Rain was too stunned to speak. The guy had done it on purpose. Both of them could’ve been hurt. He glared over at Grant, who had gotten to his knees, eyes trained on Rain.

  “You did that on purpose,” Rain accused through gritted teeth.

  There was that shit-eating grin again.

  He had the urge to punch the guy, but he kept it together, instead asking in a controlled, low voice, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  One of the coaches arrived. “You boys okay?”

>   Grant didn’t respond, just continued to study Rain in that same creepy way his kid sister had the day he came in to the hardware store for the job.

  “Yeah,” Rain said, pulling a rock out of the skinned area on his knee. “Just an accident.”

  “Well then, get off your butts and go change. Bell rings in ten. Have a good spring break, guys.”

  “Wanna tell me what the hell you’re doing?” Rain asked after the coach wandered off.

  “Testing something.”

  “What? How much bullshit I can take before I kick your ass?”

  He laughed. “Yes, actually.”

  Rain straightened his shirt and struck out toward the locker room, determined to not let this guy get to him.

  “Hey, Ryland. There’s a decent blues band at Haven tonight. You should check it out.”

  Rain consciously relaxed his hands that had curled into fists.

  “A bunch of us will be there.”

  So the asshole trips him, then invites him to hang out? The whole town was nuts. “No, thanks.”

  “Friederike will be there.”

  Just hearing her name made his heart kick up. Freddie had said she was working tonight; maybe he’d see her if he went. He turned and Grant arched an eyebrow, and for the hundredth time that day, Rain wondered how this guy figured into what he’d seen last night. Maybe if he went to Haven, he’d find some clues.

  “We’re meeting around seven. You should join us. I think you’d fit right in.”

  With what he knew about this town, he was pretty sure that wasn’t a compliment.

  Twenty-One

  The party scene at Haven Winery was already in full swing when Rain arrived. Mercedes, BMWs, and high-end pickup trucks packed the gravel parking lot in front. Party buses labeled Texas Hill Country Wine Tours and A Taste of the Hills lined the far end. He parked his dirt bike near the fence surrounding the main building and took a deep breath of fresh night air, scented with wine and perfume.

  Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Grant’s behavior on the track had been strange. He shook his head and bit back a laugh. He was hot for a girl who morphed into a wolf. Strange was relative.