“Well then, we’ll have to educate you on the finest technological…stuff,” I said, feeling lame. “This is called a radio.”
She punched me on the shoulder. Hard. I laughed and shrugged, as if that would take the smarting away. She hit pretty damn hard.
Greyson laughed at me. “Bested by a pretty girl.”
I swatted him. “Like you would know.” Still, feeling fire burn my cheeks again, I stared out the passenger side window as lamp posts and trees buzzed past.
Greyson didn’t let this bug him. He just started wailing along to the radio station. He might’ve been musically inclined, but his singing voice was like nails on sandpaper. I grimaced and switched stations mid-song. He waited a few bars, then picked that song up as well. I finally settled on a yee-haw country station that none of us knew.
“Buzz killer,” Greyson taunted, pulling into my driveway.
My house was nothing fancy. A small one-level with chipped paint blue shutters and a patched roof nestled in between similar looking houses. A nice little neighborhood. This was the house I’d been born and raised in. “Thanks, Grey. You know I love you.”
“I should hope so!”
Arii giggled and got out of the car and I followed her. She swung both doors shut and Grey gave a little half-wave and pulled back out, leaving us standing there alone.
“You have a beautiful house,” she said with a smile that made me believe she seriously meant it.
“It’s home,” I shrugged and we headed for the front door. “See the pile of fake dog poop beside the scary gnome-guy?” I pointed to our measly decorating skills and saw her smile. “There’s a key there.”
“Aw, he’s cute,” she said, patting the gnome on the head. The gnome, who was about five inches tall, in a red vest with a green sock hat, wore a permanent grimace, though I could’ve bet somewhere in gnome-world, he was smiling from the compliment. She plucked the key out from under the poop and slid it into the lock.
The door swung open and I waved a crutch in that general direction. “Ladies first.”
Arii snickered, “Lame,” but shoved her way in anyway. I shuffled through the house opening blinds and curtains to let the last few hours of daylight in, tossing my bag on the worn couch. I found a package of frozen hamburger in the freezer and lay it out on the counter to thaw. Maybe we could have cheesy beef macaroni or something. Maybe tacos.
“Can I see your room?” Her question made me snap my head in her direction fast. Hell. She must’ve saw the look on my face because she quickly glossed it over.
“I don’t want to screw you in your bedroom, so get your mind outta the gutter,” she said with a smirk. “I just wanna see where the great Kitane’s son spends his nights.”
I shrugged and led the way down the hall, our feet scuffing along worn tan carpet. At the very end of the hallway was a large photograph framed in gold. Mom wore a beautiful, flowing white blouse with drape sleeves. In her arms was baby Shae with a full head of russet hair. I stood as a skinny little kid with a flop of dark hair, and right behind me, one arm looped around Mom’s shoulder and the other on my head, with a broad and easy smile, was my father. This was the only photograph Mom had kept of him after he’d left her. She claimed it was because Shae and I didn’t deserve to grow up and not remember what he looked like.
Arii paused, looking deep into the eyes of my father, a forlorn smile playing her lips a little downcast. “You have a beautiful family, Kia,” she murmured softly, a finger reaching out to touch kid-me’s cheek. She seemed to shake herself out of her trance and shot me a smile. “To the room.”
I turned the knob and opened the door. It swung into a small, yellow room. When I was little, the border was Sesame Street, Big Bird, and Ernie. Now it was a dark blue print with the sun, the moon, and stars.
My bed was a full, the sheets roughed from sleep and the bedspread torn back. I moved to make the bed, but Arii’s hand on my shoulder stopped me. She glanced across the room, studying the desk and my old laptop, which only worked when it was plugged into the wall socket. My desk was littered with papers and trash. My carpet needed swept. But Arii was smiling.
“It smells like you,” she said softly.
“What do I smell like?”
She tilted her head my way, blue eyes nearly lighting my soul on fire. “Like a wolf; woodsy, cedar, wild. But…also human. I like your cologne.” Her lips quirked into a slow smile. I opened my mouth to tell her it was deodorant, not cologne, but she merely grabbed my arm and dragged me back into the living room. I didn’t bother to shut my door.
Arii plopped down on the sofa and opened her bag, drawing out an English tome. I let a groan slip between my lips, and then sat down on the other end and drug out mine as well. “What do you need help on?” she asked, flipping pages, and I began to explain. Strangely enough, we studied without speaking for a long time, though she ended up a lot closer to me than she was when we started.
“Kia…” Her voice was soft, almost wounded. I met her eyes, held them. My heart hammered in my throat and she reached out, brushing her fingers against my pulse with a ghost of a smile. She opened her mouth to say something when the front door burst open and Shae’s melodious voice filled the hall, singing lyrics at the top of her lungs that probably should’ve had a parental warning label. She sung it anyway. I rubbed my face with my hands, looking apologetically at Arii.
“Oh, hey.” Shae tapped a few buttons on her iPod and tucked the device plus her ear buds into her backpack. She leaned against the back of the couch, arms dangling in the space between us. “Studying? Or having a make-out session?”
I saw Arii grin, though it was my cheeks that flushed pink at the suggestion, making me think that maybe that’s where Arii was headed before we were interrupted. I wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or disappointed Shae had burst in. Hell, I’d only known the girl for a few days, and one of those days she was demanding I sprout a fur coat and take my father’s place as king in a world I’d rather not be.
I blamed it on the hormones.
“Your turn to make dinner,” I said, changing the subject into neutral territory. Both Shae and Arii rolled their eyes, as if to say, ‘How can you be thinking about food at a time like this?’
I huffed. “Well it is. I put hamburger out to thaw.”
“Or you could make dinner and I can hang out with your girlfriend. Lessee, that sounds like a good plan. I need to pat myself on the back for being so brilliant,” Shae said. Looking to Arii, she motioned to the loveseat opposite the couch. “Mind?”
“Go right ahead, it’s your house.”
Shae pranced over and collapsed gracelessly into the overstuffed blue loveseat. She kicked off her chucks and stretched her toes out, arching her back with a small groan. Arii grinned and it was like I knew what she was thinking: Shae looked totally canine curled up in the chair.
Oh hell. She wasn’t part wolf too, was she? I glanced to Arii, and she gave a short nod. Joyful. So what? Did this mean Arii was gonna try and smuggle my little sister back to her pack or whatever, since I didn’t agree to be their leader? I felt a surge of anger. I refused to let them take her.
“So what are your plans?” Arii asked, leaning forwards and bracing her hands on her knees as she regarded my sister with light curiosity. “For life, I mean. What do you wanna be, what do you wanna do?”
Shae grinned and bubbled about her classes at school, about the college she wanted to get into. She’d been dreaming of growing up ever since she was able to walk, pretty much. She loved animals just as much as I did, but on a different scale. She wanted to work with cats—and she wasn’t talking house kitties.
“I want to volunteer at the zoo once I’m eighteen,” she said. “And get, you know, experience. Then maybe I’ll fund some sort of animal sanctuary or something. You?”
Arii smiled. “I haven’t quite decided yet.”
I sat awkwardly between the girls as they chatted like long lost friends. I tried to study, but I needed
silence to be able to think and I wasn’t going to get that. So I slid my books onto the end table and relaxed. After a pause in the conversation, I brought up dinner again. Shae and I argued over what was being made, and who was cooking it. Finally we decided on tacos and Shae agreed to start them if I helped assemble them.
Once she’d padded into the kitchen, I shot Arii an apologetic smile. “Sorry… She doesn’t know a stranger. When she was little, we had to worry about her walking off with ‘new friends’ at the library or the grocery store. That’s just Shae. I love her to death, but she’s…annoying.”
“It’s okay, Kia. No worries. You should be thankful you have a sister.” She smiled, resting her warm palm on my knee. My heart fluttered again, though this time I was pretty sure she’d wanted that reaction because she shot me a feral grin and leaned away from me.
“Do you have a sister?”
“Brother. About Shae’s age, actually.” And he was a wolf, like she was. She didn’t say it, but she didn’t have to. “He’s got such aspirations in life that will never happen, but damn. I’d do anything for that boy.” Her face softened as she looked down at her lap.
“He’s all I have, really. He’s my only family and I’ll always love him.” She smiled. “Just like you should love Shae. You may think you’ll always have her, but you can’t control fate.”
“I don’t want her…knowing, okay? About what Dad was. About what we are. She’s like us, right?” I looked at her, suddenly wary.
Arii nodded slowly. “I promise I won’t tell. She may find out, but it won’t be from me.”
“Thank you.”
Shae yelled for us awhile later and we headed into the kitchen. I left one of my crutches leaned against the couch, and used the other for support so I’d have a free hand. Shae was stirring a skillet of hamburger covered in taco seasoning, so I got into the fridge and pulled out a bag of shredded cheese, some flour tortillas, sour cream, and mild salsa.
Arii looked a little lost, so I directed her to the cupboards and she busied herself setting the table. I hauled all the ingredients to the table and together the three of us sat down and began constructing tacos.
I warmed my tortilla in the microwave, then spread sour cream and salsa on it before catching Arii’s curious gaze.
“You don’t have tacos in Alaska?” I asked, shoving the bowl of ground beef towards her and she slowly shook her head. “Well you can’t go wrong with tacos.” And the look of bliss in her eyes as she took her first bite made me grin, I just couldn’t help it. Damn, she was cute.
As I layered my second tortilla, the garage door went up with a mechanical grind. Arii paused what she was doing and Shae laughed. “Hey, betcha Mom’s hungry,” she announced as she went to heat up another tortilla.
Arii looked to me just as the door swung open and a very tired looking Mom came padding in, her Crocs squeaking on the tile and her hair a frizzy mess.
“Hey Mom,” Shae and I sing-songed, which made her hazel eyes brighten a little bit.
“Oh, dinner looks wonderful, guys,” she smiled, then caught sight of Arii. “Oh, hello! You must be the girl who saved my Kia.”
“Mom,” I groaned.
Arii stood and offered a hand. “I am. Arii Caldwell. You have a beautiful house, Ms. Thomas.”
“Call me Tasha.” Mom took her hand and then pulled Arii into a half-way hug. “Sit, sit. I didn’t mean to interrupt dinner!”
Shae offered Mom a plate and together we all sat down around the table and finished our meal while Mom ranted about some jerk in the waiting room. This was normal. Shae and I were used to it. I worried that Arii would find it boring, but when I looked at her, she looked thoroughly amused.
“I’ll put the leftovers away,” Shae volunteered.
“I’ve gotta get home,” Arii said. “Thanks for inviting me to dinner, Kia. You two are good cooks.”
“Hey, you helped too.” I shrugged, shoving my chair out and standing up. “Um… Should I walk you to the door?”
Shae snickered and Mom turned away, but I knew she was smiling at my expense. I grumbled about heathens and led Arii down the hall. She paused in the living room to shrug on her coat, then we headed for the front door. She paused, grabbing my hand impulsively. “Kia? Can I see your backyard first?”
“Uh. It’s dark out?”
She grinned. “I know.”
I opened the sliding glass door, flicking on the patio light. The yard was small, but big enough that if I ever talked Mom into it, I could have a dog. Arii glanced around, then smiled a little shyly at me.
“Dinner was nice,” she murmured, still holding my hand. I resisted the urge to pull my hand out of hers and wipe it on my jeans, but if it was sweaty, she didn’t seem to mind. “Remember our deal?”
“Uh—” I started, but she’d already pulled away. Sliding into the shadow of my house, she damn near disappeared. Then she stepped into the light as Del, her coat soft and silvery against the light. She grinned doggishly up at me and I felt my heart kick in my chest.
I leaned against my crutch and reached out my hand to her. She licked my fingers, her warm tongue swiping my skin. I buried my hands in her ruff, feeling the familiar leather collar, rubbing her ears the way I always had. I wanted so badly to drop to my knees and hug her to my chest, but then I remembered this was Arii, not just some stray dog.
Her tail never stopped wagging. She sat down on the patio, looking up at me with loving blue eyes and I knew what she was waiting for.
“You’re not gonna let me out of this one, are you?” I groaned. She pawed at my leg. So I did what we both wanted: I placed a gentle kiss on the end of her nose. She licked my chin, then stood and shook herself out with a jingle of tags. Then, with one glance over her shoulder, she loped away, toenails clicking on the sidewalk.
I just watched her go.
Chapter Five
“Kia, look at this guy’s pic. I’m sending it to you now.” Greyson’s voice came giddy over the phone line, high-pitched with excitement. I heard keys clacking in the background and a soft intake of breath. I had to admit, I was curious: Grey didn’t really do excitement, but he was acting wackier than Shae at a sleepover. Must be big.
“Sent.”
I didn’t say anything as I logged into my email account. Two new messages in the inbox, one was spam and the other was from Greyson. I clicked it and the picture of boy popped up. I’d say a little younger than us with chocolate curls and green eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. He looked like a bookworm with a slight sprinkling of acne on his cheeks.
“Uh… Cute?”
Greyson snorted. “He’s gorgeous. I know you don’t think so—but then again, you’ve got your eye on a certain girl, haven’t you?”
I heard the smirk in his voice, but decided against saying anything. Truth was? He was right; I liked Arii, rabid werewolf genes and all. She was pretty, she was fiery, and she was just… I didn’t even know. I’d gotten her cell number, but I hadn’t texted her. Still working up the nerve, I guess. “His name is Sam Shepherd and he lives a city over. I met him on Facebook and we’ve been talking nonstop, man. Seriously. We’re gonna hang some time.”
I clicked aimlessly across acres of internet as we talked, but I wasn’t really a phone guy. After we hung up, I looked Arii up on Facebook, expecting one of our various pictures to pop up. Arii had gotten her hands on my digital camera and had forced Grey and I to endure a photo shoot.
No one came up under her name. I frowned, then Googled her. Nothing. Like she didn’t even exist. Maybe she didn’t. Maybe she lived on some alternate universe, where the fantastic and the paranormal were real. Maybe unicorns shat rainbows, too. You never knew about these things.
I grabbed the camera off my desk and powered it on. I flicked through the photos. Several were of the three of us, pulling goofy faces. Shae had gotten into a few of them—there was a strangely cute one where Shae’s arm was around Arii and Arii had her arm stretched out to take the picture. The
y both had their tongues stuck out. They looked like good friends.
The next one had been taken after Shae and Greyson had taken off. Arii and I were on the couch together, her arm looped around my neck. I was looking helplessly up at the camera and she wore a smirk. Another shot after that was me grinning as she tried to kiss my cheek. I felt a flicker of heat burn my heart at that one.
My eyes slid to my cell, lying harmlessly on top of my desk. Staring at me. Taunting me. Several times today I’d picked it up, had her number up and the text open, but I couldn’t send anything. I felt like an idiot. What if I was reading too far into this? Sure she liked me; that was obvious, but what if I liked her a lot more that? I dreamed about making out with her last night. Was she having similar dreams?
I wondered what it would be like to cup her face in my hands, tilt her head back just a little, just until our eyes met. Hers were such a striking blue, liquid sapphire mixed with summer skies…and mine were like the sun gleaming against gold.
I imagined her sliding her arms around my neck, nails scraping against my skin. Giving me chills. I imagined the velveteen touch of her lips as I dropped my mouth to hers, covering it in an act of bravery. I felt a rush of want. The need to be with her.
I eyed my cell again, eerily silent, and groaned. Pushing myself up out of the chair, I grabbed a dirty shirt out of my hamper and headed to the bathroom. I’d graduated to from crutches to limping, at least. Our bathroom was tiny and square with a toilet and a sink pressed against each other and the shower stall right next to it. I cranked the water to hot, locked the door, and stripped to bare skin.
The water was scalding as I stepped under the stream, burning rivulets down my spine. I eased it towards a colder temperature until I was comfortable. Then I stood under the shower head, letting water pulse around me. I grabbed the bar of soap off the ledge, lathered up and rinsed off, swiping my hands down my body to rinse the suds away.
My touch softened, fingers barely brushing flesh as I imagined Arii pressed up against me, her touch gentle against my wet-slicked skin. I dropped my head back against the shower wall and let my hands explore. My eyes shut against the barrage of water and I felt myself relax.
Wolfsong Page 4