by C. R. Jane
Before I could get a word out, he held up a hand. “You know what, I’ll surprise you. No one ever dislikes a Mr. Jones’ creation,” he announced, shuffling towards one of the fancy presses.
“It’s true, everything he makes is gold. The baked goods too. I blame him for the extra ten pounds on my ass,” Miyu whispered to me. I choked on a laugh, thinking the baked goods were probably a better use of ten pounds than my Doritos had been.
I watched in awe as Mr. Jones flitted around the room, a youthful energy suddenly around him as he darted from machine to machine. His hands were moving so fast, I could barely keep track of him. This man was a coffee wizard.
Three minutes later, and two steaming cups of coffee in fancy cream and gold mugs were set on the counter. Two blueberry muffins quickly followed. My stomach growled just looking at them.
Miyu and I gave Mr. Jones some cash, which he placed in a gigantic old-fashioned register sitting on the left side of the counter. She raised an eyebrow. “This is just coffee…right?” she asked questioningly.
I’d just picked up my mug to take a sip, but her words froze me in place.
Mr. Jones looked at her sternly…and maybe a bit sheepishly too. “That was one time, young lady. And you can’t argue with the results.”
Miyu harrumphed impolitely, and Mr. Jones turned and shuffled away, muttering under his breath about young people in this town…or something like that.
Miyu led me to a table by the window.
“What was that about?” I asked suspiciously. She bit on her lip as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to say.
“Mr. Jones likes to experiment,” she finally admitted right as I took a sip of what had to be nectar straight from the gods.
“Experiment how?” I asked with a swallow, suddenly wondering if I was going to regret that.
She sniffed her drink and then sipped it suspiciously, finally swallowing it almost nervously.
We both waited, for what I wasn’t sure. I was half expecting her to turn into a frog all of a sudden.
“Mr. Jones fancies himself a bit of a scientist…or maybe a wizard is a better word for what he does,” she mused, settling into her seat and taking another long swig of her drink.
Now it was my turn to look at my cup of nirvana suspiciously. “Why did you bring me in here again?” I questioned.
“Oh, it’s worth the risk for how good everything tastes, but he did try and give me a love potion once. He swears it’s what brought me Rae, but I also got the shits so I’m not so sure about it.”
I set my coffee down with wide eyes as she burst into laughter. “I obviously came back though, so I’m not too concerned.”
Against my better judgment, I picked up my drink again and resumed enjoying it. I’d probably be better off if I turned into a frog at this point.
It really did taste that good.
Once I’d pushed out of my mind the fact that my drink could have been tampered with by a mad scientist, I asked her about the Town Run.
“Oh, you are in for a treat. It happens every blue moon, and it’s just incredible. The wolves—”
“Wait,” I said, cutting her off. “It’s a wolf run?”
She nodded her head, confused by my reaction. “Didn’t you know? Something about the blue moon has the two wolf packs around here going nuts, and they race all together through the streets.”
I gaped at her. “And everyone’s just okay with that? Is anyone hurt at all?”
Her eyes darkened, something unreadable in their depths. “It’s pretty quiet here. There’s not a lot of bad things that happen in Amarok. We work hard to keep it that way.”
Before I could question her on anything she’d just said, the door crashed open and a disgruntled looking Rae stormed in.
“Woman! I’ve been looking all over for you,” he barked at a wide-eyed Miyu.
“You know you aren’t supposed to sneak off.”
Miyu had the grace to look chagrined. For a moment, I thought maybe she’d left him in a compromising sex position or something. She seemed like the type.
But the concern in his gaze as he stared at her, concern…mixed with something that looked like terror. It led me to believe it was something else.
“Everything all right?” I asked, looking between the two of them.
“You need to be careful too. I’ve heard about your little runs. They’re a bad idea right now.”
“Because of the wolves?” I asked, confused. Miyu had literally just gotten through telling me how safe the town was. But what I was seeing from Rae didn’t support that.
“I guess you wouldn’t know since you’ve only been in town a little while,” Rae said, his massive form settling into one of the chairs. He swung an arm behind Miyu, and she curled into him. A pang of envy moved through me, seeing how much they obviously cared about each other. Would I ever stop wishing I had that?
I doubted it.
I could dream though.
At that moment, Rae popped the last bit of Miyu’s blueberry muffin into his mouth, and I wasn’t envying them at all when Miyu hit him in the stomach and shrilly screamed at him. Evidently, she was passionate about her food. I made a mental note of that.
After Rae had stopped swearing from Miyu hitting him, they both settled back into each other’s embrace as if nothing had happened.
“What were we talking about?” Miyu asked.
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but grin. “Rae was about to tell me why he was so worried about you sneaking out this morning.”
Miyu sobered at that, nodding her head slowly.
“We lost a girl about a month ago. She was just a teenager. She was at a bonfire party, the kids have them constantly during the summer, and then…she was just gone. The whole town searched for her for days. And then we found her…” Rae’s voice trailed off, and he turned a little green.
Miyu stroked his back soothingly. “Rae was part of the team that found her,” she said quietly. “It…it wasn’t pretty. Something had ripped her apart.” Rae’s body shuddered, and his eyes closed as if he was envisioning it.
“Was it a wolf?” I asked breathlessly, leaning towards them.
Rae shook his head vigorously. “A wolf couldn’t do something like that. She’d been torn apart, for fun.” He looked out the window towards the tree line where the forest began. “Something’s out there. And until we find out what it is…” He turned his attention to Miyu. “You will not leave the house without telling me where you’re going. You didn’t even bring your phone! If I hadn’t seen that we were completely out of coffee, I never would have known where you were.”
“I’m sorry, pookie bear,” she murmured, tapping him on the nose. “I won’t do it again.”
I snickered, hardly comprehending that she’d just called the giant Rae pookie bear. The only thing she’d gotten right was the bear part. He was practically as big as a bear.
Rae blushed at the endearment and awkwardly stood up, dragging Miyu with him. “On that note, I need to get ready for my shift. And aren’t you doing Mrs. Chankleton’s hair in twenty minutes?”
Miyu looked at her watch and screeched in shock. “Fuck, I’m going to be late. And that woman is a beast of timeliness.” She began to pull Rae towards the door without another word.
Rae shook his head and waved at me. “See you later today,” he told me.
I smiled and waved, watching as they walked out hand in hand. Miyu waved at me frantically as she passed in front of the storefront glass, and I laughed and shook my head at her for what seemed like the millionth time this morning.
As soon as they were gone from sight, my smile faded. What Rae had said was sobering. I looked out towards the woods, taking the last sip of my coffee, remembering how I’d felt like something was watching me from the woods several times.
I really needed to look at whether they had a gym in this town. I didn’t really want to spend money on a gym membership, but I didn’t really want to die either, so I guess there w
ere tradeoffs. I needed to be better at controlling whatever urge I’d had lately to get out outside and run.
I jumped in surprise when Mr. Jones suddenly appeared beside me. Where the hell had he come from?
“You know I can make you something if you’re looking for a man,” he told me as he took our empty plates and mugs off the table.
I stood up abruptly and began to slowly back away. “I’m all good on that front,” I told him with false cheer. “No man troubles here.”
He shook his head as if he knew I was lying. “I’ll see you back here soon, and we’ll work something out,” he told me, my return a foregone conclusion evidently.
Which, let’s be serious, it was. I’d definitely be back. You didn’t get an ass like mine by refusing treats, and his coffee and muffins may have been the best I’d ever had.
I waved goodbye and got out of there before I did something crazy like accept a potion from him or something. I didn’t trust myself at this point.
As I walked past the coffee shop, I noticed an alley that I hadn’t seen before. For a town as small as this one, there was still a lot that I hadn’t seen. I could see a green field a block behind the building, so I darted through the alley, nodding to a couple who passed by me. Upon exiting the alleyway, I realized that the green field was actually a cemetery, meticulously kept up with a beautiful view of the mountains and the forest in the distance.
My feet kept me moving as if they had a mind of their own until I saw a weeping couple in front of a recently dug grave. The middle-aged woman was hunched over the dirt, dry racking sobs bursting out of her body, while her husband held her while crying softly himself.
‘Delaney Marshall’ the gravestone read, listing her death around a month ago.
This must be the teenage girl who was killed.
My heart broke as I watched them, aware I was intruding into a deeply personal moment, but unable to look away.
Something abruptly pulled me forward, single-minded in its purpose, until I was standing right behind the crying couple. The man looked up from his grief in red-rimmed eyes, wondering what I was doing impeding on their misery.
Again, as if someone else controlled me, my hands shot out, and suddenly, they were touching the shoulder of the grieving couple. The woman’s sorrow filled the air around us.
Grief poured into me, cold and thick until it was all I could see, touch…taste.
I closed my eyes as it washed over me, and suddenly, a bright white light filled my vision through my closed lids.
And then the feeling of grief…and the light abruptly disappeared.
I was able to take my hand off their shoulders then, and I stumbled backwards, unsure of what had just happened. I was exhausted…drained, like that bright white light had been my essence leaving my body.
The woman turned her head and just stared at me. There was a look of calm serenity on her face where I knew grief had just been.
The man I assumed was her husband looked between the two of us, trying to figure out what just occurred.
“Thank you,” the woman whispered in amazement in a choked voice. “I don’t know what you just did, but thank you.”
I stared at them, confused, finally managing to nod.
And then I ran away, unable to deal with what just occurred. I’d thought escaping Alistair meant I would finally gain control of my life.
But that didn’t seem to be the case.
Things were rapidly spiraling out of control, and I was beginning to suspect that I actually was going crazy.
10
Rune
The morning breeze blew through my hair as I twirled a lock around my finger, chewing on my lower lip. Since waking that morning, my mind hadn’t stopped going over everything that had happened lately, and trying to make sense of it all only left me more confused.
Yesterday’s weird experience with those grieving parents.
The wolves and my attack.
Then there was Daxon, and how I kept dreaming of our kiss.
Not to mention, Wilder and I in the storage room.
I sighed once again that I’d let myself go there with him.
My insane attraction to them both would get me into massive trouble. Apparently, my body refused to behave or listen, and I was addled about my feelings. Arcadia had driven the two men to war, and yet wasn’t I just like her with what I’d done with them both? Nothing good could come of this, and in the pit of my stomach, worry churned that I was on the path to destruction.
I shouldn’t lead them on, and yet I couldn’t stop myself either.
Maybe it was time I left town? Daxon had agreed to pay for my car, and if it was fixed, what stopped me from taking it and leaving everyone and everything behind? I didn’t owe them anything…well, aside from the ten grand to Daxon.
The thought of leaving left me shivering as though a storm had ripped through me. Who was I kidding, anyway? Guilt would haunt me for eternity if I took off owing Daxon. Plus, there was the fact that something was happening between the two of us. If I left, I would lose the chance to find out what that was. My thoughts drifted to Wilder, but like always, I pushed them away. I didn’t need to find out what was happening between him and I.
As the days passed, I’d begun to feel like I might actually belong in Amarok…and I’d begun to think of Alistair less and less. Which was strange, considering half the town snubbed me. Or had my standards just gotten so low, I was willing to grasp onto any little bit of happiness, no matter how small it was?
Nelly had whispered to me that day, “This place is no good for you, girl. You need to leave.”
Now, I couldn’t help but wonder if Amarok was really good for me. I guessed there was only one way to find out. Stick it out until I could pay off the car by myself…just to be sure I wouldn’t be leaving with regrets.
I came up with a plan. I’d continue to get to know Daxon better, stay away from Wilder, and try to think rationally around them both. While I was at it, I wanted to understand what secrets this town held and how it all related to the wolves. And if there really was a monster lurking in the woods, I needed to make sure I stayed alive.
Turning back toward the inn, I made my way inside and headed upstairs to my room. I’d spotted a laundromat on the main road, and my mountain of dirty clothes was piling up. Tonight, the diner was shut due to the Town Run, and I had every intention of attending the spectacle. It still seemed pretty crazy to me that actual wolves would run through the center of town. It felt like Miyu was trying to pull a prank on me, because that had to be the weirdest thing I’d ever heard.
I laughed to myself as I went around the room and picked up my clothes, stuffing them into a bag before heading out.
The air in the laundromat was damp. It was a large room with nine machines, three against each wall. Plastic black chairs were scattered about in the middle, along with some old magazines. There wasn’t a soul in sight, so I strolled across the room and started loading my dirty clothes into a machine before grabbing coins from my pocket for detergent.
Once I had the washer started, I turned to the empty room and grabbed a seat. I had no clue how long I’d been reading through old trashy magazines when the machine finally beeped.
I got up and was switching the clothes to the dryer when someone cleared their throat behind me, making me jump nearly out of my skin.
I hit the start button and twisted around, finding Daxon in the doorway, carrying a coffee and a small brown paper bag.
Despite my earlier resolution to control myself around him, my heartbeat escalated rapidly and even my knees shook at the sight of the gorgeous man. He was dressed in gray pants, stained at the knees as if he’d been kneeling in the dirt. More mud marred his blue tee.
His presence alone had my cheeks feeling hot, and even if my life depended on it, I doubted I could stop myself from smiling. I was embarrassingly aroused, and something had to be wrong with me for me to feel this type of rising need spread through me so quickly.
>
His gaze tracked me as I crossed the room toward the scattered, plastic chairs.
“Did you come here to wash those clothes of yours? I hope you brought something to change into…” I teased, eyeing his dirty clothes.
“I don’t have anything with me, and the owners might object to me hanging around here in the nude,” he said with a wink. He stepped inside, his golden hair windblown and messy around his beautiful face, those golden eyes alive with energy. The way he prowled forward left me swallowing the lump in my throat. Every single thing about him screamed sex. “But you probably wouldn’t mind, would you, Rune?” he purred, and I swear I about came right there.
Telling myself to calm down was not working, as my breathing sped up the closer he got.
“It’s such a shame my wash load is finished,” I choked out, trying to come across as cool and confident…and failing miserably.
He shrugged nonchalantly while holding my stare, the intensity behind his eyes never withering. “Your loss. I was ready to strip.”
All logic evaporated from my mind, replaced with a naked image of Daxon, all that muscle and golden skin. Judging by the way he’d felt against me the other night, there would be nothing small about him. Fire crawled up between my thighs, and it took every ounce of strength in me to not clench my legs together and make it obvious that such a small comment burned me up in mere seconds. The man was ridiculously hot.
My whole face blushed deeper.
“You’re picturing me stripping, aren’t you?” He chuckled and flopped down next to me.
I met his gaze and scoffed. “Oh, please. I’m more curious about why you look like you just got done with a mud-wrestling tournament.”
He burst out laughing at my comment and shook his head at my ridiculousness. To be fair though, it had been the first thing to pop into my mind.
I never would have been comfortable teasing Alistair, I thought just then. The thought was fleeting, but memorable.