PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  At least he will be safe, and Mom . . .

  “Oh, shit!” I exhale and step away from Seth. “Henry!” I shriek.

  Everyone comes running, even Kiron and Skeeter from inside.

  “What happened?” Kiron asks me.

  “Are you okay?” Barry asks.

  “Er, we have a problem,” I say, and glance at Henry. “Mom read that whole letter and the articles and all of that?”

  “Yeah, so?” He asks, bewildered.

  I just stare and wait.

  “Oh, shit,” Barry says flatly.

  “What letter?” Flynn and Tony ask at the same time.

  I ignore them. “Did Mom ask questions about the contents of that letter?” I ask Henry.

  “Yeah, she didn’t understand the whole not human thing, and Shifter, and Devuxen. I didn’t know the safest way to answer, so I just continued to sit there, and not say anything,” he shrugs.

  I breathe a little easier, but think of something else groan-worthy. “I really hope she doesn’t question Leland.”

  “He knows to keep her in the dark,” Kiron says.

  “Have you ever known Leland to lie?” I glare at him.

  He shakes his head, “No.”

  “He has a hard time lying to anyone. Let alone my mother, his twin. They shared everything, from clothes and toys to a womb. She may be temporarily insane, but she’s not stupid . . . ” My phone starts blaring, effectively interrupting my rant.

  I check the screen and see that it’s Leland.

  “Speak of the devil,” I mutter as I answer. “What’s up?”

  “Your mother’s curiosity,” he spits. “I told her she’ll get more answers when she’s home. She’s afraid for you and Henry, and doesn’t want anything to happen to either of you,” he sighs. “She’s pissed that I know and I’m not telling her. Be prepared when you visit her Tuesday,” I groan. “I’ll be there in twenty to help finish up. It’s been a long day, so start wrapping things up. See you soon,” he ends the call before I can respond.

  “Well that’s fabulous,” I say, and stuff my phone in my pocket.

  “What is?” Henry asks.

  “Mom knows something isn’t right. She’s pissed at Leland for not telling her, and she is planning to interrogate us on Tuesday,” I say, and Henry looks to the sky.

  ***

  Lying next to Seth with my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, is exactly what I need after today. He’s running his fingers through my hair, and I’m drawing circles on his chest. I feel safe, and warm. Just being with him like this, it feels right. I don’t want to fall asleep just yet, so I send him a mental kiss.

  His chest vibrates with laughter. “Come ‘ere,” he whispers.

  I lift my head and look into his eyes, green eyes as bright and brilliant as a grassy field on a sunny day. I could gaze into his eyes forever, hypnotized.

  His fingers guide my face to his and he kisses my mouth softly. The tingles on my lips and cheek work their magic, and I just feel, not think.

  I deepen the kiss as he rolls me to my back. I sigh but I want to whimper. I want to be closer to him, if that’s even possible. He lets out a chuckle, and I pull away and smile innocently. He grins, and lowers his lips to mine again.

  I’m just about to tell him we should slow down, when Alex screams at the top of his lungs. Seth and I scramble off my bed and race to Alex’s room.

  Seth enters first, turns on the light and starts to check around the room.

  Poor little guy. His face is red and he has tears dripping off his chubby little cheeks. I lift him out of the crib and start to sing him a lullaby. His tiny little arms squeeze my neck and he buries his face in my hair. By the time I’m done with the chorus, he’s back asleep.

  I go to lay him back down, and someone touches my back. Glancing over my shoulder, I see that it’s Leland, arms opened for his son, so I gently pass him off.

  Seth pushes off the wall. “Maybe you should let him sleep with you tonight Leland, just uh, to be sure,” Seth whispers.

  My blood boils. That had better have been just a nightmare.

  Several expressions flit across Leland’s face before settling on pissed. “Okay,” he says and carries Alex off to his room.

  I take a relaxing breath and turn to Henry. “Maybe you should bunk with Barry tonight.”

  He cracks a small smile. “I can’t be attacked like that.” I raise an eyebrow in disbelief. “Halfling, remember?”

  “Oh, right,” I whisper and step out to the hallway. That’s when I realize Barry isn’t here. There’s no way he slept through that. “Where is Barry?”

  “I’ll be in your room, don’t be afraid of him,” Seth says. What’s that supposed to mean? Seth kisses my cheek and walks down the hall to my room.

  “He’s in his room. He couldn’t control himself, and didn’t want to scare Alex anymore than he already was,” Henry responds.

  I nod in understanding and slowly walk to Barry’s room.

  Barry’s door is cracked, I knock lightly, and it pushes open further revealing fur. Wolfy Barry is pacing, the tap of his nails hitting the hardwood floor, heavy breathing and occasional grunting, amplified in the silence of night.

  I slip in and shut the door behind me.

  Barry won’t hurt me, no matter his form. I repeat this mantra as I get closer the overgrown wolf.

  I’m almost to the couch when the beast swivels his head piercing me with a look that no normal animal could possess. I halt my movements as my breathing picks up. This is Barry, he won’t hurt me.

  Barry shakes his giant wolf head, as if saying “no.” He aims his nose to the door.

  Message received. I raise a brow and swallow my fear. There’s no way I’m leaving until he’s calm enough to sleep.

  I cautiously sit on the couch, and take a deep breath. “Alex is sleeping again, he’s okay,” I assure him.

  Air huffs from his snout as he stalks closer. He sits in front of me and bows his head so I can look in his eyes.

  I ignore my brain screaming at me to bust a move out the door, and slowly reach my hand out to him. “Barry, it’s okay,” I pet his face and sigh. “He just had a nightmare,” I say, voice laced in anger. That has to be true. I scratch his ear a little, like you would with a dog. He makes a strange grumbling noise. “I know your job is to protect us all, but you need to be level headed and well rested to manage that.” The wolf shakes his head and snorts. He’s probably thinking that he needs more help just to deal with me. I roll my eyes at the thought.

  When did I get to know Barry so well I can carry on a conversation with him, without the need for his voice?

  “You shouldn’t worry so much, Barry. Soon enough you’ll be off “Princess Watch” and you can go back to your carefree, perverted life.” He pins me with a glare. “Don’t give me any shit, Barry. You know as well as I, that your time here puts a damper on the “strange” you crave,” I snap, and he rams his wet nose into my forehead with a grunt.

  I grab the edge of his pillowcase and wipe my forehead. “What? I’m tired Barry. I’m not really thrilled about having a one-sided conversation,” I shrug, and he pads to his closet.

  I get up and shut it behind him. After a minute, he comes out wearing basketball shorts and a beater.

  He glares at me and folds his arms over his chest. “You’re one brave little girl, Princess.” My mouth opens, and he shuts me down by continuing. “You just placed yourself in a very dangerous situation!” he shouts, pinches the bridge of his nose, and closes his eyes. “How am I supposed to protect you if you don’t think?” he asks, tiredly.

  I huff. “I was trying to make sure you were okay!” He snaps his eyes back to mine. “If you weren’t calm enough to sleep, you’d have stewed all night and you’d be a miserable ass tomorrow,” I glare.

  His jaw ticks. “I could’ve attacked you,” he says through clenched teeth.

  “You won’t hurt me, and neither will your wolf,” I fire back before sighin
g. “No matter how angry you are, you and your wolf love me. So shut your pie hole.”

  He stares at me for a full minute. You can literally see the wheels turning behind his eyes, weighing his options for a comeback. “You’re right,” he sighs. “If it would’ve been almost anyone else to walk through that door, there may have been some bloodshed.” I grimace at the thought. He sits next to me on the couch, putting his arm around me. “You make it easy to care,” he grins. “You’re like the sister I don’t have, but always wanted.” Pain flashes through his expression before returning to his usual grin. “I’m seriously jealous of Henry.” I raise a brow, and his face flushes slightly. “He’s the only one who can actually claim the brother title,” he says carefully.

  I set aside my shock of seeing Barry even slightly vulnerable and instead smile. “You big lug,” I lightly elbow his side. “You aren’t so bad, and my heart has lots of love to give. I hereby claim you as my second big brother.” This might be a mistake, I think belatedly. “You already kind of act like one anyway,” I shrug.

  A slow smile creeps on his face, and he squeezes me in a sideways hug. “Thank you, for, you know . . . calming me down and giving me permission to harass you like I have been. You know it’s just gonna get better from here,” he gives me a devilish smile.

  “I think your definition to that word is slightly different than mine,” I laugh lightly. “By the way, when this crap with Derik is over, we will have to revisit the ‘territorial-protective-b.s.’ conversation again, you know that right?” I shoot him a pointed look.

  “I hate to break it to ya, but I’m fairly certain nothin’ will change, Princess.”

  “Don’t be so sure, buddy-man,” I say, and bump his side.

  “As a brother, I approve of Pretty Boy . . . ”

  I interrupt him. “And as a sister, it wouldn’t matter if you approve or not, just ask Henry,” I snort. “By the way, if you really do approve, you might try his name,” I raise an eyebrow in challenge.

  He rolls his eyes. “Just as Henry will never stop trying to protect you, I won’t either. That’s a fact,” he says with a challenge of his own.

  I purse my lips. “I have a feeling I’ll be able to stay mad at you, a lot longer than Henry.”

  “Duh,” he chuckles, and I yawn. “Go to bed, Princess,” he stands and pulls me up. “Thank Seth for me, for letting you come to me. He knew it was dangerous,” he says.

  “You’ve already helped me so much. It was the least I could do. I mean, you did save my life, after all.”

  He swallows audibly and nods. “Just get some sleep, Princess.” He lightly pushes me towards the door.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up. I mentally kick myself. “Will the Princess thing ever end?”

  “You could live to be ten thousand years old, and if I was still around, I’d call you Princess,” he shrugs.

  “Yeah, let’s hope I don’t see what I look like at ten thousand. That’s like, definitely older than dirt.” I mock shiver, and we laugh. “Night Barry, I’m gonna come up with an annoying nickname just for you. I can’t always call you Turtle.” He throws his sock at me as I dart out the door with a laugh.

  ***

  “How’s Barry?” Seth asks from his perch on my bed as I shut the door.

  I walk over and climb in bed with a nod. “He’s back to Barry form, and heading to bed. He, stupidly, told me to tell you thanks, for allowing me to go to him regardless of the danger.” I snort and roll my eyes as he pulls my back against his chest. I rest my arms on his thighs and intertwine our fingers.

  He looks down at me and chuckles. “You were never in any danger, Jaz.” I nod my agreement. “Do you remember when I said I would never hurt you? My body and my mind won’t let anything happen to you.” He pauses and clears his throat. “Barry worries too much about you to let anything happen to you. He wouldn’t hurt you, and neither would his wolf. I know that just from watching him.” He tilts his head slightly, as I narrow my eyes. He watches him? “Today I was aware of where you were at all times, and so was he. A couple times an hour, if you weren’t in his sight he would find you.” He smiles slightly. “It’s his nature to protect and you are his charge, so to speak.”

  I look away from him to my window. Here we are again, I’m a job, a charge, an object, when am I ever just me?

  His voice nearly startles me as he starts again. “I was worried when he first started coming around. He always protected you, and was more vocal than even Henry at times. I was worried that maybe his wolf thought you were his mate. But it seems that’s not the case.” He stops and tilts my face so I’m looking at him again. “You two share a strong connection.” My mind focuses on his choice of words. Connection. “Barry was right when he said that it was a dangerous situation. No one else could have walked in there and did what you did. And no matter how annoying he gets, there’s no getting rid of him,” he laughs.

  My mind is still focusing on “connection.” It’s odd that he chose the same word he uses for us. “Is this another supernatural bond?” I ask in my confusion.

  “No.” He shakes his head. “Did you ever get that feeling that you’re exactly where you need to be? Or maybe you meet someone, and feel like it was a meant-to-be situation?”

  I laugh lightly. “You think I’m destined to be annoyed by Barry for . . . forever?”

  He snorts. “No, just that Barry is meant to be a figure in your life. Whether that’s for entertainment or protection remains to be seen.” He smiles. “If you think about it, you know you care for him.”

  “So, it’s okay that I love him? Like a brother?”

  He presses his lips to my temple. “I’m okay with whoever you love. Your heart is too big to not care for people.” He grins. “Or creatures.” He kisses my cheek.

  I extract myself from him and crawl under the covers. Falling asleep in his arms is definitely something I can get used to.

  I know these moments will cease as soon as Derik is stopped, but it’s these moments of peace that I will miss the most.

  I telepathically kiss Seth and he returns it as I fall into a soundless sleep.

  Chapter 16

  Birthday Madness

  Tuesday afternoon, Barry, Henry, and I walk into Mom’s room. She’s sitting in the chair reading a book and humming to herself. She looks like a normal person, again. I smile. Maybe she’s soon ready to come home.

  Henry’s shoe squeaks as he follows me further inside. Mom looks up. “Hey kids!” She squeals in her usual excitement as she jumps from the chair to hug us.

  Her actions pull a memory to the surface. She reacted this way pretty much every day after school. It was always a hug, a kiss on the cheek followed by questionings of our day, our friends, our school work.

  She spots Barry behind us and hugs him, too. “Barry, how are you doing?” She smiles.

  “Just fine, ma’am, you?” He smiles back respectfully.

  With a small smile, she closes her eyes and breathes deeply. “It’s a good day. It’s nice to smile.” Henry and Barry smile, and I can’t help but think they’ve slipped something new in her apple juice. “Thanks for coming, I miss y’ins so much.” She waltzes to her bed and sits at the foot.

  Henry follows and sits next to her. “We can’t wait for you to come home, Mom. Do you know when you can?” Henry asks. I smile at them and sit in the chair Mom vacated.

  “Well, I actually wanted to talk to y’ins about that. I have really good news!” She’s practically bouncing on the bed. “Leland is picking me up and bringing me home tomorrow! I’m ready. I’ve had enough of this place. I’ve learned new coping skills, and I’ll probably be on anti-depressants for, maybe the rest of my life, but at least I know how to be me and grieve at the same time.” She pulls Henry’s hand to hers.

  “That’s wonderful, Mom!” I say, and the guys say similar things.

  Her face changes from excited to serious in two seconds flat. “Now, we can get down to business.” She clears her
throat and gives each one of us a slow, challenging look.

  In an effort to not infuriate mama bear, I sit up straight in my seat. Henry sits tall and puts his hands in his lap, even Barry noticed the change and is staring wide eyed at her.

  Mom stands and walks towards Barry. “I understand you are staying with us at Leland’s until graduation?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he nods.

  She tilts her head to the side, and Barry gulps. “You do know that the room is welcome to you, should you need it longer.”

  He nods again. “Yes, ma’am. Leland told me that.”

  She turns away from him, and Barry relaxes, until she starts pacing between the three of us. “Which one of you would care to tell me about what Leland is keeping from me?” She stops, and stares at me.

  I gulp. “I can’t, Mom,” I say, and force my eyes to my lap like a coward.

  She huffs and her feet shuffle away from me, presumably, heading towards Henry.

  After she realizes that she isn’t going to get the answer she wants, she stops pacing. “You three know what’s going on, and you’re not going to tell me?” Mama bear asks in an icy tone.

  Barry clears his throat. “Mrs. Williams, ma’am, I promise if I could tell you I would, but at the moment I can’t, and neither can your children.” He swallows audibly, and I raise my eyes from my lap to peek at their exchange. “You’ll probably find out once you get home,” Barry offers with a small smile.

  “I suppose I can wait until tomorrow,” she blows out a breath and her shoulders sag slightly.

  I make a mental note to do something with Skeeter tomorrow afternoon.

  “I wouldn’t try to find out all of it right away, Mom,” Henry says with concern. “I’m not even ready for it and I know it all.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” she snaps, then takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. “Anyway,” she opens her eyes. “Let’s talk about something else. Like, Jazzy’s birthday?” She focuses her attention on me.

  I groan and drop my posture to a slouch. “Do we have to?”

  Barry looks between Mom and me. “When’s her birthday?”