It wasn’t anyone calling, just a text.
‘Where are you inside the house?’
I sucked in a sharp breath. The shadows in the garden. I just stared at the tiny words for a long moment. “Can you see the garden from your window?” I moved woodenly toward the curtain, trying to push it aside. Its heavy folds kept shifting back, so I simply stepped between window and curtain. It enfolded me in darkness.
I picked up my phone and turned on the camera to take a picture.
“Have they come for you?” His voice was so close I nearly jumped. However, he was still outside of the dark cocoon of velvet.
I took the picture and hit send, pushing it aside enough to look at him.
He only watched me, not angry or sad, and the silver of his eye further obscuring any emotions he stood there.
I took his wrist lightly and tugged him.
He followed me inside the curtains, the blackness nearly complete save for the reflected light from the window.
“What do you want the most?” I whispered.
He gripped my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. “To be with you.”
I closed my eyes, reaching up to rest my hands on his elbows. “You could be.”
“No.” He let go, and I felt him turn to the window and pushed it up with a grunt. It let out an angry squeal, as if it hadn’t ever been opened.
I could hear soft muffled wooden thuds, and remembered the trellises. I tried again, still holding onto his arm. “Come with me.”
He didn’t answer.
We stood there, waiting until a hand gripped the bottom of the sill.
“Please!” I said desperately, trying to see his face in the dark.
He reached up and wound his fingers in mine, breaking my grip on his arm. He picked me up and swung my legs over the side of the sill. “You don’t belong here. I do.”
Strong arms wrapped around me that weren’t his, and I shut my eyes tight as cold air surrounded me. The window shut behind me with a final thud, and I cried.
Chapter 12
I bit back another sob as the body supporting mine shifted downward. I clung tighter, whispering, “Who?”
“Quiet,” came the hushed answer. “Let’s reach the bottom first.”
It was very strange holding onto someone as they climbed down, hard muscles moving and a feeling of complete dependency whether I plummet three stories to the ground or not.
We were there before I knew it. Once my feet touched the ground I unwound my arms and looked into the tired face of Lyall.
I hugged him. “Thank you.”
“We’re not gone yet.” A growl from behind announced.
I turned and saw Kurt, and I couldn’t help but give him an even quicker hug.
“Later,” he grumbled as he moved away, then silently jogged toward the hedges.
Lyall wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders and kept us moving at a steady pace, even when I was breathing heavy and faltering. I wasn’t much of a runner.
In fact, I barely had time to think about what I was leaving behind as the outer edges of the lawn finally came within sight. There wasn’t any car waiting for us, and I groaned as we continued jogging down the empty circular driveway in front of the house.
I was stumbling a little when we were far enough away that Kurt slowed in front of us. I still didn’t see any car, and my lungs burned as if I ran down the whole length of Oxford Street.
“You rescued me!” I was still in shock that I was free. If only he had come with me…
A car’s lights crawled toward us from the opposite way of the house. I immediately stepped off the street, but Kurt waved at it. The familiar vehicle pulled up next to us and the window rolled down.
“Heath!” I shrieked, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
“Keep it down, luv.” Heath grinned, as if he hadn’t been missing for days.
Kurt opened the passenger’s side door for me and saying nothing, so I assumed he already knew.
Once I was inside, Lyall and him climbed into the back seat, and we went shooting off into the night. I turned in my seat, so unbelievably glad to see him sitting there, recklessly driving. “Where have you been? We were worried sick!”
“So much for pulling it off as an impromptu roadtrip to you, luv. How’d you manage to fall into company with these misfits?” He winked.
“They were worried sick!” I thought of poor Kurt sitting in the back, and smacked Heath’s arm lightly. “You need to tell your boyfriend where you’re going next time.”
Heath suddenly snorted, grinning.
“Boyfriend?” came the offended question from the back.
I stopped, mouth hanging open a little.
Heath changed a look at me, then burst out laughing.
“Oh, I’m…” I started, cheeks turning hot.
“We’re not dating," Kurt said, quite dourly.
“We’re not? Give us a kiss, I missed you.” Heath made smacking noises at the rearview mirror. He even made a loud rowr like a stage performer.
Since there was no graceful way out of this, I moved for changing the subject. “So, where were you then?”
“Here and there.” Heath waved a hand. “Helping out a friend.”
“Is Pandorea safe?” I persisted.
Heath gave the mirror a look. “Nice, nice. Which one of you dragged my cousin into this? Why was she there, of all places?”
“You shouldn’t have disappeared.” I wasn’t about to let him off the hook for creating a...a veritable wolf-hunt. “Kurt didn’t even know I lived with you when he came to the flat. Neither did Rose and her friends when they popped by over first.”
Heath didn’t say anything to that, just put both hands on the wheel and drove.
It was Lyall who broke the silence. “Gemma, are you alright? You didn’t get hurt in there, did you?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat closed up. No, but not all hurt was physical. I could bring myself to say it out loud.
“Are you crying?” Heath asked quietly.
“Oh Heath,” I wiped my cheeks. “They have my brother.”
Nobody spoke then. The wind was an indistinct howl outside the car, and I cleaned up my face in the silence.
Heath finally spoke, his tone strangled. “Are you sure? What did he look like?”
I bit my lip. “He has brown hair that’s curly like mine, and is about your height. He has brown eyes.”
His tight grip on the wheel relaxed somewhat.
“Kind of,” I remembered. “Sometimes it’s silver, in his left eye.”
“Oh my god,” Heath whispered, staring at the road as if he wasn’t seeing it at all. “They kept him.”
“Do you remember him?” I didn’t know how much older Andrew was than me, but he didn’t look far out of his teens. Heath was only four years older than me.
“No, but my mom sat me down and told me about it when I was young. I still have the article clippings she showed me. They’re at the flat.”
“Not anymore, probably. Rose pretty much told me she’d been there since I left.” I interjected, still upset she ransacked through everything I owned.
“That stupid bint.” Heath muttered, angrier than I’d ever seen him.
That brought us back around to that embarrassing relationship mistake. “So,” I ventured, “are you and Pandorea...?”
“I love her.” Heath announced without hesitation.
I turned around in my seat to give Kurt a silent ‘I told you so’.
He rolled his eyes at me. “Mate, I hate to say it…”
“Then I wouldn’t, if I were you,” Heath warned.
I stuck up for my cousin. “She’s an adult. I’m assuming.”
“Thanks, Gemma,” Heath said dryly. “And Kurt, I know what I’m getting myself into. I’m just sorry Gemma was dragged into all this.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe...I thought it was bad enough when we thought he was dead.”
“You wouldn’t rather he
be dead, would you?” I frowned, ignoring the painful lurch in my chest.
“No! No, I’m just saying, it makes what they did worse. It is a terrible act to take a life, but to turn it all around so they’re against their own blood? It may not be worse, but it’s far more…”
“Perverse?” I knew what he meant. It was a theft that could be paraded in front of the victim’s faces over and over.
Lyall was the only one who hadn’t voiced any opinion, and I peeked through the gap between the seat and headrest.
He was staring out the window, one forearm resting against it.
That strong feeling of familiarity swept over me again, and I faced forward in my seat and thought as we drove back at the Pack house.
The drive was much quicker than normal, in part due to Heath’s predilection for making the speedometer needle dance near the red.
I climbed out of the car once we were parked, taken only a little by surprise by Heath running around the car and scooping me over his shoulder.
“This is undignified!” I laughed over his shoulder, trying to grip a shoulder so I felt less like I could fall at any moment. I lifted my head a little to see Kurt watching me with a raised eyebrow. “Did I mention sorry about that whole shagging Heath comment?” I apologized sheepishly.
Kurt sighed loudly.
“Oi!” Heath patted my bottom sharply. “You’re not old enough to use that sort of language.”
“I’m eighteen!” I squealed, kicking a little. Not enough to face or the legs though. “I can say shag! I can even do it if I want.”
“You lot are a horrible influence,” Heath complained loudly, swinging me around so he could face Kurt. “I suppose you let her hang around Willie or Clover? They never met a bed they didn’t want to share.”
From my new vantage point I could see the aforementioned bed-sharers standing in the doorway.
“Oh, you’ve shared it with me once or twice.” Clover said, hands planted on her tiny hips. “I daresay you’ve bedded every willing bird this side of England, and quite a few blokes too.”
I waved at her. “Actually, Kurt and he haven’t slept together. Or, at least, weren’t serious about it.”
“Thanks, Gemma.” Heath huffed as he put me on my feet, and made a mad dash for Clover. She shrieked and disappeared back inside the house, and I could hear laughter and thuds.
Kurt crossed his arms and shook his head at me. “I only like girls myself. Really posh ones."
I couldn’t tell if that was a dig at my habit of wearing jumpers and jeans, or if it had anything to do with me at all really.
“Hurtful, Kurt.” William said, still hanging about in the doorway. “Didn’t our night of snogging mean anything to you?”
“I’ll leave you two to your lover’s quarrel.” I threw a teasing smile at Kurt as I walked past him and William, following Lyall.
It was like it wasn’t even nearing time that a normal person slept. All the lights were on, and several teacups were scattered on various tables and shelves. An empty bag of crisps had dropped on the floor, probably knocked over during the chase.
In the kitchen Heath was pelting a giggling Clover with dry kitchen rags while another young woman watched him with a besotted smile.
Now that must be Pandorea.
She couldn’t have been more different than her sister if they were strangers on the street. She had short brown hair, whimsical hazel eyes and round features. The tender smile was what inched her closer to pretty than plain.
Heath stopped throwing kitchen items once he saw me. “Pandorea, this is Gemma. Gemma, my sweet girlfriend.”
I lifted a hand in greeting, hanging back near the doorway. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yes.” She nodded, then pressed herself closer to the counter and looked away.
I didn’t take it personally. After meeting her family and extended acquaintance, I would probably shy away from speaking with new people as well. But I really wanted to ask her how much she knew about Andrew, Septimus, the whole situation going on. However, it was late and she had been on the lam for a few days.
“I’m going to go upstairs and get ready for bed.” I’m not sure who I was announcing it to, but Clover stopped throwing wadded receipts immediately and clapped.
“Let’s all go get ready for bed!”
Uncertain why she was so enthused about it, nonetheless I followed her racing form up the stairs to where my belongings were. By the time I reached the bedroom she was pulling out a cute flannel top and bottom and throwing off her clothes like Hurricane Immodest.
I turned around politely as I searched through my bag for my regular cotton pajamas.
“Oh, those are adorable! Is that silk?”
I felt a tug on my sleeve, and I looked at her before thinking. I quickly looked at the ceiling. “Um, yes. I’m going to get changed though.”
“Too bad, those would feel really nice in bed.” She laughed and resumed pulling on clothes.
“Thanks?” That sounded like she was disappointed, as if she’d miss out. I took my clothes and escaped to the bathroom, neatly folding my brother’s pajamas and stowing them in my bag.
I could hear heavy footsteps pass by the door several times before I was finished, and I peeked out. The hallway was empty.
“Gemma!” Clover called from the opposite direction of my temporary bedroom. “Come on!”
I went to the bedroom just in case my ears were playing tricks on me. No, it was empty. I placed my bag under the bed and heard her calling again. Uneasily following her voice, I left the room and went several doors down to peek into an open doorway.
The bedroom was larger than the one I slept in, most of the space taken up by dressers and a Superking sized bed.
It would have to be, to fit five people comfortable. Heath and an awkward Pandora were in the middle, Clover snuggled by her and William and Kurt laying lower with pillows by them.
I blinked.
“Come on, get on!” Clover waved me closer. “It’s a special occasion, Heath is back!”
I was speechless. ‘Sleeping in a pile like dogs’ rose in my mind traitorously; I guess Andrew was right about one miscellaneous fact. It was harmless though, nothing worth disdaining as strongly as he did.
Perhaps that’s what made up my mind. If it wasn’t so bad, why don’t I put my open mind where my mouth was?
“Alright then.” I turned off the light and made my way closer, a bit confused which side to go on. I couldn’t go on the guy’s side, so I crossed over to where Clover was patting the space by her hip.
I couldn’t say it was physically uncomfortable once I was sitting by Pandorea with Clover on my other side, but at least two of us were trying to mentally adjust to having so many bodies around without lights on.
“Nighty night!” Clover snuggled up against my back.
“Night. Glad to be back,” Heath said.
“Good night.”
“Night.”
I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of breathing, sure I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. Perhaps I would sneak out once everyone was asleep.
On that count however, I was wrong. I didn’t even wake up once that night.
Chapter 13
I woke up expecting to be surrounded by bodies, not draped over one. Squinting open one eye, I stared right into the sleeping face of Kurt.
He was surprisingly comfortable, and I debated on lying my head back down on his shoulder. I couldn’t in good conscience do that, so I tried inching my arm off his chest. His eyes immediately opened, then narrowed to hazel slits as he helped me off his chest by shifting out from under me.
Thus, I ended up with faceful of blanket yet again. “Sorry,” I mumbled, pushing myself up to look at him.
He frowned at me.
“I didn’t climb on you, I was asleep,” I said crossly. I was glad to see only William and Clover were still sleeping in the bed, the latter snoring quite loudly for her size. Not wanting to stay and be silently acc
used of molesting him or whatever reason he was so irritated, I slid off the bed and left without looking back.
I went into Clover’s empty room and undressed and yanked on my last pair of clean clothes moodily. It wasn’t that I had this fantasy in my head that everybody had to like me, but I honestly couldn’t understand exactly what I had done to him.
Taking a few deep breaths once presentable, I padded quietly down the stairs. Kurt was already in the kitchen, insultingly bare-chested still, so I started to go into the sitting room.
Heath and Pandorea were already sitting on the couch snogging.
Debating on which was the lesser of two evils, I wavered for a moment before deciding to give the two privacy. Back into the kitchen it was.
He was making tea and eating a plain dry muffin out of one hand. “Lyall’s gone to the market.”
“Ah.” I wouldn’t give him the cold shoulder, but I didn’t have to talk his ear off either. I started searching for anything edible in the cupboards, very careful to not swing open a door that might conceivably hit him, but he kept scooting away from me anyway.
After the third noticeable step opposite of me, I placed my hands on my hips and faced him. “What is going on with you?”
“I’m eating.” He gave me a bland look.
“Bollocks.”
He blinked, then held up the lone bite left.
Not to be deterred, I shook my head. “You don’t like me. Why?”
His mouth settled into a dissatisfied line as he took the last bite. We stared at each other until he swallowed. “You’re an one-person troublemagnet.”
“Hardly my fault. If you attracted problems, I’d blame the people causing them, not you.”
Kurt scowled, crossing his arms. It did lovely things to his bare chest and shoulders, life wasn’t fair. “You ran off yesterday.”
“I hardly broadcasted my whereabouts to all the shifters in the area. Being found wasn’t my fault.” I was a filthy liar, but he didn’t have to know that. “Besides, you’ve been put-off since we met.”
He didn’t say anything, staring hard at me as if I should just know.
Well I didn’t, so I turned my back on him and resumed my search for food. I assumed that was the end of the conversation.
Chosen: Shifters of London Page 9