“I did. I still do. This is a bit too formal for my taste, but if we were coming to a dance, I wanted to be able to dance with you. I do enjoy dancing. I have to admit that I am having a great time and am glad I spent money on a dress.”
He smiled. “Just wait for the next six nights. Those are the fun ones.”
The song ended and he leaned down to kiss me softly. “But I am glad you bought the dress. You look amazing. And just the fact that you are here with me makes this a great night.”
I blushed.
We spent the rest of the night dancing, switching partners among our little group and friends we happened to run into.
Luke led me back to our cloaks on the ground after a fast dance that was a lot like a two step. We were laughing, talking about the collision we had had with another couple. I picked up my mug and drained the half cup of sloan that was left in it.
“You’re going to have a bruise the size of a melon!” I laughed. The other couple had tripped and fallen headlong into us. More specifically into Luke’s back.
He grinned. “I wasn’t sure what was happening at first. The first thing that popped into my head was that someone was attacking us!” He took a long swallow of his drink. “I almost shifted!”
“Oh, god! That would have been a disaster!”
He shook his head at himself and drained his drink. “Do you want another?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
We walked to one of the booths that was selling drinks.
“Nine sloans, please,” I said to the vendor.
Luke laughed at me. I stuck my tongue out at him. “It will save everyone a trip when they get back from dancing.” I handed the vendor my money.
We grabbed fistfuls of mugs and headed back to our spot on the ground.
Zane was laying propped up on his elbows, watching Dawn dance with Jasper. I sat beside him and handed him a drink.
“Thanks!”
“Brice. For the hundredth time. Sit. Relax.” I tapped his leg with my foot. “I got you a drink.”
Brice glanced down at me and gazed back out into the crowd. He sat and took the drink. “Thank you.”
Jasper led Dawn back to our group, both of them breathing hard from their dance. They each took a drink, Dawn settling herself on Zane’s lap and Jasper sitting in his usual spot behind me. I leaned back against him and yawned. “What time do the booths have to be set up by tomorrow?”
“Most of the booths will be set up by lunch.”
I looked to the horizon and saw the faint light where the sun was thinking of coming up. “Maybe we should head back. I’m beat. And I don’t think my feet could handle even one more dance.”
Jasper chuckled. “I agree. And so do my feet.”
We stood and everyone followed suit.
*****
Jasper pulled his boots on and watched as Hayden pulled the red dress over her head.
“Tara owes me big time,” she grumbled. “I don’t even think red is my color.”
“You look beautiful.” He smiled at her blush. He gazed at her and took in all of the details. She had put on a long light grey tunic with the red pull over dress over it. Her hair was pulled back into a loose pony tail at the nape of her neck that was tied with a red silk ribbon.
“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it.” She looked up at him and smiled.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. But it was extremely generous of you to agree to model Tara’s dresses this week so that people could see them.” All of the girls were wearing some of Tara’s designs.
Hayden looked at herself in the mirror. “She sure is good, though.”
Jasper felt her give herself a mental shake, one he was coming to recognize as a ‘doesn’t matter how hard I try I’ll always look homely’ feeling. He gave his own head a slight shake and walked up behind her.
She leaned her head back against his chest and sighed.
“Red is definitely your color. And if it weren’t for the fact that we have to get your booth set up, I would show you just what I thought of how you look right now.” He pulled her back against him and chuckled when her eyes widened.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t take care of that?” She grinned at him.
He turned her and hugged her to him. He loved how she fit so perfectly against his chest. How he could rest his chin on the top of her head and breath in her scent. He groaned. “That’s tempting, Shlova. But you have customers waiting.”
She laughed. “I’ll be lucky if I sell one halter.”
He took her hand and led her down the stairs and outside. As tempting as it had been to take her up on her offer in the bedroom, he knew it wouldn’t have made a difference. All he had to do was look at her, think of her, and he was ready to bed her.
“I’ll go get the bags and you can set the halters up how you want them.” He gave her a quick kiss before leaving to grab the first of the bags.
Luke was in the kitchen getting some breakfast ready for Tyler and Trent. He looked up and smiled at his brother. “I have a feeling it will be a busy day for the women. There were people knocking on the door at sun up asking to see Tara’s dresses.”
“She is fairly amazing.”
“Are you getting the halters?”
Jasper nodded.
“I’ll come give you a hand.” He gave the twins a pat on the head and followed Jasper outside. “Then, you can give me a hand hauling all those pies over from Lantoc’s.”
Jasper laughed. “There’s always a catch.”
They did a couple of trips in silence. Back at the shed, Jasper stopped. It wasn’t a coincidence. Couldn’t be.
Luke saw him tense. “What’s wrong.”
“Last night, at the dance. I wasn’t sure, but I could have sworn there was a man there just a little too interested in Hayden.”
Luke chuckled. “I don’t think you have to worry about it, Jasper. That woman only has eyes for you.”
Jasper shook his head. “Not like that. Well, I maybe thought it was like that. But not now. I just saw him walking by again. He’s watching her.”
“But for who?”
“I don’t know. It could be for anyone, no? I didn’t bring her back to Pinsaber like I was ordered to. Maybe the queen has decided to send someone else to finish the job. It could be for Damian.” He gestured to his brother. “We know how easy it is to have dogs mingled in with cats. No one is watching for it, and as long as nobody gets a look at your mark and you don’t shift, no one is aware of what you are.”
Luke put a hand on his brother’s shoulder.
“And then there’s the humans. They must know of her. They must think she is their most precious asset if they get their hands on her.”
Luke shivered at the thought.
“I tend to forget how important she is.” Jasper looked into his brothers brown eyes and remembered when they had sat and talked when they were young. “I mean, I know how important she is to me. If something were to happen to her, I may as well let the same happen to me. But it’s easy to forget why she is here. That she didn’t just come back to make me happy.”
The last time Luke had seen that strange look in his younger brothers eyes had been the day he had tackled the tiger in the woods. They had been on the Maj side of the boundary line. Jasper, having found his family slaughtered, had run to the only other family he had and almost gotten himself killed in the process. That was the look that came right before Jasper started his hunt. “Jasper. Don’t.”
The vague look left his eyes and he refocused on Luke.
Luke shook his head. “We don’t know who he is. We don’t know if he knows who Hayden is. Get that look off your face before Hayden sees it and you scare her. We’ll stay by the booths all day. No one will try anything with everyone around. The next time you see him, point him out to me.” He gave his brother a pat on the back. “Now, let’s get the rest of those bags and move on to pies.”
Jasper smiled. Never in his wildest dreams had it ever occurred to him that
he would be able to live side by side with Luke and his family instead of having secret meetings in the woods just to be able to keep in touch.
They hoisted the remaining bags onto their shoulders and walked back through the house.
“There you are, Shlova. Ben is bringing Peena so she can model for you.”
Hayden’s smile took his breath away. “Thanks.” Would he ever get used to that feeling? He hoped not.
“I’m stealing your heart’s desire to haul pies, sweet sister.” Luke flashed her a grin and kissed her forehead.
She laughed. “Not a problem. You should put a few in the icebox here and we can have them for lunch.”
“It shall be done.”
Jasper could hear Hayden giggling to herself as they walked to Lantoc’s.
*****
I spent the day chatting with everyone who came to my booth. Though I had told Jasper to go browsing through town, he insisted on staying by my side.
“Would you like a drink, Shlova?”
I stretched my arms up and rolled my shoulders to try and get rid of a knot that was forming between them. “That would be great. Thanks.” I smiled and turned my attention on a couple of Wedelven women heading my way.
“Hey, there, Shondai. How are you?”
Shondai ran a hand through her shoulder length black hair. She was sixty five, but didn’t look a year over fifty. “Hot,” she complained. “You would never guess summer was supposed to be ending.” She wore a pretty white and blue ankle length dress. The white stood out against her redwood colored skin.
The other woman was a younger version of Shondai herself. She picked through the halters and pulled out a purple one. “What do you think, Ma? It’s almost the same color as the cooling blanket Tantara made for Thirna.”
“That would look good on her,” agreed Shondai. She turned to me. “Do you have a smaller one in that color? Thirna had a fawn this spring and it’s time to start halter leading her.”
I sorted through the bag of purple halters and was glad I had thought to make different sizes.
The women paid for their halters and went off with a wave. Jasper handed me my drink then headed back into the house when Luke called for him.
“How many did you sell, Hayden?” Tara smiled at me from her booth.
“Twenty-seven!”
“I knew they were going to be a hit.” She turned to her merchandise and started to pack everything up. “It will be supper time soon. We better get this stuff put away so we can get to Prense’s camp.”
I began to stuff the remainder of the halters back into their bags.
“I think we best bring the rest of these pies to the bonfire tonight. There are about ten that are fully thawed. I don’t think they’ll keep until tomorrow in this heat.” Mel was putting the rest of the pies in crates.
“Would I be able to buy one before they are all put away?”
I glanced over to their booth and saw a dark haired man leaning casually against its frame. He had ranger’s clothing, like he had just come in from patrolling. He looked to be in his fifties.
Dawn looked up and smiled. “I’ll give you two for the price of one,” she stated. “Just for being our last customer.”
He laughed and handed her his money. “If that’s the case, then I’ll be back here at this time tomorrow. There’s no better way to start off an evening than with a couple of good pies and some beautiful women.” He gave her a wink then made his way over to my booth.
“Do you have a deer?” I inquired. The majority of beings who imprinted on deer were Wedelves. This man wasn’t one.
He shook his head and smiled at me. I noticed his eyes. They were grey. The outsides of the irises were a dark grey, almost black, and they progressively grew lighter so that they were almost white by the pupils. “No, I don’t. But I know good craftsmanship when I see it. These are very well made. Do you make them yourself?”
I tried very hard not to blush. It didn’t work. “Yes, I do.”
“Would you mind if I asked where you learned such a skill?”
“Um, no. I had a great teacher…” I caught myself. I couldn’t very well tell the man I had learned the art of halter braiding in 4-H. “My dad. I learned from my dad.”
“And do you miss him? Your father?” The man’s eyes were still smiling, but they were more inquisitive.
“I…yes. I do. What…” My heart skipped. Who was this man?
“Yes, well, I suppose it would be hard to leave everything you know. To come to a place so strange to you.”
I felt my eyes widen in surprise, my breath caught in my throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you do, dear. But don’t you worry. You’re secret is safe with me.”
By this time, Mel, Dawn and Tara were looking on. They all had their hands on their daggers.
The man looked down to my waist and smiled. I realized my hand was over my scabbard as well, ready. “There’s no need for that, dear.”
“Who are you?”
He waved his hand in dismissal. “That’s not important.”
Tara took a step toward the house and the strange grey eyes moved over her. Tara froze. “Tantara, I think it is,” he stated. “You don’t have to worry. The men should be out momentarily.” He turned his attention back to me. “Now, Hayden. There is something I need to tell you. Listen carefully.”
He held my gaze with his and I was unable to look away. “The only thing you must remember, no matter what your situation, is this. Nothing is as it seems.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
He looked at me and smiled. “It is exactly what it sounds like.” His eyes focused behind me as the door to the house swung open.
There was a tense moment of silence which was broken by a soft growl. “Hayden, marck issi.”
Step away, I thought. Easier said than done. I couldn’t look away from the stranger’s eyes, couldn’t get my legs to move.
“Hayden!”
I heard the worry and anger in Jasper’s voice. “Jasper, I…” I tried to look around but was frozen where I stood. From what I could see in my peripheral vision, this applied to everybody.
“Now, dear. Do you remember what I told you?”
I nodded.
The man chuckled. “Be sure to pay attention. The next time we meet, I’ll want all the details.”
“But…” I let a small growl of frustration slip up my throat. “That doesn’t make sense!”
“No worries, dear. It will be soon enough. Though I suppose it depends on whose point of view you look at it. It will be not soon enough for me, in the near future for you, and much entirely too soon for your mate.” He flashed the latter a smile and leaned in toward me, his hand up to protect the secret he was about to share. “He doesn’t care for me,” he whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear.
I couldn’t help but laugh at his wink.
He straightened back up again and gave a formal nod to everyone. “I apologize to have detained you for as long as I have. Jasper, you’ll have your hands full with this one. Keep her safe.” He turned back to me. “And you, young lady, keep him safe. For in the future that is to come, his role will be almost as important as yours. But above all, remember.” He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips.
I felt a current flow through my body and the man vanished. The force that had been holding me in place disappeared. I fell to the ground with a surprised cry. Jasper’s arms were around me in a flash.
“Are you alright?”
I leaned back against him and nodded. “Who was that?”
“It doesn’t make…I don’t…” Jasper seemed at a loss for words. “That was Damian.”
*****
I scooped another spoonful of pie into my mouth and tapped my foot to the music. There were quite a few Scannoves dancing by the fire. They were amazing to look at. It was like watching dressage with some reining thrown in.
“No one has seen Damian leave
his rooms for a good five years, now.”
I turned my attention to Luke.
“I saw him once, and that was years ago. Mel has never seen him, and neither has Dawn.”
“How did you get to see him?” I asked Jasper.
“It was my first battle as a captain. I was, oh, nineteen I think. He was there. We lost almost everyone that day. When we went in, it was suicide. There was no way we should have gone down that ravine. That was the day I decided that maybe saving lives might be a good enough reason to change orders a bit.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder. “I don’t see why he would come all the way here, and then leave without trying to take me.”
“He wasn’t really here,” explained Jasper. “He was just projecting himself here. He was probably still in his rooms. He couldn’t take you.”
“But he was able to keep us all from moving…”
Jasper sounded frustrated. “Honestly, Shlova, I don’t know. All I do know for certain right now is that I have never been this confused in my entire life.” He turned his attention to the dancers.
This dance was a couple’s dance. The Scannoves faced each other and bowed.
Phlann trotted up to me. “Would you like to dance, Hayden?”
I glanced at the dancers again, wondering how I was going to pull this off without being trampled.
Dodge snorted.
“Dodge says you can ride him,” translated Phlann.
I smiled. “Sure, why not.”
I hiked my dress up and Jasper gave me a leg up onto my horse. It was one of the greatest things I had ever done on horseback. I held on to Dodge’s mane and moved with him as he side passed, spun, and moved along with Phlann.
I smiled at Jasper who had been dragged out to dance by Dawn.
When the song ended we bowed to Phlann who was grinning from ear to ear.
I gave my horse a pat on the neck. “Would you mind giving me a ride over to the drink booth?”
Dodge shook his head and leisurely made his way over to where all the booths were set up.
When I had my drinks, he gave me a ride back to our cloaks and then wandered off to do some more visiting.
I sat beside Zane and laughed as Dawn convinced Jasper to stay for one more dance. I took a drink and looked around, smiling. I loved bonfires.
Crossover 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book One' Page 20