by Sage Domini
She didn’t need to elaborate. “Yesterday.”
Her face registered shock. “What? You all this time went by without you knowing?”
I shook my head, feeling vaguely annoyed. “I sure as hell didn’t. My mother spirited me away and she wasn’t talking. All I ever knew was overnight I grew repulsive to everyone I’d grown up with.” I looked her in the eye. “Even Gideon.”
“Gideon,” she whispered. Her mouth turned down and she gazed at me sadly. “You must hate us.”
“No,” I said. “Not you.”
She sighed. “Acie, Gideon’s suffered a world of hurt.”
I felt mean enough that her words gave me some satisfaction. “Good, then I’m not the only one.”
The hair stood up on the back of my neck before his cold voice reached my ears. “What the fuck’s going on here?” Gideon Casteel towered over me with none too pleasant expression. His eyes were bloodshot and his clothes disheveled. “I could smell the hunter before I even drove up.”
Matthew stood and scowled at him. “Acie is a guest in the Landon home. You have nothing to say about it.”
Gideon was larger than Matthew and moved forward menacingly when tiny Claire stepped between them. “Enough. Gideon, I asked you to join us for dinner because this shit needs to end.”
Gideon didn’t look at me. I could feel the rage rolling off him as he tried to control himself. “You neglected to mention you were expecting another guest.”
“Acie was your friend and now she’s back. I was wrong once too. She’s no threat. Quit listening to goddamn Michael and pull your head out of your ass.”
Gideon shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away, simmering.
“You just home from UCLA for the summer?” I asked suddenly. It was the wrong thing to say. Clare winced and Gideon turned around, his eyes wide with anger. Before I could register what was happening, Gideon changed. His eyes grew bright and their shape changed. His face elongated and instantly sprouted a million bristly strands of hair. I fell backwards into the dirt as he bared his teeth and leapt toward me.
“STOP!” Cade Landon stood at the back door, glowering with fury.
Gideon’s wolf face glared at me and he retreated. In the space of a breath he returned to his human form. His shirt had torn where changing muscles had bulged and ripped through the fabric.
Cade motioned to Benji and Zane, who had reached us and were slack-jawed with shock. “Boys, take him for a walk and get him under control.”
Matthew lifted me under my armpits and I swayed unsteadily on my feet. Decorum aside, I was sick of being bullied by a surly werewolf. I stalked over to where Gideon was still seething and kicked him hard in the shin. It was childish, I knew. Risky, too. But Gideon only glanced at me with surprise before Benji and Zane hustled him away.
Distantly, I heard the plaintive wail of a baby’s cry. “Stupid boy,” Claire swore and retreated into the house. Tatum shot me a quick look of pity and followed her.
Matthew coughed. “You all right?”
I began brushing dirt from my pants and trying not to shake. “Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. “Although if you don’t mind, I’m not really hungry anymore.”
“Nonsense,” Cade snorted. “Acie, please accept my apologies. He will not behave like that again. If he does, he will be dealt with.” Cade looked meaningfully at Matthew who nodded.
Claire emerged with an angelic little creature in her arms. The baby blinked at me and cooed. Matthew grinned and let the baby wrap her little hand around his finger. “Acie, meet our daughter, Peyton.”
I stared at the baby girl. She was perfect, flanked on either side by adoring parents. Who also happened to be werewolves. Which meant that someday, whether she wanted it or not, she would be a werewolf too.
Tatum appeared on the patio and gleefully rang a large bell. “Dinner!” she yelled.
A long time passed before Benji and Zane returned with Gideon. After a few minutes I stopped glancing fearfully at the dining room archway. I believed Cade when he said Gideon’s aggressive behavior would not be tolerated in his house and I felt somewhat safe. But I also suspected I was not done dealing with Gideon Casteel.
Tatum kept up a steady stream of chatter, firing questions at me and allowing half a response before she moved onto the next one. Cade grinned at her as she ate voraciously and plumbed my personal history. I didn’t feel comfortable relating my many private failures at the dinner table so I kept my answers short and my mouth filled with food.
I blushed when Claire abruptly opened her blouse and began feeding the baby. Surely I had seen women breastfeeding before but her manner of exposing her rosy nipple to all and sundry was so matter of fact the steak fell out of my mouth. I hurriedly took a drink of water, hoping no one had noticed. Claire and Matthew were focused solely on their daughter and when I finally peeked across the table again they looked almost biblical in their serene contentment.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, realizing Tatum was speaking to me.
She pushed away from the table. “Oh! Ow!” She waved Cade off, breathing deeply. “Just another of those Braxton Hicks thingies. Anyway, I asked if you had a boyfriend.”
Claire looked up to hear my answer so I chose it carefully. “No, not anymore.” My hand brushed the side of my face which was still mildly swollen courtesy of Dylan, but makeup had taken care of the faint bruising. Suddenly I clenched my jaw. “And I don’t plan to anytime soon. I’ve had boyfriends in some ghastly form or another since I was fourteen and it’s been a long series of heartaches. So I’m concentrating just on me for a while.” I took a fierce forkful of steak, questioning what in the world prompted me to speak so plainly.
I heard Zane’s playful voice in the hallway just outside the dining room. “You pigs saved some for us, right?”
He walked right in and sat down next to me, spearing a hunk of rare meat and tearing off a gigantic bite. Gideon still wore his torn shirt but he appeared calm. He didn’t look at me as he settled stiffly into the opposite chair. Benji entered last, shooting Gideon a warning glance before sitting beside Claire. I wondered what had transpired on their little walk. I doubted open threats would have been effective. To be sure, the twins had grown impressively, but they would be no match for Gideon’s hulking strength.
While Gideon kept his eyes cast down and began quietly eating. Tatum asked me if she could cut my hair.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with your hair,” she assured me quickly. “But I’m really good at it. Claire let me cut her hair.” Claire smiled. Her blonde bangs were crooked.
“Um, sure,” I said and tried to look untroubled. But there was an elephant in the room. I took a deep breath and decided to approach the unapproachable. “Look, you all know that I know. I mean, I do now. About Luna Junction. And you. And me…” Seven pairs of eyes were fixed on me. Eight, if you counted the baby, who had finished feeding and was gaping at me from her father’s lap. No one interrupted. I avoided Gideon’s eyes but felt the heat of his stare. “I couldn’t imagine hurting anyone. I’m not part of that whole hunter thing, not really. And anyway my dad wants to keep me out of it.”
Gideon laughed suddenly. It was not a happy laugh. “That must be why he named you Artemis?” His smirk was mocking. “Don’t you even know what it means?” He spat my name. “Artemis. Jaeger.”
“Gideon,” Claire warned. “Stop it.”
I reddened. “Artemis wasn’t just a huntress. She was…” I trailed off uncertainly.
“A protector,” Tatum spoke up from the end of the table. “She was a goddess who looked after women, particularly expectant mothers. Young girls especially worshipped her, a strong female figure in an age of brutal men.” She smiled at me kindly. “I took a semester of mythology. I got a B. No, an A. No wait, I did get a B. Spazzed on a paper.”
I looked at her gratefully. Cade took his mate’s hand and spoke to me in a serious tone. “I’ve known you since you were a small girl, Acie. You�
�re not a danger.” He glared at Gideon. “Anyone with an ounce of sense should know that too.”
I wanted to believe it but I repeated the words which had been seared into my mind six years ago. “I have no friends here.”
At Gideon’s sharp intake of breath I glanced across the table. He looked stricken. I knew he remembered where I’d heard that before.
Claire’s voice was gentle. “You have friends. If you want them.”
I trained my eyes on the polished table, not wanting anyone to see the hot tears which threatened.
Tatum spoke with sudden brightness. “Well, I say the boys do the dishes. Sound good, ladies? Hop to it, men. And be careful with my glasses. They are real imitation crystal from Target.”
Claire reached over and touched my arm, whispering. “You can use the bathroom to freshen up, Acie.”
I was happy to retreat for a few moments to collect myself. I smoothed my hair in the mirror, wishing I hadn’t left my handbag which contained my makeup out in the truck. My weary face could use a coat of help.
I emerged to the sound of distant kitchen clamor. Tatum was supervising the movement of her dishes and barking orders. Claire nudged me toward the front living room where she settled into a plush chair with the baby.
“She’s beautiful,” I commented as I perched on the edge of a sofa.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you, Claire. For what you said in there.”
She sighed. “It’s a long and complicated history with the hunters. Our fates are perpetually intertwined. But we know you, Acie. As for Luna Junction, well, we all remember Anna Landon’s death.”
I frowned, remembering Max had also mentioned the death of Cade’s first wife. Faintly I recalled that she had died in the woods. Some sort of accident. It had always been too painful a topic to broach with the Landon boys. “What happened to her?”
Claire lowered her voice. “Rogue hunter. He wasn’t on Council orders but things were bad for a while. Your dad supposedly took care of that son of a bitch.” She smiled faintly. “Our fathers had been friends, as much as they could be given the circumstances. Did you know that?”
Tom Casteel had been different from the brooding figures which usually frequented our small house. I remember his visits as pleasant occasions spent chatting amiably with Max across a pot of coffee. He always greeted me in a friendly way when I traipsed through his house behind his youngest son. I had already gathered Michael was a very different sort of sheriff.
Claire and I both jumped at the sound of the crash. I heard Tatum cursing and the twins laughing. Claire rolled her eyes and before I could object, she handed me the squirming baby. “Can you hold her for a few minutes?” She galloped out of the room without awaiting my answer. Peyton offered me a toothless grin and drooled on my arm. I didn’t know anything about babies.
I settled her into my lap more securely as she grabbed a handful of my hair. “Well kid, let’s try not to get into any trouble.”
Again, my body knew he was there before my eyes saw him. I looked up warily as Gideon entered the room, his hands raised as if he were surrendering. He sat carefully on the chair Claire had vacated and eyed me with caution.
“What do you want?” I demanded.
He cleared his throat, considering, as he stared at the floor. “I’m sorry about your face. I was too rough yesterday, out of line.”
I was confused. “My face?” I touched my jaw. “Oh, that. You can relax. That wasn’t you. That was some other asshole.”
Gideon looked at me closely. He hadn’t bothered to find another shirt to replace the torn one which scarcely covered him. I met his stare and tried not to allow my gaze to shift to the tanned muscles which showed through the gaps. Despite everything I knew about Gideon Casteel I still felt the dizzying pulse of physical attraction in his presence. But I’d be damned if I let on. He began to speak, then changed his mind, closing his eyes for a moment.
“Is there anything else?” I asked.
His clear green eyes were fierce. “I’m not a monster, Acie.”
“No,” I shot back. “You just behave like one.”
We glared at one another for a long silent moment before Tatum waddled in with Cade’s arm around her shoulders.
“I’ll get you a new set of imitation crystal glasses,” he promised her as she pouted.
I was almost sorry to give Peyton back to her mother. I’d felt pleasantly protective cradling the soft feel of her trusting little body.
Benji entered in a rush, holding an open laptop. His face was alarmed as he tried to get his father’s attention.
Cade tensed. “What is it?”
Wordlessly Benji turned the screen. Cade’s face betrayed no emotion as he scrolled down, reading. “Shit,” he finally said.
“Again?” Matthew asked grimly.
Cade shook himself briefly and forced a smile. “You like cheesecake, Acie?”
I chose to ignore the sudden intrusion of dread and smiled back. “I love cheesecake.”
Dessert was uneventful, although Tatum and I were the only ones stuffing our faces full of creamy cheesecake. The Landons, including Claire, kept up a fixed stream of cheerful chatter. Whatever was wrong was not meant to be shared in my presence. For his part, Gideon continued his disagreeable silent brooding. It took a lot of effort to refrain from looking his way again and if was with a sigh of relief that I finally waved my goodbyes and closed myself in Max’s truck. Tatum had hugged me tightly and made me promise to return soon for my haircut.
Aside from the unpleasantness with Gideon, I felt better than I had in a long time. I kept the windows open, inhaling the heady night air, as the truck hurtled through the darkness. As the scant lights of Luna Junction bore down, it didn’t occur to me to watch the speedometer until I saw the lights. I cursed softly and pulled off the dirt shoulder, rifling through the glove box for the truck registration. I recalled Max’s warning to refrain from driving too fast. I wished I’d listened.
I doubled down on that wish when I realized the light shining in my face was held by Sheriff Michael Casteel. “Get out of the vehicle,” he commanded.
There was no one else in sight as I slowly stepped out of the truck. “I’m sorry, I know I was speeding-“
“Shut up. Turn around and place your hands on the hood.”
My heart pounded. The night had afforded me only the briefest glimpse of Sheriff Casteel. But the malevolence in his eyes was brutal. He shined his light into the cab of the truck and made a show of searching the interior. After a moment I could feel his cold eyes traveling up and down my body.
“You’ve grown up, Artemis Jaeger.”
I tried to laugh casually but the sound emerged as a strangled gasp. “Yeah, that happens.”
“What are you doing back here?”
I swallowed, staring at my splayed hands against the orange hood. “It’s a free country, isn’t it?”
He moved deliberately closer, grazing my hip. Every nerve in my body was screaming with alarm but I was defenseless. Even if Michael Casteel wasn’t a werewolf, I could not have taken him down without a weapon. “It’s not for you, huntress. This is Luna Junction.” His hand moved down my back, traveling over my backside and reaching between my legs. It wasn’t meant to be seductive. He was trying to frighten me out of my wits.
I clenched my teeth with revulsion as he fondled me roughly. “Bullshit. You’re a made up sheriff in a made up town.”
The sudden grip on my long hair was painful. His hot breath was against my neck as he lifted me up. “Apparently I will need to conduct a more thorough search for weapons.” He pressed my body against his so I could feel the intensity of his excitement. My mind was one long scream of panic. Did Michael Casteel intend to rape me right there on the side of the road?
He released me crudely, laughing as I stumbled against the side of the truck. I spun around, my back against the door. Michael watched me with a pleased expression on his face. “Get on home, little girl.” Hi
s eyes narrowed. “And Artemis, Luna Junction is not your home.”
Gasping, I managed to climb into the truck and close the door behind me. My hands shook as I tried to operate the steering wheel. For a moment Sheriff Michael Casteel was illuminated by the headlights. His eyes had altered to that same feral look I’d briefly seen in his brother. He bared his sharp teeth in a hideous smile and waved. I didn’t look back as I pulled the truck back to the road and aimed for Max’s house.
I managed to compose myself by the time I had to face Max. He seemed to accept my bright summary of dinner at the Landon home. Conspicuously left out of my falsely bubbly account was any mention of either Casteel brother.
I showered before bed, trying to banish the memory of Michael Casteel’s unwelcome touch. As the hot water ran down my skin I turned my face up into the steam. My mind kept unwittingly returning to the hard lines of Gideon’s powerful body. The more I tried to shake it off the more my hands itched to feel the hard muscles of his broad shoulders. My breath quickened as I imagined him settling on top of me. Guiltily I reached between my legs and began to massage slowly. I’d learned to pleasure myself years ago, when the brief events of sex left me feeling lonely and discouraged. My imagined lover was strong, even overpowering. Yet he knew to slide inside of me and linger there with purposeful thrusts which brought me to shattering heights. As I reached an intense climax, I leaned against the bathroom wall for support, visions of Gideon’s bronzed naked skin behind my eyes.
Afterwards, I threw on an oversized t-shirt, feeling rather mortified. What was wrong with me? Hadn’t I had my fill of men who treated me like dirt? Lusting after Gideon was out of the question. I turned off the bedside lamp and rolled restlessly around on the pillow. On impulse, I grabbed my handbag and fished around for my phone. After instantly deleting nauseatingly apologetic texts from my last mistake, I Googled ‘Gideon Casteel’. His name popped up in a slew of football references. And one news item.