by Sage Domini
Gideon Casteel, Offensive Guard for the UCLA Bruins, was arrested March 29 for disorderly conduct. Witnesses at the off campus party recounted how Casteel became inexplicably enraged and attacked a group of young men who had arrived moments before. Freshman Kylie Garcia described the attack. “He just went freaking berserk. It was like he became an animal.” Assault charges were not pressed as those attacked quickly left the scene. Despite one victim being thrown against a wall roughly enough to crack the plaster and another sailing through a plate glass window, local hospitals did not report admitting any patients whose injuries matched the victims’. Casteel could not be reached for comment and an anonymous source within UCLA reports he has left the program.
I put the phone down and pulled the cool musty sheet up to my chin. At least I understood why school had been such a touchy subject. I felt mildly sorry for Gideon, wondering what it was that had set him off so violently. It had been so bad he felt as if he had to leave college and return to Luna Junction. Then I recalled the terrifying moment earlier in the evening when he had shifted into something halfway between human and wolf. He had deliberately been trying to frighten me. Bitterly, I realized it was something Michael would do. I rolled over, hardening my heart and wishing for sleep. Eventually, it came.
Chapter Six
My head felled a bit heavy when I awoke the next morning. I wasn’t sure what day it was until I found Max reading the Sunday paper at the breakfast table. He had done some grocery shopping the day before and the fridge looked nearly normal. I buttered a piece of toast and poured a glass of juice.
Max watched me settle into a chair, my knees pulled childishly up as I nibbled some toast. “Hey, how would you feel about working at the store?”
“Sure,” I shrugged. After all there was only so many times I could industriously scrub the bathroom grout. I needed to do something and employment in Luna Junction appeared to be slim pickings.
He smiled. “You’ll start tomorrow. Be dressed and ready by nine.”
“I think I can handle that.”
A shadow crossed his face. “Artemis, you’re going to be on your own today. I’ve got to head to Phoenix for a meeting and I’ll be staying overnight. I’ll be back around dawn tomorrow.”
“What kind of meeting?”
My father looked uncomfortable. “Eddie’s coming with me.”
“Oh,” I nodded. “That kind. The secret kind.” I waited to see if he would explain further but he did not. More than a few times during my childhood strange and solemn figures had passed through our home. They were never introduced to me, nor did they feel obliged to make basic overtures of politeness. I chewed my toast, thinking. I wasn’t at all sure what would be expected of me as a huntress. I wasn’t convinced I even wanted to know.
Max watched me uneasily. “So you’ll be okay today? I’ll be taking the truck.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, Dad. I can manage on my own for a day.”
He nodded and took a bite of a banana. “All right. But don’t answer the door for anyone.”
I was curious. “Why not?”
“There’s some things going on right now. Could be nothing, or could be bad. I’ll know more soon.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry for the mystery. I should be able to explain a few things in the very near future.”
I laughed lightly. “I’m still reeling from you last explanation. How much more could there be?”
His eyes were troubled. “Quite a bit, I’m afraid.”
Once Max departed I searched around in vain for something to do. There was no longer a television in the house and he’d taken his laptop with him. I briefly pondered lounging around in bed and watching naughty YouTube videos on my phone but a glance outside at the brilliant day changed my mind. It had been years since I’d spent any appreciable time in the fresh air. The solitude of the woods might be somewhat refreshing after the surreal events of the last few days.
A few moments later I was frowning as I rifled through my bag. I had left California in a hurry and was rapidly running out of wearable garments. Since Max didn’t see the need for a washing machine, I made a mental note to do some hand washing in the bathtub later. In the meantime, since only wolves covered in fur could gallivant around naked, I slipped on a sundress. It was really too white and frilly for a hike but would have to do. My chunky sneakers definitely completed the offbeat look but I figured no one would see me anyway.
The sky was a perfect cerulean blue. The sun was already sharing a fair dose of its warmth. And it was early. It would only get warmer.
Briefly I paused in front of the gray shed. On impulse, I opened the door and withdrew a bow and a pack of arrows, both of which I slung across my back. I was not expecting to meet any threat but well remembered the vulnerability of yesterday’s confrontations. I would not be caught so helpless again.
I almost felt like skipping as I crossed the clearing and entered the woods. How many happy hours had I spent exploring this little patch of earth? Through the smoky scents of autumn, the bitter ice of deep winter, the sweet promise of spring and the blissful languor of summer, I knew this place in all seasons. A light breeze sifted through my hair as I made my way with care, pausing to feel the rough tree bark or to admire a scrappy flower patch. It must have been my subconscious which let me unwittingly to that place deep in the woods.
My heart stopped when I glimpsed the giant white birch. This had been our spot, Gideon’s and mine. I walked cautiously, fearfully, over to the stone bench, as if I could be wounded by simply being here. It looked exactly the same as it did in my memory. I sat down on the hard rock, bracing myself for a flood of emotional pain but I only felt vaguely sad. It was only a place, like a hundred million other places. I doubted Gideon had forgotten it but I also doubted it meant anything to him any longer.
A few nearby birds were agitated by my presence, squawking with fury as they flew back and forth above my head. I laid the bow and quiver on the ground and leaned back into the immovable embrace of the tree, closing my eyes.
My body jerked as if slapped awake from a sound sleep. The angry music of the birds had ceased and that inexplicable part of my instincts gave me full warning. Carefully I picked up the bow and loaded it with a silver-tipped arrow. I crouched tensely, my eyes darting around wildly, searching for the menace which rapidly approached.
“Put it down,” his voice commanded from behind.
I hesitated. I could tell he was close enough to easily reach me before I could spin around and redirect my aim. Yet I wasn’t eager to leave myself unprotected. “No,” I said.
I felt his movement rather than heard it. He circled around and emerged slowly from the trees in front of me. He’d shaved the scraggly beard and cut his unruly hair. His t-shirt did little to hide the muscled body which had been the object of my guilty self-pleasure. Yet I still did not lower the bow.
Gideon sighed and pulled his shirt off. He opened his arms as if in surrender. “Look, I don’t have any weapons. So why don’t you put yours away?”
I snorted. “Bullshit. We both know your real weapon is.”
He spoke earnestly. “I won’t hurt you, Acie. I swear.”
With some reluctance I put the bow down. “What are you doing here?”
He looked at me with some wariness, not coming any closer. “I followed you. At a safe distance. Figured we needed to talk.”
“Didn’t we do that yesterday? It didn’t go well.”
Gideon nodded. “That was my fault. Again. Look, can we just try to dispense with the hostilities for a few minutes?”
“Fine,” I was having a hell of a time not staring at his impeccably tanned and muscled torso. “You can put your shirt back on now.”
He smiled. “Why?”
“Okay, don’t. Stand there half naked.”
Gideon didn’t move and I looked away, staring into the thick depths of the trees. After a moment he slowly took a few steps forward and knelt in front of me, his head down. “I know I owe you t
en thousand apologies. I just don’t know how to say them so that you’ll believe me.”
I crossed my arms. “Apologies? You threw me away like I was nothing.”
His expression was painful. “I had to.”
“And the other day? We finally see each again after so many years of empty silence you treat me like I ran over your puppy or something.”
“I know. I wasn’t prepared to see you. I thought I’d never see you again. And then, when you walked into the café I was afraid for you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes perfect sense and you know it.” Gideon picked up a nearby rock and ran his large thumbs over its smooth surface. “Claire told me what you said to her. That all this time you didn’t know.”
I lowered my head, letting the long strands of my dark hair hide my face. I tried to keep the agony out of my voice. “Gideon, even if I had known then…about who you are and about who I am, it wouldn’t have changed anything. It wouldn’t have changed the way I felt about you.” I raised my head, looking at him clearly. “That’s the difference between you and me.”
Gideon was quiet for a moment. “He said he would kill you, Acie.”
I was confused. “Who?”
He coughed. “Michael. He saw us in the woods that night. When I got home he beat the living shit out of me. He said things the whole time, terrible things about your people, about what you were meant to become.” He sighed, closing his eyes briefly. “I’d known of course, about the hunters. The hunters are the perennial bogeyman to every werewolf child. But I also knew your parents. My father always said the hunters were only as dangerous as we allowed them to be. And Acie, I knew you.”
My hands were clenched in my lap. “You don’t know me anymore.”
He smiled grimly. “Yes, I do.” The smile disappeared. “Michael said if he caught us together again he would kill you. ‘Dispose of the threat’ was how he put it. He called me a traitor.” Gideon paused and stared off into the distance. “I know now that there are others I could have gone to for help. Cade Landon or even Bellini. But then I was a thirteen year old boy who had just lost both his parents and been informed that the girl he loved was a future murderess.”
The girl he loved. At those words the tears spilled out. The tears I had thought were finished six years ago. Gideon waited while I cried softly.
“I’m sorry,” he finally whispered.
I swiped at my cheeks, struggling to calm down. “Okay, you’re sorry. Thank you, Gideon. Thank you for telling me how sorry you are.”
He frowned. “You’re angry.”
“Of course I’m angry!” I stood up and shouted down at him. “I mean, fuck! Put yourself in my place for a moment.”
He stared up at me. “I was torn in half when you left.”
“Oh yeah? Good!”
Gideon sighed again. “My life isn’t exactly easy. I was foolish to think it could be, that I could live a mainstream life for good.” He shook his head. “The wolf makes that all but impossible. I ran back here with my tail between my legs.” He laughed without humor. “Literally.”
I plunked back down on the hard ground. “So nobody’s happy. Awesome.”
Gideon was silent as I gazed down at my dress, smoothing the skirt underneath my hands. When he spoke again his voice was hoarse. “You’re so goddamn beautiful.”
I looked up in surprise. His eyes held a hunger I’d seen before, in other men. But, I reminded myself, Gideon wasn’t a man. My face grew hot and a flush of warmth surged between my legs. I had found it difficult to bury the powerful physical attraction I felt for Gideon. And now I knew he wanted me too.
His breath had quickened as he watched me. I desperately desired to feel his hard body on top of me, inside me. Yet he made no move forward. He stared at me, still kneeling, as I stood and crept slowly toward him. I reached out and tentatively touched his face.
“Gideon,” I whispered.
He seized me abruptly and our mouths found one another in an instant. He leaned backwards and I fell on top of him, our mouths still glued together as he wrapped me in a tight embrace. The reality of the hard feel of his body was far more enjoyable than my fantasies. He held me more tightly and I felt another, more urgent, hardness. The solid shaft of his ready organ pulsed between the flimsy fabric which separated us.
Gideon moaned when I licked the smooth perfect muscles of his chest. His large hands grasped my upper arms and he pulled me back to his mouth, simultaneously rolling over so that all his solid flesh was on top of me. His mouth searched lower, uncovering my breasts and suckling first one, and then the other. He paused and lifted himself, staring at me with a deep passion which demanded more than mere kissing. The boy I remembered was gone and there, ripping my panties away and spreading my legs, was a lusty man. I felt a twinge of doubt as I recalled, once again, that Gideon wasn’t exactly human. But then, I reasoned, I might not be completely human either.
I reached out to help him discard his jeans. I stared. He was immense. But my slippery center was more than ready to welcome him inside. As he pushed my dress away and prepared to enter me, his face suddenly changed. He cursed and turned away.
I sat up, self-consciously covering my breasts. “What is it?” I asked shakily.
He was having trouble speaking. “I can’t.”
“Uh, I think you’re more than able.”
Gideon shook his head. “You don’t know how it is with us, Artemis. If I enter your body, you’ll be my mate.” He turned and looked at me with burning eyes. “Forever.”
I blushed as Gideon faced away again and tried to repackage his massive arousal. I tried to keep up with the turn of events. “I don’t get it. I mean, what about your other girlfriends? You must have-“
“No,” he said tensely. “No.”
And odd thought dawned on me. “You mean, you’re a virgin?”
Gideon breathed deeply several times, still facing away. “Technically. I told you Acie. It’s different for us.”
I pulled my dress back up and looked around for my panties. “Great. Now I feel like a slut.”
Gideon looked at me curiously. “Have you had a lot of lovers?”
I laughed without humor. “I’ve been screwed a lot. Not quite the same thing, I guess.” I swallowed. “I was fourteen my first time.”
Gideon issued a low whistle. I crossed my arms over my body, feeling filthy. He approached me slowly, running the back of his hand over my cheek. “I wouldn’t expect it to be the same for you.” His forehead touched mine and he let out a shaky breath. “I just want you so much. Always have.”
I backed away. “But you don’t want me for a mate. You just want me for a few minutes.”
Gideon winced. “You don’t even understand what it all means yet. And by the way, you still happen to have the instincts of a hunter.” He looked away darkly. “Plus there’s Michael.”
“Yeah, your sheriff pulled me over last night.” I ignored the honest surprise in Gideon’s face. “He molested me and then bared his teeth.” I brushed off my dress, gathering my bow and quiver and holding back tears. “Good luck finding your forever mate.” I moved quickly through the woods, back the way I came, half wanting Gideon to stop me. He didn’t.
Chapter Seven
I slammed the door to the house behind me and tore my dress off. My underwear was still in the woods, wherever it had been flung in the heat of passion. I shook my head ruefully. Unfulfilled passion, I corrected myself. I grabbed a box of powdered laundry soap from under the sink and gathered all my dirty clothes in my arms.
In the bathroom, I sat naked on the edge of the top and ran scalding hot water, dumping in a careless amount of soap and my entire scant wardrobe. Tears dripped from my face and I fought the lingering sensation of Gideon’s hands on my body. When the tub was full I plunged both arms in to the sudsy water, wanting the water to burn away the pain. I yelped a few seconds later and withdrew my red arms. Miserably, I sank beside the tub, sta
ring down at my breasts. The nipples were swollen from Gideon’s ardent attention. I sat there for a long time. After a while my ears began to ring from the deafening silence. I fished a bath towel out of the cabinet and wrapped it tightly around my body. The water had cooled enough for me to begin scrubbing.
It took an interminable length of time but eventually I was satisfied that everything was clean. I hung each piece carefully on the shower rod. I stared at the dripping laundry for a few minutes, willing my mind to be blank. Gideon and I were done. What happened that morning might have been just and unavoidable conclusion of our tumultuous relationship. Tomorrow I would start working at Max’s shop and I would see about other unfinished business, such as completing high school.
It would be many hours until anything was dry enough to wear, which meant I would be confined to the house in a bath towel. That was fine with me. There wasn’t anyone in the world I was in the mood to deal with.
I wondered if Max had left my books untouched. My small childhood library had been kept on the bottom shelf of my bedroom’s narrow closet. I smiled when I opened the door and saw them precisely where I had carelessly abandoned them. I picked up the hardcover copy of Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen had always been a favorite. Everything was neat and orderly in the world she inhabited. It was enough to be jealous of.
I carried the book into the kitchen where I cut up some fresh fruit and sat down at the table. Morning melted into afternoon as I gratefully lost myself in the realm of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.
Max called once to check on me. His voice was strained and he kept his replies short. I assured him all was well on the home front. He sounded relieved that I was doing nothing more exciting than reading an old book and eating cantaloupe slices.
“Artemis,” he said somberly. “It would be a good idea for you to stay inside the house until I return tomorrow.”
“I have no plans to do anything else.”
“All right,” he coughed. “And keep some arrows handy.”