(Mis)fortune (Judgement of the Six Book 2)

by Melissa Haag

  I couldn’t believe they would do that. Give up the information and power. I felt lighter, freer, and relieved.

  “By the way, there are a few people coming today who’d like to meet you,” Nana said turning back to the stove, missing my shattered expression at her words. “They should be here in about an hour.”

  She plated a heap of food and passed it to Emmitt. Though Nana didn’t catch my initial expression, Emmitt had. He watched me closely.

  “What people?” Please don’t let it be men.

  “They are from the Compound in Canada. Friends of Jim and Emmitt’s parents. They are coming down with their sons to meet you and your brothers,” she said.

  Sons.

  “Why are they coming?”

  Nana shared a look with Emmitt. I caught the barest shake of his head before he focused on his plate and started to eat. Nana sighed at him.

  “We thought it would be good to start exposing you to more of our kind whom you can trust.”

  “And who decides who’s trustworthy?” I could feel my temper starting to simmer.

  Nana tilted her head, studying me. Her nostrils flared slightly. Wisely, she remained quiet.

  Was I overreacting? I just didn’t know. I revealed everything to them, and suddenly friends of Emmitt’s parents were bringing their sons to meet us.

  “I’m sorry, Nana, but I don’t feel like good company today.”

  Leaving them at the table, I went outside to the boys.

  “Jim, may I have the trucks keys?” I didn’t wait for his answer but looked at the boys. “Want to go into town and see a movie in a movie theatre?”

  Their eyes lit at the prospect of it.

  * * * *

  Using the tablet, I memorized the directions to the theatre while the boys washed up. No one tried to stop us from leaving, but all three stood on the porch, watching me back out.

  Not having driven since Jim’s lesson, I didn’t execute the Y turn to back away from the porch as smoothly as I would have liked. Almost quitting then, I scolded myself for being a stubborn control freak and inched my way down the driveway.

  Aden and Liam talked excitedly as they sat buckled into their booster seats. What was I thinking? This wasn’t safe. I drove like crap, hated big crowds, and had very little money left to live off. Would it kill me to stay and say hi to whoever Nana had coming over? No, but if I didn’t put my foot down and keep it down, I feared becoming a pawn again.

  The drive took longer than I expected. Liam and Aden were antsy to leave the truck and see the theatre by the time I parked.

  They stood beside me, holding my hands, while I studied the movies listed. The first movie didn’t start for over forty minutes. I wished I’d been smart enough to check the show times online before we’d left.

  I looked around, wondering what to do. The crowd shuffling by us on the sidewalk made me twitchy. I didn’t want to spend forty minutes just standing in the open.

  Across the street, I spotted an ice cream shop just opening.

  * * * *

  Four scoops and three cones later, we happily stood in line for the movie. Despite the ice cream we’d consumed at the shop, we were laden with the prerequisite popcorn and slushes. Aden bounced on the tips of his toes in anticipation.

  When I glanced down to smile at him, a reflection in the glass panel of the ticketing booth caught my attention. A man stood outlined in the door behind us, the pane of glass separating us. His complete motionless in the shifting foot traffic stood out. I turned fully to see him, not just his reflection. When I did, he looked up at the marquee above his head for a moment then moved on. Perhaps he’d just been looking at the movie listing.

  Aden tugged me forward as our theatre’s doors opened.

  The laughter in a theatre full of children melted some of my worry. It wasn’t until I was struggling with Aden’s buckle in the truck almost two hours later that I noticed the man, again. He leaned against the side of a beat up old car and had an elbow casually rested on the roof as he watched me.

  When I looked directly at him, he winked at me. Something about him just hit me as off. Giving up on the buckle, I started the truck and pulled out, hands shaking. It didn’t help my driving.

  He stayed leaning against the car, watching. I watched his shrinking form in the mirrors. He never moved.

  I kept an eye on the mirrors as I drove. The man had intentionally brought himself to my notice. Why? I hadn’t recognized him and nothing about him said werewolf. So, I didn’t think I needed to worry about that possibility. He’d just been creepy. Still, I looked back every few minutes.

  The mirror stayed clear all the way home. I was relieved to pull into the driveway and find Emmitt waiting for us on the porch step.

  However, with my concern over the movie man, I’d forgotten about the company that had sent me running in the first place. An extra vehicle was in the truck’s usual spot. I parked next to the garage and helped the boys out. They immediately ran for the house, saying they wanted to tell Jim about the huge TV, not understanding the difference between a television and the movie theatre.

  When I closed the passenger door and turned, Emmitt stood behind me, waiting. His eyes studied every inch of my face.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, worried.

  Behind him, Nana and two adults stepped onto the porch. I tried to keep the distain from my face when I glanced at them. I wasn’t ready to play nice, yet.

  “Mary and Gregory were planning on staying the night,” he said with little emotion. “Can I sleep on your couch?”

  If I said no, would they go back to Canada? Maybe. But Emmitt on the couch didn’t sound like such a bad idea after some creepy guy had winked at me. I nodded.

  He held out his hand. I clasped it loosely, and he led me to the group on the porch.

  The woman had neat brown hair a shade lighter than my own. She watched our progress with expressive brown eyes. The man, who stood beside her, towered over her diminutive frame. I couldn’t decide if the woman was unusually short or if werewolves’ heights were as diverse as humans. So far, they’d all been tall, but other than Nana, they’d all been men. The man’s hazel eyes flicked to Emmitt’s hand holding mine and then up to my face. I felt judged with that glance.

  As we walked up the steps, Emmitt introduced them. “Michelle, this is Mary and her husband Gregory.”

  Husband, not Mate? Were they human?

  “Nice to meet you,” I said flatly, using the same tone I had hundreds of times before for the standard greeting at Blake’s dinners.

  “I doubt it,” Mary said with a grin, “but I don’t blame you. We’re the long distance version of noisy neighbors. Our sons, Paul and Henry, are inside with Jim. Your brothers are adorable.”

  The adorable duo ran out the door just then, making a beeline for the swing set and calling for Jim as they went.

  “Energetic,” she added with a laugh.

  With ice cream, slushies, and popcorn in their systems, they probably needed real food to counteract their obvious sugar jag.

  “I better go and make them some lunch,” I said to excuse myself.

  Emmitt didn’t relinquish my hand.

  “I’ll come with,” he said.

  Jim walked out the door. Two boys close to my age trailed behind him. They grinned at me, said hi, and followed Jim to the swing set, standing back to watch him interact with my brothers. I hadn’t expected the sons to be so young. None of Blake’s associates had been my age. Still not sure what I dealt with, human vs. werewolf, I hesitated to leave my brothers outside.

  Emmitt seemed to read my concern.

  “Jim, can you send them up in a few minutes to eat?”

  Jim waved acknowledgement, and I let Emmitt lead me inside.

  Our company stayed downstairs when Jim came up several minutes later. He took a huge bite from Aden’s proffered sandwich, and I shook my head, guessing at the reason for his personal escort.

  I tried to talk the boys into gam
es upstairs, but they wouldn’t hear of it and tore back downstairs as soon as they finished. Food gone, Jim followed them. Emmitt helped with the cleanup.

  “My parents sent Gregory and Mary down,” he said as he wiped down the counter.

  I paused putting away the lunchmeat, giving him my full attention.

  “They can’t leave the Compound themselves and were curious about the girl who has captured their son’s attention.”

  “Why couldn’t you tell me that before?” I asked in mild exasperation.

  He didn’t answer right away, so I tossed the jar in the fridge and turned to him with my arms crossed.

  “I didn’t want you to worry about meeting them.”

  “When Nana said people were coming, bringing their sons, I thought it was going to be like Blake’s all over again.” I swallowed hard and looked away from him.

  “No,” he growled. “How many times do I have to tell you?” He backed me against the counter.

  “You. Are. Mine.”

  His knuckles brushed my neck as he moved my hair aside, and he leaned forward, lips running along my jaw.

  At first contact, my heart thundered painfully and heat burst in my chest, radiating outward. I reached up, fisting my hands in his short hair. It was just long enough to grip.

  I wanted to pull him closer, to move beyond this limbo stage. Instead, I tugged him back by his hair. He didn’t move at first.

  “Emmitt, stop. I can’t think like this.”

  He pulled back. The pupils of his eyes swallowed the midnight blue of his irises. The tips of two sharp teeth poked out from under his upper lip, drawing my attention to his mouth. I’d stared at his chest plenty, but never really his lips. I blinked slowly. What would it feel like to have them pressed against mine? I wanted...

  “Do it,” he whispered.

  “What?” I breathed out the word, my gaze flying to his. Blood rushed to my face, and I nudged him back. He sighed and gave me room. Not much, but I could think again.

  “Nothing.” He gently brushed his fingertips along my collarbone. “I’m going to check on the boys.”

  I nodded and watched him leave, wondering how long Gregory and Mary would be staying and what kind of report they would take back to Emmitt’s parents.

  I spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in my apartment, too chicken to find out the answer to either of those questions.

  Emmitt came back hours later and convinced me to join everyone for a picnic dinner. Liam and Aden sat near Paul and Henry, a new sheen of hero worship in their eyes. We lingered at the table after they ran off to play.

  Mary asked me how I liked living at the house. The innocent enough question felt like a graded essay. Did his parents disapprove of me living in the same house? Should I say it made me uncomfortable? No. They would sense the lie. I weighed my choices and finally settled on admitting the truth; I felt safe there. She smiled kindly and asked if I’d given any thought to the future. I looked at Emmitt helplessly.

  “We should probably go up and get everything ready for tonight,” he said, standing and rescuing me. I followed his lead and started gathering plates to help clean up. “Paul and Henry can crash at Jim’s,” he continued. “You’re welcome to use my place.”

  Mary nodded her thanks as I made my escape inside.

  Emmitt and I worked together, quietly putting condiments away in Jim’s fridge, then headed upstairs.

  Sensing my mood, Emmitt put in a movie and steered me to the couch with a stern order to relax. He came in once during the middle of the movie with a pillow and a light blanket, which he set on the couch in anticipation of his overnight stay.

  * * * *

  I woke in the middle of the night, heart hammering from my vivid dream. The man from town had tracked us, and I’d watched as he had scaled the outside of the house to reach the third floor. He’d had vicious, sharp teeth. Not just his canines, but all of them. As he’d walked around the porch, he had dragged his nails along the siding, making a terrible screeching noise.

  Throwing off the covers, I got up to close the window. The cool night air felt nice, but a mere screen separating me from the outside world didn’t feel very safe. I tiptoed to the boys’ room and closed their windows, too. It was cool enough in the house, anyway, because of the recent rain.

  When I reached the living room, I paused. I’d forgotten about Emmitt. His dark form sprawled on the couch. In the dim light, I caught the glint of his eyes and knew he was awake and watching me.

  “Bad dream,” I said quietly.

  He sat up and opened his arms in invitation.

  Still shivering from the image of the man scaling the porches, I quickly went to him. I sat on the couch and leaned into his side, resting my head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me.

  “Go to sleep.”

  I liked that he didn’t ask me to share the dream. Talking about it would make it too real and harder to sleep again. His warmth eventually relaxed me, and I curled into him, getting more comfortable.

  Werewolves made comfy beds, I thought sleepily. He kissed the top of my head, and I slept.

  Chapter 15

  The boys stood on the porch, sadly waving goodbye to their new friends. Since Jim had already left for work, they were stuck with just Emmitt, Nana, and me. We were obviously nowhere near as exciting as Paul and Henry. Mary gave me a final wave as they pulled away from the house.

  Emmitt stood beside me. I was relieved he hadn’t said anything about my dream the night before or the way we’d woken up. A blush rose at the memory of waking practically on top of him. When I’d lifted my head to see if he still slept, I had found him studying me. My mad scramble to get off of him had seemed to cause a moment of pain, but I hadn’t stopped to apologize. I’d flown to my bedroom and closed myself in until he’d left.

  “Now what are we going to do?” Aden said softly to Liam.

  Emmitt laughed. “How about a baseball game?”

  The boys perked up and started planning teams. They called Nana out to join in. Since I didn’t run as fast as the other two adults, the boys decided I should pitch. Liam wisely chose Nana for his partner.

  When Jim got home from work, he found us still playing outside. Everyone agreed it was time to eat, and we had another picnic dinner on the porch.

  Afterwards, the boys talked Jim into a movie at Nana’s place and raced off to pick what they would watch and get ready for bed. Nana followed, leaving me alone with Emmitt for the first time since that morning.

  Emmitt didn’t give my nerves a chance to build. Instead, he took me by the hand and led me to the truck. He wrapped his hands around my waist and, with little effort, sat me on the open tailgate. He hopped up next to me. Shoulder to shoulder, we watched the sun set.

  “I’m sorry about last night,” I said, finally working up the courage.

  “Why? It’s the best night sleep I had in a while.”

  I rolled my eyes at him, doubting the truth of his statement.

  His lips twitched at my expression. “The longer I’m with you, the more I want to be near you. When you first came here, being apart at night didn’t bother me. You were only two floors away, and I’d started working on the apartment so I knew we would be closer soon. Then, sleeping in a bed that smelled like you helped, but it’s been getting difficult again.” He smiled ruefully. “If you asked, I’d sleep on your couch every night.”

  After the dream I had the night before, the offer tempted me; but I had to think of Liam and Aden, too.

  “I’m not sure how Liam and Aden would take that. They’d probably worry that we aren’t safe again, no matter what explanation we gave them for your overnight stays. I don’t want to scare them.”

  “We could always share your bed?” he half-asked, half-stated in a serious tone.

  I floundered for something to say. Share a bed? Were we that far?

  “No hidden agenda. Just sleeping,” he said, amused.

  I opened my mouth to thank him for the o
ffer and to decline but never got the words out.

  Emmitt’s head whipped up. His gaze locked on the woods at the back of the yard. Without looking away, he leapt off the tailgate, lifted me, and set me on the ground toward the house.

  “Get onto the porch.”

  His low voice worried me. He took a step backward, trying to herd me in the direction he wanted while positioning himself to shield me. What was out there? Peeking over Emmitt’s shoulder was no easy feat, but I managed.

  At first, the yard appeared empty. Then, the deep shadows near the trees at the back of the yard moved. I frowned, trying to focus on the area.

  Two men emerged, but I couldn’t see them clearly. I wanted to ask Emmitt who they were, but he reached for my arm and nudged me toward the porch as he’d ordered.

  I took a step back, hoping to see more, however, he shadowed my move. His skin rippled and started to sprout fur. The first thread of fear started to creep in. I glanced over my shoulder and backed up onto the porch step. With the additional height, I could see past Emmitt.

  The two men continued to advance. Their bent, partially transformed bodies moved with a slinking stealth I found disquieting.

  A cloud drifted away from the moon, briefly lighting the yard. Moonlight caught pale skin, highlighting the odd elongated arch of a thigh before another cloud snuffed it out. It’d been enough to recognize one of them. Frank. Fear bloomed.

  Another cloud shifted. Frank smiled at me before shadows obscured him again.

  Emmitt growled low in warning. Dread filled me. We’d managed to stay hidden for a little over a month. Why had they found us, now? Thinking of my brothers sent another wave of fear crashing through me. We couldn’t go back to the life we’d had.

  The thought gave me courage to speak up.

  “Where’s Blake?” I said in a voice that definitely didn’t sound fearless.

  Both of the werewolves stopped their approach.