by Carly Fall
As she walked past the bathroom where she’d worked that morning, Avery gasped when a hand clamped over her mouth from behind, and an arm gripped her around the waist, pulling her into a small enclave.
Without even seeing him, she knew it was Jake. The odor was a dead giveaway.
“Hello, little forest princess,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ve been watching you most of the day, and even though you’re a faery, I like what I see.”
She bent her arm and slammed her elbow back into his waist. He grunted but then pulled her closer and pinned both arms to her sides. She became completely trapped in his grip.
“Now, here’s the way things are going to go,” he continued as she struggled to breathe past the fear lodged in her throat. “You’re going to remain very, very quiet while I indulge in some faery tail.”
He chuckled at his own joke as he spun her around and slammed her face-first into new sheetrock. For a second, Avery wondered if he’d broken her nose as she fought to see past the stars flickering in her eyes.
Jake clawed at the front of her jeans, and she struggled to free herself from him, to pry her hands from his grasp. If she could do that and push past her terror, she’d be able to use magic. Her chest constricted, and tears flowed down her face as she gasped for air. She feared if she didn’t calm down and get her anxiety under control, she’d pass out in the bastard’s arms.
He succeeded in unbuckling her belt. As he tried to manipulate the button and zipper, she leaned back into him, placed her boots against the wall and pushed, sending them both stumbling into bare structure where sheetrock hadn’t been hung yet. He lost his balance when his back hit one of the two by fours, and he cursed as his grip loosened. Avery took the opportunity to fight her way out of his hold.
She ran from the bathroom toward the master bedroom, then dove through an opening in the framing and out into the back yard. Breath sawed in and out of her lungs as she sprang into the trees and bushes. She pushed the overgrowth to the sides while continuing deeper into the brush.
Finally, she sank to her knees clawing at clumps of dirt, ignoring the dampness of the underbrush soaking her jeans. The tears wouldn’t stop, and she wiped her forearm across her nose. Closing her eyes, she knew she only had seconds before Jake found her and pounced again.
“Please, Mother Earth,” she whispered, bringing the dirt up to her chest and keeping her eyes focused on the direction she’d come. “Please, let me find the strength within myself to use the magic you have given me to defeat the wolf who wants to hurt me.”
It had been a long time since she’d asked Mother Earth for anything. But as with most desperate people, she found herself praying when there was nowhere left to turn. She’d never be able to fend Jake off without magic. Right now, she was too anxious to use it.
As she listened to his boots hit the concrete slab foundation of the house, the sound made her think of a predatory animal in the wild stalking its prey, and she realized there couldn’t be anything closer to the truth.
Her natural instinct was to run, but she fought it to stay in place. Avery had never been truly afraid of a were-shifter until now, but her mother had always instilled not to allow fear to rule her decisions. If she ran away, word would spread among the shifters that Jake had scared the poor, little faery. She would only become a bigger, more accessible target.
Avery had no intention of allowing that to happen.
She focused on the energy the earth should be giving her. Being a child of the forest, a faery, even though she’d ignored that side of her for over a decade… nature was supposed to give her strength, help her clear her mind and bring her peace. Hopefully, Mother Earth wouldn’t let her down.
She just needed to open herself up to receive it, which seemed impossible at this time. Squeezing the clumps of earth in her hands, she took some deep breaths in the hopes of calming her galloping heart. She closed her eyes for a brief second, forcing herself to concentrate on the energy that should be emanating from the ground, giving her strength and power.
Jake now waded through the overgrowth mere feet away. He’d be on her in no time.
With one last deep breath, she shut her eyes once more and focused as hard as she could on the cool dirt in her palms.
Her hands began to tingle, and she felt like shouting with joy at the foreign feeling. The power Mother Earth offered her kind traveled up her arms, past her elbows and into her chest. It was as if a million small pins had been stuck into her skin. The energy landed in her chest and caused her to gasp as her eyes flew open.
Now calm and focused, she spotted Jake. He stood a few feet away but hadn’t seen her yet. Slowly getting to her feet, she released the dirt in her hands. She struggled to keep them at her sides as they shook with the power of her people.
Her gaze met Jake’s a second later.
“There you are,” he said, an evil grin sliding across his handsome face.
“You and me are going to have some fun,” he continued. “Then, I’m going to tell the rest of the shifters that they should take their turn with you. The little forest faery is going to receive a good fucking.”
Jake lunged. Avery stepped to the side and raised a hand just inches from his face. A rock flew up from the ground and hit him in the chin. She’d meant for it to land in her palm, but she’d take what she could get.
Jake’s face contorted more in confusion than pain, and he shook his head as if to remove the annoyance.
“You can stop this right now, or we can keep going. I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy the latter,” she said, surprised by how calm her voice sounded. She hoped to convey that she was ready to unleash something deadly on him, even though she had no idea what to do next.
“You little bitch,” Jake whispered as he advanced on her.
She lifted her arm, and a large branch cracked, then fell off the tree and hit him across the back of the shoulders.
She’d been trying to throw him into the tree. The effort hadn’t been enough to kill him, but she knew it would hurt.
This time, the werewolf fell forward onto all fours and groaned as he laid his forehead on the ground.
For a moment, she was about to consider herself the victor and walk away, but then, he slowly struggled to his feet, his wide eyes glowing yellow, his mouth a thin line of rage. Bits of dirt stuck to his forehead and hair while his pulse pounded just below his ear.
Avery gasped and took one long step back. There was no way he would shift here, right? Wouldn’t it be too obvious? A wolf in a city neighborhood would draw serious attention. The authorities would be called, and they’d most likely hunt him down. If he did shift, his clothing would be ruined, so he’d be a naked guy running around an area filled with mega-mansions. That would most certainly alarm the residents and cause them to notify the authorities. Being caught running around this area in the nude may almost be worse than being caught in his wolf form!
Avery really shouldn’t care about his fate, but only her own. The most crucial reason she hoped he didn’t shift was that in wolf form, her magic would be useless against him.
She pivoted on the ball of one foot and sprinted away from Jake, heading toward the house again. Avery recalled the lights had been on in the office trailer. If she could just get to Bob, she’d be safe and able to report the assault. Hopefully, he would do the right thing and fire Jake.
Just as she approached the clearing, she heard Jake’s footsteps crunch in the brush behind her. He was still in human form, which boded well for her.
She ran around the corner, the muscles in her legs burning, her arms aching. As she hurried back inside the house, she hoped the maze of partially framed rooms could buy her some time. Jake was a big guy and wouldn’t be able to maneuver as fast as her.
In the living room, she noticed a hammer lying on the concrete floor. When she heard a sound behind her, she spun around. Jake was almost in the room. Her hope that size would hamper his progress had been wrong. She should have known he’d be q
uick and agile—he was part wolf.
As Jake entered the living space, she waved a hand, and concentrated as the hammer floated from the floor. She cocked her arm back as if she were about to throw a baseball, then let it fly. The claw hammer flew across the room and hit Jake square in the head, sending him to his knees and down to the concrete, face first. It was what she’d intended, and for the first time, her magic had worked the way she wanted.
The big guy didn’t move, and she placed her hands on her thighs as she struggled to catch her breath and process what had just happened.
What if she’d killed him?
She turned at the sound of footsteps coming toward her. Bob entered the room, his brow furrowed.
“What the hell happened here?” he asked while rushing over to Jake. Bob rolled him onto his back before picking up the tool and staring at her. “Jesus, Avery! Did you hit him with a damned hammer?”
She struggled to find the words to explain. The adrenaline rush had her trembling from head-to-toe, and apparently tied her tongue as well.
Bob set two fingers at Jake’s throat, feeling for a pulse. Jake moaned, and Bob stood upright, placing both hands on his hips.
“Get out, Avery,” he shouted… his voice laced with anger… veins exposed on his red face. “I won’t tolerate any violence on my worksite!”
His instant assumption and snap judgment dismissal finally gave Avery the ability to defend herself. “But he—”
“No ‘buts’ about it, Avery. Get out. If you had a problem with Jake, you should have come to me, instead of resorting to violence. You could have killed him!”
She opened her mouth to speak again but her shoulders sagged in defeat. Bob wouldn’t listen to reasoning. He hadn’t given her a chance to explain what happened, just simply let her go. Just as she’d predicted, if there was trouble on the site, she’d be the first to be fired.
Avery’s cheeks heated with fury. Without another word, she gathered her tools and marched off the site, battling the urge to burn down the whole house, while also fighting fears that Jake would come search for her once again.
Jake had been relentless in his pursuit of her.
He didn’t seem like a quitter.
3
The late bus ride home seemed longer than usual, and by the time it arrived at her stop, she vacillated between putting her fist through a window and sobbing.
Wine. That’s what I need. Wine with Victoria.
Her best friend was a vampire and had always been able to pull her out of any funk… or make her laugh when she felt down or angry. They’d met four years earlier at a bar and ended up tying for the grand prize in a karaoke match. Most of the time, Avery didn’t associate with her kind because Fae were taught from an early age that their blood was a delicacy to vampires. Fae had been murdered simply for their blood.
Victoria was different from other vampires Avery had dealt with. She hated that she needed blood to survive, and only hunted when absolutely necessary. She never, ever killed. Avery thought of her like a kitten in a tiger suit—she seemed fierce, but really didn’t possess a mean bone in her body. Thankfully, the only danger Victoria posed was drinking more than her fair share of wine and tended not to bother Avery’s veins unless she offered. It didn’t happen often, but sometimes Victoria preferred to take her nourishment from Avery instead of hunting down a complete stranger.
Avery stepped off the bus and reached for her cell phone. When she dialed her friend’s number, it went straight to voicemail. Frustrating. I really need to talk to her, but she’s probably just waking up. Not being able to reach her friend annoyed her just the same.
She walked to her apartment complex at a faster pace than normal… and on high alert. The more she thought about it, the more certain she became that she would see more of Jake. The dumb dog probably wouldn’t allow a faery who had bested him to go unpunished.
Once inside the lobby of her apartment building, she retrieved the keys from her pocket and opened the mailbox. While Avery thumbed through the pieces of mail, she realized she probably wouldn’t be able to pay the power bill or the gas bill she held in her hand. With a sigh, she slammed the box closed and locked it.
After climbing the stairs to the second floor and pushing open the door leading to the corridor, she hoped the worst of this day was over. Instead, she rounded the corner and stopped short. Two men stood in front of her apartment, their backs to her. She took a few steps away and moved out of their line of sight. Her legs wobbled with fear and uncertainty. Leaning against the wall for support, she closed her eyes for a moment.
Could this be the Rainier pack here for revenge? If so, they didn’t waste any time.
She peeked around the corner at the two again. The tallest man, thin with neatly combed hair, pounded on her door. A shorter, stocky guy with greying hair stared at it, as if willing it to open. She’d never seen a heavy were-shifter. All that running through the forest searching for prey tended to keep them very lean. Besides, when was the last time she’d seen one of the dogs in a suit? Never.
Avery stepped lightly and rounded the corner, taking a long inhale. Although a full fifty feet away, she thought she may be able to catch the scent of a shifter. The air smelled clean. Taking another deep breath, she decided to draw some attention to herself and take a chance on their reaction.
“Can I help you?” she called from down the hall.
They both turned to face her. “We’re looking for Avery Dubois,” the taller one said. “We understand she lives in this unit. Do you know her?”
They certainly didn’t act like shifters. Instead, they were respectful. She took a few more steps in their direction.
“I know her. Can I ask what this is about?”
The men exchanged glances, and the taller one shrugged as if he gave the shorter guy permission to speak.
“We’re from the Seattle Police Department,” he said, pulling a wallet from his back pocket and revealing a gold badge. “I’m Detective Black, and this is Detective McAllister. It’s personal.”
As she stared at the shiny emblem, her limbs became paralyzed when an icy feeling settled in her chest.
I hope I’m not in trouble with the law. She speculated about possible reasons why the detectives might be there. Had someone reported the incident from work? Avery hadn’t been able to reach her mother for two days. Maybe she was sick? Or she’d been in an accident? If she was sick, why would the cops be here? If she’d been in an accident, wouldn’t the hospital or someone else call her?
Avery became dizzy and forced herself to push other possibilities for why the cops would be standing at her door aside.
“I’m Avery,” she said, afraid to give them any other information until she knew their purpose for being there.
The two exchanged glances again.
“We’re here about your mother. Can we go inside?” McAllister asked.
Her knees weakened as she approached the pair. She no longer suspected them of being shifters, and the closer she got, the more certain she became. No, these were real cops, and they had come on serious business.
Avery’s hands shook as she tried to find the right key and fit it into the deadbolt, but the ring dropped on the floor instead. Detective Black bent down and retrieved it for her. She tried and failed again, sighing as she turned to them.
“Can’t you just tell me right now? I’m a nervous wreck. I can’t even get the key in the door. What happened to my mom? Is she going to be okay?”
Detective McAllister opened his palm to her, his brown eyes shining with sympathy. “I’ll open it for you. It’s best if we talk inside.”
She dropped the keys into his hand, and a heavy feeling settled into her chest as tears built behind her eyes. He wouldn’t be here… and he certainly wouldn’t pity her if everything was okay.
As the door swung open, she stared inside her apartment. If she didn’t go in, they wouldn’t deliver any bad news, right?
Detective Black lightly touched
her shoulder blades, applying some pressure, as if to urge her on. “Ms. Dubois? Let’s go inside.”
“My mom’s not all right, is she?” Avery whispered as tears escaped and rolled down her cheeks.
“Let’s go inside.”
Taking a deep breath, she walked the rest of the way in.
Avery almost fell onto the couch. It probably appeared that her legs had given out… not far from the truth. She motioned the detectives to take the two high-backed chairs facing her. Glancing around her apartment, she tried to see it through their eyes.
The room resembled a damned jungle. Instead of the crazy cat lady, the detectives probably thought the crazy plant lady lived there.
As a half-Fae, she loved being surrounded by plants and had dozens throughout the tiny space. Ferns, bonsai, and herbs littered the apartment. She focused on the detectives while wiping wet cheeks with the back of one hand. Detective McAllister seemed to be studying the area more intently than his partner.
She twisted both hands in front of her, afraid to ask about details. At the same time, the urgency to know what happened to Melia overwhelmed her.
“When was the last time you spoke to your mom?” Black asked as he took out a small notebook and a pen.
“Two days ago,” she said, her voice barely above a shaky whisper. “Where is she?”
McAllister leaned forward and placed both elbows on his knees and clasped his hands. “Ms. Dubois, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your mother was found dead a few hours ago.”
Her head spun, and she couldn’t catch her breath. Nausea nearly overtook her, and she pulled a couch cushion onto her lap and gripped its sides as if it would keep her from toppling over.
