by Lou Grimes
“You love it now. Wait for a week or two when it doesn’t go away. Now that it started, it probably won’t stop,” her mother pointed out.
“Good, I don’t want it too,” she replied, breathing in the sharp mountain air.
“We are going to wake up earlier to because of the snow,” her mother said. They hurried down the stairs, putting out a hand to steady themselves occasionally.
***
“Want to go out to Latitude 48 tonight?” Cara asked Louvette while they were at lunch.
“What’s Latitude 48?” Louvette asked cluelessly after taking a drink. Cara’s face brightened, realizing she was interested. Cara dropped her food and leaned forward excitedly. Her face split into a contagious, conspiring grin. Louvette couldn’t help but conspire back.
“It’s the best place to eat in town. Super hip and laid back,” she added when she saw Louvette’s bewildered look. Louvette was happy to go, but she was going to have a little fun first. Louvette considered it for a second, tilting her head comically to make Cara suffer since she obviously was dying to go.
“Sure, my mom won’t be home for a while. I’ll get her something to go,” she said, giving in. Cara’s anxious face turned to thrilled immediately, and she like a thirteen-year-old girl finding out her crush had a thing for her as well. Louvette didn’t want to spend the night in boredom. There was nothing to do at her house when she was alone.
“Awesome. It’s going to be so much fun. But we can’t go dressed like this. I have some clothes you can borrow,” Cara promised. Regret creeped in as Louvette realized she’d have to dress up. She didn’t like the uber fancy places. Louvette was out of place in places like that, like the games where you had to pick which thing didn’t belong. A hint: the thing that didn’t belong was the person that might go furry one day in the restaurant.
“No, that’s okay. Thank you for the offer,” she said. Louvette in truth would rather have her own clothes. Their taste in apparel was vastly different.
“It will be much faster just going to my house. It’s like two miles out of town. Plus, do you even own dressy winter clothes yet?” Cara asked.
“Not really,” she acknowledged sheepishly. She didn’t own party clothes. That hadn’t been high on her list whenever they went shopping. She’d gotten a couple of fancier pieces, but she had no clue how upper class this place was going to be. Her wardrobe wasn’t prepared for this kind of a challenge, at least not at the moment.
***
Cara’s house was situated in a manner similar to Louvette’s house. It was hidden in a thicket of trees. As they rounded the woods, Cara’s house came into view. Louvette’s mouth dropped open as she saw how massive the place was. It was more than one house. The arrangement was almost cartel style on T.V. since it had high fences, large gates, and many connecting houses within the walls. She had thought their log cabin was big, but it was nothing compared to Cara’s house.
Louvette searched the walls for guards just like in the movies, but found none. She thought it was strange that there was none. However, the fact that the place housed tons of Lupine might mean that they didn’t need guards. The gate opened automatically as they pulled through.
“How many people live here?” she wondered aloud. She was unable to stop the words. A mass of Lupine would deter an attack from other Lupine, supernatural, and humans.
“It’s like a compound. Many of my family come to visit all the time.My family, uncles, aunts, and cousins all live here the majority of the time. A lot of them travel,” she explained. There were so many Lupine in the house that Louvette was amazed that they’d been able to hide it from Cara.
“What does your dad even do?” Louvette asked.
“A lot of it is family money, but he also runs the business side of the construction of luxury lodges in Montana and a couple of other mountain states. He adds on to this place like every year,” Cara said.
They parked in a huge parking lot that had several other cars in it. A part of Louvette was scared to enter the house as they moved toward it. Thankfully reality didn’t follow Louvette’s expectations. Movement caught her eye as she realized why there was no security. There were motion sensor cameras everywhere. She tried to inconspicuously focus on something else before they caught her watching. There was no need to draw more attention to herself.
Heading up three flights of stairs, they saw a few of Cara’s relatives, who waved or exchanged small talk with them. There were a few girls and Louvette could almost swear she could tell which ones knew, and which didn’t. The ones that knew were sizing her up. The ones that didn’t were dismissive of a foreigner.
Cara’s room could not come quick enough for Louvette. Louvette’s nerves were wracked from entering enemy territory. They may not be enemies to the Blackwoods, but they were potential enemies to her, including every other Lupine in her vicinity, at least according to Arsen. Cara’s voice jerked her from her thoughts as they walked through a set of doors. Louvette smirked once she was the room due to it being so Cara.
Her room was decked out in black, white, bright pink. Her wall had flecks of white, pink, and black paint splattered everywhere. The bed itself was pink metal. The black bedspread that topped it had a white skull and pink letters on it. Accessories like scarves, coats, hats, and gloves were thrown about the room. Her vanity and dresser were wood, but painted pink. She had a giant full-length mirror that covered half her wall. Various posters of rock groups were hung up around the walls.
“I have the perfect outfit for you. I don’t have enough hips to pull this skirt off,” Cara suggested as she immediately started throwing pieces of clothes in Louvette’s direction. They all matched. Louvette was thankful there was no hot pink in the pile. She hated hot pink and Cara’s favorite color seemed to be just that.
“You look better in my own clothes than I do,” Cara squealed. Louvette looked as she twirled. She had on a long wool red plaid skirt and a long sleeved top that had red embroidery on it. Her thermal tights were dark blue paired with a pair of tall brown Ugg boots. All the clothes she had on were designer brands. The skirt made her waist look unrealistically small and her hips look voluptuous.
“Oh wow, I love it,” she gushed. She’d been terrified that Cara would have put her in something extremely revealing. It was too cold for that. It was subtle like she preferred.
“Put on some makeup while I get ready,” Cara demanded playfully, pointing toward a vanity. Louvette walked to the vanity as Cara disappeared into her walk-in closet.
Louvette selected a brown palette for her eyeshadow and a dark brown eyeliner. She glossed her lips and mascaraed her eyelashes. Some blush finished off the job as Cara came out of her walk-in closet in ripped jeans and a sequined flowy long sleeved blouse. Tall heeled black boots clicked the floor.
“You look great,” she said, truthfully. Louvette didn’t understand how people could survive in those death traps. She wished she wasn’t the clumsiest person in the world so she could walk in them, too.
“I know. Are you ready?” Cara asserted boldly as she cat walked around the room. She flicked her head forward and whipped around wildly. Louvette laughed at her mimicking the runway. She shook her head at Cara’s craziness.
“As ready I’ll ever be,” she murmured, unsure of what she was getting herself into. Whatever it was, Louvette was about to find out. They left hastily after that. Cara didn’t even redo her makeup because she was ready to go.
***
When they got there, the parking lot and street were packed. Calming music and laughter could be heard in the streets. Louvette was shocked at the number of people on a Tuesday.
“Is it always this packed?” she asked in disbelief. The idea of it was becoming more intimidating each minute. Cara looked across the car at her.
“Yea, it’s kind of a common ground for everyone. Teenagers, businessmen, travelers, and families kind of mingle here. The Bonesteels own it, you know,” Cara responded, but Louvette didn’t really. However,
she appreciated Cara cluing her in on things. She was a regular how-to guide in Whitefish, MT. Louvette remembered that the Bonesteel family was another founder.
They entered a large building full of tables, customers, and servers. The patrons were dressed in everything from casual to formal. Pausing at the wait-to-be-seated sign, Louvette noticed the well-dressed servers walking around, holding trays of meat. There was a section like a salad bar as well in the back. The aroma of cooked meat permeated her nasal cavity.
She would never have been able to afford this place before she inherited the money. A hostess came and seated them at a table that had one too many forks. Louvette looked at the number of eating utensils out of worry. She didn’t remember the correct one to use. She shrugged it off and decided to just follow Cara’s example.
A large flowing fountain added peaceful music to the night. There were potted plants placed strategically around the room to give it more ambiance.
A white tablecloth covered the chairs and tables that could be more commonly referred to as a map of all of Louvette’s spills.
She spotted Arsen hanging out with his usual set of friends. He was strikingly handsome as always. This time he had on a dark green vest and silver highlights. His pants were a charcoal color. Arsen didn’t notice her as the hostess seated her. Louvette was tempted to make him notice her.
“It’s kind of a self-serve too. There is where all your sides and salad items are,” her companion clarified, jutting her chin toward the salad bar. Her clutch was tucked into her arm and the keys to the car were in the other hand.
Their waitress chose that moment to arrive and take their drink orders. Cara slid her chair back quietly and Louvette followed suit. They went to the serving station. Both created their own salads. As they were headed back to the table, Arsen chose that time to notice her. His dark eyes captured her more pleasantly this time. Louvette blushed a color similar to a red rose. She looked off and saw that their drinks and homemade bread had been delivered.
Louvette’s hair rose on her arm while she was sitting down. Eyes that were not Arsen’s rested upon her. She cast a careful eye around the room to remain undetected. Her movement came to a stop as she met the narrowed eyes of a man in his forties. She averted her eyes from the black gaze.
“Cara, who’s that man over at the fountain?” Louvette asked softly, hoping she would have a name. She clenched her hands, wanting to be calm under eyes she didn’t wish to be under. Louvette flicked her eyes toward Cara, waiting for her response.
“That’s Blaise Campbell. He’s staying at the Whitecreeks. He’s an investigator looking into the murder of that man a couple days ago up in Glacier. He gives me the creeps, too. That’s just how he looks at people, in a Hannibal Lector sort of way,” Cara confessed, leaning forward in her seat. Her voice dropped a few octaves as if he could hear her. Louvette hoped not for their sakes because she was positive that he was one of the hired investigators. He for sure appeared to be someone who could kill rogues for a living.
A waiter bearing lamb distracted them and Louvette felt the gaze leave her. The waiter shaved some off on to their plate expertly. The smell was invigorating. The meat seemed to be juicy. It promised an explosion on her taste buds.
“I’m going to look at the sides,” she decided before she filled herself up completely on meat. Cara had a mouth full and just nodded like a polite lady. Louvette smiled slightly at the sight of her appearing to be a chipmunk whose cheeks were full of food.
She departed toward the food bar. While she was grabbing a plate and selecting her sides, she felt someone come near to her. Thinking it was Cara, Louvette turned and was face to face to Mr. Campbell. Her stomach dropped and she tried to recover herself, but killing was literally this man’s occupation. It was hard to remain unaffected in his presence.
Louvette nervously placed a lock of hair behind her ear to no avail. It just sprung back out, as unruly as ever. She resisted a second attempt. Her fear would be only that much more noticeable.
This was not a guy to mess with. His greasy black hair begged to be washed. His eyes were such a dark brown that they borderline seemed black. His clothes were sloppy and wrinkled like he’d just limped back from a night of bar hopping. The circles on his eyes compared to his pale skin gave him a sallow look. He was built hefty and had a hard-fat belly from all the visceral fat that he had stored throughout his organs.
“You look really familiar. What’s your name?” he asked as stared at her. Mr. Campbell’s voice was annoyingly raspy and loud. His head tilted to the side, eyes narrowed to place her. She’d never met him in her life. Louvette didn’t know him and she didn’t want to get to know him.
Her throat went dry. A voice over her shoulder rescued her from answering the sleaze ball. Louvette refused to turn around and allow her back to be vulnerable, but she didn’t have to see the person to comprehend who it belonged to.
“Blaise, don’t you have anything better to do than to question teenage girls?” Arsen asked in a tight voice. The two sized each other up, wondering how much trouble the other would be. Louvette had her money on Arsen. Campbell was out of shape. She had no idea how experienced he was at hand to hand combat. She suspected not very much due to an over reliance on wolfsbane to kill the rogues.
“Forgive me, Arsen. I didn’t realize this one was yours,” he leered as he reached out to snag a curl. Louvette jerked back into Arsen’s chiseled chest. The thought of Campbell touching a hair on her head made her want to dry heave. Louvette bit back her protest against being anyone’s property. Just barely.
The only thing that stopped her was the fact that she’d lose control in front of everybody when she caved and killed him. That and Arsen protectively laying a hand on her arm, pulling her closer. Louvette had a feeling that if Mr. Campbell tried to touch her again, Arsen would slug him. Arsen opened his mouth to argue, temper flaring.
“Quit trying to get my son thrown out, Campbell, before I decide to get you thrown out,” came another man’s voice. Louvette knew instantly that he was Arsen’s father once she caught a glimpse of him. They were spitting image of each other. The men shared the same green eyes and facial features. Both were tall and built like a wall. The difference was that Arsen didn’t have wrinkles or facial hair, and they had different hair color. Arsen had wavy brown hair while his father was more of a dirty blonde. They both were imposing figures on any given day.
Louvette got the impression that Campbell was hated collectively. She was glad her creep radar was adequate enough to go off on this guy. He didn’t even strive to appear normal.
“Sorry, Kenneth.” He threw the lifeless apology at Arsen’s father more out of spite than anything. He did it simply to mock him. The three of them watched him stalk off, not wanting their backs turned toward him. Louvette’s breathing evened out. Arsen’s anger cooled off to his regularly calm and collected self.
“Watch that one,” Mr. Whitecreek forewarned them, nodding his head after Campbell. Louvette was relieved that the two of them had stepped in. She glanced off, comforted that Campbell was gone. Her plate that she had brought to gather her side dishes sat depressingly cold on the counter, abandoned upon Campbell’s arrival.
“Don’t worry. I will,” Arsen said darkly, glaring after him. Louvette perceived that if he was in his wolf forms his hackles would be raised. His father looked more closely at Louvette. She met his gaze head on. Louvette stood taller under his gaze. She wasn’t a fragile flower.
“Who might this be?” Arsen’s father politely asked. Louvette got the feeling that he already knew. His asking was just out of etiquette. She wondered how good his relationship with her family was or at least had been.
“This is Louvette Blackwood. Louvette, this is my father Kenneth Whitecreek,” Arsen introduced formally.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Whitecreek,” she greeted him, extending her hand. His bear-sized hand covered hers when they shook. Mr. Whitecreek’s hands were heavily calloused and rough, suggesting
years of hard work. She smiled a thanks at him.
“A pleasure, Ms. Blackwood. I knew your father and grandfather well. I’m sorry for your loss. It’s a shame what happened to you grandfather especially, spending all that time looking for Declan. Wilder was such a great man,” he consoled. His face took on a sad expression.
“Thank you. What happened to my father? Do you have a lead on who killed my grandfather?” she asked, frowning. His statement about her grandfather looking for her father troubled her.
“Declan caved under the pressures of being a new father. It is terribly selfish, but it happens and it happens often. Wilder got himself killed. Wilder didn’t want to accept that the son he had raised was a failure, so he searched, and he searched. Wilder’s obsession drove himself rogue,” Mr. Whitecreek told her gently to ease the sting caused from his words.
“You have no proof that Declan left. It would be different if anyone actually knew where Declan was or if they had found a body,” Louvette protested.
“Declan’s car was found at the airport. All his clothes are missing as well. He abandoned you and your mother,” Mr. Whitecreek said.
“From the amount of people dropping dead lately, I’m starting to doubt that,” Louvette told Mr. Whitecreek.
“It is a tough thing to accept, and I’m sorry to be the one to tell you. It was nice meeting you though. I’m sure we will see each other soon,” he remarked, sending his son a look. Louvette made a face at the last statement, unsure of what it really meant. Arsen returned a similar glace toward his father. Louvette would figure out the code one day and figure out how to decipher their body language and looks.
She let it go, remembering her dinner companion as she picked up her plate. Louvette almost burst out laughing as she caught Cara watching her with eyes as round as saucers. She was leaning over the table, monotonously eating a bag of chips as she focused on their conversation. Louvette knew Cara couldn’t hear so she could only imagine the types of scenarios running through her head.
