by J. E. Cluney
‘Thanks,’ he mumbled.
“Well, I’ve got my own work to do, you guys enjoy your studies,” Lucas said as he pushed off the desk. He had some studying to do in his room, and he also wanted to see his friends, Issac and Richard. They’d organized a drinking night at the Maleny pub, a late one.
He headed off, and I spent the next hour conversing lightly with Skip while doing my studies, before deciding I wanted an early bed for work tomorrow.
Ollie followed me up the stairs, his fluffy legs taking them two at a time.
I was more than happy to fall asleep with him curled into my side.
18
Work breezed by surprisingly, thanks to the sudden increase in customers on the weekend. Gina informed me there was another estate being built now, and a lot of the contractors were coming in for lunch and morning tea. I didn’t mind, it kept me occupied as I took orders and made coffees, grateful for the distraction.
I’d awoken to Ollie still stuck in cat form, and Lucas hadn’t returned from his crazy night out. I’d sensed him having a crazy amount of alcohol and doing karaoke with his mates. I was glad he was having fun.
And somehow, Samantha’s death wasn’t weighing as heavy on me today. It was a welcome relief as I helped serve up food and making milkshakes for customers. Henry was getting smashed with orders from the grill, and he ended up asking me to help manage the fryers and take over handling a lot of the fried food while he focused on the burgers.
I was happy with the extra responsibility, and by the time I took my late lunch, I was quite ready to head home.
I sat with my vanilla malt milkshake, chowing down on a chicken burger as I gazed out the window.
I smiled stupidly at the blue Holden sedan parked out on the street. I’d chosen not to take up one of the parking spots, but I could still see my little beast. Dory.
She had a great little sound system too I discovered when I’d blasted some music from my phone through the speakers. The USB input worked perfectly.
“Allison!”
I turned to my name, spying George leaving the counter after ordering. He grinned widely as he headed over to say hi.
“Hey George, how’s things been?” I asked. Emma had said he lived in Maple Grove, so I knew I’d see him eventually.
“Great, I’m contracted to do the wiring for some of the houses going up in the new estate. Maple Grove just keeps on growing,” he said as he sat down with me. His earthy brown eyes were bright and warm, and I felt completely at ease with him.
“So, Emma tells me you two have a date tonight?” I grinned, loving how his smile just widened at the mention of her.
“Yeah, I’m glad I actually caught you here. I was wondering if I could get some advice,” he said, averting his eyes.
God, he was so sweet as he fiddled with his car keys. He looked mighty good too in his high-vis shirt, the sleeves rolled up his forearms.
Not my type though, but I could appreciate a handsome man.
“Shoot,” I said before sipping my milkshake.
“I want tonight to be special. Any ideas on what I can do? Things she likes to make it more special?” he asked awkwardly.
I wanted to squeal at how utterly adorable he was.
“She loves rainbow things,” I said instantly. Emma was always flaunting colorful things, from the stickers on her laptop to the keyring on her bag, and she’d told me rainbow was her favorite color. I’d argued that it was multiple colors, but she’d waved me off.
“Great, I know a place with rainbow roses,” he beamed.
“She loves milky-bars too. White chocolate is her favorite, but she doesn’t like the Cadbury dream chocolate, it has to be the Nestlé milky-bar,” I said instantly. Another thing I’d picked up on.
“Got it, what’s her favorite food? I was going to take her to Italian, I want to surprise her. But she hasn’t told me her favorite food yet,” he asked.
“Thai. She loves Thai. There’s one just on the way down the mountain from Maleny, Sukhothai. She loves it there, although you best ring ahead for a table,” I said.
“You are a lifesaver, thank you so much,” he grinned, showing me his perfect rows of teeth.
“Don’t mention it, I’m glad she’s happy,” I said honestly.
“Yeah. I know she was worried about her powers. I heard rumors about her telepathy, but I don’t care. There’s nothing in here to hide,” he said as he tapped his temple lightly.
That was a relief, I was wondering if he’d known about that ability of hers.
He really was infatuated with her, it was clear to see. And I was more than happy for them.
Gina appeared with his fish and chips, and I glanced at the clock behind the counter, cursing inwardly. I had five minutes to finish off my burger and get back to work.
“I’ll let you eat, you must be on your break, but thank you again,” George said as he picked up his food.
I just grinned as he moved to another table, before diving back into my half-eaten burger.
He was sweet. But it was making me wish I could have had dates with my guys. I would’ve loved them.
‘Hear that, you guys need to date me,’ I mentally shot to them as I bit into the remains of my burger.
‘Got it,’ Lucas snickered.
I just rolled my eyes, not getting a response from the other two.
Whatever. At least they knew.
Hell, they were already my mates.
They were safe.
Bastards.
I tapped my hands on my steering wheel to the beat of ’Teeth’ by 5 Seconds of Summer, having found the channel on the radio to my liking. I was giving my phone a rest, as I did like finding a few new tunes on the radio.
I pulled up on the curb before the house, leaving the driveway clear for Skip’s beast, and Lucas’ Mercedes was already parked in its spot.
‘Get changed and come out the back,’ Ollie instructed just as I shut the engine off.
‘Why?’
‘Just do it.’
I rolled my eyes, a smile playing at my lips as I climbed out of my car and headed for the front door.
I checked my phone, having texted my aunt in the morning about the developments with Samantha. She’d responded by the time I’d finished work, impressed with my solving of the case, but feeling sorry about what I’d had to go through in order to do so.
I texted back, telling her I was handling it better today. I was focusing on the knowledge that justice and closure had been found. Little Samantha could have the burial she deserved, rather than the shallow grave in Mr Barlow’s yard.
I headed inside, toying with the dragon keychain on my keys as I went upstairs. I’d shown Gina the cool little trinket, and she was impressed with it. There were many things that could be found at the local markets, and I was hoping to get to check them out tomorrow, since I would be working an afternoon shift.
I tossed my keys on the desk as I changed out of my uniform shirt and into a white singlet. The weather was beginning to cool down for autumn, but it was still warm enough for a singlet.
I stretched before heading downstairs, trying not to pry into Ollie’s head at what was waiting for me outside. I could tell he was excited about something.
I passed Lucas in the kitchen, and he winked at me as he made himself a small fruit platter as an afternoon snack. Marcus was upstairs in his room, painting.
I paused as I noted this. I was glad he was doing his art again, he’d been drawing and painting a lot more lately. But I was able to catch a glimpse of the piece he was working on.
The northern lights, with a brown timber wolf howling to the heavens.
Me.
I smiled softly at the sight.
I continued onwards, pushing through the screen door leading to the back verandah.
I grinned as Ollie stood waiting for me, wearing a nice button-up white shirt and dark jeans.
Fingers crossed there was no shifting accidents. I was just glad he was himself aga
in.
“You look nice,” I remarked.
“Thank you,” he grinned, removing the hand from behind his back to hand me a single rose.
My heart melted at the sky-blue rose. He’d got it in my favorite color.
“Aw, thank you,” I cooed as I accepted the offering.
I wondered if he’d heard me giving advice to George.
He held out his hand, and I accepted, allowing him to help me down the back steps.
He slid one arm around my waist, and I relaxed into his side as we walked past the various fruit trees.
A smile broke out across my face as we came into sight of the picnic blanket set up in amongst the fruit trees.
“I said I wanted to take you for a picnic,” Ollie said sweetly, and I turned to him, my heart squeezing at the sweet gesture.
Those soft amber eyes were delighted with my grin, and he dipped his head to capture my mouth.
I melted into his tender kiss, my hands fisting in his shirt as he wrapped his arms around me.
He deepened the kiss gently, teasing his tongue over my lips until I welcomed him in.
When we broke apart, his eyes were dilated with interest, and I just chuckled.
“I want to have this picnic,” I teased as I pulled out of his grip and headed for the picnic blanket. He’d even gone as far as rounding up a wicker basket for it.
I plopped down in the shade, and he joined me, making sure to claim my lips once more before sighing and pulling away.
“If I don’t stop, we’re never going to eat,” he chuckled.
“There’s always time for fun after,” I murmured with a wink.
His eyes twinkled at the thought, and I knew he was battling his arousal.
“Well, we have roast chicken rolls with gravy,” he beamed, reaching into his basket to pull out the freshly made rolls. I knew instantly that he’d taken the afternoon to prepare it all, even picking up a bottle of wine.
“Wine?” I chuckled.
“Why not?” he said sheepishly as he took out two glasses.
I held them since they wouldn’t sit flat on the blanket, and he poured us the wine.
I took a sip before accepting the offered roll and drawing in the delicious aroma.
I took a bite out of it, clinking my glass with Ollie’s when he offered.
“To good times together and a good future,” Ollie said before taking a sip and then moving onto his roll.
‘Our future’.
Hearing him say our future, even if only in his mind, made my heart squeeze.
But then the briefest reminder of the darkness hiding in the corners of my mind flared up.
“Nothing new on the wendigo?” I asked softly.
I felt Ollie cringe, having wanted to keep my mind occupied from all the stresses going on.
’No, sorry,’ Lucas informed me.
I just nodded as I bit into the roll again, loving the gravy and chicken that Ollie had whipped up.
The wendigo was always at the back of my mind. More so now that my powers had awoken.
But I also had my sonic scream now, I wasn’t defenseless.
‘And us,’ Marcus stated from upstairs.
I managed a smile.
I wasn’t alone. And I hadn’t had any other weird visions or whatever with the wendigo. Or found a body.
Except Samantha’s.
“All right, no, no more thinking,” Ollie declared as he finished off his roll and held out his glass of wine. “Drink.”
I rolled my eyes but held up my glass, washing down the last bite of my roll with some wine.
“We’ve got dessert too,” he grinned, and I took the moment to take in just how utterly gorgeous he was.
The sun was filtering through the grapefruit tree we were half under, and it was catching his amber eyes and making them glint in the sunlight. He was clean shaven, and his hair had been brushed neatly back. The jeans looked utterly perfect on him too.
“You look beautiful too,” he said, those stunning eyes catching mine as he was delving into the basket once more.
Heat rushed to my cheeks as I bit my lip, and he just smiled as he revealed two pieces of bee-sting slice.
I chuckled at the choice, but my mouth practically watered in anticipation.
He handed it to me, and I took a hefty bite, moaning at the delicious goodness in delight.
I moved closer to him, enjoying the slice as his hand slipped around my waist.
We finished off our dessert and laid back on the blanket, and I closed my eyes as I savored the moment in his arms.
I nestled into his side, resting one hand on his shirt, feeling the steady beat of his heart under the rise and fall of his chest.
“You’ve been feeling better about the Samantha thing today, haven’t you?” Ollie asked softly.
“Yeah. I think it was still so fresh and raw yesterday. But today, I can see it was the right thing. Even though it was difficult,” I admitted.
“Do you think you’d do it again?” he asked curiously.
“Not anytime soon I think. I have assessments to work on, and it takes up all my mind,” I said honestly. “And the emotional toll is something I need to consider.”
“I know,” Ollie sighed as he placed one hand over mine on his chest.
He entwined his fingers with mine, and I smiled as I felt his sweet feelings for me flooding forth.
He loved my scent of honey and wildflowers. Not that I’d ever noticed, but my sense of smell wasn’t as good as his.
He loved the way my body felt against his, the sight of me smiling and laughing made his heart soar. He loved walking with me to classes and having someone he trusted with him.
There was a recurring theme there, and my heart was squeezing and fluttering.
“I love you.”
I froze, those whispered words hitting me with such a wave of true emotion that my eyes glittered as my throat tightened.
He meant it. He felt something for me on such a deeper level, and I just stared up at him, into those soft amber eyes.
“I love you too,” I murmured back, my face breaking into a grin at the realization.
He just softened, relaxing at the returned words as he pulled me onto his chest.
“The others aren’t so quick to admit it, but I’m pretty sure they love you too,” Ollie murmured as he kissed my nose.
And I knew he was right.
The affection and tenderness I felt from Marcus and Lucas, whether they cared to admit it or not, was true. They’d started falling in love with me before the bond even came into it.
But the loving sensation and warmth I was getting from Ollie right now, the utter joy and delight at being so close to me and having expressed his feelings; there was nothing better.
I kissed him, needing him to know I felt the same way.
I felt everything he felt.
He kissed me back, his hands running up and down my back as I lay on top of him.
He broke our kiss only to catch some breath before diving back into it. He tasted sweet like bee-sting, mixed with wine and caramel.
I loved his unique caramel taste and scent.
I also loved the hardness pushing into my inner thigh.
His hands moved to my hair, pulling my thick brown locks free from the ponytail and fisting one hand in it.
The other trailed down the back of my neck, leaving a ticklish sensation in their wake.
‘You guys better not screw in the backyard. Our neighbors could see. I’m not paying that fine or dealing with their nosey arses,’ Lucas slipped into my mind, and I snorted, breaking our kiss.
Way to ruin our moment.
Ollie just chuckled, kissing me lightly before sighing, just staring up into my eye tenderly.
“Thank you for the picnic,” I murmured, loving how our warm bodies fit together. It was a perfect afternoon for it.
“Anytime,” he murmured.
I moved to rest my head on his chest, listening to his steady heart
beat.
I closed my eyes, content to just lay with him.
His mind had wandered to more tempting desires, but he reined it back in, quite happy to just hold me.
I stood in the darkness, chewing my cheek at the uneasy sensation I had.
My fingers flexed and curled, and my chest tightened as sweat broke out across my brow.
This feeling, this crushing feeling, it was growing. My breathing was becoming flustered and short, and my eyes flicked around the darkness, searching for the cause.
A shiver coursed through my spine, goosebumps breaking out across my skin.
Fear.
Something was filling me with utter terror right now, almost like that panic attack I’d had in primary school. One of them.
When you were dealing with the abuse I’d endured, they were something that had troubled me often when I was younger.
I staggered, throwing my hands out to steady myself, but finding no surface in the darkness.
My void normally felt safe and strangely comforting. My place, something I controlled now.
Something flickered up ahead, and I flinched as my heart skipped a beat.
And then it stood there, staring at me with those soulless eyes.
I could make it out completely now. It had the figure of a man, but the clothing he wore was torn and ragged, and his flesh was dark grey; almost black.
And those wicked claws looked like they could tear flesh from bone with little effort.
But it was his face that drew me. That skullish face with horns, the eyes and nose hollowed out.
Black pools were in place of his eyes, and he was staring at me, filling me with utter terror.
‘Allison…’
Those dark eyes lit up, like a firefly was trapped within that skull that adorned his head. No. It wasn’t something he wore. It was his true, ghoulish face.
The wendigo.
And he wanted me.
I shuddered as he took a step forward, and I felt my banshee side clawing to the surface.
What was going on? Was I dreaming?
No, I was in my void.
But so was he.
‘Come to me, Allison…’
“No,” I growled, surprising myself. My voice had been firm, not broken despite the fear that had crept deep into my soul. Why was I feeling like this? Was he causing this?
