“I'd love you regardless of how you look.”
“Uh huh.”
We leave the house, sure to lock it on the way out. No time for breakfast for me. Plus, it’s not like I’ll starve to death. Wait, could I? I was told I could only die by old age or decapitation. Starvation makes me think of Wake. He better be eating.
Rion opens the door to the Jag for me, like the perfect gentleman he is. I climb inside and buckle my seat belt while he rounds the front to do the same. The engine purrs to life. Stroking my hand over the supple leather, reveling in how soft it is, I can’t help but think about how much I love this car.
“Do you want one?” he asks, pulling out of my driveway.
“One what?”
“A Jag.”
“Are you serious right now?”
“Absolutely. I have the money. I can buy you one. You don't have to drive your Buick around anymore.” I don’t want to know how much money Rion has. It would probably cause me to faint.
“I don't have to drive at all,” I grin. “I can teleport. And when I can't, I have you, Ford, and Paige to cart me around and make me look normal.”
Rion doesn’t take his eyes off the road as the next words leave his lips. “Does that mean you're embracing this part of yourself and not going back to the way things were before we met?” I knew this was coming.
Studying his features, I still wonder what he’s doing with me. He’s devastatingly handsome. All muscular and hard lines. It’s amazing I ever stop kissing him.
“This is a bit of a heavy convo for first thing in the morning.”
He's about to respond when he slams on the brakes, causing me to jerk slightly forward, my seat belt catching and holding me firm. Looking out the windshield, I notice why he stopped. There's a panther in the middle of the road.
“Uhhh...”
“Stay in the car,” Rion warns me.
“Are you kidding? There's a panther in the road! I'm all over that craziness.”
He groans. “Really, Ari?”
“Hey,” I point to him. “I'm super strong, can read minds, and teleport. That cat has nothing on me.”
He grumbles something I can't hear and pulls over to the side of the road. I'm out of the car and rushing to his side before he can stop me. Rion motions with his head for the enormous cat to follow us off the street and behind a house that's boarded up.
“This morning just got so much better,” I say. “How cool are you?”
The black panther shifts effortlessly into a very tall, lean man. But make no mistake; this guy is all muscle. His hair is a mess of black curls and his eyes are the same dark color.
“Xeno,” Rion greets. “This is my mate, Ariane.”
Xeno holds out his hand to shake mine. I clasp his and shake it. He grimaces when I let go and rubs his hand.
“So the rumors are true,” he states in a deep, rich voice. “You're not an ordinary human.”
“Why is this news to everyone? Am I the first human to ever get powers? This is baffling to me. Surely, somewhere down the line, a vampire gave powers to a human.”
“You’re not the first, no,” Xeno replies. “But you’re the only one who has managed to have those powers, a shifter for a mate, and be a dream watcher. You're a lot rolled into one.”
“My premonitions are sucky at best. So far, I've managed to run away from wolves. Real helpful. Maybe during the next one I'll slam into a tree and complete the experience.”
“I like her,” Xeno smiles.
“Everyone does,” Rion adds, beaming with pride.
“Thanks for the praise, but can we get on with it? I have to be in school in two minutes, which, at this point, isn’t in the realm of possibility.” I’m going to be late.
“School? You should be planning with your pack,” Xeno states. “There's much to be done. Travis will be breaking down your door in no time.” Why can’t I go to school like a normal person? It seems like every day is a test of my patience and abilities. I’m so not looking forward to what else is going to transpire today.
“Listen, I need to hold on to as much of the normal as I can for the time being,” I inform him. “And the pack war? I still haven't figured out the role I play in it all. So, until I know, I'm doing my own thing, and that means going to school and trying to quell the rumor that I have a harem of men waiting for me every day when I leave.” I don’t want to hear the rumors. If the tall, dark, and cat-like man in front of me showed up there as well, there’d be no holding the girls back. I’m sure there are bets going around as to what I do in my downtime.
“Xeno, why have you come?” Rion asks. Finally, we get to the point.
“It seems your vampire friend killing the fox has caused quite a stir. Almost the entire fox shifter race is siding with Travis and his pack. All except the small pack of Lealla's. You might not think much of the foxes, but they are cunning and fast. They can be in and out of a place in no time and not be detected.” Lovely, more to stress about.
Rubbing my temples, I try to stave off the headache, which is surely coming. The pack war could happen at any time now, and I’m standing behind a run-down house talking to a panther about foxes. I’m grateful humans can’t hear thoughts because I’d be committed for sure. Although, I could use a vacation. A padded room doesn’t seem so bad when every day of my existence I’ve got a target on my back.
“What about you?” Rion asks. “Where do you stand?”
“You don't need to ask. I'm with you and the Avynwood Pack. Lealla has given my family and me a home.”
Rion turns to me. “Xeno and his family stay under the radar. They live not far from you, but they don't make themselves known in the shifter community.” Could have fooled me. I would have thought a panther standing in the road was a bit obvious.
“Wait, does that mean I go to school with a panther?”
“It does. My son, Davian, is a junior in your high school. But I'm begging of you, don't speak to him. If you start associating with him, then others will take notice. They will know we're here. I'd rather not blow our cover until the pack war. We need the element of surprise on our side.”
“You just sat in the middle of the road as a panther, and you're worrying about me blowing your cover?”
“There were no other shifters around. No other cars, for that matter. The few people in the nearby homes are asleep. I would have heard them stir.”
“So why didn't you stand in the road as a human? Or better yet,” I dig the phone out of my pocket and wave it in the air, “text Rion?”
“You're not the only one who likes to have a little fun around here. What better way to introduce myself to you than by appearing as my panther?”
“You got me there. I'll never forget that.” Looking at my phone again, I realize the bell is about to ring. “Okay, no time for the Jag. I'm going to teleport into the janitor's closet on the second floor, or I'll be late.”
Running back to the car, I grab my bag, and sprint to Rion to give him a quick kiss. “It was nice to meet you, Xeno. Thank you for introducing yourself to me.”
I snap my fingers and appear on top of a broom in the closet like I'm about to take it for a ride down the hall. Given everything going on, that would not be weird at all. Pressing my ear to the door, I don't hear any sounds, so I gently ease out and make my way to homeroom. I make it there a split second before the bell rings.
A panther. Who would have thought? I wish I could talk to Davian and find out more about him. He could probably show me all kinds of stealth moves. Maybe once the pack war is over, we'll be able to relax and talk to who we want. I won't have to fear whoever I come in contact with will be killed for knowing me. That will be a day I celebrate.
12
Rion and Ford are waiting for me when I get out of school. They’re a good three feet apart, both leaning against Ford's metallic grey Mercedes SUV.
I stop in between them. “Where's the Jag?” I ask Rion.
He juts his chin toward Ford
. “He has an issue and asked me to come with him. We can fit all three of us in this easier than we can in my car.”
“What's the problem?”
“Wake.” My heart starts pumping faster as panic rushes through me.
“Is he starving himself again?”
“Not exactly.”
I step in front of Ford. “What does he mean? Not exactly?”
Paige and Bray walk over, stopping beside me. I don’t have to turn to know Paige is reading my expression. “What did you do?” she asks Ford. “Ari looks like she's about to hit you.”
“Something's wrong with Wake.”
Paige moves to get in Ford’s face as well. “What did you do to him? He's such a nice guy.”
Rion makes a noise from my right. “Knock it off,” I tell him.
“Wait, who's Wake?” Bray asks.
“The guy I brought to our triple date,” Paige tells him.
“Oh… him,” he all but sneers.
This is stupid. We’re not getting anywhere. Something is wrong with Wake and neither of the two paranormals near me want to say anything.
“Well, let's go,” I tell them. “It's not like I don't have homework or anything.”
“You need to hurry up and graduate already,” Ford replies.
“If only my life were that easy. You should know by now, nothing runs smoothly where I’m concerned.”
We say goodbye to Paige and Bray before driving the Benz to the well-kept house on the other side of town.
“Who lives here?” I ask.
“A friend,” Ford replies.
I roll my eyes, not wanting to delve into this at the moment. We need to get to Wake. Taking Rion’s hand, I teleport us to Ford's oceanfront home.
After searching the house, we find Wake curled up on his bed in the guest room in wolf form. His white wolf lifts his head as we come into the room. Rion tries to keep me from going to him, telling me we don't know what kind of shape he's in. How he could lash out at me. I shake him off and walk to the bed, taking a seat beside Wake.
Stroking his soft fur, I ask, “What's going on? You look so sad.”
He whimpers. His eyes flash brown, making me aware Wake sees me. I take a moment to search his mind. There are visions of Aries and Cassandra. Of Rion. Of what life used to be like for him with his family. He’s sad. Wake misses them terribly.
I curl up next to him and rest my head on his side. “You've got me,” I tell him. “I'm not going to abandon you.”
Rion growls low. “No one abandoned him. He did this to himself.” Wake tenses. I do the same.
“Don't start,” I warn Rion.
“No, Ari. Enough is enough. He went against the pack. We tried to help in the beginning. Tried to make him see Dalia wasn't his mate, but he came after us. He was violent. Ford told you.”
He did. Wake became violent with the other males. Lashed out at his father and Orion. No one could get him to see reason. The whole pack was a mess. The dynamic was thrown off.
“You would have been the same way if someone was telling you I wasn't your mate. What if I walked away from you and went to mate with another wolf?” I’m having this whole sense of déjà vu. Well, not really. Rion and I did already talk about this.
“I'd murder them,” he seethes.
“Okay. This is the same conversation we had. See things from his perspective. Wake wants to come home. He misses you and everyone else.”
There is so much pain inside of Wake. I need to do whatever I can to ease some of it. No one should feel as he does, past problems or not.
“He can make a home anywhere, as long as it's not with us.”
“You seriously need to get over this.” I snuggle in a little deeper to Wake’s fur. He’s so soft and warm.
“Ari, get away from him,” Rion warns.
I roll my eyes and turn away from him. That's enough of his attitude. He can take his demands and go somewhere else with them.
“Now you've done it,” Ford mutters.
Turning around, I find Rion in wolf form. His legs are braced wide apart; his head is low, ears back. Oh, he's not liking me being next to Wake one bit. I don't move. This is stupid. They’re cousins and need to work this out. Maybe with them both in wolf form that will happen.
“You're playing with fire, princess.”
“You hush up. This is getting crazy. Wake is obviously sorry. He's gone out of his way to protect me. He's been beaten and thrown out of the other pack. He risked his life for me, for the pack. He should be allowed to come home.”
Crazy wolves and their pack logic. Can’t they get past things and forgive? This is absurd. He’s family.
Ford shakes his head. “One day you'll understand the ins and outs of the pack, but today is not that day.”
“Ya think?” Orion approaches the bed with a snarl. The white wolf under me moves, jostling me from my comfortable spot. “Hey, I was lying there.” Wake growls back.
Scrambling off the bed, I try to get them to stop. “Nope! You two are not going to fight in here. You need to shift back and talk.”
They don't care, however. They both jump at the same time. Their teeth knock as they try to get an advantage on each other. Rion drops his head to get a hold of Wake's leg, causing him to yelp in pain. Then Wake spins around, biting Orion on the back. The same back that was injured before.
Immediately, I flash back to that night at the Diaminsey Pack house when Garrison had Orion by the spine. Before I know what's going on, I'm trembling from head to toe. I’m breathing too fast, but it doesn’t seem like I’m getting enough air. It's as if a fifty-pound weight is on my chest. My heart races. My palms begin to sweat.
“Ford...” I barely get out in a whisper.
He studies me for a second before rushing to my side, gripping me around the waist and pulling me from the room, closing the door behind us. The two wolves continue to tear into each other. Something loud crashes to the floor. Their snarls and growls make me shake harder.
Ford lifts me in his arms and teleports us to the living room. Gently, he sits on the couch, me on his lap, as I curl into him.
“There's something wrong with me. I think I'm dying,” I tell him. I’ve never felt like this before. As if at any moment, I’m going to go into cardiac arrest and leave this world. My mind is trying to tell me that it’s not possible. I can’t die this way. But my body is driving this and it won’t listen to logic.
“You're not dying. You're having a panic attack.” He holds me tight as he presses his cheek to the top of my head. “You're going to be okay, Ari. Remember, you can't die from this. You're just flashing back to that night when everything happened.”
He’s right. That night will forever haunt me. Seeing Rion and Wake fight triggered this.
My voice shakes. “You have to make them stop. They need to get along before they kill each other.”
“There's nothing I can do. They have to work it out on their own time.”
“I can't keep watching them fight. It's breaking me apart.”
My bottom lip trembles at another loud crash. I cover my ears to try to drown out the sounds, but it doesn't help. I can hear both of their thoughts as they attack one another over and over again. My blocks aren’t working.
Wake wants a friendship with me and to be part of the family and pack again. He wants to belong. Not be a lone wolf with no home, taking up residence with a vampire. Wolves crave the connection their pack provides. They thrive from it. Wake being ousted, with no pack now, is driving his depression.
Orion, on the other hand, wants him out of my life altogether and to never show his face at the pack house. He doesn't care how Wake helped me out or how he risked his own life to do so. Orion wants him gone permanently.
“Please, Ford,” I beg as tears begin to roll down my cheeks. “I can't handle this.”
With care, he lifts me from his lap, placing me on the couch beside him. Then teleports upstairs. The bedroom door slams against the wall.
“Hey, idiots!” he yells.
They ignore him, continuing to fight and rip into each other. Every bite, every ounce of pain hits me. Ford’s thoughts float to me amongst the chaos. I’m finally able to block out Rion and Wake, focusing solely on Ford. His thoughts give me something to latch on to while I keep the others out of my head.
Determination settles over Ford. He wants to pry them apart but is trying to figure out how without getting bit. Sure, he’ll heal immediately, but he’d like to settle this without getting injured. Then he decides there's no way he can.
One of the wolves yelps. Something slams into a wall.
“Do you two know what you're doing to Ariane?” he yells. “She's downstairs in tears because of you morons. You need to think past your own issues. Or I'll let you stay in this house to fight it out while I take her far away from here. She doesn't need to witness this!”
The growling ceases. A loud thump is heard, then another. Boots hit the stairs in rapid succession as I try to bury myself deeper into the leather of the couch, wishing it would engulf me.
Rion drops to the ground in front of me, frantic, his eyes searching mine. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.” He hesitantly reaches for me—just one hand. I take it in mine. Our connection helps ease some of the turmoil raging through my body. “I'm so sorry,” he whispers.
Wake appears beside him, the same panic on his face. “Ari, I didn't know. Please forgive me.”
Rion turns toward him and his eyes flash green. They're going to start all over again. I can't handle this. Ford walks behind them, gripping each of their shirts, hauling them away from me.
“You two don't learn, do you? Stop worrying about each other and look at what you're doing to Ariane. You didn't see her that night. The pain she was in as you, Orion, almost died. You didn't get called to her dreams the nights after as she screamed into the forest at the loss of Cace and the near loss of her mate. I was there!”
This is the angriest I’ve ever seen Ford. He usually keeps his cool and handles things with humor. Right now, he looks like he’s ready to murder someone.
The Somber Call (The Ariane Trilogy Book 2) Page 9
