by JK Cooper
“When the lights come on and I’m on my own
Will you be there to sing it again?
Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories?
Can I be him?”
“I really didn’t know you could dance,” Shelby said.
Kale smiled. “You never asked.”
Still they moved in perfect rhythm with each other, Shelby now anticipating where he would lead. She closed her eyes, trusting him completely. Then, he started to softly sing along to the lyrics.
“I wanna dry those tears, kiss those lips
It's all that I've been thinking about
'Cause a light came on when I heard that song and I want you to sing it again
I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me
Like it was a private show, but I know you never saw me
When the lights come on and I'm on my own
Will you be there to sing it again?”
Shelby rested her head on his chest again, reaching her right arm around him to the back of his neck and ran her fingers through his hair.
“Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories?
Can I be the one
Can I be the one
Can I be the one
Oh, can I, can I be him?”
The song ended, but oh how she had never wanted it to.
“Kale?”
“Yeah, Brooks?”
“You’re a wonderful dancer.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
“But Kale?”
“Yeah?”
She cringed slightly, stifling a giggle. “Just let James Arthur do the singing next time, okay?”
A small laugh rumbled softly in his chest, tickling her ears. “No problem.”
She craned her head up and kissed him, gently, letting her touch linger upon his full lips. She hit him with a subtle projection, and he clutched the small of her back, bringing her closer to him.
He broke the kiss but only pulled a hair’s breadth apart. “I don’t want to mess up your dress.”
“Thank you for this,” she said. “I needed it. We both did.”
“If what your dad said is true, that you look just like your mom, I understand completely why he fell for her.”
Shelby’s heart ached suddenly. I do love you, Dad. “Kale, that was probably the most perfect thing you could have said.”
“I’m sure Bubba and Sadie have the rumor mill flowing fast and furious by now.” He turned, pulling her hand again to the crook of his arm. “Shall we?”
She pouted inwardly. “If we must.” She leaned her head on his arm and let him lead her back inside.
Shelby’s ears seemed to go tense just before they entered the gymnasium again, as if preparing for the onslaught of the droning bass and piercing treble. Without missing a beat, Kale flung her into action again, mingling in with the horde of dancing students. Well, most weren’t dancing, just jolting their bodies in rhythm to the song. Shelby smiled and shrugged, going with it. Then she caught a glimpse of Sadie sulking next to Sean, eyes red. Has she been crying? There was still so much hurt left in her, some of it from the Bubba and Trish date being thrown in her face, but most of it from the thing with Elias. She nodded her greeting while Sean waved. She grabbed Kale’s hand and broke through masses to the bleachers.
“You two dance like gazelles,” Bubba said.
“Thank you?” Kale’s reply sounded like a question.
“Yup, two drunken gazelles stuck out on ice. It ain’t pretty. I ain’t gonna lie ‘bout it.”
“There it is.” Kale laughed.
Trish leaned into Bubba. “You be nice. I think they danced beautifully. More graceful than gazelles, especially dodging all the stuff Sarah put up. She must have used the cheap tape again.”
Sadie groaned at Bubba and Trish. “More like two copulating wolves.”
Shelby gave Sadie a pointed look. She rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. She just didn’t seem to care.
Trish giggled. “That’s the second time that description has come up. Weird.” She took in a breath through her teeth with a sharp hiss. “Uh oh.”
Shelby looked up, thinking Trish had figured out their secret from a couple odd descriptions, but the girl was looking past her.
“Traitorous hoe!” Chelsea Gittrick charged up to the bleachers with Amanda and someone Shelby didn’t know behind her. She wore a silver dress that reflected the film colored lights above like a psychedelic rainbow. “I told you not to go with him if they were a part of the group.” She pointed to Shelby and Sadie.
And Sadie was so sure Trish going with Bubba to Homecoming was somehow part of an evil conspiracy concocted by the Whorey Trinity against us. Shelby had to admit she had the same notions. Apparently, Trish isn’t as shallow as I thought.
Trish stammered. “I . . . uh, I . . . didn’t know until today, but they aren’t that bad. You know, Chels, if you took a moment to—”
“Don’t you finish that sentence, Brutus.”
“Someone was paying attention in history for once.” Sadie stood and took a few steps down. In the background the music changed to a slow song, making the conflict take on an otherworldly, dreamlike tone. “But do you know that Caesar is more than a salad? Doubtful.”
“I know more about the true history behind that than you ever will, you freakin’ muggle!”
Trish exchanged a look with Amanda. Amanda shrugged, but Trish stood too, taking Bubba’s hand. “Careful, Chels. You know what your father said.”
“He isn’t here.” But Chelsea glanced around the gym as though she feared he might be. She glowered when she saw her brother come to Sadie’s side. “And you won’t tell him a thing.”
He shook his head. “You know I won’t. I’m not a snitch, sis, but just what are you doing?”
Chelsea grinned, her smile extending farther than Shelby expected from her constantly pouty mouth. It reminded her of the Cheshire Cat. Chelshire Cat from now on. Sadie will like that.
“Something special,” Chelsea sneered. “Something I stumbled across in an old book.” She took a step back, bumping into the new girl who didn’t move with her like Amanda had. She blushed under Chelsea’s glare, but Chelsea’s focus wasn’t on her long. “Something to teach you a lesson, once and for all.” She turned to Shelby and Kale, muttering to herself and moving her fingers in strange patterns.
Amanda put a hand on Chelsea’s shoulder with a hiss of warning, but Chelsea shook it off, not pausing her chants.
Sean shook his head. “Not here, Chels.”
“Yes, here. It’s about time this school knew who was in charge and why. I’m sick of hiding.” Her chanting grew louder. None of it was in English. Her finger movements grew more animated.
“What is she doing? SWAC’s gone mental.” Sadie cocked her head to the side, like a confused wolf.
The air seemed to thicken around them, pressing on them. Shelby’s ears popped, like she’d just had a dramatic change in elevation. A balloon, most likely under Bubba’s influence, hovered into their area and popped as though compressed. Shelby couldn’t move. What is happening?
Sean grunted next to Sadie and then began chanting too. Trish stepped between Bubba and Chelsea, her fingers interlocked in a pattern of her own that she held up like a ward against evil.
It is a ward, Eira said inside her, though I’m not sure if the Chelsea girl is evil or just stupid and misguided.
What?
A spell.
“So there really is such a thing as banshee mode,” Sadie said sourly.
It all clicked together in Shelby’s mind. She’d seen Chelsea try such things before. She’d felt odd sensations around her. Chelsea had also freely admitted her frustrations that Kale hadn’t fallen for her like he should. She’s a Druid? Bandruí thing? Like Genn’s friend in the CIA?
Probably Wiccan. I have less experience with them.
What do I do?
The Goddess made Immortal Wol
ves impervious to direct magic. Lycans are resistant thanks to us.
That’s helpful, except I can’t move and it’s getting hard to breathe.
Eira shrugged inside her. It’s a stronger spell than most, and I believe it’s focusing on the air around us, rather than us directly.
You seem rather nonchalant for someone about to die.
She doesn’t want to kill us. Look at her. She’s just a jealous little girl, lashing out. Why don’t you do something about it?
Shelby bit back a retort. Arguing with her wolf was a little too close to arguing with herself. It didn’t seem helpful.
Kale gulped in a raspy breath. “Shelby?”
“On it.” The words came out slow and labored and her voice sounded low and manly with the thicker air.
Shelby accessed her Omega emotions. She’d managed to affect a few humans before. Maybe she could reach Chelsea. What counteracts jealousy? Love? Acceptance? They were worth a shot. She poured them out to Chelsea. I forgive you. Kale forgives you. We don’t hate you. Trish turned out to be pretty cool. Maybe we can be friends too.
Tears formed in the corners of Chelsea’s eyes. She faltered. A pulse of energy went out from Sean and Trish. The thick quality of the air vanished. The chanting stopped. Music crashed against their eardrums.
Shelby hadn’t noticed how muted it had become. Chelsea stared at her, a trace of anger and jealousy still on her face, but also fear and regret. Sean was also staring at Shelby, his mouth open, eyes narrowing, like he’d just realized something. Did he feel some of what I sent out? Perhaps her touch wasn’t as subtle as she had thought. It was bloody hard to concentrate in here with all the cacophony coming from the speakers.
Kale? she said through the bond. I think Sean—
Yeah, I know. Kale’s eyes flashed with amber pinpricks. Shelby felt a wave of energy surge through the air. Come to me. Kale’s voice rumbled through the pack link like an earthquake rippling through granite.
He’s using the Call, Eira said. Kale and Skotha are rising.
Suddenly, Tommy and Karina were there at their side, glaring at Chelsea, eyes on the verge of turning full amber. Shelby sent another wave of calm.
“Why you all trippin’? I miss something?” Bubba asked as another balloon floated by. He blinked and the balloon popped in midair.
“Um, I have to get Chelsea home. She doesn’t seem well.” Sean gave Sadie a half hug and then stepped down to where his sister slumped against her two groupies.
“I should help. Sorry DeShawn.” Trish gave Bubba a longer kiss on his cheek. “Tonight was fun.”
“Wait, we didn’t even dance. I’ll blow your mind, girl.”
“I’ll make it up to you, promise.” She gave him a coy smile and a wink that made Sadie groan again.
Sean took Chelsea by the arm. “We’re leaving.” The group backed away but did not turn their backs to them until they were close to the exit. Sean had his arms up, crossed in front of his chest with fingers in an odd formation. Warlock, Shelby realized, then wondered if his amazing calves were natural or magically enhanced. Sean gave Shelby one last odd glance as they left the gymnasium.
Kale let out a deep breath, rubbing his neck. “What was that?”
Shelby sighed. “I think they’re Wiccans. And I think I just gave away that we aren’t normal either.”
“I’ve known them my entire life.” He shook his head, blinking rapidly a few times. “Guess we need to tell my dad.” He looked at Sadie. “You probably should sit that out.”
“Need to tell mine too. I don’t know what he knows.” So many secrets.
“Wait, I went on a date with a witch?” Bubba stood, excited. “Epic!” More balloons popped as he yelled, startling several other students.
“Yeah, I hope you and Hermione are very happy together.” Sadie stormed down the stairs.
“Sadie,” Kale called.
The redhead turned, and Shelby saw a storm in her eyes.
I feel something, Shelby said to Kale through the bond. Something is fraying. Her eyes squinted. Or someone is doing the fraying. She felt it now, the invading touch of another Omega. Athena. Shelby tried to counter Athena’s touch, tried to build defenses around Sadie . . . but she wasn’t fast enough.
Still looking at Sadie, Kale said, “Don’t.”
He can feel it too, Shelby realized.
“Don’t go,” Kale said kindly but firmly. “Stay.”
She hesitated for a moment before twirling around and rushing out. And then, it snapped, Shelby’s connection to Sadie as her Omega.
She has chosen another, Eira said.
Shelby’s heart fractured. No. Shelby dashed from the gymnasium, weaving between scores of sweaty, hormonal teenagers, but couldn’t find her anywhere. She searched around the parking lot and found a shredded dress by the dumpster. Oh, Sadie, what have you done?
Sadie followed Athena’s scent through the town, keeping to the shadows, trees, and alleyways as much as possible. She also made her coat mimic the colors of a coyote, more common in the area. Her smaller size as a wolf helped too. The trail led her to the small motel on the edge of Lansborough. She lives here? Fun.
Sadie approached the door where Athena’s scent was strongest. She could also pick out a few other unfamiliar wolf scents and one she knew. Rachel.
SWAC! Sadie realized she didn’t have any clothes. She glanced around to make sure no one saw her, darted to the door, shifted, and knocked while covering her nakedness the best she could.
Athena answered slower than Sadie liked. She kept looking over her shoulders for motel pervs. Finally, the bolt clicked, and Athena peeked out, the chain still keeping the door from opening all the way. “Hi, Sadie. You’re naked.” She didn’t sound terribly surprised.
“Whatever the Hades you’re selling, I’m in. I don’t care anymore.”
Athena smiled, closed the door, undid the chain lock, and opened it wide.
“Please. Come in. I know someone who would love to meet you.”
Candlelight flickered in the old house as Mareus used Viersin's eyes to read. The wording at the top of the page read, Fen Drüaid ilm Bayndoari. Of the Druid and Bandruí. Nothing like some light reading while you wait for company.
Of the Five Keys of Ascension, harnessing the magic of a world’s spirit shall be the first external key brought to bear. This power will manifest within she who is the Restorer, but only after she has been awakened by force and love. The ability to manipulate matter or cause obeisance of the elements is but an elementary manifestation of this key. Its higher manifestations are found in the controlling of a being’s mind and perceptions, the manipulation of the spiritual matter, as it were. The Restorer shall pierce they who defy her by the use of eye or bone, love or force. And by the same shall other keys follow.
The door creaked on old hinges. He was in his human form, leaned over a desk with three candles alight at the top of the book. More than half of the candles’ lives had been spent, and the melted wax had dripped down into thick rivulets that solidified into an intricate pattern of soft stalactites at the edge of polished wood. Mareus's eyes glowed with a soft golden light, Viersin’s light, as he slowly raised his head from the Isluxua to meet the timid but feisty gaze of the fiery haired Lycan who stood next to Athena.
Sadie lowered her head.
“Do not be shy, Sadie,” Mareus said. “I did not smell you arrive, but I knew you were coming.” Then he smiled kindly. “But of course I wouldn't smell you, would I? Enter.”
Sadie shuffled forward.
I like this one, Viersin said to Mareus. She is a useful addition.
But how does one ever trust a venatrix?
Test her.
Mareus stood. “Welcome to my pack, young Sadie. Do you accept me as your Alpha?”
Sadie nodded. “I do.”
The link formed with her obedience. Mareus felt the tiny thread of a new addition, intermingling with the thousands of others he had accumulated. Good. That’s the first
step. “How are you feeling about the transition to a different pack?”
“I think it will be nice to be appreciated, for once.”
“Yes, I heard about your mistreatment by your Alpha from Athena . . . and Rachel.”
The venatrix showed some surprise. “Rachel’s here?”
“Do you disapprove?”
Sadie smiled. “I’m just glad she found somewhere to belong . . . after . . .”
“After your Alpha failed to protect her family?” Mareus finished for her.
The smile faltered, but that was an understandable reaction. “Yes, that.” Flat and to the point without a hint of emotion.
Mareus looked to Athena for her gauge of the girl, using his Alpha status to access the link while human. Can we trust her?
His daughter shrugged. “I want to trust her, Father. She has potential, but I cannot see into her.”
Mareus looked deprecatingly at Sadie. “Why do you refuse to open yourself to your Omega? Do you not seek her comforting touch?”
Sadie lowered her head further. “I do not like my emotions being controlled.”
“See, Father?” Athena said. “She doesn’t trust us yet. Why, Sadie? I thought we were getting along.”
“Oh, we are, but the last Omega tended to meddle with my feelings more than I wanted. I think I'm having a little trouble adjusting, Alpha Prime.”
“Ah,” Mareus said. “Being one with the Advent pack is new to many. But, my Sadie, you will find that all other previous homes have been false. This is where all Lycans belong. I am the First. I am the only Alpha. You feel this deep within you, do you not?”
Sadie bowed her head again and shivered. Mareus's presence was impossible to ignore or deny. She did not deny the power that emanated from his presence. “Yes, I feel it. It's . . . one reason I left Elias.”
“You left the pretend Alpha because I helped you see his weakness,” Athena said. “I helped you see him as a tyrant. Anyone who chooses humans over Lycans is not worthy to follow.”
Sadie nodded again. “That too.”
Mareus grinned. “I think we should help our venatrix feel more welcome. A hunt, I think.”
“Oh, that does sound good. Is it elk season?”
