Misfit Angel

by Stephanie Foxe

  He hurried upstairs and knocked on the door to the room right next to his. Eloise spent all day with Evangeline in their room resting. She was recovering, but still too sick to do much more than sleep all day, and Evangeline refused to leave her side.

  The door opened, but Evangeline didn’t open it wide enough for him to come in. “What?”

  “Do you need anything? I’m about to go outside for a little while.” Every single interaction with Evangeline had gone the same. She glared at him. He felt awkward. Then she slammed the door in his face.

  “You brought up a gallon of water and two plates of food an hour ago. We’re fine,” she said sarcastically.

  “Great––” The door shut in his face right on cue. He pressed his lips together and turned on his heel, hurrying back downstairs.

  “She seems friendly,” Derek commented, nodding his head toward her room.

  “She’s grumpier than Amber,” Tommy muttered as he pulled on his shoes.

  Derek shuddered in mock horror. “That’s terrifying.”

  He tried to punch quickly, but not too hard. Derek slapped it out of the way and he stumbled forward a half step. Derek’s leg hit the back of his knees and swept his legs out from under him. He hit the ground hard and all the air rushed from his lungs.

  “You alright?” Derek asked, staring down at him with concern.

  Tommy let his head fall back against the grass. “I think I’m getting worse. How is that even possible?”

  Derek scratched his jaw. “I’m probably not teaching you right. And you’re too worried about hurting me. It might be time to talk to Amber.”

  He groaned. “I’m not ready for that kind of embarrassment.” A car turned down the driveway and he scrambled to his feet. “That’s them.”

  They both hurried back inside and Tommy met them at the door. Ceri walked in, her arms full of bags.

  “How much did you get?” he asked as he took in the huge haul of groceries.

  Amber walked in behind her carrying just as much and kicked the door shut. “Way too much probably, but Genevieve texted us with a bunch more stuff she wanted.”

  Tommy scratched the back of his head. “Well, I guess we’ll have lots of leftovers.”

  He followed them into the kitchen and began unloading the bags, trying to organize by item.

  “Do you know when Gen is supposed to be back?” Amber asked as she dumped a bag of pears into the fruit drawer in the refrigerator.

  He shook his head. “She just said before dinner, which based on her usual schedule, means after we’ve all eaten.”

  “Something tells me she’s going to be here two hours early this time,” Ceri said with a snort. “I’m starting to worry her family is awful and judgmental.”

  “Did you find anything out about the sorcerer?” Tommy asked. Neither of them looked particularly upset, so they probably hadn’t found anything useful.

  Amber waffled her hand. “Ceri asked her cousin to let us know if she hears anything. If that doesn’t pan out in the next couple of days I might go back to Eloise’s house and see if I can find something. For now though, Evangeline is safe, so that’s all that matters. No one knows where she is. We can take our time figuring this out.”

  Tommy had a feeling Evangeline wouldn’t be so patient, but he kept that thought to himself. “Are they joining us for dinner?”

  “Not sure. I asked Eloise earlier and she said she’d love to if she was awake, but Evangeline didn’t look enthused about it,” Amber said with a shrug.

  There was a knock on the door and Amber frowned, then recognition dawned on her face. “Why is Steven here?”

  “No clue,” Ceri said.

  Amber hurried over to the front door. “Hey, Gen isn’t here, but you can come in while you wait for her.”

  Steven sighed deeply. “She didn’t tell you, did she?”

  Tommy had to clamp his hand over his mouth to suppress his laughter. Ceri caught his eye and turned away, her shoulders shaking slightly. Steven was a nice guy, but he and Genevieve were a mess as a couple.

  Steven followed Amber into the kitchen and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Steven is meeting Genevieve’s parents tonight!”

  He was blushing furiously and looked like he might be sick. His skin definitely wasn’t that shade of pale green normally.

  “That’s awesome!” Ceri exclaimed.

  “She was supposed to be here by now though. She said she’d be home by four,” he said, adjusting his shirt, which had come untucked.

  Tommy laughed. “She’s always late, don’t worry about it,” he paused, cocking his head to the side. “She’s actually coming down the road right now.”

  Steven’s nervousness immediately fell away and he pulled out a notepad. “How far away is the entrance exactly? Have you noticed your hearing getting better the longer you’ve been a werewolf?”

  Amber backed away with a smirk and gave him a thumbs up for distracting Steven. He glared at her and whispered, “Traitor.”

  “What was that?” Steven asked, looking up and adjusting his glasses.

  “Nothing,” Tommy said quickly. “And no, not really. It’s just easier to sift through all the noise now. It was just chaos for a while.”

  Steven nodded and scribbled down his answer. Tommy sighed and pulled out a cutting board. So much for getting to relax while he cooked.

  Chapter 33

  GENEVIEVE

  Genevieve tucked her hair behind her ears and tried to smooth a wrinkle out of her shirt.

  Steven grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her away from the mirror. “You look beautiful, quit fussing. Is your family really so bad?”

  She sighed and dropped her head to his shoulder. “No, they’re just…freaking perfect all the time. And I’m not. I’m a mess.”

  “Were they really hard on you growing up?” He wrapped his arms around her and she let herself enjoy the comfort, even though she knew she was overreacting.

  “No, I mean actually perfect. They’re super supportive and want me to follow my dreams and be happy. But I keep screwing everything up. I barely got a job with the degree they paid for, and I don’t stay in touch even though they invite me to everything. I’m such an asshole.”

  “That sounds like it’d be nice. Why are you freaking out?” he asked, pushing her back slightly so he could look at her face.

  She glared at him. “Will you just let me be irrationally freaked out without trying to fix it?”

  He looked completely baffled by that request. Steven was logic personified. He was a fixer of problems and a scientist at heart. Emotions were not his strong suit.

  “Gen, how did you want these place settings again?” Amber shouted from downstairs.

  “Ugh, I should go help her,” she said, pulling away from Steven and hurrying toward the stairs. He followed, and she knew he was shaking his head at her, but he hadn’t had to grow up with her parents.

  Amber was in the dining room examining the table. It was already filled with food and each place setting was neatly arranged. They’d busted out the good china they’d found in one of the cabinets for the occasion.

  “It’s perfect,” she said as she hurried over to straighten one of the spoons.

  “Uh huh,” Amber said, raising a brow at her.

  The doorbell rang and her heart stopped for a split second before jumping into overdrive. She started to scramble for the door, but Amber grabbed her, forcing her to be still.

  “Calm. Down.” Her alpha’s eyes flashed red like it was an order, and, despite herself, her muscles un-bunched slightly.

  She took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m calm.”

  “That’s a lie, but at least you’re trying,” Amber said, shoving her toward the door. “If they’re mean, I’ll kick them out.”

  “They’re not…” she sighed. “You’ll see.”

  Bracing herself, she walked toward the door. Each step made her heart stutter. It had been over six months since she’d seen t
hem. She’d been dodging dinner invites and coffee dates with increasingly weak excuses, but she hadn’t wanted to update them on her lack of a life. At least now she had a job to talk about.

  She opened the door and was immediately tackled and wrapped up in a hug so tight she could hardly breathe. Blonde hair tickled the bottom of her nose and she realized her sister was here.

  “Susannah? What are you doing here?” she exclaimed, hugging her younger sister back. “I thought you were still in Washington.”

  Her sister stepped back, beaming at her. “I flew down to see you after mom told me you were a werewolf now! That is wicked cool.”

  “Are you gonna let us in, kiddo?” her dad asked, holding up a pie dish.

  “Oh, yeah, sorry,” she said, opening the door wider and stepping back. Her dad and sister filed in, looking around the entry way curiously. “Where’s mom?”

  “She’s grabbing something from the car, she’ll be right in,” her dad said. “Now, where can I put this?”

  Amber walked into the living room just then with Tommy trailing nervously behind her. “Hi, Mr. Bisset, my name is Amber, I’m Genevieve’s alpha.”

  They started the introductions, and Tommy took the pie dish from her dad. Genevieve watched it all in a slight daze. Seeing her family here with her pack was like two alternate realities colliding.

  “I see your hair is still pink,” her mother said from right behind her, startling her.

  “Yeah, the law firm didn’t…” She stopped when she saw her mother. She was wearing a wig. No. That wasn’t a wig. She’d dyed her hair pink. And she was wearing a shirt that said Bitten = Born in…glitter. “What. Are. You. Wearing.”

  Her mother beamed at her and struck a pose. “I made it myself.”

  “Why is your hair pink?” Genevieve could feel herself becoming slightly hysterical. Her voice cracked as she attempted to keep from shouting.

  “I retired from my job! My last day was Thursday, so I went to the salon, and got my hair dyed. I just thought it’d be fun, it always looked so cute on you,” her mother said, her smile faltering slightly at Genevieve’s expression.

  She put her hand over her mouth, completely taken aback, then burst out laughing. There was nothing else she could do. She pulled her mother with a big hug. “You are so ridiculous.”

  Her mother laughed, clearly relieved, and hugged her back. “I’m too old to be not-ridiculous.”

  She should have known her mother was going to show up and do something like this. That was how she showed her love. She threw herself behind you one thousand percent. That made it all the more awful when you failed, but she’d never known how to tell her that.

  Pulling away from the hug she turned toward the pack who were watching with varying degrees of shock and amusement. “Mom, this my pack.”

  “You must be Amber,” her mother said, walking straight toward Genevieve’s alpha.

  “I am,” Amber confirmed with a smile.

  “Thank you for saving my daughter.” Her mother wrapped Amber up in a big hug then stepped back, keeping both hands on her arms. “Not many people could have done what you did. Or would have even stepped in that night to help a stranger.”

  Amber looked intensely uncomfortable with the thanks, which made Genevieve relax even further. At least she wasn’t the only one overwhelmed by it all.

  Steven shuffled forward, looking at her expectantly, but before she could introduce him her father approached him and crossed his arms.

  “You’re dating my daughter,” he stated without preamble, staring Steven down.

  “Uh, yes, yes, he is,” Genevieve said, hurrying over and linking her arm with his. “Dad, this is Steven, Steven, this is my Dad, Levi Bissett.”

  Her dad shook Steven’s hand firmly. “My daughter can take care of herself, but you should know that she has me for backup. And I’m not scared to go to jail.”

  Steven swallowed, his face paling. “I would never hurt––”

  “Ooookay, let’s not do this,” she said, pushing her dad away. “No threats, just get to know him.”

  Her dad’s face split into a grin. “Oh, come on, I totally had him going. It’s my right as a father to terrorize your suitors.”

  Steven relaxed slightly, but she could still hear his heart beating so fast she thought it legitimately might explode.

  Her mother whacked her father on the arm. “Be nice or we won’t get invited back for dinner.”

  Ceri appeared at the top of the stairs with Eloise, thankfully interrupting the conversation. Evangeline was on the woman’s other side and they gently helped her walk down. She had a hoodie on with the hood pulled so far forward you could hardly see her face. Talk about anti-social.

  “This is Eloise and Evangeline,” Amber explained to her parents. “They’re staying with us for a while. Eloise was in a…car crash.”

  Amber could keep a secret, but she was a crappy liar. It seemed like those were the same thing, but Genevieve had learned they were two very different skills. Her sister raised her brow, but neither she nor her parents called Amber out on it. Genevieve sighed in relief. Maybe her parents had gotten better about being too nosy.

  The whole group filed into the dining room and sat down. Susannah grabbed the chair right next to her while her parents took the two seats across the table. Steven managed to get the seat on her other side, leaving her completely boxed in as the center of attention.

  Amber smirked at her from the head of the table, clearly able to read all her emotions. Genevieve cursed the pack bond and its lack of privacy.

  “I kind of thought you might look different, but you don’t,” Susannah said, inspecting her closely. “What does your wolf look like?”

  “It’s black. I’m not as big as some werewolves, but I’m fast,” she said.

  “Can you shift for us later?” Susannah asked, her eyes going wide with excitement.

  “That would be awesome to see,” her mother agreed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a werewolf shift in person before.”

  “Uh, sure,” she said hesitantly. “Well, I’ll show you my wolf. I’m not stripping down naked in front of you.”

  Steven wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “She is a very beautiful wolf.”

  Her mother practically melted at that, looking at the two of them with so much hope in her eyes. Genevieve forced a smile onto her face. Tommy really needed to get the rest of the food out here soon so she could distract herself.

  Chapter 34

  AMBER

  Amber grabbed the mashed potatoes and handed them to Mr. Bissett, or Levi as he had insisted they call him.

  “These are excellent, Tommy,” Levi said, scooping a third serving onto his plate. “Genevieve never ate this good at our house growing up. She was forced to survive off sandwiches and frozen dinners.”

  “Oh, stop it,” Genevieve’s mother said, smacking his arm. “She got overcooked meatloaf every Sunday too.”

  Tommy blushed under all the praise, but he was happier than she’d seen him all week. Amber had been worried this visit would be awkward, and it was a little with Evangeline sitting at the end of the table looking miserable, but it was also nice. The problem was, she hated it.

  Amber had started questioning whether or not she was a good person about two minutes after she watched her brother die, but now she knew it for sure. Genevieve’s family was basically perfect. Maybe a little too enthusiastic to the point where they might smother you if you let them, but they loved her. She’d never been so jealous in her life.

  Derek caught her eye and she knew he could tell what she was thinking. Clearing her throat, she put down her fork and excused herself to the kitchen. She’d find something to bring back to cover her absence, but she needed a minute alone or her feelings were going to flood the pack bond and freak everyone out.

  She’d learned to control that on her trip back to visit her family right about the time her mother had ordered her to leave as soon as she’d walked through the fr
ont door.

  Derek released her from the tight hug and she shifted on her feet, waiting for the rest of the family to react. They never got a chance.

  “Get out,” her mother said, her voice cracking. An angry red flush was crawling up her neck and her jaw was clenched so tight Amber wondered how her teeth hadn’t cracked.

  “Miranda, that’s enough,” her father said gruffly, striding into the room.

  Her mother glared at him, then turned and walked away, disappearing into the hallway. Amber watched her go and wondered how fast she could get back to the airport. She clamped down on the pack bond so tight she could barely feel the others at all.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” her father said, walking up and grounding her with a hand on her shoulder. “But you ain’t leaving yet.”

  “Why the hell shouldn’t I?”

  “Because I said so. Your mother is just shocked, that’s all. She’ll come around by tomorrow.”

  She hadn’t come around. Her mother had stayed as far away as she could the whole week until the day she was leaving; when she’d found out Derek was planning on going back to Portland with her.

  Amber yanked open the freezer and pulled out the ice cream. It needed to thaw a little before they ate it with the pie the Bissett’s had brought.

  She heard the chairs in the dining room pushing back, and something about starting a bonfire. The air shifted behind her and she heard, and smelled, Derek walking up behind her. She was starting to get used to the enhanced senses, but being able to smell someone coming was probably always going to be strange.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m great,” she said turning around with a smile plastered on her face. “I take it everyone is headed outside to start a bonfire or something?”

  “Yeah, nothing like a fall night outside under the stars,” he said, still looking at her with concern. “We used to do that all the time when we were kids.”

  “Dylan always tried to set the grass on fire,” she said, looking down at her feet.