Dying Covenant: The Complete Series

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Here’s the thing about people like that, Sami … .” I licked my lips as I decided how to proceed. “When someone acts superior, that’s generally because they feel inferior. It’s all for show. People know you come from a different bloodline. They’ve heard about the things I can do. They’re afraid you’re just as terrible as I am.”

  Sami snorted. “You’re not terrible … unless you’re fighting shades.”

  “I had a whole life of fighting monsters before you were born,” I reminded her. “The stories are legendary.”

  “I promise to do my best,” Sami said. “I want Dad to be happy.”

  “That’s good. I want it, too.”

  “What are we going to say about the game?” Sami asked. “They’re going to know we left and cheated.”

  “They won’t know,” I countered. “We’ll finish lunch and then go back to the woods and pop up when they least expect it. We won’t win, but we won’t lose either. That should placate them.”

  “But … how are we going to explain where we were?”

  “We’ll say we got lost,” I replied. “They’ll believe that. They think I’m clueless.”

  Sami seemed happy with my response as she returned to her lunch. The smile only remained in place for a few seconds, though, before her attention drifted to the bushes behind me.

  When we left the campground, we’d headed in the direction of the highway. I remembered seeing a log cabin restaurant only a mile away. That’s where we were now.

  “What are you looking at?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder. I frowned when I saw Debbie and Claudette watching us, their nostrils flared. “Oh.”

  “They look mad,” Sami whispered.

  “They do, don’t they?” I ignored Debbie and Claudette – which I knew would only serve to make them angrier – and focused on my lunch. “Can you pass the ranch dressing?”

  What? If they’re already ticked off I might as well poke the monster and see what happens. It’s always wise to test your boundaries. It’s even wiser to stab your enemies with a stick and see if they crumple or fight back.

  “Are you guys hungry?” I called out. “Lunch is on me.”

  Twelve

  “How was your day?”

  I greeted Aric and his cooler full of fish with a kiss and a wrinkled nose.

  “It was good,” Aric replied, placing the cooler on the counter and pulling me in for a hug. “How was your day?”

  “It was good.” That wasn’t a complete and total lie. I had fun hanging out with Sami. The fallout from the game wasn’t widely known. Well, to be fair, the other women accused me of cheating. They couldn’t figure out how I did it, so they had no proof and merely looked like whiny babies when they complained upon our return to the campground. “You stink.”

  “I smell like a man,” Aric replied, chuckling as he took a step back. “I won, though. I caught more fish than anyone.”

  Ah, that made sense. Fishing was a competition, too. It seemed everything in the wolf world was a competition. “I’m glad. I picked up chicken breasts from that corner market. I thought we could have fish and chicken.”

  “I know you don’t like fish unless it’s bathed in batter and tartar sauce, so that’s fine,” Aric said, running his hand down the back of my head. “You got some sun today. Your cheeks are pink.”

  “It was a full day.”

  Aric narrowed his eyes. He knew when I was being purposely evasive. “Tell me about the game.”

  “I … it was fine.”

  Aric crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. “Tell me about the game.”

  Crud. I can’t lie to him. That would be wrong, right? “It was fine,” I said. “Debbie and Claudette were chasers, and they expected us to find picnic baskets in the woods to win.”

  Aric balked. “That’s not fair,” he barked. “You can’t scent a picnic basket and Sami’s sense of smell isn’t very keen. I’m guessing you didn’t make it very far with them chasing you.”

  “Well, you’d be wrong on that front.”

  Aric was surprised. “You found a basket? How?”

  “We did not find a basket,” I clarified. “We were the last team to be captured, though. It’s not exactly a win, but it’s not a loss.”

  “I guess that’s not too bad,” Aric conceded. “That means you didn’t get lunch, though. You must be starving.”

  Hmm. How should I explain this? “Well, we didn’t get a picnic basket, but that doesn’t mean I forced Sami to skip lunch,” I explained. “I took her to that restaurant right by the main road.”

  “That probably didn’t sit well with people, but I don’t care,” Aric said. “I refuse to advocate my child going hungry. If anyone says anything, I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”

  “Well, some people have already said a few things,” I hedged.

  “Who?”

  I didn’t get a chance to answer because the front door popped open and James strode in. His expression was murderous when it landed on me. Uh-oh.

  “Do you knock?” Aric asked, annoyed. He slipped his arm around my shoulders and focused on his father. “That’s still proper etiquette, right?”

  “I saw you walk in here three minutes ago,” James replied. “I didn’t think it would be a problem.”

  “Knock next time,” Aric said. “For all you know, we could’ve been naked or something.”

  “You smell like fish,” I reminded him.

  “He doesn’t know that.”

  “I know that you’re not getting naked with Sami in the cabin,” James shot back. “At least … well … I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t do that. Of course, I didn’t think Zoe would cheat at Hide and Seek either.”

  Crap on toast. This wouldn’t end well.

  “Cheat?” Aric’s eyebrows flew up his forehead as he shifted his gaze to me. “I think someone left that out of her retelling.”

  “We didn’t technically cheat,” I offered. “We merely … used the gifts at our disposal to come up with a more favorable outcome.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” Aric said, his expression unreadable.

  “It means … .”

  “It means they cheated,” James interrupted. “It’s the talk of the gathering.”

  “How?” Aric didn’t appear bothered by the accusation, merely curious.

  “What does that matter?”

  “How did they cheat?” Aric asked. “I want to know.”

  “I’m not sure how they cheated,” James conceded. “I only know that they somehow managed to hide from the chasers and were then found eating chicken strips and fries at a picnic table on the main road. That’s cheating.”

  “It doesn’t sound like cheating,” Aric argued. “It sounds like they evaded capture and then ate when they were hungry. How is that wrong?”

  “They were supposed to find a picnic basket.”

  “And we both know that game was set up to make Zoe fail from the start,” Aric challenged. “She can’t scent a picnic basket. The game was rigged against her. She never had a chance of finding a basket.”

  “That’s neither here nor there,” James argued. “She’s supposed to play by the rules. Instead she … did something … to throw off the other players.”

  Aric shifted his eyes to me. “How did you do it?”

  “I created a dome we could walk with,” I replied, refusing to lie. “We eavesdropped on Debbie and Claudette for a few minutes – listened about how I stole you from Claudette and how I was a terrible wife for not giving you a son – and then we got bored and went to the restaurant.”

  “See!” James extended a finger. “She didn’t even look for a basket.”

  “That’s true,” I said. “I wasn’t about to eat anything that Claudette put together. She has it out for me. She thinks I stole her man.”

  “I was never her man,” Aric said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

  “According to Claudette you two were together,” I said
, opting to change the focus of the conversation to save myself. “That’s not the story you told me.”

  “We weren’t together,” Aric protested.

  “Well, technically you were,” James said. “You took her to that dance. That meant you were dating. Her father and I were discussing long engagements to get you through college when … .” He trailed off, his gaze landing on me.

  “When you met me and things changed,” I supplied. “I get it.”

  “No, you don’t get it,” Aric argued. “No matter what my father was planning, I would never have married that woman. I didn’t even like her, let alone love her.”

  “You could’ve grown to love her,” James challenged.

  “Why would I when love came so much easier with Zoe?” Aric asked. “I am not going to apologize for being happy with my life. If that’s why you wanted us here … .”

  “That’s not why I wanted you here,” James said, tugging a frustrated hand through his hair. “I know it seems as if I’m somehow disappointed in your choice, son, but I’m not. I love Zoe and Sami. I really do.”

  “Except,” I prodded.

  “Except you’re not a full wolf, and I can’t help it if that disappoints me,” James admitted. “I still love you and wouldn’t trade my granddaughter for anything. I’d be lying if I said a grandson to carry on the name wouldn’t be nice, but I understand why you had only Sami … and I don’t disagree with your choice.”

  “Well, that’s a relief,” Aric intoned, his eyes flashing. “If you disagreed I might cry or something.”

  “Aric.” I placed my hand on his arm and shook my head. “Let’s not fight. There’s no reason to fight. What happened this afternoon was … a mistake.” The words burned coming out. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.

  “It wasn’t a mistake,” Aric said, catching me off guard. “You didn’t cheat.”

  “She did,” James said. “She made herself invisible.”

  “No, she used the tools at her disposal,” Aric corrected. “Cheating would’ve been burning them alive to win the game. She did what she had to do to stay in the game. Frankly, I’m proud of her. She found a way to play that evened things out.”

  “That’s not how everyone else sees it,” James pointed out.

  “I don’t care what they think,” Aric said. “The more of an enigma Zoe is to them, the better. I want them afraid of her. I want them in awe. As for disappointments, you can shove those somewhere unpleasant and set them on fire for all I care.

  “I am happy with my child,” he continued. “I love my wife. Nothing will ever change that.”

  My heart warmed with his declaration. “Oh, now I don’t even care that you stink like fish,” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist and hugging him. “I love you, too.”

  Aric kissed the top of my head and fixed his father with a hard look. “I’m not apologizing to these people for what Zoe did. If that’s why you’re here … .”

  James’ shoulders were stiff as he stared down his son. “I’m here to collect Sami for dinner. I thought she could spend some time with us before we started cooking.”

  “I think that’s a marvelous idea,” I said, my smile bright. “That will allow me to help Aric get the stinky fish smell off in the shower.”

  It took James a moment to realize what I was suggesting. “You two are … there are no words.”

  “And we’re totally fine with that,” Aric said. “You can take Sami with you. Take the dog, too. We’ll meet you down there in twenty minutes.”

  I cleared my throat and held up three fingers.

  “Thirty minutes,” Aric corrected. “My wife and I need to spend some time together after being separated all day.”

  “Fine.” James knew he was defeated. “I don’t even know why I care what you two do anymore. It’s not as if you’re going to change.”

  “That’s definitely true.”

  “I DON’T think your father and mother are happy with me.”

  I stuck close to Aric as he cleaned the fish on the picnic table and prepared to grill the fillets. He wrapped them in tinfoil after adding lemon and butter before shifting his eyes to me.

  “Do you care?”

  I shrugged. “I prefer it when everyone loves me.”

  “I love you,” Aric said, kissing me. “That’s all that matters.”

  “Omigod,” Sami complained, shifting closer to us. “Do you have to be so gross? People are staring.”

  “People are staring because you’re the talk of the gathering,” Aric said, tweaking her nose. “No one can figure out how you and your mother evaded capture.”

  “It was so cool,” Sami enthused, her eyes sparkling. “Mom put us in this bubble thing. I couldn’t pick flowers through the wall, but I could if I moved around. It was … way cool.”

  Aric grinned. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”

  “And we got chicken strips for lunch,” Sami said. “Mom even bought us ice cream after the other ladies showed up, and they did not look happy.”

  “That sounds just like her,” Aric said, smirking.

  “I don’t think smiling about this situation is helping,” James said, moving closer to his son and studying the fish packets. “Did you put lemon and butter in these?”

  “Yes,” Aric replied, his annoyance flashing. “As for smiling about the situation, I would think you’d prefer that instead of me throwing a party. That’s what I really want to do.”

  James grimaced. “You get more like your wife every passing year.”

  “Oh, he says that like it’s a bad thing,” I said, laughing when Aric gave me another kiss before focusing his full attention on Sami.

  “Were you upset by anything that happened today?” Aric was serious when he focused his full attention on Sami.

  “No,” Sami answered. “Should I be?”

  “I don’t believe so, no,” Aric replied. “Your mother told me what happened – including what those women said about me having a son – and I want you to know that I don’t feel that way. You know that, right?”

  Sami shrugged. “That’s what Mom said at lunch.”

  “What did your mom say?” Aric asked, briefly shifting his eyes to me before turning them back to Sami.

  “She said that you love me more than anything and you are proud of me.”

  “That’s true.”

  “She said that no matter what everyone else said, you were happy to have a girl,” Sami added.

  “That’s true, too.”

  “She also said that you always knew you would have one child and that you wanted a girl,” Sami said, her eyes conflicted. “Is that true?”

  Crap. I was wrong about that lie coming back to haunt me.

  Aric didn’t so much as twitch when she asked the question. “Sami, I can’t imagine having anyone else but you,” he said, gathering her hands. “We didn’t know if we were going to have a boy or a girl when you came along. We decided to let it be a surprise.

  “During the months leading up to your birth, we did a lot of talking,” he continued. “We talked about what it would mean to have a boy or a girl. I knew I wanted a healthy baby and it didn’t matter if you were a boy or a girl.

  “In truth, for some reason I kept picturing a little girl who looked and acted exactly like your mother,” he said. “You came out looking like me but acting like her. It was a beautiful mix, kid.

  “The thing is, people say they want boys because of fishing … or hunting … or camping,” Aric said, his eyes serious. “You can do all of those things. You can do everything a boy can do. I don’t care that you’re a girl. I care that you’re my child. That’s all that matters to me.”

  If I didn’t already love the man, I would fall head-over-heels a second time. I swallowed the odd lump in my throat and glanced away, surprised to find James looking misty as he regarded his son and granddaughter.

  “I love you, too,” Sami said, surprising Aric with a hug. She wasn’t overly affecti
onate these days. “I’m glad I’m not a boy … and I’m really happy I’m an only child, because that means I’m extra spoiled.”

  Aric barked out a laugh as he returned the embrace. “You’re definitely spoiled.” He glanced at me. “You get that from your mother.”

  The teasing words were enough to shake me out of my melancholy mood. “Don’t you have fish to cook?”

  “I do,” Aric confirmed. “Where are the chicken breasts and corn? I need to make those, too.”

  “I can cook those.”

  “Only if you want them so charred you can’t chew them.”

  I was pretty sure that was an insult. “I think you’re admitting you married me for my looks and not my cooking skills.”

  “Amongst other things,” Aric said, smiling.

  “So … we’re not in trouble for cheating?” Sami asked. She looked genuinely confused.

  “You’re not in trouble,” Aric said. “It wasn’t cheating. You merely used a different skill set.”

  “That’s not what those women said,” Sami pointed out. “They said Mom was a cheater and they were going to figure out how she did it.”

  “And what did your mother say?”

  “She said to knock themselves out and we were getting ice cream.”

  Aric laughed again. “That sounds just about right.”

  I couldn’t help but agree with him. Everything about my small family felt perfectly right this afternoon. I was determined to enjoy it … for however long it lasted. Sadly, in our world, perfect moments are fleeting.

  Thirteen

  Sami seemed to be in good spirits over dinner, happily relating our afternoon adventure to her grandparents. James didn’t find the story funny. Something about Helen’s demeanor told me she did.

  After finishing my chicken and corn, I left her to her story and puppy and shuffled toward the edge of the bonfire circle. I took a moment to study the moon – which wasn’t quite full yet – and was lost in thought when a figure moved up beside me.

  For a split-second I thought it was Aric. I pushed that thought out of my head quickly, though. I recognized Aric’s presence. I’d never met the person joining me now, although his aura wasn’t altogether unwelcome.