by Sammie Joyce
19
Lowell
There was no going back from that first date, that first time together. Whatever hesitation Davis felt before had dissipated enough that he and I were almost inseparable from that day forward.
At first, I had been cautious about not skipping school, meeting with him after as to not rouse my dad’s ire again. He had lifted my grounding in the end, and I didn’t want to find myself punished, not when I had such a good reason to be free now.
But when I was in class, all I could do was daydream about the time we spent together. I replayed the conversations we had in my head, memorized the lines of his face and eagerly anticipated his kisses.
Soon, I was blowing off class to sneak into the mountains and watch him work on his totems.
“So this is what you do all day,” I chuckled, flopping down on the cold ground to watch him paint. “They are incredible.”
He wiped his hands on an already filthy cloth and grinned at me.
“Each totem tells a story,” he explained. “Each face is a character from Inuit culture.”
I was surprised at the information.
“Are you Inuit?” I asked.
“On my mother’s side,” he replied quickly, looking around suddenly. His already dark eyes went darker. “I don’t know if you should be here, Lowell.”
I bristled slightly, knowing that I’d already risked demerits by being there but I caught the look of concern on his face.
“No one is around for miles,” I assured him. “I made sure I wasn’t followed.”
His brow rose questioningly.
“Followed? Are you worried about being followed?”
I thought of Kea and the eyes I’d felt watching me at school that day but I wisely shared none of that with him.
“It’s a figure of speech,” I replied lightly, jumping to my feet to throw my arms around him. “You don’t need to worry.”
“Yeah, I do,” he sighed. “We both do.”
I didn’t want his mood to darken the lightness of our days. Our love was so fresh, so new. The last thing I wanted was to hear about the outside forces that would threaten any of it.
“You shouldn’t be skipping school,” Davis told me wryly, kissing the top of my head before untangling myself from his arms.
“Did you even go to school?” I challenged, feeling resentment growing inside me.
“Of course.” He gave me a surprised look.
“At Novak?” Again, my irritation was surpassed by curiosity. Davis chuckled and turned back to his art.
“No,” he conceded. “A different kind of school.”
“The school of hard knocks, no doubt,” I muttered and Davis chuckled, even though I wasn’t sure he understood what I was saying.
“It was kind of like home schooling,” he told me. “I got an education but not inside the public-school system.”
More interest shot through me.
“You and the other shifters?” I urged, willing him to meet my eyes. “Is that what you mean?”
“Lowell, how do you always manage to change the subject when we’re talking about you?” I heard the exasperation in his voice. I eyed him innocently.
“Were we talking about me? I thought we were talking about you.”
“You need to stop skipping school,” he said again, completely avoiding my eyes. “You’re going to be graduating this year, aren’t you?”
“That’s the idea,” I replied reluctantly. I didn’t want to admit it to him or anyone else that my grades had been slipping since he and I had met. I didn’t want Davis to think it was his fault, even if it kind of was.
He turned back to look at me, shaking his head slightly.
“You know how I feel about you,” he growled, his voice wrought with emotion. “I care about every aspect of your well-being, Lowell. Including your education. You need to focus on your studies.”
I giggled and flopped back onto the ground.
“Why? So I can be a billionaire and boss around a bunch of minions?”
Davis’ face almost went black.
“I hope not,” he muttered. My grin faded. I opened my mouth to tell him that I was just kidding but he beat me to speaking.
“Three percent of the world uses ninety-nine percent of the world’s resources. And those three percent are controlled by one percent who control everything. I wouldn’t want anyone to be a puppet master or a puppet. I want this world, our world, to be cherished and respected the way our ancestors expected.”
I didn’t know what to say to any of that. Of course, I agreed with him but to hear him speak so passionately on a subject I hadn’t much considered made me feel almost inadequate.
“I-I don’t want to be either of those things,” I stuttered. “I want to do good things.”
He grimaced but when he met my eyes, he flashed me a half-smile.
“I’m sure you will do great things,” he conceded. “But in order to do that, you need to educate yourself on what’s happening out there, out here.”
I nodded, unsure if he was lecturing me or giving me a lesson on environmental change.
“I’m saying, you need to go to school, Lowell,” Davis grunted and I laughed lightly.
“Fine,” I agreed. “I’ll go to school.”
Yet, when we parted that day, I had to wonder if his insistence had more to do with keeping me away from him and his community than it did me getting an education.
Don’t be ridiculous, I chided myself. Davis loves you and you love him.
20
Davis
Hud was not happy about my impromptu “borrowing” of his car, nor had he been quiet about it since I’d returned it to him the night following my first date with Lowell.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, Davie, but I don’t like it and neither does anyone else.”
The chiding had served to drive me back out into the wilderness. Coupled with the fact that my father was still eyeing me with all-knowing eyes, I was beginning to feel smothered inside the compound.
It was only when I was with Lowell that I felt completely free to be myself and enjoy my life. Gone was that anxiety that had plagued me for weeks. In its place was the undeniable sensation of love. I had finally found my mate—my true mate and nothing was going to keep me from her again. I had already lost precious time because of the hang-ups of others, and I wasn’t about to make that same mistake again.
My art was alive again and I lost myself for hours in the totems, but even when I was in a work fugue, images of Lowell still danced in my head. She became my muse, even when my depictions had nothing to do with her. I felt like she was always with me.
We were more than lovers, we were friends and companions too. This was why I knew that her life was taking a much bigger hit than mine. She needed to concentrate on her schooling and I was distracting her. I also knew that nothing I said or did would make her change her mind about seeing me—not that I ever wanted her to stop. Yet I knew it was only a matter of time before the intoxicating freshness of our new love faded slightly, and she would be left realizing that she had let too much of her regular life go. I’d seen it happen before, in the shifter community. They would fall hopelessly in love, neglect all their other responsibilities and suddenly, love wouldn’t be enough. The last thing I wanted was for Lowell to resent me at the end of it all.
Still, I relished every second we had together. I inhaled her deeply, knowing that I would have to hold onto her scent until the next time I saw her. I clung to her, savoring the feel of her curves against me. I wanted nothing more than to keep her with me all the time but of course, that was impossible. We still both had very different lives to live.
At least in her case, her family knew about me. Mine had no idea about her.
And I wondered how much longer I could get away with that.
I was playing a very dangerous game, keeping Lowell from the others, but the results were predictable.
The irony that I had o
nce berated Lowell for this very matter was not lost on me. I was a huge hypocrite, giving her grief for putting us at risk when I was doing the exact same thing.
Yet I couldn’t put a stop to it—nor did I want to. Lowell was my mate and I would do just about anything to keep her.
Including risking your family? That little, annoying voice asked.
That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it?
21
Lowell
As I suffered through yet another day of school, I found myself heading home for the first time in a week. Usually, I’d head up the mountain to find Davis but he told me that he was going to be out of the area for the day and that he’d text me when he came back.
I was miserable enough with that thought on my mind, eyes all but glued to my cell as if willing it to chime with a text from Davis, but it hadn’t come through yet.
Guess I’ll be doing my homework for once, I thought wryly but it really wasn’t funny. I’d failed three out of six tests I’d taken over the past two weeks and I knew if I didn’t start shaping up, I was going to hear about it from the school and Dad. I mean, I knew it, but doing something about it was another matter when Davis infiltrated my thoughts. My preoccupation with him were so much easier than algebra.
Perhaps that was why I didn’t notice the other car in the driveway, announcing that we had a visitor until I entered the front door and heard the sound of a woman’s voice. I froze at the odd sound, half a dozen foreign thoughts flowing through my mind.
Is Dad on a date? Is that a cop? Is she selling Avon all the way out here?
My eyes darted up from the phone screen and my blood ran cold as I rounded the wall separating the foyer from the living room.
Kea Mahelona sat, sipping coffee with my father.
Half a dozen new thoughts popped into my mind, none of them good and I gaped at her in disbelief.
“Ah, Lowell,” Kea said, nodding. She’d put on a pair of glasses which I was sure weren’t prescription, her dark hair pinned into a messy chignon at the back of her head. My brow furrowed as I realized she was dressed unusually for her.
What the hell is she trying to pull?
“Lowell, do you know Dr. Mahelona?”
“Kea, please,” Kea interjected, smiling warmly. I darted a look at my father and noticed a grim expression on his face.
“Should I?” I asked evasively, unsure of what kind of trap I was walking into. She wouldn’t be so brazen as to bring my dad into this, would she? That was just…stupid.
“I was explaining to your father how I’m counseling you and your friends because of your drug use.”
For a minute, I thought I’d heard her wrong. If I had to guess, I would have imagined that my face looked like a cartoon character, flipping through a rolodex of emotions before settling on rage.
“Are you out of your flipping mind?” I roared. “Seriously, lady, you’re crazy!”
No one looked more shocked than Dad who gasped aloud at my reaction. Kea’s mouth twisted into a grimace, and I could see that she hadn’t been expecting that response.
“Now, Lowell—” she started to say but I couldn’t handle much more. It was true that she’d been calling but I’d just been ignoring her messages. I’d never expected her to pull a stunt like this. I’d been wrong to trust her at all. She was insane.
“Lowell, sit down!” my dad barked but I spun on my heel to run from the house. Suddenly, I felt like the walls were closing in on me and I couldn’t breathe.
“Lowell! Lowell, wait!”
My feet pounded against the grass as I bolted out toward the roadway. I needed to get in touch with Davis and tell him about this woman and how she wouldn’t leave me alone. I needed to get Kea out of my life before she ruined everything!
“Lowell!”
I whipped around to glower at her, determined to give her a piece of my mind.
“You!” I spat. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Kea gave me a weak smile and shook her head, the dark strands slipping out of her chignon as she did. Reaching up to take off her glasses, she studied my face impassively.
“I know you know more than you’re telling me about the shifters, Lowell and that’s not fair. I told you everything I know.”
I gaped at her dubiously. She was sounding less and less like a doctor of anything and more like an insistent child.
“This isn’t sharing circle, Kea—assuming that’s your name at all.”
“It is,” she assured me quickly, cocking her head to the side. “I’m surprised you didn’t Google me.”
In hindsight, I felt foolish that I hadn’t.
“You would have found that I don’t really have a doctorate,” she explained and I snorted derisively.
“I’m shocked.”
“But I do have a very vested interest in this, Lowell.”
Against my better judgement, I asked her the question pressing on my mind.
“Which is?”
“If you come with me, you’ll understand,” she offered lightly. “But you can’t say a word about this to anyone.”
“Yeah, I’m hearing those words a lot these days,” I muttered. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go anywhere with her but again, my morbid curiosity was overriding my good sense. I did want to know what Kea knew after all. I wanted to learn why she was so desperate to find out what I knew.
“It won’t take long,” she promised, glancing at her own phone. “Two hours, max.”
I looked back at my cell and chewed on the insides of my cheeks. Davis still hadn’t texted and I couldn’t very well go back inside and deal with Dad after the production I’d just put on.
“Two hours,” I muttered. “And that’s all you’re getting.”
* * *
Kea drove for almost twenty minutes, navigating the back roads better than I had expected. I found myself wondering more and more about her. I didn’t even know where she was from.
Maybe she’s taking me out in the back woods to kill me. There are female serial killers too, aren’t there?
I watched way too many episodes of Criminal Minds.
Abruptly, we found ourselves on the outskirts of town, but sheltered from any other house or building. We traveled up a long, winding road, until I saw a modest house and another building behind it.
We hadn’t done much talking on the way, not because I didn’t have questions but because I didn’t think she’d answer them the way I wanted her to. I knew I’d just have to wait and see what other surprises I had in store when we arrived to wherever we were going.
And then we were finally there.
“Is this your house?” I asked. She nodded, pushing the ignition button on her car and opening the door.
“Why are we here?”
She slammed the car door, leaving me in the passenger seat and I looked after her helplessly as she bypassed the front door of her home and headed toward the workshop behind it. Reluctantly, I followed suit, thinking of all the horror flicks I’d seen. Nervously, I eyed my phone again, hoping that Davis would text me so I could at least tell him where I was.
When I met up with her, she had opened the door to the shed and nodded for me to enter.
“Wait here,” she instructed and I gaped at her.
“Alone?” I demanded, unsure if I wanted her to stay or not.
“Alone,” she conceded. “At exactly 4:45, I want you to look out that window.”
She pointed at one of the square sections on the west wall.
“Make sure you stay low and out of sight.”
“Wait, why?” I insisted. “What will I see?”
She smiled at me enigmatically but I thought she looked a little sad.
“4:45,” she repeated, closing the door to the shed. Panic seized me and I ran to try the door but to my relief, I found it unlocked.
Okay so she’s not holding me captive, but what is this?
I sauntered back into the small shed, looking around for somewhere to sit. I se
ttled atop a dusty bench and yanked out my phone again, noting the time. It was 4:30.
I can sit here for fifteen minutes, I reasoned, my mind already drifting as I spread my legs forward. In my mind’s eye, I pretended that I really was locked in the shed by a deranged woman.
But Davis would save me. He’d fly over here in his bear form and batter the door down and carry me off in his teeth. Kea would scream and run in fear as he roared…
I grinned at my silly reverie and cracked my neck. It was stuffy inside that old building and I realized that I was sleepy and hungry. When Davis finally got back to me, I’d make him take me out for dinner, I decided. I’d have to go home and change first. Maybe shower.
With a yawn, I glanced at my phone and started when I realized that I’d spent the last fifteen minutes daydreaming about Davis. Instantly, I sat up, hearing the sound of a car approaching. Nervousness replaced the hazy, silliness inside me, and I peered out the window as Kea had instructed me.
To my surprise, I saw an unassuming but attractive man jump out of the driver’s seat, using his fob to lock the doors. Kea appeared at the back steps and while I couldn’t hear what they were saying, I could see their lips moving.
Is that her husband? Her boyfriend?
I didn’t have much more time to consider their relationship because suddenly, the man began to morph in front of me.
He fell forward onto four, giant paws, his body transforming into a mass of shimmering, white fur. Butterflies exploded in my stomach as a thrill of pleasure passed through me. I knew this sensation well by now.
A polar bear, I breathed to myself. She wasn’t lying. She knows a shifter. She lives with a shifter.
A flood of understanding shot through me in a torrent. Suddenly, I knew why she had been so insistent, so unflinchingly determined. Her mate was a shifter too.
The polar bear threw his head back and released a feral groan before leaving Kea on the back porch and lumbering off into the woods beyond. I watched, long after he had disappeared, barely hearing Kea when she rejoined me in the shed.
