by Sonja Bair
I caught Albert as he tripped toward me. He seemed okay, although pale and shaking. Gina looked pleased as punch at the dramatic scene she had caused.
“The same goes for you, Gina. This is your gift,” I said firmly, surprising everyone—myself included—with the power behind the word. “My pack will not follow you, nor will we support your actions. Get off my sister’s land and get out of my city or else there will be trouble.”
“When someone in your pack starts to go crazy and there’s nothing you can do to help them, let’s see how long that righteous attitude lasts.” She turned her back to me, took a few steps, and then looked back over her shoulder. “I will take care of my parents’ and brother’s bodies. You may have your Eagle back now.”
And with that, we were dismissed from Queen Gina’s presence.
Chapter 37
We waited until Gina’s pack organized themselves into cars and left the ranch under Gina’s directions to start making their way to “their glorious new city on the mountain” before our own group headed back to SLO. One by one, we split off to do our own tasks. While Elin drove Albert off to the Amtrak station, I sat in the backseat and although it cost me a pounding headache, I wiggled Albert’s memories into believing he had seen Elin’s crazy sister’s performance art piece. He boarded the train in a huff, angry at the waste of his time, but a huff was preferable to a panic about being kidnapped by creatures from legend. I was morally opposed to my ability to mess with people’s memories, but when push came to shove, I justified it for the greater good. The irony of hearing the same justification coming from Gina moments ago was not lost on me.
Alrik texted before reaching town to say his phone had rung non-stop when he reached cell signal. A big-name retailer had an internet security breach and was begging for Alrik’s help with damage control. David needed to deal with some of his own business problems. Real world problems seemed oddly out of place given the last few hours, but life marched on.
For a few hours, I paced around my silent house, practically crackling with energy, but I was unsure of what to do with myself and unable to sit still. Eventually, to the relief of my spinning head, there was a knock on the door. David didn’t wait for my answer before he entered.
“I realized that in all the chaos, we never had a chance to go back to the Eagle. Gina has probably dealt with her family’s bodies by this time. Do you want to go out and check out the Eagle’s damage?”
I thought it over for a second. The idea was reasonable, but too depressing. My beloved Eagle was demolished—but more disturbing, it was the death scene of four people.
“No, I know my car was totaled, and I don’t care what happens with Nick’s body.”
“When the police show up, you can truthfully tell them it was stolen.”
I shrugged. “I will. But how many more times can I claim innocence before they stop believing me?"
“Nick’s dead. Gina is gone. And she will stay away. She spoke truth when she said that if we leave her alone, she will leave us alone. We can expect peace and quiet now.”
Cocking an eyebrow up, I shot him a look of disbelief. “And you call me Pollyanna.”
“Then we will deal with the problems as they come, not worry about them before they arrive.”
He was right, but that didn’t mean I could magically wave away this useless worry and nervous energy. I had to do something.
“Hold up your hands… no, put them up. Palms out, chest level.” A confused David complied with my request. I took a deep breath, bounced on the balls of my feet and then—one, two—punched his open hands.
“Alright, killer,” David laughed, shaking his hands as if I had hurt them, “but your form is terrible. Roll your hips as you are moving; it’ll put more force into your shoulders. And hit with your knuckles, not the flats of the fingers.”
Still bouncing, I brought my fists in front of my face. “I’d like to see you do better.”
“I’m not going to box you. I like your facial features where they are.”
I made chicken noises in his direction and threw some fake punches.
Approximately six milliseconds later, I was face down on my living room floor with my arm pinned behind my back.
“What’s that? I couldn’t hear you,” David said sweetly as he kneeled lightly on my back.
“I said,” I turned my head and spit out some carpet fuzz, “you cheated.”
“All’s fair in love and war.” The pressure on my arm and back eased, allowing me to flip over on my back.
“In love and war, eh?” The opening was perfect but my stomach clenched in anticipation of my next move. “So this is fair?” I grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him down as I raised myself up. And I kissed him. I could feel a jolt of surprise from him, but within a second, he wrapped one arm around my back and the other hand threaded into my hair. As the kiss deepened, we both leaned back to the floor.
When I first take off in flight, there is a heady moment where my brain is left on the ground but my body is soaring upward. In that time of disconnect, time becomes meaningless—I can feel the minutest thermal currents, the dancing photons beamed from the sun, and the pulsing of air molecules passing sound from one to the other. None of these sensations are diluted by the normally ceaseless rambling of my brain. Within those moments, I am unbound from Earth. Kissing David unbound me too.
Where we touched created sunbursts of sensations and I sought to touch him wherever possible—on his face, neck, down his shoulders, and to his chest. But his shirt frustrated my need to touch his body and I reached down and jerked it up and out of the way. His smooth, warm skin met my hand and I could feel his abdominal muscles harden as I slid my hand up his side. He moaned softly, even as he continued to press his lips insistently against mine, our tongues meeting and exploring. Now both of his hands moved up into my hair, brushing back loose strands from my face, but I wanted them other places. I pressed up against him, feeling his hard chest press back. It was enough encouragement. His hands slipped under my shirt, fumbled slightly with my bra strap, then released the clasp. But instead of immediately moving, he pressed the palm of his hand to the middle of my back. Little did I know before that being touched on the middle of my back could be such a turn-on. All around his hand, there were sparks, and the sparks caught fire all through my body. Oh so slowly, his hand drifted from my back around to my front and rested below the band of my unsnapped bra. His thumb gently brushed under the wire. Sighing, I wrapped my arms around him and slid a leg around so I could feel his long, hard body pressed against my full length.
Unexpectedly, David’s body stiffened, then relaxed. He lowered me to the ground, then he sat back, looking at me. I couldn’t discern what the look meant. I sat up and, for once, ignored the quippy remark that popped into my head. Intuition said that David was struggling to find words to something deep.
“Tell me.”
He reached out and took my hand. I was grateful to feel his touch again.
“Freya…” He started, then stopped. His normal unflappable confidence dissolved into a vulnerability, his eyes searching mine. “Is this love or war?”
“Oh, David.” I grabbed his other hand. “Sometimes my mouth gets in the way and the terribly clever thing I think I said is actually just terrible. Let me try to be clearer. I have chosen to commit to this pack. And I have chosen to commit to being a co-Alpha with you. And I have also realized that I want to pursue something with you. You, the person, not just you the co-Alpha. But I can’t say that I am sure that I can commit to you as a mate. I’m not a girl who does this sort of thing lightly. When I commit to someone as a mate, it’s a forever thing. And while you certainly have potential, I’m not sure yet.”
I expected to see annoyance or at least frustration at my indecision, but instead the look of vulnerability, so foreign to his face, slipped away as he considered my words.
“I can understand your answer. I’m not expecting you to commit to being my mate yet—I’m
glad that I have potential.”
“And I’m going to tell Alrik I’m not interested in a relationship. I’ll always love him, but more in the way of a brother. We certainly squabble like siblings.”
“That will be tough for Alrik to hear. He loves you deeply.” Again, I was surprised. His tone was full of compassion and none of the gloating that I expected. My surprise must have been evident because he continued, “I admire and respect Alrik. I wish him much happiness and love. But you two did not match. Although at times it was hard to remember, I knew that he wasn’t a threat. You would ultimately choose to be with me.”
“Oh really? A little presumptuous and cocky, don’t you think?”
“No—not cocky. Highly intelligent and analytical. It was the obvious outcome when you thought about it.”
“Fine, Mr. Intelligent, analyze this…” And I pushed him over on his back, trapped his arms with my hands, then kissed him under the jaw, right over his pulse. Under my lips, I felt his heartbeat pick up. I trailed my kisses up his jawline until I reached his ear, which I bit lightly. At the sound of his unintelligible words, I smiled. Sure, he might be smart and capable, but I had the power to turn this logical man into a pile of raw and powerful emotions.
He turned his head, captured my lips, and kissed me so long and deep that I too lost the ability to form words. And the ability to realize that I still wasn’t out of trouble.
Chapter 38
I was expecting the cops, but as the police cruiser pulled up into my driveway, my heart sank. Seemingly each time I interacted with the police, I needed to bend the truth to steer them away from the supernatural aspects. And I was terrible at lying. By my inevitable blushing and stumbles, I was sure that they could see through every fib and fudge. So far, I had gotten lucky and my stories had withstood their investigation, but I wasn’t sure about this time. The number of crimes with my name involved was adding up and my excuse of being merely an innocent bystander was getting stretched mighty thin.
At least it was Detective McCleary who stepped out of the cruiser. Maybe my personal connection with her brother and his band would provide me a little extra grace. I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath, and mentally prepared to answer her questions. I was alone at the house—David had left a few minutes prior to meet with a distributor who was interested in his new solar technology. His leaving reminded me that not only was I being visited by the police, but I was also skipping out on my daytime job. I was probably on the edge of losing my position. Awesome. But one problem at a time, and best to be upfront. Remembering the injuries that sent me to the hospital, I faked a limp as I walked to the door.
“Hi, Detective McCleary. I have a feeling you are visiting about my car?” It wasn’t hard to let my tiredness bleed into my voice.
Not breaking her stride, she nodded as she stepped onto my porch.
I sighed and clutched my injured arm, letting the hospital band, which I had forgotten to remove, fall into view. “Seeing that my car had disappeared was not a great ‘welcome home from the hospital’ surprise. I didn’t have the energy to report it gone yet, but I’m guessing you found it.”
“My brother told me that you were in the hospital. I was sorry to hear about it—you seem to have terrible luck since you moved to San Luis Obispo.”
It wasn’t a question, so I just nodded grimly.
“Unfortunately, I’m not here with good news. Your Eagle was found at the bottom of a steep cliff over the grade. It was totaled. Surprisingly, given the state of the vehicle, there didn’t seem to be any casualties or even evidence of injury, but the perpetrator didn’t stick around. There was little evidence as to who took it, besides this note.”
She held out a plastic bag with a single piece of paper inside. I hesitated. A note? What more could Gina say? Did she have some final jab? Detective McCleary waited patiently, arm outstretched. After a few seconds, I steeled myself and grabbed it, expecting to see Gina’s loopy scrawl. But it wasn’t her handwriting on the paper. It was a precise, beautiful script I associated with past generations. My eyes jumped to the signature—it was larger than the rest of the message and underlined twice with a sweeping flourish. Nicolas. Heart in my throat, I started at the top of the letter.
My dearest Miss Holm,
Congratulations my darling—scant have been the times which I have met a worthy foil, but you have indeed earned my touché.
As you well know, my business, nay, my greatest pleasure is to serve the god Eris and her ilk, and all too often, the ease of performing my chosen métier leaves me despondent. How could a creature of my aptitude and intellect be expected to hone his skills when constantly faced with humanity’s drab mediocrity?
Imagine, therefore, my elation to wake up at the bottom of this hill realizing that you had, shall we say, gotten the drop on me in the pattern of discord. Need I list out your achievements? No, but nonetheless, humor an old man and allow me to sing of your praises. Gina and her kind have arrived at an accurate, albeit morally questionable, answer to the situation which was haunting them. They have also promised to leave you alone. Viktor and Tilde overcame their refusal to work together and the fate of your group is more stable. You have come to the decision to release Alrik and though he will be heartbroken, he possesses an overabundance of honor and will respect your decision. And, though I certainly expected a different outcome, I have crashed to the Earth along with your beloved automobile. Any human, even those special ones with whom you associate, could not have survived my spill. Although I am not human, per se, I choose to stand by the rules of physics that dominate your world.
As you have thoroughly and completely thwarted my efforts at entropy, I consider this our point of dénouement. Any other reaction would be abhorrent to the laws which govern the world and, yes indeed, are abhorrent to my admittedly idiosyncratic sense of integrity.
Congratulations. Grattis. To you is bequeathed the honor of checkmate, and I shall bow out of the game.
Ave atque vale,
Nicolas
After I finished the letter, I stared at the paper a bit longer, trying to both process what he had said and at the same time come up with a suitable response for Detective McCleary. But the two trains of thought must have had a headlong collision because all my brain supplied my mouth was the very unhelpful “Huh.”
“Am I wrong in assuming this is the Nick Smith that came to me earlier and told me I should watch out for you?” Her words jarred me back from the train wreck.
“It is that Nick Smith.” I handed back the paper. “He has been bothering me recently, but not to the point of needing to call the police. He showed up in some weird places and made some odd comments. Nothing threatening, just kind of creepy. I have no business with him, but he seems to have made me his business. And I guess he took my Eagle and then crashed it.” Close enough to the truth...
“Freya, before he took your car, his actions were enough to call him a stalker. You need to report those sorts of activities to the police for your own protection. For heaven’s sake, he claims to not be human—you need to give crazies like that special avoidance.” Although her tone remained businesslike, an edge of worry broke through her calm. She proceeded to lecture me so much about taking my own safety seriously that I felt like I was getting a scolding. Mind drifting away from the lecture, I thought about her scolding. Although I’d guess that she was always conscientious in her job, I had a feeling she might consider me a potential friend. Good; I would like to be friends too. My pleasant thoughts must have shown on my face because she stopped her sermon.
“I’m not getting through to you, am I?” she asked.
“Oh no, I understand. But his note indicated that he was done bothering me and for some reason, I believe him. And then I was thinking that you were a nice person, but I only run into you when you are Detective McCleary. Can I invite you on a friend-date? There’s a gypsy-swing group performing a week from tomorrow. Do you want to join me? I could invite your brother as well.”
Now she was at a loss for words. Realizing I may have been offensive, I tried to backtrack.
“I’m sorry. I hate it when people don’t listen to what I’m saying, especially in a professional setting. You were doing your job and my comments were totally off-track. Being a female in a traditionally male job, you must have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously. I do respect your authority and wisdom about stalkers, but my flighty brain sometimes wanders away from me and then has the chutzpah to drool out whatever distraction I’m...”
She waved me quiet. “No, no. That’s not it. I’m merely amazed that you could hear your car has been stolen then totaled and had a wild note addressed to you by your stalker, but then one minute later start thinking about making new friends.”
“Well, when you put it like that, I do sound crazy… But all my life, strange things have happened around me.” I paused, thinking of Nick’s words. “I guess chaos really does follow me wherever I go—and I’ve become accustomed to it to a degree. So while I’m sad about the loss of my car, I’m not surprised. I hope you find Nick Smith and can send him to jail for stealing the Eagle, but he’s a slippery guy, and I have a feeling we’ve seen the last of him for a time.”
“You believe that he will leave you alone?”
I thought back to Nick’s seemingly genuine outrage at being accused of breaking his promise to walk Elin and I safely home. Yes, although it may have been surprising to an outsider, I did believe him. Honor among thieves, I guess.
