Ja’Lyn shivered and almost gagged at the thought and decided doing dishes wasn’t so bad after all and then asked, “What did you do?”
“The only thing we could, we moved. The Luchóg family still lives there, however, five hundred thousand generations at last count. The house has turned into a metropolitan mouse utopia. Mice come from all over the world to my house. In the very beginning when there were still only one hundred or so, it was like I got my favorite storybook in a live action play every day. City Mouse and the Country Mouse. Did you ever read the story? It was always one of my favorites… until we had to leave town in the middle the night because mice had overrun the entire joint.”
“Ew,” Ja’Lyn shivered.
“Needless to say, we weren’t exactly welcomed at the next joint, so we moved to my dad’s former pod in the Highlands, and that’s when I met Edi. So, it ended up working out.”
“What happened to the mice?”
“Oh, they are still there. Thriving, actually, the last time I visited they were working on a new high-rise complex.”
“And nobody’s afraid someone can hear a mouse speak?”
“With a little magic, some Jinn’s split reality and stuck the joint into another dimension, so there’s no risk because there aren’t any humans there.”
“I see what you’re saying about your wankers going whacky. I’ll make sure not to say the W word to you,” Ja’Lyn laughed.
“It doesn’t work like that. If I say it, yes things can go ridiculous. But since my mother led the rebellion and freed the Jinn from being sex slaves, we control the wankers with our lamps or talismans, you saying it around me doesn’t do anything. I had to give Edi mine when she wanted her first one. I knew it was a bad idea, but I couldn’t stand to see her hurting so much anymore. After what happened to her dad, she and her mom became pariahs for a long time. Folks were scared because Reef made it abundantly clear that if anybody had helped them out, they would suffer. Then a couple guys in our class started bullying Edi about her dad and her weight, and it snowballed from there.
“Edi suffered horrific nightmares every single night and was picked on every single day at school. Her mom was never invited to do anything, not that she had time since she worked round the clock. Laundry every day at her house and overnight cleaning elsewhere because nobody wanted anyone else to know that she worked for them for fear that Reef would find out even though everyone knew.
“Edi was suffering but still trying so hard until Reef took over as Alpha then she gave up. She didn’t want to go on, didn’t see the point, and it was hurting my soul to watch her heartache. So, when she came up with the idea for the what-ever-you-call-it, I gave her my lamp.
“We worked for weeks on the wording and in the end, I made my best friend in the world numb to life. She always tells me she prefers the numbness to what she went through before, but I don’t know about that. When Reef found out about it, he pretty much blamed all the bad things that happened after that on Edi and how she changed the course of fate. Everything would’ve been perfect if she hadn’t made a selfish wish. He is a terrible Alpha and needed a scapegoat, and that was Edi. I think most of the people in the pod knew how he treated her that they were just too afraid to stand up to him.”
“After tonight that won’t be a problem anymore,” Walt said, and I could feel that every person in the car and the car behind us believed in me. Besides my mom, Jenn, Lucy, and Seamus, I hadn’t really had that before; it felt good. But it made me realize something, Holy shit! I’m going to be Alpha. I don’t want to be an Alpha, especially there.
You might feel differently after you win.
Doubtful, it hasn’t been my home since I was six years old. While I care about everybody there, if I never saw them again I’d be okay with that.
We’ll worry about that when it is time to. For now you need to focus, we’re almost there. Do you feel like an omega? Are you able to sense when somebody is about to do with their feelings?
You should know, I feel what your feeling.
That was not your wish.
What do you mean?
A wish is precisely what you wish for right? You did not say you wanted to feel what I was feeling you said how I feel. Being an omega is how I feel. You essentially wished to become an omega.
Fuck me.
Planning on that.
I held back an audible laugh, So, I can know what people are thinking about without even trying. That should be helpful in the fight.
“Yes, Edi that should be very helpful,” Walt said from the front seat. “We’re almost there. You may want a to sit up before we pull in.”
I sat up slowly, a little embarrassed for being caught eavesdropping. “How long have you known I was up?”
“Since the metropolitan mouse utopia. How are you feeling?”
“You want to know everything I am feeling, from other people? Because it’s a lot.”
“No. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. You’re going into an Alpha challenge. How are you feeling?”
“Surprisingly well. I don’t necessarily feel stronger, but I have this overwhelming sense that I might be. I’m not a bad fighter regardless, Jenn’s dad Seamus saw to that. Mentally, I can sense everyone emotions as I think of them and then I know what they’re thinking. I think it’ll be in an advantage. I’m ready for this to be over. Reef’s gotten away with everything for too long, I’m ready.”
“Good, because we’re here,” Walt said.
The driveway we turned down had a sign at the end that said, Harcourt.
“This is my father-in-law’s property,” Ja’Lyn said, and I could sense she hated the man. “My brother-in-law, Gavin lives in that cabin.” She pointed to the right at a tiny log cabin hidden behind some trees. “His truck’s not here.” She liked Gavin and was more than dismayed when she realized he wasn’t there. “He’s not back yet?”
Nate said, “He and Miles are on the way. Gavin was already downtown installing the desks he made for the group home Miles’ CASA kid lives in when this all happened. Miles put together a contract for tonight, helped Gavin finish with the desks, and they should be here in the next twenty minutes.”
“Contract? I thought we were doing things the old-fashioned way.” I asked.
“I don’t trust Reef and wouldn’t put it past him to try and cheat even with witnesses there. The contract only states what you both listed as your conditions. If he wins, you become his mate and submit to him, and if you win, he’s dead and the fate of the Scottish Highland Plesiosaur pod is within your hands. I also had Miles put a clause in about cheating and the forfeiture of lamps and wishes, and whatever else his brilliant legal mind can come up with. He’s a human by the way.”
“A human is coming to watch a dinosaur fight?”
“Two humans that are not technically part of the clan will be there. A local witch is coming as well to bind the contract and hexes for not following it.”
“Isn’t that dangerous, having them around?”
“No, Miles and I have been friends since college,” Nate said. “He saw me shift once on accident and he never breathed a word of it. He’s considered family.” All the Lupinskis nodded. “And the witches are naturally born with power, they have human DNA but are still part of our magical community, so we watch out for each other and help the other when asked.”
We started passing cars lining both sides of the driveway. I was surprised there was so many of them, “Does your father-in-law own all of these?”
“No, these belong to Clan members. Gossip is lightning fast around here.”
“Did they know about the wish?” Jenn asked, scared of us going through what we did with the last one back at the pod.
Jeff answered, “No. The wishes are your business, it is up to you whether or not you want people to know about it.”
“We only spread the pertinent information,” Ja’Lyn reassured us. All of these shifters are here to show you their support.”
“W
hy would they care?” I was confused.
“Because they think you’re a hero for what you’re doing,” Jeff told me.
“I’m no hero.”
“That’s not true,” Walt said. “You’re putting your life at risk to save your people. People who haven’t treated you very well when you and your mother should have been shown more compassion than most because of your situation. There’s not a doubt in any of these shifters’ minds, you are a hero.” Walt parked next to George’s truck. “Ready to go show one of the biggest douche bags I’ve ever met in my entire life who the real Alpha is?”
I was honestly touched, I could feel the collective energy, and they all truly believed in me. There weren’t any doubts that I was a hero, that it took somebody very brave to do the right thing and that I was going to kick some serious ass. “Fuck yes, I am.” Everyone laughed, and we got out of the van. The other van pulled up next to ours and couple by couple and Jenn began walking on the path that led to an ostentatious brick home.
Ja’Lyn stayed back with Jeff and me. Ja’Lyn approached as I was gazing up the three-story brick faced home with red shutters, red porch, and sparse ugly bushes underneath each window on the first floor. I think it was meant to appear luxurious and classy but came off as hollow and tacky.
“I live here at the main house with my husband and father-in-law,” somberly.
“Oh, it’s lovely.”
“You don’t have to lie, I know it’s not. It feels fake, doesn’t it? Your feelings are not wrong; trust me. It’s as fake on the inside as it is the outside.” The three of us began to follow the same path as the others. “This is a privately-owned lake; all the rest of the residents are shifters as well. We don’t usually come here for events because my father and law is a—”
“Dick?” I said.
“That’s putting it mildly. We have the best parking situation for this many people. And my father-in-law and husband usually get trashed early and crash so they shouldn’t ruin everybody else’s good time.”
“Oh, I don’t even really know what to say to that, I’m sorry.”
“I’m not sure why I even told you, granted you could probably already feel how I feel about this place.” I shrugged and nodded. Ja’Lyn continued, “It’s my lot in life. At least no one else will ever suffer from the Good of the Clan law ever again.” Ja’Lyn stopped before we rounded the corner and Jeff and me mimicked her. I followed her line of sight and felt a wave of fear and insecurity go through her when she said, “I need to go and see if Henry needs me to do anything.”
Ja’Lyn ran over to a guy with a sour expression on his face. He was filled with jealousy, envy, anger, and violence, so much so, he was holding onto rational thought by a thread. I had a terrible feeling and grabbed Jeff’s arm and asked, “Does he hit her?”
It was Jeff’s turn to feel a blinding rage building up inside of him, “We saw him grab her arm once.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t kill him when you saw that.”
“She wouldn’t let me, far-reaching consequences or some other bullshit. She did let me tell Henry that if I ever saw him grab her again, if someone tells me they saw him grab her, or if I see even a hint of a bruise by his hand, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. I don’t think I’d be able to contain myself if I saw that again.”
“Have you tried to get her to leave him?”
“I tried to get her not to marry him in the first place, but the mating was chosen for the Good of the Clan, and she’s loyal to a fault to our shifters.”
“Now that the law has been abolished, why doesn’t she leave?”
“She refuses to, but we keep trying. Shifters don’t get divorced she says, so she’ll keep working to make it a decent marriage.”
“What crap, shifters don’t get divorced.”
“It’s true.”
“I know it’s true. But the Clan was never in this situation before. How many miserable couples deserve a second chance because they got fucked over by the good of the Clan law? A fuck ton.”
“We know. And we are working on annulment proceedings, but even then I’m not sure she’ll leave him or if he’ll let her leave.”
“She’s going to have to leave. He will never change, whatever insecurities he has to turn him this way are so ingrained in him you would have to pry them out with a crowbar.”
“You don’t even know the worst thing that yet.”
“How could her situation get any worse?”
“Her true fated mate is a local Clan member.”
“You’re right, that makes it so much worse.”
“Reggie is a great guy too, it’s killing them both not to be together. Henry definitely, does a lot of his shit out of spite and jealousy.”
“Yeah, I could sense that.” I reluctantly tore my gaze away from Ja’Lyn getting yelled at by her husband, and Jeff and I continued around the corner.
Even though I had seen all the cars when we drove in, I was shocked at how many shifters were there. I was not prepared and was bombarded with everybody’s feelings at once causing me to sway.
Jeff put his arm around me to keep me steady, “Like before, breathe through it. Try to focus on one and tune out the rest.”
Taking a deep breath, I focused on a random shifter. It took me several seconds, but eventually, I was able to filter the rest of the feelings from everybody else out. I smiled at Jeff and then studied the crowd again.
I was no longer bombarded with a million feelings assaulting my senses. I was able to feel the overall joy these folks got from being with one another. The underlying disgust with Reef, the guilt that they didn’t stop it, the shame that no one thought to ask, but, there was hope there too.
The excitement in the air for the upcoming events gave it a party atmosphere. I could see shifters of every sort, lions and tigers and bears oh my, as well as falcons, wolves, primates, felines, canines, almost every shifter I’d ever heard about was there and some I had no idea existed. All of them laughing, joking, and enjoying each other.
I almost got a little emotional, this feeling of togetherness and joy is what I had been missing most of my life, and it was what I wanted to experience for the rest of it, too.
“Me too,” Jeff said.
“This looks more like a party than a fight to the death.”
“It is a party. Not only is the fight of the century about to happen, but it’s the full Moon. That’s always a huge party.”
“Where’s the bar set up?”
“Unsure, I’m sure our fey friends stuck it into another dimension. Probably with those talking mice, until you win, of course, and then party on.”
I laughed out loud, and some shifters began to notice that we were there. I got, smiles, nods, and the sense of everyone’s admiration, it was empowering. George was talking with a merman and a shark, and Jeff and I went over to them.
“Here’s the woman of the hour,” George said brightly. “Cousin, I’d like to introduce you to Beck and Mark Miller, they’re going to be with you underwater making sure, observing.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” I said and extended my hand, but each in turn, grabbed me into a big hug instead. “Thank you so much for helping with the challenge tonight.”
“You are very welcome. Although I should thank you, I always wanted to see one of you shifted and now I get to witness an Alpha challenge. Did George tell you how fascinated we were with your people when we were younger?”
“He told me he had a poster on the wall of my dad.”
He winced thinking he made some giant faux pas, “Oh yeah, I am so sorry I heard about that.”
“It’s okay, that happened a long time ago.”
“You know, George and I almost came to Scotland for a visit after we turned eighteen but we couldn’t get it together, now I really regret that we didn’t try harder maybe we could have done something.”
“Thank you for that, but I’m starting to think that everything happened the way it was supposed to.”
I looked out over the horizon. Dusk had set in casting pink and purple shadows from the trees around the lake. House lights came on leaving shimmering light trails across the water. The night sound of bugs chirping accompanied the chatter of all the shifters present giving a sense of excitement in the air.
It was a nice sized lake. We would have plenty of room for the challenge. I wish I had time to explore it but— “I wonder where Reef is.”
I had no sooner uttered the words, when there was a poof of magic and Reef, Lucy, and someone I hadn’t expected appeared in purple mist.
“What of the ever-loving fuck is this Reef?” Jenn screamed from the other side of the yard and came running.
I crossed my arms and glared, “My sentiments exactly.”
“What’s going on? Who is that” Jeff asked as Jenn reached us and said, “Did you kidnap my father too?”
I could sense Reef was pissed off that Seamus was with them, he was livid over something that happened, and was a little frightened and worried about the challenge. Good, he should be.
Seamus opened his arms, and Jenn ran into them, “Don’t worry, Baby Girl. I’m here on my own.” He grinned at me, “When Lucy disappeared—” He glanced over at Lucy, she still had a collar and leash around her neck, but felt safe because Seamus was there. “—we searched everywhere, but then Reef showed up at our meeting place with your mother on a leash. We knew what he did then, but everybody stayed silent and let him explain himself, including what is happening here tonight. When the folks in the pod realized what you’re doing, they finally grew balls and started standing up to him. He asked for volunteers and no one stepped forward not even his lackeys.”
“No wonder he’s so pissed off.”
Reef didn’t say anything, but he glared at me.
“He still has control of your mother until his final wish or Edi defeats him tonight. I wasn’t letting her out of my sight again, and I needed to make sure you two were okay.”
“I’ll be better when he’s dead,” I responded.
“Will you stop talking as if I’m not here.” Reef was getting angrier which was okay with me because it would put him off balance for the fight.
Covet the Curves: a Romance Collections Anthology Page 8
