“Bye,” I said and smiled at him.
“Bye Lucinda,” he said and hugged Gram.
She patted his cheeks. “Be careful,” she said.
“I always am,” he replied heading out to the living room to put his coat on.
Gram harrumphed and said, “No you’re not.”
He chuckled and ducked out the door. I heard his Jeep start and then pull away. “I’m going to head to bed,” I said to Gram. “I am absolutely exhausted.”
Gram laughed. “What are you going to do, Sophie? We’re going to have to whip you into shape,” she said with a quiet chuckle.
I grinned. “I guess I’m not cut out to be a shifter.”
“Not many of us are,” she said. “You have to be tough as nails. You’ll get there, sweetie,” she said patting my hand.
I smiled up at her. “It all still seems so surreal,” I said. “It’s become more real since I saw Caeden as a wolf but I don’t think it’ll actually hit me until I change.”
Gram sat down on the floor beside me, crossing her legs Indian style. For a moment she said nothing, only petted Archie, then she spoke. “I knew my whole life what I was. I grew up with my husband and our friends, all of us knowing that one day we would come of age and shift into wolves. We’d seen our parents do it many times and had no reason to doubt them but it was still a scary experience.” She patted my knee. “Sophie, you’re a strong girl. You’re going to make a great wolf. And you have Caeden to help you through it all. I had no one.”
I was quiet, thinking, and then I said, “Why were you alone?”
She sighed and looked at me. An ancient sadness glimmered in her shimmery brown eyes, “I never had a mate. I married your grandfather but he wasn’t my true mate. I loved him dearly but the bond of a mate is different.” She sighed and continued, “Despite the idea of a mate turning into nothing more than a legend we still abided by the old rules. The rules clearly state that a female without a mate must make the change alone. I was scared to death. I was only eighteen and the first female to change in my generation pack. I had no one to talk to but my mother and the other elders. It was so frightening but exhilarating at the same time when I first shifted. I felt like for the first time in my life I was coming into my own skin. I felt free but whole at the same time. It was amazing. After that I felt silly for all the worrying that I had done. So, don’t worry Sophie, it’s not necessary. Everything will work out perfectly. And you are so much luckier than the rest of us because you’ll have Caeden to help you through it. He’ll be there to coach you through it.” She pulled me against her and began to stroke my hair. “You may be finding out about this after everyone else but you are so much luckier than they are because you have something infinitely more precious, Sophie. You have the gift of the purest, most kind, forgiving, all-consuming, true love. I wish I could have had that. It’s a gift everyone wants and few receive it. Human and shifter alike. For whatever reason you and Caeden have been given this gift, just like your parents, I can only hope that the bonds are coming back because everyone deserves to have it.”
“Gram,” I said and cuddled closer into her comforting arms. I felt like a little kid again, but in a good way, sitting in her arms. “My feelings for him are so strong Gram. It scares me,” I whispered.
“I know sweetie,” she said. “It’ll get worse once you’re bonded too.”
“Bonded?” I asked. “What does that mean?”
She sighed. “When you find your mate there’s a bonding ceremony. It’s almost like a wedding but only for the two of you. It’s a very powerful, very old, kind of magic.”
“Does Caeden know?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “He probably didn’t tell you because he didn’t want to scare you further. He’s very attuned to your feelings.”
“But how do you know all this?” I asked.
“It’s written down in our histories. We stopped believing in mates because for hundreds of years there haven’t been any. Like I’ve told you before, fact turned into legend, and here we are today.”
“Oh, right,” I said embarrassed.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” she said patting my hand. “You’re bound not to remember half of what we tell you. There’s just so much that you don’t know but you’ll get there.”
I stood and said, “Thanks for the talk Gram but I really do have to go to bed. I have school tomorrow.”
“Oh right,” she said. She stood with the grace and agility of someone much younger than her. She kissed my cheek and said, “Goodnight, Sophie.”
I picked up Archie and headed to my room. I changed into my pajamas and climbed under the covers. Archie decided to be a pillow hog so I graciously pillowed my head on my hands despite how uncomfortable it was. I’d let the dog have the pillow. He was too cute to say no to. He made a cute little snoring noise that instead of keeping me awake lulled me into a dreamless sleep.
In the morning, for the first time ever, I woke up ready for school. Not necessarily school but the idea of seeing Caeden. Seeing him now would be different than previous times at school, now we were no longer friends, but more. I dressed in a hurry and rushed out the door, with a piece of toast between my teeth, and Archie barking at the door. I only hoped that Caeden was as excited to see me as I was to see him.
I pulled into my parking spot and a moment later Caeden pulled in beside me in his Jeep. The weather here was like a yo-yo going from high to low quicker than you could blink and today was a particularly chilly day. I was bundled up with a jacket and scarf and saw that Caeden was dressed similarly.
I got out of my car a smile already on my face. Caeden smiled when he saw me, said, “Hey,” pulled me into a hug and then kissed me quickly on the lips. He inhaled my scent and said, “I love the way you smell, like, cookie dough and icing.”
“Thanks,” I said and then added, “I think.”
“Don’t worry, it’s a good thing.” He said and bent to kiss my cheek.
Travis Grimm chose that moment to come skidding into the parking lot. He parked his sports car and sauntered over to us. I felt Caeden’s muscles tense and I had the urge to grab him and run in the opposite direction.
Travis stopped in front of us and sneered at Caeden, “Don’t you think you should date someone within your own species?”
Caeden growled and I tightened my hold on him. He squeezed my hand lightly in a silent reminder to act dumb.
“Travis what are you talking about?” I asked to help ensure that he still believed that I was only a human and not a shifter.
He turned to glare at me. “Stay out of this,” he snarled and pushed me out of the way. I could see an evil glint in his eye. He was looking for a fight and he hoped that by insulting me he could get to Caeden.
It worked. Caeden lunged at Travis but suddenly Bentley was there pulling Caeden away saying, “He’s not worth it man. He’s just not worth it.”
Travis grinned cockily like he had learned something valuable, stuck his hands in his pockets, and strode confidently into the school.
Caeden was doing that weird, vibrating, shimmering around the edges thing. His breathing was heavy and Bentley was trying to calm him down. I batted Bentley away and took Caeden’s face between my hands.
“Calm down,” I said looking into his blue eyes. I noticed that his eyes had taken on a distinct wolfish quality. They seemed to glow gold around the edges. Slowly, they began to return to normal. “I’m okay,” I added. “He just wanted to get under your skin. You can’t let him do that. You’re an Alpha you have to be the bigger person,” I was thoughtful for a moment, “or wolf, I guess I should say.”
He laughed at that and returned to himself. He shook his head, “I’m sorry. When he touched you… I’ve never felt like that before. I mean he always goads me but this was different. I just couldn’t stand the thought of him touching you. I’m sorry. I just felt so possessive. You’re my mate and I didn’t want him messing with you. It’s one thing when he messes with me b
ut when he grabbed you, I just lost it. Sorry,” he said again.
I kept my hold on his face so he had to look me in the eye. “Caeden, it’s okay. Really. But you need to learn to control yourself around him. You can’t let him win. You’re an Alpha and he’s not so he’s jealous.”
“You’re right,” he said. “I’ve got to stop thinking like a little boy and be a man, be an Alpha. I have to put you and my pack first.” He smiled. “Thanks for being my rock.”
I leaned my forehead against his. “You’re my rock.”
He kissed me and Bentley gagged. “You guys act like an old married couple.”
We both laughed. Bryce pulled into the parking spot next to Caeden’s and hopped out. He looked between the three of us. “I missed something and it was big. I know it,” he said.
Caeden ruffled his younger brother’s hair. “Don’t worry. It was just Travis, like always.”
Bryce shook his shaggy hair, once again reminding me of a dog, and said, “Want me to teach him a lesson?” he did a karate chop in the air. “I can take him,” he added.
“Travis would get far too much satisfaction out of that,” I said.
“Too bad,” said Bryce. “Maybe one day.”
Looking at Bryce I was a little worried that one day might be soon, like first period soon, since we had math today. What I wouldn’t give for it to be a day two.
We met up with Logan, Chris, and Charlotte in the cafeteria. They had no idea what had transpired in the parking lot but said they saw Travis come in and take off with the members of his pack and that he looked particularly happy about something. I knew that couldn’t be good. I was dreading math more and more. Too bad I couldn’t just twitch my nose and it would be over.
The bell rang and Bryce and I headed off to math. Walking down the hallway I said to him, “Don’t start anything, Bryce. I mean it. Travis wants a fight so please don’t give him one.”
Bryce looked at me with his blue eyes that were similar to Caeden’s only darker. “I hate him so much,” he whispered.
“Why?” I asked.
“Well for starters I think he knows something about the night my dad died and he’s always doing something to Caeden. He hates it that Caeden is an Alpha and he’s not. I don’t know why that bothers him so much. I mean he’s the son of an Alpha so he’ll get the position when either his dad dies or steps down. I think he hates that Caeden has so much power. The Grimm Pack is small compared to ours. If you only count the new generation it’s only three wolves. Travis, Robert, and Hannah.”
“So, he’s jealous that the Williams Pack is bigger?” I asked.
“I think that’s only part of it. The Williams Pack or should I say the Beaumont Pack has always been the most powerful pack of wolf shifters in the world because the first wolf to shift was a Beaumont. Travis hates that. He craves power; I can smell it on him.”
“You can smell it?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s a wolf thing. When people have certain thoughts their body gives off a certain scent.”
Oh dear lord, what kind of scents did my body produce when I was near Caeden?
We were at the classroom now so it made talk impossible. Travis smirked at me and Bryce when we came in. I took my seat which was still, unfortunately, in front of Travis. Like he did every math class he played with my hair and touched my skin. The feeling of spiders crawling over my skin appeared at his touch and a sense of wrongness. I always had this feeling when he touched me and I hated it but I was too scared of Mrs. Harding to say anything. She seemed to favor Travis and since she already hated me I didn’t see the point in adding fuel to the fire. When the bell rang I gave Bryce a tight-lipped smile and headed to my history class.
Charlotte was already in her seat in the back of the room. She smiled as I took my seat next to her.
“I can’t stand him,” I said into my hands.
“Who?” she asked. I gave her a pointed look and she said, “Oh, right. Travis.”
“He’s just so awful,” I said.
“He is,” she agreed. “The whole Grimm Pack is like that,” she said and pointed to a particular unpleasant girl in our class. “Hannah is just as bad. She’s just more subtle about it.”
I agreed completely with that.
We quieted when the teacher came in but quickly resumed our conversation when it became obvious that he was oblivious.
Charlotte looked at Hannah and then back at me. “Hannah has more of a reason to act the way she does. When she was little her sister drowned and she’s never gotten over it,” whispered Charlotte.
I suddenly felt bad for the unpleasant girl. Something like that does change a person. Caeden and Bryce were extremely close and I couldn’t imagine the pain they would experience if they lost one another.
The rest of the day went by quicker than I had come to expect. But I still had to survive woodshop. Luckily I had Caeden for a partner. However, that meant he did most of the work. All I was good for was sanding and painting. We were finishing up making bird houses. Next we would be making stools.
I put my bag down on the desk and joined Caeden at our station. He had already cut all the pieces and I had sanded them so today we would be decorating and assembling them if we had time.
Caeden had already gotten the paint, brushes, and water. I sat down beside him and began to paint. I wasn’t very good so I planned on painting it a solid green with flowers. Caeden painted some ocean waves on his and I was amazed at how good he was. The waves swirled realistically on the wooden surface.
“You’re good,” I commented, pointing to his birdhouse.
He laughed. “No, I’m not. But when compared to yours I’m da Vinci.”
I smacked his arm. “It’s not that bad,” I said.
“You’re right. It’s worse,” he chuckled.
“Caeden,” I scolded.
“It’s cute,” he said. “Is that better?”
“Much,” I said and smiled. We put our wooden pieces on the drying rack and gathered up our stuff so we’d be ready to leave.
I would be at the bakery before Caeden since he was always assigned the after school check. Mr. Collins came over and complemented Caeden on his workmanship. He smiled at me and said that I could try harder. I was mortified but then Mr. Collins started laughing so I knew he was joking. He was probably happy that I was too scared to touch any of the power tools anymore. I once screamed and ran from the room when Caeden tried to get me to use the power saw. The metal monster had screamed and sputtered woodchips at me and that was all it took to clear me from the room. The whole class found it very entertaining but I hadn’t. Mr. Collins thought it was funny too until he found out that I had broken the saw. I thought that was just justice being served. They should’ve known not to give me a tool. The only tool I seemed to be able to handle was a screwdriver and that was iffy.
The bell rang and Caeden and I walked hand in hand to the parking lot. He kissed me quickly and then I got in my car. As I left the school parking lot I could feel eyes on me and it wasn’t the warm, comforting, feel of Caeden’s eyes. These eyes felt menacing and evil. When I turned to look I made eye contact with Travis. I shuddered and drove on.
nine.
I arrived at the cupcake shop and found Gram icing cupcakes. “I thought I’d help you out,” she said.
“Oh, Gram I could have done this.”
“I just thought it would be easier if I had all the cupcakes made for the afternoon,” she said and with a flourish finished icing the last red velvet cupcake.
“Well, thanks Gram,” I said and kissed her wrinkled cheek.
She smiled, patted my hand, and removed her apron. “I’ll see you later. I’m making lasagna for dinner.”
“Sound delicious,” I said.
She smiled and left. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail, put my hat on and my Lucinda’s shirt. I had gotten in the habit of keeping my work clothes here, Gram didn’t mind, and it was easier than carrying them in my backpack or c
ar.
I grabbed up the slats of cupcakes and carried them to the front and began loading them into the refrigerated case. The bell chimed signaling a customer.
“Welcome to Lucinda’s. How can I help you?” I asked sliding the case closed. I straightened and looked up into the face of the customer. “Travis,” I breathed.
He smirked, his hands in his pockets. “There’s something different about you.”
I stumbled back a step. Anyone could recognize the predatory glint in his eye. “What can I get you?” I asked trying to form some semblance to normal.
“I want you,” he said.
“What can I get you?” I asked in a strained voice. I could feel sweat beading on my skin and my fight or flight senses were kicking in.
“What is it that Caeden sees in you? You seem pretty normal to me. But appearances can be deceiving. I would know. Just look at me. Look at me!” he screamed when I didn’t.
I looked at him. At his pale skin, white-blond hair, and angelic expression. He would have been good looking if it weren’t for the scowl on his face and his black eyes. I could tell that his eyes were like his soul. Black, lifeless, and evil.
“Good,” he said. I tried to stay strong, to not let him see the fear in my eyes but from the smirk that spread across his face I knew he saw. He came closer to me. I stepped back and was now against the wall. He stretched his arm across the distance, it wasn’t far, and stroked my face. I gulped. “Fear,” he said and inhaled the air around me. “You should be afraid,” he breathed. He straightened and said, “I’ll have a devil’s kiss cupcake.”
For a moment I didn’t move.
“Tick tock,” he said.
My feet moved forward and I grabbed a devil’s kiss cupcake which was chocolate cake, with dark chocolate icing and a cherry. I put it in a box, told him the price and handed it to him. He smirked and threw a ten dollar bill at me. “Keep it,” he said and started for the door. Before he opened it though he looked back over his shoulder at me, “I’ll be back,” he said and left. I had a feeling he would be back for something other than a cupcake. Something like me.
Outsider (Outsider Series) Page 11
