SNAKE

by Leal, Samantha

  “You see all this?” Ken laughed, slapping Blaine on the back. “It’s awesome!”

  Blaine didn’t answer; he just walked up past Ken to survey the area. Ever since the last attack on the mountain, he’d told all his men to keep the location of the mines to themselves. He hadn’t even been anxious to know himself what they were up to; not since Estelle had left. He had been worrying incessantly about the damn kid. But there was nothing he could do about it. He had forbidden her from leaving, of course, but she wasn’t the kind of girl to take that kind of guff from anybody. It was important to her and he had to respect that, even if it meant she put herself in harm’s way. What kind of assholes would treat their child so badly? He had seen the wounded look in her eyes when she spoke about her family; feel the painful charge of hopelessness that consumed her. He had to be crazy to let that girl go back there. It just wasn’t right.

  “Boss, come here!”

  Blaine perked up at the sound of Matthew’s voice. Matt was his favorite worker, if he was going to be honest with himself. The man was young and strong and determined. And it helped that he was just as devoted to the ancient ways as his grandfather had been. They had worked together with an unspoken understanding for years, and now that he was old enough, Matt had been promoted to oversee all the mines, and knowing he was excited made the possibility of discovering the source of all that gold even more real to Blaine. Thank god something was going right, finally.

  “Look at this, man. We’re rich!”

  Blaine looked down at the bucket of silt, his eyes widening as Matthew shook it off and generous nuggets of gold came into view.

  “That’s not all,” Blaine whispered. “Fuck the money. We’re going home sooner rather than later.”

  Matthew nodded, a big, goofy smile spreading across his face, and Blaine slapped him on the back.

  “Good work, son,” Blaine said. “We’re going to really get this on the road. Remember though, not a fuckin’ word about it. The last thing we need is Geron catching wind of any of this. He’ll do anything to sabotage our efforts these days. It’s best to stay quiet.”

  “Oh, I know it,” Matt said, shaking his head grimly. “They know the portals opened by ancient bear magic won’t work for anyone else, right?”

  “I don’t know what they think,” Blaine mumbled. “Except that they have a claim to those tunnels they started here. And we’ve been at peace for a while but all that’s changing. That son of a bitch almost killed us!”

  “Us?” Matthew asked, tilting his head in confusion.

  Blaine glowered, aware that if he kept talking, he might just reveal too much about what had happened between himself and Estelle. Estelle, who would make a much more suitable mate to a young man like Matthew than an aging, crotchety man like Blaine. Estelle, who had no idea just how gorgeous she was and was probably being put down right that moment by people who would never be able to appreciate her…

  The thought made his blood boil, and he had to stop himself from snapping at Matthew when he laughed the question off and slapped Blaine’s shoulder.

  “We’re doing all right for ourselves,” Matt said, changing the subject and heading toward the deep pit that they’d begun to dig. “We might just find those portals yet. The Equinox is on the horizon.”

  “The Equinox ain’t for another month or so!”

  “Not the human one, dammit Barney! Quit eavesdropping!”

  “You guys are so weird,” Barney said with a deep chuckle.

  “Watch what the hell you’re saying in front of me,” Blaine growled right into Barney’s face. Barney blanched and backed away, and Matthew’s easy smile faltered.

  “He don’t mean anything by that, you know,” Matt said, guiding Blaine away from Barney, who shrunk away and headed off down the mountain to the other area of the mine. “He’s just a know it all.”

  “Well he doesn’t know shit,” Blaine growled. “And if he says anything like that again, he’s fired. You hear that?”

  Barney nodded vigorously as he disappeared down the hill, where he was soon busy stripping off the overburden. It was enough to satisfy Blaine for the time being, but the truth was that he was going to be miserable until the moment when he heard that Estelle was doing all right.

  But until then, he was going to be just as surly as ever in the hopes that he would hear from her soon. A little bit of success in the mines wasn’t enough to lift his spirits. Not when he knew what kind of hell that sweet young woman was facing right that moment. He wouldn’t rest until she was right back where she belonged. And that was all there was to it.

  12.

  “The hell do you mean?” Estelle’s father grumbled, struggling to sit up in his hospital bed. “I’m fine. Get the hell out of here!”

  Estelle felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach. She had spent all day on the bus out to visit her parents, knowing it was the most economical option for her to get out East. She still had to pay off her school and the student loans that had been piling up since she had moved out west to attend SU, and was risking her internship and graduation to see the father her mother had sworn was lying on his death bed. She had no idea what she was doing there.

  “Mom said you were in trouble, so I just wanted to come and see you,” Estelle said, trying to ignore the anger and pain rising in her chest.

  “What the hell for? You left. As far as I’m concerned, your fat ass ain’t even my daughter anymore.”

  She had expected a lot of backlash, but now, being right in the middle of it after such a long time of being alone and in a balanced and supportive place, she was feeling lower than she ever had before. How had she grown up listening to this kind of poison every single day of her life?

  “Damn, dad,” Estelle’s brother Lance said, sniggering. “Harsh.”

  “Shut it, boy. This girl thinks she can live without us, disown her family? Abandon us and leave us to fend for ourselves? Forgetting everything we ever done to make her happy and take care of her?”

  “Make me happy?” Estelle sputtered, completely flabbergasted by the thought. “You always went out of your way to bring me down! Any chance you got you made me feel like hell about myself!”

  “You’re full of shit,” her dad mumbled. “You’re just a selfish bitch and always have been. Stupid little twit. I done told you to get the hell out of my room! You ain’t no daughter of mine. My kids stick around. They know what it means to be a family and take care of each other.”

  Estelle glanced over at her brother, whose chin was raised with an air of superiority that made her want to go over and punch him right in the mouth. But she was better than that. Though she wished to hell that she wasn’t.

  “I don’t know why I bothered coming back here. You’re just a sad, pathetic little man who doesn’t feel good about himself unless he has someone to put down. You’re just a bully who gets his self-worth from bullying people you think are weak. What a joke.”

  The aging man glared at her fiercely, his face growing red just like she knew it would. He had never taken defiance very well. She should have listened to Blaine. It had been a mistake to come here.

  “I know you’re anxious to get rid of me, so I’ll make this fast,” Estelle said, sighing deeply. “My entire life you worked your hardest to make me feel like I wasn’t good enough. You did everything in your power to disempower me; to make me feel ugly and worthless. Because maybe you feel ugly and worthless yourself. But I’m going to tell you something. No matter what you feel about me, no matter what you say, I love the woman I’ve become, and I wouldn’t change anything about myself for the world, whether that’s good enough for you or not. Your words can’t touch me anymore. And they’ll touch me even less when you’re dead.”

  Estelle stormed out, her anger and her pride preventing the lump in her throat from becoming productive until she was far away from the hospital parking lot. She sank down onto a bench and began to cry, wishing more than anything that she had just stayed put in the mountains.


  “Estelle!”

  Estelle’s heart leapt to her throat when the sound of her mother’s shrill voice reached her ears.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Is that really the last thing you want to say to your father?”

  “He’s never acted like much of a father,” Estelle grumbled, standing from the bench and wiping her eyes quickly. The only thing worse than crying was crying in front of her mother. That woman was toxic, and always found a way to make everything about herself. Somehow Estelle had survived the family dynamic, but now she felt herself suffocating under the pressure of being near people who truly didn’t know her worth. And it wasn’t her job to teach them about it. If they didn’t want to value her, they never would, and she was just going to have to deal with that. She would make her own family. She didn’t need them.

  And yet it seemed nearly impossible to get away from her mother, who stood up and walked after Estelle when she rose from the bench and attempted to get out of there so she wouldn’t have to listen to any more put downs by her family. They had no right to cast judgment on her and she wasn’t going to listen to another second of their bullshit.

  “Don’t walk away when I’m talking to you! I’m your mother and you will show me some respect!”

  Estelle sighed, her face growing hot as the people on the sidewalk stopped to stare at them. They must have made quite a spectacle – her mother in her heavy make-up and tight clothing, hurrying after Estelle in six-inch-high heel shoes and a glare that could turn a flame into ice.

  “I’m not talking about this with you, mother,” Estelle growled. “Please, just leave me alone.”

  “You’re going to regret walking away from me like this,” Estelle’s mother said, her voice an icy growl. It sent a chill up her spine. “You can expect a visit from your brothers. You will apologize to your father, whether you like it or not.”

  And with that, her mother turned on her heel and stalked back toward the hospital. Estelle watched her from over her shoulder until she turned the corner, and a wave of nausea consumed her. she had to get out of there. But her bus wouldn’t leave until the next day. She knew she shouldn’t worry too much about her mother; she was probably just spouting off hot air. But she knew that her family would be furious at her. She had never done anything to provoke them for as long as she had lived with them; she couldn’t bring herself to draw attention to herself after the type of abuse she had endured. But now, she had turned all eyes onto her, and there was no telling what extremes they might go to put her back in her place. At least, the place they believed that she belonged in.

  Estelle hailed a taxi and went straight to the hotel she had booked for herself. It was a crummy little place, where she felt uncomfortable and unsafe. She was used to living in shifter communities, where everybody was held accountable for their actions and everybody who wanted to act like an asshole still knew how to respect others. Humans could say what they wanted about shifters, but after living among them for the past several years, Estelle had grown to really love their straight-forward ways. Much more than she had ever liked being around her passive-aggressive and toxic family.

  When she arrived at the hotel, she sank onto the bed and sighed, glancing at her cell phone. She had missed a call, and was almost afraid to check it in case it was from her family. But she took a deep breath and checked anyway, surprised to find the phone number for BBT Mining Company.

  Estelle called back automatically, assuming Blaine had probably changed his mind about allowing her back to complete the internship. And she wouldn’t blame him for it. Things between them had been awkward since the night of the storm. And not only that, but she hadn’t exactly been respectful of his authority. He didn’t seem like the kind of man who tolerated that kind of thing.

  “Estelle?”

  Estelle’s heart thudded dully in her chest at the sound of Blaine’s deep, rumbling voice in her ear. She was shocked by the physical reaction she had to something as simple as his voice, and had to catch her breath after a moment’s pause before answering.

  “Hi Blaine.”

  “Hi.”

  She waited for him to say more, but he didn’t. Estelle sighed inwardly. Whatever was going on, he wasn’t making it very easy on her.

  “I saw I missed your call,” she said, eager to get off the phone. She couldn’t allow herself to have such a strong reaction to his voice. There was no way anything more could happen between them. It just wasn’t right.

  “Yeah. I just wanted to see how it’s going. I know you have a difficult relationship with your family.”

  Estelle was stunned. He hardly seemed like the kind of man who would go out of his way to check on somebody’s emotional well-being. And not only that, but she wasn’t at all used to anybody having any idea what she was going through with her family. But he seemed completely serious, as if it were one of the most important things in the world how she felt. It was bizarre, really. Nobody had ever cared how she felt before, except maybe Helen. But even then, it was never anything like this.

  “I…”

  Estelle’s eyes filled with tears, and she cringed. She could kick herself for letting her emotions shine through like this. It was completely ridiculous. But a small sob slipped from deep in her throat and the energy between them grew tense.

  “I’m on my way.”

  Estelle furrowed her brow, not sure if she had heard him properly. But before she could compose herself well enough to ask, the call had been dropped. She stared at the phone, stunned, and lowered it slowly to the bed beside her. What did he mean he was on his way? He had no idea where she was!

  She tried to shake off the feeling of confusion and bewilderment. She had to think clearly right now. Especially if her family was angry enough to come after her.

  Estelle closed her eyes and tried to relax into her pillow. She had to accept that she had no control over what other people said or did, even when it came to her own personal safety. Her family wouldn’t do anything stupid enough to get them arrested, so she was probably physically safe.

  And yet, she was afraid. Afraid enough that Blaine had seemed to sense exactly what she was feeling without her even having to say a word. Perhaps what had happened during the night they had spent together truly had connected them in a way that she wouldn’t ever be able to fully understand. She had been so sure in that moment that Blaine had cared endlessly about her in a way she had never experienced before.

  But now that they had made it clear that their relationship would never go anywhere beyond what it already had, she had done everything in her power to forget the comfort and safety she had felt in his arms; the deep and intimate connection she had shared with him in the moment. There was no good in letting herself believe she would ever have any business being comforted by a man like Blaine. It just wasn’t meant to be.

  Estelle groaned, shoving all thoughts of the mysterious, obnoxious man out of her head, and headed to the shower. Even if things felt like they were never going to get any better, she had to focus and take care of herself. That was all she would ever be able to do.

  ***

  “Estelle!”

  Her heart leapt into her throat and she was whipped around by the shoulder, forced to face her brother Lance.

  “What are you doing here?” Estelle asked, doing her best to keep her voice from wavering.

  Lance scowled at her. “You owe our father an apology.”

  “He’s not my father, remember?” Estelle growled. “He said I don’t have to be his daughter anymore. Best news I’ve ever heard in my life.”

  “I don’t think you understand the issue here,” Lance said, his silver eyes narrowing. “You ain’t going to get away with disrespecting the man of the house. You get what I’m trying to say? It’s kind of important.”

  “Only to someone with a tiny flea brain,” Estelle growled, shoving Lance’s hand off her shoulder and trying to turn back toward the door of the hotel. But Lance was strong, and gripped b
oth of her shoulders almost as quickly as she had been able to shake him off.

  “You think you’re so much better than us, don’t you? But you’ll never be anything more than a fat, worthless bitch!”

  “Lance, let go!”

  Estelle fought against her brother, the same feeling of powerlessness that had haunted her all throughout her childhood crashing down upon her. Fury consumed her and she tried to fight free from his grip once again.

  “Let her go.”

  Estelle froze, and Lance’s lips curled into a sadistic smile at the sound of Blaine’s voice. Estelle struggled against Lance, who dug his fingers hard into the soft flesh of her shoulders in direct defiance of Blaine’s orders.

  “Who the hell do you think you are, boy?”

  Estelle could see Blaine now. he was standing directly behind them, glaring down at Lance. She had never noticed just how tall and burly Blaine was compared to most humans. He wore the look so well on the mountain that she had never thought twice about his impressive size. It was just natural. But here in the human world, it was apparent just how hard it was for Blaine and people like him to belong. And really, why would they want to? In Estelle’s experience, humans were terrible, to each other and to everyone else.

  “Just butt out of it!” Lance said, turning to face Blaine and trying to drag Estelle along with him. “This is family business.”

  “You’re not my family,” Estelle growled. “Families know how to love each other. You guys only know how to care for yourselves.”

  “I think you are both missing the point here,” Blaine said, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently. “This little asshole here is supposed to let go of you, because if he doesn’t, it’s going to make me very, very angry.”

  “Like I give a shit,” Lance said, sneering at Blaine. “She has a lot to apologize about and if she doesn’t, she’s in for a world of trouble.”