by Leela Ash
12.
Megan tucked her blouse back into place and jerked her skirt back into shape as hurriedly as she could, her hands shaking. She was beyond late for her appointment and she knew there was no salvaging this time. She had been expected to meet the Police Chief about a case of mangled pets she had handled for AniVets in order to turn in her final report from their end to aid his investigations.
At this rate, she would never be able to meet that appointment. She would go to his office nevertheless and drop off the report, she decided as she rounded the side of the house and walked with jerky steps.
She had deliberately dallied until Jack and his brothers left. She was afraid if she saw Luke or Bo right now, she would start blushing and she wouldn’t be able to stop.
She sighed as she spied the broken front door. She would have to send Jack the bill. A memory intruded of her ramming into his Lamborghini at Jeanine’s wedding and of him, refusing her offer to take care of the bill.
Viewed that way, it might be a bit tacky to demand he repair the door when that was a whole lot cheaper than a Lambo.
Her mind made up, she picked her car keys from where they had fallen when Jack grabbed her and she headed towards her car.
The unmistakable sound of sobbing froze her in her tracks. She looked towards the house confused. She had just come from there. No one was there.
The sobbing increased. These were the soft, heartbroken sobs of a woman in distress and Megan’s heart constricted with pity. Whoever that was, they sounded like they needed help.
Cautiously Megan approached the old Garrets’ house again. She had explored every room alone and with Jack’s brothers. There had been no one.
But the sobbing was definitely coming from inside the old house.
Could it be a ghost?
Ghosts don’t exist, silly, her mind chided.
Megan sighed. She really truly did not believe that ghosts existed but then again, most people really, truly did not believe that shifters existed, and her parents were both shifters!
She grabbed a short, sliced off iron pole, hefting it to test the weight. It was just right. It wasn’t heavy but it could sure do a lot of damage.
Megan walked stealthily towards the house, her heart pounding, but she couldn’t be sure whether her poor heart was pounding from the exertion of her very physical activities with Jack, or from fright.
She passed underneath the half-broken door and entered the living room. The sound was coming from the kitchen.
She headed in the direction of the sound and the moment she cleared the doorway she almost wilted with relief. She was THAT pleased to see that the occupants were flesh and blood, not ghosts.
An elderly woman with stringy black-grey hair that hung to her shoulders was comforting a weeping woman of about twenty-five. They both looked like escapees from a refugee camp: dirty, haggard, tired, and malnourished.
“I gave up everything to be with him, Mama,” the younger lady was saying through uncontrollable sobs.
Megan’s heart went out to them, “Who are you?”
Both of them froze and then turned around to face her with fright in their eyes.
“Hello,” she greeted, offering them a small wave.
They stared at her in tense silence.
Megan licked her lips, “Who are you? How did you get in here?”
The women exchanged glances and then the older woman intoned, “We were just, um, resting from the sun, ma’am. We’ll get out of your house now,” she added, grabbing the younger lady by the hand and hauling her towards the door where Megan was standing.
Megan stood firmly in her path, her eyes blazing into the older woman’s, “This isn’t my house. But you’re not going anywhere.”
“We’re not?” the younger woman croaked. She was strikingly pretty with red pouty lips, and liquid green eyes but her hair was a dirty brown and done up in a tight bun that gave her a pinched, severe look.
Megan felt almost sorry for the woman. She had been sobbing almost inconsolably about some man and now some strange woman was in her face.
“Are you alright? Maybe I could be of help,” Megan offered.
She wasn’t even sure how she could be of help except that she knew she was just so happy that she wanted to spread the cheer. She was in love with a good, kind, considerate man and she couldn’t wait to see him again.
He had said ‘later’ but that was an indefinable time. Later could mean tonight or next week!
She had always avoided falling in love because she needed to protect her parents’ secret from a human man who would naturally be horrified to find that his new in-laws could turn into animals. But with Jack, she hadn’t even had time to avoid falling in love, she had fallen head over heels because love had crept up on her when she wasn’t looking.
The younger woman glared at Megan, “You can get out of our way. That would help!”
Megan sighed, “Where do you live?”
“None of your business,” the younger woman retorted.
“Pardon me,” Megan said, and turned to leave.
“Hold on,” the older woman called. “Forgive my daughter, she’s just distraught. We are just passing through town. We thought we could bed down here for a few days before leaving. But if that isn’t fine by you, don’t call the cops, please. We’re leaving.”
Maggie frowned. The woman’s manner of speech was somewhat outdated as though she came from another era. “I wasn’t planning on calling the cops. You just seemed like you needed help. I wanted to help.”
The woman shrugged, “I don’t know that you can help. I’m Neola and this is my daughter Lily. My daughter let herself fall for a strange man. He was a smooth talker and a charmer. He got her pregnant and he left town the moment that was done. Lily wouldn’t listen to reason. She tried to abort it and she lost her womb in the bargain. Now no man among us would have her. Our community cast us out. We came here hoping to find him, but we found something else,” she revealed.
Neola’s eyes were gazing hauntingly into Megan’s.
A tendril of fear clutched at Megan’s heart; cold, hard fear so thick it was like a blanket thrown over her joy to douse it.
The story sounded like something concocted from the Middle Ages. What sort of society made it their business whether a woman was a single parent or not?
Her question must have shown on her face because the old woman smiled sadly, “We’re Puritans. We come from a little community you’ve never heard of, deep in Texas.”
Megan nodded her understanding. It made sense now: their clothes, their manner, their speech patterns. She smiled at them, “Where would you like to go? I can take you in my car.”
The women exchanged a glance again and then Noela said with a weary sigh, “Wherever you think is best my dear. We don’t have money for hotels, and we could stay here except we would be needing some warm blankets. If you could help with that, we’d be right as rain.”
Normally the quaint usage would have made her smile, but Megan was truly worried about these two strange women she had stumbled upon.
“You’ll come home with me until you’re ready to leave,” she said decisively.
The younger woman’s eyes snapped green fire at Megan and she thrust her chin in the air, “We don’t accept charity.”
The older woman shushed her and beamed at Megan, “You’re a darling. Thank you.”
The woman was smiling like a grandmother, but something sparked off a niggle of unease in Megan. She paused, wondering where the feeling of fear was coming from. She held her smile in place with great effort then as the younger woman walked forward, she tripped on the long hem of her dress and went sprawling. The motion yanked her duffel and the entire contents spilled.
Megan hastened to pick them up as the older woman helped her daughter to her feet. As Megan stuffed things back into the duffel, a sheaf of pictures that had been in the hold-all caught her gaze. She grabbed it and the entire world stood still as her eyes lit on the ver
y first picture.
It was Jack! He was wrapped in a passionate embrace with an exotic-looking dark head. Megan’s hands shook as she stared at the picture and it slipped from her grasp along with other pictures. They spread out in glossy evidence all around her: different pictures of Jack entwined with different women.
Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at the two women who were watching her, “Who are you? Why do you have these pictures?” she demanded.
The older woman swallowed, “I’m very sorry, my dear. Lily lost her grip on the bag. This should never have happened.”
Megan looked from one woman to the other as tears slipped down her cheeks, “What do these pictures mean?” she asked inanely.
The younger woman looked less quarrelsome as she licked her lips and something like genuine sorrow passed in her eyes, “Jack is the man who did all those things to me.”
The world began to spin.
No! Megan’s heart screamed, rejecting the notion. She couldn’t have been so wrong about Jack.
He couldn’t possibly be a heartless, unfeeling fiend who had robbed this slim Puritan girl of her innocence and her womb before striding off to his next victim. Megan shook her head still staring at the different pictures.
Lily knelt beside her and placed a consoling hand on her shoulder. Megan flung off the hand, “You’re a liar. Jack isn’t—”
“That sort of man?” Lily interrupted. “I thought so too until it happened to me. But pictures don’t lie, Megan,” she added nodding at the pictures.
Megan looked back down at the pictures. Her heart felt as though it were shattering into a million pieces.
“When I confronted him this morning—”
“This morning?” Megan asked sharply.
Lily nodded, “We saw him and his brothers driving through town and we got a cab to follow him with the last money we had. We were convinced he would help us. He simply told me he didn’t do relationships long term. He proceeded to tell me if I hung around long enough, I could have a front row seat to watch him make love to you; and that’s exactly what he did. He made me watch as he made love to you by the side of the house, against the wall.”
Megan felt her breakfast coming back up.
And that was even before Lily added, “He made love to you against the wall in the exact same position he had used his first time with me. He knew it was my favorite position and he only did it to spite me.”
Truth and sincerity blazed back at her from Lily’s eyes. It was true then, she realized. Jack was a philandering bastard of the worst sort and he had set his sights on her and proceeded to take her virginity today only to prove a point to Lily and her mother.
What in the world!
It felt surreal and she would never have believed it if she hadn’t seen the pictures. If pictures were worth a thousand words, these ones were worth a great deal more.
Lily had over fifty different pictures of Jack in the throes with some faceless bimbo. It didn’t take a savant to figure out that he was one of the rich, playboy types who didn’t know what to do with their penises or their money.
Where did she factor in all of this, Megan thought, climbing to her feet. He had used her without qualms; he had taken all she had to offer and used her as though she were a doll without feelings. And he had had the gumption to say he would see her later.
Obviously, he hadn’t expected that she would run into Neola and Lily.
Megan was blinking rapidly to keep her tears at bay as she thrust her chin in the air and said, “Neola, Lily, you’ll both come stay with me until you’re ready to leave town.”
“But—” Neola began.
“I will hear nothing more on the subject,” Megan insisted. “You have suffered because of me. Watching me in the arms of the man you l-l-love can’t have been easy. Allow me to make amends in my own small way,” she said.
Lily laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, “You’ve suffered too, Megan. Let the tears fall.”
The kindness was her undoing. Megan lost her last shred of control as she covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.
She didn’t see the old woman and Lily exchange pleased glances over her head. They had her exactly where they wanted her.
Nabradia wrapped her arms around the weeping woman, grinning as she looked over at her daughter Alcacia. Their disguise had served its purpose and now, getting revenge on the Damaged Pack boys would be a walk in the park.
Megan Delaney was just the right puppet to help her destroy them!
13.
“Nabradia’s silence is grating on my nerves,” Kelly complained, as she tucked Tom’s shirt into the waistband of his school shorts and gave his hair one last brush.
He puckered up his lips for a kiss before scampering to board the bus.
Derek growled, “Tell me about it.”
“What have Jack and Bo come up with?” Kelly asked as she pulled her own short red hair into a ponytail. Her aquamarine eyes were worried as she looked at her husband, “Derek. We need to do something fast.”
“Like what?” he demanded.
She shrugged, looking more unhappy than ever. Derek sighed as he came up to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t bear to see you look downcast for even a minute. You know that, so please cheer up.”
She smiled, “I just don’t want that witch to hurt anyone. Last time her daughter stabbed Bo in the chest and he would have died if Drake hadn’t absorbed the wound. Then they kidnapped Jeanine. Who knows what they plan to do next?”
“It’s a worrying thought,” Derek agreed, looking gloomier than his wife.
Joshua strode into the living room just then looking handsome and dashing for his age. These days he seemed perkier. Derek thought it had something to do with the fact that Nana Lourdes was visiting a lot these days, ostensibly to find a way to destroy the crystals they had taken from the Tiara of Oistrophe once and for all. But whenever she came, Joshua had eyes only for her.
“Why do you both look so gloomy?” Joshua asked.
“We’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nabradia’s been silent for too long.”
Joshua shrugged, “She may be silent forever, for all I care. Nana says the conference is going to happen soon.”
The couple exchanged worried glances. The Salem witch’s conference had suffered a series of postponements ever since the Damaged Pack got back into town. First, they had to try to thwart Nabradia’s plans to get the Elderwood Silken Staff. Next, they had to round up strays to stop her from unleashing Alabad on them all. Luckily, Jeanine’s grandma was one of the Council of Seven and she had helped, but Heaven knew she couldn’t possibly hold off the witch’s conference for much longer.
“What do we need to do?” Jack asked as he also entered the room with Bo and Luke. He had driven home straight after he left Megan; and he hadn’t been able to wipe the silly grin off his face. Luke and Bo had teased him endlessly, but he had paid scant attention to them.
“Keep an eye on Nabradia by all means. I don’t trust that witch.”
“How do we keep an eye on her when she’s all the way over there among the Archstone Tribe? If any of us so much as crossed the boundaries into their land, we would be dead,” Bo pointed out.
“Actually Bo, Nabradia isn’t with the Archstones anymore. She’s back in town,” Jeanine revealed, materializing beside her husband.
Everyone looked at her.
She held up her phone, “I just spoke with Nana. Her crystals don’t lie. She doesn’t know where exactly, but Nabradia’s close.”
“Derek would have to help track her. He can pick up scent from miles away,” Kelly said decisively.
“I can see through solid objects,” Jack volunteered.
“And what good would that do? You want to see through her brain?” Luke teased.
Jack ignored him. “Hey, I have an idea. I’m supposed to train some of the town folk on fire-fighting right?”
Derek nodded.
“Let’s
put the word out and hint that we would be revealing some secrets which relate to the town. That’s sure to prick the interest of Nabradia and her witches. If she comes to check things out, Derek could ‘nose’ her out to us and we could grab her.”
Joshua thought about it in silence and then finally he nodded, “Put the word out, Jack. That’s a great idea. Let’s see what turns up.”
It was decided, then.
The next day, Jack was so eager to see Megan that he rushed out first thing in the morning without having any breakfast. He had called her all night long to check on her, but she hadn’t bothered to take his calls nor had she returned them.
He was frustrated and beside himself with worry. Was she alright? He drove to her office, breaking every speed limit in the book as he made his way across town.
Everything about her excited him, to the point where he worried he was losing his mind. Did she feel the same way? Did she feel this inexplicable attachment to him too?
Jack pulled roughly into the parking lot of AniVet and dashed inside, his steps swift. He met Jeanine on the stairs, and she beamed at him, “Hey handsome. Come to see me?”
“No, Jeanine. I need to speak with Megan,” he announced, already brushing past her.
Jeanine watched him go with shrewd speculative eyes and without another word.
Jack bounded to Megan’s door and yanked it open. She was seated at her desk, looking cool as a cucumber, while he had been in a serious sweat all night, worrying and wondering if anything had happened to her.
Just like that, Jack’s worry and fear coalesced into burning anger and he slammed her door in the face of her secretary who was already rounding her own desk, presumably to bar him from seeing her boss without permission. Then he locked it behind him for good measure before stalking around her table to yank her up by her shoulders.
“Why weren’t you taking my calls? I am so glad you’re alright! I was worried sick!” he scolded. And because he wasn’t certain whether to shake her or kiss her, he enfolded her in a bear hug so tight it was a wonder it didn’t crack every last one of her ribs.
Megan trembled slightly in his arms before she stilled the reaction and pressed both hands against his chest in a silent, unmistakable demand to be free.
