Perfect Scents

by Heather Karn

  Chapter 21

  “You still smell something funky on the air?” Chrissa asked as we met at our lockers before English started. Most days I didn’t go to my locker before our last class, but today I felt I needed to. My gut was telling me something was wrong, but I didn’t know what.

  “Yup. I don’t like it.”

  “Me either, and I can’t smell it. Let’s get this class done and get out of here.”

  “Or we could skip it.”

  My lips twitched at Chrissa’s shaky laugh. “Miss Joey, I think I’ve been a bad influence on you. Come on, or we’ll be late.”

  “I have a bad feeling about this.” We met up with a group of boys heading toward our classroom and followed them into the room.

  As I stepped through the doorway, I gagged on the room’s noxious stench. Normal human scents hung under a canopy of sourness which permeated the entire room. Only sheer determination kept my lunch from coming back up.

  The source of the reeking odor I’d smelled all day was now easy to determine. Mrs. Huckabee was absent. In her place sat a large, muscular, giant of a man. His brown goatee was trimmed short, as was his hair, which was parted on the side in an exact straight line. He caught my eyes as I looked him over, and the tiniest of smiles crossed his face to be replaced with a frown.

  Taking a seat, I kept my eyes on him. That he was here and Mrs. Huckabee wasn’t had my stomach twisting with nerves. She was known for her punctuality and attendance record so for her not to be at school, something extreme had to have happened, and I was divided on whether or not I wanted to know what it was.

  “Good afternoon, class. I’m Mr. Rankerd. Mrs. Huckabee has gone out of town for a few weeks, and while she is gone, I will be your substitute teacher. It was a sudden decision, and I don’t know details, so don’t ask,” the burly man barked, gaining everyone’s wide-eyed attention the moment he started speaking.

  Worry was creeping up my spine like a snake ready to strike. When I shivered, Chrissa glanced over at me with narrowed eyes. Turning to her, I looked to him and back to her again several times and took a loud breath through my nose. Her eyebrows rose halfway up her forehead and her eyes grew wide. I should have listened to my gut and skipped class.

  Mr. Rankerd started going down the attendance sheet calling out student’s names. It was difficult to breathe in the room with the door shut and no air circulation. His stench filled every nook and crevice, and I was becoming light headed and nauseous as I suffered through each agonizing breath. If I were lucky it would be a library day, but I wasn’t holding out hope.

  He called my name, and I managed a strangled “Here,” causing him to stop and stare at me.

  “Do you feel well, Ms. McClane? You don’t look so good.”

  “I’m fine, Mr. Rankerd.”

  “I see.”

  He continued down the list as my gut clenched. He couldn’t know of my connection to Tom and Samuel, could he? It had to have been coincidence that he was here…but then again I didn’t think it was coincidence that Samuel kept showing up in my life either. Closing my eyes, I took a slow breath, trying to find another scent in the room to focus on, but even Chrissa’s mouthwatering Oreo and peanut butter scent couldn’t escape being tainted by the sour stink that filled the room.

  “Now, today you start your new reading assignment, and to begin you will be reading chapters one through three. I don’t want to hear a sound out of you. Understand? Good.” The deep, menacing tone of his voice left everyone silent. It was terrifying. I couldn’t look away from his amber eyes when they rested on me, and that slight smile at the corners of his mouth was back. The wicked gleam in his eyes turned my stomach. “Ms. McClane, please pass the books out.”

  I debated refusing him for a split second. The books sat on his desk, which meant I’d have to get closer to him. I was already struggling to breathe three desks back. Getting any closer would mean that I’d need to hold my breath because there was no way I would not gag when I stood beside him. I should have told him I wasn’t feeling well. Maybe then I wouldn’t have had to do this.

  While I stood from my seat, I took a quick, inconspicuous peek around the room. No one else looked to be as green as I felt, which solidified our theory that I was the only one who could smell these people. Grabbing the books from his desk, I passed them out, and as I did, I noticed that no one would meet Mr. Rankerd’s stare, not even Michael, who always had a good laugh at giving substitutes trouble.

  With the books all passed out, I settled back in my chair, flipping the book open to chapter one. When the irritating itchiness of being watched became too much for me to bear, I glanced up into Mr. Rankerd’s staring amber eyes. Swallowing hard, I let my eyes fall back to the page I’d started, but it was hard to read the trembling words.

  How did this man get to be our sub? No one that sinister should ever have been allowed near kids.

  The class was ending when he called my name again.

  “Ms. McClane, would you stay after class for a moment, please?”

  Panic ensued in my brain, and all thought left. He wanted me to stay in the same room with him? Alone? That didn’t sound like a good idea, but I couldn’t think of a plausible excuse to get out of it. My brain still wasn’t putting words together in coherent sentences. However, we were in a public place, or as public as I could get, and surely he wouldn’t do anything to draw attention to himself.

  “Yeah. Sure.”

  “Good. The rest of you may leave.”

  As he spoke, the bell rang, releasing everyone else to go their own, safe, merry way while I was stuck talking to someone whose smell made my gag reflex work overtime. He’d better stay where he was, or I’d throw up. If he kept the door open, that would help.

  Chrissa leaned over her desk to me as everyone else stood and all but ran for the door. She kept an eye on the substitute as she spoke. “I think I’ll go pick up the Flowers we mentioned earlier and meet you right back here.”

  I could have squeezed her in the biggest hug of my life at that very moment, and I thanked my lucky stars that we’d given Kev a convenient nickname. Hopefully, Mr. Rankerd hadn’t heard or wouldn’t catch on, or if he did he might not try anything knowing my personal bodyguard would be on his way.

  “Okay, I’ll be right behind you.” My voice wavered, and I prayed it would hold steady during my talk with this man one on one. I also hoped that Kev was on duty today.

  Chrissa joined the last few people fleeing the room, all of whom gave Mr. Rankerd wary glances and a wide berth as they tried not to push each other out the door. Some cast me sympathetic glances, and even the blue haired William gave me a thumbs up before he escaped. If only that were helpful to me.

  As the last student fled, Mr. Rankerd stood and moved at a leisure pace to shut the classroom door, trapping his scent, and me, inside. With the door shut, he turned with a full smile that showed several yellow teeth, giving his expression a fierce glow.

  “So, Joette, we finally meet. I’ve heard so much about you that I wanted to meet you myself.”

  “Where’s Mrs. Huckabee?” My voice still quavered, giving my nerves away, so I appeared weak and scared. I was, but I hadn’t wanted him to know it. Too late.

  “That’s not important. I overheard you and the other young lady chatting at lunch. Let me give you this warning. I wouldn’t go to Tom’s house, and I wouldn’t spy on him. He’s territorial and would take that as a threat. Again, this is your only warning. Stay away.”

  “What are you?” If he was bold enough to confront me, basically confirming to me that Tom and the others weren’t human, then I had to ask.

  His smile grew to a sneer as he took measured steps toward where I sat. I hadn’t moved from my seat, but now I wished I’d stood when everyone left. It would be my luck that he would charge at me, and I’d get my feet all wrapped up trying to extract myself from the chair.

  “That’s part of the game, didn’t you know that?”

  “You’re playin
g me? Why?”

  “You, my dear, are only one piece of a large puzzle. The why is unimportant. Your next move is what is important. That will decide if you are a piece worth keeping in the puzzle.”

  “You mean you’ll kill me.” It was a statement, not a question. There was no doubt behind what he was implying. “What move should I make then?”

  He didn’t answer as he sat back at his desk, leaning his elbows on the wooden top as he brought his hands up in front of him, fingertips together. After assessing me for several seconds, he gave a stern order. “Stop what you’re doing; all the searching for answers. Only that will save you.”

  Every word he spoke confirmed my theory. These people were dangerous, and they were up to no good. I still didn’t know what they were doing or what they were, but no matter his threats, I was going to find out. They were messing with my family and following me. I had to find out.

  “So if I don’t stop looking for answers, you’re going to kill me?”

  “Maybe, or maybe not. That’s not my decision. I’m here because I was sent to tell you to stop looking.”

  “And who sent you? Tom?”

  He chuckled, running a massive hand through his hair, and leaned back in his chair. He really was one of the largest men I’d ever seen in my life, and I couldn’t figure out how that chair wasn’t collapsing under his weight. “I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with Mr. Hildebrant. There are far more of us than you know about.”

  “You want me to stop searching for answers, yet, you tell me something like that. How am I supposed to stop when you keep throwing pieces of information at me?”

  “I’m making you curious? Oh dear, I can’t have that. Run along then before I say anything else that might entice you to keep up your foolery. Just remember what I said: you won’t like the consequences if you keep drawing attention to us.”

  He jerked his head toward the door, and that was all the dismissal I needed. Grabbing my books, I bolted for the exit. Mr. Rankerd’s pitiless chuckle at my rapid retreat was slow, deep, and laced with venom, but I didn’t care anymore. I was about to lose my lunch.

  The door opened from the other side at the same time I shoved it open from the inside, and I ran painfully into the other person. My nose hit a muscular chest, and I bounced back away from him.

  “Joey, are you all right?” Kev asked, looking over my head at Mr. Rankerd, whose chuckle had changed to one of amusement at my pain.

  “She’s fine, kitten. Now scamper along and find some fun toy to play with before I make you feel like you want to throw up a hairball.” Mr. Rankerd’s tone was far icier with Kev than the tone he’d used with me.

  Kev’s mouth opened, but I wasn’t going to let him start a catfight in the school hallway, well a cat and who knew what else. Whatever he was, he knew that Kev was a weregal. He also had superb hearing to know what Chrissa and I had planned. The werewolf idea seemed more plausible, and I really wanted to prove it, but I also wasn’t fool enough to forget his warning.

  Taking Kev’s hand, I tugged him along after me, cutting off any argument he was about to make. Though I wanted nothing more than to leave the school right away, I still needed to make a pit stop at my locker to grab my backpack and jacket. Kev’s scent followed me, but I wanted nothing more than to turn around and stick my nose against his chest again, to breathe deeply of his calming smell, but there wasn’t time, and I wasn’t about to stop moving until we’d left this building far behind.

  “Who was he and what did he want?” Kev hissed close to my ear as I put in my locker combination. I had to start over three times because my hand was trembling so bad I couldn’t grip and spin the small knob.

  “I don’t know exactly. Can we talk about this in a minute?”

  He didn’t respond, but turned, keeping his back to me like a sentinel, watching the hallway around us for a potential attack. A few students still wandered the hall for various reasons each gave Kev a wide berth as he stared them down. When he turned to me, I saw why they all looked on the verge of wetting themselves. His expression was hard, cold and stormy. The pupils of his eyes were dilated so far that they almost completely took over the blue of his iris. I needed to get him out of here before he completely lost control of the eye change…or his shifting. That would give him away instantly, and there would be no going back.

  Slamming my locker shut I started toward the entrance with Kev less than a step behind me. Chrissa waited for us in Honeybee at the curb of the circular student pick up area near the front of the building. If I could have, I would’ve started crying tears of relief. Since I couldn’t, I settled for a full sprint to our getaway car. There was no way I wanted to chance running into Mr. Rankerd again, and the faster we got out of there, the less likely that was to occur.

  Kev opened my door, sweeping his eyes across our surroundings as he waited for me to scramble into the front seat. The door slammed with brutal force behind me as he raced to take his place in the back. Chrissa barely waited for him to get his legs inside before she squealed her tires and we shot forward. The door wasn’t even closed before we moved.

  “You okay, Joey?” Chrissa asked as we careened out of the driveway.

  I nodded, my words breathless from the sprint and the fear that pulsed through me. “I think so.”

  “What’d he want?”

  “To tell me to back off. He pretty much admitted they’re not human.”

  “How so?”

  I turned in my seat so I could get a better view of their reactions. “He told me not to go spy on Tom and to stay off his land because he’s very territorial.”

  Chrissa tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and chewed her lower lip while her eyes glazed over as she processed this information. While I waited for her to respond, my eyes flicked back to Kev in the back seat. His eyes burned with a fiery rage that left goose bumps along my arms. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, held the breath he’d inhaled, and released it.

  As he repeated the process several times, I watched as the muscles in his face relaxed. The gray t-shirt he wore clashed with his black eyes when he reopened them. Now that he’d calmed himself, they were smoldering instead of a raging firestorm.

  Chrissa’s voice brought our attention back to her, and I had to work to hear her whisper above the noise of the car’s engine.

  “We talked about going to Tom’s at lunch, and I didn’t see him anywhere. You didn’t mention smelling him, so I assume he wasn’t close by.”

  “No, he wasn’t. I think he stayed in the classroom all day. That threw me off since it smelled old, but I think that was from mixing with all the human scents.”

  “Okay, so he heard us. And he said Tom’s territorial? Humans aren’t territorial. Yes, we own property, but I don’t know anyone who considers it their territory. That sounds animalistic.”

  “What else did he say?” Kev’s words were clipped and tight. Another look back at him confirmed he was still angry. His nostrils flared, and his eyebrows were furrowed. My pounding heart didn’t ease up as I recalled the rest of our conversation and its hidden meaning.

  “He said if I didn’t back off that something bad would happen that I’d regret and that I’m a piece of a large puzzle, and they won’t need my piece if I don’t stop trying to find out the truth. I need to tell Gram and Aunt Gwen.”

  “That’s not a good idea. If you tell them what he said, your Aunt may cancel her date and Tom will know something’s wrong,” Kev pointed out.

  “But she needs to know,” I argued back.

  “Yes, she does, but you still don’t have any proof besides your word. Even if she were to talk to that man, he’d lie to her, and I guarantee Tom will as well.”

  Though his point was valid, I had to keep trying. “If they don’t know the truth they’re in danger.”

  “And maybe if they do know the truth they’ll be in more danger than being blind to it. Joey, I already promised to watch over them while you’re gone this weekend. They w
ill not leave my sight.” He paused, swallowing hard, and continued, his voice filling with apprehension like he knew we weren’t going to like what he was about to say. “I think you two shouldn’t go to that party. They may not have anything planned, but if I’m watching Gram and Gwen, that means I won’t be protecting you. I don’t want you to go alone.”

  “But he said if I don’t do anything they’ll leave me alone.”

  “And you trust him, Joey?” Kev’s voice was full of frustration.

  “No, but you really think they’ll attack us at a party? There’ll be too many people around for something to happen in public.”

  I specifically didn’t mention that most of those people would most likely be drunk out of their minds in no time and wouldn’t remember what happened the next day if Tom’s people did show up. Negotiating with Kev would be hard enough without adding that tiny little fact to his argument’s defense. That didn’t matter, though. He found his own.

  “You said it’s in the middle of the forest.”

  Chrissa broke in, assisting me in my position. “It’s right next to a road. We wouldn’t have to walk far through the woods.”

  “I still don’t like it.”

  “Then meet at my house, drive over with us, walk us to the party house, go back to Joey’s house, and I’ll call when we’re ready to leave, and you can walk us back. How’s that?”

  “It leaves my house unprotected.” Though it was a great plan, the flaw in it was pretty big.

  Chrissa huffed out a groan and jerked a thumb in the direction of the backseat. “Well, how else do you want to do it? Flowers isn’t going to let us go any other way.”

  “I’m tempted not to let you go at all,” Kev muttered under his breath. My lips twitched at his rebellion and the tiny temper tantrum he was throwing in the backseat. When his worried eyes met mine, my frown returned.

  “Fine. Kev will that plan work for you?”

  We pulled up to the curb in front of Chrissa’s house as he rubbed his hands up and down his face and let out a thunderous grown. With the car in park and turned off, Chrissa turned in her seat to face him as well. When his hands fell to his lap, he glanced between us and leaned forward between the front seats.

  “I still don’t like it, but I don’t believe either one of you stubborn females will give me any other choice. Yes, I’ll meet you here and ride with you to this party and make sure you get there safe.”

  “Good. We’ll be leaving here at eight o’clock sharp. Be here or we’ll head over ourselves, and you can catch up,” Chrissa warned, grabbing the keys from the ignition and flinging her door open.

  “No.”

  “Yes. I’ve warned you. Be here at eight.”

  He growled at her as she climbed out. “Fine. I’ll be here.” He looked at me, anguish filling his dark eyes and furrowing his brow further. My stomach tightened as he growled again, this time in frustration, and pulled himself from the car in defeat.

  I couldn’t find the motivation or strength to open my door as his shut behind me. Now that we were at Chrissa’s house, he’d leave to stand guard outside, but I was still trying not to shake from the memory of Mr. Rankerd’s scent. The conversation wasn’t nearly as scary to me as his smell had been. Even now the thought sent a shiver through me.

  “Are you okay, Joey?” Kev asked beside me, causing me to squeak and cover my mouth, but I nodded to him anyway. He’d opened my door, and I hadn’t noticed from focusing on the memories of English class.

  Kev placed a kiss on my forehead before helping me from the car. His minty scent slowed my racing heart and steadied my legs as they braced my weight. After closing my door, I let him wrap his arms around me and stroke my back.

  “I’ll be outside if you need me. Yell if there’s trouble and I’ll come to you as fast as I can. I promise.”

  Nodding against his chest, I gave myself one last, long sniff of his scent before backing away to join Chrissa. She waited for me at the back of the car, eyes smiling as bright as the perfectly white teeth that showed from her grin. Shaking my head, I took Kev’s hand in mind and gave it a light squeeze, which he returned without needing to be coaxed.

  “Chrissa, do you think your parents would mind if Kev hung out for a little while, or would that be a bad idea?”

  “I don’t think they’d mind. I’ve mentioned him before, so he’s not some secret. Well, his species is a secret. I told them that he’s your friend, and I know him through you, and he’s a great guy and your Gram likes him. I’m sure they won’t mind him hanging out for a bit.” Chrissa stared over my head at him as she started toward the house. “You okay with meeting the parental units?”

  “Yes, I’d like to meet your parents, especially if Joey is staying here tonight.”

  “You don’t trust my parents?”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “Then explain.” She stopped and turned abruptly, almost causing us to collide. It was a good thing it was me behind her and not Kev. Even he had close to a foot on her and had a lot more weight and muscle behind him than her skinny frame did. He’d have mowed her over.

  Shaking his head, Kev ran a hand through his ponytail then rubbed the back of his neck. “A weregal male is very protective of his female. I trust your parents, but I want to get to know them myself before I feel comfortable with my future mate here. Staying the night at another’s den is human behavior. Weregals don’t do this, even as cubs, but it would never be an option once the cubs reach puberty.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged in response. The one time he didn’t feel like explaining something further, and I really wanted to know what it was. He may have been half animal, but he was still such a man.

  Chrissa crossed her arms as she studied Kev with narrowed eyes. “Flowers, some of your tiger ways are plain weird.”

  He chuckled and winked at me. “And human ways are equally as weird for me.”

  Her frown grew into an evil grin as he spoke, and I wondered what idea put it there. I didn’t have to wait long to find out. “You ever play a Nintendo 64, Flowers? My dad still has his from way back when, and sometimes I like to play it instead of my Xbox 360.”

  His eyebrows drew together and his smile flat lined as he studied her. “I have no idea what that is.”

  “That’s what I thought. This should be fun.” She rubbed her hands together as her evil plot came together and skipped the rest of the way to the front door with Kev and me on her heals.

  Gayle was in the kitchen when we entered the house. The scent of chicken, barbecue sauce and potato salad met my sensitive nose, and I didn’t even try to stifle my moan of pleasure as my mouth watered.

  “I heard that moan, Joey,” Gayle called as we dropped our backpacks in the entry and made our way toward the scrumptious and divinely scented kitchen.

  “It smells amazing in here,” I crowed, inhaling for dramatic effect.

  She laughed as she finished stirring the salad and placed a lid on the container before putting it in the fridge to cool before dinner. When I looked to Kev I found him staring down at me, his own nose flaring from the new scents in the room. He cocked a smile at me and winked. Yeah, he liked the smells coming from the grill outside too.

  “Now, who’s the handsome, tall drink of water standing in my kitchen that no one’s introduced me to yet?” Gayle asked with a sweet, motherly smile, eyes running across Kev’s height to settle on his face. “I’m Gayle, Chrissa’s mom. You wouldn’t happen to be Joey’s friend I’ve heard about, would you?”

  “Kev,” he offered as he extended a hand toward her. She took it and gently shook his hand. In an unexpected move, he twisted their clasps hands and raised her hand to his lips and placed a short kiss against it in an old style greeting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Chrissa whipped her head in my direction, and I was pretty sure my face mirrored her own wide-eyed, open-mouthed stare. Gram had to be putting in overtime teaching Kev, or some human who’d moved to Fairim
orr twenty some odd years ago succeeded in teaching him something useful. Either that or he was a much bigger flirt with older women than I’d thought. Instead of growling, like I’d expected to do at that thought, I giggled. Maybe it was because she was married to Greg that she didn’t appear to be a threat.

  With red blushed cheeks, Gayle dramatically fanning herself with her hand once Kev released it. “Wow, it’s been a while since a young man had me blushing like that. Okay, so what are you kids up to? You’ve got an hour before Greg gets home from work.”

  Chrissa’s evil chuckle filled the kitchen, causing Kev to cast her a wary glance. He had no idea what he was getting into. I’d never played an old school Nintendo 64, but I’d played other gaming consoles. If Kev had never seen a movie, he was in for a big surprise with the Nintendo.

  “Kev’s never played a video game before, so Joey and I are going to educate him on what he’s been missing out on.”

  Gayle directed her pointer finger at Kev and gave a strict warning. “Be careful playing with Chrissa. She’s merciless.”

  “At least I don’t cheat,” Chrissa yelled over her shoulder, as she led us out of the room to a downstairs den complete with a large sofa, flat screen TV and Nintendo.

  “Your mom cheats?”

  “Well, not at this, but when we play board games, my parents both cheat. It’s seriously ridiculous.”

  I couldn’t picture either of her parents cheating on a board game; they looked too nice, but then again, they’d raised Chrissa, and I knew she wasn’t the innocent angel she was feigning to be. After all, it was with her coaxing that I was now lying to Gram and sneaking off to a Halloween party, escort or not.

  We settled on the sofa as the game’s opening screen flashed across the TV and Chrissa navigated through all the Mario Kart gaming options. Through deliberate pushiness on my part, I’d ended up in the middle, which wasn’t my favorite seat of all time, but it kept Chrissa and Kev separated so I wouldn’t have any weird cat-like reflexes to growl…or worse.

  “What is this?” Kev whispered beside my ear as he leaned close to me. His scent surrounded us, and I became more than grateful that Chrissa couldn’t smell it. Jealousy heated my skin as I scooted closer to Kev until our legs and hips touched. He chuckled at me while Chrissa cast me an “Are you joking?” eye glare.

  Before I responded to Kev’s question, I wrapped my arm around his so he could still play while I held onto him. “This is a video game. It’s hard to explain. You’ll have to play and find out.”

  “Great,” Kev muttered under his breath as he rolled his blue eyes. Human characteristics looked good on him.

  Snuggling closer, I pushed my nose into his bicep and took a long, slow breath. My jealousy over Chrissa being so near him faded as she explained the rules of the game and how to use the controller. Though he nodded his understanding at each direction, I could tell from the tension in his jaw that he still had no idea what he was doing. If anything, Chrissa had chosen a good outlet to get Kev’s mind off of Mr. Rankerd and what had happened at school.

  “Okay, let’s do this,” Chrissa announced, starting the game. She took off right at the start, while Kev eased forward, still unsure of the buttons to push. His soft growl every time he hit the wrong button had Chrissa and me laughing ourselves silly.

  It didn’t take Kev long to get turned around on the track. “Okay, what’s going on?” he asked, his frustration leaking through his voice and his tight grip on the controller.

  “You’re going the wrong way. Turn around and follow everyone else.”

  “Turn around how?”

  He shoved the controller in my hand and watched as I navigated. After showing him how to turn and a few other tricks, I gave the controller back and let him figure it out. Chrissa beat him in two more games before handing the controller off to me to race him. Though I wasn’t as brutal at beating Kev as Chrissa was, I at least tried not to beat him by more than two laps.

  By the time our third game was ending, he was getting the hang of the game and actually smiled a few times. He’d gotten so into the game that I’d had to let his arm go so he could lean forward and rest his elbows on his knees. The thumping of someone trotting down the stairs pulled his attention from the game and to the doorway as Greg turned the corner.

  “Hey, kids, how’s it going down here?” he asked, leaning against the door frame.

  “Not too bad, if you’re the girls,” Chrissa laughed, not taking her eyes off the TV as she continued her turn against Kev, “But the boy could use some help.”

  Kev growled at the screen as he shoved the controller into my hands. “This is ridiculous.”

  Chrissa and I finished the game while Kev walked over to Greg to introduce himself. It was a tough race since Kev had been behind, but at least I lost by less than a lap. We were about to start a new game when Greg stopped us.

  “Hey, ladies, it’s time for dinner. You interested?”

  He didn’t need to tell us twice. I’d smelled the chicken cooking since we’d stepped into the house, and once the barbecue sauce had been added my stomach had decided to start telling everyone I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, though I’d had a good lunch. Both Kev and Chrissa had laughed at my growling stomach more than once.

  Bolting from the couch, Chrissa and I pushed passed the men to dash upstairs and claim our seats at the table. Greg and Kev followed at a much slower pace, so by the time they arrived Gayle had finished placing the last of the food on the table.

  “I hear Mario Kart wasn’t a success,” Gayle laughed as she and the men sat. We’d filled her in on Kev’s failings as she’d brought the food to the table. I knew Kev would hear us, but it hadn’t stopped me from telling of his misfortune.

  He shook his head as he eyed the food. Though his sense of smell wasn’t nearly as good as mine, he still smelled much better than humans, and now his stomach was making noise. “It was…interesting.”

  We all laughed as Gayle instructed us to dig in. Again, we, the three Musketeers, didn’t need any encouragement to load our plates and start shoveling food into our mouths.

  Dinner was amazing, and after the dishes were done, we all settled in the living room to watch a crime drama marathon on the TV. It was much more relaxing than having to converse with Chrissa’s parent’s about Kev’s origins. As far as they were aware, Kev was from my previous hometown and was around for a little while to check in on me since Mom died.

  Kev and I cuddled on the couch under a blanket watching the TV shows. It was hard to believe that we’d only known each other a few weeks because it felt like I’d known him so much longer. I also had to shake my head that I’d ever tried to push him away because I was scared to lose him.

  The fourth episode ended, and Gayle turned the TV off with a tired moan. Greg snored lightly in the chair beside her’s. He’d passed out minutes into the second episode. With the tired wrinkles around her eyes, it shocked me that Gayle was still awake herself.

  Kev noticed Gayle’s tired eyes as well, and sat forward on the couch, removing the blanket from his lap. He kept me covered so I would stay warm and keep the heat in that he’d provided. I was never going to get cold with him around, with or without fur.

  “Well, I should be going. It’s getting late. Thank you for letting me have dinner with you and hang out, Gayle.”

  “Anytime, Kev. It was nice meeting you, especially after Chrissa’s been talking about you quite a bit. I always like to meet her friends, so I know who she’s hanging out with.” Her eyes moved to me and worry clouded them, and her tired wrinkles deepened. “Joey, are you all right? You look like you’re in pain.”

  I was. Chrissa had been talking about my mate “quite a bit” with her mom. That shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did. My body was telling me to growl, to defend my claim on my mate, and yet I was holding it in. But that wasn’t the painful part. Instinct was telling me to defend with claws and teeth, to tear into the interloper. Whether my body was trying to respond or i
t was my imagination, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that my gums ached and so did my fingers. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to control myself. If I didn’t, the cat would be out of the bag, so to speak.

  “Are you okay?” Kev whispered beside me as he gently squeezed my hand, unaware of the pain in my fingers. Without opening my eyes and with a hitch in my breathing, I nodded. He laughed, but I felt the tension of his body proving the laugh was forced. “Just tired?”

  This time, I shook my head. As I calmed down, the pain subsided, which was enough to convince me that maybe I had imagined it. Either way, I had to make a plausible excuse for my odd behavior.

  “Sorry. Charlie Horse in my foot.”

  Gayle’s wince was loud. “Those are painful.”

  Kev wasn’t convinced. It was clear on his face as he planted a kiss on the top of my head and eyed me with a narrowed glance as he drew back. “I really should go so you can go to bed. Good night, my love.” He stood and looked down at our friend. “Good night, Chrissa.”

  “Night, Flowers,” she told him from her pile of blankets and pillows in the middle of the living room floor. Though Kev and I had the most comfortable seats on the couch cuddling, Chrissa’s was a close second. If Kev hadn’t been around, I’d have been down there with her.

  She was watching me closely, trying to read something from my expression. It was clear that she knew what I’d almost done. Hoping she wasn’t mad at me for it, I stood with Kev. “I’ll walk you out.”

  Chrissa chuckled on the floor as she pulled her blankets closer. “You just want to make out in private.”

  My cheeks heated as I followed Kev from the room, hand in hand.

  “Keep dreaming, girl.”

  “I want details,” she called after us, but I ignored her.

  After stepping outside onto the front porch and shutting the door, Kev wrapped his long arms around me, warding off the chilly night air with his warm body. Tremors passed through him as he tried not to laugh, but there was laughter in his voice. On the other hand, I wanted to cringe, die or bury myself in the nearest gopher hole.

  “You almost growled again, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry. I can’t help it.”

  “Don’t apologize. I think it’s sexy.”

  Pushing away from him, I gazed up into his playful black eyes.

  “It won’t be so sexy when I start ripping women’s heads off if they so much as look at you.”

  “I feel that I must disagree. That would be very sexy.”

  Shaking my head at his ridiculous animal opinion, I let him cup my face with his hands. He dropped his head to rest it against my forehead, and his usual melodic voice deepened with worry.

  “Joey, please don’t go to that party tomorrow without me,” he begged as his voice cracked.

  “Kev, I’ll wait for you, but you need to be here at eight, or close to it or you’ll face the wrath of Chrissa. She’s supposed to meet a boy there and doesn’t want to be late. That’s why she’s freakishly adamant about you being here on time.”

  He chuckled softly and placed a kiss against my hair. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

  I studied his eyes a few seconds more before interrogating him about the deep worry and fear I saw in them. “Kev, what’s bothering you?”

  He pulled away and ran a hand through his hair while the other found its way into his back pocket. His eyes stared at the ground until he spoke. Then he watched my face.

  “Joey, I need to go to Fairimorr sooner than I thought, and I need you to come with me. I’ve thought about that monster’s words all evening, and it scares the heck out of me that he openly threatened you. I can’t smell them, and I can’t protect you on my own. You’re special, Joey, and I need to protect you, but I can’t do that here. If we can get to the Hall while the pack leaders are meeting, we can get their help.”

  “When you say sooner than you thought, what do you mean?”

  “Sunday. You’ll go home, say goodbye to Gram and Gwen, then we’ll leave. And don’t tell Chrissa. She’s safer if she doesn’t know.”

  My shock at his timeline had me needing to clarify his statement. “Sunday. You mean the day after tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  Folding my arms, I turned to look out at the street. Chrissa’s neighborhood was quiet for how many people lived in it, but the cool evening was keeping everyone indoors. That was a good thing because my nostrils were flaring and I was having a hard time keeping the volume of my voice soft enough to not bring Chrissa or her parents to the front door.

  “You’re angry.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “You can’t drop that bomb on me and order me to accept it and not expect me to be mad at you or object. You’re being bossy, overprotective and dominant, and I don’t like it. That may work where you come from, but here on Earth we talk about it and compromise.”

  His jaw clenched as his hands tightened into fists and his eyes bored into mine. “I will not compromise your safety. You’re special, and I will not lose you. And they can obviously get into your school, where I can’t go to protect you.”

  “That’s not how this works, Kev.” My voice was rising, and I fought to control it. “We need to talk about this. We can do that Sunday instead of leaving.”

  Kev’s sigh sounded like defeat, and I almost rejoiced with a mini party inside, but when he spoke again it was clear the sigh was nothing but frustration.

  “I’m trying to protect you, Joey. It’s what a male does for his female. No female that I have ever heard of has fought a male’s protective instinct. I understand it’s the human way for a female to be independent and believe she can protect herself, but we have no idea what we’re up against. We don’t know who they are, what they are, or how many of them there are.”

  My shoulders slumped, and this time, it was my sigh that showed defeat. If there were one thing, I’d learned about Kev the last few weeks was that he was more stubborn than I was and he never gave up, no matter how much opposition he faced. If he was determined that we’d be leaving Sunday, I should at least be happy he wasn’t snatching me off the porch tonight, throwing me over his shoulders, and sprinting off into the night to a place I’d never dreamed of and knew next to nothing about.

  “I’m going to fight you about this, kicking and screaming the whole way, I hope you know that.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he laughed with relief, placing his hands on my shoulders and squeezing gently. “All I want is to protect my mate, and the woman I love.”

  I blinked at him a few times, trying to reassure myself I’d heard correctly. “What did you say?”

  His melodic chuckle rippled the air around us as he pulled me into his arms and placed a kiss on the top of my head. His lips brushed against my hair as he spoke.

  “I love you, Joette. You are the love of my life, the mate I’ve waited sixty-five years for. The moment I saw you, you stole my breath, and it was all I could do to keep breathing. I may do things you don’t understand, but I do it because I love you. This may be too soon, but I needed to tell you.”

  My heart and stomach were doing a happy dance as I kept myself from swooning from the powerful wave of mint that was squeezing me tight. Hugging him tighter, I settled my cheek against his chest. I wasn’t ready to verbally reciprocate his feelings, but I could enjoy my happiness that I was loved.

  “May I kiss you, Joey?”

  Looking up into his eyes that were only inches from mine I grinned. “Not if I kiss you first, tiger.”

  Standing on my tip toes, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down until our lips met. As his soft, minty lips feathered across mine, like he always did as our kisses began, his hands moved to my waist, holding me firmly in place.

  I growled in my chest, tired of his teasing. With an answering rumble, he pulled me closer, kissing me like he’d never done before as I drank in his scent, which was as intoxicating as ever. His tongue t
railed across my lower lip, his first real taste of my scent, and it took everything in me not to pass out from sensory overload. No wonder he pulled away after I tasted him.

  “Well it’s about time I get to see some of this lip locking action,” Chrissa nearly shouted as she stepped out onto the front porch. Her voice startled me, and I jumped, pulling my lips away from Kev. He growled under his breath, but Chrissa ignored him. “I was beginning to wonder if Joey had made up being kissed since I’ve never seen anything remotely close to a kiss from you two. Glad to know I was wrong.”

  “Did you need something?” he hissed, barely opening his mouth. He wasn’t the only one who wanted to kiss again, but it was probably a good idea that we didn’t. I was still breathless from the last one, and in too much shock that he’d actually tasted my lips.

  “No, not really. Just checking on my girl. Your goodbye was taking too long, and I guess I know why.”

  “We were talking, not making out,” I corrected before she got the wrong idea.

  “Right. I’d believe that if I hadn’t caught Flowers-.”

  “Stop,” I ordered, lifting my hand into the air as an added gesture for her to cease her comment. She didn’t have a filter, and I knew where she was going. It wasn’t what she thought though…or I was in denial. It didn’t change the fact I didn’t want her to talk about it out loud, in front of Kev.

  “Party pooper.”

  “I’d better go,” Kev announced after an awkward silence had loomed over us long enough. “You two need some girl time, and I need to check on Gram and Gwen. I’ll be back after I make sure they’re safe.”

  “Thanks, Kev.”

  He smiled and cupped my cheek with his hand and traced my cheekbone tenderly with his thumb. “Please be careful tomorrow, my love. I need you to be safe.”

  “I will be.”

  “Promise me.”

  I shuddered at the need in his voice. Until tonight he’d kept most of his emotions about me to himself, but I guessed that having me in danger was pushing him to prove his love to me. If he thought it would convince me to promise him my good behavior, he was right.

  “I promise, Kev.”

  His lips touched mine for a final, tender kiss, or it started tender until his tongue snaked across my lips again before he took a step back, leaving me in wide-eyed shock. His wicked grin told me he knew what he’d done was going to get him smacked. “Good. Now get some rest. You’re going to need it. Good night, Joey. Night, Chrissa.”

  “Good night, Flowers. Oh, and don’t snore too loud tonight. The neighbors might complain.”

  He shook his head in obvious amusement and trotted through her yard and across the street to disappear into the trees. It was still annoying that I didn’t have a normal weregal’s eyesight. If I did I’d have been able to see him far longer than I could with the pale light of the house lights.

  “You wanna play some more Mario Kart before bed?” Chrissa asked with a wink, holding the door open for me to come inside.

  “As long as you have Oreos.” After my kiss with Kev, I needed something other than the smell of mint hanging around in my scent memory.

  “Pretty sure we do. We can grab them on the way downstairs. Race ya.”