(Mis)fortune (21 page)

“Nothing.”  He gently brushed his fingertips along my collarbone.  “I’m going to check on the boys.”

I nodded and watched him leave, wondering how long Gregory and Mary would be staying and what kind of report they would take back to Emmitt’s parents.

I spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in my apartment, too chicken to find out the answer to either of those questions.

Emmitt came back hours later and convinced me to join everyone for a picnic dinner.  Liam and Aden sat near Paul and Henry, a new sheen of hero worship in their eyes.  We lingered at the table after they ran off to play.

Mary asked me how I liked living at the house.  The innocent enough question felt like a graded essay.  Did his parents disapprove of me living in the same house?  Should I say it made me uncomfortable?  No.  They would sense the lie.  I weighed my choices and finally settled on admitting the truth; I felt safe there.  She smiled kindly and asked if I’d given any thought to the future.  I looked at Emmitt helplessly.

“We should probably go up and get everything ready for tonight,” he said, standing and rescuing me.  I followed his lead and started gathering plates to help clean up.  “Paul and Henry can crash at Jim’s,” he continued.  “You’re welcome to use my place.”

Mary nodded her thanks as I made my escape inside.

Emmitt and I worked together, quietly putting condiments away in Jim’s fridge, then headed upstairs.

Sensing my mood, Emmitt put in a movie and steered me to the couch with a stern order to relax.  He came in once during the middle of the movie with a pillow and a light blanket, which he set on the couch in anticipation of his overnight stay.

*    *    *    *

I woke in the middle of the night, heart hammering from my vivid dream.  The man from town had tracked us, and I’d watched as he had scaled the outside of the house to reach the third floor.  He’d had vicious, sharp teeth.  Not just his canines, but all of them.  As he’d walked around the porch, he had dragged his nails along the siding, making a terrible screeching noise.

Throwing off the covers, I got up to close the window.  The cool night air felt nice, but a mere screen separating me from the outside world didn’t feel very safe.  I tiptoed to the boys’ room and closed their windows, too.  It was cool enough in the house, anyway, because of the recent rain.

When I reached the living room, I paused.  I’d forgotten about Emmitt.  His dark form sprawled on the couch.  In the dim light, I caught the glint of his eyes and knew he was awake and watching me.

“Bad dream,” I said quietly.

He sat up and opened his arms in invitation.

Still shivering from the image of the man scaling the porches, I quickly went to him.  I sat on the couch and leaned into his side, resting my head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me.

“Go to sleep.”

I liked that he didn’t ask me to share the dream.  Talking about it would make it too real and harder to sleep again.  His warmth eventually relaxed me, and I curled into him, getting more comfortable.

Werewolves made comfy beds, I thought sleepily.  He kissed the top of my head, and I slept.

The boys stood on the porch, sadly waving goodbye to their new friends.  Since Jim had already left for work, they were stuck with just Emmitt, Nana, and me.  We were obviously nowhere near as exciting as Paul and Henry.  Mary gave me a final wave as they pulled away from the house.

Emmitt stood beside me.  I was relieved he hadn’t said anything about my dream the night before or the way we’d woken up. A blush rose at the memory of waking practically on top of him.  When I’d lifted my head to see if he still slept, I had found him studying me.  My mad scramble to get off of him had seemed to cause a moment of pain, but I hadn’t stopped to apologize.  I’d flown to my bedroom and closed myself in until he’d left.

“Now what are we going to do?” Aden said softly to Liam.

Emmitt laughed.  “How about a baseball game?”

The boys perked up and started planning teams.  They called Nana out to join in.  Since I didn’t run as fast as the other two adults, the boys decided I should pitch.  Liam wisely chose Nana for his partner.

When Jim got home from work, he found us still playing outside.  Everyone agreed it was time to eat, and we had another picnic dinner on the porch.

Afterwards, the boys talked Jim into a movie at Nana’s place and raced off to pick what they would watch and get ready for bed.  Nana followed, leaving me alone with Emmitt for the first time since that morning.

Emmitt didn’t give my nerves a chance to build.  Instead, he took me by the hand and led me to the truck.  He wrapped his hands around my waist and, with little effort, sat me on the open tailgate.  He hopped up next to me.  Shoulder to shoulder, we watched the sun set.

“I’m sorry about last night,” I said, finally working up the courage.

“Why?  It’s the best night sleep I had in a while.”

I rolled my eyes at him, doubting the truth of his statement.

His lips twitched at my expression.  “The longer I’m with you, the more I want to be near you.  When you first came here, being apart at night didn’t bother me.  You were only two floors away, and I’d started working on the apartment so I knew we would be closer soon.  Then, sleeping in a bed that smelled like you helped, but it’s been getting difficult again.”  He smiled ruefully.  “If you asked, I’d sleep on your couch every night.”

After the dream I had the night before, the offer tempted me; but I had to think of Liam and Aden, too.

“I’m not sure how Liam and Aden would take that.  They’d probably worry that we aren’t safe again, no matter what explanation we gave them for your overnight stays.  I don’t want to scare them.”

“We could always share your bed?” he half-asked, half-stated in a serious tone.

I floundered for something to say.  Share a bed?  Were we that far?

“No hidden agenda.  Just sleeping,” he said, amused.

I opened my mouth to thank him for the offer and to decline but never got the words out.

Emmitt’s head whipped up.  His gaze locked on the woods at the back of the yard.  Without looking away, he leapt off the tailgate, lifted me, and set me on the ground toward the house.

“Get onto the porch.”

His low voice worried me.  He took a step backward, trying to herd me in the direction he wanted while positioning himself to shield me.  What was out there?  Peeking over Emmitt’s shoulder was no easy feat, but I managed.

At first, the yard appeared empty.  Then, the deep shadows near the trees at the back of the yard moved.  I frowned, trying to focus on the area.

Two men emerged, but I couldn’t see them clearly.  I wanted to ask Emmitt who they were, but he reached for my arm and nudged me toward the porch as he’d ordered.

I took a step back, hoping to see more, however, he shadowed my move.  His skin rippled and started to sprout fur.  The first thread of fear started to creep in.  I glanced over my shoulder and backed up onto the porch step.  With the additional height, I could see past Emmitt.

The two men continued to advance.  Their bent, partially transformed bodies moved with a slinking stealth I found disquieting.

A cloud drifted away from the moon, briefly lighting the yard.  Moonlight caught pale skin, highlighting the odd elongated arch of a thigh before another cloud snuffed it out.  It’d been enough to recognize one of them.  Frank.  Fear bloomed.

Another cloud shifted.  Frank smiled at me before shadows obscured him again.

Emmitt growled low in warning.  Dread filled me.  We’d managed to stay hidden for a little over a month.  Why had they found us, now?  Thinking of my brothers sent another wave of fear crashing through me.  We couldn’t go back to the life we’d had.

The thought gave me courage to speak up.

“Where’s Blake?” I said in a voice that definitely didn’t sound fearless.

Both of the werewolves stopped their approach.

I took a breath and tried to sound more confident.

“Give him a message for me.  He won’t get what he wants.  I’ve seen it.”

I really didn’t know what I had seen but hoped it would give Blake a reason to doubt his plan.  Maybe even a reason to abandon it.

“You know nothing, little girl,” Frank said from the darkness.  “You just played dress up and sat at Blake’s dinners like the puppet you are.  If not for the curse that causes you to be born to humans, we would have wiped out humanity long ago.”  As he spoke, he began to shift further.  “You are nothing more than a tool.”

I wished I knew what he meant.

Behind me, the door creaked open.  A light footfall gave away Nana Wini’s presence, saving me from having to respond.  She moved just behind me, and I fought the urge to turn around and look for the boys.

The men in the dark shadows didn’t react well to her appearance.  Their faces extended forward, canine muzzles just starting to form.  Fingers contracted and nails grew longer, glistening ebony in the yard light.  The men remained on two legs, but those legs shrank as their torsos stretched.

“Leave now,” Nana said in a low and commanding voice.

Had she not been behind me, blocking my way, I would have been tempted to go inside.  It wasn’t a voice easily ignored.

“Quiet old woman,” the other werewolf growled.  The moonlight shifted enough that I recognized him, too.  The man from the movie theatre.  I cringed.  I’d jeopardized us all.

Nana’s furious snarl startled me.  I whipped my head around to look at her.  Bits of fabric flew at me as she burst from her lacey cardigan and tweed pants.  An enormous, snowy white wolf stood where she’d been.

She gathered herself and leaped over Emmitt and me, clearing the space between the porch roof and our heads with precision.  She landed lightly on her paws several yards in front of Emmitt.  Crouched and ready to spring, she gave a low warning growl that sent chills down my spine.  Neither werewolf budged.

Nana and Frank stared at each other.  For several minutes, they remained locked in a silent standoff.  Though she continued to growl occasionally, Frank did nothing.

“What’s going on?” I whispered to Emmitt, who still stood in front of me as a shield.

“She’s trying to talk to them through her link,” he said calmly.  His skin had stopped rippling once Nana had arrived.

Nana let out another furious snarl, and Frank laughed in response, a guttural taunting sound.  Her muscles bunched a second before she launched herself at them.  The half-changed werewolves burst into their own fur, meeting her onslaught.

The three collided with an audible thud.  I flinched and gripped Emmitt’s shoulder.

“Help her, Emmitt,” I said.

“Michelle, she’s an Elder.  She has more strength than Jim and I do combined, more than enough to take care of those two and several more.  You need me more than she does.”

My gaze never wavered from the swirling mass of fur and legs.  Frank and his friend, similarly colored, made it hard to distinguish who was who.  Thankfully, Wini stood out with her white.

I leaned into Emmitt.  My limbs trembled as I watched her evade bite after bite.  The two wolves were cunning and fought as a team.  Her speed and skill kept her just out of reach.  Then one of the wolves made a mistake and exposed his neck.  She almost had him by the throat when the other lunged forward and tried to take a bite out of her back leg.

Nana spun and tore into the one trying to sneak a bite.  He emitted a high-pitched continuous yelp of pain.  I hoped it was Frank.

The unharmed wolf used that distraction to go for Nana’s throat.  I made a small sound of denial and clutched Emmitt.  Nana coiled, and I knew she saw.

Using her hold on the yowling one, she tossed her head back, swinging the captured wolf into the other, effectively blocking the attack.  My jaw dropped at the show of strength.  Those wolves were as big as she was.  The hit wolf grunted at impact and flew back a few feet.  The wolf in her maw fell silent and looked a bit dazed.

She loosened her bloody hold, and he fell to the ground.  She backed up a step, crouched, and waited.

The bloody one scrambled to his feet and joined his friend, who was up and ready.  However, they didn’t make another attempt at her.  They turned and ran.

Nana Wini took off after them, almost catching them at the edge of the yard.  There she stopped and paced.

Emmitt turned toward me.

“Let’s go inside.  The kids heard some of the noise and are scared.”

I whirled and ran to my brothers.  Already dressed in their pajamas, they both huddled on Jim’s lap.  He continued softly speaking to them when I entered.

“Sometimes wild dogs come into the yard and fight over a bone.  It doesn’t mean they are bad, just that they are misbehaving.  Nana will set them straight.  You’ll see.”  He looked up and met my eyes with relief.

The boys got up and ran to me.

“I’m here,” I said dropping to my knees to hug them.  My shaking remained.  Emmitt stayed by the door.

Jim stood and picked something out of my hair.  When I looked at him questioningly over the boys’ heads, he showed me a piece of cardigan.  My mouth popped open in a quiet “oh” as he strode to Nana’s bathroom.  He came out carrying a robe and went to the hallway.

I hadn’t thought about Nana Wini’s clothes.  It was a good thing he had.

“Are they gone?” Liam asked, his face still buried in my hair.

“Yeah, buddy.  Nana chased them away.”

A few moments later, Nana strode in, unharmed.  I assumed she chased them off, but her next words worried me.

“Chasing away those dogs gave me an idea,” she said looking at the boys with a calm smile.  “You haven’t yet met Jim and Emmitt’s parents.  They live with several other families in a house bigger than this one.  Paul and Henry live there, as do some much nicer dogs.  So, I think we should take a vacation and visit them.  In fact, we should make it an adventure and go tonight.  Should we let Jim come with us?”

They both nodded, but didn’t let go of me.

“Should we have Jim and Emmitt race to see who can pack first?”

This time Aden pulled away a little, slightly interested.  I wondered what he thought of Nana’s sudden appearance in a robe.

“To make this fair, we’ll have Emmitt pack for your sister and Liam.  Jim, you go pack for Aden and grab all personal affects.”

Aden cheered in approval and began telling Jim where his things were so he could win.

Nana met Jim and Emmitt’s gaze for a moment then they both walked out of the apartment, leaving the door open.  Silent communication.  My anxiety grew.  We were running.  Again.  A wave of panic almost pulled me down.

“Michelle, let’s take the boys into the bathroom and wash them up before we leave.  It’s a long trip.”

She closed the three of us in the bathroom, saying she’d pack for herself while we waited.

I went through the normal motions but didn’t open the door when we finished.  Instead, I sat on the toilet lid and asked Aden and Liam about their time with Paul and Henry.  Liam, for a change, didn’t say much and let Aden do most of the talking.

Emmitt opened the door a few minutes later.

“It was a tie,” he said to the boys.  “Ready to go?”

We all nodded.  Emmitt met my gaze over the boys’ heads and sent them out to Jim and Nana.

He held out a hand.  “You’re not alone this time,” he said.

A bit of the tension eased.  He understood.  I wrapped my fingers around his, and he pulled me into a quick tight hug before we joined the others.

In the living room, Jim already had Aden up in his arms.  Emmitt scooped Liam up in a way that flipped him in the air, eliciting a shocked squeal and bringing a smile to his small, and otherwise serious, face.

Jim and Emmitt carried my brothers out on the pretense that they didn’t have shoes on.  They buckled the boys into the back seat of Nana’s car while Nana stood near me.

After closing the back doors, Emmitt took my hand and led me to the truck.  He held the door for me, waiting until I buckled.  I heard Liam quietly tell Nana Wini she had something in her hair.  I didn’t look up to see what it was, but I hoped it wasn’t blood.  Emmitt closed the door on her response.