Shadows of the Ancients (20 page)

“No, dad, I’m fine. I’m heading to Ashley’s for a while, and I’m supposed to meet Evan later to work things out. I refuse to allow Zach to stop me from living my life.”

“Be careful, Jess. He knows where Ashley lives.”

“Don’t worry, I have more than just the locks thrown on the doors. I’m getting a shower, so don’t freak out if I don’t answer the phone right away or anything, okay?”

“Jessica, please, just come home where you’ll be safe.”

“No offense dad, but you didn’t even know Zach wasn’t on pack lands, how safe am I going to be there?”

“Damn it! I will deal with Zach soon enough.”

“Okay, well in the meantime, I will be taking a shower, and grabbing something to eat. I’ll check in with you soon, I promise.”

I hung up with my dad and found my stash of clothes I kept at Ashley’s house. Once I got an outfit together that I thought would at least look decent for my meeting with Evan later, I went to the bathroom and got the shower started up. I had just taken every last stitch of my clothing off, and put one damn foot into the shower when someone came slamming in the door. Evan and his brother stood there, getting an eye full of every piece of me. I jumped in the shower and pulled the curtain across the front of me. “Seriously?”

Evan was pushing Mikael out of the bathroom, but not before Mikael let out a wolf whistle. “Sorry Jess, you’re dad called and we rushed right over here.”

“And you thought, what? The shower was killing me? Jesus, it’s one thing for you to see me naked, since that’s already happened, but your brother too?”

“We’ll just wait out here for you to finish up, and…” his voice tapered off as he caught sight of the finger marks that were bruising my arm just above my elbow. There was no denying the angry growl that came out of that man’s throat as he came closer to inspect the damage. “Did he touch you anywhere else?”

“No.”

Evan reached out and placed his hand on my arm gently, tracing over the finger marks that were turning purple there. “Are you sure, Jess?”

“I’m sure, and he got a face full of my claws for this.”

He smiled a little at that, and backed up a step. “I’ll be out here,” he said quietly as he left. “When you’re done, we’re going to head back to the club. I don’t want to have to worry about you.”

“I haven’t eaten anything today, I was going to go grab some food.”

“I’ll order you something. You’re dad has people out looking for Zach. When I get my hands on him, a couple scratches on his face are going to be the least of his problems.” He left me alone in the bathroom then, and it was the first time I really thought to look down at my arm. I was suddenly glad that I really took the time to dig my claws into his cheek. I hoped he wasn’t able to find a spot to shift and heal. I wanted him to wear them for a while.

I washed, and got dressed, only taking the time to towel dry my hair a little bit before I walked out into Ashley’s living room. Asi and Ashley were sitting there too. “Wow, sorry, I didn’t realize I took that long in there.”

Ashley laughed. “You didn’t, Asi came and got me when your dad called Evan. I can’t believe that bastard.” She was moving toward me, and it took me a minute to see that she was looking at my arm. “What the hell happened? When I left you, you were on your way to class.”

“I never made it. I was right outside when he stopped me from going in. When my professor locked me out I walked down to the fountain in the quad, to see what the asshole wanted because he wouldn’t leave me alone, and I wanted to be in as public a place as possible.”

“Okay, but what did he want?” Ashley asked again.

“Apparently word’s out with the pack that Evan didn’t really want me after all, and Zach came to make his claim on me again. He told me he would forgive me, because everyone believed I was just power drunk, or mind raped anyway.” The glass of water in Evan’s hand shattered as he listened to what I told Ashley.

“Well, there you go making a fine mess of this girl’s life, brother.” Mikael added a little insult to injury with that comment, and Evan huffed out an angry, animal sound that I hoped to never hear again.

“Don’t!” He seethed at Mikael.

“Look, why don’t we get her back to the club, while everyone figures out what’s going on, it’s safer there. And you can be mad at me all day long, but after the shit you pulled yesterday, what did you expect to happen?”

I wondered exactly how much Mikael knew about what had happened yesterday, possibly more than I knew myself since he was around his brother when Evan talked to their family. Maybe later I could convince one of them to shed some light on things for me. I sat down and put my shoes on, and then grabbed my bag, ready to go.

Asi and Ashley took Evan’s car, and Mikael and Evan piled in my Jeep with me on the way there. It was only five blocks, but they wanted me to have my car nearby in case I needed to get home. We were two blocks away from the club when my stomach decided to try to eat itself, growling louder than even my wolf was possible. Mikael snickered from the back seat.

“Shut it!” I snipped. “I haven’t eaten anything since coffee yesterday morning. I’m starving.”

Mikael eyed me through the rear view mirror. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Cajun.” I said at the same time as Evan.

“Interesting, okay.” He pulled out his phone, started playing around with it for a minute, and then he was talking to someone from Angelique’s. He ordered just about everything on the menu, asking them to bring it over to De ‘Lune’s. “Yes, sweetheart, that is the old Hypnotic, and hopefully, we’ll see you there for the grand re-opening!” I quirked my brow up at him. “What? He’s going to get the bill, I just ordered.”

“Whatever,” I said as I parked the Jeep out front. “I’d appreciate it

if you didn’t have me towed.” I said to Evan as we got out. He smiled, but his sense of humor was missing tonight, and every time he caught sight of the bruise on my arm, his mood seemed to worsen.

I noticed the new sign outside, where the old neon blue Hypnotic used to be there was now a cobalt blue lit sign with De’ Lune’s on it in fancy lettering. It did not prepare me for what I saw when we moved through the front door though. I was amazed at how much a place could change in such little time. “Oh my God! It’s like bar fairies came in at night, and transformed everything. How did you get this done so quickly?”

“Money talks, sweetheart!” Mikael answered as he swept past me heading for the bar. “We’re expecting a rather large order of food from Angelique’s, please see to it that it’s brought to us in the back room.” Mikael ordered the bartender around, before heading in back.

“Well, he’s made himself right at home, I see.”

Annoyance glazed Evan’s words as he answered, “yes, he has.” He turned to me, “are you okay with the food he ordered? I can get you something else if you want.”

“It’s fine. You know I love their food, and right now, I wouldn’t turn down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

“How is it possible for you to forget to eat for a full day anyway?” He asked, and when he saw the look on my face, I am sure he was mentally kicking himself.

“Stress. Some people over eat when they’re stressed. I forget to. It’s whatever.”

“It’s not whatever, Jess. I’m truly sorry for yesterday. I wish I could go back and undo it, especially since your pack thinks…”

“That you don’t want me anymore?”

“It’s not true. I probably want you too much, enough that I’m willing to ignore all the dangers, and just try to protect you as they pop up. I didn’t think we’d have to worry about problems within your pack though. Your dad assured me he’s handling it though.”

“I have no doubt.” The loft area that was built to overlook the bar was finished, and complete with lush looking blue couches, and chrome railings to keep the drunks from plummeting to their deaths. “This place looks amazing, Evan!”

“Thank you. When I first came here, I saw Hypnotic, and this is what I envisioned it looking like when I came in. Not the run down, worn out look it had before. I’m not knocking it at all, because they did a mean business, but the owner wasn’t interested in putting any money back into upkeep. It wouldn’t have been long before it started losing clientele.”

“How did you ever convince him to sell the place?”

“As my brother would say, money talks.” He smiled at me. “And old Harvey wanted to retire on a nice beach somewhere with his new wife. She was twenty three years younger than him, and very insistent. I owe the sale mostly to her.”

“I see. Well, you and Mikael seem to be getting along better.”

“Mikael and I are capable of being good to one another. As with any sibling relationship though, we have our moments of disagreement.”

“Mmmhmmm.” I turned the corner from the area where the fancy new pool tables took the place of the old shabby ones, and I was floored by the changes to the back room. Everything was polished dark wood, and dark blue cushions. There were new lounges, tables, and mirrors along the walls that opened the space up and made it appear larger than the area truly was. It was immaculate, homey, and inviting while being a damn classy place to slouch around with a drink in your hand. It was actually what my ideal vision of a personal library would be if the walls were covered in books. I loved this room instantly, and I’m sure it showed on my face.

“Ah, she definitely approves of this room, look at that face!” Mikael said from his seat on one of the lounges near the corner.

“This is… wow!” I managed to spit out, as I spun around slowly, taking in all the detail. The molding and trim work around the edges of the walls and doorways appeared to be hand carved with intricate designs that looked suspiciously like the lunar stages. “It’s gorgeous! I never want to leave this room again!”

“I know, right? I told him this would be your favorite. It reminds me of that magazine you showed me once.”

“Mmm, the theater room that I said would make a wonderful library.”

“Yeah, only you would want to turn a theater room that exquisite into a library, Jess.” Ashley laughed at me. She was beyond smart, but reading for fun was not her thing.

Evan was beaming at me, but it was Mikael that spoke up. “Didn’t you model this after a theater you saw somewhere?”

“I did.” He said, and then he came over to take the seat beside me.

“No way,” I countered.

“I assure you, I did.”

“You two were made for one another.” Ashley chimed in.

I stiffened, and then slid out of my seat, all of a sudden uncomfortable. “I need to go use the bathroom.” I said by way of apology, and I took off in the direction we had just come.

“I’m sorry, Jess.” Ashley said as she caught up with me. “I thought maybe you two had already straightened everything out.”

“When would we have had the chance to do that?” I questioned as I pushed the bathroom door open and walked over to the sink. My hair was a hot mess. “Oh shit! You are a horrible friend. Why didn’t you tell me my hair was a giant ball of freaky frizz?”

“I figured you knew.” She shrugged. I threw a glance her way that said I most definitely didn’t.

I ran my hands under the water in the new, very posh, polished sink and started wetting my hair down. Luckily I still had my bag attached to my shoulder when I got up to walk off, so I dug around in it for my brush, and slicked my hair down a little.

“So, what’s going on? Why the panic face, and run to the bathroom?”

“Ash, the past two days have been a damn roller coaster. Every time I think I’ve got my feet under me someone comes and kicks them back out again. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

“For starters, let the man apologize, and then let him love you, because honestly, I can see it in everything he does. He really wants that. And I know you do too. And maybe it’s not love yet, but I think it’s headed there for both of you.” She came over and pulled me into a tight hug, and whispered in my ear. “It’s okay to be happy, Jess.” I let out the world’s biggest sigh, and hugged her back before we left the bathroom, and started heading back to my favorite room in the place. “Oh, and Jess,” she stopped us right there. “Watch that brother of his. I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

“What do you mean?” I was asking, but the bar tender was walking back towards us with some strange guy, and they were loaded down with food. I walked over, and offered my help. The four of us entered the newly remodeled lounge area, and started loading up the various tables with food. It smelled so good my stomach was growling loudly again.

“Sit, and let me get you something together for you.” Evan said, smiling at me.

“Okay.”

“What would you like to drink?” He asked as he turned back to me.

“Just a coke.”

“Grab us two cokes, and whatever everyone else is having, Dave.”

“Yes sir,” the bartender said as he left the room. I watched as Evan handed over a large wad of bills, and then came to join me on the lounge. He slid in with plenty of room between us, and part of me felt badly about that, so when he handed me my food, I slid closer in order to get it. I didn’t miss the smile that crossed his face when I made the gesture. It was a gorgeous smile. I was still worried about what the future held for me, I had to face the fact that he had at least pushed me away thinking he was keeping me safe; and he was being punished enough now that it all but backfired on him.

After I shoveled several forkfuls of food into my mouth, like I had zero table manners, I stopped and went for the phone in my pocket. I hadn’t realized it was vibrating at first. “Crap,” I said as it slipped out of my fingers. Mikael reached down and caught it before it hit the floor.

“Maybe, you should wipe your hands off first.”

“Mmm mmm” I managed around the mouthful of food I still had to swallow. By the time I reached for a napkin, Evan’s phone was ringing instead. He answered it, and then handed it to me. I swallowed and said “hello?”

“Jess, I tried calling your phone.” It was my dad.

“I know, I dropped it. I was in the middle of eating some food.”

“Okay, well I just wanted you to know we found Zach. He walked right back into the pack lands, like he wouldn’t be in trouble. I guess he didn’t think you’d tell anyone what happened.”