Moonsong, page 3
“Oh…” Millie’s cheeks grew hot. She pushed past him on the path, eager to escape those dark eyes, but he followed along beside her. “So, what do you do then?”
“Anything I have to,” he replied in an unexpectedly grim tone. “Which roughly translates into, the same as you. Whatever Gran wants, and she lets me and Scarlett live here.”
Realization dawned on her, he must be the ‘Chase’ Scarlett had mentioned the night before. “Oh… that would make you Scarlett’s…”
“Brother,” he finished for her, offering his hand. “Chase LaRoche, pleased to formally make your acquaintance, Millie.”
Her cousin. Amelia eased a little at that news, shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you, Chase,” she smiled a little wider. “Have you guys lived here long?”
“Long enough.”
“Sounds like you’re ready to move off on your own maybe?”
“Not hardly,” he snorted, looking up at the big house. “Someday this place will be mine and I’m not moving away and forfeiting that. I’ve worked too hard doing every little thing Gran’s ever asked of me to give that up now.”
“A real slavedriver huh?” Millie gave him sympathetic look; would she have the same demands placed on her for the price of being taken in?
“Nah, not exactly. She doesn’t work us to the bone or anything; we have plenty of time to ourselves. She just… Adele is used to having a certain amount of control over us, being Alpha.”
Alpha. She was familiar with the term and started to see what bothered him most about being under Grandmother’s thumb. “And you don’t like having to check in with her over every little thing?”
“That’s it exactly,” he smiled, snapping a branch off of one of the bushes and chucking it towards the tree line.
“You said before all this would be yours someday, does that mean you’ll be Alpha someday too?”
“Never can tell,” his brows danced playfully. “If it was based on pure desire alone I’d get it easy enough, but there’s a bit more to it than that.”
“Want it so bad you can taste it huh?” she grinned back.
“Taste it, feel it, smell it…” his eyes blazed for a moment and then the easy grin returned. “Soon… I can feel it coming soon; there is change on the wind,” he lifted his nose to scent the air.
Millie sniffed carefully, but all she could smell were the soft scents of fragrant flowers, fresh loamy soil and maybe just a hint of Chase himself. “Is Grandmother supposed to step down soon? It seems like she’d want to retire at some point.”
A heartfelt sigh was given. “She’s gotta step down sometime, one way or another.”
“So, you’re ah, a shifter then? You can change forms?” Amelia asked suddenly, realizing she had the perfect opportunity to learn a little bit more about her heritage since Chase seemed perfectly comfortable talking to her about pack things so far.
“Yes, Millie, I’m a shifter. Would you like to see?”
“Wait, right here? Right now?” she looked around the deserted garden.
“Sure, why not?” he tugged his sweat stained t-shirt up and over his head.
“Don’t you need… well, doesn’t it need to be night or something?”
“Nope, and I don’t need the full moon either, though it is hard to resist the moon’s song sometimes,” he admitted, flinging the shirt aside and kicking off his shoes.
Her eyes flicked to the house, feeling a little odd about him undressing right in front of her in the garden, but he seemed not to have a self conscious bone in his body. Not that he needed to, his well muscled form was appealing enough that she had to remind herself he was her cousin and turn away.
“What’s the matter? I thought you wanted to watch me change?” he asked, and she could hear the rustle of clothes as his jeans dropped to the ground.
Knowing her cheeks were probably a bright red, she kept her face averted. “I ah, I wanted to see you shift but… I guess I wasn’t thinking you’d have to be, you know, naked for it.”
“Trust me; it’s a lot easier on the clothes that way.”
“Millie?” Scarlett’s voice came from the back porch where the slam of the screen door announced her presence.
“Shit… you’ll have to catch the show later, Millie,” Chase muttered.
A curious sound reached her ears, like someone cracking their knuckles or popping their back in a deep stretch, only intensified as if they were cracking the joints all over their body. Millie turned around just in time to see the tail end of a large grey wolf disappearing around a bend in the garden path.
“Wait!” she called out, but he was gone, loping towards the tree line with fluid grace. Millie could only stare after him, dimly registering the idea that only a moment ago she’d been talking to that wolf.
“Millie?” The call came again, this time with a note of concern in her voice.
“Coming!” she called back, following the path back to the porch with a smile and a wave for Scarlett once she came into view.
“There you are, for a moment I thought I’d lost you.”
“Just enjoying some of the fresh air.” Millie climbed the stairs, using the height to try and spot Chase out there, but there was no sign of him.
“Looking for something?” Scarlett asked, following her gaze.
“No, Chase was going to… you know… shift, so I could see it.”
“Oh…” Scarlett grinned. “Any excuse to strip in front of a pretty girl,” she laughed. “You’ve really never seen it before? Not even your own family?”
“No, before last night I had no idea they could even do that, and before the attack… I had no idea it was even possible.”
“Oh…” Scarlett sobered at the mention of the attack, her blue eyes clouding with sympathy. “That must have been really scary for you, I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thanks, and yeah, it scared the crap out of me. I thought we were being attacked by wild animals or something…” she swallowed back a wave of nausea at the memory of all the blood.
“It doesn’t have to be like that, you know,” Scarlett said softly. “All the fighting and death… it can actually be quite beautiful, and the freedom…” Rapture shone from her face and Millie hadn’t realized before that Scarlett was speaking from personal experience.
“You can do it too?” she asked in surprise. Somehow she thought if Chase could, then Scarlett couldn’t.
“Of course, didn’t you know?” Scarlett answered with equal surprise. “If you want me to show you sometime I’d be happy to, and I’ll do it without the striptease,” she grinned.
“Yeah, maybe sometime,” Millie nodded thoughtfully, moving inside with her cousin. “Scarlett, do you work for Grandmother?” she asked, as something Chase said earlier weighed on her mind.
“Mmmhmm,” she nodded, moving to the kitchen counter where groceries awaited. “I manage her correspondence, help maintain the books for her businesses in town, take care of her personal errands and things, drive her around where she wants to go…”
“Sort of like a personal assistant?”
“Yes, I guess you could call it that. I help Gran out and she takes care of my needs, same with Chase though his tasks are usually more… varied than mine,” she smiled.
“Chase said something along the lines of, he wonders what Grandmother will want me to do.”
Scarlett looked up from the cupboard with a shrug. “It’s hard to say, you should really talk to her about it, but she hasn’t mentioned anything to me.”
“Do you ever think about wanting something more? Getting out to see the world? Live your own life?”
“Leave here?” The idea clearly appalled the shy girl. “Everything I know is here; I have everything I could ever want.” Blonde waves danced as she shook her head.
“To each his own I suppose,” Millie sighed and Scarlett smiled encouragingly.
“Give it some time, you’ll like it here too, you’ll see.”
“I haven’t had much chance to look around yet, so my impression is fairly limited,” Amelia allowed.
“After lunch we should go into town, do a little shopping, you can see a bit of the town and the harbor if you like. We’ll have plenty of time before the gathering tonight.”
“Gathering?”
“Mmmhmm, Grandmere sent runners to call the pack together tonight to welcome you home.”
“Runners? Don’t you people have cell phones?” Millie snorted.
“Some of us are a bit remote, and not all of us have embraced many of the new ways.”
An interesting concept. “So, how many people are you expecting at this shindig then?”
“You’ll see tonight, I don’t want to spoil it for you. It’s better if you see them all at once,” she smiled mischievously.
“If you say so…” Millie frowned on the inside, a little uneasy with the idea of a pack gathering in her honor. Would she be expected to take part in some kind of ritual? All manner of strange thoughts swirled around in her mind; superstitions and scenes from movies lending bizarre ideas to the party.
Scarlett didn’t seem to notice Millie’s preoccupation and began preparations for lunch. Coming out of her reverie, Amelia offered to help, and the girls chatted easily about other things while they worked.
“Should one of us go find Chase to call him to lunch?” Amelia offered when she was done setting the table.
“He’ll turn up, he can scent food miles away,” Scarlett grinned in response.
“Oh, right, of course.” She should have known. Feeling at a distinct disadvantage among a family of werewolves, or shifters rather, Amelia couldn’t help but wonder why she’d gotten the short end of the stick. Besides not being able to shift, she didn’t have any other heightened senses either. All she got was a pack of hungry wolves nipping at her heels, chasing after her to be a brood mare. Swell.
Chase appeared moments later, fully dressed, his hair still damp from a quick washing. “Looks great, Scar, I’m starving.” He immediately plopped down and started loading up his plate with food.
“Aren’t we waiting for Grandmother?” Amelia asked.
“She’s still in town making arrangements, she won’t be joining us. Oh, I almost forgot, she asked me to give you this.” Scarlett withdrew a slim, leather bound checkbook from her purse and held it out to Millie.
“What is this?” Amelia accepted the little book, brows rising almost comically as she opened it and saw the balance written in precise script at the top of the register.
“It’s some walking around money. Though for most of the shops in town you can ask them to put any purchases on Adele’s account,” Scarlett explained.
Catching Chase’s ‘I told you so’ look, Amelia set the checkbook down on the table. “I never asked her to do that,” she maintained stubbornly.
“Of course not, but it’s her money to give and she takes care of her own,” Scarlett replied in a soothing tone, shooting a warning look to Chase.
Already starting to feel those strings that bound her to Adele and Cutter’s Folly, Amelia decided not to worry about it for the moment. She needed the help and she was accordingly grateful, but when the time came, she wouldn’t let the obligation tie her to Cutter’s Folly if she was ready to leave.
Chapter Four
The afternoon passed swiftly, after lunch she went into town with Scarlett to see the sights in her own jeep (found waiting in the driveway as promised, gassed up and washed; the junk food wrappers from her long drive removed).
Once back at the house, Millie stowed away her purchases, feeling a bit more settled once she had some possessions of her own again. Grandmother was still out and Scarlett busy, so Amelia set out to find the only other person willing to give her some answers.
“Chase?” Amelia stepped out into the back yard, not quite sure how to find him.
“Did you have a nice time shopping?”
It took her a moment to find the source of the voice, but she finally located him around the corner, leaning against the side of the house. There was a swimming pool set into a natural rock formation she’d missed on her first look at the grounds that morning. “Apparently I needed a party dress so…”
“You bought a party dress?” he started laughing, nearly losing his balance as he fought to catch his breath.
“What’s so funny about me buying a party dress?” she frowned; not liking being the butt of whatever joke tickled him so much.
“Nothing… it’s just ah… you’ll be a little overdressed,” he straightened, still chuckling.
“What do you mean overdressed? I thought there was a party going on tonight?”
“There’s a gathering, not exactly your chips and dip kind of affair. It’s a little more… au naturale if you catch my drift,” he gave her a pointed look.
“You mean…”
“It’s not like wolves wear a lot of clothing. Unless you count a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but then again wool gets kind of scratchy,” he pretended to consider.
“Are you seriously telling me this will be a ‘clothing optional’ get together?” Amelia’s voice rose an octave. That was so not happening… There was no way she was going to strip down and be presented to the pack like a piece of meat.
Chase stared at her gravely before his smile broke through again. “It’s just so easy…”
Realization dawned on her; he was pulling her leg! “You bastard! It’s all bullshit!” She smacked him across the abs in indignation, cheeks growing hot with embarrassment over how gullible she’d been. “And to think I was actually coming out here to get some straight answers out of you!” She turned on her heel and started back to the house with long angry strides.
“Wait, wait, wait…” It took mere seconds for him to catch hold of her arm and insinuating himself between her and the house. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.” The amusement remained in his face but there was a contrite note to his voice.
“Next time try,” Amelia grumbled.
“You’re so adorable when you get all flustered like that.” His voice dropped, low and intimate, as he stroked the side of her face with the back of his hand. “Red is definitely your color.”
“I’m glad you find me amusing,” she muttered, swiping his hand away.
“Hey, I’ll be good, I promise. Ask me anything you want, scout’s honor.” Chase caught up the hand that swatted him away and pressed a kiss to the base of her thumb.
The intimate gesture caught her off guard, and she lost track of what she was going to say next, tongue darting out to moisten her lips. “You were a boy scout?” slipped out, not what she’d intended to ask at all.
“Well… no, but you catch my drift,” he grinned back at her, thumb tracing little circles over the back of her hand.
Amelia found it oddly disconcerting, he wasn’t acting much like a cousin… well there was such a thing as kissing cousins wasn’t there? That thought was quickly shoved away. “So, what will happen tonight?”
“No secret pagan rites, no dancing naked under the pale moonlight if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Oh… good,” Amelia breathed a little easier.
“You’re not allowed to come to those.”
“Beg your pardon?” she squeaked. Was he teasing her again?
“Oh we have ‘em right enough, but not just anybody can attend. You my sweet… you would definitely not be allowed to come, you’d prove much too much of a distraction,” his smile turned predatory again.
Amelia felt that smile right down to her toes. Had he edged closer to her than he’d been a moment ago? She took a half step backwards, needing that space between them to keep her wits about her. “What happens at those gatherings?”
“Oh no… I can’t tell you, we have our secrets after all.” He took a step closer to her, closing the distance between them almost as soon as she opened it up.
“Now you’ve got me curious… I might have to try and sneak a peek at your secret gatherings sometime,” Amelia teased, and the smile dissolved from Chase’s face.
“You have to promise me never to go into the woods at night, Millie.”
“Oh, stop being melodramatic,” she tried to pull her hand away but he held it fast.
“There are dangerous things in the woods, things that wouldn’t hesitate to gobble up a tasty morsel like you. Promise me, Millie, you will never venture into the woods at night without my protection,” he insisted, his voice grim.
Millie stared up at him, not sure whether to take his warning at face value or if he was messing with her again. “Alright, I promise,” she agreed. It wasn’t like she made a habit of wandering through the woods at night anyway.
“Good.” Loosening his hold on her hand again, he brought it up to his lips and kissed her fingertips.
Snatching her hand away, she took another step backwards again. “Um, about tonight…”
Chase let out a long, drawn out sigh. “You’re not going to let this go are you? It’s nothing sinister, I promise. Pretty much we’ll all gather in a clearing, you’ll sit up by Gran so everyone can get a good look at you. Gran will make a flowery speech about fate and the future of the pack, and then there will be food. If we’re lucky, not too many toasts and then probably some dancing, I swear. No virgin sacrifices,” he grinned.
“Oh, I’m not worried about that, I’m not a virgin,” Amelia replied glibly.
“Don’t let Adele hear you say that, she’ll make you go through a purification ritual. I don’t recommend it,” he wrinkled his nose with distaste and she laughed.
“She can’t possibly think I’m still a virgin, I’m almost twenty-two years old!”
“I’m just saying… I wouldn’t volunteer that little tidbit,” he shrugged. “But seeing as how you’re not saving yourself…” he took another step closer to her until she was backed up against the side of the house.
Her hand came up to rest against his chest again, pushing back firmly, for all the good it seemed to do her; he was solid as an oak and just as immovable. “Last time I checked this wasn’t Alabama…”
“Huh?” his head cocked to one side in confusion.
