Thank you again for your comments and interest in this little tale of mine. I'm also thankful for the extra help I receive. After Chapter 5's disaster I decided to enlist the help of an editor. Hope you enjoy!
CricketMuse
** ** *** ** **
Dawn's red silken tendrils followed a small caravan of vehicles as they wended their way quietly through the sleeping streets. They drove past downtown, the suburbs and headed into an area still relatively untouched by man's development. The pine trees grew thicker here, the nocturnal critters headed to bed, bellies full of the night's repast. A few miles from town the caravan turned into a long driveway and parked in front of the two-story home.
Kiera exited her car, followed closely by Grayson who had insisted on riding with her. The others: half a dozen werewolves, three paranormals and one human all headed inside after them. She gave a brief tour then left them to take a shower. The stench from her attacker clung to her clothes, hair and skin. Afterwards her small injuries were disinfected and bandaged. Grayson had offered to heal them for her, but the process of having her wounds licked discomfited her. She was too tired to notice the spasm of hurt that crossed Grayson's features at her refusal.
Kiera used the distraction of Grayson giving orders to his pack for guard duty to slip upstairs to her bedroom. She looked under the bed to find Bianca and Felix hiding from the chaos downstairs. Satisfied they were safe and had food, she crawled into her king sized bed and snuggled into the cool covers. Amber bounded into the bed with the same enthusiasm she'd exhibited earlier and they both were joined by Jasmine scant moments later.
There was a reason Kiera had a king sized bed, but it had little to do with any sort of male company. When the four paranorms had moved to Aventon this was their first residence. Amber snuck into Kiera's bed frequently enough to warrant the purchase. As the bar's profit increased Mason and Jasmine moved into their own places. Only Amber had not purchased a permanent domicile, but rather traveled between the three homes.
With her closest friends at her side Kiera had no difficulty in tuning out the clamor emanating from downstairs and fell into a deep sleep.
** ** *** ** **
She was standing on a beach, the waves licking at her toes. She watched the sunset before her turn the blue sky into a kaleidoscope of colors. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady whoosh and hush of the waves, her toes sinking deeply into the spongy sand at her feet. This was her quiet place, the place she came to be still and at peace. She let the turbulent thoughts in her mind ripple away like the tide, ignored the hum of emotions that were not her own and stared into the dying light of day. Just briefly she wished for a warm presence to be pressed against her back.
A rustle interrupted her meditation; she sluggishly turned her head towards the source. A man clothed in shadows walked out from the sea grass and headed towards her. She held her breath, but released it when the shadow became substance.
"We should talk," Mason said without welcome.
Kiera sighed, her happy place was supposed to be inviolate, but Mason could breach her mental walls while her body slept.
"I don't suppose this could wait until morning," she asked, "I was having a moment."
Looking towards the sunset he replied, "I see that, but as you know privacy is no longer an option while we're awake. I got stuck sharing a room with Gareth, by the way. Thanks for your help there."
"Oh don't be so prissy, he won't come on to you. Not unless you invite him to that is. Are you feeling insecure?"
Mason dug his toes in the sand grumbling, "No, that's not the point. This is our house I should have my own room."
With brow arched Kiera asked, "Is this what you wanted to talk to me about? Because, Mason, I could really use the alone time right now."
"No I wanted to talk to you about our current situation. Jasmine isn't nearly as concerned as she ought to be and I can't get into Amber's head."
"She's busy acting as my mental buffer," Kiera explained. "How come I'm the last one you've approached?"
"Because you're the closest to those...people and I wasn't sure how you felt about this state of affairs. I want to get away from them, but I can't leave you guys behind."
"Why can't you?" Kiera shrugged. "We're supposed to be well protected by those people and it was my insistence that had you all here with me."
"So what, you're fine with this? Your house has been invaded by werewolves for crissakes and one of them attacked you tonight! Their leader is all over you like white on rice and I haven't seen you balk once. What's going on here, K?"
The sun reversed direction and started its ascent to the sky. The calm she'd managed was gone and Kiera needed the warmth to comfort her.
"First," she answered calmly, "the creature that attacked wasn't one of them as you insinuated. Yes, it was a werewolf, but Grayson and his pack are different. They're...civilized. Second, my relationship with Grayson will quickly become none of your damn business if you don't watch your tongue. I'm not sure what's going on between us, but I'm not going to dismiss him simply because you don't approve. The girls don't have a problem with it and neither should you. It's not really anything yet so don't worry about it. I like him and am attracted to him, but you know I'm not just going to jump into something serious."
Mason had the clearest blue eyes when he was angry, they nearly glowed with emotion. He huffed, "I don't know what is going on, but it seems pretty serious, K. I hope you realize that before it's too late."
With that he turned to walk back into the sea grass. "I'll see you at breakfast," he said over his shoulder and then disappeared.
Kiera looked up at the now blazing sun and realized her quiet time was over.
** ** *** ** **
Kiera woke up to an empty bed. She stretched lazily and looked over at the clock on her nightstand; it was already two o'clock. She was a bit surprised she'd slept around eight hours, the first full night's rest she'd had in over a month. Nature's call lured her to the bathroom, one look at her hair made her wince. The short cut was easy to style, but was nigh unmanageable when slept on wet. She hopped back in the shower to freshen up and relax the tight muscles in her back. The cuts are her neck protested against the hot water, but she made sure to clean them thoroughly. She was shaving her legs when she picked up Amber's approach. Moments later she heard the creak from the toilet seat.
"Morning, love," Kiera greeted. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, but it's the afternoon now," a sing song voice replied. "Can we do something fun for our sleepover tonight? We all fell asleep too fast last night."
Kiera smiled, thinking her friend unflappable. Amber was cheerful in most situations and seemed unfazed by their recent experience. It was comforting after her conversation with Mason.
"Sure, what would you like to do tonight?"
"I don't know, we'll think of something. Jasmine is arguing with one of the guards, she wants to go to the store but they won't let her. She doesn't like your coffee."
Jasmine didn't like being told what she could and couldn't do, but Kiera didn't point that out. Having so many people under one roof was bound to cause issues, especially when half of them were strangers; and werewolves.
"She's going to try to sneak out," Amber finished.
"Did she tell you that?"
"No." Amber hummed. "The bad wolf is far away, they should let her go."
Kiera paused in her shaving. "Do you know where the bad wolf is, Amber?"
"No, I can't see him. But they'll catch him soon, it won't help much though. He's just a thug hired for a job. Did he hurt you badly?"
"He didn't hurt me badly, just scared me a lot. Do you see anything else that can help them, Amber?"
Kiera learned the best way to keep Amber focused was to ask direct questions. Sometimes she freely offered what she'd envisioned, but many times it had to be drawn out. The process was frustrating to Jasmine who was too impatient, but Kiera had honed the skill of questioning her clairvoyant friend.
"Nothing else, sorry. A bank is going to be robbed though," she added as an afterthought.
Kiera didn't question her further. The robbery could take place locally or miles away and at any given time. She continued shaving as both were content to be silent. The silence was short lived though, Jasmine was coming towards them.
"This is intolerable!" she complained. "They won't let me leave, they won't run my errand, and they aren't any help at all!"
"Good afternoon," Kiera called lightly.
Jasmine humphed and then screeched, "Get out of here!"
The bathroom's small space was getting more crowded by the minute. Kiera searched to discover at least two more people present, only one of which was slightly familiar. She was grateful for the barrier of the opaque shower curtain, but still felt a bit uncomfortable.
"We just wanted to make sure you weren't trying to jump out the window," a feminine voice said. "Our orders are to keep you safe and that entails..."
"I don't care," Jasmine shrieked, "I don't have to follow your commander's orders! I want my coffee!"
Kiera grinned. Jasmine's only real link to her Persian heritage was her love of strong coffee; the rest of her was all American. She'd been the target of Jasmine's caffeine withdrawals before and didn't want to interfere.
"Kiera, can you explain to them how important this is to me? I can't seem to get it through their thick wolf skulls."
