Chapter 4 #2
Marley reached over and placed his hand atop Selene’s. “We’re so sorry for your loss. For Allie’s. And for ourselves. We loved Emma. There aren’t words to say how much she’ll be missed in Avondale.”
Selene nodded, appreciating their kindness. She bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn’t cry.
Tim must have sensed she was about to fall apart, because he said brusquely, “Getting back to Josh, I can understand your concern because teenage hormones: ugh. But I promise you he’s a good . . . kid.”
Selene put her head in her hands. She was never going to figure out this whole parenting thing.
“Selene,” Tim continued. “Full disclosure. We had an ulterior motive in the breakfast invite this morning.”
Selene raised her head. “What?”
“We thought you might need a little help adjusting,” Marley said. “Mixed partnerships can be tough to navigate.”
“Mixed partnerships?”
“Paranormal and human couples.”
Selene’s eyes went wide. “Paranormal . . . You know?”
Of course they know. Avondale is their home. Everyone here is in on it but me.
Tim smiled gently. “Yes.”
“And we’re in a position to offer advice,” Marley added. “If you’d like.”
“You are?” The wheels in her mind were spinning but only burning rubber.
“We’ve been in a mixed partnership for almost twelve years.”
“A mixed . . . are you a werewolf?” Selene stared at Tim. He certainly had the physique of a potential werewolf, and a lot of body hair if one could judge by the dense covering on his arms.
He laughed. “No, god no. Marley’s a faerie.”
“Wait. Is this some kind of joke?” Selene glanced from Tim to Marley, frowning. “Because I’m not getting it. My brain might not be ready to process jokes about this stuff.”
Tim laughed harder. “No, Selene. He’s a real faerie. One of the Fae.”
Marley was smiling and nodding, but he appeared perfectly human.
“Faeries are just like people?” she asked.
“No,” Tim said. “Mar, you’d better lose the glamour so she can understand how it works.”
“What’s a glamour?” Her eyes darted back and forth between the men.
“Put down your glass, Selene,” Marley said. “I don’t want to sweep up the pieces.”
Selene complied but didn’t take her gaze off him.
The air around Marley shimmered, and a moment later she was staring at Marley. Except he wasn’t exactly Marley anymore.
The same face smiled at her, but without the glamour, his arms and chest were bare.
His skin had the bright-green hue of spring grass, and veins snaked over the surface of his body like vines twining around a tree branch.
His hair had disappeared, and his head was now covered with what looked like fern leaves on the verge of unfurling.
But the feature that stopped Selene’s heart were his wings. Marley had wings. Slender iridescent wings that sprouted between his shoulder blades. Gigantic dragonfly wings.
I am not going to faint. I am not going to faint.
“Selene, you’ve gotta breathe or you’re gonna faint.” Tim squeezed her shoulder.
She sucked in a long breath and then another.
“I’m okay.” The room is not tilting. It is perfectly still. I am calm. I am fine.
“Of course you are.” Marley beamed. “Maybe have some coffee?”
He fluttered across the table and picked up the carafe.
Selene fainted.
She woke up on Marley and Tim’s couch.
“You should have waited to fly in front of her,” Tim said.
“I thought she looked okay. Her color was pretty good,” Marley argued. He was still green and vine covered.
“I’m okay.” Selene sat up. “Just embarrassed.”
That was a bit of a lie. Yes, she was embarrassed—nearly four decades on this planet without losing consciousness, yet she’d passed out twice in the space of twelve hours.
But more than that, she was overwhelmed.
The hits were coming so quickly and without warning, her brain had decided to say “nope” and shut down.
She couldn’t let it happen again. If this was her new reality, so be it.
No. More. Fainting.
“I’m so sorry I reacted like that,” she said.
“No need to apologize,” Marley said quickly. “It’s a shock.”
“The first time Marley took off the glamour in front of me, I screamed and ran out of the room,” Tim said.
“What made you come back?” Selene asked, still somewhat bewildered.
“He needed his clothes.” Marley grinned. “We were in bed at the time.”
“Like he said.” Tim laughed and reached over to squeeze Marley’s hand. “It was a shock.”
“No doubt,” Selene said and pushed her hair out of her face. “I fainted last night when Josh turned into a werewolf too.”
“He shifted in front of you?” Tim asked in a hushed voice.
Selene nodded. “I didn’t believe Allie when she told me. I guess the two of them decided seeing is believing. It is.”
Marley and Tim were both frowning.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Werewolves aren’t permitted to change form in front of humans,” Marley said. He sounded nervous.
“Doesn’t it make a difference that Allie is dating one?” Selene wondered if she’d reach a point where this sort of conversation felt normal.
“Josh would have gotten permission to shift in front of her before he ever asked her out. The wolves have a lot of rules about that sort of thing,” Tim said. “It keeps certain situations . . . safer.”
So they are dangerous. Selene forced her expression to stay neutral but filed away that information for future use.
“I’ve been invited to dinner with Fenris Hall Saturday night.” She couldn’t stop herself from tensing at the weight of yet another impending paranormal encounter. “Something about Josh and Allie’s relationship requiring acceptance from the pack.”
For a moment she thought Marley’s eyes would jump from their sockets.
“Are you serious, Selene?” he whispered.
Her heart began to zigzag beneath her ribs. “Is something wrong with that?”
Tim drew a sharp breath, and Marley shot him a warning glance.
“Nothing is wrong, Selene,” Marley assured. “But it might be a good idea for you to understand the hierarchy of the paranormal world. And of this town in particular. Since it’s all new to you.”
“Please fill me in,” Selene said, the tension in her body easing a little. Finally, some answers.
“The wolves are at the top,” Tim explained curtly. “And Fenris rules the wolves. In essence, he rules Avondale.”
“Tim.” Marley’s tone was reproachful. “Fenris Hall has been very good to us. To everyone in this town. He keeps the peace and makes sure there isn’t interference with our lives.”
“I’m not saying he’s anything other than good,” Tim said. “But Selene isn’t ready for him. Who knows what he’s thinking since Allie—”
“Tim!” Marley snapped.
“What are you two talking about?” Selene asked. “What’s happening with Allie?”
“Nothing,” Marley said. “Nothing at all. She’s dating Josh, and they want to formalize that relationship. That can’t happen without taking specific steps. Steps that Fenris will oversee.”
Tim looked away but didn’t say anything further.
“Tim, why don’t you bring the coffee in here, and I’ll get Selene up to speed about Avondale.”
Tim nodded and left the room.
“Marley, what’s going on?” Selene frowned. “Is Allie in trouble?”
“Of course not,” Marley said with a smile that looked like a flower bursting into bloom. “We couldn’t ask for a better leader than Fenris, and now he’s obviously open to the potential of bringing Allie into our world . . . and it sounds like you as well.”
“I’m not following.” Frustration crept into her voice. Yes, she was getting answers, but every answer birthed a new question. It made her feel like she was running in circles, chasing a truth that remained out of reach.
“How much has Allie told you about paranormals?” Marley asked.
“Not a lot,” Selene said. “I got a little stuck at ‘they exist.’ I know there are paranormals at her school.”
“There are more paranormals than humans in Avondale,” Marley said. “It’s a special town.”
“That’s crystal clear.” Selene hoped she didn’t sound too bitter about it. “But why Avondale?”
“There’s a sacred grove in Crescent Moon Valley,” he said. “Full of Old Magic. Lends power to whoever controls the site.”
“I was planning to hike there!”
“Of course you were, it’s lovely. Amazing views.” Marley grinned. “But it also has a sacred grove.”
“Right, sacred grove,” Selene muttered. “Of course.”
“Fenris came here with his pack about two hundred years ago and established the town with the idea that it would be a refuge for our kind,” he continued. “He’s been watching over the site ever since, and he pretty much decides who can and cannot live here.”
“Hang on.” Selene held up her hand. “Two hundred years?”
“Give or take,” Marley said. “How do you think Avondale stays so small? We’re the only town anywhere near the Bay Area that hasn’t been swallowed by sprawl. The closest town is still twenty miles out.”
Selene chewed her lip. “And that’s Fenris? He makes that happen?”
“Yes.”
“And it’s mostly paranormals who live here?”
Marley shrugged. “Plenty of humans live in Avondale. But they’re mostly magi.”
“Magi?”
“Witches, warlocks, druids . . . We even have a couple of necromancers in town.”
“Marley’s best clients.” Tim reappeared with a tray bearing coffee, cups, and saucers.
“Clients?”
“I’m the herbalist for Avondale.” Marley smiled. “Exclusively. I also do some online sales, but I prefer to sell locally.”
“So if the humans who live in Avondale are pretty much tied to the paranormal world, how did Emma end up here?” Selene asked.
Tim and Marley exchanged a look.
“We don’t know,” Tim said and poured her a cup of coffee.
“No one can move here or start a business without Fenris Hall’s permission.
And nonmagical humans don’t come here by accident.
I’m guessing Natalie Lyon was responsible for Emma’s arrival.
If Natalie vouched for Emma, that would have been good enough for Fenris. Have you met Natalie?”
“Not yet.” Selene knew Natalie was Emma’s closest friend in Avondale. Their businesses were housed in the same building.
“As for you living here . . .” Tim left the statement hanging.
“He gives a lot of money to my campaigns,” Selene told them. “Could that be it?”
“Possibly,” Marley said. “You’re already something of a known quantity, and there’s no doubt Allie is a factor. Fenris wouldn’t have left her without a loved one after Emma died.”
“To be completely honest”—Tim offered Selene a sympathetic smile—“there’s a good chance you’re still on probation. Your dinner Saturday night is likely as much about judging your suitability for Avondale as it is about Josh dating Allie.”
Selene couldn’t handle unpacking that and skipped right over it. “So to review: the town is full of paranormals and humans who’ve been given permission to stay?”
“Yep, all kinds. The werewolves are the biggest contingent. Then it’s the Fae and vamps. The rest are kind of a jumble. Pretty much everything you’ve read about in myth exists here.”
Selene swallowed. “Allie mentioned vampires. She said they can’t go to school because of the sun.”
“That’s true.” Marley nodded. “Vamps are nocturnal. That’s why so many of the shops in Avondale are open twenty-four hours.”
Tim laughed, but Selene was frowning. “Are they dangerous?”
“The vampires?” His expression became solemn.
She nodded.
“They can be, if they’re rogue, but Fen keeps a tight rein on the vampires in town. They get their blood exclusively from banks or groupies.”
“Groupies?” Selene asked.
“Humans who volunteer to feed vamps,” Marley explained. “For some it’s a kink, for others it’s the free room and board they get in exchange.”
“Wow.” The creep factor in that scenario made her shudder.
“Steady now,” Tim said. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”
Selene nodded, grateful for their kindness and patience with her.
“What about the wolves?” Her voice lowered. “Are they dangerous?”
Marley glanced at Tim and reached out to take Selene’s hand. A slender vine curled around her wrist like a tiny, reassuring embrace.
“The wolves hunt wild game. They don’t go after humans.”
“Allie mentioned something about a rivalry. Between vampires and werewolves. What’s that about?” She took a sip of coffee and tried to ignore the fact that her cup was shaking in her hand.
“A blood feud. Really old, but mostly back in Europe,” Tim answered. “Vamps and wolves don’t get along. But they have the largest numbers and are the most powerful in our society. They’re the ones who call the shots, so we all end up on one side or the other.”
“But the wolves are in charge of the vampires here?”
“That’s only in Avondale,” Marley said. “There are other cities and towns where vamps have control. It mostly depends on who got there first and who’s got the numbers—either a wolf clan or a vamp or witch coven. Here, it’s the wolves.”
“And Fenris Hall is king?”
They both nodded.
“So tell me.” She sipped her coffee, mustering her confidence, and leaned back against the sofa. “What do I wear to meet the king of Avondale?”