Chapter 9 #2
A car door slammed, and her mind cleared.
“Oh god.” Selene turned toward the house. “That’s Natalie.”
“Natalie?” Daniel glared in the direction the sound had come from.
“A friend,” Selene said. “She’s stopping by for a little while.”
“You have friends over at this hour?”
She scoffed. “When I have people over is none of your business.”
He shrugged, and she glared at him. “Leave now.”
“You need to hear what I have to say, Selene,” he countered.
“I don’t need anything from you,” she snapped. “Neither does Allie.”
She gasped when he grabbed her, his fingers digging into her upper arms painfully.
“Don’t say that.”
“What the hell are you doing?” She struggled in his hold. “Let me go!”
“Promise you’ll hear me out,” he murmured.
“Daniel . . .” Her head swam.
I hate this man. I hate this man. She shut her eyes as confusion roiled in her mind. Why did she want to listen to him? Why did he sound so sincere?
“Promise.” His voice seemed to echo all around her.
“Another time.” Selene caved. Her body was trembling. She felt like she was fighting to stay awake. Her limbs were so, so heavy. Maybe it wasn’t so bad that Daniel was holding her. “We can talk another time.”
He smiled and loosened his grip on her arms, stroking up and down her shaking limbs before releasing her. “Until then, sweetheart. Give Alley-Cat a kiss for me.”
She stood there, swaying on her feet, and watched Daniel melt into the shadows. The moment he was out of sight, she stumbled backward as if a tether holding her in place had snapped. She bent over, rubbing her face with her palms to clear away the lingering confusion.
What the hell had just happened? Had Daniel Brix really been in her backyard?
Yes. As much as she’d prefer to have imagined the entire episode, Selene knew it was real. For whatever reason, Daniel was back. And he wanted to see Allie. She had no idea how she was going to handle it.
Still dazed, she went back into the house.
The doorbell rang.
Selene stumbled through the house and flung the front door open. Natalie was standing there holding two large tote bags.
“Get inside, Nat,” she said, grabbing her friend’s elbow and dragging her over the threshold.
“Oh gods, Selene,” Natalie’s eyes were wide as Selene hurried to lock the front door. “What’s going on? Why are you crying?”
Selene touched her cheek and was startled to feel hot moisture on her skin. She didn’t know when she’d started crying, but she hoped it had been after Daniel left the backyard.
Natalie’s face was ashen. “Fenris didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Selene almost collapsed. Her original reason for calling Natalie had been erased by Daniel’s appearance. The whole evening came rushing back, and she had to steady herself against the door.
“No.” Selene heard the tears in her voice. “Fen was just . . . Oh my god, Nat. What is happening to my life?”
She began to sob.
Natalie dropped the bags to put an arm around her and led her into the kitchen. She settled Selene in a chair and poured two cups of coffee. She set the coffee on the table and then brought over a box of tissues and set it in front of Selene.
“Thanks,” Selene said and tugged out a handful.
“Start at the beginning.” Natalie took a seat, watching her friend with narrowed eyes.
Selene blew her nose. “I think I have to start at the end.”
She glanced at the back door. For all appearances, her surprise visitor was gone.
“Daniel showed up tonight.”
“What!” Some of Natalie’s coffee sloshed onto the table. She jumped up and went for a kitchen towel. “Daniel, as in Daniel Brix? Emma’s ex-husband? Allie’s dad?”
Selene nodded and sipped her coffee. Her hand was shaking so badly, she also spilled quite a bit.
Natalie mopped up Selene’s coffee, too, then returned to her seat. “Hasn’t it been, like, ten years since he disappeared?”
“Yes,” Selene murmured. “Yes, it has.”
“And before this you’ve heard nothing?” Natalie frowned. “No letters, emails, phone messages?”
“Not anything,” Selene said. “As far as I’m aware, no one has. He vanished. I thought he was gone forever. He was presumed dead, Nat.”
Natalie sat back in her chair. “That’s crazy.”
“I know.” Selene pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe any of this. A week ago, my life was so normal.”
Smiling sympathetically, Natalie said, “It’s more than anyone should have to handle. Allie and Josh, the truth about Avondale . . . That would be too much on its own. And now Daniel. But you’ll be okay, Sel. I promise. And I will be with you every step of the way.”
“Thank you for saying that.” Selene pushed her coffee away. She knew it had been a mistake. Her mind was already buzzing, and now her hands had joined in the fun, fingers dancing on the table.
“So why did he show up?” Natalie asked. “And where has he been all this time?”
With a shrug, Selene replied, “Where he’s been? I have no idea. He didn’t say, only that it was a long story. He wanted to come in, but I said no.”
“Good.” Natalie stood up and went to the kitchen cupboards.
“What are you doing?” Selene asked.
“Making you tea.” She filled the kettle and set it on a burner. “I can handle coffee at two a.m., but you’re about to pull your hair out. And I can’t have that. Everyone will think I gave you a terrible haircut.”
Selene laughed, and Natalie winked at her. Affection and gratitude took the edge off Selene’s frazzled state.
“The fact that Daniel just showed up without warning tells me he’s assuming a welcome he doesn’t deserve.” Natalie leaned against the counter.
“Exactly.” Selene started to reach for her coffee cup as a reflex but stopped herself. “He’s claiming he’s a changed man, but who the hell knows what that means. And god knows I have no reason to believe anything he says. He’s never hesitated to lie to get what he wants. It made Emma miserable.”
Her head dropped back against the chair, and she stared at the ceiling. “I can’t stand him, and yet I told him I’d talk to him again. Why did I say that?”
“I get why you’d want him to stay away,” Natalie said. “But as much as you very reasonably would prefer otherwise, he is Allie’s father. That gives him legal rights to see her. If he digs his heels in, you’ll need a court order to make him leave. Probably best to see what he wants.”
“I know.” Selene made herself sit up again, giving herself a firm mental reminder that she was tired, not defeated. “He said something strange. That he’s been in Avondale for a while, waiting for a good time to approach me, but that he’s been hearing things that made him worry about me and Allie.”
Natalie paused in her rummaging through the pantry. “Like what?”
“He didn’t say,” Selene answered. “He just kept asking to come in the house so we could talk.”
Natalie emerged with a glass jar of loose tea. “This is one of Marley’s herbal blends, right?”
“I have no idea,” Selene replied. “The tea was there before I moved in.”
“Pretty sure it’s Marley’s, and it will help you unwind.” Natalie put the jar on the counter before retrieving a teapot from a cupboard.
“Daniel’s been in Avondale awhile?” Natalie spooned tea into the pot. “That’s strange.”
“I know,” Selene said. “It feels kind of stalkery. I don’t even know how he found out I moved here.”
“It does,” Natalie agreed. “But that’s not what I meant. Remember how I said humans can’t just move to Avondale?”
Selene went still. “I didn’t, but Daniel didn’t say he was living here. Maybe he’s been keeping tabs on me and Allie but staying somewhere else. Because if he is living here, that would mean—”
The words died before she could finish.
“It would mean Fenris knows Daniel is in Avondale,” Natalie said quietly.
The teakettle shrieked, and Selene jumped out of her chair. Natalie moved the kettle off the hot burner and came to Selene, taking both her hands.
“Easy,” Natalie murmured. “Breathe, Selene.”
“He didn’t say anything.” Selene shook her head slowly. “Not one word all night.”
Natalie tightened her grip on Selene’s fingers. “Don’t jump to conclusions, Sel. Especially when it comes to Fenris Hall. If he does know that Daniel has been in Avondale and didn’t tell you, he has his reasons for staying quiet.”
“Like what?” Fen’s silence cut her like a betrayal, but that was silly. He didn’t owe her anything. They’d only officially met a few hours ago. Were they even friends?
“Like he’s decided it isn’t his business,” Natalie suggested. “Or he’s waiting to see what happens before he decides to run Daniel off. That sounds more like Fen. He’s a law-and-order kind of wolf, but it’s live and let live until someone crosses a line. He doesn’t punish preemptively.”
Selene groaned at the logic. “That’s . . . fair.”
“Fenris is very evenhanded when it comes to ruling Avondale.” Natalie returned to the stove and filled the teapot with steaming water.
“It’s one of the reasons I like living here.
And to be honest, it makes me feel better about the whole Daniel situation because it’s likely that Fen does know he’s here, and that means he’ll keep an eye on the situation. ”
“And he’ll step in if necessary?” That idea both thrilled and terrified Selene. What would it mean for a werewolf pack leader to confront Daniel Brix? She was dying for a front-row seat to that show while another part of her hoped it would never happen.
Natalie carried the teapot to the table along with a new cup for Selene. “Yes.”
She sat down. “But if you don’t want to wait for that, I can always hex Daniel for you.”
Selene stared at her.
“Seriously, Selene,” Natalie said with a sly smile as Selene considered the possibilities. A hex was . . . interesting, and more than a little tempting. Daniel had definitely earned one, or several.
“I think I’ll just wait and see,” Selene said at last. “I’d rather have you in the capacity of friend than witch for hire.”
Natalie shrugged. “Just keep in mind that your witchy friend can multitask if needed.”