Chapter 9 #3
“I appreciate that,” Selene said, wondering what a hex would entail. Boils maybe? Or parts falling off?
“Since Fen has already entered the conversation, let’s keep backtracking through the night,” Natalie said. “You called me before Daniel showed up, right?”
Selene nodded as Natalie poured her a cup of tea.
“So what happened at dinner with the wolves that had you so worked up?”
“Two things.” Selene pulled the teacup close and inhaled the herb-scented steam. Her shoulders instantly relaxed.
“Okay.” Natalie leaned back in her chair. “What’s the first?”
“It’s Allie,” Selene said and met Natalie’s probing gaze. “She treats this Josh kid like he’s the second coming. I’m worried she’s changing who she is to try to please him. As if the whole werewolf thing wasn’t enough.”
Natalie smiled gently. “Sorry, Selene, I think that might just be part of first love. You’re in free fall until you crash, and then you climb back up.
If the love is real, it’s still there when you stop trying to be the person you think your partner wants you to be.
Allie’s sixteen. She’s got some time to figure that out. ”
“You’re right,” Selene sighed. “I’d just like to save her the trouble.”
“You can’t,” Natalie said. “She’s the one who has to learn.
You could tell her everything you know, every mistake you’ve made, every regret you have, and she’d still have to do it all herself.
That’s what growing up is. Plus, the more you try to control her relationship with Josh, the tighter she’ll cling to him. ”
Selene nodded and thought about the pheasant. “No question there.”
“But you should keep an eye on it a little,” Natalie continued. “Werewolves can be very dominant.”
A hot flush crept along Selene’s neck. “I noticed.”
Natalie’s eyes widened. “Are we at the second issue?”
Selene swallowed, blushing. Natalie watched her closely and straightened, putting on a serious face.
“Oh, dear goddess. Fenris? Is he . . . Selene, what happened?”
“He, uh.” Selene bit her bottom lip. “He made it very clear he’s interested.”
“How clear?” Natalie’s eyebrows drew together.
“Trust me, there were no mixed signals.” Selene took a deep breath. Even the memory of Fen’s words, and his hands on her back and waist, made her skin come alive and her pulse jump.
“Be specific.”
Selene looked at Natalie, expecting to see a teasing smile on her friend’s lips, but there was only a stern, worried expression.
“What do you mean?” Selene was startled by the serious cast of Natalie’s face.
“What did he ask of you?” Natalie pressed.
“He didn’t ask anything,” Selene wrapped her hands around her cup. “We were talking about Josh and Allie. I was feeling a little better about the whole thing because he isn’t sure their relationship is a good idea either, and he told me about the rules werewolves have about courtship.”
“Yep,” Natalie said. “They are big fans of rules and ritual. I’m too impatient for that kind of thing, but I agree that when it comes to Allie’s situation, it’s a good thing.”
“Definitely.” Selene paused to sip her tea, gearing up for what she was about to say.
“So that was fine. But the more we talked, the more it felt like flirting. I don’t know, Nat, he’s so .
. . It’s like he has this pull. I’ve never felt anything like it.
At first I thought it was just me. I mean, he’s really hot, and he has this presence. ”
“He does.” Natalie lifted an eyebrow at the sharp look Selene gave her. “Everyone feels his power, Sel. I’m not into him, but the way you just reacted tells me a lot.”
“I didn’t—”
Natalie held up her hand. “Don’t make excuses. Just tell me what happened.”
Chagrined, Selene continued. “He asked me to dance after dinner.”
“Very old school.” Natalie smiled.
“It should have felt silly.” Selene returned the smile. “But it didn’t. I loved it, even though I was overwhelmed by my . . . response to him.”
“And his response to you?”
“God, Natalie, I didn’t know a man could get that hard.”
Natalie tipped over her coffee cup. A trail of dark liquid spilled over the edge of the table and dripped on the floor. “I thought you said you were just dancing! Is that some new euphemism you’re using for sex?”
“We were just dancing.” Selene laughed and put her hands to her flaming cheeks. “But it almost felt like sex. Really, really good sex . . . I can’t believe I just said that. I haven’t been out there for a while.”
Natalie patted her hand before reaching for the kitchen towel again. “I don’t blame you, Selene. Fenris Hall is a beautiful creature. But he’s not just a man, he’s a wolf. Not just any wolf either, he’s the wolf.”
“Yeah.” Selene frowned. “I don’t know what to make of that.”
Natalie crouched near the floor to sop up the spilled coffee. “If you get involved with him, it won’t be dating. It will be something else.”
“I know,” Selene said. “Rules and rituals.”
Natalie went to the sink and tossed in the soaked towel. She kept her back to Selene and stared out the darkened kitchen windows.
“Selene, if what I think is happening here is really happening . . .” She paused and gripped the edge of the sink.
“Are you okay?” Selene was about to rise when Natalie abruptly turned around and strode back to the kitchen table.
“I can’t tell you what to do about Fen,” she said.
“And please don’t misunderstand my reaction.
He’s a good man. I have immense respect for him.
He wouldn’t have been so forward with you if his intentions were dishonorable.
If you’re interested, I wouldn’t want to interfere.
But I also need you to know that I don’t think Fenris would ever have a fling.
If you get involved with him, it won’t be casual. ”
“How am I supposed to know if I want things to be serious this early?” Selene exclaimed.
“We had dinner for the first time just a few hours ago. It wasn’t even supposed to be a date.
I still don’t think it was a date. And he seemed to be surprised by his feelings as much as I was.
He said he doesn’t usually invite humans into his life. ”
“That’s true,” Natalie said. “And that’s another reason there’s no such thing as casual when it comes to Fenris. Hang on, I’ll be right back.”
Natalie left the kitchen, and Selene sipped her tea, considering what her friend was telling her. It wasn’t exactly a warning, but it was obvious Nat wasn’t comfortable with Selene dating Fen, and not because Fen was a bad person.
Given how strong Fen had come on at the end of the evening, Selene knew Nat was right to caution her.
Selene was still shaken by how heated things got between them in such a short space of time.
She’d never been one to jump into relationships.
It scared her to admit that Fen tempted her enough to consider throwing caution to the wind. She wanted him that much.
Natalie returned carrying the tote bags she’d arrived with. She set them down, reaching into one.
“I was going to give you these things regardless, but it’s even more imperative that you have them, given that it’s obvious you won’t be on the periphery of the magical world. You’re already in the thick of it.”
Selene didn’t try to deny it. She was in the woods all right, deep in that dark forest fairy tales warned about.
“What things?”
“The means to protect yourself.” Natalie drew a slender black case from the bag and opened it.
For a moment Selene stopped breathing. The dagger was sleek and gleaming. Its blade was eight inches long and appeared to be paper thin. The hilt was inlaid with luminescent milky stones.
“If you have trouble with a wolf, this will protect you. It’s silver set with moonstones.”
When Selene found her breath again, she tried to laugh. It came out as a husky puff of air. “This is a joke, right?”
Natalie’s lips thinned. “Look, Selene. I doubt you’ll ever need to use it.
Like I said, Fen is a good ruler, and he keeps the creatures in Avondale in line, especially his wolves.
But your life has changed. Forever. Once you know about paranormals, they are no longer constrained by laws about keeping themselves hidden from you.
You’re part of their world now. You need the equipment to stay safe if something goes wrong. You believe in self-defense, right?”
Selene nodded and continued to stare at the dagger. She’d never owned a weapon of any kind.
“I brought a couple of other things.” Natalie rummaged in the bag.
“The vamps in town are afraid of Fen enough to behave, but every once in a while, one of them goes rogue. Wolves almost never attack humans. I wish I could say the same for vamps. You should carry this with you when you’re out at night. ”
She handed Selene a slender chain with a cross suspended from it.
“The cross will keep a vampire at bay. Plus it’s silver, and so is the chain. That’s another line of defense against the werewolves, and it’s small enough to hide in your purse.”
“I was wearing a silver ring tonight,” Selene told Nat. “It burned Fen when I shook his hand.”
“Oh my goddess.” Nat snorted out a laugh.
“Don’t laugh,” Selene complained. “I was mortified. And Allie was furious.”
“I’m sorry.” Natalie tried to stop laughing and almost succeeded. “Fen must really like you if he didn’t send you home the moment that happened.”
“I didn’t know!”
Still grinning, Natalie shook her head. “Allie should have given you some ground rules. No silver is pretty basic.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Selene said dryly. “But now you’re telling me to wear a silver cross at night. Is that true if I’m with Fen?”
“So you are going to keep seeing him?” Natalie asked, her smile fading.
Selene frowned. “I don’t know.”
Giving Selene a sympathetic look, Nat said, “You don’t have to know right now.
It’s a lot. Be patient with yourself. And to answer your question: you should not wear silver if you’re with Fen, but like I said, carry it in your purse.
I also have an aerosolized spray bottle filled with holy water.
Doesn’t do anything to wolves but hurts vampires like hell and gives you the chance to run.
That’s what you need to do if you’re attacked by a vamp.
Run and get somewhere safe. You won’t win a fight with one. ”
“Okay.” Selene’s heart was pounding, both from the thought that she might try to date Fenris Hall and because she was talking about fighting off creatures of the night with silver crosses and holy water. “What else have you got in there? A shotgun for zombies?”
Natalie laughed, but it was a brittle sound. “Shotguns aren’t for zombies. We don’t have zombies around Avondale, as far as I’m aware. Shotguns are for werewolves. You just need silver ammo. But let’s hope I never hand you a gun. Because we wouldn’t be talking about self-defense at that point.”
“What would we be talking about?” Selene asked.
“War,” Natalie said, and her tone made Selene’s blood turn to ice.
Her mind began to spin, barely able to process everything that had taken place over the course of the past several hours.
It all melted together into a confusing puddle of strange and frightening scenarios.
None of which seemed quite possible, despite what Selene had witnessed with her own eyes.
Natalie returned to her bags and pulled out a box set of DVDs. “Old school, I know, but I wasn’t sure what streaming channels you subscribe to. You do have a DVD player, don’t you?”
Selene nodded and picked up the first box. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”
“All seven seasons,” Natalie said. “Consider it your crash course in paranormal self-defense. I also included a Brazilian jujitsu DVD. You should practice.”
“Should I get Allie to watch these?” Selene asked.
“Yes,” Natalie replied. “But the weapons and jewelry are just for you.”
Selene looked at her with surprise. “Why?”
Natalie sighed. “I want you to have this stuff because I think it’s important that you feel safe. And I need to know I’m doing everything I can to protect you if things go sideways. But not everyone would share my opinion.”
“Like who?”
“Fenris,” Natalie said. “The werewolves have laws about items they consider threatening to their kind. He’d see this as an affront to his clan. Particularly the dagger. There are very few things that can kill the wolves, but the dagger is one of them. It’s powerful and deadly.”
“Maybe you should hang on to it.” The conversation had taken a turn that made Selene uneasy. “I’m not exactly an expert when it comes to weapons.”
“I wish I didn’t think it was necessary to give it to you, but you’re in a new world with new rules,” Natalie countered. “Don’t let anyone see it. It’s only for use as a last resort.”
“Okay,” Selene said. “Thanks, Nat.”
“No worries.” Natalie smiled. “I know it’s late, but do you want to watch some Buffy? Seriously, it’s a great show.”