Chapter 7
“Jemma’s screaming and Jacques…Uh, aide-moi, Saule. Comment dis-tu, uh, glapier?” Julien’s dark eyes found Willow’s across the table, flicking briefly to the neckline of her black V-neck dress before catching her eyes again.
If Willow noticed the look, she didn’t acknowledge it. She just smiled at him, giggling, her lips stained from red wine. “Yelped?”
“Oui! Jacques yelped, and our parents came running! But it wasn’t poisonous. Just hairy.”
Darcy, who sat at the head of the dining room table, chuckled with Jack, Julien, and Willow, then turned her eyes to Amory, beside her, who looked down at his bowl of half-finished Coq au Vin with narrowed eyes.
He picked up his wineglass and drained the rest. Clearly, Julien’s glance at Willow’s small but pert assets hadn’t been lost on her brother.
They hadn’t expected Amory to join them, and Darcy had rushed to set the table for five instead of four when he showed up unexpectedly with Willow.
She couldn’t hide the worry that must have crossed her features because Jack had come up behind her, wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her neck, whispering in her ear, “It’ll be okay. I promise.”
Jack had been right. It had been okay. It’d been better than okay.
It felt so…normal. Julien entertained them with perfectly normal stories from their Beauloup childhood, and Darcy could almost forget that she, her brother, and her childhood friend were dining with two men who turned into bloodthirsty creatures at the full moon, one of whom, she had decided firmly this afternoon, was her life’s mate, her beloved.
She glanced at him beside her, his omnipresent stubble shadowing his strong jaw, his black hair just a little wild, his dark eyes crinkling with amusement, and felt her heart swell with love for him, with hope for them.
In fact, the only immediate fly in her ointment was the attention that Julien was paying Willow and the way she was lapping it up. Darcy didn’t like it. She didn’t like the way it was affecting her brother. Her brother didn’t know the untold dangers lurking in provoking an argument with Julien.
“You’re scared of spiders, Jack?” Willow giggled, whose cheeks were cheerfully flushed, from either a little too much good French wine or a little too much bad boy French attention from across the table.
“I’ll be honest, Willow, they’re not my favorite.”
“Not his favorite, he says, forgetting he screamed like a fillette at the sight of one,” said Julien, elbowing his brother beside him.
“That one could have eaten you for dinner, mon frère,” Jack advised him, shaking his head and curling his fingers around Darcy’s hand, which rested on the table beside him.
Even that small, encouraging touch sent a blast of heat from her fingers up her arm to her neck, where it connected with her pulse, making it flutter faster.
She turned away from him to look out the French doors that led to the garden behind the lodge.
From where she sat at Jack’s huge, rustic farmhouse table, she had a good view, the perfect view, in her opinion, of the small stone bench under the crab apple tree where she and Jack had kissed a few hours earlier, deciding that a life spent apart was no longer possible.
She twisted her wrist so that their palms were flush and married, watching her fingers settle softly on the back of his hand as his readjusted around hers.
Julien cleared his throat loudly, and Darcy looked up. Her cheeks flushed with heat to realize that everyone was staring at her and Jack. Julien winked at her suggestively, a knowing smile playing on his lips.
“Jacques, my compliments!” he said, kissing his fingers. “This was divine. And I am happy to wash the dishes if la belle Saule will help me.”
Julien cocked his head to the side, looking adorable, and winked at Willow. Willow, who simpered!
“I’ll help you,” said Amory quietly, staring at Julien.
“Mais, non,” said Julien, his charming smile unwavering even as Darcy noticed the new chill in his tone. “You’re our guest, Amory.”
Amory stood up, picking up his bowl and Willow’s, then headed into the kitchen without another word.
“?a va,” Julien said quietly, nesting Darcy and Jack’s bowls over his and following Amory.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Darcy turned to Willow, her eyes serious. “What are you doing?”
Willow had the temerity to look innocent. “What?”
“You’re going to get Amory hurt.”
“Amory can hold his own, kid.”
“If you two are together, stop messing around. I mean it. He’s my brother, and no offense, Jack, but I don’t trust yours.”
“None taken,” said Jack. “I think Darcy has a point. Julien can be slippery about humans.”
Amory strolled back into the living room on his own, and three sets of eyes looked toward the kitchen door, which swung back and forth lightly with no sign of Julien.
“Julien left,” said Amory, sitting back down between Darcy and Willow.
“Did something happen?” asked Darcy.
“Uh, yeah. I suggested that he might want to stop checking out my girl’s tits, at which point I thought he was going to try to deck me.
But all of a sudden, he wrinkled his forehead and jutted his nose into the air like he was sniffing for breakfast. Then he just turned and left out the back door. ” Amory shrugged.
Darcy’s eyes widened, and she looked out at the garden apprehensively before catching Willow’s worried eyes. Jack squeezed her hand gently, and she turned to him.
“It was weird. No offense, Jack.” Amory seemed oblivious to the sudden change in the energy around him.
“None taken,” Jack murmured to Amory, but his eyes were wide and worried, trained on Darcy.
She’s here.
I know.
Darcy’s eyes flicked to Willow and Amory, then back to Jack.
Willow will be okay. What about Amory?
There’s no time for them to leave. It wouldn’t be safe, anyway. Between me and Julien, we’ll outnumber her. But Darcy, I meant to…I meant to show you—
What?
I may have to shift. To help Julien.
She stared at him, hoping that her face didn’t betray the fear she suddenly felt. She loved him. Completely. But she didn’t know that she was ready to see him shift.
“Hey, Willow,” said Darcy, turning to her friend, a calm smile fixed on her face for her brother’s sake. “Jack has this awesome media room on the third floor. Why don’t you guys go get a movie started, and we’ll join you as soon as we finish the dishes?”
Amory grinned at Willow. “Sounds good to me.”
Darcy mouthed Lock the door to her friend, and Willow nodded quickly, turning to Jack. Her eyes implored him to take care of Darcy, and Jack nodded once, his hand still holding Darcy’s.
Amory pulled back Willow’s chair, and Darcy watched as they walked up the stairs together.
“It’ll be okay,” said Jack, low and gentle, once they were out of earshot.
“I know you’ll keep me safe,” she said, and he leaned forward to press his lips to hers.
“As long as I’m alive, no one will ever hurt you.”
“Then stay alive.”
“She’s just a girl.” He smiled at her. “Don’t worry about me.”
“All in a day’s work, huh? I’m suddenly really glad you used to work for the Council.”
She drew her hand away and pushed away from the table, standing up. He stood up beside her, opening his arms, and she stepped gratefully into them. She leaned her cheek against his chest, flattening her hands against his back as his strong, hard arms encircled her.
“I want you to go up to the media room with Willow and Amory. Lock yourselves in. Don’t open the door. I’ll stay down here, and hopefully you won’t see or hear a thing until I come up to tell you it’s all over. Don’t come out, Darcy. No matter what you think you see or hear. Don’t come out.”
Her nostrils flared at his tone. He was worried about her.
“Do you think you’ll have to shift?” she asked. She wanted to prepare herself with the little bit of time she had.
“Almost definitely. Julien’s going to spark to her, and I’m going to need to hold her.”
“You two are going to force her to—”
“Just a kiss. Nothing more. We’d never hurt her. He needs to kiss her to see if they’re meant to be bound. If they’re not bound, we’ll have to deal with her. Probably lock her in the vault for a while, which is why I can’t have you hide there. It’s the only place that could possibly hold her.”
“Do you think she and Julien will?”
“He does. He seems sure that she’s the one for him.” He whispered into her ear, “I know how that feels.”
He leaned back and pressed his lips against hers, brushing softly, reverently.
“I definitely know how that feels.”
“Me too,” she whispered, tilting her head to the side and reaching up to thread her fingers through his black hair. She chuckled softly. “If she wasn’t here to kill me, I’d sort of love seeing it happen. A binding.”
“You probably won’t see it. But if you do, I’ll be shifted, and just remember…”
“I know. You’re still you.” She smiled at him gently. “I choose you. No matter what.”
She felt him shudder as he clasped her tightly against him, pressing his lips against her hair. “I have to go. I-I’ll walk you upstairs. Remember, don’t come out. No matter what.”
“You don’t have to walk me,” she said, pulling back gently. She touched his cheek with her palm and felt it tremble with the fears she was trying to keep at bay. “The faster you go help Julien, the faster it’ll be over. The faster we can get back to us.”
He turned his head so that his lips could press softly against her palm, then he looked at her face, holding her eyes.
It’ll be okay. Don’t be frightened.
She nodded gravely.
I love you, Darcy.
I love you, Jack.
Then she pulled her hand away and turned toward the stairs.