Chapter 10 #2
Selene fled to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and leaned against the basin as steam filled the room.
Her throat burned, and her chest felt like it had been pummeled by a battering ram.
Visions of flayed wolves without heads flashed in her mind’s eye.
She’d never been confronted with such gruesome violence.
Its horror would haunt her, but the revulsion she felt would never compare to the pain and suffering of Fen and his pack.
No wonder he’d passed laws banning weapons like the dagger.
Selene stripped off her nightshirt and was about to step into the shower when there was a soft knock at the bathroom door.
“Aunt Selene, it’s Allie.”
Selene grabbed her bathrobe from a hook on the wall, wrapped it around her, and opened the door. Allie slipped inside the room and closed the door.
“What is it, hon?” Selene asked.
“I sent Josh home because I need to ask you something.” Allie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “What are you going to do about the dagger?”
“I said I would get rid of it. I will.” She couldn’t imagine having anything in her house associated with such an abhorrent practice.
“I meant about the fact that you got it from Natalie,” Allie said.
Selene stared at her. “How . . .”
“I woke up and heard voices downstairs,” Allie continued. “I recognized Natalie’s, so I came down to say hi, but when I realized what you were talking about . . . I kind of eavesdropped. Sorry.”
“What did you hear?” Selene tensed.
Does she know that Daniel is back?
“Well I already knew that Natalie was a witch,” Allie said. “So that wasn’t a surprise.” She smiled impishly. “I didn’t know you were into Fen.”
Okay, after Daniel. Good. Wait . . . Fen? Oh no. Not good.
Selene blushed at the same moment her heart lurched. “I don’t know what to think about Fen.”
And after learning what happened to his mate, I’m even more lost. Why would he be the least bit interested in me given all that history?
“Give me a break, Aunt Sel.” Allie grinned. “That’s not what you said last night.”
“I am mortified that you heard any of that, Allison,” Selene said. “Please erase it from your memory.”
“Not likely,” Allie said. “I think you should go for it. I love Fen.”
“What else did you hear?” Selene ignored Allie’s delighted expression.
Her niece’s smile faded. “Well, that was when Nat started talking about self-defense. At first I was kind of annoyed, but then I thought she was probably being realistic. I mean, Josh and Fen are great, but I’m sure there are bad paranormals out there. Just like there are good and bad people.”
Selene nodded. “That’s smart, Allie.”
“I think Nat is just trying to be helpful,” Allie concluded.
“She is,” Selene said. “Are you going to say anything to Josh?”
“No, Nat is awesome. She’s like my super-cool aunt.”
“Your super-cool aunt?” Selene scoffed. “What does that make me?”
“Obviously you’re my favorite aunt.” Allie stuck out her tongue, then beamed at Selene.
“Anyway, I don’t want Natalie to get in trouble.
And I love Josh, but some of the werewolf rules are a little over the top.
Did you know they want us to date for ten years before I can be Josh’s mate? That’s forever.”
“Fen told me about that rule, and I don’t hate it,” Selene said, making Allie scowl. “I know ten years sounds like a long time, but you still get to be with Josh during that time. It means you’ll really know each other before you make a commitment that is literally forever.”
“Whatever. It’s way too long,” Allie mumbled. “But I get the law against weapons, knowing what happened to Fen’s mate.”
Selene couldn’t stop herself from shuddering as she nodded her agreement.
“Josh didn’t mention it before this morning?” Selene asked.
Allie shook her head. “I knew she had died. It was a huge tragedy for the pack, and Fen took it really hard. But that story, what the poachers did . . . it’s too horrible.”
“It is.” Selene wrapped her arms around herself.
“Aunt Selene.” Allie’s voice became so quiet, Selene instantly went on alert. A haunted look crept over her niece’s face. “When Mom died . . . you had to identify her at the morgue before she was cremated . . . You saw how she looked after it happened.”
“What’s wrong, Allie? What do you need to know?” Selene asked gently. They’d talked about this before. She’d decided against hiding the truth about Emma’s murder. Allie deserved honest answers no matter how difficult the questions.
“The person who killed her.” Allie stopped, swallowed a couple of times. “They didn’t do bad things to her body. Like the hunters did to Fen’s mate. Did they?”
“Your mom was stabbed in the throat,” Selene said, keeping her voice even.
But memories of the morgue, of the sheet being drawn back to reveal Emma’s lifeless body, clawed at her heart.
“It was an ugly, awful thing, but no, it was nothing like what happened to Fen’s mate and the other wolves who were killed by the hunters. ”
Allie’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Okay. Good. Thank you for telling me.” She sniffled, wiping tears from her cheeks, but she dodged when Selene tried to hug her.
Selene wanted to tell Allie she didn’t have to put on a brave front, that crying was always okay, but she also understood that Allie was at a moment in her life where she wanted to prove she was independent. Strong. If that was what Allie needed, Selene would support her.
“Is there anything else you want to ask about that?” Selene laced her fingers together because she wanted to brush the hair that hid Allie’s eyes away from her face. But Allie would hate that.
“No.”
They stood quietly.
“I feel so sorry for Fen.” Allie gave her aunt a speculative look. “Maybe that’s a good reason you should date him. You could, like, teach him to love again after all that tragedy. It would be super romantic.”
Selene would have been thrown by the sudden shift in tone, but there was a hint of pleading behind Allie’s words, telling her that Allie needed a new focus. Happier thoughts. Brighter possibilities.
“I don’t think it works that way,” Selene said.
“Why not?” Allie frowned.
The tumult of her own feelings came roaring up. Was she attracted to Fen? Absolutely. Could she handle all the complications tied to that attraction? She honestly didn’t know.
“Can we not talk about this right now?”
Something in her expression brought Allie up short. “Sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize, sweetheart.” Selene didn’t want to shut Allie down when they hit on uncomfortable topics. If that happened, it was far too easy for small problems to turn into major crises.
Speaking of crises.
Selene paused and thought about telling Allie about Daniel’s sudden appearance.
But she quickly dismissed that idea. She wanted to know more about his intentions before Allie was involved at all.
A part of her hoped that Daniel would decide never to show up again.
It would fit his usual pattern to flake out.
“I don’t know that it’s a good idea for me to get involved with anyone right now,” Selene told Allie. “It’s not that long before my next contract starts up. You know how busy I get with work. And your love life has enough complications for both of us, don’t you think?”
“No way, Auntie Sel,” Allie snarked. “You don’t get to use work for an excuse. Or me. Go out with Fen. I’d be really happy for you.”
“Well since I have your approval, that erases all my doubts,” Selene quipped before bopping Allie on the nose. “Should I send a dozen red roses to Fenris at his castle?”
Allie laughed. “I just think you’d be happier if you had someone like Fen in your life.”
“I’m not unhappy, Allie,” Selene murmured.
“Not regular happy, Auntie Sel,” Allie drawled. “Love happy. It’s different, and you know it.”
All Selene could do was sigh.
“Oh,” Allie continued. “One more thing. Can Josh come to dinner tonight?”
“Breakfast and dinner?” Selene clucked her tongue. “Allie, that’s an awful lot. Josh can’t be your whole life.”
“Please, Aunt Sel,” Allie said. “He was really shaken up by the dagger thing. I think it would mean a lot if he thought you wanted him around. You did wave a deadly weapon at him this morning.”
Guilt socked Selene in the gut. “Yes, I suppose I could make amends for that. Okay, he can come for dinner.”
Allie’s eyes lit up.
“But don’t push it, Allie,” Selene said. “I know the werewolf world works differently, but I will never, never approve sleepovers.”
Allie’s cheeks went pink. “And I would never, never ask.”
Selene remained distracted and a little agitated when she drove into town. She was still puzzling over what she was supposed to serve a werewolf for dinner when she walked into Natalie’s shop.
Natalie turned from the chair and grinned at her. “Let me guess, you just watched the last episode of Season Two. Rips your heart out, doesn’t it? Have a seat, and we’ll talk about it. Don’t worry, Angel comes back. Sorry. I should have said spoiler alert.”
“Sorry, I’m still mired in the first season. Buffy and Angel just kissed for the first time.” Selene had winced when the cross around Buffy’s neck burned Angel’s skin like a brand. That hit too close to home. “I’m here to ask about something else.”
“Heya, Selene.” Tim waved at her from the salon chair. “Good weekend?”
“It’s been interesting.”
“Natalie said you had a close encounter of the Fenris kind.” He waggled his bushy eyebrows at her. “I have to admit, I’m a little jealous.”
“Nat!” Selene glared at Natalie as she brushed stray hairs from Tim’s shoulders.
“Oh, come on,” Natalie said. “You’re going to end up asking Tim and Mar for advice anyway. I figured I’d give them a head start.”
“Thanks,” Selene replied in a flat voice.
“You’re all set, Timothy.” Natalie pulled the cape off his shoulders.