Chapter 14 - Sadie
Every day that goes by after I lost control with Rhys, the strange, restless energy I’d been feeling before gets stronger and stronger. I try as hard as I can to ignore it or pass it off as something mundane, but strange events begin to pile up that I can’t explain.
Early one morning, when I’m making coffee, I reach for a teaspoon, only to have it slide across the counter right into my hand. I stare at it in disbelief for a few seconds, a nasty twist flipping my stomach as I struggle with the reality of what just happened.
This can’t be. It can’t possibly be happening.
Rhys comes into the kitchen behind me, whistling softly. I quickly put the spoon in the cup and stir my coffee almost frantically, praying that he doesn’t notice anything strange.
How do I stop this? And where did it come from? What’s happening to me?
“Good morning,” Rhys says, reaching past me for a cup.
“Morning,” I reply, backing away from the counter to sit down at the table with Cassie. I keep my head down, wrestling with my thoughts and denial, but knowing damn well exactly when this cranked into high gear.
When Rhys and I let loose in the library. The orgasm was like an accumulation of this power, and since then, the power has gotten stronger every day.
“Don’t forget, we have Owen’s party tonight,” Rhys says as he sits down at the table.
“I didn’t forget,” I reply. “Were you going to pick me up from work a bit earlier?”
“Yeah, I was. About an hour, I think. Is that okay?”
“Works for me,” I answer, smiling as I take a sip of coffee.
How am I supposed to keep all this under wraps in front of the whole pack? They already think I’m crazy fucking weird, and I have no respect because I’m human. What if I suddenly make it rain teaspoons?
“Am I coming to the party?” Cassie asks, crunching her way through a piece of toast and getting jam all over her cheeks.
“Yes,” Rhys says. “But Auntie Jean will probably take all the kids back to her place before the party finishes because it might run late.”
“Cool,” Cassie says, smiling. “I love Auntie Jean!”
“She’s an absolute godsend,” I say. “She’s really just happy to take all the kids every day?”
“Yep,” Rhys says. “She does get paid a little to cover her costs, and then each family puts in a bit more, and we make sure her family is well-supported. Shifter kids need special supervision while growing. We can’t just send them to normal daycare or school.”
“Shifter kids?” Cassie asks, and the room seems to fill with a palpable, icy silence. She looks between the two of us, still munching her toast.
“I know,” she says simply, and Rhys and I look at each other in panic.
What does she know? Does she know Rhys is her dad?
“What do you know?” Rhys asks, echoing my thoughts.
“About werewolves,” she says matter-of-factly. “Auntie Jean had to tell me because Martin shifted right in front of me.”
Of course that was going to happen. I’m so stupid for not having realized it.
“Oh,” Rhys says. “I’m really sorry we didn’t tell you ourselves.”
“It’s okay,” Cassie shrugs. “Auntie Jean explained that because we came from the outside world, everyone wanted to be careful to explain things to me, so I wasn’t scared.”
“That was nice of Auntie Jean,” I say, breathing a sigh of relief. “I’ll have to thank her for taking such good care of you.”
“She really does!” Cassie smiles enthusiastically. “She’s much more fun than my other babysitter, and I can play with other kids—you’re right, Rhys, we need a special person. Bigger kids go to school in town, don’t they?”
“Usually, yes,” Rhys says. “It’s important to learn how to get along there as adults, but shifter kids definitely need a special start to life. And sometimes, our kids just can’t fit in at all, no matter what we do.”
“Yeah, Auntie Jean said that,” Cassie says, finishing her toast. “I hope I can go to school. We won’t know until I shift.”
I look up at Rhys suddenly, and he lifts his shoulders in a little shrug. Fear churns in my belly. I don’t know what’s going to happen to my baby girl—or to me.
I don’t want to stay here forever, but it looks like Cassie needs her own kind. I’m turning into a freak that doesn’t fit in here, or out there… or maybe anywhere.
A sharp beep outside jolts me back to reality, and I wipe Cassie’s face and hands clean before taking her outside.
“Hi, Jean,” I say as I walk up the path to meet her at the curb. “Will you bring the kids to the party tonight?”
“Yep,” Jean replies, smiling. “That’s no trouble. We’ll be up at the manor by about four, so you can take your time getting ready. I’ll have the kids nice and entertained.”
“Thank you,” I say, meaning it. “For taking such good care of her.”
“It really is my pleasure,” Jean says, closing the sliding door of the van after Cassie gets in and starts chatting with the other kids. Jean takes a couple of steps away, then checks to make sure the kids are occupied before taking my arm.
“It’s probably nothing,” she says. “But Cassie really doesn’t show any signs of shifting. She definitely has an energy about her, like something building, but I’m not seeing the same signs I’d usually see.”
“Oh,” I say. “Is any of that really bad?”
“It’s just unusual,” Jean says, shrugging. “If I weren’t feeling any energy from her, I wouldn’t expect her to shift for a long while yet. It’s very individual what age it happens. It’s just that her aura is revving up, but nothing is really going on physically.”
“Okay,” I reply. “I suppose I’ll tell Rhys? This is really out of my area.”
“For sure. I’ll see you tonight, anyway.”
“Yes! Will Rachel and Carly be there?”
“Yep,” Jean answers. “I might even get a chance to come back and party myself, depending on how the kids settle, and if any of the grandmas want to sit in with them.”
“That would be nice,” I say, giving her a brief hug. “See you later!”
As I walk back to the house, I thank God that my relationship with Jean and other members of the pack has changed so much. I actually feel welcome and supported. In fact, I haven’t heard a single bad word or felt nasty vibes for a couple of weeks.
I know it’s Rhys’s doing. He told them to be nicer to me. It seems to have opened people up to me, though. The girls genuinely like me—I can feel it.
The knowledge of the other women liking me goes further than just an idea or even intuition. I’m certain of it, and it has something to do with the weird energy that’s been running through me since I had sex with Rhys.
Whatever this thing is, I’ve got to get a handle on it. I can’t explode like a firecracker in front of the pack—or humans!
As Rhys drives me to work, I start to feel paranoid that Lacey or Trina might notice something off about me, but the energy inside me settles as I get to work.
Over the course of the day, it fluctuates but doesn’t get strong enough to scare me.
It seems to flow through my veins like a general sense of well-being, as if I’ve taken some kind of happy drug that has no side effects.
And makes me magnetic enough to attract teaspoons.
The thought makes me wonder if it is literal magnetism, and I look over at a pen that’s just out of my reach on the other side of the table. Cautiously, I stretch out my hand and will it to come to me. To my shock, it wiggles, as if it’s about to slide straight into my hand.
I hear a step in the hall and turn away so fast, I almost fall off my chair.
“Hey,” Trina says, knocking on the door. “Rhys is here. You okay?”
“Yeah,” I say, trying to sound casual. “You just startled me. I'd better get going.”
“Sure thing. Enjoy the party!”
I head out to meet Rhys, waving goodbye to the others. Since it’s a shifter event, the human girls weren’t invited, but no one takes it personally.
Just a little bit of griping that all the hottest men will be in the same place at the same time, and they won’t be.
Rhys takes me home, and after we get ready, he drives us out to the manor.
Even though the house itself feels as dark and foreboding as ever, the gardens out back have been strung with fairy lights, and the live band is playing upbeat tunes that echo out into the forest, creating ripples of good vibes through the crowd.
I look back up at the house, and all I can feel coming from it is a sense of incredibly dark, sharp pain.
I don’t even need extra senses to feel it. What the hell happened here?
Turning my back on it, I go play with Cassie and spend a couple of hours wrangling the kids before Jean takes them home. She lets us know that if she can’t find a sitter, she’ll take Cassie to our place and watch her until we get back.
Carla and Rachel find me, and before I know it, I’m over at the little table serving as a bar with a line of vodka Jell-O shots lined up in front of me.
“I don’t know, guys,” I say, eyeing the shots warily. “I’m not used to drinking like this.”
And if I get drunk, my new powers might get away from me.
“Oh, come on,” Rachel says. “Just have one, then see how you feel.”
“Hmm, okay,” I reply, grinning. “But if this goes badly, I’m blaming you.”
“I’ll happily take it,” she giggles, handing me a little glass. “If it means seeing you let loose!”
We end up having three shots each, then going to the stone courtyard to dance. There are a lot of young people dancing in groups, boys and girls peeking at each other, whispering behind their hands as they talk about who they like but don’t have the courage to go talk to.
There are also older couples, just enjoying slow dances and the lively music.
I look around for Rhys as I dance with the girls, finally spotting him over at the cake table.
Owen is standing next to him, and they are surrounded by women.
I don’t recognize any of them, meaning they have to be from Owen or Shane’s pack.
I don’t want to seem paranoid, but it looks a lot like they’re moving on him.
One of the women turns and notices my gaze. Her eyes flicker with that unnatural sheen Rhys sometimes has, and I know she’s threatening me with her wolf.
I want to go over and confront her, but I know if I did that, I’d just look unhinged in front of all three packs, and Rhys definitely wouldn’t appreciate it. I purposefully turn my back on the situation and try to focus on having a good time instead.
I trust Rhys. He wouldn’t cheat on me—and what do I even care if he did!
Even though I try to convince myself I’m not jealous, deep inside I know I’m lying to myself. But I just can’t face it, which leads to another round of Jell-O shots.
I’m dancing hard with the other girls, letting the music throb through my body and truly forgetting all my worries, when someone elbows me in the ribs. I stagger sideways, holding my side as Rachel catches me.
“Oh,” a voice sneers. “I didn’t see you there.”
I look up to see a tall, muscular, blond man giving me a hostile glare.
You ran into me, asshole!
“It’s okay,” I mutter. “Watch where you’re going.”
“Sure,” he scoffs, turning away from me. I’ve barely turned back around when I hear his voice again.
“I’m just not used to being around humans,” he says, like he’s talking about cockroaches. “Never seen one at a shifter event… ever.”
“I’m married to the alpha,” I say, trying to ignore him.
“I heard that,” he says, with overdone disbelief. “What a weird fetish to have.”
I don’t respond, but I move the girls to a different part of the dance floor. It only takes him a few minutes to find me again, and when he runs into me again, he almost knocks me off my feet.
“Watch it!” I almost yell.
“Yeah,” Rachel says. “That was really nasty, dude.”
He shrugs. “I didn’t notice you. Well, I noticed the smell. I just didn’t realize it was coming from a living being.”
I turn around slowly, looking at him with a harsh glare. “What did you just say?”
“The scent,” he shakes his head, pinching his nose. “Some humans smell good, like a Sunday roast. But you smell like something that crawled out of a bog.”
“And you’d been rotting in there for a thousand years,” one of his buddies adds, and they all laugh.
“Come on,” Rachel says. “Let’s go get a drink.”
I don’t feel like more alcohol is going to help the situation, but I let her lead me away. Rachel leaves me by the table and says she’s going to hunt down Rhys.
I stand by the table, feeling awkward and scared, and suddenly the big, blond bully is in front of me again.
“Ah, there you are,” he says. “All by yourself now?”
“Just leave me alone,” I mutter.
“Is that a threat?”
“Not yet,” I snap, stepping towards him. He takes a step forward, too, getting right in my face.
“Your kind shouldn’t be here,” he hisses. “You don’t belong. Humans are food or nothing! It’s disgusting having you anywhere near us!”
“It wasn’t exactly my first choice,” I shoot back. “But I guess we’ll have to deal with it somehow.”
He shakes his head. “You and that half-breed brat. What the fuck is the council thinking, letting you stay and bring that stunted mongrel with you?”
“What did you just say?” I step towards him, all the energy in my body changing as the words echo through my chest. “What the fuck did you just say about my child?”
He grins, knowing that he’s got me. He clenches his fists and steps right up to me until we’re nose to nose.
You don’t fucking scare me, asshole!
A crackling noise takes my attention, and to my shock, I realize it’s runners of grass on the rocks beneath my feet.
They’re snaking out of the cracks and curling towards the bully as if they’re going to wrestle him to the ground and strangle him.
At the same moment, I feel an unnatural wind tossing my hair and a warm vibration in my hands.
Fuck! I can’t let this happen—not here!
The idea of my powers getting away from me at all, let alone here in front of all three packs, terrifies me so much that my mind goes completely blank.
Humans are looked down on, but witches are feared! I’m fucked if they ever suspect me!
I take a slow step back. The bully is watching me with a strange look in his eyes that suggests suspicion more than scorn.
I have to get out of here!
Without thinking, I turn and bolt into the woods.