Chapter Nine
She couldn’t stand darkness. When it was dark, all her phantoms would surface. It was as if he was still waiting, wanting to claw her, to bathe in her blood and revel in her screams.
So, the entire house was lit. From the living room to the bathroom, everything was lit as if it was daytime. No shadows where evil could hide. So, why was she on the sofa, her head in her hands?
She feared the next day. Feared Tanya’s visit in the morning. Would she find her odd? If she knew what she’d been through, she’d probably run for the hills. She didn’t think the old lady would tell her grandchildren about her.
****
In the backyard, silent, were the twins. Their eyes never left her, the distress clear in her posture. Their wolves were whining in their heads, pacing. They wanted to go to her. Make the pain disappear. Protect her. Instead, they had to watch her suffer in silence.
“I want to go to her,” mind-linked Ciaran.
“So do I, but we can’t. Not now.”
Being the voice of reason sucked big time. They didn’t dare to shift. Their animals would be more powerful when they shifted, and their wolves needed to be with their mate. The full moon was fast approaching, and they both dreaded the first night. It was when their wolves were strongest.
They risked losing her.
“I want to kill that son of a bitch slowly, resurrect him, and then kill him again.”
“Won’t bring back her parents, or her innocence.”
The scent of Tanya reached their nostrils before she did.
“I’ve already told you I’ll speak with her tomorrow morning,” she scolded.
“She needs us.”
“She doesn’t know that, does she?” she asked, maintaining an irritatingly logical tone.
“But we do!”
“Moon Goddess, you look like a pup with a new toy! I’ll go to her, but I just hope I’m doing the right thing!”
And to the twins’ astonishment, Tanya stood up and walked toward the neighbor’s garden, nimbly jumping over the wall.
“What are you doing?” hissed Ciaran.
“Breaking the ice, I hope.”
“Damn it, Tanya, get back here!”
She knocked gently on Freya’s window, and they watched the girl jump from the sofa as if she had been catapulted.
“Hi, neighbor. I’m Tanya, Evelyn’s granddaughter. Do you mind if I enter?”
Clearly indecisive, Freya hesitated before slowly walking to the window and opening it a crack. Immediately the twins felt her scent and took a deep breath, reveling in it but hating that it was coated in fear.
“I’m sorry, I’m not waiting for any visitors,” she whispered.
“Oh, I know. Don’t worry, I won’t press. Nanna would probably kill me if I annoyed you. Am I annoying, baby girl?”
Even from a distance, they could see that Freya was clearly undecided, a myriad of emotions racing across her tense face. She clearly seemed to think it was too impolite to speak truthfully, but, then again, Tanya was keeping a respectful distance, and her smile was carefree.
“No. Of course not.”
“So, did my nanna tell you about the gym I’m about to open?”
“Yes, she mentioned it. Briefly.”
“Great. So, the thing is, I already have a place in mind, but I need a receptionist. Someone to welcome people when they arrive, receive payments, that sort of thing. Not complicated at all, I assure you.”
****
Tanya was a chatterbox. Freya was becoming overwhelmed from listening to her talk so much, even though Tanya kept a respectable distance.
The other woman seemed to be the kind of person who exuded confidence from every pore, and in a way, Freya envied her.
Then she realized she had lost track of the conversation and blinked.
What was she talking about? Oh yes, the receptionist job.
“If it’s not complicated, then...” Freya interrupted and bit her tongue, clearly upset she had voiced something that was inside her mind.
“Then why don’t I do it myself? Because my cousins will also be there, and I don’t want my gym to become a smelly place for bodybuilders only.
I want a place where moms can go to unwind, where students can go to learn self-defense and, obviously, where a woman can work out without feeling eyes upon her. You know the drill.”
Not really, but she didn’t correct her.
“Nanna told me you’d be great for this.”
“I’ve never worked before...”
“So? We all have to start somewhere. And I don’t think I’ll get tons of memberships right at the start, so you’ll have time to learn.”
She tilted her head, finding no flaws with Tanya’s proposal.
“Besides,” she added dramatically, “Without you there, it will be just me and the guys. I think I’ll end up killing them at some point, and then my uncles would be upset at me.”
Tanya was grinning and her smile was contagious. Freya smiled and nodded once.
“Words, baby girl. If you just nod, I don’t know if you want me to kill my cousins, if you want my uncles to kill me, or if you’ll agree to come with me tomorrow to the gym.”
“The latter,” she muttered, and Tanya beamed.
“Great. See you tomorrow then. Oh, by the way, you forgot your light’s on.”
Surprised, she looked at Tanya and repeated, “The lights?”
“Yeah, from your bedroom. You’re here, and I see the light’s on in there. Through the windows,” she clarified and Freya frowned.
“Oh, I ... must’ve forgot.”
“No worries, it happens all the time. My mom is always complaining about the electric bill. Say ... are you sleepy?”
Seemingly startled by the abrupt change of subject, Freya frowned again.
“No ... not really. Why?”
“I was about to watch a movie with my cousins; Tara wants to watch The Lord of the Rings. Again ... and they want to watch something with a lot of martial arts and blood. So ... would you mind coming with me? I’m all team Tolkien, but I’m outnumbered.
With you there, maybe they’ll behave. Who knows? ”
Everything was changing so fast... Starting the next day, she would start working in an unknown place, with unknown people, and now she was getting invited to a night in, full of movies and company.
“I...”
“Great! I’ll grab popcorn! Hurry up, baby girl!” said Tanya so cheerfully that Freya bit her tongue and stopped the refusal from coming out. She closed the window silently, seeing her jump the fence to her nanna’s backyard. And she was certain that if she was late, Tanya would come and get her.
It seemed she was going to her neighbor’s house, after all.
****
“Thanks, cous. We owe you one!”
“You’re lucky I like that poor girl. Now keep your paws to yourself. She’ll be sitting wherever she wants to, and you’ll be taking the furthest seating place.”
“You wish.”
But the prospect of spending the evening with their mate was too alluring for the twins, so they both agreed to be on their best behavior.
Whatever the hell that was.