Ava’s beast of a boyfriend is gaining on us. Every turn I take, I think I’m gonna lose him, but he finds me. It’s almost as if he knows where I am at all times. Not me, Ava. “Does he have a tracker on you or something?” I ask her in a fury. She doesn’t answer but it looks like she wants to.
He’s right behind me now. I only have a few options here. Maybe this isn’t my mess, and I don’t want to get involved. I could stop right here and kick her ass to the curb. Ava grimaces in my direction. It’s almost as if she can hear what I’m thinking.
“Yeah, I sure can.” She blurts out. “What the fuck?” I say back, confused. Something shifts in my soul. My head feels funny. I feel Ava’s presence in a way I’ve never felt before. “If we don’t get away from him, he’s going to kill me.” She stares out the back window. My car can go faster.
“He’s not going to get to you Ava.” I throw my car in high gear. “I won’t let him kill you.” Rain starts to fall. Perfect. I’m cornering my ride like it’s on rails.
“Holy shit, you can hear my thoughts?” Ava looks surprised. “You could have fucking told me that you’re a werewolf.” I keep my eyes on the road. It didn’t occur to me that she wasn’t speaking out loud.
My mind is racing. A werewolf. Is that what I am?
Everything I’ve ever known is a lie. My life is exploding before me and my heart can’t take it. Pain forms behind my eyes, and I know he’s close. He must be a werewolf as well. That’s how he knows where we are.
The rain is pouring down now. There’s an open garage at a tire shop behind me on the left. I slam down on the breaks, bang a u-turn and reverse into the bay. It’s dark in here. Nobody is around. I turn off my engine, get out and quickly shut the garage door. Ava gets out mad. “He’s gonna find us here. We shouldn’t have stopped.” I put my hands out, “Give me your hands.” Ava put her hands in mine.
My thoughts are out of control. I take a deep breath in through my nose and let it out slowly between my parted lips. Another deep breath. I open my eyes and look at Ava. I want you to close your eyes, I think to myself with the intention of her understanding that I need her to focus. She closes her eyes. I close mine.
“Shadows of the dark night. Hear me.
The one who seeks, shall never find.
Shadows of the dark night. Hear me.
The one who seeks, shall never find.
Shadows of the dark night. Hear me.
The one who seeks, shall never find.”
Ava pulls her hands away. She circles around me slowly, “What are you?” She’s guarded. “I’m a witch, and apparently also a werewolf.” I guess.
“But you had no clue?”
“Not until a few days ago.” I don’t even know what day it is.
“What happened?”
“You’re in my head, can’t you see it for yourself?”
“No. I only get what you’re willing to share.” She seems to be a bit standoffish all of a sudden. “I saved your ass, and he just drove by. He won’t be able to find you for a while.”
“How do you know for sure?” She questions me.
“Because I don’t feel him anymore, but I feel you.” Ava relaxes a bit. She looks a bit less tense. I feel her warmth. She wants something from me but I don’t know what it is. It almost feels flirtations in nature. She smiles. Right, I keep forgetting that she can hear what I’m thinking.
“Why didn’t you just turn into a werewolf and rip him apart back there?” That’s what I would have done. She didn’t like my question. I can’t hear her thoughts. Ava must be holding back from me. There’s something she doesn’t want me to know. What is it?
“I was his slave.” She blurts out. “What the fuck does that mean?” I wonder. Ava opens my car door, and sits down in the passenger seat sideways with her feet on the ground. I walk over to her.
“It’s exactly as it sounds. If he says jump, I jump. If he says suck, I suck. If he wants to fuck, I bend over.” She explains. “What did the other werewolves think? Why didn’t they do anything?” It sounds a bit sadistic.
“I was brought into the pack as a slave. My plan was to work my way up to be the Alpha’s fated mate. But he didn’t want me.” Ava’s head drops.
“It’s almost as if you’re asking for punishment.” Why would anyone want to whore their way up to the pack leader? She doesn’t like what I said. “Fuck, I’m sorry. It sounded better in my head. I still have no thought filter.” I apologize to her but she’s still annoyed. “You should really work on that.” Note taken.
I walk over to open the garage door. The chain is a little stuck, and I wiggle it a little bit. I’m trying not to be obvious about my magic. Staring at the door, I cock my head up to the side. The garage door opens. I return to the drivers seat, and start my engine. Ava fully gets in, and shuts her door.
“What’s with the witchy shit?” Ava shuffles her feet. “My grandmother was a witch. Her sisters as well, but they were murdered.” She looks up at me, “What about your mother?” I shake my head no. “She’s dead. My mother died when I was a child. She thought my grandmother was nuts. She didn’t believe in the craft.” I hope she doesn’t ask me about my father. Fuck me. This mind reading thing is exhausting.
“It’s called telepathy. Well go on then. What happened to him?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that my grandmother never wanted me to look for him. She said it would only bring me pain.” Yet here I am searching for him anyways. I look at Ava to see if she heard that thought. Her face doesn’t change. Maybe I’m in the clear. The thought of someone being able to read my mind freaks the hell out of me. She smiles again.
I can feel that she wants to kiss me.
Everything in my gut is telling me that Ava is special, but I need to be careful. She’s staring straight into my soul. It’s like we’re already connected. This has to be a dream. She shakes her head no. I look into her eyes, and I’m melting. We’re about the same height, she’s just a bit shorter than I am. Ava leans over the console. She carefully reaches her hand up and cups my face. This feels so natural, but I don’t even know her. She puts her lips on mine. I freeze in this moment. No thoughts. Just her tongue in my mouth. She bites my lip gently as she pulls away. Ava manages to act shy and tucks her hair behind her ears. “So where are you going exactly?” She asks me. I question whether she already knows. Perhaps not. “California. The ocean is calling me. What about you, where’s home?” Maybe she’s from here. Then again how could a dry ass desert produce such a precious gem of a mermaid? She curls her long red hair around her fingers, and smiles again. “I live in Malibu actually. I
The glowing yellow super moon shines bright over the mountains of the Mojave Desert. I feel like I’m on autopilot. Ava is fast asleep, her head rests on the window. I can’t stop thinking about her even though she’s right next to me. It pains me to think that beast wants to hurt her. I will always protect her. I’m trying to keep myself awake with music. My eyes keep drifting off the road. I may not be able to stay awake. She depleted my energy with her fingers. I pull into the Joshua Tree National Park. There’s a few dirt roads off to the side before the main park entrance. I roll my car quietly behind a cluster of rocks and trees. My head is swimming with thoughts. I turn off my engine, and carefully pull my tarot cards out of the glove box. Ava doesn’t even move. She’s out cold. I step out, and shuffle my deck. The Eight of Cups flips onto the hood of my car. The illustration is perfect. There’s eight cups stacked carefully on the ground. A man is walking away from them towards the
Trouble seems to keep finding me. Ava and I run to my car without looking back. I quickly pop my trunk, throw the bags in, and start my engine. Why are we running? I sense Ava is hiding something, “What did you steal?” I yell at her as I swiftly back out between the shoppers in the parking lot. There’s an employee running out of the store, I can see him in my rear view mirror. “Buckle up.” I hook a left to weave through the parked cars, and drive down a different lane to the exit. He might have been able to see my make and model, but not my plate number. “Where’s the hotel, Ava?” I don’t know which way to turn. “Go right, she says.” Whatever she stole, it better be worth all of this. I’m mad now, and I don’t let her in to my head. I can feel her trying to read me. She can’t. “You better start talking Ava.” I look at her intensely. “Just keep driving Aster.” She’s being snarky and I don’t like it. I’m not the one who stole shit. This is pissing me off greatly. Ava uses the map on her
My skin crawls. I don’t want to answer the door. Ava is naked standing right in front of me. The knocking gets louder. I’m caught up in the moment and the person on the other side of the door is uninvited. My fangs burst through my gums. I can feel my vision change. My claws launch out of my fingertips. The soap drops from my hands. Ava looks half worried but I’d never hurt her. I raise my hands to her waist. She slides the shower curtain open. I see my half wolf self in the mirror. “Holy fucking shit.” I can’t believe what I’m seeing. There’s no hair growth. No wolf snout. My eyes are glowing so bright I imagine they can be seen in the dark. The knocking on the door makes me growl. I didn’t know I could even do that. “I kind of like it.” She puts her finger on my nose, “Stay here. I’m going to answer the door.” Ava puts on a robe. When the fear of who could be at the door kicks in, I become human again. Or whatever I am. What am I? Am I even human? I don’t even know. The only thing
Ava is asleep in my arms. I carefully free myself from her. I’m feeling disoriented and sore. Looking in the bathroom mirror I can see that it clearly wasn’t a dream. There’s a few scratches and light bruising on my neck. I sit in the tub and let the shower water fall on me like a rain storm. For a moment I get lost in the thought of this being some kind of forever. I shuffle my tarot cards on the coffee table. My heart thinks it’s possible for me to have some kind of a happy life with Ava. The World and the Ten of Cups. I shake my head. It’s like these cards are mocking that very thought. They show me harmonious happiness along with achievement and completion. If only life could truly be that easy. I watch Ava sleep for a few minutes. She’s absolutely everything I never knew I wanted. I know I could love her. There’s a cosmic connection here for sure. Some people never know a love like this. Ava could leave tomorrow but yet ten years from now if I saw her, I know I’d feel the same.
The thought of being a slave doesn’t sound appealing at all. I can’t believe that werewolves choose to do this willingly. I’m driving angry. I need to slow down. Ava stares out the window with her headphones on. I don’t want to be a pack slave if that really means I’d just be passed around. Sounds more like I’d just be the pack slut. I’m sure some girls would kill for that. Not me.Ava says I could be her slave, but would the pack be okay with that? Would they cut me a break and just allow me to be at the hands of the gamma. What if the Alpha doesn’t approve of me? Lots of questions are running through my head and I need them to be answered but I’m not even sure I’d get the whole truth out of Ava. There’s something about her that just seems so selfish.I’m head over heels for her, but I fear that she’s not exactly who she says she is. Or maybe that’s just how I feel because I have major trust issues. It’s probably because she can hear everything I’m thinking, and I can’t hear her at a
My anxiety is so bad that I feel like I’m going to throw up. “Aster close your eyes and breathe with me.” Ava takes my hands into hers. We’re standing at the end of a dirt road. She inhales slowly through her nose and exhales through parted lips. I take in a few deep slow breaths.My boots crunch through the gravel. Spectacular rays of orange and purple bathe clouds in color. This is a beautiful location for the packhouse. We’re about ten minutes away from the coast and thirty to the city. I like what I’m seeing but the energy is off. She’s attempting to sneak me into the packhouse slowly. I think about running back to my car to escape. But I breathe in my fear instead.“Welcome to The Barking Moon.” Ava says majestically. I throw a salty stare her way, “You didn’t mention a bar.” She smiles, “You never asked.” I could go for a drink. Ava douses me in her perfume. “What the fuck are you doing?” She sprays my whole body, “I don’t want any of them to pick up your scent.” I’m lost, “Do I
I’ve never believed something so complicated before. It sounds insane. He doesn’t even really know me. “I know enough.” Reed speaks but it’s not just his words that I hear. His soul is speaking to me on another level. I see his eyes glowing amber in the moonlight. I’m not as scared as I should be. There’s an instant trust between us. I can feel his energy in a way that I can’t with Ava.His brows furrow, “Ava?” Shit! I carefully say, “I’m still not used to everyone being able to hear my thoughts.” Reed looks to the moon in deep thought. I peer down to my feet trying to focus on the rain. Images from the past few days flash through my mind. “You can’t be with her anymore.” He looks down at me.“What do you mean? You don’t own me. You can’t tell me who I can and can’t sleep with.” He backhands me across the face, “I just did.” The pain I feel from the blow is more than just physical. All of my emotions are raging. I’m anxious and disappointed. I also want to knock him out. “Go ahead!” H