Some Lycan Hot: Chapter 5

DAMIAN

“His heart is wounded,” said his mother. “He probably doesn’t know what to say.”

“What’s to say?” Dad’s eyebrows dipped. “Why does talking have to be involved? He should take his female, throw her over his shoulder, and go to the nearest cave.”

Damian stared at his father. Did Dad truly believed such barbarian nonsense?

"Cave," emphasized Dad. "Trust me." He patted Mom's thigh. "Remember our cave, dearest?"

"How could I forget? It was dark, damp, and filled with bats."

"How romantic," muttered Damian.

“Oh, look,” said Mom. “It’s Patsy and Gabriel.” She pushed the button on the door, and the window slid down. “Yoo-hoo! Over here!”

“Mom! We’re trying to be discreet," said Damian.

His mother rolled her eyes. “Werewolves wouldn't know discreet if it bit them on their furry asses.”

Patsy, the former queen of vampires and werewolves, and her husband, the blood lycan called Gabriel, stopped in front of the car, peered through the windshield, and waved.

They walked to the driver's side, and Damian rolled the window down. “What are you two doing here?”

“Same thing you are,” said Patsy. “Making sure Darrius doesn’t do something stupid.”

“Stupid?” asked Damian. “Like kidnap his true love and drag her into a cave?”

Patsy lifted a blonde eyebrow. “Why the hell would he do that?”

“Because that’s the way werewolves date,” said Dad from the back seat.

Patsy dipped her head inside the car, forcing Damian to press against the headrest. “Hey, Tark. Aufanie. Caves are the new ... er, old ... no. Look, dating in Broken Heart was either necking behind the Thrifty Sip or sneaking off from our party bonfires into the woods." She paused. "Oh, right. There were caves. Huh. Tark might have a point."

"Don't encourage him," said Damian. "He pursued my mother back in the Dark Ages when bonfires included witches."

"Oh, it was way before that," said his mother.

“Darling, maybe we should retire to a less obvious location,” said Gabriel as he gently pulled his wife out of the car. “We’ll be noticed.”

"We were clocked the minute we came into town," said Damian. "Even if we weren't before, we sure as hell are now."

“Oh, crap,” muttered Kelsey. She rolled down her window, and Damian saw his other brother Drake and his sister-in-law, Moira, standing on the other side of the car.

“You, too?” asked Damian.

“I was worried,” said Drake, leaning down. He glanced over Kelsey’s head. “Hi, Mom. Dad.”

“Hello, sweetheart!” Mom smiled and wiggled her fingers in an enthusiastic hello.

“There’s a cafe down the street,” said Patsy. “Let’s meet there.”

"Good idea," said Dad. "I'm starving."

Everyone agreed to meet at the cafe and those outside of the Mercedes departed.

Damian started the car. He looked over his shoulder. “Just ride in the car with us, okay? You’ll freak out the humans if you suddenly appear inside the restaurant.”

“Oh, we know,” said his mother. She put her hand on Dad's arm. "Remember when we went to that little breakfast place in Tulsa?" She looked at Damian. "After that one lady fainted and her husband ran away screaming, we decided not to do it anymore.”

"Good call," said Kelsey. She glanced at him, and it was obvious she wanted to laugh.

"Don't encourage them," he whispered. He sighed as he put the car into reverse. “Darrius is going to kill us."

“Oh, yeah,” she whispered back. “Big time.”

DARRIUS

Darrius stared out the window of the gift shop. Across the courtyard, with its evergreen trees and glossy wooden benches, was The Winter Goddess. From his location, he could see clearly into the store.

Alaya stood behind the counter.

Her face was covered with a black and gold shawl. He knew about her scars, about how she’d almost lost her life in the fire.

After Kelsey had told him Alaya was alive, he interrogated his sister-in-law for every detail. He used bribery (babysitting his nephew), extortion (stealing her desserts), and threats (karoake in her front yard as he desecrated Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You). Finally, she relented—and told him everything.

Yearning filled him as he watched Alaya go about daily tasks.

She wasn’t in a coma.

She didn’t have amnesia.

She hadn’t died.

He couldn’t wrap his brain around Alaya being alive—and not trying to find him. He knew she loved him as much as he loved her. What had happened? What had changed?

Maybe if he’d saved her that night...

Damn it.

Darrius remembered returning to the village, screaming her name. He searched debris, braved flames in house after house and then nothing.

The next thing he remembered was his brothers shaking him awake in the woods—more than a mile away from town. He didn’t remember how he got there—or why he’d passed out.

A customer exited Alaya’s shop, and he followed the woman’s progress into the parking lot.

That’s when he saw the apparent Broken Heart committee meeting around Damian’s car. He’d known that Damian and Kelsey had arrived in town more than half an hour ago and were attempting to spy from the parking lot.

The arrival of additional friends and family was a new development.

He sighed. He should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to pursue this … this closure on his own. His family and friends worried too much, and since their interference derived from their love for him, he understood. He’d done his fair share of interfering in their lives, hadn’t he?

Finally, his friends and family left. No doubt they had decided to convene somewhere else. No way they just gave up and went home. Darrius shook his head, feeling both bemused and frustrated. He would have to confront them—or rather, reassure them so that they would leave.

Darrius returned to watching Alaya. She'd been joined by the human woman who dressed as though she lived in the 1960s. He’d figured out during his recognizance that she was both employee and friend.

Alaya laughed, and he saw the bright flash of her smile. His gut clenched. Once, her smile had been for him.

And so had her heart.

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