Violet's Shadow, page 7
“But the pack. What if I’m wrong?” Her eyes were already closing. “What would we do then, if I’m wrong?”
As she slipped into an exhausted sleep, he gathered her close and whispered where no one could hear him, “There’s so much more than just the battle to worry about.”
Chapter Six
Violet awoke with a start and immediately knew Rayden was gone. The physical ache when he wasn’t near was disconcerting at best. Sweat from her fever…and other things…had her hair clinging to her forehead.
Thankfully a light was on beside the bed on top of a nightstand. She felt around for her cell before she remembered it wasn’t there yet.
“Actually, it is.”
Jackknifing in bed and clutching the sheet to her naked chest, Violet’s heart hammered against her ribcage.
“Umm…sorry?” A tiny sprite of a girl with blonde hair and a bright easy going smile unfolded herself from the chair in the corner. She held out Violet’s phone as if it were a peace offering.
“You scared the shit out of me.” Heat rose inside Violet and she sucked in a big breath, trying to calm down or something.
“Ugh. I’m so sorry. I forget you weren’t raised with the pack.”
Violet took her phone, clutching it to her chest too until her heart calmed down. “Why would it make a difference?”
“You’d have known when I came in. Where I was in the room. As of right now, the only one you can sense is probably Rayden.”
“Why do you say that?”
Her smile returned with a hint of mischief in her wrinkled nose. “A lucky guess.”
She was dressed in pajama pants and a tight-fitting t-shirt, which said, “Wolves do it better.” She looked really young, maybe around Violet’s age. And she seemed extremely excited.
“Have we met before?”
“Nope, but I’ve been waiting for you for what feels like forever. I’m so excited you’re here. So excited to finally meet you. I’m Hannah.” She held out her hand and waited.
Violet clutched the sheet and phone to her chest with one hand and extended the other. “Violet.”
When their hands met, the other girl seemed to hold her breath and wait for something. Then her face turned quizzical as she stared at their hands. Waiting.
“Did you expect something to happen?” Violet asked as she pulled her hand away.
“Nothing we have to deal with right now. Didn’t you want your phone for something important?”
“Oh, my gosh. My mother.” Violet entered her password and checked for text messages. Nothing. Just…nothing.
“Is everything okay?” the other girl asked. The genuine concern on her face somehow made Violet feel better.
“I’ve been trying to reach her and she hasn’t contacted me at all. We don’t uhh…time travel or anything really freaky right?”
“Nope. No time travel, but we’re in a different time zone than you were. So it’s…” She looked at her watch. “Twelve thirty at night here so six thirty in Florida.”
Violet contemplated calling her mother to check on her, but she was certain everything was fine. Yes, it was out of the ordinary, but stuff happened. She was always healthy. People said they looked more like sisters all the time much more than mother daughter and it was true. She fired off another text and then set her cell on the nightstand. The fever raced beneath her flesh, and she wondered when Rayden would be back. And if she’d always feel the way she did then.
“It’ll pass,” the sprite offered.
“What will?”
“The frenzy.”
Crickets.
“The what?”
“Heat like a fever, yet it comes in waves. Being in Shadow helps, except it’s only okay for a little while. You’re tired, but don’t want to sleep. And for you, it’s even more so I bet.”
“How do you know how I feel? Have you been through it before? And why did you say, ‘and for you?’”
“Frenzy hits for all females when they shade for the first time and then every month after. But yours is a bit different. You’re in mating frenzy, which is altogether different.”
“Mating… Frenzy…” Violet tried the words on for size, but they didn’t mean two shits to her.
“Your need is stronger. The fever burns hotter. Inside and out. You need to have sex. Need it. It’s a physical reaction as if your DNA has been recoded to someone else’s. Which we think actually happens. You only want one person’s touch, and all other people touching you can be mildly irritating to horrible. An issue our physician, Jon, is trying to counteract. No such luck, though. And your mate’s touch is like Christmas, and birthday presents, and a snow day all wrapped into one, but times a million. Your eyes stay purple all the time, not just when you’re a wolf, which is just one more signal to other Shadows they need to stay away because you are officially now, hands off.”
Her eyes, they were a lovely golden-brown color. Definitely not yellow or pink or black or any other odd color.
“Mate. What exactly does that connection imply?”
“Just what it does in any other species. Someone you are perfect for, and destined to be together, and fight beside. A match for you in intellect and physical compatibility.” Hannah bobbed her eyebrows at her.
“And when does this magical hoobie hoobie connection get formed.” She was just humoring her because things like this just didn’t happen to humans.
“Sometimes the first time they have sex. Sometimes the first time they touch, even a simple handshake can do it. And sometimes. Some rare times. It can happen the first time they see each other. A glance across a room or a meadow when their gazes meet. That’s it. Fate.”
“But Rayden’s eyes stayed red the first time I saw him in the forest.”
“Yes, they did.” The expectant look Hannah gave her spoke volumes.
“What? Rayden? He’s my mate?” As if. “And who are you anyway?”
A simple shrug accompanied a silly grin. “A member of the pack who has been dying to meet you.”
“Which makes you what? My babysitter?”
The blonde sprite snickered. “I knew I was going to like you.”
“Not a no.”
“Rayden had some pack business to deal with, because of Mathias’ bank of—”
“Assholes?”
“Exactly. And he didn’t want you waking up alone since he hadn’t even had a chance to give you a tour yet. So I volunteered.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal.
Violet kind of recognized her charming body language. But not like the other members of the pack. Them she knew. No question. But Hannah? Familiar was as far as she could get. She swore she’d seen her before in her dreams, but it was just off enough she couldn’t place her. Almost as if something was missing, but she couldn’t see what it would have been. “I’ve got a question.”
“Awesome. Hit me.” She plopped down onto the bed, folding her legs underneath her.
“You’ve never met a stranger have you?”
“I’ve never understood that phrase. If I’ve met them, then they aren’t a stranger anymore, don’t you think?” Her expectant smile was infectious.
“I’d say you’re quite right, but the question remains.”
“I like people. Like talking to people. A lot.”
“Do you have a lot of people like me? Find a lot of people like me?”
“You’re quite…unique, which I’m sure Rayden’s told you.”
Rolling her eyes with a shake of her head was difficult, but she pulled it off. “He’s mentioned something about it. Seems like a bunch of hooie, but I’m trying to reserve judgement. In the last twenty-four hours I’ve dissolved into a sha—”
“Shaded. We don’t dissolve. We shade.”
“Shade. Yes. I heard Rayden and some of the others say the word last night. And I’ve turned into a wolf. And I had sex with a guy with red eyes…who also likes biting me.”
“He does?” Hannah bounced up and down and clapped her hands. “Where?” She placed a hand on her shoulder. “Right here per chance?”
Violet moved her hair and accidentally brushed the mark with the tip of a finger. Pleasure raced to her clit, and she had to clench her teeth to keep from moaning. Heat simmered beneath her skin, but she tried to keep it in check too.
“That’s wonderful!”
“Wonderful? Really? I thought maybe I should be weirded out or call the authorities, whoever they are, or—”
“He is the authority actually.”
Violet paused. “He said he was an enforcer and the head seeker.”
Hannah nodded. “Both high ranking positions, but he happens to be the lead enforcer. He runs the search and rescue missions as well as coordinates all safety and security measures in and around the compound.”
“So who outranks him here?”
“Currently only the Oracle.”
“Because you don’t have a leader.”
“An Alpha. Correct.”
Violet wanted to know more, but wanted to ask Rayden himself. She glanced at Hannah who smiled. “The Oracle. Oh, my gosh. I’ve been trying to place where I know the name from and it just came to me.”
“The Never Ending Story,” they said at the same time. Hannah clapped and bounced next to her. “I love that movie! But they got a lot of it wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“A lot of fairy tales and children’s stories come from legend, right? Movies are no different.”
“Wait. What? Are you saying The Oracle in the story—”
“Was taken from our legends. Exactly. Come on. The Nothing? And we fade into the Shadows? Bits and pieces of the truth almost always surface. The rest Hollywood just hypes up to sell movie tickets. Kinda fun, though, don’t you think? And Atreyu? Come on. Sounds like a sneeze.”
“Wow. You…have totally blown my mind and I’m gonna need a minute to recover.”
“Okay. You recover, and I’m going to make us some tea.” She hopped out of the bed, slipped on flip-flops and clip clopped over to the kitchen area. In several minutes, she’d microwaved water, steeped tea bags and sweetened the hot beverage.
After handing over Violet’s mug, she settled onto the bed again and waited.
Violet opened her mouth to ask another question, but nothing came out. Trying again didn’t get her any closer.
“Now I’m dying to know what you want to talk about. Must be awesome.”
“I’m not exactly certain how to start.”
“Clearly. Take your time. No worries.”
“It’s about how I got here.”
“As in here on this planet or here on this bed?”
“On this bed. Well. In this compound actually. How exactly did that happen?”
“Someone, of our pack, can be taught to shade here, but it takes time, and patience, and practice. None of which you had the other day. Especially not with the other pack closing in. Not a pack you want to mess with. Ever.”
“So Rayden…helped me…get here by…”
“Coming inside you and then shading with you.”
Violet really wanted to know the answer to her question so she pressed on, no matter how embarrassed she was having this conversation with a stranger. “Umm. Yes. That would be it. Could any of the other male Shadows have been in his place?”
“No. They could not.”
“But why? If one of them had been at the tree line when the bad guys showed up the first time, couldn’t they have potentially taken his place?”
“Nope. Not possible. Sometimes fate has a way of working things out. This happened to be one of those times.”
“I’m on birth control so that at least works in my favor.” It was kind of an afterthought, but she said it, anyway.
“Birth control or not wouldn’t have mattered. You needed his cum.”
Violet couldn’t agree more. Even though she didn’t say it out loud, Violet still blushed. “Why did I need it?”
“Best way I can describe it is it’s kind of like the pixie dust in Peter Pan to get people to fly so they can get into Neverland. It’s magical. And for the record, this place is way better than Neverland.”
Violet smiled, completely at ease with this blonde-haired sprite in front of her. Hannah looked to the side, to the window above the sink where moonlight was filtering in. Then her smile fell a bit. The look on her face changed for a few seconds. “Hannah? You okay?”
She blinked several times and laughed. Her easygoing air returned. “Sorry. Squirrel! So you tired of being cooped up in here? Wanna take a walk? I’ll give you the grand tour, and I’m sure we can find something to eat too.”
Right on cue Violet’s stomach growled.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Violet looked beside the bed, but didn’t find what she was looking for.
“What do you need?”
“Uhh…clothes. I seem to have misplaced mine. AKA I don’t think they survived re-entry. I vaguely remember things being ripped off. Things got a bit intense there at the end.”
Hannah bounced off the bed and headed toward one of the closed doors. “If I know Rayden at all, he would have put them…ah-ha!” The door she’d opened was a bathroom. “Right here on the counter.” She held up a tank top and a pair of jeans. “These them?”
Violet was a bit thrown by the fact Hannah would know where he’d leave her things, but she didn’t seem possessive of him or upset that Violet was there or anything. If nothing else she seemed genuinely pleased with her arrival. “Yep. But how did the jeans make it? I distinctly remember them…off.”
Hannah’s lips slid upward in a knowing grin as she placed Violet’s clothes on the counter.
“What?” Violet stood, wrapping the sheet around herself as she tested her legs. They felt fine. Strong. A flare of heat bloomed inside her core and she gritted her teeth against it.
“They were caught by your ankle when you arrived.”
“Oh, Lord.”
Hannah snickered and practically skipped over to her, wrapping her in a friendly hug. “At least you have clothes to wear until the rest of your things arrive.”
At first, Violet wasn’t certain what she should do, but hugging her back happened automatically. “Small favors I guess.”
Backing away, Hannah scooted her toward the bathroom. “Take a few minutes to freshen up. Take a shower if you like. I’m going to wash our coffee mugs and then watch a bit of TV. Whenever you’re ready we’ll head out. Deal?”
“Deal.” Hannah closed the door with a wink, and Violet faced the mirror. “Holy shit.”
“The eyes, right?” Hannah called from somewhere in the other room.
“Totally going to take some getting used to.”
“They’re gorgeous, by the way. I’ve never seen your color before in person.”
Never seen them before? They sounded more and more rare. Pushing her hair over her shoulder, she got her first real look at the bite mark on her shoulder. Just the thought of Rayden had her body heating up again. She dropped the sheet and held on to the side of the counter.
“I’d make your shower a cool one, and it will give you a bit more time between.”
“Between what?”
Her laughter sounded like a fairy. “Between needing Rayden to take care of you.”
“Oh. Him.”
“Ha! You sound as if it’s a bad thing.”
Violet used the bathroom and then started the shower. “It’s not bad. But it sure is different. I’ve never had a lover I needed before. It sounds like I don’t just need him, but I need him. It’s gonna take me a while to get accustomed to all of this.”
“You’re doing great. Much faster than I would have expected given your lack of Shadow knowledge. Hey. Turn the lights off in there and see what happens.”
Violet raised her eyebrows, though Hannah couldn’t see her, and she flipped off the lights. “Fuck.”
“You’re like your own night light now. It’s so awesome.”
Violet’s eyes glowed in the pure darkness. She could still see everything perfectly. Almost better than when she’d had the lights on. “Mmm…”
“And being in the dark isn’t bad, either.”
She stepped under the cool water and sighed again. “How do you know what I’m thinking? Can you read my thoughts? But I just can’t read yours?”
“Nope. Could if we were both shifted, but not while human. I can feel your emotions, though. Pretty soon once you’re with all of us enough you’ll be able to do the same thing if you open yourself up to it.”
“Only if I open myself up to it. Meaning I can shut it off when I want to?”
“Of course. I don’t want to feel everybody all the time. I don’t think any of us do. Privacy is guarded like the last Twinkie here since we’re in such a close proximity.”
Violet finished showering and then grabbed a towel off the shower rod. Rayden must have left it for her, and the gesture left her feeling emotional and happy. She cleared her throat, toweled off and put clothes on. Opening the door she found Hannah staring out the window. “Okay, I feel…uhh…human again.”
“Human.” She snorted and gestured Violet over. “That ship done sailed.”
Violet hadn’t looked outside. Not even once. Hadn’t even occurred to her until two moments ago. They were off the ground several stories and the window faced inside a courtyard. People…Shadows were all around. Talking. Laughing. There were gardens and play areas for children, a basketball court, picnic tables, even a few grills with smoke billowing out of them. It was late. But they acted as if it were the middle of a weekend afternoon.
“Excellent. Vinson’s cooking. I know what we’re eating when we get downstairs and I show you around.”
“It looks so…normal.”
Hannah wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. “It is. More so than you’ve probably ever felt normal before. Ready to go explore your new home?”
“New home. I hadn’t thought of it before. Not returning to Florida. Not returning to work or my mother.” The thought of her mother made her worry again.”
