Feral (9 page)

“You could lose them by letting me stay.”
  They could all be killed protecting me.  The thought made my stomach curl.

“I have to choose the lesser evil,
Thaleia.  But as long as you obey me in all things, we can minimize the risk of anyone getting hurt.”

“So I don’t really get a choice in this, do I?”

“Neither of us does.”

“Are we done then?  I’d like to go home.”

“Not quite,” he said, twisting the lever for the shower.  The water sputtered from the showerhead, evening out to a steady hiss.  “You have a week with your parents.  No more.  Give them whatever excuse you want, but you can’t live there anymore.”

“They’re not just going to let me go.”

“Doesn’t matter.  You’re eighteen.  A legal adult.”

“What about school?”

“Skip.  I don’t want you leaving your parents house.  It’s not our territory.  I need to keep your exposure there minimal.  Is that understood?”

“But I’m graduating this year!  I can’t just—”

“You’re not to leave the house,” Icarus said in his alpha voice.  My mouth snapped shut.  Prick bastard.  I wished a bad case of worms on him.  “You do leave the house and I find out, you will be punished.  And trust me, when I’m done with you, you’ll wish I made you scrub the toilets.  Ask any one of my cousins.  They’ve been on the receiving end once, and once only.”

I didn’t speak.  I couldn’t.  My life was officially over, and not in the way I’d intended.  Death was easier, theoretically.  I’d never been dead to know.  Friday night was a close call, but no cigar.  I remember there was no pain.  For that, I was grateful.  Perhaps I was in shock.  Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter.  I blacked out, but in those moments before I did, I felt peace and resolve and for all I knew, it was the end.  If that were the precursor to death, I’d take it.  For the zillionth time since then, I wished I hadn’t survived Marcus’s attack.

Evidently, Icarus was finished with me.  Denoting the end of our conversation, he opened the door and cleared his throat.  I woke from my brooding and left him to shower.  Perhaps when I returned next week, I’d secretly swap his conditioner with Nair.  He’d certainly kill me then.

In the kitchen, the boys
scurried around the island.  Crispin was mixing pancake mix at the sink.  It had the viscosity of spackle.  Bacchus stood at the stove, battling a grease fire with the Aunt Jemima dry pancake mix and an oven mitt.  Lucius circled the table, pouring orange juice into mismatched tumblers.  Max was eating a bowl of cereal, wiping a rivulet of milk from his chin.  At the far end of the counter, Caius was spreading butter onto a stack of blackened toast.

I ducked into the laundry room and started the washing machine with a twist of the dial.  Yes, I’d acquainted myself with the appliance yesterday.  Though my goal wasn’t in any way
resourceful.  Nor did I care that it was filled with darks when I was setting the cycle to hot.

Icarus needed a little cooling off.

On my way to the stove, I started the dishwasher then extinguished the fire by covering the frying pan with a lid.  I then turned the burner off and opened the window over the sink to air the smoke from the house.  I cared only because I would be living here in a short amount of time and I wanted the kitchen to be in working condition when I returned.

“We were making you breakfast,” Bacchus said, professing their act of contrition.  The tip of his nose was covered wi
th a dash of flour.  He sneezed, three times in succession.

“Please,” I said with no humor, “don’t do it again.”  Dropping the frying pan into the sink, I doused it in hot water, sprinkling it with a pinch of powdered dish detergent to let it soak.

“We want you to stay,” Crispin blurted.  “Icarus told you, didn’t he?”

“Goddamn it!” Icarus
shouted, storming up the hall.  Soap bubbles crowned his head, dripped down his shoulders and the plains of his chest.  He wore only a towel knotted around his waist.  His feet slapped wetly on the floor.  “You used all the hot God damn water!”

Grabbing a large bamboo spoon as he rushed past the stove, his intention was clear.  War it was.  I bolted around the table, pulling chairs out as I went, obstructing his path.  He thundered thro
ugh them, kicking them aside.  He came close to catching me, his fingertips skimming the waist of my jeans, but I arched my back and dodged forward, taking cover behind the island.

“Stop
it!” Crispin protested.  “You can’t hit her!  She’s just a girl!”

“Shut up, Runt,” Icarus growled.  “And go to your room.”

Crispin winced at the command, but did as told and stalked off to his room.  Icarus turned to me, offering a warning.  “You’ll stop this right now, Thaleia or I’ll hit you twice as hard.”

“You lay one finger on me and I’ll break it the fuck off!”

Sneering, Icarus rocked back on his heels.  “Come here.  Now.”  He pointed to the floor at his feet, using his Alpha voice.  The urge to obey was nearly irrepressible.  I wanted to claw at my skull, my mind warring with itself.  Self-preservation told me to heed his warning, while my will held on with sheer might, keeping my feet rooted in place.  Tightly, I shook my head.

“No.”

Digesting my response, Icarus blinked, and if I thought he couldn’t get any angrier, his expression iced over, proving me wrong.  “Get out.”  He didn’t shout.  Or raise his voice for that matter; he spoke in such a low, composed tone, I didn’t dare to point out I didn’t have a car.

“Icarus,” Bacchus objected, as I went out the front door.  I didn’t wait to listen, but I c
ould hear them shouting from outside.  In that, I was almost relieved to be out of the house.

Starting up the
driveway, I could feel everyone’s eyes on my back as I left.  I forced myself to walk tall, keeping my pace measured, but as I reached the street and the house grew out of sight, I set off at a jog, placing as much distance between Icarus and myself.

Maybe it was wrong, but I felt liberated getting away from Icarus and his cousins.  The constant stress of the unknown was suffocating. I felt like I could breathe again.  My problems hadn’t gone away, but at least I could take one thing at a time, and at a pace I could handle.

And maybe I
was
being dramatic.  I didn’t need to off myself, did I?  If Hailey was able to survive solo for thus long, perhaps I could too.  I was strong enough to stand up to Icarus.  That alone was evidence of my willpower, wasn’t it?  I just needed to figure something out until I gained control.  Bennie would help me there.  He would think I was boss.  The hard part was breaking the new to my parents.  It wasn’t something I could hide from them.

Another
half hour and I was walking up the driveway of our Martha Stuart, picket fence home.  Before stepping inside, I grabbed the mail from the mailbox and scooped the paper from the stoop, throwing the door open wide while I paged through Saturday’s flyers.

“
Thale, there you are,” my mom said.  “How was your night?”

“Amazing,” I answered, still paging through the mail.  “We had sex all night long, lots and lots of heterosexual sex. 
I never realized penises came in so many sizes.  I always thought it was a myth, but it’s true.  Oh, and the twins, you wouldn’t believe what you could do with two of them at once! I just couldn’t get enough.  It was a good thing they were all up for the challenge.  Pun entirely intended.”

My mom laughed as usual.  Intolerantly, I dropped the mail onto the table and glared.  “Can you not be a normal mom for just once?  Is it so bad that I didn’t hand it over to Marcus?  I’d think you’d be relieved, especially knowing what he did!  He cheated on me, damn it!  And all you can think
is that you’re daughter must’ve switched sides because she didn’t sleep with the star quarterback?  I resent that entirely!”

Only when I finished my rant did I notice my mom was looking past me.  Braving a glance over my shoulder, I found Icarus smiling disarmingly, decked in a pair of khaki linen chinos and a white cotton tee, his hair wet and tousled from the recent shower.

“What are you doing here?” I grumbled.

Holding out his hand, he proffered my
iPhone.  “You forgot your phone.”

I snatched it from his hand and took a step back, but stood my ground.  I wasn’t letting him boss me around in my own home.

“You ran out in such a hurry,” Icarus continued.  “I must have scared you off with my poor behavior.  I’m sure it looked harsh, the way I reacted, but as you can understand, it was necessary.  I’m not much older than my cousins are.  Consequently, I need to assert myself or I’ll lose all respect.  If I frightened you, I apologize.  In fact, I was just telling your mother how much Hailey enjoyed your company, and asked her permission if you stayed over next week.  I have a business appointment on the west coast and I would be grateful knowing I was leaving her with someone responsible.  You’ll be compensated, of course.”

“I’m busy.  It’s the end of first marking period, and I have finals.”

“We have several vehicles at your disposal.”

“I don’t drive.”

“One of the boys can drive you wherever you need to go.   You’d really be doing me a huge favor.  It appears you have the capacity to keep them in line too.”

“Can I talk to you outside?” I asked.  Icarus nodded and met me at the door.  Acting the gentleman, he held the door for me.  I shook my head.  “You first.”

“Ladies first, Thaleia.”

“It’s my house.”  I ignored my mother who shook her head and turned to leave the room.  When Icarus was through, I promptly closed the door behind him.

“Thale!” my mom scolded, aghast over my manners.

“I don’t like him,” I explained, simply.  While my mom rushed to open the door and apologize, I
retired to my room.  Flipping on my stereo and adjusting the volume to do-not-disturb, I dropped onto my bed, burying myself beneath my rag quilt, holding desperately onto the brief resolve that was slipping through my fingers.  Damn that man for coming here.

I had everything figured out!  Almost.  Barely at all.  But I was beginning to.  Sort of.  Geez!  Throwing my blanket back, I jumped out of bed and paced to the window.  Yanking the cord to the blinds, I slid my window open and climbed out onto the overhang.  Bennie’s room neighbored mine, and we often visited each other via the roof.  Icarus was pulling away from the curb as I knocked on Bennie’s window.  He stopped, watching me from behind the tinted windows of his Porsche as I climbed in, folding my body through the small window frame.  I could almost hear his irritation as he revved the engine and sped off down the street.

“Who was that?” Bennie asked, leaning out the window to get a better look.

“Trouble, Bennie.  I’m in so much trouble.”

Straightening, Bennie looked at me.  “Is that who you spent the weekend with?  Mom and Dad thought you were babysitting his kids.  He doesn’t look old enough to have kids, not teenagers at least.”

I flopped down on Bennie’s bed, collapsing against the mattress.  “It wasn’t like that.  God, I wish that’s all it was.  They’re not his kids.  They’re his cousins.  His parents were killed, and he raised them.”

“But you like him.”

“God no!  I never met anybody so domineering in my life!”

Bennie smiled knowingly.  “You think he’s hot.”

“Bennie,” I said, disregarding his accusation.  I sat up, looking him in the eye, willing him to take me seriously.  “If I told you something so far off the wall, so ludicrous sounding that you might laugh or think I’m insane, would you still believe me?”

Bennie lifted his shoulders.  “Try me.”

“Promise to hear me out.”

“Geez Thale, just tell me already.”

“I was bitten by a werewolf.”

Bennie laughed.  “You’re right—you
are
insane.”

“Hear me out, Bennie!  Marcus and I went to Jack Medley’s house for the party.  I caught him cheating on me with Peyton—”

“Well that explains it all,” Bennie said, returning to his current work of art.  “You were drunk and you caught Marcus and Peyton together.  It’s post traumatic stress.”

“Listen, Bennie!  I was buzzed, but I wasn’t trashed!  I
know
what happened!  I ran out of the house, but Marcus followed me into the woods.  It was him!  He attacked me!”

“Marcus Pera.  A
werewolf,” Bennie said skeptically.  “Seriously, Thale, you expect me to believe this?  It sounds to me like someone slipped a hit of acid into your drink.”

Frustrated, I stood and paced the room, trying to find some way to make him believe me.  How did I do that when I could hardly believe it myself?

“It’s true.  I swear it.  Yesterday, I woke up my neck was in shreds.  Marcus mauled me for God’s sake!  I’m telling you, Bennie, I looked like Jack freakin’ Goodman!  When I saw it, I passed out, and when I woke again only a few hours later, I had healed completely.”

“Just saying,
Thale.  It sounds like a bad trip.”

Grabbing Bennie’s pallet knife from his easel, I pinched my eyes shut and counted to three.  Opening them again, I took a deep breath and thrust the blade into my forearm.  I wasn’t a masochist by any means, so at the first stab of pain, I faltered.  The blade skimmed over the surface of my skin, slicing a deep gash about three inches long.  Blood welled and spilled in rivulets onto Bennie bedroom floor.  Fat drops splattered down, staining the area rug with large red circles.
  Staring , in chock, the palette knife slipped from my hand and onto the floor.