Imprinted By The Alpha (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (The Marked One - Book 1) (2 page)

She wanted to dismiss her friend’s concern as just a bout of being overzealous. Still, she couldn’t shake the nagging sensation that Kelly might be onto something. But if werewolves were real, it opened up a whole new world of questions for Ava. What else could be lurking in Willow Falls?

She shook off the disconcerting thoughts as she came up on her house and saw her mother seated on the front porch in the swing, set behind four strong white pillars flanking three-step walk up to the wood flooring. Sarah Bertrand waved to her daughter with a soft smile. “Hey, honey! Come sit with me.”

Ava eagerly headed toward the old Victorian that had been her only home until she’d left for college, still marveling at the fabulous job her father had done restoring the place. Her mother still had pictures of the house from when she and Ava’s father bought it before she was born, and that structure nearly the point of being condemned looked nothing like the humble three bedroom, three bathroom home she knew and loved.

Ava mounted the porch, and her mother patted the seat of the swing beside her with a worn hand that was slightly wrinkled with age. She could see the small specks of dirt under the long nails that spoke to her mother’s toiling in the garden constantly, and she was sure her palm was calloused. But Sarah believed it spoke to her character and her connection with the earth. Ava agreed, and she would much rather have her hard-working mother and this humble, yellow-painted home than a mansion and a mother with perfectly manicured nails.

She kissed her mother’s cheek as she sat down. Lying her head on her mother’s shoulder, she mused, “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”

Her mother nodded, creating a companionable silence as they rocked and stared at the moon and the stars that littered the dark sky above the canopy of trees around them. “How was your first shift?” the older woman finally asked in a quiet voice.

Ava stretched her legs out in front of her and yawned as she sat up straight. “Good, except my legs are killing me from being on my feet for so long.”

“You’ll be fine,” her mother said.

Of course she would, Ava thought with a smile. She’d get used to it again quickly. They’d had the same conversation after the first day she’d worked at the bar, three years ago, and within a week, it was old hat. The world had seemed incredibly large to her then. In some ways it still did, but everything always seemed to lead back to this small center, like the core of her existence.

Turning toward her mother, Ava decided to address some of her questions to the one person she knew who might hold some answers. “Mom, who are the Minors?” She knew Sarah Bertrand wouldn’t lie and wasn’t prone to fantasies and exaggerations like Kelly. Ava’s mother spoke only simple truths.

“They’re new here. They moved in just after Christmas and bought the Coyote from the Jessups. But I get the feeling you already knew that.” She raised an eyebrow at her daughter in accusation and curiosity.

For some reason, that made Ava nervous. With a short laugh, she answered, “I met Lil today. This might sound a little crazy, but Kelly said all of them are werewolves. Is that true?” She searched her mother’s face for a reaction, but the woman maintained a blank expression.

“Yes, they are.” Her mother’s words were matter-of-fact, as if she’d just confirmed that the sky was actually blue and that it was air they breathed to live.

Trying to swallow that without seeming stunned or terrified, Ava ventured, “and she said she could sense it.”

Her mother didn’t seem the least bit flustered. “The family name is an old one in Willow Falls. The Minors have come back for a good reason, or they would never have returned at all. They’re good people, regardless of the myths about werewolves, only people who meddle in their business and don’t let them keep to themselves have anything to worry about.” She stood and bent to kiss the top of Ava’s head. “I’m tired, honey. I think I’m going to call it a night.” She opened the screen door to go into the house, but she stopped, holding it open as she called back to Ava, “I love you. It’s nice to have you home again.” She disappeared inside before Ava could respond.

“I love you, too, Mom,” Ava sighed into the night. She’d always been extremely close to her mother, and when Dad had died three years ago, Ava felt part of her mother die with him. The loss had been tough on both of them, but they’d held each other, and Ava hoped she would grow into the strong woman her mother had become.

She looked out into the night, past the trees and to the fields of grass, wondering which of the old stories she’d heard about the town were true, and if any of them related to her mother in any way. While she wanted to brush off her mother’s nonchalance as a sign there was nothing to worry about, her curiosity and her intuition got the best of her. It was much more likely that her mother knew far more than she was letting on, and Ava decided to be cautious until she could convince her mother to divulge more of the secrets she held somewhere in the back of her mind.

What a night, Ava thought as she, too, decided it was time to turn in. Through the screen door, she took one last gaze around, imagining the wild things that might be out there, and then she shut the solid wood door and hurried to her room, thinking maybe that wasn’t the best thing to consider right before going to sleep.

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“M
y god, it’s hot! How long have we been out here?” Kelly asked, fanning herself as she sat up from the blanket beneath her. Ava lay next to her on the front lawn of Ava’s house, both of them in their bathing suits and dark sunglasses as they soaked up the sun’s rays.

Ava took off the glasses to check the time on her phone, holding her hand up to block the white light from her eyes. “About an hour.”

“I think it’s time to get in some shade.” Kelly stood, staring expectantly down at Ava. Instead of getting up, Ava stared up at her, the thoughts that had been swirling in her head for the last several hours making her want to bring up their conversation from the night before. “So, Mom agreed with you.”

Kelly scowled down at her. “What are you talking about?”

Ava cleared her throat, still feeling ridiculous even saying the words. “She told me that the Minors are werewolves.”

“I told you,” Kelly retorted with a satisfied smile. “My visions are always right.”

A vision
. If Kelly had mentioned that last night, Ava would have been much quicker to believe her. The first time Kelly had a vision had been pretty scary, since neither of them understood what was happening. Kelly had just tuned out entirely, her eyes rolling up in her head, and a few seconds later, she’d collapsed and woken up as if nothing had happened. They’d gone to Katherine, Kelly’s mother, who had calmly explained about Kelly’s gift. Over the years, Kelly had learned to use it rather than fear it, but this had to be one of the strangest outcomes of any vision Ava had ever heard from her best friend.

“Girls, there’s fresh lemonade, if you want some,” Sarah called from the porch as she set the jug and glasses on the table beside the swing.

Kelly looked as if she hadn’t had a drink of anything for a month. “Thanks, Mrs. Bertrand!”

“Thanks, Mom,” Ava called as she stood and gathered the blanket and suntan lotion to carry with her. They went into the shade of the porch, and Kelly poured them each a glass of the cold liquid. After a long gulp, Kelly asked, “You’re coming tonight, aren’t you?”

A bit blindsided by the sudden change of subject, and more than a little confused, Ava asked, “Where?”

Kelly rolled her eyes. “The bonfire down by Murphy Lake, of course.”

Ava took a swallow of the thirst-quenching drink. “What do you mean, ‘of course’? You never told me about any party. But sure, it sounds like fun.”

Kelly gave her a mischievous grin. “Good.”

Suspicion flooded Ava’s veins, and she narrowed her eyes at her friend. “What’s the big deal, Kelly?”

“Oh, nothing. But you’ll be able to meet Caleb. He’ll be there.”

Ava teased, “Great, so I’ll finally get to see how much you’ve exaggerated his incredible model quality beauty.”

Kelly suddenly became very serious. “No way. No exaggeration. You’ll see, the guy is a god.” She sat on the swing, closing her eyes and leaning back. “You realize you haven’t told me why you changed your mind.”

Ava pretended not to know what Kelly meant. “When did I change my mind?”

“You know very well you planned to stay in Baton Rouge. Why did you come back, Ava? I’d just blow it off as wanting to have a huge birthday bash here, with me, but I don’t see that bringing you back to live, just to visit.”

Uncomfortable and wondering why her friend asked, she hesitated to answer. She could have lied, said she was homesick and that her twenty-first birthday made her want to be back with friends and family, but she didn’t think Kelly would buy it.

Finally, she hedged. “I’m not sure. I just had a gut feeling, like the town was calling me back or something.” She squinted against a ray of sun that stabbed into her eyes. “I don’t like Mom being alone in this house anyway. I can always move on later. There’s no big rush.”

“True. I’m just glad my sista’s back.” Kelly let out a yawn and stood. “I think I’ve had enough sun today. I’m going to get out of here and head home for a bit.” She placed her hands on Ava’s shoulders and went completely stiff.

Ava stared at her friend, unnerved. Kelly was practically in a trance. She winced as Kelly squeezed too hard, with bruising force, but she didn’t move, knowing the vision would be over in a moment. But the grip felt like knives about to pierce her skin.

With a gasp, Kelly blinked, her eyes pooling with tears as she let go and sat back down on the swing. “Jesus,” she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked at Ava and cupped her cheeks with both hands. Ava had seen Kelly in the throes of a vision many times before, and she’d been privy to the aftermath. She never remembered this kind of reaction, though, and it worried her. As if to confirm Ava’s fear, Kelly told her, “Something bad is going to happen, Ava. I know it.”

Ava grabbed Kelly’s hands, removing them from her face and holding them in her lap. She was beyond freaked out. “What do you mean? What the hell just happened, Kelly?”

Kelly shook her head maniacally. “You, Ava, something bad is going to happen to you!” Kelly looked panicked as she leaned into Ava’s chest, sobbing.

Ava did the best she could to console her friend, but all her nerves were on high alert. “Kelly, I don’t know what’s going on, but nothing’s going to happen to me, honey. Okay? I don’t know what you saw just now, but everything is just fine.” She spoke in a soothing, almost motherly voice. Inside, she was screaming, desperate to know what Kelly had experienced and yet terrified to ask. Whatever it was had hit Ava’s best friend harder than anything she’d seen in the past.

Kelly took several deep breaths and sat up, apparently trying to get herself together. “It’s been happening a lot lately. The visions come fast and hard, and they aren’t good, Ava. It’s how I knew about Caleb. I had a vision that showed a man with a tribal tattoo on his neck, and then a huge wolf bearing the same tribal design in its fur.”

Ava wiped at the tears on Kelly’s cheeks and lifted the girl’s chin, wanting to take a better look at her friend. Up this close without Kelly’s carefully applied makeup, the girl had bags under her eyes as if she hadn’t been sleeping well. Ava scowled. “Have you told your mother about all this?”

“No, not yet.”

Ava gave her a reprimanding look. “Why not? She’s the most likely one to be able to explain what’s happening, what it all means. You need to tell her. Promise me you’ll talk to her about it.”

With a chastised nod, Kelly said, “Okay.” She sniffled and rubbed her eyes with a short giggle. “I must look and sound like a certifiable nut job, huh? I go stiff and zombie-like, and then I start spouting frightening prophecies.”

Ava winked. “No, you’re still gorgeous, even if you are a certifiable nut job.” She sent Kelly on her way, hoping she’d helped calm the girl’s nerves. As for her own sanity, Ava felt a sense of impending doom that threatened to disrupt what little sanity she had. No matter what she told Kelly, Ava didn’t think everything would be alright. As far as she knew, everything Kelly had seen had come true in one way or another, and that meant it was time for Ava to be careful and watch out for anything that was out of the norm.

******

S
arah Bertrand sat just inside the house, listening to the conversation between her daughter and Kelly. Her longtime friendship with Kelly’s mother, Katherine, meant she was fully aware of the family’s clairvoyant gifts, and she’d been privy to the entire episode Kelly had just experienced. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen it happen, either.

Unfortunately, Kelly had no idea that this was only the beginning. Sarah could sense the darkness growing nearer, could almost reach out and touch it. Every fiber of her body buzzed with the awareness of what was about to befall them. Soon, her prophecy would come to light, and the war would begin. It would be a war like the world had never seen, and while a great majority of it would never know, the battles between the supernatural would hastily wreak havoc on Willow Falls.

The outcome was uncertain still, and much would be lost, but Sarah vowed one truth that could not be broken. As long as she lived, nothing would happen to her only daughter.

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K
elly sat on Ava’s queen-sized four-poster bed, zipping up one of her black leather boots, the smooth material fitting close to her shapely calves and stopping just above her knees. She pushed at the pink gossamer curtain of fabric that flowed from a point in the middle and surrounded the pinks and creams of the plush bedding.

Ava smiled to herself, thinking of her friend’s mantra.
A good outfit always makes me feel sexy and powerful.
Ava figured Kelly needed that sort of reassurance more often now, especially since she’d been talking about the disconcerting images that continuously flashed through her mind.