Lunacy (22 page)

“Mom!” I started to protest.

“Did you use protection, honey?” Dad chimed right
in.

My whole face felt like it was on
fire. “
DAD
!” I
half shrieked in embarrassment. I sighed and crossed my arms over
my chest, not able to meet his gaze as I mumbled, “Yes…”

“That’s all that matters to me, then.” His voice was
a bit more firm as he spoke to the young man at the stove. “Jynxx,
you hurt my daughter and I’ll kill you. Understand?”

Jynxx smiled over his shoulder at the older man, then
at me. “Sure thing, Mr. Meade.” His dark eyes held mine for a
moment, my heart nearly stopping from the intensity in them. My
first assessment of his behavior this morning was apparently
nowhere near correct. The look in his eyes almost made me feel that
the L word was the only accurate description for it, but I wasn’t
about to jump to any conclusions.

“At least now we know for sure you aren’t into girls.
Not that it’s a big thing, but I’d like grandbabies someday.” My
mother seemed pleased at the thought, and I was mortified.

“Jesus, Ma… We’re both freshly eighteen. You mind
giving us a while to work on that?”

“I certainly wouldn’t mind working on it,” I heard
Jynxx mumble under his breath, quiet enough that only my freak ears
could hear him. Somehow I managed to fight the heat that threatened
to rise all the way up to my ears.

“You’ve been after the boy since you were thirteen,
Kacea. If those short skirts you kept wearing to school were what
did the trick, then maybe I shouldn’t have tried to get you to
change them for so long.” I was speechless, unable to form words as
my mother continued. “I mean, if you could see the things I wore to
draw in your father...”

Dad wiggled his eyebrows at her over the paper and I
thought I was going to lose the breakfast I hadn’t even eaten yet.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose and took a few calming breaths. “Can
we not discuss these things right now? I could use a—“ Jynxx’s warm
hand on my shoulder cut my words short and I looked up to see him
holding out a steaming cup of coffee before me. It smelled like
heaven, perfectly sweetened with just the right amount of creamer.
I almost professed my undying love for him on the spot. Thinking
better of it, I took the mug from him gratefully and he pressed a
kiss to my forehead.

As he walked back to the stove to plate the rest of
whatever he’d cooked for us, I saw my mother tilt her head
appreciatively as she watched his ass all the way to the counter.
Eyebrows furrowing, I lightly bopped her on the back of the head.
“Whaaat?” she whined. “Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I can’t
look.”

I narrowed my eyes and pointed warningly at her. “As
long as looking is all that you do…”

Jynxx’s laughter was music to my ears, his voice
making me feel like I’d discovered something I hadn’t even known
was missing. “Sit down so we can have breakfast, wouldja?” After a
sip of the most perfect coffee I’d ever tasted, I couldn’t argue
with that logic.

As I took a seat, Jynxx came over with two plates.
Each of them was full nearly to overflowing with scrambled eggs and
cheese, pancakes, and most importantly: bacon. There was something
about the meal placed before me that seemed strangely familiar.
Like I’d only had it a few days ago, but it hadn’t been me who
cooked it. A dull ache began to pulse in the front of my skull and
I pushed the thought aside, beginning to become worried about what
this repressed memory could be that my brain had some sort of block
about. Jynxx saw my brief pained expression and I just shook my
head at him. It was gone now, so I planned to focus on enjoying
breakfast.

He shrugged and sat next to me, my parents getting to
their feet almost on cue. Dad glanced down at his wrist, which bore
no watch, and he nudged Mom toward the door. “Looks like it’s time
to head to work! Have a good day, you two!”

“Were you still going to that party tonight, Kacea?”
Mom called as she grabbed her coat.

“Sure am! I’ll probably stay at Jynxx’s tonight,
since he’s closer to the place.” My cover for the samling was
saying that there was a huge bonfire tonight, one that a lot of my
friends were going to. It wasn’t totally a lie, at least.

“No problem. Just drop me a text once you’re settled
in and safe for the night, alright?”

“Will do!” And they were gone, leaving me alone with
an amazing breakfast and my equally amazing boyfriend.

We ate in comfortable silence, our plates mostly
empty before I sipped my orange juice to clear my throat. I caught
his gaze across the table and almost lost my nerve, not knowing if
I could voice my insecurities aloud. “I thought… I thought that
you’d left this morning.” A small, nervous laugh escaped me. “I
mean, after last night, it really wouldn’t surprise me and all,
considering that I’m—“

He cut me off by pressing a very warm fingertip to my
lips, his dark eyes looking slightly down into mine. “Considering
that you’re something I’ve been after for quite some time, I
wouldn’t have even thought of leaving this morning. Unless there
was some emergency, then I would have texted you to let you know
where I ran off to.” I opened my mouth to protest further and he
hushed me, brushing a lock of hair back behind my ear. “Look,
Kacea, I… I like you a lot, and I love that you don’t hide behind
some false front. Just be your quirky, dorky self and I’m not going
anywhere.” Jynxx leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to my lips,
the light contact speeding my pulse.

When he sat back, there was a grin on his face.
“What’s that look for?”

“Your mom was right, though. The short skirts and
boobs don’t hurt,” he answered, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I punched his arm and rolled my eyes. “You’re a
putz.”

“Psh. You love it.”

We finished up breakfast and did all the dishes
together, having a pretty good system down for it. It was about ten
thirty when we were done and I was about to run upstairs to dress
when the doorbell rang. “What the hell?” I murmured, padding to the
door and peering through the peephole. It was Aya and the girls
from her band on the other side.

“Rise and shine, Frankenstein!” Her bubbly voice
greeted me through the door.

I let them all in and found myself wondering what
they were doing here. At my confused stare, Aya shook her finger at
Jynxx and tutted. “Bad dog! You never told the girl we’re part of
the club, too?” He just shook his head sheepishly. She rolled her
eyes and tossed her head back with a sigh. “No biggie. We’re gonna
steal your girlyfriend for most of the day, so you can just take
your tasty self upstairs and get dressed.” Before Jynxx could even
get a word in, the incorrigible blond clucked her tongue at him
again. “Girl stuff, bud. Make tracks.” Jynxx threw his hands up in
the air with a sigh and gave me a parting kiss on the lips before
doing as Aya had commanded.

“Girl stuff?” I questioned as I was led to the couch
and pushed to sit. “What do you mean?”

Aya took a seat beside me, the other girls filling in
the chairs and the rest of the couch. “Jynxx is a guy, so he’s not
thinking about the fact that you need to be dressed to impress for
this whole samling shindig. Elomina’s given us a bit of insight
into this whole Skadhi thing, but it doesn’t help you much.
Everything boils down to you essentially still being human. That
means that you don’t need to wear your thrift store best to shift
out of, like most of us. You need to be dressed to the nines, and
be intimidating, so some bitch doesn’t think she can just whack you
and take your position as Dròttning.”

“Position as what?”

“Dròttning. Queen, essentially. Gavin may be beta to
Jynxx, but since you’re mated to him, you’re slightly higher up the
ladder than Curlylocks is.”

I was dumbstruck and my voice was a squeak as I
managed to ask, “How in the hell can you possibly know?!”

She smirked and leaned in close, her voice lowering.
“I can smell him all over you, chica. Even if you’d taken a shower,
there are still pheromones left behind that Ulven noses can pick up
on.” She tapped the side of her nose with a fingertip.

I grimaced. “Having olfactory senses that strong has
to suck,” I replied, trying to hide the fact that I was horribly
embarrassed.

Sherry laughed at that one, her blue eyes sparkling
with mirth. “It can be pretty gross, believe me.” She turned
slightly to Aya. “We’re killing daylight. Should we get on with
it?”

With a nod, Aya clapped her hands together, the sound
making Kerry and I jump. “You’re right, Sher. We need to take you
shopping, Miss Beloved of the Wolf.”

I groaned. I hated to shop. My parents had money, but
that didn’t mean I enjoyed the endless process of hours and hours
in fitting rooms and the empty wallet that followed. “Before we do
that, why don’t you see what I already have in my closet? There
could be something useful in there?” I asked hopefully, not
relishing the thought of a day at the mall.

Aya tapped her chin thoughtfully with her fingers.
“Maybe we can get an idea of your style from it, but the outfit for
tonight should really be new. No residual scents on the clothes
from anything that may have occurred in or around them
previously.”

That was fair enough. I led them all upstairs and
Jynxx headed down past us, brushing his fingertips across my
shoulders as we passed, the light contact making me shiver. “Catch
ya later, babe.”

“Drive safe!” was the lame response I managed.

Once he was gone, Aya grinned at me. “You two are so
cute, I could be sick!”

I rolled my eyes as I took the four girls to my room.
“Whatever, Aya.” I laughed, unable to be grumpy in the face of her
good mood.

Sherry whistled as she took in the lavish quarters.
“Holy crap, girl.” I waved it off and went to the large walk-in
closet, opening the door and motioning for them all to join me.

“Jesus, Kaysh! This closet’s as big as my bedroom!”
Aya sputtered, eyes darting to take everything in. After a moment
of assessing the wardrobe, she finally settled on the area I was
afraid she was going to. The leather and vinyl section.

“I, uh… Had a mega goth phase in tenth grade.” I
explained as the blond girl inspected everything with a discerning
eye. “I’ve mostly found ways to intersperse those pieces into
normal every day wear, rather than looking like I got lost on my
way to a leather bar.”

She glanced over her shoulder at me with eyes almost
as blue as Sherry’s. “You do have good taste. I’ll give you that.
Something like this would do nicely.” She held up an outfit that
made me cringe to think I’d ever worn it, much less out in
public.

The nightmare ensemble consisted mainly of two-inch
wide strips of soft black Napa leather that crossed over each other
in intricate patterns that kept the wearer just this side of
decent. It was a top that came with a pair of matching hot pants
that I usually paired with thigh high boots and fishnets to fill
the space between. "Um... one problem with that choice." Aya
nodded, urging me to go on. "I was a whole cup size smaller then,
so..."

The blond smirked as she looked from the outfit to
me, giving my chest an appraising stare. "I'm sure we can find you
something similar, with a bit more support." She handed me the
outfit and took her phone from her pocket. "Say cheese!" I stuck my
tongue out at the camera, earning an eye roll for my efforts. I was
only too happy to put the club wear back where it belonged: hidden
and forgotten on its hanger at the back of my closet.

The girls vacated the large room so I could get
dressed. I came out a minute later in a plain black tee shirt and a
matching light knee length skirt. It made the changing process go a
million times faster when I didn't have to jump out of, and back in
to, a pair of pants. I had a feeling there would be much time spent
in fitting rooms today. Grabbing a pair of slip on shoes, I barely
had them on my feet before I was being dragged down the stairs,
trying desperately to keep up with Aya's frantic pace. The four of
them were beyond stoked at the chance to mall hop and spend time
with me.

Aya drove us to the mall, a gargantuan complex with
three floors of shops, and a fourth upper level that housed the
cinemas and a fitness center. The next five hours of my life were
swallowed by a fashion montage I hoped to erase from my memory as
soon as physically possible. Getting to hang out with some girls
for a change was nice, but shopping wasn’t the way I would have
preferred it to happen.

We’d finally settled on a black halter top which
stopped just below my breasts, a few thin straps crossing each
other in stark contrast to my milk pale midriff. Rather than hot
pants, we’d gone with a leather mini skirt with a dangerously high
slit that barely kept my lady bits decent. I’d let Aya talk me into
splurging and actually buying a new pair of boots, even better than
my usual favorites. The rest of my outfit was monochromatic, so I
went with a splash of color: soft ankle height boots with a low
heel that were a gloriously deep crimson mottled with obsidian
specks.

I was relieved, overjoyed to finally be done with the
mall, when Aya dashed my hopes to pieces. “Don’t start celebrating
yet, girl! We’ve still got to get your hair done!”

I visibly sagged, a heavy affected sigh leaving my
lips. “But whyyyy?” I whined, earning a laugh from our
entourage.

“Because none of us have hairdresser status, and I’d
be mortified if I ruined that gorgeous long hair of yours. And so,
the best answer is to have a professional do it up right.”

“Fine,” I groaned. “I suppose. What exactly do you
have in mind? No cuts, I hope.”

She shook her head rapidly, looking horrified at the
thought. “No way, girlie. We’re just gonna get you styled.”