Shadowed (6 page)

* * *

"Haven't seen you before." Philip stared at Aedan and Nathan. He wasn't supposed to be outside this late at night, but his mother was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. Philip had sneaked out.

"Young one, why are you out at this hour?" Nathan asked the blond teen.

"Why are
you
out at this hour? And who are you anyway?" Philip returned in his usual, rude manner.

"We guard the community at night," Aedan replied. "You will go inside and not come out again this night," compulsion was thick in Aedan's voice. Philip turned immediately and walked toward his new home. Aedan and Nathan watched as he walked through the door, closing it behind him.

"That must be the one Ashe doesn't like," Aedan muttered as he and Nathan resumed their rounds.

* * *

"Dude—dad just got a call from Mr. Winkler," Sali whispered into the phone.

"What about?" Ashe asked on the other end. Ashe was in his bedroom; his mother was tending her plants upstairs in the solarium so Ashe didn't have to whisper.

"The Mayor of Cordell was killed earlier, so two agents are coming. They want Dad to help them investigate since he's awake during the day. Mr. Winkler said to get your dad or Mr. Anderson to help at night."

"They think the murder has something to do with these families?" Ashe asked.

"I think so—why would they send agents if they didn't suspect something?"

"True," Ashe agreed, setting aside the book he'd been reading. His bedroom was bigger, now, with even more bookshelves. Because of the explosion the year before, however, only half the shelves were filled. "Or maybe they just want to prove that it didn't have anything to do with the families. Better to know, don't you think."

"Yeah. I guess," Sali reluctantly agreed.

"When are they coming?" Ashe asked.

"Tomorrow. They're supposed to stay in Clinton tonight and see dad at the locksmith's shop tomorrow afternoon in Cordell. Dad has to remind them that tomorrow night is the full Moon."

"Surprised they didn't think of that," Ashe chuckled. "Those guys are supposed to be smart."

"They're not used to werewolves, I bet."

"Or vampires." Ashe and Sali snickered for a moment.

"Dude, want to play football or Frisbee tomorrow?" Sali asked.

"Sure. Call before you come over." Ashe and Sali hung up.

* * *

"Keith, why haven't you unpacked your bag?" Bryce Caldwell sat on the end of Keith's bed.

"Why? We'll be moving again soon—Mom said so."

"Two and a half months. Are you prepared to wear wrinkled clothes the whole time? Come on, we have a washer and dryer. You need to wash some of that stuff. Those jeans are so dirty they may fall apart in the laundry."

Keith and Bryce couldn't be more different. Keith had blond hair while Bryce's was nearly black. Keith's green eyes gazed steadily at his older, half-brother. Bryce looked like Jeanine Caldwell, their mother. Keith favored Michael Caldwell, Keith's father. Bryce, Jeanine's son from her first marriage, hadn't seen his father for three years after Bruce Stinnett's parental rights had been terminated. Michael Caldwell adopted Bryce afterward. Bruce Stinnett had fallen on hard times after leaving Jeanine and Bryce behind when Bryce was barely a year old, turning to petty crime. He'd been jailed after stealing a few cars and selling them to chop shops in Florida.

"If my jeans fall apart, will I get new ones?" Keith picked at a scab on his right thumb for a moment, but now he raised his eyes to his brother again.

"I think we're allowed a few new things—we just have to go through that Marcus DeLuca guy to get stuff online."

"What do you think he looks like—when he's a werewolf? I gotta tell you, that Winkler dude scared the heck out of me." Winkler had become a huge, solid black wolf with gleaming golden eyes.

"He wouldn't have growled if Philip hadn't tried to touch him," Bryce pointed out.

"Philip's an ass."

"A general consensus," Bryce sighed. "I don't know that there's any hope for him. Can you see him working at Easy-Stop someday?"

It started as a snicker, but soon Keith was lying on his side and laughing uncontrollably. He could easily see Philip snapping rudely at the customers of a self-serve gas station and convenience store.

"Come on, bro, let's hang up your clothes," Bryce said, hefting Keith's suitcase onto the bed.

* * *

"Mom, do we have the ingredients to make cookies?" Macy asked. They'd cleared away the dinner dishes after having pizza for their first meal at the new home.

"I think we can make oatmeal or sugar cookies—I saw a bottle of vanilla and a box of oats in the pantry." Ramona Hill smiled at her daughter. Macy had long blonde hair that covered the delicately pointed tips of her ears and blue eyes that now pleaded with her mother for cookies. Macy had been beautiful and thin all her life. Ramona struggled with her weight constantly and her brown hair frazzled and curled furiously in any sort of humidity. Macy's hung like a river of gold down her back.

"Did I hear cookies?" Rocky Hill walked into the kitchen. He had darker hair and brown eyes; Ramona's eyes were green. Ramona always believed it to be the donated egg that had given her daughter blue eyes and blonde hair—although the clinic had tried to match features as well as they could. At least they thought they had. Ramona was still trying to understand the information handed out earlier—still struggling to make things go back to normal. Or at least as normal as they could be. They were surrounded by werewolves, shapeshifters and—she shivered for a moment—
vampires
. Cookies sounded like an excellent idea.

"Let's make oatmeal cookies," Macy decided. Ramona pulled out the sugar and the box of oats.

* * *

"Liz?" Luanne tapped on Elizabeth Frasier's bedroom window.

"Luanne, what are you doing out there?" Elizabeth hissed, struggling with the locked window and heaving it upward. "Shouldn't you be inside? What if those people are out there?"

"What people would you be meanin', lass?" Aedan allowed the Welsh lilt to come out in his voice. Luanne shrieked at the sudden appearance of the vampire.

* * *

"Your voice is different now," Elizabeth cast an accusing glance at Aedan. She and Luanne sat on the sofa inside the Frasier home, huddled fearfully together. They'd been caught first thing by one of those—
vampires
. He'd admitted it freely when he'd escorted Luanne into the Frasier's home moments earlier, introducing himself as Aedan Evans to Mary Ellen and Francis Frasier. Linda and Peter Jansen, Luanne's parents, were on their way—all the families had walkie-talkies provided by Bill Jennings' department and Francis had notified Peter that Luanne had sneaked out and gotten caught by the Cloud Chief night guards.

"I have several accents," Aedan replied frostily. A very good judge of character, Aedan disliked Elizabeth, finding her a bit on the shallow side. Elizabeth's black hair was styled carefully, while her brown eyes flashed with anger and defiance toward Aedan. Dressed in a silk blouse and designer jeans, Elizabeth also wore red heels, diamond earrings and multiple bangle bracelets. Luanne sat quietly beside her friend, dressed more appropriately in jeans and a T with athletic shoes on her feet. More subdued than Elizabeth's fiery character, Luanne had light-brown hair and hazel eyes. Prettier, too, if you looked past the makeup that Elizabeth wore nearly to excess.

"Lu, I can't believe you left the house without telling us," Linda Jansen rushed in, a Georgia accent plain in her voice.

"Mom, I only wanted to check on the others," Luanne muttered, staring at her hands.

"I'm so sorry, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again," Linda turned to Aedan.

"It's not a problem tonight, but it will be tomorrow," Aedan nodded to Linda and her husband, Peter. Peter frowned at his daughter as he walked into the Frasier home but chose not to say anything at first, allowing his wife to handle the situation.

"Why will it be a problem tomorrow?" Francis Frasier demanded.

"Full Moon," Aedan replied. "Unless you want to meet up with just about every resident in Cloud Chief. As animals."

"They really do that? On the full Moon? That's not a myth?" Peter Jansen finally spoke, a bit of worry in his voice.

"Yes. That's not a myth. Nor is this," Aedan reached out and casually snapped off a piece of granite from the breakfast bar, which separated the kitchen from the living area. "Stay inside at night unless you notify us ahead of time. Young miss," he gave Luanne a stern look, "use your walkie-talkie next time. You can visit with your friends during the day." Aedan handed the chunk of granite to Francis Frasier and left the house in a blink. Shocked, Francis dropped the heavy piece of granite and cursed.

* * *

"We were threatened," Francis Frasier snapped at Marcus DeLuca early the following morning. If Francis knew anything about werewolves, he wouldn't be accosting the Packmaster on the day of a full Moon. Nevertheless, Marcus listened as patiently as he could while Francis ranted about Aedan's visit the night before.

"How?" Marcus, sitting at the breakfast table, crossed arms over his chest. "How were you threatened?"

"He told us to stay inside at night unless we cleared it with him or one of you-you, well,
your
kind," Francis floundered uncomfortably.

"Didn't Director Jennings say the same thing? Didn't his agents tell you exactly that before they left?" Marcus was beginning to think Francis Frasier a fool.

"But this," Francis tapped the piece of granite he'd brought with him. "That
vampire—
snapped it right off our counter. If that's not a threat," Francis' voice held agitation.

"Do you want protection or not? Is your daughter in danger or not?" Marcus scooted his chair back and stood, nearly growling at Francis Frasier. "You," Marcus pointed a finger at Francis, "are more of a danger to us than we are to you. We've learned how to live among humans. You, on the other hand, with just a careless word, could expose us to the outside world and certain death. Yes, we're strong, but your kind outnumber us. We'd be just as dead, one way or the other, if you let this secret out." Marcus had to stop for a moment to calm his anger.

"We agreed to allow you to live here," Marcus continued, "because we offer some sort of protection against what hunts you. And yes, they hunt you. Have you seen the numbers of the dead—all those children across the country that have died or been abducted? Is that what you want for your child? Is it? Aedan is trying to protect you as well as your child. Have you seen the information? At least sixteen sets of parents were killed with their children." Marcus was wound up and ready to turn.

"Marcus," Denise walked into the kitchen, giving the soft warning to her husband.

"I'm all right, Denise," Marcus blew out a calming sigh. "Mr. Frasier, you weren't threatened by Aedan Evans. If you had been, you'd still be hiding inside your home, too frightened to come out. Go home. I'll have someone fix your counter."

"Fine." Francis lifted the heavy granite with difficulty. "I see we have no voice in this community." He stalked out of the DeLuca home with as much dignity as he could muster.

"You weren't meant to have a voice," Marcus growled as Francis slammed the front door behind him.

* * *

"I heard the whole thing, dude; that Frasier guy said your dad threatened him. Dad told him if your dad did threaten somebody, they'd pee their pants." Sali crunched into the snack crackers Adele had given them before they'd retreated to Ashe's bedroom on Sunday afternoon.

"Your dad did not say pee their pants," Ashe grinned at Sali.

"Nah, but that's what he meant." Sali shoved his hand inside the box of snacks, pulling out another handful of crackers.

"The first time that man's daughter walks into a field in her high heels, she's gonna sink right into the ground," Ashe snickered.

"I hope I'm there to see it," Sali said, stuffing crackers in his mouth.

"Come on, dude, stop eating and let's go play Frisbee."

A few moments later, Ashe, carrying his ancient, lime-green Frisbee (which was liberally pierced with Sali's teeth marks), trundled up the steps, closely followed by a nearly grown wolf. Of the few things to survive the explosion the year before, Ashe's Frisbee had sailed through the blast almost untouched.

"Is that Sali?" Ashe grinned at Edward's question. The curious teen had shown up as if called when Ashe and Sali began playing. Ashe tossed the Frisbee; Sali chased after it and caught it in his teeth, at times leaping high off the ground to snag the flying disk.

"Yeah. If you want, go down there," Ashe pointed toward Sali, who now sat patiently on the new spring grass in Ashe's front yard, the Frisbee dangling from his mouth. "You can toss the Frisbee back after Sali catches it."

"Cool." Edward returned Ashe's grin and trotted toward Sali, who willingly gave up the Frisbee. Edward's toss wobbled on its way to Ashe, but it did make it.

"What's this? The
empties
playing with the dog?" Chad and Jeremy had driven up on the gravel road in front of Ashe's home. Ashe gave them a hard stare—he figured they'd come to check out the temporary housing and the new arrivals to Cloud Chief.