The Mating Ritual

Copyright 2013 Tory Richards

All Rights Reserved.

Published by Tory Richards at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition,
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living
or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely
coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used
or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission
from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles or reviews.

Tory Richards: http://www.toryrichards.com

Email: [email protected]

Cover Art by Ramona Lockwood

Edited by Alisha Corsi

Author’s note: All characters depicted in
this work of fiction are 18 years of age or older.

The Mating Ritual is written
from the heroine’s point of view only, and therefore the focus is
on her side of the story. This is an erotic paranormal.

Toni sat back in the old wicker rocker and
closed her eyes; content to listen to the birds and anything else
Mother Nature had to offer. She breathed in deeply the crisp
mountain air, filling her lungs, thankful to be free at last. Six
weeks as a juror on a murder trial and another two sequestered in a
hotel room had taken its toll. She was thankful it was over and
that her friend, Mary, had offered up her family cabin for a change
of scenery, a mini vacation before returning to work and the real
world again.

She’d arrived early that morning and had
already taken a run around the lake. Weeks of sitting in a chair
had been sheer torture, especially for someone that worked out
every day. Not that she was a fanatic or anything, but Toni liked
to eat, and that meant she had to work it off. Smiling, she thought
about the chocolate cream pie she’d brought up with the rest of her
groceries. That was going to cost her a few extra trips around the
lake.

A rattling in the bushes prompted Toni to
open her eyes to investigate. She glanced around, seeing nothing
except trees, the lake, and more trees. The cabin was situated on
the side of the mountain, deep in the back woods of North Carolina.
Mary had told her that her great-grandparents had built it in the
twenties, and at their request, the house had not been sold when
they’d passed away. Toni was glad, grateful to have a place that
she could escape to that was peaceful and quiet, and away from
everything.

The phone began to ring inside the cabin, but
she didn’t attempt to get up, certain the caller was Mary. She was
the only one who knew Toni was there. It’s wasn’t that she didn’t
want to talk to Mary, just not at that moment. Her friend was a
little long-winded, and Toni just didn’t feel like getting into a
long conversation, she was comfortable right now. Besides, she’d
promised to call sometime later that week to touch base.

They’d grown up like sisters in St.
Evangeline’s Orphanage and had always been close. Close in age,
they’d arrived at the orphanage within a week of each other, too
old for adoption at the age of five, when everyone wanted babies or
young toddlers.

Mary had been lucky, though, once it had been
discovered that she had family. The product of a runaway teen, her
mother had died in a car crash. Years had passed before her
grandparents found out they had a granddaughter when Mary was
fifteen. They’d quickly removed her from St. Evangeline’s, and
three years had gone by before Toni saw her again. Throughout it
all they had remained in touch.

Mary was the only family Toni had ever known.
At twenty-four, Toni worked a mundane job at the local library and
had few acquaintances, some people she hung out with sometimes
after work, but that was all. She blamed herself for not letting
anyone get close to her. No matter where she was, she felt like she
just didn’t fit in.

Finally, the phone stopped ringing and all
grew quiet again. That was one of the things Toni liked best about
being in the mountains—it was nature in all its glory, everything
was alive with lush and vibrant color, the sounds of birds and
animals were comforting music to her ears. The sky seemed bluer,
the air crisper. If she could live there year-round she would have,
in spite of the rumors that there were some kind of elusive,
backwoods people living deep in the mountains.

That story was as silly as the one that had
been going around for centuries about Bigfoot. Toni took the rumor
as a ploy from small-town locals to draw more tourists into the
area to boost their economy. These legends attracted the curious
thrill-seekers, photographers, and scientists who wanted to be the
first to find these mysterious people and make their mark in
history, or the hunters, who had their own big dreams and were
certain that these sightings were of Bigfoot. Whenever there was a
new sighting the freaks came out of the woodwork and the towns
prospered.

The surrounding towns were small and
populated with well-established families whose roots went back for
generations. They were loyal, good people that chose a simpler way
of life that could be considered archaic when compared with some of
the country’s upscale communities. Their Mayberry way of life was
okay with Toni. Most of the locals were friendly and helpful when
the need arose, and generally minded their own business.

Her thoughts drifted to Marco Rivera. Found
guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison,
thanks to her and the other jurors, he would never again know what
freedom was. For as long as Toni lived she’d never forget the look
he gave each and every one of them, or the curses and threats he’d
screamed at them when he was dragged from the courtroom. She was
glad it was over and that she’d never have to see him again.

She tried to move into a more comfortable
position, moaning low. The muscles she hadn’t used during the trial
were stiffening from her first jog since before the trial. She
should have started with something easier, like a swim in the
nearby lake. Maybe a swim now would help ease some of the soreness.
She knew the water would be cold but invigorating, and with no one
around, she could skinny-dip if she wanted to.

Toni eventually dozed until the persistent
ringing of the phone woke her. Swearing with annoyance, she jumped
up from the rocker, practically tearing the screen door off its
hinges as she rushed inside, hoping to get to the phone in time.
Something must be up with Mary.

“Hello!”

“Well it’s about darn time!” Mary’s usually
cheerful voice was laced with heavy irritation. “I was about to
drive myself up there to make sure you were okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Toni sat down on the arm
of a nearby chair. “I thought we were going to touch base later
this week.”

“I know, but there’s something I have to tell
you that couldn’t wait. Just in case.”

Toni frowned. “Just in case of what?” She
could hear Mary’s little ones screaming and laughing in the
background.

“In case you need to go somewhere else. Have
you had the TV on at all since you got there?”

“No, why?”

Mary took a deep breath. “Then you haven’t
heard. You know who Don Roberts and Lucy Monroe are, right?”

“Of course. They were jurors with me.” Don
was a thirty-year-old manager of a men’s clothing store outlet,
married and without children. Lucy, a young grandmother at
thirty-six, was divorced and running her own little tearoom. You
didn’t remain sequestered with the same people for two months and
not learn a little something about them.

“Toni, it was on the news this morning. They
were both found dead.”

A chill went over Toni. “What? Oh my,
God!”

“Yes! It’s too early to tell but there’s
speculation that it’s connected to the murder trial. The police
have been calling me, looking for you. The word is they’re putting
the remaining jurors under protective custody until they know
what’s going on.”

“No!” Marco Rivera’s face flashed before
Toni’s eyes. “I can’t believe this is happening! God, Lucy and Don
were such nice people. Did you tell the police where I was?” Not
too many people knew about the cabin.

“No, that’s why I’m calling you. What do you
want me to do?”

Toni thought about it for a moment, her mind
drifting back to the last time she saw Lucy and Don. Everyone was
smiling and laughing, so relieved the trial and sentencing was
over, and they could finally go home to their families. At the
time, none of them had given much weight to Marco Rivera’s
ranting.

“Toni?”

Mary’s voice reminded her that she was
waiting for an answer. “No one but you knows I’m here, and if they
did, good luck trying to find this place, it’s not even on a map. I
drove around lost for an hour. I should be okay for tonight, don’t
you think?”

“Probably, but I don’t think you should take
any chances.”

Mary was the ever-cautious one. Toni sighed
with resignation, unable to get her mind off Lucy and Don. She
didn’t want to ask how they died. “I guess I’d better call and talk
to Detective Todd. I trust her.”

“Good idea, then call me back. Be careful,
hon, keep your phone with you, and make sure everything is locked
up. Do you want me to drive up? I can be there in four hours.”

There was no way Toni was going to have her
come up there if something was going on. “Maybe tomorrow depends on
what Detective Todd advises.” She’d already decided that if they
were going to insist on police custody there was no better place to
hide out than right where she was. She would just have to convince
them of that.

“Do you think it’s just a coincidence?”

Toni thought about the threats that Rivera
had hurled at the jurors at the end of the trail. “Probably not,
but at least the authorities aren’t taking any changes. I’ll call
you back in a few.”

She sighed deeply when she disconnected.
This isn’t happening!
Apparently Marco Rivera was making
good on his threats. Maybe she should just take off and go
someplace where no one knew where she was. She could contact the
police herself and tell them where she was later. But then she
recalled what had come out during the trial—the low-life drug
dealer had a lot of people on his payroll, including those who were
supposed to protect and enforce the law. Detective Todd was the
only one Toni trusted in law enforcement right now.

Damn it!
Toni was glad she’d done her
civic duty, but she wasn’t going to let it rule her life now that
it was over. Still, she’d phone the detective and at least let her
know where she was. She was glad she’d added the no nonsense,
twenty-year veteran to her contact list so that it was easy to
scroll down to her name and call. She didn’t have to wait long
before the phone was picked up at the other end.

“Dooley Police Station, Detective Todd, how
may I help you?”

“Detective Todd, this is Toni Davenport. My
friend Mary said that you’ve been looking for me?” Toni had listed
Mary as her emergency contact, so it didn’t surprise her that she’d
been called.

“Thank goodness you phoned! I suppose she
informed you of the circumstances?” There was genuine relief in her
business-like tone.

“Yes, Mary told me about Lucy’s and Don’s
death, that’s just awful. She explained that the other jurors have
been placed under police custody.”

“Murders,” Detective Todd corrected. “We’ve
established that their deaths aren’t a coincidence. An attempt was
made about an hour ago on Mandy Jones. Luckily there was an off
duty officer at the same gas station she’d stopped at, and he was
able to stop the hit from going down.”

A hit!
“Oh, no!”

“Okay, so where are you?”

“I’m in a remote cabin in the mountains. The
only ones who know I’m here are you and Mary, and she won’t tell
anyone. It would be nearly impossible to find me without
directions, and even then it would be hard.”

“Here’s what I want you to do,” Detective
Todd began, and Toni could hear the rustle of papers. “Give me
explicit directions; we’re going to come to you. If we feel your
location is safe, we’ll make a decision about whether or not to
remain there temporarily.”