Trust Me When the Sun Goes Down (32 page)

Assured that her jeep would be retrieved, Amelia followed her to a bottle green Jaguar, sleek and posh in its lines.  A pretty blonde girl, maybe a year younger than Amelia opened the rear doors for them with a shy smile. 

There was a moment’s hesitation before she climbed in beside the old woman, years of being told not to get into the car with strangers deeply ingrained into her psyche.  But this wasn’t a stranger, Adele was her last known blood relative.  Telling herself not to be such a baby, Amelia slid into the car with an answering smile for the blonde driver.

Once they were alone in the car, Amelia assumed her grandmother would warm up a little, maybe lose some of the starch in her spine.  But Adele remained rigidly upright in her seat, silent for the duration of the drive.  Millie looked for an opening to ask how she’d known to come and find her at the Muddy Rudder, or why everyone in town looked at her like some kind of Mafioso (or was it Mafiosa?), but there didn’t seem to be a good time to broach the subject.  Besides, the sooner they got into it, the sooner she’d have to tell her about what happened, and Millie wasn’t in that big of a rush to get into it.  Maybe she’d let her beg off until morning?  It wasn’t like Adele was proving to be a big fan of conversation anyway. 

Soon enough they pulled up in front of a large Victorian house, painted in muted shades of gray with a dusky purple trim.

“This is your new home.”  The silence broken, Adele finally turned to regard Amelia, patting her hand lightly as the blonde hurried to open her door. 

“It’s… big,” Millie blurted out, not quite sure what else to say about the manor that loomed in the darkness.  Most of the windows were black save a single light burning in the living room.

“It is indeed, more than enough room for you to join our family.  In fact, more than enough room for all of you, had only your parents heeded my advice to come home in time.”  Her voice became tinged with sadness.  “Too late now to dwell upon what might have been.  Come along, Amelie,” she instructed, leading the way into the house. 

“It’s Amelia, actually,” she replied automatically, jogging up the steps to keep up after the shock of what her grandmother said sank in.  “Then you know about what happened to my parents and Luc?”

“
Oui
, I was on the phone with the authorities for most of the morning.  A devastating business.  One should never outlive one’s child,” Adele sighed, snapping on the lights as she led the way to the parlor. 

“Did the police… did they figure out what happened to them?”  Millie mashed her lips together, reluctant to say much about the night before, hardly sure she believed any of it herself. 

“You mean do they know that your parents and my beloved Luc were torn apart by wolves?  No, the fire managed to mask their true cause of death, thank goodness for that.” 

The breath left Millie’s body in a rush as she burst that bubble of anticipation.  “Then how did you…?” 

“My sphere of influence extends beyond this valley, Amelie.  I am not without my resources.  It was only a matter of time before they came for you.  It’s unfortunate that your parents sought to shelter you by hiding you away from me as well, or I could have…”

“Wait… what?  Before they came for
me
?” Millie blinked, not quite sure she’d heard her correctly.  Why would anyone come after her?

“Yes, my dear, after you,” she replied gently.  “Through no fault of your own, you have been sought after since the day you were born.”

“But… why?  I don’t get any of this.  Why aren’t you surprised to see me?  Why would anyone be after me and why are you so blasé about your son and family being ripped apart by
wolves
?”  An edge of hysteria gripped her voice, and Millie felt the sudden need to sit down, sinking onto the couch. 

Adele lowered herself into the large wingback chair before the fireplace.  “It’s a long story, one that might be better served after a good night’s rest.”

Sleep was all she’d been craving for the past twelve hours, but that was the farthest thing from her mind after that pronouncement.  “If you think for a minute that I’m gonna be able to slip off to dreamland after something like that, you’re crazy.  I need some answers, and I need them now.” 

Stiffening at the response, Adele’s mouth dropped into a frown of disapproval.  “I’m not accustomed to being addressed in such a manner.”

“I don’t give a good Goddamn what you’re used to.  In the past twenty-four hours I’ve seen my parents and my brother ripped apart by some kind of wolves and my home destroyed by fire.  I’ve driven halfway across the country without a lick of sleep, and you’re telling me this is all because of
me
.  So start talking now or I’m walking out of here to find my own answers.”  Millie was running on fumes, but there was no way she could back down, even if the old lady tossed her out on her ear.  Chin coming up with determination, she met her gaze evenly.

For a long moment they locked gazes and Amelia began to think she really would throw her out for talking back, but then instead of blowing her stack, Adele started to laugh.  A rusty sound, as though she wasn’t prone to laughter at first, followed by a deep throaty chuckle.  Amelia’s brows drew together in frustration.  “I’m glad you find this so amusing…”  She rose to her feet. 

“Oh sit,
ma chere
, you just reminded me of why you’re the One.  Actually you remind me a bit of myself at your age,” she added with another chuckle.  “Very well, I will give you all the answers I have to give, and then you may decide if you will stay here with me and what protection I can offer you, or if you would prefer to take your chances out there alone.”

Amelia sank down onto the couch again in relief.  “Okay… so, start with who they are and why they’re after me,” she prompted, but Adele countered with a shake of the head.

“Before I begin with who they are, I must begin with who you are.”

“I know who I am, Grandmother.”

“Do you?”  Her eyes crinkled with amusement. 

Chapter Two

“Do you know your family’s heritage or your own true nature?  You haven’t even been told your real name,” Adele scoffed.

“My name is Amelia Singer,” Millie replied evenly, though she started to get a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

“Your name is Amelie LaRoche, daughter of Remy and Marie LaRoche, and you are the One, the Mother of us All.”  The dramatic proclamation was made, as if that meant something to her.

“LaRoche?  Mother of us all?  What is that supposed to mean?” Amelia blinked, trying to connect the dots, but there were too many still missing. 

“Your parents changed your name when they took you from here in a misguided attempt to keep you safe.”  Adele made no effort to disguise the bitterness of her tone.

“I don’t get it, safe from what?  What’s all this ‘one mother’ stuff?” Amelia’s head started to pound again.  She needed more energy drink, or she needed some sleep, and neither were available at the moment. 

“When you were born, we realized almost immediately that you met certain conditions ordained by prophecy.  The prophecy marks you as someone of great importance, highly sought out by our kind.  You are destined to be the
Mother of us All
.  Quite plainly, from your line will issue a new ruling class from which all packs will look to for leadership.”

“Our kind?”  Packs, a new ruling class?  Her head swam with possibilities. 

“Did you never feel special, Amelie?  That there was something… unusual about your family?”

“Everybody’s family has craziness built into it, mine wasn’t any crazier than most.”  But she had felt a little… different, from time to time.  All those unanswered questions resurfaced.  Why wasn’t she ever allowed to have any sleepovers?  Why had her parents flipped out when she appeared on a local news broadcast when her school broke ground on the new playground?  Why had Luc shown her a
secret place
he wanted her to go to if there was ever any trouble from the time she was six years old? 

“Our way is not to embrace craziness, Amelie.  Our way is ordered, not chaos, but it can also be wild as nature intended.  Our people have been shifters since the beginning of time, the trait passed down from generation to generation.  Not by bite or curse as the movies would have you believe, but coded within our genes is the ability to change form at will.”

“Shifters… you mean werewolves.”  The statement was given in a flat monotone.

Adele shrank in upon herself in disgust.  “We abhor that term, it conjures all manner of superstitious nonsense.”

“Superstitious?”  A laugh left her lips.  “You’re sitting there telling me that you – that
we
are a race of shapeshifters, and you’re worried about being misunderstood as the creature of the week?” 

“To shift into another form is the design of nature, not a product of demonic involvement,” she said loftily.  “We don’t crave human flesh or bend to the call of the moon, though we do hear her song.”

The moon’s song.  It sounded awfully poetic for changing into a beast as part of her family’s heritage.  “So, you’re saying what?  I’m going to be able to… to shift into some other animal?”  The idea that she might not know her own body was hard to accept and starting to freak her out more than a little bit.

“No,
ma chere
, not all in our line are born to shift.  You would have already given some sign by now, and your parents would have told you all of this already, as they did with Luc.”

“Luc.  He was a…”  The memory of the bloody fight pushed itself back into the forefront of her mind, the wolves snapping at one another.  Had one of them been Luc protecting her?  “And Mom and Dad?”

“Your father and mother both had the ability to shift, it was one of the conditions of the prophecy,” Adele confirmed. 

Millie sat in stunned silence, digesting that for a few moments before she found her voice again.  All the secrets and lies… had she really known any of them?  “You keep mentioning this prophecy, where did it come from?  And why are people so willing to kill over it?”

“No one knows where the sacred stories originated, they have been passed down from generation to generation.  Not every prophecy comes true of course, but the codex that references you has been extremely accurate over the years.  I’m afraid you represent a great deal of power, as your firstborn child is destined to unite the packs and bring a new rule to our people.  There are those who would give everything they have or kill anyone in their way to attain that power, as you have learned the hard way.  That is why your father decided to secret you away from your family to keep you safe,” Adele added sadly. 

“Oh, Daddy,” Amelia sighed, eyes tearing again as she realized all they’d sacrificed for her.  “And it was all for nothing, they still tore them apart, all because of me.”  Head bowed, her shoulders shook with ragged sobs as the last thread binding her composure together snapped under the stress. 

In the first show of real emotion, Adele came to sit beside her granddaughter and enfolded Millie into her embrace.  “Shhh, don’t take it on so,
ma chere
, it was none of your doing.  Who is to say the attack would not have come had you been here as I wished?  I can’t say I agreed with Remy’s decision to take you from here, but I do agree with his desire to keep you safe.  That is my wish as well, to keep you safe here with us until the danger is past,” she soothed.

“Until the danger is past?  But Luc said they would never stop coming.”  Hope flared in her heart that someday it might be over and she could get back to her normal life. 

“That is true after a fashion.  Until you are mated and have whelped your first born, you will be a prize for anyone with the power to take you.”

“Mated, you mean married?  And
whelped
?  Eewh, does that mean with a baby?”  Her voice climbed an octave.  Amelia was nowhere near ready to settle down.  The last guy she’d dated had stolen her cellphone.  And start a family?  She wasn’t even ready to own a dog for chrissakes, let alone have a baby. 

“It would be the only way to fulfill the requirements of the prophecy.”

“I’m
not
getting married to fulfill some stupid prophecy, Grandmother, it’s… it’s barbaric!”

Another chuckle came from Adele’s throat.  “There’s no need to decide anything tonight,
ma chere
, you are safe on our lands for as long as you choose to be here.  And now I think perhaps it’s time you sought your bed.  The rest of the questions can wait until morning, can they not?”  Amelia nodded, too worn out to argue anymore, the news of the night adding to her fatigue.  “Scarlett?” Adele called out, and the blonde returned with a swiftness that lent Amelia to believe she must’ve been hovering nearby, waiting for the call.  “Please show Amelie to the rose room.”

“Of course,
Grandmere.
”  Scarlett inclined her head gracefully, waiting for Amelia to join her. 

“Goodnight, Grandmother,” Amelia offered awkwardly, unsure whether to embrace her or kiss her cheek.  In the end she settled for a little half wave and rose to follow Scarlett out the door. 

Once upon the stairs, the girl turned to Amelia with another one of her shy smiles.  “I’m Scarlett, in case you didn’t guess.  Welcome home.”

“Hi, Scarlett, it’s nice to meet you.”  Amelia returned her smile, relaxing once they were out of Adele’s earshot.  “Do you live here too?”

“Mmmhmm, Chase and I both do, since our parents died a long time ago.  It’ll be nice to have someone else around the house.  The rose room is next to mine.  I’ve got the yellow room right by the bathroom,” she gestured as they crested the top of the stairs and Amelia nodded, taking in the second floor’s layout.  “That’s Gran’s room over there at the other end.  She likes to be as far away as possible for her peace and quiet.  Word to the wise, use earphones for your music and you’ll be a much happier camper here,” she grinned.

“Oh, okay, good to know.”  Not that she had her mp3 player or any of her stuff anymore.

“Here we are.”  The bedroom, so dubbed the rose room, earned its name by being decorated in muted shades of a dusky rose, tasteful and feminine, the heavy mahogany four poster bed dominating the room.

“It’s pretty, thanks.”  Millie nodded her approval, moving in to sit against the edge of the bed.  Not exactly her style, but it was nicer than anything back home.

“I heard you lost all your things, so I brought you a few basics until we can go shopping tomorrow.”  A dressing table held a hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant and such.  The bed had a white slip of a nightdress on it, edged in lace, fine enough to be part of a bridal trousseau. 

Millie had to smile at both the thoughtfulness of the gesture and the light that came into the blonde’s bright blue eyes at the mention of shopping.  “Thanks Scarlett, that was sweet of you.  I don’t have anything but the clothes on my back and my jeep.  My jeep…”  Suddenly she remembered it was back at the bar.

“Oh, don’t worry about your car, Amelie.  Gran will make sure it gets delivered here by morning.”  Scarlett was quick to ease her fears.

“It’s Amelia, okay?  Or Millie,” Amelia corrected her automatically.

“Millie, that’s cute.  Nobody ever shortens my name except for Chase and he calls me Scar.”  She wrinkled her nose, stepping towards the door.  “Well, I should let you get some rest now.  Like I said, I’m right next door in case you need anything.  I’ll see you in the morning.” 

“G’nite, I’ll see you then.” It was nice not to feel quite so alone, especially in a house full of strangers.  Scarlett made her feel at ease with her gentle, friendly nature.  Barely taking the time to undress, Amelia fell across the bed like a zombie, slipping into a deep sleep, blessedly devoid of dreams for once.