Werewolf Dreams (14 page)

“Were you thinking of going for a hike, because I’m really not prepared.”

Cyrus laughed and shook his head. “Nah, I just want to show you my favorite spot. I like to sit out here when I need to get away or do some serious thinking.”

Ava smiled, enjoying the rich and vibrant beauty of the mountains surrounding them.
She followed Cyrus to a grouping of tall Pine trees and then walked around a large boulder. She stopped suddenly when she realized that there was a steep drop off just five feet ahead of them. Before she knew it, Cyrus was up on the large boulder and pulling her up beside him.

He sighed happily and patted the spot next to him. “Look at this and tell me it’s not the most beautiful spot in the world,” he said almost reverently.

Ava grinned and sat next to him. And then she saw the view and her mouth fell open. It’s pristine and heartbreakingly beauty made her breath catch. The mountains on either side of the canyon were stark and magnificent, their peaks still covered by snow. She counted three small waterfalls and gasped in pleasure when she saw a herd of deer. She sighed happily and didn’t protest when Cyrus put his arm around her shoulders.

“This is why I can’t leave,” he said quietly.
“I love it,” he said simply.

Ava smiled sadly at him.
“Have you ever been anywhere besides here Cyrus?”

Cyrus glanced at her and grinned.
“Of course. We’re not cave men Ava. I’ve been to Europe a few times with my parents. Me and a couple buddies went down to Brazil the summer we graduated. And of course New York and California,” he said laughing at her expression.

“Wow, you keep surprising me,” she said looking back at the view, smiling at the peaceful feeling stealing over her.

Cyrus rubbed his thumb over her wrist and grinned. “Just remember that it’s always good to look deeper before making judgments about people and places.”

Ava rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.
She felt so good, she even leaned her head against Cyrus’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “I see why you love this spot. I would come here every day if I lived here,” she murmured.

Cyrus held her closer and smiled against her hair.
“Well, for the summer you do. Feel free to come here whenever you need to. Not by yourself though. You’re too far away from the house to yell if you need help and the drop off would kill you,” he said, now sounding worried.

Ava laughed and played with the buttons on his shirt.
“Looks like babysitting is a full time job for you. What do you do when you’re not babysitting defenseless little halfblooded werewolves?”

Cyrus looked down at her and reached for a strand of golden hair, wrapping it around his finger.
“I work with my father at the paper mill. I’m the Vice President over Advertising and Sales,” he said raising an eyebrow at her shocked expression. “I take it you were expecting me to say I mowed lawns for a living,” he said dryly.

Ava grinned sheepishly.
“I’m sorry Cyrus. It’s just on one hand this place is super macho, beat your fist on your chest and then I find out you’re well-traveled and educated. It’s a strange dichotomy, you have to admit.”

Cyrus smiled and shook his head.
“I guess you’re right. But you’re dealing with werewolves. It’s a daily contest of man versus beast. Ben and those guys lead their lives being ruled by the beast inside them. I made a conscious decision to be ruled by the man. I accept the beast inside of me, but I don’t let him make the decisions.”

Ava stared up at Cyrus and smiled.
“I’m impressed,” she said softly, staring up into his icy blue eyes that seemed so warm somehow. She didn’t protest when he slowly leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. She closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly as she kissed him back.

He pulled away a moment later looking at her in surprised happiness.
“That’s a nice change. That’s the first time you haven’t backed away from me. As a wolf, I enjoy a good chase, but dang it’s nice to stop running sometimes.”

Ava laughed and wiped a smear of lip gloss of his lower lip with her finger.
“Oh there’s plenty of chasing left to do. Sorry to disappoint you,” she said with a grin as he stood up and held his hand out to her.

When they got back to the house with the requested green onions, Patricia was chopping the tomatoes.

“Oh good. Just in time. Cyrus honey, grab the dressing. Ava, wash those and chop them for me while I get everything else on the table. Harry and Tobias aren’t back yet, but I expect them soon. In the meantime, I know they don’t want us to starve,” she said with a smile.

Everyone worked together and within minutes they were sitting
down to eat. Ava’s mouth fell open as Patricia bowed her head to say a prayer. Cyrus and Patricia looked at her curiously.

“Are you an atheist Ava?” Patricia asked politely.

Ava shook her head. “Oh no, of course not. But
werewolves
pray? You guys believe in God and Jesus and everything in between?”

Cyrus glanced at his mother before speaking.
“God created all creatures. Even us. Did you and your dad go to church?” he asked curiously.

Ava nodded, blushing again.
“Oh yeah. Every Sunday. He said it helped to center him and give him the control he needed. I’m sorry. Please continue and just ignore me every time I open my stupid mouth.”

Cyrus chuckled and then motioned for his mom to proceed.
Patricia said a very simple but heart felt prayer and they began to eat.

Ava moaned in pleasure at the flavor of the food and begged for seconds.
Patricia laughed. “Eat as much as you want to Ava. I made plenty. Cooking for Cyrus and his father means I’ve had to learn to cook well and cook a lot.”

Cyrus paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. “What about you Ava? Do you know how to cook?” he asked casually.

Ava stared at him and rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to tell you. Remember, I’m just a pretend mate,” she admonished

Cyrus sighed and shook his head irritably.
Patricia reached over and patted Cyrus on the back. “Don’t worry sweetie. Harry was bragging to everyone who would listen last night that Ava is the best cook he’s ever met. He said something about winning a contest in a cooking magazine, didn’t he Ava?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Cyrus’s head whipped up and he grinned at her triumphantly.
“You get more and more perfect every day,” he said contentedly.

Ava frowned at Patricia.
“You know, you’re not helping.”

Patricia laughed and grabbed another egg roll with the tongs.
“Oh sweetie, relax. We’re just giving you a hard time. Cyrus is mostly just teasing you, right Cy?”

Cyrus cleared his throat and took a big bite of salad so he didn’t have to answer.
Ava sighed, but had to smile at how thrilled he was that she knew how to cook.

Cyrus lifted his head and narrowed his eyes suddenly as he turned to look behind him.
Ava looked behind him at the hallway and moments later she heard the sound of the front door opening and men talking loudly walking into the house.

“Oh good,” she breathed out. “They’re back,” she said and wiped her mouth with her napkin and stood up as her father and Tobias walked into the dining room.

Harry looked immediately for his daughter and smiled in relief as she ran to his side. He pulled her in for a hard hug, looking serious and worried.

“Ava, I’m glad you’re here at the house.
If you’re finished with your meal, come up stairs. We need to talk while I pack,” he said.

Cyrus frowned and shook his head, reaching automatically for Ava’s hand.
“Pack? You and Ava just got here yesterday.”

Harry stared at the proprietary hand Cyrus had on his daughter and hissed out an impatient sigh.
“That’s right. And now we’re leaving.”

Ava was surprised to find that she felt alarmed at the thought.
Not of leaving the town, but of leaving Cyrus. She glanced worriedly up at Cyrus as he stared back at her, looking upset.

“Dad?
Just tell me here in front of everybody. What’s going on? Why do you want to leave?” she said, pulling her father over to a chair at the table and grabbing a plate for him. “Here, you must be starving. Eat and talk. Please,” she said, filling his plate with egg rolls, salad and rice.

Patricia motioned for Tobias to come sit down too and instructed Cyrus to fill the glasses with water.

“Tobias darling, what’s going on?” Patricia asked softly.

Everyone sat down and watched as the two men ate ravenously for a few minutes.
After the worse of the hunger was satisfied, Harry sighed and took a sip of water.

“I need to get to the nearest lab.
I need to do tests and I need to get answers. All I found today as we tracked, are more questions.”

Ava patted her dad’s back soothingly and looked at Cyrus.
He turned and leaned on the table, staring at his father. “That blood looked fresh. Was it?”

Tobias ran his hand through his hair and reached for his wife’s hand, holding it protectively in his.
“Harry doesn’t want to believe it, but what I saw out there with my own two eyes, what I smelled and what I felt isn’t right. It’s a hybrid out there doing this. Maybe more than one. Maybe even more than two or three. When you look back at the carnage from six months ago, it makes sense. Seven cottages, seven families there on vacation. I still remember all the blood.”

Cyrus’s head jerked back in horror as he looked at his father, shaking his head back and forth.
Ava looked at her father who bowed his head in his hands, too upset to even speak. She looked to Patricia, but she’d gone so white, she looked like she was about to faint.

“Dad?
What does this mean?” Ava asked softly.

Harry finally looked at his daughter and reached for her hand.
“It means that you finally get your wish. I’m going to take you to the nearest airport and buy you a one way ticket to California. Call Kendra and let her know you’re coming. It’s too dangerous here. When I agreed to come help out I was just assuming it was one of the werewolves who had lost control and gone insane. But this Ava. This is catastrophic,” he said, his voice sounding edgy.

Ava’s eyes widened and she looked down at her hands clasped in her lap.
Cyrus stood up, pushing his chair back almost violently and walked quickly out of the room, not saying a word. Harry didn’t pay any attention to him, but Tobias and Patricia shared a worried glance that spoke volumes.

“You’ve taken to the knowledge of your heritage beautifully Ava.
I wanted to work with you and prepare you for your first change here in Paskell. But not now.
Not here
. There’s another community of werewolves north of here about three hundred miles away. I have a few contacts there. I’ll do what I can here and if there’s time at the end of the summer we’ll make a visit up there and I’ll coach you through everything then.”

Patricia cleared her throat, “Harry, aren’t you being a little precipitous?
Why don’t we talk through everything and then make up our minds tomorrow about what’s best to do?” she said in a calm voice.

Tobias nodded his head in agreement.
“Harry, there’s no reason to believe that Ava will be in any danger from. . . from what’s out there,” he said sickly, shaking his head as if he were ill and pushing his plate away.

Harry raised an eyebrow as he stared at his boyhood friend in surprised consternation.
“Tobias, you can’t be serious! If Ava goes through the change, she’ll need to run and hunt. She’ll be running through the same woods as those monsters. We don’t even know how many we’re dealing with! Do you know what they would do to an inexperienced wolf like her? She’d be dead or worse and then what?” he said pounding his fist on the table. “Huh Tobias? Then what?” he said pushing back from the table almost as violently as Cyrus had.

“Let’s go Ava.
Now,
tonight
,” he said holding his hand out to her.

Ava felt light headed, sick and upset, and frantic all at once.
She was getting ready to do something so incredibly stupid and she had no idea why. But she knew down to her bones she couldn’t go.

“No Dad,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself so she wouldn’t grab onto her father’s hand and beg him to take her with him.
“I can’t go,” she said wonderingly.

Harry’s mouth fell open and his eyes widened theatrically he was so surprised by her response.
He slowly lowered his hand and stared at her as Patricia and Tobias looked at each other in relief.

“Why Ava?
Why would you stay here, in a place you hate, where your life is in danger? Ava, let me be blunt. If you change in to a wolf form now, I might never see you again. Can you really guarantee that you can have complete and total control of your body and emotions in order to prevent that?”

Ava nodded immediately.
“You’ve taught me my whole life to be the master of my body and mind. Of course I can.”