Werewolf Dreams (20 page)

Ava’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “You call it a gift.
Who gave us the gift?”

Cyrus shrugged and took a sip of water.
“That’s the question now isn’t it? If you look at it as being cursed or damned, then you have the theory of some powerful witch or wizard getting revenge maybe. If you look at the ability to change into wolf form as a gift and responsibility to help others, then you can thank God. At least in my humble opinion. And then there are people who believe in fairies and dwarves and the magical realm. I think with that group we’re somewhere between trolls and leprechauns. But in a world were men and women can turn into wolves is a world where just about anything can happen, I guess. What do you think?” he asked curiously wiping his mouth on his napkin.

Ava blushed as she pushed her plate away.
“Well, I don’t feel cursed. True, I’ve had to fight to control my emotions harder than other people have, and I’ve had to gain complete mastery of myself, but with great power comes great responsibility, right? So that part kind of makes sense. But knowing where we come from, I don’t know. I’d like to find out someday. But if I had to guess, I’d say it was a gift from a higher power to help us protect the weak. Watching you and your dad change was kind of beautiful. I think it’s a gift.”

Cyrus grinned and stood up.
“Good guess. Thanks for lunch Ava, it was so delicious,” he said, as he glanced longingly at the last few enchiladas.

Ava shook her head in wonder and couldn’t believe Cyrus wasn’t three hundred pounds the way he ate.
Cyrus saw her expression and looked amused. “Running around as a wolf takes a lot of energy. You’ll see,” he promised nonchalantly.

Ava sighed and shook her head.
“Yeah, someday I guess. My dad made me swear not to change because of all the hybrids. I guess I’ll have to wait until all the hybrids are caught,” she said worriedly, glancing out the back patio glass door.

Cyrus paused and looked concerned.
“That might be a problem,” he said quietly as he began rinsing the dishes off and putting them in the dishwasher.

Ava grabbed some tin foil and covered the pan before looking up at Cyrus.
“What do you mean? Why would it be a problem? I’ve gone this long, I can go a little longer,” she said, putting the casserole pan in the fridge. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to control myself.”

Cyrus crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at the ceiling as he obviously dreaded saying what he was getting ready to say.
Ava’s forehead creased as she stared at him, patiently waiting for his answer.

Cyrus winced and finally looked at her.
“Unfortunately our time frame has changed. For the town to accept me as their new leader, they also have to accept my mate. Not only do you have to prove yourself a good fighter, which you’ve done with Zoe already, but you have to change in front of everyone to prove that you’re a werewolf like us. Ben and his guys are already spreading it around that since you’re only half werewolf, there’s no way you could make the change. They say there’s no way I could be a leader with you by my side. But I know what I saw in your room the other day. You were fighting the change so hard you were about to pass out. Plus, you made the change easily as a 3 year old, so I’m positive you won’t have a problem.”

Ava’s mouth fell open as she leaned up against the counter feeling stunned.
She’d quit gymnastics and hadn’t looked back because she had realized along the way that she hated people staring at her and critiquing her. Changing into a wolf in front of everyone would be so much worse. And what if she was so nervous that she wasn’t able to do it? Then Cyrus would be the one to pay the price.

“Wow, no pressure, huh?
But I swore to my father Cyrus. I’ve never broken my word to him before,” she said, shaking her head.

Cyrus cupped her face in his hands.
“We’ll figure it all out later Ava. Don’t worry about it for now. Besides, you’d only have to make the change after I won the challenge. Your father should be back in plenty of time. And if all else fails, you can get his permission by email, right?” he said with a grin.

Ava nodded her head, still feeling sick.
She’d have to change in front of people. “Maybe we should practice here in the house,” she suggested, knowing as a gymnast that practice was the first place to start with any difficult task.

Cyrus glanced around his mother’s beautifully decorated home.
“Um, you could, but my mom would kill you. Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure out something.”

Ava pushed away from Cyrus and sat down at the table, resting her head in her hands.
“Great. Performance anxiety and the threat of who knows what from Hybrids. It sounds wonderful Cyrus. I can’t wait,” she said sarcastically as he laughed and finished cleaning up the kitchen.

As Cyrus helped her put all the books back in her father’s library, the sound of Tobias and Patricia returning home had them hurrying to the front door.

Patricia and Tobias were talking with quiet intensity as they walked in.

“Dad?
Mom? How did it go?” Cyrus asked, holding Ava’s hand.

Patricia frowned and ran her hand through her spiky red hair.
“We’ve got a fight on our hands Cy. Come in here and we’ll talk,” she said motioning to the front room.

Tobias chose to stand as everyone else sat on the couch and his mom sat on a chair by Tobias’s side.

“Son, Titus is way ahead of you. He found out somehow that you were going to challenge him and he’s gone into hiding. If he’s not here to challenge, then you can’t take your rightful place. While he’s gone, he’s put Ben in charge. We’re at a stale mate.”

Cyrus stood up in outrage, dropping her hand as he stalked to the front window, with his hands on his hips.
He glared out the window and Ava swore she could see waves of anger pour out from around him. It was almost as if she could smell his anger.

“
Coward
,” he growled, shaking his head.

Patricia nodded with a frown.
“And in the meantime, we have to deal with Ben. He’s planning on being the one to kill Zoe to show his authority and power. It’s more of a publicity stunt than anything. It’s disgusting considering they’re the ones who put her up to it in the first place. It makes me think Harry had the right idea in leaving. Who can live in a town where stupid girls are killed while vicious men are allowed to take charge?”

Ava nodded her head in complete agreement.
Tobias gave his wife a dark look but didn’t disagree with her.

“Did you find out where Zoe is being held?” Cyrus asked, turning around and shoving his hands in his jean pockets.

Tobias nodded. “It’s supposed to be a secret, but Yvonne overheard a conversation between Jake and Tom. She’s being held out in the woods.”

Cyrus nodded and smiled.
“Perfect. We’ll track her and get her to safety.”

Tobias shook his head.
“Not if she’s being guarded by hybrids,” he said looking disgusted and sick.

Cyrus looked shocked.
“
Then that could only mean . . .”

Everyone looked at Ava.
She blinked in confusion and then gasped. Her own grandfather had sent a hybrid to kill her?
But why?
It didn’t make any sense.

Tobias cleared his throat and changed the subject.
“We’ve been busy this morning, doing what we should have been doing months ago. Talking to everyone and finding out what’s going on. It’s been too easy to sit back and wait for other people to fix the problems. We should have known to look to Titus as the father of those hybrids. He’s the only one proud enough to form his own army of monsters to keep him in power.”

Patricia nodded her head in confirmation as her son looked at her in horror.
“It’s true son. Kurt said while he and Big Red were in wolf form they’d caught the scent of a hybrid and followed it to the old abandoned school house a few miles south of here. They caught the scent of Titus before the hybrids started chasing them. We’ve got a huge mess on our hands. What we need, is Harry back.
Now.
He’s Titus’s son. Maybe he would have a chance of talking some sense into him,” she said wearily.

Tobias shook his head.
“Titus never listens to anybody. You know that. That’s one of the reasons Harry left. His father refused to do the right thing. No, what we have here is an all-out battle brewing. But in the meantime, we have to free Zoe. We’ve only got four hours before she’s brought to the park.”

Ava sat up and grasped her knees in her hands.
“You give them what they want more.
Me.
Use me for bait, and draw them away from the building. When they start chasing me, you guys can move in and snag Zoe before anyone knows it. Then, when they find out Zoe’s gone, Titus will just blame the hybrids.”

Cyrus shook his head, already saying no.
Patricia looked at her like she was crazy and Tobias rolled his eyes. “Have you met your father Ava? Tall good looking guy?
Super protective of his only daughter?
Yeah, what can you imagine your father would say right now?” Tobias asked with a small smile and a shake of his large head.

Ava blushed knowing her dad would kill her if he’d heard her suggestion.
“Well, you have to admit it is a good plan,” she insisted.

Cyrus snorted.
“It put your life in grave danger. You can’t outrun a hybrid Ava. They’ve even been known to climb trees. Their paws are different than regular wolves. They can move them more like hands. The one we cornered had opposable thumbs. For all we know they got into those cottages by opening the doors,” he said, closing his eyes.

Ava swallowed sickly, remembering the wolf that stood on his back feet with his paws on either side of his head and the way he had watched her hungrily.
“Okay, I take it all back. I don’t want to be bait,” she said, reaching for Cyrus’s hand.

Cyrus smiled at her and nodded.
“Good. Let’s do this. You and I need to get out into town and be seen and we also need to get a feel for everyone. Mom, Dad? You two do a little brainstorming and I’ll set up a meeting for here in an hour. I’ll get Kurt and Red and a few others we can trust. But we have to move fast.”

Within five minute they were out the door and walking toward the park.
But instead of hurrying to the pub, Cyrus held her hand and went up to all the people there and introduced her as his mate. She blushed the first time he did it, but got used to it after the fourth person. Most people stared at her curiously. There were a few rude comments about her height, which she still thought was so strange. Only here was 5’8” short. She smiled and acted friendly but she knew what they would really judge her on would be her fighting skills and her wolf form.

She met a few girls her age, but they were kind of shy and either standing behind their fathers, their brothers or their boyfriends.
She frowned as they moved further down the street and looked up at Cyrus. “It’s so weird that all the girls are quiet and almost subservient.”

Cyrus scowled and nodded.
“It’s not right. I think that’s one of the reasons I liked you so much when I met you. You were so feisty. I liked your toughness,” he said pulling her into his side and putting his arm over her shoulder.

Ava rolled her eyes.
“Toughness, right. If I hear one more person tell me what a cute little thing I am, I think I’ll scream,” she said in irritation.

Cyrus laughed and kissed her hair.
“Get used to it. We’re used to our women being almost as tall as we are. You really are a . . .,” he said before stopping mid-sentence. He started whistling innocently before she elbowed him in the ribs making him laugh harder.

They made it to the pub and walked in to find it packed.
It looked like everyone who wasn’t working at the mill or the lumber yard was here in the pub. Cyrus glanced at her worriedly and then scanned the crowd. She saw him stare at Ben, Jake and Tom, holding court in the back corner booth, talking low and gesturing with his arms. Ben glanced at them and then did a double take. Everyone in Ben’s group turned to stare at them. It wasn’t a large group, but the men and women crowding around Ben looked on the edge of violence. Ava looked up and saw Cyrus noting every face with Ben. He nodded coolly and then walked to the bar. As he did, almost everyone else in the bar circled in, surrounding them.

Kurt, Yvonne’s dad and her uncle by marriage, came out from the bar and shook Cyrus’s hand firmly in his so everyone could see it clearly, sending out an unmistakable message.
“Good to see you here Cyrus. You’re a good man. You’ll see that justice is done. I know it,” he said darkly, looking over at the men and women surrounding Ben and who were staring at them now silently.

Cyrus shook Kurt’s hand hard and slapped him on the back.
“You have my promise Kurt,” he said loud and clear. “Punishment should fit the crime. The innocent should be protected and the guilty should be punished,” he added, staring straight at Ben.

Ben growled low in his throat not breaking eye contact. Cyrus ignored it and kept going.

“It only makes sense that a man cowardly enough to stab a man in the back in order to ambush another man, deserves to be torn apart in my opinion or banished at the very least.”