Chapter 24: Hard Conversations

“Goodbye, ladies!” Loriann called as she locked the door to the soup kitchen behind her. They had an incredibly successful night and raised enough money to send the sixth grade on their field trip to the Smithsonian in the spring.
She pulled her sweater tighter around her frame, smaller than it used to be she noted. Her health wasn’t ailing but she was feeling the inevitable tug towards her golden years. She turned the ignition of the old truck, waiting for it to heat up before she drove home.
She heard the howls and frowned. They were closer to town than they should be. She had heard rumors of what the Brochades had down at the parade. Tonight, was not the night for Lyall being an idiot. A weird sensation swept her body, every piece of her tingling.
Her heart began to race in anticipation as if she were falling in love. It pounded harder and harder. She felt as if she had been running for miles. The moon grew brighter, blocking out everything else except for the pure white light of it. She blinked and the feeling was gone. Her body felt deflated as if something precious had been taken from her.
A new howl carried through the night. It was Willow except she sounded…different. More powerful. A smile curled her lips. Willow was the alpha.
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Willow tore through the path towards Garin’s house. She needed to see him one last time. She couldn’t let the last thing he thought about her be that she had lied to him. She had, technically, but she needed to tell him how she felt. She needed him to know that if things were different…
She had shifted back after Lyall left and changed into a similar outfit. She knew her scent would be lessened if she came in her human form even though she felt naked and exposed. The moonlight still sang through her veins, a small comfort in the darkness.
She picked up his scent near his back gate. He had taken the less dangerous path this time, towards the small river that lined the back of the estates. Sniffing the air to make sure no one else was around, she followed him.
His shape was outlined in the moonlight, hunched over. He was sitting on a small decorative stone table staring at the gurgling water. Her heart stilled. She had been so worried he was going to leave town the instant he could. For once, she was grateful for the clogged streets that the festival brought.
He turned when he heard the crunch of her footsteps on the path behind him.
“You probably shouldn’t be here,” he said, watching her approach.
“Probably not so that should tell you how much I want to see you,” she said plainly, spreading her hands.
He let out a humorless laugh. “How does your fiancé feel about that?” he asked.
“He’s not my fiancé,” she said, anger rippling through her at the thought of Lyall.
“That’s not what he said,” he replied, his eyes searching her face.
“Can I sit?” she asked, pointing to the empty spot beside him.
“Suit yourself,” he replied. She climbed next to him, the stone immediately sapping her warmth.
“He said you threatened him?” she asked. He let out a harsh laugh.
“He threatened to leave my corpse at my family’s doorstop if I ever came back here,” he looked at her and she knew he was telling the truth.
“I’m sorry. He isn’t usually so…unstable. The moon has weird effects on males,”
“But not you?” he asked, genuinely curious. She shook her head.
“We get stronger, but we don’t have to shift. The males, especially the younger ones, can’t help it,”
“That makes sense. I could have sworn he looked different today, but I don’t know. All of it just seems so crazy. I grew up with this, thinking it was all some weird fairy tale my father was obsessed with. Then I come to this town…” he tousled his hair, his frustration evident.
“It’s a lot,” she admitted, wanting so badly to reach out and touch him.
“So, you never explained about the fiancé thing.” He said, staring at his hands. She sighed.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t notice that” she grimaced. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Try me,” he said.
“It isn’t the same in our world as it is in yours. We don’t get to meet someone and fall in love. Our families choose a mate for us when we are young. Once we are adults, we are expected to marry, have children, carry on the line, all of that stuff.”
“So, an arranged marriage?” he asked, glancing over at her. She nodded.
“Pretty much, although the woman can call it off if the mate doesn’t suit her, but she still has to marry someone the clan approves of,” she said sadly and looks over his face. He looks like a Grecian god with the moonlight shining down on his face, sharpening his features. She wanted so badly to kiss him again.
“So, you and Lyall?”
“He was my intended, but I broke it off.”
“When?”
“Tonight, officially.”
“So, you were still intended when you kissed me?” he asked, his voice sad.
“Yes, but we are allowed to take lovers until we are mated. But I had just gotten my grandmother’s blessing to end it with him that night.” She replied honestly.
“So, what now?” Garin asked. She shrugged.
“I don’t know. I’ve never felt this way before.” She said simply, looking at him earnestly.
“Me either,” he said, his fingers straying towards hers sitting between them.
She let him take her hand, pretending for a moment, they were allowed to be happy.