Avery
Precisely at noon, Ian stalked uninvited into my office.
I rented a small office suite in a business building near downtown with space for a receptionist if I ever hired one. I never did. He opened the outer door and took two steps in before realizing I stood in the doorway to my inner office.
He silently shut the door behind him, then met my gaze while simply standing. “May I come in?”
“Looks like you’re already in.”
Ian didn’t look like what one might expect of my kind. Short, squat, going bald, he nonetheless gave off an aura of power. His dark gray eyes studied me, my non-defensive stance, my clear readiness to defy him. I didn’t try to hide my attitude behind a more suppliant demeanor and body language.
“What do you want?”
Ian ignored my challenging tone. “You know why I’m here. You broke the law.”
I curled my upper lip in a sneer. “You know why I did.”
“You mated with a human,” he snapped, pacing forward.
“It’s not illegal.”
“But highly ill-advised. A human mate will learn what we are. Dammit, you showed your wife exactly what you, we , are.”
“She’s my ex-wife now, and it’s not likely she’ll broadcast the information.”
Ian’s chin rose. “How do you know?”
“She hasn’t in three years.” I shrugged. “She’s terrified of what we are. What she gave birth to.”
Without coming closer, Ian paced. “She still could, Avery. You know that. She could go to the media, give an interview.”
“That was years ago, dammit,” I snarled. “Why are you fussing over it now?”
He spun toward me aggressively. “Because in revealing yourself you killed a human. And bolted like a damn coward from our justice. You’d have faced the council then had you bothered to stick around.”
“You also know the circumstances, Ian,” I grated, my voice low. “I wasn’t going to let you take my son from me.”
“He’s better off without a criminal for a sire.”
My fists clenched, I advanced on him. “Say that again, and I’ll gut you from crotch to throat.”
Ian stepped back from my fury. “Calm down, Avery. I misspoke. Look, let’s be reasonable here. We don’t want to take your kid from you or banish you. But you did wrong, and you have to face the music. It’s up to the council to decide.”
“But you’ll make damn sure the council finds me guilty and banishes me. Won’t you? I’ll never receive a fair hearing. You’ll make sure of that.”
“You give me far too much credit.”
I laughed, but not with humor. “You already know half the human population knows we exist. You’re enforcing a bygone law, from a bygone era. We’re not talked about, true. They like to pretend they’re wrong, we don’t shift from human form to something that flies and breathes fire. If they talked about us, we might decide to turn on them. Take this world for ourselves.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Ian snorted.
“You’d like to think that.” I grinned. “But you know for a fact I’m right.”
“I know no such thing.”
“I’ll save my breath. There’s no point in arguing with someone who refuses to see what’s in front of his face.”
“You think I’m a fool, then?” He set his hands on his hips in an arrogant posture.
I laughed. “Yeah. I do. How many cases have there been that are exactly like mine? Eh? Human mates who discover the truth? Our kind who must defend their loved ones from human predators?”
His lips pooched outward in a petulant child’s pout. “We have no records of them.”
“Only because folks like you refuse to keep them,” I snapped. “So you can persecute those like me.”
“We’re not persecuting you.”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing.” I stepped forward, now only mere steps from him. I leaned forward, towering over his short stature. “Others before me have done exactly what I’ve done.”
“And were banished to Iceland.”
“Try it, bonehead.” I growled low in my throat. “Try it, and unleash the raw power I possess. I’ll slay you, and every member of the council if you try to take my son from me.”
Ian dared not step back, for that would demonstrate I held the upper hand. Instead, he met my defiant gaze with his own, and he also leaned forward until our faces were inches apart. “You can’t slay us all.”
“Care to bet on that?”
I smiled.
Despite the enclosed room, I was an inch from shifting and burning his arrogant ass to ashes. Only the fact that my body would endanger the lives of office workers all around me when I my body burst the building’s walls and brought the roof down kept me from doing it.
He saw that smile and backed up a step until his body pressed against the shut door.
“Don’t threaten me,” I said softly. “You don’t want to piss me off. I’ll go on a rampage the likes of which none of our kind has ever seen before. You’re right to fear me.”
He tried to raise a feral smile. “You don’t scare me.”
My smile widened. “Oh, I believe you’re lying about that. I can smell your sweat, Ian. You’re sweating from fear. From terror. I should rip your throat out right now.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. Hard.
“Except I would. To protect my child. What would you do to protect your offspring, Ian?”
“A – anything.”
“As would I. Even kill.”
Our eyes locked, I recognized the deep-seated fear in his cold brown gaze. I knew he saw the raw determination to keep Declan with me, my primal instincts to protect my son, deep within mine. He all but melted into the door. His fingers trembled even as he clenched his fists.
“I’m warning you,” he said, his voice quivering faintly, “you’ll face the council. You harm me, you’ll be executed.”
I laughed. “Do you think any council member can face me , Ian? Really? Drag me in chains to an execution site? I’ll bring down such a storm of fire upon them they’ll wish forever after they’d just let me be.”
“Back off,” he ordered, his voice shaking. “I mean it. I represent the council in this matter. If you defy me, it’ll go that much harder on you later.”
I lifted both of my hands in token surrender. “I’m backing off.” I paced two steps away from him. “Now get out of my office, you little pipsqueak. Now . Before you piss me off and make me regret hurting innocent people.”
His haste making him fumble with the door handle, Ian frantically yanked it open, and he lunged from my office. And my threats. I stepped to the opened door to watch him rush down the hall to the elevator, then hit the “down” button several times before the car arrived. He didn’t meet my gaze as he stepped inside and hit the main floor’s button.
The doors hissed closed.
I sucked in a deep breath. I unclenched my fists and discovered my fingers, no, my hands, shook as though I’d throttled Ian, my fingers buried in his throat to my nails. Shutting my door, I leaned against it with my eyes closed.
“Fuck.”
I spoke the word with anger, with hate, and all the pent up emotion I kept bottled up inside me. I shook with rage, with fear, with the desperation of a father facing the unknown. The potential loss of his son.
“I won’t lose you,” I growled. “Declan, I’ll never let you go. They can’t take me from you. They’ll never take me from you.”
There was no way I could focus on my work after that encounter.
I shut down my computer, locked my office.
After I drove my car from the parking lot, I had no destination in mind. Heading west toward the mountains, I simply drove into them, following the twisting, winding curves that led higher and higher, the elevation rising with every mile.
I stopped at a pull in lookout point, then parked. Outside, leaning against the guardrail, I gazed at the mountains and the plains far below. So much world to get lost in. So many countries. The council can’t track us everywhere.
Thinking of Jacy, I wondered how I’d explain this to her. Sorry, hon, the council is determined I’m guilty and plans to banish me to an island off the Iceland coast. I hate to fire you, but Declan and I are flying to hide in the islands off Mexico. I’ll give you a great reference.
I bowed my head. How did my life get so fucked up? Why I am falling for Jacy more and more each day that I don’t want to abandon my life with her which can lead to a separation between me and my son, even worse, I can lose my life?
However insane it sounded, I didn’t want to leave Jacy behind.
Banishing most thoughts from my head, I stood at the rail and gazed at the scenery for hours. It wasn’t exactly like meditating, but it came close. I calmed my inner torment and turmoil, found acceptance in what will be, will be. If the council chose to banish me, I’d run. I’d take Declan and Jacy with me.
There’s a big world out there the council cannot reach. We’ll lose ourselves, lose the council, leave all behind us. As a stockbroker, I can make money from anywhere. I’ll keep us safe.
The sun made its slow way across the sky into the west. When it hit the high peaks, I returned to my car. As I drove down from the high country, my previous insecurity returned. What was I thinking? Bring Jacy along as I flee for my life? Am I insane?
My emotions torn, fluttering in the wind, I parked my car in the garage. I saw nothing of Jacy, but Declan looked up from playing with his kittens, his eyes dark and concerned. I tried to smile and failed. So I kissed him and retreated to my room.
After shutting the door, I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, as the shadows drifted in from the growing darkness. The odors of mac and cheese drifted to my nose, reminding me I hadn’t eaten all day. Oddly, I craved Jacy, not food.
I felt like this pain inside me had persisted for centuries and I was running and running. I needed her. I needed her to hold me, to tell me it’s all right. Just as she soothed Declan, I wanted her to soothe me. But how could I ask that of her? I hired her to care for Declan, not me. I dared not ask her for more than she wanted to give.
Especially to me.
Full darkness fell with a thump.
I sat on the edge of my bed, listening to Jacy put Declan in his room to sleep. I heard the soft meowing of his kittens as they complained about the early hour of bedtime. I smiled as I pictured Peter and Wendy purring while curled up on either side of Declan. Jacy was right to bring them into our lives. They’re good for us all.
“I love you,” I heard Jacy say as she closed Declan’s door. “Sleep tight, bugs bite.”
Standing, I paced to my door and opened it a crack. Enough to peer out and into the hallway.
As it happened, Jacy looked right at my room as I did so. Her green eyes, already wide, took me in.
“Avery,” she murmured.
“Please,” I whispered. “Come here.”
She accepted my outstretched hand, permitted me to bring her into my darkened room. I shut the door behind her, held her hands within mine. In the darkness, her face appeared as a small moon, uptilted toward mine. Bending, I kissed her.
Not just a kiss.
Oh, no.
I slipped my tongue between her lips, explored her mouth as she opened for me. Her arms around my neck clasped me to her, preventing a change of mind if I had one. I didn’t.
“I need you,” I whispered against her mouth.