Page 6

Sully

Every morning for nearly a week after my first night shift at the hotel, I returned to the same spot next to the west woods. Closer and closer, I would venture further into them until I was sure I was going to be in trouble. With each step I was proving to myself that I wasn’t a coward just because I was prey. Rules be damned.

We were only allowed to go into the west woods in groups. Never alone. It had me wondering about the other rules of Haenvale. I’d been completely safe in my wandering. I didn’t sense any danger in the woods, so why was it like this?

On the surface, life was perfect. Everyone was the same with the inhibitors hiding our scents from each other, but wasn’t that a bad thing? Weren’t we maybe a little too sheltered? What would happen if they suddenly stopped working ?

Even in the time I’d been away, I’d been cosseted. Trisha’s aunt had guarded me zealously after Trisha left for law school, her genius IQ getting her through what she needed to be a lawyer in half the time it took most people.

That hadn’t been an option for me. It wasn’t because I was lacking the smarts, I just didn’t have the same opportunities as Trisha. I’d gone to a prey only college for heaven’s sake! It was the only one my parents would allow me to go to. All four years of my degrees, because I’d taken two, had been tucked away from the world for my safety. They’d only let me go to college in the first place because of the gossip in the town. Their first plan was for me to attend the community college until I was at mating age. I put an end to that when I was too afraid to leave the house to make things work in Haenvale.

Then there was the mating they were attempting to arrange for me. Yes, it was part of our culture, but why was it so important? There were other traditions we let slide. Then there was the issue of who they were choosing. Another prey animal, of course, because I couldn’t be with a witch, a vampire, or heaven forbid, a predator! There were so few prey/predator pairings in the town. Why was that? Was the town controlling matings?

Why the rush? I was only twenty-two! There was plenty of time for me to date, learn what and who I liked. What was the harm of letting me make my own choice, or waiting for fate’s pick for me to show up?

Then it struck me once more. I kept circling to the same point. What was truly stopping me from venturing out into the world alone to see if it was as hopeless and violent as my parents made out?

Nothing but fear, really. I knew that. A lack of courage kept me stuck in my parents’ house, living the life they chose for me instead of finding something for myself.

I’d been made a mockery of after being attacked, too. My experience invalidated. I should have felt angry at the shifter, but I was out there in a town where predator and prey never came face to face like we had that night. How could I expect the shifter to behave rationally? They were clearly living outside of the town and outside of the rules. I’d probably gone into their territory. The only one at fault there was me .

Funny how a couple of years of life experience could give a person perspective. Far from being scared of the dingo now, I felt bad for him.

Was he still in the woods? Was that why we weren’t supposed to go there? It made me wonder if the sheriff even looked for my assailant and what he’d done if he did find him. I hoped he hadn’t been punished for my mistake.

Maybe it was the start of me claiming back control of my life that had me going to the same spot day after day. I dunno if I was growing a little bravery or shaking off some of the strict control the town had on me. Didn’t matter what it was, I just knew it made me feel powerful for a change.

Something in those woods called to me.

“Sully! Are you ready?” my dad called from the bottom of the stairs.

“Coming!” I yelled back, putting the finishing touches to my outfit and smoothing my hair back.

While on the surface, my outfit looked like I was going along with my mom’s plan for this date, I was rebelling in a quieter way. I didn’t want to humiliate either myself or Orson. A few days to calm down and some introspection, made me see that he might not be the captain steering this ship. His parents obviously played a part in the matchmaking process.

For my outfit, I’d gone with a button down, open at the neck, no tie, and a blazer. The shirt was blue, the jacket, navy. Both colors suited my light fawn skin and bright blue eyes. I wore navy slacks with the outfit, bringing the look together to be more boardroom than date. This felt more like a casual business meeting, a merger of families, than it did a get to know you for a future mate. Respectable, though, and unlikely to ruffle any feathers.

From some snooping, I’d learned that Orson Blaine was nearing forty and had little to no social media presence. He had websites for his various ventures where there was a basic bio about him, but nothing that told me about his values, or his aspirations outside of his businesses. He had fingers in many pies, yet nothing showing him having fun.

Already he seemed too serious for me. I decided to test that theory with some makeup. This was the rebellion part of the evening.

My mom hated my freckles, so I covered them with a little foundation. I rouged my cheeks lightly with a rose pink, highlighting my killer cheekbones, thank you Dad for the bone structure. It gave me a healthy glow after the foundation. I brushed a little taupe eyeshadow over my eyelids, making the blue pop that bit more. Then the mascara. I was not gifted with the long dark lashes my mom had. Makeup would have to improve what my parents gave me. I brushed on the dark liquid, my eyes looking doe like after it was applied.

Lastly, a little sheer lipgloss. Perfect. All I had to do was get past Mom. I tiptoed down the stairs to where she was waiting with Dad.

“No. Go wash your face—“ she said as soon as she caught sight of me.

“But my freckles!”

“The eye stuff. Take it off. And the lipgloss.”

“Honey, we really don’t have time for Sully to do all that. We’re cutting it fine as is,” Dad protested.

Something I’d planned.

“Fine.” She stalked off to the car.

Mom bugged me in the car, trying to get me to wipe some of it off. My dad, in a surprising turn of events, said I looked really good and Orson would either accept me for who I was or not at all.

It shut my mom up. She stewed so hard about it, I thought she was going to bust something. By the time we got there, I knew I had to say sorry to her. I felt guilty because maybe I’d taken it too far. The point was to bug Orson’s parents, not my own.

Ugh, I knew I had to be the bigger person because I’d really provoked her. I knew she wouldn’t like the makeup for this date, not that she minded normally. Mom just wanted to make a good impression on Orson and his parents.

“Mom,” I whispered, in the quiet of the car. Dad was rounding the vehicle to open her door for her. They did sweet things all the time. It reminded me my parents had a life outside of me and my siblings. They were mated and had been for many years before we came along.

She turned in her seat to look at me. Dad’s hand lingered on the door, sensing we needed a moment. “Yes, Sully?”

“I’m sorry about the makeup. I just—“

“No, Your dad has a point. If Orson doesn’t like you when you’re being yourself, you won’t work long term. Besides, I did fuss at you about your freckles. What did I expect you to do?” She let out a little sigh. “I’m sorry if I’m pushing this too hard, Sully. I just want to see you settled with someone nice. Us taking control of things isn’t ideal, we hadn’t intended to arrange anything, but I worry about you.”

The night in the woods, my damaged reputation, lingered between us. I knew it made it harder for Mom to find me a match. There were no other quokkas in town, so another prey shifter would have to do, and pickings were slim for me. It was fifty-fifty which shifter any babies would take after, but we wouldn’t learn that until they presented around three years old.

My mom was complicated. She loved me fiercely. I knew that. She just went about things the wrong way. Still, it was good of her to apologize.

“It’s okay, Mom. Just… give me room to pick this for myself. I’ll try to get to know him, I swear it. He… he might not be who I’d choose to date for myself, but I will give him a fair shot.”

“That’s all that I ask. Thank you, Sully. Let’s go have a nice dinner, okay? Maybe tomorrow we could spend some time together? I’ve missed our lunches out.”

Things had been tense between us since I’d come home from college. I’d changed and Mom needed time to adjust to the newer, braver me. The gossip about me wasn’t going to get me down like it had just after high school.

I smiled, a genuine grin crossed my face. “Yeah, we should have lunch. Rosie’s?”

“Where else?”

“You two ready?” Dad asked, opening the door and taking Mom’s hand.

“Yeah.”

My first impressions of Orson were that he was boring. Frightfully dull with no ambition to brighten his life. Maybe it was unfair of me after my promise to my mom to write him off so quickly, but his hand was clammy when I shook it! He barely maintained eye contact! At least he didn’t bring up my past, aside from asking about college.

We all ordered after making small talk about my degree and his recent business ventures. I immediately forgot his parents’ names. For their part, my parents did keep his occupied in conversation while we sat next to each other awkwardly.

“Why don’t we let the young ones move to another table and let them talk without us interrupting them?” Mom suggested with a polite smile. She caught my eye and gave a subtle wink.

Okay, it was possible Orson wasn’t speaking because his family took up all the words and air in the room. His dad was rather oppressive. I was glad we were wearing inhibitors because his pheromones would have been overwhelming.

A server was able to get us a table where we were seated opposite each other, like a proper date.

“Sorry about all this. I would have liked to meet you alone for our first date,” Orson’s words were softly spoken and earnest.

“I get it. Parents can be overbearing, can’t they?”

“Yes. Mine are determined to get me mated off before they hand control of the company over to me.”

Ah, like I’d started to suspect, he had little input to the whole thing.

“Mine want me out of the house!”

We both laughed, the ice broken. I took a sip of my iced water. Across the restaurant, I could see my mom smiling at us.

Orson leaned in as if telling me a secret. “I like your makeup. You look pretty.”

“Uh, thank you.” I could feel my cheeks heating. “My mom was upset I got all freckled in the sun, so I thought I’d cover them.”

“I bet your freckles are cute.” Yep, I was blushing. A grin stretched across his handsome face in response.

All I could do was smile at him even as I was flustered by the compliments. He was sweeter than I’d expected. Softer somehow. Where was the business guy I thought I was meeting? If he could be this charming, how had he not been snatched up already?

We lapsed into silence when our food came, occasionally offering up a comment about the food and the surroundings, eventually moving onto our friends and things we liked. Conversation was easier with just the two of us.

When we got to the dessert, a tasty cheesecake, Orson received a call. During the course of the meal he had checked it several times, occasionally replying to texts. It gave me the impression of someone overworked or maybe married to his job. He looked at the screen with a frown. He made his apologies then answered.

“Hello?” A pause. “Now is not a good time.” Sounds came from the other end which he tried to muffle, seeing I was listening in. “You know I’m on a date tonight.” The other person spoke for a moment while a flush climbed Orson’s cheeks. He turned away a little, making it harder to see the expression on his face or listen in to the conversation. He whispered something into the phone I didn’t catch.

Louder he said, “I can’t. It would be rude to Sullivan.” When he turned back to me, there was an imploring look on his face. For a second, I wasn’t sure what to do. He clearly didn’t want to be with me, someone else had his attention.

For the briefest of moments, I felt a prickle of anger. I hadn’t wanted this date in the first place, now he was trying to ditch me! Then I realized it was for the best. I could escape this failed date much faster if I gave him what he wanted.

“Go,” I mouthed. “I’ll walk out with you. Make it look like we’re leaving together.” It was the best way for us to keep our dignity. My parents would assume I was at fault if I returned to their table.

He stood and I followed. “I’ll meet you at the pier,” Orson muttered, with an apologetic look for me. He tucked his phone away with another frown.

“Sully!” Mom called over. “Everything okay?”

“We’re going to go for a walk,” I lied hastily, earning myself a look of gratitude from Orson.

“I’ve paid for dinner,” my date said, leaving a pile of money on the table. He was generous at least.

Rounding the table, I tucked my arm in his. “Go with it,” I whispered when he stiffened.

We got outside into the cooler summer night, still arm in arm. Together we walked away from the restaurant and rounded the corner before Orson spoke once more, pulling away from me gently.

“I’m so sorry. This is incredibly rude.”

“Don’t worry about it. Maybe we can try again another time?”

He looked conflicted, adding to my suspicions. “Alright,” he eventually said. He leaned down to kiss my cheek. “Goodnight, Sully.”

With those words, he walked away. Didn’t make sure I could get home okay, or anything. Points deducted from him for sure. While he was attractive, I was certain Orson had another side to him, maybe someone his parents didn’t approve of. That call sounded more like a lover than a business dealing, but I could be wrong.

Unable to return to the restaurant without Orson, I wandered the streets, enjoying the night air and quieter atmosphere. I could have called Trisha, or any of my friends, except I wasn’t up for company. I needed to be by myself for a bit.

Eventually, the pull of the woods became too much. I returned to my recent haunting ground, stripped, and shifted. Once in my quokka form, I went even deeper than ever before, desperate to find the reason I kept coming back to the forgotten woods.

Further in than I’d ever dared, I found myself turned around. My sense of direction wasn’t the greatest at the best of times. Here, in unfamiliar territory in the growing dusk, I had no chance of figuring things out.

I thought I recognized the shape of a tree and hopped over to it. A mistake. It was a completely different tree, the scents all wrong. I could smell magic in the air. Was that why we weren’t allowed in the woods? Was there wild magic in there?

There were no recent dingo scents. Whatever had been there was washed away by time. I wasn’t sure I was even in the same part of the woods where I’d encountered the dingo.

Completely lost hours later, it was too dark for me to continue. I was exhausted, sweaty, thirsty and more than a little scared. I would just have to wait until morning then trace my way back home. Who knew, maybe someone would be looking for me when they noticed I didn’t come home.

Except, my parents thought I’d gone for a walk with Orson. They probably thought we’d hit it off and I’d gone back to his place. He lived alone as far as I knew.

Shit.

I was lost in the woods, a place I wasn’t supposed to be, with no one expecting me home until maybe afternoon!

A scent pulled me closer to a thicker patch of trees. There was a loud snap of a branch, my foot twisted and I stumbled, my back foot stuck on roots. I pulled, wrenching a cry from my little quokka mouth as agony flared through my leg. I scrambled with my paws to free myself, then hopped unsteadily away from the nasty tree.

There, under the relative safety of a bush, I laid down. Everything would feel better once I got some sleep. My foot would heal, it would be light, and I could get myself out of this mess.

I hoped.