Werewolf Dreams (7 page)

“Why?” she asked, trying to ignore the way her blood rushed through her body every time Cyrus touched her.

Cyrus smiled and moved even closer before cupping the back of her neck and pulling her slowly toward him. “Because when I look at you, I forget that I care about rules and expectations,” he said as he dipped his head to kiss her softly on the lips.

Ava blinked in surprise and jerked back, breaking their contact. Cyrus stared at her silently as she reached up a finger to touch her lips. “Why did you do that?” she demanded.

Cyrus shrugged and turned away from her. “The typical reasons Ava. Now come inside. Your grandfather and aunt are anxious to meet you,” he said and then walked up the steps to open the door for her.

Ava walked through the door and immediately scanned the crowded room for her father. She saw him talking in a corner surrounded by a few men and a couple women. He was smiling easily and looked like he was enjoying himself.
Well, at least he was having fun
. She glanced at the clock wondering how much longer she would have to stay before sneaking away. She’d meet the relatives and then be done.

“This way,” Cyrus said and put his hand on the small of her back as he guided her toward the middle of the room.

The crowd parted suddenly as if they sensed her presence and then she was staring at a large imposing man who looked like he was in his early fifties. She knew immediately this man must be her grandfather. He had her father’s nose and they both held themselves in that same, self-assured proud way.

Cyrus walked up to the man and nodded his head. “Titus, I’d like to introduce you to your granddaughter, Ava
Paskell. Ava, your grandfather, Titus Paskell,” he said and then pulled Ava toward the man.

Ava ignored Cyrus as she stared at the grandfather she’d never known she’d had. He was staring back at her, just as fascinated. He was wearing dress pants and a loose fitting button down shirt. He and her father had the same fashion sense she thought with a smile.

“Hello Grandfather,” she said quietly, with a small smile.

Titus blinked as if a spell had been broken and he moved forward, grabbing her hand in his large, hard hands, cradling her hand as if she were fragile and soft.

“Ava,” he said wonderingly as she felt her father come stand beside her.

She glanced up at her father as he looked at her with an expression she couldn’t decipher.

“Father, why don’t we go somewhere we can talk privately?” Harry suggested and then didn’t wait to hear his father’s response as he put an arm around his daughter’s shoulders and led her out of the now quiet room.

Ava felt the stares of all the people as if they were heavy bricks weighing her down. She lowered her head and let her golden hair curtain her face from all the gawkers. She hated being stared at more than anything and was glad to leave the large room, crammed with people of all ages.

Her father led her to what must be Tobias’s office and moved to shut the door. He paused with a frown when Cyrus slipped in the room and moved to stand by Ava’s side.

“I don’t think your presence is required here,” Harry said, staring coldly at Cyrus.

Cyrus shrugged with a smile and nodded toward Titus. “I’ll be keeping an eye on Ava while she’s a guest in our home. I’ll be staying,” he said, staring her father in the eye.

Harry glared at Cyrus for a moment longer and then shut the door firmly as he came to stand on her other side. Titus sat on the edge of Tobias’s desk and studied his granddaughter with a slight smile.

“She’s not the way I imagined at all Harry. The pictures you sent me a few years ago gave me the impression that she was just a little stick of a thing. She might be smaller than our women, but she’s got strength to her. I can sense it. She’s a fighter,” he said smiling warmly at her.

Ava smiled back and then looked to her father, rais
ing an eyebrow questioningly.

Harry
patted her on the back. “You’re right Father, she is strong. I’ve made sure of it. She looks like her mother, but her genetic imprint is the same as mine,” he said sounding as if he wasn’t sure if he was happy or sad about it.

Titus beamed at her as if she’d just aced a test. “Well then that’s perfect. She’ll fit right in with our ways and our people. She’ll be mated within a month, I’m guessing,” he said with a wink at her.

Ava felt sick to her stomach and closed her eyes, feeling as if she were being pushed off a tall cliff. “Excuse me, but
no
. I’m only here to help my father for the summer and then I’m going to college at WSU. It’s already planned out. It’s a pleasure to meet you and everyone else here,
sort of
, but no. I don’t fit in here and I
won’t
be mated, whatever that even means,” she said, feeling a lick of adrenaline flow through her blood.

Titus raised his eyebrows in surprise and turned to frown at his son. “She’s a very outspoken young woman Harry. I expect you to teach her our ways and fast. She needs to know her place.
The way you never did
,” he said with a bitter sting to his words.

Harry sighed and massaged his temples before looking up at his father with a frown. “She has no place here Father. This isn’t her world. She doesn’t belong here and I would rather die than see her forced to conform to this small society. I wouldn’t do it myself. And there’s no way in hell I’d force my daughter to. We’re only here for a few months at the very most. We’ll be leaving as soon as I’ve finished my research,” he said.

Ava felt her hands begin to shake as she realized how on edge her father really was and how hard this must be for him to confront his own father and to face a town he’d abandoned so long ago. She felt Cyrus grab her hand and squeeze it comfortingly. She glanced at him with a frown, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at her grandfather. For some reason, she had the feeling that Cyrus didn’t like her grandfather very much.

Titus turned red in the face and stood up, standing face to face with his son. “You turned tail and ran away from home twenty years ago. It’s time you accepted who you are and take your place where you belong.
As the leader of our people. You can’t run away from who you are Harry. You can’t change fate. Your daughter is right where she belongs. You’ve kept her away from us for too long.”

Ava bit her lip nervously feeling her father’s muscles bunch and his breathing quicken. This family reunion wasn’t going well. The door to the office slammed open and she jumped in surprise as Zoe stormed into the room, glaring at everyone until her gaze fastened on her.

Ava stepped back automatically at the ferocious look on the woman’s face. Cyrus pulled her closer to his side.

“Zoe, this is a private family meeting. Please rejoin the others and I’ll talk to you later,” Cyrus said calmly with a hint of steel in his voice.

Zoe shook her head, smiling evilly. “
Oh no
. Ben just told me you stood for her. If you think you can claim her, you’re very mistaken Cyrus. You belong to
me
. No little mouse is going to waltz in here and steal you away. I’ll kill her first,” she said whipping her black hair over her shoulder and moving stealthily to the side to get a glimpse of Ava’s startled face.

Harry sighed in resignation and glanced at her almost apologetically. “Do you see why I left Ava? The people here lead their lives like animals. Taking with no thought but
their own desires and wants. They let anger, jealousy, lust and fear rule their lives. Zoe, is it?” her father asked as he walked to stand in front of the furious young woman. She was so tall they were almost eye to eye.

Zoe blinked in surprise and stared at Harry before trying to move around him to get to Ava.

“No, you’re not getting anywhere near my daughter. Threaten her again and I’ll tear you apart.” he said so matter of factly that Ava’s mouth fell open in surprise at the ruthlessness she’d never heard before from her gentle father.

Zoe stared at Harry and must have seen his seriousness because she stepped back uncertainly. Zoe looked to Cyrus beseechingly as her grandfather just stood back, smiling indulgently at the scene in front of him as if he were being entertained.

“
Cyrus
? This man just threatened me. Are you going to stand there silently and do nothing?” she demanded.

Cyrus frowned at her and shook his head.
“He only beat me to it. I’ll tell you what I told Ben, Jake and Tom. Ava is a guest in my home this summer and she’s under my protection. I’ll even protect her from you,” he said quietly and firmly, holding Ava’s hand firmly in his.

Zoe’s face fell and she shook her head back and forth as if she couldn’t understand what she was hearing. “But you and I
are , . . .” she said softly, almost questioningly.

Cyrus shook his head. “No Zoe.
We aren’t
. You have no reason and no right to barge in here demanding blood. Only my mate would have that right,” he said gently.

Zoe bunched her hands into fists, her face a mask of anguish and hatred. “You’ll regret this Cyrus,” she screamed and then surprised everyone as she leaped around Harry with her hands out in claws toward Ava. Ava screamed as her father turned to help her. Cyrus lifted her bodily out of the way, leaving Zoe only a few strands of hair to grasp onto with her long fingers, ripping the hair out so violently Ava’s head was yanked viciously to the side.

Cyrus roared, enraged as Ava grasped her throbbing head and stumbled backwards. Her father had Zoe in his arms now, lifting her off her feet as he shook her. Cyrus pulled Zoe out of Harry’s hands and ushered the still shrieking woman out of the room, closing the door behind him with his foot, leaving her alone with her father and grandfather. The sound of Zoe’s wails and screams could still be heard through the thick wooden door.

Harry hurried to his daughter, pulling her into a hard hug as he ran his hands down her hair. “Oh sweetheart, I should have known. I should have known you wouldn’t be safe here for even a minute. You’re too beautiful and too good. We’re leaving tomorrow,” he promised, leaning back to look in her face.

Ava shuddered and massaged her head again, where her hair had been ripped out. It still stung and she nodded her head in complete agreement. “This place is crazy. That woman wanted to kill me!” she said in shock, as if her father had missed it.

Harry cracked a smile and nodded his head. “You’re right. She did and she still does.”

Ava shook her head in confusion. “All Cyrus did was tell those idiots to leave me alone. Dad, I don’t blame you for leaving if this is the way you grew up. I’ll start packing right now,” she said, licking her dry lips.

Harry nodded his head and keeping his arm around his daughter, moved to the door but came face to face with Titus who was standing firmly in their way as if he would physically stop them from leaving.

“Not so fast Son. You made a promise to your friend Tobias. Would you break your word to your best friend over such a little matter? He needs your help Harry. We all do. You’re the only one who can help us. If we don’t find out who killed those tourists down by the lake, it’s only a matter of time before the killer turns on us. How long before children go missing? How long Harry? Stay. Use your skills to hunt down the killer.
Then
, you may leave,” he said, his face drawn with worry and what almost looked like guilt.

Harry stared at his father, his face cold and drawn. “I wouldn’t have needed to be called in if you had hunted down the killer six months ago. Why Father? Who are you trying to protect this time?” he said bitterly.

Titus reared back as if he’d been slapped and looked older. “I did send trackers. I sent out my best men. They came back with nothing. It was a rainy, hideous week and all trails were washed away before we even knew what happened. You can’t blame this on me,” he said coldly.

Harry huffed out a breath as if he wanted to argue with his father. “Why now? Why bring me in now that all the trails are cold? When all the bodies are gone and
what’s left of the evidence is just a few scratch marks in the wood floors,” he said angrily.

Ti
tus held his hands up defensively. “We let the Provincial Police come and do their investigating. We had to. This wasn’t a matter I could control. It was out of my hands. I thought they’d find the man who did it to be honest. When we realized they couldn’t, we moved in and tried to hunt the man down, but we came up with nothing. Tobias urged us a few weeks ago to call you in and I readily agreed. We need to act now before whoever did this gets hungry again,” he said, sounding smooth and slick.

Hungry?
Ava felt her stomach twist sickly at what she was hearing and imagining in her mind. This didn’t sound like a typical serial killer. It sounded like a crazed freak.

“And if I find out who did it, then what? What will
you
do?” Harry demanded softly.

T
itus shrugged his shoulders and looked away. “We’ll tear him apart.”

Harry stared at his father doubtfully and then sighed, giving in to the pressure.
“And Ava? My daughter comes first. Her safety comes first with me,” he said stepping closer to Titus.