Werewolf Dreams (8 page)

Titus looked surprised and glanced at his granddaughter. “You would choose your daughter over the well-being of your people?”

Harry looked back at her and smiled, his heart in his eyes. “You better believe it. I want your personal guarantee that no one will hurt my daughter. I want the consequences known,” he said looking back at his father. “If not, then we’re leaving tomorrow morning.”

Titus looked stunned but gave in and nodded his head. “I’ll spread the word Ava is not to be touched,” he promised, smiling genially in her direction.

“That includes mating.
No one
can choose her,” he stated, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes at his father

Titus laughed and shook his head. “Now Harry, you know that’s not our way. If a man meets his mate, there’s nothing he can do. He can’t control his heart,” he said, winking at Ava as if she were in on the joke.

Ava shook her head, aghast at the implication. “My heart. My body. My choice. I’ll stay with my father for the summer, but I am leaving here. There’s no way I’d
ever
stay in this town,” she said with a shudder.

Titus glared at her. “You’re a woman. If the man chooses, then it’s done. No more discussion. It’s the way things are done.”

Ava knew her face was turning red and that she was clenching and unclenching her hands as she tried to keep control of her emotions, but the archaic attitudes toward women her grandfather was spouting was sending her senses into overload.

Harry grimaced and turned to her. “See why I wanted you to wait until college to socialize? These men aren’t for you. I would never want to see you subservient to a man just because of tradition,” he said quietly, staring at her sadly.

Ava sighed and nodded her head. “Thanks for leaving,” she said, wondering what her life would have been like if she’d been at the mercy of men like Ben and Jake and Tom.

Titus turned red in the face as her words sank in. “You need to teach your daughter respect. Either you do it, or I will,” he said, glaring at her.

Ava raised an eyebrow derisively and snorted. “Respect is earned, not demanded,” she said and moved around her father and grandfather and opened the door. She walked out of the office and sighed in relief. One more minute with Titus and she’d be howling.

Harry followed closely behind her as they came to the entrance way. Ava moved to climb the stairs to her room, but Harry held her back. “I hate to do this to you, but you still have to meet my sister and your cousins. It shouldn’t take long and then you’re free to leave. I promise,” he said wincing at her expression.

Ava closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m already missing a chunk of hair. I’d like to end the night with all my limbs if possible,” she said dourly as her father grinned at her.

“Now you have to admit, this party hasn’t been boring,” he said, making her grin as they walked toward the sound of talking and laughter.

She pasted on a pleasant smile and held her father’s arm as he walked up to a group of three women. It was hard to figure out who was the mom and who the daughters were. All three women were stunning, like her father. The tallest woman had the same dark, wavy golden brown hair that her father had so she was guessing this was her aunt.

“Simone, this is my daughter Ava. Ava, this is my little sister,” he said, beaming down at his daughter proudly.

Simone smiled warmly at her and surprised her by enveloping her in a warm hug. She laughed nervously as she pulled away, blushing. “It’s nice to meet you Aunt Simone,” she murmured and then turned to look at the two women who must be her cousins.

Simone put an arm around her nearest daughter and grinned. “This is my oldest daughter Yvonne. She’s the same age as you Ava. And this is my youngest daughter Veronica. She just turned fifteen last month.”

Ava smiled and nodded at the two girls. They were taller than her by a few inches. Their hair was lighter than her father’s and their mothers, but it was still a few shades darker than her blond. They also had the high cheek bones and long narrow nose that claimed them as a
Paskell. But their smiles were friendly and they seemed happy to meet her.
Finally, some normal people
. Before her father dragged her to another group of people they made her promise to meet them for lunch in a day or two and she readily agreed.

An hour later as she covered a yawn, Harry leaned down and whispered in her ear that he’d make it up to her in the fall.

“Red Convertible,” she said as another person reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her into another introduction.

The evening finally ended and after helping Patricia clean up the kitchen, she walked down the hallway to the stair case. Her father had disappeared with Tobias in his office but she was too tired to wait up for him.
She had promised herself to confront him about his big scary secret, but she was just too tired. She reached her hands up high to stretch out all the kinks and stiffness.

“Did you enjoy meeting everyone?”

Ava turned slowly around and came face to face with Cyrus. She frowned and reached up to touch the side of her head automatically. “Enjoy isn’t quite the word I’d use. So where did you disappear to?” she asked, leaning up against the wall as Cyrus ran his hands through the glossy dark strands falling around his face.
Wow
. The man was too beautiful for words.

“I had to escort Zoe home. She was a little tired and wanted to get to bed,” he said dryly, taking a few steps toward her.

Ava frowned at how close he was. He never gave her enough space. “Well, she’s not the only one. I’ll say good night too,” she said slipping away and walking quickly toward the stairs.

“Ava, wait,” Cyrus said, reaching out and touching her back. She felt nervous all of a sudden and wasn’t sure why, but she turned around and faced him.

“Yes?” she said, pushing her hair over her ears.

Cyrus reached out and touched a golden strand and smiled. “I want to apologize for the way Zoe acted. It was uncalled for and probably a little traumatizing for you. It won’t happen again,” he said solemnly.

Ava sighed and looked down at the floor before looking back at Cyrus’s ice blue eyes. “It’s not your fault she’s insane. No hard feelings. And
um
, thank you for sticking up for me with those guys. I appreciate it,” she said simply with a genuine smile.

Cyrus’s eyes warmed and he stepped closer. “You’re welcome,” he said softly.
“I’ll never let them hurt you,” he promised.

Ava’s eyes widened and she stepped back, holding her hand up in defense. “Hold it buddy. My dad just had a long conversation with my grandfather.
Hands off. No one’s allowed to touch me. No one can choose me as mate material.
No one
,” she said nervously as he stared at her mouth, still smiling.

“I know, I heard,” he said softly, grasping her hand and kissing her knuckles. “But no one said anything about
you
choosing someone. No one can force your hand, but you can choose a mate if you wish to do so,” he said, kissing her wrist and sending a bolt of electricity up her arm, making her gasp.

“
No
,” she said, hating the way her voice trembled. “I told you I’m attracted to you, but after seeing how this town works and how they treat women, I would never willingly choose a man from here. I hate it,” she whispered pulling her arm away.

Cyrus stared at her bleakly for a moment and then shoved his hands in his pocket. “Instead of you and your father leaving, why don’t you stay and change things then? Think of all the women in this town who would appreciate it,” he said and then turned and walked away from her
slowly.

Ava huffed out a breath and then turned and ran up the stairs to her room. She locked her door and then moved to her window, looking out onto the moon swept back yard. She jumped when she heard a lonely howl and turned to see a gigantic dog leap across a bush and dart across the grass. She watched his beautiful sleek form jump the high fence and felt her mouth open in awe. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She stayed glued to the window for another glimpse of the dog, but gave up when her eyes began to droop.

She washed her face quickly, changed into a tank top and silky shorts and tunneled under the soft covers. She dreamed that night of the moon. She chased it, running as fast as she could, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t catch it. In her dream, she took a running leap, her arms outstretched, almost touching the light before falling. She woke up right before she hit the ground and sat up, her hand on her chest as she gasped for air.

As she looked toward her window, she saw the form of a man standing in the shadows outside and squeaked in fear, covering her mouth in terror. As the moon came out from behind some clouds though, she could see it was just an innocent shadow. She grinned tiredly at herself and her vivid imagination and then flopped on her stomach. She went back to sleep almost immediately and this time, her dreams were of vivid splashes of color dancing around her eyes, grabbing her and pulling her into a frenzied dance. And for the first time in years, she dreamed of the light golden brown wolf, running free.

Ava woke up early and got dressed in a pair of cut off shorts and a plain white V-neck t-shirt. She slicked her hair back in a ponytail and ran down the stairs to the kitchen. Her dad was already eating breakfast and talking to Patricia and Tobias.

When they saw her they immediately stopped their conversation and looked somewhat guilty. Ava frowned.
Did anyone ever like being discussed behind their back?
She didn’t.

She gave her dad a piercing look before sitting across from them. “What are you guys talking about?” she asked in a friendly, lighthearted voice.

Tobias and Patricia looked away, but her father cleared his throat and met her eyes. “
You
, sweet heart. We’re trying to figure out what to do with you. I initially wanted you with me down at the lake, but the work I’ll be doing is painstaking and tedious. There won’t be anything for you to do until later. You could stay here with Patricia, but she runs the pharmacy in town, which means you’d spend a lot of time
in town
with her.”

Ava frowned and looked away from her father and out the window. “Give me a ride into
the next big town and I’ll be on the next flight to California Dad. It would just make things easier on everyone. You can concentrate on your work and I’ll be out of your hair. No offense, but I don’t think me wandering around your town would be good for my health,” she said, glancing at Patricia’s worried face.

Harry shook his head, closing his eyes in frustration. “
No Ava
. I’ve put things off for far too long. For reasons you don’t understand now, you need to be here this summer. There are things you have to know. Things I have to tell you and show you,” he said sadly.

Ava felt anger rip down her spine and she bared her teeth, wanting to smash the plate in front of her with her fist. She counted and breathed and gained control before talking. “Would you just spit it out already? Tell me so I can leave! We’ll spend Christmas vacation skiing at Sundance or we can spend it in Hawaii, but this,
this
is not good. Like you said, there’s nothing for me to do. So, I’m begging you. Just spit it out.
What?
Are we descended from German Nazi’s? Because if that’s the case,
gag
, but I’ll deal with it. Whatever it is, I’ll deal, okay?” she said, pleading with her father with her eyes.

Harry looked torn and gripped his hair in both hands, looking down at the table. Patricia stood up and moved behind her father, patting him on the back in sympathy. “I don’t envy you Harry,” she said and moved to the kitchen.

Tobias sat at the end of the table, just staring at his friend, his eyes wide as he looked back and forth between the man and his daughter. Cyrus walked in, just then, his hair slicked back from a recent shower. He
smiled at her, nodded at his mom and then sat down next to his father.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone so tense?” he asked, picking up on the vibes.

Tobias cleared his throat and glanced at Cyrus. “Ava says she’s catching the next plane out of here unless Harry tells her all about her heritage right this minute. That and she doesn’t have anything to do this summer and hates the idea of being in town,” he said, summing up their conversation nicely.

Ava ignored everyone but her dad, willing him to look at her. But he just clenched his hands, as he dealt with some inner battle.

“I might have a solution to that,” Cyrus said, grabbing a plate and forking up a few pancakes.

Ava looked at him suspiciously.
“Oh really.”

Cyrus grinned at her and poured orange juice in his glass. “You don’t feel comfortable in town, because you’re pretty much open game. Every single male in town under the age of thirty and over the age of sixteen is going to be chasing you,” he said before taking a bite.

Harry put his hands down and glared at Cyrus. “Not quite. No one’s allowed to touch her.”