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Chapter Twelve
“So Selene, why don’t you tell us a little bit more about you?” Adrienne said as Arturo rubbed her stomach comfortably.
Selene bit back a sigh of irritation. For the past fifteen minutes Adrienne and Adrian’s brothers had been asking her questions about her personal life under the guise of getting to know her better. The first question that they had asked had been,”Are you and Rafael in a relationship?” It had been annoying. She had already Adrian that they weren’t an item. They were just friends and that was it. She hadn’t wanted to come to this stupid dinner in the first place but Rafael and Adrian had pretty much made that decision for her when they were busy playing caveman.
Lifting the fork to her mouth she quickly took a bite of the food to avoid answering the question right away. She was eating a perfectly delicious meal that she knew Adrienne had prepared. The meal was a simple but flavorful meal, steak marinated in olive oil, some type of Italian seasoning, herbs, garlic and a variety of other seasonings that she recognized as she bit into the steak. It was juicy and tender. All in all it was the perfect steak. The steak was sided with mashed potatoes that were cooked in buttermilk. The last side with the meal was biscuits and asparagus. She didn’t really care too much for the woman’s seemingly all knowing personality but her food was absolutely scrumptious.
She looked around the fancy table that she was seated at. It was large enough to fit at least thirty people. However, it was set up so that the fourteen of them were seated perfectly. Adrian was at the head of the table, she was to his left and Adrienne to his right side. Next to Adrienne was her husband, Arturo followed by Adrian’s brothers, Alessandro, Armand, and two other brothers whose names she didn’t know. Seated on her right side was another brother, a woman, another brother, two other women and then Rafael. She was kind of irritated that they had isolated him down at the other end of the table. He was the only person keeping her calm in the midst of these people. Otherwise she would’ve felt like she was in the den of lions, not that she didn’t already but he soothed her.
She couldn’t help but notice that—ever since they had arrived fifteen minutes ago and sat at the table—all eyes seemed to be on her. Chewing slowly she looked over at Adrienne and saw a slight look of disdain in the other woman’s eyes. She smiled inwardly. This woman didn’t really care for her, but it wasn’t like she gave a damn. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone, least of all Adrian’s family.
“What would you like to know?” she asked when she finished chewing five minutes later.
“Well tell us more about what you do on a daily basis,” Arturo said into the silence.
She looked down at the food on the plate and studied fortuitously before answering. “Well as you should know I work full time at a bar as a bartender. Majority of my time is spent there and then the rest of the day is mine for the taking,” she said.
“What bar do you work at?” one brother asked with his accent.
She looked down. Oh hell, they wanted to come to her place of work. Two brothers had already intruded. She didn’t need the others to come. The strippers at work would go crazy. She sighed and looked over at Rafael. He was seated at the end of the table and looking over at her with a gentle smile. She smiled back in return. She knew he had to feel unwanted in their presence, especially considering that they were ignoring him. If he had been at her end of the table she would have held his hand and squeezed it in comfort. The seating arrangement had been purposely set up that way and she knew it had been done purposely. However, she was just glad that Adrian hadn’t tried to touch her throughout the time they had been seated.
“Joe’s Bar,” she replied before shoving another spoonful of food into her mouth.
“I’ll have to drop by some time,” he said.
She didn’t know which one this was all she knew was that they all had penetrating eyes that seemed to communicate effortlessly with each other. Almost as if they had some way of communicating silently. This man’s eyes went to Adrian’s almost directly after he said that and Arturo’s eyes flew to hers. She swallowed her food and decided to avoid more questions by engaging Rafael in conversation. Maybe if she annoyed them enough they’d let her be.
“So Rafael what do you have planned after we go view this movie?” she asked.
He smiled his brown eyes twinkling at her as he set his fork down. “I was thinking we could go back to your place and hang out until the sun comes up,” he said with a wink.
She chuckled with a shrug. “That sounds like a plan. I don’t have to work tomorrow,” she said with a grin.
“Really?” he asked. “That’s a big improvement.”
“Yeah well don’t get used to it. Joe demands my presence at work quite often. I work everyday of the week pretty much.”
“Well we could always crash at my place and turn off all cell phones for the night and tomorrow—“
He was interrupted by Adrian. “Cara mia, I would like a word with you in private.”
His deep husky voice, rasped over her skin as he spoke. She started to shake her head but his hand clamped down on her thigh. She froze and he rubbed small circles into her skin softly. She bit her bottom trying to fight off the fuel of desire that shot down her spine as he continued to caress her bare skin. She had known she shouldn’t have worn her short shorts. Then again she hadn’t expected to be seated down at the table next to him. Gosh, he was such a turn on and a big distraction. She needed a lifeline around him, someone who would take her mind off of him while she was around him. Reaching under the table she pushed his hand off of her thigh and stood.
“Alright,” she said.
He smiled widely and took her hand, ignoring her struggles to remove it. She sighed in frustration as he led her into the hall.
“What do you wish to speak of?” she asked as he led her further down the hall and into a room.
He pushed open a wooden door and led her into a room that was surrounded in darkness. She didn’t see anything until he flicked on a light. The room was lite up and she could see that it was some form of a den. Couches decorated the room, along with game systems, flat screen TVs were all the around the room. A refrigerator, freezer and various other things filled the room. She knew without a doubt that they came in here as a family and hung out. She tugged on her hand fiercely. A pang of loneliness filled her. In the time since she had turned her back on her father, she’d never once felt at loss for not having a family. Yet in this once instance she found herself wishing that she could have the bond that this family seemed to share. They were clearly close with each other and read one another’s emotions easily. She didn’t have that. She just had herself and the beginnings of whatever was brewing between her and Rafael, as well as Adrian.
She pushed her emotions back and finally got her hand back. She moved far away from him folding her arms across her chest she glared at him. “Why did you draw me into here?”
He didn’t speak instead his eyes slowly pursued her body, stopping at the top of her tank top and the curves of her breast. A dark look entered his eyes and he slowly began stalking toward her with a predatory glint in his eyes. She gasped and took a step back, slowly moving away from him. She continued going with him stalking her until the back of her legs met the edge of a couch. She fell back on the couch and he was on her with a second’s hesitation. She opened her mouth to protest but his lips crashed over hers with determination.
At that moment in time the only thing that was crossing Adrian’s mind was to show her exactly who she belonged to. He had watched her and that fool Rafael pass glances ever so often during the dinner. The depth of emotion in the other man’s eyes was enough to make him want to throw him as far away from his mate as he could.
Selene didn’t seem to notice the uproar that she caused in his body. She didn’t notice the way his body tensed whenever she entered his line of sight. She was deliciously sensuous and he imagined ways that he could get her to notice him. He didn’t just want her to notice him. He wanted her to love him. He wanted her to give herself over to him, all of her. He wanted her mind, body, heart and soul. One or the other would never be enough for him. He couldn’t just sit back and watch another man step and take the one woman that was made for him. She was the woman that he cared about. He would never stand by and let another take her.
Neither she nor that measly human realized the danger that he was in when he was within distance of Selene. The looking of caring support in the other man’s eyes was enough to make him jealous. Selene gave the other man so much more attention than him. She spent time with him, she laughed around him and she seemed willing to listen to whatever he was saying. She gave the other man everything that she didn’t give him and that cut him deeply. He had all of time to win Selene’s heart. It was a long time but it seemed like a death sentence without her support or caring. He had survived for years without a mate but now that he had found her he wanted to share the things that mates did. He wanted to be loved by her. He wanted to be the center of her world. He wanted to see her stomach grow large and protrude with pregnancy. He wanted her to have his children. He wanted to spend the rest of eternity with her.
She was the other half of him, she didn’t know that. He wanted her to know but he wanted her to get the chance to know him before he revealed to her what he was. He wanted her fully comfortable with him and fully in love with him. He didn’t want her to go running and screaming once she realized that he was a werewolf. He was different than the usual werewolves. He ran a small pack, he didn’t have more than his family members in his pack and he liked it that way. He was also a one woman kind of man and he knew without a doubt that he wasn’t sharing his mate with another. He wouldn’t share Selene with anyone. She didn’t know it yet but she belonged to him and he was going to prove that to her.
Deepening the kiss he dominated her mouth, moving his lips over hers, until she opened her mouth in a sigh of pleasure. He slid his tongue in without hesitation and swirled it around her mouth expertly playing a game of dominance with her. her tongue fought with his wildly for domination. He took over running one hand down her side. He closed his eyes against the pleasure that went through his frame at the feel of her against him, her mouth moving in unison with his. He groaned as her thigh brushed against his already raging hard erection. Without warning she pushed at him and turned away from the kiss. He groaned. She always did this. Whenever they were close to release, she would stop him. Moving away from her, he rolled over on the couch and waited to calm his raging hormones.
Selene sat in between Rafael and Adrian at the theatre. Her feet were kicked up on the seat in front of her. She wasn’t sure how but between Adrian and Rafael they had cleared the last two rows in the back of the theatre. She didn’t mind because it meant that she wouldn’t have deal with the rush of others at the end of the movie or others making too much noise. They had come to see some action movie that Rafael had chosen. She had no idea what movies were out or what any of them about but Rafael had said he wanted to see it. So she had gone along with it. To be honest, she felt a little uneasy being here and she didn’t know why. It was too calm of an atmosphere. There was no laughter or talk as was normal at the beginning of movies. There were wasn’t any of the normal sounds at the beginning of the movie, despite the large crowd gathered. She shrugged, taking her mind off it. Maybe this was the working crowd taking a break. Hell this was her break. She could understand fully being exhausted from working so much. The amount of hours she worked fueled her exhaustion at the end of a night at the bar.
As the movie started, Rafael turned and offered her some of his drink, she smiled and shook her head. After that dinner with Adrian’s family and that small make out session she didn’t want anything to drink or eat. Besides if she accepted anything from him, then Adrian would expect the same thing and she didn’t want their caveman fight to come back. A shiver of dread went down her spine and her mind and eyes immediately began to search the theatre. Something dark and sinister was out there and she knew without a doubt that it was focusing its attention on her.
Bringing her feet down, she sat up straight and sent all of her senses on alert. The theatre lights went out completely. There wasn’t the dimmed light or anything. There was just the movie playing and enraptured people watching as two men fought steadily. Out the corner of her she saw a shadow reflecting off of the small light that came from the screen. She tensed. What was out there? What was stalking her? She looked over for the shadow again and caught a glimpse of bright red eyes in the darkness. It was about three rows down from them, blending in with the other people. The only thing that stood out was its red eyes. Evil radiate off of the thing and she was hesitant to take her eyes off it but she had to let Adrian know what was going on.
She didn’t know if he would believe her but it was better than not trying at all. She didn’t know why her senses told her that she should tell him instead of Rafael. They’d both probably think she was crazy, she decided against saying anything. She folded her arms across her chest and watched the shadow with narrowed eyes. Its gaze had never once left her. It wasn’t in the least bit subtle about watching her. Almost as if it didn’t care if she knew. Before she could blink her eyes, the shadow was closer, instead of three rows away it was now two rows away.
Looking away she blinked her eyes rapidly. Maybe she was hallucinating. It was probably some weird kid with a set of contacts in. He probably wanted to see how many other people he could scare silly. Yeah that was it. She was making more of this then she actually should. There was no such as shadows with red eyes that glinted with pure evil. She sat back in her seat once again and looked up at the ceiling, not in the slightest bit interested in the movie playing. A blur of wind breezed past her and she sat up straight again, her spine stiffening and her senses going back to high alert. There weren’t any fans in the theatre. The air conditioning didn’t leave behind wind like that. She looked from left to right on both sides of her. when she didn’t see anything she sighed in relief, until she turned to Adrian’s side and saw the red eyes glaring at her menacingly.
She froze looking at it. It moved down one seat, getting closer and closer to her. She started to shiver in fear. The shadow smiled revealing white teeth that glistened with salvia in the movie’s light. What the hell was the thing? It didn’t have a human’s shape or anything. She couldn’t see anything other than the black surrounding it, the red glowing eyes and white pointy teeth. It moved another seat toward them and she didn’t hesitate, she nudged Adrian until he leaned down in her ear and huskily murmured, “What is it, cara?”
“There’s something out there,” she replied. “I don’t know what but I can feel it watching me…it’s down there.”
After that admission and pointing she looked down and didn’t see the shadow. Instead a low lethal hissing sound filled the air and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She subconsciously moved closer to Adrian. He tensed and looked around carefully.
“Don’t leave this seat,” he ordered, standing to his feet with a low growl.
He looked around and she watched him with apprehension willing him not to leave too far away from her but he did. He stepped further and further away. When he was further down the aisle, Rafael excused himself to go to the bathroom. She was alone in the area with a shadow that seemed to blend with the surroundings at will. She was terrified and knew by the feeling of dread that something bad was going to happen. The shadow reeked of death, misery, evil and other things that she didn’t want to feel. She looked for Adrian and saw he was out of sight. A gust of wind went by her and she turned staring directly into red glowing eyes.
The only thing that ran through her mind was: Those aren’t contacts.
She moved back in the seat, climbing away into Rafael’s seat. The shadow hissed and followed. She continued moving away and the shadow, followed with malice in its eyes.
“Witch,” it hissed a red fork tongue slithering out as it spoke.
A whimper of fear escaped her throat as she stopped moving and stared at it wide eyed. What the fuck was this thing? What did it want from her? How was it able to exist? She didn’t know what to do that instance only one thing mattered. Her gut instincts told her to cover up her fear and tackle the problem but she wasn’t sure about that. It might not be a good idea. Who knew what the shadow was capable of? Why was it calling her a witch? She was just a simple person. She was the average human trying to make her way through her life. She didn’t practice Wiccan studies. She didn’t do magic. She didn’t do anything but work, sleep, eat, listen to music and hang out—well just recently.
“I-I’m not a witch,” she finally managed to say five minutes later.
The shadow regarded her with cold eyes. “Witch, my master wishes an audience with you. He wants to meet with you tonight at the stroke of midnight. If you don’t show up then I will be forced to ensure that you come.”
“What master?” she asked her voice returning as her anger started to rise.
This shadow thought that he could pass threats her way? He thought that he could force her to meet up with someone that she didn’t know? He thought wrong. She sneered at him in anger and swung her fist. She fully expected to hit the flesh of someone who painted themselves all black. She didn’t. Her fist went through air and a feeling of dark malice chilled her to the bone. She felt fear fill her to the core. This was no joke. This thing was real and it fully intended its demands to be met.
“My master wants to meet you at Lake Lucilla at the stroke of midnight. If you don’t come then I will be sure to retrieve you,” he said his voice full of promise.
She knew if he came and got her that she wouldn’t be happy about, neither would he. “I will meet your master…”
The shadow hissed in return. “Remember to be there at midnight…”
She simply nodded and blinked. Just like that the shadow was gone and Adrian was staring down at her with concerned eyes. Before she could say anything or digest what had just happened Adrian swooped her up into his arms and started down the row with her.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I caught onto the—I think it was just the sound effects of the movie.”
She nodded her head even though she completed disagreed. The shadow had been real and even though it had reptilian features it was still intelligent enough. It made her wonder about the shadow. What exactly was it? If it was like that what was the master like? How did it even exist? She sighed and laid her head on Adrian’s chest as they left out the theatre. She looked up as footsteps came running toward them.
“What happened to her?” Rafael demanded.
“She felt a bit faint at the movies, so I’m taking her home.”
“I’ll go with you,” Rafael responded fixing the collar of his shirt.
“That’s not necessary,” Adrian said through gritted teeth.
“As long as Selene’s not feeling well then it’s necessary. She’s a friend and I care about her,” he retorted.
She sighed staring at the two of them for a moment before interrupting their tirade of bickering. “What time is it?” she asked.
Rafael looked at his watch. “Eleven twenty,” he said gently.
She smiled. “Thank you. Now I appreciate both of your concerns but I’ll take myself home. I’ll catch a cab. I need to be alone for a bit,” she replied.
Rafael reached into his pocket. “Well here drop me off at my place and then take my car and drive home. I don’t want you to catch a cab—“
“I’ve caught cabs before—“
“Not while you weren’t feeling well. This is a crazy city and I don’t want to see anything happen to you,” he replied.
She reached over in Adrian’s arms and hugged him awkwardly. “Thank you for caring but—“
He took one of her hands and pressed the keys into them.
“No, she can take my car,” Adrian said. “She lives closer to me…”
“Put me down,” she told Adrian.
He instantly complied and she stepped away from them both taking out her cell phone and calling the cab. “Really I’m not one to be sick for long,” she said smiling. “Thanks for the concern.”
She looked at Adrian. He had lied she wasn’t faint but she knew he didn’t want to tell Rafael about her being scared. That’s probably all that he thought it was. He thought she was being paranoid. She wasn’t but it was better to have him in the dark, rather than him thinking she was crazy. She called the cab company and handed Rafael his keys.
“I’ll see you both later,” she said five minutes later.
They nodded and she left the theatre five minutes later getting in the car. She instantly instructed the driver to Lake Lucilla. It would be a long drive but she didn’t mind. She’d make it there early and have time to scope her surroundings.
Laptop is out of commission right now, won't be able to upload for a while.