Chapter 4
The city of New Orleans was home to two packs. The largest of the two, the Delta, had moved to America many years ago from France and settled into the hustling bustling part of town. Their Alpha, Quincy, owned many of the bars around town and that is why he had requested to meet Alec.
"Are you sure it's okay for me to go in there?" Eden asked as they walked down the sidewalk towards the bar. "I'm not 21 yet."
"It's not a crime to go into a bar if you're under 21.....just don't drink anything." Alec checked his phone and quickly typed a reply to an email from Grace.
"I've never been to a bar before," Eden hurried to keep up with Alec's fast pace.
"Aren't you hot in that?"
"In what?"
"The cloak," Alec pointed. "Everyone is watching you."
"Maybe they like it."
"Maybe they think you're insane wearing a cloak in 95 degree heat."
"I'm cold," Eden pulled the red fabric tightly around herself.
"I don't understand how you can be co-"
Alec didn't get a chance to finish his thought when he felt Eden grab his arm as she tumbled forward onto the sidewalk.
"What the-" he said startled as he looked down at the girl.
Eden sat up slowly as she brushed her scratched palms against her clothes, "Ow."
"How does that even happen?"
"I tripped," The girl frowned as she pulled one of her legs out from underneath her. Alec's eyes widened as he saw the gash upon her smooth knee. The cut oozed blood as the skin around it grew red with irritation.
"What did you trip on?" Alec asked annoyed. "Air?"
"Yeah," Eden examined her cut. "Probably......does this look bad? Do you think I need stitches?"
As he rolled his eyes, Alec bent down to take a look. He wasn't used to people being injured around him for too long. He had to remind himself Eden's body wouldn't heal in a flash.
"I don't think you need stitches," He said as he pulled her knee closer to have a look. "Just a good clean."
"It doesn't hurt,"
"Good," Alec stood and helped Eden to her feet. "Can you walk?"
"Are you going to carry me?"
"Not if you can walk."
"I can't walk," Eden smiled.
"Quincy's bar is only a few feet away," Alec rolled his eyes. "You will survive."
As Eden watched Alec walk away, she looked over at one of the bystanders on the street who had been watching them and shook her head.
"Chivalry is dead," she told the lady.
"Let's go," Alec called over his shoulder as he held the glass door to the bar open for the witch.
"I don't want to leave a trail of blood," Eden limped. "That's how you attract vampires."
"There are no vampires in New Orleans."
"Then explain the bats in our neighbor's attic."
"Just get inside and stop talking."
Eden pushed the loose hairs away from her eyes as she stepped into the well air conditioned bar. She shivered just as Alec sighed in relief.
"Table for two?" The pretty hostess asked.
"Yes," Eden nodded as Alec stopped her.
"No," he said. "We're here to see Quincy."
"Who shall I say you are?" The hostess smiled.
"Batman." Eden said from behind Alec.
"What? No." Alec shook his head. "Tell him it's Alec Radacovick."
"From Romania." Eden added.
"Certainly." The hostess did her best to not let her smile waver. "Please have a seat at the bar while I inform Quincy."
"Thank you," Alec said as he began to move.
"Alec," Eden stopped him as she grabbed his arm.
"What?"
Eden pointed to her bleeding knee as Alec turned around, "I might bleed to death."
Alec sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He turned towards the hostess and shook his head.
"Can you please tell me where your first aid kit is?" He asked.
"I'll send it out to you." The pretty girl smiled.
"Thank you," Alec said. He turned to Eden, "Let's go."
Eden followed him to the stools and took a seat. She pulled the cloak tightly around her shoulders as her nose shivered with a chill. The bartender asked Alec if he would like a drink and ignored her.
"Would you like something?" Alec asked after telling the girl behind the bar he didn't need a drink.
"No," Eden shook her head.
Just then, a waitress walked over to them and handed over the little white box. Alec thanked her as he instructed Eden to place her injured leg over his lap. She listened without hesitation and watched him open the first aid box. He took out a bit bandaid and some alcohol pads.
"You're not going to wash the wound first?" Eden raised a brow.
Alec looked up at her through his lashes, "I'll be honest. I don't have experience with this."
"Do werewolves not get injured?"
"We do," Alec nodded. "But we heal fast. By the time we think about getting a bandaid, we're healed."
"That must be nice," Eden laughed. "It would save me tons of recovery time."
"Alec?" A deep voice called out.
Both Eden and Alec looked up to see a tall man with a thick copper beard and matching hair walk up to them. His skin was red hot from the sun.
"Hey Quincy," Alec greeted. He gently placed Eden's leg on the stool he had been sitting on and got up to shake the man's hand.
"It's a pleasure to see you man!" Quincy pulled Alec into a hug. "How you been? Where's your drink?"
"NO, no." Alec shook his head. "I'm here on official business. No drinks for me."
"Oh come on!" Quincy laughed. "Don't be like that. Bailey! A whisky with a little brew."
"No, no," Alec told the bartender. "Don't listen to him."
"Well hello there sunshine," Quincy's eyes fell on Eden who stared at them with a huge smile on her face. "You must be Grace."
"No," Eden laughed. "But I did just fall on my face."
"What?" Quincy howled with laughter.
"This is Eden Heywood," Alec introduced. "She's......my local guide for the day."
"A Heywood?" Quincy's shoulders shook as his laughter died down slowly. "Not a whole lot of you left anymore."
"Sadly, no." Eden shrugged.
"Can we talk somewhere in private?" Alec pulled the man's attention back.
"Certainly."
"Alec," Eden stopped them. "My knee."
"Oh right," Alec mumbled. He looked around for the bathroom before Quincy stopped him.
"I'll have one of my staff take care of that, don't worry," he said. He turned to Eden and gave her a playful wink. "Sit tight, Heywood."
"Sit tight?" Eden tilted her head. "How do you do that?"
Quincy began to laugh once more, "I love this chick!"
"Let's go, Quincy." Alec rolled his eyes.
He began to follow the man through the bar and up a flight of stairs. They came to a rest upon a balcony overlooking the bar and restaurant below as Quincy told one of the staff to patch Eden up.
"What can I do for you?" Quincy asked Alec once they were alone.
"Just checking in for the Queen," Alec said. He pulled out the file and tablet from the packet he had been holding and slid them over to the alpha on the narrow bar. "How are things going?"
"Things are good man," Quincy nodded as he picked up the papers. "The pack got a few new members last month."
"Have their information been transferred from their old packs?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Good," Alec nodded. "How are things going with the doctor and witch we appointed?"
"Pretty well, actually. The pack children were a little scared of the witch at first but she's nice and all. They love her now. The doctor is a bit annoying...."
As Quincy spoke, something below at the bar caught Alec's eyes. He turned his head to look at Eden as she smiled down at the young man in front of her. The boy kneeled as he dabbed a white gauze on her cut to clean up the blood and dust. Alec watched the smile on her face start to turn forced as she chatted with him. She flinched when the alcohol pad was applied to her wound. The boy, who Alec assumed was a waiter, immediately began to blow upon her cut to ease the burning. Alec's eyes narrowed as he watched the kid's hand slide up Eden's leg a bit.
There was no reason for why his hand should have been caressing her thigh. Alec's temper flared as he saw the uncomfortable look on Eden's face. He left Quincy mid-report and marched down the stairs.
"Her cut is on her knee." Alec's voice was coated with anger as his dark eyes narrowed in on the young face of the boy. The kid couldn't have been more than a year or two older then Eden. Probably a college student waiting tables part time.
Horny fuckers, Alec though.
"Yeah," the kid said. "I'm cleaning it."
Alec stepped forward until he towered over the boy. His deep green eyes drilled into the kid's face until he saw the flicker of fear he was waiting for.
Eden watched with wide brown eyes as Alec took the gauze from the waiter. The muscles in his jaw jumped as he waited for the boy to step aside.
"Tall, dark, and handsome," She whispered under her breath.
"Move." Alec demanded.
The waiter jumped out of the way and hurried off into the kitchen as Alec glared at him until he was out of sight. When he turned his eyes back to Eden, the anger in his eyes didn't shift. He took a seat on the empty stool in front of her and pulled her leg up to his lap.
"This damn cut," he mumbled under his breath as he began to wipe away the remaining of the blood.
Eden flinched from the way he swiped at her skin. But she bit down on her lip to keep herself from making a sound. Alec felt her leg tense under his touch. He took a deep breath before he bit down on his jaw and eased up on how he cleaned.
"Hand me the band aid," he said after a while.
Eden did as she was told. Alec teared apart the packaging and stuck the brown patch on her knee. When he was done, he placed her leg back on the floor and sat up.
"Did you not feel his hand almost riding up your skirt?" He asked as he narrowed his eyes at her.
"I did," Eden nodded.
"And you didn't think to stop it?"
"I froze," Eden confessed with a frown. "I didn't know what to say."
Alec closed his eyes and tried to control his temper. He didn't want to start shouting at the girl. She was too young. It wasn't her fault the world was fucked up.
"The one time I need you to actually run your mouth," he shook his head.
"I'm sorry..." Eden picked up the new piece of gauze on the counter and cleaned her hands. Alec watched her as she applied some first aid ointment before she took the zip lock bag of ice and placed it over her knee.
"Are you done with your work?"
"No," Alec shook his head. He looked up at Quincy who was still filling up the paperwork. "Are you hungry?"
"No," Eden shook her head. "I had cookies."
"Do you want some real food?" Alec asked. "You know, something that doesn't have cardamom."
"Why would I eat such a thing?"
"I don't know," Alec dropped the topic. He ordered Eden a glass of water and a beer for himself. They sat around the bar quietly as Quincy finished the paperwork.
Once the man was done, he came down stairs and handed the fiel back to Alec. They exchanged goodbyes before Alec held the door for Eden and walked her to the car.
"Are we going home now?" She asked as she buckled in.
"No," Alec started the car. "One more pack to visit."
Eden leaned forward and turned on the radio as Alec drove. He eyed her as she slowly increased the volume before giving up and switching the dan thing off completely.
"You don't like music?"
"Not when it makes my ears bleed," Alec kept his eyes on the road.
"I don't think that's possible with a car radio," Eden tilted her head as she thought about it. "But then again, werewolves are part wolf and wolves are related to canines. So maybe your ears pick up a higher pitch than mine. I wonder if a dog whistle would wo- Hey! That's my high school!"
"Can you not shout while I'm driving?" Alec gripped the steering wheel.
"Our mascot was a knight," Eden stared at the brown school building as they drove by. "I was a cheerleader."
"How fitting," Alec said.
"I'm very flexible," Eden informed him. "Wanna pull over so I can show you a slit?"
"I'm about to pull into the highway."
"Oh, that's okay. Just pull over to the side here."
"No, thank you, Eden. I do not want to see you do a split."
"Okay," The girl shrugged quietly. "Maybe once we get home."
Alec sighed as she fell into silence next to him. But his relief was short lived when she started with another story.
"They used to throw me up into the air and I would do a split and then I would come back down and they would catch me. I was never scared of them dropping me but one time Molly Jankins sneezed and she didn't throw her arms up in time and I fell cuz the other girls couldn't catch me alone."
"How many stitches?" Alec asked. He felt like a mind reader.
"Just two on my bottom lip," Eden laughed. "I had them during junior year prom. Oh the horror."
Alec started weaving in and out through traffic, trying to make the trip shorter. He wanted to get over this meeting and return Eden as fast as possible. When they finally parked in the field outside of the pack out, he almost jumped out of the vehicle and rushed away leaving her behind.
Eden followed behind him until they arrived at the gates of the pack territory. Her feet froze as her heart began to pound.
"What is that smell?" She asked Alec.
Alec turned back to look at her before he sniffed the air, "Incense."
"I don't like incense," Eden said as she gripped her cloak and shifted from foot to foot. "Why does it smell like incense?"
"We're having the funeral for Bobby," A passing pack member paused long enough to inform the pair. "We're gathering in the courtyard."
Alec thanked him as he took a step forward.
"No!" Eden pulled at his arm. "I can't go in there."
"What?" Alec sighed. "Why not?"
"I.....I don't like funerals."
"That's just silly. I have work to finish. Let's go."
"No," Eden shook her head. "I don't want to go."
Alec sighed in frustration as he stared at her. Eden's eyes began to bounce around like a little bird as she hugged herself. She began to pace back and forth a few steps at a time as Alec decided on what to do.
"Here," He said after a while as he fished the car keys out of his pocket. "Go wait for me in the car. I'll be out in a few."
Eden took the keys without hesitation and almost ran towards the parked car. She unlocked the door and climbed in. Her whole body had begun to shiver. Her hands were ice cold and the skin on her legs raised up with goosebumps. It wasn't long before her teeth began to chatter.
She turned on the heat in the car and pulled her feet up onto the seat. Pretty soon the interior of the SUV heated up like a sauna under the summer sun as Eden sat with her head buried in her knees. She rocked back and forth and hummed in her mind the songs Charlotte used to sing to her as a child.
After a while, with less numb fingers, Eden reached forward and switched off the heat. She looked out into the field of sunflowers in front of the car and continued to hum. Her eyes watched the bees dance over large flowers, mingling and cultivating.
She wondered if maybe Alec would like sunflowers. He didn't seem like a rose typeof guy, not that she knew many rose types of guys. But something about the bright yellow of the petals reminded her of his eyes. They would look great against the green.
Eden opened the car door and stepped out. She walked across the small path of grass and climbed over the low fence. Her eyes searched the flowers in front of her until she found one with a skinny enough stem of her to twist off. Happy with her choice of flower, she began to walk back to the car.
As she approached the car, her eyes fell on a short stubby guy standing by the driver's side. He looked mad as he mumbled and grumbled to himself. Eden slowed her step as she eyed him carefully.
"Fuck this shit," the man said. "Marcy better stay with the kids here. She better not run back to Cali with that no good boyfriend of hers. Man, this is some bullshit." As the man ranted he kicked the car's tire.
"Hey!" Eden shouted, catching his attention. "Don't kick our car."
The man turned to her in astonishment. He took an urgent step forward as he stared at Eden with wide eyes.
"You can see me?" He asked.
"Yeah, buddy." Eden said. "Get away from the car."
"You see me," the man said with a sigh of relief. He began to laugh as he ran up to Eden.
Eden's heart froze up as she recognized the look in his eyes. Her nose picked up the scent of ice and death as her body began to shiver.
"Listen, kid," the man said. "You gotta do something for me."
"I can't hear you," Eden said quickly as she ran for the far.
"What the fuck, kid?" The man followed. "You gotta help me."
Eden pulled the car door open and jumped into the passenger seat. Slamming the door behind her she covered her ears with her hands as the man began to pound on the window.
"No, no. Stop!" Eden begged as she squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what his actions would do. It was only a matter of seconds before his pounding attracted the others.
"Come out here!" The man began to shout. "You gotta tell my wife and kids something."
"No. No. No." Eden opened her eyes as she saw the crowd of people slowly make their way towards the car.
Their voices began to rise like the tide. All demanding she do something.
Call Emmy, tell my son I left the money in the attic, my wife needs to know I cheated, My daughter can't sell the house......
Eden pulled her bag off the floor of the car and searched through the mess. She found her ipod but there was no sight of her headphones.
"Ah horse nuggets!" She shouted as she threw her bag down. Her heart began to pound and her mind raced as the screams and shouts started to become unbearable. She searched the car and her eyes suddenly landed on the AUX cord.
With shaking hands, she plugged in her ipod and played the first song that popped up. Her fingers swiped across the screen and turned the volume up all the way. But it was still not quiet enough to drown out the voices.
So Eden did the only thing she could think of. She began to sign along with the words at the top of her lungs.
"This one is for the boys with the booming system
Top down, AC, with the cooler system.
When he come up in the club, he be blazin' up
Got stacks on the deck like he savin' up
And he ill, he real, he might gotta deal
He pop bottles and he got the right kind of build
He cold, he dope, he might sell coke
He always in the air, but he never fly coach ...."
As Eden sang the chorus and started on the second verse, the door on the driver's side yanked open and she screamed.
"What the fuck, Eden?" Alec yelled over the music. He pulled the ipod out of her hand and ripped the AUX cord out.
"No, no no no." Eden began to look around the car as the people stared at her.
"Have you lost your mind?" Alec yelled. "They're having a funeral there and you're blasting this shit. They can hear you over there! Do you not have any respect for the dead."
"Call my sister! Please you gotta call my sister." One of the women outside yelled over Alec.
"Listen! Kd!" Another man shouted. "My wife has money. She will pay you."
"Tell my mom i'm sorry. I didn't mean to drink that night."
"Stacy needs to leave that no good girlfriend of hers."
"Come out here!"
Eden's head began to hurt as she covered her ears with her hand.
"They're too loud," she cried. "They're so loud."
"They're mourning their father, husband, and friend." Alec's anger grew at her insensitivity. "Have some respect."
"Alec," Eden began to beg. "Close the door. They're so loud."
"What is wrong with you?" Alec shook his head as his face grew red.
"Please, please, please..." Eden chanted. "Take me home."
"Eden!" Alec reached out and tried to pull her hand away from her ear. As his fingers touched her, he gasped at how cold she was. Like ice....
She was so cold to the touch it almost burned him.
Alec jumped into the car and started the heat. He slammed the door shut and pulled Eden's face up to look at her.
"Eden," he called out her name. "What's wrong?"
"They won't stop talking," Eden began to tear up. "They're so loud. Always so loud."
"Who?" Alec looked around at the empty parking lot.
"Please take me home," Eden begged.
"Okay," Alec nodded with worry. It couldn't possibly be good for her to be freezing like that. The heat in the car broke out a seat from him, but Eden's skin was still ice to the touch.
Eden curled up into a ball in the passenger seat as Alec pulled out of the parking lot. She hummed feverishly as Alec eyed her with concern. Her hands were still pressed against her ears and her brown eyes screwed shut.
As they drove further and farther away from the pack territory, Eden began to hum less. She slowly sat up and pushed her messy hair out of her face.
Alec tore his eyes away from the road and looked over at her.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
Eden nodded.
"What happened back there?"
Eden's eyes turned to him as she took in a deep breath. Alec waited for her to answer, but the girl turned her head away and zipped her lips shut.
What's going on with Eden?