head.“I’m fine,” Lisa replied. “I dropped a plate because I moved too fast with wet fingers.”
“Honey, can you go in the other room?” Elizabeth asked Marty who kissed her on the cheek and complied, but not before giving Lisa a worried look.
“I’m sorry if I frightened you,” Lisa said.
“I’m fine. I’m worried about you,” Elizabeth said in her frank way Lisa was starting to get used to. “You’ve been scurrying around here all day, punishing your poor, lovely house for something I’m sure it didn’t do,” she added with a touch of humor.
Lisa appreciated it and gave Elizabeth a wry smile. “I guess so,” she admitted.
“You want to talk about it? I know you haven’t known me long, but you are saving us, protecting us, and caring for our baby. The way I figure it, that makes you family.”
Lisa sat back on her heels and slipped on the water which had dripped on the floor, landing on her backside with a grimace. “I don’t know what to say,” she managed after a second.
Looking suspiciously as if she was trying not to laugh, Elizabeth responded, “If you’re not hurt from your fall, just say what’s troubling you.”
“That’s just it. I think what’s troubling me the most is that Joseph’s fate no longer seems so bad. I used to have a hard time with pack law. I knew I had come to see the logic in it, humans being what they are, but it still disturbed me. Today, I realized my mind was going through the motions of the argument, but there was no heat involved.”
“Why? Is Joseph of particular concern to you? Or is it learning of the ways of the pack? It took me a long time to get used to having to follow the rules of two cultures,” Elizabeth said.
Finished picking up the glass, Lisa stood up and resisted the urge to rub her bum where she’d landed. Instead, she shrugged her answer to Elizabeth and carried the cardboard box and the bag with the glass out to the alley to her garbage can. Always on alert, even at home, she automatically scanned the area as she’d been taught to do during her Elite Guard training. In the process, she froze, her hackles raised.
The shadows had moved.
She listened intently and watched the area for five minutes. Stray pieces of garbage lay about on the ground, giving the alley an abandoned feel. The darkness pulsated, and her heart rate shot up. But whatever it had been no longer stayed in the shadows where she’d thought. Telling herself to quit jumping at the slightest provocation, she quickly put the metal lid on the can that she’d held like a shield.
When she came back in, Elizabeth remained there, leaning against the counter. Elizabeth had grown up as Lisa had, with parents and family who didn’t live by the pack. Except she’d had the added problem of turning into a wolf at inopportune times.
Maybe she could explain. “Come on,” Lisa said. “Let’s at least get you comfortable.”
She led the way to the living room, sat in her favorite chair, and picked up her crochet project. When becoming a werewolf, she’d nearly given up her crafts, but they’d become her lifeline for dealing with being different. Now she hid behind the project, putting up a small barrier because she was about to break down a larger one—her past. She fumbled with the hook, nearly dropping her yarn. The silence stretched as she prepared to tell her painful story, and she appreciated Elizabeth’s discretion in waiting to speak.
“It’s a long story, not particularly ugly, but sad. You still want to hear it? At least, the short version?” she asked her new friend.
“Only if you’re ready to tell it,” Elizabeth said softly. “I sense personal pain.”
Marty, who’d put an arm around his wife when she sat on the couch next to him, gave her a squeeze, and Lisa felt the crunch of her heart. They had what she’d dreamed of having with Joseph, once upon a time. The brittle core of ice where her heart used to be froze another degree. For her, it
“Honey, can you go in the other room?” Elizabeth asked Marty who kissed her on the cheek and complied, but not before giving Lisa a worried look.
“I’m sorry if I frightened you,” Lisa said.
“I’m fine. I’m worried about you,” Elizabeth said in her frank way Lisa was starting to get used to. “You’ve been scurrying around here all day, punishing your poor, lovely house for something I’m sure it didn’t do,” she added with a touch of humor.
Lisa appreciated it and gave Elizabeth a wry smile. “I guess so,” she admitted.
“You want to talk about it? I know you haven’t known me long, but you are saving us, protecting us, and caring for our baby. The way I figure it, that makes you family.”
Lisa sat back on her heels and slipped on the water which had dripped on the floor, landing on her backside with a grimace. “I don’t know what to say,” she managed after a second.
Looking suspiciously as if she was trying not to laugh, Elizabeth responded, “If you’re not hurt from your fall, just say what’s troubling you.”
“That’s just it. I think what’s troubling me the most is that Joseph’s fate no longer seems so bad. I used to have a hard time with pack law. I knew I had come to see the logic in it, humans being what they are, but it still disturbed me. Today, I realized my mind was going through the motions of the argument, but there was no heat involved.”
“Why? Is Joseph of particular concern to you? Or is it learning of the ways of the pack? It took me a long time to get used to having to follow the rules of two cultures,” Elizabeth said.
Finished picking up the glass, Lisa stood up and resisted the urge to rub her bum where she’d landed. Instead, she shrugged her answer to Elizabeth and carried the cardboard box and the bag with the glass out to the alley to her garbage can. Always on alert, even at home, she automatically scanned the area as she’d been taught to do during her Elite Guard training. In the process, she froze, her hackles raised.
The shadows had moved.
She listened intently and watched the area for five minutes. Stray pieces of garbage lay about on the ground, giving the alley an abandoned feel. The darkness pulsated, and her heart rate shot up. But whatever it had been no longer stayed in the shadows where she’d thought. Telling herself to quit jumping at the slightest provocation, she quickly put the metal lid on the can that she’d held like a shield.
When she came back in, Elizabeth remained there, leaning against the counter. Elizabeth had grown up as Lisa had, with parents and family who didn’t live by the pack. Except she’d had the added problem of turning into a wolf at inopportune times.
Maybe she could explain. “Come on,” Lisa said. “Let’s at least get you comfortable.”
She led the way to the living room, sat in her favorite chair, and picked up her crochet project. When becoming a werewolf, she’d nearly given up her crafts, but they’d become her lifeline for dealing with being different. Now she hid behind the project, putting up a small barrier because she was about to break down a larger one—her past. She fumbled with the hook, nearly dropping her yarn. The silence stretched as she prepared to tell her painful story, and she appreciated Elizabeth’s discretion in waiting to speak.
“It’s a long story, not particularly ugly, but sad. You still want to hear it? At least, the short version?” she asked her new friend.
“Only if you’re ready to tell it,” Elizabeth said softly. “I sense personal pain.”
Marty, who’d put an arm around his wife when she sat on the couch next to him, gave her a squeeze, and Lisa felt the crunch of her heart. They had what she’d dreamed of having with Joseph, once upon a time. The brittle core of ice where her heart used to be froze another degree. For her, it
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