PARTY PREPS began straight away, and Beth kept me busy not only with the invites, but with numerous shopping trips and endless idea questions, all for a small Christmas party. If she ever got married, I’d have to leave the country.
True to her word, she went totally overboard with the decorations, and by the day of the party, a ginormous ten-foot tree was standing in the middle of the front wall, dripping with baubles and twinkling with over five hundred bulbs. Nets of fairy lights, topped with holly and evergreen garlands, covered every inch of the walls and windows. Streamers of tinsel and foil hung in swathes across all angles of the ceiling with glittering disco balls dangling amidst the loops, and a life-sized automated Santa stood between two long tables along the back window. Outside, a huge blow-up snowman swaying in the wind welcomed everyone to the door. It was about as tacky as you could get.
“I’m having a slight wardrobe crisis. What do you think of this outfit for tonight?” I asked, standing in the doorway wearing an old favourite.
“Burn it,” said a flustered Beth, flitting around in the kitchen, hardly glancing at me at all.
“What? That’s not very nice.”
“Neither is that get-up. If you don’t want my opinion, don’t ask for it,” she huffed. “Oh, damn, where’s the cooking foil? I can’t find anything today.”
I wandered over and opened one of the drawers, casually removed the roll of foil and handed it to Beth. “Need some help?”
She gave a long sigh. “Sausages on sticks, bowls of crisps and nuts…those I can manage, but I could use some help with the things that actually need cooking. You know I’m crap at that. Would you mind?”
“Of course not. You only had to ask. I just thought the party was your baby, and I didn’t want to intrude.”
“Babe, I need all the help you can give.” She smiled. “Sorry for being a bitch. I’m just a little stressed,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron. “Why don’t you wear that new dress you bought in Carleigh?”
“The red silk shift? Nah, I really shouldn’t have bought that. It’s far too short, and I can’t wear a bra. I was going to return it.”
“Are you mad? You look hot in it! Look, all men are after one thing…boobs and booty. You present it in a pretty package, and they’ll be panting at your feet. Don’t be such a chicken. Live a little.”
By six o’clock, our work was done. Beth had disappeared into her room to get ready, and I was having a quick glass of wine to settle my nerves.
“Knock, knock,” said Justin, letting himself in. He placed two large platters on the counter. “Mummy wanted to contribute, but it looks like you’re pretty much covered,” he noted, surveying the long, red-clothed tables, now groaning under the abundance of food they carried.
“Thanks. Yes, I think we’ll be eating leftovers for a week.” I laughed, drained my glass, and immediately refilled it. “Well, I’d better get my glad rags on before I chicken out of this thing altogether.”
“Don’t mind me.” Justin had moved on to scanning the liquid contents of the fully stocked fridge. “I’ll make a start on this lot until you get back.”
In the time it took for me to get ready, the music had been turned to full blast and muted mutterings were emitting from the main room. It was only eight o’clock, but already the place was quite full. Had Beth invited the whole of uni?
“There you are. I thought you were planning on hiding in your room all night. I was just about to send in a rescue party,” Beth shouted, beckoning me over. “Wow. I knew that dress was a good idea. You are hot tonight, mama!”
I smoothed down the shiny material that insisted upon riding up my thighs. “I’m still not sure. I feel kind of exposed.”
She appraised me, nodding. “Yes, but in a good way.”
Jack sidled up beside us. “Mmm, look at you. Good enough to eat, if you know what I mean.” He pouted provocatively. “You know, they say the perfect girlfriend is an angel in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom? Well, I heard you can cook…” He pinched my ass with one hand and stuffed a whole samosa in his mouth with the other.
I slapped him. “And the rest can stay in your imagination.”
Beth pushed between us, and Jack turned away nursing a red cheek. “Here. I want you to meet Lars,” Beth said. “He’s on exchange from Norway.” She yanked a tall blond guy towards me, and he stood there grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Talk about out of the frying pan!
Lars turned out to be sweet, but kind of dim, and after a polite length of time, I made my excuses.
The air was hot and damp with perspiration, the windows had steamed up, and the room was almost full. Still, new people were arriving, most of them total strangers to me. I grew more nervous by the minute. Beth had disappeared, but I spotted Marie and Carmen near the television. They’d been cornered by a couple of decent-looking boys, but they didn’t seem to be complaining. Even Justin had managed to find an admirer, and he was snuggled up on the sofa, deep in conversation.
The drinks table beckoned, and I squeezed through a throng of bodies gyrating to the music, but my progress came to an abrupt halt with Jack’s face in mine.
“How ’bout a dance, Soph?” he slurred.
“You never give up, do you, Jack? I can’t believe you’re drunk already.”
“Drinks taste all the better f’ bein’ free. Ssso, how ’bout it?”
I pushed at his chest to keep him at a safe distance. “Do you enjoy rejection, Jack?”
“Aww, come on, Soph. M’ dyin’ o’ lust ’ere. Show some pity ’n’ let me taste those sweet lips o’ ’urs.”
“Jack, even if I had a big ‘Rent Me for the Night’ sign around my neck, you’d still have no chance.”
“Fine. Your loss. I know plenny o’ girls who’d lurve t’ be wi’ me. I’m not gonna beg.”
“These girls—would that be the whole of the blind school, or just one class?”
“Yeah, v’ry funny. Ooo, helloo, laydees.”
I left Jack trying his luck again with his unsuspecting victims, and finally reached the drinks. But as I helped myself to another glass of wine, Sebastian sidled up beside me.
“Can I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?” he asked. I didn’t gratify him with a response, so he continued, “That dress looks amazing on you.”
“Flattery is not going to work.” I picked up my wine and moved through the crowd in an attempt to find someone I would actually be interested in talking to.
He pushed people out of his path to follow me. “What’s with the attitude? You dumped me, remember?”
I whirled round, flinging some of my newly poured wine across the front of his shirt. “What?” Where had that come from? He was the one who’d been fooling around behind my back.
“Look, I’m willing to forgive you for seeing Vincent.” He wiped a splash of wine from his neck and licked it off his fingers. “We all have lapses of judgement sometimes, and thankfully no harm seems to have been done.”
“You’re willing to forgive me? How gallant.” I watched the dark, wet stains spread out over his chest.
“But you should have told me.”
“I didn’t know I had to.”
“I think I have a right to know if you decide to see someone else.”
“Why? He just took me for a day out, that’s all, and you are totally overreacting considering it’s none of your business.”
“Of course it’s my business. How can you say that? You go on a date with another guy, someone you know I don’t get on with, and you think I’m overreacting? How did you expect me to react?”
“It wasn’t a date. He’s just a friend.”
“Maybe to you. Not to him.”
“Afraid of the competition, are we? Well, you’re a little too late. Sophie’s mine now.” Vincent appeared out of nowhere and wrapped his arm around my waist. I didn’t even know he’d been invited.
Sebastian read my mind. “Who invited you?” he snarled.
“I do have some friends around here, you
know.” He glanced at me and smiled, hinting that I’d invited him. I scowled.
Sebastian grabbed Vincent’s arm and pulled him so close their faces were almost touching. “It makes me sick to think of her with you.”
Vincent was quick to respond. “Because she would be so much better off with an animal like you? We both know what you are. Sophie deserves better.”
“You think you’re better than me? You think your family would be so good for her?”
Vincent paused for a moment, apparently unsure of his answer.
“Hey,” I said. “I don’t belong to anybody.” I forced myself between them. “You can both get lost.”
I pushed my way between their bodies, running away from the confrontation and into my room, where I was met by the unwelcome scene of a couple frantically making out.
“Wait your turn,” growled the boy.
“Um, that’s my bed, you dirty mongrels. Clear off.”
“Don’t see your name on it,” he mumbled, lazily lifting his head to check me out.
The floor was littered with discarded clothes. I gathered them up. “Maybe not on the bed, but if you check out that bag over there, you’ll see some workbooks with it on. I live here. Now, GET OUT!” I shoved the bundle of clothes against the boy’s chest as the couple shuffled backwards out of the door.
Once alone, I walked over to the window. The night was crisp and cold. Out of the darkness, tiny sparkles of frost glistened under the occasional moonbeam shining through the gaps in the wandering clouds, and an icy wind whistled its tune through the cracks in the window frame. I took deep, calming breaths, enjoying the change of temperature, and began to relax a little.
I knew Sebastian had followed me. The diffused light coming from the still open door slowly faded into blackness as the door closed behind him.
He approached. “Sophie, why are you acting like this? What’s going on?”
I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t. But I did manage to speak. “That’s what I’d like to know, even though I promised myself I wouldn’t think about it. I’m supposed to be forgetting you. But it’s proving more difficult than I thought.”
“I’m confused. We were getting along fine. I really like you, and I thought you liked me too, so why have you been avoiding me?” he asked, now only inches away.
“I know you were using me. I just don’t know why,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone. His hands gently grasped my shoulders, but I shook them off. “Please don’t touch me. Save that for Lara.”
“What is your problem with Lara? I’ve told you, there’s nothing between us. She’s just a friend.”
“I saw you together.”
“What? When?”
“Three weeks ago in Carleigh. You were coming out of a flat together.”
“Huh?” He thought for a moment before recognition dawned. “No. No, that wasn’t what you think. It wasn’t a flat, it was a clinic. I was helping her with a little problem.”
“Yeah? Did you give her the ‘little problem’?”
“You think that was me?” He replaced his hands on my shoulders. “Whatever gave you that idea? No wonder you’re mad. Sophie, I promise, I haven’t touched her, although she’s been trying her best to get me to. I’m not interested in her that way. Why would I be? I love you.”
Oh, God, there they were, those words, guaranteed to halt any girl in her tracks. Only in my dreams had a boy ever said he loved me. Did he really mean it? Whispers of his breath were now tingling on the skin of my back, and I tried to focus on a piece of fluff on the carpet as fairy kisses began moving along the edge of my shoulders and up my neck.
“You promise there’s nothing between you?”
“I promise.”
I closed my eyes, letting the sudden rush of longing overtake me, when his tongue began to gently explore my ear. Deep inside me, a fire smouldered as he slid the flimsy straps of my dress off my shoulders. I was forced to pin my arms to my sides to prevent the dress from falling to the floor. His lips travelled across my cheek as he slowly spun me around to face him.
“It’s all you, Sophie. Just you.”
I angled my face up to him, and his lips found mine. God, I’d missed the taste of him. My hands gripped his hips and pulled him closer. His breathing became heavy as he pressed me to him, one hand holding the back of my neck, the other possessively cupping the curve at the top of my thigh. I wanted him so much I couldn’t breathe, and my reserve wavered. I couldn’t wait any longer. Dropping my arms to release my dress, I let it slither away, exposing my naked breasts to Sebastian’s hungry hands. We kissed passionately, and I relished the touch of his hot fingers heating my cool skin.
“Your shirt’s still wet,” I said coyly as we paused for breath. “Let me take it off for you.”
His smile stretched, and he watched me intently as I slipped each button open. Then he shook away his shirt and pulled me back to him, pressing his mouth back against mine. I squeezed my hand between us and felt for his trouser button, but when my fingers accidentally brushed against his hardness, Sebastian stopped me.
“God, you drive me wild, Sophie. I want you so badly.” His breathing was fast and heavy.
I stared into those eyes. “So, what’s stopping you?”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
He needed no further invitation and swept me into his arms as if I weighed nothing at all, then placed me gently on the already unkempt bed. “Your dress was very sexy, but no dress is definitely better.” His appreciative eyes drank in the view as he removed the rest of his clothes.
I’d never felt comfortable being naked in front of anyone, but I lay there revelling in his gaze and returned the favour, drinking in every inch of his hot, perfectly sculpted body.
This was it. I was finally going to have sex—and not just sex with a man, sex with a werewolf. Did they make love like normal men?
Maybe I should have been nervous, but instead, I was impatient. My blood raced, and when he came to join me on the bed, I reached out urgently and pulled him on top of me. The nagging ache in my groin cried out for relief and intensified with every kiss, every touch of his expert hands, until it finally burst open in a spasm of ecstasy, sending my head reeling into a new and unexplored place.
“Wow, Soph. Slow down, girl. You’ve gotta pace yourself,” Sebastian said. “Learn to make it last, so we can get there together.”
“I’m sorry.” I gasped, willing the breath to return to my body. “I’ve…never…done this before.”
The corners of his lips curled up into a delicious smile as his finger traced snaking curves down to my tummy button. “Well, then, we’d better get practising.”
An hour and three more tries later, I lay basking in the glow of our passion. I couldn’t muster an ounce of energy to move, and I was afraid to speak lest my voice erase the moment. I didn’t want this intimate time to end, but I was parched and desperately needed the loo.
Sebastian was sitting on the edge of the mattress, flexing his arms above his head to relax his aching muscles, and I studied the small wolf’s head tattoo on his shoulder blade and the tiny beads of perspiration that trickled down the contours of his back. He turned and leant over to remove a strand of hair that had stuck to my damp forehead.
“Are you ready to face the music yet?”
The grin that seemed to have cemented itself firmly onto my face faltered just a little, but I managed to nod my affirmation, and after somehow finding the strength to get dressed, we made our way back to the party.
The room had thinned out a little. A small group of girls steadfastly danced on amongst their discarded shoes. A number of paired-off couples were dotted in the corners, and more than one drunken body lay slouched on the rug.
“Wine? Or would you prefer something softer?” Sebastian asked.
“Wine’s fine,” I answered as Beth materialized beside me. “Hi,” I said.
“Well, my social life may be on the critical list—I haven??
?t had a bite all night—but yours is evidently looking up.” Her sideways gaze followed Sebastian over to the drinks table.
“Do you mind? That’s my boyfriend’s ass you’re ogling.”
“Just trying to sneak a peek at what’s kept you occupied for the last couple of hours. I take it you’ve forgiven him? I don’t need to ask what you’ve been doing. It’s written all over your smug little face, and if you were any more bowlegged, you’d need callipers!”
“Beth. Shh.”
“Sorry. You can stump up the details later. I’ll look forward to it. Boyfriend, huh?”
I smiled coyly and shrugged in acceptance. “Is Vincent still here?”
“Nah, he left about an hour ago, with Lara, of all people. How about that?”
Sebastian returned and handed me my wine.
“Okay, then,” Beth said. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone…again. Hey, Lorraine, I didn’t know you were here. Where’ve you been hiding?”
Sebastian spotted a couple vacating the sofa and steered me towards it.
“Beth mentioned that Vincent left a while ago with Lara. I thought you should know,” I said.
“That’s not good. Have you seen Connor?”
“Did he even come?”
“Yeah, but you know him. None too sociable. He can blend into the wallpaper and is easy to miss. I hope he followed them.”
“Why? Are you ever going to tell me the real reason you both seem to be crawling around her?”
“Okay. I suppose you deserve it.” He glanced around to check who was within earshot before continuing, “The truth is, my family has sworn an oath to protect her. She’s the last of her kind, a descendant of the royal family of Caelum demons. As the end of their world drew near, their priests swore to protect her and placed her with human parents. The man hired by the Reiths to kill her parents over the land issue found out her true identity, and he was planning to extort more money from the Reiths for the information, but before he completed his plan, he was executed.”
“Who by?”
“That’s not important. What matters is that the Reiths are still in the dark about Lara’s real heritage, but they are aware that an heiress is alive and somewhere in this area. That’s why I help to protect her—not for my benefit, but for the good of the world. If the Reiths got control of her, they would use her as a weapon.”
“A weapon? How?”
“Lara will acquire abilities when she comes of age. Caelum demons are very powerful. They’re able to control the atmosphere around them by changing the composition of the elements.”
“Wow, that’s clever.”
“We all have our talents, some more impressive than others,” he said, cheekily stroking my thigh.
I knew he was trying to distract me, but I was still absorbing this latest information. “Are you saying that the Reiths want to take over the world?”
“That would be a simplified version. They’re Vires demons. They have the ability to make humans do their bidding, and they crave power, lots of it. They feed off it, and will stop at nothing to gain as much as possible. At the moment, a truce exists between us. Vincent’s dad, Sirus, was indebted to my family when my father saved his life in the war of seventy-two. So far, he’s pretty much kept to his agreement. His son Tyron, however, has monarchical delusions of grandeur. We have to keep him in check to prevent him from gaining control of anyone, or anything, that could be used for evil purposes. If he ever grows a big enough army, it could be hell on earth…literally.”
“Vincent hasn’t mentioned his brother.”
“Half-brother. Vincent is the result of his dad’s affair with a human. He got the Reith name and access to their money, but none of their abilities that we know of. His father isn’t interested in anything that’s of no use to him, and he’s happy for Vincent to stay out of the way in Fosswell. The trouble is, Vincent feels ostracised and is always searching for a way to ingratiate himself with his father. If he found out who you or Lara really were, it would give him one of the best bargaining trophies he could ever desire. He’s very cunning, and he can’t be trusted, Sophie.”
“Okay, I’ll be careful.”
“You’ll need to be. We have reason to believe that Simone was murdered because the vamps smelt Tokala’s scent on her. They thought she was the new tenderfoot, and even though they now know they were mistaken, they realise that they’re close, and will be using all their resources to seek you out. But you’ve got us to help you now, and I trust you to be sensible.”
“Simone’s dead because of me?”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
I couldn’t dismiss it that easily. She might not have been a friend, but no one deserved to die like that.
“Have you told your family about me?”
“No. No, it’s our secret for the moment. Lara, on the other hand, is a loose cannon. Father was confident Connor and I could manage her, but you’ve seen what happens when we take our eye off the ball even for a second.”
“Who was it, by the way? Who got her pregnant, I mean?”
“Some guy on the basketball team.”
“Why didn’t he help her?”
“Denied it was him. Said she was on her own.”
“You could have persuaded him, threatened him. I know you’re strong enough.”
“Violence is never an easy way to solve a problem. I only ever use it as a last resort. I prefer to show my strength in the sports arena.”
“I’ve noticed. So, you took her under your wing.”
“We couldn’t allow Lara to have a child before she comes of age. It wouldn’t be able to assume human form and would not survive in this realm. Lara is unaware of her heritage. The shock of giving birth to a demon would probably have killed her. It was easy to persuade her from having the child. She’s not exactly the mothering type. And I needed to gain her trust, because the task of revealing her true identity has been given to me.”
“Oh.” I laughed. “Well, good luck with that one.”
Sebastian placed his fingers on my lips to silence me, his eyes pointing towards an advancing Justin.
“Things are quietening down now,” Justin said. “With a bit of luck, we’ll be able to crash soon. You don’t mind if I stay, do you? Beth said it was okay. Mummy busts a gut if I tramp in after midnight. She doesn’t like her beauty sleep being disturbed.” He threw a pillow onto the nearby chair.
“You’re welcome anytime. You know that,” I answered.
“Here, have the sofa. We were just off to bed anyway, weren’t we, Soph?” Sebastian said.
“We were?”
He nodded and winked suggestively.
I didn’t want to fall asleep. It would mean the evening was over, and I wanted to hold on to it forever, but, curled snugly in Sebastian’s arms, I fell into a deep slumber almost immediately.
A voice sang out from the figure silhouetted in the light of the window with her hair and gown blowing in the non-existent wind. Long white fingers reached over into the shadows of the room and stroked the wooden box on the adjacent dressing table. ‘You have not yet used the gift I gave you. Take it and discover its power. Now you have released your own, it will make you stronger. You need to be ready. Time passes quickly in this mortal world and chaos draws near.’
I awoke to the sound of milk bottles clinking on the backstreet and a song thrush chirping its morning tune. Sebastian was still sound asleep and didn’t stir when I rose to visit the bathroom.
As I began to wash my hands, a flash of colour caught my eye, and I looked up into the mirror. My legs buckled, and I had to grab the sink to prevent myself from crumpling to the floor with shock at the sight.
My hair was bright orange!