Willow (9 page)

As I ate the last melon ball I heard Reece laugh out loud. “Enjoying that are you?” He was talking to Amber. When I looked over he threw his head back and laughed again. Amber had his full attention and she was shaking her head as she looked at him. That’s when I noticed she had just eaten the last of her hot dog. She looked over at me and rolled her eyes and I laughed with her.

Moments later Reece switched places with Amber and sat down next to me. He pulled me towards him in a friendly hug. “Doing okay?” He asked. I assured him I was fine. That’s when a young man whistled and loudly announced, “It’s
that
time again.” While he spoke a girl began passing out candles and matches. She approached the trio but one of them lifted his hand and shook his head. The girl walked back to the circle, made her rounds and sat back down.  

The young man explained the rules of the game and said by the time we were done telling our tales, all the candles should be extinguished. I leaned in front of Reece until I got Amber’s attention. “I don’t know this game.”

She shook her head in agreement, “I don’t either.”

“You there…” a voice thundered.

I looked up to see the young man gesturing in my direction. Feeling a sudden flush of embarrassment at having been singled out I remained silent.

“Why don’t you start,” he challenged. 

“I don’t have a story to tell.”

From across the fire a female voice interjected, “Everyone has a story.”

“Well I don’t.” I sounded as irritated as I felt.

From my side Reece pulled his hands together as he spoke, “I’ve got one.”  Leave it to Reece to rescue me! Crossing my arms across my chest I bent my head to look at the dirt, all the while wishing I was better at social situations. I looked up through the fire and saw that Haven was watching me. His face was as severe as ever. Through the shadows of the trees and the shade of his black hood I could even see that his eyes had softened. What was he thinking? I could not figure him out. Warm one day, cold the next. Close one day, distant the next. His actions were nothing but divergent. I looked down again, this time feeling a flush from the inside rather than from the fire before me. Amber reached behind Reece and nudged me. Reluctantly, I lit my candle and Reece followed with his until all the candles in the circle were gleaming.

“The Bible says, ‘We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and the rulers of the darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places’. While I’ve always been led to believe this refers to angels and demons, I was also told that there are physical forces with abnormal powers, some meant for good, others meant for evil.” Reece paused and looked around the circle.

Someone snorted, “Oh great a Bible thumper! Are you a right winger, too?”

The redhead with the hypnotically dancing curls flashed a look of censure towards the rude dissenter and spoke up. “Interesting tale; but if the spiritual forces you speak of are angels and demons, what are the physical ones?”

“Republicans and Democrats,” someone chortled, drawing a sharp jab from the girl next to him.

Reece was grinning at no one person, obviously not affected by the opinions of others.

The redhead kept looking at him, expecting an answer. “That’s an interesting myth,” she said politely. “But it’s not a personal story.”

Feeling just as intrigued I put my hand on his knee and whispered in his ear, “If you’re willing, I’d like to know more.”

I could feel him tense up and not wanting to pressure him I withdrew my hand but without looking my way he reached for me and returned my hand to his knee, creating conflicting emotions within me. His hand on mine felt warm and protective but the rest of me felt tense and unsure. Why was this happening? Why couldn’t I be more decisive and better suited to just one person rather than feel such a tug-of-war between two people, one of which didn’t even seem to appreciate my presence like the young man sitting beside me – the one covering my hand with his. Why did everything have to be so complicated or was I the one making it so?

I continued to muse while Reece picked up where he had left off. “JC was fifteen when he went on a summer camping trip with his dad at Uwharrie National Forest in North Carolina.”

“Loser,” Someone stated, this time being hushed by more than one person.

Reece didn’t acknowledge him and his hand gripped mine tighter than before. I flinched from the change in pressure, tilted my head and caught a glimpse of Amber whose face was tight and uncharacteristically pained. Remembering her words of affection for Reece, I pulled my hand away and began adjusting my red scarf. The last thing I wanted to do was alienate a friend. I looked up to see Haven watching, his face was just as taut as Amber’s. I looked away quickly. What was it to him?

Reece’s words drew me from my thoughts. “JC and his dad spent a day hiking and set up their tent near a stream. It was nearing midnight when the howling started. At first unnerved they eventually relaxed and decided that if they felt threatened they would retreat to their car and leave. That’s when JC’s dad told him that a few months before he had been a part of a hunting party that had tracked and killed two wolves - an alpha male and alpha female. According to his dad, the mated pair had killed a beautiful young woman, and to keep others safe, had to be hunted down.”

Reece’s voice trailed off while he stared into the fire. I looked up to see that everyone was waiting with rapt attention. The red-head stared, almost as if she were stunned. Someone coughed, as if to politely prompt Reece to continue. I looked for the source and found it in the attractive dark-skinned man who was holding the Asian girl close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and was holding one of his hands. She too was looking into the fire and the way her body molded to her partner made me wonder what that kind of harmony must be like and if I would ever know such trust.

Reece’s voice interrupted my thoughts once more. “The howling stopped completely and was replaced by an unnatural silence. Even the stream seemed to give pause. At that point JC felt something was really off and told his dad they should go to the car immediately but his dad said something to the effect of, ‘It’s nothing to worry about,’ and in the minutes that followed all hell broke loose.”

Just then someone’s phone rang and nearly all the girls screamed, drawing chuckles from most of the guys. 

To my surprise, one of the trio spoke from under the veil of darkness, his tone was deep and his voice firm. “They were something more than wolves, weren’t they? The woman they killed was different, too.”

He emerged from the darkness just enough that I could faintly make out his face: prominent cheekbones and fair eyebrows that were arched above his piercing eyes – eyes that seemed to reflect the fire in its ferocity.

Reece acknowledged him by nodding.

“I’m not sure about the woman but the wolves targeted JC’s father. JC and his dad had been backing up to the car very slowly. JC’s dad was in front of him acting as a human shield. The wolves emerged from the cover of trees but didn’t charge. They sauntered forward, as if they were stalking.”

Reece shook his head, as if this were a personal memory of his.

“JC reached the door first and his dad ordered him to get in. That’s when the wolves charged, pulling JC’s father from his grasp. JC watched helplessly as the wolves thrashing bodies concealed from him the horror of his father’s death. It was over quickly but JC remained, unable to leave his father behind. I can’t imagine the terror and the grief he must have felt as he stayed locked inside that car waiting for the wolves to leave and the sun to rise.”

“Wolves don’t normally hunt people down,” a brunette said.

Reece shook his head in polite disagreement. “These wolves were different. They didn’t stalk for the purpose of food, they stalked to kill.”

I was surprised that the next question came from me. “What happened to JC?”

Reece turned his head in my direction and his eyes seemed to wink. “He stayed in the car all night. The wolves paced, they sat, one jumped on the car to look through the windshield, but they left him alone. By the time dawn broke they left the small clearing. JC waited until he was sure they were gone and then he went out to retrieve his dad’s body and drove for help.”

In the moments that followed there were no more questions and as a range of tales were whispered among the circle, candles were extinguished until just a few remained. I felt Reece leaning towards me. I wanted to ask him if the story he told was about his father but I didn’t want to pry. If it were true then no wonder Jericho looked like a man scarred over time. My thoughts took me to my dreams and I wondered why wolves played a significant role in them. 

One of the trio had asked Reece if they were something more than wolves and Reece had confirmed that fact, but if the wolves were something of legend why did they stalk and kill a man? Was it because he had helped to kill an alpha pair? And what of the wolves, especially the champagne colored wolf that visited me in my slumber?

My thoughts were interrupted by the rumbling of several engines as they came down the dirt road. While most everyone looked towards the road, I looked up to see that the trio appeared tense. They began to confer amongst themselves as the rumble grew louder.

Motorcycles. Another trio. Haven looked from them to meet my gaze. He said something to the others and in a matter of seconds he was standing in front of me. His stance forced Reece to rise almost immediately, followed by me. Haven looked from Reece’s stone cold face to mine but before he could say anything one of the riders dismounted. His dark brown hair was straight and shoulder length. He was neither handsome nor unattractive. His leather jacket was tight against his slender form and unlike the rest of us, he wasn’t wearing any gloves and I wondered why he didn’t appear to be cold.

“Well, well, well,” he said looking around.

He spotted Haven and a cunning grin began to form. Haven turned back to me, extending his hand, “Come with me.”

Hearing this from several feet away the rider turned his attention our way. Without even speaking to his two companions, they all strode towards us. I looked from one to the other. They were about the same size and shape – tall and trim and each had an overwhelming air of arrogance about him. Reece took my arm and Haven stood in front of me, blocking my view. Irritated, I pulled away and moved enough so that I could see.

“They’re not friends,” Reece said, still reaching out to me. “We’ve never seen them before.”

“Don’t let us break up your soiree,” the rider insisted as he spread his arms wide.

Turning to Haven he looked him over and said, “It’s been a long time. Too long...”

Haven’s face was that of marble.

I had been so focused on the three riders I didn’t even notice that Haven’s companions had joined us. Without staring I gave them the once over. The one standing to the right of Haven was a tall blonde. He was the one who had spoken earlier but his dark hood continued to conceal most of his face. Lacey stood at the end and they were all facing down the riders.

Spotting me, the rider with shoulder length hair raised his eyebrows and turned back to Haven. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

When Haven didn’t respond he inclined his head towards me and told the others, “Look who we have here...there is no mistaking that face is there?”

Haven seemed to draw up in height, his jaw stiffened, and no one laughed, joked or responded.

The space around us was so restless you could cut the tension with a knife. I couldn’t understand why everything seemed to be dependent on what these uninvited riders were going to do. No one was talking, no one was even leaving. Everyone was waiting. I couldn’t stand it. I wanted to pack up and leave. Lifting my eyes to meet the amber colored ones inspecting me I introduced myself.

“Willow,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “We were just leaving.”

He attempted to move closer to me, still staring into my eyes, but Haven and the others inched together, creating a barrier.

“It didn’t look that way to us,” one of his companions sneered.

I shivered as he looked me up and down. Unlike the others, he had shaved his head and a large tattoo, which resembled a triple moon, cascaded around the back of his head. His liquid gray eyes were inspecting us and rested longer than necessary on me.

“Well, we were,” Amber spoke up. She took my hand and dragged me behind her before I could protest. As I brushed past the rider I heard his intake of breath and realized he was reaching out to touch me when he was blocked just as fast by Haven who grabbed his arm and thrust it away.

“Easy,” the rider with the moon tattoo said. “Don’t give me an excuse.”

Slyly glancing at me for the briefest of moments he turned back to Haven and lifted his dark lashes as if he were about to share a secret.

“She is a sweet one isn’t she?”

Methodically he licked his lips, causing Haven to flinch in anger. The rider with the moon tattoo looked at me again before glancing at the other riders.

“Looks like the scouts were right.”

The rider with shoulder length dark hair grabbed both of his fists and all was silent for a moment. They looked as though they were talking without speaking. Shuddering, I tucked my chin into my scarf and walked away with Amber by my side. I had no intention of staying around to be a part of some freak show and I was bothered by all the weird behavior.

“Wait,” I said, stopping suddenly. “Our chairs.”

Amber prompted me to keep walking. “Reece will get them.”

When we reached the truck I sensed him before I heard him. I looked over my shoulder to see Haven standing just inches behind me.

“What now?” I demanded to know, not caring if I sounded rude.

I found
his
behavior rude, not to mention confusing. In fact, the entire night was just that.

Haven took hold of my arm and guided me away from Amber who was pretending to mind her own business.

“Let’s talk.”

He pulled his hand away from my arm and looked down at me. I stood there impatiently, with my arms crossed. “I’m listening.”

“You’re not making this easy,” he said. “There are things we should discuss.”

“So where have you been?” I asked. “You know how to get in contact with me and you wait until
now
to reach out to me? Did anyone ever tell you that you have awesome timing?”

He walked a few steps forward, backing me up until I was almost resting against a tree.