Stay

Mom gave me an encouraging look, and I gave the same look back. I wasn’t sure which one of us needed it more.

The two scowling, towering men roughly secured the ferry to the dock. I held onto mom’s hand, not out of fear of what they could do, but out of fear of what I would do. My body was fighting to transform. I needed to stay calm, or I would have an even bigger problem on my hands.

“Who authorized you to transport these foreigners over here?” One of the two frowning men glowered at Maddock.

“Taliana. Mate of Gareth.” Taliana? There was that name again. Was that her real name? The two men stared at us with wide eyes.

The second man reached out a hand like he was going to touch her, but he dropped it before he did. “Is it really you?”

Mom let out a deep breath. She was trying to calm herself. I did the same thing. “Yes I have returned. This is my daughter, and we ask for safe passage to speak with Gareth.”

The deep breathing helped, and I felt the prickling sensation in my back lessen. Back in New Orleans, Hailey had taught me some good tips for staying in control. I’d needed them more frequently than I’d expected. I’d have to thank her sometime.

Calmed down, I focused on the conversation. What was this? I’d met plenty of paranormals since my run in with the wolf, but none of them acted even remotely like this. They were so formal.

“Your daughter?” The two men straightened. “By blood?”

Mom nodded. “She is my daughter by blood.”

They both smiled at me, like I was suddenly a heck of a lot more interesting. I’d learned that being interesting wasn’t usually a good thing in the paranormal world. It was far better to blend in. Too bad I never seemed to do that.

The first one leaned in closer. “And where is her mate?”

“She hasn’t taken one yet.” Mom squeezed my hand, and I assumed she was telling me to keep my mouth shut. The word mate was thrown around so much, but I didn’t completely understand it. What made it different than dating, or marrying someone even? I assumed someone would explain it to me eventually. Maybe Toby would. Whatever it meant, he was the only one I was interested in doing it with.

“No mate?” The other man seemed to be sniffing me. I leaned away. “But she is of age?”

“Yes. A few months over.”

“We will take you to Gareth immediately.” Both men reached out for my hand.

Daria laughed. “Easy there, boys.”

The second man glared at her. “You may return to the other side whenever ready.”

“I think we’ll stay here for a while. This might get interesting.” Maddock winked at me.

“That won’t be necessary. We will escort them to Gareth.”

Daria pouted. It was such a youthful facial expression that made it even harder to believe she was my mom’s age. “Fine.”

Mom once again took my hand. “We’ll see you soon.”

I was surprisingly reluctant to say goodbye to the twins. I had a feeling they’d be a lot friendlier than anyone else I met along the way. Daria grabbed my arm and pulled me in for a hug before she hopped back on the boat. “Don’t forget who you are and what matters.”

Before I could respond Maddock was already steering the boat away from the shore.

“Are you well?” One of the still nameless guys asked pulling my attention back from the retreating boat. I wished I were on it on my way back to Toby, but I’d come this far. There was no way I was giving up.

“I’m fine.” I certainly wasn’t going to let them know my weaknesses. I hoped mom gave me a hint of when to open up about things.

“Are you excited about your visit to Norco Island?” Evidently my short response wasn’t going to excuse me from the rest of the conversation.

“I’m ready for it.” I smiled at mom as I said it. I hoped that was an appropriate answer.

Her return smile let me know it was.

“Do you remember anything from being here?” the second man asked.

“I’ve never been here. At least I don’t remember it.” I glanced at mom.

She nodded. “Why don’t we wait and talk about everything with Gareth.”

“As you wish.” Again with the formal speech. This place was so strange.

As we left the shore of the island, we moved into the woods. Before long, the tree cover was thick enough to block out the sun. A sense of foreboding hit me, although I was getting that feeling so often now that I easily shrugged it off. The harder thing to shrug off was the prickling in my back. I felt so much safer with my wings out, but that wasn’t an option at the moment.

I was glad that Mom saved me from the uncomfortable conversation, but the awkward silence was nearly as bad. At least I didn’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing. I did have to deal with two giant bear shifters checking me out like I was meat. I wasn’t exactly sure who or what they thought I was, but it was something they wanted. Hopefully we’d get things ironed out quickly.

We walked for at least three miles. No one questioned whether I was tired, which was good on the surface, but bad because I was exhausted. The fatigue was back, and I didn’t have Toby to relax me. I had to stay alert and face all of this head on.

“Are you holding in there?” Mom whispered from beside me. She’d managed to slip in between me and one of the men. Either he hadn’t noticed, or he wasn’t going to argue.

“I’m fine. How about you?”

“Terrified.”

“I’m here.” I squeezed her hand this time.

“I know, and that’s what makes everything worth it.”

The sound of distant voices was the first hint that we were nearing our destination.

“Remember to follow directions. “

I nodded. “Please stay with me.”

“I’ll do my best, honey. I’ll do my best.”

We entered a clearing that was still covered by the thick canopy of the forest. I looked around at what at first glance looked like ruins. On further inspection I realized they were just well hidden buildings.

The men stopped walking. “Would you like to be brought directly to Gareth?”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely.” The first man nodded and started walking.

My mom’s hand tightened around mine. I took slow, deep breaths. Now was not the time to flip out and transform. “Stay calm. It’s all going to be okay.”

We followed the men up a steep set of stone steps. Mom never loosened her grip, and I didn’t mind. Her tight grasp was a reminder that I wasn’t facing any of this alone. We walked into a large sitting area that held a number of simple cloth couches and a few more elaborately upholstered chairs. Mom gestured for me to sit in one of the chairs. She stood next to me holding my hand. It was strange to sit while mom stood, but I was sure she had her reasons. Her whole body shook. I wasn’t used to my mom being afraid of anything. There was only one exception I could remember, it was the night someone was snooping around our house. Mom made me sleep in her room for a week.