Like a moth to a flame, like a hunter staring at prey, Darius’ eyes did not once leave me. He cocked his head to the side and a small smirk played on his lips as if he was enjoying watching me squirm. It was Chris’ hand on my shoulder that jolted me back to reality and forced me to look away from him. Even though I turned away, I could feel his eyes searing into me and the intensity had goosebumps rising on my skin.
It wasn’t uncomfortable in the least which was part of what annoyed me the most. If anything, it was exhilarating and it felt like being electrocuted. I hated that he was able to have that kind of an effect on me.
“What’s going on with you and Darius?” Chris asked as soon as we were out of earshot. “Is there something I need to know? Do you like him?”
“No, Chris, it isn’t like that, I...” I trailed off because I was unsure of what to say. I couldn’t tell him that I was being forced to marry Darius. “Just forget about it.”
He didn’t agree with me, that much was obvious from his expression but he agreed with a nod and we did not talk about Darius again. We were in and out of the store as quickly as we could be and when we got to the parking lot, Darius was gone. I was relieved but I was also slightly annoyed because I had a few questions from him.
By the time we got home, Chris locked himself in his room and I knew part of the reason was because he was annoyed at being kept out of everything that had happened. I wanted to tell him but I also did not want to scare him and I did not want to burden him with the knowledge I had. I forced myself to ignore him and I helped Grandma around the kitchen to waste time. I had gotten so involved in my task that I didn’t even realize when it was time for me to leave for work. It was Grandma who alerted me and I had to rush out.
I got there early and the first thing I did was look around for Darius but he was not at the bar or his usual table. None of his friends were at the bar, not even Ian. Serena was busy setting up so I made my way over to her.
“Have you seen Darius?” I asked and she turned to me.
“Hello to you too, Leindra, how are you? I hope you had a very restful night?” Her tone was teasing so I knew she wasn’t annoyed. “To answer your question, I just got here. I don’t know where Darius is or if he is coming. If you want, I could give you his number so you could call him and ask for yourself.”
“No thank you, I was just curious.”
She hummed to let me know she did not believe me but she did not push. She ran her eyes over my body and I saw her eyes linger on my choice of jewelry. I gauged her expression to see if there was shock or hesitation but she didn’t seem to care. Her face was as blank as usual and there was a small hint of- was that admiration?
“I love your necklace, where did you get it?” she asked and she raised her finger to touch it but dropped it almost immediately. “Sorry, I should have asked first.”
I waved her off to assure her that it was fine but she didn’t reach out to touch it again.
“My mom got it for me before she died. I just found it and decided that I should wear it.”
“Well it’s really pretty, I think you should wear it more often.”
I let out a sigh of relief. Serena was not a werewolf. If she was then she would have encouraged me to take it off and never wear it again. I didn’t realize how suspicious I was of everyone until that moment when the relief left my body. She stared at me for a split second longer with furrowed brows but she was quickly distracted by a customer at the bar. It felt good to know that my closest friend so far was human.
For the rest of the night, I was looking out for Darius and his friends but they never came. It was unusual for them to avoid the bar for a complete night and I couldn’t help but wonder what they were doing. Were they doing their werewolf duties? Was Darius updating them on the forced marriage? I could have bet my kidneys that he was talking to Ian on the phone last night. Did that mean they all knew about the marriage?
Throughout the shift, I kept conjuring up different scenarios as to what could be happening behind my back. My skin itched for me to leave. I hated being in the dark and I wanted to know the truth. I wanted to be able to talk to someone about what I had seen but I didn’t know who I could trust in this town. It was such a small place and it was very easy for news to spread. The last thing I needed was for someone to tell Darius that I had caught him shifting in the forest. He would deny it and people would brand me as crazy because his word was law.
“Are you okay?” Serena asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. “You have been out of it all night. If you need some rest then I can cover for you.”
“It is fine,” I waved her off. “I just cannot wait for this shift to be over.”
I must have sounded believable because she laughed and echoed the same sentiment. For the rest of the shift, I tried to be more present but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking. I thought back to Grandma and Darius. If she knew he was a wolf then she would have told me and if she didn’t know then why would she have agreed to the marriage? She said there were things at play that I would not understand, what did she mean?
The answer hit me so fast that I stumbled back and the glass I was holding shattered on the ground. Serena turned to me in a panic and she fussed over me while asking if I was okay but I could barely focus on her. I knew why Grandma had agreed to the wedding despite knowing it was something I would hate- she was being threatened.
It was the only explanation that made sense. I felt a pang of hurt in my heart for her, especially with how I treated her last night and I knew what I had to do. I needed to get answers from Darius at all costs and if he was not going to come to me then I was going to him.
I waited until the shift was over and I was driving Serena home before I put my plan into effect. I started by talking about how much had changed in the town since I had left and even told her how seeing Darius was a surprise to me. She was tired so she just hummed in response to everything I was saying.
“Where do you think he stays?’ I asked trying to keep my voice sounding as casual as possible. “It is very hard to find many empty houses in town. Did he have a family house or something?”
“Yes actually, the Lunar’s had a mansion around the outskirts of town. It is on the road but in the middle of the woods. There is a stone path that leads up to it. It is secluded and it is no wonder Darius chose it, he seems to be a very private person.”
“It does sound like something he would like,” I quickly changed the subject after that but I had already gotten what I wanted.
After I dropped her off at home, I turned around and drove in the direction of the Lunar mansion. I had never heard about it before but I assumed it wouldn’t be hard to miss and I was right. After a few minutes of driving, I started doubting if I was going the right way when I saw the path that led up to the mansion. I parked the car and decided to walk the rest of the way so no one would see me coming.
The path was longer than I had estimated and by the time I got to the mansion, I was exhausted. Mansion was too tame of a word for what was in front of me. It looked like a palace straight out of a medieval story. It had towers and I couldn’t count how many floors it was. It was massive and I was sure there were at least twenty rooms in there. My mouth was wide open and I could not imagine how one person could live in such a massive building.
In front of the building were a bunch of bikes. They were all parked together and right next to them was Ian’s neon green car. It was completely dark so I thought I had the element of surprise until I walked closer and one of the lights came on. I cursed to myself. Of course, he would have motion sensor lights. I quickly moved back and the lights went off.
“It’s alright, Leindra,” I said to myself. “You can do this. He is just a man-wolf.”
I squared my shoulders and walked over to the front of the house. When I got to the door, there was a huge knocker but I doubted he would hear me from inside. I lifted my hands to press the doorbell but the door opened before I had the chance to touch it.
“Hello, Leindra,” Ian said with a wide smile. “It is quite unfair that you came as we were leaving.”
I rolled my eyes. “Hello to you too, Ian.”
He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I should warn you, he can be a little grumpy but I think you can handle it.”
“Get out of the way, Ian,” one of the other men drawled and Ian raised his hands in mock surrender.
“I’m leaving, don’t get your knickers in a twist,” he turned back to me and winked. “Good luck, although from the looks of things, you may not need it.”
I wanted to ask what he meant by that but he walked out of the door along with the rest of Darius’ friends. I watched them leave and get on their bikes. Once they had driven off, I turned back to the man I had come to meet.
He stood by the doorway with his shoulder leaning against the frame. “Come in, Leindra.”