5
Harmony shivered in the darkness as she stood on the porch and looked toward the ominous peeks of the caves that protected their haven at Lost Lakes.
“He isn’t coming back.” Daisy said and made herself comfortable in one of the wide rocking chairs that sat on the porch.
Harmony cut her eyes to the crafty coyote woman.
“What do you know about it?” Harmony spat. She didn’t care for Daisy. She was polite because Daisy was Creed’s sister and Creed allowed her and her brother to live in his compound, but she didn’t care for Daisy.
“I know…” Daisy stated and took a sip of her sweet tea. “That there haven’t been any news reports on especially bloody scenes in over a month, none with that special crazy twist that I believe to be Clothesline the psycho. That tells me that he’s dead, if he’s lucky, or captured by those lovely people with whom you used to live and being tortured.”
She tucked one foot under her and used the other to start the rocking chair moving.
Harmony wanted to rip her face off. “You are a cruel woman Daisy. Why would you say that to me?”
“Because you are weak, and I hate weakness. Makes me sick. You act too much like a human.”
Harmony let out a breath. “I am human.”
Daisy’s eyebrows met her hairline and her nostrils flared. “No. You aren’t.”
Harmony crossed her arms. “I think I’d know if I wasn’t. My father and mother were both human. Reed is my half-brother.”
Daisy laughed. “You really are a stupid girl. You are a hybrid. You have no animal, or it’s suppressed or something, I don’t really know, but you smell of fur. It’s slight, but it’s there. I know the scent, I live with it. Reed is your brother.”
Harmony gripped the porch railing for support. Could it be true? Could her mother have lied? She had never seen a picture of her father. There were none. Would her mother have lied to her?
Of course, she would have.
She was crazy and evil and so were those she lived with and followed, but why lie?
To protect her from Don.
Daisy let out a long-suffering sigh. “For heaven’s sake.” She picked a piece of ice out of her drink and threw it into the yard. “Can you see it?”
Harmony had no trouble seeing it. “Of course.”
“Hybrid. It’s pitch dark out here. A human would have trouble seeing that with a flashlight. How are you this dumb?”
Harmony couldn’t take another moment with Daisy. She walked into the big farmhouse and walked instead to the back porch. She couldn’t watch for Clothesline from there, but it was peaceful.
There she found Creed. He was much better company than his sister and she slid into a cushioned chair and looked up at the stars.
“I see Daisy found you.” Creed said in that easy way he talked to everyone. Nothing ruffled him.
“Found me?” Harmony asked.
“Yeah. asked her to find you. Figured she had.” There was a shrug in his voice that said he didn’t really care what brought her as long as she was there.
“She found me. I guess she didn’t want to. Is that why she was so nasty?”
“It’s just her way.” He drank deep from the bottle in his hand. The sweet smell of beer reached out to Harmony.
“Losing her mate did something to her, made her bitter. She can’t stand for others to find what she has lost. Can’t stand to see others happy.”
“She’s a bitch.” Harmony said with venom.
“Yeah, but that’s expected.” He grinned as if he’d told a funny joke.
“There’s a party tomorrow night at the Full Moon Saloon. We have been invited. It’s a big deal. Full moon brings lots of people out. Men wanting to join up, men who already have. Lots of head men looking to share information and get a lay of the land. River wants you there.”
“Me? Why?” Fear was crawling like a living thing in Harmony’s stomach. She hadn’t been out of Lost Lakes since she’d come to live there, and she was afraid to leave, even if she felt imprisoned there.
It made no sense.
“Hell if I know. You don’t understand what is going on and I probably don’t either. You are here under my protection, but since you and wolfy got jiggy, you are under River’s rule.” His nostrils flared. “Definitely River’s rule.”
“What? I never...I... I don’t…”
“Save it. We all heard. We all smelled, and you bonded. That bond is what gives River rule over what is ultimately best for you. Since Line ain’t around. I have to take you.”
“Don’t I get a say in it?” Harmony was panicking.
“No.” Creed said, and she saw the end of a cigarette glow in the darkness, lighting his face.
“I’m not going. I’m safe here. I want to stay here with Reed. I... I won’t go.”
Creed let out a long breath. “You are putting me in a damned hard place right now. Listen. You go to the party. Have some fun and we will come right back here after. I’ll be there with you. The other old ladies will be there too. Go, have some fun and you can come back after.” His eyes bore into hers. “It’s important. I swear you will be protected.”
“I don’t believe you.” She said plainly.
Creed laughed. “Yes, you do. You know I’m not lying to you. You can tell when someone is.”
“What if River refuses?” She was really afraid now.
“I’ll figure something out.” He stomped out the cigarette before picking it up and tossing it into a bucket of sand. “We will go in the morning, so the girls can help you get dressed. It’s a show. The Howlers must look whole and since your man is MIA, you need to be there and put on a happy face. It’s important. More important than you can imagine.”
“It’s bullshit.”
Creed grinned and she could see the flash of his white teeth. “Everything is sweetheart. Every single thing in this life is bullshit. Now that you know it, you can expect it. You are ahead of most.” He finished off his beer. “Don’t worry, we will be watching your ass and so will everyone else in the place. Put some steel in that backbone. You’ll need it.”
She stood and faced him. Creed was a mystery to Harmony. She could feel that he was dangerous, but he concealed it behind a smart-ass mask and sharp wit.
“Is he dead? I know you know more than you’re saying and if I’m bound by some bond that gives me no control over my own life I think I deserve to know.”
Creed looked at her as if she were crazy. “How the hell would I know? I don’t share a bond with him. The only people that know that are… well, him and whoever is with him… but in this case, you and River. You are both bound to him and if I’m guessing, River wants to get his hands on you, so he can feel that bond. He’s probably as worried as you are.”
For some reason this settled some of Harmony’s fears. It made sense. River wanted to know if she felt like the bond was still there. Since she’d only realized what it was, she wasn’t going to be much help, but maybe if she was close to River she would find something out.
Creed laughed. “And just like that, she’s convinced.” He shook his head. “Get some sleep.”
“What about you?” She asked when he settled back on the seat he’d vacated a moment before.
“I don’t sleep.”
She left him there in the darkness and made her way to her own room. She hoped she could sleep. She would need her wits if she had to be present at a gathering of shifters.
“Oh Line, where are you? I can’t do this without you.” She Whispered into the darkness, but he wasn’t there.
She rubbed her chest where it burned. Would she know if he were gone? Would she feel a coldness in place of the warmth in her heart?
She didn’t know, and she was afraid to find out.