“We need to know more to understand how best to protect you.”  She spoke in a low tone so that only I could hear.  Well, probably Jim and Emmitt too, but at least the boys remained oblivious.  “Would you mind talking to Emmitt on the porch?”

I agreed and shuffled toward Emmitt, unsure how he’d react to me.  He met me on the bottom step, captured my fingers, and tugged me down to sit next to him.  My stomach summersaulted at the contact, and I eased my hand away, wanting to concentrate.  The churning didn’t completely leave, though, because our shoulders still touched, and I couldn’t bring myself to move further away.

“I apologize for losing control.  It will never happen again.”  He rested his arms loosely on his knees and turned his head to study me.

His spontaneous shifting had surprised me, maybe even freaked me out a little at the time, but it didn’t bother me now.  “Did my secret change anything?”

“Not the way I feel.  But it does change how we need to deal with Blake.  Will you tell me more?  How did he find you?”

“Remember when I told you Richard and my mom married and then things changed?  Blake changed everything.  I don’t know how Richard got involved with him, but one day, Richard brought Blake home.  He spoke smoothly.  Salesman-nice is what my mom called it.  She didn’t like Blake.

“Looking back, I think that’s why she died after Aden was born.  I think Blake knew she would be a problem.  She would have tried to stop what he had planned.  So, he killed her.  With her gone and two little boys to worry about, Blake had Richard on strings, dancing to his commands.  Suddenly, I wasn’t allowed to leave the house anymore.  Disobedience wasn’t tolerated.”  I watched my brothers play.  “I tried to run once.  When they caught me, Blake slapped Liam.  Hard.  His handprint turned into a bruise that covered Liam’s little face from temple to jaw.”

Emmitt growled low in his throat, startling me.  When I glanced at him, he had his eyes closed and jaw clenched.  The skin on his forearm rippled slightly.  I glanced at Nana and Jim unsure what to do.  The boys didn’t need to witness Emmitt shifting, and I didn’t want to get knocked off the porch steps.

Nana didn’t acknowledge us, but she did move to block Liam’s view.  How did she know?

“I promised not to lose control, and I won’t.  However, I can’t help reacting,” he said after a moment.  An underlying growl roughened his voice.  He lifted his head and met my eyes.  I could see his anger.  “We don’t hit children.”

I nodded slowly.  He might not, but Blake sure did.

“So I stayed and obeyed, and Blake had me by the same strings he had Richard.  Every month he brought men to the house.  He called it a business meeting but the men never talked business.  They never said anything.  They just stared at me.

“Then, at the beginning of the summer, Blake became driven.”  I paused, looking off at the trees as I remembered my last night there.  “The dinner before I ran, Blake went crazy.  He grabbed me by the throat, and his face started to change.  Not all the way like you did.  Only a little.  His fangs scared me.  While he held me, he told me I would allow all of the men to ‘scent’ me.  He said I would bite and Claim one of them.”

I felt Emmitt shudder beside me and touched his trembling hand in comfort.  When he stilled, I continued.

“I held myself still as they approached me one by one, afraid they would change like Blake had.  After the first one, I closed my eyes.  When they finished, Blake told me to go to my room.

“The next morning Blake called.  He told me that Richard was dead.  I don’t doubt Blake killed him, and I think Richard expected it because that morning there’d been an envelope shoved under my door.  Important documents, cash, and a number for a lawyer were in it.  Richard had written a note telling me to run.  I hit David over the head and ran fast.  I took my mom’s car, not knowing how to drive.  I almost backed into the mailbox.”  I looked up at Emmitt.  “He won’t give up.”

Something in his eyes gave me real hope.  I wanted to believe I wasn’t alone and unprotected in a world filled with strange beings.  I shook just thinking about it.

Emmitt wrapped an arm around me and hugged me close, resting his chin on top my head.  “You don’t have to worry about him anymore.  By exposing our kind to you and using humans like he did, he broke our laws.  He’ll pay for what he did.”

“I don’t understand.  How is what he did different from what you did?  Not that you’ve used us.  I mean, you showed me what you are.”

He lifted his head, tilted it as if listening, then sighed.  “I’ll let Nana answer the questions about the rules and laws tomorrow.  We’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

My gaze flicked to Nana.  With her back to us, she pushed Liam on the swing.  “Was she just talking to you?”

Emmitt didn’t ask whom I meant.  “Yes.  She’s worried about you.  Jim gives you too much to drink last night.  She scolds us this morning.  I prove what werewolves are capable of.  She reveals more about Claiming and Mating than you’re comfortable with.  Then we find out everything we’ve asked you to understand about us is on top of an exposure to our kind that’s left you distrustful and fearful.  And I burst into my fur in front of you.”  He paused, a small, self-depreciating smile playing about his lips.  “It’s a lot to take in before lunch.”

I nodded in agreement.  Yet, now that I told them about Blake, it didn’t feel so bad.

After the silence between us stretched, Emmitt joined the boys in their sprinkler races, leaving me to my thoughts.  One secret down.  How would they deal with my ability, though?  Staying in the shade, I contentedly sat on the porch and watched their antics while I dwelled on my premonitions.

Nana went inside after a while.  I didn’t know how she could stand the heat.

I knew I needed to plan for tomorrow’s premonition, but instead, I watched the ripple of Emmitt’s muscles while he twisted, turned, and jumped through the water.  His chest was wet again from the sprinkler, and he was almost as tan as Jim from his time outside.  I struggled not to drool.  His words echoed in my head.  I was his.  Did that then mean he was mine?  I liked the idea of that.  My stomach tightened.

He turned, caught me watching, and winked.  Given my thoughts, my face flamed.  He frowned, stopped playing, and strode toward me.  I felt my face heat further and looked away, trying to calm down.  My averted gaze didn’t last long.  I couldn’t not look at him.

As he approached, his nostrils flared.  His lips curved in a knowing smile.  My stomach went crazy, and my breathing spiked.  With a gleam in his eyes, he leapt onto the porch, bypassing the steps, and stalked me.

“Do you have a phone with a data plan, or a computer with internet?” I asked randomly.

My question brought him up short.  He tilted his head and studied me with a curious look before shaking his head.

Nana stepped out just then with a tray of sandwiches.

“Emmitt, go get the boys.  Michelle, will you fetch a hand towel?”

Glad for the reprieve, I ran inside.  Nana had the boys wipe their hands so their sandwiches didn’t disintegrate when they touched them.

We all ate on the porch, and after Emmitt finished eating, he quietly excused himself.  I watched him walk inside.  When he stepped out again, dressed in shirt and jeans, he said he’d be back later and strode to his bike.  The roar of the engine and a cloud of dust marked his passage and left me wondering where he’d gone.

*    *    *    *

Tired from an afternoon of playing, the boys fell asleep quickly, leaving me with nothing to do.  I jogged back downstairs, returned the books I’d finished, and borrowed another one from Nana.  Back in our apartment, I pulled the office chair onto the dark porch then settled down to read.  Reading wasn’t easy.  I had to angle the book to catch the light from the kitchen.  Still, I relaxed and listened to the night sounds.