Havermouth, Five Years PastAislen trailed Rhett to the fire. The cheerleaders and Debutantes had stripped down to bikinis and laid out towels on a patch of grass just beyond the fire pit, ostensibly suntanning, but really, Aislen thought sourly, displaying themselves like stock in a shop, for the male werewolves’ inspection.To her surprise, the Triquetra did not ogle them like most of the other male werewolves but acted as if they were indifferent to the line of semi-clad female bodies, or as if they were not there at all. They fussed over making the food and drinking beer and ignored the jokes and innuendos from the footballers who seemed to invite the Triquetra to admire the girls.“C’mon man,” Rohan nudged Heath when the footballers' efforts went unrewarded. “Erica’s smoking hot. Just the way you like them.”“F-k off,” Heath flared up suddenly, rounding on Rohan so that they were chest to chest and glaring into each other’s eyes. Cameron, who had been bent over the fire cooking b
Havermouth, Present Time“There is no need to answer now,” Talen continued. “It is not something that should be rushed. I had not intended to raise it with you so soon,” he touched her collar, adjusting it on her throat. “This is enough for me for the time being.”“It means that I am yours?” She reached up to touch it.“To others, it means that you are under my protection,” he made a slight gesture with his head that was not quite a nod. “To me, it means that you have chosen to… allow me to spend time with you,” his lips curled in a half smile. “With the goal of persuading you to accept me as your mate.”She felt a fission cross her skin, and she blushed, squirming a little under the look in his eyes. “I’ve never been courted before,” she admitted shyly. “But it sounds nice, and I like that you want to court me.”He hummed in his throat and stroked his hand over her skull, drawing her to him and wrapping his arms around her, resting his cheek of the crown of her head as he embraced he
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeAislen found the Triquetra’s clothing on the balcony, but no sign of any of the three. They had shifted and gone off together, she thought, or possibly Rhett had shifted, and first Heath and then Cameron had gone after him.She went to the fire and rescued what she could of the meat and vegetables, placing it into a cool box that was set in the shade in case the Triquetra were hungry when they came back.As they hadn’t returned by that point, she ate alone watching the flames leap in the fire pit, and then tidied up the bedroom, putting all her things together. She showered and dressed into the black dress that she had brought to attend the vigil.As she left the bathroom, Cameron walked down the hall holding his clothes. His eyes were red, and his skin blotchy. He nodded in greeting as he passed her on his way into the bathroom and she heard the shower start.She walked out onto the balcony and could see Rhett and Heath swimming in the river. They did no
Havermouth, Present TimeShe woke with Talen as the grey light of dawn peeked through the window, her cheek and hand on his chest and her leg over his as if holding him to the mattress. He pressed his lips to her forehead. “Sleep, Morgana,” he murmured. “There’s no reason that you need to wake.”“There is actually,” she sat up and slid from the bed as he did. “I have an errand to do this morning before the town wakes.”He raised his eyebrows as he pulled up his jeans. “A pre-dawn errand?”“Yeah,” she felt silly admitting it to him. “I am the Secret Keeper.”He paused in buttoning his shirt and laughed. “Of course, you are,” he reached out and ruffled her hair. “I should have made the connection. You would know all the town’s secrets. A dangerous game though, Morgana,” he observed. “One that will bring you many powerful enemies.”“Yeah, that’s what the Triquetra said too,” she sighed as she pulled on her dressing gown. “But this town has been festering in it’s little secrets, and I’m s
Havermouth, Five Years PastThe Triquetra truly was astonishingly beautiful as a threesome, she thought as she followed them to Heath’s car. All three had dressed up for the occasion, each in their own way - Heath wore a pressed shirt and light knit and slacks, Cameron a checked shirt, jacket and jeans, and Rhett wore a black shirt with dark jeans and had tied his hair back out of his face.They all smelled fantastic too, their soap and shampoo mixed with an aftershave. As Cameron held the door open for her, she paused to breathe him in. “You smell nice,” she told him, and the color rose in his cheeks.“Well, you know,” he shrugged a little. “It’s a thing. Sad for the parents.”“Yeah,” she agreed. She had wandered the overgrown garden around the river house and found the remnants of garden beds in which the original plantings had overgrown. She’d put together a little collection of wild roses, hollyhock, gerbera, rosemary, and daisies and tied them together with a string from the kitc
Havermouth, Present Time“Oh my god, what happened?” June exclaimed from the front door.Aislen looked up from scrubbing red paint off the hallway wall. “Looks like blood, doesn’t it?” She said with false cheer. “I’m like a murderer hiding my crime. Except, it wasn’t my crime. Or, at least,” she amended. “I wasn’t the one with the spray paint. I did f-k the Triquetra, though, so I guess I did the crime. Still do the crime occasionally, it seems,” she added to herself.“Who did this?” June was horrified.“A good question,” Aislen dropped the scrubbing brush into the bucket of water and peeled off her gloves. “Someone who doesn’t want me to sell the house because who the f-k is going to buy a place which looks like a murder scene?”“Wow,” June looked through the open door into the master bedroom. “Just, wow.”“Playroom,” Aislen told her with a mischievous grin. “The bed’s designed for a lot of play.”“I’m not sure I even understand what you mean by that,” June admitted walking in and tr
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeAislen woke wrapped around Cameron, with Rhett pressed as tightly against her back. Heath, returning from the bathroom, was what had woken her she realized as he lay down behind Rhett and put his arm over them both. They were all nestled together like a set of spoons, and f-k if it wasn’t the cosiest experience in her memory.Cameron shifted, his hand closing over hers and sliding it over the tight planes of his stomach to close over his c-ck. She smothered a giggle.“How the f-k you go from unconscious to sex in a heartbeat I don’t know,” Rhett mumbled. “I’m just glad to no longer be the recipient of your morning sex.”“You loved it, and you’re secretly jealous that I ask Aislen now instead of you,” Cameron rolled onto his back and folded his hands behind his head, with a contented sigh. “But she’s less bitchy first thing in the morning than you. You could use your mouth,” he suggested to Aislen, his eyelids were heavy over his eyes so that there was onl
Havermouth, Present TimeLeighton Richard lived on a farm just outside of town. The high fences surrounding his property indicated that he kept deer, although the fields appeared to be empty, the deer obviously preferring to hide amongst the scrub to the rear of the property. There was a giant timber barn painted black with “Leighton Richard” in man-sized white lettering on the road-facing side and “Potter” in smaller letters.A sign on the gate declared that they were entering the property of Leighton Richard, Potter, and editor of the Havermouth Expose. There was an honor box arrangement by the gate, where the latest version of the Havermouth Expose could be purchased.Aislen snagged a copy and dropped a few coins into the slot whilst June opened the gate. She drove forward along a well-maintained driveway towards a tidy little house whose sandstone construction spoke of it being original to the area. Under the bullnosed veranda, a grey-muzzled old dog flicked an ear as much to shoo
Havermouth, Present Time “We should talk about the river house,” Heath said as they dried off after the shower. She ignored him and concentrated on drying her hair. She didn’t want to talk about it. She had said all that she wanted to say on the topic, and if she said any more, she knew that it would just start another argument. “Aislen,” he sat on the bed in order to put on his shoes. “I know that…” “Heath,” she flicked her hair back. “Don’t. Just don’t. Rhett had a go at me yesterday about accepting that Havermouth is my home and that I’m not going back to Kabramatta, and you guys have raised several times going to stay at the river house. You can’t bully me into it, and you need to stop trying to do so.” His grey eyes met hers and she held them stubbornly refusing to back down. He nodded slowly. “We are your mates,” he said softly. She inhaled and released it slowly. “I love you,” she told him. “I love the three of you. I want to try to make something of this relationship. I a
Havermouth, Present TimeAislen woke when Rhett eased out from under her. She had been lying half over him, her leg thrown over his body and her hand on his chest and muttered her complaint as his movement unbalanced her and let the cooler air touch her skin. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I have a client coming at nine,” he whispered. “I have to go set up.”“Too early.”“I know, but they work afternoons, and it will take a good three hours.”Talen wrapped an arm around her and drew her into the cup of his body. “Sleep some more, Morgana,” he murmured. “You need to rest in order to heal.”“Careful,” Cameron snickered suddenly and Aislen opened her eyes to see that Cameron had saved Rhett from falling over as he put on his jeans. “F-k man, you’re not a good morning person. One leg in each leg hole, right?” Cameron was already almost fully dressed, his shirt hanging open but his jeans and shoes on.“Need coffee before my brain will wake up fully,” Rhett replied.“For f-ksake,” He
Havermouth, Present Time“Not now, Rhett,” Heath sighed.“You knew!” Rhett rounded on him in shock. “You knew that he intended to turn her!”“We can’t,” Heath rose to his feet and located his jeans. “We can’t turn her werewolf, Rhett. The failure rate is too high. She has three werewolves and a vampire as her mates. If we can’t turn her, it is only logical that he will.”“And then what!” Rhett’s fury was such that the words were all but yelled. “We grow old, whilst she stays eternally young?”“Would you rather her grow old and die, when she has the option to be young and live forever?” Heath demanded. “We cannot give her that, but he can!”“What about kids?” Cameron asked. “If he turns her into a vampire, can she still have kids?”They fell into silence, their eyes flicking to Aislen and then away.“I can have kids,” she answered their unspoken question. “Bitch-faced Tabby Cat was speaking shit. I had a miscarriage, that is all. My doctor never said that I wouldn’t be able to have kid
Havermouth, Present TimeCameron groaned and pressed his hips into hers, letting her feel that he was hard. He leaned over until his breath brushed over her lips, his eyes on hers so that she could see every fleck within the bright blue. She reached up and threaded her fingers into his hair feeling the heavy thickness of the curls wrap around her fingers.His eyes closed as he inhaled and moaned on the exhale. “Your scent…” He said as he opened his eyes, meeting hers. His smile was bone melting. “When you are turned on, your scent is a sin. I remember in school, whenever you walked by us, I’d just about come in my pants breathing it in.”“Make me come, instead,” she invited.“Yeah,” he laughed under his breath. “I can do that.” He lifted her up and carried her to the porch.“Hey,” Tyler said as he opened the door. “Morgana, hey hero! Talen wasn’t sure when you’d be back. He’ll be happy to know you’re back home again. I was just about to head out to grab some take away. Do you want me
Havermouth, Present TimeCameron carried Aislen through the reception area where Heath was smoothly talking his way through her discharge.Rhett paused to charm his way into a trolley. "I'll load up with Aislen's things, and meet you at the cars," he said to Cameron as he wheeled it back into the room.“Oh, I’ll get a wheelchair!” A nurse protested seeing Cameron with Aislen in his arms.“It’s fine,” Cameron told her with a shrug. “Aislen’s not heavy.”“Are you leaving?” A woman stepped out of a room. Her clothing was rumpled, her eyes tired, and she clutched an empty coffee cup in one hand. “That is wonderful news. I’m Margaret,” she said to Aislen with a wide smile, her eyes filling with tears. “You must be Aislen Carter. You saved my son, Stephan’s life. My husband and I… We are just so grateful.”“Oh,” Aislen flushed, embarrassed by the teary gratitude. “It was nothing, really. He was saving himself, and the gunman had moved on to the library, so it wasn’t like… I’m told he’s doin
Havermouth, Present Time“Charles Gale, Pastor,” Pastor Gale recovered quickly, and his outrage transformed into charm. “I came to offer Aislen my services and company. I make regular rounds of the hospital,” he said as he stepped into the room. “And I understood that my son and his friends were at the river house.”He had expected to find her alone, in other words, she thought. Alone and vulnerable. And instead, he found her guarded by a giant of a vampire.“They are,” Talen replied, leaning a hip onto Aislen’s bed, a posture that was both confident and claiming. “We are alternating who stays with Aislen. They will be returning soon.”“Thank you for your kind thought,” Aislen said, barely keeping the sarcasm out of her tone. “But I’m not religious and you’ve made perfectly clear that you don’t enjoy my company.”“Now, Aislen,” Pastor Gale smiled patronizingly. “That’s simply not true.”It was unnerving how similar he looked to Heath, Aislen thought, considering that she reviled the m
Havermouth, Present DayAislen watched the water flow around her feet, swirling over the paving stones and tarmac of the main street of Havermouth, ripples casting shadows through the water that looked like screaming faces. She walked through the water, bewildered, feeling its cold drag against her legs, and its weight tugging down the fabric of her dress and sticking it to her skin.The traffic on the street had stopped, cars like islands in the flowing water, and pedestrians came to a standstill, everyone turning towards the river in astonishment.Where had the water come from?Something brushed against Aislen’s leg, and she looked down and cried out in horror as a pale, fish-nibbled face passed by, cheeks flapping in the movement of the water and eye sockets vacant, carried along in the tide of the water.Aislen woke on the end of a jump and gripped the sheets, breathing heavily.“Morgana,” Talen rose from the recliner and leaned over her. His hair was loose, brushing over her chee
Havermouth, Present Day“Aislen…” Heath started but was interrupted by the arrival of the nurses. “We’ll talk after,” he finished as the nurses adjusted the bed to sit Aislen upright.“Any discomfort?” The nurse asked attentively as they helped Aislen turn so that her legs hung over the end of the bed.“No,” Aislen suspected that Talen’s blood was the reason, healing her from the inside out. Bless her daddy vampire, she thought fondly.“Okay, but be guided by your body and if it hurts, we will stop…”“I can carry her,” Cameron hovered anxiously as Aislen stood with the help of the nurses. “F-k…” His hands were already held out, wanting to push the nurses out of the way.“Boyfriend?” The nurse to Aislen’s left asked as they took a shuffling step towards the ensuite.“Yeah,” Aislen agreed. It was close enough a description for their relationship at the moment, she decided, and she was f-king over being ashamed and hiding. “Both are, actually,” she said with a slight shrug. “Four, really
Kabramatta, A Month BeforeAislen found the regular yoga sessions not only helpful in maintaining a level of physical fitness to combat the stationary nature of her art, but also in enforcing a regular meditation to help strengthen the bubbles that protected her from the onslaught of mental noise that came with living in a busy city. That Bianca was the yogi was a bonus, as it meant that she could combine exercise, meditation and a catch up with her friend.Aislen lingered behind as the class ended and the room gradually emptied.She watched as Bianca flirted with a pony-tailed, curvaceous blonde woman, the sparks flying between them as they exchange numbers. The blonde cast a smile over her shoulder as she left.“You have a type,” Aislen drawled as she joined Bianca. “Blonde, curvy, and bubbly.”“So do you - six inches, chubby and made of silicone,” Bianca snorted. “When are you going to give a flesh and blood person a go? I bumped into Jordan Daniels the other day at a gallery. He i