Havermouth High School, Five Years BeforeAislen wasn’t surprised when Rhett stepped out from the alley between the classrooms as she reached the art room, his eyes to the ground and his hands in his pockets – but his casual demeanour did not fool her for a moment. She hesitated, and he lifted his eyes, meeting hers, and the expression in them caused her breath to catch and her clit to throb.She felt like Eve, she thought, irresistibly drawn to the apple.She crossed to him, and he caught her by the elbows, pulling her flush to him, his body lean and hard against hers, stepping back into the privacy of the alley way, pushing her up against the wall. He lifted her bag off her shoulder, lowered it to the ground without breaking their gazes.His eyes were intense and the almost oily iridescent sheen that she had come to recognize as a sign of werewolfism reflected off their darkness. He buried his fingers into her curls with a sigh as he did so, before leaning forward, the heat of his l
Havermouth, Present TimeTalen did as he had promised, the moment that they were outside of the bar, he scooped her up and threw her over the back of his shoulder, his hands holding onto her thighs, her shriek of laughter and the exposure of her thigh highs scandalizing the yuppies at their meals and cocktails.As Talen strode down the street, indifferent to the stares, she saw Heath stand from one of the tables, pulling his waistcoat down, his expression furious, and his mother reach out to touch his wrist, preventing him from pursuing.She was breathless from the position, the blood rushing to her head, and by Talen’s strength, as he did not even seem to notice her on his shoulder as he strode to the corner. “Which way, sexy?” He asked, nipped the side of her thigh nearest to her, the drag of his sharp teeth across her flesh delicious.“Right,” she told him. “And right again.”Rhett was at the door of his studio, seeing off his client, and she met his eyes as they passed. She blew h
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeIt was near midnight when the house was finally quiet and Aislen snuck out of bed, sliding her window open and slipping over the ledge, pausing with her toes on the narrow footing so that she could reach back for her bag before stepping over the pretty flowerbed that her mother was cultivating, onto the path.The night rustled with life, crickets singing in the grasses falling silent as she walked by and resuming their calls once she passed, a cat’s eyes reflecting eerily from the shadows, and a possum scrambling up a tree. She could hear the cars and music from the town – on a Friday night, the pubs were busy.In the distance she could hear the occasional howl – before coming to Havermouth she would have dismissed it as dogs, but now she knew better. It was the full moon after all, she thought, looking up although she did not need to confirm it visually. Ever since she had discovered that a large percentage of the people in the town were werewolves, she
Havermouth, Present TimeTalen was gone by the time she woke, and she wondered if the legends about vampires and daylight were right. She groaned as she rolled onto her back, and grinned, dropping her forearm over her eyes. Way to make a come back into the dating game, Aislen, she congratulated herself. A sexy daddy-bear vampire f-k buddy.He’d be surprisingly gentle, leaving her feeling thoroughly ridden but not sore, she added as she pulled on a satin kimono style dressing gown that she had loved as a teenager and made her way to the bathroom. She paused in the door to the bathroom, frowning and inhaled.“What the actual f-k?” She made her way down to the kitchen.Heath, immaculate in a grey pinstriped suit, glanced over his shoulder as he buttered toast. “Toast?” He asked coolly. He wore a frilled floral apron that her mother must have left behind tied around his waist and f-k it if he didn’t look deliciously domestic, she thought. The only possible improvement would be if he were
Havermouth High School, Five Years BeforeAislen boarded the bus with a sinking feeling. Already she could hear laughter from the back of the bus. It wasn’t about her, she tried to convince herself, but she recognized Cameron and Heath’s voices, along with Lillian’s and it FELT like they were laughing at her. She picked a seat towards the front of the bus – as far from the Triquetra as she could be. She thought that she had gotten away with it until the bus began moving, and suddenly Rhett sat beside her, having made his way up from the rear, where Cameron and Heath were. He didn’t say anything or look at her but threw himself into the seat next to her with a huff of breath and then organized his sketch book and supplies into his bag between his legs until she couldn’t protest his presence because they were well underway. She sighed and leaned against the windows, looking out. His fingers curled around hers on her thigh, and and her mind filled with his anxiety and concern, images
Havermouth, Present Time As Rhett finally released from within her, they stood staring, eye to eye. She swallowed hard. “Rhett, I…” He cupped her cheek, his gaze softening and dropping to her lips before lifting. “Aislen,” he said quietly. “You are not like us. You don’t understand…” “I have an appointment. We should discuss Aislen’s other lover before I have to leave,” Heath’s shadow fell over them. Her head jerked his way. “What does anyone I sleep with have to do with you? Heath’s laugh was half a sneer and might have fooled her if there wasn’t an edge to it that spoke of… hurt. “Anything to do with you, has everything to do with us,” he shoved back from the doorframe and stepped back into the kitchen, obviously expecting that Aislen and Rhett would follow. She pulled her dressing gown closed around her body, as Rhett closed his jeans, his hair falling over his face in a blatant attempt of avoiding her eyes. She followed him into the kitchen, heading back that way not out of
Havermouth High School, Five Years BeforeAislen waited outside of the headmaster’s office in the chairs deliberately positioned so that their occupiers were subject to the curiosity of passing students. A gauntlet of shame, moving up the queue gradually towards the office door as the headmaster addressed the misdemeanors of those higher ranked.Except that she was the only occupant of the chairs, and the halls were empty but for the few stray students who had lingered behind due to after school commitments, or detentions. Inside the office, her parents’ voices could be heard in rising and falling tones that were rendered meaningless by the wall and glass of the door. The glass warped their silhouettes as her mother rose to her feet, angry. Aislen’s skin was cold, and she swallowed hard. The voices within the office stilled and, a moment later, the door opened. The headmaster, Clive Owens looked down at her. “Come in Aislen,” he said as if it were an invite and not a command. With
Havermouth, Present TimeSeeing as her morning coffee had ended up on the floor, Aislen dressed and made her way into town. Diana Boyston saw her the moment she joined the queue at the coffee shop, but this time she did not protest, and had Aislen’s long black on the counter ready by the time she reached the front. “Now that’s service,” Aislen approved as she swiped her card. “Thank you.”She took her coffee with her for a stroll. Rhett was just opening his tattoo parlour for business, and their eyes met through the window. He met her at the door, opening it and watching as she walked by him. She looked around with interest. The interior was as decidedly masculine and modern as the exterior, painted the same dark grey, the floor polished concrete. The walls were hung with framed examples of artwork. One corner had been enclosed into a little office, remarkably neat and organized, and there were three stations against the wall, with screens that could be pulled around to give the cus
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