Havermouth, Five Years BeforeHeath watched from where he sat on the bank as Aislen surfaced from the water, her dark hair spreading out in the water like ink. Wet, her hair came to her waist, and he wasn’t entirely sure why that both surprised and fascinated him. She swam in her skin, like they all did, and the flashes of the curve of her arse, the shy peek of nipple above the water line entranced and taunted him.Rhett caught her against him, wrapping his arms around her, and she shone with her enjoyment of his casual, easily delivered affection. She was less confident with Heath and Cameron, her eyes vulnerable and her expression uncertain when Cameron, laughing, surfaced within the drift of her hair.“Do I look like Rhett now?” He asked, pouting his smoulder as he posed with her hair over his own, running streams of water over his face and plastering to his skin.“Only if you let me pierce your lip,” Rhett tapped his fingernail against his piercing. “And then you might have my sex
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeHeath turned and stalked down to the bedroom, stepping in through the partially open the door. As he’d suspected, Aislen had positioned herself where the light was best, below the open window, and was working on her painting. The fading sunlight caught in the wilderness of her ringlets and glowed over her skin. She had pulled on a t-shirt and jeans, and the neckline of her t-shirt gave him an enticing view of her generous breasts within the fragile lace of her bra.“I’m behind on this assignment,” she told him, pushing up into a seated position. “I was trying to catch up.”He pressed the door closed behind him. “I can see Rhett in this,” he said as he sat down behind her, looking over her shoulder at the painting and then laughed as her hair fell in his face. He scooped it back, running his fingers through the curls, admiring their bounce. “You hair is as wild and wicked as you are. More so after swimming today,” he grazed his lips over her cheek bone as
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeHeath pressed his face into her hair and sank into the scent and feel of her, the touch of her hands on his back and her lips on his cheek, and for a moment all the problems of having her retreated, leaving him in a space of peaceful acceptance.“Are you going to f-k her all day, Heath, or come out and socialize?” Rohan leaned in through the window, grinning lewdly, and Aislen started, crying out and clutching Heath against her, using him to prevent Rohan from seeing her naked body.Heath snarled over his shoulder, unable to move without exposing his mate, and there was no way that he was going to expose his female to a male alpha who was not part of his Triquetra. “F-k off Rohan,” he spat, every instinct wanting him to launch across the room and tear out his friend’s throat with his teeth.Rohan recoiled in shock, reading Heath’s reaction accurately. “Sorry man, I just…” His eyes flashed with his wolf, and his stance became wary.“Yeah, you just, but I’m
Havermouth, Present Time“Now you’ve done it,” Rhett smirked. “No more work for you.”Aislen stood. “I agreed to move in,” she told Cameron as she stepped towards him. “And to being mates.” Cameron’s face crumpled and he turned abruptly and walked out. “Ah, shit,” she said and hurried out after him. “Cameron!” She said as she ran down the stairs in pursuit.He turned at the bottom landing and caught her against him as she cannoned down towards him, pressing his face into her neck. She could feel the wetness of his tears and his body shook against hers as he dragged in a breath. “I don’t know what to do,” he said breathlessly. “I don’t know what I am supposed to do now.”“Oh, Cam,” she stroked her fingers into his hair, cupping his head against her shoulder. His thoughts were frantic and fragmented, and he had reacted on instinct, seeking out Heath, seeking out the lead alpha. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Hey, how did things go with your dad?” She tried changing the subject, to s
Havermouth, Present TimeAislen flicked through the clothing that she’d packed and brought with her searching for something to wear. “Didn’t shop planning for a mega storm disaster,” she scolded herself. At least she had Rhett’s jacket, she thought and then grinned and grabbed her corset off the bed, crossing the hallway to Rhett’s bedroom and letting herself in.He was in the shower, the slightly ajar door spilling steam and music into the bedroom.Aislen went to the walk-in robe and covered her smile with her hand when she was greeted by a sea of black. She flicked through a stack of jeans and selected a pair with some stretch, wriggling them on before returning to the shelves. A thin long sleeved ribbed top with thumb holes in the sleeves went on over her bra and topped with a band t-shirt before being given shape with the corset.She posed in front of the mirror. “Thanks Rhett,” she kissed the mirror, leaving behind a red-lipstick mark.As she tiptoed back across the room, the bat
Havermouth, Present Time “Kids go missing, all the time,” Heath told her reassuringly. “It could be nothing. The concern, however, is that our resources are already spread thin and in the current conditions, organizing a search party if she doesn’t turn up will be difficult.” “Oh, Lauren will be frantic,” Aislen’s heart ached for the other woman. “We need to help her, Heath.” “Are we sure that her mother has nothing to do with it?” Cameron said darkly. “The last little girl to go missing was never missing, was she?” “I’ll find out,” Aislen decided firmly. “But Lauren isn’t Dr James. She lives for that little girl; you can just tell that about her.” “Where am I going?” Talen asked Heath as he reached a crossroad. “Towards the town hall? It seems to be where all the activity is,” he nodded to the left. Aislen could see that where the street to the right was empty other than the wind-whipped rain, to the left through the rain, the red glare of rear lights and the dark shapes of cars
Havermouth, Present TimeHeath caught their attention, gesturing for them to wait. Aislen could feel Lauren’s eyes on her, and the pressure of Rhett’s thoughts as he tried to puzzle out what was going on. Within that confusion, was a growing comprehension, the pieces coming together and being as quickly shoved away in a ferocious, desperate denial.“I need a smoke,” Rhett was getting fidgety.“Rhett,” she wrapped her arms around him. “We’ll go have a smoke together…” She trailed off as Heath broke away from his group and gestured with his head towards a side door set between a picture of Havermouth when there were only a few buildings and wide dirt roads, and a man with an impressive handlebar moustache and formal robes from at least a century before. “Come on,” she led Rhett towards the door.Heath put his hand on Rhett’s back as they joined him, following her and Rhett into the little hallway beyond, with Cameron and Talen at his heels. “Third door down is an office,” he said. “And
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeIt had been really nice to wake with Aislen under him, Cameron thought as he leaned on the balcony railing, looking out over the river. It had felt right, all four of them sleeping the night together, and it was exciting to think that it was the first night of many. Aislen seemed to have accepted the relationship, and that was a huge relief. Oh, sure, she got uppity every now and again, but he was beginning to think that was just what she was like, and that it had nothing to do with them.Heath had been a genius with his polaroid photo solution, he grinned to himself. It had been fun to take those photos with her, and f-k around afterwards. She’d been good about it, too, letting Heath take the shots he wanted.Heath had relaxed a lot since Aislen had begun behaving herself, and Cameron was grateful for that as he had hated seeing Heath under so much pressure.“Hey,” Heath crossed the balcony and put his arms around Cameron, leaning his chin onto Cameron’s
Havermouth, Present Time Talen and Aislen were quickly called to a stop as they approached the busy area directly in front of the town hall. The police and the firies were packing up, she noticed, frowning, and none of them looked happy about it. “We are encouraging civilians to stay in their residences and off the streets,” a stern voiced soldier told Aislen and Talen disapprovingly. “There are many hazards left after the storm, and our men need free access to clear the roads of debris and make repairs.” Aislen swallowed back the words that she wanted to say, and instead smiled sweetly. “We’re from Boyston’s coffee shop,” she lied showing him the box that she held. “Making a delivery. Cakes and slices that are going stale, to help fuel the forces here. They’re free,” she added with a bright smile. “See, that’s our coffee van, over there,” she nodded with her chin. “Oh,” he was non-plussed, looking over his shoulder at the van, and then back at the box that she held. “Let me look,”
Havermouth, Two Years Before“Aislen Carter graduated from Rideten School of Art with honors on the eleventh of the month, and vacated her school accommodation four days later,” the PI’s report stated blandly the words that sent icy shards of fear and horror through Heath’s soul.“Her vehicle was placed for sale at North Rideten Car Sales one week prior and sold on the fifteenth with deposits made into bank accounts that were, in turn, closed on the twentieth. We have seen this sort of behavior before, in victims of domestic violence, where the subject is escaping an abusive spouse through the help of an organization. It is our companies ethical position not to pursue such cases further.”“Sure,” Heath snarled at the email. “But you f-king charged me the full price.”He was tempted to throw the laptop against the wall in his frustration, but he gripped the table edge instead and blew out his breath, controlling the anger, turning the heat to ice, and focusing on the house around him t
Havermouth, Two Years Before The Rideten night club was overflowing with patrons, and Heath had to fight for the standing table where he could look out across the dance floor and keep an eye on Rhett, who was having a fantastic time with his co-workers celebrating the end of his apprenticeship and the purchase of his own shop in Havermouth. It was the happiest that Heath had seen him in a long time, and that thought pained him, but did not surprise him. The Triquetra pretended well, most of the time, however the waiting was slowly tearing them apart. They were spending less time together at the river house, and it often felt more like they were house mates than mates, as they rarely even shared a meal let alone a bed. Cameron was spending more and more time on the land now that he had graduated university, Rhett had thrown himself into getting as much experience as he could before starting his own shop, and Heath was working part time at the law firm he had purchased in Havermouth i
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeThe little Redbank tattoo parlour that had agreed to take him as an apprentice had many things that Rhett liked, and many that he didn’t. The shop was tiny, with a staircase to the second level which was so steep that it kicked in Rhett’s phobia about heights, and, whilst the workstations were brightly lit for the purpose of the artists, everywhere else was shadowy and pokey. The little kitchen could only fit one person at a time, and the toilet was so narrow that cleaning it (which was one of Rhett’s duties as an apprentice) was a bit like performing yoga in a box.Mostly he divided his time between manning the reception desk, doing clean-up of the workstations, and making drinks for the artists and customers, but on the slow days, the artists would take turns working with his sketches, and he would sit with his pants around his ankles on one of the chairs and practise on himself, upside down.If he produced a decent piece, one of the other artists, Matt
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeHeath left the final class of the year feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Just the exams left to do, and high school would be a thing of the past. He paused for a moment, his eyes adjusting from the artificial light of the classroom and his body to movement after two intense hours of mental activity as the teacher had taken the opportunity to run them through a practice exam.Cameron’s bright hair caught the sunlight over the heads of other students moving out into freedom. “Hey!” Cameron grinned as he headed over. “It’s done! We are free!”“Until exams,” Heath corrected. “And, then the pre-reading for university.”“Ugh,” Cameron’s groan of disgust was throaty. “Let me have at least today to enjoy the end of classes without filling my head up with more useless knowledge.”Heath slung his arm around Cameron’s shoulders. “Will you miss school?”“Nope,” Cameron leaned into Heath. “You?”“Nope,” Heath agreed. He gave Cameron’s shoulders
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeCameron’s dreams were filled with chasing Aislen through the fields. He could see her just ahead of him, her dark hair bouncing with the motion of her run, the weeds catching on the skirt of her dress and dragging long scratches along her legs that she didn’t seem to notice. “Aislen!” He cried out. “Slow down!”He woke with a start to the echoes of his own voice. It wasn’t yet midnight and he was alone in bed. He pressed his face into the pillows, breathing in, seeking the scent of Rhett and Heath from the fabric, but it had been too long since they’d slept there, and the scent had faded beneath his own.He couldn’t remember ever having fought with either of them. It left him feeling off-balance, and unwell. He’d thrown himself into working the farm with his dad, trying to distract himself from the anguish of it. Jules hadn’t questioned why Cameron wasn’t going to school, studying, or spending time with the other two members of the Triquetra, although Cam
Havermouth, Five Years Prior“I can’t go home - things are too bad with dad and he seems to be hanging around more than ever, and things are f-ked up with Aislen at home too, so I was thinking that Aislen and I could stay at the river house for a few days until we all find somewhere to rent in Havermouth. If we all go in to Aislen’s we can get her packed and out of there before her parents can do anything about it, right?” Rhett suggested, twisting in his seat to look from Heath to Cameron.“Sure,” Cameron leaned forward and gripped the front seats. “We can all stay at the river house. It will be fun.”“Exams next week,” Heath said softly, his heart sinking. “We should study more. But, sure, a few days at the river house won’t hurt. We can study during the daytime whilst there’s light.” What day would they take Aislen away, he wondered. Did she know that she was going to Rideten? Had that been why her suitcases had been under the bed?“Speak for yourself,” Rhett snorted. “I’m not f-ki
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeAs dawn pinked the sky, Cameron scuffed the toe of his shoe through the dust that was all that remained of the grass where cows had been killed. Now that he knew what caused these patches, whenever he was by the river, his eyes were peeled for them, and he was surprised by how many there were – patches where nothing seemed to grow, which he’d always accepted as just being randomly barren spots because he’d grown up with their occurrence.“Don’t play in the dust,” Jules reprimanded as he returned to the Ute.“Why?” Cameron wondered. “It’s just dirt, dad.”“It’s still dead. I don’t trust it until it grows green again.”It made sense that Jules would think that way, Cameron thought stepping away from the patch. Jules' relationship to the land was other level, as Jules’ father and grandfather had been before him. Cameron loved the farm. He loved and respected the land, the river house, and the work. He couldn’t imagine doing anything else with his life, but h
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeHeath fed some twigs into the ashes of the firepit knowing that below the layer of ash, there was enough heat to get the fire going again. They’d be grateful in the morning when they went to make coffee and breakfast if there were still hot coals, so he’d get the fire going again whilst Rhett got his drunk on, and then the three of them would go to bed, f-k it out, and get some sleep, he decided.Rhett winced his way through a swig of whiskey, drinking to the side of his mouth away from the piercing and then deliberately swishing the whiskey over the wound, using it as a disinfectant, the action betraying how much it was paining him and his concern over the damage. He met Heath’s eye and gave a little rueful shrug – there wasn’t much that he could do other than hope that it healed alright.Heath took the whiskey bottle from him and took a swig before returning it and leaning over to throw some logs onto the firepit as the kindling leapt into flame. “I got