Havermouth, Five Years BeforeThe school had decided to volunteer their senior students at a local aged care center. It was intended to teach the teenagers compassion and giving to their community and provide the oldies with some entertainment.It was precisely the sort of thing that his dad and mum encouraged Heath to do throughout his childhood, and he hated it, because he knew from experience that it was pretend, image-based charity. His parents always made sure that they were photographed in such acts, and his father spent as much time helping the oldies to write him cheques as he did in reading from the Bible - cheques that Heath knew ended up in Charlie’s offshore account, rather than the church’s coffers or any charity’s account.The Triquetra headed to the back of the bus, to the rear seats that were reserved, in an unspoken acknowledgement of social hierarchy, for them. Lillian, playing the role of girlfriend with renewed dedication in Diana’s absence, sat between him and Hea
Havermouth, Present TimeRhett caught her in his arms, but to her surprise he went down to his knees, carrying them both to the ground and wrapped himself over her, pinning her beneath him in a swamp of dark hair and long limbed, lean man. He pressed his face into the curve of her neck and shoulder and just lay there. She stroked her hands through his hair, thoroughly confused.She had expected anger and fight, as things had always been between them. He would yell at her about being thoughtless and she would accuse him of expecting more of her than he did other people, of setting unrealistic standards for her…He had robbed her of her preconceived idea of what hammering at his door would mean, and as a result she was disarmed.“You forgive me,” he said, his voice muffled. “You forgive me for the tattoos and the piercings.”“Rhett,” she stroked back his hair craning her chin to her chest seeking to see his face. “I’m sorry,” she fought back tears. She had known that it was there betwee
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeOn the bus back to school, Heath sat with Aislen, and Rhett and Cameron sat to the back of the bus. The change of shift did not go unnoticed, with Mr Graynor frowning as his eyes moved from where Rhett and Cameron sat with Lillian on the rear seat, to where Heath sat with his arm around Aislen.“What the f-k is going on?” Lillian whispered to him. “What happened? Why is Heath - ?”“Shh,” Rhett told her impatiently. “I need to think.”She slid back into her seat sulkily.“Rhett,” Cameron leaned his shoulder against Rhett, using the excuse of whispered conversation to both to give and receive comfort in the only acceptable way that existed between them in public. “What is going on? Did you see what happened?”“Old man died,” Rhett replied. “One that Aislen was sitting with. She got upset and Heath…”Heath had reacted as if Aislen were their mate, taking her aside and offering comfort.Rhett’s heart was racing in his chest. He wasn’t sure if he was exhilarat
Havermouth, Present TimeHeath and Cameron went upstairs and returned with a whiteboard on a stand which Heath positioned before the couch in the snug.Aislen shook her head in amusement as Cameron slid onto the couch next to her and lifted her feet into his lap. “Only Heath would have a whiteboard in his office.”“Only Heath would think that it was acceptable to bring a whiteboard into my snug,” Rhett complained. “It ruins the ambiance.”“I’ll remove it after,” Heath said with dry amusement. “But it will be helpful to have a visual aid.” At the top of the board, he wrote: Aislen’s Enemies.“Oh, wow,” Aislen rolled her eyes. “I’m always the problem.”“Fine,” he used a cloth to wipe the words off and paused for a moment looking at the board and instead wrote: Problems. “Is that better?”“It’ll do,” she stole a grape off the cheese board and popped it into her mouth, watching as he wrote.Who murdered Patrick Carter?Who hexed Aislen?Who has been vandalizing Aislen’s house?What is Ais
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeRhett pulled up down the street from Aislen’s house and smoked a nervous cigarette whilst he rehearsed the day in his mind. His head still rung from the lecture his father had given him that morning. Things were tense in the Salem household, with Phillip prolonging his stay in Havermouth initially in order to attend a meeting with Abigail and August, and then because of the death of Alfred Boyston.The Triquetra’s behavior towards Aislen had filtered through the pack and reached Phillip’s ears and Phillip had made it absolutely clear to Rhett that the Triquetra needed to focus on finding a she-wolf mate and stop f-king around with human girls.He knew that Heath and Cameron both had the same talk from their parents, though Jules at least had been a lot less intensive about it. The Triquetra had spoken on the phone that morning and had agreed that they needed to resolve the problem of Aislen Carter one way or another that weekend.As a result, Heath and Ca
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeHeath could see the girl standing forlornly on the balcony. She was caught between the two groups, he thought. She was not friends with any of the werewolves setting up the party around the firepit, and not included in the Triquetra’s huddle in the kitchen. There was something heart wrenchingly lonely about the way that she stood there, her hands on the railing and the wind tugging at her hair.In the river beyond the house there were squeals of laughter as the werewolves stripped down for a swim. The water would be cold, the sun not strong enough to heat beyond the surface and the thrashing of the swimmers would have disrupted that level. However, the swim was not about the water for the werewolves, but rather an excuse to undress, an ice breaker for the f-king to come once they were mellow with alcohol.Most of the couples were new, and were still shy with each other, the sex still unfamiliar and uncertain, thrilling and naughty, as none of the couples
Havermouth, Five Years BeforeRhett’s hands shook as he lit the candles in the bedroom. He’d never been so nervous, he admitted to himself. Not when he and Heath had f-ked for the first time, not when he and Heath had taken Cameron…He’d spent the evening with Aislen perched on his lap, watching as other alphas looked at her. As night and alcohol had thinned the barrier between man and wolf, it had made his skin crawl for them to have their eyes on her. She belonged to the Triquetra; she was theirs. Other alphas shouldn’t be looking at her, the alpha within him insisted, he needed to make sure that they knew that she was the Triquetra’s. He had found himself growling low in his throat and glaring around the fire, forcing the other alpha’s present to drop their eyes.The Triquetra had f-ked up, he thought. Cameron had known it the moment that he’d set eyes on the girl, Rhett had known it the moment he had scented her on Cameron, Heath had known… And they’d chosen to ignore the obvious
Havermouth, Five Years Before“Come to me,” Heath’s eyes held Aislen’s, and he smiled tightly. Start strong, he told himself, establish dominance, and teach her to obey him. She had singled out Rhett, both in her behavior at school, in letting him be the one to seduce her, but also in calling out for him for protection.Heath needed to fix the power dynamic within the Triquetra that she had disrupted, he needed to teach her the hierarchy.A female mate within a Triquetra had more power than any of her alphas. She was irreplaceable, the vessel by which they guaranteed their lines, and her alphas were meant to be prepared to sacrifice their lives for her wellbeing. She was not meant to have a favorite, but to share her affection and attention equally, however if she did favor one alpha over the others, it had better f-king be the dominant alpha or there would be trouble.With a wild-card like Rhett in his Triquetra, Heath had always known that he would have to work harder to maintain hi
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