Waken (The Woods of Everod Book 1) Read online

  His eyes turned on me, a clear blue, the corners crinkled and my stomach clenched.

  “Janie?” Rachel asked.

  “What?” I snapped, looking at her and knowing beyond any doubt that I’d been caught staring, not just by him, but by all of them. “Sorry,” I muttered. “I was just thinking about something else.”

  “Justin said you might not be staying here after summer, why not?” Kyle asked. His hair was as black as mine and cut in a jagged sweep across his forehead. His brown eyes an eerie mirror of my own.

  Beside me, Rachel tensed. I still didn’t understand why she wanted me to keep my parents a secret, but I didn’t want to break her trust just when we were beginning to be friends. “I’m not really a small town kind of person. My stepdad, Tim, said if I didn’t like it by the end of the summer I could go back to Dallas and stay with his sister.”

  “What’s not to like?” Seth asked with a cocky grin. “You’re surrounded by hot guys and around town we outnumber the girls four to one.”

  “I only see Kyle and Tristan in here, Seth. Where are the other hot guys?” Rachel asked with a less then subtle sneer. Despite the front Rachel and Seth put up, they obviously weren’t friends.

  Seth placed a hand on his heart with a mocking expression. “Ouch. That hurt, Rach. I guess since you’re one of the few single girls in town you must not be hitting the hot spots.”

  So she wasn’t dating Tristan. The jealousy I’d felt after seeing her touch him evaporated.

  The rest of lunch went quickly and I even managed to contribute to the conversation. Rachel and I made plans to go shopping on Saturday. She was going to meet me at the mall in Montrose since her mom was already taking her into town for a hair appointment and brunch. When we left the diner, I headed toward the library and the others went in to opposite direction. With a half hour before Justin would be finished at the gym, I’d have time to pick up a couple more books, maybe even check out a couple of videos.

  “I’ll catch up with you guys later,” I heard Tristan say behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see him jogging up behind me. When he reached my side, he looked down at me and held up a video marked with a barcode.

  “That song you played yesterday was really cool,” he said.

  “Thanks.” There was that urge to smack myself again.

  “Do you play a lot?”

  “No.” I spoke flatly, hoping he’d get the drift that I didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

  “You aren’t still freaked about Kas are you?”

  “Kas?”

  “Our resident white wolf.”

  “You name the wildlife?” I glanced up at him, my eyebrows raised.

  “Not all, just...the special ones.”

  “And this wolf is special how?” I’d never heard of an entire town going around naming the wildlife. Then again, I was pretty much a city girl, so maybe this was common in the boonies.

  “He’s one of us. I mean, he’s been around since before I was born.”

  “Well, he pretty much scared the crap out of me.”

  “Yeah, he’s a little leery around new bloods. Most of the time he’s safe, but with you…” He cut himself off and shrugged a shoulder. We reached the library and he opened the door, holding it for me as I passed through.

  “Just new bloods?” I asked, startled by the idea that a wild animal would be anything but leery around humans. “He was pretty focused on me. Why not Justin as well?”

  “Well, you probably smell different to him.”

  “Are you implying that I smell bad?”

  “Nah, at least I haven’t noticed anything funky coming from you.” He nudged me with his elbow and I felt a jolt run through me.

  I shook off the feeling. “I haven’t done a lot of hiking or wilderness stuff, but I always thought wild animals avoided people.”

  “Yeah, well, wolves can be aggressive so I’d suggest not going out hiking alone.” He laughed and dropped his video in the return box then waited as I unloaded my books.

  I pulled off my cardigan and shoved it into my bag, before slinging the backpack over my shoulder. With the heat rolling off Tristan, I didn’t worry about getting chilled from the air conditioner that always seemed to be set high. We walked silently through the library, nodding at Ms. Markov who watched us, a curious look on her face.

  The media center door stood open and we made our way to the DVD shelves. The videos were a mix of old and new releases, probably better stocked than any rental store would be.

  Tristan pulled out a new release, some romantic comedy, and began reading in a sappy voice, drawing out words to emphasize the cheesiness of it. “Love and laughs, life and lust. How can two beautiful people resist what draws them together. Despite initially despising each other Paul and Katie can’t fight serendipity.” He put it back on the shelf as we laughed at the horribly vague plot line. “Can you believe that people think that’s what love really is?”

  “I guess they just want to believe that love really can conquer all.”

  “I don’t see much point in trying to love someone you can’t stand.”

  He pulled out another video, then another, each time reading the blurb on the back in some strange voice. Our laughter echoed through the room. I’d never felt so relaxed. Even with Justin and Tim, part of me worried that I would say something to drive them away.

  I reached for a DVD, hoping that it might be worth borrowing. The movement caused my bag to slide down my arm, tearing at a chunk of my hair that was entangled in the zipper. “Ahh!” The cry of pain burst from me.

  Tristan grabbed the bag and lifted it, relieving the pulling. “Hold on, you’re all tangled up.”

  He swept the rest of my hair over my shoulder and began picking my hair loose. Each strand he freed went over the same shoulder. With the red tank top cut low, my upper back was completely bare. I could feel his breath flow along my nape. The hairs on my arm stood up and I barely controlled the urge to shudder in pure delight.

  His movements stopped suddenly, even though I could still feel the bag pulling on my scalp. The touch of his finger on my skin caused me to jump. I glanced over my shoulder to see that he was staring blankly at my back.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “This mark...”

  “Oh, it’s just some kind of skin pigmentation mark, like a birthmark. Well, that’s what the doctor said. Tim says it’s not too bad, that it looks like a face or something.”

  “Wolf,” he whispered.

  “What?” I asked a bit startled at his words.

  He cleared his throat. “It just made me think of a wolf.”

  “Huh, maybe it changed shape.” His fingers still traced the scar and I felt my head swimming. If he didn’t stop touching me soon, I wasn’t going to be held responsible for throwing myself at him. “Is all my hair out?”

  “Oh, just a second.”

  He went back to tugging on my hair, letting the last strands fall down my back to cover the mark before stepping back to refocus on the shelves in front of us. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and caught him looking back at me. My face flushed. His eyes crinkled and one side of his mouth curled up. My eyes darted back to the videos lined up in front of me. I needed a distraction, something to take my mind off his perfectly sculpted lips.

  “Have you seen this one?” he asked, holding a case out for me to see.

  “No, but it won some awards at the Sundance Festival.”

  “I was wondering, if you-” Whatever he was about to ask was cut off by the thumping of feet rushing down the stairs. We both turned to the door just as Justin came bounding through into the room.

  “Janie, come on, I’ve been waiting outside for almost ten minutes already.” He came to a stop a few feet in. “Hey, Tristan, what’s up, man?”

  “Just came to get a movie.”

  “Cool. Are you going up to The Grounds on Sunday?” The Grounds was a deserted campground overlooking the most northern tip of a small l
ake outside the town. Justin had been obsessed with getting an invite after Seth had told him about their weekly trips up there.

  Tristan glanced at me before answering. “Yeah, I’ll be there. I think I’ve got what I came for,” he said, holding up a DVD. He walked around Justin. “Catch you later, man.” He stopped in the doorway and turned back. “Can I give you a ride Sunday?”

  “Nah, I’ve got my car,” Justin said.

  Tristan laughed and said, “I was asking Janie.”

  “Oh. Ohh!” Justin twisted around and flashed me a huge grin. I was not going to hear the end of this.

  “Um, sure, yeah.”

  “Great, I’ll pick you up at seven.” He left before I could say anything else and I just stood there, as if by staring at the empty space, he would materialize and I could recreate the moment.

  “Dang, and here I thought I was going to be your slave for the summer,” Justin said, laughing.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about my days as your chauffeur being over.”

  “Uh, I don’t think so. I won that bet.”

  “Let’s review the terms shall we, dear sister. You make a friend and I’ll be your chauffeur.”

  “Yeah, and I made a friend - Rachel. We’re even meeting up when you take me into Montrose on Saturday for shopping.”

  “Well, this whole little ‘can I give you a ride?’ ‘oh, I’d like that’ thing,” his voice alternated between a deep and a high pitched girly voice, “It just signaled the complete and utter demise of your budding friendship with Rachel.”

  “What are you talking about? And I didn’t sound like that.”

  “You’re right, you were all breathy and ‘oh, Tristan’.” He fluttered his eyelashes and I swatted at him, narrowly missing him when he jumped out of the way. “As for what I’m talking about, it’s all over town that Rachel has been panting after the guy for years. Rachel’s been waiting to pounce ever since his last girlfriend split. And you, little girl, have just stepped into her territory.”

  “As if. He’s just being nice, it doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure she’s gonna see it that way.”

  “Anyways, it doesn’t change the fact that I won that bet. There was no stipulation on how long I had to be friends with her. Plus, Tristan would be a friend, anyways.”

  “Uh, no, boyfriends don’t count.”

  I wanted to argue, but my mind went mushy at the idea of Tristan being my boyfriend.

  Chapter 7

  The next few days were torture. Not only was Elin haunting my dreams at night, but going shopping with Rachel didn’t help. It was fun, but she was also pretty obvious about her interest in Tristan. Each time she mentioned him, I cringed with guilt. But then again, if Justin hadn’t been continually reminding me about the Grounds, I might have been convinced I’d imagined Tristan offering to give me a ride. Sunday, though, when we all headed out of the diner, Tristan caught my hand as I turned towards the library.

  “I’ll see you at seven,” he said.

  “Seven?”

  “The Grounds? Tonight? I’m giving you a ride. Sound familiar at all?”

  “Yeah, right. I just thought... seven. Great.” God, could I have sounded any stupider?

  His eyes crinkled as he obviously tried not to laugh at me. “Seven,” he said again, then jogged off to meet Seth where he waited up the street.

  I stood watching them until they turned the corner. Walking in a daze, I was home before I even realized I’d passed the library. I debated going back, but what would that have accomplished? A couple wasted hours spent pretending to read while I mooned over the prospect of a date with Tristan.

  Instead, I flipped on the television and tried to distract myself with reruns of an old sitcom. Justin came in at one point, but when I refused to change the channel or move from my reclined position on the couch, he wandered off. With Elin haunting my nights, the effects of sleep deprivation took over and my eyes drifted shut. The dream came on suddenly, sucking me from the comfort of the living room back to the waterfall.

  She glides towards me. Angelic. Deceptive. She isn’t alone. At her side is a tall, lanky man unfamiliar to me. He wears white like her, his hair a flaming red. They move like two parts of the same being. I know what they will do when they reach me.

  I yell at them to stop. They laugh at my weakness. They know I’m trying to break free. I turn and run. My feet sink into thick mud. It drags at me, slowing me with every step.

  I see Tristan standing only yards away, watching me, watching them. I stretch my hands toward him in a silent plea for help, but he turns away. I try to follow him. They’re right behind me reaching out their hands, ensnaring their fingers in my hair.

  A wolf’s howl echoes through the small clearing. My head is yanked back and I stare into the woods watching as a black wolf races toward us. Then the hold on my hair is gone, they are gone. I try to move, but nothing. The wolf sprints closer, its legs quickly eating the distance between us. A scream rips from my throat. I drop to my knees and wrap my arms around my head.

  I jerked up, ripping out a small chunk of hair that caught beneath my arm. Searing pain burned my scalp and I rubbed the tender spot. I wanted to believe it was just a dream, that it didn’t mean anything. Dreams were just the subconscious playing out your fears. How much stock could I really put into them?

  Elin had been the focus of my nightmares ever since I could remember. And Tristan, well I was definitely in lust with him. Even the wolf seemed understandable. Not only was it on the old necklace I’d pulled out, but the book as well. There was also Tristan’s comment about my birthmark. There was no logical connection, but it all seemed too much of a coincidence. God, I really was going crazy.

  It was the man who scared me. He’d been there to help her. I had no idea why, or where he’d come from. I rubbed my eyes and grumbled at my musings. I was reading too much into these stupid dreams. He was probably some random person I’d seen around town.

  Pushing the thoughts away, I rolled over and reached for the TV remote, pressing the info button to check the time. Almost six-thirty. I jumped up and raced for the stairs. Justin, who was heading downstairs, was shoved out of my way.

  I didn’t have time to shower, so settled for a quick brush of my hair and teeth along with a change of shirt. Despite the warm days, the mountains cooled quickly with nightfall and my tank top wasn’t going to cut it. I thought back to Justin’s teasing. Was Tristan really interested in me? Why he was trying to befriend me, I didn’t know. He was gorgeous. He could have any girl he wanted. Why me?

  The sharp peel of the doorbell caused me to bump my elbow as I valiantly attempted applying mascara for the first time in a year. I frantically rubbed the black smudge as I dashed down the stairs. Tim was in the living room watching television. No way did I want him answering the door.

  I threw open the door and Tristan stood there, his eyes crinkling when he saw me. Tingles swept along my arms. All of the frustrations I’d been feeling lifted, floating away.

  “Sorry I’m a bit late, but my parents wanted us to go to the afternoon service at church, then we had to have a family meeting,” he explained.

  “A family meeting? I thought only TV families had those.”

  “Yeah, I wish.”

  Before I could say something embarrassing, Tim’s large hand was wrapping around the door above my head, pulling it open the rest of the way.

  “Evening,” Tim said, “You must be a friend of Justin’s.”

  I couldn’t blame him for assuming that.

  “No, I’m here to pick up Janie,” Tristan responded.

  “I see.” His brow furrowed in confusion then his eyebrows shot up in understanding. “Oh, I see.” He threw me a sly smile and blood rushed to my face.

  “Tim, this is Tristan Anderson. Tristan, this is my stepdad, Tim Moore.”

  “Nice to meet you Mr. Moore.”

  “Call me Tim, that way I don�
��t feel like such an old fogey.”

  They shook hands and then the sound of cheers on the television had Tim leaping back to the living room. His whoops indicated that the Blue Jays had hit a run. I rolled my eyes at his reaction and Tristan chuckled. It always amazed me how a simple sports game could turn a grown man into a six-year old child.

  “He’s a little obsessed with sports and it’s the first Jays game that’s been on since we moved here. Let’s go before he decides to come back and bond.”

  “You may want to bring a coat. It’s a bit cool out.”

  I pulled my fleece jacket from the hall closet. Tristan took it from me, holding it open so I could easily shrug into it.

  “Tim, I’m leaving. I’ll be back by...” I called out letting my voice trail off having no clue what my curfew would be.

  “Take your cell,” he answered out of habit, completely ignoring my unspoken question about time.

  “Got it.” Little good it would do since reception was horrible up here in town.

  Tristan put his hand on my lower back as we walked to his silver hatchback. Dusk was falling, blanketing the still light sky with stars. I gazed up at them for a moment, relishing the clarity of it, unclouded with pollution from the city. The faint sounds of life carrying on filtered through the chilly air, giving a normalcy to the night that was in such a sharp contrast to the emotions pulsing through me.

  For those few moments, neither of us spoke and I basked in the strange glow he sparked in me. Warmth spread through me, originating from his palm on my back. He opened the car door and I slid in with a thank you.

  “Nice car,” I said, then immediately grimaced internally at the trite comment, especially since it was actually kind of old and not that great.

  “Thanks, it was a birthday gift from my parents.” His hand caressed the steering wheel. Okay, he was a car guy. I knew nothing about cars.