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Finally, after what had felt like an endless week, the weekend arrived.
It never snowed in Vegas, or so they said, but only an hour away there was a winter wonderland awaiting. Frosty little flakes of white floated down to an already blanketed mountainside as the car snaked through twists and turns on the scenic route up towards the ski resort. Giselle watched with nervous anticipation as they neared their destination. Her mind was still occupied with questions, and the girls had passed the point of annoyance with her. The last couple of days had dragged on. But this was meant to be a fun outing and a chance to leave behind the problems of the city and have a little carefree time in the snow. Still, the entire ride up, the conversation had been poignantly guided toward things other than wolves. Taylor had made it a point to toss some of her magazines at Giselle and have her circle outfit ideas she thought would be cute as a task to keep her quiet.
When they finally arrived in the parking lot, Giselle practically flung herself to the ground she got out so quickly. The parking lot was well salted and slushy but very slippery, and with the snow still falling, she worried she’d be sopping wet and frozen to the bone in no time.
Taylor pulled her snowboard from the roof and shouldered her bag. “See you all later.”
“What, no escort today?” Giselle had attempted to be funny, but as usual came out as a bitch.
“You’re perfectly capable of handling yourself,” Tay said, walking away without looking back.
“Did I pick the wrong outfit or something?” Giselle asked Di.
“Really, Captain Obvious? Quit being a smart ass. We all need a break from each other today, so let’s just do that.” Di turned and headed for the lodge.
She should have expected as much from Di, but to have Taylor giving her the cold shoulder was a bit disconcerting. There was more chill in the air than the snow was providing, that was for sure. Giselle shrugged to herself and zipped her coat up, covering her mouth.
The lodge looked inviting enough – small compared to what she’d expected, but warm, and that was what counted. She headed that way when a familiar voice called out to her. “Giselle!”
She didn’t recognize him at first. Behind the beanie, sun glasses, and heavy coat, he could have been anybody, but the voice was distinctly Damian’s. A friendly face she was happy to see after the cold shoulders of this morning.
“Ready to go tubing?”
“I was thinking of warming up.”
“I know you’re not the girly girl type like Di. You can handle a little fun in the snow.”
“How is it you know so much about Di? Did you two...?”
“Oh, no. Nothing like that. We’re....”
“Friends?”
“Acquaintances, really.”
“And yet, you know so much about her.”
“I did her a favor a while back. She’s been cool ever since.”
“You mean a witchy favor.”
“Shhhhh.” He touched a finger to her lips, and it sent a chill that had nothing to do with the cold racing down her spine. “Doctor-patient confidentiality.”
“The what now?” She pushed his finger away.
“Yes. Witchy business, as you so cutely put it.”
“Not allowed to talk about it, or something?”
“Magical contract. No one is able to divulge secrets of what happens when money exchanges hands for witchy work.”
“Or you’ll turn into a toad?”
“Funny. Really funny. If only that were the case. No, witches who snitch are no longer witches.”
“That’s a cute little rhyme. You make that one up yourself?”
“Keep talking, Snarky, and I’ll turn you into a frog.”
“Can you do that?” She was actually curious, but her tone failed to convey the truth.
“Hold up, let me grab my wand and show you.”
“Seriously?”
“Wow. Gullible much?”
“Jerk.” She smacked his arm.
“I’m guessing you don’t know much about any others, do you?”
“Uh... Hello? Foster kid. I don’t even know about myself, let alone others. I’ve been getting lectured over and over for my loner habits.”
“Yeah, your kind are supposed to be pack animals.”
“Really? Thanks, Captain Obvious.”
“Always here to help.” He puffed his chest and Giselle smacked him on it.
“Whatever.”
“Aww, don’t be like that. I’m just playing with you.” He grabbed hold of her and squeezed tightly.
She hadn’t expected the hug, or expected she’d like being held so tight by someone, but his arms around her felt... nice. She relaxed into his hold and tried to let herself just be in the moment.
“Playing is okay. But no magical funny business... you hear me?”
He snorted as he let her go. “Well, I better pack it in now, because aside from my terrible game, funny business is all I got.”
“I’d say you were doing pretty good so far... with the normal funny business. But no croaking.”
Even through the sunglasses, she caught the smile rising all the way to his eyes. “How about we amp things up then? C’mon.” He grabbed hold of her hand and tugged her away from the lodge.
“No. Wait. Warmth,” she whimpered as he dragged her along.
“I’ll keep you warm.”
Wasn’t that a promising thought? He wasn’t Asher, and she cursed herself for even thinking of that boy while in Damien’s company, but he did have his own magnetism. And better still, he was not conflicted at all about what he wanted. That in itself was worth a whole heck of a lot of bonus points. Not to mention how snuggly she’d just felt in his arms. So random, but oh, so nice!
He brought her down to where others were sliding down a small but steep enough hill. “C’mon, I have a tube all set up for us.”
She really didn’t have a choice; he practically threw her down on a large back inner tube and hopped on with her. Down the hill they went before she could catch her breath. They came to a slushy halt down at the bottom.
“See? Fun.” He beamed and hoisted the tube, ready to take it back up the hill again.
She had to admit it was fun, though it would have been nice for him to let her catch her breath first before sending them hurtling down the mountain. But she’d forgive him this once.
Giselle chased after him, up the hill, and they set up for round two.
A solid hour they spent sliding and hiking and sliding again, each time bringing more laughs and louder squeals from Giselle than the one prior.
“I knew you’d have fun.”
“I have to admit, I had not counted on it being this much fun.”
“Ouch... I’m hurt.” He pantomimed being hit in the chest with an arrow straight into his heart and collapsed on the ground.
“Get up, you big baby. I didn’t mean it like that. I’ve just never been great with the social scene. I usually embarrass myself.”
“You mean like you did just there, insulting me and my day of fun and snowball fighting?”
“What?” She’d hardly had time to get the word out before he pinged her with a ball of slush in her stomach.
“Heads up.” He tossed another one, hitting her in the shoulder.
“Oh, you’re going to pay for that one.” She picked up a handful and after packing it down into a quick ball, beaned him right in the forehead with it.
“Dead eye! Good to know.” He rolled out of the way and found a tree to hide behind.
“You think that will save you?”
“Nope, just give me a minute to reload.” He fired off two quick snowballs at her, but this time Giselle was able to duck out of the way.
She bobbed and weaved as he tossed more her way and returned her own volley of fast repetition slush balls. Damn that tree for getting in the way! “Come out and face me like a man, you coward.”
“Insulting my manhood... that’s a low blow, even for you.” He stepped out from behind the tree and faced her. Without moving his arms he managed to launch three snowballs at her. When she returned fire, her snowballs exploded as if impacting something – yet they hadn’t touched him.
“Not fair... I said no witchy funny business.” She crouched low, narrowing her eyes, focusing to see if there was an edge to his magical barrier, wondering to herself how strong the barrier was and if she might be able to penetrate it.
“You’re too good. I had to even the odds.”
“Liar. You just wanted to show off.” She could find no visible trace of his barrier, no sign of where it might begin or end.
“I did. Do you blame a guy for trying to show off in front of a cute girl?” He casually stepped forward, one foot in front of the other, but whether or not it was caution or arrogance that slowed his pace, she couldn’t tell.
And she didn’t like not knowing.
His eyes had changed too. Gone was the beauty and the innocence she’d been captivated by. They were sharper, darker, more focused. He was concentrating hard to keep that barrier going. She could sense the effort it took. Awe inspiring in a way to see a live witch in action, but frightening all the same.
Still, though, her wolf was on alert, the hair on the back of her neck rising in apprehension, the possible threat causing her wolf to rise up even without her allowing it. She crouched lower involuntarily as her wolf came forward to protect her.
Damien must have caught the change. In a matter of seconds, the darkness in his eyes faded. “Sorry, Giselle. I didn’t... please, calm down. I was only playing.”
Barely aware of how far into the change she was, Giselle regained control and sent her wolf back, standing a little wobbly upright again. “You can’t challenge a wolf like that without being ready to meet it.”
“Honestly, I am so sorry. I didn’t expect...” His words trailed off as he held his hand out in surrender.
“Haven’t you dealt with Di or any other wolf before?”
“Just the human side. Damn. You’re scary as a wolf, has anyone ever told you that?”
“Yeah. It’s kind of the point.”
“Right... Sorry. I really am.” He looked like he wanted to reach out and take her hand or maybe give her a hug or something involving physical contact, but the wolf, still too close to the surface, had her pulling back as if his touch would burn her. “What were you trying to do, anyway?”
“I was going to bury you in snowballs... as a joke.”
“Funny.”
“It was supposed to be.”
She glared at him.
“How about a cup of hot chocolate instead?”
It was a paltry peace offering, but she had to accept it. Though her wolf was still clawing away anxiously inside of her, she knew, or at least hoped, that Damien had been just playing a bad joke. He was a boy, after all. And Di had no problem with him, so he couldn’t be all that bad. People made mistakes. Hell, she was well known for making them herself, and if she could get her wolf to calm, the hot chocolate might smooth out the rest. “Okay. No more funny business, witch.”
“Damn. Now you’re saying it like it’s a bad thing.”
“From where I’m standing, it is.”
“I promise. I meant no harm. And anything stronger than a snowball would have hit me too, so you should have just pegged me in the head with a rock and dragged my lifeless body off into the woods as punishment. Seriously. I deserved it.”
“Calm down, melodramatic man.”
“Who just screwed up a perfect afternoon with the hottest new girl in school.”
She blushed at the compliment. Even when he was playing the martyr, he was still smooth. “I’m cold. Let’s get that hot chocolate.”
They walked back up to the lodge, and Giselle grabbed a table by the wall of windows. The snow had stopped and the sun was shining, making everything glisten with a fresh new powder coat. Skiers and snowboarders came in and out at random, picking up mugs of hot stuff and slugging it down as if it were their last drink on earth. Giselle caught sight of Di entertaining a group in the corner; she nodded but didn’t wave. Di had made it clear they needed an afternoon off, and she was happy about it now. Somehow seeing her in the corner had suddenly added a weight to the room that hadn’t been there before.
Damien returned with steaming mugs in hand. “You look like a marshmallow kind of girl.”
“Good guess.” She took a ginger sip of from the hot mug, enjoying the sting of it against her frozen lips. Instantly she felt warmer, but not warm enough yet to strip off her coat. That would take a few more sips at least.
“So, am I forgiven?”
“Maybe.” Damn, just seeing Di sitting there in the corner brought all her worries back.
Damien looked over his shoulder and caught sight of Di too. He waved and she nodded back at him.
“You guys having sister issues?”
“We’re not sisters.”
“Yet, right? I mean, you’re living with them. You have to join the pack.”
Giselle shrugged.
“What’s up? Earlier this week, when you arrived, you all seemed inseparable, and now...”
“Can I be honest with you?” She hadn’t meant to blurt it out, but it was there niggling at the back of her mind.
He pulled back, caught off guard by her sudden tone. “I guess. What’s up?”
“What do you really know about the two wolf packs issues? I know they had a witch do something.”
“Doctor-patient confidentiality... remember? I couldn’t find out even if I wanted to.”
“Someone has to know. I found this statue in the desert, hidden in cave. Only it isn’t a statue. I think it was a wolf, and someone...”
“Used some magical funny business...”
“Yep.”
“I can’t confirm anything, because I don’t know... honestly. But it’s possible. There are spells that can turn a living being to stone. Nasty stuff, though, and not cheap if someone was trying to buy a witch off to do it.”
“But are there witches here that would do it?”
“Any witch can. The magic is there.”
“But that’s like bad witch stuff, right?”
“Bad, good, it’s really just a label. Magic is magic.”
“But turning someone to stone is just evil.”
“Yeah, I agree. Not nice at all. But the magic to do it is neither bad nor good.”
That was a distinction she couldn’t wrap her head around. When would turning someone to stone not be a bad thing? Was there anyone alive that deserved it?
“Are they still alive, or dead when this happens?” Giselle was almost scared to learn the answer.
“My guess, and it’s only a guess, I’m still learning, is that they are frozen. Neither alive nor dead. If it could be reversed, they’d not have any memory of the time they were a statue.”
“So, it could be reversed?”
“In theory. You thinking of hiring someone to try?”
“Like I could afford it...”
Damien shrugged. “Probably not.”
“I just feel like there is this weight hanging over my decision to join or not join the Hernandez family. They’re nice enough...”
“Well, then what’s stopping you?”
“Ash.” She hadn’t meant it to come out the way it did, and instantly she saw Damien’s guard go up. “He said something... about the two packs... and war.”
Too late. Just the mention of his name had Damien turned off. Gone was the carefree smile and the confidence. “Yeah. They’re at war, and probably will be forever.”
“If I tie myself to a pack in a war... It’s just not appealing.”
“Sometimes in life you just have to choose a side and run with it.”
There was way more subtext in his words than she was ready to deal with. Damn testosterone ran thick with boys. Even non-wolfboy seemed to have that territorial vibe with ferocity.
“See, that’s the thing. I’m a lone wolf. Always have been. I live by my wits and instincts. Not by the will of others.” She hoped her words with their equal measure of subtext got through to him.
“You do what you have to do, I guess.” He shrugged. Whether he got the message or not, she couldn’t tell. He sipped his hot chocolate and stared out of the window, as if hoping to find something more interesting out there.
“That’s the thing. My instincts tell me to make peace and then decide. If only I could.” She sighed.
A few moments went by in silence, both of them working on their drinks and looking anywhere but each other. She’d all but given up hope on the day when Damien finished his cocoa and set his mug down a bit harder than normal.
“I might be able to help.”
She cocked her head to the side, a wolfy reflex. “Really? How?”
“I can’t find out who did what, but I might be able to look into counter-spells.”
“You’d do that?”
“No promises. But I can look into it. Maybe your statue theory is real, and the wolf behind it will have some answers for you.”
Giselle’s eyes lit up, and she reached across the table and grabbed hold of Damien’s hands, squeezing tightly. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. And don’t expect miracles. I make no promises about anything.”
“Right. Of course.”
“But you have to promise me something, too...”
“What’s that?”
“This has to be our secret. No one can know what’s going on. Not your family. And especially not Ash.”
She hesitated for a moment before accepting his terms, wondering why he singled out Ash specifically. It had to do deeper than territorial male bs. “Yeah. Okay. Our secret.”
“I’m serious.”
“I won’t tell anyone.”
“Not until the deed is done, or I have an answer on whether or not it can be.”
They shook on it, and Giselle could feel his hand almost vibrating with energy. She sensed that though nothing was on paper, they’d just entered into some kind of magical contract. That unnerved her a bit, as she was still unclear the capabilities of her witchy friend or his nature: good or bad. He might have said there was really no distinction, but people who could do despicable things were bad, no questions asked, and she’d rather not align herself that way.
Di walked up just as their hands parted. “Is this a business meeting or what? You too look so glum.”
Giselle smiled up at her sister. “Just recounting my sob story... you know, life on the run. No home. Blah, blah, blah.”
“And I told her she has me all day and night...” Damien the playboy was back.
“Be careful with him, Elle, he’s a fast one.” She winked and walked away.
“See, she approves.” Damien’s smile returned, thankfully.
Giselle stopped herself from saying what she wanted to: that Di was just happy to keep her from Ash. It might be a bit awkward in the current company. “She’s happy to see me talking to other people.”
“Enough talking. Let’s go play some more. The snow’s calling.”