Jensen’s Mate

Before Curfew

As the rest of the villa household prepares to take their seats at the dinner table, Crystal is lost in thought, recalling the magnificent black beast she is certain she saw during her unconscious state. She doesn't notice the others approaching the dinner table.

"Hey there, Crystal. It’s nice to see you again," Kay’s uncle Tony Villa’s best friend Ray replied as he pulled a chair out for his wife, Millie. She settled their six-year-old son, Ray Jay, into his seat, followed by Ray's cousin , Pete, and his new girlfriend, Ally.

Crystal noticed Pete sitting across from her and started to blush. The woman next to him glared at Crystal, slightly growling.

"Do you guys have a dog?" Crystal asked.

"No," Kay replied.

"You don’t hear that growling?"

"No, that’s probably just Sean’s stomach."

The room became quiet. Pete spoke up, "Crystal, let me introduce you to my girlfriend, Ally." He cleared his throat.

Crystal stood up and leaned over the table to shake Ally's hand. "Hi, it’s nice to meet you," Crystal said.

Ally looked at Crystal's hand and then at her. Standing up, taking Crystal‘s hand gripping tightly as she spoke You as well, little girl."

"I'm not a little girl. I'm actually 15."Crystal replied.

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't be staring at Pete. He’s 26, so you can stop with your little schoolgirl crush," Ally replied, her tone threatening.

"I don’t have a crush. I just think Pete is handsome, and you’re very lucky. You’re also beautiful, so I’m sorry," Crystal responded in a friendly tone.

Tony cleared his throat. "You know, Ally, Crystal has been a part of this family for many years, and I'm sure Pete doesn’t see her that way. So, I suggest you sit down, release Crystal’s hand, and let’s enjoy our food."

"I think I pissed her off," Crystal whispered to Kay.

"Totally," is Titus. She was gripping your hand. I’m surprised you’re not rubbing it. Kay replied.

Why would I shouldn’t leave a mark sure there’s a tight hole, but there is no pain. Crystal whispers back.

You and your pain tolerance, gir replied as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, so I was thinking this Friday I’m gonna go back up to the camping spot. I like it there," Crystal said.

"It’s not really a good idea. That spot is kind of private, you know," Kay responded.

"I understand that, and I’m not hurting anybody. So, I’ll be back up there this weekend. You and Jenny can join me or not, but I’ll be there."

"There’s plenty of open space here. You can go camping in my backyard," Kay suggested.

"The connection I get from there is what draws me in," Crystal replied.

The kitchen staff brought out dinner plates with steaks, baked potatoes, and California vegetables. Once everyone got their plates, they all settled in and started eating.

"So, how’s your head feeling now?" Millie asked.

"Better, Mrs. Brando. I just wish I could recall how I woke up against a tree," Crystal replied.

"Crystal dear, it’s Millie, please. We've been over this. After Jayla told me what happened to you, I was concerned about why this boy keeps picking on you," Millie said.

"He’s just a dumb jerk. That got held back, typical school bully," Crystal replied.

"Yeah, well, Jenny had steamy hot s*x with him last week or something like that," Sean said, laughing.

"Sean Michael Villa! We don’t talk like that at the table."

"What? I’m just telling you what I overheard the girls talking about," Sean said, shrugging as he stabbed his steak.

Crystal and Kay looked at each other and laughed. "May we be excused?" Crystal asked.

"Why?" Jayla inquired.

"Speaking of Jenny, we were supposed to see a movie with her tonight," Kay replied.

"Not on a school night you don’t," Jayla replied.

"Fine, can we just go over to her house for a couple of hours? I promise there will be no boys," Kay pleaded.

"Yes, you can go, but you both better be back here before midnight," Jayla said with a stern tone.

As soon as dinner concluded, Tony started coughing profusely, his eyes fogging over. He quickly shook his head and cleared his throat.

“Crystal, dear, I need to have a quick family meeting before you and Kay leave. Could you excuse us for just a moment?” Tony asked.

Crystal nodded, then scooted her chair back. She glanced over at Kay. “I hope you’re not in trouble for anything. I’ll go to the kitchen and see if they need help cleaning up.” With that, Crystal excused herself from the table.

Tony turned back to the family. “I was just informed about Gary Santino. He’s in the hospital in critical condition.”

“Does anyone know what happened to him?” Jayla asked.

“Yes and no,” Tony replied. “All we know is that he was found in his home, beaten pretty badly.”

“I’m confused. Why couldn’t we discuss this in front of Crystal?” Ally asked.

“Crystal doesn’t know about our community,” Pete spoke up.

“What do you mean? I can sense that she’s a human. Honestly, my wolf doesn’t like the way she was staring at Pete, though she also feels very protective of Crystal. I just don’t care about that girl personally no matterhow my wolf feels,” Ally said.

“Crystal has been a part of my family for years, and we’ve always felt the need to shelter her. We just deal with it,” Kay explained. “With my mom, Aunt Janis, and cousin Jenny, we’ve found ways to keep the supernatural world nonexistent to her.”

Additionally, while we've been meticulous in addressing everyone formally, she remains oblivious. She simply assumes the villa family is extremely wealthy. Millie then adds her perspective.

"Yeah, well, her aunt Stella thinks Dad is some kind of criminal mastermind, like a mafia boss. It's hilarious," Kay replies, laughing at her own remark, with Millie and Ally joining in.

“Ladies, let the Alpha finish, please,” Ray interjected.

Tony continued. “A neighbor heard a commotion and found Gary unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital. Luckily, the werepanther on duty called Janis to inform her of the situation.”

“Who mind-linked you, love?” Jayla asked, taking a sip from her wine glass and setting it down.

“The werepanther, Dr. Hahn. Since Janis is the head doctor at the hospital, Dr. Hahn is next in charge, but he can't do anything without her permission,” Tony replied.

“What did you tell him to do, Dad?” Sean asked.

“Not to treat him and see if he recovers on his own,” Tony answered.

“I’m still getting used to the fact that our pack has more than just werewolves,” Ally said, her tone reflective.

"Jenny's gonna be mad that you killed her boyfriend," Dad, Sean jokingly says.

"She will not. That jerk deserved it, okay, doofus," Kay replied, rolling her eyes irritably at her brother.

"That's enough, you two. As I was saying, the strange thing about this is that Dr. Hahn apparently smelled an alpha wolf all over his wounds," Tony said, looking sternly at both Kay and Sean.

"What was the smell like?" Pete asked.

"When you told me that you were pretty sure a wolf licked Crystal's wounds to help her, could you tell what type of wolf or where it came from?" Tony asked.

"Cedar. The wolf's scent is too strong to be recognized as any alpha of a nearby pack, but yes, that's what I smelled," Jayla replied.

"Dad, Crystal wants to go camping again at the same spot we did this past weekend. Do you think it’s safe for her?" Kay asked curiously.

"I see no problem with it. The Baileys are pretty peaceful," Tony replied.

Kay got up from her chair, walked over to her mother and father, and kissed them both on their cheeks goodbye. She then went through the kitchen to see what Crystal was up to.

"Hey, Debra, where's Crystal?" Kay asked as she walked over to the kitchen sink where Debra was washing dishes.

"Oh, she's in my little office, organizing the books so I can hand them over to your mother to review our monthly financials," Debra replied.

"I swear, Crystal can be such a nerd sometimes," Kay said, shaking her head as she walked towards the small office in the back corner near the food storage room.

"Seriously, I thought you were going to wash dishes or something. But doing the books? If it's not my dad having you help with that, it's one of his employees. Come on, Crystal, let's hang out here," Kay said, standing in the doorway with both hands on her hips.

"It's fine. I don't mind. I finished it anyway, so it's ready for your mom to look at," Crystal said, closing the big red binder.

The girls walked out of the makeshift office and through the back kitchen door.

They headed straight to Kay's little red Mustang.

"Hop in, bish, we got 2 1/2 hours," Kay said as she opened the driver's side door.

"What the heck? This isn't where you parked. I thought we were going to have to walk all the way around to the front of the house," Crystal replied, her voice tinged with surprise.

Just hop in so we can go “ Kay reached over and open the door from inside

Okay “ Crystal said as she sat down in the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt.

Moments later, Crystal and Kay arrive at Jenny's mom's house.

"Crystal, this was left at my doorstep," Jenny says, lifting up a beaten-up old backpack.

"What the heck? How did you get that back? I swore Gary Santino drove off with it," Crystal replies, taking the old backpack from Jenny's hands.

"Well, considering it used to belong to me in middle school, and I gave it to you when Ashlee Yernes stole your last backpack in eighth grade," Jenny explains.

"Oh yeah, don’t remind me about her. Thank God her dad moved them out west," Crystal replies.

"That's not all. This was with it," Jenny says, grabbing an Eddie Bauer backpack from the couch.

"Was there a note or anything with it? Are you sure that's for me?" Crystal asks curiously, examining the Eddie Bauer backpack.

"It was right by my front doorstep, and no, there was no note. My mom or I certainly didn't get this for you," Jenny says.

"Maybe whoever found it felt sorry for that ugly, faded, falling-apart piece of crap," Kay jokes, laughing as she grabs the Eddie Bauer bag from Crystal's hands and examines it.

"Well, I don't know if it's a good idea to take this if I don't know who it's from. I'd feel bad about it," Crystal replies.

"No, you won't. You're going to put all your stuff in this new backpack, go to school tomorrow, and forget about the whole thing. Rock this kick-ass Eddie Bauer bag," Jenny insists, tossing the bag back to Crystal.

As Crystal sits down on the couch, reorganizing her stuff from her old bag to the new one, Kay heads into the kitchen, and Jenny follows.

"Why are your eyes glazed over? Who are you talking to?" Jenny asks as she shuts the kitchen door behind her and sits down at the kitchen table across from Kay.

"I was letting my dad know about the backpack. It smelled of cedar and had the presence of an alpha wolf," Kay replies.

"So I take it you know what happened to that dickhead. My mom had to go back to the hospital for your dad to handle the situation," Jenny says.

"Obviously. I just can't believe you slept with him. That's disgusting," Kay replies, making a disgusted face at her cousin.

"Hey, I'm 16 with crazy hormones. Besides, we were in the woods with some jocks and cheerleaders from our school, and I got a little drunk. Not everybody can be like you and tolerate their liquor," Jenny huffs.

"Hey, it’s not my fault. It’s my werewolf genetics," Kay says proudly.

"Whatever, not everyone can be half-witch, half-wolf," Jenny retorts.

"Come on, seriously? Your dad was a medium, which makes your witching powers a little more intense than the average witch," Kay says, shaking her head, trying to comfort her cousin.

"Yeah, well, in two years, you'll get your wolf, and you'll have to deal with one voice in your head. I've had to deal with multiple voices from the undead, supernatural, and non-supernatural alike since I was five," Jenny replies.

"What are you two doing in the kitchen? Since we can't go to the movies and we've already had dinner, do you want to head out to the Shake Shack?" Crystal asks, leaning in the doorway of the kitchen.

"we aren’t doing anything so. let me just grab my keys, and we'll head out there. We've only got like two hours before curfew," Kay replies.

Soon, they were out the door, heading to the small Shake Shack in town call Dee Dee’s.