Always Choose Dare

Chapter 14 - A Bump in the Night

After an hour of discussing my mother’s gifts in as human a way as possible, Star then showed us how to use our new cell phones to access the internet and how to use a search engine. As Marek and I dove into online searches for Moon Goddess temples, we came across all kinds of weird information, as well as some rather interesting photographs of women rather scantily clad - if clad - who refer to themselves as the Moon Goddess, all of whom had rather large, round asses. I saw Marek need to adjust his position a few times!

Eventually, I interrupted Star’s writing to ask her why these photos kept coming up, and she laughed until she was wiping tears from her eyes! She explained that anyone can put anything - true or fictitious - on the internet, and that the search engine will use an algorithm to find tags related to “moon”, “goddess”, and “temple”.

When I asked how someone’s ass could be linked to those words, she explained the concept of “mooning” to Marek and me. I feel certain that Marek will store this information to share with others when we return to our realm!

Watching Star write from the corner of my eye was a gift. Honestly, it really showed me so much of who she is. After the first hour or so, she got up and did a couple of laps around the room, did a few exercises, then stretched before getting another drink and sitting back down. She had what she called a laptop on her lap, hence the name, and multiple notebooks around her. I watched as she’d jot down notes in her notebook, then open a different notebook to read something, then begin typing again. She occasionally looked things up on her cell phone using the search engine she had shown us.

Most of all, I was happy to see how passionate she was about her writing. Her face would reflect the emotions of the scenes she was creating. Whenever she got excited about something in her story, she’d switch which foot she was sitting on as if the new position would bring her closer to actually being in the story itself.

Occasionally, she’d mutter little things like, “Take that, you little fu(ker” or “This will teach a b***h”. It has not gone unnoticed that she has a proclivity for using profanity, but goddess only knows, so do I. Whenever she got stuck for a moment, she’d lick her bottom lip, then roll it into her mouth while she was thinking. Once she’d get her next idea, she’d release it. When I finally see my mother again, I will thank her for encouraging this career path for Star, because it’s obvious that she is living her own dream.

After hearing the fourth yawn from my mate, I suggested we all head to bed so we can get a fresh start on things in the morning. Star double-checked her doors and windows to ensure that they were locked, then retired to her room. Marek and I both went to our guest suite. This will be the first night this week that I won’t have to listen to Marek’s snore-puff-snore rhythm all night, and I’m grateful! After showering, I do my evening stretches and meditation, then fall into a blissful sleep in the comfort of a bed that smells an awful lot like my beautiful mate.

Sometime well after dark, I awaken to the sound of a thump. My first instinct is to jump up and run to my mate to check on her, but I’m not sure that it’s the right thing to do. Star seems fiercely independent and capable, so I’d hate to insult her by doing so. After all, she may just be getting a drink or something harmless. I hear Marek stir in his room, no doubt from hearing the same sound.

The next sound, however, quakes me to the quick! Star’s terrified scream pierced the air, and before I could even think about how to respond, I was across her house and up the stairs, throwing her bedroom door open.

There before me was a sorcerer attempting to capture my mate! Just as I realize what is happening, Star stands on her bed’s mattress and swings a metal club, making contact with the side of his head.

Without hesitation, I shifted into my Lycan form and bit him before he could react or cast a spell on Star. His look of utter shock led me to believe that he wasn’t expecting me to be there. Within seconds, he was dead. I had released a bite full of venom, enough to kill him rather than subdue him. I hear Marek’s footsteps behind me, followed by his fist punching the door frame.

Cautiously, I look from the body on the rug to Star. My mate is standing on her bed, horrified. Her eyes showing her sheer distress as she stares at the wizard’s deceased body on her bedroom’s floor. Slowly, Star drags her eyes away from her assailant and takes in my lycan form. The moment I brought forth the beast within, I knew that I’d have to come clean with her - no more half-truths and coded wording about who I am and from where I came. Now, I’m going to have to dare to be the real me, even at the risk of being rejected by her.

“What exactly is going on?” Her voice is shaky and quiet, but determined.

Damn, my mate is strong and fierce!

I withdraw my lycan and look at Star, then at Marek. Marek nods, and leaves us alone, most likely to secure the rest of the house just in case there was more than one sorcerer after her.

Drawing a deep breath, I quietly ask, “Do you remember the book my mother read to you about the different realms? The one that she sent to you?”

“Yes.”

“That story is not a fairytale. The six realms are real and…and I am not from this realm. My father is the king of the third realm, home of lycans, or what you call werewolves in your books. What you just saw was my lycan form. My mother is -”

“She’s the fairy werewolf queen!” Star burst.

Her hands flew up to her mouth as if her own words shocked her. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, a reaction that I was truly not expecting.

“I have so many questions!”

I laugh and reply, “And I will answer every single one, but right now, we need to get rid of this sorcerer’s carcass.”

She actually stifles a laugh before asking, “Can’t your wolf just, you know, eat him?”

“That’s not the kind of eating we do, nor is it the kind of eating that we are rumored to be so good at,” I say as suggestively as possible, eyeing Star in her silky tank top and soft shorts.

My intended meaning must have registered with her because I watch her squeeze her thick thighs together. Goddess, I can’t wait to have my head between them, though preferably in a room without a dead wizard in it.

“Is there some place where I could bury him?” I ask.

“Uh, well, authorities would probably find the body then, unless…Oh, I know what we should do!”

She jumps down from her bed and rushes into her closet. A few seconds later, she emerges wearing a soft jacket over her nightclothes and rubber boots that come to her knees.

“I know firsthand that the agriculture students just planted a section of endangered terra puma orchids. The plot is big enough for the body, and he won’t be dug up because the orchids are endangered. Once they are planted, it is illegal to dig them up, so he won’t be found!”

I’m not sure whether I am turned on by the fact that my mate is a genius, or if I’m terrified that she is so good at avoiding getting caught for murder, not to mention that she is so willing to do something illegal to not get caught in the first place. I watch as she reaches up and grabs some sort of wand from a shelf just inside her closet door.

“What’s that?” I inquire.

“It’s a metal detector. Sometimes when I get a little writer’s block and need to take a break from writing, I’ll go to the beach and look for lost trinkets in the sand. If security catches us, I’m hoping to convince them that we weren’t digging up the orchids,” she says as she gives me a cheeky little smirk.

Goddess, I want to spank her sassy ass!

Star then goes through another door and comes back with a sheet of plastic, which she explains was her shower liner. After wrapping the sorcerer in the plastic liner and driving the body across the city, Star parks her vehicle near the agricultural building of the university. Marek lifts the body, and I grab the shovel. Star quickly guides us to the plot of orchids, then steps a significant distance away.

“Star, where are you going?” I hiss between my teeth, fearful that she might be caught on her own.

“I’m the lookout, dumb.ass,” she replies, and Marek chokes on his laughter.

In our realm, respect is a way of life. The fact that I’m royalty and am the alpha of the Balance Keepers means that there is no one who ever speaks to me as brazenly as my mate has. Honestly, I find it fairly refreshing. Apparently, Marek does as well.

Once the hole is dug, we drop the body in and quickly begin covering it with dirt. As the dirt nears the top, Marek and I carefully replace all the orchids, being sure to space the plants properly.

“Oh, hi there!” I hear Star’s voice ring out, followed by the gruff voice of a man asking her what she is doing. “Oh, you remember me, don’t you? I’m Chancellor Royce Delgado’s daughter. We were here a few days ago when the orchids that my family donated were planted. You know, the ones that the college received those generous grants for? Well, when we were here, my father lost his class ring, and since I live locally, he called and asked that I find it for him.”

“At three o’clock in the morning?” The man asks, not believing Star.

“Absolutely! He called from Uralia, so there is a time difference. And since I was woken up so surprisedly, I couldn’t fall back asleep so I thought I might as well come down here and bring my metal detector to look for it while there were no students around. You know, the whole celebrity thing - ugh! And it’s so much worse now that I’m engaged to Chancellor Jureau’s son, Dupree. Every girl on campus wants some way to get with him!”

Star’s words come out almost too quickly to decipher the end of one and the beginning of the next.

Marek and I quickly and quietly replace the soil. When the last shovelful is placed, I glance at Marek. He nods his head in Star’s direction and widens his eyes at me, communicating his disbelief and shock. I can’t help but give him an amused expression in response. My mate is spinning a highly unbelievable tale in such a convincing way that we just heard the security guard wish her luck!

Once the security guard clears the area, we join a giddy Star making her way toward us. Marek climbs into the back seat of Star’s vehicle as I stow the shovel into the trunk. When I sit in the front seat, Star looks at me and grins, obviously enjoying the excitement of this rogue behavior.

“There’s a 24-hour diner just down the road that the college kids and stoners frequent. What do you think about getting some greasy breakfast food before we go home?” She rattles out, her excitement taking control of her mouth.

I can’t help but laugh and nod. “Anything you want, Star!”

“I will never say ‘no’ to food,” Marek chirps.

Soon, we stop at the diner Star had suggested. After thoroughly washing our hands in the questionable restrooms, all three of us eat food that I’m sure is clogging our arteries, but we enjoyed every bite, energized by the excitement Star had thrumming through her veins. It was contagious, and Marek and I found ourselves unable to stop smiling as we watched Star wiggle side to side in her seat as she rode out her adrenaline high.

“So,” she starts, “about those questions I have…”