You Belong To Me

Chapter Two: Genevieve

Rain.

Glorious, sweet rain.

I'd woken up this Saturday morning to a light, but pleasant rain that beat against my windows, waking me up earlier than usual.

I got out of bed and made a cup of tea, which I took to the patio overlooking my garden, sad and dry as it was.

I sat on the large bean bag I'd left there the night before, folding one leg underneath me as I sipped the sugar-less brew in my hands.

I'd always loved the rain.

Especially when it came out of nowhere, bringing with it the smell of fresh, wet earth.

I hadn't enjoyed South Dakota summers for the past four years, or any other season for that matter since I was almost always off travelling somewhere.

Just three weeks ago, I'd taken a plane from Australia and touched down in New York, the last city I'd been in before leaving the country.

I'd signed my car out of the long-term parking and taken the more scenic route home.

And if I had to be honest, there was nothing like driving down the highway, with the sun on your face and the wind blowing through your hair.

And I should know.

I've been almost everywhere in the past four years, and experienced many wonderful things, from local cuisine to jumping out of a plane. I'd hiked up mountains, faced dozens of predators and almost died three times.

Like actual death.

Three times.

So after facing a giant squid in the sea a few days ago, and escaping a terrible death by the skin of my teeth, I'd decided it was time to come home.

I'd arrived early in the morning, and just barely made it in time for breakfast at my parents' house.

They'd been pleasantly surprised to see me, and they'd both cancelled their morning plans to spend time with me.

My mother had made us each a cup of tea, her favourite beverage in the entire world, and we'd sat down and talked until noon.

I heralded them with stories of my travels, and given them the gifts I'd acquired from every country I'd been in the past few months.

My mom was into art, big time.

She had told me all about her trips to Florence and Paris, and how she'd spent hours just staring at paintings in the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, the Uffizi Gallery, to name a few.

Among her many gifts were an exact replica of Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, which I knew was one of her favourites and a small copy of the Mona Lisa.

My father's violet eyes had narrowed considerably when I gave him a 44.-caliber Smith & Wesson that was rumoured to have killed Jesse James all those years ago.

He was a huge fan of the wild west, and has collected a few trophies himself over the years, but this would be the crowning jewel of his collection.

I knew that he knew how much the gun was estimated to have sold for at auction a few years ago, and the look he was giving me questioned how I'd gotten the gun in the first place.

But he kept the question to himself, so as not to worry my mother, who we both knew could worry herself crazy.

To this day, he still hadn't said a word, but he was curious.

I could see that.

The fact that I'd bought my own house in cash, paid for a popular vintage car in full and could travel around the world as I pleased had raised a lot of questions from my friends and family alike, especially Bree.

She was my best friend in the entire world and I shared basically everything with her, but not this.

I wasn't sure I was actually ready to tell them anything at all, as a matter of fact. I knew how Bree would react.

As much as she was a bit crazy, and had a tendency to behave impulsively, even she would draw a line at some of the s**t I'd done over the years.

So I kept it to myself, no matter how much she bugged me about it.

I slowly sipped at my tea, even though it was a little cooler now.

I watched a few animals scurry around, trying and failing to find something to eat in my garden.

One squirrel even paused to look at me, as if silently pleading with me to take better care of my plants, before running off into my neighbor's yard.

With my tea gone, I went back into the house to find my phone vibrating on the kitchen counter.

I'd only bought it so my family and friends could contact me while I was away, but now that I was home, I saw no need to keep it near me at all times.

I answered Bree's call and waited while she spoke with whoever she was with.

"Gene? Oh, finally. You free this afternoon?"

"Mm. I need to help out at the garage until noon, but I'm free from then. What's up, sunshine?"

More whispering, followed by the sound of liquid being poured into a cup. Knowing her, it was probably coffee, and the person she was talking to was Connor.

"Well, AJ and I want to meet up at Mary's for lunch, then stay in town a while to celebrate the founding day of our dear Cennea," she says dramatically.

I pictured her tiny, slender form in the kitchen of her apartment, the phone between her ear and shoulder as she poured an entire packet of sugar into her cup.

Her hair - a blonde pixie cut with pink tips this week - was most likely tousled and knotted from sleep, with a wrinkly, large top covering her body.

"Definitely. Are we doing the camp fire thing this year?" I asked, scratching my arm.

I hadn't been around the past few years to celebrate this day with my friends, so god only knew what they got up to lately.

"Not in the woods, no. It's tourist season and the Cormiers don't want any accidental wolf sightings this year."

Mm.

"Then we'll have it at my place. Just a few people though. I don't want half the town here like last time," I said.

I put my cup in the sink and opened my fridge, then closed it when I realised there was nothing to eat.

"Really?" she asked, excitement in her voice.

"Yes, my dear friend. I'll buy some beer and we'll have a barbecue or something. I'll borrow my dad's. I hope."

"I'll ask Conner to bring his. You know your dad would never let his grill out of his sight."

True. Very true.

"Okay. I'll meet you in town after one. Is it just us, Connor and AJ?"

"Yeah, but AJ is bringing a date, she says."

I gasped. "No way."

"Way," she replied, probably grinning widely.

"That's great. I thought she'd definitely still be hung up over Kirsten," I replied, sifting through my cupboards in search of food.

I had to have that stuff in here somewhere.

"Good thing she isn't. I hated that b***h," Bree mumbled.

AJ and Kirsten had met at a bar, and spent the night together bumping uglies.

Our dear, sweet AJ had fallen hard, and spent the next few weeks wooing and courting Kirsten, much to our dismay.

I'd followed their relationship from Indonesia to Australia, and through video calls from all three of my friends, I'd found out that Kirsten was actually seeing someone else while she was with AJ.

I'd spent an hour listening to her curse, vent, then cry about the horrible state of her love life, before passing out from too much liquor.

But she did this every three months, so it wasn't anything new, really. She always fell for the worst people, and then moved right on to the next person a few weeks later.

Bree was the complete opposite.

She had been dating the same guy for over five years now, and the two have the best relationship I've ever seen - apart from my parents.

They were always together, basically attached at the hip, and they treated each other with such respect and love.

It was so sweet.

It also made me sick.

Not in a bad way, though, just urgh.

I wasn't much of a relationship person myself, if you hadn't guessed.

I'd had a few flings over the years, with men from all over the world. Some were a bit more memorable than most, and one or two that I'd tried to make things work with, but alas...

My ex, Sebastian, had told me that I didn't want to commit because I was low-key waiting to be swept off my feet by my soulmate, and that it would never happen because they didn't exist.

But I knew better.

My parents were soul mates.

Like, actual soulmates and they had the best, most amazing relationship in the world.

I'd grown up around that, and it was something I wanted for myself as well. Unfortunately, I was so used to having my guard up that I rarely let loose around new guys.

Which was probably a good thing, otherwise I'd end up like AJ. But I couldn't blame her for being that way.

Werewolves felt everything more intensely than normal humans.

Anger turned to rage, sadness to depression, happiness to elation, infatuation to love.

It's just the way we were made, unfortunately.

"Good for her. I hope she doesn't get hurt again. I'll see you guys at lunch. I need to get ready for work," I said.

"Ta-ta, Genna."

"Don't call me that. You know only my mom calls me that."

She giggled, then hung up.

I shook my head and placed my phone back on the counter.

Getting ready took about twenty minutes. I wore my cleanest coverall, one with the garage's logo on the chest, and tank top underneath.

After realising I only had food that needed to be cooked, I chose to skip breakfast, and jumped in my black '67 Corvette L88.

I started the engine and pulled up the roof, then waited for my garage door to open before reversing out of the driveway.

My dad was already there, and had left the door wide open for me to make a quick dash from my car.

He greeted me with the usual kiss to the forehead, a hug and a searching look to see if I was still in one piece.

He was a tall, broad-shouldered man, my father, with a head of thick, raven-black hair with a few streaks of grey at the temples.

Although he was well past the age of fifty, he looked at least ten years younger.

Thank goodness for the werewolf gene, otherwise he'd have a large pot belly, and be at risk for heart failure with the way he ate.

"How are you, peanut?" he asked in his deep baritone.

"All good, daddy. How are you and mom?" I asked, looking up at him.

He sighed dramatically.

"Oh, we're okay. Your mother's just been having a few nightmares again."

Every year around this time.

"So she's not getting much sleep again?" I asked.

"Afraid not," he said, brow furrowed with concern. "I left her in her studio. She said she'd be better off painting than sleeping."

"I have an excellent tea blend that I picked up from a friend in China," I quipped.

"No chemicals or anything, just herbs. They should help her sleep," I quickly added when he lifted a brow.

"I think she'd really appreciate that. She would probably die if you gave her anything with chemicals."

Yeah, she probably would. And we weren't exaggerating either. Mom only ate organic stuff, which she grew in her own garden behind the house.

The meat she ate came straight from Bree's father's farm, who didn't use any hormones or chemicals on any of his animals. The grass they ate was fertilised from the cow's own poo, which I thought was super gross.

"I'll drop them off later."

He nodded absently, then pointed a finger at the car in the corner.

"See to that one, please. I've got some paperwork to handle before Monday, and my accountant will kill me if I don't have them ready by then."

I gently pushed him into his office, planted a pot of coffee on his desk and plugged my phone into the speaker.

My father's love of punk rock music had rubbed off on me, and I couldn't work without a playlist of the greatest jams of all time.

I started off with Bon Jovi's Living On A Prayer, and got to work on the Camaro waiting for me.

I checked the form for what needed to be done, folded up my sleeves and got to it.

My dad and I worked in relative silence, rock blasting through the speakers while the rain hardened outside.

It was an hour later that my father spoke to me, checking in on how far I was with the car.

I heard him mumble to himself before standing up from his chair in the office.

"Gene! Are you done with that Camaro?" he yelled.

I sighed loudly, enough for him to hear me from under the vehicle.

"I've been working on this for only an hour. How could I possibly be done with it already?"

"It's just in for service."

"Intermediate service!"

He mumbled something under his breath again, and I followed his boots from the door on his way to me.

I groaned inwardly as he gently tugged on the stretcher I was laying on, pulling me out from under the car, a stern frown on his face.

"What's that tone, young lady?" he asked sharply.

Geez.

You'd swear I was still a kid, the way he talked to me sometimes.

"Sorry, dad. I'll be done in about two hours. I just don't want to miss anything."

He gently flicked my knee with his finger, his face relaxing.

He pulled himself up to his full height and looked down at me.

"Have you eaten? I didn't see you eat."

I regarded him curiously, convinced he had ADHD from the way he jumped from one thing to the next like that.

"Don't forget to eat. You know how your mother gets."

"I will, daddy. As soon as I'm done with this."

"Do you want to join us for lunch?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Nah, thanks, daddy. I'm meeting Bree and the others in town, and then we're going to stick around for the thing at town hall. Though I have no idea how they'll do anything with this rain."

"Probably have it in the town hall like they did last year. Have fun, peanut," he replied, then abruptly turned around and went back to his office.

"Aren't you going?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"That will be the day," he threw over his shoulder.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing, then slid back under the car.

***

My dad goes home before noon, which leaves me with the responsibility of locking up.

I set the alarm and drove the three miles to my house, showered and changed.

I decide on a high-waisted, black and white plaid skirt, a pair of thigh-high boots and an off-the-shoulder top that I tuck into the waistband of my skirt.

I accessorise with a few rings on my fingers, a burgundy lip and several earrings.

I leave my dark hair loose around my shoulders, covering up the beginning of the tattoo on my back with the thick mane.

There's a few minutes left until my lunch, so I use the time to tidy up the house for the party later.

I leave just before one, and make it to Mary's at the same time that Bree and Conner do.

Her pale complexion matches rather well with the pink dress shirt she's wearing and the ankle boots show off her long legs. Like me, she's not wearing much make-up, and she looks stunning, as always.

Connor, who's a shade lighter than I am, is dressed in all black, tight t-shirt, jeans and sneakers, with a leather jacket in his arm in case it gets cold.

Despite the fact that he was no longer a lanky nerd with acne, Connor was still a little awkward around other people.

I hug them both warmly, bending down a little for Bree, and standing on the tips of my toes for Connor.

We take the booth near the back and settle in while we wait for AJ, who texted to say she was on her way.

We make plans for tonight while we wait, and decide on the alcohol we'll buy and the best meat to barbecue under the circumstances.

Bree volunteers to get snacks, and Connor agrees to bring the grill and the meat. I'm in charge of beverages, and we give the task of sending out invites to AJ.

She was the most social out of all of us, and probably knew more people than we did put together.

AJ basically crashes through the door, drawing a few stares that she doesn't even notice. She's leading a tall girl with olive skin and long strawberry blonde hair behind her, smiling cheerfully.

AJ is slightly taller than Bree, with shoulder-length honey curls framing her face.

She was one of those people who'd been blessed with lovely, clear skin, and her caramel complexion allowed her to wear basically anything.

Today, she had on a gorgeous geo-print dress that ended mid-thigh, and a pair of strappy heels.

The girl with her was wearing a pair of jeans, a tight velvet top and boots.

She smiled at all of us when AJ introduced her, shaking our hands in her own slender one.

Willow was a musician.

It explained the soft hands and the interest in Connor's Def Leppard t-shirt.

We talked about music while we waited for our food, and the more we got to know Willow, the more she opened up.

The restaurant got busier as more people took their lunch breaks, but it didn't thin out like usual since everyone was in town for the celebrations.

After we finished our meal, we lingered a bit over a few glasses of lemonade, and while AJ and Willow went to smoke outside, the three of us talked about our friend's date.

"I like her. She's not forward, or loud or pretentious. I think she'll fit in well," Bree said.

"Let's not jump the gun on this," Connor advised. "We just met this girl. For all we know, she might be another Kirsten."

I sucked on my straw until my lemonade was gone, swallowed and wagged a finger at Connor.

"I agree with him. Look how we welcomed that one with opens arms, only to have her break AJ's heart."

Bree rolled her eyes, grabbed her own drink from the table.

"I'm just saying that I think she's a nice girl," she added after a long sip.

"You think everyone is nice, babe," Connor replied.

We decided to settle the bill and then finish up our drinks before heading over to town hall.

Connor went to the till to pay up while Bree disappeared in the ladies room. I cleaned up the table and gathered all the dishes together, and pushed the empty glasses to one side.

"Gene?"

I turned around to see Rehan Cormier, a former classmate and once a close friend, standing behind me with a surprised expression.

He smiled down at me and I basically screamed as I got up to hug him tightly.

Hard in all the right place, except one, I thought.

"It's been ages. Where on earth have you been hiding?" he asked.

We pulled apart and looked each other over like old friends do.

He was still devastatingly gorgeous, with a head of chocolate brown hair, startling green eyes and a warm smile that would make any girl's heart flutter.

He was dressed quite casually for someone of his position, in a cashmere sweater and slacks, hair combed back from his face.

"I've been doing a lot of travelling. Thankfully, I'm back for a while, catching up with a few friends."

"And yet you haven't called me," he reprimanded, feigning outrage.

I blushed with guilt and looked down at my shoes, then met his gaze once more.

"Well, I'm having a thing at my house tonight. You should come through. Who knows? Maybe you'll meet a guy who'll pique your interest."

I wiggled my brows at him and he chewed on his lip as he mulled the idea over in his head.

Decision made, he flashed a devilish smile at me and said, "I'm going to be held up until around nine in the evening, but I'll be there. Should I bring anything?"

I shook my head, waving the suggestion away with my hand.

"Don't even think about it. Just come. We have everything sorted."

Bree comes back, and she hugs Rehan as well, since we were all in the same class.

He and I exchange numbers and he quickly ducks away with a pat on Connor's back.

"God, the man's gorgeous."

"Right here, babe. Standing right here," Connor admonished.

Bree shrugged.

"Yeah, but it's not like anything will ever happen between Rehan and I anyway, so..."

AJ and Willow come back, and we grab our things and leave the diner. The rain has stopped for a bit, which prolongs the discussion of who should go with whom.

I suggest AJ and her date jump in with me, while Connor and Bree drive down in his pick-up.

It is in walking distance, but it was better to have them close by in case it rained again.

I've barely made it out of my car before I'm greeted by old classmates, acquaintances, family friends who all complain about how long it's been since they've seen me.

I hug and kiss my way to the entrance, but I'm stopped by a neighbor or two on my way to the bar, so I chat lightly with them while my friends go in without me.

The love and sincerity on everyone's faces, and in their hugs, makes my heart squeeze with emotion.

It was moments like these that made me genuinely glad to be home.