Winterlust (COMPLETE)

Surrounded By Humans

Violet

“Try this one!” Cassie calls out to Violet through the change room door as she flops yet another dress over the top. Violet looks over at the dress pile despairingly as she reaches for another one to try on.

“Wait. I think this might be it”, Violet says as she fiddles with the waist.”Let me seeee!”, Cassie squeals. Violet sucks a big breath in and unlocks the door, stepping out into the hall. Cassie’s eyes grow wide and her jaw hits the floor. “It’s stunning”, she gasps as she grabs Violet by the shoulders and points her to the full length mirror.

The cream coloured dress has a wide neck, allowing it to slide down her shoulders ever so slightly, as the fitted sleeves cascade down her arms to just past her wrists. The A-line style hugs Violet’s curves until it stops just below the knee. There’s a sparkly shimmer to the material that reminds Violet of a snow queen. Yes.

“I like how it hides my scar”, Violet remarks as she pulls the sleeve back up her right arm, revealing a bright red line from the inside of her elbow stretching all the way to her wrist. Cassie scrunches up her face. “I don’t know why you want to hide it. It shows the world that you’re a total bada**,” she grins. Violet rolls her eyes. Not quite. “You’re buying this, or so help me…”, Cassie warns. “Okay, okay”, Violet laughs.

Once the girls reach the doors to exit the mall, they’re surprised by how much snow has accumulated. It’s dark outside, now. “Did you get your snow tires put on yet?” Violet asks anxiously. “My dad did it yesterday, don’t worry”, Cassie assures her as she unlocks the doors to her parents’ SUV and they climb in.

On the road, Violet checks her text messages.

Mom: Be careful, honey. The snow is really coming down. I’ve left your protein shake in the fridge on the top shelf. Don’t forget it before bed.

Violet: Thanks mom Mom: Okay sweetheart. Love you.

Violet lets out a sigh as she tosses her phone into her purse. “So. Jake Andrews, huh?”, she says with one eyebrow raised. “Nevermind that right now”, Cassie huffs. “Let’s talk about that hunk of a man you slammed into earlier!” Violet immediately feels her cheeks burn hot. “He was pretty handsome”, she smiles shyly. And he smelled divine. “It was super weird how you guys just stared at each other for like ever”, Cassie exclaims. Did we? “Well, he’s a distant memory now” says Violet as she looks out the passenger side window at the snow.

Travis

“It’s getting late. What should we say to the packhouse?” Owen asks. “Tell them we got a flat tire and we can’t get it patched until tomorrow morning. We’ll have to stay the night”, Travis replies somewhat absentmindedly. He can’t afford to shift his focus for even a second, or he might lose sight of the red SUV a few car lengths ahead. “It’s pretty odd that she seemed completely oblivious to the mate bond”, Owen ponders out loud. “I’m telling you, it was like I’d been hit with lightning. There’s still a faint buzzing, in fact.” Travis says, shaking his head.

Just then, the SUV moves into the right lane for the exit ramp. Here we go. Time to find out what’s really going on.

As they navigate through the small town just off the exit, the traffic gets thinner and thinner. “We can’t follow much longer in the truck, Trav”, Owen says in a quiet voice. “We’ll stop and shift. Shadow can track her better anyway”, Travis says. “Look for a motel.” Travis still has his eyes trained on the SUV.

“Stop! Right there!” Owen jolts up after a few minutes. Travis turns on his indicator light and turns right into the motel parking lot. They strain to watch the SUV until it disappears out of sight. “Come on, let’s go check in”, Owen says, as he hops out of the truck. Once outside the truck, Owen walks to the back tire and gives it a s***h with the Swiss Army knife on his keychain.

Inside the motel reception area, the place looks like it hasn’t been updated in years. There’s a long brown and red check in counter with a bell, and no computer in sight. The front curtains are red and look like they could use a wash. “Do you smell that?” Travis asks Owen. “Werewolf, Alpha. You smell werewolf”, an old woman says as she steps into the room from the back door that’s behind the counter.

“What brings you two to my inn?” She asks, her hazel eyes piercing into Travis. The old woman has short white and grey hair, and her mouth is pressed into a thin line. “We are only passing through and have a flat tire. We’ll get it repaired first thing in the morning and be on our way, ma’am”, Travis nods. “I’ve got a room with two double beds left. Will that do for you?”, she asks. “That will be just fine”, Travis answers. “Where can we grab a bite to eat?”, asks Owen. “There’s a diner two blocks that way”, the old woman answers as she hands the key to Travis. Perfect. We’re headed that way.