Silent Energies

Chapter Two - 'Home again, James'

Katy was always relieved when the car turned into the familiar gravel driveway after being away. The Travel Tensions, as Elias called them, melted away as soon as she heard the comforting crunch underneath the tyres.

Exhaling a little louder than she meant to, Katy leaned her full weight against the headrest of her seat. Elias chuckled and reached out to pat her on the arm.

"Feeling better already, eh?”

“Yeah… You know me, silly little homebody.” Katy smiled sheepishly and shut her eyes for a minute, sighing. That Banshee had taken it out of her, and all she wanted to do was eat chocolate and fall asleep in front of a movie she'd seen a million times.

X X X X X

Elias looked over at the woman he had pledged his loyalty and service to all those years ago and smiled fondly.

She was his best friend, and he would never dare to wish for anything more. After all, he had been exiled from his former Clan when the current Alpha, Rainer Darkfang, had taken over from his father, Lucian Darkfang.

There had always been rumours about his own paternity growing up – completely unproven, of course - but Rainer had apparently decided to err on the side of caution and exile Elias first. Just in case it might ever be proven that he was Alpha Archibald's son. This way, Elias would have to return from exile, raise an army, and then challenge Lucius for the leadership of the pack.

Elias has chosen to walk away when Rainer gave him the choice of being exiled or his life for simplicity's sake.

Of course, he'd lasted all of about 3 days alone before being promptly caught by the animal shelter in his Weredog form and wound up on Death Row.

With about 24 hours to live.

Classic Elias, as Katy would say. Yep, he certainly was kicking goals out in the wild on his own.

But Katy had shown up out of the blue and rescued him. He loved her more than anything and would have laid down his life for her in a heartbeat, should she ever ask. She was his Mistress, whom he had sworn an oath to protect until his death.

And now he was her bodyguard... Sort of... Also, her couch snuggle buddy... And her work partner...

Look, there was a lot going on there, if he was completely honest.

But no matter what, Katy never saw him as a servant in any way. She viewed him as her best friend, her equal and colleague, despite Elias' frequent protestations.

One of the things Elias loved about Katy was the fact that she was blissfully unaware of exactly how beautiful she was, inside and out. She truly had a heart of gold, a genuinely kind soul who would help anyone, anywhere, anytime, and in any way she could.

Almost as if she could sense him watching her, Katy’s eyes opened, and she smiled happily back at Elias. She patted his hand reassuringly before closing her eyes again.

The car pulled up outside the Manor’s main entrance, and Elias climbed out of the back seat, holding the door open for Katy. They both grabbed their bags from the boot and raced inside.

Katy bolted past Franklin on her way to the theatre room, pausing only to throw her arms around the man’s neck and ask for Girl Dinner to be brought in when they got a chance.

Franklin smiled wryly at Katy and mused.

“Welcome back, Miss Katy, we’ve all missed you… It’s always so… quiet when you’re gone.” He said the words so dryly that only the slightest twinkle in his eye gave his sarcasm away. Katy laughed as she waved his teasing words away.

“Oh, you know you’re bored without me here to spice things up!” Franklin’s face cracked instantly into a delighted smile, and he nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

“That’s true,” he conceded, “but if we tell you that too often, your head will get so big that you’ll never make it through the doorways.” He shot back with a wink and ducked as Katy threw one of the nearby throw pillows at him.

Elias wrapped his arms around Katy’s waist and hoisted her over his shoulder while she squealed her protests through fits of giggles.

“That’s it, you’re coming with me as my prisoner. We’re starting that movie night now!” He paused and looked at Franklin with a raised eyebrow. “You joining us too, bud?” Franklin shook his head with a smile.

“Thanks for the offer, but no. I have plans with a certain lady tonight as it’s our anniversary, so I need to prepare for that. Jayson will be here in my place for anything else you might need tonight though…” Katy gasped excitedly and wriggled around to face Franklin.

“Are these… Special anniversary plans…?” Franklin smiled mysteriously and put his finger to his lips, winking at her. Katy squealed with delight.

Franklin had been seeing a Cynanthrope named Cynthia, who lived and worked in the local village as a schoolteacher for the past three years. Katy had met her plenty of times and was always harassing Franklin about when he was going to make an honest woman out of her. He had always fobbed her off and shooed her away, so it gave Katy a great thrill that he seemed to finally be going to pop the question after all this time.

Elias rolled his eyes and turned Katy back around to continue their trip to the theatre room. He grinned and wished Franklin luck as he carted the wriggling girl on his shoulders towards the door.

Franklin was struggling to keep the grin from his usually stoic countenance, and he laughed, nodding his head towards Katy’s squirming form on Elias’ shoulder.

“Thanks man, you too.”

"I'm gonna need it !" Elias shot back. He chuckled and rolled his eyes, continuing out of the room. They passed Jayson on the way out, who was coming into the room after putting the car away. The two men nodded to each other as they passed.

X X X X X

When they reached the theatre room, Elias finally slid Katy off his shoulder into one of the large recliners. She shrieked with laughter and then yelped slightly as she landed on the same place the Banshee had caught her the previous night. Elias’ smile slipped instantly, and a worried frown replaced it.

“Sorry! Are you okay?” He worriedly checked her over, and she half-heartedly swatted him away, still resting her hand gingerly against her bruised ribs.

“I’m fine, I just forgot I’m not bullet-proof for a second.” She closed her eyes against the pain briefly, and Elias continued to fuss over her, making her as comfortable as possible in the recliner.

Katy watched him fussing about and reached out to take his hand. Elias stopped moving and met her eyes, waiting to find out what she wanted. She smiled and patted the recliner next to her, and he tucked himself into it obligingly. Katy nuzzled under his arm, and he instinctively pulled her closer.

“Thank you.” Katy murmured softly into his chest, and the breath caught in his chest for a second.

“You’re welcome, Little One… Any time, any place. You just name it and I’ll be there.”

Katy lifted her head to meet his eyes, and they held each other’s gaze for what felt like an eternity. Katy felt her heart skip a little, looking into his earnest, golden brown eyes… Even in the lower lighting of the theatre room, they almost seemed to glow… The more she watched, it was almost as though they were getting brighter… Were they…? Surely not, and yet…

Elias felt as though the whole world had stopped. There was nothing but him and Katy in this room. The outside world ceased to exist for him, and he felt himself being drawn into her eyes. He wanted nothing more than to pull her closer and kiss her soft, pink lips… He felt like he was drowning in his desire to take her and run his mouth and tongue over every square millimetre of her body. Then he wanted to—

A brief knock at the door before it opened broke both out of the moment and one of the kitchen maids – a pretty blonde girl named Susie who had grown up in the local Village – came in with a low, wheeled cart. She placed the cart near enough to the recliner that they needn’t get up. They both thanked the girl, and she left the room.

X X X X X

Katy wasn’t sure if Susie had left the room so quickly because she had felt the tension in the air, or if she was simply keen to get knocked off and be on her way out to her Friday night plans. She hoped for the latter. She didn’t even know what was going on with her and Elias now – there had never been anything like that between them before.

Wait a minute... Did… Did she like Elias…? Like… Like, like Elias…? She wasn’t sure what to do now. She didn’t want to ruin the friendship, but she couldn't ignore that overwhelming urge she’d had to kiss him and never stop just now.

How did this work from here...? Did she just kiss him…?

No... That seemed a little too forward… Did she wait for him to kiss her…? No… What if he didn’t kiss her? That was not an option Katy was okay with. Where did this all come from?

It was as if she was suddenly seeing her best friend for the first time.

Elias interrupted her reverie and offered her a drink. Smiling shyly, she took the glass and sipped thoughtfully, watching the man next to her with fresh eyes.