Ecstasy Claimed(7)

Duncan, her father’s second in command, nudged the downed hell beasts with a hoof. “Dead. We should take their heads and burn them.” He didn’t even give her a glance as he said the words. He had dark hair, brilliant green eyes. The behemoth was sought after by all the females in the surrounding areas, and he hadn’t spared a single glance in her direction. Not shocking.

She turned away before she tore into the idiot.

She’d been the one to kill the beasts before the big bad warriors came along. Yes, they were easy to kill, but, come on. The ass couldn’t at least give her credit on having minor skills?

She shook her head. It was how they’d always treated her. She had spent the first twenty years of her existence sheltered away from the clans. Her mother had insisted that it was bad form to flaunt her good fortune because mates and young were so rare and coveted… right. There were no other children her age within the local clans. There may have been more in the outlying areas, but her family never traveled the roads. She mentally shook her head. She’d been completely alone until befriending Rain so many years ago.

She was done with them all. She headed back in the direction of the city. “I’m going into the city. Bye, Father,” she said, lifting one hand in a wave, not bothering to look behind her. She could feel her father’s confusion coming in her direction.

She needed space. She needed to talk to Rain and get the hell away for a while. It was far past time for her to make some changes. This was her life, and she refused to allow anyone to rule it, and that went for the stupid Guardian as well, if he ever decided he wanted to claim her. She clamped her jaw tight at the thought of his finding her untried. That was not going to happen.

She rushed through the trees and meadows up to the city, her heightened emotion giving her legs flight.

Once she arrived on the cobbled streets, she felt her tight muscles relax a bit.

The bell jingled overhead as she entered Rain’s shop. She spotted her friend unboxing some books and setting them on the shelves for sale. She wore a tight pink sweater with a deep V and some dark jeans. It looked good with her pale coloring and light hair.

Her beautiful face lit up, aqua eyes shining. “Hey, what’s up? I didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow night. Tell me we’re moving girls’ night to tonight. It’s been the restocking week from hell, and cocktails and a movie sounds amazing.” She groaned playfully and paused, narrowing her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Alyssa blurted out everything that had happened. She even included the spider in the narration of her horrible morning. To Rain’s credit she didn’t laugh, just coughed out a chuckle.

Alyssa settled on a stool behind the counter. Thankfully, it was still early for customers, having a breakdown in front of witnesses would have been humiliating. She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I need to get out of here for a while. I should have moved out of my parents’ house well before now, but the sad look on my father’s face always ended the conversation. If I go there now, I will say things I might regret. They didn’t inform me of anything, just made choices for me as if I were a child while hiding the truth.” She blew out a frustrated breath and groaned. “I’m completely aware that I did this to myself, but it ends now.” She rolled her shoulders. “I don’t have any pieces that are urgent.” She had set aside the next few weeks for creating new designs. She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect time to get away. The designs could wait, or she could do them wherever they went. She had plenty of coin set aside from her years of work. Plenty to set herself up in a place of her own while giving her enough to spend on a nice trip. She’d never done anything like that, and it was well past time to start living.

“Is there any way you can get someone to watch the shop and go with me? Take a vacation?”

Rain’s eyes lit with understanding. She started rummaging around in drawers. “You’ve needed to move out on your own for too long now.” Drawers opened and closed. “I’m sorry about your folks. I’d be angry as hell too, and the Guardian is a fucking idiot. He has to be some big ass on a power trip if he hasn’t claimed you as a mate. Let me think for a second. I agree that getting away would be good for you. You do need to get your life figured out. How long do you want to be gone?”

Alyssa thought for a minute. “Can you get out of here for a couple of weeks?”

Rain bit at the top of her pen, contemplating, then started writing on the stationary she’d pulled out of a drawer. “Where do you want to go?” They sat talking and planning for a while. Her friend sputtered out a million different options, but one struck her as so completely perfect that she couldn’t resist.