Bree flexed the muscles in her thighs. Nothing on her body hurt. In fact, after sleeping a few more hours she had woken up to start her chores feeling amazing. Despite her lack of sleep, she had tons of energy and her whole body had been tingling pleasantly for the entire day.
She should have been sore. After what she had done with James last night, every muscle in her body should have been screaming at her. She smiled a little. The aches and pains that should have plagued her had been healed by lying against James’ warm body. Maya was right. There were benefits to being a healer – or at least sleeping with one.
“What are you smiling about?” Dani poked her in a friendly manner, and Bree gave her a guilty look.
“Nothing. I was just um, thinking about something.”
Avery and Maya were looking at her with matching grins and Bree blushed. She had sought Avery out first thing this morning and, blushing and stammering like a fool, had blurted out an apology.
Avery had smiled sweetly and patted her shoulder comfortingly. “It’s fine little Bree. Remind me someday to tell you the story of the first time I met Vivian.”
When Bree had given her a curious look, she had laughed again before leading her towards the kitchen. “Let’s just say it involved me being naked and in her son’s bed. Not my finest moment.”
Avery had squeezed her arm. “In all seriousness Bree, we’re happy that you and James are together. I know we’ve only known you for a little while, but you’ve become part of our family and we love you very much.”
Bree had started to cry and Avery had given her a worried look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You haven’t.” Bree had hiccupped. “I – I love you too Avery.”
Avery had hugged her in the hallway and then wiped the tears from her face. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I believe Vivian and Maya are waiting for us to have tea with them.”
“Vivian as well?” Bree had been surprised. She hadn’t seen a single one of the Lycans since she had woken up and Dani had said they were all outside together.
Avery had nodded. “Yes. She rarely goes on the hunts anymore. She says her bones are too old for that sort of thing.”
She had given Bree a reassuring look. “Vivian won’t hurt you. I promise. She has excellent control.”
“I’m not afraid of her hurting me.” Bree had replied. “But I’m not so sure she’ll want to be around me after…”
She had blushed again. “I don’t think Vivian likes me very much.”
“She likes you just fine. She hasn’t said a word to me about you, which is a good sign. If she didn’t like you, I’d know.” Avery had laughed. “And once she gets to know you better, she’ll love you like the rest of us do. I guarantee it.”
Now, she stared out the window into the darkness. The Lycans had left half an hour ago, and she was trying hard not to think about James and Martine hunting together. He had promised her he wouldn’t mate with Martine and she trusted him. Still, it was a small gnawing in her stomach that wouldn’t go away. She sighed. It would be a long night.
She looked up as Vivian, followed by Laura, Nadine, Marian and Renee, entered the room. Laura and Marian had trays laden with food, and Renee and Nadine were carrying trays with delicate glasses and bottles of wine. Avery jumped up from the couch.
“Are you ready ladies?” She asked gleefully.
“What’s going on?” Bree whispered to Dani.
“It’s tradition.” Dani replied. “They have their hunt every full moon and we have this.”
Bree watched as Avery flipped a switch on the wall. The ceiling, which had tiny lights strung across it, lit up in a muted soft glow. Bree gasped with delight. She stared mesmerized at the ceiling as Renee and Nadine began to hand out glasses of wine.
Maya was standing next to a bookshelf fiddling with something, and Bree nearly fell off the chair when music began to play. Dani was grinning happily.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” She whispered to Bree.
“Yes.” Bree couldn’t stop staring at the lights on the ceiling. She had never been in a home that had electricity, and she thought she would never grow tired of looking at them.
“Come on Bree.” Dani was tugging on her hand. “Dance with me.”
“I don’t know how to dance.” Bree protested.
“I’ll teach you.” Dani dragged her to the middle of the room and after a few initial moments of self-consciousness, Bree forgot about the other women and concentrated on learning the steps Dani was teaching her.
At one point she looked up and laughed with delight. Most of the women were up and dancing, either with each other or just twirling alone to the music. Even Vivian was sitting on the couch with a glass of wine, tapping her feet to the beat of the music and smiling contently.