The KnightShift: A Knight of Wolves

Chapter 6:

Elfrida

We knew the moment Octavian and Emersyn arrived. He shouted loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. Tavi just stared at the ceiling as we lay in her giant bed.

It wasn't the first time I had been in her suit at the Osther, just the first time I wasn't so distracted by her that I actually noticed things about the room. Like the pictures of Octavian and her when they were little. He was scowling and covered in mud and she was pointing and laughing with another little boy and girl. There were lots of pictures of them but none with their mother.

Art pieces from local artists decorated the walls. A bookshelf sat against one wall covered in a mixture of medical books and historical fiction. The rest of the suite was open and airy. Besides the bed the only other furniture in the bedroom was a dresser, a dressing table and an armoire. There was a faux rabbit hair rug stretched across the middle of the floor.

The west side of walls was floor to ceiling windows that opened up onto a rather large patio. The remaining three walls were a deep mauve that went perfectly with the bed spread. Tavi had told me she had custom paint made just so that it would match. The door to her nice sized walk in closet sat between the dresser and dressing table along the north wall. Double doors leading to a large sitting area sat in the middle of the east wall. On the left side of the bed was the door leading to her huge bathroom. Her suite was almost the size of my apartment.

"Do you think Octavian will change your suite when you move in with me," I asked trying to get her mind off of her mother.

"I hadn't thought about that. We haven't really discussed living arrangements."

I leaned up on my elbow so that I could look at her. Static energy caused her hair float around her face and lint particles to hover just above her skin and clothes. She was frowning slightly, and it was so cute that I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny," she asked.

"This," I said waving my hand through the energy.

The lent scattered and her hair settled.

"Octavian never has that happen to him. I hate it," she said.

"Probably would be annoying but you are adorable all the same."

She managed to smile a little.

"I was going for brooding but from you I will take adorable," she said.

"Even when you're brooding you are still adorable. There is nothing that can change that. So, do you want to live with me? Or we could start looking for a house. My lease is up in February. I could stay here and put my stuff in storage until we find a house," I suggested.

"That might work. I need some time to get used to the idea of not living in these rooms. I've lived here for almost 65 years. I can barely imagine living anywhere else," she said.

"Well if you want, when we find a house, we can decorate our bedroom just like this. I don't have a preference," I said.

"You, Elfrida, are amazing. I love you," she said and kissed me.

It was scary that I could love someone so much it hurts after knowing them for just over a month. I had always been cautious when it comes to love and sex and yet this amazing woman before me had struck like a bolt of lightning. She changed my life and my perception of love. I was as attached to her as I was to Emersyn.

"I love you too, Tavi. Was it always like this with your mom," I asked.

Tavi shook her head and said, "She was a loving, normal parent all the way up until around the time I figured out that I wasn't attracted to boys the way that other girls my age were. She always used to tell me that I could come to her with any problem, but when I came to her with this her whole demeanor changed. It was like in an instance I was no longer her child. My grandfather didn't make things easier, either. He wanted someone to continue his line. It didn't matter that O was technically heir to the Osther Pack, I had to play my part too otherwise it wasn't enough in his eyes. I was actually surprised I was allowed to stay in the pack as long as I did. O decided that he no longer wanted to be a part of the pack after our mother dropped me on our grandmother's doorstep. I didn't see O again for 11 years."

"That is awful, Tavi. I hate that you had to deal with that at a time in your life when you really needed a supportive parent," I said.

She seemed more irritated than sad. It seems her family was the right button to push if you wanted to piss her off, which I didn't but being an investigative reporter had made me nosy. I wanted to find out more about the women I was planning to spend the rest of my life with.

"So why do you think your mom is really here," I asked.

"I have no clue. I'm guessing it has something to do with the pack and Octavian. In reality if our uncle is no longer the alpha, O should take over and any new alpha would have to challenge him for the right to lead the Osther pack," she said.

"Even though he has no interest in leading the Osther pack," I asked.

"Yup. It's werewolf law," she said.

"So, if some wolf posed a challenge, your mom would come let Octavian know?"

"Not exactly. The wolf is supposed to come down and present the challenge himself. So maybe something else is going on but I have no clue what it could be," she said and sighed.

I could feel how worried she was about her brother through the marks that had already begun to bond us together. I ran my fingers through her hair and laid another kiss on her lips.

"Why don't we go out to dinner? By the time we get back your mom will have told Octavian what she is here for. Hell, maybe she will be gone," I said.

"That sounds like an awesome idea. I am starving," she said.

"We just have to be back in time to meet with Melissa," I reminded her.

"I wouldn't miss that meeting for the world. We might actually get to help figure out who was behind our kidnapping," she said with a determined smile.

"Hopefully. we get to help with the justice part. The SFS generally deals with things like this much faster than the human justice system," I said.

Tavi jumped out of bed and stripped out of her clothes. I watched as she rummaged through her closet looking for something to wear. The jeans and sweater she had been wearing would have been fine but Tavi never liked to go out without looking her best. I on the other hand would prefer linen pants and a soft cotton tee but if she was dressing up there was no way that she would let me leave the house like this.

One of the most convenient things about our relationship was the fact that we were the same size and therefore could share clothes. Especially since she loved to dress me up. I thought as a doctor she wouldn't be so obsessed with fashion. I was wrong.

It was close to five when we finally snuck out through the back lobby. We could have stayed to hear what O and their mother were talking about but Tavi was practically running out of the building. I sincerely hoped her mother was gone by the time we got back, and Melissa arrives.