Havermouth, Present TimeAs Aislen passed the bathroom, doing up the last buttons on her shirt, she heard water running and laughter – Cameron and Rhett were sharing the shower. She smiled, their play warming her heart.Tyler was cooking pancakes in the kitchen as she entered and Heath sat at the table drinking coffee, somehow immaculate despite being in clothing worn the day before to paint in. His hair was still wet from his shower and slicked back against his skull in contrast to the golden stubble that was just beginning to show through his skin.Talen followed her into the kitchen still towel drying his hair from their shower. “Good morning, Tyler,” he smiled. “How was your night?”“It’s been years since I slept in a single,” Tyler replied. “I think I regressed a little overnight and rediscovered my inner child, so it’s chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.”“If you’re ready, Aislen,” Heath took his coffee cup to the sink. “We will grab something out.”“Heath’s not a chocolate c

Havermouth, Present TimeIt was rather fun to shop with Heath. He had a particular and uncompromising vision as to what he liked and what he didn’t, and he wasn’t afraid to offer his opinion. That he looked gorgeous sitting in the guest chair in the change rooms, and that the shop assistant and other customers melted over his clean cut and polished good looks, wasn’t bad for her ego either, she acknowledged to herself.Aislen enjoyed posing in the various outfits that she had selected and watching the shift of his expression from blatant desire to a sneer of disdain. She bought far more than she had intended she admitted as she waited at the register, blocked from the display by Heath’s back and shoulders as he insisted on scanning his card and keeping her ignorant on the details of the transaction.As they loaded the car with bags, she tried to reason with him. “Not to be ungrateful, but I do have my own money,” she told him.“Sure,” he drawled. “And who did you buy the sheer paneled

Havermouth, Present TimeAislen began to feel shitty about herself as Heath continued the drive to where Charlotte would be found, and by the time he pulled up out front of a farmhouse deep in the countryside, she was contrite enough to push her pride to the side. “I’m sorry,” she said to him as he undid his seatbelt.He looked at her in surprise. “You are?”“Yes, I’m sorry,” she said and put her hand over his. He released the seatbelt and took her hand in his, his hand so much bigger and stronger than her own. She looked down at their linked fingers for a moment, before meeting his eyes. “I shouldn’t get angry at you about this. You’re a symptom, not the cause. You have been raised believing something, and that’s not something that a person lets go of quickly. I can’t expect you to agree with me straight away.”He leaned forward and kissed her, cupping the back of her head with his free hand. The kiss was sweet, gentle and hopeful. As he eased, he stroked his knuckles over her cheek.

Havermouth, Present TimeIn the car, Heath did not immediately start the engine and Aislen watched him curiously. He sat with his hands on the steering wheel, staring unseeing at the dash, a muscle twisting in the corner of his jaw. “Sometimes,” he said slowly. “A small decision has a weighty consequence on your life. You were…” He gestured with a hand and then closed the fingers into a fist, before bringing it down to his lap.“We could not tell you about us,” he tried again. “Five years ago. It was my job to…” He closed his eyes and drew in a breath through his nose, picking his words as carefully as walking black ice. “To convince the pack that you were not a risk. Every time that I thought that I had made progress, you would pull the rug out from under me. I was young, hot headed, headstrong and… And I was scared,” he admitted. “Of what would happen if I failed to the Triquetra, of what bringing a human into the pack would mean…”“After you left us that Sunday in front of half the

Havermouth, Present TimeOn their way back to the house, Heath pulled in at the Havermouth’s farmer’s market for produce. Whilst he debated over the menu for dinner, Aislen drifted the nearby stalls, buying things that caught her fancy but that had no practical value. Soy candles, little lavender bags to scent drawers, and twisted wrought iron candle holders. She was examining an antique painting of a still life and trying to decide whether she actually liked the image, or just the age of the image, when someone cleared their throat behind her.She turned and looked up at Mr Graynor, immediately mentally reverting to the almost eighteen-year-old caught smoking at the bottom of the oval. “Oh, hi, Mr Graynor,” she stuttered.“Hmph, I thought it was you, I had heard that you were back in town,” he snorted through his nose in amusement. “I’m not going to put you into detention, Ms Carter.”She laughed uncomfortably. “Yeah, I guess not, but deprogramming the indoctrination hasn’t caught up