Havermouth, Five Years BeforeHeath turned and stalked down to the bedroom, stepping in through the partially open the door. As he’d suspected, Aislen had positioned herself where the light was best, below the open window, and was working on her painting. The fading sunlight caught in the wilderness of her ringlets and glowed over her skin. She had pulled on a t-shirt and jeans, and the neckline of her t-shirt gave him an enticing view of her generous breasts within the fragile lace of her bra.“I’m behind on this assignment,” she told him, pushing up into a seated position. “I was trying to catch up.”He pressed the door closed behind him. “I can see Rhett in this,” he said as he sat down behind her, looking over her shoulder at the painting and then laughed as her hair fell in his face. He scooped it back, running his fingers through the curls, admiring their bounce. “You hair is as wild and wicked as you are. More so after swimming today,” he grazed his lips over her cheek bone as

Havermouth, Present Time“Now you’ve done it,” Rhett smirked. “No more work for you.”Aislen stood. “I agreed to move in,” she told Cameron as she stepped towards him. “And to being mates.” Cameron’s face crumpled and he turned abruptly and walked out. “Ah, shit,” she said and hurried out after him. “Cameron!” She said as she ran down the stairs in pursuit.He turned at the bottom landing and caught her against him as she cannoned down towards him, pressing his face into her neck. She could feel the wetness of his tears and his body shook against hers as he dragged in a breath. “I don’t know what to do,” he said breathlessly. “I don’t know what I am supposed to do now.”“Oh, Cam,” she stroked her fingers into his hair, cupping his head against her shoulder. His thoughts were frantic and fragmented, and he had reacted on instinct, seeking out Heath, seeking out the lead alpha. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Hey, how did things go with your dad?” She tried changing the subject, to s

Havermouth, Present Time “Kids go missing, all the time,” Heath told her reassuringly. “It could be nothing. The concern, however, is that our resources are already spread thin and in the current conditions, organizing a search party if she doesn’t turn up will be difficult.” “Oh, Lauren will be frantic,” Aislen’s heart ached for the other woman. “We need to help her, Heath.” “Are we sure that her mother has nothing to do with it?” Cameron said darkly. “The last little girl to go missing was never missing, was she?” “I’ll find out,” Aislen decided firmly. “But Lauren isn’t Dr James. She lives for that little girl; you can just tell that about her.” “Where am I going?” Talen asked Heath as he reached a crossroad. “Towards the town hall? It seems to be where all the activity is,” he nodded to the left. Aislen could see that where the street to the right was empty other than the wind-whipped rain, to the left through the rain, the red glare of rear lights and the dark shapes of cars

Havermouth, Five Years BeforeIt had been really nice to wake with Aislen under him, Cameron thought as he leaned on the balcony railing, looking out over the river. It had felt right, all four of them sleeping the night together, and it was exciting to think that it was the first night of many. Aislen seemed to have accepted the relationship, and that was a huge relief. Oh, sure, she got uppity every now and again, but he was beginning to think that was just what she was like, and that it had nothing to do with them.Heath had been a genius with his polaroid photo solution, he grinned to himself. It had been fun to take those photos with her, and f-k around afterwards. She’d been good about it, too, letting Heath take the shots he wanted.Heath had relaxed a lot since Aislen had begun behaving herself, and Cameron was grateful for that as he had hated seeing Heath under so much pressure.“Hey,” Heath crossed the balcony and put his arms around Cameron, leaning his chin onto Cameron’s

Havermouth, Present TimeHeath led the way back into the hallway, but Talen caught Aislen’s hand, holding her back when the Triquetra left. He cupped her cheek. “Little demon.”Aislen shook her head, answering the unspoken question. There was a bitter lump of grief that twisted in her chest, a whole suitcase of emotion that she had to unpack, but she knew that she couldn’t even begin to take those feelings out into the light without melting down, and the timing was wrong for that.“I can’t talk about it, daddy,” she said with raw honesty. “I just have to deal with the shit-show happening right now and think about how I feel about it later.”“Alright,” his eyes were gentle. “Sometimes in war, we must ignore our wounds until the battle is won.”“Exactly,” she said with relief. “And this f-king battle is f-king f-ked right now.”“Everything okay?” Cameron had backtracked.“We’re coming,” Aislen told him.Heath and Rhett waited by the door into the foyer, in a huddle of their own, and bro