Jameson

JAMESON RIVIERE

November 2012

I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I had just gotten back from a weeklong training camp with my niece, and I needed to unwind, desperately. I still couldn’t get my head around my little Sophia being head of the Xaran Royal Guard at 13.

I parked on the street around the corner from my favorite spot in town. It’s Friday, and every Friday night, I eat at John’s Brick Oven Restaurant going back to middle school. Back then, I would be hanging out with my three best friends, cracking jokes, trying, and failing not to stare at the girl I liked across the dining room.

The only changes to the tradition were that now during dinner, we decided where to go after so the guys can pick up women which wasn’t difficult. We were ranked blood Lycans. Other she-wolves, Lycans, supernatural, and even human females often gravitated towards us. It helps that we were all attractive, like most of our kind.

But tonight, I’m going there with Lindsey to make my mother happy. I’d had to drink a large glass of whiskey made for supernatural’s. It’ll cut Javin from me for a few hours, but at least I wouldn’t have to smell her horrid perfume at the level of a royal Lycan Alpha.

Lindsey Garnett was our homecoming and prom queen, and head cheerleader. My friends and I have referred to her as Barbie since her boobs grew in. No one else knew that though.

She went to community college to dance and to appease her parents, whereas I started my own contracting business right out of high school. I’ve found nothing behind the face and body, with the added negative that all she enjoys doing is spending her parents’ money, and there’s a lot of it. The Garnett family had been in the Royal Lunula Pack for generations before following my parents here to Texas.

Her parents were over two centuries old, and she was easily the most superficial and high maintenance she-wolf in our whole pack. She’d never been to an unrequired training session, and she was always the last one to complete any task given.

I stopped sleeping with Lindsey when we were still in our teens, but she’s been consistently hounding me for us to ‘get back together’ for years. We only ever fucked but I wasn’t going to get into that conversation with my mother who refused to back down on Lindsey’s behalf. Our moms are friends because her mom is a social climber, and my mama loves a good backdrop.

Barbie had been talking nonstop since she got in my car about her most recent shopping excursion to Austin. I was surprised that she realized I’d parked.

When we got to the door of John’s, ever the gentleman, I reached to open it for Lindsey, but a short boy was trying to leave at the same time and they nearly collided. He had to be around the same age as Sophia.

My date became flustered and scoffed, “Ugh! Please watch where you’re going!”

“Sorry, ma’am. I have a flight home to catch, and I was distracted. Have a good night,” the boy told Lindsey respectfully in a non-Texan accent.

Lindsey walked in without responding, but I was still looking at the boy’s face, speechless.

He was loading the duffle bag he held into the cab that I hadn’t noticed earlier and followed it, getting into the back seat alone. Before the driver pulled away, he looked up maybe sensing my stare and we locked eyes for a few seconds before he turned to the driver, as the car drove off.

I’d recognize those eyes anywhere. He even looks like her. Why had I drunk before I left the house? I would have been able to scent him. Shit!

“Jameson…you comin’?” Lindsey called out breaking me from my thoughts. I nod back after a moment, “Of course.”

I’m not sure what Lindsey spoke about, only that her mouth never seemed to stop moving. I couldn’t get the boy out of my thoughts; there was no mistaking it. He had to be Veronica’s son.

Veronica Montgomery. Ronnie. The reason I never got attached to anyone after high school. Slutting my way through my best friend Andrew’s college years didn’t help the hole in my heart. Soon after Javin appeared in my mind before my 21st birthday, I stopped. It wasn’t helping and Javin had taken to trying to stop me from…getting excited. I could always get drunk and block him out, but what’s the point?

Lindsey ordered a Caesar salad without meat (of course she did) while I ordered a combination of eggplant and chicken rollatini and a few squares. (The only words I spoke…all throughout dinner.)

I had to point at the table to my food as a way to offer her some, but she just shook her head and kept on droning. I spent the entire dinner and drive home trying to decide if I should look for Ronnie or not. The boy had said he was going to catch a flight home.

When I pulled up to Lindsey’s house thanking Goddess above that this night was over, she finally took a breath, but it caught me so off guard that I didn’t right away open my mouth to speak, and she kept going. I almost groaned out loud.

“I had a wonderful dinner, Jameson. I hope we can do it again soon,” she said as she moved to kiss me on the cheek and got out of the car before I could speak. What in goddess’ name?

Before I drove off, my phone vibrated for a text message.

Mike: Hoping you dropped Barbie off so you can meet us at your house. Beer is in the freezer. Respond:

1= Date over. On my way.

2= Dropping her off now.

3= Still eating. Date not terrible.

4= 911 GET ME OUT NOW!

I burst out laughing, texting back.

Jameson: 1

I drove home and dropped my keys on the counter in my kitchen. I heard Mike on the phone in the backyard and I could hear Shawn’s car pulling into my driveway.

I cleaned myself up and changed into light sweats and a t-shirt before going back down into the kitchen. Shawn slid an open beer across the counter and Mike closed the door to the backyard behind him.

“He arrives! I already know how your week was, so how was the date?” Mike calls out walking towards me wearing a grin. I took a swig and shook my head, “The week was amazing as I told you. The date wasn’t good. I didn’t speak the whole time, and I wasn’t paying attention to her, so I can’t even tell you what she spoke about. I was…distracted, thankfully so.”

The guy’s shared looks of confusion, “Why were you distracted?” Mike asks taking a seat at my high stools drinking down the last of his first beer. Regular human beer, wine, and liquor doesn’t do anything to us; it’s for flavor and appearances more than anything. Thankfully our bodies metabolize it faster, so we don’t even get the bloated feeling humans often complain of.

I took another swig and a breath, “I saw a kid that looked exactly like Veronica…short, Sophia’s age around, polite, not from Texas or at least he had an off accent, like you hear on tv for New Englanders.”

The guys eyed each other quickly before Shawn spoke, “I think I speak for both of us when I ask what the significance of that is? You haven’t seen her in years. She could’ve had a whole litter at this point.”

I internally cringed in fear at his words but schooled my expression, “Yes,” I responded curtly and couldn’t bring myself to say something else. When they looked at each other again I knew they understood this time.

Mike leaned forward placing his beer on the countertop, “You still think about her, don’t you?”

I looked up at my friends tight lipped nodding slowly. “All I could think of during the date was who could possibly be the kids father.” I looked down at my hands, not wanting my friends to know the extent of my thoughts.

Shawn cleared his throat pointedly, “Do you…think it could be you?”

Javin had joined us at the most opportune time apparently. He whimpered as I shook my head, “No. We only did it once; there’s no way,” I tell them dejectedly. “Sorry. She’s the only one I never got over. Thinking of her with someone else hurts.”

Mike made a noise, like a whine while he shook his head, “You broke up with her…because your mom convinced you. Maybe you need real closure. We could find her, and you could have a real conversation with her without the influence of Luna Grace. Since moving out you started to realize how manipulative she was, and you haven’t let her take control. You’re a different person than you were back then.”

I shook my head in response, “No, thank you though. I used harsh words to make her leave, to give her a clean break. Whatever she’s done with her life, is her own. My hope is that she is happy. I’m just—I’m stuck on the boy.”

Mike went to the freezer and pulled another beer sliding it to me after he popped the top, “Did you feel a connection to him? Did Javin?”

I groaned and took a chug, “I drank the last of the bottle of Warrior Whiskey. He was gone before I even picked up Lindsey from her house.”

Shawn took a breath, “Are you absolutely positive you didn’t get Veronica pregnant? Without your Lycan you wouldn’t know unless he looked like you, unless of course you touched him. Do you want us to check anyway, to be safe?”

I felt my eyes narrow at him, “You guys know the statistics on humans being able to conceive Lycan babies, and I wasn’t 21 yet. I didn’t touch him. I don’t want you to look into this. Of all the things my mother said, saying a human couldn’t be my mate was probably the only truth. A prince mated to a human. How likely is that?”

No matter how much I wished it to be true. My thoughts cut off remembering the boy locking eyes briefly.

I sighed, “I should’ve stopped him when he looked at me.”

My friends glanced at each other again, “He looked at you? What’d he do?” They both spoke over each other.

I shook my head as I continued my beer, “Nothin’. We locked eyes and the cab driver pulled off.”

‘We could tell them to look into it. There’s no shame in it. Find her. Tell her we’re sorry.’

’I can’t tell her we’re sorry. I can only tell her I’m sorry, and that doesn’t change any of the things I said to her. Or how I never looked for her before. When you have a family...things change. If she has one...’

‘Maybe the stupid human left her! You could apologize, explain about our mother, beg for forgiveness and be father to the boy,’ he reasoned.

’Are you listening to yourself? How can you be my Lycan spirit?? This is the real world where things like that don’t happen. Enough already!’

The guys were eyeing me dubiously. “Havin’ issues?” Shawn tapped his beer to the side of his head.

I nodded, “Jav’s doin’ his thing again; doesn’t matter. Sorry guys.”

Mike put his beer on the counter a bit strongly and scoffed as he walked towards the couch in the den. “No more sorry’s. We haven’t seen you in a week. Time for the good stuff,” he says as he walks back with a bottle in hand.

Shawn let out a long whistle as Mike put the bottle on the table for us to see, “Where did you get another bottle of Warrior Whiskey? I knew Jamie had those last shots lying around for emergency purposes, but I didn’t think Lycean Moon had a deal with the Hathaway’s.”

I grabbed three shot glasses as Mike opened the bottle with his signature smirk on his face, “Gamma Ashton was hand delivering something to Alpha Julian a few days ago. I saw him on his way to rest for the night. He brought a bottle that we drank, and before he left again, he gave me another. I was wrecked that I may not remember half the night, but I didn’t have any hangover in the morning. That’s why I went and asked him where I could get it. He said they've petitioned the council for the licensing for distribution to retailers and packs. Soon enough, we’ll be getting regular shipments in for the pack.”

I let out a hiss, “That could be dangerous for all.”

Mike scoffed at me again, “Dangerously awesome. We'll be okay here since the only liquor store around is pack run. Either way, Alpha Julian will definitely keep this under lock and key until he decides how to regulate it for the pack. It will be a while before we can buy it direct on the net. Now. Are we ready to drink to you being back from training? You don’t look too worse for wear.”

My shoulders dropped in defeat, “It was great, but I am done. My niece and nephew are monsters. It is no surprise that she’s Captain. No one can beat her; it’s true. I certainly can’t. It’s gotta be that fae blood; she’s quick and calculating. It’s scary enough to watch, but worse to fight against. She kicked my ass all week. Her crew all thanked me when I left. I’m going to work with her eventually to figure out a training program for a new team. I want Lycean Moon to be prepared. We can’t rely on the Royal Guard for everything in the Kingdoms. There aren’t enough of them for that.”

Shawn nodded along with Mike, “Understood. We’ve got time though.” Mike smiled and yelled out, “Yes! We drink!”

‘Well, I guess I’ll speak to you in the morning.’

‘Sorry. I need this.’

‘I know.’

Author's Note:

Hello reader!

My plan is to update every other day, but life does sometimes get in the way. I'm having so much fun writing and bringing Jamie's story to life.

Leave me comments or reactions. I'm totally open for constructive criticism. *AND if you find a spelling error, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I hate those -___-

<3 Stacy