“Another vision?” Emmitt asked pulling away from me and stopping the scene. He looked and sounded calmer.

“Yeah.  There’s an angry redhead out there somewhere who I wouldn’t want to run into.  I just wish I knew what I was supposed to do with this information.”

“We’ll figure it out.”  His stomach grumbled loudly.

“Go shower,” I said, “and then let’s get something to eat.”

I smiled at his disgruntled expression and knew he’d rather stay in bed.  But kissing Emmitt was intense, and I wasn’t ready for another round.  I had been serious about losing focus.  We couldn’t afford that.

He reluctantly agreed, and I enjoyed the solitude as I dressed and thought about my visions.

So far, the visions were all about women.  The first one had a werewolf in it and a girl Elder Sam identified as Gabby.  The second girl had to be related to werewolves as well since the man on the phone had been talking to someone named Gabby.  I didn’t think it a coincidence.  And, though this last vision didn’t have any sign of werewolves, without a doubt, the girl had powers.  The people she’d passed seemed as if she’d put them in a trance.

Three visions of different women.  In each vision, I’d felt a sense of recognition as if I should somehow know the woman.  Charlene had a gift like me.  And the third girl appeared gifted.  Could the recognition be because we all shared that tie?  If so, how many of us were out there?

Based on the vast majority of images in the white room, I wasn’t done having premonitions.  I just wished I knew how to control them so I could get some better answers.

Emmitt strolled out of the bathroom damp and looking good in his jeans.  My stomach summersaulted it’s version of a happy clap.  His bare chest glistened in the vanity light.  Muscles rippled as he walked.  The need for food had me averting my eyes.  I didn’t want him to catch me enjoying the view and start something again.

“Did you hear from Grey?” I asked as he pulled a shirt on.

“They got back late with the things you wanted.  Everything’s in their room.  They left early again to watch the house.  We’ll hear from them later.”

We walked to the restaurant from the night before and had an enjoyable breakfast.  We took our time, talking about ourselves and our plans for the future.

I pointed out both of us were jobless and asked if we wanted to stay that way.

“My father sent Jim and me to Montana to establish another branch of the pack,” he explained.

I watched in amusement as he forked in a large bite of syrup covered-pancakes and waited for him to continue.

“When the apartments are all finished, I’ll need to find something to do.  But something from home.”  He met my eyes.  “I don’t want to go far.”

His answer warmed me.  Then, he asked what I wanted to do.

“I want to work on my GED.  Thanks to Blake, I missed out on graduating.  After that, I’m not sure.  I can’t think of getting a job and leaving my brothers, yet.  And the thought of sending them off to school in the fall terrifies me.”

“We should consider inviting other families to come live with us.  Nana Wini could homeschool.”

“Would Nana really want to do that?”

“I think so.  We all want to keep those boys safe.  Cubs are usually homeschooled because of their unpredictable shifting.  Even though yours don’t shift, they should still be treated in the same careful manner.  It would mean they’d need to be told, though.  Unless you want them surprised the first time a friend pops into fur.”

“Just another thing for me to think about,” I said with a sigh.

“We’ll figure this out together.” He reached across the table and squeezed my hand.

When we finished, we walked back to our room.  I felt a little restless with the waiting, and we still had more than twenty-four hours to go before the meeting.  I wouldn’t have minded being trapped in a room with Emmitt after this morning’s kiss, if I intended to continue.  As it was, I needed a distraction.  I recalled Emmitt had thrown my swimsuit in my bag.

“Did you pack a suit, too?”

“I have something that’ll work.”

Ten minutes later, I stood at the edge of the hotel’s indoor pool, hesitantly testing the water’s temperature with a toe.  Emmitt took a two-step running start to jump in and hooked an arm around me as he passed.  Grinning widely, he twisted in the air so he landed first and kept my head above water.  I sputtered and laughed.

*    *    *    *

Feeling shriveled and water logged, we made our way back to our room before lunch.  Emmitt called for room service as I rinsed and changed.

Tired from all of the swimming, I suggested watching a movie while we waited.  We flipped through the channels, but the movie we wanted to watch didn’t start for another hour.  We settled for a cooking show while we waited.  It just made Emmitt hungrier.

I wasn’t surprised when he got up and opened the door before the poor room service boy could even knock.  Emmitt pretty much ripped the food from his hands, tossed him the tip, and closed the door in his face.

“Remind me not to forget to feed you.  You turn a bit feral.”

He just grunted at me as he tore into his burger.

We ended up watching two movies back-to-back, reclining on our stacks of pillows.  Of course, we were on the same bed.  Emmitt wouldn’t have it any other way.  He took every opportunity to touch me, random touches as if to assure himself I lay next to him.

By the time the second movie’s credits were rolling, Emmitt’s stomach growled again.

“Why don’t you call in an order at the restaurant next door then run and get it?  We can watch this next movie, then.  If you’re fast, you won’t miss much,” I said.

He called in the order and groaned when they said it’d be ready in thirty minutes.  We settled next to each other on our bellies to watch TV, but his stomach kept getting louder.

“You need to think about something else so we can hear the movie,” I said with a laugh.

“I can’t.  I’m hungry, and someone down the hall had pizza delivered.”

I leaned over and nipped his earlobe.  He let out a defeated sigh and turned toward me.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to think about that, either.”

I grinned at him then turned back to the movie.  His stomach was quieter, but he kept moving around on the bed, uncomfortable on his abdomen.  When he got up to leave, I crooked my finger at him.  He obligingly bent down, and I sweetly kissed him.

“Hurry back or you’ll miss the rest of the movie.”

“I’d rather stay here and skip the movie and the food.”

“Ha!  You’re only saying that because you’re distracted from how hungry you are.  Go.  I’ll be here when you get back.”

Chapter 18

Less than a minute after Emmitt left, a soft tap sounded at the door.  I smiled to myself and sprang off the bed.  Emmitt must have used his super speed, I thought as I pulled open the door.

My smile fled when I saw Frank’s cocky grin.  Shirtless, barefoot, and sweaty, he looked as mean and ugly as I remembered.  I tried to slam the door in his face, but he moved too fast.  He thrust his arm in the opening and shoved.  I stumbled back, catching myself before I fell.  His angry, bloodshot eyes narrowed on me as he advanced a step into the room.

The last time I’d seen him, the dim lighting of the backyard had spared me a detailed view.  This time, the florescent light of the vanity cast him into harsh focus.  The ragged cut-offs he wore were a superficial token at being clothed.  They had more holes than actual material.  From the amount of dirt and other unknown stains, he’d most likely pulled them out of the trash somewhere after shifting from his fur.