For The Fairest- Part Eighteen by: Enemyoffun Trevor is from one of the wealthiest families in Ravencrest. His father is a distinguished man that everyone respects and fears but he's practically invisible to his peers. He enjoys his quiet non-existence but all of that changes on his 16th birthday when he discovers the family secret and nothing about his life is non-existent again.

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Author's Note: I'm happy that things are up and running again on the site. The downtime gave me a little free time so I wrote both Chs. 18 and 19. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and everyone else for loving my universe so much.

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Ch.18

“You have got to be kidding me,” I said as I held my costume up to my chest.

Mary was sitting on the bed, trying not to gag at all the pink in the room. It was funny because it didn’t bother me as much any more. I wouldn’t be racing home to redecorate my room or anything but I hardly noticed it now. I guess that spending almost three days in a room does that to a person. I was amazed at how quickly I adapted to all of this actually. On Friday night---the night of the argument---Constance called me as soon as she could. She wanted to make sure that I was all right and that I didn’t hate her or my father. I loved her and told her that, Dad on the other hand, well, not so much. She didn’t try to defend his actions either. I thought that was kind of cool---it meant he was in the hot seat with her too.

I kind of liked having the freedom of living away from them too. I’d lived at home for fifteen years and now that I wasn’t there, things were definitely different. I’m not saying I was going to make a habit of it though. Friday night after getting off the phone with Constance, Aunt Mari and I had a long talk. We both agreed that it might be wise to try working things out after the party. So I planned on going home Monday morning and figure things out. I was still pretty pissed off at Dad but if he was willing to compromise on things then so was I. Mari promised to call and talk to him about things. From that point on I couldn’t help but feel sad not being home. It was home after all and I did miss it.

Everything at Mari’s wasn’t such a downer though.

Yesterday she took Mary and me shopping. She was convinced that what I was wearing was what I usually wore and wanted to change all that. Shopping with Aunt Mari was a different experience than shopping with Constance or even Dana for that matter. Mari was up to date on all the latest fashions and she knew everything about clothes. She had a great eye---albeit a little critical at times. I thought she was going to freak when she met Mary but she surprisingly took her in with a smile. Apparently, Mary did the Goth thing the proper way---whatever that meant. We spent most of the morning and well into the afternoon shopping. At lunch, we ran into Dana and Clara. Aunt Mari invented them along on the rest of our excursion too.

Mari was a hit with the two of them. I somehow became Clara’s new best friend when she found out that my “aunt” was Marisol. Aunt Mari was like Madonna, she had no last name. Well actually, it was Sanchez but she didn’t let anyone else know that. The rest of Saturday was spent with me loafing around---after my little fashion show of course. It was fun shopping with her but I’m not sure I was up to it again. Even if she did promise to take all of us girls to New York over Christmas Break on what she called the biggest shopping trip ever.

“What’s wrong with it?” asked Mary, bringing me back to the present.

I turned away from the mirror, spinning the black dress around so she could see. It was a witch’s dress, the hat and spider web stockings were on the bed. I now knew why Mary was keeping it such a secret from me. Especially when she unzipped her back and showed me the sexed up Werewolf costume she got for herself. She was going to go to the party as the Werewolf and me the witch---I bet she thought that was pretty damn clever.

“This thing is too short,” I said, finally telling her what was in fact wrong.

I turned back to the mirror; the hemline was way above my knees.

“I think it makes those sexy legs of yours really pop” she said and then added with a wink. “You might make Chris realize what he’s missing.”

I groaned---I did that a lot. “I already told you, Chris and I had a mutual breakup.”

There was a twinkle in Mary’s eye after that. “Well maybe there’s someone else who’s caught your fancy. Someone tall, dark and brooding?”

I flushed. She laughed to which I turned around and took a swing at her. My fist only made it halfway to her though, stopping in mid-air. It was like some giant invisible hand had reached out and grabbed it. I struggled to pull it free, to which Mary laughed hysterically. She watched me tug and struggle for a bit before she released it. I flexed my fingers but I couldn’t help but smile.

“What kind of spell was that?” I asked.

“A restrictor spell” she said with a smile. “It locks up whatever part of the body we concentrate on.”

“Why did it feel like someone was grabbing my hand then?”

“That’s the part I locked up. The spell forces the air around a certain part in a person’s body, trapping it in an invisible field.”

I rubbed my hand. “Don’t do it again please.”

Mary laughed. “Speaking of spells and things, are you wearing the necklace?”

The necklace in question was a gift from Mrs. Crawford. I reached into my shirt and pulled out the chain, letting the little red pendant sway in my fingers. When Mary apparently told her grandmother about what happened at the bistro and later how those Cougars tried to kill me, Mrs. Crawford decided to protect us. So she whipped up a pair of pendants that could block us from that deadly stare that Cougars used. Apparently, they were good for other such spells as well, including Mary’s favorite---the command spell. But it would seem that the pendants didn’t block the wearer from restriction spells.

I stuck the pendant back into my shirt. “You’re getting really good with those spells.”

She nodded, reaching into her purse and taking out a small leather bound book. It was a new acquisition for her. All new witches got their very own spell book. Some of them had books passes down through the generations. I’m not sure how many people had Mary’s book before her but it looked really old. It was huge too, like law book thick. It amazed me how she could even carry around something that heavy with her everywhere she went. I caught a peek in it the other day and most of the words in there were written in some bizarre language---bizarre to me but apparently, they were Latin. I tried to ask her how spells worked---because I never heard her utter a thing---but apparently, practitioners weren’t allowed to discuss their craft with non-users.

Mary was thumbing through the book then said excitedly. “I know five now.”

I knew of only four. “What’s the fifth?”

She shook her head, a wicked smile plastered across her face. “That’s a secret.”

She wouldn’t tell me no matter how hard I pressed her. So I stopped asking. After that, she tried to talk me into trying on the costume, which I reluctantly did. I had to admit it did do quite a number on my legs---the good way of course. I couldn’t help but wonder if I might make Chris ponder what he’s missing and maybe make him a bit angry. Then there was Mr. Brooding---I refused to think his name because I was convinced that Mary was fishing with it. I’ll admit he did make my heart skip a beat but he was also my uncle’s son. I kind of freaked me out to think that there might be a bit of attraction to him on my part.

After parading around as a witch for about an hour, I changed into a pair of sweats---no JUICY on the butt this time.

“So you’re picking me up right?”

I nodded. I was kind of excited about it. I was finally able to use the car, a lot more than driving around a parking lot somewhere. After my little blowup at my father, everyone was being a lot more lenient with me. Mason still followed around in my shadow but they were pretty much letting me do what I wanted. Ok, so that wasn’t entirely true but I had a lot more freedom than before. I think they were all still being a little cautious though, after all a few days ago someone did try to kill me. Speaking of Damien, apparently he was gone. Mason said the Inquisitor swung by his place to acquire him but he’d vanished. The gig was up---the charade over---Dad was officially cleared of charges. It was pretty clear that Damien was the one behind the murders; his attempted murder of me pretty much sealed his fate. If he showed his face again, he was going directly to the Coven.

Things were still a little tense though. Trev swung by yesterday to make sure I was doing ok. He was a little quiet around me though. I think he heard about my little tirade. I wasn’t mad at him but I did ask him for more info about the female Wolves and the Matron position. He actually didn’t know much about it. Most of our history on the subject was lost with the Lore Keeper---Trev was young when the man died. So the only answers I was going to be able to find were with Frank and Mason was refusing to take me back there.

“So do I need to pick up Greg and Rita too?”

She shrugged then pulled out her cell. A few second later, she was talking to him. “You and Miss Chatterbox need a ride?” She nodded a few dozen times then clicked off her phone. “Greg’s flying solo tonight, Rita caught some kind of bug, it’s going around. He’d appreciate a lift.”

I just knew I’d turn into the chauffeur now that I had my license.

Mary left a few minutes after that. Halloween was a big time for her family. There was something secret she had to do with her grandmother---she wouldn’t tell me what it was. I followed her down the stairs and to the door. As she was leaving, Silver appeared. He watched her go before turning to me.

“Do you want me to follow her to make sure she gets home safe?”

Silver was being the silent protector. Though Damien was gone, I think everyone was being a little extra cautious.

I shook my head. “Anyone who fucks with her is going to get a little more than they bargained for.”

I went back into the house after that, leaving my overcautious wolf protector on the front lawn. I wandered back up to my bedroom. I walked over to the bed and picked up the little black witch’s dress, groaning.

I’m so getting her back for this.

“This is me, if you’re calling you know who I am” said Mary’s annoyed voice.

I cursed; it was the umpteenth time in a row that I’d gotten her voice mail. Where the hell was she? I swung by her house on the allotted time, waited for nearly twenty minutes for her. When she never showed I tried calling but I kept getting her damn voice mail. Then Greg kept calling---he was never a very patient person. So in the end I had to abandon Mary to whatever and go and get Mr. I Want To Go Now. Then of course, he wasn’t ready when I got to his house so I decided to try Mary again. I was still only getting her stupid voice mail. I was going to kill her. Here she had me in this stupid dress that barely covered a thing and she was trying to bail on me.

I snapped the phone shut just in time to see Greg come out of his house. Greg always had the best costumes. Tonight was no different: Frankenstein’s Monster. When we were kids he used to be in charge of designing the costumes, we used to hit every house we could, sometimes staying out for hours just to make sure got them all. Seeing one of my best friends walk toward my car and act like a total stranger was wrong somehow. I still hated the raw deal he got. I hated that our trio was down to a duo two, thanks in no part to Rita but it was also my fault as well. If I’d told him the truth from the beginning like I wanted then maybe I wouldn’t feel the need to leave him out of things. Greg would have loved the whole detective thing that Mary and I had been doing.

When he got to the car, he looked at me and the empty front seat. Then he smiled, running around the car to get in front. “Where’s the Mistress of Darkness?” he asked as he climbed into the passenger seat, slamming the door.

“I called her half a billion times.”

Greg buckled his seat belt. “You know here, this day is like Christmas for people like her. She’s probably skulking around the cemetery.”

He laughed. I was annoyed and just a bit worried. “Mary doesn’t skulk.”

“Hey I was kidding,” he said as I started the car. He pulled out his cell and a second later, I heard. “Hey Freakazoid, where the hell are you? You’re going to miss all those idiots from school making even bigger asses out of themselves on the dance floor.”

“Still nothing?”

He shrugged. “Her loss.”

Was she blowing me off, I knew she didn't like things like this but it annoyed me that she wouldn't at least tell me in person. I couldn’t help but think about that as I drove to the Stiles house. I wasn’t even psyched anymore about driving, especially driving my dream car for the first time without adult supervision. All I could think about is my friend and why she wouldn't at least attempt to call me back. Maybe she found something better to do and if that were the case I so kicking her butt when I saw her again.

“Whoa, that’s their house!”

The Stiles place was about a ten minute drive from Greg’s. It was strange how close the neighborhoods were and how different things were. The Stiles had a huge house just like ours but unlike ours, they went a little overboard on security. They had the property walled off, of course, but they had cameras and a guard booth. It was kind of crazy. Vernon Stiles was a bigwig real estate mogul; most of his property was outside of town though. He owned quite a chunk of prime real estate in Manhattan and other assorted places. The Stiles net worth was big but not as big as ours. I think it always pissed Dad off that Vernon Stiles was so close to possibly matching his cash.

It kind of surprised me that they were just lowly humans though. There had been a bit of pattern as of late in the town, the most prominent families turned out to be the Weres. The Lockes, the Harpers, the Cordays even the McClintocks were once pretty wealthy, it was amazing the Stiles were not on the list. As far as the Cross’s were concerned, I had no idea who they were. I meant to look them up in the library but I hadn’t had a chance to do so. It seemed strange that they were the Cougars, like they just danced into town and tried to insert themselves somehow. Damien even mentioned a sister---one I was supposed to marry---but I knew for a fact that there were no Cross girls my age. I even checked in the yearbook, there were no Cross girls in the high school in any grade actually.

I pulled up to the gate; the guard peered at me from his little box as I rolled down my window. Greg handed me his invitation then I handed both of ours to the guard. He looked at the invites, his eyes widening a bit at my name.

“Just the two of you then Miss Locke?”

I nodded. “I was supposed to be meeting a friend here but she must have found something more important to do.”

“Lots of parties this time of year.”

Greg piped in. “I hear there’s this sorority at the college, they throw a party every year and only invite men. Sounds like a den of vampires to me.”

The guard gave us both a look. I rolled my eyes. “Ignore him; he was dropped on his head a lot when he was younger.”

He smiled and handed back the invitations. “Have a nice evening, Miss Locke.”

He buzzed me in and the gate slowly opened. I drove up the little driveway and around the semi-circle to where a valet was waiting. The man was dressed like a skeleton. It was kind of cool actually. The Stiles were going out of their way to one up Dad. I couldn’t help but smile. I would support anyone who wanted to stick it to the great Tobias Locke.

“Valet parking!” said Greg excitedly as I stopped the car and the valet opened the door. “This place is the bomb!”

I ignored his enthusiasm as I got out of the car and handed the skeleton my keys.

There was a sexy tan cat at the door greeting people. For a moment, I didn’t recognize her until she turned: it was Dana. She saw us and smiled. “Hey guys. Trace, that costume is a killer.” She looked beyond me. “Where’s Mary?”

I shrugged. Greg spoke for me. “She bailed.”

He dipped his hand into the bucket of candy, which was no doubt meant for the trick or Treaters. I slapped his hand before he could wrap his fingers around the king size snicker bars. Dana smiled. She looked like she was about to say something when a pretty teen girl came walking up. I couldn’t even tell what her costume was but she had a vague resemblance to Dana.

“Hey sis” the girl said, adjusting her skirt. “You think Dad would mind if I skipped out?”

Dana scoffed. “I don’t even think he’ll notice, actually.”

The girl smiled big and kissed Dana on the cheek. “Good because I so didn’t want to be around.”

The girl slipped by us and out the door. Greg watched her go.

“I didn’t know you had a little sister,” I said, trying to remember how many children Vernon Stiles had but I could only remember her.

“I don’t actually” she said and then added softly. “I only have brothers. Two younger, one older.”

I turned to where the girl went then back to her. She nodded with her eyes. Wow, I would have never known.

“So why did that girl call you sis then?” asked Greg, completely oblivious.

Dana and I laughed.

I said my goodbyes to her. We got to where we were to put our coats when I remembered or rather forgot to tell her how much I liked her costume. I turned around to tell her but she was gone. I blinked, wow, she was pretty fast. I shrugged it off and followed Greg through the foyer and down the hall. I’d been in the Stiles house more than once, on different occasions. The lay out was very similar to our own but unlike our house, the Stiles home actually had a name: Shadowcrest Manor. I mean how creepy is that. It sounded like something out of one of Greg’s movies. There was nothing creepy about the place though, Dana’s Mom---who was an interior decorator---had great taste.

I led Greg down a small hallway to a pair of double doors. I took a deep breath before pulling them open. Stepping into the ballroom, I was immediately struck by a bit of déjà vu. Though the music was eerie and the guests were in costumes I couldn’t help but be reminded of my sixteen-birthday party. It was amazing how things had changed in only a month or so, well nearly two months now. I tried to put on my best party face as I took another deep breath and plunged in. Greg disappeared into the crowd, probably heading for the refreshment stand, which was fine by me. I tried my best to mingle, saying hi to friends from school and adults who happened to recognize my face.

I felt a bit out of place though. Like a wolf in the hen house.

“Great costume girl” said Clara as she walked by, dressed as a very sexy devil.

“Thanks “I said, finding myself moving through the crowd toward the food as well.

The room was barely lit; there were black lights and strobes. People were crammed in together laughing and having a good time. Between all their talking and the loud music, it was hard to hear myself think. I did find the food laden table, covered with all sorts of good stuff, including some awesome looking Jack-O-Lanterns and some fake cobwebs. I grabbed a plate, hoping that Greg left me something good to eat. As I was piling things on---mostly crap that I knew was going to go straight to my butt---I felt someone slip into line behind me. For a second I went tense until I caught the faint odor of sawdust. It was funny because before I never noticed it but now it was so strong that I was a fool not to realize it was different than everyone else.

“Enjoying the party?” asked Chris into my ear softly.

I couldn’t help but shudder a bit. Ok, so I admit I might still have a little thing for him. When we broke up it was a mutual thing but I’m sure our families had something to do with it. I mean I was a Wolf and he was a Coyote---and never shall the two mix or something.

I turned and smiled at him. I was surprised to see him wearing a suit and tie, his hair slicked back. He looked, he looked amazing actually. Chris was not really grungy but he didn’t exactly dress to impress. That’s kind of why I liked him so much. I liked the whole slacker skater boy look. But seeing him now, dressed to the nines, I couldn’t help but feel something stirring.

“What are you supposed to be?” I asked, knowing he could hear me over the crowd the same way I could hear him.

One point to Super Were Hearing.

“Normal” he said, in reply to my question.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You look a little bit like your uncle actually.”

“My inspiration” he said, pouring out to cups of punch. He handed me one without thinking. “So is Greg your date for the night?”

I laughed. “Not a chance in the world.”

I took a sip. It was pretty good, much better than the punch we put out every year, actually.
Chris took a sip too. The two of us stood for a few minutes, sipping in silence. Finally, he broke it with a sigh. “This is ridiculous,” he said, setting his cup down. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about what I really was but I actually thought you knew.”

I shook my head. “Completely oblivious actually.”

He laughed. “What about the smell?” he said then sniffed the air. “I mean you smell like freshly baked cookies.”

I blushed. I couldn’t help it.

“You smell like Sawdust.”

He laughed. “I’m sorry for the way things turned out, too. My uncle was pretty cool about the whole dating thing actually. It was all the women actually. They kept bugging me to dump you.”

I nodded. “I don’t think my uncles were ever ok with it, actually.”

Chris laughed. “If they hated us together I wonder what they’re going to say about that.”

He grabbed my shoulders and turned me toward the dance floor. At first, I couldn’t see what he wanted me to see then I saw it. There was a couple dancing pretty close together. The girl had her back to me but she was dressed like Jasmine from Aladdin. The guy was huge, towered over her actually. He was wearing a Ravencrest High football jersey and a werewolf mask. I was confused for a moment before the girl turned and I saw it was Cindy. She looked fantastic. I was still confused about the guy until I saw something familiar dangling in the middle of his chest, it was a silver B---like the Greek letter Beta.

“You’ve got to be kidding me?” I said, awestruck.

Chris laughed. “They’re been dating for a few weeks now I think, maybe longer. They thought they were keeping it pretty secret but I have my ways.”

Carson and Cindy, who knew? I guess that explained where he kept disappearing off to.

“Ok now I’m getting jealous watching the two of them have all the fun,” he said, taking the punch from my hand and setting it on the table next to his.

Before I could say anything in protest, he took that very same hand and led me out to the dance floor. Chris was being particularly forceful tonight and I kind of liked it. I let him sweep me along, pulling me just as close as Carson was holding Cindy. It should have bothered me but it didn’t. I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my head on his chest. I found myself closing my eyes, ignoring the pounding music and the mashing bodies all around us. If Carson and Cindy could slow dance during this mess than so could the two of us. It felt kind of nice, being held in his big strong arms, listening to his heart thump against his chest.

“Tracy” he said softly. I let out an “mmm hmmm” sound. “You think you and I could forget this whole break up thing?”

That surprised me a bit. I opened my eyes and looked at him. “I’m not sure. What will your family think?”

“Screw them,” he said, bending down and pressing his lips gently against mine.

It felt nice. I forgot how much I liked kissing him. I liked it even more when we parted slightly and he said my name---I loved the way he softly hissed it to me. I couldn’t help but say his name, too.

“Mason” I said softly back without thinking.

Mason? Shit, did I just say Mason?

“Mason?” he said, just as shocked as I was. “Who the hell is Mason?”

Tears started to swell up, I’m not sure why. I pushed away from him.

“I’m sorry Chris, I can’t do this.”

How could a nice moment be ruined by something like that?

Chris stared at me, not sure how to react. I pushed even further away and turned around before he had a chance to react. I barreled into the crowd, pushing people aside. I made my way toward the food table then past it. There was a door there; I remembered it from the last time I was in here. Sure enough, I found the door without a problem and yanked it open. I ran out into the hall, my heart pounding in my chest. What the hell was I thinking? I said Mason; I was supposed to say Chris. Why in the hell did I say Mason? It couldn’t have been Mason, it shouldn’t have been Mason. But it was and I was so damn confused.

I was halfway down the hall before I slowed to a walk. I wanted Mason to come tonight, actually, wished he’d come. But Uncle Trev felt that Carson and the Twins were enough protection to stay close. Silver wanted to come with me though, which was immediately shot down of course. There was going to be a whole Locke clan in the Ball Room tonight, my uncles and my father too, I think. All of them were pretty certain they could protect me. Mason was out there hunting for Damien, making sure the bastard didn’t try anything stupid. I knew that and yet a small part of me wanted him here with me, lurking in my shadow again.

Shit. What the hell was wrong with me?

I stopped walking. As soon as I did, I heard running coming toward me. I seized up a bit, fearing the worse. I turned around and saw Chris though, panting to keep up. He wasn’t alone either, Greg was with him. I groaned, I definitely didn’t want to see either of them.

“Tracy you ok?” asked Chris, halfway to me.

I opened my mouth to answer him when another voice cut through the dark hallway. It was a girl’s voice and she sounded pretty pissed off but that’s not what drew my attention. It was the words that came out of her mouth:

“Damien what the hell are you doing here?”

Damien? It can’t be. He was supposed to be long gone from here. Why would he come back here?

But more important than that, I knew that voice.

It was Dana.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

Picture Credit: Actress Jane Levy