Beautiful Creatures Series

Chapter 63: 1

Aster sat in the courtroom listening to the jury convict her father of the voluntary manslaughter of two mobsters who had abducted his pregnant Fiancée Mackenzie with the intention to kill her. Turns out Mackenzie was a witness to a murder back in California and had spent the last decade in witness protection. Aster listened as the judge sentenced her father to ten years in prison with the possibility of parole after five. Aster tried not to cry. She could not believe it. The man had only been protecting his loved one from known criminals, and he was being punished when he should have been celebrated.

A profound sense of loss consumed Aster. She had recently lost her mother. Her mother, Melissa Wilder, had turned her back on her family, her people, and her daughter. Aster’s father had been forced to kill her with the other men. Only her body had never been recovered. Aster did not blame her father. He had only done what he must. Melissa had forced his hand, leaving him no other choice. Still, despite all her faults and sins, Aster had loved her mother and was saddened by her death.

Her mother died, and now Aster was losing her father to the unfair justice system. She felt as though she had lost everyone that meant anything to her. She did not even have a sibling to share her pain with. Aster was in her mid-twenties and until now an only child of an unhappy abusive marriage. Her mother had been a cruel woman who often beat her husband to near death on a number of occasions.

Her father, on the other hand, had been a caring, loving, stable individual. He was a good man who had finally decided he had taken enough of his abusive wife’s shit and filed for divorce. If the divorce was not insulting enough to Melissa, her estranged husband had taken a young lover and sired a child with her. A child that many of her people, including Aster’s mother, considered a sin against the natural law.

Aster and her family had a secret, a secret that was shared with the other residences of Feral. A secret that, if exposed, could result in the violent deaths of fifty men, women, and children. Aster and her people were not human. They were Lycanthropes. Mythical monsters to the human world. They walked among the humans. Lived and worked with them, and no one knew the truth. Those who found out

were dealt with swiftly and severely. Sometimes people died. It was a sad reality, but the secret must be protected. The secret was the only thing that insured the survival of their species.

But recently, two of the male pack members had fallen in love with a human woman, and the pack brought these women into the fold. Her father was one of these two men. The pack accepted it because they had no choice. It was not until her father’s new girlfriend announced she was pregnant that the shit hit the fan. Up until that point, no one believed it was possible for the two species to breed together. For the first time in history, there would be a hybrid. This news upset the whole pack and divided them. There were those who were willing to accept it and others who strongly believed this hybrid child was the beginning of the end of their species. There was a hostile response to the news of this child. Many protested while others, such as Melissa, took more decisive action. As far as Melissa had been concerned, the child would never be born.

She had failed, thankfully. The child was born, and he seemed healthy. What powers he had were yet to be discovered. At this point, the child was too young to know just how much of this child was Lycanthrope and how much was human. Aster figured as her brother Preston aged, he and their family would be faced with unique problems. The poor boy would likely grow up ridiculed by the pack. He walked in both worlds accepted by neither.

At this point, Preston was only a few months old, and though she loved her brother on sight, Aster was far too old for there to be any sibling bonding. She felt alone in the world.

After saying goodbye to her father, Aster went out to a bar to drink her sorrows away. She sat at a bar in Aspen. She had not gone to the usual place she went to drink because she did not want to run into anyone she knew. She wanted to be alone with her loss. She sat at a table alone, getting drunk. No one bothered her because despite how pretty she was, she had a resting bitch face that made her unapproachable. Which was how she preferred it. She was a perfectly nice woman when you got to know her, but she was selective with who she allowed getting to know her.

Suddenly a body filled the seat across the small table from her. Looking up from her drink, she recognized the man who now sat across from her. He was a good-looking man of First Nation descent. He was on the smaller side of tall and was slim but fit. He was young, not much older than she was, if she had to guess. His dark eyes were lively and hinted to a wicked clever playfulness. His skin was a deep bronze colour. His raven hair was thin and long, which he wore loose. He was dressed like any blue-collar Joe you could come across. He was a handsome man, and his smile was welcoming and friendly.

Aster rolled her eyes with great aggravation. After the day, she had the last thing she wanted to do answer a bunch of questions this man undoubtedly had. “Wow, look at you. So pretty and so unapproachable.”

Aster’s mouth curved in a nasty sneer. “Yet here you are.”

His smile widened. “What can I say? I’m a confident man.”

“I have had a very long day, Detective. Why don’t you just get to what you want?”

He shifted in his seat and leaned forward, folding his arms on the edge of the table between them. “What I want it for you to call me Tyler.”

“Tyler? Isn’t that a little informal for an interrogation?” She asked, mirroring his body position as she looked him in the eyes to prove she was not one to fall for any mind games.

“You call it an interrogation. I call it getting to know each other.” He said, not missing a beat. “Ok.” He said, leaning back enough to remove his badge, which was attached to his hip, off then he placed it on the edge of the table. “There it is. As of right now, I’m not a cop. I’m just a guy in a bar wanting to buy a beautiful woman a drink.” He smiled confidently.

At that moment, the waitress placed two drinks on the table between them and walked away. Tyler must have ordered and paid for their drinks before he came over to the table. So certain she would welcome him. “That’s confident.” She grinned.

“As I said, I’m a confidant man.”

Aster took up her glass and relaxed back in her chair. “Well, I suppose since it is paid for, one drink can earn you one question.”

“Just one?”

“Just one.” Tyler’s grin grew as a second waitress placed a large bottle of vodka on the table then walk away. Aster could not contain herself. She burst out laughing. “Well played.” She had to admit the Detective had game. She shot back her drink and placed the empty glass on the table. Tyler picked up the bottle and refilled her drink. “Alright, Tyler, ask your questions.”

“Question number one: Are you single? And I mean REAL single, not I HAVE A SIDE DUDE POSITION I’M LOOKING TO FILL single.”

Aster snickered. “Do I look like that kind of girl?”

“Oh.” He said, drinking his glass back and placing the empty cup back on the table. “Nope, see there, that’s a question. You’re going to have to buy me some wings if you want me to answer questions.”

Aster waved a waitress over. “Two platters of wings; one honey/garlic and one hot.”

The waitress took the order and left to relay it to the kitchen. “Um, sweet and spicy. You know that’s telling. It speaks a lot about your personality.”

“Does it?”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“It tells me you are a nice girl with a naughty side.”

Aster tried to restrain her amusement. “Really? Is that the line you want to go with?”

“What, no good?” He laughed.

“Has that ever worked on anyone?”

“Naw.” At least he was willing to admit it.

“You still haven’t answered my question. What kind of girl do you think I am? Do I look like the type to juggle men?”

“Nowadays, you can never tell. Lots of guys have multiple girls, and many girls have multiple guys, and both sides call the other side cheaters.”

“Hypocrisy is alive and well.”

“I’m a cop. I consistently see people at their worst. It has robbed me of my faith in humanity.”

“That is a very negative world view.”

“You don’t seem like yours is any brighter.” He had her there after a lifetime of hiding from humans, and then the controversy facing the pack over the last year, she too had a negative outlook. She liked him, though. She was trying very hard not to, but Tyler was a likable kind of guy.

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

Aster grinned. He was confused about what she was saying yes to. “I am REAL single and not side dude single.”

“Good to know. You seem down and out.”

“I’ve lost a lot in a short period of time.”

“Personal tragedies are always the hardest.”

“What do you know about personal tragedies?”

“Every life has a tragedy or two. No one gets out unscathed.” He said. A commotion at the bar drew their attention. Some drunk was making an aggressive pass at the female bartender, but the woman seemed like she was handling the matter, so their attention returned to one another. “What do you say we get together tomorrow night and talk about…” The commotion at the bar got louder and more aggressive distracting Tyler momentarily. “Um, where was I? Oh yeah, we can talk about the cruelties of life and…” Suddenly, the drunk at the bar reached across the bar and grabbed the bartender by the hair and pulled her forward, forcing her down against the bar top. Tyler reached for his badge. “Sorry, please excuse me. I have to go be a cop for a moment.”

Aster watched as Tyler rose from his chair and walked over to the man as he clipped his badge to his belt once more, then unclipped the set of handcuffs next to his badge. Reaching the man, he grabbed him by one arm, twisting it behind his back. With one hand on his head, Tyler forced the offending man face down on the bar and pulled his other hand behind his back, snapping the handcuffs on as the bartenders fled into the supporting arms of the other bartenders.

“Ouch!” The man bellowed. “Get off me!”

“It’s not nice to rough up women,” Tyler said with anger. “Ma’am, would you like to press charges?”

“Yes.” The bartender answered.

“Sir, you are under arrest for assault. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.” He recited the Miranda Rights. “Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?”

“Yes.” The man growled as Tyler walked him back to the table where Aster was sitting, watching the scene unfold.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave.” He told her. “How about dinner tomorrow?”

“I’m busy.”

“The next day?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then how about lunch?”

“No.”

“I’m getting the distinct feeling you are blowing me off.”

“You seem like a very nice guy, but I just don’t date….” She trailed off. She could not tell him she did not date humans. It would only confuse him and make him ask questions. Though she had no malice for those, who took human lovers, Aster herself did not. She did not believe in mixing the species. “I don’t date cops.”

“Oh, I can resign.”

She laughed as the waitress brought two to-go boxes filled with the wings. “That won’t be necessary.” She said, offering him one of the wing boxes. “You can have the spicy wigs.”

He accepted the box and smiled at her. “How kind of you.”

“Goodbye, Detective.”

“We will meet again.” He winked at her.

“I bet we will.” She chuckled as she watched him walk the perpetrator out of the bar.

***

Tyler sat at his desk typing away on his computer, finishing up all the paperwork involved with making an arrest. He was slightly annoyed that his attempt to pick up Aster Wilder had been rudely cut short when he was forced to deal with that drunk. He could take the badge off and put down the gun and cuffs, but he was still a cop. His conscious refused to allow him to ignore problems that required intervention.

His job was one of the reasons he did not date often. Most women could not handle the job, the long hours, the fear every time he walked out the door, the countless missed dates and occasions because he was called away by some emergency. His longest relationship had been three months, and the last two of those months had been spent fighting until she walked out on him.

He was a man. He had urges, but casual sex just did not rev his engine. Not that he was above it. He would take what he could get, but he preferred a little bonding. He was thirty years old and at this point in his life, what Tyler craved was a stable, loving relationship that did not fall apart because of his job.

His mind drifted to Aster Wilder. What a stunning woman. She had such a wild look in her eye. When it came to this woman, Tyler was drawn to her wild animal magnetism. With that girl, he would take what

he could get, and if all she wanted was crazy meaningless sex, he would be happy to stud for her. It was kind of appealing that she did not drop at his feet. Tyler was a good-looking man, and his confidence and swagger often charmed women right out of their pants but Aster, she resisted him, and she did so incredibly well. He might have met his match, which made her all the more alluring.

He had to see her again. Running into her at the bar had been serendipitous. He had been there to order lunch because the joint had great wings. When he saw her, Tyler had become excited. He had been thinking about her since the day they met weeks ago in her father’s tattoo shop. Meeting her the first time had struck him, and she had been on his mind a lot now that he ran into her again. Tyler knew he could not just let her slip through his fingers.

He only wished she had given him her phone number. Or he knew where she worked or lived. How was he going to meet up with her again? Tyler looked at the computer screen in front of him. Would it be stalking if he did a background search on the woman to find her? Using work resources for personal reasons seemed unethical.

What the hell? He thought, typing her name into his computer. If she was in Aspen, he would find her.