2. Xyla

2

Xyla

" P lease, Xyla, say that you'll go with us. Dad will only take me if you say you'll go, too."

Xyla sighed when she heard her little brother's voice begging her over the phone. He knew she couldn't resist anything he wanted. This was especially true because she knew that life with their father wasn't easy. She had always felt a little guilty for leaving as soon as she was eighteen to go to college, leaving him behind.

"It would be my birthday present from you. All I want is to hang out with you."

Smiling, Xyla shook her head. He knew exactly how to get to her heart and pull those strings. She adored her brother and helped raise him the best that she could until she left for college.

"Alright, fine. I'll go."

"Woohoo. I'll tell Dad. I can't wait. We're leaving in the morning. Love you, bye."

He hung up the phone before she had a chance to reply. Laughing, she looked at her roommate and best friend, Abigail.

"I guess you'll be spending part of your winter break on the mountain, huh?"

Xyla nodded. "Yeah. I can't resist Edward." She grinned. "He insists on being called Edward and not Eddie because he's grown up now. Yet I see the little boy in him every time we talk or hang out."

"Wait until you have your own children. They grow up super fast."

"You know, you could come with us."

Abigail sighed. "I wish I could, but I have to finish my clinicals for my nursing degree. It would be frowned upon if I took a week off to go skiing. You're just lucky that you finished everything last week and you have your license."

"I know, right? Now, I just have to find the right place to work."

"That should be easy. You finished at the top of your class and registered nurses are in high demand."

"I hope so." Xyla ran her fingers through her hair and blew out a long breath. "I guess I'd better pack. We're leaving in the morning."

"My guess is that your father knew that you couldn't tell Edward ‘no' and he already made reservations at the resort."

Xyla grinned. "That's my guess as well. I feel like I've been snookered by some kind of conspiracy by the menfolk in my family."

Edward was excited to see his sister when they picked her up early the next morning. He was even willing to let her ride shotgun, which was a spot he never readily gave up. Xyla shook her head and said she would be happy to ride in the back.

"We're going to Monta?a Maldita. Do you know why they call it that?" Edward asked excitedly.

Xyla did but knew that Edward was eager to tell the story, so she said, "No."

She nodded and gasped in all the right places as Edward excitedly told about the warlock who cursed the mountain. He finished the story with a question. "Why did he curse them when they saved his life?"

"I don't know, brother. Some people are naturally evil. Others are simply greedy or selfish."

The rest of the five-hour drive to the resort went by quickly, mostly because Xyla slept the rest of the way. Getting through classes, clinicals, and the tests needed to get her license had been grueling and she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. She had been planning on sleeping most of December and then looking for work after the New Year. It seemed like no time had passed when Edward was excitedly waking her up.

"We're here. We're here. Come on, Xyla."

Sara and William Butler were very charming when Xyla, Elliot, and Edward checked in. They were given the cabin furthest from the main building because it was one of the few with three bedrooms.

As soon as they toted their supplies and clothes over to the cabin, Edward looked at Xyla with his huge cobalt blue eyes and begged, "Can we please go to the slopes? Please?"

Her heart melted. She could never resist her little brother or tell him no to anything. Xyla ruffled his dark brown curly hair and grinned at him.

He swatted her hand away. "Stop that. Let's go skiing."

"Fine, but it's been a while so we'll start at the intermediate slopes until we get our ski legs established."

"Awesome." Edward grabbed his skis and shot out the door before Xyla could pull her hat back on.

Elliot followed behind them, chuckling. Xyla wasn't the only one who spoiled Edward. Since their mother had died and Xyla left home, Elliot had focused his entire attention on the boy. Unfortunately, that included Elliot's dark moods as well as his good ones.

Edward chattered on about everything as they rode the ski lift to the spot. He hopped off and ran toward the top of the slope.

Xyla looked around. "It truly is beautiful out here."

Her eyes narrowed as she saw a familiar face. "Dirty shifter," she muttered under her breath.

She caught his eye and they stared at each other for a minute. Lightning flashed between them and he snarled at her. She knew that they shared a mutual hatred of each other.

"Xyla, come on. I'm ready to go."

She shook her head and focused on her brother. "Okay. Let's go."

The three of them went down the red slope so many times that Xyla lost count. She was so sore by the time they walked to their cabin that she would have been fine with a pack of ramen and a hot bath. However, both Elliot and Edward insisted they go to the main building for dinner.

Xyla raised her eyebrows when she saw the huge number of people seated in the dining room. Then, she remembered reading on the resort's website that the food was so amazing that people from the town fifteen minutes below the mountain often came for dinner. Sara hired a wait staff for the evenings. They would drive up for the dinner hours, wait tables, and then return to town. Apparently, the pay and tips were good enough for them to make the drive for just three hours of work each night.

Dinner was delicious. She ordered the chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and country green beans, and it was the most incredible food she had ever eaten. The triple chocolate cake practically melted in her mouth.

In between bites, Edward excitedly recounted their experiences on the slope, laughing at the number of times he fell the first couple of times they skied down.

Xyla smiled and nodded at the appropriate times but was really thinking about how great a bath and then bed would be. Her smile faded when she looked across the room and saw Sean sitting with a friend and two women. Her heart thudded and hatred welled up inside of her.

She thought about how much she had really liked Sean when she first met him. Xyla had gone into Howlers' as often as she could, just to talk to him. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her heart skipped a beat each time he flashed a sexy smile at her.

Then, she found out that he was just like the other dirty animals that had killed her mother. Her father never told her what kind of shifter had murdered Jennifer, but all shifters were the same. They were wild animals that attacked innocent humans for no reason.

Her father's harsh voice broke into her thoughts. "Animals belong outside and not sitting at the table like the rest of us civilized people."

"Actually, Dad, people are animals, too. They belong to the animal kingdom, just like bears, rabbits, and even mosquitoes."

Elliot looked at Edward and pressed his lips tightly together. The vein in Elliot's neck was throbbing hard and his face had become bright red. For a moment, Xyla was afraid that he was going to have a heart attack.

Edward, oblivious to his father's anger, continued to dive into his ice cream.

Elliot gritted his teeth. "Let's get out of here."

Edward protested, pointing to his bowl. "I'm almost done."

"Finish quickly." Elliot tapped his fingers on the table, impatiently.

When Edward finally finished his ice cream, Elliot threw enough cash on the table to cover their meal and a decent tip and they left. Xyla was sure that she could feel Sean's eyes boring holes in her back as they left.

Edward and Elliot showered quickly and went to their rooms to watch television. Xyla filled the large bathtub with hot water and poured in a generous amount of fragrant lavender salt. She sank down into the tub, closed her eyes, and sighed.

An image of Sean instantly popped into her mind. He was tall and extremely well-built. Sean's emerald green eyes showed the emotions that his face and voice hid. She could see sadness in them when he didn't think anyone was watching him, and Xyla had often wondered why he was so sad. A part of her had hoped that maybe someday she could take away his sadness.

A warm tingle flowed through her as she thought about how they had flirted. Sean had a sexy smile that would take her breath away. Late at night, she would fantasize about running her hands over his thick arms and muscular chest. She imagined what it would feel like when he kissed her. There was nothing she had wanted more than to feel his naked body pressed against hers as he took her virginity and let her feel the ecstasy of their bodies moving together.

She shook her head. All of her fantasies were before Elliot told her that he had found out that Sean was a wolf shifter who belonged to the Nightshade Wolf Shifter Pack. Elliot belonged to a group of men who hated shifters who made sure they didn't attack any innocent humans.

Her heart hardened with hate when she realized that Sean hadn't been honest with her and that he was one of those animals who killed her mother.

Xyla had left Angel's Creek to go to college soon after she found out the truth. Her father and brother moved to the same town to be near her.

"I can get through this week with him here for Edward's sake. I'm sure that Sean doesn't want to associate with us any more than we want to be near him, so we'll both just keep our distance."

Sighing heavily, Xyla admitted that this was probably easier said than done and this vacation wasn't going to be very relaxing at all.