Chapter Forty-seven "Exactly *what* was your relationship with her?" Frowning, Nate took a few steps away and sat down on the bed. He wondered if he looked nearly as dumbstruck as he felt. "You think I couldn't keep my hands off of her? Jesus, Lind, where were you? I saw an old friend for the first time in years, and I hugged her...is that a crime?" "It all depends on how close of an 'old friend' she is, Nathaniel." Lindy crossed her arms over her chest. "This stranger shows up, that you invited but didn't tell me she was coming. She takes every opportunity she can to touch you and you're not discouraging it. And you haven't answered my question. What was your relationship with her?" He gritted his teeth, his nostrils flaring. "I did answer your question. She's an old friend. And I wasn't aware I had to tell you about every decision I ever make." He glanced at Liam, lowering his voice to keep from upsetting the boy. "She touches me because she's a very friendly, tactile person. You act as if she was groping me, Lindy. It's not foreplay, damn it." "Could have fooled me, Nathaniel." She had also lowered her voice. "There's friends, and then there's *friends.*" "All right, Lindy, you want to hear it? I've had my tongue in her mouth. I've had my hands on her tits, and my fingers in her panties. She's had her hand on my cock. And although we didn't fuck, I enjoyed it. It made me moan. She made me feel things I've never felt before or since...is that what you want to know?" Although she suspected it, it hurt and shocked her to hear him say it all the same. "And she's the one that you want to counsel me on my sexual hang-ups? Jesus, Nathaniel! What do you want me to do with her? Get pointers on what you like?" "Christ, Lindy, it happened once! I was upset and wanted someone to comfort me. It wasn't her idea, and she was the one to stop it when it went too far! I can't even believe I'm defending myself about this. It happened over six years ago, and it's none of your damned business anyway." Liam started to whine softly, the agitation in the room getting to him. "And you know what? I don't really give a damn who you get to counsel you. Do whatever the hell you want!" "Fine!" she snapped. Without any further words, she pushed passed him and stomped out into the living room. Nate followed her. "Where do you think you're going?" "None of your damn business!" She jerked open the door and went out into the pre-dawn sky, slamming it behind her. He stood staring at the closed door for a long time, his eyes glowing brightly and fangs extended. He kept waiting for her to open the door again, but the moment never came. With a roar, he stomped forward and slammed his fist against the door, then quickly turned the lock, effectively locking her out of the house. The only thing to snap him out of his vicious anger was the sound of Liam crying in the bedroom. Lindy had leaned back against the heavy door the moment she had slammed it, trying to fight her tears. She jumped away from the door when she felt him hit it, and her eyes narrowed when she heard it deadbolt click. [Fine!] She turned away and kicked off her shoes and started pulling off her blouse as her fangs sharpened and claws extended. She halted the Change half-way, leaving her in her deadliest form - fanged, able to move on all fours or on her hind legs, and her forepaws more like clawed hands. She tilted her head to let out a cry that was half-anger, half-anguish before bolting for the tree line. It was high-noon as Chandra wandered around outside. She'd been so depressed for the past month, constantly sleeping, locking herself in dark rooms, crying until her throat was sore. Jess had begun to worry about the woman's health, and nearly forced her to go outside in the sunshine. Since she wasn't allowed back in the house for at least an hour, she aimlessly walked, muttering to herself about the brightness of the day. She came across a discarded blouse near Lindy and Nate's home, and frowned. Thinking someone must've dropped it during the move, she tossed it on the porch and kept walking. She'd circled all three houses by the time she got up the will to walk into the fields beyond. Five minutes later, she found a torn bra lying in the tall grass between the houses and the woods. Curious, she picked it up and looked closer at the slashes in the fabric. Starting to get a little worried, she looked towards the woods and noticed something blue on the ground deeper in the shadows. [Petunia, I hope it was you who did this, you naughty puppy.] She headed in that direction, noticing the crushed and bent vegetation. Something large had crashed through here recently. Following the trail she came across a few scraps of cotton, the remnants of a pair of underwear. Now becoming more concerned she hurried forward. A thought crossed her mind that maybe she should get the others, but she continued forward. She knew roughly the direction the trail was heading. She was nearing a large clearing that they had romped in on the night of the full moon. Her heart was pounding as she neared the area, and she stopped suddenly at the sour smell in the air. Pungent urine and feces were barely recognizable over the stench of blood. Something had died here, not long ago, and she was nearly collapsing on her shaky legs. She knew what she was going to see--someone, possibly one of her friends, viciously murdered, possibly raped, and most certainly gone forever. Yet as she willed herself to step forward, violently shaking with her fear, that wasn't what she saw at all. She hadn't thought the smell of blood could become any stronger. But it did. And now she could hear the sound of flies buzzing around the corpse of the deer that lay dead in the clearing. At first, she couldn't take her eyes off of it. Not only had the buck been killed, its neck stretched back at an unnatural angle, it had been savaged. Chunks were missing from the throat and chest, deep gouges ran along the flanks, and intestines spilling from a jagged slit in its belly. Blood soaked into the ground. S