"Did you get a tattoo?" Wynn stared at Ashe's left arm.
"Uh, I guess," Ashe said uncomfortably.
"Dude, what is that?" Ashe recalled that Sali hadn't seen it either. Sali, Dori and Wynn were scrutinizing the eight gold imprints on his skin. "That is so cool," Sali breathed. "Mom and Dad won't even consider letting me get one."
"This was an accident," Ashe muttered, feeling embarrassed.
"A good one. That's amazing. Come on, let's take our shoes off and walk in the water," Dori pulled Sali toward the surf. Sali only halfheartedly protested.
"Want to go?" Wynn stood before Ashe, shading her eyes and looking up at Ashe.
"Sure. Can't let Sali wander off too far—he’ll get lost."
"Just what I was thinking," Wynn grabbed Ashe's hand and hauled him along.
"Mr. Wright found one of these this morning," Ashe handed the sun-bleached olive shell to Wynn. "Only his still had color. This one is bleached out."
"Still pretty," Wynn said, putting it in a pocket. She and Dori had worn shorts and flip-flops, but the flip-flops were left behind in the car. Sali and Dori, arms about one another, walked ahead of Ashe and Wynn.
"Look what showed up." Ashe jerked his head around—he'd been watching Wynn as she searched for shells on the sand. The pack of young men from the restaurant now stood in front of Sali and Dori. They were likely still drunk too, Ashe thought. "And it's the one with boobs," one of the young men taunted Dori.
"Look, it's the stupid jerks from the restaurant," Dori said before Sali could stop her. "Didn't your mother tell you it was rude to refer to women as body parts? Oh, wait—you don't have a mother. You have a zookeeper. Escape the leash today?" Sali was doing his best to keep Dori back—she was about to land on her tormenter.
"You let her do the talking for you?" Sali was being taunted, now. The young man looked to be around twenty-two or so, as did the others. All wore swimsuits, no shirts. Ashe imagined they thought highly of their abilities if it came to fighting. Sali growled.
Dude, settle down, Ashe hissed mentally. Sali could likely take on all four of them; as a werewolf, he was stronger than he looked. Dori, too, could hold her own against humans. Ashe didn't want to start a fight with four drunken frat boys on the public beach, though. He stepped forward.
"Man, what's wrong with his eyes," another of the would-be assailants asked when Ashe came to stand before them.
"You will leave," Ashe commanded. "And you will forget you ever saw us." All four turned obediently and walked away. Ashe and the others watched as they climbed into a car parked a short distance away. Spinning tires sprayed sand in their haste to get away. Sali pulled Dori close and they resumed their walk on the beach, but the day had soured after the confrontation. Ashe was silent, pondering a frightening new ability as he walked beside Wynn. He'd only meant to scare the young men away—he was taller than all of them and hoped his presence might seem intimidating. Instead, he'd commanded and they'd obeyed. As much as he hated compulsion, it had turned into a blessing in this case.
* * *
No mention of compulsion was made during the trip home. Sali draped his shirt over the back of the driver's seat and leaned against it, shirtless, to drive away from the beach. Ashe had slipped his on again, hiding the medallions on his arm. "You okay, Wynn?" Ashe turned to her as Sali navigated his car onto the ferry.
"I’m fine, Ashe. I thought it would be enough to ignore those jerks at the restaurant." Wynn brushed platinum hair behind an ear and gazed out the window.
"They were drunk," Ashe said.
"Yeah. It wouldn't have been a fair fight. I wanted to punch that blond one so bad." She'd named their main adversary.
"Wynnie, maybe you and Dori should work out with Sali and me," Ashe said. "Trajan can teach you self-defense."
"Really? You think Trajan would do that?" Wynn turned and flashed a smile at Ashe as they opened the doors to get out of Sali's car. The ferry flew smoothly through the water as Ashe and Wynn searched for dolphins again.
"I think he would," Ashe smiled back.
* * *
"Dude, was that compulsion?" Sali asked after they'd dropped off Dori and Wynn at the Anderson home. Sali parked in his driveway but walked with Ashe toward the Evans’ home.
"I guess," Ashe shrugged. "It could be the weakest thing in the world, though. Those guys were pretty drunk. Even I could smell them."
"Yeah. They were blitzed, all right."
"Dude, I know you would have beaten all four of them to a pulp," Ashe turned to Sali. "But we don't need the notoriety. And your dad doesn't need to come bail us out of jail."
"I know. But it might have been nice to punch ‘em a time or two."
"Yeah. I feel the same way. There's no cure for rude or stupid, Sali. Come on, let's go to my house and get something to drink."
"What are you going to do when your dad leaves?" Sali turned his glass of iced tea around, watching the damp ring it left on the granite island.
"What can I do? He won't be here. I’ll have to live without my dad." Ashe had been avoiding that subject throughout the day. Sali was now asking about it directly.
Sali's phone buzzed with a text. "Dude, I better go," Sali said. "Mom's texting."
"Yeah." Ashe agreed. He followed Sali to the door and waved as Sali trotted toward his home.
* * *
"Ashe?" Adele walked into the kitchen looking a bit rumpled. She was dressed in an old T-shirt and jeans—something she used to wear when gardening.
"Mom, are you all right?" Ashe hurried to get a glass of tea for his mother.
"I’m fine. Is there anything to make a sandwich?" She sat at the kitchen island.
"Yeah. Ham okay?" Ashe pulled ham and mayo from the fridge.
"That's fine. Hand me the tomato and I’ll slice it." Ashe slid a plate, knife and the requested tomato toward his mother while he spread mayonnaise on two slices of bread. Adele had a sandwich in no time.
"Mom, I have a proposition for you," Ashe breathed while his mother ate. He'd been thinking furiously ever since Sali left.
"What's that, hon?" Adele looked up from her meal.
"Pack a bag. Go with Dad for a couple of weeks. You can clean out his house or something. Mr. Winkler can find somebody to watch over Victoria's until you get back. Just give me a little time to work on this. Dad can't just leave. They have to reconsider."