Wives tales 3 peg and ca.., p.1
Wives Tales #3: Peg & Cali (Valens Legacy Short Stories), page 1
part #16.50 of The Valens Legacy Series
Wives Tales
Peg & Cali
Published by Jan Stryvant
Copyright 2019 Jan Stryvant
Copyright Jan Stryvant 2019
Cover Credits: eBook Launch (http://ebooklaunch.com/)
No part of this eBook may be reproduced in any form without expressed, written consent from the author. The material in this story may feature graphic depictions of a sexual or adult nature and is intended for a mature audience only. All characters in this story are fictional and of the legal age of consent for any activities they engage in. Any resemblance between characters, places, or things in this story, and people living or dead, actual places, or events, is purely coincidental. It's fiction; I made it up.
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be copied and given away, or copied and sold, to other people. Got that? No copying, please! If you would like to share this book with another person, it would be really nice if you purchased an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use, please consider purchasing your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
#11291
Jan Stryvant Books:
The Valens Legacy:
Black Friday Book 1
Perfect Strangers Book 2
Over Our Heads Book 3
Head Down Book 4
When It Falls Book 5
Stand On It Book 6
Vegas Rules Book 7
Desperate Measures Book 8
Secret Treaties Book 9
It Ain't Easy Book 10
Red Skies Book 11
Demon Days Book 12
Shadow
Table of Contents
Discussion
Peg
Discussion
Cali
Afterword
Discussion
Peg sighed. "That's both sad, sweet, and incredibly romantic."
Roxy nodded. "Now I know why you were so hot for Sean."
Roberta blushed. "Well, you have to remember, he looks almost exactly like Sampson."
"He does?" Peg asked, surprised. "But I thought his father was Ben? Unless…"
Roberta shook her head firmly. "Ben was Sean's father; Sampson would never have done something like that in a million years. But Sampson's the one who bit Sean, and because of that, Sean's lion looks almost exactly like him. Well, Sean's a bit bigger than Sampson—err, I mean taller," Roberta said, turning beet red as the others all laughed.
Roxy nodded, still giggling. "That's why he refers to Sampson as his lycan father. When someone gets infected, they take after the one who bit them."
"So then Sarah's whole little ploy to get a little sister wasn't something you came up with to trap Sean?" Daelyn asked, still grinning.
"Umm…" Roberta looked a little embarrassed and shook her head. "She came up with that one all on her own. Not that I minded, of course! When I first met Sean, I was…well, let's just say I was pretty confused. When he came back with Jo, whom I already knew from some of her frequent visits to our little cantina, I knew he had to be special."
"What were you doing at the cantina?" Daelyn asked, looking over at Jolene.
"Recharging," Jolene said with a lazy smile.
Roberta giggled. "We're the only ones who didn't care that she was a tantric witch. And, well, she used to be very popular with the lycans."
Now it was Daelyn's turn to blush.
"So, Peg," Daelyn said suddenly, looking to change the subject, "what's your story?"
Peg shrugged. "Sheila bit me to save my life after Sean told her to. You all know that."
"No, I mean what's your deep, dark secret?"
Peg smiled. "Sorry, don't have one! I grew up a perfectly normal child, in a perfectly normal household."
"I vote we all hold her down and tickle her until she tells the truth," Cali said with a smirk.
"What! No! Don't you dare!" Peg said, jumping up as Daelyn and Roxy both grabbed her, and Cali rescued her wine glass before she could spill any.
"No fair! No fair!" Peg protested and started to giggle as Jolene put her fingers to use, obviously knowing all of Peg's weak points.
Setting the wine glass down, Cali jumped in to help.
"Okay! I'll talk! I'll talk!" Peg gasped weakly between laughs.
Roxy and Daelyn let go, and Peg collapsed back into her seat, still giggling, then held out her hand to Cali, who returned her wine glass to her.
Peg took a sip. "Okay, okay," she said, calming down a little. "You have to understand, by Gradatim standards, my life was fairly normal, for those values of normal that involve you when your father sits on the high council and that council has a monster on it like Charles Ryan."
"I thought Roger was the monster?" Roxy said, a little surprised.
Peg shook her head. "Roger was a piece of work, don't get me wrong, but Charles was the real monster. Because he was Roger's best friend and biggest supporter, Roger always looked the other way. Honestly, I bet the whole idea to whip me and my sister was his idea," Peg said and shuddered at the memory.
"Sorry, Hon," Roxy said and patted Peg on the leg.
"I'm just glad they didn't kill Sheila when they raided the house, and not just because she saved my life. Sheila was the first real friend I ever had. She wasn't trying to take advantage of me like all the others, who really only cared about the power I had because of who my father was."
Peg took another sip of wine. "I remember when I finally started to realize that everybody wanted something. But having learned the truth about my father, looking back, I'm not surprised about that."
"So how did you and Sheila meet?" Jolene asked. "Since she was your father's plaything, I'd have thought you'd have been jealous."
"Oh, I was at first, but well, let me explain…"
Peg
"Hey, Peggy, where's Karen?" Adonna asked, sitting down at the table in the school lunchroom.
Peg shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since last night, after we went out and rolled a few mundanes."
Adonna shook her head. "I think you two are crazy, you know that? What happens if someone finds out? Or worse yet, what happens if one of them is resistant to magic?"
Peg snorted. "Come on, they're mundanes! If they could resist magic, they wouldn't be. Besides, Karen needs the money. With her parents gone, and living at her aunt's house, she really doesn't have all that much."
"What happen to her parents, anyway?" Adonna asked, lowering her voice to a whisper. "I never wanted to ask about it when she was around; she's been your friend longer than she's been mine, so any idea what happened?"
Peg shrugged. "Her father died when we were thirteen. I don't know what happened, but it was pretty sudden. She came home from school one day and found her mom crying; that's how she found out. Four months later her mother disappeared without a trace, and she moved in with her mother's sister."
"Wow, that sucks. So her aunt doesn't like her?"
"Oh, her aunt likes her just fine. It's her uncle who has a problem with her."
"What, he try to get in her pants or something?"
Peg snorted. "Hardly. I've been over there. He's always acting like she doesn't exist, and heaven help her if she does something to come to his attention. Her aunt's cool when he's not around, but when he is, she has to ignore Karen, too."
"What a weirdo," Adonna said, shaking her head.
"Hey, it could be worse."
"Oh, how?"
"She could be living on the streets."
"So, think she's sick?"
Peg shrugged. "I can go by her aunt's house after school and find out, I guess."
"You don't think anything happened to her, do you?"
"I don't see what could. She dropped me off at my house on her way home. She just probably got sick or something."
Adonna nodded slowly. "Well, if you think so…"
"Why are you so worried? It's not like any of us haven't missed a day before."
"I overheard one of the teachers this morning gossiping about something, and Karen's name came up."
"Really? What were they talking about?"
Adonna shook her head. "I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard the word 'sick' mentioned a couple of times."
"See? I told you. She called in sick, and they were just talking about it."
"I don't know…"
Peg rolled her eyes. "You want to go with me when I go by her aunt's house?"
Adonna nodded. "I'll meet you out front after seventh period."
"I'm sorry, Peggy, but Karen doesn't live here anymore."
"What? How can that be?" Peg said, looking at Karen's aunt, who looked like she'd been crying.
"She left. She's not coming back. I suggest you forget about her, before…" Karen's aunt shook her head. "Don't come back here, ever again," She said quietly and closed the door in their faces.
Peg had reached up to knock on the door again, when Adonna grabbed her and started dragging her to the street.
"Hey! I want to get some answers!" Peg complained.
"What are you, stupid?" Adonna hissed. "Something bad must have happened to Karen, and if you aren't careful, it just might happen to you!"
"What? Don't be ridiculous! What could possibly happen to me?"
Adonna shook he
"What are you talking about?" Peg asked, looking at Adonna with concern.
"The council has people killed! Hell, most of the people on it had to kill someone just to get there!"
"Wait, what? Are you saying my dad killed somebody?" Peg stopped and looked at her.
"Oh. My. God. You mean to tell me you don't know?"
"Know what?"
"Peg, the Gradatim Council is made up of some of the nastiest magic users there are! Why do you think I've been dating boys over in Sapientia? I for one am going to marry my ass out of this place and never look back!"
Peg blinked. She'd heard some of the rumors, the stories, but she knew a lot of people were jealous of her father and his position. Her dad was a complete sweetheart; the idea of him killing people…
Peg shook her head. "I can't believe it, Adonna. My dad? A killer?"
"Well, go home and ask him what happened to Karen, why don't you?"
"You know, I think I just might!" Peg grumbled and headed for home.
"Just be careful!" Adonna warned. "And keep me out of it!"
Peg snorted, as if she'd ever get one of her friends in trouble. But still, something bad had obviously happened to Karen, and while Peg suspected her aunt knew, she obviously wasn't going to talk about it.
And if something really bad had happened, and the council was involved, well, Peg didn't think asking her father was the best idea. Her father didn't like talking about council business around the house, and sometimes got quite angry when asked.
She spent the entire fifteen-minute walk trying to think of who to ask, and what exactly to ask them. She obviously couldn't ask any of the lycan servants; if bad things were going on, they'd be far too afraid to tell her.
When she got home, she smiled and nodded to Jerry, their butler.
"Hi, Jerry, is Mom or Dad home?"
"Your mother is busy upstairs, I believe, and your father should be home within the hour. I'm surprised to see you home so early; are you feeling well?"
"I think one of my friends is in trouble; that's why I came home early, so I could talk to dad about it."
"I'll be sure to let you know when he arrives."
"Thanks, Jerry," Peg said, and then quickly ran off to her room. As she was getting out of her school clothes and into something more comfortable, her older sister Camellia poked her head into her room.
"What are you doing home? I thought you and you little friend Karen liked to hit the mall after school?"
"Karen's gone," Peg said with a sigh.
Camellia blinked. "Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"She didn't show up at school today, so we went by her aunt's house afterwards, and she told us that Karen didn't live there anymore and not to ever come back." Peg looked up at her sister. "I think something bad happened to her."
"Shit," Camellia said, leaning against the doorframe and shaking her head. "Why would anyone want to mess with Karen? She's a sweet girl, even if the two of you do go boosting mundanes down on the strip now and then."
"Do you think dad would know what happened?"
Peg noticed Camellia's face looked worried.
"I wouldn't go asking dad; if he finds out what you've been up to with Karen, I'm sure he'll get mad."
"You think so?"
"I got grounded for a month when he found out Cecilia and I were using glamour spells to sell fake jewelry as real to the tourists. So yeah, I'm pretty sure he'll get upset. Go ask mom."
"You don't think she'll get upset?"
"Mom's only rule is 'don't get caught'."
Peg blinked. "What? Really?"
"You think that sexy hunk of a chauffeur she hired was just for driving the car around? When dad brought home that sexy little fox sex toy, she decided to go get one of her own."
Peg blushed profusely. She was pretty sure Sheila, that young fox, had been bought for those reasons, but she hadn't known her mother did those kinds of things, too.
"I, err, ummm. Do you think dad knows?"
Camellia chuckled. "Probably not; a lot of men think it's perfectly okay for them to sleep with the animals, but heaven help any woman out there who does the same thing!"
"Is mom home? I guess I should go talk to her."
"She's in the sun room. Just knock first, or you might get a bit of a shock," Camellia said with a snicker.
"Oh, really now!" Peg protested.
"Voice of experience, trust me on this one, Peggy!"
Shaking her head, Peg left her room and headed upstairs to the sunroom that took up most of the third floor.
"Hi, Pen," she said, passing the very attractive chauffeur, who was going down the stairs with a smile.
"Afternoon, Miss Wilston!"
Peg blushed then as she considered her sister's words and, coming to the top of the stairs, she tapped on the door to her mother's sunroom.
"Mom?"
"Oh, Peg! Please, come in!"
Stepping inside, Peg saw her mother in a bathrobe, her hair still damp from the shower, reclining in her favorite chair with a cup of tea.
"So what brings you up here so early?" asked Delilah, Peg's mother.
Peg sighed, thoughts of what her mother may have been doing with the hunky werewolf quickly fleeing her mind.
"Karen's gone. I stopped by her aunt's house today, and she told me she was gone! For good!" Peg sniffed then and, wrapping her arms around herself, shivered a bit. She knew that bad things happened to people, but none of them had ever happened to one of her friends before.
Delilah sighed and setting down her cup of tea she padded over to her daughter and putting her arms around Peg, she hugged her close.
"I'm afraid Karen's not coming back, Peggy."
"Why! Is she dead? What happened to her!"
"Come, sit down and I'll tell you about it," Delilah said, steering her daughter over to the loveseat by the windows.
"Years ago, Karen's father did something he shouldn't have, and he paid for it with his life when the council found out. It was very serious, and while none of you children heard about it, the council voted to execute him for it."
"Even Daddy?" Peg gasped.
Delilah nodded. "Even your father. You have to understand, the people on the high council have a tough job. They not only have to protect us from the mundanes who might enslave us, but the lycans, the other magical creatures, and even the other councils that at times declare war on one another.
"Karen's father committed treason against the council in an effort to enrich himself. A few months later, when they realized Karen's mother was also involved in the scheme, well…" Delilah said with a wince. Personally she didn't believe Susan had been involved at all. More likely Charles had just been looking for an excuse to get his hands on her. "She was punished, too."
"You mean they killed her."
Delilah sighed. "They gave her to Mr. Ryan, which means yes, they killed her."
Peg shivered again. "I've heard stories at school about him. They say he's a monster."
"Peg, your friend Karen was trying to hire somebody to have him killed, and I'm afraid she got caught."
"What?" Peg said, stunned.
"I'm afraid so, Peggy. All the money you two were getting from the guys you were rolling?"
"You know about that?" Peg gulped.
"Of course I do, dear. You really need to understand, there are cameras everywhere in this town, and a couple of weeks ago Mr. Cerillo caught the two of you on video and told us. Now I know you weren't taking the money, because none of it showed up here."
Peg nodded, eyes wide. "Karen said she needed it. That she had to pay her uncle rent, or he was gonna throw her out of the house!"
"I'm sorry, but she lied to you, honey. She was saving it all up to hire someone to kill Mr. Ryan. She'd saved up an amazing amount, too, it seems. She'd been stealing stuff from school, and from her uncle, and pawning it. Plus, there was a sizeable amount of money from the sale of her parent's house."
Peg looked at her mother in shock. Karen had lied to her?
"Now, personally," Delilah's voice dropped to a whisper, "I wish she'd been successful. That Mr. Ryan gives me the creeps, and he's a nasty piece of work. But not only did they catch her in the act, she told them right up front that she was going to get Mr. Ryan for what he did to her mother."
