Free Obsession by Bonnie Vanak

Jessica told J.J.
    He nodded. “It’s not a big deal.”
    Sure it was no big deal, to him . J.J. had enough money to buy expensive laptops for the whole damn state.
    Jessica remained quiet as she ate, listening to the conversation around her. Alexa’s little brothers and sisters seemed animated and happy. She smiled at them.
    Little bastards. Monsters. Pains in the ass.
    Startled by the nasty thoughts, Jessica stood up and reached for the pitcher of orange juice. Sipping her coffee, Alexa studied her belt. “That’s pretty. Very shiny. Where did you get it?”
    “Oh, it was a gift from a friend.”
    “It looks expensive,” J.J. observed.
    Jessica’s smile slipped. “A good friend.”
    She stared at him, daring him to speculate.
    “It pulses in the light. Almost as if it were filled with power,” Patricia murmured. “I remember when…that thing , that Gnome named Thall that possessed Daniel—it used to have that air about it. Dark.” The petite Lupine shivered.
    Alexa set her coffee mug down. “You okay, Mom?”
    “I don’t like it,” little Duncan announced. “It smells bad.”
    Heat flushed Jessica’s face. She fingered the pretty crystal belt. “Maybe it’s not the belt. It’s cow poop from the fields.”
    J.J. sputtered. “I doubt it.”
    Because you’re so fucking perfect, you with your money and your mate and her family, you stupid Lupine. I wish you’d fucking die.
    Dear goddess, where did that horrid thought come from? The food soured in her stomach. She sipped orange juice, wishing she’d eaten breakfast in the kitchen by herself.
    The silent Daniel stared down at her belt.
    “That is not yours. It belongs to him.” Daniel’s gaze went distant. “He who walks in darkness.”
    J.J. cleared his throat. “Maybe we should…”
    “You will die if you continue on this path toward evil,” Daniel droned.
    “Sweetie!” Alexa choked out. “Don’t say that!”
    She gave Jessica an apologetic glance. “Daniel’s had such a rough time of it. I’m sorry.”
    I’ll show him a rough time. Give him a good kick in the face and watch him bleed…
    The sudden, ugly thought disgusted her. Jessica felt more upset by the thought than Daniel’s odd behavior. What was happening to her? Daniel was a traumatized child.
    Setting down the glass with a shaky hand, she tried to gather her lost composure. “It’s a belt. Nothing more.”
    “It is bad. Bad power.” Then the boy blinked hard and looked around, seemingly confused. “Why is everyone staring at me? Did I go into a trance again?”
    Dark thoughts filled her head. Jessica looked at Daniel, saw his lower lip tremble and forced the bad thoughts away. Her heart ached for him. Damn if he didn’t remind her of those days when she was little and among strangers, who stared at her hair as if she had snakes growing from her head. So abnormal, a redheaded Lupine. Different.
    Different like Daniel, who was only a kid. With his mop of dark hair, big blue eyes and woebegone look, he resembled her little foster brother Russ after he’d done something naughty.
    She took Daniel’s hand and squeezed it. “It’s okay, honey. They were just staring at me, at my silly hair. ’Cause I forgot to comb it and I look like I plugged myself into an electrical outlet. Wowza! Instant curly hair!”
    Daniel’s forlorn expression faded, replaced with a wide grin. “Oh yeah?”
    Jessica ruffled her curls. “Don’t try it at home. Trust me, Daniel, always comb your hair when you get up or you’ll look like me. Wild wolf.”
    She gave a long, low howl. Daniel laughed and the other children joined in, trying to imitate her. Everyone else laughed.
    The tension broken, everyone started talking again. But J.J. kept studying her.
    He sipped coffee and frowned. “Daniel’s right. That belt, there’s something strange about it.”
    Alexa nodded. “He’s right, Jess. I don’t like it. It seems…different.”
    Fisting her hands in her lap to hide their shaking,