Love Among Shadows

by Smokey Moment

  Archaeus listened intently. He had wondered how Legend was handling the responsibilities. It was the first time he expressed feelings against it. Archaeus wanted his son to take his emotions out of it. Their life was difficult. But they were blessed greatly when they gave the spirits what they wanted.

  Legend’s keen hearing picked up footsteps. His father looked back at him. He too, heard the sounds of someone approaching. Suddenly there was a knock on his door. Legend stood, looking curiously at his father, as he walked to his front door. No one visited him except a few of the women and his brother. And he was sure everyone knew that Archaeus was in town. He opened the door. It was Aesir.

  “Ace,” he said, as he held the door for his brother. His father had him nervous. They were talking about ruids when they shouldn’t be. Ruids were not supposed to exist.

  “Hey,” Aesir greeted, as he walked in. Archaeus poured another drink and sat down. Aesir entered and sat across from his father. “I just wanted to see you before you left. See if you wanted to partake in tonight’s bonfire and roast,” he said. Archaeuss smiled. “No son. I’m here briefly. Just needed to tell your brother something important. Then I’m headed to Canada,” he said.

  Aesir looked at Legend. He could read his brother’s emotions. He could tell he was under stress. “Oh. Ok. Well if you decide to stick around, we start in an hour. We have bison today. The best for the best,” he said. “I may join. A man can’t turn down rare bison can he,” he said. Aesir stood and walked to the door. He turned and gave his brother a look, away from Archaeus’ view. Legend looked agitated. “See you later,” he said. “Yep,” Aesir replied, as he closed the door.

  “Anyway…As I was saying. There is a Ruid here. That was the reason you were sent here versus Wyoming or Oregon. You know what you must do. The spirits want the problem handled immediately. Can you get on this before the ruid starts to turn? It will be the end of us, if that happens. Humans aren’t built for this. She could turn in public. At a movie or a concert. And she will have no idea what is happening to her. She will panic. We will be exposed to the world. If something happens and she gets her blood drawn, the humans will discover that a species similar to them lives amongst them,” he said. Legend looked down. He rubbed his hands together nervously.

  “Do this, and it will be the last one. I will not call on you to do this ever again. Any others that arise, I will handle myself,” he said. Legend looked off. He was aware of the dangers of a ruid running loose. They existed because they were either born that way, or had been bitten by a Valkan alpha. It was usually the latter. Their kind didn’t copulate with humans. They had no interest. And there weren’t many Valkan alpha’s left to have mated and produced the ruid by conception. Their numbers had dwindled to roughly a few dozen or so. Legend was perplexed. He and Aesir were the only Valkan males in the US. Reed had returned to Africa.

  Legend continued to rub his hands together. His mind raced. His father was asking him to kill a human woman. He had killed a human man before and the experience had damaged him emotionally. He had nightmares and felt guilt over it, for years.

  “How old is she? Please tell me this is not a little one,” he said. “No. She’s an adult. Twenty eight years,” he replied. Legend exhaled deeply. “Pop…I can’t…” he said before being interrupted.

  “Don’t say what you can’t do. You must! Only a pure Valkan can do it. There are only a few Valkan males left in the world. And the spirits didn’t ask them. They have called upon you to do it. You should feel honored. This is your duty. Our world is at risk of exposure. You are here for three reasons. To kill any ruids born, and ruids made and any rogue wolves living among humans. And right now, there is only one. A ruid. She is here. I can’t do it son. I am old. I am strong but I am not as fast. It is risky if I try. It has to be you,” he said.

  Legend sighed. He didn’t have the heart to tell his father he liked humans. Especially their women. They had been good to him. They were there for him, when he was not. While he was off ignoring his fatherly duties, it was humans who filled his spot. Human men who taught his son how to be a man.

  “What is it about humans. It is obvious we evolved from them or they from us. Look at us. We have their form. There’s a connection,” Legend said. Archaeus didn’t want to think about it. For him, there was a small connection and it was enough to separate them. “We are not human. No one knows why we have a human form or why they do not have a wolf form. We are different. We are superior. And we must stay safe from them. They are the animals. Which is why you must do this,” his father said. Legend wasn’t so sure they were all that different.

  But one thing was for certain. His father was right in that humans did not tolerate difference. Especially if the difference was too similar to distinguish. They would fear it. Want to study it. Annihilate it. And he had to protect their species.

  “Alright pop. But this is the last one. Give me everything I need. Names. Places. Habits. She’ll be dead by morning.”

  L

  egend spent the next few nights going into town, tracking the ruid. Her busy lifestyle made tracking her more difficult than he thought. He was ready to find her and end her, then get back to his life. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the job. But going against the spirits could cause bad luck. Something he wouldn’t want. It was a privilege, that the spirits looked to him to carry out the slaughter. Not all werewolves received such an honor. Most chanted to their forefathers and ancestors and never received a response. He was given information on her whereabouts and the places she frequented. He was going into Anchorage. There was a school he needed to apply to. The class had already started. But a well written email to the teacher opened an opportunity and he was taking it.

  He wondered if his instincts were right. The information he had on his target was limited. His father had given him everything he had. Legend took that information and researched what he could. This target was difficult to track. But if he succeeded, this would be the end of the mission. It was the last name on his list. A name added just a year before his arrival in Cedar Falls. Which meant she was created two years prior. His father also spoke of complete freedom. He would have earned it. Complete freedom meant he could his life untouched, and not governed by the same rules.

  Legend had read everything he needed to know about the ruid. Now it was a waiting game. He was good at tracking. He needed her scent. Something with her smell. Legend planned to get inside her residence. And familiarize himself with a woman named Valentina Ireland.

  “Come on people. Keep it moving,” Valentina shouted, as she drove past an accident. She was now late for work and angered that gawkers were the cause. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. The accident is off to the side. Let’s move people,” she complained. Soon traffic picked up. She zoomed past the crash. “Hey,” the officer shouted. “Oh shit,” she said then chuckled. ‘Sorry!” she shouted. Her exit was close. It was ten minutes after. Her boss couldn’t start his day, unless she was there to make coffee and send his itinerary.

  “You need help,” her co-worker Troy said, as he took the coffee from her hand. “Yes. Thanks,” Valentina replied, as she rushed to her desk to sit her things down. “The meeting started ten minutes ago,” her co-worker informed. “I know. I know. Traffic was jammed for a scrape. Literally the woman’s car was scraped on the side. I have nail polish that could have fixed it,” she said. “Wow. Your claws are out. What got you so testy,” Troy asked. “Everything! I couldn’t sleep. I had a terrible morning. I’ll be okay. Oh, I have that first round of ads. I’ll send them to you after this meeting. I hope Mr. Davis is in a good mood. I can’t take much more,” she said. “He isn’t,” Troy teased.

  “Sorry everyone. Traffic…” she said, as she took a seat at the conference table. “Ok. Like I was saying, this ad is focused more on the people not the product. With this one, the goal is to get to the heart of the person looking at the ad. Here we have a woman and child. The product is scaled down, so that the eye focuses on th
e people first. As you can see, in comparison, this one has a more sentimental feeling,” Mr. Davis said, as he pointed to ads choices for their client. Valentina sat back and listened. She smiled at the female client who glanced over at her. She could feel her phone buzzing and quickly looked at the message. She had missed a call from her sister Phoebe. The two spoke daily and she was sure it wasn’t urgent. Phoebe refused not to call her first thing in the morning. She worried about Valentina after a brutal attack eighteen months prior. Valentina planned to call her. She always did.

  “Did I miss anything important? Sorry I was late,” Valentina said to her boss. “No. I managed. I do have some revisions. Mrs. Goff didn’t like the model we had with the child,” he said. Valentina frowned. “What? Why not? Did she say?” she asked. “Not really. Only that she didn’t look like a nice person. The picture looked fine to me. The model is beautiful and smiling and the child looked happy. But in any case, have the studio replace her. Please help select the model. This will set us back a week. Find someone wholesome. I don’t know. You know…Work your magic,” he said. “Yes sir,” Valentina said, as she turned and walked to her office.

  “How did it go?” Troy asked. “Great. They didn’t like the model,” she replied. “To be honest, neither did I,” he said. “Troy! It was just a regular woman. Smiles and all. What’s not to like. Oh my gosh. You are so pretentious. I guess you wanted Cindy Crawford,” she asked. “Yes. Exactly,” he said as he grabbed a file from her desk and walked out. Valentina chuckled then called Phoebe back. “Good morning. What are you doing up? This is a whole hour earlier than you usually call,” Valentina noted.

  “Yeah. I couldn’t sleep for some reason. And neither could my husband apparently. I woke up to an empty bed then walked to the front of the house and looked out into the yard. He was out there, sitting on that huge downed tree. I put my clothes on and joined him. We both spent the wee hours of the morning sitting on a log. Isn’t that insane. It was good though. We just took in the calm breeze. It felt good,” she said. Valentina reluctantly smiled. Her sister was emotionally wrecked after news that her husband Griff was infertile. Something he kept from her during the early stages of their dating. Things went from bad to worse, when he began to have sexual problems and couldn’t seem to perform well.

  “What about you…Are you okay?” Phoebe asked. “Yes. About as okay as I can be. I couldn’t sleep either. Then I woke up and went to the kitchen to get something to drink and thought I saw a man in the distance. When I walked closer to the window, he was gone,” Valentina said. Phoebe exhaled sharply. Valentina bit her fingernails. The incident that happened was a source of stress for both sisters. Phoebe worried about Valentina’s safety.

  “Do you think it’s him?” Phoebe asked. “No! He’s never been to my house! He doesn’t even have his profile anymore. He is gone Phee. Why are you so worried about him?” she said. “Because he attacked you after meeting and talking with you online for a year. Someone you thought you knew, you didn’t know at all. People are crazy out here. No more online dating. Promise me,” Phoebe said.

  “I don’t. I haven’t. You know I’m terrified of meeting someone that way now. I like to meet men the old fashioned way. While I’m out. Or through someone I know. No more dating apps,” she said. “Oh! Wait! Griff has a new partner. I saw him. He’s handsome. How about I invite him over, and you two can meet. We can play cards. Play scrabble. Have drinks. I’ll make your favorite crab meat pasta,” she said. Valentina looked off. “Maybe. Let me think about it,” she replied.

  The sisters talked for several more minutes before Valentina ended the call. She needed to contact the studio to get photos of models. Mr. Davis would be looking for something soon and she planned on having what he needed. It was the reason she commanded a higher salary. She was the assistant to one of the most successful marketing executives. And she believed she was worth every penny.

  “Oh, my feet,” Valentina complained, after a long day of running around in three-inch heels. She pulled up at her beautiful home tucked away between trees and land. She had the last home in a heavily wooded area with neighbors on both sides but nothing across the street but trees and a marsh. Her backyard was also void of housing and was a vast wide woodland with dense vegetations and tall thin birch trees.

  The new shoes that gave her such misery were kicked off. Valentina opened her car door and grabbed the bag of groceries and her purse. She placed everything in her arm to free her hand, as she grabbed the mail from metal standalone mailbox at her curb. She glanced around then walked to her front door. “Great,” she said, she realized she placed her keys in her purse. “I need this day to end,” she complained, as she sat everything on the ground and pulled her keys out.

  Valentina shut the door and collapsed against it. She gathered her composure and walked into the kitchen and sat her bags down. “Bills, Bills, Bills,” she said, as she flipped through each letter. Valentina looked across the room and out the window. She looked at the area she had seen someone standing. She stared, her mind drifting. Her eyes watered from the flow of intense emotions that flooded her delicate spirit. Her mind retraced the events that led up to her being attacked by a man she felt she knew. A man she spoke with online and via video calls. The handsome gentleman who seemed too good to be true. The man who lived in another state, and so it seemed safe.

  They could take their time to get to know one another and if things progressed, they could meet in person. His calm nature and patience with getting to know her had put her at ease. After nearly a year of dating online, he announced he was coming to Alaska and she agreed to meet in person. But something went wrong on the first date. He seemed aggressive. He gave her chills. He knew things she didn’t tell him. Places she had gone. She wondered if he had been watching her. If he claimed to live in Oregon just to throw her off. Valentina had already invited him to her home then changed her mind. He seemed agitated. She decided to cut the date short and left. She went to the women’s bathroom and when she returned to say goodbye he was gone.

  The last thing she remembered was returning to the women’s bathroom and being grabbed from behind and pulled into a stall. She awoke on the floor with her clothes removed and blood coming from her vagina. She screamed in pain, grabbing her vagina and holding what was left of it in her hands. Women walking in heard her and rushed in. They were appalled to find her in such a manner. She had been brutalized. The women took her to the hospital where she was stitched up. Valentina awoke from surgery in shock. Nurses and doctors tried to get her to talk about what had happened. But she remained mute, never looking at them and never responding to their questions. Even cops who came to investigate were surprised at how savage the attack was and assumed shock had her to traumatized to speak.

  The trauma from that evening had affected her. She kept it a secret, eventually telling Phoebe but choosing to keep some of the details from her worrisome sister. Phoebe had a bout of depression years earlier, and so Valentina chose not to burden her with the tragic details of the date. She was engaged and Valentina didn’t want to ruin her upcoming nuptials. And it was also a date her sister had begged her not to go on.

  Valentina wiped her nose. She took a deep breath and tried to shake the pain of her past. “Okay. What will it be? Pork or beef?” she said, as she looked at the packages of meats. She wanted to get her dinner on and relax in front of the television. Her favorite show, Igniting the Flame, was coming on in a few hours. And she looked forward to seeing the next episode. Phoebe would be calling to vent on the male heartthrob of their favorite show. Surely, he would be in a new mess, in which he would have to be clever in order to get out of it.

  “Did you see that crap? Unbelievable! And Amy knows better. She just lets him do whatever he wants and takes him back every time,” Phoebe ranted. Valentina smiled as her sister went on about the episode. “I wish Griff would even try me. Just once. Boy, I would tear this house down with him in it,” she continued. “Griff would never. Where is he any
way?” she asked. “Working late. They have a new case. They found a body up near Cappa Lake. He should be hear soon. He’s considering going into homicide. They let him follow along on the case so he could, see how they process the scene,” she said.

  “Oh wow! Homicide? Will he like that? He’s so sensitive. I mean…You know. Griff is well, Griff. How will he handle seeing dead bodies? He cries watching tragic love stories on tv. I just don’t see it,” Valentina said. “Yeah. That’s my Griff. Well, he seems ready. He’s changed. He watches more graphic stuff now. He’s not so emotional, the way he was when we first started dating. As a matter of fact, I think he was playing at being emotional just to get me to marry him,” she joked. “Phee. He is. I see the way he looks at you. Only emotional men look at a woman that way,” she replied. “Yeah…Well, let me go. I’m hungry. I’ll call you later. Love you,” Phoebe said, as the two hung up.

  Valentina sighed. Her sister was happily married, despite the challenges of their marriage. She hoped to be like her. Married to the man of her dreams. Someone she found attractive, who also had a sensitive side. Someone she could relate to. She believed it was coming. There was no shortage of men attracted to her. But she wanted to chose him this time. She believed in women’s intuition. And she believed in fate.

  “Legend!” Zen yelled out, as she banged on his door. Legend jolted awake and looked at his clock. He sighed then jumped out of bed. Whoever was banging, was desperate to talk to him. It was two in the morning. Zen looked down the road. Trinity came out and stood on her porch. Zen rolled her eyes at Trinity’s insistence on watching over anyone who made their way to Legends home. This is none of her business, she mumbled angrily, as she knocked again. It was an urgent matter. And Zen had no time to explain or get her friend Trinity’s blessing, to see a man that wasn’t hers. And Legend was her husband’s brother.