by Devyn Dawson
Pascale stood in one spot, as if he were paralyzed. His eyes, pale and clear tried to stare me down but could not.
“You vile dog, I will find a way to kill you. Watch your back, because one day, I’ll be there and you’ll die,” he growled at me. “Agreed, I will not partake in any way to expose the supernatural race.”
Rays of light swirled around us, as a vortex of binding took over. I’d only gone through it one other time since I’d turned into the Great Wolf; it was how I knew he’d not be able to break a contract with me.
“Bring me my Allie, dog.”
“I prefer to call her Allie cat, but if you insist, I’ll call her Allie dog. I doubt she’ll like it,” I replied. “She’ll return if that is the choice she makes.”
“Pru, we’re here. I’ve been trying to find Gus but I can’t. Pascale said he is taking us to you and we’ll handle it from there,” I thought to her.
We found the door that was barely hanging by a hinge and knocked it down. Pru stood hunched over with her arms out, like a wrestler does before a match.
“Pru, you’re okay. Thank gawd, I’ve been so worried,” Oakley said as he pulled a strange tool out of his pocket. It was some type of tool to pick locks with. Smart. The door opened and we all looked around the room for Gus.
I could smell that he’d been here. I smelled his blood from somewhere in the cage. Pru didn’t move from her spot, her eyes were wild.
“Pru? What’s wrong?” I asked. She growled in reply.
Oakley took a step towards her and she hunkered down lower.
“Don’t touch him! Stay away! No! No! No! Go away! Leave him ALONE!” Pru yelled.
I wasn’t sure what was going on. I’d never seen her react that way. “Pru honey, we need to leave. We have to get out of here,” I coaxed.
“They killed him,” Pru whispered and burst into tears.
Chapter 39. Allie
“You cannot go with us, for you have no clothes and can not dance.” Cinderella ~ Grimm’s Household Tales
Allie was strapped in a chair in middle of the room. My mom and dad were talking to her and it looked as if they were getting through to her.
“Allie honey, we can help you. We have the antidote and can help,” mom pleaded.
“Mommy, you don’t understand. I don’t want to change back to who I was,” she turned to face me. “Abel, tell her what it’s like to feel like you belong. I know that’s how it is for you too. I’m getting better at it and I don’t want to be human again.” She turned her head to look at our dad. “Daddy, I love him and I will be with him forever. I can handle it. I haven’t killed anyone. Yes, I’ve drank blood but I haven’t made anyone do it. I promise. I love Pascale, he is everything to me. I’m sorry it isn’t what you want for me. I don’t want to be a pathetic loser in college; I’m free to be me. I’ll always be young and in love. Please don’t make me human. I love you all. I do. I’m sorry. Please! I don’t want to be saved.”
“You’re not yourself, you don’t know what you want,” mom said.
“I do know what I want, and what you’re offering isn’t it. I haven’t wanted to bite any of you. Well the werewolves smell disgusting, I’d never be tempted. Mommy, you don’t smell delicious to me. Daddy, you don’t either. It means I can come visit you. Abel, I don’t want to give it up and I have to make you get that. Why can’t you get it?” Allie sobbed.
Pru walked over to her and unstrapped her. “Abel, we can’t do this. It’s obvious that she wants to live as a vampire. Don’t force her. Look, I just lost someone really important to me, and I know how it feels. Allie, go,” Pru said as she pointed to the door.
We all stood there and watched as Allie stood up. She ran to our mom, every werewolf in the room gasped. Allie gently pulled mom into her arms and hugged her. “I’ll come to see you mommy, I love you. I want you to love me too.”
Mom put her arms around her and cried. “I love you baby. Go, it’s okay. I’m here for you, please call me.” Dad went over and put his arms around them until they’d all cried themselves out.
Allie crossed the room to me and hugged me. “Thank you,” she whispered before she ran out the door.
There I stood, in a room of my peers; my sister was still a vampire. The sacrifice we went through to save a girl that didn’t want to be saved. Damn.
“Let’s get out of here,” Oakley said.
Chapter 40. Home
“I see you have good boots on, which are well blacked, said he to the huntsman, but if you had to travel about as I have, they would not last long.” The Boots of Buffalo-Leather ~ Grimm’s Household Tales
“Remind me not to travel with faeries the next time I agree to let a family of them travel with us. I mean seriously, did they bring all of their cousins too? There were so many!” I said.
“At least they already have arrangements for housing here. What are the odds that they’d have first cousins in Oklahoma City?” Oakley asked. “I can’t wait to drive my truck again. Being a passenger is getting on my nerves. It’s only been a week and a half and I feel like we’ve been gone a month. You have no idea how close I came to kissing the ground when we landed.”
“Me too! I can’t believe that Chrissy left without saying good-bye” I said. I didn’t tell anyone that she left me a letter. I hadn’t opened it yet; I wasn’t ready to be single. I knew that’s what she wrote. I looked out of the window, watching the bare trees pass us by. Pru was in the mini-van behind us with her mom. Gus’ death was taking a toll on her. It didn’t matter that he died in the line of duty, it still sucked. His memorial service was in two days. They actually made us run him through customs, as if we were smuggling stuff in his casket.
Chapter 41. Sapphire
“ A certain man had a donkey, which had carried the corn-sacks to the mill indefatigably for many a long year.” The Bremen Town Musicians ~ Grimm’s Household Tales
Josie had food catered in for everyone since it was Estelle’s day off. “Guys, you aren’t going to believe this; Sam shifted back this morning,” Josie said.
“Great, did she remember who she was?” I asked. I pulled out hangers for everyone to hang up their coats. Dolly was a stickler about our coats being on a hanger in the closet.
“Sadly, no. She was pretty cool though. She wasn’t all crazy or anything.”
As if on cue, Sam walked into the room.
“Hey you, how’re you feeling? The first time burns like hell, but the second one is easier,” I said as I crossed the room to her. “Looks like you survived, is everything cool? Were they good to you?”
“Yeah, everyone was great….from what I remember about it. I still don’t know who I am though.” She reached up and gave me a hug.
Parker came in and saw Sam for the first time. “This is the girl I’ve been watching?”
“Yeah, this is Sam,” I replied.
“No it isn’t, that’s Sapphire,” my mom said.
“You know me?” Sam said.
“Yes, I do too. Sapphire, what happened?” Parker asked.
I was looking around the room to see if anyone else was going to announce they knew her. The plot thickens in our little bitten human saga, I’m down with that.
“Yes, Sapphire, I bet your sister Ruby is worried sick,” mom said.
“Her name is Sapphire and her sister is Ruby? That’s…well, interesting.” Oakley chimed in.
“Her mother is Pearl, and has a wicked sense of humor,” Parker said. He walked over to us with a bewildered look on his face. “You left me without a word. I tried and tried to call you, but you changed your phone number. You had me blocked so I couldn’t come onto the Reservation. Why?”
Mom stared at Parker like he was insane. “This is Parker, the Parker? I never even put it together,” mom said shaking her head back and forth.
“Would someone mind telling me what is going on?” Pru demanded. She’d been sappy sweet since we found her with Gus, right now, she wasn’t.
“I wonder where Sto
rm is. I hope he is with Ruby and not stolen by whomever bit you” mom said. She started pacing back and forth. She pulled out her cell phone and started scrolling through it. “Damn, I changed phones since I saw you last. I was your nurse throughout the pregnancy. That was what, two years ago?”
“Pregnancy?” Parker and Sapphire said in unison.
“Yes, you have a son,” mom said. She bit her bottom lip, a habit she does when she is thinking. “Oh, what was his name? I can see him, oh, oh…I remember! His name is Storm. He should be about two years old. He was a New Year’s baby,” mom said. “Is there a phone book around here? I’m going to call the Reservation police.”
“Two years old? A son? You and I broke up that July; you were pregnant. Oh crap, I’m a dad. It’s mine isn’t it? Storm, we have a son named Storm? No, I like it, I do,” Parker rambled it all together.
“I dated you? Why wouldn’t I tell you about a baby? Why did we break up?” She asked.
“You accused me of cheating, I wasn’t. I had to shift and I hadn’t told you about me yet,” Parker said. I’d never seen him so happy. “Oh God, is he a werewolf?” Parker gasped, his eyes like a deer in headlights. He fumbled around, his eyes never leaving her face, and suddenly he collapsed on the floor in shock.
Chapter 42. Hot Springs
“And when Cinderella appeared at the wedding in this dress, everyone was astonished at her beauty.” Cinderella ~ Grimm’s Household Tales
PRU
Gus’s words haunted me for weeks. The first few days were a blur, and true to my word, we let the faeries come back to the United States with us. Before I ever agree to let faeries travel thousands of miles with us, I’ll remind myself on how I almost killed a gaggle of faeries on an airplane. Oakley never left my side, which was probably why the faeries have lived to tell the tale. Someone risking their life for me and losing was the hardest memory of all. I love Oakley but I don’t want him to die for me.
“This was a great idea; the hot springs are fantastic,” Oakley said, jarring me from my thoughts. We’d driven up to Hot Springs Arkansas for the weekend.
The hotel bathroom mirror was finally free of steam from my shower. I double check my bikini top, making sure it is positioned just right. I pull my ponytail tighter and check my lip-gloss before finally opening up the bathroom door. The look on Oakley’s face was worth every penny my new string bikini cost. Strutting across the room in a bikini and stilettos almost rendered my hot werewolf boyfriend speechless. I do my best cat walk strut crossing the room to tease him a little.
“I have one word…DAMN,” Oakley said. “I hope you didn’t spend a lot of time on those pretty bows you tied,” he said as he pulled one string on each side of my bottoms letting them fall. “The springs can wait, I can’t.” His lips were on mine, his tongue still cold from his iced tea.
His mouth found my neck, running his tongue the length of it, my mind losing touch with reality. He is my reality. He takes me and turns me around, my back to him as he continues his kissing me down my spine. I feel his hands in the front of me, cupping my breasts in his hands, he bends until I feel his teeth taking the strings of my top, tugging until he succeeded in rendering me naked. He reaches over, pulls the comforter from the bed and threw it on the floor. We stumbled to the ground, rolling around embraced in a passionate kiss.
“Pru?” Oakley whispers in my ear, his breath hot against my skin. He has me pinned under him, me on my back with my legs wrapped around his waist. “When I breathe you in and taste your lips, I’m reminded how badly I need you.” He leans down and kisses the tip of my nose.
“I know Oak, I feel the same way, every moment of every day. You’re why my heart beats. A world without you…would be like a world without air. I’m not good at all of the lovey dovey sayings, but I know how my heart beats a little faster whenever you’re near.” He leans in and kisses my forehead and then my cheeks.
“You’re so right, you are the air for my lungs too Pru. Before you say anything, I want to tell you something. When you were with Gus, and he would put his hand on your back, guiding you through a door, or whatever the situation was at the moment. I would think to myself that is should be me holding the door open for you. It should be me by your side. I can’t forget the feeling, no matter how hard I try. I love you babydoll, and I never want to be far from your side.” His heart rate was speeding up as he spoke. He reached for something under the bed; I tried to tilt my head to the side to see what he was doing. “You’re part of me, my heart, my family, my friend, you’re my lover...my mate. I want us to be official Pru, I want us to stand and face forever together. What I’m trying to say is…Pru Phelan, the most beautiful, the sexiest, funniest, stunning werewolf on earth…will you join me at my side as my wife?”
The world began spinning, tilting slowly over. My heart though still beating, stood completely still for a gazillion seconds, as my Oakley said the craziest words to me. Wife? Me a wife? I’d never even thought about being married, it was something of a formality in the human world. I already knew that Oakley and I were our forever love, but now in the eyes of everyone that meets us, we are husband and wife. Can I live as a wife? Can I live without him if he heard me say no? The words were racing, yet tumbling through my head. As sure as I am at being together for our lives, can I really do this thing called married?
“Pru?” He whispers.
I look at him again; I focused on the here and now. My heart is beating more evenly and I’m not sure, but I think I held my breath from the beginning of his words until now. It’s Oakley, my Oakley. My eyes search his face for a sign of insanity, but no, it is the beautiful face of Oakley. His chiseled cheeks and big blue eyes darted back and forth as they searched for my reaction. What is my reaction? Am I really worthy? There’s only one way to find out. “I love you Oakley, we are meant to be together forever. Don’t you think we’re a little young to get married? You’re impossible to refuse, but I’m also incredibly scared. I’m also incredibly crazy,” I said before I broke into a smile. “Yes…yes, I’ll marry you!”
I untied the baby blue ribbon that was on the famous jeweler’s box. The little box held the most beautiful classic Tiffany setting ring. How he remembered the words of a girl so many years ago, a girl that said one day her Prince Charming would give her a ring bought at Tiffany’s. I have the best wolf a girl could ask for.
We reconnected until the sun settled and moon hung overhead. Our last mini vacation, until training begins for the Were-Olympics.
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
Before I thank the humans in my life, I must thank my fur-babies. My best friend Nosey, my big fluffy ball of fur, he sat up late with me every night, looking over my shoulder and giving his two cents. We stumbled to bed together night after night, Nook in the bed and cat on my head. Bella, my neurotic pet shelter rescue cat, she kept me on my toes by announcing non-stop that it was dinner time. My birds Skit & LeStat for singing beautiful songs in the mornings reminding me that I’m not a vampire and cannot sleep all day. Klaus Von Dawson, my little giant Yorkie puppy. He exercised me daily, with hours of tug-o-war and potty breaks. He has given me hours of comic relief. I advise everyone to test their sanity and get a puppy while writing a book. My three black labs Missy, Mary & Miss. Kitty (yes she is a dog) - Mary and Kitty are handicapped physically, but they love with their whole heart. They have served as my muse for my pack of wolves. Missy made sure I was aware of the arrival of every UPS truck that pulled onto our street. I have realized my neighbors are shopaholics and I can now handle a dog barking out of the blue while I’m intense in a scene. Now, to my humans. Thank you, Paris and Hunter, my two biggest fans. Thank you dad for giving me the gene of creativity and humor, I love you. Lorrie, we’ve been through every step of life together, thank you for being my bestest friend, ever. I can’t go without thanking my Lovies for all of their wisdom and encouragement. I want to give a special thanks to Tiffany King, I’m not sure how I would have navigated Social Networking without her and her s
uggestions. To everyone that has read my books, thank you for your support of The Legacy Series!
Cover design by Para Graphics
Editing by Ashley’s Freelance Editing