This will never work. But I take it and make the call. Mom answers but speedily puts my father on.
“I’ll take care of it, Alyssa.” Dad’s fast to respond. “It’s not Kyle’s responsibility.”
Kyle overhears my father. “I want to do it, Mr. Devlin. I want to show you I’m capable of taking care of your daughter,” he says. Then he takes a big bite of the burger the plump, red-headed waitress placed in front of him.
“Tell him it won’t be necessary,” Dad says.
“Just let him do it, Dad,” I say, getting a little sick of this back and forth crap.
“No, mam. I’ll jump start your Jeep, and you’re coming home. I’ll be at the school parking lot in fifteen minutes. Be there!”
I hand the phone back to Kyle with a smirk on my face. “Told you.”
“It was worth a try. I’m done anyway. Come on, let’s go,” he says as he lifts me off the bar stool. I grab my shake, taking it with me. A guy at the pool table gives him a gesture, seemingly asking, what’s up. “I’ll be back later, dude. My girl needs my help.”
His girl! How cute that sounds.
With his muscled arm thrown around my shoulders, Kyle pulls me close to his side. The sun as we walk out practically blinds me. It was dark in there.
Up in his truck again I sit next to him, my head on his shoulder, holding his hand in my lap as he takes me back to the school. Daddy’s already there with the hood up on the Jeep and the cables connected to my battery and his.
As he looks up at the truck and sees us this close, he frowns and looks away. How I wish he would just let me grow up without all the theatrics. There should be no reason my loving Kyle should affect him. Yet it does.
Kyle pulls up on the other side of my Jeep. He jumps out and helps me down. My body grazes his as he places me on the ground. A wink he gives me and I give him a smile. Before he lets me go, he reaches in, grabbing the romance novel.
“I’ll read some tonight then give you a call and we can discuss it,” he says, making me blush.
Dad yells, “If you can drag yourself away from him for a minute, Ally. I need you to try to start the Jeep.”
Ducking my head so he won’t see my pink cheeks, I sit in my Jeep. It starts right up. Dad closes the hood, cables in his hand. “Get going, girl. I’ll be right behind you.”
Kyle moves promptly to my door. “Bye, baby. I’ll call you in a little while,” he says just before he drops a kiss on my lips. I freeze with this.
My father’s glare could melt ice. Hastily he retreats to his truck not saying a word.
“Bye, I’ll talk to you later, Kyle. Thanks for the shake,” I say before I pull away with my father right behind me.
I’m not even out of the car fully when Dad pulls up next to me. He’s out of his truck and clutching me by my arm, dragging me into the house. “Did you do that on purpose? Did you leave your lights on so you could go on a date with him?”
Mom looks up at us from her place on the sofa, yet another romance novel in her hands. This one has a man with long, black hair, riding a horse towards a red-headed damsel in distress.
So many damsels with problems in the old days.
My mother’s voice shrill, she asks, “What’s happened, David?”
Shaking me as he talks, he says, “This one here went out with Kyle. On a date!”
I wiggle against his grip, trying to get him to let me go, but he hangs on.
“Dad that was no date. He was going to bring me home. We just stopped and got something to eat and drink then we were coming straight back. Unless you were going to let us go get a battery in Alamogordo.”
Finally, he lets my arm go. Crap that hurt. I hope he didn’t leave a bruise.
I look it over as my mother comes to my side. She looks at the place on my arm he was holding so tight. It’s red but I don’t think I’ll bruise.
I swear she looks worried.
“David, you didn’t need to handle her so roughly. You could’ve left marks on her, then what would you have done?”
My father runs his hand over his face. “I don’t know. I didn’t think about that. The only thought in my mind was about her going against our rules, yet again. This has to stop, Alyssa. You’ve never done this. You’ve always followed the rules we’ve set. It’s so close and now you decide to go hog wild.”
“Hog wild!” I shout. “Wow! I mean, come on! I’m not an out-of-control teenager. The melodramatics need to come to a halt.” I move away from my mother’s hold on me, looking back at my father. I swear he looks more afraid than mad. “What are you so afraid of?”
My parents sit down on the sofa together. Dad holds Mom’s hand. Neither answer me for the longest amount of time.
My mother finally says, “Tomorrow we’ll have a visitor. He’s the son of one of our dear friends. He’ll be staying with us for a week. It’s just we want none of our family problems to leak out in front of him. It would be an embarrassment to us if you had signs of physical abuse on you.”
How insane!
“Okay. I’m not hurt, I’m okay, you guys. You’ve never hurt me in my entire life. Yeah, Dad was a little rough, but he’s never been before. Who are these people who make you feel like our family has to be so perfect?”
Dad runs his hands through his hair. Again I sense he’s nervous. “People we used to hang out with a lot before you were born. Very nice people. It’s not about them, it’s about us. This thing with you suddenly going against us has us confused. I suppose we’re coming off strange because this is so strange to us. We love you, Alyssa. Your happiness means everything to us. When I saw you all hugged up next to Kyle, I lost it.”
“If you want me to be happy then stop this stuff about Kyle. I love him. I’m going to live with him, and God willing, one day I’ll marry him.” My words seem to make them pale even more. “Why are you taking this so hard? Kyle’s a great guy. You’ve always adored him.”
Dad clenches his fist. “We thought he was your friend. We love the kid as your friend. In time, you’ll come to see why we have our rules, Alyssa. Please don’t do this again until after you turn eighteen. Don’t run off alone with him. We want to trust you. Honestly, we do. But if you do this again we’ll have no choice but to take your car away and give you a ride to and from school ourselves.”
Take my car away because of forty-five minutes with Kyle? Wow, this is passed bat-shit crazy!
“Fine, I’ll give you no reason to do that. I’ll be eighteen soon enough and get the hell out of here. I wish you could accept me as an adult. Who I want to have a relationship with is my business and mine alone. As long as he’s a good guy is all that should matter to you. Kyle’s the best and you two know it. I’ll be in my room, but just so you know, I feel like I don’t even know who you guys are anymore.”
My legs are heavy as lead as I walk up the stairs to my room. I fall on my bed in utter exhaustion.
How can my parents be so hard? Kyle is so sweet and faithful. I know they see that in him. What is their problem?
My birthday can’t get here soon enough.
Chapter 6
EDEN
My heart’s beating hard in my chest. I’ll see her today. My mate will finally be with me. Not entirely, I must take it slow, but at least I’ll be able to touch her and hear her voice.
What she must sound like in person?
I’ve listened to her voice in the background a few times, over phone calls to her parents. The last time was five years ago. I’m sure it’ll sound different since she’s matured.
They told her I’m coming, but a different version of me.
What will she think of me? Will she look at me with interest or indifference? Is she going to be sweet to me or ignore me because of her other love interest? How will she smell? Will her hair be up or down? Will I be able to keep my hands off her?
The drive has been exceptional for me. The time to think and clear my mind of all the negatives which stab at my brain, has been awesome. Top down on th
e Jag, I cruise down the highway, merely hours from seeing my Alyssa.
In school she waits for class to be over. She’ll go home and soon I’ll be there with her. Together at last. How hard it’ll be not to blurt out everything to her.
My love for her will see me through, help me stay strong. I don’t want to overwhelm her. Tough though it will be, I’ll go slowly with her. Take the time for her to get to know me.
Funny how I never envisioned how a girl in this day and age would take to having to marry a man she barely knows. Our unique condition will help her to understand better than if we were normal humans.
She’ll need me once she changes, and I’ll need her. We have to be as one once that happens.
The time to change is so close. I’ve waited forever for it. This time together was supposed to be about me helping Alyssa get used to the idea of the change and what’s expected from us.
Instead I have to take the time to get her over another man before I let her in on our condition.
How much does she love him, I wonder? How hard will she hang on to him?
Is it possible for her to find love for me while healing a broken heart?
Chapter 7
ALYSSA
The night passed and Kyle never called. I’m not sure why. He’s never done that before. Scotty jumps out of the Jeep as I pull into the school’s parking lot.
Laura smiles at me as she waits on the steps. “Hey, Ally.”
“Good morning, Laura. Did you see Kyle before you came to school?”
“Not even one car was at his house this morning, and I was up at six. It looks like they all went somewhere.”
Now I’m starting to worry. “He was supposed to call me last night and never did. I know he was going to hang out at Trixie’s and play pool. Do you know if he came home after that?”
The door opens and Kyle’s best friend, Cody, comes out. His arms come around both of our shoulders. “Hello, ladies. So who can I walk to class this morning?”
We both shrug him off us. “Neither, stud,” Laura says with a laugh. “We’re walking together to our first class.”
“You heard from Kyle?” I ask him.
He walks away from us, looking back to answer me, he says, “Not since last night.”
Kyle’s whole family is gone. This is not good.
***
The day went by like molasses, but I’m finally out of my last class. Straight to Kyle’s house I drive. I’m pushing my luck with my parents, but I need to see if anyone went back to his house. Almost to his house, I can see the empty drive-way.
Crap! What could’ve happened? Why is his whole family gone?
It has to be bad or he would’ve called.
Wait, my cell phone is at home since my freaky parents don’t allow me to take it to school. Maybe he did call or send me a text.
Time to haul ass home.
***
Mom’s messing around in the kitchen when I walk in. “Mom, where’s my cell?”
“Hello to you too, Ally. It’s on the nightstand next to my side of the bed. Why?”
I’m half-way up the stairs as I call back to her, “Kyle might’ve called.” Grabbing the phone, I unplug the charger.
Please let there be a call from him. The blank screen deflates me.
No calls or texts!
Why would he not tell me, at least, a little about what’s going on? Is it him who has the family all gone? Maybe he was in an accident. What if he can’t talk?
His mother would never call me if he was. Why does she dislike me so much?
My head needs to be cleared. I’m going to take a run. That always helps. I’m sure he’s fine.
He has to be fine!
After changing into shorts and running shoes, I run down the stairs. “Going for a run, Mom.”
“Don’t forget we have company coming, Alyssa,” my mother calls out after me. “Don’t be too long, he should be here soon.”
The door closed behind me, I stretch before I take off. My parents have company coming, not me.
What do I care about some kid of their old friends?
My boyfriend and his family are missing. Down the steep drive I go, but then I stop. I should send Kyle a text. I grab my cell and tap out a quick one. -Missed you at school today. Anything wrong?-
Okay, now that I’ve done all I can do to let him know I care about him and his whereabouts, I can run. The road in front of me has a few small hills. No flat roads around here.
Where could he be?
I shake my head to clear it. My heart’s pounding with worry. I’ve got to calm down.
He’s fine!
But what if he’s not? What if he had a wreck? What if he’s in a comma? Or worse? What if he’s dead?
The loud sound of a horn makes me stop and look up. Something passes so close to me the wind from it knocks me back.
I’m falling!
Oh, God! I’m falling!
Chapter 8
EDEN
There it is, my mate’s house!
This is where she’s grown up. So very different from where I did. So quaint, this tall, two-story, tan-brick home is. The whole town of Cloudcroft is quaint, like something out of a book.
What must her life have been like?
Playing in the pretty park in the snowy winters. I can see her dressed in a white jacket, laughing as she watches her younger brother slide down the slopes.
Picnics must have been aplenty there in the summer. Perhaps she fished in the ponds which dot the area.
How will she take to the humid air in New Orleans? Will she hate it there?
The driveway is steep as I pull in. The mountain is gorgeous as is the thick forest. So very different from the flat, swampy lands of Louisiana where I’ll be taking her to.
Will she ever come to love it as I do?
I wonder how she’ll take to living in a mansion.
The sound of my engine must have alerted Toni to my arrival. She’s waving as she comes out the green front door. “Eden, I’m so happy to see you.”
“Where is she?” I ask. Patience and politeness it seems has momentarily left me. “Sorry, how rude of me. How are you, Toni?”
Toni leans in my window. “That’s okay. I’m sure your nerves are on edge. She went for a run down the street. She usually runs just to the edge of town then turns back. Why don’t you drive down and surprise her? I told her you were just about to get here. Your gorgeous car is bound to get her attention. Along with your devastatingly handsome face, I might add.”
Flattery, yeah it still gets to me, pink has to be staining my cheeks.
“Do you think she’ll get in the car with me?”
How wonderful it will be if she sees me and instantly knows we have a connection, pre-destined to be one.
She pinches my cheeks like she’s done every time she sees me. “I’m not one hundred percent sure, but you can drive slowly next to her as she runs if she won’t. Kind of romantic, right?”
I assume some think that might be romantic. To me, it should be love at first sight. Complete trust right from the beginning would be nice.
A sudden knot forms in my stomach as I realize I’m minutes from seeing my mate, my Alyssa. “I’ll find her. This road here, right?”
A nod of her head sends me on my way. After all this time, I’m within walking distance of her. My hands are shaking on the steering wheel. Sweat forms on my brow.
A quick glance in the rear view mirror shows glistening beads on my forehead. I reach for a handkerchief in the small compartment between the seats. Dabbing at the droplets as I roll over one small hill after another. A small form moves on the road ahead of me.
Her long, black hair is pulled up in a high ponytail, it swishes with every step. Narrow shoulders swing back and forth as she moves down the street.
I haven’t seen her face and already I know she’s beautiful. Her body sways elegantly with every movement she makes. She’s mesmerizing.
It’s her, my ma
te!
Everything is going in slow motion. I swear I can see every hair as it moves back and forth. The small ripples of sweat which trail down her thighs shine brightly in the evening sun.
As crazy as this might sound, I can smell her from here with my windows and top down on my car. A mixture of vanilla and cinnamon, some lavender, and her own distinct light, musky scent.
What will she taste like?
The pounding in my chest almost deafens me. I must control myself or I’ll surely frighten her with my passion for her. She’ll think me a letch or worse yet, a stalker.
Taking in a deep breath, I slow my car to a near stop, rolling only a bit. A dark shadow falls over me and I look up. Two, giant black birds fly over my head. Both shriek at the same time. I have to cover my ears it’s so loud. They fly straight to my mate.
They are magnificent!
As my eyes follow their path just above my head another loud noise fills the air. A loud honking sound. Then I see where the birds are going and they’re nearly to her.
There’s a truck! No! No! Please, don’t let it hit her!
Chapter 9
ALYSSA
It’s dark. Something’s beeping. Who is that I hear talking?
A smooth, velvety voice asks somebody, “Will she be all right?”
A woman’s voice answers, “I’m sure she’ll be fine. She should wake up anytime now. There was no bleeding on her brain, just a slight concussion.”
Warmth fills me as someone touches my hand. “Alyssa, please wake up for me,” the same velvet voice says. That voice is beyond beautiful. French perhaps, with a hint of something else. “Alyssa, baby, please wake up for me.”
Baby?
I have to see. To open my eyes proves harder than it should be. What’s happened?
Lips brush my ear. The velvet voice says, “Je t’aime, Alyssa.” The hand on mine squeezes.
What the hell does that mean?
What language is that? Why didn’t I take something other than Spanish classes?
I must see who’s doing this. He’s too close. His mouth near enough to whisper in my ear is way to close. Okay, three, two, one. My eyes blink open.
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