by A. D. McLain
“Beautiful. I love you, Lexy. I want to marry you and have a real life together.”
She looked up and stared into his eyes. “I want that, too.”
Jared smiled, and she felt psychic lips touch hers.
“Good, I’m glad we got that settled.” He put his head back down and closed his eyes. “I love you, Lexy,” he repeated.
“I love you, too.” Lexy put her head back on his chest and hugged him as tight as his injuries would allow.
It was three days before Jared was strong enough to control his energy. In that time, she rarely left his side. The doctor changed the bandages daily. Brian brought the baby for visits, and Curtis brought Kara to announce their engagement. Lexy’s parents checked in on them every day, but her father had a lot of his own healing and adjusting to do. And even with Lexy helping to focus Jared’s Psy energy, it was a lot for her father to be around for long periods.
Traymore visited the most, a few times a day. He brought food and gave them updates from the outside world.
Protests continued. A special vote had been called to repeal all laws pertaining to inhibitor band use and censorship practices. Val’s trial was scheduled for some time in the winter, and all the escaped prisoners had made it to The Valley or other sanctuaries.
When Jared was strong enough to leave the room, they were greeted with a feast that doubled as an engagement party and a welcome dinner for all the children brought into The Valley. As children played, Lexy sat by the man she loved while watching her parents dance.
“This is perfect,” she said.
“Yes, it is,” Jared said, from behind her.
Lexy turned and her mouth was captured in a passionate kiss. She felt a twinge of Psy energy deep in her belly and knew how perfect life could be.
About the Author
“What do you want to be?”
When I was little, I answered that question with actor, writer, artist, astronaut, singer, fashion designer, and a few other things. Adults would grin at my answer and say I hadn’t made up my mind yet. I told them, “No, I want to be all of them.” I never understood the idea of limiting yourself to one thing. Life is so big. There’s room for many adventures.
As I grew, I continued to draw. I wrote and performed songs at talent shows. I drew designs for clothing and even sewed some outfits. I made my own wedding dress, by hand. I studied digital design and learned to do some basic work in photo programs. My friends will tell you, I’m always jumping from one crazy project to another.
Again and again, I’ve been told what I was doing was too difficult, I didn’t know enough, I could never do it. And every time, I’ve plunged headfirst into whatever my passion was driving me towards, with unwavering faith that I could do anything I put my mind to. People always want to tell you what you can’t do. We’re all capable of incredible things when we have faith and believe in ourselves. You may not succeed at everything you do, but you will never succeed at something you don’t try.
Despite my vast array of interests, writing has long held a special place in my soul. When I was twelve years old, I spent an entire summer writing a story. Before that, I often started projects without finishing them. But this was different. I wrote every day. I wrote in the car, my room, and the laundromat. I wrote until my story was done. Just as vacation was coming to an end, I finished it, and. I knew in that moment this was my calling in life. This was what I was meant to do. From then on, I studied and wrote. Teachers and siblings told me to pursue a more practical career. I ignored them and followed my instincts. When I needed a break, I still had all my other creative projects to help me recharge. But I always returned to writing.
Through college, meeting and marrying my soulmate, working jobs I hated, becoming a mother to three wonderful boys, and homeschooling those same rambunctious boys, there have been challenges. There were times I’ve had to take a break from writing regularly to care for newborns and sick children. Though, even when I wasn’t actively putting pen to paper—yes, I still use good old-fashioned notebooks much of the time—my books are always in my mind. I’ve spent many nights crouched over paper, using the dim light from my phone or a night light to see just enough to put down my thoughts, while my children sleep a few feet away. Writing is who I am.
My passion is paranormal romance and fantasy. I love writing about werewolves and other shapeshifters. I’ve also written about psychics. I began writing fantasy after I was married. My husband and I used to get together with friends to play dungeons and dragons every Saturday. He wanted to create his own world with his own campaigns, so he enlisted my help in writing the background stories. He described his world, the key players and asked me to write backgrounds on other characters. I would told him what I had, and he made changes to fit his vision. It was a lot of fun to work on this with him.
Later, I was looking for a quick project to write for NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) and decided transform our notes into a full story of its own. That was the birth of our first collaborative fantasy book project. It’s great to be able to share something that’s such a big part of my soul with my husband. He has always supported my writing. Even when it hasn’t paid off financially, he’s never once asked me to stop.
I don’t know what the future holds, but I know this is what I’m called to do.