Goldilocks

by Patria L. Dunn

  **********

  Hey Goldilocks…

  Hannah’s breath caught, her spine stiffening as Jake’s voice whispered softly inside her head. Her left side was suddenly enveloped in warmth as he slipped into the chair beside her, his head ducking to avoid Mr. Goodall’s disapproving glance. The bell had rung almost five minute ago, clenching Hannah’s heart in her chest as she’d watched the seconds tick by with no Jake.

  “You’re always late,” she hissed out between gritted teeth, her eyes still fixed to the front of the room. “And don’t do that. It feels weird,” Hannah added, shaking her head at the slight pressure his words had left behind.

  Does it hurt you? Jake asked, his tone concerned as he glanced at her and then back to the front.

  “No…” Hannah breathed out and then paused, pretending to jot down a few notes as the teacher made his way down their aisle.

  I would never hurt you Hannah… You know that right? Jake swallowed hard, the tenseness in his frame betraying the nonchalant slouch he’d taken in the chair beside her.

  She could only nod, her eyes downcast as his voice took over her head, numbing every thought and sound until she heard him and only him. Gone was the background noise her brain processed without her thinking about it, Mr. Goodall’s lecture mute as he made his way back up their aisle to the front. Heat filled her cheeks at the intimacy it brought between her and Jake, her mind flickering to the dream she’d had of them in the woods, his arms around her, his lips…

  Try it. Talk to me… Jake’s voice interrupted the memory, causing her gaze to slip to his for a moment, uncertain of what he meant.

  Just…think it, he encouraged, his brow lifting as she shook her head slowly, her attention back on the scribble she’d written in the notepad in front of her.

  I have so many questions… Hannah forced her lips not to move, the thought trailing off as she heard his heavy sigh with her ears and not her mind.

  The less you know… Jake finally responded, his hand slipping below the table they shared to grasp hers.

  You promised, Hannah insisted, bristling at the invisible wall she felt around the subject of him.

  There’s nothing that you can do.

  But maybe I can.

  That’s exactly why I shouldn’t tell you anything else. This isn’t your…

  My what? My concern…? My town…? My life…? “My father…?!” Hannah’s voice broke free above Mr. Goodall’s lecture, her hand clamping over her mouth as the entire class turned to glance at her and snicker.

  “Ms. Adler, in order for your father to have been involved in the Sweatt v. Painter ruling, he would have had to have sat on the Supreme Court at the time, and I highly doubt that was possible,” Mr. Goodall frowned, his eyes narrowing as he fixed them on Hannah’s shrinking figure. “This is government, not drama; please refrain from making jokes in this class.”

  Ouch! Jake’s voice hissed inside Hannah’s head, a grimace on his face as he reached for his pulsing ankle.

  That was for making me talk out loud! Hannah snapped, her head now bent so that her hair hid her face from the incredulous look he directed at her.

  We should talk later…

  No! I won’t see you later! I have practice, and my father will be home…

  Can you get out of the house?

  Maybe; If he’s sleep… Hannah turned her head slightly, her cheeks warming at the thought of a secret meeting with Jake.

  Wait up for me? He asked, his hand once again closing around hers with a squeeze.

  She could only nod as heat seemed to consume her arm, melting her shoulder and loosening every muscle she had on the left side of her body. It was more than just attraction; there was a pull between them. It was almost as physical as it was emotional and they both felt it. Like they were somehow meant to meet, and now that they had, they just needed to figure out why.

  Chapter 21:

  It felt good having his secret out. It was like a weight, he hadn’t even known he was carrying, had been lifted from his shoulders and he could finally be himself with someone other than his parents. The way that she looked at him wasn’t the way that any other human had ever looked at him, most of them wary of his unnatural size for a teenager than anything else. She knew what he was, and she still saw him as her equal, maybe even more than that. He’d seen pieces of the dream she’d had the night before, and his heart had clenched tighter than it ever had during any fight he’d ever been in.

  Love wasn’t something he’d ever even allowed himself to consider before. It just wasn’t possible, but with her he felt something deeper than love and it scared him. She was human, a forbidden connection to the world that he’d been sworn to protect since birth. It wasn’t fair to either of them to let whatever it was that was happening between them to continue, but he felt powerless to stop it.

  From deep in the shadows of the woods surrounding the cross country course, he watched her run well ahead of the pack of her struggling teammates. Her long blond locks were pulled tightly into a ponytail at the back of her head, the color flashing golden in the waning sunlight as she made her way down the path with ease. He followed at a safe distance, making a sweeping pass all the way around the outskirts of the school before heading towards home.

  It would take him three hours to walk the distance of the ridge between Lake City and Hinsdale, but for once Jake was grateful for that time today, and also grateful that all had been quiet for once. His father hadn’t checked in with him since this morning, and that could only mean there had been no incidences at the mine today. Not completely unusual, since the last few escapees had been some of the biggest they’d seen in a while. It would a take a few weeks for the stronger of the pack to mend, their healing abilities severely hampered by the flawed makeup of their beings. Had any of them been true Kind, they would have been able to heal as fast as Jake and his parents, the most severe of wounds gone within hours.

  Until now, wounding them had been sufficient in keeping Creed’s attempt of freeing himself at bay, but maybe Hannah was right. How long before they could no longer protect the town? How long before the entire pack came rushing out, and there was nothing left but remains? They were questions that Jake hadn’t been allowed to discuss with his father, but now that his eighteenth birthday was approaching, Jake wanted answers that he’d never pushed to have before.

  Checking in… Rone’s voice broke his son’s thoughts as if he’d been listening the entire time.

  Jake threw up a block anyway, shoving any memory of Hannah to the further recesses of his mind, his sights set on his surroundings as he let his father in.

  All quiet here, he responded, relaying flashes of the areas he’d checked on his way home from school.

  Quiet here too, Rone answered slowly, his thoughts pushing against Jake’s for a moment, before backing off. You don’t have to hide things from me son. I know the girl is…

  Is not a factor, so…

  You’re almost eighteen, and I know what that means for you.

  Do you? You know how it feels to know that you’re going to be alone for the rest of your life?

  No, but that’s not true. You’ll always have…

  You and mom, yeah I know, Jake shook his head, kicking a rock from the path he was walking

  His father would never understand when it came to Hannah. Upholding the covenant meant everything to him, and it wasn’t a question of whether Jake would uphold it too. He was born Kind, one of only a handful remaining. There were no choices when extinction was the risk.

  She’s human Jake.

  You don’t have to remind me, Jake snapped, shifting with the frustration that coursed through him.

  He let the weight of his body carry him in a tumbling burst of speed, the roar that escaped his throat echoing through the falling darkness, repeating over and over again as he slid his way down into the north side of the pass. He needed a new thinking spot. Away from where anyone could accidentally stumble upon him if he chose to just sit and
let his thoughts take him where they pleased.

  I’ll be home by dinner, Rone sighed, allowing himself to be pushed completely from his son’s thought. Stay sharp.

  **********

  Hannah was too awake to sleep even though it was well after midnight. She’d finished her homework hours ago, and had sat through dinner trying not to worry as her father had talked about all the problems the mine was having. There hadn’t been any collapses today, but he was right down there in the deepest tunnels with the workers, trying to repair the damage from the last few weeks. He’d gone straight to bed after his shower, and she’d been left alone with her thoughts ever since, growing more anxious with every passing hour she didn’t hear from Jake.

  Are you awake? Jake’s voice drifted into Hannah’s thoughts just as clearly as if he’d been standing in the same room.

  Her heart quickened as she sat up on her bed, her fingers trembling slightly as she pulled her hair free of the messy bun she’d put it up into earlier. She felt silly rushing to the tiny mirror on the wall to check her appearance, smoothing her locks so that they fell freely about her bare shoulders.

  Yes. I’m coming, Hannah smiled as she thought the words, blinking in surprise when the garden appeared before her in her mind as if she were looking at the cabin from the woods.

  She knew immediately that he was showing her his location, the scene moving across her backyard to where ‘Big Red’ was parked and then back again.

  Shoes would be too noisy on the creaky wood boards of the cabin floor, so she left them, tiptoeing down the hall, despite her father’s loud snores coming from the back room. One small squeal of protest from the front door and Hannah breathed a sigh of relief as she slipped out into the warm night air, the short white tank dress she wore clinging to her frame in the soft wind.

  The glow of the porch light only lasted as far as the last step, darkness wrapping around her like a blanket as she made her way across the freshly cut grass in the direction of the garden. The moon was just bright enough to cast the line of the woods into one long shadow, but not nearly bright enough for Hannah to find Jake immediately. Her toes stopped where the strawberry vines spilled over to freshly budding flowers, her eyes still adjusting when she heard the whooshing sound she now associated with a shift taking place.

  “Here…” Jake’s voice was quiet, and much deeper than she’d ever heard it, his face solemn as he stepped from the shadows of the trees, pulling a final cinch into the cord of the cotton shorts he’d just pulled on.

  Her own voice was stuck in the back of her throat, her entire body warming as he crossed the remaining steps it took to reach her, pulling her with him back into the shadows. Where the grass stopped and pure earth began, so did they, their eyes locking as he turned slowly to face her. Even in darkness he looked like a god, thick muscles moving beneath the taut skin of his chest as he pulled her to him, his head lowering before she knew what was happening.

  “I shouldn’t but…”

  The rest of Jake’s words were lost in the tender kiss he caressed her mouth with, the firm grip he had on her waist loosening as his hands slipped up her back to her cup her neck gently. Hannah’s lips parted in a sigh of response, her own fingers playing in the curls at the nape of his neck as her body melted into his, the kiss igniting into a want neither of them had ever felt before. Her back met rough bark just as her knees grew week, every memory they’d ever shared exploding between them stealing her breath.

  “Jake…”

  He broke the kiss just as suddenly as he’d offered it, a low growl deep in his throat at the surprised look in her eyes.

  “What am I doing? I’m sorry,” he murmured, his hands curling into fist as he let them fall to his sides.

  “No…I…” Hannah blushed, her gaze falling from his as heat filled her cheeks. “I didn’t want you to stop…I…”

  “You’re human,” Jake said the words as if the very thought of it pained him, his back turning so that he didn’t have to see the hurt on her face. “As much I wish I could change it, I’m Kind, and it just…”

  “So I’m not good enough then?” Hannah whispered, embarrassment filling her at the way she’d practically given herself to him.

  “No!” Jake stopped her before she could move, grabbing her arm to keep her from fleeing. “Don’t you ever think that! Do you not see how I feel? What I’ve been feeling? How I want you?” he whispered, his fingers running through the length of the loose strands gracing her shoulder.

  “Then why…?”

  “It’s complicated Hannah,” Jake’s eyes pinched closed in frustration, his head shaking as he tried to put the right words together. “Kind and human are forbidden. It could be detrimental to our very existence.”

  “But I would never…”

  “You would never, but my father would never trust you. I would have to live in secret forever, and…”

  “You already live in secret Jake! And I would earn your father’s trust!” Hannah protested, her voice louder than she’d intended it to be. “I don’t know how to explain it but when I’m near you, I…”

  “Feel like you’re finally living for the first time?”

  “Yes…” Hannah breathed out, her eyes locking with his again.

  “I’ll be eighteen in just a couple months,” Jake let his gaze fall to the ground for a moment before looking at her again. “I am Kind, born of a head council, which means, I’ll be immortal Hannah. It doesn’t matter to me, but you…”

  “Would grow old and die, and after a while you wouldn’t even want me anymore.”

  “No! Geez! Is that what you think of me?”

  “I don’t know what to think Jake!” Hannah snapped back, her arms folding to hold herself protectively.

  “Don’t do that,” Jake pleaded, watching as the green of her eyes brightened with unshed tears. “I don’t want to see you hurt Hannah. It’s why I came here tonight. I need you to convince your father to leave.”

  “First you kiss me and now you want me gone!?” Hannah recoiled against his reach, a single tear slipping down her cheek faster than she could swipe it away.

  “It’s the only way!”

  “And what about the mine Jake?! What’s going to happen with that?”

  “My father and I will keep patrolling. Without your father here to push the progress forward, the mine will eventually close just like it did last time, and…”

  “And what if it doesn’t?! We need to do something now!”

  I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM HER!!!!!!

  Jake no longer heard Hannah’s words. During the kiss, he’d let every block fall, not thinking that his father would be looking into his head at that very moment. He’d left every memory he had of her vulnerable and he knew immediately that his father had saw it all, even the kiss. He was here, just beyond the boulder leading to the mining trail, and coming fast.

  “I…I…have to go. You need to go. Back in the cabin! Now!”

  “What?! Are you serious right now!?” Hannah broke off in the middle of her rant, throwing up her hands as she watched Jake shrink further back into the woods.

  “My father…”

  “We’re not leaving,” Hannah gritted out, sure that he’d heard her even though she could no longer see him.

  As much as she wanted to, she refused to shed another tear. Her shoulders squared as she turned to walk slowly back towards the cabin, her lids blinking quickly as the memory of their shared kiss invaded her senses. It had been wonderful, exquisite, unlike anything she’d ever felt, and…he’d ruined it. He’d broken her heart and she hadn’t even given it to him yet.

  “You’re wrong Jake,” Hannah whispered, glancing one final time over her shoulder before rounding the corner of the cabin.

  Her father was determined to bring the Golden Wonder mine back to life, and it would only be a matter of time before Creed finally succeeded in getting his entire pack to the surface. Jake refusing to stand up to his father meant signing the death warrants of e
verything human living in Hinsdale and Lake City. Even if he didn’t want to be with her, she wasn’t about to let that happen.

  Chapter 22:

  “She’s human Jake! Are you really ready to forget about your family? Your history!?”

  “You had no right!” Jake fumed spinning on his father so that he could look him in the eye.

  It was rarely that they traversed the woods together in their human form, but Jake had refused to shift, and Rone wanted to face his son eye to eye.

  “I’m your father, I had every right!”

  “To invade my private thoughts? To mock the first time I’ve ever…” Jake let the words trail off, unable to talk about the kiss he’d just shared with Hannah with his father. “It was just a kiss!” he finally shouted, his hands thrown up as his father met him chest to chest.

  “It wasn’t just a kiss son! Even if I couldn’t see it in your thoughts, it’s written all over your face! You’re in love with…with…a human!” Rone spat it out as if the word were poison on his tongue, his control on his anger waning at Jake’s refusal to see the ramifications of his actions.

  “I’m not… I’m not…” Jake shook his head, not wanting to say what his father wanted to hear.

  “Say it!” Rone demanded. “Tell me that you don’t love her, and it’ll be the first time that you’ve ever lied outright to my face!”

  “Why don’t you try telling me the truth for once?!” Jake countered. “There are plenty of pretty girls in school. I see them every day, and I’ve never felt this before. When I’m near her, it’s like my body is catching fire; when I touch her, it’s like she’s meant to be a part of me. It’s… GRRRRRRRRRRR!” Jake growled out, his closed fist connecting with the first tree that it reached.

  “It’s simple attraction,” Rone said quietly, hating the lie the second it was spoken.

  Jennings had speculated, but he’d seen it for himself when his son had opened himself to the girl. She was human yes, but her lineage was pure bear. A miracle in itself as man’s Kind had interbred freely despite their genetic Kind makeup; humans even more freely than the original generation of man’s Kind. The fact that pure bear Kind blood coursed through Hannah’s blood as a human could only mean that her entire family, for generations past, had been pure bear. They’d unknowingly kept their birth heritage despite the evolutionary growth of mankind as it was known today. Impossible, yet very possible as the girl was living proof, still a human, but proof all the same.