The Wolf in the Mansion [A Siren Adult Fable]
Page 8
He caught her hand and held it, heart skipping at the thought of her following his wife and parents. He didn't think he could take losing another person he loved.
"I don't want you here when he comes,” he said.
"I'm not leaving you."
"Deja...” He wanted her so badly his entire body fairly tingled with desire, until her eyes suddenly widened and he realized the sensations weren't just from lust.
"Lincoln, look ou—"
He wrapped her in his arms and dove for the ground, the impact of grassy, hard-packed earth snatching the wind out of him a second before Cyril, in wolf form, soared over them.
Lincoln sprang to a crouch, ensuring Deja was behind him as he willed the change.
Cyril charged and Lincoln met him halfway, feinting left as Cyril went for his throat, lupine jaws open.
His brother's canines caught him in the shoulder, sinking in before Lincoln nipped his brother's back and shook Cyril off.
"Lincoln!"
Injured and slightly woozy, he still felt Deja on the peripheral of his senses, spell casting and pacing before she conjured a large tree branch in her hand.
She flung herself in front of Lincoln, swinging her branch as Cyril leapt.
Cyril howled when Deja's blow caught him in the ribs. It slowed him down, but didn't stop him. He continued on his forward trajectory, pinning Deja to the ground with all four paws.
Cyril snarled and she swung the branch up between them, jamming his jaws mid-bite.
Lincoln felt Deja's hold waning as Cyril snapped down against the wood with his powerful jaws and shook his head.
Desperate, Lincoln stormed his brother, knocking him off Deja a second before he would have taken a chunk out of her throat.
Lincoln attacked again, heart already pounding with remorse, until he remembered the taunting voice in the woods and his parents’ constant vigilance about leaving the two of them alone together for too long.
They knew what was in Cyril's heart even then.
Lincoln closed his eyes and sunk his teeth as deep as he could before jerking up his head with a mighty growl.
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"Lincoln!” Deja sprang up and felt one strong arm wrap around her and hold tight.
"I'm right here, baby."
Panicking, she pulled back to look at him, incredulous. “I thought it was you. When I saw all that blood and—"
"It wasn't me."
"Get this off.” She lifted her wrist tethered to his and gnawed at the loose knot she had tied before they went to sleep. As soon as she was free, she threw her arms around him and held on, reacquainting herself with his solid reality. “Goddess, I was so afraid for you."
"No more than I was for you.” He held her away from him and glared. “I'd spank you now if you hadn't suffered enough already."
She grinned and leaned her head against his chest. “I'm sorry you had to ... I'm sorry, Lincoln."
"It had to be done,” he murmured and put a hand under her chin to lift her head. “That's twice you've saved my life."
"You know what that means don't you?"
He nodded, kissing her forehead. “You're responsible for me now."
"For the rest of your life."
"I guess that means you'll have to marry me."
Didn't matter really, Deja thought. Since that day on the park bench, their souls were already irrevocably connected. “Just tell me when and where."
Epilogue
Deja had a sickening sense of déjà vu when she left the car holding the morning newspaper. This time she had no intention of hiding it from Lincoln. Not that she could hide anything from him anyway, especially since they had mind-linked.
She'd known their little unplanned idyll had ended the evening before Cyril's death, but she had never expected the solid aftermath of their dream world colliding with reality would affect her so deeply.
Lincoln opened the door before she reached the porch and came out to greet her.
Deja didn't think she'd ever get used to his eagerness to be with her.
"I know I'm supposed to keep a low profile, but I couldn't wait to see you."
"We'll need to amend that low-profile part. You'll have to resurface sooner rather than later and take care of your business.” She handed him the paper and waited as he read the headline and flipped to the story within.
The content was yet indelibly etched on Deja's brain, a horrible reminder of her and Lincoln's experience on the astral plane.
Prominent local businessman found dead yesterday evening. The coroner suspects a massive brain aneurysm as the culprit...
A brain aneurysm caused by having his throat ripped out.
"You'll come home with me to straighten things out and start making arrangements.” Lincoln put the paper down on the rocking chair and searched her face.
She knew exactly when he read her maudlin thoughts as he wrapped is arms around her and pulled her close.
"Cyril is past. It's time for us to start looking towards ours and Shawn's future."
She smiled as she returned his hug, glad he had included Shawn in their plans.
"Do you think he'll approve?” Lincoln asked, sounding vaguely unsure about them for the first time since he had mentioned marriage.
She smiled and tightened her hold on him. “You're everything my son could ever want, or need, in a father. And everything I've ever wanted and needed in a man."
THE WOLF IN THE MANSION
A Siren Adult Fable
THE END
WWW.GRACIECMCKEEVER.COM
AUTHOR'S BIO
Gracie McKeever is an author from the Bronx, and aside from several side trips along the way, has lived and worked her entire life in the New York City area. She has been writing since the ripe old age of seven when two younger brothers were among her earliest, captive audience for various short story readings and performances.
An eclectic and voracious reader whose audience has grown outside of the supportive family members, she's had the great fortune of being able to incorporate two of her favorite passions and talents—reading and writing—as a book reviewer for several online e-zines, both as a regular staff member and freelancer.
Her short stories, novellas and poetry have seen exposure in various lit and art magazines and other venues—online and in print. Of particular note, heard over the airwaves on KFJC's morning show, Dancing In The Fast Lane With Ann Arbor (Unbedtime Stories) out of Los Altos Hills, CA (New Life Incognita was the story of the month for March 2000). She's also proud to be a member of the ("Worlds’ Oldest Active Homeless Paper") Street News family and has seen numerous articles, poems and novel excerpts published within its pages as well as having had a poetry reading on Pseudo On-line Network (Street News Review).
In 2001, Gracie caught the erotica bug, sinking her teeth into her first erotic e-book for a review, and hasn't looked back since, an instant affinity for the genre spawning her first erotica title, Beneath The Surface, published in 2006 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
Visit Gracie's website at
www.graciecmckeever.com
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www.SirenPublishing.com
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