Alexei stared at the mirror intensely as he spoke, his words slipping over her like a physical touch, sending shivers through her. “There are legends of a place of magic in Europe no one has been able to find. That only the chosen one would find the way, and even then the journey would be laced with danger.”
He let her down slowly, seemingly deep in thought as he dressed; she did the same. She had always wanted to see Europe but had a feeling if he decided they go, it wouldn’t quite be a vacation.
Chapter Twenty-Two
He was thankful when she went out to see the horses; not that he enjoyed being out of her presence, quite the opposite actually, unfortunately right now he needed the space. When she had mentioned the unique qualities of their mutual tattoos earlier that day unknowingly, she had hit the nail on the head. It was all making sense now. The draw to be with her even back then, the desperate cravings to have her now; as he looked down, even the skin on his arm was burning, every time she left his side his body reacted. Closing his eyes, he focused his thoughts away from the way her body felt, the curve of her hip, and the feel of her tight pussy on his cock. The growl that escaped his lips reverberated around the room. The papers in front of him on his desk vibrated, moving as the power surged from him. Slamming down his hand on the table he picked up the closest paper; the aged parchment felt brittle against his palm. Lines faded and sketches that barely still kept their color blanketed the sheet, each empty space holding notes from different vamps that had tried to find the elusive place. Each one held a different perspective, and every time someone had tried, a little more was found out; the next person who found the quest took that and added theirs to it too. Overall, he knew a few things. This was a ‘you were the one, or you were not the one kind of thing.’ If you were not, you were dead. Alexei hoped to a God he did not even believe existed he was right. Because if not, if he was wrong in any way, he was about to get the one woman who matched him so well killed.
Not in a natural, painless kind of way, but a slow wish you were dead years ago kind of way. The mere thought of her death sent a wave of panic through his body, bile rising as he took a deep breath and gazed out the window to where he saw her in the moonlight, her legs wrapped around the back of the horse; with each gallop her body rose and fell with Fire’s movement. Kat was fine. She was safe. And she was his. Making a few clicks on the keyboard to his right, he booked their tickets. Yes, it was frivolous to take the route he was taking, but he figured the less out in the open they were, the more chances they had to get there without notice, and a private chartered plane not his own, booked in the name of his long-dead father, well, they were less likely to be noticed. The fact they had the matching birthmarks, the fact that they literally created the same map sitting in front of him now except theirs had more pieces told him that they had to do this. This was not an option. They either went, fulfilled what he believed to be their destiny, or they would die, and the world with them.
Picking up his smartphone, he pressed the app and their tickets were there. Pushing back from the desk the chair scratching against the well-worn wood floor was the only sound. Immediately, he went to the window. His eyes scanned the countryside, and when he found her, he watched as she pulled back on the reins and Fire reared up, his legs soaring high into the sky. She stayed perfectly matched and in control of him; the part that made his heart stop, not the fact that she controlled the beast, the horse that until today had been entirely wild, no, it was the fact that the whole time it had been happening her eyes locked on his.
“Come to me.” His voice was low, almost a whimper as it fell from his lips, but instantly he saw her pat Fire and swing herself down.
Turning towards his window that he had claimed to watch her from, she looked right at him, and he heard her voice in his head. “I will.” Fuck me. She was the one. And they… were about to take on heaven and hell…
Grateful for the Gymnasium
A Teachers’ Lounge novella
Deelylah Mullin
About the Book
Gunther “Gunny” Newfield had come over from the old country to help his great aunt when she became ill. He liked it in Zephyr, so decided to stay. Using his teaching degree in physical education and health, he joined the faculty at Zephyr Junior/Senior high school. Once a month, when the moon was full, he would gather together with the other werewolves in Zephyr for their run. He loved it in Zephyr.
But when Hallie Thompson came to town, his wolf was drawn to her. He found himself in her small seamstress shop with a repair or commission as often as possible.
As they grew to know one another, Gunny found out she, too, had a wolf without a mate.
When Gunny and Hallie fall in love, will the full moon take them by storm or help them settle into a happy place? <—this sucks
Dear Mr. VampBard, I’m sorry I had growly dreams while writing Grateful for the Gymnasium. Getting in the head of a wolf shifter is…different.
Mom, you would have loved this one.
Chapter One
“Gunny, how many more games before boys’ soccer playoffs?” Troy Geppart asked.
“We’re heading to Petoskey next week for the first district game. It’ll be a good game—you guys should come,” Gunther Newfield—Gunny—responded before asking, “How’s pre-season conditioning going for basketball?”
“Oh, we’ve got some talent in the gym. Can’t wait to see what their coaches do with them this year,” Troy said.
“Would you two stop talking about sports?” Alice Tremaine, Troy’s girlfriend, asked.
Katherine Elliott gasped. “Alice! You don’t mean to say you’re clueless about sports!”
Tiffany Roberts nearly fell off her chair. “Alice doesn’t know a damn thing about athletics.” She wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. “That’s a good one, Kath.”
Katherine glanced at him and her cheeks pinked before she looked away.
“Leave her alone,” Gunny said. “Everyone has their thing—Troy and I happen to have sports in common.” He shrugged.
Shit. I think I fucked up.
Looking at him like he’d created diamonds with his bare hands, Katherine practically swooned over ever word Gunny said.
Katherine slid her chair closer to him.
Gunny scooted away from her, maintaining the distance.
Katherine cleared her throat.
“Have a great day.” Gunny stood. “Tiff, you’re hosting tomorrow, right?” He looked at Tiffany, avoiding Katherine’s gaze.
“Yeah. And, no one brings tuna. Took me a week to get the smell out of my room last time.” Tiffany glared at Gunny.
Troy laughed. “Dude. Tuna?” Troy shook his head. “Did your mom make your sandwich or something?”
Gunny glared at Troy. “My mom is in Germany, asshole.” He winked at his friend. “I was just hungry for it. Didn’t realize it was a hangable offense.”
“I’m just giving you shit, man,” Troy said.
Gunny tucked the chair under the table and gathered his water bottle and lunch bag before he waved and walked out of Alice’s classroom.
He walked quickly because he had a gut feeling Katherine would follow him.
And, she did.
“Gunny—I mean, Mr. Newfield! I have a question for you.” The click-clack, click-clack sound of her stiletto heels against the ceramic tile in the hallway made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
Clammy fingers grasped the back of his arm.
Gunny spun around, drawing his elbow up and back as he made a fist.
“It’s just me! I called out to you—must’ve been in your own world.” Katherine grinned. She looked as though she might explode if she didn’t ask her damn question.
“Yeah, um, I was thinking about my lesson plans for the afternoon,” he offered, jumping into the lie with both feet.
“Well, I wanted to ask if you had plans for the community Thanksgiving dinner,” she asked.
ShitShitShitShit.
“Not right now, but I can’t really make plans—I don’t know from one moment to the next which version of my great aunt will show up, and I can’t leave her alone. Sorry.” Gunny felt the knot in his stomach tighten. Don’t cause a scene. Don’t cause a scene…
Her excited expression melted from her face. “Oh, okay. I understand.”
“I’m going to”—he hooked his thumb toward the open gym doors—“supervise a rousing game of HORSE or something,” he said.
Before Katherine could respond, he was in the echo-y gymnasium. Across the expanse, Janae Brown—principal—vigilantly kept watch over the students playing games and burning off some extra energy.
“Mr. Newfield! What a surprise. You don’t need to be here—go talk to adults.” Janae grinned from ear-to-ear.
“It’s fine, Ms. Brown. I ate and I don’t have anything else going on until next hour,” Gunny said. “I’ve got this—why don’t you go in the cafeteria and make sure everyone takes care of their trash and trays.”
Janae Brown was always on a mission—at that time, she was trying to have lunch with every student before the winter break. Giving her the extra time would support her endeavor.
“You drive a hard bargain, Gunny.” Janae clapped him on the shoulder and brushed past him, avoiding students and balls and other sports-related items.
That was close. I don’t need a human following me around like a lost pup.
Katherine stood in the doorway watching him. When she caught him looking at her, she slid back into the hallway and stomped down the corridor.
A few up-and-coming soccer players approached him. One said, “Mr. Newfield, you wanna run drills with us?” The boy passed the ball to him.
Gunny toed the ball up and bounced it off his right knee straight into the air, and did the same with his left—alternating knees at least six or seven times before he headed the ball toward the boy that spoke. “Sure.”
With five of them, they assumed a two-one-two formation and moved across the hardwood passing the ball in a somewhat-predictible pattern.
While he was physically occupied, his eyes swept the room, keeping tabs on the other students. No bullying or injuries on my watch. Even though he was already multi-tasking, his brain decided to obsess over his arranged marriage.
With parents from Germany, it was difficult for them to give up the traditions that had kept his pack at the top of the pecking order for centuries. His birth had been the time to renew the bond between the Newfield and Wagner packs—and arranging a marriage between Gunny and the first-born daughter of the ruling pair would ensure both powerful packs retained their power in the Old Country while preventing the familes from instigating civil war.
Gisella Wagner wasn’t born until nearly two decades later. She would soon complete her fourth transition and her wolf would be ready to select a mate. Which, it really didn’t have to do because their families had arranged their bonding.
I can’t marry Gisella. I don’t love her and she doesn’t satisfy my wolf. That bastard is picky as fuck.
He half-assed catches the conversation with the boys running drills.
“You know, I really don’t get the whole stay with your own kind rule. My parents are freaks about it,” said a cougar shifter.
“I know, right? I mentioned asking a human girl to go to the Pilgrim dance and they had a melt-down.” The vampire’s cheek twitched with an involuntary grin. “It’s kind-of fun to make them do that.”
The nervous rabbit shifter said, “I—I don’t think it’s funny to make our parents concerned like that. We have an obligation to the Zephyr community to keep our identities secret.”
“I wish we didn’t have to, though. I get that the humans aren’t ready to accept us yet, but we’ll never know unless we give them the chance,” a young witch said.
“Guys, Zephyr is a safe community—we get the best of both the human and the Other worlds. We are able to live among humans without judgement or fear and we are protected and able to keep our Other secrets. There aren’t many communities like this, and there certainly aren’t any that allow Others to be in the open,” Gunny said. “Besides, it’s way better living here in the States than the Old Country—they still do arranged marriages in our packs there. Not sure about covens or clutches of vampires.” He shuddered.
Two humans approached.
“How do you guys carry on a conversation and not miss a beat when running that drill?” one boy with bright red hair and freckles asked.
“Practice,” the five said in unison. A pat response whenever the ease of tasks came into question.
The other human shook his head. “You guys are weird.”
The duo walked away, dribbling basketballs.
“Gentlemen, did you feel the approach of those boys?” Gunny asked.
All four shook their heads.
“Apparently, there are more drills we need to practice than those for soccer.”
Hallie Thompson followed the student assigned to take her to the gym and Gunny Newfield, the soccer coach while peering around corner and getting a feel for Zephyr Junior/Senior High. It was her first time inside the hallowed halls, and her stomach twisted and turned with anxiety.
Her bag was heavy with over twenty new uniforms the team would wear for their playoffs the next week, and that grounded her a little.
Plus, she wanted to memorize her way to the gym because she hoped she would get to visit Gunny in the future. Even though she had a schoolgirl crush on the PE teacher, she knew he wouldn’t return her feelings. Maybe he’ll appreciate the craftsmanship of the uniforms and fall madly in love with me.
Then, she saw him. Her breath caught and she froze, transfixed by the grace with which he moved and his fluid gestures.
“Miss Thompson? I’m going to leave you here. There are some chairs inside the door—feel free to have a seat and wait for Mr. Newfield to finish class. You don’t want to interrupt him.” The boy’s voice shook as he delivered his message, and he jogged from the gym into the hallway, seemingly eager to not draw the teacher’s attention.
Hallie set her bag on one of the chairs and settled into the padding of another. She’d worked late the previous night and was in early that morning with the hopes of being able to finish the large custom order for the soccer coach. And, while she was happy to have finished the task, she was even happier to see Gunny again.
The coach had stopped in every few days to get an update on her progress with the uniforms for his team.
Two days prior, she’d indicated she’d be done early the following week, but something drove her to finish sooner—to see him again as well as to surprise him.
Turns out, he was the one to surprise her.
Hallie jumped when she realized Gunny stood in front of her. “Oh, sorry. I must’ve been off in my own little world.” Her nervous giggle seemed too loud.
“Just dismissed the class to shower. What’s up?” he asked.
“I, uh, finished the uniforms. I wanted to give them to you so maybe you could have your team try them on and let me know if they need alterations done.”
His golden brown eyes seemed to pierce her, drawing her in and solidifying her crush to the point of no return.
“I’m sure they’re perfect,” he said.
His fingers trailed up and down her forearm in a feather-light touch. Her anxiety dissipated, and she felt contentment for the first time in years.
Hallie jumped when Gunny spoke again.
“My great-aunt has dementia and her dexterity is deteriorating. I was wondering if you’d consider a house call to discuss ways to make her clothing easier to handle for her. She’s been having a good day, according to the message I got from Claire Mayer earlier, and I think it would be better for her to be in familiar surroundings when discussing changes to her wardrobe.” He leaned toward her. “It’s hard enough on her adapting to the changes from the dementia.”
“Absolutely. I think it’s wonderful that you’re caring for your great-aunt. I�
�ve heard a lot of good things about her. She’s well-respected in the community. As matter of fact, a few people have asked if I’d be willing to train as a doula because that’s a need in town.” She smoothed the peplum of the waistcoat she’d chosen to pair with leggings, Doc Martens, and a keyhole blouse—which gave a glimpse of cleavage. “I don’t know if I could be a doula, though. I mean, it’s a huge responsibility and I don’t think I could handle it if a baby—or mother—was lost on my watch.”
“It’s not like that in Zephyr—there’re several families in town which use a doula exclusively for home births and everyone in the families are well-versed on labor and delivery from the time they’re young. A doula is just a little more experienced and has had formal training.” Gunny fingered the lace at her wrist, occasionally brushing the back of her hand.
Calm infused her, even though the boys’ soccer team began to gather in the middle of the gym. The cacophony of noise seemed trapped outside a bubble that engulfed Gunny and herself.
“I suppose I should put these boys through their paces so we win the district game next Thursday. I’m sure the new uniforms will be a huge self-esteem boost for the guys.”
“I’m sure they don’t need it—after all, they have you for a coach.”
Gunny’s ears turned red and he glanced away. His Adam’s apple worked in his throat. “I’ll see you around six, then? We’ll cover dinner.”
“It’s a date.” Horrified, she held her breath.
Gunny smiled and leaned in. His cheek brushed hers, and she thought she heard him inhale. He whispered, “It certainly is.”
Holy Hell. He’s sex-on-a-stick. I don’t think I can handle him. Her anxiety spiraled higher and higher as she walked throught he corridor to the exit and finally settled in to the seat of her RAV. It’s just business.
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