Eden shakes his head and walks away from me. “Let’s just change into our bathing suits and go down to the pool. I’m no longer in the mood.”
As he disappears into the bathroom I’m left wondering how this is all going to work out.
Will I ever get this under control?
CHAPTER 52
EDEN
Somehow I managed to get through last night without losing my mind over my mate and her protector. It was not easy though. When I took her to our bed after hours of swimming and horsing around in the pool with her friends, I thought she’d be near exhausted and the images of Kyle might stop popping into her head.
I was wrong though. It made it difficult to make love to her, as she kept seeing his face. It ruined the night for that anyway.
All I can do is blame myself for this. If I’d listened to my mother and brought her to New Orleans when she was thirteen, then this would not be an issue.
So I have to keep my mouth shut and muddle through this. At least there is nothing going on right this minute as we eat breakfast. It’s not constant, so I have to be thankful for that.
I feel my stomach tense up as my mate takes my hand. Her nerves are going crazy as my father answers a phone call on his cell as we all sit at the table eating breakfast.
“Good. Too bad you couldn’t see him to put a tracker on him,” my father says. “Keep us informed of anything else he does. Another thing, don’t go to the hospital. We had Karen moved to a different hospital, so he won’t know where she is. We added security for her as well. Once this is over, it’ll be safe for you to see her.”
My father ends his call and rises from the table. “Well, you heard it, guys. It's go time.”
My mate is shaking like a leaf. I try to console her. “Alyssa, remember the things Beck taught you last night. You’ll be fine. We’ll be right there and you’re completely capable of taking care of yourself as well.” I remind her about how Beck came over last night and taught Kyle, Laura, Scotty, and me some basic self-defense moves.
Not that me or Kyle needed it, but we did it to make the girls happy
Alyssa snuggles into my chest as we walk toward the door. “I’ll get okay. I’m just not looking forward to this.”
Toni and my mother give us all hugs at the door. We have to wait for Laura to let Kyle go before Alyssa can give her a hug. “I won’t let anything happen to your guy, Laura,” she tells her.
Laura squeezes her and says, “You better not, Alyssa Shaylee Fontaine!”
The jeep has been brought from the other house for us to go to the zoo in. Kyle jumps in the back seat, sitting in the middle.
The top has been taken off, to be sure Stiles can see us if he’s looking. Our plan is to stand out. After helping Alyssa in, I walk around to the driver’s side, getting in.
As we take off, I say, “Here we go.”
My mate fidgets with her hands. Her nerves are taking her over. Kyle’s hand lands on her shoulder, rubbing it. He says, “Ally, stop worrying, girl. You couldn’t be safer. With the two of us watching over you, that freak will never get to touch you.”
I hope to God he’s right.
She turns and gives him a smile. “I know I’m being silly. You guys won’t let anything happen to me. I know that.”
I take the exit off the highway, which leads us to the zoo. As we pull in, I noticed that the parking lot is full of cars. We finally find a parking space, then get out and head to the ticket line.
There’s a lot of people here today. I find myself wishing our trip here was as happy an occasion as it is for the people around us.
Once inside, I take my place on one side of Alyssa. Kyle’s on the other side of her. I lead them to look at the monkeys. I find I can’t seem to concentrate on anything. My eyes are constantly scanning the crowd for Stiles.
My phone vibrates and I answer it. “Hello? I’ll let her know,” I say, and then hand the phone to Kyle. “Laura wants to talk to you.”
Kyle takes the phone as I look at my mate. I tell her, “He’s here. Scotty and Laura spotted him on the zoo’s surveillance system. Now, don’t go getting all shaky, because he’ll know something’s up, as I’m sure he’s looking at us right now. So keep it cool. Promise me.”
“I promise,” she says, then sends me, ‘I’m freaking out inside though.’
I send her, ‘I know you are, princess. We’ve got you. Don’t let fear rule you.’
Kyle hands the phone back to me. “Game on, then. You keeping it together, Ally?”
She nods her head. “Not really, but I’m finding I’m a pretty great actress. I see an academy award in my future,” she says, nervously laughing a little.
We both laugh with her and I take her hand in mine, leading them to the next exhibit. We look at the birds and the bears. Then we come to the lions. Kyle looks at them intently. “Do you guys hate lions as much as I do?” he asks.
My phone vibrates again. This time it’s just a text – We are here. Time to bait the trap-
I look at Alyssa, then over to Kyle. “Get ready everybody. It’s time,” I tell them.
I lead them to an area where there’s a small café with restrooms, one on each side of it. So Alyssa is forced to leave us as we go to the men’s room and she has to walk over to the other side of the small building to get to the ladies' room.
I look her in the eyes. “Just stay cool and relaxed. We have you,” I tell her, then turn and walk into the restroom as Kyle gives her a wink, then follows me.
This better work!
CHAPTER 53
ALYSSA
I turn slowly, trying not to act afraid even though I’m clearly terrified and looking down at the ground as I walk. I glance up to see how far away I am from the ladies’ room, then turn to look behind me to see how far I am from Eden and Kyle. They’ve gone into the men’s room.
Supposedly, they will intercept Stiles before he comes into the restroom.
God, please don’t let him hurt me. Don’t let something go wrong, please!
I turn back around, looking down again. Dirty, brown dress shoes come into my vision. I look up slowly. There’s a red, chubby, round face with sweat dripping off his forehead.
It’s Stiles!
Suddenly, I’m slammed through the ladies’ room door as he pushes me in, then follows me.
Only a little girl and her mother are in there and they run out quickly. He slips a small metal bar through the door handle, locking it closed. I move as far back from him as I can.
“I’ve missed your beautiful face, Mrs. Fontaine,” he snarls at me.
“Look, Mr. Stiles, my husband will come looking for me in here. Please, just open the door and nothing bad will happen to you, I promise. If he has to break the door down to get you, I can’t say I can protect you then,” I let him know.
He laughs. “Like I need you to protect me. You’re nothing but a damn girl. Useless, except for one thing,” he tells me as he moves closer to me.
I scan the room for anything I can use to protect myself with, but find nothing, as the room is just bare concrete walls. There are two bathroom stalls, which are closed. One sink with a plastic mirror is one side of the room. I’ve positioned myself across from the only door that leads in or out of here.
He pulls a syringe full of clear liquid from the pocket of his tan slacks. The most disgusting look forms on his face and he says, “I might not make it out of here alive, but I sure as hell plan on getting you to go with me. After I take you right here on this floor, I will kill you. We can land on the other side together, bird lady. Never thought about making it with a bird before, but now that’s all I can think about.”
“Let me guess, morphine?” I ask.
He stops and looks puzzled at first, then begins to come towards me. “Your little birdie senses must be tingling. Right you are, Mrs. Fontaine. I can’t have you making it out of here before I get a taste of that tender white meat. I sure wish I could see you turn into a bird, Mrs. Fontaine. How about you
do that for me?”
“I’m quite afraid you’re mentally unstable, Mr. Stiles. People can’t turn into birds,” I say with a chuckle. “I don’t know where you got the idea I could turn into one from. It’s funny, really.”
He stops coming towards me. “You can turn into a bird. Don’t lie to me. I heard them talking about it. How you flew out and saved a plane full of people.”
I laugh. “You must be a lot crazier than I thought you were if you believe that.”
He begins to move forward again as I back away from him, staying as far from him as possible. “You’re trying to distract me from my purpose, Mrs. Fontaine. It doesn’t matter if you’re a bird or not. I just want to see your skin turned red after I slap you over and over again, all over your body. I want to watch your blood drip down from your mouth after I bite your lip,” he tells me, trying to get into my head to make me break down.
I’ve felt so weak and insecure for the last month. When I first transformed, I felt different, so full of power. Kyle left and I lost that confidence.
I’ve been so worried about my damn feelings for him and how to make my life work, loving both Eden and Kyle, it’s taken something from me. Yet as I listen to this man talk, I’m getting it all back.
This monster who stands before me means to hurt me, kill me even. He’s hurt his daughter, a soul that was entrusted to him. Our Creator is with me and will help me to take this creature away so he can do no more harm.
With a newly-found strength, I smile at the filthy, immoral, and corrupt being who holds the needle poised to pierce my skin and take me from this world.
“Well, you really have talked quite enough, Mr. Stiles. I can see you believe you’re going to drug me, then beat and rape me. But you aren’t.” I wink at him as I lace my fingers together and push them from me to loosen the joints. “You are fixing to get the beating of your life and when you wake up in the nut house, you can tell everybody it was a useless girl who kicked your ass.” I let him know, just before I run at him.
I hit him square in the chest as hard as I can. He flies back through the air until he hits the cement wall. The wall was quite a ways behind him and the thud his body makes as it connects is loud.
Wow! That was a pretty great shove if I do say so myself!
I hear a gut-wrenching smack as his head hits the wall. I almost feel badly about causing him so much pain. Then I remember what he’s done to his daughter and that feeling goes away.
“I hope you enjoyed your flight,” I tell him.
I walk toward the door to unlock it. Amazingly, he starts to come at me again, trying to stop me from getting to the door. I don’t stop my progression until he’s about three feet away from me. He reaches out to punch the needle into me. I take a quick jump and kick him in the chin with my foot, splitting it open and making him fall back as he clutches at it.
“Save yourself the pain, Stiles. Stop trying to hurt me. Our agents will take you to a nice place to live under sedation for the rest of your life. It’s much more compassion than you’ve ever shown anyone in your life,” I say.
I move towards the door again, only to find he’s regained his footing and is still coming towards me. I look at the sink I’m standing by. A bar of soap rest on the side of it. I pick it up and hurl it at his forehead. It strikes him, but it only seems to make him mad, not hurt.
His voice is a growl as he says, “Fucking bitch. This is going to feel so good when I take you down!”
He’s on me before I know it. He has me pushed up against the cold cement wall with my back to him. Pushing his body up against mine, he presses me up against the wall. I feel his hot breath on my neck. The smell of cigarettes and whisky almost choke me. I close my eyes and throw my head back as hard as I can.
I hear the thud of my skull hitting his. The pressure is off me as he falls back, stumbling and falling across the room, away from me. I take the chance to get out.
The walk to the door isn’t that far and I begin to remove the small iron bar he used to lock it. The door opens and my Eden’s face is right there.
My, he’s a handsome and welcome sight!
He grabs me, then I feel a pain in my shoulder. Almost immediately, I feel cold rush through my entire body and start to feel like I’m falling asleep. Eden picks me up. I hear him yelling, “You son of a bitch, what did you give her?”
I hear Stiles say, “A lethal dose of morphine. Say goodbye to your little birdie.”
Kyle’s voice fills me ears. “You piece of shit,” he yells, just before I hear a smacking sound. “There you go, guys. You can carry his ass out of here now.”
Then everything goes black.
CHAPTER 54
EDEN
My mate lies nearly lifeless in my arms. Her heartbeats come slower and slower, her breaths shallow with long lapses between them. I wasn’t fast enough to stop this.
We follow one of our protectors who works at the zoo to an empty stable once used for giraffes. Kyle runs by my side, holding Alyssa’s hand in his.
He looks almost as bad as I do.
My father and Alyssa’s follow close behind. The agents have taken the asshole, Stiles, away. We’ll never be seeing him again, thank The Creator. Large doors open and I take my mate inside the dark area.
Placing her body on the ground, I look around at those who surround us. “I have to get her to transform. That’s the only way her body can beat the amount of morphine he put into her.”
Kyle steps back and says, “Do it.”
I wish it was that easy!
“I don’t know how to change her. I can only change myself,” I say. “You and I both have telepathy with her. We must use it to try to get her to picture herself as the bird. I don’t know about you, Kyle, but I can’t see a thing moving in her mind.”
Kyle frowns as he looks down at her. Kneeling beside her, he places his hand on her forehead. He looks at me and I kneel of the other side of her. I place my hand on top of her head.
Nothing!
“Maybe her heart will feel us,” I say and place my hand over half her heart, leaving room for Kyle’s.
His hand touches mine as we hold them to her chest. Light thumps pulse beneath my hand. “I saw a flash, Eden,” Kyle says.
I nod. “I saw it. The clothes are constricting her. They have to come off.”
I turn back to look at my father and hers. “You may want to turn away. We have to remove her clothes.”
Her father, David, raises his eyebrows. “You sure about that, son?”
I nod and turn back. Kyle removes her shoes as I unbutton her blouse. I press my forehead to hers, trying to send her pictures of herself as the bird. Pushing the shirt off her shoulders, I turn her to take it all the way off. Kyle steadies her as I pull at it, then unfasten her bra.
She’s going to be so embarrassed!
“Just hurry, Eden. I’m not scoping her out or anything. Let’s just get this done and her transformed,” Kyle says as he quickly unbuttons her shorts, which I pull off her.
I look up at him. My wife is lying on the ground, bare chested. Nothing is left on her but a small pair of lacy black panties. “I beg you not to look below her waist once I remove these,” I say to him.
His hand clasps my shoulder. “You have my word.”
I pull them off and stand up. Kyle holds her head up, cradling it in his lap. “Maybe you should change, Eden. Maybe you can get to her mind in that state. I’ll work on this end and you on that,” he says.
It might work!
“Cover your ears,” I tell them all.
I picture myself as the bird and suddenly I’m seeing things differently. I open my mouth and a loud shriek comes out. Fluttering my wings, I push air past my mate as I call to her with my mind.
Please let this work!
CHAPTER 55
ALYSSA
I feel wind blowing in my face. The beating of wings fills my ears. My eyes open to see Eden in front of me, but he’s in his bird form. His emerald eyes
look at me.
“What happened to me?” I ask, but all I hear is a shallow shrieking sound.
I must be in bird form too. I move my arm and feel the wind ruffling my feathers. I stand up but feel a little wobbly. Eden walks around me. I keep my eyes on him and then I see Kyle standing next to me. I look right at Kyle, who’s smiling like crazy at me.
Eden moves out the large doors which lets in the only light into this dark thing we’re in. He sends thoughts to me, telling me to follow him. Then he shoots up into the sky, shrieking at me as his mind says, ‘Follow me.’
I stumble out of the barn thing, the light in the sky nearly blinding me. Moving my arms up and down, my feet lift off the ground and I’m in the air.
The wind on my face helps me to wake up. I feel groggy, but every flap of my wings seems to clear my brain a little more. Eden leads me very high up into the evening sky.
The sun is beginning to set over Lake Pontchartrain as we fly over it. The colors are so brilliant.
The mansion comes into view. I suppose we’re going there as Eden begins to fly lower and lower until our feet hit the ground.
I’m surprised to see we’re both birds still. I take a few steps, then I see Eden looking at me. He blinks his eyes a couple of times, then I hear his voice in my head, ‘How do you feel?’
‘I think I’m okay,’ I send back.
He sends, ‘Picture yourself in human form and you’ll turn back.’
I close my eyes and try to see myself as a human again. I feel a change. I can feel the breeze on my skin. I open my eyes slowly to find my husband standing in front of me. I’m engulfed in his embrace right away.
“Thank God, Alyssa. It worked. I was so afraid. I love you. I love you so much. I’m so sorry this happened to you,” he gushes.
“I’m okay, Eden,” I tell him as I laugh a little.
As he pulls his body away from mine I notice the breeze on my skin. My entire skin. Looking down at myself, my mind goes blank. “Why am I naked?”
Instead of answering me, he laughs. “How do you feel, really, Alyssa?”
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