He was grinning, but she could see the strain the last couple of weeks had put him under. Dark circles ringed his eyes, and it looked like he might have lost some weight. She’d had to beg him to go running more than once, just so his wolf could get out for a while. “Thanks.” She began picking at the bandage again. The scar underneath was itching like a son of a bitch. “Can we get this off now?”
Grammy frowned and moved forward. “Does it hurt?”
“No, but the itching is driving me nuts.”
Grammy’s face blanked. “Itching?”
Uh-oh. That look on Grammy’s face never boded well. “Um, yes.”
Grammy took a deep breath. “Let’s take a look, shall we?”
Grammy reached for Lana’s hand, and the itch turned to a searing burn. “Ow!”
“What?”
“It burns!” Lana snatched her hand back, and the burn immediately diminished. “What the fuck?”
“Alannah!”
Lana grimaced. “Sorry, Grammy.”
“Let me.” Chris reached for her hand, and Lana let him take it, waiting for the burn.
It didn’t come. It still itched, but it didn’t burn. “It doesn’t hurt, but the itch is still there.” In fact, with Chris’s touch the itch had increased.
Grammy was looking worried. “Unwrap it, please.”
Chris pulled the bandage off carefully. “Holy shit.”
Grammy didn’t bother yelling at him for the curse. Everyone was too busy staring at Lana’s palm.
There, in the center of her palm, was the shadow of a wolf. “What the hell?” She’d known the outline of a wolf had been burned into her palm from the protection amulet, but that’s all it had been, an outline. Now the outline had been filled in, the black fur almost visible, the eyes a searing gold. And it itched worse than ever.
“I need to call Zach, find out if he has any idea what’s happening.” Chris reached for the phone and dialed a number. “Zach? Get back to me as soon as you get this, okay? Something odd is going on with Lana’s scar.”
“Grammy?”
“Hmm?” Grammy was studying the wolf, careful not to touch Lana’s hand. Lana stared at it as well.
Suddenly she knew who that wolf was. “I think Gareth is in trouble.”
“Why do you say that, sweetheart?” Chris returned to her side, his expression concerned.
She shrugged. “Instinct.”
Chris picked up the phone. “I’ll call him now.” He put it on speaker when Gareth answered. “Listen, Lana thinks you’re in trouble.”
“Um. I wouldn’t call it trouble, precisely.”
“What would you call it?”
“Having an ‘oh shit’ moment?”
Chris rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Gareth.”
“Maybe FUBAR would be a better description.”
Lana hobbled back to the bed. “Gareth?”
“Hey, Lana!” He sounded pleased to hear her voice. “How’d you know something was wrong?”
“You know the scar on my palm?”
“Yes,” Gareth drawled.
“It looks like you.”
Chris growled. Her wolf was getting all possessive again. “Really?”
She kicked him in the shin. Seriously, if she didn’t get him to calm down, he’d wind up peeing a circle around her or something. “Down, boy.”
Gareth coughed. “So your scar looks like me?”
She made a face. “Okay, maybe it doesn’t look exactly like you, but it feels like you.”
“Huh.”
“So, anything going on with you recently?”
Gareth sighed. “You could say that.”
“Gareth.”
“I just got a call from the court.”
Chris was frowning, but suddenly Lana knew. “Congratulations.”
“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” Gareth sounded outraged. “Me? King?”
Chris looked like someone had poked him in the ass with a stick. “What?”
“The council just called and told me the king had named me his heir. What the fuck is up with that?”
Chris started laughing.
“This is not funny. If it was Daniel, maybe. Zach, definitely. Me? Not. Funny.”
Chris just laughed harder.
“What kind of king would I make, anyway? The kind that sucks big fat hairy moose balls, that’s what kind.”
By now Chris was laughing so hard he wasn’t making a sound.
Lana tried to be supportive, but it was hard when she was holding back her own laugh. “I think you’ll make a great king.”
“No offense, babe, but you’ve never sat in on a wizard’s court before. Trust me. I’ll be craptastic at it.”
Lana waved her hand, forgetting that Gareth couldn’t see it. “It can’t be that bad. And don’t call me babe.”
There was silence for a moment. “Trust me. It will be bad.”
“Can you turn it down then?”
“Sure I can. And right after that I can declare myself the Emperor of Never-Never.”
“Once the king declares his heir, unless something happens to said heir, he’s kind of stuck with it.” Chris wiped his eyes and sighed. “Gareth is the future king whether he likes it or not.”
Lana nudged Chris with her elbow and smirked. “Your future king, wolfman.”
Chris groaned. “Aw, crap.”
“Y’know, you’re right. I will be Chris and Daniel’s boss, won’t I?” She could practically hear Gareth rubbing his hands together with glee.
“Oh now, wait a minute—”
Gareth rolled over Chris’s sudden objection. “This could have some unexpected perks.” She could practically hear Gareth rubbing his hands together. “Oh yeah, I can see some side benefits.”
Lana’s palm itched. “Gareth, be careful, okay? Now that you’ve been named I’m worried something might happen.”
“Your palm still itching?” All of the playfulness had left Gareth’s voice. Suddenly she was listening to the overprotective Gareth she’d first met. “Could there be any danger to you or the rest of the family?”
She felt her mouth open, but nothing came out. For some reason, the words you or the rest of the family brought home that she really was a part of the Becketts now in a way that hadn’t hit her before. “I think most of the danger is directed at you this time.”
“This time?”
Aw crap. The last time Gareth had sounded like that, she’d wound up kneeing him in the balls. “I’ll let you know if I think that’s going to change. For now, watch your back.”
“Will do. Thanks for the heads up.”
“You’re welcome. Your Highness.”
She giggled when he sighed. “Do me a favor. Make plans to head to New York for about a week. I’ll need some family around me when I go to the court.”
Chris answered for them both. “Will do, bro. Be careful.”
“I will. Bye.”
Chris hung up the phone. “Wow. King Gareth.”
The eyes of the wolf changed to blue. “Zach.”
“Zach?”
“The wolf’s eyes turned blue.” She held out her hand and showed him the mark.
“Aw crap.” Chris flopped onto the bed next to her. Chris’s jaw clenched. “Hell. Now what?”
“Now I’ll leave you two alone for a bit.” Grammy headed for the bedroom door. “I’ll try and find out where Zach is and make sure he’s all right.” She pointed to Lana. “You. Get some rest.” She pointed to Chris. “You. Make sure she rests.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Chris saluted, but it lacked some punch considering he was flat on his back.
Grammy left with a sigh, closing the door behind her.
“You think Zach is okay?”
Lana looked down at Chris. “It doesn’t have the urgency that Gareth’s itch did, so yeah, I think he’s okay for now.”
He relaxed into the bedding. “Thank the Lord. I’m not sure I can deal with any new surprises right now.”
<
br /> She lowered herself to lay down next to him, grateful that the movement was relatively pain free. “No more surprises. Gotcha.”
He took her hand into his, stroking her fingers. “With Gareth as heir, things are going to change.”
“For the Becketts, anyway.”
He turned his head and stared at her. “You’re part of this family now. That means things will change. I doubt Gareth will sit still for someone making comments about witches when his sister-in-law is one.”
“And his brother.” Although she was no longer certain that “witch” was the appropriate label for Zach.
“True.” He rolled over onto his side, resting his head on his palm. His other hand landed on her thigh and began rubbing in slow circles. “You know, Annabelle said you needed to rest.”
The building heat in his eyes had butterflies dancing in her stomach. “Yes she did.”
“And she said I should make sure you rested.”
His hand was beginning to creep up her leg. Her pussy clenched in anticipation of his touch. It had been so long since they’d made love. “Uh-huh.”
“Feeling tired?” He cupped her through her pajama pants, kneading her, stroking her, the thin cotton no real barrier between them.
“Not at all.” He stood up and maneuvered her so that her head was on the pillow, sliding her pajamas off until she was completely naked. “How did you know?”
He pulled his t-shirt over his head with a grin. “Instinct.”
Lana settled back against the pillow and watched her mate get undressed. She put her hands behind her head and smiled when her fingertips brushed the shadow of the wolf. And when the real thing crawled into bed, his golden eyes gleaming, she welcomed him with open arms.
The End
About the Author:
Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing, where freedom of expression was the order of the day. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year, she tried desperately to get away, but the nuns held fast, and she graduated with honors despite herself.
Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the US Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul-mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil ice-cream stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.
You can learn more about Dana at:
www.danamariebell.com
http://danamariebell.blogspot.com
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