Charity Moon

by Deanna Kinney

  “Stop!” A growl came from deep within his chest, while at the same time his eyes turned a frightening color of yellow. He was trying to suppress the beast within him, but he was losing. I gasped as he began to shift right before my eyes. I froze in horror as his face grew and fangs shot out from his mouth. He shook his head from side to side, making painful growling sounds. It was a scene straight from a horror film and one I was instantly sorry I’d ever watched.

  I screamed, stumbling backwards and falling. I scrambled to my feet and bolted through the forest, running as fast as my shaky legs would take me, dodging every obstacle in my path. Then, out of nowhere, the werewolf jumped in front of me, cutting off my escape. I screamed again and stumbled backwards, tears streaming down my cheeks. He came closer, growling at me! I shook with terror!

  “Levi! It’s me, Charity!” But he kept coming! “Levi, please!” I screamed, raising my hands to cover my face. Then he stopped, cocking his head to the side and closing his eyes. After a few torturing seconds, he began to shift back into his human form. I let out a deep sigh of relief but began to hyperventilate.

  Once his transformation was complete, he rushed to me, anguish on his flushed face. “Charity, I’m so sorry. Charity!”

  I was vaguely aware of his arms catching me before I hit the forest floor.

  When I woke, I was lying on the bed in the white room. I looked over to see Levi pacing nervously about the room and moaned as I pushed myself to a sitting position.

  “Charity!” Levi called, rushing to my side. “I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!” His voice was pleading.

  “I don’t really want to talk to you right now.”

  “I blew it, didn’t I? You don’t ever want to see me again now, do you?” His expression was full of such pain—it broke my heart.

  “Stop it, Levi, okay? Just stop. You scared the pig’s snot out of me, that’s all.” Without warning I began to cry. Again I was allowing myself to be vulnerable, and I didn’t like it one bit.

  “Oh, Charity, I’m so sorry.” He took me in his arms. “I’ll never do that again. I’ll learn to control it, I promise you.”

  I pushed him away. “I pride myself on being tough and now you’ve turned me into a crybaby.” I quickly wiped at my tears.

  “No, you’re still tough. Most people would’ve died of a heart attack after witnessing that.”

  I laughed through my tears. “Well, I almost did.”

  “For the record, never run from a werewolf. It’s in our nature to chase.”

  I gave him an incredulous look. “Gee, I’ll try to keep that in mind the next time I’m threatened by one.”

  He took my hand in his. “I’m really sorry. I don’t like arguing with you. I guess when you said you would kill yourself that’s what pushed me over the edge. Please promise me you’ll never do that, ever.”

  “I promise. I didn’t mean it. I would never do that. It was my anger talking. I’m sorry.”

  He put his arms around me and pulled me into an embrace. “I love you,” he whispered softly into my ear, and I felt his lips kiss my hair.

  I smiled, pulling myself closer to him and closed my eyes. “I love you too.”

  Chapter Ten

  At least thirty or more pack members, including little ones, had gathered in the huge meeting room. It looked more like a small auditorium, with a stage and chairs lined up facing it. Levi had asked me to sit in the front row with his parents, Joseph and Irena, and Ashley on my other side. He was going to make our announcement and wasn’t sure of the reactions we would get.

  He walked onto the low stage and turned to face us, looking so incredibly handsome it made my eyes water. It was overwhelming to know he loved me. He could have any woman he wanted but chose a stubborn, smart-mouthed, quick-tempered, and untrusting girl such as myself, poor guy. A good ole pinch to my forearm was all it took to remind me that it was real and not a figment of my imagination. But, as I looked around the room at all the strange faces before me, a question came to my mind. What if they reject me? What if they make him marry someone else? What will I do? No sooner had the thoughts appeared when Levi began his speech.

  “I have gathered you all here to make an announcement.” Everyone stirred in their seats with anticipation. Did they know what he was about to say, I wondered?

  “As you all know, it’s a rule that an alpha male can only wed another pack member for the sole purpose of keeping the bloodline pure. However, I am here to dispute this. It is my strong belief that the alpha gene passes to the male children regardless of the species of the mate. I have witnessed it again and again through observing you. Some of you have wed humans and still your males are werewolves. Since the alpha gene is stronger, it stands to reason that this would also be true. And since some of you have wed humans, if I picked your daughter to wed, would she not then be considered as impure? With this in mind, I plead with you my fellow pack members, for the sake of your alpha’s happiness, for your support as I break a rule and, therefore, change it, by taking Charity Bell, a human, and the woman I love, as my bride.”

  I winced waiting for the opposing arguments, but none came, only silence, which in some ways felt worse. But then someone began clapping, then another, and another, until the room was rocking with thunderous applause. Levi looked at me, a huge smile stretching across his face. Instantly, my worries were gone. He motioned for me to stand with him and, when I did, the applause grew louder. I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing. Here I was, nervous and squirming in my seat, expecting them to deny us of a union, but everyone just seemed to want their alpha to be happy. It warmed my heart to see the love and felicity in that room. Everyone genuinely seemed happy for us. In that moment, one thing I was certain of was that, over time, I would come to love each and every one of them.

  “Well, that went better than I expected,” Levi said to me as everyone began to disperse.

  “I have to admit, I’m a little overwhelmed by their response, although I have my suspicions that Ashley was the one who started the clapping.”

  “I wondered about that myself.”

  “I’m so happy for you two,” Irena said, hugging us both in one large embrace.

  “Good choice, son. I have no doubt this young lady will make you a good wife,” Joseph said, shaking his son’s hand.

  “Thank you, Joseph. That means a lot,” I said, smiling up at him.

  “Oh, call me Dad,” he insisted, pulling me into an embrace.

  “We’re glad to have you join our family. So, how soon can we plan this wedding?” Irena asked, excitement in her voice.

  “Well, Mom, Charity’s having a little trouble with rushing the wedding before graduation.”

  “I understand dear,” she said to me, taking my hand in hers, “but that’s weeks away yet. I don’t think we can wait that long. If we didn’t have Wesley to consider then perhaps, but if he gets his hands on you—”

  “Yes, Mom, we know.”

  I cringed at the thought. “Okay, I get it. I’m in danger. What do you all suggest?”

  “Well,” Levi started, “I think we should plan the wedding as soon as we can.” I started to protest, but he interrupted me. “We wed, but in secret, with only the pack and Ashley present. Then you can continue to live at home until after graduation. Then you and Ashley can get an apartment together and take your nursing classes at Windrake Community College like you planned. But in truth, you’ll be living here with me, for the most part. Once an acceptable amount of time has passed then we’ll marry for the rest of the community.”

  “You’ve really thought this through, huh? Actually, that doesn’t sound like such a bad plan, but what if I get pregnant?”

  “Well, then we’ll have a perfect excuse to wed for the public, and we can stop pretending.”

  “Yeah, except everyone will think we’ve been having sex before marriage. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve had to work to remain pure? I’m not gonna have anyone think that about me.”

&
nbsp; “Well, we’ll know the truth, and that’s all that matters, right?”

  “No, that’s not all that matters. All a girl’s got is her reputation.”

  “I’m sorry baby, I know this is hard, but what else can we do? I really don’t see any other way. We’ll be careful so that you don’t get pregnant until at least after graduation. Does that help?”

  I smiled slightly. “Yeah, a little.”

  “Okay then, it’s settled,” Irena piped in. “I’ll find Ashley and we’ll get started on the planning.” Before I could protest any further she danced away.

  “Oh great, she’s just as perky as Ashley,” I murmured under my breath.

  “I heard that,” Levi said, looking at me incredulously.

  “Sorry.” I shrugged. “Levi, after we’re married, will I be safe from Wesley?”

  “Yes. After I mark you, he’ll have to leave you alone.”

  “Gee, you make it sound so romantic. Why don’t you just pee on me instead?” I scowled.

  Joseph laughed.

  “I’m sorry, Charity, I didn’t mean it like that, besides, we only pee on trees.” He smirked.

  “Everyone’s a comedian. You know, if I’m going to risk my reputation to save your pack, you better rock my world wolf man.”

  “Yes ma’am.” He flashed me his brilliant smile, and oh those dimples.

  “I’m not listening,” Joseph said, covering his ears.

  Levi grabbed my hand and led me back down the hall and into my bedroom.

  “Why are we back here? Ash and I should probably be getting home. We’ve been gone all day.”

  “Yes, well I was thinking about this rocking your world thing, and maybe we should start early. You know, that way you won’t be in danger from Wesley.”

  I laughed. “Nice try, but you’re not doing any rockin’ until after we say ‘I do’. Got it? It’s just that my dad raised me to believe that it would be worth it to save myself for my wedding night, not that I ever really thought I’d have a wedding night. And on top of that I’ve never trusted anyone enough to let them get that close. Does waiting sound stupid to you?”

  “Of course not. I respect that—a lot actually.”

  “Thanks, Levi. I know when an alpha finds his female it’s in his nature to want to mate with her, but thank you for waiting until after the wedding. You’re fighting against your own nature for me, and well, it means a lot to me.”

  “It’s not just for you, Charity. I want us to do this right. I want to make you happy. No, it’s definitely not easy, but I think I can hang with it—for a little while.” He smirked.

  “Good. Um, we were speaking of Wesley earlier and I was wondering, has anyone ever taken a woman after she’s been marked?”

  “Most pack members take our rules very seriously, but it has happened.”

  “And what would happen if Wesley tried something after we’re married?”

  He stared at me with great intensity and said the words slowly, “I will kill him.” A shiver went down my spine, and I knew he meant it.

  We were making our way through the facility when we spotted a skinny, old man with gray hair walking down the hallway, talking oddly.

  “Who’s that?” Ashley asked.

  “Oh, that’s Mr. Bones,” Josh answered. “He walks up and down these halls every day, quoting scripture. He’s done it for years. He’s a good man though—nothing to worry about.”

  Ashley and I exchanged looks and shrugged.

  “This is our parking garage,” Levi said as he and Josh escorted us in. “Ashley’s car is on the other end.”

  They had told us about the garage, but it was the first time we’d seen it. When we arrived, instead of entering through the garage they stopped the cars on the path and walked us through the forest so we could enter the facility through the tree. Levi knew I liked that tree. I especially liked the swooshing sound the door made. Levi and Josh watched in amusement as Ashley and I stepped through it repeatedly. I gave it the nickname, Godzilla, ‘cause the tree actually looked like Godzilla. What did the pack do about naming things before I came along anyway?

  But none of our discussions could’ve prepared us for what we saw as we stepped inside the garage. Ashley and I looked at each other in utter amazement as we took in the view. It was a massive garage with possibly as many as twenty cars in it. And it was all underground. Levi showed us the mega-filtration system that filtered out the carbon monoxide and brought fresh air into the facility. I’ve never seen anything like it. I have to admit, it was quite impressive.

  “Wow, this is incredible, Levi. I guess this means you trust us now?”

  “Absolutely. No more blindfolds for you.”

  “But how do you get the cars out?”

  “He walked over to the far wall and stopped in front of a panel loaded with buttons and levers. He pointed to a black button. “Do you see this button here? Well, when we hit it the forest floor drops down like a ramp, allowing us to drive out, and once we’re out the ramp closes back again. We also have buttons installed under our visors in our cars so we can get in and out. I’ll have them installed in both of your cars as well.”

  “You’re kidding.” Ashley and I looked at each other again trying to comprehend it all.

  “How do you know no one’s out there when you ride out?” Ashley asked.

  “Well, this is private property so there shouldn’t be, but just in case look there.” He pointed to a wall full of cameras showing every angle of the immediate forest.

  “That’s got to be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” Ashley said, wide-eyed.

  “Levi,” I whispered, “I have a few more questions to ask you.”

  “I thought you might. Come.” He took my hand and led me through the garage, ahead of the others.

  “Well, I was wondering—how did your grandfather die?”

  He stopped and turned to me, his expression amused. “Are you sure you want to know?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Okay—he was killed by a vampire.”

  Suddenly I started coughing as I choked on my own saliva. “What!” I peered up at him in shock. “Vampires! Are you kidding me?”

  “No I’m not. After what you’ve seen recently, is it so hard to believe that vampires exist? What else would we protect you from?”

  All I could do was looked at him, my mouth gaping open.

  “Ten years ago a coven of vampires attacked us. We joined forces with the east pack and destroyed them all, but not before my grandfather’s throat had been ripped out.”

  “I’m sorry, Levi. What happened to your grandmother?”

  “She became the second wife of the alpha of the east pack, Wesley’s grandfather.”

  “Was it her choice?”

  “No.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “She died a month later of a broken heart.”

  “I’m so sorry. Couldn’t she have left?”

  “Yes, but she would’ve had to leave everything and everyone she’s ever loved, including my father, Tara, and me. To her there was no choice.”

  After a brief pause, I added, “Can I ask you something else?”

  “Sure.”

  “After we’re married, if you die, what will happen to me?”

  He was silent for a minute before answering, and then reluctantly said, “You’ll become Wesley’s wife.”

  “What! And if I refuse?”

  “Normally, there is no refusing. If I had a brother you would become his wife, but I don’t.”

  I contemplated that for a moment. “But can’t I just walk away?”

  “That depends upon whether or not we have children. If we do then the alpha’s children have to be raised in the pack under the rule of an alpha male. If you were married to any other werewolf then you would be free to do as you please upon your husband’s death. But the rules are different for the alpha bloodline. We’re crucial to the survival of our pack. If you could leave our children to be raised by
another then you could leave, but I know that would never be an option for you.”

  “You’re right. I could never leave our children behind.”

  “I’m sorry, Charity.”

  “And if Wesley has a wife and he dies?”

  “He has no brothers either so she would become my wife.”

  I felt like I was going to vomit. “Does that mean you’ll have to be intimate with her?” I asked, horrified at the thought.

  He was cautious as he answered. “Not necessarily. It really depends.”