“It depends on what, Levi?” I asked through gritted teeth while refraining from punching him in the snout.
“If you and I have a healthy son. If not, I have to pass on the alpha gene to a son.”
“And if I can’t have a son?”
“Then the pack would demand that I take another wife. I’m so sorry, Charity, I know this is hard to hear, but our society is not like yours. This is the way of the pack. Our pack has to survive.”
“I’m sorry too, but I don’t think I can live with that. I won’t share you with anyone, and I’m afraid if that’s the case then I can’t marry you. Come on, Ashley, let’s go.”
“Wait, Charity—do you love me?” he asked, his tone desperate.
“Yes, but—”
“If you love me then everything else will work out. We don’t have to worry about all this stuff right now. Just say you’ll marry me, please.”
“Levi, I don’t know. It’s just so much to think about. You’re asking me to do things for a pack I don’t even know.”
“No! Forget about the pack! I’m asking you to marry me because I love you!”
“I need some time to think about all this. It’s so overwhelming.”
“I know, Charity, but please.”
“Don’t worry, Levi,” Ashley interrupted, “I’ll talk to her. She’ll still marry you.”
Levi smiled at her as we got into the car, but didn’t look convinced. “I’ll see you Monday, Charity,” he called to me as we drove up the ramp. Once we were out, the ramp closed back and disappeared. Cool!
I struggled with all of my emotions on the way home. Ashley understood, but in the end said I needed to follow my heart. Some help she was. She wasn’t faced with the decision I was. But somehow I felt like, if it were her, she’d have no problem making her choice. Things were always so clear to her—black and white. For me—well I complicate things—always have.
Chapter Eleven
When I got home, I took a long, steaming bubble bath and recounted all the details of my conversation with Levi. When I emerged, some forty-five minutes later, my whole body one giant prune, I wrapped a towel around myself and stepped into my room, squealing to the moon at the sight of Levi sitting on my bed.
“Geez, Levi! You almost gave me a heart attack!”
“I think if I were gonna give you a heart attack you would’ve had it by now.”
“Good point. What are you doing here? Didn’t I just leave you?”
“Well, I needed to tell you that someone will be watching over you tonight. So if you hear some howling or growling, don’t be alarmed, they’re with me. Soon, Wesley will hear about the wedding, so we’re on extra high alert. Also, Doc wanted me to make sure your bandage was being changed regularly, and since you just showered—now’s a good time to check it.”
“And you thought I would just drop my towel and let you wrap my bandage, huh?”
“No, I didn’t think it—but I hoped it.” His smile grew wide.
“Not gonna happen wolf man.”
He sighed. “Do you have to call me that?”
“Does it annoy you?”
“Yes.”
“Then yes.”
“I can think of another name you can call me,” he smirked as he stood, taking the few steps that put him directly in front of me.
“Oh yeah, and what’s that?”
“Lover.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his lips eagerly to mine, parting them and ushering the kiss deeper.
“I’ll tell you what,” I said, pulling away before I lost all control and looking up into his magnificent eyes. “I’ll let you wrap my bandage because Ashley’s not here, but you’re going to do it with me fully dressed.”
He made a frown in mock disappointment.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back.” I grabbed some things from my dresser, snatched up my jeans from the chair, and headed into the bathroom.
When I came out I was fully dressed. I walked over to him and lifted my shirt up slightly, exposing my still bruised ribcage. “Okay, I’m ready.”
He knelt down on the floor so he could reach me better. “I’m so sorry, Charity.”
I peered down at him curiously. “For what?”
“This must be very hard for you. You’re not just getting me, you’re getting a lot of things you didn’t ask for, including this injury. I’ll try to be more sensitive about it. I know I can be a jerk sometimes.”
“Thanks for saying that. I was thinking it, but I didn’t want to say it. Okay so I did say it, just not to you.”
He laughed as he meticulously wrapped the bandage around and around, trying to avoid his fingers from touching my skin. Occasionally his skin would graze mine, leaving a trail of tingling in its place. He looked up and met my gaze, desire in his eyes.
“Are you trying to drive me crazy?” I murmured.
“No, I’m not trying.” He smirked. “All done.”
“Good, come here!” I grabbed his shirt, pulling him off the floor and up to my lips. We kissed feverishly and fell onto the bed, bounced, and slammed to the floor, his arms holding me so carefully I never felt the jolt.
“Charity!” my mom called from the hall.
I jerked up. “Yes ma’am?!”
“Are you all right? What was that noise?”
“I’m fine! I just fell off the bed!” I pulled Levi up and shoved him toward the window.
“I love it when you’re forceful,” he teased, grabbing me.
“You fell off the bed? Why is your door locked?” she asked, jiggling the doorknob.
“Go! Go!” I whispered as I shoved him out the window.
He pulled me to him and kissed me. “Are you still marrying me?”
“What? Go!”
“Answer me and I will.”
“Charity, unlock this door!”
“Yes ma’am, I’m coming! Levi go.”
“Answer me.”
“Yes—I’m still marrying you—now go!” I demanded.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” I shut the window and watched him jump effortlessly from the roof. I smiled as I walked across my room and unlocked the door.
My mom opened the door, stepping in and looking around suspiciously. “Why was your door locked?”
“Mom, I always lock my door, you know, for privacy. You just very rarely come in here to notice.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged.
“I’m sorry, honey. I know I’ve been working a lot lately, and we haven’t had much time to spend together, but sales have been up, and I have to take advantage of it while I can.”
“I know, Mom. I understand. There’s no need to explain it to me.”
“Have you and Frank been getting along all right in my absence?”
“I don’t know. We don’t talk all that much.” Which was true.
“I’m sorry, Charity. I know you’re angry with me for falling in love with Frank so soon after your dad died, and I know you would’ve preferred me to marry someone else, but I didn’t mean for it to happen that way. It just did.”
“Don’t apologize, Mom. I know you love Frank. We can’t always help who we fall in love with.” Boy don’t I know that. “And I’m learning to let go of my anger. At least I’m trying to.”
“Well listen to you. Are you growing up on me?”
If you only knew. “Maybe a little.”
“Is there someone special in your life these days?”
“Actually,” I said, plopping down on my bed, “there is someone.”
“Really? Tell me all about him,” she said with excitement as she sat down on the bed beside me, taking my hand in hers.
“Well, his name is Levi, and he transferred from East Windrake High awhile back. He’s tall and strong—and gloriously gorgeous. We have two classes together, Calculus and Art. He’s very artistic, smart, funny, and I think he really likes me.” I was getting ex
cited just talking about him.
“Annabelle, are you in love?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Maybe one day this week you could meet him, but only if you promise not to call me that in front of him.”
“Honey, I would love that. You’ve never brought anyone home for me to meet before. He sounds amazing. He must be to transfer over without serious problems. I’m glad you’ve found someone. You spend too much time alone.”
“I’m glad I found him too.” Oh, but what I can’t tell you is I’m marrying him real soon. I might possibly have to share him, transfer my status as a wife to another man in my lifetime, and we have to start a family right away. Oh yeah, I forgot—and he’s a werewolf. I must be in love, that or I’m totally insane. I laughed in spite of myself. “Thanks, Mom.”
“For what?”
“For listening and acting interested. It’s nice.”
“Honey, I’m always interested in what’s going on in your life. I know I don’t show it sometimes, and I apologize for that. I’ll do better.” She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Supper will be ready soon. Oh, and I have a carton of Happy’s in the freezer for dessert.”
“I love you.”
“I thought you might.” She smiled and got up and left my room, giving me a quick last glance as she exited.
I woke up in a cold sweat, screaming and confused. I gasped and tried to slow my breathing as the memories of the nightmare became clear. It was the same one as before. Wesley was attacking me, and I instinctively ran my hands over my body, checking for wounds, relieved that there were none. I heard a howl outside of my window and instantly felt comforted, as crazy as that sounds. Though I’m not sure my neighbors felt the same.
“Charity! Are you all right?” my mom called to me through the door.
“Yes, I’m fine, just a bad dream. You can go back to bed.”
“Are you sure? Do you want me to stay with you for a while?”
“No, Mom, I’m fine really. Goodnight.”
I laid there for a long time thinking about all the information Levi had shared with me. It all seemed so crazy. I asked myself, was I really going to give up my freedom and be tied down to a husband, a pack, and possibly children at eighteen? If I didn’t, Levi would have to marry someone else. Could I live with that? I mean I’ve always wanted to be part of a big family. Okay, maybe not this big. And I wanted children someday, but could I handle it at this age? If I didn’t marry Levi then Wesley could force me to marry him. Geez, how do I get myself mixed up in such calamities? There was a chance that if I allowed Levi to marry someone else Wesley wouldn’t be interested in me anymore, and maybe I’d be safe from him. But in that choice Levi would be lost to me forever. And if I didn’t know anything else, I knew I was totally and desperately in love with Levi. And in that instant, I knew I had my answer.
Chapter Twelve
In the morning, I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I brushed my hair and then pulled it up into a tight ponytail. Afterwards, I heard Mom in the kitchen and the smell of bacon filtered upstairs and into my nostrils, so I headed down for some highly anticipated breakfast.
“Good morning, Charity.” She greeted me with a kiss to the cheek. “Oh, Levi called this morning. He sounds very nice.”
“He did? What did he say?” I tried to tone down my excitement, but she wasn’t buying it.
“He wants you to call him when you can.”
I looked at her with great anticipation.
She stared back at me for a moment then said, “Oh, go on.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I ran back upstairs as fast as my legs would take me. I picked up my cell phone from my nightstand and hit Levi on speed dial.
“Hello.”
My heart fluttered at the sound of his voice. “Good morning, puppy,” I said in a playful tone.
He laughed. “Good morning to you too. Are you all right?”
“Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”
“You had another nightmare last night.”
“How did you know about that?”
“Jared told me. He was watching over your house while you slept.”
“I’m fine. And thank him for me please.”
“Good, and I will. I was wondering, would you like to go out with me tonight? You know, on a date?”
“Sure, I’d love to.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up at six. Will that work for you?”
“Six is good. Oh, and just so you know I’m no longer on the fence.”
“On the fence? What do you mean?”
“I mean, I fell off the fence onto your side last night. It must’ve been all your amazing kissing that helped me make up my mind.”
“Charity, are you serious?”
“Yes I am.”
“Oh baby, you’ve made me so happy. I can’t wait to tell my parents. They really like you, you know.”
“Well, I like them too.”
“You’re going to be the best alpha female this pack has ever known.” His voice was elated.
“You really think so?”
“Absolutely. I love you, and I’ll see you tonight.”
Every time he said ‘I love you’ my heart squeezed. “I love you too.”
After I hung up, I called Ashley and asked her if she could come over later, wrap my bandage, and help me decide what to wear for my date.
It was three o’clock in the afternoon when I realized my emergency supply of lip balm was down to one tube. I didn’t have a lot of time to waste so I got in the car and headed to Westside Drug to replenish my supply.
When I got there I was bummed to see the peg empty. I was alarmed when Patsy, the Manager, informed me that a couple of young girls came in earlier in the week and bought them all. What did it mean? Would I have trouble getting my usual quantity?
“I’m sorry, Charity. Maybe everyone’s caught on to how good it is. I guess you can’t keep your secret forever. I’ve placed an order. It will be here next Thursday. I’ll be glad to hold your usual ten tubes.”
“Thanks, Patsy. That’ll be great. See ya next week.”
I was so disappointed when I left that I decided to take a chance and head over to the Eastside Marketplace to see if they had any. Something told me I should probably go on home, but I ignored it and went anyway. Take it from me, when in doubt, always listen to your inner voice.
The lady at the counter was very friendly and escorted me directly to what I was looking for. I sighed in relief as I recognized the labeling of my all-to-familiar product. They only had six tubes so I quickly snatched them up and headed to the checkout counter to pay.
“Find everything you needed?” the kind woman asked me as she scanned my items.
“Yes, thank you.”
“You don’t look familiar. Are you from out of town?”
“No. I live on the west side of town.”
“Oh,” she snapped. All of her kindness was gone as she glared at me like I was an alien from outer space.
“Does it really matter which side of town I was born on? I’m still a human being for cryin’ out loud.”
She continued to stare at me, handing my bagged items to me with more force than was necessary.
“Forget it. Some things just never change. Obviously you’ve never seen the movie, Remembering the Titans. You have a nice day ma’am.” I was sure to add as much sweetness to my tone as possible when all I really wanted to do was slap the crazy woman.
I couldn’t believe how unfriendly the woman became just because I was from the opposite side of town. I thought the silly rivalry was beginning to die down, but I guess it’s harder for the older folks. After all, it’s all they’ve ever known. To me it’s absolutely absurd that someone would dislike, even hate, someone just because of where they were born. It’s just like saying South Carolinians hate North Carolinians; we’re all Americans aren’t we? It’s so ridiculous. With much effort I decided not to let the woman’s idi
ocy ruin my evening. Nothing was going to keep me from enjoying my time with Levi—nothing.
Levi arrived promptly at six. My mom greeted him at the door with great enthusiasm. I could hear her over-dramatic tone as I finished my last minute touches in the mirror. It’s not fair really. I probably should’ve given her some warning as to how beautiful Levi is.
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