Charity Moon

by Deanna Kinney

  Hector plowed with dangerous force down the long hallway. When he came to the door, he kicked it in with his foot, barging in and stopping in the middle of the room.

  I heard something crash to the floor. “Charity?” Levi’s pained voice asked from across the room.

  My heart pounded wildly in my chest at the lovely sound. I turned my head slowly, my eyes scanning the room in desperation until they finally focused in on him. “Levi?” My voice was so weak a normal man wouldn’t have heard me. I reached for him. He ran to me and gently lifted me from Hector’s arms, drawing me into a tight embrace at the same time collapsing to his knees. We cried so hard both of our bodies convulsed. The way he held me alone was healing, with such strength and assurance. I felt like, if I survived, nothing would ever harm me again.

  “Her time’s up, Levi,” Hector warned him.

  He leaned back to look at me, tears still streaming down his tired face. He studied me for a moment, taking my hand in his and turning it over. He stiffened, his expression shifting to desperation. He jumped to his feet and carried me swiftly from the room. He held me up against him like you would a sick child, and within seconds he was laying me down gently onto a table.

  “I want you to fix her, Doc, whatever it takes! I want you to fix her!”

  “Of course, I need to examine her. I think you had better wait outside.”

  “No, I’m not leaving her!”

  “Very well. Charity, I have to ask you a few questions, and I need you to answer them honestly, okay.”

  I nodded weakly.

  “Did this vampire bite you?”

  “No.”

  “Was he intimate with you?”

  “No. He tried, but I became so emotional that he took pity on me.”

  I was aware of Levi’s hand balling into a fist. He was angry. I guess I didn’t blame him. He didn’t like the idea of the vampire touching me.

  “Did he treat you poorly at all?”

  “No. He was very kind for the most part. His brother, Griffin, tried to kill me, but Raven protected me from him.”

  Levi became so angry he stormed across the room, knocking over a table and was starting to shift when my body began to convulse.

  “She’s going into convulsions! Levi! Levi!” Doc yelled, grabbing him by the arms. “Pull it together, she needs you strong, or she won’t make it! Now go get Nancy! I need her right away! Go!”

  Levi looked at me, and then came back to his senses, bolting from the room.

  I felt Doc stick a needle in my arm and soon my body began to calm. Levi returned with Nancy, one of the nurses.

  “Levi,” I called weakly as I began to fade. I vaguely recall him grabbing my hand before everything faded into darkness.

  I remember waking to a conversation between Levi and Doc, “I don’t understand Doc, why was Charity the one to get sick and not me? I should be dead by now.”

  “Well, for one thing, you knew she was alive and your determination to find her kept you strong. In the meantime, Charity didn’t know that, and she most likely just lost hope. But the good news is that now that she’s in your presence again, her heart is healing, but very slowly.”

  “I’ll do anything to make her well again.”

  “The closer you are to her the faster she’ll heal.”

  “And how do you know all this, Doc?”

  “You’re not the only one who’s ever had a heart connection severed and needed to reconnect it. We have history books you know.”

  “Levi,” I called weakly, reaching for him.

  “Charity,” he responded, covering my face with gentle kisses.

  “Levi—take me to our room so we can be alone. I’ve missed you so much.”

  He looked into my eyes for a moment. I’m not sure what he saw, but he picked me up carefully and carried me from the room.

  “Are you sure about this?” he asked, laying me down gently on our bed.

  “I can’t imagine being more sure about anything else. I’m already feeling stronger. Are you okay with this?”

  “Charity, I love you. I’m always okay with this, and I missed you so much. I’m not whole without you. You have to know that I would’ve found you.”

  “I know that now, but as far as I knew, you were sick and very far away. Raven said he was going to keep moving me around so you would never find me, but the truth is, if I hadn’t gotten sick, Raven wouldn’t have brought me back to you, so I can’t regret it.”

  “Wait. What did you say? Raven brought you back?”

  “Yes. He handed me over to Hector.”

  “Good. He’s dead then.”

  “No, he’s not dead. I ordered the werewolves to let him go.”

  “You did what?!” he snapped, his eyes glowing in anger.

  “Levi, he brought me back despite the risk to himself, and he agreed the war was over. He told Hector that.”

  “And you believed him?” He was definitely angry.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Charity, do you have feelings for this vampire? Because it’s obvious he’s in love with you. Maybe his touch left a lasting impression,” he bit.

  “How dare you say that to me! You have no idea what it was like for me! I almost died! And yet I can’t hate him because he brought me back to you!”

  I rose up on the bed as Levi paced angrily about the room. Then, without warning, he stomped out, slamming the door loudly behind him.

  “Levi!” I screamed. I began to cry, and as I tried to stand, I collapsed to the floor. I began dragging myself across the room toward the door.

  At that moment, Levi re-entered the room, rushing to my side. He picked me up and took me back to the bed. “Baby, I’m so sorry.” He kissed me over and over.

  “Please don’t leave me.” I begged, pressing myself tightly against him.

  “No, baby, I’m not going anywhere. I can’t be without you. Please forgive me for getting angry. I just hate the thought of him anywhere near you and the thought that he’s still out there somewhere. I’m so sorry.”

  “Oh, Levi, I missed you so much. I need you.”

  He kissed me eagerly, passionately. I could feel my heart growing stronger as he pressed his warm form against mine, his hands tracing down my arms, memorizing the feel of my skin. With every breath I felt against my neck, every brush of his lips against mine, every time he whispered my name, I was getting stronger. And when his right palm finally found my left, our connection symbols touched, sending shock waves straight through to my heart. When at last our union was complete, our bonding re-established, our hearts reconnected. Everything was once again as it should be, and our hearts were beating stronger than ever—not as two, but as one, just as God intended it.

  I thought back to a time when there were few I felt I could trust, especially with my heart. But now not only did I trust my heart to one, but my life to many.

  I didn’t know what would happen next. I didn’t know if I would ever see the vampire again. I didn’t know if the war was really over, or if I were still in any sort of danger, but in that moment nothing else mattered, only the moment—the man—the love.

  As I lay there in the afterglow of our reunion, healed and happy, the thought occurred to me, the one thing that would complete my happiness would be a hot bubble bath in my favorite raspberry scented bubbles. With that thought, I moved slowly to get up, careful not to wake him, when his hand instinctively reached out for me.

  “Where do you think you’re going, kitten?” he whispered.

  I smiled. “Nowhere, puppy—nowhere.” And as I inched my way back into the warmth and security of his embrace, I thought, oh well—maybe in the morning.

  Acknowledgments

  First, I want to thank God, because without Him what’s the point.

  I especially want to thank my husband and children for their unwavering support and patience as I spent countless hours writing and, at times, ignoring them completely.

  Thanks also to my mom. Without her uncond
itional love and continual encouragement, I would never have been able to complete the first chapter, much less twenty-nine. Thank you, Mom, for passing onto me your gift of creativity. It’s been one of the many blessings in my life.

  Thank you to my editor and friend Dayna Hamilton who, like me, got in touch with her inner teenager and helped me keep it real, making the process a lot more enjoyable.

  A special shout out to Kayla, Whitney, and Aaron, my teenage guinea pigs, for encouraging me with your insatiable belief in the potential of my work. The sparkle in your eyes is what gave me the strength to keep going.

  Lastly, thank you UR Published for being the vessel God used in helping my dream to become a reality.

  Oh, and to the Frisbees, you guys rock!

  And Allie H. is really an angel.

  About the Author

  DeAnna Marie Kinney, in addition to writing, loves the color purple, decorating on a budget, Star Wars, and dancing while she cooks. She believes whole-heartedly that chocolates and a good book go hand in hand. Charity Moon is her debut novel, and she is currently hard at work on her next project, including the sequel. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children. Visit Charity Moon on Facebook!!!