Normally, the Demons carry knives and a weapon of their choice. That weapon varies. “They’re not pulling them out, just trying to use brute force.” The Clone takes a swing at me with his bare fist and misses as I quickly lean my upper body out of the way. “See?”
Gunner nods. “Why’s this important?”
Chase answers. “We thought they wanted to kill Rose.”
“Make this stop,” Miss Beverly begs, more to herself than to us. I want to tell her that I’m more connected to her daughter than she can begin to comprehend, but this information would give the Demon more information than I’m willing to share.
I might let him get close to her.
Chase is shocked. “What? Why?”
“Why what? What’s going on?” Gunner asks.
I don’t think he wants to hurt her.
“You willing to take that chance?” Chase balks.
“What chance? Wait, can you hear each other’s thoughts?” Gunner sounds dismayed.
Chase puts up a hand. “Hold on, Gunner. Ryd, I don’t think—”
“How’d you know my name?”
Chase gives him a quizzical glance.
Gunner nods. “Prophecy not a secret. Got it.”
“Chase, I have to know—we have to know,” I argue.
“Know what?” Gunner steps to Chase.
Chase ignores him and blows out air. “Damn, you’re right.” He takes a fighting stance, Okay, set it free.
Please let me be right.
I let my arms drop. The Demon slowly straightens from his fighting stance then slowly heads to my sleeping Rose, not letting me out of his view. Sam steps forward and growls a warning.
Gunner loses it. “What are you doing?”
Never taking my eyes off the Clone, I say, “Gunner, keep following your instincts, and trust me. Please back away from Rose.”
“Can’t.”
Chase tells Gunner, “Search yourself for our truth.”
After a pause, Gunner takes three steps away from Rose.
The Clone watches me carefully, only willing to put his back to Gunner by Rose’s bedroom door. I’m standing at a window to block an exit. Chase does the same at Rose’s other window. Sam is not as willing and snaps his teeth. “Sam, you’ve got to trust me too, my friend.” He snorts and slowly retreats to Miss Beverly.
Even though this Clone has got to know I’m not letting him escape with Rose, at her bed, he cautiously reaches out his arms for her. My growl can not be hidden, and the Clone freezes.
Chase tries to help, “Warrior. Now you have to trust yourself.”
My growl stops. The Demon proceeds. With much care, the Demon slides his arms under Rose as if she is precious and picks up her limp body.
More terrified than I’ve ever been, I hear my voice crack. “Chase, are you seeing this?”
He sounds grim. “Yes, brother.”
Gunner grits his teeth. “Make. It. Put. Her. Down.”
After staring at Rose in amazement, the Clone affectionately pulls her closer and cradles her. I’m stupefied. “He’s being gentle.” My stomach plummets.
“And why are we letting him?” Gunner wants to punch me; I’m sure of it.
“To learn,” Chase solemnly answers.
Gunner almost yells, “Learn what?”
I tell him my worst nightmare. “That they want her. Alive.”
“Brother, you’re illuminating. You good?”
The Demon looks at me then tilts his head. Chase reflects, He knows you’ve Tied with her, Ryder. You must kill him.
I nod and take a step forward. The Clone shakes his cloaked head, trying to keep her. A knot the size of a boulder is in my throat as I continue forward. I stretch out my arms for her. He shakes his head again and twists his upper body away from me. Gunner and Chase take a step forward. I calmly say to the Clone, “You know you’re not leaving with her.”
The Clone lays his cloaked face against hers as if wanting to have her near before saying goodbye. I begin to shake violently as he rocks her. “Give. Her. Back. To. Me.”
The Clone, with notable regret, hands sleeping Rose over to me. As I take her weight, the Clone jolts then slides to the floor.
Gunner stands there with a bloody knife and a haunted expression. Miss Beverly’s sniffle pulls Gunner from his dark place. He turns to her. “I’m so sorry. I-I had to do it.”
Miss Beverly lifts her chin, and her jaw locks, reminding me of Rose’s strength. “You are to always take care of Rosie. So you kill as many as needed. Kill them all if you must, Gunner Hayes.”
“Yes, Mama.” A promise has been made.
Parker reflects, They’re gone.
The battle has ended for the night. Of course it has. I gave them great intel. I pace with Rose in my arms, unable to stop.
Gunner, possibly still in shock over his first kill, numbly asks Chase, “Why does he drip florescent goo sometimes?”
Chase inhales deeply. “Because someone wants to kidnap his reason for existing.”
Blaze, Parker, Hunter, Chase, and Sage watch me pace with Rose. Sage has Miss Beverly sitting in a chair. She’s understandably shaken up. The kids are resting safely in their beds again. Sam licks every Warrior in greeting. The sun clears Demon bodies from Rose’s back and side yards.
“Should we discuss this later?” Parker asks.
“Please don’t.” Everyone looks at Miss Beverly. “Please. She may be your Prophecy, but she’s my daughter. I have a right to know.”
Parker nods and proceeds into leader mode. “Okay. First things first. Did Rose sleep like this the last time you bit her?”
I think of how I couldn’t be with her due to my injuries that night. “I wasn’t here.”
“She was impossible to wake. I called the doctor.” Gunner looks as ill as I feel. “W-Why does the fact that those whatever they are want to kidnap Rose instead of kill her upset you so much?”
Hunter speaks up. “If they get her from us, they will use her as a sacrifice or—” He glances at Miss Beverly. “It wouldn’t be pleasant. Understand?”
Gunner watches me pull Rose to my chest, needing this conversation to stop. His legs stumble as he staggers backward. “You’d rather her dead than in their hands.” He appears lightheaded as he takes the other chair.
“Yes, son, as ugly as it sounds, it would be the better alternative for Rose.”
We have heard tales of other species introducing a prophecy to their energy matrix mutilator, destroying the prophesy’s light. We are worried this could be Rose’s fate. Whether because she is with child, I don’t know.
Miss Beverly watches as Rose sleeps in my arms. “Ryder, I lost my husband, my love. I refuse to lose a child. I know she is a very capable adult, but she is still my child.” Refusing to release Rose, I kneel before her mother, hoping she knows I understand her pain. She studies my face then drops hers. “Oh, God. You do love her.”
“Know and hear me, Miss Beverly. Rose is my world, my life, my purpose. I swear to the gods, I will not let her die. And if destiny sees that I am to fail, know I will be dead from trying.”
I slowly regard Gunner. “I will never ask her to choose. Will you?”
Chapter Twenty Two
Rose
One would think I’d have a hangover after such a buzz, but no. I feel rejuvenated. I didn’t have to open my eyes to sense the sunshine in my room. I feel so cozy. I stretch in amazement at how much better my body feels. Exhaustion? Gone. Hunger? Back to normal—which means an appetite actually exists. The only downfall of my day will be dealing with two big, elven maniacs and the fact that I blurted out that I’m pregnant.
Good morning.
Oh, what a way to wake up. The smile on my face must tell him so. While I
stretch some more, I reflect back to Ryder, Good morning. I finally let my eyes open and slowly sit up. Hugging my knees, I smile at him. Even with his sore-looking jaw, seeing Ryder here makes my heart leap into joy.
“Wow.” The whisper catches me off guard. I jump but settle when I glance over, seeing Gunner in my other chair.
“Nice puffy lip, Bubba. You two are in the same room, yet not fighting like—”
Gunner puts his hands up. “Uncle. I give up. I’m an ass. Okay?”
With a heavy heart, I wave him over to me. Gunner comes with his head down, his heart seeming heavy. I wrap my arms around him as he sits next to me. “I love you, Gunner, and you are far from an ass. At least you weren’t the only one.” Ryder laughs out loud, my message received. “See?” I tell Gunner. “He’s guilty too.” I’m shocked when I suddenly become emotional. “I need you, Gunner. The baby needs you. Understand?”
Gunner throws his arms around me and puts his head on my chest with emotions of his own.
Ryder quietly gets up and smiles kindly. “I will give you guys some time. See you this afternoon?” I nod. “Gunner, you got our girl until I get back?”
I’m floored. What went down while I slept?
Gunner wipes under his eyes. “I got both our girls ’til you get back.”
Tears burst from my heart. I just sob as Ryder winks and walks out the door. I’m possibly hysterical. “Th-those words a-are a dream come true.” Gunner holds me tight as we cry together. I hear him gasping as his tears wet my nightshirt. I hold his head to my chest. “Thank you. Thank you.”
“I can’t believe you’re pregnant.”
“I know. I know. We’re having a baby. I-I’m so… baffled!”
“Oh. God, Rose.” He grabs my face. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry I did this to you.”
“What? Gunner—”
“Now you have to be… bitten.”
“No, it’s okay. Last night, I realized, I can do this, Bubba. I-I want to.”
His eyes study mine. “Yeah?”
“Yes. Ryder, he accepts me—this whole situation. I really care for him, Gunner. I’m sorry.”
“You never looked at me the way you just looked at him.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Gunner surprises me with an honest smile. “No. Don’t be. That smile is only for him. That’s why I said wow. Something clicked. I get it now—what he is to you. You love him.”
My chest aches for causing Gunner such pain. “I love you, too.”
“Not like that, baby.” Still grasping my face, Gunner kisses me. It’s wholesome, a kiss from—I internally smile—my closest ally. His lips release mine. “Don’t you see? I get it now. That kiss feels like the way it’s supposed to be. You and I are not—not like that. Not like how you are with Ryder.” Gunner lets his tears stream freely. “That son of a bitch looks at you as if you are the sun. I don’t, Rose. I thought I did, but seeing it—well, I see my sun” —he points to my belly—“is in there.”
My forehead falls to his. I’m speechless and relieved on such a deep level.
“I love you, Rose. I always will. You are and will always be my best friend.”
Gunner spends the whole morning in bed with me, talking, healing. It is one of my most precious days ever spent with my Bubba. He takes me to Mama in the living room, which brings on another very emotional moment.
“My baby.” She hugs me as she cries.
I cry as I ask for forgiveness. “I’m sorry I let you down.”
“What?” She pulls away still clutching my shoulders. “Let me down?”
“All… all the talks of sex and protection. Now I’m knocked up!”
“Rose, this plan was out of your hands. Listen to me. You are the best daughter in the whole world. You’ve helped me through the hardest times of my life. You practically raised my children when I no longer could. I love you for that, and I love you for who you are. Never forget it.”
Are the shocks going to end today? “I, I don’t understand what I missed last night.”
Gunner and Mama both laugh. “Ryder is what happened.”
Not knowing what that means, I choose to not doubt this blessing.
Mama is off with the kids again. Now that she feels so much better, she’s impossible to keep home. Can’t say I blame her. After becoming ill, she was bedbound in the very room where she had to witness my father perish. I still can’t believe she knows about the baby and is so understanding. And the kids? They think all this is completely normal.
Lulu was sweet as sugar. “Rose, I already knew about fairy tales and wondered why you didn’t believe.”
On my knees, I smiled at her in amazement at how children view the world. They get it, the truth, while adults fight it.
She hugged my neck. “Best secret ever. I won’t tell. I will be a good aunt. Promise.”
All I could do was smile and nod as tears slipped from my chin, happy, happy tears.
Gunner and I are in the kitchen fixing dinner. Looking out the window, I watch the sun begin its descent. “He trusts you.”
Gunner cuts vegetables. “He’s no fool.”
Shredding lettuce, I laugh. “Did you just pay Ryder a compliment?”
“Shh. Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Rose.
I gasp then close my eyes as my body relaxes, knowing I will touch him soon. “He’s here.”
Gunner stops chopping. “How do you know?”
“I heard him.”
His jaw drops. He looks out the window. “You’re right.”
My eyes open. Ryder crosses my tree border with the other Warriors. Placing my knife on the counter, I walk to the screen door, watching him come to me, his eyes becoming part of my soul. My hands go to push the door open. I stop and look at Gunner.
Gunner smiles. “I meant what I said. Go, baby. I’m solid. Promise.”
I take a deep breath then run out the door.
Ryder smiles hugely when he sees me heading straight to him in a rush. The sunset makes Ryder even more beautiful. The rays say goodnight as I jump into his arms. His lips find mine. My world is whole again.
Ryder is putting me down when I hear, “Gunner! What’s up, my man?” I turn to see harmony—a new family forming. Gunner smiles, shaking hands, accepting embraces while talking with the Warriors as if they have been best friends all along. His long hair suddenly makes complete sense. The way he moves…. Watching Gunner interact with the Guardians makes me realize I’m the only true human here. No wonder they accept him as their own. He is.
My heart finds so much peace that I know all is as it should be and that I can handle this, all of this. My life in danger, being pregnant with the first of its kind, all of it. How can I not with people—elves—like this in my life?
Hunter walks up to me. “You ready for all this, little lady?”
I proudly nod, still watching Gunner look so happy. “Yeah, I can honestly say yes now.” Hunter and I walk to the group.
“How come you know how to talk right, but Ryder sounds so—proper and shit?” Gunner asks Blaze.
Blaze turns to Ryder. “I’m brilliant and learned to adapt.” Ryder is put into a headlock and receives a noogie. “Ain’t that right, little male?”
“This is humiliating,” Ryder proclaims as his beautiful hair is transformed into a knotty mess.
Gunner tells Ryder, “Your words are humiliating. Dude! Call Blaze an asshole or something, for God’s sake.”
Blaze releases Ryder. “Beware, Gunner. The quiet ones can be the deadly ones. Ryder is a complete badass in the field, so I forgive him for being a schmuck.”
Chase adds, “And that was before he became all Tied with Sleeping Beauty. No offense, Rose.”
“Non
e taken.”
“So how fast can you run, Gunner?” Parker can’t seem to stop seeing Gunner as a potential Warrior.
“Dunno. Why?”
Chase pats his shoulder. “’Cause you’re going into training.”
“What?” Gunner’s face lights up like an exploding firework.
Ryder shrugs. “You asked how you could protect her.”
“This is awesome! W-When do we start? Now?”
The whole group erupts in cheers, clearly very proud of his response.
“Males!”
We turn to see Mama on the porch.
The males yell, “Beverly!”
My jaw dislocates. “What the hell did I miss last night?”
Ryder puts his arm around me to guide me inside. “A shitload.”
I swing my shocked face to Ryder. “Did you just cuss?”
“I’m a fast learner.”
“I think I have entered the Twilight Zone.”
“What’s a Twilight Zone?”
“Baby steps.”
Walking in my house, I see an abundance of action.
Ryder offers Mama a bag. “More funky salad for Preggers?” she asks.
“Yes, ma’am.” He wipes an herb on her forehead.
Wade points to one of Sage’s tribal tattoos. “And what does this one mean?”
Chase tickles Louisa. Hunter and Parker check windows.
Blaze sits with Gunner at the kitchen table, telling him, “Well, yes, your mother did have Warrior blood, but elves, as a whole, are much stronger and faster than humans. Eyesight, hearing, all your senses should be—”
“They are,” I tell him. “Gunner has always been faster, stronger than other guys.”
“See?” Blaze says to Gunner. “Now we need to learn just how much faster, etcetera. After hearing about how in touch with us you are, Isolde thinks we can trigger even more strength and speed in you.”
“Come to think of it,” I ponder, “Gunner, I can’t remember you ever getting sick.”
Rain (Stranger in the Woods Book 1) Page 23