by Idella Breen
“I love you guys. Thank you for telling me the truth. I’m glad I know now. It helps.”
“Your welcome back anytime honey.” Integra said softly.
“I know mom.”
“Don’t be a stranger. It was nice meeting you Gwen.” Adam said.
With one final goodbye, Gwen and Snow climbed into their car, which was right where they left it, parked in front of the mansions front door. Gwen drove slower back to the apartment. The first hour had been in silence. Each of them processing what they had heard. Finally, Gwen glanced over at her passenger who seemed to be struggling to keep still and broke the silence. “Why did you leave in such a hurry. I’m sure it wouldn’t have hurt to have stayed for dinner.”
Snow chuckled. “They would have drugged our food. I guarantee it.”
Gwen frowned. “They seemed nice.”
“Believe me, they are but they were really spooked when they learned that dark blood had spoken to me. You might not have been able to tell, but I know my parents, and I feel like that tidbit of information made them second guess the validity of the prophecy they had probably always thought was just a story. Their reactions are subtle and hard to notice but they are really protective of me. They probably sent one of the bodyguards to follow us home.”
“What? Really?”
“I wouldn’t put it past them. I’ll probably be watched for the next few days but not even I’ll be able to pick them out of the crowd. Most of the bodyguards I have never met.”
“Wow. I didn’t peg them for overbearing parents. They seemed pretty laid back to me.”
“My grandparents were the same. They wouldn’t let me play in the garden without having an armed guard watching me at all times. But if you spoke to them, you always felt like they were the most reasonable people. Let’s just say they are good actors and know the art of manipulation well.”
Gwen chuckled. “I’ll trust you on this one.”
Snow smiled and looked out her window.
“So is that the only reason we left in such a hurry?”
“Cait is calling me.”
“I didn’t hear your cellphone?”
“Not that way. I just feel like she worrying about where I am.”
Gwen gasped. “What? You can already feel her?”
Snow nodded. “Sometimes. I just get this feeling. Like when she wants me close or if she’s angry.”
“Wow. You two really are something. Usually, it takes months before a connection that strong is formed. Especially, if you haven’t even bonded yet. You two continue to surprise me with your progress,”
Snow chuckled.
“So, she’s calling you home?”
“Not specifically but I can tell she doesn’t know where I am. She became aware of it while we were speaking with my parents. I felt her presence shift and become restless. She’s been calling to me since.”
“Well we will be back soon. We probably should have told her where we were going before we left.”
“I didn’t think she would even notice. We were only gone for a few hours. I left my cellphone in my bedroom in my rush to leave.”
“Guess it was long enough.”
“Guess so.”
Chapter 7
Cait was confused. She had shown up at Snow’s apartment immediately after feeling the girl's presence getting farther away. She pulled out her cell phone for the hundredth time and saw there were no missed calls. The werewolf felt the insistent urge to call the girl, but she didn’t want to come off as clingy or controlling. The redhead knew that if she called Snow now she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from demanding where the girl was, why she left, and for her to come back right this instant. In that order. It was scary how her wolf had begun to fuse with her more fully, and she was beginning to find it hard to differentiate between her beast's demands and her human ones. She had felt the girl before she heard the key enter the lock. Before she had a coherent thought, she was throwing the door open in seconds and had pushed past Gwen, to pull Snow into her arms.
“Hey! I’m not some box you can just shove aside. I’m a person!” Gwen huffed as she regained her balance.
“Where did you go, why did you leave without telling me?” Cait demanded as soon as she pulled back to meet the girl's gaze.
It was an understatement to say she was surprised when Snow suddenly burst into tears, pulled the werewolf back to her and buried her face into her neck. Cait immediately rubbed her back soothingly. “Hey, what’s the matter? Are you hurt?”
She glanced at Gwen who shrugged and walked past them into the apartment, going straight into the kitchen to look for food.
“Cait.” Snow wailed and gripped the red head tighter. Cait sighed and scooped the girl into her arms, carrying her into the apartment, and kicking the door shut. She headed towards the bedroom.
“No hanky panky!”
Cait rolled her eyes and shut the bedroom door behind her before laying Snow down on the bed. The girl refused to separate from her and clung to her like a baby Koala. Cait had to awkwardly maneuver herself onto the bed where she then tucked Snow into her side. The girl was practically laying on top of her as every inch of her body was touching the werewolf's. The redhead felt her wolf clawing at the cage. The need to comfort her mate was overwhelming.
“Snow, what’s wrong? What happened today?” She asked softly.
Snow’s sobs had begun to slow, and now she only hiccuped occasionally, but she remained glued to the werewolf, clinging to her.
“I went to see my parents today,” Snow mumbled against Cait, so the woman felt more then she heard the answer.
“Did they upset you?”
“No.”
“Then why are you crying?”
Snow hiccuped and moved back enough to gaze up into the werewolf’s electric blue eyes, and she whispered. “You have no heart.”
Cait tensed as the haunting words that had followed her throughout her lifetime were repeated with such sadness by her mate.
“Where did you hear that phrase?” She whispered, and her blood turned cold.
“From my mother.”
Cait sighed. The salamander must have heard it from Lidia. It was only a matter of time before her mate came to learn of it as well.
“I see.” Cait tried to retreat but Snow buried her face back into her neck and gripped her more tightly.
“Don’t Cait.”
The werewolf sighed again and tightened her hold on her mate. “I take it she told you the story then from your reaction?”
Snow nodded. Her lips brushing lightly against the werewolves neck making her shiver. “If she heard it from Lidia then she probably knows quite a bit of the story. What did she tell you?”
“That it wasn’t your fault.”
Cait felt her whole body sag as she released a breath. Lidia had been too kind, but at the same time, the one person she didn’t want to think of her as the murderer that she was, was Snow. She wanted the girl to trust her. How could someone like the girl in her arms, trust a woman that killed her entire family.
“I killed them all Snow. Every last one of them. It was all my fault.”
“No, it wasn’t!” The girl responded petulantly. She was as stubborn as her grandmother. Cait didn’t know whether to be amused or grateful. She was a little bit of both.
“Then whose fault was it?”
“Xavier's.”
A loud guttural growl ripped from Cait’s throat before she could stop it.
“It was all his fault Cait. None of it was yours.”
Cait sighed. “You’re as kind as your grandmother, Snow. And though I agree Xavier holds some blame, it was my wolf he used to kill them.”
“But you fought with them, to protect them.”
“A lot of good that did anyone.”
Snow paused then asked the question she had been wondering since she heard the story from her mother. “How did you stop your wolf from killing you?”
“What?”
&nbs
p; “My mother said Lidia had told her that after everyone was dead that you faced off against your wolf. She said that Xavier had planned for one of you to die. How did you get back control of it before dawn came?”
“You are well informed. Well, I should say that Lidia had a big mouth and a need to pass along stories to the next generation.”
“She always loved story time with me.”
Cait smiled softly. “It’s kind of hard to explain. What happened before dawn on that day.”
“Try me.”
The woman sighed and adjusted herself into a more comfortable position. She cleared her throat and began.
***
They were all dead. Cait gazed around her to her fallen kinsmen. Their broken and bloody bodies littered the ground like fallen soldiers. She couldn’t even save one of them. She felt anger and sadness fill her, fuel her, as she stared down the white beast that committed the crime. Her wolf. The once golden eyes were blood red with the spell Xavier had cast on it. The wolf bared its fangs at her.
“You don’t scare me!” The sixteen-year-old yelled back even as her legs wobbled unsteadily. Her wolf had always been powerful. Too powerful. She was never able to fully control it when she went out onto the battlefield. Its thirst for blood knew no bounds, and it usually took all her willpower to prevent it from turning on her own people during a fight. She had finally failed. The beast was out of control and its old and ancient power tinged the air with electricity. How could she defeat something so much stronger than her? Even her father, the strongest wolf she had ever known had succumbed to the beast's teeth. How was she, reduced to a mere human for a day, supposed to kill a werewolf? She glanced down at her claymore. It was a blade of the Fallon clan, crafted from the finest metals. When she and her beast were one, she had the strength the lift the heavy blade. Now it hung limply at her side as her arms struggled with it’s immense weight.
The white wolf growled as if laughing at her weakness. “Shut up!” She yelled before charging the wolf, dragging the blade along the ground as she ran with speed fueled by anger and loss.
The wolf charged as well. They met in the middle of the battlefield with metal against fang. Cait had found the strength at the last minute to swing the claymore up to meet the wolf's teeth, and the blade sparked with flames. They pushed against their own respective weapons. Each was trying to gain the upper hand. Something registered in the back of Cait’s mind causing her to lose her focus a minute and allowing the wolf to gain the upper hand. She began to lose ground. Something was wrong, she thought, as she dug her feet deep to prevent the wolf from pushing her back. What was that feeling? It had cut through her own anger and sorrow. She concentrated on it, and suddenly it was as if she released the floodgates. The feeling of overwhelming pain and sadness knocked the breath from her lungs causing her to fall back. The wolf was towering over her now as she lay on her back holding the blade like the final barrier it was between life and death.
Where was that pain coming from? It didn’t feel like her's. She tried to brush it off. To push it back so she could concentrate on the battle but it demanded her attention. It consumed her. She cried out from the depths of the pain that was filling her being. Where was it coming from? Her electric blue eyes met that of the wolf's blood red, and she saw into the mind of the beast attempting the devour her. She saw the wolf behind Xavier’s control. She saw herself.
“You?” She cried out as the teeth were nearly at her throat.
“Why?” She yelled.
And the wolf answered without words. The feelings flooded into her, and she translated their meaning. “What have you made me do?”
“I’m sorry!” She cried out and thrust the blade up but only managed to push the teeth an inch back.
“I have killed them all. My family. Why did you make me do this?” It asked.
“I was in so much pain.” Cait cried out.
“We would have endured. Can we endure this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why have you betrayed me?”
“Betrayed?”
“You gave me to another.”
“I’m sorry! I was stupid. I didn’t think.”
“I should kill you. Eat you like the rest.”
“No! I refuse to give up. I want my revenge.”
“Revenge?”
“Against Xavier. I want his blood on my blade.”
“Yes! We want his blood.”
“I need your power! I need your strength. I am weak alone.”
“I need your mind and your body.” The wolf agreed.
“Come back to me then! And we will hunt the man that betrayed us.”
The wolf was silent for a moment before it slowly began to move back away from her. Its eyes were still blood red, and it still bared its fangs, but it was no longer at her throat.
“We must make a new oath. The spell must be broken, and there is not much time.”
“I will sing a new oath.” Cait panted.
The wolf lifted its mighty muzzle into the sky and let loose a beautiful song. “I sing the song of the cursed one. Let all who are near answer my call. I sing an oath stronger than blood. Let it be known that today is the day the cursed one slew her clan. Let it be known that she betrayed her wolf. I sing of a promise made among the bodies of her people on the battlefield. Let her promise be heard.”
The wolf paused to look at Cait who drew a deep breath before answering the song. Her voice was rough from screaming during the fight, but it was heavy with emotion, and determination. “I sing the song of the one without heart. Let all who are near answer my call. Let it be known that the wolf listened to the plea of a murderer. Let it be known that she was weak and pitiful. I sing of an oath stronger than blood. Let me speak my piece. I swear to never betray my wolf again. I swear never to succumb to our sorrows. Not until we kill the man who betrayed us. I swear to live my days until I claim Xavier’s blood with our fangs. I swear to carry on the Fallon clan’s legacy. Let my oath be known on this battlefield among the body of my kinsmen. Let it be known to the wolf I have betrayed.” Cait sang with everything she was and when she stopped her wolf answered in a haunting sound filled with finality.
It howled. “The oath has been accepted. To fail this promise, that surpassed blood will be the end of us both. I swear to my master once more my servitude in her life. The oath has been made it shall never be forgotten.” The howl ceased, and Cait felt ancient power tinge the air with the smell of smoke before she met the wolf's gaze once more. Golden eyes welcomed her, and she moved to touch it. To feel it’s power once more. At her touch, the wolf disappeared in a blinding white light, and Cait felt its presence within her body and mind once more.
The whispered promise. “Do not forget.”
Cait looked up as the first rays of sunlight flooded the sky. The night had taken with it the souls of the fallen. The lone survivor stood and let the light burn away her mistakes. She could only move forward. She would. As her song promised.
***
Several tears trailed down Snow’s cheeks, and Cait kissed them away. “Don’t cry Snow. It was a long time ago.”
“Oh, Cait. I’m so very sorry.” Snow hugged the werewolf closer to her.
“Shhh, it’s okay.”
They rocked back and forth until the girl gained control over the sobs that were wracking her body and stilled against the werewolf.
“Cait?” Came her small whisper.
“What is it, baby?”
Snow liked it when the woman called her that. “Let’s do the blood bond thing.”
Cait tensed as her wolf made itself known in the form of her body heating up. She pushed it down and gritted her teeth taking a deep breath. The girl in her arms seemed to have felt the burst of heat and responded in kind. Snow had begun to nibble on Cait’s neck as her hand clumsily slipped under Cait’s t-shirt. The werewolf grabbed the traveling hand and intertwined their fingers before softly drawing Snow’s head back.
“No, Snow
.”
This seemed to make Snow tremble, and Cait quickly recognized the flash of hurt at her perceived rejection. The girl tried to pull away, but Cait held her fast and made her meet her gaze.
“Snow. It’s not what you think. I want to go through the blood bond with you. Believe me, I ache to complete it and finally have you as mine.” Snow saw a little bit of gold trickle into the werewolf’s eyes at her declaration, and Snow knew she was answering as both the wolf and the woman. “But I want to do it when you're ready to accept me. And not out of pity.”
“It’s not pity!”
“Then why?”
“I care about you Cait. I want you to finally be happy after everything you’ve gone through!”
Cait sighed. “Your intentions may be pure but they a very innocent. The blood bond is permanent Snow. You would be stuck with me for the rest of your life. It affects you as much as it affects me. It’s not just something we do then we go our separate ways and live out our lives. It is a ritual in which we swear our devotion to one another. Have you even decided how you want me to fit into your life?”
“I know I want you in it.”
“But how? Would you remain my friend or would you be willing to devote your body, mind, and soul completely to me as I would to you, and become my lover?”
Snow blushed and looked down at their joined hands. They fit perfectly together. “No, I don’t know yet. But I want you always to be close by…I know I don’t like you disappearing for too long. I missed you when you left me so suddenly on Saturday, Cait. I had felt like something was missing as I waited for you to come back. I could still feel you close by, but I want to see you every day. I want to hold your hand like this every day. What I’m trying to say is that I’m not sure about a lot of things, but one thing I know is that you’re an irreplaceable part of my life and if you were ever to leave me it might kill me.”
Cait brought their joined hands to her mouth and kissed her knuckles. “I’ll never leave you, Snow. That I promise you.”