Lost

  “You deranged cunt!” I yelled and threw myself at her. I must have caught her by surprise, because I was able to take her down with me. I hit her over and over again.

  * * *

  His best friend was dead. He was hurt. And all he could think was this lady had balls. Julie Klevan had serious balls.

  She had Hannah on the ground and was hitting her over and over again. She appeared to have surprised Hannah, and for a moment, Ethan actually thought they had a chance.

  But then she’d had enough. Hannah’s arm shot out, and she gripped Julie by the throat. Julie kept hitting her, and then Hannah squeezed. The smaller woman’s eyes bulged, and she started tearing at the hand that was strangling her. Hannah rose to her feet, never letting go of Julie. Julie’s legs kicked frantically as Hannah lifted her in the air.

  Hannah threw her off, and Julie landed heavily on some folding tables that had been set out in the yard.

  Ethan heard the sound of bones breaking, and he struggled to stand.

  Julie was trying to catch her breath, and she looked up. Horror crossed her face, and she tamped down a scream. Ethan and Julie could both see that Hannah was changing.

  And then he heard music. He didn’t know what it was, but it was getting louder.

  “My son,” Hannah growled.

  She took two steps over to Julie and hit her in the face. Ethan saw blood fly and heard her cry of pain.

  The van pulled in, and the music stopped.

  Ethan stood, shakily, and tried to run to the kids in the van.

  “STOP! Stay away from my son!” Hannah yelled.

  She lunged to Ethan and threw him aside. She stood in front of the van.

  * * *

  Sam couldn’t see the woman clearly. He’d already turned off the headlights on his mom’s van.

  “Mom?” He wondered.

  “No, Sam… get back in the car.”

  He heard his mother’s voice, but it was coming from further in the yard.

  “Mom, what’s going on?” Sam came closer and saw Walter’s body on the driveway. “What the—”

  “SAM! I said to get in the car,” his mom choked out—she was crying.

  * * *

  Her son. Her baby.

  But he wasn’t calling for her. He was calling to that bitch—that weak bitch.

  Hannah moved to the shadows.

  * * *

  “Mom, what happened? Oh, God. Mom!” Sam knelt at my side, taken aback by all the blood—most of it was Walter’s. “What happened?”

  My head hurt. Blood dripped from a cut above my eye and my nose. I think my arm was broken. I was having trouble breathing, and I was afraid I may have broken some ribs when Hannah threw me into the tables.

  “I was right… She’s back.” Pain coursed through my body when I spoke. I struggled to get up.

  “Mom, what is going on?” Sam was scared now. “Who—“

  “NO!” I tried to shoo them away.

  Sam turned around and saw the kids unloading from the van. Karie had gotten out of the car, and Maggie had run up to her side. Carey was standing by the car, but had stopped Jessie, Jimmy, and Ant from getting out.

  “Mommy?” Maggie called to me, and Karie pulled Maggie to her side, trying to shield her from seeing me.

  “Sam.” I grabbed his shirt. “Your mother’s here. Hannah—she’s here. You need to go. Take Karie and the kids and go. Now!”

  Sam looked confused, and then it sank in. “Hannah? She’s here?”

  Chapter 98

  He was close. Hannah’s scent was overwhelming. He growled and pushed himself faster.

  He had to hurry.

  Chapter 99

  Sam stood and stepped over me, as if he could protect me with his own body. I choked on a cry.

  “Sam?” A voice called from the dark, by the lake.

  He whirled around, crouching down to shield me. “Who are you? What do you want?”

  Hannah came into the light, and Sam paled.

  “Sam. My son.” She moved toward him with her arms out, as if to embrace him.

  He recoiled and stepped behind me. Sam knelt beside me and slipped his arms under my knees and my lower back and lifted me with ease. He backed toward the van.

  “You get the hell away from us,” he told her.

  She actually looked hurt, as Sam continued to back away from her. Karie picked up Maggie and ran back to the van. I saw her hand Maggie to Carey and push them both up into the van. She shut the door, but didn’t get in. She stood there for a moment, looking around, before going over to Ethan Jeffries. She helped him stand, and he winced in pain.

  “Sam,” Hannah tried again. “You’re my son. It’s time to come home… With me.”

  Sam still held me to him.

  I struggled to stay conscious. “Sam, put me down and go. Please get your little brothers and sisters out of here.”

  “SHUT UP!” Hannah screeched, and we all flinched. “You shut UP!”

  Sam stared at her, and I saw his head raise. “I am home. And this is my mother!” He spoke with a strength I didn’t know he had.

  “No, NO!” She looked rabid. “You don’t understand. You don’t know what you are, what you could be. You need to come with me so I can show you… so I can help you.”

  “What are you talking about?” Sam finally put me down, and I sank to the ground.

  “Sam, your time’s coming. You won’t understand what’s going to happen to you. You need me.”

  “I don’t need shit from you!” Sam glared at Hannah.

  “Oh, but you do.”

  * * *

  What happened next was like something from a horror movie. Hannah jerked and sick popping noises filled the air. She fell to the ground and jerked. For a second, Sam thought she was having a seizure, and then Ethan spoke up.

  “Son, you need to listen to your mother. Get in the car and go.” Ethan had stepped away from Karie and limped over to Sam and Julie.

  Sam wasn’t sure, but he thought his mother was unconscious. He knew she needed to get to the hospital.

  Sam wiped at the tears sliding down his cheeks. “No, I can’t leave her.” He gestured to his mother lying on the grass, and then he heard a low growl behind him.

  Ethan stopped and stared. Sam slowly started to turn around, and Karie covered her mouth so she didn’t scream.

  “Son, don’t turn around,” Ethan tried to warn Sam.

  But Sam didn’t listen. He turned.

  * * *

  I fought against the darkness that I wanted to slide into.

  Sam. Sam needs me.

  I heard a growl, and it snapped me back.

  “Shit,” Ethan said.

  A wolf, a very large wolf, was standing in front of her son. The wolf’s fur was light. Hannah’s hair color and her eyes were familiar—demented.

  See. He’s mine! This is what he will become, and you… you’re too weak to help him become what he’s meant to be. He’s MY SON!

  Nothing was spoken, but I heard it in my head as if it was. What was happening? I struggled to get to my knees.

  “NO! He’s my son,” I screamed at the horror that was advancing on my son. “You left him. You disappeared. He’s my son, and YOU. CAN’T. HAVE. HIM!”

  I’d read that in times of great fear, an almost inhuman strength filled you, and they were right. I flew to my feet and pushed Sam out of the way, just as Hannah lunged forward. Sam landed on the ground just a few feet from us. I stood, battered and broken, in front of Sam’s biological mother, or whatever she was.

  I was determined to fight for my son.

  * * *

  They watched in awe as Hannah changed back into the beautiful woman she was, but insanity had gripped her tightly, and it wasn’t letting go.

  She ran at Julie and threw her to the ground. “You’re wrong! You’ve had him long enough.”

  “Get away from her.” Ethan had found the gun Walter gave Julie and had it pointed at Hannah, who was standing over Julie.<
br />
  “Fine!” Hannah said and ran to the detective.

  She knocked the gun from his shaking hand and threw him into the air. She didn’t even stop to see where he landed. She just calmly turned and strode back to Julie.

  * * *

  “You… left him.” I was struggling. My babies were going to die. I was crying, and I started to beg. “Kill me, okay? Take me. Just, just leave Sam alone. Leave my babies a… alone.”

  “I don’t want you!” She hit me again.

  I clawed my way out of the darkness again, but I didn’t think I could take much more.

  I grabbed her leg and tried to pull myself up. “Please, just leave… just leave them alone. Just go. We won’t say anything. Just leave us alone.”

  Hannah took me by the throat and jerked me up. I was getting too weak to even struggle.

  “Listen to me very closely,” Hannah said. “My son is a pure blood. He is a true wolf, and I am taking him with me… After I kill you.”

  A deep growl filled the darkness. Sam stopped moving toward us, and Karie stood still. Hannah jerked her head to the side, as if she heard something else in that noise and just dropped me to the ground. She stepped away.

  Karie rushed to my side and tried to help me stand. She was struggling when I felt another pair of arms lift me up. Carey smiled shakily at me, and together, they pulled me to my feet.

  * * *

  Sam was standing with his back to the tree line, Hannah in front of him. I was the first to see it.

  “Sam… Move!” I said as loudly as I could, and then everyone saw it.

  A wolf, larger than Hannah had crept out of the trees. Hannah had light, almost white fur, but this wolf had a much darker coat. This wolf moved with a familiarity, and I inhaled sharply.

  The air was still.

  No one said a word, and the large wolf just moved in front of Sam and faced Hannah.

  And then it roared. It threw back its head and roared. The roar was loud and piercing. Sam covered his ears, but couldn’t move.

  Hannah looked scared. For the first time that night, she looked like she was truly scared.

  “No…” The word came out of her mouth and carried over to me.

  If wolves could smile, then that’s what this one did. It came forward, moving toward Hannah with a grace that was mesmerizing, and I watched her shrink away.

  “You’re… you’re dead! That’s why I came back. He’s our son. He needed to know what he was.”

  My head flew up, the pain forgotten. I’d heard what she said.

  Our son?

  “He needed to understand. But you’re back, and we can go… together! We can be the family we should’ve been. We will rule—the three of us.”

  The large wolf growled, and though it wasn’t a loud sound, it was chilling. It took another step toward Hannah, and I motioned for Sam to move. He took one last look at the scene in front of him and ran to me.

  “You threw me aside!” Hannah was getting angry again. “You chose her… over me? Look at what I gave you! Look at the gift I gave you!”

  The wolf just stared at the shaking woman.

  “Do you forgive me?” Hannah reached out to stroke the wolf’s face. “I’m better now. Forgive me, and we can be a family.”

  The wolf shook her hand off, and Hannah cowered, but desperation filled her voice, and she reached for the wolf again. “I promise. I’m better. Let me kill her. Let me kill them, and we can take Sam and go. We can have a new life—the life we were supposed to have. Let me kill her!”

  Something shifted in the wolf’s eyes—a new dawning, a clarity. And I felt the shift. I looked around, and I think everyone felt it. The night was still. The only thing I heard was my own labored breathing.

  Suddenly, the wolf lifted one paw and brought it down on the trembling woman. She sank to the ground. Her ruined body still. The wolf looked down, and it almost seemed as if he was inspecting what he’d done. Blood seeped into the grass at its feet.

  I gently shook off Carey, who was still holding me, and walked toward the creature. He stood still, watching me. I stopped about five feet from where it stood and looked at it. It looked back at me. I felt something pass between us. Memories flashed in my mind.

  The first time I met Brian, how he had been holding Sam in a carrier strapped to his chest. Brian proposing to me. Walking down the aisle, alone only to have him run to meet me halfway and escort me up to the justice of the peace. Telling him I was pregnant with Carey.

  Memories, our memories.

  “Mom, what are you doing?” Sam hissed at me.

  I shook my head and waved the kids back. “Quiet.”

  I backed slowly away, motioning for the wolf to come to me.

  “Mom!” Sam’s whisper was frantic, and I could see him struggle. He wanted to come to me, to shield me from what he thought was certain death.

  “I’ve felt you. You’ve been here all along, haven’t you?” I asked the wolf, and I knew it understood me. I sensed it.

  I caught the slight nod it gave me. I was having a conversation with a wolf, large enough to be confused for a horse. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Hannah was struggling to sit up.

  “She’s moving...” I tried to point, only to find my arm wouldn’t cooperate. The pain was too much.

  I know. Let her go.

  I heard a voice in my head. I recognized this voice. I’d heard it so many times. I’d yearned for it. I’d longed to hear it just one more time.

  Min älskling!

  “Brian?”

  * * *

  TO BE CONTINUED

  * * *

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  It goes without saying that I have to thank my husband. He believed in me from day one. He pushed me to follow my dream and encouraged me every step of the way. He is not a reader, and yet he sat there night after night going over the words I wrote. He offered suggestions and laughed when appropriate and understood while I cried for my characters. He’s the love of my life, and he held my hand every step of the way.

  I want to thank our oldest, Corey. At 19, he is a young man, and we are enjoying seeing him become the type of man any parent would be proud of. There are bits and pieces of him in all five of the children in my book. The good parts are here, and even some of the not so good parts. He has inspired me with his strength of character, and his easy going ways. And like his father, he encouraged me every step of the way. He gently pushed me to keep going when I expressed doubt in myself. This book is dedicated to him and his efforts to make his mark on this world.

  And just as important as our oldest, thank you to each of our four younger boys: Joe, Roy Addison, Hayden, and Dean. They all encouraged me in their own way to follow my dreams. Without their love and patience, this book would not be possible.

  Thank you to all my guys for your encouragement, your understanding, and your smiles. You mean the world to me.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Christina Draper is a wife and mother. She and her husband, Roy, live in Northern Virginia with their five boys and two dogs. She’s a huge fan of horror movies and drew on her love for them as her inspiration for this book. When she has free time, she enjoys yelling at TV characters that make her mad, reading, browsing on Etsy, cross-stitching, and blogging. This is her first novel.

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  Julie Klevan is just getting over the loss of her husband, Brian. She and her five children are starting to move forward, to make a new life, and to smile again. With the help of her friends, Julie finally starts imagining a life without the man she loved.

  But someone’s watching them. Someone out there is convinced Julie has something that belongs to them, something they desperately want back.

  With the help of two determined officers, Julie must find the strength to protect herself and her children from whoever, from whatever is out there.

  Because hell is about to be dropped right in her lap.

  Dear reader,

  This took me 20 y
ears to write. No! This book didn’t take that long to write, but getting one of my ideas down, getting a story down, and creating characters I liked and cared about took me over 20 years. Gaining enough confidence to actually finish a book and put it out there took me over 20 years, and I just want to thank you for taking the time to come into the little world I created.

  This is my first book, but I don’t want it to be my last. Julie and Brian have a lot more to say. Sam and Karie have a bigger story to tell. And Anthony wants a chance to really flex his muscles. I need you to know that Walter didn’t die in vain, and Ethan needs a chance to even the score. There’s more to come, and I hope you’ll stay with me long enough to figure it all out.

  If you liked this book, or even if you didn’t, won’t you please take a moment to review it for me? If you liked it, share it—with your friends, your family, and the person sitting next to you at Starbucks.

  Thank you for reading my book. Thank you for being a part of my dream. Until next time!

  Christina Draper

  http://www.bookfanclub.com/cd/