Passion Found

by C Zinnia

  Bill turned a gun on Viola. In slow motion, he pulled the trigger.

  “No!” Mel screamed. She wanted Viola to live. She wanted to protect Viola at any cost. Mel threw up her hands. Energy shot down her arms and escaped from Mel’s hands in a way she couldn’t describe. It was far more powerful than Mel had ever felt before. The energy surged and struck the bullet. The bullet exploded between Bill and Viola. Shards struck Bill while they ricocheted a foot away from Viola. He winced. Most of them were flesh wounds. The gun pointed at Viola was ripped away from Bill’s hand.

  Bill was confounded. He looked at Mel. Instead of being terrified, he laughed. His reaction bothered Mel. “I guess you have a little more in you than I gave you credit for. I can put such power to good use,” he said.

  Viola growled.

  Bill glanced at Viola. “What are you going to do about it, bitch?” he asked. He pointed the one gun he still had on Daren at her. He had his gun pointed between Viola’s eyes. “Think she can protect you again?”

  Mel was terrified. She wasn’t sure she could stop a bullet a second time since she didn’t know how she did it the first time. Mel decided to egg him on.

  “What’s with the name calling, Bill? Testy because I’m the reason your nose is broken? It must be difficult to know you got beat up by a weak, defenseless, untrained human girl,” Mel said.

  Bill’s ego got the better of him. He turned the gun on Mel. “Let’s see how brave you are with some lead in you,” he said. “Not enough to kill because I’ve got plans for you, witch.”

  Mel’s distraction gave Viola the opportunity she needed. She lunged and bit Bill’s arm as she jerked him to the ground. His forearm was torn from his arm by Viola in one swift vicious bite.

  Bill collapsed as he screamed in pain. It took all of Viola’s self-control not to go after his throat and kill him.

  Daren knocked Bill in the head with a large rock.

  Bill laid on the ground, unconscious.

  Mel stared at Bill’s severed forearm. His gun laid beside it. She couldn’t believe how powerful Viola was.

  A wave of nausea hit Mel. She had never seen a person’s arm severed before. Blood covered the forearm and ground.

  “Deep breaths, Mel,” Daren said.

  Mel took deep breaths and felt her nausea abate slightly. She tried to distract herself by looking elsewhere.

  Samuel changed back into human form. It was so fast Mel almost missed the distorted transformation. A muzzle was traded in for a nose and mouth. Fur disappeared. The paws became hands and feet. Mel’s mind was whirling by the end of it. Mel blushed because he was naked. Mel opted to stare at Daren.

  Samuel took off Bill’s belt and made a tourniquet around his arm. “Good work, all of you,” Samuel said to them, unbothered by his nudity. “Let’s get the hunter back before he wakes up. The infirmary is going to have to stop the hunter’s bleeding.”

  “We should let him bleed out,” Daren said.

  “We need to find out if there are any more hunters first and if they know about us,” Samuel said pragmatically.

  “Damn logic. We need to get you to the infirmary too so they can get the bullet out of your shoulder before it heals,” Daren said to Samuel.

  Mel glanced toward Samuel and noticed his wound had already stopped bleeding. She was too shocked by his healing to pay attention to his nudity. Samuel picked Bill up and threw him over his unwounded shoulder. “I’m going to take the hunter now before he bleeds out. I’ll meet y’all at the main house,” Samuel said. He ran to the village.

  Viola turned into a human. She marched towards Mel.

  Mel took a step back due to Viola’s anger.

  Why is she mad at me? Mel wondered.

  “What in the hell were you thinking antagonizing him like that? You could have gotten yourself killed! That was dangerous and stupid!” Viola said. “Did I tell you you could do that?”

  Mel didn’t like the last question. “First of all, I don’t need your permission. Secondly, you would have done the same thing to protect me,” Mel said. She was trying to look Viola in the eye, but it wasn’t working out well. This was their first official meeting and Viola was naked. All of Viola’s muscles flexed and moved under her skin. The site was breath-taking.

  “So? That doesn’t mean you should!” Viola said.

  Mel was trying to listen to Viola, but it was getting more difficult not to ogle over her nude body. Mel looked up at the canopy of trees.

  “Why aren’t you looking at me? Are you listening to me?” Viola demanded. “You are being disrespectful and I won’t tolerate it.”

  The only reason Mel was able to hear Viola was because she was practically yelling. “I am trying to listen to you,” Mel said. “It’s just . . . you’re naked.”

  Viola glanced down. “So?”

  “So, I’m not used to nudity,” Mel said. “It’s distracting. I can’t focus on our conversation. I know you’re mad at me, but I can’t remember why.”

  “Oh,” Viola said. She grinned. “Distracting in a good way?”

  Mel almost didn’t hear Viola over the ringing in her ears. She glanced down for a moment at Viola.

  Viola’s anger transformed into passion and it was one hundred percent directed at Mel. Mel almost fell back from its potency. Viola couldn’t help but enjoy Mel’s reaction to her body.

  “Yes,” Mel said.

  “Good.” The way Viola said it made Mel’s body feel tingly and warm in all of the right places. Viola’s nostrils flared as though she could smell Mel’s desire. For a moment, Viola’s control was completely gone.

  Viola grabbed the back of Mel’s head and pulled her so their lips collided. Mel forgot about time and space as she was lost in the kiss. Emotions and sensations overwhelmed Mel and she felt like she was drowning in the intensity of it all. By the time Viola pulled away, their lips were both swollen and deep red.

  Viola took deep breaths as she gathered her composure. “I’ll be right back,” she said. She disappeared into the woods.

  Mel was still woozy after the kiss. She knew she could never put the kiss into words sufficiently. It was the kiss people wrote songs and stories about. It left Mel feeling whole and empty, fulfilled and aching. Mel wanted more kisses like that from Viola.

  Mel tried not to notice that Daren was grinning like a Cheshire cat. She gave in and glanced at him. He winked.

  “Looks like you two are getting along just fine,” Daren said. “I guess you won’t need me walking with you in the woods anymore, huh?”

  “Yes, I do, Daren. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on all of this excitement,” Mel said as she gestured to the mangled trees.

  Daren laughed. “You do seem to attract excitement wherever you go around here,” he said.

  Moments later, Viola appeared wearing tattered clothes. She had Samuel’s tattered clothes bundled under her arm. “Sorry about surprising you with my nudity. I tend to forget human customs,” she said.

  “What happened to your clothes?” Mel asked them.

  “When we turn, if we have clothes on, they rip,” Viola answered. “Now, promise me you’ll never do something so careless again.”

  “No,” Mel said frankly. “You could have died.”

  Viola didn’t like Mel’s response. “You’re going to have to learn when to obey,” she said.

  Mel raised an eyebrow. “I’m not a dog to be trained,” she quipped.

  Viola was stupefied by her response.

  “Let’s get back to the house,” Daren said. “You two can settle it there.” He picked up Bill’s guns and severed arm.

  Mel gagged. “Don’t forget the other weapons,” she said as she fought the urge to vomit.

  Daren and Viola walked behind the tree Bill had come out from and found a duffel bag of weapons. Daren discharged both guns he had before placing them in the bag. He discharged the machine gun and packed it in the duffel bag. He carried the duffel bag with one hand and Bill’s arm in the other.

>   “Let’s go,” he said to them.

  Mel glanced at her hand. She was trying to figure out what she just did to the bullet and how she was able to do it. She had a feeling Bruce was going to have a lot of questions for her about the situation and she didn’t know how to answer them.

  This wasn’t the first time, you know, Mel thought. Remember the night of the fight? She had pushed the woman who liked Viola with her energy. She had denied it then, but after this incident she couldn’t pretend it didn’t happen. And what about the chunk of house that was about to crush me? I somehow pushed it away.

  Mel’s attention shifted back to Viola.

  Both had so much to say, but neither knew where to start.

  Mel finally said to Viola; “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  Viola smiled. She pulled Mel close. Mel gasped from their bodies touching. Viola kissed her forehead. Mel’s heart fluttered from the act and her third eye buzzed from power. Mel was surprised by the sensation in her third eye. It was like Viola triggered Mel’s esoteric side. “And I’m grateful that you are okay too,” Viola said. “You saved my life. I owe you for that.” She hesitated. “How did you make the bullet explode?”

  “I don’t know,” Mel admitted. “I’ve never done that before. I just know that I wanted you safe and that’s all that mattered.” She lightly rubbed Viola’s elbow, wanting to provide some sort of contact.

  Before Mel could pull away, Viola grabbed her hand and kissed it. “I’m glad to hear it,” she said. “And I will do all in my power to keep you safe as well.”

  Mel shyly smiled. “Thank you,” she said.

  Viola leaned forward and lovingly pressed her nose against Mel’s. Viola inhaled deeply. Mel automatically followed suit. By inhaling simultaneously with Viola, it made Mel and Viola feel like they were becoming one. The action pulled at the deepest parts of Mel’s heart. It made Mel feel more connected with Viola in an indescribable way. Even when Viola moved away from Mel, Mel still felt connected to Viola.

  Mel glanced down at their clasped hands and enjoyed the sight. She liked the roughness of Viola’s hand. Mel rejoiced in how easily they were able to walk side by side. Mel took delight in how their energies intertwined as though they were puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together. It all felt so right.

  Chapter 4

  “I guess I better see if they need this,” Daren said, waving Bill’s arm. He rushed ahead of Mel and Viola.

  “Who needs it?” Mel asked.

  “The doctors at the infirmary. Samuel took Bill there before he bleeds out,” Viola said.

  “You all have a hospital?” Mel asked, shocked. When Samuel had mentioned it earlier, Mel was too preoccupied to notice. She hadn’t seen a hospital that she could recall in the village.

  “It’s not a big hospital. The infirmary is smaller, and it’s run by a couple of doctors, nurses, and technologists in our pack. They do physical exams, run blood tests and biopsies, take x-rays, perform minor surgeries, and handle other cases we wouldn’t want to take to a hospital run by humans,” Viola explained.

  “Like stopping the bleeding of a hunter wounded by a werewolf,” Mel said.

  “Exactly,” Viola said.

  “What about illnesses?” Mel asked.

  “Our kind doesn’t seem to be prone to illnesses,” Viola said. “At least, not colds or the flu or things like that.” Viola thought it over. “We do seem to be susceptible to cancer and some autoimmune conditions.”

  When Viola and Mel reached the village, everyone was up and moving. The pack was concerned until they saw everyone was alive, and then they went about their normal business. Pack members stopped and watched as Viola and Mel walked to the main house.

  Bruce and Silvia were calmly sitting on the porch. Mel was surprised by how serene Bruce and Silvia were. Mel sensed Bruce never had a doubt in his mind that Samuel, Viola, and Daren would be able to handle the hunter.

  Samuel and Daren arrived a few minutes later. Samuel wore scrub pants. Neither had a shirt on.

  “What happened to your clothes?” Silvia asked.

  “I threw mine shirt away. I had too much blood on it to salvage,” Daren said.

  Suddenly, Bruce looked more concerned. “Where’s the hunter exactly?” he asked.

  “At the infirmary,” Daren said. “Alive.”

  “The infirmary?” Bruce repeated.

  “Yep,” Samuel said.

  “Why is he in the infirmary?” Bruce asked.

  “Viola got to him first,” Daren answered. “After Bill had threatened Mel’s life.”

  “His right forearm has been torn off. The docs were able to stop the bleeding. They had to give him a blood transfusion. They said he’ll make a full recovery,” Samuel added.

  Bruce nodded. “I’m proud of you, Viola,” he said. “I know it was hard not to kill him.”

  “I know his time will come soon enough,” Viola said.

  “So where are your clothes?” Silvia asked Samuel. “And why are you wearing scrubs?”

  “I tore my clothes when I changed and didn’t bother to get dressed before taking the hunter to the infirmary. I asked for bottoms since Mel squirms around nudity,” Samuel said.

  “Thanks for being considerate about that,” Mel muttered.

  Samuel nodded. He was holding Bill’s duffel bag. “Daren gathered the hunter’s weapons before he met me over at the infirmary. Looks like he had C4 in here too. It’s a good thing we baited him because he was already planning an attack,” he said. “We’ll need to find his vehicle. There could be more weapons there.”

  “C4,” Bruce repeated, bewildered. He nervously run his hands through his hair.

  “Good thing he didn’t use that when he attacked y’all,” Silvia said.

  “It’s true. The hunter had some heavy firepower, but we dodged that. He took me by surprise and caught me in the shoulder,” Samuel said. “The docs removed the bullet and cleaned it up.”

  Mel stared at his shoulder and realized it was almost completely healed. She reached out and poked his shoulder where she remembered the wound had been. Viola didn’t like the sight of Mel touching Samuel, but Mel was too distracted to notice. “Fascinating,” she murmured. She poked it again. “And there’s no scaring. How is that possible?”

  Samuel was amused by Mel’s reaction. His eyes twinkled as he said; “I hardly think me healing from a wound is the most interesting thing we’ve witnessed today.”

  Mel blushed.

  “Explain,” Bruce said.

  “You need to have Eli talk to Mel too. Some odd things occurred I’ve never seen before,” Samuel said to Bruce. Mel was shocked by how matter-of-factly Samuel was able to sound about it. She had a feeling Samuel didn’t spook easily.

  “That seems to be the reoccurring theme,” Bruce said to Samuel.

  “Yeah, and that’s with you missing out an all of the information Mel was telling me about Bill when we couldn’t even see him,” Daren said.

  Bruce was stunned. “Like?” he said.

  “Mel is the one who saw Bill ambushing us,” Daren said. “Bill had masked his scent with herbs in a duffel bag. The three of us were clueless.”

  Samuel nodded. “I didn’t sense him,” he said.

  “Did you?” Bruce asked Viola.

  “No,” Viola admitted begrudgingly.

  For a brief moment, Mel felt a shift in Viola and Viola’s view of Mel. The moment was gone before Mel could pinpoint the emotion. Whatever the emotion was, it made Mel’s gut churn.

  “Did you hear his heartbeat or his breathing?” Bruce asked.

  Viola, Daren, and Samuel wearily looked at one another.

  “I didn’t,” Daren said.

  “Me neither,” Samuel said.

  “I didn’t either,” Viola said.

  “How is that possible? A person can’t just hide those things!” Bruce said. He looked at Mel. “Can they?”

  Mel shrugged. “At this point, I would say anything is possible,” she said.
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br />   “Unfortunately, I think you’re right,” Bruce said. “What did you do that Samuel is referring to?”

  “I . . .” Mel trailed off.

  “She made a bullet explode in midair before it could hit Viola,” Samuel said.

  Bruce’s eyes looked like there were going to pop out of his head. He took a deep breath as he rubbed his temples. “This just keeps getting more and more . . . interesting,” he said.

  Mel winced. She was beginning to not like the word “interesting.”

  “Why don’t you two talk quietly about Mel’s abilities while y’all find a place to put the hunter after he leaves the infirmary,” Silvia suggested to Bruce and Samuel.

  “Let’s go,” Bruce said to Samuel.

  “Can I come?” Daren asked.

  “Sure,” Bruce said.

  They walked away from the house and towards a large building Mel hadn’t noticed before. That must be the infirmary, Mel thought.

  “Who’s Eli again?” Mel asked Viola and Silvia.

  “The healer of the pack,” Viola answered. “The infirmary handles emergencies and physical stuff while he deals with chronic issues and metaphysical things. He is also gifted and may understand what you are.”

  “Oh,” Mel said.

  “Well, Mel, you sure know how to make an entrance as a new pack member,” Silvia teased. “First an explosion and now you helped catch a hunter. You call this a vacation?” She patted Mel’s right shoulder.

  Mel winced. Pain shot down her arm.

  “What’s wrong?” Viola asked. “What hurts?”

  “My shoulder,” Mel said. “When I fell, I landed funny on it yesterday and again today. I guess I forgot about it because of the adrenaline.”

  “Let’s go get some ice on it and make sure it’s not dislocated,” Viola said. She led Mel into the kitchen. Viola did a bunch of poking and prodding, causing Mel to squirm in pain. She moved Mel’s shoulder around.

  “Ow, ow, ow!” Mel said.

  “The good news is it’s not dislocated,” Viola said. She grabbed a pack of peas from the freezer and put it on Mel’s shoulder. “The bad news is it looks like you have a mild shoulder separation.”