“I, uh….”
“What?!” Kate exclaimed, her voice resounding through the building. “Did you have amnesia or something? Because that’s the only reason I’d forgive you for not returning my calls.”
“No.” Monica shook her head. “I wish it was that simple.”
Kate was about to come up with a rebuttal, but the stiff expression on her face loosened as she noticed the black circles under Monica’s eyes.
“Holy crap, Mon,” she spoke in a much lower tone as she leaned closer to her. “What the hell happened to you? Did anyone hurt you?”
“No,” Monica snorted as a bitter smile spread across her face. “It was me. I hurt someone. Look, I’m sorry I disappeared on you like that, okay? Can I please talk to you?”
“Come on in,” Kate said with a nod. Brushing past her, Monica lowered her head and went to her friend’s living room. She seated herself on Kate’s couch, her heartbeat escalating as the moment of truth drew near. For a moment, she questioned her decision to be honest with her. After all, her story would sound ludicrous to say the least. But, Kate had to know. It was the only way for her to provide a helping hand.
“All right, Dr. Mills,” Kate said as she joined her on her couch. “You’ve got my attention. You said you hurt somebody. Exactly what did you do?”
Monica took a deep breath before she began her long narrative. As she soon discovered, convincing her friend would be no easy task. Kate loved to be sarcastic. In the long years of friendship with Monica and Julia, Kate used to make fun of them. Nevertheless, Monica had to overcome her crude comments, her jokes, and her occasionally loud laughter. It was not difficult for her. The mere recollection of Raul’s face made it easier for her to remain serious and not even smile throughout the twenty minutes of her narrative.
Silence lengthened as Monica spoke her last sentence. Kate wouldn’t speak. Instead, she dragged her gaze away from her before picking up Monica’s purse from the couch.
“Kate, what are you doing?” Monica asked, surprise written all over her face.
“Looking for drugs,” Kate replied, rummaging through her friend’s things. “What was it? Pot? X? Something new?”
“Look at me!” Monica yelled, her voice broken as her chest heaved. “Do I look intoxicated to you?”
“Oh, my God,” Kate let out a long sigh, closing her eyes as she pulled her hands out of her purse. “Mon…,” she croaked as her gaze shot up to meet Monica’s. “You’ve just described a fairytale. And guess what? The heroine sounds nothing like you. Are you sure you’re okay?” She inquired, reaching forward to cup her friend’s cheek.
“It happened, Kate,” Monica whispered, biting her lower lip in an attempt to hold back her tears. “I’m not making this up.”
“Sweetheart, I love you. You know that,” Kate made her voice sound sweeter as she leaned over her. “But the woman I know wouldn’t do all those things. I mean, you throwing yourself onto a guy, seducing him– twice –dirty talking, and asking him if he was in love with you? And the same guy just…,” she faltered, “Magically turned into a wolf and saved you from Tom? And don’t get me started on the ‘prophecy’ part. It sounds–”
“Crazy,” Monica finished her sentence. “That’s why I left. Speaking of which, have you seen Tom lately?”
“No, but–” All of a sudden, Kate stopped talking altogether as her brows popped up. “Oh, no, no, no…,” she whispered, lifting her hand to cover her mouth.
“What, Kate?” Monica asked quickly, her voice urgent as two tears spilled from her eyes. “What is it?”
“I read a report online the other day,” Kate declared as her own voice filled with tension. “A guy had said he’d been attacked by a wolf that stood more than four feet at the shoulder. It had a picture of him, too. It was Tom. He had a cast on his forearm. I laughed at it. I called you. I wanted to talk about it with you.”
“Do you believe me now?” Monica breathed, her lips shaking as more tears rushed down her cheeks.
“It can’t be.” Kate whispered, running both hands through her hair. “A wolf….”
“Yes, it can.” Monica interrupted. “I was there. It was Raul. That wolf was just massive. He did it to protect me. Didn’t I just tell you about it?”
“You said a lot of things.” Kate raised her tone slightly. “I don’t think I heard that part. I kept thinking about what you did when he gave you that painting. You wouldn’t kiss a guy first, Mon. That sounds like something I would do, not you.”
“I think I lost myself in that relationship, Kate.” Monica claimed, wiping her tears off her face. “I was impulsive. Reckless, even.”
“I hate to say it, but you didn’t,” stated Kate, using a firm tone, intensifying her stare. “Subconsciously, you decided to live a little, but,” she sighed, “a geek is always a geek.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Monica spoke, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
“It means that you need to stop trying to use science to explain everything,” Kate emphasized, glaring at her. “You just entered a world of another species, for crying out loud. Did it ever occur to you that things might–just might–work a little different in there?”
“So ‘death by broken heart’ can be a real cause of death,” Monica said with wicked irony dripping from her voice. “Is that even possible?”
“Yes!” Kate jerked her head in a spasm of frustration. “The same way a four-foot-tall wolf is possible, quick healing, transformation, prophecies… What did that prophecy say again?”
“A fundamental question shall test her resolve and her strength. The human healer will vanish from his life,” Monica quoted, recalling the book.
“There you have it,” Kate gave an emphatic nod. “Mating: that’s the question that made you dump him.”
“This is all just a trick,” Monica maintained, averting her gaze from Kate. “Helena wants to hurt Roman’s grandchildren.”
“No. No way,” Kate stated, rejecting that notion. “If she did, she would have let the pack rip your man to shreds. She wouldn’t even have shown herself.”
With two short sentences, Monica’s friend made everything crystal-clear to her. Amid her panic, she had failed to consider that possibility, thereby dooming the man who had been so kind to her. The realization hit her like a wrecking ball. Monica returned her attention to Kate, but only for a second as she dropped her head in her hands, feeling even more tears rise up in her eyes.
“Hey,” Kate whispered, scooting closer to her, “don’t you break down on me, you hear?”
Not even her friend’s soothing voice was enough to prevent her emotional breakdown. Monica took her hands off of her face, and then leaned in toward her friend, circling her arms around Kate’s back.
“What have I done to him?” she wondered, her voice full of emotion as two tears raced down her cheeks. “I’ve killed him. I can’t believe I’ve killed him.”
“You got scared, honey.” Kate heaved a long, deep sigh, welcoming her in her embrace. “I’d get scared, too, if I were you. But it’s not over yet.”
“It’s not?” Monica sniffled, quickly leaning back.
“No,” Kate smiled, rubbing her on the back. “Pull yourself together. We’re going back to Shandaken.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Raul’s every waking moment had become torturous. Unable to fathom what had transpired, he wouldn’t see his siblings. He simply showed them Monica’s letter and then asked to be left alone. The woman he loved was out of his life. Nothing they said could help relieve his pain or give him hope for the future.
Raul spent hours either reminiscing about the few happy memories he had with her or reading her letter over and over again. Despite the sadness that had been eating away at his heart, he had to admit that Monica’s last question was valid. Parenthood was a big deal. Not just for humans, but for shifters as well. Too preoccupied with Warrick and Bryant, he had failed to give it any thought. Still, even if it
did cross his mind, he could not answer that crucial question. None of his ancestors had mated with a human before. There hadn’t been any cases of shifters mating with humans in Paxton, either, at least to his knowledge.
As daylight faded into darkness, Raul knew who he had to turn to in order to get an answer: none other than Helena, the witch who had protected him from his terrible fate. So, he left his cabin behind and headed toward Clover Lake, the one place he believed he could find her, unable to shake the feeling that, upon the sight of it, he would suffer. It would bring back the memory of his date with Monica. Nevertheless, he had no choice. Raul had to know.
As he neared his destination, he realized that this night was not at all different than the one when he and Monica had been there together. Peace and tranquility were in the air. The moon was high in the sky, beautifully lighting up the night, surrounded by thousands of stars that had taken her breath away. In an instant, Raul felt his heart sinking. A mere glance up at the rock they had kissed on made matters even worse.
“Damn it,” he thought to himself. “Stop thinking about it. Now’s not the time. Look for Helena.”
He sat down on the rock and began to sweep the bank across from him. But before he could complete the first scan, Helena’s soft voice tore the silence.
“The mighty do fall,” she uttered, her tone low and sad. There she was, standing just a few feet away, gripping her staff. “The prophecy has been fulfilled. That is why you are alone, is it not?”
“Fall,” Raul croaked, bending his knees. “I don’t know. Break? Yeah. She’s gone, Helena. She left this morning.”
“Fall indeed.” Helena gave a small nod. “You could hardly drag your footsteps across the forest floor. You walk like an old man. You couldn’t smell me, you couldn’t hear me…. What’s the matter? Have your powers begun to abandon you already?”
“I was distracted,” he spoke, wrapping his arms around his knees.
“You do know how dangerous this is, don’t you?” she asked in a stiff voice. “Roaming around in the darkness, reeking of defeat? Your kind preys upon the weak, firstborn. Even a lesser wolf than you can end you in the blink of an eye.”
“I know about that,” Raul’s voice came out slowly as he nodded. “Before Monica left, she wrote me a letter, saying she couldn’t be my mate. She’s just been divorced and thinks things were moving a little too fast. She was asking if we could ever have babies. So…,” He drew in a sharp breath. “Could we?”
“Yes, you could,” Helena’s response was sharp. “Khalista described a case of a male human mating with a female shifter at the end of her book. Their two babies were human. The shifter asked her if she could somehow give them the wolf. Khalista accepted, even though there was a good chance that neither she, nor the children could survive this process. She succeeded with the male, but things went wrong with the female. The girl died, and Khalista was weakened. The witchcraft she used to stay young didn’t work anymore. She died of old age, I guess.”
Raul smiled bitterly, understanding the uselessness of the question and the information alike. How could he and Monica start a family? She wasn’t there. She wasn’t ready to commit to another man. However, he chose to keep his bitterness to himself. Helena had assisted him, but discussing this with her would only add to his sorrow.
“Thank you,” he murmured, dragging his gaze away from her.
“You are a lot like Roman, my dear Raul,” Helena said, starting toward the rock; “Tall, handsome, and fierce. You may have your grandmother’s eyes, but…,” she paused. “You have his heart.”
“I wouldn’t have done what he did to you, Helena,” he muttered, casting a sideways look down at her. “I wouldn’t treat you like that.”
“Roman and Monica both became prey to the same fear,” she said in a voice filled with disappointment as she turned her gaze to the lake. “Can you see through the water?”
“No.” Raul snorted, puzzled by her question. “What’s that have to do with anything?”
“Everything,” Helena used an emphatic tone, glancing up at him over her shoulder. “They were scared of the unknown. Roman’s parents told him that he would end up as my puppet, when all I ever had for him was love. Monica abandoned you because she didn’t know if she could have a future with you. I wasn’t able to convince him. Your grandfather was a good man, but he was as stubborn as a mule. Have you tried talking to her?”
“Nope,” he said, scooting over to the edge of the rock. “I’m not going to, either,” he added, hopping off.
“Why?”
“Because she’s the one who left, Helena!” Raul yelled, feeling his blood pumping through his veins as he leaned over her. “She could have stayed and told me all about those fears! Instead, she just took off without saying a word.”
“I can understand your frustration.” Helena nodded, her voice calm, not at all affected by his burst of anger. “But it’s the only way.”
He lifted his hand to his face and rubbed his chin, understanding very well what the witch was trying to tell him. It was only a matter of time before she reminded him of his fate. Yet, Raul needed no reminder. What he craved was some peace of mind and an unfamiliar place where he could be alone with his thoughts.
“Thanks again, Helena,” he said, his tone mild as he turned away from her. “Goodnight.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Returning to his cabin, Raul didn’t even consider staying there. He might have needed privacy, but it was full of memories, memories that would haunt him. No, spending the night there or in Paxton was not an option. He would take advantage of the abolishment of the rule and visit the nearby town of Shandaken. No one knew who he was. No one would ask him questions that would put him in a difficult position. More importantly, the human residents would not sense his weakness.
Raul did not know where he would end up. It could be a remote hill on the far edge of town, an empty plot of land, or simply a ledge. In any case, he didn’t care. All he wanted was to leave his birthplace, even for a few hours. His domain felt more like a prison, like a large cage he could not escape.
Raul was determined to enter Shandaken and not take his eyes off the road as a mere glance up at Monica’s house would once again devastate him. But this soon proved to be an impossible feat. Something was wrong. The road outside her house was not empty as he expected. Three cars were parked on the side. He wasn’t good at remembering makes or models, but he recognized their colors immediately–red, white, and purple, the exact same colors he had seen on the night he stormed out of Monica’s house. The lights were on. She was there, and she was not alone. Her friends were with her. Right away, he thought she had lied to him. She had never left Shandaken. She just didn’t wish to be bothered. Raul’s initial thought was to put his foot hard down on the throttle and disappear into the night. He was angry at her. Still, he would do no such thing. He didn’t want to speak to her. Raul wanted to be close to her, perhaps for the last time in his life.
He bypassed the cars in question and then eased on the brakes. Happily, her closest neighbor was more than a hundred yards away. There was a large plot in between, ideal for what he had in mind: seclusion. Raul switched off the engine and stepped out of his truck. As he moved around it, many sounds filled his ears, making him wish he wasn’t blessed with the sense of hearing. He could make out two separate female voices, music, and lastly, a gentle weep. For the first time ever, the music didn’t annoy him. It was slow, melodic, and the volume was low enough not to annoy him.
A bass-deep, male voice sang:
“The world was on fire and no one could save me but you. It’s strange what desire will make foolish people do”
Raul leaned his back against the passenger window, gazing out at the horizon. Wolf Mountain Peak was standing tall and proud in the distance. The slopes were a light purple under the moonlight, and the winter snow had vanished altogether. All the same, this was a sight he had laid his eyes on many times in t
he past. He still liked it, but something else appealed to him even more. Strangely enough, it was the music. It was there that he discovered the power it had over humans. Raul found himself trying to focus on the lyrics, the guitar, and the drums, but the weeping didn’t allow him to do so. Amid the mash-up of squeaky voices and music, he heard Monica speaking his name. Part of him desired to barge in, take her in his arms, kiss her, and tell her not to cry anymore. However, he wouldn’t move a muscle. Monica had failed him. She wasn’t the courageous woman he thought she was.
The sound of the porch door swinging open drew his attention. The rosy scent that spread out in the air told him who it was. He didn’t have to glance up at the porch. Lowering his head, he bit his lower lip. He had been exposed.
“Raul!” Monica’s voice echoed in the emptiness, tears blurring his vision as another lyric sent his heart in a downward spiral.
“This girl is only gonna break your heart.”
“She already has,” he told himself. Lingering there longer was out of the question. Raul slowly turned around as a tear rolled down his cheek. With a heavy heart, he began to make his way back to the driver’s door, regretting his decision to pull over so close to Monica’s house. But as he reached his arm to grab the handle, the feminine figure he laid his eyes upon forced him to stop. She was running toward him, her hair whipping her face.
“Go back inside, Monica,” he groaned as she quickly closed the distance between them. “I’m leaving, anyway.”
“No,” she gasped, slowing down as he put his hands on his waist. “Not until you hear me out.”
“Your letter was pretty clear.” Raul murmured as she stopped right in front of him. “You take care,” he continued, reaching once more to grab the handle. As he did, though, Monica grasped his wrist.
“Will you please listen to me?” she requested, her sweet voice raising every hair on his body.
“I’m not in a mood for a goodbye,” he stated, his tone deep and slow as he stared down at his feet.
A Wolf's Heart (Wolf Mountain Peak Book 1) Page 12