by Amy McClung
He ran in the door and made sure everyone was fine and then asked me to take him to the kitchen and show him what I saw. We went to the window and I pointed to the area where I saw the shadow but it was gone. “I’m going to go outside and take a look around,” Quinn said. I grabbed his arm and stopped him, “Please don’t go out there, it could be dangerous.” He brushed his hand against my cheek, “I will be fine, don’t worry.” And in a blink he was gone, I screamed for Mitchell and he was by my side before I finished his name. “Quinn went into the woods to look for the vampire, please go help him…please Mitchell.” He turned and looked at the living room, “Will!” he called out, and Will came into the kitchen. “I need you to stay with the girls and protect them. You guys should be fine, if it’s a vampire it has to be given an invitation, so don’t invite anyone in. I am going to go after Quinn. Do you mind man?” Will appeared a little apprehensive when he heard this but said, “No, man, I can do that. I will protect them with my life, so go…help Quinn.” Mitchell took off into the woods after him. I just hope he will find him in time before something can happen. I turned and locked the door behind me and Will and I went back to the living room to let Jackie know what was going on. Poor Will, not only was he left as the babysitter but he had to put up with the fact that Jackie and I were both worried sick over our guys and that meant our minds were only focused on that.
“Let’s play cards or something, we can’t just sit here and fret all night,” Will said as he grabbed a deck of cards off the coffee table and started shuffling. “I don’t think I could concentrate on cards right now Will, sorry, “I said as I stared out the window. There had not been much movement in the woods and it had been over an hour now. I grabbed my phone and started to dial and Will snatched it out of my hand. “What the hell?” He pushed end on the phone and sat it down. “If Quinn is hunting, the sound of the phone could give away his position. You could be putting him in danger.” My face fell, I never even thought about that. I flopped myself down on the couch and Will sat next to me and put his arm around my neck. “Cards?” He asked as he looked at me and smiled. “Fine, let’s play; Jackie…Go Fish sounds thoughtless enough right?” Jackie plopped down on the floor in front of the coffee table and Will started dealing the cards out. We were on the third round when I heard a loud noise from outside. The trash cans had been knocked down and were rolling through the yard.
We all jumped up at the noise and Will told us to stay inside while he checked it out. I went to watch from the door and Will was sniffing at the air which is weird, I guess he thinks that he can sniff out vampires as a human. There was a flash, followed by a brush of air that went by and it knocked Will over and he screamed out and held out his hand, it was bleeding. I grabbed a rag and ran outside to help him. I was holding his hand with the rag over it and I heard something behind me, I turned around quickly and Mitchell and Quinn were coming out of the woods. I took off running to Quinn and it felt like I hit a brick wall and then I was dizzy and standing in my kitchen again. My balance was a bit off and I stumbled back and someone caught me. “What…what happened?” I asked. Quinn replied, “I brought you back inside, you are safer here, we lost the vampire and we heard the trash cans fall. We figure it did that to lure you outside. You are safe in here and I needed to get you back as quickly as possible and that’s why you are a bit dizzy right now.”
Will came in the door threw his injured hand in the air and said sarcastically, “I’m fine…werewolf so I heal quickly…thanks for asking though!” Moving away from Quinn I went to check Will and when I took his hand he snatched it back. Quinn got angry, “Watch it Will!” and started toward him but I put my hands on his chest and pleaded with my eyes. Quinn took the hint and walked out of the room. I turned back to Will, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left you out there, everything just happened so fast.” I said and he stopped me by putting his hand up in front of my face. “Just forget it; you made it completely clear that nothing matters to you but that blood sucking demon. When he is around, no one else matters, not me…not Jackie, no one.” Now I was angry, “that isn’t fair Will, I do care about you and Jackie. And don’t call him a demon, he is a good person. Quinn means the world to me but that doesn’t mean I can’t care for anyone else.” Will dropped his head and then put his arms around me and apologized. We were hugging and then I heard Quinn clear his throat behind me. We pulled apart and Will knocked into him roughly as he passed him and went into the living room. Quinn glared at him another of those stabbing stares and then took a deep breath and looked back at me.
He walked over looked me over for a minute, he was relieved and hugged me tightly and said, “I love you.” Pulling back to look at him I said, “I love you too. So what happened out there, did you see anyone, do you think it was the vampire that killed Christine?” His voice radiated concern, “If it was, then they know you are a wolf and they are probably going to come after you. I am not letting you out of my sight again.” I told him I could handle that and winked at him. “Has Will been here the whole time?” he asked. Exhaling loudly, I rolled my eyes, “please don’t start on Will again.” He was shaking his head, “no, I’m not, I was just wondering. I was wrong for getting mad at him earlier. He is your friend and I understand the need for you to be able to talk to someone who goes through the same thing as you. I never really had anyone to talk to about that stuff before Mitchell and it has made a huge difference. I don’t feel alone like I used to.” He ran his fingers through my hair, “You helped me with that as well, and I know I have helped you some. But having someone that goes through the exact same thing as you is important. I just wish you had met a girl werewolf instead.” I squeezed him and said, “Thank you, it means a lot to me that you understand that, and if it makes you feel better, Will is like a little brother to me, no romantic feelings there at all and I made that clear to him as well.”
If I hadn’t witnessed it with my own two eyes, I never would have believed what happened next. Quinn walked into the living room, straight up to Will, and apologized for everything and they shook hands in a truce. When he first started toward him my whole body tensed scared that he was going to hit him, but I was pleasantly surprised with his gesture. He even invited him to move back in but Will turned him down saying he was getting a rush from sneaking into the school at night and hiding out. From that moment on, they got along like best friends. It was so strange how everything came together like that, but I wasn’t going to take it for granted.
The guys noticed the cards on the table and decided on a new game to play. We started playing poker, using pennies for money. The first suggestion was strip poker but Jackie and I shot them down quickly on that one. I was kicking butt with a grand total of 50 cents when Will got a text and left the room. A few minutes later I heard him yell out and slam a door, everyone jumped up at once, Quinn and Mitchell took protective stances in front of Jackie and me. I decided I would see what was up. If something made him that angry, it could cause him to shift and I was the only safe one if that happened. Quinn was hesitant at first and grabbed my hand firmly. I gave him an insistent look and he knew that I was right and he let me go and just said, “Be careful, please.” I smiled and went to check on Will.
He was in the kitchen with his hands against the counter, trembling. He saw me and apologized for making so much noise. “Are you ok? Do you feel out of control, like you might shift?” I asked. He said no but I still didn’t want anyone near him right now. “What happened?” I asked. “That was my sister, she’s upset. She said things haven’t been the same since I left and she said mom and dad don’t pay any attention to her because they are spending all their time trying to find me. She wants me to come home, she misses me,” he said. I put my hand on his shoulder, “Go back Will. If you need to be with her, then go. Look at me, I have kept this secret for 2 years and no one has been hurt by it. You have 4 friends here if things get rough, 4 people that know your secret and still care about you no matter what. Family is important thou
gh, and you love your sister, you saved her life.” Will put his hand on mine and said, “I can’t go back just yet, at least not till after this week.” I was confused and asked why. “This week is the full moon, did you forget?” I had forgotten for a minute actually.
We went back into the room with everyone else and reminded them of what was coming this week. We had to devise a plan on how to handle it, and we had to make plans to use the full moon to try and track down the rogue vampire. Will began telling us about the cave he lived in near where I found him that day. He said that he could show me where it was and that he and I could spend the two days of shifting there. Quinn wasn’t happy about that, not because I would be with Will as much as the fact that the area is where we last saw something that could have been a killer. “Quinn,” I said, “that is the point. We have to track this person down and we are going to be the best bet for that once we have shifted.” Will chimed in saying, “You have my word man that I won’t let anything happen to Parker. She is the best friend I’ve had in a long time, so I will take good care of her.” They were being civil again and even working together. They are both really impressing me right now.
The plan came down to this. Jackie and Mitchell will be staying together at my house because my parents will still be out of town. Quinn would be staying there too but he would be doing a lot of patrolling to see what he could find on his own. He will be staying far from the woods where we will be so that we are not distracted by another vampires smell. Will and I will spend both days in the cave and at the end of the two days, once I have shifted back I will call Quinn and he will come get us. I was a nervous wreck but it made me feel somewhat better that Will would be there with me.
As I was upstairs packing a bag, Quinn came in the room and shut the door. “Are you sure you’re ok with this?” He asked. As I turned to face him I said, “I am scared to death actually, but it will be ok. This is what we have to do to keep other people from getting hurt.” Before I finished my sentence he hugged me and then leaned in for a kiss. I didn’t want to stop but there was a knock on the door and the sound of Will clearing his throat. We pulled apart and Quinn turned to Will with a look of annoyance on his face. So much for the truce I thought. “What do you want man?” Quinn asked irritated. Will replied, “I wanted to see if it was ok if we changed the plans a bit. I think it would be better if Parker and I go to the cave on our own, the other vampire may pick up your scent and think it is strange for it to be around werewolf scent.” Quinn started shaking his head before Will could even finish his thought and then insisted, “I want to check out the area and make sure Parker is safe there.” Will replied, “I understand, but I told you I will not let anything happen to her, I promise that to you. It would mean a lot to me if you trusted me.” Quinn sighed and said, “Look, Will, it’s not that I don’t trust that you will take care of her. I know you care about her. I just would feel better knowing for myself that she is safe.” I thought it was time for me to interject, “I think Will has a point Quinn, it would be less distracting if your scent was not there. Plus, this is not my first full moon guys, I can take care of myself just fine. I am big girl and I too have super powers in my wolf form.” He groaned and agreed at last. Tonight was the last night before we had to leave for the full moon. I wanted it to be special for us so I asked Will to leave and told him we would meet up at the school the next afternoon.
Quinn and I snuggled up under the covers in my queen size bed and talked most of the night. “So, tell me about your family, I don’t know much about them. I assumed by the red hair that you are of Irish decent in some way, but Harris is a British name.” I was intrigued by the fact that he knew that. I began to wonder if he was just good with names or if he had done research to learn about my background. “I am Irish, well my mom is, she has red hair too, naturally at least, she dyes it brown though.” He ran his fingers through my hair, “please don’t ever do that to yours, I love this color, it is stunning.” Smiling I replied, “Don’t worry, I would never dye my hair, I actually like it a lot myself. So my mom’s maiden name is McConaughey.” He looked confused, “like the…” I stopped him, “Yes, but no relation…Thank God!” Confused again he said, “Why is it a good thing you aren’t related to him?” Faking a shocked look I said, “Because then I would never have a chance to date him of course!” He grabbed me and started tickling me “Oh really, you want to date him!” He said as I begged him to stop tickling me through the laughter and tears. He stopped and pressed his lips again mine fervently.
I was cherishing every minute of it, because I was terrified that something would go wrong when I shifted and that I may hurt him or worse. I tried not to think about it but it kept creeping back into my thoughts. It must have been obvious that I wasn’t completely in the moment and Quinn stopped and kissed my forehead and said, “What’s wrong baby?” Sitting up I turned to face him and said, “Just thinking about my nightmare, I don’t want you anywhere near me once I’ve shifted, I’m petrified of what will happen.” Quinn brushed my hair behind my ear and said, “We’ve been over this, nothing is going to go wrong.” I cocked an eyebrow as I said, “Have you ever watched movies, do you know that every time someone says ‘nothing is going to go wrong’ it goes terribly wrong.” Quinn snorted, “Sounds like you watch too many movies Hun, nothing is going to happen to me, you are stuck with me whether you like it or not.” He kissed my head and I giggled, “Oh you can bet I like it.”
The morning came way too soon. The sun was shining in the window and I stretched and rolled over to see Quinn lying there so peacefully. Peacefully was the nice way to put it, when he sleeps he looks…well there is no other way to say it…dead. Truthfully it was a little creepy at times to think about it so I made an effort not to. I curled up against his chest, I was not ready to face the full moon tonight and the dangers that came with it. The only thing I did feel good about was that I wouldn’t be alone this time, I had Will to help me through it. There were noises coming from downstairs so I knew the others were up.
Kissing his chest lightly I started to say Quinn’s name trying to rouse him from his somber state. He wasn’t budging so I started to get louder, than started calling him different cutesy names trying to wake him up by annoying him, “Quinn-y, QuinnBear, Q to the win, Quintessential, Qui-Qui, Q-Q-cachoo…” One side of his lip turned upward and that adorable dimple came out and then his chest shook. “Ok, I like Q-Q-cachoo,” he said as he chuckled. He lifted my face to his and kissed me good morning. He got up out of bed and stretched his body, I marveled at the way his body moved and the smoothness of his skin. He put his hand out to me and I reluctantly got out of bed and we headed downstairs to face the day.
We had pancakes for breakfast courtesy of Mitchell’s cooking this time. We were great at teamwork, Mitchell cooked, Jackie and I set the table and poured the drinks and Quinn added butter and syrup to each plate as it was hot off the stove. It had to be the best breakfast I’ve had ever, not just the food but the company. I wanted to savor this moment between the four of us, just in case it was the last breakfast we had together. It’s unhealthy to think that way but I can be a bit of a pessimist sometimes. Jackie and Mitchell kept stealing kisses and feeding each other pancakes. Quinn was pretty quiet. I’m starting to think he is a pessimist too and just doesn’t want to admit it.
Scooting my stool over to him I kissed his shoulder. He turned and smiled and kissed my forehead and then fed me a bit of his pancake. He then took his finger and dipped it in the syrup and I saw it moving toward me. Thinking he was being sexy I started toward it and he swiftly touched my nose wiping syrup all over it. I jumped back and shouted, “Hey!” He was cracking up with laughter as I went to wipe my nose and couldn’t get it all off because of the stickiness. Instead, bits of napkin were sticking to my nose. Laughing still, he went to the sink and wet a paper towel and cleaned it off for me. By this time we were both laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. He put his arms around me and hugged me, tight, a little too tigh
t. He was worried.
Quinn and I wanted to be alone for a few hours so we left the house and took a drive. He wanted to take me some place special so he took the wheel. We were driving for a while, I almost started to worry that it was too far, like he had changed his mind and was kidnapping me to keep me safe. Apparently I was hopeful that he was abducting me because I was a little disappointed when he pulled over to the side of the road. He got out and walked around and opened the door for me helping me out of the car. This place was unfamiliar to me so I let him lead the way. He lifted me into his arms and ran us to a clearing that had a beautiful waterfall. He sat me down and I was in awe of my surroundings. He told me to stay put and he would be back in a second. With him, a second was literal. When he returned he had a blanket and a picnic basket. He laid the blanket out and sat the basket on it. He sat down and patted the ground next to him to signal for me to join him. Everything had such a romantic feel to it. This place was beautiful, I can’t believe it was only an hour or so from home but I had never discovered it. Quinn reached into the basket and pulled out two goblets and a bottle of champagne, he poured each of us a glass. “How did you get this stuff? Or should I say where?” A cunning grin came over his face, “I can be very persuasive, that’s all I can tell you.” Boy, he isn’t kidding, I know many girls couldn’t resist his smile, I am just lucky he is mine.
The glass was just at my lips when Quinn stopped me. “We have to have a toast,” he said. He held his goblet up and said, “Here’s to Us, We will have the forever we deserve, no one will take that away.” Optimistically we clink our glasses together and then intertwined our arms to take a drink. That is much harder to do than they make it seem in movies. When the glasses were empty, Quinn took mine and set it down and then stood up and extended his hand to help me up. “What are we doing now?” I asked. “Going for swim,” he said. He started taking off his clothes and I said, “Are you crazy, it’s October, it’s got to be freezing in that water!” That didn’t stop him, he took off all his clothes and…well my thoughts were gone.