ARINA'S MATE (Shifters of the Bulgarian Bloodline Book 2)

by Dalia Wright

  Knock. Knock.

  Sarah’s brow furrowed. She’d agreed to meet Brad later, but he’d just dropped her off. Maybe he’s trying to be playful, she thought, though she was sure it was unlikely. Sarah crossed over to the door and reached for the handle.

  When she opened the door and stared at the people on the other side, her mouth fell open.

  “Meamm, Deatt—what are you doing here?”

  They both stared at her with wide eyes. Her mother opened her mouth. “Your hair is—”

  Sarah’s cheeks went bright pink. Brad had thought it was very cool. So had the girl who did the coloring. “Jah, I um, just wanted to try something else.” She looked away, stepping out of the doorway and motioning for her parents to come in.

  “You’re not busy?” her father asked, looking around the room.

  “No. What are you guys doing here?”

  “We wanted to get a hold of you, but your deatt lost the number.” Her mother didn’t sound pleased. Sarah saw her father open his mouth to defend himself, but he closed it. He gave Sarah a soft smile.

  “What is it? Is everything all right?”

  “Your sister is getting married next week. We want you home before the wedding. I know we were talking about picking you up in about a week and a half, but I was thinking three or four days at most. We had to pick up a couple things for the wedding today, so we decided to stop in and let you know. I’m sure we will have to pick up a few other things before the big day, so we can come get you before then. I want to get some nice fabric today for the dress.”

  Sarah stared blankly. She was trying so hard to process everything. Less than a week? What about Brad?

  The thought shocked her. She didn’t know why she would think about him. Sure they had plans tonight, but she would just let him know she was leaving. Right?

  Sarah could only nod. She had no clue what else she was supposed to say, so she didn’t say anything. Her mother smiled.

  “Gut. Now, let me get your phone number again, and I’ll call you when we come into town to get you.”

  Although the community didn’t have cell phones or anything like that, there was a single landline in the store, and a couple of the farmers owned trucks, which no doubt was how her parents had come here.

  Sarah watched as her parents left her apartment without looking around. Chances were, they were too nervous to see what could be there. Not that Hanna, Sarah, or the others who lived there were doing anything illegal, but it wasn’t uncommon for it to happen. Most of the time, the parents and elders in the community just didn’t want to know. It was easier for everyone that way.

  Coming to the English world was all about making sure you could give yourself over to God [S9]without question. It was about making sure it was your choice. As much as everyone thought the Amish community was restricting and forceful, it really wasn’t. It was just a different lifestyle. One a lot of people don’t understand.

  Sarah bit her lip as she padded over to the couch and dropped down.

  “So a few days?”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s that.” Why was she so upset about it?

  “What are you going to tell that guy?”

  “I don’t really know,” Sarah shrugged. He probably wouldn’t even care, though. She’d just tell him some sort of lie. Right?

  “You look gorgeous,” he said, his eyes roaming over her body.

  “Thank you.”

  She was wearing the black dress that he picked out in the store. Although it was very small, she did think it looked good on her. She wanted to show him that his opinion mattered—for some reason.

  “What’s the plan tonight?”

  “I’m guessing you didn’t get my text?”

  “What? No. You texted?” Sarah pulled her phone out of her pocket and stared down at it. No, there were no notifications about him texting her.

  “No wonder you didn’t. That thing is old.”

  “Yeah, I uh—I’m not really a phone person, so I didn’t see the point in getting a fancy one or anything.”

  The truth was, she’d gotten it from one of the girls who had gone out a couple of years ago. She had no clue where that girl had gotten it, though.

  “I wish you had mentioned that when we were out today.” He smiled softly as he leaned forward and gave her a kiss. His eyes sparkled as they locked on her. “To answer your question, I thought we could have dinner at my place. I hope that is all right.”

  Sarah nodded, unsure of how to feel about the idea of going back to his place. She stared out the window as they made their way to his place. Sarah was careful to take notice of the street names and the number they pulled up in front of. She texted Hanna the address before slipping out of the car and following Brad up to the large house.

  “It’s gorgeous,” she said aloud, silently wondering how he had managed to afford it. Maybe it was cheap. She truthfully didn’t know anything about the housing market.

  They made their way inside to an open living room with a huge TV. She stared at the shelves and shelves of DVDs and books. There was a large couch across from the TV and a doorway opening up to a catch.

  She took a deep breath, the scent of food engulfing her. “Something smells good,” she remarked.

  “That would be dinner.”

  Chapter Six

  Sarah hated admitting how much fun she had had with Brad. When he dropped her off and placed a soft kiss on her lips, she wanted nothing more than to stay there with him. Although dinner had been good, they had spent most of their time on the couch kissing. Sarah’s lips felt chapped from all the kissing they had done, but she wouldn’t take it back if she had the choice.

  She had loved every second of it. They agreed to meet up again the next day. He was going to text her when he was on his way to pick her up.

  Knock. Knock.

  And now here she was at 10:00 a.m., rushing for the door and hoping that her phone hadn’t missed one of his texts. She took the risk of missing whoever was there to put more than just a towel on, but her damp hair felt gross against her skin.

  She reached for the door and pulled it open. There was no one there, but there was something: a small package. She bent down and looked at the name on it. Sarah.

  Her heart skipped a beat as she stood and turned back into her apartment. Once inside, she unwrapped it. Her jaw dropped as she stared down at the box. No. There was no way he had actually bought her a phone. She opened the box to double check. A small note was attached to it:

  That way you never miss a text. It’s paid in full with a one-year plan.

  See you soon.

  Brad.

  Sarah’s knees felt weak. She couldn’t believe it. Her fingers shook as she pulled the phone from the box and sent him a quick text message to thank him. This is crazy. He took me shopping yesterday, and today he bought me a phone. She couldn’t believe it. How could he justify spending this money on her?

  Later, she and Brad sat on his couch, and she still couldn’t get over it. “Are you sure you don’t want me to return the phone?” she asked.

  “What? Of course not. I wanted to get you a present. I thought a phone would be more practical than flowers.” He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

  “But flowers must be cheaper.”

  “Eh, not really. Not for what I would have bought you.”

  Sarah stared at him with wide eyes. What was this man’s deal?

  A doorbell rang, most likely the pizza. Brad jumped to his feet, picking up his wallet along the way.

  He loved being able to spoil her. There was something fun about it. She was cute, and as far as he could tell, she had no clue who he was.

  He opened the door to see a girl standing there with the pizza in her hand. Her eyes went wide.

  “I—Oh my god,” she stammered.

  Brad sucked in a deep breath and gave a soft smile. “Hi.” He knew what was coming. He just wished they could avoid it.

  Sarah’s brow furrowed. It sounded like the g
irl knew him. Maybe it wasn’t their pizza. Sarah stood, wanting to know what was going on.

  Brad had stepped outside to talk to her, but he had left the door open. Before she could reach the door, Brad stepped back inside.

  “Who was she?” Sarah crossed her arms over her chest.

  “I don’t know.”

  Sarah knew better than to believe him. “Why won’t you tell me the truth?”

  “I am telling you the truth. I don’t know who she is.”

  “She sure seemed to know you.” Sarah raised an eyebrow. She might be Amish, but she wasn’t stupid. “Why is it that whenever we run into a girl, she seems to know you?”

  Brad looked away from her, still holding the pizza box. “I . . . I guess you need to know.” He padded into the kitchen and placed the pizza box down. “I have to admit, I was hoping we could avoid this a little longer, but you deserve to know the truth,” he said, as he made his way towards the bedroom. Sarah followed him.

  He pushed the door open and stepped inside. He reached for his computer and opened it. She stared at his screen saver. It was a CD cover. And Brad was on it.

  Two words stuck out to her as well: Hit Songs.

  “I’m in a band.”

  “And y-you have hit songs,” she stammered. She was dating a man who was in a band? A successful band.

  “Yes.” He looked away from her, his cheeks flushing. He cleared his throat. “I wanted to tell you. I planned on it, but I just needed to get to know you more. I just needed to be sure that you weren’t—that you didn’t already know.”

  He needed to make sure she wasn’t out to get him because of his band. Sarah nodded, understanding what he was saying.

  She closed the distance between them, reaching out and touching his chest softly. His eyes locked on hers, and she gave him a toothy smile.

  “So when do I get to hear your band?” She saw the tension leave his body a little.

  “You want to?”

  “Unless you’d rather I didn’t.” Maybe it was something he wanted to keep away from her.

  His lips crashed against hers. Their kiss grew more and more passionate, her fingers tangling into his hair.

  “You’re not mad at me for lying?” he asked softly against her lips.

  “I can forgive you,” she replied. She could see where he was coming from. Her lips touched his once more.

  “Then let’s go get something to eat. We can pick this up afterward.” Sarah grinned as he pulled away from her and led the way to the kitchen.

  It had been a wonderful day. She knew that they only had a couple more days left, and she hated that it had to end.

  They parked in front of her apartment building, and she slipped out of the car. He followed her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Walking you up to your apartment.” His eyes sparkled as he took her hand and, with is free hand, opened the door for her. They made their way up the stairs in silence, but it felt nice.

  “You should come in and have a tea,” she said, as she opened the door to her apartment. She stopped in the doorway—staring at her parents.

  They stared back, their eyes wide.

  “Meamm, Deatt.” Sarah completely forgot about Brad for a fraction of a second, until his hand slipped from hers. She spun to face him.

  He gave her a tight smile. “I guess I wasn’t the only one keeping a secret.”

  Guilt tugged at the pit of her stomach. “I was going to—”

  “There’s been a change of plans. We need you home tonight.”[S10]

  Sarah’s heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. No. She felt tears well up in the corner of her eyes. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Brad, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at her parents.

  Brad cleared his throat. “It was nice meeting you, Sarah.” He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, his hands touching the small of her back.

  Without another word, he walked away. Sarah stared at the ground as she made her way towards her bedroom and packed her things, tears flowing freely.

  Epilogue

  It was the day of the wedding, and Sarah knew she needed to be happy. She knew that she needed to smile and put on a face for everyone because her family deserved that. But she couldn’t stop thinking about Brad.

  They had lied to each other about who they were, but they both had their reasons, right? What would have happened if they had been honest a day earlier? Would he still have run like that?

  She sat in her room, staring at herself in the mirror. The dress was new, and it looked nice, but there was something wrong with it.

  Ding. Ding. Ding.

  Sarah’s brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what the noise was. It was coming from one of her bags. She threw the contents of her stuff out until she found the source of the noise. The phone he had given her.

  “Hello?” she said quickly, as she lifted the phone to her ear.

  “Sarah, I wasn’t sure if you would answer.”

  “I’m surprised there is still battery in this thing.” She resisted the urge to ask why he was calling.

  “I miss you,” he said, as if reading her mind.

  “I miss you too.”

  “Then tell me where you are. I’ll come get you.”

  Sarah bit her lip. Was she willing to give up her life here? She wouldn’t be able to see her family often. Could she live with that? And what if he dumps me out of the blue?

  “Sarah? At least let me come talk to you. Please?”

  “Okay.” She swallowed dryly. “I’ll meet you out by the privet lake. The one that is for the Amish people.”

  “I’ll be there in half an hour.”

  He hung up.

  Sarah bit her lip. She crossed over to the suitcase of things she had brought home. She reached for the black dress and slipped into it.

  When she stepped out of the room, all eyes turned to her. Her mother’s jaw dropped.

  “I . . . I’m going to meet Brad.” She held the dress she would wear to her sister’s wedding in her hand. She didn’t dare make eye contact. “I’ll be back in time for the wedding.”

  “And then? What will you do after the wedding?” Her father stared at her. She could see the worry in his eyes.

  She didn’t answer him as she made her way out of the house. She had no clue what she was going to do.

  “You look gorgeous!” Brad called, as he stepped out of a truck. Sarah stared at him. Her heart felt light as she jumped to her feet and rushed over to him. Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly.

  She hadn’t realized just how much she missed him. Her lips crashed against his. His arms wrapped around her hips. He pulled away from the kiss, his eyes locking on hers. “Come back with me.”

  “On one condition.”

  “What is that?”

  “Come to a wedding with me.”

  After the wedding, they could leave. She was sure her father could lend Brad something appropriate. And after the wedding she could go back with him.

  The thought thrilled her. Best of all, she didn’t have to hide who she was. There were no secrets between them anymore. For better or worse, they were who they were.

  The rock star and the Amish girl.

  The End

  God’s Plan for a Husband

  By: Elaine Young

  Chapter 1

  Martha woke up slowly, stretching her legs and breathing in deeply while her eyes remained closed. She had been dreaming, but it was already slipping away. She wondered sleepily what time it was; even with her eyes closed it seemed darker than usual. She suddenly remembered she wasn’t in her bed, turning on her side as her eyes flew open. No, there was handsome, charming Jack lying next to her, still asleep. Martha knew immediately that she was in trouble, and not because of what she’d done the previous night, and the days leading up to it. Many Amish teenagers experimented with the English way of life during Rumspringa; the community and her family would still accept her. Martha was in trouble
because she knew she was madly in love with Jack.

  Although she was only sixteen, Martha had always been practical and the responsible eldest child in a family of four children. So when her friend Sadie invited her out of their community in Lancaster to meet some English teenagers her brother knew, Martha had her doubts, but ultimately decided there was no harm in seeing how most of the country lived. She never could have predicted that she would meet someone like Jack.

  Sadie’s brother, Mark, was one of the few people Martha knew that had chosen to leave the Amish community after Rumspringa instead of being baptized into the church. Although Mark was shunned by most of the community, including his parents, he kept in touch with Sadie. Now that his sister was sixteen, he agreed to show her his new life.

  Martha had told her parents she was going to stay with Sadie for a few days. They didn’t ask any questions, and likely knew she was exploring the world outside of their community. Now that she was growing up, they trusted her judgement and wanted her to make decisions for herself. Mark picked up the girls at the edge of the community at dusk. Martha tried her best not to gape in amazement at riding in a real car for the first time. Sadie immediately grabbed a bag laying on the backseat.

  “English clothes! Thank you, Mark!” she exclaimed, pulling two very short dresses out of the bag.

  “No problem, I borrowed them from my girlfriend,” Mark smiled. “I’m so glad you finally get to meet her.”

  They drove on for a few miles until they reached a town. It was nothing like their community; everything was lit up with bright signs and there were other cars driving around. Mark pulled into a gas station at the edge of the town. “You’ll probably want to change before going to the party,” he said, “and the bathroom here actually isn’t too bad.”

  Martha took the dress Sadie held out for her and eyed it skeptically. It was black like her usual dress, but nearly skin-tight and above the knee in length. Still, she knew she wanted this experience, so she took off her bonnet, tucked in under her seat, said a silent prayer to Gott and followed Sadie into the bathroom while Mark waited in the car.