THE HEALING HEART

by Zelda Clemens

  Luna snuck a worried glance at Rodney, as she slipped her hand into his. He seemed unconcerned, alert but relaxed. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and called out across the clearing.

  “My name is Luna. Lelani is my sister. Last night, Rodney Mackenzie took me as his mate and the Steel Fang pack has accepted our pair bond. Even now his child is forming in my womb.” Her announcement drew startled breaths from behind her, and Rodney’s eyes flicked over to her, before returning to watch James. His grip on her hand tightened.

  “Luna, are you sure? It’s barely been twelve hours.” He muttered to her under his breath.

  She simply shook her head, and called out to the Crimson Claw’s alpha again. “Surely your elder can discern these things. Send her to me.”

  Luna released Rodney’s hand and calmly walked into the center of the clearing. James nodded his head, and the elderly woman walked out to meet Luna. The elder took Luna’s hand in her cool, leathered one. Luna could feel a tiny burst of magic pulse through her, and then the woman chuckled.

  “You’re a clever girl.” The old woman said to Luna under her breath.

  “Rodney will have his hands full with you, and that’s before the twins. They’re a boy and girl by the way, good for you. Don’t you worry for your sister. Jem’s an idiot sometimes, but he didn’t hurt her. He knew Nanny Teb would tan his hide if he did.”

  Turning back, the old woman called back to James.

  “Rodney’s claim is valid, son. This woman is his mate, and bears his young.”

  “No, I will not allow them to take her from me.” Jem said. For once in his life, he was going to ignore his father’s orders.

  “You will have to listen to your father,” one woman said. “I saw Gideon and the she cat kissing. She cannot be your mate now.”

  Jem looked at Gideon with rage in his eyes. He was like a brother to him. He trusted him. Gideon noticed what was about to happen and he started running to the forest.

  The air was full of growling as he raced into the forest. It was clear to him that the hunting pack knew he betrayed them. Too bad for them, he thought to herself, he had no time for them but Lelani. He was not about to slow down. He sped in the forest. The pack realized he was not stopping. If she couldn’t get to the other side on time, then he’s as good as dead. He used his forward momentum to speed up. The entire pack was behind him. Jem was approaching him.

  Jem was filled with rage as he jumped on Gideon.

  “No.” Sanura one of the female werewolf screamed as she stopped.

  The pack joined in attacking Gideon. They tore him into pieces with their teeth. Sanura felt helpless, she was of no help. There was nothing she could do; Gideon was already dead. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at the pack members. She wanted to kill them. She wanted to revenge Gideon’s death. This was the end of her, she wanted to die.

  ****

  James nodded his head and just like that, Lelani was running across the clearing to her sister. With a sigh of relief, Lelani held her younger sister tightly to her.

  From behind Luna, Rodney approached them, putting a gentle hand on Luna’ shoulder, “Welcome to the Steel Fang Pack, little sister.”

  Sniffling, Lelani lifted her head to look up at the alpha. “Thank you. For rescuing me, I mean, and making me an auntie? Luna, I knew you’d been looking for a mate before your next cycle, but why didn’t you tell me?”

  Lelani fixed her sister with an incredulous smile. Luna blushed.

  “It’s a long story. Come on, I will tell you on the way home.”

  The two women turned and walked back to the edge of the clearing, where their new family waited to welcome them. Lelani looked behind her to see whether Gideon was coming back with the rest of the pack but the field was clear. She had to go without saying goodbye.

  THE END

  Another bonus story is on the next page.

  Bonus Story 40 of 44

  Inextinguishable Love

  Description

  Captain Gary Damon is a thirty-seven-year-old African-American heroic firefighter who keeps feeling the guilt of his fiancée's death because she had died in a fire incidence that occurred after the plane she boarded crashed in Lagos. As a result, he finds it very difficult to move on since her death and it affects his demeanor at work adversely. So much that his company's management thinks he is suffering from PTSD and recommends a forceful leave for him.

  Instead, Captain Damon finds himself being drawn into action on the very first day of his leave, and then he encounters business tycoon, Eleanor Richards, a thirty-four-year-old white American, inside her burning Spa.

  He rescues her from the fire and she rescues his soul from the eternal damnation of not finding love.

  *****

  Gary Damon sat still inside his royal blue Chevrolet in his driveway as the rains continued to pour down heavily and tormented anything that stood in its way before it reached the earth. The rain had started just as he turned into the busy highway to head home from work. It was the first rain of the season and the weatherman had forecasted it correctly over the radio as Gary drove to work that morning. But its intensity showed the rains were too anxious to travel down South from the heavens. It wasn't the furiousness of the rain that prevented Damon from stepping into his apartment since he had parked in the driveway over twenty minutes ago. Rather not. The emotions, the smell and sound of the rain were what kept him motionless on his seat and trapped deep in his thought.

  What he was feeling at the moment was a direct contrast to what he felt as he started to drive away from work. Gary had wanted so much to get home, get a quick shower and doze off comfortably on his couch while catching up on his favorite show. However, as soon as the rain started to pour down, he found himself being driven toward an address in his memory lane. Someplace where he had tried to leave sealed and never visit again after many months of battling to move on with his life.

  But here he was thinking and helplessly wishing he could have another chance at fighting to keep her by his side. But his wishing was like hopeless seeds that would never germinate. Gary knew for sure that his fiancée, Debby, was gone forever and nothing he did could bring her back. As a result, he tried not to revisit memories about them because it always brought untold agony and it made moving on very difficult for him. Still, he tried.

  The radio station he had tuned into earlier was playing Mirrors, one of his favorite Justin Timberlake’s track, but he was oblivious to its beat and sound. His emotions were becoming overwhelmed while he remembered the last time he and Debby were caught unaware by the rain.

  That day they had both gone for an evening stroll together and were on their way back two hours after, when it started to rain heavily. He remembered how they were a few blocks from his home in the quiet neighborhood of Detroit and instead of Debby picking up the pace as he had, she pulled him instead into a warm embrace and kissed him passionately. That unexpected romantic event lived almost as an immortal memory. It was one of his best moments with her.

  He could still remember the olive oil scent of her, and he could suddenly perceive it in the interior of his car like someone had just sprayed it with her fragrance to keep him longer in memory lane.

  Gary’s mind shifted from the smell of Debby’s hair to the taste of her lips. He was beginning to savor the thoughts of the juicy appetizingness of her lips and sweetness of her kiss when a sharp tone jerked him back to reality. It was his phone’s ringtone.

  Gary picked up the phone reluctantly from the gearbox where he had tossed it earlier. He planned on silencing the sound and letting his voicemail give the caller an option of leaving a message, but when he realized it was his boss, Mr. Matt Pierson calling, he hit the receive icon on the screen.

  “Gary, are you home yet?” his boss asked too quickly in a deep baritone voice even before Gary could say a word. It didn’t take him by surprise. His boss, Mr. Pierson was very straightforward and blunt. He always skipped the formalities in any convers
ation he initiated, regardless of who he was talking to.

  “Yes Chief,” he replied politely and adjusted himself to prepare for whatever Matt had to say next. Gary knew his boss so well to tell when he was placing a courtesy call. This wasn’t one.

  "I thought I would be able to make it back in time after the council's meeting before you left the station to begin your leave."

  “Didn’t know you wanted to see me,” Gary said formerly, “I would have waited.”

  "No, you didn't. But I needed to remind you of the importance of the management's decision to insist you went on this compulsory leave," Chief Matt said and paused. "I know it's hard for you to accept it, but you have to realize this is not all about you. It’s for the good of the team too. No general loves to lose his best warrior and the same applies here. I don't want to lose you to an issue that is going on in your personal life."

  Gary could sense the concern in his boss' voice. Although it was very mild being that Mr. Pierson was a man very notorious for being very unemotional, he could still tell the thirty-year old veteran of the New York Fire Department was worried about his wellbeing. And he understood why.

  Besides his commitment to work as a firefighter with the New York Fire Department, nothing remained the same for Gary after Debby’s demise. Nothing. And for the first time in his life, he felt broken in body and spirit. He wished he didn’t have to exist anymore, but life wasn't willing to show him the way out yet unless he wanted to show himself out by every means possible.

  It was well over a year since she died. Still, Gary felt dejected, heartbroken and deflated. Although he remained active at work, he was no longer the happy and inspirational individual he used to be, and it didn’t take long before his colleagues and seniors to feel the impact of his sudden change in demeanor. But no one could blame him for approaching life with a saddened attitude since after the plane crash that killed the only love of his life.

  Up to the early days in his final year in college, Gary never found that special lady who was willing to build a future with him until he met Debby.

  He had met her at a friend's party when she was in her sophomore year at the University of Washington. Their love wasn’t like the cliché Hollywood scripted love-at-first-sight. It developed steadily until he had graduated. It was during that time he realized there was something different and special about her and when he finally fell in love with her, it was the best thing that ever happened to him. It was inexplicable, but it always gave him joy like a river that never dried out. Well until she was snatched away from him.

  “Gary, you with me?” the authoritative voice of the chief crackled in his ear.

  “Yes…yes sir,” Gary responded hastily.

  “Good. Like I had said, take the time to figure things out and return as the Gary Damon we all know. I need my most competent captain back. Take it as a personal plea from me."

  "Yes, Chief."

  "Good. Travel if you have to, but return safe and in your best self. I wish you good luck straightening things up in your personal life. Goodnight Gary," Matt said and ended the call even before Gary could reply to his last statement.

  Gary stared at the screen of his Samsung for a few seconds before he took a deep breath and exhaled. Everyone around him was worried about him, and now, even the chief had joined the line.

  After Debby’s funeral, the management gave him a few weeks to piece his broken world together and settle into reality before he resumed duty. But barely one week after, Gary nearly lost his mind to the solitude he could afford without any work to distract him.

  As a result, he was pressured by friends and family to move from his quiet Bronx neighborhood—the borough he had moved into with Debby from Detroit after he got employment with New York fire service—to somewhere else in New York City. Still, her memories didn’t blur out with the change of environment, and the more he thought of her, the more he found himself drowning deeply into a grave sadness and loneliness. And then he returned to work, but he was mandated to see a psychologist first to be declared mentally fit to return to duty. Since then, all attempts to persuade him to take a leave, mourn Debby for an eon, and finally move on from her was rebuffed until now, when it came as an order. He feared the worst, but he had no choice but to obey and he also had to try to move on with his life and leave the past behind him.

  Realizing the rain had subsided to trickles, Gary touched his digital wristwatch to show the time. The red glow of its light revealed he had been in the car for over an hour since he had parked in his driveway.

  “Wow!” Gary exclaimed mildly, really surprised at the how much time he had spent sitting in the silence and darkness of the car when it felt like just minutes. But that was not the only surprise. He also realized the torso region of his striped gray shirt was soaked up a little like some the rain had fallen on it, but it was impossible because the Chevrolet's window was well up. Gary knew that there could be only one explanation left to explain the wetness of his shirt and sure enough, when he touched his face, he realized there were trickles of tears left on it. He had been crying without realizing it earlier.

  “Shit! Not again man,” he cried, very displeased with himself.

  Moments later, he exited the car and headed toward his apartment.

  *****

  As soon he stepped into his one-bedroom apartment, the lights switched on to unveil the house in the same melancholy setting he had left it earlier. And besides Lucy, his faithful dog that appeared from the kitchen area and running toward him, the entire apartment appeared lifeless.

  “Hey buddy,” Gary squatted on a knee to frisk the dog’s fur. “Missed me?” he asked Lucy and was replied with a lick on the face. “Yea, I missed you too,” Gary smiled weakly before standing up to head toward the kitchen. He had to serve her dinner before he went about doing any other assignment.

  Lucy followed him closely like a bodyguard and wagged her tail excitedly like she had won something extraordinary.

  Lucy was a gift Debby had bought for him a few days before she had taken off to head toward Lagos, one of the economic destination for investors in Africa. Debby had grown up there as a little girl before her aunt picked her up and brought her over to the US after she had lost her parents in a ghastly accident. But Debby wasn’t returning to Lagos for any form of reunion or something. Instead, she had traveled down as a technological firm representative in an international conference organized for tech startups in Africa. It wasn’t the first time Debby was representing her company in several international meetings, but it was the first time she would be doing so in her home city, Lagos.

  Gary remembered how Debby was so thrilled about it, but he complained he was going to miss her greatly. He even opted to get some days off from work so he could travel down with her and at least get to know her heritage a little more than the tales she had told him and what he had read online.

  He has also hope, at the time, to seize the opportunity to visit his origin in Ghana with her, some place he knew nothing about besides what he saw on the TV. But Debby begged him to leave such adventure to a better time when she wouldn’t be on an official trip and had gone ahead to purchase Lucy as a companion to keep him less lonely. Little did he or Lucy know they were going to be each other’s companion without Debby been around.

  "So, which do you prefer as dinner?" Gary asked Lucy as he lifted the food options from the overhead cupboards to show the dog. The bitch stared patiently as he walked his hand through the options available and by the time he got to the second to the last option, she yelped.

  "Good choice," Gary replied to her and patted her ears. "Now let me prepare dinner for you, all right?" Gary uttered and went about serving Lucy, but he made sure to wash his hands first at the sink before doing so.

  Repeatedly, Gary had reminded himself that he needed to either return Lucy to her owners or hand her over someone else if he was serious about getting over Debby. This was ultimately necessary for him because every time he woke to see her, sh
e reminded him of Debby's innocent look and in particular the smile that lit up her face the day she had handed the dog over to him. Still, he found it impossible to part ways with the dog since becoming fond of her.

  He frequently took her to work except on days he had some very tedious work to do, days like today. Today he had subjected the recruits and some firefighters under probation to the Nance Drill. It was exhausting for everyone that participated, and that was why he longed for his couch until the rain steered his yearning around.

  Gary turned to give the couch a long stare as he closed the refrigerator’s door.

  He scoffed. “Change of plans,” he uttered tiredly before sipping beer from the can he held in his hand.

  He ruffled his curly black hair even more and perceived his odor. He smelled of sweat and needed to shower, but before he stepped out of the kitchen area to head toward the bedroom, he caught Lucy sniffing the air too.

  Gary stopped and shot her an accusatory stare.

  “You must be kidding. So you think I smell too?”

  The dog shook her too quickly like it wanted to get something off her ear, but Gary felt like she was responding to his question.

  "You don't have to deny it you know, but I'm going to shower now," he said and headed toward the bedroom.

  A few feet from the kitchen, Gary realized she followed him almost as soon as he stepped away from where she was eating.

  “Whoa! Where do you think you’re going?" he asked her, but the dog simply gave him a stare with the most innocent look she could display.

  Gary sighed. “Come on. Don’t make me feel guilty now,” he begged and dropped the beer in hand on the kitchen table before crouching down. "You want me to stay with you until you've finished eating?" he asked, and Lucy blinked her eyes before licking his nose.