by Anna G Berry
“Do you know what you want?” I asked her.
“Yep.” She said in quick response.
I looked at her, but her face gave nothing way, “Are you okay?” I asked her as we moved up in line.
“Yes… no. Why did you tell those girls that I’m your fiancée?” she asked me.
“Because you will be. Don’t you know?” I asked her as I looked down at her. The line began to move again.
“I do, but I don’t want you to marry me because I’m pregnant.” She told me as she looked down.
“I want to marry you because I love you, Pisoi.” I told her as we moved up in the line again.
She gave me a little smile and wrapped her hand around my arm. We moved up to the counter, ready to place our order.
“What can I get you today?” The guy at the counter asked us.
“I would like a double bacon cheeseburger all the way. I also need a cheeseburger with mushrooms, onions, lettuce and ketchup, two large drinks and a regular Cajun fry. That’ll be all.” I told him, handing him a hundred-dollar bill.
He handed me my change, receipt, and our order number which read 56. I walked over to the drink machine and I filled both up with ice and picked vanilla root beer for Claudia and sweet tea for myself. I capped both drinks and placed a straw in each. I handed Claudia her drink and waited for our number to be called.
They called a few numbers before I heard someone say, “Number fifty six.”
I walked over and grabbed the bag of food. I walked back to Claudia and we walked back out to the car. I grabbed my keys and unlocked it for her as I handed her the food. I got in and turned the key so we wouldn’t be sitting in a hot car. She handed me my burger and took hers out as well. I couldn’t seem to wait any longer and I damn sure couldn’t stop myself from blurting out, “I’m just going to come out and ask you. Will you marry me Claudia?” I asked as I grabbed the ring box and opened it up.
“Of course, I will. Oh my, the ring is beautiful!” she told me as I slid the ring on her finger.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, the woman of my dreams said yes to marrying my fucked-up self. Life was great.
Chapter Sixteen
Claudia
I couldn’t believe Carson asked me to marry him. He should have known that I would say yes. For a moment, it appeared as though a shadow of a doubt crossed his face. Had he actually thought I might have considered saying no? I mused. He kissed me and then pulled back as he grinned. We started out of the parking lot and onto the highway. I couldn’t help but look down at the ring and smile at it. It was beautiful.
I was suddenly pulled into a flashback as I admired my ring.
I was sitting on the swing right at the tree line by the ocean. I looked to my left to see Paul playing with Sam and Ashton. Then I looked to my right where my cousins were playing. There was Alana, who preferred to be called Bleu, Lorren, Mikayla, and June. Lavender was playing with the girls as well. I got off the swing and I walked towards them, but my attention got pulled to where a kid stood at the edge of the tree line to left of the swing where the boys where. I walked toward the blurry figure to find that the closer I got to him the clearer he got. I got closer and closer to him to find that it was Carson standing there.
I got pulled out of the memory as Carson tapped my left arm to get my attention. I looked over and noticed the look of worry he wore on his face. I looked out the window to see that we were already back at the house. I gave him a small smile and got out of the car. I needed to clear my head after today. I needed a good run, so I did just that. I walked to the edge of the backyard and stripped off my clothes. I ran as fast as I could to the edge of the woods and shifted mid run. I needed some clarity on the fact that I was having twins and there were so many other things happening. I just needed time to think.
I ran and ran before stopping when I reached the meadow. I needed something to bring me back down to the here and now and the meadow always seemed to do that for me. I started to walk along the tree line, not stepping one paw into the woods’ edge. I had no idea what I would do with two little wolves, but I was up for the challenge. Two more lives that I would fight for against Waylon. I was frustrated about everything that I was facing and I needed to let out a good howl, so I did. I leaned my head back and let out the loudest howl I could muster within me.
After that, I took off running deeper into the woods not sure where I was going. I got to the end of the woods to find myself somewhere I had never been before. I looked around at an entirely new part of the ocean. This area of the water was just as clear as the water by the pack house was. The idea of going for a swim made me smile, so I trotted up to the edge of the water letting the waves hit my paws before I jumped all the way in. The water was a bit warm and it felt fantastic. I walked father into the water letting it soak my light tri-colored fur. I let my head go under the water. I came up shaking the water out of my ears.
I decided to go further out into the water. I swam around for a few hours just taking in the salty water and feeling the seaweed on my paws. I loved to swim in my wolf form, but I didn’t get to do it very often. My mostly snow-white coat looked a bit dirty before, but with me being in the ocean it was back to the shade it should have been. I swam to the shore and walked back up onto the sand. I gave myself a good shake, my big brown paws looked a bit lighter but that was from the saltwater.
I had enough me time and time to think so I ran back to the house at full speed. I slowed down when I got to the edge of the woods and I trotted into the backyard and picked my clothes up in my mouth. I walked back into the woods and shifted back into my human body then got dressed and walked out of the trees.
I saw that everyone was in the house and had gathered in the living room. I walked to the sliding glass door that lead into the dining room. I pulled on the handle, luckily it wasn’t locked. I stepped into the dining room and made my way to the living room. It looked like they were expecting me.
“Hello, sorry about that. I had to blow off some steam.” I said as I looked around the room.
“It’s okay, we were going to wait for you anyway.” Max told me as I made my way over to where Carson sat. He didn’t look happy that I went off on my own, but he relaxed when I sat next to him.
“Thank you. Now, what is it that you need to tell us?” I asked of them.
The room got quiet, no one looked at me for a few seconds. Lavender was the first to break the eerie silence.
“This is what we found. You must have not looked on the back of the page because there’s more written. See for yourself.” Lavender said as she moved the ancient book in front of me.
I walked closer to the book and saw that it read, “Claudia Stonewell will have twins, one will die while the other will survive. The only way both can survive is if Claudia and Carson follow three steps.”
I looked at Carson who gave me look that said to keep reading, “Step one: Claudia must drink a special tea given by a witch or voodoo priestess. Step two: Carson must bury a special amulet given by a witch or voodoo priestess. Lastly, step three: they must go deep in the woods to the broken tree to the left of the property line and perform a blood ritual to ensure both the baby’s futures.”
“So, we have to do a series of rituals?” Carson asked out loud.
“There are two steps and then the ritual which is the last step. It says that you have to offer your human blood just a few drops on the tree’s roots and then shift to wolf form and offer a few drops of your wolf’s blood to complete the ritual.” Lavender said as she looked down at the book and then at Carson.
“That doesn’t sound too complicated at all. Let’s do this. When do we start?” Carson asked as he looked at Lavender.
“The next New Moon, known as The Alpha’s Moon.” Lavender told us.
“Wait, that’s in about a week. Do we do this all in one day?” I asked her.
“Yes, I will give you the drink in the morning and Carson, I will give you the amulet after I visit Claudia. Y
ou will leave the house right before the moon gets to its highest point. You will offer your human blood as soon as you get there, you will then wait till the moon is at its highest and shift and offer wolf blood. You will come straight to me as soon as you are done. I will give you something to help sleep because you will be wide awake.” She said as she closed the book.
“Is that it? Is that all that you found? It doesn’t say why we have to do this?” I asked.
“There was a curse put on your family, claudia, by a witch. Carson, a demon put a curse on your family. It was written long ago that when you two mated and had kids that you would have twins, but that one of them would die. The loophole is the three steps I just listed. That, and that alone, will keep your babies safe. There was also one more thing I found, something on a bit of a happier note.”
“What is it?” I asked her.
“It’s about the houses that you both own.” Bleu said very short.
I gave Carson a look, not sure what to make about what Bleu had just said. He looked at me with the same expression on his face. I looked back at her as she pulled out two pieces of legal papers.
Carson grabbed the papers out of her hands and unrolled them. His face dropped when he was done reading them.
“It says that the two houses are ours and that we can remodel them and house more wolves if we so choose.” He said as he rolled them back up.
I looked around to see the room still filled with the whole pack. I could see that the pack was waiting for me to say something, anything for that matter.
“I like that idea of housing more wolves and restoring the houses. I think that would be a great idea. I know that when we have meetings here it can get really stuffy at times and this way we would have a lot more room to spread out.” I said as I looked around the room.
They all looked a bit relieved by what I had said, and I didn’t blame them for it. I couldn’t help but feel excited to start remodeling my family’s home and I could feel that Carson felt the same way with his family home as well.
Chapter Seventeen
Claudia
After the meeting I walked to my room. I was so exhausted from today’s adventures. I walked into the bedroom, then to the bathroom. I needed a warm bath and bubbles to help relax me. I turned on the water in the tub and grabbed the bubble bath soap from the closet. I poured some in the water and I let it bubble up before I got in the tub. I sat down and closed my eyes soaking in the smell of the bubbles.
I opened my eyes to see that Carson was looking at me. I couldn’t help but giggle. I must have been in the tub for a while if he was sitting there staring at me.
“What’s going on?” I asked him.
“I was just making sure that you were alive that’s all.” He said to me, letting out a deep breath.
“Sorry, I must have fallen asleep. Wow, the bubbles are all gone…can you hand me a towel please?” I asked him as I pulled the drain on the tub.
He handed me a towel and I grabbed it from his hands as I stood up and wrapped it around my body. He reached out his hand to help me step out of the tub. After I got out, I went to the sink and brushed my teeth. I walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom before grabbing a shirt and a pair of underwear. After I put them on, I walked over to the bed and fell into it. I grabbed the covers that were bunched up at my feet, andI laid back and pulled them over my head before falling asleep.
I drifted off to a dreamless sleep. For the first time in awhile I didn’t have any nightmares and it was amazing. I woke up and rolled over to see that Carson was still asleep. I carefully got out of the bed and walked to the window and I looked out to see that Paul and Marco had everyone out there for their weekly training. Every week, we did multiple types of very intense training. Running, fighting, weightlifting, and swimming. It looked like they just got back from running and swimming had moved onto fighting.
I walked over to the dresser and pulled on a tank top and a pair of running shorts. The tank top was a light blue and the shorts matched the top. I was almost to the door when I heard Carson stir. I looked behind me to see that he had sat up and motioned for me to come to him. I walked over to his side of the bed when he grabbed me and pulled me onto the bed next to him.
I let out a giggle, surprised by the unexpected grab, and I gave him a smile and kissed him on the lips. What happened next was something I did not expect, he grabbed him by my waist and pulled me on top of him. He pulled my tank off followed by my bra. I watched his hands play with my breasts, as he grabbed and squeezed them. He started to suck on one nipple while he played with the other one. I couldn’t help but let out a long moan as I intertwined my fingers in his hair and my head rolled back. His hands drifted to my shorts, he pulled them off of me and had me sitting on top of him, completely naked.
He rolled me over so that I was laying on my back and he was on top. I looked up at him with lust burning in my eyes. I found his bed shorts and pulled them off and I realized that he had nothing on under them. He gave me his sexy little sideways smile. He began to kiss me and he knew that I was a bit thrown off. He started at my lips and began to move down to my throat and kissed the mate mark that made me shiver every time. He kept going down to my breasts and then to my belly button. I let out a gasp and then a moan as he slipped a finger inside me and began to go in and out of me slowly.
I couldn’t help but let out a loud moan as he started to pick up the pace and started moving faster. I was getting ready to cum when he pulled out his finger and gave me a small kiss on my lips.
“You think I’m going to let you cum? Nope, not till I say so, Pisoi.” He told me as he sat back on his knees.
I groaned but laid still, knowing that if I moved, there would be consequences to my actions. He gave me a smile and kissed the top of my sex. He moved lower down my body and into my center and began to lick me which caused me to go crazy. I began to moan louder as he continued licking my wetness and lapping up my juices. He began to finger me as he was eating me. After a few minutes of him eating me and fingering me he came up, but still would not let me cum. I couldn’t help but beg him to let me cum.
“Please, can I cum?” I asked him as he got ready to fuck me.
“I’ll think about it, if you behave, Pisoi.” He told me as he slipped inside of me.
My head rolled back onto the pillow and I let out a moan as he began to move in and out of me slowly. He started to pick up the pace a bit and I couldn’t help but dig my nails in his back. He let out a small moan when I dug my nails in. He started to go deeper and harder as my nails dug deeper into his back. I wanted to give him the world but I knew that this was second best. He began to pick up the pace and go faster as I wrapped my legs around his back and moved my body with him. I couldn’t keep quiet as I began to moan and screamed as loud as my lungs would allow. I could feel myself as I began to slip into pure bliss and my body began to come apart.
“Cum for me, Pisoi.” He told me as he began to get sloppy.
He began to slip into the same pure bliss that I was entering. He began to move unevenly and he was slamming into me, but very uncoordinatedly. We both slipped into our pure bliss and both let out loud moans. He fell on top of me, only his forearms were holding him up. He gave me a kiss and rolled off me as I laid there and looked up at the ceiling.
“Sorry, I had to get that out before I fucked you somewhere else where we would have an audience.” He said as he got up and grabbed his bed shorts and cleaned himself up.
“That’s okay, I enjoyed it, like I always do.” I said to him as I watched him move about the room.
He walked over to the closet and came out dressed in a blue heathered grey tank top with grey basketball shorts. He had blue and grey running shorts and a pair of light blue running shoes for me. He placed the shoes on the night table and waited for me to clean myself up and get dressed. I walked into bathroom and pulled my hair in a high ponytail. He opened the big bay window. He reached out his hand for me to grab. I took his hand and
walked over to the open window.
“Let’s jump, there’s the crash pad underneath the window.” Carson said as he looked down.
“Okay, but only because it’s there.” I told him as I looked down also.
We both looked down, then looked at each other and jumped. He started laughing as we began to fall. I couldn’t help but let out a small scream. We landed and he let out a laugh as I took a deep breath as I laid on the pad. I knew for sure that the babies didn’t like it much. They kicked around in my stomach and I laughed.
“They’re kicking, Carson!” I giggled.
Carson shot out a hand to feel the wiggling babies and he smiled. It was a well known fact that would babies grew a lot faster in the womb. My stomach was already forming a large baby bump. It was all happening so fast.
“Let’s do our weekly training, Pisoi. The babies will love running and swimming. They will appreciate the rest of the training as well.” He said as he helped me off.
I gave him a nod and took his hand and we walked to the woods and took off running toward the water. I looked to my left to see that Carson was trying not to run full out. I let out a giggle and went full speed to the water. I always made it a game when we ran, he was always up for the challenge, too.
I could feel my feet thundering underneath me as I ran faster, the ground seemed to be disappearing behind me. I was glad that my flaming red hair was pulled back, but it still looked like the woods were on fire. I turned towards the edge of the water and ran flat out to it. I could hear Carson thundering behind me. I turned around to see Carson running fast and he passed me as he headed straight to the water not slowing down at all. I couldn’t help but let out a laugh as he started his swim training. I jogged to water and walked in. We do everything with our clothes on, even the swimming, it might sound crazy, but the heaviness makes us great at what we do when we must fight in the water. I began to swim towards Carson. I followed him as we swam out toward the deeper waters of the ocean. I saw him go under and start to swim underwater. I did the same and tried to swim next him as the waves started getting bigger and stronger.