The Gift: An Awakened Novella

by Amanda Carol

  My heart felt like it had a fog around it. My body was cold. And no matter how many women I fucked, they never made me feel anything.

  Ciera’s light breaks through the fog, and her touch warms the chill in my bones. I feel something with her, and part of me wants to tuck tail and run from the unknown, but the bigger part of me wants to stay.

  “That was pretty,” Maggie whispers when I finish the song. “What’s it called?”

  I look down at her and smile. “It’s called ‘Maggie’s Lullaby.’”

  Her face lights up and she gets the biggest grin on her face. “A song named after me? I love it!”

  “Anything for the princess,” I say, remembering my first conversation with Ciera.

  Just then, there’s a knock at the door and two people are standing in the doorway.

  “I knew we would find her here,” a lady who looks like Maggie says. “Maggie, sweetheart, are you ready to come back home?”

  These must be her parents.

  “We can make cookies!” her dad chimes in.

  “O-tay!” Maggie shouts, and we both get up from the bench. She gives Ciera a hug. “Thank you, Ms. Campbell.”

  She starts to run off, then stops abruptly, turns on her heel, and runs straight into my arms. I pick her up and she wraps her arms around my neck.

  “Thanks for the song, Declan.”

  I wink. “Anytime.”

  “I guess I’d better head back into the medical room before Bennett comes to find me.” I step closer to Ciera, hoping I’ll get a “see you later” kiss.

  “Marco!” Bennett yells from just outside the door, and when he opens it, he’s got this huge grin on his face. “You guys are supposed to yell Polo. That’s the whole point of the game.”

  “Polo,” I deadpan.

  Bennett shoots me a look. “I know you guys are twins, but could you not? I get enough sass from Blondie. I don’t think I can take it from Blondie Number Two.” He pauses for a second, then shakes his head. “No, I don’t like it. I’ll have to come up with something better. Something that doesn’t sound like I’m calling you dick.”

  Ciera giggles. “Blondie Number Two is a mouthful.”

  Then her eyes widen and Bennett snorts from the doorway. I grin, leaning down closer to her ear.

  “Sunshine, I am more than a mouthful,” I murmur, then I slowly pull back, lean in, and kiss her softly before taking a step back. “I’ll text you.”

  I leave her standing in the schoolhouse and walk outside with Bennett.

  “How’s that ankle of yours?” Bennett asks as we walk along the path.

  “It’s a miracle. Kora really knows her stuff,” I say sarcastically. He and I both know I faked it.

  “Look, Ciera is a good girl. I don’t know how long you and Blondie plan on staying—which, by the way, you’re always welcome to stay here.”

  We stop walking and he puts a hand on my shoulder.

  “But don’t start something with Ciera unless you plan to stay and see it through. She’s not that kind of girl.”

  He doesn’t say anything more and I’m left wondering what the hell he means by that.

  We make a pit stop to see my sister and Hunter. He’s teaching her how to shoot a bow and arrow. Well, teaching her to tap into her powers.

  Aria struggles with major change. She always has. It’s gotten worse since our parents died, but from where I’m standing, it looks like Hunter is helping her through it. I see the tiny exchanges between them and I’m getting glimpses of my old sister back. She’s not so on edge anymore, and she’s smiling and laughing more. She seems...happy.

  Bennett drops me off at Luna’s front porch and leaves to go do whatever it is he does, and I walk into the cabin and into the kitchen.

  “Hey, Abs,” I say, opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water.

  “Hey. How was training?” she asks, her silver eyes sparkling and a mischievous grin forming on her lips. She tries to hide it by taking a sip of whatever she’s got in that mug, which I would bet money is hot chocolate.

  “News travels fast around here, doesn’t it?” I take another swig of water, and she laughs.

  “Yeah, it does. I never knew you had such weak ankles, Declan.” She laughs even harder.

  “God, you are just like my sister,” I sigh, scrubbing a hand down my face. “Look, if I’ve gotta have weak ankles to hang out with a girl, then so be it. It was worth it.”

  “Hey, no judgment here. Hopefully it’s enough to get you both to stay. I really did miss you guys.” Abby sets her mug down, but spins it around between her fingers.

  I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her. “We missed you too. I’m glad Aria has you back in her life. It was hard on her to not only to leave our home behind, but to leave you too.”

  “Yeah. I wish she would talk to me, you know?” Abby says when I pull away.

  “Give her time. She’ll come around, especially now that she has Hunter. He seems to be helping her,” I tell her.

  She nods, then scrunches her nose. “You know I love you, but you stink.”

  I laugh and give her one last hug.

  “You love me! I knew it!” I say as she squirms in my arms, trying to push me away.

  I do remember her crush on me back in the day, and maybe I had a crush on her too at one point, but we both outgrew it and have moved on.

  “Ugh, now I’m going to stink!” she shouts.

  I kiss her cheek. “I’m going to shower now. You’ve hurt my feelings!”

  I place a hand over my heart as I walk out of the kitchen and into the living room to grab some clothes.

  “You’ll live!” I hear Abby shout.

  I’ve just gotten out of the shower and changed into shorts when the door slams open and a pale, wide-eyed Abby is standing in the doorway covered in blood.

  “Abby, what happened? Where’s Aria?” I ask, my heart rate kicking up.

  She’s breathing heavily and tears are flowing down her cheeks, but she doesn’t say anything.

  “Abby, where is Aria?” I repeat.

  Please, don’t let my sister be hurt.

  “O-outside,” is all Abby can get out before I rush out of the door and sprint down the stairs.

  A sense of relief washes over me when I see that Aria is okay, but that’s quickly gone when I see Sloane lying on the ground, bleeding out from her neck.

  “What the hell happened?” I ask, kneeling down on the other side of Sloane across from my sister.

  “I don’t know! We don’t have time to take her to Kora. You have to heal her!” Aria snaps at me.

  I shake my head. “What? I’m not sure if I can!”

  She looks up at me and our eyes lock.

  “You can. Just try. Please!” she pleads.

  I look down at Sloane, not knowing if I can do this. I have this power that, until last night, I didn’t know I had. I’m not sure how to use it or control it.

  “Son of a bitch!” Aria seethes, looking back at me. “Heal her!”

  Then she gets up and takes off running toward the woods.

  “What the fuck?! Aria! God damn it!” I yell.

  I’m about to get up to go after her, but I see Hunter and Bennett running up.

  “We’ll go with her!” Hunter shouts as he and Bennett shift into their wolves and take off in the direction Aria went in.

  “Kora and Ciera are on their way!” Abby says, kneeling down next to me. “Declan, please do something!”

  “I’m working on it!” I snap.

  I never lose my cool. I’m always one step ahead of the game, working out all sorts of scenarios and their outcomes. But this, I never saw coming. I hate not being in control and not having a plan.

  I close my eyes, and I slowly start to feel the power, so I open my eyes and hover my hands over Sloane’s neck. I can hear her breathing easier, but she’s not completely healed, and now I’m starting to feel drained.

  Exhausted, I fall back, breathing heavily.

&
nbsp; “What happened?” Ciera comes running up, dropping the medical kit on the ground next to Sloane.

  “We don’t know. We just found her like that,” Abby says as I watch Ciera start to work on Sloane.

  “That’s a vampire bite, Abby girl. Now, both of you, out of the way! Let us work!” Kora commands.

  Abby helps me up and over to the porch steps. I feel her arm drape around my shoulders as I put my head in my hands.

  “Ciera, where’s Declan?” I vaguely hear my sister say.

  I lift my head up.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Aria asks.

  “It’s been touch and go for a few minutes, but I think we finally got her stabilized. I’ll need help getting her to the medical room, though,” Kora explains while still working on Sloane. She’s cleaning up the wound, and it doesn’t look as bad as it did earlier. “Declan healed her as best as he could. If he wasn’t here, we would be having a different conversation.” She pauses for a moment to place a bandage over Sloane’s neck. “Alright, let’s move her.”

  “I’ve got it,” Abby says, getting up from next to me and going down the steps.

  Sloane’s body rises from the ground and begins to fly in the direction of the barn. There’s a commotion and I see wolves emerging from the woods. I’m too wrapped up in my own mind to pay attention to any of the conversations. Just then, a body comes to kneel in front of me, and when my gaze lands on Aria, I can feel my eyes start to fill with unshed tears.

  “Declan, she’s going to be okay. Kora said that you managed to heal the worst of it,” Aria whispers.

  I nod slightly, then start to vigorously shake my head, getting up quickly. I accidentally knock my sister back, but Bennett catches her.

  “What’s the goddamned point of having a power if I can’t fucking use it properly?” I growl. “What if I hadn’t been able to do it, huh? What if—”

  Overcome with anger, I punch the post by the stairs. I feel hands wrap around my arm and gently tug on me to turn. I do, but I refuse to look at her. I don’t want her to see me like this. I hate it when people see me get angry. But when Ciera places her hands on my face, I have no choice. The second I look into her blue eyes, a sense of calm washes through me.

  “But you did. You saved her. If you hadn’t been here, if you hadn’t tried to heal her, she would be dead. If it weren’t for you, my grandma wouldn’t have been able to save her,” Ciera says sternly.

  I stare at her for a moment, then I place my hands on her waist, pulling her close as she wraps her arms around my neck.

  “We’ll work on it,” she whispers against my cheek. “I’m going to check in on her and then I’ll come back, and we will practice. I promise.”

  Then she kisses me softly, in front of everyone.

  I try not to show affection in public. It gives off the wrong impression, to other people, and to the girl. But I don’t give a fuck if people think that Ciera’s mine.

  I take a shower, scrubbing the blood from my fingers and my arms. I’ve seen blood before, and I’ve tended to wounds, but I’ve never seen one this bad before. I really wanted to stay with Declan, but Grandma needed me to help get Sloane settled.

  Once everything was set, I came back home to shower and get ready for my first training session with Declan. I put on a simple black dress and use my air power to dry my hair. I find myself looking in the mirror and realize that I’m getting dressed for a date.

  Would this be considered a date? No. I’m just a girl in a dress. I’m working with him on his new power.

  I pick up my phone and text Declan. I’ve been worried about him ever since I left him to go help with Sloane.

  Me: Are you okay?

  Declan: Yeah…

  His answer seems clipped, so I turn my camera on, make a funny face, and send the picture to him, hoping that will make him feel better. My phone starts to vibrate, and his name pops up.

  “Hello?” I answer, surprised that he’s calling me.

  “You’re cute.” His voice sounds hoarse, and he still seems a bit off.

  “Um, thank you?” I chuckle softly.

  He goes silent. I have to pull the phone away from my ear to make sure I didn’t lose signal.

  “Declan?” I say.

  I can hear his ragged breathing on the other end of the line. “Yeah?”

  “Everything is going to be okay. I promise,” I reassure him, and I’m fighting the urge to run to him.

  “Yeah.”

  I get up from my bed, slip my flip-flops on, and go downstairs. I can still hear him on the line, but it’s not enough. I need to get to him. I open the front door and stop in my tracks.

  “Hey, sunshine,” he says, standing in front of me. He drops the phone from his ear and hits the end call button.

  “Hey,” I reply breathlessly.

  In less than a second, he closes the distance between us and crashes his lips against mine. He lifts me up and walks us back inside, kicking the door shut with his foot. He groans as his tongue swirls with mine, and his hands drop low on my waist. He tastes like Tennessee whiskey, and I’m starting to get drunk off his kiss.

  He pulls away, resting his forehead against mine. “I just needed to hear your voice, but as soon as I heard it, I needed to see you. When I saw you, I needed to touch you. When I touched you, I needed to kiss you. Now that I’ve kissed your lips, I want to know what kissing the rest of you feels like.”

  I feel my cheeks heating up, but not from embarrassment or shyness. No, my body has never reacted like this to a man before. I’ve dated guys, but the furthest I’ve ever gone was second base. I’m not saving myself for marriage or anything like that. I just…I don’t know, I wasn’t ready. It’s my body, and the decision to give up my virginity is my own choice. I just never decided to give it up to anyone.

  I stand on my toes and kiss him again.

  “You ready to get started?” I whisper.

  “Do we have to train? Can’t we just make out, see where the night goes?” Declan answers, pulling back.

  I laugh. “No.” I reach for his hand, and he willingly takes it. “C’mon, let’s go.”

  I lead him up to my room and shut the door behind us when we get inside. He spins slowly around my room, before turning to face me.

  “I take it yellow is your favorite color?” he asks.

  “What gave it away? The yellow tapestry hanging on the wall, the yellow accent pillows, or the yellow blankets?” I smile.

  “I’ll take ‘all the above’ for five hundred please, Alex,” Declan jokes.

  I lift a brow.

  “Alex Trebek?”

  I shake my head.

  “From Jeopardy?”

  “Oh, that guy!” I say cheerfully, even though the name doesn’t ring any bells.

  “You still have no idea, do you?” Declan’s lips tip up as I shake my head again and laugh. “Fuck you’re cute.”

  He steps up to me, and my heartrate kicks up as the playful look in his eyes is replaced with…hunger. I inhale sharply and clear my throat. Do I want Declan? Yes, but he should know that I’m a virgin. But that conversation can happen at another time. That’s not why we’re here.

  I walk over to my desk, pull out a pin, and turn to face Declan. “Let’s start out small and go from there.”

  He nods.

  I go to sit down on my bed, and he follows. “Okay, I want you to close your eyes, and focus in on the power that’s inside you. It’s almost like feeling the hum of the earth or latching onto an emotion. Your healing power is there. You just have to remember what it feels like when you use it. It can be an emotion or a feeling.” I pause for a few moments. “Got it?”

  He nods and opens his eyes.

  Then I take the pin and prick my finger, wincing at the slight sting. It starts to bleed, so I hold my finger out to him. He holds his hand over my finger, and it glows a faint yellowish white. My finger feels warm, and when he pulls his hand away, I squeeze my finger and a little blood comes out.
/>   He sighs. “Well, that’s disappointing.”

  “Hey, don’t get discouraged. You can do this; I know you can.” I smile at him.

  Sometimes when my students are struggling, I give them a little push. Suddenly, I get an idea and jump up from the bed.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I say.

  “We aren’t allowed out without a buddy,” Declan says, grabbing my hand and trying to pull me back down onto the bed.

  “We’re only going out back. We’ll be okay.”

  I spin and quickly grab my silver dagger from my dresser and rush down the steps, Declan not too far behind. When we get outside, the sun is starting to set. I turn to face him, keeping my hands behind my back.

  “Do you trust me?” I ask.

  Declan lifts a brow. “Where are you going with this?”

  “I have an idea, but I need you to trust me,” I say, biting my bottom lip. I start to have second thoughts, but I push them aside.

  “Okay,” he finally says, coming closer to me. “I trust you.”

  “Good.”

  I pull the dagger out, and suddenly regret this decision as I plunge it to the hilt into my stomach. I cry out in pain as the blade pierces my insides.

  Oh, my God. This hurts.

  Not one of my greatest ideas, but I know this will work.

  “What the fuck? Ciera!” I hear Declan shout as he rushes forward and catches me as I fall to the ground. “What were you thinking!”

  He rips the dagger out and takes his shirt off to place it over my wound.

  “N-no. You need to h-heal me,” I murmur.

  I’m beginning to see stars, which is weird, because the sun is still out.

  “I can’t!” he says, his breathing erratic.

  I grab his hand. “Y-yes, you c-can. I trust you.”

  I fight to take a breath, knowing that if he doesn’t hurry, I’ll start to bleed out.

  A muscle ticks in his jaw, and he closes his eyes. When he opens them, determination crosses his features. He removes his shirt from my wound and places his hands over my stomach. It starts to grow warm, then the warmth spreads throughout my whole body, taking away all the pain. I no longer feel like I’m gasping for air. After a few moments, the pain is gone, and I feel fine.