by Alexis Davie
“I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave without you,” said Alex.
“But, what about Julian and Bryden? They saw you change. They know what you are.”
“They’ve been my best friends for years, along with Brock. Of course, they were terrified of me when I first approached them in the waiting room, but I am the same person they’ve always known. They’re not going to tell anybody.”
“Have you spoken to the cops,” asked Annabelle, suddenly afraid for him.
“Not yet,” said Alex. “They stopped me in the hallway, and I told them I’d give them my statement right after I saw you.”
Relieved, Annabelle exhaled, realizing she had been holding her tension in her stomach since she had woken up. “What about Jax?”
“What about Jax?” said Alex, coldly. “Everyone will think he’s crazy if he tells people that I changed into a wild animal. Besides, I don’t believe he saw me change.”
“Then, this is real? I get to keep you?” pleaded Annabelle.
Alex laughed, “Yes, you get to keep me. I told you that I would always protect you, and I meant that. I love you, Annabelle.”
With that, Alex bent down and lifted Annabelle’s chin so her lips met his. She felt whole again after Jax had spent years breaking her spirit into millions of pieces. Annabelle was safe and loved.
Epilogue
“When was the last time we did this?” Elyse leaned forward, excitement lighting up her face as she embraced her best friend. Annabelle grinned and returned the hug.
“Honestly, I don’t even remember the last time I saw you,” Annabelle replied.
Alex said, “Well, that will change. Annabelle definitely needs close friends like you, Elyse.”
Brock, Julian, and Bryden waved from the restaurant patio, where they were already seated. Alex, Elyse, and Annabelle joined them. Brock was in perfect health, and that night was a celebration for his recovery and his bravery.
Jax had died. Annabelle attended the funeral out of respect for his parents, but she didn’t shed a tear.
Her therapist had told her that in order to cope with the loss of her fiancé, it was important to surround herself with a support system. Annabelle hadn’t bothered to explain to the quack that she had moved on, but she did heed his advice and try to rekindle old relationships. It turned out that he had been right; the more time she spent with her friends and family, the happier she felt.
Moving back in with her parents had rekindled their relationship, and she promised she would never isolate herself from them again.
It had been just over a month since the fateful camping trip, and Annabelle’s life had completely changed. She smiled more, laughed often, and even looked younger, according to everyone who knew her. Annabelle was finally starting to understand what it was like to be in a relationship where she felt valued and respected.
Elyse raised her champagne glass to make a toast, and Annabelle followed suit.
“To old friends and new beginnings!” Elyse cried, gently tapping her crystal goblet to her friend’s.
The rest of the table joined in the toast by clinking their glasses.
Alex squeezed Annabelle’s hands. Nobody mentioned Jax. It was as if Alex and Annabelle had always been together, and their closeness seemed normal to the group of friends.
Annabelle went to take a sip, but as the smell of alcohol hit her nose, she was overcome with nausea. She barely made it to the restroom of the restaurant when Elyse came charging in after her.
“Are you all right?” she asked, handing Annabelle a paper towel.
Annabelle rose to her feet and nodded, clearing the onset of dizziness from her head. The two retreated from the stall, and Annabelle splashed cold water on her face.
“Geez, I guess it would just be poor taste to joke about you being pregnant, huh? I mean, you’ve had a new boyfriend for what, a month?” Elyse joked dryly, applying lipstick to her lips as Annabelle washed her hands.
Slowly turning off the tap, Annabelle laughed with her friend as she leaned in toward the mirror. At first, she was shocked, but then a fusion of excitement ran through her like a firehose of emotion. Her eyes no longer had a trace of violet in their depth; they had turned as green as Alex’s.
She pulled back from the mirror and looked down at her flat stomach in wonder, rubbing her palm against her shirt softly. She felt a slight jolt of energy, as if the baby was alerting her to its presence. A thrill rushed through every nerve in her body.
As they returned to the table, Annabelle couldn’t hide her smile.
Alex looked at her inquisitively, questioning her expression. When he made eye contact with Annabelle, she saw his expression change. A broad smile appeared on his face, and pure joy lit his eyes.
Annabelle took a seat next to him and nuzzled into his shoulder.
Alex kissed the top of her head and whispered, “I will always protect you.” He paused before saying, “…and our family.”
* * *
THE END
Unexpected Mate
1
“Thank you, thank you.” A man of average height stood behind a mahogany podium in a closely tailored navy suit. “It’s an honor.” He held up his sizable clear trophy and smiled.
The banquet hall was cramped, but the small audience seated too close together was enthusiastic. Glittering in their off-brand evening wear, this humanitarian award presentation was the highlight of their year.
The man of the hour continued, “And if I could borrow the stage for a moment…”
The crowd quieted.
Sasha shifted in her seat. These stuffy events weren’t really her style, although, she thought to herself, it was something she would have to get used to if she was going to continue to date someone like Grant Cutler. Maybe even more than date.
It was true they’d only known each other for a short time, but the sparks were undeniable. Even though the sex was only average, Sasha thought they had a future together because of how similar their interests were. They enjoyed the same books, the same movies, and they both disliked chocolate.
Sasha was sure Grant had felt the same way when they first hooked up just after a networking event. She’d taken a chance on what she assumed was a one-night stand, only to come out a winner.
“I’d like to share my spotlight.” Grant looked down for a moment to gain his composure. “There’s someone I’d like to thank, publicly, for her support. Without her, none of this would have been possible.” He turned to look in Sasha’s direction, and she felt her chest swell with joy. After wiping a tear from his eyes, Grant continued. “You’ve been my biggest fan, and if you’ll have me—”
Gasps were heard throughout the crowd as Grant pulled out a small black box from his pocket and popped it open, revealing a ring that Sasha couldn’t see from such a distance.
“I’d like you to do me the honor of being my wife,” Grant said. “Come on up here, honey.”
Sasha was ecstatic. As the crowd broke into thunderous applause, she rose from her chair and started to make her way to the stage when she noticed another woman at the front-most table step up onto the Lucite stairs.
Sasha froze, and before she could stop herself, her voice boomed over the happy applause. “Who the hell is that?”
The crowd instantly quieted. The woman on stage grabbed the mic. Pointing it toward her mouth, she smiled and said, “His fiancée.”
* * *
Six months later, Sasha still regretted it. She regretted moving to that small city, hooking up with Grant, letting him use her for her connections, and most importantly, not gracefully taking her leave that night when things didn’t go her way. Grant had mentioned that it was best if he went alone to the ceremony, but Sasha had wanted to surprise him. Now she knew why he hadn’t wanted her to be there.
After yelling at the couple on the stage, she had stayed around long enough to demand answers. Of course, she should have already known what he would say: the same bumbling excuses all men use when they get caught chea
ting, but some part of Sasha had hoped the other woman would be on her side. That they could both be mad at him together. She hadn’t thought it would be too much to ask for a slap and a storm off—to leave him up there, alone and humiliated. Instead, she’d ended up looking like a fool, but she’d be damned if she was going to be alone.
After the big blow to her twenty-three-year-old self-esteem, she wanted to prove that men wanted her, that she was desirable to them.
Sasha’s intent focus on finding the perfect man paid off when she hit it off with a lawyer who lived in Laredo, Texas. From his pictures, she could see he was really hot, and after many hours on the phone together, he invited her to come out to spend Christmas with him.
At first, Sasha was skeptical. Christmas was a holiday you spent with a significant other, family, or close friends. Sure, she kind of liked this guy, but they hadn’t even met in person. Spending Christmas together was too intense for a first date.
She declined, but then found out her parents had forgotten to mention that they were spending the holiday in London rather than at home, like they usually did. Knowing that she was going to be alone on Christmas, she reluctantly agreed to meet the mysterious lawyer, Alejandro, for the special day.
Laredo was six hours away by car, and Sasha was looking forward to the drive. It would give her time to clear her head. Wide, flat, and colored in a hundred different shades of brown, the dry landscape stretched out forever. Sasha felt like she had been sucked into one of those spaghetti westerns, except without all the hot cowboys.
Flying probably would have been a better idea, but last-minute plane tickets cost a fortune, especially for the holidays. She had already gone through half of her favorite playlists on her phone before she lost the signal. For a few miles, Sasha drove with one hand, holding her phone with the other hand out the window, trying to get her music back. It was fruitless. She tossed it onto the seat next to her.
Next time, Sasha thought, I’ll get the phone with more storage.
The radio reception on her car was spotty, too. After a few minutes of scanning, she gave up. Only a few hours and she would be there, so she’d just have to ride in silence until her signal came back. Except, there wasn’t any real silence because of a faint rattling noise. Sasha turned off the heating for a minute to listen more closely. The sound got louder.
“No, no, no…” Her car started to slow down even though she was pressing the gas pedal to the floor. Steam started to billow from the hood, and she had no choice but to pull over to the side of the road. Sasha grabbed her phone and jumped out of the car. She hadn’t seen any other vehicles in miles, and she panicked when she realized she didn’t know who to call for help.
Sasha looked at her phone. Nothing. No signal.
Well, I guess I will walk until I get the phone signal back or until someone stops to help, she reluctantly decided. “Nervous” didn’t even begin to describe how she felt about leaving the relative safety of her car and venturing down an unknown road in the middle of nowhere.
About fifteen minutes later, and a mile down the road, she finally got a signal. She searched for the closest towing service and called the number listed on the website. The man on the other end promised to send a wrecker for her within three hours’ time.
Deciding to make the best of the situation, Sasha walked back to her car to wait. Staring at the unchanging scenery got old quickly, so soon enough Sasha began to yawn, and the heavier her eyelids got, the more inviting the backseat became. Even though she knew it was dangerous to fall asleep in the middle of nowhere, with no cars around and without anyone knowing where she was, her fight against her overcoming sleep was soon lost.
2
The grumble of an oversized diesel engine startled Sasha awake. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. The sun had already gone down, so a couple of hours must have passed. Flashing lights and beeping noises let her know that the tow truck had finally arrived. She glanced over at her dying phone. It was seven o’ clock.
“Finally!” Sasha jumped out of her car, charging toward the truck’s driver. “What took you so long?”
The man was working to hook up her car and not paying attention to her, which just upset Sasha even more. She tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around to face her, she was met with a pair of green eyes that caught her off guard.
“Sorry.” He wasn’t smiling, but his voice still sounded kind.
“It’s just…” Sasha tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was in a rush and…” She couldn’t stop stumbling over her words. This man, whoever he was, was entirely too distracting.
He was dressed in the standard ugly gray jumpsuit with reflective stripes, but the poor-fitting garment didn’t hide the outline of taut muscles on his arms and back. Even his hands seemed brawny compared to the chain he held.
“This won’t take long,” he said.
“What?” Sasha had been too busy staring at him that she hadn’t heard him.
He pulled a lever and the car started to move. “See?”
“Oh.”
The driver walked back to the truck then opened the passenger side door. “Jump in.”
Sasha looked at him, then at her car, and finally hopped in. It wasn’t like she had any other choice.
“Where to?”
“Um…” She was still struggling to speak because now she was close enough to smell the man sitting beside her. It was like dirt after a sudden downpour, mixed with sandalwood, and of course, a little sweat.
“You were in a rush to get somewhere, right?” he reminded her.
“Yeah… I’m going to Laredo.”
The man laughed. “You won’t make it there tonight.”
“Right…” Sasha looked at her phone. She had three percent battery and was debating whether a call or text to Alejandro would be better. Thinking about him at all in that moment was difficult. It was getting late, she was tired, and this other guy was close enough to touch.
“I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?” Sasha ran her fingers through her hair to get it out of her face.
The man’s nose twitched. “Diesel.”
“Nice to meet you, Diesel. I’m Sasha,” she introduced herself, holding out her hand.
Diesel glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Then he shook her hand with his. “Likewise.”
Sasha tossed her hair to one side and sat back in her seat. “Well, Diesel, since there’s no way to make it to Laredo tonight, what am I supposed to do?”
“I can tow you to my shop in Pine Bend.”
“Pine Bend?” Sasha over-enunciated the name of the town in disbelief. She’d never heard of the place.
“Yeah,” Diesel said. “There’s not much there, but there’s nothing else around for close to ninety miles.”
“Ninety miles?”
“Not sure why you didn’t take the highway to Laredo,” he added. “When you break down on a country road, a country town is all you get.”
“So what,” Sasha said, “I’m supposed to sleep in a cow pasture tonight?”
Diesel took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her. “You’ll be fine. We will find you somewhere to stay.”
* * *
Less than an hour later, the pair arrived at Diesel’s shop in Pine Bend. Diesel hopped out first and went to open the door for Sasha.
“The door to the front office is open,” he told her. “You can head inside. I’m going to get your car into a bay so I can lock it up for the night.”
“Then what?” Sasha asked.
“Then…” The corners of his mouth perked up in a faint smile. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
The shop’s office was tiny, but well kept. Considering how dirty Diesel had been, she assumed the place would be a wreck. Three chairs lined the wall next to a counter where a really old computer monitor was perched in the corner. She took a seat and started looking for a plug to charge her phone.
Sasha was down on her knees, about
to plug in her charger, when she heard a rustling sound and what she thought were nails clicking across the tile floor. She looked around the corner of the desk. Staring back at her were a pair of pretty brown eyes and a wrinkled face. A dog. A pit bull, to be more precise. The dog wasn’t wagging its tail, but it didn’t growl at her either. Sasha wasn’t sure what to do, so she kept still.
“DJ,” came a voice from the entrance. “Sit”
The dog obeyed.
Sasha turned around to see Diesel standing in the doorway, wiping his hands.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “He’s a good dog.”
“DJ?” Sasha echoed. “Dogs like this usually have really tough names like Torque or, well, Diesel.”
“What do you think DJ stands for? Diesel Junior.” Diesel went over to the animal to scratch his head. “It seemed kind of fitting—people say we look alike.”
Sasha looked carefully at both their faces and then giggled “It’s true! You could almost be twins.”
“Ha, ha.” Diesel smiled, but the sarcasm in his voice was evident. “Our eyes aren’t even the same color.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” Sasha said. “You two just have the same sort of… primitive feel, like you share the same animal instinct. It’s kind of amazing…” Then, feeling flustered again, she cleared her throat. “The dog. I mean, the dog is amazing.”
“You can pet him if you want. He won’t bite.”
Sasha stretched out her hand, and the dog walked to her and licked it. All the wrinkles on the animal’s face spread into what seemed like a smile. DJ laid down and rolled over to show his stomach.
Diesel was surprised. “Belly scratches on the first date? He must really like you.”
Sasha laughed. “I didn’t realize this was a date.”
It was only until she saw Diesel’s eyes widen in shock that she realized what she had said. What was she doing? Was she flirting with a man she had just met? While she was on her way to spend Christmas with someone else?
