Lone Wolf Rising

by Jami Brumfield

  ‘Don’t say anything else; she is more dangerous at night than in this bathroom.’ The wolf lectured Becca.

  Rebecca ignored her alter ego, she hated being lectured. She felt Sundae was stuck and Rebecca had been there. It was a terrible feeling, one that created horribly depressing thoughts. "You might want to try giving someone a nice dream. You might enjoy it just as much as they will." With that Rebecca left, Sundae’s eyes boring holes in the back of Becca’s head. When the door was closed, Rebecca took a deep breath before opening the second door that would put her under Lucky’s protection and scrutiny once again. She needed a minute to slow her pulse.

  ‘You’re a foolish girl! I can’t believe you were the only option left for my survival.’ The wolf snapped. ‘Don’t blame me when you have bad dreams.’

  ‘And if I do, you will be able to protect me because my mind is your domain.’ Rebecca replied with more confidence than she was feeling. That statement provoked a string of curses from the wolf that was followed by silence. Blissful silence. Rebecca sighed heavily, pulled her thoughts into focus, and stepped into the hallway.

  She was happy to see Lucky was waiting for her, despite the fact that classes had already started. It was nice to have someone looking out for her, even though it made the wolf mad. He tossed her a bandage. "It’d probably be good to wear this for a few days so people don't get suspicious at your fast healing act."

  Memories of Savvy's reaction to the way her bruises healed quickly were a heavy reminder of how that could look suspicious. "Yeah, I saw how that created suspicion last night with my sister. It didn’t go over well at all." Rebecca whispered; she hoped he didn't hear it but his look told her he did.

  "And how did you explain it?" He asked pointing to the invisible tattoo on her hand. "This would have kept you from telling the truth."

  "It wasn't just the tattoo, or the blood oath, it was my desire to keep her safe. I lied to protect her." Rebecca smiled up at him, "although she is very suspicious of your training technique, which you heard this morning."

  He maneuvered her back against the wall and moved in close, whispering, "you need to be more careful if you plan to protect your family."

  Her human half knew he was right; it was also one of those rare moments her wolf agreed. "It’s not like I ran home to show her. She saw me limping and grabbed my arm. She pulled up my sleeve and reacted. Besides, they should have been healed by then. This cut," she held up her bandaged hand, "is already gone."

  "Like I told you, your healing focuses on the most life threatening wounds first. Bruises are always the last to heal." His answer made logical sense. He started to move away from her and she grabbed his waist, pulling him back into their little corner. She wasn’t done talking to him. “They lasted for hours. How was I to know?”

  “You need to be more careful.”

  He was beginning to sound like a broken record. In fact, everyone seemed to have that same advice. How was she supposed to be more careful when she didn’t understand anything? No one seemed to grasp this was new to her and she needed time to understand everything. No one seemed to see that she was scared and was constantly being backed into a corner, being forced to react, and left to wonder if she made the right decision. She closed her eyes against the common phrase she has heard so much lately and decided to change the subject. "Are we going to talk about the kiss from last night?"

  Or the fact that you punched Gabriel when he kissed me a few minutes ago? She kept that last thought to herself but didn't release her grip on his waist. It made her feel powerful as his golden amber eyes took on a darker hue. The urge to run her fingers over his six pack abs and chest was overwhelming. If they weren't in the school she would have. It would completely go against her decision to stay away from Lucky and Gabriel in the romantic sense, and then there was still the small matter that they were only using dating as a cover. But none of that matter when she was this close to him.

  He moved in closer, his lips inches from her ear. His warm breath invaded her senses and sent electricity through her body. It took every ounce of will power to remain still. The silence stretched on painfully. "No."

  And with that he took a step back and took her hand. "What took you so long in the restroom?" It appeared the conversation about the kiss or the passionate moments they share was over, just like that.

  Irritation and frustration raked her body. She refused to let him see her hurt ego or let him know he was rattling her.

  ‘He isn’t meant for you anyway.’ The alpha whispered in her mind.

  ‘That isn’t your decision.’ Rebecca shook her head to clear it, but keeping things professional between them would definitely help the situation.

  She went along with his change of subject, for now. "I ran into Sundae, the dream weaver. She seemed to be interested in the fact that I’m a werewolf."

  "Oh?" Interest entered his face and eyes.

  "Yes, she asked if I was happy." Rebecca shrugged.

  "Hmm, that’s interesting. I wonder why?”

  "I don’t know. Truthfully, I think she saw me looking at her in the quad. She seemed to want to intimidate me more than actually carry on a conversation. I got the distinct feeling that she wanted me to understand she’s more dangerous than she looks. She even called me a little wolf." Rebecca almost laughed at the thought. "Which is funny considering she is much smaller and obviously weaker than me.”

  He stopped and set his intent amber eyes on her. "Be careful of the dream weaver, Rebecca. She’s far more dangerous than she looks."

  “I got that. My wolf warned me. Sundae did a pretty good job of creeping me out, too.” She shivered.

  “I’m serious, Rebecca.”

  She wanted to laugh, but something in his look gave her pause. She didn’t want Lucky to see that Sundae worried her. She was tired of feeling scared and having to hide it to the world. "What, okay, so they can give me nightmares. So I’ll have some sleepless nights, no biggie."

  "The myth that if you die in your sleep you die in reality is very true. They are far better assassins than allies." Lucky spoke slowly to make sure the words hit home. The fact that someone as strong and trained to battle enemies could get unnerved by a small chick didn’t help matters. It only made her feel more worried.

  A shiver ran down her spine. Assassins, the word hit a chord deep inside. Lucky hinted at it before Rebecca confronted Sundae about it in the bathroom, but hearing him talk about this with such a grave expression on his face made it more real. The idea was creepy but made logical sense in a weird, supernatural way.

  Rebecca shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind. The random thoughts of concern seemed to pile on top of each other. Before she chose to be a werewolf the biggest problem she had was finding ways to avoid depression every night. Now she had enemies she never knew existed, a fake boyfriend who was pretending not to be a bodyguard, a family that hid the fact that they were powerful witches, a group of rogue wolves who wanted to rejoin the pack, a pack that she was now Alpha of and not to mention she also had someone spying on her from afar. The last thing she needed to worry about was a sleep assassin. "I’ll be careful." She promised.

  The mood had suddenly taken a solemn tone and she decided she needed to lighten it with a fun change of subject. "So why did you punch Gabriel?"

  "Why did he kiss you?" The intensity in the look he gave her made her wonder if he thought she had invited the kiss.

  "I had nothing to do with his decision to kiss me." She put up three fingers and said, "Scouts honor." The memory of the intense feelings his kiss ignited inside her began bubbling up inside her and she had a sneaking suspicion her wolf had something to do with the sudden flooding of feelings.

  ‘Traitor!’ Rebecca snapped in her mind. The wolf simply laughed playfully.

  "But you enjoyed it, didn't you?"

  “No!” She answered quickly which got her raised eyebrows from Lucky.

  ‘Yes.’ The wolf smiled in her mind.

  And
there was the question Rebecca was dreading. She planned to make fun over the punch not get on the topic of Gabriel’s kiss. She shook her head. "It wasn't me that enjoyed it." She didn't know how to explain this to him but she knew she needed to try.

  "Come on, Becca. I heard you." Betrayal played in his eyes as he continued his path towards class.

  "It’s my wolf. She’s attracted to him. Not me." Rebecca took his arm and spun him towards her. "I know we’re using this 'fake' relationship as a cover. I’m not stupid! But I can't change my attraction and desire for you. And ever since that kiss last night all I can think about is doing this." She reached up and pulled his head to hers, crushing her lips to his; desperate to show him her need. His lips were like stone for a moment but he lost all resolve when her hands sank into his silky hair at the nape of his neck.

  He deepened the kiss with a growl of frustration as his hand wound around her waist and pulled her against him. She was thankful the halls were empty in that moment, but if they weren't everything would have simply faded away. In that moment it was only them, the rest of the world stood still. Their size difference made it hard to get closer so he lifted her up slightly and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he pressed her against the wall. When his tongue slipped into her mouth she felt the moan escape and his groan in response only pulled her further into the kiss.

  He pulled back and shook his head, "this can't keep happening." His voice was raspy and breathless and hit her like a pail of water putting out the flames of desire burning in her body. He set her down and took three steps backwards, putting a hand up when she took a step forward.

  The gesture made her freeze. "Why?" It was a single word question that held so much meaning.

  "It’s not allowed. I’m a Nephilim and you’re a wolf; an alpha of all things. The Authority frowns on mixed relationships, and I’m technically engaged."

  Rebecca took a deep breath as she digested his words. "Okay, we could battle the Authority. My parents did it, didn't they? But engaged?" She shook her head in confusion. "Who? How? Why?" Her head was spinning with this new information. Now, in a strange way, she understood why he kept pushing her away.

  "I’m promised to someone, have been since birth. If we both live to be twenty-seven it’s expected that we marry and have kids." He tried to explain, but had a helpless look on his face. "Besides, you’re an alpha. You’ll be expected to marry a wolf in the pack and that wolf has already made his first play for you."

  “Who?” Rebecca felt that familiar feeling of being backed into a corner. So many rules. So many expectations. Why did she have to marry a pack member? She didn’t have any desire to even consider marriage. She was only seventeen, and this wasn’t the 1800s. It was uncommon nowadays for someone so young to get married. In fact, in today’s age, marriage was the last thing most young adults thought of. And who still arranged marriages?

  His rejection made things easier. She really didn’t want a relationship; didn’t need the distraction. Keeping things all business would make things simpler, but she couldn’t look past the idea of how he was perfect. She couldn’t move past the feelings he sparked inside her.

  ‘He’s far from perfect!’ The wolf needed to get her opinion in on the conversation. Rebecca simply shook her head and decided to ignore it.

  "Come on Rebecca, you know Gabriel made his first play. You can’t be blind to that." Lucky ran a shaky hand through his hair. "He’s a good guy, Becca. You’re fortunate he chose you. He’s the same age as us, strong, and a born leader. The two of you will make a powerful union. My nanna would say you were written in the stars." Lucky nodded his head sadly. "But forgive me, that’s why I punched him. Gods help me, I was jealous. I know my commitments. I know I have no rights..." he shook his head in an effort to clear his head. "It would be so much easier to believe you bewitched me because what’s happening, this…" he pointed at her and him. "This can’t happen for so many obvious reasons."

  Rebecca felt like he had physically slapped her. "Okay, so all I heard was that we both feel the same attraction and that’s the only reason why this..." She pointed to both of them. "This should happen."

  She took another step towards him and his eyes pleaded with her to stop. In the internal battle he was having, she could see he was losing and it broke her heart. "Let’s just go to class." He smiled sadly.

  She didn't need a classroom, she needed air. She turned and ran towards the entrance of the school. Her wolf heard his footsteps fall in behind her but she couldn't stop. If she didn't get to the air she felt like she was going to die.

  She burst through the doors, flew past the parking lot and only stopped when she reached the tree line that marked the end of school property. When she turned around Lucky was there. He approached her and she threw her hand up. He slammed into an invisible barrier, a wall of air that separated them. Rebecca shook her head as she tried to catch her breath. "You’re wrong, Lucky."

  "Becca, what did you do?" He flipped himself up from the ground after the invisible barrier had knocked him down and placed his hands forward. They laid flat against the barrier as he tried to find a hole in the wall.

  Rebecca took deep breaths as the air filled her lungs and strengthened her. "I just need some air." And she needed space. She needed time and space away from all the supernaturals including the wolf in her mind. She needed to regroup but she couldn’t even get that because the wolf was constantly talking to her, constantly influencing every decision she made; constantly flipping her emotions on and off, into anger, sadness, and happiness. Dianna was right. It was like having a second personality that becomes so integrated into her body that she could not tell where one starts and the other ends. The wolf, the responsibilities, the challenges, the strangeness, the danger was beginning to suffocate her. Her world was turning upside down and she couldn’t seem to find a way to place it right again. She wondered if it would ever be right again.

  If the wolf had her way, she would be marrying Gabriel and having multiple werewolf pups. If Rebecca got her way she didn’t know what she would do. She only did all of this because she wanted to avenge her parents. But now, she had to question the logic behind that decision as well. Everything was spiraling out of control.

  ‘Breathe, young one. It will get better.’ The wolf tried to calm her down, but, frankly, Rebecca was tired of her voice and simply ignored her.

  "Rebecca, why can't I reach you?" Concern dripped from Lucky’s words. "What’s happening?"

  But Rebecca ignored him as well; her attention drawn to that familiar feeling of being watched returned. It made her feel dirty and sent ice through her veins. She stood up straight and turned her eyes to the scan the school grounds.

  “Becca, what’s going on?” Lucky cursed as he kicked at the air shield she had created.

  Rebecca’s mind raced as she continued to scan the horizon. The wolf sent a distress call out to anyone that was listening as the feeling of dread began to consume Rebecca. "I’m looking for the person who has been spying on me."

  Chapter Fourteen

  ~"I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscious approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death."

  ~Thomas Paine

  Rebecca

  Lucky turned around, standing protectively in front of Rebecca. Ready to fight with lightning speed, he drew his brass knuckles. Thanks to their training yesterday she knew where his other weapons were located if they were needed. Apparently chivalry was not dead after all. Rebecca rolled her eyes and would have punched him in the arm if she could have broken through the shield. "Can you please remove this stupid barrier?" She kicked it out of frustration and it blew her backwards landing her flat on her rear. "Ouch."

  "Becca, I didn’t create the shield, you did; which, by the way, should be impossible for a werewolf." He shook his head, confusion floating in his e
yes. "How did you do it? If I didn't know any better I would say you used air elemental magic?"

  "If I thought you did it, wouldn't it make sense that I don't have the answer to your question?" The sarcasm in her voice made him turn irritated, worried eyes in her direction. Thankfully, she managed to pick herself up and leaned against the tree behind her for strength before he saw her flat on her backside.

  "Well, may I suggest you get rid of the shield while I find your spy?" He returned the sarcasm which got him Rebecca’s famous death stare in response. Unfortunately, his back was turned so he couldn't appreciate its full effect.

  Rebecca concentrated on the air barrier with absolutely no idea how to make it go away. She pressed against it softly, and it still kicked back, but not enough to hurt her this time. Rebecca knew it was only there to protect her, but what was it protecting her from? Lucky meant her no harm; well, accept to her heart. Surely it wasn’t created to keep her from a broken heart, not that she’d known Lucky long enough to get attached that much.

  This all happened because Gabriel made a play for her, stupid wolfman. She hadn't had very much experience with the male half of her species but she was beginning to see a trend; Neanderthals, the lot of them. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind. None of this was helping. Rebecca closed her eyes and centered her breathing. Her only focus was on releasing the magic that suspended the air.

  "I don't see anyone out here. Are you sure we’re being watched?" Lucky asked turning toward her with a worried look on his face. He pulled out his phone and made a phone call when he saw her concentrating on the barrier. It was interesting; she could almost see him even with her eyes closed. "Hey, I think we need a little magical assistance."

  "Where are you?" Rebecca heard a familiar female voice on the other end. Unfortunately, she couldn’t give the voice a name.