Embracing Forever

by K. Aten

  “What, are you all giving up already? Come on, keep trying! This is for a good cause.” Annie’s look of bravado quickly turned to one of dismay when Jill and Louve walked up.

  Sarah pointed at Annie and cracked up laughing. “Oh, you’re in for it now!” She called out to her ex. “Hey Jill, Annie’s been talking about how gingers don’t have souls again. You should show her how the dunk tank works, she’s looking a little dry in there.”

  The younger Colby immediately called out to Julie, one of the lead bartenders at The Merge. She was the one who was selling the balls. “No matter how much she offers, do not give that soulless redhead a ball!”

  Jill looked at Julie. “Where is the money going again?”

  Julie smirked. “Rainbow Resources and Bailey’s Sanctuary.”

  Jill held up two twenty-dollar bills. “I’d like twenty balls please.”

  The bartender tried to protest. “But it’s only a dollar a ball!”

  “Consider the rest part of my donation then.”

  Louve looked at Keller, then Sarah. “I do not understand, why does ta soeur seem so upset? This is for charity, no?”

  Keller shifted her gaze to Sarah as well. “Yes, why is she so upset? Does Jill play sports?”

  Sarah smiled. “Jill played softball all through high school and got a full-ride softball scholarship for college.”

  Louve blinked. “Oh.”

  Sarah added four more words. “She was a pitcher.”

  Keller nodded in understanding. “Ohhhh.”

  Other people in the area had recognized Jill and more of a crowd started to gather. Colton and Grace had even wandered back and were interested in seeing Annie drop into the tank. For the sake of efficiency, Julie brought a five-gallon pail full of balls out to the throwing line. Jill loosened up her arm a bit before picking up the first ball. “You’re lucky, kid, I’m pretty rusty so I probably won’t make half of these.”

  Annie was hunched in on herself with spread fingers over her eyes, waiting on the inevitable. When the first pitch rocketed by the bullseye and thudded against the canvas backdrop, she gave a little squeak. The second one prompted a heartfelt single word. “Shit!” The watchers all laughed. When the third ball thundered past she sat up straight and blew a sigh of relief. “Haha, Red, looks like it’s more than just your hair that’s rust—” She never finished her sentence as the fourth ball hit the bullseye with a muffled clang and dropped her into the water. The tank below the water level was made of some sort of clear material so all the spectators were treated to the view of her surprised face amid a flurry of bubbles. And a middle finger pointed up toward the sky, aimed directly at Jill.

  The veterinarian chuckled and waited patiently for Julie to reset the bench and bullseye paddle. Then, despite Annie’s begging and pleading between dunks, the redhead without a soul proceeded to sink her the next fifteen throws in a row. She had one ball left when Annie’s replacement arrived. The younger Colby wasted no time scrambling out of the tank so The Merge’s new manager Lissa could take her place. Jill called out to Annie as the younger woman was swaddled in a large beach towel by her girlfriend. “You’re lucky, kid!” Annie stuck out her tongue at the veterinarian and looked very much like a drowned rat.

  Keller quickly handed Duke’s leash to Sarah and before Jill could wind up on her last ball, she stopped her with an outstretched hand. “Do you mind if I take the last one?”

  Jill smiled and handed it to Keller. Anyone watching the dunk tank would have seen Lissa sigh with relief. It was short-lived. Keller didn’t throw the blistering underhand fast pitch that Jill had been using. Instead, hers was just an old-fashioned overhand throw with a good amount of heat. Her aim was dead on. When Lissa came back up sputtering, Keller called out to her with good humor. “Welcome to The Merge family, Lissa, and good luck!” The new manager just shook her head and smiled before crawling back onto the reset bench. Their group eventually made their way back to the stage in time to catch the end of Shaker Station’s performance. When they were finished, the stage would have an hour break to tear down all the music equipment, then the people running the drag show would take over. Bruce was all set to handle the teardown and truck so Annie was free to leave with the rest of the group.

  Initially they were planning on going to The Merge after leaving the festival, but everyone decided that might not be a good idea with their surprise guests in town for the night. Jill offered up her house and backyard with its massive outdoor grill, and the group unanimously decided it was a great day for a barbecue. No one wanted to fight the crowds at the local restaurants on a Saturday night, especially with a famous band in tow. Keller asked Louve to invite Raph, Ranier, and Romaric over to join them and the evening turned into an impromptu party. Eventually dinner was completed and devoured and a bonfire was lit. The musicians brought out their instruments and the entire group had an evening of relaxing fun. At the end of the night, everyone said their goodbyes to the Resurrection band members. It was the end of their tour and they would be flying out the next day. They thanked Louve for her invite to brunch but had to decline so they wouldn’t miss their flight back to London. Louve stayed the night at Jill’s house with plans to leave early the next morning to set everything up at the farmhouse. And Sarah and Keller made their way back to the condo with a husky that was exhausted after his day of excitement.

  THE VERY NEXT day found everyone gathered at Louve’s farmhouse once again. She had a full spread of food for brunch and everyone was gathered around the large table in her kitchen. Since her bar was shut down for some roof repairs, she had given the entire troupe the next five days off. They would return by Friday of the coming week, in time to get some practice in before they were to perform on Cirque Samedi. Otherwise known as Circus Saturday, which was the only day the circus actually performed. All other days of the week the Cirque du Loup was an ordinary nightclub. Only a few stayed behind to keep watch for the wolves who had betrayed the troupe. Beale and Bastien, the fire-breathing twins, were patrolling the park on the other side of the lake. And Joseph, one of the wolves who was present the day Jesse was infected, was patrolling the woods behind the farmhouse.

  Jill looked at the Frenchwoman and smiled. “So what you’re saying is you have a few days free? What a coincidence, I have the next few days off as well.”

  Annie groaned. “Oh no, you guys are so loud!”

  Louve pointed at her with a smirk. “Non, you are the one who is loud, ma petit demon. We are merely average for two people having the ‘little deaths.’ I cannot count how many times I heard you call out to your ‘Furry Nerd’ in passion. It was very distracting.”

  Both Annie and Jesse’s faces turned bright red and Annie covered her face. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you just said that.”

  Jill snickered. “I believe you mentioned God a few times as well.”

  “Shut up, Jilly!” Annie threw an olive from her Bloody Mary at her and the entire table erupted in laughter.

  The laughter cut off abruptly as one of the twins burst through the French doors a few feet from the large table. He was panting, having run more than five miles from the opposite side of Alum Creek Lake. Louve stood quickly, knocking her chair to the ground behind her. “Bastien, que s'est-il passé?”

  He bent over, panting, and his words came out in gasps. “Nous avons trouvé Alain!”

  “Shit!” Keller and the rest of the French speakers stood immediately. The others followed a little slower, at least understanding the word, “Alain.” Keller looked at Louve. “He is very powerful, we have to be careful.”

  Louve nodded. “You are right, mon ami. This could also be a trap, he is very intelligent.” She turned back to Bastien. “Did you see Marcel or Marie as well?”

  He shook his head. “Non.”

  “Okay, we should not have everyone go to him with the other two still missing. Raph, you and your sons need to stay in case Marcel shows up. I, Louve, and Sarah can go—” Keller was cut off by Sarah. />
  “I’m staying with Annie.”

  Keller met her eyes for a few seconds before nodding. “Okay, we’ll take Jill and Bastien.” She looked back at Louve. “Do you need to change, or can you keep up?”

  Louve grimaced at the thought of changing in front of her lover. She had not wanted to do it yet for fear of seeing Jill’s face respond with disgust. She knew her ange de feu still struggled with dreams of monstrous beasts. She looked at Jill then, trying to gauge the taller woman’s reaction. “Êtes-vous d’accord avec cela , mon chéri?” Jill nodded that she was all right with it and Louve turned her gaze toward Keller. “If we are keeping up with the vampires, I shall surely have to change.” She called out to her employee. “Bastien, you should drink some water and do the same. The run will be much easier on you if we are in half-wolf form. I shall just pray that no one sees us before we can change back.”

  “Oui, Louve.” He grabbed the pitcher of water from the table and drank straight from the large vessel.

  Once Louve and Bastien had changed, they all went outside. However, their leave-taking was interrupted by Joseph. He was in half-beast form as well but he was covered in various injuries, including wicked looking claw marks across his ribs. “Louve, Marcel is in the woods behind the house. He says that if we let him have the human, he will leave the rest of us alone.”

  Sarah snarled. “No fucking way!”

  Raph looked at her. “No worries, friend, we will handle him.”

  Keller looked around. “If we’re set, let’s go!” Keller, Louve, Bastien, and Jill took off and were out of sight in a matter of seconds.

  Sarah looked at Raphael with concern. “If you need help, just yell. I’ll hear you.”

  Raph nodded and Ranier gave her a grateful look. He touched her shoulder on the way by. “Thanks, Sarah.”

  She nodded back to him then they too were gone, speeding away on foot. The injured Joseph following at a slightly slower pace. Annie stood next to Jesse and hugged herself. Sarah saw her sister shiver, despite the fact that it was nearly noon and over eighty degrees outside. “Come on you two, let’s go sit up on the porch where we have a good view. No one has seen Marie yet and I don’t trust her.” They moved up and around the porch until they had the best view of the tree line. Jesse and Annie took chairs in front of the large picture window and Sarah stayed standing near the railing. Sarah hated waiting. And she hated worrying about Keller and Jill, and all their new friends. But there was no way she was going to let someone else watch Annie. Before she could dwell any further, both people with other blood heard a scream come from the woods where Raph and his sons had disappeared. Then Sarah heard her name. She was torn until she heard her name again followed by another scream.

  Jesse stood and looked at her. “Sarah? Do you want me to go?”

  Annie, not hearing any of it, stood in a panic. “What? Go where? What are you talking about?”

  Sarah looked at her younger sister and frowned. “There is screaming in the woods and they are calling for me. I have to go. They wouldn’t call if they didn’t really need me.”

  Annie looked like she was going to cry. “I’m scared, Sarah.”

  Sarah stepped close and gave her a hug. “I know A, but don’t worry. It will all be over soon. Hopefully I’ll only be gone a few minutes.”

  “Okay. Annie nodded and stepped back and Jessie was suddenly there wrapping her in an embrace.

  “Sarah, go. I’ll take care of her, and I’ll yell if there’s a problem.” Jesse nodded toward the woods as they heard another hoarse yell.

  Sarah took off. The trees were a blur as she ran in the direction of the fighting. She arrived minutes later to see Joseph impaled on a large tree branch and Romaric on the ground unmoving. Ranier was slowly getting up but still too far away to help his father. Marcel had the older man pinned to a tree by his throat. Raph had a grievous wound in his side and it looked like one of his arms was dislocated. Marcel had changed halfway and was slowly crushing his claws into Raph’s throat. His voice was a growl as he addressed his uncle. “You failed, old man. Your mistake was that you tried to take me alive because we’re family. But I don’t have the same feelings about you three.”

  Before she could even think about the consequences, Sarah yelled to get the crazed man’s attention. Marcel looked at her and laughed. “Oh look, its Louve’s little vampire bitch. If you wait your turn I’ll give you exactly what your redheaded friend got. Then I’ll start on your sister.” He started laughing and abruptly stopped. Without thought of consequence, Sarah linked with him and pulled. She drank his energy so fast that her temples were pounding. She watched surprise flit over his wolf-like features and his grip went slack, dropping Raph to the loam beneath their feet. But Sarah didn’t stop. With massive effort she pulled even harder until he gave out a strangled cry and collapsed to the ground next to the French Canadian. It took less than ten seconds for his form to change back to human.

  Ranier had managed to rise and he came over to check Marcel’s pulse. “He’s still alive. We are all still alive except for Joseph.” When he didn’t get an answer, he looked up at their savior. “Sarah?”

  Sarah was lost in her own head. The energy she had pulled from Marcel was nothing but pure hate and rage and she stood frozen, shaking with it. Ranier could feel her anger, could practically see it rolling off her. Even her scent had changed. He wasn’t sure what to do but the choice was made for him when they both heard a scream coming from the direction of the house.

  “Jesse!” The voice was high and fueled by terror. Before Ranier could say another word Sarah was gone. Vanished from sight. He looked down and said a prayer, then began tending to his father and brother’s injuries.

  THE SECONDS BEFORE Annie’s scream were surprisingly calm. They were still sitting on the porch, the only movement coming from Jesse’s nervously jiggling leg. Jesse turned to tell Annie that she couldn’t hear any more fighting but never got the chance. The picture window behind her exploded outward and a split second later Jesse was pulled backward into the living room of the farmhouse. Before she could fully register what was happening, Marie swung a bat at her head and everything went dark. “Sorry, lover, but we need more wolves in our little group and Alain told me that I could have you. I promise to kiss it better later.” The werewoman laughed and dropped the bat to the floor. Then she turned and climbed through the window onto the porch.

  Annie being Annie, she wasn’t going to wait idly by while a homicidal wolf came after her. She picked up one of the chairs and brought it down on Marie’s head and shoulders as hard as she could and then took off running for Keller’s car. She knew her friend had left the keys in the center console and thought that would be her best chance to get away. Marie shook off the blow and caught up with Annie as the younger woman started to pull away. Since she was in half-wolf form, she leaped on top of the small car and used her claws to dig into the canvas roof to improve her grip. Annie found herself careening down the long tree-lined drive trying to shake the wolf loose. Sarah had broken from the trees in time to see the car take off and piled on more rage-driven speed to catch up with them.

  Annie was panicked and running scared, but she was also angry at the woman who was terrorizing her. Her stomach roiled with the fear of not knowing if Jesse was dead or alive. “Get off this car, you bitch!” She could hear laughter then the canvas ripping above her head and knew she only had seconds to get rid of Marie before the wolf woman killed her. When she felt Marie’s claws graze the top of her scalp she didn’t think, she merely reacted. Despite not having time to put on a seatbelt, she took the only option available to her. Annie swerved Keller’s pride and joy into the nearest oak tree. The car came to an immediate stop, but not the people that were along for the ride. Marie flew through the air and slammed into the trunk of the tree before falling to the hood of the car. Annie was stopped mostly by the steering wheel but her legs were pinned in place from the impact.

  Sarah saw the accident and feared th
e worst. When she got to the car, she ran to the driver’s side and nearly ripped the door off in an effort to get to her sister. All she could see was Annie slumped against the steering wheel with multiple cuts all over her body. There was a large gash on her head and she was covered in blood. “Annie!” She didn’t dare touch the lifeless body for fear of doing further harm, but her sister seemed to be breathing and her heart was steady. Sarah heard a groan and looked over at the woman on the hood. All the fury and burning anger that was rolling just below the surface came boiling out. With a scream, she grabbed the recovering woman and threw her from the car. “How dare you touch my family!” She picked her up and threw her again before she could do more than sit upright. “How dare you hurt my friends!” This time she was on the wolf woman even faster, pinning her to the ground near the back of the totaled convertible.

  Keller had felt what was happening through their shared bond and took off running back to the farmhouse as fast as possible. She felt all the rage that Sarah had pulled from Marcel and knew the singer would do something stupid unless she could stop her. Her soul mate was brimming with stolen energy and combined with her own, it would be more than enough to kill Marie. Keller was still too far away to stop Sarah when she saw her lover pin Marie to the ground “Sarah, no! Sarah!” Keller had two choices, she could let Sarah kill the werewolf, or she could open her shield wide and take all the violent energy into herself. Then she would have the same problem as Sarah. She knew there was no choice to make, she couldn’t let her lover kill another being in front of her. She felt Sarah open her shield as she got ready to force her aura into the woman below her. In that instant Keller drained her and Sarah slumped.