by TJ Hines
Coming to grips with all this violence was something that I didn’t think I would ever get used too.
I walked, better yet hobbled, down to the pond. I thought about Abby. I may have been ready to kick her butt Halloween night, but I never wanted her to be transformed into a vampire. No one deserves that. Especially not Abby. Her family would never know what happened to her so they might not ever get closure. Caleb told me how Tyler died as we were walking around the property. He said he saw what Tyler was doing to me and he lost it. He never even got transformed into his wolf. He found the nearest weapon he could and just attacked him. Caleb said he was in a rage and that the only thing that pulled him out of it was a small whimper from me. He said Carrow saw him kill Tyler and said he would be back for him and for me.
He kissed me again remembering that he almost lost me last night. I walked back to the barn to see if Caleb was finished and that’s when I lost it. So much death in one place. It was too much. Drew and Rhys had draped white sheets over our dead. We lost five protectors including the two that we found in the car that had been searching for Abby. They had families that they would never see again all because of me.
I sat down on the ground and just rocked back and forth. It was too much. I cried and cried for what seemed like hours. Caleb sat next to me holding me letting me take strength from him. He made sure I knew that he had me if I needed to fall apart more.
Finally, at an hour or so after daybreak, I headed for the house. Jack was right. I needed rest and so did Caleb. We stopped by the living room where Ensley was still taking care of Ella and Peyton.
“Hey girl! Glad to see you made it through. And I’m glad Caleb here ended the little pansy ass’ life that did that to you. I’m sorry I haven’t been much help, Caleb. Ensley here won't give me the okay to go back to duty yet,” Peyton said.
“That's because you have a broken leg and three broken ribs. You need a few more days of rest before you will be fully healed.”
“Leave Ens alone Peyton. He’s trying to look after us,” Ella said reaching for my hand. “I’m so glad you are okay. I was worried when I got my bearings back and saw you in his arms. Don’t scare me like that again.”
“I'll try not to. Have you heard any news on Will or Marshall?”
“I just checked on Marshall. Jacks’ method of extracting the venom seems to be working. He seems to be in a little less pain now. But I haven’t gone to check on Will. Addison was the one who came to ask me to check on Marshall for Jack because he didn’t have time to,” Ensley responded.
“Well, that can't be good.
“Kinsey I am so sorry that you got hurt. I should have never let you run away from me. I shouldn’t have let my feelings for Addison get in the way of your safety.”
“Ensley, I asked you to take care of her because her safety was important to me. I should have stayed with you two if I was being honest with myself. If I would have stayed with you then maybe everyone outside wouldn’t have been so distracted. But we can’t play the what-if game. We have to just move forward. Okay? Caleb can you take me to my room so I can lie down for a little while.”
“Sure thing.”
Caleb took me to my room so that I could rest. I told him he should get some rest too so for once he didn’t argue with me, but he didn’t leave my bed either.
“After last night I’m not letting you go anytime soon,” he said.
I didn’t argue with him because I needed to feel his body next to mine to be able to sleep.
My dream started innocently enough before it morphed into something weird. I was walking down a hall. A long corridor with doors on each side. Each door had a little slot about halfway down that was open and a little window at eye level that you could look through. It was cold in this corridor and dark. So dark that I had to use a flashlight to see around. I looked at each door and saw that they were numbered. I walked past every door until I stood in front of the one marked 1117. I used a key to open the door and walked in. There sitting on a stained mattress and chained to a wall was my mother, Dominique.
“Mom?”
“Kinsey, you shouldn’t be here. You need to go before they see you.”
“What are you talking about? Who are they?”
“The Council Wardens. If they see you astroproject they will know that you have matured into your dark powers and that you have the same powers that I do. You have to go Kinsey and never come back.”
“I can’t do that because I don’t even know how I got here in the first place. I was dreaming and then I was here. Is that what you have been doing to me. Have you been astroprojecting? I thought you were dreamwalking?”
I wanted to stay with her forever and ask her questions about my powers, my dad, and most importantly how to defeat my uncles. But she kept saying that I had to go, and she seemed really afraid I would be caught.
“I’ll answer all your questions later but for now you need to focus on wherever your body is and take yourself back there. Immediately Kinsey. The Wardens should be making their morning rounds soon. I love you baby girl.”
“I love you too mom.”
I did what she said and focused on my body lying in my bed next to Caleb. I sat up in bed suddenly back in my body.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Caleb asked sitting up next to me too.
“Nothing. But I think I just astroprojected to my mom’s cell.”
“What? Start at the beginning”
So, I did. I told him about how I got to her cell, what number it was, and what she said to me while I was there.
“We have to get her out of there Caleb.”
“We will, Kinz. We will. So, you ready to try this sleeping thing again.”
“Not really. I kind of had my mind on something else,” I said turning my body towards his.
“Oh.”
I kissed him hard as he pulled me onto him. I wanted him to know how much I loved him before things went any farther.
“I love you, Caleb Jones. I have loved you forever and I will love you for always.”
“I know. I’ve always known. I just had to wait for you to figure it out. We are bonded remember.”
“If you are so smart then what am I thinking right now.”
“Very, very naughty and impure thoughts.”
He kissed me slowly nipping at my lips as he moved his way down my neck. I wanted him and I know he wanted me. I pulled his shirt off and threw it on the floor. I wasn’t sure what I was doing but I knew that he was my person and I loved him with my whole heart. He slid his hands under my shirt wrapping his arms around me and flipping us so that he was on top of me. He took my ‘brand new but torn and now stained with gross stuff’ sweater off of me.
I winced in pain from the action. I was still a little sore from the party last night.
“Do we need to stop?” he asked.
“Absolutely not. I’m just a little sore.”
“Are you sure? We can wait.”
“Yes, I’m sure now come here,” I said pulling him back down on me. I kissed him again sucking on his bottom lip a little. I heard him growl which amped my arousal up even more. He smelled so good and he tasted even better, like apple pie. I ran my hands down his washboard stomach. He kissed the swells of my breasts and I couldn’t stop the moan from escaping my mouth. He reached for my boots, pulling each one slowly off. I arched my back as he kissed his way back up my stomach and in between my breasts. He shimmied out of his pants. Oh, he definitely wanted me. He went to undo my pants when he stopped suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice.
“Emily is about ten feet from your door,” he said throwing me his t-shirt to put on. He jumped under the cover and was trying to act completely normal when she knocked on the door.
“Come in,” I said to her.
She walked in and said three words that would change my life again.
“Kinsey, it’s Will.”
The look on
her face said it all.
