Cain walked past the park, slowing his gait. There was a wrinkled flower on the ground. He furrowed his eyebrows and picked it up, squinting at it. There was something about it that made him look twice. It made him think of Kyna. Suddenly, he knew beyond a doubt that she had been there. How he knew it, he didn’t know, but he did know he had to find her.
Cain tucked the flower gingerly in his pocket and took off running, trusting his body to take him where he needed to be before it was too late.
Chapter Eleven
“Let go of me!” Kyna growled, fighting against the police officers. The man from the park had led her to a cruiser, where another man, blonde with pale blue eyes, was sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Got a Loni,” the man said, glancing back at her in the rearview mirror.
“No shit?” the driver said, grinning back at her. “She’s hot. What do you wanna do with her?”
“What do you think?” the man who framed her said, leering at her from the mirror. “The usual. Then take her to the camp.”
“Right,” the driver said. “I’ll radio it in.”
The crackle of the radio hurt Kyna’s head and the car jerked forward. She felt nauseated and furious. She had been caught by the Guardians and had failed her mission entirely. What was she going to do? Would they kill her?
“Cheer up, babe,” the driver said, grinning at her through the rearview mirror. “We’re gonna take good care of you.”
Kyna squeezed her eyes closed, sending as powerful a force from her mind as possible. A psychic call for help was her only chance. Otherwise, the Guardians would capture her and perform unspeakable tortures on her. Especially once they saw she was the last of her kind and would see her as personally responsible for the death of Richard, the leader.
The car moved slowly through the city streets until suddenly they were heading into the wooded wilderness. Kyna kept her eyes squeezed closed, silently sending pleas for help to anybody who might be able to hear them. If the Guardians had their way with her, she would never make it back to the Kersh clan, let alone to Kaldernon. She was doomed.
***
Cain made it to the border of the woods, his broad chest heaving with the effort of breathing. He knew deep down that Kyna was in trouble, more surely than he had ever known anything in his life. His body was suddenly electrified by her voice roaring in his head.
“Please. Route 198. They’re taking me away.”
Cain cursed and began running with all of his speed. Soon, the trees were blurring around him and he felt himself tapping in to a deep, dormant power. It helped him soar along the ground, eventually lifting him into the air. He didn’t question what was happening to him. He knew that Kyna was telling the truth and had been from the start. That deep down, he could shapeshift into a dragon, and now he was going to find her on Route 198 and destroy anyone who might harm her by any means necessary.
The scenery moved by in a blur, and didn’t slow down until he spotted a black and white police cruiser. He could feel Kyna close by, and landed forcibly in front of the car. It squealed to a halt and the men driving both got out of the car. Their eyes were round as saucers as Cain unleashed an ear-splitting roar. The men brought guns out, pointing them shakily at him. Cain swung his tail, throwing one of the men back with its force. The gun fell to the ground unconscious and the other man took a shot.
Cain dodged it, but barely. It grazed his leg and he unleashed a torrent of fire. The man screamed in agony as Cain head-butted him. He fell against the car with a thud.
The men were taken care of and Cain rushed to the car. The flames were going to reach the gas tank soon. Kyna was in the back seat, watching the whole thing with wide, terrified eyes. He tried pulling the door open. When it didn’t work, he pulled with all his force, ripping it off the hinges.
“Come on, we have to go,”
“Cain – “
“Now!”
Kyna stopped talking and allowed him to pull her to safety. He picked her up, much the same way he had when he’d saved her from the men in the forest, and took off running as quickly as he could. A few minutes later, a deafening explosion caused him to stumble.
“How did you –“ Kyna was breathless and confused and Cain smiled down at her.
“I had a dream. We have to get back to the tunnels. I need to see the world in the sky again.”
“Cain…”
“I’m so sorry Kyna. I shouldn’t have doubted you. I know it sounded ridiculous, but it doesn’t excuse the way I treated you for telling me the truth.”
“It’s all right,” she said. When he finally made it to the underground city, Clayton was standing outside, staring up at Kaldernon.
“Cain,” he said, moving forward to greet him. He was surprised to see Kyna in his arms.
“Is she all right?” he asked.
“She is now,” Cain said. He whipped around, setting her down gently and staring up at the pulsing lights of Kaldernon.
“They’re using an ancient language,” he said to Clayton. “They have a way to bring everybody back up there. Back home is what they’re saying.”
“You’re kidding,” Clayton breathed. “I’d heard it told that they were still trying. A Loni visitor made her way down a few years back, but nothing ever came of the message.”
“That’s because they weren’t ready yet,” Cain said, still craning his neck up at the sky. “You have to follow me. This is time sensitive. There are only a few more hours. Tell everybody!”
“Tell them what?” Clayton asked, heading for the entrance of the underground city.
“Tell them to hurry. The time to return is now.”
Clayton nodded dutifully and disappeared into the tunnels.
Chapter Twelve
Cain and Kyna stood outside quietly. Kyna was confused, and scared. Returning to Kaldernon had always been the theoretical goal, but now that they could, she was full of questions and doubts.
“It’s going to be all right,” Cain said, taking her hand.
“Are you coming with us?” she whispered. He took her close to his chest and frowned. He hadn’t thought about that yet, but he knew that this would be the only way to truly understand his heritage.
“It’s time to stop running from my past,” he said finally, pulling away from her and smiling. “If I keep doing that, what kind of future will I have?”
Suddenly, huge swarms of people began to pool from the entrances in the underground tunnels. They gathered expectantly around Cain, their faces taught with apprehension.
“We will follow Cain!” Clayton’s voice boomed as he followed the last of the Kersh clan from the burrows.
Cain grabbed Kyna’s hand and they took off running north, past the lake she had followed to find him. They ran for two hours, stopping for breaks only periodically. Finally, they arrived to a ledge overlooking the forest. Kyna gasped. It was the same peak she had seen in her first dream; the place in the distance Cain had been smiling at.
Suddenly, a shining golden light appeared above them. It fell over two people, who began to disappear. At first they were terrified, but soon they were smiling.
“It’s Kaldernon!” they shouted before they fully disappeared.
“We will keep order! Three at a time!” Clayton commanded, shouting authoritatively. The lines dwindled until it was only Kyna and Cain standing together on the cliff’s face.
“Are you sure you want to leave this world behind? You were raised as one of them.”
“It’s not safe even if I did,” he said, peering at her with his beautiful sea-green eyes. He gripped her hands and brought them to his lips, kissing gently. “Now that I have you, I can’t just let you go. Nobody has ever really felt like home. Maybe because my home is somewhere else.”
Kyna’s heart thudded in excitement when he pulled her toward the light. He squeezed her hand as it began to bathe over them.
“Are you ready?” she asked nervously.
Cain leaned down and kissed her
tenderly.
“What are we waiting for?” he asked with a grin.
Suddenly, they felt the tug of the portal and together, they began their journey to their home world of Kaldernon.
THE END
Wolf Shifter Romance
Saved by the Werewolf Billionaire
Samantha Leal
Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Thank you so much for your interest in my work!
1.
Laurie lay back in bed and looked up at the ceiling. It was almost midnight and she had been waiting for her moment since earlier that evening. Brad had come home drunk, again… it was the fourth night in a row and with each one he had become more angry and uncontrollable than the night before. He was lying next to her, face down with his mouth lolling open and a big string of drool snaking its way onto the flattened pillow beneath him. She could almost taste his breath as the sweet tang of whiskey lingered in the air between them. He breathed in and out deeply, snoring as he inhaled and puffing back into the bed sheets. Laurie closed her eyes and gathered her courage. She would have to do it soon.
She’d known for at least two months that this day was going to come, but now that it had and as she was finally getting ready to make her move, she was terrified. Her and Brad had been together for a year, and for at least half of that he had been completely unbearable to live with. It had started with the odd dig at her clothing choice or selection of friends and had progressively gotten more and more belittling and cruel. One moment he had loved her and the next he seemed to despise her. The compliments she had been honored to receive had turned into sneers, and instead of wanting to spend time with her and appreciate her, he had done nothing but lay around in bed all day. Then when he had had his fill of sloth, he would drag himself to the nearest bar, get wasted, and eventually come back home in a terrible mood, goading for yet another fight.
Laurie remembered what it had felt like to fall for Brad. He had been the first person she considered herself to have been in love with, but as his true colors revealed themselves, she had just felt foolish and naive. He was a brute of a man and wasn’t nearly good enough for her. The night he had come home so drunk that he could barely stand up straight and had then preceded to accuse her of having an affair with a man at work had been the tipping point. He had physically pinned her against the wall by her throat. She knew then that she was going to have to get away from him. He wasn’t stable and she wasn’t safe being anywhere near him at this point. If she didn’t get away from him who knew what would happen when he’d had one shot too many again? Surely it wouldn’t be long before the threats turned into even more serious aggression, and she wasn’t going to wait around for the inevitable.
She never could have been prepared for what happened next though. She had not even known that he had ever been engaged, but when a girl walked into the jewelry store where Laurie worked she knew the minute she laid eyes on her that she was somehow connected to Brad and that she was going to drop a bomb.
“Laurie Miller?” she said quietly, as timid as a mouse when she opened the door and stepped inside. “Do you have a minute?”
Even though her heart was pounding and her mouth was dry Laurie had agreed to meet her out back and excused herself for a ten minute break. She rounded the corner at the side of the store and turned into the alley. As she looked at the girl in front of her she saw for the first time the shadows that seemed to play just behind this woman’s eyes. She appeared completely broken and scared.
“You need to get away from him,” she whispered, “He’s not sane.”
Laurie had already figured this out for herself, but had been taking a more measured approach to her withdrawal from the relationship. Now, though, with this woman standing right in front of her confirming all of her worst fears, her sense of urgency was peaked and she knew the time had come to leave. No more excuses.
“He knocked six of my teeth out,” the girl said quietly, looking down at the road and instinctively putting her hand to her mouth. “I had to get a restraining order.”
Laurie’s head was spinning. She didn’t even know how the girl had found her. She said she’d been engaged to Brad three years before and that it was after they’d moved in together that he had started his mind games and abusive behavior. He’d made her life hell, blaming her for things that hadn’t happened, criticizing her appearance, and had verged on violence many times. Then one day he’d finally snapped completely and shoved her head against the refrigerator door.
“I heard he was with someone new,” she said quietly, “Took me a while to get the courage, but I had to warn you…” With that, she turned and made her way to the end of the alley. As she approached the road with its steady stream of cars driving past, she turned and added, “Get out while you can.” With that she turned one last time and was gone.
Laurie stood in the alley, resting against the wall and for the first time in months she went into her handbag, rooted around in it for bit, and pulled out a cigarette. She dragged on it hurriedly three times before throwing it on the floor and stamping it out.
“Fuck,” she whispered to herself. She leaned her head back and looked up to the sky as she felt the tears well up behind her eyes.
It was after work that day that she’d gone home and started to pack. She’d dragged her clothes out of the drawers and thrown them into the trunk of her car. A lot of her things were still in their shared wardrobe but she didn’t dare touch them in case he went in there when he got home and saw that they were missing. She would just have to leave them behind. Her car keys were on the central island in the kitchen and she put them in her handbag which she then placed by the door. When she heard the familiar sound of his truck swerving onto the street she turned out the light and pretended to be asleep, although underneath the covers she was mostly clothed. All she would have to do was throw on a pair of jeans with some shoes and she would be good to go.
Brad practically kicked open the front door in his drunkenness before he staggered down the hallway, stopping at the kitchen to grab yet another beer. Finally, he crashed into the bedroom, the still unopened fresh beer in hand, and fell down next to her, face first on the mattress. He dropped the unopened bottle on the floor and she heard it roll under the bed. He was asleep within seconds and she was very glad she hadn’t waited up to face him.
This is it, she thought. This is the first day of the rest of your life.
2.
She would never call it running away. She just needed to regroup her thoughts, be on her own for a while and know that there was a great deal of distance between her and Brad Richards. After she had snuck out of the house she had only just got to her car when she looked up and saw his silhouette in the doorway, his fists clenched and his eyes wild with anger. She had been sure he was out for the night. She tried to start the engine but in her panic dropped the keys. She immediately slammed her palms down on the locks, making sure the doors were secure. Brad stomped across the lawn shouting at her. She did her best to block the impending threat out in order to focus on her escape. She had to find the keys and she had to get the car moving. When she finally found them on the edge of the floor mat she picked them up with shaking hands and slid them into the ignition.
“Fucking bitch,” Brad spat at the window as he pounded his fist against it. She looked up at him one more time and she saw something in him she had always known was there but that was at last revealed, the maniac beneath the surface. He punched the glass with the full force of his muscular arms and it cracked as she threw the car into reverse and sped off down the drive. He chased her to the end of their road, jumping at the trunk and hammering on the back window as she slowed to turn the corner.
“Goodbye Brad,”
she said, her voice faltering but determined. She’d done it. She’d escaped him. He grew small in the rear view mirror and was finally gone as she turned and drove out of her old neighborhood.
She’d chosen to go to a small town she had visited when she was a teenager, there were fond memories wrapped up in that place and it was only an hour’s drive from the city. Laurie had always promised herself that one day she would go back and relive her youth. She remembered being there one summer with her parents, she’d laid in the sun by the lake all afternoon and counted the clouds as they drifted overhead. In the evenings they buddied up with other families staying close by and had barbeques at dusk. She’d had her first kiss that summer with a boy who was staying at a lodge near theirs. He’d followed her around the back of the play park and into the woods where they’d wrapped their arms around each other and swapped spit for half an hour. She couldn’t remember his name but she remembered the t-shirt he was wearing. A black one with an alien head on the front. She had vague memories of him telling her about Area 51 and she had deduced he was a nerd and hadn’t spoken to him again. She was a bit too quick to judge back then, she thought in retrospect. She loved thinking of that summer because she didn’t have anything in the world to worry about back then. It was that feeling that drew her back there now. The promise of simplicity.
As she pulled off the highway she recognized the roads immediately, even though it had been ten years since she’d been there. She put on her high beams and followed each bend and dip cautiously. She knew there were a lot of animals in the forests around those parts and after the night she had had, she really didn’t need to hit anything. Soon the old familiar sign came into view in the distance. Blakestone Ridge. She was sure it was the same sign that had been hanging there all those years before, rusted and swinging on an angle by two chains of slightly different lengths. She looked down at her dashboard and saw that it was coming up on three in the morning. She had stopped on the way to fill up with gas and get her head together and it had suddenly dawned on her that there was no motel that was going to take her in at that time of night. In the city maybe it wouldn’t have been a problem, but out there in the practical wilderness she was going to have her work cut out for her finding somewhere to stay the night. She was exhausted and needed a warm bed, both for her physical comfort and her emotional stability.
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