by Juniper Hart
Annabelle pulled back and stared at her mother, devastated.
“I did everything I could to stop it! I don’t know why he did it!” Annabelle blubbered.
Annabelle’s father rushed to his daughter’s side. “Nothing that happened was your fault. We had no idea Jax was such a terrible man. You never spoke to us, and he was always so nice when you two visited. Please forgive us for not seeing the signs.” With that, he embraced his daughter and kissed her on the head.
Trisha interjected, “Your room is just how you left it. Your father is going to your home today to collect your things. Jax won’t be there, as you know, but one of the police officers will still accompany your father.”
“Thank you,” cried Annabelle. Her parents were always so supportive, which made her wonder why she didn’t leave Jax years ago.
“Now dear, some other people want to see you if you’re up for it,” said Trisha.
Annabelle looked at her parents, not understanding.
“What others?”
A soft knock on the door made Annabelle turn her head to see Bryden and Julian. A smile spread across her face. Annabelle’s parents both kissed her on the cheek as they left the room.
Both men pulled up chairs to be by Annabelle’s side.
Julian was the first to speak, “We are so glad you’re okay. I want you to know that we both tried to find you after realizing you weren’t running behind us. We searched for hours before getting help.”
“I guess we’ll never convince you to join us on a boys’ weekend again, huh?” said Bryden, trying to lighten the mood.
“Probably not,” laughed Annabelle.
“We’re going over to your place with your dad to help get your furniture out of Jax’s house,” said Julian. “Is there anything in particular you want us to get for you?
“Only my clothes and personal items. Jax can have the rest,” said Annabelle. “I want to cut all ties with him and don’t want him to have a reason to come after me.
A dark figure blocked the light coming from the hallway, and growled, “So help me God, if he tries to come after you…” Annabelle turned to see Alex standing in the doorway.
“Alex! But, how—” began Annabelle.
“I think that’s our cue to leave,” said Bryden.
Alex gave each man a friendly pat on the shoulder as they left the room, smiling at them.
Annabelle froze. Were they being friendly to each other?
Alex looked over at Annabelle, and once again, her worries dissipated in his presence. She waited for him to speak.
“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
Part V
Alpha’s Girl
By Lucy Penn
1
Mia Summers stepped out of her English Composition class feeling rather drained. It was a general education class that all college seniors were required to take regardless of their major, but she really felt like it was a way to pad the tuition costs. In her future career as a veterinarian, she did not see herself writing a lot of essays. Unless she did some research and pu
blished in a journal of some sort, though that was doubtful. She just wanted to help sick animals; she didn’t see herself curing cancer.
The common area was full of students this time of day. Most of them were rushing to a class because they were late. Very few of them were actually done for the day, including Mia.
Mia had never exactly been a morning person, but all her classes this semester were crammed back-to-back, starting at 8:00 a.m. Luckily, most of them were in the same main Sciences building, with the exception of English Composition, which required her to run the length of a football field in fifteen minutes.
At least I’m getting my exercise, she thought.
Mia glanced at her watch and sighed. It was almost noon, which meant she had just enough time to grab a quick sandwich or a slice of pizza and head to work to start her shift at twelve-thirty. Oh, the fun never ended.
She finally got to work, finishing off her slice of pizza as she walked through the door. Letting out a huge sigh of relief, she glanced up at the clock on the wall. She was five minutes early. That was cutting things a bit closer than usual. It wasn’t like she would have been in trouble or anything if she had been a few minutes late—it had happened before, and it most likely would again.
Her boss, Dr. Vogel, was fantastic. Mia had known her since she was seven years old, when her family had to bring her cat Mikey in to be checked out after he was attacked by a raccoon. It was probably then, watching Dr. Vogel care for Mikey, that Mia had first realized that she wanted a career that helped animals.
During her high school years, she’d worked as a weekend receptionist for the vet. Eventually, she’d been promoted to a vet tech, which gave her some practical on-the-job training while she was in college. However, she still did some receptionist work and bookkeeping when Dr. Vogel needed extra help.
“Nice timing,” Marcy Robbins said as Mia walked into the back office. She crammed her backpack into her little locker and shot Marcy a questioning look.
Marcy had worked for Dr. Vogel for almost ten years. She was in her thirties, very attractive and sweet, but too sarcastic for her own good. She had self-confidence that seemed to attract a lot of men, but they never stuck around very long. Probably because they wanted something that Marcy wasn’t giving up easily.
Mia hated to say it, but sometimes she really did think that men were dogs. Any guy worth a grain of salt would have stuck to Marcy like glue. She would make the right guy very happy.
Of course, Mia really wasn’t one to judge or give advice in regards to love. She had gone out with a lot of men, but she’d only ever had two serious boyfriends, and the last one had turned out to be a psycho who would not stop harassing her.
Just when she thought she was free from his grasp, Aaron Bishop would show up out of nowhere and poke into her life once again. Mia had gone to the cops several times, but Aaron hadn’t broken any laws. He’d never threatened her, he’d never damaged her property, and he’d never trespassed. He was just a nuisance. Apparently being a first-class jerk, and a total pain in the ass, wasn’t against the law.
Mia often wondered if or when Aaron would stop being a nuisance and become a legitimate threat. She tried not to think about it, but the way he acted sometimes really scared her.
It was like he wasn’t in control of himself at times, like he was about to go over the edge at any given moment. He’d be screaming one minute, then beg for her to get back together with him the next.
Mia went into the bathroom and quickly changed into her scrubs. Stepping out in full uniform, she automatically felt better. It was like a switch flipped in her head to get her into work mode. She loved being in work mode. It made her feel important, it helped her see the value in her college studies, and it gave her a glimpse of what her day-to-day life as a vet would be like someday.
She’d been very lucky to have secured employment in her chosen field at such a young age. As much information as they crammed into her head in school, it was no match for the education she received at her job.
Mia sat down at her desk and checked her messages, emails, and looked at the charts of what was on the schedule for the day. The charts were mostly her territory, since they involved scheduled boosters and meds, along with the occasional blood sample and stool sample. It wasn’t all glamorous, but it was definitely worth it.
“I swear to God, if Mrs. Harper brings that dog in here again today for no reason, I’m going to let her have it,” Marcy said, sitting down beside her and opening a small bag of chips.
Mia groaned. She knew exactly what Marcy was talking about.
“She came in again yesterday? How many times is that this week?” Mia asked.
“It’s been eight straight days. She calls in and swears that her dog can’t breathe and needs some emergency care. She won’t listen to reason, and Vogel always gives in to her and makes us squeeze out a slot on the schedule.”
Mia laughed. No profession that dealt with customers was ever without some crazies. But the high-maintenance clients did make for great entertainment sometimes. Of course, it wouldn’t be funny if the animal in question was actually sick, but Mrs. Harper’s dog was in perfect health.
“The dog is a pug. All of them make weird noises when they breathe—especially if they are excited,” Mia said.
Marcy sighed. “Don’t think I haven’t tried to explain that to her a zillion times already. You’re lucky that you usually aren’t here to deal with her.”
Mia laughed.
The rest of the day moved along at a routine pace. Mia went about her duties, getting patients cleared off the charts and assisting Dr. Vogel when needed. There were even a few slow periods where she was able to get some of her reading done for her classes.
She was eyeing the clock as they approached closing time when a customer walked into the office. At first Mia barely registered the guy who was striding up to the counter holding a small dachshund in his arms. She had been busy doing some inventory on office supplies, which was usually Marcy’s job, but Marcy had been out sick earlier that week and fallen behind. Mia wanted to help her get caught up.
“Holy…”
Mia heard Marcy muttering under her breath, followed by a few strange muffled hoots that she’d never heard from her before. She couldn’t blame her for the reaction though; the guy who was now standing in front of them could have been Brad Pitt’s much younger and better-looking brother.
“Hi,” the man said. His voice was low and thick, but with a pleasant and friendly tone. The way he delivered the greeting with a boyish smile and the flicker in his bright blue eyes was enchanting. Mia allowed her eyes to scan over every crevice and nuance of his flawless face and his wavy black hair, blocking out the rest of the world.
She wasn’t aware that she was staring and in a total daze until the man cleared his throat and smiled wider.
“Oh, hi,” Mia said nervously. She was suddenly aware of every single one of her movements, and her brain made insipid micro-adjustments in the hopes that any gesture she made would not appear silly or unnecessary. She had to get it together.
“My name is Jack Forney,” said the man. “I have an appointment to get Buster here his booster shots.”
Mia cleared her throat and tried to focus on the task at hand.
“Okay, let me see,” she said, pulling up the dog’s charts in the computer. Buster was scheduled for his parvo and distemper boosters. “There you are. I can take you right back and get this done for you.”
“All right,” Jack said.
Mia’s legs felt unsteady as she stood up and led Jack down the hallway towards the exam room. Looking back at Marcy, she could her laughing and winking at Mia.
She’s so bad, Mia thought.
She excused herself briefly while she went into the lab to grab a syringe and put together the right vaccines.
Jack lifted Buster up on the table, and Mia petted the dog to create a bit of rapport. He wasn’t going to be too happy with her in a minute. She wanted to tell hi
m that she hated shots, too.
“So, has Buster had any issues with his first round of vaccines? Have you noticed him being lethargic or acting out of character at all?” Mia asked.
She was trying to stay on task, but every time she looked at Jack, her mind became a bit fuzzy. God, this guy was so freaking good looking. He had to be a model or something. Mia had to consciously force herself not to stare at him in an obvious fashion. It may have been one of the hardest things she’d ever done.
“No, he was fine when he got the last round of shots. This little guy runs me ragged sometimes just keeping up with him.” Jack scratched Buster behind the ears and held his head while Mia gave the dog his vaccines.
She could never know for sure how a dog was going to react when she performed the procedure because they were all so different. Most acted uncomfortable, and a bit scared. Some even tried to thrash around until their owners had to hold them down so that Mia could make sure the needle didn’t hurt the dog. Others would tense up and become very quiet or whimper slightly.
Buster did none of this. As Mia was in the middle of giving Buster the second shot, she noticed the dog’s tail wagging back and forth, like he was about to get a treat. She’d been giving shots and taking blood samples for a while now, and she had never seen that type of reaction.
Confused, Mia looked up at Jack, who was staring deeply into his dog’s eyes with an odd smile on his face. The more she watched them, the more it seemed as if the dog and Jack were communicating on some other level, almost by telepathy. Buster didn’t seem to notice that his skin was being penetrated by a needle at that moment. He was totally at peace.
Mia finished giving Buster his shots, and she disposed of the medical waste.
“Wow, I’ve never seen a dog who loves getting shots,” she joked. “I wish all of the animals acted that way; it would make this job so much easier sometimes.”
