Chase stood up and placed the magazine he was reading on the table. Gently he pulled the bags out of his mate's hands then kissed her. “You didn't tire yourself out too badly, did you?” He asked concerned, his hand tenderly placed on her belly.
“I'm fine,” she smiled warmly at him, her emerald eyes shining brightly. “Sorry we're a little late. It's your entire fault for introducing me to the coffee shop next door. Double espresso soy latte with mocha spritz.” She licked her lips dreamily. “So, of course I had a caffeine free cup of tea. You owe me one after the baby gets here.”
He chuckled and nuzzled her neck tenderly. Rachel made a gagging sound. “Ew you two. Get at room, soundproofed with a lock preferably. I can give you the address of a couple if you need it.”
“Talk about ew! I don't need to know about your perversions, Rach. Way TMI.” Carson wrinkled her nose.
A door opened behind them and a man walked in. He smiled at Carson. “Hello again, Car. You're looking lovely as always.” He took her hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles. “Have you divorced him yet so you can marry me?”
“Hi Jim. No, sorry and he's managed to knock me up so I guess you are just going to have to find another girl.” Carson smiled warmly at him. “Speaking of, this is my best friend, Rachel. Rach, Dr. Jim Findricks. Be careful of this one, he's tricky and don't believe anything he tells you.”
His face fell and he pouted, staggering back a step and slapping his hand over his chest. “Aw, you wound me! Here I was thinking you loved me. My heart is broken into a billion pieces and it'll never be right again.” He smirked with a wink then kissed her cheek gently. “Turning to Rachel, he shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Rachel.” His eyes lingered on her face for just a moment before darting down her form, charm oozing out of every pore. He grinned appreciatively.
She flashed him a brilliant smile. “Very pleased to meet you as well”. When he turned, she smirked and licked her lips suggestively. Hot! She mouthed towards Carson and fanned herself with her hand. Carson shook her head and chuckled. That was so Rachel.
Chase introduced him to Zandria and he shook her hand as well. “Nice to meet you, Zandria. I've been looking forward to seeing you too." Turning to his friend he said, “Alright, Chase, I'm ready whenever you are.”
Zandria wrinkled her brow. “Me?” She glanced at Chase quizzically.
Chase coughed. “Just a minute, Jim.”
Jim nodded with a warm smile, gave Rachel a wink then walked through the door again, leaving it open this time. Rachel fell into a chair and picked up a magazine watching him from behind it. Carson sat beside her and leaned over whispering to her. They were soon giggling. Zandria heard the phrase 'play doctor' used more than once. She rolled her eyes.
Chase, however, ran his fingers through his hair and scrubbed the back of his neck. “Zandria, I need you to do something for me please.”
“What do you need?”
“I need you to trust me please.” He sighed softly. “Hear me out first, okay?. Jim and I were fraternity brothers in college. He is an ophthalmologist and I came here today to talk to him about you. I want him to take a look at your eyes.”
She shook her head as her heart started to pound. “No. It's a waste of time.” She looked around in a panic, feeling trapped. “I need to go. Please take me home now. I knew it was a mistake to come here.” She started towards the door. Carson jumped up, intercepting her and grabbed her hand.
“Honey, listen to me.” Chase backed away and let his mate take over. “We know you told us that there's nothing that can be done about your eyes, but you were told that by a healer, a pack healer. Our people don't have issues with eyes, so they naturally thought that your sight issues were hereditary. I know that you have always thought it was an effect of your talent.” She had lowered her voice. “But Chase was trained in human schools and in some things, they know more than we do. He wants you to be seen by someone who is an expert with eyes. Just please, let him look. If Chase is wrong then there's no harm done. Please?”
Zandria's shoulders drooped. When her vision first started failing her shortly before her curse manifested, the pack healer told her it was irreversible and that eventually she would be totally blind. In the ten or so years since then, her eyes had become so bad that she could make out little more than shapes and colors.
“Why didn't you just ask me?” She questioned sullenly.
“Would you have come if we had?” Rachel retorted. “It takes an act of congress to get you out of your house, much less away from the pack. Seriously, I was thinking dynamite, C-4, winch and chains...”
She knew they were right about her leaving, but she also knew it was a lost cause. Well then, maybe after this was over, they would stop trying to 'fix' her. Squaring her shoulders, she begrudgingly gave in. “Alright. But it's just a waste of time.”
“Just humor me,” Chase smiled and escorted her into the exam room.
It was almost an hour later before Jim had finished. Her eyes had been examined, dilated, poked, had air blown into them and extremely bright lights flashed into them. Wiping her cheeks for what seemed like the thousandth time, she squinted when he turned the overhead lights on again.
“Are you okay, Zandria?” Dr. Jim asked her with concern. She nodded. He had been nothing but professional during the entire exam. He patted her hand and opened the door of the room. Chase came in and took a seat on the stool in the corner.
“Well, what's the verdict?”
“Her retinas are healthy, same with macula, vessels and nerves with no discernible inflammation present at all. The backs of her eyes are all normal.” He stated. The words were all a jumbled and made no sense, but if everything was normal then it had to be her curse after all. Her shoulders slumped. She had foolishly gotten her hopes up and thought that maybe it was something that could be fixed.
Chase let out a long breath. “So there's nothing wrong with her eyes? What's causing the myopia?”
Jim shook his head. “I didn't say there's nothing wrong with her eyes. I said that there was nothing wrong with the back of her eyes. The problem is with the front of them. Zandria has bilateral congenital cataracts.
She froze. “What does that mean?”
Jim grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. “It means you have a film covering the lenses of your eyes. You were born with it and as time went by, it got thicker and thicker until now you can barely see through it.”
She took a deep breath. “So my sight is gone then.”
Chase chuckled softly. “No, honey. Your sight isn't gone. Think of it like looking through a dirty window. Just because you can't see through it doesn't mean it doesn't work anymore. You just have to clean the window.”
She looked up sharply, barely daring to hope. “You can clean my eyes so I can see again?”
Jim nodded. “In a manner of speaking, yes I can. You need to have surgery to remove the damaged lenses and replace them with new ones. It's called an intraocular lens implant, and can be performed right here in Roanoke. I'll set up a time next week at the vision center. Normally we only do one eye at a time so that the patient doesn't become stressed not being able to see for twenty-four hours. It would be up to you if you want to do it one at a time or both together.”
She felt the room tilt. “I... I will be able to see again?”
Chase squeezed her hand. “That's right. You'll be able to see again. What do you think, honey? Shall we set it up?”
She brought herself back down to earth and shook her head sadly. “I... I can't. I don't have enough money for something like that. I can't afford surgery.”
Chase squeezed her hand again. “You are a part of our family, a part of Sapphire Lake and we take care of our own. We're going to do this for you.”
“I… I can't.” Her heart was breaking. These people had already done so much for her. They had taken her in when she had run from her past. They let her live with them, gave her a home, clothing, food and a job. She was alre
ady so deeply indebted to Sapphire Lake that she could never pay them back. “Thank you for offering, but I just can't.” She started to get up from the chair.
Jim stopped her. “If you won't let them help you, will you let the Children's Ocular Foundation do it? It's a huge organization that provides eye care to children regardless of their social or economic situation. I work with them in this region.”
“I'm not a child anymore. The care is better spent on someone younger.” Her lips were pressed in a line. As much as she longed to be able to see again, it wasn't worth taking another's place, someone who deserved it and didn't have such a dark past; someone worthy.
He sighed. “Your disease is from your childhood, something that should have been caught many years ago. I don't know why you were never examined as a child, but had you been taken to a professional, they could have corrected this then. Besides, you are under twenty-one so you still qualify anyway. What do you say, Zandria? Take a chance on happiness and get your vision fixed?”
Indecision tore at her. On one hand, she knew she didn't deserve to have such a gift. There were so many other, more worthy people that should have this gift. But, on the other, the promise of being able to see again appealed to her on so many levels. She chewed her lip a few seconds. In the end, her hope won out. “Yes,” she whispered her voice catching. “Yes please. I can't believe that I will be able to see again.”
Jim handed her another tissue. “I can do one better than that. I think we can give you some glasses that will at least make it better for you until then. It won't be anywhere near as good as it will be after the surgery, but at least we can give you some of it back, maybe even enough that you can read.”
She didn't know what to say. Her heart was thudding in her chest and her hands were sweaty. Taking her silence as acceptance, he shooed Chase out of the office and closed the door. Turning off the light again, he pulled a strange device over her face and fiddled with some dials. “Look at the chart and tell me the lowest line you can read.”
She read the dim lines until he had her vision dialed in as well as she could have it with the cataracts. With prescription in hand, they walked a block to a dispensary. Zandria, still conscientious about spending pack money, chose nondescript black frames that were in the lower price range available. Plain lenses with no enhancements were chosen then they all sat back as the technician assembled them. A very long, impatient hour later, she stepped out of the building and took a look at the world she hadn't seen in almost a decade. Carson and Rachel each held a trembling hand, Chase standing quietly, arms loaded with shopping bags, as Zandria stood there, awe etched on her face. She took in everything and even with the darkness, she could already see so much better than just minutes before.
Across the street from them, several children were running in a tiny enclosed playground attached to the side of an apartment building. Zandria watched them as they played; screaming and running back and forth lost in their childhood games. They were dim and not very clear, but not only could she tell there were three boys and two girls, one of the girls was even wearing a shirt that had a picture of a kitten on it. Raising her gaze, she peered down the road and saw cars moving through the streets, stopping and turning as they made their way to their destinations. Next to them, a single tree surrounded with a painted iron gate gently swayed in the breeze, its purple blossoms nodding with each gust. Turning her head to look at the women holding her hands, she saw the tears glistening on their cheeks, their faces full of joy for her. Chase dropped the bags to the concrete at his feet and pulled out his mostly useless cell phone. As Zandria stood there, a look of pure amazement on her face, she took in everything she could, feasting on the vistas as if she had been starved her entire life. Quietly, Chase snapped a photograph and captured this powerful moment for Cayson.
¸¸.•*¨*•♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♪•*¨*•.¸¸
The huge grey and white wolf padded softly through the underbrush, his ears pointed forward, as he listened for evidence of potential prey. There was a slight sound to his right and he shifted his stance, crouching in the dark shadows. Forcing himself to stay perfectly still, he zeroed in on the sound and waited. All around the silence became almost a physical weight, bearing down on him. Still he waited, tensed and ready. Finally, after what felt like an hour, a rabbit moved out of the thicket of brambles and looked around, its long ears twitching. It hopped away from its hiding place and paused again, lifting its nose into the wind and sniffing. The wolf's eyes locked on it and watched, muscles bunching in anticipation of the hunt. There was another tentative hop forward then stopping again looking around warily, this time both ears flattened along his back. The wolf lunged forward, landing into the suddenly empty space recently occupied by the rabbit. He caught the flash of fur as the animal disappeared into the brush. With a triumphant yip, he gave into his instinct and bounded after his prey.
The chase lasted for several minutes, the rabbit fleeing through the brush, the wolf hot on its trail vaulting over the top of bushes and around fallen logs. They ran through the trees until the beast became bored with the chase and with one final leap, landed on the rabbit, holding it under his paws. Opening his massive jaws, he leaned down and dragged his tongue over the terrified bunny. Whimpering his apologies, he pulled his paws back and nudged the animal forward with his nose. The rabbit wasted no time, flipping over on its feet and disappearing into the underbrush.
Cayson hated chasing the poor defenseless animals of the forest, but knew that his beast needed it. So, at least once a week, he would reluctantly shift and slip into the woods, letting his wolf free to run and eat up some of their pent up energy. At least the animal in him understood his disgust at harming their prey and agreed to let them go free; there were many who hunted and enjoyed consuming their quarry. But, both Cayson and his wolf could feel the stark terror radiating from their captive prey, making their shared stomach roil and pitch. Sometimes being an empath really sucked.
Lifting his muzzle into the slight breeze that fluttered through the woods, he inhaled deeply, sampling the scents again thinking maybe they had time for one more chase. Above the earthy fragrances of the forest, he detected fresh baked bread, cinnamon and sunflowers. He froze and his wolf no longer cared to resume their romp. She was back.
A huge silly grin painted his muzzle as he bolted through the trees back towards Sapphire Lake compound. Stretching his muscles as far as they would go, he race around trees, over fallen branches and through scrub brush, his paws making little sound as he crushed decaying vegetation underneath. His great lungs pulled breath as his muscles moved effortlessly. Breaking through the tree line, he stopped behind a storage building that housed the pack's building supplies and quickly shifted back to human. Long course fur slid easily back into human skin as claws retracted into his fingers. The long beautiful muzzle retracted, fangs disappeared into human gums, golden glowing eyes dimming until they faded and became twin pools of deep emerald flecked with gold and just a touch of teal. Lupine bones popped and snapped, realigning as sinews and muscles reformed into a human configuration. Grabbing his clothes where he had left them laying on an old barrel, he tugged his jeans on, zipping the fly closed and threw the same dirty tee shirt over his tousled black hair, yanking it down to his hips. Forgetting his socks, he slammed his feet into his boots and practically ran from the building and into the commons as his inner beast goaded him to move faster. Their mate was home!
Some piece of him knew he really should go home, take a shower and put on clean clothes before searching her out, but he just had to see her for a minute. Zandria had left earlier that afternoon to go shopping with his twin, Carson, her best friend, Rachel and Carson's mate who was also the pack's beta. It was the reason he had fled to the woods as soon as he and Father were finished with repairing the pack house roof. Being without her always made him jumpy. It was easier if he just gave in to his wolf and expended that anxiety chasing animals through the woods. I like to chase them and I like to catch
them. His beast agreed. But I'd rather chase and catch our mate! Cayson chuckled and agreed. One of these days they were going to catch her and never let her go.
Forcing himself to slow down, he walked around the edge of the commons, following Zandria's scent until he found her by the bakery surrounded by several pack members. He should have known she would be there; she spent more time working with Audrey than anywhere else in the compound. Stopping in his tracks, he stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and watched from the sidelines, resisting the urge to run up and hug her no matter how badly he wanted to. Inside, his wolf whined and clawed. Mate! Our mate. Want! Need! He sighed. “I hear you buddy,” he whispered and dug his nails into his palms in frustration. It didn't help that her emotions were broadcasting loudly, but he was unable to prevent himself from opening up to them. Senses of incredible joy washed over him in a wave of euphoria. Something had happened to her today – something wonderful and he ached to find out what and to share it with her. Instead he remained where he was and watched her, forcing himself to stay back. Carson looked up and motioned for him to come closer. Hesitating just a moment, he walked the rest of the way until he stood a scant few feet away. Carson pulled him closer and looped her arm in his, tiptoeing up and whispering to him. “Just watch.” She grinned mischievously like she knew a secret and was waiting for him to discover it.
Zandria slowly turned around, her gaze darting around the area, until it fell on him. His breath caught in his throat when her beautiful pale blue eyes locked on his from behind a pair of black thick rimmed glasses. She gasped, thrusting both hands over her lips. “Oh my Luna” she whispered softly. She walked over to him until they were only a few inches apart. Lifting her trembling hand up, she touched his face, cupping his cheek in her hand.
Every nerve in his body buzzed from the contact and his wolf rolled over on his back exposing his belly to their mate. Raising his own hand up, he sandwiched hers between his and his cheek. Closing his eyes, he nuzzled her hand then pressed his lips tenderly in her palm, kissing it sweetly. His other hand slid up her neck and cupped her cheek, running one thumb over her soft pale skin. Opening his eyes, he stared down into hers, feeling himself drowning into the cyan depths as his inner beast continued to bask in her attention. He wasn't sure what had caused this sudden change, but he would do anything to keep touching her and for her to continue gazing at him with that look of love and absolute adoration. She was his sun and he would be content to spend the rest of his life orbiting her bright splendor like a planet.
Broken Melody (Luna's Children) Page 3
