by Jen Talty
“This is crazy. I’m a walking fire stick.”
Heidi had stopped in the middle of the room. “You’re a walking mutant, is what you are.”
“Ellen, you might want to stand back.”
“We’re just supposed to keep her occupied.” Ellen took a step backward.
“That’s still the plan.” Daphne took a few tentative steps until she stood only a few feet from Heidi.
A good dose of adrenaline shot through Daphne’s system, which also ignited a prickle of fear. She had no idea what she was doing and figured Heidi could eat her for lunch.
“You really think I’m going to take you here, now? With witnesses?” Heidi said, glowering with her hands on her hips. “I’m not an idiot and everyone can clearly see you’re trying to pick a fight.”
“You picked it the moment you threatened my life.” Daphne’s throat went dry as the howls from the woods grew louder. She searched the wind for any sign of Chaz, but only heard the growls of wolves fighting.
Heidi shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. By the sounds of it, my pack is about to put your pathetic excuse for a mate out of his misery. Once that happens, we’re going to sink our teeth into you, ripping your body to shreds, leaving nothing but a pile of bones and no one will dare stop us.”
“I’m going to stop you,” Daphne said with more confidence than she really had.
“Impossible. You don’t even know what you are, which isn’t much. Your kind is an endangered species and I for one will enjoy ridding the world of you pesky little insects.”
Daphne felt a swell of energy roll from her toes up her legs and swirled in her belly like a whirlpool before filtering down to her finger tips. Tiny electric pulses flickered from her skin.
Bang!
“I’m sorry,” Chaz’s voice rang out. “Take my mother and run. Hide. Protect our child.”
The energy floating across her body quickly turned to pure rage. She raised her hands, filling her lungs and then released the air with a long breath. Blue and green fog flew from her mouth like the smoke tail of a rocket ship, knocking Heidi and her friends to the ground.
Daphne flung her arms toward the side, lifting Heidi and her friends toward the ceiling, then slamming them against the wall.
People ran screaming from the lodge.
“Remind me never to upset you,” Ellen said, waving to a few male wolves who entered the lodge. “Cuff them.”
“I’ve got to go,” Daphne said, running toward the door, a trail of tiny particles bursting behind her.
“What’s wrong?”
Daphne couldn’t tell Chaz’s mother that his heart rate had slowed to a dangerous pace and that his breathing was shallow. “Chaz needs my help.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Daphne stopped just as she stepped outside. “No.” She held her hands and Ellen stopped dead in her tracks, unable to move. “Make sure they are taken into custody and keep everyone here. I’ll be back.” She turned and took off running, not feeling the ground on her feet. She looked down, and sure enough, she was floating across the top of the earth.
She didn’t have time to question it, nor would she question that fact she’d gone over a mile in less than a minute.
Cosmo stood, in his human form, with a gun pointed at Titus.
Pushing herself toward the sky, she hovered over the top of Cosmo. When he looked up, she twirled her finger, creating a fireball, and she flung it at him. It exploded on his wrist, sending the gun flying and Cosmo dropped to his feet, clutching his burnt flesh, howling in pain.
“Stop her!” Cosmo yelled.
A couple of wolves jumped, nipping at her heels. The sparkles floating from her skin reduced in number. Sucking in a deep breath, she blew as hard as she could, pushing the wolves away, giving the Twilight officers ample time to return to human form.
She continued to hurl herself upward, and then swirl her magic around the wolves trying to run. Her head pounded in unison with her racing heart. Her muscles grew weak.
“Over here!” a Twilight officer yelled and she did her best to help him, sending a tiny fire ball in front of the wolf trying to get way.
She flung herself up to the treetops, , getting a good look at the chaos below.
Then her heart nearly stopped.
“Chaz!” Daphne screamed as she fell from the sky, landing hard on the ground next to his wolf form. His calico coat filled with dirt and blood. His chest slowly rose as he tried to draw a breath.
His father came over and started licking his wounds, then nudged her hand with his nose.
“You have the power to heal him. You just have to channel it,” Titus projected.
“I’m so weak,”
“Channel your emotions. You can do it.”
She covered Chaz’s body, which seemed to be ten degrees colder than it should be. She breathed deeply, her skin barely bristling with electric pulses. Her blue and green breath barely reached his body.
“Let’s get you both back to the cabin.” Titus stood over her in his human form.
“We can carry you both,” Drew said, appearing from the woods, barefoot and in only his jeans. He knelt, wrapping his one arm around her shoulders, the other under knees. “Keep your hand on Chaz and keep trying to channel your energy. I know you’re drained, but he needs you.”
She shuddered.
Titus lifted Chaz’s limp body. “He’s losing too much blood and we need to get the bullet out.”
“I’ve called the local doctor.” Drew stayed close to Chaz so her hands never left his body.
Rubbing her fingers together, she created a few sparks and gently rested them over the wound where the bullet had ripped through his chest, trying to lure the bullet. Her eyelids fluttered as her weakened body struggled to stay connected.
“Chaz. You can’t leave me now. I need you. Our baby needs you.”
She held her breath, waiting for a response, but got nothing. Not even a whimper that indicated he could hear her.
Keeping her hand over his wound, she ignored her surroundings and concentrated on the love she’d come to feel for Chaz. Her world had changed so drastically that part of her wondered if she’d been dreaming. Her fingers glided through Chaz’s thick fur. Half of her wanted it all to be a bizarre hallucination, but the other half wanted it to be real. Wanted Chaz as her mate, partner, husband, and father to her children. She even wanted to be a Fairy, especially if it could save her soul-mate’s life.
It seemed to take forever to get back to the privacy of their cabin. She’d heard his mother gasp as Drew carried her up the steps, Titus at his side with Chaz. Daphne wanted to reach out to her, but didn’t want to take her focus off of Chaz. His pulse was weak and his breath too raspy, as if his lungs were filling with fluid.
Titus and Drew laid them down in the bed, Ellen following them into the room, setting down a bucket of warm water and some towels.
Daphne pressed the towel against Chaz, feeling the blood soak in. Tears burned her eyes.
“He won’t be able to shift to human until he’s been heeled,” Titus said.
She curled up next to Chaz, his large wolf form taking up more than half the bed.
“I’ll send in the doctor when he gets here.” Ellen bent over and kissed her son on the forehead.
“You’re leaving?” She blinked open her eyes and stared into Ellen’s strained gaze.
“Only you can heal him and my presence will only distract you.” She reached down and squeezed her shoulder. “Titus and I will be in the other room if you need us.” With that, Daphne was left alone with Chaz.
She had no idea what to do, but her skin tickled and her breath came out in a silver pant. She blew on her hands then pressed them over his open wound. His chest swelled and then rattled, shaking the bed. Worried she was hurting him or making things worse, she tried to withdraw her hands, but it was like they were a magnet against his insides.
He twitched and for the first time since she’d seen him lying on
the ground, he moaned. It wasn’t his normal deep, throaty groan, but the noise certainly implied that her Chaz was still there.
The bed rattled with his body and she realized it was the bullet dislodging itself. Once the silver hit the palm of her hand, she was able to pull away. The bullet fell on the bed and she batted it away as if it were about to attack again.
Chaz jerked his head back, letting out a blood curdling howl. She half expected his family to come barging through the door, but they didn’t.
“Shhhhhh, it’s okay,” she said, putting her hand over his wound again, not caring that fresh blood stained her skin. She kissed the side of his neck, inhaling his musky scent. His body vibrated and his front paw scratched at the bed. “Relax,” she whispered, blowing a stream of gold and pink fog, which floated over his fur, wrapping his body in a warm cocoon. She continued to fill the room with the glittery fog until it covered both of them. “I love you and I’m never going to leave you.”
She nuzzled in as close as she could, keeping her hand on the lesion, though new skin had already begun to form. His breathing became deeper and his heartbeat stronger. Letting the exhaustion get the better of her, she closed her eyes, but told herself it would be just for a minute. Just long enough to rejuvenate.
Chapter 11
Chaz slipped from the bed as gracefully as he could in his wolf form, stretching out his hind legs and shaking off the fear that had seeped into his pores. Daphne sighed, rolling to her back, but remained blissfully asleep. As quietly as he could, he switched into his human form, biting down on his lower lip as a sharp sting tore across his skin.
He hiked up his jeans and stared down at the woman he owed his life to.
The woman he’d never be able to live without.
He bent over and kissed her forehead, before slipping from the bedroom. The second he stepped into the family room, his mother bolted from the sofa where she had rested her head on his father’s lap.
He raised his fingers to his lips.
His mother nodded, but still tossed her arms around him and gave him a big squeeze. him tight. “I thought you were dead.”
“So did I,” he admitted, holding his mother in a long hug. She’d been his rock growing up. Many thought that was strange, considering she was a human, but she understood him better than most.
His father rose, poised and proud. However, his greying eyes gave away hours of worry. Chaz couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to leave their eldest son in the hands of a perfect stranger, even if she was the mother of their future grandchild.
“How are you feeling?” his father asked, yanking him in for a manly squeeze.
“Like I got shot in the chest and some Fairy blew weird shit into my body.”
“Yeah, that was different,” his mother admitted, taking him by the hand and pulling him to the sofa. “You should have seen her wave her arms and toss Heidi across the room like a sack of potatoes.”
“I can’t believe how powerful she is. I pulled out all the books written about the Legend and I don’t think they had any idea.” His father ran his long fingers over his face, tracing his jaw line. “The books say the power will be diluted with your children, that hers is essentially to protect us during this period of transition.”
“It drains her though.” Chaz rested his head on the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling.” I became aware of what was going on when she managed to remove the bullet, but I also felt myself sucking the life out of her. It concerns me for the baby.”
His mother held up two fingers. “All the stories say two babies. A boy and a girl.”
“And I smell two.” His father nodded in agreement.
Chaz gagged and coughed on his own breath. “If that’s really true, let’s not tell her right away.”
“One thing at a time,” his father’s tone turned grave. “We have to deal with her family. They will be here by ten.”
Chaz glanced out the window. The morning sun kissed the night sky with a light blue and yellow-tinged glow. “I haven’t even had the chance to fill her in on the entire story about her great-grandfather.”
“I’ve instructed my men to hand over the files to her parents before they get here, so perhaps you might want to go wake your mate,” his father said, resting his arm around his mother’s shoulders. “We’ll be outside if you need us.”
Chaz contemplated asking his parents to stay, but he wasn’t a little boy who needed his hand held. He was a grown man, with a mate, and a baby…or two on the way. He shook his head, letting out a slight laugh. Only he could go on a blind date and end up bonded for life.
“Chaz!” A panicked voice echoed from the bedroom.
“Right here.” He bolted from the sofa, meeting her at the doorway.
“You’re okay!?” She reached out and gently touched his chest, where a slight scar had formed from the bullet.
He took her hand and kissed her palm. “I’m fine, thanks to you.”
“That all really happened, didn’t it?”
“It did,” he said, tugging her toward the kitchen. “Let me make you some breakfast.”
“I should be doing that for you. You’re the one who got shot.”
“You’re the one who’s pregnant.” He patted her on the bottom, before helping her to the kitchen barstool. “Something we’re going to need to talk about after we discuss your great-grandfather and the fact your parents are on their way.”
She opened her mouth, but said nothing. Not a word.
He probably tossed way too much information out there at once, but they only had a couple of hours.
Clearing her throat, she opened her mouth again. “Why do I have to see my parents?”
“If the Legend is correct, which its turning out to be spot on for the most part, you mother will have some Fairy power, which could create some wolf interaction with your father, depending on how dormant his wolf side has been all these years.”
“Holy hell, they’ll both die and then roll over in their graves.”
Chaz handed her a cup of coffee, then went about making some scrambled eggs and bacon, which seemed to be both of their favorites. “It will take some time, but they will accept it all.”
“You don’t know my parents. You think Heidi and Cosmo’s hatred for humans was bad? My parents might not be killers, but they can cast judgment with a razor-sharp tongue.”
“We’ll have to change their minds. They are going to be our babies’ grandparents.”
“Babies?” She arched a brow. “And how do you know I’m pregnant?”
He cocked his head, holding the spatula in his hand. “Are you going to tell me you don’t feel it?”
Ignoring the question, she blew into her coffee mug. “Tell me what happened with my great-grandfather.”
“Would you rather read it? That way you know it’s the truth?”
She shook her head. “Am I your mate?”
He swallowed. “Yes.”
“Then I’ll know it’s the truth.” She waved her hand and a tiny spark lifted into the air.
He reached out and caught it in his hands, feeling the warmth of her essence.
“I didn’t mean to do that,” she said glancing down at her stomach. “Is there something I need to know about carrying a couple of wolves?”
He laughed. “No, it’s generally the normal nine-month thing, but Fairies are a tad different. Same amount of time, but we’re told they can communicate with their parents while in the womb beginning at conception, so their brains are already fully formed.”
“I’m so not ready for this.”
“Wishing you could go back and cancel our blind date?”
She smiled. “No. Not really. Now please continue with the story.”
He snagged the whisk from the drawer and started beating the eggs while the skillet heated. “Basically, Albert Lee’s mother was human and she was disgusted by her mate. That hatred spread to Albert Lee, who ended up turning his back on the pack. He never shifted after a
dolescence, which is bad for wolves to not be in their natural state on a regular basis. This had a negative effect on his psyche and he snapped. He had been arrested for killing three humans.”
“Oh, no, that’s horrible,” she said, sipping her coffee. “I take it the Council arrested him?”
Chaz pulled apart eight pieces of bacon and placed them in the pan. The meat hissed and spat grease as the crisp smell of bacon filled the room. “He was caught red handed, but the judge showed mercy and sentenced him to life in prison, only he escaped and was about to kill again when my great-grandfather, who found him, shot and killed him. Because he was about to kill his own father, Twilight Crossing thought it best to keep it quiet. But rumors spread and the next thing we knew, it was believed he’d been killed in cold blood, by my great-grandfather.” He stole a glance, gauging her reaction before pouring the eggs into the pan. The liquid sizzled as it bubbled. Part of him was very concerned she’d still walk out of his life, breaking his heart, destroying their future.
Her eyes widened with curiosity more than anything else. “Why let the lie continue?”
“Because it didn’t bother us. The Havernites aren’t the only town on this planet that has a distaste for wolves. Besides, your great-grandmother disappeared with her family, never to be seen again, and while the rumors still lingered, it was essentially water under the bridge.”
“Maybe for your family, but my parents have seemed to hold onto it like one would a badge of honor. This isn’t going to go over well.”
“I suspect not.” He put the eggs and bacon on two plates, pushing one in front of her.
“And hearing it from me, they will think you kidnapped and brainwashed me.”
“Then perhaps it’s good that my father sent two human officers and all the files.” He nibbled on his bacon, staring at her. Her long, blonde hair tucked up in a ponytail on the top of her head. Her creamy, green eyes glistening much like her tanned skin.
She smiled at him, tilting her head and all he wanted to do was ask her what he could do right then and there to make her life better. He’d worship her forever and always. Together, they’d rule the Twilight Council, making sure all creatures were protected.
