Love Of A Lifetime

by Murphy, Riley

  A cold wind swirled and rustled the tree foliage around her. She wanted to shake the chills it caused her to, off but couldn’t. She was too afraid she’d jeopardize her precarious position. Chancing a look down at her feet she winced taking in how they lifelessly hung there. Blood needed to circulate, but she didn’t dare move them and over the course of next little while her not moving them became an obsession until her mind screamed you have to! They were going to sleep and getting numb, and after another few seconds that felt like eons ticked by, she flexed them. The pain shooting up her calves into her thighs was like a thousand needles pricking her at once. The shock caused her to flex and when she did her grip slipped a little and she cried out. Her arm ached, but she couldn’t let go. Quickly, she readjusted, hugging the branch harder, only to cry out again when she heard that terrible sound of fabric ripping.

  Stay still, her mind screamed while her body begged her to do otherwise. She closed her eyes again and concentrated on anything but her physical state. Think. Think about the wonderful future that lies ahead of you. Who was she kidding? They had no future, she’d ruined it the moment she’d run away.

  This time when the cold seeped into her she no longer fought it. She didn’t deserve a guy like Jack. Poor Jesse. But he tricked you. That didn’t mean he should die. Was he dead? For what? A story. Jack’s story. Her job. She thought about her career as a reporter. Somewhere in her hazy thoughts, it occurred to her that her love of detail was what made her a good one. They’d called her The Camera when she’s interned at The Sun because she had the uncanny ability of recalling things, colors and fabrics, the count of shoes lined under a bench. And thinking about all this now, she smiled and then frowned. Were those her teeth chattering? She didn’t know as she fought to finish her thought. What was it about details? She moved and heard the awful tear. Details? Yes, but what happened to examining details when she was with Jack? She couldn’t name one. No, all she could see now was him in her mind’s eyes. She was lost and found. Happy to think about him and her, and nothing else. What was wrong with that?

  “J-J-Ja-ck?”

  She moved her leg and felt herself slip. It was warmer now and she opened her eyes to remind herself about the moonlight. What was it about the moon’s light? She stared at the beautiful shiny orb and marveled at the soft circles of color that surrounded it. She’d never seen it like this. It was beautiful because she was so close to it. Her head felt heavy and she slipped sideways some more. The tearing at her back was slow and easy. Comforting. Why couldn’t she let the fabric tear? She didn’t know anymore. All she could remember was to clutch the branch, but she couldn’t find the strength to do it now. Her arm was numb and she wanted to let go. God, it was so much warmer now. So why were her teeth chattering? It didn’t make any sense. She needed to sleep...He’d come to her then. And when he did, she’d ask him. There was something hanging back in the mist of her memories. Something important between them. Something, one thing, bigger than both their lives combined...she was so tired. The golden paw. It was furry. What was there in the far recesses of her mind, fighting to be unveiled?

  “Mia shandor lei,” she heard his whisper and relaxed into the cinnamon warmth. Slipping downward. Moving. Falling. And when the tearing noise ceased and there was nothing but profound silence, she slid into a comfortable oblivion. Her last thought was of Jo-Quinn...

  Chapter Thirteen

  From the first echoing snap, Jack knew there was going to be trouble. The ground quaked as one after another cedars fell. He didn’t question how it happened. After seeing the snowmobile, he could guess. His only thought at the moment was to stay ahead of, and sometimes behind, the falling limbs and trunks as he continued heading north. He was nearly to another clearing, away from the continuing wreckage, when it came to him. A faint sigh, not even a whisper.

  Jo-Quinn.

  For the first time tonight his heart sped up with fear. There was something wrong. He felt this in every fiber of his being. His mate needed his strength. His protection.

  “Fuck.” He narrowly missed another thundering trunk that barreled his way. Jumping over it, he landed with one knee and hand to the ground, ready to spring into action again, but this time he wouldn’t be going anywhere. Instead he gathered all his reserves and focused in on her.

  The wind of a huge branch barely missing him ruffled his hair. The quake of a trunk impaling the earth nearby shook him, and still he kept his eyes closed and his mind open. “Mia shandor lei.”

  As soon as the words left him he heard it. It was the steady but uneven beat of something gaining speed and momentum. Not a tree trunk. It was too contained. He stood and that’s when he saw it. A huge boulder that had been unearthed and was tumbling toward him at break-neck speed. He was so concerned about continuing north he didn’t bother to check through the chaos and chose that direction to escape, the one threat causing him to run directly into another. A jagged cedar trunk, only this one, instead of rolling at ground level, was upended and coming toward him like a tossed caber. So he had another choice to make. Go right or left.

  It was a fifty-fifty chance and he blew it. One end of the lumber caught him in the gut on the upswing effectively lifting him off the ground and hurling him back into the pile of rubble he’d just fought his way through.

  The breath was knocked out of him for a second or two, long enough to keep him prone as another huge hunk of lumber shrapnel sailed right over him. He took no notice as he growled and shot up. Ready to face whatever Mother Nature threw at him. Finley was out here somewhere and she needed him.

  Another cedar tumbled his way. He jumped it. A better than eight foot branch whipped toward him and he brushed it aside. He continued to systematically work his way through the storm of falling timber until he reached an open expanse of ground that led to the northern edge of the mountain. He was almost positive that he’d find her at The Mouth. They’d named it that because the natural rock terrace leading into the small cavern looked exactly like a set of pouty lips. When he’d purchased Forever Hill, it had been rumored that an asteroid of some kind had created the cavern. It would be the perfect place to hide out when people were looking for you. Too bad he knew the lay of this terrain like the back of his hand.

  Quickly he sped to the edge. Without breaking stride he jumped down and stepped into the small cave, only to find it empty. He’d been so sure. He spun around and went to the ledge. Below, the lights from town twinkled and all he could do was blink. He’d been so sure. Maybe she’d been taken down there? He whispered his words again. This time they didn’t go forward or backwards, instead, he felt their breeze lift upwards. What the hell?

  He looked up and searched the sky. Nothing. He was just about to descend the mountain when he heard something. A faint, what? Ripping sound?

  He turned and when he spotted the lone cedar that grew angled out over the edge of the mountain, he began to sweat. His heart pounded and he barely breathed as his gaze traveled up, from base to crown. And there she was. Dangling from the highest limb.

  Jesus fuck.

  He was almost afraid to expel the breath he was holding. He didn’t dare speak. She was slipping. He could see she was unconscious, but thank God, her coat was snagged on a branch. For how long, though?

  “Mai deaesta,” he whispered, and after climbing back up to ground level, he took off. It was a split second that he reached the foot of the tree and one, maybe two more, when he climbed up it, yet it seemed a lifetime or more to reach her. The second he put his arm around her, the material of her coat gave way and she slumped against him.

  He used his chin to push her hair aside to get a better look at her features and groaned. She was so pale and cold. Too cold. “Finley?” he shook her slightly. “Come on, babe. Wake up.”

  Suddenly the tree started to vibrate and Jack tightened his hold. Shit. For a moment he was worried the chaos he’d left in the woods was going to spill out this way but scanning the line of the forest, there were no signs of that. He
was just heaving a sigh of relief when the bright moonlight he’d been using to see her face abruptly dimmed. Assuming it was just a cloud, he started down the tree and didn’t pause to look up until the whole mountainside went dark. Now he had to look. He squinted and then scowled. It was a cloud, all right, but strangely, it was coming from the ground up. It looked like smoke lifting in the air...no, not smoke. It was snow flying toward the heavens as it crashed down the mountain. It was a fucking avalanche.

  He gauged the distance he’d need to cover to get her to safety. He might have been able to fight off the wave of snow with her in his arms, but not when it brought with it all those broken trunks and branches. He only had one choice open to him. Quickly, he slung Finley over his shoulder and jumped. Under his feet, the ground shook and the snow started to move in anticipation of the slide as he headed for The Mouth.

  Hopefully, the weight of the snow wouldn’t collapse it and bury them alive. He’d worry about that when and if it happened. Right now he needed to focus on dodging the debris that shot past them. He leapt over a large bank of snow that was gaining height with each foot of ground it covered. Nearly tripping when he landed on a rolling tree trunk, but he maneuvered his way across the length like they used to do in Scotland when they had their annual ‘walked the log’ over water contest. Fortunately, it was his game.

  Once he reached the end he jumped off and didn’t skip a beat. Two strides and one hurdle later, he was on the ledge and then ducking inside the cavern. Safe for a moment so he used the time to his best advantage. He brought a knee up to support her legs and took out the flashlight. Turning it on, he had to shake it a couple of times for the beam of light to engage. When it did he quickly scooped her up so she was cradled in his arms again. Only problem? The flashlight was in his hand and that hand was wrapped around legs while his other around her waist. He angled the light so it shined in her face, getting ready to support the lower half of her on his raised knee again when she opened her eyes. Her lids fluttered for a moment and then her head came up off his chest and she searched his face. He was surprised at the softness of her expression. It was serene, quiet, poignant. She looked totally at peace and when that came to him so did the thought that she was, resigned. “No.”

  “Jo-Quinn.”

  The word spilled over him. Warming him. Comforting him. Not because she’d spoken it, but because of the way she’d spoken it. Although it was uttered, softer than soft, there was a deepness. A huskiness that was attached that reminded him of—

  “Mia shand, mia lei,” she whispered and gently touched his cheek with one cold hand before it dropped and her head fell back as the rest of her body went completely limp in his arms.

  “No.”

  His breathing stopped and so did, he imagined his heart. For one long moment as he tried to deny the truth right here in front of him. She was dying in his arms.

  A thousand things went through his mind at once. A million images. A hundred lifetimes. The joys and struggles. The triumph and defeats. The sorrow…that moved from within him. Breaking him apart from the inside until he couldn’t think anymore.

  He threw his head back and the cry of outrage rivaled the din of the rushing snow as he let go of the flashlight and fell to his knees. He’d waited five hundred years to hear her speak those words in their language. Five hundred long and often lonely years and now that she’d somehow remembered and knew the truth of their heritage, he was going to lose her again?

  “No, you can’t leave me, babe. Not now. Please—” he begged and crushed her to him. She was so cold. So very cold. “I can’t take the pain of losing you again. I can’t.” Bathing her face with the warmth of his breath, he repeated those ancient words. Crouching, he caged her within the protective circle of his embrace while the snow toppled onto the terrace and eventually crashed into the cavern. Spilling inward, spreading all around them as he whispered, “Mia shandor lei. My treasured love,” he said this over and over, wanting to take strength from her earlier words, “My treasure, my love,” she’d whispered. To him. Words she spoken a million times in another life and in another world when she was...

  “Freuin.” He held her close against his heart, rocking slightly so the motion gave them room within the cocoon of snow they were now buried in.

  “God.” She was like ice. So very cold. “Let my breath keep you warm. Let my strength shine like a lantern in the dark to guide you back me. I can’t let you go. Not now. Please don’t leave me. Please...”

  *****

  Jesse attempted to open his eyes, but couldn’t. Then when he made out the muffled sounds of people talking and the clang of metal hitting metal and tried to frown, he couldn’t do that either. All he could do was lie there as he felt the pull against his mouth and a pinch of something slide down his throat. Why couldn’t he move?

  “I think the right one is too badly damaged. Let’s see the lateral on that.”

  He sensed people working all around him and started to relax. He was at a hospital. They would help him. He hadn’t been bitten by the vampires, but what about Cyrus?

  Yes, what about me?

  Cyrus?

  Yes, I’m here and it’s a good thing. Your vessel’s ruined.

  You did this to me.

  “Just as I thought,” a nasally voice sounded. “The artery is too badly damaged. The right leg will have to come off. Do we have the film on the left one?”

  No! Jesse tried to scream. No! He cried, panicking because he was the only one who heard as it was in the silence of his mind that his denials echoed.

  I can hear you as clearly as you can hear me…and them.

  Jesse’s heart raced.

  “Hey, Doc, his BP’s rising.”

  “I thought you said he was under?”

  “He was—is. It’s strange.”

  Strange to them. Not to me.

  What do you want from me? Jesse cried.

  I need your assistance. In exchange, you’ll get a functioning body and, eventually, your story when the time is right.

  Help you? You’re as bad— when he recalled Midland on that ledge with him, he amended—maybe even worse than they are. I can’t help you.

  His emotional tension intensified. He could feel it curling in his gut like a tightly wound rope, even as his physical tension eased.

  “Okay, Doc, he’s stabilizing.”

  No! No, I’m not! Please!

  Cyrus barked out a laugh. The cruel edges of it cut through all Jesse’s thoughts and garnered his attention.

  You have a choice to make Jesse Alt. Either you agree to assist me, or they’ll be cutting off your limbs while you’re fully conscious. I’ll be right inside your head. Standing guard to make sure you don’t pass out.

  No.

  Choose.

  He felt something clamp around his thigh and he panicked. Please!

  Do you agree?

  Whatever was strapped around his leg was being tied in a strangling hold.

  “Damn,” he heard that nasally voice mutter. “It looks as if the left one has got to go as well. Almost at the hip. The femur snapped in two and tore the muscles right to the pelvis.”

  No! I’m awake. Don’t take my legs.

  This is easy. Make the choice and the nightmare is over.

  Jesse didn’t believe that for a minute, but he was beyond desperate. Why didn’t I just die up there on the mountain?

  Because I didn’t want you to. You should be grateful that you’re being given this chance.

  Suddenly his left leg rocked and the pain was unbearable.

  “Doc? His leg, it’s moving.”

  “Involuntary muscle spasms. Such a shame,” he sighed. “How old is this young man? Twenty-four? Five?”

  Oh, God, the pain. Please.

  Make the choice or suffer more.

  His leg rocked harder. Cyrus was rocking it somehow and every time his system went to shut down, the monster woke it back up again.

  “We’ll need the S-1 saw blade, maybe t
wo of them. Has his family been notified?”

  “They’re working on it.”

  “Well, it would be a tougher decision to make if the guy had a chance of using any of these limbs eventually. Paralyzed from the neck down? That’s a damn shame.”

  Yes. Yes, I’ll help you! Jesse cried. He didn’t care if he was a coward. He didn’t want to live like this.

  Wise choice.

  Suddenly a commotion erupted in the room. A door banged open and a woman’s voice sounded, breathless and anxious, “I went to get the blades. And two security guards rushed passed me. There’s been an avalanche on the west side of Forever. It buried the old McQueen place and wiped out bunches of trees. Some of the cedars have taken out a few homes near Peck Avenue.”

  “What? My house is on Peck Ave,” the nasally voice sounded worried.

  “Mine isn’t far from there either,” a woman’s voice whispered.

  “Can you keep the patient stable for a few minutes? I want to see what’s going on.”

  “Sure, Doc, his BP’s still normal. I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”

  The sounds faded into silence until Jesse heard a snapping noise. Suddenly he found he could open his eyes. When he did, he saw Cyrus bent over him, peeling the tape off his mouth before he pulled out a long tube that had been down his throat. Jesse tried to move but nothing worked. Thankfully, there was no pain.

  Cyrus touched his hand to Jesse’s arms and legs, rolled him over, and placed a hand on his back. When he was done, he said, “Get up. Here,” he added, holding out a hospital gown when Jesse stood and tested his strength. “Put it on, we have to hurry.”

  He wasn’t going to think about all this now. He was too happy that the nightmare was over. Shrugging into the gown backwards, so that it fit more like a robe. He looked over at the anesthesiologist, at least that’s who he figured the guy was, and frowned. Whoever he was, he was stuck sitting catatonic on a stool. “What did you do to him?” Cyrus didn’t answer. He simply spun around and left. Jesse scanned the room and when his eyes fell on the surgical saw, he gulped and figured he’d better fall in step behind him before the monster had a change of heart. They walked out of the operating room and headed down a deserted hall until they reached the stairs. Instead of going down, like Jesse thought they would, they went up. “Where are we going?”