by Mia Rose
Noelle had barely slept the entire night, despite the fact that she was so tired. She had so many voices in her head —Noelise’s voice saying that she had made the wrong choice. Based on the letter; she wasn’t the original hunter after all? Did this mean that there were other hunters out there? Other families like Noelle’s? And, on top of it all, her nana telling her that she was in love with Declan. She’d also said that she would remember something about him; that she would have to make a choice.
Noelise had to make a choice between her lover who had become a werewolf or following her new destiny and pursuing a life as a hunter. She wasn’t sure, now. Was this the choice Noelle had to make now? And, if so, did that mean that Declan was a…
“Oh, God.”
Noelle’s head throbbed as a memory emerged from the depths of her mind:
She saw a werewolf standing over her father’s body; his claws bloody. She looked down at her father’s stomach and cringed when she saw the huge claw marks which marred his skin.
Noelle looked around at her mother who wailed, “Garrett!”
Then she saw herself running from behind the rest of the group —the words were mumbled in her memory, but she saw herself holding a gun and pointing it straight at Declan. He grinned and licked at the wound on her father’s chest.
Noelle yelled, “Get off!”
She watched as her father’s head fell to the side and then Noelle saw the bullet fly from the tip of her gun. She watched it in slow motion as it traveled over the space between herself and the pack of wolves. She heard it sink into the skin of its victim.
Noelle’s eyes flew open and she had one word on her mind, Cassidy. She struggled to sit up in bed and she called out for her mother and father. They both came running into her room.
“What is it?” her mother asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I —I remember the night Dad was attacked.” She breathed heavily. “I remember everything.”
Her parents both rushed over to her and they embraced her for a while. They all sat there crying together and no one wanted to let the moment pass. It was very emotional and unbelievably raw in her mind, now.
Her father was the first one to pull away, “How did you remember?”
“I just…” Noelle stopped herself as she recalled that Declan was the reason she had remembered everything.
Declan was the werewolf who had nearly killed her father. Declan was also the man she loved.
She knew she couldn’t say any of this to them, so she just shrugged and laughed. “I guess just being home is what did it.”
“I knew it,” her mother said, sobbing, “so you really remember? You know who I am?”
“Yes, Mom!” Noelle laughed. “I know who you are and I know it’s probably going to be a long time before you let me out of your sight, huh?”
Her mother laughed in response and the three of them sat there talking and laughing over old memories from Noelle’s childhood.
They were interrupted by a knock on the door and Noelle’s nana pushed open the door, “There’s someone here to see you, Noelle.”
Her nana opened the door all the way and revealed Declan standing there. Noelle felt the familiar feeling of butterflies rise up in her stomach, but she also felt scared at the sight of him —and it was this new emotion that caused her to become keenly aware of her surroundings.
“Declan!” her dad yelled, “Great news, son. Noelle seems to remember everything now! Looks like you really did work your magic yesterday.” Declan smiled, but his eyes never left Noelle’s.
“Well,” her mother said, standing up from the bed, “I think this calls for a celebratory breakfast. And Declan, don’t think you can escape from this meal!”
Declan laughed and said, “That sounds wonderful, thank you.” Her nana, mother, and father all left the room closing the door behind them and leaving Declan and Noelle together in the room.
“So,” Declan said, still standing by the door, “you remember everything now?”
“Yes!” Noelle breathed. Declan studied her face, unsure of what to say to her now. “I guess I didn’t expect that to happen so soon.”
“I guess I have you to thank.”
“What do you mean?” asked Declan,puzzled.
“Well, it was once I realized that you were a werewolf; the werewolf who almost tore my father to pieces, I might add. It was then that all the pieces started to fall into place for me.”
“Noelle!”
Declan walked over to the side of her bed and sat down next to her. The mattress creaked under his body.
He reached for her hand and she pulled away from him. “What happened at the coffee shop? Why did you ignore me? I thought you and I were finally getting somewhere.”
“We were,” Noelle responded, her voice softer than he’d expected, “I had just learned some staggering news about my family; about myself. I needed to really figure out how I wanted things to go between us.” Declan nodded as she spoke. “I went that night, Declan. I wasn’t going to, but then I realized that this is my life and I need to make the choices that are best for me. I chose you.”
“What happened that night?” Declan pressed, wanting to understand.
“I saw your car there and I walked up, but you weren’t inside. So, I went to our secret place in the woods, the small clearing, you know?” Declan nodded, listening. “You weren’t there either, but then I heard someone approaching and something told me to hide. And I did; behind a tree and it was some crazy woman —she was talking about how she had wanted Cassidy to die. She said how I did her a favor by getting rid of the one thing that was standing in her way. In the way of getting you. Except now she felt like I was in the way, too.”
“Did she hurt you?” Declan asked, feeling his skin prickling. His anger started to rise, but he needed to hear the entire truth from Noelle.
“No, Declan.” Noelle shook her head. “That’s the weird thing because I started running toward my car and I was certain that she was going to catch up to me. I was certain she was going to kill me. I got into my car and drove away… and I was going so fast, I don’t know. I lost control and well, you know the rest of the story.”
“I know why she wasn’t able to come after you,” Declan said, “I found her in the woods that night. I saw you running away, but you were too far for me to know that it was you. She said she had been talking to herself. I should have known better then, Noelle. I could have stopped all of this from happening.”
“Declan, is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“What she said? That you’re with her now?”
Declan shook his head and stroked Noelle’s arm gently with his fingers. “No, you don’t need to worry about that or about her. She is crazy.”
“So, you’ve never…” Noelle trailed off.
Declan knew what she was asking and he didn’t want to lie to Noelle so he admitted the truth. “We have been together before, but believe me when I say that it’s over. I only have one person on my mind now.”
Declan squeezed Noelle’s hand and looked up at her face. He reached up and gently caressed the side of her face until he reached her chin. He tilted her face up again and brought his lips to hers.
It was a sweet kiss with no other intentions behind it. This was the first time Declan remembered kissing Noelle in such a way that was entirely innocent and reassuring. All he wanted her to know was that at the end of the day, he was there for her and would continue to be there for her, for as long as she needed him.
Abigail walked into the room and immediately she said, “Oh, I’m so sorry, I should have knocked! I just wanted to let you both know that breakfast is ready.” She smiled and closed the door behind her.
Noelle laughed and Declan helped her out of the bed and into her wheelchair. He pushed her out of the room and out to the dining room table which had been set up as if it were a holiday.
“Really, Mom?” Noelle laughed. “A little overkill, don’t you think?”
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“You were nicer when you couldn’t remember anything.” Her mom stuck her tongue out at Noelle and they all laughed as they gathered around the table.
“Garrett, you said you had family in town, right?” Declan asked. He could feel Noelle’s stare burning through his skin. “Did they leave already?”
“No,” Garrett explained, “just with everything going on, they decided to get into a hotel nearby, you know? Give Noelle some space to breathe! We’ll have to call them and let them know the good news. They’ll probably head back soon.”
Declan exhaled a breath, and for the first time, he felt some hope. If he could stall the pack for just a few more days, then the family might be able to escape in time.
They finished up their breakfast and Declan said his goodbyes to the family. He noticed that he was really enjoying the feeling of belonging to a family —even though he was the alpha and the pack was his family. Here, it felt nice to have other people looking out for him for a change.
As he walked outside, he turned to kiss Noelle goodbye and said, “I’ll come by tomorrow.”
Noelle nodded her head, but Declan could tell that she was thinking of something else. He walked to his car and waved to her as he pulled away from the house. Something inside of him said, that with every mile he drove away, more space was already mounting up between him and Noelle. He couldn’t understand why that was. He definitely didn’t want it to be true.
“This was all Declan had to go on right now, his only lead.”
Chapter 17
The Doctor
“There’s something strangely familiar about this doctor.”
Noelle’s father pushed her in the wheelchair into the hospital and through the corridor. He pushed the button and the two of them waited for the elevator in silence.
Looking up at her father, Noelle said, “I’m sorry for what I said in the car dad, I didn’t mean it. I’ve just been stressed out lately.”
Her father nodded but did not reply and Noelle let out a long sigh. The elevator finally arrived and he pushed her inside.
“Are you not going to speak to me ever again?” she asked.
“Noelle, don’t be so dramatic,” he mumbled.
She could tell that his tough exterior was starting to crumble, so she reached out and took his hand in hers.
He looked down and couldn’t help but smile, “You sure are good at getting what you want.” He laughed.
Noelle smiled briefly and then the act vanished quickly as she reflected on the argument they’d had in the car.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend, Noelle? You used to tell me everything.”
“Dad, Declan is not my boyfriend.”
“Your mother said she saw you two kissing.”
“This isn’t the nineteen-twenties, Dad. You don’t need to go steady with everyone you kiss.”
“Well, why don’t you like him? He’s a very nice guy, I mean he came to see you while you were, you know.”
“I do like him, but it’s just —complicated.”
“What can be that complicated? If you like him, you like him. That’s that.”
“It’s not as simple as that, Dad! Can’t you just accept that as the answer and drop it. It’s none of your damn business anyway!”
They hadn’t talked for the rest of the drive. She hadn’t wanted to snap at her father like that and she knew he didn’t deserve it. A part of her couldn’t stand to hear him say that Declan was “a very nice guy,” given what he did to her father. But then she wondered if her dad liking Declan was such a terrible thing after all? She had no idea how to handle the situation, but she did know that now that her parents were aware of the “relationship.” So, therefore, things just became a whole lot more complicated.
Her father wheeled her over the waiting area where they sat together until the doctor came out to get her for her check-up. Noelle’s father flipped through the pages of some psychology magazine, but Noelle was too distracted by her own thoughts to try to focus on anything else.
“Noelle?” A young nurse came up to her holding a clipboard to her chest. Noelle nodded and her father stood up to start wheeling her after the nurse, but the nurse stopped him. “I can take her. The doctor will need to do a full examination of her recovery, so she will need privacy. But don’t worry, it shouldn’t take too long!”
Her father nodded and waved after Noelle as she was wheeled out of the room. Noelle stifled a laugh when she saw her father’s face —he looked so lost, like he had no idea what to do now.
I hope there are other magazines, she thought to herself.
The nurse deposited her in a room and shut the door behind her. Noelle looked around and recalled the last time she was in this room, she couldn’t remember anything, but now, memories continued flooding into her brain. She welcomed them, of course, because she wanted to remember everything that had happened, but at the same time, she wished she were able to pick and choose which memories she’d keep. Specifically, her memories of Declan.
The nurse knocked on the door and came in holding a gown. “Will you need help to put this on?” she asked.
Noelle shook her head to mean no and took the gown from the nurse’s outstretched hands. Once again, the nurse left the room giving Noelle privacy to change.
Noelle struggled out of her seat, but she did notice it was becoming easier every time she did it. She sat on the bed and leaned back so that she could unbutton her jeans. She tried to pull them down, but if she bent too far forward, she could feel a pinch in her ribs that made her feel like she had the wind knocked out of her. There was a knock on the door and before Noelle could say that she needed a minute, the doctor walked in.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Noelle,” he turned to face the wall, “the nurse told me that you were ready. She should have helped you into the gown!”
“She did offer,” Noelle admitted, “I didn’t realize dressing myself would be this difficult.” She laughed, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
“Would you like me to go and get her?” he asked.
“I mean, you’re a doctor, right? It’s not like you haven’t seen me before. Would you mind just tugging on my jeans a little? I can get my shirt off by myself, I think.”
The doctor turned around to face Noelle and he smiled slightly. He walked over to her on the bed and knelt down before her, grabbing onto the waistband of her jeans and pulling them off slowly.
Noelle hadn’t noticed before… but he was gorgeous. He had ashy blonde hair that sat on his head; slightly messy like someone had run their fingers through his hair and then just left it. His eyes were a deep brown, almost black, but when he looked up at her, she caught little glints of gold breaking through. He smiled at her and she noticed his perfectly white teeth sitting in a straight row.
Noelle reached down to the bottom of her shirt and began to pull it over her head. She got it about halfway up before the familiar pinch made her gasp for air.
“Here,” the doctor said, “I’ll get it.” He reached down and slowly lifted the shirt over her head.
She sat on the bed wearing only her panties and bra and the doctor was standing so close to her that she could feel the heat rising off him. She had to resist the urge to reach up to his hair and pull him into a kiss, but from the look on his face, he was resisting the urge as well.
“So, umm, I guess I should put this on now, right?” Noelle asked, holding up the gown.
“Oh, yeah.” The doctor nodded and took a few steps back from her. She watched him as he pulled out her chart and started reviewing the information there.
Back to business, I guess, Noelle thought to herself.
“So, Noelle,” he said, matter-of-factly, “let’s talk about your progress so far. How do you feel?”
“Well, I’ve started remembering things,” she said, “I’ve been sleeping a little bit better, too. You know, just still sore, but other than that, I’d say I’m good to go.”
The doctor laughed. “Well that
’s great news about your memory! I had a distinct feeling it would come back to you. As for your soreness, let’s go ahead and do an examination, okay?” Noelle nodded and laid back down on the bed.
“Hey, Doc,” Noelle said, “one thing I can’t remember is your name. Did you ever share that with me?”
“I did.” He laughed. “My name is Dr. Stone. Edmund Stone. I believe I told you that you could call me Edmund.”
“Ah, do you tell that to all of your patients?” Noelle laughed as he put on his gloves.
“Nope,” he said, walking over to her, “just you.” He took out a small light from his pocket and asked Noelle to follow it with her eyes. She did. He then asked her to grab his fingers with her left hand and then her right.
“What?” Noelle asked, when he started laughing.
“Nothing, it’s just —you’re very strong and I wasn’t quite prepared for that.”
Noelle smiled at him and she noticed him studying her face a little longer than she thought was normal for an examination. He walked over to the trash and deposited the gloves.
“Alright, Noelle. Looks like you are healing up quite nicely, which is great. I’m going to see you again in a few weeks to do our final check-up, but I imagine by that point, ‘you’ll be good to go.’”
“Hey, Edmund,” Noelle said, still lying on the bed.
“Yes?” His eyes moved over her like they were old lovers.
“The pinch that I feel in my ribs, how long is that going to last? I want to be able to get dressed and undressed by myself, you know?” Edmund’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“Let me check where the tenderness is located,” he said, as he walked over.
With his fingertips, he began pressing at her abdomen and then working his way up her stomach. When he hit the spot on her ribs just beneath her breast, Noelle let out a gasp and squeezed her eyes shut as pain shot through her body.
