He smiled broadly. “Then I want to see it.”
I directed him onto I-40 and then to 540. We pulled off an exit, and I guided him to a small, dark parking lot.
“This is?” he asked warily.
I laughed and jumped out of the cab. He turned the engine off and followed me around to the back of his truck. I opened the tailgate, and hopped on, patting the spot beside me for him to join. With furrowed brows, he climbed up into the truck bed, and sat quietly, looking around the dark parking lot with confusion clouding his face.
“What are we doing here?” he finally asked.
I heard it coming in the distance and placed a finger against his lips. He kissed it and pulled my hand into his. “It’s coming, just wait.”
Abraham did as I asked, and a few moments later, the loud roar of the huge airplane drowned out everything else. It flew directly overhead, so close it seemed like we could stand up, and touch it. Just as suddenly as it’d appeared, it was gone, finding a spare runway at Raleigh-Durham International airport, and landing on its tiny wheels. With my improved senses, I could actually hear the tires squealing against the tarmac, smell the jet fuel from the massive aircraft.
I turned to Abraham, his eyes wide, head still tipped back toward the sky. “What do you think?”
He turned to me. “That was amazing!”
I laughed at his joyful response and lay back on the bed of his truck. He pulled a blanket out of the tool box near the cab and laid it down before motioning me over. We laid side by side, hands entwined as plane after plane flew above us. Some coming, and some going, but all of them making us feel so small, and insignificant when compared to their massiveness.
A yawn escaped me, and Abraham sat up, pulling me with him. “I need to get you home to bed.” He drove us home as I dozed in the seat next to him, head on his shoulder, and arms wrapped around his bicep.
When we arrived, he scooped me into his arms, and carried me up the stairs. “I can walk, you know,” I good-naturedly grumped.
He smiled wide, his white teeth shining in the dark. “I like holding you,” he replied with a shrug, making my insides clench almost painfully. How could such sweet things fall from his lips so easily? Would it always be like this?
He carried me in the apartment, and into my room where he left me on the bed to go change. I stripped, and pulled my pajamas on, leaving the door open when I was done. He peeked his head into my room to find me lying in bed with the covers drawn on his side. I patted the mattress, and he smiled, his eyes softening as he climbed in next to me. Just like the past two nights, he pulled me tight against his chest, and kissed me long, and slow before pressing his lips against my forehead.
“Night, baby,” he said, his deep voice rumbling through my chest, the vibrations lulling me to sleep.
And as I lay there tucked against his chest, I opened the door to my fortress, leaving it ajar behind me. I snuck up to the top floor, and into a closet full of things I’d rather forget. Up on a shelf behind years' worth of baggage, I found the highest hopes I’d ever had for my future. I took them down, and dusted them off because for the first time in a long time, I had use for them.
Chapter 38
Sunday was all gray skies, and constant rain, mirroring the way I felt about him leaving that night. With outside being so uninviting, we stayed in, and watched a few movies. It was a lazy day where we spent more time eating, napping, kissing, and cuddling than anything else.
When Del showed up around dinnertime, carrying several bags of Chinese food, I decided she was my new favorite sister.
“What’ve you lovebirds been up to all weekend?” she greeted after pulling both Abraham, and I into fierce hugs. She smelled like cinnamon and cloves, slightly spicy, but also sort of sweet. Her scent fit her personality perfectly. “Gettin’ up to no good I hope?” She raised her dark brows suggestively, and I laughed, my face heating.
“Mind your business, Del,” Abraham told her as he unpacked the bags of food, their smell making my stomach rumble.
Delilah held both hands up in surrender. “Hey, I’m just happy you dummies figured it out. It was painful watchin’ y’all dance around the issue.”
I shook my head. “Does everyone know?” My cheeks felt hotter than before, and I hid them behind a wall of hair.
Del laughed. “Welcome to pack life, girl.”
I’ve heard that before.
We dug into our food as Del recounted her weekend for us. Apparently she’d met some guy at the bar she played at and spent the weekend with him. “I was almost sad to leave him,” she said wistfully.
My stomach clenched with guilt. “You didn’t have to leave him for me, Del. I’d be fine on my own.”
Abraham growled between bites, and Del waved my words off with a flick of her wrist. “No worries, honey. You can’t let ‘em get too attached anyway, or you’ll never get rid of ‘em.”
I turned to Abraham, one brow arched. “Don’t even think about it,” he grumbled, and I laughed, leaning over to place a kiss on his cheek. Del’s eyes gleamed with happiness.
When we finished our dinner, I cleaned while Abraham and Del caught up on pack business. I directed her to the spare room and pulled Abraham into mine to say my goodbyes.
His eyes were soft, and I’m sure mine were sad as we stood staring at each other. “I don’t want you to go,” I admitted pitifully.
He tucked a strand of my long blonde hair behind one ear. “I don’t want to go.” He watched me closely. “You know you can move out there anytime you want. Your place is with the pack.” He pulled me closer. “With me.”
I shook my head automatically. “My career.” I kept my answer short, and succinct because it was becoming less believable as more time passed.
I realized I didn’t have the same passion for criminal law I once had. Had I ever felt passionate about it? Maybe it had just been the rush I was addicted to. The feel of victory, the high of being good at something. Had I ever really enjoyed any of it?
I leaned my head against his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist. “What are we gonna’ do, Abraham?”
He remained quiet, pulling me into his arms, and sighing against the top of my head. “We’ll figure it out. If I have to move the whole pack out here, I will.”
I gasped. “No! You can’t do that! You can’t uproot all their lives for me.”
He shook his head. “I’d do anything for you.” The sincerity in his voice made my eyes wet, and I blinked the tears away with a deep breath. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “We’ll figure it out,” he repeated. “Nothin’s gonna’ keep us apart, El. I won’t let it.”
And I believed him. Believed there was no mountain he wouldn’t climb, or ocean he wouldn't cross for me. I knew he’d make it okay, I just didn’t know how.
We stood in each other’s arms for a long time, our hearts beating in sync, as we swayed to phantom music. A crash, a hiss, and a curse sounded from the living room, and we reluctantly pulled apart. I smiled grimly up at him. “I should probably go find out what happened.”
He nodded, wrapping my hand in his firm grip, and walking us out of the bedroom. When we made it to the living room, we found a cursing Del trying to reassemble Charlie’s favorite cathouse, the pet in question missing.
“How the hell do you put this damn thing together?” she growled at the furry purple contraption.
I laughed and crossed the room to assist her. I straightened the house and put the pieces back together properly. “What happened?”
Del huffed. “I was just walkin’ by, and I barely nudged the stupid thing, and it went topplin’ over, sending that little cat of yours runnin’.”
I laughed again. “Poor Charlie.” My little buddy has had quite a few changes in his little feline life recently. He was probably sick of all of us.
Abraham piped up. “It’s a good thing Del wanted to be a singer and not a dancer cause’ she’s not known for her grace.”
She flipped her
brother off, and plopped down on the couch, pulling her acoustic guitar onto her lap. “It’s not my fault that thing jumped out in the middle of the walkway.”
Abraham laughed. “Oh, it jumped out in front of you did it? You sure it wasn’t your clumsiness that was the culprit?”
“Oh shut up, Abey. Don’t you have some more smoochin’ to do, and a long way to drive. Away from me?”
He laughed again and ruffled her pink-streaked hair as he walked past. She growled at him as she fixed her mussed locks and glared at his back. “I’m goin’, I’m goin’. You wanna’ walk me out?” he asked me, grabbing his duffle bag near the door.
I nodded sadly and followed him out to his truck. He held me for a long time while I tried to get myself under control.
I’d probably see him in a few days. He said he’d try to get back out here as soon as he could. I’d survive without him for that long. I was stronger than the weeping, whimpering woman I’d been reduced to. I had Del to keep me company and didn’t need a man to make me whole.
Those words sounded good, but the large hole in my chest that grew as our time together ticked away begged to differ.
I needed to get myself together. I had a life to live apart from him. Fated mates or not, I couldn’t lose myself to him. To this thing between us.
I pulled out of his arms and gave him a wobbly smile. “I’m gonna’ miss you. Come back to me soon okay?” Abraham nodded, his eyes dark with emotion. “And call me when you get back to the lodge.” He nodded again, reaching up a big hand to cup my face.
He leaned down and pressed his warm lips against mine. We stood there, lost in each other for a long time before I found the strength to pull away. I gripped his hand against my face and placed a kiss on his palm. A little shudder ran through his body, and I smiled.
He tucked his face against my neck, breathing deep, and kissing the tender skin there. “I’m gonna miss you too, baby.”
With a sigh, he pulled away, and placed one last kiss on my swollen lips before climbing into his truck, and firing up the engine. I stood back and waved as he drove off. The red of his taillights faded into the distance as my heart’s beat slowed to a crawl. With a sigh, I shook my head, and trudged back into my apartment.
To my surprise, I found Charlie on the couch next to Del who was picking at the strings of her guitar. She looked up as I walked in the room, eyeing me warily. “You gonna’ be okay?”
I nodded automatically. “I have to be, don’t I?”
She gave me a firm, proud nod, and turned back to her guitar. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a pair of fated mates together. I’d almost forgotten how it is with them. How hard it is for them to be apart.”
I sighed, and took a seat next to Charlie, pulling him into my arms. “It wasn’t this hard the other times he’s left. Why now?”
“Well, it’s a few reasons. For starters, you’re closer to becomin’ a full werewolf so it’s hittin’ you harder than ever. The other reason is, you’ve admitted it. That’s half the battle. Once you realize you’re fated mates, it’s almost like a jumpin’ off point for the fated mates magic.”
I frowned. “Magic?”
She stopped playing to stare at me. “Of course it’s magic. Don’t tell me you think you’d find your soulmate out of all the billions of people in this world and believe magic wasn’t involved.” She snorted and looked down at her guitar again. “It’s what connects you two, binds you to each other. What makes it so hard to be apart, and what will take y’all from this earth together. It’s all connected. It’s magic, plain and simple.”
With a gasp, she pulled a little red notebook out of her nearby purse, and scribbled across its crisp pages. When she finally looked up, and caught my expression, she explained. “All this talk of magic’s got me thinkin’ ‘bout a new song.”
I did my best to stifle a yawn. “You going to be up for a while?”
She nodded, eyes on her guitar again. “Yeah, I’m a night owl. Is it gonna’ bother you if I stay out here playin’?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I’m a deep sleeper. I’m going to bed though. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She laughed. “Probably not. I’m not much of a morning’ person.”
“When I get home, then.”
She nodded absentmindedly. “Night, hun. Have a good day at work tomorrow.”
I highly doubted that.
Instead of going right to bed, I took a long hot shower, and methodically dried my hair, hoping I’d receive a call or text from Abraham before I fell asleep. When I’d waited as long as I could, I finally gave in and called him.
“Hey baby, what’s goin’ on?” he answered on the first ring.
His voice pulled at something deep inside me, and I sighed into the phone. “I need to get to sleep, but I wanted to hear from you first.”
“I’m sorry, El, I’m still on the road. Almost there though.”
I yawned. “Okay, well still text me when you get home so I see it when I wake up.”
“Okay baby, I will. Get some sleep, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow mornin’. Call me on your way to work.”
I smiled. I loved the way he called me ‘baby’. “Okay, night.”
“Sweet dreams,” he replied before I disconnected the call, and curled up in my cold empty bed. It was a good thing it was so late, and I was tired. I don’t think I could have gotten to sleep otherwise.
The next few days were uneventful. Work was a chore, the only bright point was when I’d get a call, or text from Abraham. He was the best part of my day, every day. Unfortunately, he had a few issues come up with his contracting business, and wouldn’t be able to make it out to Raleigh all week. That news made the days trudge by even slower.
Thank god for Delilah McCoy. She was the second best part of my day.
Del was lively, and rambunctious, brightening any room she was in. She kept my apartment full of laughter, and music all week long. I was even able to return the favor and help her out.
“Tell me about the day you stormed out of the lodge,” she asked one night over dinner. Takeout of course since neither of us cooked. In fact, when I’d asked her if she was as good a cook as Evey, or even Callie, she’d responded with, “Girl, do I look like the Betty Crocker type?”
I’d had to admit, with her pink streaked hair, multiple ear piercings, and love for ripped black clothing, nothing about her screamed homemaker.
“Why do you want to know about that shitty day?” Del’s foul mouth had been rubbing off on me this week.
She popped the top on a can of beer and took a slug before answering. Apparently, although it wouldn’t get her drunk, she liked the taste. I still preferred my wine.
“I have too many upbeat songs, I need to diversify my portfolio.”
I arched a brow. “So, you want to exploit my unhappiness for the sake of a song?”
She tilted her head from side to side as if she were thinking about it before breaking into a huge smile. “Exactly!”
I laughed and chucked a dumpling at her head. With her lack of hand eye coordination, she had no shot at dodging it. The fried dough smacked against her forehead, and slid onto her plate where she picked it up, and popped it in her mouth. I laughed harder at her antics.
“So will you? I need some sad material for some songs.”
I chuckled darkly. “Honey, you want sad, I got sad.”
“So you’ll help me?”
It was my turn to tilt my head from side to side as I pretended to think over my answer. She tried throwing a dumpling at me, but not only was her aim terrible, I also had better reflexes. I swatted the food out of the air, and it landed on the floor where it was scooped up by Charlie.
“Smart cat,” Del commented before turning pleading blue eyes back to me. “Please, Ellie?” she whined.
I decided to put her out of her misery. “Of course I’ll help you Del.” And so we spent the rest of the night, rehashing some of my darkest days. Thankfully, her constant laught
er, and great sense of humor stopped me from feeling too sad. Most importantly, Del got some great material out of my misery.
She was still scribbling in her notebook when I slipped off to bed that night, waving a hand, and giving me a half hearted ‘good night’ as I left her to it. I retreated to my bedroom to get ready for bed, and my nightly video call with Abraham. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it would suffice until I could see him again this weekend.
Chapter 39
I was in the dark meadow again; the wolf staring hard at me from a few feet away. I took a few tentative steps toward her, watching as she surveyed me with shrewd eyes. When I was close enough to reach out and touch her, she let out a low growl, and I quickly retracted my hand. I stayed still as she rose to her feet and walked away. My steps faltered as I tried to figure out if she wanted me to follow her or not.
When she was a few feet away, she turned around, and stared at me, waiting for something. I shrugged and took a few steps forward. She seemed satisfied that I would follow and took off once again for the dark woods that surrounded us.
She made it to the tree line, and disappeared in the dark foliage, leaving me alone in the meadow. “Hey, wait up!” I called, crashing between the branches after her. I could hear the soft thump of her paws hitting the leaf-strewn ground, but couldn’t see anything. I followed her blindly for a few feet until I could hear nothing, but the total silence of the dead forest.
“Hello?” I called. Over, and over I yelled to the wolf, but she wouldn’t return. Finally, a blasting tone blared through the woods, and I had to cover my tender ears. The incessant sound continued until it woke me from my strange repetitive dream, and I realized it was my phone ringing.
I reached over and grabbed it. With only one eye cracked open, I saw Sexiest Man Alive displayed across my screen. “Hello?” I croaked into the speaker. “Abraham? What’s wrong?”
“I’m wondering that about you. Were you having another one of those dreams?” he asked, his voice heavy with sleep.
I sat up in bed. “Yeah, how’d you know?”
“You were upset. I could feel it.”
Shift (Southern Werewolves Book 1) Page 30
