Charity Rising (Charity Series Book 2)

by Kinney, DeAnna

When morning arrived, I was awakened by the smell of bacon rising from the kitchen. It tickled my nose like a fragrance from a long forgotten dream. It took me a few moments to realize that Mom was in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. I guess Raven’s mind trick worked perfectly.

  “Thank the Maker, she’s cooking again,” Levi said sarcastically, stretching.

  “Hey! Watch it. I’ll get better, you’ll see.”

  “Yeah, I’ll believe that the day you give up your lip balm.”

  I gasped. “Never. Without it my lips feel naked and alone.”

  He laughed, pulling me into his arms, my back against his chest, and kissed my neck. “Don’t worry, kitten, I’ll keep your lips company. Lucky for you I don’t believe the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. That’s overrated. I much prefer going through the heart.”

  I snuggled closer, giggling as he nibbled my ear. “I knew, besides your gorgeousness, there was another reason I loved you.”

  It was finally Saturday morning and once breakfast was finished, and Mom was settled on the sofa with a juicy book in hand, I kissed her on the cheek and headed out to the Drake House to see my man.

  I found him in the dining room consorting with his usual crew, Josh, Jared, Jordan, Ian, and Cody.

  His eyes brightened and his smile practically covered his entire face. “There you are. What took you so long to get here?” he asked, pulling me into his arms for a passionate kiss.

  “Come over here and I’ll show you.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the others. “Levi, look what I found.” I reached into the red duffle bag I keep in the back seat of my car, and pulled out a huge gray and white cat. “Isn’t it great? Have you ever seen such a marvelous animal? I wonder what kind it is. It looks rare. Levi, what’s wrong?”

  He was looking down at the cat like he was about to eat it, even licking his lips slightly. He snapped out of it. “Charity! What are you thinking bringing a cat into a wolf’s den?” he blurted out in disbelief.

  Suddenly I understood. “Um—I saw her on the side of the road. I couldn’t just leave her there to get hit by a car. And her sad eyes beckoned to me. I guess I didn’t think—”

  Without warning, Josh, Jared, and Jordan started running toward me, laughing as they ripped their shirts off with shoes flying in the air. The cat screeched and jumped out of my arms and bolted through the dining room, ducking and dodging under and around tables. The werewolves, now furry and howling, ran after her in full force, knocking over anything that got in their way.

  “If any of you hurt my cat I’ll beat the crazy out of you!” I screamed as I ran after them, hands flying in the air in warning.

  I glanced over my shoulder and noted Levi doubled over in laughter. I imagine it did look funny; werewolves in hot pursuit of a big cat, with a little girl screaming after them. Somehow they didn’t seem so menacing when they were running away from me.

  I was out of breath when I collapsed in the dining room chair next to Levi.

  “I’m taking it you didn’t catch them.” His eyes sparkled in amusement as he pulled me up into his lap.

  “No,” I pouted, “they’re too fast. Besides, my cat will kick their canine butts anyway.” I finally looked up and met his gaze. “They won’t kill her, will they?”

  He laughed. “Probably not. We enjoy the chase more than anything, but I still can’t believe you brought that thing in here.”

  “Yeah—well, I guess I wasn’t thinking too clearly. If I can find her I’ll take her to my home with Mom. She’ll love her.”

  About that time the guys bounded around the corner in their human forms, laughing and shoving each other.

  “Well I would’ve gotten hold of the thing if you hadn’t gotten in my way,” Jordan said to Josh.

  “Sure you would’ve. That thing clawed you up pretty good. You even looked scared at one point.” Josh laughed.

  “Oh yeah—well when it jumped on your back you looked scared too,” he jabbed back.

  “Fine.”

  They plopped down next to us, shirtless and slightly bloody.

  Levi observed them in amusement. “I’m guessing the cat won.”

  “That ain’t no cat, that’s a lioness,” Jared offered.

  “Where is my cat?! You better not have hurt her,” I warned.

  “Us—hurt her? You’ve got to be kidding. That thing ‘bout took our heads off. We don’t know where it is. We lost track of it somewhere around the A wing.”

  “Levi, how are we gonna find her? What if she’s lost and scared?”

  Josh intervened. “That cat ain’t scared of nothin’, let me tell you.”

  “Don’t worry, Charity, it’ll come out when it gets hungry,” Levi encouraged.

  “Yeah, and we’ll have something for her then,” Jordan teased.

  “If any of you hurt that cat I’ll claw your eyes out myself. It’s my fault she’s here, not hers. You better heed my warning furballs.”

  “Yes ma’am,” they all agreed in unison.

  “That’s more like it.”

  Chapter Nine

  I was relieved to have Mom fully back to normal. Occasionally, I’d catch her drifting into space, and I’d know she was thinking about Frank, but a strange thing had been happening—Doc’s appearance was becoming more frequent. On the nights I spent in my room studying for exams, I could hear them downstairs laughing. Although it was nice to hear her laughing again, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the attention she was getting from him. I mean, he’s a werewolf for Pete’s sake. I know, I know, I’m married to one, but that’s different. She’s my mother. Well, at least Doc is a good man and very well respected in the community. I guess she could do worse, but it was still unnerving. It was nice, though, to see her humming and smiling again. She even went grocery shopping, buying flowers for the dining room table. Hmm. On her first day back to work, I went straight to the Drake House after school, something I’d missed doing for fear of leaving her alone too long. I had only been there once since the accident. I couldn’t wait to hang with Levi and the gang. Once I entered, I noticed right away that the place was a buzz of frenzied excitement. I instinctively found Irena.

  “Hey, Mom. What’s going on?”

  “Well, the vampire scents are becoming stronger. We think there may be more of them than we initially thought.”

  “Is Levi around?”

  “Yes. He’s in his office.”

  When I entered his office he was deep in thought. “Hey handsome. I heard about the fresh scents. Should I be concerned?”`

  “Hey baby. They’re still way off yet, and I’ll take care of you. No need to worry.” But somehow I wasn’t convinced.

  “I’m concerned about Ashley. I think she may have an eating disorder.”

  “Hmm, I was afraid of that. Do you want me to handle it?”

  I gave him a sharp glare. “No!” I sighed. “Actually, I think I should talk to her, but I’m not sure what to say. I get the feeling that beating her won’t go over too well.”

  “I think you’re right about that. Just tell her from your heart. She knows you love her and only want her to be healthy and happy. She respects you. I think she’ll listen.”

  “You really think so?”

  “Absolutely. And I’ll pray with you about it if you want.”

  “That’d be great. Oh, I almost forgot.” I walked around the desk and punched him in the arm—hard.

  “Hey! What was that for?” he asked, rubbing his arm in mock pain.

  Like I could really hurt a werewolf.

  “I think Doc is interested in my mother.”

  “And how’s that my fault?”

  “Everything’s your fault. If it weren’t for you she wouldn’t even know Doc.”

  “And if it weren’t for me you wouldn’t be incandescently in love,” he said, pulling me into his lap and kissing me on the neck.

  “All right, Fido, don’t give me another reason to punch you.”

  He chuckled. “What ma
kes you think he’s interested in Cathy?”

  “Because he’s been hanging around—and he makes her laugh.”

  “Well, I didn’t make you laugh when you were falling in love with me.”

  “Yes you did, I just laughed behind your back that’s all. Hey—maybe you can find out.”

  “Sure. I’ll just ask him.”

  “No! You can’t just ask him.”

  “Why not?”

  “I should’ve expected werewolves to do it that way. You see, Levi—humans have this sort of code. We do things more secretively. We don’t just go up and ask someone what we want to know. We hire an investigator, or something. I know—maybe you could follow him.”

  “Oh, good grief. I don’t think that’s a human code, I think that’s a Charity code.”

  “Well—will you do it?”

  He sighed. “Okay, but you’ll owe me big.”

  “Just add it to my bill. By the way, has anyone seen my cat yet?”

  “There was a ruckus in the Recreation Wing last night, and I heard that some of the youngsters were trying to catch it but to no avail. But don’t worry, we’ll find her soon.”

  That night I was sitting at my desk studying for my exams when I heard a tap. I got up and started toward my window when Levi opened it and came through.

  “I didn’t expect to see you tonight. I thought you had a meeting.”

  “Yeah, well, I changed my mind.” He was looking at me strangely, just like the night of the Prom. His eyes zoomed up and down, admiringly. “Wow. I heard you were beautiful.”

  “What?”

  “I mean, I hear people talk about your beauty, and I still can’t believe you’re all mine.”

  “Oh, puppy, you say the sweetest things.”

  I molded into his arms as I crushed my lips to his. His arms came around and encircled me, pulling me closer. His hands were instantly everywhere and we stumbled to the bed, our feet getting tangled causing us to collapse on top of it.

  The look in his eyes was unfamiliar to me. It was a look of hunger and nothing else—not mixed with compassion, or even love—just pure, primal hunger. I was almost frightened.

  “Levi? Are you okay?”

  “You’re mine, Bell, all mine.”

  “Since when did you start calling me Bell?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. It just came out, but I like it.” Then his lips were on mine again, but this time it was painful.

  “Charity!” my mom called from downstairs.

  My head popped up. “Yes ma’am!”

  Levi continued to trail kisses down my neck.

  “Can you come down? I need to talk to you!”

  “Yes ma’am. I’ll be right there!”

  Levi pulled my shirt aside and kissed my bare shoulder.

  “Levi, I have to go. My mom wants me.”

  “Screw your mom. I want you.”

  “Levi Drake!”

  He glanced up at me and sighed. “O—kay, but I’ll see you again, and we’ll finish this.” He was up so quick and out my window without even so much as a backward glance—so unlike him, I thought. Oh well, I shrugged it off and headed downstairs. But the action troubled me for the rest of the night.

  At school the next morning, I called Ashley over as soon as I exited my car.

  “What’s up?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Without warning Levi was suddenly walking beside us.

  “Hey. Bye,” I said to him.

  His eyes grew wide. “I love you too,” he teased.

  “Look, Ashley, see Spot run.” I peered up at him. “That’s your cue to leave—us girls need some alone time.”

  “You know, kitten, if you weren’t so cute I’d bend you over my knee.”

  “Shh, not in front of the children.”

  “Oh, forget it.” He bent down, kissed my forehead, and then he was gone.

  “Okay, now that Rover’s gone, what’s up?” Ashley asked.

  “Hey, I’ll have to remember that one. Anyway, Levi’s been acting strange. Has Josh said anything to you about it?”

  “No, as a matter a fact, he’s in full Levi worship mode right now. He said he was proud of the way Levi was handling the whole vampire-trying-to-locate-them thing. He said he was very brave and that his biggest concern was keeping you safe, even saying that the survival of the pack depended on your survival.”

  Well, it was true.

  “Listen, something’s not right. Occasionally he’s been acting odd. He looks at me funny, and alarms are going off in my head like crazy.”

  “You mean more than usual?” she teased.

  “I’m serious. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

  “Have you been watching Star Wars again?”

  I stared at her for a moment. “Yes, but that’s beside the point.” I shook my head. “Ash, are you even listening to me?”

  “Of course, but this is Levi we’re talking about. The man who gave his soul to God in order to save your life, the man who almost gave up his pack for you, the man who’s risked his life many times to keep you safe, the man who runs when you say run, and who allows you to call him stupid doggy names without so much as a flinch because it entertains you. The man is crazy in love with you, so that in itself makes him odd.”

  I smiled. “Well, when you put it that way. I guess he is pretty awesome.”

  “He’s the best—for you—I mean.”

  “Okay, if you think it’s okay, I’ll drop it, for now. But last night he told my mom to screw off—sort of.”

  She jerked her head around and peered at me wide-eyed. “Well, you didn’t say that! Something’s definitely off! Levi would never say a thing like that!”

  “See!”

  “Okay, this calls for some investigating.”

  “That’s my girl.” I could always count on good old Ash. You know Charity code and all that. “Oh, and I have something else to talk to you about later, but now we better get to class.”

  Levi caught my arm as I entered the cafeteria. “Are you avoiding me?”

  “No. Well maybe. Okay, yes.”

  “Did I do something?”

  “If you don’t know then I’m not telling,” I snapped.

  “Well, whatever it is I’m sorry.” He smiled, flashing me his dimples. He knew I couldn’t resist them. Cheater!

  “You know what? That’s not gonna work this time,” I replied, knowing full well it would.

  “Oh, really? Well maybe this will.” He took my hand and led me out of the cafeteria doors and around to our usual spot at the back of the building. Suddenly, his lips were on mine. Against my will, my arms went around his neck, pulling him closer until he was pressed firmly against me.

  “That’s not fair,” I breathed.

  “Are you protesting?”

  I smiled. “No.”

  He laughed and kissed me again, but we were soon distracted by a commotion coming for the lunchroom. He glanced at me, and then grabbed my hand and pulled me along as he ran around the corner and through the cafeteria doors and froze. What we saw then shocked us. A fight had broken out in our absence. Food started flying as some capitalized on the violence. Levi ducked just missing the clump of macaroni headed toward his face. I laughed until I recognized Ashley right in the center of the chaos. Josh jumped in front of her, receiving the glob of jello intended for her.

  “Levi, this is getting out of hand.” With that he ran in to join the fight. Of course I ran in after him, losing sight of him as someone smacked me in the back with a plate of food. I spun to see Bunnie, the meanest girl in school, laughing. But she didn’t scare me, I practically lived with werewolves. Not to mention my staking of a very annoying redheaded vampire only weeks earlier. Compared to that, she was a walk in the park. I turned to the table behind me and grabbed a cup of tea, launching it and hitting her in the face. I would’ve laughed, but unfortunately it also splashed Kevin, a boy standing nearby. Oops. He started after me. I turned to run and slipped,
falling into a pile of food, with ketchup being the dominant ingredient. I really hate the smell of ketchup. Kevin stood over me laughing until a glob of chocolate pudding hit him on the side of the head.

  I glanced up and recognized Toby’s smug expression. I smiled. “Thanks, Tobe.”

  “No problem!” he yelled, smiling goofy and giving me two thumbs up, then bolting as Kevin made off after him.

  The principal charged on the scene, with some teachers tight on his heels. Levi helped me to my feet and ushered me to safety against the far wall of the room.

  I watched in amusement as the adults tried unsuccessfully to stop the chaos, only succeeding in getting themselves totally covered in edible wear.

  When the dust finally settled, some fifteen minutes later, most of the student body was covered in food, the cafeteria was totaled, and Levi was untouched. Go figure.

  Levi was escorting me to my car, so I could go home, shower, and change, when Principal Lewis approached.

  “Levi Drake!”

  He turned to him. “Yes sir.”

  His expression was hard. “I have witnesses that say you were the instigator of the fight. I need to see you in my office right now.”

  “Mr. Lewis,” I intervened, “Levi was with me when the fight broke out. We weren’t even in the cafeteria. We came in later.”

  “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, young lady, but I’ll get to the bottom of this matter. Levi, come with me.”

  “But—”

  “Charity, it’s okay,” Levi said. “You go home. I’ll see you later.” He left me there alone as he followed the principal back toward the school, giving me one last glance over his shoulder.

  I was dumbfounded. How could someone say Levi started the fight? That was so ridiculous. Levi would never start a fight, even if he weren’t with me at the time. I too would get to the bottom of it. Instead of going home I decided to wait for him.

  An hour passed when he finally came walking through the parking lot, hands in his pockets, head held low. I jumped out of my car and ran to him. “Levi! What happened?”

  “Charity, you were supposed to go home and get changed and showered. You didn’t need to wait on me.”

  “Moot point. What happened?”