Stalking Fate

by K. R. Fajardo

  Tears streaming down her face, she raised her gaze to meet Duncan’s sister’s sadden expression. “What does that mean?”

  “It means he can’t heal. And given the seriousness of his injuries…”

  “No!” Shaking her head adamantly Senka refused to hear anymore. “He’s going to be fine.” Glancing around as some of the other Shifters, including Ignacio, entered the cell she continued. “He can shift, right? His bear isn’t hurt, he never got the chance to fight in beast form, so he should still be alright.”

  “Senka…” With nothing but a cloth around his waist, Ignacio had all his marks on full display as he stepped inside. Ignoring the couple of disapproving glares that were cast his direction, he knelt down on the other side of Duncan and shook his head. “Duncan is tough; don’t doubt me about that, but this…” he paused, grimacing as he took in the full reality of what had been done to him. “This may even be a little much for him.”

  “Maybe I can help.” Turning to find the source of the voice, several people stepped aside revealing an older gentleman with neatly trimmed grey hair. Walking with an air of authority, he knelt down next to her and sniffed. “I knew he was lying about killing you.”

  With a furrowed brow, she raised her gaze to his and gasped at the bright yellow eyes staring back at her. “You’re the wolf from the forest.”

  He smile and nodded. “My name is Uriel. Now let’s see what we can do about making your friend shift.”

  “You can do that?”

  “I can try. It’s one of an Alpha’s gifts. We can sometimes force Shifter’s to change form even if they are unwilling or unable to.” Ripping the blocking band from his neck, Uriel gestured down at Duncan asking her permission to continue.

  Nodding rapidly, she watched as he laid his hands on his body and closed his eyes. His face strained, he forced as much of his Alpha power into Duncan’s lifeless body as he could, while Senka and the others watched and waited with baited breath. However after a few minutes, Uriel, his brow drenched in sweat, released his hold and shook his head.

  “He’s fighting me. He thinks he deserves his fate and refuses to shift.” Turning to address Senka he sighed. “If you want him to live, you need to give him a reason to come back.”

  Immediately all sets of eyes fell on Senka. Heaving a heavy breathe, she leaned over Duncan’s body and brushed some of the shaggy hair out of his face.

  “Old man, I know you can hear me in there and I need you to know I am sorry. Sorry for being hardheaded, sorry for yelling at you all the time, and sorry for not listening. But more than all that, I am sorry of calling you a liar.”

  Sniffing back her tears she brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. “I know you may think you deserve what has happened to you, but me and all these people are here to tell you that you don’t. Instead I am here to tell you I was wrong.”

  Smiling slightly, Senka wiped a tear from her eyes. “You hear that old man, I am admitting I was wrong. You don’t deserve this. You’re too good a man. And if you don’t believe me just ask any one of these other people standing here wishing you would come back. Not because they fear and hate the monster you used to be, but because they love and respect the man you have become. All our lives are so much better because you are a part of them. And we need you…” Pausing she smiled, and pressed her forehead against his. “I need you. And you know why? Because I love you old man.” Closing the gap between them she dropped her head in the crook of his neck as violent sobbing wracked her body. “Please don’t leave me here alone.”

  “I won’t.” His voice, barely above a whisper caused her to jerk her head up.

  “Duncan?”

  Blinking his eyes open, he stared up at her and offered her a weak grin.

  “Oh my gosh!” she cried, crushing her lips against his.

  His smile widened even more, before his brow furrowed. “Your sister?”

  “I’m here,” Chloe said, stepping forward, “we all are.”

  Nodding weakly, Senka watched as his eyes began to close again.

  “Senka, if you want me to do this, we need to do it now.” Uriel interrupted. “If not, it will be too late.”

  Covering her mouth, Senka stood and moved out of his way. When she rose to her feet, her father was standing there with waiting arms. Joined by Chloe, the three of them stood together as a family for the first time in over a decade and watched as Uriel tried one more time to get Duncan to shift.

  “Come on man.” Uriel growled, “Shift damn it or I am going to hook that pretty girl over there up with some guy closer to her age… like maybe that tattooed bastard over there.”

  Ignacio frowned, but it only lasted a second as they all watched the injured Duncan finally shift into the massive grizzly.

  Growling low, the giant animal pulled himself to his feet, but within seconds was back laying on the ground.

  “Too much blood loss.” Uriel answered their unanswered question. “But he should be fine. He just needs to rest and stay in this form until the Wolf’s bane wears of. After that, it will take a few shifts, but he should be good as new.”

  “We can take him to my house.” Andria offered.

  “Good idea, I’ll wait a day or two and come by and check on him. If he still isn’t shifting on his own by then we will do this again.” With that said, Uriel stood and marched out of the Cage.

  “He could have at least stayed to help carry his large ass.” Ignacio grumbled.

  “I’ll help.”

  “As will I.”

  “And I.”

  The chorus of voices rose. Before she knew what was happening, every able bodied male was standing next to Duncan. Lifting him up they managed to squeeze him through the door and down the steps. They were just about out the doorway when Bruce suddenly appeared in front of them.

  “Hey guys?” Bruce said grinning. “Anyone need a ride?”

  “Are those Vincent’s car keys?” Senka asked watching as he twirled them on his finger.

  “Yep. Now load up the bear and let’s go for a ride.”

  Sitting on the front porch, a cup of tea in her hand, Senka stared out across the field and watched the sun set for the day. It had been over a week since the battle at Lobo’s and Duncan still had not healed enough to travel back home. Most of the days he slept, and when he did awaken he was often angry and confused about what happened. Refusing to leave his side except when necessary to eat or shower, Andria had insisted she at least take a break in the evening to enjoy a cup of tea. Half suspecting the matronly lady was trying to drug her, to force her to sleep, she mainly blew on the top of the steaming liquid to give the appearance of drinking it.

  Peaking over her shoulder, she stared down the long stretch of road, and discretely poured a little of her tea over the porch edge.

  “How’s things been goin’ over there?”

  Turning to smile up at her father, she shrugged. “It’s a work in progress. Vincent ran everything and it’s gonna take them some time to remember how to think for themselves again. But they are working together and I think they will be alright. Even heard a rumor that the citizens are already planning to hold an election to choose an actual leader to help them rebuild and manage the city.”

  “That’ll be good fer ‘em.” Walking up the porch he gestured to the empty chair behind her. “Mind if I join ya?”

  “Sure.”

  Taking a seat in the chair beside her, he stared out at the sunset in silence. Knowing he had something he wanted to discuss but needed to build up the nerve for, she watched out of the corner of her eye as he fidgeted with his jewelry. Finally after a few more minutes of silence, he released a heavy sigh.

  “Senka, there’s somethin’ I been debatin’ on tellin’ ya. But after ponderin’ on it a bit, I decided I had better do it so as the pair of ya don’t figure it out later on ya own and get upset that I at least didn’t warn ya.”

  Slightly concerned as to where this might be heading, Senka set her tea cup on the
table to give her father her full attention. “Ok Pa, what is it?

  Biting his lip, her Pa sighed. “I wasn’t sure at first cause of the beard. But after doin’ the math and hearin’ what I did at the bar that night, I am pretty certain that you and that Duncan fella met long before ya showed up at the Northern Camp.” Pausing he rubbed the back of his neck. “Twenty years ago to be exact.”

  Well that took her completely by surprise. “Twenty years ago? Pa I would have been six years old and Duncan would have still been working for Vincent. Hell mom was still with us then, so how the heck would I have met Duncan?”

  Rubbing his chin, her Pa shook his head. “Ya really don’t remember do ya?”

  “Pa what are you talking about?”

  “It was back when we lived on the edge of the Seer border in the cabin by the river.” Pausing he stared out at the field. “I was out workin’ the garden and you was out playin’ by the stream. I had told ya a thousand times not to wade in too deep cause the current was fast, but ya were so damn hard headed.

  “Anyway, my back was to ya pullin’ weeds. Never even knew he was there. But the next thin’ I know this giant, very pissed off lookin’ man, come chargin’ out of the forest and headin’ straight at me. It was broad daylight so I couldn’t flash, so instead I held up my shovel and prepared to fight for me life. Only, to my disbelief he ran right past me and dove into the river. At first I was confused… then I realized you were missin’.” Pausing, her Pa’s eyes saddened as he continued. “By the time I made it to the water’s edge, he was already crawlin’ out with you in his arms.”

  “He’s the only man that ever got the drop on me Senka. Ever.” Pausing he shook his head. “He could have killed me. Gone back to Vincent a hero and been set for life. But instead he blew off his one opportunity in order to save the life of a Night Stalker child.”

  “But you were going to kill him anyway.” Senka blinked the memories suddenly flooding back to her. “I still remember that look in your eye when he set me down and told me to go to you. I knew if I left his side you’d kill him like you had all the other hunters, so I clung to his leg, and cried and begged you to let him go.”

  He nodded. “Do you remember what you told me?”

  “I said ‘Please don’t hurt him Pa, he’s my guardian and my friend.’” Senka paused, staring out across the field. “He’s always been my guardian.”

  “Seems fate saw fit for the pair of ya to guard each other.”

  Senka sat in silence for a few minutes. Then with a heavy sigh, she turned and faced her father. “Does the age difference bother you Pa? I mean, I don’t actually know how old Duncan is, but my guess is he is pretty up there.”

  Her Pa took her by surprise when he laughed. “I am over eight hundred years old and my current wife is thirty.” Smiling over at her gaping expression he reached over and patted her arm. “That bein’ said. I hardly think I am one to be placin’ judgment on someone’s relationship cause of an age difference.

  “Are you immortal Pa?”

  “Naw child, just really lucky and very hard headed.” With an amused smirk, he rose to his feet and stretched his arms above his head. “And I ain’t ready to die yet.”

  Staring in disbelief as he descended from the porch, Senka shouted after him. “How about me Pa? How long will I live?”

  “Don’t rightly know.” He shouted back. “But I’d wager you’ve aged as much as yer gonna. So as long as ya keep yer head on yer shoulders, you and the Shifter fella should have plenty of time to enjoy each other’s company.”

  And with that said, he flashed away leaving her with a ton of unanswered questions and a whole mess of information to process.

  Groaning in pain, Duncan awoke to find himself in the familiar confines of his sister’s bedroom. Unsure how long he had been there or even how he had gotten there, he racked his mind trying to recall what the last thing he did was. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to pull any clear memories from the foggy banks of his mind. Deciding it wasn’t worth the effort or the headache it was causing, he attempted to push himself up only to have a searing pain shoot from his left arm all the way up into his shoulder.

  “What are you doing? Lay down!”

  Cringing from the loudness of his sister’s voice, Duncan braced his head in his hands. “Can you talk more quietly?”

  “Sure, as soon as you lay back down.” She snapped, as she not so gently shoved him back into the bed.

  Groaning as a new pain radiated up his side he conceded to his sister’s wishes.

  “Why the hell do I feel like I had an entire building fall on me?”

  Andria, who was busy straightening little things around the room, stopped what she was doing and stared at him as if he had lost his mind. “Maybe cause you did?”

  “Did what?”

  “Had a building fall on you.” She remarked, as she went about her chores. “Not an entire building of course, just a large piece of the ceiling.”

  Blinking rapidly he rubbed his head, certain he had misunderstood her. “You want to go over that again?”

  “Not really, we have already been over this a several times in the last few days alone. But don’t let that worry you too much; Uriel said it was normal for people with injuries as severe as yours to experience some amnesia. Once you’re all healed that should go away too.”

  “What are you talking about? And who the hell is Uriel?”

  “The Alpha wolf from the forest patrol who has been coming by every day for over a week to make you shift a few times.” Andria said rolling her eyes. “You know, the man who is literally the only reason you are alive at the moment.”

  Growing tired of his sister’s games, Duncan managed to push himself upright without hurting himself and propped himself against the headboard of the bed. Doing his best to control the tone of his voice so she wouldn’t realize how extremely pissed off he was becoming, he pinched his brow and tried one more time.

  “Andria, I know you say you have done this already, but can you please try explaining why I am here, in your home, covered in bandages, and have no recollection of what has happened over the…” He paused, unsure of exactly how many days he was missing.

  “Week Duncan. You have been here a week.”

  “Ok, a week. Can you please tell me what I have been doing for the last week?”

  “I got a better idea.” Turning toward the door, Andria hollered out into the hallway. “Gidgit, come here. Your Uncle is awake again.”

  Something about hearing Gidgit’s name triggered a deep sense of remorse and guilt. But before he could ask why, Gidgit came barreling into the room and jumped into bed with him.

  “Uncle!!!” she exclaimed, lunging in for a hug.

  A wide range of emotions bombarded him at once and before he knew what he was doing, Duncan was crying. Thinking for sure he had lost his mind, but still loving the feel of his tiny niece’s arms wrapped around his torso, Duncan placed a hand on her back.

  Leaning back and seeing him crying, Gidgit made a pouty face. “Awww Uncle, did you dream the bad men killed me in the fire again?” she asked leaning in to hug him. “Don’t worry I’m ok.”

  Her sweet words triggered a catastrophic avalanche of memories to come tumbling back into his mind all at once. Memories of Hatchet strangling him, memories of fighting goons side by side with Senka, memories of being chained to the ceiling of a cell while Vincent described in vivid detail the way he had ravished Senka’s body. And with each memory, the panic, fear, and anger all began to return. Within seconds it had built to such a horrifying level that it thickened the very air around him making it difficult to breath.

  “Andria,” he called, trying to steady his breathing as he recalled Vincent telling him Gidgit had been killed in a barn fire.

  “Andria…”

  Sweat beaded on his forehead and his hands shook. Deep inside he could feel his bear clawing to get free, but he dared not release him in this state with his niece so close.

 
Oblivious to his suffering, Andria kept to her work, her back turned toward him.

  The beating, the Wolf’s bane, the Cage. It all came crashing down upon him at an unforgiving speed. Closing his eyes, he clenched the sheets tightly.

  “Damn it Andria! Get Gidgit out of here!”

  The panic in his voice finally got her attention. Spinning around and realizing the state he was in, Andria paled. “Oh crap.” Rushing forward she jerked Gidgit off of him.

  “Uncle!!” Tiny hand outstretched, Gidgit protested her removal as her mother set her down in the hallway.

  Kneeling before her, Andria attempted to pacify her youngest child. “Baby, Uncle doesn’t feel good right now. How about you do Mommy a big favor and go find your Papa and tell him to come here?”

  Distracted from her tantrum by a sense of purpose, Gidgit’s face lit up with excitement. “Ok mommy!”

  Spinning on her heal, Gidgit disappeared down the hallway merrily humming a tune. With her safely out of the way. Duncan crawled from the bed, grasping his hair in his hands. Heart pounding in his chest, he paced the length of the room, desperately seeking some kind of relief from the overpowering emotions.

  “Duncan,” Holding up her hands, Andria cautiously approached him, her concern clear in her voice. “Talk to me Duncan.”

  “I was trying to talk to you!” he seethed, causing her to retreat back a few steps.

  “I’m sorry Duncan. I never imagined you would have this kind of a reaction to Gidgit. I only called her in because the last time you woke up she triggered your memory... but it was nothing like this. You were so elated that she was alive and well, that you held her in your arms, listening to her for hours as she yammered on and on about nothing.”

  “They told me they killed her Andria!” he yelled, pointing at the door. “Burned her alive in a barn because I had the nerve to show my face again!” Doubling over he cradled his head in his hands, as the memory tore painfully at his heart. “Stars Andria, I thought I was responsible for the death of your daughter… do you have any idea what that did to me?”