“Of course.” He reached up to brush hair out of her face. He tucked a tendril behind her ear. “Never. No more secrets. I love you, Tasha.” His voice cracked. “I always have and I always will. Wolves mate for life and, well…mine’s chosen you.” He leaned forwards and kissed her then. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she kissed him back.
I turned away with a grin. Would Arii kiss me that way if I proposed to her?
“I’ll see you guys later,” I said, but it fell on deaf ears. I shut the door behind me and headed down the hall.
My stomach churned with nerves and excitement as I hovered outside Aliel’s door. I heard giggles from inside, and then Aliel’s own chuckle, and I shoved open the door. Shae was on one side of the bed, perched at the edge of a plastic chair, and Arii was on the other. Al’s two-toned eyes locked on me and he beamed.
“I was wondering if you were gonna come see me.”
“Hey, I’ve been here. You were asleep, thanks.” I grinned.
Arii drug an extra seat over next to her and I scooted up towards the bedside. “Aliel,” I began, then froze, words becoming lodged in my throat. How did I say sorry and thank you all at once? He’d taken a hit for me; he’d saved my life.
“You were brave back there,” I said. “And I’m not sure why you did it, but…I owe you. Thank you.” I patted his hand and he surprised me by gripping it.
“Kia. This might sound sappy, Skoll forbid, but you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.” At Arii’s scalding look, he smiled. “Except you, of course, sis.” His eyes found mine once again and his smile was easy.
“Yeah, it hurt like a bitch and my life flashed before my eyes, but I’d do it again. I would, Kia. You believed in me. You came to save us. That should be proof enough alone.”
“Well things are going to change around there, I promise you that,” I said. “I wanna wait until you’ve healed a little before we take you home. You can stay with my family. I’m sure Mom won’t care.”
“You can stay in Kia’s old room,” Shae piped up. “And Kia and Arii can have the couch.”
I nodded, though I think Shae was trying to get a rise out of me. “I think—”
And then my vision spun. I reached out, gripping the edges of my chair as I fought to keep my head. I felt Arii clamp onto my arm, murmuring my name, but I was gone. The haze shimmered, revealing a blurry vision.
Shae laughed, several years older, her auburn curls dancing in the wind. She looked up, adoringly, into the eyes of Aliel. Al wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging her close to him in a gentle ferocity before he claimed her lips with his. I could feel their contentment, their happiness.
As the vision faded I found myself smiling. So Aliel would get his happily-ever-after too. Good. He deserved it.
“Kia?” Arii looked worried. Shae looked pale, no longer skeptical that I truly did get visions.
“It’s alright.” I blinked to clear my sight. “Everything’s great. Really. Shae, can you stay with Al for awhile? I’m feeling the need to get a little air.”
Arii caught my hidden meaning and hopped up beside me. “I’ll go with Kia, make sure he’s alright.” She slipped her arm around my waist and we left the room. We rode the elevator down in silence, my heart kicking in my chest as we went out the door. The warm May breeze ruffled our hair.
“You alright?” she asked finally, those blue eyes doting and compassionate.
“Never better. I saw Aliel and Shae. Kissing. In my vision. They seemed…totally happy.”
Her eyes widened. “Should we go back up there and intervene?”
I laughed. “Arii! I saw them a few years from now. You have nothing to worry about, big sister. Al’s made it clear he can stand up for himself.” I looped an arm around her shoulders and we walked down the sidewalk, headed into town.
“Where are we going?”
“Everywhere. Nowhere. The perfect place,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Arii. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did when you told me that you’d used me. It shouldn’t have mattered.”
“It did, though. It mattered. I hate myself for it,” she said softly. “I know I toyed with your emotions and it kills me inside.”
I turned towards her, taking both her hands in mine and tugging them to my chest, so she could feel my heart beating for her.
“No. It doesn’t matter; what happened, happened for a reason. I love you. I really do, with all of my heart.” I dropped her hands and reached into my pocket. Cracking open the black case, I dropped to my knees in front of her. Her eyes fluttered, her hand rising to her chest.
“And I want us to last. Forever, Arii. I mean it. I want you as my girlfriend, as my mate, as Queen of Altehrei. I want to have a ceremony back home, and then I want to come back here and give you the most beautiful wedding ever. I want to raise a family with you.”
Her lips curved in an ornery way, though her eyes were brimming with tears. “Oh, Kia… I don’t know what to say.”
“Do you love me?”
“Yes!”
“Then say it.”
I stretched out the ring. She beamed and slid her finger into it, where it sat, the perfect ring on the perfect finger. She grabbed my hands, hauling me back to my feet and then crashed herself against me. Her lips pressed against mine, needing, exploring as her fingers tugged through my hair. I shook my head and pulled away, nipping at her bottom lip.
“Say it.”
“I fucking love you, you idiot,” she all but growled.
I laughed. “We should probably head back to the hospital.”
“I’ve got a better idea. Let’s celebrate. Shae won’t care, especially if that’s her future boyfriend.”
“What do you have in mind?”
Her eyes danced with light. “Homemade tacos and a couple rounds of Mario Kart, to start…then we’ll see what the evening has in store for us.”
I grinned and laced my fingers in hers. “Let’s do it, babe.”
The End
Acknowledgements
This book has come a long way, from its pieced-together first draft written in 2005, through the various revisions and edits, to being completely rewritten in 2011 and through those revisions and edits. A novel isn’t easy to write, but here I am. And I have so many people to thank, who’ve helped me along this journey.
To Sadie Hart, an awesome friend and wonderful critique partner; thank you for putting up with me through so many drafts of Wolfsong, pointing out both the good and the bad in every one. Without you, this novel wouldn’t be near so awesome.
To Janee Moore, who’s my ray of sunshine on days when I’m cloudy. You believed in Kia when I wasn’t quite sure that I did. Thank you.
To Reena Shoopman and Rebecca Yeomans, my friends and beta readers. Thanks for the honest feedback; you both helped me make Wolfsong the best that it could be.
To Grandma Rehrer, who reads my first drafts faster than I can write them; thank you for believing in me through the years.
To Grandma Judi—without you, this book wouldn’t have seen the light of day. Thank you for supporting me and my pipe dream.
To my wonderful mom; you’re my best friend. Thank you so much for being there for me, for lending an ear when I needed to rant, for giving me a shoulder to cry on. I love you.
And ultimately, thanks to “Fiyerain”, for pushing me through the very first draft of Wolfsong, encouraging me when all I wanted was to just give up. You believed in me and my story before anyone else. You know who you are. Thank you and many hugs.
And to my readers; past, present, and future: Thank you for reading and supporting me and my dreams.
About The Author
Kodilynn Calhoun is a 23-year-old gal from Indiana. She’s been writing seriously for over 10 years; her first real novel was a 300 page fantasy-monster with little plot and plenty of randomosity. Today, she’s mostly a writer of YA paranormals and is a sucker for a good love story and the fantastic: werewolves, shifters, incubi, and gargoy
les? You name it, she probably writes it (and hopes you like it)! You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or find her online at http://kodilynncalhoun.com
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