Inheritance (The Dark Gifts)

by Willow Cross

  “Look at the sunset. It’s spectacular tonight. Must be a present from Mother Earth to you, for your birthday.” He smiled.

  “Sunset? Oh crap! I didn’t realize what time it was. I have to go.”

  “Don’t go. Stay here. You’re eighteen now, you should be able to stay as long as you like.”

  Sarah jumped up and scurried into the house calling for Jason.

  Jason, arms wrapped around Ashley, looked up from the couch. “What’s up?”

  “The sun is setting,”

  “And? The sun sets every day. Big deal.” Heather replied.

  Shad and Ashley looked pointedly at their sister, wanting her to shut up. The three of them knew why it was a big deal, but letting Jason and Sarah know they knew, was a bad idea.

  “We have to go. Our uncle expected us hours ago. I guess the family is having a party tonight for her, too.” Jason answered as he disentangled from Ashley.

  “Wow! Two parties in one day? Must be great to be you today, Sarah.” Heather answered.

  “Shut up H, if they have to go, then let them.” Shad insisted.

  Sarah looked into his eyes, and feeling like she was saying goodbye forever, said, “Thank you so much for my birthday. It was the best one I will ever have.”

  Shad leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. Hard as he tried, he could not bring a smile to his face. His voice was rough as he spoke, “You’re welcome. Don’t forget me now that it’s over.”

  Sarah watched a look of grief quickly pass over him before he managed a smile. She knew why she was upset, but why was he taking this so hard? They said their goodbyes and drove off towards home.

  Shad stood in the front yard for several minutes after they left, watching the dust cloud settle in the driveway. “What’s your problem little brother? You get hooked on a new pet?” Heather asked.

  Ashley and Shad, in unison, told her to shut up.

  “What’s the big deal? It’s not like you didn’t know this was coming. I think gramps needs to know about this. It’s definitely going to interfere with your job performance.”

  “Look, I know what needs to be done. That don’t mean I have to like it.” Shad angrily replied.

  Ashley, ever the peace maker, put a hand on each of them saying, “No one knows for sure what is to be done. Not yet anyway. It is up to us to decide if this particular pack is dangerous. We know after tonight Sarah will be in charge. Maybe that will make a huge difference. She’s a very sweet girl.”

  “Both of you are crazy. What the hell is wrong with you? Dogs are meant to be put down. Period. End of story. I’m calling Grandpa.” Heather said as she stomped back to the house.

  “You know what he’s going to say, Jonny.” Ashley’s hand lingered on her brother’s shoulder.

  “Like I said, I know, but I don’t have to like it.” His voice was cold as steel, but his eyes were full of pain.

  ***

  “Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?” Thomas’ entire body shook with the rage he tried to control. “Do you have any idea how bad this could have been? What if she’d turned early? Some do you know. Some can turn days before their scheduled time!”

  Hands in his pockets, Jason looked at the floor. “Look, I’m sorry. She’s going crazy cooped up in here. She’s not used to this. She needs--”

  “She needs to pull her head outta her ass and quit feeling sorry for herself. You babying her all the time isn’t helping.”

  Jason raised his eyes and met Thomas’ glare. “You’re out of line old man. You don’t know squat about either of us, not really. I’ve raised her, I know her, and I know that today was good for her. What did it hurt? She got to spend one last day, being just human. It’s not a big deal.”

  Bending at the waist, Thomas stooped to an exaggerated bow. “Yes master, and since, good master, you know everything, how exactly would you have handled a three o’clock transmogrification?”

  “But it didn’t happen. So you’re freaking out over nothing.”

  Thomas moved to the counter and poured a fresh cup of coffee, shaking his head all the while.

  “Don’t be like this. I knew you wouldn’t want her around Shad and the girls today. But regardless how you feel about them, they’re good for her. She’s just a kid, Thom. She needs to interact with other people close to her age. People that aren’t just her brother.”

  Firmly sitting his cup on the table, Thomas glanced at Pete. Although paying close attention to the conversation, he hadn’t said a word. “Pete’s been trying to spend time with her.”

  Exhaling loudly, Jason said, “He’s twenty-five! What could she possibly have in common with him?”

  “I don’t know, Jason. Let’s see. How about--call me crazy--but how about being werewolves? I mean, unless I’m mistaken, there’s a lot of commonality there.”

  Jason plopped into a chair. “There’s got to be more to life than the wolf thing.”

  Thomas leaned forward, glaring. “There’s nothing more important in our lives than being wolves. It is the one thing that distinguishes us from all others. It is the one thing that keeps us at the top of the food chain.”

  Nodding, Jason replied, “Well that’s all well and good. But it’s the one thing she hates most about all of you and herself. You might want to keep that in mind when dealing with her.”

  Pete shifted in his seat. “She’s really scared, Thom. It’s not the same for her as it was the rest of us. We always knew it was coming. It was just part of life. You need to go easy on her.”

  Eyes wide and mouth open, Thomas stared at Pete. “Are you kidding me? She spent the whole day with the Indian boy, and you’re gonna take his side?”

  A pained look came over his face and he looked away.

  “What no words now, Casanova?”

  Taking a deep breath he met Thomas’ gaze. “It’s her birthday. I’m glad she got to have one last day of being completely human. Even if it meant she had to spend it with him.”

  Thomas shook his head. “Well if that don’t beat all. One skirt shows up around here and even my second fails me.”

  A screech sounded through the kitchen as Pete shoved his chair back and stomped off in search of Sarah.

  Jason’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at Thomas. “Good job. Class act tonight, huh?” He spun and followed Pete out the door.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sarah sat on the couch inside the cage waiting for the transformation to come. Jason and Thomas were upstairs yelling at each other again. Thomas had been furious when they returned. Sarah went straight to her room to avoid the coming confrontation. She couldn’t decide what upset him the most, her seeing Shad, or Jason’s blatant disobedience. It was probably both. She had slipped outside and managed to stay unnoticed during the initial confrontation. Until Pete had found her.

  He seemed upset, but he didn’t say anything. They talked a little, not about anything important. He asked about her day and she answered. Sarah didn’t understand why Shad bugged him so much. She’d known him for a while now, but they just started talking yesterday. It wasn’t a secret that she liked Shad. Every one of them knew it and all of them were pissed! Like it was any of their business who she liked.

  Now she was stuck in this basement waiting for the worst moment of her life. Sarah let out a sigh. The closer it came to time for her change, the more agitated she became.

  “You all right?” Pete called down from the kitchen.

  Sarah’s answer was short and not sweet, “I’m fine.” She wanted to be alone, but Pete kept pestering her. Her brother had left her alone when she told him to. Why wouldn’t Pete?

  He moved halfway down the stairs. “You sure?”

  “I’m fine. Can’t you go find something to do? I feel like a fish in a tank.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that…well it gets rough when it starts. It hurts and it’s scary, I don’t want to you go through that all by yourself.” Pete sat on the bottom step, resolute in his decision to stay.

 
; Sarah sighed again. She knew she was acting like a lunatic, he was just trying to be helpful. It already hurt. Her bones and muscles ached, even her teeth hurt. Her nerves were on edge. It felt like every hair on her body was standing up and intentionally trying to annoy her. In fact, everything was making her angry. The noise from the two idiots fighting upstairs, Pete’s refusing to leave, Pete’s breathing…Pete’s breathing? How was she hearing Pete’s breathing?

  Sarah’s jaw dropped as she watched him. It wasn’t just his breathing--she could hear his heart beating. The rhythmic pounding seemed to echo off the basement walls. Boom, boom. Boom, boom. She was just about to question him when every muscle in her body seized up. Pulling tight, sending pain racing through her.

  She couldn’t breathe. Her lungs would not open. With every ounce of her being, she sucked hard and managed to pull in a small amount of air. Bones snapped and reformed, ripping and tearing at the cartilage and muscle. Oh God, I’m going to die!

  Someone let out a blood-curdling scream that would have terrified her if she weren’t in agony. The scream grew louder and turned into a roar of rage. Her mind grew numb; the room was so bright her eyes closed to stop the retched light from burning them. “Take deep breaths, Sarah,” someone nearby yelled. She tried to listen to them but her ears were full of that horrid pounding. Drums beat through her skull like an Indian war chant. Just when she thought she could take no more, it subsided.

  Confused, Sarah looked at the bars surrounding her. Why was she locked up? A gasp from the stairway drew her attention, Jason stood with Thomas and Pete staring at her as if they had never seen her before. Sarah looked down and realized her change was complete. Then she saw herself, not through her own eyes, but through the eyes of those watching. She was the most beautiful red wolf that had ever graced the planet. Her coat was a deep rust color. Her ice blue eyes gazed out of a perfectly proportioned head. She could feel Thomas’ pride, and Jason’s amazement, but most of all she felt Pete’s desire.

  It hit her then, why he wouldn’t leave her. He wanted her. He wanted to be her mate. Sarah threw her head back and howled in victory. She was Alpha now. Pete would not be the only wolf sniffing around. She could have whoever she wanted, and she wanted Shad.

  Sarah looked at Thomas and ordered, “Let me out. Now.”

  Unable to resist a direct command from the Alpha, Thomas unlocked the door and opened the cage.

  Sarah exited the cage warily. She walked to each man and sniffed. All three stood still, allowing her full access. Jason reached out to touch her but she growled before he could pat her head. It felt strange, more dreamlike than reality. She knew who and what she was, but confusion clouded her mind. She felt a warmness emanate from Pete, already undressed, he shifted into wolf form. Sarah growled again and snapped at him. Pete didn’t need to think that just because he was wolf she would accept him. She had someone on her mind already, she just couldn’t remember who it was. Why couldn’t she remember who she’d been thinking about? The scents of the others were overpowering her senses. Especially Pete’s. Sarah shoved her brother and uncle aside and went up the stairs.

  A new scent assailed her as she entered the kitchen. A female lingered in the air. It had a distinctly human smell to it. Sarah followed the scent through the kitchen and down the hall to her room. As she moved, it grew stronger. Sarah stopped at her door to snap at Pete who was getting to close for comfort. Pete slunk back a few feet and put his head down in submission. “I’m just trying to help. You don’t know how overwhelming this can be. Wait till you go outside, it’s much worse out there.”

  Hearing Pete inside her head made her wince. It was so strange. She pushed the bedroom door open with her head and moved into her room.

  “It’s your scent you’re smelling,” Jason’s voice spoke in her mind.

  She could feel them all in her head with her. All three of them. No, not three, there were many thoughts and voices now. Ruby, Karen, David, Pete, Mark, Dawn--all of them were there with her. Sarah shook her head in an effort to clear them from her mind. She didn’t like it at all. She didn’t want them in there with her. Sarah let out a ferocious growl and jumped over the three males and into the hall, heading for the front door. She had to get out of this house! She needed to run. Outside. It was calling her. Even in the house she could hear the animals moving around out there. The woods screamed at her to join it. The pull to be out there was so strong she became nearly frantic. Head moving side to side, sniffing, racing from the door to the windows. Back and forth across the living, trying to get out.

  Unable to withstand the call of night any longer, Sarah jumped through the picture window in the living room. Shards of glass showered the room and porch. The three in the hall stayed right on her tail. Regardless of what she wanted, they all knew she could not be left to her own whims. She had to be maintained and protected. As Alpha, there was no leaving her to fend for herself.

  The rest of the pack greeted her in the front yard. Howling and pawing the ground, they bent their heads in submission to their new leader.

  “Welcome, Sarah.”

  “Yes, welcome.”

  “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  “Isn’t this wonderful, Sarah?”

  She shook her head and tried to clear the voices from her mind. Thoughts and feelings overwhelmed her. Some worried, others scared, most curious. One woman was concerned she would catch the scent of her new-born baby and hoped the caged held tight. Another hoped her sons would stay home as ordered. A newly changed Alpha could be deadly. Fear encompassed her, weaving around her like a band of iron.

  Sarah growled and snapped at them. “Shut up! Why can’t you all shut up?” Why couldn’t they understand she needed to be alone? Why wouldn’t they listen to her? She caught a brief thought that answered her question from the woman named Ruby, “Hope she don’t order us to stay here…it’ll be nothing but trouble then.”

  Sarah roared in victory. “All of you stay put. Do not follow me. I need to be alone.”

  “You cannot go out alone. It’s your first time. Are you in such a hurry to kill the Indian boy?” Thomas, black as night, had taken to his wolf form.

  Pete winced as he felt the wave of emotional turmoil coming from Sarah. He took a step toward her.

  Sarah growled, but Pete slowly advanced to where she stood.

  “I just want to help you. It’ll be okay, Sarah. Trust me.”

  “I need to run! I don’t know why, but I need it. Why can’t you understand that?”

  “I’ll run with you. We’ll go together, just the two of us. I know how to stay out of your mind so that you can feel alone. Please, let me help you,” Pete pleaded as he placed his head against Sarah’s.

  Sarah leaned into him, suddenly needing his touch. So warm. The musky scent emanating from him enticed her. His nearness brought peace. She rubbed her head down the side of his face and rested it against his neck. Relaxing, the need to run began to dwindle. The wind picked up and blew fallen leaves across the yard in a wild acrobatic dance. Catching a familiar scent in the air, she raised her head. Unable to place it to start with, it drew her. As she stepped away from Pete, she identified the smell. Shad was in the woods. She didn’t know how far away, but he was outside. He had no idea how much danger he was in! She had to get to him before the others, and somehow without killing him, make him go inside.

  Sarah spun around and ordered one last time before running into the trees, “Do not follow me. Stay here until I return.”

  She nearly flew through the forest in her race against time. Limbs and branches smacked and poked her as she rushed by. She had to get to Shad before someone else did. Several pack members were not at the cabin. Not knowing if they could hear her, she repeatedly sent out messages to leave Shad and his family alone. They were off limits.

  Sarah’s wolf form moved lightening fast, and in no time at all she was outside the enormous cabin. She watched from the woods, trying to decide how to approach him. As a wolf, she could
n’t just walk up to him. Could she?

  The wind changed and without warning, she was downwind of him. His scent mingled with the promise of rain. In her human form she enjoyed his musky scent but in wolf form--it made her hungry. His heart beat methodically in his chest. Each beat called to her. Her mouth began to water, as a low growl escaped her lips.

  Sarah drew in her breath hoping to still the urge attempting to usurp her control. That just made it worse. His scent was so strong she could almost taste it on her tongue. On the verge of completely losing herself, Sarah desperately shoved her snout in the dirt. The smell of the rich dark earth muffled his smell and allowed her momentary freedom from the desire to eat him. I have to get out of here. What was I thinking? I’m going to kill him before anyone else has a chance!

  Sarah glanced up to take one last look at him before retreating to her home. All she could smell was the dirt covering her snout. This is more like it. She cautiously slunk out of the trees in front of the house, and waited for him to notice her. It was too risky to go up to the house. The scent of the three of them might overpower her dirt mask. Shad sat still as stone. If he saw her, he wasn’t acting like it. Sarah whined softly.

  His shoulders grew taught and rigid.

  Sarah whined again, louder this time.

  Shad stared right at her.

  Sarah laid her head on her paws in an attempt to appear submissive. Odd vibrations in her rear-end told her that her tail was wagging. Sarah playfully barked, hoping he would come to her.

  Shad stood and took a few steps in her direction.

  Sarah did her best to look like a very happy puppy.

  When he was within ten feet of her, Sarah stood. She looked into his eyes and he returned her gaze. She let out another soft bark.

  “What’s wrong, girl? What are you doing out here all by yourself?”

  Sarah whimpered.

  Shad eased closer and Sarah’s hair bristled in warning. She couldn’t let him touch her. She didn’t know if she would be able to stop if she caught his scent again.