by Amira Rain
As far as all hands being needed on deck, didn’t I know it. With Reed and his men still being outnumbered by the Bloodborn, I was absolutely certain my knife-throwing skill could be a real asset during another grand battle. But, of course, I still had yet to get Reed on board with that thinking.
However, when he spoke after a few seconds of staring into the twin flames of two white taper candles between us on the island, seeming to be deep in thought, it wasn’t to address the issue of me fighting. He simply wanted to know if there was any more baked chicken left. There was, and feeling like an absolute pig, I got another piece for myself as well, wondering if I was ever going to feel truly full at any point during my pregnancy.
Once Reed and I were both finally finished eating, we just sat sipping our respective drinks, whiskey for him, and sparkling mineral water for me, until Reed suddenly spoke, startling me.
“I know what’s coming, Samantha. I know what you’re eventually going to ask me. So, you may as well go ahead before we go upstairs to bed. Just go ahead and say or ask me whatever you’re going to.”
I found myself somewhat taken off-guard, because I’d thought he was going to request that in light of the stressful evening he’d had, I save whatever I wanted to say or ask until later, with later meaning hopefully never.
So, as off-guard as I was, I took another sip of my water, then set the glass down with deliberate slowness, stalling so that I could collect my thoughts, before responding. “I appreciate you wanting me to feel free to say or ask whatever I want to right now, Reed, and I am going to say something, but believe it or not, I’m not going to ask anything. What I’m going to say is that if and when Gerard and his men attack again, I’m going to use my special skill to help fight them. Considering that I’m a grown woman who knows her own mind and is aware of the dangers and risks involved, and also considering that I’m a woman who's always been in charge of her own destiny and would like to stay that way indefinitely... I just can't imagine not fighting and using my knife skills to help defend my new home. So… I’m going to. My mind’s already made up. So, that’s why I’m not asking you.”
“You’re just telling me.”
He made it sound so horrendously bossy.
Struggling to maintain eye contact with him for some reason, I swallowed. “That’s correct. I’m just telling you.”
“You’re just telling me, despite the fact that as chief of Somerset, authorized to lead by the United States government, I can veto anyone telling me anything.”
I couldn't quite read his expression, and it was making me nervous for some reason. However, I wasn't about to back down from what I’d said. “That’s correct. I've made a decision, and despite the fact that you can veto it all day long if you like... I’m not changing my mind. You’ll have to physically stop me in the event of another attack. But just know that if you do...” Not wanting to make it sound like I was issuing any threats, I paused to change the phrasing of what I’d been going to say. “See, I can never be with a man who won't let me use my skill for the greater good, Reed... I can never be with a man who won’t encourage it. I know it’s true that maybe I’m not the easiest woman to deal with sometimes, as you’ve pointed out, but... whether I’m easy, or difficult, or hard, or whatever, I don’t want a man who thinks he can change me, or control me, or tell me I can’t do something that I want to do.”
“Even when that man would be telling you that you can’t do something for your own physical safety?”
A bit surprisingly, even to me, I didn’t even hesitate. “Yes. Even then. And maybe especially then. Because that would be you telling me that I don’t know my own mind, and that I’m incapable of measuring risks and making decisions about my own safety myself. And that is something I know I could never live with in the long-term.”
With his expression still unreadable, Reed turned his gaze from my face to the twin candle flames. “I’m really going to need some time to think about all this.”
“Fair enough. Take all the time you need. That’s perfectly fine with me.”
We soon resumed sipping our drinks, although we hardly spoke. Not even when Reed reached for my hand and held it while he finished the rest of his whiskey.
However, that night in bed, our hands and bodies spoke volumes, and when we were resting in embrace afterward, I realized that I’d officially fallen in love with Reed. And not even just officially, but profoundly. I’d fallen in love with his deep voice, his touch, and his scent, but those things weren’t even the half of it. I’d fallen in love with his bravery, his caring, which he’d seemed to hide for so long, and his heart, which he’d also done a good job of hiding for a time. I’d fallen in love with the way he said my name sometimes when we made love, as sweetly and tenderly as if my name alone were a poem.
After this realization that I’d officially fallen hard, I remained awake for a good while, staring at moonlight dancing on the ceiling in the dark. All falling in love and strong feelings aside, I hadn’t been bluffing when I’d said I could never be with a man who wasn’t supportive of me using my special skill. Which made me certain that it was going to hurt like hell if Reed couldn’t bring himself to be.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
A week or so passed, and I barely saw Reed. If he wasn’t meeting with his advisors, he was holding a council meeting, and if he wasn’t doing either of those things, he was out leading his bears on patrol, keeping all of Somerset safe from Gerard’s spies.
All this time without him left me with a lot of time to spend in town, and also spend a lot of time out in the backyard at home, practicing my knife-throwing almost obsessively. Polly joined me for some of these practice sessions, as did two other new friends, Mallory and Anna. All three of them tried their hands at knife-throwing, but none of them seemed to have the knack. In fact, Anna only tried once, saying that the endeavor almost scared her for some reason that she wasn’t even able to articulate.
One day over tea and strawberry-rhubarb tarts at our little snack table in the back of the coffee shop, Polly told me that she and Alex were officially a couple, after going on a handful of dates over the course of the previous two weeks or so.
“We’ve received Marie’s blessing, too. I think she truly likes Alex. But even more than that, I think she knows that I just have to move forward with my romantic life after all this time spent healing, even though Sean and his memory will always be in my heart.”
Polly’s words made me unexpectedly misty-eyed, even though her eyes were completely dry, and I realized that extreme hunger, dizziness, and nausea might not be my only unwanted symptoms of pregnancy. I’d been cranking on the waterworks every couple of days for the previous two or three weeks, and never for any particular reason. It always just seemed to come out of nowhere.
That night, when Reed arrived home from a council meeting that had lasted until midnight, he surprised me by sliding into bed next to me, taking me in his arms, and then proceeding to ask me if I was good at decorating large tents.
Snuggling deeper into his arms, I laughed. “Well, I’m afraid I’m going to need some context. What kind of large tents? And why do they need to be decorated? Do you have some idea to make love inside some massive, elaborately-decorated tent tomorrow night?”
I was almost hoping the answer was yes.
However, Reed didn’t answer right away, acting like he was seriously contemplating doing what I’d said. “Hm. Now, that really is an interesting thought. Just the two of us… camping… a massive tent all to ourselves… and hardly ever leaving it because of being too busy making love. That might be a very nice idea to do the weekend after this one.”
“Well, then, why not tomorrow night? You could leave Alex in charge of running patrol, and we could just make it a quick Saturday night getaway.”
The light from a small nightstand lamp, the only illumination in the room, revealed Reed’s expression change from the hint of a lazy smile to a frown.
“This Saturday night, I have othe
r plans, very unfortunately. I’ve just made a decision with the council this evening, and tomorrow night, we’re going to execute a plan to take out Gerard and all his men.”
“And what’s the plan?”
“Well, to make a very detailed plan very short, we’re not going to wait for the Bloodborn to attack us and catch us off-guard like they did last time. We’re not going to attack them in Blackbrook, either, though, because of their women and children. So, we’re going to lure them to attack us here in Somerset again, but only once we’re fully ready and organized to take them on, which will be tomorrow night.
“The basic plan, in short, is that we’re going to have an all-day start-of-summer barbeque and party for everyone in town, in the clearing to the east. Tents, grills, food, games... and we’re going to let Gerard’s spies get close enough to see what’s going on, before we drive them away as usual so as to not arouse suspicion that we actually want them to see what we’re doing. Then, what I think they’ll do is go back and report to Gerard that everyone in town is in a state of complete distraction, and knowing Gerard as a foe as well as I do by now, and knowing how he assumes that most people are just as arrogant and cocky as he is, I think he'll think that our recent victory has made me cocky enough to not consider him a threat anymore, at least not enough of one to stop everyone in town from a carefree holiday celebration.
“That’s when I think he’ll swoop in, to try to take us off guard again, thinking that this is how everything he wants will come to fruition in his favor. Being told of the community celebration, he’ll think that after his defeat, destiny has rebounded to serve him up Somerset on a silver platter, via my cockiness and carelessness. I bet he won’t even lead his bears in with a degree of wariness or suspicion. See, it all boils down to the fact that when you're as entitled as he’s always been...well, this is all going to make him sloppy. And that’s when everything is going to be resolved in our favor.”
“Well... if everyone in Somerset is at the party, including children, when Gerard and his bears and his men arrive to attack-”
“But everyone won’t be. Everyone, especially the children, will be completely safe. I’ll have scouts hidden all around the town, and when they see the Bloodborn coming, they’ll immediately alert me. Then, an evacuation plan will begin, and it will begin calmly, efficiently, and quietly, so that the children won’t even know what’s going on. Then by the time the Bloodborn arrive, they’ll be greeted by hundreds of my men blocking their path to the party tents, just in case there are any stragglers who haven’t yet gotten to safety. Basically, in short, the Bloodborn’s attack will turn into an ambush of sorts... on them.”
For several long moments, I didn’t speak, thinking about everything that Reed had just said. When I did finally speak, it was in a quiet voice, as if I was afraid that Reed’s ears might break, but really, I was afraid we were about to break. “I’m going to help, Reed… No matter what. I’m going to use my special skill.”
Now it was Reed’s turn to fall silent, and he rolled on his back, still kind of holding me in one arm, but lifting his gaze from my face to the ceiling.
Encouraged by the fact that he hadn't said an immediate no to what I’d said, though, I continued. “I’ve done some serious thinking the past week or so... some serious thinking about exactly why I’m so determined to do what I want to do... even aside from the reasons that I’ve already told you. And I’ve come to the conclusion that... well, maybe I have some sort of desire to be a hero. I don’t even know why. Maybe because I couldn’t save my dad from dying when I was so young, I have this desire to make up for that by saving other people now. Maybe it all started the very moment I heard about what had happened to my dad. I really just don’t know.”
I truly had done some serious thinking in the previous week while Reed had been gone a lot, and I’d come to the conclusion that my wanting to save people probably had indeed started with the loss of my dad.
“All I know is that on some levels, I’ve lived my life in safety mode, and I want that to change. I want to try to save the people of this town from harm. So, because I’m in charge of my own self, I’m going to. I'm not going to evacuate the party tents along with everyone else. I’m going to stay, and I’m going to use my knife skills to help take out the Bloodborn.”
“I already know all this.”
Reed had spoken the two words just as quietly as I’d been speaking to him. He’d spoken the two words so quietly I wondered if I’d even heard him correctly.
“Do you mean that you already know that's what I want, or do you mean that you’ve... you’ve accepted that that’s what I'm going to do, and you’re not going to try to stop me?”
Reed turned his head to look at me. “I’m not going to try to stop you from doing what you want to do. I’m going to encourage you to defend the town with your skill, and I’d actually decided this even before I came home tonight.”
I could barely believe what I’d just heard. “Well, what was it that made you decide?”
Reed rolled back onto his side with a sigh, pulling me into both of his arms again. “I’ve also done some serious thinking this past week or so, and I realized that as much as I don’t like taking even the smallest of chances with your safety, I do agree that you need to do this. You should do this, because you’re brave, and you’re bold, and you have a gift. I can’t overstate how much I do not like this, though... how much I hate taking even the smallest of chances with your safety.
“Because of this, I’m going to make sure that you have a little backup at all times when you’re fighting the Bloodborn. And by backup, I mean at least a dozen of my men who can help you at any time, if the need arises. They’ll not only help you in doing kills; they’ll also get you to safety if the Bloodborn surround you or try to drag you away from the fight. And doing this... having some of my men near you at all times... this is what I'm going to do, just like you’re going to do what you’re going to do. So, in a way, even though we’re not asking for each other’s permission, I think we’ve reached some sort of a compromise. Fair enough to you?”
With my heart soaring, I smiled. “Plenty fair enough to me.”
My joy and relief over the fact that Reed and I weren’t going to break after all soon manifested in the form of me giving him some intensely passionate kisses while straddling his hips. Not long after that, we began a lovemaking session, although unlike most of ours, this one was on the shorter side and only lasted one round. With the plan being set in motion, there was plenty to be done the next day, and it was already late as it was.
The following day, though long, seemed to fly by in a blur. Lantern-hanging, tent setup, and summer-themed decorating in the field just to the east of downtown was in the morning. Game and grill setup, and helping to set out food was around noon. Then, there was partying, running games, and laughing all day, trying to convince all the kids that there was nothing else going on other than the start-of-summer party of their dreams. I was also trying to convince myself that I wasn't nervous at all about the fight that was to come once the party was evacuated.
Then, around eight in the evening, just as many of the younger kids seemed to be getting very sleepy, with some of them even falling asleep at the enormous tables filled with candy and food, it suddenly happened. The party was over. The battle had arrived.
*
The party stopped so smoothly, and the stopping was so normal, that it almost felt anticlimactic somehow, which was perfectly fine with me. For the kids’ sake, as well as everyone else’s, I’d been praying it would be as smooth and anticlimactic as possible.
One of Reed’s men, who was the father of one of the little girls at the party, entered the vast main tent, smiling in a way that radiated perfect calm, and clanged a large serving fork against a platter a few times to get the attention of the several hundred people present. Once all eyes were on him, he picked up a microphone that Polly, Anna, and I had used to lead the kids in songs that day, and he spoke in a voi
ce just as calm as his expression. “I hope everyone has had a fun time at our start-of-summer party, but now it’s time for all kids to go home to sleep. And remember, kids, if we all go home nicely and calmly, we get to have another summer party even bigger than this one next year. Shifter dads, go ahead and do a sweep of the other tents and all surrounding areas to make sure we round up all kids. All parents, don’t leave until you have your kids in hand. Moms, as previously discussed, shifter dads will ride with you in your vehicles and see you all safely into your homes. Thanks for your cooperation, everyone!”
And just like that, the mass evacuation began, just as smoothly and calmly as Reed had planned. Exhausted kids grabbed their decorated paper sacks that they’d used to collect candy and little prizes from various game stations around the tent, and slightly-anxious-looking-yet-still-calm moms grabbed their kids’ hands. The shifter dads that had been present at the party began ushering the women and kids outside into the dark night, which was softly lit by the moon and hundreds of torches and lanterns.
Marie and about a dozen other women who’d been on food detail began following after everyone else, but halfway to the tent exit, Marie backtracked over to where I stood and pulled me into a hug.
“Be brave and strong and amazing, Samantha, which is to say, just be you.”
I hugged her back, saying I was going to try my best to do what she’d said. If she could feel that I’d begun trembling with pent-up nerves and anxiety just slightly, she didn’t say anything.
Once she’d left the tent, I found myself all alone, listening to the sound of dozens and dozens of trucks and cars starting at the edge of the field, near a little paved lane that led directly into town. Reminding myself that I’d specifically asked, or maybe even more like begged, to be in this situation, I took deep, steadying breaths until hearing the last of the vehicles drive off. After that, it was all just complete silence, deafening, eerie, nerve-wracking silence.
