Unknown Touch

by Gina Marie Long

  "Ha! Victory!" I barely got the words out of my mouth when the next thing I knew I was on my back again and he was on top. It was a blur – it happened so fast. I was stunned with his superhuman speed. I didn't even have a chance to realize what was happening to me until it was over. I think I blinked once.

  He grinned down at me. "No, baby, I think you're mistaken. The victory is mine."

  "Yeah, yeah. You win this time. Look, we better get going. It's close to midnight and Dominic will have a temper tantrum if I'm not back at the time I promised. I'm assuming you'll be a gentleman and walk me back to my cabin, right?"

  "Of course! You think I'd let you walk around in the dark with a crazed werewolf on the loose?" Daniel was totally serious with that statement.

  And that reminded me...I should have sought out Stephen's mind that evening. Maybe Dominic had already done so. To just lightly touch at Stephen to make sure he wasn't up to something terrible. Sometimes I could completely forget about the psychic stuff I was capable of doing. Daniel and I could have attempted this together. I told him my thoughts on this and he said he would at least do a perimeter check on the resort before going to bed. He would explain what he meant by that after he dropped me off at the cabin.

  We headed back to the main office first where I had placed all my birthday gifts for safekeeping. Daniel helped me carry some of the items. I again thanked him for the beautiful necklace and let him know how much it meant to me. He walked me to the cabin, gave me a long kiss and hug, and handed me the gifts he had helped carry.

  We were still ahead of the midnight deadline I had promised Dominic by about ten minutes. Daniel explained he was going to do a quick patrol of the resort's perimeter. He would use his senses to try to detect anything out of the ordinary, which meant Stephen. Daniel told me to stay on the safety of the lighted porch but to watch him as he walked off the edge of the sidewalk onto the grass and out of any direct lighting. I about melted with his next action. He was only twenty feet away and started to strip off all of his clothes. He was somewhat in the shadows, standing next to a tree, but the moon was bright enough to make him quite visible to my eyes.

  In the next instant, he had transformed into that silky, black, majestic werewolf. It was incredible. He took a few steps in my direction. I laid my gifts down and walked to the very corner of the porch. He requested that I not leave the porch area, and so I sat down on the porch step. Daniel accepted my invitation as I reached my hands out to him as I would a dog. He padded over to me and placed his head on my lap, looking up into my eyes. I ran my hand over his head and down the length of his back. I rubbed behind his ears, and his eyes went half closed. I knew he enjoyed what I was doing. I gave him a quick, playful kiss on his nose and the top of his head. He rubbed his head one last time against my leg, and off he trotted into the woods. How absolutely cool.

  I knew I had to get inside before Dominic came storming out to look for me. Sure enough, by the time I made it into my room, he was standing in my door frame. He was wide awake and waiting up for me. I tried to keep the conversation light, as I was tired and it was now midnight. He finally walked away and went to bed, wishing me happy birthday one last time. And what a birthday it was!

  * * * *

  The next morning, Zac and Tessa dressed the part of hunters, and drove over to Simon and Stephen's general area. Since the two locations were not that far apart, they would keep surveillance on both throughout the day. Daniel's sister, Rebecca, and brother, Isaac, came by to visit and check on any progress or developments with Stephen. Between Daniel, Dominic and me, we were able to bring them up to speed on Stephen's situation.

  Rebecca reinforced what she had told us a few days earlier. At least two people would have to be in agreement that Stephen had totally turned evil before disposing of him. She didn't want one person to just carelessly make a snap decision and take it upon himself to kill him. I specifically told her that Stephen was definitely aggressive, wild, out of control, but not necessarily evil. He had a chance to kill me and chose not to. And when Cassius and Daniel fought, Stephen held back and did not join in the fight. We think he knew that we weren't going to take any dirt from him, especially after the earlier incident when Zac shot him in the shoulder. Daniel felt that if he was in the vicinity of Stephen, close enough to read him, then he needed to be one of the two people to determine Stephen's fate.

  Rebecca seemed relieved to hear all of this. We weren't making it sound like we had to hunt and kill Stephen. There was a good chance he could be saved. Daniel informed Isaac to be on alert if we called for his help. In fact, Eli had recommended that strategically, within a day, we should seek out Stephen, capture him if need be, and have an intervention with him. Isaac reminded us, not that we needed to be reminded, that Stephen wasn't going to be too thrilled about our hunting him.

  Between the psychic capabilities of myself and Dominic, and the power and brute strength of Daniel and Isaac combined, we had a fair chance of making this work. We had to try to save Stephen from the dark side. If he chose that path, it would ultimately lead to his death. And if he had turned evil, how many violent crimes would he commit in the interim before we could capture and kill him? Of course, it hadn't come to that yet. He hadn't gone on a killing spree. Another reason we had to intervene was for the sake of keeping the existence of werewolves a secret from society. Stephen and Cassius had drawn too much attention to this area with their antics. They had already risked their exposure too frequently.

  The group meeting, minus Zac and Tessa, started to fizzle. Rebecca and Abigail wandered off together, whispering back and forth in some deep conversation. I happened to sense from Abigail feelings of weariness, sadness and fear. It never occurred to me to try reading her mind. There was never a need for it. She suddenly saw me staring at her, gave me a big smile, and then she and Rebecca disappeared around the corner. I thought of dropping into one of their minds to see what was up, but Isaac distracted me as he started talking.

  "Hey, I heard you turned 21! Happy belated birthday, Kara! Sorry I missed it, but my brother didn't bother to inform me until today."

  I gushed, "Thanks, Isaac. Did you hear what everyone gave me for presents? I'm still freaking out from it all. And look what Daniel gave me!" I held up the necklace that I wore so proudly.

  "Wow!" Isaac was stunned. "That looks very nice." He looked at Daniel, punched him playfully on the shoulder, and winked at him. I couldn't help myself, but I touched at Isaac's mind, without giving myself away. Isaac was not suppressing himself or trying to keep anyone out of his mind, so he was like an open book for me to read. I still wanted to keep my presence hidden, so I stayed on the outer edges of his mind, only picking up some emotions and stray thoughts. Isaac was worried about Daniel's affection for me. He was more concerned about what the future held for us since I was human. But, he was happy that Daniel was happy and not lonely anymore. Isaac liked me. It pleased me tremendously to have his support. He thought of me as a brave and good person. He would not stand in the way of what we chose to do. Whatever that might be.

  I had to watch myself, because I could feel tears of joy wanting to make their appearance. Isaac looked at me with all seriousness and said, "Daniel really cares for you, Kara. I'm assuming you already know that. Back to the subject of your presents...what's with the Dodge Challenger out in the garage? I can't believe that belongs to you!"

  I didn't want him to leave out or to not acknowledge the other fabulous gifts I had received, so I added, "I know! Isn't it awesome! Plus, I got clothes, boots, a leather jacket, a computer, and a fancy meal! Everyone went completely overboard."

  "Geez, now I feel bad for not getting you anything," Isaac actually looked a bit embarrassed and awkward with that realization.

  Daniel asked Isaac if he could hang around another hour or two. He wanted to review some paperwork for investments and other financial items that I didn't understand, with Isaac and Rebecca. Daniel politely asked me if I would be all right on my own for the r
est of the morning. I frowned at him and explained I could easily come up with something to do for a few hours. I didn't need to be entertained or guarded every second of the day.

  I pulled him aside, as I hadn't had a chance to talk to him privately since the previous night. I didn't encounter him in my dreams either, probably because of my pure exhaustion and the fact we had already spent so much time together. I asked him if he had discovered anything during his nightly patrol of the property in his wolf shape. Daniel shrugged his shoulders and relayed that everything was secure. Nothing unusual.

  I whispered, "I loved your moonlight show. No complaints on my end. Quite revealing. Daniel, you are so handsome even as a wolf. I'd like to say cute, but you might take offense to that word. It's so magical running my hands through your fur. I guess after you finished patrolling, you came back to that same spot, transformed, and put your clothes back on. Too bad I missed that part of the show."

  "No offense taken to the word cute. I like it. Keep in mind you were seeing the relaxed, happy, contented wolf. You witnessed a little of the big, bad, aggressive werewolf when I had that encounter with Stephen. Luckily, Zac took a shot at his shoulder to slow him down, which made him retreat. We didn't engage in an all-out wolf fight which is terrifying to watch. Kara, you really haven't seen the full-blown, ticked off, raging werewolf side of me. I hope you never have to see that side, either." Daniel kissed me at that point, gave me a protective hug, and sauntered off to where Isaac stood watching so intently. This time, Isaac winked at me and the two left the room.

  I looked around, found Dominic slouched down on the couch and walked over to him. He stood up as I approached, gently took my arm, and said, "Do you want to head back to our cabin?"

  I answered, "Okay. And I want to touch at Stephen's mind this morning if it's possible, too."

  We hurried over to the cabin as it was cold that morning. There was no dawdling around, no leisurely stroll. Dom and I sat on the couch and positioned ourselves to face each other. We held hands and immediately merged our minds to seek out Stephen. As usual, we wanted to sneak in as close as we could to accessing Stephen's mind without setting off his internal, instinctive alarms. I always hoped his mental block would be completely down, freely exposing his mind to allow me to enter. It wasn't. But, at least, I was picking up those images, emotions, flashes and a few words here and there.

  Stephen still seemed to be experiencing all of his normal negative, aggressive emotions. Gee, no surprise there. I sensed he kept returning to his pack, trying to stir them up. He was trying to cause an uprising against Daniel's pack. I saw the image of David. But there really was nothing new or anything that called for us to take action immediately. Dom and I silently, and carefully drifted away from Stephen's mind.

  We opened our eyes but he kept holding my hands. I responded, "Well, I feel better now that we checked in on Stephen. Tessa and Zac are out in the field, as they call it, and will let us know if they discover anything disturbing."

  Dom still hadn't let go of my hands. His face showed a look of concern. It almost resembled pain. I sensed many emotions projecting from him. Feelings of loss, loneliness, frustration, desperation, worry and love for me.

  It dawned on me that Dom had to know how deep things had gotten between Daniel and me. It was obvious. Everyone knew. We weren't hiding anything anymore. I think Dom kept hoping I would come to my senses (ha!) and would back away, maybe even fear Daniel for what he was, and not pursue that relationship. I already had a discussion with him before about Daniel, but he wasn't giving up. And since Dom and I just completed merging our minds to check on Stephen, he could easily have done a quick inventory of my thoughts, images, and intentions while he was linked with me. He would have discovered my true feelings for Daniel.

  Dom reached out to hug me. I felt myself crying as I hugged him back. I purposely opened my mind to him, to let him hear and read my thoughts, and I knew he would sense that was what I wanted him to do. It was too difficult to talk, to say the words out loud. We remained holding each other.

  I let my thoughts flow, Dom, I don't want to hurt you. I want you to remain my best friend forever. I know you desire more than that and I can't give you that type of relationship. I do love you, Dominic, with all my heart, but not in a romantic, boyfriend/girlfriend kind of way. Don't be mad at me or hate me.

  He pulled back from hugging me, and I had a strong premonition of what he would attempt next. First, he said, "Kara, I could never hate you. Please..."

  And, I let him kiss me, as it would give both of us proof of my feelings towards him in comparison to Daniel. When Daniel kissed me, I knew exactly what those feelings and emotions meant to me. Now, I decided to test my reaction by letting Dom kiss me. To give him a chance. Or, at least, let him feel he tried his best to win me over.

  Dominic was ever so tender, almost shaking as he held my face with his hands and leaned in for the kiss. He wasn't sure if I was going to slap him off or not, so he hesitated somewhat, being extra cautious and gentle. When he realized I hadn't pushed him away or punched him, he continued and let himself loosen up so he could give it his best shot. He went in for a deep kiss. I allowed it.

  Dom was a good kisser, I'd have to admit that, but after ten seconds...I pulled away. I couldn't look him in the eyes, as I knew the pain I would see there. I didn't need to say a word. He could and would read my mind, sense my emotions. I did care for and love Dominic, but it didn't feel right to kiss Dominic in that way.

  My heart belonged to Daniel.

  Chapter 19

  Restless

  I couldn't keep sitting there facing Dominic, with my eyes cast downward, without eventually having to look up at him. I had tears flowing down my cheeks. His finger captured each tear and lovingly brushed them away as his own tears spilled forth. I was the cause of his sadness, his feelings of being rejected. Seeing him cry in front of me was almost too much for me to take. I got up, went to the bathroom and quickly returned with tissues for both of us. I plunked down on the couch again.

  Dom questioned me, "Kara, I will always be there for you. Make sure you never forget that. But, what do you plan to do now? How many times do I have to remind you that Daniel is a werewolf? You are human. Any relationship would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to maintain long-term,. Unless you're thinking of converting...?" The look of absolute fear shown on Dom's face.

  "I don't know what to think or what I want anymore," I replied. "My brain is bouncing all over the place. I have two wonderful men that have been vying for my love, and in the meantime, we have to capture an enraged werewolf and get him in control of his emotions. Gee, I can't imagine why I would feel stressed out and confused."

  "But," he prompted, "you wouldn't actually have Daniel turn you into a werewolf, would you?"

  I looked around the room nervously. As I stared off into space, I answered Dominic as honestly as I could, "I'm not sure. My answer is not 'no' and it is not 'yes'."

  "Do you understand how your life would be completely changed? And how your body and mind would react differently to your emotions? How you would have to control yourself so you didn't turn out like Stephen or Cassius? And dealing with transforming...and what about your family? What would you tell them? You must think this through. I don't want you to change. I want you to be just the way you are," Dominic pleaded. He had brought up many issues that I had been tossing around in my head.

  We sat in silence for a few minutes. I searched the table and couch, trying to locate the remote control for the TV. Dom saw I was getting frustrated and he simply used his telekinetic skills to turn the TV on. I smiled and burst out laughing, which broke the silence, the tension in the room.

  I shoved at him and said, "That's pretty convenient, isn't it? Now, can you turn up the volume?"

  I leaned up against him as we watched the ending of a movie. I did not want him to misread my actions as romantic, and very lightly reminded him of that. The closeness, our physical contact that we shared
right then, was not meant to be taken as anything more than comfort, security and friendship. I felt both of us needed that bonding.

  By noon, we walked back to the dining room in the main building. Abigail was very routine and organized so we knew she'd have lunch ready by a certain time. Zac and Tessa had packed lunches, so they weren't around. Isaac and Rebecca had just left after their meeting with Daniel, having discussed financial matters. Lunch was simple and light, which I preferred. I commented that since it was a little warmer today, I wanted to walk down to the boat dock. Daniel said he had one short phone call to make and he'd be ready to walk down there with me.

  "I want to go alone. I need time to think without someone constantly being around me. I'm feeling overwhelmed and want to regain my focus and get some things straightened out in my head. Is that okay with everyone?" I said it more as a statement, because I was determined to have some time to myself. Everyone was staring at me in wonderment.

  Daniel didn't like the idea of me walking around by myself. No one did, but no one argued with me.

  I headed outside, wearing my new leather jacket Abigail had given me. The sun was out, no breeze, not a cloud in the sky, about 60 degrees. For December weather, I could not complain. Even though it was a beautiful day, I knew I wouldn't stay out long. I was just not a winter person, and always got cold so fast. I took my time as I strolled down the winding sidewalk. I observed the beauty of the resort and glanced up at the huge, towering trees over my head. Eventually, the sidewalk joined the pathway that led down to the lake. With no difficulty at all, I followed the path until it popped out by the boat dock. I stepped up on it, went to the side facing the lake, and leaned onto the wooden railing. I looked out across the water and let my mind wander.