Clinton bared his throat again, but Scott put a staying hand on the pup’s arm.
“No,” Scott said.
The pup blinked in confusion.
“I won’t kill you, but you have to swear allegiance to me and join my pack. I’m a little worried about how the other wolves will handle your unique form, but we’ll deal with that next week. It’s no reason to kill you.”
Clinton’s eyes widened in disbelief. He looked down at his furry hands and Scott could almost see him wondering how he would survive in and out of wolf form. They were valid concerns, but they would find a way. Scott met and held Clinton’s eyes, willing him to believe that they would get through this together.
Finally, Clinton nodded.
Scott strode back inside, clutching the envelope of notes. He left it to Evan to invite the pup inside, since it was his house. He heard Evan lead Clinton into the kitchen, undoubtedly to make sure he got the first square meal he’d had in days, but Scott went into the den, ostensibly to study the notes.
He did read the notes, but he was barely aware of what he saw there. He spent most of the time staring at the vial of salvation for Madison, wondering if she would still have him afterward.
* * *
Madison felt as if she’d swallowed razors, but honestly, that was an improvement over how she’d felt the past few weeks. Most of it had passed in blissful unconsciousness, but during her brief moments of lucidity she had known pain unlike anything she had ever felt before. For a while she thought for sure she would die. There was a moment or two when maybe she’d hoped for it, but they had passed. And now she was nearly through it.
But what would she become next week when the moon was once again full? She hadn’t let herself think too much about that when she’d half-hoped Scott would bite her. Choose her. Find her worthy. Now that he had, she wondered how she would handle the wolf form. Not everyone made it through the first transition, and some of those who did became uncontrollable monsters.
She was deep in thought when a soft knock sounded on the bedroom door, followed by Evan poking his head in. When he saw her sitting up he asked if she was ready to see Scott. Her heart jumped at the idea, but she nodded.
Scott sauntered in, looking more dangerous than usual in his own dark clothes and outside of a prison. He wore a strange expression on his face, grim and yet not grim at the same time. He looked like a man fighting an internal battle.
“Clinton stopped by,” Scott said.
“What?” Madison nearly rose from the bed, even though she wasn’t sure her legs would support her weight, but Scott rushed across the room and held her down.
“He’s fine. He didn’t betray you, Madison. He thought he was helping you. Dr. Akin used him and tossed him away.”
“Is he okay?” Madison asked.
Scott nodded. “He came here prepared to die for you.”
“What do you mean?” Madison asked.
Scott opened his hand and showed her a vial of some kind of potion. “He knew his life was forfeit if he came to me, but he came anyway. To give you this.”
“What is it?” Madison lifted it carefully out of his hands and stared at it in confusion.
“A cure.”
“A cure for what?”
“You don’t have to become a werewolf if you drink that.”
Madison felt her heart constrict, but whether in fear or joy she couldn’t say. “I-that’s impossible.”
“I thought so too. Apparently Dr. Akin was learning some things in that lab of his.”
“And killing innocent people to do it!” Madison thrust the vial back at him. “No, I won’t do it. I won’t condone what he did.”
“Madison, not taking this won’t bring back the dead.”
“I know but-” But what? She did not want to be a werewolf. Yet there was something she did not want even more. “I don’t want to lose you.”
The grim expression fell from his face, replaced by one of hope. “Lose me? Why would you lose me?”
“Your pack always comes first. How can I... How can we...?”
“My pack is and always will be very important to me.” Scott placed the vial back in her hand and gently closed her fingers around it. “And you will be a part of that pack whether you become a werewolf or not. If you’ll have me, that is.”
Madison stared at him, hardly daring to hope. She felt dampness on her cheeks, but she had no idea what it was doing there. This wasn’t a moment for tears.
Scott lifted a hand to gently brush the dampness away. “Will you have me?”
“Yes. Oh yes! I love you.”
“I’ve been waiting forever to hear that.” He swept her up in an almost crushing embrace, but Madison didn’t mind. She was finally where she belonged. “I love you, Madison. I’m never letting you go.”
Epilogue
MADISON SAT AT HER PIANO STARING at her blackened right hand, willing it to dance across the keys as it once had. The fingers were stiff, and spasms of pain attacked at random intervals, usually resulting in some discordant noise. She would never be able to play as she had once done; one day, she might even accept that fact. For now, the truth still brought tears to her eyes.
The alarm clock in her bedroom began to sound its morning call; Madison had forgotten to turn it off when she had given up her quest for sleep. Quickly she did so, then retreated to her music room where the first light of morning cast a glow upon the crimson shades.
Scott and Clinton would return from their monthly hunt soon. She hadn’t seen them in days, something Scott had insisted upon since he still believed his wolf would seek any opportunity it could to bite her. To claim her for its pack. She wasn’t sure how that distance would continue to work after they got married, and especially after they had kids, but she accepted it for now.
Madison stared at the ruby and diamond engagement ring sparkling on her finger. Since rubies weren’t in fad he had gone to a lot of trouble to get the unique setting specially made, insisting that no mere diamond would properly capture her spirit. The result was breathtaking, even if she’d had to wait several weeks, wondering why it was taking him so long to officially propose.
Madison glanced at the clock sitting atop her piano, trying to calculate how much longer it would take for the wolves in her life to return. She wanted to see Scott desperately, but it was Clinton who kept her up at night now. The pack wasn’t fully accepting him with his human hands and semi-human mind. It had him feeling depressed, something Madison understood all-too well.
She had a surprise for him, if her ruined hand would cooperate. She flexed it a few times to warm it up, wincing when she felt a flash of pain radiating from her wrist to her fingertips.
The front door opened and Scott’s voice filled the front room. “She’s probably in the music room,” he was saying to a companion.
“You know me too well,” Madison called.
The next second, Scott entered her domain, followed closely by Clinton, whose eyes were cast ominously downward.
“I missed you.” Scott crossed the room and proceeded to prove his point by kissing her thoroughly. Madison melted against him for a moment, then turned her head away before he could get too carried away in front of her brother.
“How did the hunt go?” Madison asked. She signed the words as she spoke, not because Clinton’s hearing had been affected but because having someone to practice with helped him to learn. Both siblings were catching on quickly. Scott wasn’t doing too badly either.
Clinton shook his head in response.
“Clinton spent most of the night at the edge of the forest near the cars.” Scott’s hands flew as he spoke.
“I see,” Madison said. She didn’t sign. Instead, she turned back to her piano and placed her arched fingers atop the keys. “I finished this song months ago, but I couldn’t find the right words until recently. I knew it should be about hope and love, but, well, I needed inspiration.”
Clinton stared meaningfully at her hand, but she ignored him.
> “I’d love to hear it,” Scott said and signed.
“It’s for us,” Madison said. “For all of us. I think we could all use a bit of hope.”
Taking a deep breath, Madison began the sweet introduction to the song, wincing when her right hand refused to cooperate and she hit a wrong note. But she didn’t let it stop her. Moving past the moment as if it hadn’t happened, she joined her voice to the melody. She sang about courage. She sang about inner-strength. She sang about struggles that life never stopped bringing.
Her right hand seized at that moment, as if her singing of struggles had frozen it in place. Closing her eyes, she lifted her fingers from the keys and sang the refrain a cappella, letting her hands sign the words along. “How can you know love until you learn to love yourself?”
When she finished, Scott and Clinton both had tears in their eyes. Clinton hugged her and even managed a small smile. Then he turned to Scott and began to sign. “I had an idea while I was alone last night. I thought, since I don’t lose my mind at the full moon, that maybe I could help keep the pack’s human family members safe instead of roaming the woods. Most werewolf attacks are against a wolf’s own family. It’s why you were so afraid of getting close to my sister.”
Scott nodded, slowly. “I think that’s a perfect idea. I’ll need to train you to fight, but you seem to be a quick study.”
Clinton nodded, not in the least bit modest. “I’m tired,” he signed before heading to Madison’s guest bedroom, which he had been using since his return.
“I can’t wait until we have our own house,” Scott said in a low voice.
“Me too.” They would both have to wait, though. Madison had insisted upon a proper Catholic wedding officiated by Father Owen, who insisted that they observe a proper six-month engagement period.
“Father Owen is enjoying torturing me, isn’t he?” Scott asked.
“No, he’s just looking out for my best interests.”
“I thought that was my job.”
“It is. But isn’t it nice to know there are others who can step in when you’re unavailable?”
Scott’s eyes darkened, but he nodded. “Yes, it is.”
And that’s when it suddenly hit Madison, with something like the force of a freight train: She wasn’t alone anymore. She had a priest, a best friend, two brothers, and best of all, a man who would love her to his dying breath. There would be children too, after they married. Her heart was suddenly so full she thought it would burst.
“What are you thinking?” Scott asked.
“Just how very, very lucky I am. God, I love you.”
Scott didn’t answer in words; he picked her up in his arms as if she weighed no more than a feather and carried her to her bedroom where he proceeded to show her just how much they belonged together.
The End
About the author
Christine Amsden has been writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that affects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.
Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children, Drake and Celeste.
http://www.christineamsden.com/
Cassie Scot Mystery series
Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective Book 1
Secrets and Lies Book 2
Mind Games Book 3
Stolen Dreams Book 4
Other novels by Christine
Madison’s Song
The Immortality Virus (SF suspense)
Touch of Fate (paranormal suspense)
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Madison's Song Page 28
