I ran down the steps, eventually reaching a ladder. Going down proved painful as my arm movements disturbed my shoulder, in turn pulling at my wound. But, I fought through the pain, knowing that if luck was on my side, I would be sipping Piña Coladas in no time.
With this thought in mind, I dropped down, doing everything in my power to keep from screaming out.
And then… I waited.
Epilogue
ALICIA
I couldn’t believe we were actually on the plane, headed for the Maldives.
We were free. Nothing would be able to tear us apart now.
Hector squeezed my hand, looking over at me. “She’s completely knocked out,” He whispered, referring to his baby sister who was using his other arm as a pillow.
“She must be exhausted, poor thing. I hope we didn’t make the wrong decision by taking her with us. I mean, I couldn’t bring a lot of her medication…” I was afraid I was putting the little girl at risk.
“I think she’ll be okay,” He said, gently brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face. “It’s not like they don’t have doctors there.”
I nodded, trying to calm myself down.
“I just can’t believe you were crazy enough to do this for me. Did I really make you fall for me this hard?” He teased.
“Oh, you don’t even know the half of it…” I whispered softly, knowing I had quite the surprise for him in my bag. I would just have to find the perfect time to tell him…
“Oh?” His eyebrow twitched with curiosity. “We have a long flight ahead of us, you have more than enough time to tell me all the reasons why you love me so much.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t make me regret my decision.”
He chuckled. “Regret your decision? How could you ever regret being with me?”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you can be really annoying?”
“All the time. I actually have a few trophies for it back home.”
I laughed. “You’re such a goofball.”
“Yeah, well, I’m your goofball now. You’re stuck with me.”
“And I wouldn’t want it any other way…” I whispered as I leaned over and kissed his lips ever so gently.
***
Eventually, we made it to our new home. After years of being quite the penny-pincher, I had saved just enough money to buy a small, oceanside house, plus a little leftover to survive for a couple of months. Hopefully, we would have jobs by then.
I carried Caroline to her new room, laying her down on the bed. It was sparse and bleak at the moment, but hopefully, with a little creativity, we’d be able to transform it into the perfect bedroom.
The little girl curled up, hugging the only stuffed animal she had brought on the trip: her stuffed lion. I had tried to wash out the bloodstains, but they were persistent. Eventually, Caroline told me it gave the lion character so I didn’t push the issue.
“You think she’ll like it here?”
“Are you kidding? She has always dreamed of living by the ocean,” Hector smiled, watching his sister with a look of adoration. “I’m so glad she’s feeling better. Maybe she can actually go to school now and enjoy her life to the fullest.”
“Let’s hope so,” I said, taking his hand. “Come on, let’s let her sleep. There’s something I need to tell you anyway…” I bit my lip, trying to rehearse the conversation in my head.
“I don’t know if I like the sound of that,” Hector responded dramatically. “You didn’t spring me out of the States, just to give me your own form of punishment, did you? I do have one request… if you’re going to be some kind of sexy jailor… tell me you’re going to wear latex and not leather.”
“Shut up!” I hit him on the arm. “I didn’t bring you here to keep you as my sex-slave.”
“You didn’t?” He frowned. “I’m kind of disappointed now.”
I ignored his comment and dragged him through the house until we were on the balcony. The sun was setting, reflecting off the water in such a way, it looked like it was a sea of diamonds.
“It’s beautiful here,” Hector said, pushing me against the railing until our hips were locked together. “But we really need to get a hammock for those two palm trees over there so I can lay with you and watch the stars at night,” he took on a dreamy voice. I swear, I kept falling for him harder and harder with each minute I spent with him.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” I smiled.
He returned the smile, letting his hands rest on my hips as he edged a little closer until our faces were only inches apart. “So, what did you want to tell me that you had to bring me to a balcony?”
“Well… I want to show you…”
“Oh?”
With my heart pounding, I reached into my bag.
I pulled out the pregnancy test I had taken a few days ago when I had missed my period for the second month in a row. Carefully, I placed it in Hector’s hand.
His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as he looked down at it. “What’s this?” he asked, turning it over, revealing the two lines that indicated it was positive. “Wait… is this what I think it is?” He looked at it real close, reading the small symbol key. “Wait…” He looked at me, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. “You’re pregnant?” he spat.
I nodded. “I am…” I wasn’t sure how to react. Was he happy? Angry? Disappointed?
Suddenly, he picked me up into his arms and spun me around, a look of pure joy on his face. We kept spinning and spinning until I got so dizzy I thought I was going to be sick.
We fell back into a nearby chair.
Hector gasped.
“Are you okay?”
“Am I okay?” he asked, one eye open and the other closed. “I’m ecstatic, Alicia. I get to have a baby with the love of my life. What could be better than that?” Before I could say anything, he kissed me with such passion that it made my head spin yet again.
In that moment, I knew there was nothing that could stand between us and our happy little family to be.
THE END
Alpha’s Rebellion
Chapter 1: Meeting
Calvin was more of a bar visitor than a cafe patron. Yet, here he was.
He got a lot of hits from gratuitously flirty women on that dating app he downloaded. Lots of women cooing over what a 'hunk'and how 'tall, dark and handsome' he was. All that slobbering flattery made him roll his eyes and delete the messages without a second thought.
So it was a refreshing relief when someone actually commented on his interests and attempted to engage in a real conversation. At first, things started off very light, with mindless chatter about video games and TV show plots. Eventually, however, the two began checking in with each other every day, then even couple of time per day. They became aware of each other's schedules, and talk of meeting up arose. Plans were set in place, and now Calvin was waiting, feeling like he towered over the other cafe patrons just by sitting alone at one of the tables.
The cafe's door chimes rang and a woman with carefully curled brown hair and striking blue eyes entered. Calvin checked his phone and he saw the woman dig around in her purse and do the same. They looked up at each other at the same time; the woman gave a small smile and a wave before approaching. "Wolfman? Is that you?"
Hearing part of his hokey internet alias said aloud made Calvin jump a bit. "If you're Lexistential, then yeah, I'm Wolfman." He was ever so slightly jealous of this woman's username. It was clever. It beat Hot_GurlXOXO92 any day.
"Yup, that's me." The woman's smile relaxed, and she took the seat in front of him. "So... Calvin, right?"
"Yeah. And you're Alexis. Right?"
"That's right." Alexis extended her hand for a handshake and Calvin completed the gesture. It was a little odd somehow, but then again, if she tried to hug him right off the bat, that wouldn't be much better. "Glad you showed up," she added. "I've already had one guy stand me up and other guy be really creepy
and weird. No thank you."
"Sounds like a couple of losers," Calvin scoffed. "Well, I'm here, and I'm not going to creep on you, so I guess I'm off to a good start."
"Yeah! Third time really is a charm, I guess." Alexis looked over her shoulder at the counter. "I'm going to go get a coffee, if that's all right. Do you want anything?"
"Nah. I already ate." After he said that, however, Calvin realized that it might seem like he was rebuffing her. It wouldn't hurt for him to be a bit more receptive. "Actually, I'll take a coffee too. A small Americano, black."
"Black like your hair, or your soul?" Alexis giggled mischievously.
Calvin gave a short, sharp chuckle in return. "Figure it out. Either way, nothing in my coffee."
A few idle moments passed as Alexis ordered the drinks, eventually returning with them. "A hot drink for the hot stuff," she said as she passed Calvin his drink. "And an iced mocha for me."
Calvin arched an eyebrow. "Someone brought their wordplay A-game today."
"Yeah, well, I try. It makes things more fun." Alexis took a long sip out of her mocha. "So, what have you been up to since we last talked? I didn't hear from you yesterday."
"Sorry about that," Calvin said. "Had some family things to take care of." He'd learned long ago that 'family' generally went over better than 'clan' when it came to excuses. It was all a matter of playing it cool, making everything sound as normal as possible.
"I get it," Alexis nodded. "My parents live out of town, but they keep telling me I should come by and visit again soon. Not to sound like a bratty teen or anything, but parents can be a real nag, right?"
Calvin nodded in turn. He knew nagging and nosy parental figures quite well. "Yeah. Glad I've finally got a place of my own." He took a brief sip of his coffee; it was still a bit too hot. "Can I ask why you came here? Why you're not living near your parents, I mean."
Alexis shrugged. "I didn't see a need to. I went to college in this town and I liked it, so I wanted to stay here."
"Fair enough." Calvin felt a mild hesitation, but he figured this was normal. His people had to stay fairly close to their families, and so someone far away from their family seemed a bit unusual (not that he particularly minded; it was how he was raised, after all).
"My turn," Alexis said. "Do you consider yourself the strong silent type? That's the vibe I'm getting from you."
The hesitation disappeared. Calvin let a small smile slip. "Yeah, I've been told that before."
"Well, then, what vibe do you get from me?" Alexis rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward, exaggerating her interest.
Calvin pursed his lips as he thought it over. "I didn't really think too much about that. I guess, if I had to sum you up... you're very aware. You've got a way of looking and acting perfectly natural and somehow you've got a handle on every situation. You're clearly not some dumb floozy. You pay attention to the world around you."
"Huh." Alexis tapped her chin as she thought about Calvin's assessment. "Well, thanks for absolving me from floozy-dom. But I like the rest of that. It's a bit of an ego stroke to hear that it looks like you've got a handle on everything."
"No, really. All the other girls on that app talked about superficial stupid things, or they just wanted to cyber. You actually read my profile." Now Calvin took another sip of his coffee and found it had cooled down to a tolerable temperature. "That gives you points in my book."
"You're kind of weird, you know that? Not bad-weird. Interesting-weird." Alexis took another drink of her mocha, her eyes staying on Calvin the whole time.
"Care to explain?"
"Let me put it this way." Alexis fiddled with a stray straw wrapper as she spoke, "You've got this whole strong and silent, tall dark and handsome, vaguely bad boy look to you. But you've got more heart that the average hunk. Believe me, I got my share of losers who wanted to cyber with me. You wanted to talk about interests, events, real things. Are you sure you're not secretly an intellectual?"
That pulled a quick laugh out of Calvin. "Nah. I was never much of a book guy. More of a jock type. But what's so wrong about wanting to actually know a person?"
"I don't know. Ask the people who want a quick bang for their dating app buck." Alexis was twisting the wrapper into strange contortions. "I, for one, actually enjoy being able to hold a discussion with someone before we heat things up."
"So in-depth discussions are your foreplay. Gotcha." Calvin's smirk could be seen around the coffee cup as he took another drink.
"Oh, come on! You know what I mean. Please tell me you know what I mean." When Calvin nodded, Alexis gave an exaggerated sigh of relief. "You know, what's a guy like you even doing on a dating app? You seem like you'd be pretty successful at the whole dating game."
Calvin shrugged. "Sometimes you want something different, and sometimes you want someone to come to you instead. Thought I'd step outside the box and see who was interested. What harm can having more friends do?"
"That's an interesting question." Alexis was now tearing the wrapper up into bits. "If you're the type who prefers a few close friends, having a lot of friends can be a hassle. But if you can handle having a full posse, more power to you."
"I'm the 'few close friends' type," Calvin said. "But I can manage people. My family is pretty big, so I have to keep my bearings at gatherings. I've got the kids, the cousins, the weird uncles, the nosy grandmothers, you name it."
"Wow. Sounds complicated." Alexis's grin took on a twist of mischief. "Maybe some day I could meet your family, huh?"
Calvin's mental panic button went off. There was going to be a lot to explain if he couldn't dodge a meeting between his potential mates and his family. This was something he had not thought about recently, and he was glad that Alexis reminded him. "Yeah. Maybe."
Alexis waved Calvin off dismissively. "Don't worry, I'm not asking to get married on the first date. I'm just saying, if things go well, maybe we can learn that little extra bit about each other, you know?"
"Yeah. My family is kind of weird. But I'm sure I'd be fine with meeting yours." Calvin scratched the back of his head. Maybe some people might have considered asking about family visits right away a minus, but he was willing to let the matter slide. Alexis had reminded him of some important preparations he'd have to make, after all.
"Is that so?" Alexis finally released the last shreds of the straw wrapper. "All right, moment of truth. Be honest with me. Based off how things are going now, would you consider a second date?"
"I wasn't expecting that question, but I guess it's a fair one." Calvin paused as he thought, though he didn't need to think for long. Alexis was a clever girl, very astute. He wouldn't mind bantering with her again. "Yes, I would."
"Good to hear. You know what? I would too. You're a cool guy, Cal." Alexis clasped her hands, looking satisfied. "It really was nice to meet you."
"Glad to hear it."
From there, the conversation tapered down until Calvin had to get ready for a meeting. The two left on amicable terms and agreed to set up the next date a bit later. Still, when he got home, his text messages were the last thing on his mind. A familiar, yet undefinable scent hung heavy in the air and if he listened closely, he could swear he heard howling.
The werewolf clans were gathering.
Chapter 2: Werewolf Business
The shift from two legs to four was always a bit disorienting. Something about being up high on two legs, then being close to the ground on four messed with people's heads, turning around their sense of direction and making them aware of instincts that laid dormant in their human lives.
Sometimes, Calvin wished he didn't have to go through the whole werewolf shifter rigmarole of finding a discreet place to shift, then avoiding being spotted by humans on the way out of town. Nonetheless, annoying as it was, it was a part of life. Every werewolf had to do it. There was a certain solidarity in that secret struggle; good places to transform were generally a common topic of convers
ation when werewolves gathered. Calvin had his place, a little alley on the outskirts of town that no one seemed to particularly care about, and it suited him just fine. He was pretty sure that at least two other werewolves used his spot when he wasn't around and at times, he considered leaving an indicator for them to buzz off, but ultimately it wasn't something that he was terribly worried about.
As Calvin sprinted towards the forests, he felt the hard cement of the city transition into soft, springy earth. It was a pleasant run, the wind coursing through his wolf fur and ruffling it just so. He arrived at his clan's meeting space and sat down for a rest, idly grooming some dirt out of his paws while he waited for others to arrive. The pack leader and his mate were both there, of course, though they seemed to be occupied with a discussion as other wolves filed in. The leader was a grizzled old werewolf named Soren, a fellow with scars so deep that he was missing patches of fur in places. Calvin liked him well enough; he didn't talk much, but he stepped up when it counted and that was enough.
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