Charity Rising (Charity Series Book 2) (23 page)

on the scene.

“Levi!” he began yel ing, his Italian accent thick. “You must talk with this wife of yours! First she terrorizes my kitchen day after day! Now she

demands more from me! Is it not enough that I cook meal after delicious meal for a hungry pack of wolves, take criticism from a meddling, old

woman, now I must grind up a special meal for some mangy mutt with no teeth! Mamma Mia!”

Levi stifled a laugh, but col ected himself quickly. I started to stand until Levi’s hand on my arm held me in place. The room became total y

quiet as Levi stood. “Barney! That’s enough,” he said firmly. “My wife has a big heart. She doesn’t give it easily, but once she does she is total y devoted. You would be wise to remember that. This dog has won her heart, and I wil not break it by sending the dog away. You’l do whatever she

asks even if it means the rest of us starve. Do you understand?”

Barney’s anger left him at once. Sighing, he responded, “Yes, of course. Forgive me.” He bowed and took his leave.

My eyes fil ed with tears as I pul ed Levi down beside me. “That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for me.”

“Even better than your new car?”

I thought for a minute. “That’s the second sweetest thing you’ve ever done for me.”

He laughed softly. “I just want you to be happy—and nothing else.”

Minutes later, Fang had a nice bowl of chopped up steak sitting before him, and I was total y happy.

Three years had passed since our babies were born, and I was pul ing into Levi’s driveway with a heavy heart. The boys were overly excited

to see their daddy, and spending the fol owing week with him would spoil them almost beyond repair. They especial y looked forward to seeing their

Grandpa and Grandma Drake.

I got out of the car and the boys spil ed out and ran into the arms of their doting father.

He approached me, hands in his pockets, face glum. “Hey, Charity. How are you?”

I somehow managed to hold my head high, though al I real y wanted to do was puke. “I’m fine, Levi. How are you? And how’s Lana? I hope

she’s taking good care of you.” The sarcasm spil ed from my lips with little effort.

“Let’s not do this—not now.”

“Fine. Boys come give Mommy a hug.”

I kept a straight face in front of the boys, but once my car rounded the corner, leaving my heart behind, the tears spil ed out and down my

face, soaking my lap. I cried al the way back to the house, al of my built up composure gone, and when I got in I went straight upstairs to my

bedroom and took a bath.

When I emerged, I jumped at the sight of Wesley sitting on my bed, holding mine and Levi’s wedding photograph in his hand.

“How did you get in here?” I asked, appal ed.

“Wel , I was thinking. Now that you and Levi are getting a divorce, maybe you and I can be together now.”

I figured I wouldn’t be able to outrun him, but I decided to try anyway. I bounded out the door and toward the staircase. And just as he

reached for me, I lost my footing and went tumbling down the stairs, landing hard on the floor below. I couldn’t move, and every bone in my body was screaming in pain. I knew I was fatal y injured. I was only slightly aware of Wesley running out the door and slamming it shut behind him.

I’m not sure how long I lay there, perhaps hours even.

Someone opened the door and rushed to me.

“Charity!”

I recognized the lovely voice instantly. My heart knew it better than its own rhythm. He picked me up, carried me upstairs, and laid me gently

on the bed. He began to take off his shirt. He was going to shift so he could heal me.

“No,” I whispered.

“Charity, now is not the time to be stubborn.”

“No, Levi. My body’s broken—like my heart. Let me die in peace. Go.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

I peered into his eyes as tears fil ed my own. “There’s only one way I’l let you save me. If you’l tel me you love me and come back to me.”

He lowered his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I love Lana now.” He got up and glanced down at me, his eyes sad. “Goodbye, kitten.”

I cried as I watched him walk away, and as I closed my eyes for the very last time, my mind kept repeating the words, “I love Lana now”.

I jolted awake, sitting straight up in bed and immediately glanced over at Levi sleeping soundly. I became angry, and in a split second was

straddling him and repeatedly pounding my fist into his chest.

His eyes snapped open. “Charity! What are you doing?!” He threw his hands up in defense as one of my fists swiped past his nose, barely

missing it.

“You lousy dog!! Who’s Lana, huh?! You no good, cheating snake!!”

“Stop hitting me! What are you talking about?!”

He grabbed my hands and rol ed me over on my back, pul ing my hands over my head and holding them there.

He continued to hold me down while I struggled, kicking and fighting until al my strength was final y exhausted. Then I began to cry.

“Charity, baby, what is it?” His hold loosened as he pul ed me into his arms.

“I-I had the worst nightmare ever! You cheated on me with a woman named Lana, and we were getting a divorce. You didn’t love me

anymore, and then I died.”

“Baby that wil never happen. Look at me.” He took my face gently in his hands. “It’s not possible for me to cheat on you. Even if it weren’t

instil ed in me from childhood to be faithful I stil never could.” He smiled. “Besides, I’ve got al I can handle with you.”

“So maybe you get tired of dealing with me.”

“Never. That’s one of my biggest joys in life. I’l never let you go. Never—do you hear me?”

I sniffed. “Do you promise?”

He rubbed the tears from my face. “I promise.”

I smiled and hugged him fiercely. “I love you, Levi.”

“
Ll mio cuore è per voi
,” he whispered in my ear.

“What does that mean?”

“My heart is for you.”

I was opening my mouth to respond when his lips came down on mine, silencing me. He made love to me with extra care, making his point

that I was the only one who could possess his heart. We cradled like spoons for the rest of the night, but stil I couldn’t claim sleep.

The next morning I was walking down the hal way toward the dining hal , yawning and eager for that first cup of coffee, when I spotted a little

girl, maybe seven or eight, sitting on the floor crying.

“Hey there. What’s wrong?” I knelt down to her and took her little hand in mine.

“Helen and Frieda were making fun of my red hair. They always make fun of me.”

That made me mad. “What’s your name?”

“Lily.”

“Lily, are you Connie and Ted’s daughter?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Wel , Lily, come with me. I want to show you something.”

She took my hand and let me lead her into my old bedroom. I sat her up on my stool and turned her toward the mirror. “Now, I want you to

take a good look at this beautiful girl in the mirror. She has the biggest, brown eyes I’ve ever seen. When I look into those eyes I feel like al is right with the world. And she has the most beautiful, thick, wavy hair that most girls wish they had. It’s the color of a flame, which can put you in a trance when you stare at it. I’l also let you in on a little secret.”

Her eyes grew wide.

“Mr. Eli has just added a streak of red to his hair, and I do believe it’s the exact same color of flame as yours.”

“Real y?”

“Absolutely.”

“Wel , if this color is good enough for Mr. Eli then it’s good enough for me. I can’t wait to tel Helen and Frieda. Oh, and I have to tel Tigger.

Thanks, Mrs. Charity,” she said, giving me a peck on the cheek.

“You’re welcome, angel.”

Then she bounded out of the room, her face beaming.

I peered into the mirror and watched as Levi’s image became bigger and bigger behind me until he was pressed against my back, both

hands on my shoulders. “Hearing that made me fal in love with you al over again,” he said, planting a gentle kiss to my left ear.

“Oh stop. The babies made me do it.”

“That’s not true. I remember when you did something similar at school for Missy. It seems you have a weak spot for the underdog.”

“Yeah—I guess I do. Can I tel you something?”

“Of course,” he responded, turning me to face him, and taking my hands in his.

“Wel , I’ve never told anybody this out of respect for Missy, but that next day after I intervened for her, she stuck a note in my locker. It said that she had actual y been contemplating suicide, but just knowing that someone cared about her enough to stick up for her was al it took to change her mind. Of course, we didn’t know at the time that she would become a natural part of our group of friends.”

“Something tel s me you knew.”

“Let’s talk about something else. How’s your training with Eli coming along?”

“Wel , he’s definitely improving. With a little more practice he should be able to hold his own and not get kil ed too easily.”

I laughed. “You sound disappointed.”

“Nah, he’s a good kid. I like him, and I’m happy he’s here. His other family should be arriving soon. I hear his sister isn’t too happy about

coming. She was seeing someone and her parents made her break it off because of the move.”

“Wow, that rots. But she’l meet some guys at West Windrake High this year.”

“Yeah, I think that’s what Eli’s worried about. He seems pretty protective of her. He said he didn’t like this guy she was seeing. He wasn’t

sure but he thought that maybe he was mistreating her.”

“Wel , I’m surprised he didn’t do something about it.”

“He did, but it only pushed her further toward the guy, so he backed off.”

“I guess that’s al he could do, but when she gets here she’l be far away from his influence. I guess living in a pack wil be a new experience

for them, huh?”

“Yes, but in truth, every werewolf has a desire to belong to a pack. It’s what keeps our family unit strong. Sometimes there are loners,

typical y someone who was wounded in a pack, but those are rare. Most families, even if they live separate, stil stay connected to a pack. Eli’s

family didn’t have that advantage because they were afraid someone would find out about Eli. Now they have a chance to belong not only to a pack,

but the pack they were born into, no matter how crazy we are.”

“I second that. It’s nice to see things work out. Now, we just have to find him and Raven mates.”

“Oh no you don’t. You have enough on your plate than to play matchmaker.”

“I didn’t say I was gonna play matchmaker, but if someone comes to mind who would make a suitable mate I’m not gonna ignore it.”

He shook his head. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“Never.”

Instantly I had a thought. Lily mentioned something about Tigger. I wondered if—

In the next few minutes, I was approaching Connie and Ted’s living quarters. The door was slightly ajar so I peeked inside. I didn’t see

anyone so I went in a little further. I heard a voice coming from another room. I stepped up to the door and pressed my ear against it. It was Lily’s room. I could hear her gleeful voice as she talked to someone in great animation. She was retel ing the story of me finding her in the hal and tel ing her about the red streak in Eli’s hair. I listened closer, using my new super hearing, and heard a purr fol owed by a happy meow. I stifled a laugh. Lily had managed to get her hands on my cat and was hiding her out and in her bedroom. The scene warmed my heart. Now she had a friend who

would never make fun of her. Someone who would accept her no matter what color her hair was. I didn’t have the heart to break up their new

friendship. A smile covered my face as I quietly made my exit.

I wasn’t, however, as happy about my newest pet recruit, as Fang bolted past me in the hal way, almost knocking me down. I had barely

recovered my footing when Grandmammy came plowing past, fist in the air, yel ing words of warning, which I won’t repeat, and moving quite fast for

an old broad with hip issues.

“What’s going on?” I yel ed, only to be ignored.
No surprise there
. So I started off after them. Al I could make out now was Grandmammy

yel ing, “Bring ‘em back!” repeatedly.

“You bring ‘em back! You hear me, you ol’ varmint!”

“Grandmammy, what’s wrong?” I asked, final y catching up to her.

She stopped to catch her breath, putting both hands on her wobbly, old knees. “That dang mutt a yourn has gone off and stole my dentures!

Just crept in my room when I wassa lookin’ away and snatched ‘em right off my night stand!”

I began laughing so hard I had to bend over so I wouldn’t wet myself.

“What! You wanna give me lip, young lady?”

I instantly straightened up. “No ma’am,” I managed to say through restrained laughter. “I’l help you get them back.”

“That’s what I’s thinkin’ too.”

We both took off back in the direction Fang had been heading, stopping at Hector and little Jeremy gathered in the hal way racing their

remote-control cars.

“Have you guys seen Fang?” I asked, breathless.

“Yeah,” Jeremy answered. “He just ran by here, chewing on something making a crunching noise.”

“Oh no! That stupid, dang dog’s eating my plastic teeth!”

“What?” Hector asked in alarm.

Before I could explain she started back down the hal after my dog.

Hector and Jeremy joined me as we raced after her.

By the time we final y caught up to my menacing mutt, sitting under a dining room table, chewing what was left of his prize, we had

accumulated about a dozen fol owers who were curious as to what had caused this current outrage. Sadly, again, it had something to do with

Grandmammy, but this time my dog was the instigator.

When we were final y able to pry his muzzle from her dentures, needless to say there wasn’t much left of them.