Raven's Rose (Charity Series Book 3) (10 page)

             
“Sure. They can come here, but I have a favor in return.”

             
“Of course. If I can help, I will.”

             
“Well, I’m having some trouble with my daughter.”

             
“You mean Hope? The last time I saw her she was an angel, with long flowing hair and a lovely smile.”

             
He huffed. “Well, she’s all grown up now, or so she thinks. The long flowing hair is gone, replaced with choppy blue hair—all to piss me off. Anyway, I’ve tried everything. She won’t listen to me; she’s hanging with a dangerous crowd, and the harder I become, the worse she gets. I need to send her away for a while. I think the space will do us all good. Honestly, I want to get her away from these kids she hanging with. I need someone I can trust. So, what do you think? Can you take her?”

             
Levi strolled over to the window and peered out as he scratched his head. “Honestly, Sergeant, I can’t take her. As you know, Charity is about to give birth to triplets any minute now. The pack is really driving me crazy right now. I really—” He paused as he peered through the window and spotted Wesley kneeling down by Rose and offering her a bottle of water. His face was filled with such compassion. It was something Levi had never seen in Wesley before.

             
“Levi? Levi, are you still there?”

             
“Uh, yeah, Sergeant, I’m still here.” A smile slowly crept across his face as he continued to observe Wesley. “Actually, if you truly trust me, I have the perfect pack in mind to take your daughter in.”

   
                       Epilogue/Bonus Scene

It was early spring and the evening was still cold as Charity and the rest of the pack gathered in the clearing. They were celebrating all the many blessing
s they had been given over the last year—as well as their last week before Raven and Rose left them to join the Mason pack in Alaska. No one knew for how long, but the idea was killing Charity. She loved them both very much. Rose had become like a sister to her. She wouldn’t get to see the baby when it was born, and she would miss them very much. But tonight was about dwelling on their blessings.

Everyone was there, huddled near the bonfire, paired off and snuggling on blankets. Charity peered up into her magnificent husband’s purple eyes and marveled at how everything had turned out better than she could’ve asked for. 

              She glanced around at the happy couples and felt her eyes well with tears. Josh and Ashley were kissing. Raven and Rose were staring lovingly into each other’s eyes while he absentmindedly rubbed her still flat belly and the miracle that lie beneath. Hector and Tosha cuddled with their son Jeremy, and Doc and her mom were wrapped together, giggling softly to some whispered joke. Eli was the only one with a sour look on his face. She thought it irritated him that he was the only one sitting alone with no one cuddled against him. But something told her it wouldn’t be long before things changed for him. Joseph and Irena, like her, were glancing around at their family in contentment, while holding hands. Irena whispered her name. Their eyes caught and they shared a brief smile, basking in the happiness they both felt.

             
Charity sighed, a happy sigh, and Levi leaned down to her ear and kissed it as he reached his big hands around her. He pulled her tighter against his chest while allowing his hands to rest on her big belly, with their three boys finally lying quietly within.

             
The guys were all reminiscing when Raven interrupted them and announced a short speech. He shared about how lonely life had been before Charity tugged the sweet girl to her side and introduced her to him. He proclaimed his love for Rose and teared up when thanking the pack for accepting him and rescuing him and Rose. He then turned his attention to Eli and gave a heartfelt thank you to him for being his best friend. Every one of us was in tears, even Eli, though he tried to hide it.

Eli would miss his sister very much, along with his parents. His parents were accompanying Raven and Rose to Alaska, but he would also miss Raven, his now dear and devoted friend. Raven didn’t hold any ill will against Eli for killing Griffin. He said he understood his anger. Griffin had kidnapped his sister and tied her to a tree to watch the torturing death of her husband. Unfortunately, he deserved what he got. Raven understood this. After declaring again his undying love for Rose, or Sophia as he called her, and again spilling his gratitude to all of them for all they had done for him, he murmured something so low they almost didn’t catch it. Fortunately, they all have exceptional hearing. It sounded something like a whine, and it went something like this, “I really miss my beautiful car.”

              Then they all burst into laughter, breaking up the seriousness of the current mood.

             
Suddenly, Charity stopped short; something was wrong. “Hey, Mr. Blurry and Furry,” she said turning to Levi, whose laughter was now rocking both of their bodies in an irritating way. “Will you stop that laughing? You spilt your drink all over the blanket! And all over me as well,” she suddenly noticed.

             
Levi stopped dead in mid laughter. “Charity, I didn’t spill anything. I don’t even have a drink.”

             
She huffed but then noticed his hands were empty. “Well then, if you didn’t, then who—” she squealed.

Levi jumped up so fast she almost fell backwards. “Holy hailstorm! Charity’s having the babies! Right now!”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, she laughed. Levi never said things like that. That was her thing. She guessed she was truly rubbing off on him. Although she wasn’t so sure that was a good thing.

And then he was gone—so fast into the forest that she didn’t even see him move.

“Hey!” she yelled out to him. Then he was back again.

“Sorry, kitten. I guess I forgot you.” He smiled sheepishly, pulling her up gently into his arms.

Goof ball,
she thought
.

She glanced around at the others, their mouths hanging open in shock, and stared into dead silence for a few split seconds.
Did they think this was a joke?
That was generally Eli’s department. Then everyone burst into action—and chaos.

The next few minutes were total pandemonium as the pack scurried from their seats and jumped around, bumping into each other, unsure of what to do. They finally bolted through the forest after Levi and Charity on their way to the Drake clinic, located inside the facility. She would’ve laughed if she hadn’t felt so sick. Levi was running with such speed that she knew at any minute she might vomit. Not to mention that her contractions were coming closer and closer. The way the pack was acting you’d think that this was the first set of triplets this crazy pack had ever had…..oh wait—it was.

Next up is Eli’s Destiny. As the title suggests, this story focuses around Levi’s twin, Eli. I tried third person narrative but in the end decided to go back to my favorite first person narrative. This seems to suit me better. I switched POV periodically throughout the story. I hope you enjoy it.

Eli’s Destiny

          
                               
Chapter One

                                        Shae             

I bounded through the forest as fast as my shaky legs would take me, praying to God that I wouldn’t smash headfirst into any trees. But that would be far better than what my imagination believed was about to happen to me. Suddenly, I heard it again, a howl that told my brain I was possibly about to be eaten! It was closer this time and my legs grew a mind of their own as they ran faster than they ever had before, carrying me through the forest in record speed.

I should’ve known not to trust Karen and Darcy when they convinced me that this was a good idea. Coming to the clearing on the night of a full moon is nothing short of stupid no matter how you sell it, and they sold it to me pretty good. Everybody knows odd things go on in these woods during a full moon. They told me that Sara, my best friend, had been tricked and left here without a cell phone or any way to get home. They convinced me to come with them to get her, only to find that it was I who was tricked and left behind. They’ve always had it in for me, but this time they’d gone too far. How dare they leave me out here to die in the forest, eaten by some wild animal, or worse.

             
I couldn’t die here—not like this. I at least needed an opportunity to get back at them.

             
I stumbled and tripped, landing on my knees with a thud. I didn’t stay down for long, as I quickly jumped back to my feet and began running again. The howling came again, but this time from more than one source. My heart was beating so fast I thought at any minute it would burst in my chest and that would be the end for me. I didn’t even know where I was going. All I knew is that if I stopped, whatever it was that was behind me would catch me, and that was sure to be a bad thing.

             
Suddenly, everything quieted, and I froze, pressing my back against a tree and listening. My breathing was coming too fast, but there was nothing I could do to slow it. Then I saw a blurred motion. Something dark approached and stood directly in front of me. I could feel its presence, just inches from my face. I cringed, terrified to look up, but more afraid not to. There was no mistaking its breath on my face. Thoughts were rushing through my mind too fast and none of them made much sense. I slowly looked up and gasped. Staring back at me was a pair of glowing, yellow eyes and gnarly sharp teeth. At that moment I couldn’t breathe, and then my mind went completely blank and my world went totally dark.

         
                                    * * * * * *

I woke up gasping and instantly recognized my mom who seemed frazzled and alarmed. She was by my side, shaking me vigorously.

              “Shae, honey! Are you all right? I heard you screaming in your sleep.” Her voice was shaky and rough.

             
I put my hand over my chest as if the gesture would somehow slow my heart rate. “Umm—I-I think I’m okay,” I said, my throat dry and scratchy. I swallowed hard and glanced up at my mom. Her eyes were wide and her hair was in big curlers, all but one.
Strange, but I suddenly found myself wondering what happened to the other one
. “It must’ve been a nightmare. I’ll be fine, Mom. You can go back to bed now. I’m sorry I woke you.”

             
She sighed in relief. “Don’t be silly dear. I’m just glad you’re okay. Now try to go back to sleep.” She leaned down and kissed my forehead, something she often did to comfort me, then left my room, shutting the door behind her.

             
I somehow managed to go back to sleep after only a few short minutes.

The next morning, I slowly got ready for school, dragging my feet the whole way. No matter what I did, I couldn’t shake the nightmare. It seemed so real, and yet so ridiculous at the same time.

On the way to school, I stopped to get gas in my beat-up blue Jeep. It was old, but it was also free. My dad bought it from a friend of his and spent some money getting it in running shape. The blue paint job was scratched and chipping, but it was mine and that was all I cared about. As I stood there pumping, I suddenly had a strange feeling come over me; like the sensation of being watched. I did a quick glance around but there was no one in sight.
Strange
. Unfortunately, that was not the last time I had the eerie feeling. It came and went for the rest of the day; walking down the hallway after first period, during lunch, and then again as I walked to my Jeep after school.

I wish I could say that the feeling was from guys checking me out as I walked from class to class, but sadly that was not the case, but I knew the reason for that. I’m not really bad to look at. I keep my blonde hair clean but simple. I’m a little thin, but I would say I have a cute figure. My complexion is good and the advantage of that is that I don’t really need to wear a lot of makeup. But everyone has their flaws, some more prominent than others. Mine is the fact that my eyes are two totally different colors, a condition known as heterochromia. One eye is green and the other is brown. Sometimes when people are born with this it’s not very noticeable, not so with me. Because my green eye is sea green and my brown eye is almost black, it makes for a strange effect. When I was little I use to think it was cool, but all that changed when I started kindergarten. That’s when the teasing began, and it’s never really let up though I’m almost eighteen. Personally, I think it creeps the guys out, like I have a disease or something. My mom said that if it bothers me that much I should consider getting colored contacts to even them out. But I say, ‘What’s the point in that’. Everyone in this crazy town knows the truth. What good would it really do? Besides, this is who I was born to be. I shouldn’t have to change it just because others react to it. It’s really their problem, not mine, right?  I don’t care to be Mrs. Popularity anyway. I have my friends and that’s good enough for me—for now anyway.

That night I sighed in relief and stretched, happy to be finally finished with my homework. I’d been working on it for two straight hours, and my back was killing me. I stood, went to my dresser, pulled out my nightshirt, and stripped my clothes off. That’s when I had the eerie feeling again. I quickly pulled on my nightshirt and went to my window and peered out. My room backs to the forest, as do most houses in my neighborhood, so I’ve never had to worry about being careful when dressing before. But now, for the first time, it felt different. As I stared out passed the black trees I thought I caught a glimpse of movement in the dark. I gasped and ran out of my room and down the stairs to be in the comfort of my parent’s presence. I knew it was ridiculous to act so childish, but the last time I saw that movement was in my nightmare, and the image came flooding back. I purposefully stayed with my parents for the next few hours until bedtime arrived.

As I lay there in bed that evening, tossing and turning, my mind wouldn’t shut off. I started thinking about the nightmare and what I was doing right before I went to sleep. Had I read something scary? Then it dawned on me—I didn’t remember anything about that evening. I didn’t remember coming home from school, or eating supper, or even getting into bed at all. My heart started racing and I felt nauseous. Had it not been a nightmare after all? Had it really happened? And if it had, then what did it mean? Was someone out to get me? No, that was ridiculous. After all, someone had brought me home. The question plaguing my mind was who or what?

My eyes briefly drifted shut. I snapped them open and felt my vision blur. The air in my room suddenly felt thick and musky.

Outside of my window, I heard the howl, the same howl from the night of the full moon. Without further thought, I rose from my bed, exited my room, and walked quietly out the front door, heading straight toward the backyard. It wasn’t something I could control. I tried to stop my feet, but something compelled me forward. My breathing escalated the closer I got to the dark forest. I was terrified and yet I couldn’t seem to stop. Every step brought me closer and closer to whatever was waiting for me.

As I stepped into the forest, something snagged on my nightshirt, tearing it. I barely noticed as I continued to walk. Suddenly, I heard a small scream, and realized it was coming from my own lips as I was swept up and carried off through the trees.

What had a hold of me I couldn’t comprehend. It was a beast of some kind, hairy and big—very big. Was I his dinner? Please, God—no!

   
                                Chapter Tw0                                                                           

  
                                        Shae

My mom rushed in. “Shae! Shae, honey, are you all right?” Her voice was full of alarm.

             
I bolted up in bed at the sound of her voice, gasping for breath. “Yes, Mom. I’m okay. Just another nightmare. I’m sorry.”

             
“Another nightmare?” she asked, leaning over me and pushing my sweaty hair from my forehead. “Is there something that’s bothering you? You’ve never had a problem with nightmares before.”

             
I sighed and glanced at the window, half expecting to see a large, hairy monster peering in at me. Thank goodness all I saw was the dark night sky. “I know,” I said with a huff as I fixed my gaze back on my mom. “Nothing’s bothering me, Mom. At least nothing that I’m aware of. I’m sorry I woke you. Please go back to bed. I’ll be fine, really.”

             
She hesitated for a moment, and she tucked a strand of hair behind my ear before she finally left my room, shutting the door behind her.

             
I laid back down and pulled the covers up to my chin. I sighed and tried to let my mind go blank, but it was no use. I kept seeing the images from the dream like a movie playing in my head. At this rate I’d never get back to sleep.

             
The next thing I was aware of was the morning sun shining brightly through my bedroom window.

             
I sat up and stretched. Suddenly, my alarm clock sounded, sending me jumping out of my skin. I sighed in relief then laughed. “Settle down, Shae, for cryin’ out loud. It’s just your stupid alarm clock telling you to get up and get ready for another lousy day at school.”

             
I threw my covers off and set my feet on the cold, wooden floor. I stood and realized my body felt stiff and sore, but from what I couldn’t recall. I took a step and stumbled over my tennis shoe.

             
“Stupid converse,” I mumbled, kicking it across the room.

             
Then something caught my full attention. I peered down and gasped as I reached for the torn fabric. The bottom of my nightshirt was ripped and hanging in a ribbon past my knees.

             
Panic rushed into my very veins. I turned around and my eyes scanned my room—nothing—no one! I ran to my window and peered out into the forest—nothing! What was I going to do? Was I going crazy? No—I wasn’t. I was out in that forest last night and something had a hold of me, but what? And why can’t I remember? I sat down on my bed, exasperated, and cried.

                                  
Chapter Three

Shae

I walked through my day in a daze. Not even the chiding from Karen and Darcy had the power to get a rise out of me. I wasn’t sure what was happening anymore. Maybe I was going crazy. Before I knew what I was doing, I found myself walking through the schoolyard and straight toward the nearby forest. It was as if my feet had a mind of their own, just like in my dream. I held my breath as I stepped in, expecting some kind of catastrophe. Well, I was still alive. Nothing jumped out at me at least. I stepped a little further. Still nothing happened. I sighed in relief. “See, Shae, you’re not crazy after all,” I said to myself.

              “Are you lost?”

             
I jumped and spun around to face the voice. There, before me, stood a boy. A beautiful boy! Was this another dream?

             
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you,” the beautiful boy assured me.

             
“Are you real?” I asked like an idiot.

             
“Pardon me?” he replied, raising his eyebrows in question.

             
I shook my head and tried again. “I mean, are-are you really here?”

             
He laughed softly.

             
I stepped closer and peered up into his eyes, and then cautiously reached out and touched my hand to his chest, snatching it back again. He was real all right—very real and very firm. His hair was in disarray and dark. But his eyes were piercing right through me. And they were the loveliest shade of blue—almost purple. He was magnificent!

             
“What are you doing out here?” I asked, collecting myself.