Savage (Daughters of the Jaguar) (30 page)

Wyanet got up from the chair and reached out her hand towards me. I took it and let her pull me up feeling heavy at heart. Then she put her strong arm around my shoulder and hugged me. "You will always be part of her life, Howahkan. You're part of her secret. Of our secret. That means you're family now."

Chapter 36

Ten hours passed before I was allowed to see Aiyana. In the morning, when they had assured us that she was now stable but needed rest, I drove home to sleep just for a couple of hours before I returned. Luckily, Heather had left to go shopping with Danielle and Regina. When I got back to the house I saw she had left me a note thanking me for last night and hoping to see me later in the evening when she returned from visiting Jim at the hospital. I knew she would be angry at me for seeing the family and Aiyana again, but I didn't want to think about it now. I had to deal with that later. I didn't love Heather the way I loved Aiyana, but I did like her and care for her. And I definitely didn't want to hurt her.

Aiyana's mother stayed at the hospital along with the rest of the family, and when I got back she told me that the doctors were very impressed with Aiyana's condition. She was incredibly strong, they had said. And even though she had lost a lot of blood on the riverbank she didn't even need a blood transfusion. It was very strange, they said, but it was like her blood was stronger and had more endurance than usual. It seemed to be capable of restoring itself. They asked her mother if they could run more tests on her blood, but she refused.

The police were also waiting for me at the hospital when I got back and started to question me about the accident as soon as I arrived. They knew I had been involved in a hunting accident earlier that same night with a jaguar and now they wanted to know how I knew the girl was out there. Had I put her there? Did I do this to her somehow? Me and my friend? Did we hurt her? It was definitely hard for me to explain my way out of it, and I am certain I came out looking horrible. I am certain they thought I had shot Aiyana and somehow mistreated her and left her naked and then regretted it all and called for an ambulance. That was sort of the truth, or at least some of it. But how on earth was I supposed to explain that?

Luckily, Wyanet came to my rescue telling them she had no plans to press charges, that there hadn't been a crime committed. It was only a hunting accident, she said. The police left the hospital very dissatisfied, looking suspiciously at me.

"You'd better stay out of trouble from now on," Aiyana's grandmother said smiling and  patting my shoulder.

"Ready to see her?" Wyanet asked and took my hand in hers.

When I went to see her, Aiyana was sitting up looking far better than I could ever have expected given her situation. It was hard to believe that a few hours earlier I had found her lifeless on the riverbank in the swamps, pale and with no pulse. I couldn't help but smile when I saw her. Her beauty was intimidating, causing me to blush and feel grateful just to be allowed to be in her presence. She was out of this world. Literally. Her eyes glowed in the dark hospital room and now I recognized them as the glowing beams in the darkness of the swamps. I felt such a deep love for her as I saw her sitting there on the bed smiling back at me. She reached out her hand towards me and I grabbed it.

"Sweet, Christian."

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the way she sang my name.

"My mother told me that you found me. Thank you," she said.

I looked into those pearly light, brown eyes that looked almost yellow. "I was also the one who put you there. I was the one who shot you," I said, feeling tears press behind my eyes.

She laughed. How I loved that enchanting laughter. How I had longed to hear it again. It was so clear, so full of life and joy. And it brought so much relief to my guilt-filled heart. "It doesn't matter, Christian. It was my own fault for not telling you. How could you have known? You were only protecting your friend."

"And you were only protecting yourself. He was going to kill you had you not attacked."

"Well, it wasn't exactly with my good will. You see, I am not always in control of myself or my reactions when I am under transformation, when I become that ... animal ... Don't look at me like that. I am perfectly comfortable calling myself that. It is exactly what I am. An animal. I have instincts and I react according to them. If I feel threatened I will attack. Most of the time I am not even aware of what I am doing. It feels a lot like when you're dreaming. You see things vaguely and most of the times only fractions of it, and then you want to do one thing, but your body does something else. And when you wake up you hardly remember any of it."

"So you didn't know that I was visiting you out there?" I asked and sat at the edge of the bed.

"I had feeling that you did, because I kept remembering seeing your face out there. But it is really blurry and often I get it mixed up with things that have happened during the day. I did hear you think a lot about the jaguar, though, but couldn't quite figure out if it was just because you had met it that night when you were attacked."

"That was the first time we met. Do you remember any of that?"

"When I pulled you out of the water? Yes, I remember everything from that night. That was the first time I was fully aware of what was going on under my transformation. I remember hearing voices telling me that someone was in danger and then I remember being drawn in your direction. I remember an urgent feeling inside that I had to go there, go to that area. That it was somehow destined. Then I remember hearing your thoughts. You were scared. Your soul was screaming out to me. As I ran towards the sound of your thoughts, I saw you. You were floating above everything else and staring down at the people. You were with someone, as far as I remember. It is hard to make sense of all these pictures in my head. But I remember seeing you with a woman. Is that true?"

I swallowed hard. "My mother," I said.

"Of course. But there were many others. A lot of people surrounding you. They looked like they knew you. Then I saw the alligators fighting over your body and the instinct took over. I killed them instantaneously. The best kill I ever made. And then I grabbed onto you and pulled you out." Aiyana shook her head. "That is all I remember. That and then looking into your eyes. I remember feeling like we were somehow strangely connected. Like we knew each other. Like we were somehow destined to know one another." She shook her head again in disbelief. "I'm rambling. It is weird. I know it."

I smiled warmly. "It's not weird. Not weird at all. I have tried to forget what happened to me that night, because I didn't want it to be true. I didn't want to believe in it. But I know I do. How can I refuse to believe when it is all so vivid in my mind? I can't explain it. I just do. I was there. I went to see my mother and I returned. And hearing you tell me that you saw it, too ..." I fought the tears. "It just makes me so incredibly ... happy."

She caressed my cheek gently. "I know, Christian. I know. I should have told you this sooner. It's just ... I can't tell people, normally. But you kind of figured it out on your own." She looked away for a second, and when her eyes returned to look at me, she had tears filling her eyes. "I have never shared this secret with anyone. It feels so good to be able to tell someone, to have someone to talk to about it."

She let her hand touch my face and hair. Then she frowned. "You cut your hair. Why did you cut your hair? I loved the long curly hair."

I laughed. "I am going to be a doctor, right? Doctors don't have long curly hair."

"Then you should be the first one!" she said and laughed. "Dr. Christian," she said, teasing. "Calling Dr. Christian. Paging Dr. Christian."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny."

Then we both broke into a wonderful liberating laughter. It was so good to finally be with her again; I never wanted this moment to end. I wanted to stay with her and hold her hand and listen to her wonderful laughter. I took it all in during those few minutes we had together. Her eyes, her laughter, her smile. I tried to remember every little detail about her so I could always keep it with me when we were apart.

Unfortunately, it had to end. Aiyana had to sleep and a nurse told me to please leave the room. I went home and had dinner at the house. Heather was already there eating as I entered the kitchen.

"Where have you been all day?" she asked before she leaned over and kissed me on my lips. "I really enjoyed last night," she whispered in my ear.

"Not here," I whispered back.

"Is something wrong?"

"No ... No ... nothing is wrong. I just don't want your parents to catch us. That's all. Your dad specifically asked me to keep my hands off you."

"Oh. Okay," she said, and went back to eating the chicken soup Maria had prepared. "We'll just have to change his opinion about that won't we?" She paused. "So where have you been? I went to see Jim. He told me you hadn’t been there yet. Don't you think you ought to?"

I took my plate and put it in the microwave. "I will. I will go out there tomorrow," I said avoiding her question.

Chapter 37

That night, Heather snuck into my room. She woke me up by kissing me gently and creeping under the covers. I felt her warm naked body pressed against mine and was aroused immediately. Her hair came down like waves in front of my face as she climbed onto me. Her green eyes stared at me like a cat in the night as she rode me. I closed mine and thought of Aiyana. Beautiful Aiyana with the dark skin and eyes that could glow in the dark. Aiyana the beast, the predator, the savage.

Heather stayed in my bed and we slept all curled up like that until the next morning, when there was a sudden knock on my door. I hardly had time to wake up and answer before Mrs. Kirk entered the room. She stared at Heather naked in my bed, her face stiff. Then she turned and left, closing the door gently behind her.

"Shit." Heather exclaimed and jumped out of the bed holding the cover in front of her naked body like she was afraid I was going to see something I hadn't already seen. "Shit. Shit. Shit. My dad is going to kill me. And you too."

"Are you sure she will tell him?" I asked.

Heather snorted. "Of course she will. He will be furious and threaten to cut me off, maybe even from his will. And you? He'll throw your ass back where you came from. Be sure of that." Then she stormed out of the room.

I got dressed and drove off to school. I was late for my classes and that was only the beginning of a really bad day that felt like it progressed in slow-motion. Nothing I did worked out for me. I couldn't get anything right all day, and later in the afternoon I concluded that I should have stayed in bed. I would have been better off. I couldn't concentrate about anything. All I could think of was Aiyana. I couldn't wait for classes to be over so I could go and visit her in the hospital and sit on her bed and laugh. I didn't care about much else right now. Except for Jim. I had to go and see him, too.

I went to see Jim first. I bought flowers for him and for Aiyana and left her bouquet in the car while I visited him. That way I didn't need to explain myself, which would be a hard thing to do considering the story that had been revealed to me. I really didn't need him to tell Heather that I had seen Aiyana again. It would only complicate things. Even if I made up some story that Aiyana was in an accident or something I am not sure Heather would condone me seeing her.

Jim was sitting in a wheelchair by the window as I entered his room. He was staring at the sky outside with his head slightly bowed.

"Hey man," I said waving with the flowers.

Jim lifted his head and turned to look at me. Then he nodded without smiling. "Just give them to the nurse, she knows what to do with them," he said with a heavy voice. "Or leave them on the table and she will get them when she comes in. It doesn't matter. They'll die anyway after a couple of days."

I put them gently on the table and walked closer to Jim. "So how are you?" I asked carefully.

Jim laughed bitterly. "How do you think I am?" He lifted his arms in resignation. "They took my leg. That beast took my leg."

I nodded compassionately. It was hard to find words in a situation like this. I, for one, was horrible at it and often chose to keep quiet instead of saying something that would only make it worse.

"They're giving me a new one," Jim continued.

"A new leg?"

"No, a new kidney. What do you think I am talking about, you twit," he said mockingly. "Of course it's a new leg."

"That's great news."

"Yeah. I guess. I'll be able to walk at least and not end up chained to this thing the rest of my life like my dad. But I will be one of those stiff-legged people who can't run. You know what I mean. Those people that have been at war. I'll be like those only without that heroic stuff. And I'll get a handicap sign for my car. That's something, huh? I can park wherever I want."

"I guess you're right to feel bitter," I said.