Protected by Her Wolf, page 14
“Deseres. Maybe she was trying to tell us something?”
I shake my head. “Looking back, those dreams didn’t feel like her. I have felt her magic. Its signature is vastly different than what it was in my dreams. I think.” I pause, chewing on my words. “This is going to sound crazy, but I think it was a premonition. Like my magic was emerging even before it was released. I never saw the faces of the bad guys either. It could have been that it wasn’t at its highest level of functionality, but all I saw was me dying without a man by my side. That man must have been you.”
“Well shit.”
“Yeah, it’s instances like this that my crazy sayings come in.”
“I see where the appeal comes from.”
I sigh. “We have got a lot to do before Friday. Let’s start by bringing in those boxes from the Jeep and work inside the house. This space is easy.” I turn to the door and stop. “I want to work out what we just discussed before telling Vivi.”
“Okay.” He takes my hand and leads me to the house. “If you think she needs to know.”
“You don’t think it’s important? What if Imeria’s mate is having the same dreams?”
Celly meets my gaze. “If you think it’s something that has to be said, then we can tell them. But the whole time I had those dreams, I never once told the Chieftain. I kept them to myself, for whatever reason I wasn’t willing to tell him about them. But it could also have been me putting them off as bad dreams.”
I think over his words for a few moments, closing and locking the door behind me. “I can understand that, but I think we need to think about the fact that we both had similar dreams and I could have died. Same with my sisters. Maybe Alex even had similar dreams. How will you know if you never bring it up?”
Celly exhales. “You’re right. We can tell them when we get back.”
26
MARCELLUS
“I think we need a bigger house,” I tell Elle, as we finish packing up the books. We already did the study, and decided we would stop after this room, eating pizza before tackling the monstrosity of the library she has.
Her answering giggle is music to my ears. “You think I have too much stuff?”
“I think that in order to keep you and Byron as comfortable as you were, we need to build onto my home.”
“Well, some of these books, those two boxes worth, belong to my mother.” She points at the two she labeled Mom.
Laughing, I carry the last box to the study. I’m bringing everything closer to the door as we finish a room so it’s easier to make sure we have everything in each room. At least, that’s how I like to do it. “What of the other ten boxes?”
“If I recall correctly, you did say you had more than enough room for us.”
I stack the box on top of the others and turn to see my mate smiling up at me. “Ah, yes. That was before I realized you had so much more than I have room for.”
“Celly,” she says. I relish the nickname she’s given me. “I will not need anything from the kitchen except Byron’s cups and my own collection of coffee cups. Everything else, my mother can have. I know she’ll need it, wherever she moves next. She’ll have her own bathroom things packed up and her bedroom items. We will have to figure out how to fit my stuff into your room, but I think what we can’t use, we can sell, or give away. Mom will need extra things in her home for when Byron goes to visit. And I'm sure she’s going to have her friends come up and visit. No need for a bigger home. Your home is fairly large. Besides, I’ve seen your office space, mine will fit within it perfectly.”
“Okay. If you say so.” I don’t believe it. I can’t see it fitting, but if she says she can, I’ll trust her judgement.
“I do. If, one day in the future, we find that we need extra space, I will be happy to have my sister design the addition.”
I smile at her. “Deal.” She kisses me. I pull her closer to me as she deepens the kiss.
“Let’s go clean up. I start work early tomorrow.”
I follow her to her room and into the bathroom. Taking a nice long shower, as I make love to her. Then, taking her to bed as I make love to her until she is fully sated. “I love you, my mate.”
“Mate.” She smiles. “I love you, too.”
The next morning, she goes to work, straight there and straight back, no stops without me. While she’s gone, I tackle our son’s room. He has a lot of toys. Transformers, Star Wars, Harry Potter, I really shouldn’t be surprised at that. He has loads of Legos, too. I pack up what I can, then go out for more boxes. We brought a bunch from Leadville, but not enough. While out, I rent the moving truck. We’re to pick it up tonight at five.
With, what I hope is more than enough boxes, the moving truck rented, and lunch in my belly, I head back to the house. I get through Byron’s room, and get the guest bathroom done before Elle comes home.
“Good evening, my love. How did today go?”
She sags in defeat. “It was harder than I thought. But Lex is going to take them on. The kids and parents seemed happy with him. They know I’m moving, but I told them if they ever want to trek the four hours to see me, I will gladly take them in.”
I pull out the Chinese I had delivered about thirty minutes ago and hand her the cartons. She smiles at me. “Thank you. I was contemplating picking something up on the way home, but I didn’t want to break your rules,” she says, with a hint of sarcasm. “Or get double the food if you’d already picked some up.”
I smile. “No rules are to be broken until we get back with the Clan.” She just shrugs.
“So, what have you done today?”
I tell her what I accomplished. She seems surprised that I was able to get both of those rooms done in just a few hours.
“Sweetie, I can handle this. I have more stamina than a human male. Let’s get the truck, then you can work on your mother’s room and bathroom. I will work on the family room. We will get your room last. Tomorrow, I’ll start loading up the truck.”
“I honestly don't know where I would be without you.”
“You wouldn’t be moving in December, that’s for sure.”
She winks. “That’s what you think.”
I growl. “Don’t poke the wolf.”
“Awe, but poking the wolf is so fun.”
I chuckle before cleaning up my food mess. “Come, let’s go get dirty.”
“Oh, that sounds fun.”
“Stop that. I can hardly control myself around you as it is. We have the rest of this house to pack up.”
She pouts at my words. “That doesn’t sound fun.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.” I wink. “But I’m happy to oblige your needs later.”
Sounding thoroughly put out, she says, “Fine. I guess I will take what I can get.”
“Devious, woman.”
Her answering smirk is all I get.
Thursday night comes and we have everything packed up but the mattress we are sleeping on and the necessities we need to get us through until we leave tomorrow evening.
The therapists she had picked for each of her kids all agreed to take them on. Tomorrow she has to say her sad goodbyes to her long-term patient Donavan. I know she doesn’t want to. I can sense the sorrow in her even as she says she is fine.
“You know. You don’t have to act as if this is no big deal. You did tell me that you have been with Donny longer than any of your other patients. He’s going to miss you, too.”
She pops her head up from her takeout dish. “I know. I know he is going to miss me. He trusts me so much. He cares for me, and I for him. I think of him as a family member. Like my own son. He is special, Celly. Something inside of him is keeping him alive and fighting, even after all he has been though. I’m worried that leaving him will make him give up.”
“So, don’t leave him.” I brush her hair behind her ear.
“I want to offer him a place at our new location. But, the travel? Four hours of driving just for an hour appointment? That is very excessive.”
“We can offer his family lodgings. They can stay a day or two for free. And have him come up twice a month instead of once a week. We can make it work. If you feel he will not make it without you, then don’t leave him.”
She sobs into my chest. I wrap her tightly in my embrace. “It's alright. We can make it work. We will do what we can to keep him happy and as well as he can be in his current state.” I rub her back as she cries into me. “Would you like me to come with you tomorrow?”
“Y – yes,” she says between sobs.
“Then I will come with you.”
I pull her to the room we are sleeping in and lie down with her. We fall asleep like that. Her crying into my chest, me holding her, letting her know that I’m there for her no matter what she chooses to do.
27
STELLA
I’m bringing my mate with me to meet the family that has been with me the longest. I have never once mentioned that I have a boyfriend, and now he is the reason I’m moving to Leadville. It’s not like I have much of an excuse. It’s not like I can walk up to Donny’s parents and say, “Hey, meet my mate.” Yeah, that’ll go over well.
I get dressed and pack up my little to go bag, that includes my mate’s dirty clothes from last night, and bring it to the Jeep. Celly loads up the bed, and we are officially ready to go. We actually did get everything packed up and loaded in the few days we were here. I can’t believe we did it.
I can’t believe there’s only two weeks until Christmas! We will go home and decorate the house, put up the tree, and slowly start bringing my things inside. But the main thing we need is to get Christmas ready for my little guy.
I walk through the house making sure we’ve got everything from all of the rooms. While also making sure all of the windows are shut and locked. Happy that we have everything, I close and lock the front door. Then go around to my therapy room. This is empty, too. Celly made sure to get everything into the truck for me. I just go to the two windows and check that the locks are engaged. They should be, I rarely ever open them, but it’s just a precaution.
I meet my mate at the Jeep. Looking out at my now empty house. “I’m going to miss this place. We made some good memories here. The first of many we will continue to make with you, in Leadville.”
He wraps one arm around my shoulders and I lean my head against his. “We can keep it, you know.”
I shake my head even before the words finish coming out of his mouth. “No. I'm ready to move on. I don’t want to be stuck coming here to make sure we get paid for rent, or to fix things that may break. I just want to sell it. Use the money I get from the sale, and open my own therapy in Leadville.”
“I will support you in whatever way you need. But I have money, too. I will buy you the therapy space you need so you can keep something that holds meaning to you.” He turns me in his arms and holds my face in his hands. “We can make it all work.”
I smile up at him. “I don’t want, nor do I need this home. My home is now with you. Where you and our son are, is where I belong. Possessions like this are minimal in the grand scheme of things. I will be just fine with you and our family in Leadville. Making our own living. Creating new memories.”
He places a kiss on my lips. “Okay, then. Let’s get going.”
We load up in the Jeep, me taking the driver's seat for once, while I navigate the streets of La Junta to get to Donny’s house.
I stop in front of his house. Parking where I usually do. I’m about ten minutes early. I stare up at the house. The one place that never seemed like a chore, or a job. Donny, that sweet little boy who claimed my heart, with his new puppy that he’s so excited to have. “I can’t tell him goodbye.” The words are so soft, they’re barely audible. I know my mate heard me. His hearing is exceptional thanks to his wolf.
“You don’t have to. We can offer them what we discussed last night. He doesn’t have to see Sarah. He can keep visiting you. Twice a month, unless they want to come weekly.”
"I know. I’m just still so scared. There’s a reason I’m here for him. I feel it deep within my bones. He’s special somehow. Means something to me and my sisters that I haven’t grasped yet. I didn’t recognize it until now.”
Celly sits up straight now. “Connected to you? As in, a brother?” I shake my head.
“No. Not a brother. I watched my parents die. Donny is too young to be my sibling.”
“Connected to Deseres, then?”
I mull it over in my head for a moment. “Possibly? I don’t know. We don’t know how long she’s been held by her captures. He could be hers, or maybe we are supposed to protect him from something?”
“So that settles it, then. We offer them whatever we can to keep him connected to you. Once Vivian meets him, we will know what he is to you guys. Or, it could be once you connect with Imeria.”
“Mera,” I breathe out. “I don’t know why it's so hard to find her. What could make them hide who she is?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to search everywhere. Any angle we can get. I won’t leave her to suffer a fate of slowly dying, having no idea why or what’s causing it. We’ll find her, even if it takes us the last three years to do so.”
“Do you think it will take that long?” I ask him.
“We have no idea where she is. She could be in another country, for all we know. She may or may not have a pull trying to bring her closer to us. Maybe she did find her mate already. Maybe she has some inkling of what is to come and is scared. Heck, she could be using her mate to search for you two, but she doesn’t have much to go on. She was only three when her memory was erased.”
I bring my gaze to his. “Do you think she has met her mate already? Would she have known to complete the bond?”
“If she has, her mate would have done anything to keep her alive. Including having her complete the bond.”
“I can’t decide if I like the idea of her having her mate already or not.”
He laughs at me. “I think you were hoping it was someone within our clan?”
“Is that a question or a statement, mate?”
“Both?” he says with a shrug. “I get it though. Our Clan feels like safety. I want her to have a mate within our ranks as well. But, if fate dealt her another hand, she may belong to another Clan already. If she dropped off the face of the world because she is safely within the ranks of a Clan, we may never find her.”
My spine stiffens. “Don’t say that. We have to find her.”
He gently rubs his hands down my cheek. Tucking my bangs that always seem to be coming undone, behind my ear. “We’ll find her, don’t worry. Even if Alexander has to send us to other Clans to ask about her.”
“He can do that?”
“Of course. He’s her Chieftain. Even if she doesn’t know it. She belonged to us first. He has a right to see about her wellbeing.”
I relax a little at his words. “Okay. Good. Let’s go in.”
I get out, and pull out all of my items for a normal session. I knock on the door, and wait. Maxine answers the door, looking frazzled. “What is it?” I ask her. My own inner turmoil ceases as I take in her appearance.
“It’s Donny. He won’t get out of bed. I didn’t even tell him that you were moving. It's like he knew something was up. He refuses to move. And he looks weak and so pale.”
I hand my equipment to Marcel. “Take me to him.” Maxine opens the door for both of us to enter, then she leads me to Donny. He has always been so happy and upbeat, even when he went in for his surgeries, he’s never let it get to him.
His room is decorated to look like outer space. Glow in the dark stars adorn the ceiling, and the walls are painted black with lines of white. It looks like the milky way. Then there are yellow stars painted around the wall, and planets and the sun. It’s like the solar system wrapped up in his room. It's beautiful.
“I created this for him. He wanted to see the galaxy, and we worked on it together. With Donny telling me where he wanted everything, I painted while he dutifully watched and directed me.
“It's glorious. If I hadn’t known better, I would say I just walked into space. It looks so life-like.”
She blushes slightly. “Thank you.”
I walk to the bed in the center of the room. “Hey, Donny. What’s going on?”
He pulls the blanket down from covering his face when he hears my voice. “Ms. Stella. Why are you here?”
I scrunch up my face. “Why wouldn’t I be here?”
“I know you’re leaving me.”
My heart breaks at those words. He says them with so much hurt and sorrow. I have to blink back the tears that threaten to spill over. I sit on the floor, crossing my legs before me. “Well, you see. My fiancé and I decided it was time to live together. We have been together for some time, and the long days apart are hard on us. We only get to be together as a family on the weekends.”
“You have a son?” He asks me.
I smile. “Yes. His name is Byron, after my father. He’s seven. All of his cousins live in Leadville, and he misses his family. I haven’t seen him as happy as I did when I told him we were moving with them.”
“But you’re leaving me.” His voice breaks on the word me. My heart shatters at his sorrow filled tone. “I need you, Ms. Stella.” A quiet bark sounds through the house. The puppy, Princess, if I’m not mistaken. Probably playing with the wolf I left in the living room.
“Donny, I wanted to offer you and your family, the only ones I’m going to give this offer to, the opportunity to come to me. It is a long drive. I will pay to have you stay the night or two nights in Leadville, and you can still get your treatment from me. You can even take Princess with you. But it’s probably going to be just twice a month. Your mom has everything you need here to keep you going between visits.”
His eyes light up. “You were going to do that for me?”
“Yes. Just you. You and I, we have a bond. I would never leave you without trying to see what we can do together. But I didn’t ask your mom yet, so we have to talk to her first, okay? If she can’t do it. Sarah will be just as good as I am.”
