One
The morning was like any other in Montana during the cool shift from the end of the summer to fall. The forests got misty with the dampness of the rains holding themselves back due to the scorching summer sun responsible for raising the temperature to a sultry high 80s.
Jillian stood in the branches of a high pine tree. Her advanced senses tuning into the natural sounds of the woods around her. The cries of birds nesting in the trees, the squirrels hustling to store food for the winter. The soft calls of the loons fishing in the lake all joined the hushed whisper of the winds rustling through the trees.
All of the natural music filled her ears, calming her mind from the raging torrents of memories. They always served as painful reminders of how it long it’d been since she heard the soft song of his soul.
The doubt and hopelessness got so strong, she finally stopped searching and settled down. She thought he had forgotten his promise to keep returning to her until peace could reign between the warring races.
Angry and frustrated, Jillian scaled down the tree, shifting mid-fall into her larger wolf form to go for a run in order to relieve some lingering stress.
The wind felt cool in her obsidian fur as she ran through the woods, her large paws padding amidst the wet leaves on the forest floor. Those above her still clinging to the branches of the trees rustled around her with the wind.
She slowed to a stop just short of the winding main road that lead to Big Timber, Montana.
Jill came to learn many of the inhabitants were her own kind just living among humans as best they could in the shadow of the vampire coven hidden in the mountains.
It was ruled over by the very lord responsible for reigniting the flames of the Blood Wars by killing the man Jill loved countless times throughout the centuries.
She thought many times about seeing how strong the curse of immortality he asked the dark god to place on her was.
Dreams of charging into the mansion and killing every parasite she found until her fangs found the throat of the monster responsible for all of her pain played repeatedly in her mind.
Bones snapped, her muscles rippled, tendons stretched and popped back into place as she shifted back into her human form. The process would sound painful to someone who hadn't gotten to experience it firsthand. To Jill and her kind, the change was pure ecstasy.
Reaching into the hollow of a tree, Jill took the fresh change of clothing she packed in her backpack and covered her naked form. The idea of hiding her body was still a foreign concept to her despite how long she'd lived among humans.
To her people, the body was something to be appreciated, admired and respected. Being naked in front of each other or making out were both matters of needing companionship.
None of her kind forced themselves on one another. Courting and mating was something romantic. One might even say erotic and taken as slow as either party wished.
Humans. Jill thought to herself, laughing as she rolled her eyes. Making everything complicated since the Neolithic times.
She was jerked out of her thoughts when the roar of large truck engine rang out across the trees, drawing her attention to road. It was a moving van with a black truck chained to a trailer attached to the towing ball driving towards the city limits.
It made Jill curious because she’d seen more people leaving Big Timber in search of bigger city life with promises of rich employment. Not many moved into the smaller town where life had a rhythm and each day was similar to the one before.
Though she wasn't quite sure why, she decided to follow the large vehicle. She sprinted through the trees and back alleys until she came upon an old, abandoned Victorian house.
It lay resting at the base of a hill overlooking the town. The many attempts by the owner to find it a new tenant often ended in failure, leaving it empty.
Jill thought it was sad since she'd always seen it as quite beautiful to look at.
Its faded blue paint had begun chipping from the wood siding. A covered porch wrapped around the structure, ending just before the back door.
The whole house sat back in a small patch of trees connected to the main road by a long gravel driveway.
It was so large, she'd debated asking Gabriel and Kain to buy it to serve as a second living quarters for their packs in order to keep them closer to each other.
The large basement could easily be converted into a spare room. A yard big enough where the pups could run and play together lie separated by a chain-link fence into two sections.
The back side of the house just beyond the yard had a piece of land which could be converted into a garden. Plenty of room would remain to put a socializing area.
When the van ground to a stop in front of it, Jill hid herself in the thick brush on the side of the house and watched as the passenger side door opened to reveal an older man with ash gray hair.
He didn't look too bad for an older male. Almost attractive. If he were one of Jill's kind he would most likely be an elder and a desire for most of the older females. Maybe even a few of the young ones as well since it appeared he kept himself in shape.
The driver's side door opened with a loud creak, stinging Jill's sensitive ears. The gravel crunched as the driver dropped down the height of the truck.
At first Jill could only see the black leather work boots with chains held on studs that crawled around the heels covered by tattered jeans almost dragging the ground.
Trying to get a better view, she craned her neck only to duck back down behind the brush to avoid being seen.
A younger man with messy, dark hair wearing a tight black V-neck t-shirt, walked down the side of the truck to the trailer. The black jeans he wore hugged his gorgeous legs and ass in all the right places.
A black studded belt with a chain running from his hip to his mid-lower back ran through his belt loops. Black sunglasses shielded his eyes against the faint light of the sun peeking through the cloud cover.
He took off his sunglasses revealing two amethyst eyes so radiant, they hypnotized Jill and drew a heat of blush over her cheeks.
Moving closer she was able to catch the faint hint of his scent on the wind. Her nostrils filling with a rich, dark and deep mix of his scent. Jill's eyes closed as the intoxicating aroma teased her carnal senses.
Then she heard it. The soft melody of his soul captured her attention, making her heart stall in her chest. It was faint but she could hear it as plain as if the moon herself were singing to her.
The blood in her veins heated with relief and overwhelming happiness. Jill had to fight back tears as relief joined disbelief in her heart. I found you. Thank Luna, finally I found you.
Lucius Wolfe had been gone so long. Yet here he stood before her in a body more beautiful than any she had ever seen during her years of searching for him.
Sneaking even closer, she scaled a pine to continue her surveillance, her heightened senses allowed her to see and hear what they were saying. She wanted to know more about this man so much she’d almost let her guard down. The temporary lapse in judgement almost wound up with her accidentally getting seen.
“Unload the truck off of the trailer, Dame. I'll work on narrowing down the number of boxes and furniture so we have clothes to wear and a bed to sleep on.” The older man grunted as he lifted a box ready to take it into the old house.
“Got it, pops.” Came the reply in a voice so rich and deep it sent shivers up Jill’s spine.
He lowered the ramps of the trailer and proceeded to unlatch the chains holding the wheels in place. “Damn, it's muggy and cold as hell out here. I thought it was summer.”
Slipping a jacket over his broad shoulders, the man stopped to look around as if he felt someone was watching him. When he didn't see anyone he shrugged, jumping into the cab.
The truck’s engine roared to life and started backing slowly off of the ramp.
As morning dwindled into late afternoon, Jill jumped from her hiding place behind the thick brush surrounding the house to the tall tree branches so she could continue watching.
Her curiosity became even more peaked when the twilight hours of the evening cast a magical array of light across the mountainsides.
The younger man came out with what looked like a camera to take pictures of the surrounding scenery. “What a view. I’d almost forgotten the majesty of this place. It has an otherworldly feeling to it at times like this.” He said as he took in the breathtaking view, positioning his camera to get the perfect shots.
Jill was so enthralled by him that she hadn’t been careful to avoid stepping around the house onto a rather loud twig.
Damn. She cursed at herself for not being more aware of her surroundings.
The man's attention shifted to the direction of the noise. “Is someone there?”
Quickly, Jill used the hunger in her belly as an excuse to get away, deciding she would come back later.
****
Jillian returned later in the evening after her nightly hunt to find the light in the upstairs room still on. She scaled the tree closest to the side of the house where the window was.
As fate would have it, it was the young man’s room. The tree provided the perfect venue for her to observe him and learn a bit more about his life.
His hair was still wet, showing he'd just gotten out of the shower. His toned and sculpted chest dotted with beads of water settled in the grooves between his pectoral muscles.
Everything about him was so breathtaking. He was dressed in loose athletic shorts just low enough on his hips, Jill could see the dips where the bones began leading down into those perfect muscular legs. The tuft of hair leading down below his shorts made her body quiver.
He was so different yet so similar in this body. His amethyst eyes were like jewels. His skin light in complexion with a hint of the sun’s kiss upon it. On his right shoulder was the tattoo of a tribal rose, his hair dark as the night sky when the moon chose to hide her face.
The muscles in his back were so developed, they would make any woman weak in the knees to be with him.
When the light went off, Jill used her sensitive hearing to tune into the softness of his breathing.
Easing to the edge of the branch, Jill tested the old windows held closed by a single, golden latch easily opened with something flat such as a knife blade or the claws of a lycan.
She extended her nail and slid it between the small crack between the window panes, opening the windows. Her foot falls quiet on the wood floor.
Leaning over him, she breathed deeply through her nose, taking in the same scent of rich, dark musk mixed with subtle hints of cedar and pine. It is you. It’s been so long.
Jill would have to wait until he woke up to see if he recognized her as he did with each rebirth. For this moment, none of it mattered to her. She’d waited for thousand years alone, watching history drift by like water over rocks. After all this time, she’d finally found the soul of the man she loved.
Curiosity drove Jill to look around his room to try to find some clue to what his name was in this new life.
The search was made difficult due to everything still being in boxes all labeled, “Son’s room”.
One of them was open, revealing stacks of books and a photo of a woman. Her dark brown hair and soft smile made Jill happy and sad at the same time. She hadn't seen her come in with them.
Still nothing gave her his name.
What is your name, handsome? Jill thought to herself as she continued looking around. Okay, this is frustrating. She dropped to sit beside his bed.
The sounds of the morning birds made her curse the dawn. The light of day often served as a relief from the threats of the darkness for Jill and her people. However this time, it was a source of frustration.
“We will meet again soon.” Jill whispered and jumped out of the window into the breaking dawn.
****
As soon as the sun's rays came through his window, Damien jerked up in his bed, his breath heavy and quick as he looked around the room only to find he was still alone.
Nothing had been disturbed.
“Had to be a dream.” He told himself aloud.
The cool breeze coming through his window, confused him since he was certain he’d closed it the night before.
A knock on the door made him jump. “C'mon Dame, don't want to miss your college orientation, do you?” Charlie, Damien's dad and the new police chief of Big Timber called through the door.
“Yeah. Give me a few,” Damien replied, agitated. He got up from his bed, opening his drawers to pull out a pair of jeans and a black shirt.
A red plaid over shirt hung on his headboard. He took it and put it on, leaving it hanging open and rolling up the sleeves to his elbows.
The backpack with his sunglasses, wallet, cell phone, laptop and notebooks sat at the foot of his bed.
Damien moved fast to put his boots on and grabbed it, stopping by the box with the books and the photo of his foster mom, Sarah.
“Morning mom.” He said with a sad smile upon his face as he put the photo on the night stand before racing down the stairs.
****
Damien got himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table for breakfast.
“Busy day?” he asked, attempting to start a conversation.
“Honestly, I’m not too sure.” Charlie spoke up from behind the paper he was reading, sipping his coffee.
Damien ran his hand through his hair, leaning back in the chair. “Do you still think about mom?”
The suddenness of the question caught Charlie off guard. “There isn't a day that goes by when I don't think about her,” He replied. “I see her in my dreams as she was before she contracted her horrible sickness.”
Damien hesitated in asking his next question, wondering if it may make him sound crazy. “Ever feel like she's still here?”
“Oh yeah. In my own dreams I still see myself pushing her in her favorite backyard swing she used to love. It was before you came into our lives. She was never happier than the day we adopted you, Dame.”
Charlie’s eyes grew misty as he looked out the window at the old wooden swing hanging from the large tree shading the back yard. Their daughter, Bree, hadn't been too happy about their choice to bring Damien into their home. To Charlie, it was still one of the happiest moments since he finally had a son.
Damien's foster mom passed away from spinal meningitis when he turned sixteen. It was devastating to the family because it happened only a year after the accident which led them to get Damien out of Big Timber as fast as they could. The pain was so great, Damien closed himself off from everyone, including his dad.
They weren't his real parents but they loved him as if he were their own child. Their love and understanding helped in the healing of a wound inflicted by his biological mom.
The conversation died as many of them did. Charlie broke the silence by getting up to grab his jacket and truck keys. “We better get going. I'll need the truck for work. Mind asking Rob or Chelsea to bring you home? I should get a cruiser today so you can have the truck.”
“Yeah, I can ask Rob for a lift. Thanks.”
Robert McAllister, one of Damien’s two remaining friends, still lived in Big Timber after Damien moved. Chelsea Masterson was the second. She was one of the most flirtatious girls in town and harbored a not so secret crush on Damien.
Following Sarah’s death, Charlie brought Damien back so he could recover in familiar surroundings as suggested by the therapist.
When an opportunity opened for Charlie to become the new police chief, Charlie took the position despite Damien’s many objections.
****
Damien jumped out of the passenger's side of the truck, closing the door after they arrived at the college. The front lawn bustled with new students joining the transfers to head for the auditorium.
“Dame.”
Damien turned back around. “Yeah?”
“I love you, son. Things will get better, I promise.”
Damien nodded. He wasn't reassured by his dad's words but he was grateful he was at least trying. The thought made Damien angry at himself. He’d detached from everything and just wasn’t capable of being more receptive.
After Charlie pulled off, Damien turned to walk up to the auditorium. He paused to look around until his attention fell on a young woman with long raven hair sitting on the cement wall serving as a barrier between the grassy knoll and the sidewalk. His heart pounded behind his ribs at how beautiful she was. He kept staring as she rose from her sitting position to make her way towards the library.
She wore a black shirt cut so low he could almost see the tops of her breasts layered under a deep green shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She wore low-riding black nylon pants much like something a barista at a coffee shop would wear. The black leather boots came up her to calves and tied in the back with leather laces.
The way she walked was so lithe and graceful. The movement of her hips reminded him of a dancer.
Damien swallowed the knot in his throat so he could keep breathing. He couldn't help it, his jaw almost hit the ground. His head started to hurt, hitting him with a sudden wave of dizziness. His heart pounded hard behind his chest.
What? What’s going on? There was something oddly familiar about the woman. He couldn’t understand where he’d seen her before.
Once the episode passed, he began to stand slowly when Chelsea ran into him at full speed. The impact threatening to take them both down if not for his quick thinking to grip the armrest of the bench.
“Damien!” Chelsea wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s so good to see you! How long has it been? Ten years?” Chelsea was a bouncy blonde who only came up to Damien's chest. She’d once been a cheerleader when they were in high school together.
Her crush on Damien had been common knowledge. She often bashed anyone who dared to try to ask him out with fierce gossip or rumors. Her deep blue eyes and large breasts made most of the football players in the school chase after her. The encounters wouldn’t end well and she’d often shoot them down in ways that made even Damien's masculinity ache.
“Yeah. It’s good to see you again too, Chels.” Damien replied, looking down then up again, hoping to see the raven haired woman. His eyes scanned every face to see if he could find her but she was gone “Where'd she go?”
Chelsea turned her head to follow Damien's gaze, her lips pursed in annoyance. “She? Dame, do you have a girlfriend?”
“What? No, it's not like that.” He ignored the look of relief on her face, prying her arms off from around his neck. “I just thought I saw someone I knew. I have no idea how but she seemed familiar to me.”
“Maybe she goes to school here. You might see her again or even have a class with her. Come on or we'll be late!” Chelsea took his hand and pulled so hard Damien stumbled forward.
Deep inside him, he hoped and wanted to see the raven-haired woman again.
****
Jillian stood behind a tree, ignoring the glances and cat calls of the passersby. A low growl escaped her throat.
She’d had him. So close to tempting him to come to her only to have his attention ripped away.
Another young man came up to stand next to her. From the looks of him, he was about to lay yet another corny pick up line on her.
Annoyed, Jill snapped at him, her voice low. She didn’t bother to change her closed off posture or make eye contact. “Before you talk, I'm not interested.”
The young man backed away from her. He ran as fast as he could, calling her a cold bitch over his shoulder. Had Jill wanted to, she could have caught up to him and beat the crap out of him.
She was frustrated but at least she’d come to know the name of the target of her curiosity. Her only comfort from the disappointment of her failure.
Damien. Your name...is Damien. Her eyes glowed almost silver. How appropriate. She smiled a fanged smirk.