38: Something He Loves

     Once he calmed everyone down, Derek wearily made his way to the top floor of the house to his room. He closed his door and locked it, an indication that he wished to be left alone.

     He sighed and made his way over to the back window to stare out of it and ponder how they could possibly get the stone from Gus. A knock sounded on the door, interrupting his thoughts.

     "Not now, Arabella." he responded to the knock, knowing it must be her.

     "But... I brought you something." she chirped from the other side of the door.

    "Later. I'm thinking." he said, hoping he didn't sound overly brusque. He heard a slight chiming sound from behind him and he could see a tiny light slip under the door and then fly towards him in the reflection of the glass.

     She materialized behind him. I should've known she'd do that, he thought to himself.

     "Well then, maybe I can help you think." she said, her head tilting to the side curiously.
     Normally, Bella's quirky and slightly clueless behavior entertained him, not so tonight.
     "Bella, I don't think you can help." he said, resigned that he wasn't going to get rid of her easily.
    "You don't think. You're thinking I can't help you think, so I must be helping you think. Since you're thinking." she reasoned. She flitted over to the door, opened it, brought in fresh roses, and placed them on the top of the desk. "Besides, these might help you think. They're pretty." She turned and faced his reflection in the glass, tilted her head to the side and asked, "What are you thinking?"
     Derek resisted the urge to groan and put his head in his hand as he stared back at Arabella's reflection. She could be so frustrating sometimes! Oh, but then those other times... his body involuntarily remembered quite well those other, much less frustrating times.... But that isn't what he needed now. He was going up against an over two thousand year old vampire; he needed to think!
     "I'm thinking how I need to be alone so I can figure out what to do." he answered her in an even tone.
     "Okay. So be alone with me." she chirped.

     He couldn't help it now. He turned and gave her an 'are you crazy?' look. She ducked her head down shyly, but there was nothing 'shy' about the grin she gave once she peeked back up at him.
     "I mean alone alone. All by myself." He couldn't figure out a plainer way to say it without hurting her feelings - something he didn't want to do. She loved to twist his words to meet her own needs; she had a special talent for that.
     Arabella didn't want to leave Derek's room. She liked his room. It smelled like him, something like woods and dirt and sweat and fur and the wind. She remembered the first time she'd ever smelled it. She'd been out by the moonlight with her family to gather mushrooms and he'd crossed their path. Her father, when he saw Derek, attacked him out of fear, sending him crashing down into a ravine. She'd cried out to her father to stop; she'd seen no evil intent in Derek's eyes. Her father told her to leave Derek in the ravine and to follow him home before the were healed. She did, but then she sneaked out later to go and find him. Just like she'd expected, her father's attack had injured him more than his body could heal. He'd needed her help to heal, and she gladly gave it, bonding her to him, and him to her, in order to do so. Once her father discovered what she'd done, he'd disowned her, banishing her from the family's forest. When she'd shown up here at Derek's house, she knew he wouldn't be able to resist her desire to stay with him.
     Still, she knew he liked his solitude most of the time, so she created for herself a tiny house outside for those moments. Tonight, she felt afraid to stay out there since the vampire now knew where they lived. She didn't care how 'good' the vampire was purported to be, she knew vampires could rarely resist feeding off of fae, often unable to stop and killing them in the process. She wasn't about to let Derek convince her to leave.
     "I'm afraid." she whispered, knowing that would trigger his need to protect. She stuck out one leg, toe pointed, and took a step closer to him.

     "Have you not learned to not judge like your father judged me?" he asked her quietly, finding himself getting drawn into her emerald green eyes.
      "The vampire is an evil creature." she spat, really not understanding the question.
      Derek smiled a small smile at the irony of the situation and said, "As am I, to some. Why do you think I live in seclusion in the woods? To protect those around me from me."

     "No." she whispered. Then she spoke a tiny bit louder this time as she continued, "You could never be anything but good. You have absolutely no evil in you at all. That's why I love you." If only I could be as good as him, she thought to herself.
     Filled with self-hatred, he responded, "But Arabella, I'm a killer. That is my nature."
     "That was self defense, and you know it." she mildly scolded him. It angered her when he thought poorly of himself.
     "I will still never forget watching the light fade from their eyes as they breathed their last."
     "They would've killed you without a second thought. It is they who are the killers. You were very brave." Arabella spoke of a time when Derek had encountered a group of Hunters and survived, killing them all all by himself. She hated the thought of her Derek being killed. This had happened before she'd met him. If it had happened after, she would've tracked the location of the Hunters' nest. base, whatever they called it, and sealed the remaining members inside. She despised those that chose the life of hate, going after anything they deemed 'unnatural' and their efforts to eradicate what they found.
     She watched as Derek fought a mental battle, trying to find a good enough point to argue.

     "Shh! Stop it." she quickly whispered to him as she reached up to turn his face back to her. His skin felt so warm beneath her touch as she stroked his cheek. She wanted to be surrounded by that warmth.
     Derek marveled once more the feather-like touch of her hand. He couldn't resist closing his eyes for a moment as he leaned in towards her touch. Suddenly, she was again everything to him: mother, lover, sister, friend, mate. He knew he was insane for taking a fae for a mate as an alpha. All the same, he owed her his life. He felt his pants tighten in response to her continued ministrations, and he fought for focus.
      "But, what am I going to do about this new problem? How do I go up against him?" he rasped out as his breathing became more and more uneven. How can she do this to me with a simple touch? He hoped that at least he could get her insight while he fought against a very basic urge.
    "I think you're over-thinking." she said in an almost child-like voice. "Keep it simple. Draw him out by taking something he loves."
     He took in a deep breath before he asked, "And what might that be? I don't think he's capable of love."

     The hand on his cheek traveled down his arm as she made to walk past him. Forgetting that only minutes before he'd wished for her to leave, his arm shot out and stopped her from moving away any farther. Arabella only looked momentarily surprised before she reached up to pet his other cheek, her face inches from his.
     Arabella's face held a small smile as she said, "The good witch's mother. She's a newborn vampire. Weak. She has to be his weakness."
   "He could not care. He could be willing to discard her." Derek pointed out as he pulled Bella around in front of him.

      "I wish you didn't need the stone. I don't like it. I don't trust it. But I suppose it's better you have it than Tanner's pack."
     "You don't trust it because you don't understand it. It's power is ancient. Older than you. You know this." he tried to reassure her again, really not wanting to get into the same old pattern of the same old argument. He had other things on his mind now - mainly wanting to get his hands on as much of that feather-soft skin as he could. He swiftly brought his other hand around her waist, pulled her close, and claimed her lips with his.
      She's gone and done it again! She wiggles her way into my head until I'm ravenous for her, he thought with a groan. Almost angrily, he slammed her back against the nearby wall. She only just barely had time to fold her wings down.

     He released her mouth for a moment to taunt her. "Is this," he flicked his hips against her suggestively, "what you're after, Arabella? If it isn't, then too bad because you're about to get it anyway."
      "Yes, that's exactly what I'm after." Bella brazenly answered him, bringing her hand around to his butt so that she could press him even closer to her. Her other hand snaked its way up around his neck so that she could pull him back to her.
      Damn her, he thought. I needed to think, and this is what I end up doing because that's what she wants!

     He growled as he turned and lifted her to carry her to the bed. She eagerly wrapped her legs around his waist as she kissed him.
     "How quickly can you make new clothes again?" he asked her, wanting to clarify the thought in his mind.
     "Minutes." she answered impatiently as she pulled his shirt over his head.
     "Good." he said, confirming his memory to be correct. He proceeded to rip the leaves from her like a kid enthusiastically opening a Christmas present. Finally, he could satisfy his burning desire to touch her everywhere.

      The second she felt herself touch the bed, Arabella twisted them so that she could hover over him. My beautiful werewolf, she thought to herself as she ran her hands down his chest to work on undoing his belt. He kept trying to distract her by running his hands all over her like he couldn't get enough. He caught one of her hands and he pulled it to the side of them up against the mattress. As he reached up to touch her face, she stopped his hand. When he looked up at her in confusion, she merely smiled, freed her other hand, and finished removing his pants.
     As she moved to climb back on top of him. Derek decided he'd had enough of being underneath her frequently since this was her favorite position. Most of the time he didn't mind letting someone else take control for once, but that's not what he wanted tonight.
     Just as she was about to join their bodies, he said, "No." She stopped, looking down at him in confusion and surprise. He took that moment of surprise and easily rolled the two of them off of the bed, catching her before his feet touched the floor.
     Her beautiful emerald orbs gazed up at him with mild fear due to the rough way he hauled her up against him. Arabella had never seen this attitude directed at her before. He'd always treated her with mild amusement and tenderness. She couldn't figure out what to make of this.
     "You come in here and interrupt me when I made it plain I wished for my solitude. Then you don't stop until you've driven me mad with lust. Remember, you asked for it." He turned her around to where she faced the window and wrapped his arms around her, her wings on either side of him. He leaned forward and growled into her ear, "But tonight, we're doing this my way." He pushed on the back of her shoulder blades to cause her to lean forward, kicked her feet further apart, grabbed her hips and swiftly entered her from behind.

      They both cried out simultaneously, her from shock and mild pain, him from the pleasure of driving himself into her. He slowly pulled out a little before again rapidly pushing back into her over and over again.
     "Derek?" Arabella asked, unable to shake the feeling he was angry with her. She didn't like his anger. She didn't like how he seemed to want to hurt her. She wanted to get away from this or at least make him stop being so rough. She reached her hand back to try to push him off of her. He let out an angry sound and captured that hand. His tempo began to pick up.
     Derek began to wonder why this hadn't happened like this sooner. He loved having her petal-soft skin bare and open to his hands while simultaneously driving himself into her. Aggravated she would dare try to push him away with her hand, he caught it and held it. No, she wasn't about to get out of this. Her wings flapped in his face in an effort to try to escape, but he reached up and pushed her back to him by pressing down on her shoulder. He didn't relish the thought that he could be hurting her, but damn, this felt good.
     Arabella felt the hand on her shoulder brush down her back and wrap around her hip, holding her somewhat in place while he continued to ram himself into her. It was starting to hurt less. Derek slowed down again and the hand on her hip moved around in front of her to the apex of her thighs. She gasped as his fingers moved against her. Derek moaned, making Arabella think that what he was doing to her must be good for him too. This was very strange, but she found she liked it now. His blessed hand didn't stop as he picked up the tempo again. All she could do was cry out as the pleasure coursed through her body and caused her to start shivering.
     "Come for me, Bella." Derek ordered. That did it for her. She cried out again as he drove into her, hard, once again as she came around him.

     "Holy shit." Derek whispered in reaction to how deliciously tight she went around him. He didn't let her fully enjoy her orgasm before he sought his own, his hand returning to her shoulder. Crying out, he poured himself into her. He finally released her arm so that he could grab both her hips in one final thrust before he collapsed against her back, panting.
     Arabella still shook as his hands slowly traveled across her some more. She feared she was about to collapse, but even though Derek leaned into her, he also held her up against him.
     He slowly pulled himself out of her with a mild groan. She took a step and collapsed onto the bed, rolled onto her side and looking at him. She looked at him with a curiously perplexed expression that Derek found adorable. He had to lean down and kiss her.
     "Yes. She must be his weakness." Derek said, understanding how a woman could be a weakness. He'd be crushed if anything happened to Arabella. Yes, she may get annoying at times, but for some odd reason she loved him - the only creature in the world that loved him. He reached up to stroke her cheeks and trace the lines on her face.
     Her face jerked up to him and she curiously asked, "Why like that?"
     He knew she referred to what they just did, and he answered simply, "Because that's how I wanted to."
     "Are you angry?" she asked, blinking.
     "No." he answered. It was a truth that at that moment, he wasn't angry. He'd been angry before, but anger at her never stayed for long. "Are you?" he asked her in return.
     "No." she answered him. "I was scared, but then I ... liked it." She watched him as he tried to hide his smile with his hand over his mouth, but she could still see it in his eyes. "Is that wrong?" She didn't know what was funny.
     Derek couldn't believe that in her four hundred, thirty-seven years she'd never done anything like that, and he also couldn't figure out why that was funny. Maybe it was the bird-like, curious expression on her face.
     His smile faded as he remembered he probably should see if Robert was still awake so that he could get his thoughts on capturing the witch/vampire. Playtime was over. He got up to gather his clothes.

     "What are you doing?" Arabella asked.
     "I want to ask Rob what he thinks."
     "No!" she squeaked as she flew up from the bed. "Do it in the morning. Stay with me." She flew into his arms and kissed him.
     Derek sighed and just gave in. It could wait until morning.

37: Unlikely Allies

     "I'd really rather you wait out here." Robert said as politely as he could manage, turning to face Nathaniel. They'd lightly tied off Reggie and Desi to some nearby trees.
     The entire house was surrounded by woods; no road led to it. Gabriella doubted it would even be visible from the air due to the cover of the tall trees. Nathaniel began to understand the 'we' the dog had mentioned. The whole place stank of them, indicating more than one.. more than two. In fact, he could hear four heartbeats inside. Although, one was curiously faster than the others - almost bird-like.
     Gabriella, sensing Nate's mounting anger, said, "You already should know I'm not going anywhere without him." She saw Nate relax the tiniest bit next to her.
     "Also," Nate smiled almost menacingly at Robert, "don't forget I'm outnumbered. Surely your 'pack' can handle a single vampire." He continued to smile and show his fangs, indicating he didn't believe his own words.
     Robert ignored him and turned to Gabriella to say, "You'll be safe with us. We're wanting to help you. We have a common enemy."
     Gabriella rubbed the back of her neck, wishing to avoid a fight. "Nate is on the same side then. Either bring your friends out here or let Nate come inside with me."
     "Bring the vampire inside if you must!" the three of them heard coming from inside the house.
     Robert snorted out a huff and leveled a small glare at Nathaniel before leading the trio into the house, grudgingly inviting Nate inside.

      Nate's anxiety rose to an eleven as they entered the house. He stopped Gabriella from entering the room in front of them. Here before him he saw three. Where was the fourth? He could hear the different heartbeat off to the right of the room, and there was something else... Something smelled absolutely delicious, even to a 'vegetarian' like him.
     Gabriella allowed Nate to stop her. It didn't take a genius to understand his anxiety. She surveyed the room in front of her. Standing in front of the fireplace stood a very muscular redhead. When he spoke, she realized it was his voice she'd heard from outside. His expression seemed the most welcoming of the small group. The other two present, however, appeared to agree with Robert that Nate wasn't welcome. Her eyes traveled to them. A woman with slanted, yellow eyes glared at both of them as she stood behind the sofa with a belligerent look on her face. A man with black hair and - blue - highlights lounged on the sofa. Gabriella knew without trying that the macho persona he tried to portray was a fake, a coverup. He was uncomfortable. The woman was furious.
     "Calm down, Rob, all of you. If we're going to work together we need to learn to trust each other." the redhead said.
    "It's bad enough you want me to trust the witch," the woman spat, "but asking me to trust a bloodsucker is more than I can do."
     "We need Nathaniel's help as much as we need Gabriella's." the redhead said to the room.

    "That's not what you said when you sent me out to get her!" Robert advanced on the redhead with an accusatory glare.
     "If I'd told you that, you would've been even less eager to go and fetch her. I guessed correctly she wouldn't come alone." the redhead said.
     "You know my reasons for not wanting to do what I just did, Derek!"
     "Well, too bad. We need them." the redhead, Derek, said and shrugged his shoulders.
    "We could send Bella!" Robert bellowed. Nate and Gabriella heard a little frightened squeak coming from the room to the right of the one they faced.
    "Calm yourself, brother. You know very well we couldn't send her into a house with two vampires." Derek calmly countered.

     "Oh please!" the woman in the corner threw out to the room. "Let's just go! I'll rip the house to shreds with my bare hands if that's what it takes!"
     Derek turned to her and said, "Oh? And what would you do if we found it? We still don't know for sure that that's where it is."
     "I'm not scared of him! Let me at him! You'll flank me, right, Rocky?" she turned to the man on the couch next to her.

     "Shut the fuck up, Jeanine." Rocky responded without even turning to look at her. "You're an idiot to underestimate a thing that old."
     "Do you mean Gus?" Gabriella asked.
    Jeanine howled with laughter at the nickname. "Gus! I love it! Why the hell didn't I think of that?!"
    Derek turned to Gabriella and said, "Yes, we mean Gus. He has something of ours, and we intend to get it back."
     "Don't tell her!" Jeanine suddenly barked.
     "How the fuck is she supposed to get it for us if she doesn't know what the fuck it is?!" Rocky growled back at her. He felt grateful for his sunglasses as he stared at the witch in the doorway. She don't look like no damn Gabriella if you ask me. 
     Derek ignored the two arguing in the room and asked, "Gabriella, come here so I can better explain what we need you to do for us."
      "Why does she have to come over there for you to explain it to her?" Nate argued.

     Arabella watched as the pretty witch turned to her terrifying vampire to kiss him and whisper that she'd be okay. Bella knew she just had to be a good witch. She didn't sense any evil around her, except her vampire... but even that vampire wasn't as scary as some she'd seen. She saw the vampire start to glance her way, and she darted out of sight as quick as she could. I don't think he saw me.
     "Because I can't even touch its copy, and she needs to see it to know what I'm talking about." Derek answered Nathaniel's question.

     "I'm going to vomit." Jeanine complained about the two kissing. "Get Bella to show her."
     Bella scoffed at Jeanine's suggestion. She turned to her and shook her head no, out of sight to all but Jeanine from where she stood close to the wall. She quickly darted into the kitchen while the vampire was distracted.
     "Coward." Jeanine taunted, but Arabella ignored her. She'd feel a lot better once the vampire left.

     "You'll stay right there, old timer." Rocky said as he finally showed he was capable of getting up off of the couch. He felt much more confident with his beta standing right next to him and the bitch, really, Jeanine, behind him.
      Nate scowled at the three of them. If they honestly thought they could best him in a fight they had another thing coming. After all, he had August as a maker. The alpha said they would need his help as well, yet they were not acting very hospitable. Still, he wanted to hear them out to find out what they needed with his Gabriella. Also, if they were enemies of August, then he should count them friends. He felt filled with resentment at the pack of assholes in the room in front of him.
     Derek sighed exasperatedly and said, "Would you three cool it? Will you ever learn not to judge a book by its cover?" Then he walked over to his desk and pulled out the drawer to show Gabriella what it contained.

     Gabriella looked at him with confusion written on her brow. "It's a rock."
     Jeanine couldn't help it, she cracked up laughing. The woman calls herself a witch!
    Derek did his best to keep from rolling his eyes at Jeanine, thinking Gabriella might take it to mean he rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, it started out as a rock, as did its parent, but it is so much more."
     Gabby looked once more at the sparkly sphere in the open drawer of the desk. It looked to have all the colors of the rainbow contained in it. She asked a question that she thought he would have answered already, "Why can't you touch it?"

     "Because doing so would cause me extreme pain, as Robert experienced when he fetched this one for us." he explained.
    "I'd rather that part of the story be kept quiet. It's not relevant." Robert piped in, still keeping watch over the bloodsucker.
     Derek let out a mildly aggravated huff before he continued explaining, "It's been enchanted to only be handled by a witch or wizard."
     "So I can touch it." Gabriella stated.
    "Yes, but even with the pain it would cause us should we decide to handle it, its magic is extremely weak. We only hid its sire when we discovered another pack was after it. Caitlin assured us she knew a perfect place to hide it in her mother's house, but we don't know if her plan succeeded."
     "Because she was mugged and killed."
     "Yes, but we believe it was a hired thug sent to take it from her, somehow knowing it was in her purse, mostly because of the threat she received before she was killed."
     The first time she was mugged. Then something occurred to Gabby, "Wait a minute. You said it could only be touched by a witch or wizard."
     "Yes, and Caitlin had it in her blood, even if she didn't possess your mother's ability."
     Nate spoke up from the doorway, ignoring the three in front of him, "What does it do?"
     Derek turned to the vampire and responded, "When held in the hands of someone with magical blood with the light of the full moon upon it, it can drastically lessen the pain of a were's transformation. Later, it was discovered it also makes us fantastically more powerful as an added bonus."
    "Which would explain why the other pack wants it so bad." Nate finished. "If they mugged Gabby's sister, how do you know they don't already have it?"
     "Because they're not showing signs of having it in their possession. The hired thug failed to do his job properly. We can only guess he saw that she had no money or obvious valuables on her and left it all in aggravation. By the time the other pack discovered he'd failed to retrieve it, they slaughtered him. We're not even sure Caitlin had it in her purse at that moment."
     Nate continued, "Then why not search Marge's house while she's been gone all this time?"
    Jeanine growled, "We did. We couldn't find it. Derek wouldn't let me rip the place apart." She glared accusingly at Derek. "It must be hidden in some place we didn't know about." She started pacing around the room.

     Gabriella stood straighter as Derek walked back over to her and said, "Then I have a pretty good idea where it is, and I'm kicking myself for not taking everything. Either she knew about that room and hid it there, or Mom got it when she acquired Caitlin's possessions from the police."
     "Or those bloody bastards at the station confiscated it, hid it, stole it..." Rocky growled, leaving the statement open to more possibilities. "Haven't seen someone trying to sell it on eBay, but I've been keeping a watch out."
     Derek again succeeded in keeping his annoyance hidden. He'd had it up to 'here' with Rocky's distrust of authority figures. "So, you have a good idea?" he asked and saw Jeanine stop her pacing out of the corner of his eye.
     "Hold up." Nate intruded on the conversation again. "Why should we help you get it? Who's to say you're any better than this other pack?"
     Robert decided to answer the question. "Because we've allowed you to live right under our noses. We just want to live our lives as comfortably as possible. Derek deemed you weren't a threat."
     Jeanine piped up, "Didn't stop me from wanting to kill you. I hate that that ancient one got away." She growled loudly. "Arg! I want another go at him!"
     Gabriella asked Derek, "So Gus knows about you then I take it?"
     "Yes."
     "And how am I supposed to get it and get away with it? From what you say, they're back and living at my mother's old house."
      Jeanine quipped, " 'Living' hah!"
     Derek's voice rang with authority, "Hush, Jeanine!" Then he closed his eyes for a few moments to get his temper under control.
     "Ask it, Gabriella." Nate said from the doorway. She knew what he meant. "What's going to happen."
     Jeanine looked like she desperately wanted to say something sassy again.
    "Okay." Gabriella whispered and sat down in a nearby chair. After a few minutes, with her face screwed up in worry, she said, "Nothing. It gave me nothing. That's never happened before."

     She stood up and said to Derek, "However, I will help you. I know you're telling the truth. I wish I knew how Caitlin came to know you all, but I'm going to hope that she knew what she was doing."
     Derek answered, "Let Robert tell you that story when he's ready. Thank you. I have to figure out what it is we're going to do now that I know we have your help. Give us a few days and return here. It would be better for us if we stayed here."
     Gabriella nodded, understanding, and turned around to walk back over to her Nathaniel.

     She led a very relieved vampire from the house. He surprised her a little by pulling her into his arms before they'd even left the porch. She could hear the arguing start up inside the house.
     "Gabriella, I don't trust them." Nate said to her.
     She reached up to caress her fiance's face as she said, "I know. I'm mildly anxious myself."
     "Why do they have to have you do it?"
   "Because before, they had Caitlin. Now they have no one to help them. It's logical they turn to Caitlin's sister don't you think?"
     "I don't give a rat's ass if they get help. I don't like the way that Robert said 'we let you live' like they'd been watching me. There's something sinister about that."
     Gabby shook her head a little and said, "Not when you think about it from their point of view. A vampire moves into their neighborhood? I'm happy they decided to watch you first to determine whether or not you were a threat. That's one of the reasons I know we're on the right side. They didn't pick a fight with you."
     "I can't believe I never knew they were around."
     "Don't worry about it. Apparently, they're good at hiding."
     He kissed her lightly before he said, "I'll work with them for your sake, but I don't like it."
     Gabriella sighed, "Let's just go home."

36: Stretching Out

The two of them slept in the following morning. Nate woke up first. He sat up and thought about how utterly happy he felt. He never in his existence expected to be this happy again. He and Gabriella were going to get married! Life couldn't get any better.

He couldn't wipe the ridiculous grin off of his face, and he really didn't want to. He hadn't expected Gabriella to say yes last night. He'd not read or felt anything indicating she wanted to get married. She'd surprised him once again.

After all these years, he finally would marry his soul mate.

Suddenly, his smile faded. Again, the memory of Helen married to the man he didn't recognize went through his mind. He could tell at a glance how much she'd loved her boys. He felt so jealous for those children. It broke his heart to know that he would never be a father. Even if August hadn't have come along, he would have died anyway. He never got to return home to her. 

Gabriella stirred and mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep. This brought the smile back to Nathaniel's face. He laid back down on the sheets and watched her sleep.

She's beautiful, he thought to himself. He admired her perfect little nose and her full lips that seemed to bloom on her face like a rose. And she loves me.

She's had a difficult life as far as emotional struggle is concerned. Those horrible visions forced upon her would've caused the strongest to crumble. To be able to see what she saw yet feel helpless to stop it! What's the point? I can see why she views her 'gift' as a curse.

His smile faded again as he thought of that vision. Near future. I can't lose her. I won't. It just has to work. 

I wonder what I meant when I said 'Help is on the way' in that vision?

"No, the plates go in that cabinet." Gabriella spoke in her sleep again, interrupting Nate's reverie. He chuckled softly and kissed her on her shoulder. Her crystal blue eyes opened and she looked back at him dreamily. 

He smiled down at her and said, "Good morning."

She groaned and rolled over onto her stomach, facing away from him and wrapping her arms around her pillow as she rested her head against it. Then she stretched, bringing her arms and legs out and in at bizarre angles. Nate felt thoroughly entertained while he laid there and watched. The woman loved to stretch.

Finally, she rested face up on the bed, looking up at him quizzically. "What are you looking at?" she asked him and stretched her arms once more for good measure.

He chuckled again and said, "I don't think I've even seen a cat enjoy stretching as much as you do."

Her arms flopped back on the bed before she replied, "Maybe I'm part cat." She sat up to get out of bed, but he pulled her back to him.

"I'm getting up to go get dressed." she explained to him before he could ask her where she was going.

"Clothing is overrated." he said simply and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Besides, I like what you're wearing now."

She laughed quietly and turned her head to kiss him once on the lips before she asked, "So, what are we going to do today?" Her stomach voiced a complaint.

He smiled. "Well, I'm all for staying in bed all day, but one of us needs to eat."

Gabriella couldn't shake this strange feeling she had that someone was in the house. They'd fired the maid, so that couldn't be it. Something felt a little off. She had the sudden mild urge to go look in the bedroom that first Gus then her mother used across the hall. What is it? she thought to herself.

"I have no idea either." Nate answered her thought. "But when I woke up last night before I heard you crying I felt like something was off balance or something like that. Kind of how you're feeling right now. There's nobody here. I'd know."

Even with Nate's reassurance, Gabriella still couldn't figure out what made her feel like something was wrong.

She did her best to shake it off, and the two of them, once she got something to eat, spent a lovely day together in their bedroom. When Nate went to go care for the horses, Gabriella suggested they go out for a ride. Nate agreed.

Once they'd gone about a mile from the house, Nate reigned Reggie in and said, "Wait. I smell something... something strange." He stood up in the stirrups and audibly sniffed. "This isn't good. I don't know what it is, and I don't 'hear' anything either. All I know is instinct is telling me this isn't good. Let's turn around."

Desi couldn't help but think to herself how her vampire master wasn't "good" either. Reggie's ears twitched back and forth. He thought he sensed something in the trees in front of him, and, like his master, he didn't like it.

"What is it?" Gabriella asked even though she knew Nate couldn't tell her. Mentally, she kept repeating to herself that she wasn't wearing the blue dress so it wasn't time for the vision.

"Gabriella, turn around!" Nate almost yelled to her as a figure stepped out from the trees.

Reggie panicked. Before him stood a human that smelled like a predatory animal. Nate did what he could to calm down his horse. It worked, but only just barely.

You imbecile. You're not afraid of our 'master', yet you're afraid of this one? Desi conveyed the message to Reggie wordlessly. She had the attitude that not much would surprise her anymore.

"Gabriella Hudson?" the man asked.

"Who wants to know?!" Nate quipped before Gabby could answer. This 'man' smelled like a wild animal.

"Not that it's any of your damn business, bloodsucker, but my name's Robert Lupa." Robert answered, irritated. He'd known Gabriella had a vampire boyfriend, but he'd hoped to find her without him.

Rob felt irritated that the horse in front of him acted skittish. He loved animals, and he was mildly insulted that this horse could act so calm around a vampire yet be anxious around him. He noticed the other horse, the one he assumed carried Gabriella, seemed to take everything, literally, in stride.

Reggie finally recognized the smell coming off of the not-quite-human in front of him. Wolf, he thought to Nate.

Holy shit, he's right! No wonder I've never smelled anything like him before. Where the hell did he come from? He petted the horse's neck affectionately. He debated dismounting; he could be faster off of Reggie than on if it came to a fight.

"What do you want?" Nate asked, wrinkling his nose in distaste. He felt insulted how the were referred to him as 'bloodsucker'. He also couldn't read him, and he felt severely aggravated that here was another type that he couldn't read.

"My business is with Gabriella, not you." Robert answered. He only just barely controlled the urge to dash around the vampire, grab Gabriella, and make a run for it, asking and answering questions later. He knew the vampire was in danger as well, but he honestly didn't give a shit about him. He looked over at her, and he felt a little sad she hardly resembled her sister at all. He'd hoped to see some resemblance to the woman he'd loved.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Gabriella and I are a package deal. You have no business with her without going through me first." Nate warned, feeling increasingly uneasy. What on earth could this thing want with his fiancee?

Gabriella rolled her eyes. Men. "Cool off, Nate." she huffed then her mouth quirked up with her slight pun. "Let's at least find out what he wants before you two go at each others' throats." Again, she caught her own pun.

Desi happily stepped forward like her human asked her to. She felt curious about this other not-a-human. Somehow, she felt he was a little less "wrong" than her master. At least he was alive. She felt irritated by the way Reggie acted like he wanted to place himself between her and the canine-human. She liked how the person acknowledged her presence with as much, or even more, regard as the human on her back.

"Well, you wanted to speak to me, so speak!" she said and wondered why Nate suddenly laughed. She watched as the man mildly glared at her fiance.

His eyes stopped glaring when they returned back to her, and he said, "I realize you probably have no idea who I am, but I knew your sister."

A jolt of shock went through Gabriella as she immediately knew he'd more than known her sister. "You were her boyfriend." she said almost numbly. Again, information had come to her from out of nowhere.

Robert blinked a few times. Caitlin was telling the truth. She is psychic.

"What do you want, Robert?" she asked. Caitlin had a boyfriend and didn't tell me?!

"First of all, the forest has ears. I'd prefer if you came with me where we could talk more in private." he said.

Nate spoke up suddenly, "Out of the question."

Robert jerked his head up to Nate and growled, "So, you'd prefer to remain in danger? You don't even know what's going on! You're too stupid to realize your maker is back in town!"

"Impossible." Nate spoke. "I'd know."

"Have you forgotten he turned a witch?" Robert asked.

"But she wouldn't..." Gabriella said, but she got interrupted by Nate.

"How do you know all this anyway?" he asked.

"I can explain when we get to safety." Robert answered, taking a few steps backwards to encourage them to follow him.

"You can explain right now." Nate almost snapped. He didn't like how the werewolf acted like he wanted them to follow him.

"We're wasting time!" Robert howled. "I told you, I can't explain this to you here. You have to come with me."

"And just where is that?" Nate asked, suspicious.

Gabriella was granted insight once more. Even though she knew he saw it as soon as she did, she still spoke to Nathaniel reassuringly, "It's okay, Nate. This is going to be strange, but we'll be okay." Nate snorted as she turned back to the man that she knew now was a were. "Where to?" she asked.

Robert pointed to Nathaniel while looking at Gabriella and said, "I don't like him coming, but I guess I have no choice here. It's indeed lucky for him we know he's not a threat."

"We?" Nate asked.

Robert shook his head, saying no more. Instead, he turned and ran further into the woods. Nate and Gabriella could barely keep up on the horses as the half moon drifted below the horizon.

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I'm sorry some of these pictures are so dark, but well... it was dark! I debated altering them, but then decided against it.

Also, if you haven't checked out my new story, do! The link for it is up to the side under the 'other stories by me' thing. It's called "A Story With No Title". Yes, that's the title. I was feeling ironic haha! Also, the reason is explained in the first chapter.

A New Story!

I've started a new story called "A Story With No Title". Yes, that's the title. The reason is explained in the first chapter. It's about a woman that has a traumatic experience when she lives in Riverview, so she leaves that town for a new life on an island.

The link for it is off to the side or right here:
1: A New Beginning