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.