Susan had slept several hours before she began to dream about Travis, his pack, and the full moon coming up. Susan’s dream felt so real that it made her adrenaline coarse through her veins, her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and Susan had sweat on her forehead.
Susan was standing outside with a diet soda in her hand and a huge, beautiful bonfire was raging in front of her. Most people were sitting in collapsible chairs, but there were a few more standing on the gravel and enjoying the fire. Susan had never seen anyone put Christmas lights in the fire before to produce beautiful colors within the fire and it was magnificent to watch. Everyone knew breathing in the fumes wouldn’t be good, but they were in a wide open area and it appeared the smoke was going upward toward the sky. Even in the dream, Susan figures it must be unseasonably warm because no one is wearing coats and many are sitting far enough from the fire that they barely got light, certainly not heat. Looking around, this pack looked about the same size as High Ridge Pack had been prior to the threat that caused them to run. Susan tried not to dwell on that fact and prayed to her creator that she would keep all her friends safe, and eventually help them all to find their mates. Twenty one wasn’t old by any stretch of the imagination, but Susan wished she could meet her mate soon and not feel so lonely in the department.
Four four wheelers drove up to the bonfire with big, bulky men on them. Parking in a line, they all shut off their machines and headed toward the bonfire. Maybe it’s colder on a four wheeler than sitting still. As she watched the men, someone put their arm around her waist and pulled Susan back against a hard chest and rested her head back onto his shoulder. Both arms slid around her waist before he began nibbling on her neck right there in front of everyone. Susan felt embarrassed but his kisses and licks felt so good. Susan moves her head to the side to give him easier access and wraps the arm on the opposite of the nibbles, up behind her and entangles in his wavy hair. No matter how hard she tried, she never did see his face in the dream. As he moved to nibble her ear, he whispered softly, “mate!”
Susan bolted upright in her bed, trying to figure out why that scared her so much. Recently she had been thinking she might want to find her mate, but she is busy now, so maybe it’s better that she doesn’t have her mate yet? Since her alarm was going to go off in five minutes anyway, Susan reached over and shut it off as not to wake everyone in the house. She decided she might as well get up and get ready since it’s about that time anyway.
Thankfully, Susan and Allison’s day went quickly. Besides the usual medications, personal cares, and meals, they went for a walk down by the river and then to the park to feed the geese. Allison loves animals and smiled on their walk and while at the park feeding the geese. Before she knew it, Susan was giving a quick report to Mom and heading home. Susan stopped to fill her gas tank and buy some fruit and yogurt for supper. A little unorthodox, but hey, it fills a wrinkle, so don’t judge. Walking into the gas station, Susan caught a glimpse of a man that looked familiar but she wasn’t sure where she knew him from. She tried to dismiss him, but the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she knew better than to ignore that feeling. Susan quickly paid for her items and exited the store. Once in her truck, Susan took a roundabout way to return home to make sure she wasn’t followed. Susan reassured herself she was probably just being paranoid, but gut feelings and intuition happened for a reason and she refused to ignore it. If the creator saw fit to give werewolves the ability to detect immoral or evil people, Susan would use that to her advantage to stay safe. As evidenced five years ago, there are some very evil people in the world, determined to wipe them out, so maybe it was being smart and not paranoid at all. Susan thought to herself: yeah, we will stick with that theory.
After a late supper, a shower, and a small amount of reading, Susan was ready for some sleep. By 10:30 PM, she was sleeping soundly and quietly.
Sunday’s shift was not nearly as smooth a day as Saturday. Upon arriving at work, Susan found out Allison had begun to run a fever during the early morning hours of 101 degrees Fahrenheit. After washing her hands and donning a mask, Susan took Allison into her arms and sat in the rocking chair with her. Allison’s cheeks were flushed, she was coughing intermittently, and her normal good natured attitude and smile were gone; in its place was a frown with occasional tears and a little girl that did not want to be put down.
The alarm went off at 6:30 AM and Susan begrudgingly reached for the clock on her side table. After several attempts, she finally hit the snooze button with her eyes still closed. Once the alarm stopped, she reached her arms up to the sky, then up toward the head board of her full size bed. Susan winced slightly at her sore shoulder and neck muscles from holding and rocking Allison all day yesterday. Susan couldn’t help but wonder how Allison and Tracy fared overnight. Susan knew she had to try to keep boundaries between them, but it was impossible to spend so much time with someone and not care unless you were a cyborg. Susan laughed out loud at her thought:
Tuesday, Susan grabbed a granola bar for breakfast, arrived at college early, and studied in the empty classroom until class started. Classes ended at noon and rather than drive home, Susan decided to study in the college library until time to begin work at 3PM. As she researched for a paper she had to write on a disease process, Travis walked up behind her, put his nose close to her neck, and took a deep breath to inhale her scent-wild flowers and fresh cut grass. Susan jumped, put her hand to her neck to make the hairs lay back down after Travis’s close proximity had made goosebumps form and the hair on her neck stood at attention. As she turned her head to
As he stood behind the shelf across the library, he could see that “wolf boy,” seemed to be interested in a human female. He couldn’t help thinking to himself in disgust: Yeah, we may have to move the attack up if Alpha Treyvon's son is interested in a human. It would be a tragedy if we waited and they went as far as to reproduce. Eww..Just the idea turns my stomach.
Allison was more alert today as Susan took over her care. Her color seemed better and she no longer felt febrile. What a relief the strep had improved, the medicine must be working.Since Allie was alert, Susan started her personal cares and readied her for her bath. Allison was lucky she had a beautiful reclining bath chair that allowed her the option to saf
Travis just couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. Could it be the cheerleaders always offering to take care of his ‘needs’? It could be, but this felt different somehow. It was like someone evil was watching him but he had no idea why that would happen? Everytime Travis looked around or really entertained the idea he was being watched, he didn’t see anyone there. He began to think he was just paranoid and let the idea go. Travis went to class, played football, and studied. That was the extent of his activities ach week; he didn’t party, he didn’t work, and he didn’t date. To get into medical school, he had to keep
7AM, Travis’s alarm went off and he readied himself for the day. Once his supplies were ready, he placed his back pack on his back, headed out the door, and jogged to the cafeteria for breakfast. Being an athlete and a werewolf Travis consumed huge amounts of food, especially protein, to help support muscle growth and function and keep him at his ideal weight for competition. This was the last season Travis would play college ball. He knew he would be too busy in medical school and would never pass the screenings for the NFL, because of being a werewolf. Ironically, college didn’t test for wolf DNA, but the NFL did. Travis enjoyed playing competitively but kn
Susan was in her room studying Wednesday night after work when there was a knock on her door. “Come in.”The door opened and in strode Tia. Susan looked up at her and smiled, but got a very serious look in return. “Luna, w
Two days later, Susan could not believe how much had been done in less than two days. Gannon supervised the security project and had put up enough metal posts to attach the motion lighting and security cameras. Signs were also put up at each gate:“This is a no trespassing zone. Our land is protected with weapons and canines. With the price of ammuniti
Travis was quiet on the way home, and Susan couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with him. Pulling into Gannon’s driveway, he parked the SUV and spoke calmly to Susan, “I didn’t want to tell you at the office, but Mom messaged me during your exam and Octavius Ongst paid the bail for all 10 of the hunters. Mom was with Gannon and Cat when she messaged me. She said Gannon is upping the security as we speak.” Travis explained and grabbed her hand in support.
Stacey escorted Susan and Travis back to Dr. Hanson’s office and asked Susan for a urine sample to verify the pregnancy. After giving the sample to the nurse, Susan was escorted to the room when Travis waited and asked to put on a gown and remove everything else but her socks. Susan laughed because Travis’s eyes got big when Stacey asked her to disrobe. Evidently he had not realized a pelvic exam was part of the initial pregnancy appointment. It was always a good idea to do an initial exam to make sure there were no surprises that could cause issues with the pregnancy. Susan changed her clothing and had a seat up on the exam table with a sheet covering her fr
“Finals are done. What a load off my mind,” Brad said as Susan nodded in response. “Hey, you worried about the wedding?”Susan shrugged, “I don’t know if it’s nerves exactly.” Susan looked aro
Susan arrived home after class to help with supper preparation; she received numerous congratulations from the ladies and men in the kitchen, on her engagement. Alpha Gannon said, “congratulations little sister,” and enveloped her in a huge hug. She hadn't really studied her new engagement ring until she was sitting in class and admired the ½ carat, pear shaped solitaire diamond with a gold band that sat proudly on her ring finger. Smiling at the memory of Travis’s proposal, Susan ran to take a shower before supper.
Susan’s 8AM class ended and she headed for the cafeteria for their between class study group. Brad walked up behind her and linked arms with her, before saying, “hey girl! How ya think you did on the quiz?” Susan put her hand out and made a waffling motion in front of her. “Yeah, there were a couple questions I wasn’t sure about. I’ve really missed our study sessions lately,” Brad whined while sticking his bottom lip out in a pout for effect.
Travis had been excused from classes and football due to his father’s death; upon his return, he was trying hard to get caught up. Susan had been scarce at home due to classes and work, and Travis wanted to do something special to surprise her. Today, Travis was in the library working. After almost an hour, Brad walked through the door of the library and took a seat at one of the larger tables. Travis continued to watch, in hopes that if her best friend was here, so would Susan be. Brad appeared to start working on his work when a young, energetic, female with a high pitched voice sat down next to him. Brad looked up from his computer and said, “h
Travis checked Gannon’s home office, but the door was closed and no one answered. Luna Caitriona was in the kitchen, so Alpha Travis stepped just inside the doorway and said, “good morning ladies. Luna Cat, do you know where Alpha Gannon may be?”Luna Cat had a small smile on her face when she looked up from her French toast station to
Travis ran downstairs, apologizing upon entry, “I’m sorry to keep you waiting Luna Mom.”“Oh son, I remember how it was when I was a young wolf and just met your dad. We never wanted to be apart.” Tears came to Luna’s eyes, but she took a deep breath and fought them back. Clearing her throat she went on, “so you had a