As the burn of the cool air hit her lungs, Gretchen slowed to a walk as she traveled the path South through the forest. She stopped and bent over with her hands on her knees as she breathed in though her nose and out through her mouth.
She took her bag of holding from her back then sat on a fallen log as she rummaged through the brown leather bag. After feeling around the inside, she found a whiskey bottle of Haldir's that she had cleaned out and put water in. While she sipped from the bottle, she thought back about the library.
Having her other lives revealed to her had not had the effect that Damien thought it would. Gretchen didn't feel like she understood anything better than she did before, but she knew one thing to be true...Her father needed her now. She felt it in her bones when he looked into her eyes from the back of that horse in her vision.
Being faced with the reality of her existence and having the final barrier to her mem
"You know Damien will be coming along for you?" asked Jason as he turned the stick over in the fire.Gretchen let her hair down from the ponytail it had been in and shook out her hair. Eason watched her from across the fire and took in her beauty as the firelight lit up her face. "I don't really care and I don't want to hear his name for the rest of this little trip if you don't mind."Eason grinned to himself at Gretchen's attitude. There aren't many people who would even try to get close to a member from the Darke family and even less that would dare to defy one. Her flippant approach to them was entertaining to watch.Jason inspected the hare that he was cooking then took it off the stick and bit into it. "He loves you Gretchen."Gretchen rolled her eyes and leaned back onto her hands. "It's a dead issue, Jason. Leave it alone.""So, tell me
"Look at him, Agi. He hasn't even spoken since we claimed him." The aggravated captain wiped the sweat from his brow and peered back to Teddy as he stared blankly at the path before him. "This is the mighty warlock Daniel told us about? He's going to help save our world from all encompassing evil?" The ginger haired bearded man chuckled out as he imagined the sickly looking stranger fighting alongside a man like Daniel. "He doesn't seem like much right now, does he? He looks like a strong wind would knock him from the back of that steed."Agamori's white hair whipped sharply away from him as he shot an annoyed glance to his second in command, then he returned his gaze forward. "He's been through unimaginable horrors. He will need time to adjust to his new life here. It isn't easy for them to make the transition when they die their Earth deaths. Being reunited with his child again will be good medicine for him."The captain
"Owooo." Jason alerted Gretchen that he caught the scent of the King's riders up ahead. A wave of relief entered Gretchen's chest knowing that she was nearly there until she caught another scent, the one she had smelled the night she confronted her stalkers. The foul stench of the filthy Goblins."Ow Ow Owooo," she answered back. Gretchen and Jason broke from Eason and barreled through forest in search of the smell. As they wove between the trees, their wolf eyes saw nearly a hundred goblins and trolls waging a barrage of arrowS against a handful of the King's men. The horses that had not been lucky enough to run away and find cover, were lying dead or injured on the ground. The more skilled among the soldiers had managed to invoke spells of protection against the incoming projectiles, but those types of spells were short lived and would not last for long.Gretchen remembered her vision in the library and the
"Father! There she is!" Damien rode hard towards the battle in front of him and jumped down from his horse just in time to see the arrow send Gretchen crashing into a tree. He exhaled a pained groan as he felt the arrow tear through his mates' flesh and stood breathless while the scene played out in front of him in slow motion. "Oh, no! No don't do this, please." Daniel grabbed Damien's arm and broke him from his living nightmare as he pulled him towards it. They ran to Eason and Gretchen's side as the flames barreled towards them.Daniel stood tall against the approaching inferno then put his hand up to command it to stop. With a haunting wail, the fires halted and knelt before the Master of the Flames as he willed it so.While Eason struggled to lift himself off Gretchen's blood-soaked coat, Damien dropped to his knees beside him when he saw the brown wolf laying on the ground struggling to breath. A naked Jason put
"I'm so sorry," Damien whispered as he looked over Gretchen's sleeping face. He laid his head down beside her on the bed and softly slid his fingertips down her cheek. "I wanted to tell you Gretchen. I should've told you. I really can't blame you for being so angry. I see what you're thinking, but it's not true. It's not my fault I see things like I do. I just thought..I just thought if you could see the whole story laid out in front of you, that you'd understand why I've done the things I've done, not to make you someone else. Believe it or not, I quite like you as you are."As he heard the door swing open behind him, Damien sniffed back his tears and sat up straight in his chair. Teddy pulled up the chair beside him and sat down. "How's she getting along?" Damien licked his lips then swallowed back his tears. "Still sleeping."Teddy patted the back of Damien's shoulder and said, "She's right st
"Whoo, damn," Gretchen groaned as she braced her hand against the wound on her chest while she limped back to her bedroom. The further she walked, the weaker she felt and when she reached her room she was panting for air.Feeling her discomfort, Damien opened his door and saw her pushing her's open. "Gretchen, what are you doing? Why aren't you in bed?" He grabbed her arm and helped her to sit down on her bed.As she pushed him away, she said, "I'm fine. You can leave now."Damien pulled the chair in front of her and sat down. "Can you just put your stubborness aside for just one moment and look at yourself? You can scarcely breathe. Why are you even out of the infirmary anyway?"Gretchen looked him in the eyes and said, "I'm getting my things. I'm not going to spend one more night in this castle with you people."Damien wiped his mouth with his hand and shook his hea
Damien shoved his clothing in his bag as he cursed himself for his carelessness over the last few months. Seeing Gretchen writhing in pain and gasping for air as blood dripped from her wounds was a wake up call for Damien. No matter how hard he tried to hold onto her, he kept hurting her and pushing her away.As he watched Damien struggle with his conscience, Daniel crossed his arms and thought about what to say. "It's time for a different approach, Damien," Daniel said from the doorway.Damien glanced over his shoulder and nodded. "I know."Daniel shifted on his feet as he looked around at the dark heavy aura of regret and loneliness that blanketed the room. "So, what's the plan then?"Damien sighed and shook his head as his doubts whispered to him that he was fighting a losing battle and that he'd spend yet another lifetime without his mate. "I have no idea. Do you have any suggestions?
While the autumn leaves fell around them, the torches lit up the dining hall where the Hexom's sat as a family for dinner. Gretchen curled her lips under as she lifted her chin and scanned the room for Damien. Not seeing him, she sighed then went back to her food. Her stomach danced inside her as she nervously picked at the chicken on her plate. Teddy bumped his shoulder against hers to get her attention. "Not eating isn't going to get him here any faster. You got someone depending on you now, Gretch."She smiled as the reality of his words reached her heart. "You're right."As she was finishing the last of her meal, she smelled Damien's scent coming closer and her heart began to thump against her chest. She blew out through her mouth and shook out her fingers as the coldness of fear took her hands over. When he rounded the corner of the stone wall, Gretchen held her breath as his eyes met hers. He licked his lips then slowly headed towards