The Violet Hour (The Violet Hour Series) (21 page)

Andrea Wells – The Violet Hour

Chapter 24

      Simply put, I’d been following my dreams since my mother passed.  Somehow I knew my future was going to come down to this night long before it ever happened.  Though I’d never seen the ending of this bad dream, weeks of night terrors convinced me it wasn’t going to end well.  Nevertheless, I was ready to find out. 

He stood there, eager.  Paralyzed from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and from the inside out, I watched in horror as two more pairs of eyes appeared from the darkness and flanked either side of him.  Their eyes were beacons on lighthouses, warning me to steer clear.  I couldn’t escape now even if I could convince myself to run.  This is what I had come to California for – to end the hunt.  Seventeen years old for only minutes.

One-by-one, each pair of eyes disappeared into the night and for a brief moment, I lied to myself, pretending there was a glimmer of hope.  My heart stopped, succumbing to the rest of my body’s numb state and pain radiated from my burning lungs.  I could practically see my breath escaping my lips into the balmy California air.  Only a dim street light lit the ground surrounding me, making it impossible to see anything beyond the spotlight it cast on the blades of grass. 

I could hear their calculated moves in front of me, though I wasn’t certain what they were doing.  Behind them, I could hear people talking as they took an evening stroll; listened to a baby crying from inside a home three streets away.  In the short amount of time I had spent as a seventeen year-old, I had already started the year-long transformation my father warned me about.  I was hearing things that would’ve been impossible for me to hear days earlier and I’d ran quicker and farther than I ever had before.

I was reminded of the last night I’d spent with Luke, when I’d wondered what it was like to see as far as he could.  Though the thought was brief and minor, I wondered what it would feel like to have all the senses he had, see the things he had seen, to run beside him through the forest as a wolf.  If only I could’ve allowed that curiosity and wonderment to get the better of me before I’d fled Wyoming, maybe I wouldn’t have ever found myself in a park surrounded by death.  In my moment of despair, I wanted to live.

Instinctively, I knew it was him when Xavier quietly entered the circle of light.  Wearing a tailored grey three-piece suit, the vest covering only his bare chest, he looked as though he was getting ready for a business meeting.  Dark wet hair slicked back, exposing a chiseled square face that framed bright green eyes.  His pearl-white teeth beamed as he smiled and took another step closer.  The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my body began to thaw simply from the warmth he radiated.  He morbidly chuckled as if he enjoyed my fear, taking another step forward while unbuttoning the last button of his jacket.

“Well Logan, what a pleasant surprise,” he said in a low and hoarse, yet impossibly elegant voice.

I said nothing in return, maintaining my poker face.  He took another step towards me.

I watched as two pairs of green eyes lit up again just beyond the light.  They each took steps inside the circle, flanking Xavier on each side.  They too, dressed in suits, looked like they belonged in the same business meeting.  It was a meeting I was no longer interested in attending.

“I brought my friends, Raphael and Alexander along to keep me company while visiting Hollywood.  Funny we should cross paths with you in such a large city.  Tell me, what brings you here?” he asked in a velvety tone.  I watched Raphael and Alexander inch closer.

“You know why I’m here,” I spit, finally able to speak.

“Oh, do I?” he asked, widening his smile.

Xavier stood impossibly still while Raphael and Alexander positioned themselves on either side of me.  I was outnumbered, but I didn’t care.

“You shouldn’t have killed my mother, Xavier!” I wailed as I stood, unleashing my anger on him.  “She did nothing to you…”

“Ah, but she did.  She broke her promise.”

“What promise?” I demanded.

“No one told you?” he asked through a growing grin.

“Told me what?” I hissed, hardly able to believe there was more to this story.

“Your mother and father promised you to us when you turned seventeen.  You see, as soon as I heard of your birth, sweet Logan, I offered to help your parents.  You were a beautiful baby – the light of their eyes.  I told them there was just no way they could properly raise you – well, with all that power, they had no idea what you might become.  Your mother plead to keep you – raise you until the change began.  She promised to give you up once you turned seventeen.  To which, I agreed.

“However, when I showed up a few weeks ago to pay your mother a visit – remind her of our arrangement, she informed me the deal was off,” Xavier paused, taking his final step toward me.  He placed his hand against my cheek – his touch hot against my skin.  He slid only his finger underneath my chin, pressing my parted lips ever-so-slightly shut.  He leaned his face toward mine, “So…,” he whispered, “she left me no choice.”

I inhaled his sharp words and thick scent.  My stomach began to turn.  I closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn’t see the tears beginning to swell.  My knees grew weak.

He released his touch from my face and I quickly opened my eyes, glaring.  Startled, Alexander and Raphael lowered their shoulders into an attack position.  I knew if they didn’t kill me soon, my heart would from the speed it was racing blood through my veins.

“You made a mistake,” I breathed.   

“No, Logan, I don’t make mistakes.  I make very concise moves.  Your mother made a mistake – she lied and therefore had to die.  My next move was to find you – to help you – and here we are,” he said, triumphantly. 

I took a very deep breath.

“
What’s next?
You might be thinking,” his eyes twinkled.  “Well, that’s a very good question, Logan,” he went on, clapping his hands together with one loud slap.

The gesture nearly startled me back into the bench.

“I’m here to give you a choice, a gesture which no else has seemed to give you lately.” 

Alexander and Raphael tilted their heads to the side.  Did
they
not know Xavier’s next move, I wondered.  Nevertheless, they kept their eyes locked on me – ready to attack.

“You can join us, Logan.  Join us and become a leader of others,” Xavier said very enchantingly.  “Your power stands to be the most powerful.  It would serve great use to our family.  You belong with us – you’re royalty.”

“And my family?” I asked, not even sure what I was asking.

“We are your family.  You deserve nothing short of being among equals – strong, powerful, pack leaders.”

“I meant my father and Kate.  Jack and Jesse.  And…,” I hesitated.

“And?” he pressed.

“And Luke,” I whispered.  His name struck pain deep inside my chest.

“They’re dead to us now,” he said, matter-of-factly.

I gritted my teeth and took a step toward them.

“I would rather die.”

A slow smile spread across their faces.

“Well…,” Xavier whispered, “That’s fine too,” licking his lips.

A warm sensation spread like wildfire across my flesh.  I closed my eyes, clenching my fists.

I felt the distance between us close as Xavier reached his hand around my throat.

“Just breathe, Logan,” he whispered.

Without thinking, I took a short quick breath.  The air filling my lungs carried the sweet scent of pine; I imagined it was Luke gently touching me instead, wanting my last thought to be beautiful.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on soft sand.  Warm light tickled the surface of my skin and blinded me like the first day of summer.  I rapidly blinked my eyes and felt them begin to water.  I could hear voices around me, though I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  I started to press my elbows into the sand to push myself up but was forced back down.  Panicking, I began swinging my arms and blindly fighting.  I grabbed tightly to the first thing I connected with and pushed back with all my remaining strength.  The voice was closer, though I still couldn’t understand the words.  Before I could protest, something pinned my arm painfully against the ground.  I kept blinking my eyes, trying desperately to clear my vision. 

As I thrashed my body side-to-side trying to break free, I felt something touch the tip of my ear.  I knew I had felt the touch before, and momentarily confused, I stiffened. 

“Logan?  Logan?”  The words were whispered closely.

I stopped trying to twist my arms free.

“Logan, just breathe.  Breathe for me, Logan…”

Still unable to see, I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, hoping to wick away the moisture.

“Okay, just breathe…”

I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out.  I felt a trickle of moisture drip from my face while I tried desperately to stand.  A warm unexpected taste slid onto the tip of my tongue; instinctively, I swallowed.  The copper flavor spread over the entire surface of my mouth becoming stronger.  My body went rigid as if snapping to attention. 

“Logan!  Logan!” was yelled into my ear.

My voice caught; my mouth still full of blood.

His grip released my hands and I began wiping my eyes while I was pulled through the sand closer toward the light.  When I could finally see, I looked at my hands in horror.  Blood stained and ragged.  My leg bent awkwardly underneath me, though I couldn’t feel it.  Trying to move, I placed both of my hands down on the ground, and was instantly stricken with shooting pain.  Grains of sand clung to the cuts on my hands and burned as they settled inside the fresh wounds.  Feeling hopeless, I looked up and met Luke’s eyes.

I threw my sore arms around him as if I was never going to let go.  He squeezed tightly for only a moment before cautiously pulling away from my embrace.  I could feel pain shooting through my body but didn’t care.  He cupped his hands around my face instead and I was certain real tears now saturated my eyes.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it, Logan… I didn’t think I was going to make it…” he whimpered across from me. 

I reached up and placed my hands over his, jerking slightly as sharp pain shot through my right arm. 

He leaned closer to my face as I shut my eyes.  The smell of blood hung heavy in the air, but I was still able to catch a hint of Luke’s sweet scent from his hands.  He ever-so-slightly touched his lips to the tip of my nose. 

“Come on!  We have to get her outta here, Luke!” I heard someone yell from behind us.

Before I could reopen my eyes, Luke had swept me into his arms in one quick motion. 

The sky was just starting to turn shades lighter in announcement of morning’s first light.  Jack and Jesse watched while Luke carried me past them.  My eyes felt heavy and began to close.  Images flashed across a black screen.  Blurs of movement.  Wolves.  I felt Luke’s pace slow, forcing me to open my eyes, ending the short film.  I turned just in time to see my dad and Kate standing, motioning him toward a black car.

Luke came to a halt a few steps away from the passenger-side door.  He looked down at me with kind eyes and parted his lips as if to speak.

“Thank you,” I whispered instead, unsure exactly what I was thanking him for, but knowing words could never be enough.

He closed his lips again as if I had stolen his words.  Just as he placed me inside the car, the door opened from the driver’s side.  I turned my head slowly against the seat and saw my father lean over to start the engine.  Luke snapped the seatbelt over me.  The nearly black tint of the window made it almost impossible to see, but I could tell the sun had begun to rise.  The interior of the car lit up with the sparkle of my tattered dress.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” I saw the words escape my father’s mouth as I watched him, but his voice was muffled.  The world was going silent again. 

I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder from behind and I drifted away. 

Andrea Wells – The Violet Hour

Chapter 25

   I awoke to a faint, steady beeping.  It echoed throughout the small room lit only by the amber glow of an alarm clock.  The time read 8:18 but I had no idea if it was AM or PM, nor what day it was.  I didn’t know
where
I was.  The air smelled of rubbing alcohol, medical supplies and blood, mixed with the faint scent of fresh flowers – lavender.  I moved my hands to lift myself up when I felt a sharp poke at my wrist that burned up to my elbow.  A dim light in the corner of the room flicked on.

“Don’t move,” Luke said as he quickly hopped up from the chair next to the alarm clock.  “Here, let me help.  You’re wired all over the place.”

I kept my eyes locked on Luke as he crossed the room toward me, afraid he was a dream that would disappear.  I couldn’t believe he was real.  He reached behind me and tugged at my pillows before grabbing under my arms and scooting me up a few inches.  Then, he pressed something on the side of the bed and the entire bed moved.  It wasn’t until the bed stopped and he put his hand on top of mine that I looked down to see a needle connected to an IV running off my arm.  I scanned the room, clueless.

“You’re in your father’s home office.  He usually keeps this room locked up,” Luke murmured quietly, drawing my attention back.  He smiled at me and the gesture felt anything but simple. 

I slowly gazed around the room.  Dark wood and thousands of books scaled the windowless walls.

“What day is it?” I forced myself to ask, though it wasn’t the most important question on my mind.  My throat felt hoarse and torn.

“It’s Thursday.”

That would’ve made it only one day after my birthday, but something in the back of my mind knew differently.

“What’s the date?” I pressed.

Luke’s troubled eyes closed and he sighed deeply.  “October 8
th
.”

While I tried to accept the timeframe, Luke stood silently and walked over to the door.  Jack and Jesse entered solemnly – two people I wasn’t expecting.  It hurt to smile, but it felt good to see familiar faces.

“Don’t hurt yourself there, Logan,” Jesse joked cautiously as he came to my bedside and rested his hand on my foot.  The gesture seemed calculated as if he knew where he could and couldn’t touch me.  I immediately quit grinning and put on a pouty face. 

“That’s better,” Jesse laughed.  “So, when ya breaking outta here?” he asked.  I noticed Jack shift his lower body quickly and Jesse groan in reaction, wrapping his arms around his stomach.  Before Jack got too far, Jesse punched his arm in return. 

Jack smiled down at me and shifted into the role of ‘mature older brother’ for the moment.  He walked to my bedside and knelt at eye level.

“I’ve been keeping up on all your homework for you,” he offered.  “I turned all those ‘A’s’ into ‘C’s’ and ‘D’s.’  Thank me later.”  Maybe I was wrong about the mature part.

“Okay, everyone out,” a voice called from the hallway. 

I glanced around the room with only my eyes and panicked to see Luke had left without even a ‘goodbye.’  My dad, Kate and a man I’d never seen before stepped into the room.  Everyone paused at the foot of the bed as Luke stepped into view from behind me.  I desperately reached for his hand as far as my cords and wires allowed. 

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours, love.  This is Dr. Hanson,” he gestured toward the man. 

“Don’t go, I don’t want to go back to sleep,” I pleaded.  Dr. Hanson moved toward the machines on my other side and laid a chart across my legs.

“You’ll be fine, Logan.  You’re in good hands.”

“No!” I begged, feeling suddenly exhausted.  “Wait until I’m asleep again.”

The doctor reached down and gently turned my wrist so the IV was facing toward him.

“Hello, Logan,” he said, noting something on my chart.  “I’m Dr. Hanson, but please, call me Nicolas.”

“Hi,” I mumbled, noting he looked too young to be a doctor, but he was likely the oldest person in the room.  His voice was thick with an English accent and underneath his white jacket; I noted a tailored Armani suit.

My dad moved toward me from the foot of the bed.  Luke stepped out of his way, but not before I mouthed, “Don’t go.”

“I’ve been out for over two weeks, Dad,” I mumbled.

My dad sighed deeply as he shuffled toward me; placing his hand gently on my shoulder in the same careful manner everyone else had touched me.

“I’m just thankful you’re alive, Logan,” he said, deep pain lacing his voice.  The beeping noise in the room picked up speed as the pace of my heart began to race.  Images flashed through my mind as my breath quickened.  Vivid black and white scenes danced past my vision as if to remind me why my body was helplessly broken.

My dad sighed again in frustration and knelt down beside my face.  

“I love you, Logan.  I love you more than you’ll ever know,” he said, kissing my forehead.  It was the first time my dad had told me he loved me since I’d arrived in Wyoming. 

“I love you too, Dad,” I whispered, suddenly feeling weaker.

My eyes were growing heavier by the second.  I felt myself starting to slip, but I fought to stay awake longer.  The images began to dance again.  I wanted answers.  I turned my eyes from my dad and looked down toward my legs, pulling my arm away from Dr. Hanson.  I quickly pushed away the blankets, exposing shades of black and blue streaking down my thighs and disappearing under white leg casts.  I looked at my outstretched arm that matched the colors of my legs, noticing deep gashes closed by numerous stitches.  My pulse quickened again as tears began to flood my vision.

“What happened?” I mouthed, knowing they were all watching every subtle move.

“It’s not important now.  You need to rest so you can regain your strength,” my dad mumbled, struggling to hide the pain in his voice.  Kate leaned over the foot of the bed and recovered my black and blue cast-covered legs with the blanket, gently tucking the ends under my sore feet.  I closed my eyes hoping when I reopened them, Luke would be there.

“Have I changed yet?” I asked, trying to stay awake.

“No, not yet,” Dr. Hanson replied.  I watched my dad as he closed his eyes as if he knew what Nicolas was about to say.  “Three-hundred and fifty days to go.” 

My father turned his back to me and walked to the end of the bed.  I searched the room for Luke but he was gone.

“I’ll be back to check on you again this evening, Logan.  I need get a hunt in today before I make the flight back to London tomorrow.  Kevin, Kate, join me outside?  She’ll be sound asleep in a few minutes.”

“Sleep well,” Kate said quietly before she stepped out of the room.

My dad squeezed the tips of my toes, and then followed them.

I was alone.  A dark wooden desk shoved next to the shelves beside me as a makeshift table which was currently hosting medical supplies.  Leather covered wooden chairs were strewn about the room as if different people had camped in different spots over the past couple weeks.  Next to the desk was the most comfortable looking chair – all leather, but it looked supple and billowy.  A wool blanket tossed carelessly over the back and a throw pillow shoved down into the corner of the seat hinted that it was the same spot the same person sat in every time they visited.  Next to the chair, on top of the desk, something caught my eye.

I leaned painstakingly out of bed, fighting off the throbbing that wasn’t yet beaten back by the new dose of morphine. I reached out, straining to grab the object.  I rubbed my fingers across the worn black leather, pondering how old the book could possibly be before I opened it to a carefully bookmarked page.  I recognized Luke’s handwriting before I even began to read.  The marked page at the end of a passage looked recent with fresh ink on the paper.  I was too tired to turn back a page to read from the beginning of the new entry.  Instead, I slowly read the last few lines over and over again, absorbing every word and every letter for its worth. 

The creak of the door interrupted my thoughts.  Appearing in the dim light was the only man I hoped it to be.  The few steps it took for him to close the distance between us were soft and quick.  My skin tingled eagerly under his touch – a feeling that seemed like a distant memory because it had been so long since I’d last felt it.  His eyes were kind and his voice tender as he recited aloud the words he had written.

“Of this one thing in my life I am absolutely certain now: I love her more than words could express. So, I will spend from this day forward proving my love and trust, holding onto the promise of the violet hour that assures me tomorrow will come, offering me one more day spent with the one I refuse to live without.”

My eyes grew heavier as he leaned closer, pausing to carefully move a single strand of hair away from my face.  It was something I’d taken for granted before.  I reached my hand up to him and ran my ragged fingers through his hair, pressing against the back of his neck, pulling him in closer.  He stopped at my ear and I could feel the brush of his lips.  He took that deep, long recognizable breath and chills erupted across every square inch of my skin, jolting my senses awake to treasure one last moment with Luke before I drifted asleep.

“I couldn’t let you fall asleep without being here by your side,” he said softly.  “I love you, Logan.” 

“I love you, too,” I said as he reached for something below us.  Pulling a tattered copy of
Romeo and Juliet
from the floor, he flipped it open. 

“Only one more page until the end,” he said.

“You’ve been reading…”

“…to you,” he finished. 

While he read the last page of the story to me, I fought against sleep.  The last thing I remembered was fighting to die; now I was fighting to keep my eyes open.  Alive.  When he finished, he closed the novel and set it on top of his journal on the desk. 

“The end,” I said, noting he’d missed that part.

He chuckled under his breath and stood up to lean over me, placing both of his hands gently on my face.  Luke pressed his lips down against mine.  His taste was sweet, lips warm, but his breath was cool.  I refused to close my eyes for fear I wouldn’t be able to open them again.  He stared into mine as if he thought the exact same thing.  Pulling his lips slightly away from mine, just enough so that I could still feel their presence, he inhaled.  That recognizable scent I never thought I’d enjoy again overwhelmed me.  I knew only seconds separated us from this moment and my deep sleep. 

I closed my eyes, too weak to fight anymore.

Luke exhaled, engulfing my senses as he whispered four simple words to me before I drifted asleep.

“And so it begins.”