Authors: Gina Marie Long
A series of hoots, whistles and claps followed. Daniel and Abigail fetched fancy glasses and several bottles of wine and champagne. It appeared Daniel had remembered my request from the previous night for that fancy champagne after all. Abigail circled the table and did the honor of filling the glasses.
Daniel immediately stood up, making sure he would be the one to offer a toast to me. He held up his glass, and the others followed suit. "Here's to Kara. You are a beautiful, compassionate person. Happy 21
st
birthday, sweetheart!"
Everyone clinked their glasses together across the table. Abigail suggested we go to the lounge which would be more comfortable on our full bellies. We had finished devouring every morsel in sight and she was getting itchy to clean up the mess. It was cute how each of us had our favorite seating in the lounge that we designated for ourselves. Some would be on chairs, some on sofas, but each person would be drawn to a certain spot.
After ten minutes, Abigail joined the group. I'm sure she had completely cleaned up the kitchen and washed the dishes in that short time frame. Not something a human could have possibly done that fast. She had well-tuned her body to take full advantage of the super speed werewolves were equipped with. She knew that ability would come in handy for various reasons, and chose to practice on perfecting it.
Abigail carried in a wrapped gift for me. I was not expecting any actual presents, so this threw me a curve ball. She handed it to me and said, "Did you really think you weren't getting any presents?"
Tessa piped in, "Most of us have had the opportunity to get away from you long enough to pick up a gift." She reached behind her chair to pull out another surprise for me. Of course, she and Zac had been away from the resort all day and would have had time to buy something.
I looked down at the gift Abigail gave me and started to gently peel the paper off. She shook her head and said, "Just rip it off, girl."
I smiled like a little kid and tore the paper off the box in two seconds. I lifted the lid and inside was an expensive black leather jacket. I had never owned anything like that before. I thanked her as Tessa handed over the present from herself and Zac. They gave me a pair of rugged hiking boots, which were much-needed with my current activities and several shirts and jeans. Tessa gave me a hug and I thanked them.
Eli cleared his throat, and said directly to me, "Catch." He threw a set of keys at me. I looked down at what was in my hand. Keys. Oh my God...Dominic had mentioned a few weeks ago that Eli had so much money that he could easily buy me a new car. Since he was involved in the destruction of my old car, I guess he decided to get me a replacement. The keys looked brand new, not used, with a Dodge emblem dangling from them.
"Eli, you really bought me a car? Is it here now?" I was shaking as I stood up. He slyly glanced at Daniel and nodded to him.
Daniel said, "Follow me to the garage. We hid it in there."
I eagerly followed Daniel as did the rest of the group. Not everyone had a chance to view it yet, so the curiosity level was intense. Daniel opened the door that led into the attached garage and let me walk in first. There sat a brand new, Dodge Challenger. Black as night. The shine on it was almost blinding. Absolutely awesome and according to Eli, all mine. Everyone carefully inspected it, holding back from drooling on the paint job.
After ten minutes, we headed back to the lounge. I still had a couple of people who had gifts to give me. I was floating on air with excitement. It all felt like a dream and I definitely did not want to wake up from it. I had hugged Eli, and thanked him over and over for the car. He beamed with his victory of having pulled off this caper. He had totally surprised me, which was his full intention.
Dominic had his turn coming and explained, "Well, now, I don't know that I can top a brand new car, and since I haven't had a chance to slip away from here, that's why I decided to make a spectacular meal - my gift to you. But, you have another gift that should arrive any day. I was able to get on the internet and place the order. Here's an I.O.U." He handed me a card. On it was taped a picture of a new notebook computer.
I gave Dom a huge hug and thanked him, "Dom, that meal was the best I've ever ate in my life. Thank you, especially since you know how much I hate cooking, I can really appreciate what you went through to make that meal. And a new computer? Whatever I have back at home is many years old and glitchy. I've missed having my very own laptop. This is great!"
The last present was from Daniel. He must have grabbed it on the way back in from the garage. He was sitting right next to me on the sofa and simply handed it to me. The room had grown silent. I was trying to control the slight tremble I had in my hands. In fact, I think I had even quit breathing. It was a type of box made for jewelry. I opened the hinged lid. Shining back at me was an exquisite, high caliber gold necklace. Attached to it was a beautiful, gold, open-faced heart that slid freely over the chain. I knew that if Daniel had purchased this, he would have chosen the best quality available. The value of this gold was very high, without a doubt, although I would not know what to guess. I kept gazing at the necklace, running my fingers over its smooth texture. One just doesn't casually buy a gift like this for another person. This kind of gift is given to someone who is greatly cared for and loved. Treasured.
Daniel asked quietly, although everyone heard him, "What do you think, Kara?"
I held firmly to the necklace, still in its box, and reached over to hug him and kiss his neck. The tears had sprung up in my eyes again. "Daniel, this is so beautiful. I can't believe you bought this for me."
Mentally I said to him, since I was afraid if I spoke my words would get all choked up,
Thank you so much.
And then he took the necklace out of my hand and placed it delicately around my neck and secured the clasp. Since I still faced him as we sat on the sofa, he maneuvered the clasp around so it landed on the back of my neck. Everyone in the room watched this interaction, fascinated with how we responded to each other. He kissed me on the lips at this point, not in the least bit concerned that we were being observed. It was a simple, sweet kiss. Nothing wild, but filled with love.
"Well," Dominic interrupted, "We are still sitting here, you two. Hellooo..."
I burst out laughing as did everyone in the room. One big, happy family. I once again thanked everyone for the presents. I let them know they had all caught me by surprise. And I was shocked at the amount of money they had spent. That was totally unnecessary to go so overboard with the types of gifts some of them had bought me. But, I appreciated and loved all the presents and joked that there would be no exchanges necessary.
Eli hated to bring up the next topic, but it was important. "Kara, I don't want to ruin your birthday, but a reminder to all of us as to why we are here. Stephen. We have re-grouped from yesterday's ordeal. Zac and Tessa have been out in the field, and Kara and Dom have tried to work out some kinks with mentally connecting to Stephen and breaking through his mental block. I suggest tomorrow that Zac and Tessa go out into the field again, perhaps staking out Simon's place. And, to alert us if we need to take immediate action. I doubt Stephen will try to go up against Daniel's pack all by himself. So, I'm sure he's looking for a partner in crime. Probably David. He'll continue to stir up the rest of his pack, to attempt to convince them that they should back him up on whatever revenge he wants to enact. Luckily, his pack members don't seem too eager to follow his lead of behaving so aggressively. I would suggest that within a day, we should still take some form of action against Stephen instead of waiting for his next deadly act of violence. "
Everyone sighed heavily. We knew we couldn't keep idling our time away, day after day. Stephen would misbehave again and it would be best to capture him before another innocent human died. I had a feeling that we would be going on a hunting expedition. Soon. I wasn't quite sure what would happen once we caught him. I guess that's when we would have to play it by ear, take it one step at a time.
We decided to call it a night after Eli's somber mood brought us back to reality. It was pretty late in the evening anyway. Slowly, everyone dispersed, going their own directions. Daniel and I walked to his room to have some privacy without an audience. Our affection towards each other really freaked out most of the team. I'm sure the first thing going through their heads – she's human and he's a werewolf. Abigail seemed easy going about it, though. But she had lived this lifestyle a very long time. I would have to ask her what her actual age was. She was Rebecca and Samuel's child, and if she had been born to them soon after they became werewolves, she would be around 300 years old. It was sad she didn't have a husband or boyfriend. Maybe that was why she was so happy to see her Uncle Daniel have such an interest in me. She didn't want him to be alone. But did that also mean she hoped I would become a werewolf myself?
Daniel opened the door to his room. The last time we were in there, I had to mentally calm his emotions which were going into overdrive. I wasn't sure at that time if he would transform or get too rough with me. So, as I stepped over the threshold once again, I kept my fingers crossed and remained positive.
I said, "Daniel, this necklace is incredible. I have a feeling it cost a lot of money. You shouldn't have spent that kind of money on me."
He took my hands and brought them to his mouth. He tenderly kissed each one and replied, "I am very wealthy. I can afford this jewelry without it making any dent into my finances. And I think it's perfectly fine to pamper someone I love. You are worth it and you deserve this. It is one of the ways I can safely show you how I feel about you, Kara."
I slipped my hands free of his and circled them around his waist. I snuggled up to his chest, placing my head over his heart. What was it about his chest...I pulled back, realizing it had only been one day since Daniel was attacked by Cassius. Those horrific slash marks that were emblazoned into his gorgeous chest. How in the world had I let that slip my mind? I was well aware of his superhuman healing abilities. Not more than fifteen minutes after the injury, he was barely bleeding anymore. I suppose with Daniel walking about today, not expressing any signs of having sustained such an injury and no indication of pain, all of it passed right over my head. I had not wanted to remember the nightmare of it and he didn't discuss it today. But I had to see for myself that he had healed properly.
My facial expression was that of panic and concern as I jerked up his shirt trying to get a good look at his chest. He peered down at me, head cocked to the side, trying to understand what I was doing. I just about had his full chest exposed when he grinned with amusement, comprehending what I was searching for. His poor shirt was now bunched up under his chin as I held it with one hand, and inspected his chest with the other. Daniel had healed. No stitches had been required, no ugly gashes, no raw flesh that needed weeks to repair itself. It only looked as if a cat or dog had scratched him with its nails. I looked into his eyes with amazement.
Still grinning, he commented, "Those marks will be gone by tomorrow. See, nothing to be all worried about."
I leaned in to kiss each of those marks. I felt guilty for not having asked him about them earlier in the day. Everything was just so overwhelming. There were so many things to think about. I felt his chest muscles quiver with each kiss I gave him. He took the part of his shirt I still had stuffed under his chin, and lifted the entire shirt up and over his head. He was awesome. He could win awards with his body. I couldn't believe I was standing in front of it – his body – him. Daniel. My brain was turning to mush. In a good way.
He took my hand and we walked over to his bed. He reached for the remote control to turn on the TV. As he turned around to face me, he sat down and reclined back against the headboard of the bed, looking so delicious. He gently tugged at my hand, inviting me to sit next to him on the bed. He wasn't aggressive; in fact, it appeared he just wanted to watch TV with me by his side. Remembering his need for self control, I dove into his mind to check on his emotions. He was completely focused on keeping his wild, animal behavior under wraps. He was extremely content, still aroused and excited but in a levelheaded sort of way. I sensed so much love coming from him. And a need to protect and care for me. I jumped right on the bed with him, and stared into his eyes.
"Daniel, you are doing very good staying in control of your emotions," I was proud of him. "Probably better than I am tonight. My own emotions and hormones are skyrocketing. I know I have to be careful not to push you too far."
Daniel replied, "You are not doing anything wrong. It's natural what you're feeling and how you're responding. You're 21 years old. You're human. I'm a werewolf. It's all a matter of me getting used to you. To this. To us. For me, I need to gradually build up my resistance to the werewolf side, the animal side of me that desperately wants to burst forth when you make my thoughts go wild. I will not hurt you, Kara. I haven't experienced anything like this, as I told you before, in several hundred years. I don't want to scare you or have you leave me, either. If ever I lose my self control, and you are unable to mentally manipulate my feelings fast enough, don't be alarmed if I turn tail and run away from you. Perhaps literally in that sense. I would do this to protect you, for that moment in time, from me. I would return when I'm calm and under control again. But, I do not plan on it ever getting that out of control for me. Kara, I love you."
Daniel just had something over me. I was head over heels for him and I let him know. "I love you, too, you big, fluffy wolf." I burrowed down onto his chest. He was ecstatic with my mutual feelings toward him.
I had several questions I knew would shock him. "If I was a werewolf, would you have to be so cautious with me? And if we are going to continue this relationship, you've already fully explained that I'm going to keep getting older and you won't. That's not very fair. I can just picture that after about fifteen years of us being together, and you still looking ungodly young and sexy, I don't think I'm going to like aging one bit. If I asked you to, would you willingly turn me into a werewolf? I'm NOT saying that's what I want. I don't know what I want right now. I just want to know if I chose that life, would you turn me?"