Defying Destiny (33 page)

keep quiet, she grabbed the back of his

head and kissed him heatedly to keep her

mouth occupied. He added to her

excitement, knowing exactly how to

please her. His fingers glided between her

thighs to find a nub of sensitive, engorged

flesh. He stroked her there, his rhythm in

perfect time with her racing heart.

Caught in his own bliss, he tore his

mouth away from hers, forgetting to touch

her, forgetting everything but the pleasure

and urgency. With one final deep thrust, he

let go, barely aware that he had cried out

in triumphant ecstasy. Maralee’s gasping,

answering cry told him she had found

release as well. He collapsed on top of

her. She wrapped her arms around him,

holding him close as they drifted back to

their senses.

The doorknob turned from outside,

followed by a rapid knock. Maralee

ignored the summons. She cupped Nash’s

sweaty face to kiss him. “I love you,” she

murmured, surprised that her eyes were

wet with tears. Perhaps she would

conceive a child this time. The thought

filled her with remarkable joy.

“I love you,” he answered.

“Maralee!” Jared called from outside

the door. “Answer me. Are you hurt? I

thought I heard you cry out.”

She giggled. Nash moved away from

her before taking his Wolf form again.

“I’m fine, Jared,” she called loudly. “I

just need a moment of privacy.”

“Is there someone in there with you?”

he asked.

“Just Nash.”

Nash barked loudly to announce his

presence and Maralee wrapped both arms

around his broad, furry neck.

“There’s a package for you here.

Thomas Starling just brought it over from

the post,” Jared called through the door.

Maralee sat up abruptly. “Is it from my

aunt?” she asked, climbing from the bed to

find something to cover her nakedness.

She found her discarded hospital gown

and haphazardly tossed it back on. Nash

watched her drowsily, curled up on her

bed with his head on both paws.

“Will you just open the door?” Jared

said impatiently.

“Just a minute,” she said. “I’ll be right

there.”

Maralee opened the door. Jared stared

at her, mouth hanging open, and dropped

her package. It was rectangular and heavy.

A thrill of excitement raced through her.

She squatted down and picked it up before

Jared had recovered. She gazed up at him,

smiling excitedly.

“You

look

different,”

he

said,

perspiration beading on his forehead.

“I feel wonderful,” she told him. “And

happy.” She glanced back at her bed at

Nash who was already sleeping soundly.

“I think it’s time I’m released from your

care.”

“I’m not sure you’re ready.”

“I’m ready. It’s time for me to find a

new destiny,” she said. Her heart was

thudding at the very idea, but she was

ready. With Nash by her side, she was

ready for anything.

“And I suppose I’m not part of your

plan,” he realized, lowering his eyes

behind his glasses.

“Someone still has to beat me at

chess.”

“Your dog can do that,” he said and

laughed.

She glanced at Nash again, her face

glowing with love. “I have other plans for

tha t
dog
,” she said. She glanced up at

Jared again. “Thank you for bringing my

package. I’ll be leaving this afternoon.”

He nodded. “You have to promise to

take it easy for a while though. No hunting

wild Wolves in the dead of night.”

“I promise never to hunt Wolves

again.” She stepped inside her room and

closed the door.

She took her package to her bed and

sat down on the edge of the mattress. She

carefully untied the string and tore away

the brown paper wrapping. Out fell a

book and an envelope. She opened the

book to make sure it was the one she

remembered. The title “The Wolf Men of

the Forest” was faded, but readable. She

glanced at Nash. He was sound asleep.

She wondered if he would be excited to

see the ancient manuscript. She set the

book down on the floor and opened the

envelope. Inside she found a bank draft for

the exact amount she had requested. A

note from her aunt accompanied it. There

was no salutation at all, just three hastily

scrawled sentences.
You’re lucky I didn’t

burn this book. If you want the others,

you’ll have to come and get them

yourself. If you keep spending your

money without regard, it will soon be all

gone.
There was no signature, but there

was no mistaking her aunt’s brusque

manner.

‘All gone’ was obviously an empty

threat. Maralee knew her fortune consisted

of over a million gold. As for ‘the others’,

Maralee had never seen any other ancient

manuscripts. Her interest was perked.

Perhaps she would make the journey north

once the weather cleared, but for now she

would study the manuscript already in her

possession. She retrieved it from the

floor, settled herself comfortably beside

Nash, and opened the book to begin

reading.

The Wolf People of the

Forest

by Lee Decatur

While cutting through the forest,

far to the south of Dubwar, I was

attacked by an enormous Wolf and

left for dead among the leaf litter. I

lay near death, for days perhaps, but

was rescued by a lovely, young

woman with stark white hair. Jaida

nursed me back to health and trusted

me with a wondrous secret. She

could transform, at will, into a

spectacular white Wolf.

Her small village was built as if it

were a part of the trees. Dwelling

within the village were a people fair

in appearance, but with leery

dispositions. I was at once intrigued

by their mannerism, which at times

reminded me of animals, but I did

not suspect at first, that they were as

Jaida, a race of humans that could

transform into Wolves at will. I

thought she was special. She was. I

loved her with every fiber of my

being—but that is another story.

Jaida’s brother, the clan chieftain,

Burl, became interested in my

longevity and my ability to survive

grievous injury. He befriended me, or

so I thought, and I lived among his

people for several months. While

living within Burl’s home, I was

involved in a series of unfortunate

“accidents” that would have killed an

ordinary man. I am convinced now

that these “accidents” were staged to

test me and prove I was immortal.

It was only after he was

convinced of my immortality that Burl

revealed his true nature. He was, like

my lover, Jaida, a Wolf. The same

Wolf that had attacked me in the

forest and left me for dead. After Burl

revealed his secret to me, he

expected me to reveal my secret to

him. I, of course, refused. As I have

revealed in my previous writing, a

stipulation of my own immortality

was that it should remain a secret.

And now as I write this final

testament of my life, my once

youthful and indestructible body is

frail and aged, weak and diseased. I

am not sure I will live long enough to

finish this tale, but I am getting

ahead of myself. I must now discuss

the reasons why I went back on my

word, and betrayed the trust of my

lord

and

teacher

who

trusted

unworthy me with his secret of

immortality.

Nash laid his head on Maralee’s lap,

disrupting her reading. She scratched his

ears. He huffed out a breath, before rolling

onto his side.

“Are you awake now?” she asked.

He opened his amber eyes marginally.

“I have a present for you,” she said

with a sly grin.

His eyes opened and he wagged his

tail. If a Wolf could smile, he was

smiling.

“Not that kind of a present,” Maralee

said, with a chuckle. “A book written five

hundred years ago by one of my

ancestors.”

He sat on his haunches and looked

down at the book. She closed it before he

could read any of it.

“I seem to remember a certain man

refusing to allow me to read any of his

precious books.”

He glanced up at her, his eyes

narrowed.

“I think he was afraid I would figure

out that he’d been keeping secrets from

me.”

He lowered his amber gaze to his

forepaws.

“So I decided to have my aunt send a

similar book from our estates in Dubwar,

a nd is this some strange coincidence or

what? It’s all about a people who live in

the forest and can change into Wolves at

will and an immortal sage who finds

himself mortal. Of course I haven’t read

far enough to figure out why, but it seems

it must have something to do with this

chieftain named Burl.”

Nash took his human form. She was

surprised to see him scowling.

“I can’t believe you took one of my

books, Maralee,” he growled at her,

snatching it out of her hands. “It is my

responsibility to figure out this puzzle and

I don’t want you to…” He trailed off,

having looked more carefully at the book.

“This isn’t mine.” He opened the book,

and though he didn’t recognize the

handwriting, he knew the story. The sage,

Lee, was a Decatur? How could Nash

have overlooked that very important tidbit

of information?

“No,” she said, snatching the book

back. “It’s mine, and if you want to read

it, then you have to tell me everything.

And I do mean
everything
. Everything

about your people, the curse, your

immortality, and the Wolf Guardian thing

Carsha mentioned last night.”

He

surprised

her

by

laughing

mirthfully and hugging her. “I suppose I do

owe you that, love. Was that book really

written by the sage that granted my people

immortality?”

“I think so,” she said, moving the

worn, leather-bound book out of his reach

when he extended his hand towards it.

“You’re not going to budge and inch

on this, are you?” he asked, kissing her

lips lightly, distracting her completely.

“Why should I?” she murmured,

dropping the book on the floor and

wrapping both arms around his neck.

“You’ve been keeping secrets from me for

too long. The only thing I know about you

for sure is that when you’re in your human

form I can’t think of anything but how

much I want you.”

“So maybe I should stay a Wolf like I

promised myself,” he said, kissing her

more deeply now.

“Don’t you dare,” she growled into his

mouth.

He broke their kiss to look down at

her. “And what would you do if I did?”

“I guess I could get used to it,” she

said, “or I could start dating Jared.”

He looked shocked by her idle threat.

“Are you interested in him?”

“I was teasing, Nash. What girl would

want a boring, steady doctor, when she

could have a shape-shifting Wolf?”

“Uh, all of them,” he said with

conviction.

She smiled and touched his face. “Not

all
of them,” she argued. “Not me.”

“So you’re just trying to make me

jealous. Do you know what Wolves do

when they’re jealous?”

“They make love to their woman for

hours,” she guessed hopefully.

“They kill their adversary.”

Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.”

“Without hesitation,” he said, “but I

like your suggestion better.”

His hands ventured beneath her

hospital gown to grasp her hips and

position her beneath him.

“You make me feel like an animal,” he

growled, and plunged into her without