Wicked NOT Dead
Chapter 20
Alcide
Alcide pulled into a parking spot down the street from the address that Rebecca had left for him the day before. He was in a part of the Garden District that was a combination of residential homes and locally established retail stores. He stepped out of his truck and leaned against the door. He was early, having booked it out of dodge as soon as was humanly possible. He'd used the excuse of checking in on the other construction ( just in case anyone felt the need to inform Malcom about his whereabouts) sites and after a few minutes in each place along the way he'd hightailed it to the city. He wasn't sure what to do with himself now though, Rebecca wouldn't be expecting him for another couple of hours. From where he stood he could see the place he was supposed to meet her. The building took up the entire block with her shop Covenstead at the corner on the bottom floor. The rest of the building he'd been told consisted of the Beniot family residence. He sighed. Walking up to Elva's place without Rebecca there to play go between wasn't something that thrilled him. He couldn't help but be a little intimidated by Elva's unyielding sexually charged gaze. He knew it was meant only to render him uncomfortable and his reaction was giving her exactly what she wanted but he still didn't want to be alone with her. The few days she'd spent at Belle Vita had been enough for him. She was predatory and Alcide wasn't in the mood to feel like pray. The street was busy, mainly tourists but there were a few on the street that belonged to the area. He sensed at least one shifter nearby but he didn't attempt to track down their exact position. Probably a shop owner. He also felt the energy of several witches. He had never sensed them before Rebecca ( or at least never paid them any mind), now he felt them everywhere. From behind his shades he could check everyone out as they went by without looking like a perv or a stalker but still a few peoples eyes meet his as they passed him by. After a few minutes of people watching he shifted his weight and let his mind wonder back to the morning before the darkness of his glasses kept anyone from knowing he wasn't completely on his guard.
They had stayed together on the couch locked into each other long after the sun rose, he dosing in and out and she silent and still in his arms lost to her need for sleep. When she finally started to stir it was late and they had little time to talk about the night before. He had things to take care of if he was going to be able to meet up with her, work to get finished and people to dodge and throw off track. He didn't want Malcom to know where the was heading if he could avoid it, didn't want to bring any of his toxicity into what he thought was already going to be a difficult weekend. When he came out of the shower he saw the tail end of a very long list that she neatly folded and placed in the back pocket of her jeans. He didn't ask but could tell that she to had a lot she wanted to get accomplished before she made her way here to New Orleans. There would be no need to drive her back to Bon Temps. Her car was waiting for her in the parking lot. How it got there he didn't bother to ask. She had more than enough people who would be willing to bring it back to her. He held onto her door as she climbed in,
" You be careful." He was worried that her mind would wonder from the road in front of her and she'd be behind the wheel a good bit of the day.
" I will, you do the same." She wasn't thrilled to be leaving him here with Malcom lurking but she was fairly certain that he wouldn't be making his move right away. He would still be doing everything he could to avoid contact with the man. He didn't trust himself not to snap his neck the first chance he got.
He bent into the car and placed a quick kiss on her lips. She ran her hand across his cheek and gave him a reassuring smile but in her eyes he saw sadness. He wished he knew what had put it there.
She pulled out of the spot stopping to give him one last look and then she was gone. As he watched her retreat out of view he moved his way through the lot toward his truck. The sooner he got to work the better. He needed some hard labor to keep his mind off of everything. He also needed to speak to Crawfish. Rebecca spent a lot of time talking with him, she trusted him and maybe he knew something that Alcide did not. Even if he didn't it couldn't hurt to see exactly how much he did know.
He'd picked Crawfish's brain but in the end all he had done was make him worried to. Alcide ended up answering a lot more questions than he got answered. Crawfish was surprisingly level headed and sensible and Alcide found it quite helpful using him as a sounding board and in posing questions that he hadn't thought of himself. Crawfish helped him keep his focus on his work had offered to take him out for a beer to keep him from being alone but at the end of the day he'd declined the offer. He'd been to damned tired to do anything else but crawl into bed. A good nights sleep had helped tremendously though he still couldn't believe he had been able to sleep at all.
From the corner of his eye he caught sight of familiar movement. He would be able to find her in any size crowd simply by the way she moved through it. Rebecca was coming down the street, dressed in her New York City best, a rainbow of colors that few would dare pair together but looked perfectly polished on her. It was business Becca, the chic version. She had a thousand different looks, one for every occasion, for any type of company. She could stand out or meld into the background. She would have made a great spy. She was walking with and talking to a young brunette who was dressed all in black, wearing forties style glasses and typing frantically on her cell phone. They stopped in front of the shop, the girl nodding as Rebecca smiled and sent her inside. Once she was alone she turned her attention to where he stood. She would have sensed his presence even sooner than he had hers. A slight smile remained on her face as she walked towards him but he could not see her eyes, they were hidden behind a pair of dark shades of her own. When she reached him she stopped at the edge of the sidewalk and stood her legs slightly apart one hand on a hip that had pushed it's way out to one side.
" This is Gucci and it is fabulous no matter where I wear it." She grinned widely and bent forward to place a kiss on his lips. " You are very early."
He took her into her arms, breathing in the clean crisp scent that surrounded her and loving the solid strength of her body as it melded into his.
" Missed you." Her response was to squeeze him even tighter.
" Me to and I am glad you have arrived safe and sound" and alone she thought to him " But I have some other business to attend to before my day is over. I have a few minutes though so I can take you inside and get you settled before I have to head off."
He looked up at the house. He could use a shower and maybe a few minutes of shut eye.
" Elva is out and she has been warned to be on her best behavior while you are visiting. So stop being a baby and let's get moving." she ruffled his shirt and grabbed his hand as he reached back into the truck to grab his bag with the other. He let her drag him along the walk and into the shop, behind the register sat a young woman with a jet black bobbed hair, a jet black flowy top, which was partially covered by a deep purple Covenstead smock. He couldn't see but he would take bets that there were black pants and black shoes hidden beneath the counter.
" Alcide, this is Amelia, she is a member of my Aunt's coven and one of the managers here at the store." Amelia stuck out her hand and Alcide took it. There was a slight twitch when they made contact but Amelia held his gaze. Not as Sup steady as Rebecca but she'd seen enough that her reservations were minimum.
" Nice to meet you Alcide, Rebecca and Elva speak of you often." she smiled and Alcide felt a flutter go through his stomach. He didn't even want to ask for details of what had been said.
" Good to meet you to Amelia." He looked around the store, there were several woman, of various ages, sitting at a table in the back of the store they were surrounded by books and various containers holding who knew what. The one that was outside with Rebecca looked up briefly, giving him a nod before she nudged the woman who was sitting next to her and pointed something out to her in the book she had been looking at.
" That is my cousin Patrice. She is visiting from Seattle. She runs the Covenstead store there." Alcide knew that Rebecca hired family wherever possible, the company was something she wanted to live on as long after….. He looked down at her and realized that a legacy for her would be something very different than it would be for others. Would she still be here long after everyone else in this room had died.
The older woman next to Patrice looked up then giving him a slanted look over and then a slight nod meant not for him but Rebecca.
" Another relative?" he sent to her
" My Aunt Selene, Patrice's Mother, Evla and my father's sister. She lives in Baton Rogue far enough away from Elva to keep from driving each other crazy but close enough to be near at a moments notice." she replied.
Was this normal, to have so many Benoit's in the same place at the same time or where they all here to help Rebecca with whatever it was that was weighing her down? He could smell the intensity of the woman in the room, they were on a mission. They all held energy and power within them. None of them came close to the hum he heard coming from Rebecca but each one could more than hold their own he was sure. He hoped he would find out what was going on soon. He hated being on the outside looking in. Still he wasn't pushing her until she was ready. Rebecca liked an order to things. It kept her focused, helped her get things done.
They walked through the store ,several sets of eyes watching as they moved through the space and out the back into a large courtyard that was surrounded by the square of house. The floor was lined in old cobblestones, possibly as old as the town and filled with potted plants, trees and flowers. There were several fountains bubbling away including one large one in the center of the yard with a winged cherub at the top pouring something into the fountain with a knowing look. The saying "Don't drink the water" ran around in his head and put a smile on his face. There were several places to sit thick cushions covered up wrought iron benches in one spot, ornate wooden loungers in others. Various styles that somehow worked together and made the courtyard the perfect place to relax away the remainder of a long day. It was cooler here to, considerably cooler and he felt some of the heat from the street melt away from his arms and back. In one corner he spied a trellis covered over and over in the deeply blue hued morning glories, outlined in white and lined in the center with a brilliant magenta, they remained completely in bloom and lead backward into a hidden little nook. A place for secrets and stolen moments. He sent Rebecca a image that made her giggle.
" Hum I am sure there have been a few instances of such happenings in that little alcove over the years." She lead him through the path closest to that spot and into the house.
As he took it in the first word that came to mind, to describe what he saw was Grand. A vaulted ceiling surrounded by original hand carved rope accented maple crown molding with a deep cherry stain. The staircase was of the same wood leading upward creating a criss-crossed pattern along the landing. Each piece of furniture had been carefully picked and placed, antiques mixed with modern pieces. On one wall he recognized Rebecca's photographic handy work on another there was a grouping of photographs of the Beniot family through the generations. All in a sepia tone, all aged to match each other as if they had all lived at the very same time instead of generations apart. The largest photograph sat in the center the Beniot family as Elva knew it as a child. Rebecca's Father couldn't have been more than fourteen in the picture but he was already as tall as Alcide stood now. He felt Rebecca move in beside him and watched her face as she took in each member of this side of her family tree.
" Dad used to get teased for his size by his friends, used for it by his family. But either way he always owned who and what he was." she reached out and touched the picture lovingly. He felt her sadness and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. She took his hand and held it in hers. She looked up and gave him a soft smile.
" I wish I could stay and show you around more. But I am already late." He sent her the message that he understood.
A woman appeared from the doorway of another room. She was in her early fifties with dark hair and dark skin. She smiled at Alcide "La señora Rebeca le gustaría que yo para mostrar el caballero de las habitaciones?
Rebecca nodded and urged the woman closer " Sí Gina, si no te importa y por favor cuide de él para mí hasta que yo vuelva." to him she said " Gina runs the house for Elva, she will take care of you.
" De la señora por supuesto voy a ver nada de lo que pueda necesitar." she walked across the room and towards the steps.
" Gracias Gina" she smiled kindly at the woman.
" Please follow me Mr. Herveaux I will show you to your room while Ms. Rebecca heads off to her meeting." She waited at the edge of the steps while Rebecca made more apologies for having to leave.
" No worries Becca, I'm early and you got things to do. I'll see you in a few hours." He figured he could explore the place a bit, take a shower, get that nap in. He felt surprisingly at ease here, like he belonged. Magic? Maybe but he didn't think so. But even it it was the forces surrounding this house had accepted him and that had to be a good thing.
"If you need anything don't hesitate to ask Gina. She absolutely hates when anyone under her roof goes without something they need." She leaned in "Nothing pisses her off more than when they go looking for something themselves though. So please just ask" She gave him a quick kiss, they were being watched closely, and with another quick thank you to Gina left the room.
" Mr Herveaux?" He turned to look at Gina " Are you ready?"
He looked around the room, doors leading in all directions. Later he thought. " Yes Ma'am." He followed her up the stairs and down a hall with several doors on each side. Each door had something carved into the wood. He made a mental note to check them out when he was alone and to ask Rebecca later what if any meaning they each had. At the end of the hall they came to a large set of doors.
" This is your room." she opened the door with a flourish and stepped to the side to allow Alcide to enter. " It is lovely no?"
He listened as she explained different aspects of the room and the history that went along with them. It had been once been the private rooms of Mrs. Adele Beniot who loved a lot of light flowing through her space and spent many hours sitting on the balcony which overlooked the street and allowed her to see when Mr. Benoit returned for his day of work, or from his various business trips. It had been her favorite room in the whole house, light and airy like the island home she had known as a child. She spoke of the couple in past tenses, because she didn't know they were still walking the earth or because she didn't know Alcide was aware they were he wasn't sure. But he was more than happy to hear the woman speak of the good times the couple had spent here. When Rebecca came to visit this was always her room. Elva insisted on it.
The walls and furniture were white, the rest of the decor done up in hues of green and blue, with vases of flowers in red, orange and yellow spread though out the room. All of the element colors he thought, his reading on the craft had seared some things into his brain. He looked for witchy things everywhere he went now. A bed made of white ash was even bigger than the one at Belle Vita stood against the far wall. The canopy of which was draped with mosquito netting tied back with thick rope cord. A bank of french doors were laid out on each side of the bed, the sea blue gaze curtains pulled back to fill the room with the afternoon sun.
" If you wish to rest, this button here will pull the shades for the windows. If you need anything at all press this button and I will see that you get it straight away." He watched as she showed him once again which button did what, when it was clear to her he had no other immediate needs she turned and closed the doors and left him on his own. He walked through the adjourning rooms, a closet filled with woman's clothes took one side. Rebecca's scent was everywhere in this room. Another closet for her to fill with beautiful things. With all of the places he knew she had access to he wondered how it was she chose what clothes went in what closet. Maybe she bought in bulk so each closet had it's own. He ran his finger across a rack of dresses. They were all brightly colored, but the purple, green and gold ones caught his eye. Each one begged to be worn out on hot Summer nights, their colors screamed New Orleans at him. This closet was set up for the city it was set in.
He walked across the room and into the bathroom that was decorated with a similar island feel as the bedroom. His muscles ached and his joints creaked when he spotted the shower so he stripped down and climbed inside. He stayed under the sting of the steaming hot jets until the water turned luke warm and threatening to lull him to sleep. When he wondered back into the bedroom wrapping a towel around his waist as he went he found his bag sitting inside the door. A tray of iced tea and sandwiches sat on the table in front of a a chair in the corner of the room. He grabbed one and scarfed it down. Chicken salad. Good to. Nicely spiced Rotisserie chicken and not to much mayonnaise, he hated to much mayo. It wasn't the calories, it was the goopiness of it that he found off putting. He took in another sandwich half in one bite. No celery either. It was just the way he liked it. He hated celery to. He grabbed the plate and a glass of tea to wash them down and walked over to the windows. He could hear the sound of the street but not see onto it from here but could see into the garden of the house across the square. Rose bushes everywhere. Beds and beds of rose bushes. They were beautiful and looked to have no problems with the summer heat. The owner must spend a lot of time and money keeping the garden looking so good. As he gazed up and down the street though he noticed that everything on the street was perfectly green, nothing was wilted or worn down from the heat. Every tree, bush. flower and plant was standing tall looking healthy and freshly watered. The houses were all in perfect order to. Fresh paint, no loose boards or mildewed siding. No trash on the street or sidewalk. A picture perfect American street. How much of it was a home owners or business society he couldn't say but some of it had to be explained by the fact that Elva Beniot lived on the street. Witch or not she was a force and order in all things was a code this family seemed to live by.
A flash of red caught his eye and he followed a cardinal as it flew between the tree branches. Must be nice to be that free. To fly anywhere you wanted to go, whenever you wanted. Having spent so much of his life tied down, he envied it. He was making changes now though. Taking back his life and making it his own. He now thought it possible to have all the things that most people found made them happy. Only one obstacle remained. The thought of it made his blood boil and as he took bites of sandwich he couldn't help but think of what it would be like to take a giant chuck out of Malcom. He shook away the thought, the hate and anger he felt needed to be stored away, used to fuel his fire when Malcom made his move. No point in waisting or wallowing in it now. The sound of voices underneath him brought his mind back to his other worry. Rebecca. She was outside on the ground floor, he cracked the doors so he could hear her better. Spying. Not cool but it didn't stop him. She having a conversation with a man, a Were. The conversation was about Malcom he was sure. Rebecca was asking for information about his background, where he had come from, his family connections. She seemed to be reprimanding herself for not knowing about him. Why would she feel like she should have known him? Was he somehow connected to her family? Related? A member of her Father or Christian's packs? A enemy? He'd figured that Malcom somehow figured into the reasons Rebecca had asked him to come here this weekend. The conversation below confirmed that much. The voices started to move away and Alcide crept out onto the terrace and as close to the edge as he dared to get. She knew he was nearby, that it was possible he would hear her, possible if he did he would try to listen but catching him outright wasn't something he wanted. She was across the street now, standing in front of a large motorcycle. The man was white in his early sixties, with graying hair covered by a red white and blue bandanna. His face was covered in salt and peppered stubble, his arms in tattoos. He was tall and in excellent shape. He pulled a pair of glasses out of his helmet and put both of them on. He flipped a finger under her chin to make her look at him. She snapped to attention and listened. Alcide smiled, not to many people would get their way with Rebecca like that. But she stood there and listened to every word he said and then waited a few steps back on the street until he'd pulled away from the curb and down the street. She then walked a few steps down the sidewalk and stepped down into the opened back door of a car, having sensed she would look up he was able to jump back out of sight. He didn't risk looking over again until he was sure the car had driven away.
He went back inside shutting the doors behind him. He had no idea when she would return. When he would be able to ask her what was going on. What her answers would be. He looked around the room til his eyes found the switches Gina had shown him by the door. He walked over and ran his hand across one and watched the shades lower themselves down one bank of windows and then the other. Once the room was dark he sat on the side of the bed until his eyes grew heavy and then let himself fall backwards into sleep.
He woke up slowly his eye lids heavy and unwilling to open. Once he was able to coax them he laid staring at the ceiling. The room wasn't as dark as it had been when he'd fallen asleep and when he turned his head he could see that the shades had been raised but the day had fallen away and the light coming through the blowing curtains was from the moon. He sat up with a start and searched for a clock. How long had he been out? The glowing numbers told him it was 9:11 pm. He'd been asleep for more than six hours. Rebecca? He sent out feelers with his mind. She would have to be near by. He wondered why she wouldn't have woken him when she had returned from her meeting.
" I'm right here Alcide" her voice was quiet and came from a darkest area of the room. She'd been sitting silently watching him from the chair in the corner and now that his eyes and mind had adjusted he could make out her form, the glowing of her exposed skin. She had changed into jeans and a tank with her hair falling loosely around her face.
" Why didn't you wake me?" he pushed his way to the side of the bed.
" Couldn't" He'd been to far gone. Had he been drugged again? She had promised never to do that again, not without his permission.
" I had nothing to do with it." she sighed and untangled herself from the chair pushing herself to the edge. " Gina is denying that she gave you anything. But I know that the only time the Were's sleep like the dead.."
" Is when they are dead." He finished.
" Yes, Elva has failed to return home this evening and is not answering any of my calls. I can only assume that one or both of them slipped you a sleeping potion."
" Why would they do that?" He asked is voice gruff with sleep and confusion.
" I'm afraid that Elva's trust doesn't run as deeply as mine does." He'd been invited to this place, been made to think he was welcomed. If Elva didn't want him here she could have easily asked Rebecca to find another place to stay while he was here. He'd forgiven Rebecca, he wasn't sure he would be able to do the same with Elva who he barely knew or Gina who was a stranger.
" I can not speak to the exactness of her motives Alcide, but they probably had more to do with you than with me. There have been some revelations in the last twenty four hours that have shaken my family. My Aunt now feels the need to force my hand in finishing what I have started here. I think she was afraid you would discover something that would send you running before I had the chance to talk with you."
" What would I possibly find that would make me run." Make Elva think he'd run? Besides the fact he had a very recent history of doing just that to her niece. He guess he shouldn't expect Elva to believe in him. She had less invested than Rebecca and it was her job to be more objective. Drugging him though wasn't acceptable.
" We argued in the car this afternoon. After my conversation on the street with Buzz. She saw you watching. She wanted me to do something. I refused. I guess she took care of it herself."
Everything he had had to eat or drink had been before he'd overheard the conversation on the street.
"Well if that is the case I probably own Gina an apology. I don't believe she would have spiked your food or drink before that happened. Elva wouldn't need to put anything in your system Alcide. She could simply will you to sleep. Which means she released the spell and is probably lurking somewhere near by waiting."
Waiting for what Rebecca?" he asked
" The fireworks." she stood and came to him. As she got closer he could see her face was fresh, without a stitch of the make up the way he liked her best. But now he could see what that had been hiding a weariness that filled her features now. She looked tired, her eyes reddened and circled with a purplish hue. She sighed and stood just to the side of him.
" I would like for you to come with me Alcide." she tentatively held out her hand and he took it without hesitation. She sighed again this time gratefully and as he held her small hand in his he could feel the heat rising between their skin and the full extent of her emotion. He tried to send back feelings of this own. Ones that would reassure her. He was sure there was nothing that she could tell him that would make him run again. He willed her to know that as well. He could feel her vulnerability was at a all time high. She was lacking that part of her, the stone cold strength that she called on when life got rough. The burden she needed to relieve herself of had exposed the soft breakable part of her, the side that let him know she was human, that she hurt just like everyone else but that he knew she hated for the world to see. He was going to have to help her through this night. He would have to find the strength within him not to let anything she had to say rock him. He'd save that for when she wouldn't be able to see any doubt or fear that may fill his eyes. When she wouldn't be able to read his mind. Now he would do everything he could to push her through it, to allow her get it all out. It was time for her to let go of the one last part that she'd been holding back from him. The reason that she built walls around herself that had stood strong for years and only began to fall when they had finally found each other. The reason she held all of her pain inside so much so that when any amount of it escaped she feel to pieces. He thought of her crumbled on the floor that night, the look in her eyes when she spoke of the loved ones she had lost .The emptiness she had felt since Mason had left Belle Vita. She wasn't hiding any of it from him now. He saw every last shadow that her past cast running across the beauty of her face.
"I had planned a totally different evening. Had wanted our first night here to be more about us and now and less about me and the past but there is no sense in prolonging the inevitable. I know you have questions, ones that I know I have the answers to so if you would please get dressed and meet me downstairs. He wanted to grab her up and hold her, to have her tell him everything there in this contained space but he didn't. He released her hand and let her walk out of the room.
He dressed and padded down the hall in bare feet. At the landing he stopped and looked down. Rebecca stood at the bottom, her back to him gazing at something on the floor. When he pulled back his focus he saw that carved into the wooden floor was a giant tree. As he took in the enormity of it's size and the skill of the work Rebecca spoke of it's origins.
" Etienne carved this for Adele when he built this place. On one side it is her family, the other side his until they come together here" she moved to the middle of the tree where the branches were thickest and began to intertwine. " from here on the branches represent all of those who have come since or because of their pairing. This branch is mine." Rebecca's hand moved across a section and it illuminated. Can you see?" She turned to look up at him.
He could make out writing on the branches and could imagine the names but he bounded down the steps so he could see exactly what she wanted him to see. The names of those who still lived were written across taunt strong fully formed branches. Those who had moved on had tiny breaks in their branches. The dates of their births and deaths underneath it. He traced his way across the one that held Rebecca's name. There were dates but at the end the infinity symbol had been carved. The end of her branch forked in two. One side leading to the family she had lost. The other shorter, newly formed held the name he'd been born with. He was amazed and touched. To be included. To be a part of the life in any way.
" When I arrived here Elva told me the branch had sprouted the night you returned to Belle Vita after the Full Moon and that with each day we've been together it has grown. Your name appeared the night you let me come to stay with you in Shreveport.
"THAT is what sealed the deal?" The tree's apparent ability to carve itself was not not lost to him, but here with her there didn't seem to be any need to question it. What he couldn't believe was that this magical object had thought he was worthy enough for inclusion.
" It was the last part of you held back. So when you were ready to let me in the tree knew you were strong enough to become a part of the fabric of this family." From outside he heard the sound of thunder in the distance. When he looked into Rebecca's eyes he saw the storm mirrored in them.
" Nothing you have to tell me is going to change that. I might bend Rebecca but I will never break." He grabbed her by the shoulders and held her still until she looked up at him.
" I am not worried you will leave me Alcide, I am worried what you will want or try to do for me when I finish telling you what I have to say." She moved through the living room and sat down on one of couches. There was food laid out on the table but she didn't touch it. Instead she poured herself a glass wine and took several sips.
" Come on sit down and eat something. I hate for all of this to go to waist." He wanted her to get on with it but sat down across from her and looking around at all the food picked up part of a shrimp po'boy sandwich.Gina had set out quite a spread. Rebecca picked a few things off of a platter of antipasto. She ran a olive through her fingers before plopping it into her mouth. She nodded her head up and down as she chewed.
Is it good?" He asked. He imagined that it was from what he got from her it was the first thing she'd had to eat all day. " Might want to eat a few more of those if your gonna down any more of that wine." He thought she'd give him shit about telling her what to do but she didn't. She just grabbed several more olives and then dipped a piece of salami through some mustard.
" I haven't eaten much since I saw you last. My stomach has been in knots. Talking with my family was rough. You saw some of them in the shop today but there are more. All Beniot's thank the Goddess. If I had to deal with any Keane's in person right now I don't think I'd make it. Luckily I got to do that by Skype. My Mother is livid. But that was to be expected. It was the look of disappointment on my Grandfather's face that threw me most."
" None of them are coming here?" It seemed the Keane part of her family were never around when the shit hit the fan? Some was Rebecca's fault, she kept them at arms length but they didn't do much to fight back against her allusiveness. Pack gathered around one another and stood up and next to their own, even protecting those who chose to isolate themselves if help was asked for. Rebecca was in need of her families support not their condemnation.
" No they are not coming here. In fact they probably won't be doing much of anything for a day or two. My Mother's ranting got me so hot that I sent an electrical storm to knock out the entire village."
Alcide paused to see if she was joking but the look on her face told him she wasn't. It was a mixture of anger and remorse, the anger was still winning. " Good for you"
She smiled. " Only way I could get her to shut up and leave me be. Beating a dead horse half the night. Her yelling at me from afar. Elva pacing back and forth behind me. Both of them trying to out talk the other. Once the lights went off on Mother, Elva shut up to. She calmed down quickly and set to work. She has gone into organizing mode gathering all of the family nearby to help do some research. Taking it upon herself to clean up my mess I suppose." she looked down at the floor. " I tried to go to my Mother back then but she wouldn't listen. She was hurting and that pain made her even less willing to listen to her defiant troubled Daughter. Elva was to caught up in her own grief to recognize anyone else's. They all want to know now why I didn't rely on them, believe in them, let them help me but what they don't remember was none of them were there. It was a bad time for all of us and for the longest I have blamed them. But in the end no matter their actions I have to live with and take responsibility for mine." She reached under the table and pulled out a document tube." I know why Lawrence Malcom is after you and it is not because he wants control of the pack. He could care less about that really but he is using the suffering of some of them to gain control within the ranks so that when he comes after you he has back up. He has the ear of many but the loyalty of only a small few. Most of them like the words coming out of his mouth but they still don't believe in him. He is still seen as an outsider by most even though he has done his damnedest to try and change that. The efforts you've made to get many of the pack work haven't gone unnoticed, they are grateful and while they are not thrilled with your Father, they know more than you would like them to on that count, they don't hold his failings against you. The few Malcom does have on his side though have always been on the fringe of the pack, the trouble makers, the dirty fighters, the ones with nothing to loose. Your Dad usually sends them out to do the dirty work that no one else will do and lately he hasn't been as generous in his thanks for their efforts. When Malcom makes his move they will stand next to him. He also has picked up a few other nomads along the way that are staying in a motel just outside of Shreveport."
He hadn't known about the Were's hanging out on the outskirts of town. But the men Rebecca said stood with Malcom were easy to pick out in his head. Outside of the men who worked for him he'd been going on his gut and the word of others on where everyone within the pack stood. Rebecca had found out more in the last two days then they had the last few weeks.
" Not just me, I have a network of family and friends out there gathering as much information about Malcom as we can find. We scanned the surface before, trying to not garner any attention with our inquires but now we are using all of the means at our disposal to find out what he us up to, who is helping him and when he plans to put his plans into motion."
He wondered where the detective A game had been the last month when the mans intentions had been driving him mad.
" I am sorry to say this to you Alcide but before now it was just a man jockeying for control of a pack. It happens all the time. Your Father has shown weakness and it is natural for someone with the will and the means to try to take over. Those I asked to look into Malcom skimmed through just the basic information of his life. They were not however willing to get to invested in what essentially was a turf war. I am sure that you have been asked to get involved in such things and declined because it wasn't your place to do so. It's just not the way Were's do things."
She was right of course. Were's did there best to stay out of other Were's business unless of course something happened that made it impossible for you to stay out of it. Something that made what you'd been trying to stay out of just as much your business as it was theirs. Now those Rebecca called on saw this as personal.
"All of what I told you was true but now things are different and a closer more in-depth look into his background and history were in order. I now know his intentions are to kill you Alcide,not just take over a pack that frankly you would be more than willing to be free of."
He'd been a pain in that man's ass that was for sure but Alcide had felt that the man had been after him before they had even met. What the hell could he have done to make the make come to Shreveport eyeing to kill him?
"He wants you dead because he knows killing you will break me." She opened one end of the tube and pulled out a single white sheet of paper. As she unfolded it across the empty part of the coffee table he could see that it was another family tree.
" Turns out the Lawrence Malcom is the sole remaining adult male of the this blood line." He could see the name Wright written across the top. The family of the man who killed Rebecca's father? As he glanced over the page he could see that many of the men of the family had died within a few month period five years before. What the hell had happened? A decease, a Were turf war? He looked to Rebecca for an answer and saw it immediately.
" I killed them." she said in a quiet quivering voice.
" How?" he kept his voice even his eyes focused his hands clinched at his side.
" Viciously." she said the word catching in her throat making the s sound like a hiss.
Rebecca? he looked from from her to the page and back again. There were more than a dozen names. He'd imagined her capable of a lot of things. He'd known that that time in her life had been brutally dark but he'd have never guessed she have gone that far. Not without some help. The Vampires? The thought was in the air before and caught by her within a heartbeat.
" Would it help you to grasp the idea, knowing that I had some help?" she sighed when it was clear he it would. " Then I'm afraid you will be disappointed. Mason was locked out, knew nothing and Alexander was always on the fringe but I refused to let anyone else kill them. They were mine." The way she said it sent a chill through him. It was filled with a methodical madness. He knew she blamed the Wright's for her Father's death and he could see why she would but to kill so many, almost irradiating the male linage of the family was an extreme form of vengeance.
" I told you that I always blamed Bradley Wright for my Fathers death and there is no doubt on that matter that he was guilty. I wanted to kill him then but my Mother wouldn't let me. She sent him away and he suffered for it but not nearly enough. I was furious with her and I knew that her letting him go would only end up bringing more pain to our family. She let her feelings for him cloud her judgement and I no longer trusted her to look out for my families best interests. So Christian and I left the coven and went to New York and started a new life with Sage. I thought we were free of all of the drama, that we were our own separate entity free of all of the mistakes of the past and we were on our way to making a great future. But there was always something that sat in the soul of me that never let me be completely at ease. So the night of the accident when I was laying under the blanket somewhere between life and death I could still hear the thoughts of all of those around me. I could hear Christian and Sage's pain and their silent calls to me. I could hear the men and woman who were trying to help us fear that we were all going to die. One of the rescuers was on her first run and excused herself climbing into the back of one of the ambulances to weep. I heard the thoughts of all of the people mulling about some who were getting far to much glee out of the carnage they were watching unfold and I heard the thoughts of the man who had hit us. He hadn't timed the impact the way he had planned and now he was hurt far more than he had anticipated. He wasn't sure he was going to make it and he was damned sure that the pain and suffering was not going to be worth it if he did. He had been sent to find us. Been watching our movements. He had hit us on purpose.
When I woke up completely I looked for him. I wanted to find out more but they had already taken him away and the thought was lost as I watched my husband and daughter die. But lying in the hospital often pretending to be unconscious while my family mulled around me I found him again. He was a Wright. Bradley's half brother and he'd been sent to kill me as revenge for the families exile. So as I recovered and healed I plotted. I told nothing to anyone. I kept it all to myself. This time I would let no one and nothing stop me from killing him. I mourned the loss of my family in a appropriate way. The way my Mother expected and I waited. Until she gave me enough room to breath on my own and then I left. Under the guise of needing time away on my own to grieve and regroup. I asked to be left alone to do so. They found me living quietly on my own in a small cabin on a lake in Idaho and left Alexander to look after me."
She looked out into the night, as if she was hoping for something to appear there and he thought it was possible that it might. The wind was growing stronger and their were shadows casting shapes that if brought into the light could easily become a human, or Vampire. He didn't know which one she expected to show at that moment but the tear that slid down her cheek and made it's way down her neck told him there was no chance he was going to come.
" At night Alex and I spent quiet evenings walking through the woods or sitting by the lake counting stars and telling stories. He was easy to snow, so happy to have me all to himself. Our connection made it impossible for him not to feel the pain of my loss, he didn't share the same sentiments I did over the absence of my family. His contentment made it easy to hide things from. So in the day while he slept I did my research. When I found what I was looking for I arranged for us to go on a little trip to a small town in southern California. That was were I found him, the man that killed my family. I watched him for two days and on the third I introduced myself. My appearance threw him for a loop he had never expected to see me again but he sure as hell knew who I was. He knew that my showing up was not going to end well for him and he mistakenly thought that if he told me everything that I wanted to know I wouldn't hurt him. Of course I let him believe that and when I got out of him all he could tell me I left, and waited. That night he went to his local bar and tried to shake his fear off with a bottle of scotch. I waited in the parking lot until he left at closing and followed behind him as he made his way home. About a half a mile from his turn off there was a scenic outlook and right before that was a really sharp curve. He thought he lost control of the car because of the drink, thought his death was his own stupid fault. How many times had he tempted fate by going driving down that same road drunk off his ass. He figured as he laid dying at the bottom of the hill that he was getting what he deserved for being stupid. When they found his body two days later at the bottom of the ravine it was ruled a accidental death impeded by the consumption of alcohol."
She stopped and waited.
" Go on" He nodded.
" No one thought much of his death, nor did they seem to miss him much. Most of the men in the family lived a hard life, made a lot of enemies and so when they started to die in various places, under various circumstances around the country no one became alarmed. There was a long history of misfortune in the Wright family, many say they had been cursed for crossing a Witch more than a century ago. It was the supposed curse that lead to their hatred for my family and the way we lived. It was also the reason they didn't look to closely at why their kin were dying. Each death was attributed to the curse and bad judgement. They made it far to easy for me but I have to say I did my best to make each death look like an accident or an act of nature. I wanted them to hurt but I didn't want their deaths to cause enough alarm to send Bradley into deeper hiding."
" You saved him for last." It was how he would have done it, saved the main target for the last kill. Take out all of the supporting players, the back up, the ones who would ask questions and then go in and take out the one who started all of the shit to begin with. He wasn't sure he should be happy their minds thought the same on this matter but he couldn't fault her for it. She thought like a Were on a tear. He thought of what he would do if someone was after his family the way the Wrights came after Rebecca's. He doubted that he would have needed a legitimate reason to go after them, just the idea of them and the thought that they could have taken joy in the outcome would have been enough for him.
" Yes. Him and his worthless sons." Her face went hard and her nostrils flared and lightening cracked loudly in the night sky. The storm that brewed around them was dangerous. He hoped everyone in the neighborhood took cover. " They were living in Washington state, squatting on the land of another Were who looked the other way only because he was afraid the Wrights would hurt his family or make trouble for his guests. He was older and had been a lone wolf for to long. He didn't go looking for trouble and he wasn't going to start any with Wright. He knew the families reputation all to well. His livelihood came from the running of the lodge on the property. He pretended they weren't there but steered those who stayed with him away from the area they had taken over. When I came knocking on his door he gladly checked me in to the biggest room in the place. He didn't even blink an eye at the sight of Alexander." By that time Alexander had caught on to what Rebecca was up to and had aided her in any way she would let him. He quite enjoyed watching her enact her vengeance on the Wright family. Slickly hidden carnage was a specialty of his. One that he had not been able to engage in in a long time. He took great joy in watching Rebecca be ruthless. When she thought of those moments now, when she was taking the life of one of the men she could see Alexander's fingerprints all over the proceedings. At the time though she'd been only in her head and her mind never relented in it's desire to take all of them down. She lived and breathed for the finale of her quest each man who died before that was just a stepping stone in getting her to Bradley Wright. "The Were took one look at the two of us and knew that when we left the Wrights would be gone to. I didn't question how he knew that so emphatically ten minutes after I meet him and he didn't question how it was I was going to make it happen. It was a symbiotic relationship that gave me the freedom to watch Wright and his family without detection and I have made sure that he has been taken care of every since." The man had earned every bit she had given him in return. The cover of his home and helped her get her revenge and his silence after it was all over had kept her alive.
They had come to the climax of the story but Rebecca suddenly stopped talking. Instead she sent him images of the things she could not bring herself to say and from them he pieced together each man's death, the rage that Rebecca had within her for each of them and how easy it had been for her to do and to cover it all up. She saw the green lush wet grounds of the property in Washington. The Wrights sitting outside of their trailer on a picnic table, a fire blazing a few feet away, with a couple of tents set up next to it. He could hear them talk, hear them laughing. He could see the moon shinning above them. " You waited for the full moon?"
" Symbolic killing a family of Were's on a full moon." her eyes glowed and the lights around them flickered. Alcide pulled himself to the edge of his seat and prepared himself to move. The heat in the room was becoming stifling, he'd been here before and new what came next. Rebecca was about to implode. "The added bonus was that when it was over it could be blamed on a battle between them and other stronger Were's." She stood and walked to the edge of the room. All of the doors were pushed back leaving a wide opening that looked out onto the courtyard. The rain was coming down in sheets across the awnings of the covered porch. The thunder came closer and closer until the sound was pounding like drums right over their heads. The sky filled up with lightening, illuminating the courtyard and pulling Rebecca out into the rain. He followed quickly but found he could go no further than the edge of the room. She put up a barrier between them.
" Rebecca take it down. NOW!" He bellowed out into the night. She walked to the center of the courtyard by the smiling cherub fountain that as he looked at it now seemed to mock him and his inability to reach her. She was soaked through in seconds the toes of her bare feet curled downward into the spaces between the stones. She had faced him but her eyes were closed and her face was turned to the sky her hands palm up at her side. Water pooled inside them and then flowed down in a waterfall at her feet. He could also see the rain drops dancing as they hit the pool of water in the fountain each one would jump back up as it hit and then explode into smaller droplets that flew out onto the ground around Rebecca. He looked around, there were other doors he could try to get through getting to them would mean he'd have to take his eyes off her and then there was no guarantee he would be able to reach her though them either. " Rebecca" he called out again his voice filled with anger and fear. She was going to get herself killed. He didn't want to see that again. " REBECCA!!" he let out a few curses in her direction and started to slam his body into the barrier. It shook and vibrated but he couldn't break through it. He stopped trying and threw his hands to his head as pain ran through it and his mind was inundated with all of Rebecca's pain, hurt and anger. He saw her take the shape of a wolf, saw her stalk each one of the Wright men in the woods picking them off unawares one by one. He saw Alexander in the trees watching, waiting for her to need him, savoring what he saw. He saw precisely what Rebecca had done, what she was capable of. She had always told him she understood what it meant to be a Were, what they were capable of but now looking into her mind he knew that it had not just been lip service said in the hopes of soothing him. Of forgiving him any and all that he might have done in his life. She had experienced it for herself. When the pain stopped he fell forward grabbing onto the door jam to steady himself. He recovered quickly shaking the last of her emotions away and looked back to where Rebecca stood. She was looking at him now, the heat of her body causing steam to billow around her hiding much of her shape in mist but he could see her eyes clearly and they were glowing amber. He found his eyes drawn to the droplets that covered her mouth.
" The worst part of all of that Alcide was not the act themselves." Rebecca's hands had slowly raised above her head and sparks began to fly. "No the worst part is that I have absolutely no remorse about it. I would change how I handled the aftermath but I would never wish any of those men alive again." From above came a horrendous crushing sound and a bolt of lightening filled the sky and found it's way to the tips of Rebecca's fingers. She jumped and thrashed and the mist enveloped her completely and came at him in a wave of heat. He heard the sound of body hitting brick and then the thunder rolled back and the lightening strikes remained in the night sky. The only thing that let him know she was still alive was the steady stream of rain that still pounded the wood and cobblestone around him. This time when he tried to make his way through the barrier he found no resistance and so he burst through the rain and the fog, letting his eyes find the shape of her in seconds. He slid across the pavement and pulled her to him turning her in his arms so that he could wipe away the hair that clung to her skin. Her cheeks were flush her body almost to hot to touch but he didn't let the sting keep him from bringing her close to his body and rocking her in his arms. He called to her silently and waited for any sign that she was coming back to him.
"Please" he pleaded and when no response came he shook her a bit harder than he should. " Damn it Becca" he croaked into the curve of her neck and as his tears joined the rain and mingled together he finally felt the tips of her fingers brush the back of his neck. He brought her closer and whispered into her ear " Come on back Becca." She grabbed on to the back of his neck and began to breath.
" I want it stated for the record that I did not just die, I just passed out for a second" she whispered into his body and then grabbed onto him even tighter as she started to let out tears of her own. He held her there until the sound of the rain once again became louder than the sound of her sobbing and then he lifted her from the ground and carried her back inside and up the stairs into their room. Neither of them spoke as he peeled off her wet clothes and gently dried her off leaving her for just a moment to grab a night gown from a drawer he was directed to. As he closed the drawer is eye was drawn to a small print displayed on the dresser. Alexander he thought from the look of it. He'd seen enough of his work at this point to recognize it. Somehow he'd end up dead at the end of this mess.
" Those woods unfortunately happened to have another occupant, a vampire who's interests were aroused by the smell of the blood in the wood. He went looking for easy pickings and instead he came across Alexander and me in the wood surrounded by dead Were's. Alex sensed him there knew the Vamp had saw me change back but I was to dazed to know anything. Alex said nothing just went about the plan as we had agreed to it." He pulled the night gown over her head and lead her over to the bed. He took her by the shoulders and gently pushed her down onto the mattress. Her body was rigid and she would have stood there stiff and unmoving if he didn't dictate where she needed to go. He took her hand in his comforted by the feel of her fingers as they clamped around his and gave just the slightest of squeezes. She gazed out the window at the still pouring rain and continued. " The next night I lay in the bed at the lodge semi comatose, I was a complete mess lost and cold. So very cold." her body started to shake at the thought so he wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and brought her closer, the chill though was all in her mind. She was still warmer than he normally was. " The energy I had exuded the night before had left me drained and now that my revenge had been in acted I felt relieved but empty. The reasons I had gone after the men hit me straight in the face and knocked me so far down I couldn't even stand. I didn't even notice when Alexander left me, I remember him kissing me softly and telling me that everything would be fine. That now I could start to heal and move forward. That he would be there with me. That moment registered somewhere inside of me but his leaving the room, leaving the lodge and following the Vamps scent back to his home was all lost on me. His named was Brighton and he wasn't surprised to see Alex and didn't hesitate to let him in. They talked under the guise of gentlemen and Brighton assured Alex he had no interest in what he saw the night before. In fact he was glad to have the wolves out of his wood and was thankful to him for getting rid of them.
He had no way of knowing I wasn't actually a Were or that Alex hadn't been responsible for the killings in fact that is exactly what the man thought. I was just the one that for whatever reason Alex had decided to spare. He thought I was pretty and mused that I would make a lovely distraction as a willing donor. Every word he said implied that he admired Alexander and would not cause him any issue. But Alexander saw a glint in the mans eye, a slight upturn in his lip that lead him to believe the man would cause trouble. There wasn't supposed to be any witnesses to what had happened in those woods, he could take no chances that the deaths could be linked back to us. That was his justification when he killed him. Though it was more probable he just wanted thrill of his own. It was a recklessness that after speaking with Mason recently apparently was typically Alexander. I thought then he had done it to protect me. To keep anyway any suspicion but now I am not so sure." She sighed and ran her hands across her face. " Either way I don't think he would have given much thought to the fact that Brighton's death could make things worse for us. Could bring us a whole new kind of danger. There was no Vampire that would have cared about the deaths of those Were's, yes he could have spoken to other Were's about what he had seen but that would have meant he'd have to actually talk to a Were and to do that he'd have really needed or wanted something from them for the information. More than likely he would have just played with Alex a bit gave him fits. Teased him about what he knew. But in the end I think he would have grown bored and let what he saw fade into the depths of his very long memory. The man had children nearby and when their sire was killed they ran to him one of them caught enough of a glimpse Alexander to turn him in to the Magister. We were at the airport moments from leaving Washington when the plane doors burst open and Alexander was taken. I knew nothing he had blocked the thoughts from me but I knew the moment those doors opened what he had done. He commanded me to sit quietly to not arouse any suspicion upon myself. I was to be his concubine nothing more. I did as I was told. There was no way I was going to be able to take all of them out without ending up dead or getting Alex killed. There wasn't much chance he was going to live past his trial though, I held onto one small bit of hope that I could save him"
" Mason?" He'd be the only one with any weight in that situation. Vampires did not kill other Vampires.
" I called to him then and because the Magistrate liked a show there was not enough time to hold a proper trial the night we were caught. I was left with minders with strict instructions to kill me if I tried to escape. Not that I would have, I wouldn't have left Alex. They chained him to a wall with silver like a dog. He couldn't rest properly for every movement he made caused him excruciating pain. I felt every moment of it and I tried to calm him but he was so angry he wouldn't let me in enough to have any real effect. By the time night fell again he was a bloody mess and practically feral. Alexander did not like to feel trapped and he had never been more so in his existence. The trial was already under way when Mason arrived. The magistrate was taken aback by his presence. Alexander had refused to use his connection with Mason and when he saw his father arrive he became even more enraged, this time at me. He had never had any intentions of letting Mason plead for his life and my calling for Mason was a betrayal of his wishes. I was seated in the corner of the space, kept myself quiet and meek but allowed myself to look at Alex the moment Mason's voice rang through the proceedings. The look in eyes" Rebecca shook once again. " He hated me for that. I was never able to ask him to forgive me."
He didn't need to ask what had happened next, Alexander was gone so whatever influence Mason may have had fallen on death ears.
" It wasn't your fault?" Alcide said kissing her on the head.
" Wasn't it " she replied
" He knew the possible consequences of what he did Rebecca. I ain't a vampire but I know what happens when they kill one of their own. It was cocky and just plain stupid for him to do what he did. His actions let to his death not yours."
" No matter where you place the blame it doesn't change anything. He is just gone." She pulled away and pushed her way back onto the bed. She curled up on her side and stared up at him. " So was it what you thought it would be? My secret?"
He had had no idea " No it wasn't" He saw her in a very different light now. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He still loved her more than anyone he had ever known. But now all of those shadows that he'd always seen surrounding her didn't seem as dark. She was everything she had always been but now she was more real, more imperfect. More like him. it made her far less frightening to him. It made her far more real.
" Oh…. and that is a good thing?" and as he nodded she tried to smile but it turned into a yawn. " Sorry" she stifled another one into her hand. " You must have more questions. More that you want to know?" His insides jumped as she reached out to touch her fingers to his chin. He did, but more than anything he wanted to hold her.
" Really? Then please do" this time she smiled for real and it melted him into a pool onto the bed next to her. Once she was enclosed in his arms everything was as it should be. He buried his face into her hair but remained quiet, listening to the sound of her breathing, processing the thoughts running around in his head. Watching from the sidelines, the ones she shared with him from hers. When she finally let go completely and he was sure not even his movements would wake her he got out of the bed. He covered her with a blanket and padded quietly from the room. He walked back down the stairs and found that now sitting on the table nearest to the spot he'd been last was a stack of books. The missing diaries he found as he picked up the first one caressing the familiar feel of the leather the sound of the binding creaking as he opened it up. He had gotten only a few sentences into the first entry when Elva's voice rang out from the shadows.
" The blood on my nieces hands makes no difference to you does it?" he turned to where she was materializing. There was no teasing humor in her eyes now, her mouth was set in a straight line. She looked a bit older than the last time he had seen her.
" Did it change anything for you Elva?" He would protect her now from anything or anyone. Even her own family.
" I have a lot more history with her than you Alcide." her hands were folded in front of her, tight and knotted.
" That is not an answer. It ain't an excuse you get to use either if you intend on turning your back on her." She'd had the nerve to question his loyalty only fair he do the same.
She walked to the edge of the room and looked out at the rain. " I am angry with her Alcide, but only for keeping the events from me. There were times when I wanted to kill those men myself. They took my brother from me. As much as it goes against the will of the Goddess I hated them for that. If I had known they were responsible for the deaths of Christian and little Sage I'd have not gone against her. I'd have been right along side her. I'd have never let her go through all that alone. She separated herself from us Alcide, turned her back and walked away. None of us knew exactly why until yesterday. Now it has all become clear. There is plenty of blame for us all to share.
" She told her Mother her suspicions about the Wright's and she didn't listen." Alcide had spent his life not being listened to it was something that infuriated him.
" Like I said plenty of blame to be had. Temperance will deny it but she was in love with Bradley Wright. August was a hard man a times and as much as he loved his wife and child the pack and his leadership always came first. It was as instilled in him as the devotion to the coven and the ways of her faith were to Temperance. Temperance had been raised to expect a certain kind of life. The Keane's are a powerful family, they are feared as much as they are beloved and those around them cater to their will in the hopes that some of the magic the family possesses will rub its way onto them. Temperance has always been overly proud, it is a fault she will never overcome. It has served her well in some aspects but it caused numerous issues between her and my brother and between she and my niece. It was hard for her know that the love August had for his daughter often outweighed the love he felt for her. It was even harder when that child overcame her Mother's abilities before she had even reached puberty. Temperance had known she would carry the rarest most blessed of children. Rebecca would be the only one she would ever have and every ounce of power that her bloodline possessed would not be spread out amongst her children but given to one solitary child. She had been praised and coveted by her coven a true star, but once Rebecca was born some of that admiration shifted to her daughter and although she worked hard and garnered much respect and power of her own she never again felt the complete connection she'd had to her people before Rebecca had come to be."
" She's jealous of her own kid? That is why she's been such a shit Mother? Why have her at all then Elva, if she couldn't handle the idea that those who had kissed her ass her whole life would find someone else they liked better? Why carry on with a man who clearly hated everything you stood for? Why put your entire family at risk that way? She's supposed to be a fucking seer and yet she didn't see the destruction of her own family coming? She didn't see the Wrights were gunning for her, that they would take away everything that she was supposed to love? Not even after her husband was killed? Nothing, not one damned vision that would show her what Rebecca was up to? What her power enables her to do? I've seen enough of it myself these last few weeks and I can tell you Elva you can't miss it and I know damned well that all of you can feel and see more than I can when it comes to your kind. Even if she hadn't been there in front of you, you would have had to have known something was wrong. You will never convince me you all didn't. Rebecca may have walked away but from what I can see no one did much to stop her. You let her go. You let her seek justice for your families on her own. She may have done the killing but as far as I am concerned you all have blood on your hands. You needed someone to do your dirty work for you and you turned a blind eye so that you could escape any shit that came flying back at you. Your mad now because she kept this from you? From what I can see she had every right to not tell any of you a damned thing. The only mistake she seems to have made was letting one loose end escape her notice." Alcide stopped his tirade and glared at Elva. He couldn't wait to see what her response would be.
" That loose end could quickly become a noose around our throats Alcide. He has yet to make his move but it is doubtful that he will remain silent. He will start with you, knowing that your death would wound her deeply and count on her doing something stupid because of it. But your death will not be the first it is not just revenge on Rebecca he wants. He wants to eradicate both sides of her family."
" So what are you going to do about it? Sitting in the shop looking over books and shit? What is that going to accomplish?" The beast within him growled, there was only one way his mind wanted to rectify the situation.
" Do not belittle the craft or think it incapable of dealing with such situations just because you were raised to believe that brute strength and quick violence is the answer to all conflict. Do not forget yourself here Alcide, I come from a line of Were's, I know just as much as my niece and I can assure you if Lawrence Malcom walked into this room right now I could kill him far quicker than you could. What we have been trying to accomplish these last hours is the best way to handle the situation with the least amount of exposure. Using logic and strategy and all of the other tools of the craft at our disposal. We have many people to protect Alcide not just you and Rebecca." Elva's gaze stayed with his, daring him to question her any further. Alcide took a deep breath and backed away from the fight. It was what Rebecca would want.
" So you are going to be there for her this time?" he asked in toned down voice.
" If she will let us." Elva's hands unclenched and her face softened " But dear boy I do not believe that she will be doing that. She is saying all the right things, pretending to be repentant and telling us she desires us to stand with her but I do not believe her. I believe my niece will do everything she can to save those she loves, even if it means her path leads to her own destruction. I believe that she will not let us make any sacrifices on her behalf. She will not let anyone die for her."
" Then why is she here then? Why tell you what happened, deal with your anger and disappointment? She can't die Elva, he could kill her over and over and she will still live."
" She told us everything so that we would protect you and the others she has come to care for in Bon Temps. She told us because the tale needed to be told. She told us because when this is all over she wants to move forward with her life. To start anew, to live life with a clean slate, no secrets, no regrets. She told us because there was no way she could do that without telling you everything and in doing that she could not burden you with such a secret. Your name is carved on our tree now Alcide Herrveaux you are permanently weaved into the fabric of our family. There are many challenges that come along with that and she could not add to that by asking you to keep that part of her past from us." she paused " I know you would have done it, kept her secret made it yours. You are much more than I have given you credit for up to now." It was her way of apologizing for putting him down that afternoon. He accepted it without any words. " You are the one and she will not risk loosing. YOU!."
" That's not going to happen." His jaw jutted out in defiance. He would never leave her.
" Not of your will perhaps, but someone else may take that choice from you." The question hovered around them. Rebecca would not entertain it but maybe Elva would.
" Do you think I am like her?" he pushed the words out in a hurry, they came out bumbled but a part of him thought it possible Rebecca would come running down the stairs and stop the answer.
" I do." her response was just as quick and she gave the room a once over as she said it. " But she will never let you find out."
" She doesn't get all of the say in that decision now does she? I ain't gonna let Lawrence anywhere near her. He's gonna have to kill me first. One ending or the other that is something she can not stop."
" She is well aware of that and she will not let you do this alone. She will put herself right in the middle, take the brunt of it. She will sacrifice herself to keep you alive."
Alcide would never let her die again in front of him. There had to be some way to keep her out of the fight with Lawrence. He looked to Elva the pain in his face must have shown her what he was thinking. It was clear to him that she knew what had happened in the clearing. She nodded her understanding. " There is only one thing I can think of that could keep her away. If you let go of the pain you feel for just a moment I think you will see it."
He looked out into the night to where she stood earlier, the ground now blackened where her feet had been, he paused his mind and pocketed the thoughts he had of her hurt at his hands. He knew in his gut that he was immortal like her. The idea of living through the stages of his life with her never changing and then eventually his death leaving her alone was to much. The idea of Lawrence touching her was also unbearable and if it meant he died protecting her he would do it. Even if it meant that he didn't come back to her. He let his mind drift over the things that he knew she loved and as he panned up to the cherub in the fountain the answer hit him. He would have to find something that she needed to protect more than him.
" Thank you Elva I think I know what I have to do."
She smiled the wicked smile he'd become accustomed to seeing. " Very good, I will leave you to that then." She gave his arm a squeeze and faded back into the shadows of the house.
He stayed looking out at the rain until he'd come to terms with what he would have to do. It required a certain amount of self sacrifice, giving in on a personal promise he'd never believed he'd find ample enough reason to break. He'd been wrong, he'd found just the right reason, just the right person. The doubts were now outweighed by the knowledge that no matter the outcome he would not leave her alone. A part of him would always be with her. As he climbed the stairs he shook off the nervous tension that had built up around his muscles and at the top he shook it all off and cleared his mind. He mustn't let her inside his head. Not tonight. He stopped in the doorway and took in the view that was before him. The nightgown had been thrown off and tossed across the floor now lying in a broken pile, partially on a chair the bottom half swaying back and forth in the night breeze. She was now lying naked on her stomach, her head turned towards the light of the moon. Rays of which lit her skin illuminating the soft white flesh that he'd come to need to touch. She moved just slightly which pushed her ass up and made his heart drop into his stomach. He moved quickly towards her and sat down on the bed running his hand across her soft backside and then laying a gentle kiss on the cheek closest to him. She stirred again as he ran his hand across the small of her back and up her spine to caress the back of her neck. He kissed her again this time taking a bit of flesh between his teeth. It was so soft, slightly sweet and because he feared bruising it he applied just the slightest of pressure before letting it go.
" Tease" she mumbled as her hand came out from under the pillow and slid down the bed toward him. She wiggled her fingers and he placed his hand into hers. " More" she whispered giving his hand a squeeze. She then moved it down the side of her body lifting her torso just enough for him to get underneath. He found his way to the sweetest of spots all the while laying kisses all over her. She moaned into the pillow and clutched it's sides as he moved his fingers up and down the v shaped flesh between her legs varying the speed and pressure in response to the movements of her body, the tone of her voice. " More… More…. More…" each time she asked he gave her what she wanted more kisses more caresses more pleasure and when she finally came her cry was muffled by the down of the pillow. When she caught her breath she gave him a side smile and a long drawn out Ummmmmmmmm in thanks. She lifted up freeing his hand and pushing her ass right in his face.
" Now who is being the tease?" he laughed. She gave it a wiggle as a response.
" You want it? Come and get it" she called into his head. She was fully awake now and looking at him biting her bottom lip. She'd bent up her legs and was kicking them back and forth while swinging her ass and hips from side to side.
" Of course I want it," he pulled at her feet and brought her close to the edge. She squealed and slapped at his hands but once he stopped moving her she made no attempt to move away from him. she laid quiet and still and waited. He leaned over her and whispered into her ear. " I have always wanted every part of you" she turned her face towards his and their lips meet. Sparks flew but he pulled back long enough to dispose of his clothes. He smiled and thanked whatever fates were watching over him, she was giving him exactly what he wanted. It didn't matter what the reasons, whether it was her desire to forget the last few days or to make him forget or just the need to get lost in each other. She offered herself up to him without question and while he would never turn her away, on this night he needed her to be so caught up in the sex that flowed between him that she caught not a whiff of what he was up to.
Her body was now bent over the side of the bed her feet firmly on the ground. The canine in him was appreciative of the offer and the view and this way would be much easier to keep her from reading him but he couldn't help it, he wanted the feel of her lips on his the gaze of her eyes on his face. He wanted to press his thumbs into the curves of neck and feel her breasts pressed against his chest.
" Turn around." It was a command, one that she quickly obeyed. She put her hands on his hips and opened her legs wide enough for him to step in between them and then grabbed the sides of her face turning her eyes to his." I am more in love with you now than I was yesterday and I will be even more in love with you tomorrow. With every sun that rises in the morning and every moon that shines at night my love for you will grow. It knows no bounds and has no limits. I will accept whatever you are willing to give me, whatever you are willing to share and everything that you have to give. Never doubt that." Tears ran down her cheeks and he kissed them away and found her quivering lips and kept them intertwined with his until they stopped shaking and became as forceful and full of longing as his own. He put his arms around her and lifted her up and pulled both of them further back onto the bed. The rain outside began to thrash the side of the house and the thunder rolled back in and the strength and power of the elements outside didn't relent until the wee hours of the morning.
Rebecca
He had dark brown hair curly and unruly. His eyes were big, brown with speaks of green and doe like. His cheeks were dimpled and his face was full of love and light. He was adorable as cute as any button. He was sitting on a blanket in the grass staring up at someone above him a huge toothless grin on his face. He looked familiar to her and as she tried to put her finger on what it was about him she scanned the space around her. It took but a moment for her to realize that she was surrounded by Belle Vita's woods. If she turned all the way around, took her eye off the little man below her she was sure the house would be looming. The shadow of which must be just out of reach from where they stood for the sun was shining brightly around them. The little boy let out a squeal of excitement. What had she done that amused him so? She looked into the little ones chubby face once again and saw a twinkle in his eye that reminded her of hers and a side cast grin that reminded her of…. Alcide…
What the hell????
She took a few steps to the side and looked to her left. He was standing there now, she had been within him and hadn't realized. This was his dream and from where she stood now she could see he was making funny faces at the little boy, making him shriek and giggle with glee. He looked absolutely ridiculous but every face he made melted her heart. It filled her with such happiness to see him look so at ease. So happy. To see that every face he made was filled with joy and love. She looked from her love to the child and back again. He loved this child. He lived to please this child. The thought caught in her throat and she fought for breath. His child. As her mind released the thought she started to gasp. Her child….. Their child… she looked around desperately trying to find anything that would bring her out of the dream but there was nothing but the boy, the man and green grass that seemed to stretch on for miles. She felt faint and dizzy and the world around her started to spin. Alcide stayed standing, still making faces. The boys laughter took up what remained of the air around her and when her knees went out from under her she let herself fall and when her body impacted the ground her eyes flew open and she sat up and clutched her chest. She leaned forward putting her head between her legs. What had he done? She turned to the side to find him still sound asleep a hint of a grin on his face. What have you done? she called out to him silently. She knew though, she knew and she couldn't believe it. Why? Why would he do it? Why would he think it? Why hadn't she thought to change the spell? She had told him all he would have to do is wish it but she had never thought for one moment he would change his mind. Not now anyway, not when they had so much uncertainty hanging over their heads. Not while there was a mad man waiting to take them both out. She moved as silently as she could off the bed and made her way into the bathroom. She willed the door shut without a sound and sat down on the side of the tub. She ran one hand through her hair and the other across the bare flesh of her stomach. Most would think it completely impossible but Rebecca knew that it wasn't. Her heart was racing , her eyes struggled to see in the darkness of the room, her mind raced from thought to thought not letting them be put together into a coherent sentence that would clearly spell out what had just happened. She hadn't seen it coming, but the idea had to have already been implanted when he came into the room and awoken her. He'd kept his mind filled with her,what was happening in that moment between them, never once did they wonder. That had seemed strange for somewhere along the line something else always snuck it's way in for at least a second or two. Not tonight. She had thought it was his way of convincing her everything he had said before he had laid down beside her was true, putting his words into actions. But now as she sat her rubbing her hand back and forth across her belly she wasn't so sure. She didn't doubt that he meant what he said, but maybe the timing of of the words were not all because of her confessions that night. Not said to reassure her but to distract her from looking deeper into his mind. She had wanted to get lost, to feel nothing but his body and lips pressed against her, the rumble of the thunder as he moved his way through her. The trickling of the sweat that ran down their backs like rain on the window pain. She had made it easy and it had been perfect.
She sighed and stood making her way to the sink and turning the cold water on. She splashed some on her face and then ran palm fulls down her back. She was warm, the shaking had stopped her legs were now strong and sturdy. She could see her reflection in the mirror clearly despite the dark, deep inside her the flame was lit and the room was illuminated by the glow of her skin. She gazed deep into her own eyes and gathered herself. Somehow from the time she had fallen asleep with his arms around her and the time he had returned to seduce her he had come to the most obvious of conclusions. There was but one way to insure that she would not risk her own life in their fight with Malcom. One thing that would mean more to her than her own life, the one thing that he would be able to put in front of her that would get her to listen to him when the time came, to get her to keep her distance and let him take the brunt of the fight into his own hands. She was pretty sure that he had succeeded in planting that seed. She couldn't fault him she had given him the opening why shouldn't he take it? From the other side of the door she heard the faint hum of her phone vibrating against the dresser where she had left it. She hurried across the room and through the door grabbing it and with a quick glance at the still sleeping Alcide she ducked back into the bathroom to see who had called her this early in the morning. The screen showed her she had one new text message, from her Mother. She opened it and what she saw almost put her back on the ground. There was no doubt now she thought as she fumbled her way back to the side of the tub and sat down. Her Mother must had shit herself when the vision had come. It would have awoken her from her sleep, set her astir. She hit the screen of the phone setting it aglow once again. She inhaled deeply closed her eyes and as she exhaled she opened them and reread her Mother's text. " Congratulations, My Darling Daughter. It's a boy."
Yes it seemed that Alcide had gotten what he had wanted from this night. Now Rebecca had to find a way to keep both the love of her life and her unborn son safe. She had to find a way to make Alcide's dream come true. She had to find her way to that happy ending. As she crawled back into the bed though she had no idea of how she was going to accomplish it. She put her hand on his head and found his mind was wide open now. He was to deep into sleep to block her. He had done this in an effort to keep her from harms way. To keep her from the fight. To give her something to hold on to, to live for that would keep her from falling apart if he should die. No not if he should die but if he should die and not come back. His dream and the ending he wanted would only be real if he was immortal like her. He had already resolved himself to the fact that he would probably die at the hands of Lawrence Malcom and it wasn't death that he feared. No, it was the idea that he would grow old and leave her that tore him up inside. He was ready to take the one risk that she wasn't willing to let him take, to find the resolution to the one question that Rebecca didn't want answered. She laid next to him the curve of her body was filled by his shoulder. She kissed his forehead and stoked his hair with one hand the other remained on her stomach. She listened to the sound of their breathing and the rain outside and stared off into space until sleep found her again. The sun would bring another set of challenges and she needed to be ready. She hoped that she would be ready…….
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