Into The Shadows (The Shadows Trilogy Book 1) Page 11

  "Imagine a pistol to your abdomen and I step forward with my right foot while still holding a gun against your stomach. You raise your hands, watching my eyes and at the pivotal moment turn to the right stepping forward with your left foot. You grab the gun with your left hand, thumb on top and my wrist with the right hand from the top forcing it to the side and up into my armpit and release of the weapon, you then strike me with the weapon".

  "Pistol is at my side, I approach with my left foot first, the gun is held away from you towards the side aimed at your stomach, and you raise your hands after the command of hands up. As I reach for you, you turn to grab the gun from the top with your right hand, forcing it to point away and with the aid of your other hand, push the gun up and pull it aside to the right. My finger will lock into the trigger guard and broken off. You end the attack with an upward strike to my chin with the gun".

  After hours of training I check the clock, 2:30 am, and with work in the morning we stop fighting. After much sweating and getting a few minor injuries on my knees and elbows but healed up straight away I grab a quick shower in Kyran's bathroom and fall asleep as soon as I lay down, with Ax in the corner watching over me.

  We’re walking to work the next morning and Kyran is talking about our wedding plans what music we want there and eventually deciding on a pianist. I feel an emotion of despair, of someone wanting to die and knowing these are not my feelings or Kyran's I spin around and spot a man further down the sidewalk. He seems to be in about his thirties standing on the path watching the traffic go by, so zooming in on his thoughts I listen.

  'Do it, no one cares if I jump in front of the moving bus.' Horrified I run to him with Kyran hot on my heels listening to the man through me and grabs the man's arm pulling him back before he jumps just as the bus passes missing by inches.

  They don't know it yet, but a drone just caught Ava James using her power of empathy.

  Chapter Ten:

  Accepting A Mate

  * * *

  I'I'm woken up by Aaliyah and Avery jumping on my bed singing "You’re getting married" loudly. Peeling my eyes open I sit up straight getting my bearings then join them singing.

  "I'm getting married today" we all start giggling.

  "Come on you need breakfast and to shower before we begin prepping you," Mom chuckles entering my bedroom. I hop down from bed and go downstairs to a hearty meal of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. My stomach growls looking at it and since becoming a full wolf who can shift at will my appetite's gone insatiable.

  Kyran and others assured me this is normal, that my cravings and constant hunger will subside after a while. For the past two weeks, everything's been chaotic around here, with planning a wedding, being a new werewolf, still, I continued with training and working, barely having time to sleep. I need to sneak into Woodlands Creek before shifting being careful no one we don't trust is around by checking emotions and reading minds only when recognizing brain signatures, and emotional reads do I let my wolf out to play.

  It's important for me but mostly the wolf within me to bond with her new pack and my brothers, father, come out on daily and nightly runs with Kyran and me, including Riley, Mollie, and Avery but most importantly my alpha Gabriel who she must submit to, something I will learn. My pack tells me my nature is somewhere between submissive and dominating. That I yet haven't found my balance and could snap without meaning to, it could be dangerous until I find my place in the hierarchy, I can only do that by allowing her out to go roaming and explore but mainly by getting to know her.

  So we run, we play, we bond, we hunt, the hunting is the one thing I don't like about being a werewolf, I don't like the killing instinct but my wolf naturally loves it. I ask Gabriel once why there aren’t more members than just us in the pack if he's the Alpha of New York and he explained that yes he is but like all the other cities with mayors and governors in the old times each have their own pack, and his family is his. That all wolves in the city call to him for significant issues but go to their betas for immediate problems and behavior troubles but calling in Gabriel when needed.

  I love running in the woods with the breeze in my fur. It’s such a natural high yipping at my mate's heels and bite his flank playing. One fun part was howling for the first time, a wolf's personal song that identifies you by howl to wolves nearby letting them know your state of mind or location, any emergencies and just saying hi.

  Then I trained for many hours every day with Kyran and even Riley. I managed to take them both down my strength, hearing, smell, sight and powers are much stronger. My wolf senses danger coming, she hears whispers in the wind that I can't. When my abilities were unbound I didn't know what I truly was and up until I shifted I still hadn't figured it out, but now I do, I'm destined to be the first female werewolf with only one wolf parent.

  I'm intending to help my species grow, our numbers are down and I fear we could be going extinct like perhaps the werecats if that's even true. No one’s seen any in many years that's why I believe I was given these powers to fight and protect. Now more determined than ever I will combat the government when they try to take me, no doubt they will when they discover my secret but a lot of learning and training needs to done before that point so keeping to myself with my new werewolf status is crucial but when the time comes I will shout it out loud.

  Two nights before the wedding we had our bachelorette and bachelor parties, it was insane. Una of course took us girls, Mom, Aaliyah, Avery, Mollie and Grandma Abby to the nightclub in New Jersey called Irish Shamrocks, a stripper bar for women, the men are the ones who strip. We all wore variously different red dresses and black high heels as part of my favorite colors theme with hair up in buns and I had a red garter on with a ‘bride to be sash’, and the girls showed off ‘bridesmaids to be’ sashes.

  We drank shots of vodka and giggled at the men on stage showing off their tanned oil glistened toned muscular bodies wearing thongs in different uniforms and honestly I thought they were hot, but I wasn't turned on. I tell Kyran to quit the growling inside my head that he’s the one I'm sleeping with tonight, and he silences. One of the strippers walks off the stage towards me having noticed our sashes and begins removing his thong, I tuck dollar bills on inside hoping he'll keep it on, taking the hint. He doesn’t and dances on me but my wolf gets a little angry insisting ‘not mate’. Kyran picks up on my distress and tunes into my surrounds through my eyes growling and snarling.

  Mom stands up adding "Ok girls, we have a very pissed off beta, an annoyed she-wolf that a man who isn't its mate is touching her so if we don't leave now things could get, erm, hairy." We all went back to my house drinking some more, watched movies, talked about men and Aaliyah's eighteenth birthday coming up soon and got to spend some of my bachelorette night with Axel in person, not as a tattoo on my body. Riley took Kyran, Gabriel, my twin brothers, my father and grandpa Austin to a casino and bar NYC Bets and played poker games and drank. His bachelor party was tame at least from what I picked up. I didn't want to pry.

  Taking the last bite of my pancake, I'm rushed to the bathroom by all the women who are fussing over me, a lot more wedding plans had been made over the past two weeks and today I'm going to be mated and legally married. Bonded for the paranormal society to accept unions and married for the human world but between Kyran, our family and I it is for love. I'm in the shower with no time to waste, I wash my long black hair with strawberry shampoo and realize how much longer it has gotten after the first shift, now passed my bottom. After I'm all cleaned and scrubbed, I dry myself putting on the white robe with bride scripted on the front and back and matching bride slippers.

  I open the bathroom door to find Aaliyah, Una, and Avery waiting, who are pretty much self-experts in all things fashion as they push me to a table and chair that was brought upstairs full of makeup and hair equipment.

  "You relax, we've got this" Una tells me switching the dryer on and blow drying my hair.

  "These are for you," Aaliyah adds, handing me a
glass of champagne with strawberries dipped in chocolate.

  I eat them and sigh at how delicious they are, Mom, Grandma Abby, and Mollie enter and we all drink champagne eat strawberries, gossip and spend the time laughing. While Una finishes up on my hair, a long fishtail plait I wanted, Aaliyah starts on my face and Avery does my nails. I want my makeup to be natural, so we go for a soft brown eyeshadow with red tinted lip-gloss and light blusher. I decided on a bright shiny red nail polish for nails and toes. The females in the group begin to get weepy looking at me, and I'm not even dressed yet.

  The girls have been ready for a while now with French plaited hair, light makeup with gold champagne bridesmaid dresses and gold shoes to match similar to mine keeping with the theme but different colors. I had Grandma Abby put a 24-hour spell on us so that Kyran and I couldn't see inside our minds on our wedding day, wanting no bad luck and to be like a normal bride and groom.

  "Now that you’re ready, time to do your something new, something old, something blue and something borrowed," Mom excitedly tells me smiling with pride.

  "Kyran got you your something blue and something new, he can't give it to you in person for obvious reasons, but he sends his love and can't wait to see you at the altar." She hands me a square box from Tiffany's. I take in a sharp breath when I open it and inside there is a gorgeous pair of teardrop blue diamond earrings.

  “‘To catch your every tear’, Kyran wanted me to tell you that when you opened it", Mom informs, and I begin to tear up.

  "No you don't, yes he’s very romantic and sweet, but no crying since your makeup is done so suck it up" Una scolds playfully. Taking deep breaths not to cry I wave my hands in front of my eyes to stop the watering.

  Mollie and Avery step forward next holding another bigger box "This is your something borrowed, a necklace that has been in our family for generations. Each female Lewis wore it on her mating day, and we'd like to you borrow it", Trying not to get emotional again I take the box from Mollie opening it.

  "Oh my" I breathe, how stunning I think, A square rose gold pendant finished with intricate detailing, embellished with glittering diamonds and set on a delicate silver chain.

  "Are you sure you want to let me borrow this? It is too beautiful" to which Avery responds.

  "Like you" while Mollie nods, turning away wiping her eyes. Mom comes closer to me.

  "Now time for your something old, your father and I thought long about this with Aaliyah's and the twins’ help, we decided on the item you treasured most as a child. Your red baby blanket, funnily enough, you went everywhere with it, and I got you a styled red wedding robe for you to wear during the transfer to the woods, so no one sees your dress and for when you’re outside and cold but we added something special to it. The part that was ripped off by what you thought was a dog was August on his first shift he was only a pup, I kept that piece and stitched it on the front of your robe".

  I'm in full blown tears now sniffing "Well hell while you're already crying here's my something new 2.0 since your mate had to steal two of your ‘somethings’. And I wanted to get my best friend a wedding present cause I love you Ave, you came into my life when I needed you the most, and your family took Tobias and me under their wings when we were lost for parental guidance, so this is from us both". Una says and hands me a black rectangular box. I take it my hand shaking with so much love and emotion my wolf is ready to howl her joy. Inside is a matching blue teardrop bracelet to my earrings, putting my hand over my mouth as I gasp looking up into her eyes.

  "Una you didn't need to do this or Tobias but thank you it's beautiful."

  Una's only response is to hug me and we squeeze each other fiercely as only best friends do, then she snaps back to her maid of honor duties.

  "Makeup touch ups then no more crying people," Una warns in a demanding voice. We hurriedly stop the tears and start laughing for no reason cause we're just happy. Aaliyah dabs around my eyes with concealer touching me all up back to perfection, I thank her and give her a hug.

  Grandma Abby puts on my somethings for me, my necklace, bracelet, earrings and after she's done, I go to my dresser opening up my jewelry box. They're a few pieces I always wore never changing the colors, so thought I didn't wear much until now realizing I wear quite a bit, but when you see something daily, you can forget.

  After Grandma Abby had to take off my current red diamond heart shaped necklace with a scripted ‘A’ letter attached to the same chain my parents got me many years ago for my fifteenth birthday. It reminded me to change my nose stud, belly bar, and some other earrings. My nose stud is a small emerald to keep Una with me always in color, but I remove it to put a red stone in. My belly bar goes from green to red diamond also, and I've got what is known as Graduate Lobe Piercings, all my lobes are pierced going up to my cartilage. My first piercings are now wearing my teardrop earrings but the rest are all red studs, so don't need changing.

  Now that my body is washed and prepped, makeup finished, nails completed, hair done, jewelry added, the time to get dressed is upon me. Mom brings my dress over from the hanger by the door where it had hung all morning looking at me. Not ashamed to be nude in front of the women I unrobed and slip on my white bridal bodice that was laid out on the bed and white panties with Mrs. Lewis on the back. Mollie ties my straps while mom undoes the zip on my dress laying it carefully on the floor so I can step into it and pull it up then she zips me up in it.

  Aaliyah brings me my shoes next, and I went for good old fashioned plain white high pump heels since I'm not used to wearing them and pumps are more comfortable and better for being in the woods, she eases them on my feet with my painted toenails showing. Avery gently inserts my red diamond Tiara into my fishtail plait. I feel like a beautiful princess and in order not to cry again I start counting in my head advising the girls to do the same, so no more makeup dilemmas to avoid Una's wrath. Grandma Abby pours more champagne handing everyone a glass for a small speech.

  "To Ava who's about to embark on a lifetime of happiness but in dark times she will have a strong, loving mate by her side giving her strength, so let’s raise our glasses to Ava."

  "To Ava," we all toast.

  "To me" I add smiling.

  A knock is at the door, and we all know it is time "Come in" I say, and dad walks in followed by August and Addy who all stop to stare at me.

  "Oh Ava," my father says choking up putting a fist over his mouth, my brothers gulp trying to sound macho but clearly touched seeing me in a wedding gown.

  "You look beautiful sis," both twins speak utter simultaneously.

  Ax trots over to me but not too close not wanting to risk getting me dirty.

  "I love you Master I'm proud and honored to protect and love you, to be your familiar. Thank you for making me your ring bearer". Ax says inside my head, he’s been with the guys all morning. He’s now sitting down on his haunches with a red ribbon around his neck I take off the engagement ring Kyran had given me only two weeks ago and hand it to my dad not risking getting fur on me who then puts it on Axel's red ribbon collar soon to be added on by Kyran's silver band.

  My finger is bare without my engagement ring although shortly I'll be wearing it as my wedding band. Una picks up my red robe with my baby blanket stitched on and bride scripted on the back, I put my arms through the sleeves tying it. At 12:30pm I leave my house to meet Kyran in Woodlands Creek for our mating ceremony. Arriving at the edge of the woods in a black hummer my dad hired for this day, my brothers take each of my hands and help me out. While Mom and Mollie hold up my dress train so no dirt will attach itself, and Aaliyah and Avery are holding the bottom half of my robe, and we slowly walk to the marquee set aside for my pre-ceremony resting area.

  Three marquees are here in total, one for me to hide in and use till the wedding, one for Kyran who's been here all day getting ready and for his party of groomsmen and off course the featured tent for the reception. I'm going inside with my group of girls and Ax, dad waits around to walk me down the ais
le, but my brothers leave to inform Kyran I've arrived even though I'm sure he can sense me as I can him, and to be in place in time for the ceremony march.

  We picked a local guy to play the march. Davis Rawson he’s married to Jordy Eighty, both are MH, he’s a hundred years old but looks a young fifty. He got the immortality serum when it first went on sale, he’s African American, 5'9, kind brown eyes with laugh lines, he’s thin but with some muscle tone in his arms and has two children, a daughter, Jade; five, and son, Fitz; fourteen. Kyran and I chose him to, because when we met we got along well with him and his family, plus he plays beautifully, he came in quickly to the tent to say hi and commented that I looked outstanding, and he looked handsome in his crisp black suit.

  Dad lets me and the room know 1pm is here, time to begin. I remove my robe, and mom takes it, laying it down over a chair, Aaliyah hands me my red rose bouquet. We leave the tent and walk the one minute or so journey to the altar, and Mom and Mollie hold my dress train up again until we get to the tree hiding us from view. Everyone gets into position, my bridesmaids and Kyran's groomsmen walk down the aisle, first Gabriel and Mollie walk together, Mom and August, Abby and Austin, Riley and Aaliyah, Avery and Tobias, and eventually Una and Addy.

  Now my turn, taking a deep breath, the piano March starts and I move from the tree to see a magical scene of beautiful white cloth-covered chairs arranged in two rows and a white carpet aisle laid out. A stunning white wooden circle was built for the altar, red roses decorating it and fairy lights in the trees with lit lanterns hanging mid-air.

  Our few guests are seated except for Gabriel who is the officiant with a license to marry all werewolves. Axel is next to a standing Kyran as the ring bearer. We kept the guest list short, just our immediate family and John, my boss but more like a grandpa. He closed Blue Starr so he, Una and obviously I can attend my wedding. Una asked to bring Rick Dain from the band, and Kyran invited a close friend he was brought up with, Lauren Josie a werewolf. She's beautiful at 5'5 with light olive skin and shoulder-length glossy auburn hair with brown eyes and bee-stung lips like mine. She has a Diamond shaped face with an athletic body, and wearing a cream sleeveless low cut dress that reaches her knees with black heels.