34- Decisions and Surprises
Sleep had evaded me ever since I watched Phil walk away from me, his movements sleek and confident despite the massive armor and weapons that he was carrying. Tam's explanations regarding where he was going did not help the situation, in fact it kind of made me even more worried. I had spent most of the time trying to distract myself from the images of Phil dead that my mind was all to happy to provide me with.
Upon waking up to find him safely sleeping next to me in the middle of the night I should have snuggled him and gone back to sleep. Unfortunately that is not what happened, I was beyond exhausted but I could not seem to be able to get back to sleep. A million thoughts per minute were flitting through my mind as I sat there watching the man that had become a vital component to my existence. The wonder and certainty that came with imprinting was overwhelming but in a good way. Memories of the past year came and went almost too quickly for me to process; there was one common theme to all my thoughts and that was Phil. For a while all of my "good" days had included Phil in one capacity or another.
"It helped that he is psychic and knew when you needed him," I whispered to myself, a small smile appearing on my lips. Regardless of the fact that Phil might be able to predict my bad days, it did not detract from the fact that he had been there every step of the way as I found my way out of that horrible time that followed my father's death.
The sky was starting to turn pink with dawn when I finally allowed myself to lay down next to him. Wondering why the hell it had taken me this long for me to figure out what Phil meant to me I heaved a sigh while snuggling closer to Phil, all the while trying my best to avoid touching one of his many bruises. It only took a couple of blinks before I fell into a deep sleep, the poor sleep of the past several day contributed to the ease with which I sunk into a peaceful oblivion. The sun was high in the sky the next time I woke, I was alone in bed but I was not worried since Phil's steady heartbeat was easily discernible a floor below me - accompanied by the sounds of pots being banged around.
There was my future house-husband cooking me breakfast, safe and sound at home just the way I liked it. My dream lasted only for a second, he would never be one to stay safe at home. But if I was going to be honest with myself, I would not love him half as much if he was the kind of man who ignored his responsibilities. The only thing I would change about the scenario is that next time I wanted to go with him, that option would be the only way to preserve my sanity.
Grabbing one of his clean T shirts and pulling it over my head, I headed downstairs. It would have taken too much effort to go grab some clothes from my room; all of a sudden I desperately needed to see him and make sure that he was still mine. When had I turned into one of these pathetic needy women? Remember Sam?
Sometimes I really hated that voice in the back of my head, the worst part is that it tended to be right. Had you listened to me regarding what a fine ass Phil had you could have had him months ago.
I ignored the voice while taking the stairs two steps at a time on my way to Phil. It was a good thing I had wolf balance or I would have been risking breaking my neck at this speed. He was standing in front of the stove keeping an eye on the bacon he was frying.
"Morning Princess." He smiled at me over his shoulder, it was a relief to note that the dark circles had disappeared from under his eyes. The bruises, if they were still there, were hidden by his pants and long sleeve shirt. "What have you been doing with yourself while I was gone?"
He sounded casual like he had gone on a small business trip for the weekend, instead of heading to some strange planet to kill space zombies. If he was not already covered with bruises I would have been tempted to smack him around for a little bit.
I moved over to him and squeezed into his arms, it was kind of dangerous to place myself between him and the stove, but at this point I did not care. "I cleaned the house, went to another planet with your mother, and ran around exploring as a wolf." I looked up to watch his reaction. For a moment he looked startled but then his face cleared, he was so good at hiding his emotions. Would I be able to do that in a few centuries? Or would I gain the infinite patience Sassy seemed to have? The patience was highly doubtful, maybe you needed to have some to begin with.
"So where did you guys go?" He turned off the stove and shifted me so that one of his arms was wrapped around my waist. He grabbed the bacon with the other hand and moved it over to the counter where he had plates filled with a mouthwatering looking omelet and crisp toast.
"To her father's planet, you did not mention your mother was royalty." My voice sounded accusatory but I was in the right at this point - how could he not have mentioned that he was related to royalty? My glare did not last long under the power of those dimples, not that I was all that angry to begin with. I should have been resigned to the fact that getting information out of him was difficult, but I was just a little bit stubborn and he was going to answer my questions.
Heaving a sigh I gave into the dimples, resistance was futile. Standing up on on my tip toes and wrapping my arm around him I recalled that it had been nearly a week since we had kissed. I had just made my first foray into him mouth when I remembered that in my hurry to come down and see him my usual morning hygiene routine had been forgotten - I was probably rocking the morning breath right now. Trying to pull back without giving myself away was next to impossible, especially since Phil was very enthusiastic in his response. He tasted of mint toothpaste and a hint of orange juice. In the end I gave up, Phil was a big boy he was just going to have to live with my morning breath. The orange juice taste also helped, there was just something about Phil and citrus fruit that I really enjoyed.
"Hmmm I guess I should not tell you that my father is a tribal leader on his planet as well." At least Phil had the decency to look a little guilty before he started laughing.
"Yeah you should probably leave that out." No wonder he always had such confidence and authority, he was born into power.
"Your mother is one of the tribal elders, you are not exactly a commoner yourself." His smile was brilliant, dimples and all. It was amazing how much I had missed him in the past couple of days. I was turning into one of those sappy pathetic little girls, if i kept this up I was going to have to kick my own ass.
For now I was going to enjoy the moment. I reached up and gave him another slow kiss, this royalty stuff was really a trivial thing. I loved Phil and not his ancestry, though his mother was amusing. "So are you going to inherit the title or anything?" I might not care all that much about how blue blooded he was but it did not mean that my curiosity had disappeared.
"Trust me it is not something I want to do, the climate on my father's planet is a lot harsher, and people had to become a little more violent to survive. Sassy's court is about honor and tradition as well as the good of the people. My tribe is about might makes right, it is not uncommon for a discussion to end in a brawl." Frown lines appeared on his forehead, as much as he might wish to downplay it he still worried about his tribe's well being.
"Sounds like I would want to put off visiting there for a while." I was kind of glad Tam had taken me to her father's planet instead.
"You would do fine, your wolf genes give you the strength to pretty much win every fight and that would gain you a lot of credit with my people." He gave a small shrug. "But I would not worry about the royalty bit too much, my family tends to seek out powerful spouses. So most members have some sort of aristocratic blood in them. In the end we don't care where you come from so long as you do your job."
That reminded me of something we really needed to discuss. "Phil, I did not like you leaving to go fight those things, especially after your mother explained what these infected actually are." I got the impression that it was mandatory for them to make sure someone was infected before they were attacked, so even though Phil could handle most situations he could still get hurt if surprised. I would be much better for the job since I healed so quickly.
"I am sorry that I worried you, but there is nothing I can do about that. Would it make you feel better if I told you that I am not going to do anything foolish?" He lifted his hands up to frame my face looking deep into my eyes before giving me a soft kiss on the lips.
"You could take me with you." It was a legitimate suggestion. "I could watch your back."
"As much as I admire your strength and courage this is not a battle you can fight." He started pushing me towards the food, trying to distract me from my argument. My stomach decided to be a traitor and grumbled to remind me of the fact that I had not eaten well but I was determined to have my say.
"I know that, Kendrick told me all about the whole mind reading thing being necessary. I should have said I want to go through the genetic thing to make me one of you guys." I watched as he cleared his face of all emotions. "Look I finally did the wolf imprinting thing last night, so that is no longer a concern. I want to be with you forever, and this is the best way to do that." So that might now have been the most romantic way to tell him but at least I got it out.
Had I not been watching his face so carefully I might have missed the possessive look that came into his eyes before he carefully hid it behind his calm mask. He liked the fact that I was now irrevocably tied to him, but that was only fair since he was bound to me.
"Don't get me wrong I really and truly want you to become a full member of the family..." he paused for a second, I could hear the but in this tone. "If I may suggest you wait for a little bit. What I did in the past week does not happen all that often, maybe once every five years."
"Why would I put this off?" I started to get upset, did he not want me? I could feel the panic rising inside of me. My heart was beating so loud that it almost drowned out Phil next words.
He quickly pulled me tightly against his chest. "No, no listen to me Princess this is not a rejection. You just have to listen to me, just let me finish explaining, I want you of course I want you." He started rubbing my back, trying to comfort me and my fear began to subside; this was Phil, he loved me for eternity and he would keep his promise. "You have no idea how tempted I am to go and beat the shit out of Sam." Phil's voice was a growl.
"What about Sam?" I was suddenly confused, why was he bringing up my ex-boyfriend.
"I don't supposed you would let me kick him around a little bit, he would never know it was me." Phil's tone was starting to sound hopeful, "all I would need is a good hour. Maybe two tops, but that is all."
"Why are you trying to mess with Sam?" His words had not cleared up my confusion. He still had me pulled into his chest so I was not able to see his expression.
"He made you doubt yourself, and for that alone he needs to die," Phil's voice was trembling with anger. I had never seen him like this before and for a moment I was concerned about Sam's well being. "Don't worry I am a little too old to go around murdering ex-boyfriends."
"Well that is one less thing to lose sleep over," I murmured into his chest, inhaling my favorite scent.
"Leah you are a smart, witty and beautiful girl and that jackass made you question your self worth. As for you becoming part of the family we will discuss this in a little bit, for now your breakfast is getting cold." He pulled away from me a little to make sure that I was in agreement before giving me a gentle push in the direction of the food. I might as well power up for the argument that was coming; though it was probably going to be closer to a discussion, Phil never really argued since most of the time he stayed too calm.
It was not until we had finished with a second helping of everything that Phil finally brought up the subject again.
"Leah, there is nothing I would like more than to have you become a full member of this family. It would mean that you would be more powerful and much better equipped at defending yourself." His eyes were completely sincere, there was no doubt in my mind that he wanted me to go through the change. So I could not understand why he would want to delay this, those vampires would not have stood a chance against me.
I opened my mouth to speak but he raised his hand, it was his turn. I sat back and bided my time. One thing about Phil was he would let me say my peace, eventually.
"You would have to sever ties with the human world, including with your mother. From then on you would have to stay aloof. You spent so much time and energy getting into the University of Washington, I remember how excited you were when you got your acceptance letter. Are you willing to throw all that away? Give up on that dream of yours, especially when you don't have to? Princess, you are immortal it is not like you have to do things before you grow to old." His tone was soft and cajoling, but at the same time I could hear the steel underneath. I had almost forgotten how important education was to this family, he would not want to do anything that would interrupt my schooling.
"So you want me to wait until after I am finished with school, but then what about grad school?" Or come to think of it a Ph.D. if I wanted to go that route. I could put off joining his family for probably another ten years.
"It is of course your choice. But right now I would think it would be best if you stayed in school and earned at least your undergraduate degree." Phil pushed his sleeves up in the middle of the sentence, he tended to do that was when he was about to get into a longwinded lecture. He had large bruises covering his arm, they were no longer the deep purple of new bruises, instead they had faded to a yellowish brown.
I touched one of the now browning spots lightly with my finger. "In the mean time you will be coming home covered with these."
"I have a job to do." Phil sighed loudly, and pulled his shirt back down. "You are completely mistaken if you think that you will get a little shot of something and the next day you will be grabbing your gear to come with me."
"I know it takes training," I was getting frustrated, how could he not understand my need to protect him?
"It takes at least two hundred years Leah, and even after all that I guarantee there will be times when I will be hurt. It is the nature of my job as a guardian and when it comes down to it you will never be the one to watch my back. That is my partner's job." His tone was matter of fact, like it was all right for him to be hurt.
"So what you suggest is that I wait for more years and then go through the change, what about the vampires that are running around trying to capture me? If they are with the Volturi like you seem to believe they will more than likely kill me long before I graduate." I watched as he visibly flinched at my words. I felt bad about bringing it up, especially since we both knew the leeches had managed to kill me.
"Some things are hard to see clearly, I can be wrong but I have a strong feeling that the leeches not will attack you again. At least not hurt you, my spirit seems pretty confident in that." His eyes turned purple all of a sudden, he was trying to see the future. "There is something that is going to happen but you will not be hurt."
"What do you see?" I asked watching as his eyes turned green again.
"I don't know, this is not exactly a scientific process, sometimes the images are next to impossible to interpret. But I am fairly certain that you will not be hurt by him again; despite this knowledge you will ever be able to go home without an escort for the entire duration of your visit." His tone of voice told me that there was no way I was going to get away from that order.
I stuck my tongue out at him but internally I shuddered at the memories, it was kind of ironic if you thought about it. I go home to small town from large city and that is where I get attacked. "But this would be the perfect time to do this, I am here anyway." My stomach started to itch as my body remembered the attack, lifting my and I ran my palm over my belly trying to reassure myself that it was still in one piece.
"You are here.." He abruptly stopped talking and looked me up and down. His voice become deeper and I could detect a gleam in his eye. "What are you wearing underneath that shirt?"
"Under the shirt?" I asked confused for a second, before I realized what he wanted. My movements had raised the shirt to the point where Phil noticed that I was wearing nothing under my shirt. "I am wearing lots of things, my winter jacket...um," I stood up and circled around the kitchen counter trying to avoid him.
"Why is it that you only seem to be able to wear my shirts?" He started to reach for it, like he was going to take it away.
"How do you know this is your shirt, it could be mine," my voice was not quite certain as he tried to grab me, I barely got out of his way in time.
"The company name on that shirt is one that makes surgical equipment, somehow I doubt it belongs to you." He told me with a knowing smirk.
I glanced down for a moment to look at the logo on the shirt, I was pretty sure that this was the name of a type of beer - out of the corner of my eye I saw him coming for me. Quickly straightening up I ran for the stairs, it was only when I got tackled on the bed that I remembered his broken ribs. "Oh my god I am so sorry, do your ribs hurt?"
For an answer he gave me a deep kiss, licking the inside of my bottom lip before sucking it into his mouth.
"You are trying to distract me." I told him when we came up for breath.
"Maybe, is it going to work?" It was not really a question. He was well aware of the fact that I would be distracted.
"You are going to have to stop at one point." I whispered as he started licking his way down my neck.
"Hmm I think you just insulted my ability to perform." Seconds later he ripped my shirt in half.
"Why do you feel the need to destroy my clothes?" My protest was only half-hearted, since I was enjoying what he was doing far too much.
"They make crappy beer that is only consumed by hockey players and teenage boys that don't know any better; plus this is a much faster way to get to your breasts." He started nuzzling a nipple, before taking small nips around the edge of my breast.
"I should have known you were just trying to trick me about the shirt." My worries and plans for the future forgotten as I wrapped myself around him, I did not require that much convincing as I allowed him to distract me.
It was not until after we finished with our shower together that I brought up the topic of genetic modification again. We were back in bed together, I had helped Phil rewrap his ribs which were still a little tender. I was happy to note that most of the large bruises were already turning a brown and fading, he was not as fast a healer as I was but he seemed faster than a normal human.
"Tell me everything, I would really like to go into this knowing what to expect." I was drawing slow circles around his nipple ring as I lay in his arms. "I know that I pretty much have decided to go through with this but I would like to know more."
"A lot of things would be hard to explain, and some things impossible. You have to live through it in order to understand. But I will try to tell you about all the consequences, and one of the most severe ones I might even be able to show you."
Our vacation continued as before, though this time we added lots of conversations about the modification including explanations regarding life as a guardian. He told me things I wish I did not have to know about, but I was starting to understand that this was just part of life. The world was not always black and white, sometimes the white got a little dirty but you had to learn to adapt and move on.
"The family is constantly checking on us with regular mental and physical tests to make sure we are able to handle things. As much as it sucks to sit there and tell them about how you feel it is better than the alternative which usually consists of hurting the people around you." He gave a small shrug but I had learned enough about him by now to know he felt more deeply about it than he let on.
He continued to try to tell me things about life as a guardian, but he seemed to have a hard time explaining some of the nuances of the job. He tended to avoid the topic of what the genetic modification actually involved.
"Some things I hope you will never know, such as the loneliness that comes with being alone for so long. You will always have me, no matter what." He explained over dinner one night. We had been on the island almost two months at the time. "Speaking of being lonely, do you want to go out for dinner in a couple of days?"
"What, is there a restaurant on the island I did not know about?" I asked him while finishing up my lasagna, I had tried to make it again and this time he stayed around to eat it. "Or is my cooking that bad?"
"No, we would have to go to another planet, but I was thinking of maybe inviting Myles and Stef to come with us." He gave me a sideways look giving me the impression that there was something I was missing.
"Stef? Would that be the guy Embry imprinted on? Which by the way is very freaky." No one from my pack had heard about this and we had been too uncertain about what would happen between Stef and Embry to ask the tribal elders if a wolf had ever imprinted on another man.
"Actually Stef's full name is Stefanie, which means that you should probably not worry too much about it." Phil was quick to correct my mistake. Stef came from a planet where women were nothing more than property, so if she wanted to move through society and actually be useful she had to pretend to be a man. So it turned out Embry had not imprinted on a man but a cross-dressing woman, it was somewhat of a relief - except for the whole cross-dressing part but it was better than Stef being a man.
"Does this Stef know that Embry has imprinted on her?" I was starting to get a little angry at this unknown woman. How dare she just ignore something like this? If she hurt Embry I would not care if she was a guardian, I would find a way to take her out.
"The Embry thing is something Stef will have to deal with on her own time, we have not corrected the initial mistake your pack made because she asked us not to." Phil's comment did not reassure me.
"Embry might want to know." Sometimes the family's need for secrecy was a little too much. "He needs to be told all the facts."
"Embry is not bothered by this as much as everyone else seems to be, in fact he is willing to be friends with this young boy he has just met once. I believe they have been texting back and forth for a while now. Would it not be better for him to grow up a little and find himself before he gets involved in a relationship?" Phil sounded like he had given this a great deal of thought, and I quickly discerned Embry was not the only one who had been given time to grow up a little. In a moment of insight I realized Phil had done the same thing to me, given me time to find myself before starting that relationship. I considered what he would have done had I imprinted on him instantly, probably avoided me until he deemed me grown up enough.
"You sort of make sense," I grudgingly admitted, I had needed the extra time to figure some stuff out before getting tangled up with another man. "But what about Embry, should he not have a say in this?"
"If Embry knew all the facts there would be no choice would there?" Phil's commented softly. He was being given a choice by being denied a few vital facts? I could almost see where it was going, but at the same time I was not completely comfortable with this decision.
"Did you do that to me? Deliberately try to keep things platonic?" I turned around and looked him in the eye. I had already figured out the answer to my question, I just wanted him to admit it. Remembering the conversations with my mother where she kept asking me if he was my boyfriend, 'he is just a friend' I kept telling her - maybe she had seen through Phil's pretense a lot better than I. Though it could have been the fact that when a guy is friends with a girl people always assume that it is something more.
"Of course, but it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life." His voice was full of emotion, his lips curved into a small smile as he leaned over to give me a soft lingering kiss. I was ready to kick my wolf instincts again, why had I taken so long to imprint on this man?
Dinner with Phil's brother was an interesting affair, we went to some small planet that, according to Myles, was the party place to be. Everything was lit up with bright lights, strange music was blaring from open doors. The place looked very similar to what I would imagine Las Vegas was like. At first the overwhelming number of lights, sounds and people were a little too much but I got used to it quickly as I tried to take in the sights. Here I was, Leah Clearwater, from a small reservation in Eastern Washington. A girl who has never even left the country she was born in but somehow I had managed to visit not one but three different planets.
"Holy shit, is that a flying car?" Oh yeah I was the gawking tourist, but luckily it looked like some of the other people around me were doing the exact same thing.
"They are not as fun as they look, they are equivalent to the taxis of earth and visitors don't get to drive them." Phil explained as we walked through the night towards the restaurant.
"I liked Tam's planet better, it had a castle and everything," I complained disappointed that I would not get to drive a flying car.
"Karam, the name of that planet is Karam." He told me with a smile as he finally stopped in front of a brightly lit three story building. "This is S'oeli. But you have to wait until we eat before you pass judgement, that is one of the few advantages of this planet."
The place that I assumed was our destination turned out to be a narrow building nestled between two taller building, it looked a lot less ostentatious than its neighbors but that was not saying much considering this place. "So is this where we are meeting Myles and Stef?"
"Yes it is, I think Myles reserved a private dinning room so that we may speak freely. Not that anyone can understand English." Phil put his arm on the small of my back as he opened one of the wide doors for me. I was looking forward to seeing Myles again, my one and only impression of him was that he was somewhat of a rascal that liked to joke around - levity was something that had been missing from my life for so long that I could not get enough of it. I was also willing to admit if only to myself that I was curious about what Stef would look like as a girl. The only time I had ever seen her Stef looked like a well dressed boy, back then I thought she was a young man who was not quite finished going through puberty.
"This looks like a place you would film a cheap porno," I told Phil when we finally got inside. Some interior decorator certainly loved gold and purple, the inside of the restaurant was coated in a purple fabric with large golden accents.
"Myles thinks it is like a brothel, but you might be a little young to remember those." Phil explained with a laugh.
The hostess at the front greeted Phil with a little more warmth than was appropriate for a fine dining establishment. Her black dress was a little too tight and low cut giving the customers a free view of all of her assets. I wrapped my arm around Phil's and gave her a smug little smile that I hoped conveyed my message. I was going for back off bitch he is mine but it might have come off as an I am going to kick your ass smile. Either way my mission was accomplished as she lost her flirty smile. Yeah you don't know who you are messing with.
Phil of course did not notice the exchange or if he did he chose to ignore it. He waved at me to follow the hostess, and at first I thought he was just being polite but then I realized he could easily check out my ass as we walked up the stairs.
Myles was already in the room, and he was quick to stand up and give me a hug. Stef was late but according to both Phil and Myles it was not unexpected. I was relieved to note that we got real tables with chairs, unlike when I had gone to visit Sassy's castle. It would have been embarrassing if I had to sit cross legged on the floor with this dress - oh yes stop the presses I was wearing a dress.
Well it was really all Phil's fault, he mentioned that this was an upscale restaurant so I would need more formal attire. Well I had no idea what I was supposed to wear so foolishly I recruited Aunt Katie to help. Little did I know that she would recruit Alice in this endeavor, needless to say I was not allowed to have an opinion regarding what I was wearing. They had even gone so far as to say that I had to spend the entire day with them while they got me ready, I balked at the idea but neither one of them would allow me to back out. I would have gone with the jeans and a t-shirt had I know what they had in store for me. I was just going to have to find a way to purge my memory of the past eight hours and concentrate on what Phil looked like when he first saw me in this outfit. I was fairly certain he knew that I was going commando since this dress was not made to be worn with underwear. It might be worth it though, especially with the heated looks Phil kept sending my way.
Myles and Phil both spoke to the person who I assumed was our waiter, but again I was on a planet where I did not speak the language. Neither Phil or Myles looked like they were having any trouble communicating.
"So how many languages do you know?" I asked Phil trying to distract him from his naughty thoughts, he might think he was being sneaky but I could feel his warm body shifting closer to me - I think it was a quirk of his genetic modifications or something because every time he got turned on his body temperature rose.
It was Myles who answered my question regarding their linguistic skills. "Too many languages, but Kendrick is the crazy one. One of his talents is picking up languages within minutes of hearing them, he pretty much pulls the words out of your mind as you speak to him."
"I am surprised you have not learned to speak my tribe's language." I continued to look at Phil, whose fingers had found the slit in my dress and were walking their way up my naked thigh. His movements were partially hidden beneath the table but I was still pretty sure his brother knew where Phil hands were.
"Actually, I am starting to understand more than you think. The pronunciation of some of the words is where I get in trouble." His words came out a little quietly, almost like he was afraid telling me this would upset me somehow. I did not really care, it was almost kind of nice of him to try to learn more about my people.
Myles turned out to be much more talkative than his older brother, and his humor was a lot more overt. We ordered drinks while we waited for Stef to show up, Phil ordered mine for me since I could not read the menu.
"Why does everything feel so weird around here?" I asked moving my hand up and down.
"This planet is smaller so there is less gravity." Myles explained as our waiter brought out or drinks. "Hey you want to try my drink?"
Phil interrupted before I could politely decline. "It has alcohol in it." He told me with a smirk, probably remembering the one time I got drunk.
"Are you ever going to let me forget that?" Seriously, a girl gets super drunk one time and cries all over a man. One time, and he never lets her forget it.
Phil took a moment to consider his answer. "Probably, when you do something more amusing."
"I am so glad my moment of anguish is entertainment for you," I told him with a great deal of sarcasm lacing my voice.
While we waited for Stef to arrive I looked around the place, the private room had a large table for six with wide chairs that fit even Myles' large frame. The table was covered in a purple table cloth and was set with some very fancy looking silverware and plates. One wall was nothing but glass that overlooked the large dining area one floor below us. If you were to drop this place onto Earth it would not be out of place. In one corner you had the fish tank full of some sort of jelly fish. There was the typical abstract art hung on the walls, though these ones all tended to look like naked women to me. The other patrons looked relatively human though their eyes might have been a little strange, with that silver sheen behind them but I could not tell from this distance.
Stef as a girl turned out to be an interesting experience, on the outside she looked like the most adorable thing you had ever seen. She could be described as a little dessert with her large pink and frothy looking hat and her matching pink pant suit with a black lace bustier underneath. She also tiny, barely over five feet tall if I had to take a guess. It turned out that while Stef might look cute and sweet she had the foulest mouth I had ever heard. She would have made my pack members proud, after she taught them a few choice phrases.
"You have to forgive her, she spends most of her time around criminals and so does not realize half the things she says." Myles told me at one point, Phil had explained before we came that Myles and Stef worked for Pasha to help her find and break up the criminal underground on her planet. They apparently had a serious slave trade problem, and since Pasha was emperor there as well as a guardian she got a little more flexibility when it came to interfering with the humans.
Stef flipped him off while she told me to stop by her lab in the next few days. "I need to check out which exact DNA modifications you have. Then we can try to tailor the next set of alterations so that it would not mess with my current ones." Her voice was high and soft, at this point I could not reconcile Stef with the boy I had met a few months earlier.
"So I will still be able to shift into a wolf?" I asked her excitedly. That had been one of my concerns, it was actually kind of fun doing the wolf thing.
"Shapeshifting is not such a big deal, you will retain that ability no matter what." She assured me, her confidence in the matter was comforting. Dinner ended abruptly when Phil was called back to the island for an emergency, someone in the family had been hurt and he was needed.
Phil kept me up half the night, he had been very enthusiastic about showing me how much he liked the dress as well as the fact that I had shaved places that had never been shaved before. Needless to say we were a little later than I had anticipated when we met up with Stef at the main house the next afternoon.
The whole check out I was expecting something drastic but all she did was put me through some sort of body scanner and get a swab from the inside of my mouth. I have to admit I was a little disappointed, expecting something more elaborate.
Dinner with his brother was not the only time we left the island together. I spent so much time talking about my visit with Tam to Karam, that Phil offered to take me back.
"I can call Sassy and we can go have dinner with them at the palace if you wish or we can just wander around the town exploring." He told me one afternoon while we were out picking blackberries for the cobbler he had promised to make me. I practically jumped up and down at the offer, I wanted to go back to the castle, maybe he would let me explore that museum a little bit longer.
This time we went at night and had dinner with Sassy and Kendrick, the evening air had cooled drastically. The oppressive heat was not gone, instead there was a cool wind that blew across the gardens only lit by a few lanterns here and there.
"You know your mother conveniently forgot to mention the fact that Sassy was the queen." I told Phil as we headed through the gardens straight to the palace. This time we went through the main doors, the guards there were expecting us and escorted us all the way to the dinning room.
Calling it a dinning room was the understatement of the year, it was actually an elaborate dinning hall. The place was so large that I was thinking my mother's house could easily fit inside, on the ceiling was this intricate battle scene that started at one wall and swept all the way across to the other side.
Displayed along the walls were weapons and armors that looked according to Phil spanned over a millennia of history. "Even now that they have what is equivalent to guns the royals still like to stick to their swords. Some of that might be my grandmother's influence. Considering her age she does not always trust guns and prefers a good blade."
As we weaved past the large stone columns I noted that the dinner table was rather small compared to this place. Of course there were no chairs, that would have been asking too much. Fortunately I had worn another pajama/tunic outfit, not that I was complaining about my clothes - they were both pretty and comfortable, something you usually very hard to find.
The table was set for six and there were already two people sitting down along with Kendrick and Sassy. The other couple besides us did not look like one of the natives - their lighter skin and hair tones made me think they were from another country. The man was much larger in both body size and personality than the woman next to him.
Sitting down next to the table made me feel small, "geez this place is intimidating."
"It is supposed to be, our glorious queen is trying to make this jackass feel small. Not that it seems possible, I am surprised his ego fits into room." Kendrick told me in a serious tone.
"Please refrain from name calling, it is always best to be polite." Sassy told me with a nod from her spot at the head of the table. She might have been looking at me but I am sure the message was for Kendrick, I assumed she did not want bring any attention to what Kendrick was actually saying.
"So long as you keep your voice pleasant and moderate you can call the guy a cock sucking, pox infested bottom feeder and he will never know." Kendrick demonstrated this by smiling at the man and nodding his head.
I could practically see the man's chest puff up in self importance.
"Stop it Kendrick you know Leah can't hide her emotions well as of now," Phil interrupted with an equally pleasant voice before saying something to the woman sitting across from him. She had been introduced as the man's wife.
Before we could say anything else the water bowls were brought out to wash our hands, interrupting whatever comment Kendrick was about to make. As the food was brought out the man across from me started to talk, I did not understand a word but Phil did do some translating for me. I really was going to have to learn a few more languages or else I would be at a constant disadvantage.
"The man wearing the black is a business man from a neighboring country, he is trying to bring a factory here but he needs the queen's approval." Phil explained as dinner progressed. I might not have understood the man's words but he still somehow managed to get onto my nerves. It must have had something to do with his smile. I am sure he was proud of his shinny white teeth, but a smile that big should never be trusted. His wife said next to nothing, simply nodded her head as he continued his sales pitch.
"Can she do that? Give her approval?" It was kind of strange to be talking like this when Sassy could understand all that we said. Glancing nervously in her direction I noticed her face gave nothing away of how she truly felt. Note to self, never play poker with her unless I am willing to lose.
"He wants to use a section of land that is part of a nationally protected region. Agreeing to this would probably bring in jobs and wealth, but it would not be without consequences." Phil told me in a low voice.
Sassy turned away from the man to look at me. "There are environmental issues that would be of concern, the location he wants is next to a major tributary of the river that is the water source for this city and several others in the region. It is also used by farmers to irrigate their crops." She turned back to her other guest and smiled at the man. I had seen her genuine smile enough times to know when she was faking it.
I don't know if he was stubborn or just stupid but surely the man should have been able to see that Sassy was not impressed with his constant chatter. She would nod in a noncommittal fashion every once in a while when he paused for breath or to shove food into his mouth.
"He is a self made man and will not take no for an answer, I don't think he understands the way things work around here. There are some things that are more valuable than money." Kendrick told me in an aside, he did not seem as bothered by the proceedings. But then he would not be the one that was going to have to say no to this man.
Sassy was slowly pulling further and further back behind her polite mask, as the evening progressed her responses become cooler and more terse - unfortunately for him the business man did not pick up on this.
At one point I finally had enough. "Please can I smack him? I promise I won't kill him, just break his jaw so he can't talk anymore." It was kind of fun being able to make these comments with only the family understanding me. The business man had deemed me unworthy of his time after simply a glance so I did not feel bad about talking about him.
I saw the side of Sassy's mouth twitch as she tried not to smile. Kendrick was not so controlled and ended up having to pretend to choke as he tried to disguise his laugh. I was kind enough to smack his back really hard to make sure he was all right. Kendrick gave me a dirty look before pretending to be engrossed in the man's conversation once again.
Otherwise the dinner was very good, Kendrick ended up telling me stories about Phil when he was a kid when the man stopped to breathe or shove food into his mouth.
Despite the fact that Kendrick was the one talking I was the one who got in trouble. I got dirty looks from the man's wife when my laughter would interrupt his sales pitch. She could just bite me, I was going to have a good time regardless of her husband's plans.
As the final plates were removed Sassy waved her hand at her attendants, almost immediately the couple were escorted through one of the archways. It was easy to sympathize Sassy's sigh of relief as they left, for a moment her posture became as bad as mine. "Now I just have to convince my Senate that this is the right choice. Some of them were counting on the new jobs to please their people."
Phil laughed a little at her comment. "Sometimes the hardest part about doing the right thing is convincing everyone else around you."
I listened as she discussed the issue with Phil and Kendrick. She was crunching numbers in her head, trying to find a way around it. I was pleased to note that she was willing to make people angry in order to protect the environment.
We did not linger long after dinner, I was somewhat surprised when Sassy gave me a hug before I left. "Thank you for joining us for dinner. Anytime you wish to come visit just call Kendrick or me. Next time I will try to avoid it being a working dinner."
"What she means is call me, since she never answers her phone." Kendrick told me when it was his turn to give me a hug.
We were walking through the gardens when we encountered a small archway in one of the back corners, it looked somewhat plain and boring compared to some of the other decorations in the garden. I could hear the trickling of a small fountain on the other side. I was about to walk past it when Phil stopped me. "Come this is something you don't want to miss."
I was ready to dismiss it even before we entered, there were so many beautiful nooks and crannies in this place that you quickly became immune to the sheer beauty of the place.
Phil led me through the archway and it was like a whole new world. There were countless flowers in the small courtyard surrounding the bubbling fountain. The moonlight made the flowers almost glow iridescent, in a garden filled with beauty this place stood out. This was mother nature at its best, simple but elegant in its own way.
Then there was the smell, it was so thick and heavy with the scent of the flowers that you could almost see it in the air. A person could get drunk on their perfume, no alcohol required.
For a moment I could not say anything.
"Do you like it?" Phil asked very softly, this place seemed almost sacred, it was so amazingly beautiful. "It is called a moonlight garden because it is meant to be enjoyed at night under the light of the moon and stars."
"I wish I could just live here." I whispered walking over and touching a velvety petal of one of the flowers. The scent coming off of it was intoxicating, I don't know how long I stayed there looking at the flowers glowing in the moonlight. For the next few days I spoke of nothing but the moonlight garden, finally Phil must have gotten tired of hearing about it because he offered to help me build on in the back of the garden.
"Are you sure?" I asked with absolute awe, he would do this for me?
"Certainly, Leah this is your house too. You can have an opinion about what it looks like. We can even redecorate from top to bottom if you wish." He told me in between soft kisses.
"How did I ever find a man like you?" I really was amazed how much he spoiled me. I probably should feel guilty and not let him but I was enjoying myself too much.
"Just lucky I guess?" He laughed. "Or it could have something to with the fact that you are a pretty amazing woman."
I had not been fishing for compliments. "Not really all that special."
"You lived through more than most people have to deal with in an entire lifetime. No matter how hard life kicked you around, you still kicked back." The admiration in his voice was evident. I kept wanting to check behind me to see the girl he was talking about.
It took a great deal of planning, much more than I initially anticipated to create the garden. There was a lot of foundation work that would have to be done, especially since we would not be there every day to take care of it. We had to make it be minimum maintenance which meant most of the work would have to be done up front; I wanted to use the same plants as were in the palace garden but that was not allowed since those would not survive the harsh winters. After some research we made a list of plants that would be able to cope with this environment. I fell in love with this little plant called Nicotiana, it looked unassuming and plain until night fell and then it opened up and let out the most beautiful fragrance. I also learned to appreciate how much planning and work it took to actually start the garden.
I was a little disappointed that it did not look anything like the one at the palace. Phil laughed at me when I pointed this out. "Those plants are mature, and it has taken decades for them to get that way. Give it time and you too will get there."
The night before we were returning back to Earth Phil offered to take me on a midnight picnic, so we packed up his backpack and headed out to the small meadow with the pond. We had been back here several times int he past couple of months but never at night.
Phil had brought along a blanket and after he spent an inordinate amount of time getting it perfectly straight I jumped in the middle of it and messed it up. I knew it bugged the snot out of him but I could not resist.
"Feed me," lying on my back and looking up at the stars above me I opened my mouth like a baby bird.
"You certainly are a demanding woman tonight," Phil told me with a small chuckle, I could hear him digging through the backpack.
The frogs were really going at it, sounded like they were still in the let's get it on mood. The cacophony of sound was the only sound in the otherwise tranquil night. It always amazed me how many stars could actually see on this planet, but I had grown up in a place where you rarely saw the stars so this might be what Earth's night sky looks like behind the cloud cover.
"I don't see why I would delay going through the modifications, maybe I want to be able to do this any time I wanted." I waved my hand lazily across the place in front of me. A few of the stars moves past us making small buzzing noises, the fireflies were out tonight as well.
"Time, it has everything to do with the flow of time. When you live for two hundred years, you will become vastly different. Not just because of the genetic modifications, but also because of the time. Your mother is an observant woman and would be suspicious if you came back after what to her was just a weekend completely altered. At least six months of separation is necessary to allow for an explanation as to why you are not the same girl." He raised his hand towards me, feeding me a tiny strawberry. These were one of the wild ones that grew in the woods around here, they might be tiny in size but were amazing in flavor.
The problem was that I did understand what Phil was saying, and if I waited a few years I could give my mother the full show, I could be the college graduate and make her immensely proud. Or I could insist on doing all this now and go back to my mother and keep her at arms length. Hell at this point I was already keeping secrets form her, imagine what would happen when the secrets became part of my body. At one point I would have to almost completely push her away, would it not be best to delay that a little longer. It might be kinder to ease her into this situation. "But then how would you explain my disappearance for six months?"
"You could say you have decided to go backpacking through Europe, you could pretend to volunteer with the red cross or you marry me and then we could go on a six month long 'honeymoon' during which time you could go through the change." His tone sounded casual, but it sounded a little too casual.
"Is this your version of a marriage proposal because it sounds pretty pathetic." I mean really? Was this the best he could do? "Anyway, are you trying to do this without a ring?" I asked without thinking. Nice move Leah, could you ruin a guy's proposal more? But wait was he proposing?
"A ring? Oh yeah I forgot about that part." I could hear the tension in his voice.
"No, no. I did not mean that." I tried to recover from my own stupidity. "I was just a little bit surprised by you bringing it up." Not that I had not dreamed of one day being married to him, but that was something in the future not right now. Plus I could not really tell if he was asking or not.
He shifted a little bit and got up on one knee. It was interesting to note that as he grasped one of my hands his fingers shook just a little bit. That was when the my mind caught up with me. Mayday, mayday, pay attention.
Phil waited until I had sat up next to him before he spoke. "Leah Princess Clearwater would you do me the honor of being mine forever?"
My mind protested, all my insecurities suddenly came up to the surface. What if he got tired of me? What if I was not good enough? What if he changed his mind?
"I love and adore you, there is nothing I would like to do but to spend the rest of my very long life next to you. I spent the past thousand years trying to picture what you would be like and I have to admit that my imagination did not even come close to how amazing you are. I don't expect you to really give me an answer right now, I just needed you to know how I feel." Phil's pale green yes never left mine, I could see the love and devotion pouring out of him along with his words.
I looked into those pale green eyes of his and forgot about everything else but this man; I had learned the hard way that there are not too many certainties in this world but I could count on Phil. He loved me and I loved him, that was all that mattered everything else we would work out. I pressed my lips softly to his, trying to answer without words.
"Of course I want to marry you. I was just kidding about the ring, you don't have to get me one or anything. I mean eventually..." I did not get any further since Phil's kiss interrupted my words. I did not mind the interruption, especially since I was afraid if I kept on talking I would say something stupid, again.
Phil pulled his mouth away from me for a moment. "I did get you a ring."
"What?" I was confused by the abrupt change in conversation, it was hard to think when his tongue swirled around my ear like that while paying with my fingers.
He lifted my right hand and kissed the finger tips before showing me what was now on my hand. The sneaky man had actually been sliding a ring onto my ring finger on my right hand. How long had he been carrying that around?
I could feel my eyes bugging out. "Wow this is some engagement ring." Normally I was not easily swayed by jewelry but as usual Phil had managed to surprise me. I lifted my hand to get a better look, the band was intricately twisted platinum around a very large heart shaped pink diamond.
Phil was quick to correct me, this was not an engagement ring. "This is just a promise ring, a reminder that you will always have my heart."
"It looks like an engagement ring." I told him staring at the shiny heart, even the few rays of the moonlight were enough to light it up, the small moonbeams hitting the stone split into brilliant colors that scattered across my fingers.
"Are you kidding, what kind of a plastic surgeon would I be if I got you that measly little ring. No I will get you one that will make all the other trophy wives immensely jealous.
I could not help but laugh at his serious tone, there was my Phil, making a joke in the middle of his proposal. Or maybe it was at the end since I had sort of agreed to stay with him forever.
I looked at the man in front of me, and down at the ring on my finger. I would challenge anyone not to stare at the ring just a little bit. A promise ring, I could live with that for now - omething concrete to remind myself of his love. I pulled him toward me, ready to continue our kiss - we had never made love under the moonlight, this was a perfect time to rectify that problem.
I woke up the next morning in Phil's bed, not remembering how we had made it home. It was a good thing that Phil was so strong, that way he could lug my not so dainty ass around when I fell asleep under the stars.
I was somewhat sad about leaving this place, but there were other things to consider. I would never have admitted it to Phil but I missed my mother, so much had happened and I wanted to share some of my news with her. It bothered me all the things I would have to leave out, I should have been used to keeping secrets by now.
A/N: Sorry that took so long, mommy taxi is now fully operational and I have been too distracted to finish this chapter. It did not help that I kept getting stuck.
I don't know who asked a while back, but I hope you are satisfied with the explanations regarding Stef not really being a boy. Oh well I really got to run, I am sitting here all dressed up trying to finish this up before I have to head out for the day. I even have to wear heels today, gah I hate heels - the description of Bella tripping on nothing, that would be me. I was always the last one to be picked for the teams in gym...always.
Jaime2772: Some of my delay is your fault, sending me messages telling me how much you love some story. Of course I had to go check it out...very funny by the way, so long as I pretend they are not Edward and Bella...I really dislike OOC. As for your question regarding their outfits, something out of my mind but it probably resembles the indian sari (?) most in my mind. I have never read 'The Host' so I cannot compare my space zombies to this.
ABarbieStory: Completely understand the get busy part, it has been an exhausting couple of weeks with school starting for kids, glad you loved the story. I was worried about you not reviewing, as Twilighter has found out I am a worrier and my imagination had you washed away by Hurricane Irene several times over.
Visperidia: Glad you liked the way the imprint worked, I always hated the stare at girl and all your will goes away crap, it is a little bit creepy sounding for me. Thanks for the compliments, I was going to ask you which other Leah stories are good but don't tell me. I will go off and read them all and nothing will get done around the house or on my stories.
Connect2tjb: I tried to fix Phil's proposal, last time he was really awkward, does this flow well? or is it still too abrupt?
Twilighter: Promise I am working on jailbait. I have this perfect chapter planned in my head unfortunately it is a few chapters ahead... I really hate it when that happens.
Domino88: Glad you liked it, sorry about being so late on the next one :D.
toshii519: Yeah I had plans for Sassy and I tried to incorporate that into the story long before I told you guys about it.
Ms Animegoddess: Glad you liked, Tam is amusing and I almost was going to develop Myles more but I thought that might be overwhelming.