Chapter 6, Ep. 14 – "Stars of Passion, Part Two"
Author's Note – Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you guys are still enjoying the progress of this story! Again, I'm sorry that it took me longer than I was originally shooting for to get this chapter posted. FF.net was down for two days, so I didn't get this chapter posted when I wanted to. Blame it on them! Not me!
But anyways, now that I have finished my rant, this is the chapter in which the rating goes up to R, so consider yourself warned! (grin) I tried to do my best with the upcoming love scenes, to keep it focused on the emotional, spiritual and poetic aspect, instead of becoming too descriptive or I guess what they refer to as SMUT (would someone mind telling me what that means anyway? I could never figure it out), in order to keep this piece under what they consider to be NC-17ish. But at the same time, be descriptive just enough, so all of you will enjoy! It is erotic, but not as much as I could have made it, if ff.net didn't approve!
Let's face it, I'm a romance author at heart!
This ep. is dedicated to Ashley (AKA Angelgurl 1628) who was just recently in a car accident, but doing well. This one is for you, girl! Feel better soon!
Don't forget to review, people!! I know there are a lot of people reading this story that are not reviewing my chapters, so please, PLEASE REVIEW! And get descriptive… tell me what your favorite part or parts were! I like to get reviews like that, that explain just WHY you like my story! It gets my muse going!
Enjoy!
Summery – Sophia tries to come to terms with discovering the truth about her destiny, as John confronts the biggest challenge of his life as he begins down his own path in the Skinwalker legacy, while Ruby desperately tries to hold on to the man she loves… As the danger around them starts to close in…
Chapter 6, Ep. 14 – "Stars of Passion, Part Two"
John visibly stiffened as he heard a vehicle approaching the cabin. His hand quickly went for his gun tucked into the clean pair of blue jeans he was wearing.
He quickly checked to make sure it was loaded before he beckoned at Ruby to get down.
"Skinwalkers wouldn't use a car to get here." She pointed out, even though she did as he asked.
"Skinwalkers aren't the only ones after us." He remarked dryly. Waiting as he heard the car get closer and closer. Funny. The vehicle must not have a muffler on it for him to have heard it from that distance. Definitely not a smart move if the person approaching was hunting them.
Ruby listened carefully, but didn't get up from her crouch by the bed. "It's Sherman's car." She stated quietly. She looked back at John, suddenly confused as to how he was able to hear the vehicle when only her wolven hearing could pick it up at the moment.
John looked at her, eyebrow raised. But he didn't bother to ask just how she knew that.
Ruby smiled at him, forgetting her confusion as she saw the expression on his face. "Skinwalker hearing."
John shook his head. He turned back towards the door. He didn't care who's vehicle it was. It could be anyone or anything driving.
John positioned himself close to the window. Waiting till her heard the car pull up and stop, the door open and shut, before he glanced outside. He relaxed visibly, and Ruby sprung back up onto her feet. Waiting till Sherman had come inside and had shut the door, before she came up behind John and wrapped her arms securely around his waist. Still not quite able to believe he was here and that he knew the truth.
She felt the warmth of his body invade hers as he reached his arm around the back of her shoulders, bringing her round to his side and firmly pressed up against him. She snuggled in closer. Wanting to stay that way forever.
"Alright, you two lovebirds. Enough is enough." Sherman griped good naturedly at them, before making use of the only chair in the room. "I brought you some food. I figured you had to be hungry."
Ruby perked up at that. Sniffing slightly. "Do I smell barbeque ribs?"
Sherman grinned at her as he tossed her one of the bags.
"Thanks." Ruby reluctantly pulled away from John long enough to set the bag down on the nightstand beside the bed. She was going to wait until Sherman left before eating. Her and John both were sensing that there was something else of Sherman's mind than just food.
"What's up?" John asked. Sitting down on the edge of the bed. Ruby climbed up on the mattress behind him. Draping her arms securely around his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder. John reached up to clasp her joined hands with one of his.
"I have some news for you." Sherman stated quietly. "Matthew Donner's daughter, Sophia, managed to successfully Flip a few days ago. Luke created a mind link between the two of them to get her through it when she got stuck. But she's okay now. They both seem to be… quite into each other." Sherman smiled secretively at that. Remembering earlier today in class.
"Luke has chosen Sophia?" Ruby asked. Rather surprised by this turn of events. She had known that her half-brother had always been rather drawn to the girl. But she hadn't thought he was so interested in her that he would give up Presley and his chance to be Alpha for her. She had never thought him to be the type that would become emotionally involved with someone who wasn't even fully of the Blood. She hadn't ever really talked that much with Sophia, but she had always liked the girl. Recognizing in her the same temperament within herself that had driven her to leave Wolf Lake. The girl did have spirit, even if she didn't know it yet. So she actually was kinda proud of Luke to fly in the face of tradition. Good for them both. At least she wasn't the only one to be causing a stir in Wolf Lake.
"It would appear that way." Sherman acknowledged. Smiling again. "She threw Presley clear across the bathroom last night at the Diner, when she tried to threaten Sophia into submission. She then went out and claimed Luke. And Luke then surprised everyone else in the room, by turning around and claiming her right back. They've been the talk of the Pack ever since."
Ruby smirked at that, mentally congratulating the girl, before going back and thinking through what Sherman had said… She threw Presley clear across the bathroom last night at the Diner, when she tried to threaten Sophia into submission.
Ruby's eyes narrowed at that. Trying to figure out why that had grabbed her attention so. It sounded similar to the things she had done when she had just Flipped… Something that only a…
"Matthew has also finally gone back to his wolf pelt." Sherman mentioned. Shocking Ruby into forgetting her previous line of thought.
"What does Vivian have to say about that?" Ruby asked warily. She had always liked Matthew. Had asked him to give her away in that farce of a marriage to Tyler. But she also knew that he and her step mother had once almost become mates… And that Vivian was aching to have him back.
Sherman shrugged. "Don't know, I haven't talked to Vivian yet." Silence descended around the cabin, like an uncomfortable cloak.
John had remained silent through most of this exchange, before becoming rather impatient. "Blackstone, something tells me you didn't risk coming all the way up here just to repeat all the recent news in Wolf Lake's Skinwalker grape vine!"
Ruby had to agree. Something big was on Sherman's mind, and it was something that he wasn't very sure about how to go about saying.
And Ruby and John had never seen Sherman have a problem with words before. Just what the hell was going on?
Sherman began to nod. "You're right. I have some things to tell you, but it's going to take me some time to get it all out, so bare with me."
He started by basically repeating everything that he had told Sophia earlier. Discussing this Society that they had run into, and the Hunters that they were working for, and the threat represented to the Pack. Ruby's face paled significantly as he explained to them that these Hunters were the descendants of the original group that had nearly drove them to extinction over 200 hundred years ago. And that judging by what he had already been able to put together, these Hunters were already charging up for a full on assault on Wolf Lake.
"They wouldn't try to pull anything with all the humans in the town, would they?" John asked quietly. The cop within him assimilating the information quickly. Trying to piece together a solution.
Sherman's gaze hardened. "I don't think it's going to stop them." He stated. "They're going to try to wipe out the entire town."
"But how could they do that? There is a fairly substantial population here. What are they going to do that is going to keep the rest of the world from figuring out what has happened here?"
Sherman shook his head. "We don't now the size of this Society, nor their determination to destroy your species. There could be hundreds of them for all we know. They know how to track down the Skinwalkers, and for every one that we will probably succeed in killing, another two will pop up in their place. They're like locusts. We couldn't stop them before, and I don't know how we're going to stop them now."
"What do you mean, they know how to track us?" Ruby asked. A frown spreading across her forehead.
"Again, I don't know how they do it. With modern technology the way it is, there is no telling what they've come up with. What kind of scanners or devices they've designed to take down those of your kind. You have to keep in mind, this is what they believe they were borne for. They were raised from birth to believe in this cause. Nothing will change the fact that people are going to die. Whether the larger portion will be on their side, or ours, I don't know."
"Is there anything that can be done?" Ruby asked. Her voice a mere whisper as she tried to comprehend what he was telling them.
Sherman sighed as he ran his hands tiredly through his hair. "Again, I don't know. I can only go on the past history of your species, and what the prophecy that I managed to find a few days back states. I don't have anything else to go on right now."
"What prophecy?" Ruby asked, confused.
Sherman pulled out a sheet from his pocket, and handed it to Ruby. It was a copy of the original that he had made.
Ruby quickly read it over. Her hand gripping John's shoulder tightly as she read the passage. Realizing that the reference to the white wolves included her. She handed it mutely back to John.
"I don't think I'm fully with you on this." John pointed out as he handed it back to Sherman in confusion. "What does it mean?"
"In the history of the Skinwalkers, there have only been a few white females to come along." Sherman stated quietly. This sounding familiar. "The last one before Ruby was the Leader of the remaining Skinwalkers, who rescued her people and brought them to Wolf Lake."
John nodded his head, "Yeah, I remember you telling me about her."
"Well, the white female only comes along when a serious danger is represented to the Pack. She is stronger, and has abilities we can only begin to imagine. Her destiny is to save the Pack from whatever mess it has wondered into…"
"Okay…" John prompted. Waiting for Sherman to finish his sentence. Ruby decided to jump in and finish it herself.
"Despite how bad things where back then," she started softly, voice echoing around the quiet room. "There still had been only one white wolf. For it to be prophesied that there will be the birth of two, means that whatever the Pack is heading for, it's even worse than that."
Sherman nodded his head. "Quite possibly."
"But, do you even know if there is another white female in the Pack? This prophecy might not even be accurate for this timeline if the other white female hasn't been borne yet." John asked suddenly. Ruby looked back over to Sherman, wondering that herself. How could it be that a white female had been borne and nobody knew about it. Unless…
"It's Sophia." Ruby realized out loud. Not even making it into a question. Everything was starting to fit together now.
Sherman just looked back at her.
"Sophia?" John looked back from Ruby to Sherman. Trying to figure out why Ruby seemed so stunned by this revelation.
"It has never been believed that a Skinwalker who was part human would be able to manage a Flip. Much less be a white female." Sherman stated quietly. Neither confirming nor denying that Sophia was who Ruby was thinking she was.
"Which is why she had been able to remain anonymous all these years." Ruby sighed as let her chin fall back to John's shoulder. Silently shaking her head in disbelief.
"Have you alerted the rest of the…Pack… to this danger?" John asked. Having trouble wrapping his tongue around the word.
"That's where I'll be going next, but there is something else that I need to tell you, John. Something very important. It can't be put off any longer."
John felt a trickle of unease run down his back as he saw Sherman's expression. What ever it was, he knew he wasn't going to like it. Ruby picked her head back up alertly. Focusing in on Sherman. Her arm arms tightening slightly around John's neck. Her own heart flickered in alarm. Somehow, she knew this was going to be serious.
"What is it?" she asked quietly. Silver eyes flickering subtly.
"John, you were adopted, were you not?" Sherman asked, throwing John of balance with the strange question.
"Um, yes. I was."
"Did you ever find out who your real parents were?"
John's jaw tightened. "The people who raised me were my parents. I gave up on my birth parents when they gave up me."
"So, you do remember them?"
John eyed him warily. "Not really. Just a couple of bits and pieces. Feelings mostly, when I was taken away from them. I was very young."
"Sherman, what is this about?" Ruby asked impatiently. Feeling how much this subject was disturbing John.
"I'm getting around to that, Ruby. Just hold on." Sherman paused for a moment. Gathering his thoughts. He rubbed the back of his neck tiredly.
"I did some research of my own since last night. I went back and looked at the files kept by the previous Keeper, and discovered some very interesting things about your parents, John."
John swallowed visibly. Really not liking the turn this conversation was going. Sherman just continued.
"It seems your grandfather was a Skinwalker. He had married a local girl of Indian heritage, and they had a son. Your father. Your father, when he turned eighteen, left Wolf Lake and never came back. He moved away, met your mother, and they had you. Shortly after, for whatever reason, they gave you up." Sherman didn't add that he figured the reason that they had given John up was because members of the Pack had been searching for him. Figuring that John's father was too much of a loose cannon to let run around town.
"Why did they go after him?" Ruby put two plus two together, and figured out what that reason had been for John's parents abandoning him. They had been trying to save him. "Had he managed to Flip?"
"No. he never did. But I guess, during that upheaval between the members of the Pack, it didn't matter. They wanted his entire bloodline destroyed."
"John cleared his throat. Visibly paler. "So, what exactly is this supposed to mean?"
"It would have meant nothing. Because you are so far removed from the ability to Flip, you wouldn't have had to worry about it."
"But?" Ruby asked quietly Already having a sinking suspicion as to where this was going.
"You had a transfusion of Ruby's blood. Which has now triggered a Change from within you. That is why you were able to run the distance the way you did last night. The reason why you haven't been able to sleep very soundly. Your warning visions have already begun." Sherman watched calmly as the panic started to spread over John's face.
"You can't be serious." John voice wavered slightly. Ruby looked back and forth between him and Sherman in stunned silence. Silver eyes wide and unblinking. Suddenly… as crazy as this all sounded to her, it actually was starting to make sense.
Sherman just looked back at him.
"Wait a minute, what exactly are you saying here?" Ruby asked. She knew that it was impossible for a full-blooded human to be converted, so it only stood that Sherman was correct about his lineage. Besides, there had always been something about John… something that had drawn her to him when they had first met. Something just below the surface that had tantalized her from the beginning.
But this… this was serious. If her blood was transforming John into a Skinwalker, than there was a lot more danger here for him than what Tyler or the rest of the Pack could throw at him. If you didn't make the Change before a particular age, you didn't make it at all. And it was increasingly difficult to make the Change regardless of what age you were. Sex just happened to be the only thing that allowed some measure of relief from the actual Flip. It sped up the process, and reduced the extreme nature of the Flip. But it wasn't a guarantee. Many a Skinwalker youth had to deal with the fact their lover might die in their arms.
"I think you know what I'm saying, Ruby." Sherman pointed out quietly. "Just sense it yourself, and you'll see what I mean."
Sherman looked back and forth between the shell-shocked couple. "I think I'll leave now," he remarked as he stood up and headed to the door. Stopping to turn around once more before opening it.
"Keep in mind, you two. Things are starting to head into boiling water for the Pack. They're as much a danger to themselves as the Hunters are to them. You have to be at full strength to deal with what is about to happen, because whether you like it or not, Both of your destinies are wrapped up very securely within it." He looked at John. "Decisions have to made and made quickly. You are going to have to take advantage of every leverage that you've been offered. Even if that requires you leaving behind everything that you've ever known about yourself to be true."
With that, Sherman slipped out the door. Leaving John and Ruby sitting there in the silence. Ruby leaned her forehead against John's shoulder, as he closed his eyes in disbelief. Slightly shaking his head.
******
As soon as Sophia shut the door behind her after going into her room, she felt her legs go out from underneath her, and her back slid down the wall as she crumpled to the floor.
What did one do, she wondered, when they found out that a path had been selected for them in which they didn't want anything to do with? What did one do, when they found out that the survival of the entire Pack might rest on their shoulders?
Sophia didn't want any part in that role. She was only a teenager, and not ready emotionally to tackle something like this. She had just recently Flipped, for heaven's sake! Now… now she was even more confused than ever. Just who was Sophia Donner? Because she sure as hell didn't know. She didn't even recognize the person staring back at her from her mirror across the room.
Sophia thought back on what the prophecy had said, and she felt sick to her stomach. Whatever was coming, it didn't sound very good. What was going to happen to the Pack? To her father, to Luke, to her? Why did she have to have the responsibility of being the second white female? What was going to happen that would make it necessary for there to be two, when even when their species had nearly been exterminated 200 years ago, they're had been only one?
What was going to happen that would be so much more brutal than the massacres committed against their kind in the Old World?
And just what was expected from her? What were two white females going to do that one couldn't? And just what the hell exactly was a white female? How was she any different than the others, other than the fact she seemed to be stronger? There were plenty of people in the Pack more worthy of leading than her, so why couldn't they do it?
Just what was her abilities? What was she capable of? And why did it have to be her?
Sophia felt her restrained emotions rise the surface, and she couldn't stop the flood of tears that finally escaped from her eyes. She curled up there on the carpet of her room and sobbed. The sound echoing through to her soul.
******
Luke had just stepped out of the shower at his home when he felt it strike him like a kick in the gut. Something was wrong with Sophia. He could feel her pain as clearly through their link as if it was happening to himself. He stood there, still and silent as droplets of water trickled down his body. Just… sensing.
The panic he had felt when the wave had first hit him eased up around his heart. Whatever had happened, the pain was emotional, not physical.
Luke didn't bother grabbing a towel as he walked out of the bathroom and into the hall. There was no one in the house other than his mother in the downstairs parlor, and modesty wasn't exactly one of Luke's virtues.
He didn't bother with the stairs. Instead, he placed one hand on the banister, and effortlessly swung himself up and over. Dropping down a good twenty feet to land lightly on the bottom floor in a crouch.
Vivian looked up in surprise, watching her son pad of bare feet, completely naked, to the back exit of the house. The glow to his eyes and the scent of the Change close at hand recognizable as it hung heavy in the air.
"Luke, what's wrong?" She asked, stepping out of the Parlor to watch his progression towards the exit. Noting that something had him stirred up.
"Something is wrong with Sophia." He stated quietly, swinging open the door to reveal the forest beyond it. The sun was setting, and soon night would descend.
"Is she hurt?" Vivian asked, alert and tense. Knowing that something must be seriously wrong with the girl for Luke to sense her distress. The vibes coming from him was dangerous and dark, and Vivian was rather surprised at the aggression within Luke battling for control. She pitied the male who ever tried to take Sophia away from him. She had never seen him like this before, but the way he was acting was typical for a male of their species to react to the emotional or physical pain of their chosen.
But it still didn't mean that Luke wasn't extremely dangerous at the moment.
"I don't think so. Stay here." He ordered over his shoulder. "I'll call if you're needed."
Vivian leaned her hip against the wall of the hallway as she saw Luke quickly shift into his wolven pelt, and dart into the woods. She hoped that he knew what he was getting into, becoming so involved with that girl.
Of course, she shook her head wryly, she wasn't doing that very well either with the girl's father.
******
Sophia didn't know how long she had been sitting there, just staring at her reflection in the mirror. The tears had long since vanished, but she still felt hollow inside. She knew she needed to get up, but she couldn't find the strength to do so.
She sensed more than heard Luke slip through the door leading out to her porch. She ducked her head down to look at her lap. Dark hair swinging around to curtain part of her face. She studied her long nails quietly. Feeling Luke probing at the surface of her mind. Trying to figure out what exactly had happened.
Judging by the way she looked, and who he had left her with, it didn't take Luke long to put two plus two together.
"Sherman told you what you are, didn't he?" he asked quietly. Leaning down in a crouch in front of her. Placing his fingertips on her chin and gently tilting her face up so he could look at her. His jaw clenched when he saw the glitter of fear and hopelessness in her eyes. She didn't even seem to be aware of the fact that he was standing in front of her completely naked. The scent of the forest and the wolf still clinging securely to his human flesh.
Sophia didn't answer him, she couldn't. It wasn't so much because of the fact that she was a white wolf. That and by itself was something she thought could deal with. The reason why she was so afraid was because of the prophecy and this Darkness that it had spoken of. And Sherman's belief that it was already bearing down on them. Which meant she didn't get a chance to try to adapt to discovering the true meaning of her color. She had become a unwilling recruit in this battle, that she hadn't even known anything about till just a few hours ago. And she was faced with the possibility that if she messed up…if she did the wrong thing… the entire Pack and everyone she loved was going to die.
How could she explain to Luke her fears when Sherman had made her promise not to tell anyone?
(Author's Note and Soundtrack Suggestion – Okay, the song is "Let Me In" by Save Ferris on the Album "Modified." I don't really like the rest of Save Ferris's songs, but this one is just…WOW! I've always loved it, and I knew that I wanted to infiltrate this story somewhere with the use of this song, and I've finally come up with the right scene for it. So, this next part is going to sort of be almost like a Songficish thing, as I will have snippets of the lyrics throughout it… I hope everyone likes. I nearly cried writing it. The song really fits the insecurity that Sophia and Luke are both feeling, as well as the emotional distress Sophia is relaying to him. Pop this song in if you have it! Keep in mind that, once this entire story is completed, I plan on posting a Soundtrack chapter, which will have all the lyrics to the songs I've selected for my chapters, and where most of them can be downloaded SAFELY and for free, or it not downloaded, where samples can be heard… I think it'll help those who have never heard the music, understand why I selected the songs I did.)
Luke felt unsure of himself. What Sophia was feeling was intense and frightening. He had known she would have been shocked when she had found out the significance of her color, but he hadn't expected the extreme nature of her actual emotions in regards to finally finding out. He knew instinctively that there was something she wasn't telling him. There had been something else that Sherman had told her about that was frightening her now. Something that had shaken her right down to her soul. And for some reason, she didn't seem to be able to tell him.
I've been watching you and all you do, for quite some time…
"Baby, what is it?" He asked softly. His heart breaking at the look within her eyes.
…Knowing all the ins and outs of you, I should have known what was on your mind…
Sophia just shook her head silently. Feeling tears burning under her lips once again. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Luke's neck. Pulling herself up into his embrace. Clinging to him as if clinging to a lifeline.
…But all the world is spinning round and round, inside my head tonight…
Luke held her tightly to him. His hand cradling the back of her head. Holding it securely to his chest, as her fingers dug into the skin shoulder blades. His eyes narrowed in confusion as he felt her body tremble against him. Desperately wanting to know why she was in so much pain.
…I will fall into the darkness, and I fear I will never see the light…the light…
Sophia closed her eyes tightly as Luke soothed her gently. She felt some of her panic, some of her fear begin to fade with the contact. She was suddenly able to breathe easier. Her body was starting to subtly hint to her that he wasn't wearing any clothes, and she felt her blood suddenly heat in response. She felt the expanse of skin covering his chest even through her clothes.
…So let me in…
"Are you going to tell me what it is that is really bothering you?" He inquired as he sensed her emotions being soothed back down. His male ego silently flattered when he sensed her desire stirring to the surface.
Sophia sniffed. Shaking her head, she leaned back to look at him. Studying his face, his concern. She felt a strange tightening suddenly come over her heart as she watched him. Realizing that she was falling in love with him.
…All that I wanted from you…
"I can't." She answered. "I wish I could, but I can't." Her palms rubbed his shoulders, feeling the bare skin there. They trailed down over his chest. Luke swallowed as his body suddenly clenched at the innocent contact, and he closed his eyes tightly. Restraining himself from pulling her back into his arms. Because he knew if he did, it would be with the intention of inflaming. Not soothing. His hands fell from around her waist to rest lightly on her thighs. Feeling the heat of her body even though her clothes.
…Was something you'd never do…
"Luke…" she whispered. Confusion filling her gaze as she suddenly felt very unsure of herself.
…So let me in, oh please tonight…
"Shhh… It's okay." Luke reached a hand up to cup her face. Slowly leaning forward to gently press his lips to hers. Feeling them tremble under the pressure. Her tears close to the surface yet again. She kissed him back softly. The salt from her tears tasted on his tongue.
…Don't let this end…Tonight…I'll fall…
Luke slowly pulled her back up to her feet. Feeling her exhaustion and confusion beating at her. She felt like she was lost, and Luke wasn't going to take advantage of her like that. He wanted her with every fiber of his being, but he was going to take this slow.
For once, Lucas Cates was putting someone else's needs above his own.
Gently swinging her up in his arms, he walked over to her bed. After setting her down, he slowly got in as well. Pulling her body up close to his, encouraging her to go to sleep.
…Through no light the darkness seems to be, so very strong…
Sophia curled her body in as close as she could possibly get to Luke. Feeling his warmth penetrating into her suddenly slightly chilled flesh. She lay there trustingly in his arms, despite the fact that he was completely naked, and listened to the slow, steady rhythm of his heart. Her own was slowing down from it's erratic pace. Matching his.
…How does one alone against the world, find the strength to carry on…?
God help her, but she was starting to fall for him.
Slowly but surely over the last few days, he had revealed a side of himself to her that she had been too afraid to hope existed. He had slowly but surely penetrated the hardened layers around her tender heart, and had made his way deep within her soul. And now she felt fear of a different nature come over her. He could break her so easily if he hurt her now. She just prayed that this side of him that she had fallen in love with, was real and true. She hoped it wasn't yet another version of Lucas Cates that would disappear the moment he had gotten what he wanted from her.
…'Cuz you won't let me in…
She knew that it would have eventually come down to whether or not she trusted him with her heart. But now that that time was here, she wasn't sure if she was capable of setting herself up for that kind of heartache that would surely follow if he betrayed her.
…All that I wanted from you, was something you'd never do, so let me in, oh please, tonight…
Luke tilted his head up slightly. Feeling Sophia gently bury her face in the curve of his neck as he held her. Waiting for her to go to sleep. He could feel her desire. Could sense her fear in finally giving in to him. Knew that she was afraid that he would hurt her yet again.
…Don't let this end. Tonight. 'Cuz I'm starting to fall…So let me in…
He could only pray that she would be willing to take that chance, and trust that she would believe him when he told her she was the only one he wanted to run under the stars with…
…It was all that I wanted from you…It was something you never knew… To let me in…So, please tonight… Don't let this end…Tonight…
I fall…
******
John's mind had been racing since the moment that Sherman had left. This…just couldn't be real. This had to be another delusion or dream or something…
But he knew in his soul that it wasn't. In fact, it was the only thing that made any sense. He had been able to do things that he'd never been able to do before. He could see almost perfectly in the dark. He was stronger, faster… he had carried a 100 pound wolf for miles at a dead run, never stopping, for heaven's sake! He didn't care who you were, the human body wasn't capable of completing that kind of feat.
Ruby sat there across from him, finishing up her dinner. Her eyes were sad as she watched John pace around the room. The light from the fire the only thing illuminating the one-room cabin. It's flickering light casting shadows across his features.
She hadn't wanted this for him. It was one thing for her to ask him to deal with what she was – and that was something he was accomplishing very well – but it was a different thing to ask him to deal with the fact that he was becoming what she was.
She had never heard of a case like this before. Had never heard of a distantly removed descendant of a Skinwalker, converting to that of full blood with the use of a transfusion.
She only prayed that, seeing as how she had never heard of that happening, that the same would go for John surviving a Flip this late in life.
"John, you need to sit down, and try to be calm." Ruby's firm request brought John up short. He paused in his mad pacing long enough to look at her, jaw tightening as he saw the same concern and fear reflected in her eyes that he was currently feeling himself.
"What is this supposed to mean, Ruby?" his voice was hoarse from emotion as he sat down on the mattress beside her. "I mean, you told me that the teenagers of this town weren't surviving the Flip once they went past a certain age, and I'm supposed to be any different?"
Ruby sighed as she ran her hand through her hair. Pushing the thick fall back from her face. She shook her head. "I don't know what to say John. You're not the same as us. You were a descendent of a Skinwalker two generations removed, and then given a large dose of my blood…a white wolf's blood. This kind of thing has never happened before, so I don't know how it's all going to turn out. But I do know this," Ruby cupped his chin in her hand to tilt his face towards hers. "You ARE going to Flip, John. You don't have a choice. If you fight it, the more chance it'll kill you."
"So I'm just supposed to…give in to it?" John's tone suggested he would rather do anything but.
Ruby swallowed hard. "I can't lose you John. Not again."
John's heart constricted painfully as he saw the tears and the fear of being alone reflected in her eyes. He pulled her securely into his arms. Pressing her face into the curve of his neck.
Ruby clung to him firmly. As if merely holding on to him would keep him anchored at her side for all time.
"You've had the visions, right? The dreams? Of being a wolf?" She asked quietly. Voice muffled against his body.
John nodded slowly. "They started when the transfusion took place. What do they mean, Ruby?"
Ruby sniffed as she pulled away from him. Her hand darting up to swipe away the tears clinging to her eyelashes. "It means your Change is very close at hand. Those…visions are the warning signs that our species will have before they Flip for the first time."
(Author's Note – Remember all those little things Sophia kept having during the show? The visions as well as the dreams? Well, same thing was beginning to happen to John during the last ep. Which is why I believe very strongly that if the show had continued, John becoming a Skinwalker was going to be the path the producers would have chosen. They were already setting it up for it when the show was cancelled. Just wanted to point that out!)
John nodded slowly. "So what's going to happen now?"
Ruby looked back at him for a moment before continuing. "The Flip is very painful and sometimes very long, and in that length, extremely dangerous. But there is a way around a very good portion of that, and I really think that is the best way to go, given the fact that this has never been done before in our history."
"And what way is that?"
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ruby couldn't help the smile spreading across her face. It was a look that John knew very well, and he felt his blood heat in response. He reached out his hand and brought it around the back of Ruby's neck. Thumb gently rubbing across the pulse under her jaw. Ruby closed her eyes at the sensuous motion.
"John, are you sure about this?" Ruby asked cautiously. Studying him closely as she awaited his answer. Her inner wolf instincts crying out for the contact that their lovemaking would bring, but she hadn't been able to date John as long as she had in Seattle without developing an art of suppressing the wolf within. But it still didn't mean that she didn't want him.
John's hand remained where it was, positioned directly behind her neck. "I do know that things aren't going to get any easier around Wolf Lake, if what Sherman told us was true. I also know that this…situation within myself, isn't going to go away. You've been telling me the pros and cons of being what you are for the last 24 hours. I've seen things…that I'm not even sure about. I only know this. I'm not going to just walk away from this. I'm not just going to pretend as if none of this exists. I've seen that it does. I've seen that it's real. And I know, that if you and I are going to stay together, we're both going to have to be at full strength." John paused long enough to smile ruefully. "Am I scared? Hell yes. I'm not even sure exactly what all of this means, I just know that it's happening, and nothing I do is going to stop it. So if becoming what you are will enable me to be at my strongest when all of this comes crashing down, than so be it."
Ruby dropped her gaze and smiled softly at his response. Her heart was fluttering within her chest. Causing her stomach to do a little flipping of its own. John reached out his other hand and cupped the side of her face gently. Bringing her gaze back up to his.
"And if becoming what you are," He whispered hoarsely, "Will allow me to keep you at my side permanently, then so be it."
Ruby felt her smile widen before going serious again, as she leaned forward and brought her lips to his. A small dart of fear making her way through her soul before she pushed it away. There wasn't a place for it now. She had to focus on John, and help him get though this. She had to forget about his impending Flip and possible demise, and be just what they were. Lovers who had finally made their way back home to each other's arms.
John's arm came firmly around Ruby's waist as his senses seemed to expand with his arousal. He drank her in, filling his lungs with her scent. He never wanted to let her go.
Ruby allowed John to take her down to the mattress, his weight leaning in on her carefully as his kiss deepened. Her fears of whether or not he could make the Change fled as she felt the flames of desire starting to lick over her flesh. She discovered very quick that this wasn't going to be a slow night of passion. Her passion was starting to flair out of control, and John's wolven instincts were starting to take over. Which was exactly what she wanted. She wanted him as far removed of what he believed himself to be like in order to allow himself to fully open up to the wolf within. She wanted him raw, untamed. Wild.
In a sudden show of aggression, Ruby deftly flipped him over, legs straddling his hips, her body rocking firmly into him, as her hands coming up with lengthened nails to shred the fabric of his shirt off his chest. Gently biting at his neck as she did so.
It worked. John put aside all pretenses of taking this slow. He didn't bother suppressing the growl that rose up in his throat, as he took Ruby's body back underneath him again. Deftly grapping her hands and pinning them to the mattress. His kiss a brand of possession as his tongue slipped through her lips to savor the taste of her heated mouth. The firelight casting shadows across their forms.
Ruby groaned under the onslaught. Her legs wrapped firmly around his waist, bringing his body closer to her core, as she strained against his hold on her wrists. Wanting him to release her. John's answer to release one of her hands long enough to rip her shirt down the middle. His hand firmly seeking one of her breasts and kneading it with the purpose of inflaming her further. His eyes glittered gold fire at her as he slowly lowered his mouth and replaced his fingers with his lips. Ruby's cry split the air as she arched against his firm hold on her. This time, with the sounds of her cries echoing in his ears, he released her. Allowing her to reach down and begin to unbutton his jeans.
******
Sophia moaned softly as she started to stir. The interior of her room was completely dark, except for the moonbeams shining through her curtains.
She closed her eyes again, and felt a small smile of contentment spread across her lips. The pillow in which she was laying her head on wasn't the soft and fluffy variety, but that of a very warm, very firm, warm expanse of skin. She could hear the slow rhythm of Luke's heartbeat beneath her hair, and the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.
She was nestled firmly into his side. One thigh comfortably slipped through his legs – and she didn't even want to think about what her knee was currently rubbing against – and his arms were wrapped securely around her waist. Their heat penetrating her even through her clothes.
Despite his stillness, she knew he was awake.
Luke's hand suddenly massaging slowly around her hip proved her right.
"Mmm, hey…" She said groggily. Yawning as she did so. She forced herself to turn her head so she could look at him. His eyes glittered down at her as he looked back.
"Did you get a good nap in?" he asked. His voice echoing around her room with its strangeness for being there in the first place.
Sophia chuckled. "How late is it?"
"Past midnight."
Sophia brow raised at that. "And you're still here?"
"Where did you think I'd go?"
"I don't know. Wherever it is you go at this time of night?" Sophia stretched as she slowly pulled away from Luke. Sitting up on the bed as she did so. Luke watched her sensuous movement, eyes flickering gold for a moment before receding back to normal. But not in time for Sophia to have not seen it. Strangely though, it wasn't disconcerting for her anymore. She actually found it rather…intoxicating.
She did find it rather disconcerting though, when she discovered he was still naked.
Luke watched the tint of her blush swell up her neck and cheeks, and a knowing smile began to spread across his mouth, which made Sophia blush even harder.
"Did my dad come home?" Sophia asked. Trying her best to ignore the fact that he wore no clothes. If he was just going to sit there, playing all cool and superior, then she'd be damned before she'd admit to being rather…flustered about the state of his undress.
"No. He called a few hours ago. Leaving a message saying he wouldn't be home till very late tonight, and to not wait up for him."
Sophia picked up on the 'message' part. "Did you talk to him?" Inwardly she groaned. Her father wouldn't be too happy with Luke staying over with her. And if he had happened to come in while she was still asleep, with Luke there…as he was…
Sophia didn't even want to think about the WW3 that would have started.
Luke shook his head. Grinning back at her. "Soph, Soph, Soph… you seem to forget that I don't have to be near a phone, to hear a message being left on a machine. Or you, for that matter."
Sophia glared back at him, trying to be angry at him for poking fun at her, but it didn't last long when his hand suddenly shot forward and slipped it around the back of her neck. Quickly bringing her mouth down to his.
Sophia's previous thoughts fled as she was swept up in the sensation and taste of him. His kiss was deep, gentle, but possessive. Inflaming.
Luke was the one to pull away. Stroking back a strand of her hair that had fallen into her face.
"I hate it when you do that." Sophia protested teasingly. Still tasting him on her lips.
"Good. Then I plan on doing it more often."
Sophia's eyes widened at his statement. Grabbing a pillow, she swatted him with it. Laughing, he caught it and threw it over in some far corner of her room, while at the same time, he wrapped his other arm around her waist, and took her down to mattress. Wrestling with her playfully, if a bit erotically.
Sophia panted softly Luke braced his hands on the bed as he leaned over her. His own smile fading as he watched her. Sophia felt a flicker of uncertainty as she remembered that he didn't have any clothes on. The feel of her palms pressed up against his bare sides was reminder enough. The full expanse of his well-muscled chest glimmered palely in the moonlight. He had already taken her heart, but he could still take her breath away with how beautiful he really was.
Sophia knew that he wanted to lean down and kiss her again. That he wanted to coax responses from her body that would have them wrestling on the bed for…other means.
But something stopped him.
"Weren't you planning on watching that meteor shower that was supposed to be going on right about now?"
Sophia was surprised by his question, but then was glad he had mentioned it, because she had completely forgotten.
"Umm, yeah." Sophia looked over at her alarm clock beside her bed. Luke still positioned over her. "It should be starting in about 30 minutes.
"So…" Luke smiled suggestively down at her. "Don't you want to go see it?"
******
The firelight's flickering shadows danced across the two entwined bodies of the lovers. John's tan skin melded with Ruby's paleness. Her arms were wrapped around him tightly as she whispered her desire in his ear.
John rolled her underneath him. Their bodies joined, as Ruby lifted her thighs up around his waist. Bringing him in closer as they both moved to a rhythm in each others arms that they had once thought they would never find again.
John felt something awaken within him. Something start to flare out of control. Ruby felt it as well.
"I love you…" She whispered. Her calming eyes meeting his flaring gold ones. They were just getting brighter and brighter, as their joined rhythm began to intensify.
"Ruby…" John's voiced her name almost as a prayer. He could feel her body start to climax around his, as she began to spin out of control. Her arms tightening further around his back, nails dragging slowly over the skin. Holding him ever closer, in the hopes that doing so would keep him safely at her side. Her eyes stared up at him, a brilliant shade of gold. As she rocked her body into his, urging him into the Flip, and her own body into its release.
John knew that it was time. He could feel his own release building within him. And riding on the edges of it, was an intense aching pressure that was becoming increasingly painful. His skin felt like it had been pressurized, and he would explode at any minute. He could feel the bones shifting in his back, could hear them begin to crack and pop. The change was coming fast now. Brought on by the pleasure of his release.
John let out a cry as that release came over him. The momentary pleasure shadowed by the intense agony of the Flip.
"Let it happen, John." Ruby cautioned firmly, letting him fall off of her body at to the side. She came up and leaned over him quickly. His body was changing fast. Taut skin was being replaced with fur the color of midnight. His limbs were cracking, popping. Reforming to allow the wolf within him access to this form.
Ruby reached up and placed her hand on his check as she leaned down to kiss the mouth that was quickly changing into a muzzle and fangs. Tears glittered on her lashes as she saw the agony written on his face.
John felt the wolf within him start to slow. Felt the Flip start to halt in the middle of the Change. He gathered every speck of determination and stubbornness that he possessed, as he pressed the wolf to continue.
Even so, it wasn't enough.
"No!" Ruby protested, sensing that the Flip was halting halfway through. "No, John! Don't leave me!" Ruby didn't think as she did it, but she quickly brought her hand up to his forehead, creating a mental link between them. She slipped deftly into his mind. A mind that was surrounded in the think layer of pain, fear, and exhaustion. She felt a surge of power come up from within her, power that only a white female could possess, as she joined her strength with his. Willing him to complete the change.
"I can't lose you." She whispered determinedly, as she locked her gaze with his. The strength of her will refueling his own.
John felt her in his mind. Felt her drive away the pain and exhaustion, and he rallied himself up once again. He had just found her, and it was going to take a hell of a lot more than something like this to take him away from her again.
Ruby felt him join his mind with hers. Felt him lock onto her strength, as she fueled every last little bit she had into his mind.
Another one of John's cry split the air in the cabin, but this time, it slowly shifted into that of a howl of release, as he felt the pain of his body suddenly give way to that of the wolf. Felt his body, fueled so by their conjoined strength, speed through the remainder of the transformation.
Ruby gasped as she brought her hand away from his forehead. Barely able to support herself as she collapsed down beside the black wolf laying there, panting hard, at her side. She looked over at him, and reached out her hand tiredly to let it drop onto his fur. Feeling the thickness of its beauty beneath her fingertips. Burnt gold eyes looked back at her tiredly, as his body slowly shifted back into that of a human.
Ruby smiled softly at him before they both succumbed to the exhaustion. Finally finding good, solid sleep for the first time since they could remember.
It was done. John had made the transformation. He had survived where no other ever had.
But whether or not they would survive the next couple of weeks had yet to be seen. But one thing was certain. They were together, and for now, that was all that mattered.
******
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Sophia asked Luke as they both gazed up at the meteor shower. She had never seen anything like this before. It was constant. Dozens of shooting stars raced across the night sky all at once. You couldn't turn your head fast enough to track them all, there were so many.
They were out in a little clearing that Luke had known about, and had figured would have the best view point. It was situated up on a hill, and allowed visual access in any direction.
Luke nodded his agreement as he leaned back on the old and torn comfort that Sophia had thought to bring along. His eyes trailed to her face as he watched the rapt attention there as her eyes tried to track all of the different paths of light. Some just flared a brilliant white, but others that were closer in the atmosphere when they burned out would flare blue, green, and sometimes gold and orange. There momentary small fractures of light cast all over their forms. Partially hidden in the shadows of the trees at their backs.
Sophia looked over at Luke. A child-like smile of pleasure glowing across her face. Luke smiled back at her, before his eyes followed the path of a bright green one who's afterimage burned hot in the sky for a good solid minute after it had burned out.
The night sky was magical. The land around them had been transformed into a land of myth and beauty. Tendrils of mist drifted in and around the trees and clearing. Moisture particles clung to the grass and leaves and created a shimmering of crystal impression around them as the light of the shooting stars lit up the sky with their dazzling display.
Sophia turned back to watch the display. Knowing that not a more perfect night had ever existed.
Luke studied her silhouette lit up from the natural fireworks. His mind thoughtful as he sensed her awareness of him expand.
Sophia swallowed as she looked back at him. Her heart starting to flutter in her chest. Not a more perfect night…
Luke saw the desire in her eyes as he slowly leaned back up. His mouth coming just a few inches from hers. No other part of his body touching her as he locked his gaze with hers. Wanting he to realize that it was going to be her that would make the first move. The she would be the one to initiate.
Sophia felt all thoughts or doubts flee from her mind as gazed back into his eyes. Barely able to hide the tinge of the gold starting to spark within. The soft sounds of the burning stars pinging off above them. Their light casting flickers around them.
Sophia brought her mouth to his. A slow, innocent kiss that quickly turned into a heavy, passionate one.
Luke slipped his tongue gently into her mouth. Tasting her essence. Sophia pressed in closer to him as her arms went around his bare back. Only the clothes covering her separating them.
She felt Luke firmly grasp her hips and pull her up onto his lap. Straddling his thighs as she pressed in closer. Her torso rubbing up against his.
Luke broke off the kiss to trail his mouth down the curve of her neck. Gently nipping and then licking to take away the sting. Sophia's head fell back as she gazed up at the stars shooting overhead. Feeling Luke's mouth trail lower and lower, as he unbuttoned her shirt, and reached around to release the clasp on her bra. All the while never lifting his mouth from tasting her flesh.
Sophia sunk her fingers deep into the hair at his nape, as his lips came in contact with her breast. Luke growled his approval at the innocent gesture as he carefully devoted his time to inflaming her further.
And by Sophia's responses, he knew he was doing a fairly good job.
Sophia felt herself start to flare out of control. Stars of passion within her starting to fire off. It was like she could feel them dancing across her skin and in her veins. Causing her body to clench tightly with desire and passion. She wanted him like this. Just like this. Out here in the forest, with the night sky above them in all of its dazzling display, the night air surrounding her cloak around them, and the intense passion their species was known for, flaring out of control between them.
Sophia pressed closer to him. Her bare skin rubbing up against the flesh on his chest. Luke wrapped one arm around her waist and hoisted her up against him. Using his other arm to quickly remove the jeans her legs were still encased within. Sophia gasped at the sudden movement of this. At the feel of the cool night air brushing over her thighs. But nothing was cooling that inner fire.
Luke took her down on the comfort. His body coming over hers as she wrapped her arms securely around his neck. Fingers clenching in the skin on his back. His eyes glittered bright gold fire at her as his mouth came down on hers passionately, sweeping within to claim every part of her.
He reached down to grasp her bare thigh and brought it high up around his waist. Feeling her body come flush up against his.
His other hand wrapped itself firmly into the wealth of her hair. Wrapping it around his wrist. He pulled long enough to look down at her. Seeing how her own eyes glittered back at him. The shooting stars' light flickering across her face.
Sophia looked back up at him. Her body on fire. Begging for release. She could feel the heat of him pressing in on her down there. Knew that he was holding on till her body was ready for him.
"I don't want to hurt you…" Luke started to say, but Sophia shook her head at him, craning her head up to gently flick her tongue over the seam of his mouth. The blatant act showing just how much her inner wolf was raging within her body.
"I trust you." She whispered, reaching down to taste the flesh of his shoulder where it met up with his neck. Pushing herself closer up against him.
Luke let out a heavy growl as he quickly entered her, and past the barrier of her innocence.
Sophia felt the brief moment of pain as he tore through her, but she also felt how her body turned to liquid heat around him. How she burned for release at the feel of his weight pressing in on her, and she allowed her teeth to test the flesh on his shoulder. Scraping the skin erotically. She felt the wolf within her rise to the surface as he begin to move swiftly from within her. His mouth coming down upon hers once again, as she wrapped her thighs more firmly around his waist. A small cry of passion escaping her mouth as she felt herself begin to fragment. She felt like a shooting star had gone off from within her, inviting her along for the ride. On the edge of her climax, she felt the intensity of the pleasure hit her, as her body started to shift.
Luke let out his own hoarse cry as the feeling of her body tightening around him sent over the edge as well. The pleasure increased as his own body started to shift into that of the wolf.
Sophia and Luke lay there, limbs still entwined despite the fact that they were both in wolf form, shooting stars dancing around them in the night sky as they both reluctantly shifted back into their human skin.
Luke pulled Sophia into his arms as she curled up beside him, her body seeking his warmth. Nestling her face against his chest as she watched the stars above them continue their journey. Burning across the midnight expanse.
They rest like that for a few minutes, before Luke again grasped her hips, and rolled her up on top of him. Smiling at her as he did so. Sophia's hair fanned out and created a curtain as she slowly slipped her core back down over him, and they started all over again.
******
Vivian Cates sighed as she stood up from her chair, walking resignedly over to a window over looking the forest below.
"Do you have any idea how much time we have before they attack?" She asked quietly . Her question spoken through the heavy silence, directed at Sherman. For the last couple of hours, he had explained to her about the Hunters and the Society, and what history already had to say about these groups.
Sherman looked up at her from where he had been sitting. "I don't know, V. a day…a month. I can't answer that."
"And you won't tell me why it is that you know all about this?" Vivian's question was wrapped within a layer of frustration. She was furious at him for not telling her how he knew about this. How did she know she could believe him?
"Not now, I can't. Lives depend on it, Vivian. I will as soon as the time is revealed to me to do so. I swear. I swear to you that this threat is real, and it will be the greatest that this Pack has had to face before. The Darkness is already starting to close in."
Vivian nodded slowly with a heavy heart. She turned back around to look at Sherman Blackstone. A sad smile flitted across her lips. "We knew this day would come. When we would no longer be able to hide what we are from the rest of the world. We knew that one day…they would find us." Vivian looked down at the floor boards before starting to walk back to stand in front of Sherman. Her eyes met his calmly if sadly. "We will have to fight them." She stated. "People are going to die, on both sides. But we're not going to go down without a fight."
Sherman nodded his approval. Watching the Alpha female across from him closely.
Vivian ran a hand through her hair. "I will call a Pack meeting tomorrow. It will be a meeting of the Old Ways."
Sherman's eyes narrowed as he thought that over. "Such a meeting has not been called for decades."
"All the more reason to do so now. This is going to involve ALL the members of the Pack. They have to know."
Sherman nodded his consent. Exhaling as he did so. He watched Vivian pace back over to her chair, and whispering under his breath, though he knew she could hear him. "And so it begins…"
*****************************************************
To Be Continued in Chapter Seven, Ep. 15 – "Trial by Moon" Coming Soon! Don't forget to review!
Also, for those that are interested, I've written a fic based on Tuck Everlasting… I never read the book, but I fell in love with the movie, but I just had to conclude where it left off, because…well, the ending just wasn't enough. So, if you guys are interested, go check it out. It's entitled "Wildflowers." I already have it completed, but it might be awhile before you see the story posted, because I've got to recommend the category to ff.net , as it'll be the first fanfic posted on the movie. But hopefully it won't take too long! (grin) I'm definitely curious to see what kind of response it gets! It turned out pretty good I think, if I do say so myself!
(Sapphira)
