brief smile, basking in the happiness they both felt.
Charity sighed, a happy sigh, and Levi leaned down to her ear and kissed it as he reached his big hands around her. He pulled her tighter against his chest while allowing his hands to rest on her big belly, with their three boys finally lying quietly within.
The guys were all reminiscing when Raven interrupted them and announced a short speech. He shared about how lonely life had been before Charity tugged the sweet girl to her side and introduced her to him. He proclaimed his love for Rose and teared up when thanking the pack for accepting him and rescuing him and Rose. He then turned his attention to Eli and gave a heartfelt thank you to him for being his best friend. Every one of us was in tears, even Eli, though he tried to hide it.
Eli would miss his sister very much, along with his parents. His parents were accompanying Raven and Rose to Alaska, but he would also miss Raven, his now dear and devoted friend. Raven didn’t hold any ill will against Eli for killing Griffin. He said he understood his anger. Griffin had kidnapped his sister and tied her to a tree to watch the torturing death of her husband. Unfortunately, he deserved what he got. Raven understood this. After declaring again his undying love for Rose, or Sophia as he called her, and again spilling his gratitude to all of them for all they had done for him, he murmured something so low they almost didn’t catch it. Fortunately, they all have exceptional hearing. It sounded something like a whine, and it went something like this, “I really miss my beautiful car.”
Then they all burst into laughter, breaking up the seriousness of the current mood.
Suddenly, Charity stopped short; something was wrong. “Hey, Mr. Blurry and Furry,” she said turning to Levi, whose laughter was now rocking both of their bodies in an irritating way. “Will you stop that laughing? You spilt your drink all over the blanket! And all over me as well,” she suddenly noticed.
Levi stopped dead in mid laughter. “Charity, I didn’t spill anything. I don’t even have a drink.”
She huffed but then noticed his hands were empty. “Well then, if you didn’t, then who—” she squealed.
Levi jumped up so fast she almost fell backwards. “Holy hailstorm! Charity’s having the babies! Right now!”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, she laughed. Levi never said things like that. That was her thing. She guessed she was truly rubbing off on him. Although she wasn’t so sure that was a good thing.
And then he was gone—so fast into the forest that she didn’t even see him move.
“Hey!” she yelled out to him. Then he was back again.
“Sorry, kitten. I guess I forgot you.” He smiled sheepishly, pulling her up gently into his arms.
She glanced around at the others, their mouths hanging open in shock, and stared into dead silence for a few split seconds.
The next few minutes were total pandemonium as the pack scurried from their seats and jumped around, bumping into each other, unsure of what to do. They finally bolted through the forest after Levi and Charity on their way to the Drake clinic, located inside the facility. She would’ve laughed if she hadn’t felt so sick. Levi was running with such speed that she knew at any minute she might vomit. Not to mention that her contractions were coming closer and closer. The way the pack was acting you’d think that this was the first set of triplets this crazy pack had ever had…..oh wait—it was.
Another Note from the Author
Next up is Eli’s Destiny. As the title suggests, this story focuses around Levi’s twin, Eli. I tried third person narrative but in the end decided to go back to my favorite first person narrative. This seems to suit me better. I switched POV periodically throughout the story. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter One
Shae
I bounded through the forest as fast as my shaky legs would take me, praying to God that I wouldn’t smash headfirst into any trees. But that would be far better than what my imagination believed was about to happen to me. Suddenly, I heard it again, a howl that told my brain I was possibly about to be eaten! It was closer this time and my legs grew a mind of their own as they ran faster than they ever had before, carrying me through the forest in record speed.
I should’ve known not to trust Karen and Darcy when they convinced me that this was a good idea. Coming to the clearing on the night of a full moon is nothing short of stupid no matter how you sell it, and they sold it to me pretty good. Everybody knows odd things go on in these woods during a full moon. They told me that Sara, my best friend, had been tricked and left here without a cell phone or any way to get home. They convinced me to come with them to get her, only to find that it was I who was tricked and left behind. They’ve always had it in for me, but this time they’d gone too far. How dare they leave me out here to die in the forest, eaten by some wild animal, or worse.
I couldn’t die here—not like this. I at least needed an opportunity to get back at them.
I stumbled and tripped, landing on my knees with a thud. I didn’t stay down for long, as I quickly jumped back to my feet and began running again. The howling came again, but this time from more than one source. My heart was beating so fast I thought at any minute it would burst in my chest and that would be the end for me. I didn’t even know where I was going. All I knew is that if I stopped, whatever it was that was behind me would catch me, and that was sure to be a bad thing.
Suddenly, everything quieted, and I froze, pressing my back against a tree and listening. My breathing was coming too fast, but there was nothing I could do to slow it. Then I saw a blurred motion. Something dark approached and stood directly in front of me. I could feel its presence, just inches from my face. I cringed, terrified to look up, but more afraid not to. There was no mistaking its breath on my face. Thoughts were rushing through my mind too fast and none of them made much sense. I slowly looked up and gasped. Staring back at me was a pair of glowing, yellow eyes and gnarly sharp teeth. At that moment I couldn’t breathe, and then my mind went completely blank and my world went totally dark.
I woke up gasping and instantly recognized my mom who seemed frazzled and alarmed. She was by my side, shaking me vigorously.
“Shae, honey! Are you all right? I heard you screaming in your sleep.” Her voice was shaky and rough.
I put my hand over my chest as if the gesture would somehow slow my heart rate. “Umm—I-I think I’m okay,” I said, my throat dry and scratchy. I swallowed hard and glanced up at my mom. Her eyes were wide and her hair was in big curlers, all but one.
She sighed in relief. “Don’t be silly dear. I’m just glad you’re okay. Now try to go back to sleep.” She leaned down and kissed my forehead, something she often did to comfort me, then left my room, shutting the
