Fate's Intentions (13 page)

"I've just been wondering about that and I thought I'd ask. That very well could be what's happening. News papers will do anything to sell papers!"

Ashylnn looked over to Adam. "I could get used to your cooking! It's all really good!"

Adam smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

She smiled back still trying to get over her embarrassing outburst. "If you feel like it, I think maybe I'd like to go see Grammy and Pap after breakfast."

"I don't mind at all." Adam replied.

"Okay, well I'm going to go give them a call then." She got up and went to her room to get her phone.

Scarlett was lost in her bacon and eggs. It was really good and she was happy to have an appetite again. Adam brought her out of her thoughts. "Are you coming with us Scarlett?"

She shook her head. "No if it's okay I think I'd rather stay here. I really don't want to be anywhere near town."

Adam smiled at her. "Of course it's okay if you stay here." His intent was innocent but as he saw the words had other meaning to Scarlett he grinned as well. "I didn't mean it like that!" He laughed.

"Of course you didn't!" She joked.

"I really didn't." He said honestly.

"I know." She smiled at him.

He finished the food that was on his plate and stood up. He started to gather some of the various things on the table.

"Don't do that!" Scarlett exclaimed. "You cooked, you shouldn't have to clean up too! I'll get it and wash the dishes when I'm finished."

"I'll help her." Ben added.

"Okay then." Adam smiled. "I'm going to go see if Ashlynn is planning to go to her grandparent's."

He walked through the kitchen and up the stairs. When he got to Ashlynn's door he knocked, fighting the urge to open the door hoping to sneak a peek at her changing. He heard a voice from inside. "Come in." He opened the door and found Ashlynn on the edge of the bed pulling on her boots.

"You look good!" He spoke his thoughts out loud.

Ashlynn smiled through her words, "Thank you! I'm ready whenever you are. I talked to Grammy and she's excited to see me, said they are going to be home."

"I'm ready too." Adam said motioning to her bedroom door. "After you my lady."

Ashlynn grinned at him as she walked past him and out into the hall.

Adam closed her door. "Scarlett isn't coming."

Ashlynn nodded. "I didn't think she would." She walked down the steps and out to the dining room. Scarlett was still sitting at the table, Ben as well. "Do you need anything in town Scarlett?"

"No, I don't think so. But if I think of anything I'll text you." Scarlett smiled at her. "Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! Go on!"

Ashlynn hugged her. "Okay. Text me if you need anything."

Ashlynn and Adam walked outside and got into his truck. He was usually very aware of his surroundings. His hearing, sight and sense of smell were amplified much more than that of a human. But he was so distracted by this beautiful blond sitting next to him that he didn't notice the unfamiliar scent swirling in the air outside.

As they pulled out of the driveway he looked over to Ashlynn, "I have to tell you something." Ashlynn stared back at him, waiting for him to vocalize what was on his mind. "I always promised myself I wouldn't get involved with any human girl."

Ashlynn laughed. "Well if you would've ask me a month ago I would have told you there'd be no way in hell I'd ever be falling for a werewolf!"

"That's a good point." He laughed. "It's just that there are some major differences between us and humans. The most outstanding difference being our lifespan."

Ashlynn stared down into her lap for a moment then lifted the arm rest between them pushing it back into the seat. She slid over, up against him and kissed his cheek. "Shhhh. I don't know how to handle all of this either but we will figure it out."

He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You are right gorgeous! I would much rather be scrambling to figure out a way to make this work than to figure out how to let you go!"

They drove the rest of the way to town in silence. He had one hand on the wheel and the other around her, she had her head on his shoulder and her hand on his thigh, and they each had the same thought on their mind.

Chapter 14

Ben and Adam had been busy with the girls and never noticed that they had been followed when they brought them to their home. They also hadn't noticed that someone had been lurking outside waiting for the opportunity to make their move. Cody hadn't heeded the wolf's warning to leave the girls alone. Now it was more personal. Scarlett had turned him in. His mind had been racing wondering how he could get out of it. It had finally settled on the idea that if there was no one to testify against him, the problem would be gone. He just had to pull it off without getting caught. He had stalked them long enough to know it was just the four of them in this house but he hadn't dug around enough to realize that Ben and Adam were more than they appeared. Once he knew where the girls were staying, he had came up with a plan and returned with his hunting rifle. He had watched as Ashlynn and Adam left and figured this was the best chance he was going to get. The odds of getting Scarlett completely by herself weren't worth waiting for, he needed to act now.

Scarlett and Ben had been sitting at the table talking after they'd finished eating. She stood up and with the brace on her wrist, began awkwardly clearing the table. Ben got up and helped her carry the dishes to the kitchen. She turned to him and smiled. "I've really had a good time the last couple of days. It feels like it's been forever since I've felt like me, but the last couple days you've made me smile and laugh, I'm more like myself."

Ben smiled back at her. "To be completely honest, the last couple days you've brought a part of me to life that I thought died a long time ago. You have no idea how long it's been since I've laughed so much. I'm really glad to have you here."

He took a step closer to her and then something caught his eye outside the window. It was Cody and he had a gun. A gun aimed at them. He jumped in front of Scarlett just as the glass of the window before them shattered. He let out a howl as the bullet pierced his skin. It entered on his left side just below his ribs. Luckily it had almost missed him and didn't do as much damage as it could have. It was bleeding a lot, but he knew he'd live. He pressed his hand onto the wound and turned to Scarlett. "Are you okay?" He looked down and there she was laying on the floor. She was bleeding everywhere. The bullet had caught him and then hit her in the stomach. He jumped down onto the floor next to her and covered the wound on her belly. He knew trying to stop the blood wasn't any use because she was bleeding on the inside. The only thing he knew to do, he wasn't sure if it would work. He'd never seen it done before. But it was his only hope. Scarlett was convulsing. She had already lost too much blood and was going into shock. "Take deep breaths Scarlett! Stay as calm as possible!" He grabbed a knife from the counter behind them and slid it across his wrist. Blood poured from the gash as he pressed it to her mouth. Blood ran inside and Scarlett began to choke on it. He wasn't sure if she was coherent. He didn't know if she was understanding what he was saying but he instructed her anyway. "Swallow Scarlett! I need you to swallow!" She was swallowing it but not of her own will. Her body trembled as she swallowed and inhaled the blood pouring down her throat. After he thought she had gotten plenty, he sat her up and patted her on the back. He held her in his arms and rocked her side to side and cried to her. "Hold on Scarlett, hold on! You're going to be okay! I promised to keep you safe and I'm going to! I'm not going to let you die!" Her body stopped shaking and Ben held his breath afraid to check if she was still breathing. But she was. She was unconscious, but still breathing. He looked down at her chest and saw it inflating as she took air in. He looked up to her face. It was so pale. She was ghostly white. A tear fell from his eye onto her face. He wiped it away as he whispered to her. "Please don't leave me Scarlett. You've brought happiness back into my life after so many decades of loneliness. I can't let you leave me. You can't!" He picked her up and carried her to the couch. He laid her down and glanced out the window. He had done all that he could do for Scarlett. He hoped that it was enough. But there was one more thing that he needed to do.

He ripped off his shirt as he ran to the back door. He flung the door open and jumped through it landing on four paws. He ran swiftly and quietly around the house into the woods. It was mere seconds before he picked up Cody's scent. He followed it through the woods zig-zagging through the trees and leaping over logs. Cody hadn't gotten far. He didn't even hear Ben coming. Ben crashed into him knocking him to the ground. He rolled over and saw a snarling wolf standing in front of him. He reached for his gun but the wolf bit his arm. Ben jerked so hard Cody thought it had dislocated his shoulder. Ben transformed and stood before Cody as a man. Ben leaned over and grabbed the gun laying next to Cody and threw it. Horror spread across Cody's face at what he was seeing. Ben crouched over him and grabbed his hand. He grabbed one of his fingers and jerked it, snapping it like a twig. Cody screamed and Ben spoke. His voice was low and unnerving. "My intentions are not to simply kill you, but to cause you pain in the process.  I want you to suffer. Suffer just as Scarlett has suffered." He broke another finger. Cody screamed again. "Were there other girls?" Ben didn't recognize himself. He snapped another finger. Cody screamed and begged him to stop but Ben didn't. He stood as Cody laid on his back groaning in pain. He stomped on his genitals and screamed. "You've hurt a woman for the last time." Ben's expression was almost evil. In a blink the expression was gone and the wolf was back. Ben latched onto his throat and gripped it between his jaws until Cody stopped struggling for air. He let go and looked down at the limp body in front of him. No air was entering the lungs anymore. It wasn't thrashing or begging anymore. He leaned in and listened. No heartbeat.

He stood looking at the lifeless body for a moment longer and then took off in flash back to the house. He hoped and prayed for Scarlett as he ran. He moved through the woods faster than he ever thought possible but when he finally made it back and transformed, he walked slowly as he entered the house, terrified of what he may find. He made his way to the couch and bent down next to Scarlett. His heart ached as he looked at her. He promised to protect her and this is what had become of her under his care. Her color looked better though. He lifted her shirt to look at the wound on her stomach. It was healing. He pulled her shirt back down and listened. Her heart rate was getting stronger. He sat and fought the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes at the other possible outcomes of this. Scarlett's phone rang and he nearly jumped out of his skin. He didn't get up to get it. The thought suddenly struck his mind that he should call Adam. And then he thought of Ashlynn. She would be horrified when she walked in and saw this. He pulled on his pants and went to Scarlett's room and got her another tshirt. He got a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth from the kitchen and came back to the living room. He took Scarlett's shirt off, trying to be as gentle as possible. He was thankful that as he pulled her shirt up, he saw that she was wearing a sport's bra. He laid a blanket out over the adjacent couch and moved her over to it placing her head on a pillow. He used the wash cloth to wipe off all the blood that was drying to her skin. As he cleaned around the wound he was amazed at how fast she was healing. Once he had her as clean as he could get her, he put the other tshirt on her and covered her with a blanket. He looked down at his own wound. It was almost healed. He ran to his room and threw a shirt on to hide it. Next he gathered some cleaning supplies from the laundry room and set to work scrubbing the blood off the kitchen cabinets, the floor and the couch Scarlett had first laid on. He couldn't have Ashlynn come back and see any of it. He decided there was no use to call Adam. There wasn't really anything he could do. All that was left to do was to wait and watch.

~

Ashlynn walked out of her grandparent's house and got in Adam's truck. "Thank you for waiting on me. I tried to hurry but I haven't seen them in a while."

"No worries Love." Adam smiled at her. "It's fine. I would've waited out here all day on you if it made you happy!"

"You are just too cute!" Ashlynn giggled at him.

"Do you mind swinging by the office? I need to get some things."

"Why would I mind? It wouldn't matter if I did!" She laughed.

Adam smiled but didn't reply. They drove to the office and pulled up to the doors in the front of the building. They got out of the truck and Adam unlocked the door. He held the door and let her enter first. Once they were both inside he locked it again and walked back the hall. He entered the last door on the left and Ashlynn followed him inside. There was an old couch in the corner with an end table next to it with notebooks and pieces of paper piled on top of it. The rest of the room was filled with shelves. "What is this?" Ashlynn asked as she turned in a circle looking around.

"This is my storage room." Adam answered.

"I figured that, but what's the deal with the couch?" Ashlynn plopped onto the couch as she asked.

"Well, I work on my 'personal' experiments here as well as the cabin. Sometimes I work pretty late and crash on the couch."