My Serbian Wolf (6 page)

Niko pursued her, although in vain, and all she could do was to hear him screaming her name. His eyes were wide with terror, a sight that crushed her heart. That was the first time she’d ever seen him exude fear. His cries of anguish and heartache became muffled, and her surroundings faded to black.

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My Serbian Wolf

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Rebecca awakened with a jolt, causing her to sit straight up in bed.

Massaging her temples, she fought to free herself from the overbearing dizzy feeling she was experiencing.

“What the hell just happened? Shit, this can’t be going on.” Mumbling a few curse words, Rebecca reached for the lamp beside her bed.

Remembering everything, she realized she would not be getting back to sleep anytime soon. Her vision was blurry, thanks to the waterfall of tears cascading down her cheeks.

Most people thought of hell as fire and brimstone. That may be true, but there were other types of hells existing for folks who had brought damnation to themselves and those around them. Rebecca couldn’t help but to think she’d played a major role in Niko’s banishment centuries ago. She acknowledged the fact they both existed in their own private hells, paying a century’s old price.

The cold realization of her childish temper tantrum centuries ago added more fuel to the fire because Hrebeljanovic must have heard every word she’d spoken. “I’m so sorry, Niko,” Rebecca spoke aloud. “Please forgive me.” She sent up a silent prayer, hoping he’d find peace, wherever he was.

Out of concern for her daughters, Rebecca hurried to check on them and was relieved to find them in deep slumber. To her, their faces were angelic.

They appeared not to have a care in the world, and little smiles crossed their faces, filling her with peace and serenity. Perhaps they were dreaming within their own past realms.

Making her nightly rounds throughout the house, Rebecca glanced out of the window at the full moon. She sighed as she marveled in the beauty, surrendering herself to the magnetizing pull of the silver globe. Her love and respect for Niko had grown ten-fold since he’d last spoke those words. It was such a misfortune that forces beyond their control no longer would allow them to make contact with one another. With a heavy heart, Rebecca continued staring out the window.

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Another unsettling thought embraced her. It was a strong possibility she would never know the genuine warmth of a man’s love again. A failed marriage had left her a single mother. The marriage only failed because she and Mike were not compatible, and violence had become a part of their lives.

The love was unreal, and nothing like what she and Niko had shared centuries ago, or even during her short stints to his realm. Rebecca groaned as she pondered living her days without the companionship of someone who would love her until the end of her life.

Longing for coffee, she journeyed to the kitchen, brewing a half a pot before venturing out onto the balcony where the warm morning breeze greeted her. She pretended it was Niko caressing her cheek instead of the breeze. Envisioning his face, she closed her eyes, and, once again, in her mind, was with him. Rebecca opened her eyes just in time to see a brilliant shooting star masking the heavens. Instinct overpowered her, and a wish was made. Growing comfortable, she fell asleep on the lawn chair as dawn approached.

* * * *

It must have been nine o’clock in the morning when Myra and Helen awakened Rebecca from her comatose sleep. She felt the small hands of her daughter nudging her before she opened her eyelids.

“Mom, wake up!” Myra was persistent, and her little voice was louder than usual.

Rebecca groaned, covering her ears, and turned in the lawn chair, thinking she was in her large bed.

“Mom!” She continued shaking Rebecca until she sat straight up in the lawn chair. “Come on, sleepy head, it’s nine o’clock. I thought we were leaving early to do the grocery shopping! I want to go to the aquarium. Then, can we go to The Hard Rock Café?”

Helen strolled out onto the balcony, flopping in a chair across from Rebecca. “Did someone say Hard Rock Café? Mom, I so want another T-shirt from there, but I want a few in black! I’m ready to roll.” Helen stared at 37

My Serbian Wolf

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Rebecca for a few seconds and blinked. “Mom, what’s up?” Helen held up her arms in question. “Normally you’re the first one up.” A smile etched itself on the teenager’s face. A hazy mist seemed to have taken up residence within Rebecca’s head because the urge to lie back down and go to sleep was overwhelming. Furthermore, she longed to remember the dream. It was teetering, right there, but she could not recall any of it.

“Honey, I’m getting up. Just a little slow moving today.” Rebecca rose to her feet and rubbed the back of her neck. “Geez, I shouldn’t have fallen asleep out here!” She stretched and looked at her plants adorning the balcony. “Oh shoot! I need to water my babies.”

“Already done, Mom.” Helen smiled. “That’s what we were doing while you were sleep, pretty much over an hour ago.”

“Girls, I’m sorry. Look, let me hop in the shower, and we’ll start our day, okay?” Rebecca bent down and kissed her youngest on top of the head.

* * * *

Rebecca felt invigorated after a twenty minute shower and dressing in one of the new outfits she’d purchased a few weeks ago. Certain images flashed in her mind, and she had been upset about something last night, but it still failed to register in her memory.

“You know, let’s hit up a few of the stores at The Gallery while we’re downtown. I’m in the mood to shop today. Geez, it’s hot out here!” Rebecca cranked the air conditioning a few minutes after the car ran.

“Yeah, the dog days of summer.” Helen laughed as she waved to one of their neighbors. “Check it out, Ms. Pierson had company last night.

Hmmm.”

“Stop being so nosey, Helen.” Rebecca’s jaw dropped when she glanced over at her neighbor’s parking spot. “Wow.” Envy shot through her veins at the sight of the well built man who opened the door for Ms. Pierson. Feeling a little embarrassed, she nodded when the woman waved to her. If only she could have someone like that, with an awesome personality to match.

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“Ew, Mom! You were
not
checking that dude out just now, where you?”

Rebecca peered into her daughter’s eyes. Helen wrinkled her nose up. “I swear, I’ve never seen you look so hard at a man in all my life.”

Rebecca giggled at the look on Helen’s face. “Oh Helen, just because I haven’t had a man in my life does not mean I don’t look.” Rebecca grinned.

“Normally, I’m more careful when my little ladies are around me.”

Helen shook her head and looked straight ahead. “Mom, I know what type of look that was.” Helen leaned over to her. “That was a lust filled look if I ever saw one.”

“Helen!”
Heat rose to Rebecca’s face. Why did the girl have to be so damned observant?

Myra snickered in the back seat. “What are you laughing at, lady?”

Rebecca turned to look at her youngest, and was relieved when the girl’s gaze was glued to the Ipod. She had placed earplugs in her ears, and was singing the latest song by an infamous child star. Earlier, she had been watching a movie.

“Oh, she’s not paying any attention to us, trust me. She thinks our conversations are boring sometimes.” Helen glanced over at their neighbor.

“Aw man!” She shook her head. “Mom, can we, like, go now? I’m really not trying to watch dueling tongues over here.”

“Oh, Helen.” Rebecca pulled out of the parking lot and drove to the grocery store.

“Seriously, Mom, she’s had two different guys over there in the last month.”

“Yes, Helen, and that’s none of our business.”

“I know, Mom, but—

“I get your point, baby. Really I do. Perhaps Ms. Pierson is just lonely.”

“You don’t do that.”

“Well, I would never bring lovers around you girls like that.”

“So, you do date?” Helen stared at Rebecca for a few moments.

“Of course, baby girl. I’m no nun. A mommy needs to be taken to the movies, and dinner, and even a concert every now and again. I mean, there were times when I wanted nothing to do with anyone.” Rebecca’s grip 39

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tightened on the steering wheel. There were no lovers to speak of, with the exception of a few shreds of sexy dreams. At least, she thought they were sexy. The handful of men she’d dated were jerks, and were interested in one thing only.

“Where did you go?” Helen turned off her Ipod, tucking it inside her purse, and folded her arms, casting Rebecca a look that said she would not let up until she received an answer.

Heat flushed Rebecca’s face. “Helen, what’s up with the twenty questions?”

“Why are you blushing, Mom? I want to know, that’s all. Come on, don’t shut me out.”

Rebecca glanced out of the corner of her eye as Helen looked in the back seat to make sure Myra was still occupied. The child was singing another song.

“What am I going to do with you?”

Helen shrugged, her arms still crossed against her chest.

“Gee, you pick a fine time for a girl talk.” Rebecca laughed as she stopped at a red light. “Listen, I would never bring just anyone home to my girls. If I were to meet that special someone, I would have to know that he would love you both just as much as he loved me. It’s the package deal thingy, you know?”

“Yeah, I suppose. Althea Kennison’s mom is always bringing guys around. She tells me everything.”

“That’s got to be rough.”

“Yes, sometimes Althea spends the night with her grandmother. She says her mother sometimes forgets she’s even there, she’s so taken with men.”

Rebecca shook her head as she concentrated on her driving. “Now that’s just wrong. I’d rather be alone than to bring every Tom, Dick & Harry around my babies. You know I would never do anything like that, right?”

“Oh yeah, Mom. You’re so predictable.” Helen grinned.

“That’s right, baby. I’m the queen of my castle, and you girls are my two princesses.” Rebecca’s heart brimmed over with love as she pulled into a parking spot. She could do this, totally live her life without any man’s 40

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company. From out of nowhere, the nagging thought presented itself to her.

What about the times when her daughters were invited for sleepovers at friends’ houses? What about when they grew up, and were too busy with their own lives to visit? Up until last night, there had been no empty voids in her lives. For some reason, she felt like she was missing something.

Oh knock it off,
Rebecca thought to herself as she and her kids walked into the grocery store. She giggled to herself.
You’ll be doing a lot of traveling.

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My Serbian Wolf

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The trip to the grocery store was a strange one, indeed. After perusing through the coffee aisle, an old, familiar presence captured Rebecca’s attention, provoking long lost familiar feelings deep inside her. A certain mystical aura spread through the air and a chill sliced through her body. Just a few moments ago, the coffee section had contained ten other people. Now, the only presence gracing the aisle was that of herself and her girls.

Rebecca observed her children, who didn’t seem to pick up on the vibes she noticed. They appeared to be in their own world, and eager to end the grocery shopping trip. “Almost done, girls.” Sensing their eagerness to leave, she quickened her pace.

Further down the aisle, they roamed. In her haste to end the shopping trip, Rebecca bumped into a seemingly familiar man. She didn’t have a chance to see him because her face met with his chest. Before they collided, she did manage to catch a glimpse of a young boy, who looked to be around the same age as Myra.

A rich, masculine scent tingled and tickled her nostrils and she stepped back. How could she have been so damned clumsy? Rebecca’s heart skipped a beat when her eyes met with his. His eyes were black as obsidian and his ebony, collar-length hair was streaked with platinum strands. Her hands became clammy and perspiration beaded her brow.

When they collided with one another, her opened purse fell with a crash, spilling all the contents onto the floor. Rebecca stood, mesmerized, as the handsome stranger apologized and knelt down to collect her belongings as the children looked on. The flutter in her chest continued as she knelt down beside him, picking the contents of her purse up.

“I’m so sorry for not paying attention.” His voice disbursed sensual sensations in her, and moisture collected between her thighs. If she didn’t know any better, she sensed he picked up on that. She took a chance and peered into the dark abyss of his eyes, and his look confirmed what she thought. Of course, it had to have been written all over her face.

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As they rose, their eyes meshed, and they became captured within one another’s gaze. Every nerve danced with excitement as his voice encompassed her with a warm and fuzzy sensation. His brows knitted together and he cocked his head to the side as though pondering a long lost memory.

“Do I know you?”

Rebecca tried hiding the excitement brimming just beneath the surface.

Oh hell, the stranger had to have known the effect he held over her at this instance. She felt like she was back in high school all over again. No man had made her feel this way. At least, none that she could recall. The stranger caused her to wonder about the dreams she could not recall.

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” Rebecca laughed to cover her embarrassment.
We did know each other.
The thought entered her mind like a freight train coursing along at one hundred miles per hour. The children were observing their parents becoming smitten with one another. She heard them whispering among themselves, and strained to hear what they were saying.