ROMANCE: BIKER ROMANCE: Werewolf Rider (MC Shifter Pregnancy Romance) (New Adult Paranormal Romance Short Stories) (155 page)

Kian came closer. “You don’t understand lass… you already have.”

Then he leaned down and kissed her.

Chapter Eight

              Being with Kian was the single most intoxicating thing that Shona had ever experienced. It was a frustrating contrast of thrilling passion and choking disappointment. When he touched her, she felt waves of pleasure scale up her body, but it did not last long, for dusk settled over them soon enough and he was forced to leave her side.

              The remedy took Shona longer than a few days. She stayed in the apothecary, mostly hidden from the eyes of the castle, struggling to find the perfect balance between the book’s instructions and her own experience and instinct. Kian spent as much time with her as possible and though she loved his company, he tended to distract her from her task.

              It amazed Shona how familiar being with Kian was to her. From the way he liked to play with her hair while she worked or the way he kissed the nape of her neck in the mornings when he first saw her, everything was new but there was a familiarity there born of a relationship far older than theirs. Shona was not sure if that was because of their shared dreams or their shared isolation, but the intimacy she experienced with Kian made her believe in both fate and magic.

              The euphoria she felt when Kian was around, dissipated immediately after he left her side. It was only then that Shona could think rationally and it was in those moments when she realized that while Kian’s situation may change, hers never would. If she was successful, Kian would be the next clan chief but she would always be a Lord’s bastard and that was no fit match for Kian Maclver of Clan Maclver.               Shona kept her thoughts to herself. She said nothing to Kian, resigning herself to the inevitable doom of their relationship. She kept her word and continued to attempt to find a cure, but as the days flew by her heart grew heavier.

Chapter Nine

“What?” Kian asked again.

“It’s done,” Shona replied. “I think I’ve got the right combinations at last.”

“Shona…”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she replied gruffly. “First we must see if it works.”

              They walked outside into the fading light of the sun. Open meadow and lush green fields surrounded Elsick castle. Kian and Shona entered the thick range of trees where they knew they would not be spotted. Slowly Kian turned to face her and Shona handed him the vial she had filled earlier that day with the thick grey potion that had taken her almost three weeks to construct.

He took the potion but his eyes were fixed on Shona.

“Drink it Kian,” Shona said softly, hating herself for wishing that it would not work.

              He looked like he was about to say something, but then he pulled out the stopper and drank the contents of the vial in one large gulp. Shona held her breath struggling with competing emotions as the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the Highlands.

              Kian’s eyes lost focus for a moment as he swayed on the spot. Shona took a step forward but he held up a hand to stop her. “Wait,” he said, his voice sounded different.

Shona froze in place wondering if she had made everything worse. “Are you alright?” she asked breathlessly.

He leaned forward as though he were in pain. After a short while that seemed like an eternity to Shona, Kian straightened and his face smoothed out.

“Kian?” Shona said tentatively.

He looked up at her and smiled. “I think it worked lass.”

              Both of them looked up at the sky above them. An army of clouds shielded the moon, but a wealth of stars winked at them from their midnight blue canvas. Shona turned to Kian with a gasp that was also a laugh. “It worked.”

“Aye,” he said softly. “You did it.”

“It’s will only work this one night Kian,” Shona reminded him. “You will need to take the potion for as long as you live.”

He nodded as he came forward. “Tis only a small thing.”

“Kian –

              She was silenced by Kian’s lips and after a moment she had forgotten what she intended to say. She felt the need to pull away but his arms held her against him in a grip that she could not fight against. Once she was out of breath, his lips moved down to her jaw and then her neck.

“Kian –

“Hush my lass,” he said softly. “Let us enjoy this night.”

              “Yes,” Shona thought to herself. “Let me have this one night.” She gave herself over to him as they sank onto the musky earth floor entwined in each other’s arms.

Chapter Ten

              Shona was in the apothecary mixing a new batch of the remedy when Kian walked through the door, his face ablaze.

“What’s wrong?” Shona asked.

“We have just received word from Kinross Territory,” he replied immediately.

Shona put aside the motor she was holding and turned to him. “What news?”

“Your father is looking for you,” he said. “They’ve been searching for weeks, now they are asking clan Maclver for help.”

“Why does he even care?” Shona demanded. “He has his real children.”

“I can’t tell you his reasons lass,” Kian replied. “I can only tell you what I’ve heard.”

“I do not intend to go back to Kinross,” Shona said firmly.

Kian smiled. “I do not intend that you go back either.”

Shona looked at him carefully. “What is your intention for me?”

Kian looked around. “This is where you were meant to be Shona.”

Shona looked around the apothecary, unable to deny how comfortable she felt there. “Aye,” she nodded. “I would love to stay here and be healer to Clan Maclver.”

Kian laughed. “That you can be if you choose lass,” he said amused. “But I am not asking you to be my healer.”

“Then what are you asking?”

Kian reached out and grazed his fingers across her cheek. “I am asking you to be my wife.”

Shona looked at him in complete shock and she said the first thing that popped into her head. “I am a bastard.”

              His eyes flashed. “Aye, and I can transform into an animal at night. These are things we cannot change. My father will leave this world soon and when he does it will be up to me to lead. I can do it alone, but I would rather do it with you by my side. As my wife you will be under my protection.”

              “Your father will have no claim on you. Others have determined our circumstances, but this… this is something we can decide for
ourselves
. This is your choice and mine. And I have chosen you.”

              Shona looked up at his soft brown eyes. He was a handsome man, but what made him truly beautiful was the kindness that fell over his rugged features.

Shona pushed her past from her mind. She would not allow her birth to dictate how she felt about herself. If Kian could see past it, then she certainly could. 

Shona took Kian’s hand in her own. “Then I choose you,” she said with conviction.

Epilogue

              The party was small. There were only eight riders in total with her father leading the group. Shona noticed her stepmother immediately. She sat atop her horse, just behind her husband. She was dressed in her finest silks and Shona suppressed a smile as to her reason.

“Good day my lord,” Kian spoke first, pulling his horse to a stop.

Lord Macfie nodded his head in response but there was no smile and no inkling of friendship in his stance. “Whom am I speaking to?” he asked gruffly.

“I am Kian Maclver, Lord of Clan Maclver,” Kian replied.

“Lord?” Shona noticed that her father looked both disgruntled and affronted. “Your father is not yet dead.”

“Aye,” Kian agreed. “But he has passed the mantle to me. He wants to spend the rest of his days in peace without the burden of leadership weighing on him.”

“So you are the new clan chief?” Lord Macfie clarified.

“Aye my lord, I am,” Kian replied.

“Reports say that you have my daughter.”

Kian smiled. “I do not have your daughter my lord,” he said respectfully. “She chose me.”

“What does that mean?” Lady Macfie asked loudly as she rode up on her horse.

              Shona spurred her own horse forward so that she could answer her Lady Macfie’s question herself. The riders parted ways so that she could pass. The moment Lady Macfie’s eyes landed on her they went wide with surprise. Even Shona had to admit that she looked different, dressed in blue silks and silver furs with her red hair flying loose around her shoulders.

“It means I chose my own path my lady,” Shona said coming forward. “One where I don’t have to feel ashamed of myself.”

“Shona,” her father’s voice was booming and filled with shock. “You are not of clan Maclver. You are a Macfie.”

“Actually my lord,” Shona said formally. “My name is Shona Saoirse Maclver of clan Maclver.”

She had the satisfaction of seeing both her father and her stepmother share dumbfounded expressions of disbelief.

“It’s true,” Kian said as he gave Shona a secret smile that was just for her. “May I introduce my wife – Lady Shona Maclver.”

The End

Vamperella and the Billionaire

Chapter 1: New York Ain’t No Fairy Tale

Cindy woke up earlier than normal. She hadn’t been sleeping the way she used to. Tossing and turning around in her small bed had become her nightly norm. But, when she woke up this morning, she could feel something special in the air. Outside her bedroom window the sweet sound of the New York rain created a soothing melody that filled her heart with a magical hope. She jumped off her bed to glance outside her window, which was a bit jammed, but she managed to open it by pushing her muscles up and against the glass pane.

The rain was briskly hitting the New York streets, creating a romantic atmosphere with an element of gothic sublimity. She stuck her face out of the window to feel the rain kiss her pale porcelain skin. She was a young woman with shapely curves that had made other women cringe with jealousy. Her eyes were large and blue. And her untouched lips were soft and pinkish, finely shaped.

People were walking under umbrellas on streets, hiding their heads from the rain. Most of them were buzzing their way on the road, in their cars. Everybody seemed busy in some way. There was an old man, about eighty years old that gazed up at Cindy in the window. She thought that the old man had lived a long life, and she admired the lines on his fac
e
—
evidence of experience she did not yet have. She was just nineteen years old, and there was a long life ahead of her. She wasn’t even sure about the decision she took, of going to New York to pursue theatre. Her foster family had laughed in disbelief. Time would tell, whether her decision was a good one or not.

“EEEEEK!” the alarm clock exploded like a grenade, and she was completely startled. She took a deep breath, and reached for the alarm clock with her hand. She turned the alarm off. It was seven-thirty. “Here we go again!” she muttered, and quickly changed her dress. It was an ordinary blue dress, which she had worn about a million times. She didn’t have much of a choice. Even in her tattered drabs, Cindy always looked remarkable.

She darted out of her apartment, and locked the door on her way out. She was a house-cleaner in the morning, caterer in the afternoon, and waitress by night. Three grueling jobs with lousy pay. But that had to be done if she wanted to survive in a city like New York, and she certainly couldn’t rely on her foster parents. All her life she depended on herself, and she wasn’t willing to abandon that attitude. Her foster parents had worked her hard, but she supposed that was payment for food and a roof over her head.

She walked down the street trying to avoid the puddles. Just when she thought she was in the clear a semi-truck rolled by and splashed her blue dress with mud. “So much for my fairy tale morning,” she muttered. 

When she arrived at the massive Victorian building she carefully climbed up the slick stairs to begin her daily housecleaning. She was a pro at housecleaning, because that’s all she did back home. She wiped floors, removed cobwebs, took out the trash, cleaned furniture, and lots of other things. Life wasn’t getting any easier for her. She knew that she had to get strong enough to deal with all that or else she would have to kiss her dream of becoming a star goodbye. She was waiting for a miracle to happen, and didn’t care how cliché it sounded. She was a dreamer. There was something inside her that always made her realize that nothing was impossible.

Finally she got to the apartment where she had to do her work, but before she could ring the doorbell, she noticed the door knob twist clock-wise, and her employer pulled the door back with an angry look on her face.

“You’re late!” cried the bitter woman, who had just stepped out of her house.

“Sorry, Ms. Biel,” Cindy spoke in a low and gentle voice, as she took a couple of steps back.

There was a flicker in Ms. Biel’s eyes that confirmed her prior suspicions
—
this would be no ordinary day.

Chapter 2: Cleaning House

“You better straighten up your schedule Cindy. I have no tolerance for ones who overlook the importance of time.” said the woman, in a stiff and unforgiving voice. Ms. Biel was an older woman, with a cold exterior, yet still incredibly attractive.

Cindy nodded with a heavy head.

“Did I make myself clear?” she inquired bitterly.

“Yes, Ms. Biel,” she said in defeat.

“Good.”

With that she threw her rusty apartment keys at her in a hurry. The old keys hit Cindy on the tip of her fingernail, as she failingly attempted to catch. Cindy gasped as part of her index finger nail broke off, and a few drops of scarlet colored blood trickled down to the floor.

“Damn it Cindy. And now clumsiness?” Ms. Biel huffed. A strange gleam came in her eyes when she saw blood escaping her long fragile finger. “Come here,” she sounded as if she was repressing something.

Cindy was feeling pain, but she pretended to be tough, in order to prevent a lengthy dialogue with the old mysterious lady. She bent down to pick up the keys. Ms. Biel’s eyes turned fiery-red in color, but she quickly covered them up with a pair of sunglasses, which she always kept with her. Cindy took a couple of steps forward. “Show me your hand,” Ms. Biel insisted, in a motherly tone this time.

Cindy stretched her hand forward. Ms. Biel grabbed her hand and inspected it closely like a goldsmith measuring a golden nugget.

“I’m sorry for that. I have been under a lot of stress lately. You mind if I tend to your wound?” She gave her an affectionate look.

Cindy was confused by Ms. Biel’s sudden change. “Sure Ms. Biel.”

Ms. Biel placed Cindy’s fingers in her mouth and began to suck, slowly and gently. Cindy felt a chill run down her spine, but at the same time she felt a strange kind of sensation. The feeling was a mixture of horror and romance. In that particular moment, she felt lost in some mysterious place. At first it seemed so strange what Ms. Biel was doing, but then it began to feel normal.

“Very interesting,” purred Ms. Biel with a coy smile, “Now that is something I have not experienced in a while, quite a unique taste,” she chimed as she dropped Cindy’s hand gently to her side.

“Well, all right now Cindy snap out of it. You better get to cleaning as I am having many houseguests this week.” Ms. Biel, adjusted her fine little off-white hat, and walked down the ornate steps. “And don’t forget to lock the door on your way out.” She turned her head a little to look at the startled girl.

“Yes Ms. Biel,” replied Cindy. She felt better. It seemed as though she was healing quickly.

Cindy quickly walked into the house. She locked the door on her way in, and leaned her back against it for a few minutes, till she slowly slipped down on the floor. “Focus Cindy, Focus!” she backed herself up. The house was gigantic; Ms. Biel was easily Cindy’s wealthiest client. She quickly grabbed the mop, which was lying helplessly on the floor in the store room. She remembered that she had placed it in a bucket on the previous day. It seemed as though someone did some cleaning while she left the place. But cleaning wasn’t necessary at all. She did a fine cleaning job. And besides, Ms. Biel, was the only person who lived there. It couldn’t have gotten messy, Cindy thought. Ms. Biel was a business woman, so she deemed cleaning as something that was beneath her, and that was the very reason she hired Cindy.

“Who cares,” she said spontaneously, as she grabbed the mop from its thin long handle with one hand, and the little silver bucket with the other. She mopped the floor thoroughly. She loved drawing patterns on a dry floor with a wet mop, and at times, strange marks were left on the floor. Then she had to clean it again.

She went to the library, her favorite room to clean so she could admire the old books, and of course her favorite painting. It was of a mysterious man with long hair standing by the ocean. His eyes were so inviting, and yet sad. Her favorite part of cleaning Ms. Biel’s house was looking at this painting, she felt so drawn to the man, in a way that filled her body with a mysterious sensation.

While she was mopping the library, she saw something under the table. It was a stain of some sort, a red stain. She knelt down and began to examine it like a detective. She looked at her hand to see if it was bleeding again. But she was surprised to see that it was completely healed. It was impossible for her to believe.

She pushed the wooden table a bit, and mopped the floor clean. The red stain was as good as gone. After that she had to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen appliances.

She walked straight into the kitchen, and took a deep breath. There were very few dishes for her to clean, mostly red wine glasses, so she was relieved. While she was doing the dishes, she came across a sharp knife that had a few drops of blood on it. Her day was getting weirder and creepier, but she decided to push all the strange thoughts about the blood out of her mind.

She felt tired already. But there was one more thing to do before leaving the house. She had to vacuum Ms. Biel’s room. It was a messy business for her in the start, but then it started to get easy. She was glad that her cleaning tasks were going to be over. But while she was vacuuming, again she witnessed a strange thing that made no sense. It was blood, on Ms. Biel’s bedroom carpet this time. She had been cleaning Ms. Biel’s house for about a month now, but she hadn’t ever seen anything so strange.

Chapter 3: The Dream

Cindy was running aimlessly in a dark foggy jungle. The moon was fighting to peep through the mist with its glossy yellow light. Someone was chasing her. She got a few cuts on her arms and wrists as she tried to crawl her way out of huge thorny bushes. “Help!” she cried her lungs out, “help!” she kept screaming as loud as she could, but to no avail.

Suddenly, the whole gloomy forest literally went up in smoke, and she was caught between an eternal void. Then, two huge fiery-red burning eyes, emerged out of nowhere and began to stare at the young girl. “Who the hell are you?” she inquired out of immense fear. Her legs were uncontrollably shaking at that event, and her heart throbbed with fear.

She started to run, but the eyes kept following her. Those eyes were on her tail, no matter how hard she tried to run. “Stop following me,” she cried once again, as she turned her neck to glance at the massive demonic eyes. But the eyes were no longer there. When she looked ahead, those eyes were right in front of her, staring her from head to toe. She felt as though someone had peeled her soft skin off with a crowbar. She couldn’t even cry. It seemed like it was the end. Then suddenly, a red tear fell from those beastly eyes. The tear enlarged, the moment it hit the void. It sucked her in. She screamed as loudly as she could, knowing that nobody could hear her.

Cindy awoke, gasping for air and for a reminder that she was alive. Her whole body was covered in cold sweat. Her hair was badly tangled. Her skin had turned stiff and hard, and her face was as white as a corpse. She breathed heavily and thanked God, for restricting that nightmare from jumping into the real world.

She dragged herself out of bed and went straight to the bathroom, where she looked at herself for a couple of minutes. She vigorously washed the sweat and fear from her face. She looked horrible. She felt so lonely, and now it was time for her to her daily schedule. She took a deep breath, and stared into her own eyes declaring, “I can do this, and my luck will soon change.”

As she was recovering from her dream, she heard a knock at the door. She was surprised. For a second, she thought that answering the door wasn’t a good idea. Since she was new to the city, nobody knew where she lived, except for her clients. And why would her clients visit her? “Who is it?” Cindy asked.

There was no answer.

She walked toward the door and tried to stick her eye in the keyhole to see if it was someone she knew. But there was nobody outside. She gently turned the knob, and pulled the door back, just enough to stick her head out. Nobody was there, except a red-colored envelope that was lying at her doorstep. She knelt down and picked it up. The beautiful envelope was sealed, with a waxed stamp that had a strange icon on it. It looked like a symbol of royalty. She carefully opened the envelope in anticipation, and pulled a letter out of it that was written in a strange old English handwriting.

The letter read:

Ms. Cindy

I invite you to a small party at my residence, tomorrow, at midnight. Please bless the occasion with your presence.

Of course, you could have a day off.

Love,

Catherine Biel

She was happy to receive the invitation, but felt skeptical. Why was Ms. Biel showering her with attention? Plus, with a wealthy crowd like that what would she wear? She had no proper party dress. Wasting her savings on a party dress and some make over wasn’t the best idea. So she just folded the invitation and put it back in the envelope. She shut the door and jumped right on to her bed. At least she had a day off. It was something to celebrate. But again she heard a knock at the door. This time, she was more confident. She quickly opened the door curiously to find a man, wearing a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans, along with a silly baseball cap, was standing outside, holding a big package.

“Ms. Cindy?” he inquired.

“Yeah,” her eyes were wide open, constantly staring at the package, and wondering whether it was for her.

“Sign here please,” he handed her a clipboard and a pen.

She signed it and gave it back to the man.

“Here you go, ma’am,” he gave her the package.

“Thanks,” she smiled.

The man nodded and walked away. Cindy closed the door and quickly sat on the floor to open the package. The package was wrapped in shiny red paper. She tore the package open, to find an exceptionally elegant dress. She looked at the sender-tag, to discover that it was the courtesy of Ms. Biel.

She knew that she did some hard work, but Ms. Biel was showing a little too much gratitude, she thought. Still she wasn’t sure about going to the party. She had not met very many people since she had moved to New York, but she wasn’t sure she would fit in with Ms. Biel’s guests. She decided to try on the dress anyway and went running into the bathroom to look at herself. She hung the dress high enough to see whether it looked good on her or not. But she knew that she would have to return it to Ms. Biel, because she believed that a dress as beautiful as that wasn’t meant for her.

Chapter 4: The Party

The clock was ticking. It was half-past eleven already. Cindy hadn’t made up her mind yet, about the party. She was lying in her cozy bed, staring at the clock. For some reason, she couldn’t sleep. Her heart was beating rapidly.

She closed her eyes and reflected on why she first came to New York; an opportunity for a new life. An opportunity to put her hum-drum past behind her. Her foster parents had been so strict. They were very religious, and never let her go on dates. They always favored their natural born children. Cindy felt that because of this she had lived a very sheltered life, and missed out on the adventure of youth.

With that, she spontaneously sprang out of her bed to take a quick shower. “I am not letting fear control my life anymore” she declared.

She didn’t have much time. She put the elaborate red dress on and looked herself in a small wall-mirror in her bedroom. What she saw startled her. Her breasts looked more voluptuous, and her long hair framed her face perfectly. All of her features seemed to be brought out by the magnificence of the dress. 

Cindy had to make a run for it. She literally ran towards Ms. Biel’s house, all the way up the never ending staircase. This time, she was right on time. There was no need to knock the solid wooden door, because it was already wide open. The whole house seemed to be crowded from where she was standing.

A tall man darted out of the room, and stood right outside the door. He was wearing a jet-black suit that matched his hair. He was tall and muscular, and immediately began moving his eyes to Cindy’s neckline.

“Miss,” said the man in black, when he caught her staring at him for a while. “Can I help you?”

Cindy couldn’t respond. She was confused, searching for words. “Ms. Cindy Nightingale?” he inquired, following her silence.