ROMANCE: CLEAN ROMANCE: Summer Splash! (Sweet Inspirational Contemporary Romance) (New Adult Clean Fantasy Short Stories) (94 page)

“Together?” Caleb whispered into her ear in a deep masculine voice that sent shivers down her spine.

“Together.” She replied.

As Caleb bit her lower lip he exploded inside her making her squeal in sheer pleasure. They panted and heaved as Caleb rolled over revealing his now spent cock as his semen dripped between Hailey’s legs.

What have I done
? Hailey asked herself.

It was magical. Feelings she thought she would never feel ever again, materialized as she and Caleb became one. Hailey kind of felt like it was a mistake – he was a guy she barely knew. But then again, she was ready to make more mistakes. What had happened, though was still very muddled in terms of the details, but it reminded her how short life was. She wasn’t sure about Caleb, about what happened, but she was sure as hell that she never wanted to experience life flashing before her eyes and seeing nothing.

She rolled over to see the man that had awakened her from a slumber induced by a dark past. But she saw no one. She was alone in her bed. Caleb had gone away. She heard a muffled noise from outside her room. Hailey stood, wrapping her sheets around her naked body.

Through the crack of the door, she saw a naked Caleb standing before an opened window speaking to no one. Fear slowly built up in the pit of her stomach. She tried to listen more to the one-sided conversation, but she wasn’t even sure they were talking. All she could hear was Caleb in an angry tone and some grunting sound.

The grunt.

Panic had suddenly taken hold of Hailey as she retreated hastily to her bed knocking over her lamp. The loud crack and thud alerted her guests to her conscious presence. As she tried to rush back to the door to lock it, Caleb burst into the room with a face painted with worry - beside him stood a wolf.

She screamed. Caleb then realized why. Right to his side was an enormous wolf that stood up to his neck. It was a black wolf with fierce green eyes and a streak of silver across it.

“Hailey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.” Caleb pleaded to the hysterical woman who was throwing every item within reach toward his direction.

“Let me handle this.” The wolf spoke.

“Who said that?” Hailey was now crying.

“I did.” The wolf had suddenly burst into a bright light and as the luminescence faded, there stood in front of her was a tall man with dark hair and green eyes.

“Hello. Pleased to meet you. I am Anton.”

Hailey promptly fainted, collapsing onto her bed.

*****

She was floating through the clouds. She didn’t have wings, she wasn’t on anything magical, she was just levitating, her weight blissfully resistant to gravity’s pull. Then again, it was just a dream. Reality had slowly set in as she came to.

The man with the dark hair and green eyes – he was something. She didn’t want to even entertain the thought, even though she knew well enough what the guy was. She’d read enough paranormal books when growing up to know that that man wasn’t like her. He wasn’t human.

As she awoke from her sleep she saw the most beautiful man she has ever met, with golden blond hair staring at her with that tranquil face disturbed only by sincere worry. Then it hit her. Caleb, was talking to that thing – that thing which made that noise she heard back when she was attacked.

“Who are you?” She said, almost inaudibly while she strained to get up.

Caleb shot up and tried to beckon her to lie back down. “Hailey, we don’t need to talk about that right now. You need to rest.”

“No.” She said, now sounding more intense. This scared Caleb. Hailey had always been the soft spoken shy girl. This was a whole side of her that he had never seen.

“Okay.” Caleb lowered his head and tried to avoid Hailey’s stare.

“Answer me Caleb. Who are you?”

He hesitated for a moment.

“Answer me!” She shouted.

Caleb stepped away from the bed and slowly stripped down. Hailey stared at his naked body not knowing what to anticipate.

Caleb turned away and slumped down on the floor as if in sheer agonizing pain. Hailey looked distressed but she knew better than to go to him while he was in this condition.

His skin started to tense as his hair thickened. He was looking away, but Hailey could still see his eyes glowing and teeth elongating into fangs. Hailey’s heart raced. She wanted to run away. But Caleb, or whatever it was, was right by the door. She clasped her arms around herself as she retreated to the furthest corner of the room.

As the creature before her slumped even further to the floor, Hailey turned around and started sobbing. She was scared, she knew that, but something in her told her not to be, that everything was actually okay. Was it because this was Caleb? The one guy who cared for her? But then again, if he really did care, why did he lie? Why did he make Hailey believe he was normal?

Silence fell.

Hailey slowly looked to where Caleb had stood. He, or ‘it’ was shaking – a huge wolf, with fur as white as snow, and eyes that looked familiar. Of course, she thought. They were Caleb’s dark blue eyes.

She screamed as fear finally took hold of her. Hailey was too overwhelmed by the sight of her lover transformed into a fierce beast, no matter how beautiful the beast was. She bolted from the bed and ran off, out of her apartment, out of her building into the cold of the night.

She ran and ran without noticing that she had stumbled upon a familiar place. The fog that had settled there reminded her of that moment. She stopped as she saw the alley, the white washed wall, and across the street, the lot.

A sliver of anger ran through her mind. If it weren’t for whatever had happened, she wouldn’t have had fallen for Caleb. She wouldn’t have known the truth about him. She wouldn’t be scared or angry or confused – she would be her old self, regardless of the fact that she wasn’t the biggest fan of her old self. She would rather be lonely and sad than have fear creeping and lurking in every corner of her mind and body.

Then a sound all too familiar started bellowing from across the street. A low, almost inaudible, grunting that had risen in a crescendo was permeating the atmosphere. She tried to move, but she found that her knees had given in to fear as she tumbled to the ground.

She screamed for help, as her panic had clearly come back. She struggled, forcing herself up as the horrific sound grew louder and louder. Then she saw it. A huge beast, black as the evening sky with brown splattered across its back, had materialized right across from her. There was an eerie silence that followed, as the creature was making its way toward her. Its fangs salivating, its eyes piercing through her, it stepped as if it was enjoying her tortured predicament.

She closed her eyes, accepting the inevitable fate that lay before her. She fought back her tears, as they started to trail down her cheeks. She knew this was the end of it all for her. Then suddenly, a loud thud resonated. She opened her eyes in search of the creature which was no longer there.

She whipped her head around and saw two black wolves, struggling and gnawing at each other. It was like a blur of black smoke, as the two wolves struggled to pin the other down. It was clear that the other wolf was stronger. With one final bite, the black wolf with the brown across its back had knocked out the other wolf.

It stared back at her with a knowing grin, and ran off into a maze of fog and narrow alleys.

The wolf with the black fur and the silver across its eyes lay there still, heaving for breath that didn’t come. Hailey had finally risen from where she was. She walked slowly to the creature that had sacrificed itself to protect her. She wasn’t able to hold back the tears now. She scooped the beast’s head and laid it on her lap as she tried calming it.

Then a warm light started emanating from the creature as it slowly transformed back into a young man with jet black hair and jade green eyes.

*****

“Please don’t bring me to a hospital.” The man told her as he passed out.

She quickly dug her phone from her pocket and called Caleb to help her bring the wounded man to her apartment. She was a nurse, she knew what to do, and even though it was against her better judgement to not bring the man to the hospital, she didn’t. This was the man, or creature, who had sacrificed his life for her.

A day had passed with her and Caleb, watching over the man who now lay in her bed. She tried so hard to not talk to Caleb. But they were there in that room, with a man who had saved her from an animal that, besides the color, looked much like Caleb when he transformed.

“I want answers.” She said with a stoic face.

“I know.” Caleb replied trying to give off an air of confidence.

She knew some of the answers she’d be getting would be beyond her own understanding and some might actually get her into more trouble, but she decided she just had to know. She needed to at least get a semblance of understanding.

“Who are you?” She asked

“I am Caleb Storm, but you already know that.” He looked at her, staring into her eyes. She didn’t flinch.

“My family came here during the Civil War to help the confederate armies. We had a huge stake in the cotton industry, so we felt we had to at least pitch in. We were originally from Wales. After we lost the war, we decided to settle here.”

He breathed in. “A few years ago, my entire family was murdered. I’m the only one left.”

She stared at him in shock, not knowing how to reply. He said it like it was just some common fact.

“You see, being a werewolf without a family – a pack – is the hardest kind of wolf there is to be. But I didn’t choose this. Someone else chose this for me. Now, I am an Alpha; the strongest kind of wolf, but one without a pack.”

“I moved to New York to find peace with myself and I almost did.” He said.

Suddenly, the bed creaked, it was the jade-eyed man.

“Until he met me.” He piped in.

His injuries had healed so quickly, but it was obvious that he was in a lot of pain.

“Hailey, listen to me. I don’t care what happened to you. But you must understand this. That man is dangerous. His family killed mine.” Caleb’s face was painted with frustration, with fear – with anger. Hailey had forced Caleb to help her rescue the man whose family murdered his. She almost felt pity for him.

“It wasn’t me. I had nothing to do with those situations in the past. It was years ago. We were at war.” The man didn’t even try denying what Caleb had said.

“Yes, but you’re the Alpha of your pack now. The sins of your father’s are your sins too.” Caleb barked back.

Caleb’s eyes started glowing as his anger boiled over.

“Why not tell her why I was here the other night?” The man calmly asked.

“She doesn’t need to know anything.” Caleb was getting riled up.

“I remember. You were that wolf. You were here before. You’re…”

“Anton.” He said.

“Caleb? What do I need to know?” Hailey looked to him for an explanation.

“Nothing.” Caleb said under his breath.

Hailey looked to Anton.

“That time in the alley. I was the one who saved you. I brought you to the hospital.” Anton said flatly.

“What?” Hailey questioned

“It was a full moon. As my pack and I were running I caught your scent. I saved you.” Anton said. “And I am telling you now what I have told Caleb. You are not safe here. There is a rogue wolf out there that is out to get you. I don’t know why, but he is out there.”

“No. I’ll be here. I’ll protect her.” Caleb interjected.

Hailey was getting so confused. But now Anton was getting angry. Caleb stepped forward and grabbed Hailey by the arm. Hailey was too shaken to react. Out of nowhere, Anton forcefully jabbed Caleb, causing him to let go of her. She stumbled down, but Anton caught her just in time.

“Do not touch her ever again.” He growled. His eyes melted into a rage that scared Hailey.

Caleb slumped over only to raise his head to bare his fangs. This wasn’t the beautiful white wolf she saw; this was a vicious creature. Anton didn’t take a second to react. He too had transformed into a huge black wolf. Hailey was dwarfed as she curled up on the floor next to this huge creature.

“Stop.” She whispered, but the two didn’t seem to notice her.

“Stop!” She screamed as she jumped to her feet. She bounded toward the door and fled from her apartment, yet again. Hailey thought this was crazy. She’d been driven out of her own home by two testosterone filled Alpha werewolves.

She screamed. Waiting right at the bottom of her doorstep was the rogue wolf.

“Hailey!” Caleb yelled as he and Anton heard her scream from downstairs.

With lightning speed, the two Alphas bolted down the stairs to find Hailey curled up on the steps, whimpering and quivering in fear.

The rogue wolf gritted its teeth as the two other wolves approached him.

Without warning Caleb leapt through the air over Hailey, smashing into the vicious black wolf. Anton ran and grappled it down with his fangs, violently tearing his head from side to side, while Caleb struggled to pacify its attempt to break free.