Sanctuary (4 page)

The
RV
park
was actually decently sized. There was
probably fifty or more RVs. Some of them house families or a group of adults. I
walked through looking around. I wasn’t exactly sure I was happy about this
being my home. To be honest I missed the pack. I pushed the thought away as I
sat sown on the edge of the lake in the soft grass. I looked out over the
water. The sun was starting to set and it was a beautiful view.

“This
is the best time of day,” a girl about my age said as she sat down next to me.
She had long unruly brown hair and pretty brown eyes. She was wearing a loose
fitting summer dress and she wasn’t wearing any shoes.

“It
is beautiful,” I said softly as I looked back out toward the horizon.

“Dakota
said you were nice. He said I should talk to you. My name is Rachel,” she said
nervously.

“I’m
Kylie,” I said as I continued to watch the sun set. I didn’t really feel like
talking, but I didn’t want to be rude either.

She
nodded. “I know. Are you going to stay with us?” She sounded hopeful like she
wanted me to stay.

I
looked at her not sure what to say. As far as I knew I was staying. I knew it
was what Damon wanted. “For now I am I guess,” I said quietly.

“Have
you picked names yet?” she asked excitedly.

I
looked at her confused. “What do you mean?”

“Names
for the babies of course,” she said like I was being silly.

“Oh,”
I said softly. “I haven’t picked any.” To be honest I hadn’t even thought about
it. It wasn’t like I had much time to think about it. I was more worried about
keeping them alive.

“I
could help you. We could pick several names you like then you could make the
final decision when they are born.” She sounded like she really wanted to help,
and it wasn’t like I didn’t need to work on picking names. They would be here
in a little less than two weeks.

“That
sounds like a good idea,” I said and smiled.

She
grinned. “I will go see if Grammy has a book.” She jumped to her feet and ran
back into the RV
park
.

I
shook my head and smiled then looked back out over the water. I ran my hand
over my belly when the babies started kicking like crazy.

“Enjoying
the sunset?” Dakota asked as he approached.

He
startled me a little. I hadn’t hear him approach. “It is beautiful here.”

“It
is one of my favorite places. How are you feeling?” he asked as he sat down
next to me.

“I’m
ok, a little homesick,” I said as I tried to push the feeling away.

He
cleared his throat and looked away like he wanted to ask a question, but wasn’t
sure if he should. “Did the fathers of your children get along?”

I
smiled and shook my head. “They were the leaders of rival packs; so no they did
not get along. They tried to make it work for me though.”

“Are
you in love with them?” He sounded curious like he really wanted to know about
me.

His
question startled me a little. There was a time when I was sure I was in love
with Dominic. I wasn’t so sure anymore. I knew I cared about them both, but I
wasn’t sure if I was in love with them. Then there was Micah. I wasn’t sure
about what I felt for him either. “I really don’t know,” I said when I couldn’t
think of a better answer.

He
smiled like he understood. “It was complicated then?”

I
nodded. “Very, I miss them if that matters.”

He
watched me for a few minutes before speaking. “I am sure they miss you too, and
if they wanted you safe then they will understand why you had to leave.”

I
laughed. “I hope they are that understanding.”

He
smiled. “They will be, I am sure of it.”

I
wished I could be as optimistic as he was, but I wasn’t. I was sure Brayden,
Dominic, and Micah would all be very angry at me. They wanted me to trust them
to keep me safe. I wasn’t sure if I trusted them and obviously Maggie didn’t.

“I
found a book,” Rachel said happily as she sat down on the opposite side of me
that Dakota was sitting.

“Looking
at baby names?” he asked amused.

I
sighed. “Rachel made me realize I hadn’t even thought about their names.”

“You’ll
know what to name them when you see them,” Dakota said watching me.

“Nonsense,
these things have to be planned or you will end up naming your kid something
awful like Dakota,” Rachel teased.

Dakota
grinned. “I suppose your mother looked in a book for your name. It isn’t like
Rachel is common or anything,” he countered.

She
giggled. “Whatever you are just jealous.”

“Yes
I was considering changing my name to Rachel because sometimes the jealousy
just overwhelms me,” he said amused. She reached around me and swatted at him.
He jumped up out of her reach.

Rachel
stuck her tongue out at him. “You just don’t know what a good name is.”

He
grinned. “Well then I will leave it to you two. I am sure they will end up with
completely generic, uninteresting names.”

Rachel
scowled as she threw a stick at him. “Go on, leave us be.”

He
laughed and walked back toward the RV
park
.

I
spent the next two hours scouring Rachel’s book for names. There were a few I
liked, but none of them were that great.

“There
you are. This place is extremely large when you are looking for someone,” Damon
said from behind us. He startled me a little and I scowled as he sat down next
to me and Rachel.

I
could see a blush creep up Rachel’s cheeks as she focused on the book. “You
startled me, stop sneaking up on me,” I growled.

He
smiled. “I wasn’t sneaking, you weren’t paying attention. Who’s your friend?”
he asked as he looked at Rachel.

“This
is Rachel,” I said amused as her cheeks reddened even more. “Rachel this is my
moron friend Damon.”

Damon
grinned. “Well at least you are calling me a friend. That is an improvement.”

I
rolled my eyes. “Did you need something or have you just come to pester me?”

“Just
to pester you, and you should name your kids after me. At least one of them
anyways. I mean look at all the trouble I have gone through so they stay safe.”
He sounded serious, and it was amusing.

Rachel
and I laughed and he glared at us. “I wasn’t kidding,” he said as he took the
book from her. She blushed even redder. “These names are terrible.”

I
sighed and stood up. “They are better than nothing. I am getting tired and
hungry. I am going back to the RV.”

He
nodded. “I am going to find you some better names. I mean John? Really? A
werewolf named John, absolutely not,” he said as he flipped through the pages
of the book.

“Have
fun,” I said smiling then I turned and walked back toward the RV leaving them
both there to continue searching for baby names.

“Hey
Kylie,” Dakota called when I almost made it to the RV.

“Hey,”
I said smiling. I liked Dakota. He was easy to talk to and he always seemed
happy to see me.

“Are
you hungry? I was grilling steaks if you are interested.” He sounded like he
was hoping I would say yes. I wasn’t sure if I was just imagining it or not.

I
decided to go. I was hungry anyway and I wouldn’t mind asking him more
questions about his people. “That sounds good.”

He
smiled relieved and I followed him over to a small camper. It looked like it
was extremely small inside. “Do you like living like this?” I asked as I took a
seat at the picnic table.

He
nodded. “I know it doesn’t seem comfortable, but we spend a majority of our
time in wolf form. You spend a majority of your time in human form so this
isn’t the ideal conditions for you.”

“I
suppose you are right. Have you always lived like this?” I kind of wondered if
they ever stayed in one place. Maybe something happened that forced them to
move and go into hiding.

“Yes,
since I was young.” He was cooking steaks as he was talking. He had his back
turned to me so I couldn’t see his expression. I wondered if he really liked
it. I just couldn’t imagine I would ever like this lifestyle.

“How
come you are not worried about Elijah?” I asked changing the subject.

He
shrugged. “Elijah does not mess with me or my people. He know we can easily
kill him and his people. He also knows if he does not bother us; then we will
not bother him.”

I
stayed silent for a minute trying to decide what I wanted to ask him next. He
set a plate of food in front of me; then sat down across from me. “Did you pick
any names?”

I
smiled and shook my head. “I don’t know what to name them. It seems like such a
huge responsibility. I am not even sure if they are boys or girls.”

He
stood and moved over to my side and sat next to me. He placed his hand on my
belly, and closed his eyes. “There is one boy and one girl,” he said quietly.

I
watched him trying to hide my shock. “How do you know that?”

He
shrugged as he removed his hand. “I just do. I should have known there were two
and they had two different fathers, but I wasn’t paying attention.”

“I
wonder if they will be good or bad,” I said quietly. Some people thought they
would be monsters, others thought they wouldn’t. I didn’t really know what to
think.

“They
will be whatever you raise them to be. You are a good person Kylie. I have
confidence that they will be like you,” he said and smiled.

I
smiled as I picked at the food on my plate. “Well I am glad someone has
confidence in my ability because I feel completely lost and I can only imagine
it will just get worse. Do you have any children?” I asked changing the
subject.

He
shook his head. “I am kind of a loner,” he said amused.

“Ya,
I said that too and look at me now,” I said dryly.

He
smiled. “I can imagine the surprise. I always thought I would find someone, but
I haven’t yet.”

“Well
you are still young. You have time,” I said quietly.

He
scoffed and gave me a look that suggested I didn’t know what I was talking
about. “I am not young.”

I
looked at him confused. “How old are you?”

He
smiled. “You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Tell
me.” I was curious now. Damon had mentioned that they could live for a while.
He made it sound like it was a rumor.

“I
am one hundred and eighty two years old,” he said quietly.

I
felt my mouth drop open in surprise. “How are you that old? You look like you
are barely thirty,” I sputtered.

He
laughed. “That is a good thing. We don’t age like your kind does.”

I
smiled as I shook my head. I couldn’t believe he was that old. It just didn’t
seem possible. We ate in relative silence. I didn’t know what else to say to
him. I didn’t really feel like I had to say anything. I was comfortable around
him and it was a nice feeling. I pushed my plate away when I was done eating. I
suddenly felt a funny sensation in my belly. I gripped the table. I had felt
the same sensation before when the babies shifted. They shifted the last time
because Brayden and Dominic were fighting. They hadn’t shifted since and I
didn’t understand why they were shifting now.

“Are
you ok?” Dakota asked sounding worried.

I
nodded. “They just do this shifting thing and it’s weird. They don’t do it
often,” I said quietly.

He
looked a little confused as he placed his hand over my belly. I watched him and
he watched me. He looked like he was listening or feeling. I wasn’t really
sure. Maggie had done the same thing and it was weird. I actually wanted to
know how they did it. “They are in wolf form right now.” He sounded odd. His
tone was off and it worried me.

“Is
that a bad thing?” I asked nervously.

He
shook his head, but his expression was still serious. “They aren’t shifting
back.”

“They
will in a little bit. They did last time anyway,” I said straightening. I was
suddenly very aware of his hand on my belly.

He
watched me and it was hard for me to hold his gaze. “They may be born wolves.
Their due date is less than two weeks away.”

“But
I am a werewolf, they should be born in human form,” I said confused.
Everything was getting more and more confusing. It was hard to keep up with
everything I had learned.

“Perhaps
that is why their birth is feared. Maybe they will bring back hope for my people,”
he said softly.

“What
do you mean?” I asked hoping he would explain.

He
looked away as he moved his hand from my belly. “There hasn’t been one of my
kind born in almost twenty five years. Rachel is the youngest of my kind.”

“How
is that possible? There are children here,” I said looking around.

“Those
are werewolves. They were all born human. My kind are born wolves,” he said as
he stood and began gathering the dishes.

“How
could they be born wolves when I am a werewolf?” I asked as I stood and helped
him.

He
shrugged. “There is one somewhere in your bloodline I suppose. I will finish
this why don’t you go get some rest.”

I
knew he was dismissing me. It was his way of saying he wanted to be alone. I
decided not to press him. “Thanks for dinner,” I said softly. He nodded and I
left him alone. I walked back to the RV Damon and I was staying in. I climbed
in the bed and tried to relax, but it seemed impossible. I was even more
confused now than I was before. I understood the difference between Dakota’s people
and my own, but it didn’t seem like that big of a deal. I didn’t understand why
Dakota thought the babies might be born wolves. That just seemed odd to me. I
had so many questions and not enough answers.