A Fate Foretold (formerly: A World Gone Mad)

A Fate Foretold 5

         Christian stared up at the darkened ceiling of the bedroom with a content expression on his face. He hadn’t expected things to unfold quite the way they had. But Ally had taken the lead and one thing had led to another. He still didn’t quite know what to make of her, but he’d have the rest of the week to figure her out, and then the rest of their lives.

            The rest of their lives. It sounded quite oppressive. But at least if he got mind-blowing sex like they’d been having, it wouldn’t be all bad. Three days ago, this composed, strong beauty had arrived and he hadn’t known how to string two words together. By now, they were comfortable with one another. It was difficult to remain on edge with her when she really smiled at him – a full-blown, elated smile, almost in spite of herself at times.

            Next to him, Ally stirred. He waited to see if she’d waken, but after scooting farther away from him on the bed, she obviously fell back into a heavy sleep. Not one of those clingy, cuddly sleepers. She had an iron will that would bend for no one; he could attest to that after just three days with her. It came through nearly everything she did. Even when she deferred to Christian’s judgment, he got the impression that she had only voluntarily capitulated.

          The second day she had been in California, Christian had approached the delicate situation of children. If they were sleeping together so quickly, it had to be addressed immediately.

          “I don’t think we should have children too quickly,” he had said, holding his breath. She seemed to take the duties of a nat amatra quite seriously, so he could only hope that she would consent to bending the rules a bit. 

            “Well, you’re not even married to Kate yet,” Ally had answered delicately. If Christian was going where she thought he was, it was important that he get there without any obvious input from her.

            “Even then,” Christian tried again. “I mean, we’re all still young, and living up in the far north isn’t really the best set of circumstances to have children in. I mean, you’ll see when we get there.”

            His persuasion tactics closely resembled babbling, Ally noted. He didn’t have to convince her, but if he had to, he would be failing quite miserably. Hopefully he’d get practice before entering any important negotiations with other packs.

           Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, the old adage says, but Ally wasn’t going to look this particular gift horse in the mouth. Cornelius had often told her that to adhere to the latter maxim would see you kicked in the head by your supposed gift horse. But these circumstances were far from normal, and it was imperative that she take every opportunity to avoid having children.

         So of course she had agreed, “Let’s wait a couple of years before having children. Unless Kate has a serious objection.” It was, after all, Kate’s business as well. But it was already half of the battle won.

        Christian was relieved. That out of the way, he could relax and enjoy the week in Ally’s company before the long drive up north. Things were looking up, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

            Ally leaned her head against the window as she observed the scenery rushing past. Things had gone perfectly in the past week. His father had been right: Christian Sullivan was a good man. Whether he was a good leader remained to be seen, but he wasn’t necessarily temperamental at first, merely hesitant. It stood to reason that the average person would be unsure of meeting a person they had to spend the rest of their lives with. Not everyone was brought up to accept personal sacrifice as a daily component of their life.

            No, she understood why he had had his guard up, but she knew just how to get around those barriers. And sex was the easy solution. Sex helped people relax under any circumstances, and as they would have to be having sex anyway, it was self-evident. Christian had relaxed so he could begin to trust her and like her as a person. He was one of those people who needed to like those close to him. A luxurious indulgence, really. There were plenty of people that Ally disliked, but respected and trusted to come through for her.

            But she liked Christian, too. He wasn’t cut out for playing politics; he wouldn’t know how to manipulate and cheat with any skill. It was refreshing. He tackled each situation separately, doing the right thing in each. It was a bit simple of him, but endearing. It had been a long time since Ally had met such an artlessly good person.

           It had made the week in the Californian mountains fly by. She had been worried about security, but if anyone had followed her and meant her harm, they would have struck then. Isolated, with only Christian as backup, a tail could have had a squad of assassins and fighters assembled and in position within a day. But no attack had come. And now they were on their way to reinforced security up in Alaska.

            “I’ve been thinking,” Christian’s smooth voice cut into her thoughts. “You only have that small bag of stuff right?”

            “Right,” Ally said, puzzled.

            “Well, you probably don’t have anything warm enough for the cold Alaskan winter. We should stop somewhere and get you some clothes.”

            Ally flashed him a smile. She was used to the cold, living in the Swiss Alps, but it was true that she didn’t have much in the way of winter clothes. She wouldn’t have said anything, but since he had asked, why not? “That sounds good.”

            Within an hour, Christian exited the highway and pulled up at a strip mall boasting various winter apparel stores. Ally was hesitant about getting out of the car. It was unlikely that anyone here would recognize her, but neither was it impossible. They were already long over the Canadian border, and Christian had said that many werewolves had come up north to live. She wasn’t wearing her cloak to shield her face. Ultimately, torn between the possibility of being recognized and raising unanswerable questions from Christian, Ally had to submit to walking around the stores in broad daylight.

            Christian was impressed by the speed in which she selected articles of clothing, tried them on, and decided what to buy. Boots, thick socks, extra sweaters, fur-lined gloves, hat, and Gore-Tex coat were piled into the car in record time and they continued on their way. She made a small detour to a shop selling beauty products to buy an armload of dark brown hair dye. It was a necessary risk, to keep her hair its current color for as long as she remained with the Sullivan pack. If her cold trail had been picked up again, she could only hope they’d reach the pack house before there was an attack.

            After a night spent in a motel in northern British Columbia, they continued to drive until they crossed the Alaskan border from the Yukon territory. The pack house was about a two hours drive over the border and further north. The scenery outside was simultaneously beautiful, harsh, and monotonous. All in all, it felt lonely.

            Ally liked it. It reminded her of home, but even more remote. Isolation was the best thing she could have hoped for, particularly when paired with the protection of the largest pack in the Americas.

              “Ready to meet the pack?”

               Ally smiled assuredly. “What, all ten of them? I think I’ll manage.”

              Her lack of nervousness amazed Christian. How could anyone be so composed and collected? It no longer frustrated him; he had accepted that was just how she was. Really, it only served to pique his interest in her even more. Not that he should be in any hurry to find out. He had the rest of his life to find out more about her. The rest of his life. It still sounded constricting, but it didn’t seem quite so terrifying anymore.