I cried out in pain and doubled over on the bed. Powerful contractions wracked my body and left me gasping for air. My head pounded, the beat of blood surging through me a painful thrum. I squeezed my eyes tight and struggled to make sense of the pain. A second wave of pain struck and I screamed, loud and hard until the pain prevented me from making sound.
"What the hell, shaman!" Cade yelled. I heard the scratch of the chair's legs as he pushed it away, and ran to my side. The bed gave under his weight as he sat next to me. His arm went around my waist, pulling me to him. I complied and as the pain struck again, I gripped his forearm, my nails sinking into the skin there. He hissed in pain but the only pain I could be concerned with at the moment was mine. I buried my head in his chest to muffle my screams. Again, the pain rose, like a tsunami.
I knew I was about to drown.
It crashed over me, powerful as ever and I screamed bloody murder. I screamed and screamed in agony, gripping Cade fiercely. I could feel tears leaking down my face from the intense pain. A fourth wave crashed over me and I was gone.
I woke up after what felt like an eternity. I was buried in soft covers and plump pillows. I let my eyes drift open. The fading light coming in through the window told me it was early evening. I looked around - I was in Cade's cabin again. I would have complained but I was completely and utterly drained. I sighed and went to push myself into a sitting position. When my abdomen flexed, I cried out as a sharp pain sliced through me. I recalled the fierce pain I'd been through earlier in the day and groaned.
Cade rushed into the room, a look of worry on his beautiful face. I slumped back onto the pillows. He came to my side and sat in the same chair Mara had sat in a few hours ago. "Are you okay? You keep passing out."
"Must be something in the water here," I said dryly.
Cade laughed softly, his eyes crinkling up. I stared in awe. He was devastatingly gorgeous when he smiled. "Really, Ainsley. How are you feeling?"
"I'm in pain. My lower stomach is killing me."
He nodded. "Shaman said that would happen."
"What did he give me anyways?" I asked.
Cade shifted on the bed, making himself more comfortable. "He said it was an herbal tea passed down from our ancestors. It's used to determine how far in heat a female werewolf is. How many waves of pain you experience tell us how far in you are - the more waves, the further in heat you are. Typically, the peak number is about 40. You only had about four or five." I groaned. Cade smiled sympathetically before continuing. "The strength of the waves tell us how strong the mating will be. Shaman said yours were the strongest he's ever seen." I closed my eyes. Yet another thing to add to the What Makes Me Special list. "You're going to have to go back and drink the tea at least six more times," Cade added.
My eyes popped open at that. "What?! No! I'm not going. I felt like I was dying Cade. I can't do that again."
"Ainsley. You're a strong woman. You'll be able to handle it."
"Cade..."
"Ainsley. You'll be fine, don't worry."
"There's no other way?" I asked hopefully.
He shook his head. "None, sorry."
I sighed in defeat. "So what now? My stomach is killing me. I can't even get out of bed."
"Shaman anticipated that so he gave me an herbal remedy-"
"NO! No more of his herbal concoctions!" I protested.
"He promised it won't hurt you," Cade said with a stressed out sigh.
"No, Cade. I'm not taking anything else unless it's an Advil. Extra strength."
"You don't have to drink or eat it," said Cade, "It's a cream."
I paused for a moment, thinking. A cream couldn't hurt me, right? "Okay, okay, give it to me."
Cade stood from the bed and left the room. I was boiling under all the comforters. I checked to make sure I was dressed before tossing them to the floor. I was in a pair of short cotton shorts and my bra. Cade returned.
"I'm wearing clothes," I said.
"So you are. Damon decided to have mercy on you."
"Yeah, yeah. Where's the cream?" I asked.
"So rude," said Cade. He held out a small green container. I took it from his big hands.
I unscrewed the cap and looked inside. It was indeed, a cream and it was a whiteish color. I sniffed it. "Ew," I said, my nose wrinkled. "It smells horrible."
Cade rolled his eyes. "You don't have to eat it, you just have to massage it into your skin."
"Ugh," I said. I scooped some onto my fingers and lowered my hand to my lower stomach. Cade's eyes tracked the movement. "Um, are you just going to sit there and watch like a creeper?" I asked.
"Unlike you, I have better things to do but Shaman made me promise to watch and make sure you did it right."
"Goody," I said, sarcasm coating my words. I jumped at the first contact of the cream with my warm skin. It was cold. Slowly, slowly, I rubbed it lightly onto my stomach where I'd felt the pain.
"My God, this is going to take all day," Cade complained.
"It's cold. Stop whining," I said to him. I continued to rub it lightly into my skin.
"You're doing it wrong," said Cade.
"How?"
"You have to do it harder."
"No, it hurts. I'm not trying to increase the pain."
"What you're doing is not even a massage," Cade pointed out. "You have to get to the muscles."
"It's going to hurt," I protested.
"It'll hurt even more if you don't do it properly."
"Oh, shut up," I said, annoyed. Cade's eyes flared.
He grabbed the container from my hands. "Hey!" I said. He placed it on the side table. Then, in one swift move, he grabbed my wrists and pulled them above my head, shackling them with one big hand. I struggled against the confinement. "What the hell, Cade! Let me go!" I squirmed under his hands but he wouldn't let go. I moved more wildly, trying to escape his grasp.
His free hand came down in a smart slap again my bare thigh. I gasped, awareness pricking my nerve endings. His jaw flexed as my body awoke in arousal. "Stop squirming," he said.
"Then let me go," I said, just the tiniest bit breathless. My chest was pushed out and the cool air was stroking my sensitive breasts.
"The sooner you cooperate the sooner that will happen."
"I can do it myself, Cade!" I said, still fighting him. He slapped my thigh again, harder this time. It was a command for me to stop squirming. I obeyed helplessly. My wolf was quite the submissive I was beginning to learn. "Jerk," I muttered.
Ignoring my words, Cade leaned over to the side table and scooped some of the cream out of the small container. With strong sure fingers, he began to massage it into my skin. He pressed deep, working it into my muscles. His fingers were firm but gentle and the massage began to turn sensual. His fingers started to press lower down my abdomen, approaching my sensitive sex. He pressed deep into a spot that I found particularly sensitive and I involuntarily let out a soft moan.
His eyes which had been trained on the pale skin of my abdomen jerked to mine and I was caught in his gaze. His fingers paused a moment then, and we just stared into each other's eyes. His eyes still locked on mine, he continued the massage, never looking away. The moment was intensely intimate. My breathing was coming out faster and harder and I wasn't alone - his breaths were turning ragged. He swiped his fingers on the comforter, cleaning them of the cream. Fingers bare, he continued to massage me anyways. This wasn't about remedy anymore. This was about pleasure.
Just as his fingers were about to meet my sex, the door banged open. My eyes cut to see who the intruders were. Two women stood in the doorway, one looking shocked and embarrassed, the other looking amused.
The second woman, with the amused expression said to the first, "I told you they'd be busy."
The first woman flushed a bit. "Are we interrupting you guys? Because we can leave it's just-"
"Don't worry about it, Livia. We were just finishing up," Cade assured her. He turned to me. "You gonna be alright?" He asked, an amused twinkle in his eyes.
"Yeah," I said, still a bit breathless and dazed.
"I sure hope so," he mumbled under his breath with a chuckle. Then he turned and left me alone with the two women.
"Sorry to interrupt you guys," the first woman said again. "
"Like he said, we were done."
"I'm Livia and this is Katarina." She said.
"I'm not sure if you know me or not but-"
"Oh trust me," said the second woman -Katarina- with a full laugh, "Everybody knows who you are." I flushed and laughed with her and Livia joined in, her laughter a melodic trickling sound. I studied both women.
Katarina, I could tell already was the more outspoken one. She had beautiful skin, the same shade as most of the other werewolves I'd see - a few tints lighter than caramel, showing perhaps some Native American roots. Her eyes were a soft chocolate brown that sparkled mischievously as I appraised her. Her eyebrows I could tell were naturally curved, having never been waxed, threaded or plucked. Her nose was straight and lead to pretty, full lips. Her hair was a sleek dark brown that fell well past her shoulders. She was shorter than me, 5'3 give or take an inch, which a womanly figure. Sensuality and mischief wrapped around her in a comfortable blanket. She was the troublemaker of the two.
I switched my gaze to the blonde Livia. She looked much softer, like a woman a man would instinctively want to protect. Her skin was the palest I'd seen so far; both her parents must have been Caucasian as mine were. Her eyes were a mesmerizing swirl of green and blue framed by thick and unbelievably long blonde lashes. This told me she was a natural and not a bottle blond. Her hair was beach wavy and ended at the start of her full breasts. Her nose was long and had a slight upturn at the end, which I found to be kind of cute and endearing for some reason. Her lips were pretty full for a Caucasian and the lower lip was currently being bitten by a set of white, straight teeth.
I looked at both women and smiled. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure everybody does. But I'll introduce myself anyways. I'm Ainsley."
They nodded. "Everybody's been waiting for your arrival for months," said Livia. Her voice was soft and sweet, almost angelic but not quite.
I quirked an eyebrow. "Really now," I mused.
"Yeah. Only nobody expected you to make such an...entrance," Katarina said with a sly smirk. Livia looked amused at her words but shocked she'd voiced them. I could tell she wasn't sure whether or not I'd be offended. My laughing told her I was as amused as she was. She joined in my laughter. Soon all three of us were laughing, no doubt reliving both times I'd run through the streets in a matter of hours.
"I must say though, Ainsley," Katarina was saying, "I don't believe I've ever seen Cade chase after a woman. Or look so pissed off!" Another spurt of laughter overtook me. "What did you do to him anyways?"
I tried to stop laughing long enough to speak. "So I told Damon I wasn't sharing a room with Cade, right? But after the whole incident with Raoul in the woods, after I fainted, he put me in here, Cade's bedroom! So Mara was in here and I got her to tell me where Damon was so I could cuss him out," Katarina let out a laugh-snort here, "So, in walks Cade himself. So I wrap myself in the blankets because Damon's taken my clothes and I go to leave, but Cade's blocking the doorway. I tell him to get the hell out of my way, but him being the stubborn pig he is, won't. And he actually had the nerve to tell me to say please! So I tell him, 'the only person saying please will be you and it'll be when you're begging for mercy.'" Livia giggled at this before slapping her hand over her mouth. I smiled at her and continued. "So the jerk laughs at this! And I mean, doubled over, dying of laughter. Of course, I'm already pissed and he's just not helping. So I kneed him in his balls."
Livia's eyes widened as her jaw went slack. "You didn't," she said incredulously. Katarina meanwhile, is laughing uncontrollably.
"Oh, my gosh, Ainsley. Good for you!" She grabbed my hand and gave it a high five. "Lord knows the man needed it!" I laughed at that. Livia was still standing there, mouth agape. Katarina came and sat on the bed beside me, still laughing. "So what? That's when he started chasing you?"
"No, not yet. He raised his head to look at me and then I slapped him clear across the face." Katarina burst into laughter again and nearly fell off the bed. Laughing, I grabbed her arm and righted her. When I looked at her face, tears were streaming down her cheeks, marring her mascara. By now, Livia was laughing too, her hand covering her mouth. She sat down on the other side of me. "So after that, I took off. I ran like hell."
"I know, we saw," Livia laughed. Katarina nodded, still dying of laughter.
"Oh my gosh, breathe Katarina," I told her. This sent her into more laughing fits. Chuckling, I looked at Livia. "Is she always like this?"
Livia laughed, the sound sweet and harmonic. "Oh yeah. She can laugh for hours. One time she laughed for two hours, straight. I'm pretty sure she developed a four pack after that." She said with a smile.
"Kat...Call me Kat," she managed to say between breaths.
Five minutes later, Kat finally got her laughter under control. "Done?" I asked her with a smile.
"Done," she answered.
"So what do you think of the reserve so far?" asked Livia.
I thought a moment. "I haven't been here long, but it's definitely been interesting. The people seem nice enough and it's absolutely stunning." I paused for a second. "Did you guys by any chance know my parents?"
Kat shook her head but Livia nodded. "Kat moved here a few years after they died but I've lived here all my life. I remember you, Ainsley. We weren't friends but I remember you and your parents pretty clearly. Your mom especially. They were good people, Ainsley. Everybody loved them and it hurt us all when they died and even more when your aunt moved you away. It took everyone a while to get over you leaving and their deaths. Everyone's excited to have you back."
I nodded slowly. "What happened to them?" I asked. Four simple words but the answer to them... I knew in my gut the answer wouldn't be pretty.
Livia looked to Kat. Kat spoke. "Nobody knows for sure, but there have been, well theories, I guess you could call them." She paused.
"What kind of theories?" I prodded.
"Kat, do you really think we should be the ones to say? I mean, shouldn't Damon be telling her all this?" Livia said. She was worrying her lip now and that made me nervous.
Kat hesitated. "Kat, just tell me," I said. "It's just a theory, right?"
"Well one of them was that they were killed in a car accident," she allowed.
"That's what I was told. Reese said it was a lie."
"It's a theory," said Kat.
"One of many," I said. "What are the others?" Again she hesitated. "Oh, come on, Kat!"
She sighed and gave in. "Well you know Damon and Ashton are brothers, right?"
I frowned. "Nobody told me that." They looked nothing alike.
"Well they are brothers; Damon's the oldest, which is why he's Alpha."
"Okay, what does that have to do with my parent's death?" I asked.
"Well Damon came into the Alpha through his father, who was the Alpha before him. Now, before Damon's father was Alpha, there was Liam. Liam was the Alpha before, but he had no sons - nobody to pass the position down to. It was common knowledge that Liam favored your dad, Simon and Damon's father Aiden. Tradition is, if there is more than one wolf looking to become Alpha, they fight for it. Winner takes Alpha, loser licks his wounds. However, your dad, Simon, he was a natural born warrior. He just had the skills, naturally. Now Aiden wasn't that bad himself, but there was no question in anybody's mind that Simon would dominate Aiden in a fight, any day." A coldness began to seep into my bones as my mind began to think ahead, to contemplate what the ending to this true story might be. "The day your father and your mother died, they left you behind. The fight was schedule a week from that day. It was Aiden's suggestion that they both leave for awhile. Your parents would leave that day, and he the next. He even planned and arranged where they would stay, what they would do and their transportation. They died on the way there." My eyes slid shut as my predictions were confirmed. "They had the proper funeral and you were taken away. A week later, Aiden quietly came into the Alpha position. The rumors were hushed in respect to both your parents and Aiden but they were there. Of course though, they're just rumors. Nobody knows for sure."
I nodded sadly and closed my eyes. Tears were forming in my eyes and a lump had lodged itself in my throat. I managed to speak around it. "Could you guys leave me alone for a while? Please?"
I felt the bed lift as Kat and Livia stood. Livia touched my shoulder. "If you need anything - to talk, laugh, cry - we're here. Don't doubt that or hesitate." I nodded. I heard their exiting footsteps and the soft thud of the door closing. I was left alone with my thoughts.
Could Ashton and Damon's father have really done that?
What if Ashton was my mate? Could I forgive his father's sins?
Only in time would I find my answers.