Page 19 of Red (Everdark Tales #1)

Once I wake up, first thing I do is move my hips around to check if they are not dislocated.

There is a slight discomfort in-between my legs. Nothing major, it’s not even painful. But it definitely is a reminder of his passion.

“Are you hurt, baby?” Alex asks through the blackness of the cave.

I’m not entirely sure what time is it now, but guessing the sun has already risen. However, it doesn’t reach our hideaway. His glowing eyes are the only source of light.

“Not at all.” I hug him closer. The fuzzy fur on his chest is tickling my face and I love it. “It was incredible,” I whisper, reminiscing, which right away makes me hot and bothered.

He squeezes my ass. “Mmmm, yes.”

“Are you feeling any better?” I get worried, as I remember the horror that happened prior.

My fingertips blindly inspecting the wound on his pectoral that’s located dangerously near to his heart. It seems closed, but a little scab is still there. I plant a kiss on the spot.

Dean turned into a vampire to get his revenge.I don’t think I’ll ever get over this. But I have to know how my Granny was tied to the shitshow since she practically pushed me into his arms.

“It’s good enough for the travel. We need to get to the Northern Lights.

“Why?”

“It’s sort of an entryway to the place I call home, which exists between this world and the shadow realm.”

Yeah, alright.

“There’s one issue—I don’t think I’ll be able to walk.”

“Oh, I’m carrying you regardless, love.”

“You’re not fully healed yet. I don’t want you to strain yourself.”

He chuckles. “You’re weightless! Stop it or I will get offended. It’s a two-hour journey at my pace to the closest spot. We can leave at twilight. It’s still early, go back to sleep.”

“Alex?” I begin and he hums. “What about Michigan?”

I feel how he tenses instantly. “No, it’s way too dangerous now.”

“But—”

“Julia, after what he pulled?! We might be walking right into a trap.”

“That’s why I need to make sure my parents are okay. I won’t ever forgive myself if anything happens to them because of me!”

“I’ll have Farah keep checking on them. You don’t need to worry.”

“I’m going!” I say firmly, crawling away.

“And how far do you think you’re going to go unable to walk?” He totally makes fun of me, wrapping his hand around my thigh. I feel him behind, his breath on my back, reminding me yet again of last night.

My body immediately responds, but I try to remain strong. “Stop being mean!”

“Oh, but you can’t run away from me now, little Red. You belong to me.” His palm wanders south my body and his fingers circle my swollen clit. “Are you sore?”

“Yeah,” I whimper, arching my back, being oversensitive.

“Awww, poor baby.” He licks the length of my spine all the way to my ear. “I can’t wait to get you to my place so I can keep fucking you.”

“What’s gotten into you?” I know what he’s doing and I hate that it’s working.

“I’m unable to keep my hands from you anymore.” I feel his fully erected cock rubbing against my ass, sending shivers down my entire body, from my head to my toes.

“Hm, I like this side of you.” I turn my face toward him, and we kiss. “Alex, I really need to see them.”

“You fucking died in my arms! Do you have any idea what—” his words trail off as he closes his eyes. The air around me stills and the cave envelopes in a complete darkness. “I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

“You’re not losing me.”

“I’ll think about it. Keep resting.” He pulls me into his arms as we lay back down together.

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Unidentified amount of time later, I wake up to him cleansing me with a lukewarm washcloth.

“As much as I love you dripping in my cum, I thought you might feel more comfortable.”

There’s light pouring into the cave from the outside, so he must’ve left the entrance open.

“Oh, you went back?” I ask when I notice he brought my bag from the house that he finished packing. He even remembered to grab my coat and boots from the entryway.

“I had to make sure there were no hunters around.”

“And?”

“I killed both of them.” He shrugs like it’s nothing. Which at this point, it honestly doesn’t bother me, either. “But I got you some food and water. Your phone is in there, too.”

“Thanks, you’re the best!”

I fish out my toothbrush together with my iPhone. I dial my Mom while I clean my teeth.

She doesn’t pick up. I try Greg instead, but also no luck. I frantically keep blowing up both their phones, yet neither one of them replies.

“This is not right,” I tell Alex.

He looks devastated. Well, at least as much as his animal/beast features allow him to. And I know he’s torn. But he’s also the most ideal partner, and he says, “Get dressed. We can leave as soon as you eat your sandwich.”

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The cool, evening air rushes past me while Alex sprints through the dense woods. I can feel the power beneath me, the muscles of his werewolf form propelling us forward with a strength that no human could ever possess. The warmth of his body, together with his soft fur, is enough to keep me nice and toasty while we move toward much colder weather of the Midwest. My heart races as his speed breaks the boundaries of the ordinary, and involuntary laughter escapes my lips—mix of thrill and joy.

We keep chatting on our way, and I’m not even sure which state we’re passing, when we get ambushed by three werewolves. I only stare at them in disbelief as seeing others for the first time still somehow shocks me.

They all have dark coats, similar to Alex’s, but it’s hard to tell exactly in the fading light.

“Hello, Julia! Pleasure to finally meet you! I’m Edwin,” the biggest one introduces himself. “And my sons, Tristan and Maddox.”

The other two wave to me, grinning. I wave back, still fully wrapped around my wolf.

“I called for the reinforcement. Just in case,” Alex explains and I figure it’s the wolf telepathy thing he’s mentioned before.

“Penny is here, too,” Edwin says. “Her and Katia are feeding now. We should go, they can meet us at Julia’s parents.”

“Thank you,” I whisper to Alex as we move forward. It makes me feel better to know he will not be alone if things go terribly wrong.

We arrive in a flash; it can’t be more than an hour and a half since we left West Virginia. My ears feel kinda funny from all the wind, and I’d maybe be worried about getting an infection or something. However, as Alex has informed me, I apparently don’t get sick anymore since me and him are now bonded mates. The best part is that I also stopped aging.

He places me on the ground, uphill, right on the edge of the forest, overlooking the clearing below where my parents’ house stands by the lake beach. I haven’t been here in ages—not since before the pandemic hit. Now that I think about it, I should’ve been visiting more often.

I notice that some lights inside are on, and so in our closest neighbor’s house several yards away. Nothing suspicious is happening.

Except that two more figures approach us from the darkness.

“Oh, she’s stunning!” one woman cheers to Alex as she shamelessly looks me up and down with her crimson eyes. “Hi, Julia! I’m Penelope, but you can call me Penny!”

I smile to her before shifting my eyes onto her partner. “You must be Katia then.”

She confirms before bestowing a freezing cold glare at my wolf-man. “Alexander.”

I swear he rolls his eyes at her, and the other wolves just laugh in the background.

“Don’t even worry about them. You’ll get used to their moods.” Penelope brushes it off.

Ignoring everyone, Alex looks at me. “Let’s just head over there.”

“Um, Alex, maybe it’s best if I go alone? I’m not convinced my Mom seeing you is the best for anyone’s sake.” I might be angry with her for hiding the truth, but at the same time, I realize the trauma she’s been through.

“But what if it’s a trap?”

“We’ve already checked,” Penelope cuts in. “It’s only Michelle inside, and no other humans nearby, besides the neighbors.”

“She’s alone? My stepdad should be there, also.”

Katia shakes her head, and I immediately begin to get nervous yet again. It’s too late for him be out running errands. I swear, if anything happens to him because of me…

“Go.” Alex sympathizes, studying my facial expression.

I give him a squeeze before I rush down the hill, which seems smaller than I remember from my childhood. Sledding out here with Greg was always my favorite part of winter.

“You’re late,” she accuses, barely finishing opening the door for me once I’m in front. “I was expecting you yesterday.”

“Wow, I’ve missed you too, Mom!”

She moves to the side, allowing me to enter, as she tells me, “It’s been stressful.”

“You couldn’t pick up the phone?” I pass her in the hallway, inspecting the entire floor for myself. “Where’s Greg?”

She burst into tears, hiding her face inside her hands. “They have him.”

“Ah, I see.” It is a trap. “So you lured me in here in exchange for him.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“The truth maybe for once?! You know I’d do anything for him! You could’ve warned me.”

She shakes her head.

Realizing they’re listening to us, I wonder how much time we’ve got. But I stay assertive, “I deserve an explanation.”

“Nancy’s not my biological mother.”

“Oh.” Granny is not my grandma then.

“I was fostered by her as a teen, like many others throughout the years. And later, used in one of her experiments.”

“I know. I’m so sorry for everything you’ve gone through. I can’t even begin to—”

“No, you can’t.” She cuts me short. “I got a full hysterectomy shortly after you were born so she couldn’t hurt me again.”

“Why did you keep me?” I ask with a lump in my throat. “You could have given me up.”

“I wanted to.” Don’t sugar-coat it. “She took care of you in the beginning, when I was still in recovery, followed by very intense therapy. She offered to keep you, and I knew she’d hurt you, too. But I couldn’t let it happen. You were so innocent in all of this. I never blamed you, Julia. Though, it was difficult to even look at you. You were a constant reminder of the nightmare. I’m not going to lie, I considered putting you up for adoption every single day. Yet, as a Senator, she was a very powerful woman, and I figured that she’d somehow stop it. So I decided to raise you on my own. Greg came along not long after, and he loved you so very much from the beginning. He wasn’t aware of the details, of course, but he knew enough. He put me back together piece by piece, and he was the father figure you needed. I have no regrets as I did everything I could for you. But between you and him, I’ll choose him.”

“I get it. I really do.” Sorta. “But you had my whole life to prepare me for the news.”

“I didn’t think you’d ever have to find out. She told me you’re a human, and that you won’t transform. But when she called you, I just knew something wasn’t right.” Mom then approaches me and pulls the collar of my coat to the side, revealing the mark on my neck. “I never wanted any of this for you.”

“Alex is nothing like the beast that attacked you,” I reply, and she winces even hearing his name. “He risked his and his entire family’ lives to come here with me. That’s the kind of person he is. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to put them in danger for this!” I fight to hold back my tears. “The real monster was your foster mother who let it happen to you.”

She breaks down. “Julia, just give them a baby and move on! You don’t need to suffer the way I did. They only want your child.”

I disregard her words entirely. “Thank you for giving me the best possible life you could. Greg’s an amazing parent. And I truly hope you two have a nice life together after my werewolf saves him.”

Slamming the door behind, I run outside, finally bawling my eyes. Alex’s arms are around me instantly as he brings me closer to his chest.

He is my home.

He has showed more integrity toward me than my entire family. And let’s not forget he stalked me, pretended to be a dog, and jerked off on my dirty underwear. If that doesn’t say enough, I don’t know what will.

My vision blurry when I crane my neck to look at him. “You were right, we should never have come here.”

“I wish I wasn’t.” He licks my cheek.

“We’re in trouble, we need to leave now.”

“It’s too late,” Alex barely finishes saying it when a military car stops on our way. The door opens, and I see my Granny—alive and well.