Dawn Discovered

The sky was turning a soft gray as the new dawn approached the horizon. Yawning contentedly, the she-wolf joined her mate. Too full to pay the small group of doe that had gathered on the edge of the fields to pick through the grass, searching for an early morning breakfast. Her nose went wild as she and her mate broke through the thick of the woods and approached a clearing. Scents of humanity flooded into her mind. Calling to the woman who cohabited this body. Too wary and unsure to approach any closer to the dwelling she dropped onto her haunches and rested her nose between her paws.

Gina winced as she shivered and rolled onto her back. The cold, wet grass beneath her body left her frozen solid. Her body ached in places she'd never known existed. Her stomach rolled and she had the distinct, coppery taste of blood and raw meat in her mouth. Confused she wrapped her arms around her naked body and hefted her weight onto her feet. What in the heck happened? She had no time to consider the question now. Her main priority was to get her butt somewhere warm. Her feet sank into the mud as she stumbled toward the house. Her toes burned with the chill of morning.

Hunter snapped back into his body mere feet away from the garage door and the warm shelter of the clothes he kept inside. Pride surged through him as he sorted through the shadowy memories left in his mind by his wolf. His woman. His mate. She'd kept up with him during the hunt. Tracking the deer with the Pack. Helping with the kill. Her wolf was strong and cunning. Powerful. The Pack had taken to her wolf. Just like he knew they would. She belonged with them, to him, and he, to her for the remainder of their very long lives.

Gina struggled to make her feet move faster as wobbly legs carried her painstakingly slowly to the shelter of the house. She was freezing. The bright lemony ball that hung in the eastern sky did little to thaw her flesh. "Hunter!" she called out in desperation. Assuming wherever she'd woken up, he wasn't far away.

Hunter snatched one of the blankets off a shelf in the garage. It smelled of gasoline and summertime. There was always a stash of blankets lying around for the wolf that was caught off guard by the shift. He ran toward her voice. Following the scent of wolf that clung to her shivering body.

Gina accepted the blanket and the warmth of Hunter's body as he wrapped her up in the soft woolen layers and lifted her off her feet, carrying her into the house. "I feel like hell," she admitted. Her stomach lurched and her head rolled dizzily. Each step he took sent a new wave of nausea from her toes to the top of her aching scalp. The disorientation was the worst. She wasn't but fifty yards from the house. But, she might have well have been miles away.

Hunter chuckled and balanced her weight in his arms as he turned the doorknob. "You'll get used to it." He carried her through the mudroom and dining room. Depositing her into a rocker beside the fire to warm up. He made sure she was fully covered before he disappeared into the kitchen to make a cup of Nana's special remedy tea.

Gina shivered beneath the blanket. Shaking off the drafts of cold that refused to leave her skin. She inched the chair closer to the blazing fire. Resting her toes on the hearth. Wincing beneath the sting as they thawed. She closed her eyes as she tried to piece together the bits and pieces of last night.

Tristen saw the bundle in the rocker, quivering under the blanket. He couldn't resist ribbing Gina. Just a little. His dad was well mated. Her wolf made the perfect complement to his, just as Gina did to his dad. They fit together, like yin and yang, only together could they achieve perfect balance. "Well, well," he said as he flopped onto the stone hearth. "Look who finally wandered home? Have a good time last night?"

"I don't remember," Gina confessed. "Not much of the bits and pieces I've been able to dredge up make much sense." She tucked the blanket tighter around her body. Sitting naked, even though she was covered by a thick and impermeable blanket, in front of Tristen, made her feel awkward and more than just a little self-conscious. Nudity was going to take some getting used to. "I woke up face down in the grass freezing my ass off."

Tristen snickered, "Yeah, it's kind of like that most of the time." Gina sat not more than a foot from him, naked beneath the blanket. He should have a raging boner. She'd caused that reaction in him more than he cared to admit. But, he saw her differently now. She was a member of his pack. And more than that, she was his dad's mate. He'd already forgotten that she was a woman. A female, yes, he wasn't blind after all. He just didn't see her quite the same way anymore.

"Does it get better?"

Her question got another snort from Tristen. "Damn, I hope so. I'll let you know as soon as I figure that out." He patted her thigh through the blankets. "It has to. Otherwise, who would do it?" He shrugged and shot her a crooked smile as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Hunter dutifully parked the steaming mug of herbal tea into her hand. "This will help." Gina looked positively green and sickly beneath the blankets.

"Hunter, this will get better won't it? I won't always wake up and not remember what happened will I? I'll be able to control my wolf won't I? What if I hurt someone accidentally? What if my wolf pops out while I'm in the middle of the Super Center buying groceries?"

Hunter sat at Gina's feet and rested them in his lap, rubbing her toes gently with his palms. "So many questions." He ran his hand up the backs of her calves tenderly. He understood the confusion in her mind. It seemed like just yesterday, when as a new wolf, he'd asked the same questions himself. "You and your wolf are one. You've just met your other half of who you are. Give it some time. Search for the answers using your wolf as a guide and compass.

"The wolf could no more cause harm to another than you could. At first, you will have some difficulty controlling the wolf. But in time, you will be of one mind, not just of one body. I'll be right here beside you. Unfortunately, you hold the answers to your own questions. I cannot answer them for you. I only hope that you'll honor me by giving me the privilege of being by your side as you discover the full meaning of who and what you are to become."

"You have a lot of faith in me. More than I do in myself." Gina's stomach settled as she sipped on the tea. Her worn nerves calming with each draught of the hot mix as fatigue settled over her, replacing worry.

"Of course I have faith in you. You're my mate." Hunter eased the cooling mug out of her fingers and took her hands in his, gently placing a kiss over her knuckles.

"Well, if you have that kind of faith in me. Then I guess, I'll have to learn to have it in myself." She allowed Hunter to pull her onto her feet and guide her up the stairs to their bedroom. "We're in this together huh?"

"Undoubtedly. Step by step and day by day, together." Hunter sat her on the bed and made his way to the bathroom, turning on the shower. He was going to wait for the right moment. But, now was as good of a time as any. "Hey, I forgot to mention. We got invited to a wedding tonight."

Gina's brow wrinkled as Hunter helped her unwind her body from the blanket. "Who gets married on a weekday?" Today was Tuesday wasn't it? Her cheeks warmed as Hunter's palms wrapped around her face.

Hunter guided her face up to meet his eyes. "We do." Before she could protest and come up with hundreds of logical reasons as to why they should wait. He pressed his mouth to his lips and convinced her with a kiss.

Gina's mind reeled. Hunter's lips were warm on her mouth, teasing her lips softly. Asking questions that she definitely knew the answers to. As far as she was concerned, they were married. She couldn't see herself with anyone else and she'd never loved any man more than she had the one stripping off his shirt and leading her to the shower. "Ok."

She didn't ask any questions. Not really knowing or caring what a werewolf wedding might consist of. The particulars weren't important. Their love was. And she was going to bask in its glory and run with it. Taking each step with this glorious man and his wolf as it came, day by day.

Chapter 38

As it turned out, a werewolf wedding wasn't any different than any other wedding. Except for the fact that she was the bride and Hunter was the groom. She stood facing him with her hands wrapped tightly in his. Thinking about how they met. Thinking about every step that he'd promised they'd take together. And they had. Today was the final step, marking an end to what brought them together. And it was the first step of the life they'd share as one.

Their bodies had endured hours of torture. And their souls had been tormented to the point of shattering. The tragedy of their suffering was what brought them together. If she'd passed him on the street without knowing who he was, or more importantly, who she really was, she would have kept on walking. And they never would have been pushed together, bound by the pain they shared.

The pain was a breaking point for both of them. In almost losing his life, he'd discovered how important living was. For her, the pain could have broken her. Closed her off forever from everyone and everything. She would have existed, just as she had been, coldly removed from the reality of life and all the people in it. The pain had opened her up to accept life and instead of letting it live her. For the first time, she was living it. She knew what it truly meant to be alive. The only place either of them had to go was forward. There was no back, only forward, together.

Hunter smiled down at Gina. Even though she didn't have the white dress, flowers in her hair, or a jeweled veil. She'd never looked more beautiful. The backdrop for their vows couldn't have been more perfect. They stood, surrounded by family and people who loved them, in front of a blazing fire, the flames danced cheerfully in celebration. The bluffs had been turned into a wedding chapel. His sons stood at his side as his groomsmen. And his daughter stood beside Gina as her maid of honor. Grant and Claire were in the audience. Bouncing baby GT in their arms to keep him placated. He grinned and returned his brother's subtle thumbs up. Trying to pay attention as Drew led the ceremony.

His life was complete. He had his children back and they were a family again. Instead of running and hiding from them. He embraced them. He had his brother at his side, inseparable and united, just as they'd been years before. And he had the woman he was going to share the rest of his days with, by his side.

She'd seen something in him that nobody else had. Especially him. His family had been hoping for a miracle to pull him back into the land of the living. For so long, he'd done nothing more than wait for death to come for him. Now, all he wanted was to live. Gina was his miracle. Through her love and faith in him, he'd found his way back

He'd seen her in pain. He'd seen her in the throws of passion. He'd seen her at her worst. And reveled in the joy of her, when she was at her best. He saw her strength hidden deeply within the core of her being before she ever knew it existed. He'd guided her away from the darkest terrors of night and into the light of his love. Together, they took each step. Coaxing one another to live again. Pulling each other out of the nightmares that comprised their lives. When he stumbled, she was there to right him on his feet again. And when she fell, he was there to catch her. Making sure that she never hit bottom.

Their love was born of pain. Forged in suffering. And tempered by the flames of passion. Each test and trial had only served to make the bond stronger. There was nothing that they could not endure. No test so difficult. No trial so harsh that they could not withstand. Nothing would drive them apart. They were in this together, for life and beyond. And they'd take it, each day as it came. Conquering it, step by step and hand in hand. Finally, the ceremony was over. The vows exchanged. There was only one thing left to do. Seal the deal with a kiss and let the party that was life begin.

Epilogue

Ginger snuck outside and lit up a cigarette. She wasn't a smoker. But, she could not stomach the thought of her morning coffee without a few hits off a Marlboro red. Ok, so she also snuck one at lunch break and one on the drive home. And of course, there was the last lingering drag at the end of another busy day. But, she wasn't really a smoker. She could quit anytime she wanted to. She just didn't want to. At least, that was the lie she told herself day after day. The smoke hit her lungs with the acrid sting of carcinogens and days gone by. She loved every harsh inhale and exhale. Another nail in the coffin. But, who wanted to live forever?

Leaning against the stoop of her back steps, she sipped her coffee and toyed with the idea of quitting smoking. The sun had yet to make its debut in the sky. It was O-dark- thirty in the morning and she had to be at work in an hour. Despite the chill in the early morning air and the steam rising off her coffee, sweat beaded her upper lip. Menopause was a bitch. Half of the time she didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. She cursed her saggy tits and droopy 'Deputy Dawg' eyelids. Who was she kidding? She still had it. Just not as much of it as she used to. For the far side of forty, she was still a perfect ten on the hotness scale. At least that's what her husband told her once the Viagra kicked in.

Today was just another episode of 'This is Your Life' and she was the star of the show. One day, she wouldn't be a contestant and the show would simply go on without her. Maggie was upstairs in her bed, dreaming brooding teenage dreams. Her husband was sawing logs in his recliner. Lori was out vamping it up with Keene and definitely not making her the grandbabies she so desperately wanted. And she was crouched on her back stoop in her bathrobe and slippers sneaking a smoke like she was some kind of criminal. Sucking down the caffeine to get her wrinkly, old ass in gear and counting down the days till retirement.

She had to remind herself that this was the life she'd chosen. And she, for all her bitching and whining, had very little to complain about. She was happy. Well, as happy as a human could get. She saw him from her hiding place at the back stoop. He walked the same route everyday. One last round through the town before dawn rose. He never changed. He never acknowledged her presence, nor she his. Things could have turned out very differently, for the both of them. Except for the fact that they hadn't. In these quiet minutes before dawn, before the light of day illuminated the shadows and burned off the cool mists. It was easy to wonder what might have been...if.

Drew smelled Ginger's cigarette and the lingering hints of her perfume before he spotted her. Looking at her now, it wasn't all that difficult to remember her as the girl she'd once been. She was an important piece of the bigger puzzle of life. So many things could have been different for her and would have been if he hadn't forced her into putting her feet on the path they now traveled. In her forties, a wife, and a mother of two amazing girls, she was just as beautiful as she had been at twenty. He'd broken her heart. But, he'd done it for the most unselfish reason of all. He loved her too much to take her life away.

Ginger knew her place in the universe. Drew had no doubt about that. With more days behind than ahead, Ginger saw the pieces she'd put on the board come into play. Lori had saved lives. Maggie, someday, would. And the people Ginger had sheltered in that little apartment above her garage were critical in some way whether big or small to the whole. Ginger offered her vein. She cared too much and loved so deeply. And that was why he'd done the things he'd done to protect her. She understood. She moved on. Fell in love. And he had done the same. Things happened the way they did for a reason. And nobody knew that better than he did.

Maybe, it was the whole dying thing that made him understand the bigger picture. Maybe, living with one foot in the grave and one in the land of the living that gave him perspective. Hell, he didn't know. Beyond the fangs, the brotherhood, the wolf, and the Pack, underneath it all, he was simply a man. He smiled as Ginger overheard what was so loud in his ears. His Ginger loved good gossip. But, he had a feeling about what was currently going on in that apartment over her garage. She would never breathe a word.

Drew's smile was a bitter, sad smile. He'd miss Ginger when she was gone. She had time yet. But, he already knew she'd never make the choice of life over death. As vivacious as she was, one lifetime was more than enough of living for her. She'd definitely shake things up on the other side when she got there though. And someday, in the distant future, he would see her again.

Ginger snubbed out her cigarette and cocked her head to the side. Drew was long gone, disappearing into the mists in that vamped out way of his. Biting her bottom lip, her eyes gleaming with the knowledge of what could only be the best gossip of the century, she listened in. Jan always had the windows, and most nights, the balcony doors wide open. Summertime was the perfect time to listen in on your neighbors. Some of the things she heard when she pretended to walk the sidewalks for her health.

Last night was no exception. And Jan's windows and balcony doors were wide open to let in the cool night breeze. The neighborhood was still lost to that sleepy stillness of pre-dawn. You could have heard a pin drop a mile away.

She sipped her coffee and held the bitter brew in her mouth before swallowing it down. Jan was certainly having a better morning than she was. The springs on the twin sized bed squeaked in time to some damn good loving. Ooooohhhhhh, Ginger hadn't had it that good since the afternoon Maggie was conceived. She fumbled in the pocket of her bathrobe for another cigarette and her lighter. So what? She was going to be late for work. Someone should smoke after a sexing up like that. And since Jan didn't smoke, Ginger was going to have to spark one up in honor of the occasion. There was a masculine grunt of satisfaction and a feminine sigh of pure, toe-curling pleasure. And a name cried out from Jan's lips as her man...Mr. Oh, That Feels So Good...as he took her over the edge.

The lit cigarette balanced on the edge of Ginger's lips. Her mouth hung open half in shock and half in a grin at the realization of who Mr. Yes, Yes, Yes... and then a deep shuddering sigh of completion...was. There was only one Thomas in town that didn't go by Tommy or Tom, the Good Doctor Thomas Sterling. And from the sound of it he was very, very good at his bedside manner.

She kicked her cigarette butt under a peony bush and drained the rest of the coffee from her mug. Not knowing what to think and vowing for once, to keep her discovery to herself, she hustled into the house and hurried to make it to work in time. This was a very interesting development. But, she couldn't think of two people more deserving or better suited for each other than Jan and Thomas.

Sometimes, you found love in the strangest of places and in the oddest possible matches. Sometimes, love just found you when you least expected and weren't really looking for it. When that happened. When love smacked you upside the head and knocked you flat on your ass. Those kinds of loves, those great loves, lasted a lifetime and they were one hell of a wild ride.