Dawn's Destiny

Keene nodded. He knew of the cabin and of the woman Grant spoke of in such hushed, reverent tones. "I'll keep watch over her until he's on his feet again. I have no doubt he'll be anxious to see her, soon." He turned carting Grant's heavy body in his arms to walk the path through the woods to deliver the man to his family as promised. Grudges truly were a heavy thing to carry. And as soon as he relieved himself of Grant's weight, he was done with them for good. No more Roark. No more judge. No more jury. Vengeance wasn't his to serve. Justice was not his to demand for another. And he had no more desire to walk down the same path he'd already walked down, again.

Dawn was peeked over the horizon. Casting hues of gold across a promising blue sky. Tala sat cross-legged on the damp grass. Drew plopped down beside her after pulling a pair of sweats left behind from the party. He leaned his head on her shoulder and stared out across the bluffs. Life was a curious thing. Taking so many twists and turns, sometimes it was difficult to keep pace with the changes and the speed in which they came.

A year ago his thoughts, his life, and his heart were in a very different place. He was still a vampire. Still, the legendary Great Father. But, he was also so much more. He was the continuation of his brother's legacy, the Great White Wolf. And beyond all of that, those lofty titles that left him tongue tied with wonder over how a human man could attain and become so many things to so many people, he was greater than he had ever dreamed. More than his wildest dreams could have ever imagined, just as Tala had predicted. He was a man in love.

"Vampire," he teased, tugging on her long, dark braid. She was contrite. Mortified by what she'd almost done. At last she understood the truth about his nature and about her own. He'd rather she'd had a gentler introduction into this part of herself. But, at least now, she knew what truly lived inside of her and inside of him. It was a beast capable of great atrocities, of murder and of death. But, it also had a heart and a soul. And it was passionate. And there was nothing to fear. It could be tamed by a heart that beat as gently as hers and as wildly as his.

"Werewolf," Tala teased back. Nudging Drew's head gently off her shoulder, she shifted to meet his gaze. He was her man, her mate, and her Great White Wolf. She gripped his hair and buried her nose the dark depths. Inhaling the earthy, musky scent of his wolf. She kissed his lips, claiming them for herself. Careful of the fangs... of her fangs the last thing she wanted to do was to accidentally damage those beautiful, supple lips that gave her so much pleasure and so much joy.

Drew returned Tala's kiss. In the distance, wolf song filled the air. Eerie echoing howls, soulfully greeting the morning sun and the brightness of the oncoming day. Pulling back, he grinned at Tala. His wife. His much, much better half. "Buy you breakfast," he said, stripping out of the sweats.

Tala nodded eagerly. She wasted no time divesting her body of the clothes and giving herself over to her wolf.

Drew blew out a breath and gave his wolf his head. Slightly larger than the black female, contrasting white to black fur, like yen and yang, the wolves stood facing one another. The white wolf turned and led the way into the woods fast on the track of prey. Galloping playfully across the wide flat expanse of the bluffs. The black wolf kept pace. Running through the underbrush at his side. Mated for life. They were one. Male and female, man and woman, vampire and wolf, one life and one love, forever.

Epilogue

Claire awoke, her eyelids weighted down by sleep and the heady, dazed sensation of lingering dreams. Stretching and working the wonderful soreness out of her limbs, she patted the opposite side of the bed, searching for Grant. The covers were a tangle. The pillow and sheets cool. She didn't want to face the morning. And as much as she'd known it would come, the garish light of the sun pushed away the last remnants of her dreams and she was fully, painfully awake.

Grant was gone. Just like she'd known he would be. She was alone, left with nothing but the memory of him and the lingering masculine smell of his scent on the sheets to keep her company. She closed her eyes to hold back the tears she'd promised herself she would not cry. God, did she want to. Bawl her eyes out. Give her self over to a very cathartic crying jag. But, that would tarnish the happiness she'd felt over the last few days. Resolving her self to the fact that this was her life. And sometimes, life didn't give you the happy endings you thought you deserved.

Realism was better than the illusion of pretend truths that didn't actually exist. Wearily, she pushed her body off the bed and placed her feet on the cool wooden floor. Shivering from the shock of the morning chill against her skin. Today was going to suck, and probably the day after, and the day after that. Her keys sat on the mantle over the fireplace in plain sight. And maybe, they'd been there all along. She just hadn't seen them until now. She hadn't wanted to.

For whatever reason, maybe she needed what had happened. She needed to be afraid, to overcome her deepest fears. And perhaps in some strange way, Grant had saved her from the worst of herself. She'd gotten her escape, a vacation from the woman she had been for so very long. Contained. Restricted. Terrified of living, letting life live her instead. And she was better for the experience. For having met and known him, and loving him, even if it was for just a little while.

Packing her things, she smiled as she tossed the mint green sweats into the bag. Grant was an enigma she'd never solve. She tidied up and changed the sheets, switching them out for the ones in her trunk. Switching on her cell phone, she noticed that she had over forty voice mails, most of them from Ginger, demanding an immediate report on her sexual activities.

Did she get laid? No. She'd made love. And it was great. It was empowering. And it was freeing in a way Claire had never thought possible. She had no intention of telling Ginger anything. It was her secret and she would hold it close to her heart. This small part of herself, of her heart, belonged to Grant. And she wasn't going to share her story with anybody. She'd have other great loves and probably more than one broken heart before she found Mr. Right. And that was ok. It was just the way life and love worked.

Double- checking the cabin, stopping out back to turn off the gas and the electricity on the way to her car, she stopped and listened to the quiet, basking in the calm. And she could have sworn, although it was quite impossible in this part of the country, she heard the soulful echo of a wolf howling soft and low, eerily in the distance.