Dawn Discovered

"Girl, tell me about your people."

"My mom and dad were killed in an accident years ago. Why?" She was the only survivor of the accident, an only child, and just a baby. Without any relatives or close friends to turn to, she'd been adopted. Anything beyond that, she didn't have a clue.

"What of your lineage. Your grandparents?"

"I don't know. I was adopted when I was a baby. I tried to find out more about my real family, but I wasn't able to locate any records."

Nana snorted at Gina. She gripped Gina's face in her hands and studied her closely. Sniffing. "You say there aren't any records of your adoption?"

"None that I could find." Gina wondered what she'd said or done to pique the elderly woman's acute curiosity. What was it about her that the elder didn't like? Nana's grip on her chin was relentless and tight. She was probably going to have fingertip shaped bruises on her jaw. Nana narrowed her eyes and studied her like she'd found something unpleasant on the bottom of her shoe. The wrinkles in the woman's wizened face furrowed deeper, if that were even possible.

"You say you survived the crash?"

"Yes."

"And you survived your injuries from the man's attack?" Nana questioned. Her suspicions were growing. Gina was something special. Something rare. And the girl was someone to welcome home at long last. She was as uncertain of who Gina's real mother and father had been as the woman herself was. But, her nose never lied. Gina knew nothing of her parentage. Her coloring hinted at a mixed blood. But, Pack was Pack no matter how dilute the blood. Gina was a Lost Child come home to rest.

"Yes." Gina's lip trembled at the mention of the man's attack. The nightmare was still so fresh in her mind. And talking about the accident that had taken her parents away rubbed the old wounds raw.

"Nana..." Hunter cautioned. He would not have Nana getting Gina upset. Protectively, he wrapped an arm around Gina's small shoulders and eased her gently out of Nana's grip.

"Hushup, boy." Nana snapped. "Girl, you ever get sick?"

"Sick?"

"The flu, a cold, anything like that ever happened to you?"

"No, not lately. I think I had a really bad case of the flu in my first year of college, but nothing since. Before that I was perfectly healthy and I have been since then."

"Humph." Nana's suspicions were all but confirmed. "Let me tell you the story of my people. The Great White wolf chose a human female for his mate. She was human. But, the goddess saw fit to bless them with many beautiful children. They were happy and the children grew tall and strong. The time of the shift came. Afraid of her own children and terrified of the wolves. Their mother fled into the woods and was never seen again.

"One of the children was not blessed by the wolf. When he realized this and that he was different from his brothers and sisters. He fled, terrified for his life. He found his mother and they went into hiding. The other children, overjoyed with the power and gift of the wolf, joined their father and forgot all about their brother.

"The son and his mother traveled many days and nights, coming to a distant land blessed with fruitful ground. The son met a maiden from a neighboring tribe and fell in love. She bore him many sons. They lived happily with their children and his mother for many years, until the children grew up. He'd passed on something more than his good looks and sturdy body to his children. He'd passed on the gift of his wolf.

"He feared for his life and for his mother and wife. Terrified that his brothers and sisters would come for his children. Afraid of what the wolves would do to his family. When the children came of age. He drove them away. Lost and confused, the children fled. They scattered like seeds to the wind. Not knowing or understanding their wolf. Their father had not told them about their aunts and uncles. They didn't know they had a place to turn to.

"One day one of his children stumbled upon a village. In that village lived a large family. Sensing that he was like them, the village welcomed him. Not long, after exchanging stories, the village elder realized that the boy was one of his brother's children. The boy relieved that he had found a home told the elder of his brothers and sisters and how their father had driven them away into the wilderness.

"The elder, outraged at what his brother had done, selected a hunting party comprised of his best warriors and they headed out in search of the lost children; some were found and some were not. The search continues to this day for the children of those children and for others, the children of those who have left the pack throughout the decades. Girl, you are one of the lost children and you are at long last home."

Hunter stiffened. Digesting his elder's words. Gina, one of the lost children, he'd never considered the possibility. The wolf hidden inside of her must have sustained her and kept her out of death's clutches during the dark days of her torture. If she'd been truly human, she would have died. And everything they'd shared would have been lost. This was what he'd been searching for, a way to bring them together forever. Her hidden gift was an out, for the both of them. He wouldn't have to lose her to age or disease. She didn't have to die to remain with him.

"Hunter, what does this mean?" Gina couldn't believe the words ringing in her ears. Could she and Hunter truly be together forever? Had she found a way? She had an answer that only brought her more questions. With eager desperation she clutched Hunter's hand.

"Nana, how can you be sure?" Hunter didn't want to squash Gina's hopes or his. But, he had to know all the facts before he grabbed a hope that wasn't really there.

"Doubt me, boy?" Nana rocked the chair with her foot and idly crocheted. Pretending to ignore him. "The young, always needing proof when the answer is right under their noses. Forget about logic and everything you think you know and really sense her. Your mind tells you she's human, and you haven't been able to see past what your mind perceives as reality." She looked up from the brightly colored afghan that her skillful fingers formed. "And as for you, girl, can you accept what you truly are beneath your skin?"

"I...I think so?" Gina grappled with what she thought was real and what was not. A few months ago, none of this existed. There were no wolves or vampires in her realm of reality. She was nothing but a human living amongst humans. There was no magic other than what her eyes saw in the world. Had she been merely spending her life existing and not really living? Was she so shallow and locked inside her own humanity that she saw nothing of the true world around her? "Tell me what to do."

"Your wolf has been a part of you all along. All you have to do is embrace her and set her free," Nana answered. She doubted if Gina had the inner strength to free herself. Gina, like most humans, had been raised with a very narrow view of the world around her. Magic and mystery were explained away by science. Mortals gobbled up the weak explanations and swallowed them whole. What could not be explained was tucked away in the back of their minds in a neat little compartment to think about later. The problem, for most people, later never came and the little compartment in their minds never opened to be explored. Humans seemed perfectly happy to muddle about ignoring the bigger picture around them and pretending that it didn't exist at all.

Over the decades other lost children had been found and attempts made to free the wolf trapped within their skin. More often than not, they failed and their brief encounter with the wolves was forgotten and dismissed. They simply could not shake off their concept of who and what they were and grasp onto a new way of living and state of being. For one who had been raised human, the transition was almost impossible.

Hunter wrapped an arm around Gina's shoulders and guided her up to his room. He could have kicked himself for not realizing what she was sooner. Now, that Nana had mentioned the truth, he felt it. He knew. He sensed the energy that buzzed along her skin and marked her as one of his kind. He always thought that she was special, but now he knew why. He took her hand and pulled her down onto the small sofa. "Gina."

"Hunter. I want to do this. I want to change, for you, for us. We can be together now. Really together for longer than I'd ever hoped. I want this." Gina wound her fingers through his and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"Gina, I want you to do this for you, not for me. You can't count me in your decision at all. If you really want this, I'll help you. My Pack, we'll all help you to draw your wolf out. But, it has to be for you, not because of me. Is this really what you want? Is this the right decision for you?"

Gina closed her eyes and let Hunter's words soak in. She wanted it. She wanted it for him just as badly as she wanted it for herself. If she remained as she was, she'd die. In a matter of decades, she'd be forced to leave him behind and succumb to death. If she were like him, which according to Nana, she was. She would never have to leave him behind. They'd have many wonderful decades, maybe even centuries together. "I want this for myself. Consider me selfish, if you want. But I don't want to let you go. Ever."

"I don't think that's being selfish. I don't want to let you go either. If you're selfish, so am I. There are things you must consider. If you go through with this it won't be without cost. You'll be subject to your wolf, much like Tristen is to his. He can barely control it. Learning to come to peace with your wolf and how to control the urges that roar within your mind takes years and years of practice.

"The transition is painful and difficult. That never changes. The pain of being ripped apart and put back together again is something I can't describe in words. With time I've learned to tolerate the pain of the shift. But, it never gets any easier." He wasn't trying to dissuade her from her attempt. He only wanted her to know up front about the world she was choosing to dive head first into.

When his first shift came, he had no choice. His body was bursting at the seams before he realized what was happening. He couldn't control or stop the change from happening. Thinking back, would he have chosen differently? If he had been given a choice? He honestly didn't know, if having a choice was a good thing or not.

"Do you regret that you are the way you are? I know you tried to separate from your wolf because of me. But, would you, if you hadn't met me, would you have considered giving up your wolf anyway?"

"No, it's a part of who I am. A part I can't live without."

"So there are some drawbacks to becoming a wolf. But, there must be benefits as well." Gina studied Hunter's reactions to her questions. He pulled her up from the sofa and planted her feet in front of the window.

There were. Hunter paused. Taking in the world through the clear glass panes that separated him from it. "Do you see that bird nesting in the bush down below?"

Gina strained her eyes, focusing on the neatly trimmed evergreen hedges below. She leaned closer to the window and pressed her nose against the glass, "No." She didn't see anything but a bush.

"I do." He opened the window and leaned forward, clapping his hands loudly together. A blackbird chattered angrily at the disruption and took flight, landing on a branch of a neighboring tree.

He grabbed her arm, thrusting her bare flesh outside of the window. "Do you feel that?"

"Yeah, it's hot." Gina didn't feel a damn thing except for the heat of the sunlight and humidity wafting across her skin.

"No. It's going to storm tonight. I can feel the moisture gathering up into the clouds above. I can sense bad weather coming. It makes my skin crawl." He pulled her arm back through the window and gingerly shut it. "I don't feel the weather the way that you do."

"Obviously."

"Do you want to know what I like most of all?" Hunter asked as he snuggled her close against his chest. Slicking his lips along the gentle curve of her neck.

"What?" Gina was trying to be all businesslike and serious. Considering all the options laid out before her and weighing his words. It was damned hard to be serious when he was tempting her with his mouth the way he was.

"I can sense what I do to you. I smell your arousal and I can hear your heartbeat quicken in your chest. Your mouth might tell me no, but your body," he chuckled in her ear, "never does."

"Pervert," Gina teased. Bucking her backside against the enormous erection that pressed hard against her. She eased into his arms, reflexively arching her back. Thrusting her breasts into his gently massaging palms. "You think you know me so well?"

"Hmm," Hunter growled. "You like that." His hands trailed across her breasts. Lightly brushing against the nipples hardening beneath his touch. He unfastened her jeans and lowered them down her hips. Stroking across her aching core with his fingertips. "That's good too."

Gina gasped as Hunter's fingers invaded her secret spots. All right, so he did know her every bit as well as he claimed to. It wasn't fair. He could detect each subtle change in her body and key into it. Use it as a way to weaken her already fragile defenses. And yet, she had nothing to help her understand him, his likes and dislikes any better than she already did. She smoothed her palm between his thighs. Feeling the rising bulge between them. "I can't really tell if you like what my hand is doing or not. Beyond the obvious, that is," she whispered.

"Trust me. I do. I'm pretty direct. When it comes to you, my mind and body are of the same accord. I'm as helpless as a newborn pup against your charms." He pressed his groin against the warmth of her palm. "Feels good," he groaned.

"Hunter, love me." Gina turned and wrapped her arms around his muscular neck.

"I already do. With all my body and soul. No matter what choice you make. I'll stand beside you through it. Every step of the way, it'll be you and I." Hunter gathered her up and carried her to the bed. Staring down at her.

"No matter what?"

"No matter what." Hunter slid off her jeans and proceeded to love her as thoroughly and completely as he knew how. Giving everything he had and taking everything she offered in return.













Chapter 33

"So is this how my son spends his only day off?" Barbara asked as she opened her arms wide to hug Thomas. "With a bunch of dead people."

"Mom, you shouldn't talk about yourself like that." Thomas returned her loving embrace. She was dressed in her usual, casual pants and a loose pullover top. Her blonde hair done up in a neat trendy style that framed her face. Mischief twinkled in her blue eyes as she regarded him. If he hadn't made an appeal to the Shaman for her life, she'd really be one of the dead she so jokingly teased about whenever he came to visit the compound.

"Hey, what good is a virtual immortality if you don't have a sense of humor? Have you decided to come to the other side and join me? I think I could pull it off. Make you one of the dentally challenged." She joked about the thing that bothered her the most. Her son was mortal. He'd risked everything to give her the life back her cancer threatened to take. But, he insisted on remaining human. Forcing her to face the thing that he could not, eventual loss.

"I thought you wanted grandchildren." Thomas fell in step at his mother's side. He was here on business to review some medical files with the Shaman. Even though Dane had banned his research projects, he still dabbled in the 'safe zone' with Doc. Limiting his experiments to the many herbal concoctions the Shaman claimed could cure anything.

"Well, if you'd ever get busy and give them to me. How are you ever going to meet a girl if you spend all your free time working?"

"I don't work all the time." Thomas shielded his thoughts. There were things he'd rather his mother not know about him. But, his blood link to her made those things very difficult to hide.

"Yes, you do. Thomas, you need a life."

"Mom, I'm not the one skulking around underground." Thomas had a life. Sort of. He didn't need reminding of his lack of social activities by his mother.

"I'm still grounded. The Shaman insists that it's too dangerous for me to go out. He's worried that someone might recognize me." Barbara had to remain hidden, at least till everyone who knew her was either dead or too senile to recognize her. She was supposed to be dead. And she had the papers to prove it.

"I'm sure he'll change his mind. Eventually. How is it going with him?" The Shaman was his mother's creator and therefore responsible for her mentoring. Thomas suspected something more serious was blooming between them. But, his mother remained cool and aloof about the subject of her love life. And hey, if she wasn't going to kiss and tell, neither was he.

"Ugh, don't ask. Same as always, he's and old stick in the mud. He's all.. don't, don't, follow the rules, blah, blah, blah. He drives me nuts." Barbara waved her hands in utter exasperation. All she'd wanted to do was to see if she had any talent for weaponry. And he'd shoed her back inside before she could get off the first shot.

"I'm sure the feeling is mutual," Thomas chided.

Barbara snorted, "I hope so." She liked the thought of driving Doc as insane as he drove her. In fact, she hoped she did. "He probably can't wait until Dane cuts him loose and he doesn't have to baby sit me anymore."

"I doubt that." Thomas knew exactly how the Shaman felt. Being attracted to someone that he couldn't stand sucked. "I think you drive each other crazy because you two can't admit what's really going on."

"What's that?" Barbara challenged. She had not so much as went out on a date since before he was born. She'd been too busy raising and providing for him to have a social life of her own or to complicate her already busy and hectic life with men and relationships. By the time she'd given it a thought, she was already getting sick from the cancer that ravaged her body.

"You like each other. Remember the time I caught you two kissing in the hallway? That was a kiss. Not a friendly peck, but a real, 'I'm totally attracted to you kiss'."

"You have really got to get a life if you think that kiss meant anything. It was a mistake."

"Maybe so," Thomas needled. He loved it when he could take a few jabs at his mom and get her off the subject of his ever-lacking love life. He knew what a wreck it was and didn't need any reminding. "But, you have to admit. It was one of the best mistakes you've ever made."

Barbara scoffed and poked her son in the ribs. "Mind your own love life, boy."

Thomas wasn't fast enough to avoid her less than gentle jab in his ribs. "Oh speak of the devil," he teased. The Shaman rounded the corner to meet him, dragging some kind of potted plant behind him. Quickly, Thomas pecked his mom on the cheek with a chaste kiss. "You sure you won't join us?"

"Positive. I'll see you later, baby." Barbara spun on her heel and marched the other direction as quickly as she could. Rattled to her fangs by her son's teasing. She didn't even like the stuck up, rigid, poor excuse for a mentor, let alone enjoy his kiss. Thomas could think what he wanted, but she knew the score. The Shaman had no interest in her whatsoever. And she, whatever interest she might have had. He'd squashed under his heel.

The dinner table was a hub of activity. No place to have a private conversation. Daniel scanned the length of the table and mentally calculated exactly how many dishes he was going to have to wash. Washing supper dishes, by hand, was another one of the many punishments heaped upon him. He supposed that he would be a dishwasher until someone did something worse than he had. Which would probably never happen. Nobody was as stupid as he had been.