Dawn Redeemed

Carter took his time drying off. From behind the closed door he heard the gentle creak of the chair, rocking against the wood floor. Shayla's sweet voice hummed softly to her son in a breathy melody. He closed his eyes, imagining her, still in her gown, holding R.J. to her breast and stroking his sleek black locks with her fingers. He slid into a pair of worn and faded jeans and a loose fitting button down. Drops of water from his hair dampened the collar of his shirt. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. Death in such a pretty wrapper was how he referred to himself. Now, he looked, ordinary. After all the years and feeble attempts to blend in and look like everybody else, he finally did.

Shayla had managed to do what no one else had done since his long, lonely exile into immortality so many years ago. She calmed the beast. The beast was nowhere near tame or docile, but it was at peace, content to slumber in her embrace. Carter opened the bathroom door and stepped out in a cloud of white steam. "Is he asleep?"

Shayla nodded softly, "Just about." She rocked and patted R.J.'s diapered butt with her palm. "Carter?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Carter smiled at her soft admission. So much more than he deserved or had ever hoped to achieve. He caught the kiss she tossed at him, closed his fist around the air, and brought his clenched fingers up to his lips. "I do you too."



Chapter 59

Fallon balanced on the split rail fence and scrambled on to Jack's high back. The bay whinnied and flicked his tail, patiently waiting for his passenger to take the reins. Even with the saddle adjusted as high as her uncle could get it. The tips of her toes barely reached the stirrups. She gripped the reins in one fist and the saddle horn in the other and urged Jack into motion with a cluck of her tongue.

Alexander leaned on the weathered handle of the rake and watched Fallon triumphantly wiggle her way onto Jack's back and guide him through the open gates of the paddock and out onto the flat wide open grazing pasture. "You look just like Jane West!" he called out with a proud smile on his face.

Puzzled, Fallon looked over her shoulder. "Who's that, Uncle Alexander?"

"Never mind, kid. Enjoy your ride." Alexander shook his head and tromped into the barn. He pulled off his boots and slid into the rubber boots he used for mucking the stable. The barn smelled of horse, sweat, and the sweet smell of straw and old leather. Whistling an unknown tune, he raked the old straw into a pile and reminisced about days gone by, when he'd been a younger man and Jack just a green broke colt. Alex hadn't been much older than Fallon on the day he'd brought Jack home from the auction. But, he could still remember the sounds of her surprised squeals of excitement when he'd introduced the two of them.

He supposed that it was some consolation to know that he'd never have the fear of out living his daughter. She'd remain as she was now. Young and beautiful, long after his body turned to dust in the ground. Looking back, he'd wondered if he'd made the right choices in his life. Not about marrying Leigh or fathering Alexandria, but about staying true to the path that kept him human, mortal, instead of choosing a different way.

Leigh would have never gone for it. She would never have chosen to cheat death. He'd always known what her answer would be. If he'd chosen differently, she would have supported him. But, he would have gone on helpless to prevent her from withering and yielding to the inevitable death that would someday claim her. And he could not imagine living one single day without her by his side. That fact alone made it clear to him that he'd chosen right and for him. Even though it would hurt Alex to lose them. He'd made the best decision possible.

Alexander plopped down on a weathered kitchen chair that over the years had been exiled to the barn. He was still capable. Not as fast or as strong as he used to be, but still capable. Things just took him a little longer to get done. He pulled off his ball cap and wiped a fine sheen of sweat off his brow. Jack's whinny and Fallon's excited giggle drifted on the breeze. Jack was no spring chicken either, but he'd prance around like the colt he'd once been to make the little girl on his back very happy.

Time was taking bites out of the both of them. And far too soon time would be up. That was the way nature intended things to go. Perhaps, that was the best consolation of all. This old barn and these rolling hills would be here long after he was gone. Passed down to the next generation as it had been passed on to him.

He would die, but not disappear. He would go on too, in cherished memory and in the gift of the blood he shared with the brotherhood. Fallon would remember him and tell stories about Jack and him to her children. Alex would live on, and if there was one thing he was absolutely certain of, a vampire never, ever forgot, anything.

Fallon urged Jack into a quick canter across the flat acres of pastureland. The emerald tips of the tall grass danced, blown about in the warm breeze like ocean waves. The blades brushed and whispered against one another in a sound like the surf gently breaking against a sandy shore. Jack's hooves made a hollow echoing clop-clop as he pranced over the ground. Fallon bounced and jiggled in the saddle. Her butt thumped against the leather in time to Jack's bounding hoof beats.

The air was fresh, heavily laden with the smell of pine, green grass, and Jack's musky horse scent. The sun shone down brightly, warming Fallon's cheeks. The sun bleached weathered wooden split rail fence stretched out in front of her. She couldn't see the roof of the barn from here. The brown peak was hidden behind a rolling slope. Fallon tightened her grip on the reins and pulled back gently, slowing Jack to an easy walk. Leaning over in the saddle, the horn poked against her belly button. She lowered her face into the coarse thick hair of Jack's dark brown mane. The muscles of his neck fluttered beneath her cheek, tickling against her skin.

Fallon squeaked with eager excitement as she sat up in the saddle and stared into the thick rows of pine and leafy maples. Her wolf sat at the very edge of the woods silently watching her with his intelligent eyes. She pulled Jack to a stop at the end of the fence row and awkwardly slid off his back. Jack obediently followed behind her and gave no protest as she tied him to the fence post. Ignoring her completely, he lowered his muzzle into the lush, thick grass and began idly chewing at the tender new growth. "You stay put," she ordered Jack.

The old fence creaked as Fallon scrambled in between the gap in the rails. The deep shade of the woods was cooler than the warm sunlight of the pasture and she shivered in the damp chill. The wolf stared up at her, wagging its tail in friendly anticipation. She dropped to her knees, not minding that her jeans were soaked from the dewy grass. Grabbing her wolf around the neck with both arms, she hugged him tightly. "Where have you been?" she scolded playfully.

A deep, throaty woof came out of the wolf's mouth as his big, pink tongue slicked over Fallon's cheeks and nose. "Eeww, quit," she giggled and pushed the wolf's long muzzle away. "I missed you too." Her fingers scratched at the soft, velvety fur under his chin. The wolf panted and bumped her palm with his leathery, black nose. "Ok, ok, I'm petting you." Fallon slid her hand along the thick, plush chocolaty colored fur on his neck and petted in long strokes.

Her fingers brushed across a thin strip of soft braided cord. At first she thought that her uncle was right and her wolf was a really big dog that only looked like a wolf. That the leather braid around his neck was only a collar. She traced her fingers along the braid and frowned in confusion when they felt the cool pendant that dangled at his throat. "That's my dad's." She pushed the fur away and turned the silver wolf pendant overwith her fingers. "How did you get this?"

A jolt of fear shot through Fallon's heart. How would the wolf had gotten a hold of her dad's necklace? She froze and stared down into the wolf's yellow eyes, "You didn't eat my dad did you?" she asked in a low frightened voice.

The wolf growled low under his breath and dropped down to his belly on the ground. He rolled onto its back as well as a large animal can and looked up at Fallon, panting with its tongue lolling out of the corner of its mouth. "That's silly isn't it?" she asked. Her fingers traced down the wolf's chest and rested on his soft underbelly. "Did my dad put his necklace on you? Do you know him?" Her voice reached and excited pitch. If he dad knew about the wolf, she had someone to share her secret with.

The wolf whined and rolled onto his belly. He rested his chin on Fallon's thigh and looked up at her with its soulful golden eyes. Fallon rubbed behind his ears and frowned. "I don't understand what you're trying to tell me," she said. Stretched out on his belly the wolf was longer from the tip of his nose to the tip of his bushy tail than she was tall.

The wolf sprang to his feet and dragged his tongue across Fallon's cheek. Fallon rose to her knees as the wolf bounded into the woods, melting into the browns and greens of the trees. "Where are you going? Come back!" she shouted after the wolf as she scrambled onto her feet.

She glanced over her shoulder at Jack. He was munching obliviously on the tender shoots of new grass. Nash had told her that the woods could be dangerous and she should never go in them alone. Hesitantly, she hovered along the boundary of the trees. The wolf had been trying to tell her something. She bounced between running into the woods to find him. Curiosity got the better of her and she wiggled through the tight line of evergreens and brush into the woods.

Torr shivered and curled into a ball. Every limb ached as if something very big had grabbed onto it and tried to twist it free of his body. Disoriented, he closed his eyes and breathed deep as he tried to piece together the memories of his wolf. He heard the sound of snapping twigs and brush being crushed under foot as someone clumsily crashed through the woods yards away. He felt underneath the fallen log for the backpack he'd hidden there and fumbled with his clothes.

Fallon wasn't sure which way her wolf might have gone. The woods around her were filled with the noisy chattering of birds high up in the trees over her head. She turned in circles, frightened and confused. She tried to remember the things that Nash taught her, but they became a jumble with everything else in her head and she couldn't remember what to do. Paralyzed by her fear and the thick walls of pine and bark that encased her she plopped to the ground and held back the deluge of tears beneath her lashes. "Hello?" she cried out weakly.

Torr hurriedly pulled on his boots and yanked a faded t-shirt over his head. His brain was finally coming back on line and the flashes of memory he saw in his mind's eye making more and more sense. He heard the soft cry of a frightened little girl lost in what would seem like a very big woods to her. "Fallon?" She must have followed his wolf into the woods. Cursing he threw his backpack over his shoulder and jogged gracefully through the thick underbrush following the sound of her voice.

"Dad?" Fallon dried her tears on the hem of her t-shirt and hopped to her feet. She didn't want to look like a scaredy-cat in front of the man she barely knew. "Dad! I'm over here!"

Torr adjusted his course and sped his steps. "Stay there, I'm coming!"

Fallon jumped at the sound of rustling brush to her left. She didn't know whether to expect her dad or the wolf, or something much, much worse to come bounding out from the thick cover of brush. She smiled in relief as she caught sight of a red t-shirt through the leaves. "Dad!"

Torr dropped his backpack and lifted his little girl up into his arms, squeezing her tightly. She was safe, not so much as a hair out of place. But, he knew what she saw and that he had a lot of things to explain and a big favor to ask. She had to keep his secret. "Are you ok?" he asked, loosening his grip a bit. Her fingers were cool against his neck as she ran them over the pendant hanging at his throat. He didn't have to say a word. She understood. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Fallon."

Fallon wiggled out of his arms and stared up at him with wide eyes brimming with tears. "Dad, I don't understand."

Torr unzipped his backpack and retrieved a bottle of water. He unscrewed the cap and handed the bottle to Fallon. "Let's get you out of these woods and then we'll have a talk. I'll answer all your questions. I promise." He took the half drained bottle from her trembling fingers and held out his hand. "We have to trust each other now."

Fallon slid her fingers into her dad's big, warm, strong hand. "Ok."

Erica felt as if she were going to crawl out of her skin. After her second cup of coffee, she'd decided climb into the shower and get dressed. She was clean and dressed, but she didn't feel any calmer than she had before. She paced from room to room, making her bed then remaking Fallon's, gathering laundry, anything that would keep her busy and her thoughts from replaying that damned dream over and over in her mind.

"Erica, your uncle and I can watch Fallon if you need to get out for a while," Leigh said gently as she sat down to work on her latest crochet project.

"I've imposed on you enough as it is. Besides, I really don't need to go anywhere today," Erica said as she paced between the windows in the living room.

"Nonsense. If you two weren't here, Alexander would be snoring in his recliner by now and I'd be doing exactly what I'm doing right. You have been a great help, not an imposition. Having you and Fallon around helps keep us young and active."

Erica dropped the curtain back into place and smoothed it with her fingertips. "I guess I could go to the office today and get a jump on Monday's work. Yesterday, I didn't get much of a chance to get anything done."

"Trying to impress your new boss?" Leigh asked casually over her yarn. Actually, getting Erica out of her hair would help her to concentrate on her crochet. Alexander had Fallon busy in the pasture. And Erica, with her constant pacing, was wearing Leigh to a frazzle.

"No. There's just a lot to do and I need something to distract me. I'm just all out of sorts today."

"Well go then. Do whatever it is that accountants do to unwind. Fallon is fine and you're not imposing in the least."

Erica gathered up her keys and her purse. "You're sure you don't mind?"

Leigh slid her reading glasses up her nose and peeked at Erica from over the top. "Go." She waved Erica off with a flick of her wrist. "Have fun."

Torr led Fallon out of the woods, holding back the thickest tangles of brush for her to pass through. He saw a sunny spot, just outside of the split rail fence. Jack gave him a curious glance as he patiently waited for Fallon at the fence. Sometimes, horses didn't really care for his kind. Horses could sense the predator beneath his skin and their reactions were unpredictable. Jack might ignore him or he might panic and hurt Fallon.

He sat on the ground and pulled Fallon down beside him. The sunlight was warm across his shoulders. A couple of feet away a fat bumble bee lazily drifted between bright yellow dandelion heads. "I guess I owe you some answers."

Fallon dug her fingers into the thick grass and flexed them into a fist, pulling blades of grass free from the earth by the root and dropping them into a pile. "Yeah. How did the wolf get your necklace? And how did you get it back from him?"

"This isn't easy for me. I haven't had to tell a lot of people about what I am. Almost everybody I know, already knows, and always has. Fallon, don't be afraid. No matter what. I'd never, ever, hurt you. You understand that don't you?" When she nodded her head, he went on. "I know this is difficult for you to understand. I know you probably don't believe me, but the wolf and I are the same person. I am the wolf, and he is me."

"Dad, that doesn't make any sense. How can you and the wolf be the same person? Humans and wolves aren't even the same species."

Torr chuckled under his breath. "Some things can't be so neatly explained away by science. I don't even know how it works. I've heard stories and legends about how our kind came to be. I guess you'll have to take a blind leap of faith and blame it on magic."

"Magic?"

"It's the only explanation that I've got. I grew up knowing what I'd become. I was raised believing that the magic was real. For you, it's harder to understand. I guess I'm what you would call a werewolf."

Fallon looked up at her dad in disbelief. "You mean like on T.V.?"

"More or less. But, I don't eat people, Fallon. None of us do. The magic of what I am was passed down to me from my parents. Just like it was passed to them from their parents. So on and so on for way, way back."

Fallon stared at the blades of torn grass in her palm. "Dad, will it happen to me?"

Torr brushed the blades of grass away from Fallon's palm and gently squeezed her fingers tightly. "Yes, I believe it will."

"When?"

"Not for many years yet. Not till after you're a grown up."

"A grown up? That's a long time away." Fallon flopped back in the grass and closed her eyes against the light of the sun. She always missed out on all the good stuff. Adulthood might as well be a million years from now.

"Not as far away as you might think. The change can be a very scary time if you're not ready for it." Torr stretched out in the grass beside his daughter and tickled her nose with a blade of grass.

"Dad, are there others out there like us?" Fallon asked, rolling onto her belly. She thought it was totally cool that her dad changed into a wolf. Especially since he didn't eat people. That would be gross.

"A few."

"Who?"

"Fallon, this is a big, big secret. People are afraid of things they don't understand. They won't understand us. If they found out, they would come after us and hunt us down. Nash, Eloise, Tristen, and someday, Marianne. Most of the people who live in that house. Most of them are like us. We protect each other and now that we includes you. You can't talk about this to anybody. You can't tell anybody, not even your mother. It's our secret.

"Fallon with this gift comes great responsibility. As you get older, you're going to change, be stronger than the other kids, hear things and smell things that regular people can't. You won't get sick, and you'll heal very quickly. Right now, you probably won't notice the differences. But, someday you will. And when you do, it'll become harder and harder for you to fit in with every body else. It takes work to appear ordinary on the surface.

"Once you and the wolf become one. You won't age as fast as normal people do. You'll live a few centuries instead of a handful of decades. It's hard not to change when everyone else around you does."

"Can Mommy and Uncle Alexander and Aunt Leigh become like us?" Fallon was frightened at the thought of losing her mom. Even though it would be years and years from now, the idea of it still frightened her.

Torr looked away, regretting the curse that came with the gift that he'd passed on to his daughter. "No Fallon, they can't. The gift doesn't work like that. When I first saw you, I knew. I felt the magic, your magic, flow over my skin. I knew you were going to be like me. And someday, when you have kids. You'll pass your magic on as I have passed mine to you."

"That's not fair!" Fallon sniffled. "They're going to grow old and die aren't they?"

"Fallon." Torr pulled her up into his lap and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. "That's a long time away. See that old oak tree," he said, pointing to the tallest tree in the woods. Its branches towered over the treetops in a majestic show of greens and browns. "That tree is hundreds of years old. But, someday, it will die. Do you see those tiny saplings growing around its trunk? Someday, they will grow to be as big and tall as that oak. But, they can't grow unless there's room for them. That's the way nature works.