Dawn's Shadow

Chris tore off the bows and wrapping paper. Anna's artistic approach to wrapping presents made it a shame to unwrap them. Her birthday wasn't for another couple of weeks. But, she couldn't wait. Anna knew she wouldn't wait to open the present anyway. Chris slid the picture frame free from the box. "Oh, I remember this!" she exclaimed, hugging the picture to her chest. Dane and Toby peeked over her shoulder as she explained the moment captured in a candid snapshot.

********

Anna pulled into the garage and turned off the car. The drive home didn't seem to take as long as she remembered. She had plenty to think about on the way home to keep her mind occupied. She walked through the kitchen, flipping on lights. Her house was empty and lonely. But, she reminded herself; she was hardly alone and never would be again. She felt the buzz of the link in her mind and knew, even though she couldn't see them, her new friends were out there, watching over her.

Chapter 49

"I think you're ready," John Mark announced proudly. Alex had been working furiously to master her instincts and bend them to her will. He felt certain that she could control herself around her parents. It would be the best gift he could give her and her family, a Christmas Day reunion.

Anna fought against the urge to call Toby. She didn't want to make a nuisance of herself. Probably, having her in his mind was invasion enough. She spent the morning exchanging gifts with her family and decided to skip the drive and the party. Ready to bunk down on the couch and spend the evening with a good book. A light knock at the door had her tossing the book on the couch and running her hand through her hair. She didn't have to answer it to know who it was. She could feel him, standing on her porch on the other side of the door. "Hi," she said, opening the door and stepping aside to let him in.

"Hey, I thought you could use a ride. Big party tonight." Toby grinned at Anna. Frowning, at her dowdy attire of navy blue sweat pants and a long sleeved tee shirt, he realized that she wasn't dressed for a party. He immediately noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra. Her nipples pressed against the thin cotton, erect, inviting him to play with them. He looked over the top of her head, fighting the urge to skip the party and spend the night stroking the gently sloping peaks. "Go get dressed. We'll make it just in time. If you hurry."

Anna wasted no time, scrounging up something to wear. Toby warned her that the party was going to be outside. Casual denim pants and a soft v necked fleece sweater should keep her warm enough. There was no need to keep up appearances with these people. No need to wear uncomfortable party wear or dress to impress. What was on the inside was what mattered to these people. And yes, she considered them people. Instead of her usual bun, she let her hair hang loosely around her shoulders. She smiled as Toby nodded in appreciation. "I like."

******

Chris paced nervously around their suite. Thanks to Anna's help and Dane's connections, the renovations on the mines were months ahead of schedule. The thick fibers of the plush brown carpet squished between her toes. She was being forced to go to this party against her will. She wished she could forget the whole thing and lock the door behind her. She hated parties, especially Christmas parties. She frowned at Dane, listening to him whistle off key, as he got ready.

Dane and Chris walked hand in hand to the bluffs. In fact, he wasn't sure, but it felt like he was dragging her. She walked stiffly beside him as if she were being led to the gallows. They entered the clearing; the bonfire sent crackling sparks high up into the night sky.

The night was cold and clear with a glorious display of stars in the sky. The fire would keep any human guests nice and warm. The trees were lit with thousands of strands of white twinkling lights casting a cheerful glow into the darkness. A white tent covered the main party area, protecting the guests, piles of presents, and the food from the elements. Tables and chairs were scattered about in casual arrangements. Food was stacked high on silver trays, steam rose in white clouds from the warming table. "Wow, I knew Janine was planning something big, but this is...incredible."

Chris forced a smile across her lips, for Janine and Dane's sakes. Janine really had worked hard and so had all the brothers to pull this off. They needed this party even if she didn't. In pairs of twos and threes guests filtered in and mulled about. Some were vampire and some were human. And everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Chris smiled widely as Anna and Toby approached. They walked side by side, their hands brushing as if they longed to reach out and grasp each other's fingers. But, neither one of them would be the first to yield and take the other's hand. She wondered if Dane was right and a romance was blossoming between the two of them. "You couldn't stand to stay away. Had to come see me suffer eh?" Chris teased lightly.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Anna teased. She gave Chris a light hug and waited for the party to officially begin.

Janine did a quick head count. Everyone was present and it was time to kick off the party. She clapped her hands and walked to the center of the crowd. "Listen up people. Someone's got a birthday today! C'mon up Chris."

Chris's mouth fell open. How did Janine find out! What else did she know? Chris forced her mouth shut as Dane's arms circled her body, sweeping her off her feet in a hug. He kept an arm firmly cinched around her waist, forcing her to the front of the tent where a two tiered cake with green and red icing, complete with candles, sat ready to be lit.

"Oh no!" Anna gasped and pushed her way through the crowd. No one knew Chris's aversion to parties and birthday celebrations better than she did. The crowd cheered and clapped, oblivious to her friend's distress.

Chris trembled and her feet were frozen in place. She stood there dumbfounded in the middle of her own party. Shouts of "Happy Birthday" and enthusiastic claps broke her out of her revere. Once she regained her senses, unable to take the crowd of well-wishers swooping down on her, she bolted for the trees.

Dane made a quick speech, covering for Chris. "Look she's so surprised that she's totally speechless. She's truly touched by all your wishes for a happy birthday. Now, let's cut this cake before it freezes solid." He slipped out of the crowd sniffing the air to track her scent. He found her huddled against the rough surface of a tree, almost a mile into the thickest part of the woods. "Hey," he said softly, sitting down on the ground beside her.

Chris sniffled, trying to hide her tears from Dane. The years of embarrassment flooded over her, reminding her of why she hated the holidays with such a passion. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about." He wrapped an arm around Chris's shoulders pulling her close. "I wish you'd tell me what's bothering you."

"I just." Chris sighed, she might as well tell him and get it out in the open. "My real name is Christmas. Christmas Dawn," she confessed, wincing as she waited for the jokes and his laughter.

"I think that's a nice name. What a happy day to be born on," Dane soothed.

"Really. You can't imagine what it was like as a kid on the first day of school, year after year, the endless teasing and harassment. And try putting that name like that on your resume. People don't take you seriously with a name like Christmas."

"I do," Dane said softly. It all made sense now, her aversion to the holidays. The way she cringed at the mention of the word Christmas. They sat against the tree looking through the spindly branches reaching up into the starlit sky. She had laid herself out on the line for him. Finally, told her deepest secret. Now, it was his turn to bare his soul to her. "I was saving this for later, but..." He fished into his pocket and retrieved the ring. He crouched on one knee, kneeling down to take her face in his hands. For once, in his long life he wanted to do something absolutely right. "Chris, Christmas Dawn, I love you and I want you to be my wife."

Chris gasped in shock as Dane took her left hand and slid the band onto her third finger. The sapphire stone in the center was exactly the same color as her eyes. The row of diamonds surrounding the center stone glittered in the dull moonlight. She sat there, her face cupped in Dane's big palms, fathoming what she'd done to win this magnificent man's heart. It certainly wasn't for money or prestige that he'd chosen her. It wasn't because he couldn't do better than her and he was settling for second best. There was no earthly reason why this man would choose her, except for one. The same reason that had a yes hovering on her lips. Love. "Yes." She gripped him in an embrace and showered him with kisses. "Yes!"

"Will you join my brothers? Be my wife, and their sister?" Dane asked hesitantly. He was pretty sure of her feelings for him. But, the brothers, the danger, and the insanity that sometimes accompanied his life?

"Of course. I assumed it was a package deal."

Dane swooped Chris up into his arms and carried her back to the mines. Shrouded in darkness and with the promise of her love encompassing his heart, he made love to her. Branding her with his flesh. Searing his soul with her body. It was her who turned this house of earthly flesh into a home. She transformed his heart and his soul from an uninhabitable shell into a place where only love and happiness could dwell.

Chris lay in Dane's arms, staring out in to the darkness. She'd never been happier. She'd loved. But, she'd never been in love, until now. She'd spent her lifetime trying to find a heart big enough to love her. Scrabbling for bits of happiness wherever she could find them. It was odd, that only in death had she finally found life and love. And in this place of darkness, she'd found her home.

*****

Anna selected the first unoccupied bed she could find. Much to her chagrin, it was the big, garishly adorned bed in Toby's room. The party had ended as the first rays of dawn were peeked over the horizon and she was simply too exhausted to face the trek home. Like a true gentleman, Toby had offered to drive her, insisting that she could sleep the whole way back. Still, she refused. The most logical thing to do was to stay put. Besides, she didn't have anything too important to do. Her office was closed for then next week due to the holidays.

News spread like wildfire throughout the brothers. Dane and Chris had disappeared from the party. But, that didn't stop the announcement from being made. He'd proposed and Chris had accepted. Her best friend was getting married a week from today. New Year's Day. There must be something she could contribute to the occasion. A bridal shower or bachelorette party, something. Wearily, Anna slid out of her jeans and bra, leaving on her sweater and underwear. Pondering, what she could do to lend a hand. Soon, surrounded by the comforting darkness and quiet, she fell asleep.

Toby stood silently in the corner of his room, watching as Anna dreamed. She truly was beautiful, when she let her guard down enough to let it show. He wondered what happened to create the cold, carefully guarded, cynical exterior she wore like armor. He probed a little deeper into her sub-conscious. Learning more about her would only help him to protect her better. He thought, rationalizing his intentions. After all, it was in his nature to crack codes and find what others thought was hidden.

Anna's mind was difficult to penetrate, shielded against him. Unusual. Most humans were open books easily read. She was locked up tight. He concentrated harder, more determined than ever to break through the wall she hid behind.

Finally, he slipped through her barriers, surprised and angered by what he found. He was right and her carefully constructed exterior was a ruse to keep others at bay. She'd been hurt, badly. Betrayed by someone she should have been able to trust. Her father was a bastard. He'd pushed Anna too hard, too far. Staunch and critical of his only daughter, he drove her to the breaking point. Shattered a young girl's dreams and her tender heart with his constant demanding.

Even on his deathbed, years later, he hadn't apologized for the lengths he'd gone to, to ensure her success in the world. She was supposed to be born a boy, his only son, and when she came out a girl, he'd never forgiven her. Anna's mother had labored long and hard to bring her into the world.

Damaged beyond the repair of modern medicine at the time, she'd never been able to conceive another child. Anna had stolen her father's only hope for a son. And he'd taken out his anger, saved his rage, solely for her. Anna's mother hadn't done a thing to stop him. She'd pretended, baked cookies and attended charity events in blissful denial while her husband abused Anna in the worst ways possible. He never laid a hand on Anna. He never hit her. He never touched her. At all. Denying her love and a father's affection. But, then again, he didn't have to. Emotional abuse served his purposes far too well.

Anna and her mother had a fragile relationship. They were trying to see beyond the years of abuse and repair the damage done by the past. But, Anna had secretly withdrawn from her mother years ago. She withdrew and hid from everybody. Never letting a soul, not even Chris, get close enough to hurt her.

Anna stirred, on the verge of waking up. No doubt, troubled by the memories he dredged to the forefront of her sleeping mind. She worked so hard to hide them, to hide from them, and to stuff them into a corner where they couldn't cause her pain. He'd dragged them out and caused her to suffer from them all over again. Toby whispered a suggestion. Anna should dream of flowers and sunshine, happy things. Dream of being the ballerina the little girl in her wanted to be when she grew up. He could never make her forget the past. But, he could help her to make new memories, happier memories filled with love.

Chapter 50

The girls piled into the SUV, determined to have the best bachelorette party in history. Janine had their route thoroughly planned out and they were on their way to the last stop on her itinerary, an all male strip club. Chris shook her head, Toby and John Mark insisted on coming along under the guise of keeping them safe. What fun were guys at an all girl party? After all, she hadn't demanded a female escort for Dane's bachelor party, which should be in full swing by now. Patrick had organized the shindig. She could only imagine what he had in store for her husband to be.

The city around them glittered like a diamond in the night as the SUV wound through the maze of streets. Alex watched from the tinted window. She had been drug along against her will. She pushed the scent of humanity to the back of her mind. This was a test run, to see if she could control herself, blend in, and keep from snacking on a random human. John Mark would pull her out at the first sign of trouble. She knew that for certain. But, still she couldn't relax and actually have fun. It was probably best. Janine and Anna were doing enough relaxing for everyone. They were the only human members of the entourage. And boy, were they ever taking advantage of it.

"Gonna go see some man flesh!" Janine sang off key, leaning drunkenly over Chris's shoulder. Chris humored her by pretending to have a good time. She was nervous; tomorrow was going to be a big day for her. She was having fun. Watching Anna finally cut loose. She wondered if she should cut her off after the third shot of tequila. But, Toby insisted she down a fourth and then a fifth. Good, Chris thought. When Anna puked her guts up and spent tomorrow hung over, Toby could nurse her back to health. Not, that he would mind. Chris grinned at Toby and he innocently returned her smile. She was sure he wouldn't mind one bit.

"Oh yeah! Maaannnn flesh. Barehotmannflesh!" Anna giggled and rested her head on Chris's other shoulder. "Hey Chris, can I borrow those fangs?" she snickered. "There might be something really yummy in there I might wanna sink my teeth into. Grrr."

Titters of laughter filled the SUV as John Mark put the vehicle in park and turned the key in the ignition. "Toby, you control the humans. I'll watch over Alex," John Mark whispered across the seat. He glanced back at Anna shaking his head. The woman was plowed. And Janine wasn't too far behind her. The pair of them were going to be more difficult to handle than a newborn in a blood bank. Anna drunkenly struggled to unbuckle her seatbelt. The seatbelt was winning. "Are you sure your blood didn't change her personality? Just a little?"

Toby snickered back, "I swear, I didn't think a few shots of tequila would cause this much damage." He gestured to the backseat. Janine had joined in the cause to free Anna from the seatbelt, laughing and giggling as she pulled at the straps. Chris looked helpless as Janine practically sat in her lap in the cause to help Anna. "All right, I'll handle the drunk chicks," Toby sighed. He slid out of the SUV and walked around the vehicle opening Anna's door and releasing the seatbelt with his fingers.

"Did you come to rescue me?" Anna batted her eyes at Toby. She beamed as he pressed the latch and the seatbelt popped open. "My hero," she slurred the words together. She slid out of the seat her feet landed on the pavement. She felt the heat of his touch through her jacket as he wrapped his arm through hers, steadying her on the pointed tip of her stiletto sling backs. She buried her thoughts of what she'd like to do to him deep in her mind. Nestled in the crook of his arm was such a cozy place. Uninhibited from the alcohol surging through her system, she buried her nose against his chest and inhaled the scent of worn leather and man. "Damn, you smell good," she drawled.

Toby reached his hand across her back and over her butt, giving it a hard squeeze with his fingers to get her in gear. She was damn hard to resist with that dazed look in her eyes and the heated blush of arousal on her cheeks. One of these days, he was going to get her alone and unimpaired and then he'd really see how well she responded to him. Chris would kick his ass if he so much as thought about making a move on Anna in her current drunken state.

Anna jumped and stumbled around to the back of the SUV. Toby had pinched her ass. Not just pinched it, he'd given her the goose of the century. Luckily, for him, she was in a good mood and a little soused, otherwise he would have ended up with her three-inch stiletto heel up his ass. "Hey, Janine, you got those dollar bills?"

"Sure do." Janine pulled a bulky wad of bills out of her purse. "Chris gets to tuck the first one!" She danced up the walkway leading to the busy club. "Look out boys, the country girls have come to town!" She pranced through the entrance of the club, following behind John Mark and Alex.

"We're lookin' for horny men!" Anna cried out, clumsily stumbling after Janine. Maybe, high heels and alcohol, lots of alcohol weren't such a brilliant idea together. She had an arm draped loosely around Chris, more for support than a gesture of friendship. "What?" she looked at Chris innocently, noticing the glare her friend cast at her.

Toby suppressed the growl rumbling deep in his throat. Although he had no true claim on her, Anna was definitely NOT on the market for a horny man tonight or any other night for that matter. He'd see to it personally. He had not expected the crowd packed inside of the club. The dance floor was wall-to-wall, screeching, yowling women waving dollar bills in the air to the scantily clad men dancing on stage and in the aisles. He pulled out a chair and plopped Anna down onto it, helping her slide out of her coat. Surely, she didn't find any of these men attractive? Did she?