Sun and Earth Ch. 04

"What? How the fuck did we get to Utah so quickly?" I exclaimed

"I drive very fast...?" he shrugged

"Mmhhm. So twelve hours from salt lake is where?" I moved into the fast lane again not wanting to be in a car for twelve hours, even if it was with a beautiful man.

"Well we need to head south before we can make it to New York. There are a few people we need to speak to about this whole mating situation. There are too many questions that have gone unanswered. I'm sure you have questions too." He put one hand on my thigh as I wove in and out of the afternoon traffic.

"Mages?" I asked being careful not to look at him

"Yes, Mages." He replied glancing at me quickly

"All right well...where south?" I shrugged the anxious feeling my girl was projecting off. It was natural for us to be wary of mages. Going voluntarily into a mages territory was just plain awkward feeling.

"Santa Fe." Micah replied curtly

"And what or who is in Santa Fe?" I pressed further since he wasn't offering up information

"My parents..."

I glanced over at him cautiously. I had done the math after our conversation from yesterday. He had been thirteen since he last saw his parents...which was in the 1800's. He had not seen his family for well over 100 years. If you haven't seen someone for over 100 years how could you possibly trust them? Yes they were his family but I knew that it being 50 years since I had seen my family I would be as cautious as I would be around perfect strangers.

"Why do you think they will help us? You haven't seen them in over 100 years." I blurted out not being able to control myself. It was moments like these I thanked having an alternate being to blame outbursts on.

"Yes thank you for reminding me of the gut wrenching hole where my family should be." he said harshly removing his hand from my thigh.

I knew I had gone too far. I didn't know this man's boundaries...It was just another all too painful reminder that we had met only two days ago and although we couldn't stand to be apart...I didn't know him and he didn't know me. We went on in silence for about 45 minutes. I couldn't bring myself to say something, not even an apology. It was Micah who spoke first.

"I'm sorry. My folks are or at least they were gentle people. They seemed level headed and kind towards any creature no matter what race. Also the war is not as prevalent in the south as it is up north...there won't be too many people gunning for an excuse to kill something down there." He had his head leaning against the window, his breath creating a small circle of fog. He traced a small symbol with his forefinger into the circle.

"I'm sorry as well, I couldn't help myself. I sometimes forget what it is like to have people you can trust." I kept my eyes on the road so he couldn't decipher my face exactly which I knew he was keen on doing.

"Parker..." Micah pressed softly

"Yes?"

"What was your family like?"

"Ha! That is a funny question. What do you want to know first?" I snorted sarcastically, trying not to become bitchy. I didn't want to have this conversation but I had given myself a pep talk in the shower this morning and there was no backing out if it now.

"Siblings?" Micah began

"Three. Three brothers. I was the youngest of the bunch. They teased and tortured me mercilessly as a kid." I grinned remembering when Eric had tossed me in a tree. I had grabbed onto a branch and ended up being stuck there for hours. He called me a jungle cat because I had fallen asleep in the branches. Chris had found me and carried me down, he was always rescuing me.

"Because you were the girl?" Micah continued on his quest for answers

"No...well yes because I was the only girl...also because I was the youngest, but mostly because I was the odd one out." I rolled my head cracking my neck

"How so?" I turned to Micah and found his face patient and kind. He wasn't forcing the subject but I knew it was time.

"I come from the Sun Clan." I started with a resigned sigh.

"Well that's obvious...I can feel and taste the sun on your skin." He put his hand back on my thigh and started to rub it for support. I smiled sadly looking out on the road, remembering what life was like growing up with my pack.

"It wasn't always like that. I smelled more like you when I was a kid. I used to be able to hear the whispers of trees. I was like an earth being...constantly rolling in the dirt, hunting...I spent a lot of time when I was very little as a wolf. I sometimes refused to change back. My father had to eventually put a silver lined collar on me so that I could only change during the moonlit runs. It was torture...pure torture. By the end of it I would have done anything to get that collar off. After a year with it on I was so weak my mother had to beg my father to take it off me in fear that I would die. He did...and while I was with my family I never turned wolf outside of the full moon on purpose again."

I cringed remembering the sucking feeling that collar produced. It was as if it pulled the very nature of my being out through the veins in my neck. I wasn't the same after those three months. I became quiet and complacent.

"But...I saw you change just your hands....how did you do that?" Micah sounded worried as he asked this question, probably wondering whether he was taking it too far. I smiled at him.

"Practice...like I said I'm not normal...and I've had a lot of time on my own to finesse my powers. The energy I can create can be used to change single parts of my body. It's painful as all hell but in a scrape can be worth it." Changing completely took up too much time and could leave you vulnerable. Changing one part of your body left you aware albeit slightly distracted by the pain.

"What are your brothers doing now?"

"They are underlings of my father...running errands for him trying to beg his approval. My dad is a hard ass if you couldn't guess. Christian...ironic yes I know...is the oldest, I miss him the most. Then there is Eric and Corbin...they're twins."

"What about your mother?" I sighed at this question

"My mother was the most beautiful and terrifying woman in the pack. She could cut you in half as easily as cutting a slice of bread...but at the same time you knew she never would because she didn't have the heart for it." I remember after she had left going through all the clothes she left behind. I would stand in her closet and breathe in her scent. One day my father found me lying on a heap of her clothes, it was the first time he had ever laid a hand on me in anger. He beat me soundly that night...nothing that I couldn't heal from and he knew it. But that shit still leaves an impression. Christian had found me the next day lying in the woods cowering. My girl had taken over to save me from some of the pain in the end I had had to transform to heal myself completely. I didn't go home for a week for fear of my father.

"So how did you know she could cut a person down if she never did?" Micah brought me back to the present

"Due to the powerful nature of our pack...we were attacked every now and then either by local wolves who wanted to gain power or mages that heard the legend of the sun clan harvesting energy for themselves. The local mages thought if they could control one of us then they could use us as sort of a familiar and channel the sun's energy through us. Whenever we were attacked our mother fought because she defended the lives of her children. She loved us something fierce."

"Is that true, about harvesting sun energy I mean?" Micah's hand squeezed my thigh

"Only one of us can truly harvest sun energy for any use."

"Who?" I took one hand off the wheel after putting the car on cruise control and rested it on top of Micah's.

"Me. I am one of the so called saviors of wolves everywhere." I gave him a cheeky grin.

"Why? Because you can harvest energy..." I cut him off not wanting to prolong this.

"It's not just that...I'm supposed to lead my people into battle using the energy of the sun like a weapon and destroying mages across the land. But the warmth I feel when I harness it doesn't remind me of a weapon." I sighed and shook my head having gone over and over this in my head.

"What does it feel like?"

"It feels like when I touch you. Home, safety...a warm drink on a cold night. Its comfort in the purest sense. I don't think my Gods gave me this gift to destroy life...which brings up the other angle of my so-called destiny."

"There's more?" Micah grinned slightly but I was regretting to wipe that grin off his handsome face.

"You bet your ass there's more. So after I lead the wolves into battle and kill every last mage blah blah blah, my father is to hand me to the wolf that fought the bravest in the war...and I am to breed with him. After I pop out his kid I am to be passed to the next clan...and then the next...and then the next. Until every clan, every pack has the chance to share my power and pass it on to the next generation of pureblooded werewolves. Basically be whored out and made to pop out kids like it is nothing."

"How long would that go on for?" Micah's hand tightened around mine, his voice was slightly strained.

"Until I die."

Micah became very still all of a sudden. He started to breathe heavily and I felt a pulsing power coming from his side of the car. I felt his blood rushing beneath the skin in his hand and the touch of his body became ice cold, it was no longer soothing. I looked over and saw that his face was now ashen and his eyes were throbbing a steady green light.

"Micah? Micah! Look at me what's wrong? Micah, please!" I swerved a bit trying to keep my attention on the road. But as his pulse sped up so did mine. I was starting to hyperventilate.

"Pull over." Without thinking I crossed three lanes of traffic and pulled off into an emergency patch of road. Micah was staring at me, the glow in his eyes dying down and his breathing becoming slower, returning to normal.

"Look at me." I did as I was told not wanting to anger him or cause him anymore pain. We both unbuckled our seat belts and faced each other. Our hands were instantly cradling the other's face.

"Whats wrong?" I urged

His mouth was suddenly on mine, giving my heart away with every kiss and movement of his lips. Our tongues entwined with each other and he bit my lower lip asserting his dominance in the situation. I paused with my mouth still sliding along his lush bottom lip.

"You are mine, Parker." He all but growled at me

"I know Micah." I whispered breathlessly

"We are one, I will not allow another man or woman to touch you in a sexual manor. If I ever saw or felt you being violated or wanting to be touched by someone else I think I'll go fucking insane." The curse shocked me into resorting to a joke.

"Watch your language."

"This is serious."

"Sorry."

"I swear on everything that I have been taught in my lifetime that I will never, never allow you to be passed from wolf to wolf. Do you believe me?" The look he was sending me was so strong, so dedicated that I said the only thing that could possibly be an answer.

"I do."

"Do you want to be with me and only me forever?" He pressed his forehead against mine

"Gods yes I do." I shouted feeling his energy seep through our foreheads

"I in turn will never touch another woman with so much as a thought to what kind of panties she may be wearing." I snorted "I promise to love you and want you for the rest of our lives and beyond." We pulled back and looked at each other. He said he would love me, no one has ever said those words to me in my near 3 centuries of living...

"However long that may be..." I pressed my lips to his again, this time it was gentle and full of the promise we had just made to each other. "I can't believe we are making this pledge in my shitty car on the side of a road in Utah..." He chuckled at me

"It doesn't matter. Its done...I really needed that after hearing that story." Micah kissed me again and then moved back to his side of the car, keeping one hand on my thigh.

"It's not a story, Micah. It's what the packs want from me...it's why I can't go back." We looked at one another and knew that if we indeed wanted to stop the war we had to face the packs at some point or another. After some silence Micah spoke up again.

"I can't believe your family would just sit back and let you be whored out to the clans."

"My mother was against it and so were my brothers. They were very protective of me, especially Christian. But they couldn't speak up to my father...he was pretty tough on them when we were little. My mother left after my introduction ceremony...after that my father had no reason not to be tough on me as well..." I sighed and his hand squeezed my thigh once more, this time invoking a feeling of safety.

For the rest of the drive we talked about various things. I was surprised he had taken the whole evoking energy of the sun thing so well, minus the mini oath pledging session we had. He told me about growing up among a bunch of stiff necked pessimists who couldn't see farther than their own noses. He made me laugh when he told me he used to cause chaos and mischief within the hallowed halls of his academy. I was shocked.

"You? A trouble maker? I refuse to believe that!" I laughed. We had been driving for well over 7 hours and had switched drivers about an hour ago. My legs were cramping and my girl was becoming quite restless within me. The laughter was well needed.

"Would I lie to you?" the question hung awkwardly in the air even though it was meant to be a joke. I just didn't know what to say. "Parker..."

"I know you wouldn't lie to me I just...it's still so new, ya know?"

"I know." I ran my hand through his silky hair and urged him to continue on with his story. We went on like this for most of the day. I had planned to catch up on some sleep but I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes while I was near him. Even though my girl was equally tired she would claw at me if my eyelids began to droop. She felt protective of him. For the life of me I had never had someone worried that I would be passed around like a female cow for breeding. My pack, even my childhood friends were all proud to have the breeding cow come from their pack. Of course...no one knew of my protests.

When we were about 45 minutes outside our destination Micah took in a sharp breath and turned to me.

"What's wrong?" I asked resting my hand on his shoulder

"I am all of a sudden very nervous." He laughed thinly

"Don't be, from what you have been telling me they couldn't sound more wonderful and they could only be overjoyed to see their son again." He smiled at me but there seemed to be something else bothering him "What is it Micah, tell me, please."

"I was surprised you knew where coven central was. Not many wolves take the time to learn the mage culture." He gave me a pointed look

"It something I picked up while working with the mages in the redwoods." I shrugged not thinking this would have been what was bothering him.

"You know how wolves call us earth breathers?" I nodded "Well it's nearly a myth. None of us are technically earth breathers. It's true we harness the energy within the earth and take it into our bodies but the energy we expel is released back into the soil and essentially recycled. We aren't hurting anything." He sighed and turned off to enter the main city of Santa Fe.

"I am a true Earth Breather. What I take I don't give back; it's why I don't use my magic frequently as others do. I am truly what your people fear...but it's not only that. I take such a great amount and whatever is left over after I cast just gets sucked back into my aura. So at all times I have this constant excess of energy that needs to be used up. I used to think it would drive me crazy...until you."

"Why is that?" I pushed a strand of wavy hair from his face feeling warmth throughout my body.

"Our energy is constantly flowing through each other; the excess that I have emits into your aura and is expelled back into the earth. You are the only wolf currently who can harness any amount of energy; I am the only mage who cannot give the energy I use back to the earth. You are my filter." His eyes blazed green for a single moment, intense with his excitement.

"I'm a filter?" I asked dryly.

"Essentially yes. I know that doesn't sound very grand and romantic but I have not been this calm in over 100 years. Your nearness completes me. Your ability is what I need to give back to the earth...if I kept on this way without ever finding you...all that energy spindled inside me could have eventually been a disaster."

His eyes flashed green yet again, this time more fervently. Micah's skin had a slight sheen to it and he was starting to shake. I pressed my hand against his forearm and let the gifted sun energy stretch out through his aura. I felt it, the chaotic stream of earth energy flowing like a raging river just below the surface of his skin. He gasped sharply and swerved a bit I poked and prodded with my senses. I wanted to try something to give him relief and test his theory.

"You trust me Micah?" I asked quietly

"Yes, do it please." He begged

"Keep a steady hand on the wheel." I squeezed my hand tighter on his arm and closed my eyes sending the probing energy further into his body. There was so much excess in his body it was overwhelming, I could get lost in it for days just wrapping myself in this beautiful earth scented river. But Micah was losing his nerve and his control if a small freshening spell was enough to send him over the edge what could a battle curse do? No wonder he carried so many weapons...to avoid the use of spells. A mage who wasn't allowed to do what they were born to. It was as if he was a collared werewolf like I had been all those years ago. To ease his pain I imagined the energy as the river it felt like, green and wild and beautiful. I then used my sun energy to dig a hole into the banks of the river creating a sort of irrigation system. I pulled the intense amount of excess into my body and let it trickle through my body before sending it back into the earth. He had been right.

Micah gave an intense sigh and the tension slowly leaked out of his body. I opened my eyes and he smiled at me. I smiled back.

We drove the remaining time in silence, my hand in his. Micah's parents lived in a ranch style house outside of the main city. There were four Border collie puppies running amok in the front yard when we pulled up and no neighbors around the house for miles. They stopped when they saw me and started barking...all but one took a defensive stance and growled at me...little werewolf sensors...oh yeah this was going to go really well. The one that didn't bark at me had come over and rolled onto its back exposing its belly. This one was smart...it recognized the power within me and acknowledged that I would never hurt them or the house they were guarding. I picked the little fluff-ball up and cuddled him to my chest. He licked my face and played with my braid batting at it like a cat.

Micah chuckled at the little fur-ball in my arms and came over to pet it. He put an arm around me and nuzzled the tummy of the puppy, it growled playfully in its high pitch voice. I laughed as his face came away with fur stuck to his mouth. I wiped it away with my free hand and kissed him, pressing my face against his to lean on his strength. He put another kiss on my forehead, took a deep breath and walked to his front porch...that he had not seen in over a century.

"They always loved border collies." He muttered to himself

"Oh yeah...I'm sure it's because of their love for werewolves. They couldn't wait to hop all over me and play." He rolled his eyes at me as I leaned against the car and stroked the now sleeping puppy. He twitched in his sleep and gave a little bark. My heart melted.