Dawn Redeemed

"Ride! Ride!" Evan giggled wildly. Uncle Carter took off leaving the hallways zipping past so fast Evan thought he might pass out. The murals painted on the walls whizzed by. Carter rounded corners at break neck speed, dipped and dodged, and barreled forward, practically flying he went so fast. Evan hung on tightly, but he wasn't afraid of falling off, not with Uncle Carter's fingers wrapped around his knobby knees. Uncle Carter poured on more speed, his feet quiet as they fell in a blinding rhythm against the tiled floor. Evan whooped and hollered from sheer joy of going so fast, making plenty of noise so that anyone didn't trampled.

"Where's Evan?" Ruby asked as she stepped out of Shayla's room. She felt conflicted and even a little angered after speaking to her sister. Shayla was so blind to Carter. She couldn't see him for what he was. Ruby had lied and kept the truth of her thoughts to herself. She had no idea how to break Carter and Shayla apart and it really didn't matter. Her mind was set on protecting the baby as soon as she figured out exactly how to do it.

Hanning jerked his thumb down the hall. "Carter stopped by." He tensed for the fight he knew was going to come. The scowl on Ruby's face was all the hint he needed to know the argument was coming. He was tired of fighting with his wife about Carter and about their Evan. He could never hate the mother of his child. At one time, he even believed he loved her. He didn't. That small fragmented piece of time had come and gone. He did what he had to do out of duty. And it was no consolation to him that Ruby felt exactly the same way. She tolerated him, sometimes she even tolerated Evan, simply because she had to.

"You let him give Evan a piggyback ride didn't you?"

"Yeah. Ruby, we can't ignore the vampires. They are here. They always have been. Whether we like it or not, Evan and Carter have a bond. I don't pretend to understand it. But, I trust Carter with our son."

"I wish I had Shayla and your enthusiasm for Carter. I don't trust him." She would never take it as far as to say she didn't trust the brothers or the Great White Wolf, the half breed vampire-wolf who for all practical definitions was their Pack Master Supreme and father of the Sons. She tried to remind herself that his brother had been halfblooded wolf-vampire as well. But, the Prophet had lacked Drew's decidedly more vampiric qualities.

The Great Father didn't try to hide what he was and he made no excuses for it. He rarely ate with the pack. When they hunted, he seldom did so in wolf form. He preferred his human shape to that of a wolf, but he was the alpha, perhaps in ways, a better alpha than his brother had been. For the most part he steered clear of pack politicks and left the day to day governing of the pack to Master Nash and Mistress Eloise. But, when he did choose to intervene his word was final and it was law.

Ruby had plenty of other things to say about Carter, none of them good. She clamped her mouth shut as she saw Carter round the corner with Evan on his shoulders. Vampires heard everything. Carter didn't need to overhear her to know exactly how she felt about him.

"That was great Uncle Carter! Do it again!" Evan's tiny body shivered with delight as Carter slowed to a stop. His mom was mad that he'd gone for a ride with Uncle Carter. Luckily his dad was around to keep the peace.

Ruby scowled up at her son. "Get down from there and quit bothering Carter. He's got better things to do than to give piggyback rides."

"Do you Uncle Carter?" Evan asked innocently.

Carter shrugged. "I suppose I do." He slid Evan off his shoulders and sat him down with gentle care. He lifted his stare and met Ruby's shrewd eyes as he righted Evan's t-shirt and ruffled his hair. Carter saw her dislike for him reflected in their brown depths. Ruby made no attempt to hide what she thought of him. What was her problem? Did she really hate him that much? Her prejudice stung. But, he tried not to let it show around Evan.

Perhaps, her feelings went beyond prejudice and she saw him for the thing that he truly was on the inside. He didn't deserve any respect or consideration. Not from her or anyone else. "I'll see you later, big guy. I'm going to visit your aunt." He had to play it careful around Ruby otherwise she'd restrict his visits with her son. Carter owed Evan a great deal. He'd been in a bad place not so long ago and Evan had been the only one capable of pulling him back from the brink.

Chapter 10

Shayla felt the prickle of Carter's presence from the other side of the door. A smile crept across her face as he entered the room. "Hi." Carter looked bad, drawn and tired, as if he hadn't fed. He promised her he would. She felt the stabs of hunger as if it were her own. She kept her mouth shut, for now. Carter had one thing, his pride, and she didn't want to damage it by offering her wrist. She trusted that if he needed a donation that he'd tell her. Offering would embarrass him.

"Thomas says I can go home tomorrow." Her eyes trailed up the line of his body. He looked casual sitting in the rocker. Relaxed as if he hadn't a care in the world. Her wolf hearing wasn't as acute in her human form. But, she'd overheard enough to pick up on the disdain in her sister's voice. Carter was a good man in that he hadn't needled Ruby further. His shoulders were broad and his ego not so fragile that it couldn't handle a narrow minded woman like her sister.

"That's good. So you are well?" Shayla's skin had a healthy, ruddy flush. She was dressed in a pink nightgown with a dainty floral pattern and lace on the collar. Her hair was gathered back into its usual style of a loose ponytail that stopped at her shoulders. Even though she wasn't back to one hundred percent. She didn't look bad, considering less than twenty-four hours ago she'd almost died in his arms. He felt a surge of pride in that. He'd given her the very thing she'd needed so desperately. His blood had brought her back from the brink.

"Very, thanks to you," Shayla blushed. The comment sounded a little too much like hero worship. And in a way, it was. She was grateful to him. Without him, she would have likely died and her son would have been an orphan.

She climbed from the bed. Gently placing R.J. in his plastic crib. The rustle of her gown across the floor broke the awkward silence between them. Energy swirled from her to him and back again. "Carter, what's happening to us?"

Carter closed his eyes against the energy, arcing in a continuous circle between them in an unbreakable thread. Her energy combined with his energy, giving and receiving power as it built. He reached out and ran his hand down the small of her back. Slowly, he guided her closer to his body and drew her into an embrace. Emotions flowed with the energy like gathering storm clouds threatening to burst. "I don't know." Gently, he took her hand and rested his forehead on her knuckles.

"Is this because of the blood bond between us? The way I feel you? I can sense what you're thinking. I know when you're near." Shayla reached out a trembling hand and smoothed it down his sleek blond curls. "Is this love? Lust? Simply blood bond? What is it Carter? Some of things I want so badly? Is it really me wanting them or is it you?"

He tilted his chin up, pinning Shayla in his gaze. Like a frightened rabbit sighted by a dangerous predator, her eye widened for a brief moment. The stubble on his cheek rustled against her palm, soaking in the warmth of her hand against his skin. "I could ask the same questions."

"Carter, what do we do? I...I probably should be afraid of you, but I'm not. I've seen you at your absolute worst and it doesn't frighten me at all." Shayla dropped to her knees kneeling on the floor with him. Gently, she brought his face closer to his. "I never expected to feel like this again. I thought when Ramon died, I'd never feel again. I didn't want to. I'm not afraid of you, only of how you make me feel."

Her heart pounded as the heat of his gaze burned through her. His mind was a tornado of thoughts and feelings. She rode the whirling storm, calling it into herself, becoming one with it. "Carter, please tell me what to do?"

"I can't, plainly because I don't know myself. Shayla, I've been in existence for a very long time, but till now, I've never lived. The thing that I am. Sometimes, it frightens me too. I sense your trust in me. I feel your lust and it feeds mine. Your love shines down on me like the sun's purest rays and it burns. You speak of fear. I know no fear, only the terror of losing you. I should run, while I still can. While the both of us are still whole. But, every moment I spend with you makes it harder to leave."

"Maybe you're tired of running?"

Carter lowered his face to hers till only the faintest whisper of breath separated them. The lightest of brushes fluttered across his lips. Her mouth was hot and tempting. Whispering promises with words unsaid. "I so desire to be the man you want me to be, but I don't know how. I have been this thing that I am so for very long. How can you love me?"

"I've never asked you to be anything other than what you are," Shayla's voice was soft and tremulous, almost ethereal in its quality and timbre. His breath washed over her face in a hot wind. He saw himself as a creature of darkness where no light could ever penetrate. She would never convince him of who she saw hidden in those dark corners. She didn't know exactly how long he'd denied himself true love, even true companionship, but it had been too long. The very qualities that had kept him alive for so long threatened to be the thing that did him in.

"Even now, I can hear your heart fluttering like the wings of a caged bird. I hear the blood rushing through your veins. My control, Shayla, is a very weak and fragile thing around you. I can't hurt you."

"You're afraid that you will?"

"I know I will."

"You don't know anything." Shayla raised up onto her haunches, balancing her weight against his thighs. "I spent my life living in fear trapped behind a fence. I'll not live in fear again. Ramon's death taught me how precious and fleeting life is. I won't give in to doubt. You see me as a soft, helpless female. I am anything but. You Carter, sometimes it is you that forgets what I am." Shayla slid the long gown up to the level of her thighs and climbed into Carter's lap. Straddling his hips between her legs. "You're not the only dangerous thing in this room."

Carter eased his palms along the bare flesh of Shayla's thighs. Her skin was a delightful mix of heat and silk against his fingers. The air around him zinged with the raw energy she possessed. She was right, he did see her as defenseless. She was no more defenseless than he. He'd seen the wolves in a fight and they were powerful, graceful, and lethal.

Her fingers wound through his hair, jerking his head down with a painful yank. Shayla's kiss was rough and demanding, working his mouth with her lips and tongue., demanding more from him. Carter's fingers tightened on her flesh. He tried to restrain the beast hungering for her blood. A tiny moan of pleasure echoed in his head. He didn't know if she made the sound or if she did. He gripped the cotton gown tightly in his fists to keep them occupied, from groping her soft flesh.

Carter tried so hard to be the perfect gentleman. His hands were fisted in her gown. His taste was male, exotic and wild, in her mouth. His lips molded to hers, matching the tempo of her needful kiss. She was so tired of him being gentle with her. So tired of his fear of his own beast that she'd unleashed hers to show him that she wasn't nearly as breakable as he thought. His body responded to her advances. She ran her tongue over the sharp tip of his extended fang.

Offering her blood to sweeten the kiss. A needful growl escaped her throat as he suckled the crimson drop off the tip of her tongue. She didn't know how else to clear up the confusion between them. She was not a doll. She would not break. And he was not the devil he perceived himself to be. The kiss communicated more than she ever could have with mere words alone.

The drop of blood rolled over Carter's tongue. Hunger hit him hard. Her body wrapped around his like it was made for him. He nuzzled her neck eagerly. The beast inside of him eager for more than just a sampling of her. Carter lifted his head, struggling to breathe. Shayla's fingers pulled his hair, holding him in place.

"So," Shayla panted, "we understand each other?"

"We do." Carter shuddered. His fangs withdrew to their hiding place. The taste of her was copper and sweet on the tip of his tongue. He held Shayla on his lap. She wasn't afraid of him, never had been. She had seen the worst that he had to offer, yet, she trusted him with her life and the life of her son. Her bravery humbled him. He was more afraid of himself than she was of him. He rested his head in the soft arcing curve of her neck. Feeling the beating of her pulse bounding against his mouth. They sat like that for a long time. Lost in their own thoughts and wandering aimlessly through one another's.

Chapter 11

Torr sat on his couch, staring at nothing in particular. His place was a humble if not barren abode. Once, the tiny above garage apartment had belonged to Jan, and then Kacie had taken it over, and now it had filtered down to him. He hadn't expected to be in this tiny little burg long enough to need too much, so he hadn't bought a thing. He only had what he'd inherited from Kacie and Jan. The apartment came furnished. The couch was a yard sale reject that should have been put out of its misery long ago. Bits of yellow foam poked out of the torn and tattered shabby brown weave of the fabric. One end sagged and was lumpy. The kitchen table was a sad reject from a thrift store. Scratched and dented from years of abuse and neglect. The place couldn't even be loosely termed as a bachelor pad. It didn't even have that much class.

He couldn't invite Erica over here. And this place was not nearly suitable for a little girl, assuming he got visitation rights at some point. The place was clean and functional with no frills. Just a place to hang your hat on your way to someplace better. He didn't fault Ginger. She couldn't have turned much if any profit on the place. Torr thought she rented it out so cheaply and forwent any proceeds just to have somebody around to talk to and entertain herself by spying on.

The apartment provided the basic necessities, a bed and a toilet, but it definitely was not a home. If he was going to project the interested male, the family man, he needed better digs to call home. Erica would never allow him to keep Fallon if she saw the shabby way he lived. She'd never see him as a capable provider either. Yes, this was a modern age and women provided for themselves and sometimes for their men. But, he was more old-fashioned than that.

The truth was, he was very well off. He'd just never considered showing it, since he no longer had to. He wanted Erica to see him for him, not for his money. And he wanted Fallon to love him as a father not as a financial source for every little whim she had. He had no longing for a palatial home such as the one he'd been raised in. His tastes ran simpler than that. But, he could not stay here. Fallon needed roots. Erica needed the stability of knowing he wasn't going anywhere. And actually, he had no plans of pulling up stakes as long as his daughter was here anyway.

Erica was trying to find a job and make a home for herself and her daughter. Torr had ways to ease her struggle. But, given that she still considered them strangers, and they were, he couldn't assert himself any further into her life until she was ready to come to him. Soon. Tomorrow, he was going to call the local real estate agent and try to find something that he could turn into a home, not just for himself but in the hopes that he'd have a beautiful wife and a redheaded absolutely adorable little girl , and maybe a few more additions to the family to fill it.

Erica twisted and turned beneath the covers. She'd checked on Fallon at least a thousand times. Fallon was fast asleep in her bed, safe and sound. Her aunt and uncle were tucked in for the night too. She could hear the nasaly twang of her Uncle's snoring echoing down the hall. Everyone was in dreamland, snug as bugs in a rug, except for her. She hated nights like this. Insomnia was a sign of a troubled mind. Her mind wasn't troubled, was it? Hell yeah, it was.

The fact that she had no job, STILL, plagued her. The meeting with Torr and the way he affected her, STIL, after ten years, tugged at the edges of her sleepless mind. And that she wasn't in her own home in her own bed, and at the rate things were going never would be, worried her. Surely, her aunt and uncle would get tired of her freeloading eventually. Then where would she be?

Fallon had been very closed mouthed at supper. Not solely because she was being punished, but there was something else bothering her daughter. When she'd tried to strike up a conversation about how school went, Fallon turned her attention to her broccoli and clamed up tight. Erica had a suspicion that school had not gone as well as she'd hoped it would for her daughter. If Fallon had met any new friends, she would have been filled with giggles and excited talk instead of moping over her meatloaf.

Erica had Nash's number and had meant to give him a call. She just hadn't gotten around to it yet. At the wedding, Fallon and the little girl, Marianne, his granddaughter, seemed to hit it off well. For all Fallon's friendliness and agreeable nature, she didn't make close friends all that easily.

Fallon wrote letters her friends in D.C. but it wasn't the same as having a friend close to home. Her aunt and uncle didn't have the internet and that was a huge barrier for her daughter. Erica hoped Fallon would get a letter in return. But, in the era of electronic communication, she had her doubts. Things moved too quickly in a kid's world and Fallon and her friends would lose contact with one another eventually. Erica didn't want her little girl miserable. Fallon needed some friends, desperately.

Erica groaned and fluffed her pillow. Mentally adding the phone call to tomorrow's to do list along with telling Fallon about her father. Calling Nash and setting up a play date with Marianne would be easier than fielding her questions about Torr. She wasn't sure exactly how she was going to approach that subject. Maybe, Alex was right and she should just tell Fallon outright. No beating around the bush, after meeting him and spending some time with him, Fallon would make up her mind for herself. Some questions would have to be left unanswered. She didn't have the words to explain them to a ten year-old girl. In time Fallon would figure out the answers for herself.

What to do about Torr? He stirred feelings in her that she hadn't felt in a long time. There had been a few dates and fewer houseguests after him, but none of them kindled the spark of interest in her that he had. Was she so ready to jump back in the saddle with an old flame. She rolled over in the bed and buried her face in the pillow. Just exactly how long had it been since she'd even gotten on the horse? Too long. Far, far too long. How much more complicated could her life get? Fallon, job, place to live, Torr, toss her vampire cousin into the mix and she had more than a plate full.

Sleep tugged at the edges of Erica's brain. She felt its pull and sighed gratefully as she drifted along. Finally. In the morning, things wouldn't seem so bad. Tomorrow was just another day waiting to be conquered. She was going to find a job. She was going to get Fallon and she a place of their own. She was going to tell Fallon about her father. And she was going to call Nash. Not all of that would be accomplished in one day. Some things took a little more planning than placing a phone call.