Golden Keeper Ch. 09

"My neck?"

It felt sore, actually. She reached one hand up, watching as Grant's eyes snapped tightly closed. She felt her neck, sliding her fingers downward until they stopped at something between her neck and shoulder.

"What's this?" she asked out loud, not really talking to him.

"I, uhm . . . I bit you."

Her gaze shifted to his face. His eyes were filled with remorse, guilt and something else… "What do you mean 'bit me'?"

"It's sort of what we do when . . ."

"'We' meaning werewolves?" she asked in a small voice.

He nodded. "When we find our mates," he finished. He didn't look at her—he couldn't bear to see how she looked at him.

"Oh," May simply stated, fingering the bite mark. That's sure to leave a scar. No one spoke for a minute, but she knew that he was still stressed.

"Baby?" she said quietly.

Nothing.

"Grant? I—"

"Please, don't. Look . . . I . . . I get it. You don't feel the same way. I understand." He flopped one strong arm over his eyes.

"N-no. That's not what I was going to say. Listen to me, please?"

He didn't move. She sighed and went to straddle his waist—ignoring the feeling of her heat against his skin. "I'm not mad, really, baby. Look at me?"

She tried to move his arm, but he refused to move it. She sighed again, frustrated.

"Alright. Fine. I get it. I don't understand what you mean about feeling the same way, but I get everything else. I don't want you to feel trapped or anything. You didn't mean to, and that's fine. I'll just cover it up and be on my way."

Her heart was breaking. She didn't want him to see that either. She moved to get off him when his arm was suddenly around her waist, holding her against him.

"That's not what I meant at all," he stated, forcing her to him, that unfathomable emotion clear in his eyes. "I figured you would be upset with me."

"Upset with you?" she repeated, her eyes still moist. She tried to blink away her previous tears inconspicuously, but he noticed.

"Are you crying?"

"No!" She buried her head in his neck and sniffled.

"Jesus, Charamaine. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be! We'll work this out. We have to. Grant I . . . I . . ." She quieted.

"What, baby?" He was worried again.

"I—I love you." Her voice was so quiet, barely a whisper against his flesh.

She felt his body freeze and she blushed. I'm so stupid! What was I thinking!?

She sat up on him again and slowly looked to his face, afraid of what she'd see there. He was smiling. Smiling? She was waiting for him to laugh at her now. Perfect.

He saw the fear flash across her features, so he spoke quickly. "Oh, baby." He brought her down to his chest and cradled her. "Baby, baby, baby . . ." He trailed off.

"I love you, too," he whispered.

Joy. "Really?" She lifted her head and she could feel the tears coming on again.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm so happy!" Her wings looked as though they exploded back into that plane, letting her soar off him and around the cabin. She floated swiftly to the door before he stopped her.

"Clothes?"

She blushed. "Oh."

May dropped to the ground and cloaked her wings to get dressed. She wasn't tired anymore. She put on a gray dress, a color that matched her eyes.

"We never finished talking about your day," he reminded her quietly as she threw a pair of jeans at him.

"Right!" She was still on a high. He was dressing too slowly. She willed his pants up, along with the zipper, buttoned them, and held out her hand.

"You're so amazing," he said, and kissed her softly. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know, but I'm just too keyed up to stay here. Sorry."

He laughed as they walked out into the warm night. "It's alright."

"What were we talking about before…"

"Before you attacked me?" He stroked her cheek, enjoying its faint pink glow.

She huffed and said nothing.

"Your father," he reminded her, chuckling.

"Oh! Yes." They strolled around the dark forest, no particular destination in mind.

"What happened with him?"

"He was in my head…sort of." She sighed; she had no idea how to explain it.

Like this? he thought to her.

She gasped in surprise. "I forgot you could do that!"

"You can too, you know," he said softly.

She looked up at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Since we're mates," he began, visibly bursting with pride at the thought, "we're granted that form of communication, in case we're ever separated."

"Hmm." That's interesting.

"So he was?" Grant asked her, getting back to their former conversation.

"Yes."

"What did he say to you?"

"He told me…" She cleared her throat. "He told me to find the stars and he'll come back. B-but I have no idea what he's talking about."

After some silence, she looked up to see the wheels turning in Grant's head. "What?" she questioned.

"I think I know where he wants you to go," he said as he tugged her in a new direction. "We're just going to need someone else's help."

They reached a new cabin and as Grant knocked on the heavy door, May knew it looked familiar. When the tall, golden man stepped into view, she realized where they were.

"Orion?"

"Hello to you, Charamaine. Grant. What brings you here at such an hour? I could have been sleeping," he joked.

"But everyone knows you rarely do. You were probably holed up reading some thick volume of yours . . . You know, socializing is good for you—" Grant teased.

Orion chuckled lightly, interrupting him. "I reiterate, though. What brings you here?"

"The cliffs," Grant replied simply, yet, to May, still elusive.

"Ah, yes, yes." Apparently, he knew what Grant was suggesting, and gestured them in. They were confronted once again by Orion's impressive library.

"So would anyone like to clue me in on what's going on?" May asked, annoyed to be out of the loop.

"Cliffs, cliffs, cliffs," Orion muttered to himself, browsing the rows of bookshelves.

Grant answered her. "I think that the place your father's talking about is the cliffs. They have a sort of…magical…presence to them. They drop off so that all of the stars are visible." He shrugged. "I felt like it was a good guess."

Thank you, she thought at him.

He smiled at her, pleasantly surprised at her choice of communication. Thank you, he responded.

Orion cleared his throat and smirked. "If you two lovebirds are quite finished."

May blushed and Grant put a comforting arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him in the process.

"I found a small section here." He pointed to a page in a newer book, and then brought out another. "Then, if you recall, your last visit . . . You remember the photograph, yes?"

They nodded and Orion opened an old book—the same one from before. "Well, if you look closely . . ."

"The cliffs?" May guessed, staring at herself on jagged rocks.

"Correct," Orion chimed.

"Okay, so how do we get there?" she asked eagerly, already walking towards the door.

"I'm not sure if now is a good time, baby," Grant said, coming up behind her.

"Yes, it takes a while to get there," Orion agreed from across the room, "so by the time you do, the stars might be gone."

May's shoulders slumped. "Alright," she conceded.

"Let's go home now?" She turned to Grant, embracing the feelings that fluttered through her at the word 'home.'

They walked back arm in arm, keeping their thoughts to themselves until Grant got suspicious.

Are you alright, darlin'?

Fine, Grant. Just fine.

Don't go without me, please. Baby, I don't want you to get hurt or worse, okay? Promise me you'll wait? he thought at her desperately, now that he could somewhat see her vague thoughts.

You have nothing to worry about . . . She sighed in his mind, pulling him up their cabin stairs. They both knew it wasn't a promise.

She knew he tried to stay up to watch her, but after the mind-blowing, utterly exhausting sex they'd just had, it was basically impossible. Hell, it was almost impossible for May to make her way down the steps with her eyes open.

She yawned silently and stretched as her wings came back and enveloped her in their darkness; she was practically invisible. She jumped into the sky, the cotton shift she was wearing rustling in the wind. She soared over the trees in the direction the Orion had said to go—with company, of course— but she wasn't going to think about that. How hard could it be?

She had been flying for at least an hour when she switched to gliding on her feet to rest her wings. She definitely hadn't expected the cliffs to be so far away! After a few moments of swiftly walking—on the verge of running gracefully—she felt a pull. It was nothing significant, but it was enough to make her follow the invisible string that seemed connected to her. She wandered around, feeling her way through the thick trees to her unknown destination. She just hoped she ended up where she wanted to be.

Abruptly, the trees came to an end and there was a small, grass field. At the edge, there was nothing. No trees, no grass, no lake, no river, just . . . nothing.

May took a step onto the grass, darkened by night, and the pull got unbelievably stronger. It basically moved her feet for her across the pasture. With each step, more of the night sky came into view. It was so . . . Beautiful, she thought. There are so many stars . . .

She'd made it to the end; the soles of her feet were planted on rough, stone bedrock. She tilted her head back and called. Papa? Papa, I'm here.