Shaping Destiny (16 page)

“I can smell that soup
from here,” I said.

“Oh yes, dinner. It should
be plenty done,” Mom commented.

“Soup!” Luke said. “Is it
your homemade kind?”

“Yes, Luke. It's your
favorite kind.”

“Leah and I had some
before we left to pick you up. But when Jared popped in, we dropped
the soup all over, and had to throw it away. Sorry, man.” Max
lifted his shoulders and walked passed him.

I walked behind Max and
gave Luke a wink.

“Max, are you kidding
around again, man? There is soup left, right?”

Max and I started
laughing. “You're just too easy, bro!” Max commented.

***

The next two days came and
went. There was no sign of Jared, or anything that made us
suspicious. The only thing new was the feeling of uncertainty in
the pit of our stomachs. Call it wolf intuition if you'd like, but
something big was going to happen. Max couldn't sit still, and he
kept saying that my family should leave now, just in case something
might happen. Of course, no one would listen. They were brave, but
knowing they could easily be hurt made me worry. All the days we
spent in Pagoda, we trained and never missed a day. I felt
physically ready for whatever may come.

Silence filled the air,
and it felt like a countdown in my chest. They were coming. 10 . .
. 9 . . . 8. Max stood and looked at my father.

“They are here. I wouldn't
mistake their smell for anything. They're here and close. This is
your last chance to leave.”

“I'm here until the end,”
Dad replied.

Everyone in the room stood
up one by one, indicating they weren't going anywhere. 7 . . . 6 .
. . 5. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and with my ears so
alert I could hear everyone else’s beat as well. 4 . . . 3 . . . A
sudden pounding on the door startled us.

“It's me, Jared! Please
let me in! Please, please! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you,
but please let me in. We don't have much time!” The pounding
proceeded. “They're coming. You must run! Leah, I'm sorry. I know I
made wrong choices, but along the way I fell in love with you. I
know you can't forgive me now, but I need to at least try to do
something.” Max looked at me, and I gave a nod to let Jared in. If
worse came to worst, at least we would have a hostage, right? As
quick as Max's arm would go, he ripped open the door, grabbed
Jared's collar, and threw him in the house. In that same moment the
door slammed shut and was locked up again.

Leon grabbed Jared and
pushed him in a chair. Luke wasn't far behind with duct tape. They
wrapped him several times. Each foot and arm tied to the chair.
Jared kept saying they didn't need to go to such extremes, but it
wasn't long until duct tape was over his mouth. The tape didn't
seem to stop him, he continued mumbling, driving me crazy! He was a
deceiving, ungrateful jerk, but I went to him anyway.

I ripped off the tape.
“What is going on? Why are you doing this to me? Do you not care
that I might die? How could you live a lie for so many years?”
Finally I couldn’t hold it in. My anger sent tears to my eyes. He
didn't deserve to see me weak right now, but I couldn't hold it
back.

“Leah, stop for minute. We
don't have time.” An explosion from outside vibrated the
home.

“They’re breaking
through!” Dad said.

“Leah, you’re right it was
just a lie, and at first I didn't care about you or what happened.
I was just helping my family. After hearing these stories since
birth you begin to live them. I had to date an evil wolf-girl so I
could give them information.”

I slapped Jared across the
face, but Max pulled me away before I could throw any more punches.
Jared's head slumped.

“They are right outside,”
Jared said in a whisper, and then for once all was quiet. 2 . . .
1. In that instant I turned toward Jared as rocks flew through
windows. My family dodged rocks and flipped couches and chairs over
for cover. In slow motion, I stood there not moving, looking
straight into Jared's eyes. Glass swirled around me, as if I could
see every piece and reach out and grab one.

It was time to fight and
end this. I leaped forward and in an instant had four legs and
beautiful, flowing fur. Now, even in this form, I stared at Jared
to see the fear in his eyes. I stepped toward him with my lips
pulled back and roared. Max then came behind me and laid his hand
on my back.

“Let’s go,” he said, and
then exploded in wolf form next to me. I couldn't help but look
back at Jared to see what he thought of us now. His pants were
soaked from terror.

He’s not worth
it
, I thought and turned with Max to take
our place on the front porch of my home.

We walked out into the
dark night, side by side. Our appearance made the enemy freeze.
There wasn't a move made for minutes. I looked from left to right
to try to find some cover to change. Max stayed hard and still and
never took his eye off the men in front. A blanket laid over the
porch swing, so I took a couple steps and grabbed the blanket with
my mouth. With a swing of my neck it lay on my back. As I became
human again, my hands clenched onto the blanket from either side
and wrapped it around me.

The look of amazement
resided all over their faces, but the boss looked disgusted. I
still felt strong and in control even in this form. Max always had
a way to strengthen my confidence just by being with me. Our bond
was what was going to get us through this.

“Is this your plan? To
come in here and smash the windows out? You have been brought up
with lies. What you know about my family is wrong. You’ve been
taught that I'm evil and a killer, but I'm not and neither were my
ancestors. Do you really want to come here and hurt us without
knowing the truth?”

“Even if what you say is
true, it doesn't change the fact that I see two abominations in
front of me. What about the land in Almont? If what you say is true
then why is there not even one Sparks name in that town anymore and
yet your Hawk name still lingers?” the boss yelled.

“Just like today, your
family attacked my ancestors in fear of what one woman was. A shape
shifter. It resulted in a bloodbath and scattered the remaining
Sparks family. Your family started the war then, just as you have
today.”

“Maybe or maybe not, but
what is different this time is that we have no fear, and the only
blood that is going to be spilled is yours.”

“Is there nothing I can
say to convince you this is wrong? What you’re doing is
crazy!”

“You’re what you are and
that's enough for us.” They started forward.

“Wait, you should know one
more thing.” I held my hand up. “Remember Jared? The one that
faithfully reported back to you with information? Well just
consider him dead if you continue this war.” Laughter filled the
crowd in front of me.

“You think he matters?
He’s weak, and too close to you. I already consider him dead. We
are talking about the greater good anyway, right?”

I looked behind me through
the open door where my family stood with guns as weapons. I then
looked over to Max, who looked back at me. We couldn't talk to each
other, but I knew we were thinking the same thing. We wouldn’t make
the first move but we were ready if they did.

“You have one last chance
to leave. If you’re having any second thoughts, now would be the
time to act on them. Please leave my land in peace and we’ll all
forget this ever had to happen.” I transformed again in seconds
ready and waiting for them to make a choice.

The boss started forward
and his minions followed with knives, guns, and silver crosses
around their necks. They really believed they were about to kill an
evil, mythical werewolf. Guns started to fire. The sound of fingers
pressing against the metal triggers and the sound of its ticking
closer and closer helped me get out of the way in time. As soon as
guns started exploding, Max and I took off on opposite sides of the
porch, and my mother shut the door to the house. Max and I were
split up, but having a wolf on either side of the Sparks confused
them. Some went for Max and some went for me.

Most of the men didn’t
believe the fairy tale stories until today. The uncertainty
radiated off every angry face. Now they just acted out of fear and
loyalty to the boss. I only blamed one person here for the
bloodshed. The boss weaved in between the crowds, getting closer
and closer to Max.

While keeping an eye on
the boss, I tore weapons out of hands and threw people out of the
way. Some men stood on the outskirts, debating if this fight really
was for them. I leaped over a man, hunched down, and jumped high
again. Dodging bullets as long as they were spaced out was easy,
but when I felt a sharp pain in my thigh, I knew there had been one
too many.

The boss closed in on Max,
and anger started to consume me. Pushing back the pain, I grabbed
the nearest person and ripped off his arm. Then I tore into the
next person’s leg. With blood dripping from my snarled mouth, a
menacing roar filled the sky like thunder. It was all I needed to
get the men to back off. In a full run, I darted in front of Max as
the boss pulled his trigger. The bullet meant for Max slammed into
my side. It was so hard to breathe, but before blackness took me,
blood spattered as the boss’s head was torn off by a black
wolf.

“Get out of my way!” Dad
said while clutching my bare human body. “Leon, start the
truck!”

“Sir, let me see her,” Max
said.

“There is no time for
this. She needs a hospital.” Dad walked around Max, continuing to
the truck. Luke stayed with my mom on the front porch, trying to
give comfort. Jared, still tied to the chair, yelled my
name.

“Shut up, traitor,” Mom
said through sobs.

“Sir, please give me Leah.
There is no time. She will be dead by the time we get to the
hospital.”

“There is nothing you can
do, and the more we debate about my daughter’s life . . .” Dad
didn’t waste time to finish his sentence. He put me in the
truck.

“You trusted me once with
your daughter’s life! I’m begging you now . . . trust me. I can
heal her. If you don’t let me try, I will take her by
force.”

It sounded crazy, but Dad
did trust Max with my life.

“Honey, give her to Max,”
Mom pleaded. “Let’s not waste any more time.”

That was enough of an
answer for Max.
He
went to the truck and took me. He rushed into the house and
laid me down on my bed. He used my sheets to cover my body and to
apply pressure to my wound.

“Come on, Leah! I need
you. I love you.” Max felt anxious but knew I could heal. He kept
his faith that our connection would bring me back, until his
hearing told him my heart was slowing. He removed the sheets from
the hole in my side and placed his bare hand on my wound. He raised
the sheet up to lay next me, knowing it was us together that gave
us strength. His hand never left my side. Not knowing if this was
our last moment together, Max gently rested his lips over mine in a
kiss.

My mind was on fire. Max’s
soul was calling to mine. At that moment I realized one couldn’t be
whole without the other. Life would be meaningless without the life
force of a true soul mate. We were one and that’s how it was meant
to be.

His soul touched mine
until the darkness disappeared. My lips moved slowly to the gentle
pressure of my lips, and my fingers traced the line of strength and
warmth of Max’s stomach. His lips became more demanding and the
more desire that filled my core the stronger I got. I craved more
of him as if my life depended on it. The trail of his fingers felt
like flames but left behind goosebumps. His hand moved from my
side, where I expected pain, but there was none. He trailed up the
side of me, following the shape of my body, until he found the
crest of my neck.

His smile pulled our kiss
apart. “You’re OK,” he whispered.

“
Yes” was all I could say
before he softly kissed his way down, starting at my neck. True
love consumed us down to our souls as we let our passion devour us
every way we could.

***

“Knock, knock.”

I opened my eyes to see
the morning sun through my bedroom window.

“Knock, knock.”

“Oh man.” I groggily
moaned myself awake. I grabbed the sheet to wrap around me and
headed to the door. My head peeked out. Both my mom and dad stood
there speechless as if they’d seen a ghost. I made my way out the
rest of the way.

“It’s OK. I’m better
now.”

“How?” Dad
muttered.

I put a hand on my dad’s
arm. “Thank you for trusting Max and believing in us. We are
stronger together. We noticed a while ago that a simple touch from
each other sped up our healing . . . a lot. Destiny has a funny way
of working its magic.”

“Wow,” Mom whispered. “I
thought I’d lost you.” She pulled me into a hug, but pulled away
quickly. “Sorry, does that hurt? I didn’t mean to . . .”