Charity Rising (Charity Series Book 2) (4 page)

could talk to me, but I wasn’t gonna al ow him to get away with that. A few times I hid in the girl’s bathroom until right before the bel rang, and then made my way quickly to class, just barely making it. This seemed to work. I even skipped eating lunch in the cafeteria. I paid Toby to smuggle some food into the girl’s locker room. I knew I was being childish, but I needed to keep my anger, and I knew Levi was going to try to take it from me. He was good at that. He knew what my weaknesses were. I needed him to suffer some. I couldn’t let him get away with what he did, and if that meant

holding onto my anger for a period of time, so be it.

I strol ed down the hal toward my last class of the day, Art, and also the class where Levi sits directly across the table from me. I was wel

aware of the fact that I was pushing my strength too far. I pul ed out my phone and cal ed Mom. I knew she was at home, packing. “Hey, Mom. I was

hoping you could cal and get me out of my last class, you know, so I can get started packing. I have so much to do before I can go.”

“Oh, of course, honey. I’l cal right away.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

I sighed in relief as I entered the classroom and made my way to my seat. Levi was already seated. I sat down without meeting his gaze, but

I could feel it burning laser holes into my skin.

“Okay class,” Mrs. Cope began, only to be interrupted by the intercom.

“Mrs. Cope,” the principal spoke through the speaker, “I need to see Charity Bel in my office right away please.”

“Yes, of course. Charity, you’re free to go.”

Anticipating my exit, Levi reached across the table and took my hand, but I snatched it away and stood.

“Charity, please,” he whispered as I turned and left the room without so much as a backward glance.

When I reached the parking lot I was relieved that I’d made it through the day and managed to teach Levi a lesson, but I was also miserable

for having done so. I guess I thought it would feel better, but it didn’t. In fact I was surprised at how much it actual y hurt.
But it’s not supposed to hurt,
dang it! After all, he’s the one that screwed up, not me!
But no matter how I tried to sel it, it stil hurt.
Love stinks
!

I spent the rest of the day and night washing and drying clothes and packing. My phone rang a few times but I didn’t answer it. When it turned

dark, I hear a howl in the forest behind my house. I knew it was Levi, so I went to my window, slammed it shut, locked it, and closed the blinds. He was suffering, I knew that, but he deserved it. At least that’s what I kept tel ing myself. I
was
going to manage to leave without saying goodbye, whether he liked it or not. Then I would be free to deal with my anger in peace.

The next morning I
did
managed to leave without saying goodbye, but as soon as our car pul ed out and past our house, I spotted him

stepping out of the forest and into my yard. He appeared to be wearing the same clothes he’d worn to school.
Surely he didn’t spend the whole

night in the forest
. I turned around and peered through the back window and watched him watching me. With one hand to his heart, he reached out to me, begging me to come to him. I suddenly found myself fighting the urge to stop the car and run into his arms. My heart broke at the very sight of him. I’d seen him look crushed before, but this was different. I was choosing this. But I had to resist him—to punish him—didn’t I? Final y his head slumped forward in defeat, his hands shoved deep in his front pockets. I closed my eyes, trying to wipe away the image, but it was no use. My

anger, that I’d tried to hold on to with al my strength, was gone in an instant. I decided to continue on my present course. It might hurt momentarily, but he had to learn that although he was my husband, I had my own mind. I would not be control ed—not now—not ever. I could be strong a little

longer. I had to.

It was our first real fight as husband and wife, and I hated being at odds with him. It felt so foreign and wrong, as if everything inside me was

fighting against itself. I looked over on the seat and spotted, sitting in the top of my purse, the ipod Levi had bought for me as a wedding present. I smiled. He knew I didn’t know anything about technology and had gone to extra measures to make sure I had one to enjoy. He knew al my favorite

artists and had spent hours of his time downloading music for me. I shook my head of the memory, putting in my earbuds and letting some
Skillet
and We the Kings
wash away my thoughts—and the pain.

* Levi’s POV *

I watched in agony as the car drove away from me, taking my whole life, my whole heart, with it. Knowing she was angry with me was

unbearable. I made a terrible decision. Locking her away like that was wrong on so many levels, and yet, at the time, I felt it was the only way to keep her safe. Raven couldn’t be trusted, and I couldn’t lose her again. I wouldn’t. I had to believe she would forgive me. In the meantime I’d wait. I would be ready when, and if, she final y forgave me so I could go to her. For as long as it took—I’d wait. The hardest part was knowing I wouldn’t be there to protect her. And trouble always seemed to find her—no matter where she went. That thought alone ate at me—tormenting me from the

inside out. Instantly, I had my phone in hand.

“Hector, it’s me. I need you to meet me here at Charity’s. I have a very important job for you to do.”

As I snapped the phone closed, the hairs on my neck stood on end as I got the heart-wrenching feeling that Charity and I’s problems were

just beginning.

* Charity’s POV *

On the way up, Mom was curious as to why Levi and I were quarrel ing, but she didn’t press the matter. She was good that way. Honestly, it

wasn’t something I could share with her, as were a lot of other things in my life. Like the fact that Levi and I had gotten married. That pressure was on for us to have a child, a male child, to be exact. He was the alpha male of a werewolf pack, which made me their new alpha female. I had a huge

7 foot tal , bald man who fol owed me around al the time in order to protect me, whether he thought I knew or not, but only took orders from Levi, which sucked. And, on top of al that, their sworn enemies, the vampires, were trying to start a war, of which I was on the top of their list to kil first.

But one of them kidnapped me and tried to force me to become one of his brides, but then decided he actual y liked me and brought me back to

Levi, thus saving my life and sealing our friendship.

If I told her even one of these facts she would take me away to a mental hospital where they would lock me up and throw away the key, or at

least hide it real y wel .

It was a nice, quiet drive, and when the cabin final y came into view, I was impressed, while Mom was ecstatic, and Frank was just relieved.

He’d spent the entire ride scanning his surroundings as if he expected someone to jump out in front of the car or something. And if Levi had felt he was real y stil a threat he probably would have. It was a quaint little cottage with a huge front porch and a swing, surrounded by forest as far as the eye could see. I knew then that this would be a trip I would never forget—and I was right.

I spent the first two days of my vacation swinging on the front porch swing, reading, and journaling. This helped keep my mind off missing

Levi, but only a little. In fact, it took al of my strength not to cal him, but I wanted to drive my message home. I wanted him to think twice before he ever locked me away again. He’d been leaving me messages on my voice mail, at last count—twenty. He was so sweet, begging my forgiveness,

pleading me to cal him just so he could hear my voice, to ensure my safety. I thought it was hard for
me
to be away from
him,
but it seemed he was actual y hurting the most. He couldn’t stand it, knowing I was angry with him. In his last message his voice actual y broke, and with that I knew I’d taken things too far and my resolve was broken. Truth is, I missed his beautiful smile, those adorable dimples, his tussled, brown hair, and his

strong arms wrapped around me. I had the phone in hand when my mother cal ed to me from the yard. I slipped the phone into my front jeans pocket

and headed outside to see what was up.

There before me, spread on a yel ow tablecloth on the picnic table, was the most beautiful dinner consisting of gril ed chicken, homemade

potato salad, green beans, slaw, dinner rol s, a coconut cake, and a pitcher of southern sweet tea, which simply means a little tea added to a lot of sugar.

“Do you like it, Annabel e? Isn’t it lovely? This wil be the best meal we’ve had yet.”

“Wow, Mom! It’s wonderful!” My mouth watered with anticipation.
Gotta love the south.

“Wel , don’t just stand there, come join us.”

“Yes, of course,” I said, darting to my seat.

As I was piling the mouth-watering food on my plate, focusing hard at the task at hand, I glanced up just in time to see Frank capture my

mom’s hand and kiss it gently. At that very moment my heart melted. The realization that my mom was incandescently happy was evident, and that

thought alone made me smile. I don’t know if keeping the secret of Frank’s advances was right or not, but just for that moment I was glad I had.

Now, Frank and I have had our differences, for one, he’d tried for years to have a sexual relationship with me, and he’d never been the father

that I needed, but in that instant I knew I had forgiven him completely. And our vacation had been a good one, with him even treating me like a

daughter at times. Who would’ve thought that al he needed was a werewolf to threaten to rip his head off to start being a good stepfather. But if I could forgive Frank for al the years of misery, then surely I could forgive my husband who had only ever shown me love, passion, and support. With that thought, I made up my mind to cal him as soon as our meal was finished.

I had just taken my last bite, and was laughing at Frank and Mom as they teased each other, when I heard a strange noise coming from the

surrounding forest. I peered out into the edge, squinting, when my eyes focused in on four pair of glowing eyes. My own eyes widened in horror. At

the exact moment of recognition, four werewolves in massive size leaped out and charged at supernatural speed. I screamed and scrambled for

my phone, but it was too late. I was knocked backwards with such force that I could no longer breathe. I heard gargling sounds coming from Frank

and my mother and tried to get up and go to them. It was then that I was knocked back down and felt excruciating pain as one werewolf’s teeth sank

into my left shoulder, ripping and gnawing it. I felt the exact moment it dislocated and screamed out in agony. I couldn’t even catch a breath as his whole body weight was pressing heavily upon me. I heard my mother’s weak whimper and the anger spread throughout me—building.
I could not

die like this—my mother could not die like this!
My mind scrambled for thoughts. In desperation I began to growl, as loud and menacing as I could create considering I felt on the verge of losing consciousness. I shook my head from side to side like I’d witnessed the werewolves doing when

shifting. Suddenly, the werewolf knawing on me stopped. I stifled a scream, biting down hard on my lip, as he jerked me up and stared into my eyes.

His eyes were wild and confused as he studied me as if he didn’t know what I was, becoming even more enraged as my scent final y hit him. Then

he jerked up, obviously hearing something that I didn’t. He dropped me with a force that drove the last of my breath from me. Then, as quickly as

they came, their massive forms blurred as they retreated back into the dark forest. An angry roar came from behind me, and a fifth werewolf, which I instantly recognized as Hector, sped past me in hot pursuit. I was relieved to know they would soon be dead. Hector would make them al pay for

hurting me.

I tried desperately to hang on to my consciousness, and I couldn’t seem to make any of my body parts move. I fought nausea as I peered

down at al the blood soaking my clothing. I’m not even exactly sure how I did it, but somehow I managed to reach my cel phone. My eyes were

blurred as my bloody fingers found the number one on my phone and hit it.

“Charity!” Levi’s relieved voice answered, but quickly turned anxious. “Charity, is that you? Charity! Is everything okay?!”

My breath was gone, and I had to concentrate extra hard to form the words. “LE-VI—AT—TACK—HELP—ME.”

“Charity!! Baby, if you can hear me, hang on!! Do you hear me?!! Hang on!! I’m coming for you!!”

The darkness final y found me, and I slipped away into unconsciousness.

I woke to the odd sounds of beeping. I opened my eyes slowly, rol ing them this way and that, trying to clear away the fuzziness. As my eyes

final y adjusted, I realized I was in an unfamiliar room, a hospital room. A tube was sticking out of my right hand and my left arm was wrapped tightly against my body making movement uncomfortable, though I sensed the pain was dul ed somewhat. As I took in a deep breath, I noticed movement

elsewhere. To my left a head popped up and relieved eyes met mine—Levi. He had a strand of my hair wrapped around his fingers, stroking it with

his thumb, while the other hand quickly wiped at his moist eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see his handsome face as in that very

moment.

Our eyes met again.

Then he smiled, a tired but relieved smile. “Charity, oh thank God you’re awake. I’ve been going crazy.”

I spoke, ignoring my dry and scratchy throat. “Levi. You’re here, but how?”

He touched his finger to my lips. “Shhh, don’t talk now—just rest.”

“But how did you find me?”

“That’s not important right now. You need your rest.”

“Levi, please.”