Unknown Touch (36 page)

He instantly replied, "Of course. I've touched at your mind and felt what you're going through right now. I am here for you, Kara. You're not alone. You have me."

"Maybe Abigail can come over today and show me what she did to keep this place running so smoothly. It would be easier to learn when there's no one here to disrupt us. And it would keep my mind busy instead of laying around, drowning in emotions all day."

Daniel agreed that would be a solid idea for the afternoon. He grabbed his cell phone and gave Abigail a quick call. She wholeheartedly agreed to come over, and Stephen had absolutely no problem with her visit since he knew I would be taught Abigail's job, that way she could remain with him.

She arrived in the early part of the afternoon and dove into explaining and showing me everything she did. It was a bit overwhelming, but when I opened my mind to the big picture, and used some common sense, I could easily understand the flow of things.

She asked, "So, you are seriously considering converting into a werewolf?" Abigail always said what was on her mind. Except, of course, when she held back about dating Stephen. She had kept that a secret for a while.

"Yes, but I haven't made up my mind yet. And I don't see a huge need to rush in and make a decision."

She nodded, but I knew she was extremely excited with the possibility of a conversion on my part. Abigail's heart and soul were very pure, even if she was a werewolf. Stephen did need her. She was his light, she kept him grounded. I knew she would be there for me if I needed help with anything. Whether it was issues at the resort, or a friend to talk to about changing into a werewolf. She didn't insist or suggest that I convert, but I'm positive she hoped I would choose to do so. She was a great listener, and filled with compassion for others.

That night, as Daniel and I settled down to go to sleep, he asked me, "Are you glad you stayed?" He was very worried that I would end up regretting my decision and leave. He didn't want me to go, he feared losing me. He hadn't experienced love in so many long years and rejoiced in the fact we had discovered each other.

"Yes, yes!" I insisted. "Just because I'm missing my friends, doesn't mean I want to leave you. It's just a transition I've got to deal with. And I'm feeling stressed with learning Abigail's job and not making any mistakes. And I'm still monitoring Stephen and occasionally David's behaviors. What else? Oh, I still need to figure out what to do about my parents and their suspicions that I've flipped out by running off to California, as I lie next to you here in Kentucky. Hmm...and I'm reviewing advantages and disadvantages of converting into a werewolf. But no worries, right? There's just a lot on my mind, Daniel. But, in answer to your question, yes, I'm very glad I chose to stay with you. Don't forget that."

I was exhausted as Daniel brought me closer under his shoulder as we cuddled next to each other on the bed. That closeness was another reason I toyed with having Daniel turn me into a werewolf. We knew we had to be cautious of getting too passionate, as Daniel had some control issues when he got excited. If I wasn't ready to be changed into a werewolf yet, or had chosen not to ever be changed, then we couldn't let Daniel's animal side break through. If his own body changed to that of the beast or the wolf, then he would have the ability to bite, or nip, or scratch me with his teeth, and at that point a conversion on my part was likely to occur. It was a delicate balance that I felt we teetered on during those times when we were all alone. I wanted to explore his body, to be able to kiss him for longer than a minute without him having to break away because he feared transforming. Sometimes, he explained, he didn't always feel that he would physically change form, but was afraid he might get too rough with me, too aggressive, too forceful, because of his wild, animal side. At times, I did push him to his limits. I couldn't help myself, and yet I knew better. But how would we know how far those limits stretched unless we kept testing them.

"Well," Daniel mused, "I don't care if it seems selfish for wanting to keep you here with me forever, but it's the truth. Kara, you are the world to me. Before I knew anything of you, my existence had become bleak, boring, no excitement, and I just went through the motions of living day to day."

I slid out from under his arm, and sat on top of him, gazing deeply into his dark eyes. I think he got a kick out of me being in a dominant position, since he was the Alpha male type, and here he was flat on his back, submissive, at this point. I leaned down to kiss him as passionately as possible. My mouth moved to his neck and then his chest, covering him with soft, loving kisses, as one arm kept me propped up and the other hand massaged his upper body.

"You are so awesome," I murmured as I continued to arouse him. "Am I making things more exciting for you now?"

I could hear him moan as he was attempting to keep that delicate balance with his emotions. So easily I knew I could push him over that edge into the land of the wild. The power I wielded over him was intoxicating. Not to be outdone, he reached up, grabbed my waist, and slung me down on the bed, and that put me in the submissive position. He smiled with that male smugness and his eyes danced with amusement. With his incredible strength, I obviously wasn't going anywhere. And that was just fine with me.

Daniel answered my teasing question, "Baby, you always make things exciting for me." He supported some of his body weight by leaning into the bed with his elbows, while framing my face with his hands. "And you were testing me, I know you were. I think I'm doing rather well with my urges, if I do say so myself."

He leaned down to kiss me, very seductively, and yet very in control. I whispered, "Impressive. What else can you do?"

Daniel's right hand slid away from my face, his strong fingers feather light as they traced a path down my neck, glancing off my collarbone, and straight down the center of my night shirt, and landed with a twitch on my stomach. I knew that was the extent of our experiment that night as he then flopped over on his back, breathing, panting heavily.

I couldn't help but snicker at him as I again resumed a spot under his shoulder. I placed my hand solidly on his chest. I knew it would be torture for him if I made any further advances with our make-out session. I would behave and just snuggle up against him.

"No laughing," he pleaded.

I praised him, "Daniel, I love you so much. I'm not trying to be mean by laughing. I think it's cute. And I applaud you for the effort. You did great with your control and I didn't enter your mind at all to try and help your emotions. You knew when to pull back. I left it in your hands."

"Well," he reminded me, "don't just assume all is perfectly tame in my mind every time we play around like this. I am proud of myself, but the things you do to me, the ideas that go through my head, makes the beast want to surface. As long as you are human, we must be very careful."

I seriously asked him, "Do you want me to convert, to become a werewolf, Daniel?" I linked to his mind in order to read his thoughts on this issue, and was surprised he had a mental block up against me. With such a direct question, he must have been afraid to let me read his mind, to hear his raw feelings on such a life changing decision.

He tried to remain neutral and replied, "Kara, it is your choice. It's your life that will be altered. I have told you before; there is no rush on making this decision. Whatever you decide, I will stand by it and honor your wishes."

I swear those last few words of his made me think he probably wanted me to become a werewolf. But, I'm sure he didn't want to carry the blame, or the guilt, for pushing me into converting and then I turn around and hate him for it, hate what I had become. He could never forgive himself for that. I would have to decide all by my lonesome on this one.

We drifted off to sleep. I had a lot on my mind, many things to toss around, but in general, I felt happy. I was glad to be with Daniel at the resort. I found the other werewolves intriguing and many of them I greatly cared for. And above all else, I loved Daniel with all my heart. And he loved me.

* * * *

Over the next week, life for me fell more into a routine. I was very thankful for that, as it offered my recently overactive mind some much needed peace. The werewolves were all on their best behavior, not to say there wasn't normal aggravation or boredom with their day to day lives. All the emotions humans experience, the wolves did, too. We just wanted to make sure their emotions didn't erupt into rage or turn into some violent act. When one did get upset about something, I would either sense it or maybe I'd get a phone call at about the same time, and establish a mental connection with them. I would aid them with behavior modification, implanting positive thoughts and images, and always flooded their minds with relaxing, soothing emotions. It wasn't often I had to do this, which was a good thing. I felt pride and honor in helping them. It gave me such a wonderful, unique purpose in life.

One evening, sometime well after dark, an alarm wired to the main entrance door of the resort, went off. It was installed to alert us if someone walked in to the front reception area while we were elsewhere in the building. Usually after 10:00 p.m., Daniel locked that door, but it wasn't that late yet. We were in the lounge area, watching TV, at the time the visitor arrived. Both of us walked out front to see who was there.

Daniel stopped dead in his tracks the moment he had eye to eye contact with this individual. My senses flared out to scan the mind of this man, and instantly rammed into a mental block. I did not sense evil, but supreme power. This man was no ordinary person. In fact, I didn't believe him to be human, and yet I wasn't feeling he was a werewolf, either.

He
read my mind and replied, "You are accurate, I am not human. And I am not a werewolf, as my friend and ally, Daniel, is. If you weren't able to grasp what I am, then I suppose this is your first introduction to a vampire. As that is what I am, my dear."

Oh...my...God. I actually got weak in the knees and had to lean myself against the front desk. Now I was expected to deal with vampires?! I was just getting cozy with my life with the werewolves.

Daniel walked up to this vampire, shook his hand with great enthusiasm, as both tried to overpower the other with their handshake...that male dominance thing, of course. Daniel looked to me and gave an introduction, "Josiah, meet my girlfriend, Kara. She is a full blown psychic with mental manipulation powers."

Josiah extended his hand in a formal greeting and I wobbled over to him, trying to be polite, to shake his hand. As I reached out, he gently took my hand into his, and in Old World fashion, kissed the top of my hand. I had my senses on full alert and this Josiah wasn't giving any indication that he was violent. I still couldn't fully read his mind, but his aura is what I was absorbing. He was tall, had long, dark hair pulled back into a band, exceptionally handsome, very physically fit but not as muscular as Daniel. His clothes were immaculate, expensive, and, of course, had a trench coat. What's with those vampires always wearing trench coats, anyway?

He read my mind again, darn it. Daniel was picking up on some of it, too, so he wasn't totally out of the loop with Josiah's response as he said, "Thank you for those compliments. We do look dashing in this attire, don't we?! But I would like to put you more at ease, Kara, as you are giving me the impression you might faint. Please try to believe me when I say that I'm not an evil vampire. A little help here on your part, Daniel...?"

Daniel stepped over to me, especially since Josiah had planted a kiss on top of my hand. Daniel was territorial, possessive of me, and I know I had heard a low growl escape from Daniel when Josiah did that little display of affection. I got the impression that Josiah did that on purpose to get a rise out of Daniel, messing with him just for the fun of it. And because he so easily could.

Daniel frowned at Josiah, with one eyebrow up, but did defend him with, "No, he's not evil, but he sure does like to joke around. He is a friend, Kara. We have joined forces as allies in the past when the need arose to protect ourselves and to fight off the true, evil vampires and werewolves that have entered our territories. It has been a while since we've seen each other. Let me lock the front door and we'll go visit in the lounge."

Daniel and I sat on our favorite couch, while Josiah nabbed up a stately recliner that seemed to fit his personality. Now, having a vampire in my presence, I had a million questions to ask, just like when I was discovering everything about werewolves. Josiah was calm and cool. He seemed old. Very old by the way he talked and acted. And dressed. Power, in many forms that I couldn't quite decipher yet, seemed to pour from him. Much more power than the werewolves.

Josiah asked, "Kara is your girlfriend, as is the term nowadays. How did this come to be? She is human, Daniel. At least at this point in time, she is."

I interjected, "I am sitting right here and can hear you."

Daniel laughed and explained, "Kara, he takes a little getting used to. He attempts to blend in with society, as the werewolves here do. He
is
much older than me, and still has retained many of his old fashioned traits, which makes him seem eccentric or odd. Vampires have a difficult time going out in the sun, which is why he is here under the protection of the night, but that also makes blending in tricky. Okay, back to you, Josiah."

Daniel proceeded to summarize to Josiah what had transpired over the last two months. He seemed to have no qualms telling Josiah many personal details of which I felt rather uncomfortable having a stranger know about me. But, I had to trust Daniel's judgment in divulging this story to someone he considered a friend. Josiah found it extremely interesting about my indecision on whether to convert to a werewolf or not. He, too, did not try to influence my choice, and kept that a neutral topic.

Josiah explained that he owned several homes scattered throughout the country, and took turns living in different ones during the year. As he was traveling through our area, he thought it would be a wise idea to drop by and update Daniel on some underground intelligence. Plus, he hadn't seen Daniel in a long time, and wanted to touch base to renew their friendship. He had heard rumors about a resurgence in the number of witches using black magic. Coincidentally, a few of these were the actual descendants of the witches that had put the original werewolf curse on Daniel and his friends back in 1693. He warned us to keep our ears and eyes open for any unusual occurrences that might indicate witches entering our territory. Most of the problems seemed to be on either the east or west coast.