heart jumped to my throat.
“What happened to you the morning I found
you?” I had to know. I remember the pain you were in. I’ve never
felt such despair. His emotions blistered through me, but I
concentrated on listening, instinct screaming to pay attention.
“I was attacked by the Dokkalfar. We’ve been
tracking their leader for quite a while. He came back to this area
several months ago. When you said you were spending the night on
campus, I stayed to make sure you were not harmed.”
Lights washed against the windows as a car
pulled into the drive. Gavin hesitated for a moment. I walked to
him, putting my hand in his.
“If it hadn’t been for you, I would have
died.”
“Me?” What did I do?
“You took my pain when it was unbearable. I
was practically beaten to death, and your compassion gave me the
strength to survive.” I just stared at him. He laced his fingers
with mine.
The doorknob turned, and I jumped, my already
jumbled nerves tied themselves in a knot.
“My family is here.” The mammoth door creaked
open.
Gavin kissed my forehead making my pulse
speed, and self consciously, I turned to find four pairs of
jewel-toned eyes staring back at me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 8—The
Clan
I leaned into Gavin, suddenly afraid of these
individuals. They were his family, his clan. What if they didn’t
like me?
“They already know you,” he whispered in my
ear. I had no idea what that meant, but his reassuring touch calmed
my nerves.
I studied the four of them standing in the
spacious living room. Their eyes held that distinct jeweled
quality. There were two males, and two females. The males were not
quite as gorgeous as Gavin, but they were still extremely handsome.
The females were simply breathtaking. One was notably taller, the
other barely five feet. All of them had the common features of the
narrow, even nose and the gently arched ears.
Their emotions were concerned for Gavin and
held an overwhelming curiosity about me, but there was no animosity
or need to protect Gavin from me. They seemed to know my
love for him and were willing to accept it. Looking at their
emotions was like looking at an object in a Petri dish. I could see
them as clear as day, but I didn’t feel them. To be honest, I was
relieved about that. Feeling Gavin’s emotions was such an intimate
sensation that it seemed only right it should just be shared
between the two of us.
“I believe you’ve been very curious about my
older brother. This is Elias.” The tall man that had been with
Gavin on campus took a step forward and bowed.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” he said.
His voice was as deep as Gavin’s, but was brassy and strong. “I’m
sure by now you know Gavin has talked of nothing but you since he
first heard your mind. May I introduce you to my mate, Elaine?”
Elaine’s chestnut hair ran down her back in
waves. Her eyes were green as well, but they were darker than
Gavin’s, and were similar to jade. She gracefully walked with an
open and friendly attitude. Both her hands encased mine.
“It’s so nice to meet you.” Her deep voice
had a husky quality. Elias and Elaine both appeared to be in their
early forties, but their expression held a certain wisdom that
could only be developed over time.
The smaller female actually looked like an
elf, at least one I had imagined as a child. She had a tiny
dancer’s body, and her skin was slightly tanned as if she had
enjoyed a summer in the sun. She skipped across the room, and I
grinned. Her light reddish-brown hair naturally spiked in every
direction, and her round face and deep jasper brown eyes were like
the earth and sunshine all at the same time. Guessing she might be
one of the friends Gavin had spoken about, I wondered if she were
an elf of the fields.
“Very good,” he whispered. The heat of his
breath caressing my ear caused a shiver to run down my spine.
“Hi, I am Rena.” Energy and creativity
radiated from
“What happened to you the morning I found
you?” I had to know. I remember the pain you were in. I’ve never
felt such despair. His emotions blistered through me, but I
concentrated on listening, instinct screaming to pay attention.
“I was attacked by the Dokkalfar. We’ve been
tracking their leader for quite a while. He came back to this area
several months ago. When you said you were spending the night on
campus, I stayed to make sure you were not harmed.”
Lights washed against the windows as a car
pulled into the drive. Gavin hesitated for a moment. I walked to
him, putting my hand in his.
“If it hadn’t been for you, I would have
died.”
“Me?” What did I do?
“You took my pain when it was unbearable. I
was practically beaten to death, and your compassion gave me the
strength to survive.” I just stared at him. He laced his fingers
with mine.
The doorknob turned, and I jumped, my already
jumbled nerves tied themselves in a knot.
“My family is here.” The mammoth door creaked
open.
Gavin kissed my forehead making my pulse
speed, and self consciously, I turned to find four pairs of
jewel-toned eyes staring back at me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 8—The
Clan
I leaned into Gavin, suddenly afraid of these
individuals. They were his family, his clan. What if they didn’t
like me?
“They already know you,” he whispered in my
ear. I had no idea what that meant, but his reassuring touch calmed
my nerves.
I studied the four of them standing in the
spacious living room. Their eyes held that distinct jeweled
quality. There were two males, and two females. The males were not
quite as gorgeous as Gavin, but they were still extremely handsome.
The females were simply breathtaking. One was notably taller, the
other barely five feet. All of them had the common features of the
narrow, even nose and the gently arched ears.
Their emotions were concerned for Gavin and
held an overwhelming curiosity about me, but there was no animosity
or need to protect Gavin from me. They seemed to know my
love for him and were willing to accept it. Looking at their
emotions was like looking at an object in a Petri dish. I could see
them as clear as day, but I didn’t feel them. To be honest, I was
relieved about that. Feeling Gavin’s emotions was such an intimate
sensation that it seemed only right it should just be shared
between the two of us.
“I believe you’ve been very curious about my
older brother. This is Elias.” The tall man that had been with
Gavin on campus took a step forward and bowed.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” he said.
His voice was as deep as Gavin’s, but was brassy and strong. “I’m
sure by now you know Gavin has talked of nothing but you since he
first heard your mind. May I introduce you to my mate, Elaine?”
Elaine’s chestnut hair ran down her back in
waves. Her eyes were green as well, but they were darker than
Gavin’s, and were similar to jade. She gracefully walked with an
open and friendly attitude. Both her hands encased mine.
“It’s so nice to meet you.” Her deep voice
had a husky quality. Elias and Elaine both appeared to be in their
early forties, but their expression held a certain wisdom that
could only be developed over time.
The smaller female actually looked like an
elf, at least one I had imagined as a child. She had a tiny
dancer’s body, and her skin was slightly tanned as if she had
enjoyed a summer in the sun. She skipped across the room, and I
grinned. Her light reddish-brown hair naturally spiked in every
direction, and her round face and deep jasper brown eyes were like
the earth and sunshine all at the same time. Guessing she might be
one of the friends Gavin had spoken about, I wondered if she were
an elf of the fields.
“Very good,” he whispered. The heat of his
breath caressing my ear caused a shiver to run down my spine.
“Hi, I am Rena.” Energy and creativity
radiated from
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