Chapter Eleven
Sunday – Southern Maryland
Finn
I open my eyes just as the sun starts to shine through the window, and I smile. Looking to my right, I see Melody sleeping next to me, softly snoring, her arm is tossed over her eyes. How’d you get so lucky, Caomhanach? I used to think I was cursed. Growing up, I knew my da hated what he was, what we all were. It is why we left Ireland and moved here. He refused to teach Colin and me about ourselves, refused to take us back to learn the lore and history of our ancestors. He thought if he took us as far from the land as he could, he would stop the change.
When he passed, I felt a terrible mix of emotions that ranged from hatred towards him for not staying on this earth long enough for us to make amends, to being relieved that he was gone because I could return to Ireland to learn about what I really was. I left a month after he died and spent that summer with my grandparents in Kildare. Colin refused to come with me. He said he didn’t want to learn about the curse. That he didn’t want to be what he was. I think that since he was already an adult by the time our da was gone and someone finally started to tell him what a blessing our history and powers were, he couldn’t believe it. He was raised to think we were a cursed family who would live alone and die alone so that we don’t have to spread our ill fortune to others across the land.
I learned so much that summer. I learned how lucky I truly was to be a Caomhanach and what it meant to be a part of our pack. Learned to rule over our lands and protect the families and livestock. Even the wildlife depends on us to maintain the balance. I learned so much but left with so much more to learn. I go back as often as I can, but my family is here. My life is here, and I cannot leave that all behind. I have stayed to honor what my father wished for my mother. But one day, I will return to Ireland and my roots. One day I will return to the land and run free and wild in the form I was meant to be in. I look at Melody again. I will take this woman home with me, show her the beauty of the land, teach her the legends of my family and the history of our people. I will go home with my mate, and we will always be together.
***
Melody
I smile before I open my eyes because I can see pale light in the room and know it is morning. I didn’t dream. I made it through the night without having the terrible nightmare of the wolves in the woods.
“Penny for your thoughts, lass?” I hear Finn say and open my eyes. “Good morning, love.”
I rub my eyes and roll onto my side. “Were you watching me sleep?” I ask through a sleepy yawn.
“Only for a few minutes, I just woke up myself. You looked so peaceful.” He smiles.
“Mmm-hmm, I was,” I say, stretching out, and then I settle into Finn’s arms and let him hold me close to him. I’m the little spoon to his big spoon. I smile again.
“I love waking up with you. The best part of the night was I did not have my nightmare. I actually slept great.” He squeezes me tight against him, and I feel him inhale, his nose buried in my hair. “Are you smelling me?” I ask playfully.
“Aye, I love the way you smell. It's like home.”
We lie in contented silence, and I doze as I watch the light of the rising sun move across the floor of the room.
“You fell asleep on me last night, love. I didn’t get the chance to show you my gratitude for making such a delicious dinner.” I hear the laughter in his voice, even though he is trying to silence it.
Shit. I roll to face him and kiss him softly on the lips. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. I must have been exhausted. But I wish I could have stayed up all night with you. Did you get any sleep? I know you have to stay up tonight, too, since your schedule changes to the midnight shift. What time do you actually start work?” Finn stretches out and tosses one leg over both of mine, pinning me to the bed, and wraps his arms around me. I bury my face into his chest and take a deep breath. Home.
“You smell like home too.” He kisses me on the top of my head.
“I have to be at work at four-thirty tomorrow afternoon. What time does your shift end?” He is nuzzling my hair, and I smile. I could stay in bed with you all day.
“Um, I go in at seven-thirty, so I’ll get off at three-thirty tomorrow. Right before you go in.”
“Good, that will give you just enough time to get back home and give me a goodbye kiss as I am leaving. Then I’ll be off at two in the morning and be home by two-thirty to crawl into bed and have you warm me up.”
“Wait. What?” I realize that I said it out loud when Finn answers my question.
“I can’t let you leave, Melody. Please stay here with me. I need to have you close. I have to work this shift for the entire month. If you’re not here when I leave in the afternoon and warm in my bed when I get home, I won’t see you for a month. I can’t handle that. I need you here, lass. Please say you’ll stay.” I pull back and try to look up into Finn’s face, but he holds me tightly to his chest. “Please?” he says one last time before loosening his grip.
As soon as our eyes meet, he lets out his breath, and I realize he was holding it, waiting for me to answer. “I wouldn’t leave even if you commanded me to, sir. Like I said, you smell like home. You’re my home now, Finn. I will follow you anywhere.”
He drops his mouth to mine and kisses me slowly. Then, his hands slide down my body to the waistband of my shorts, and he slowly pulls them down, then slides his hands back up my thighs. One hand stops on my pussy, and he slides one, then two fingers into me, dipping them into my wetness. The other continues up my side to my breasts, where he squeezes each one as he lifts my shirt. Releasing my mouth, he drops his head to my breasts and sucks on my nipples while he kneads them softly, pulling them into his mouth, making them harden into pink peaks. His expert fingers slowly trace circles around my clit, now soaked in my juices as I moan my pleasure.
“Finn, don’t stop. Please don’t stop. Make love to me.” He lays me back on the bed, rises up above me, and looks down at me through hooded eyes. “Please, sir.” He lowers himself over me, kissing my neck and shoulders. He continues across my collarbone, down my stomach. He stops and swirls his tongue in my belly button. I run my fingers through his hair and grab his head, trying to pull him back up to me. “Please. I need you.” He just glances up and smiles at me in response. Then thrusts two fingers deep into my pussy, slowly torturing me with the movement, in and out. Slowly the fire builds deep inside me, and I arch my back up off the bed. Finn continues his slow torture. Kissing my hips and thighs as he continues to slide his fingers in and out of me.
“Please, Finn!” I gasp when he nips my clit. “Yes!” Fuck me, sir. Please. Fuck me!
“Nuh-uh lady, you said you wanted me to make love to you. Slow and soft, that’s how I make love. You didn’t say ‘Fuck me, sir’,” he says in his best falsetto, then smiles a crooked grin at me. I throw my head back and sigh. Gah! Damn my romantic imaginings! “Don’t worry, lass. I won't tease you all day. It’s torture for me too. Thinking about sliding into you. You’re so wet. I love how amazing you feel.” He makes a point of moving his fingers more slowly in and out of my heat. I clench down around him, trying to hold him in. Right there! Yes!
He pulls his hand away from me and drops his mouth to my clit. He nips at me there, then buries his tongue into me, and I moan loudly. I thrust my hips up at him, my hands twisting in his hair again, holding him to me. He grabs my wrists and pulls my hands from his head.
Rising above me again, he uses his knee to spread my legs apart, grabs them above my knees, and bends them up towards my head. Then he takes my hands and replaces his with them, holding my legs back, spreading myself open to him. Then he slides the head of his cock up and down the slit of my pussy, pushes in slowly, and then when he is halfway in, slowly pulls himself back out. He does this over and over again until I am squirming beneath him.
“What do you want, lass?”
“You! I want you. I need to feel you inside of me. Please, Finn. I need you inside me.” I’ve lost track of time then. I have no idea how long he slowly teases me. I beg and plead with him to no avail. I open my eyes and see him looking down at me, holding his cock in his hand. He smiles at me then and thrusts hard and fast into me, filling me completely. “Fuck, yes!”
He laughs his deep laugh and takes my mouth with his, kissing me. His tongue swirls around mine. He is taking my breath away, and I can’t think. The pounding motion of his cock inside me, his mouth on mine. I start to come apart at the seams.
“I’m going to come, Mel,” he says. At the same time, I think the words. I explode around his cock and clench down on him. He pulls out of me and shoots hot cum onto my stomach. I look up and smile at him. “Thank you, sir.” Finn collapses onto the bed next to me, then nuzzles my neck and shoulder and pulls me closer to him. After a few minutes wrapped in each other’s arms, he stands from the bed and slips from the room. I hear water running from the bathroom across the hall. Coming back in he has a washcloth in his hand, pressing it to my tummy he gently wipes me clean. Tossing it into the hamper, he comes back to bed and pulls me against his body, wrapping me in his arms again. We fall asleep, both of us sated from our lovemaking.
***
I wake about an hour later, and it is nearly noon. I slowly slide out from under Finn’s arm and tiptoe to the bathroom. I shower and then quietly creep back into the bedroom. I find the t-shirt he tossed on the floor the night before. Picking it up, I bury my face in it and take a deep breath. It smells of him, his soap, testosterone, and home. I sigh. This will do. Slipping it on over my head, I leave the room quietly and pull the door closed with a soft click behind me.
In the kitchen, I heat up a bowl of leftover chili for lunch. I plop down into a chair at the kitchen table and dig my phone out of my purse. I have seven missed phone calls and about twenty messages from Summer and Sam. As I crumble Fritos into my bowl of chili and mindlessly blow on a spoonful, I send them both a quick text.
Mel: I’m so sorry girls, I didn’t mean to ignore you. Yes, Finn and I made it home safely in the storm. We have been held up at his place for the past two days.
Summer: OMG! I almost sent Donnie to your place. How has it been with Mr. Big Bad Wolf all weekend?
Mel: Amazing! Thank you for not panicking too much and sending Donnie after me. I get the feeling that he is not Finn’s biggest fan.
Summer: Nonsense, he is just looking out for you. Ignore him. I do. LOL
Summer: Do you guys think you’ll be coming to the party tonight?
Mel: Party?
Summer: I knew you would forget. Super Bowl. It’s Super Bowl Sunday, we are having a huge bash. You’re coming, right?
Mel: Oh, Summer, I’m so sorry. I don’t think so. Finn starts his month of midnights tomorrow, and we aren’t going to be able to see each other much for the next month. I think we are just going to stay home tonight and hang out, just us.
Summer: Stay home? :) Something you want to share with the group?
Mel: Goodbye, Summer. I’ll catch up with you this week.
Summer: Use protection! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!
Mel: Oh, please. What is actually on that tiny list?
Summer: Exactly!
I put my phone down and eat my lunch. Looking out the window, I can see the ice is starting to melt, and I watch as icicles fall off of the gutter above the neighbor’s garage. Once I’ve finished my bowl of chili, I make my way to the kitchen sink and rinse out my dishes, putting them in the dishwasher. I rummage under the sink looking for dish detergent and start a load of dishes. As I make my way across the room, I glance up at the big window in the front of the house. I see a large black wolf standing on the other side of the road staring directly at me.
I run to the bedroom, push open the door, and see Finn still lying in bed, snoring. I turn and run back to the living room and jump onto the couch. Pulling the cord and lifting the blinds up to get a better look out the window, I practically press my face to the glass. It’s gone. A snowplow ambles down the road. There is nothing there. No wolf. Keep it together, Melody. You’re not losing your mind. Breathe. I’m jerked back to reality at the sound of my phone ringing, and I jump up off the couch and hurry to it, hoping that the noise won’t wake Finn.
“Hello?” I whisper as I make my way to the kitchen.
“Hey, chica!” Sam replies. “So, tell me about being snowed in with the BB. What’s his place like? Full of stolen pic-i-nic baskets?”
“Um, I think you’re confusing the Big Bad Wolf with Yogi the Bear.” I’m walking in small circles in the kitchen, trying to listen to Sam. But my mind is still on the black wolf in the road. The wolf, from my dream?
“Who cares, tomato, potato. Wait, that’s not right either, is it?”
“Nope.” I shake my head and smile. “So, listen, Finn asked me to move in with him. Temporarily, I mean. Well, I think it’s temporary.”
“What? Tell me everything!”
I spend the next hour on the phone with Sam recapping our date, the storm, the sex. I tell her about Finn’s schedule changing and that he asked me to stay with him for the month, all while I walk tight circles around the kitchen.
“Oh, honey. You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, pretending I don’t understand what she is saying.
“You love him.” It's a statement, not a question. I don't humor her with a response. A knock on the back door behind me makes me jump. I drop my phone.
“Shit!” I turn around and through the window in the door I see, Finn?
No, it’s not Finn. This must be Colin. Once I look more closely, I can see the difference between them. Finn is slimmer through the face and neck but broader in the chest and shoulders. Colin has gray hair at his temples and is bulkier through the front. I put my finger up to him to indicate he hold on a minute. I very carefully stoop down to pick up my phone from the floor. Fully aware that I am wearing nothing under Finn’s t-shirt. I scurry from the room.
“Um, Sam. Finn’s brother just showed up. I gotta go.”
“Oh, kinky bitch! A three-way already.”
“Oh god! Stop it, Sam. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Wait, you're not coming to the party tonight?”
“Why is everyone going to this damn party? No, I don’t think football is our thing.”
“Sure, Mel. Not for one second did any of us think this was a real Super Bowl party but suit yourself. I’ll see you in the AM. Kisses!”
I reach the bathroom, where I find my pajama shorts on the floor. I quickly pull them on and jog back to the kitchen, sliding across the tile floor to the back door. Unlocking the door, I poke my head out. “Colin?”
“The one and only, lass. Melody? Finn has been gushing about you for nearly a year. I think if he showed up at Ma’s house one more time without news that he was bringing you to meet her, she was going to box his ears and throw him out on his arse until he pulled his head out and asked ye to be his.” I smile, instantly loving this man. He is an older, more Irish version of his brother. One who seems like he would be a giant teddy bear with the biggest heart. Small wrinkles form around his eyes when he smiles, and his happiness is contagious.
“Do you want to come in? Finn is asleep, but you still can.”
“Oh, nah. Doona, let me keep you then, lassie.” He winks. “You wouldn’t mind just telling him I swung by. I’ll give him a call in the morn’.” Colin turns to head down the stairs, then stops and turns back towards me. “Was great meeting you, lass. Don’t you let my brother fool you. He is head over heels for you. I’ll be seeing you soon!” I wave as I close the door.
Making my way to the living room, I turn on the fireplace. Although it was not a long conversation, the time standing in the doorway in my boy shorts let the frosty air in and froze me to the bone. I curl up on the couch with a throw and turn on the TV. I decide to watch cooking shows for a while. When I drift to sleep, the small respite from the haunting nightmare ends. As soon as I close my eyes, I’m back in the woods, surrounded, and I recognize the big black wolf for who he is. I know he is the wolf I saw on the road this afternoon in an instant.
***
Sunday – Southern Maryland
I watch the older of the two Caomhanach brothers leave the house. This one is of no concern to me. Even if he could shift, he is weak and useless compared to his younger brother. Once he is gone, I focus on the bitch inside. On the couch, I can see her curled up and restless. Dreaming of me again. One day I will have her in my grasp, and she won't have to simply dream of me. I’ll show her what true power is and what it means to be Alpha.
***
Melody
When I wake with a jerk, the light in the room is low, and I can tell it's evening. Finn sits on the couch next to me, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Hey, you had a bad dream. It’s okay, I’m here, love.”
“He was here. I saw him,” I say softly.
“Colin? I know he texted me and said he stopped by. Thinks you’re a real cutie, lass,” Finn tells me as I sit up.
“No, the Alpha. The one from my dream, he was here. I saw him this afternoon. On the road. The eyes, he had the same red eyes.”
“Back up, Melody. You’re not making sense. Who’d you see on the road? When? Start over.”
I sit cross-legged on the couch and start to explain, I turn to face him. “Today, it was maybe one o’clock. I got up, and I ate a bowl of chili. I was sitting at the table and texting Summer and when I left the kitchen, I looked out the front window, and there was the big black wolf with red eyes from my dream. He was standing in the road, in the daylight, Finn.” I point at the window. “Out front, here! In broad daylight! It’s the wolf from my dream. The one I’ve been hearing at night. I know it sounds crazy because you checked. So this doesn’t make any sense. But I saw him, and I don’t know why but he is after you.”
“Hush, come here,” he says and holds his arms open to me, and I fall into them. My cheek is resting on his shoulder. “It’s okay, I’ve got you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
I take a few deep breaths and start to relax against him. “Okay. You’re right. It doesn’t add up. There is no reason for another Alpha to be stalking you. I mean, why would an Alpha be stalking you. Because you’re…” I pause. Then turn my head and look at him. “You’re not Alpha? Are you?”
***
Finn
Alpha? No. I tell her so. “No lass, that’s my Grandda, and even if he wasn’t, it wouldn’t be me. I’ve not lived in Ireland in over fifteen years. I’m too far removed. If anyone here was to be Alpha, it wouldn't even be me. It would be Colin. He is the oldest.”
“Colin?” she asks. “He was here. Maybe they’re after him. Maybe this is all because of Colin?” She seems relieved. I, on the other hand, am panicking.
“I’ll be back, Melody. I have to give Colin a call.” I get up from the couch and head to my bedroom with my phone. It rings three times before he answers. “Colin. We need to talk.”
***
Melody
Finn is gone for about twenty minutes, when I hear him tell Colin he will see him at the end of the week, and he emerges from the bedroom. “Hey, lass. Come here,” he says, sitting on the other end of the sofa and patting the cushion next to him. I slide down to the other end and curl up in his arms.
“Is everything okay?”
“It’s going to be. I’m not sure how your dreams are connected, but we think you may be right. They’re here following Colin. He has seen them a few times in the past six weeks. It seems that maybe they’re scouting him out to see if he would be willing to step up as an Alpha. Colin is like my da.” He heaves a deep breath, and my head rises and falls with his chest. “He believes this is a curse and not the life he wants to lead.” Finn squeezes my shoulder and kisses my forehead. “He has been avoiding them and going about his life, hoping they would get the hint and leave. He said he was here around the time you saw the wolf on the road and thought that you probably saw the one he had seen following him. Melody, I’m sorry I didn’t take you seriously sooner. Can you forgive me?”
I sit back and smile at Finn. Reaching up, I put my hand on his cheek and lean in to kiss him. “Of course, I forgive you. I just don’t understand the dreams.”
“We have a theory about that as well. We think that maybe your subconscious was mixing up the sightings of the wolf with you trying to piece together my secret and voila, nightmares about werewolves.” I screw up my face at his explanation.
“I guess. Maybe it is right.” I stare at my hands in my lap, not convinced about this theory.
“Listen, lass. I need to talk to you about something very important,” Finn is saying as he wraps his arm around my shoulders.
“Hmmm?” I answer, still lost in thought.
“We need to discuss your need to stroll around this house, for the past two days, half-naked. Then fall asleep, before I get to have my way with you last night, and how I don’t think you understand the seriousness of you being such a cock tease.” My head shoots up, and I smile at Finn, then bite my lip.
“Oh! Sir, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to.” I bat my eyelashes at him. “Finn,” I then ask earnestly, “is it hard for you to control yourself when I’m being such a tease? I know we have worked on it. This morning was amazing, and you had full control, right?”
“Yes, I did. I’m just teasing you, love. You could walk around here naked all day if you want. I wouldn’t complain,” he says, smiles and wraps me in his arms. “I’m going to miss you tomorrow. This weekend, just the two of us was wonderful.”
I snuggle into his arms on the couch and kiss his cheek. “I know, I don’t want to go. But I have to get back to work full-time now that the semester is over. Spring semester will be here soon, and then there is only one more before I graduate in August.” We talk for about an hour before I’m falling asleep with my head in Finn’s lap on the couch. He gently scoops me up and carries me to bed. “Wait!” I say, reaching out to him. “Stay with me, please.”
***
Finn
She looks so tiny and helpless in the big king bed, blankets tucked around her shoulders. Her small hand in mine. Begging me to come back to bed and stay with her.
“Of course,” I say as I walk around to the other side of the bed, stripping off my pants and shirt on the way. Lifting the covers and sliding down into the bed next to her, I lift her gently and bring her across the large bed to me.
Tucking her back into the covers against my chest, she is asleep before I can say goodnight. “I love you, lass.” I don’t know what prompts me to say it. But the words tumble out of my mouth of their own volition, and I wouldn’t have stopped them if I could.
***
Melody
Finn gets into bed with me, lifts me up, and pulls me to his side. Tucking the blankets around me. I feel sleep taking over, but just before I lose the fight, I hear him say, “I love you, lass.” I smile, then quickly fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.