Fiction/Paranormal
Revelations — Chapter Thirty-Eight
When separate worlds collide
“Have you decided what you’re going to do?” Alex and Emily were seated at the lunchroom table, waiting for the guys to bring their food back.
Emily knew what she was hinting around about, but she was unsure as to what she and Zach were going to do. “We’re going to talk to my aunt after prom. After that, I’m not sure what we’re going to do if it comes out positive.”
“If you are pregnant, you guys will keep the baby, right?” Alex couldn’t imagine Zach allowing his firstborn to be given up for adoption, especially with the baby having the possibility of being either a shifter or a vampire.
“Yes, we are.” Zach sat his and Emily’s lunch trays down on the table and looked at Emily, waiting for her response to his answer.
“So, it could be true.” Danny sat down by Alex. “You and Em are going to be mommy and daddy.”
“We don’t know yet, so don’t go around saying anything.” Emily glared at Danny, who threw his hands up in surrender. She didn’t want to talk about all of this right now. She picked up the slice of pizza that Zach had gotten her and took a bite.
“You never answered Alex.” Zach was still waiting for Emily to respond to what Alex had said about keeping the baby if there was one.
“Why do we have to talk about this right now? I can’t even eat in peace without being harassed about this.” Emily stood up and smacked the chair against the side wall. “I’m done.” She stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving everyone wondering what the hell just happened.
“I’ll be right back.” Zach went out the door after her.
“Guess it’s just us.” Danny slid his chair closer to Alex. “Where is Madison?” He didn’t even recognize she wasn’t there until he realized he and Alex were by themselves.
“She wasn’t hungry, so I think she went to the library or something.” Alex knew she was still stewing about Jacob and didn’t want to be around if he happened to show up at lunchtime. But no one had seen or heard from him since he’d stormed off this morning in a fit of rage over the fight. Danny nodded his head, then went back to eating his lunch.
The lunchroom door opened about ten minutes later and Zach walked back in. He picked up both his and Emily’s trays. “We’re gonna skip out on our afternoon classes. I’ll talk to you guys later.” He dumped their trays and started back out to where Emily was waiting for him.
“Zach,” Alex called out to him before he had a chance to exit. “Is Em all right?” Zach nodded and let the door close behind him. “So much drama happening today.” Alex was amazed at how tense everyone was feeling. The lunch bell rang, ending another lunch day until graduation.
“Where are we going?” Emily wasn’t sure what Zach had planned when he made both of them cut out of school early. There wasn’t much going on since prom was this weekend and graduation was in two weeks. Most classes were preparing for finals, but since they were seniors their final grades were already pretty well determined.
“We just needed to get out of there for a while.” Zach drove out past the town limits and into the more rural parts of the town. He pulled the car over once they reached a small parking lot off to the side of the road.
Emily read the sign that they had pulled up next to. It was a walking path called ‘Rails to Trails.’ “These used to be old railways, right?” She got out of the car and stretched out her back and legs. It felt good to be out of the animosity that had occurred that day.
“Yep.” Zach picked up her hand and interlaced it with his own. “It’s a great place to come walk, outside of West Lakes, and it’s hardly ever crowded. My mom used to bring us here when she was alive. I haven’t been here probably since the last time she brought us.” He wanted to share something with Emily that was a part of his past.
“I bet your mom was awesome.” Emily wished she could have had the chance to meet his mom, but Orfeo had to go and ruin all that for everyone.
“She would’ve loved you.” Zach turned her to face him. “Almost as much as I do.” He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. “Now, let’s get this hike going.” He pulled her along down the trail.
They stopped about two miles into their walk. “We didn’t bring anything to drink, did we?” Emily felt extremely thirsty. It wasn’t that it was a really hot day out since it was only mid-May and the weather was still chilly at around sixty-five degrees. But she felt exhausted, out of breath, and needed to have a nice cold water bottle.
“No, it sorta slipped my mind to bring something to drink. I didn’t think we’d be out that long.” Zach sat down on the bench beside her. “We can take a break and then head back.”
Emily nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Okay, but it’s just so quiet and peaceful out here, like we’re in our own little world.”
Zach just sat there in peaceful bliss, holding his mate. His wolf was content with being outdoors, and having Emily right next to him made the experience even more satisfying. After about ten minutes of silence, Zach finally spoke. “Em.”
“Hmm.” She sounded as if she’d drifted off to sleep.
“You weren’t thinking of giving away the baby, you know if there is one, were you?” This was a question that had been bothering him since they’d left school during lunch.
Emily sat up from her comfy position of leaning against Zach and capturing some of the body heat that was always present with him. Now that they’d rested and the sweat had dried, goose bumps had formed all up and down her arms. She ran her hands quickly over her bareness and tried to get them to warm up.
Finally, Emily looked at Zach as he awaited her response with caution. “No.” That was the only answer she could provide right now. She didn’t have a clue what they were going to do if her being pregnant was the issue, but wanted to wait just a little longer before they got into a big heated discussion. “Ready?” Emily hopped up from the bench and held out her hand toward Zach.
Realizing that the discussion was probably over and he at least got some sort of an answer, Zach gripped hold of her hand and pulled himself up. They walked the two miles back to the car in silence, just enjoying the carefreeness of the day.
Jacob waited patiently in the parking lot for school to be let out. He’d spent the day out doing a lot of nothing. He realized without having Madison around, or any of the pack, there just wasn’t much to do in West Lakes.
He heard the final bell ring and saw the students flooding out through the main doors. Most were heading to the buses parked along curbside but there were several walking down the sidewalk toward the student parking lot. One was Madison. He got out of his car and stood by the rear bumper so that she would see him when she came around the corner.
Madison wasn’t paying any attention to what was going on around her. The events of the morning still played fresh in her mind and the fact that nothing had been resolved was enough to make her even more frustrated. She turned down the final row of cars and looked up as a car went past. She waved as she recognized the girl from her English class.
Madison looked down the row of cars to where she had parked and saw one lone figure standing with his arms crossed over his chest, looking as if he was going in for a tackle. She knew who it was just from the stirrings that she got in the pit of her stomach and the need to have him near her even though she was still totally pissed at him. She’d felt ill all day not having Jacob anywhere near her or having his touch every so often. Maybe that was a normal reaction for mates or she was just obsessively in love with him.
Madison walked straight over toward him and put her forehead on his chest. She breathed in deep as if he brought life to her.
Jacob didn’t say a word as his mate sought his comfort. He put his arms around her and held her close. “Let’s go.” He led her over to the passenger side door and opened up for her to get in.
Madison sat down in the seat and Jacob shut the door. She was having second thoughts about going anywhere with him but knew that they needed to talk about what had happened. “Where are we going?” She questioned him as he began to exit the parking lot and head away from the school.
Jacob shrugged. He had no idea where they were going but knew they needed to get away from the spotlight of all watching eyes at the school, including their friends. “We need to get away for a little while.” He reached his hand over and gripped one of hers. They needed the touch of each other to help calm themselves from the concerns of today. “You know I didn’t do anything, right?” He glanced over at her, then back at the road, which was now comprised of twisting bends and sharp turns as the car sped up a steep hill.
Madison knew in her heart that Jacob hadn’t done anything, but there was always that little bit of doubt in the rational side of her mind that kept her in check. Maybe he and Brindle still had something going on between them, even if it was just sexual. She was just so confused since this was the second thing that happened that involved Brindle. “I don’t know.” Madison rubbed her face with the one hand he wasn’t holding and then let out a deep sigh. “I want to believe you and I even feel that you’re telling me the truth. Damn, even Alex told me that she could tell you weren’t lying. But why do I feel like I can’t trust you completely?”
Jacob felt like a sharp jab had been thrown into his gut. The thought of his mate not completely trusting him placed anguish on both him and his wolf. It wasn’t supposed to be that way with mates, they should trust each other with body, mind, and soul. They were supposed to want to die for one another. But then again, maybe it was his fault that she felt this way. He was the one who chose to be the big player before they got together, so why wouldn’t she be skeptical about his actions now? “Maybe because you don’t believe in us.”
“Yes, I do. I just don’t know what to believe anymore. Why is all this happening? Do you think Brindle’s behind it?” Madison didn’t think, until now, that maybe someone could be planting stuff like this, someone like Brindle or one of the other two girls in her group.
Never thinking that his ex would have the ability to pull off anything above painting her nails, Jacob now had second thoughts on what she was capable of doing. “You know, I don’t think Brindle would think of doing something like this, but I’ll make sure to keep a close eye on her now.” He pulled his car off the main road and followed a dirt trail that went back into a wooded area.
“Where are we going?” Madison was curious as she looked around at her surroundings and realized there was a lot more to West Lakes than she’d ever seen.
A mischievous smile formed on his lips. “You’ll just have to wait to see.” He loved the fact that she’d never been where he was taking her. In fact, not too many people had since his father was the one who had shown him the place. A minute later he stopped the car and turned it off. “We’re here.”
Madison looked all around her and had no idea where or what this place was. “And where exactly is here?”
Jacob got out of the car and circled so he could open her door. He pulled her close as she got out and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I’ll show you.” He took her by the hand and led her down a narrow path that intertwined among the trees.
After a fifteen-minute hike, Jacob stopped on the trail and motioned for Madison to go ahead. She did so with caution, but he knew she liked the view as soon as he heard her gasp.
“This is beautiful.” Madison turned around toward her mate, who was still on the trail. “How did you know about this?” She let her eyes wander back to the breathtaking waterfall that was flowing off the opposite mountainside in front of them. She walked closer to the cliff that they were on and saw that it was a good drop down to the water below.
Strong arms came around her from the back and she felt a warm soft breath on the back of her neck as Jacob leaned his chin down to rest on her shoulder. They stood there for several minutes, just watching the water cascade down and crash onto the rocks below.
“My dad used to bring my mom here when she was having bad days.” Jacob kissed Madison on the back of the neck and came around to stand by her side. He took her hand and slowly led her over to the edge of the cliff. “We used to jump from here.” He pointed to the calm waters down below them. “After my mom died, I spent a lot of time up here just jumping, trying to escape from everything. I always wanted the water to take me under and let me go be with her, but I always managed to come back to the surface. I think in one day I jumped like fifty times and never succeeded in what I set out to do.”
Madison took hold of his hand and brought it to her chest. “You wanted to kill yourself?” She felt such sadness coming off of him. And now knowing that he wasn’t always the arrogant prick that he portrayed himself to be, she felt maybe he never had time to grieve for his mother and the childhood that he lost because of one incident that occurred when he was thirteen.
He shrugged and continued to stare off into the distance. “I don’t know. I just didn’t want to be here anymore.”
“We wouldn’t have met. We wouldn’t have found out we were mates.” Madison now feared something she could have lost.
“That’s the only reason I’m thankful nothing ever happened.” He took hold of her face with both of his hands. “It was never about the football, the baseball, the winning, or the other girls. It’s always been about finding my mate and making her happy and mine for life. Are you truly happy Madison, with me being your mate?” His eyes questioned her more than his words as he sought to find the answer to this burning issue.
“I love you.” She was the first to initiate the kiss that turned heated as soon as it began. Jacob kissed her back like this was the last moment he would ever share with her, like there was no tomorrow and he didn’t want the day to end. He knelt to the ground and pulled her down with him. The soft pine needles provided a soft bed as they lay down and surrendered themselves to each other completely.
Madison lay on top of him so that no pine needles would stick to her unclothed body. This was the sweetest moment they’d ever had together since the first time they’d made love. It was like nothing was rushed and she could feel every emotion that he was feeling throughout the whole moment of passion. His eyes were closed, but she could tell he was still awake. “Jacob,” she softly whispered his name. He opened one eye and stared back at her. “Why was it that I could feel everything that you were feeling? You know, when we…” She motioned with her hand between the two of them.
“When we what?” He could sense her anxiety about saying the word sex or whatever other term she wanted to use.
“You know what just happened between us.”
Jacob had a big grin on his face. “Is my little trash mouth mate afraid to say the word sex, or make love, or when we fucked?”
“No.” Madison stood up and began to put her clothing back on. “I…just…why can’t you answer my question?” She decided instead of answering his inquiry or giving the remark he wanted, she wanted her initial question answered.
“Well.” He stood up alongside her and pulled on his boxers and shorts. “I let you in.” he watched as she finished getting dressed and had the deepest desire to take each piece of clothing back off of her and have round two again on their soft bedding on the ground.
“What do you mean, you let me in?” Now she was totally confused about this whole reading of each other’s emotions that they were able to do as mates.
Jacob finished pulling on his T-shirt and grabbed for Madison’s waist. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her so that she couldn’t escape. “Meaning, I let down my guard. I unblocked you from what I was feeling.”
“I didn’t know we could do that. So, if I try really hard you won’t be able to sense most things that I feel?”
Jacob kissed the tip of her nose. “Nope, only alphas and future alphas have that ability.” He led her back away from the cliff and to the beginning of the trail. He wanted to get back into town before nightfall. The last thing they needed was another run-in with a vampire. He didn’t think this time the bloodsuckers would be so easy on them.
“Well, that’s not fair.” Madison made a pouty face with his confession of only alphas having the gift of blocking. “Wait.” She pulled on his hand and turned around. She took her cell phone out of her shorts pocket and snapped a picture of the waterfall and the sun beginning to set. “I just want to remember this.” She showed him the photo she had just taken.
“We’ll be back, I promise.” He took hold of her hand once more and started for the car.
Zach and Emily stopped at a local bar and grill on their way back into town. It was time for dinner and neither wanted to go home and cook.
“Oh, look.” Emily pointed to the poster that was stuck to the announcement wall. Zach took two steps backward and looked at the picture she was pointing to. “It’s the band that played at the school dance. Remember Ferris Bueller’s Revenge?”
Zach looked more closely at the picture and now recognized the group. “Yeah, they played the eighties stuff, right?”
Emily nodded her head. “Yep. I’ll have to tell Aunt Maureen that they’re playing close. Maybe she can have a night out in the big town.” Emily chuckled at her last comment. West Lakes was one of the smallest communities she’d ever lived in, like nothing ever happened here of significance.
They grabbed a booth to take a seat and a waitress came over with menus. They were looking at what to order when they heard the chime on the door ring out. Both looked up as Jacob and Madison came in through the open door.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” Madison plopped down on the bench seat next to Emily.
“Just coming back from a hike.” Emily greeted her with a small hug. “What are you guys up to?” The last she’d seen of these two was this morning in the big blowout fight in the parking lot.
“We just came back from…um…” Madison looked over at Jacob, who’d sat down beside his brother.
“Making up.” He looked over Zach’s arm to see what looked good on the menu.
Emily held up her hand. “Okay, that’s all I needed to know.” She didn’t want to hear the specifics of how they made up.
“Hey.” Jacob motioned to the waitress who had just walked by to come back. “Can you get us four Cokes?” He looked around at everyone if that was all right with them and they nodded their heads that it was fine.
“Four Cokes it is.” The older lady wrote it down on a charge slip and walked back over to the bar.
“Hungry?” Jacob looked over at Madison, who was looking at Emily’s menu with her. She nodded her head yes and went back to figuring out what she wanted. “I think I’m going to tell Dad about me and Madison after this weekend.” He turned his attention back toward Zach, who was still deciding on what to get.
“Why?” Zach glanced at his brother, then back at the food list. Now that Jacob had his attention to the bit of information, he was curious as to why his brother would want to risk everything.
The waitress brought the sodas over and sat them in front of each of them. She waited in the aisle way with her pen and paper, waiting to write down what food they wanted. “We need a couple more minutes, please.” Emily glanced up from the menu. The waitress gave her a tight-lipped smile and walked away.
“I just want everything out in the open.” Jacob didn’t want his mate to feel he was shunning her from the pack or his life. Plus, he needed to have the added help in trying to find who or what was bringing conflict between them, something that rarely happened between mates.
“We,” Zach kept his voice low and motioned back and forth between him and Emily, “might have to let it all out in the open sooner than later too.”
“Why’s that?” Jacob took a long drink of his soda.
Zach glanced over at Emily, who still had her nose pushed into the menu with Madison as they tried to figure out what they wanted to eat. He leaned over closer to his brother. “We’re going to see on Monday if she could be pregnant,” he whispered so he didn’t capture his mate’s attention.
Jacob’s soda sprayed out of his mouth and across the table. Some of it landed on Madison’s arm, causing her to look up. He coughed, trying to get the rest of the drink out of his lungs. “Sorry.” He gave her an apologetic smile and wiped her arm off with his hand. “It went down the wrong pipe.” He pointed to his soda. She nodded but didn’t take her eyes off of him.
“What are you two up to?” Madison’s full focus was on both brothers, which in turn got Emily’s attention. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Nothing.” Both Jacob and Zach said at the same time.
“Jacob, I know you’re lying to me.” Madison could feel the deceit pouring off of him.
Emily put down the menu and closed it. “They’re talking about the possibility of me being pregnant.” She looked up at Zach, who sat there astounded that she’d heard what they’d said.
“Oh, that. When are you supposed to find out?” Madison turned back to talk to Emily like being pregnant right now was old news.
“You knew about this?” Jacob picked up the straw wrapper and threw it at her.
“You didn’t know?” Madison had a gleam in her eyes that she finally knew something before him. “Well, that’s news in itself that Jacob Lovell wasn’t informed of a happening in West Lakes.”
Jacob stuck out his tongue at her and looked over at Zach. “So, how did this all happen?” Zach looked at him with a wide-eyed expression regarding Jacob’s question. “Shit, I know how it happens. I meant why didn’t you guys use protection or something?”
Zach shook his head and looked over at Emily, who’d finally put the menu down. “Are you girls ready to order yet?”
Emily looked at Madison, who nodded, and then she looked over at Zach, who was waiting for her response. “Yep, we’re ready.” She stacked her menu on top of his and pushed them to the end of the table. Zach motioned to the waitress, who looked irritated that they decided to order and not just go home, that they were ready to place their order.
Thirty minutes later they all finally finished stuffing themselves with burgers, fries, and chicken strips. “You all want dessert?” Jacob pushed his empty dinner plate away and finished the last of his second soda.
“Jacob,” Madison whined and held her stomach. “That would be like totally gross right now.” She didn’t know how he could eat so much, both he and Zach ate twice as much as she and Emily.
“I don’t know. A big piece of chocolate cake with chocolate icing sounds good right about now.” He glanced over at his brother, who nodded in agreement.
“I’m ready to go whenever you are.” Emily took one last drink out of her cup.
“Well, I guess no dessert then.” Jacob threw his napkin down and stood up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten and threw it on the table, Zach did the same as a tip for the waitress. They each followed behind him up to the girl who was there to take their money for the dinners.
“So, where are you all heading to?” Zach opened Emily’s car door so that she could get in. She gave Madison a quick hug and a small wave to Jacob, then sat down. Zach closed the door and waited for his brother’s response.
“Guess I’m taking Madison home and then spending the night.” He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. “Since you guys might be having a baby, we have some catching up to do.” He nuzzled her neck, which made her giggle.
“That is so not happening here, Jacob.” She swatted his hands and moved away from him. He winked at her and nodded his head yes that it would happen. “I’m going to the car.” Madison grabbed the car keys out of his hand and walked around to the other side so she could get in.
“I better get Em back home. I’ll catch you later.” Zach fist-bumped with his brother and went around to the driver’s side of his car.
“You staying over?” Jacob yelled over before Zach had the chance to get in. He gave him a thumbs-up and proceeded to get ready to take Emily home.
Both boys started their Mustangs at the same time, which caused a lot of noise and vibrations to be felt and heard by everyone. Jacob backed out first and honked before they took off down the street. Zach returned the customary guy way of saying goodbye and headed in the opposite direction.
“Jacob, I have to get my car. It’s still at school.” Madison had her eyes shut and was fighting to stay awake. After their long hike and big dinner, she was ready to call it a night.
He reached over and took hold of her hand. “It’ll be okay there, we’ll get it tomorrow.” He turned down the last of the driveways on the dark deserted street that she lived on. “I just want to get you into bed and have my dessert that I couldn’t have at the restaurant.” He sensually rubbed her bare leg.
This instantly got her attention and her eyes were suddenly wide open. She looked around the parking area as they drove up and noticed no one was home once again. She jumped out of the car before he had a chance to fully stop and started to giggle loudly.
“The first one to the bedroom gets the comfy sleeping spot.” Madison grabbed her key and tried to unlock the front door before he had a chance to get out of the car. She heard the car door slam and footsteps close behind. She squealed as she finally got the door open and ran down the hall toward her bedroom.
Jacob shut and locked the front door before taking off after her at a quicker pace. He never noticed the watchful eye of her aunt, who stood on her own front porch, shaking her head at the two careless youngsters.
“Are you coming in?” Emily stood outside Zach’s car, waiting for him to make his decision about spending the night. She only felt safe and secure when he was around, so she was hoping he’d say yes.
“Won’t your aunt notice or say anything?” He saw that her car was there and lights were on in the house.
“I’ll get you up so you can leave before she wakes up, okay?” Emily came around to where he was standing and ran her fingers down his chest and onto his rock-hard stomach. “I just feel so much better when you stay over.” Her hand went down to his crotch.
“Okay, you got me convinced.” He took her by the hand as they walked together to the front door.
“Hello?” Emily whispered loudly as they walked in through the front door. There wasn’t any answer, so that could mean Aunt Maureen was either sleeping on the sofa or had gone to bed. She started to back up the stairs and wiggled her finger, beckoning Zach to follow her.
Emily took off her shirt and threw it down to him and continued walking up the stairs. Next was her bra and that was thrown to him also. He picked up the pace and was only two steps behind her before she got to the button on her shorts. His hand gripped hers before she could open them.
“We better get the rest of the way up before we both fall down the steps. Plus, we don’t wanna wake up Auntie.” Zach led her down the hall and into the bedroom.
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