Fighting the Inevitable (6 page)

She had light bruises on
her hips and deep love bites on the curve of her breasts. She
hadn’t even been aware of Caleb being so rough with her last night.
The deep ache between her legs actually felt deliciously pleasant
as well as tender. He had been so big and full inside her. She was
still wet from his seed and she suddenly stifled a gasp. He’d come
inside her, and she wasn’t taking any contraception. Even worse, he
might have some disease she didn’t know about.

She groaned loudly, and
rested her head against the cool tiles as the hot water sprayed
over her back. Reckless wasn’t the word for how she’d behaved last
night. Downright irresponsible summed it up so much better. Crap,
she’d have to go to the doctor for a prescription for the morning
after pill. Her cheeks flushed scarlet at just the
thought.

All because she had gone
home with a man she didn’t even know. A man who made it more than
plain he didn’t want to know her either. All he had wanted was sex
and she had quite happily given it to him. Okay, so it was the best
sex she’d ever had, but it still didn’t make what she did any more
palatable.

She was vaguely aware her
hand was still between her legs and she felt a little shiver of
pleasure course through her as she remembered Caleb pushing into
her body. She moaned softly as she remembered how it felt to have
Caleb thrusting hard and fast into her aching body. She had wanted
him so badly, needed to feel him taking her forcefully. He was an
extremely virile man, and he almost seemed to read her mind as he
took his pleasure from her whilst giving her the most incredible
pleasure in return.

She had just wanted to
feel
, and he had made her feel so alive she had soared
through the sky on a wave of pure bliss. The ice around her heart
suddenly cracked under the memory, as Millie’s words resounded in
her ears, and the smell of the trees returned from when they’d
driven through the final place Rafe had walked.

A deep shudder wracked
her body as his smiling face quickly came to mind. Sweet, gentle,
loving Rafe. He was big brother, mother and father to her all
rolled into one, and now he was gone. She would never see his deep
brown eyes sparkle with humour again. Never watch the lazy smile
curl over his wide lips. Never complain when he ruffled her auburn
curls as if she was still six years old.

Rhianna turned the water
off as a deep well of pain built up inside her. She grabbed a towel
as the first deep sob wracked her body and she sank down onto the
cold tiled floor, the towel clutched to her chest.

Rafe was gone. He was
never coming back.

In a blink of an eye, her
perfect life had turned upside down by a simple knock on the door.
A knock that had shattered her so completely, she didn’t know if
she would ever be able to rebuild herself again.

The sounds that ripped
from her throat resembled an animal in deep pain as she rocked on
the bathroom floor, the ice wall she’d constructed so perfectly,
crumbling completely within her. With no defences to protect her,
she threw her head back and wailed out her anguish.

She was vaguely aware of
Millie screaming loudly and banging on her bedroom door, her voice
no longer angry, instead frantic with worry, but she couldn’t drag
herself up from the floor. She threw her head back again, and
screamed her agony into the air, her tears flowing wildly down her
face.

Not Rafe! Not her gentle,
big brother whose only goal in life had been to make sure she was
safe and cared for. He didn’t deserve this. He deserved so much
better in life than to die at the hands of some feral animal,
alone, screaming in an agony that matched the one she was going
through right now.

A loud crashing sound
echoed into the bathroom, but she paid it no mind. She sobbed
loudly, rocking in anguish as she felt Millie wrapping her arms
around her and holding her tightly.

“
I’m here,
Annie,” her friend whispered tearfully, stroking her wet hair and
rocking with her. “You just let it all out, honey. I’ve got
you.”

Rhianna didn’t know how
long she sobbed and railed against the total injustice of losing
Rafe. It must have been a long time, because her voice was hoarse
by the time she was finished, and she had no more tears left, just
a deep ache where her heart was.

Millie’s face was
streaked with tears too, her own grief coming out at the loss of
the hulking man who had been as much of a big brother to her as
Rhianna was her sister at heart. Getting the phone call this
morning had shocked her and worried her so badly she’d yelled at
Rhianna and forced her more into herself instead of opening up to
her. The haunting wails coming from the bathroom had terrified her
and ripped at her very soul. She’d never heard anyone in so much
pain before.

When her friend’s sobs
subsided, Millie helped her to her feet, grabbing her bathrobe, and
helping her into it.

“
Sorry,
Mills,” her friend said numbly, her face a mask of
grief.

“
You’ve
nothing to be sorry for, honey,” Millie answered gently. “It’s me
who should be apologising.” She led her into the bedroom and
Rhianna gasped in shock as she stared at the ruin that had formally
been her bedroom door. Lying on the floor was a large
sledgehammer.

“
Like I said,
I should be the one apologising,” Millie said sheepishly. “I kind
of killed your bedroom door, hon.”

Rhianna felt a bubble of
laughter escape her as she stared at the ruins with wide eyes.
“Rafe to the rescue again,” she smiled sadly, looking at the large
sledgehammer which belonged to her brother.

Millie’s smile echoed
hers. “Good old Rafe, always there when you need him.” she sighed
softly.

“
I don’t know
what I’m going to do without him, Millie,” Rhianna said tearfully
sinking down onto her bed. “He’s taken care of me all my life. He’s
always been there to pick me up when I fall.”

“
I know,
honey. I’m kind of trying to figure out what I’ll do without him
too,” Millie sighed sitting beside her and putting an arm around
her shoulder. “He had such a big, kind heart. Didn’t think twice
about adopting me as his little sister too when we became friends.
It’s a bloody tragedy that someone so kind and gentle gets taken
from this world when there are so many evil bastards out
there.”

Rhianna sat quietly,
staring blankly ahead as she tried to get a grip of her erratic
emotions. So this was what grief felt like. She didn’t like it one
bit. It was white-hot pain and terrible cramps in her stomach. It
was her heart slowly shattering into a million pieces never to be
the same again once it put itself back together.

“
I’m sorry if
I scared you by staying out last night,” she finally said quietly.
“I just couldn’t face dealing with it, Mills. I just wanted to
pretend it hadn’t happened. Just for a little longer. I know it was
stupid and reckless. I promise I’ll never do anything like it
again.”

Her friend sighed and
scooted under the covers, pulling her with her and cuddling into
her back. “You have marks on your skin,” she commented. “The man
you were with last night, he didn’t hurt you?”

Rhianna shook her head.
“No, he didn’t hurt me,” she answered with a deep sigh. “It was
actually pretty incredible if I’m honest about it.”

She went silent, staring
at her bedroom wall with unseeing eyes. “Do you think I’m so
terribly bad, Mills? Am I some kind of heartless person because I
took pleasure in sex last night when I’ve just lost
Rafe?”

Millie hugged her
tightly, hearing the deep pain in her voice. “You couldn’t be bad
or heartless if you tried, honey,” she whispered softly. “It’s not
uncommon for people to seek some kind of affirmation of life when
they lose someone they loved so much. Don’t feel bad for needing
the comfort of a man last night. Rafe wouldn’t want you to ever
feel guilty for being alive, Annie.”

She held her friend
tightly as she began to weep again, more softly this time, the raw
animalistic pain now spent, replaced by a deep aching sadness. She
whispered comfortingly to her, stroking her auburn curls gently
until she finally cried herself to sleep.

~~~~~

The scent of
coffee on the air was prevalent, and it brought a smile to his
face. It was hard not to be happy when he was in the company of the
two most precious people in his world, Annie and Millie, his baby
sister and her lifelong best friend.

Millie was
grumbling and giving him dirty looks for having woken her up so
early, but he knew she didn’t truly mind. Annie was face deep in
the mocha he’d greeted her at the door with, the chocolaty coffee
concoction a sure fire way to earn her forgiveness for the early
hour.

The need to
see them before he headed off on his camping trip had been
overwhelming. He wasn’t used to being out of contact with them for
any length of time despite the fact they didn’t live with him
anymore. He guessed he would never get used to not having his Annie
living in his home. He’d been her primary guardian since their
parents had died when she was only three and he had just turned
eighteen.

His happiness
was complete, his love for the two extraordinary women in his world
absolute…but something was tugging at him, something was pulling
him away from the warmth and contentment, something dark and
insidious, something wild and feral.

NO! He wanted
to stay with them. He didn’t want to leave! He tried to cry out, he
tried to call their names, but they were fading before his eyes,
and they didn’t appear to notice he was disappearing….Annie, come
back! Millie, can you hear me?

A low, deep
growl was the only answer, an agonising burst of pain along every
joint in his body the only thing he could feel. They were gone and
so was he, in his place a feral animal howling and growling. Blood!
Kill! Blood…Kill…

~~~~~

The moment
passed, how long it had taken to pass he didn’t know, but he was
more himself - at least he thought he was. It was night now, and
the scent of the wilderness was all around him. He was camping; one
of his favourite activities and one he’d had to give up when it was
clear Annie and Millie were not the camping kind of
girls.

He hadn’t
minded really, he knew he would one day go back to communing with
nature when the girls grew up. He had always loved nature and
animals, he had been about to go to university to study to be a Vet
when his parents had died and he’d been left to care for Annie
instead. Again, it was a sacrifice that he had never regretted
having to make. He wouldn’t trade his time with Annie for anything
in the world, his baby sister who was more like a daughter to him
than a sibling.

Now he was in
the trees, listening to the sound of the nocturnal animals around
him. Something was off though, something didn’t feel right. He
swung his flashlight around in a wide arc, hearing a noise behind
him as he did.

A prickle
against the back of his neck was all the warning he received. He
started to turn just as the animal at his back sprang with a feral
snarl sounding through the cool night air. Insane yellow eyes were
all that registered before sharp teeth sank into the muscles of the
forearm he’d raised instinctually to protect himself.

He felt shock
rock through his body, followed by pain so sharp he thought he
would pass out instantly from the sheer intensity of it. Fear
swiftly followed the other sensations. He was being attacked by a
wild animal, and the brief glance he’d had of its eyes told him the
wolf was feral.

He lashed out
with his other hand, hitting the animal with the flashlight he
still carried as he cried out in agony as a chunk of flesh was
ripped from his arm. His eyes watered, his vision swam, and he felt
his knees give way.

Self-preservation kicked in instantly. He was on his knees
before the wolf, a sitting target for its next strike. He lashed
out furiously, catching the animal on the side of its head as it
sprang again. His blow was powerful, but nowhere near strong enough
to cause any real damage to the wolf. It backed off briefly, but
only so it could launch another attack from a different
angle.

He screamed
as powerful jaws clenched around his shoulder, biting deep into the
meaty part of his flesh, effectively rendering that arm useless.
Even insane, the wolf had enough intelligence to work out how to
render its prey helpless, and he knew he had only moments left.
Blood was pouring profusely from his wounds and he was starting to
lose consciousness. The instant that happened, the wolf would go
for the killing blow- his throat.

Tears ran
down his face as he fought to stay awake. His sudden inexplicable
need to visit his girls before his trip came to mind. Had he
somehow known it would be the last time he would see
them?

He was
terrified of dying, not for himself, but for his Annie. She was so
young, so innocent, and fragile. His death would crush her tender
spirit in such a way she may never fully recover. He cursed himself
for being so overprotective of her, for sheltering her so much.
Maybe she wouldn’t be so shattered by his death if he’d allowed her
to be more independent, less reliant on him.