Secret Worlds (360 page)

Aiden turned and sniffed my nose, then my cheek, and nuzzled my ear.

Instinct told me to do the same, to mirror his actions.

We sniffed, we circled, and then brushed up against each other, marking the other with our scents. It was almost like a dance. As we moved, the pack cheered us on; the wolves howled, and the people clapped.

When our dance ended, Brady looked down at me. “If you can turn, now would be the time to do it.”

I remembered what Aiden had told me: “Remember who you are,” and tried to will the jolt of electricity to flow through my limbs. It didn’t work on the first try, but after a few deep breaths, I felt my body begin to expand.

Aiden too transformed back to his human form.

The sun had risen enough now to cast a golden hue on us both, I now understood why this spot was chosen as Mating Hill. It really highlighted us as the centerpieces of the ceremony.

Brady took both of our hands and turned them over. In Aiden’s hand he placed a gold band etched with the phases of the moon. In mine he placed a similar looking band with a milky white stone in the center. “It’s a moonstone,” he answered to my unasked question. “Place these rings on your fingers as symbol of the eternal commitment you have to each other.

Aiden went first, sliding the band on my finger. “You and I forever,” he said.

Tears of joy leaked from my eyes as I repeated the same to my love. “You and I forever.” I placed the ring on his finger.

Brady took both our hands again and held them together. “Wolves mate for life,” he said to us, and then turned us to face the crowd and held our hands high above our heads. “I present to you, Alphas of the Olde Town, Aiden and Fallon Whelan.”

The attending pack members cheered and formed a line to greet us. Each person who approached knelt and swore allegiance to us as their Alphas.

For the second time in so many days, pride overwhelmed me. I couldn’t hold back the beaming smile stretching ear to ear

The whole thing was like a blur of smiling happy people and tail-wagging wolves. When the pack was done, the party began. Brady finally brought us some clothes to wear, and I was so thankful for the warmth. As a wolf, I didn’t feel the chill; but as a human I felt a little like a popsicle.

Brady knelt before us and for the first time ever, there was no playfulness in his face. He was uncharacteristically reverent as he gave us his oath of allegiance and apologized again for his previous actions.

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am for doubting you. It will never happen again,” he said.

Aiden placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I know, brother. Thank you for doing the right thing in the end. I’m glad to still have my
second
.”

“You both can count on me.” He stood. “And now, I’ll leave you to go off and mate.” His playful demeanor returned as if it had never left. Brady gave me a parting eyebrow waggle before he turned and left.

“He’ll never change, will he?”

“Nope. But do you really want him to?”

“Good point. And what about you? Are you planning to change now that’s you’re official?”

“Nope. I’ll always be the same Aiden, your humble servant.” He kissed the tender spot on my neck. The place that made my heart skip a beat.

“A girl could get used to this,” I practically hummed.

“Good, because this is how it is—you and me for the rest of our lives.”

“I like the sound of that.” I turned and captured his lips in a kiss that promised more to come. I was going to enjoy every moment I had with Aiden as my mate.

About the Author

Katie Salidas is a Super Woman! Endowed with special powers and abilities, beyond those of mortal women, She can get the munchkins off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons.  She can put hot food on the table for dinner while assisting with homework, baths, and bedtime … And, She still finds the time to keep the hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). She can do all of this and still have time to write.

 And if you can believe all of those lies, there is some beautiful swamp land in Florida for sale … 

Katie Salidas resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mother, wife, and author, she does try to do it all, often causing sleep deprivation and many nights passed out at the computer. Writing books is her passion, and she hopes that her passion will bring you hours of entertainment.

If You Liked Moonlight … 

Becoming a vampire is easy. Living with the condition, that’s the hard part … 

http://www.amazon.com/Immortalis-Boxed-Set-Vampire-ebook/dp/B00HBSTCZ8

Find Katie Salidas online:
http://www.katiesalidas.com/

Thirty-five years ago

Lash peered at the arrivals board, confused, his hazel eyes scanning the list of flights going in and out of the Houston airport.

“1724. 1724,” he muttered. Flight numbers and cities flipped over as changes were made to the arrival gates. “Damn it. How do you read this thing?”

He brushed a hand over his dark hair with frustration. A seraph should be able to find something as simple as the arriving gate of his work assignment.

Lash sighed as he glanced at the information that the Archangel Gabrielle, his direct supervisor, had given him. Lucky him, he’d been assigned to the one archangel who delighted in his misery. He wouldn’t put it past her to give him the wrong flight information intentionally and make him scramble at the last minute to find his charge.

“Javier Duran, age eight. Flight 1724, arriving at 12:05 p.m.,” he read. He flipped the card over and gazed at the photo of the little boy with light coffee skin, chubby cheeks, and big brown eyes.

“Where is your plane, little one?” He looked up again as the number 1724 popped onto the board.

“Finally.” He noted the gate number and made his way through the bustling crowds.

“What? I can’t hear you.” Lash heard a young woman yell into the pay phone. “No, his plane hasn’t landed yet. It should be here in a few—”

The woman broke off midsentence, and Lash turned to look, curious to see what had happened. The woman squinted through her pink-tinted glasses straight at him.

Lash jumped back in surprise. It was as if she could see him! Most humans couldn’t when he took his angel form—except for small children or animals, but even that was rare. When adults did manage to get a glimpse of him, they often dismissed him as a figment of their imagination.

“Anita, qué paso?” Lash heard the voice on the other end of the line ask. “What happened?”

“Wait a minute, Gloria.” Anita took off her glasses and wiped the lenses with her floral polyester blouse.

Lash stood motionless, waiting to see if she would say something about his presence. Anita placed her glasses back on, her brown eyes darting in his direction again. After a moment, she shook her head and turned her attention back to the caller.

“Never mind, I thought I saw something.”

Lash exhaled—she hadn’t seen him after all; at least, no more than the fleeting glimmer that others sometimes claim to see.

“Give me the information again. I need to write it down.” Anita dug into her purse and drew out a scrap of paper. Candy and gum wrappers fell onto the carpet along with a black pen. “Where’s my pen? I can’t find anything in this purse.”

“Say a prayer to St. Anthony.”

“Good idea.” Anita closed her eyes. “St. Anthony, St. Anthony. Please come down. Something is lost and can’t be found. Help me find my pen so I can write down the information Gloria should have given me this morning before my eight-year-old son got on the plane all by himself. And while you’re at it, can you ask the Lord to forgive Gloria for her forgetfulness? She has to put up with my ex-husband, and only the Lord knows how helpless that man is—especially when it comes to washing his underwear.”

“That’s enough prayer,” Gloria snapped from the other end of the line.

Lash chuckled. There was no St. Anthony—at least not in the airport. He picked up the pen and placed it on the edge of the pay phone shelf.

Anita shivered. “Dios mío, I felt a chill. They keep it cold in here. They should—” Her eyes widened when she spotted the pen. “How did that get there?”

Anita turned, and Lash froze. She was nose-to-nose with him—so close that he could smell her minty breath and see a red lipstick stain on her front tooth. She closed her eyes, and smiled. “Gracias, St. Anthony. I’m blessed.”

Lash blinked with amazement. It had been a long time since he’d come across a human like her. An aura of peace surrounded the tiny dark-haired woman, as if she knew they were watching over her.

He glanced at the clock and left Anita talking to Gloria. The boy’s plane was scheduled to land soon. As he rushed down the hall, he wondered if his assignment was Anita’s boy.

When he got to the gate, he looked out the large window at the empty tarmac where the plane should have been. Instead, Jeremy, his best friend, stood on the tarmac. He was dressed impeccably, looking more like a model off the cover of a
GQ
magazine than the Archangel of Death. His golden hair, swept back off his face, glimmered under the Texas sun. Lash found it rather odd that he would care so much about his appearance, considering that he rarely appeared in his human form. Most people knew him only by his angel name, Jeremiel, and when he did appear to them, it was because they were dying. Jeremy, like Lash, had decided to modernize his name a few years ago. Too bad he hadn’t done the same with his clothes. Compared to Jeremy, Lash looked like the perpetual teenage rebel, favoring ripped jeans and fitted t-shirts.

Lash wondered why Jeremy hadn’t mentioned an assignment in Houston during last night’s poker game. For the first time since they’d started playing decades ago, Lash had been winning, and they were having a great time—smoking cigars and drinking whiskey. It wasn’t until Gabrielle had shown up and handed Lash the assignment that Jeremy had become unusually quiet. He’d appeared so uncharacteristically upset when he had asked Lash to accept an IOU on his winnings—although Lash couldn’t think of when he’d ever have a need to call him on it. Gabrielle seemed to have been in a foul mood, too. Maybe he should have reconsidered puffing smoke directly into her face. She probably didn’t like that.

Lash was about to join him on the tarmac when Gabrielle glided into view. She whispered something into Jeremy’s ear, and his ever-present smile froze. Whatever she’d told him, it couldn’t have been good.

He followed Jeremy’s gaze and looked at the cloudless sky. In the distance, he saw a tiny speck and instinctively knew it was Flight 1724. Lash glanced at Jeremy and wondered if his assignment involved someone on the same flight.

Jeremy gave Gabrielle a nod and instantly vanished. Dread hit the pit of Lash’s stomach as Gabrielle lifted her arms into the air and swirled her slender hands in circles. Trees surrounding the airport swayed as the wind picked up and dark clouds began to form.

Lash pressed his palms against the glass pane. What was she doing? He gritted his teeth, wondering if she was intentionally trying to make his job more difficult. He’d been told to watch over Javier and to make sure he returned safely to his mother. Gabrielle had conveniently forgotten to tell him that the boy would be in real danger—or that the danger would be Gabrielle herself.

Lash watched as she continued to manipulate the wind and clouds.

“Looks like a storm’s comin’,” said a woman sitting in the row of seats behind him.

“That’s Texas weather for you,” said the man next to her. “One minute, it’s a sunny day; you blink, and then all hell breaks loose.”

A loud bang of thunder caused the glass to vibrate under Lash’s hands. He stepped away as a stream of ice pellets slammed to the ground.

“Lord, have mercy,” the woman said as she pressed a hand to her chest. “That was a loud one.” She looked out the window. “I hope it passes soon. Wouldn’t want to be caught up there in this storm.”

It was then that Lash knew why Gabrielle and Jeremy were there and why he’d received this assignment. Not all the passengers of Flight 1724 were going to make it into Houston alive.

He closed his eyes and projected himself into the plane. When he opened them, he was standing in the aisle next to a pretty girl. Her pale blond hair was tucked behind her ears, highlighting her vibrant blue eyes. She couldn’t have been more than twelve, yet something about her made her appear wise beyond her years.

Lash gazed out the window at the fog of darkness that surrounded the plane. All around him, passengers muttered anxiously as they looked out. They were scared.

A whimpering sound from the seat behind the girl caught his attention, and he stepped toward it. Sitting in the seat was a small boy, his feet barely touching the floor.
Javier
.

“Mother, he’s scared,” the little girl said. “May I go sit with him?”

The woman, an older replica of the pretty girl, took a nervous gulp of her cocktail. “No, it’s not safe.” The plane gave a jolt, and she dropped her drink to the floor, the amber liquid splashing on her white linen suit. Color drained from her face as she clutched the armrest. “Oh my God.”

The girl leaned into the aisle and looked back at the little boy sitting behind her. “But, he’s all alone.”

“Do as I tell you, or I’ll have to tell your father when we get home,” the woman snapped as she dabbed her pants with a napkin. “The stewardess will tend to him.”

Lash watched the girl blink rapidly and felt a tug in his chest as she wiped away her tears. She placed a determined look on her face before turning her attention back to the boy.

“It’s okay. Shh, don’t cry. We’ll be landing soon,” she said. “What’s your name?”

The little boy looked up. Brown eyes framed by long lashes locked with hers. Tears lined his chubby cheeks. “Ja—Javier.” He sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his shirtsleeve.

“Hi, Javier. I’m Jane.”

The plane dropped, lifting Javier off his seat for a split second before he slammed back down. He sobbed.