Prologue

As she walked through the Forest of Old, Elena thought of all the wrongs she had done in her long life. She thought of her children, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren and the burden that she would leave them once she left this world. Once she would have laughed at the thought of dying, but now the thought didn’t seem so out of the question. The world was changing, and it seemed that she was falling more and more out of the times. Maybe, she thought, it was her time. She walked towards her house in the Forest of Old, laid down in her bed, and drifted to sleep. From this sleep, she would never wake.

The forest continued to grow, and it covered her house. She was soon forgotten by those who knew of her house in the Forest of Old, and her family forgot their legacy. Their heritage and gift would not be remembered for a long time...

A New Face in a New Place

Jamie had just moved to her new house in Maryland. She was ready for a new start on her life, where nobody would judge her for the past that haunted her. Her belongings were still in the boxes that lined the living room of the two story house, and she was tired of all the stress that came with the move. With her short 5’ frame, it would be difficult to move all the items just where she wanted them, and she didn’t know a soul in this state to help her.

Jamie reflected, once again, that it might not have been the best idea to move to a part of the country where she didn’t know anyone, but the only place she knew people was the small town she grew up in. She never wanted to go there again. Jamie decided to take a break and go take a drive around the area. She had seen some beautiful fields on the way in that would help her relax, and also wanted to get a feel for the area.

Leaving the confines of her new house, she walked down her front stairs and went to her car. Driving out of her neighborhood, Jamie reflected on how lucky it was she was able to find a good house and job so quickly. After the last four years of high school horror, she was ready to leave, and with her settlement from the boys who hurt her, she was able to do it right and cut off all ties.

Driving to the outskirts of town, Jamie hoped that Frederick would accept her. The small town was close to Washington DC, at least in that there were a lot of commuters that lived there. In reality it was about a three hour drive, and Jamie was glad that she wouldn’t have to be making it. She would be working as a manager in a bookstore in the mall. It was one of those thrift book stores that you could bring your old books in and get credit for them and buy new or used ones. Since Jamie loved to read, it seemed like the perfect fit for her.

Jamie decided to go meet her new boss, she was already driving in the right direction for Francis Scott Key Mall, so it seemed like the perfect choice. When she pulled into the parking lot and found a spot. Jamie paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. This would be where she was going to work, hopefully for a long time.

She looked into her vanity mirror and put a bit of makeup on. Some mascara to darken the light eyelashes that came with her blonde hair, and lightly applied some brown eyeshadow to bring out her bright blue eyes a bit more. She had a cherubic face, so a little bit of pink blush and light red lipstick would be enough to make her look at least close to her 19 years, and she wanted to make a good impression on her new coworkers. Jamie walked up to the entrance of FSK (the abbreviation for Francis Scott Key mall), held her breath, and went in.

~-~

As Bran was rearranging the display in the window to his bookstore, he saw a young lady walk in. She was beautiful. Dressed in just jeans and a form fitting green tee-shirt, he thought she was the most gorgeous thing he had seen in years. Her short blonde hair was shiny and looked very soft, and all he wanted to do is touch it, to touch her and see if she was real.

How could this be happening after all this time? He had already lost all that he had loved before, how could the gods be so cruel as to put something else like this in front of him? How could they say that she was the one chosen for him when he didn’t want anyone? He realized that she was coming up to him and turned around.

She started speaking, “Hi! I’m Jamie Wagner, I was recently hired for a managerial position here. I was wondering if I could have a look around.” So, the young lady was to be his new manager? This would be...interesting to say the least.

“Hello Miss Wagner, I am the owner of this store, Bran Varzala. Please, feel free to look around, if you have any questions, ask away.” Bran hoped that she wouldn’t have any, but she was a woman after all, they always had lots of questions. Luckily she would mainly be working when he wasn’t, since that was the whole point of hiring a manager, to give him some time off.

“Um…what are my responsibilities going to be here? Also, can you show me around the back a bit? I would like to see all of where I will be working.”

“You basically will be working on days that I am off. I’ve been quite busy with personal things and won’t be working as often as I used to. In this store we accept used book for credit and sell both new and used. To find out if a used book can be accepted for credit, you look them up in the system and check the condition. Depending on what condition it’s in and how in demand it is according to the system, the customer will get different amounts of credit. I will assess all the books values for when we put them out on the floor.”

Bran replied to the girl’s questions quickly, barely glancing in her direction. He didn’t want a reminder of her beauty, and had a hard time keeping himself in line just because of her very scent. She smelled like vanilla which he loved, and he hated that he loved it. He didn’t even know the girl and already knew that she was his chosen one, as would any of his kind. He wondered if she knew it as well.

~-~

Jamie could not stop staring at this gorgeous piece of man flesh in front of her. He was sculpted like a god and had to be at least 5’6”, which was a perfect height for her-she had to look up at him, but didn’t have to crane her neck. She had decided to keep it professional, for now at least, since he seemed to be a bit frosty towards her, but she wasn’t sure that she could keep up the pretense. There was something that seemed to just draw her to him.

Bran showed Jamie around the storeroom, and Jamie felt the connection strengthening the more time she spent alone with him. He still seemed frosty, so she decided it was time to go. “Thank you for your time, when should I report for work?”

“You can come Tuesday, opening time is at 10:00, so be here by 9:30 and I’ll show you how to open.”

Taking her leave, Jamie left the mall and drove back to her house.

~-~

Feeling her from the shadows of the forest, the creature knew that a suitable prey was now here. Now, he could hunt. Now he could feed on one whose blood would be sweet, and whose screams would be music to his ears.

The creature felt his prey go further and further away, but he could wait. She would be his.

chapter 3 (I'll think of a good one later...)

Bran was in the forest once again. He walked to the small cottage he knew would be down the path. Staying where he could see, he waited for the nightmare that he knew was to come. The nightmare that came every night.

Bran had never found his mate and like most of his species, didn't expect to find her in his lifetime. He did, however, find a woman that he liked and married her. She bore him a son whom Bran loved dearly.

On this night, the forest was dark with the new moon, and more quiet than natural. Bran's son had just gone to sleep, and Bran was out hunting in his animal form. Humans from the village outside the forest had learned that Bran and his family were shifters. The villagers went to the cottage in the forest. Barring the doors and windows, they put the cottage to the torch while his wife and son were still inside.

Bran heard their screams from far inside the forest, and ran to save them. He was too late. When bran arrived the house was just a jumble of burnt timber and scorched rock. Those screams that he heard on his travel back would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Bran awoke from his dream sweating and panting with his teeth in his animal form. As a panther he had quite long canines and he had to be careful who saw. Stretching, he got up from his bed and climbed downstairs to the kitchen. He always wanted a good meal after having one of those dreams, and since he had them every night, his house was well stocked for breakfast.

Making himself some eggs and bacon with buttered toast, Bran started thinking on the new manager, Miss Wagner. She was perfect, and came too late for him. He knew that she was his mate, and he hated her for it. Again he wondered how the gods could put such a precious morsel in front of him and expect him to make himself vulnerable to lose it all again.

~-~

When Jamie woke up she was very tense. She knew that she had had a very bad dream, but she couldn’t remember what it was. All she knew was that there was a strange man, and Mr. Varzala was there as well. Jamie felt like she should be able to remember more, but it was gone.

As Jamie walked tot he bathroom, everything seemed brighter than usual. The carpet under her feet felt softer than before. Stepping into the shower, Jamie calmed herself. As she cleansed her body, she also cleansed her mind. Once she was done, Jamie did her daily ritual of dressing, doing her hair, and putting on her makeup.

Walking through her kitchen to the back door of her townhouse, Jamie wished she had gone to the grocery store yesterday. She would have to stop at Panara for a bagel before she went to work. Walking down the stairs, Jamie went to her now empty car and started driving.

When arriving at FSK mall, Jamie went immediately to the bookstore. She was a bit nervous about seeing Mr. Varzala again after last night’s dream, but once she saw him in the window she knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep her eyes off him. He was just too perfect. Jamie knocked on the window and Mr. Varzala let her in.

~-~

Bran looked over Ms. Wagner as she walked in. She was gorgeous in a tight fitting pair of jeans and a low cut sweater that showed off her every curve. “I’ll be working with you today till you get the hang of things” he said curtly.

“Sounds good, where do I start when opening the store?” She replied in her sweet sounding voice. He wanted to hear it all day. He hated her voice. He just wanted to stop the pain that being around her perfection brought back, stronger than it had been in the past couple centuries.

Impressum

Bildmaterialien: Tim Barnes
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 05.02.2012

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