Бри Деспейн - The Dark Divine

He kissed me back. His lips firm but yielding, hard yet soft. He was holding back--keeping me safe.

I cupped my hand over the warm stone pendant of his necklace, holding it tight against the nape of his neck as I looked him straight in his dark brown eyes and said, "I love you."

Daniel's hands pressed against the small of my back, pulling me hard against his body. He kissed me deep and strong. My knees melted softer than before.

He pulled back slightly, his eyebrows furrowed. "Do you know what that means?"

"Yes. It means I'm the one who can cure you."

He pulled away. "No, Grace. I'll never ask you to do that. I can't possibly ask you to kill ..." He shook his head. "And it's too dangerous."

"I don't care. I'll do it."

"Grace, we're not talking about a little prick with a knife and a little blood on your end. You'd have to kill me."

"Don't act like I haven't thought this through."

"Have you, Grace? Do you realize it's not just me you'd have to kill? The letter said to plunge the knife into the wolf's heart. I'd have to be in full wolf form, and that would be too dangerous for you. I'd rather go to hell than ask you to do that."

I stepped back for a second, creating a gap between us. I hadn't thought that through. I hadn't even considered any physical dangers on my end--staring down a werewolf that knew I wanted to kill it.

I stepped closer to him again. "You won't have to ask." I took his hand in mine. "I'd do anything to save you."

"Anything?"

"Yes."

"I won't let you. I can't..."

"Then why did you stay? Why didn't you leave as soon as you knew what the cure was?" "Because ..."

"Because this is what you really want. You hoped I'd come to reah'ze that this is what you need."

All this time, I'd been trying to fix Daniel--save him--but you can't save someone unless he wants to be saved. I understood that now. Like I understood a lot of things.

I squeezed his hand. "If this is what you want, then let me do it for you."

Daniel looked up at the sky and scratched behind his ear. "You really are one of a kind. I mean, it's not every day my girlfriend offers to kill me."

"Girlfriend?"

That wry grin slid across his face. "That's the part you question? Man, I should leave town before I really screw you up."

"You can't go anywhere."

"Right, 'cause we've got to go find a nice quiet place where I can turn into a werewolf, and you can run a knife through my heart."

"Don't say it that way."

Daniel looked down at our entwined hands. "And it doesn't bother you? You'd be perfectly line with ending my life?" His voice became bitter, "You'd go on with your life as normal? Keep dating guys like Pete, go to Trenton without me, become some famous artist and never give me a second thought. You'd be fine with all that?"

"Yes," I said.

He pulled out of my grasp.

"I mean, no ... I mean, of course it bothers me. It will bother me when the time comes. But the rest of it doesn't have to he like that. You can do all those things with me--

not the date Pete part, of course. But it's not like I need to kill you right now. We can--"

"You don't understand." He wouldn't look at me. "I either need to die, or I need to leave--today. Before tonight. Before I cause any more damage ..."

I brushed my hand down his cheek.

He flinched away.

"You didn't hurt those people," I said. "Maryanne, James, Jessica Day. It wasn't you, right?"

Daniel fingered his necklace. "No. It wasn't me."

"You've got that moonstone necklace. You can live a ... semi normal life. You can even use your abilities to help people if you want. We don't have to do it today.

Eventually, yes ... but not right now." Putting it off, not really having to face the reality of it all, was the only thing keeping me sane. "That's why you can't leave me. We need to stick together so I'll be there when it needs to be done. Just give me more time, and then I'll free your soul before you die."

"Grace, I wish it were that simple. Time is exactly what we don't have. We can't put this off indefinitely. There's more than one person out there who wants me dead. And if anyone other than you kills me ..."

"Who? Who wants you dead?" I felt like I could wring that person's neck with my own bare hands-- moral consequences be damned.

"My father, for one." Daniel's eyes were wide like a frightened child.

"Is he here? Is he back? Is he the one who---?"

"No," Daniel said. "Last I heard, he was in South

America somewhere. I'd know if he were anywhere close."

"Then why are you so worried? We can deal with all of this when the time comes. All I'm asking for is more time. Can't we just live for today?"

Daniel sighed, sounding resigned. He pulled me into his arms and leaned my head against his chest. I listened to his two heartbeats thrumming under his skin. The slower pulse seemed closer to my ear, the faster one fluttering behind it.

"Is your human heart in front of the wolf's heart?" I asked.

Daniel made a noise like he was surprised that I'd noticed the fact that he had more than one heart. "Yes, but only when I'm in human form. When I'm the wolf, then its heart takes the dominant position. But it's always with me--part of me."

That must be why I needed to stab him while he was in wolf form--to guarantee that the wolf's heart took the brunt of the blow.

"What did the letter mean when it said 'In an act of true love'?" I asked. If I was going to do this--kill him-- someday, I wanted to make sure I understood exactly how to do it right. "The letter said the cure would only work if" you were killed 'in an act of true love' by the person who loved you most."

"I think it means the intent has to be pure," Daniel said into my hair. "Not something done out of fear or hate or coercion. It has to be an act of pure, unwavering love."

"No fear." I pictured myself alone with a monstrous wolf. Was that something I was capable of? I'd have to be. "Just love," I said, and buried those other thoughts.

"Yes," Daniel snorted. "True love's first kill."

He held me tight against him. The parking lot had emptied and filled with a new set of cars by the time he let me go. He brushed his hands through my hair and kissed my forehead.

"You can so do better than that." I stretched up on my toes for a real kiss.

Daniel turned his head away. "What about your brother?"

"I don't want to kiss him" I said, and pecked my lips along Daniel's jaw.

"He's here, you know." Daniel swallowed air. "I can taste him."

"Okay, let's put that on our 'Top Ten Things Not to Say While Making Out' list. Super senses are cool and all, but kinda not romantic. Besides, Jude's probably just picking up April's corsage for the dance... Oh, crap."

Daniel stiffened. "What is it?"

"I'm supposed to go to the dance with Pete tonight. We're sharing a car with April and Jude."

"No." Daniel let go of me. "You can't go out tonight. You have to cancel."

"You know I can't do that. Pete's probably already spent a ton of money. He's a nice guy. I can't just bail--"

"Pete's not as nice as you think," Daniel grumbled.

I laughed. "Are you jealous? Pete's just a friend--"

Daniel grabbed me by the hips. "Of course I'm jealous, Gracie. You just told me that you love me but you are going out with another guy. But this is more important than my jealousy. If I'm staying here, then you have to stay in. I've got enough to keep my eye on. I can't have you out there. Not tonight."

"What's with tonight?"

He looked down. "The full moon."

"The full moon?" I looked at the little crescent carved in his necklace. "You're afraid of the--"

"Even with this moonstone necklace, the wolf is hard to control under the light of the full moon. It's when the wolf has the most draw on the emotions." He bit his lip. "I try my hardest to never go into wolf form. Even though I can control my actions now, it scares me to give the wolf that much leeway. I've only gone wolf twice since I've been back. The last was when I was looking for James. The moon was waning, so I felt safer letting the wolf have a little freedom. But the first time ... it was the last full moon.