Gifted

GIFTED

Forest of Dean Wolves

K.A.Jones

Published by Kirstie Jones. Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013. K.A.Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without prior written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. The names of places are real, but the author has adapted the places to bring the story to life for entertainment purposes only. Any events or incidents are the products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to any actual person, either living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Licensing Agreement.

Please do not replicate or use any characters in this book without written permission from this author.

Acknowledgements.

Thanks to you, the readers, for your continuing support and expressed love of the characters that I create.

Thanks to Sarah Buckthought from Sarbucks Design (sarbucksportfolio.co.uk) for the artwork/cover.

And lastly - Thanks to my family, especially my brother for critiquing my writing and casting your beady eyes over my work and spotting my typos.

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Kirstiejones

Contents

Chapter One 3

Chapter Two 3

Chapter Three 3

Chapter Four 3

Chapter Five 3

Chapter Six 3

Chapter Seven 3

Chapter Eight 3

Chapter Nine 3

Chapter Ten 3

Epilogue 3

Chapter One

Have you ever seen someone and just known that they were meant for you? You go out of your way to see them, just so you can speak to them – but when you are face to face, you never know what to say? Well, you are not alone. This happens to me every Tuesday and Thursday when I take Hope and Angel to school. Hope uses her mojo and makes me feel all calm and peaceful, I get in front of their teacher and I freeze. My mouth becomes dry, I swear my heart stops beating and I feel like I can’t breathe. It’s been like this since I first set eyes on Miss Honeywell, but I’ve never found the courage to say, Hi, I’m Lochlann, do you fancy meeting up sometime? No strings, just a friendly drink and see how things go.

Angel gloats like the little minx that she is, and finds it funny. I can’t say I blame her really, if I was witnessing someone falling apart the way that I do, I would laugh too. I also think its payback. I insist on walking the girls into class, just so I can catch a glimpse of her.

I tried reading Miss Honeywell when I first met her. I shook her hand briefly when we were introduced, but there was some kind of block stopping me. I smell her fear and I know that she distrusts me, even though I have never given her reason too. Well, apart from trying to find out a little bit about her, and who wouldn’t if they had the chance? If you had the ability to touch someone and know if they were ‘a nice person’ and you could see glimpses of their lives, would you do it?

Angel has an amazing gift; she can look into someone’s eyes and see the real person behind them. She knows if someone is good/bad/evil, but a more recent development is she can see people’s future. Sometimes it’s a full on detailed viewing of an event and other times it’s just a quick pre-view. Her talent is developing. It’s new and raw but one thing we are learning is that the events that are focused in her visions can happen. We are not sure of their accuracy but it is enough for the pack to believe her. Angel told her Mum to become a nurse and learn all the skills she could, so Kat has thrown herself into training with her Mum Carol, and Doctor Brookes. Hence – why I am taking the girls to school on these days.

Hope is an Empath. She can feel your emotions and pain as if they are her own. If she touches you, she can make you feel calmer and at peace. If you are hurt, she can take away the pain. I’ve witnessed the after effects of this particular talent, and as she has got older, the effects have slowly gotten worse. She used to get a slight headache or tummy ache, but after a few minutes she would be fine. Watching someone you’ve known since they were a baby keel over and have a fit is darn right scary, especially when you know it’s because they have taken someone’s pain away. Jake has now issued everyone a warning, and anyone who uses Hope to take away their pain, will be excluded from the pack. As Alpha, his word is law.

Rob, Kat’s Father went one further, his warning was – If anyone uses his granddaughter to relieve their pain, they will feel pain for the rest of their lives. I had no doubt that he would inflict injuries that would be a constant reminder that you had gone against the Alpha’s wishes.

Miss Honeywell had contacted Rob to see if she could move into the forest. It was usual protocol when moving close to another pack to let them know your intentions and seek permission of the Alpha.

Jake and Rob had called a meeting to discuss the benefits of having a wolf shifter working and living close to the community. Kat had liked Miss Honeywell immediately. Jake was more cautious and asked why Miss Honeywell had chosen to live outside of a pack and she’d simply said, I’m barren and no use to my pack, so they kicked me out. I’d gripped the table so hard; I thought it was going to break.

Every person in Rob’s dining room struggled to keep their outrage under control. You could feel both of the Alpha’s controlled anger, the tension in the room intensified – almost becoming unbearable, when you looked at Rob and Jake, their faces were a blank slate. Void of showing any emotions. Kat on the other hand wasn’t afraid to show how upset she was. Tears had dampen her cheeks as she’d whispered, That’s so sad. I’m sorry. Miss Honeywell glanced about the room, her hand had slowly lifted to her ear and she began rubbing the lower lobe between her thumb and finger. It was the only sign that Miss Honeywell had found the meeting a little uncomfortable. She’d had a tight lipped smile upon her face and had simply said It was a long time ago now, and I’m happy on my own. I’d wanted to touch her, not to read her, but to offer her some form of comfort. My wolf was close to the surface, intrigued by Lexie, wanting to protect her. I listened attentively, wanting to learn everything I could about her.

Once everyone had got their emotions under control, Miss Honeywell went on to explain that several males had tried to impregnate her and her father had not protected her. She’d been forced from the pack and had chosen to remain free from pack life. She’d gone to university and trained to become a teacher. She’d moved around for a few years taking jobs covering maternity and sick leave and then heard of a permanent job vacancy in the Forest. When she arrived, she located the pack and put in her request to meet the Alpha and request permission to live close by.

Miss Honeywell was introduced to the girls at the meeting. The room fell silent as Angel had stood staring at her for several minutes before stepping away. Angel’s eyes swirled between green and blue as she read Miss Honeywell. Angel tilted her head to one side and thought about what she had seen. She smiled at Miss Honeywell and said You will be happy here, but it’s going to take time. Jake quickly said, I guess that’s Angel’s way of saying welcome to the Forest. When Angel read strangers, they usually were apprehensive because they didn’t understand what she was doing; it freaked them out to see her eyes changing colour and the way her body became perfectly still as images filled her mind. I had encouraged Angel to try and hide her gift from strangers; it would make her life easier in the future, help her blend in at school. We had considered getting Angel some dark sunglasses so that she could continue to develop her skills and no one would be any the wiser, well apart from her stillness as she had a vision, but it was decided that wearing them in the winter would draw people’s attention to her striking eyes.

Miss Honeywell tipped her head slightly and smiled at Angel but said nothing and hadn’t appeared to be troubled by Angel reading her. On some level I knew that Miss Honeywell was aware of what had happened, she intrigued me. There was more to her than met the eye…. Even if that was extremely pleasing and picture perfect! I’d felt my wolf nod in approval; he’d been close to the surface, showing an interest in the lovely Miss Honeywell. I’d shifted about on my seat to conceal my appreciation of the beauty before me. Hope had looked directly at me and given an awkward smile… She’d picked up my interest in Miss Honeywell!

It was agreed by both Alpha’s that Miss Honeywell could attend her interview the following week and if she got the position at ‘Forest View School,’ she was welcome to remain in the forest. She’d declined hospitality from the pack; she told us that she was renting a cottage not far from the village. I’d made a mental note to find out where she was staying so I could make sure she was safe, I’m not sure why I had the strong urge to protect her, but it was instinctual. I needed to do it and wouldn’t deny the satisfaction it would give to me or my wolf to ensure her safety.

She’d looked embarrassed as she tried to issue a few conditions of her own for staying in the area. Her cheeks had flamed a lovely shade of crimson and she’d tried to gain control of her emotions. I’d watched how her breathing had turned into little shallow breaths and how her eyes frantically searched every pack member – until her eyes found mine and they’d widened when she saw that I was watching her. I saw her take a deep gulp and as she’d looked away, her cheeks had heated up even more. When I’d drawn in a breath, I could smell her fear and desire swirling with the intoxicating scent that was Miss Honeywell’s. I wasn’t the only one who’d smelt it; I could see everyone around the large table was doing their best to ignore the scents that were coming from Miss Honeywell. I’d lowered my hand under the table hoping to conceal the bulge in my trousers. Rob had quickly arched an eyebrow at me and asked her to continue. She’d requested that the only contact she had with the pack were to do with Hope and Angel and their schooling.

I’d felt the air leave my lungs when she refused contact with the pack and had to suppress a growl of displeasure. She’d met my gaze, I saw her eyes widen slightly and had felt her wolf come closer to the surface. I’d watched as she shook her head and turned back to the Alpha’s. During the rest of the meeting she’d refused to look my way again.

Rob and Jake had agreed to her conditions and made it clear that she would be welcome to join the community if she wished, but she was adamant that she wished to remain independent of the pack and adamant that she wanted no contact unless it involved the girls. So naturally I had jumped at the chance of taking Angel and Hope to school, I had even offered to take them everyday!

She had started teaching at their school four months ago and the girls were always talking about her. I’d listen and try not to ask any questions, but the girls somehow knew that I had set my sights on the lovely Miss L Honeywell. I had imagined that the L had stood for all sorts of names, Lusty and Lovely had rated quite high but when I learnt her name, it seemed to roll off my tongue as though I had always known it. Lexie, my lovely, lusty Lexie.

I finished my coffee and shouted to the girls that we would be leaving in a few minutes. Jake, Deano and George had been gone for nearly two weeks looking for Angharad; each search resulted in more frustration. She hadn’t been sighted for ten years, but the hunt was still on. It was possible that she had fled from the country, but no stone was going to be left unturned and no-one would rest until she had been found. There were still too many unknowns about the pregnancy and too many unanswered questions. We didn’t know if the baby had survived and there was no way of knowing if it was a threat to the pack.

Kat had left late last night; she was helping Doctor Brookes and her mother to deliver a baby in another community. As it was Thursday, it was my day for taking the girls to school. I was left holding the fort whilst Rob, Kyle, Ash and Ant continued to work on Rob’s new project, a little block of cottages that Robert had acquired. They had been gutted, rewired, plastered and new kitchens had been installed and they were now plumbing in new bathrooms.

The cottages had needed a complete renovation and as they were so close to the community, they were obviously for our ever expanding pack, although no-one asked Robert, we just did the work that he requested from us.

The barn conversion had been my home for the last 10 years. Ant, Cerian and their little one’s Josh and Joe took up most of the space, but we made do with what we had. Ant had chosen colour schemes and designed the layout of each cottage and each one was unique.

Kat and Jakes other barn had been converted into little flats. Deano and George visited regularly, staying for a couple of weeks at a time, before heading off again to deal with pack business or searching for Angharad. Kyle, Amber and their little girl Scarlett, and Ash and Jade lived in this conversion.

I dumped my mug in the dishwasher and shouted the girls one final time. They came down the stairs chatting happily and grabbed their coats and followed me to my car. I knew the routine, start the car, get handed a CD to put in the car stereo, turn up the volume and have them sing their hearts out to whoever was in favour this week.

I pulled into the car park that was for staff only and I heard Angel groan. Uncle Lochlann, you don’t need to take us in today. Miss Honeywell said that we are perfectly safe to stay on the playground with everyone else. Of course, I knew this – but today was Thursday and Miss Honeywell was on playground duty, just like every Thursday.

I grinned at the girls through the rear view mirror and said, You can never be too careful, and besides, today is the day that I pluck up the courage to ask Miss Honeywell to your birthday party. Hope gave me a tight lipped smile and said, But Uncle Lochlann, you know she won’t come. I gave a little sigh and tried not to let disappointment sound in my voice. Yeah, I know babe, but it’s a perfectly legitimate reason to speak to her right? Angel laughed and said, Only if you manage to get the words out and not look like a dork this time! I blew out a breath. That little seed of doubt had been planted and I knew I would screw it up. Just the same as I always did!

The girls scrambled from the car and made a hasty retreat before I had chance to ruffle their hair up. I watched them rush over to their female friends and chat excitedly with them. I drew in a breath and scanned the playground for the fresh scent of Freesia’s and a hint of Cinnamon that belonged to Lexie.

I spotted her on the far side of the playground. She looked flustered as she frantically spoke into her mobile phone. I stayed by the car and watched as she shoved the phone away in her pocket and ran a hand through her long blonde hair. I saw her chest heave once before she straightened up and cast a glance around the playground. She forced a smile and greeted the children. She was spooked; I could see panic and watched her glancing beyond the school boundary fence and into the thick groove of trees. I drew in the scents around me trying to find out what had caused her upset and I found nothing unfamiliar. I found lots of children, different soap powders and shampoos, the grass from the playing fields, the pine needles and leaves that were turning mouldy in the frigid cold and damp conditions. I could smell rain in the distance and the smells that go with humanity such as bread being baked, car exhaust fumes and coal fires.

I watched Hope approach her teacher. Miss Honeywell put on a fake smile and held out a hand and Hope caught hold of it. I began moving and calling out trying to stop Hope, but it was as though everything was in slow motion. I watched helplessly as