Chapter 10

Elijah - Chapter 10

Elijah waited until the count of ten before he took off to the woods after her. Noelle had made him promise three times that he'd give her this head start. He'd had to start over twice when he lost track of where he was every time she sent an image of what she wanted him to do to her when he caught her. Christ, the woman was going to kill him.

He could smell her. Not well, but enough that he could find her. She told him that she'd been working on her skills in hiding. He was pretty sure that Joe had been helping her. And he knew that Joe had been teaching her a few other things as well. Like how to fight.

Hand-to-hand combat was something that his brothers thought that every woman should know. And once Joe started training a few of the woman in the pack on how to defend themselves, it had been a big hit within their group. Not that any mate could hurt their other half, but it was nice to know that they could protect themselves in the world around them. Especially now that the plant was going to bring in all kinds of people.

I don't think you're trying very hard. He wasn't and told her that. Why not? Don't you want to play?

I do. With you, but I was thinking about things. Mostly the pack, but also you. She told him she had been thinking of the stupid envelope. That's what they were calling it now, the stupid envelope. What are you going to do with your money now that you can use it?

He knew she had a few things on her mind, but she'd not made many decisions as yet. One of them was to purchase one of the buildings downtown and turned it into a shop. He knew that she'd be good at that as well.

Your dad said he'd gift me the smaller building that he owns. I think it would be perfect, but I don't want him to give it to me. He told her about how they'd given Trent the cabin in the woods when he'd gotten married. That's what he said too. That it was a wedding gift. I pointed out that it wasn't for you but for me, and he said that you'd be happy if I was.

I am and I would be. She snorted at him, and that's when he saw her. Moving slowly so that his wolf didn't make a sound, he stopped when she looked right at him. You heard me.

No, believe it or not, but I could smell you. He nodded, and she told him to close his eyes. I'm going to try and hide this time. If you find me, I'll take something off. Not too much though. It's getting chilly.

I'll warm you up. She was laughing in his head when he sat down and closed his eyes. I'd take the building. If you don't, then Dad will hound you to death about it. I love him, but I tell you, once he gets something in his head, it's there until he gets what he wants.

He told me that he wants grandchildren. He started to stand and go to her to find out what she said, but she continued. I want children with you. But I'm not sure what sort of mom I'd be. And what happens to our child being that I'm part vamp and you're a full-blooded wolf?

I don't care so long as they're happy and healthy. And I thought of something this morning. About how you can tell when someone isn't human. I think you can do that because of the vampire blood in your system. He stood up when he felt it had been long enough, and made his way to where he'd seen her last. I can smell you stronger now. You're wet, aren't you?

I am. And I've had to take off my panties because of it. His wolf snarled at him to get going after her. Did you know that I don't have on a bra either? I thought that I'd be naked and fucked by now.

Elijah leapt over the log in front of him, keeping his nose in the air to find her. Her scent was everywhere, it seemed. It was as if she'd sprayed each leaf with her juices just to confuse him. When he found what he thought was her footprint, he followed it until he saw her again.

She was indeed without her pants and panties. She also had taken off her shoes and socks. As he made his way to her, careful of where the wind was blowing, he jumped at her when she turned. His wolf held her down with his big body as he tore at her blouse.

He wants to eat you. She nodded and opened her legs for them. His wolf moved down her body to her pussy and sniffed at her. Come for him, he needs it.

As soon as she opened her legs wider for him, his wolf dove at her like he was going to tear into her skin. But instead of hurting her, he brought her three times with just his tongue at her clit. When he began taking her cream into his mouth by fucking her with his tongue, Noelle curled her fingers into his fur and held him to her.

His wolf seemed to be content with feasting on her. Elijah wanted her as well, and when his wolf let him go, he leaned over her, hard and aching. Fisting his cock, Elijah leaned back on his heels and watched her.

"Let me taste you." He wanted that as well and moaned when she wrapped her hand around him. "I've wanted to do this to you since the first time I saw you standing there naked for me."

"Anytime you want to suck on my cock, you go— Mother fuck."

She took him deep into her mouth, swallowing past the tight muscles in her throat until he could feel it wrapped around him. And every time she bobbed her head over him, he knew she was going to bring him quickly.

He held her to him when her fingers touched his balls, and when she cupped them in her hands, he jerked back. She looked up at him and asked him if she'd hurt him.

"No. Christ, no. I was ready to come, and that's not going to give you much if I do." She let go of his cock, and he heard a small pop sound. "I need to fuck you."

"You will when you come down my throat." She fisted him, and he saw stars. "Give me all of you, Elijah, and I will turn around and let you fuck me like an animal. Would you like that?"

It was all he could do just to get his head to nod at her. And when she took him in her mouth again, he noticed that she was no longer gentle but trying her best to bring him as quickly as she could. Even when her fingers slid along his balls, it wasn't until she gave them a small squeeze that he knew that he was done for.

He fucked her mouth harder then. Up on his knees now, he held her to him as he felt his balls tighten and his impending climax run along his spine. When she nipped at him, her teeth just grazing his sensitive skin, he came hard, his cock slamming down the back of her throat like he wanted to in her pussy.

Elijah saw stars and bursts of light in bright colors. He heard his wolf, begging him to take her so he could bite her again. He was sure that he was finished, that he'd come about all he could, when he looked down at her still holding his cock in her mouth.

Pulling her mouth from him was the hardest thing he'd ever done. He was hard still and getting harder, and he needed her. Turning her around so that her ass was in front of him, Elijah slammed forward into her pussy at the same time he slid his finger into her tight rosebud. Her screams had him wanting more.

"Come and I'll make it worth your while." She begged him for it now…whatever it was, she wanted it. "I'm going to bite you here, on your shoulder when you come. Then I'm going to empty my cock inside of you and fill you."

"Yes, please, now."

He told her that she had to come. Begged her to do so. As soon as she screamed again, he leaned over her and took her shoulders to the ground as he tore into her flesh.

Her taste was rich. The moment that he sucked her hot blood into his mouth, he knew what it was. She was ready. And more than likely they had created a child today. Fucking her harder now, needing to be sure that they had, Elijah saw lights again, bright and shiny when he came in her again.

Elijah didn't move when he was complete. That's what it felt like to him too, that he was complete. When he thought he could roll to his back to the ground without hurting her, he did so and held her to him even as his heart slowed. Now he had to figure out a way to tell her what they'd just done. Turning in his arms, she laid her head on his chest and yawned.

"Joe told me today." He didn't even bother asking her what Joe might have told her. "Your mom too. She was a lot more delicate about it than Joe, but she did finally get around to telling me that I was ready to have a child."

"I'm assuming that since you didn't stop me, that you're all right with that." She looked at him then. "I am, if you want to know."

"I am not sure, to be honest with you. I mean about having a child. But I do want them with you." He nodded, understanding completely. "Joe said that you'd be able to tell, but it might have been too late when you figured it out. I thought about mentioning it, but I was sort of afraid you'd tell me no."

"I want children, as many as we can have." She nodded, but there was more. He knew it. "The envelope, I was going to ask you what you think might be in it. Or did she tell you?"

"No, she didn't tell me. I'm not sure that she knows for sure, to be honest. I think that she believes there is money in it. But how much, I'm not sure." She nodded. "Are you afraid that it's something more?"

"No. I mean, it's not like he knew about me. And even if he did, I'm not sure that he would have wanted me either. I know what they said about him being bored and tired, but I can't think that I would have made any difference in his life."

Elijah lifted her chin up so that he could look at her. "What do you think a child of ours is going to do to us? Do you think that it'll make no difference in our lives? Are you thinking that it will mean little to us?"

"No, I'm going to love it with all that I am and then some. And I'll tell our child, every minute of every day, that I love it. But this isn't the same thing." He nodded. "No, he didn't know me."

"No, he might not have, but he did know your mom. And from what Noah told me, he was happy for a brief time after he met her. He knows this because he was with him right after he found her. Did you know that she was married at the time?" Noelle shook her head. "Yes, the man she was married to wasn't a great guy, not abusive, but not very ambitious. And when you were conceived, it was his idea to have you given up or aborted. He had no idea that you weren't his, Noah said. But once he died, your mother kept you, loving you despite the fact that she was poor and alone."

"Then she met Howard." He nodded. "He wasn't good to her either, was he? He had an affair after my mom married him, and then she died."

"Joe is going to find out what happened there. She said that she only has to touch Howard to find out what your mom was like. She has it in her head that someplace in the house you lived is something of hers for you. Pictures or something." Noelle sat up then, excited. "If it's there, then she can find it."

"A picture would be wonderful. I don't remember a thing about her." He nodded, and when she stood up and began to dress in her blouse, he watched her until she turned to him. "You need to come with me. I have to think what I'm going to do with our money."

"All right, but if you mean the lottery winnings, that's all yours to do with as you see fit. I want you to have fun with it."

He was laughing as they made their way back through the woods. Every time she would find an article of her clothing, he watched her struggle to put it on. Once she found her pants, she had to take off both her boots to pull them on. Elijah had never been so entertained by someone dressing before. By the time they got to the house, he was as excited as she was.

~*~

"She's here. Noah told us that Helenia had arrived earlier this morning." Noelle wasn't sure what she was to do now, but she knew that she would do anything to help. When Sterl sat down in the chair by her desk, she wanted to get up and hug him. "I just came from talking to the rest of them and was walking home when I saw you were here. How is it going? Dad said he gave you a desk."

"They found it in one of the buildings that they were working in. I guess it's really old." He nodded. It occurred to her that he was very outwardly calm, but she also knew that he was dealing in his own way. "Elijah said that you were invited to go back to teaching. But that you were going to start in a lower grade this time."

He got up then, moving around the room, touching some of the things that she'd brought over, other items that had been brought to her by TJ or one of the others. He picked up the box of chalk that she'd purchased on her way in this morning.

"Fifth grade math. I have to figure out how to win against her by hurting her first. I'm not sure I know how to do that." She nodded, trying to keep up. "What if I can't do it?"

"Do what, Sterl?" He said teach. "I think you're going to do very well at it. Most of your students already know you, don't they? I mean, you've grown up in this town."

"I did. All of us did." He started drawing on the large chalkboard that had also been unearthed in one of the other buildings. "They don't use these in the classrooms any more. It's smartboards. All computer run and much easier. I don't want to die, Noelle."

"I don't want you to either, Sterl. I've grown to love you a great deal in the last weeks." He nodded, still not moving from where he was standing. As he worked on the board, she watched him. "You can win this against her. You know that, don't you?"

"No." The single word broke her heart. Getting up, she looked at what he had been doing and knew that it was an animal, but was not sure which. "I'd very much like to come and work with you here. To see these old things brought back to life. If I get through this with Helenia, I'm going to think about going back to teaching. I'm not sure yet."

The drawing was magnificent. Even with the single color that he had, he'd managed to bring the beauty of the wolf to life. She stood in front of it, wondering if he'd had colors what the picture would have held.

"I used to draw all the time when I was a kid. It relaxed me in a lot of ways." When he picked up the eraser to no doubt run it over the drawing, she stopped him. "Someone will see it."

"I should hope a lot of people see it." When she put out her hand, he handed her the eraser. "Elijah is working with Doug today on the specs for the building. I was going to go to a few estate sales, as well as a couple of auctions. Were you serious about wanting to work with me? I could use a big strong man to help me lift and tote today."

"I'd really like that." When he grinned at her, she could see the Sterl that she was sure had been missing for a long time. "But you have to buy me lunch. Since I've been...since this thing finished up with me, I've picked up my appetite."

"Deal." She reached to Elijah. Sterl is with me and we're going to go on a hunt. I don't know when we'll be home, but I have an idea that we'll be kind of late. He wants to work with me. And did you know that he drew?

His laughter made her realize how disjointed she'd sounded. I'm glad that my brother is with you, and if you're too late, call me please. And yes, he mentioned that he wanted to work with you in the shop. I'm assuming that he doesn't mean the job you have with Trent. She told him she thought that one was finished. I doubt it. Not with Trent. And yes, I knew that he drew. He's really good at it. I wondered for a long time why he didn't go into that rather than teaching.

I'm going to work on him. She gathered her coat and purse. He drew me a wolf on the chalk board. I think I'm going to have him paint some things in our windows here. It would attract a lot of customers.

I'm sure by the end of the day, not only will you have him drawing again, but giving art lessons to the elderly. She loved that idea and told him. I was joking, love. But you and Sterl have fun. I'm sure that you both could use it, and be careful. You remember what Noah said, she's weak and stupid but can hurt you.

Yes, I remember.

As they got into Sterl's truck she asked him about it. She'd never had much of a car and even when she had one, it was a piece of shit.

"I was actually thinking of selling this one. It's old, so it's really not worth much, but it runs well. What if I showed you how to drive it and then you can use it for the shop? That way I get a tax break and you get something to use." She laughed and told him she would do it. "Good. Perhaps you should think of getting something for yourself too. With the baby coming and all."

"You know?" He nodded and told her it was her scent. "Oh. I guess I give off all kinds of clues that I have no idea about. Can I ask you why it is that no one hugs me? I mean, for such a loving family, no one hugs the women. Why is that?"

"We're possessive. I mean, we will kill someone if they touch what we consider ours. And when you're hugged, the other person's scent is all over you. It can make our wolves very pissy." She thought about that. "And with you breeding, it's doubly hard on the wolf with someone else's scent on you."

It was a lot to think about, this wolf thing, but she let it go, knowing that sometime after the baby was born she'd be converted and understand more. As they pulled up in front of the first house where the tag sale was going on, she looked at him.

"Have you ever dickered with anyone before?" He said he hadn't. When it was priced, he paid it. "Well, don't do that today. Nothing is ever marked what they really want for it. And if you pay full price for something, then we're not going to make much. Remember, we have to sell this, and if we break even, we won't be in business for very long. And I have a list of things that your dad asked me to find as well. Can you look for them for me?"

She handed him the list, and he nodded. Some of the things on TJ's list were things she had no knowledge of. Noelle had taken the list and looked some of them up, thinking that he'd been having fun with her. But there really was a bastard file, as well as a macaroni tool. She was glad that Sterl was willing to find them.

By the time they were both ready for lunch, not only had they found most of the things on TJ's list, but a lot of items for the shop. She'd found most of hers in the second place they'd stopped, and Sterl had even managed to find himself a couple of items as well for his own home. As they were entering the diner, he told her that he was going to take her up on her idea about the art classes.

"I know how to paint as well. I have a few canvases at the house that I've played around with for a while. A lot of them, well a few anyway, I'll never show, but I have a few fluff pieces as well." She'd noticed that he'd bought a box of paints as well as a few dozen paint brushes. It had made him so happy that he'd gotten them for less than the sticker said that she didn't have the heart to tell him she might have gotten a better deal. "I noticed that you're not using all of the building, the second floor. Do you think you can rent it out to me? I'd really like to paint up there."

"I'd be glad to have you up there. It would give me someone to talk to when no one is around." He told her she was going to do well. "I'm not so sure. I mean, I love buying things that I can put in there, but who is going to want a stack of tea towels with flowers embroidered on them? I just thought they were pretty."

"They were. And I bet it's one of the first things you sell." She didn't think she'd sell much of anything, but smiled at him. He was looking younger all the time. After ordering a huge lunch, she asked him about his house. "Mom and Dad helped me buy it. Which is good because after I was hurt, there was no way for me to live at home with all the stairs. I haven't done much to it. I have no idea why, because it's old and needs a lot of work, but I'll get to it. I think that I'll be able to fill it with some of the things we saw today. I like the older, primitive things we saw."

"Elijah wants to do some things to our house." She grinned. "I have a hard time thinking of it as our house. Anyway, he wants to enlarge the dining area, as well as put in a new fireplace in the living room. I love the house the way it is, but I can understand why it's not going to be big enough. He's had to hold off Myra from just doing it for him."

"She scares the shit out of me." Noelle laughed as her sandwich and fries were set in front of her. Sterl had two large meatball subs and a double order of fries. She'd learned that too, that they could eat all they wanted and not gain an ounce. "But I like her. Despite her clothing choices, I really do like her."

When they were finished eating, he paid the check. His reasoning was that he'd had such a wonderful time that he wanted to give her something. They were still laughing as they made their way to the truck and on to the next few houses.