“Eden! Eden, wake up! Lass, please, Eden!”
Hands, so many hands on me as I struggle and fight. I manage to catch one of my assailants in the face with a flailing hand and I’m punished by boots kicking me in my ribs and legs. I turn my head to the side to escape a leering face trying to kiss me and see the heavy boot rearing back for a kick to my head. It flies toward my face and just as it’s about to make contact…
“WAKE UP!”
The scream rips out of me, tearing at my throat as my eyes fly open and latch onto Sebastian’s concerned face. Hands are grabbing me still, on my arms, trying to hold me still and it makes me fight even harder until I realize that the hands belong to my wolves. All the tension and fight flow out of me, leaving me panting and weak, and they gently lower me back to the bed and the grabbing turns into soft petting to try and soothe me. I let my eyes flutter closed as I realize that I’m safe here with my men. It’s been so long since I’ve had this kind of nightmare and I forgot how much of a toll they take on me. With the gang and redcoats merging in the attack, I know that what happened today triggered it. As I get my breathing back under control I open my eyes again and see the wolves and Sebastian exchanging loaded, angry looks. My voice comes out raspy from all the screaming I must have done.
“I’m okay. I’m fine now, I promise. I’m sorry if I scared you.”
All of their eyes snap back to my face and soften but it’s Cade that leans down and kisses me softly on the lips and then pulls back enough to wipe the wetness from my cheeks and gaze into my eyes with a determined look.
“Nay, lass. Dinnae be sorry. You can’t help your night terrors and it’s ta be expected after what happened today. Just rest assured that nothing like that will ever happen again. We have a plan ta take ya far from here and the dangers of the British. We will keep ya safe,mo chridhe.”
My brow furrows at his words and I scoot further up in the bed pulling the blankets with me so I can sit up and see the others and that’s when I spot Luca hovering halfway into the room. I swallow down the rawness in my throat.
“Leave here? But…but this is your home.”
Sebastian sends Cade an annoyed look but reaches to take my hands. “It’s just a house, Eden. We don’t care about such things. All that matters is that you are safe and with what you have told us about the war and what happened today, we all feel that it would be best to leave this area until it is over.”
I shoot a look at each one of them and see that they all agree and my shoulders slump in sadness. I’ve caused such problems for all of them coming back and this just adds to it. I shove my hair back away from my face and sigh.
“W-where would we go?”
Sebastian settles onto the bed beside me and holds my hand. “West, we will go to the west. There are great swaths of land that have not been settled yet. We will buy wagons loaded with supplies, hire on any who wish to travel with us, and find a remote location to build our new home. It will be hard work but there have been many that have already gone that way to escape colonial rule and the overreaching hand of the British. This continent is a brave new world and we will find our place in it and prosper.”
I chew on my bottom lip as I consider the huge undertaking he’s talking about. Far from any type of civilization, there would be no safety net to fall back on if things went wrong. I try and picture myself as an adventurous homesteader and come up blank. Finn takes my free hand and squeezes it with an excited look in his eyes.
“Think of what a grand adventure it will be, lass! Exploring new untouched lands? No prying eyes in our life. We can do and be anything we want to. We will not have to hide our true selves!”
I smile a sad smile at him but shake my head and glance at the others. “It’s not fair. None of this is fair. I had no idea that coming back would cause you all so much trouble and pain. I hate that because of me you all will have to leave your home and the life you built here. It’s just not fucking fair.”
Luca steps further into the room and frowns at me. “There is nothing fair, as you say, about this world. As for you being the reason we are leaving, you may be the catalyst of it happening now but most likely we would have gone west at some point in the future. We are all weary of the conflicts of men and having to hide our natures from them. It will be refreshing to go far from them and have a measure of peace for as long as it will last.” He takes a step closer and his frown deepens. “You have told us a great deal about what is to come. How expansion and populations will explode over the next few centuries. This may be our only chance to live free before that happens.”
They all nod their agreement at his words but I can’t help but worry still. I’ve never asked about what Sebastian and Luca…eat but if pop culture has taught me anything about vampires it’s that they need blood. Luca told me about when he was first turned into a vampire and that he killed so many people in his bloodlust so if we move far away from people then how will they…feed? I swallow my nervousness at asking such a delicate question and just put it out there.
“If there are no people…how…how will you…eat?”
An amused smile forms on Bas’ face at the hesitation in my tone. “Sweetheart, the sheer amount of wildlife on this continent has easily sustained Luca and me for decades. Today - those soldiers - That was the first time I have fed off a human in years. I imagine the unsettled lands will be teaming with all the wildlife we will need.”
I settle deeper under the covers with another sigh but nod my head. I guess it doesn’t really matter where we go as long as we’re together. A small smirk lifts my lips. Eden Kelly…pioneer woman.
Eden
The next week is a flurry of lists, maps, and plans as we plot our trip west. Flora and Aiden are fully on board and their excitement to leave here and settle new lands is contagious. Sebastian and Cade have gone to town to begin purchasing the wagons and interviewing people who are looking for work and might wish to leave the area. There’s so much to do and buy and I would seriously give my left tit to be able to Google some of this shit. I mean, we will essentially be camping for the foreseeable future, living out of covered wagons and cooking on open fires. My parents used to take Hope and me camping when we were growing up near the Cascade Mountains, so it’s not like I’ve never done it before but there’s a fuck load of difference between living in a tent trailer with a mini-fridge and a propane stove for a weekend and long term living on the trail. It’s the start of August now so that means fall and winter will hit us long before we will have any house built. I’m excited until I have images of us huddling around a campfire in a snowstorm with hypothermia. It makes me run back to the maps and search out routes going southwest where the weather won’t get so cold.
I try and remember my geography as I study the map that only shows the current colonies in this time. If we go straight west that will take us into what will become Kentucky, Missouri, and further into Kansas. Those states aren’t exactly known for their tropical winters. Going southwest, we could travel through what will be Tennessee, Alabama, and into Mississippi where winters will be much warmer. I have zero idea about what is happening in those places in history but I do know that a lot of land west of the Mississippi will be sold in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and that it’s currently owned by the French. With the Duc de Gaul title still in play, going to that side of the river might be the best place for us.
I straighten up, away from the map I’ve been leaning over with a sigh of longing for my long-lost friend, Google, who would make this so much easier, and spot Luca standing in the doorway watching me. We haven’t talked since I threw him down and had my way with him. I still have no idea where he’s at as far as us but at least he’s stopped with the nasty remarks and cold tone and he seems to be on board with this whole great pioneer adventure. I’m still a little pissed at him for the way he’s treated me, though. He’s staring at my chest with a thoughtful expression and it makes me look down to check if my girls have spilled out of the dress while I was leaned over. Finding them exactly where they should be I look up at him with a raised eyebrow and put all the sarcasm I can muster into my voice.
“Something I can help you with, Your Grace?”
His eyes meet mine as he pushes off the door frame and steps into the room.
“You stopped wearing your clothes. The clothing you brought with you, I mean. Why?”
Shame rises up but I push it down just as fast and jerk my head to get those thoughts from it.
“I thought it best to wear what’s suitable to this timeframe from now on.”
