Sneak peek
Sweet Nothings
The Chosen One: Prequel
Chapter One
Thunder storms freaked the ever loving hell out of Sam, and he was man enough to admit it. When the wind battered against his windows and thunder and lightning shook the very foundations of his home, Sam wanted nothing more than to curl up in front of the fire with something mindless on television to drown out the noise. Unfortunately, in the real world, he didn't have the luxury of doing nothing. The end of spring semester meant Sam had a stack of final exams to grade before the weekend was over. His students were expecting their grades on Monday, and no one was more demanding than whiny thirteen-year-old middle schoolers. Besides, the sooner he finished, the sooner the summer would be his.
Teaching seventh grade at his hometown middle school wasn't Sam's dream job, but when his dad had been injured on the job and needed some help around the house, Sam had little choice but to go home and help. He’d rented a little house in one of the many suburbs that were mostly empty these days. It wasn't much, but it kept him out of his dad's hair while being close enough to support him on his bad days. The neighborhood butted up against a nice set of woods where Sam was able to hike, explore, and spend time outside. The rest of his hometown was more depressing than anything else. Once the manufacturing jobs began drying up, many of the town's residents had left for greener pastures. Sam had tried to do that, too.
With a grumbled sigh, he pushed out of his beat-up leather chair and headed for the kitchen. He needed to get out of his head and put aside the unsettled thoughts which had been pestering him more and more of late. Nothing like a big old glass of milk with a side of chocolate chip cookies to cheer him up and get his mind back on the task at hand. As he walked into the kitchen, a gust of wind rattled the windows and another burst of thunder sounded. Then Sam heard another strange noise, something that didn't sound like part of the storm raging outside. He glanced toward the back door and noticed the knob twisting.
Someone was trying to get into his house.
Sam quietly lifted one of the copper bottomed pans that hung from a pot rack above his counter. The heavy duty pot was the best weapon he could acquire on short notice and a gift that kept on giving from his ex who’d had the misguided idea that giving Sam expensive kitchen equipment meant he’d settle down and cook and clean. The asshole. The pots had come in handy, though, even after he’d kicked the guy to the curb. Hecouldgrab one of the chefs knives the same jerk had gifted him— it hadn’t been a great Christmas. Especially after he opened the vacuum cleaner— but honestly he didn't think he had it in him to stab anyone. Whacking them over the head with a pot seemed much more reasonable. And less bloody. Hopefully.
The knob twisted one more time and then Sam heard a muffled thump. It sounded like someone had collapsed against his back door. His stomach knotted, and Sam gripped the handle of the pot tighter. He took a moment to wonder why the person didn't just knock and ask for help. The light was on. He was clearly home.
He should probably call the police, but it would take them a good fifteen minutes to arrive. He'd look like an idiot if it turned out to be nothing. With his hands only slightly shaking, Sam approached the back door and unlocked the deadbolt. He lifted the pot above his head ready to swing at what ever had caused the noise outside. He jerked open the door, and nearly jumped out of his skin. A small child was huddled against the door soaking wet and shivering against the cold rain.
“Oh, my God,” Sam said. He dropped the pot onto the counter with a reverberating clang and reached down to scoop the child up into his arms.
He wasn’t expecting the growl.
Or the flash of his blue eyes.
Or for fangs to appear in the kid’s mouth.
“Oh, my God,” Sam repeated. He froze, half-knelt down with his arms outstretched. They stared at each other for a long moment, water dripping into the child’s tired eyes. Another shiver hit, and then the little one jumped into his arms. “You’re okay. I’ve got you. You’re going to be just fine.”
Sam had no idea what he’d just seen, wondered if he’d imagined the… whatever it was he’d witnessed. But the teacher in him, the part of him that loved kids, leapt to the forefront and took charge. With a little face buried in his neck and tiny arms holding on tight, Sam lifted the child tighter to his chest and closed the door to block the chilling wind. He hurried back into the living room and grabbed his favorite blanket from the back of the couch before wrapping it around the shivering body in his arms. Then he returned to the kitchen and reached for his his cell phone where it sat on the counter connected to the charger. He needed to call someone for help. When he picked up the phone, the little one raised its head and snarled.
He hadn’t imagined the earlier flash of animal behavior after all.
Sam gulped and tried not to lose his cool.
He hadn’t imagined the earlier flash of animal behavior after all.
“It's okay,” Sam whispered. His voice shook a little, but he found himself reverting to teacher mode again. “I'm going to call for help.”
“No!” The child began to squirm in his arms, so Sam dropped the phone and backed away from the counter.
“Shh. Settle down. It’s okay.”
The little one stared at him, deep blue eyes blinking back tears and searching for something. While the child inspected him, Sam took a moment to take stock himself. He really couldn’t tell if the child in his arms was a boy or a girl. From the nearly shorn blond fuzz, Sam wanted to assume boy, but he’d learned not to make such assumptions after one spectacular disaster in his substitute teacher days. He waited a moment before trying to speak again.
“Can you tell me your name? I keep calling you little one in my head and honestly, you aren’treallyall that little are you?”
“I’m not little,” the little one protested, as Sam had hoped they would. “I’m six.”
“You’re six! Youarebig. What’s your name?”
“Ollie.”
“Well hi, Ollie. My name is Sam. I really need to call someone to come help us, okay? Someone is probably looking for you and really, really scared.”
“No! You have to get the alpha!”
