The Fire and the Phoenix

SIX | JOHN

"John!"

I felt my control slipping. Tenebris pushed me back, and I saw him stare at Rosalie through his eyes.

"Rosalie," Tenebris said huskily. He touched her face. "I'm sorry if I made you nervous. It's just...I don't know…"

Tenebris closed our eyes and I felt myself being pushed forward. He had given me control again.

Don't mess this up, asshole, Tenebris growled.

I...I can't reject her! I panicked.

I saw Tenebris's toothy grin in my mind. Then don't, he said. The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes.

I shook my head and opened my eyes. Rosie was staring at me. Her eyes had widened slightly, and I tensed when I realized she had probably seen my eyes change from my own light brown to Tenebris's golden hue, then back again. She seemed to shake it off, but still observed me quizzically.

Ok...alright. f**k. Let's see where this takes us.

Tenebris howled in ecstasy.

I looked at Rosie and swallowed. "I feel like I've known you forever, and we've only actually spoken twice," I confessed. I braced myself for the answer I was sure was coming.

She smiled hesitantly at me. "It's weird, right?"

Stunned, I smiled widely. "You feel it too?"

She shrugged. "I don't know what I feel," she answered. Her eyes raised to mine. "But I'd like to find out."

My heart began beating wildly in my chest as my eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

Shrugging again, she whispered "Really."

I wrapped her in my arms for what I hoped felt like a quick, friendly hug. "Does that mean I can take you out tonight?"

She shook her head and pulled out of my embrace. "I always eat out with my parents and uncle after a game."

My face fell.

She grinned. "But I'm sure they'd be ok with you joining us."

I took a deep breath to steady myself. "Going out with your...parents?" I choked. "Already?"

Her beautiful laugh echoed across the parking lot. She grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the parked cars. "Oh, c'mon John. Where's your sense of adventure?"

Grimacing, I trotted after her as she navigated through the parked cars. I had a tough time justifying to myself what I was doing. I'd only heard of a few instances of humans and werewolves mating, and those were usually lower ranking wolves, not Alphas. Would she even accept what I was? Would she be willing to become one of us?

You're overthinking this again, Tenebris growled.

So what? I muttered back. I'm entering unknown territory here.

Tenebris sighed. We both are, dumbass. Just remember, she's a human. She doesn't feel the mate pull like we do. Don't scare her off.

And there it was. Because of the mate pull, I was already head over heels in love with Rosie and wanted desperately to take her to my bed and mark her. Humans didn't truly have soul mates in the sense that they usually couldn't sense when their mate was nearby. I'd heard them speak of "love at first sight", which at the time, I blew off as rumor and innuendo, but now I wasn't so sure. Rosie had behaved as if she felt the mate pull as well, albeit much more weakly than I did.

"Momma! Daddy! Chris!" Rosie called. She waved to a small group of people at the end of the lot who waved back. The two I was sure were her parents were smiling broadly. Her father was extremely tall and lanky for a human. His dark hair was graying around his temple. Her mother was shorter but appeared to be about the same height as Rosie. She only appeared short next to her rangy husband. Her shoulder length curly blond hair blew in the light breeze. I smiled slightly, realizing Rosie was nearly a spitting image of her mother. I couldn't place the third human as a child or an adult. He was short and broad, with the height of an older child or young teen, but the breadth of a strong adult. I sniffed the air, wrinkling my nose at the odd scent. It wasn't unpleasant. It was just unlike any human I had encountered in the past.

"Rosie!" her mother called and trotted up to hug her. "Who is this?"

Rosie grinned and looped her arm through her mother's. "Let me introduce him to everyone at the same time, ok?" she asked. "You're not going to believe this."

Her mother glanced at me questioningly. I grinned and shrugged as we followed Rosie's lead.

"Rosalie," her father intoned in a deep baritone. He wrapped his long arms around his daughter. "Great game, kiddo." He looked up at me with the same questioning glance.

The short human trudged up to her and engulfed her in a strong embrace before I could really look at him. "Rosie," he lisped. "You play good!"

She pulled away a little and stared down at his wide face, which was hidden in her shadow. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"Too loud," he said, and put his hands over his ears. He turned slightly towards me. "No!" He spat and turned away.

"Chris?" Rosie asked. He pulled out of her embrace and walked over to the car, muttering.

"Momma?" Rosie said.

Her mother shrugged. "No idea. Just give him a minute. He got really overstimulated during the game. Now, who IS this?" she said, gesturing at me animatedly.

"Momma, daddy, this is Johnathan…" she turned toward me with an embarrassed grin on her face. "Sheesh, I don't even know your last name."

I laughed. "Johnathan Brandon, ma'am. My friends call me John." I tipped my forehead with my finger and offered my hand to her mother.

"Johnathan," she said hesitantly as she took my hand. "It's nice to make your acquaintance. I'm Anne."

"Sir," I said, and offered my hand to her father. He took it and shook it with surprising strength. "I'm Rhys," he said.

Rosie's mother looked at me again. "So, Johnathan...how do you know our daughter?"

"You're not going to believe this," Rosie said excitedly.

Rosie's mother glanced at her with a pinched face. "You said that already, Rosie."

Rosie took a deep breath. "Remember that guy I told you I met on MARTA when I was like thirteen? John the firefighter?"

Her mother's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

Rosie crossed her arms. "Yep," she replied, enunciating the "P" with a pop.

Rosie's mother covered her mouth with her hands. She glanced up at her husband, who had a pained look on his face.

I glanced between the two of them. "What?" I asked.

Her father cleared his throat. "It's just...well…" he stammered as he rubbed his neck with his hand.

Rosie laughed and turned towards me. "They thought you were made up," she giggled.

"Well, what do you expect, Rosie?" her mother said. "A thirteen-year-old girl tells us a story about a gorgeous firefighter she met on MARTA, who got off the train at a station that doesn't exist…"

I grimaced and rubbed my own neck. Crap. The train station.

"...I mean, what were we supposed to think?" She glanced at me. "Although...you weren't wrong."

"About what?" Rosie asked.

Her mother grinned. "About the gorgeous part," she chuckled.

"Momma!" "Anne!" Rosie and her father blurted at the same time.

I chuckled too and raised my hands in deference, glancing at her father. He rolled his eyes and snaked his arm around his wife's shoulder.

"So, is it okay if he comes to dinner with us?" Rosie asked.

"Hon, any other night, I'd say sure, but I think we may have to cancel," Anne said. She glanced over at Chris. He was standing next to the car, rocking back and forth on his feet as a low moan rose and fell from his throat.

Rosie pressed her lips together and walked over.

I glanced at Anne and Rhys. "Is he ok?" I asked quietly.

Anne shrugged. "He gets like this sometimes, especially when he's been in an overwhelming situation. The game was very loud and crowded, and he's not particularly good with that."

I frowned. "Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

She smiled wanly. "No, Johnathan. It's nice of you to ask, but it just takes time to pull him out of these episodes. Rosie is going to try, of course, but he may be stimming for a while." She sighed.

My brows furrowed. "Stimming?" I asked.

She looked towards Chris and Rosie. Rosie had opened the car door and had sat him down in the backseat. She was kneeling in front of him, rubbing his leg gently with her hand and murmuring quietly. I could hear his low moan from the car. "The rocking and moaning. It's one of the ways he copes with stressful situations."

I shuffled my feet uncomfortably. "Is he autistic?" I asked.

Anne shook her head. "No. Down syndrome." She sighed. "This doesn't happen often, thankfully."

That explained the odd scent. I nodded. "I didn't know she had a sibling," I said. Rhys had wandered over to the car and had kneeled down next to Rosie. I could hear both of them talking softly to Chris. His moaning had stopped.

Anne smiled. "Actually, he's my brother."

"Oh," I said, grinning. "That's the uncle that started calling her Rosie, right?"

Anne looked up at me and smiled warmly. "He is. He kept pronouncing Rosalie as 'Rosie', and it stuck." She c****d her head. "You have a good memory."

"Our encounter was memorable," I said, shrugging.

Anne glanced back towards the car. "She has that effect on people." She smiled. "It looks like Chris has broken out of it," she observed.

Rosie, Rhys and Chris were making their way back towards us. As they walked over, I studied Chris. He was shorter than Rhys and Rosie, but much broader. Even though his muscled weren't well defined, he looked extremely strong. His short cropped hair was a darker blond than Rosie's, and he had the same piercing blue eyes as both Rosie and her mother. His face reminded me of a baby's, with it being round and chunky, but somehow it was also the face of an adult. His gait was a little stilted, but not overly so. He was staring at me intently, and I almost started to feel uncomfortable under his gaze.

His aura is strong, whimpered Tenebris in awe.

I raised my eyebrows. My wolf was almost cowering in the presence of Rosie's uncle.

Chris stopped in front of me and raised his head up so he could look me in the eyes. I shuffled uncomfortably. "You're John." he said simply. His enunciation was a little strange, almost like he was struggling to say the words.

I nodded. "Yes, I am," I replied.

He pressed his lips together and shook his head vigorously. "Don't like you," he said.

"Chris!" Anne gasped. Rhys visibly winced and looked away.

Rosie's eyes dropped to the ground in embarrassment, and I flinched as I fought the urge to reach out and comfort her.

I raised my hand and gave Rosie's mother a weak smile. "It's ok, Miss Anne," I said respectfully. I glanced back at Chris. "Do you know why you don't like me?" I asked quietly.

Chris's eyes narrowed. "No," he spluttered. "I just don't."

I folded my arms across my chest. "Well, that's just too bad, Chris, because I like you. I like Rosie, too." I saw Rosie blush at that, and I smiled slightly. "I may be coming around a bit…" I looked to Anne and Rhys. "If that's acceptable, of course."

Anne blinked in surprise as the corners of her mouth turned up in a wry smile. She nodded slightly, encouraging me to continue.

Chris's expression soured. "Why?" he retorted.

I shrugged. "Because I want to get to know the two of you better, if that's ok."

Chris sighed and looked at the ground. "Why?" he asked again, his voice rising in frustration.

I kneeled and looked him in the eye. "Because I have a feeling that you and Rosie are a package deal. I would like to get to know your niece better, and I would like to be your friend."

I saw the corners of Chris's mouth twitch and I grinned. "We don't have to be friends yet," I went on. "But I hope we can someday."

I stood up and turned to Rosie. Chris's eyes followed me warily. He turned to Anne. "Home," he huffed and turned back toward the car.

Anne looked at me and shrugged helplessly. "I guess we're taking him home." She pulled Rosie into a quick embrace. "Don't miss going out on our account," she said, and winked at me.

Rosie hugged her mother back and kissed her father on the cheek. "Are you sure?" she asked, looking toward the car. Chris had already climbed in the back seat.

Rhys smiled. "Yes, we're sure. Enjoy yourself." He glanced at me and scowled. "Not too much, of course."

I raised my hands in surrender. "No sir!" I exclaimed.

"Good lad," he said, and held out his hand. I shook it warmly.

We stepped back as her parents climbed into the car and backed out. They both waved to us. I noticed Chris staring at us from the back seat and I shifted uncomfortably. Rosie looked up at me.

"Sorry about that," she said hesitantly. She clasped her hands in front of her and dropped her gaze. "I'm not sure what got into him."

I bumped her gently. "Nothing to worry about. What would you like to do?"

She glanced up again. Her gorgeous smile lit up her face. "Dinner?"

I grinned. "Sure. Let me call my driver."

She balked. "Um…driver? Like your Uber?" She shook her head. "My car is over there." She pointed toward an ancient open top Jeep Renegade covered in rust and dirt. "I can drive us."

My eyes widened slightly. "Is that thing road legal?" I asked.

"Thing?" she scoffed. "Thing?! That is Old Bessie, thank you very much. She has been my unwavering companion through thick and thin for almost three years now." She folded her arms. "I can put the cover on if you'd prefer to not mess up your hair," she teased.

I stared down at her. "My hair can survive the wind," I said, and smiled. "Lead on, my lady."

I quickly mind-linked Nolan about the change in plan and received a squeal of delight back from my sister. Hiding my grimace, I followed Rosie to the death trap she called a car.