Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Was it wrong for her stomach to do flip flops just thinking about Ash?
She sighed as she handed out glue sticks and bits of this and that for her CCD class to use on their art project. The kids had behaved so nicely for her after story time, and now, they were happy and excited over their art projects.
Gabby wondered if it was wrong of her to be there. After all, she’d spent the night in Purgatory. Guilt was not something she felt comfortable with, so she went to ask Fr. Perez.
“Father? I have a question—”
But the friendly, round-faced priest of her childhood put down his cell phone and turned to face her with sadness in his eyes.
One hand was behind his back, as if he was hiding something, and he appeared almost like a stranger to her.
Something inside of her growled, her other half pressing against her skin in a way that had her stumbling ungracefully.
There was a bitter smell in the air that made it hard to breathe.
“I cannot help you anymore, child,” the stoutly priest said, making the sign of the cross with his free hand. “God forgive me,” he whispered so silently, she would not have heard if not for her supernaturally enhanced hearing capabilities.
So cool.
Gabby paused, unable to revel in her new superpowers since something was decidedly off with the priest. She took a sniff.
That new part of her that was waking up, her she-Wolf, growled a warning.
Without being conscious of it, Gabby swung out with her arm, blocking the massive blade Fr. Perez had drawn on her.
He’d been aiming the pointy side straight at her heart.
What the heck?
Her childhood priest sneered, struggling to free the deadly sword from where it was now stuck in the marble of the statue.
Thank goodness for her quick reflexes!
But why was Fr. Perez wielding a sword?
Was he suddenly into a little D&D roleplaying or something?
Realization dawned and her chest squeezed painfully. The priest she had known most of her life was brandishing a medieval weapon against her.
To hurt her.
Maybe even kill her.
Holy cow!
What the what was going on?
Anger coursed through her, and she struggled with it for a moment before narrowing her eyes at the man who was once so familiar and was now a total stranger. Gabby straightened her back and used her best teacher's voice on the pale and pudgy priest.
“Fr. Perez! What are you doing?”
He froze on the spot. Clearly shocked by her tone, which was something she’d worked very hard on as a teacher to gently discipline unruly children, especially the preschoolers.
Gabby usually offered some form of praise to reward her students after they’d been scolded, but she wasn’t feeling all that kind toward Fr. Perez at the moment.
Especially since he was still intent on attacking her with the enormous blade.
Grrr.
Yay for Werewolf super strength.
“I’ve known you all my life!” she exclaimed, using very little force to hold the blade at bay.
“You are not the woman I know, Gabby! I could ignore your Werewolf side so long as it was dormant, but now that it has awoken, I must take action! I have to prove my loyalty to mankind!” The chubby priest grunted and tried to free his sword from where she still had it pinned against a marble statue of St. Rose, to no avail.
“First, I think you mean humankind, and second, how do you know about any of this?” Gabby asked, correcting him first on his chauvinism.
“The Council knows all! Now, release my blade and I will dispel of you quickly,” he grunted. “In the name of the Father…” Fr. Perez prayed aloud, using his foot against the pedestal of the statue to try and gain leverage.
Dang it.
Gabby really liked that statue. It was part of the history and artistry of the Catholic Church that she loved to study so much.
So much blood and violence, she supposed she should not be surprised at a priest wielding a sword.
The Church certainly had a messy past, and one of Gabby’s fondest interests in college had been her church history classes.
It was not surprising they hid their connection to the supernatural world.
Who would believe it in this day and age, anyway?
Still, how could he be so small minded?
Gabby frowned at Fr. Perez and his incessant struggles.
“Enough of this,” she growled, then tugged on the blade, sending the whimpering priest to his knees.
He muttered a prayer, held up his crucifix, and shouted at her with spittle flying from his lips.
Okay, that was just gross. And now she was annoyed. Life might have taken one hell of a turn just recently, but that didn’t mean everyone had to lose their manners, for Pete’s sake!
“You will not prevail,” Fr. Perez yelled, still drooling.
How uncouth!
“Heed me, doer of evil! I do not fear you! If you must end my life in the name of our Lord—”
“What are you talking about? You’re the one with the sword! I was only teaching my class. For heaven’s sake, get up,” she growled, and hoisted him by the arm.
The ease with which she lifted the portly man was surprising and elating. But Gabby had no time to enjoy her newfound strength. She was hurt and upset.
She had reason to be.
The man tried to kill her!
“Who were you on the phone with before I walked in here?” Gabby asked, angrily mashing her teeth together, so she didn’t do something really bad, like curse out the idiotic man inside the church.
“He is known only as the Spaniard. A blessed God-fearing Christian! Unlike you, hell spawn. He is in charge of the Council, for now, giving orders via Rome herself! The Hounds of God are no more. There is no keeping your kind in line! That means we good Catholics must act—”
“Quiet! You know something, I have had enough of this. Fr. Perez, I am shocked and appalled by your behavior,” she said, waving the sword.
“I have been part of your congregation for most of my life. You gave me the sacraments of Communion and Confirmation yourself! So, what are you saying? That I am evil just because I am a Werewolf?”
“Exactly! Then you understand why you must die!”
“You are crazy, and I don’t think any God would condone murder regardless of creed. Shame on you!” Gabby growled.
She was completely scandalized. She’d heard of people being grossly prejudicial against others for just about every reason imaginable, but she’d never been on the tail end of it.
Never imagined in all of her life that someone would want to kill her simply because of what she was. Gabby didn’t choose to be a Werewolf.
And even if she did, so what?
Why hate her?
Why try to kill her?
This seriously blows!
Her thoughts surprised even her. She tried hard not to squeak at her own use of language. She never cursed, but boy, was she close!
“No!” Fr. Perez said, nodding his head. “You are the evil one, Gabby. Werewolves cannot be good. That is it in a nutshell, I am afraid. And I am sorry it must be this way. I hoped I was wrong, but Gabby, it seems your stepmother has corrupted you. Yes, my former child, you are my enemy now.”
“But you hired me to teach catechism class?”
“Ah yes, well, you are fired!” Fr. Perez exclaimed, waving his finger angrily.
What?
Oh, that was just great!
She did not know what was worse. That she was being fired from her job, or that Fr. Perez, her childhood priest, was trying to kill her because of some priest-Werewolf prejudice. Both were unconscionable. And to be honest, it sorta hurt.
“You know something, Father? I was raised Catholic, and I take that to heart. I hold many of the traditions of our faith sacred, and just because I am a Werewolf does not mean I can’t be a good Catholic.
Now, I don’t need to be in this building to pray to God, so I will leave.
But shame on you! Shame on everyone who thinks like you,” she said angrily, reining in the desire to rip his throat out.
Oooh, that’s a new one.
Gabby was never prone to violence, but she sure felt like it just then.
“And you know what?” she asked the priest, waving the heavy sword around as easily as a toothpick. “I am taking this with me!”
Gabby grabbed the heavy blade and went to the back room to gather her belongings. The two mothers who volunteered as aids for the Catechism classes looked at her questioningly when she walked past them with the sword, but she just shook her head. They would figure it out, eventually.
Sighing in annoyance, Gabby hefted her laptop bag, pocketbook, supply bag, and sword, and walked to her car.
How inconsiderate of Fr. Perez to fire her after she’d already bought a new planner!
Gabby mumbled under her breath as she pressed the button on her key fob to pop her trunk, placing the bags and sword inside.
Ugh.
She checked her phone and sighed. Twenty minutes to kill until Ash showed up. No way she was leaving him there to be greeted by whatever else Fr. Perez had hidden up his robe.
Eww.
She shook her head when her mind went right to the gutter. First time for everything, she supposed. Her stomach cramped uncomfortably, and Gabby closed her eyes. It was too soon for her period, but the pains she was experiencing bore a striking resemblance to her cycle.
Ouch!
The heat seemed to close in on her, despite the fact her skin was chilled.
Gabby gasped, trying to catch her breath.
Her head felt foggy, and her stomach clenched.
Mim had explained earlier she’d never been very sick as a child because of her Werewolf genes, but what she was experiencing would feel something like a flu and her period rolled into one.
How could it not?
She supposed it was too much to ask that her transformation be painless. Darn it. After her ordeal with the priest, she just wanted to go back home with Ash. To be safe and secure in his arms.
Crazy how a man she’d just met meant so much to her.
Was it too sudden?
Gabby was not one to ponder the validity of love at first sight, and yet, she was pretty sure she was halfway in love with the beautiful Demon after one meeting.
Yes.
Mate.
Mine.
The whispered words were followed by an intense growl and a cramp that almost sent her to the floor.
Gabby clutched her abdomen with one hand and opened the passenger side door with the other.
She sat down with her feet on the sidewalk.
Maybe if she just breathed for a while the cramps would go away. Maybe.
Not likely, something inside of her whispered.
Then she saw it in her mind’s eye, standing clear as day. Her she-Wolf. A beautiful caramel colored beast with long, sharp teeth and piercing blue eyes.
Awoooooo.