Gemma
Gemma woke very early – before the sun had a chance to grace the Earth with her beautiful light. For a moment, she lay still, listening to Theo breathe. She smiled because he was snoring. Not too loudly. She found it kind of charming.
Carefully, so she didn’t wake him, she moved his arm off her and gently removed the leg lying across hers. At some point during the night, when Theo’s defenses were down, his body took over and wrapped itself around Gemma. She wished she could lay there, tightly against his body, but unfortunately, it was not to be.
Stars twinkled in the sky, the way they never did in the city. In most of the cities, including the nearby Las Vegas, the lights outshone even the moon. She wondered if anyone in the big cities ever got the chance to see the beauty of a night sky.
The moon was still shining its light, illuminating the trees and the mountains that surrounded Theo’s house. Everything had a beautiful silvery glimmer to it.
She stared at the moon and asked, “Why do you need my life? You are already so powerful. You control the tides of the oceans and the flow of women’s blood. You control men’s emotions. What purpose can my life serve you?”
Gemma heard the answer to her questions as though an unearthly voice was speaking to her.“It is not me that requires the sacrifice. It is people who have perverted the old ways and the old beliefs who wish to make such a sacrifice. To nature and all the gods and goddesses of nature, life itself is sacred.”
“I think I need to get more sleep,” Gemma told herself. “I’m hallucinating.”
Although she spoke those words, the answer to her questions made perfect sense. After all, every one of the human religions that worshipped nature, such as Wicca, believed in the creed that one must do no harm. They don’t even make spells to force one person to fall in love with another, as that would be taking away his free will, and therefore, causing him harm. Why, then, would nature in her many forms, the creator of life, demand that a life be given to her.
A true sacrifice was when someone gave up something they truly cared about as a tribute. Her pack members did not care about her. To them, she was nothing more than a tool.
Speaking of love, she looked at Theo. She loved him with her very soul. She also knew he loved her but was unable to look beyond his pain to see it. She hoped that someday, he would find a way to heal from that pain and see the beauty of life once again.
Gemma quietly got out of bed and looked around the room, memorizing every one of its features. She stared down at Theo, taking in his face, his muscular body, and every part that was him. This picture of her love had to be enough to last her a lifetime. Then, she leaned over the bed and softly brushed a kiss on his lips.
It was time to leave. Perhaps fate had brought her here so she could know love before she died. Maybe, in some small way, she had made a difference for Theo. She knew he had been happy, at least for a little while. Perhaps, he’d remember their time together when he was having fun and laughing, every once in a while, and he can find a small amount of joy and comfort.
Gemma went to the room where she had stayed for the last couple of weeks. She brushed her fingers across the satin blue dress he had bought for her. She had loved dancing with him, and even more, she had loved his kisses. That was another memory she would hold sacred in her heart.
She put the fanny pack she always carried with her on the bed. Gemma wouldn’t need it anymore.
Then, quietly she made her way downstairs. She couldn’t wake Theo.
It was time to leave, and if Theo woke, he would stop her. She wasn’t strong enough to fight him, either physically or emotionally.
Gemma took one last walk around the house. She had been so happy here, and she hated leaving. She felt almost guilty at the thought she had enjoyed her time here, with Theo, than she had enjoyed being any other place in the world, even when her mother was alive.
Theo had made her so happy, and she wished with every fiber of her being she didn’t have to go. But she would be damned if another life was lost to save hers.
As she stood at the door, she took a deep breath. “If thereisanother life, I hope to see you again,” she whispered. “I hope that somehow you can find happiness in this life. You are a good man, regardless of what you think or how you feel, and you deserve to have love. I hope, with everything inside of me, that you can find someone who truly deserves such a great man as you and who can help you find yourself again.”
Gemma walked outside, the cool night air chilling her skin. She breathed in deeply as she could still smell Theo’s scent on her.
“Goodbye, Theo, my love,” she whispered into the night.
Then, she transformed into a large, pure white wolf that looked almost silver in the moonlight. She tilted her head up in the air and howled at the large round disk that hung there.
Without looking back, she took off down the mountain toward her destiny.
