Big Bad Wolf Chapter 17

Big Bad Wolf Chapter 17

Let The Dream Fade Away

Isabell

Isabell woke in Javier’s arms. He was still snoring, softly fluffing her hair. She could smell his clean, masculine scent.

The scent of damp earth and sawdust was everywhere, filling the little cabin. It was comfortable, calm, but somehow sexy.

It was still dark. She glanced at the clock. It was four forty-five am on Thursday morning.

Javier was strong. He’d only recently turned into a shifter.

His magic was mushrooming, and his strength was increasing by the day. He was a powerful male.

That spoke to her, and he drew her to him as she’d never been with another. Lying quietly in his arms, studying him as he slept, listening to his heartbeat, left her wanting more.

She frowned at the blue glow between them. Phoenix fire was faintly flowing over her. It licked at Javier everywhere they touched and lightly etched his skin beneath the flames. He was unharmed. Oh, shit!

Approximately every twenty-five years, a phoenix regenerated. She’d passed her one hundred twenty-fifth birthday while Elliot held her captive.

Killing her attacker left her weak. She hadn’t regenerated. She was stronger now. The magic was tracing over her. She panicked.

Javier must have smelled her fear in his sleep. He tightened his arms around her but didn’t wake.

What if he got hurt? She’d never been close to someone when she regenerated before. Hell, she’d never been close to anyone before under normal circumstances.

The flames grew in intensity. Every scar was being erased. She knew more of her feather’s edges would be red the next time she shifted. She watched as the stab wound scars on Javier disappeared.

The flames weren’t harming him. They were healing him.

What the Hell? The flames were regenerating his flesh. He had scars from the fight with Eli’s attacker. Healed, they were pink scars on his torso no more. Still, he slept.

Isabell closed her eyes and let the magic finish healing her. Her flames would be bright. It restored her magic. No physical evidence of her captivity would remain.

She wanted to speak with Fox. She’d once found evidence of how the phoenix fire regenerated the phoenix. Isabell tried hard to remember what she and Fox had translated from the ancient Greek text.

They learned the phoenixes arose anew from the ashes, but it wasn’t from death. The flames simply regenerated them.

When phoenixes died, they were as dead as any other being. If something harmed one, it only had to survive long enough to regenerate.

That document had discussed the healing abilities of the phoenix and alluded to a shared magic between mates. She couldn’t remember it all.

Fox and Artie promised to finish the translation. Isabell had been leaving town for an art show and couldn’t finish the work. She never got back to it, yet felt as if she needed it.

Wait, rising from the ashes. Should they get out of the wooden cabin? What if things caught on fire?

She opened her eyes and looked over Javier’s sleeping body. They covered him in her flames, and his light magic covered her as well. Nothing was burning or freezing.

It was contrary to how her magic always worked in the past. That stunned her because Javier was the only thing different.

Her flames did him no harm, and they regenerated him as well as her. Could Javier be her lifemate?

She’d always thought it had to be another phoenix. Her flames could never harm one of her kind.

Time was passing. She glanced at the clock, startled when an alarm played. Javier raised his arm to press the snooze button on the clock.

He sleepily mumbled something about it being too early and to turn off the lights. Javier didn’t even open his eyes. He just encircled Isabell again, pulling her back tightly to his chest.

“The lights aren’t on Javier. I can’t turn it off, either.” She whispered to him, and he seemed to settle back into sleep.

The alarm went off again ten minutes later. Javier reached up and pressed snooze again. He was more awake that time.

“Why are the lights on?” He husked, still half asleep.

“The lights aren’t on. It’s me,” Isabell whispered again.

Javier finally realized blue and red flames and light covered him.

He asked seriously, “Why are we on fire, Isabell?”

Not angry, not disbelieving, not upset, his voice was just… curious.

“I’m a phoenix. We rise from the ashes every twenty-five years. It’s a healing regeneration. Just don’t move, okay?” She explained the short version.

“Okay, that explains you. Why am I on fire?” He asked, all cute and puzzled sounding.

“I’m not sure. The magic is regenerating you as well. I don’t understand it. Your scars from the fight to defend Eli are all gone.” She whispered back, a little awed at saying it aloud.

“So, you’re making us both into super runway models. Well, if my gig as pack beta and my business venture with Luke fail, I guess I’ll have a new career.” He laughed and held her tight until the alarm went off again.

Javier reached up and turned it off.

Two minutes more went by, then the flames winked out. Isabell watched as Javier’s light dimmed, then shut off. There was a fine coat of ash covering both of them and the bed.

“Can we move now? I feel dusty,” Javier asked, as he relaxed his arms. Isabell realized he’d been tense.

“I think so. Are you okay?” she asked.

He rose and turned on the bedside lamp. He looked at her, and she looked at him. His chiseled features were even more perfect than she’d once thought.

He was still himself. The scar that had been a cut on his eyebrow from childhood was gone. An old wound on his hand was also gone. The strands of grey in his hair above his ears were all black.

He looked like a younger version of himself. She couldn’t define most of the changes, but he, too, had risen from the ashes.

“Yes, I feel good. You look magnificent. There are more red streaks in your hair and the faded bruising on your neck and cheek are completely gone. Isabell, you’re beautiful, radiant.”

He reached to touch her hair and cupped her face. His touch was light, as if he had to feel her, to reassure himself she was real.

It embarrassed Isabell that he’d spoken of her previous injuries, but knowing they were gone was nice. She smiled and offered the same information to him.

“Your hair no longer has any grey, and all your battle scars have disappeared.”

“I was kind of fond of the scars, but not upset to lose the grey hair.” He grinned at her.

He was so sexy. She wanted to kiss him again, to feel his soft lips on hers. She must have telegraphed that thought with her expression, because he obliged her.

Javier leaned over and tilted her face slightly with his hand and kissed her gently. As his lips brushed over hers, she felt as if her soul lightened. She kissed the man without setting him on fire or freezing him.

He was chivalrous to her, yet still masterful and powerful. It was a truly charismatic combination.

Javier was confident and handsome. He not only wanted to protect her, but he also found her attractive.

He groaned and backed away just as she hoped he would deepen the kiss.

“I have to be at work, and I need some coffee. I wish I could press pause, come back later, and press play again to see where that leads. Will you forgive the interruption?” He looked so contrite and hopeful.

Isabell smiled and nodded. “I’ll forgive you, only if you promise to press play later. I, too, wish to see where that leads.”

“I pledge a solemn promise. Have no fear. I’ll be pressing play.” He grinned at her.

She realized he only grinned at her like that. When she thought about it, the grin was endearing.

“How about some breakfast?” he asked, as if she might say no.

“Sounds good. How can I help?” Isabell offered.

They put some frozen biscuits in the toaster oven, fried bacon, and scrambled eggs. He looked at her strangely as he finished whisking the eggs.

“Are you sure about the eggs?”

“Yes, and do you have cheese to melt on top?”

“I have some cheddar, but don’t you find the eggs cannibalistic?” he asked, as if Isabell was going to be upset and offended.

“I’m a phoenix, not a chicken,” she retorted. “Phoenixes don’t lay eggs.”

“They don’t?” he asked in all seriousness.

“No, no egg-laying. Sorry to disappoint you,” she quipped.

Javier laughed his deep, honest laugh and cooked perfect scrambled eggs, while Isabell shredded some cheddar cheese. Javier had his cup of coffee. Isabell chose milk.

They ate in companionable silence. They washed up together when they finished, and Javier helped her set up her easel and canvas near the lakeshore so she could paint. Then he left her to supervise the construction and check on the fencing crew.

She took up her brush and mixed her paints. Then she let the dream fade away and painted.

Thank you for listening to a part of Big Bad Wolf by Ophelia Kee.

Thank you for your support! Welcome to the dream… Sincerely, -OK

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