My Grace

It was a typical Friday night in your average every day American city and Lena would like it to stay that way. Well, it was typical for her but not for everyone else. At nine o'clock in the evening a normal person of 25 years of age would be crammed in the back of a smelly cab headed some dimly light nightclub to party their butts off. Instead she was content to sit in a bath of bubbles easing al the aches and stresses of teaching and chasing around a bunch of kindergarteners. It was not by any means that her students didn't like her or that her coworkers hated her, she would just rather be a homebody then live her previous almost rock star life. If she was back at home it would be "Your Grace" this and "Her Grace" that and all the formalities and sucking up people did pissed her off. But that was all a ten hour drive away in the mountains and that was that.

The stillness of the bathroom was shatters by the ringing of her cell phone and she jumped out of the tub to answer it. It worried her because no one ever really called her but she smiled as she picked it up from the counter and saw the name "Amy" across the screen.

"Hello?"

"Your Grace." Came the begging whine.

"Now what in the world would my best friend be doing calling me on a Friday night when she should be partying her butt of at her place of employment?"

"You need to come back, I mean you HAVE to come back."

"Oh? So why hasn't grandpa or mister know-it-all called and told me yet?"

"You know your Elder George would never bother you and well Alpha Jed is scared of pissing you off."

"So Jed can't handle it I take it?" Lena was confused, she knew that her grandpa was getting to old to really do much but since Jed was incapable?

"Well could, maybe. It would be just better it you were here and I know its summer break so you can't give me your bullshit excuses and say that you're busy."

"Fine, but don't make a scene about me coming. I want you to only tell grandpa and Jed and tell them everyone else can find on their own. I'll shadow the bar and I will not be staying in the compound, I don't appreciate all the attention from staying there."

"Yes Your Grace."

"I'll be there Sunday night. Oh and what exactly am I dealing with?"

"Vampires."

"Joy." And with that she said her goodbye to her friend and hung up the phone.

It was going to be so fun this summer, no more peace and quiet for her. She couldn't shake the sense of dread. Not only did she have to deal with God knows what but Jed's soon Nickolas was a whole other bucket of worms. Guess it was time to do some laundry and packing.

Lena walked out of the bathroom and looked around her cosy bachelor apartment. There would be no excuses this time, and in the pit of her stomach she felt that this was the last weekend she would live in this apartment.

***

Sunday arrived with a vengeance and soon then later Lena's pickup truck was packed and winding its way down the road to the mountains. She felt more and more nervous as the miles ticked by. Imagine that, she of all people was frightened. Lena wasn't exactly a push-over in anyone's world, she was half vampire, half wolf and trained in the arts of witchcraft. Even the elders where terrified of her because no one knew the extent of her powers. She had spent her entire life with people running out of the room when the saw her and it got so ridiculous that when she was sixteen she left for the city and never looked backed. It broke her grandfather's heart for he had become her mother and her father but at the same time he understood that she felt trapped. Grandpa had always understood and so had Amy, she was scared or intimidated by her. Lena smiled and the thought of all those times they had gotten into fight and Amy had screamed at her. People would walk by with horrified looks on their faces or glaring at her and she just kept right on yelling until she thought she had got her point across.

Lena snapped out of her thoughts as she pulled into the small town of Coven Hill. Everything looked as if time itself had ceased the exist in this little town for everything looked the same as when she had left almost ten years ago. She pulled into the back alley behind Ringly's Bar and Hotel and parked her truck.

"Lena!" Amy came tearing out of the back screaming and waving her arms like a mad person and Lena had barely gotten out of the truck when she was jumped on by Amy.

"I could sense you coming down the road and it's so hard to wait! It felt like I was staying up all Christmas eve waiting for the morning to come! But look at you Miss Girly Girl." Amy laughed and Lena scoffed. She was by no means a frilly girl. She had long wavy hair that reached to her butt that was dyed aqua blue, full tattoo sleeves and tattoos covering other parts of her body as well. Her amber eyes looked out from a square, regal face and her hourglass figure boasted 28C breasts, curvy hips and a nice round bum. She had snake bite piercings and a piercing in the right of her nose and the top of her right ear and by no means looked like she belong in a frilly pink dress. She looked right at home in her baggy white tank top accompanied by cut-off jean shorts and flip flops.

"Who am I kidding, you look more like a sexy biker chick." Amy smirked. "Or some crazy bitch with a really big dominate streak, not like you have that or anything."

"You are so lucky your my best friend or I'd be beating the crap out of you."

"Haha, soo scary." Just then there was a loud bang and both girls jumped. They had both been so busy conversing that they had failed to notice Jake who had been wandering down the back alley. He had stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Lena and the turned to run off in such a hurry that he knocked over a trash can.

"There goes Jake." Said Lena. "I just hope he doesn't go and tell Nickolas that I'm here."

"Nickolas Lane you say? Now what wrong the soon to be almighty alpha leader? If I remember correctly you said at one time you thought he was your mate but how would you know you haven't been here for nine bloody years."Amy was huffing like mad bull and glared at Lena.

"Yeah, yeah I know. It wasn't like I never called or wrote though."

"Yeah and when the last time we saw each other? Two years ago, because I drove the ten hours to see you."

"Okay, guilty as charged. But can we get this stuff unloaded before everyone comes running into the bar to see if I'm really here."

***

Nickolas Jeffery Lane was pissed, no, he wanted to murder someone. Nine years and five days she had been gone, and not a single word from her. She talked to her grandfather, she even talked to her father but never to him and never did she once mention him to anyone else that she talked to. His wolf howled in rage and abandonment. He had to go see her, Jake had said she was unloading at the back of Ringly's when he saw her. He said she looks different but how he didn't say. All he knew was that she was not the brown haired wide eyed wonder that he had kissed on her sixteenth birthday. He hoped that her amber eyes would still sparkle the same way that they used to when she saw him but who was he kidding.

Not being able to take a second more of his own thoughts he jumped in his truck and sped out of the compound towards town.

***

Lena and Amy talked and laughed as they unloaded the truck, trying to catch up on every little detail. They were upstairs in Lena's hotel room when they heard someone squealing their tire done the street.

"I wonder who the idiot is?" Lena spoke as she peered out the window and looked down the street.

"I don't know and I don't care. I going to go get you some linins for your room, I'll be back.

Lena nodded as Amy left the room then she turned and went out of the room as well, back down the stairs to check if she had left anything in her truck. She was closing the door when she suddenly felt like every nerve ending in her body was on fire. She heard heavy footsteps coming from the front of the building to the back and she whipped around in time to look into sky blue eyes, Nickolas!

"Nickolas, I didn't expect to see you there!"

"You should have expected me to be here and I should have known you were coming here. Did you forget me all of those nine years, My Grace."

At the words "My Grace" Lena froze. Only her mate was allowed to call her that and that meant only one thing, he knew and so did his wolf.