Soulmates

A big thanks to AsylumSeeker and PennLady for helping me edit this chapter.

This is a revised version of my original chapter one.

CHAPTER ONE

PART ONE

The doctor was making his rounds to see the last of his patients of the day but stopped and turned his head. Something pulled at him. He took a deep breath and couldn't smell any trouble coming so he shook his head and continued with his rounds, deciding to investigate after he finished with his patients.

Doctor Richard Campbell. He was one of the eligible bachelors in the hospital. Both men and woman would look at him with craving eyes to which he did his best to make them crave even more. He was tall and muscular but in the lean sense of it, he had a swimmers body. His hair was black as night and hung just past his shoulders, but he had gray eyes which made him stand out and show the outside DNA of his Cherokee heritage. Everyone noticed his eyes, if he was in a happy and lighthearted mood they would become a lighter gray, almost silver but if his mood was passionate or angry, his eyes would turn a gray of storm clouds.

By the time he got to his last patient, the pull was stronger so he said his goodnights and started to search. He got to the elevator and started to go down each floor, one at a time until he got to the maternity ward which made him arch a brow.

He stepped out and started to walk down the corridor and then he stopped at the window where the babies slept and looked through it. Five babies were sleeping but the sixth seemed to look straight at him. He moved in front of the little bundle, and it kept its eyes on him. The pull was to the baby. He was confused until he let his senses reach out and then he caught it.

He caught the baby's scent and blinked. It couldn't be. He felt his breath caught in his lungs and had to force himself to take his next breath.

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

* * * * *

Twenty minutes away, in an apartment. A man was biting his lower lip, and he pulled the brunette's hair to the side so he could watch her slide her lips down the length of his shaft. He let out a growl when she peeked up at him with lustful eyes and grabbed the back of her head and start to thrust his cock deep into her throat.

Then he let out another growl when his phone started to vibrate on the desk beside him, he looked at the number and knew he had to answer it. "This better be good, brother." he snarled.

Richard chuckled on the other end of the line and said, "I need you at the hospital now. Maternity ward." There was a pause. "She's returned to us." The call disconnected.

The man blinked hard and pulled the woman from his cock. "Get dressed and get out." he barked as he went to the bathroom to clean himself up.

The woman looked confused and growled, "You can't treat me like this. I want a fuck and I want it now."

He moved back to the doorway and growled more deeply, his eyes glistened with anger, "Don't fuck with me. We had fun, now get the fuck out of my apartment before I throw you out."

She knew better than to test the man, so got dressed and left his apartment, slamming the door behind her. He went back to the bathroom and jumped into the shower. Within twenty minutes, he was driving like a mad man towards the hospital.

* * * * *

After Richard had hung up, he just stared at the child. He couldn't get past the scent of the baby. He felt like he was standing there for hours but he snapped out of his thoughts when a hand touched his shoulder and a man stood beside him. "How can this be brother?", the man asked.

Richard looked at him and shook his head."I don't know, Eric, but the scent. It's hers. There is no way I could ever forget her scent and there it is, as strong as ever." His voice quiet, as thought he feared he might wake the other infants.

The baby was still watching Richard but when her eyes went to Eric there seemed to be some sort of acknowledgment in them as she squirmed in the crib. Eric placed his large hand against the glass window and the girl seemed to want to reach out to it which made both men blink. Eric said, "I never thought I'd ever have a second chance with her."

Richard smiled at how the baby was acting and patted his brother on the back, then paused for a moment as an old Cherokee woman left the room of the child mother and tapped a staff in front of her. Eric turned to the woman as she stopped just meters away from them. Her eyes were clouded with blindness.

She looked at them as if she could see them."Can you tell me what she looks like please? My granddaughter there, Maria-Jane." Her voice was filled with tentative hope.

Maria-Jane,

Eric hadn't looked at the name tag on the crib. He smiled and said, "She's got large brown eyes which seem to be able to see into your soul and she's already got thick black hair." Then he swallowed hard."I can already tell she will make any man swoon when she gets older. Her parents will have to hire a bodyguard to keep all the hungry males away." She already had a hungry male after her so he knew that last part was true.

The old woman nodded with smile."I will do my best to protect her. She is my child now." Then with sadness in her voice, "Her mother died delivering her. And I refuse to have any granddaughter of mine be taken away from me." There was determination in her voice, even though she was blind, she would never let anyone take the child away from her.

Eric looked at Richard, a silent plea in his eyes, which made Richard smile. "If you ever have any problems with people wanting to take Maria away from you, just tell them that Doctor Richard Campbell are helping you until the child is easier to handle. To which I mean, she's walking around and able to come to you when you want her." Richard said.

The old woman smiled."They wouldn't dare to take the child away with a doctor of your caliber there to support me. It reminds me of a story when I lived with my tribe." Her eyes seemed to glaze over a little as memories of the past flooded her mind.

Eric looked at her."Tell us, please. We enjoy hearing tribal stories."

People started to walk down the corridor and into the room her daughter was in which made the old woman sigh, then she nodded to him."Are there chairs around here? My old legs aren't what they use to be."

Eric blinked."Oh, yes, of course." He took her arm and guided her, letting her feel the chairs behind them and she sat down with a nod of thanks to him, then he smiled."So please, the story."

She smiled slight. "I was just a child when this happened. The tribe I came from was secretive. We were one of the last tribes which had contact with the white men. We knew of them, so my parents told me about them. Just after I was born we went deeper into the mountains so it would be a longer time until the white men found us.

"But I remember, there were these twin brothers in the tribes. Both warriors, they were the chief's sons. But each had a different path to follow. They would fight all the time but if anyone else tried to fight one of them, the other was there to defend his brother. I remember them always getting into trouble but they were able to talk their way out of anything, no matter how serious it was." She smiled as she thought more on it. To her it felt like yesterday.

The brothers looked at each other, shocked. Then turned back to her as she continued the story.

"Each had chosen a maiden to spend the rest of their lives with and everyone rejoiced. Everyone could see there was a special bond between the couples. To me, it felt like they would never age like the rest of us, that their bonds were for eternity, that nothing could break the four up. But they did when the white man came. The white man came in the middle of the night and attacked the village. The elder brother's wife was killed in that attack, which drew the spirit of the wolf to him. He attacked all the white men but he was separated from his brother."

That piece of the story made both men hold their breath and look at each other unsure who the old woman was. The old woman continued. "When they were separated, someone darker had lured the younger twin away from the village. By the time the older brother felt something wrong with his twin, it was too late. He saw a dark person leaning over his brother and that made the brother go into a wild rage again. He attacked and killed the evil. When he went back to his brother, he thought he was dead but something pulled him to take him away to safety." The old woman sighed, lent back in the chair and closed her eyes.

She continued, "It is thought that the older brother was right, his brother wasn't dead but in one sense he was. It was the last time we saw the brothers and about two years after, the younger brother's wife left the village. She wasn't seen again either. There were so many stories being told of what happened to the three of them, but I believe what I see in my dreams." She opened her eyes and looked straight at the men.

The men seemed to hold their breath until she said, "I believe that U-ne-ga E-u-s-ti Wa'ya

(Gray Wolf)

and Ga-da-ne A-yv-da-qua-lo-s-gv

(Mountain Thunder)

are still with us. Most likely going with different names through the centuries, but they're waiting for the rebirth of U-ne-ga A-wi

(White Deer)

deep in my heart, I know Da-lo-ne-ga Gi-li-di-ne-hv-yi

(Gold Lightning)

would still be with Mountain Thunder."

She smiled and held out her hand, making a 'help me' motion. Each man took one of her arms and helped her to her feet. She laughed, "I am sorry, memories just come back to me at times, even the sad ones. I can only hope that Gray Wolf finds his White Deer so he can once again be happy."

Eric's heart was pounding. He looked at Richard and he was looking at the woman. Eric could tell Richard was trying to figure out who the woman was, but nothing was giving her away. She smelt human to him.

Richard asked her, "Who are you?"

The old woman smiled and touched her nose. "In time, Mountain Thunder, all will be told." She walked down the corridor towards the elevators.

Both brothers stared after her. They could tell she was full Cherokee, but the story had happened over three hundred and eighty years ago, it was their story.

+ + + + + + + + +

PART TWO

Eric tossed and turned when he went to bed. There were too many questions on his mind to get any proper rest. He slipped on a pair of silk pajamas and headed to his office.

The brothers had chosen the top floor of their building as their private living areas. Once you got out off the lift, you'd be hit with the brightness of the garden in the center. Then there were two doors. One door led to Eric's apartment and the other to Richard's. The only glass that linked both apartments was that connecting to the offices which they shared for their businesses.

Richard only worked casually at the hospital, he had his own practice in the building they lived in. He would only go into the hospital when he needed help to treat a patient. The rest he would beable to do from his practice. Eric on the other hand, owned numerous companies as a silent owner and he ran his businesses from the office attached to his apartment.

They brothers were twins. The main difference between them was that Richard went for more a more modern appearance with shorter hair, a swimmers body and pampered appearance while Eric went with the traditional look with long hair, a solid build and the appearance of being in the outdoors a lot. The hidden difference between them was that Eric held the wolf spirit inside him and Richard was a vampire. Gold Lightning, Richard's wife from the tribal times, was now called Deanna, and she, too, was a vampire.

Exactly a year after Richard was embraced, Eric had returned to the village and taken Deanna to his brother. The brothers had explained to her why they didn't return to the village. The village hadn't had any more problems with white man since that night because the brothers were keeping them safe. After a night of passion, Deanna told Richard she didn't want to leave him. She wanted to be with him always. So they made an arrangement. If she still felt that way after a year, he would make her his forever, and he did.

Deanna had been the brothers' savior and she was to this day. She handled their businesses when they were working at the hospital or overseas and set up meetings and what not to suit their times. As the brothers had gone through their own chosen studies, as she had studied business. She would look after the brothers and hearing White Deer was back, she was excited. She couldn't sleep, so slipping on a robe and went barefoot into the joint office to do some work.

She paused at the glass, seeing Eric in the office, she took a deep breath and went inside. He looked like he needed a distraction and she was the best to offer him that. With a smile she said, "The files for the Asian mining came in, if you want to look through the deals, which I think are pretty good this time. You just need to sign them and I can finish the rest during working hours."

He jumped a little when she spoke, he hadn't even heard her come in. He sighed and nodded, "Yeah, ok." he went through the files on his desk until he came up with the ones she was talking about. "You say they're good right?"

She nodded. "They are. A lot better than the crap they were offering before. So how about I take your work load for a week or two. All you have to do is sign off on the projects."

He looked over the paperwork but nothing was registering, so taking her advice it was a good deal, he signed his name at the bottom of each page and put it in the outbox. He looked over to her. "It might take a bit longer than a couple of weeks, Dee." He leaned back in the chair and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's just that she's back. I never thought I'd have another chance with her. And with what the grandmother said." He shook his head. "Everything is so confusing right now"

She could see the torment in his eyes and she knew it would be a long eighteen-year wait for him. She hadn't seen him like this since White Deer died, all those centuries ago. She nodded. "Alright, but when you have good days, expect to be dumped with a load of work to do," she said with a wink.

She was a typical Cherokee woman. She had the darkest brown eyes he had ever seen, they were close to black but when she was in a playful mood, they would turn a burning amber, even when she was human, like the brothers eyes, her eyes would react to her moods.

* * * * *

During the first two years, the brothers helped the blind woman with Maria. They called her Ulisi

(Grandmother)

she wouldn't tell them her real name. They both went every day to visit them but it soon became difficult for Eric to leave. So on her third birthday, he gave Maria a kiss on the forehead and said, "I will come back for you one day." He gave her a gentle hug.

They had only called each other their current names but when Eric was about to step out the door, Maria yelled out, "Wa'ya, Wa'ya,!" and went over to him. He stopped and held his breath. She hugged his leg tightly and looked up to him with soft brown eyes.

He picked her up again and she snuggled against his chest and took her over to Richard and looked over to Ulisi. "Did you...?"

Ulisi shook her head, "I never spoke to her about anything or taught her any of the old language yet."

Eric nodded. That was one thing about the old woman, she never lied."I can't be this close to her anymore." He gave the little girl a kiss on her forehead once more before handing her to Richard.

He started to walk towards the door as she yelled out his true name again but he didn't stop. He walked out the door and closed it behind him, it broke his heart when he heard her start crying and calling out his name. He had to get away.

He got Dee to book him a flight overseas. He would tour their overseas ventures and be back once the full trip was completed.

Over the next ten years, he went around the world and back,expanding their businesses and starting a few new ones, always delaying his return.

During those years, Dee had gone with Richard to meet Ulisi and Maria and had developed a strong friendship with the old woman. They even spoke in the old language which pleased both of them. Deep in her heart, she was sure she knew Ulisi. The stories the old woman told were too close to home to think otherwise.

One story caught her the most and everything fell into place. Richard was helping Maria with homework but felt the shock in Dee and looked over to her. Dee couldn't help herself and said, "Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry it took me this long to recognize you." She went to Ulisi and embraced her, and whispered in her ear, "A-wa-ni-ta

(Baby Deer).

"

Ulisi gave Dee a tighter hug and nodded into her shoulder as tears ran down her cheeks."No one has called me that for a very long time."

The women pulled back and Dee wiped the tears away from Ulisi's cheeks."But how are you with us now?"

Ulisi smiled and spoke in the old language so Maria couldn't keep track of what was being said. "After the attack on the tribe, I started to have dreams. I saw what happened to Richard and knew you were going to follow his path. By the time I reached I reached sixteen winters, my dreams were going further into the future and telling me what our people would go through. During the age trials, brother wolf visited me and told me I had a important task to do so he joined with me. He explained what I had to do, and I did everything as instructed. When we were taken to the reservation I started to drink the tea to put the wolf to sleep so I'd age like a human, so here I am now."

Richard listened to the story and shook his head as things fell into place. Ulisi had only been a little girl when the attack happened so that was why he hadn't recognized her. She was White Deer's baby sister.

Dee then asked, "What task was it he set for you?"

Ulisi smiled."To be there for Gray Wolf when his mate was born. He said the brothers would be there on the night of her birth so I would know my task would be completed. As soon as I left Natalie's room that night, I felt them so I knew Maria was his true mate. He told me I needed to keep her safe until Gray Wolf claimed her and then I'm to help with her getting her wolf. I'm not to speak anything of it to her and that she has to follow her heart. We've seen already she has been doing it, from the first night she was born"

Maria looked over to them and pouted. "If you really didn't want me to listen in on your convo's, you could have just asked me to go to my room, ya know, Gran."

Ulisi laughed and held out her arms, Maria went over to her and hugged her tightly. Ulisi gave her a kiss on the cheek."You should write before you miss the last rays of the day."

That made Maria jump and look at the time and her eyes went wide. She had forgotten all about the time and ran upstairs to get her journal and raced outside to the back porch and sat on the stairs. She had gotten into the habit of writing her private secrets each day at dusk and had almost missed doing it today.

After the door closed Ulisi smiled."She writes her dreams and fantasies in those books and always at dusk. She gets angry at herself if she misses a day. She says the last rays of the day clears her mind of everything so she can just write of what comes from her heart."

* * * * *

By the time Maria had turned seventeen, she had become an accomplished young artist. With the stories and histories Ulisi had told her, she had become captivated with her heritage.

Through school, she had gotten into a high school classes for native American crafts and arts. She loved art and her specialty was animals. Her favorite was painting wolves.