MATED TO THE TWIN WOLVES

STRUCK BY THE SUPERNATURAL

Jerome studied the lady before her. She is tall, possesses some strong arms, and nicely shaped legs. He is kind of a woman.

"Where is your brother?" He had her speak at last. Just like him, she had been studying him and their eyes kept meeting.

"He went to supervise your meal. I also asked them to roast a chicken for you."

Jupiter couldn't believe her eyes. After all she had done for him, he had gone ahead to make sure she had the best meal. How forgiving!

"Is the tea up to your satisfaction, or did you want more?"

Jupiter shakes her head sideways, an indication that she doesn't want more. How she wished she had met the twins in different circumstances. Maybe she would have fallen hopelessly in love with one of them. But as it stands, they were her enemies, and she was supposed to hate them for murdering all her colleagues.

"What are you doing in this monastery alone ?"

"I came with my friends to see the werewolf rune."

"Where did you come from and where is your horse?"

"Horse?" Jupiter asked back. The werewolf must have been so long gone that they still think the world uses horses as a means of transportation. "I came on a bus, it was made of iron and-, look, our bus is parked over -," Jupiter paused her speech and her eyes became bigger with shock. The bus is no longer parked where it was supposed to be, but that's not the only problem. Everything has changed. No more buildings, no more civilization, nothing left, except the forest. "What's going on?"

"Exactly what I want you to tell me?" Jerome's voice became a little bit tough. He was a man of little patience.

"I don't know," Jupiter answered truthfully. "Everything has changed. Our bus parked over there is no longer there. No more civilization, oh goodness! What have I done? Hurl the world back for a thousand years? "

Even though Jerome seemed to be at the edge of his temperament, he did all he could to remain calm. Maybe she is confused and will regain her sanity in a few hours.

"You are in the middle of nowhere. I suggest you go with us so that -."

"No, I can't. You murdered my friends. Why should I trust you with my life? Besides, I need to get back to my hotel and -."

"We didn't murder anyone. Nobody was there when we arrived."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jetta told me that he saw you alone inside the monastery and that you have been a pain in his butt since then."

"I saw one of you running Helen over with his sword. Where are the dead bodies? Jupiter stood up angrily and glared at the large man on the seat. "The dead bodies should be left for the family to identify, and don't dare strip them of any valuable things."

"There is no dead body." He muttered in a final tone. "Can you tell me who you are? You aren't a werewolf because you don't smell like us. Are you a fiery, mermaid, dragon, angel, or demon?"

"I... I -." Jupiter realized she couldn't admit to being an ordinary human. She was alive because they believed that she was different, claiming otherwise would lead to her death immediately.

"A witch."

It was a statement and not a question, and this made Jupiter nod her head, peep through the windows and her heart skip a beat. As far as her eyes could see, no dead body littered the floor. "What's today's date?"

"It was the year 1800. Why did you ask?"

"Because it's the year 2004 where I came from." Have I been thrown a thousand and something years back?" That must be the only logical answer.

The plain look on Jerome's face shows he didn't understand her gibberish.

"Did any war take place here recently?"

"Yes. The monks mass murder. It happened here a few years back and lots of people lost their lives."

"That must be the energy I felt when I saw your people murdering my colleagues."

At this point, Jerome was about to go hysterical. Luckily, Jetta chose that moment to step inside, and he was followed by some men carrying large plates.

Jupiter's mouth began to water at what they set before her. Bread, cheese, and some wine. There was a large bowl of cooked vegetables in some sort of white sauce. Peas, carrots, and onions swimming in a blend of creamer, butter, salt, and garlic.

Jupiter used the wooden spoons they provided to take her first taste of the dish. After over half a day of hunger, it struck her as one of the most delicious concoctions she'd ever eaten.

"This is tasteful," she praised her server, and they in turn looked most embarrassed by the compliment. Their cheeks bore that odd splotchy blush that she had sometimes seen on peach skins, and she couldn't help but notice at such close range how very young they were. She doubted that any of them were out of their teens. But then again, this shouldn't have surprised her. She'd read that werewolf lads often began joining their fathers and older brothers on such raids as early as the age of twelve.

Jupiter was aware of the twin's eyes on her as she broke a piece from the round loaf they'd brought to her, and then used it to soak up some of the delectably buttery vegetable sauce before popping it into her mouth.

Jetta looks cool and reserved, deflating all anger and pride. During his lonely moment, he had concluded that Jupiter was not an ordinary woman. How else could one explain her rare abilities? The blast of fiery rain she'd delivered, her lightning-quick blow to his private, and that deafening chorus of male voices booming from her bag. His belief that he was struck by the supernatural somehow reduced his shame.

How lovely she was, he acknowledged. His stricken eyes hadn't allowed him to get a very good look at her when they'd first met, but now, his vision almost back to normal, he couldn't help drinking in her remarkable raiment and comely features.

Her long flaxen-colored hair was caught up at the back of her head in a strange, shiny circle of some kind. What an outlandish ornament it was, Jetta thought, wanting very well to reach out and touch it. And such an unusual, yet lovely hue to boot. It reminded him of the purplish color he'd sometimes seen within the iridescent inner coating of an oyster shell: a measure of pink blended with an equal amount of light blue.

Piercing the lobes of her ears were rings of much the same color. Then again the shade was repeated on the apple-shaped pendant that hung from the delicate, woven silver chain about her neck.

If only she would permit him to simply tap a fingernail upon one of these unearthly adornments.

But no. She wasn't like other women, he sternly reminded himself. If he proved too forward with this one, she might very well set his loins afire with a mere glance. And, having already experienced her wrath, that was not a risk he cared to run.

But perhaps he was already doing so, he realized, as he caught himself staring at her chest. He swallowed uneasily and, with much reluctance, forced his gaze back up to her face.

It wasn't that her well-covered breasts had appeared to be anything but average in size and shape; it was just that they were so erect as if they were being held aloft by some fashioning.

But this thought had to stop, a voice within him warned. What if she was capable of reading his mind? He doubted she'd find its present contents very flattering, even though he had the best intentions towards her.

The truth was, he'd already concluded that she was the very embodiment of his dream woman. Just like a daisy against the blue sky, her soft, blond hair and azure eyes brought him inexplicable comfort. She was as innocuous as a lass from a neighboring farmstead. A disarming, simple, and clean-scrubbed beauty who had he not seen and felt the evidence of for himself?- he would never have suspected her of being a witch.

"But where is the chicken?" Jerome asked his brother.

"Still cooking, brother."

Jerome clapped his hand twice, "well, go and tell them to bring it. It must be done by now. And while you are at it? Tell them to heat the water for her bath in a caldron in the cookery."

Jetta was off instantly, and Jupiter couldn't help but watch him go. She had been studying him as intently as she could.

She liked him, damn it! His face seemed one she'd known forever. The attraction was undeniable, and she sensed that, despite their rather rocky first encounter, he felt the same way.