This week on the TTC/MasterKoda Virtual Blog Tour we are sharing deleted scenes. This week my guest is Nikki Noffsinger, author of Cursed Awakening published by XOXO Publishing. Enjoy!
Deleted Scene: Nikki
Noffsinger
TTC-VBT
When
I wrote Cursed Awakening, the first
rough draft I had put it over three hundred pages. Now there wasn’t anything
wrong with that but when I did the
read through (one of many), I noticed that many of the storylines and ideas I
had were taking away from the story. One of my favorite deleted scenes from the
book takes place at the college that Ivy has just began attending and a certain
wolf just can’t stay away. Enjoy!
Homecoming
Ivy
was still on the fence about going to the Homecoming carnival. She had made
several friends but still large crowds made her skittish. Okay, they did more
then make her skittish; they border lined on giving her crippling panic
attacks. Determination though was driving her though to get over yet another
challenge. Lorna had offered to come along for support but then at the last
minute Lorna was going to be unable to go due to she had to go to the next town
over and check on a safe house where three teenage boys were being fostered since
they too had fled their own commune. So that left Ivy going solo to the event.
For a total of sixty seconds, she let the worry and past wash over her. Then
she let it go and turned the door knob and set out for Homecoming.
The
college grounds were packed. There were booths set up that sold food, t-shirts,
and fun things. Ivy laughed at the Justice League themed booth from the Science
Department. For just a few dollars she could pick a super-hero and have them
“arrest” a student or teacher in attendance.
She waved at a girl in one of her classes who was sitting in Justice
League jail and getting her picture taken with the Incredible Hulk. She still
was a little nervous but the more she walked around and visited the booths and
waved at fellow students, her nerves began to relax. Just as she was going to
head to get something to drink, someone startled her from behind. Ivy turned
and there was Jacee and her boyfriend Xander who happened to be the brother of
a man she hadn’t been able to get out of her head. Jacee was dressed in leg
hugging denim capris and an off the shoulder pink top. In the dictionary under
the word “perky” there had to be a picture of Jacee. Xander held up his hand
and grinned.
“Now
you didn’t think girlfriend that you would be hanging here alone did you?”
Jacee’s voice was filled with laughter.
Ivy
sighed with a smile. “Actually I figured by now that the mother ship would have
come and snatched me by now.” She joked.
Jacee
laughed as she wrapped her arms around Ivy, “Girl you are too funny and guess
who we brought with us? Guess!”
Before
Ivy could answer, Nyx strolled up with that sexier than should be allowed half
grin, next to his brother. Ivy had to force her jaw to work and prayed her
voice followed suit.
“Hello
Nyx, how are you?” her breath nearly stopped when he walked the few steps
towards her.
Nyx
hadn’t exactly known why he had insisted on coming with Jacee and his brother
but it all boiled down to this woman. She was beautiful yet there was something
inside her that touched his animal spirit. He had watched her from afar as
she’d perused the booths, spoke to people, laughed, and had let down her guard.
Ivy was gentle and intelligent yet despite whatever burdens life had placed
upon her, she exuded strength. More and more the woman had been in just about
every thought he had. His brothers knew something was up and it had been damn
hard trying to block his mental pathways from them. His grandfather had simply
chuckled when he’d been lost in thought and accidently took off the oil cap
instead of tightening it resulting in oil dripping into his face. There had
been only one of his kind to ever mate with a human and had it not been for his
grandfather; Jacee’s mother would have been exiled or worse. Jacee’s mother had
died soon after Jacee was born and some had said that it was because Skye had
broken their laws that the Great Spirit was angered. His grandfather, Night
Horse had quieted those voices and had made sure that Jacee’s mother had been
honored. He also gave Jacee’s father a place to live at New Hope .
Nyx
looked down into those soft eyes of Ivy’s and smiled so that she could see his
even white teeth, “I’m doing pretty well. The question is how you are?”
Ivy
felt as if she’d been touched even though he had not laid a finger on her. She
licked her lips and could have sworn she heard a low growl come from him.
“I’m
doing okay. A lot better actually since there is someone to talk too. All my
classmates seem to be on dates or working booths. I was just going to head over
by the Student Union and see what food they have for sale.”
Jacee
grinned between Ivy and Xander, “We were actually going to check out the rides.
I’m dying to go on the Ferris Wheel. You should come with us and then we can
all go and get something to eat.”
Ivy
had never been on a Ferris wheel. She started to protest but Nyx put an arm
around her shoulders and whispered, “Don’t worry Ivy, I got you.”
By
the time they made it to what was known as Greek
Row where two sororities and two fraternities sat were carnival rides. Ivy
tried to reason with herself that she wasn’t going to die or make a scene. She
began to wring her hands but Nyx took her one in his very large one and winked
at her. He bought their tickets and waited in line. Jacee was bouncing up and
down and Xander was talking with Nyx who was poking fun at Jacee. Ivy was quiet
and according to Xander was looking “white as a sheet”. Ivy watched as the
colorful carts going up and around. Her breathing was starting to come in
pants.
Nyx
could sense her fear as could Xander and Jacee but they said nothing. Jacee and
Xander got into the next car and she waved at Ivy who managed to wave back
weakly. Then it was Nyx and Ivy’s turn. Part of Ivy wanted her to run and keep
on running. The other part was kicking her in the tail and telling her to get
over it! Ivy took a breath and let Nyx lead her towards the cart. The moment
she sat down she gripped the arm bar till her knuckles were white and closed
her eyes as she felt the Ferris wheel move up.
She
began to feel herself tremble and hated it. Just as Ivy was about to start
screaming from panic, she felt a warm and strong arm wrap around her and pull
her to a hard, strong, and that woodsy-patchouli and spice scent that clung to
him. Immediately, her breathing and body calmed and she could open her eyes.
The wheel was making another rotation.
“Ivy,
you’ve never rode on a Ferris wheel have you?” he asked.
She
shook her head, “Sure, I ride them all the time.”
Nyx
laughed. “The first time I rode on one, me and my grandfather had stopped at
this small circus. My grandfather was always finding some new adventure for us
to do that usually ended up in one of us getting a lecture from my mother.
Anyhow, I had never ridden on one before and neither had he. We were both
excited but I think he was a little more though. It was neat how it would get
us to the top and we could see for miles before pulling us down enough that we
could feel the air rushing. We had loved it so much that we bought tickets for
two more rides. When we got to the last ride, we weren’t as excited. We’d had a
lot of hot dogs, cotton candy, soda pop, and peanuts to eat.”
He
was relieved to see Ivy amused and paying attention to him rather than her fear
so he continued, “So we were nearly over the last hump when suddenly all that
circus food began to rebel and rebel in a big way. My grandfather was feeling
pretty much the same way. We both probably looked like crazy people sitting
there with our hands over our mouths. The carnie took one look at us and
thought to just speed up the wheel so he could get us both off before we threw
up. He didn’t think that idea through because right before our cart could get
to the platform, well you can guess what happened.”
Ivy
burst out laughing. She couldn’t stop laughing. Nyx thought there was no
sweeter sound than the laughter that came from her lips. She was looking up at
him; those eyes that said so much and those lips that were a perfect bow; the
kind of lips that were meant for kisses. Everything in his mind and heart told
him to claim her; to hold her to his body and kiss her. God he wanted to. They
were so close together he could feel her breath on his face like a teasing
caress. His spirit animal howled; he had recognized his mate and wanted the man
to claim her, but he couldn’t. The ride had come to a halt and he got out of
the cart and offered her his hand. He saw the confusion on her face and he
loathed himself in that moment for causing the hurt that had flashed on her
face before she tucked it away.
Ivy
had been too close to kissing Nyx. What was wrong with her? She hadn’t had a
romantic thought about any many since…well she just didn’t entertain those
thoughts unless they included men with the last names of Pitt, Depp, and
Fimmel. When she got off the ride she would put as much distance between the
two of them as she could. She glanced at him and almost sighed. For moments,
short moments that felt much longer; Ivy had felt at ease, normal, and what it
would be like to have a man like Nyx. No doubt, he would make some woman
happier beyond her wildest dreams. Sadly, she’d never be that woman.
***
Nyx
was running the perimeter of his family’s lands. His mind was going over and
over that Ferris wheel ride with Ivy. On the ride home, his brother had told
him that Ivy had a lot of guys interested in her but she hardly paid them the
time of day. Who wouldn’t want to date Ivy? Who wouldn’t want to make her
theirs? Who wouldn’t want to wake up every morning with a woman like her next
to them? Jacee had chattered on and on about Ivy. The woman’s laughter still
echoed in his head. Someday some man would want to possess her; to claim her. A
man would hold her in his arms and kiss those lips…and that was enough. Nyx
howled up towards the sky that held a thousand stars. Traditions be damned and
even laws for that matter. Ivy would have no other but him and that was all
there was to it. There was no other option.
About
the Author
Nikki
Noffsinger is a 37 year old mother of two children and has always loved writing
and creating stories from a young age. She lives with her family in a mid-sized
Indiana town.
Aside from writing she has an eclectic taste in both music and art, loves to
travel, and has a great love of all things that go “bump” in the night.
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