The Year of the Horse (Book two of the Almair Series) (Completed)

Chapter 40 (Edited)

A/N: Countdown for finishing the book starts now! Thank you to those who have been supportive and commented on almost every chapter (You know who you are. ;) ). Also, thank you to those who have voted on every chapter. And, let's not forget those who have been reading this story and not doing anything. :P This chapter is dedicated to you all.

4 Chapters left.

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The next morning, I had woken up earlier than I had been because I felt like something was going to change, and I didn't know if it would be bad or good thing. After trying to get back to sleep for what felt like twenty minutes, I couldn't help but get up with a huff. I knew that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep, even though it was only like three in the morning.

I shook my head and sighed before I got dressed in some of Matt's clothes. The memories of last night came back into my mind and a small blush crept over my face. I didn't know if it was a bad thing that I was attracted to a guy, even though I had only known him for like four weeks, but I knew that it might be all right because he was supposed to be mine forever.

With a small huff, I walked up the stairs, wondering if we would be able to keep our relationship even though we were in different states. I knew that he liked me because of the way he looked at my lips as if he was wanting to kiss me.

"You're up early," a voice commented, startling me from my thoughts. Mrs. Kathy smiled at me, but I could tell it was forced. "How was the date?" she asked.

"Good," I replied. "Matt took me to one of the best burger joints in town." I grinned, remembering the food fight we had.

"So I have heard." There was a scowl in her voice, as if she had heard about the food fight. "I hoped that you two helped clean everything up." Yep, she did.

I nodded my head, quickly. "We did. Matt was trying to get us out of it because we were on a date, but I stuffed a pie in his face and told him that we were helping. Judith and Liam were trying so hard not to laugh because of Matt's shocked face."

Mrs. Kathy chuckled. "I'm glad that he opened up to you," she said. "After his father died..." She shrugged her shoulder, her voice trailing off. "I just hope that being with you, my baby boy will come back to me."

I sat down in a chair and sighed. I knew what she was talking about. Matt had told me everything and even some things that he wasn't proud of. However, I knew that he was going to keep changing and become that impish carefree boy that he had been as a child. "A lot of us grow up fast," I said, shrugging my shoulder. A small frown appeared on my face, because I had to grow up fast also. "Sometimes life is too short to be a child."

"And it doesn't help that you will be having a huge responsibility of getting the clans back together after many years of hardships." She leaned back in her seat and studied me with her knowledgeable brown eyes. "Are you up for it?"

"A year ago, I would have said that I didn't know or no right off the bat," I replied. "Now, I know that I am ready to become the leader that I was meant to be. I know that there are going to be hardships on the way, but I also know that I have people that will have my back no matter what."

Mrs. Kathy nodded her head and stood. "Good, then be ready to go to the pastures at nine in the morning. Colt will be picking you up." With that, she turned away and walked out of the house without a single word.

I stared at her, my mouth open. I didn't know why she was being so secretive, but I did know that I would be finding out at or around nine. Hopefully, they weren't planning on killing me, even though I hadn't given them a reason to.

***

Nine came and I was sitting at the table, waiting for Colt. My hands had been twitching occasionally because I was really nervous of was supposed to be happening to me. However, the rest of my body looked calm, except for the occasional twitch.

Matt and Carter had came through the house and didn't even bother to stop and say hi. It looked as if they had to get somewhere fast, but it did hurt that they didn't even look at me.

I sighed and leaned my head on the table and waited for the door to open to reveal Colt. My hands started to shake slightly from nerves, and I had to clench them, trying to stop them from shaking. That didn't help at all.

"Martha," Colt said after a few minutes, creating me to look up. There was a frown on his face while he looked at me with worried eyes. "Are you all right?"

I took a deep breath and nodded my head. "Ya," I replied. "I'm just nervous."

Colt nodded his head. "Come on, it's time to go." He turned around and started to walk away. He didn't bother glancing back, knowing that I was following him.

"Where are we going?" I asked when I caught up with him.

"Pasture," he replied.

"Why?"

"You'll see." He gave me a small smile when I huffed. "Don't worry, it won't be nothing bad."

"It better not," I muttered, causing him to chuckle.

He didn't say a word while he went into the pasture and changed into his horse form. He nodded his head, gesturing for me to get on.

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?" I asked.

"We need to get there fast, and I'm faster than you," he said.

I raised my eyebrow further. "Who says?" A small smirk appeared on my face, because I was ready to take up the challenge.

"Don't argue or take it as a challenge. We need to go now."

I muttered a 'fine' before I went over to him and swung on. I held onto his mane while he started to gallop. A grin appeared on my face, and I was glad that I was finally able to ride a horse again. "Take the quickest way," I called to him, glad that his ears flicked back to catch the sound of my voice. "If there are jumps, I'll just hold on."

"All right," Colt said. He sped up and turned to the left. His ears pricked at a fallen treat that was in the middle of the path and slowed down to a collected canter. "Hold on," he called as he collected himself.

I took a deep breath and held on, having my heels down and getting ready for the jump. I didn't look at the jump, trusting Colt with my life. With a whoop of laughter coming from me, he jumped and cleared the obstacle. "Are there any more jumps?" I asked, a grin on my face.

"No," he said. "We're close." He came to a sudden halt, almost causing me to fall off. "This is where you get off. Just go straight." He cantered off when I had gotten off, leaving me to myself.

"Well, that sucks," I muttered before I started to walk forward. My body shook slightly, but this time it was from excitement. I knew what was going to happen, and I was glad that it was finally happening even though it hadn't been a year or something yet.

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A/N: Well, what is happening? Does anyone want to take a guess? Don't forget to vote/comment.

Peace out Fluffy Munchkins,

Rissa