I stared at Cassie. Had I felt the shock when we hugged? I had been blissfully distracted with the knowledge that she wanted me around, that I hadn't paid any attention to anything else.
I reached for her hand to check, and she was right. No shock, no weird feelings, or memories. I got so used to it happening, it now felt strange to touch her without it.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said in response to Cassie. “I wonder why?”
Cassie shrugged. She didn’t seem too concerned by the lack of the shock. I struggled to brush it off. I wanted to know why it had stopped. I couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation, but then again, I didn't know why we had experienced the shock in the first place. Should I go and see Freya? She may have some insight. I would do it later. At the moment I was too busy enjoying the fe
I landed in the tree and made myself comfortable. Leah and Cassie got out of the car and Cassie looked up at me and smiled. My heart rate sped up, and I jumped around on the branch in contentment. They walked inside, leaving me with my thoughts. The sound of a window opening got me back to reality. Cassie leaned out of the window and faced me. “Good night, Jax. I’ll see you in the morning.” Her actions warmed my heart, I had been worried about how Cassie would react when I told her I was watching over. But if it made her uncomfortable, she didn't show it. I smiled to myself. Maybe she even liked having me around? I Cawed back, unable to physically talk to her in my crow form. Her laughter echoed through the open window in response. When it died down, she closed the window and the light went off.
I got out of the shower and walked up to the mirror. I moved my hair away from my eyes. Based on how I felt, I should look severely sleep deprived, but the brightness from my hazel eyes stared back at me. I smiled, sometimes being an immortal had its benefits. Cassie texted me as I got dressed and asked me to meet her in town. I arrived at the spot we had decided to meet. I was a bit early, so Cassie hadn’t turned up yet. I took a seat on one of the benches next to a statue. I replayed last night's events as I waited for her to turn up. How had Cassie been able to talk to my mind, but not heard me when I spoke to her? Was she even aware that she had done it? While I tried to come up with a reasonable explanation of what had happened, I saw Cassie walking towards me. I lifted myself off the bench and went to greet Cassie with a big hug.
We walked over to a restaurant nearby and took a seat on their outdoor terrace. The restaurant was fairly empty. A waitress in her early twenties came over almost as soon as we sat down. She gave us a warm smile. “Are you ready to order?” Cassie nodded. “I’ll have the burger and a coke,” I told the waitress. “That’s a great choice. We do have the best burgers in town.” She scribbled something down on a piece of paper and glanced at Cassie. “I’ll have the same,” Cassie said with a smile. The waitress turned back to me. “Anything else?” I gave her a nod. “We’re good thanks.” Her gaze lingered on us as she walked away.
Walking away from Cassie and Leah left knots in my stomach. Cassie wanted me and Leah to get along, and this would have been a perfect opportunity to get to know her better, but everything that was going on weighed heavily on my shoulders. I needed to see Freya. Hopefully, she would have some answers to the many questions that were occupying my mind. While I made my way over to Freya’s house, I contemplated the day with Cassie. Her control over her ability impressed me. She would be able to read my mind in no time, unless I consciously shielded it. I didn’t want to hide things from her, but it was for the best. I needed to keep her safe. I reflected a bit more about Cassie’s abilities. She was already showing signs of telepathy. I remembered how clearly I could hear Cassie’s voice in my head last night. It was strange that she didn’t hear me when I tried to answer back. She also didn’t seem to be able to talk to my mind again, but maybe she just needed practice, after all, her abili
When I woke up the next morning, Cassie was no longer in her bed. How had I not woken up? I was usually a light sleeper. My heart sped up, and I flew over to the bed to investigate. Had someone taken her while I was asleep? Her bed was still warm. Would it be safe to send my energies out inside the house? Would I be able to find her? Before I got carried away, her voice sounded from downstairs. I let out a breath of relief. She had probably just woken up and gone downstairs. But why had she not woken me up? Was she still mad at me? If I was being honest, I had been out of line. She had told me that she hadn’t mentioned anything about her powers or that I wasn’t human to Leah and despite this I asked Leah about her magic. Not only that, but I'd also left them as soon as Leah turned up. I paced back and forth
I got home and went to have a shower. After I got dressed, I checked my phone, just in case Cassie had texted me. Unfortunately, there were no new messages on my phone. I thought back to yesterday, Cassie had left the window open for me, so surely she couldn’t be too angry with me. In an attempt to distract myself from thinking about Cassie, I decided to help Leah. Cassie had told me she trusted Leah, so it couldn’t hurt, and it may help to make up for the trouble I caused between them. I went to get my laptop and tried to search for who Leah’s parents were before she had become an orphan. At least one of Leah’s parents had to have been a witch, as magic was passed down from generation to generation. But I didn’t get very far. The problem with supernatural beings was that they mainly kept to themselves and tried
I teleported to Cassie’s neighbourhood. After what Freya had said, I worried about using my abilities too close to the house. As I walked towards Cassie’s house, I conjured up a rose. It probably wasn’t enough to get her to forgive me, but maybe it would put a smile on her face. Cassie opened the door, her gaze wandering past me. I gave her a big smile. “I’m sorry about yesterday.” I handed her the rose. She gave it a glance before accepting it. Leah’s voice echoed from inside the house. “Hi Jax, where did you disappear the other day? You left a bit abruptly.” I was trying to locate where the voice came from. Maybe I should have brought the book, I could easily conjure it up, but again I didn’t want to
The vibration from my bed night stand woke me up. I rolled over and grabbed my phone. It was already past noon. How had I slept for this long? I opened the text from Cassie. It said she was fine, but needed to talk to me. I ran a hand through my hair. Why had I gone home instead of watching over her? What if something bad had happened? A restless feeling settled over me and I jumped out of the bed. The need to see Cassie emplified. I turned into a crow and flew over to Cassie’s house. She wasn’t home. Should I wait for her? After all she had told me that she was fine. Unsure what to do, I took to the sky, scanning the area for anything that may be out of place. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, I widened my search. It was late in the afternoon when I spotted Leah’s
Abigail let out a laugh and I turned towards her, weapon ready. Anger pulsed through my veins. She had tried to kill the people that she had spent the last ten years looking after. Kids she was supposed to care about. Cold spots appeared on my skin, turning the area to become black. My body was transforming into my demon form. I fought against it. If the demon inside won, instinct would take over. I gritted my teeth, willing myself to stay human. Losing control wasn’t an option. “I’m not going to let you get away with this?” Abigail rolled her eyes. “With what?” I glared at her in silence. Part of me, the demon, wanted to rip her into pieces for what she’s done, but my logical part knew we needed her if we were to figure out a way to get Mark and Sky’s magic back. Sh
I woke up a few hours later from Cassie tossing and turning. It looked like she was having a nightmare. I gently shook her awake. It took her a second to come to, when she did, she looked at me with worried eyes. "Leah's very scared, she's in a dark room and her magic does not seem to work. I told her that we would come rescue her soon." “And we will,” I said as I gave her a reassuring hug. After we had got out of bed and I had sorted myself out, the sun was setting. It was time to get everyone gathered and go over the almost non-existing plan one more time. There was an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Would we be able to get to Leah and rescue her? I really hoped so. I teleported myself and Cassie to the cabin where Mark, Seth and Sky had been staying. We went over the plan one last time. The wolves woul
I walked over to Cassie and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She stirred and opened her eyes to meet my gaze. "What did Freya say? Does she know where Leah is? Cassie asked, chewing her lip. "She said that she was in between." Her hand went to the necklace. "But how will we find her?" "Freya said to follow our hearts and use our connection to Leah." Cassie frowned at me. "That doesn't really make sense." "But you are related." Sky let out a yawn from the other side of the sofa. We must have woken her up. I looked over at Sky with a raised eyebrow. Did Sky know something I didn’t? "Does that make a difference?”
When I arrived at the cabin, several wolves were there. They stopped howling when they saw me. I turned to the shifter closest to me. “What’s going on?” “Something’s wrong. Mark and Seth are here...” As he spoke Mark walked out from the cabin with the Alpha. Mark approached me with a stooped posture. His eyebrows were drawn together, his lips curled and his face pale. My stomach turned into knots and I took a deep breath to steady my racing heart. “What’s wrong?” I shook my head internally. If anything had happened to Leah, it would be on me. I let her go back against my better judgement. Mark swallowed and met my gaze, his eyes haunted. “Leah’s gone. I got home and she wasn’t in the house. When I asked Abigail about it,
I woke up to the smell of food sometime in the late afternoon. After I walked downstairs, I found Cassie and Sky cooking dinner. I stood at a distance and watched them for a while. It looked like Cassie was teaching Sky how to make pancakes. After we had eaten, Sky asked for a scrying bowl. "I thought you didn't have any magic?" She gave me a sad smile. "I don't, but I promised Leaf I would let her know that we had arrived safely." I gave her an understanding look. “I’m sorry I wont be able to help you. I don’t have the ability to scry.” Cassie perked up. “But I do.” she pressed her lips together, a slight blush on her cheeks. “It’s very new, so I don't know if I will be able to get it to work, but I'm willing to give it a go."
When we got to the house, I left Leah with Sky to go and check on Cassie. I was excited to tell her what we had discovered. As I made my way over to the cabin the sky had started to brighten, given way for a new dawn. I expected Cassie to be asleep, but when I walked inside the cabin, I saw that she was playing cards with some of the wolves. I approached her and gave her a kiss. "How did it go? Where's Leah?" Cassie asked, biting her lip. "She's fine, she's in the house with Sky." Cassie bit her lip. "Who's Sky?" I squeezed her shoulder. "It's a long story, I will tell you on the way back." She nodded and stood up from the chair. I thanked the wolves for keeping Cassie safe, before taking her hand. While we made our way
The middle-aged woman stopped in front of us. "Welcome to the house of the hidden, I'm Leaf." There was a moment of silence as she studied us before she waved her hand, removing the concealing spell that had been placed over the house. Several teenagers appeared in the room. A few cast us a curious look as they walked out of the room to leave us alone with Leaf. "Why are you hiding out here, instead of being in the village?" I asked. "Isn't that the question," Leaf said, giving me a sad smile. “However the more urgent question would be why are you here? You are clearly not from the village yourself.” A feeling that she knew who we were entered my mind. I looked her over, something about her felt familiar and my gut insti
Leah turned up a few hours later. She told us Mark and Seth were going to stay at home and hopefully that would keep Abigail from becoming suspicious. It meant that the wolves would have to look over Cassie without Mark, however he had already told them to meet us at the cabin. I left Leah in the house while I teleported Cassie to the cabin. It didn't have any electricity, so I lit up a few candles and waited for the wolves to turn up. I didn't have to wait long. After I had made sure that they were happy to watch over Cassie, I teleported back to Leah. "Are you ready for this?" I asked as I grabbed her hand. "As ready as can be" she said before I teleported us to the city and the Whitelock industry building. When we arrived in the alleyway, the streets were almost e
I enjoyed my flight, knowing that Cassie was safe in my house with Leah protecting her. It made me feel less worried, especially after the defensive display of magic that Leah had manifested by instinct when we were sparring. I knew she still felt bad about it, but in all honesty, it was nothing. If I had been prepared for it, I would have been able to deflect it. My fighting skills went way beyond some elemental magic. There had been a war in the supernatural community. Freya had tried to solve it in a peaceful way for many centuries. She was a strong believer that everyone, no matter their origin, should be able to co-exist and live peacefully amongst each other, and amongst humans if we so wished. Being raised by Freya had its advantages and I had seen first-hand the beauty of different species living together in harmony. Freya's place, or more correctly,