Silvana was immediately comforted by Bruce's touch. She let her head fall into his chest and he stroked the sides of her head, holding her close to him and not letting go. "How did you know to come here?" she sniffled. Bruce looked to the stars. "I just knew, Silvana. I knew I needed to be beside you right this moment."She hugged him tightly and said, "I'm so glad you came. My father just hit me."Normally, Bruce would've rushed inside and crushed Solaris. But he knew his temper had been getting the better of him, and he cared more about being there for Silvana than revenge against the old man. "I'm sorry," Bruce said, gently lifting Silvana's face to his. He inspected the red mark on her cheek, and although his stomach rumbled with rage, he planted a delicate kiss right on the mark. "Walk with me, sweetheart," Bruce said, gripping Silvana's hand in his. He brought her to her feet and put his arm around her to warm her from the night's breeze. They walked intimately for a
The smell of cooked eggs, slabs of bacon, and pan-fried potatoes startled Bruce awake. He thought such amazing food was only a dream, as the time to make such a meal was something he no longer had with all his new responsibilities. Silvana exited the bedroom bathroom with a pink toothbrush in her mouth and her strawberry-blonde hair in a messy top knot bun. She was in a lacy white nightgown and big fluffy pink slippers, and she looked refreshed and well-rested. Bruce smiled. Any remaining tension in Silvana's shoulders after his massages seemed to be gone. Bruce rubbed a knuckle to his eye and stretched widely with his big arms. "Good morning, gorgeous," he said with a massive grin. Silvana dashed back into the bathroom, rinsed her mouth, clinked her toothbrush to the sink and said, "I've got breakfast on the stove for you, handsome." She ran some water to her face, listening for Bruce to say something, but he didn't. She patted her face dry with the towel on the rack and t
"You two are brothers?!" Amelia exclaimed, darting her head back and forth and examining the similar facial features between the two manly men. "That's right," Kurt smirked, poking a finger to Bruce's chest. " Bruce is Alpha." Kurt jabbed his thumb at his own chest and said, "And I'm Beta."Silvana could tell Bruce was containing his outrage. Kurt shrugged and said, "Two balancing halves, two equal opposites. I just happened to get the better end of the stick when it came to looks." "I didn't realize you were seeing a witch," Bruce said. "Well, it's not like we ever talk anymore, Brucie," Kurt responded, an insulting yet charming cadence carrying his words. He snuggled closer against Amelia and rubbed her arm. "It'd be pretty hypocritical of me to rat you out to the council and pack for dating a witch, now wouldn't it?" Silvana had heard how Kurt had acted outside of Bruce's house with the intimidating pack. She still couldn't shake the feeling that he was up to no good
A few days later, Kurt told Amelia to pack a bag for a weekend vacation. "Make sure you pack one of those cheeky swimsuits I got you," he said over the phone, his voice smooth and sensual. He was being cagey about the details, but Amelia didn't need any justification for a getaway with her lover, especially if it meant she got to give all her new bikinis a spin. With the election for Guardian Witch approaching, it was all anybody in her family spoke about, and she was so tired of listening to people say that a werewolf would be crowned Guardian this year. She knew Solaris would pass the title to Silvana, just as tradition would have it, and Amelia wanted no business in the political quarreling that swept every dinner table or afternoon tea chat. All Amelia wanted was to have fun, and the constant calls from Silvana were making that tough. Amelia loaded bags into the trunk of her car. She pressed her phone to her ear with her shoulder."Please Amelia," Silvana said, "if you s
Silvana banged on Bruce's front door.The lights were off in the house, and she shouted, "Bruce?! Kurt? Please open up. It's me."Tears laced her eyes, and as she continued to pound her fist to the door, she clenched her father's mysterious journal with her other hand. If what she had read was true, then she didn't have much time."Bruce, please!" Silvana sobbed. After knocking on the front door and throwing stones at each window of the dark house, Silvana crumpled to the grassy floor beside dead leaves, and she cried loudly to herself, grasping her father's journal and screaming out in despair.She called Bruce, then Amelia, both over and over, until she had no battery left, and her phone simply died. ************************Back at her house, Solaris entered the cellar, taking each step slowly with his cane. Inside and restrained on a metal table with thick straps was a struggling man with a white sheet over him. His hands, chest, and legs were clamped into place with mas
Silvana charged her phone in her car and drove around aimlessly listening to music. She felt alone, hurt, and confused, and as much as she wanted to address her father about his journal, she wasn't even entirely sure she was reading it properly, and she knew that she had violated his privacy, and shouldn't be reading it to begin with. And if she called him to ask about the journal, that meant she would have to accept the possibility that her father was capable of great evil, and she wasn't ready to make that leap yet. What she needed was a friend. Her phone reached enough charge to beep back to life and with the charge came a phone call. Silvana accepted and Amelia's voice rang through the car from the front console. "Oh my god, Sylvie," Amelia said, sounding like she'd just run a mile. "I'm so sorry I forgot to call you. You must be worried sick."Silvana sniffed and said, "It's okay. I know that you were going to see Kurt. I understand."On the other end of the call, Amel
"Here's what we'll do," Amelia said, tightening the belt of her robe and sticking her long brown hair into a messy bun. "I'll get the components for the spell prepared, and you, little Sylvie, fuel up on chocolate and wine." Silvana unwrapped a deliciously fragrant chocolate from the tray, then said, "I can agree to that." "Perfect," Amelia said, marching off. "And Kurt, you can freshen up the wine glass of our guest."Kurt winked at Amelia, stood up and chimed, "And I can agree to that. Let's do this." Amelia went to the garden outside and began collecting herbs and plants to be used in the spell. Kurt went to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of blood red wine. He popped the cork and poured Silvana a hefty glass."Thanks," she said. "You kidding me," Kurt smirked. "You know you're practically like my sister."Silvana hadn't thought about how anything official would work with Bruce yet, but she knew that she'd stop at nothing until the wedding bells chimed and Bruce ca
Amelia set the bushels of freshly picked plants down on the chair that Silvana had fallen asleep in."Why did my little Sylvie just run off like that?" Amelia asked with real worry. Kurt held back a smile and pressed a hand to his red cheek. He acted as though the mark Silvana had left on him truly stung.Amelia felt the rage in her throat when she asked, "Kurt, did she slap you?" Kurt winced as Amelia pressed a hand to his cheek and said, "She did, but it's not like you think.""I think," Amelia said, placing her hands on her hips with the raging fireplace behind her, "that she better have a damn good reason for putting her hands on you."Kurt feigned worry, jumped to his feet, and hugged Amelia. His gentleness soothed her slightly and he told her, "Hey now, take it easy. This is a big misunderstanding.""I would hope so!" Amelia yelled.Kurt looked her in the eyes and with complete compassion and empathy said, "The most embarrassing thing happened. I was helping to get thos
A cooling, tropical breeze blew the leaves of the palm trees overhead, and Silvana stuck her toes in the warm sand as the sun beat down on her. Waves slapped the shoreline several feet ahead of her, and she reclined into her comfy beach chair. "I can't tell you all how happy I am," she said, "to be away from the snow and the cold." She sipped from a giant margarita that had been put inside a hollowed-out coconut with a large pink straw. "I'll stick to the shade," the pale Angus said, hiding underneath the large, canopy-style leaves from the trees. He was working shirtless at a grill, spreading out lemon slices on top of freshly caught fish. "Oh my god," Amelia said, a cocktail shaker in her hands. "Can you imagine my big Angus with a tan?" Angus peppered some potato salad, laughed, and said, "You all enjoy the sun. I'm hot enough as is at the grill. Amelia pulled down her oversized purple sunglasses, observed Angus's tight rows of abs and murmured, "Hot is right."She gave
Months later, big bells of silver adorned with blue ribbons rang loudly in the newly refurbished Silverclaw mansion. The mansion was owned technically by the silverclaw kin, but it had become a retreat for vampire, werewolf, and witch alike, and certainly required the aid and unique talent of the three separate species to be rekindled to a state beyond its former glory. Down the winding aisles of mixed company and standing at what had once been a court podium but had since been remodeled into an altar, Bruce stood tall and handsome, his chest out, ready and waiting in a dapper black tuxedo with a black bow tie. His messy brown hair had been cut and trimmed, and his face was clean shaven. He stood with a large smile on his face, though truly he was starting to get worried. Bruce glanced at his silver-strapped watch, then looked out into the stone benches filled with people casually chatting. A firm, supportive hand pressed against the top of his back. "Quit checking that thing,
Solaris grabbed the vampire's wrist and stopped her sword from decapitating Duponte. "This woman," Solaris said very seriously, "Is not the same demon who has caused us all great strife." "You speak nonsense, old man!" the werewolf next to the vampire roared. His claws dripped with Duponte's blood, staining the snow at his hind legs red. "Just because you do not have the strength to finish her does not mean I won't.""Stand down," Bruce said with a chill to his voice. He and Silvana ran over. Silvana knelt and observed Duponte's wounds. "They're bad, but she'll live," she determined. "This woman here is my family," Solaris confirmed to the werewolf and vampire, who looked dubiously at one another. "Any ill intent has been removed from her because of these two talented," Solaris paused for a moment, then addressed both Silvana and Bruce as he said, "children of mine."Bruce smirked, as he'd finally gotten the approval of the father of the woman he loved. On the snowy floor,
Bruce reverted from his massive werewolf form and back into his regular human body. His waist was covered by only the fragments of torn jeans that remained from his transformation, and he and Silvana both smirked to one another, both privy to what needed to be done now that Duponte had revealed her true form, and as the demonic energy continued to corrupt her. "You'll never be strong enough to fight me like that," Duponte angrily hissed at Bruce. Her arms grew thin and long and skeletal. Lightning whipped all around her. "I don't plan on fighting you," Bruce replied calmly and in complete control. He took Silvana's hand. "Are you ready?" he asked her. "Always," Silvana said with a smile that confused and angered Duponte. How were these two so calm in the face of her? It infuriated Duponte, and she unleashed a fierce, howling wheeze. But the truth was, Silvana and Bruce were privy to secrets that Cecilia Duponte were unaware of. It had all been inside of Solaris's journal, w
"Don't you see," Duponte said to Silvana with outraised, welcoming arms, "That I'm not your enemy."Duponte pointed to the goopy mess that was the remains of Kurt. "He, now he, was your enemy. He wanted nothing more but your blood and your father's blood."Getting even closer, Duponte pounded a palm to her chest and continued, "I, your family, want you to thrive." Silvana breathed deeply at the sight of the horrible fate that had befallen Kurt. Her heart was heavy with guilt, and for all the troubles that Kurt's mischief and sin had caused her, she still felt a sense of regret that she was not able to save him when he was in a state of delusion and pain. She stepped away from a small collection of bright orange sludge oozing towards her. Kurt hadn't been a good or decent man, but he didn't exactly deserve this. "Don't feel sympathy for this beast," Duponte said, as if reading Silvana's mind, or perhaps her crestfallen face. "Feel sympathy for your mother, for her sacrifice. For
Though Kurt's roars were strong enough to topple over trees still standing in the forest, Silvana and Duponte both stood their ground as the beast hollered. The rest of those still alive, Solaris, Angus, Amelia, and Bruce were all left frozen by Duponte's unwavering magic. Orange sludge dripped down from the blistering welts lacing Kurt's silver and black furred hide. His once amber eyes flared with the same bright, unhealthy orange. "What the hell happened to him?" Silvana asked. Duponte looked at Kurt with absolute and unequivocal disgust.She said, "He's tried, rather unsuccessfully, to enhance himself with the blood of a witch."With a tilt of her head and sniff from her nose, Duponte inspected Kurt. "Our blood, Silvana, no less, is what he's taken" she sneered. "From your father. And look at what it's done to the mongrel." Kurt howled with a raspy, unearthly voice, and driblets of orange saliva flew from his infected and rotting fangs, leaving behind acidic and flaming
Duponte walked forward leaving fiery steps behind her. A curtain of black and red lightning crackled around her skin, and her smile was both wicked and wide, as if all of Silvana's efforts were nothing more but mere entertainment. Silvana, though, could barely move; she tried to bring herself from her knee to no avail, and with one eye shut and the other squinted, she hazily watched as Duponte smacked away Bruce and Amelia, sending the two barreling into the forest. As much as she wanted to retaliate, Silvana was depleted of energy, and sealing the spirits away had drained her of any remaining magic. Duponte clutched Silvana's face with a single hand, and Silvana felt a burning that was completely unique and unlike anything she ever experienced. The pain was not like when she burned her hands ripping the bindings off of Bruce's arms when he was in her father's basement, but the burning caused by Duponte's touch was raw, unnerving, and rattled her from head to toe. Duponte glared
A flurry of crimson lightning slammed into the blue sigil left behind by Solaris and the witches, fracturing the very ground itself. Solaris reached out a hand to his daughter and shouted, "Silvana!" But it was too late. Silvana was struck with a bolt of lightning before Bruce or Amelia could do anything to stop it. Her body flew into a tree that splintered into sawdust from the impact. "No!" Bruce yelled, running over. Cecilia Duponte's laughter could be heard taunting them from the reddened skies. Bruce charged over to where Silvana had landed but was stopped by the bursting of the witches' sigil. Blue sparks surrounded him though not as fast as the hundreds of hands belonging to the once-sealed spirits. They dragged him into the dark abyss as he thrashed and roared. Solaris did what he could to repel the forces, though in truth it was little. His magic couldn't protect everybody, and spirits twice as strong and large as before, bigger than the tallest trees in the fo
The forces all paused outside of The Forest of the Damned, taking in the thick air that smelled rotten. Most of the trees were dead, black and gray husks ready to teeter over at the next sharp wind, and the few large pines that stood firmly had branches that drooped like wilting flowers, as if the very bark had been poisoned. Lightning roared above the mess of long-dead trees, but it wasn't anything new to Bruce and Silvana, who had been fighting these evils since they had returned. What hit them both differently, though, was that ghastly, heavy air, and with each breath they took it was like swallowing toxins. Everybody felt it, from the witches to the werewolves to the vampires. It was a smell of sour blood that tainted the very grass beneath the snow they all stepped on. Angus held a hand before his mouth and tried not to cough in front of Amelia for fear of seeming weak, but as he plugged his nose, she turned away and hacked into her folded elbow. Even Solaris struggled t