Andrew woke up refreshed and ready for the day. Like he'd discussed with Emily the night before, he was likely to be out all day. At first he was reluctant to leave her alone because he wasn't sure she'd fully recovered from the call, but she assured him and insisted that he should go. He would have wanted to take her with him, if not for the fact that he couldn't take her back to the coven with him, especially after she disapproved of his going there. Emily was still sleeping soundly beside him as he quietly excused himself from the bed. She looked so peaceful that it seemed as if disrupting her sleep was a sin. He considered giving her a quick kiss but he didn't want to wake her up. He'd barely entered the bathroom when he haeard her murmur something then fall back to sleep. Unconsciously a smile spread across his lips. He shook his head at her silliness, then caught a glance of his smiling face in the mirror. It surprised him because before Emily, he could not remember smiling
After breakfast, Andrew hopped into his car, drove it as far away from the guest house as possible then doubled back to his territory. He would have loved to shift so he could shorten his journey to and fro and get back to Emily as soon as possible but here couldn't because he didn't trust the witches in the unwelcoming coven. They could attack him at his weakest moment, which was when he was shifting. So he sped through the forest to the boundary where they had encountered the bear the last time. Suspiciously, he didn't encounter any threats or feel unwelcome.Three witches waited for him as he arrived. He skidded to a stop and relaxed on a tree, trying to look as informal and harmless as possible."Resilient Alpha, we knew you'd be back. You're as stubborn and mule-headed as your kind. So blinded by your determination that you cannot see what's before you. Luckily it wouldn't slip away, it belongs to you." They recited, then bowed in greeting.Andrew furrowed his brows in confusi
After Andrew left, Emily quickly cleaned up the kitchen and their bedrooms and then, delved deep into the world of magic. She stayed reading her father's work and trying out every single thing she read. After so many tries, she came to understand how strength and power came from her mind. It was because like werewolves and fae she was pure magic. She even learned that she could heal herself with ease. But the more she read, she realized that it wasn't easy to unlearn what she'd been previously taught in the coven about powers only working when the spells and potions were said and cast correctly and perfectly. They made it look hard.The more she read, the more realized how unprepared she was. She sighed, wishing that Jacqueline was there to coach her. There was still a lot that she hadn't grasped. Suddenly a thought entered her head. Since you need the guidance of experienced witches. Why don't you check out the coven closest to you?Emily rejected the idea at first but as the mor
Meanwhile, when Andrew got to his meeting point with brown. He had so many questions. He'd been so certain that the Moon Witch was hidden within Scarlet coven, if not why had it been glowing in his safe?He sneaked a peek at it and it was still dead.The witches had also been mysterious and evasive. They recited things that gave him a headache and brought him confusion instead of the clarity he sought. Anyways I'm going back and I'm not leaving until they tell me what I need to know.Brown was already waiting when he arrived. "Did you come in your car?" Brown asked.Narrowing his eyes, Andrew nodded and gestured to where he'd left it parked."Let's go. I'll tell you when we're on the road." Brown said, heading towards the car."To where?" Andrew followed, intrigued."Let's get out of Lakewood first.""Okay, spill." Andrew huffed, driving into a roadside restaurant that was miles away from Lakewood. They'd driven in silence and the farther he got from Lakewood, the coven, and Emily,
Rushing out of the building, Andrew ran into his car, drove to where he and Brown were supposed to meet, picked him up, and sped all the way back to Lakewood. His plan was to finish his business with the Scarlet coven and return to Emily before sundown. As he drove, his frustration increased. He was partly sure that he would've gotten back to Scarlet faster if he shifted and ran with the winds. But he didn't know or understand why his wolf resisted the idea.Meanwhile, Emily had gotten enough lessons for the day and was now going back with promises to come back after seeking out the sorcerer and destroying him. Her time with the four masters Amelia had left her with, was so impactful that she felt more alive and self-aware than she had ever been. She knew that she wasn't there yet in terms of being experienced, but at least she was confident enough to face the sorcerer.Dusk was already falling when she crossed Scarlet's border and she hastened back to the house, hoping that Andrew ha
The more he tried to unravel the mystery of Emily's disappearance the more strange it became. Andrew cracked his head as he tried to solve the puzzle that was Emily's disappearance.From her scent, he guessed that she must've left that evening. He wondered if the voice called her again.To further complicate matters, the chief witch's words kept resounding in his head. 'She had never stepped foot in Scarlet until today….'... She came to ask for help…. '... You need to do more thinking and less action… '... Ask yourself questions about the people surrounding you… ' … Ponder on all the events that have happened since you stepped into Lakewood… 'Andrew shook his head, to shake her voice off. He walked round the house trying to find where her scent was most concentrated so he could begin his search for her.He was still at the threshold of her door when he sensed the enthralling aura of magic. He paused and furrowed his brows.Did it mean that the sorcerer had used magic to lure
Emily chuckled,"Not this witch." She growled, breaking out from his chains and standing on her feet.Lerman snarled,"I see the little one's got some tricks up her sleeves eh? Perks of working with Elrold right?" Lerman sneered, pushing his hands forward.Emily swiftly dodged the incoming force that was supposed to hit her and used her telekinesis to grab his leg and fling him into a pile of rubble.Lerman groaned, but was back on his feet,"You're feisty, I L.."Emily didn't let him finish, she raised her hands and clawed her fingers, putting him in a chokehold.A force slammed into Emily's cheeks, throwing her to the side and making her splutter out blood.Annoyed, she rubbed her cheeks. "Knives." She growled and a whirring sound was heard as thousands of knives flew toward him, slashing and plunging into the sorcerer's vital organs.He fell to the ground bleeding.Emily gingerly got to her feet and sauntered to where he lay groaning out in pain. "You're evil." She screamed, kick
Emily blinked as her eyes adjusted to the amount of sunlight streaming in through the windows.She inhaled deeply, enjoying the clean hospital smell that filtered into her nostrils. "Ahh thank goodness I survived," she muttered, knowing that she was in Elrold's emergency hospital that was situated deep within the building. She'd been there just once, when Samantha was showing her around and had fallen in love with it. As she tried stretching on the uncomfortable bed, the handle to the door of her ward twisted open and Jacqueline crept in. Emily grinned, extremely happy to see her friend looking well and alive. She raised her body and threw her legs down, and Jacqueline squealed giddily then rushed and engulfed her in a bear hug.They remained stuck like that for a while before Jacqueline finally spoke."We thought you didn't make it." Jacqueline sobbed. "Damn I was so heartbroken. I swore to tear the sorcerer apart with my bare hands."Emily patted her back, feeling emotional."I
"Did he agree?" Emily asked as soon as her mother reappeared. "Yeah, after a lot of persuasion."Emily released a shaky breath. Her body was burning like she'd been bathed with acid. "Let's get into position then." She said, lifting herself up. The pain was too much had she found herself unable to stand. She staggered backward and fell to the bed. "Emily! What's wrong?" "It's like my body is on fire." Emily hissed,Vanessa came to her and inspected her body."It's the mark from hell. He's suffering from the mark from hell. Are you sure you can do this? I can tell Andrew the plan, I'm sure he'd be happy to do it in your place.""No." Emily said forcefully. The truth was that no one could execute the plan effectively apart from her. Even if they collected the totem from Caleb, she was the only one powerful enough to destroy it. Andrew's strength couldn't break it, and neither could her mother's magic. But her body burned and she wanted to crawl into bed and cry. She'd have to make
Emily purposely ignored Andrew.She also purposely ignored the nudges her mother was giving her, as she narrated her experience to everyone. She also tried to ignore the sparks that were ignited in her body when he pecked her and whispered that he had to go but he'll be back.But when her mother, who'd been attentively listening to her, rose up, dragged him by the side, and hugged him. Envy, heavily laced with anger as she'd never felt before, coursed through her body. It felt as if her mother was betraying her. Jacqueline was the first to notice the change in her countenance.She smirked,"Girl, that's what you get for ignoring your man. Now he's in the arms of another woman." Emily growled and Jacqueline burst into laughter."When did you start behaving like a she-wolf? Hold your horses Em, it's only your mother. It makes me wonder what you'd have done if it was another female."Amelia laughed,"She would have probably hexed her entire generation." She said,"Nah, Em's feeling m
Emily had given up on trying to escape her imprisonment before she realized that it wasn't real. It had been days, yet she'd not felt hungry and she woke up the exact way every time. The sun didn't set, her clothes didn't change, she didn't want to use the bathroom and everything was still and lifeless.The only thing that changed each time she awoke was her strength. It was as if something was sucking out her energy. On the second day of her entrapment, she remembered wandering around the sheet/film that locked her in search of a weak spot or way out until she got bored and forced herself to sleep.Now she could hardly move a limb. Anger at Andrew and his Kingdom burned within her chest. She allowed it to blind her reasoning and she began to blame him for everything that happened.She promised herself that she would hunt Andrew if she died there.She'd been making such plans when she noticed the potted gardenia again.With a lot of effort, she stood up, walked to it, and lifted it of
Andrew and the Compliant narrowed their eyes at Vanessa."Do you understand it? Can you see how clear the prophecy has become?" Vanessa asked,The Compliant and Andrew glanced at themselves and then back at Vanessa."You," She pointed at Andrew, "became the enemy, you were the destroyer. He used your body to commit all these atrocities. Right now your people do not trust you. You'll need to do a lot to regain their trust. The second prophecy has come to pass. Can't you see it? You aligned with the enemies, you brought harm to your people and if I didn't save you, you would have perished.""Oh." Andrew agreed, nodding. "Now I'm very curious about the 3rd and 4th ones. I wasn't one to believe in those prophecies. My husband did and I often mocked it for it. I didn't think the prophecy concerned us witches and hoped you didn't find the key. I even hexed you."Andrew shrugged, he didn't understand where she was going or what she was trying to say.Vanessa chuckled mirthlessly, "And afte
"Where am I?" Andrew growled. His eyes were still shut and he wasn't fully awake.Vanessa, who had been standing behind her kitchen counter from the moment she dropped him, shivered. He's not going to rip you apart. You saved him, remember? She repeated in her head."Where am I?" Andrew asked again, propping his eyes open, then shielding his face with his arms.His wolf prowled around restlessly in his head. It wanted blood and it wanted it now.Vanessa steadied herself by gripping her kitchen counter. Her knuckles turned white and the bones in her fingers threatened to snap.Andrew jolted up."Where the fuck am I?"A shudder ran through her body and she swallowed involuntarily."My home." She said, her voice sounding more confident than she'd expected.Andrew's head snapped in her direction and he growled. Vanessa could see the malice in his eyes and feel the anger rolling out from his pores. Gathering as much courage as could muster she stepped forward. "I've been waiting for
The first thing Shirley did when the bodies exchanged was to try to get hold of Caleb before he fell to the ground.Later on, she would regret it deeply and ask herself why she didn't disappear like she normally did. Maybe it had something to do with the mark from hell that she'd seen reappearing on Caleb's body.Shirley's illusion flickered and she could feel her powers waning out as she bent to check on Caleb and wondered why. After confirming that he hadn't been knocked dead, she vented out her frustration on him and tried to wake him up. After trying several spells that didn't work she shook him roughly and punched and kicked him but he remained unresponsive. She'd also said another couple of spells that were supposed to be potent and yet the effect remained the same."Coma!" She yelled, "You're in an induced Coma you son of a bitch! Motherfucker, you get to sleep while I think of a way to save us!"If she had stopped screaming then and paused to do the actual thinking, she would
The next morning Vanessa snuck into Brighton and stood amidst the crowd of werewolves standing before the platform in the form of a man. She had to dig up her husband's old spell books and read and practice them throughout the night before she was able to perfect the spell. She stood within wolves knowing that any mistake she made meant death. She trembled, her hands were balmy and her forehead was clouded with sweat. Although she was terrified about being exposed, she was more terrified about failing. It seemed like the fate of the whole world weighed on her shoulders and that was enough to make her shake. Before leaving Andrew, she'd given him a sleeping potion and was glad that it was still in effect when they dragged him out of the dungeon that morning."Who are you and what have you done with Vanessa?" She muttered under her breath. Never in a million years could she imagine that she, Vanessa, would dare to do what she'd been doing in the past few hours. It was very out of char
It was the time of reckoning. Caleb thought, trying as much as he could to keep a grim expression on his face when he was bouncing with excitement inside him. The platform had once again been set and the pack members gathered beneath it chatting away as they awaited the death of Brighton's number one enemy. The gates of the dungeon creaked open, shushing the crowd of onlookers. The advisors and some stakeholders, followed by a barrage of guards and warriors who dragged Caleb's unconscious body processed solemnly to the platform and ascended it. Caleb had never felt so powerful in his entire life and he loved it. Thrills of victory ran down his spine and he clasped his eyes shut and struggled to keep at bay, the smile that had been threatening to break out from his lips. "I still don't understand why we are hurrying his death." Someone murmured dispassionately.Caleb scowled as his head snapped toward the direction of the sound. It had come from one of the stakeholders.He sneered
A thrum of energy buzzed in Shirley's brain signifying that some of her spells had been activated. And she knew the exact ones, it was those she'd said to trap the moon witch.A slow smirk spread across her face and she ignored Vanessa's righteous rant. She'd come on her own with the idea of threatening her into submission. But the once pale woman had suddenly developed a backbone of her own and was now shooting back and matching Shirley word to word.Of course, Shirley was irritated and had started thinking that maybe it was time to slice her throat. Shirley's threats were like water on a rock to Vanessa and it amazed Shirley to see her fired up like that.Unexpectedly, the new members of the circle swooped in, grabbed her, and secured her. They'd been hunting for a few days now. Yet, instead of Vanessa cowering like she normally would, she screamed some more and accused Shirley of doing everything under the sun. It had started grating Shirley's nerves when her spells suddenly activa