“What do you mean a third child?” Madison had completely forgotten anyone else was in the room until she glanced around. All eyes were on her and her aunt right now. It seemed like everyone had forgotten the reason they’d all come together. She looked over at Emily and Alex and they seemed just as intrigued with this whole development as everyone else. They must have felt her stare as they both looked at her at the same time. Each offered a soft smile that seemed to warrant pity instead of support.
“Oh, Madison, you need much more of an explanation than I can offer you right now.” Cecilia felt bad for her niece, who seemed to be going through turmoil over the developing circumstances. “Yes, you have two siblings as the prophecy detailed. You are the sister of good, meaning you will only do white magic. Your sister, only by paternal means, is Brindle and she is the sister of bad. That means she stems from black magic and only looks to harm o
Derek glanced around the room at his pack. They all had looks of surprise on their faces concerning the past thirty minutes of conversation. “Well...” He clapped his hands together to capture their attention. Once he saw that everyone had focused back onto his command, he continued, “It seems Cecilia gave us a little and a lot of information that may be of use.”“We need to find this other child.” The outspoken one of the pack added his thought on the matter.Derek nodded his head in agreement. “First, we will have to find out who this child belongs to. Then, I will need the best trackers.”“Don’t you think I should be looking for this other sibling? Wouldn’t they be more inclined to talk with me than a bunch of men?” Madison hated to interrupt the alpha, but she felt she’d be more teen-friendly than oversized, egocentric shifters.“You will stay here so I can mak
“Have you asked Dad yet?” Jacob was in Zach’s room with Danny, waiting for the girls to finish their morning routine of showering and making themselves look presentable. They all wanted to surprise their mates tonight and take them out to where that band from Homecoming was playing at the park. No one had gotten to celebrate graduation, so this was the closest thing to a party they could think of that would get them all out of the house for a while.“I don’t know if we should go.” Zach was always the rational brother on these sorts of things. “What if Brindle is there or even vampires could show up. How could we explain any of what they could do to the human population?”“I’m taking Alex regardless of what your dad says or if you two go.” Danny was tired of waiting around to see what everyone else was going to do or if they would be permitted by the alpha to go. “She needs to get out of he
A loud squeal made Jacob’s face scrunch up. Madison, who was seated right beside him in the car, made a high-pitched noise that seemed to penetrate his eardrums when she saw where they were going. “You’re taking me to a dance.” She started bouncing on her butt in the seat the closer they pulled to the parking area. “Maybe they’ll play the first song we ever danced to.” The sign on the entrance showed that it was indeed the same band that had played at their high school homecoming last year. She jumped out of the car as soon as he pulled into the next available parking spot.“You knew about this, didn’t you?” Madison shook her finger at Alex when she noticed her friend didn’t have the same type of enthusiasm that she had. Alex just grinned and shrugged like she had no clue what Madison was talking about. “C’mon, they’re starting already.” She pulled on Jacob’s hand toward the sound
“Okay, I need a break.” Emily pulled Madison and Alex by the hands. They had just finished dancing with the group, but now after five fast songs, she needed a little rest. Zach and the rest of the guys had gone to grab them some sodas and were going to meet them back at the table.“Oh, shit.” Alex pulled back on Emily’s hand and motioned her head toward the three girls who were standing along the far wall talking to a couple of guys.“What?” Madison questioned both her friends as their attention seemed diverted.“Nothing.” Alex shook her head no at Emily and pulled Madison quickly over to their table where the guys were also just making their way back to. “Don’t tell Jacob either,” Alex whispered into Emily’s ear after Madison went and sat on Jacob’s knee. “It would be a messy scene, one we don’t need right now.” Emily nodded her head in agreement, then took a s
Alex watched her best friend with curiosity as she and Jacob seemed to be overly excited with each other at the moment. She and Danny were dancing to the slow song that had just begun, the one that Madison had requested when she noticed her friend behaving rather strangely or more so than usual. Alex hadn’t felt right all night and it was like some force or maybe her own conscious was affecting her ability to pick up on any foretelling. Her once always vibrant friend, who always had a million colors and thoughts pouring out of her, now seemed a black, lifeless blur dancing with Jacob.“Something’s still wrong, isn’t it?” Danny could pick up on his mate’s anxiety. Alex looked pale and exhausted like she was putting all her concentration into one thing or too many things at one time.“It just doesn’t feel right. I can’t get a good read on Madison.” She nodded her chin over in the direction to where their two fri
Jacob heard Alex’s yell as his wolf laid claim to his mate once again. The taste and the smell weren’t right. He quickly spit out the small amount of blood that seeped into his mouth. “What the…?” Jacob wondered if maybe Madison had some sort of infection or something that would cause this rancid taste. That notion was quickly thrown out as he caught light of the one now standing before him. Brindle stood before him with a wide smirk on her face as she wiped a small dabble of blood from her lip. Jacob rubbed his neck and checked his hand for any stain. To his surprise, he found his fingers also had blood on them stemming from a cut on his right upper shoulder. He pushed Brindle away. “What the fuck?” He had no clue as to how any of this could have happened.“Hey.” Zach reached out and touched his brother’s shoulder. He saw there was some sort of conflict going on and figured he’d better get on it before Jacob
As soon as the truck pulled into the main parking area of the driveway, Madison leaped out and hurried to the house. She could hear Alex and Danny behind her, but all she wanted to do was feel the warmth of her bed. Wait, maybe sleeping in her own bed wasn’t such a good idea as many memories that she would rather forget right now were made there. Too many thoughts of her and Jacob surfaced and she felt the burning sting once again as tears flooded her eyes.“It’s going to be okay.” Alex encircled her friend once again with her arms. She led her away from the staircase and into the living room, hoping that everyone else would bypass this when they got back.“How…” Madison hiccupped, “how do you know everything’s going to be all right?” She hoped Alex maybe had a vision that contained a happy ending, but the look on her face told otherwise.“If you’re wondering if I saw
“She used her dark magic to somehow place a blinder on me so I couldn’t read any thoughts or see anything that was going to happen. Then,” she turned and waved to the rest of the group, “she made all of us believe she was actually Madison. Somehow, when Madison left to use the bathroom she transformed herself into looking like her and sort of did a mating bite on Jacob.” Alex waited to see what Derek’s response was before she continued.“And did my son do the same? It only seems logical that his wolf would have known that this was not his mate.” Derek had never heard of such a thing happening. The taking of another for companionship was one thing, but this whole ordeal of blinding visions and taking over another’s likeness was sort of a far stretched notion.“It took the real Madison’s touch and sound of her voice to break my spell and then I clearly saw that it was Brindle that Jacob was with and not
The following morning, Lucas delayed opening the store as he took Cecelia home to get a set of her own clean clothes for the day. She’d put up a struggle having him follow her, but eventually caved in after he kept persistent about the matter for over twenty minutes.“Does everything look normal? Untouched?” Lucas glanced around at the sparsely furnished and decorated pile dwelling that Cecelia called home for the moment. The stilted home sat far back in the swamplands where alligators would be her nearest neighbor.“For the most part, yes. But we all know Rayne can put a glam spell on anything to make it seem untouched.” Cecelia rummaged through several drawers grabbing the necessities for a quick shower.“That is true. Rayne will do anything to cover her tracks. I’ll keep an eye and ear open while you take your shower.” Lucas stood by the front door and stared out into the vast land and water.“Alrig
Cecelia slightly waggled her head back and forth as she tried to figure out how to tell him what he wanted to know. “Are you connected to Rayne in any way?” She looked over at him so that she could interpret if he was telling the truth by his expression.“I was at one point in my life, but I learned that Rayne wasn’t the person who I thought she was.” Lucas didn’t want to divulge too much information until he found out what Cecelia’s association was to her.Cecelia nodded her head. It was a brief and basic answer. She wanted more as to how much he knew about their kind.Lucas saw the looks of conflicting emotions cross over Cecelia’s face. It seemed she was torn between telling him the truth or making up some outlandish lie. “I know all about the enchantresses of both black and white magic if that makes this all any better.” He hoped he just didn’t open up a whole new box if she had no clue what h
The electricity of their first kiss ripped through Cecelia. She had kissed men before, but this was one that no other could compare to. Lucas played with her by only allowing soft kisses until she wrapped her arms around his neck and forced them to be closer. His tongue lightly traced her lips asking for entrance, which she did without reservation. His hands that were once on her hips had moved around to fit perfectly on her ass. Cecelia softly moaned as his hips began to gently sway back and forth causing her to become wet in her panties.“Is this the type of business you are now offering, Lucas?”The sound of someone speaking halted both Cecelia and Lucas’s actions. They both knew who the voice belonged to, but neither knew that the other also knew Rayne.Lucas turned around keeping Cecelia behind him. “Rayne, it’s always a pleasure to see you.” He said this with as much sarcasm as he could put out right now. The past little
The smell, lights, music, and ambiance of the chosen restaurant caught Cecelia’s attention as soon as Lucas pulled the car into the parking lot. “How did you know I liked Cajun food?” She looked at the many people that were seated at the outside patio tables and then back to the long line forming by the front door. “Looks like we’ll have a long wait.”Lucas chuckled. “I doubt that. I have good connections that will probably allow us to bypass that line.” He took hold of Cecelia’s hand and led her in the opposite direction of the front entrance.“Where are we going?” As soon as Lucas led her back into the darkness behind the restaurant and away from the hustle and bustle that was going on in the front, Cecelia started to get a little anxious.“Right here.” Lucas knocked on the back door and waited for someone to open it.The back door swung open and a petite, beautiful woma
It had been two days since Cecelia went to the small store along the main street. She’d kept her presence in the Bayou hidden since venturing out the last time, never knowing when Rayne and her coven of black magic witches were going to poke their ugly heads up. Not that they were really ugly, quite opposite in fact. They were the most beautiful coven of enchantresses that she’d or anyone had ever seen, it was just their practices that were ugly.Cecelia’s cell phone buzzed to life with an incoming call. Only one person had the number and she’d given it to him as a gamble, which could have been deadly if he’d been a pawn of Rayne’s.“Hello,” Cecelia answered the call cautiously.“May I speak with Ms. Towne?” Lucas knew it was her as the sound of her voice had been floating in his thoughts for the past two days and nights. But he wanted this call to sound formal so she wasn’t so easily scared off b
Cecelia opened the back door of the small, wooden shack that was hidden amongst the cypress trees and swamp grass of the deep south. The heat, humidity, and musky smell rising up from the Bayou filled her senses as she walked across the pier that linked her small home on stilts to the mainland. She’d been in hiding since leaving West Lakes and knew this place would serve as a great cover. She'd left her home, her sister, and most importantly her niece, Madison, all alone at a time when she needed the protection of everyone in the coven.The dark ones, the enchantresses of black magic, would find her no matter where she took refuge. But, the seclusion and shadows of the Bayou would serve as protection for the time being. Cecelia had encountered those who practiced black magic when she was sixteen years old. Being of a rebellious nature and not wanting to follow in the steps of her older sister, she experimented in the dark, mystical essence that always seem
Madison opened her eyes. Wherever she was it was still pitch black and she couldn’t see anything in front of her. She still had some kind of rope binding her hands together and her ankles were crisscrossed and wrapped with some sort of material. Her whole body ached and she felt like she’d been in this prone position for years. She heard a door unlock and soft footsteps coming closer to her. She closed her eyes and pretended to be back asleep. The darkness that was once in front of her now had a soft hint of light. Whoever had come in obviously was lighting some sort of candles as she smelled a hint of burning wax in the air. Madison kept her eyes closed, but opened them enough that she could somewhat see. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, then she could make out several details of where she was at. The walls were bare and seemed as if they were made of dirt. There were three candles in a smallholder that was placed to the side of her. A couple of empty IV fluid
“I’m here.” Zach burst through the door, still pulling the shirt over his head. Danny, Adam, Derek, Dr. Scott, and Jacob followed close behind. He rushed over to Emily’s bedside and picked up her other hand. “It’s going to be okay.” He saw the pain she was in as her face scrunched up as another wave of discomfort took over. “Just breathe and try to calm down.” He stroked her hand with his.“Fuck you,” Emily hissed out as the pain kept getting stronger. She let out a loud piercing scream that made everyone hold their ears.“I don’t think we have enough time to make it to the clinic.” Dr. Scott was observing the scene and then motioned for both Zach and Maureen to step away from the bed. “Can you all give us a minute or two? I need to check how Emily is progressing.” Derek motioned for the group to follow him out into the hallway. Once they were alone, Dr. Scott addressed Emil
“Has anyone talked to Jacob lately?” It had been over a week since they all had last seen Madison and Jacob. Alex hadn’t had any more visions, even with concentrating and focusing as the elder had suggested, she just couldn’t get any read on what was happening with either of the two.“He’s still looking for Brindle, who has also gone AWOL since all of this went down.” Danny had picked up Jacob on a few of their tracking runs, but he still hadn’t come back home yet. “Have you talked to him?” He looked over at Zach, who seemed completely exhausted with all that had been going on.“Um, I saw him once like two days ago, but he wouldn’t or couldn’t shift back to talk. It looked like this whole Madison being missing is making him go insane.” Zach had only had the chance to track both Madison and Jacob twice this week. Emily, who was now confined to bed rest, had him up day and night.&