Jacob ran until he knew he was far enough away from the house that the others wouldn't follow. He stopped once he reached the meadow's outlying trees on top of the hill, which looked down over the community park everyone with little kids enjoyed going to during the warm months. He knew no one would be up here since it was too steep of a climb for most mundane humans to climb. It wasn't an issue for him in either form, man or wolf. But being in wolf form helped to move quicker and smoother through the trees and narrowed pathways on the hillside. He sat on his hind-end and took a deep sniff of the air around him. Although his wolf had taken over during the heated moment back at the house, Jacob was fully aware of everything going on outside.
'No...No...and no!'
Jacob screamed at his wolf, who paid no mind to the rambling human part of him.
'Don't do it.'
Once again, Jacob tried to persuade the wolf not to do what he knew was about to
Jacob made it back home after the whole pack had finally left. He knew he'd have to answer questions from his dad and brothers, but that was the least of his problems. He quickly changed back into human form and grabbed the stash of clothes always available in the pool house. He crept alongside the shrubs and peeked in the windows of the main home. His father, Adam, and Zach were seated in the family room, waiting for him to return.'It's now or never. Might as well get this over.'Jacob opened the front door and knew he was going to get summoned in...three...two...one."Jacob, get in here now," his father bellowed out in a tone that shook the windows.As soon as Jacob got into the room, his father was in his face. "You have some questions to answer." His father grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pushed him over toward the sofa. "Sit." He ordered, and Jacob obliged with attitude as he plopped himself down on the cou
The rest of the week went without incident. There were no sightings of either the descendant or of Orfeo's following. It was finally game day, and the whole high school was abuzz with excitement. Zach knew he had to pick up Emily this evening for the game, which Madison and Alex long established on the first week of school. It would give him more private opportunity to talk to her and maybe break through the barrier not allowing her to act as his mate.The football banners hanging from the cafeteria walls and the windows all had team players and numbers written on them, courtesy of the cheerleading squad. Jacob had the front and center window all to himself, thanks to Brindle, Rachel, and Heather. And of course, his name and the number ten were centered on the front wall poster banner so everyone could see it first."So, we all ready for tonight?" Madison questioned everyone as she looked around at the group. This was the first football game of the season and the first
Alex went over to Madison's house after school to get ready for the game and dance. The game started at seven, and the dance was being held from nine until eleven-thirty. Since it was a casual dance, the girls decided to wear skinny jeans and fitted T-shirts. They all had gone to the mall together last weekend and picked out similar attire to wear for the night. Each had classic colored skinny jeans, but Madison's shirt color was a deep dark blue, Alex's was bright pink, and Emily's was a midnight black, which they all said looked great on her porcelain skin coloring and dark-colored hair."Hey, what time is Zach picking you up?" Madison questioned Emily as soon as she answered her phone."Um, I think around six-thirty. Why?" Emily was a little nervous about Zach picking her up, meeting her aunt Maureen, and being in the car with him all by herself. They had time to talk alone before, like going to class together and at lunch, but this was like the actual first time th
"Your aunt is nice." Zach tried to make casual conversation with Emily, who appeared a little tense. She was fidgeting around with her hands, folding them on her lap, and then rubbing them together ten seconds later."Yeah, she can be most of the time." Emily tried to remember when Aunt Maureen wasn't friendly to everyone, but there wasn't any recollection of an occurrence."So, tell me something about you I don't know." Zach tried once again to get Emily to open up a little. He wanted to find out as much about her as possible."What do you know about me?" Emily countered his inquiry with a question of her own.A puzzled look came about Zach's face as he tried to think of what he knew about this girl sitting beside him. "You started West Lakes this year. You're a senior. And..." Zach struggled as he tried to think of another fact about Emily. "And you like the school pizza."Emily let out a little giggle. "How did you find out all these deep dark s
Madison and Alex came running up and gave Emily a quick hug. "Guess Mr. Lovell here," Alex linked her arm through with Zach's, "had all your attention, and you couldn't remember about us lowly people." Alex jokingly hung her head, awaiting sympathy."No. I...just..." Emily stuttered. She tried to find an excuse as to why she didn't call.Zach came up beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Hey, she can't help it if she finds my company and presence more interesting than yours." He stuck his tongue out at Madison and Alex.Both girls started laughing."Oh yeah, Zach, you're so irresistible. You're as hot as..." Madison tried to think of the cute guy that played in the last movie she and Alex had seen. She looked behind the others and saw one person that could ruin her whole night. "Jacob.""I knew it. I knew it." Danny started to bounce on his toes. "I knew you had the hots for him.""No. He's behind you." Madison pointed to Jacob,
The group heard the band begin to do warm-ups as they made their way through the line into the gym. Zach already had the cash out for him and Emily and made sure to push it forward when they got up to the person taking the attendance money. Danny was behind them and paid for him and Alex. Madison wasn't with anyone, so that left her alone to pay for herself and have no one to accompany her to the dance."I guess we're stuck here for the next two and a half hours." Danny didn't want to be at some lame dance. He'd rather be out on patrol with the rest of the pack where all the adventure was happening tonight. But Alex wanted to come, so he had to go along with what made her happy."Danny." Alex let out an exasperated sigh. "It will be fun." She tiptoed up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek."Hey, the band is warming up." Madison pointed to the group that was in the front portion of the gym."Looks like they should be getting ready for bed. Kinda late fo
The group danced together until the band decided to take a ten-minute break. Zach took Emily by the hand and led her over to where they had the refreshments set out. "Having fun?" he asked as he handed her a cup of the fruit punch one of the chaperones was distributing.Emily took a big drink and nodded yes to Zach's question, which earned a big smile from him. She was having a fantastic time with everyone. Well, one boy in particular. His eyes never left her, like he was totally mesmerized by her presence. She felt the same way about him. It was such a natural feeling of always wanting to watch, be beside, or touch the other in any sort of way."How about you?" Emily questioned him after she got down the last swallow of punch.He nodded in agreement and was about to say something when the band broke out into another song. This time it was by the girl singer.Madison grabbed Emily's hand and pulled her to the dance floor. All three girls turned and starte
Madison slowly turned around and found gawking expressions on her friends' faces."What the hell just happened?" Alex's voice reached over the sound of the band playing their next song.Madison shrugged. She had no explanation or reasoning to give them. All she knew is she had to search for Jacob and find out the answer to the question Alex just asked her. She quickly turned the way Jacob had gone and ignored Alex's questions, the dirty stares she was receiving from kids she bumped into on her way to get out of the room, and the killer looks she received as she passed Brindle and her cronies.As soon as Madison made it out to the sidewalk, she saw Jacob walking at a hurried pace farther down by the parking lot. "Jacob," she yelled out, hoping he would stop. She had no clue what she was going to say to him, but something deep inside of her said there was more to this whole charade he put on than what he let others believe.Jacob heard her voice ring out in
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.&