The realization of what happened and the consequences that could materialize smacked Jacob in the head like a two-ton boulder. He scrambled up to a sitting position and wrapped the blanket around Madison as he stood and quickly threw on his clothes.
Madison began to get dressed as he finished putting on his shirt.
Jacob grabbed her sweatshirt off the ground and pulled it down over her head in an attempt to help. She must have gotten the wrong indication from this action, as she slapped his hand away and pulled the shirt down without any assistance. Madison's whole demeanor had changed within ten seconds. She went from being gentle to picking up the rest of her belongings and slamming them in the bag she'd brought.
Jacob pulled on her arm as she was about to toss another glass candle jar into the bag. "What's wrong?" Not only could he tell by her facial expression something was wrong, but his wolf had also picked on the negative vibe steaming from his mate.
<"I really don't know." Jacob grabbed Madison's bag that held all her 'witchy' stuff and threw it over his shoulder. He interlaced his fingers with hers, and they started walking toward the lone trail that went back down to the parking area.Good thing it was all downhill from here. It was a good hike back, and it would probably be dark before they got back unless they jogged some of the way. But knowing Madison and her nonathletic abilities, that was so not going to happen."It was all different when Adam and Rose did their whole union." Jacob pulled Madison quickly along the trail. He knew the scent of Orfeo, the offspring, or whoever else might be tracking them was picked up in this area a couple of days ago. The last thing he needed was to run head-on into a group of vampires and have no back-up except for his mate, who was in no position to fight."Why was it so different?" Madison stumbled, but Jacob kept her on her feet. He was moving fast like he was pani
Zach saw Jacob come back late yesterday evening after everyone was done watching the football games. He'd gone straight to his room without saying a word to anyone. This morning he was up and out of the house before anyone else had a chance to speak to him."Where's your brother?" Zach's dad grumbled at him as he reached for his third cup of coffee. It had been a late night for the pack as they had several reports of vampires from their trackers who were out the previous night.Zach grabbed his backpack off the floor and hurried to the front door. He was late picking up Emily for school. "I haven't seen him. He came in yesterday evening, but I didn't get a chance to speak with him. Why?"His father waved him off. "I'll speak with him later." He went out the back patio doors as Zach exited via the front.***"So, where'd Jacob disappear to last night?" Danny questioned Zach as the whole group walked up from the parking lot at school.Za
It was halfway through the day and Jacob couldn't stand the feeling of not being with his mate any longer. He had watched her during lunch and seen she looked as miserable as he felt. Everyone kept asking her if she was all right or feeling ill, but Madison kept everyone at bay with her quick responses to what was wrong. She made up every excuse from test anxiety to just being tired.Jacob knew Brindle was working in the office this period. She liked to do volunteer work with the secretaries during her free period. She told him she wanted to help the little people of the school.Like who the hell did she think she was.He convinced her, which wasn't too difficult, that Mr. Abbott, their guidance counselor, needed to speak with Madison Bennet. He needed this office excuse so she would have a reason to get out of class.Brindle, who had more air in her head than brain cells, willingly obliged because she thought Madison was going to be reprimanded. Sh
The following month went by without any capture or new information concerning Orfeo and his clan. The pack knew the dhampir would be turning eighteen within the month, as those who were bred from the likes of a vampire were born under the influence and power of the winter solstice.Zach had his own birthday problems to contend with. Emily was also turning the big eighteen this December. He knew what he wanted to do, outside of the whole dinner, present, and cake thing, but how she would react to what he wanted to show her was to be questioned.Their relationship had flourished over the past four months. They spent all their time together, alone or with the rest of the group, and some times had become so heated he didn't know if he was going to be able to hold back his wolf from making the big claim. But he hadn't done or performed any act that wasn't approved by the elders, and most importantly, his father. Emily still hadn't met Adam or his dad yet, and she didn't hav
Danny went over to Zach's house after school. Both he and Alex stayed hidden from the rest of high school society all day."So, what's up?" Zach questioned as they sat in the living room with Jacob.A large sigh filled the room. Danny looked at both of them and shook his head. "Alex and I spoke with her parents, well, her adoptive parents, the whole day today. They told her the last name and the last known whereabouts of her birth father. That was the only information they had concerning her biological side."Both Jacob and Zach leaned forward in their seats as this conversation was getting interesting.Danny continued. "His last name was Dylan. The same last name Rose had.""Do you think they could've been sisters or something?" Jacob was the first to bring up suggestive reasoning.Danny shrugged. "They said his last known location was about fifty miles north of here in a place called Sarver." Both boys shook their heads as they had no clue
"Oh my God, calm down. It's only a talk." Emily tried to calm Zach's nerves before they got back to her house. Tonight was the night of the 'big' talk, which they both assumed would be the sex talk. Her Aunt Maureen had spoken to her before, like years ago, about the birds and the bees and how babies came along. But that was the extent of it, until now. Emily was guessing her aunt could sense something different about her and Zach's relationship. How it seemed they couldn't function well unless the other was around. How they always needed to be by each other. And how close they'd become since the first time they'd met.Zach felt the first wave of calmness rush through him as Emily stroked his hand. She didn't know it yet, but any little touch from her made him feel placid, yet electrified, all at the same time. He pulled the truck up to the parking spot in front of her home and let out a deep sigh. "We're here." He nodded toward the house."Before we go in there and th
It was one week since Zach had received the news that affected his entire life. The evening they’d spent with Emily’s aunt and she revealed who Emily’s father was made him question everything.Why didn’t his wolf, who hadn’t spoken to him in a week, have hindsight into the circumstance before it got this far out of control?He knew the pack had been searching for him, he could always pick up a slight scent of Jacob, Danny, and Adam, but they never seemed to come his way. Maybe they knew he was there but sensed he needed more time alone. He would have to go back soon, but he still had time since school was still on winter break. He’d completely missed Emily’s birthday, which he had everything planned for that occasion, but it got ruined with the news he’d received.Now that she turned eighteen, what kind of changes was she going through?Would he recognize her anymore?Would she s
“Emily, your father is Orfeo.”As soon as those words were spoken, Emily’s past, present, and future had changed. Zach stood up and glanced from Emily to her aunt. His face was pale, and his hands were trembling. He didn’t say a word to either of them as he walked out the front door, got into his car, and disappeared into the night.“Who’s Orfeo?” Emily asked her aunt. “And what does he have to do with Zach?”“Em, it’s a long story, and I’m not sure you’re going to believe any of what I tell you, but everything I tell you here tonight is the truth.” *Emily shook her head and waited to hear what was so bad about this guy, who was supposedly her absent father of eighteen years, and what would make Zach walk away without any type of goodbye.“Your father.” Aunt Maureen stopped once again and took another deep
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.&