Gail went upstairs to look for Joel when a strange warmth filled her. Gail paused, rubbing her arms and trying to free them from the sensation. It lasted only a second before it was gone. She shook her head, figuring it must have been one of her aunt’s protection spells. Perhaps she was reinforcing them in expectation of trouble from the coven, since she was so convinced that Ricinius would know that she broke the curse.
Much to Gail’s irritation, Joel wasn’t in his room. Her irritation turned to anger when she didn’t find him anywhere in the house. Where was he? Why did he choose now of all times to be difficult to find?
Gail finally found him in the yard, picking cherry tomatoes right off the bush and eating them. That, too, fueled Gail’s anger. She doubted he asked her aunt to pick those tomatoes. Extremely rude, if you as
It took Joel almost an hour to walk far enough to reach the town, but his anger still burned through him. He couldn’t believe he trusted Gail. How could he have been so blind? She was just like every other witch. He walked through a small park, looking for someone not paying attention to his phone. Joel finally found one next to an elderly man. The older man had chosen a newspaper over the phone. Joel deftly took it from the park bench. Ducking out of sight, he called Elijah.“Hey Elijah, it’s me,” Joel said once his brother cautiously answered the phone. “I need you to pick me up. I’m done with those witches.”“Sure, tell me where you are?” Once Joel told him where he was, Elijah asked, “What happened?”“She—” Joel started, then pau
Once Gail was sure her aunt slept, and she wouldn’t have to see that old bat’s face, she gathered up the duffel bag with what little clothing she had left. Her anger hadn’t cooled since her fight with Joel that afternoon. God, she was an idiot. How could she trust him? Or her aunt, for that matter? Did everyone see her as some gullible, naïve pawn that they could play with as they pleased?Gail slung the duffle up onto her shoulder and left the room. Despite her anger, she tried not to make any noise as she left the house. “Good Riddance,” she said to the dark house before getting in her car. No longer worried about making noise, Gail slammed the door.Pressing on the gas, she backed out of the driveway, spraying gravel everywhere. Gail sped out of the driveway and down the tiny road. She didn’t know where she was
Aunt Rose waited for Gail on the porch when she got back to the house. Gail turned off the car, got her duffel bag, and joined her aunt on the porch. “What happened?” She asked. As she drove back, Gail wondered how the spell got past her protections.“I don’t know,” her aunt admitted. “I thought I had the protections keyed to keep anything harmful out, whether it was a spell or a physical person or object.” Aunt Rose shook her head. “I plan to be going over all of them in the morning. I also want to say I’m sorry. I should’ve realized a spell was active on all of us.”“Perhaps it’s the subtlety of the spell,” Gail said. “Since anger isn’t overtly harmful and since we were all already tense, it didn’t need much to push us over the edge.”
When Gail fell asleep that night, she found herself trapped in the familiar nightmare. Her aunt woke her up with urgency, demanding she get up and pack her things before the werewolves came. Just like always, Gail heard the howls of wolves, their hot breath on her neck, and the shadows taking a bestial form. Gail whimpered, clutching her teddy bear. Suddenly, the room went dark. Gail couldn’t see anything. The howls and hot breath disappeared. A strange feminine voice whispered in her ear, “You must save my children.” Now standing and no longer a child, Gail looked for the owner of the voice. “Your children? Who are your children?” The voice whispered in her ear again. “Danger is closer than you think…” Gail turned around, trying to find the woman who was
“What did you do?” Gail demanded, finding her aunt in the library. Her aunt lowered the book and looked at her, confused. “Excuse me?” “You cast the spell that made us all angry. You blamed the coven, but it was you, wasn’t it?” “What?” her aunt said with a laugh. “Of course not. Why would I do such a thing?” “That’s what I would like to know,” Gail demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. Aunt Rose put down the book. “I did not cast that spell. I told you it was the coven. They were trying to divide us. Why would you think I’d ever do such a thing to you?” “You’re seriously going to sit there and lie to me right in my face?” It hurt and only made her angrier
Joel hugged his mother. He couldn’t believe this was real. She was alive. She was really alive. It hadn’t yet been a month since he’d left his pack that night, but for Joel; it felt like a lifetime. His mother hugged him back with a soft laugh. “Joel, my son. I’m so happy to see you’re alright.” She pulled away and looked him over. “You are alright, aren’t you? I heard the witches had cursed you or something.”“I am,” he replied. “They did, but another one freed me. How did you survive? I swore I saw those mad wolves take you down?”“They almost did,” his mother told him and showed him her neck. Scars from fangs and claws marred the skin. “Afterward, they had assumed I was dead and moved on. Lucas found me and brought me here to the healers.”
“You’re doing well,” Aunt Rose said as they gathered up the materials they used during practice.“Thanks. I’m starting to get a hang of this,” Gail replied, picking up a blanket and folding it. Once finished, she looked around on the ground. She felt as if she was forgetting something, but she didn’t know what.“Everything okay?”Gail looked up at her aunt. “Oh, yeah. Just… I think I forgot something.”“No, we got everything,” Aunt Rose told her, then smiled. “Besides, if you forgot, then it can’t be that important.”Gail laughed. “Right?” They went back inside when she looked back behind her, sure sh
Thankfully, hiding from her aunt was easy. She remembered her aunt had insisted she go rest, so Gail could stay in her room with the excuse she was taking a nap. To be on the safe side, Gail had laid down with her back facing the door. She checked her phone, a little disappointed she had nothing from Joel, but also worried. She tried to call Elijah, but again there was one ring, then to voicemail. Did Joel’s brother have her blocked? Did Joel ask him to? Was he still feeling the effects of the spell, or perhaps, he didn’t want to talk to her now that he got what he wanted and was with his people now. She put the phone away and decided to take that nap. The training her aunt was putting her through exhausted her. A knock at the door woke her aunt. Aunt Rose walked in and smiled at her. “Hey, sweetheart, you’re still napping?”
The order of the alpha soured the party for Gail, so she left her plate and go back inside. Where was she going to go? She had about twenty-four hours to figure that out. Going back through the house to her room, Gail thought about her plan to go east. Perhaps she should keep that plan. It was better than nothing, anyway. She almost reached her room when she heard Joel call her name. He hurried up to the stairs, toward her. “Hey, you okay? Why did you leave the party?” She knew Joel wouldn’t have liked the warning the other alpha gave her. So she gave him a small smile with a nod. “Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just wasn’t feeling very festive.” “Right,” he said, walking over to her. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with the talk you had with Christopher, would it?” Gail’s ey
Gail woke up in a strange room. Her heart raced with panic until she noticed a note on the nightstand next to her.Gail, don’t freak out. You’re in Alpha Christopher’s pack house. When you’re ready, just tell the first person you come by to get me. Love Joel.She smiled as she read the note and looked around the room. It was minimal, but tastefully decorated. Perfect for guests, she assumed. Throwing back the covers, Gail got up out of the bed and looked at the window. She expected to be surrounded by woods, but she saw a neat little neighborhood. It reminded her a lot of the cul-de-sac she lived in before Ricinius blew up her house. By the sunlight, she assumed it was early afternoon.Still wearing the clothes she had been before, Gail ventured out of the room. Sounds of a party greete
“No,” Aunt Rose said, lifting her chin. “I’ve worked too hard, made too many sacrifices for this. You will not ruin this for me!”“You’re insane,” Gail said, not only to her aunt but to herself in an attempt to ease some of the pain of her aunt’s betrayal. “Whatever you are trying to do, you’re going to do it without me. I’m not your slave or your pet.” When Gail took off the leather from her wrists, her aunt screamed and threw her hands towards Gail.The wave of magic knocked Gail off her feet. She hit the floor hard, knocking the air out of her. The threads of magic that formed the charm tried to weave together again, but Gail called up her magic and with the boost from Joel, she tore through the remnants of the charm. Getting up, Gail ripped the bands of leather off her wrists. &ld
Pain thrummed through Gail. Her head pounded as if someone had hit her over the head with a hammer repeatedly. Sweat ran down her face, pebbled all over her body, but she was cold. So cold the blood flowing from her nose felt hot against her skin. Joel’s resistance surprised her. After how easy the first alpha had been, like snuffing out a candle, she expected Joel to be the same. But he fought, and at first it gave her hope. Maybe he might stop this. Perhaps he was strong enough to break the charm.As they fought, Gail realized that the only thing that would break was her. Before all this, using her magic always exhausted her. Gaining control over her magic and all that practice didn’t change that. Despite the magic and life Gail stole from Ricinius, Gail had used most of her energy already. Controlling Ricinius’ werewolves, fighting with Joel had been too much. He was really a true alpha, but the charm wouldn’t allow her to giv
“Everyone, but Joel, took a collective step back as Christopher laid where he’d fallen. Ice slid through Joel as he stared up at Gail. He had no idea how she did it, but Rose was controlling her like Ricinius had controlled the werewolves. How could Rose do something like this? To her own family? He looked over at Gail, searching for something that would tell him what kind of spell her aunt had her under. As soon as he saw the braided leather on both her wrists, he knew that was it. If he took those off Gail, would she be free of the spell? That sounded like it would be much easier said than done. “How could you do that to her?” Joel demanded, tearing his eyes from Gail to Rose. “She’s your niece. You were supposed to protect her!” “She is protected,” Rose said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Gail will nev
It took much more time than Joel would’ve liked for Christopher to organize his people and get them moving; and then their numbers weren’t even close to what Joel suggested he take with them. With what was left of Joel’s pack and what Christopher was bringing, they were only twenty-five strong. From what he’d seen from the attacks on Gail and her house, Ricinius had a lot over twenty-five.He tried to convince the alpha to bring more wolves with them, but Christopher was completely underestimating the threat of the coven. When Joel tried to push the matter, he only reinforced the alpha’s stubbornness. Afraid to make things worse, Joel dropped it and left the pack house with the others. They left in six cars. Joel, his mother, and friends got in one car together.“This isn’t good,” he told the others as they
Gail sat in the passenger side car of her car as her aunt drove. Aunt Rose wrinkled her nose as she sat down. “I don’t see why you clung to this vehicle so much. It’s a piece of junk.” Her aunt smiled over at her. “But that’s all about to change. You’ll see, Gail. You will be living life more fitting of your station.” Though she could only sit there motionless, Gail would’ve scowled. Fitting her station? It seemed like her aunt had been reading too many of those periodic romances.
“What do you think he’s going to do?” Elijah asked as they drove back to Christopher’s territory. “The witches are on the move,” Joel told him, his stomach twisting with worry and fear. Gail was under another spell. Was it her aunt or was it the coven? Was there even a distinction between the two? Had her aunt always been working for Ricinius and biding her time until Joel was no longer there to protect Gail? “How can you be so sure?” Lucas asked from the back seat. “I’m sure because Gail is missing. If she had gone back willingly, Gail would’ve never left that house. She understood the other witches would drain her. Gail would’ve stayed. They have her and they’ll drain her so the leader can steal her power and use it against us. We need to act before they do.” “Or p
“Wait,” Joel’s mother called out to him. She hurried behind him, trying to catch up.“What? Why?” he asked, stopping and waiting for her.“If something did indeed bad happen to her, then you shouldn’t go off running in blindly,” she told him. “And you most certainly shouldn’t go alone.”“I doubt the alpha would help me find her.”“Oh, there is no chance of him helping you there,” his mother agreed. “However, there is your brother and your friends.”“Elijah?” Joel repeated skeptically. “He thinks I’m being stupid worrying about her. I should focus only on the pack.”