Witchin' You're a Dragon

by Isabel Micheals

  Before he knew what was happening, Zara burst into the room and said, “We need to go now before it’s too late.”

  Nodding silently in agreement, he quickly finished dressing and followed her out the door. Everyone was waiting for them, which was a bit confusing until he remembered Zeva’s vision. Unable to control his anger, he walked toward the older woman and yelled, “You predicted she would leave me. What else did you see? Will we be able to save her?”

  “Only if we hurry,” Zeva responded, unfazed by the anger and power rolling off of him.

  “We don’t even know where she went,” Cole countered.

  “In my vision, she was headed to the old, abandoned cemetery outside of town. If we all hold hands, Zelda and her sisters will teleport us there.”

  Once Zelda had finished chewing her boneless chicken wing dipped in chocolate, she began to chant,

  Walking is a pain in my ass, especially with the extra weight of my puppies.

  Now that the walls are turning fast, Goddess grant me one more hush puppy.

  Twist and change time since Jacob O'Malley has become a pain.

  Teleport us to the old, abandoned cemetery in time, so all is not lost in vain.

  Our desire is to save a stubborn-assed dragon who has flipped on us like a dime.

  Take us there now before my sushi, ice cream melts because we’re running out of time.

  “Should have known her spell would revolve around food,” Zara murmured before she began chanting the spell.

  Walking is a pain in my ass, especially with the extra weight of my puppies.

  Now that the walls are turning fast, Goddess grant me one more hush puppy.

  Twist and change time since Jacob O'Malley has become a pain.

  Teleport us to the old, abandoned cemetery in time, so all is not lost in vain.

  Our desire is to save a stubborn-assed dragon who has flipped on us like a dime.

  Take us there now before my sushi, ice cream melts because we’re running out of time.

  Unfazed by the thoughts running through her sister’s head, Zoe simply shrugged and joined in the chant.

  Walking is a pain in my ass, especially with the extra weight of my puppies.

  Now that the walls are turning fast, Goddess grant me one more hush puppy.

  Twist and change time since Jacob O'Malley has become a pain.

  Teleport us to the old, abandoned cemetery in time, so all is not lost in vain.

  Our desire is to save a stubborn-assed dragon who has flipped on us like a dime.

  Take us there now before my sushi, ice cream melts because we’re running out of time.

  A few minutes later, the wind started swirling around them like a tornado and before they knew it, they had been teleported to the gate of the old, abandoned cemetery. Cole had to fight his urge to run in and save Sarah from her father. It was obvious from the goons lurking about that he had already arrived, which meant they needed to come up with a plan and fast. It took him a lifetime to find her, which meant he wasn’t giving up without a fight.

  “What’s the plan?” he finally asked.

  “He’s using the corpses from the graves to increase the size of his army, but that’s not the worst part. He’s brought Sarah’s mother with him and it’s only a matter of time before she see’s her,” Zeva replied

  “What do you mean he’s brought Sarah’s mother with him? She’s been deceased for years,” Cole insisted.

  “He’s using Dark Magic to possess her body, even though her spirit is with the Fates,” Zoe said in a somber voice.

  “That sick son-of-a-bitch. Who would do that to their own daughter?”

  “Unfortunately, a man addicted to Dark Magic and desperate for more power,” Zoe replied.

  “We don’t have the resources to fight an entire cemetery full of dead people. We have to stop Sarah before she willingly gives that asshole her mother’s dragon,” Cole said, outraged by the turn of events.

  “Alec, Jasper, Dillen, Ariel and the rest of the shifters are already setting up a perimeter around the cemetery so that no one gets in and no one gets out. How’s your astral projection, Zoe because it might come in handy this morning,” Mikhail asked.

  “We’re wasting time. Will someone please tell me the damn plan before I lose control and start lighting up everything in the damn cemetery?” Cole said in frustration. He was worried about his mate and the longer it took for them to come up with a plan, the more danger his mate was walking into albeit it willingly for Goddess’s sake.

  Sarah slowly walked down the dark path her father had instructed. Although it wasn’t obvious to the human eye, her dragon knew they weren’t alone. Cole and the rest of the gang had shown up about ten minutes ago, which caused her to let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness the damn man is stubborn as all get out,” she murmured to herself.

  When the small, gravel road opened into a large, wide-open field, Sarah gasped in horror at the sight before her. Her sister had been bound and laid on some type of pedestal like a sacrifice. Her mother was standing over her with a silver dagger raised above her head waiting for Jacob’s command to shove it into her sister’s heart.

  Before she realized what was happening, she had started running toward the two women screaming, begging and pleading for her mother not to kill her sister. When she was almost to them, a force field stopped her dead in her tracks and sent her flying backwards only to land on her ass.

  “Tsk. Tsk. Princess. I never said you could get that close to your mother and sister. Now look what you’ve made me do.”

  “You psychotic asshole, let them go. You wanted me to come and I did. Now let them go,” Sarah demanded. Unfortunately, her demands had fallen on deaf ears. It quickly became apparent that her father never had any intention of letting her sister or mother go. Let alone her. He was sick, demented and needed to be sent back to Hell where he belonged.

  A few minutes later, Zelda, Zara, Zoe, Cole and the rest of the gang materialized in the clearing right beside her. Cole held out his hand as a peace offering and lifted her off the ground. He held her close for a moment and then whispered in her ear, “If you ever leave me again, I’m going to spank your ass. It was terrifying to wake up and realize that you were gone. Promise me that you’ll never do anything crazy like this again.”

  Before she could respond, he took her mouth in a hot, demanding kiss that left them both breathless.

  “Oh goody! The gang is finally all here. I wondered what was taking you so long,” Jacob said in a demonic voice that only confirmed he had fallen off his rocker one too many times.

  “Let them go, you sick bastard,” Cole finally said.

  “If you want them, come and get them, boy. I dare you,” Jacob replied with an evil laugh.

  “Cole, do not move,” Zara said through gritted teeth. From the pissed off look on his best friend’s face, not only had she formulated a plan, but all hell was about to break loose.

  Before Cole could respond, a bright and powerful, bluish-white bolt of lightning collided with Jacob’s force field, temporarily lifting his Dark Enchantment and allowing Alec and Jasper to pass through in wolf form to rescue Sophie and Grace. While their captor was momentarily distracted by Zara zinging magenta fireballs at his head, Cole shifted into his dragon form and laid a fire barrier between Alec, Jasper and the women once they had cleared what was left of Jacob’s force field. The smoke made it difficult for Sarah’s father to see which direction Alec and Jasper had escaped, which gave them more time to get as far away from the psychotic asshole as possible.

  Once the women were in the clear, Cole focused all of his anger, pain for what the asswipe had put his mate through on the object he wanted to destroy. Mac, Stefano and Nicolai were covering their mates as they continued to attack Jacob’s force field and Fabio had helped Sarah reach her sister and mother.

  Dillen, Mikhail, Zeva and the rest of the gang were slowly but surely dealing with the undead Jacob had possessed with Dark Magic.
Unfortunately, the more power they aimed at the Evil Spawn of Satan, the harder it became to take him out. It’s as though he was absorbing their powers.

  When it finally hit him what was happening, he opened up his connection with Zara and said, “Tell your sisters to stop aiming their magic toward the force field. It’s laced with the green Lurking Evil and is draining your powers, which is what Jacob wants. That’s why he’s not fighting back. We need to regroup and fast.”

  “Shit. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll let them know,” Zara replied.

  A few minutes later, there was dead silence in the open field. Fabio had created a protective force field around his daughters and the rest of the group, while Zeva had created one around Alec, Jasper, Sophie, Sarah and her mother. It was obvious, they were at a standstill.

  “We can’t let him get away with this,” Sarah said through their connection.

  The pain in her voice almost brought Cole to his knees. “We won’t, sweetheart. I promise.”

  “It looks like y’all could use a little ghostly intervention,” Hildy said, as she swooped down and took possession of Jacob’s body.

  Stunned that he didn’t freeze, Zoe finally said, “We need to use the banishing spell I used on Alaric.”

  “But what about Aunt Hildy. We don’t want to banish her with this asshole forever. Will she be okay?” Zara asked with concern in her voice.

  “She’ll be fine. Chuck will know exactly when to extract her from Jacob’s body. We’re wasting time. It’s now or never,” Zoe said.

  Nodding in agreement, the sisters closed their eyes and began to chant.

  Lavender, Mimosa, Holy thistle,

  Cleanse this evil from our midst.

  Scatter itself throughout time,

  Let Jacob O’Malley no longer exist.

  When nothing happened, Zara said, “It’s not working. We need to come up with another plan.”

  “Trust me, it will work,” Zoe countered and continued to chant.

  Lavender, Mimosa, Holy thistle,

  Cleanse this evil from our midst.

  Scatter itself throughout time,

  Let Jacob O’Malley no longer exist.

  Lavender, Mimosa, Holy thistle,

  Cleanse this evil from our midst.

  Scatter itself throughout time,

  Let Jacob O’Malley no longer exist.

  It took a while, but once the Dark Magic had been released from Jacob in a cloud of dark smoke, he began spinning and screaming, which was Chuck’s queue to pull Hildy from his body. When Cole went to set the man on fire, he was shocked to discover that he was too late.

  Sarah let all of the horrific atrocities her father had committed flow freely through her body. When she thought about all of the pain he had caused to the magical community, it became crystal clear to her what needed to be done. Fully embracing the anger of her dragon, she shifted without a second thought and released a stream of fire that burnt her evil father to a crisp. Screaming obscenities until the end, she didn’t relent until he finally exploded into a million, tiny pieces.

  The sisters braced themselves for the Dark Magic to invade their bodies, but nothing happened. It had found a new home in Serena, who was now hunched over on all fours breathing heavily.

  “What the hell just happened? Why didn’t the Dark Magic invade us?” Zara exclaimed.

  “I don’t know, but by the look on Serena’s face, she’s going to be trouble,” Zoe countered.

  “Then let’s take her out now,” Zara insisted.

  “No can do, little sis. We have bigger trouble brewing back home in Assjacket. Daddy O, Mac, the cats and I need to go. Until Serena shows her true colors, let’s leave that fight for another day. Go take care of your best friend and his mate. They need your attention right now,” Zelda said as she teleported her father, Mac and the cats to Assjacket, WV.

  Cole watched as Viola cleaned up the mess and Zeva returned the corpses to their graves where they belonged. When all else was said and done, no one would have ever suspected a battle had just occurred in the open field. His heart almost shattered when he turned to see his mate sobbing in her mother’s arms. It still baffled him how her father could have been so cruel. While some would have said it was the Dark Magic coursing through his veins, Cole knew that was only a part of it. Jacob O’Malley’s heart had turned dark long before he had decided to steal his wife and daughter’s powers.

  Unable to restrain his need for her, Cole walked toward the women with a gentle smile on his face. When his eyes locked with Sarah’s, he knew he would love her forever. Their journey to one another may have taken place on a long, bumpy road riddled with danger, but in the end, he knew their love would span the test of time.

  Holding out his hand, he quietly said, “It’s time to go home, sweetheart.”

  Sarah simply nodded, stood and walked into his opened arms. When he kissed her forehead, she knew for the first time in a long time that she was finally home. “I love you, Cole,” she finally whispered.

  “I love you too, Sarah O’Malley. More than you’ll ever know.”

  EPILOGUE

  Four Months Later

  “Serena, I told you it was over between us. I don’t know how to say it any other way,” Alec said in a frustrated voice.

  When he discovered that Sophie was his mate and she was about to be sacrificed by her asshole of a father, his heart almost stopped beating. Thankfully, Zara and her sisters were able to lift the force field enough for him and Jasper to rescue the two women. It still baffled him the lengths in which Jacob was willing to go to, in order to steal his wife’s immortality, including using Dark Magic to fake her death. It had taken almost four months for Zeva, the Fates, and the magical community to reverse the dark spell he had placed on his wife.

  Sophie had taken refuge at the old Miller farmhouse outside of town and was rarely seen unless she was picking up her monthly supplies. He had tried to explain they were mates, but she was hearing none of it. Her father had done a real number on her to the point that she saw danger at every corner. His wolf howled at the injustice of it all but wouldn’t be denied.

  And just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, Serena would pop-up from out of nowhere and try to win his affections. He had explained that they were done long before Sophie had ever entered into the picture, but she continued to ignore his comments. It seemed as though where she was concerned, denial wasn’t just a river in Egypt.

  He wasn’t sure if her unwillingness to walk away was just her being stubborn, or if it had more to do with the Dark Magic coursing through her veins. Either way, he needed to discuss the situation with Mikhail because not only was she making a nuisance of herself, but he also feared for Sophie’s safety. His mate had been through enough over the last year and he didn’t intend for her to be harmed by his poor choice in women.

  Today was Valentine’s Day and he was determined to break through the walls she had built around herself. He’d bought all of the fixings for a romantic meal and had convinced Cole and Sarah to join them, so Sophie wouldn’t feel threatened. If things went as planned, he’d at least get his foot in the door. While it wasn’t where he wanted to be, he knew that given the current situation, he had to start somewhere.

  “Are you listening to me, Alec Stone?” Serena groused. The more she yelled at him, the more her voice grated on his nerves. How he had ever thought this woman was beautiful was beyond him. She was manipulative, vindictive, and a threat to his mate every time she threw a tantrum.

  “I heard you the first forty times you yelled at me, Serena. Now it’s time for you to stop talking and listen. We are done. I don’t love you and I never will. I have a mate and her name is Sophie O’Malley. She’s the one the Fates have chosen for me and you know as well as I do, there is no changing that. If you can’t accept the situation, then we can no longer be friends. I’m sorry, but it’s the way it has to be.”

  “You’ll be sorry alright, you lying, rat bastard of a man whore,”
Serena said as she stomped away.

  “Looks like that went well,” Jasper said with a smirk as he walked up behind Alec.

  “Yeah. About as well as a cat on a hot tin roof. The woman is relentless, crude, and self-absorbed. How did I not see this before?”

  “Do you really want me to answer that question?” Jasper asked with a wink.

  “Hell no. I get it. I was thinking with the wrong head when I invited Serena into my bed. She just never struck me as the clingy, needy type. Know what I mean?”

  “When it comes to mating an alpha, they all eventually will show their true colors if you wait long enough,” Jasper said in a disgusted voice.

  “What are your plans for tonight?” Alec countered in an effort to change the subject.

  “I’m meeting some of the guys for a few rounds of beer and some pool at Don Juan’s. Who knows, I might get lucky and pick up a hot filly who’s up for a night of smoking hot, dirty sex with no strings attached?”

  “Don’t you ever want to settle down?”

  “Been there, done that, own the tee-shirt. Besides, relationships are overrated in my book.”

  Jasper knew from first-hand experience how vindictive and manipulative women could be. It’s also the reason he hated Valentine’s Day. Of course, walking in on your fiancé screwing your best friend on what’s supposed to be the Day of Love has a tendency to do that to a man.

  “What are your plans for the night?” he finally asked after shaking off the morbid thoughts running through his head.

  “Cole and Sarah have agreed to bring Sophie to my house for a romantic Valentine’s dinner. I’m making my famous baked spaghetti with garlic bread and a Caesar salad. Cole insisted on bringing the wine, so if all goes well, I might finally get my foot through the front door with my mate.”