Night Shadows

by Billiejo Priestley

  “One week,” he smiles down at her. “One week and you’re officially mine.”

  The decision to have the wedding soon came from Azalea; something to distract her and keep her happy after the whole mess with Camille. While they had originally planned to wait and go slowly, getting married quicker seems to make more sense now. Aileen nods, smiling, pulling him closer.

  “Less talking, Cayson, more kissing,” she mumbles as she mouths at his jaw. He laughs and nods, tilting his head down so their lips meet once more in a rush of desire. His hands skim down her body and grasp her hips, lifting them a little, just enough for him to position her perfectly so that when he lowers her again his cock pushes into her sex, a loud gasp coming from Aileen before she bites down on his shoulder in pleasure. Cayson begins to grind his hips forward slowly, teasing, almost torturously slow. He watches her closely as she moans and pulls him closer, their skin pressed together, and he can’t help but involuntarily speed up his movements more and more as he finds himself drowning beneath her moans of pleasure. The way she feels is like nothing he’s ever felt before; like their bodies were made to fit together exactly like this,

  His hands grasp her tighter feeling her orgasm against him, Cayson feeling himself release as her head falls onto his shoulder and his hips slowly stutter to a halt.

  “Don’t leave again, it feels strange now without you here.” Cayson nods, kissing her.

  “I’ll need to, Aileen. Werewolves aren’t like witches, most won’t agree to come here and talk. But how about for a month or two after the wedding we just forget about it all for a bit? No going back and forth between places, just me and my new wife and Azalea.” Aileen nods, his arms staying wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him.

  “I could get used to that,” Aileen smiles at him. “Anyway, it’ll be okay. You need to leave every now and then to see other packs, I’ll get used to it.” Cayson kisses her, pulling her closer.

  “I do need to, but for the moment they can manage without me. I’ll send Gwenael or someone else, for a few weeks or months after the wedding. Maybe we can take a holiday before, too?” Cayson smiles.

  Aileen laughs slightly, her head shaking. “No can do, we’re already getting our honeymoon after, and you can’t be away from them too long! We should probably move, though.”

  “I know, Azalea will be waiting at the window like a child on Christmas morning.” He laughs slightly.

  Aileen nods, smiling at him. “She missed you, and while the other werewolves agree to be guinea pigs sometimes, she isn’t relaxed around them like she is around you.” They get dressed and walk up to the house, opening the door. The witches glance up to see them, Azalea screaming and running to Cayson, throwing herself at him in a tangle of limbs as his arms wrap around her.

  “Have fun tormenting the other wolves?” He looks at her, smiling.

  Azalea rolls her eyes and pouts. “No. I haven’t gotten a single spell right this week.” She hugs Cayson tighter as Zander saunters into the room.

  “Right,” he claps his hands together, “you two have a lot to get sorted this week so the witches will help in any way we can. A lot of witches from other covens are coming to the wedding, as are many packs from all over.” Cayson looks towards Zander, confused.

  Aileen laughs sheepishly. “I forgot to say, word got around that I’d be getting married, and even some covens that haven’t been here to meet me yet will be coming. I see it as a good thing Cayson; more witches and werewolves will see that we can work together, quicker than us visiting places one at a time or than a coven travelling here.” Cayson nods. As much as he would rather their wedding wasn’t a place to show people and teach them about their new approach, she’s right. It will be the perfect occasion to spread the word to more witches and werewolves a lot quicker than they ever could have without the wedding.

  “Well, I have a date with Azalea.” Cayson laughs looking at her, everyone glancing at him confused. “Her spell, she couldn’t figure it out before I left, so back to training now?” He looks at her as she nods, Aileen standing up. “You stay here; it’s nothing that can kill me. If there’s an issue she can come and get you.” Cayson walks out with Azalea following.

  “They’re up to something,” Zander muses. “You always go with them.”

  “I guess I’ll just leave them to it. I have some planning to do for the wedding.” Aileen glances around.

  “Still need to find that dress; how about you do that today? You know Auria has been dying to help you with that.”

  “Yeah, okay, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll get her and leave.” Aileen walks off to find Auria, Zander watching as the pair leaves the house arm-in-arm a few minutes later, Auria almost looking more excited than Aileen herself.

  Outside, Cayson stands up and brushes the mud from his legs. He shakes his head as he senses Azalea struggling and getting annoyed.

  “Okay, quick break. Sit.” He sits down on a bench which faces away from the house, overlooking large green and yellow fields, watching as Azalea sits next to him. “What’s on your mind, Azalea? There has to be something; this is one of the easiest spells and you’re struggling far more than you did any of the others.” He looks at her waiting for her to answer.

  “Was what you said true?” Azalea looks at him.

  “What? Is what true Azalea? I can tell you now; I don’t lie so the answer will be yes.”

  “That Camille put a spell on you? That she attacked you? Zander had sent me upstairs by then so I didn’t see.” She looks at him, Cayson shaking his head.

  “Azalea, Camille has never hurt you. Ignore what she did to us; if you want to speak to her or get to know her then do.”

  “I want to, but I don’t want her to think everything she did to you and Aileen was okay.” Her head drops slightly.

  “Then speak to her, Azalea, send her a message, she won’t ignore you like she did us. What she did then was through fear, and while it was wrong she was scared, she was just trying to protect herself and you from others seeing the secret.”

  “I will, not yet but I will. Only if she promises to behave though; you and Aileen are amazing and I love living with you two- or staying over, anyway. I don’t want to lose you and Aileen if I start seeing Camille.” Cayson moves to hugs her, a frown spreading across his face.

  “Azalea, you will never lose me or Aileen. You could speak to Camille, you could even move in with her and we’d still speak to you. You’re my kitty cat; I don’t care who your mum is.” He nudges her, grinning as her eyes roll.

  “I mean it; if she makes it hard or hurts you two I won’t talk to her.”

  Cayson nods, he can understand that. “Right, shall we get back to it now you’ve gotten that off your mind?” Standing up he walks back to his spot, watching as Azalea stands up, her eyes focusing on him. “Azalea, relax,” he smiles. “If you hurt me I’ll heal quickly, you know that.” He smiles gently at her. She learnt to control emotions and slow his heart so this should be easy, and yet she seems to be struggling more than any other time. She should have been able to make him fall asleep by now. He watches her, closing his eyes and turning away from her in the hope that it helps her relax more.

  A yell escapes his mouth as he feels his arm break, his body turning to look at her shocked.

  “Sorry! I’m sorry!” Azalea screams out, looking at him with tears streaming down her face as he moves to sort his arm out.

  “It’s fine, look, it’s all fixed! It’s all fine.” He rolls his eyes. “Azalea, what is going on? You’re still all over the place.” He stands looking at her, his newly-mended arms folded.

  “Everyone hates me! I see the way they all look at me like they think I am going to go crazy like Camille, every one of them! I see it on all of their faces and I hate it.” Her head falls as she cries, Cayson walking over to her and hugging her.

  “No one does, Azalea, and if anyone did I’d kill them. How about you stay with me and Aileen more than three nights a week?” He
glances to her; he’ll speak to Zander and the rest. Something must have happened for her to feel like this. He feels her head nodding as she sobs against him, his eyes rolling as he laughs slightly.

  “I may regret this but you need motivation, so, here it is, Azalea. If you get this spell right within the next, say, twenty minutes, before Aileen gets back, then I’ll agree to have a baby sometime within the next year.”

  Azalea glances up at him shocked, a smile coming to her face. “Really?!” She moves to hug him as he nods, walking back away from him with a huge smile.

  “Oh, and we need to book another session in so you can find out where Aileen wants to go; I need ideas for the honeymoon.” She nods, smiling as Cayson stands back in his spot, watching her as she slowly finds herself concentrating more. Cayson feels his eyelids grow heavy, unable to resist them closing as his body falls to the ground and he passes out.

  The next thing he’s aware of is a light sensation of lips pressing against his, pillow and soft, and his eyes flutter open to see Aileen’s face against the grey sky.

  “I was enjoying that nap.” He laughs, sitting up in the untended grass.

  “I could tell, but I didn’t think it was right keeping you asleep under a spell. Especially now I’ve found my dress.” She winks and stands, offering Cayson a hand and pulling him up next to her.

  “A dress that I get to see?” Cayson asks slyly. He bursts out laughing at her resulting expression. “Calm down, I’m joking! Where’s Azalea?”

  “I sent her in to grab food; she’s no doubt in her room watching whatever show she’s watching this week.”

  Nodding, Cayson begins walking towards the house. “Good, because I need to talk without her there.” He walks into the house, Zander glancing to him.

  “I sense there’s an issue, do you need just me or what?” Aileen asks, her confusion evident.

  “Everyone, expect Azalea.” Zander walks off as Cayson sits, Aileen looking at him as she sits next to him, his head shaking at her. It’ll be much easier to talk to everyone at the same time rather than explaining it first to Aileen then repeating it over and over for the others. He watches as the witches walk in and sit down, Zander looking at him confused.

  “Before I left I noticed Azalea was distracted and not herself,” he begins, his hands clasped together on the table in front of him. “Same when I got back. You can all think you have us fooled but you haven’t. Why the hell does she feel like everyone hates her and is looking at her like she is Camille?” He glances around the table, the witches completely silent amongst themselves. “So no-one’s going to explain? She wouldn’t just make that up; something must have happened. You witches may be happy having a child feel like they should hide away from your world but I’m not. If I ever find out anyone is making her feel excluded I don’t care if it starts a war, I will kill you.” Cayson turns upon hearing Aileen’s loud gasp, Zander putting his hands up.

  “Look, hands up, it was a mistake, okay? The first few days, yes, everyone was looking at her, because they could see the small parts of her that resembled Camille that had been hidden before. As for hating her, that was a mistake as well. Two of the witches – who I won’t name – were talking about whether Azalea knew and she was just part of the plan all along. I didn’t mention it as I sorted it out between us, and made them aware that she hadn’t known.”

  Aileen glances to Zander, shocked by his words. “She is a child. You knew she heard and you said nothing?” She glances around the table.

  “As I said, I didn’t think it would matter too much. I didn’t think it would have affected her. I told her they were just cautious and had been told it wasn’t true. I care about Azalea, Cayson, but I can understand them. I’ve been busy but I noticed she hasn’t been herself; I admit I should have spoken to her again, but the two witches were dealt with like we agreed, so threatening to kill people isn’t needed.” Zander looks at him.

  “I am sure if it was Auria you would have done the same if Aileen and I knew and didn’t tell you.” Cayson looks at him in wait, watching as he nods.

  “I guess you’re right. If I knew something was wrong with Auria and found out she felt like that, I no doubt would have threatened the same thing. But that doesn’t change anything, Cayson. How can this work if you’re going to threaten to kill a witch for hurting Azalea?”

  “How’s it going to work if you don’t tell me or Aileen stuff which we should have been told? Azalea is with her most of the time, it’s something at least she should know about.” Cayson looks around the table, he would rather know who said it but he will leave it and hope it has been properly dealt with like Zander had claimed.

  “Cayson is right, Zander, you should have told him or Aileen when it happened. While Azalea is close to us all, she is far closer to those two, and they would have been able to ensure she knew it meant nothing.” Auria looks at him as Zander simply nods.

  “My mistake. You were busy planning the wedding, and Cayson was ready to leave to see the other packs; I didn’t want you two thinking you had to stop your plans for the mess the witches had created. Now it’s sorted so let’s just forget it, and I’ll talk to Azalea again tomorrow.” Zander stands and walks out, the witches following as Aileen looks at Cayson shocked.

  “I’m sorry, Aileen, but I noticed before I left she was acting weird, that spell should have been quick and she took weeks to do it. She’s been sitting there for weeks thinking everyone hates her; no child should feel like that.” Cayson shakes his head. “I’m sorry, okay. Just realising she’s been feeling like the witches hate her pissed me off. I knew something had to have happened for her to feel like that, so I snapped, and I apologise for that and will apologise to Zander as well.”

  “Cayson, it’s fine, just next time tell me, okay? Then I can at least be on board and hopefully you won’t threaten to kill a witch. I’ll speak to Zander; he must have known we should know. Just think next time please, we’ll be getting married soon and the last thing we need is any witch or werewolf – hell, even a vampire –thinking this is going to go badly.”

  “I’m going to get home; you stay and talk to Azalea. I should catch up with Gwenael and everyone.” He kisses her, his lips lingering before he pulls away, smiling as he leaves the house. He takes his time to walk home, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun on his bare arms, and when he gets there he jumps up on the sofa, propping his arms behind his head. It’s around fifteen minutes before Azriel and Gwenael open the door, the latter raising an eyebrow when he sees Cayson’s face.

  “What did you do?”

  Cayson laughs, shaking his head. “I just threatened to kill a witch, nothing too surprising. It’s sorted anyway, no more secrets. Anyway, the other packs are in agreement; they’re happy to work with the witches in their local areas rather than against them.”

  “Why did you threaten a witch? A few other packs are arriving already for the wedding; most will be here on the day but a few are coming earlier. We don’t need a war right now, not that I wouldn’t be up for one.” Gwenael laughs mischievously, a glint in his eye.

  “Doesn’t matter why, it’s sorted now. And you; stop thinking about my wife.” Cayson glances to Azriel, watching as he laughs slightly.

  “She’s not your wife yet, there’s still time,” he smirks, the taunt empty. He’s not an idiot; anyone could tell that those two are completely head-over-heels for each other. “I know, I know. Keep my filthy thoughts to myself. I’m no fool, as if I’d even try and go near Aileen, but watching her taunt and tease you is fun.”

  Gwenael joins in, chortling alongside him. “Is she still doing it?”

  Cayson nods laughing. “I wish I’d never mentioned what you’d said, because she seems to take pleasure in telling me how cute you look. Anyway, any luck tracking down Camille?” Cayson watches as the pair exchange glances. “What? Don’t do that and not say anything.”

  “We only saw her once; she was walking into where the Monventla hide. She hasn’t come back out
since.” Azriel looks at him, Cayson shaking his head.

  “Why would she willingly walk into there?” Cayson looks around confused.

  “She lost her daughter. Too much pain, maybe? Becoming a Ceprimora can sometimes hide your feelings, becoming a Monventla sure removes any sense of love as well as any the connections they have to anyone else. Maybe she just didn’t want to live with the pain of losing Azalea.” Gwenael looks at him.

  “Hopefully, but make sure someone’s always watching that place. We need to be one step ahead if there is more to it than just a friendly visit, which is pretty certain. It will destroy Azalea; she was planning to talk to her.” His head shakes, now what does he do? He can’t let Azalea try and see Camille, as that will be putting her at risk.

  “We will, and as agreed we’ll give you space from now until the wedding. We’ll sort any issues unless they really can’t be solved without you. When’s the trip planned to meet with the Morgelantous?”

  “No date, we want to try and ensure the werewolves and witches are behaving together first. The Ceprimora will agree because they need witches to be able to come out during the day. Morgelantous, well they need us to help stop the Monventla.” He and Aileen have not yet set anything in stone, but it will be soon. Everything will be happening soon and hopefully before they know it, everything will be sorted.

  Cayson watches as the other men leave, going back to the witches house he sits back, falling asleep quickly after everyone has gone to bed. While he sleeps, he could swear he hears movement around him; his body trying to get up but unable to as everything goes quiet again.

  “Cayson?” He hears Aileen’s voice as her hands shake him slightly; opening his eyes he looks at her confused. “Let’s get to bed, today has been long.” Kissing him she walks to their room, Cayson following her feeling bewildered if anything. He’s almost sure he heard her moving around before she woke him up. Too tired to even consider it right now, he finds himself falling asleep again, only this time his arms are wrapped tightly around Aileen, their breathing slowly becoming gentler as they drift off in harmony.