Abandoned Witch (Shadow Claw Book 6)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “Are you calling Nina an idiot?”

  Viria gave her a deadpanned look. “She ran away from the Inner Circle, refused to read up any counters to Morrigan’s dark magic ritual procedures, and even got caught once indicating she made no proper plans before initiating actions. If that doesn’t scream lack of brain cells to you, then I don’t know what should. I get it she’s your friend but she has inconsistencies. Better drop the prodigy rumor because her being powerful comes nowhere close to justifying her cowardice and lack and reason that comes with the prodigy category.”

  “Good grief!” Ivanna snapped as she stood up from Viria’s bed. “You’re so judgmental!”

  Viria looked at her carefully. “Okay, I admit I’m an asshole, but you can’t deny facts, Ivanna.”

  “Oh, so you think you’re all better than her just because you’re so smart and that you’ve made discoveries in combat magic. And that gives you some leverage to judge her?”

  “First off,” Viria snapped her fingers, “Get your emotions under control. If you’ll be defensive then do so logically. Secondly, just because I do not take a liking to Nina does not mean I view her as competition. I have my own way of dealing with things and it hasn’t gotten us caught or killed. Third, whether something is a judgement or a harsh personal evaluation that should not affect you is something you decide for yourself. I’m sure Nina’s a great witch but there’s no denying she pulled some reckless moves that could put not just herself, but everyone else she encounters in a lot of danger.”

  “Stop calling her an idiot then!”

  “I shall, if it gets you to listen to me.”

  Ivanna huffed indignantly and plopped down onto Viria’s mattress. Viria sighed. “Good. Now, I’m sorry I called Nina unsolicited names. I won’t do that again no matter how much of a fact they may be-”

  “I don’t care anymore,” Ivanna cut in. “It’s how you are so I should be used to it.”

  “You’re my sister and it’s important for me to compromise a little of my nature to communicate with you the way you just compromised on your defensive feelings for Nina to still talk to me,” Viria explained and Ivanna groaned, but she continued, “Isn’t that how families should work?”

  “Please stop talking like that,” she begged, “I feel like a thirtee-year-old who knows nothing about the world.”

  “You didn’t know a lot until I came along,” Viria smirked, “Anyhow, I should be heading to bed, grasshopper. Meditation sure takes a lot of energy.”

  “Wow, now I’m your grasshopper?”

  “And I’m your little one, so what’s the problem?”

  Ivanna put her in a choke hold and rubbed her head with a knuckle. Viria laughed and screamed and it all soon turned into a tickle war.

  The door creaked open but the girls were oblivious to their parents standing at the door friends, confused and amused at the sight. They watched in endearment for a while until they decided the night had gotten late and they needed their sleep.

  Their mother knocked on the door. “Girls, bedtime.”

  They stopped play fighting and caught their breaths, and Viria said mockingly, “Yes, grasshopper, bed time.”

  “You little shit,” she laughed and tackled her down, tickling her once again.

  The week with Morrigan away proved to be a little strenuous on Viria and Ivanna. Ivanna was loaded with responsibilities and errands. And Viria was left to train alone. That meant that she was often bored. Grippin didn’t have as much time for her, either.

  Stress was dangerous to Ivanna. Because she didn’t have an outlet. Rather, her outlet was out of the community for a while. She’d never told Viria about him. Well, she had, but only introduced him as a friend from school before she was pulled out.

  He wasn’t just a friend, but a mate. It was a coincidence when they found out two years ago, but they had been so drawn to each other that night by the lake. She could still taste his mouth on her tongue if she recalled hard enough, salt and pepper. His hands were graciously large against her slim frame, back set against his chest, fingers sliding teasingly as he’d pulled the neckline of her sweater gently off her shoulder and low enough to catch his finger under her bra to push under her breast, making it rise toward him to play with the peak. Her kisses were feverish and slippery when he touched her that way, lightly and barely. It would make her head spin and her mouth open to pant like dog craving for more meat.

  He’d pleased her so well that night, and he couldn’t stop himself despite the knowledge that both of them were as inexperienced as they could be. But it all had come to them very naturally. She remembered the way his hand slid over her bare thigh and under her skirt, two fingers pressing against her vulva over her panties to experiment. It took him a while, but when she gasped against his mouth, his fingers were rubbing at the spot, making her moan in desperation as she clutched the back of his head. The way his tongue had slid into her mouth past the moans made her eyes roll to the back of her head.

  Her lower belly throbbed in need and she snapped herself out of it, getting up and leaving her office for some air. She grabbed a glass of cool water before leaving. She tried to distract herself from the thoughts, but she missed him. She missed him immensely. It had been almost a month she’d last seen him, talked to him, felt him, touched him. She remembered giving him her all a few months later. Something had changed within her. It wasn’t until she reached the HQ and Morrigan asked her if she’d mated with someone did she understand it. She didn’t understand how Morrigan knew it until Viria explained Nina’s barricade around Morrigan’s essence. Now that hell-hounds weren’t around to identify wizards’ and witches’ mates for them, they were left to look for them on their own.

  She shuddered, shaking her head trying to get rid of those thoughts again. Stress was awful, and she missed him.

  Ivanna walked, lost in a daze. She almost crashed into Viria, who was bounding toward her, chattering away about something interesting she had read. Ivanna only nodded absently as Viria’s voice went into one ear and passed out the other.

  “Hey,” Viria tugged her sleeve, “are you even listening to me?”

  “Hmm,” she nodded, but Viria wasn’t satisfied.

  “Ivanna!”

  “Viria,” she breathed trying to contain her annoyance, “I need some alone time, please. It’s been a rough day at work.”

  “But—”

  “Do you not understand?” Ivanna cried out in exasperation, “Just leave me alone for a while!”

  Viria fell silent. The kind of silent that made Ivanna guilty, but Viria turned away and left before she could apologize. Groaning, Ivanna downed her water and moved back toward her office with a stomp in her steps. She hated making Viria upset. She trusted the little one more than she trusted anyone else, but sometimes she wished Viria understood that her occupation as Morrigan’s assistant and next-in-line wasn’t the easiest.

  With a puff of her breath, she pushed the door open and walked in, closing the door behind her and suddenly walking into a wall she knew shouldn’t be there. She pushed away and looked up while rubbing her nose. Her mouth dropped open and her body reacted on its own, throwing her arms around the neck of the person before her.

  “Leon!” she breathed as her fingers threaded in his hair. Leon chuckled and wrapped his large arms around her body, holding her securely against himself.

  “Hi,” he whispered in her hair, “did you miss me?”

  “Miss you?” she scoffed, pulling away and grabbing his face. “I was practically dying without you.”

  “Aww, I’m sorry for leaving you by yourself like that.” He placed a kiss by her ear as his hand travelled lower down her back and settling on the curve of her ass. Ivanna giggled in satisfaction and buried herself into his chest and his thumb stroked over her supple bottom. She wasn’t turned on anymore. She was relaxed and at absolute peace. She loved how his touch made her feel so safe, as if nothing could ever get to her, no matte
r how bad she’d be hurting.

  They stood like that, holding each other as they melted into the embrace. Leon’s head sunk into her neck, smelling her strawberry soap and lemon shampoo. His hand covered more than half the width of her back, and it slid to pull her closer toward him. His mouth parted slightly, tongue peeking out to taste her skin, and disappearing as his lips latched on to suck. Ivanna sighed.

  “Leon,” she whispered, “Can we do this when we get home?”

  “Ah, yeah, definitely,” he said, pulling away, “When do you leave?”

  “In two more hours,” she said with a pat on his biceps. She was still in his arms, tip toeing to reach up and place her forehead against him, “Then I’m yours the whole day after.”

  Leon reached down to capture her lips in his own, hand rising from her back and into her hair, as the other shifted from one ass cheek to the other, giving it a gentle squeeze. She moaned sweetly against his lips and he drank her voices, bringing out more as his hand went to her neck where she loved being touched the most.

  It was making her lightheaded and dizzy, and she knew she’d collapse from the joy of being in his arms if he didn’t stop.

  “Leon, please,” she gasped and he pulled away immediately. He looked at her intensely, and she decided to drop all her work for today and complete it at home before she went to sleep that night. She was tired, and in a daze. And very needy. Sighing, she nodded. “Let’s go home now.”

  He frowned at her, “But your work—”

  “Can wait for tonight,” she finished for him, “Come on.”

  She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the office. It felt like forever to get Viria down into the car and drive her home. Then she was off with Leon.

  ****

  Viria felt very lonely. And very resentful of Leon. She always became jealous of him whenever he came to take Ivanna away for love making. Well, of course Viria knew. How dumb did Ivanna take her to be? Viria could easily see past the concealing spells at the love bites on her neck and jaw.

  Bored at home, she left the house to take a stroll with Yin and Yang. They were always so playful and it got harder to discipline them over the years. But bears were meant to be wild and she didn’t dare restrain them. They always shot off into the park to play with the other familiars and animals. And people had some really odd familiars here. There was a boy who’s familiar was a panda. It was weird because she faintly remembered pandas to be slow and docile creatures, but the boy’s panda was probably the most active familiar out there and had some pretty amazing moves when it came to combat. She’d seen Yin and Yang combat her once. She’d curl up and roll downhill toward them, knocking them over, or on other occasions, uncurling in mid-air and belly flopping them.

  The panda belonged to a boy called Tyler. He was about a year older, but was one of the few nicer people around. And he was cute, with blue eyes and honey brown hair. His skin was tanned from the constant physical combat he took part in. And there were strange moments where she wanted him to notice her, to come over and talk to her. She would be acutely aware of his presence, looking at him from her side vision.

  She knew she had a crush on him, and denying her feelings would be ridiculous at this point. But she understood that it could simply be a momentary attraction and that it would only serve as distraction. Give it a few weeks and it would fade away.

  Only, it had been two years since she noticed him. And she couldn’t bring herself to get over him, so she simply stayed away, in case their interactions budded into something.

  Viria knew she was beautiful, and there was no doubt about it. She knew she attracted boys. Hell, she attracted animals, too.

  You know boys are different, a small consciousness spoke in her. She sighed and looked away. She didn’t want that kind of companionship. She wasn’t fit to be in one. All she’d ever wanted before was isolation, but she came to have her own family in the end. But it was as far as she was willing to push her luck. So, she walked off, letting her familiars play around as she took to the trees to find seclusion. She was still upset about Leon arriving and whisking Ivanna away although she understood their bond. Jealousy was a bitch.

  It took a little hopping around from one tree to the other, for her to find a clearing in the park that did not seem disturbed in a while. Park would be putting it lightly. It wasn’t too different from a forest, except it was well-kept. And the clearing was too pretty to not have been found and left alone.

  Moonlight spilled onto a small pond under a waterfall that was descending from a cliff. She knew walking a few kilometers would take her uphill and she could reach the top of the cliff from it.

  Dropping herself to the ground, she approached the lake cautiously. She sank to her knees and leaned over the edge to look into the water. There were still a few fishes swimming around, colorful and shiny. It was pretty and brought her peace. She dipped her hand in, letting a few brush against her hand. Giggling, she cupped them and caressed them with a thumb. She soon took it out as she got an idea.

  Sitting back comfortably, she decided to practice her illusion making. Tapping her finger into the water, she had to simply imagine what she wanted. A replica of the Aurora Borealis dripped from her finger and into the water, spreading out in waves in multiple shades of green, blue, and pink. She smiled cheekily as she played around, making animals and people dance in them.

  “Whoa,” someone breathed next to her. She wasn’t startled. She’d sensed him a mile away before she heard him come around and settle beside her. “That’s really pretty.”

  “I rarely try anything pretty,” she smirked and gave him a sideways glance. She liked Tyler, but she wondered if it would be funny trying to scare him away. She wanted nothing to do with him, anyway. She pressed her palm onto the water and fire erupted and spread throughout the lake, licking the surface. Tyler gasped and fell back. The fishes seemed more than okay with it, though. She knew animals had the ability to differentiate between reality and magic.

  He gave a nervous chuckle. “That was cool.”

  “I was expecting you to run off…”

  “Yeah…no, that won’t be happening in a while,” he said as he scooted closer to her, “I’ve been trying to talk to you every time you come here.”

  “I’m surprised,” she stated honestly, not looking at him. Did she feel shy? Maybe.

  “Tyler,” he said putting his hand out toward her. She turned to him as she pulled her hand out of the water, drying it on her robe and shaking his hand with it.

  “Viria.”

  “You’re really pretty up close,” he said.

  “I know.” She smirked, and he grew flustered. Something told her he was glad was glad she took it so well. “Our familiars seem fond of each other, I noticed.”

  “Yeah, Liz was the only bear here until Yin and Yang came around,” he said, “It’s good to see her have company. Keeps her off my back.”

  They both chuckled knowing what it felt like being constantly smothered by their familiars. There were days when Viria would be lenient and take Yin and Yang with her to HQ, but they would usually roll into statues and knock over vases that needed to be pieced together and fixed by magic.

  “Why are you here so deep in the park at this time?” he asked carefully. Remembering it all, Viria was upset once again. She looked away and started playing with the lights again.

  “It’s my sister,” she explained, “She’s really busy so we aren’t spending as much time as we used to together. We both are pretty close so it upsets me sometimes, and I’m bored so I came here.”

  Tyler nodded and crossed his legs, getting comfortable beside her while trying to initiate more talk.

  Maybe I could give myself a chance. Could it hurt?

  Chapter 13

  Ivanna and Leon were all over each other, hands grabbing onto whatever limb they could, swirling their tongues together finding openings to take over. Their blood rushed under their skin as they kissed fer
ociously, putting in all the love, lust, anger, and sadness of being away and missing each other for so long.

  Articles of clothing came flying off and soon, the only barrier between the two of them was skin. And the little self-control they were slowly losing. Leon stopped for a moment and slowed down his pace, taking his time in kissing her. He was being inexplicably slow and Ivanna felt like she was about to lose her mind. How could he be so calm in a time when all she wanted to go was devour him?

  It was the same desperation attacking her again, like the one when they had their first kiss. She wanted to lose all control, all boundaries, everything. But Leon knowingly held her back, teasing her.

  “Leon,” she called out to him, “Please!”

  Leon grinned back at her. It seemed that he knew exactly what he was doing. He trailed down small kisses down her torso, causing her to mewl with happiness. Finally, he trailed his way upwards and hovered directly over her face.

  Her breathing had accelerated as he was now in very much close proximity to her. Slowly, he wrapped both his arms around her and held her body in an embrace as he bit her lips, tightened and loosened his grip on her waist every now and then and paused to look into her eyes many times in between.

  He carried her in his arms with her legs wrapped around him toward a wall and backed her up against it. She tried to hold onto something, but he guided her hands to his shoulders. He slid his hand slowly between her legs just as she let out a sudden gasp, and within minutes she was moaning out loud. He held onto her legs, lifting his groin to apply more pressure. She gasped at the sensation. They grinded together, finding the rhythm that nearly sent her over the edge.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on, sucking on his ear lobe and kissing his neck. He set her down gently on the bed and climbed on top of her, propping himself on his elbows to hover over her. A lock of his hair hung down, dangling between them. She reached up to smooth it back. His finger traced the curve of her cheek and chin. She tried to memorize everything about him, the strip of blonde in his hair, the bump of his nose, the way one of his eyebrows sat just a little higher than the other. She wanted to hold onto it forever.