Fated (The Stratton Pack Book 1)

by Stella Blue

  Fated

  Stratton Pack: Book One

  By

  Stella Blue

  Chapter One

  As she rolled along the mountain road, Teddy Kane breathed in the fresh, damp air. Some classic rock song faded in and out as she wove through the sprawling woods that flourished around her. She switched off the crackling radio and drove in silence for a moment, enjoying the stillness that rested there.

  She had been born in these mountains, in the small town of Eaton, North Carolina. Alongside her mother, her aunts, and her grandmother, she’d grown up in the foothills. There, her grandmother taught her the family truth all of the Kane women knew: they were witches, their powers granted by the moon above. Teddy was amazed. Like something out of a fairytale, the women in her family had magic.

  But the fairytale ended. When Teddy was twelve, her mother, Maggie, moved them away from Eaton, Teddy lost contact with her aunts and her grandmother. She received the occasional letter, but Maggie refused to go back. When Maggie died, just after Teddy’s eighteenth birthday, Teddy was already out of touch with her family.

  She’d been searching for a new job when she received the call from the Aunts. Her grandmother, Hazel Kane, had passed away, and they wanted her to come home for the funeral. Teddy had barely hesitated before packing up her things and driving her old Volkswagen Beetle to Eaton.

  As she drove through downtown, Teddy grew excited, admiring the storefronts. The small town looked sleepy and quaint, like something out of a travel guidebook. The rocky foothills, wild woods, and small town all around her felt familiar. Despite not having been in Eaton for the past ten years of her life, she felt like she was meant to be there. Like a piece of her had been there all along.

  She passed the storefront of Hazel’s shop, where she sold flowers and herbal remedies. As a girl, Teddy had spent hours in the shop, helping her grandmother weave wreaths or grinding herbs for a remedy. Teddy shook off the nostalgia and continued toward the Kane home.

  Rounding a bend, Teddy spotted the old Victorian home at the end of the road. Amidst the trees, the large house stood tall, beckoning to Teddy. She parked the car just outside the wrought iron fence and got out. The familiar scent of the wild raspberry vines winding around the fence brought a wave of peace to Teddy’s mind, and she opened the gate.

  Her footsteps crunched along the gravel path to the front door, and her body hummed with nerves. She paused just before the porch steps, her attention drawn to the sound of voices around the side of the house. She followed the voices around to the garden, where fragrant herbs and alluring blossoms assaulted her senses.

  Teddy followed the light of a dozen candles toward the heart of the garden, where her aunts stood. Each would wait for a moth to land on their hand, whisper to it, and let it fly free. Smiling in wonder, Teddy took a step into the garden. The moths fluttered away from the Aunts as they spun to see their guest.

  “Theodora,” they welcomed, smiling at their niece.

  Chapter Two

  The old Victorian house on the hill was steeped in Kane family history. The lone daughter of a powerful line of witches, Hazel Kane, Teddy’s grandmother, inherited the house and many acres around it. Fleeing persecution herself, Hazel sought to provide a safe haven for other orphaned young witches. One by one, she welcomed the girls to her home, eventually adopting each as her daughter. They were outcasts and runaways, but she gave them a place to call home, where they could practice their magic in peace.

  Andromeda Lux, who often went by Andie, the oldest and wisest of the three sisters, was the first to arrive. Then came Seph, short for Persephone Fay, a spirited, inventive witch with a penchant for mischief. Her mother Maggie, or Magnolia Belle, had been sweet to everyone, but she’d had a temper that couldn’t be matched.

  After a quiet, warm greeting, a lot of hugs, and a few cups of tea, Teddy and her aunts prepared for the funeral. They donned black dresses and set out into the moonlight, carrying white candles and a box made of alder wood. The wooden box housed Hazel’s ashes, and, as was tradition, they would bury it in the woods that surrounded the house.

  At the gravesite, a young hazel tree rested just beside a small hole. Not far from it, a magnolia tree and a rosebush stood under the moonlight. The Aunts stood on either side of Teddy, their heads hung low. Seph wiped tears from her eyes, and Andie looked up at Teddy with a sad smile. “We’ll give you a moment to say your goodbyes,” the oldest sister murmured, stepping back.

  Teddy clutched the small box tightly, her brown eyes filling with tears. She regretted all of the years that she didn’t come home to Eaton, but she knew there was nothing she could do to change them now. Sighing, she opened her eyes and tucked her wavy brown hair away from her face, blinking tears away. She could feel something, an energy, vibrating in her chest, and she attributed it to the grief.

  Teddy laid the alder box inside the hole, and the Aunts lit the candles. As Teddy covered the box with moist earth, she watched the hazel tree sprout before her very eyes. As it grew taller and taller, the flames on the Aunts’ candles flickered. Finally, the flames went out, and they were shrouded in darkness. With a sigh, Andie broke the silence. “We should get home. It’s after midnight, and Hazel would want you to get some rest, after the drive you’ve had,” she advised, taking her niece’s hand.

  Seph agreed and took Teddy’s other hand, and the three women returned home, already feeling the loss of their matriarch.

  Chapter Three

  I sit on a fallen log, watching the babbling brook below. The last light of sunset dusts the tops of the trees, casting shadows all around me. The moon is rising, and all is at peace. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I hear a piercing howl in the distance.

  It’s him.

  I abandon my perch and scramble to find my footing on the bank. I’m running through the woods.

  Where is he? Where is he?

  I pause behind a hazel tree to catch my breath. There are rose petals underneath my feet. That’s when I hear it. His low, rumbling growl. The Wolf appears, staring me down with wild, striking blue eyes.

  He’s found me.

  Sunlight flooded the attic bedroom where Teddy had slept. She lay in the bed, tucked under the covers as she watched the light dance on the stained glass fixture hanging from the ceiling. When she was a little girl, she used to lay and watch the reflections on the walls for hours. From her place in bed, the light colored the room like a kaleidoscope.

  Teddy kicked the bedcovers off, leaving her memories and attempting to greet the day. She padded out of the attic bedroom and down to the kitchen. The sounds and scents of a breakfast in progress met her halfway down, and Teddy smiled instinctively. She wound through the ground floor of the house toward the kitchen, where her aunts chattered and hummed while cooking. Every now and then, their movements would hitch, and Teddy could sense Hazel’s absence in the room. But then the bacon would sizzle, and all would be well again.

  Andie stood by the stove, flipping pancakes and frying bacon. Seph danced her way to the oven, removing a pan of fresh banana bread. Teddy watched in amusement as a tea kettle released a sharp whistle and Seph abandoned the pan of bread midair to tend to the tea. The pan hung there, suspended.

  “Good morning, Theodora,” Andie greeted, waving her spatula without turning her back.

  “Would you grab that banana bread for me?” Persephone asked, pouring a cup of tea for each of them.

  Teddy slipped on the oven mitts and set the pan down on the open windowsill to cool. “Thank you!” Seph said brightly. She handed a mug of tea to her sister, then to her niece.

  Teddy sat at the table and blew on her tea. “I have so many questions fo
r you both. I don’t even know where to start,” she admitted.

  Andie laughed. “You’ll start with breakfast,” she instructed, setting a full plate of blueberry pancakes and bacon in front of her.

  “The blueberries are grown right in the front yard,” Persephone explained, drizzling syrup on the pancakes. She set a bowl of fruit salad by the table. “And there’s fresh mint and honey in the salad. Hazel put mint in everything. Straight from the garden and great for digestion.”

  Teddy marveled at it all, feeling almost like she’d fallen into a dream or a memory. “I’d say it’s more like you’ve finally woken up,” Andie remarked. Teddy stared at her, wondering how she’d known her thoughts, and the older woman chuckled. “You really have been away too long. Do you remember the stories we used to tell you? About the Moon and her Gifts?”

  Searching her memory, Teddy nodded slowly. She took a bite of food. “Kind of. Four Gifts, right?” She remembered being taught that their magic came from the world around them, but special powers were granted by the moon.

  Seph nodded and went to check the bread. “Four phases of the Moon, four Gifts,” she confirmed.

  Teddy began to remember. “Intuition is the Gift of the Waxing Moon. The power of growth in knowledge,” she said. “Your gift.”

  Andie nodded, sitting. “Right. I get bits and pieces of others’ thoughts. Visions of their pasts or their futures. And the other Gifts?” she tested.

  “The Waning Moon gave the Gift of Alchemy. That’s Seph’s Gift. The power to transform the physical world,” Teddy confirmed. Seph smiled, using her Gift to turn a spoon into a butterfly. “The Full Moon gave the Gift of Vigor, which is sort of a healing power.”

  “That was Hazel’s Gift,” Andie confirmed.

  “And then, there’s the Gift of Enchantment, granted by the New Moon. The power to cast spells,” Seph concluded.

  “And curses,” Andie pointed out. Seph shrugged, returning to the table with the loaf of banana bread and a jar of her famous Sunflower Butter.

  Teddy swallowed a bite of fresh mint and strawberry. “I thought all witches could cast spells,” she wondered.

  Andie shook her head. “Any witch could create a quick charm or incantation,” she clarified. “But it takes a special power to cast a full-on Enchantment.”

  “Charms are probable. Spells are definite. They change the natural order of things,” Seph added. “They affect not just the physical realm, but the spiritual. Having power over both makes Enchantment witches extremely powerful.”

  “That was Mom’s Gift, right?” Teddy remembered. Her aunts nodded. Teddy went quiet, focusing on her food. She’d never had any Gifts. Her mother explained that sometimes children of witches were born without magic. But she never let Teddy believe that she wasn’t special just because she didn’t have powers.

  The Aunts shared a look, and Seph cleared her throat. “Well, Teddy, you and I are going to work in the shop today. Get some things organized. Figure out our game plan,” she explained.

  “Put me to work,” Teddy consented.

  Andie chuckled. “First, you finish your breakfast. Then, you’ve got to take that old Bug of yours to the mechanic. You can meet Seph at the shop after.”

  “My car is fine,” Teddy reassured her, thinking of her old Beetle.

  Seph just laughed, smearing Sunflower Butter on a thick slice of banana bread. “Teddy, when Andromeda tells you to get something checked out, you get it checked out. Trust me,” she said.

  “Fine,” Teddy agreed.

  Andie stirred honey into her mug and sipped her tea. “Now, tell us all about life in the city,” she requested.

  “What kinds of exciting things are you getting up to?” Seph asked.

  Teddy told them everything about living on her own. How her roommate had deserted her after getting engaged, and Teddy had been unable to afford an apartment on her own. How her nightmare of a boss framed her for stealing office supplies, and she’d lost her job. The Aunts listened to it all.

  “I thought I could manage,” Teddy said finally, her plate empty and the weight on her back lifted.

  “Manage?” Seph murmured.

  “Doing it on my own,” she admitted.

  Andie laid a comforting hand on hers. “Don’t worry, Teddy,” the woman reassured. “You’re exactly where you need to be.”

  Chapter Four

  Teddy rolled her old Beetle into the parking lot at the Stratton Auto Shop. She heard the sound of someone working inside the garage, and she followed the sound. “Hello?” she called, knocking on the metal garage door. There was no response, so she continued on.

  Teddy was welcomed by the sight of a shirtless man wiping oil from his hands. She stared at his back just a little too long, stumbling and kicking a toolbox as she neared. He turned around and caught her in his arms just in time. Teddy looked up, recognizing the spray of freckles on the side of the mechanic’s neck. “Freckle Neck,” she greeted, smiling up at him.

  “Teddy Bear,” he replied, laughing and helping her to her feet.

  Emmett Stratton had been one of her best friends before she moved away. His family, led by his father Silas, owned land in the mountains, as well as part of the town. With charming blue eyes and a fighting spirit, he’d been a nuisance in grade school. He and Teddy became friends in third grade, after masterminding the release of the class hamsters.

  “I always knew you’d fall for me,” he joked. Teddy rolled her eyes. “What are you doing back in town?”

  “Hazel,” she replied.

  Emmett offered a polite smile. “Yeah, I heard. She was a great woman. Helped just about everyone she met,” he remembered. Teddy smiled in agreement. “How long are you in town for?”

  “Not really sure. Maybe a week or two. I’m helping the Aunts get Hazel’s store in order,” she explained. “You should stop by. We could always use the business.”

  “Sure thing,” Emmett agreed. “Well, I’m guessing you didn’t come here just to reminisce. What can I do for you?”

  Teddy walked him out to her car. “I think my car needs a tune-up. Although, it runs fine. Most of the time,” she admitted. “Aunt Andie told me to get it checked out.”

  Emmett took a look at the old Beetle parked outside the garage, examining the curved frame. “Well, when Miss Andie gives you advice, you’re better off following it,” he advised, studying each of the wheels. Emmett popped the hood and studied the engine.

  Teddy toyed with a lock of hair. “So? What’s the diagnosis?” she wondered. “Can you fix her?”

  Emmett closed the hood, nodding. “I can definitely fix your car. But it’s going to be a few days,” he announced. “You need a new battery. And a new fuel pump. Headlights, taillights, and brake pads would be good, too.”

  Teddy groaned. “Anything else?”

  “A new coat of paint couldn’t hurt,” he suggested.

  Teddy shook her head. “I don’t really have the money for that, Emmett,” she warned him.

  He scratched at the stubble on his chin. “Well, I don’t know if you know this about me, but I do accept bribes in the form of burgers,” he reminded.

  She shook her head. “I can’t let you do that. That’s got to be a couple thousand dollars’ worth of work. No way,” Teddy argued.

  Emmett laughed. “I’ve got a friend who can probably get me some of the parts for free,” he said, shrugging. “And I can order the rest. Shouldn’t take more than a few days to get them shipped.” Teddy opened her mouth to protest again, but he held up his hands. “Just let me do this for you, Teddy. Consider it a homecoming present.”

  She sighed, knowing that he wasn’t going to budge. “I will be paying you back every cent, Emmett Stratton,” Teddy swore. “So I expect a bill and a payment plan.”

  Emmett smiled. “Whatever you say, Teddy Bear,” he said.

  She groaned. “I’ve got to get going. I’ve got to grab lunch, and then the Aunts and I are cleaning up Hazel’s shop,” Teddy explained. She
handed him the keys, and as he took them, their hands met. A buzzing energy itched beneath her skin.

  “Do you still remember the Harvest Festival? When we were twelve?” Emmett wondered, his gaze burning into hers.

  Teddy chuckled. “You kissed me in the pumpkin patch. And, then, you ran away,” she reminisced. He smiled at her, his gaze dipping town toward her lips. Teddy stepped away from him. “We’re not kids anymore, Emmett. You can’t just kiss me and run.”

  “What if I promise not to run?” he asked, still locked in her gaze. Teddy hesitated, her heart pounding in the silence.

  Suddenly, a vicious growled erupted from her stomach, and Teddy blushed. Emmett laughed. “I guess I should let you go. Before your stomach gets any angrier.”

  “I’ll see you around,” Teddy replied, offering a small wave. She took one last look at him before starting toward the diner downtown.

  Chapter Five

  At the sight of the old diner’s flashing, neon sign, Teddy’s stomach growled demandingly. She entered the diner, the bell above the door jingling to announce her presence. As Teddy made her way to the counter, she took in the dated interior, admiring a jukebox against the far wall. It was as if nothing had changed since she was a little girl.

  She took a seat at the counter as a short waitress approached her. “Hey, there!” she greeted, looking down at her notepad and sliding her glasses up her nose. Her wild, russet curls were pulled back into a messy ponytail. “What can I get you?”

  Teddy smiled in response as the waitress’ bright smile and red curls registered in her memory. “Phoebe Kearney,” Teddy remembered. “Do you remember me?”

  The young woman’s eyes widened as she looked up from her notepad. “Teddy? Teddy Wilson!” She reached over the counter and squeezed Teddy in a hug. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? How are you? What are you doing here?” she asked all at once.

  Teddy laughed. “I’m doing okay, Phee. Came to visit the Aunts,” she explained. “It’s been so long since I’ve been back here.”