by Janelle Peel
The proof stared me right in the face, though. Natalie was a Wolf and she had magic. Why would the Goddess allow a Mage to turn?
My thoughts bounced around as I recalled what one of the Councilmember’s had said; Shifters used to protect Mages, that they had turned from Her path. Did it mean that Shifters were once again aligned with the Goddess and Her path?
So many questions and only 4 more days to figure out the answers… What was I going to do?
Cooper
He marveled at the massive tinted dome encasing the tall ceiling of the library when Sora flashed in front of him.
Back peddling, he shouted, “Shit, Sora! You scared the hell out of me.”
She grinned for a moment before sobering.
Concerned, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Her brows formed a v, “Daisy has asked her guard for a separate room.”
“She did what?!” He was already moving to the door, “When?”
“Wait, Cooper.”
He stopped.
Sora padded to his side. “She needs time. I may have shocked her a bit tonight.”
“What do you mean, shocked her?”
She bit her lip for a moment, “I took her to the courtyard and had her meet Nat and the Wolf pup, Bex. Nat used her magic, proving that she is both a Mage and Shifter,” she paused. “It shook Daisy’s very foundation.” Lifting one slender hand, she rubbed the bridge of her nose, “What did you know of Shifters before now?”
Tipping his head, he recalled the teachings of his youth. “We were only taught human education until we received our magic at puberty. After that, Shifters, Vampires, and the like, were introduced.”
She nodded, “Go on.”
Gritting his teeth, he finally came to the answer she sought, “It was drilled into all of us that they were nothing but beastly abominations.”
She nodded, “She called Natalie a beast.”
He sucked in a sharp breath, “But it didn’t shock me all that much.”
“You also met the Goddess with Nat, remember?”
Understanding dawned on his handsome face. “Well, I’ll just go tell her, then.”
He took one step before Sora snagged his arm. Remorsefully, she said, “You can’t, Cooper. We don’t know what the Council said to her. She refuses to answer any questions about it.”
“So, what? She’s probably just confused,” he jerked his forearm out of her grasp. “Just let me talk to her.”
“No.”
“You just want to leave her in the dark? Is that it? That’s heartless, Sora.” He shook his head stubbornly.
“Is it really, Cooper? She could have an ulterior motive. I cannot take that risk.” Her expression softened, “I’m sorry.”
He took another step, “No, I’m the one that’s sorry. I will talk to her, I can make her understand.”
“Are you willing to bet Nat’s life on that? Your new family’s? Or mine? I know what it’s like to search for where you belong, Cooper.”
Her whispered words froze his shitkicker mid step. Could he? His chest pinched at the thought of any harm coming to his new family. He couldn’t let anything happen to them. His shoulders slumped in defeat, “No.”
“I know it’s hard, Cooper. You care for her, I get it, I really do. But please, just trust me on this. If it turns out that I’m wrong, I’m sure she will understand. We’ll make it right, I promise.”
Making a fist, he pressed hard against his sternum in an attempt to stop the hollow ache lingering there. It seemed without his consent, Daisy had pried her way into his heart. He not only cared for her, he loved her.
Sora gently touched his shoulder and squeezed once in a comforting manner, “I really hope I’m wrong.”
“Me too,” he whispered.
Daisy
The last couple of days seemed to fly by in a blur. Cooper had barely said more than a few words to me since I had switched rooms. He seemed to take it personally, when it wasn’t. I just needed time.
I was allowed free range of the Compound, as long as I took my guard. The mansion was huge. Half the time I spent getting lost, the other half was spent eating or making use of the gym equipment.
Sora didn’t press me again, but I could sense her growing disappointment whenever we spoke. What did it say about her character, I wondered? She’d taken me in, fed me, introduced me to her family… and all the while I was contemplating stabbing her in the back.
One day to make my decision.
Chapter 12
Sora
Laying against Blaze’s chest, I wondered whether I had made a mistake. Daisy was proving to be the model houseguest. Even in the face of adversity from the Clutch, she seemed to be taking everything in stride.
“I can hear the wheels inside your head turning, Love.” Blaze rumbled with his deep bass vibrating the small hairs inside my ear.
“I was just wondering if we are making a mistake with Daisy.”
He growled, flexing the corded muscles of his thick chest. “We aren’t. Just because she hasn’t tried anything yet, doesn’t mean she won’t.”
I sighed, “Cooper is a mess. I just don’t know what to do.”
Lifting one large hand, he tilted my chin up. His cobalt eyes glittered with secrecy, “What if I told you that I have something planned for this evening? Something to take your mind off of things for a bit?”
“Oh, yeah?” I grinned, playing along.
His lips tipped into a smug smirk, “Maybe.”
Playfully, I slapped his chest, “Come on, out with it.”
“Well, I know you’ve been stressed out. So, I may have reached out to someone…”
My brows lowered. Who did Blaze know that I knew, I wondered?
“Someone you miss very much. It turns out, she has the night off and has invited us to dinner.”
My eyes widened as excitement lit through my chest. “Giselle!” I shrieked.
Amused, he answered, “Correct.”
Oh Goddess! It had been forever since I’d seen her! Despite talking on the phone often, I missed the old woman that had taken me in when I had nothing. My heart pinched and I stilled, “We can’t go.”
Blaze was already shaking his head. “We can and we are. I’ve already arranged everything. You need a break, and I promised.”
“But what if something happens with Daisy. What if-”
“No,” he rumbled, placing his finger over my lips. “Jackson and Viv are staying to keep an eye on her. Mason has already arranged for our protection with the Pack and Felidae.” He grinned, “We’re going, and that’s final.”
Apprehension littered my thoughts for a moment. I really did miss her. My resolve crumbled, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, now go get that gorgeous rear in the shower. Dinner’s at 8.”
Daisy
Settling onto the front steps of the mansion, I looked to the stars for answers.
They twinkled brightly, but failed to respond.
The front door opened and closed. Cooper’s thigh came into view as he sat beside me.
“What are you doing?” He asked.
I sighed. Now he wanted to talk to me? If I was honest with myself, I was bored… and, I did miss him. Swallowing my pride, I answered, “Just watching the stars. It seems I never have the time to look up anymore.”
The rumble of an engine drew my attention to the paved lane and my brows lowered. Three blacked out SUVs were leaving the Compound. “Who’s that?” I asked, not expecting an answer.
“Blaze is taking Sora to see an old friend. I guess her name’s Giselle. She took Sora in after she was shunned, before all of this,” he made a sweeping gesture with his arm, “happened.”
“She’s human?” I asked, curiously.
“I believe so. Sora was really excited. Evidently, she hasn’t seen Giselle in a long time. She used to work for her at an all-night diner in Pacific Beach.” He took my hand, “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about-”
The sound of
beating wings met my ears and I stopped listening to his deep voice. Looking up, I watched a dark shape wing into the air. Banking, it caught a thermal and began to fly higher. Sickly pink eyes flashed as it corrected its course away from the entourage of SUVs.
I abruptly stood, cutting off Cooper’s words. Fuck, fuck, fuck. It was that goddammed raven… and it had heard every word Cooper had said.
“Daisy?” He queried in confusion.
My thoughts spun. Procrastinating hadn’t helped because I knew all along that I couldn’t do it. As the decision resonated inside my bones, a tinkling laugh whispered through my thoughts, ‘Welcome, Daughter.’
Shelving the weird voice for later inspection, I turned to Cooper’s baffled face, “Call them back, NOW!”
His brows furrowed, “Why?”
I didn’t have time for this shit. Storming back inside the house, I screamed, “JACKSON! CALL THEM BACK, NOW!”
The rocked-out pixie from my arrival zipped in front of me within a blink. Her short pink hair was spiked in every direction and her face shone with a glare, “What do you want with my Mate?”
“Call Sora back, right now.”
Viv’s eyes squinted further, “Why?”
“Please,” I pleaded. “Hurry.”
Her face softened a fraction at my begging. Reaching into the back pocket of her jeans, she pulled out her phone. Waking the screen, her thumb hovered over Sora’s name, “This had better not be a trick, Mage.”
Knowing time was of the essence, I did the only thing I could do. “I swear to the Goddess that this isn’t a trick!”
Thunder boomed overhead as Viv’s eyes widened. When the rumble ended, she swiped over Sora’s name. “Sora, thank God… No… We’re fine. You have to come back… I know, but your Mage friend is having a hissy fit… No, I don’t know why.”
Fed up with the one-sided conversation, I plucked the phone from her fingers and hit the speaker function, “Now, Sora. Please, just come back.”
Silence came from the tiny speaker as I held my breath.
“Okay, we’re turning around.”
“Thank you, thank you,” I blubbered as she disconnected the call.
Viv’s green flecked eyes met mine in bewilderment, “What the hell is going on?”
Relieved, I shuddered an exhale. “I’ll explain, I promise. Just wait until they’re here.”
Sora
Disappointment and curiosity filtered through my thoughts in equal proportions. Thankfully, Giselle was incredibly understanding and we’d been able to reschedule our dinner date.
What could Daisy want now, I wondered? Had she finally decided to speak?
The SUV had barely rolled to a stop inside the garage before I opened the door and flashed through the house.
Viv lounged against the bar of the rec room with a sour expression on her face while Jackson lurked behind her shorter frame and glared at Daisy while she fidgeted on the couch. Cooper sat beside her with a bewildered look.
“What is going on?” I asked.
Daisy’s eyes snapped to mine, “We need to talk.”
Blaze growled as he prowled into the room, “You’re picking now, to talk?”
She nodded, “The decision was made for me.”
“Explain,” he barked.
Her loud gulp met my ears as I settled onto a bar stool and waited.
“When I met with the Council the other day, they told me that the Prophecy I had discovered was wrong.” She shrugged, “They pretty much said that the Chosen is the antichrist, and that your sole purpose was to destroy magic, forever.”
I nodded, unsurprised. Of course, they did.
“Anyway, they ordered me to bring the Chosen to them in LA within 7 days.”
“Why did you wait until now to tell us this?” I asked.
Her brow furrowed, “I couldn’t figure out why they wanted you. I still don’t know.”
Viv bit out, “They want her magic, dumbass. To drain her like the Clutch in LA. Can you imagine how powerful they would become?”
She sucked in a sharp breath, “I didn’t know…”
I shook my head, “You would have, if you had just talked to us.”
Her shoulders slumped, “I know. This is my fault.”
Blaze rumbled, “So, what changed your mind?”
She shivered, “I was outside when you guys left. A while back, I enhanced a raven to communicate with the Council. They kept it on my last visit in LA. Cooper was telling me where you were going and I saw it take off from the roof of the house.”
Jackson’s brow lowered, “How do you know it was the same bird?”
“Its eyes reflected a pink glow, just like the raven I enhanced.” Her eyes squeezed closed, expecting a blow at any moment. “They said they’d be watching… I am sure they heard our conversation.”
Connecting the dots, I met Cooper’s shocked hazel eyes, “What, exactly, did you say, Cooper?”
“I said you were going to see Giselle, that she was the one who’d taken you in after you were shunned.” His brow lowered, “And that you had worked at her all-night diner in PB.”
Pure panic coursed through my veins as my silver flames lit. My entire body trembled as the panic turned to rage. I struggled beneath the undertow, kicking to the surface as Blaze’s scent filtered through the haze. Crushing me to his firm chest, he whispered soothing words into my ear. Another body slammed into my side, sandwiching me in a circle of limbs. I screamed loudly in agony as I struggled with the swelling tsunami of power.
A chorused howl met my ears with the sounds of growling.
“We have to move her!” Someone cried.
“No! She needs us!”
The cacophony of voices reached a fever pitch as the tether of my magic slipped; then blissful peace.
I came back to myself in short bursts of coherency. Someone hummed a soft lullaby while multiple pairs of hands brushed against the exposed skin of my arms. Each touch held a different emotion, but they were gone too fast to figure out who was who. Fear, pain, worry; but one feeling pushed me fully to consciousness. Love. Slowly, my eyes opened to take in the scene around me.
Blaze gingerly lifted my hand to his chest and purred. I smiled softly for a moment before noticing my sprawled position in his lap. My brow furrowed in confusion, why we were in the massive ballroom? It seemed as if a sea of bodies had decided to throw the most unorganized party ever. The entire Clutch had gathered.
A heavy weight pressed against my legs as Nat met my inquiring gaze. She smiled, “Hey.”
I shook my head. What had happened?
“It’s okay, we had to move you,” she nodded to Blaze.
“You went supernova, Love” He smirked, “So much power in such a small package. Your scream of rage alerted the entire Clutch. We couldn’t all fit inside the rec room, so I had to bring you here.” He jerked his chin at our audience just as another hand brushed against my arm.
I turned to see the source as the emotion switched from worry to love… then to? What was that?
“Hey, Bitch.” Viv quipped, “You scared the hell out of everyone.” Her emerald flecked eyes shone with unshed tears. “Get the fuck up, we have work to do.”
Ah, comprehension dawned. That feeling was relieved irritation. My best friend, ineloquent as ever, but dammed effective. She was right, we needed to get Giselle.
Blaze rumbled, “We’re ready to move out. How are you feeling?”
I smiled softly and met his dark orbs, “Loved. Now let’s go.”
Daisy
I sat beside Cooper as our convoy bounced along the interstate at breakneck speeds.
His hand found mine and he squeezed once in reassurance.
I pulled away. I didn’t deserve his comfort. If anything happened to Giselle, not only would Sora never forgive me, but I’d never forgive myself.
All four SUVs exited the freeway. Partygoers littered the streets at regular intervals as we made our way out to the suburbs.
S
ora sucked in a pained breath from the second-row seat. Her terror ridden whisper carried to my ears, “Blaze, we need to move faster. My ward just failed.”
“Jackson,” he barked. “Plan B, head straight for the house. We don’t have time to form a perimeter.”
Viv relayed the message through her phone as her Mate hit the gas pedal.
Sora’s hands lit as her magic ignited and expanded outward, blanketing the air in a sound proof bubble. It extended further than my eyes could see, possibly to the Pacific Ocean.
Still, I thought, we were going to be too late.
We arrived with the squealing of tires to a Spanish, single story home wreathed in flames. Sora’s hands lit as she flashed from the SUV. She moved so fast, that I had barely processed her exit before the entire house dimmed. The flames spiraled from the attic, down to the main floor, and straight to her lifted arms. Within seconds, the entire blaze was snuffed out. Shocked, I could only open and close my mouth in dismay.
Cooper’s voice pulled me from my stupor, “Daisy, come on.”
I slid out of the RV just as the rest of our group disappeared inside the house. A mixed contingent of Shifters and Vampires spilled from the other SUVs.
A low yowl sounded as a large black Panther cornered a raven near the unattached garage. Opening her mouth wide, her fangs glistened with menace.
“No!” I shouted.
The Panther hesitated as the bird cocked its head, showing one pink eye with the motion.
“Cooper, get Sora,” I threw over my shoulder and approached the pair. Addressing the big cat, I shouted, “It’s spelled! It probably has a message.”
Sora zipped from the house before I’d even finished my sentence. At her approach, the large feline backed away. She dropped to her knees before the raven with a disgusted expression.
Gritting my teeth, I joined her and whispered the key word, “Dhampir.”
“Mage Montgomery,” a male Councilmember boomed. “You have disappointed us.”
A man’s scream sounded in the background before a feminine voice screamed in terror, “No, don’t take my husband. Daisy! What have you done?! No, Goddess, no!”
I squeezed my eyes closed, that was my mother.