by Sam Crescent
Lucy looked toward the edge of the creek, to see Patricia’s followers already walking away. They know not to mess with Caleb and Guy. They were mated, and no one could do anything about that, and they were only following orders.
“You can’t have her as your mate,” Patricia said, pointing at her. “She’s nothing but an orphaned witch. Even her real parents didn’t want her. It makes me wonder if we’ve only got her because Adele and Kyle can’t have any kids of their own. They’re defective and should be annihilated. Every weak wolf should be killed, slaughtered.”
With each word she spewed of hatred, Lucy’s anger grew. She was alone in the world. No one had wanted her. All of her doubts, her weaknesses, everything that she had feared in her whole life came through.
“Lucy?”
Bianca’s voice made no appeal.
Lucy shot her hands up to the sky, pulling herself out of the water, and flipping around until she landed on her feet on the ground. She stood, and with a snap of her fingers, she was dressed.
“You want to do this?” she asked, glaring at Patricia. The woman didn’t know when to back down, and she had listened to the nasty, vile spew coming from her for the last time.
“You’re nothing, witch.”
Smiling, she clapped her hands together once and placed them palm upwards. “You know, no wolf has ever defeated a witch. Let’s see if you can change the course of history.” A ball of fire erupted in her hand, and Lucy stared into it. She expanded and contracted the ball, then glanced back up at Patricia, who was changing into a wolf. It was like a switch had gone off in her mind, and she knew exactly what she was doing. There was no struggle to call her magic, and she wasn’t confused.
“Catch.”
She threw the fire, and Patricia tried to dodge the ball, but it caught her shoulder. Patricia screamed out in agony. Lucy wasn’t done. After years upon years of being told she was nothing, she was weak, what she’d heard this one woman say to her best friend was the final straw.
Pushing her hand out, Lucy wrapped some invisible kind of noose around Patricia’s neck, and squeezed, dragging the woman to her. In the distance she heard her mate and her friend calling to her, but she was tired of listening to them reason with her.
Her anger and her rage had taken over.
No one had a chance of reasoning with her, and she didn’t care. She was ready to kill, to strike out and hurt the person who’d done nothing but cause her pain.
“You’re nothing,” Lucy said, finally placing her own fingers around the woman’s neck. “You call me weak, and yet I feel no pain. You’re the weak one, Patricia. I’m tired of being bullied by someone who is weak.” She squeezed tighter, and even as Patricia lashed out with her claws, Lucy used her magic to twist and snap her arm.
Evil filled her blood, and Lucy struggled to deal with the overwhelming consumption to kill.
“Baby, don’t do it,” Caleb said.
Lucy turned toward the man that was her mate, and she saw the pain in his eyes.
“Don’t kill her, darling. This is not who you are.”
Lucy turned to her side, and knew she had to have been seeing things. There beside her was a woman with beautiful white hair that was so long it grazed the ground. This woman was her mother. She had to be.
“This is not the way. Stop!” Caleb yelled, breaking through her hold.
The magic within her started to weaken, and yet with Caleb’s help, he’d brought her real parents to her. They were standing near him, smiling at her that sad smile that was so close to disappointment.
She looked at her father. His eyes were black, the same black that hers went when she was using magic.
“I can’t stop,” she said.
“You can.”
Lucy shook her head. “You’re dead. You’re both dead.” She wasn’t talking to Caleb but to her real parents, her birth parents.
“We’re beside you now. Let her go. Killing her will spiral you, Lucy. This is not what was meant to happen. Listen to Caleb.”
“Lucy, baby, stop,” Caleb said.
“I’m talking to dead people.”
Her mother, her dead mother, touched her arm, and the love, the sorrow, the pain, consumed her. She released Patricia and took a step back.
Taking a deep breath, she stared down at her body and saw the dress she wore was black, and her hair had turned black. Every part of her was black; even her veins were pulsing black blood.
The magic had started to turn.
Her parents were standing there, staring at her. Caleb looked relieved and made to come toward her.
“Come with us.”
Lucy looked at her mate, the man she loved. Caleb. He was walking toward her with his friends behind him.
“He loves you, honey,” her mother said.
Guilt swamped her.
“Lucy,” Caleb said, taking a step toward her.
She shook her head. “No, don’t come near me.”
“I love you. We’re mates. I can help.”
“No. You can’t help. I’m the monster. Not you.” She looked behind her to her parents, and knew she needed to get away from the man she loved. Caleb was in danger while she was forever turning to the dark side of magic.
Making up her mind, she took a step toward him.
“Our date was amazing, Caleb. Being your mate is the gift you should have given to someone else. I’m a danger here.” She pressed a kiss to his lips. “I hope I can see you soon.”
In a blink of an eye, she was no longer standing in front of Caleb, but she looked around as she seemed to be within clouds.
Had she been killed?
“We had to bring you here,” the woman said.
Turning around, she saw the two people who had been beside her while she was ready to kill Patricia.
“You’re my parents?” she asked.
“We are,” he said. “My name is Andrew.”
“I’m Clarissa, honey.”
“You’re both dead?”
“We are dead, but we like to consider ourselves guardian angels to you.”
Lucy rubbed at the mark on her neck. She wanted Caleb. She was missing Caleb.
Mate.
“You did pick a good mate for yourself, honey. We’re very proud that he finally realized that you were both mates,” Andrew said.
“Well, I was the one who called it first.” Clarissa smiled. “He was just always around you. I’m surprised you didn’t see it first.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Clarissa, her birth mother, walked up to her, and placed her hands on her head. “See what I see.”
Her eyes closed, and she was transported back over the years to when she was a little girl. She saw it with fresh eyes. It was the day that she was at the park. Adele and Kyle were talking with the Alpha, and there Caleb was, staring at her. He was very protective of her, and he even helped her build the sand castle.
Next they were in school, and she’d never known it before, but Caleb sat close to her, and he kept Patricia away from her as much as he could. Her birth mother took her down each memory lane, making her see Caleb standing so close, or watching her from afar. When she fell out of the tree, tears filled her eyes, and leaked down her face as he sat beside her, holding her hand, reading to her.
He’s always been there, a part of her.
Finally, she saw herself through his eyes, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that Caleb loved her more than anything. He loved her. He cared about her, and they were a true mated couple.
“He will die for you,” Clarissa said, moving away.
“I don’t understand. Why are you two dead? I thought you had left me near a lake or something to be taken.”
Clarissa sighed, and Lucy watched Andrew move behind his woman. “Your birth was a lot more complicated than we thought.”
****
Caleb paced up and down the creek. He’d tied Patricia to the nearest tree, and was waiting for Bianca and G
uy to come back with his parents and Lucy’s. She was gone, and the only scents he made out were his own, Guy’s, Bianca’s, and Patricia’s. His wolf was going crazy. He needed his mate back.
She’s in danger.
We must protect her.
She’s ours to protect.
Pacing back and forward, he gripped the back of his head, trying to find some reasonable explanation for what happened.
“Your father should have her killed,” Patricia said, croaking out the words.
“Shut the fuck up!” This was his fault. He should have put Patricia in her place years ago. Instead, he’d let her get away with hurting his mate, and now he was the one paying the price for waiting.
He was so damn angry with himself, and with Patricia.
“No wolf should ever be allowed to live after she attacked me the way she did.”
“You deserved it. You’re lucky that you’re still alive. Something stopped her.” He’d not seen who touched her arm, but someone had. Someone had stopped Lucy from killing. He hadn’t been able to reach her time. Everything had happened so fast. He’d seen the darkness consuming her, taking her away from him, and he’d not reacted in time.
Her hair had gone from her golden blonde to black. He’d seen the darkness eating away at her, and he’d been frightened for his mate.
“Nothing stopped her. She chickened out. I told you she was weak, and you mated her.”
Kill her.
His wolf wanted this woman killed. She had taken his mate away, and he was going to kill her if she didn’t shut the hell up.
“I suggest you be quiet, Patricia. You try my patience, and even your mother wants you banished,” Emma said, coming out of the thick trees.
His father, Lucy’s parents, Guy, and Bianca were there.
“She just disappeared, Dad,” he said.
He was panicking, needing to get to his mate, to find out if she was okay.
“Tell me everything that has happened,” Matthew said.
Caleb didn’t leave anything out. He told his father about the mating, and what happened afterward to Patricia coming after them, and what they said.
“She just seemed to stop, to listen to something.”
He reached down and grabbed the book that had been left behind. He flicked it open and closed it.
“There’s nothing here to tell us where she went. What happened to her?” He was panicking, losing focus, and he was nothing without his mate.
“She was turning evil,” Matthew said.
“They warned us about this.” Adele covered her mouth with her hand, sobbing.
“What did they warn you?” Caleb asked.
“They told us that when a witch starts using her magic, she can be drawn to the darkness. A new witch can be easily manipulated.”
“What makes her turn dark?” Caleb had an idea, but he needed to know it first-hand.
“Her first real kill by an act that doesn’t deserve it.” Kyle spoke this time as Adele was crying.
“Someone stopped her,” Caleb said.
“We saw it,” Bianca said. “She was about to kill Patricia, and something or someone joined with Caleb to stop her.”
Matthew moved to the point where she disappeared.
Caleb watched as his father inhaled. The heightened senses of the Alpha were even superior to his.
“Someone was here,” he said. “They’ve been dead, but they were guardians. Lucy’s real parents told us that they could visit her if given the chance, but only if it was needed to save her from making the wrong choice.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Caleb said.
“That’s because we can only appear in rare circumstances.”
He turned to find two people surrounded by a golden hue. Each of them had similar features to Lucy, and Caleb knew they were Lucy’s real birth parents.
“Clarissa, Andrew,” Adele said. “Has she turned?”
“We were able to stop her before she turned. Her magic is stronger than any of us could predict,” Clarissa said. “She’s resting now, Caleb, in your bed.”
“She knows the truth?” Kyle asked.
“Yes. She knows the truth, and no, she doesn’t blame you for keeping our secret. Lucy’s aware of the danger that surrounds her,” Andrew said. “Her magic has alerted covens.”
“They’re coming?” Matthew asked.
“Yes, and they will try to take Lucy from you.”
“What if she kills?” Caleb asked. “I can’t lose her, and if she’s dark, how can I follow her?”
“If Lucy kills while protecting herself, or her loved ones, it’s an act of love and sacrifice, and is done for good. It’s when something insignificant like your little wolf over there that it can turn her dark. Years of bullying, taunting, and rage consumed her, not just for Lucy, but for her friend, Bianca.” Clarissa turned toward Bianca. “She loves you like you were sisters. Stronger than any friends.”
“I love her, too,” Bianca said.
“You mean Lucy is going to struggle her whole life with turning evil?” Caleb asked.
“No. The early years of being a witch are the hardest for anyone,” Andrew said. “Lucy isn’t just a witch, she’s warlock, too. Her power is out of this world.”
“I’ll protect her.”
“Lucy could choose to give her magic up,” Clarissa said.
“What?” Caleb asked.
“Lucy can choose to relinquish her magic by simply feeding it into her enemy. Any witch can choose to do it, but as you can imagine, not many do.” Clarissa wiped the tears from her eyes.
“I’m not sure I follow.” Caleb looked toward his father.
“She can sacrifice her magic, in essence becoming human. Witches have two lives, as they’re bound by the laws of nature and that of their human life. We’re strong, but we’re also human. We can be killed. In a sacrifice, Lucy can release her magic, making it useless, and return as a human. Her magic is so great that even if she ever learned to control it, that degree of magic ability would eventually consume her.”
“It’s dangerous as the acts need to be so extreme that she would be reborn in the one act,” Andrew said.
“She won’t die?”
“Not really. It’s an act of sacrifice, and she’s giving up her powers, her magic. That will cease to exist, and she will be human.”
“Human?” Caleb asked.
“Yes.”
“Does Lucy know this?”
“She is aware of the limits to her power,” Clarissa said. “We will not be able to help again. We reserved our one chance for when she needed it most. They’re coming, Caleb. They will take her if given the chance. Once they have her, there will be no turning back. She will die, and her magic will be harnessed for evil.”
“I want to be with her.” Caleb looked toward his father. “May I?”
“Go, son, go, and we will handle this.”
He didn’t wait around, and rushed out of the forest toward his parents’ house. Within minutes he was in his home, running upstairs toward his room. Opening the door, he saw Lucy curled up in a ball on his bed. She looked so beautiful, even though some strands of her hair had gone black. Most of her blonde hair was still the same color. The dress she wore was completely black.
Stripping out of his clothes, he climbed onto the bed, and gathered her into his arms. Pressing his nose against his mating mark, he held her tightly.
“Caleb?” she asked. “You’re here.”
“Yes, I’m here, and I love you.”
“I saw my mom and dad,” she said.
“I met them as well.”
She rolled over, opening her blue eyes, and he saw she was crying. “I almost turned evil.”
“I know, baby.”
“I was so angry with her. She’s been mean to me and Bianca for years, and I just couldn’t stand it any longer. I wanted her to die, Caleb.”
He wiped away her tears. The sight of them twisted his gut and made him ache for h
is woman. “You didn’t kill her.”
“But I was going to if they hadn’t stopped me.” She pressed her face against her hands, and Caleb held onto her tightly, refusing to let go.
“I love you, Lucy. I don’t care if you’re evil or if you’re good.”
“That’s lies. You’re a good man, Caleb, and I don’t want to ruin who you are.”
Tilting her head back so that he could look into her eyes, he focused on her. “I love you, Lucy Wolf. You’re my mate, the love of my life, and I will not let anything happen to you. I don’t care what other people say or think. You belong to me. You’re not evil.”
“You really believe that?”
“I know that, baby. You’re not evil. Patricia, she needed to be taught a lesson, and my father’s going to handle her punishment.”
“What about my punishment? I hurt her.”
“How about spending the rest of our lives together?”
“That’s not a punishment!”
“To some it could be.” He tucked some hair behind her ear. “I’m not going to lose you, Lucy.”
“I love you, Caleb.”
Pressing his lips against hers, he slid his tongue into her mouth. His cock thickened, and he wanted inside her. Their one time together had been ruined because of Patricia. He wasn’t going to let their time be forever ruined by outside forces.
She held his waist, and her very touch set his blood on fire.
“I’m going to fuck you now, Lucy.”
“Please, God yes, please.”
Chapter Eight
Caleb moved her hair off her shoulder, and his fingers grazed over her mating mark.
“I want you inside me.” All the time she was away from him, she wanted to be with him. She missed him. “I don’t want to be apart from you, Caleb.”
“We won’t. I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth.”
She was scared and terrified of what would happen if she let the darkness inside. The only way to make sure that didn’t happen was to fight it, and fight it she would.
His fingers moved to her tits, and he stroked over each nipple, before sliding down. Her body woke to his touch. Her pussy was already soaking wet for him, and she wanted more. “You’re so wet for me, baby. Always so wet.”
He slid his fingers deep inside her pussy, moving in and out. His thumb pressed to her clit, stroking from side to side.