"They're gone."
He crossed the room, grabbed me by the neck, and pinned me to the wall. "What have you done?"
"I did nothing. I chose to stay." I struggled to speak and reached up to put my hands on his arms, pushing my calming energy into him.
"No more of your tricks," he said, throwing me to the side.
I curled into a ball as he came at me, his foot rearing back as if to kick me.
"Stop!" I screamed. "You'll hurt the baby."
It wasn't the way I wanted to tell him, but I had to protect our child.
He fell to his knees beside me. "Did you say-"
"Yes, I'm pregnant."
I closed my eyes and prayed he'd pull me into his arms, tell me everything was going to be okay, and reassure me he'd do anything for our child and me.
Instead, he started laughing. It sounded like the hyena I'd heard at the zoo as a child.
"You're mine forever, do you understand?"
I nodded.
"Now, we need to figure out where your sister and my brother ran off to. They know too much, and I can't have them getting in our way."
I flinched at the words, but it was too late to give up now. "Rafe, we have to consider the baby now."
"Oh, I will. Both this baby and the others that are coming."
Not sure his meaning, but all too aware of his body language, I crept backward. I wouldn't let him use our baby.
I reached out to my sister. Maybe it wasn't too late to join them. But as soon as I uttered her name in my head, I blacked out.
"Thought you could change your mind, did you?"
Rafe was leaning over me when I woke. My head throbbed, and I reached toward the pain.
"They don't even realize the people I have working for me. There's now a spell in place over you and Dyani. You can only communicate with me now."
Oh, my God, I thought, what have I done?
"As soon as you evoked her name, you set the curse in motion."
"She'll come back for me," I said. I packed the words with more bravado than I felt. After all, I'd told her to go.
"She won't know there's a you to come back to," he said, his eyes flashing red.
I squeezed mine shut and wrapped my arms around my belly. Now, more than ever, I placed hope in my unborn child to save us all.
Rafe picked me up and took me outside.
I was numb and didn't fight.
Once we were in the driveway, he put me in the back seat of the truck. Dyani was already there. I took her hand and the door slammed shut.
A young man I didn't recognize sat in the driver's seat.
"Take them to the new location," Rafe ordered.
Then, we were off. About half a mile down the road, I heard the explosion.
"I'm glad you're still here," Dyani whispered, drawing my attention back to the inside of the vehicle. "I'm scared. I started remembering things about my father, and I wanted to go back home. Rafe wasn't happy. I've never seen him so angry."
It was then I noticed her black eye and reached toward it. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay now. I told him I was pregnant, and he backed off. Still, I just want to go home," she said as tears began to slide down her cheeks.
"Is it his?" I asked, still numb to what I'd just heard. My heart already knew the answer.
She nodded. "At first, I couldn't remember anything. It was like my brain was caught in a trap. Only recently did I start putting some pieces back together. I knew he was with you, but I was so confused. It was only once. Please forgive me."
I believed her, and I had another purpose. There were two babies to protect. If I couldn't find a way to heal Rafe, maybe Madeleine would find the people she needed to take him down. Even with everything that'd happened, I didn't relish the thought of his death. But it wasn't just about the two of us anymore.
"I promise I'll keep you, and our babies, safe."
By the expression on her face, I knew she caught my meaning.
***
When Am?lie called to me, I knew what I had to do.
"She's calling me," I communicated to Rowan. "I have to go back." I changed course and raced back.
Rowan was screaming for me to stop, but I pushed forward.
Within a mile or so of the house, I heard the explosion.
"You and my brother should've never crossed me." It was Rafe in my head. "Your sister will pay the ultimate price for your betrayal. I promise you that. But not until after my son is born."
"No!" I screamed.
It came out as a howl.
Hatred for him filled my veins and I charged ahead, determined to kill him. Then, something slammed into my side, sending me flying into a tree.
"We aren't ready to face him," Rowan screamed in my head. He was on top of me, still in wolf form, holding me down. "We will be someday, but not now."
He slowly backed away, and I stood.
I knew he was right. Rowan was the only family I had left. We ran back in the direction of safety, to find a place to regroup and come up with a plan.
First thing, we had to get rid of the demon growing inside me. I wouldn't give Rafe something to hold over me, another way to hurt Rowan or me. My life's goal would be to avenge my sister's death and to make sure Rafe never brought pain to another person. That he'd suffer like I had.
He couldn't be allowed to gain more power.
He had to be stopped.
He had to pay.
"I hate you! Your mom killed herself. I'm stronger. I'll kill you."
I pushed the last five words through my entire being, praying he could still hear me.
***
Read on for an exciting look at
Chasing Shadows
Book Two of the award-winning Tala Prophecy series
Breathless from running most of the night, Reagan collapsed on the ground by the closest tree. She leaned forward and put her head between her legs, trying to control her rapid breathing. Nothing could slow down her mind as it began processing the last few days.
"How you holding up, dear?" Papa sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Until a few days ago, she thought her grandfather was dead. Now, he was her only lifeline.
She willed herself back into a sitting position, Papa's arm still providing comfort. "I don't know how to feel right now. You're supposed to be dead, my parents put me in a mental hospital, I thought my brother was killed, people talk to me in my head, and I'm part witch and part werewolf." Reagan considered adding more to the list but knew she'd made her point.
"I know it's a lot to take in. But you have to trust us right now. There's a lot on the line."
"It would help if I had some answers. It's all I've wanted since Sam disappeared. For Christ's sake, I thought he was dead. Sure, I hear him in my head, but I want to see him with my own two eyes. Everything I thought was real is gone. I can't even trust my parents." Reagan took a moment to digest those words. She'd always trusted her parents, even thought she had a pretty cool relationship with them. But everything changed when she and her brother were attacked. Now she was sitting here with the grandfather she never knew-a man her grandmother and mother believed was dead. "I don't even know if I can trust you. Or Rowan."
Rowan had saved her, but his brother, Rafe, had tried to rape her at the very least. Whatever other intentions he'd had that night were thwarted by Reagan's gun-toting mother, a woman who'd never picked up a gun before that evening. Reagan's body was exhausted, but her brain was working overtime trying to make sense out of everything.
Papa uncurled his arm and stood up. He put one hand on the nearest oak and leaned into it. "There's so much we need to talk about. Maybe it would be best if I start with that night so many years ago."
"Or, we could start by talking about werewolves. Oh, and how you let Nana, and your own daughters, believe you were dead all these years!" Reagan's anger punctuated every word.
"Let him speak."
Rowan. Having him in her head sent shivers
down her spine.
"Rowan, if you have the answers, why don't you tell me?" Reagan sent her thoughts back to him. Or she tried to. She wasn't totally sure how the whole communicate with your handsome werewolf friend thing worked. Then he was there. She wanted to be angry with him and tell him to mind his own business, but instead she felt her pulse quicken in reaction to his presence. Cursing herself and her hormones, she forced her attention back to Papa.
"Years ago, your grandmother knew something was happening. We all knew: me, Susie, Sarah. But we didn't know just how bad things had gotten. There were rumors of animal attacks. We suspected there was some dark magic-or something-involved. There were too many attacks, and too many people had gone missing. But we had no clue a battle was brewing. Nor did we know just how close to home the fight was getting.
"I gathered some of my hunter friends, ones I knew I could trust. Nothing could've prepared us for what we found. When we entered the clearing, we noticed several bodies, each torn apart with the pieces thrown around. A head here, a severed arm there. Then we heard screaming, and we knew the attacks weren't over. We ran toward the sound."
Papa paused. He put his hand over his closed eyes. Reagan got up and walked over to him. This time it was her turn to offer comfort, and she wrapped her arms around his middle. It felt right.
"The wolves were massive, like nothing I'd ever seen. And I've seen some damn big animals in my life. They were throwing bodies like you'd toss trash into a bin. We pulled out our guns and started firing. The wolves were unfazed as they crept toward us.
"We started backing into the woods, but realized we were surrounded. I thought it was over. That's when I met Rowan. And Rafe."
"Rafe? What does Rafe have to do with all of this?"
"Did you know we're brothers?" Rowan asked.
"Yes, Rafe did mention that the night he attacked me." Reagan pulled away from Papa and started pacing as she recalled the event and shuddered. Rafe had attacked her just outside her parents' house, talking crazy about werewolves. Or, it seemed crazy at the time.
"There's a war brewing. And you're right in the center of it," Rowan said.
"More riddles. What the hell is that supposed to mean? A war? Me?" Reagan's head pounded. It was too much to process. A howl ripped through the air.
"We've got company," Papa said.
"Time to go. We're close to a safe place. Stay with me." Rowan grabbed her hand. With his other hand, he tipped her chin up. "I'm with you, the whole way. Don't worry."
Don't worry. Really? War. Running. Werewolves. Nothing to worry about. Even with all the drama and fear, she couldn't silence her inner sarcasm.
"You two get started. Madeleine, Sasha, Ricardo, and I will be right behind you. We just want to make sure nobody gets close." Papa turned to Rowan. "Keep our girl safe."
Her life was in the hands of people she was just beginning to trust as well as people she hadn't even met yet. Before she could process her feelings, she caught a flash of fur out of the corner of her eye.
"They're here." Rowan's voice penetrated her thoughts.
Panic seized her muscles, and she wasn't sure which way to turn. Papa and Rowan were on either side of her, forming a shield of protection, and each of them was scanning the area for the threat.
First one wolf and then another burst through the trees. There were at least five of them. Eyes wide and heart pumping, Reagan looked to the two men at her side for some direction. Papa made eye contact with Rowan and pointed to one side; Rowan nodded.
A few more wolves entered the area just as Papa and Rowan yelled for Reagan to get clear. Terrified, she scanned the area to find a wolf-free passage into the trees and took it. Halfway there, she saw a wolf jump at her from the side. She braced for impact, throwing her arms up in front of her face; but a darker wolf took the threat out in mid-air. Turning to look back, Reagan saw flashes of fur in battle; Rowan and Papa were nowhere in sight.
"Run. We'll be right behind you." It was Papa.
Taking off like a runner who just heard the starting shot at a meet, she bolted toward the nearest copse of trees. Without looking back or considering where she was going, she sped away. Nature blended together into a series of colors and flashing lights as she tried to control her breathing; which was hampered due to exertion and fear. Resting wasn't an option, and the pure will to survive was all that was keeping her going.
Just as she entered another open and vulnerable space, she caught a glimpse of an animal coming up on her side. She forced herself to run faster, but she sensed it gaining on her. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when she felt something brush her back. She jerked her head toward the sensation only to catch her foot on a protrusion of some kind. At the speed she was going, it was all she could do to force her body into a tuck position as she fell. Her body slammed into a nearby tree. Gasping for air, she struggled to get back to standing as a figure swam into her vision.
"It's me. You're safe, but we have to get out of here." Rowan's face came into view, although her head was still spinning and her vision was blurry.
"Papa?"
Before Rowan could answer, the sound of crinkling leaves and low growls forced both of them into action. Hand in hand, they took off into the forest.
***
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***
About the Author
Tia Silverthorne Bach has been married to her college sweetheart for twenty years, has three beautiful girls, and adores living in sunny California. Her daughters were born in Chicago, San Diego, and Baltimore; and she feels fortunate to have called many places home. She believes in fairy tales and happy endings and is an avid reader and rabid grammar hound.
She is an award-winning, multi-genre author and an Editor for Indie Books Gone Wild. From an early age, she escaped into books and believes they can be the source of healing and strength. If she's not writing, you can find her on the tennis court, at the movies, reading a good book, or spooning Jif peanut butter right out of the jar.
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Other books by Tia Bach:
Tala Prophecy Series
Chasing Memories Book 1
Chasing Shadows Book 2
Chasing Destiny Book 3
Fractured Glass: A Novel Anthology
7: The Seven Deadly Sins
Heart Chatter (https://www.tiabach.com/) - Depression Cookies Book 1 (re-release coming soon!)
2011 Readers Favorite Book Awards, Silver Realistic Fiction and Finalist Chick Lit
2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Finalist Chick Lit
Two distinct voices, two stories interwoven within the walls of family and love.
Abby needs some magic in her life, along with a white knight, respectful children, and an exciting career plan. Instead she is drowning in unfulfilled expectations, disappointments, and unmet needs. What she doesn't expect is to find the true essence of magic in the strength, friendship, power, and energy of the female spirit found in her mother and her mother's zany group of friends. Krista cannot believe it's happening again. Her father waltzes in and announces another move. And what does her mother do? Nothing. Don't they realize she's almost thirteen, and this could mean the end of her life? In the midst of teenage melodrama, she is determined to survive a new school, defeat the annoyances of two scene-stealing sisters, and deal with out-of-touch parents. Yet she quickly realizes the double-edged sword of growing up.
Chasing Forgiveness: A Tala Prophecy Companion Novella Page 8