Waking Sarah

by Krystal Shannan

  “Stop it!” She threw the empty bucket at them, and it bounced off of Scott’s head and rolled across the floor. “Just stop, both of you. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Sam and Margaret both started laughing, and Sarah couldn’t help a small snigger herself. Both men looked terrible. Drowned-rat terrible. Both had bloody noses, and both would have black eyes in a matter of minutes.

  “You think this,” she waved her hand at them, “is going to convince me that waking my animal is the right choice. You’re acting like a pair of mongrel dogs, and I don’t even know why you’re fighting.”

  Margaret swallowed her laughter long enough to choke out a few words. “Scott should have known better than to yell at you.”

  “He startled me, but he didn’t hurt me,” Sarah returned. “I snapped at you. I’m sorry, Margaret. I didn’t mean what I said.” Her friend nodded.

  Scott’s growled from the floor. “It doesn’t matter,” He stood and shook his head, sending water flying. “Chris acts like you belong to him already. I crossed a line, and I deserved what I got.”

  Warmth flooded Sarah’s cheeks. Belong! “I don’t belong to anyone,” she replied. “You don’t want me for me, so I don’t want to have anything to do with you...ever.” She crossed her arms over her chest and sucked in a shaky breath. “Now, will someone please explain to me why both of my parents are sitting in the kitchen witnessing all of this?”

  “Sarah.” Chris stood and took a step toward her. She held up her hand to stop him.

  “Get out.” She turned away from him and pointed to the door. “Please, all of you just leave. I need to talk to my parents.”

  She waited patiently, but within a few moments, the room had cleared and only her parents remained at the bar. Her mom motioned to the stool next to her, and she moved swiftly, sliding into the empty seat.

  “Sarah, hon, I had no idea about all of this when Margaret first asked me about you staying.”

  “I know, Mom.” She propped her head on her hand and looked down the bar at her mom and dad. “How much have they explained?”

  “A lot,” her dad admitted. “Did you know that big guy Chris was fighting, Margaret’s husband, can turn into a grizzly bear?”

  Her eyebrows raise. “No, but that explains a lot about his behavior.”

  “You’re going through with the...thing tonight, right?” Her mother looked so tired and scared.

  “Yes, probably, I don’t know.”

  “Honey, if there is a way to escape the nightmare I’ve lived with for over forty years, you have to do this. I can live with taking pills for the rest of my life, but you still have your whole life ahead of you.”

  “It’s not fair that you have to. I can’t believe you and grandmother suffered all these years and they had a fix this whole time.”

  “They didn’t know, Sarah. Don’t blame them. If they could help us now, they would. You have to take this chance. Grandmother would want it for you as much as I do. And they say these Council people will keep trying to kill you. This Awakening will give you the ability to protect yourself.”

  “Mom, slow down. Do you know what you’re saying? What if I don’t want to be part animal? Did you see they way those two men just reacted?”

  “Did you see the way their wives reacted, Sarah?” her dad asked.

  She looked up. His blue eyes were twinkling.

  “They were laughing, honey. They weren’t concerned in the least...I watched them. Yes, yes, they were yelling at them to stop, but none of them were afraid.”

  “But I’m different. I haven’t grown up with this other persona. What if I completely go off the deep end once she’s awake for real?”

  “Baby girl,” her dad started again, “this Council already stole your fiancé. Don’t let them steal you from me and your mother too.”

  “But I won’t be human anymore, Dad.”

  “You will always be our little girl, Sarah. No matter what extra DNA or magick runs through your veins. I trust Samantha and Margaret. You grew up with them. They have your best interest at heart,” her mom added softly.

  “I like Chris,” her dad murmured and then took a sip of his coffee.

  “He wants the wolf to have the last say in who I’m with. I can’t be with someone who would let an animal choose their life partner.”

  “Are you saying Margaret and Samantha aren’t happy?” her mom questioned.

  “I... No, but—”

  Her mother smiled and nodded.

  Crap. She knew for a fact that Margaret and Sam were over the moon for their husbands. It hadn’t crossed her mind that their wolves had chosen for them.

  The door behind them creaked, and Margaret and Sam poked in their heads. “Can we come in?” Sam asked.

  Sarah nodded, and both women scurried around to the other side of the breakfast bar, plopping down on a couple of barstools.

  “Its not that the wolf chooses, Sarah. It’s that the wolf shows you your best mate. It’s part of the magick. Fate is intertwined with the wolf’s soul.” Margaret paused and looked over at Sam.

  “Fate can be ignored. Many of the royal lines do ignore the magick and mate with whomever they choose, but the bond and love between the four souls is never as strong as it is when they wait for the right person,” Sam finished.

  “Could you hear what we were talking about?”

  Both her friends stared at the counter and nodded.

  Guess extremely good hearing is on the supernatural ability list. “Isn’t it weird to always have that voice in your head?”

  “I’m sure it will be really strange to you at first,” Samantha began, “but give it time. Your wolf is a part of you that’s been missing since birth. They complement our human halves.”

  “Except in your mother’s case.”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “My mother cut her wolf off and drove the wolf’s soul mad.”

  “But that’s just it, Sam!” Sarah exclaimed. “I’ve cut my wolf off. What if she’s gone off her rocker too?”

  “Not for a hundred years,” Sam replied. “You’ve ignored her for maybe fifteen –”

  “Sam is right. What you’ve done isn’t the same. What was in your dream?” Margaret jumped in. “Did she give you cause to fear her?”

  “No. She didn’t. She just wants to be free.”

  “There’s your answer,” said Margaret.

  “I just need to think.”

  “You have until tonight. Otherwise, Kate will have to wait another cycle of the moon,” Sam added.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Chris padded slowly across the lawn, his paws silent on the soft grass. Sarah’s scent hung heavy in the air. He scanned the porch and spotted her sitting on the side steps, head buried behind her e-reader again. Heath was sprawled across the roof just above her, tail hanging down, twitching back and forth in the wind.

  He walked up to the porch slowly, waiting for Sarah to glance up and see him. Heath raised his head for a moment before stretching back out.

  A soft gasp from Sarah brought his attention back to her. He wagged his tail and took a few more steps. She puts her tablet beside her on the porch and reached out. He closed the gap between them and her hands slid into his fur. Her strong fingers rubbed behind his ears.

  “Pretty wolf. Who are you? Huh? Margaret? Siobhan? I thought I saw them go out earlier.”

  Chris woofed and shook his head. Serously. She can’t tell I’m a boy?

  “It’s not like you did a turn for her to show off your manly parts,” his wolf replied with a chuckle.

  “Sorry, I don’t recognize everyone’s wolf yet.” She pointed to Heath’s tail. “It’s hard enough getting used to having a lion as a personal bodyguard. You know he follows me everywhere if I’m outside the inn?”

  He sat and snuggled up next to her on the stairs. If this was the only way to be close to her right now, this was what he would do.

  “She’s going to be upset when she finds out it’s you.”


  I don’t care.

  ***

  Sarah dug her fingers through the big wolf’s neck fur. The outside layer was course and stiff, but underneath it was downy and soft. She smiled at the creature and rubbed it’s chin. “I can’t help but wonder who is in control when you’re a wolf. After my dream last night and what the voice in my head said about Chris, I’m just scared that I will lose my—”

  A big SUV pulled into the drive, breaking her train of thought. She turned toward the drive. She counted the women getting out of the car, each carrying several sacks of groceries —Sam, Margaret, Kate, Tess, Hallie, and Nicole. All of them... She’d forgotten they said they were making a food run while Heath dropped Siobhan at the airport. Last of all, Chase slipped out of the driver’s seat and waved. She waved back then peered at the wolf sitting next to her shoulder. Oh my God! “I thought...”

  Tess and Hallie, the Demakis twins, walked up the steps whispered a quick “hi” before disappearing into the inn.

  Kate was right behind them. “Sarah, I’m sorry, but I need a definite yes or no on the ceremony. Breena Taylor just texted. Camila is missing and Renata broke into the shop. I have to get back to Vegas. If you we aren’t doing this, I need to catch the first flight out of here I can get. ”

  “I am,” she answered softly. She had to. She owed it to Brad and to herself.

  The wolf next to her leg stepped away. It shifted, and Chris appeared instantly. His tanned, lean body glistened in the light of the late afternoon. The transformation was amazing. There just wasn’t another word for it. One moment he was a majestic gray wolf and the next a sleek, muscled man.

  He turned away from her and grabbed a pair of sweatpants from one of the porch chairs. The angle was quite fabulous for admiring his muscled ass, which she definitely did. She understood now why there were little stacks of clothing scattered around the outside doors of the inn.

  Naked shifters.

  “What happened? Were there any clues at the store?” he asked Kate.

  All the others joined them on the porch.

  “She said Renata’s scent was all over everything, and stuff is missing from the shop. Ingredients to make a very powerful poison. She also said there was blood everywhere.” Siobhan sobbed. “But, worse than that, Renata managed to break into our computer and hack our subscription list.”

  “Why is that worse?” Nicole Demakis piped up. “Why would Mom or the wolf care who subscribed to your newsletter?”

  “The newsletter list states whether they signed up as a practicing wiccan or as a civilian.”

  “Shit,” Nicole exclaimed. “She’s hunting witches.”

  Siobhan nodded.

  “It could be a misdirect,” Nicole began again. “Mom was always good at showing what one hand was doing so the other could do something else.”

  “So you don’t think the witches are in danger?” Chase asked.

  Sarah stood and leaned against the stair railing, taking it all in. It was crazy, listening to them talk about all of these things as if they were perfectly normal. Witches, spells, werewolves... How had they hidden it before? She’d gone to high school with Margaret, Sam, and Nicole.

  “They probably are, but they might not be at the top of her list. She wanted ingredients for a spell. What spell?” Nicole turned back to Kate.

  “Mortum somnus was ripped from an open spellbook,” Kate answered.

  Everyone on the porch shook their heads.

  “It’s latin for sleeping death. Depending on how much she makes and how careful she is, the powder could spread and kill an entire city block before it goes inert.”

  “Did she get all the ingredients?” Sam asked, worry lacing her words.

  Kate nodded.

  “Who can she eliminate that gains her the most in the Council’s eyes?” Sarah asked quietly. “You have to think about her motivation. She’s trying to get back into their good graces, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, I think you’re right, Sarah and Grandmother is the link we are forgetting,” Nicole exclaimed.

  “What about your grandmother?” Scott asked, jumping into the conversation.

  “Remember we said she’d emailed us right after the incident in Washington?” Sam started. “She wanted to know where we were and if we’d talked to Mom.”

  Scott and Chase nodded and motioned for her to continue.

  “Well...” Sam paused. “I emailed her back and told her we were safe, but not to trust Mom. That her wolf was in complete control and that she had killed our father and Uncle.”

  “Sam!” Chase’s shoulders hung. “She can trace where your email came from.”

  “I’m sorry. I couldn’t let Mom pull one over on Grandmother. I know she’s Council and all, but she’s still family.”

  “It was the right thing to do, Sam,” Scott added. “We can’t afford to let her infiltrate and control it from within either. Even if she does want to destroy it. The fallout to the supernatural community would be astronomical. Wars would start everywhere. It’s good they know she can’t be trusted. It means they will keep looking for Renata. Which will keep them distracted from our movements.”

  “Maybe,” Sarah interrupted again. “But maybe they will use her to their advantage. Who would the Council want to get rid of most?”

  Nicole smiled. “Girl, you’re a genius! It’s the New York and LA alphas, Dad’s brother is in LA and his sister is married to the New York alpha. If the Council was trying to take out Dad, they would naturally need to go after the whole family.”

  “Meaning his brother and sister would have been on the same kill order,” Chase growled. “Damn it!”

  ***

  Chris caught Sarah by the arm and led her quietly away from his arguing family members. She came reluctantly, but she did follow him. And she’d totally checked him out earlier when he shifted to respond to Kate.

  He walked around the stone pathway to the back patio of the inn. She was silent, but the tension was thick. Something was on her mind.

  “Good call back there on what Renata’s plans are,” he said, sitting down on a stone bench.

  Sarah sat next to him and sighed. “We can’t do this, Chris. I can’t—”

  “I saw you admiring my ass back there.”

  Her face bloomed a bright red, and she stared at the ground to avoid his gaze. “You were naked as a jaybird.”

  “But you looked.” He chuckled.

  “I don’t know how all this mate stuff works, but I’m not interested in being involved with you or anyone else right now. I’m glad you stopped everything last night.”

  He wasn’t.

  His jaw clenched at the mention of someone else. He didn’t want her with anyone else either. Just the idea of it made his blood boil. “You looked interested to me.”

  “I’m not dead!” She gave a half laugh.

  “I know. I just couldn’t help but tease you a little. When your wolf wakes tonight, she will guide you. The magick in her soul will show you the right mate. It could be right away, or you might not meet anyone for years.”

  She turned, and her green eyes flashed. “You talk about the magick like it’s alive.”

  “In a way it is. It’s what connects us to the souls of our animals, to each other when we form a mate bond. It binds packs together. It’s not sentient, but it lives through us and around us. It surrounds me like a blanket and I can draw strength and power from it.”

  “But there’s no black magick and white magick?”

  “No, not really. I mean, it can be used for good and evil, sure, but it’s all the same energy.”

  “What is Kate, really?”

  “She told you. She is an original witch. One of the creators. A human immortal.”

  “So when she said her name had been Isis in ancient Egypt she wasn’t kidding?”

  “No, not at all. We are lucky to have her in our corner. Fate brought her to Daniel and to us. The pack is blessed to have her as a member. We wouldn’t be able to wake your wolf wi
thout her to cast the spell.”

  “Are you immortal? Will I be?”

  “No, but we age so slowly many would think that. Our bodies can survive terrible injuries, but there are some things we cannot recover from.”

  “Like...”

  “Beheading, drowning, and being burned at the stake are a few.”

  “D-do people still do that?” Her voice trembled, and her face had gone ashen.