Awakening (The Magic of the Black Forest Book 2)
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Awakening
The Magic of Black Forest
Macy Farmer
Awakening
The Magic of Black Forest
Macy Farmer
Copyright 2012 Macy Farmer
Edited by Jenny Needham and Brittany Carrigan
Third Edition
Published by BookRhythm, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the work of the author's imagination, or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Dedicated to my big sister, Lynn. You have taught me that any goal can be met as long as I reach for it. I miss you every day. XOXO
Special thanks to:
My friend, Melissa Torrissi, your encouragement, honesty and ability to make the impossible happen gave me the strength to finish and publish Natalia’s story. You’re an inspiration to us all.
To Bradley, my muse, without you there would be no Magic.
Beth, thanks for reading every version created of The Magic. Honesty is what I sought and you gave it tenfold.
My mom and dad, for your endless advice, encouragement, and support. And, for answering my late night calls when I needed to talk through the editing process. I love you both.
Thank you Jenny and Diane of BookRhythm and their editing team. Your encouragement, guidance and honesty have made me a better writer. No words could express my gratitude. ((Hugs))
Brittany ‘The-BookNerd’ Carrigan, you ROCK! “Just sayin.”
I’d also like to thank Trudy, Linda and Margie.
Chapter 1
The first time Bradley proposed we were in our living room sitting casually on the comfy recliner with me nestled in his lap. The proposal was spontaneous to say the least. No ring, just a proposal. Naturally, with him being the love of my life, I accepted.
A few weeks later, not too long after our friends Colleen and Jess returned from their honeymoon, he proposed a second time. I’ll cherish those memories forever.
We were having a get together at our place with our closest friends, Dave, Jesse, Colleen and Cheryl. While the ladies were chatting, sitting on a blanket laid out on the back lawn, the guys were tossing a Frisbee around, playing monkey in the middle, with my best bud Seager as the monkey. There wasn’t a cloud in the picturesque cerulean sky.
Above our heads a small red piper cub aircraft was doing loop-de-loops. We all stopped, watching the show for a few moments, until the plane disappeared on the other side of the trees. A short time later, after my attention had returned to our guests, the small aircraft reappeared, this time with a banner in tow. It flew over our heads again before I even realized what it read or before the words actually registered. Moments later, it flew over again. The banner read: Natalia, will you marry me?
Whilst reading the banner to myself, Bradley’s voice came from behind, saying the words out loud. I spun around and found him at eye level down on one knee holding a small black velvet jewelry box in his hand. Bradley opened the box slowly. The sparkly white light in the center of a five-prong setting caught my eyes first. Before getting a good look at it, he took it from the box and slid it onto my ring finger. “It’s official. We’re engaged.” Surprised, and feeling loved and cherished, teary eyes blurred my vision, stretching the shimmer and sparkles on the beautiful band of diamonds.
It was the most romantic thing he’d ever done. When asked why, Bradley said he needed to make up for his first proposal. It really wasn’t necessary but I was more than happy that he did. I will never forget that moment and would cherish it forever.
Later that evening, after our guests went home, Bradley and I discussed when we wanted to get married. We knew it would be by the year’s end but weren’t sure which date. It didn’t take us long to decide. We agreed on September 1st, the day I first came to town almost a year ago. That day changed our lives forever.
Memories of when we met came flooding back.
Colleen and I met earlier that same day. We literally collided into one another at a supermarket in Renovo, Pennsylvania. To make a long story short, being that she lived in the area and I was in town on vacation, she offered to meet me for dinner to give me some insight on things to do around town. I agreed. But, later that evening she never showed up. She left a message with the server reading that she got stuck at work.
The first time I saw Bradley was while waiting for Colleen to arrive. He was sitting on the other side of the bar talking with the other patrons and the bartender. His gorgeous blue-green eyes and sexy crooked smile immediately caught my attention. Every now and then our eyes would meet. When they did, his heated gaze took my breath away. Being shy, naturally, I’d blush and turn away.
Later that evening he rescued me from an awkward situation by walking around to my side of the bar and introducing himself.
He tapped me on my shoulder and I had a suspicion there was something different about him. When we shook hands and no images of his past, of who he was came to mind, it confirmed my instincts… Bradley had a secret.
I didn’t learn of his little secret, and of the others’ secrets, until the first night I moved into my house. It was then I learned that he is half human, half vampire. I also learned that Colleen and Jesse are grizzly shifters.
That same night, Bradley learned not only that I have psychic abilities, and a form of extra-sensory perception that permitted me to see one’s past with the slightest touch, but I am also a witch.
Anyway… After picking our wedding date, Bradley made what he called ‘one small request.’ Believe me when I tell you, it was NOT a small request, far from small. To me, it was huge, and ridiculous. Unfortunately though, I had agreed before hearing it in its entirety. Big mistake on my part, and I regretted it immediately.
The bespoken desire was to wait until our wedding night before being intimate with each other again. Kissing would be allowed, but that was all. All other intimacy, of any kind, would be off limits until our wedding night.
Seriously!
Barreling towards him and getting into his personal space, “Are you serious? September is months away.” This is unbelievable! I can’t believe I agreed to the ridiculous request. Why didn’t I wait for him to finish!? The next few months are going to drag, going to be torturous.
You see, Bradley and I haven’t gone all the way yet. Although, we’ve come pretty close to having sex, we haven’t gotten past third base. If it were up to me, we would have hit it out of the park by now, going all the way home. So, cutting me off completely is down right ludicrous.
“Yes, I’m serious. Waiting will make our first time together a honeymoon we will never forget. Time will go quickly, my sweet Natalia. You’ll see.” Hearing him chuckle annoyed me even more.
Over the next few weeks I made several advances to ease the need and to fulfill my desires. Each attempt was denied. Always polite, and with that sexy crooked smile of his…the one that made me weak at the knees…he’d deny my advances, reminding me that he wanted our honeymoon to be special.
The waiting game drove me a little insane. To avoid complete insanity, I kept myself busy by planning our wedding. Bradley kept himself occupied as well. The new carpentry business he and Dave started was taking off far better than we’d all hoped. That was a good thing.
Now, most women getting married would be overjoyed. They’d spend every waking hour planning every little detail to ensure their childhood fairytale wedding came true. They’d be overjoyed with giddiness. Not me. I, well…we…were more concerned with keeping our upcoming nuptials a secret from Anthony and Andrew.
Anthony is Bradley’s father, and Andrew, his ex-friend. They are two sadistic bastards hell bent on ruining our lives. Both, pure evil and had no love, whatsoever, for my fiancé. That’s why we didn’t want them finding out. They would ruin our glorious day with all their hate.
To avoid any uninvited guests, we were discreet about the wedding date, telling only Jesse, Colleen, Dave, and Melissa. I’ve known Melissa my entire life; she’s my best friend and knows all of my childhood secrets.
Bradley spoke to Dave, explaining that we didn’t want Cheryl to know the pertinent details just in case Anthony persuaded her to tell him. The men, Andrew and Anthony, were masters at manipulation. So, we knew it would be unintentional if Cheryl spilled the beans, but wanted to be cautious just the same. Dave agreed, saying he was okay with it as long as he was the best man.
That’s when Bradley and I realized we had a slight dilemma; who would stand beside us at the altar? Fortunately, we were able to remedy it rather quickly. Dave and Jesse would both be the best men. Melissa, since she’s not married, will be my maid of honor. Colleen, married to Jesse, will be my matron of honor. Bradley and I couldn’t choose between them so we compromised.
We also decided, since we were getting married on our bridge, the wedding reception would be in the backyard as well. Bradley and Dave built the bridge so that I could cross the small creek located at the outer edge of the backyard.
To include everyone in the planning of our big day, we delegated responsibilities. Dave and Jesse agreed to make all the arrangements for the party. The reception would be outside, rain or shine, so their job was to keep everything dry. The food and cake were being taken care of by Colleen. Melissa volunteered to create the favors, decorate the bridge, table, and practically the entire backyard.
Aunt Susie, my mother’s sister, helped me design and create the invitations. My mother’s passing brought the two of us closer together. Although I can perform basic magic skills used for cleaning, cooking or even moving objects, creating an invitation with only a picture in my mind was a difficult spell for me to create on my own.
While we worked on magically designing the invitations Bradley handled the honeymoon. He insisted on making all the necessary arrangements himself, excluding me entirely. Hesitant, I almost insisted that he divulge the surprise honeymoon plans. But, when he promised that I wouldn’t be disappointed, and that Seager, my trusted companion, would be with us, I backed off, returning my full attention to the invitations.
A dreamy fall-inspired wedding invitation with a leaf motif and daisies formed in my mind and became the theme. In the center of a mossy green gate-fold wrap, our announcement was elegantly written in black. On the outside was burgundy and burnt orange shaded leaves. A silver daisy clip held the invitation closed.
After spending over an hour on the phone with my aunt, we had created more than enough invitations to mail to our guests. Magic made the process quick and easy. A week before the wedding I would cast a spell and they would appear in everyone’s mailbox.
With such short notice Bradley and I knew that some people may not be able to attend, unfortunately missing out on our glorious day. Under the circumstances, we were willing to take that chance. The last thing either of us wanted was for Bradley’s father, Andrew, or Anthony to show up uninvited and spoil our day.
At the moment, Anthony was still trying to break Cheryl down. For months he’d been chasing her around. If he got wind of our upcoming nuptials, I have no doubts that he would set his eyes back on me. There were only two reasons Anthony was interested in Cheryl. First, and most obvious, was that she no longer swooned over him. Second, to persuade or manipulate her into divulging information about Bradley and me. Thankfully, I haven’t foreseen this being an issue. Cheryl spends her days swooning over Dave, so everything was going smoothly.
Or so I thought.
A month before the wedding I realized that I had forgotten about the photographer. I was devastated, literally crying, when Bradley walked in the door after work. The moment he saw the tears, he dropped his tools and darted to my side. Cupping my face in his hands, he stroked my cheeks gently with his thumbs, wiping away the fallen tears.
“Natalia, why are you crying?”
Sobbing uncontrollably like I used to do when I was a kid, I stuttered, “I-I f-for-got b-bou-t the ph-pho-to-gr-aph-er.” This would be one of the best days of my life; just the thought of not capturing it on camera was devastating.
“Is that what these tears are for?” Chuckling, he rose to his feet and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. I couldn’t make out whom he had spoken to, or what he was saying, since he spoke too quickly for me to keep up.
“Calm down, love. We have a photographer and he only needs two days notice. He’s a friend of Jesse’s. Actually, they used the same photographer for their wedding. He’ll even set up some cameras to take videos, okay?” He brushed my hair from my face and kissed me tenderly on my cheek, chin and lips.
When he soothed my worries away and played my Knight in Shining Armor, it made me want him even more. Forgetting our agreement, I threw myself at him. Crushing my mouth to his, our bodies fit, mine melting into his, my hands traveling slowly below his waist. Gently pushing, he brushed my hands away. Laughing he teased, “What am I going to do with you? It won’t be long now.” Resting my head against his chest I released a long, frustrating sigh.
“Thank you, Bradley. I guess I overreacted a little about the photographer.”
“No bride overreacts. You deserve to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of, especially on your wedding day.”
“We do… on our wedding day,” I corrected him.
***
Melissa and my aunt Susie arrived a week before the wedding. My aunt decided to rent a Winnebago to drive up and stay in. Aunt Susie wanted to get to know Bradley better, claiming she needed to make sure he was right for me and wouldn’t be able to do it unless she saw him every day. My mother would have said the same thing, making me chuckle a little. Understanding that my aunt was just worried about me and needed to be reassured that Bradley is indeed a good man, I told her to come as early as she’d like. The bonus to her early arrival, with her here I’d be able to practice my craft without worrying about blowing something up.
When they arrived, we parked the motorhome on the north side of the house on the very edge of the forest so it wouldn’t be in way on our big day.
Melissa’s parents weren’t far behind them. Since Melissa and Matt were an ‘item’ now, he, and James were traveling with Melissa and my aunt. Not only are Matt and James in the same coven as my aunt, all three are very good friends. From what Melissa has told me, after the wedding the four of them…the guys, my aunt and her…are taking a short road trip before returning home.
Melissa and Matt had been dating each other since they first met on Thanksgiving and now, almost a year later, their relationship had gotten serious. Meli
ssa told me Matt was good to her and treated her like a princess. Whatever she wanted or needed, he made sure she had it. Even though her dating a wizard made sense, when he arrived I would do my best to probe his mind for information. Not that I have any negative feelings about him. In fact, I have no vibes about him at all.
Since the first day they met, we could all see the chemistry between them. I just want to be sure he’s not going to hurt her, that his feelings are true. She is after all, my best friend, my sister. Just as those thoughts crossed my mind, I realized I sound like my aunt. Like I am concerned if Matt is right for Melissa, my aunt wants to be sure Bradley is right for me.
Melissa handled the ‘strange and weird’ with grace and class. Not only does she accept it, she embraces it. In our younger days, unexplainable things would happen. Little things like a cool gentle breeze blowing the hair from our faces on a humid, muggy day, or the color of our dolls hair changing from brown to blonde. We were either too young to understand or we’d chalk it up to luck or coincidence.
Unbeknownst to me and Melissa, when I was a toddler my parents blocked most of my powers. They hid my craft, my legacy, wanting to provide a normal life, one without magic. Tragically, last year, my parents were killed by a drunk driver. It wasn’t until October 31st, my twenty-fifth birthday, when my mother’s sister, someone I had never met before, fulfilled my parents’ wishes and divulged the well-kept family secret. The binding spell was reversed, and my powers were completely unleashed.