Animal Secrets: A Paranormal Romance (The Animal Sagas)

by Susan G Charles

  “She gave you a quite a scare, hmm?” he asked, offering her a cup of warm Irish coffee and then kissed her cheek. Sonya stiffened at the expression of affection.

  “Clay,” she said softly taking the warm drink from him. When he bent down and kissed her again. “If I can’t have babies -”

  “You can,” he insisted and lovingly nuzzled her neck. “But even if you can’t, that changes nothing between us,” he assured her. “I love you Sonya, and nothing could ever change that. I don’t love you just for your child rearing ability… so that is not an issue with me. I want you to completely understand that. Do you?”

  Sonya smiled at him, enjoying the warmth of the hot drink in both her hands and mouth. She sat up in her chair, stretched a bit and then immediately snuggled back into her arms, still carefully holding the warm drink in one hand. Maybe the witch had her blood, and she didn’t know just what that meant, but Clay had taken full possession of her heart and she knew together they would figure out something to make it all okay.

  Chapter 7

  As soon as Lynda awoke from her nap she immediately noticed two things, she did feel a little better and there were others in their home besides just her and Ben. Maybe the nap gave her recuperative powers that little extra jolt they needed to push away the nausea that she had been experiencing on and off for the past few months. As her mind began to swirl contemplating the events of just a few hours ago she instinctively patted her round belly and was returned with a feeling that her twins were in there and were doing just fine.

  “Thank you,” she whispered to no one in particular. As she lay there, still patting her belly, she did her best to figure out who the voices belonged to that were coming from her own living room. She looked out the window, it was still dark outside. She cocked her head and listened intently – Ben, Clay, Sonya… Leyna, one of the elder females, and a few others that she had yet to figure out. Needless to say, they were really actively discussing something. She knew that it had to do with her, Sonya and the twins. She also knew that she needed to be a part of what was being talked about and to actively be in on deciding what the potential solutions were. So she got up.

  Before heading out to see the others she stepped into the bathroom and took stock of herself. Her hair was a mess, she looked pale and tired and just not like herself at all. So she brushed her hair, her teeth, peed, and changed clothes. That helped her feelings just a bit, because, as she looked in the mirror one last time before going out into the living room, she felt much better about what was looking back at her. She wanted to look better for the others – personally she could care less about it, but she knew if she looked frail or just un-Lynda-like, that the others would pick up on it super fast and worry about her. And there was too much to worry about without adding that to the mix.

  As Lynda walked into the living room where the group of people were having a heated exchange, they all instantly grew silent and turned to stare at her. It was as if Lynda had hit the stop talking button as she crossed the rooms threshold. Nonplussed, the group watched her enter the room, all inquiring about how she felt, how she was doing, and all the typical questions people ask in these kinds of situations. She smiled as she passed each one, nodded at a few, threw a feeble wave to a couple and headed directly to where Ben, Sonya and Clay stood near the middle of the room. Ben, Clay and Sonya waited patiently for her to join them. As soon as she got there Clay reached out for her then patted her hand, Sonya hugged her for what seemed like hours, and then Ben pulled her to him and kissed her lightly on the forehead as soon as Sonya turned her loose.

  Lynda sat down on the couch right next to Sonya in the middle of the group as quickly as she could without being a total distraction to their conversation. “Okay, so what have you all figured out?” she asked the group gathered there who were still as silent as church mice. Sonya reached over, grabbed Lynda’s hand and pulled it into her lap as she scooted even closer to her big sister.

  “Well, it is pretty much a given that this person, whoever the lady was, knew who you and Sonya were and wished you both ill will.” Ben stated, trying to lead the conversation and to catch Lynda back up on what she had missed as she slept.”It is also pretty clear that she is very gifted in the magical arts. We’re not exactly sure how powerful she is, but it is obvious that she does have some power.”

  “She popped out of nowhere while I was waiting out in the woods,” Sonya told her sister and the group. “I never heard her approach me or anything – and believe me, I was listening. I heard a voice coming from somewhere near me but couldn’t figure out from where. The next thing I know she was there! Talking about a curse too. I thought she was talking to the wrong person, you know.”

  “The witch knew who you were,” Leyna interjected to Lynda. “There was no mistaking on her part. And she knew of your sister as well.”

  “But how?” Lynda asked.

  “Well, that part we don’t know yet – but we will figure it out. Don’t you worry,” insisted Clay.

  “We need to figure out exactly what she meant by the curse and what kind of curse it is,” Ben added.

  “And how to get rid of it!” Sonya said.

  “Exactly,” Ben agreed. “So I guess the first thing we need to do is figure out who this lady is and where she is from. Next, we need to find out all that we can about her. And also we need to figure out if she has any weaknesses.”

  “I can lead a group of our best trackers out into the woods and see if we can find anything,” Clay stated. Then he added, “Maybe she dropped something out there that can lead us to her. Or maybe we can pick up a scent we can use. The sun will be up in just a bit and that will be a big help too. And maybe you two can get with Faye the artist to draw up a picture of what the old woman looked like. Faye might come up with an image that we can show to others and maybe someone will recognize her. You know, kind of like our own Strongheart sketch artist.”

  “That’s a really good idea Clay,” Ben said. “I like that angle, we could pass the picture around to some of the other people who live nearby. Maybe we might get lucky and someone will know who she is….”

  “And where to find her at,” finished Clayton, another Strongheart senior pack member.

  And with that statement the group stood up and several members dispersed leaving Ben’s home after he had a chance to speak with each one, one-on-one. Each one went out of their way to speak to the sisters before they left as well, doing their best to make them fell comfortable and to assure them that they would find the witch and break the curse. Finally, five to ten minutes later everyone was gone except for Ben, Clay and Sonya.

  Chapter 8

  Clay, standing next to Sonya, was obviously more than ready to go gather his team and get on the trail of the witch. He was definitely a man of action. The couple chatted for a second, kissed and then he whispered something to Ben before he ran out the door. Ben stood there with the ladies trying to let it all sink in. The trio walked over to the kitchen table littered with maps, pins, markers and began to deliberate on what to do next.

  “Clay will do every thing in his power to find something. If there is anything out there, he and the tracking team will find it. And I think his idea for getting the sketch done was a good one too. But what do you guys think?” Ben asked, wanting input from the sisters.

  “I wish we knew more about our heritage,” Sonya stated. “If we did, maybe we would know exactly what to do. What do you think, sis?”

  “Yes, that could make a huge difference. But where would we start?” Lynda asked, thinking out loud to the group. Mom and Dad are gone… but they never really talked about any of that anyway. Certainly not anything about a curse. And we never heard anything from our relatives when we tried to contact them before so as far as I know, there aren’t any relatives alive.”

  “Do you think Mom and Dad had anything written about it anywhere back at our old home place?”, Sonya asked Lynda.

  “I don’t know, Sonya.” Lynda said. “As far a
s I remember, they never showed me anything like that. Think about it Sonya, did Mom or Dad ever show you any special papers? Did they have a secret hiding place for documents? Did you ever remember them hiding anything in the cabin? Think really hard about it. I was gone for a few years but maybe you might remember a special book, cabinet or folder, closet or hiding place that Mom or Dad had where they put things at. Maybe an old Bible, or address book or phone book they wrote things down in?”

  “No, I don’t remember anything like that… and even if there were I think we would have found it already. Don’t you?”, Sonya replied. “I mean, we went over the house with a fine tooth comb after the accident looking for insurance papers, deeds and all that kind of stuff. Remember?”

  “That’s true,” Lynda said, thinking what their next move could be. “So that seems to be a dead end, but why don’t we try to contact the names listed in Mom’s old address book one more time. We may get the same exact results as before – but we might just luck up and find someone still alive – and maybe even someone who knows of a curse on the Yukonia clan.”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Ben added. “And while you two are doing that I will check in with the other pack members and see if any of them know anything about the witch. And I will also set up teams to do some other things for us to help in our search. Maybe even contact other packs all around us – it certainly can’t hurt. Using all our resources we should get answers soon. And as soon as we know who the enemy is, the better off we will be to make the next step! Clay and his team are already out tracking, so we’re off to a fine start.”

  Ben stood up, walked over to Lynda and kissed her forehead, lips and finally her hand before he headed out the door to get started. Sonya and Lynda got out the old address book, went to the phone, and started dialing, taking turns calling far away relatives since they had no cell phones. This went on for at least the next 16 hours.

  Pack members came and went all the rest of that day – some brought food, some asked questions, and some just came to sit and keep the girls company as they waited for news. Finally about 5 o’clock that afternoon Clay and his pack returned. As his men went to their homes to eat and rest Clay entered Ben and Lynda’s home filthy, but smiling. Ben himself had only returned a few minutes earlier and hadn’t even had a chance to talk to the girls yet about what he had found. Clay walked right over to Ben and handed him a tiny piece of black fabric. Ben immediately lifted it to his nose and breathed in deeply.

  “Is that her?” he asked Clay simply.

  “Yes!” he said still smiling, visibly proud of his teams discovery. “We found this about two miles away from where we last saw her – wind must have blown it over there. But, yes, it is her, I would never forget that old hags scent.”

  “Fantastic! Great work, old friend.” Ben said enthusiastically patting his second in command on the back. “Lynda, you and Sonya come check this out just to be sure since you both saw her the most.”

  Lynda and Sonya both came over to Ben and took turns smelling the tiny piece of cloth. It was smaller than a quarter – “How in the world did Clay find this,” Lynda thought to herself as she took a smell. Then she nodded her head as she looked first at Ben, then on to Sonya and Clay. Sonya growled as soon as she touched the fabric – she knew without even smelling it that it was her, but she smelled it anyway. She growled again instinctively at the scent.

  “Yes, it’s her,” Sonya agreed.

  “All right then, we’re one step closer to finding her.” Ben stated to the group. “So let me tell you what I found.”

  Chapter 9

  Ben walked over to the kitchen table, already covered with maps and other materials used in day to day pack activities. He emptied his pockets onto the table, smiling the whole time, and eventually pulled out a few wrinkled pictures of the sketch that Faye drew earlier from the girls description of the old woman. It was almost as if he wanted to drag out the moment just a second longer before he revealed what he had found.

  “Thanks to the sketches (and thanks to Clay and Faye for coming up with this idea) we got some information from a senior pack member of the Black Claw pack about 4 states over. Turns out this one old man knew a good bit about the Yukonia’s actually. In fact, he said he even dated one for a time when he was a young man.”

  “So what did you find out Ben?” Lynda asked almost instantly before Ben even had a chance to complete his statement.

  “Well, just going on this old man’s word,” Ben went on, “and from everyone I talked to he is a good man and wouldn’t lie to us, here’s what he said basically. I’ll paraphrase as best as I can. He said that about 20 or so years ago, maybe more, when he was dating the Yukonia woman near his village, that he had heard a story of the Yukonia’s leaders son accidentally killing a girl in a nearby village.”

  “A male Yukonia? Are you sure Ben? As far as I know, that is only an old wives tale.” Lynda said to Ben.

  Ben went on, “Well, if we accept this guy as telling us the truth then now you have confirmation that there were a few. Anyway, he went on to say that this man, a Yukonia prince, had accidentally killed this girl. He didn’t know the details of how it happened just that he remembers his old girlfriend telling him about it in passing one day. But it turns out that the girl that was killed was the daughter of a great witch in a neighboring town. That witch vowed to kill all the Yukonia clan and she started by making them all sterile.”

  “I have never heard this before.” Sonya said, amazed at the details.

  “So what happened to the Prince and the other royalty, hell, I didn’t even know we had royalty?,” Lynda asked, confused at this new information.

  “Well,” Ben went on, “according to the old man, the members of the royal family of the Yukonia clan died within 6 months and the rest of the members just quit having children. And the young children that were already here, well, most of them died soon thereafter too. So the witches intention was to kill the entire clan of the man who killed her child. So that’s probably why you never really heard anything mentioned about the main Yukonia family. In fact, your parents may not have even been aware of that ever happening themselves.”

  “And she’s almost done it,” Sonya said under her breath.

  “So, is there a way to break the curse?” Lynda asked Ben.

  “I asked the old man that too. He really didn’t remember his old girlfriend ever mentioning that piece of information, however, his current wife is a shaman or a healer of some sort and she said in most cases that if you broke the wand that created the curse that would end it. Or, if you killed the witch who created the curse, that it would end it.”

  “So let’s just kill the old hag,” Clay said.

  “Well, that’s easier said than done. First we have to find her.” Ben offered.

  “If we could just break her wand and end the curse, that would be fine by me. I don’t like the idea of anyone else dying,” said Lynda to Ben.

  “Me too,” said Sonya. “If we can just break the wand and end it, let’s do that.”

  “Well, we hope that will work, but for now we just don’t know. These ideas are all just speculation right now. I don’t like the thought of killing another person either unless they threaten my family or pack – then that is something completely different.” Ben added.

  “So we have to find her first to try out these ideas,” Clay said. “Did the old man have any ideas there?”

  “Actually the old mans wife told me that too.” Ben added, “She was a funny character to say the least. She said that normally a witches house is impossible to find unless the witch wants you to find it. But on the night of any blue moon the witches magic is weakest and her home is visible to anyone of a paranormal nature. Regular people still can’t see her home, but you all and I, yes, we should all be able to see it just fine.”

  “But even if we find her, what happens if we break her wand and that doesn’t work? How do we find her again? Blue moons only happen every 2 or 3 years!”, L
ynda said stating the obvious.

  Ben went on, “Well, the old couple did tell me another important fact too – that if we wanted to ever find her again, assuming this all works in the first place, is that we need to make sure that we keep something personal of hers whenever we do find her house. You know, like a hairbrush, or a piece of clothing or something like that. As long as we have a personal possession of hers in our property then we can find her any time that we want.”

  “That is fantastic – assuming it’s correct.” Sonya said.

  “Well, at this point what have we got to lose? That is certainly more information than we knew a few hours ago. At least now we have something to try,” Clay spurted out, clearly excited to have something new to do.

  “I agree, Clay, and with the scent from that piece of fabric we already have, we will know instantly if we have found the right witch or not,” Ben concluded.

  “Assuming this really works,” Lynda uttered.

  “Yes, assuming this really works.” Ben agreed. “But at this point it’s a start. And it is the best thing we have. So, now all we need to do is find out when the next blue moon is. Clay, will you summon Mistress Harlayne? I’m sure she can help us figure that out right away.”

  “On my way – be back with her in just a few minutes.” And with that statement, Clay was out the door – long gone before the door hand even finished closing.

  “So, what do you girls think? What do you both think we need to do – are we missing anything? Is there anything else you think that we need to be doing?” Ben asked them both.

  “Well, we never got anyone on the phone – no real surprise there.” Sonya stated. “So the information you guys have found is all we have to go on right now. I think we should definitely see where it leads us.”