Ceva's Chance

by Lilli Carlisle

  Ceva turned her back against the tree and slid down onto the ground. She took off her belt and was in the process of making a tourniquet when Karli came to her knees in front of her.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “Joseph and Rowl won’t wake up, Ceva. What do we do?”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll remove the spell Penrod placed on them. By all rights, you should be asleep as well. Why aren’t you?” Karli looked away as Ceva applied the tourniquet and slowed her blood loss.

  When Karli turned back to face her, Ceva could see her apprehension. “I’ve never told anyone this before, well, except for Joseph and Rowl… I’m impervious to magic wielders.”

  “How do you know that? When have you been confronted with a magic wielder?” You never got in a fight with a magic wielder unless there was no other choice.

  “I hired a white witch once,” Karli admitted, and Ceva had to fight back the response “Are you crazy?”

  “You hired a witch… Why?” Ceva was stunned. Good thing it was a white witch, or Karli would have been in for a big surprise. Dark witches often came in beautiful packaging, making it easier for people to trust them and fall into their traps.

  “I wanted her to help me find Joseph and Rowl. They were no longer with my birth pack. They’d moved and I couldn’t find them. When the magic didn’t work, the witch tried other spells and nothing happened. I was immune,” Karli explained.

  “And why did you keep that a secret?”

  “Do you know how many Alphas would want an Omega impervious to magic? All I’ve ever wanted was Joseph and Rowl, and it’s my choice, dammit.”

  “Yes it is, Karli, and I promise you I’ll make sure you have your right to choose your mate or mates,” Ceva swore, and the young woman smiled so bright, Ceva almost forgot to unfreeze the team. “I’ll release the spell on the team now. Would you please get Lothar for me?”

  “Yes, of course.” Karli stood and ran to the open door of Ceva’s room. The girl certainly had a mind of her own, and Ceva loved it. She’d give the two men a run for their money.

  Moments later Lothar came charging out of the room, his face full of confusion and fear. “Ceva, what happened?”

  “Penrod happened. He dropped in for a little chat,” she answered, trying her best not to grimace in pain.

  “But I didn’t hear a thing.” He looked down and panic crossed his face at the amount of blood coming from her wound.

  “You were under one of his spells. You wouldn’t have heard anything,” she explained.

  “Karli, can you run into the room and grab me a few towels to put on the wound until I can get a better look at it?” he asked, and Karli turned and ran for her room.

  “I’ll be fine. It will be healed within a day.” Ceva had the benefit of the quick healing common to all immortals. The slice she’d delivered to Penrod’s shoulder would be healed in the same amount of time.

  “I’m still going to stitch it closed,” Lothar stated.

  “Okay.” She wasn’t going to argue. She knew he had to do something to fix the situation. It was the way he was built, and she wouldn’t change a thing.

  Karli returned with an armful of towels and he leaned down and pressed a couple of towels to Ceva’s wound, causing her to groan. By now the entire team was in the parking lot trying to figure out what had happened. She wasn’t in the mood to explain anything at the moment, but she knew she would have to after she was stitched up.

  “You can talk to the team after I tend to your wound,” Lothar stated, on the same wavelength as Ceva.

  “I’m already healing.” Ceva tried again to lower his anxiety level.

  “Don’t care. You’re not having an open wound on your leg all day. I’ll use dissolvable stitches so we don’t have to dig them out after you’ve healed.” Shifters healed quickly and sometimes had to use stitches to hold a wound closed. They would heal so quickly that traditional stitches would have to be pulled out of their healed skin. Quick dissolve sutures were absorbed into their bodies; problem solved.

  Lothar leaned down and gently picked her up. The towels were already soaked with her blood. Yeah, maybe a few stitches wouldn’t hurt. He took her inside their room and shut the door. Quickly, he removed her pants to get a better look at her leg. The bleeding had finally slowed, making her feel a whole lot better. As he stitched, she told him about the duel and everything Penrod had said.

  “It took a great deal of power to perform a sleeping spell on so many people. Why would he risk it? It would take hours for him to return to full strength.”

  “I don’t know. Do you think your parents are really involved in all of this?” Lothar asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes. I can see the three of them doing something like this, but why go after only the wolves? I know they’ve never liked wolves, but this is a little extreme, even for them,” Ceva mused out loud.

  “We should contact the King with an update,” Lothar suggested. She knew they’d have to tell King Leonidas that her family could be involved in this, but she wished she could put it off. The King was her friend, and she didn’t want to lose that.

  “I know my family is a danger and must be dealt with, but honestly my parents aren’t talented enough to create an ogre army. They just…aren’t. Either way, they must be dealt with immediately. If they were helping Penrod kidnap shifters, then they will have to be brought to justice.”

  “How do you feel about all of this?” Lothar was using a towel to wipe blood off her leg.

  “Long ago I’d known there would come a time when I’d have to go head to head with my family. That time is upon me,” she spoke with a sad finality.

  “We need to tell the team something. How much do you want them to know about your family?”

  “I’ll tell them everything. They have a right to know what they are facing and my part in all of this.”

  “Your part? You’ve had nothing to do with any of this.”

  “They’re still my family, and they’re causing all this damage, suffering, and pain.”

  “You’re not responsible for your family’s actions. You never were and you never will be.”

  “Unfortunately, not everyone will see it that way. I’ll be guilty by association. Their logic would be I share the same DNA with them so part of me has to be evil.”

  “I won’t allow it.”

  She loved his steadfast support, but it wasn’t realistic. “You won’t be able to stop it. Let’s go get this over with.” She wasn’t looking forward to what was coming. No matter how she explained it, there would always be those who saw her as dark and evil.

  Lothar helped her stand and put on a loose-fitting pair of pants, then picked her up and carried her outside and to Joseph and Rowl’s room. They gathered the rest of the team as she made herself comfortable in an oversize chair. Once everyone arrived, Ceva laid out everything in a frank, honest way. When she was done, she waited for the inevitable questions.

  “So your entire family are dark witches and wizards?” Rowl asked. “But you’re a white witch.”

  “Yes, I was a genetic mistake.”

  “You are not a mistake,” Lothar growled, making Ceva smile. He’d even protect Ceva from herself.

  “Can you turn into a dark witch?” Harrod asked.

  “No. I was born a white witch and will remain so for all my days.”

  “But your brother just tried to kill you,” Joseph said, looking confused.

  “And I tried to relieve him of his head, but I didn’t have the chance.”

  “You would fight your own family?” someone in the back asked. Since she was sitting she couldn’t see everyone’s faces.

  “Yes, without a second thought. They need to be stopped.”

  “How can we trust you?” the same voice from the back asked.

  Lothar stood and growled loud enough to rattle the glass in the front window. “You doubt Ceva’s honor and her loyalty to us? She fights by our sides and bleeds for us. She even saved your teammate’s life.
”

  “Easy, Lothar, it’s a valid question.” She motioned for him to come back to sit on the arm of the chair. “I’ve lived many of your lifetimes over and fought in many wars. Never once have I ever considered it, not even when I lay near death on the fields of Senfora or when tortured by wizards in the battle of Gahdri. All I have is my word and past acts to stand by. If you choose to leave, I’ll understand.”

  “No one’s leaving. We’re in this together,” Joseph stated. A heartening number of team members agreed.

  “We trust you, Ceva. I can see the goodness pouring off you,” Karli said before curling into Rowl’s arms. Ceva would keep her promise to the little Omega and help in any way possible to keep their triad together.

  Another cheer went up and the matter was settled. No one was leaving. Ceva’s heart lightened as she looked around the room. Maybe people knowing wouldn’t be as bad as she thought. But she was no fool and knew some people would be leery of her, but she could live with that if the people who mattered accepted her.

  “We need to contact the King and get back on the road. The sun is coming up,” she announced while trying to stand. Immediately, Lothar lifted her into his arms and cuddled her close. She had some serious explaining to do with King Leonidas. The need to protect his people must be at the forefront of all plans now because it was only a matter of time until her horrible family struck again.

  The one thing that bothered her more than everything else was not knowing what her family was doing with the wolf shifters they’d kidnapped. What could they possibly want with hundreds of wolves?

  Whatever it was, Ceva knew it wouldn’t be good, and the sooner she freed them the better.

  Chapter Five

  Five days later

  They were less than a couple days’ drive away from Ramsha Mountain and Penrod’s home. Ceva prayed she would find the missing wolves there. If not, the only other place to look was at her parents’ estate—the last place she wanted to visit. She’d had a run-in with them many years prior, and the disgust when they’d looked at her was palpable.

  They’d left her on the doorstep of a coven of white witches and never looked back. Not that Ceva wanted to be raised by a dark witch and wizard, but she always wondered what it would have been like to have parents. For the most part, the coven was good to her—there were those who were waiting for the other shoe to fall, for Ceva to turn dark—but no matter how well she was treated, the coven could never replace having her own family. Now she had the opportunity to have a family of her own, but did she dare take the chance?

  “What’s got you so distracted?” Lothar asked. They’d been driving most of the day and she’d hardly said a word.

  “Did your parents love you?”

  “Yes, of course.” The minute the words left his mouth, he must have realized why she had asked. “You are not responsible for them or any of this.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, most of the coven members were kind to me. They clothed, fed, and taught me, but there was always an undercurrent of fear. Like I’d suddenly turn dark or something.” Ceva laughed without any real joy. “There was one woman who actually refused to have anything to do with me because of who my parents were. I never knew if it was my parents specifically that she found so abhorrent or dark magic wielders in general.”

  “I’m sorry, beautiful. You shouldn’t have had to go through any of that. You should have been cared for and loved.”

  “I’ve learned if I wish for happiness, I must make it myself.”

  “You’re not alone anymore. You have me, and I intend on keeping you,” Lothar crooned with a smile on his face.

  “Keep me, eh? Am I a lost puppy you want to take home, Wolfie?”

  “Oh no, you’re all woman. Every inch of you.”

  “Okay, enough, the pheromones in here are choking me,” Joseph grumbled good-naturedly. Karli and Rowl nodded in agreement.

  Both Ceva and Lothar broke out laughing, dispelling her melancholy instantly. She looked around the vehicle. She had friends and she had Lothar. Her life had definitely taken a turn for the better. She just needed to convince herself to give it a chance. But what would she do if it was all ripped away and she was alone again?

  Her new family would soon meet up with her birth family, and all hell would break loose. As a child, she’d always wondered why her parents hadn’t killed her at birth, giving her false hope that they actually cared, but any hint that they might have fond feelings had long since washed away. Too many things over the long years had driven home that she meant nothing to them. Perhaps they couldn’t kill a baby. She dashed that from her mind, considering they’d taken their fair share of innocent lives already.

  In the end, what mattered most to her sat in this truck. Could she risk Lothar’s life like this? Would she allow him to go up against her brother and his powers?

  The answer was a resounding no.

  Lothar slowed and stopped the truck when he saw the first body lying on the road. Ceva jumped out and ran to the injured person, Lothar hot on her heels. They turned the woman over, and Karli screamed in shock. Rowl led her away from the sight. The poor woman was emaciated. Her skin looked like leather, her eye sockets were empty, and the body seemed to be shriveled. What the hell happened to her? Lothar scanned the area for threats, but to his horror, he found only more bodies, dozens of bodies strewn in a field as if they were garbage to be thrown away.

  “Ceva, remember the wizard who held Helena and the other Omegas hostage? He intended to drain them of their powers. Would this be the same idea?” Ceva had killed that wizard and she had nearly sacrificed her own life in the process.

  “This is more of a draining of life force, not powers. This woman wasn’t an Omega or witch, so there would be no powers to take. But in essence, it’s the same idea,” Ceva agreed.

  “Lothar, we may know the identity of the girl,” Rowl interjected as he returned with Karli under his arm and tucked close to his body, her Omega stone churning dark blue. Karli kept her eyes averted. Lothar couldn’t blame her.

  “How do you know who this is?” he asked; there were no identifying features left.

  “She was my neighbor. That’s her necklace.” They all looked down at the small hummingbird charm hanging from a gold chain around her neck.

  Ceva stood and immediately began another incantation. Lothar knew better than to interrupt her in the middle of a spell and waited. When she was done, she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

  “What did you do, beautiful?”

  “I made it impossible for any member of our team to be teleported away. I’ve shielded them from sight of any rogue spells. I can’t trust that Penrod won’t try to take the team. I’m kind of wondering why he hasn’t already tried.”

  Feeling mildly better about their situation, Lothar came up with a plan. “We need to bring in people to gather the bodies and prepare them for burial. I’ll call the King and ask him to send out a party for what’s left of these lost souls. We don’t have the manpower or time to deal with this properly right now. We have to stop Penrod.”

  Lothar leaned down, lifted the withered body, and carried it to the grass on the side of the road. He placed her under a tree and walked back to the group. “We need to keep moving. We need to free Penrod’s captives before he has a chance to do this again.”

  His statement was met with nods of agreement from each member, even Karli. He was surprised by the little Omega’s courage; no matter what they were faced with, she was right there fighting alongside them. She was definitely a fine match for Joseph and Rowl.

  Karli began crying as they walked away. Both Joseph and Rowl were trying to calm her, but their efforts were barely registering. “I’m sorry. I’ve been trying so hard to stay strong, but they have my parents. What if…what…if…they’re dead?”

  Lothar felt like crap. He’d completely forgotten that her parents had disappeared as well as all the people of her town. Everyone she knew may already be dead.

  �
��We’ll check each of the bodies with you just in case.”

  Almost two hours later they took an emotionally wrung-out young woman back to the truck and carried on with heavy hearts. Her parents weren’t there, but the sight of all those bodies wasted away, left to decompose on the side of a road, could never be erased from his memory. Penrod’s day of reckoning would be soon, and Lothar only hoped it was at his hands.

  “Why would they drain the life out of them and how?” Ceva asked no one in particular, as if asking the question out loud would make an answer obvious. “I’m even more convinced he isn’t working alone. He simply doesn’t have the power or intelligence. I have more power than Penrod, and the only reason he’s still alive is the fact that we can’t use our gifts against one another.”

  “Do you honestly believe what he said about working with your parents?” Lothar asked. He didn’t like the worry lines on her face.

  As Karli began shaking, Ceva turned in the passenger seat and sent out waves of calm that engulfed the truck. “I’m sorry your parents were taken. If they’re alive, we will find and free them. You have friends here that will fight for the lives of all those taken.”

  “Thank you. I may not have agreed with them about how my life was going to play out, but I still love them.”

  Her men comforted her, and she slowly began to calm. Ceva snaked her hand across the center console and placed it on Lothar’s thigh, obviously needing the contact. With everything they’d been through and still had to do, he needed that same connection. He knew he was in love with Ceva, but he’d been denying the full extent of it for so long that it felt cathartic to let the word float freely in his thoughts.

  In all his years, he’d never felt such a deep need for anyone. Now that all had changed. For the first time in his life, having a mate and a family of his own seemed a real possibility, and he was excited about the future in a way he hadn’t been in a long time. But there was no guarantee either of them would survive the coming days, and he didn’t want to go into the afterlife with anything unsaid, but he had no idea how to explain how he felt. He hoped they had enough time left for him to figure it out.