Blood Of The Cursed

by BrittanyAnn Robinson

Droplets of blood began to flow through the air, and into the bowl. After they were satisfied with the amount of blood that filled the bowl, they switched their chant up.

  “Invenire primum est ut mutavit.Invenire primum est ut mutavit.”

  At this point there were a couple other witches who had been standing against the back wall, they began to chant with them. I do not speak Latin, but I’m guessing this is the part where they’re trying to locate the originally infected werewolves.

  With all of the power flowing through the air, it has given me goosebumps. I look around at everyone else, and they have goosebumps as well. The men stood closer to the cages, in case the containment spells fail while the witches are concentrating on the other spells. The witches finished their chanting, and everyone besides Sybil and Amora went back and stood where they were before, against the wall.

  “We were able to locate the first Werewolves to be infected.” Amora said, with hope.

  “Hell yeah!” I shouted louder than expected.

  Of course, everyone let out a little laugh at me. I could tell they were all feeling the same exact way that I was.

  “So where are they? We can leave right away.” Finn spoke up.

  “That’s going to be a little bit of an issue. We know where they are, but they are going to be hard to get to. We were able to find out that they are in the plains in Minnesota. We were only able to narrow it down to a fifty-mile radius. And out there, fifty miles might as well be a hundred. They’re located South West of Luverne. We got a glimpse of them, and you need to hurry. They are only a couple of days from dying. I’m surprised they have lasted this long honestly.” With a sense of urgency, Sybil and Amora started to pack up.

  “I’m sorry that we can’t give you a more accurate location. We will let the local witch coven up there know you are coming. Maybe they can be of assistance to you when you get there. Also, you can take care of these two now, they will no longer be needed. Poor creatures.” She said as she shook her head and gestured to the vampire and werewolf who were still trying to ram their way out of their cages.

  With that, the witches were gone.

  “Scarlett, it’s time you head back to the house. Fill your mother and everyone else in on the news. Looks like we will be headed to Minnesota tonight. We will finish up here and be to the house as soon as possible.” Barret ordered. I wasn’t even going to argue. Not this time.

  Rhett walked over to me. “I love you, baby. We will be just a few minutes behind you. I love you.” He kissed me on the lips.

  “I love you too. Be careful.” And with that, I headed to talk with my mom.

  Getting back to the house, I began to fill my mother and Athena in. Athena was pissed that she wasn’t here for all of it, but she had to work. They were just as shocked as everyone else at where the originators were.

  “This whole thing is just freaking insane. Twenty bucks says that Rhett won’t let you head to Minnesota with them!” Athena laughs.

  “Twenty bucks says I’m going to go anyways.” I stuck my tongue out at her.

  I love her. She can feel just how worried I am, and she is trying to make jokes to lighten the mood.

  A little while later the guys show back up at the house. They were covered in dirt from head to toe.

  “Okay, it’s time to head home. Barret, we will meet back here in a few hours to head to the airport.” Knowing Rhett was in a hurry, I rushed to say goodbye to my parents and Athena, then headed to Rhett’s Jeep.

  After we got on the road, I waited a few minutes before I started a conversation.

  “So I’ll pack us a bag when we get back to the house while you jump in the shower. You fucking stink.” Pinching my nose closed.

  With a low growl, Rhett laughed. “Nice try, but your ass is staying home.”

  “That is not happening. If you think so, you’ve lost your damn mind.” I said, raising my voice.

  “This is one thing I’m putting my foot down on. Not just as your mate, but as your Alpha. I can’t go out there with my head on right if I’m worried about you.” There was worry but also authority in his voice.

  “Rhett Jameson. I swear if you try to push your Alpha authority off on me again like you just did, I will beat your ass so bad you will still feel it a month from now.” Raising my voice.

  “Scar, you can get as mad as you want, but you’re not going. Throw a fit, I don’t give a shit. I’d rather you be at home and pissed at me, then laying in a fucking field and dead!” He growled.

  “I swear you act like I can’t protect myself. Did the members of your pack challenging me, and me winning not prove anything to you?” I yelled back.

  “You are so damn hard-headed woman!” That basically put an end to the conversation. I had nothing left to say. I couldn’t go even if I tried. Not with Sir ass hole using his Alpa authority on me. We rode the rest of the way home in silence.

  As soon as the Jeep slowed almost to a stop, I bolted out, slamming the door behind me.

  “Seriously Scarlett?” Rhett yelled. I didn’t care if I broke the window or not. I was pissed.

  I stormed into the house and walked by Hazel.

  “Your brother is a douchebag.” And I kept walking. Up the stairs and into the bedroom, slamming that door also.

  Rhett and the guys walked into the house and I can hear them filling Hazel in.

  The bedroom door opened and Rhett walked in. “Listen, I know you can take care of yourself. I know that you can fight. But like I said on the way home, I can’t focus when I’m worrying about you. I really can’t. Your safety means more to me than anything. And with the visions that Sybil had of us, I don’t want to chance anything. So please, understand where I’m coming from. I love you, and I would die if anything happened to you.” Rhett pulled me into a hug.

  Taking a deep breath. “You’re right. I just hate you being out there and me sitting at home not knowing what the hell is going on. I can’t help protect you if I’m not there. I get what you’re saying, but it still doesn’t make it any easier to sit here. Please go get in the shower, because you stink. I’ll pack your bag for you.” I pushed him towards the bathroom.

  “You mean you don’t love my stink? I thought we loved everything about each other?” He laughed and shut the bathroom door. That man is going to be the death of me. I’ll stay home and play a good housewife, this time.

  I pull out my phone and text Athena. “I owe you twenty dollars.”

  12

  Saying goodbye to Scarlett was hard. She made me feel bad about her not coming, but at the same time, she could tell me she hates me and I still wouldn’t let her come.

  “Scarlett sure wasn’t happy that you wouldn’t let her come huh?” Finn teases.

  “Screw you.” I shake my head.

  We hurry to get to Barret's house so we can get to the airport. The ride to the airport was still a little drive from there. When we get to the Baraga packhouse, Barret and Dakota were packed and walked out to us. Finn, Jackson, and Dakota all were squeezed in the back, and Barret took shotgun.

  “Bro, the gas pedal is on the right. I can’t breath between these two back here.” Jackson whined. The rest of us laughed at him.

  “Shut it, I’m going as fast as I can!” I said, still laughing.

  “On a serious note, we need to fly into Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It’s the closest airport to where we need to be. From there we will drive into Minnesota and start our search. Sybil called me after you guys left and said that she was able to get the local coven there to help us. Sybil said that they should be able to do a simple spell that searches out werewolves. Shouldn’t take us long to find them after that.” Barret told us with confidence.

  We all sit back and are quiet for the rest of the ride. Barret may seem confident, but I know that he’s just trying to keep our hope alive. There’s a big chance that we either won’t find them, or we won't find them alive.

  After reaching the airport, we didn’t have a long wait before boarding our
plane. It was only a couple hours after we got in the air before we reached Sioux Falls. After we touched down there, we got into a rental truck.

  “Well, at least I can breathe now.” Jackson said quietly. Making us all laugh. It was late in the night now, so when we got into Minnesota, we got a few hotel rooms. We didn’t want to go far from the border because we didn’t want to end up out of the way from where we needed to be to find the originators.

  Morning came too soon. We didn’t even get five hours of sleep. We could sleep when we get back home though. We had to find them. After we packed back up into the truck, Barret spoke.

  “I talked to Vivi from the local coven and she is going to meet us in a half-hour. She said that they did a spell and they found three different locations in the area where there are werewolves.”

  “Alright. Well, while we are waiting we might as well grab some breakfast. I’m fucking starving and I’m not wolf hunting unless I have food. Jet lag is a bitch.” Finn piped in.

  “Great idea. Barret, let Vivi know that we’ll be at a local diner. She can meet us there and then we’ll discuss which locations we need to drive to. I’d like to get a move on right after we eat.” After finding a diner down the road from the hotel, we all made our way in and found a booth to sit in. Luckily it was large enough to accommodate all of us. Everyone made their orders and the waitress brought our food a short while later. I couldn’t myself, I had to get a breakfast burrito and some pancakes. The food smelled heavenly and made my stomach growl. My wolf growled right along with it. Shut up man, I’m working on it, I told him.

  By the time we scarfed down our food, Vivi arrived. She was the High Priestess of their coven. She wasn’t all that old either, so she must be quite powerful. She was quite tall, long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, thin, and wore a black floor-length dress. And like any other witch, she was loaded with earthy jewelry. She even had a flower crown on. Typical hippie witch. I’m not even surprised anymore seeing these witches.

  “Vivi, thank you for meeting us here today. Not to rush our pleasantries, but we’d like to get right to business. We have a lot of ground to cover it sounds like. I don’t want to leave my mate at home without me for too long.” I held out my hand for her to shake.

  She shook my hand and smiled. “I understand completely, I’m glad that I can assist. I normally would have sent one of my coven sisters to assist in an occasion like this, but when I heard that you were friends of Amora’s and Sybil’s, I wanted to take this matter into my own hands. They are good friends of mine and I want to make sure you men are taken care of properly. The Eternal Light Coven has worked with Sybil on many occasions as well as Amora. Anyway, let’s get to it.”

  I scooted over so she could sit down and continue our discussion. She pulled out a map and circled three locations where we needed to look.

  “Looks like we will be looking in Brandon, Canton, and Rock Rapids. Those areas are where the original cursed wolf and vampire were last known.” She pointed to the map.

  “Good. Looks like we are only a few miles from Brandon, Minnesota. Let’s get going. You could ride with us, Vivi, or you can take your car.” Barret said.

  “Oh don’t worry about me. I can meet you anywhere. Looks like you guys have a full-ride anyway. I’ll meet you in Brandon, Minnesota.” She said as she got up and walked outside.

  “Well that answers your question, doesn’t it Alpha.” Jackson slapped my back and started pushing me out of the booth.

  “Jackson, I’m going to leave your ass here.” I chuckled.

  I left the waitress a good tip and we left the diner and loaded into the rental truck. I typed the directions into the GPS and then we were off. I looked in the mirrors to see if Vivi was behind us, she wasn’t. What the hell? There’s no way she took off that fast. Witches.

  It was a short drive across the border into Minnesota and to our first destination. We pulled over alongside the road by the sign that said “Brandon, Minnesota”. Vivi was there, standing off the road on the other side.

  “So, are we supposed to just shift and then what. Run through miles and miles of woods? I think we will tire out before finding anything. That’s like chasing our tails. There has to be something better that we can do.” Jackson made a good point. We hopped out and walked over to Vivi.

  “Before you ask how we find them, I’ll just go ahead and tell you that there are wolves in these woods about a mile behind us.” She said matter of factly.

  We all exchanged looks and nodded. We then all shifted into our wolves. It felt so good to let my wolf free. He was very happy being able to shake off the weight of not being able to shift much lately. He felt free.

  “I’ll be right behind you boys.”

  I nodded and then we ran off behind her into the woods. Normally on a run, we’d be having a little fun, but not in this case. Instantly I picked up a scent. It smelled like death and illness. Good. This shouldn’t be too bad. I hope.

  We ran and ran. The scent grew stronger and stronger. We finally came up to a small clearing. There was a tiny cabin sitting in the middle. A small pond sat in front of the cabin. The wind blew a strong scent my way. All of us cautiously made our way up to the cabin. Finn and Jackson ran behind the cabin, Barret and Dakota went inside. I checked the surrounding areas outside. The smell of sickness was in the air. I kept walking and soon found a bunch of decaying werewolves, who clearly had the infection. After chalking my search up to a loss I ran back to the cabin, noticing that Vivi was standing outside by the pond, staring into the water. Still weird. She must be able to just magically teleport anywhere. The rest of the guys were inside the cabin, just sitting in the middle of the cabin.

  Looks like there’s not much here. It smells strongly of sick wolves, but that’s about it. Finn said through the pack bond.

  I found the bodies of decaying wolves that carried the disease. Those were no help. I don’t know if any of them were the original sick wolf or not. I don’t know how we’ll know when we find him. I said back to everyone.

  Vivi walked inside. As if she could read our minds she said “You’ll know when you find the wolf and vampire originally cursed with the sickness. Their stench will be the most foul. It will stick out of all the rest of the smells that you may come across. I don’t sense them either. I’ll know if I see them. Their presence will be very strong. I’ll meet you back at the truck.”

  We nodded and started running back towards the truck. When we got back, of course Vivi was there. We shifted back to our human forms and got dressed.

  “Okay, so the first destination was a bust. Next, we head to our next closest destination, which would be Canton. It looks like it will be in the middle of nowhere. Again, Vivi, we will need your guidance.” I said before taking a huge drink of my water.

  “Yes. I will be there.” She smiled.

  “Alright then. Let’s go guys. The trip looks to be about forty-five minutes away.” I said as I opened the door to the driver's side and hopped in.

  The ride was silent. I think everyone was disappointed that we came up with nothing the first search. I feel the same way. It’d be too easy if we found what we were looking for the first go around. We got to Canton, Minnesota and it was a ghost town. If you blinked while driving through, you’d miss it. There was a closed-down factory, a post office, and a gas station with a small grocery store attached. There was only one stoplight in the middle of town. Everything was deserted. I pulled us up to the gas station, we got out and stretched. There was a loud sound of a bell from one of the doors, it was Vivi walking out of the gas station.

  “These places have been abandoned. But not for long. I’m guessing the infected species chased out anyone living around here. Or killed them.” She said sadly.

  “Before we run off anywhere, especially off in the woods. Let’s look around these buildings first. Search in wolf form that way you can your smell is better. Barett and Dakota, take the factory. Finn and Jackson, take the post office. I’ll search the gas stat
ion and store with Vivi.” I said to the guys.

  They nodded and shifted. Taking off in their given directions, I stayed with Vivi and we wanted inside.

  “I believe you may find something here. The presence of the cursed is strong here. It makes my skin tingle.” Vivi said quietly.

  Everyone, keep on your toes, pay close attention to your surroundings. Vivi says she feels a very strong presence here.

  I shot Barret a quick text, letting them know as well.

  “I sent them a warning through the bond. If there’s anything here, they’ll find it.” I informed Vivi while walking through the gas station and convenience store. Everything was destroyed. Shelves ransacked and shit all over the floor. Nothing left anywhere to salvage. I checked the bathrooms in the back of the gas station. Empty.

  “Nothing in here whatsoever.” She said turning around and heading outside. I followed behind her.

  Rhett! Get over to the factory! NOW! We’ve got the vampire!!!! Finn yelled through our bond.

  “They found the vampire at the factory, let’s go!” I said to Vivi and then took off running towards the factory. Once we got closer we could hear hissing and shrieking. It was ear-piercing even from right outside the building. I told Vivi to stay behind me as we entered. It was dark, except for the few spots where the sun peered in from broken glass. The factory smelled empty and old.

  “Back here, Rhett!” Barret yelled with strain.

  I ran to the back of the building and opened a door. All the guys had a vampire pinned down to the ground. Careful not to bite him or get bit so they don’t get infected.

  “Holy shit that thing is wicked looking. Vivi, can you do something to put him to sleep?” I asked in a stressed voice.

  “Yes.” She walked up to the vampire and raised her palm out to the creature and said the same thing Sybil and Amora said to the first wolf we captured. “Somnum”. The vampire went limp. The guys backed off.

  “Here’s a bag with some clothes guys, shift back now so we can tie him up and load him in the back of the truck. One down, now we need the wolf.” I said to them as Vivi and I turned our backs and walked out of the room.