by Bryce Evans
Quinn glanced at the boxes and smiled. “You have a great eye for this, Jade. I can’t wait to see what you come up with next.”
“Well, I make jewelry too,” Jade added.
“You’re kidding.” Quinn’s eyes sparked with interest. “Well, come look at the counter I had made for the jewelry. I think I can get another counter built and add yours to it. Hey Fin, can you build a counter like that one?” She pointed.
“Sure can. Do you want it the same size, or bigger?” Finley asked.
“Bigger by a foot,” Quinn requested.
“You got it. I’ll need to go buy the wood, and I’ll do the work out back so I don’t get sawdust on anything.” Finley walked over and started measuring the counter.
“I have an account at the hardware store. Just tell them to put the materials on my bill,” Quinn told him.
“Okay, be back in a few.” Finley left, and she walked over to Jade.
“You going to introduce me?” Quinn asked, nodding toward the other people.
“Sure. Quinn, this is Maddox Brown, Paley Thomas, and her brother Rick Thomas. We’re the Outcasts; at least that’s what they call us.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you guys. Are you here to help Jade set up her stuff?” Quinn asked.
“Yes, and you too if you need it. We heard how you’re helping Jade, and we just wanted to come in and give you a hand if you need it,” Paley told her with a smile. They all looked like good people to her. She had the feeling that the four of them could use a good friend, and she planned on being that for them.
“I’m glad to have you guys here today. That counter and wall is where I want to showcase Jade’s purses, and if she’ll go get her jewelry then she can use the cabinet for that. Jade, you have carte blanche on how you want to decorate your wall. I’ve seen your taste and I love it,” Quinn told her. She watched as Jade smiled; that was exactly what she was hoping for.
“I’ll go over here and start on the clothes. See you guys in a few.” Quinn walked over to the clothes racks. She had a lot of stock out already, but there was still a pile of boxes that needed to be unloaded.
The day progressed quickly, and the more she got done the more excited she got every time she looked around. When she finished with the clothing, she started putting jewelry in the cases. She was sorting out the jewelry for a particular artist, and there was jewelry scattered all over the counter. Instead of picking it up, she used her magic to drag the bracelet she needed across the counter and into her hand. She bent down and put it inside the case just as one of Arden’s guards, who’d come in to relieve someone, charged over.
“You’re a witch?” the guard demanded.
Quinn smiled and nodded. “Yes, I’m a witch. Why?” She looked around, surprised at how scared the guard looked. Finley had paused in putting together parts to the counter he’d made; like her, he seemed to feel the tension in the air as the guard backed away from her, then pulled out his cell phone and walked outside.
“What was that about?” Finley asked.
“I’m a witch; I did some magic and I guess it freaked him out? But they’re wolves—they have to know about witches too,” Quinn answered, puzzled.
“Cool, I didn’t know there were witches! That’s amazing that you’re a witch,” Finley said
Maddox Brown walked up and set his laptop down on the counter. “Nobody told you about the Alpha’s dad, did they?” Apparently, Maddox had seen her do the magic too, but it didn’t seem to bother him.
Quinn lifted her shoulder in a half shrug. “Nobody has told me much, except ‘you can’t go here,’ and, ‘you can’t leave.’”
“Magic is forbidden in the pack. Maybe you should talk to Jade about it. The Alpha has a past with a witch.” They all turned their heads as they heard the truck skid to a stop in front of the store.
Arden and Bane strode inside and looked around until their eyes fell on her. Arden’s eyes turned yellow, and as he approached, Maddox slowly bowed his head and backed away. Finley and Quinn both stood their ground.
“You’re not a witch, are you?” Arden asked. She could hear the disbelief in his voice.
“Yes,” Quinn answered, and Arden and Bane both backed up a step. “What’s wrong with that? You’re a wolf, and I’m a wolf now, but I’m also a witch. My whole family is witches and wizards. So what?”
“Leave us.” Arden ordered. Everyone complied except Finley. “That means you too, wolf.”
“What are you planning on doing with Quinn?” Finley asked, stepping closer to her. So quickly that Quinn didn’t have time to move, Arden jumped on top of Finley and knocked him to the floor. He’d been standing so close that he hit her too, and they all landed in a heap.
Arden had his claws out and wrapped around Finley’s throat. “I’m the Alpha, pup. If you have a problem with that, we can either settle this outside, or you’re free to join another pack, but you won’t be challenging my authority again.”
“Finley, I’m fine. Please stop, Arden.” Quinn’s worry for Finley came through in her voice, and she could tell Arden didn’t like that either. She didn’t care, though, because right now he was judging her for being a witch. Nothing seemed to be going right since she moved to this town, and she’d had enough.
“You’re the Alpha, but I won’t stand by and watch you hurt her because she’s a witch. She hasn’t done anything wrong.” Finley’s voice was controlled, but his eyes flashed with fury.
“It doesn’t matter, Finley. He’s not only a controlling asshole, but a bigot, too. I knew I should have kept driving past this town and found another place to settle. I felt like something was calling me here, but now I know it was a mistake.” Quinn shocked them both as she jumped up and headed out the back door.
She walked outside to find the guard who’d called Arden standing in front of the stairs. “I need to get up to my apartment.”
Before he moved he gave her a dirty look and muttered, “Witch.”
She didn’t know why, but the fact that he was calling her that like it was an insult made her explode. “Son of a bitch!” Quinn yelled, then attacked the guard. Before she was aware of what she’d done, she had the guard on the ground with his hands behind his back.
Arden, Bane, and Finley ran outside and found Quinn on top of Jacks. “Don’t you ever call me that again like it’s something for me to be ashamed of. I’m not ashamed of being a witch any more then you should be ashamed that you’re a wolf. You idiot.”
Arden and Finley pulled her off, and then Arden grabbed Jacks’ neck and lifted him off the ground. “You dare to touch my mate?”
“I swear. Now I’m his mate?” Quinn stormed up the steps and slammed the door behind her.
*****
Bane slowly approached Arden. “Alpha, let’s find out what happened first, before you do something you might regret.”
“What did you do to her, Jacks?” Arden demanded. His body was vibrating with rage, thinking that one of his guards had hurt Quinn. He lowered Jacks to the ground as he gasped for air.
“I never touched her, Alpha. I swear. I didn’t know she was your mate. I wouldn’t hurt a woman. I did call her a witch, but I swear that was all. Then she jumped me. Never seen a wolf move that fast except you and Bane,” Jacks answered, rubbing his throat.
“She jumped you?” Bane asked with a chuckle.
“Hey she’s strong, and fast. I hate to say it but your mate got the best of me. Had me on the ground before I knew what was going on. I shouldn’t have said that to her, anyway. She didn’t do anything except show me kindness since I got here today. She called in lunch for us and everything. But when I saw her do magic, it...it scared me. It made me think of your dad, and what happened to him. I’m sorry, Alpha.”
Arden inhaled deeply, calming his wolf down. He’d reacted before he knew what was going on. That wasn’t like him, and he knew it was the mating pull and not being able to touch her. “You can apologize later; first I need to calm down. Bane, make sure sh
e doesn’t leave until I can talk to her. I‘ll be back later.”
Arden took off his clothes and left them on the stairs, then shifted and ran off into the woods. He knew where he needed to go to work this out. It didn’t take him long to get to the old house where his father and mother had lived. The house was falling apart a bit, but it was still beautiful. His mom had put in a lot of work into the yard, planting flowers everywhere. He would sit beside her and help her put flowers into the pots that sat on the front porch.
The house was built for his mother; she’d wanted a house that looked like something from the Victorian age. The house was painted white, with huge columns in the front. A huge porch that wrapped all the way around the house, with lots of rocking chairs where the pack would gather when they had cook-outs. But nobody ever came here anymore, because of what had happened.
Arden shifted and went and sat down on the front steps. How could his mate be a witch? Was this some type of sick joke? He remembered what his dad had said to him when he found out the young girl had killed herself; he said that it didn’t matter what you were, everyone had problems. But she’d wanted to be a wolf desperately, and that disturbed his dad. Apparently she hated being a witch. Arden remembered her watching them all the time, enthralled by how the wolves acted around each other. She’d liked that they were always hugging each other, and she wanted a family like that. But his father couldn’t have turned her even if he wanted to. The Council only allowed human mates to be turned.
“My mate is a witch, Dad, how do you like that?” Arden chuckled, a little bitterly, as he looked up at the house. He sighed. “She’s already everything to me, but she scares the hell out of me. How can that be? Magic? My mate can do magic, Dad. I wish you were here. I could use a huge dose of wisdom right now.”
Arden could feel the cold breeze blow across his face as he closed his eyes. It almost felt like his mother’s hand when she would calm his nerves. Anytime he got angry or in trouble for something, his mom would touch his face as he closed his eyes. “I hope that’s you, Mom. I think you’d like her. She reminds me of you, and how strong you were. She doesn’t take anything from anyone, including me.”
Arden sat like that for a couple of hours, thinking about what to do about Quinn. Lord, the woman had a temper, but so did he. And she was a witch. How could he live with a witch, knowing what one had done to his dad? He needed guidance, and even though his parents weren’t here, he could still feel them as if they were.
He still loved this old place; he wished they could fix it up and use it for something. The roses were still growing all around it. Arden knew what he needed to do. Giving in wasn’t in his nature, but like his mom always said, ‘Sometimes you have to give a little, baby boy, and let others help you lead.’ Quinn would be a great leader, he thought. Right now she needed to spread her wings and get her store off the ground, and that’s where he needed to be to help her. So now it was time for him to face the music—and man, did he hate that. He wanted to stay and hide a little longer, but he’d been gone for a while and needed to get back.
Arden rushed back to town. It was already getting dark outside. Most of the wolves were hidden, patrolling the property, except for his Beta. Bane was sitting on the steps like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Well, did you get it worked out?” Bane asked as he puffed on a cigar.
“Somewhat. I ran for a while, and that helped.” Arden put his clothes back on and sat down beside him. “Has she come back out?”
“Nope, but I could hear her banging around up there and cussing you like the mangy dog you are,” Bane said with a grin.
“Mangy dog, eh? Wow, she knows she’s a wolf now too, right?” Arden said jokingly.
“Yeah, but I think it was you specifically she was cursing.”
They both sat silently for a while until Arden asked, “What would you do, Bane, if you found out your mate was a witch? Like the one person who destroyed your family?”
“If the fates had given me a witch, bear, or a mangy dog, I guess I would accept it, because they do that for a reason. Maybe she can help you. I don’t know, to be honest, but I know she’s your mate and you need to respect that.” Bane didn’t mince his words. He was blunt and to the point—often with a joke mixed in, but he always made sense.
“Guess I need to go and talk to her.” Arden sighed, but didn’t move from the stairs. “Did you send Jacks home?”
“Yeah. I thought since he got put on his ass by the Alpha’s mate he needed a break, but he wanted to apologize to Quinn. I told him maybe tomorrow, and to go home and get some rest in the meantime.” Bane explained as he blew smoke rings in the air.
“Good.” Arden got up and started up the stairs, then turned around. “You should’ve seen her, Bane. Man, she had him on the ground with his hands behind his back before he knew what hit him.”
Bane and Arden both started laughing.
“Guess it’s my time to get put on my ass.” Arden walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.
He was either going to drive her away, or she would understand why he’d been so upset to find out she was a witch.
Chapter 7
Arden knocked on the door, but as he did the door swung open. He needed to fix that. “Bane, get me a tool box so I can fix the lock on this door,” he called down. Opening the door up, Arden looked around the room and found Quinn sitting in a rocking chair, watching him.
“Your door came open. I’ll fix it for you.” Arden said, then walked in and sat down across from her. “We need to talk, Quinn. I think you need to know why you being a witch freaks everyone out.” He waited for a response, but didn’t get one.
He sighed, and started explaining, “When I was very young and my father was the Alpha of the Dixon pack, he was approached by the daughter of a local witch. She was just seventeen years old, but apparently she hated being a witch because they never loved on her or appreciated her in any way. She would sit and watch all of us, and you could tell that she was desperate for any attention. She didn’t make it a secret that she wanted to be turned, but it’s against our laws to turn a human unless he or she is mate to a wolf. Then the Alpha informs the Council, and they bring a representative down to witness the turning. As you’ve found out, it can be very painful and some have even died. The representative will make sure that the human is one hundred percent on board with this.
“When Tabitha Ross turned eighteen years old she approached my father and asked him to turn her. She said that her mother didn’t love her, and she wanted to be in a pack like the wolves were. My father felt sorry for the girl, but he couldn’t grant her wish. He tried talking to her, but she just started to cry and left. Nobody heard from her or saw her again until a week later, when her body was found hanging outside our house. She’d got on pack land somehow, using magic to mask her scent, then she tied a rope around her neck and jumped from the tree.
“She left a note saying that it was my father’s fault. That was all her mother needed, the name of someone to blame. Instead of realizing that her daughter had problems and she’d contributed to those problems, she focused on getting revenge. So in her sick mind she conjured up a spell, and sent it to my father—to make him kill his only son while in wolf form. She hated my father and wanted to punish him, and in her view it made sense to take away his only son.
“The day the spell took effect, his Beta—Bane’s father, Tex—was walking by the house and heard my mother screaming. My father had shifted and tried to attack me, but my mother could see something was wrong with his wolf and intervened. She protected me, but my father killed her while trying to get in the door. Tex called out to the other guards, and they subdued him until they could figure out what went wrong. The witch had to be on our land to cast the spell, so the guards tracked her down and locked her up. When they called the Council to tell them what had happened, the Council sent the Death Hunters. Since my father had killed my mother, he was put to death right along with the witch.”
“Why would the Death Hunters do that, knowing that your father was under a spell? It wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t in his right mind.” Quinn finally spoke, sounding shocked.
“It didn’t matter to them, because he’d killed my mother. My father was distraught. When they killed the witch it broke the spell, and my father was inconsolable. I lost both of my parents because of a witch, and the pack lost their leaders. They loved my mom and dad, and I had to grow up early. Tex ran the pack until I was old enough to take over. But I made a vow that no witches were allowed in our community, and we’ve never had one since, until you showed up.”
“You have to know that there are good witches and bad ones, just like with wolves and every other being on earth. You’re judging me for something I didn’t do and never would. How is that fair? I didn’t choose to be a wolf, and you just accepted me and Finley like it was nothing, but the fact that I’m a witch as well makes it different?” Quinn stopped rocking and stared at him.
“Did you not hear the story?” Arden asked.
“Yes, Arden. Did you not hear what I just said?” Quinn got up and stood in front of the chair. “What do you expect me to do? Pack up and leave because you’re scared?”
Arden jumped up. “I’m not scared, Quinn, but you need to understand how we all feel.”
“So I’ll ask again, what do you want me to do?” Arden could see her hands shaking as she waited for his answer.
“Quinn, you’re my mate, but you need to realize that the pack isn’t going to be so understanding. Some may try to challenge you, and you’re not ready for that. You’re strong, but not strong enough, and I don’t want to see you get hurt. Just lay off the magic around the pack, until—”