Down the Dirt Road (The Dirt Road Series Book 1)

by Livell James

  “I am the Warlock of the McClane coven; I am also on the Council. I have heard the charges against you, Marcus Valentin, and I find you guilty. You have been trying to destroy this pack for years, but we’ve been unable to step in. Dragon Blood taints your soul now. I have called for the enforcers, and you will stand before the Council and accept your fate.”

  “Lucas, you are the next in line for Alpha of the Valentin Pack. If your pack mates agree, they need to break the bond with Marcus, now. He cannot be allowed to hold that power any longer,” Edwin advised still holding Marcus with his magic. “If they choose to stay with Marcus as leader, they will be taken down with him, and the Valentin pack will be destroyed.”

  Lucas looked around the yard; every member of the pack was there. Danica and Emily were off to the side, holding on to each other. Noticing the bruises on both women made Lucas want to fight his father all over again. Eric, Dylan, and Macon were still standing guard, making sure no one left the circle. Flynn was back further, just as bruised as the girls. Lucas could see the tears in the man eyes, and it broke a part of him.

  Lucas knew Flynn would take Marcus’ betrayal personally. He was the Omega, it was his job to calm the pack and keep it together, but Marcus had never let him. It would take time for Flynn to recover from what was happening. Lucas was astonished when Flynn was the first pack member to step forward.

  “I, Flynn Valentin, Omega of the Valentin, denounce you Marcus as my Alpha and sever all ties.”

  Lucas watched as Marcus started screaming, the pain of the bonds breaking as one after the other repeated the same saying. When it came to his and Matt’s turn, they chanted the saying together, using their power as one for the first time in their lives.

  “We twins, born King Alphas of the Valentin Pack break all ties by blood and by bond to Marcus, former Alpha of the Valentin pack.”

  Lucas felt the bonds break, feeling freer than he had ever felt, but then something else started to happen. New bonds formed in his body. He felt Eric, strong and formable, Danica’s sweet and loving nature, Flynn’s warmth and calm, Dylan and Macon’s protectiveness, and even Emily’s sass. He felt them all, then he felt Matt. Just as strong as himself, but wary.

  “The pack has chosen,” Edwin’s voice boomed over the yard. “Lucas Valentin, you are the new Alpha of the Valentin Pack. Guard them well.” Edwin raised his staff and spoke words Lucas didn’t understand. Marcus was screaming his head off, threatening every one of them with revenge. Seconds later, it was all quiet, only the pack remained; Edwin and Marcus had disappeared.

  Lucas looked around, not knowing what to do next. The pack had chosen him to be the Alpha. Matt once again reclaimed the spot at Lucas’ side.

  “You know this isn’t over yet. If Marcus can find a way, he’ll be back and gunning for you and Kaylee. Edwin is strong, but Marcus has been playing this game for a long time. If he’s able to fool the Council, he’ll come after all of us.”

  Lucas looked out at the pack. They had all come closer, and he knew he needed to say something.

  “You have chosen me as Alpha. I will give all of you one chance to rescind your bond without repercussions. We have a fight coming our way. The guardianship must still be honored and the Ostara must proceed, but Marcus sold his soul. We need to find out to whom because they will be coming, and we need to be prepared.”

  Emily tried to step forward, but stumbled, so Danica helped her. “His Master is Bane Walker,” she said crying, “he did this to me. He wants the Blue Moon Priestess and all her power. Marcus told him how to get it.”

  “Fuck!” Lucas yelled. “Eric protect the pack, I need to find my mate.”

  “Your mate?” The pack all echoed back to him.

  “Kaylee,” Lucas yelled over his shoulder, “the Blue Moon Priestess is my mate and Alpha female to this pack. She must be protected at all costs!”

  Kaylee had been waiting at the door for Lucas to come back. When she saw him coming into the yard, she ran to him, jumping into his arms.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, babe, I’m fine, but we need to talk.”

  Kaylee hated those words. She could see the worry on Lucas’ beautiful face and wanted to take it away.

  “Tell me.”

  “I’m Alpha; my father has been banished, taken to the Council. He was taking Dragon’s Blood.” Kaylee looked at him funny, she didn’t have the first clue what he was talking about. “I’ll tell you about it later. Babe, we need go to the pack house. It’s bad, but I can’t leave them or you alone right now. My maker is after you. Now, with Marcus gone and out from under his control, he’ll retaliate.”

  “I’ll do whatever you need, whatever we have to do.”

  “Congratulations, Alpha,” Grandma Ruth said, walking out into the yard. “It’s about time you took your rightful place.”

  Both Kaylee and Lucas were startled at her words, but didn’t have a chance let them sink in.

  “This is how it was always meant to be,” she shocked them even further. “Marcus was destroying the pack, but until you decided to take his place, there was nothing any of us could do, Lucas. You need to know what’s coming, what you have to prepare for. You have a brother, his name is Atticus. He is a hybrid just like you, but he’s stronger. He’s been training for this day his entire life. With the black magic running in his body, he’s Bane’s biggest accomplishment and yet, his biggest rival.”

  “What?” Kaylee and Lucas questioned.

  “Atticus belonged to another pack from Mississippi, but was also lured to New Orleans by Bane who turned him the same way he turned you, Lucas. Only Atticus accepted Bane’s bargain.

  “Bane is nothing more than a ruthless vampire feeding off young guys on the dirty streets of New Orleans,” Lucas said. “Why would anyone go along with what he offered, give up their very soul?”

  Lucas remembered all the times Bane had tried to summon Luc. Over time, he was able to resist. He had become stronger, and with the help of Ruth, they had found a way to block his pleas.

  “Not everyone is like you, and I can’t answer for Atticus. What I will tell you is his time of reckoning is coming. He’ll need to make a choice, but that’s his story to live and to tell if he so wishes.”

  “Everything is like a fucking riddle,” Kaylee screamed. “Why can’t it just be black and white with an outcome we can fight or prepare for? There are so many what ifs and if onlys, it makes my head spin.”

  “I know child,” Grandma Ruth hugged her close, “but there is no other way. The fates have a plan, and we’re just along for the ride.

  “Go to your pack, help them heal, and enjoy life while you can. We only have days until the ceremony. I will come to you, Kaylee, to prepare you the best I can, but your focus needs to be on the pack and building your life with Lucas. That will be your greatest strength.” Grandma Ruth walked away, leaving Lucas and Kaylee alone, holding one another.

  Kaylee looked up at Lucas and said, “Ready to introduce me to your family?”

  Lucas smiled, “Anytime, babe.”

  Chapter 18

  Kaylee was still in a state of shock four days later as she looked through the McClane family’s grimoire. It was more than just a spell book, it was a history of the family. Kaylee knew on the night of her Ostara, she would be blessed with the knowledge inside the book, but that was hard to take in. One day she would be completely human, well not completely, and the next she would be a witch with all the powers and knowledge to go along with it.

  That’s why it was important for all the family members to attend. Any knowledge gained would be passed down through the Mother Goddess to the recipient. This time, the recipient would be Kaylee. It also explained that although she would retain the knowledge of the entire McClane Coven, she would have to learn how to use those skills. Her Grandmother had been talking her though some of the simpler ones, but Kaylee felt inept and clueless. It was frustrating; without her magic, everything was just hypothetical.

 
“You can read and learn all you want,” was Grandma’s simple answer to her frustration, “but without hard work, comprehension, and skill, none of it will mean anything in the end. It’s your choice to complete the tasks and travel the road you have chosen. I can give you the basics, but the rest is up to you.”

  Kaylee had also figured out her Grandma Ruth hadn’t exactly been ignoring her training all these years. When they started discussing the herbs and plants within the book, Kaylee was already well aware of them—what they looked like, what they smelled like, and the legend behind them. It had been a game for years between the two of them and without the special tea clouding her mind, much of those memories were coming back to her.

  But there was still a part of her which couldn’t believe all of this was happening. She wanted to yell and scream, maybe even freak out a little, but that wouldn’t do any of them any good or change the facts. Lucas was a Hybrid, Grandma Ruth, the High Priestess, her Grandpa a Warlock, and Kaylee, she was going to be the Blue Moon Priestess. A witch with immense power. Damn. It all scared the shit out of her.

  She had been reading for a few hours and came across an entry in the book which spoke to her above all others. You will never understand how much power and information is forced upon you. It is overwhelming, life altering, and scary. I have been preparing for this day my entire life, and yet, nothing I learned or practiced came close to reality. I cannot help but question if this is right. Why has the Mother Goddess chosen us to carry this magic? Why are we so special? Rebecca McClane.

  As if the grimoire had conjured her from Kaylee’s thoughts, her mother was standing in the doorway, looking like she always did, completely composed and polished, not a single blonde hair out of place in her stylish bun. Her pantsuit pressed to perfection and her makeup impeccably placed on her smooth, wrinkle-free skin. The only unusual thing about her mother was the way she was wringing her hands together as if she was nervous. She should be, this was a long time coming.

  “Kaylee?”

  “Hello, Mother, what are you doing here? Come to watch me fail or is it that you think I may choose the path my father did? My, surprisingly, alive father” Kaylee asked shutting the grimoire and pushing the book out of her way, not bothering to get up. There would be no warm hugs or kiss on the cheek as she had done with Grandma Ruth when she arrived. No, Kaylee just leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for her mother to speak.

  “Your Grandma called and said you needed me. So, I came.”

  “No, she didn’t, but that’s probably because I told her not to invite you.” Kaylee watched as her mother flinched at her words. There was a small part of her which thought she would get some satisfaction by hurting her, like Kaylee had been hurt, but she didn’t.

  “Kaylee, listen, you don’t understand, things were different for me. I just wanted you to experience a normal life before all this took hold,” her mother said, waving her hand at the book on the table.

  “All this, you mean my heritage? Or the magic?”

  “Kaylee, please, I just wanted to see how you were dealing with it all and to support you through your Ostara.”

  “With it all, hmm, do you mean that my entire family, which up until a couple of days ago consisted of you, me, Grandma, and Grandpa, now includes multiple cousins, aunts, and uncles? Or are you asking how I’m dealing with the fact the man I love is a hybrid Were/Vampire? Oh, wait, don’t answer that because this is an even better question. Are you asking how I’m dealing with the fact my own mother lied to me, made me think there was something wrong with me, sent me to doctors, put me on medications, all because of the legacy she gave me at birth? Oh no, wait, how about that you insisted my own grandmother drug me and bind my powers, so I could lead this so-called normal life? Feel free to answer any of those questions mother, I would be really interested in your answers.”

  Her mother sighed, but walked into the room, taking the seat across from Kaylee at the table. “I never wanted you to fail, Kaylee, never that. I just wanted you to have a choice.”

  “A choice? I don’t know, Mother, according to Grandma Ruth there are really only two choices, light or dark.” Kaylee sat there for a minute and then realized what her mother was talking about. “You didn’t want me to have a choice, you wanted me to deny this part of me, didn’t you?” Kaylee accused. “That’s why you sent me to all those doctors, made me take all those pills, you wanted me to stay human.”

  “Kaylee, one thing you’ll find out with age is that you are not infallible, you’ll make mistakes, some of them small and some you can’t apologize enough for, but you’re right. I wanted you to deny this part of you. I thought if you didn’t realize what was going on, your twenty-fifth birthday would come and go, like any other day.”

  “How could you? That wasn’t your choice to make, Mother, it was mine. You made me feel like I was crazy that there was something wrong with me. Didn’t it even occur to you that I had absolutely no friends? Or the only time I was happy was while I was here? Of course, you didn’t because work was more important than I was, your normal life, the life you wanted me to live. Only difference was you got to make your choice, didn’t you?”

  “Kaylee, you’ll never truly understand, and I can’t make you, but when you were a child, the magic you already held scared me. You were so powerful even then, and I knew if I didn’t do something about it, those powers would only grow.”

  “Oh, I get being scared, Mother. I feel like I’ve spent most of my life that way.”

  “Kaylee, you were always so strong, not like me. I knew when you turned eighteen, I needed to step back and let you make the choices in your life. I couldn’t let my fears rule your life.”

  “Oh, please, you’re going to act as if just up and leaving your only child was a hardship or a choice to make my life better? Get real, you hadn’t even taught me how to balance a checkbook or buy groceries so they lasted through the week. What you did was run. Seems like you’re well-skilled at that, according to Grandma.”

  Her mother got up and started pacing. Kaylee figured she would leave soon, but was surprised when she started talking while she walked back and forth. “You know, you’re so much like him. He was just as bullheaded and argumentative.”

  “Who, my father?”

  “Yes, James,” Kaylee’s mom said with a little smile, “you’re just like him. So stubborn and so damn strong. He’s the reason your powers came in so early. Did your grandma tell you that? His family doesn’t wait for the twenty-fifth birthday, they start ceremonies at birth. I wouldn’t let him do that with you, but it didn’t matter. He told me it would, but I didn’t believe him. I was so stupid and naïve back then.

  “He was so sure you were going to be this amazing witch, that you would lead our people into the next generation. That our family would be different that our love for each other and for you could conquer everything.”

  “Grandma said he tricked you, spelled you into going with him, being with him?”

  “Your grandma has always wanted to believe in fairy tales, but I made choices. Choices she didn’t agree with. It seems like each generation is plagued with that, aren’t they?”

  Kaylee didn’t answer, she knew her mother didn’t expect her to. “Tell me about him then, give me that much. You’ve always said good things about him, said he loved me, but nothing more.” Kaylee realized something. “You loved him, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I loved him very much.”

  “I don’t understand, Grandma…”

  “Your grandma doesn’t know everything, Kaylee, just like I don’t know everything about you. I wasn’t spelled to be with your dad, I wanted him from the start. It was only after you were born that our problems started. He had started working with dark magic and it took him over. He did some things, things which scared me, and I tried to leave. He took measures to prevent it.”

  “So, he did compel you?”

  “Yes, but the spell was easily broken. He actually made
you the key.”

  Kaylee gasped. “By the tears of my sweet girl,” she mumbled.

  “Yes,” her mother smiled, stopping in front of the table. “He made you his counter spell, every single time.”

  “I want to meet him,” Kaylee stated emphatically.

  “Kaylee, he won’t see you. I don’t know the whole story, but things happened when he left with you, things which scared even him. He’d always been fearless. The last time I saw him, he was weak. Whatever happened during that time broke him.”

  “Then we need to help him.”

  “He won’t accept it, Kaylee, like I said stubborn and strong. So, did I hear you say you have a mate?”

  “Mom, listen, I realize we’re getting things out in the open and talking, but I don’t know if I can just forgive everything which has happened. Everything you have put me through. We’ve never been close, so I’m not going to discuss my mate with you now.”

  “I get that, Kaylee, I just,” she paused, then continued, “the Ostara ceremony means a new beginning for you. I was hoping it could be a new beginning for us as well.”

  Kaylee wanted that, but there was just so much hurt left in her. “Maybe, Mom, maybe.” It would take time, but she hoped they could build something from here. Her mom wanting to help with her transition to a witch was a start. Admitting to being scared and all the past hurts also helped, but only time and effort, on both of their parts, would heal the wounds of the past. Kaylee just hoped her mother didn’t run again, like every other time.