Deceptions

by Isabelle Arocho

  There was no magic as we fought animalistic. I was careful because he was still stronger with more years of training than me. But I had rage on my side, I was personally invested as I wanted him to suffer for scaring Jamie and threatening my parents.

  We entangled in each other both trying to get the upper hand. I felt his long nails scratch at me as we wrestled on the grass. When I got the upper hand my jaw closed around his neck as I pinned him. His warm blood ran down my throat with a bitter taste. He clawed at me again down my back that time. I jumped away before he could go too deep.

  His neck was bleeding heavily but he wouldn’t die from it, I wasn’t that lucky, but it was enough to send him running. If he risked continuing the fight then he would die. He was a smart fighter and he knew when to run. I knew he’d be back again and again until one of us didn’t get up.

  The adrenaline quickly ran out. I fell on my side to the grass as everything at once started to burn and hurt. Before I ran out of energy I shifted back to human form and lifted the extra barrier from the house. I closed my eyes in hopes to tune out the pain.

  In seconds Caleb was at my side, Mikey not far as I heard him ask, “What the hell is she?”

  Chapter 9

  I woke up wishing I hadn’t, as soon as I did every inch of my body hurt. The living room light was harsh and forced me to keep my eyes closed. I knew I had passed out and that I was laid out on the sofa. It was one of the few times I wished the vampire virus had fully taken, they healed faster.

  I took a deep breath and told myself to suck it up. I opened my eyes and found four sets of eyes watching me. Mikey and Jamie wore wide eyed confused expressions while Caleb and Jared stood back without much of an expression at all. “Hi.” I said, sounding awkward. My eyes crossed in protest as I tried to move into a sitting position. I remembered I was naked from shifting and held the sheet tight around me as I inched up on the armrest.

  Caleb sent Jamie upstairs to wait until I felt up for questions, which I was sure she had tons. He also sent Mikey to watch her. Jared stared at me in a way that left me feeling uncomfortable. “It was stupid to go out there.” Caleb said to me.

  “No, I knew what I was doing and trust me he’s hurting a lot worse.” I explained, meeting his blue eyes and hard expression. “I bit him. I don’t have all vampire traits but I have that one, I can track him now and you can find out who hired him.” I planned to get some sort of blood sample from the warlock earlier but I hadn’t factored in shifting. I had to be ready for anything when the warlock returned. There was still something I had to do.

  “You’re a vampire!” Jamie screamed, apparently Mikey couldn’t keep her upstairs. She was upset and scared as she joined us all in the living room again. “Is anything you ever told me the truth?” I winced at her question; it must’ve been what Michael wondered.

  “Leave her.” I said to Caleb. “I never lied to you. I just never told you the whole truth. Remember what we talked about today? He went too far when he bit me and had no choice but to change me so I wouldn’t die. The virus didn’t fully take because I wasn’t human to begin with, something he didn’t know and he still doesn’t. You want the truth?” I asked her and glanced at the others.

  I sat up more and explained to them how I came to be. It was nearly a hundred years ago, the magic was nearly perfected now. The supernatural world was nothing new. They didn’t find it strange to meet; the Navajo skinwalker and the American witch. They fell in love and learned their children inherited the best of their worlds. They were powerful magical beings that could also take the shape of many different animals.

  A skinwalker would have to use the skin of the animal he desired to shift into but the new race shifted at will. They were better and stronger than anything either had seen before. The couple struck an idea and the Magisterial Malia Coven was formed, Malia being short for Animalia.

  We weren’t publicized like the vampires or rumored like the werewolves and the witches, we were a secret society. “I’m a risk being away from them but perhaps my parents trust I wouldn’t betray their secrets. If any of the Elders found out I told someone any of this I’d be dead. I’m a skinwalker witch that got too close to a vampire and now I can do some stuff they do but I don’t feed off blood.” I met Jamie’s eyes. “You’re the first person I’ve ever told.” She meant something to me, the young girl that was too smart and too lost at the same time, the girl I saw myself in. I wanted her trust, I wanted her to understand.

  Her anger faded but confusion was still present when she turned away to the staircase. Mikey followed, leaving me alone again with Caleb and Jared who moved closer to me. The intense predator look still laced his eyes as Jared kneeled in front of the sofa. “You smell like us since you shifted.” I didn’t know Jared and that meant I didn’t trust him. I said and did nothing as he moved his face closer to my neck, inhaling my scent.

  “Jared, enough.” Caleb demanded.

  Jared sat back on the floor. “It’s too bad that vampire got ahold of you.” he whispered as the look in his eyes became something like lust.

  It scared me and I looked to Caleb for answers. “Jared, go relax outside.” He said flatly to his wolf. “It seems he likes you now.” he added once we were alone.

  I laid my hand over my eyes, the light was still harsh. “I don’t want to be liked.”

  He pulled the coffee table closer and sat down. He ran his hand softly down my black and blue arm and explained just how hurt I was. “There’s ugly scratches up and down your back and your sides. Your arms and legs have bruising and swelling.”

  I opened my eyes and turned my head toward him. “Everyone saw me naked.” I was mortified.

  Caleb smiled, it looked like that wasn’t what he expected to hear. “Wolves are used to it.”

  “Well I’m not.” I wrapped the wool sheet tighter around my chest.

  “How long has it been since you’ve taken an animal shape?”

  “I ran away from home when I was fifteen, it was a few months before that. The Coven is a small village with miles and miles of surrounding forest. No one knows we’re there it’s so empty. I used to like to run there for hours.” The images became crystal clear while I remembered. I could still smell the trees. “It was the only time I has happy there.”

  “Is that why you like to stay away from the compound, memories?”

  “And angry wolves.” I said joking because I didn’t like how easy it was to be honest and serious with Caleb, it was a complete turn around from just two days ago.

  Jamie saved me from thinking of what to say next as she sat in the other sofa. “So what other animals do you turn into?”

  “I inherited the wolf and coyote but I knew a girl that liked to go fishing as a bear.” She smiled and I knew she was ok with what I was, that our relationship wouldn’t suffer for my silence. Jared stepped back inside and I felt myself blushing. Men like him caught me off guard. I was bruised and bloody, what was there to like?

  After Michael I swore off all men mostly because I was still in love with him and the heartache was too much on top of all my troubles and lies. The female devil in my head reminded me Jared knew what I was and I wouldn’t have to lie about it. Plus he was a gorgeous man. I needed to go home and get back to my routine as soon as possible. I swung my feet to the floor.

  “What are you doing?” Caleb asked.

  “Going to get dressed.” I said as if it was obvious. “Give me some credit I can walk up a few stairs.” I gave him attitude. I wasn’t part of his pack for him to be telling me what to do. He still sent Jamie with me to make sure I didn’t make my wounds worse.

  Chapter 10

  Mikey and Jared were gone by the time I made it back downstairs. It hurt like hell when I walked but the more I did the faster I got used to the pressure stinging along my body. I felt Caleb was somewhere near but I didn’t see him. I grabbed my phone off the coffee table and sat on the sofa. I took several deep breaths, nothing was going to make the
call any easier.

  “Hello?” the deep male voice on the other line answered.

  Tears rushed to my eyes. “I need to see you. It’s important and lives are at stake.” I didn’t let any emotion show in my voice, it was easier that way with him.

  There was a long pause on the other line before his voice spoke tightly. “Tomorrow noon, at the meeting grounds.” He hung up.

  I blinked and tears rolled down my cheeks. I held the phone tightly as hope faded away, hope he’d be different. “Dad.” I groaned and slammed the phone down beside me. “Are you busy tomorrow at noon?” I asked Caleb, still not seeing him until he stepped out of the hall. “I won’t be here to stay with Jamie.”

  “You shouldn’t go back there alone.”

  “It’s safer if I do and if they wanted to kill me they would’ve sent someone to do the job by now. I will be dead meat if I take an outsider with me. You asked me for my help so you have to trust me enough to believe I know what I’m doing.” I was upset, I didn’t have time to try and explain why he should listen to me or get into some argument. I stood from the sofa and something started to become clear. “Whoever paid that warlock to come after you will send someone else.”

  “Most likely.” There was probably nothing I could say that Caleb already hadn’t thought of; he never left any stone unturned. If he was worried he didn’t let it show.

  “If you have an idea or a plan I think you should tell me what it is, since I have my ass on the line.” I left the sofa and walked over to him. Was I challenging the Alpha wolf? Maybe.

  “Watch it, Evangeline.” His mouth was in a thin line, his arms cross over his wide chest. His blue eyes looked on fire at the push I gave his buttons.

  “Just tell me what I want to know.”

  “There’s nothing to tell. Everyone is doing their part to find out who would be the most likely threat.”

  “It can’t just be anyone or someone even in town. The Coven is about five hours away and for the person to know the warlock they’d have to be involved in something heavy. I doubt the person knows what he hired to go after you, probably just figured he was a strong witch. Piss off any witches lately?” Whoever was coming after Caleb wasn’t playing by the rules, they should’ve at least made an offer before striking to get what they wanted. They were going to use Jamie as leverage; they wanted something from Caleb and not his dead hot body.

  “I haven’t pissed off anyone lately.”

  “I find that hard to believe.” I walked away and sat back on the sofa. My cellphone began to ring and a quick glance at the caller ID revealed a certain someone’s name. It wasn’t uncommon for Michael to call but lately I knew it wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. I chickened out before. I couldn’t do it again. “Hi.”

  “Are you busy?”

  I knew what he wanted; to continue the conversation I ran out of. “I sort of walked into a wall a few times and I’m in no condition to go anywhere.”

  “Why are you doing this for him?” Michael asked, even over the phone I felt the anger in his voice across my skin. I could imagine how tight his fists must’ve been.

  It was awkward to have Caleb standing right there being able to hear both sides of the conversation and he didn’t seem to be moving. “It’s not about him, it’s about her. Jamie is innocent, she can’t fight this guy and I can. I thought you knew me better than this.”

  “I don’t know you at all, Evie. The girl I knew was what you wanted me to see. Was any of it real?”

  I closed my eyes. “You were.” I hung up the phone and again tossed it down next to me, the shorts I was wearing didn’t have any pockets. I sat there for a minute collecting my emotions before I stood. “Goodnight.” I left Caleb in the living room and went upstairs to lie down. I certainly wasn’t going to talk to him about the call.

  Jamie was still awake when I stepped into her room. “You can’t sleep on the floor,” she said. “you’re hurt.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “The guestroom is two rooms away, if something happens you’ll be here to save me. But I really think nothing is going to happen.”

  “I don’t want to chance it.” I had a sleeping bag rolled out along the empty space in front of her bed, out of the way with enough space to walk around.

  “Is it because the room is next to my dad’s?”

  I tossed my pillow down on the bag and gave her my confused look. “What does that mean?”

  “You’re weird around each other.” She said, shrugging.

  “It’s the vampire thing.” I laid down with a sigh and I realized painfully I over did it downstairs, everything hurt much worse than when I first woke.

  Jamie peered over the foot of the bed. “It’s more than that.” she stated. “I think it’s sexual tension.”

  I laughed so hard it turned into a coughing fit. “You need to lay off the dramas. I barely know your father. Now get some sleep because I think the lack of it is getting to you.” Jamie didn’t protest, she turned off the light and it was over. I laid in the dark thinking about she said, why she would say it. I didn’t feel much toward Caleb and certainly not any lustful feelings.

  I lay there tired and sore but not sleepy, I was wide awake. The thought of seeing my father again after so long was scary. I knew it wouldn’t be easy; he was disappointed over the phone and in person it was going to be much worse. After an hour and getting no closer to sleep I stood from the floor and walked over to the window. My eyes drifted to the lawn where the fight had taken place.

  A part of me was relieved the warlock forced me to use my powers, that I didn’t have to hide anymore. I missed being able to be myself without fear but I would never miss life at The Coven village.

  The footsteps creaking up the stairs pulled me away from my river of thoughts. I listened as he walked down the hall to his bedroom. I waited a few minutes before turning away from the window. I looked at Jamie as she slept, she wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon. I moved over to the door and silently opened it.

  I felt more comfortable downstairs, feeling something like a watch dog that wanted to be near the front door.

  Chapter 11

  My body betrayed me and woke up as if it was time to go to work. I wanted to sleep some more but again I couldn’t. I sat up on the sofa and realized I wasn’t the first one awake that morning. I walked into the kitchen and found Caleb at the table reading the newspaper. It didn’t surprise me at all to learn he was an early riser.

  He pushed a chain across the table. “We found this outside yesterday after the fight.”

  I picked it up. “The family pendant. I forgot to take it off but then again I thought we’d be fighting on two legs.” Mentioning my animal shape caused the alpha to tense. I realized I was a new animal in his territory and that could be a problem. “Is that going to be a problem, some weird shapeshifting girl living down your street?”

  He laid the paper down and looked at me with those serious blue eyes. “Not if no one else finds out but if they do, they might challenge you and a lone animal lives a hard life.”

  “They shouldn’t be able to tell, you didn’t.”

  “That was before last night.”

  “And now?” I was growing worried. I already had vampires against me because they believed I should be eliminated for not completely turning. They felt something had to be wrong with me.

  “I know it’s there, the unique scent you carry is the animal part of our soul. Since you let it run free it’s reawakened and now a very present part of you.” he carefully explained.

  “Because you saw me do it but no one else is going to see me turn into anything.” I looked down at the pendent at my hand. The clasp was broken from popping off my neck when I shifted. I closed my hand around the chain and it was as good as new. I put it back on.

  “Jared smelled the wolf on you, anyone else could just as easily.”

  “I just have to stay away from your kind.” I said, walking away back upstairs to
get ready. I knew it wouldn’t only be the werewolves that could tell the animal scent on me, the vampires knew how to sort out different scents too. I couldn’t take back what happened last night and like with my magic, I didn’t want to. Shapeshifting was a part of who I was too.

  With Jamie still asleep I carefully took my bag from her room and went to the bathroom. I washed up and pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a white buttoned dress shirt. I couldn’t go see my father looking completely disrespectful. I combed back all my hair and tied it up. There wasn’t much more I could do, that was as good as I was going to look. My face held a long cut across my cheek and the surrounding area was bruised. I didn’t hurt as much but the fight was visible.

  I went back downstairs to get rid of a few nagging questions in my head. “That envelope Michael asked me to give you and the meeting on the rooftop. That doesn’t have anything to do with this, does it?” I asked Caleb in the kitchen.

  “No, it was an agreement. There hasn’t been any trouble in town in the last weeks. The fact it happened on the same night is a sheer fluke.” He explained sounding confidant, I believed him. Michael nor Dominic would never use a child to get business done.

  “Well, I have to get going, it’s a long drive.”

  “You shouldn’t go alone.”

  “I shouldn’t do a lot of things but I’ll be back if that’s what you’re worried about.” I turned around and left the house realizing he was worried and it left me feeling strange because he wasn’t the type I saw being worried for me. I wasn’t used to anyone worrying about me anymore.

  The Coven village was a five hour drive. I had planned to go as far as possible when I ran from home but they would’ve expected that. When I arrived in Celestin I decided it was the place for me. I never left or looked back.

  The long drive gave me idle time to think and what I thought about, feared mostly, was the reaction I’d receive from my father. I thought about my mother, she had always been a strict woman with an iron hand. If it was possible she was scarier than my father. I loved my parents and I’d die loving them but I didn’t like who they were or how The Coven life molded you into something dark.