Strange Lake Falls Witch

by KD Jones

  She leaned over to whisper into his ear, “I can think of a few things with handcuffs, a blindfold, and whipped cream.”

  Rod and Robbie laughed.

  Jay closed his eyes and moaned. “You do realize that they have werewolf hearing?”

  She shrugged her shoulders and laid her head on his shoulder. “If they don’t like hearing that stuff, they need to learn to tune it out. I can’t help that you are my sexy wolf and get me hot for loving.”

  Jay chuckled and kissed her, leaving her breathless. He yelled to Rod, “Step on the gas, brother. I have a female that needs to be satisfied.”

  Cat giggled as she nuzzled Jay’s neck. God, how she loved this man. Love...she was completely in love with Jay. She felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought. What if he doesn’t feel the same way about me?

  Chapter 18

  The next afternoon

  “I don’t like this,” Jay complained.

  Cat sighed as they walked into the local library. “Jay, just about the whole pack and Adrian’s vampires are watching the library. We’ll be fine.”

  He grunted his displeasure as he opened the door for her and Granny. It was Saturday and they were meeting with potential new members for their coven. They sent out fifteen invitations to individuals in whom they sensed untapped magic. The goal is to eventually have thirteen full members but in a town as small as Strange Lake Falls, it would be hard to get that number.

  Thirteen has been a magical number for witches for centuries. Some covens could comprise of thousands of members but it didn’t necessarily make that coven more powerful. Their previous coven had started with thirteen but when they were kicked out only had seven because some of their members had died from old age.

  Cat walked up to the librarian’s desk and smiled at the woman behind the desk. “Hi, we reserved the study room for three-thirty.”

  The librarian typed something on her computer. “Yes, you’re in room three. Let me show you where that is.” She stood up and came around the desk, eyeing Jay and Rod with interest.

  Cat made a noise that almost sounded like a growl. Back off, he’s mine! She had never been so possessive over anyone before.

  The woman was pretty with brown hair pulled up in a bun and big blue eyes framed by glasses. She seemed shy but with twin sexiness like the brothers, any woman would have a hard time not drooling over them. Cat just didn’t want her drooling over Jay.

  Jay wrapped his arm around Cat’s waist and pulled her closer to him. He bent down to whisper in her ear. “Don’t worry. I’m not interested in anyone but my beautiful red-haired witch.”

  That made her feel good to hear and also a little embarrassed that he noticed her jealousy.

  “Right this way. It’s the last room on the left. Is there anything I can get for you?” the woman asked, looking at Rod before blushing and looking down.

  Rod gave her a flirty smile and leaned on the wall next to the door. “I’ll let you know.”

  Granny moved forward and reached for the librarian’s hand. As soon as Granny touched her, Cat could see and feel a spark. Oh...the librarian has magic in her.

  “I’m Mabel James and this is my granddaughter, Catherine James. ”

  The librarian pushed her glasses up her nose. “I’m Alice Wilson.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Alice. I think we could use your help with our little project. Do you have time to go over things with us?

  Alice bit her bottom lip. “I am due for a break. What kind of project are you working on?”

  Granny walked into the room with Alice. Cat blocked the doorway to keep Jay and Rod out. “You guys can’t come in here.”

  Both of them looked put out. “Why not?”

  “This is a coven initiate interview and needs to be done in private. The people we’re inviting may not react well to finding out that magic is real. If that happens, we’ll have to cast a memory fading spell to protect the magic.”

  “I still don’t understand why I can’t come inside there,” Jay grumbled.

  She smiled reassuringly. “We’ll be done in two hours at the most, depending on who comes. You and Rod can check out the library and make sure it is secure.”

  “Fine.”

  Rod punched his brother in his arm. “Come on, brother. I’ll check the second floor while you check the ground floor.”

  Just as Jay was turning to leave, Cat pulled on his shirt to bring him to her. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

  He lingered, holding her. “What was that for?”

  “I love you,” she blurted out. Crap! Why did she do that? This wasn’t the time or place or how she wanted to do this. She had been planning a romantic dinner where she would wear a sexy dress, and afterward she would put on music so they could dance. Then, she would tell him what was in her heart. Not this way, so bluntly and out in public. She started to pull away but he pulled her back into his arms.

  “Say it again, honey.”

  Cat looked up into his handsome face and said the words she felt in her heart. “”I love you, Jay.”

  Jay closed his eyes and a look of joy came over him. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Cupping her face with his large hands, he responded. “I am in love with you, too.”

  “Really?” Her heart was beating so fast and her nipples were hard little peaks.

  “Yes, but the timing…” He sighed as he pulled away just a little.

  “I know. I wanted to make it special for you, not something I blurted out in public.”

  He lifted her chin with a finger. “Hey, you telling me that you love me is special no matter where we are. Tonight, we will do this differently, though. A dinner and making love, then we can discuss our feelings as we hold each other.”

  She smiled up at him. “That sounds like a plan.”

  He leaned down and kissed her once more before letting her go. She entered the small room and had to get her mind off Jay and his sexy body. Tonight, she would show him exactly how much she loved him.

  *****

  Jay couldn’t help but feel warm inside from knowing that Cat loved him. His wolf was beaming inside and anxious for the day to end so that their night could begin. His mind was filled with all the delicious things that he planned to do to her later.

  “Stop thinking about your mate naked,” Rod said, coming up behind him.

  Jay smiled smugly. “I can’t help it. Cat’s sexy.”

  “Yeah, she is.”

  “Hey, keep your eyes and mind off my mate.”

  “Does she know she’s your mate?”

  “I plan to claim her tonight. I just told her I loved her.”

  “Man, you really have it bad.”

  “I do. I just can’t stand the idea that she’s in danger.”

  “The whole pack is behind you and you know I will always have your back. I’m happy for you, Jay. You deserve love.”

  “Thanks.” Jay and Rod had always been close and he was glad to have him there to help protect Cat.

  Chapter 19

  Cat looked around the room at the six people who came out of the fifteen who had been invited. Actually, ten people had come, but only six of them remained. She bit her bottom lip, feeling worried.

  She looked at their initiate candidates. They included the librarian Alice Wilson, Dr. Brandon Potts from the hospital, retired postal worker Jefferson Tate, a sixty-five-year-old Mrs. Irene Sanders, an eighteen-year-old senior high school cheerleader named Tina, and Rachel Flowers, the secretary for the mayor of Strange Lake Falls.

  Granny came over to her and whispered quietly in her direction. “Don’t worry so much.”

  “We only have eight counting you and me. We were hoping for thirteen.”

  “Eight is a good number. It represents power and will aid in strengthening the coven’s power.”

  “I guess so.”

  “We have two men who will bring a balance that we never had in our old coven. This will work. I just know it. I need to run to the bathro
om. Could you give them their initiate homework and set up two more meetings for all of us within the next two weeks at the cabin. I want to build up their skills and prepare them for the blue moon ritual in four weeks.”

  “Okay. If you see Jay let him know we’ll be getting ready to leave soon.”

  Granny smiled at her. “I know the two of you need to spend some time alone. Should I spend time at the pack house tonight?”

  Cat felt heat rise to her cheeks. “Of course not. I was going to cook dinner…” Granny made a sour expression. “Well, I was going to have you help me make dinner, then maybe we would take a walk in the woods.”

  “How about a pot roast?”

  “That sounds wonderful. Thank you.”

  Granny kissed the top of her head. “It’s no problem, honey. I’ll be back.” Granny walked out of the room.

  Cat addressed the new initiates and gave them their assignments, which involved reading the history of magic and witchcraft. The cheerleader wasn’t too happy about it.

  “Seriously? I have homework? I get enough of this at school,” Tina crossed her arms over her chest in protest.

  “Tina, I understand if you don’t want to learn about magic and how to tap into your natural powers. We’ll understand your decision to leave the coven.”

  Tina frowned. “If I leave, you’ll do that memory thingy and I’ll forget about my powers, right?”

  “Yes, we would cast a spell that would keep you from remembering our meeting. All you will know is that you came to the library.”

  The teen bit her bottom lip, thinking about her options. “Fine, I’ll do the homework.”

  Cat smiled and handed each person the piece of paper with the list of different reading materials. The librarian tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I can pull these books to the side to reserve for our group. I think we only have one or two copies of each book, so we’ll have to share them.”

  “Thank you, Alice, we appreciate your help. All right, that’s all for today. Thank you for coming and we’re looking forward to training you.”

  Cat stood by the door and shook hands with each person as they left. She then went to gather all the materials and straighten the room. She sat down as she waited for Granny to return. A bad feeling began growing inside her.

  She stood up and went out into the main part of the library. She saw Jay on the second level walking around checking the security. Rod must be outside helping the others guard the library.

  She waved at Jay as she headed toward the bathrooms. “Granny?” she called out. There was no answer. She checked the bottom of each stall, looking for feet. No one was in there. Granny was gone. She felt a panic rise up inside her. Cat had to get Jay.

  Just before she reached the door to the bathroom, something purple near the window caught her eye. As she moved closer, she realized it was the same flower she had seen out in the woods before the vampire attacked her. As she reached for the flower, a piece of paper underneath began to glow.

  Cat pulled the piece of paper out from under the pot holding the flower and unfolded it. The paper looked blank, but as she stared at it, words appeared.

  “If you wish to see your grandmother alive, you will carry the flower pot. No one will be able to see or sense you as long as you are holding the flower. Leave the library and cross the street to the park. You have exactly five minutes.”

  The letter immediately dissolved in the air, like the flash paper magicians used. She only had five minutes. Fuck! What should she do about Jay? The flower was enchanted with the cloaking spell, which was why they had not sensed the vampire. She had to go. She had no choice if she wanted to keep Granny alive.

  Picking up the flowerpot, she moved to leave the bathroom. Jay was at the study room looking for her. He didn’t see her. No one saw her as she walked closer to the doorway. As she passed the front desk where Alice was sitting, she whispered a spell.

  “Videre audi...see, hear.”

  Alice glanced up and looked at her questioningly but Cat didn’t say anything as she walked out of the door. No one from the pack even glanced in her direction. She kept going and when she reached the road, she ran across, worried that she was taking too long. If Geraldine was determined to kill her, then she would have no problems taking Granny out. She prayed the spell she cast took and that Jay would find them in time.

  Chapter 20

  Jay growled as he barged into the bathroom, looking for Cat and her grandmother. They both had disappeared. His wolf was furious and wanted to be let loose to find their mate. A woman coming out of the stall shrieked at the sight of him.

  “What the hell are you doing in the women’s bathroom?”

  Jay ignored her and searched the rest of the stalls and sniffed the air. She wasn’t there. He stormed out of the bathroom and made his way to the entrance of the library. He shoved the door open.

  “Rod, have you seen Cat and Mabel?”

  Rod shook his head. “No. I’ve been standing here with the pack spread out circling the library. They haven’t come out of the library. We would have seen or sensed them.”

  Alpha Lucas came over. “What’s wrong?”

  “Cat and Mabel are missing and no one has seen them.”

  The library doors flew open and the librarian came running out, looking panicked. “Hey guys! You twin boys!”

  Jay and Rod turned to stare at the petite woman. “Did you see where Cat and her grandmother went?”

  “I only saw Cat as she was walking out of the library.”

  “How long ago?”

  “Ten minutes.”

  Lucas shook his head. “We would have seen her.”

  “That’s what I said,” Rod agreed. “We’ve been out here the whole time.”

  Jay turned back to Alice who was ringing her hands nervously. “You say you saw her. Did she say anything to you?”

  Alice bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know...she whispered something. One second she wasn’t there and the next I could see her walking out the door.”

  “Maybe it was a spell she cast so that only the librarian saw her,” Lucas offered.

  Alice perked up, “I think that’s right. The words I heard her whisper--Videre audi-- were Latin for see and hear.”

  “That’s how come you could suddenly see her,” Jay added.

  “Yes but it’s more than that.” Alice closed her eyes and gasped. “When I close my eyes, I can see what she sees. I can hear what she is hearing.”

  “Where is she?”

  “The south side of the park. She’s holding some kind of purple flower.”

  “We need to go,” Jay motioned to the park across the street. He was already pulling at his shirt to take it off and shift.

  “Wait, we can’t just go off blindly when there is a vampire out there being controlled by another witch,” Rod tried to reason with Jay.

  Lucas pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Adrian to see if he found out anything about how this vampire under the witch’s spell is going to be a problem.”

  Jay growled in frustration. “Alpha, I have to go. Every second counts here. She’s my mate and she’s in danger.”

  Lucas nodded his understanding. “Go and take the rest of the wolves with you. I’ll bring the female…”

  “Alice — my name is Alice,” the librarian offered.

  “Right, I’ll bring Alice since she is connected to Cat. Do not engage the vampire until Adrian and the sentinel arrive.”

  “I won’t, unless her life is threatened. Anyone who hurts my mate will die.” Jay ran in human form across the street, followed by five others in the wolf pack. As soon as they were in the woods, they shifted to their wolf form.

  “Find our mate!” his wolf whispered.

  Jay agreed with him. He would do anything and everything to protect Cat.

  Chapter 21

  As soon as Cat was in the park, something reached for her and whisked her in warp speed away from the library...away from Jay. When they finally came to a sudden stop
, her head was spinning and she had a hard time catching her breath. She closed her eyes to try to stop the spinning.

  “Catherine...I see you’re still alive despite my lover’s many attempts,” a woman’s voice said close by.

  Cat opened her eyes and waited as they came into focus. “Geraldine, I can’t say it’s good to see you again.” She looked around for her grandmother and found her lying on the ground, not moving. “What have you done?” She rushed over and knelt on the ground next to her, checking for a pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief that Granny was still alive. Her hands were tied behind her and something was stuffed in her mouth.

  As she reached to free Granny, the vampire grabbed Cat and lifted her up in the air by the neck. She couldn’t say a word because she was nearly strangled. She tried to hit the arms of the vampire to get free but she was no use against his strength. When she stopped struggling, his grip eased up enough so that she could breathe. She looked in the vampire’s eyes and was surprised to see sympathy and turmoil. This vampire was as much a victim as she and Granny had been.

  “Why…” She couldn’t get anything else out.

  Geraldine walked over to Granny and glared down at her. “I should have been made leader of the coven decades ago. I was the stronger of the two of us. Leader Cadens was a fool. She claimed that I couldn’t be trusted with the responsibility of a coven.”

  Cat agreed with this Cadens person. Just look at what Geraldine had done.

  Geraldine continued her tirade as she walked around Granny’s body. “I thought I could break Mabel’s spirit by stealing away the high school boy she thought she loved. I seduced him easily only find out later that Mabel had been in love with his brother whom she married and had a child with. I needed time away so for twenty years I traveled all over learning all I could so that I could come back take the coven that was meant to be mine.”

  “Mabel’s daughter had gotten knocked up and died giving birth to a child that would far exceed Mabel’s powers. I bided my time trying to take Mabel down. Her husband’s financial woes were my doing. Unfortunately, every spell intended to hurt came back to me, leaving me financially strained as well. My age also added to problems so I sought out ways to extend my youth and that’s when I met Leopold. He didn’t want to have anything to do with me at first so I had to cast a spell on him. I made him give me his blood and I put a spell on the exchange to help keep me young and beautiful. I had to keep the spell going and that drained me magically. I needed the full moon powers to rebuild what I once had and I needed to be the coven leader.”