by Bethany Shaw
“Stay back,” he grumbled as he pushed her further backward while keeping his eyes on the approaching pack.
Werewolves. They were the reason he was in this mess to begin with. If it weren’t for the beasts he would’ve died an old man centuries ago.
Zak kept his eye on the pack, quickly deciphering the alpha.
The alpha wolf led the way, barring his canines. The wolf let out a low growl as he stared Zak down.
Zak guessed his enemies’ movements a second before the wolf reacted. He caught the beast and twisted him as he wrapped his arms around the wolf’s middle, squeezing. A crackle and whine bit through the air, as the wolf’s back broke. Zak deposited the lifeless form on the ground and glared, growling at the rest of the pack, daring them to attack him. He could pick them off one by one right now if he desired, but until he and Cadence found out what was going on, he didn’t want to burn any possible bridges unless he had to; they might very well need the pack’s help. He shuddered at the thought—wolves were much worse than witches.
The hair on the wolves’ backs rose as they growled, each taking turns to look at their comrades. After a long moment, they backed away and left. He watched, ensuring they were long gone before he turned back to Cadence. "You all right?"
"Yeah," she whispered. "Thanks."
He nodded and curled his fingers around her wrist as he pulled her to him. “We need to get out of here,” he instructed. There could be more wolves. He wasn’t going to wait to find out.
“Where are we going?” Cadence asked as she fell into step beside him.
Zak drew in a deep breath as he looked down at his hand still on her. She hadn’t shrugged away from him. Perhaps they were making progress. He could ponder that later. “We need to get you inside before you freeze. I can smell fire coming from this direction.” He guided her towards the smell. “We could get there faster if you let me carry you,” he offered.
Cadence licked her lips and sighed as she shivered in front of him. “Okay,” she whispered as her teeth chattered.
Zak put an arm over her shoulders and bent down wrapping one around the bend in her knees. He scooped her up and clutched her close. “Ready?”
Cadence drew in a deep breath as she laced her arms around the back of his head and buried her face into his neck. “Yes.”
He held her tighter as he zipped towards the smell as fast as he could.
***
Cadence opened her eyes and yawned. She stretched and clasped the edge of the bed, catching herself before she toppled onto the floor. This wasn't her bed. Her bed was nowhere near this uncomfortable. She sat up and looked around. It took her a minute for the previous night to come back to her. Her head fell into her palms as the events of the previous night played out in her mind.
Crap. It wasn’t a nightmare.
She looked around the tiny room she was in, only a piece of fabric hung from the wall to make this an actual room. She could see the spot on the floor where Zak had slept. The blankets were scattered about as if he’d tossed and turned most of the night. For a moment, she contemplated who had the better sleeping accommodations. The bed was probably better—slightly. She might give the floor a try tonight just in case.
She stood up and flexed her sore, tight muscles thankful the pain was already disappearing now that she was upright. She tried to smooth out her black dress, but it was wrinkled beyond repair and was riding up her thighs.
"Morning," Zak said as he came into the makeshift bedroom. Cadence flustered, desperately trying to pull her dress down in an attempt to cover her creamy, bare thighs. "Sleep well?" he asked his brow quirking up as his eyes roamed over her body.
She rolled her eyes and attempted again to straighten out her dress. It really was a lost cause. "So what did you find out?" she asked, her eyes drifting to the garments in his hand.
What are those? Are those for me?
Zak had already changed into a dark brown pair of pants and a worn beige top. What is he wearing? It looks like something out of a cheap movie with really bad costumes.
"Are you sure you really want to know?" he asked handing her the garments in his hand.
"Yes," she said annoyed. They’d stumbled upon this tiny village sometime last night. It was uncivilized. She wanted to find someplace that had electricity, running water, and an indoor toilet—if that was even possible. Where the hell are we?
"Well, sweetheart, we're not in Kansas anymore," he said sarcastically.
"Funny." She rolled her eyes, but held her breath as Zak gave her a serious look.
"We're in the past," he stated patting the dress she held in her hands.
She licked her lips as her eyes traveled down to the garment in her hand. She shook it out taking in the very long, very covering somber brown dress. This was so not her style. Although it's not like she had anyone to impress here. She peeked over at Zak as red bloomed over her cheeks. Nope, no one to impress. "You sure? I thought maybe you were just trying to torture me," she said as she motioned to their surroundings and kicked the bed with her foot.
Being held captive by Zak was more appealing than the idea of being lost in time. She’d heard stories of time travel in the coven, but they were just stories. No one had actually done it; at least not for a really long time.
He laughed, flopping down on the bed. "It's not so bad." He smiled, unfazed by the lack of movement as he lay down and the thud of his body hitting the solid surface. "I've had worse."
"Zak," she warned. Her heart pattered against her ribs as she stared at him.
"Right," he sobered. "It's winter and the year is...1014 AD."
Her mind replayed his words over and over again as she tried to make sense of it. 1014 AD. How is that possible? It isn’t. This is a joke, Zak’s sick way of seeking revenge on me. “You’re lying,” she accused, narrowing her eyes at him. She tossed the dress at him and crossed her arms. “Where are we really?” she demanded.
Zak sighed as he glanced up at her from the bed. His eyes softened and he sat up and then stood. “Look around you, Cadence.”
She followed his gaze around the drab room. A fireplace sat in the corner where a gentle glow still flickered. The walls were made of stones, dirt, and something else. She already knew the bed was hell on Earth.
“Other than museums, where have you ever seen a home like this?” he questioned as he guided her to the animal skin blanket that covered part of the wall. He pried it open and she blinked against the offensive sunlight that filtered in.
Horses and people walked upon a worn, dirt path. Houses eerily similar to the one she occupied dotted the road. Oh crap. What if I am in the past?
"It's going to be okay, Cadence," Zak said quietly, laying a hand over her shoulder.
"Really?" she screeched as her voice rose to a shrill with panic.
Oh my God. I’m in the past. This is a nightmare. Wake up. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.
“It’s going to be okay,” he assured again, squeezing her shoulder.
She turned back to him as she drew in a sharp breath. “How? Time travel...it’s not possible. We would need a spell, a witch, a crap ton of magic to get back. How do you know it’s going to be okay?” she rambled in one breath. “What if we can’t get home?” Oh God. What if we’re trapped here?
"Relax, Cadence. I know a witch or two we can talk to since I’m assuming time travel spells are a bit over your head, no offense. Hopefully, they can point us in the right direction. We're just going to have to be very careful. Anything we do could change the future," he warned.
Oh my God. This is really happening. Change the future. Wait a second!
"Weren’t you a human in this time?" she blurted.
The vein in his temple throbbed as an iciness masked his features. Clearly, she’d hit a nerve.
"Yes. We weren't turned until the fall of this year. That’s about six months from now, give or take." He grabbed her arm and hauled her to him. “I trust you’re not contemplating an
ything stupid.”
He was human in this time, which meant she could easily kill him and spare her coven tons of grief. No wonder he was pissed. Could she do it, though? If he died in this time, how would it effect the future? It could skew the time line in ways she couldn’t possibly imagine. He was an Original Vampire. How many vampires had he created in his time? How many lives had he taken and changed? What would it do to the future?
“There’s no telling what could happen if we alter the time line. If we change something...anything...we won’t be returning to the same future. I’m not stupid,” she told him honestly. “My coven might be at war with your clan, but I’m not going to make a move against your human self. It would change too much. It’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”
He nodded and let her go.
She let out a breath as she combed through her snarled locks with her fingers. "So when you say you know a witch, I assume you're not talking about your mom."
He gritted his teeth and met her with a hard stare. "No, Cadence. I wouldn't trust her in this time or ours."
"So what is the plan?" she wondered.
"Well, right now we are staying in a village about a day's journey from where my family resides for obvious reasons. My guess is whatever spell my mother used is centered around the full moon since magic is a bitch like that."
"Of course," she sighed. Last night had been a full moon. The full moon allowed witches to have extra energy for doing tricky spells. She imagined that probably applied to time travel spells. "We're stuck here until the next full moon."
He inclined his head telling her that she was right.
Great! I’m stuck over a thousand years in the past with my enemy. What else can go wrong?
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