by Cate Maroon
“You are all going to look really stupid when this is all over and nothing has changed,” Kayla laughed, but it was bitter.
I did not care how we got her to do the spell. All that mattered was that it worked. I could not see Kayla agreeing to letting us try again if it did not. She probably would never speak to any of us again but that was not an option for me, and I hope Masie understood that. If it did not work, maybe she could wipe this night from Kayla’s memory, and we could all go back to how things were before tonight. I would have to ask these questions if things did not go our way.
“So how do you want to do this?” Kayla asked Masie.
“Well, we have to go outside. I need somewhere with water, that can also have some kind of fire.”
“You have got to be kidding,” Kayla replied.
“I need to be close to the elements, to draw from their power.”
“I know just the place,” I added, thinking of the waterfall.
“Great, we can go tomorrow morning,” Kayla announced.
“No, we have to do it tonight, it has to be under the light of the moon,” Masie replied.
“Of course, that makes perfect sense. Are there any other special requirements?” Kayla replied sarcastically.
“Well, now that you ask, there are some things that you have to wear.”
Masie followed a reluctant Kayla up the stairs to prepare her for the spell, leaving me, my dad, and my brothers’ downstairs. We all went out to Dad’s truck to get Masie’s bags, seeing as we were going to have to carry all of the things Masie brought with her through the forest. It would have been a lot easier to get it to the lake near Kayla’s parents’ house because it was a short walk from the main road. That was not an option though since the wolf had followed us back there. We would just have to make the best of a bad situation.
Hunter gathered some bits from the barn to make a fire and we all stood around waiting for Kayla and Masie to come down. It was far from ideal going into the woods in the middle of the night to perform a spell that will hopefully bring back my girlfriends’ memory of being a wolf. All while an evil wolf was after us. You could not make this stuff up!
Chapter Twenty
Kayla
I can’t believe how stupid I feel in the clothes that Masie had given me to wear. The long white nightgown looked like something my great grandma would have worn, and the flower and herb headband made me feel like a bridesmaid from the eighties. I drew the line at her suggestion of going barefoot; we were going to be hiking through the forest, not walking on the beach. I put on my trainers, and sat on my bed, needing a few minutes to compose myself before I went downstairs.
This whole idea was stupid. Why was I going through with it? It was not like they could force me to. I contemplated running away and going back to my house, until I remembered the strange man who had scared me so much that I had some kind of mental breakdown. Jackson looked so pleased when I said that I would give it a try and trust them, that I felt obligated to go through with it. He had done so much for me, his whole family had. I opened my bedroom door and found Masie waiting outside my door. We went downstairs together in silence and I could sense Masie watching me curiously as I made my way outside to join the others.
All of the Taylor boys were waiting outside with boxes and bags that I assumed Masie had brought with her. I let Jackson take my hand and allowed him to lead me into the forest. He knew the way to the lake like the back of his hand but I was not sure of the way. Almost instantly, I felt a wave of calm flow from Jackson’s hand into mine, which flowed over my body. I felt an air of tranquility fill me and I was no longer scared.
We entered the forest which was so thick with trees that no light penetrated into the forest, therefore making it exceedingly difficult to walk through without falling over. I stumbled a few times but Jackson was always ready to stop me falling flat on my face. I did not know how Masie was getting on because I could not see my hand in front of my face, where I kept it to prevent myself from being hit by any low-lying branches.
We seemed to be walking for miles and for all I knew, we could have been walking around in circles.
“Almost there,” Jackson whispered, rubbing my hand with his thumb.
We finally arrived at the lake and it was more stunning than I remembered. In the light of the moon, the waterfall glistened like it was filled with a million diamonds. I stood for a moment taking it in as the light of the moon cast a blue glow over the small area of forest where the lake was. Even Masie seemed taken aback by how stunning it was. Hunter and the twins took the bags that Max and Jackson were carrying and took them down to the edge of the lake. Jackson picked me up and carried me down the narrow walkway, and Max did the same with Masie. It was a chivalrous act and from the small amount of time that I have lived with the Taylors, it was very typical of their manners.
Jackson placed me on a large boulder. I watched while Max and the twins built a fire, which brought how surreal the whole situation was. The wind was starting to pick up and I shivered because the thin night dress that Masie had me wearing did nothing to keep out the cold of the night. Jackson took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. It was a small move but the warmth of his body flooded into my bones from his coat.
Max was helping Masie set up portable tables and bottles of all shapes and colors. Doing this gave me and Jackson a few minutes to talk.
“Thank you for trusting me,” Jackson said, as he rubbed my shoulders.
“It wasn’t like I had much choice.”
Jackson looked hurt by the fact that I felt like they had forced me to go through with this whole thing. I did not mean to upset him, but I could not lie to him and pretend I was happy about this whole thing. I half expected a camera crew from one of the television prank shows to jump out at any moment. It was not until Masie said that she was ready that I realized it was not a prank. Jackson helped me down from the boulder and we walked over to where Max and Masie were waiting.
Hunter lit the large bonfire that he and the twins had built and came over to join us. I was starting to feel a little apprehensive about the whole situation, not sure what I had agreed to. I was starting to slightly regret the blind faith that I had in Masie and the Taylors. However, despite my reservation, I did trust everyone there. They had all been there for me at times when I needed them the most.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked Masie.
“I need you to get into the lake and lie on your back.”
“But the water is going to be freezing.”
“I know and I’m so sorry to have to put you through this Kayla. If there was any other way, I would but this is the only spell that has a chance of breaking whatever it is that is blocking your true form.”
I did not like what she was asking me to do but she had brought me back from a mental breakdown the other night. I at least owed her an opportunity to try whatever it was that she thought she was doing for me. Masie looked as though she genuinely believed that this was what was best for me and with everything that I had heard, seen, and felt over the past few weeks, I was not sure I knew what was in my best interest.
I nodded and turned to face the lake and Jackson walked with me to the water’s edge. I handed him his jacket back and he offered me a small, reassuring smile. He stayed there while I walked into the depths of the water and when I was almost fully submerged in the water, I allowed myself to float on my back.
“Now Kayla, I need you to fully focus on the moon. No matter what goes on around you, stay focused on the moon above you, and the water below you.”
“Okay,” I called back, so that she knew that I had heard her.
The fire crackled and I could feel the heat from it on the parts of my skin that was not submerged in the water. I could hear Masie chanting loudly but could not make out what she was saying because my ears were under water.
I lay there for a long time with nothing happening. I did not know what I was expecting to happen, but after the ot
her night, I was expecting something. Just when I was about to give up and swim back to the shore, a bright white light shot across the sky. As instructed by Masie, I kept my focus on the moon. Multi colored lights shot from the direction of the fire across the sky. It was like my own personal fireworks display. The lights were coming in thick and fast, and Masie’s chanting grew louder. I still could not understand what she was saying because she was speaking again in the strange archaic language from the other night. Suddenly, the lights stopped, and the only thing that lit the area was the pale blue moonlight and the orange glow from the fire.
As soon as the lights stopped shooting out across the sky, I was pulled by an invisible force under the water. I tried to remain focused on the moon but it was really difficult when all I could think about was my need to breathe. I tried to kick my way to the surface but I could not escape the water. I could hear Jackson screaming my name but I could not get to him. I felt myself start to lose consciousness and was scared that I was going to die. I looked up to the moon and gained the strength to break the pull of the water.
Emerging from the lake, I noticed that everything looked different. Jackson rushed to my side, not bothered that he was fully dressed as he ran into the ice-cold water. He took me by the arm and led me back to the small rocky area where the others were waiting for us. Max and Masie passed Jackson and I towels and blankets. I wrapped myself in mine and sank into Jackson’s arms, feeling physically and mentally exhausted. Jackson was looking at me curiously and his family were looking at me anxiously.
“How are you feeling?” Masie asked.
“I’m okay.”
“Your eyes look different,” Jackson added.
“They feel a little strange.”
“Do you remember anything?”
“I remember everything,” I replied.
Hunter and the twins put out the fire, while Max and Masie packed away her things. The four of them told us to go ahead, seeing as we were both cold and wet. The walk back was strange and I could see a lot clearer despite the darkness. I took Jackson’s hand, even though I did not really need his help anymore. I still felt the calmness that I always did whenever we touched but the pull I felt to him had increased in such a way that I was not sure I would ever be able to be away from him again.
I could still hear the others at the lake and I could smell everything. My senses were heightened and I felt like I was running off a battery that would never run out. The way that Jackson smelled was divine. He was the epitome of manly scents: a little bit woody and rich like leather, wrapped in a musky smell that reminded me of frankincense. It was something that I could not get enough of.
We made it back to the house and headed upstairs for a hot shower. Jackson walked me to my bedroom before he went to his own. I could hear him turn the taps on and I did the same. Aching to be close to Jackson, I got into the hot shower, letting the water warm my body, quickly washing the herbs and flowers from my hair. As soon as I felt like my blood had warmed to a normal temperature, I got out of the shower.
Feeling different, I wiped the condensation from the mirror and took a good look at the girl who was staring back at me. I started with my hair, and while it would not have looked any different to most people, I could see the subtle silver threads that were scattered through my light, auburn hair. But it was my eyes that showed the most change. Despite them still being the same shade of blue, they were rimmed with an almost neon glow.
I knew now that my whole life had been a lie and everything that the Taylors had told me was the truth. The supernatural was real; they were wolves and so was I. All I needed to work out now was what I was going to do with all this new knowledge. I knew that the other wolf would be coming for me and I could choose whether to fight him with the Taylors or I could save them the hassle and leave with him. It was not that I wanted to leave Jackson but I just could not let him and his family put themselves in danger for me. As I stood there thinking about the six of them, I made my decision. I was going to fight with the people who I chose to call my family.