Ray of Hope: The Cursed Elements Series Book 1

by K. Mawhood

  I go to my chair around the fire and sit down, trying to think everything through. What if I did go? What would happen then? Would I find any answers or would it be a waste of my time? I’m not one to take risks or do something on a whim but for some reason I feel like I should. Kelsey walks up all bundled up in sweatpants and a hoodie and sees me looking all distressed and crazy.

  “I know when something is wrong and something is seriously wrong. What’s up? Why the Brayleigh thinking face?” she questions.

  “You’re going to want to sit down,” I warn.

  “Ok, now I’m really worried. What happened?” Kelsey asks.

  “I was fishing with the guys and they started asking me about the wolves I saw this morning. Then they asked how many there were,” I say.

  “Ok...”

  “Then Barrett said one licked my neck...” I say hesitantly.

  “Ew, that’s legit creepy that they were watching you with those wolves. So they’re stalkers and now you are afraid of them instead of wanting their eggplants?” she exclaims.

  Count on Kelsey to make this light and hilarious.

  “No,” I say giggling.

  She’s going to think I’m crazy, but then again, I know she will believe me because we’ve been through thick and thin. She knows I would never lie to her, as long as she thinks I’m not joking.

  “They were the wolves… and I’m not joking.”

  I watch her begin to comprehend what I just said. The amount of shock on her face matches how I looked earlier.

  “You mean to tell me they are wolves!” she screams.

  I nod slowly. “I didn’t believe them at first, but I asked Liam to prove it and he did. We went into the woods and he shifted. It was like all the movies, except not violent. It was actually hypnotizing,” I say.

  “What. The. Fuck. You are fucking with me, right? There’s no way.”

  “Nope. There’s more, too. According to them, I am one as well!” I shout. I stand up and begin pacing because I am freaked out all over again.

  “What? That doesn’t make sense. Why do they think that?” she asks.

  “Because the way their wolves feel when our skin touches. Which I understand because anytime I touch them it is like my body gets this shock that is both amazing and scary. Also, I get tingles, but that is probably more with what goes on in between my legs,” I ramble.

  “So do you actually think that you could be a wolf or do you think they are just grasping at something?” she asks.

  “Well, when Liam shifted in front of me, I felt like I needed to shift too. I wanted to be right next to him, as a wolf. And… I wanted to run,” I say in horror.

  Gasping, she puts her hand over her heart as though I’ve hurt her with my words.

  “I know, it’s blasphemy,” I say as I sit down again.

  “A part of me thinks they are absolutely insane, but another part of me wonders if maybe they are right. I mean, I don’t know my parents, but who am I to say they were only human? Plus, I’ve always felt like something was missing in my heart. Sounds stupid to say but maybe if I were to find out anything about my parents, that missing part would be filled.”

  Kelsey just looks at me with such understanding and love. I know for a fact she knows what I mean because she knows nothing about her parents either.

  “And after dropping all of that on me, they asked me to come and meet some of their packs. I guess to see if maybe I really am a wolf and if someone knows of my past.”

  “No! You are not following four guys to some pack full of wolves without me. You’ve been through enough shit, this doesn’t feel right,” she shouts.

  “But what would you do if someone told you they might be able to let you in on your past? Give you more information on your family and who they were or maybe who they are?” I question.

  “I understand. I probably would go too but you still don’t know them. What if you turn into one of those Lifetime movies?” she asks with concern.

  “What if I never go and just continue to feel incomplete and lost?” She’s never going to tell me to go, which is probably why I’m asking her how she feels about it in the first place.

  “Well... if there was even the slightest chance I could find out where I come from or more about my family, I guess I’d take the risk and go,” she utters.

  I can’t believe she’s telling me to drop everything and go with these guys to God knows where.

  “What if it’s some weird cult and I get hacked up into pieces after being used as a baby-making machine?” I blurt.

  She busts out laughing and even snorts a bit. Wow, that’s a bit insulting.

  “You literally just talked me into you going and then you’re going to say that?” she shrieks.

  After she calms down, she gets out her phone and looks at me seriously and instructs me to go to the play store.

  I get my phone out and do what she says because she’s getting crazy eyes.

  “Download Life360 and that way, I will know where you are if I don’t hear from you,” she says all motherly.

  After setting it up, I feel a bit more at ease. “So I’m really doing this?” I question her.

  “Yep,” she answers. “Call your work now so you can’t get out of it.”

  She goes to hug me but steps back instantly.

  “You smell like dead fish. Burn those clothes and take a shower. That will help,” she says while giving me the kind of pat on the shoulder that you give the people you refuse to hug. “Thanks, Kels, you know how to raise a girl up when she’s down."

  I look down at my clothes and realize how horrible I look. Then I think about the fall and trying to get out of that inlet. I totally forgot about the creepy vine. Now that I think about it, a bunch has happened. First, that bug flew right into Kelsey’s mouth, almost like the wind pushed it in there and then Hudson choked on the water. I just thought they were coincidences but maybe it was me.

  Oh my gosh, Bray, stop thinking like you are an Avenger or something.

  I call my work and tell them there is an emergency and I would like to take my full week of vacation. I have no idea how long it’s going to take but it’s not like I ever have to travel for the holidays so I’m going for it.

  I head to the showers and throw my clothes in the trash as I get into the shower. I scrub my body twice to get the lake stench off of me.

  As I get back to the campsite, I decide to do a little experiment. No one seems to be here and the guys haven’t returned to their site either. Where could they be?

  I put my shower caddy in my tent and return to my chair around the firepit. It’s gotten even colder so I need to make a fire, but what if? I giggle to myself realizing how insane I sound but oh well. I stare at the pit and imagine a fire. I give it the evil eye when it doesn’t respond. “I wish there was a fire,” I say out loud, as if telling the fire gods my wish.

  Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I turn to the bottles of water on the table and decide to do more of a telekinesis approach. Maybe that will work. I look at the bottle and put my arm and hand out as if it should just fly into it. Nothing again. “Shit balls,” I whine. Okay, last ditch effort. I see a stick on the ground and decide I’m going to try and get it into the fire pit. I’m all out of ideas on how to make magic happen, I use the oldy but goody.

  I hold both my hands out towards the stick and say, “Abrah Kadabrah!”

  “What the hell are you doing?” Kelsey utters.

  I turn around to see her staring at me like I've lost all my marbles. Maybe I have.

  “Did I not tell you about the weird stuff that has happened?” I say nonchalantly.

  “Um, no. Obviously not or I wouldn’t be staring at you like I am right now, weirdo,” she deadpans.

  I tell her about all the instances, including her and the bug. She slaps my shoulder but also giggles.

  “You definitely need to go now. That shit ain’t normal,” she states. “Do the guys know?”

  “No, and I’m not
going to tell them.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Brayleigh

  Waking up the next morning, I lay on my air mattress and stare at the top of my tent, thinking about the events from yesterday.

  This feels like a dream. It just can’t be real, but I saw it with my own two eyes. Maybe I’m losing my mind and I’m full-blown, certifiably crazy. I keep trying and failing to wrap my head around it all.

  As for me having magic, who knows, I was probably letting what they told me go to my head. I mean, everything that had happened could be explained by natural causes. The vine yesterday? It was probably stuck on the rocks and I pulled it free. The wave in Hudson’s face? Probably a wave from a boat. The bug in Kelsey’s mouth? Well, that’s just karma.

  Yeah, that’s what all that was. Wolves don’t even have magical powers. I mean, I don’t know shit about werewolves, but from everything I’ve ever read or watched they only have the power to shift. So unless something else crazy happens, I’m convincing myself it was a fluke, and Kelsey better keep her mouth shut about me attempting to do magic yesterday.

  A few hours later, I’m sitting in my camping chair staring out at the water. Kelsey and the others left a little while ago to go hiking. I stayed back, not really in the mood to join them. Plus, I’m kind of hoping the guys will come over here.

  “Hey, sweetheart.”

  I practically jump out of my skin at the greeting. Turning around, I see the guys standing behind me. Shit, I didn’t even hear them approach.

  With my hand over my heart, I say, “Are y’all trying to give me a heart attack? My heart damn near leapt outta my chest!”

  They start laughing at me and Liam responds with amusement shining in his eyes. “Good thing I didn’t grab your shoulders and shout hey at you like I originally planned.”

  I glare at him half-heartedly. “I may have just punched your pretty face for something like that.”

  Batting his eyes at me he gives me a huge smile. “Oh, you think I’m pretty?”

  I roll my eyes at him and turn to the others. “What’s up?”

  “We just wanted to come and check on you to see how you’re handling all the info from yesterday,” Barrett says a little hesitantly.

  “Honestly, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this, but I talked to Kels about it and—”

  “You did what?” Cayden growls, cutting me off. “Why would you tell a human? This isn’t just something you can walk around announcing to people.”

  “First of all, Kelsey is my best friend. I tell her everything. Secondly, you’re not the boss of me and none of you said I couldn’t say anything,” I say with a glare. “I’m not going to apologize for needing to speak to someone who always has my best interest at heart and would tell me the truth whether I want to hear it or not.”

  Wyatt cuts in with a soothing voice, “It’s okay, Brayleigh, we understand you would need to speak to someone about it. It is a lot to take in. He’s just worried because it can be dangerous to tell people. You never know who’s listening and who will try to use that information against you.”

  “Kelsey won’t tell a soul. I trust that girl with my life,” I tell them sincerely. I understand why they wouldn’t want this spread around.

  “And we trust you, so it’s ok,” Barrett says crossing his arms. “What were you trying to tell us before he cut you off?”

  I give him a small smile. I get a warm feeling in my chest from his words.

  “Kelsey convinced me to go with you guys. She said if she had the chance to find out where she came from she’d take it no matter how crazy it seemed.”

  They all smile or nod at me, except Cayden, he’s just staring at me with a blank face.

  “Well, now that’s all sorted out we are going to go hiking, so go get ready,” Liam instructs me.

  I just raise my eyebrows at him. “Um, what if I don’t want to go hiking? My friends left a few hours ago, if I wanted to walk all day I would have gone with them.”

  “Come on, sweetheart, go hiking with us. We can get to know each other better, all alone in the woods,” he says with a wink then starts raising his eyebrows up and down.

  The others just shake their heads at him, but I laugh. “Well then, when you put it that way, how can a girl possibly resist?” I respond jokingly.

  It’s about thirty minutes into the hike and I’m already getting tired. I don’t normally do a lot of physical activity, it’s just not my cup of tea. I need something to distract myself.

  I’m walking between Wyatt and Barrett with Liam and Cayden leading the group up ahead. Looking over at Wyatt, I ask, “So, why is it so dangerous to talk about being a wolf?”

  He glances down at me. “Humans don’t really understand the supernatural and you never know how they will react. That could be dangerous for us.”

  “Not to mention the witches,” Barrett cuts in. “They do anything and everything in their power to keep us down.”

  “It’s been rough trying to keep the pack together with the attacks they launch on us. We lose so many pack mates each time because we just don’t have the numbers any more to take them on,” Wyatt adds sadly.

  Wow, that’s intense. I can’t believe the supernatural world is so uncivilized in that aspect. I know Cayden mentioned losing his brothers when we were fishing, I wonder if it was in one of these attacks. I glance between them wondering if they’ve lost anyone close to them as well.

  “Have either of you lost anyone in these attacks?” I know it’s probably rude to ask, but I want to know them better.

  Barrett just shakes his head. “I’ve been fortunate enough not to lose anyone. There hasn’t been an attack on my pack in a very long time. We have more numbers than others to fight back, so if it does happen any time soon, hopefully, we won’t lose as many as others have.”

  Wyatt takes a shaky breath. “I lost both of my parents in the last attack, when I was seventeen.”

  Barrett starts walking ahead of us. I assume to give Wyatt some privacy to tell his story.

  My heart breaks for Wyatt. I have this overwhelming need to comfort him, so I grab his hand and hold it tightly. He glances down at our joined hands and gives mine a squeeze before he continues.

  “They attacked us in the middle of the night. They like to target our women and children. They set homes on fire with families trapped inside. They were only able to get a few homes before we realized what was going on and started fighting back.”

  He shakes his head sadly. “A lot of these witches use black magic, and it’s hard to fight. Luckily, there weren’t as many witches in this attack. They only sent a handful, but it was enough to do some serious damage.”

  He pauses for a second to gather his thoughts, and his grip on my hand tightens. “My father was leading us in our fight, and we were able to take most of them out and a few retreated. There was one man there though who was extremely powerful. He was standing in the courtyard between all the homes, and he had my mother there, holding her by the throat. We tried to get to her but he had a magical barrier in place, and we couldn’t break through it no matter how hard we tried.”

  His whole body is trembling at this point, so I place my other hand on his forearm and give a light squeeze.

  Taking a deep breath he continues. “My father stood in front of our group helpless. He screamed at the man to take him instead, and the fucker actually agreed to it. He allowed only my father to pass through the barrier. As he was running up to them, the man pushed my mother towards my father, and she started to run to him. Before she could make it though, that sick twisted fuck set her on fire with his magic.”

  He has tears running down his face as I say, “Oh my gosh, Wyatt, I’m so, so sorry. You don’t have to continue.”

  He shakes his head. “I want to tell you. It’s just hard to get through.”

  He takes another deep breath. “My dad tried to put out the fire, but it was being continually fed by the magic. I was screaming and beating on the barrier
trying to get through, but I just couldn’t. My dad had to listen to his mate begging for her life while burning to death. As soon as she was gone, my dad glanced back at me and said ‘I love you, son’ before charging the guy. He didn’t make it very far before the son of a bitch set him on fire too.”

  We stop walking, and I throw my arms around him and bury my face in his chest. He lays his cheek on top of my head and starts to take calming breaths.

  I can’t believe what I just heard. This poor man had to witness his parents’ death in such a horrific way. I can’t even imagine the loss he feels every day. I just want to hug him forever.

  I squeeze him even harder. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I can’t even imagine the pain you feel from it.”

  I can feel him nod. “It’s hard. That’s why I joined the military. I just couldn’t be there for a while. I needed to go my own way. The second in command took over the alpha responsibilities until I was ready.”

  Pulling back I look up at him. “So you’re the alpha of your pack?”

  “Yeah, when my father passed it went to me. Actually, all four of us will be the alphas of our packs eventually,” he says.

  I raise my eyebrows at that. “Well, that’s pretty fucking awesome. Not how you became alpha obviously, but just that y’all are the main badasses of all the wolves… the top dogs you could say,” I say laughing at my own joke.

  He rolls his eyes, chuckling at me. “Come on, comedian, let’s catch up with the others.” Well, I’m glad I got him to laugh at least.

  A little while later and I’m feeling the effects of all the water I’ve been drinking. Great, I need to pee.

  “Um, guys?”

  They all turn to me questioningly as I start doing the pee-pee dance. “I uh, I really need to use the bathroom.”

  Laughter is their only response to that. Finally, Cayden calms enough and waves his arm toward the trees. “Well, have at it, darlin’. There’s plenty of bushes and trees to choose from.”