by G. Bailey
I move the last step closer and go to wrap my arms around him when he shocks me by picking me up around my waist. He pulls me to his chest, and I rest my head on his large shoulder as he cuddles me.
"You smell amazing," he mutters, and then he kisses my cheek. Unlike the first unexpected time, his lips stay longer. I feel the firmness of them, and his scent overwhelms me. He smells like flowers, extremely sweet, but it somehow doesn't take away from his manliness.
"I can't wait," he says before he pulls away, I look up at him in confusion as he puts me down, and he just grins.
"Wyatt, look after our girl," Atti shouts, and I don't hear Wyatt’s mumble as I get in his car.
"I swear that guy was made to piss me off. It's a shame I can't kill him," Wyatt mumbles as he drives, and I just laugh.
"He is different but harmless. I think." I smile at Wyatt as he puts a hand on my knee.
"Atti isn't harmless, trust me. But he wouldn't ever hurt you," he tells me. A look I don't understand is on his face.
Wyatt drives me home and leaves me with another one of those teasing kisses by my door.
My dreams are filled with a cheeky face and floating flowers.
Thirteen
Winter
“Can we try something new today?” I breathlessly ask Jaxson after he knocks me on my back again. I groan as I roll on my side and get up. The bastard is standing near me, with his arms crossed and an amused look on his smug face. I know he enjoys watching me suffer. It was also not funny when I got lost on my drive here; his directions do not make sense. I must have taken five wrong turns before I got here.
“Like what, lass?” he finally asks. I ignore him and walk over to the wall of weapons. There is every type you can think of hung on the wall and several that I have no idea what they do. The crossbow catches my eye, and I walk towards it without knowing why.
“Careful, why do you want to learn this?” Jaxson asks as I touch the wooden crossbow. It’s silver in the middle with a wooden base and leather around the handle.
“I just do, can I have a try? If I’m terrible, then I won’t ask again, and I'll get you a bag of brownies from the café at uni,” I say.
“How did you find out I like brownies?” he asks me.
“Freddy texts me now. It came up.” I laugh when Jaxson frowns.
“I didn’t know he had a phone,” he replies, and I fail at holding in a louder giggle.
“So?” I ask as he pulls the crossbow off the wall and gets a bag of wooden arrows out of the closet.
“Come on,” he answers me with a wave over his shoulder. I guess I should bribe him with brownies more often.
“Why don’t we use those arrows?” I point to the small bag hanging on the wall by the crossbow.
“They are silver tipped, I don’t want you shooting me with them,” he answers, not looking back at me.
“Why silver?” I ask as I follow him out the training room. We walk around the training building, and at the back are five dummies with targets on their chests. We walk a good distance away before Jaxson answers me.
“Silver is poisonous to most of our kind, though some of us are immune, like Freddy. But nearly every type of supernatural will die if you hit them in the heart with silver,” he tells me.
“How did you find out Freddy is immune?” I ask. I don’t think that Jaxson would have tested it on him.
“Let’s just say that Freddy is a nosy child. I nearly lost it when he was five and came into the lounge holding two silver swords that he found. Both of his hands were cut, and he didn’t get ill from it. Freddy kept those swords and practises every day with them, he is pretty good now,” he tells me and hands me the crossbow.
I lift it up slowly because it’s heavier than it looks, and Jaxson shows me how to hold it right. I try to ignore how good it feels when his large hands cover my hips and turn my body slightly to the side. I let Jaxson load an arrow as I watch how to do it and then get into position.
“Right, try to aim at the target. When you’re ready, you fire the arrow like a gun,” he tells me, showing me where to press the button. I breathe in Jaxson’s wood scent to calm myself before he moves away. The first three times I shoot, I miss the target altogether, and I hear Jaxson’s chuckle.
“No worries, lass, I still get my brownies for this wasted time,” he says as I load another three arrows. I ignore him, or try to, as my anger builds. I close my eyes this time, just listening to the forest and then move my body. I don’t know what happens, but I feel a peace fall over me as I fire the next shot. I fire all three before I realise I’ve done it, and Jaxson’s deep voice snaps me out of my dream-like state.
“Winter, how the hell did you do that?” he asks, wonder filling his tone. I look back at him as he looks around the empty training yard. I blink in confusion when I see all my arrows have hit the target. Dead centre.
“I don’t know,” I mumble as I put the crossbow down.
“I think I do; hold on, I have another idea,” Jaxson says and runs back around the training building. I pull my arrows out of the targets as I wait for him to come back. When he does, he has two small daggers in his hands.
“Come here, Winter,” he tells me. I don’t bother arguing with him and move to stand next to him, about a hundred yards away from the targets. I watch in fascination as Jaxson throws the daggers, and they hit the targets, a perfect hit in the middle as well.
“Do it slower,” I tell him, understanding that he wants me to throw them like him. He nods and gets the daggers and repeats what he did. Slowing his arm movements down, so I can see how he throws them.
“Your turn.” Jaxson hands me the daggers when he comes back.
“You’re good at this,” I comment as I take the daggers.
“I’m more than just good at many weapons, but my sword is my most preferred choice of weapon,” he tells me.
“Can I see your sword?” I ask him, trying to keep the dirty thoughts from that sentence.
“I would love to show you my sword anytime, it’s in my bedroom.” He winks at me.
My jaw drops open at his flirting, and I stutter, “Err, I don’t know.”
“I’m messing with you, Winter, now throw them,” he tells me, a smirk on his face at my red cheeks. I try to ignore him as I take his place and get ready to throw the daggers. I remember the calm I felt and again, I hit both the targets. Dead in the centre of them.
“I know what we are practising next time,” Jaxson tells me as he fetches the daggers.
“How is it possible?” I ask him, and he looks away from me.
“Lessons are over. See you around.” Jaxson walks off, and just before he steps out of sight, he stops and turns. “Don’t forget my brownies, lass.” Then he walks away.
Fourteen
Atticus
“You have three months until the wedding, Atticus," my mother's voice rings across the throne room, seconds after I travel into the cold, empty room. A shimmer of air next to my leg tells me that one of my familiars has followed me back. I look down at Mags’s grey eyes and run a hand over her head.
"Excuse me? You’re joking, right?" I ask her. Mags pushes against my side in comfort. I look down at Mags, currently in her true form. Mags looks kind of like a white tiger but with two large pronounced teeth that drop from her mouth and a tail full of spikes. I remember telling Winter about my two cats, they do look like big cats when they are wearing their glamors. All powerful witches have a familiar, I’m the first to have two. I didn't lie about how I found Mags, she really was dumped into a load of magazines as a newborn. Familiars are a type of sub-demon and come out of the underworld when they sense their owner needs them.
"I'm not marrying anyone, I found the girl. The girl from the–"
She cuts me off and shouts, "I don't believe that rubbish! Where was the goddess when all the newborn, royal males died in our arms until you? Where was the goddess when the angels attacked us?"
"We have a truce with them now, and she cannot change every
thing," I mutter.
"A truce I made! Not her! Your goddess didn't save your father’s life when an angel took his head," she says, and I see the tears this time. With a sigh, I go over to her and pull her into a hug.
"I know you don't believe in her anymore, but I do, and marrying someone else won't give us a true future," I tell her as she sobs. My mother is a powerful woman who rules on her own. When my father died, they expected her to stand down and let one of my male second cousins take the throne until I was of age. They have no royal blood, but they are married into our family, so they could have been accepted. My mother scoffed at the idea and held an arena fight. I was only one at the time, and she fought twenty heirs to keep the throne. No one challenged her again, and when she formed a truce with the angels, the witches respected her. My mother never remarried, despite our council trying to demand that she did. I know she doesn’t because of her love for my father. They were the couple that stories are written about.
"It's just a marriage, the dark witches’ queen is young and very beautiful. You can still mate permanently with someone else," she says, offering a different deal.
"I don't want that, mother. I love you, but don't make me choose," I tell her.
"I can delay the wedding, but I can't stop it. The witches want us to all work together. Having two different leaders isn't working anymore. We share this earth, we can't risk a war against our own kind," she tells me.
She pulls away from my hug and walks to one of the large windows which overlook our secret city. My mother looks every bit the queen in her long, green dress and circular, black crown on her head of blonde hair. Surprisingly, the dark witches have a white crown that they made, as well as a fake queen to wear it. The crown my mother wears was rumoured to have been made for the witches by the goddess. The vampires, angels, and wolves also have crowns that make the true owner stronger. I've only ever seen my mother’s and the vampire king’s crowns. They look similar, but ours has twirls that hold up the four black stones around the crown. The vampire king’s is a dark red colour and has deep red stones instead. Their crown is made of thorns.
"I do everything I can to protect you, Atticus. I fear there is something far worse coming for our kind. We won't make it out of this new threat without being united, and I won't lose you, my son," she says.
"Is it the vampire king?" I ask her, moving closer to her side.
"Yes, he has started something he can't stop. He is a foolish, evil man, and he will regret his actions in the end," she whispers to the window.
"What has he done?" I demand.
"I cannot tell you," she tells me firmly and walks towards the doors that open for her without being touched.
"I have a wedding to postpone, I believe you have a mate to chase. If there is a goddess around, we need her help for what will come. I don't wish you to be unhappy, son," she says, her words echoing around the throne room before she walks out. I stand next to the two gold thrones in the empty room for a long time. The wide windows don't feel as open as they did when I got here; in fact, I feel like someone is trying to suffocate me. I call my power and imagine Wyatt’s living room. It takes a second for me to feel my body disappearing and reappearing in front of the fake fireplace.
"Oh god, Drake," I hear from behind me, and I turn to see Drake, thankfully fully clothed, feeding on Alex's neck on the sofa. Alex's eyes meet mine, and she screams.
"Shit! I didn't mean to interrupt, I swear I'm not into watching people," I say and close my eyes.
"Get out," Drake says, and I open my eyes to see them both sitting up on the sofa. Alex is bright red, and I'm trying not to laugh.
"No can do. As much as Drake doesn’t turn me on, I need to stay and see Wyatt," I say, and Alex chuckles into Drake’s shoulder as she holds him back from trying to hit me.
"Wyatt is feeding in the kitchen," Drake growls, and I laugh. I walk out before he decides to actually hit me.
Wyatt’s apartment is one of those new, shiny places that he is anal about keeping clean. I don't like things being messy, but every time I'm here, I can't help myself from moving stuff around. I chuckle when I see his bedroom, and I slip inside.
I find his box of stupidly expensive watches that he loves, and I move them into his bathroom. I use my magic to hang each one on the curtain rail. After a chuckle, I leave to find Wyatt. The small things really piss him off, like the time that it took him a month to find his expensive wine collection. I moved them all into his garage, and he said they were all one of a kind. I left them inside his spare car, and I really didn't think it would take him so long to find them. It was a funny month of him trying to kill me.
Wyatt is drinking a bag of blood when I come in, his eyes doing that weird thing where they turn all silver.
"The silver is creepy, dude," I tell him as I open his fridge, grabbing a bottle of orange juice out and drinking it. Most vampires’ eyes are dark-brown all the time and change to red when they feed. Wyatt is weird.
"Atti, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asks after he is finished and throws the empty bag in the bin. I ignore him to go through his cupboards until I find his Oreos.
"Don't be a prick, not those," Wyatt says behind me, and I watch in amusement as he knocks me out of the way and takes his Oreos back.
"You’re holding them like they’re your babies; you have a problem, Wyatt," I tell him.
"Whatever." He glares at me and punches me on the arm as he puts his Oreos back and stands in front of the cupboard.
"Mother is planning my wedding. She said she would postpone it, but I think we need to tell Winter everything. I need a mate to get out of this or at least take Winter to my city and–"
"I know, believe me, I get it. But she isn't ready to hear everything yet," he interrupts.
"I can't marry a dark witch. I think it's stupid to keep her in the dark about us. About what she is," I try to make him see.
"Soon, Atti, I will tell her soon about me and then sort everything else. I know she has been around wolves a lot recently. I want to see if she can change Jaxson’s mind," Wyatt says.
"I think she already has. He hasn't hurt her," I tell him.
"Not yet," Wyatt replies gently.
“I heard from a little birdy that he is still planning his mating with that wolf,” I urge Wyatt.
“It was one of your witches that said they should be together,” he replies with a slightly distasteful look in my direction.
“It’s a load of bull. That wolf’s parents must have paid a pretty penny for them to say that. Mating with Jaxson would be most wolves’ dream come true for their child,” I explain to him.
“Let’s hope he realises what he is doing, sooner rather than later,” he says.
“He will,” I say.
Fifteen
Winter
The next two weeks pass uneventfully, as I train with Jaxson three times a week, and I go on dates with Wyatt on the weekends. I’ve seen Atti twice after the first time we met, once when he turned up at the café where I was having lunch, and the other time when he invited himself to dinner with Wyatt and me. Wyatt doesn’t seem to mind his light personality and carefree attitude, even with the long hugs goodbye.
My classes are ending this week, and I’ll finally get to go home. A whole two weeks of mum’s cooking and relaxing, with no boys. No worrying about the fact I’m crushing on four guys. At least Atti and Dabriel aren’t hanging out with me all the time. Wyatt’s little kisses have become beyond frustrating, but I understand that he wants us to go slow.
My training with Jaxson has become so tense. I can hardly stand to go except for the fact that he believes he owes me and wants to train me. I remember last week, as he took off his shirt since it was wet with sweat, and I nearly drooled all over his rock-hard abs. He has that amazing v that goes down to a little patch of hair I saw...
Lost in thoughts of Jaxson as I walk out of class, I slam into a rock wall. I lift my gaze to see that I bumped into Harris, not an actual wall. A
lthough, he felt like it.
"Whoa, look out," he laughs, holding my shoulders and pushing me away from his chest. I laugh, too.
"Sorry, I was thinking about going home next week," I say, slightly lying, but Harris doesn't know that.
"Cool, but it's only Monday, you have a while yet. Oh, we have a sort of party this weekend. I don't know if you’re going, but I could give you a ride." He stumbles a little and blushes.
"I will ask Jaxson if I can come, and if he says yes, then I will. I don't want to over stay my welcome with your pack," I whisper the end part as some people pass us.
"You saved one of our pups, you won't over stay your welcome anytime soon, Winter, and you are pack to us," he mutters to me with a stern look.
"Alright, but I'm still checking," I say with a smile at him, while he shakes his head with a bigger smile. I give Harris a small hug before saying goodbye and driving back to my apartment.
"Alex, can I come in?" I ask, knocking on her door, she has been ill for a few days. She didn't come to class today, and I'm getting worried about her.
Drake opens the door with his usual cold, stone face, but he looks tired.
"She is feeling better, it’s just a nasty bug," he tells me with a hand waving me into her room. She does look better as she eats a sandwich, sitting in the middle of her bed. Alex’s room is covered in everything purple you could think of, and she has always been like this. I smile as I sit on the purple bed sheets of her metal-framed bed. She looks like a purple princess as she leans back on big, glittery, purple cushions. She is wrapped in a bright purple dressing gown, and the hood is up.
"How are you feeling?" I ask as she smiles at me and takes the hood down. She does look better; honestly, she looks better than usual. Her red hair looks shinier, and her skin looks golden. I want to ask if she is wearing makeup because her eyelashes look longer, and her lips look like she has on a pale lipstick.
