by Mela Zen
“Very much so.”
“But we have to take this slow. I don’t want to screw whatever we are having up.”
“Okay, how about you tell me what is up with that British dude, and Jax, and your ex husband. Basically, all of your exes.”
“Are you sure you want to know about all three of them?”
“Yes because I am starting to feel like you have a type and I am not in that category.”
“Jax was the first love I have ever encountered. Jax was my first kiss, my first...you know sex, and my first heartbreak. We dated for almost three decades, thinking that we are mates. Mates, as you might of heard of, are beings that belong to each other, destined if you will. Sometimes they are the exact opposite of you other times they are not.
Well Jax is the complete opposite of me. For years, since I became a vampire, I was mean and cold to people, not by desire but by choice. I have a target on my back, something I am used to now. When Jax appeared, I felt safe and loved. I felt like I can be free by his side and when we heard about mates we were both ecstatic.
That is until we did the marking, meaning combining our hearts. We both got rejected, I wasn’t his mate and he wasn’t mine and I was devastated. I loved that man, for years I loved him. Eventually we had a falling out and well...I moved on.”
“Annabelle, do you still love him?” Elijah holds my hand.
“Ha, no. I am protective though, as he is with me. For awhile I thought he was still in love with me, but now looking at him I think he found his true match.”
“What about Aldridge?”
“Aldridge, he is-” my sentence stops when I hear a scream.
Elijah and I look at each other and ran into the room. Most of the guest have left but a few vampires and witches. I reach the inner circle where I see Francis holding a bloodied Jacqueline, holding her throat. I rush to her side, saying a spell to help stop the pain.
“Where is my brother, love?” Aldridge comes out with knife that reeks of mercury and silver, both deadly to a vampire.
“Dead.” I see holding on to Jacqueline.
“Dead? You killed him? You fucking bitch!”
“Jesus, Aldridge do you have a death wish?
“Her brother can’t save her now, he is too busy rescuing that pretty little blonde that came with you. Shame, mates would do anything for each other including abandoning their siblings.”
“You seriously do have a death wish. Fight me like a man, Aldridge, or are you too afraid to get beat by me,” I get up, looking dead into his eyes.
“Oh I will, but in your true form.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“You should really be more considerate on who you trust. Only an idiot would give a spell to someone else on how to unlock a ripper. Let see if it works, Maggie?”
Here comes in Daryl’s wife and mate, Maggie. Her braids are aligned perfectly adding beauty to her green eyes. She is a fine hybrid, one of the few successful witch/vampire combination. Here covent lies within the Ruby covent.
“Ahhh Maggie, how is Daryl? Did I mentioned he killed someone in bed one time? I am surprised you haven’t met the same fate,” I gave her a smile.
“Really Annabelle,” I hear Jacqueline whisper from behind.
“Francis, get her out of here and find her brother. I need make sure that Anna and him are okay. And before...”
“You won’t let it, Annabelle,” Jac finally says before she is whisked away by Francis. I just hope she is right.
“Oh she will, especially since she hasn’t had blood in days. Right Annabelle?” Maggie smiles, lifting her hands towards me.
“Repellent,” I say before anything comes out of Maggie’s mouth.
{Translation: Push away}
Maggie goes flying back towards the tables, crashing it and breaking it in the process. I felt something behind me and I used my elbow to hit it, only to miss. I am then pushed roughly to the ground, my arms getting pulled behind my back.
“I do miss this position,” Aldridge whispers seductively in my ear.
“I don’t,” I grab his head and yanked him forward, creating a dent on the marble floor.
“Vitae et traxit,” Elijah says.
{Translation: Lift and drag}
Aldridge is then lifted mid-air, then pulled to the opposite direction of the room colliding with a few lamps and chandeliers. I run to Elijah, hugging him because I completely forgot to protect him.
What a minute? Should he be the one I should protect?
What if he isn’t?
Oh my god...
“Animal in corpore evenire sinant,” I hear Maggie staggering to say. I look at her with panic, not wanting to let this happen. I have no control over my alter ego. None.
“Elijah, go. Now,” I beg of him. I didn’t want him to see this side of me, I would have no idea what I’d do to him in this state.
“What no,” he cups my cheeks, “I am not going to leave you.”
“You have no idea what is about to happen. Go, please,” I begin to tear up.
“Non sinam sine,” Maggie says louder, unlocking something inside of me.
“Annabelle,” he kisses me gently, I felt that same spark but it quickly faded when I felt a thirst.
“No Elijah, I am serious. Run. Please, just run. Find Jac and Jax. Find my brother. JUST RUN,” I yell at him.
“Sui accipere patiuntur,” she finally finishes. That is when I fall to my knees, feeling Elijah stepping away slowly. I clench my throat, feeling the need of thirst building up to a maximum, black fading dots entering my eyes.
“Go,” I finally whisper before I blank.
Elijah
Next thing I knew, Annabelle gets up with that mean ember in her eyes. Those same ember eyes I saw during my trials, the same eyes that instill fear in me. I stagger backward, seeing her fangs pop out instantly while looking at me.
Those same eyes clawing at my sister, hurting her and hurting me in the process. Now that I have kissed her, it hurts me even more.
“Good luck,” Maggie sings before leaving with Aldridge. I don’t normally hate people I never met in my life, but I do now.
“Human,” she sniffs. Even her voice went dark. Maybe it was this side of her that appeared, well clearly since I am seeing it happen before my eyes.
“Don’t be afraid. I just want your blood,” she licks her lips. A sight that would normally turn me out but I am completely scarred right now.
And so I ran like she told me too. I ran as fast as I could towards the balcony, opening the door. Except I didn’t get very far as I see her right in front of me. I fall back, scared shitless at my girl trying to attack me. If this was role play, then I would be turn on, but this shit is scary.
“I am not going to hurt you. Well, maybe a little bit,” she was about to grab my shoulders before she was yanked and tossed by Jax.
“Why would you do that for?” I ask breathlessly.
“This is not the Annabelle you know or I know. This is known as her ripper side, only a few vampires have this gene within them,” he blocks Annabelle’s punch and pushes her roughly against the wall.
“And thank god I am not one of those vampires,” Zeke comes out with his fangs and red-orange eyes.
“Come on help me with your sister,” Jax says trying to hold her down but she grabs his forearms and tosses him towards the balcony.
“What a ripper?” Danni asks, helping me up.
“Hold on,” Zeke grabs Annabelle and throws her again to the floor, this time pinning her down with his knees on her chest, “Its this uncontrollable desire for blood. It’s the only thing on a rippers mind; they could drink a full human body’s worth of blood and it still wouldn’t be enough.”
I see Annabelle kick him in the back, sending him flying to the bar. She gets up, searching for me when she spots Danni.
“Wolf. I love to drink an Alpha’s blood. But first, the witch,” she turns her gaze at me.
As she runs towards me, Jax’s big a
rms elbow her, making her slide across the marble floor. She gets up, wiping the blood coming out of her mouth, then sends a blow to Jax’s stomach. He grunts but manages to hold her other swing.
“Aren’t you a witch? Say a spell!” He strains holding her.
“You are a fool, nothing can hold me down,” she raspily says, gripping his arm tightly causing him to bite down his lips.
“Elijah!” He growls at me.
“Oh yeah...duh!” I stutter, “Cerebri permittit ut fruaris.”
{Translation: Allow the brain to sleep}
Within an instant, Annabelle falls hard against the floor. Her fangs don’t retract but she is on the floor not trying to hurt someone. Zeke comes back, massaging his head due to him hitting the bar so hard.
“Now, we just have to figure out how to undo the ripper spell,” Zeke sighs, picking up his sister.
“Please tell me she has a memoir somewhere about that,” I say, looking at the clueless guys in the room.
“Well...she...never really mentioned it,” Zeke scratches his head, “But I am sure we can find out something.”
“Where’s Anna?”
“Anna isn’t exactly happy to be here either,” Danni winces then looks at Jax.
“And why is that?”
“Because Jax is my mate and I hate vampires, well the evil ones” Anna says from the top of the steps, looking angry as ever.
“What?!” I shout out.
Chapter 14
Annabelle
My eyes flare open, I am not in the current time but in the Ancestral Plane. I am not also in Jax’s quarters but in the middle of the cemetery where my mom is buried. That means only one thing, and that thing is I am turned into my alter ego and stuck for a while.
I don’t remember much, other than Elijah stepping away.
“Daughter,” my mother’s voice calls from a bench.
“Mother,” I say, walking towards her. I buried in the outskirts of a small village in Italy. It is the one place that I have warded from many powerful witches and vampires.
“I see you got yourself into some trouble. Did you turn yourself?” She knits a small blanket.
“No, it was Maggie. Daryl’s wife. The first vampire, witch hybrid. I guess she wanted to show my mate who I have inside.”
“Hmm, that’s not it.”
“What?”
“Well, she needed you to fight your brother and Jax. She needed them to get a small ounce of blood out of you, as you know in ripper form, you hardly feel the pain, let alone aware of your surroundings. She just needed a sample of your blood.”
“And what for?”
“How to make some potion or whatever, to make you weak. They are very good at keeping ancestors away. Magic has acquired incredible amounts of knowledge,” she sighs, “Non so perché creo piccole cose piccole come questa quando non puoi avere figli.”
{Translation: I don’t know why I knit small petty things like this when you can’t have kids.}
She tosses the small sweater to the ground which then disappears mid air. I sigh next to her, overlooking the small stream crossing by. It was very peaceful here, hard to buy land off the government but I did so. We sit there in silence, over the years we fought and eventually forgave each other.
I don’t know why I only see her when I am in this state. Sometimes I don’t see her, but that is when I turn myself into the ripper. When someone else casts a spell on me, then I see her. She has the ability to talk to me, but only in small messages in the real life. Other than that, this is the only time I get to physically see her.
I often wonder about my father, where would he be at. She doesn’t know as he was not a witch, but he was loved by the witch community. One of the few Alpha’s to embrace the witches instead of mocking their dignity as most werewolves do.
“Is he the one?” She finally asks.
“Elijah Lockwood?” I turn to face her.
“Of course. Although I was rooting for you and Jax but it turns out that blonde friend of yours is his mate. She is not happy.”
“I wouldn’t be either.”
“Lockwood decent? Hmph, the world has a funny way to play with your emotions, amor. I am happy you don’t bow to any of them.”
“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t here.”
“Sweetie, I know. I wish I didn’t let that evil brute of a witch take you and experiment on you. I wish I protected you and your brother more, yet here I am stuck in this dimension watching you suffer. As a mother, I wish I could have taken it away, but I can’t. One thing I know for sure is that you are a fighter, a survivor, and you will get through this.”
“Till the end of the line,” I smile.
“Is that from that hunky guy dress up as America’s hero? Chris Evans? Now I wouldn’t mind having grandbabies with that handsome fella.”
“Ma.”
“Be careful with Lockwood. I know that you know he is working with Daryl but I feel like Daryl has something up his sleeve. He will use that against Elijah and therefore turn on you. Just be careful, alright.”
“Of course. Are they close?”
“Your memoir about rippers is far beneath the ocean. Why on God’s blue earth would you do that?”
“Mamma, le mie memorie contengono antiche conoscenze di incantesimi e streghe, non le conserverò in qualche biblioteca,” I scoff.
{Translation: Mother, my memoirs contain ancient knowledge of spells and witches, I am not going to keep it in some library.}
“Supponiamo che tu abbia ragione. Buona fortuna, il mio fiore,” her cold hands graces my cheeks as I feel my body being tugged back into reality.
***
Elijah
Flashback
“Anna, what happened,” I walk up to her, where she begins to break down.
“A freakin vampire kidnapped me, forced me to hurt Jax and if I didn’t Freddie would get hurt. Then Jax rescues me, tells me that I am his mate, then he...he...left me alone,” she sobs.
“Is that why you hate me? You told me to leave you alone,” Jax defends himself.
“Guys, seriously no time for this. We have to get Annabelle’s memoirs and find out how to reverse the spell. I wasn’t there for the last few times, so Anna you pretty good at this witch thing right?” He heaves Annabelle in his arms.
“Yes, why?” Anna responds.
“Well, I need you to teleport back to my place, well not exactly teleport but bring your spirit there and read the memoirs. Elijah, can you do that? The more the merrier.”
“Yes, yes of course.”
“Jax, is her room still by yours.”
“Yup,” he replies putting his bones back in place.
“Good,” Zeke then speeds off to Annabelle’s room.
“Um, okay, simple spell. Elijah come with me, there is a library with other witches memoirs. We need to look up the spell, and quick,” Anna tugs my arms.
“I thought you knew?” I ran after her.
“Kind of. Come hurry!”
***
Present Day
After hours of searching, telepathically I might add, we could not find any spell on this reversal. It has been two days and nothing, all we could do is put the same spell on Annabelle every time she wakes. The first night, she destroyed everything in her room, fought Zeke and Jax and Danni, leaving Danni bruised up.
“That’s it,” I look up, after thinking about his for awhile.
“What?” Anna looks up.
“Annabelle mentioned she has roughly 42 books of memoirs, listing from 21 basic magic to 15 advance magic and 6 black magic. What if what we are looking for is in black magic?”
“Are you saying she is hiding those books?”
“Of course! Its black magic, any witch would die to get their hands on a book of spells that contain black magic, especially from the actual author.”
“Duh, no wonder. ZEKE!”
In a split second Zeke and Jax appears in front of us, still healing from Annabelle’s rage, “Yeah?”
>
“Do you know where Annabelle could possibly hide other memoirs, in particular memoirs containing black magic?”
“Isn’t in there?”
“No, Annabelle is not dumb enough to carry around books containing black magic. She hides them,” Jax sits down.
“Right. We 36 books, the other six are hidden somewhere. We need to find those six in order to know which one contains the reversal.”
“Isn’t a bit dangerous to bring them all here?”
“Do you want your sister alive and not potentially dangerous?”
“Fine. I know there is one at sea, let’s hope that it’s the only one we have to dig up. I hate to feel my sisters rath.”
“Which sea?”
“Gulf of Mexico? The origins of black magic occured in New Orleans, 1885. Those were the days,” Zeke smiles at the memory.
“Elijah,” Anna reaches out her hand and I grab it, closing my eyes, “et libros commentaria in Sinu Mexico.”
A few moments later, a wet but tightly sealed book appears in front of us. Anna reaches for it but it instantly stings her, wincing in pain. Jax, being the overprotective mate as he is, as I learned the past two days, he bites his wrist placing the oozing blood in front of Anna.
“No thanks,” she squirms away.
“aperire librum,” I say but it did not open.
“Are they warded as well?” Anna scoffs, “She is too damn protective over these.”
“If they had magic to wipe out an entire species, in which she told me she does, I would protect these with my life,” Zeke replies back.
“We need the blood of a relative. Zeke, do you mind,” I say.
“What?”
“Just do it!”
“Chill dude! Jeez,” Zeke bites his palms, squirting it above the sealed book, sizzling as it sinks in.
“Et libri aperti sanguis dominus,” I put my hands around the book and lone behold it opens.
{Translation: Open book with the blood of the owner}
“Technically is not the owner?” Anna wraps her hands.
“Well, close enough. Now let’s read.”
Another good three hours pass by and just when we were about to give up, I found it. I read it intently, making sure no side spells or effects could happen when the spell is being said.
