by Domini, Sage
Protect him, sweet moon.
Oddly, her fear for herself had faded. Her thoughts rested solely with Deston. The camp remained quiet. She hoped the four visitors remained passed out. The sound of the knock froze her. She heard Deston’s voice. And Kenny’s. The next utterance chilled every nerve in her body.
“We’ll be hunting you.”
She wanted to scream. She wanted to call the fire. Desperately she began whispering the chants which had for long come to her lips as easily as an exhale. Even as her hands twisted into the symbols she knew it was futile. She had deserted the fire and her coven and now she would suffer. She wanted to leap from the roof and stand in front of her lover in the face of danger as she had before. But now she was only a liability. Deston would lose his life trying to protect her.
Kenny was speaking with mock friendliness. “Look, we’ll give you a head start.”
Deston swore. “You son of a bitch.”
Kenny roared with laughter. Alicia heard the other three chime in. “Well bro, we all are, ain’t that right? I don’t smell your little witchy pal. You somehow snuck her past us and told her to make a run for it? How far you think she’s going to get in the woods with four wolves on a full moon hunt at her heels?”
“Fuck you.”
“Now it’s my turn to say I’ll pass. You better get going. The moon has risen. And we’re all impatient types. Don’t worry about Miss Witch. We won’t bother with her until after we’ve killed you. Now run, wolf. Run fast. We’ll be right behind you. I promise.”
Deston swore again. A moment later Alicia heard the quick beat of his paws.
Yes, RUN!
He was going deep into the woods, away from the lake. Alicia figured he was wary of heading where they might run into innocent campers. She listened to the distant beat of rustling brush as her werewolf lover ran for his life.
She tensed as one of the others spoke. She could not tell if the low complaint came from Frisco or Benji. Knuckles cracked. “He’s had his start. Now let’s get on with it.”
“Shut up. We’ll go when I say so.”
Kira piped up. “He looks pretty fucking strong. Taking him down won’t be a piece of cake.”
Kenny’s voice was disgusted. “You’re too much the girl, Kira. Love to fuck, hate to hunt.”
“Then maybe you should work on your performance in that first category.”
Alicia gasped involuntarily at the loud slap. “Bitch,” Kenny swore. “You’re lucky I took your skinny, stupid ass. Now go check out the cabin, make sure that witch isn’t hiding under a bed or some shit.”
Kira must have protested because Kenny’s next words were low and ominous. “You’d better or I’ll be telling your dear daddy that a bear ate his little pup. And sweetheart, he won’t have much to bury. How about this? You can kill the witch. She ain’t even a real fucking witch anymore. I know you’re itching for it.”
“You don’t know shit, you trash,” Kira muttered but Alicia guessed Kenny did not hear because no violent outburst immediately followed. The boys moved to the far side of the clearing and Alicia couldn’t hear their voices anymore. Kira was causing all kinds of commotion inside the cabin. Alicia dimly wondered what her fate would be should Kira discover her. But perhaps with her gone Deston would be able to escape since he would no longer be distracted by protecting her. Still, she would not wish for death. And she would not meet it gracefully.
“She’s not here,” Kira called from the doorway.
“We’ll find her later. Since you don’t care for hunting, you can park yourself right here and wait. He might circle back this way. C’mon boys, hunting season is open.”
One by one three high-pitched howls filled the night. It was a sound which must have invoked terror into the warm breast of every living creature in those piney woods. The young wolves created a raucous clamor in the brush as they went in Deston’s direction.
Kill them, my love.
But it was still three against one. The odds were not good. Alicia stared at the moon. The moon stared back. The soft coolness of the inky night enveloped her as she lay on her back on the cabin roof. She stretched her arms to either side and breathed deeply, trying to recall the power which was once hers. Her mind’s eye saw the fire and her fingers worked the symbols. And somewhere deep she felt the tendrils of her strength return just a little.
***
He knew they were not far behind. They had his scent and if they caught him they would kill him. His only chance is to keep moving through the dark woods. If he kept them occupied long enough, Alicia may be able to escape. The old Chevy they had fled Arizona in was still parked behind the cabin. It had been too risky to start it up with them so close by. Deston doubted the pack had disabled it. They were too arrogantly confident in their own skills and would fail to attend to such details.
And so he ran. His heart beat mightily in the body of the wolf. His senses were tuned in every direction. He would lead them out of the state completely, into the unknowns of Arkansas and beyond. He would run until his wolf body gave out.
Deston stopped cold. His nose told him of a new threat. It was to the north, perhaps a few hundred yards away.
In the two months he had spent in the Piney Woods he had not sensed a single wolf.
Now they were everywhere.
He guessed there were two of them. Surely the scented him. They were remaining still. They were waiting.
Deston guessed he had traveled about five miles from the cabin. His pursuers thrashed through the brush in their eagerness. If he was shrewd, the opportunity presented by the wolves lying in wait would not be wasted.
He moved forward cautiously, every inch closer to where the new strangers waited. The turmoil at his back grew nearer. He was close enough to smell the new wolves, both male. A low growl reached his ears, joined by its companions. They were readying for attack.
Deston crept closer as the wolves at his back closed in. In their zeal to reach the kill at hand they did not notice the fresh danger ahead. Right now Deston knew the cunning of his human mind would serve him better here than the wolf’s blood mania and brute strength.
He felt the snap of jaws inches from his shoulder before he was ready. He evaded, crouching. Simultaneously Kenny and the frat buddies crashed onto the scene which instantly created a tableau of chaos. In the snarling confusion Deston bolted. The fight would hopefully keep them occupied until he could reach Alicia.
So intent was he on the thought of spiriting his mate away from harm that it did not occur to him until he had nearly reached the cabin.
Kira wasn’t with them.
***
She heard a soft rustling. It might mean the return of one of the wolves. However, she did not possess a wolf’s senses. Short of peeking over the roof and exposing her location she could not know which of them it was. She waited.
The air suddenly erupted with the blood curdling sound of snarling animals in an instant death match. She could tell they were circling one another, jaws snapping. She knew one of the must be Deston, unless one of them had turned against the others.
Enough of this cowardly hiding.
Clutching her paltry pickax, Alicia climbed through the small loft window. The cabin was a disaster. It seemed Kira had thrown every item she could reach on the floor in her temper tantrum. Alicia reached the bottom floor. The door was only a few feet away. The battle on the other side still raged fiercely. Alicia looked down at the pickax.
A sorry substitute for the fire.
Still, if she could summon the power from the soul of the earth it may give her enough strength to effectively defend herself. She raised her arms. She said the words which had been practiced and applied for so many years in the hazy times before Deston had entered her life. An electric surge shot from her center to the tips of her limbs. It was weak. It would not bring the fire. But it might be enough.
She opened the door. The wolves did not notice her at first, so intent were they on their bloody cla
sh. The moonlight illuminated the primeval sight of two mammoth creatures locked together on the ground in a fierce play of violence. The tents had been toppled in the melee. Vicious jaw snaps cut the air. There was a loud yelp and then they separated. Alicia could see Kenny limping slightly, his front left paw seemingly damaged. But he was still extremely lethal.
Deston scented her first. Alicia saw him stiffen with a very human terror as Kenny swung around. He was far nearer to her than Deston was. All it would take was one pounce with a quick snap of jaws and she would be no more. Alicia heard a deep chuckle as he realized this too. He made ready to leap. From the corner of her eye she saw Deston covering ground in an attempt to reach her first but it would not be soon enough. Alicia did not scream as the giant wolf aimed for her throat. By herself she was not strong. But with the mystical assistance she had summoned she swung the pickax. It found its mark in the wolf’s hide and Kenny issued an astonished animal shriek of pain as he crashed into the cabin. His sharp claws had caught Alicia’s arm and she cried out as the force of the blow knocked her over.
But now Deston had reached them. Kenny was wounded, but certainly not mortally. His eyes glowed with red rage as he rose to meet the attack. Deston was quicker. He had found his opponent’s throat and locked in with the wild wrath of a wolf defending his mate. He did not let go and Alicia could see the dark stain of blood spreading over them both. Kenny’s mouth was open in a silent scream as he struggled vainly to escape. They rolled into the clearing. Kenny’s paws twitched as his body began the final throes of death. Only when he was utterly still did Deston release him.
Alicia’s arm stung and began to run with blood. The wolf had cut her deep. Nausea threatened to overtake her. Weakly she tried to rise.
Then Deston was there. He picked her up as if she were a doll and stroked her hair, whispering endearments. The surreal joy of being in his warm arms pushed away the horror of recent events. She kissed him long and deep.
He pulled away, frowning. “You’re hurt.”
“A little.”
Deston examined the wound. Three dark gashes lined the skin of her upper right arm. Blood oozed. “We need to wrap that.”
He pulled the meager first aid supplies from the cabin and dressed the wound with antiseptic and bandages as best he could. Alicia winced at the sting. She urged him to gather their belongings so they could leave. He had tersely filled her in on the clash in the woods. It was possible Benji and Frisco were still alive. It was anyone’s guess where Kira had gone to. Still, he resisted leaving until her wound was tended.
“Please,” she said again. “We have to leave.” But Deston ignored her, wrapping her wound and holding her close. She felt the stiffening of his body before she heard the low growl in his throat.
***
He followed instinct and let the wolf out. But as he turned to face the danger his nose had alerted him to, he knew the wolf could not defeat this threat. There, twenty yards away at the other end of the clearing, stood Kira. She held a gun.
“I can hit a moving target,” she warned. Her eyes traveled to the bloody carcass of her mate. Deston awaited the gun shot. It did not come.
She said, “I’ll lower the gun when you put the wolf away.” Deston glanced at Alicia. She nodded feebly.
What choice do we have?
If Kira had wanted only their deaths she had missed her best chance. Deston stood on his two legs, positioning himself in front of Alicia.
Kira sighed. She nodded to the dead werewolf. “He was a lousy prick.” She clumsily shoved the gun in the waistband of her pants. “My daddy liked him, that’s all.”
Deston spoke, “The others-“
“Dead,” Kira said flatly. “I followed them, only I didn’t get caught. Careless fuckers. Think they’re the only god damned werewolves in the world.” She looked at them curiously. “What will you do now? You can’t stay here, you know. The Texarkana folks will come stiffing after their boys.”
“We know,” Deston said quietly.
Kira nodded to Alicia. “And I bet there are a few others already on the hunt for you.”
Alicia coughed. “Yes, a few.”
Kira cocked her head to the side. “What’s it like?”
“What?”
“To want someone so badly you’ll ditch your whole damn life to have them.”
Alicia didn’t answer. Deston drew an arm around her. “It’s…it’s worth it,” he finally said, looking into the dark eyes of his beloved.
She nodded. “Yes, it’s worth it.”
Kira winked. “Maybe I should find me a nice vampire to suck.”
“The bloodsuckers are extinct,” Alicia said. “I should know.”
Kira smirked. “Then you don’t know everything.”
In the end Kira dug out all the cash which had been stowed by the group in the truck. It was not an inconsiderable sum. She offered to them and they accepted gratefully. They did not know why she did it. Perhaps some wistful part of her seemingly shallow soul took pity on the illicit lovers. Deston had offered to bury her dead mate but she had shrugged him off. “Leave him,” she spat.
***
Deston glanced at her worriedly from time to time as they left the dark woods behind. They were headed east, perhaps to the coast. She had always longed for the coast.
“We should get you to a doctor.”
Alicia shook her dead. “I don’t need a doctor.” She believed this. That brief brush with her old power was still coursing through her body. It had been foolish of her to believe she could utterly forsake the old ways. By becoming defenseless she had placed Deston in danger. And more danger was coming. Alicia saw Magda’s contorted face when she closed her eyes. She knew Magda and the coven were still searching. They would never allow her to live peacefully with her werewolf lover. It would mean they were wrong. About the beasts, about denying the urges of your body in order to embrace the witch ways. Their religion was too old to be gracefully amended.
“Stop here,” Alicia commanded. The stretch of road was lonely and still dark. Another vehicle had not been seen for miles.
Deston did as she asked. “Are you sick?”
She was not sick. She launched herself into his lap and their mouths locked. He was surprised at her urgency but did not hesitate to respond. She felt him grow rigid and she tore at the boundaries which separated them. She needed him.
The coupling was brief but ardent. She screamed her climax and he followed. The vehicle rocked with their zealous pleasure. When they had resumed traveling, Alicia touched her belly. Some of her mate’s seed had refused to be contained but the rest of that hot essence was deep inside her, pulsing through her body and blending with the core of the witch and, she suspected, creating something new.
***
WITCH AND WEREWOLF
The Reckoning
***
One of the perks of being a werewolf was possessing superior senses, even when in human form. Deston could clearly hear the crash of the Atlantic Ocean which was over a mile away. As Alicia rested on his chest he felt the deep intake of her breath and heard the happy sighs which escaped her lips. His hand moved to the large swell of her abdomen and felt the stirring of the tiny occupant within. A surge of love and fierce protectiveness quickened his pulse.
Alicia craned her neck and smiled at him. She reached a hand to his face and traced the rough bristle along his jaw. “What are you thinking?” she asked.
He smiled back. “I was wondering about names again.”
“Mmmm, yes names.” Her long hair tickled his skin as she nuzzled his chest. Deston was grateful she was enjoying a moment of ease. The passage of six months and the two thousand miles of distance had done nothing to diminish her terror of the coven. She did not often voice her fears but Deston was well enough tuned to the moods of his mate to recognize her distress. On occasion her terrified voice would call out from the throes of a nightmare. Magda. He knew the witch’s name petrified her. It was the name of the wizened
coven leader, Alicia’s former master and mentor.
And murderess.
Deston knew it had to have been at Magda’s direction to abandon the truce between the witches of Phoenix and the werewolves of the outer desert. It was her order to destroy his pack. Not a day went by he did not think of the lost wolves. He had never even known who had survived and who didn’t. But at each full moon he bayed a mournful song for them and hoped somewhere some of them were answering.
Deston had not sensed another wolf since arriving in this small village off the eastern tongue of coastal Massachusetts. A rare hurricane had traveled far north the year prior and construction work was plentiful as there was still much damage to be repaired. The foremen asked few questions; all they required were strong men who labored hard and complained little. He and Alicia rented a small bungalow at the edge of town. Neglect and salty air had warped the structure considerably, but Alicia loved the place.
The sunken floorboards of the narrow porch creaked as Deston shifted his weight. The sky was darkening and a full moon was rising, bringing the primeval urges of the wolf. Living so close to town meant suppressing the wolf. This close to the human populace it was a necessity.
Alicia sat up and looked at him. Her large dark eyes were solemn as she slowly unbuttoned her shirt. She had read his restlessness and would give him the only thing she had to offer. Deston felt himself growing instantly hard as she rolled the shirt from her shoulders. The bungalow faced an empty lot filled with overgrown weeds. The homes on either side had been abandoned by their summer residents a few weeks earlier. No lights shone on the street. There was no one to see them.
Deston stared at the large breasts which spilled over Alicia’s swollen belly. They have plumped even more with the pregnancy. He sucked them in turn, playing his tongue over the hard nipples. He stood and pushed his jeans down his legs. His eyes never left her face and in the moonlight he caught a twitch of a smile on her lips as she noted the extent of his desire. She rose and dropped her shirt. Deston’s breath caught. His mate was unbearably beautiful. It seemed impossible they had once been natural enemies.
