by Leilani Love
Kati nods before answering in a shaky breath. “It was fine.”
Violca closes the door and walks over to Kati, sitting on the bed. She sits there for a moment, the silence stretching out. Violca can feel that something is bothering her. “Your sister told me you went to a kid named Eryk’s house. Did something happen that I should know about? Did he hurt you or anything?”
Kati looks up, shaking her head. Violca can see that her eyes are red. Scooting closer to her on the bed, she reaches out, pushing her hair back behind her ear. “What happened Kati? Why are you crying?”
“No, Eryk didn’t do anything. We were studying in his kitchen and I guess his brother thought he was doing something and got really mad at him. I got scared, thinking he was going to hurt him.”
Violca bites her lower lip. “What was he doing that his brother over reacted so?”
Kati sighs and plays with the string on her bedspread. “He was leaning over, looking over my work, trying to see how I did one of the problems that he was not getting.” Violca raises her eyebrow and Kati shakes her head. “He wasn’t touching me or anything, just leaning partly over me to look at my paper.”
Violca trusts her sister so she smiles. “I believe you, Kati, maybe it just looked different from the brother’s angle.”
Nodding, Kati looks at her drawing.
“Did your friend Eryk act like stuff like that happens a lot?”
Kati shakes her head. “No, he seemed totally surprised.”
Violca smiles. “I am sure they talked. For now why don’t you invite Eryk over here so there are no misunderstandings?” Getting up she heads to the door, ready to change out of her work clothes for the day. “As long as he stays out of the bedrooms, you know I have no problem with boys coming over.”
Violca sees her sister grin when their eyes meet. Eva and Kati know that she trusts them but believes in “not tempting the fates” as her mother used to tell them. Kati nods at her and she nods back before turning to leave the room. Feeling better, Violca goes to her room to change into a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. Walking back to the kitchen, she sighs, going through the fridge. “Eva, why don’t you go get the girls? I was thinking we could do pizza tonight, I don’t feel like cooking.”
She hears Eva call back, “Sounds great, be right back,” before she hears the door open and close.
Hearing her phone ring Violca looks around. She finds it in the living room and answers it without glancing at the caller ID. “Hello.”
“Hi Violca, this is Chase.” Violca smiles at the sound of his voice. Throughout the day she checked her phone and felt like a silly teenager.
“Hi.” She closes her eyes thinking she already said that. “How was your day?”
“It was good, sorry I didn’t have a chance to call you earlier. I wasn’t quite sure how your work felt about you taking personal calls, and then I got absorbed in my research.”
Violca smiles. “It’s okay, my work is usually all right about it as long as we aren’t busy, but that is hard to predict most days.” The door swings open and Sari and Angyalka run in, both loudly yelling about what kind of pizza they want.
“So I hear you guys are having pizza tonight.” Chase chuckles.
She sees Eva looking at her. Eva smiles a little too brightly then ushers the girls from the room. “Yeah, I thought I would treat the girls, would you mind if I call you later, maybe after dinner?”
“Sounds good, I’ll talk to you later tonight.”
Saying her goodbyes, she hangs up the phone and turns to see Eva in the doorway smiling at her. “What?” she asks and grabbing her keys and purse, she walks down the hall to get Kati so they can head out and eat.
Scott paces in the living room, waiting for Eryk to get back from taking Kati home. Glancing at the clock, he realizes that Eryk must have stopped or something along the way since he should have been home a while ago. Once Chase pointed out that he had imprinted on Kati, he went upstairs leaving him alone with his own thoughts. He swears again. How the hell can he be imprinted on a girl who isn’t even out of high school, and worst of all, seems to be scared of her own shadow. “Fuck,” he growls again.
Hearing a car drive up, Scott sees Eryk. When he walks in, his green eyes look worried before he looks down and tries to walk past him. “Eryk, stop, we need to talk.” Scott runs his fingers through his hair. “Please, I…I’m sorry.”
Eryk stops and looks at him. “Did you think I was trying to take advantage of her?”
Scott shakes his head, his mouth opening then closing. “Sorry, when I saw you leaning over her…”
“You assumed what, I couldn’t control myself?” Eryk asks and Scott flinches at the sound of hurt and anger in his voice.
“No.” Scott fights the urge to swear again. “My cat took over and did not want you to be at all near her.”
Eryk frowns for a moment before putting it together. “You imprinted on Kati?” Scott nods and Eryk slowly smiles. “Oh…”
Growling softly, he raises an eyebrow. “How did you get her to come over today? I thought you two hadn’t talked.”
“Do you remember me telling you that she was getting harassed from some of the kids in school?” Scott nods before Eryk continues, “Chase asked me to keep a closer eye on her, and today two of the guys at school…”
Scott growls, gripping the couch until he hears some of the fabric rip and realizes that his claws have started to lengthen. “I got to her in time, and I was able to figure out why they are giving her such a hard time.”
Scott looks at Eryk, trying to not yell at him.
“I need you to relax before I tell you what happened and to promise you won’t go and kill a few stupid teenagers.”
Scott growls, knowing he is not going to like what his brother is about to tell him. Walking into to the kitchen, he grabs two beers and hands one to Eryk before he sits. Normally he wouldn’t give his brother a beer but after the day they had he figures they both deserve one or three. Taking a swig of his beer, he growls, “I won’t kill anyone.”
Chapter 19
Chase finds himself sitting outside Violca’s house, late at night, making sure everything is okay. Leaning back in his seat, he watches as the last light turns off. Violca called him earlier, after she took the girls out for pizza. The conversation was light and he enjoyed hearing about her day. Inhaling deeply, Chase catches the scent of something different in the air. Getting out of the SUV, he walks closer to the girls’ house, stopping when he sees a black wolf near the side. As Chase nears the wolf, it growls, low and threatening. Chase notices its fur is standing up as it lowers his head. The wolf’s canines show, and as it snarls, its eyes glow an almost blood red.
Chase’s dragon lets out a low, long growl of its own, and he can feel the skin on his arms and legs itching to change. Fighting to keep control, he reminds his dragon of the damage they could do in this small neighborhood if he shifted. The smell of the wolf is off, and he knows it’s a demon’s pet, that the demon can take over if it wants. Enhanced by dark magic, they are taller than any wolf and twice as strong.
The wolf comes out from the side of the house and they circle each other in the front yard. Between clenched teeth, Chase growls, What are you doing, demon spawn?
The wolf almost seems to smile at him and he can hear his response telepathically, I am here to check on what was promised to the master, dragon.
Narrowing his eyes, Chase lets out a large growl and lunges for the wolf, who jumps away, and the sound of laughter fills his head. I am over 200 years old dragon, and my master is much, much older. You will leave the young witches alone, they are not your concern.
His dragon growls MINE and the fight to keep control over his dragon gets harder. The witch is mine, wolf, and I will chew your hairy ass and spit you out before I let you close to them. He hears the wolf laughing, before he finishes. The witch is mine.
The wolf lunges at him, then turns to mist and vanishes. The smell of sulfur is the
only thing left behind. Chase clenches his fist, wanting something to hit. Frustrated, he walks back to his SUV. Picking up his phone, he instantly calls Scott. “We have a problem,” he starts when he hears Scott’s voice.
“Are the girls all right?” Scott replies, and Chase can hear the growl stemming from the need to protect his mate.
“They are fine but there was a wolf, a demon’s wolf.”
“What was he doing there?”
“I think he was here to tell me to leave the girls alone, but just in case…”
Before he can finish, Scott cuts him off. “We need to confront Violca and move them into protection.”
Chase swears, leaning his head back against the headrest. “What do you want me to say, ‘Hey are you and your sisters’ descendants from the original earth witch? There is a demon who is after you, and oh yeah, I am a dragon and I need you to come with me. Our dragon prince decided you are needed so he can rule the world and restore us to our former glory.”
Scott snorts, before mumbling, “Oh and by the way, a panther imprinted on your teenage sister.”
Chase can feel the start of a smile on his lips at Scott’s comment. “Look, during the day you watch Violca, I’ll watch the younger two and Eryk can keep watch on the older two until I figure out what to do. Maybe Kassandra or Viktor can help us come with an idea. We will have to take rotations to guard their house.”
He hears Scott sigh in frustration before he says, “Fine, but you better come up with something soon. I will not let a demon get his hands on them.”
“I will, I’ll take first watch tonight.” Scott agrees to take the second watch, Eryk taking the last, following the girls as they go to school. Getting comfortable in his car, Chase watches Violca house.
Violca looks around to find herself back in the woods by the cabin. Hearing the sound of the white snow owl behind her, she turns and slowly heads to the cabin. Walking hesitantly to the door she pauses, placing her hand on the knob before turning it. Walking in, she sees her mother by the fireplace again, standing in the same long red dress.
Violca’s mom turns to look at her. “Violca,” she says, slowly coming toward her.
“Mom.” Violca hugs her tight. “I know this is a dream, but I am so happy to see you.” She tries to blink back the tears that are threatening to form.
Her mother’s smile is warm. “I have so many things I wish I would have told you when I had time, but now I really need you to listen to me.”
Violca frowns at her mother’s words.
“I need you to go to the cabin and find my book, sweetie. It will help you and your sisters with the things that are to come.”
Violca tries to think of what book her mom could possibly be talking about. “I don’t remember you having a book at the cabin other than the ones you read to us as kids.”
The white snow owl hoots outside, and her mom shakes her head. “Find the book, the owl will help, he guards over it, waiting for you and your sisters to return.”
The flames in the fireplace flicker and her mom looks behind her, eyes narrowing. Turning back to Violca she whispers, “You must be careful, danger is circling you and your sisters. Retrieve the book, my dear daughter, and trust your heart. It will help you figure out who to trust and who to be weary off.”
The sound of the owl gets louder and her mother brushes her lips against Violca’s cheek. “It’s time to leave, he tries to find a way in and my power grows weak. It’s time to wake, Violca.”
Sitting up at the sound of the alarm, Violca turns it off and leans back on her pillow. With a sigh she thinks of what her mother told her in her dream. The rational part of her knows it was a dream, but another part feels that her mother was trying to reach out and talk to her.
It’s a long drive to the cabin. Could she take her sisters out of school for a long weekend to look for a book that may or may not be there? Getting out of bed, she heads to the shower wondering what her mother meant when she told her danger was circling her and her sisters.
Chapter 20
After Scott relieves Chase, he spends the majority of the night in his dragon form, flying. Chase’s dragon has been itching to get out. After his flight, he sleeps a few hours and is ready to watch the younger girls at school.
Eryk drives by him, following the older two girls to the high school. Nodding to him, he parks away from the building. Getting out, he walks toward the school, watching the people dropping of their kids or walking by the school.
Canvasing the school, he finds an open window. Not seeing anybody, he mists and slides in, floating up the air vent. He’s not sure which classroom the girls are in, so he uses their scent to find them. Finding Angyalka first, he smiles when he hears her voice. Looking through the vent, he watches her for a few minutes before scanning the room checking out the teacher, the aides, and even the students. The demon could possess anyone, which makes his job of protecting them that much harder.
Noting everyone’s face, he slides through the vents, looking for Sari. When he gets to her classroom, he looks over everyone in her room too. He notices a little boy pull her hair and Sari glares at him. Chase smiles.
Chase watches as Sari looks behind her at the teacher. When she notices that the teacher is not paying attention, she reaches back and touches him. The kid jumps like he was shocked and Sari smiles before turning back around. Chase frowns, having never seen any of the girls use magic, ever. It could have been static electricity but judging by the way the kid jumped, he doubts it.
Scott’s panther is not happy that he is not the one guarding Kati. He understood that it’s easier for his brother since he’s already in the high school. He knows Eryk will protect them, guard them with his life. That is the only thing keeping him calm.
Since the death of their parents, he’s trained Eryk to protect himself. Eryk’s a natural fighter and when Scott joined with the dragons, they helped train him in ways Scott never could have.
He watches Violca, noticing that she has dark circles under her eyes. He sees her rubbing her eyes again and he walks over to the coffee machine in the back. He makes her a cup, making sure to add plenty of cream and sugar, and takes it to her. “I would ask if you had a late night partying, but I know more than likely one of the kids kept you up.”
Violca smiles at him, her eyes lighting up when she sees the cup of coffee in his hands. “No, just have a lot on my mind. Do I look that bad?”
“Nah, I just noticed you yawning and thought you could use a pick me up.”
Tilting her head, she looks him over. Violca can tell he’s muscular by the way his shirt hugs his body and she’s willing to bet he has a six pack under there. The way his eyes light up when he smiles gives him a cute boyish appeal. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
Scott nods.
“How come you never go out with the girls that are always trying to get your attention?”
Scott blushes, fidgeting. “I guess I am picky, plus like you, I am picky about who I bring around my younger brother.”
An image of Chase in her house with her sisters makes her blush. Before Violca can reply, the phone rings and Scott winks at her, leaving her to answer the phone. “Wilson, Wilson, and Associates, this is Violca. How may I direct your call?”
The rest of the day goes by rather quickly. Violca finds herself thinking about her dream and her mother. Part of her thinks she is going crazy, the other part wonders what would happen if she and the girls took a few days to go to the cabin.
When it is finally time to leave, Violca gathers her stuff and heads to her car. As she passes a guy he bumps her. Turning to apologize, she stops when the guy turns to look at her, a cold smile on his face as he looks her over. His hair is cut short like a buzz cut and he has a prominent tattoo on the side of his neck of a scorpion. He stands well over six feet tall, making her feel small. She fights the urge to shiver. “I’m sorry, excuse me.”
“Sorry, Miss, I wasn’t paying attention.”
Noddi
ng, trying not to be rude, Violca continues to her car. Looking over her shoulder, she sees him still there watching her and she walks faster. Maybe she should get away for a little while.
When she gets to her car, she looks around one more time. The garage is empty and Violca shakes her head thinking she is getting wound up for no reason. The guy was a little creepy but no reason for her to think he was following her. Starting up her car, she backs out and leaves the garage.
Violca looks both ways before she pulls out and notices the guy leaning against one of the walls to the building across the street. Standing next to him is another man not quite as tall, his hair is also shaved and he also has the giant scorpion tattoo on his neck. The guy she bumped into earlier winks at her, and Violca drives away.
Was he what her mother was talking about? Were those dreams real? Shaking her head, Violca wonders if she is going crazy. On her way home, her phone goes off and she sees AnnaBelle on the caller ID. Smiling, she answers and looks around. She notices that there are no cops and decides she can spend a few minutes on the phone with her. “Hey sweetie, how are you?”
“I’m good. I just thought I better call you since I wasn’t sure when I could make it over.”
“Work keeping you busy or the new man in your life.”
AnnaBelle laughs. “A little of both, actually. But I promise when I can, we will get together and I will catch you up.”
“You better. Brandon has been pretty busy with work and I miss you guys.”
“I’m sorry, V, I promise soon I will find time to come over and we will have lunch and I’ll catch you up.”
“You better girl, I need to let you go. I am driving.”
