by Leilani Love
“Probably will work, my employer is getting impatient. I think I might have to go on a road trip though, not sure just yet.”
He hears ringing in the background. “I have to go. End of the day and the phone is going off. I’ll call you back later tonight.”
Chase says goodbye and hangs up. Seeing some movement from the front yard, he looks in that direction and smiles when he sees Angel and Sari running. The girls are chasing each other around and laughing. Kati comes out, sitting on the porch with her sketchpad. He notices that even though she is drawing intently she keeps looking up to check on the girls. He can see a small smile on her lips when she looks over at them.
Chase smiles, thinking about how his friend imprinted on this young girl and how well he’s handled it so far. Neither one of them has told Kassandra or Viktor yet. Kassandra, he knows, will get a good laugh, but Viktor, well that’s a different story all together.
If these girls are the ones they are looking for, Viktor can react one or two ways. He might use Scott, since he knows that by being imprinted on the girl, he will give his life for her or he could get so pissed he’ll skin him alive and hang his cat hide on his wall.
It had been so long since any of the dragons found their mates he had a funny feeling Viktor would actually be happy that his friend had imprinted. Shifters and weres mated for life. Unlike his friend though Chase wouldn’t know he had found his mate until after he slept with her. That seemed like the much more fun way to find his mate.
Chase sees Violca pull up and his body instantly reacts when she gets out of the car. Most days she wears slacks but today she is in a grey pencil skirt and a white blouse that clings to her breasts nicely. He smiles when he notices she is barefoot and carrying her heels in her hand. From the smile on Kati’s face and the gesture of her hand, he can imagine her making a small joke by the way they both grin and laugh.
Chase thinks Kati is a pretty girl even though she seems to be trying to hide herself most of the time. When she smiles and laughs, Chase knows without a doubt she will grow up to be beautiful. Poor Scott is going to have a hard time keeping the guys off her when she gains confidence. That thought makes him chuckle.
The girls follow Violca inside and he sees them occasionally walk by the window. He knows they are packing up for their trip tomorrow since Scott and Eryk both confirmed the girls are leaving in the morning. Kassandra sent them satellite pictures of the area and selected a few spots where they can rent a cabin but they decided camping would be better since the nearest cabin for rent is over twenty miles away. Tomorrow they will follow behind the girls and Brandon.
Chapter 24
Brandon pulls up to the house in a long white van. Violca walks outside to greet him, “Where did you get this?” she asks, giving him a light kiss on the cheek.
“I rented it. I figured if I took my car you would make sure the youngest rides with me. This way we can drive together and you can help keep me awake.”
She laughs, thinking Brandon knows her too well. It’s a long drive and the girls had a hard time entertaining themselves. The look on Brandon’s face tells her he knows he guessed right. “What, the girls miss you and want to tell you all about what’s been going on at school.”
The girls’ bags are in the living room. They used their backpacks to bring something to do when they weren’t outside. Hearing Brandon’s voice, Angyalka and Sari run into the living room, throwing themselves against his legs. Brandon picks up each girl and kisses them loudly on the cheek. Kati and Eva come in next, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey stranger, we missed you,” Eva says with a wide grin.
Brandon shakes his head looking over at Violca. “I see Eva hasn’t changed.” Eva sticks out her tongue at him and he laughs. “Sorry, I actually landed a big case that just broke, and it looks like we got the guy.”
Brandon looks over at Kati. “Can’t wait to see what you have been working on.” She smiles at him and he grabs one of the heavier looking bags. “All right, girls, let’s get the van loaded, head out and get breakfast.”
The younger girls cheer and they all grab something and head out. Violca looks around, making sure they got everything before locking the door. When she gets to the van she hears Brandon telling them about the TV’s that are hooked up and how they can watch different movies if they want. “Wow, you got a fancy van.”
Brandon chuckles. “Nothing but the best for my girls.”
Violca snorts throwing the bag in the back. Closing it up, they all pile in. The younger girls in the back, she hears them debating about what movie to watch first.
Chase growls when Brandon leads Violca into the house. His eyes narrow at the guy’s hand on her back. He hears Scott and Eryk both chuckle and he looks over and glares at them, which seems to make them laugh harder. Ignoring them both, he goes back to watching the house, glad to see they don’t linger.
They pull out shortly after the girls, keeping far enough distance that they hope Brandon does not notice them. Chase does not think he’ll be paying that much attention but as a cop he might notice a car that stays behind them for over ten hours.
Eryk brought plenty of food and Scott brought them all a thermos full of coffee. “What did Viktor say when you talked to him last night?” Scott asks, shortly after they get on the highway.
“He told me that I had until Sunday night to find out for sure and to secure the girls, otherwise he said he would be coming to take care of it for me. Said we have had plenty of time.”
Scott turns slightly in his chair, looking at him. “Did he say anything else?”
Chase looks at Scott from the corner of his eye. He can feel that Scott is nervous. If Kati is one of the earth witches, Viktor will be unpredictable and even though the goal is to keep balance, there are some who think locking the earth witches away will solve their problems. One mentioned killing them, but since they are the last of their kind and the key to get the stone, no one knows what will happen if they all die. Will it release their abilities and anger the Gods? Chase is happy Viktor is against killing them. Before he even met them he knew killing the earth witches would not bring balance.
“Nope, just let me know that if I was not up to the task he would either finish it for me or send someone else who would.”
Scott nods and everyone is silent for a bit. Eryk clears his throat. “So, do we have a plan on what we are going to do when we get there? We not only have to show up at the cabin but find out if the girls are what we all think they are.”
“Maybe we can show up with some cookies and tell them that the cabin just happened to be in our zone,” Scott says, a small smile on his lips.
They all laugh, some of the tension leaving them. “I’ll think of something,” Chase says before they get quiet again, keeping an eye on the van several cars ahead of them.
They exit about an hour out of town, stopping at a small restaurant that they must have known about beforehand since it was not even on the signs when you exit. There is a gas station kitty-corner to the restaurant that gives them a good view and lets them fill up the SUV and run inside and get what they need.
“Why do I have a funny feeling that restaurant is really good and we are missing out on some good breakfast?” Eryk asks, getting back in the car with a bag full of junk food.
“Cause we can smell it from here and it smells amazing,” Scott grumbles, looking over at the restaurant again.
Chase chuckles at his friends. Chase’s stomach has mainly been in knots since his talk with Viktor, and he has no desire for food no matter how good it smells. He is not looking forward to confronting Violca. He is both scared that she might be and scared she might not be.
If it turns out they aren’t witches, he will be ordered to leave and Chase will have to go. The future of his kind and that of other supernaturals depends on them finding the witches. If it turns out Violca and her sisters are who they were looking for, their lives will forever be changed.
Cha
se selfishly almost wants her to be the one. He doesn’t want to leave her. Viktor might kill him if he gets involved with her, but Chase thinks he might be willing to make that sacrifice. The dragon does not speak to him directly, but he is always aware of him and always knows how his dragon feels and it wants Violca. Chase has been attracted to other females before but with Violca, his dragon is aware of her, knows her smell and above all else, it wants to protect her.
Watching them all pile back into the van, Chase’s eyes narrow and he tries to stop the growl that rises to his chest when he sees Brandon whispering something into Violca’s ear that causes her to laugh. The distance and the traffic make it impossible for even his dragon to hear and he grips the steering wheel tight. Following behind them again, he tries to remind himself that Violca might not appreciate him killing her friend.
Chapter 25
Violca stretches when they get out of the van. The drive was long and she is glad to be at the cabin. The girls run out. With the TV screens, the girls were mostly entertained but were starting to get restless toward the end. Smiling, watching the girls bounce, she grabs one of the bags before heading to the front door.
They have a caretaker who takes care of the place. Unlocking the door, Sari and Angyalka run inside. It has been almost two and a half years since they visited the cabin and she is not even sure if the two younger ones remember it, except for what they see in the pictures.
The cabin has four bedrooms. The one that Angyalka and Sari are staying in has two bunk beds, two of them have twin beds, and the other was her parents’ room that has a nice queen size bed. Brandon agreed to sleep in that room, despite his earlier protest. There are two bathrooms, one in the master room and the other one between the other girls’ rooms and across the hall from hers. Her father talked about building a third one, saying that two bathrooms was not enough for that many girls but died before he could.
Brandon comes up behind her, smiling. “I’m glad we came, some of my best memories were the summers we used to come up here.”
Violca nods, finally stepping over the threshold. “Mine too.” She hears the girls laughing. “I should have brought them back here sooner.”
Brandon touches her back and she sees understanding in his eyes. “Let’s get the van unloaded. I have a cooler in the back with some burgers and charcoal. I’ll grill while you help the girls unpack.”
Smiling at him, Violca feels a little better. She puts her bags in her room before going back out to help unload. Kati had taken the girls out to the back where their dad built a big swing set and tree house for them.
Violca puts the food items away first before putting away Sari and Angyalka’s bags. She can smell the grill going outside and the sound of the girls’ laughter and she knows she is exactly where she should be. She can almost feel her mother’s presence surrounding her.
With everything, for the most part, put away, she heads outside to join her sisters. Violca smiles when she notices Eva swinging besides Sari. Angyalka is in the tree house with Kati, looking down at them. Brandon looks over his shoulder, a big smile on his face. “Burgers are almost done.”
“Good, they smell great and I am getting hungry.” Brandon helps her make the girls’ plates and they call the girls over to the table on the patio.
“I forgot how beautiful it was out here,” Kati says, looking around.
“Me too, it’s colder here but still nice.” Eva smiles at Violca. “Good call, V, I think a mini vacation is exactly what we all needed.”
Brandon lifts his beer. “Here, here.” The girls raise their glasses before they drink. During dinner they finish catching Brandon up on what’s been going on and they spend most the night laughing and teasing each other.
When night falls, after Violca puts the younger two to bed, she heads outside with a glass of wine. Sitting on the stairs, she leans back, looking up at the stars. She is wearing a jacket as the evening is cooling down.
Hearing the hoot of an owl, she looks up to see a snow owl in the biggest tree in front. It hoots again, looking at her, and Violca swears it’s the same owl that was in her dream. “Do you have something to tell me?”
The owl hoots again, turning its head looking around. It begins to flap its wings and she is surprised to see how large the wingspan is before it takes off, heading in the direction of the river.
Violca heads back into the house. Everyone is in their own rooms and Violca rinses off her glass before heading to her room. Tired from the drive, she crawls into bed, sighing happily when her head hits the pillow.
Violca knows she is in a dream the second this one starts. She is standing on the porch, wearing the same long, white dress that she is wearing in all the other ones. Hearing the door open behind her, she turns, smiling when she sees her mom coming out, holding something tight to her chest. Her mother is wearing her long, violet robe that her husband bought her, saying the shade was almost a perfect match to her eyes.
Her mother walks straight through her and heads down the stairs toward the giant tree in the front yard. She looks around before kneeling down, caressing the item in her hand. Violca walks slowly behind her and sees that the item her mother is holding looks to be a very old book with weird gold symbols and writing. Her mother wraps it up and begins to dig a hole with the small shovel that was left out from when the girls were playing earlier.
Her mother looks up the tree, smiling when sees the snow owl above her head. “Make sure you guard this and the girls.” Her mom wipes her eye and Violca suddenly realizes she has been holding back tears. The owl hoots in reply before gliding down the branch, swooshing just above her mother’s head and flying back up to one of the lower branches as if trying to get closer to her. “Thank you my friend,” her mother whispers.
Waking up suddenly, Violca looks around the room. Disoriented, it takes a few minutes before she realizes that she is in her room in the cabin. She reaches up and realizes that her cheeks are wet and that she was crying in her sleep. Sliding out of bed, she looks out her window, which overlooks the front yard, giving her a perfect view of the tree in her dream. Up in the tree, she sees the owl in one of the high branches.
Biting her lip, she debates about what to do. She doesn’t think she will be able to get back to sleep any time soon. Grabbing her jeans, she slides them and her jacket on and heads outside. On the side of the house is a small shed her mother and the caretaker used to store items for the garden. Grabbing a shovel, she walks over to the tree. Before she digs she looks up. “You would tell me if I was doing something stupid, right?”
The owl doesn’t reply, just tilts his head. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, “she mumbles before digging carefully. After a few minutes, Violca really begins to question her sanity. What is she doing out here in the middle of the night? She had a dream. It was probably nothing since she doesn’t remember that book from when she was little.
Violca notices something when she slides the shovel back in the ground. Going down to her knees, she brushes some of the dirt off and sees something wrapped in cloth. Pulling back the material, she sees it is the same book that was in her dream. Using her feet, she is able to cover the hole so the girls won’t fall in, and she puts the shovel on the side of the porch.
Quietly walking to her room, she takes off the cloth and puts it on her dresser. Looking over the book, she notices that it is written in a language she doesn’t recognize. Flipping through it, she notices the writing is the same throughout and sighs. Putting the book in the nightstand, she removes her pants and crawls in bed and tries to fall back to sleep.
Chapter 26
Eryk and Chase set up the campsite close enough that they can hear the girls laughing as they play outside. Scott shifted into his cat and went for a run around the cabin, checking out the area, looking for any signs that others had followed them.
Eryk smells the grill and smiles. “Hey, I think I am going to set up the little charcoal grill and cook, that smell is making me hungry.”
&nb
sp; Chuckling, “Yeah sounds good, I’m ready for some real food.”
Scott comes back right when Eryk finishes the burgers. “Did you see anything?”
“No, everything looks good so far, there are some campers several miles down the river but they sound they like are planning on leaving tomorrow.”
Chase nods at that. Since the cabin is in the woods, there are not a lot of neighbors and only one way in one way out by a vehicle, but by foot there are tons of ways to gain access. They are going to be keeping a close eye on the girls and the area. Chase is still trying to figure out how to approach them, time is running out and Viktor is not known for making empty threats.
They make a watch schedule, Chase taking the first one. He climbs up the tree near the house that gives him a good vantage point so he is able to see anyone who might be walking in the woods, without making him too visible.
With all the lights out, he is surprised when Violca steps out of the house. He watches as she digs, wondering what she could be looking for. She talks to the snow owl who seems to be curious by her actions. When she pulls something out, he narrows his eyes, trying hard to see it.
He watches as she covers the hole and heads back into the house. Chase knows what room is hers and watches for her light to come on. When he sees no more movement, he frowns, wondering what that was all about.
Inhaling deeply, he catches her scent still on the air and a very, very faint smell of magic. Narrowing his eyes, he swears. Whatever she dug up smells like magic, old strong magic and just the hint of earth. Whispering on the night air, he says, “They’re the ones.”
Dread fills him at the thought. Chase thinks he always knew since the moment he met Violca that she was special, but now he knows she will always be hunted. He is not sure if he believes in the power of the stone. Some think they only hold the powers of the dragons, others that they gift the owners with unlimited power. Whether true or not, there will always be those who want more power and these sisters are the key.
