by Martha Woods
She shrugged, "I have no clue. I wish I did, then we wouldn't have to come all the way out here. I just hope she's as powerful as she seems, it could be a real help."
The crow suddenly cawed and took flight, leaving the two behind in the clearing. She smirked.
Flattery really will get you everywhere.
"Looks like we're clear." She sat back down next to him, he raised his eyebrow.
"So... what was that about?"
She pointed where the crow had flown, "She was watching us, I had to get her attention."
He chuckled, "You know, I'm not sure I'm ever going to get used to how you people work."
"I could say the same about you!" She laughed, "Yet here we are, working together."
"That is rather strange," Their heads shot behind them, seeing a woman materializing out of almost thin air, "But I can assure you not the oddest thing I've ever seen in my long life."
Hayley jumped to her feet, bowing her head, "It's an honor to meet you, I read over your work." She pulled up her sleeve and revealed her tattoo. "I was hoping a member of my coven could help me, and who better than the author herself?"
The older witch tutted, "Obviously you thought that, else you wouldn't be here." She clicked her fingers, "Enough with the bowing, ask what you will and then leave. You disturb the forest."
Hayley rose, meeting her gaze, "My friend is with child. The father is a shifter, she is not."
"Ah." The woman paced, "I assume things are progressing much faster than they should?"
Michael huffed, "You could say that, yes."
"By what magnitude?"
"The child was conceived little over a month ago." He shook his head, "She looks to be at least 6 months in by now."
She hummed, "That sounds very familiar." She turned to Hayley, "You read my findings, surely you know what happens next."
Hayley nodded, "I do. But isn't there something to be done? Something that can save her?"
She shook her head, "If the mother is human, there is nothing that can be done, likely for either of them." She looked at them pointedly, "That is, if the mother is truly human."
Michael quirked his eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"
She chuckled, "Please, do not live up to the stereotypes. I mean that if she has supernatural blood, even filtered down through generations, they will be safe. Of course, then you still have to deal with a pregnancy, so you're not out of the woods yet."
"Just like I thought..." Hayley stroked her chin, turning to Michael, "It sounds like there is a good chance that she's not completely human."
"This is insane, do you think she could've known?"
She shook her head, "I don't think she even knew about the possibility, I mean, why would she?"
He sighed, "Jesus, what a mess..."
They both turned to the witch, "Thank you for helping us, we really appreciate it."
"Oh, I wouldn't be so hasty..."
Hayley's eyes widened, "Why do you say that?"
She laughed mirthlessly, "Oh you never heard? There is a prophecy you know. About a shifter, a second in command in fact, mating with a witch. A witch from our coven." She sighed, "Thinking back, it was such an incredible thing to witness. I only bring this up because it sounds very similar to your circumstances. And given that the coven’s numbers have drastically gone down…"
"What... What happened in this prophecy?" Hayley and Michael exchanged worried looks, "What happened after? After they… mated?"
The witch laughed, verging on a cackle, "Oh, now that would be telling!" She smirked, "But I will say, it would be best if you kept a close eye on your friends. Lest you lose them."
Their worry turned to horror as the witch laughed one final time and vanished, leaving them alone with their fear.
* * *
Two days, and finally Liam received word. Farah and Hayley had both arrived in town within four hours of each other, so the time that answers started coming in was rapidly approaching. Maybe then he would be able to stop worrying about Skylar, though to be honest that day would likely never truly come.
He entered the bedroom where the doctor had just finished checking her over, he turned to Liam with a neutral expression. "She is perfectly able to move out of this bed, in her current situation this may in fact be doing more harm than good." He turned to Skylar where she was lying, "You can do some light exercise, I would suggest stretches and walks. Do not bother with this bedrest anymore, if you are going to die, there is nothing to stop that."
She chuckled, "Very comforting Doctor, I will be sure to do that."
As he passed Liam he patted him on the shoulder, "I realize you are afraid, but just be there for her. If she is to be healthy, she needs to be active. And if she is to die, I believe it would be better if you were by her side.”
"I..." Liam sighed, "'I understand." He shook off the hand, going to sit next to his wife.
She looked ecstatic, "Finally, I can get out of this bed! It's been driving me crazy!"
He smiled, "Well I've got some good news, Hayley and Farah will be here soon. Looks like we'll have some answers."
Her face lit up even more, "It'll be good to see them again! I hope they found something good, I feel like my brain is just about ready to melt..."
"Hmm? Why's that?"
She reached to the bedside table, pulling off a notebook, "I've been working on a family tree, trying to see if there's anyone in my bloodline not totally human. I've spent time going back through old records, stories at thanksgiving, that sort of thing." She smiled, "Every family has those weird members you only see at get-togethers, so I focused on them for a bit. Then I figured that if you were supernatural you wouldn't exactly broadcast it to the world, so I changed to the more 'normal' members of the family."
He picked up the notebook, flicking through the pages. He raised an eyebrow at the thoroughness, "How far back have you gone?"
"About four hundred years."
He snapped his head up, his eyes wide, "Four hundred years? And you found this much?"
She scoffed, "This much? I found nothing related to anything supernatural."
He flicked through, "Not that, look at everything else you found. Birth dates, business dealings, family rivalries." He smirked, "To be honest I think you might've gotten into the wrong line of work."
"Now you're just trying to butter me up."
He snorted, "Is it working?"
"It's getting there..." She smiled, "But I think it can wait."
He rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face, "Fine..." He flipped the book shut, "Did you find anything else?"
"Well... Kind of." She sighed, "Actually not really, no."
He took her hand, "What do you mean?"
She smiled at the hand on hers, but couldn't hold back the scowl when she answered, "I called my father."
He nodded, "Ah. That would explain it. What did he say?"
She shrugged, "Nothing, he never picked up. I left a message telling him to call, that it was urgent, but he never did. That was two days ago." She squeezed the bridge of her nose, "I really just... Cannot count on him to not be in some kind of trouble, can I?"
Liam shook his head, "People like that... Soon as they're out of trouble, they go and find some other kind. People like that you just have to let go."
She shook her head, "It's not that easy, he's my father. I can't just... let that go. You understand that, right?"
He didn't answer. Truth be told, he wasn't so sure he did.
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway." He looked at her, she smiled, "We'll work it out ourselves. You, me, Farah, Hayley. You put us together and I don't think there's anything we wouldn't be able to do."
He chuckled, "Your enthusiasm really is infectious."
They jumped as the doorbell rang, before both laughing, "I guess that must be them."
* * *
"Hayley!" Skylar jogged forward and wrapped her in her arms, "It's good to see you again!"
"Oh! Um, hi
Skylar." She smiled, "It's good to see you as well."
Skylar looked over her shoulder, "And you brought Michael?"
Hayley froze for a second, before turning around. There stood an equally as awkward Michael, he raised his hand in greeting, "Hi Skylar, how're you feeling?"
"Much better!" She looked between the two, "We're making some strange pairs of friends, aren't we?"
They snorted as they walked past her to the lounge, "Tell me about it..."
She raised an eyebrow at Liam, who merely shrugged, though clearly, he was thinking the same thing. They started to follow them when they heard another voice, "No hug for me?"
She turned around at the voice, grinning widely and throwing herself at Farah, "Oh, Jesus Sky! Be careful!"
"You wanted this, don't complain."
Farah chuckled, before she remembered, "Alright, I brought someone with me, but I need you to promise you won't overreact."
Liam chuckled, "I'm sure whoever it is we won't..." He cut himself off when they walked into his sight, a growl coming from his throat automatically, "Get him the fuck out of my house."
Cayden raised his hands, showing himself to not be a threat, "Easy man, I'm not here to fight."
"Oh? Then why are you here?"
He pointed to Skylar, "For her."
Liam snarled and he immediately backtracked, "Not like that! Farah told me she needs help, and regardless of how we feel about each other or how I felt about her, I'm not gonna sit by and do nothing."
His fingernails were digging into his palm, almost hard enough to draw blood. Skylar placed a hand on his shoulder, kissing his cheek lightly. He immediately calmed, "Fine. But this is my house, you step out of line once, and you're gone. For good."
"Fair enough."
* * *
They each took their seats, Liam making it clear that he was going to remain at Skylar's side. The message was mainly directed at Cayden. Skylar placed her hand atop his, squeezing down hard so he would be sure to remember exactly where she was sitting, and why she was sitting there. It took a while, but she was sure he got the message eventually. The thing she couldn't figure out was exactly why Cayden was helping. Sure, he'd been infatuated with her, to an almost worrying degree, but a hunter jumping into action with witches and shifters for another time was a big ask.
Then she saw the looks he was giving, not at her, but at Farah. The exploration when she wasn't looking, the quick glances when she turned her head, the frantic way that he was avoiding looking her directly in the eye.
Ooooh, so that's what this is about. She shook her head. This is happening far too often now.
Farah spoke first, "Cayden and I found the witch responsible for your mother’s condition."
Liam leaned forward, breathing to keep himself under control, "And what did she have to say for herself?"
"She said that she was hired to give the Elder's wife a natural death. She confirmed that it was the Elder, your father, who was responsible. The goal was to have you return to take over as Alpha."
He sighed, "How did she do it? Could someone else do it again?"
She shook her head, "The potion was made by the coven's other witches. And, well, they're all dead. We saw to that."
"What about her? What did you do?"
She shrugged, "She said that doing this made her leave the coven. She just wants to live a life of peace and never do evil again. I believe her."
He squeezed his hand into a fist, "And if she was lying?"
"Then I will take care of it." She sat back down next to Cayden, who's eyes handed moved off her the entire time. Skylar chuckled.
It really is just so obvious.
After some deliberation between the two, Hayley and Michael stood. She spoke first, "We've gotten some information on your condition." She inclined her head to him, "Michael and I trekked into the forest and found a witch from my old coven. She studied women with your condition, her research was very thorough."
Skylar rubbed her arm, "What did she say?"
She sighed, "If you're human... then this baby will likely kill you both."
There was a solemn silence, before each of their eyes widened in realization.
"Wait..." Cayden started cautiously, thinking over every word before he said it, "You said... if she's a human?"
She nodded, "That's right."
They each turned to Skylar, looking her up and down. She paused for a second, her jaw dropping when she realized.
"Wait, you really think that I'm not human?"
"Honestly? It's looking more and more likely."
Michael jumped in, "I think so too, I mean..." He chuckled, "I feel like it would just make sense at this point."
She shook her head, "But I... I can't be! I've gone through record after record, file after file, I've looked into four hundred years of my family history and found nothing! How could I possibly have supernatural blood in me?"
"That... That I don't know." Michael sighed, "But to be fair, if someone looked at me and Liam's records, they'd have a very hard time finding anything as well. And our family hasn't been the most... subtle some of the time."
Farah snorted across the room, "That's putting it lightly."
"Point is, maybe you do have that blood in you. Maybe your family was just subtler about it."
Hayley walked over and squeezed her arm, "The witch said that it was any amount of blood. The person could have been in your bloodline seven generations ago for all we know." She smirked, "We're not worried about you suddenly sprouting gills and turning into a merperson. Though even if you did I'm certain we'd still love you."
Liam kissed the top of her head, "It would be a surprise for sure, but my feelings for you wouldn't change."
She giggled, "Stop talking like I'm going to turn into a merperson!" She groaned into her hand, "I just wish we had more information, this is just so much to wrap my head around."
Liam cleared his throat, "I've been meaning to tell you actually, I got Brett on the case."
Michael snorted quietly, chuckling to himself, "On the case?"
He looked at Michael unimpressed, before continuing, "You did a good job looking through your history, frankly a phenomenal job, but he might be able to find something you missed." He scratched the back of his neck, "I... wasn't sure how to bring it up to you."
She chuckled, "I wouldn't have been mad, just a little surprised. If you think he can help us then I'm more than happy to take it."
He smiled at her, squeezing her hand reassuringly, "I think we should let them know... about the other thing."
She sighed, "Right." She looked towards the others, "I feel I should let you all know that I contacted my father as well."
Cayden rolled his eyes, "Wonderful. What did the old man say?"
She shook her head sadly, "He... never picked up. I'm sure he's in more trouble, but we can't afford to go and help him this time, if he is even in any trouble."
Cayden raised an eyebrow, "But I thought..." He looked at Liam, tilting his head, "Didn't that whole problem sort itself out?"
Liam groaned, "You would think so, but you know as well as anyone how trouble can just find you whenever."
He winced, memories flooding back, "Yeah... Yeah I guess it does." He looked back to Skylar, "So... what now?"
She smiled, looking at all of them, "Now we keep looking. Dad was just one thing we could've used, but look at how much we have now, just by working together!"
Hayley nodded, "It's much more than I thought we'd get at first, that's for sure."
Michael nodded, "I think I wanna take a look at this history you built up, it'd be cool to learn more about you even if no one there is supernatural."
Skylar grinned, "That sounds nice Michael." She looked at Farah, "Are you sure that Leah is going to be alright?"
She nodded, "Me and Cayden both think so, we can tell when someone's lying. She wasn't."
Sky breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank god. Or... actually I'm not sure what to thank,
you've all thrown me for a loop."
They all chuckled, she leaned back into Liam, "I still can't think of anyone in my family with supernatural blood, but it seems like it's my best chance, isn't it?" She nuzzled against him, "I want to raise this child with you, see it grow. Supernatural or not, it's what I've wanted with you."
He stroked her back, "You'll make it through this, you both will. Soon, you'll have what you've always wanted." He smiled, "What we've both always wanted."
The others in the room smiled at their exchange, thankful that they were still finding happiness in these circumstances. Cayden though, eventually cleared his throat, looking apologetic, "I'm glad that you're taking this so well Sky. But, well... aren't you even a little bit scared?"
She frowned, "A bit, yes. But I have all of you, so I don't need to worry."
He smiled softly, "That's incredible, really. But... Jesus, I mean, I'm scared. What if you really are supernatural, doesn't the thought of that scare you?"
She narrowed her eyes, "Even if I was, why would it scare me? Or any of you for that matter? You know me, just because I'd be supernatural doesn't mean I would suddenly change overnight."
He looked between her and Liam, who was growling softly in his direction. He sighed sadly, "You misunderstood. I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid for you."
He swept his arm around the room, "You and me are the only regular humans here, and soon it might turn out that I'm the only one. Ask any one of the people in this room about the danger they face just by being." He shook his head, "I've been on the other side of that, I know what you'd be up against. Even with all of them helping, even with me helping, because I'm in your corner whether you like it or not, it's going to be a hard life."
He looked into her eyes, "So tell me, are you prepared for that possibility? Can you take that life?"
She took a minute to think it over, but the answer was clear, "I can."
Cayden exhaled slowly, before looking up with a smile, "Then you can count on us. We've got your back."
She smiled back at him, "Thank you Cayden."
But his words stuck in her mind. Is that life what she wanted? Absolutely. But she never wanted to be a source of fear for those that were close to her. She wasn't sure anyone would truly want that.
