Rowena's Revenge (Broadus Supernatural Society)

by Theresa Marguerite Hewitt

  His black magic, gifted to him by my parents, has transformed these decaying things into black slimy skinned, winged, red eyed, brainless drones and I can hear ones wings flapping up behind me. Ducking, going down on one knee and thrusting my sword straight up I catch the creature under the jaw and its body falls slack to the snow almost immediately. I twist my blade free, hearing its brittle bones snapping and crunching and I clean my sword in the snow, a scowl coming to my face from the smearing of the black substance staining the perfect newness of the snow.

  “Oh, Pentonnnnn,” I hear on the wind; Cearbhall’s voice dark and deep as I always remember it being, his laugh following his mocking of my name and my body stiffens as I feel him near. “Penton, Penton, Penton; isn’t it funny how history repeats itself?”

  He pops up out of the dark about three feet in front of me, his orange eyes reflecting the meager moonlight shining through the bare trees. His hair sweeps around the side of his face with the scrawling tattoo and he just bathes me in a cunning grin, a wave of superiority trying to flow over me, but he underestimates me. I am still a part of the magic world, even if I don’t have all of my powers right now.

  “History will not repeat itself. Not here, not now, not ever,” I tell him, my hand flinching on my sword as I see him eye it up. He’s seen me in action, both back then and now, and I know he remembers how I don’t show any mercy to those who hurt me. “I should’ve killed you a long time ago.”

  “Yes, you should have, but you didn’t and now has come my time to rein.” He flashes me an evil grin again before manifesting a ball of blue and orange flame within his palm; rolling it around as if it is a toy for his amusement. “Do you want to know what I will do with your precious Kitten?” He spits the nickname Blaine has given Rowena out like it is poison, and I tense, readying to strike when he shows a weakness.

  “You won’t get the chance; she has powerful forces watching over her,” I assure him, standing defiant in my position. I know Kade is watching closely over Row, but I also know he can’t intervene until she accepts who she is. Rowena needs to come to peace with her fire, her Fae heritage, and meld it with her Were-snow leopard in order to be at peace within her spot in the universe. That’s what I am supposed to be helping her with, but so far I’ve been failing.

  “Just wait, Penton. She will come to me; mark my words. Then the world will see what I have planned for it in a wave of flame and darkness.” He looks down at the fire hovering above his palm and back up to me with a smirk. “I will see you soon, my friend.” He laughs, throwing the ball of fire at my head, and I duck just in time to deflect it away from my face with the blade of my sword.

  Getting my bearings, I pop back up, ready for a fight, but find nothing and no one there to fight. Cearbhall has disappeared—the coward—and I’m left in the dark woods alone while the adrenaline courses through my veins. His laugh echoes on the wind, stirring my nerves, but I know it’s only to scare.

  I need to get to Rowena to make sure they made it to Duncan’s safely. She is my number one priority and I can’t let her down. My naivety and carelessness cost me her life once before and I can’t bear the thought of it happening again. I can’t fail her again.

  Pulling my collar up around my neck, I tuck my sword in and out of the way, zipping my jacket up tight. I raise my nose to the wind, scenting for anything familiar to lead me and a faint hint of Blaine’s earthy scent finds me, mingling with that of other wolves and I shake my head, scowling to myself.

  I told him to stay with Row. Why can’t he just fucking listen to me, for once?

  CHAPTER SIX:

  Rowena

  December 27, 2016

  My head is pounding and the sunlight is right in my face as I come to. I thought I told Blaine to put his sweatshirt over the windows of the Landrover to keep the sun out so we can sleep in peace. Rolling over to smack him in the face, it’s funny how the seats of the SUV sink more than they should. Also the wool blanket underneath me is awfully smooth and I run my hand over them with my eyes still closed until my hand falls off the edge. Wait, what?

  My eyes fly open and my brain protests from the bombardment of sun filtering through the window on the wall that I’m now facing. I try to make sense of my blurry surroundings as my head swims. In my frantic state, I’m falling out of the small bed before I can catch myself, the cool wooden floor connecting with my shoulder as I yell out in shock.

  Small, pounding footsteps are rushing my way and the door swings open to three little children staring down at me. Their dark brown eyes make my memory kick in, and as they yell for their mom, I sit up against the side of the bed and pull one of the quilts down to cover my scantily clad body. I’m in Buffalo and Blaine had left me here last night, swimming in a sea of whiskey that the Female Alpha had given me.

  “Are you okay?” The she-wolf, Sindy, rushes toward me, kneeling in front of me as her two smaller children chatter and whisper to each other behind her. Her hand sweeps over my cheek, and at first, I flinch away, my leopard hissing at the unwanted contact, but I rein it in when the little ones gasp and grab onto their older sibling.

  “I’m okay, I just scared myself,” I gasp, my heart still rapidly beating in my chest with my lungs trying to catch up on oxygen. I reach out hesitantly to the littlest girl, thinking to soothe over making her scared and I have to hold in an astonished remark when she leaps into my arms, wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “Don’t mind Kiley,” Sindy smiles, running her hands over the little girl’s hair, “she can always tell when someone needs a hug.” The woman’s happy smile and the slight sparkle in her eye almost breaks through the anger building within me toward my mates, and I hug the little girl before she jumps out of my lap with a happy squeal. “Do you want something to eat?”

  “No,” I say a little too harshly as I pull a pair of pajama shorts from the tote bag strewn about the floor from my fall, “I want to go find my mates and kick their asses.” Sindy gives me a serious look and I take a peek at the kids, stating, “Sorry for the potty mouth.”

  She waves my apology away, but grabs my arm as I try to slip past her. “You are to stay here. My husband said they will be back as soon as they can, and it’s only a little past sunrise.”

  “Penton has been out there since last night!” I almost scream in her face, my flames threatening to burst forth, but I tamp them down, not wanting them to become uncontrollable and hurt this family. I can tell she feels the rapid temperature change on my skin and she releases me, shaking her hand slightly. “Not to mention Blaine had you slip me, what? Almost an entire coffee cup full of whiskey and leave me here alone while he goes out to hell knows where? I don’t think so.”

  “No, no, no,” she chides me like I’m one of her little children and I try to shake her hand off of my arm, but her fingers only tighten to a pinching pressure. She brings my face to hers and gives me a sweet smile. “They will be back; trust my husband and his men. Come downstairs and have pancakes with the kids.”

  I try to shake her arm once more, but her grip tightens even more, forcing my eyes to hers. Even though I’ve never had an Alpha to listen to, my leopard can still feel the pull of this she-wolf’s power over me and a low hiss rumbles in my throat. I don’t like this, but this is her home. Her eyes start to glow a warm chocolate color and I know mine are their usual blazing light blue when my leopard is surfacing, but I resign when I hear a haunting howl echo outside.

  Her face goes to the window, her brow creasing, and my heart kicks to a frantic beat again. Her hand doesn’t leave my arm as she looks down to her children. “Down to the kitchen,” she tells them, pulling me into her side and throwing her arm over my shoulders. I’m still fuming, but I let her lead me down the stairs.

  “Whose howl was that?” I can’t help but ask as we follow the children’s laughter into the warm, bright kitchen; the smells of the freshly baked muffins and cooking bacon making my heart swell with the lingering sadness that I carry around having missed o
ut on this kind of family time. I never had morning time with my mom, let alone with any of the men in her life as they were usually only one night stands and stumbled their way out of our trailer early in the morning.

  Sindy’s pat on my shoulder breaks the nasty memories and I snap back to reality, not being able to keep the smile from my face as I tune into the children’s laughter and simple arguing as they fight over which seat they want. The youngest, Kiley, is losing and once her older sister pushes her from the chair she wants she comes running over, wrapping her arms around my bare legs and leaning her cheek against my thigh, crying crocodile tears.

  “That was one of my husband’s soldiers. They are coming back, and a few are harmed, but not seriously,” Sindy tells me as she tends to the bacon, turning it and stepping aside as the grease splatters and spits. The little girl’s arms squeeze around my legs, reminding me she is there and I reach down and sweep her up, puzzling myself in the action.

  I’ve never been one for kids, but for some reason holding this little girl is making me feel better. My leopard is content, purring even, and as the girl plays with my hair I can’t help but smile and laugh lightly to myself, catching Sindy’s eye.

  “Is this Aunt Fry’s sissy?” Little Kiley asks, and it kind of shocks me, referring to me as someone’s ‘sissy’. I’m zoned, looking out the front window as the other two girls argue over the fruit they have, letting the idea of being someone’s sister sink in. I like it. I like the idea of it. Out in the snow, I imagine myself chasing those little boys in the picture I had seen last night as my sister, Siofra, stands off to the side laughing at us.

  “Yes it is,” Sindy’s voice breaks my little day dream as Kiley giggles away in my arms, working on her sort of braid she has going in my hair, which is more like a knot but oh well. Another howl seems to resonate through the house and the girls all freeze, turning their faces to the large window and staring out into the sunlit snow. “They are here,” their mother says, leaving the stove in a flash and opening the back door to let a slight breeze sweep the cold air in.

  The breeze is a heaven sent, bringing me the bright apricot scent of Penton and the deep, musky earth scent of Blaine, and before I realize what I’m doing, I’m setting Kiley in one of the dining chairs and racing out the open door and down the snowy back porch steps. I don’t care about the chill of the snow on my bare feet as I stop to search the trees. My heart is racing from their nearing scents and the frantic beat of it in my ears mixes with the howling wind, swirling my hair around my face.

  A strong cinnamon and something like fall leaves scent fills the air right around me and in a swirl of snow and wind, there is a woman standing in front of me; her sky blue eyes boring into me. The same sky blue eyes from the picture of my sister and her family, and as she reaches out for my hand, I feel the pull that my leopard has for her, feeling content almost immediately in her presence.

  “Go back in the house, Rowena. Go back in the house now!” She shouts, her hand wrapping around my upper arm before she disappears into thin air, leaving me with a slack jaw expression. It was Siofra, I just know it, but how?

  “What the hell was that?” I say to myself, shaking it off and trying to catch my mates’ scent on the breeze again, but all I get is a strong, sickening musk. I know that scent, but I can’t put my finger on it.

  “Get in the house,” the voice comes to me on the wind, whipping my hair into my cheeks as the scent of cinnamon fills the air again. In the snow swirling around me, I can see her slight form, trying to manifest before me; fading in and out. A force of wind pushes me down into the snow, and as I look up, she yells, “Go! Now!”

  Her swirling figure disappears again, this time right before a ball of fire flies through the spot she just occupied and slams into the porch railing over my head, dissipating into sparks. I go into defense mode, springing up into a crouch to face the man with the face tattoo, Cearbhall I guess his name is, and my leopard hisses at the evil grin on his lips. The heavy, sickening musk reaches my nose just as his laugh fills the air.

  “Hello, my sweet little Rowena,” he coos, facing me head on with his orange eyes glowing bright in the sunshine as he pushes the hood from his face. His long, dark hair is braided at the back and as he makes a slow path, trying to circle me, he pulls the end of the braid over his shoulder, playing with the ribbon securing it. He stops as I issue a warning hiss and I can hear the little girls in the house crying, their mother trying to soothe them.

  Their cries pull my attention and I skirt a look up the porch steps to the glass door, seeing little Kiley with her hands pressed against the glass and tears staining her cheeks. The distraction is my downfall and before I can turn back, long bony fingers wrap around my throat and my body leaves the snow, my legs dangling in the air. I let my snow leopard out, but magic flowing from Cearbhall’s touch keeps me from shifting fully. It’s something more powerful than anything I’ve felt before and it makes my heart freeze, knowing he is full of evil.

  I strike out at him with my elongated, razor sharp nails, but removing my hands from his wrist puts more pressure on my throat and I’m coughing and choking, scrambling to wrap my hands around his arm again to alleviate it. He just smiles at me as the girls scream again in the house, little hands pounding on the glass as Sindy yells for them to listen to her and get away.

  I’m trying to gasp for air as he laughs, shaking me by the throat so that my back and legs hit the porch post behind me and I wince as the wood splinters dig into my skin. I can see his face shift from human to something ghostly and back again as I stare at him, digging my nails into his arm so that his blood runs over my fingers. Shaking me hard one more time, banging my head against a stair as he brings me down to the ground, Cearbhall seems to growl; his lips are only a hair away from mine.

  “My sweet Rowena, show me your flames,” he purrs, rubbing his nose along mine as I see his face flash from human to something almost bare skull like and back again. I try to pull from his grasp, kicking him in the side and groin, but nothing seems to faze him and I scream out in frustration, clawing at his arm and face as he squeezes my throat tighter. “Show me your flames!”

  The tone of his voice does something to me and my flames burst to life, filling my skin and turning me into a ball of fire in an instant. The heat is familiar, tingling all over as the blue and orange dance with each other, ridding me of the tank and shorts, leaving me naked in the snow underneath this man. My limbs start to shake as they always do when this much power fuels my flames, but I keep my grip on his arm and dig my nails even further into his flesh, hearing his grunt in return.

  His eyes are reflecting the lick of my flames and as he leans down, hovering his lips above mine, he whispers, “Your pain will fuel my power. I will rule the world with you as my slave.” His free hand creeps up the inside of my thigh, making my stomach churn and I try my hardest to squirm from his grip and extinguish my flames, but nothing helps. His fingers are at the apex of my thighs and a nasty smile caresses his lips when I feel two of them circle my entrance. I tense, trying to shut my legs, but his hand presses down on my throat, forcing me to focus on breathing, and I try to stifle the scream that comes when he thrusts his fingers in.

  He turns my face to his and my eyes widen at the sight. His features are no longer human; they are the bare skull grinning down at me as he speaks. “Be a good girl and hold still,” he bites out, shaking my head before bringing his now bare bone teeth down onto my lips.

  The contact brings a sensation of dizziness, and as I feel him pull back, I see a stream of my blue and orange flames flowing into his open mouth, lighting the cavernous abyss as he groans in pleasure. After only a second, I feel weak and I try to scream out, but it’s just a moan. I try to push him away, but my arms fall slack in the attempt.

  “Penton thinks he will get his magic back when he bonds with you,” he laughs, the empty sockets where his eyes once were now glowing a bright blue, “but he’s in for a surprise. The only way he’ll
get his magic back is if I die, and the only way for me to die is if someone he loves kills him. So it’s a double edged blade, you see?”

  No, I scream in my head, tears stinging my eyes, it can’t end like this. Blaine! Penton! I need you!

  I need them more than I would ever admit before. I can feel my leopard’s heart breaking in the thought of never being with her mates again, and she uses every last ounce of her strength to issue one last, bone chattering hiss and I can feel it vibrate all the way through Cearbhall as well. My head lolls to the side as he moans again, laying his full weight down on top of me just as the familiar earthy scent sweeps over me.

  Cearbhall’s grip on my throat loosens when I hear an ear piercing howl, and as my vision starts to fade in and out I see him fly into the tree line and disappear with a laugh and a smile. Then I’m surrounded by wolves; I can smell them, but I can’t see who is who as my vision still struggles to focus. I hear Penton’s voice first and feel his warmth as he sweeps me up, his apricot scent filling me with reassurance and comforting my leopard as she mews and hisses in pain.

  My skin is vibrating with what feels like a billion bee stings, causing me to shake in Penton’s arms. He’s trying to calm me, but I don’t comprehend the words. All that is flowing through my mind is the pain and Cearbhall’s warning. “The only way for me to die is if someone he loves kills him.” It can’t be true; I can’t lose Penton right after finding him again. Not after his brother and Cearbhall tore me away the first time.