“What will you do next?”
She had already made that decision before they had even returned to the compound. “I'm going to go after her again. Only once I kill her will I be able to continue on my path to greatness. You will continue my journey with me, won't you?”
He smiled and brushed her hair out of her face with his strong hand. “Of course I will, my love.”
She smiled back and walked away, leaving his hands elevated in space for only a moment. She crossed over to her bar and poured herself a shot of scotch, knowing that it would warm her cold interior. “You know Nick, killing her felt quite good. No matter what the elders say, it was her time.”
He nodded. “Do you think she'll stay in Salem now that her grandmother is dead?”
“It all depends on whether or not she accepts her fate as the leader. I suspect she'll flee. As she should. But we’ll find her, don't you worry my pet.”
She poured herself another shot and laid back on the sofa to rest her eyes while she waited for the elders’ decision.
While she was resting she didn't take notice of the fact that Nick was fumbling with something in his pocket. A small picture of a girl painting, from a life that seemed familiar.
8
I stood there, one hand clasped in my mother’s, the other in Ultan’s, as I watched the casket being lowered into the earth. The dark box juxtaposed against the beautiful white flowers my mother had chosen for the funeral. The crisp scent of late summer air mixed with the flowers filled my nose as I inhaled a deep breath. I didn’t know what to say. I was supposed to be the one to protect her and yet under my careful watch she still managed to die. I looked out of the corner my eye to see if I could catch Ultan’s gaze. His eyes were glued to his shoes. He wasn’t looking at me of course, I mean why should I expect him to? But all the same, I wished he was. As the Reverend stopped speaking I realized the funeral was over and it was time to move on. I looked at my mother, tears silently streamed down her face as the loss hit me. Gran was gone. I walked away from the casket. The hole in the earth singed through my chest as Ultan still cradled my hand. I was glad he came, though I know it didn’t have to do with me, it had to do with her.
People scattered and Ultan and I stepped away from the scene.
“So have ya decided what you’ll do?” He looked at me like I should know the answer to that question when honestly I had no idea what I was going to do. “She left it to ya didn’t she?” he asked. He was talking about the house. We had been discussing for the past week if I would stay in Salem and if so, what would I do with the house?
“Of course she did,” I responded. What else would she have done?
“So?” he inquired.
“So, we’re staying, you and me, in the old house. Joy will move in with us too. I want it to become the new coven house.”
“Does that mean yer taking over the coven?”
I shook my head unable to answer. I still hadn’t made my decision.
“Ya have to do it, ya know. They need you. If ya don’t someone else will just take over the coven and if that happens, there will be nothing left.”
“I know,” I said, “but what can I do? I don’t know how to lead a coven. Just a couple months ago I didn’t even know I was an Electi. Look where it got her. She’s dead Ultan. And if it’s the last thing I do, Natalia will pay for this.”
“Whoever said that this is what she wanted?” He pointed off in the distance, but I knew who he was pointing at. My grandmother, now dead in the ground. “I don’t remember her asking for this but she still took it on just as ya need to now.”
I pondered what he said. I knew he was right, obviously. Ultan was always right, sometimes annoyingly so. But could I really lead a coven? Could I really do this all by myself… without her? It’s almost as if Ultan knew what I was thinking. He took both my hands in his and said, “I think there is something ya need to see.”
I walked with him past looming Oak trees. His hand felt warm in my own. At least I had him. We hadn’t discussed him being a bear, or my powers since that night. But at least we were together, and for now, that was enough.
We continued to walk past hundreds of graves. I didn’t wonder who I was walking over just wondering what I was walking to. And then I saw them. The hundreds of people who had come to visit Gran’s gravesite. They’d come to pay their respects. They’d come because she was their guide. I took a deep breath as I looked over the crowd. Some met my gaze while others focused their eyes on the ground, bowing their heads. As I looked at the people in front of me, I knew that someday they would be at my funeral, because it was my turn to lead them.
I was the gifted one. Their leader. An Electi.
Like paranormal romance?
Read Meredith’s next series HUNTER’S MANOR.
Do you love to review books? Once a week Meredith will send out an email with free books to review.
Please sign up here!
About the Author – Meredith Clarke
Meredith Clarke likes long walks in the trees and drinking sangria. Yeah for real. Like Edward Sparkly Cullen style. She writes alpha male yet cuddly characters and the hot women that love them. Open a book or two, eat a s’more, and cuddle up with the men of Meredith Clarke.
Like her page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Meredith-Clarke/945588365502251
Visit my Amazon Page for more of my books!
The Salem Shifters: Complete Series Books 1-3 Page 15
