by Sennah Tate
José sighed and balled his hands into fists at his side, “Fine, yeah,” he lied.
Esther’s words rang through his mind again. You’re not the only Alpha in town.
Was Juan’s Alpha looking for him?
“Hey, where did you say Juan was running from?”
Carlos frowned, his expression more than a little impatient with having to recount everything he’d said only a few minutes earlier.
“Summer Springs. That bastard Diego Rivera.”
Chapter 5
SONYA
Sonya examined her reflection in the bathroom mirror, clipping her long dark hair up into a simple twist before applying one last coat of mascara. She tugged at the hem of her silk blouse and made sure it was tucked into her grey pants all the way around.
“Mama, my shoes,” Manuel said, shuffling into the bathroom with untied laces trailing behind him.
“Of course, sweetheart, sit down.”
Manuel hopped up on the closed toilet lid and swung his legs while he waited for his Mama to tie his shoes.
“Why can’t I come with you?” he asked, his wide eyes tugging at her heart, making Sonya feel guilty though she had no reason to.
“It’s just for a little while, baby. You’re going to hang out with Abuela and you’re gonna have a blast, okay?”
She tied one of his cartoon character sneakers before switching to the other and her son frowned.
“Abuela is weird,” he said wrinkling his nose, “her house always smells.”
Sonya chuckled and wrapped him in a hug. He didn’t know that his grandmother’s house smelled like magic potions, just that it was weird.
“I know, but it’s just for a bit while I go to this interview, okay?”
He nodded, his mop of curls bouncing atop his head.
“That’s my good grown up little boy,” she said, ruffling his hair as she finished his shoes.
Once they were at Estrella’s house, Sonya knocked and tapped her foot impatiently, she was already cutting it close on time.
Her mother opened the door and Manuel gave his Abuela a reluctant hug.
“Go ahead inside,” Sonya said as Estrella stepped outside and pulled the door closed behind her.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Sonya’s mouth formed a hard line and she nodded sharply, “I told you, I’m done running. I’m through getting crappy under-the-table jobs just to avoid leaving a paper trail. This is a good opportunity and we could move into a better house… a nicer neighborhood.”
Estrella’s uncertain expression mirrored her own.
“Well, good luck with your interview, then,” she said.
Sonya nodded, “Thanks again for watching him. No funny business, though. Don’t try to ship him off to your friends or anything,” she added with a dangerous glare. She loved her mother, but nothing was going to come between her and her baby.
Estrella had the audacity to look offended at the suggestion, like she hadn’t tried to orchestrate that very scenario only days ago.
“Shouldn’t be more than an hour. Two tops,” she said before giving her mother a hug and leaving for the interview.
It wasn’t long before she found herself outside of Whimsical Witchcraft Designs, a local interior design agency Sonya read about online.
The office sign hung from the bright blue door of the mid-century bungalow, lush palms and tropical flowers gracing the edges of the cobbled walkway. She pressed the doorbell and felt an eruption of anxiety rise within her as the chime rang inside.
Sonya glanced at her watch and watched nearly two minutes tick by while she waited for someone to answer the door. Just as she pressed the doorbell again, the door swung open and the auburn-haired woman on the other side winced a little at the loud noise, sending a peeved glare toward the rafters.
“Hi! I’m so sorry,” she said with a sweeping gesture, ushering Sonya inside.
“I heard the bell and I just… well, I got distracted. You must be Sonya!”
Sonya nodded mutely as she tried to take in the scene: while tastefully decorated, the house was a mess. Scraps of fabric, magazine clippings, project boards and piles of who-knows-what-else cluttered the space.
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry about the mess, but that’s why I put the ad up! With this big magazine shoot coming up, I just don’t have any time. I can’t afford an assistant so it’s all on me and well…”
She raised her arms in defeat, “My life has kind of exploded.” Her muddy green eyes looked at Sonya with an expression she was unfamiliar with… She looked like a woman that could use some help.
Sonya laughed, “I know that feeling.”
“So, I just need someone to clean up around here. Maybe remind me to feed myself on occasion? I’m Emily, by the way. Oh my god, I didn’t even introduce myself, I’m so sorry. Emily Westcott, small business owner and total scatterbrain.” Emily flashed a self-deprecating smile and Sonya returned a grin of her own.
“You seem… overwhelmed,” said Sonya.
Emily laughed and blew a piece of reddish hair out of her face while another escaped her messy bun, “You don’t know the half of it. So what do you think? Will you take the job?”
Sonya bit back the gasp of surprise, “Uh… just like that? Don’t you want to ask me some questions or something?”
Emily shrugged, “You seem pretty together. You’re certainly not the mess that I am and I’d rather have someone around that understands my…” she wiggled her fingers, “quirks.”
Sonya pulled a face and tried to understand what she was getting at. Then she remembered the name of the business and the pieces clicked together, “You’re a witch…” she muttered.
“Well of course I am! So are you, that’s what makes us a good fit,” Emily said with a beaming smile.
“H-how… how did you know?” Sonya wasn’t sure how she felt about being outed so easily. She’d thought it was something she’d kept hidden fairly well.
Emily frowned and slipped on a pair of thin-framed gold glasses attached to a long glittering chain around her neck, “It isn’t a secret or anything, is it?”
Sonya nibbled her bottom lip and tried to resist the sudden urge to flee. She wasn’t going to be afraid anymore.
“I… well… no, I guess not. It’s not something that comes up in conversation and I don’t… practice.”
Emily shrugged, “That’s okay. I’m not really all that big on it either. All that meaningless sex for power stuff that the Coven talks about? Not my scene. Still, mishaps happen and it’s better if I don’t have to think up some excuse on the fly all the time.” Her nose wrinkled for a moment before the smile returned.
“So what do you say? Will you save my life, Sonya?” Emily clasped her hands together in a plea.
Sonya laughed and nodded. They discussed her salary — more than enough to get them out of their hovel, but nothing outrageous — and Emily gave her a big hug.
“Okay. Great. I’m so excited about this! Will you be able to start right away? I have a few more sketches to do, so I can stay out of your way completely.”
“Uh…” Sonya faltered. She’d said she’d only be gone for a little while, but this mess was going to take much much longer. Still, the desperate look in Emily’s eyes made Sonya feel needed. It was nice to be needed rather than always needing something. This felt normal. A new job. Maybe a new friend?
“Yeah, sure. I just need to call my babysitter to let her know.” Hopefully her mother would understand.
“Great!”
A few hours later, Sonya left Emily’s home-slash-office much tidier for her efforts. Well, the home was tidier. She certainly wasn’t. Sonya’s hair was slicked with sweat, her carefully-applied makeup long gone to the rigors of a deep cleaning. Her silk blouse was wrinkled, untucked, and probably bleach stained, she realized with despair.
The one nice shirt she had.
But at least she had the job.
As she walked to her car, heels dan
gling from her fingertips, long abandoned once she’d begun cleaning, Sonya pulled out her phone.
She was bone tired. More exhausted than she had been in a long time, and all she wanted was to cuddle up with Manuel at storytime. Her rugrat could make even the worst day feel amazing.
Intent on calling her mother on her way to pick up her son, Sonya frowned when she saw the missed call from an unfamiliar number.
Weird.
And they left a voicemail.
Apprehension clawed at her stomach, but Sonya tried her best to shake it off as she climbed into the car. People mis-dialed numbers all of the time. She shouldn’t look too much into it. Right?
So why were her fingers trembling as she pressed the button to listen to the message? Why did her heart race as the mechanical voice announced the date stamp before the message?
Hey babe. I was in town and heard you’re staying here now. See you soon.
She froze, the phone slipping from her fingers, clattering to the floorboard. Time stood still and in the back of Sonya’s mind, something shattered.
She forgot how to breathe as she fought to suppress the bile rising in her throat.
Diego. Here. Oh god.
Thoughts didn’t even exist in her mind anymore, just sheer unadulterated panic. So much for not being afraid. So much for standing her ground. The sound of his voice was enough to make her want to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich. To run away and never come back.
But she couldn’t do that to Manuel. Or herself. They deserved a normal life. She deserved this new job.
And Diego deserved to pay.
She sucked in a shaky breath and closed her eyes as she exhaled, fighting to steady the white water rapids of her rushing blood.
See you soon. That bastard. Sonya clenched her teeth until her jaw hurt, grasping onto the anger inside of her instead of the fear. Anger could serve her.
She started the car and drove towards home, deciding to leave her mother and Manuel out of this until she knew Diego wasn’t at their home. Maybe he hadn’t found where they lived yet. Maybe it was an empty threat.
Not that he’d ever given empty threats before.
Sonya drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, wishing she felt that long-lost tingle of magic there. She’d never thought she could miss her powers so much, but times like these made her long for the security of being a full-strength witch.
Not that she could actually hurt Diego with her magic without hurting herself. But she could… Something.
As she turned down her street, Sonya sighed, wondering if this was a humongous mistake. Diego could be waiting for her. He could kill her.
But she would not let him make her too afraid to go to her own home.
Walking up the front path, cracked and weathered concrete poured over a yard of dirt and weeds, Sonya first noticed that the front door was open just a crack.
Her heart picked up its already racing pace. Breathing became difficult as she felt herself begin to hyperventilate.
Deep breaths. Is there anything you can use as a weapon?
Tucked in the bushes near the door was an old rake handle Manuel sometimes used as a prop sword or staff when he played. Not much, but it was something.
Sonya grabbed the worn wooden rod, careful not to rustle the sparse branches of the bush.
Nervous energy crackled in her veins, but that wasn’t all: her fingertips suddenly felt alive with the intoxicating rush of magic.
Straightening her spine, she nudged the open door with her bare toes, widening the opening.
The sight that greeted her behind the door made her stomach lurch. Her few belongings scattered the across the floor, her furniture and walls ripped to shreds, doors torn from their hinges.
It looked like this place had been attacked by a wild animal. Not just any animal: a wolf.
Diego.
Sonya’s hands vibrated on the wooden dowel with barely-contained power, struggling to get out and wreak havoc. Her mind whirled and she tip-toed into the kitchen, careful not to step on broken glass with her bare feet.
The kitchen was empty but utterly destroyed. Cereal boxes lay in shredded tatters, her tiled floor covered with thousands of marble-shaped corn puffs. As she walked past the fridge, Sonya noticed more paper on the floor, ripped until the image was unrecognizable: one of Manuel’s drawings.
Pure furious rage shot through her and a bolt of energy shot from her fingertips, bouncing off of the yellowed light fixture in the dining room with a sharp, high-pitched zing!
Sonya winced and ducked below the kitchen cabinets. If anyone was around to hear her, she could maybe still surprise them. Her grip on the rake handle tightened, the wood slick from her damp palms.
Seconds ticked by like hours and Sonya wasn’t sure if her breathing or her heart beat was louder. Surely the whole neighborhood could hear her panicked gasps and frantic pulse.
Finally, she steeled herself to resume the search through the house, surveying the damage in Manuel’s room and then her own, feeling her anger slip into despair as she realized Diego was long gone.
Letting the piece of wood in her hand dangle from her fingertips, Sonya left her bedroom trying to fight back tears. How was she going to explain this to Manuel? Her mother?
Shit.
Just as she stepped out of the bedroom, she heard a crunch like glass underfoot. In a heartbeat, she flattened herself — well, as flat as a curvy girl like her could get — against the wall and peered around the corner.
A dark shadow moved through the living room and Sonya couldn’t see the person in the evening light. Her fingers slipped as she gripped the wood tighter, prepared to pounce.
“Shit,” the stranger growled and flipped on a light.
Sonya blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness and then she recognized the intruder as the man that had visited her the other night.
“What are you doing here?” she screeched, stepping out of the shadows with her makeshift weapon brandished high.
He whirled on his heels, holding his hands up in supplication, “Whoa, easy there. I heard Diego was back in town and came to warn you. Looks like I was a little too late.”
The man surveyed the destruction with a deep frown and took a step toward her, “Are you… did he hurt you?”
What was that shimmering in his bottomless eyes? Concern?
She shook her head, lowering the rake handle as she did, “I wasn’t home. He left me a voicemail…”
Why was she telling this stranger that?
Better yet, “Why did you care about warning me?”
He cast his eyes toward the ground and refused to meet her gaze, so un-Alpha-like, she thought.
“It may be my fault that he’s in town,” he said and Sonya took a step back, raising her bludgeon once more.
“What?”
He stepped toward her again, his hands still raised in front of him defensively, edging toward her slowly like she was some startled animal.
“Not on purpose! There was someone from his pack… He got beat up pretty bad for trying to leave and I told him he could stay with my pack while he recovers. I think Diego followed him here and…”
“Found me,” Sonya grit out.
He nodded.
“Will you please reconsider staying with my pack for your own safety?”
Sonya’s fingers sparked with electric energy at the thought of staying with this man, his dark eyes, lean muscles, strong hands…
She had to squash her magic down before she started picturing him naked. Why, after all of this time, were her powers choosing now to resurface? It was mildly infuriating when she couldn’t even look at this man without wondering what his kiss would taste like. How his fingers would feel raking through her hair.
“I don’t even know your name,” she said aloud as the thought occurred to her.
“José,” he said.
“Sonya,” she nodded in reply.
José took another step tow
ards her and Sonya could smell his earthy scent — pine and fresh earth mixed with just a hint of wet dog — as he closed the distance between them. His hand covered hers on the rake handle and Sonya suppressed a little shudder of anticipation.
“Diego’s not going to give up,” he said.
Sonya faltered, her eyes searching his face for any signs that he wasn’t as sincere as he seemed, “I know.”
“I can protect you both. You won’t have to run any more.”
She swallowed hard, her heart thundering at the idea of being free and safe. Or was that because José was so near? He made her feel things she hadn’t felt in years. A burning want, this simmering need that crackled through her veins with every breath.
How was it even possible? She didn’t want to pursue anything with him. Or anyone for that matter. She just wanted Manuel to be safe.
Would he be safe with José?
He’d be with others like him. But what if they were the violent types like Diego?
“Who was it?”
José looked up from her lips, startled for a moment as the heated light faded from his intense gaze, “Who was what?”
Sonya swallowed again, trying to force her heart back down from her throat to her ribcage where it belonged, “The person that was beaten and left Summer Springs. Who was it?”
She noticed the hard line of his jaw, the subtle twitch of his cheek muscle like he was clenching his teeth.
“His name is Juan.”
Sonya’s eyes grew to the size of saucers and the wooden dowel dropped from her fingers, clattering to the floor as she covered her mouth, hiding a shocked gasp.
“Is… is he okay?”
José shrugged, “Seems to be. A friend of yours?”
Why did she get the impression that José was jealous?
She nodded without further explanation.
“Please,” he said, reaching for her hand gently.
Sonya flinched away from his touch and hated herself for it.
“We don’t know what Diego is capable of and he seems to be on a warpath.”
She heard a sharp bark of laughter come from herself, “I know what he’s capable of,” she reminded José.
