Brailynn couldn’t remember a time that she had ever truly been alone in her mind. While Boanna had taught her how to build mind barriers for privacy, she rarely ever used them, especially since losing her family. Brailynn had abandonment issues and she hated being alone. So, the other woman had always just been a part of her. A presence that Brailynn often relied on. And now, with her gone, Brailynn felt more alone than ever and the fear that emotion invoked was nearly crippling. It felt as if she couldn’t draw in enough oxygen. Her chest hurt, causing a wave of lightheadedness and nausea to nearly take her out.
She closed her eyes again and began to count slowly. “One… two… three…” Anything to get her heart and nerves to settle, even the smallest degree. Because at this rate, Brailynn would never make it to see the sunrise. Her fear and anxiety would kill her.
Chapter Two
Andrej
He’d felt her. She was there. He didn’t know how. But she was.
He threw the covers off and climbed out of bed. Andrej didn’t even bother to dress. He simply ripped open the bedroom door and rushed down the stairs. His eyes darted around the large room as he ran to stand in the foyer of his home. He spun in a circle, praying that somehow, he’d missed her. But there was nobody there. He’d spun again and tossed out his vampiric senses, thinking maybe she was scared and hiding from him, but no. Andrej was alone.
How? he asked himself, confused.
In all the years that he’d lived in Wyoming, he’d never once been able to feel her. It was one of the reasons why he lived where he did. Out there, he had no chance of running into the woman who was destined to be his. The woman who would bring light and love back to his soul.
Andrej’s shoulders sagged.
For a split second, his heart had felt like it was alive again. And that was a feeling he hadn’t felt in so long. Not since she was a small child running through the woods chasing butterflies in the mountains in upstate New York.
But she wasn’t a small child anymore, was she? Andrej knew it had to be at least twenty years since he’d laid eyes on her. She definitely wasn’t a child any longer. Now, she would be a fully grown woman.
He looked around one last time. He could smell something that didn’t belong. The scent of nature. Like the smell of a spring meadow after a long rain. Like the summer sun peeking out of the clouds. It smelled fresh and beautiful. And unlike anything he’d ever smelled before. Andrej knew it was her.
But how? He didn’t know.
Confused, his anxiety started to get the best of him… What if she’d found out? What if she had somehow learned the truth?
For Andrej to feel her presence now, it only meant one thing – she had to need nearby. And he could only think of one thing that would bring her to his doorstep…
But how would she have found out? Who told her?
Still, Andrej had no answers, but maybe there was someone who did. Or at least he hoped so.
“Oscar!” Andrej bellowed.
Within moments, the man was walking into the room. “What are you yelling about?” Oscar asked. “You’re loud enough to wake the dead!”
“Ha, ha. Funny,” Andrej replied drily. “Want to know what else is funny?” He didn’t wait for a response. “The fact that Brailynn was just in my house and you didn’t even notice!” His voice increased with every word until it vibrated the walls.
Oscar's eyes widened as the blood seemed to drain from his face. “What are you talking about? That can’t be,” the old man said in disbelief.
“Why would she be here, Oscar?” Andrej asked.
“I…” the old man stammered. “I don’t… I don’t know.”
“Harriet!” Andrej called for Oscar’s wife.
“No.” Oscar shook his head frantically. “She cannot know. Please, Andrej. If Brailynn is, in fact, here, it will send Harriet off the deep end and straight into a frenzy. She would comb every inch of this place to find her. And we both know, that could get her killed. Please! I beg you.”
“Yes?” The woman walked into the room.
Andrej watched as she looked between her husband and him. Her eyes darting back and forth as if to assess what all the fuss could be about. He knew Oscar was right. If he mentioned that he’d just felt Brailynn’s essences, it would send Harriet into a tailspin. After all, there was nothing the woman wanted more in this world – than her daughter.
“Nevermind.” Andrej waved a hand. “Oscar can help me.”
“Oh.” She looked between them again, unsure. “Okay.” She shook her head as she turned and walked out of the room.
“Thank you,” Oscar whispered.
“You will have to tell her eventually, my friend,” Andrej replied.
“I will,” Oscar agreed. “But only after we find my daughter… If, we find her.”
“We will,” Andrej countered. “She’s here….” He knew it. “Just have to find her…”
“And then figure out why…” Oscar added.
From what he’d learned over the years, from his friendship with Oscar and Harriet was that Brailynn was a powerful woman. She and her coven had been living deep in the Catskill Mountains, metaphorically and literally. Andrej knew his destined was a witch, and she could manipulate anything made from water, or moisture.
For most of the last fifteen years, he tried not to think about it or her. But in those early years, it had been difficult. He felt ashamed. Embarrassed. But as the years passed and after he’d met Oscar and Harriet and learned their identity, Andrej had started to research. He wanted to learn all he could about her and her family. He’s learned from Oscar that their connection when as far back as Andrej’s creation. Their past was linked before she was ever born. Through Harriet, he’d learned about the different types of witches and how some could call on the elements, while others could only mix some potions and brews. The broad spectrum of Wiccan culture was as diverse as the supernatural world itself.
However, none of that explained what she was doing there. In his woods. On his side of the country. Or why he felt her inside his home when it was clear, that she wasn’t there.
Was he finally starting to lose his mind? Were his days on earth finally starting to run out?
Andrej had heard about other vampires losing their minds to the beast that lived within them. They would allow the monster control and slink back into the darkness, giving up on life. They would run amok until a member of the Enforcers tracked them down and finally put them out of their misery.
Was that what he was doing? He didn’t think so, but… Would he even know?
Andrej opened his front door and stepped out onto the porch. The evening sun was still too high in the sky for him to adventure out. As a vampire, Andrej couldn’t go out during the day. While the sun wouldn’t fry him and turn him to ash as it did in the movies, it would give him one painful sunburn. And yes, if he stayed in it too long, it would eventually kill him.
But he needed to know if she was out there. And where. Why. He had questions, that only she could answer. But first, he had to find her. Instead of being stupid and risking it, Andrej decided to play it a bit safer. For now.
“Wallace!” he hollered, even though he didn’t need to because like everyone else that lived on the ranch, Wallace was a supernatural being, too.
Centuries ago, Andrej had established the compound as a haven for those who were lost or lonely, like himself. Shifters, witches, warlocks, birds, lizards, and so many others had graced his grounds, at one point or another, and still did. He made it his business to provide safe havens for all those in need. Which was how Oscar and Harriet ended up on his doorstep, all those years ago.
“What’s up?” Wallace said as he flashed next to Andrej.
“She’s here,” is all that he said.
“Who?” Wallace asked, his brow furrowed.
“Her.”
“Huh?” Wallace looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
Andrej glanced around, unsure of where Harriet might be and
not wanting her to hear. “Her.” He put great emphasis on that one word.
“Wait.” Wallace blinked. “You mean her?”
“Yes.”
“Where?” His friend looked around.
“Not here, here,” Andrej said. “But somewhere close, here.” He knew he sounded nuts. “I felt her.” He didn’t know how to explain it correctly. “It was like she was right there. Right at my fingertips…” He shook his head. His eyes met Wallace’s. “But then, she was just gone. Vanished.”
“I think your mind is playing tricks on you, old friend,” Wallace joked.
“No.” Andrej didn’t want to believe that. “Send some of the guys out into the woods. Look, but don’t approach. And do not spook her.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” The smile vanished from Wallace’s face. “You really think she’s here? After all this time? Why would she leave her coven?”
Wallace was the only person, aside from himself, that knew about Brailynn being his chosen. Not even Oscar and Harriet knew the truth. They assumed his connection to Brailynn was merely based on who created him and how their past linked them all together. And until today, Andrej had always been content with that. With the number of enemies that he had accrued over his many years, it had just been safer that way. But not anymore. If his mate was near, then he had to find her. He had to claim her.
Take what is ours, the beast demanded.
Andrej ignored the monster. And instead, decided to answer Wallace. “I don’t know, but she’s close,” Andrej replied. “So, send them out.” He turned and walked back into the house, not giving Wallace another chance to argue with him.
As the door closed behind him, he inhaled deeply and felt his incisors grow. It was as if her smell coated everything in the room. Or was he losing his mind? How was she there, but not? How could he smell her, but not see her? His confusion grew with each question. None of it made any sense.
Find. Claim. Find. Mate. The beast chanted the words.
Shaking his head to clear it, he ignored the strange looks from Harriet as she walked by on her way toward the kitchen.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine.” The gravel tone that entered his voice told him that he wasn’t fine. He was closer to the edge than he realized.
She gave him a look that told him that she didn’t believe him, but other than that, Harriet didn’t say a word. She simply shook her head and continued as if nothing had happened. And he was grateful.
He looked around the house and knew he needed to get busy. The place wasn’t in any condition to accept its new guest.
What if she hates it here? What if she doesn’t want to stay? he thought.
We keep her. The beast snarled at the thought of her like wanting us. She is ours. Claim. Claim. Claim. Mate.
Again, Andrej tried to quiet the monster. He couldn’t risk the beast scaring her away. And it would. It always did.
He needed to pull himself together. Very soon, his destined would arrive and everything needed to be perfect. After all, he’s waited five-hundred and eighty years for this moment – give or take a decade.
But as Andrej headed up the stairs, he couldn’t help but wonder if his discovery would be overshadowed by the realization that after over fifteen years, his beloved, was about to find out that her parents – were still very much alive…
“What do you mean you couldn’t find her?” Andrej raged. He knew she was out there. He felt her.
“They searched everywhere,” Wallace told him. “From Montana to New Mexico. She’s not here, Andrej.”
“Impossible!” He wanted to destroy something. His blood lust getting harder to control by the second. “Send them out again.”
Kill them for their failures!
“Andrej, it’s almost four-hundred thousand square miles…”
“Send them!” He bellowed. He normally wasn’t someone to bark orders, but he had to find her. The beast was riding him harder than ever.
She was out there, he knew it.
He had to make them understand. In all his years, Andrej had never felt anything like he had earlier in the day. For Dracula’s sake, he could smell her! He watched as Wallace stormed out of the house. A part of him knew he was being ridiculous, but another part, the part that craved only her, didn’t care.
What’s the point in having supernatural powers, if you didn’t know how to use them? he wondered. How could the entire lot of them not be able to find one simple witch?
Kill them all.
Shut up! Andrej screamed in his head. We are not killing anyone.
More than anything, the beast made him want to stand under the sun's rays and wait… The battle lines between light and dark were getting harder to maintain. And Andrej was getting tired of the constant push and pull.
He went back into his office, and slamming the door, he heard it creak from the force. Andrej walked over to the fridge, pulled out a bag of blood, and untwisted the cap before downing it in its entirety; then tossed the cap and empty bag into the wastebasket and moved to look out the window.
“Where are you, mate?” he said quietly.
Maybe I should just go out and look for her myself? he thought. If anyone could tracker her, it would be him.
Find her. Mate her. Claim her. The chanting continued.
Turning from the window, he made up his mind. If anyone were going to be able to track her, it would be him. He knew what to focus on. He knew what the mating pull felt like.
Andrej hurried out of the office and quickly flashed to the front door. Up ahead he saw that Wallace had already gathered the crew again.
And something in his head just clicked.
They all looked tired from their previous journey through the mountains. A few looked as if they were ready to just collapse. Exhaustion had them barely running on fumes. And Andrej felt like a complete jerk. Like a prick for sending them back out again.
But I need to find her.
He warred with himself. His destined was out there, somewhere. And if roles were reversed, he would search heaven, hell, and earth for one of their mates.
But not everyone else isn’t me…
He closed the distance between the others and himself and cleared his throat. “Go home,” he told the crowd. “I’ll search.”
“By yourself?” Evan asked. “That’s hundreds of thousands of miles. You’ll be at it all night and then some. Plus, what about the sun?”
“I’ll find shelter,” Andrej told him. “It will be fine, my friend. Go rest.”
Even shook his head. “Of course, it will be fine,” Evan replied, “because I’m going with you.”
“Evan…”
“No, Andrej,” he interrupted. “You opened your home to me and because of that, I found Paulie. You befriended me when I had lost all hope and was ready to give up.” Evan slapped a hand across his heart. “That is something I take to heart. I got you, brother.”
“Yeah, what he said,” added Demarcus. “Not to mention, you kind of saved me from being offed by a group of pissed off Enforcers. So, I basically owe you.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” Andrej smiled.
“I do.” DeMarcus left no room for arguments.
If Andrej were capable of tears, he knew they would have been brimming in his eyes. In today’s world, it was so difficult to find lifelong friendships, but looking around and seeing the other nod their head at Evan and Demarcus’ words, Andrej knew he had found a rarity in the people around him.
“Without you,” Harper chimed in. “We’d all be dust and ash.” She shrugged like her words were no big deal. But to Andrej, they meant everything.
“Thank you,” he choked out.
“Alright,” Wallace said with a loud clap of his hands. “Let’s get moving. Everyone has their section. Meet back here.” Wallace then turned to Andrej, “Be back by sunrise. No cave sleeping or shadow hopping. Deal?”
Andrej gave a stiff nod.
“Alri
ght, head out,” Wallace ordered.
Everyone scattered, going their own directions. Andrej took a deep breath and closed his eyes, willing his body to somehow connect to hers, but there was nothing, only emptiness.
He sighed, opening his eyes to see Wallace standing in front of him.
“Nothing?” he asked.
“No,” Andrej answered. “But I know she’s here.”
Wallace looked out over the mountain range. “What if something is blocking her presents?” He turned back to look at Andrej. “Like a ward? You said, she’s a witch.”
“But why ward herself off?” It didn’t make sense to him. Normally, people only used wards to protect themselves when they thought they were in danger. Right? He had to admit to himself that even though he had researched and tried to learn all he could about her culture, Andrej didn’t know a lot about the Wiccan portion of the world.
“Not necessarily.”
Andrej and Wallace turned to see Harriet approaching.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked.
“I’m not stupid.” Harriet rolled her eyes.
“I never…”
“I know you are my daughter destined,” Harriet blurted.
Andrej froze.
“Is she… Is she here?” The last word held so much hope.
“Yes.” Andrej couldn’t lie to her.
“What do you mean?” Wallace interrupted. “…Not necessarily.”
“Brailynn is… different,” Harriet replied.
“Meaning?” Wallace prompted.
“Meaning, she can speak to the Goddesses of Creation.”
“What?” Andrej and Wallace asked in unison.
“When the world was created,” Harriet began, “four goddesses were created with it. One goddess for each element – wind, fire, and water – and another, earth, to watch over all things living. Brailynn is a water Wiccan, therefore she is led by the Goddess of Water, Boanna.”
Both men simply blinked. Andrej didn’t even know what to say.
Brailynn (A Rogue Enforcers Novel) Page 3
