by Crymsyn Hart
I squeezed his leg. “You don’t have anything to worry about. They won’t bite.” I leaned over the seat and nipped his neck. “I do.” The werewolf had remained in my nature. It wasn’t something I minded. The vampire was there too. It made me feel close to Nick.
“What will they think of me?”
“They’ll love you. Don’t worry about it.” I went to get out of the car, but he grabbed my arm.
“Melina, you don’t understand. Confronting your family is something that I’ve never had to do before. I’ve never had a family of my own. Your family exiled you the same way that my family did when I told them I was mated to Nick and not the woman who was arranged for me.”
“Sweetie, you have nothing to worry about. They will love you the way that I already do. Come on.”
The trepidation lit his eyes. Landon nodded. We got out of the car, walked into my grandmother’s house, and found her cooking. Tannin leaned against the doorway, drinking a glass of water. He looked at me over the rim of the glass. The angel gave me a small smile. Being so close, I felt the angelic writing flare along my flesh.
“Grandma, Melina’s here.” Annabeth came down the stairs and flung her arms around me. I squeezed her hard. When she looked at Landon, her lips turned into a devious smile. “Who’s this? He’s real cute.”
Landon chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you too. You must be Annabeth. You’re more beautiful than Melina has told me. I’m Landon Wallace.”
“Hey, you’re that artist I was hearing about,” Annabeth said.
He nodded. “Yes. I’m that artist that everyone’s been talking about. Are you a painter?”
She blushed. “Call me Anna. No. I can’t paint. How do you know Melina?”
I wound my arm around his waist. “He’s my mate.” I leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “And he’s a werewolf.”
Her eyes widened and she backed away. “Really?”
“Don’t worry. He won’t hurt you,” Tannin said.
I didn’t hear him move across the room. My grandmother came around the corner from the kitchen carrying a tray full of drinks. Tannin took it from her and set it on the table. She stopped and looked at Landon. I sensed his anxiety while he was under the scrutiny of her gaze. Worry crept along my spine. She placed her hand on his chest. He glanced at me. I shrugged. She placed her hand over my heart and after a moment she laughed. She wagged her finger at me and the smile on her face grew. My grandmother patted Landon’s cheek.
“You’re good for one another. The balance is great between you. I approve.” She turned to me. “You’ve grown strong over these past few days. I see that you’ve been busy. The symbols have not yet solidified.” She glanced at Tannin, whose expression remained impassive. “And yet there’s still something else inside of you that has to emerge. Maybe when the other has come back to you fully.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Nothing. You’re welcome here, Landon. Just make sure you take care of her.”
Landon nodded. “Of course.”
“Good. Now come and sit. Tannin, will you take the roast out of the oven, please?”
The angel walked into the kitchen. All four of us sat down at the table. Annabeth looked between the two of us and giggled. The lightness of her aura stood out against the chair. I could see her developing wings. She was the mentor that Tannin had mentioned.
“Anna, why don’t you go to Susan’s tonight? We have things I have to talk about,” my grandmother said.
“But, Grandma, you said that we could talk. Come on.”
She patted Annabeth’s hand. “I know, Anna, but some things have come up that we need to talk about privately with Melina.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes. “How about sometime soon we go shopping and spend some girl time together? We’ll do whatever you want. I’ll bring you by the house and you can see some of Landon’s paintings.” My sister’s eyes widened. She wrapped her arms around me, whispered her thanks, and then ran toward her room.
“I’m sorry to hear about your shop and your friend.”
“Did Detective Crace tell you? I haven’t heard from him. He said he would call me if he had any leads.”
“Who is that?” my grandmother asked.
“He said he was part of the clan.” I took a sip of the tea she had brought out. It was chamomile.
She shook her head. “There’s no one in the clan with the name of Crace. Are you sure that’s what he said?”
I nodded again. The color drained from my face. I sat back in my chair. Landon wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. I shook my head. It was happening again. “They’re after me. They did this. They killed her.”
“Who killed her?” Landon inquired.
“The coven. They found me. Her death must’ve been a warning that they’re coming back for me.”
“No one’s going to take you. I won’t let them,” Landon said.
“Neither will I.” Tannin stepped back into the room.
My grandmother smiled. “It’s about time you decided to say something and acknowledge your feelings for her.”
“When did you know?” Tannin asked.
My grandmother laughed. “Did you really think I couldn’t have someone else fetch her that night? I needed you to see Melina and save her.”
“Save me from what?”
“From your coven killing you.”
I dropped my cup. It spilled all over the table, but it didn’t crack. Tannin grabbed a cloth and wiped it up. I tried to comprehend what she had said. The coven was going to kill me the day that he came into the shop. I felt the blood drain from my face.
“Oh, God, Melissa’s dead because of me. That morning we were together, Tannin and I went in late. They killed her because they thought she was me.”
Tannin kissed the top of my head. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“He’s right. It wasn’t your fault. You were meant to live. That’s what the goddess wanted for you,” my grandmother told me.
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“The same way I know that you must confront your family and your old coven soon or they’ll come looking for you at your house. And I figure that you want to get the upper hand. There’s much more to me than just being a mere Guardian. Maybe Tannin hasn’t exactly told you that I was more than just the leader of the clan.”
I wiped my tears away. “He hasn’t told me. So what exactly are you? Am I really your family?”
“You know you are. You look just like your sister.”
I nodded. “So what are you exactly?”
“I am one quarter witch. My major affinity is for spirit. I have the gift of prophecy. The goddess whispers to me. I sent Tannin after you, but I had no idea that you two would connect that way. Anyway, the goddess warned me you were going to be attacked and I wanted to bring you into the family because it was time. I foresaw the second attack, but you were supposed to be killed. Melissa took your place. It’s now time to face your coven before they bring their wrath down on us. I hate to ask you to choose your families, but you soon come to stand at a crossroads which will define your future.”
Sighing, I glanced down at the table. Both of my mates squeezed my shoulders. “We’ll go with you no matter what your decision is. No one is going to kill you.”
“You’re right. It’s time for me to face my past. I’ll go to them. Thank you for informing me. Any idea how the outcome will go?”
My grandmother gave me a sad smile. “I can tell you that there’ll be heartache. You will find out more about yourself than you figured. The outcome is gray.”
“Thank you for the information. We should go.” I began to get up, but she stopped me.
“Nonsense. You will stay and eat.”
I sat down and forced a smile. I thought about everything she had said. It was true. I had to face my past. I had to see why I was needed back at the coven when they didn’t need me all these years. My place was with thi
s family. I was meant to be a Guardian. Knowing there was no definitive answer on what my future would be, I didn’t want to think about the outcome. I wasn’t ready to pass into the other world and join Nick. I had just started to get my life back together. What would they think of me now? Would they see the part of me that was an angel? Would they see the wolf in my nature? Would they see me for the high priestess who was destined to lead the council? Or would they still see me as a monster they had banished?
Chapter Nine
I stared at my packed bags in the car. Landon locked the house up and then set his bag in the back of the trunk with mine. He kissed me lightly and climbed into the driver’s side. I slid into the passenger seat. Energy flared through me when I wrapped my fingers around the crystal at my neck. It was a piece of the large crystal that sat in our hallway. It gave me a connection back to my source of power if I needed to draw upon that power. The first thing I wanted to do was see my mother. If I could talk to her, I might be able to sway her that I wasn’t a monster. I wasn’t the evil thing they had locked away when I was little. They had beaten me after the deaths of two people. I had prayed for forgiveness many times. I prayed the goddess had heard my cries.
I thought about the spell I had wrapped so tightly around myself, my home, and the ones that I loved. I hadn’t wrapped it tightly enough for Melissa. It hadn’t kept her safe. The spell that was around me was cracking. I could feel it.
Landon and I didn’t say anything for the first couple of hours that we were driving. We had another four hours to drive. And I shivered to think about what would happen when they opened the door and saw me before them.
“It will be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Landon squeezed my leg.
“I have to face my destiny. I am worried about what will happen to you. They knew you were a werewolf when they came to abduct me. The bullet that pierced Nick’s heart was loaded with silver and with wood. Now that things between us are fixed, I can’t lose you again.”
“You won’t. I will always be there for you. And Tannin will be there for you too. I’ve seen how much he cares for you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really? And when did you and he have this discussion?”
“He came to me one night while you were asleep. We talked. He told me how much it took for him to open his heart for you. He told me about his wife and how she died. He wasn’t sure how he could love again. I know how he feels. I wasn’t sure that you would take me back.”
“I wasn’t sure that you’d want me after what happened. The hurt in your eyes that night with Nick, it cut my soul. I wanted you every night.”
“I am eternally sorry for what happened. I would take it all back if I could. I should’ve told you about my family from the beginning.”
“I know. And I’m grateful for that. If anything happens to me, I will watch over you. The same way that Nick did.” Landon met my eyes and then turned back toward the road. We drove the rest of the way toward the destiny that I had been putting off for almost ten years.
We turned down a dirt road that led to my old house. I clutched the crystal and drew strength from it. When we pulled up outside the house, a wall of power hit me. The house itself shone under the sun, but I realized that was the wards that surrounded the place. I got out of the car. The front door opened and my mother stood on the porch. Her expression fell. I stood outside the stairs staring at her. Tears gathered in her eyes. She muttered something and the wards dropped. I didn’t think that she would welcome me with open arms. I stepped forward, but Landon grabbed my hand. I looked back at him and shook my head.
“It could be a trap.”
“No. I have to do this.” I walked on the steps and waited for the strike to come, but no magic touched me. I got up my courage and then went all the way onto the porch. The white boards were flaking. The porch swing swung in the breeze. My mother’s hair had grayed and her face was marked with lines and small freckles. She looked so much older, and yet the power that used to live within her was not there anymore.
“Melina, is that really you?”
“Yes. Mom, it’s me.”
“I thought you were dead. When you left the coven, I assumed that you didn’t survive. Oh, my daughter, I’m so sorry for what happened. We never should have treated you the way that we did.”
I wrapped my arms around her. Her embrace was familiar. It was the one I had grown up with. It was the one that had given me comfort in the days when I was discovering my power. Even when she comforted me after I had been locked away and pulled out of the darkness.
“I forgive you. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too. Who is the young man with you?”
“That’s Landon. He’s one of my mates.”
“Did he come back with you so that you could take your place as high priestess? The whole coven is in turmoil since you left, and there is no one to replace you.”
“No. I’m not here to take my place. That was what Eric wanted me to do when he came to my house two years ago. I told him no then, but he didn’t listen.”
She looked at me with a questioning gaze. “Eric, when did he see you? No one knows where you were.”
“And yet he burst into my house with three others. He killed my other mate. In return, I lashed out at him and killed him. I also killed the one whose amulet he wore.”
“So that’s what happened to Charlotte. How did Eric find you?”
I heard a man’s voice coming from behind me. “I told him about her. I hoped that you would come back with them. However, when Eric didn’t return, I figured something went wrong. I understand Eric took down one of your mates in the process, though. That must have devastated you. The vampire, wasn’t it? Such a shame. And this one is the werewolf.”
I turned slowly and saw Charles standing behind me. He looked the same, only with a little less hair now. His six-foot frame was still muscular. His blue eyes were intense as he studied me. The power that surrounded him was like a shield. Charles was stronger than ever. He had a silver knife to Landon’s throat. I felt the blood drain from my face. The darkness in me rose, but I squelched it and waited to see what his next move would be.
“Let him go.”
“If I let him go, you have to play nice. I see you got the message with your flower shop. Too bad about Melissa. I was aiming for you. It’d be so much easier to have you out of the way and then the goddess wouldn’t be forsaking us. But either way, you’re back now.”
“Charles, what did you do?” my mother shrieked.
“Oh, shut up, Pauline. I did what I had to. We need a new high priestess. Every one we’ve put through the trials has failed. We need her dead or to commit to her duties. If we can do that, then the goddess will give us favor again.”
“She’s your daughter. How could you try and kill her?” My mother stepped toward us.
“She’s not my daughter. She’s only the half-breed git that you birthed after your alleged attack,” Charles said.
“Charles, release Landon. I’ll go with you. I’ve already gone through the tests. I’ll sit at the altar and see what the goddess says. If she has chosen another path for me, then you can let us go. If not, then I’ll stay and do my duty. But don’t hurt him.”
He chuckled. “If I’d known it was that easy, then I would’ve come myself instead of sending Eric to you. Shame that we lost him. He was on the way to being a good wizard. I spent many a night searching for you to take revenge, but you were hidden too well. Until the goddess showed me a glimpse of you. My revenge would be had, but when you didn’t die, the goddess said you would come back to us and she would take care of you. I knew then she would make you pay for what you did to your brother. She will pass judgment tonight.” He pushed Landon down to the ground. I ran to him and helped him up. Charles chuckled and then shoved us both up the stairs and inside. Once I crossed the threshold, I could feel the magical chains wrap around me. We weren’t leaving until they let us.
We sat in the
living room. My mother came in with drinks and sat down across from us. Charles walked around the house. I heard him talking on the phone to the other coven members. He said that he had a surprise for them.
“I’m so sorry about this. I didn’t have anything to do with it.” My mother wrung her hands.
I patted my mother’s knee. “I know that. He’s just a power-hungry asshole. He’s always been that way.”
“We need to get out of here,” Landon whispered to my mother.
She shook her head. “There’s nothing you can do. I took the wards down around the house, but there are ones inside that I don’t have the power to break. Charles was always stronger than me. You’re stuck here until he releases them.”
