by Bryce Evans
“Welcome, welcome, to my home. Here’s you one, you one, oh, and oh my goodness
look who it is,” Simone said, handing Raven a frosty mug with an umbrella sticking out of it.
“I can leave if it bothers you,” Raven said, shoving the drink back into her hand.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Simone shoved the drink back in her hand and pulled her into the room. “Everyone let me make some announcements. This is Jade, Greer, Haven, and Raven. Greer and Raven are newbies so show them the bathroom when the time comes and remember we are here to have a good time. No doom and gloom tonight. Save that shit for another day.”
“Come on in. I have food galore with steaks, chicken, finger foods, and all the desserts from the bakery. Dig in, ladies. Tonight, we explain the birds and the bees to Greer.”
Immediately, Greer’s face turned hot as fire as the other girls all clapped. If she thought she could make a break for it and run out the door she would.
Raven leaned over and whispered, “Yeah, glad I decided to come.” Then she picked up a plate and started piling on the food.
“Greer, don’t worry, it never lasts long. Quinn and Simone are so ADD that they go from one topic to another. But it will be fun. They will get out the movies and then things will quiet down,” Jade said, smiling.
Raven glanced to Greer, snickering. She knew her mouth was open when Quinn and Simone got out the pictures to show her all the different parts of the body and what went where. “I mean, I knew they were kinda crazy, but now it’s solidified. At least you will know what goes where with Reed when you mate.”
Greer’s head snapped to her. “What?” Her voice was louder than she wanted but what in the world was Raven talking about.
“Reed is your mate and at least you will know what to do.”
“Raven, I’m not mating with anyone. Especially Reed.”
“And why not?” Raven pulled back like she had slapped her. “Is he not good enough for you? That man is a freaking genius. He reads, I don’t know, a gazillion books a day. He can tell you about anything you ever wanted to know and he’s crazy about you.”
“He is too good for me. I can’t mate him. I...I—”
“Why?” all the girls said in unison, leaning forward waiting for her to answer.
She could feel the tears pile up in her eyes. She never wanted to say it out loud. It would only come true. This way she gave herself a little hope, but now everyone would know and agree that she shouldn’t mate Reed.
“I will kill him with my magic. It is too unpredictable, and I can’t take a chance on him getting hurt because of me. I just can’t,” Greer said, realizing now that it was out there and true.
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Raven said, sitting up and putting her drink on the table.
“No, it’s not. She’s right. The magic’s unpredictable right now. With time and control she—”
That was all Greer heard Jade say. The magic was acting out in ways she had never heard of. “I need to leave. I can feel it now wanting out. Thank you for having me.” Jumping up, Greer ran for the door and shifted as she sprang off the porch. She gave her body to the white bear. She was right, and Jade agreed that she was dangerous to everyone. Especially Reed.
Chapter Twelve
“What just happened?” Quinn asked, looking at the door.
Jade went to the door and looked into the night. Her skin felt funny as if bugs were crawling all over her. She couldn’t help it as she scratched her arm.
“I think I screwed up. I shouldn’t have said it like that. Now she thinks she can’t mate. I need to find her and tell her what I meant,” Jade said, still scratching her arm. “I can feel her pain. She’s so lonely inside and now I just crushed her.”
“Dream crusher that’s what you are, Jade Cross,” Raven said.
“What?” Jade said, coming to stand in front of Raven. She had enough of her smart mouth remarks.
“You’re not a dream crusher, Jade. Now, let’s everyone calm down. Raven, this is your alpha female you’re talking to like that,” Quinn said, coming to stand in front of them.
“I’m not a dream crusher, Raven,” Jade’s fist clenched at her side. She felt it the moment her breathing started changing. At first, she thought she was going to shift right here. She blinked several times and tried to calm down. So, she needed to say something before the magic jumped out and hit her. Just like it did with Greer.
“Of course, you’re not, so stop beating yourself up all the time. You always do that. You were only telling her the truth and if you could have finished, I would suspect you were going to say that she needed to get better with the magic and find a way to control it before she mates. Nothing wrong with that.” Raven said, shaking her head. “And, yes, Quinn, I know exactly what Jade is to me. But she gets on my nerves when she doesn’t show her rank to others and stop thinking that you are always the bad guy. Stand up and explain what you mean to Greer. That’s what she needs right now.”
“So, you don’t hate me?” Jade asked.
“No. What gave you that idea?”
Before Raven could move, Jade grabbed her and hugged her. “You actually love me. I knew you did.”
Raven’s body went still as she was taken into a hug. “Oh please, somebody get her. Please. I’m going after Greer and, yes, Alpha female, I will tell her what you meant. Then later you can explain it to her.” When Jade didn’t pull away, Raven pointed at Quinn for help. “Help?”
“Come on, Jade. Let the hunter go before she kills you.”
Raven ran to the door before Jade could do the hugging thing again. She didn’t say she loved her either. Women?
She shifted and immediately picked up Greer’s scent. Unfortunately, she was sad and angry which wasn’t a good combination. Slowing as she came to the river, she couldn’t see her. That was until she heard the explosion and smoke billowing up in the sky.
Not so much as fire but smoke and sparks as she neared the hole Reed had dug for her. Lennox and other hunters had surrounded her as she threw her hands toward the deep hole. Sparks flew from her fingers as the energy from it made the hair on her arms and head slightly rise. Even her face looked different as the magic continued to pour into the hole.
Her alpha’s motion drew the attention from all the hunters who were too close. He needed them to back away and not draw her attention. This wasn’t good. They could all feel the dark magic as it sifted from her fingers and surrounded her.
Raven could hear him tearing through the woods. Reed was coming and if she didn’t stop him, the magic might attack him. It didn’t do anything but surround her as if waiting for her order. She had never seen anything like it before.
She jumped in front of Reed before he could run toward Greer who sat motionless on the ground. Her eyes were closed as she took in deep breaths. They all watched her but still she didn’t move a muscle.
“Reed, no,” Raven whispered, but her friend wasn’t having any of it. He slowly approached Greer. Even Lennox was giving him the signal to stop but Reed continued until he sat behind her. He didn’t touch her but stayed like this until her head rose and she inhaled deeply.
“You shouldn’t be here.” Greer’s voice was low as she continued to breathe.
“There isn’t anywhere I’d rather be,” Reed answered. And just like that, the dark magic disintegrated, falling like tiny particles dropping to the ground.
“Did I hurt anyone?” Greer’s voice was full of sadness as she opened her eyes.
“No. You controlled it until you got here. Everyone is okay, Greer,” Reed said, slowly putting his arms around her and pulling her back into his chest.
Tears fell from her face in an uncontrollable sob. “It’s okay, baby. You’re going to be okay.”
“It won’t. It will never be okay for me. You have to see that. It’s getting worse and I’m going to hurt someone. I’m going to hurt you,” Greer said between sobs.
“No, sweet girl. I
won’t let you. I will protect you even from yourself,” Reed whispered in her ear.
“I’m sorry,” Greer said, turning around and hugging Reed.
“Let it all out, baby. Just let it out.”
Raven watched as the alpha gave the command to leave but some would stay in the shadows if Greer did something or Reed needed help. She stayed until Greer fell asleep from exhaustion. Her face was red and blotchy from crying. She looked like she hadn’t slept in a very long time. Her beautiful pale skin was marred from shifting and running in her human form. Bushes had scraped against her body. Reed picked her up and carried her back to the alpha’s house.
She followed because what he did tonight could have gotten him killed. The alpha had reached back to his sword when the dark magic came out of her.
She stayed outside as the alpha let him in the house. She sat in the swing and waited. She knew the hunters were now on edge. A powerful witch was in their sanctuary and she looked like she was losing it. They had heard the stories about witches going mad from the magic.
Greer was different and special, and if she was honest with herself, she liked the woman a lot. She was the only one who didn’t take her crap and wanted to actually be her friend. She never had a female friend before.
The screen door opened as the alpha and Reed walked outside. She had seen her alpha like this before. If he was worried about one of them, he let them know when they were becoming reckless.
“Do we have a problem here, Reed?” the alpha asked.
“No, sir. I knew she wouldn’t hurt me. I can’t explain how but in here I know.” Reed pointed to his heart.
“Is Greer your mate?”
“Yes, sir. She is and nobody will take her from me,” Reed said, raising his chin as the alpha narrowed his eyes at him.
“Nobody said anything about taking her away, Reed, but you need to think before you just jump in when she’s like that. Did you not see the magic surrounding her? Black as soot. I’ve only seen a few and it was never a good thing. What scares me is Jade is linked to her now. I’m afraid that if she goes down, Jade will go with her. They share the magic.”
“Nobody is going down, Alpha. There has to be a reason this has just now happened. Greer said that she had never had a problem like this. Yes, her magic has been wild, but she had no official training. She needs to learn that and Jade too. They need to know how to help each other. Right now, she feels threatened that it will all be taken from her. I thought the treehouse would help. It will be her home and she needs to know that she’s wanted here with the hunters and in New Hope.”
“Quinn and Jade have been helping her find a place to work with the glass making. I’ve told her this is her home now that she’s part of the Death Hunters. What else do I need to do to show her?” Lennox asked.
“Maybe we ask for some help from her. The hunters that is. Make her feel like she’s really part of our family. But I agree, we need help in finding out what the real problem is,” Reed said, sitting beside her.
“Maybe we need for Scarlett to stay here until she gets more comfortable with her magic and that way if she has some questions, she can just ask her. Instead of Scarlett always coming over here. Let her stay here for a month until she feels better,” Raven offered.
“I didn’t think you liked her,” Reed said.
“I like Greer a lot. I consider her a friend.” Both men stared at her. “What? I can’t have any girlfriends? Well, you better get used to it. Those women are crazy. They actually gave Greer lessons on what to do with a man. I couldn’t believe it. Pictures to show her where body parts needed to go. Crazy!” Raven twirled her finger around and around showing the crazy sign.
“Poor Jade,” Lennox said.
“Poor Jade, my ass. She was one of the main ones instructing her, and dang, the woman knows her stuff,” Raven said, shaking her head.
“That’s my girl.”
“Yeah, yeah, well, I can only handle them in bits and pieces, so I’m going to bed. I will help you with Greer. Just tell me what you want, and we can take turns and that way she will be covered by the hunters.”
She had no clue what she had gotten herself into. Now she was volunteering her time to babysit. But she liked Greer and Jade. If something happened to them, she didn’t know if she would ever forgive herself for not helping.
Chapter Thirteen
Greer sat straight up in the bed and looked around the room until her eyes focused on the one person who she couldn’t believe was in her room. She sat quiet as a mouse just watching her. “Uhh. Did I miss a meeting or something?”
“No, but we have a lot of training to do, young lady. They said dark magic came out of you yesterday and surrounded you. Why?” Scarlett asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve never used dark magic before. Never.”
Scarlett looked away. She could tell she was thinking hard about what she said, but she was being honest. She had never used dark magic and never would.
“Let me ask you this. What do you think the main problem is with your magic?”
“Well...I get these feelings of not having any control and that feeling you get when you let the magic go but you do that on purpose. Lately, I feel so out of control that my skin itches and I feel this hopeless feeling. Is something wrong with me, Scarlett?”
“Nothing we can’t cure, but it will take some work on your part and Jade’s. The magic has been split. Maybe now we can learn more about the magic and why it wants to come out without being called. So, get that butt in gear, little lady, and let’s get to work.” She watched as Scarlett walked out of the room. The edge of doom she had been feeling before had lifted some. Nothing we can’t cure, she said. Hope—that’s what it sounded like to her.
Greer jumped up and ran to the shower. She had never been so happy to get ready to work on her magic. It was always a chore in the past, but not today. Scarlett was giving her hope and that was worth fighting for.
“How she doing?” Reed asked Lennox as Jade screamed out in frustration.
“Well, my mate is getting more pissed off as we speak, and I’m afraid tonight she will still be mad, but Greer is doing pretty well. She’s holding her own with Scarlett and Quinn.”
“Who’s that?” Reed asked, motioning with his head toward the older woman standing off to the side. She was intently staring at Greer and Jade.
“That is one of the Old Ones. Her name is Minerva Proctor. She’s visiting Scarlett.”
Reed didn’t know why he felt like he did about this woman, but she gave him the strangest feeling. He didn’t like how she stared at Greer and Jade. But she was an Old One.
“Never met her before.”
“Yeah, Scarlett was mostly assigned to us. She’s been at this a long time. Have no clue how old she is. I would say probably pretty old, but she only looks in her late sixties. She has a gift with time apparently.”
Lennox cringed when Scarlett cast out a slap to Jade’s hand. “Ouch. I will pay for that tonight.” It wasn’t the type of pain that would scar, but he knew it well. Scarlett slapped them all the time in their training with her.
“She’s pissed.” Reed chuckled.
“Don’t let her see you laughing, or you will have the wrath of your alpha female on you. I don’t know what’s come over my mate lately, but she’s become more and more hostile if you say the slightest thing and it upsets her. I’m thinking it’s got to be the magic. That’s why this needs to work. For both of us.”
Chapter Fourteen
Greer watched as Jade got more and more frustrated. She knew that feeling all too well. As a child, her aunt Jean would try to teach her, but she wanted to learn so badly that it made it worse. She needed to relax. When she was angry, it got to the point of a nuclear explosion. Jade was fighting the magic and in return it fought back.
“Jade.” Greer stood in front of her and held both of her hands. “Take a deep breath and let it go. Yes, that’s it. Take another one. Breathe in deeply and let it go.” Jade trie
d to move so she could look at Scarlett. “Stay focused on me. Now, in a second, do you see that big rock over there?” Jade glanced at the rock and nodded. “Okay, do you see that pair of shoes, sitting on the ground beside it?” Again, Jade nodded. “I want you to close your eyes and think about the shoes and then tell the magic to pick them up and place them on the rock.”
“I can’t.”
“Not with that attitude. Here, I’m going to help you do this. We do this first one together then you will do it again. The trick that my aunt taught me was to talk to the magic in my head. Tell the magic what you want it to do. It’s waiting for your command. Ready?”
“I guess.”
“Good, close your eyes. Remember I will help you on this one. You will do the next one by yourself.”
Greer squeezed Jade’s hands and waited. “You did it, Jade. You did it. Great job,” Quinn yelled out. She was jumping up and down clapping her hands.
Jade and Greer both looked, and the pair of shoes was sitting on the rock. “We did it, Greer.”
“Nah, you did it. I just let you believe I was helping you. That is all you, my friend.”
Jade grabbed her arm. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. “Really? Are you just saying that?”
“Jade, you put those shoes up on that rock all by yourself. Piece of cake, right? Now do it again without holding my hands. Take the shoes and put them on the ground. This time don’t close your eyes. I think you will surprise yourself.” Greer released her hands and watched as Jade stood staring at the shoes.
It took her a few minutes, but the shoes floated to the ground. Scarlett walked over to her. “Not many witches can do that. How did you teach her?”
“It was the first thing I learned from my aunt Jean. I can make things levitate. Just small stuff, but Jade learned how to do it faster than I ever did. Right now, Jade needs confidence. Look at her.”
