by Jaimi Wilson
Like fucking hell! My stomach starts to burn with a different kind of pain. I feel the healing energy rushing through me from my womb and I just lie here, marveling at the feeling. In a matter of seconds, the wound in my back is completely healed and the poison is gone from my body.
I climb to my feet and casually brush the dirt off my knees, reveling in the fear radiating off my adopted mother and the woman who is apparently my sister.
I have to wonder if that’s why my dad seemed like he was lying. Did they decide to keep my sister over me because she's rotten to the core? Is that really what it takes to be loved by them? Fuck, it doesn't matter. I don't need them anyway. I have my own family, one of my choosing, and it definitely doesn’t include any of those assholes.
"Now, that wasn't very nice, sister. How would you feel if I took that knife from you and sliced you open from throat to sternum? Do you think that would be fair retribution for the pain you just caused me?"
Delilah looks at me with horror-filled eyes. "How the hell did you heal that? That is magic of the oldest kind, from before even the sun and the moon. You should have been dead in seconds."
I tilt my head to the side, as if contemplating whether or not to justify her question with an answer. Screw it, I want the both of them to know that even if they somehow do manage to hurt me, it wouldn't matter anyway.
"Well, dear sister. You see, while your knife contains old magic, it’s nothing compared to the new magic I have growing within me," I tell her, cradling my stomach where I can feel my little bundle resting, tired after using all that energy to heal me.
It's so strange, like he can see and hear everything that is going on around him, despite the fact that he can’t be more than just a few weeks old. It’s fascinating, but something I want to ask Harry about because it certainly doesn't feel like a normal pregnancy. It’s possible she too had something strange happen while she was pregnant with Ivy, so it’s worth talking to her about it.
But that’ll have to be a question for another time. Right now, I have something more pressing to deal with.
I transport myself, reappearing behind my mother and sister before they can even blink and notice my disappearance. I blast them with a wave of magic, which sends them sprawling on the ground. Before they can pick themselves back up, I hurriedly bind them so they can’t move. That way, my mates can throw them in a cell or whatever else we decide to do with them.
I approach my mother first, looking at her with nothing but disgust. Josh appears from nowhere, lifting my mother into a seated position so I don't have to bend down. He winks at me, holding her still for what I'm about to do.
I stand directly in front of her, meeting her eyes as I speak. "You bring shame to witches everywhere. You are guilty of murder, abuse and who knows what else. I hereby decree on behalf of the creators themselves, that you will be stripped of the magic that makes you a witch and wiped of all your memories. If anyone present objects to this punishment, now is the time to speak."
I pause, letting a couple of minutes pass by. Once I’m confident no one will speak up, I turn back to my adoptive mother with a grin. "Well, looks like it’s life as a human for you."
I place my hands on her temples, my power flowing within me as it does my bidding. I drain the magic from her body, sending that energy down to the earth.
Once every last drop of her power is gone, with no chance of it ever returning, I use my magic to rummage through her mind. I see the visions of my childhood through her eyes and begin to rage, fighting not to lose control. She took pleasure in every beating, in every time I flinched. I watch angrily at the memory of her trying to seduce Benji one night. He turned her down, though, telling her that he would only ever be with me, his mate. After that, I get to memories of my adoptive mother and my birth mother meeting for coffee. They mostly talk about me and discuss whether they think I will ever break free from the binding my birth mother placed over me. In a few of these memories, I see my sister there with them, plotting, and feel like I'm going to be sick. The only thing that makes these memories at all bearable are the flashes of regret I see in my sister’s eyes.
Finally, all memories of me and anything to do with the supernatural world are wiped from her mind, leaving just an empty shell. Josh lets her go and I unwind my magic from around her, seeing no more reason to keep her still.
"Jenkins? Can you transport her to a human hospital?"
He comes up to us, looking down at my mother with disgust. "Are you sure? I know of an active volcano I could dump her in if you’d rather.” The tone of his voice sounds hopeful, and it makes me smile.
"As tempting as that sounds, she's human now and has no idea what she's done. I’ll continue to keep an eye on her with my magic, though, and if she messes up in her human life, I promise I’ll be the first in line to hand her over to the human authorities so she can be locked away indefinitely. She only gets this one chance."
He sighs dramatically, relenting. "Okay, then. But if we ever need to dispose of a body, just know that I am aware of several active volcanoes that would be more than capable of obliterating all evidence.” Then he winks, grasping my mother’s shoulder and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, Josh has hauled my sister to her feet. She’s fighting desperately to get free, but my magic only allows, her a little wiggle room. It’s very much like being tied down with magical ropes, so I know she’s not going anywhere.
"Ah, sister. I don't even know how to deal with you. I would strip you of your magic, but you’re so far gone already, I don’t think there’s any saving you. Even my mother was human enough to feel fear. But can you? Or are you only capable of feeling cruelty and malice?”
Her eyes soften but rather than defend her actions, she just sighs in defeat. "Please, wipe my memories and remove my magic. I never wanted any part of this stupid fucking war between you and mother, but I had no choice in the matter. You were the one born with the right kind of power, whereas I was born with hardly any at all. But I still had more than a regular witch, so Mother sought to use me against you. I had to pretend to be in love with your mates and fuck them both, just because she wanted to weaken you and make the pain worse when you found out. I hate you and our mother for the life I've lived."
My eyes begin to water at the heartbreak I can hear in her voice and feel myself softening towards her. I let my magic free to run over her, and after a moment, I sense something good hidden in the dark of her soul. We aren’t born bad; certain choices change and guide us to get us to that point. And now I know my sister can’t be all bad, for which I’m beyond thankful.
"Why didn't you ever approach me? Why didn't you come to me for help? I grew up feeling unloved, like it was just me against the world. But it could have been both of us. We could have fought our mother together. We still could."
Delilah’s eyes widen, a glimmer of hope hidden in their depths. "You would allow me to fight by your side? Even after all I've done?"
"You are my family by blood. I would love to try and form the bonds we should have developed as children, with no evil mother to interfere. Besides, I think it would be pretty cool for my son to have an aunt." I say, trying to cheer her up.
"Jaz babe? You sure this is a good idea?"
I look at Josh, letting him feel what I feel coming from her. Whatever this power is, I know I can trust my sister. Maybe not fully, not yet, but I can tell she wants to redeem herself.
He sighs heavily and lets go of Delilah, leaving me to do what I want.
I smile at him gratefully, but keep my eyes focused on my sister. "I'm going to bind your magic for now. But if you’re able to prove that you can be trusted, then I’ll give it back to you."
She nods, her tears now falling freely. "Yes, bind my magic. Please just give me a chance."
I step forward and put my hands on either side of her head, keeping her still as I do what needs to be done. I dig for the source of her magic and am surprised to feel only a drop of it, nothing
compared to what I expected. She could be strong if she practiced her magic, but I can feel in her heart she doesn't really want power, only love.
I bind her magic within her, concentrating with all my energy to ensure it won’t be permanent. There may come a time she needs it to defend herself and I don’t want to take that option away from her if it could mean the difference between life and death. No, I need to build a safeguard in her just in case there comes a time she truly needs it.
I'm about to withdraw from her mind, but then I sense something that shouldn't be there. A dark sludge in her, not the kind that comes from being tainted by the moon, but the kind that comes from someone trying to control another.
I grab a piece of the darkness with my magic and feel it squirm around like the sludge I had to remove from Liam. I drag it kicking and screaming out of my sister. I see her eyes go wide then she slumps over, fainting from whatever she just saw.
I turn and see that the dark shadow has coalesced into the image of our birth mother. It's nothing but darkness, but I still feel the wrongness of it.
My power begins to build within me like it has a mind of its own and is determined to protect me from the influence that is Gaia. My body starts to glow with a golden light seeking out the disgusting entity. The shadow tries to escape, but I grab hold of it with my magic, forcing it to stay still. Then I send out a blast of pure magic through it. The shadow form of my mother screams violently before disintegrating into nothing.
I start to sway on my feet, feeling completely drained. Before I can stumble, a pair of arms reaches out to grab me. I look up and see Josh staring down at me with a look of such concern.
I twist in his arms and pull him to me, pressing my lips to his, needing to feel close to one of my mates right now. Jenkins still hasn't returned and I can feel Benji and Liam still helping the injured.
"Can you take me back to the pack house? I really want to eat and then sleep for the next day.”
He gives a small nod before pressing his forehead to mine. "Anything for you, my mate."
Seventeen
After coming inside, Josh placed me down on the sofa, then went about getting me food. I must have been more tired than I realized, because I managed to drift off before he even finished.
Some time later, I woke with a start to see him holding out a bowl of food, his other hand on my shoulder, apparently having jostled me awake.
"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you but you really need to eat. I was also hoping to talk to you about something. Would you be okay with me finding you a doctor? Just to make sure you and the baby are fine and see how things are progressing. Liam has a few pack members who are training to be doctors, as does Benji, but I know some people prefer going the traditional human route so I figured I should ask. I can at least do some research, get you a few numbers.”
As he rambles, I take the bowl from him, using the fork to dig in. I have no idea what it is, but I can tell there's obviously ground beef and a variety of vegetables. Not that my body really cares what the dish is. Food is food.
He watches as I eat, and I don't stop, not even to answer him, intent on inhaling the food in my hands before anything else. When I finish, I set the bowl down on the table he's perched on and lean back with a sigh. "Thank you, that was pretty good."
Josh smiles, seeming relieved that I enjoyed it, and moves to sit next to me on the sofa. Once settled, he pulls me closer so I can rest my head on his chest.
"As for the doctor situation,” I finally speak up. “I think it would be best if I used a pack doctor, even if it’s one still in training. There’s still so much I don’t understand, but this baby is the key to all of our futures and I don't think I trust the humans with that knowledge. The moment my blood is tested, the human government will find out, and who knows how they will react to the knowledge that a hybrid child is being born?”
I let out a breath, feeling a small amount of relief to talk about this with someone. “As it is, I still need to figure out exactly what role the Soldiers have played with the human government. Also, we need to know whether they know who the Soldiers have really been working for this whole time, or if they are completely clueless when it comes to my mother and her tactics, because the humans might be a bigger threat than we realize if they even suspect what is happening in our world."
"Yeah, I've been wondering about that myself,” Josh says. “I’ve known the truth about the Soldiers for most of my life. My mother was a witch who had fallen for a wolf, but that didn’t matter. They loved each other despite their species.
“Gaia found my mother just as she was about to give birth to me and offered her a place among her Soldiers. My mother agreed and began to train with them. And as a hybrid, even though I wasn’t a true Soldier, Gaia wanted me to be a part of that world too.
“I trained hard, and began going on missions with my mother and her team. But one particular mission made me doubt the cause Gaia had been preaching: a peaceful existence for the supes.
“My mother and her team were only supposed to take out a few vampires, but a passing human happened to see her do it. I had to watch as she killed that man, whose only crime was witnessing something he shouldn’t have. She did it so cold-heartedly, but then later that night, I heard her yelling at my father, telling him she wanted out. She told him she didn't want any part of it anymore, that she was sick of the senseless killing and violence.
“The next night when she went on what was supposed to be a routine mission, she ended up getting killed. I always believed the vampires were the ones to do it, but now I think it was really Gaia. I don't know for sure how many others died in “accidents” or on missions after complaining or rebelling against the cause, but there were far too many for all of them to truly have been accidents.”
"Yeah, some family I have, right? I have a mother who is power hungry and another who wants to destroy the world and make humans bow to her will. Then there’s the murderous sister, who seems to want to be good, but may end up breaking my heart in the end. Then there’s my father. Who even knows what his role is in all this? I thought he might have been innocent, but he knew all along who Delilah was to them. The fact that he knew and didn't tell me makes me wonder what else he might be hiding."
Josh stays quiet, looking pensive, and I can tell he's thinking very much the same thing as I am. He wants to trust my father, especially after knowing him for so many years, but when that trust is broken, it is very hard to rebuild.
A sudden wave of exhaustion hits me and a yawn breaks free. Josh sits up, pulling me into his arms, before standing. "Come on, Jas. You need to get some sleep in order to recover from all that magic use."
I chuckle and settle my head against his heart, enjoying the steady ‘thump thump’ under my ear. "I don't think it’s the magic so much as the baby. He seems to be draining me of my energy faster than it can replenish. I just need a quick nap and then I should be good to go," I mumble through tired lips, closing my eyes. I have no idea which room he will take me to, but I’m not worried. I trust him with my life and know he wouldn’t bring me anywhere that wasn’t safe.
When I feel Josh extract me from his arms and place me down on a soft mattress, I open my eyes, watching as he starts to back away from the bed.
"Stay," I murmur, holding a hand out to drag him back, but I clearly misjudged how far away he was because I grab onto nothing but empty air.
I frown, but not for long, because then Josh takes my hand and climbs into the bed beside me. Scooting over to give him more room, I turn to face him and stare into those brown eyes that grabbed me from the moment I got off the plane.
I cup his cheek and he closes his eyes with a contented sigh. I lean in close, wanting to taste his lips on my own, and he groans eagerly, pressing closer. We kiss slowly, neither of us wanting to rush this. After a couple of minutes, we part and I snuggle into his embrace. "You are going to kill me, Jas."
"No, I'm going to look after you, just like any mate would."
<
br /> He laughs softly and that's the last sound to register in my mind before the exhaustion becomes too much for me.
I roll over and my face smacks straight into a bare male chest. "Ugh, Josh. Your chest hurt my nose. I demand justice."
He chuckles lightly and I lift my head to look up at him with a questioning glance. "How long did I sleep?"
It feels like a got a couple good hours, which must have meant I really needed it. I love sleep in a big way and this pregnancy is going to be one hell of a good excuse to take daily naps.
"You've been asleep for the past eighteen hours."
I blink slowly, sure I must have heard him wrong. But then I sit up to look out the window, seeing that the sky has grown dark. I turn back to Josh with a frown. "Why didn't you wake me? I had things to do."
"Oh I tried, Jas, believe me. I just stopped after you bit me."
To prove his words, he pulls down his shirt to reveal a bite mark on his neck. It’s a perfect impression of my human teeth, but where my canines would be normally be are two puncture wounds deeper than the rest of the marks. I guess I do have fangs after all.
I clasp a hand over my mouth, horrified by the sight. I can't believe I hurt him. "Josh, I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry."
He shrugs his shoulders, as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. "I'm not. Your vampire needed to feed and you were out for the count. I'm just happy you didn't starve yourself."
"Still, it must have hurt. A lot." I frown.
He grins at me, but I see the lust in his eyes. My heart begins to beat faster. He reaches out a hand and runs it along my jaw, then down my neck and to my chest, stopping just over my pounding heart. "It wasn't painful, Jas. If anything, it left me harder than a rock."
With those words, he pounces, pushing me back on the bed. He hovers over me for a moment, gazing at me with intent, before claiming my lips hungrily.
I groan into his mouth, my body lighting up with desire. How did I ever pretend that I didn’t want this man above me? Any other woman would have called me stupid for such a thing, and right now, I would agree with them.
