“Daddy. Please wake up, Daddy.” I shake him even though I know it’s pointless. The blood that soaks the grass surrounding his body is enough to tell me he’s long gone.
I turn my attention to my mother’s broken body, but a bulky man stops me approaching her by wrapping his arms around my waist. I scream and cry and reach out for my mother on the ground.
“Get your hands off her. Right now!” The familiar voice is harsh and angry, the arms that are around me instantly let go and I fall to the ground. I crawl toward my mother’s body, her eyes are still open, she’s looking at the same spot she did moments before; sadly, they are lifeless. I know she is gone, but I can’t resist touching her one last time. I hold her hand to my cheek, she’s still warm, but her body seems heavier now.
What am I supposed to do without them? I don’t have any other family. I need them. There’s so much she still has to teach me, so many questions I have. She was supposed to be such an amazing witch, but she didn’t even use her magic to protect herself. Why? If magic is supposed to be so special then why didn’t she use it to defend us? I know about the conflict between wolves and witches. Did the rogue know that my mother was a witch? God, what if the pack helping us finds out about us being of Wicca blood, they’ll never help James, they won’t hesitate in killing us both.
I feel his presence as he kneels down facing me, he’s so close that I can feel the warmth coming from his body. I rub my cheek against my mother’s lifeless hand and can’t stop the tears from falling.
He slowly pulls my mother’s hand from my grasp and pulls me into his arms. It’s strange how I can’t resist him and how his presence soothes me. I wrap my arms around his neck and cry into his shoulder. I feel his lips on my neck as he speaks, “You don’t need to see all of this. Let’s get you back to your brother.”
I reach out for my mother again. “We can’t leave them here.”
He cups my cheek so that I have no other option than to look into his eyes; I can’t tell if they’re blue or green, but they’re so salient.
“My pack will sort it out, we’ll give them the burial they deserve,” he says, before gently kissing me. Everyone and everything ceases to exist at that very moment. My body is on fire, all that matters is his touch and the protection he is giving me and James. Confusion at what is happening washes over me. I am experiencing an intense attraction to a boy I don’t even know, yet somehow my body and soul are telling me that I want him, that I need him.
I soon find out that the boy’s name is Johnny. He stays with me the entire time we drove to his pack-house, never leaving my side, even for a moment. My head rests in the crook of his neck, and his hands run through my hair making me feel sleepy. He turns his head and moves to look at me, I keep my eyes closed, but his stare penetrates me.
“I can’t believe I found you. You’re so beautiful, my love,” he says, kissing my cheek tenderly.
I eventually fall asleep in his arms. I feel so safe with him, but I can’t help feeling confused at his choice of words.
When we get to his pack house the doctors say that James isn’t going to make it. I beg and plead for them to help him. Johnny told me he’d do anything he could to save him, so I tell him about a witch I know that could help. He is reluctant at first, so is his father, but after more shed tears he agrees to allow Noelle’s mother to help.
The present day…
Noelle was utterly distraught when she saw James that evening so long ago. She stood and confessed her love to him in front of the entire room. It broke my heart knowing that he wasn’t awake to finally hear the way she felt about him.
Noelle’s mother insisted I kept the truth about my mother being a witch a secret. She too was unsure of what reaction they’d have to the news.
That night I learnt that I was Johnny’s mate. His parents welcomed James and I into their family, arranging our mating ceremony for the following day. Johnny didn’t want to wait, I had no idea what exactly a mating ceremony was, but I knew I wanted it just as much. Johnny’s family had many questions, they asked about my parents and how I knew about wolves and witches. I lied and told them that my parents were good friends with Noelle’s and that I had grown up knowing about it, and that it had never been a secret. They never once asked if my mother was a witch, I don’t think I could have told that specific lie to Johnny’s face. The instant love I felt for him was overwhelming, even more overwhelming than my need to learn magic and become the witch I had so desperately wanted to be growing up. After the mating ceremony a lot changed. James healed, but Johnny and his father had to show him how to control his wolf. Johnny refused to let me see Noelle, and I only got to see her once more after that night. From the very start I knew Johnny had a deep hatred for witches, I knew that eventually I would have to tell him the truth about my past. It was a day that I looked forward to with genuine trepidation.