“Seriously? I can’t even eat breakfast?” She asked as her toast popped up from the toaster.
“After.” He pulled her toward the door, and she looked longingly at the toast until it disappeared from sight.
“You know starving an alpha is not a very smart thing to do,” she told him as they made it to her office door. Sighing, she opened the door, and found Brick seated in one of the leather chairs. Elizabeth was seated in the other chair, and Freya was huddled close to Hunter. Rebecca hoped she didn’t scare the girl. She was happy to have Freya with them, and Hunter was doing well as her big brother-slash-guardian. Rebecca decided to sit beside Freya. “Okay, I had you all brought here because I want to get a better understanding of the enemy we face in the alternate universe. I need you to tell me about your experiences with Brick and Ophelia.”
Brick adjusted in his seat uncomfortably. “I wasn’t in the alternate universe,” he reminded her.
“I know, but you may have a unique insight into the alternate Brick, and I also want to know if you know of an Ophelia in this world.”
“I did. We were childhood friends, but she died in the massacre,” Brick answered. He seemed a little unsettled with the line of questioning, but Rebecca chalked it up to being the double of a bad guy. She was pretty unhappy when people asked her about Becky, but Becky wasn’t necessarily bad, she was just…crazy.
“So the only Ophelia you know is Ophelia LaCroix?”
Brick nodded.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” She offered a sincere smile. “What can you tell me of Ophelia, your Ophelia that is?”
Brick shrugged. “We were childhood friends, and high school sweethearts. Tomas wanted her, but she loved me. One night, I’d had enough, and attacked Tomas for hitting on Ophelia. He won. I lost, and I was exiled to the rogues. She was going to run away with me only Tomas convinced her to stay.”
“How?”
“He got her pregnant.”
“But…”
‘Tomas wasn’t nice to his female companions,’ Siren offered sadly in her mind.
“Oh, wow. Again, I’m sorry.”
“Why would you be sorry? It’s not like you caused the attack,” Brick snapped. He’d obviously heard she was the reason for the massacre.
“Rebecca couldn’t have known what Abigail and Francesco were planning, even if they were responsible for the attack.” Hunter defended his sister’s honor.
“No, you’re right. It’s just…difficult to handle.” Brick backed down.
“I am sorry,” Rebecca restated, her eyes pleading with him to understand.
“To be honest, I don’t know what could’ve happened to Ophelia to make her turn the way you’re describing. I mean, dealing drugs? That doesn’t sound like her at all.”
“Sometimes, people do desperate things in the heat of the moment,” Jackson offered.
“But see, that’s the thing. Ophelia was never desperate, at least not here. Not that I know of. She may not have been happy being a mother to one of Tomas’s children, but she loved her child with all her heart.”
“You’re lying.” Freya chimed in. She looked at Hunter. “Why is he lying?”
“Freya, not now.” Hunter put a finger to her lips to silence her.
“What do you mean, I’m lying?” Brick asked, frustration clear on his face.
“Freya’s been trying a new tactic to make friends. Be mean. She comes from a warring world, and is still learning to fit in. Please excuse her for her rudeness.” Hunter pulled an angry Freya closer to him. He may have his powers back now, but he didn’t feel like getting into a fight with Brick.
“And now you’re lying,” Brick told him. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve told you the truth.”
“And what about you? Have you told them the truth about you?” Freya asked.
“I’m really confused. Why is a five-year-old--”
“Seven.” Freya snapped. “The right Brick would know that.”
“What is she talking about, Brick?” Rebecca asked pointedly just as Brick’s phone rang.
“Hello? Oh good, let me put you on speaker.” He clicked a few buttons on his phone as a smile spread wickedly across his face. “Go ahead.”
“Are you missing someone very important to your group?” an unfamiliar voice echoed in the room from the phone speaker.
“Ophelia?” Hunter asked timidly.
“Is that the boy witch? Have your powers returned?” A cackle sounded from the other side of the phone.
“What do you want, Ophelia?” Rebecca asked, unamused.
“You, dead.”
“Get in line,” Rebecca retorted.
“Ah, but tales of your power keep the enemies at bay. What they don’t know is that you’ve been drinking the nanobytes for days now in your tea, which means your powers are diminished, if not completely shut off. Well, your witch power that is.”
Rebecca didn’t let the impact of the words sink in, but she did put her tea down. “My alpha and I can beat you with one hand tied behind my back.”
“I suppose we’ll see about that as I’m challenging you to a duel. If I win, I’ll take your pack.”
“So it’s a duel to the death.” It wasn’t a question. Rebecca was simply stating a fact while she processed this situation. “And what do I get if I win?”
“My pack will stop traveling here to sell Black Death,” she paused, and they heard a man cry out in pain in the background, “and I’ll give you Gabriel back.”
“You have Gabriel?” Rebecca felt her heart skip a beat, and then start racing. How the hell did that happen?
“Yes.”
Rebecca looked around the room. Her one weakness was groaning in pain in the background. She beat this alpha she-wolf before, and she’d do it again. Anger boiled in her veins.
Hunter shook his head, telling her not to do it.
“Release Gabriel first.”
“Not a chance.”
“I don’t believe you’ll release him otherwise.” Rebecca insisted. She wouldn’t budge on this point.
‘Don’t be foolish, young one,’ Siren chided in her mind.
“I’ll agree to the duel if you release him.”
“I’ll bring him to the battle, and my men will release him when our duel starts.”
‘Don’t do it,’ Siren warned.
“Fine.”
Ophelia’s wicked cackled carried through the phone as she hung up.
“So I take it you’re the Brick from the alternate dimension?” Rebecca glared at the dark haired man who was built like a linebacker.
He gave her an ominous grin. “Yes.”
“And where is my pack member?”
“Do you really want an answer to that question?”
“Yes.”
“Dead.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hunter
IN THREE HOURS, REBECCA WOULD be in a duel to the death. It’s the 21st century! Stuff like that didn’t happen anymore, or so Hunter thought. None of this was sitting well with him. How could it? A duel to the death? He could lose his sister today. He paced the floor as he flipped through the family grimoire. This was seriously messed up, and he had his hands tied. Rebecca insisted they not interfere; it was the way of the wolves. She was seriously deluded if she thought he wouldn’t do anything. He flipped to the next page of the family spell book. He’d find something that could help her. He had to.
Fair or not, he wasn’t about to lose his sister to some crazed lunatic from an alternate dimension. She was a brand new wolf, and barely knew how to defend herself. The self-defense classes she took with Lucky were just that, self-defense, not kill or be killed. She had won the last two battles with the help of magic only. This time, Ophelia managed to slip her nanobytes which eliminated her power. She didn’t have the help of magic this time. He’d do what he had to do to protect her, and find a way to justify it in his own mind later.
Another page, no help. And again, nothing. Flip, flip, flip, flip
. His pacing was going to wear a path into the carpet if he didn’t find something soon. Flip, flip. “That’s it!” He slammed the book shut, and put it in his backpack. “Time to call in the big guns, grandma.” He grabbed the car keys on the dresser and left.
***
Savannah
“I DON’T THINK WHAT YOU’RE doing is wise, sis.” Savannah followed her twin into the kitchen. “I mean, if nothing else, shouldn’t you be preparing for this fight, and not drinking coffee?” She said as she watched Rebecca fix herself a cup.
“There is nothing I can learn in the next three hours that can help me,” Rebecca told her as she added milk to the cup.
“There has got to be something we can do.” Savannah had never felt so helpless.
“There isn’t. I made a deal with Becky from the alternate universe, and today, that debt will be paid. It is going to be done today. I made a mistake letting her live, and now I plan to rectify that mistake.” Rebecca slammed her palm on the counter. “I need to prepare, not argue with you and Hunter about this.”
“You’re only doing this to save Gabriel. If he wasn’t the issue, you’d have waited until you’re ready,” Savannah snapped, furious with Rebecca. She was not afraid of her twin.
Rebecca blew out a breath. “Perhaps you’re right, but it doesn’t change the matter. The deal has been made. There is no backing out now.”
“No, but she did say she was bringing Gabriel to the fight. We can attack her then. Together we can--”
Rebecca put her hand up to stop Savannah from talking. “No, we can’t. I am an alpha wolf, Savvy. I can’t back out of a challenge that I’ve accepted without terrible consequences.”
Savannah frowned and shook her head. “What kind of consequences?”
“Oh, I don’t know…, my alpha standing could be in jeopardy with the Authority, my pack could revolt against me or how about Becky thinking I recanted on our deal?That’s a few that come to mind at the moment.” She took a drink from her steaming cup of coffee.
“And that’s worth you dying?” Savannah slammed her hand on the counter. “By the Gods, Becca,” tears moistened her eyes, “I just got you back. I can’t lose you.”
“Savvy, I could win.”
“Savannah’s right,” Lucky entered the kitchen, “you can’t beat her.”
Rebecca closed her eyes, and counted to ten. “I have magic, and a thousand-year-old alpha sharing my brain. I have a chance.”
“And your trainer is standing here in front of you telling you that you don’t. Rebecca, you’re not ready for this.”
“And you don’t have your magic,” Savannah reminded her.
Rebecca picked up her coffee, and began walking out of the room. “It doesn’t matter.”
Savannah charged after her. “Oh no you don’t!”
Lucky grabbed her arm and held her back. “You’re not going to change her mind.”
“I sure as hell am going to try.” She tried to pull away, but Lucky held on.
“Give her this time to mentally prepare.”
“It’s not going to happen!” Savannah snarled. No one was going to keep her from protecting her sister.
“Give her this time to prepare while we come up with a backup plan.”
Hunter entered the room. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. I have already rounded up Mystery and Miracle, and now I need you, Savannah.”
***
Rebecca
INSIDE THE SAFE CONFINES OF her bedroom, Rebecca tried to conjure up a simple whirlwind. Nothing. When she was spellbound, and had no idea of her gifts, she didn’t know what she was missing. When her powers were unlocked, she discovered they were connected to her very core. In the last few months she’d been working on combining her powers with her wolf to make herself stronger. She hadn’t been as focused on self-defense as she knew she should be. No one threatened her reign when they saw the air magic she could wield, which made her soft. But now she found herself in the uncomfortable position of putting all her eggs in one basket. She never expected to lose her powers again. She should’ve prepared for it. If she made it out of this situation alive, she would never be caught with her pants down like this again. The question was how was she going to survive the day so she could have that other chance?
She hadn’t even realized she’d picked up her phone. The device in her hand felt hot, which she knew was only her imagination. The dread snaking up her spine as she realized the position she was in required help from her grandmother. Rebecca could put on a good face with her pack, but the reality was that her powers were greatly weakened from the slow poisoning, and that put her at a great disadvantage. The only one she knew that could help her was her grandmother.
Her free hand caressed the necklace around her neck, a talisman to keep her safe. She knew Catherine was not extremely happy with her choices lately, but she still cared. Surely she’d be there if she really needed her.
Swallowing hard, she dialed the number. “Grandma? I need your help.”
“What happened?” Her voice sounded tired.
“I’ve been challenged…and… poisoned.”
“I’ll be right there.” She hung up.
Rebecca stared at the phone for a moment, and then tossed it on the bed. ‘Okay, plan in motion. We can do this,’ she thought as she forced confidence to the surface, and pushed the doubt into the deepest, darkest corners of her mind.
‘We can do this. We have to. Call the pack for extra strength, and when the battle starts, you’re going to need to allow me as close to the surface as possible. I’ll need to take control during the battle. It’s the only way,’ her wolf coached.
“In this situation, you may very well be right, Siren.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Hunter
FOLLOWING THE MAGICAL RECIPE WASN’T easy, but Hunter kept his focus, mixed all the ingredients according to the spell while his siblings, and Lucky, stood around the altar. Blood of the contributors was the last part of the recipe. He pulled out a dagger, and cut the palm of his hand. “While blood is necessary for you to survive, Savannah, it’s usually the main component for powerful spells. A year ago, I wouldn’t have understood how magical blood is. Now, it’s one of the most cherished things a person can give.” He chuckled. “Heck, that could almost be a commercial for blood banks.” He handed the dagger to Savvy. “The last ingredient is our blood.”
“We’re running out of time.” She sliced the dagger across her palm, and added a few drops of her own blood to the cauldron before the cut healed up, and then passed it to Mystery who followed suit, and Miracle, who completed the spell. All four siblings joined hands, and repeated the chant Hunter told them to say.
A powerful burst of energy puffed out of the black pot signifying it was ready. He poured a small amount of the liquid into a bored-out crystal amulet and plugged it with a cork. A few more words, and the magic sealed the talisman.
“Okay, it’s ready. Now remember, you’re going to feel energy zapped from you when this is working.” They all nodded.
“Is that what I think it is?” Grandmother Catherine entered the room.
Hunter held the necklace tightly in his fisted palm as guilt lit up his face. He swallowed hard, and suddenly felt like a kid who’d just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Yes. Well, maybe.”
She walked over and held her hand out, waiting for him to give it to her.
“We all agreed to help, Catherine.” Miracle defended their actions.
“And Rebecca agreed?” The matriarch, head of the family, gave them all a stern look.
That made Miracle shrink back.
“No, but she will,” Hunter insisted, refusing to hand over the crystal.
“She wears your talisman,” Savannah pointed out.
“We’re only evening out the playing field. Ophelia poisoned Rebecca’s power, and now she will be able to syphon from her siblings. It’s the least we can do,” Mystery added.
“Let me see it.?
?? Catherine’s hand was still out, waiting.
Hunter put it in her hand, and waited while she examined it. She took her time, which only made Hunter more nervous. He’d never made a magical amulet before. What if he screwed it up? He was suddenly grateful she was here to inspect his work, that is, if she allowed him to use it.
“If you’d have waited, you could’ve used some of my power as well.” She narrowed her eyes on Hunter. “Good job. I’m proud of you, Hunt.”
He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Thank you.”
***
Miracle
A TINY SLIVER OF JEALOUSY snuck up Miracle’s spine as she watched this family come to each other’s rescue once again. They were always there for each other, no matter the challenge, no matter the obstacle. Not even death could keep them from rushing in to save each other. She longed for that kind of connection. Sure, she had Mystery, but they had no one else. Maverick was more of an absentee father. One could argue he was simply a biological donor who checked in from time to time as they grew up in various magic schools. Their teachers were parents to them more so than anyone else. She wanted what Rebecca, Savvy, Hunter, and Catherine had; real dedication to each other.
“I must say, I’m impressed with how well you both have helped the family out.” Catherine grinned, when she noticed Mira’s blank stare at the group. “You truly are from the Matthews line.”
“We’re also half Winters like they are, but you seem to accept us despite that lineage,” Miracle pointed out making it clear that they all knew Catherine didn’t like the Winters line.
“It doesn’t matter that we weren’t raised together, Mira. We’re all family.” Hunter hugged her. “Family is always there for each other no matter what.”
“You’re a weird brother,” Mira laughed nervously, “but I believe you, and I am happy to be part of the family.”