“You heard that?”
Georgie looked at Rebecca funny. “Of course I did. Didn’t you?”
“Unfortunately, I hear that voice all the time.” Rebecca smiled.
“So no jail?” Georgie asked as her stomach growled.
“I promise. No jail. Let’s get you something to eat.” Rebecca held out her hand and Georgie took it. They all headed back to the jeep.
Chapter Twenty- Five
Savannah
‘Go tell her you will be at the party,’ the compass whispered urgently to Savannah.
Savannah’s eyes practically popped out of her head. The voice seemed so loud to her, she looked around to verify no one else heard it. Only her. She felt like she was going mad.
‘I told you to go tell her you will be at the party.’ The compass continued to nag.
“No,” Savannah hissed.
This got Celestia’s attention. “No what, dear?” Her voice sounded concerned, but her eyes showed her annoyance. Katarina joined Celestia’s nasty glare while the rest looked on with what seemed like concern.
“Um…no…” Savannah was usually good at thinking on her feet, but Celestia was a scary person and Katarina was psychotic in her own rights. “No, there’s no way we can give this shelter to Rebecca.”
“I’m afraid in honor of our truce I will probably concede to her demands.” Celestia smiled wickedly. “So we better finish scouting this location because tomorrow it will be hers.” Celestia left them alone.
Katarina continued to stare coldly at Savannah without saying a word. Savannah had dealt with her share of mean girls in school, but Katarina had hundreds of years on her. It would be intimidating to anyone.
“Did you have something to say or are you going to keep staring at me all day?” Savannah growled.
“You don’t deserve any of this. If I didn’t owe your sister I might have already knocked you down a notch or two.”
“I am not my sister.”
“That is obvious. She happens to have goodness in her.” Katarina started walking away. “But your days are numbered, Savvy.” She made a point of bumping into Savannah’s shoulder as she passed.
‘Forget her, go talk to your sister while you still can.’ The compass urged again.
“All right, all right,” Savannah said through gritted teeth. She tossed a look behind her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t going to be missed. When the coast was clear she hurried outside and found Rebecca and her pack members in the alley arguing with a homeless black girl.
When Rebecca moved toward her the filthy homeless girl told them to stop and suddenly they were frozen. They couldn’t move. Well, all of them couldn’t move except Jackson. Jackson moved close to the scared girl and after a few attempts to convince her to go with them she finally agreed. Then everyone could move again. It was like the homeless girl had power over them. Savannah also noticed Rebecca had conjured up quite a wind storm during the process and she was thankful her hair was tied back in braids.
Savannah slipped into the shadows of a nearby dumpster as the group passed her. She decided it wasn’t a good time to chat. She suddenly had a lot to think about. How did the girl control the wolf pack? And how could she get the girl to help the vampires? That had to be one amazing power.
‘That type of thinking could get your sister killed.’ The compass pulled her back from her thoughts.
“My sister got me killed.” The moment the words escaped her lips she wished she could take them back. She wanted to take them back, but she also knew it was true. If Rebecca had never gotten involved in the supernatural world she wouldn’t be a vampire. She’d be learning about her powers as a witch. The thought made her angry.
‘Yes but your death is not permanent, hers would be. Do you really want to live in a world where your sister doesn’t exist?’ the compass asked.
Savannah, deep down knew she didn’t want to lose her sister, but she also knew it seemed like an impossible task to get back what they once had. Her mother’s voice from a distant memory echoed in her mind. ‘It’s important to hear me now. If you ever really need Rebecca she will be there for you, just as you will be there for her. The two of you are connected at a deeper level. You’ll always find each other, always take care of each other, and be there when either of you need help.’
Their mother told her that when she was six years old. It seemed so long ago, a lifetime ago. Savannah held back the tears that threatened to fall. “Rebecca failed to keep your promise, Mother!” Savannah looked up angrily at the sky as she pressed against the dumpster she was hiding behind. “She put us all in danger without any thought to our safety and for that I hate her.”
The dumpster lid exploded as all the liquid in the garbage shot up into the air. Different textures, colors, soda, water, slime, sauce covering food. It all shot up into the air and rained down all around her. Somehow every piece managed to miss falling on her. The alley smelled of compost and death. No, the smell of death was her.
‘It looks as if your powers are surfacing,’ the compass stated with approval. ‘You apparently did inherit the element of water.’
“Water?” Savannah couldn’t care less about powers…or maybe she did care. Yesterday she was a part of a spell that she figured wouldn’t work for her, but… maybe it did. She looked around her at the mess that just exploded from the dumpster. “How did I do that?”
‘Powers are connected to emotions. Yours responded to your internal conflict and your anger.’
“So I have to be angry for it to work?”
‘You need to talk to your grandmother…or, your father. They can help you more than I can.’
“Wonderful!” She sighed heavily as she slipped out of her hiding spot. No matter how hard she tried to remove herself from her biological family’s life she always seemed to be pulled back in.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Savannah
Savannah rushed home after the garbage incident. She didn’t know what to think about the entire alley situation. Who was the strange girl with powers over the wolves? How am I going to learn to control my powers connected to my emotions? Her emotions were all over the place and she was suddenly worried she’d do something crazy like let a human see her powers manifest. She only took a moment to tell Celestia where she was going. Celestia wasn’t happy that she was leaving, but Savannah didn’t care. She needed to know more about her power and the only person she knew could help her was her father.
She called him to make sure he would be at the mansion, but when she arrived at the portal gate he was waiting for her. Instead of meeting in the mansion he put her in his car and started driving to an unknown location.
“Where are we going?” She knew he was her father, but nothing in her trusted him. He was the reason her mother was dead.
“You said you manifested the power of water, right?”
“Well, I think so.” She didn’t think she could tell him about the compass. But it was the compass that told her it was the elemental magic of water.
“I need you to understand why all of this happened. This was all planned before you were born. Your mother and I agreed to be a part of an experiment in gene splicing.”
“You experimented on us?” Savannah felt her anger grow.
“It’s not what you think. Your mother and I couldn’t have kids. The Convent of Souls gave us an option to have children, but it required gene manipulation so conception could happen. It wasn’t until after you were all born that we discovered the truth.”
“I don’t know how you would like me to respond to that.” Savannah worked hard to keep her anger under control. She didn’t want her powers to go wonky again.
“It’s the reason we decided to bind your powers,” he told her with a gentle voice. “We chose a side and we chose the wrong side.” His voice was full of regret. Savannah couldn’t muster a give-a-damn response. She was flabbergasted that her parents agreed to experiment on them.
“Are we even your children?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“Well, I can see the family resemblance in our mother, but you, not so much.” She crossed her arms. It was a self-protection mechanism. He was doing very little to convince her that she could trust him.
“Well, allow me to disappoint you further. You are one hundred percent my children.”
Well that was disappointing. “Where are you taking me?” She was getting tired of all the secrecy, the games, the lies...it was exhausting.
He glanced off the road for a moment to lock eyes with her. “To the place where you were born.”
Rebecca
Rebecca tried hard not to stare at Georgie while she ate. Persephone had done a good job of getting the young girl cleaned up. In casual clothing, her face clean, and her hair styled she looked in her early twenties. She also looked strong, muscular, like someone who did an awful lot of physical training at some point in the recent past.
It was still evident, despite the malnourished appearance she had on the top layer. Rebecca had many experiences lately that taught her to not judge a book by the cover and she was fast becoming grateful she’d learned them before she met Georgie.
The girl was kind and gracious. When Georgie was finished with her second plate of food she brought it to the sink and washed her dishes. Then she turned around and smiled a dazzling grin at Rebecca, Jackson, Persephone, Madison, and Gabriel.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“You can stay as long as you like. We have plenty of room.” Rebecca returned the smile.
“Thank you, but I should really be going,” Georgie answered.
“Before you go, you’ll have to tell me how you did that in the alley.” Rebecca kept her smile in place, but Gabriel, Persephone, and Madison tensed at the idea of Georgie using her powers again or leaving.
Georgie shrugged. “I’m cursed.”
That was the last thing Rebecca expected to hear. Even Gabriel’s body language eased.
“What do you mean cursed?” Jackson asked gently. He seemed to have a better connection to her than the rest of them. Rebecca assumed that was because he wasn’t a wolf.
Georgie sat down at the counter and her shoulders slumped. “I was in South Africa a couple years back on a military mission. My team and I were ambushed and I was the only one to get out alive.” She shuddered at the painful memories. “Our equipment was damaged in the assault and I was injured pretty badly. I survived for weeks on the land while I worked to get back in touch with my team leader. Apparently they had reported me as Missing-in-Action and had given up hope in finding me.”
Jackson moved closer and took her hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze, urging her silently to go on while the rest of the wolves in the room listened to every detail.
Georgie took a deep breath before continuing. “I had somehow gotten on sacred land. It was the first night that I ate one of their sacred birds, the Ibis.” She looked at the wolves warily. “You have to understand I was starving and I had no clue they were sacred or that I was on some special land.”
Jackson offered her a weak smile. “You were trying to survive.” He nodded his understanding.
“It’s the law of nature. We hunt and kill as well. So do humans. At least your reason was connected to survival, not sport.” Gabriel offered.
Georgie nodded. “But the priestess that visited me that night in my dreams didn’t agree. She cursed me. I thought it was a dream and thought little of it until I started hearing animals’ thoughts. Then I was able to give them direction. It was too much. When I was finally rescued no one could help me and I simply faded away from everyone. Hiding in the shelters, talking to rodents and birds.” She dropped her head in her hands and Jackson patted her shoulder lightly. “Do you know what it’s like being better friends with animals than humans?”
Persephone was the one to circle around Georgie and give her a strong hug. “We all know that feeling. We are half-human half-wolf.”
“Perhaps it was fate that brought you to our doorstep. We’re probably one of the few species that can understand,” Rebecca told her with comforting voice.
“Many believe that Artemis cursed the first human to become a werewolf and all the offspring from the first are also cursed by the goddess.” Gabriel offered.
“Or blessed.” Persephone offered.
Georgie looked up at that, there was a spark of hope in her soulful brown eyes. “So you are cursed as well? Your wolf would disagree with you, Gabriel.” She smiled. “You, Persephone, she agrees with.”
“So you can hear our wolves. Can you hear the human thoughts?” Madison asked curious.
“No. Only animals.”
“Then you must stay, at least for a while. Please,” Rebecca asked again. Fear crept up her spine as she realized the danger Georgie could be to her pack.
Georgie looked at everyone and slowly nodded. “Okay, for a little while at least. Thank you.”
Hunter
Hunter slammed the grimoire shut and tossed it back on the bed. He had been from page one to the end and found nothing in the book that would be able to help either one of his sisters. There was no reversible spell for vampires or werewolves. According to this book his sisters were stuck. But he’d made it his mission to find a way to help them with their curses. They were witches, same as him, and had specific birth rights. Rights he wanted to share with them. His family grimoire may not have the answers but he wouldn’t stop searching until he found which family did.
He blew out the candle by his bedside table and relit it with his mind. At least the spell last night worked well. He was beginning to see his powers develop each time he used them.
It made him wonder if Rebecca and Savannah were starting to see any type of improvement. He flipped open his cell phone and called Savannah’s. It went straight to voice mail. ‘You know what to do at the beep.’ Her voice played over the recording.
“Yeah, sis, call me. I want to find out if the spell worked for you last night.” He hung up the phone, but he didn’t expect to hear back from her so he decided to head downstairs to see if Rebecca was home. One of the nights this week he was going to have to stay in his own bed at Grandma’s, but he didn’t dare take the book out of the compound. It was safer here than anywhere else. The wolves didn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands either.
When he stepped into the foyer he heard voices in the kitchen and decided to go check things out. When he entered Rebecca was asking Madison to take a new girl upstairs and get her settled.
He grabbed a granny smith apple from the counter and gave his sister a dazzling smile. “Hey, sis.” He took a giant bite. “New recruit?”
Rebecca smiled back. “Hey, Hunt. I didn’t know you were here tonight.”
“Yeah, I wanted to see if I could find a spell to help Savvy.” He neglected to tell her he was also searching for a way to help her. She wouldn’t want him wasting time when he could be helping Savvy.
“Any luck?”
“Nope.” He took another bite. “Our family grimoire doesn’t hold the answer, so I guess I’ll need to keep searching elsewhere.”
“Any ideas on where to start?”
He shook his head no. “So I was thinking about heading home.” He looked toward Jackson. “Mind if I catch a ride back into town with you?”
“Of course.” Jackson nodded. He locked eyes with Rebecca. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Rebecca nodded. “You know it.”
“I think I’ll go make sure the house is secure.” Persephone glanced at Gabriel and Rebecca, who both nodded their approval. She excused herself from the room.
“Have you had any power surges since last night’s ritual?” Hunter asked Rebecca in complete seriousness.
She shook her head. “Maybe, I’m not sure. When I was in danger earlier the wind picked up around me, but I can’t be sure it was me or simply a chance cloud in the area.” She pulled out some milk from the fridge and poured herself a glass. “I wo
n’t know until I try to actually do something with the element.”
“Okay, well, can you do me a favor and try working on it sometime soon?” Hunter started toward the door to catch up with Jackson.
“Sure.” Rebecca picked up a red apple. “One for the road?” Hunter nodded and she tossed him the second apple. He caught it and left.
Rebecca turned to Gabriel. “Well, it’s been a busy day.” She stretched her back like a cat.
“Yes it has.” He fought the grin that was threatening to spread across his face by biting the corner of his lower lip. ‘If you don’t stop that you might have to fight me off.’
Rebecca’s eyes snapped open and she glared at him. “I told you where I stand on that whole mate thing.”
He moved dangerously close and Rebecca’s pulse raced. She took a step backward, aware of the predatory look in his eyes. She knew running wouldn’t get her very far, not when he had that dark look. She felt the tingle in her neck, the spiral tattoo that marked her as his ignited and intense feelings began to circulate in her body. She took another step backward as he took one forward. She stopped when her back hit the marble countertop.
He placed his hands on the countertop, boxing her in, and the feelings he stirred in her intensified. She may have been trapped but she knew, deep down, she had all the control. ‘I know what you said. But that doesn’t stop me from feeling urges when you’re near. It’s animal magnetism.’
“I can’t make it any more clear I won’t have anything to do with romance until Savvy is better.” His lips were inches from hers, his breath warm on her skin. Her body betrayed her.
“Do you have any idea how irresistible you are?”
She wanted to shake her head, but instead her eyes locked with his, making it impossible to move. He had some crazy power over her. She used to think it was the wolf’s attraction, but she knew it was more. They both knew it was more and if things had happened differently the night of homecoming they would’ve found a way to become a couple. She had pretty much come to the conclusion that Gabriel was the guy for her. Lucky was amazing, but Gabe made her ache all over and offered her so much more in regards to a future. They also had the pack in common. It was fast becoming her life and he was a very big part of that.