Awakened (manxman)**Halloween Story

Chapter 21

There was sudden flash of light and I jumped in response. My heart pounded behind my ribcage like it was trying to come out of my chest as I watched the two former lovers square off against one another. A dark mist like black swirls of smoke curled from Morgan's booted feet, twined up around his legs, and curled around his body like a coiled serpent. My grandmother's skin took on an eerie, iridescent ghostly glow, and her hands were pure white light illuminating brightly in the night.

"I see you still pack quite a punch my sweet." Morgan grunted as he rubbed the shoulder she'd clearly zapped with her powers.

"Oh, you have no idea." She forewarned before another ball of energy flew from her fingertips and Morgan executed a move straight out of the Matrix to dodge the ball of magic. He countered by holding up his arms and began chanting s spell under his breath. I felt Etienne stiffen in front of me, but otherwise he didn't make a move other than to pull me tighter against his side almost shielding me under his arm.

The elders and coven members watched on in equal fascination as the pair continued to volley and duck each other's magic. Some shots struck and some were missed by both parties. My anxiety levels continued to rise when my grandmother staggered back after a particularly hard hit.

My elbow dug into Etienne's side. "Do something." I urged him on in desperation. I couldn't lose my grandmother. My one remaining blood relative to that delusional, evil bastard.

"She asked me not to interfere. This is something she has been plotting for longer than you have been alive my love." Etienne reasoned with a strained voice. Our mating bond shimmered between us and I could tell he truly wanted to intervene but his promise to my grandmother was holding him back. Well I didn't make any promises and just as the thought crossed my mind, Morgan surged forward and the blackness curling round him shot out of formation around his body and wrapped itself like a tentacle around her neck. She made a choking and I went into a state of panic.

Before I knew what was happening, I'd managed to free myself from Etienne's restraining arms and I stepped forward and flung all my magic at Morgan's tall frame. A white-hot ball of energy flew from my hands and engulfed Morgan in a puff of white smoke. The tentacle released my grandmother disappeared almost immediately into the cloud of smoke. There were startled gasps from those surrounding us. I stood there wide-eyed with a hand covering my mouth as we all watched silently as the smoke dispersed. There on the ground was a large, black cockroach. It was frantically wiggling its legs in the air, trying in vain to get off its back.

You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that ensued around the clearing. I couldn't have uttered a word even if I'd wanted to. My head snapped around to see Etienne just cross his arms over his chest, and lower his shaking head while biting his lips as if he was hiding his amusement. My grandmother raised a hand to gently rub the sensitive skin of her throat as she walked over to the insect. She looked down at the bug I'd turned Morgan into before smiling up at me. Then, with a serene smile on her face, she raised her foot and stomped on the unsuspecting creature, grinding her foot into the soil and leaves.

"Well that was sort of anticlimactic." I heard Remy mumble from somewhere behind me. Next, I heard a shushing sound and Remy's response. "What?... Don't you shush me."

Jacques' quick guffaw followed by a poorly disguised cough was next in line, and I just covered my heated face, and turned towards Etienne as he eased up beside me. There was a zapping sound and I peeked through my fingers to see a puff of smoke and charred earth where Morgan's remains were last mushed into the dried-up leaves and twigs.

My grandmother ruffled my hair. "Just making sure dear he's dead and will stay that way. Thank you for coming to my rescue, my sweet boy." She crooned before walking off towards the house for once, instead of shimmering into ether like nothing out toward had just occurred. I stood there dumbfounded, it was almost mind boggling for me to take it all in. I went from college student, to nearly losing my life to what I'd thought to have been a gay bashing gone too far. I woke up to become the fated mate to a powerful vampire, and to top it all off, finding out I was warlock related to an even more powerful witch.

I had to do a crash course on learning some semblance of control over my magic. Come to terms with mating and dealing with Etienne's and my mating bonds. Realizing magic in general existed and humans aren't the only creatures occupying this world. The mythical species human's thought wasn't real truly existed, and I was now one of them. Now, I have to come to terms with this. Did I really just turn a warlock into a cockroach my grandmother just stomped into the ground like the insect Morgan truly was at heart? From the variation of shocked to amused glances surrounding me, I would say the answer to that question was a resounding yes, I did.

"Huh... Now I see where he gets it from." I heard Sebastian mutter in the background and his quiet statement was followed by round of amused laughter from the members of the coven. I turned my head in his direction to glare at him, and Sebastian just smiled sheepishly at me while raising his hands in a sign of surrender.

Turning back to my mate, I asked. "What about the members of his coven? What going to happen to them now that he's gone?" I feared that someone would come back and try to avenge Morgan's death.

"Don't worry about them. We will take care of Morgan's house and his followers." One of the elders stepped forward and assured me in a deep gravelly voice. I believe he was the dragon shifter, and I once again tapped down the urge to ask him to shift in order for me to see his dragon.

Nodding my head, I watched as the crowd slowly dispersed back to the house and into the surrounding gardens. I felt Etienne's long, muscular arms wrap around my waist as he pulled me against his wide, warm chest. I breathed his comforting scent deep into my lungs and felt everything within me settle into the safety of his arms.

"I see we still have work to do with controlling and focusing your magic my love. With Morgan gone, and the threat he posed has been dealt with. We have all the time in the world to work on those things and more." He seductively purred as his lips brushed against the sensitive outer shell of my ear.

"I like the sound of that, especially if you explain the more part of that sentence." I said as I snuggled deeper into his embrace.

"Why tell you when I can show you." The pitch of Etienne's voice dropped a few octaves deeper. A ripple of need shivered down my spine and heated my blood. My cock instantly plumped to capacity behind my zipper, and I rolled my hips brushing my turgid flesh against my mate's thick thigh.

"Home, bed, now." Was all my vampire managed to say before I was snatched up off the ground with the wind and the landscape flashing by in a blur as my mate carried me through the extensive gardens to where I belonged, to our home and his bed.

The End