Bite or Howl

Chapter 30

Phoebe POV

Felix and Nick swear under their breaths and Lupus buries his head in his hands. "Fuck," I hear Felix mutter. Nick backs up the car and starts driving deeper into the forest, distancing ourselves further and further away from Mount Verona. The car ride is silent. The only sounds to be heard are the soft engine of the car and the wheels crushing leaves underneath us. Nick drives us towards the very end of the forest where a lake sits. It's huge and beautiful. The water is like a mirror, reflecting my figure crystal clear. The lake is still and peaceful with large mountains in the very back of the landscape.

We sit at the very edge of the river where a small log had fallen, making a seat for ourselves as we flick through the notebook. Nick squats in front of us while Lix and Lupus are on each side of me, peering anxiously over my shoulder as they watch my fingers graze the pages of the notebook. "Did you guys get any far?" I ask them but they shake their heads. "We were going to wait for you." Felix murmurs. I nod and slowly start to open the notebook. The front page is tinted yellow from its age and the writing is slowly starting to fade. There are scribbles in the corners and small dots around the paper. Most of the markings aren't visible but something in the corner attracts my eye.

Queen Clarissa Ashgray

"Ashgray.." Nick and I mumble at the same time. Felix catches my gaze and furrows his eyebrows together. "What's an Ashgray?" He asks me. I tilt the notebook towards him and point at the signing in the corner. "Queen Clarissa Ashgray. She's Chase's mother, the former queen. This means that this notebook belongs to her!" I announce. Felix nods and I continue to flick through the pages.

"Why would Mother Raven have the Queen's diary?" Lupus asks me. "I have no idea but she told me it was important." I reply, my eyes scanning each page for something that might help us with Catherine. I swear under my breath and continuously flick through pages aggressively. "There's nothing." I mumble. "Nothing important. Just reminders and diary entries that weren't even finished!" I start to get frustrated. The pages slowly start to fade into a whiter color once I start to reach the end of the notebook. They aren't as dirty or used as the first few pages.

"Slow down, Pheebs." Lupus comments just as I stop at a page. This was the last page that had been written in. It had a journal entry written inside and seemed very rushed. I stop turning the pages to read this one. Something about it felt like it was the one. Nick leans forward and reads the notebook upside down while Felix and Lupus both peer beside me.

July 17th 1856

I've made a mistake. A tremendous mistake. We weren't meant to meet. Nothing was supposed to happen. But I was stupid. Oh God, what will my husband think of this? I'm pregnant. Again. But this time, I'm not pregnant with my husband's baby. I'm not even pregnant with a vampire. No, my daughter's father is the leader of the Black Witches. The most powerful witch to ever step foot on this planet. But he's dark and evil, my daughter is going to inherit that and I cannot let that happen.

My daughter is a hybrid to the most powerful witch of all.

My eyes raise off of the page and I slowly start to meet the gaze of the three men alongside me. "Holy shit." I manage to say after some time. They all sit there, perplexed in shock. "That makes so much sense." Nick then adds. "The Black Witches, of course they'd help Catherine, she's one of them." My mind is pacing and I can't seem to grasp the information my mind had just been fed with. "Oh my god." Lupus then whispers beside me. "The Queen had an affair with the Black Witch's leader." Felix chimes in. Nick coughs. "Not just any leader, the most powerful demonic black witch ever. Of course Catherine has a darkness inside of her." He adds. "Not as powerful as Chase's but still, it's dangerous." Now it makes sense but at the same time, nothing does.

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"Alright so, what's our plan?" We're back inside the car after a storm had retrieved its way towards us. The loud splattering of fat raindrops hit my window as I gape outside and watch as the rain falls on the lake. Each raindrop creates a ripple in the water, making the lake look as if it were alive. "What do you mean 'a plan'?" Lupus asks Felix. "Well do you think we're just gonna waltz back inside the castle and say, hey you're a witch lets kill you!" Felix mimics. "Because sure, that's a great plan." His sarcasm is thick and heavy while he laughs along to the idea.

"Well I've been trying to brainstorm a few ideas." Nick announces, leaning off of the side of his door. He's seated in the driver's seat, his body turned sideways so he's facing Felix directly while his back is pressed against the cold window and door. Felix sits on the dash, placing his feet directly on the edge of the passenger seat while Lupus and I sprawl across the back seat. "But right now, I've got nothing." Nick says, sighing. He leans forward and presses some buttons on the radio, filling the car with some indie music. Then a sudden dark crimson bursts through the sky, lighting it up as if it were on fire.

I lean outside my window to take a better look. It's the exact same as the one from a few weeks ago when Nick took me around Mount Verona. But this was huge, reaching further and further behind the mountains that went for miles and miles. "What is that?" I ask, shocked yet somewhat mesmerised. Nick chuckles. "Now that, my dear princess, is the mighty king realising his favourite thing in the entire universe is now missing." He tells me. I turn to Lupus who's laying down behind me while playing with the end strands of my hair. "Oh, hello, My Princess," he murmurs. I let out a small giggle and brought my gaze back outside.

"You know, I'm not a princess anymore, Lupus." I tell him. He laughs and brings his arm around my torso, his chin laying on my back. "To me you're still an immature little princess." He mumbles. I extend my arm backwards, elbowing him in the stomach. "I'm sorry but it's true. To me, you're always going to be 'My Princess.' The ignorant, stubborn and immature girl that I looked after." His raven hair tickles my neck as he holds me tight. I laugh and place my hand over his arm that's circled around my waist. "And to me, you'll always be my best friend." I mumble just loud enough for him to hear. He smiles and buries his head deeper into my neck, hiding away. "My Princess, I promise you that I will protect you with my life. Nothing will ever harm you while I am alive." He whispers.

Nick then jumps in his seat, punching his hand up into the air and celebrating. Lupus and I turn towards him in confusion. "What's going on?" Felix says in a grumpy tone. He rolls over in his seat to face him. Nick's face is gleamed with happiness and his smile is so wide, his dimples show. He smirks and looks directly at me, a mischievous grin painted across his face. "I've got a plan."

"Alright, so the garden that surrounds the castle has some sort of enchantment under it when it's a full moon. This enchantment only allows the royal family to enter. Meaning, only Phoebe, Lupus and I can go through, sorry Felix. Meaning, we have a chance to go to Chase and explain to him about Catherine and her mixed blood with the black witches." He tried to explain but I cut him off. "You're forgetting one huge part, Catherine is a royal. She can get through any time." I say, cleverly. Nick smirks, "No, she can't. The enchantment blocks any blood that isn't vampire or werewolf. Catherine's black witch blood will give her away." He tells me.

Vampire or Werewolf. Now why on earth would werewolves be able to seep through?

"And either way, Catherine will be busy outside with her guards. She'd 'volunteered' to join the search for you. She won't be back until morning, giving us as much time to explain everything to Chase. When she comes back, she'll be in for quite a surprise." He finishes proudly. "But what if Chase doesn't believe us?" I mutter, my mind calculating any possible outcomes and weighing the good and the bad. Note, there are more bad than good.

"Chase will believe you, trust me." He reassures. Another crimson streaks over the sky in a flash, lighting up the atmosphere. Nick shakes his head. "Now lets go before his majesty kills himself waiting."