Seth's POV
I was still buzzing from what I had done. I couldn't believe that I had killed one of my own... for her.
"When will you leave?" Sophie softly asked.
We sat outside on her porch after I showered to remove all the blood off me. I was staring out into the forest as I couldn't face Sophie. I had told her I was leaving because there were people looking for me. It was half the truth.
"I better go tomorrow. I don't want more coming out here again."
"You will come back eventually, right?" I turned to looked at her staring at me and my heart thudded. This past month with her, made me feel things I could never imagine. I don't know how I held myself back from her for so long. A scent suddenly hit me.
"Strawberries..." I muttered. The scent was coming from Sophie.
Sophie blinked, confused by what I said. "Strawberries?"
"You suddenly smell like Strawberries." I said as I went closer to her and she gasped.
"You can sense me?" She grabbed my shoulders, stared right into my eyes, and whispered softly. "Seth... Do you like me?"
The questioned shocked me for a moment, but then my lips landed on hers. It was her turn to be surprised as I felt her jump slightly back, but I pulled her closer by cupping her cheek. Then I confessed...
"No... I love you, Sophie."
***
I entered the old concrete building. It was hard for me to leave Sophie. I looked back at her so many times before I was able to finally leave. It fascinated me at how quickly my world had changed since Sophie came into it. I was going to go back to her eventually, she was my home now.
"Brother!" I turned around to see a smirking Cairo. "Thought you died, where the hell you've been?"
"I was attacked by fucking Boggarts, needed time to heal."
Cairo just laughed and slapped me on the back, "How'd you survived that?"
"By being stronger and smarter than you, brother."
Cairo raised an eyebrow as he stared at me. I knew I had to be careful around him because he was way smarter than he looked and could detect when someone was lying. I think it was most likely an ability he possessed from the hex. But... I had possessed two abilities of my own. Cairo only knew of one which was why I was the one sent on this assignment.
"What are you hiding, Seth?"
"What makes you ask that?" I said nonchalantly.
"I don't know, something seems different about you."
"You spend too much time in your head, C." I chuckled lightly and was ready to walk away. "I gotta go check in on my assignment."
"I'll come with. The boss is here, he'll be exceptionally thrilled to see you." Cairo said as he followed me.
***
"You're telling me there was nothing out there?" Luther asked while I was debriefing them about my assignment.
Luther was one of five right hand men of Claw's. I was in a room with four of them and with Claw. The fifth man was... me. I had just recently been promoted to one and finding Sophie was my first assignment.
"Yeah. I told you when I got to the spot, there was no Witch. I don't know who gave you the info, but when I broke through the spell, no one was inside. It was abandoned. That's when I was surprised attacked by fucking Boggarts. I used the cottage to rest and heal, no one ever came in the month I was there." I had come up with this lie while I travelled from Sophie's.
"Damn, I'm gonna kill that little Fae!" Drake said as he had paid for the info.
"Well..." Claw was the one to speak. "Looks like we're going to need to extend our search. We'll send a few more men out there to cover more ground... I need this Witch!" Claw raised his voice at the end.
"Has anyone heard from Silas?" Cass suddenly asked. "We sent him out yesterday to look for Seth again and he's not back."
I began to panic in the inside, but I was calm and collective on the outside. I had killed Silas and now they were going to find Sophie when they headed out there.
"Did you see him when you were on your way here?" Luther asked me.
"No." I said smoothly and he nodded.
"Looks like another one gone missing," Cairo joked.
"You will send more out there in search of that fool as well." Claw said with irritation clear in his voice.
"I really think it's a waste of time to go look out there, maybe the Witch moved to another location." I quickly said. I knew it was a risk to say but I needed to prevent them from getting to Sophie. I knew why he wanted Sophie so bad, but I couldn't let him have her anymore.
***
I had snuck off to Sophie's cottage that same night. I was going to tell her the truth and runaway with her. As I neared the cottage, I could already smell her Strawberry scent. I finally saw my little lamb unsteadily walking to her porch.
"Sophie!" I shouted.
Sophie slowly turned and once she saw me, she beamed with a smile. "I should drink more often if it means I hallucinate you, my love." Her words were slurred.
I was instantly in front of her, holding her steady. She reached out with her hand to touch me and I gently grabbed her wrist to help place it against my cheek.
"It's really me, Strawberries." I whispered softly.
Sophie's eyes widened and she seemed to sober up a bit. She threw her arms around my neck and pulled me into a kiss. I had missed those warm, soft lips of hers and it had only been a little over twenty four hours. When she pulled away, I placed my forehead against hers.
"You came back to me." She whispered softly to me.
"I love you, Sophie. I can't let any harm come to you."
Sophie opened her eyes and began giggling. "I love you too, Seth." She began to playfully pinch my cheeks. "Don't you worry, no harm will come to me. I know how to take care of myself, I always have."
I opened my eyes and moved slightly away from her, not letting her go. "You don't understand Soph."
I took a deep breath before telling her the whole truth. I just hoped she still wanted me after this.
"I didn't meet you by coincidence. I was sent to search for you by my boss. He has a plan to take over the throne and he needs a Witch to help make the plan come to fruition."
Sophie quickly pulled away from me and I saw the hurt in her eyes. "You lied to me?" Her voice slightly cracked.
"Yes, but... I wasn't lying about loving you.
"I don't believe you!" Her voice grew louder and she started to back away from me even more. I couldn't let her get away from me. Not now, not ever.
I quickly filled the space between us and she started struggling for me to let her go. I wasn't going to.
"I love you, Sophie. I love you." I kept my voice low and soothing as I kissed her all over her face.
She stopped struggling and placed her face against my chest as she began to cry. "Please, forgive me. I love you, Strawberries."
"I love you so much, Seth." She looked up at me with glossy eyes. "I forgive you." I gently cupped her face and hungrily took her lips in mine. Then, the sound of slow clapping interrupted us.
"My my, I didn't know this brother of mine was such a little bitch!" Cairo chuckled as he stood a few feet from us with ten other Vampires.
I pulled Sophie behind me in a protective stance. "Don't do this, brother." I said with a warning.
"Little brother, we will have that pretty little Witch you've been hiding from us." Cairo said calmly with a smug smirk on his face.
"Over my dead body." I hissed.
"Gladly."
"Sophie? You fight with everything you got, you hear me?" I gave her hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it.
As soon as the first Vampire tried to attack, I quickly punched him in the jaw and spun him around, biting into his neck. I dropped him once he was dead and I quickly turned to Cairo. Neither him or the other nine tried to attack, they just watched.
"So you would kill one of your own. What a pity." Cairo mocked. "Grab the Witch, while I take care of this nuisance." He commanded the other nine.
As all nine ran towards us, in one swift move, my hand buried into one of their chest and pulled the heart out. They didn't know how deep in me I was going to fight for Sophie's safety. Sophie began mumbling and next thing I saw was fire shooting out of her hands.
Cairo grabbed a hold of my shoulders and threw me against a tree. I quickly got up and ran into him, knocking him down with me on top as I threw punch after punch at his face. Another Vampire came from behind and bit me on my shoulder. I used my thumbs and poked into his eyes and snapped his neck and tore it off his body. Cairo took advantage of this and grabbed me by the throat, spinning me, and used an oak wood stake and stabbed me on the chest, purposely missing the heart.
He got up and pulled me to my knees while holding onto the stake in my chest. I watched as Sophie finished killing one of the Vampires and there were three already dead on the floor.
"Enough, leave the Witch!" Cairo ordered the three Vampires.
"Now Red, come with us and I'll let your precious Seth live."
"Don't do it Soph!" I pleaded. "I need you to save yourself, I'll be fine."
"I can't..." Sophie's shoulders dropped and tears began to flow down her face. "I can't live without you, Seth."
I closed my eyes, not wanting to hear the next words that came out of her mouth.
"Okay... I'll go with you."