© Amber Kalkes 2015
Song----}
"Spanish Castle Magic" By Jimi Hendrix {Live Version}
* T H I R T Y – E I G H T *
Wren didn't even have to verbally give me the permission to leave her side for me to know that I was already excused. The stricken look on my face as I recalled the vision I'd had of Brandon's black wolf with which I could now assume was Jamie's gold wolf was enough for her. It was enough for me too. Well that coupled with the haunting visions of Raze on the battlefield. I didn't want that for anyone and if I could help on the front lines then it was something that had to be done.
Wren couldn't really fault me for my decision either. If she were in the condition to go out and protect Jack she wouldn't have even paused like I had. She would have been out the door and in her second skin before you'd have even known what was happening. We both knew that. The only one who did throw a fit was Mary.
"Don't go," Mary pleads, grabbing my wrist just as I head for the door, "Brandon is a Beta right? He's strong. He can handle it! He doesn't need you to go in there and be his warrior woman to save the day! He can do this on his own!"
By the time she's done with her speech she's in tears. Mary is scared and rightfully so. I'm heading into a warzone with nothing to defend me but my own shaky abilities. To calm her down I want to say that she's right. I want to say that I'll stay with her, Wren and Nadine. I want to say it but I can't.
Brandon is, other than the other three women in that room, all I had in my life that I could ever claim to have really loved. I wasn't going to let him handle this on his own, even if that meant doing something really, really stupid. Even if it meant putting myself in a tough situation, I wasn't going to keep locked up in this house like some precious treasure. Because, if it came down to it, I know Brandon would do the exact same thing for me.
I hug Mary tightly and she cries against my neck. I think its in relief for her. She thinks I'm going to stay behind. Looking over her should I meet eyes with Nadine who is busy rubbing Wren's swollen belly when the baby gets restless. Nadine's eyes hold the same concern as Mary's but she doesn't beg me to stay. Instead she just gives me one solemn nod, an acceptance of what we both know I have to do.
Pulling back, I cup Mary's face in my hands, "I love you and I'll be right back."
She looks ashen and shocked as her wide brown eyes search mine, "You're going?"
"I have to."
Mary shakes her head as anger sweeps over her face, "No you don't! You don't have to do any of this! You're job is to protect Wren and the baby! How are you going to do that if you're out there playing Wonder Woman? What's going to happen to us if they make it in here and kill us?"
"That isn't going to happen Mary," I snap at her, the image she's painting too harsh to even think about, "I'm not abandoning you but I'm not going to leave Brandon unprotected either!"
"How," Mary demands, "Tell me how you're going to do both of those things without canceling out the other? Tell me!"
My eyes shift over to Nadine again and she purses her full lips at me in disapproval before standing on her feet. She walks out of the room without a word and the other two women in the room look bewildered. I feel my tension rise with every second that passes and she's not back. I need to get out there sooner rather than later and Nadine taking her sweet ass time isn't making my anxiety any better.
Almost a full minute later Nadine comes back with a large hex bag in her arms and a very unimpressed look on her face. Looking over my shoulder at Mary she gives her a stern glance, "You keep an eye on Wren, I'll be back in five minutes."
"Five minutes? What are you two doing?"
Wren speaks up then too, "That's a good question."
"We're putting a hex on the pack house," Nadine says with annoyance directed purely at me, "One that can put a protective aura around the house, much like the charm we gave you Wren."
Wren's face goes red with anger, "Then why the fuck didn't you do that as soon as all of this started? You would have saved so much time and hassle!"
"Because it takes sacrifice on a witch's part," Nadine tells her with another glare in my direction, "One with more heart than brains, it would seem."
I snort at that but don't argue because in a way, she's right.
"Sacrifice," Mary echoes faintly, "Sacrifice how?"
"Lets just skip the explanations for now," I answer tersely before turning to Nadine, "We're wasting time."
"Wasting time is fine by me. Honestly, I'd sure as shit like to know what kind of bullshit insanity you're about to pull," Wren growls at me as the beginning of another contraction starts to run through her body, "Fuck me that hurts!"
"I have to shed blood," I yell, done explaining when I could be out there protecting Brandon, "Blood must be given willingly and without resistance. It's a goddess damned blood spell alright?"
Silence falls before Mary asks quietly, "What does that mean? A blood spell?"
"It means that the hex is permanent and requires a lot of energy, more than one would usually put on a spell," Nadine answers, "It'll bind Ruth not only to this house but also this land, this pack and to every member in it. It can't be broken and if the witch is weak, it could drain her of not only her power but her life force."
"Well...shit," Wren pants as her contraction dies down, "You witches really take this shit seriously don't you?"
"If I didn't I wouldn't have offered," I snap at her before turning to Nadine, "Are we going or what?"
Nadine narrows her eyes at me but nods. Turning on a heel, I walk out of the room with her following after me in silence. As I walk down the steps though my speed slows down. Claire's body is still there and her lifeless eyes seem to follow me as I come down on last step. I'm so focused on her that Nadine's hand on my shoulder has me jumping.
"Come on lovely," She tells me softly, "Her time hasn't come yet."
Nodding slowly and unsurprised that Nadine is already ten steps ahead of me, we walk past Claire to head outside. I can hear the howls, growls and loud whimpers of the wolves carrying on the air as soon as we cross the barrier to the outside world. I can't help but think Brandon and Jack are in that group. Raze and Benjamin. Oh and Kyle. And Jake. Its then that I realize how many people I have out there fighting out there to protect the woman and child inside. It strengthens my nerve and solidifies the knowledge that what I'm about to do is for a reason, a good reason. And that's enough for me.
Nadine and I drop to our knees just outside the doorway and get to work pulling things out of the bag. A large steel bowel intricately carved with various animals on the outside is out first. We add earth from this land and some rainwater Nadine had been saving for such an occasion in a glass jug. Nadine hands me a slip of paper to hold as well and then finally, she pulls out an ornate dagger from the bag.
"Are you ready," She asks lowly while checking the sharpness of the blade.
I don't answer. Instead, I push up the sleeve of the sweatshirt Brandon gave me while he was patching me up and bare the skin of my palm for Nadine. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a second before opening them again and squaring them up with mine.
"Do you give this blood willingly and with good intention?"
"Yes."
"Do you understand that in shedding your blood you also shed a piece of your soul for what you ask?"
"Yes."
"And whatever comes will you give it again to protection those you love from the harm of others?"
"Yes."
Nadine takes me arm in grip as she lays the blade against my palm. I feel the cool of blade followed by the fire of the cut. I bite my lower lip in an effort not to make a noise and for the most part it works. Warm blood slides down my hand and onto the earth below but we can't just let it slide into the bowl without a watchful eye.
Magic, perhaps despite its reputation, is a precise art. Things have to be done a certain way when crafting a hex or spell or it could go completely haywire. So, both Nadine and I watch my blood carefully as I clench my hand into a fist and put it over the bowl. Three blood drops for spiritual matters and four for earthly matters since both apply.
"Terrae et aquae," Nadine whispers.
I pull my hand away quickly from the bowl once we have enough and Nadine puts a sheet of paper under my hand so I can bleed on that too. She then hands me a white handkerchief to wrap around my wound while she lights the paper on fire over the bowl. The ashes of the paper add to the mix below.
"Ignis."
The ashes create a smoke that wafts into the air, paying tribute to the last of the elements, air.
"Aeris."
"Repeat after me lovely and do it precisely, you understand?" Nadine asks. I bite my lip and nod as answer, which is all the go-ahead she needs as she spouts, "Et da nobis invenire gratiam accipere. ligabis ad terram meam. Facit ipsum esse unum. Recepto robore."
I repeat it as perfectly as I can. Give us grace to accept. Tie me to this land. Make it one. Make it strong. I close my eyes as I feel a tight pull in my chest and I let out a scream as I fall to the ground. I can feel everything. I can feel pain all over my body. I can feel the anger. I can feel the fear. I can feel the energy. Everything is overwhelming and consuming.
"Ruth," Nadine yells as she shakes my body, "Ruth, come one lovely. You have to put a wall up. Block it out. Block it out!"
I shake my head as tears start running down my face and blood trickles down from my nose. I hear the growls of the wolves as flashes of their violence move across my vision. How can I block this out when there is just so much of it?
"No..." I whimper as I squeeze my hands over my ears.
"Ruth," Nadine yells while shaking me some more but I barely feel it. I'm too wrapped up in what I'm seeing. "Block it!"
Then I see Brandon in my mind's eye. His large black wolf, the one I've only seen only a handful of times walking through the busy battlefield. His bright yellow eyes are fierce as he searches for golden wolf. His mouth is covered in blood and his fangs are stained red with it as well. His own blood also paints his fur and matts it down against his shape. He does not feel this pain though. All he feels is determination not only to protect me but his Alpha and his land.
The gold wolf comes into view then and he is larger than I anticipated based on my pervious vision. He also riddled with scars, including one that seems to have blinded him in one eye. This isn't Jamie, I realize. This is someone else, someone not in charge. This is a Beta. This is Brandon's equal in every way but in honor. I can see it in the way he eyes Brandon's wolf. He's looking for weakness and as silver claws catch the light of the mid-day sun, I know he means to cause as much pain as possible.
"No!"
Opening my eyes I scramble to my feet and try to head for the woods. Nadine is on me in seconds and grabs my shoulders to make me face her. She says no words but I can see the acceptance written clearly on her face. She can't stop me. She knows it and I know it now all she has to do is let me go.
Nadine kisses my forehead before pulling back to cup my face in her hands. It's all there in her brown eyes, the exact same shade as mine. We don't need to say 'I love you' or 'I forgive you' because it's all there. Everything has already been said.
"Until we meet again, Lovely."
Suddenly I feel as though I'm being pulled from her arms and across a great distance. When everything stops spinning, I open my eyes to find that I am right on the edge of the battlefield. I gasp for air and gag a little on bile before managing to gain at least a reasonable amount of equilibrium. My brain is aching with all the energy being thrown at me here though so that's made difficult. I push it aside the best I can though in hopes of being able to focus on finding Brandon.
I take a look around and realize that this isn't far from where Jake and Brandon took me to train. I can even stop the fairy circle only a few feet away from my own position and the sight makes my stomach drop. Maybe our superstitious nanny was too far off with the 'death' part of those things.
Pushing aside the branches that block my view, I spot Brandon and the golden wolf circling each other before suddenly Brandon jumps at him. I let out a sharp scream and without a seconds hesitation, run towards them. A few enemy wolves spot me though and turn on me with blood snarls in my direction. One, a brown and white colored wolf springs at me and I let out another yell before covering my head as a shield. The impact doesn't come though.
I hear a loud growl and I uncover my head enough to see a brown wolf, a little smaller than the one it's taking down, burying its teeth into its neck. When the brown turns around and looks at me I know without a doubt it Jake. He narrows his eyes at me in annoyance and growls lowly at me before moving his head in the direction of Brandon. That's all the incentive I need.
It's only a few feet but it feels like miles as rogue wolves continue to try attacking me. Jake takes them all down as I run and I'm thankful for it. I could use my power to get rid of them but I've already used so much of my energy on the blood spell that I need conserve what I can.
Brandon doesn't notice me coming and neither does the golden wolf until with a sweeping motion of my hand, I send the golden wolf flying across the field. Brandon turns around to face the intruder and snarls but all aggression falls off his face when he sees its me. I probably look like a mess. Blood staining my face, my hand bandaged and dirty while blood spatter from Jake's defensive attacks mark my clothes. I don't even want to think about what my hair looks like.
"Silver..." I pant, "Silver...claws."
Brandon's golden eyes go wide at that bit of information and he steps towards me but the motion is cut off when the golden wolf barrels into him. I let out a scream of surprise and fall to the ground as the two start trying to draw blood from each other. I can't seem to move as I watch them. It'd me borderline majestic if they weren't both men in wolf's skin, one of which being my boyfriend.
When Brandon lets out a sharp whimper, I come out of my shock and realize that I have to do something. I scramble to my feet and mutter a few incantations under my breath as I force my gaze on the back of the golden wolf. Its not a very well known spell that I'm working but its one I've gotten to memorize since I knew this war was coming.
The golden wolf lets out a surprised whimper as the sound of its back snapping seems to echo through the forest. It's pale blue eyes go wide and it falls on its back, off of Brandon and lets out a pained howl from its jaws. I watch, wide eyed and kind of surprised it worked, as the wolf starts to force shift back into a man.
Its grotesque and from what I'm hearing, painful. If a wolf can shift by will it's easier because the wolf absorbs the pain. A force shift, like this spell does, means there's no preparation offered for the wolf and the person inside must feel all of it. It's not something I plan on doing often but if I want Brandon safe, its something I'm going to have to do now. Though, I hope never to have to do it again.
A wolf's howl turns into a man's scream and the battlefield seems to go quiet as everyone watches the spectacle before him or her. I feel a wave of dizziness come over me but I catch myself before I lose my footing. The sounds of the land around us seems to come at me in overwhelming noise followed by deafening silence. It's making my head pound and my body feel weaker than usual.
The man has buzzed strawberry blonde hair, dark brown eyes and a large build. He is, like his wolf, scarred and very much naked. He grips his head and speaks in a pained rough voice, "I can't...I can't feel it...my wolf...I can't feel it."
I pale at his words. Did I do that? Did I make his wolf disappear? The man lifts his eyes to me and I feel my heart jump into my throat. He bares his teeth at me and hatred comes off him so strongly in my direction that I feel my stomach lurch.
"You," He hisses, "You did this."
I shake my head but I can't really deny it. I did do it. Not intentionally but I did do it.
"Give it back!"
I shake my head again, "I don't know—"
"Give it back!" he screams at me before launching himself at me.
I try to put my hands up to block him but another wolf jumps in the way. It's not Brandon though and it's not Jake. The wolf takes down the man and I close my eyes when the man lets out a sharp scream. I can feel his loss in my head, the loss of his energy and the loss of his life. But, he didn't go out without a fight. The wolf on top of him suddenly falls over with a yelp when he lands on his side. I run over the wolf and see the sharp silver coated nails of the man have fresh blood on them and the wolf has an injury to his side.
That's when I realize that it's Benjamin.
"Oh goddess...no." I whimper as I look at his heavily lidded eyes.
"Ben!"
I turn around to see Nadine suddenly in the field and my thoughts immediately turn to Wren. Who is with her? When Nadine comes to knee beside Ben she catches my look and nods at me. I take that as my chance to leave. I get to my feet already practically running and Brandon's massive wolf form is hot on my heels.
I stumble a few times as my exhaustion attempts to take over but Brandon helps me straighten up enough to keep going. As we get closer the house we hear screams even from outside and I trip over my feet in my haste to get there. Just as I open the door another scream hits the air and I pause in the entryway. It's a baby's scream. A very loud strong baby girl's scream.
Coming out of my stupor, I take the steps two at a time not even aware of Brandon coming in behind me now in human form. I run down the hallway and into the bedroom only to catch myself against the bedroom door, as a way of making myself skid to a stop. I feel my whole body relax when I see the pack doctor, Erin sitting at the end of the bed and seeing to Wren as Wren holds her towel wrapped baby.
Mary looks up at me with tear filled eyes and smiles brightly, "It's a girl and she's so pretty, Ruth."
"Son of a bitch..." Wren whispers and I look away from the baby long enough to find her eyes yellow and a huge smile on her face.
"What?" Brandon asks as he comes to stand behind me, panting.
Wren looks over at him before making a face, "You couldn't put a damn shirt on before coming in? I don't want the kid seeing you naked to be her first memory."
"Wren," I snap, getting her attention, "What is it?"
She smirks and looks down at the baby in her arms, "Daddy may be a lot of things and bad ass is one of them. Jamie's dead."
"Dead," Brandon echoes dubiously, "Just like that?"
"No, not just like that but he's dead," She answers flatly before smiling again, "And Jack's okay. I just hoped he made the piece of shit suffer."
Mary gave her a horrified look, "You're going to be one scary mom."
Wren runs her hands over her the baby's matted down black hair and grins, "I know and it's going to be so fun."
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Hello! So this is the last chapter...kind of. Still have an epilogue and bonus chapter coming up before its 'officially' done. I will have both posted today along with a new werewolf story for you guys to hopefully love and devour :}
VOTE, COMMENT AND FOLLOW!