A Wicked Good Witches Paranormal Romance Books 1-7 (Wicked Good Witches Seasons) (25 page)

CHAPTER 14

Michael didn’t remember walking to, or getting into the sheriff’s car.

He didn’t remember the ride.

He
did
remember arriving, stopping, storming out of the car, and confronting William. “What did you do?” he roared at the vampire. “Offer up Emily as bait?”

William calmly put his hand on Michael’s shoulder.

“I swear to you, Michael, that Emily will not be harmed.”

“How can you know that? How can you be so calm? How could you allow this to happen?”

William sighed. He’d expected nothing less of a response.

Michael stuck his face right in front if William’s. “If anything happens to her, I will drive a stake through your fucking heart, William. Without a second thought.”

“Michael, if anything happens to Emily, I will drive a stake through my own heart.”

Michael backed down, saying no more. He turned and followed Mack. She had her gun cocked and ready to shoot, working down a pathway. He wanted to storm by her, but she motioned for him to stay put behind her.

The smell of saltwater wafted through the trees, followed by the flickering flames of a bonfire.

When Michael, Mack, and William stepped over a small ridge, they saw Charlie, still only partially transformed, crouching, as a fully transformed werewolf stared him down. There was blood dripping down Charlie’s arm as well as the alpha’s face.

Michael paced and searched desperately for Emily. “Do you have a shot?” he asked Mack, too loudly.

“Not yet,” she mumbled. “And stay put, would ya, Michael. I don’t need to worry about shootin’ you by accident!”

The alpha swung his arm at Charlie’s head, missing it as Charlie ducked out of the way.

“You know you want to give in,” the alpha jeered. “You want to kill me, I can
feel
it.”

Charlie ignored the alpha’s taunts, focusing on his movements. He heard the others arrive but gave them no mind, unwilling to give the alpha the advantage of catching him off guard. 

William used his vampire senses and located Emily struggling to free herself. Within an instant, he dashed to her side, freed her, and delivered her safely into Michael’s arms.

It happened so fast neither was sure what had just happened.

“Michael,” she exhaled hard. 

“Are you okay?” he asked her, completely confounded. 

“Can’t say I’d like to do that again, but I’m fine.
My God,
Michael! You’re shaking something wicked.”

“I was so afraid something was going to happen to you.”

She grabbed his face and looked into his eyes. “It’s all going to be okay, Michael. Melinda told me everything.” She smiled. “It’s going to better than okay. I mean, do you think I’d go along with such a hair-brained plan if I’d thought I was in any real danger? I just had to get Charlie here. Without an important enough reason, he wouldn’t have come. And everyone else he cared about was already busy.”

Somehow, between all the chaos ensuing around them, Michael could see nothing but truth and confidence in Emily’s eyes. “Would you please tell me what the hell is going on?” he implored. “I am really, really confused.” His heart was about to explode out of his chest. 

“Just wait,” Emily replied, stroking his face to calm him. “Melinda should be here any minute now.”

Back at the bonfire, the alpha werewolf and Charlie continued to stare each other down, taking turns running and attacking each other. Neither was making any real progress towards winning the battle.

The alpha egged Charlie, hoping to force him into a full transformation, and therefore becoming Charlie’s master.

Mack looked for her shot, but the alpha seemed to realize that staying in one place was a bad idea, and it continually charged out of her sight. She cautiously worked her way closer, sticking to the edge of the woods.

“Why the crowd?” the alpha’s voice leaked into Charlie’s mind. “Why not come alone since you care about these humans so much?” 

“So they can witness me killing you,” Charlie told it, lunging forward.

The alpha lunged to the right and Charlie’s body skidded across the dirt. He got to his hands and knees, preparing to lunge at the alpha again. 

“Did you think I would make it that easy for you?” the alpha’s voice raged in Charlie’s mind.

“You’ve done the last damage you’ll ever do on The Demon Isle!” Charlie kept the alpha’s gaze on him, hoping he would not hear the click of the gun behind him. He bared his teeth at the alpha, taunting it to attack.

A gunshot rang out, cracking through the nighttime silence.

Mack wasn’t fast enough.

The alpha heard the click, too, leaning out of the way just as the bullet whizzed through its fur, missing contact with its body.

The alpha turned on Mack, bolting toward her. With one swoop of its muscular arm, it hit Mack’s body, throwing her ten feet into the air. She came down with a thud, unconscious. The gun flew out of her hands, disappearing in the underbrush.

Charlie took the advantage of the alpha’s distraction and flung his body at the alpha, but he wasn’t strong enough. Not while he was still partially in human form. The alpha pushed Charlie back, and in a split second bounded off the ground and pinned Charlie’s body to a tree. Charlie wanted to give in. It felt inevitable. He could not go on like this.

It was time to make a choice: either surrender to the wolf, losing all freedom to a new master, or get killed trying to protect the ones he loved.

He craved to surrender to the wolf.

And yet, still refused.

The alpha surprised Charlie by stepping back, letting go. “I don’t want to kill you,” it admitted dejectedly. “I want you to join me.”

“Why?” Charlie needed to know. “Why would you think I would want to live under your control? Why would I let you use my power to your advantage?” Charlie spoke as if reminding himself what he was hanging on for, just as much as he wanted to hear the alpha’s response.

“You misunderstand,” the alpha’s thoughts echoed. “You would be my willing partner.”

“I will never be willing…”

“Once you surrender, your will is mine.” It snarled, turned, and jumped into the woods. It stopped a few steps in. Charlie could see its piercing yellow eyes, taunting him to follow.

“I know you won’t give up so easily. Maybe you can’t kill me, but let’s see if you can catch me.” The alpha ran deeper into the woods.

Charlie sensed the alpha truly desired to get him alone, away from the people that he cared about… away from the anchors of his human life.

It did not matter, Charlie would follow regardless. He had to kill this thing, somehow.

Charlie cast a gaze toward William, Michael, and Emily. They were helping Mack off the ground; she was conscious again and thankfully didn’t look injured, just shaken. He wished Melinda had been standing beside them; he wanted to look at her one last time. It was obvious now that he’d have to break his promise to her. Everything would
not
be okay.

From behind them, over the ridge, a silhouette emerged. 

“Melinda…”  Charlie’s wish was granted, but before he could follow the alpha into the woods, Melinda ran past the others heading directly at him. She stopped, out of breath, opening up her palm.

“Put it on.” 

He cocked his head, confused. Why did Melinda have Nina’s ring?

Melinda took hold of his wolf-hair-covered hand and slipped the ring onto his finger.

Calm and control jolted through him, spreading through his veins. It calmed the wolf instantly, and Charlie became Charlie again. The wolf disappeared, completely. He stared down at his body in bewilderment. Even his mind was calm and controlled.

However, still confused.

A golden glow emanated from the ring, expanding into the dark silhouette of a woman. She stood in front of Charlie wearing a regal smile. 

Melinda stepped back, standing next to William, Michael, Emily, and Mack, all watching in electrified astonishment. 

Charlie fell to his knees. “Nina,” he whimpered, wrapping his arms around her waist, surprised he could touch her. She was dead, right? He rested his head on her stomach, exhausted and yet relieved to see her. “I’m so sorry you died because of me.”

Nina beamed a heavenly, inviting smile, pulling Charlie up to his feet.

“Dying for you was the most precious thing I have ever had the privilege to do. Everything that happened today happened exactly as it was supposed to, Charlie.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t just happen to vacation here. As Guardians, we don’t actually take vacations.” She raised her hand to his face. “Although, working here definitely had its perks.” She let her hand drop. “I’ve been watching you since you were bitten, Charlie.”

“How can I touch you?” He didn’t even know why he asked this. His brain was overloaded, but if she was dead, he didn’t understand how she was still here, talking to him. Ghosts could not do that. Perhaps she wasn’t really dead.

“Guardian’s physical bodies do die,” explained Nina. “However, our spirit forms work differently than human bodies. Think of me as living energy, that sometimes inhabits a physical form.” She smirked. “We’re not exactly what you’d call human,” she revealed. “But that’s a story for another time.”  

Nina turned, facing everyone.

“We are not all knowing or all powerful. Being familiar with foresight, you understand that the path forward is not always clear, but sometimes... sometimes it is.” She cast her regal gaze back at Charlie, then again toward the others.

“Our most honored job is to keep the balance of power in the favor of good. We have not always succeeded, but we hope our actions today will ensure this balance remains, as we have foreseen battles on the horizon unlike anything you have ever witnessed before.”

Her body glowed in golden light, and to look upon her felt both empowering and comforting. She turned back to Charlie.

“This ring is yours. It belongs to you now. Never before has any mortal man been given such a gift.”

Charlie stared at the ring. “Why?” he pleaded, looking at Nina. “Why give up this ring, forfeiting
your
life for mine?”

“Because the wolf should not be a curse, it should be a gift to help you in the battles to come. As long as you wear this ring, the wolf will no longer be a threat to you, Charlie. The wolf will be ruled by you, and you alone. You will be free to transform at will. The moon will have no sway. The
alpha
will have no sway. You will never fear the wolf again.”

Charlie looked with awed reverence at the ring and back up at Nina. “I still don’t understand why the Guardians would give this to
me
.”

“Because of whom you are Charlie. Not just the wolf or the witch that resides in you, but because of your compassion, your love, and your ability to be selfless and yet lead with a firm hand. These will all be necessary in the battles to come if we are to succeed in keeping the balance of power on the side of good.” She paused, smiling brightly. “You have fought for so many years, never forsaking your responsibilities, never giving into the temptation or greed that the wolf’s power could have so easily given you.”

“Why here? Why now?”

“Because you have sacrificed enough to understand the need for the wolf to be controlled, and yet how the wolf can help you succeed.”

Charlie looked into Nina’s eyes with deep respect, but also apprehension. “What will happen to you?”

Nina smiled majestically. A goddess in Charlie’s eyes. But she always had been. At least physically. Now in a spiritual manner as well.

“I get to be reborn. My soul will get to live a human life, in a new physical body. I’ll experience things as humans do, and when that human life is over, I will be called into Guardianship again.”

She stepped close to him, cupping his head in her hands. As she did, the golden glow engulfed both of their bodies, hiding them from view to the outside world. 

“Don’t dwell on my loss, Charlie. Live. Live fully and freely as you did with me.”

Charlie could not speak. The love and gratitude he felt for Nina overwhelmed him beyond words.

“I regret nothing,” she told him, laying her hand on his chest.

He took her hand in his, holding it against his cheek.

“It is time,” she sang encouragingly. Her lips pressed against his for just a moment, and she leaned into his ear. “Just let go, Charlie... give in to the wolf.”

A low growl rumbled in Charlie’s chest and with his next blink, his bright blue eyes dazzled her with brilliant silver. His lips swept over Nina’s one last time, the thrill and exhilaration of total surrender passing through his body.

Nina let go of Charlie, her eyes dancing playfully.

“There’s my big bad wolf.” Her voice faded, her golden silhouette dissolving into the darkness. She was gone. Had sacrificed herself for Charlie. 

He gazed at the ring and looked into the wide-eyed faces of his friends and family.