Magestorm: The Embracing (11 page)

She fled and left him alone, nearing madness.
 
The other two women gave birth, and both children had a genetic defect.
 
One died shortly after birth, and he began to panic.
 
Once the other child was confirmed with the disorder, he frantically began his own set of experiments, hoping for a cure to prolong the child’s life.
 
He also proceeded with having more children with witches, desperate and completely psychotic by then.

The journal abruptly ended and Dhane sat in stunned silence for what felt like an eternity.
 
Finally he slapped the book shut and jumped to his feet.
 
He hurled the book off the porch as far as he could,
and watched
as it skid
ded
into the street.

All this time he had hung his hopes on his mother, that she was the good side within him to counter the bad of Algernon.
 
Instead, she was at least as bad.
 
No, she was worse.
 
She knew what she was doing.
 
His father simply went mad, losing all concept of good and evil.

And then there was the poor young vampire who was tortured relentlessly.
 
Never mentioned by name, probably to protect him from future persecution, Dhane was sure it was Demian none-the-less.

In search of a better future, he found an even worse past.
 
Wondering where he should go from here, he waited silently for the sun to go down, for his friend to wake, and for something to present the path he should follow.

3
1

When the council doors closed, Cassandra noticed more empty seats than she was expecting.
 
Elisabeth and Lila were missing, along with Dhane of course.
 
With a vote due for a new member, they really needed all the members they could round up.

“Has anyone seen Elisabeth today?
 
How about Lila?”

There were no answers to either, other than a couple of head shakes.
 
It was a frustrating start to a series of very important council meetings, as they were just beginning to build their numbers and include people outside their own community.
 
It was supposed to be the first real step towards unity.
 
This was an inauspicious start.

“I’ll go check and see if Lila is in her room.”

Samantha hurried out of the room, and Nicole stepped into the lobby to call Elisabeth.
 
After a few minutes, Nicole returned and shrugged.
 
No answer, which made Cassandra nervous.
 
They waited a while longer for Samantha to return.
 
She finally did, but with a face pale and worried.

“Cassandra, I think you should come.
 
Lila is sick.”

“We’ll cancel today’s meeting.”

The two women hurried to Lila’s room, leaving the others to file out and go about their evenings.
 
In Lila’s room, they came face to face with the barely breathing, extremely pale woman lying on her couch with at six blankets covering her.
 
Even with that, she was still shivering.

“Lila, can you hear me?”

She didn’t respond and the women looked at each other.
 
It was time to get her to the hospital and hope it wasn’t too late.

“Call for an ambulance...”

“I’ll take her.”

Xander stepped into the room and straight over to the ill witch.
 
Picking her up without effort, he carried her out the door and down the hall, through the lobby and out the front door.
 
Terrance knew instantly what was needed when the head werewolf nodded to him.

Within moments, a private car pulled up and Lila was put in the back, with Samantha following close behind.
 
Cassandra got in the driver’s seat and in a flash they were gone.

“Terrance, get someone else to watch the door.
 
I want you to head to the hospital and watch over the witches.
 
Something doesn’t feel right.”

“You got it.”

Quickly Xander headed back to Lila’s room and started looking around.
 
Everything seemed normal in the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom and bathroom.
 
There was nothing out of place and no signs of any visitors.
 
He was wondering if his instincts were wrong.
 
That was uncommon.

“I know you’re here somewhere...”

A scent of blood caught his nose finally, and he followed it to the couch.
 
Searching all around, and inside, he found something wedged between the cushions.
 
Pulling out the silver cross carefully, the smell was undeniable.
 
There was something else on the cross, which he couldn’t place.

“Thought you could hide from me, huh?”

He walked into the kitchen and searched the drawers until he found a plastic bag.
 
Dropping the cross in, he sealed it and shoved it into his pocket.
 
The door was locked and closed firmly before he marched out of the Grand and got in his own car, a black 1969 Dodge Charger.
 
A rubber stain was left out front as he sped off to the hospital.

Once the car was parked in the lot, he charged inside and continued along until he found Cassandra, Samantha, and Nicole.
 
The increased sense of smell, which the werewolves always tried to downplay, remained an invaluable asset for them.

“Any word on what’s wrong with her?”

“No, they haven’t been able to figure out what she has.”

Cassandra was noticeably worried, and Samantha was even worse, sitting on the couch with her arms wrapped around herself.
 
Nicole was trying to console her, and Xander knew how dire things must be for Lila.
 
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the plastic bag as he stepped closer to the council head.

“Listen, I found something that might be
of
concern,” he said quietly and held out his hand.

“Where did you find this?”

“
It was b
uried in Lila’s couch.
 
There’s some chemical on it, as well as her blood.
 
Give it to the doctor to be tested.”

She nodded and hurried off to find the doctor.
 
Xander checked on Terrance, who was guarding Lila’s room carefully.
 
Fiercely loyal, he was one of the few wolves Xander could trust
with anything.
 
It was funny, because they barely knew each other before Sebastian’s departure.

Back in the waiting room, they all sat for hours.
 
They hoped the substance on the cross would bring answers.
 
It didn’t.
 
The doctor entered the waiting room with the news.

“I’m sorry; we can’t figure out what’s wrong with her.
 
It seems to be some sort of poison, but we can’t narrow it down.
 
As soon as we think we have a bead on it, it’s like the compound changes.
 
At this point, there’s not much we can do, and I can’t even say if it’s fatal or not.
 
I would suggest contacting her family if she has any.”

Once the doctor was gone, Cassandra knew what she had to do.
 
Dhane had to be called and informed of the situation.
 
This was not a call she wanted to make.

32

The drive took two days, but finally they arrived at the outskirts of Toronto, Canada.
 
Once they were checked in the hotel, they dropped their bags in the room and went out to dinner.
 
For a long time, Amelia was quiet, spending more time playing with her food than eating it.

“What’s on your mind?”

He knew something was wrong, and her hesitation only further confirmed it.
 
Reaching across the table to take her hand, he smiled and pressed her to speak up.

“This may sound strange, after having you come up here with me.
 
I just, I think I want to meet them alone first.
 
I hope you understand.”

“Is that all?
 
Don’t worry, babe, I’m good with that.”

A smile quickly flashed to her face and she leaned across the table and kissed him.
 
They continued their dinner much more normally.
 
It was filled with idle chitchat that would’ve confused anyone in earshot.
 
The rambling on of a werewolf and mage, talking about vampires,
it would’ve made for strange looks.
 
Everyone was wrapped up in their own lives and they could simply be wrapped in each other.

They returned to the hotel, and Amelia was restless, worried about how things might go with her parents.
 
Would they accept her back?
 
Perhaps they would deny it completely, considering how young she looked.
 
She couldn’t be sure, and that worried her.

Dhane stayed up all night with her, playing cards, watching television, and finding whatever ways they could to amuse each other and keep her mind off of the reunion.
 
Morning came and they drove for about an hour, until they reached a house in a nice, quiet neighborhood.
 
He parked and sent Amelia off with a kiss.

She approached the door and hesitated to knock, instead glancing over her shoulder towards the running car.
 
He smiled and nodded, and she rounded up her courage.
 
The door opened and a woman answered.
 
After a moment, she left and another, older woman came to the door.
 
It only took a few moments until the recognition took hold and they hugged excitedly.

With a quick look back, Amelia showed delight, and then followed the woman inside.
 
Dhane waited a while longer to make sure everything was fine,
then
headed back to the hotel.
 
He was both amazed and thrilled that things were working out so well for Amelia.

Strolling through the lobby, the woman at the desk waved for him and he walked over as she pulled out a handful of paper slips.

“Sir, there have been a number of urgent messages over the last hour.
 
Nothing specific, but several different women have called.”

“Thanks.”

The disapproving look on her face almost made him laugh.
 
Instead he took the notes and headed to his room.
 
Several were from Cassandra, and just as many from Samantha.
 
A few also came from Amber.
 
Something was up, that was for sure.
 
Twenty messages in an hour was not a good sign.

He sat on the bed and dialed the phone for Cassandra.
 
Amber answered instead, and clearly didn’t want to be the one to tell him the news.
 
Dhane braced for the worst.

“What going on, Amber?
 
Give it to me straight.”

“I was hoping you could hear this from Cassandra, but when we weren’t able to reach you, I volunteered to stay here and wait in case you called.
 
It’s Lila, sire.
 
She is not well.
 
They have taken her to the hospital, but nobody knows what ails her.
 
Cassandra wanted to be sure you knew.”

Silently he sat, wondering what to do.
 
Maybe Amelia didn’t need him here, now that things were going well, though she was probably planning to introduce him.
 
He felt like he should go back, and see if there was anything he could do to help.

“Sire?”

“Sorry, I’m here.
 
Thanks for the information, and tell Cassandra to call me if there’s anything she thinks I can do to help.”

“I fear you would only be saying goodbye if you returned.
 
Lila is delirious and wouldn’t even know you were here.
 
I am heading back to the hospital and will let Cassandra know that we spoke.”

They hung up and Dhane lay back on the bed.
 
As usual, just when things started going well, some disaster happened to ruin it.
 
These were the thoughts running through his head as he dozed off, exhaustion from all the driving and staying up all night finally caught up with him.
 

Morning turned to afternoon, afternoon to evening, and a key in the doorknob finally woke Dhane from his sleep.
 
Amelia entered the room, her happiness written all over her face.

“I take it things went well,” Dhane smiled as he rubbed his eyes and sat up.
 
“Wait, how did you get back here?”

“I had a brisk walk, and yes, it went great.
 
I never thought it possible, but I have a family again.”

She sat next to him on the bed and hugged him.
 
With a quick move, he put her onto her back and kissed her deeply.
 
Then he sat back up and she realized something was wrong.
 
First she thought maybe he really had been upset that she wanted to go by herself today.
 
The kiss told a different story, though.
 
Finally she spotted the stack of messages and knew it was something back at the council.

“Dhane, what has happened?”

“It’s Lila.
 
She’s come down very sick.
 
Amber said she’s in the hospital and it doesn’t look like she’s going to make it.”

“Oh dear.
 
I’m so sorry, Dhane.
 
I know you are good friends.
 
You should go back there and be with her, just in case this really is it.”

“Are you sure?
 
I hate to leave you here alone.”

Amelia took his face in her hands and leaned in close.
 
“I’ll be perfectly fine.
 
Everything here is wonderful.
 
You’ll return after you see to your friend, and I’ll be here waiting.”

Her soft
lips pressed gently to his, like it was their first passionate kiss, and then it was
his turn to be pushed down on the bed.
 
For a while she was in control,
and then
he was, as they kissed and touched each other.
 
They were gentle at first, gradually becoming more aggressive with each other.

She took the top position again and ran her fingers down his face, down his throat, then clutched his shirt.
 
Claws emerged and she tore it off with one powerful pull.

“Hey, watch those things!”

“Don’t worry, my love, I wouldn’t scratch you.”

Proceeding to tear her own shirt and bra off, Dhane suddenly didn’t care about the claws anymore.
 
Instead he concentrated on her breast, taking her nipples one by one into his mouth, sucking and flicking each with his tongue until they stood firm.

His pants were the next to go, and hers followed shortly thereafter.
 
Naked bodies writhed against each other as they kissed and touched and held each other.
 
With a quick grasp, she took him and put him inside her.
 
What started as love quickly included lust as she thrust herself down on him, and he clutched her breasts tightly in his hands.

Grunts escaped her as she went harder and
faster
and simply enjoyed the moment.
 
A last, loud grunt brought her to an end, but he wasn’t finished yet.
 
He flipped her over onto the bed and pulled her ankles up towards her head, spread as wide as her shoulders.
 
Once he was satisfied with his leverage, he carefully slipped in, then out.
 

“Oh God, stop teasing and do it!”

He smiled, but didn’t give in to her request.
 
Once she looked at him with begging eyes, he stabbed into her fully.
 
A cry of her pleasure told him she was ready, and he increased speed and force, penetrating her forcefully until they finished together.

Releasing her legs so they could fall back down, he dropped onto her and kissed her deeply.
 
Her arms pulled him tight and she returned his kiss with force.
 
She wasn’t sure if she could possibly be any happier than she was right now.
 
With her man at her side, or rather, on top of her, and her parents found and happy to see her, things were so much higher than they had ever been.
 
No longer was she a sort of slave to Sebastian’s rule, she was her own woman.
 
She was free, and so was her heart.
 
The happiness would have to take a small break though.

“You should get a shower and head out.
 
I don’t want you to miss seeing Lila.”

With another kiss, Dhane jumped up and headed into the bathroom.
 
Amelia gathered his things to make it easier to pack, though she hated for him to leave right now.

It’s only for a little while...