The Witch and the Wolf: Part Two (3 page)

In the moonlight, her hair looked like precious metal. She was perfect. He should sleep too
, but he couldn’t help taking a minute to stare while she was asleep. She was so guarded normally that it was refreshing to see her so relaxed. He liked to think he had something to do with that. She couldn’t ever say she didn’t want to or didn’t enjoy it. The sounds she made were a testament to her enjoyment and he would never forget.

Though it seemed like she wanted to the moment he pulled out of her. It was like a light went off behind her eyes. She had rolled away from him and went to the bathroom. When she returned, she grabbed her clothes and went to the patio to eat. He had followed her reluctantly. At dinner, she explained how they were going to find Periwinkle but didn’t mention anything about what had happened upstairs.

He had matched her cool tone and attitude, but it tore him up inside. Didn’t she feel it too? The moment they had come together it was like fireworks and coming home at the same time. Magical and utterly ordinary at the same time. It was what they were meant to do. There was no denying that she was his mate and he hers. They were made for each other. Yet, she pretended like he was just another quick lay. It was crushing.

He had one glimmer of hope after they had
gone to bed for the night. She had snuck into his room and crawled into bed next to him. She hadn’t tried to touch him but fell asleep without saying anything. He let her be and was sure she would be gone before he woke again. He had to enjoy the moment while he could. She must have felt it too. Why else would she be in his bed? He didn’t smell any fear on her. She had come because she had to. Because she couldn’t be apart from him either.

At least that’s what he told himself. If any of his brothers saw him now, he would never hear the end of it. Mates were a sacred thing
, but that didn’t stop the Moon Brothers from ribbing each other about it. He could always tell when one of his brothers found their mate. They started acting all sappy like a love-struck teenager. He had joined in the good-natured mocking with the rest of them and now he regretted it. If this was what love felt like, he felt very sorry for the wolves that went their entire live without finding their mate.

He wouldn’t have too long to dwell on their future though. They wouldn’t even have a future if he couldn’t protect her from the vampires and fae. They were only going to sleep a few hours before getting up and going to find Periwinkle. Rory had done a spell to locate any fairies in the area and had only gotten one hit. Beatrice hadn’t lied. The good fairy was staying in a valley just outside of Sienna.

Rory had called her mom to catch her up on the new developments. While she was on the phone, Cross had called his dad to catch him up too. There was nothing new back home which was pretty disappointing. He had hoped the coven and pack would be able to take care of the Sun Riders problem at least.

Magda had freaked straight the fuck out when she heard the Lost Tribe was after Rory. Grizzly had insisted that he and
Grimace would be coming up to keep watch with Cross. Of course Magda said she was coming too. So by the next night, it was going to be a full house. He was not looking forward to that. His dad would know what was up between him and Rory right away. He really wasn’t in the mood to have to explain anything or deal with Magda’s reaction.

He and Rory still had another day alone though
, so that was something. He finally went to sleep for a few hours before his alarm went off. Just as he expected, Rory was already gone even though it was only 3am. She must have set a magical alarm because he hadn’t heard anything when she got up and left. By the time he got dressed she was already downstairs waiting for him.

“Good morning,” she said curtly.

“Morning.” He yawned. “Is it really necessary to go in the middle of the damn night?”

“You know it is. If you’re too sleepy to drive, we can wait for tomorrow night.”

“No, I’m fine. I would just rather be sleeping next to you still instead of going out on a magical treasure hunt.”

She blushed. “It’s not a treasure hunt. I really want this spell. It’s totally worthless since no one can use it
, but it’s historic. There is no other spell like this that I’ve ever heard about.”

“So it’s kind of like a wolf claiming a witch then,” he said thoughtfully. “Maybe it won’t be so worthless after all.”

“I doubt that,” she said. “You don’t know how magic works. This is just for me. My mom didn’t even want us to go.”

“Well
, guess I can go back to sleep then,” he pretended to head for the stairs.

“Shut up
.” She grabbed his arm. “We need to go if we’re going to make it during the best hours.”

He handed her a helmet. “After you
, my lady.”

She shot him a look.

“Lighten up,” he said, following her to the front door. “I didn’t mean it like that princess.”

She really did have a stick up her ass. She could be as piss
y as she wanted. Once they were riding, he felt a lot better. Their night together had calmed his wolf down considerably. He didn’t feel like he had to keep himself on constant alert anymore. It was beautiful what good sex could do.

***

It was still cool out as they drove toward the fairy’s valley. Rory’s mind was mercifully clear for the first time in a few days. Sex with Cross had done more than calm her soul, it had let her think again. She was feeling more like herself. And that worried her even more. Was this how it was always going to be now? If she didn’t sleep with Cross on a regular basis would her mind get all muddled and would she be unable to function? That was a scary thought.

He was nicer than she expected and the sex had been great
, but that didn’t mean they could let the claim stay. They would still have to deal with that later. The only reason she wasn’t searching for an answer at the moment was the little Lost Tribe problem she had on her hands. She was surprised she wasn’t more worried about that. Those dark fae were the worst thing that ever happened to the magical community. She had been afraid when she had first heard it from Beatrice. The only explanation for her current relaxed mood was Cross. Maybe there were a few perks to the whole claim thing.

They got into the valley when it was still dark out just as she wanted. She pointed him toward the area her magic had shown her. The valley landscape was drastically different than the rest of Sienna. It was almost lush since the mountains protected it from the beating sun.

Cross pulled over. “Is this close enough?”

“Perfect,” Rory said
, getting off the bike. They would go the rest of the way on foot so they wouldn’t scare Periwinkle off. She should have already felt them come into her territory. Rory hoped the fairy wouldn’t bolt.

Cross spotted the cabin first with his superior sight. Honestly, without him, Rory would have had to cast another locator spell. The cabin was tucked into the side of the mountain hiding itself completely.

“I’ll go first,” Cross said, trying to lead the way.

“She’s a good fae,” Rory reminded him.

“She can be the queen of good fairies for all I care,” Cross said, walking fast enough to stay just in front of Rory. She let him go first. It didn’t matter if it would keep him happy.

The magic hit her before she knew what was happening. She was stopped in place. She could blink
, but that was about all. She couldn’t even open her mouth to scream. Cross was frozen in place in front of her. She was sure it was just Periwinkle playing it safe, but she was ready to cast a counter spell if need be. The frozen curse was pretty flimsy even though it felt much stronger. Rory was glad Magda had practiced counter-curses with her when she was a teenager. She would have been a panicky mess if this was her first encounter with one.

“I’m going to unfreeze your mouths so you can answer my questions,” a melodic voice
came out of the house. “If you lie to me, I’ll send you somewhere dreams go to die.”

“Beatrice Silver sent us here,” Rory said quickly
, before Cross could speak. He was already growling. She could feel his rage. Good thing the fairy hadn’t let them go right away. Cross would have torn her head off.

“And why would she do that?” the fairy asked
, studying Aurora closely.

“You have half a spell I want,” Rory said.

“You look like her,” Periwinkle said, coming closer. In the faint moonlight, the fae was practically glowing. Her skin was paler than Rory’s and her hair was so blonde it was white. Her eyes were a pale shade of blue. It was an arresting sight.

“We’re related. I’m her great-great-great-great-great granddaughter.”

“Interesting,” Periwinkle said. “Does that mean you’re a witch too?”

“Yes
, I am.”

“Then why are you traveling with a werewolf?”

“You got a problem with werewolves, fairy?” Cross asked gruffly.

“Besides the god
-awful smell,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “You are a senselessly violent bunch.”

“Not this one,” Rory said
, more than a little offended. She tried to keep her temper in check. “Could you please unfreeze us?”

“Not yet,” the fairy said
, looking at Cross. “I want to make sure this one doesn’t try anything stupid. I assume you came after the Final Death spell?”

“If that’s the one that will kill vampires
, then yes,” Rory said.

“You know the spell is useless right?”

“Just give us the fucking spell so we can get the hell away from you,” Cross growled.

Periwinkle smiled at him. “There’s that famous werewolf temper.”

“I’ve really had enough of this,” Rory said, and cast her counter-curse.

Periwinkle backed up as Cross came to stand next to Rory. “You aren’t the only one with magic
, bitch.”

The fae’s eyes turned white. “Why did you really come here?”

“I told you,” Rory said, pulling up a shield for the two of them just in case. “We came for the spell. Beatrice could only remember part of the spell. I know that it’s useless, but if you two came up with it together, I would really love to have it to keep it in the family.”

“There’s something strange about you,” Periwinkle said
, backing up to her house. “I don’t know what it is, but you’re a strange witch. I can sense there’s something off between you and the wolf too.”

“There’s nothing strange here except you,” Cross said. “And we won’t leave until we get the spell. Wouldn’t it be better to just give it to us and be rid of us? Like you said it’s a useless spell.”

Rory could feel magic prodding at her. Trying to figure her out. It felt like some kind of seeking spell. It was hard to tell since fae magic was so different from a witch’s.

“Fine,” Periwinkle said suddenly. “I’ll give it to you
, but then you two leave
immediately
. I don’t want to see you around here again.”

Fire burned words into the grass at their feet.

“That was easy.” Cross said. Periwinkle had already disappeared into her home. Rory was curious what the fae had seen that had made her change her mind so quickly.

“Surprisingly so.” Rory copied the spell down in her phone. “This isn’t that complicated really. Well, if it were done by just two witches or two fae anyway.”

“Sure,” Cross said, grabbing her hand and leading her away from the cabin. “I know I don’t want to see another fae for a long time.”

They hurried to leave the valley before Periwinkle could change her mind.

When they got home, the only thing Rory wanted to do was sleep. Cross left her alone for once and let her have the day to rest.
She was tired, but mostly she just stared at the ceiling when she was finally alone. Going to get the spell from Periwinkle had been easy and things between her and Cross even easier, but now that they were at the house she felt very awkward. Cross was still relaxed as ever and it was a little infuriating. He was a-ok, 100% fine with this whole thing, but he would be singing a different tune once their parents got there.

It was juvenile
, but she didn’t even care, she had no idea how to get herself out of this mess. The Sun Riders, vampires, and Lost Tribe were actually pretty easy to take care of…as long as she stayed hidden anyway. They would get bored with trying to find her eventually, especially if they couldn’t do any damage to the coven to smoke her out. Thanks to Elena’s final casting in the human realm, she could stay hidden for a very long time before the vampires managed to harness powerful enough magic to break Elena’s protection charm.

Now that she had slept with Cross though, as mind-blowingly awesome as it was, she was in even deeper. The anxiety she felt was all her own overthinking. If she let herself relax into the claiming, she would have had a nice day. She and Cross could have
gone for a walk, went to the store for dinner, cooked together, and had more great sex. Then when their parents got there, they could explain that they were a couple now and that would be that. Maybe there would be a ritual with the coven and the werewolves to wed the pair and it would all be done. Rory could see it clearly in her mind. It would be so very easy to let it all happen.

So why didn’t she? That was the million dollar question really. Now that the claiming was complete, she was having a harder time justifying not being with Cross. Yes, supernatural creatures didn’t mix
, but why not? Yes, werewolves killed witches for sport but not Cross. He had never done that. She fell asleep while she was trying to come up with reasons to stay away from her “mate” and when she woke back up it was already sundown again. She had lost almost an entire day! She got up to find Cross so they could go get something for dinner.

Downstairs she was greeted by a very welcome sight.

“Mom!” She hadn’t been that happy to see Magda in years. She certainly hadn’t run to hug her with such happiness in over ten years.

“I’m glad to see you too
, honey,” Magda said, hugging her back.

“Jamie!” Rory hugged the newest head witch of the Cleary coven. “I can’t believe you came too!”

“It’s you they’re after,” Jamie explained. “Now that you’re gone, things are completely quiet in Cleary. The girls could spare me for a day or two.”

“I’m so happy to see you guys,” Rory said
, beginning to cry.

“Has that wolf been treating you right?” Magda asked
, alarmed. Rory NEVER cried. Like all women in the Silver family, she prided herself on her ability to keep it together in tough times.

“I’m ok,” Rory lied. She didn’t want to blurt out that she had inadvertently accepted Cross’s claim while she was emotional. Once she stopped the waterworks, she would tell them both. “Why didn’t you wake me up when you guys got here?”

“Well, we’ve only been here for two hours,” Magda said, taking Rory’s hand. “Cross said you were exhausted and was pretty insistent we let you sleep.”

“
The wolf did win me over a bit with that. He is very protective of you,” Jamie confessed. “The Moon Brothers weren’t lying when they said he was the best choice to keep you safe.”

“I will have to thank him for his help,” Magda said grudgingly. “He didn’t want to leave before you had woken up
, but Grizzly was pretty insistent they go out to get food and talk.”

“I was wondering where they were.”

“They’ll be back soon with groceries,” Jamie said. “But I want to hear about what you two have been up to first.”

Rory told her mother and Jamie about finding Beatrice in Sand Springs and the ghost’s sad story.

“I can’t believe I had never heard that story before!” Magda said, shocked. “We’ll have to add it to the family book after all this is over.”

“I think she would really appreciate that,” Rory agreed. “In fact, she might even turn up once she knows she’ll get to be the center of attention.”

“Now you were saying about this spell,” Jamie prompted her to continue her story.

Rory told them about Periwinkle and how easy it was to get her to give them the spell.

“I know we can’t use it,” Rory concluded. “I’m still glad I got it though. It’s incredibly beautiful.”

“So it’s a partner spell,” Jamie said thoughtfully. “Those are very rare. Usually, they’re done by a wizard and a witch to draw on the male and female elements. This one is very curious. Can I see it?”

“Sure, it’s in my room.” Rory went upstairs to retrieve the spell. When she came back down, Magda and Jamie were whispering furiously at each other. As soon as they heard Rory on the stairs, Magda gave Jamie a murderous look.

“What’s going on?” Rory asked. She had been suspicious of Jamie’s motivation for coming along too. Magda was the unofficial number two in the coven. There had to be a compelling reason for Jamie to tag along too and leave the coven without their most powerful two witches.

“I think there’s something you need to know,” Jamie told her.

“You shut
up!” Magda said, glaring at Jamie. “You shouldn’t butt in where you aren’t welcome. This is a family matter.”

“We are family now,” Jamie reminded Magda. “Rory is a sister now and this is important. I think she might want to know. She’s an adult now. There’s no point in keeping this secret any longer.”

“What secret?!” Rory asked. This wasn’t what she needed at all. She already had her fill of secrets for the week.

Magda sighed. “Come sit down
, dear. I can see Jamie will tell you if I don’t.”

***

Cross hadn’t wanted to leave Rory, but Grizzly wasn’t taking no for an answer. He reluctantly got on his bike to follow Grizzly and Grimace into town. When they were just out of the line of sight of the cabin, Grizzly and Grimace pulled over to the side of the road. Cross stopped too and pulled off his helmet. Before he could ask why they had stopped, Grizzly nodded at Grim and Grim pushed Cross hard enough to knock him off his feet.

“Did you think I couldn’t smell it on you?” Grizzly asked.

Cross tried to get up, but Grimace put his foot on Cross’s chest.

“I think you need to spend a little time down there thinking,” Grizzly told him. “I send you up here to keep you safe from whatever it is in town and it was working. The spells those witches cast would have kept you two hidden for the rest of the year.”

Cross looked at his father dumbfounded. “If you wanted me to sit up here twiddling my thumbs, you should have told me. I thought we were in this together trying to solve the problem.”

“I didn’t need you running off to get yourself killed in a blaze of glory. Even worse you were taking Ozzy with you! That boy is like your brother and you were going to get both of you killed.”

“I’m sorry,” Cross said. He was having a hard time staying on the ground. He could have easily over powered Grim and gotten up if he wanted to, but he knew his Dad was trying to make a point.

“Are you sorry about the way you acted in town or for claiming the witch?”

Cross didn’t say anything.

“What I want to know is, how the hell did you do it? Wolves can only claim other wolves or humans. Is the girl not a real witch?”

“You saw what she can do and I know damn well you can see all the magic she has. Of course she’s a witch. And I have no fucking idea how I did it.”

Grizzly narrowed his eyes. “For the love of God
, tell me you didn’t complete the claim.”

Cross chose to stay silent again
, but that was enough to tell Grizzly he claimed Rory completely.

“Shit. We’re going home right now. If we go back to that cabin, those witches are going to kill you. Good thing Charlie started looking for a new town already.”

“No!” Cross pushed against Grim’s foot knocking the bigger man down. “I’m not leaving her! Are you out of your fucking mind?! She’s
my mate
.”

“I know you think she is
, son,” Grizzly said gently. “But she can’t be. Wolves belong with other wolves and humans. Supernatural creatures stick to their own kind, or humans in a pinch, for a very good reason. There is no way her coven will let you near her anymore.”

“It isn’t up to them or you or the rest of the brothers. The only people who have a say in the matter are me and Rory.”

“That’s not how it works and you know it. I’m the alpha of the Moon Brothers and unless you plan on fighting me for that title, you do as I say.”

Cross stood taller and squared his shoulders. “Or I pick the third option.”

Grizzly smiled like he was humoring a young child. “And what would the third option be?”

“I leave the Moon Brothers pack.”

That wiped the smile off Grizzly’s face fast. His eyes turned yellow and his teeth started to elongate. “And why would you do something as fucking stupid as that?”

“Lemme think, my mate or my pack? I only get one mate
. I can find a new pack. Not that hard a choice.”

Grimace growled and looked between Grizzly and Cross. “You can’t be serious
, brother?!”

Cross nodded once and Grimace looked at Grizzly.

“You need to think hard and long about what you’re thinking about doing. It won’t be an easy thing to find a new pack once you’re banished, especially not with a witch in tow.”

“I know.”

“And you have to know that the witches will do everything in their power to break your claim once they know. The odds are you're going to end up with no pack and no mate. And I won’t let you come crawling back to the Moon Brothers after that happens.”

“He’s your son!” Grimace said. “We can’t let him do this.”

“You can’t stop me,” Cross said. “And neither can the coven. They may try to break my claim, but they won’t be able to. It's already done, there is no going back.”

“Have you asked the witch what she wants,” Grizzly asked. “I’m going to take your silence here to mean no
, you haven’t…or, and this is what I’m going to guess is what really happened, you have asked her and she wants nothing to do with you.”

“She’ll come around,” Cross said hotly. He couldn’t help but counter his father’s claim. Rory wasn’t fully on board yet. She would come around soon enough. If he left now, she would never have the chance to make the right decision.

Grizzly shook his head. “You’re making a bad choice here, son. I don’t want to banish you, but I will. No good can come of you going back there.”

“We only get one mate,” Cross held up one finger in his father’s face. “One! If I let her go, I will be alone forever.”

Grizzly was about to say something else but stopped. They all looked around, suddenly alert. Cross’ wolf started to go wild.

He put on his helmet and headed back to the cabin as fast as his bike would take him.