“Did you find anything?”“Nothing.”I felt discouraged. That shit was going on while I was in Arth too. Was there no proper investigation done concerning it? Well, it did look like they were more concerned with threatening my life than ensuring the safety of the witches. “But my spies think there is something strange going on in Arth.”I straightened up at his words and searched his gaze for more. His stance at the table made me nervous as he shuffled his feet from one spot to another. “What? What is it?”“It soeems like your Father is looking for you.” He rubbed his chin while his other hand gripped the edge of the table. “The men are no longer fighting back and I’d like to think they no longer have manpower but it looks like it has all been dedicated to looking for you.”I watched him closely. Reed knew something, I could feel it in my gut. He stared back, innocently as if he had nothing else to say. “What? What are you not saying?”“It might be just a rumour,” he said with a shr
“Geez, man. I was just saying. Fine, I’ll go downstairs.” His words were quickly followed by departing footsteps. “That was close,” I murmured.“He has your scent now. Five people have your scent now. It won’t be easy to deny you when they find out the truth, Phoebe.”“Just go. I’ll be fine here.”Child-like giggles and a playful roar rose up to the study. I wanted to peek at the window to watch the unusual sight but Connor held me back by the arm.“I can’t believe Liam brought his kids too.” “Wife?”“Killed.”“Oh.”“Not by witches though.” I don’t why that statement brought relief but it did. Regardless, I shook my head and said, “I wasn’t thinking…”“No? It looked like you did. Ella got cancer and died three years ago.”“It must be hard.”“It is. His kids, Ginny and Rue Rue would want to sleep over.”“Why?”“Because they always do. I got to go. Stay out of sight.” He placed a kiss on my cheek before leaving.A chorus of 'Uncle Connor’s rose from the two kids downstairs. I did exa
It was a week before we heard from Reed again. He called at dawn that he was coming home with a kid. “Are we bringing home strays now?” Connor had asked. His question earned him a smack on his chest. When he put an end to the call, we talked, had a slight argument about his comment and wrestled on the bed until both of us were spent and basked in the early morning sun. After breakfast, Reed announced his arrival with a loud horn of his car. Knowing I won’t be allowed down, I waited in bed for my other lover to come up and give me a kiss. I missed the smell of him. As though he heard my thoughts, Reed entered the bedroom. Getting out of bed, I pulled him into a hug and showed him how much I missed him. A while later, he nipped on my shoulder, mumbling sweet nothings into my ear. “Aren’t you going to see to your guest?” I asked. “I put her to sleep in the guestroom. I’m sure Connor is keeping an eye on her.” He drew along my jawline and gave my lips a peck. “Where did you find her
“You know her?” Reed asked, bringing us down into the living room. I had Tina in my arms, constantly baggering her with questions about her health and checking for any sign of injuries. She looked like she rolled through hell. There were bruises on her face and hands, and a couple of mud stains on her robe. “Are you okay?” I’d asked. “Yes,” she would say. “You should put on some clothes,” Reed said. Looking down at myself, I realised I had forgotten about wearing something. Shrugging the thought off, I tearfully asked, “What happened?”She started off on the night of the attack. They were all in bed when everything went to hell. Ace and Morgan were the first to come for them when their original caretaker had told them to stay put and left them behind. After I’d come by with the kid, they were safe but for only a while. When everything calmed the following noon, everyone struggled out of the protective tree cocoon. Morgan left to search for me while Ace took them to the Tower for
“What the fuck is that thing?”“A demon,” Tina weakly replied Reed. I think he meant to rhetoric with the question but I made no move to correct her. “Phoebe, take Tina with you and run.”“No.”Connor did not have time to repeat his order when that ‘thing’ charged for them. The brothers worked together, fighting the thing off with a strength that surprised me. I pulled Tina to safety as the three destroyed the living room, furniture flying. As I hurried Tina up the stairs, I saw Connor rip a disgusting looking arm off the demon. The dislocated arm burned off but the demon regenerated another arm. I screamed a chorus of 'fuck' in my head while I heard Reed recite a colourful anthem of curses. I hid us in the bedroom and tried to turn on the heater. Tina and I yelped when the floorboard broke and the demon's hand reached up and tried to grab something. There was nothing to use to defend ourselves so I grabbed Tina and ran to the study. I pulled the window open and urged Tina to use
Bewitching?!A deep anger settled in my chest. I wanted to burst and yell words inappropriate for Tina's precious ears. I managed to control my temper and let out a scoff. “And here I thought I was pretty attractive,” I sneered. “Yes. All the right curves in all the right places. Perhaps you could warm my bed tonight. I wonder how your Daddy would feel. Oh, the thought of his precious daughter tainted and filled with the sperm of his enemies!”The crowd burst into another chorus of roaring laughter that shook the place. The color drained from my face. He could not be entertaining that thought at all, could he? The idea of his hand pining my bound body down and forcing himself into me horrified me. I would rather be beaten to the brink of death by my father than go through that. “But she’s pregnant!”Everyone including I froze in place. I whirled my head at the girl beside me. I don’t know what she’s getting at and I don’t want to. If any of them had an heart, they could not possibl
“What?”“I said I am pregnant.”“I heard what you said the first time.”“Then why did you…”“You mean to tell me that while I’ve been sacrificing a lot and searching for you for the past weeks, you were playing sticks and bees?!”“It kind of happened.”“Are you out of your mind? You’re in danger. If you’re going to be carefree about your survival, that is not the way to go.”“Thanks for the lecture, Mom.”“Is the dad aware?”Dads. But I did not correct her and shook my head instead. Did Fake Dumbledore break the news to them or not? I wondered what they’re reactions were; shock or jubilation. They kept talking about a baby for so long, it actually came true. “Well, I hope it was a hot normal guy.”“Oh, he checks the box.” Except he isn’t normal. 'They' were not normal. I chuckled, feeling Tina began to relax by my side. “The baby is going to be cute,” Tina said. “Can I play with the baby?”“Let’s first think of escaping from here first.” I want to be mentally stable to think about t
“Since you’re tiny, we give you a headstart. Hurry on, run.” I tried to fight the fear and lost. Jeremy’s taunting was not much help. “If you win, we let you three go home.”“And if I don’t?” I tried to look for courage but came out sounding like a kid. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”And I really didn’t. It made me feel worse. The idea of Tina experiencing torture was enough to get me moving. I took one careful step back and then another when the wolf did not move. Then I broke into a run, shaking uncontrollably and sweating, trying to focs on my survival. I was arely halfway across when I heard a stomp, the ground shaking under me. Biting back a sream as tears rolled down my cheeks, I put all my strength into running. It was hard to think when I could feel that monster running and the cheering chorus and sardonic laughter. I lost my footing under the quaking floor and fell. Breathing hard, I got to my feet and continued running again. My lungs burned, so did my limbs. When w