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Ivy

The minute I got to my house, I was already over his bullshit. Erik was so sure I was going to go along with this mate thing. I mean, I guess it’s kind of the best thing for us both right now.

He gets to play alpha, and I get to be free to do what I want. The only problem was, I was maybe starting to have feelings for him. I don’t know; maybe it was the stupid mate bond getting in the way.
I never really took the time to get to know my wolf side, even though I’d grown up as if I were a wolf. My mom always thought it was too dangerous. If anybody within the pack realized I had magick, it could put me in a position where I could be used or worse. I was already nervous that Erik might have seen something to do with my magick. He was certainly insistent, but as long as I kept him in the dark, I had a chance.
“Why are you following me everywhere anyway?” I shoved all my crap into one of my bigger bags. It was mostly close and other things that I might need. Honestly, I was hoping I would only be there a week or so.
“You know I have to keep an eye on you,” he said. The fact that Erik was standing in my doorway, leaning against the wall, watching everything I was doing was nerve-racking. Why couldn’t he wait outside like a normal person?
“I don’t understand why you think that you have to keep track of me all the time,” I said, zipping up my bag. I turned to face him, and he was still leaning against the door frame with a smug look on his face.
“Every time a vampire ends up in this town, you seem to be in the vicinity.” He took a step towards me. “So, either you like being around the vampires, or there’s something else going on entirely. “
“You think I go seeking out the vampires?”
“I don’t know,” he said, taking two more steps towards me. “But for some reason, I want to keep you safe. “
“Yeah, I know. It’s that stupid mate bond.” Even as I said the words, the warmth in my stomach and the weird pain that I’d been feeling for the last few days got a little stronger. “ You realize I don’t want anything to do with this whole mate thing.” Even as I said it felt like a lie. My whole body wanted this thing to happen. No matter how much I was fighting it, I was still feeling the pull. I knew he was too.
“It didn’t seem like that the other night when you kissed me back,” he said, finally closing the gap between us. “You seemed like you were changing your mind about this mate thing.”
“I wasn’t,” I lied. “I… was just caught in the moment.”
He raised an eyebrow. “The moment?”
“You were kissing me and I was mad,” I said, stepping back.
He stepped forward. “And now?”
“And now, what?” I said, shaking my head.
“You didn’t fight me when I told you I wanted you to stay,” he said.
“We agreed to do it so your father would leave you alone.” I shook my head. “You wanted that.”
“I told him we’d mate, yes, but I also told you we wouldn’t,” he said.
“Which is confusing, by the way.”
“Do you want to be my mate?” He cocked his head. His hand moved to the side of my face, drifting there for a moment, but not touching me. Like he was asking without actually asking. I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe. I just stared at him. Did I? The only thing I’d even thought about all these years was getting out of here and now here I was being faced with the real possibility of having a full on mate to deal with. I had plans, a life I wanted to live far from here and without any wolves or mate stuff in sight.
“We need to go,” he said before I could even think about how to answer him. Maybe he had an idea there was something I wasn’t being honest about or that I’d lie to his face about how I felt. Either way, he was changing the topic.
“So, I stay at your place for how long?” I asked instead.
“Long enough to make my father happy and get this vampire business settled,” He said. “I have a contact in another pack coming to help us out. They dealt with the vampires before and know their habits.”
I nodded. It was the best way to get ahead of it. To find what they wanted and either destroy it or give it to them so they’d go away. I just hoped it wasn’t anything important to Erik or me.

Erik

The walk back to the house was quiet. She barely looked at me, and I kind of regretted bringing up the mate thing. The problem was, no matter what I did, my wolf wanted her. It was almost painful to let her walk away or reject me.
“So, what are you planning to do about the vampires?” She didn’t look at me as she spoke.
“I have a plan,” I said simply. She knew about the plan to an extent, but the less she knew, the better. I still wanted to know about the magick, but she didn’t seem like she was willing to tell me the truth or even acknowledge it was real.
But it was. I saw the magic in her.
“That I understand, but why aren’t you telling me anything more?” She cocked her head and crossed her arms as I stepped up the porch stairs.
“The less you know, the better,” I answered, looking down at her. The way her hair fell forward when she was trying to be tough was almost amusing. But the thing about her that made me want to forget all about the deal we made was her eyes. Those emerald eyes looked all the way into my soul. Every time I locked onto them, I felt a part of me begging to take her, begging to make her mine.
She huffed but stepped up the stairs and walked past me into the house. I followed behind, but Jaylyn, eyeing me from the couch, caught my attention.
“What happened?” I watched him, and he shrugged.
“Axl isn’t coming by himself. He’s bringing some of his pack. Thought you’d want to know,” he said.
“Fuck. The last thing I need is more complications.” I shook my head. The more packs in one place, the more apt there were to be a fight. It wasn’t like we all got along and wanted to help each other out of the kindness of our hearts. “When is he going to be here?”
“Tonight before nightfall.” Jaylyn stood. “He wants to beat the possibility of another attack.”
“Is that when he thinks they might come back?” I thought it was possible if what they were looking for was that important. My thoughts drifted back to Ivy. She was in the middle of both attacks. I had to find out more about the magick she had, even if she didn’t want to tell me. She might be the key to figuring out what the hell was happening and why they were so eager to fight us for this thing.
“Let me know when they get here,” I said and walked up the stairs to my room. I was guessing Ivy was already in there making herself at home. When I opened the door and walked in, she was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
“Are you okay?” I asked, following her gaze to the ceiling. The only thing there was my fan running at full spead to keep the air moving.
“What if we can’t change this mate thing?” She didn’t look at me as she spoke. “What if I end up being your mate for good?”
I laid down on the otherside of the bed. “Then you reject me.”
She turned her head to look at me. “You’d be shunned. I can handle that. I’ve been shunned my whole life.”
“Because of your magick,” I said, turning my head to look at her. She furrowed her brow and looked away.
“I already told you-“
“-You don’t have magick. I know what you said, but I also know what I saw,” I said, keeping my eyes fixed on her. “You can tell me.”
She met my gaze and sighed. “My father had magick.”
“So, you do have it,” I said. I couldn’t help but smile. “What kind?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been able to use it before.”
I nodded. “That’s why you were out there in the park that first night.”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. If I can’t do anything with it, then it’s useless.”
“Then we need to find out how to activate it,” I countered. “If you have magick, you might be able to keep us all safe from the vampires.”
“It takes years and practice,” she said. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Then we find someone who does.”

Ivy

The idea of finding a witch that would actually come here and help me was crazy. They stayed in their covens or their school in New York, at least that was what Sam always told me. The only things I’d learned where from those books she was able to find and research from.
“What happens if you don’t find anyone?” I was still laying in the bed. Erik was sitting now with his laptop open looking for something, but I just wanted to stay where I was. I finally felt safe for some reason.
“There has to be a witch that’s friendly to wolves,” he said, still researching away.
I shook my head. All the times I’d thought about leaving and heading to where the Order of Fate was just to understand that part of me and here he was looking for a way to keep me here. I knew what he was doing, even if he didn’t realize it.
“I can call The Order of Fate and see if they can send someone,” he said, glancing at me. “We’d have to tell my father, though.”
“No,” I countered. “No one can know.”
“I don’t know how we can get the help we need without contacting them,” he said. “Books only go so far.”
“Let’s just stick with the books for now. Maybe something will work and my magick will just take off,” I pulled myself into a sitting position and he closed the laptop.
“The other pack will be here soon. I need you to stay here so you’re safe,” he said.
“You want me to stay out of sight,” I said with a sigh.
“I want you to stay safe. I can’t be working on helping the pack if I’m worried about you.”
“Fine,” I spat, but I was not going to sit in this room and be a statue. “If we can go get some more magick books from Sam.”
“Fine,” he answered. “I’ll go get them before Axl and his guys get here. You stay here and organize your stuff. You might be here a while.”
I sighed but nodded in agreement. At least I could work on finding where my magick was while he did whatever with the others.

***

To my surprise, he actually got books I hadn’t found yet. No doubt Sam has something to do with that. The most interesting one was very old looking and had the history of The Order of Fate, the packs and the vampires. Apparently, the different species hadn’t always been against each other.

Witches wield magick from the natural world and are always female. Warlocks wield magick born of death and darkness and are always male. Few documented cases of male witches are available, but they have far less power and must depend on physical items for magick use.
Wolves come from a different world where animals are more human and have entire societies. A warlock attempted to deceive them and many returned to their world, but wolves chose to stay. They are cursed with becoming more wolf every time they shift into wolf form.
Vampires were created from the first evil. A being that cannot be killed only transferred to certain souls. The evil was contained until a child took the form of the first evil and became a vampire. Now there are many but they all answer to the first in whatever form it is.

I glanced up at the window and shook my head. My mother never told me about any of this. She kept the history of the pack to herself and I never even thought to ask how it was all started.
The sun was starting to fall below the horizon and I figured it was about time for whatever Erik had planned. I wished he had told me something about what they were going to do. My mother and my friends were out there. If vampires were coming and a lot of them, I wanted to keep them safe too.
“Why can’t I just figure out what triggers this magick?” I sighed and sat the book on the bed, pulling another the was labeled Moon Witches. The book was also older, but looked as though it was never opened.
Moon witches are rare and only formed when a wolf shifter and a witch or warlock create a being. Not every offspring will carry the markers for a Moon witch and if the power is not activated, it will fade in time.
I turned the pages to find the part about activating the power. I had every other marker. My mother was a wolf and my father had magick, which meant he was most likely a warlock.
Activation is simple for most Moon witches. They must lay with their mate on a full moon and accept the bond. Then both parties will have access to the power.
What. The. Fuck?

Erik

“What do you mean?” I leaned back in my seat at the council table as I spoke, looking at the map of known attack points the Vampires had already done.
“I mean, they are looking for something in this area,”Axl clarified, standing and pointing to where we were. “They already looked in our area and decided whatever it was, isn’t there.”
“But there is nothing the packs have, they should want.” My father looked at me and then at Ivy’s mother. “There’s no archive here, right?”
“No, we didn’t keep records like that. They stayed oral for our safety,” she said. “Most of them would be given to the current alpha and council, but there’s only been me and Davis for years.”
“Davis is the librarian, right?” My father clarified. “And you’re sure he wouldn’t have kept anything that they might be after?”
“He runs the library, yes, but his daughter does most of the work there.” She glanced at me. “You know Sam. They wouldn’t have anything I wouldn’t know about.”
“So, what could they be looking for?” My father asked and I felt slightly guilty. What if they were looking for Ivy and me not saying anything puts us all in danger?
“We have to keep guards on the town until we can get them pushed back,” Ivy’s mother said.
“Or we set a meeting with them and find out what they’re after,” I countered.
“Are you crazy?” Axl shook his head and shifted his weight. “If you invite them in, they will take whatever it is they’re looking for.”
“Or we can find it out and get rid of them,” I countered. “Either way, there is a chance it could go bad, but at least this way, we’d be ready for it.”
My father sighed. “We need our best wolves here for this.”
“You mean for intimidation,” I said, crossing my arms. “For once I agree with that.”
“Gavin can go back and get a few. Until then, we’ll have to keep them out,” my father said.
“If they come tonight, I’ll try the meeting idea. If they agree, then we’d at least be free of the fighting until then.” I glanced at Axl. “How sure are you about them coming tonight?”
“Pretty sure. They usually don’t give time for regrouping, but they can’t come during the day,” he said. “I’ve got five of my own guys here and my daughter. I need someone to keep her safe while we deal with this.”
“Why did you bring your daughter?” My father said, shaking his head. “Seems like she’d be a target.”
“Nakia is going to be the alpha of our pack when I’m gone. She needs to know how to lead and negotiate,” he countered. “Just like your sons.”
My father snickered and shook his head. “A female alpha?”
Axl took a step towards him. “You do things your way, I do them mine.”
“Jaylyn can keep her and Ivy safe while we deal with this. Nakia, can come here,” I said, hoping that would relieve some of the tension.
Jaylyn gave me a look at volunteering him and I shrugged. He turned back to Axl.
“Where is she now?” Jaylyn kept his eyes on Axl and he motioned for the door.
“She’s waiting outside in the main part of your meeting area,” he answered.
Jaylyn stepped out and walked back with Nakia, who was looking as irritated as her father did. Something about the way Jaylyn held the door made me pause. He kept his eyes on her for a little too long and a smile crossed my lips. Maybe I wasn’t the only one that found a mate.
“You can wait here with Jaylyn and Ivy is upstairs,” I said, flicking my gaze back to Jaylyn and raising my eyebrows. He narrowed his gaze and I almost laughed.
“I should be out in the field with the rest of you,” she snapped.
“Next time, Kia,” her father said. “This was just to observe.”
She grumbled but didn’t talk back to her father. I watched as she took a seat on the couch and crossed her arms.
“Great, now lets find some vampires.”

Ivy

My fingers fumbled with the keys as I dialed Sam on my phone. She picked up quick, but before she could even answer, I blurted, “Did you know what a moon witch has to do to get her powers?”
“Hello to you too,” she said.
“Did you know?” I repeated.
“I didn’t. I just knew it was possible you were that kind of witch,” she said with a sigh.
“It says I have to sleep with Erik and accept the bond. That’s the last thing I wanted,” I laid back on the bed as I spoke.
“What happens if you don’t?”
“The magick fades, and I guess I’m just a wolf,” I said. According to the book, that was what happened. You just didn’t get the magick part.
“But you barely have access to the wolf side of you too,” she said.
It was true. The only time my wolf even seemed to stir was when I met Erik. Maybe I’d suppressed it too long, and now it was all too late. “My wolf recognizes him,” I said quietly.
“Recognizes who? Erick?”
“Yeah,” I said simply. “He really is my mate.”
“Then tell him,” she said.
“I can’t. I don’t want that. I want a normal life, outside of all of this. Somewhere far from vampires and magick.”
“You want to be human?” She almost sounded disappointed.
“What’s the point of being a wolf? The more we shift, the less human we become,” I said.
“You’ve never shifted, so you don’t know that.”
“The history book you gave Erik said as much,” I countered. “It says we are from a different world and the more we shift here, the more wolf we become,” I said. The words tasted bitter on my tongue. We’d been taught not to shift unless we had to, but no one ever told us there was a reason for it.
“History was written by a person, most likely a man. They might be wrong,” Sam said. I could hear a hint of a smile in her voice.
“And if they aren’t?” I waited, wondering if there was a possibility she was right. Maybe the shifting was where our power was. After all, when we were in wolf form, everything was heightened. At least that was the way I understood it.
“Then I guess we could run free as a wolf,” she said with a slight laugh.
“Hey, so they think the vampires are going to come back tonight. Please don’t be out and about,” I said, glad to change the subject.
“I’m already home. My dad insisted on it to keep me safe.” She sighed. “I guess they are really worried about these attacks.”
“Yeah, Erik said they’re looking for something,” I said. “I just hope they find it and get the hell out of here soon.” The longer this whole vampire thing lasted, the longer I’d be stuck here with him. Even if my wolf wanted nothing more than to mate with Erik, I wanted something else. If I couldn’t access my magick without him, maybe it was better not to even try.
Maybe this is how it was supposed to be for me. Or just how I wanted it to be.

Erik

The hardest part was the wait. We couldn’t just go find the vampires, or they’d pick us off. We had to wait for them to make the first move on the edge closest to where they would come from. Thanks to Axl, we knew that was the north.
“How long do you think it will be until they get here?” I glanced at Axl and h shrugged.
“I’m not a fortune teller,” he said. “They get here when they get here.”
My father gave me a look that would have made any other person shrink, but I’d spent years perfecting the unbothered look when it came to him.
Movement caught my attention, and I readied for a fight. But it wasn’t a vampire that walked towards me from the darkness.
It was a warlock.
I cocked my head and watched him, already on alert from the idea that the vampires might be right behind him. Warlocks weren’t exactly known for their friendliness to wolves.
“Who are you?” I kept my eyes on him, and he stared me down. The power rolling from him was more than anything I’d ever come across before.
“You shouldn’t be asking who I am, but why I’m here,” he said with a smirk.
I held my ground even with the magick threatening to knock me to my knees. “What do you want?”
“I want to have a conversation,” he said, stopping in front of me.
“About what vampires?” I stayed still as he looked me up and down and snickered.
“About my daughter.”

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