The Witch of Willow Lake

Chapter 10

Emmett's POV

    I glanced at the small clock that sat on the oak table in our lounge and my lips twisted into a hard pout as I saw the time. The girls had been gone too long, and I was becoming unsettled as my leg jittered up and down, my heel tapping against the hardwood flooring under me.

    It never took more than an hour to get to the patch, pick, and get back. I figured they might take a little longer to talk, but it had been almost an hour and a half with no word.

    I couldn't deny the awful feeling that began looming in the pit of my stomach as I glanced outside to see the sky beginning to become darker as evening approached rapidly.

    I tried to persuade myself it was nothing, and I was just worried because I loved them deeply. Alicia had been my wife for half a century, and I'd grown to love Hallie as if she was my daughter.

    Alicia always said I was overprotective sometimes, and I'd been much more so since the little silver-haired Witch settled herself into our lives.

    The Witch of Willow Lake. The Witch that shouldn't have been but was. Never in a million years did I think I'd ever cross paths with one of her kind, let alone stroll through life with one by my side.

    She was incredible, though. She was smart, reliable, and different. I hadn't encountered a member before, but I'd heard stories, and I'd witnessed things from a distance when our old clan had moved close to their settlement. I knew that while she was one of them; she wasn't like the other members either.

    She harbored far more power than I thought possible. But, to her, they were still new even after five years since they developed.

    We worked half-blind given Alicia, and I were merely Vampires as we tried to help her hone them. There was only so much we could do to help train her in using them given we weren't Warlocks or knew much about them.

    Her brother had time to learn, to train, to strengthen himself before the powers began to drain him. Hallie never got that time, so everything she knew now, was like trying to complete a large jigsaw puzzle with a third of the pieces missing.

    I peeked at the clock again before I got up off the small couch and headed out with the plan to get just close enough for me to hear them, to make sure the two girls were okay. If I didn't, I'd end up driving myself insane until they got home. I just needed to hear them for a split second, and I'd come back.

------

    As I approached the outskirts of town, near the edge of trees that led to the forest, a loud whimper of a dog caused me to grind to a halt.

    I searched around me to see if there were any dogs around, praying I see or hear one, but I came up short. No sign, sound, or scent of a mere pet dog could be found which I knew could only mean one thing.

    I listened carefully, blocking out the sound of the wind, the sounds of people's radio playing jazz music, or talking from the nearby houses.

    I focused my mind in the rough direction I knew the girls would be in, all while praying my worst fears wouldn't be realized. I wasn't much one for praying, but it's all I could think to do right now.

    When I found Hallie's voice, a cry of pain sliced through my entire body, striking my heart as if someone had rammed a stake through it and my worse fear had become.

    "No." I breathed, feeling the panic began to sink in as I caught the smell of them.

    I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing as I ran close enough to see, but not enough to alert the animals grouped together and attack my two loves.

    I counted twelve, six with their backs to me, the other six too busy attacking them to notice my arrival.

    My eyes scanned for Alicia and Hallie only to see them both pinned under two wolves attacking them as they tried to fight them off.

    I took a deep breath, and I ran. With a mighty roar, I knocked the still Wolves standing watch in one swift movement — the same way a perfectly rolled bowling ball hit the tall pins down in a strike.

    "Alicia! Hallie!"

    I watched as a burst of sheer energy came from Hallie and it sent two wolves flying backward. One flew straight into a tree, the other landing hard on the ground a few feet away which gave me a clear path to run to Hallie.

    As I pulled her to her feet, my heart shattered to see that they covered her in bite marks and blood; she was drained and weak. She wouldn't be able to get out of here alone and not only that, I knew Wolf bites were fatal to her kind.

    The sight and smell of her blood left me feeling hungry and caused my bloodlust to advance, but I had to focus. I knew what I needed to do, and I knew Alicia would hate me for it, but I had to get Hallie away from the Wolves first.

    I spun around to Alicia and lept at the wolves pinning my wife and helped her up. She wasn't in a much better state than Hallie, but the perk of being a Vampire meant we healed quickly and their bite didn't spell certain death for us.

    "Run, now. I'll take Hallie." Alicia nodded and turned to run.

    I darted myself over to Hallie, scooping her in my arms before more wolves could pounce on her, and I started to run as fast as I could.

------

    "What the hell were the wolves doing out?! And why both packs?!" I growled as I laid Hallie down on the couch.

    "I don't know. We were about to head back when I caught their sound and scent. We stayed still, and we didn't make a noise. We waited for ages, and I was confident they'd turned away. We stepped slowly, but they trapped us."

    I darted to the fridge, grabbing a blood pack and hurled it at Alicia, "You need to drink human blood, or you won't heal quick enough."

    Alicia nodded with a look of distaste on her face, I knew she hated drinking human blood, but she knew Hallie needed us both at full strength.

   She tore the bag open and chugged it down. It took every ounce of strength in me not to take some, too, but we only had one left, and Alicia needed all of it.

    "The bites...they're too much, aren't they?" Alicia's eyes cast to the floor and a grief-stricken expression crossed her small face.

    I moved to Hallie, checking her wounds, carefully removing her torn white blouse, which was stained in red blood.

   The bloodlust loomed over me like the grim reaper readying to take his next victim, but I refused to give in. I loved her too much, although I felt as if my insides were being ripped apart as I studied the bleeding wounds, I couldn't harm her.

    "She won't make it," Alicia spoke softly, "Their bite..."

    "To hell with that! She will live," I growled, bringing my wrist to my mouth and sinking my teeth in.

    "EMMETT! What are you doing?!" Alicia's voice screeched, causing me to flinch from the pitch.

    "I won't lose her, Alicia."

    "No, we can't do that to her! She doesn't deserve that!" Alicia's eyes were wide and fearful as she tried to plead with me not to do what I knew I needed too.

    "It won't! It will just heal her."

    "Emmett, you know that's not true, she's already on the brink! If the blood doesn't heal her quick enough, and she dies with even a drop in her system, she'll go into transition."

    "So you want me just to let her die, Alicia?! Is that what you want?" My words came out harsh and through gritted teeth, causing Alicia to recoil.

    "No! No, of course not! I-I just...oh god." Alicia began pacing, her hands running through her long matted hair as she breathed heavily.

    She felt emotions far stronger than any Vampire I knew, and I realized for her right now, her feelings were a riot inside her.

    "Yeah, well, God isn't exactly going to help folks like us." I calmed my tone; she didn't need me being angry to add to the disorder. I was mad, but my getting angry would not help her, nor Hallie. "It might not turn her Alicia. We have no idea what will happen to a Warlock. We know what happens to humans, but it might be different."

    "And what if it doesn't? What if it kills her?"

    "She will die anyway, Alicia! If I don't do this now-"

    "Fine, do it. I don't want to lose her either."

    I bit down on my wrist again, drawing fresh blood and held it over Hallie's pale lips. I watched as the blood dripped onto them, and I moved her lips to make sure it went in.

    "Pack our things. We need to get out of here." I instructed as I kept my gaze on Hallie.

    I could only hope it would work without turning her.