Our Last Hope

Leaving Breadcrumbs

A few days went by, Lorelei called me on Friday morning.

"Hey Winnie, I think I found something, can you be by the shop in an hour?"

"Sure thing Lei, I'll see you then."

Mama was nursing a headache so Gregor volunteered to go with me after he was done with his training session. The new recruits were doing quite well. Gregor was doing an amazing job and I could tell that he took pride in his new role in the coven. I was playing with the twins in the nursery when Gregor came up the stairs. He stood in the doorway and just observed us for a minute. I didn't notice him at first.

I looked up at smiled at him, "What?"

A cheerful smile spread across his lips,"Nothing, I just love you. I love our children. You're such a good mom."

I felt my face blush, I was so proud of my little family. This is what I always imagined when I thought of my future. I have a man that loves me, two incredibly gifted children, and I felt happy, for once in a very long time. After another minute, Gregor excused himself to go shower.

"I'll be ready to head out in about 15?"

I nodded my head at him and turned my attention back to the twins. Lilly was so close to walking, she would stand and take a couple tentative steps but then would slowly lower herself back down. Henry wasn't too far behind her, I could tell his balance was a little lacking, but I knew that he would get there. What really surprised me about Lilly, was she could now move things with her mind. When a certain toy was just out of reach, she could concentrate on it for a moment and it would slowly start to move in her direction. Whenever her powers would surface, I would see her eyes turn a glistening shade of purple. It would only last a few seconds, just until her concentration broke.

The new baby had just started to flutter in my stomach the last couple days. It was startling to sink in, that I would soon have three children, all under the age of 2. It was crazy how quickly life can change. The nannies came in right on cue, moments after they arrived, Gregor came back down the hallway.

"Ready to go love?"

When I reluctantly stood up from the floor, Lilly reached her arms up and started to whimper. I bent down and scooped her up and held her close to my chest. Gregor walked further into the room and Henry waddled over to his awaiting arms. We all exchanged kissed and passed the kids off to Ashley. We waved goodbye and blew kisses before heading down stairs.

I hated being away from them for too long. Luckily, Lorelei's shop was only about 10 minutes from home. We pulled up in front of the store and the “open” light was turned off. I texted Lei when Gregor put the car in park, a couple seconds later she responded for us to come in.

The door opened with a chime and we headed straight for the back room.

"Lei?"

"Over here!"

We rounded the corner, around a large storage shelf to find her hunched over a desk in the corner. She had a gas mask and gloves on as she was carefully handling a glass bottle and some delicate white flowers. If I didn't know any better, I would say that the natural form of White Snakeroot was almost pretty.

Gregor looked at her with curiosity, "So that's it, huh?"

Lorelei was deep in concentration, "Yup, the slightest touch could kill you in hours."

She finished loading the last of her sample into the bottle and poured a pungent, clear liquid into the bottle. She corked the bottle and shook it rapidly. I was amazed at how quickly the solid turned into a lime green liquid. When she finally stopped shaking, the small bottle took on a neon green color. There was definitely magic involved. Lorelei switched off her table lap and studied the bottle intensely before setting it down with ease. She finally took off her safety gear and pushed up from her desk.

We convened around a large steel island in the center of the room with the poison safely positioned on the other side of the room.

"So how does it work?" Gregor was trying to get a true understanding on what would be required. Lorelei was patient as she answered all of his questions.

Lorelei explained the process, "It may be a liquid now, but when it's finished curing, it will turn into a very fine powder. From there, it will be much easier to administer. We will all have to take an antidote so, it will not affect us." Lorelei looked over to me, "You especially Win, should not handle anything while your pregnant. I would highly suggest that you stay as far away from this stuff as possible." She glanced over to where her little vial sat on the desk. "It is not as potent in this state, so your reaction would be mild."

Gregor nodded in agreement, "but how do we get this thing to go near the poison?"

"With it being a fine power, you simply have to just blow it in the vicinity of the creature and it will only take a minute or so for it to take affect. The creature will be sedated for up to 4 hours. We have a very small window of time. We would pick a spot on your parents estate and I would bring everything that I would need to perform the spell on sight. The question is, how do we draw the creature out?"

Gregor and I exchanged looks, we both knew what would work the best, but it would never be an option. Gregor turned back to Lorelei, "Do you think we could go solely on scent." He looked back at me once more, "What if we take the twins blanket or something that they use all the time? It said that this creature has heightened senses, we could use that to our advantage"

We spent another hour or so, bouncing ideas off of each other. Lorelei suggested that we have as little people around as possible. Too much stimulus might distract the creature and we could potentially miss our chance to neutralize it. We all agreed, and decided that the sooner we execute this plan, the better. We exchanged our pleasantries and we parted ways. We decided that we would extinguish this threat in two days. We picked a secluded spot on the furthest corner of our territory, away from the rest of our population.

"I can't get rid of this gut feeling in my stomach."

Gregor turned to look at me from the driver's side. "Are you going to be sick?"

I shook my head, it wasn't that kind of feeling. It just sounded too easy, as prepared as we were, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Gregor assured me that everything would be fine. But I think he was just saying that because we didn't have any other choice. We had to do something, or our children would continue to be threatened.

When we pulled into the compound, I noticed the buzz around the house. There was staff scurrying about, moving trucks in front of the main entrance, and mama standing in the center of it all. She lit up when she realized we were back.

”oh, good, you’re back!” She rushed over to us and kissed my cheek.

”Mam, what the hell is going on?”

She assessed the situation going on behind her and looked back at me with a puzzled look, as if she didn’t know what I was talking about.

“Oh this? Well, you’re father and I decided to get a jump start on packing up for the move. You know me, I can’t sit still for too long.”

I shook my head and smiled and mama’s mania.

“ Mama, I thought you had a headache?”

mama shrugged her shoulders, “turns out that I was just dehydrated. All it took was a pint of blood, and I was back to normal.”

With that, mama fluttered in the opposite direction. I could hear her voice fade away in the background and she was instructing the movers to load a certain box onto the truck.

I leaned into Greg’s ear and whispered, “Well that’s a subtle way to tell us that we have over-stayed our welcome.”

Gregor grabbed my hand and smiled at me as we walked into the house.

We sat down in dad’s office later that afternoon to discuss our day with Lorelei.

“okay, so it sounds easy enough, we’ll just need to make sure all of our bases are covered.” Dad took his glasses off of his nose and sat them down on his desk. “We’ll be sure to minimize coven interaction on that side of the territory. The less members that know about this the better, the last thing we want to do is start a panic.”

we all nodded in agreement. We would use several different items from the twins and leave a trail out to the northern corner of the estate. All we had to do was wait, which was my least favorite part of any plan.

Greg and I set out the following day, leaving “breadcrumbs”for the beast to follow. When we were finished we headed back to our new home. Mama had our belongings delivered later on after our meeting yesterday. It was quite comforting to lay in our new bed, in the privacy of our own home.

Gregor and I were laying in bed. He was wrapped around my backside and was drawing light circled in my growing belly. He softly kissed the spot behind my neck, making goosebumps magically appear. A slight shiver ran up my spine, making me pull his arm around me tighter. He kept placing light kisses on my neck and nuzzled me closer. His hands started to wonder as he buried his face in my curls.

“You smell amazing baby.”

I smiled contently as I felt his finger tips glide across my skin. They stopped momentarily at my waistband and he slowly started to tug them down over my ample cheeks. I moaned approvingly as my pelvic floor clenched in anticipation. Everything below my waist began to tingle. I hoped he wouldn’t take too long getting to where he was going. I turned suddenly and pressed my lips against his. He met my movements as I kissed his incredibly soft lips. He smiled slightly as he finished sliding down my cotton sweatpants. My labias began to quiver as I felt the slight breeze of exposure. I broke away just for a moment to lift my cami, up over my head. Gregor instantly took one my n*****s into his mouth and began swirling his tongue around my areola. A low, an animal-like groan came out from my chest. Gregor’s free hand began lightly twisting my left n****e between his finger tips. I was more than ready for him. I was getting anxious while I waited for his throbbing c**k. I could feel it pressed up against my bare thigh, under the comforter. I placed my hand on top of his head and started running my fingers through his hair. Gregor’s movements became more intense, more purposeful. He kept me on my toes as his lips darted across my chest, then up to my lips and then landed on my neck. I was groaning louder with every area he moved to. Finally, he scooped his forearm up under my thigh and lifted, I could her the suction as my folds opened. This was what I was waiting for.

Gregor’s lips found mine, “I need you to f**k me.” I muttered against his lips. I could feel the smile spread across his lips.

” It would be my honor, but I’m not quite ready yet.” Gregor suddenly slammed his fingers in past my folds, making me gasp. He immediately began swirling his fingers and occasionally hooking up towards my g-spot. I felt tingly as Gregor made me c*m, over and over again, “how does that feel baby?”

my brain couldn’t form words, I was breathless and I felt the ebb and flow of every orgasm. “Are you ready for my c**k now baby?”

I bit my bottom lip and nodded my head. Gregor turned me more on my side and positioned himself in the center if my legs. My right keg was propped up in his shoulder. He eased into my dripping p***y, I could feel every ridge, fold, and inch. I tilted my head back towards the ceiling as I felt his 9 inches fill me.

“f**k,f**k,fuck.” I stuttered between breaths. I leaned my head forward and locked eyes with Gregor as he slipped in and out of me sensually. We never broke contact as I felt every inch of greatness. I reached my arm forward and grabbed behind his neck, which made Gregor growl and pick up his pace. We were in sync with our movements. I met every thrust and moan until my whole body went numb. I was so close to my climax, I craved it, I needed it. We were both panting as our muscles tightened and our breathing hitched.

“f**k Winnie, you’re so god damn tight.” He grabbed tight to my thigh as he finished off his last couple thrusts. I echoed his name a few times as my orgasm ripped through. My legs were shaking after the tidal wave, I have never felt this much pleasure in my life. Gregor is my mate, my one true love. I could f**k him all day long.

Gregor pulled out of me slowly, trying not to drip on the bed. I turned into my back and Gregor placed small kisses up the length of my body before he made his way up to my lips.

“I f*****g love you, Edwina Harrington. You are the most incredible person that I have ever met. I am so f*****g lucky to have you all to myself.”

I smiled up at him before grabbing a hold of his chin and pulling his face back to my lips. “I f*****g love you too.”

*******

I tried to focus as I watched the truck pull down our main driveway and disappear into the tree line. Gregor was meeting Lorelei in the farthest corner of the estate. I prayed that we could neutralize the threat, and life would go back to normal. I saw him wave out the driver's side window as a cloud of dust surrounded me. I placed my hand on my growing belly, I feel like I had gained at least another couple inches the last couple days. The twins were situated at the main house under lock and key. I would have to head back and hunker down with them. I turned on my heels and headed back towards the door.

I was a ball of nerves the rest of the afternoon, it only got worse the longer it took for Gregor to touch base. I couldn't stop the waves of nausea. I wouldn't feel at peace again until he was back in my arms. I tried to focus on the twins, but even they seemed out of sorts without their dad around. Mama kept trying to force feed me and keep me hydrated. Daddy on the other hand, barely looked up from his desk. Around 2:30, we finally got a phone call.

*******

GREGOR'S POV

I slowed down quite a bit as I reached the rondevouxe spot. It almost seemed darker in this part of the forest. I felt the wind shift and a familiar scent hit my senses. It wasn't Lorelei, it was someone else that I knew. I flipped off the lights and came to a slow stop and put the truck in park. I cautiously slipped down from the driver's side and placed the keys on the seat. I heard a rustle to the left of where I was standing. Lorelei stepped into view, I placed a finger over my lips and signified that we weren't alone. She nodded in agreement and quietly walked over to me.

"Are we ready?" I nodded at Lorelei before she pulled out the tiny vial from her pocket. We heard a twig snap nearby and we froze in anticipation. Suddenly, a shadowy figure took a step forward, but it wasn't what we were here for.

"What the f**k are you doing here? I thought Edwina told you to disappear." I couldn't help the rage that was bubbling up inside as I looked at my brother. I wanted to take his head from his shoulders for everything that he has put my family through. Will put his hands up in a defensive stance.

"I just figured that you would need some help. Winnie won't let me help my kids, but I thought that you might." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms across my body.

"My kids. They are my kids Will." I could see the anger set into his features.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Will took a step in my direction, he was in my face now.

"I said that they are my kids. You never cared about Winnie or the kids. Now that they're in danger, now you want to step in a play the hero. You really do have a f****d up view of yourself." He took another step into my face. I was ready to knock his ass out.

"Alright, that's enough. We have bigger fish to fry right now. Put your bullshit aside and focus. This isn't just about the kids, this is about our loved ones and our community. Drop the egos and let's get this s**t done." Lorelei had had enough of us. She took a step in between us and was pushing us apart. "There are too many things that can go wrong today. We don't need any of our minds clouded." She turned to Will. "If you want to stay and help, that's fine. But you do what I say, when I say it. And no cowboy shit." Will nodded his head and we all took a deep breath.

Lorelei instructed us on where to stand and what to do. "Okay, so we have placed the items within the boundaries. When it comes within the clearing, it will take the three of us to release the toxin, we can attack from all three sides. Once the threat is neutralized, we will move it into the center of the clearing. I will need as much room as possible. It will only take me a few minutes for me to perform the spell. Once I am done, it won't take long for the host to die. We will need to be prepared in case things don't end the way we want them to." Will and I nodded as we took in what Lorelei was saying. We placed several of the twins' items throughout the trees and all we had to do was wait. We stood around for another hour or so until the temperature around us plummeted. All of the hair stood up on the back of my neck. I took a steadying breath as I prepared for the inevitable. It is getting close.

I took a step back into the trees and waited for the right opportunity. I could see the black shadow bounding between the trees, stopping at every article that we left behind for it to find. It was drawing closer, I locked eyes with Lorelei on the other side of the clearing before shooting Will a similar look. Lorelei nodded in our direction and we uncorked the vials.

The creature burst into the clearing and began frantically searching its surroundings. Non of us moved for a few seconds, until Will decided to charge the being. He must have forgotten all about our plan. He began swinging at the black shadow, but it could anticipate his moves. I don't know what he was thinking. I don't know why I was so surprised that he wanted to fight this thing his own. He always wanted to play the hero, no matter how stupid his decisions are.

Lorelei and I watched on, not knowing what to do. Neither of us could move, we just watched in shock as the shadow tried to claw its way through my brother. Will was holding his own for a while, until I heard him scream. Will went down quickly, he was grabbing at his left side. I knew that he was wounded, but I couldn't quite tell how bad. Lorelei had finally stepped closer to the scuffle, I mirrored her step. We took the distraction as an opportunity to administer the toxin. Lorelei counted down on her finger, 3.2.1. We blew the fine powder into a large cloud around our heads.

Moments later, we heard shrieking and had to dodge the flailing limbs. I ran around the creature carefully, trying to avoid being scratched by its long talons. I crouched down by Will who was still reeling from his injury. There was a lot more blood that I anticipated, but luckily, the gash wasn't too deep. I turned around momentarily and watched the shadow to collapse. The forest became quiet and the cloud of poison dissipated around us. I made quick work with bounding the creature with thick cords. It wasn't until it was neutralized that I got a good look at what we were dealing with. It's body looked like it was chard from head to toe, like it came straight from Hell. It's eyes were pinned open, revealing bright yellow, harrowing eyes. I couldn't look into them for longer than a second, the image was now burned into my brain. It's claws were almost a foot long each, it could kill you in seconds. I'm surprised that Will's injury wasn't more extensive. This thing looked like a demon straight out of the seventh circle of hell.

Lorelei was the one that brought me out of my trance I turned back to Will, Lorelei was already applying a salve to help the healing process on Will. I could already seeing Will's wound starting to close. Will reached forward and I placed my hand in his. I carefully pulled on his arm and helped him to his feet.

"Alright, now that the cowboy s**t is over." She shot Will a dirty look before she continued. "we don't have much time. I need your help moving it into the center of the clearing. I need all the space that I can get." I nodded at her. Will and I moved the creature further into the clearing as Lorelei began muttering to herself. She created a circle of herbs around the body and placed her hands out in front of her body as she circled the shadow. She continued on with her spell until small bits of ash filled the air. It was as if the evil was evaporating into thin air. The once burnt skin began to disappear to reveal the real monster underneath. It took me a moment to realize who I was looking at.

"Holy fuck." It came out as a whisper. I couldn't believe that he was here in front of me. My father, the one that I had murdered when I was a boy, was in fact alive and laying on the ground in front of me. I looked over to Will, who shared the same look of disbelief. Lorelei was still oblivious to the discovery that Will and I had made. Once Lorelei finished, she looked exhausted and was close to fainting. I rushed over behind her just in time to catch her before she fell to the ground. "Woah there!" I slowly lowered her to the ground. Her heart was racing and the color drained from her face. "Are you alright?" She nodded her head and waved me off.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Did it work?" I looked over my shoulder towards my father's body. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Kind of." She looked surprised and sat up to look at the body.

"What do you mean kind of? Who is that?"

Will and I looked at each other for a second, "That is our father." Lorelei was speechless, she couldn't quite grasp what we were saying. I helped Lorelei up from the ground and we cautiously walked over to the body. It was definitely our father's body, but it was void of all humanility. He was an empty shell of a man, not much different than when he was alive. The toxin was still in his system, but you could see the struggle in his eyes. The body was frozen but the humanity was trying to take over once more, but the being was failing. His eyes were desperately searching until they landed on us. The once bright yellow eyes began turning back into the normal emerald green. He tried to say something, but couldn't get the words out. His body began to seize as he tried to regain control of his own body. But the three of us knew better, we knew how this was going to end. Will crouched down by father's head. He placed his hands on either side of his face. He looked down into his eyes.

"Dad, you need to relax. It will be over soon but you need to calm down. Just let it take you." Father looked up into Will's eyes as his body finally began to calm and tears began streaming down my father's cheeks. His breathing regulated momentarily before it became shallow. Father's eyes began to flutter until they finally closed. There was a gush of air that escaped his lungs before his body finally went limp. Will collapsed beside our father's body gasping for air. He was finally gone, both of our parents were officially dead. I couldn't wrap my head around this whole situation.

"I just don't understand. I thought that both of our parents died decades ago. But somehow they were both alive this entire time? Everything that has happened throughout our entire lives has been because of this man. This evil son of a b***h. I shouldn't feel remorseful, I shouldn't be upset about him finally being dead." Will was sobbing as he looked at our father's body. I placed my hand on his shoulder as his muscles rippled under my touch.

"Come on, it's over. He's officially gone." I helped Will stand up but he didn't want to stick around. He took off towards the tree line. Once Will was gone, I moved closer and stood over my father's body, I still couldn't grasp everything that had transpired. My brain was clouded, but the threat was finally neutralized. I could go back to Winnie and tell her that it was finally over. We could sleep soundly tonight and know that our children would be safe. I turned towards Lorelei, "what do we do now?"

She had a sympathetic look on her face, "We have to build a pyre." I nodded my head and I understood why, but it would still be hard. Lorelei raised her eyebrows, "Are you sure you're ready for this?" I nodded my head, there wasn't another choice, this needed to be done.

*******

WINNIE'S POV

It had been hours and we still hadn't heard anything. My stomach was in knots as I watched time slowly tick by. Suddenly, I heard the gravel being crunched by tires. I flew up from the chair in the office and took off towards the front door. I sighed with relief as I took in the sight of Gregor. He put the Tahoe in park and jumped down to the ground. He was covered in ash and dirt, but he was in one piece.

"Oh thank God!" Gregor smiled brightly as I ran closer to him. He held his arms open as I jumped into them.

"Did you miss me kid?" He planted a kiss on my lips before setting me back down on the ground. I placed my hands on his face and held him still, I wanted to take in his face and his features. His strong chin and his bright eyes. His tousled sandy blonde curls on top of his head. He leaned forward and kissed my nose. "Come on, I need to get cleaned up and we have a lot to catch up on."