HELLHOUND (Book Two of the Wisteria Chronicles)

CHAPTER 17~Dance~

Phoebe

    The air rushed out of my lungs as my body slammed into the floor. I was stunned still, my gaze on the sky. It was a pale blue, not a cloud insight. Lotus looked down at me, a frown on her face. “Are you ok? This is the first time you failed to dodge an attack in a month.” I groaned as she extended her hand, pulling me up.

   “I’m fine. I promise to pay better attention.” I told her as I dusted my ass off. In all honesty, I just haven’t been feeling well for a few days. My body ached, I was constantly tired, and I’ve had headaches off and on. I think all of this training was starting to take a big toll on my body. “It’s cool. Let’s stop here for today.” Lotus said.

   I nodded my head, grateful for our session to be over. Lotus and the twins have been training me non-stop for the past two months. They made me get up with them at the butt-crack of dawn to join the other warriors. I don’t go on the four mile run because of my ankle, but Lotus makes me do HIIT, cardio exercises that were created by the devil himself. 

    I would join them when they split up into their teams for hand-to-hand combat. Lotus decided that learning aikido was best for my handicap since it focuses on self defense. It was a martial art that depended on inner balance and allowed me to carry a weapon. I used a long staff that was almost four feet long, called a jo. 

 The jo helped me stay balanced and kept my enemies at a distance. It was necessary to practice with it everyday, it was something I looked forward to now. I liked it because I could protect myself and deliver non-lethal hits to my enemy. I wanted to be safe, but I didn’t want to kill anyone unnecessarily.  Lotus had picked the perfect fighting style that allowed me to defend and use my magic.

   In the evenings, Blair would take me to her apothecary and start her form of torture; Blair was weirdly sadistic. She would blindfold me and force me to smell everything! Herbs, plants, flowers, and her favorite, dead animal anatomy. If I guessed wrong she would throw whatever it was at me, laughing at my desperate attempts to get it off.

  Being her apprentice was hard work. If I showed any sign of improvement, she was whisking me onto the next level, never letting me get a good footing on what I just learned. Her smell tests became more dangerous. Now she had me smelling potions. If I couldn’t identify the ingredients or what the potion was, she would toss it at me. I spent three days fumbling around because one of her spells robbed me of my sight.

   We also had magical combat training. Blair would drag me deep into the woods and blast the s**t out of me with her damned light magic. Her husband, Lucian, had to accompany us; his sole purpose was to carry me back. It was always intense; like the Wisteria sisters, she trained like it was real. They never held back; their hits meant to harm. Between the two training sessions, I was surprised I was still alive.

   I slowly made my way up to the room. Titus sat at the edge of the bed, putting his shoes on. He growled when he saw me. “I told her to stop being so rough with you.” he said gruffly. I limped to him and sat on his lap, resting my head on his shoulder. His large hand rubbed my aching back, a soft sigh leaving my mouth.

  I was already half asleep when he murmured, “You’ve been so tired lately. Are you sure you don’t want a break?” I grunted a no, too depleted to use words. He chuckled and laid me down. He took off all of my clothes then gave me a quick massage. Everything hurt, but his touch helped me feel better. He pulled the covers up, giving me a quick kiss before he left.

Titus

   I leaned against the wall for support as I tried to catch my breath. As usual, training kicked my ass but it was nothing compared to what Phoebe was going through. I learned that she was a very diligent and committed person. Not only did she go to her morning and evening training, but she had set aside time in the afternoon practice with her jo. 

   At first I had worried the workload would be too much on her. She had shattered all of my expectations. She was an actual phenomenon. Lila had joked about Phoebe not having time for me anymore, but I wasn’t worried. Phoebe spent all of her free time with me. She would sneak us away from the children and prying sisters, just to eat ice cream in peace. 

   She had found a place that was near a slow running creek. It was surrounded by trees and offered privacy. Our new hiding spot wasn’t far from the house, but it felt like a completely different universe. She would laugh and make terrible dad jokes. I would just watch her. 

   She had gotten darker from being out in the sun, giving her chocolate skin an extra glow of health. She seemed happier, more alive. It was very rare to see her without a smile now.  That smile made me love her more, no matter how many times I saw it.

  I walked into the room, Phoebe was laying in the exact spot I left her. I frowned, normally she would be up and changed for breakfast. I walked over to her, gently shaking her. “Baby, it’s time to get up.” I told her. Phoebe was still, her snore steady and louder than usual. I chuckled, making my way over to the shower.

   I washed up and dressed quickly. Phoebe was still sprawled out, her chubby cheeks pressed against the sheets. I tried waking her again, “Everyone is waiting for us. Let’s go eat breakfast.” Her snore droned on, I shook my head. If she was this tired then I’ll just let her rest, she shouldn’t be asleep for too long.

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     Phoebe slept well past noon, missing lunch. I had tried several times throughout the day to wake her, earning angry moans and louder snores. I sat at the table, listening to my stomach growl. Everyone had left well over an hour ago. I didn’t want to eat another meal without her but she refused to get up. I was at my breaking point. 

   I didn’t see a reason in having a plate brought out. It would be easier to just make something simple. I got up and walked into the kitchen. Gail had helped me take out the ingredients for a sandwich before she left. I started to slice my tomato, tiny hands wrapped around my waist.

   “You ate without me.” Phoebe said, a pout in her voice. I gave a low chuckle, “I’m sorry, love. I tried to wake you up a bunch of times.” She rubbed her face against my back. “Oh, I don’t remember. But I’m happy you let me sleep. I feel a lot better.” I grunted my approval, making two sandwiches now.

  Phoebe pulled up two barstools and waited for me to finish. I slid over her plate, her tummy rumbling with anticipation. We ate in silence, the kitchen radio playing in the background. We both inhaled our food. When I offered her seconds she happily nodded. I halved the new sandwich and handed it to her. She was munching away, humming the words to the song.

   I looked at her in surprise. “You like Al Green?” I asked in disbelief. She gave me a disgusted look, “Of course, I do. Just because I dabble in dark magic doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate good soul music.” I beamed at her, standing up to do a little dance. I rocked back and forth, snapping my fingers. “Come on, dance with me.” I told her. She vigorously shook her head.

   “I can’t dance, at least not anymore.” she said sadly. I frowned, “Why not?” “My leg.” was all she said. I stopped dancing and tugged her out of her chair. I pulled her close, her eyes wide. “Put your right foot on top of my left foot.” I instructed her. She looked scared, “B-But, I’m too heavy.” I growled, making her stiffen up. 

  She slowly placed her injured foot on top of mine. I wrapped my arm around her waist and cradled her hand against my heart. I took the first set and she followed. We did slow turns until she became comfortable, her head resting on my chest. We slow danced around the kitchen for several songs. At one point Lotus and the twins had walked in, but quickly retreated after I glared at them.

      Phoebe would look up at me from time to time with raw emotion. I could tell the gears in her head were turning, but she never said anything. Each time she looked up I would give her an unrushed kiss. She would sigh dreamily when I pulled away, nestling her head into my chest once again. Goddess, I wished every day would be like this. 

Phoebe

  I stifled a disappointed growl when an omega came in. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Alpha Titus, Luna Phoebe, but I was told to deliver a message.” she said with an apologetic smile. Titus sighed and stopped dancing. “Ms. Blair is requesting to meet with you in the apothecary.” she reported. I smiled, “Thank you, I’ll be right there.” The omega smiled back then left. Titus gave me another slow sensual kiss before pushing me in the direction of Blair rooms.

    I made my way to the apothecary. I could hear Blair moving about, rattling jars for whatever she was looking for. “Hey, Blair.” I said as I plopped down on a chair. Blair turned and looked at me, her eyes squinted. I frowned, she’s been giving me that weird look for almost a week. “Come over here, we have a special lesson for today.” she said.

     I inwardly groaned, that’s what she said the day she blinded me. I walked over to the table she hovered over. She had set out several different types of wood, flowers, herbs and stones. “We will not be doing any combat training today. We will only focus on this.” she said as she motioned to the table. “Ok, what is this?” I asked.

    “I need you to clear your mind and pick what calls to you from this table. This is very important, so take your time and choose wisely.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I hovered my hand above the wood, focusing on the feel and energy each piece gave off. My fingertips began to tingle and calm washed over me. 

  I opened my eyes and picked up the cedar piece. “Oh, interesting.” Blair murmured, taking the log away from me. I moved down the line, repeating the same process. In the end, I picked out lavender and sunflower petals. I selected sage and grabbed an amethyst, a moonstone and an obsidian crystal.    

  At first I thought I had made a mistake; an obsidian blade was what left a mark on my neck. Blair had reassured me that in the right hands, obsidian could be used for protection and vanish bad energy. With all of my chosen items, Blair went to another table. She looked up at me with a bright smile after she laid everything down.

   “Auntie, what is all of this for?” I asked her, her excitement was making me nervous. “We are forging your first magical item.” I felt my eyes bulge out, “What?!” Forging a magical item could literally kill you if you didn’t have total concentration and high amounts of magic and skill. Magical items were made by the highest level users, which I was not. “Are you insane?!” I blurted out. 

   Blaire just clapped her hands, her voice giddy. “Oh don’t be a sissy. I’ll be right here to help. I hope you ate well because you’re gonna need energy. This will take hours. Hopefully we finish before dinner time.” she said cheerfully. I was already sweating bullets, this woman really is sadistic. 

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   I sat at dinner completely drained. Titus had to feed me a majority of my food; our roles reversed. I toned out the conversation, earning an angry tap from Lila. “Hey, are you even listening?” she demanded. “No.” bluntly I stated. The table laughed and Lila looked more annoyed. “I said you’re coming with us after dinner.” she hissed.

  I groaned, I just wanted to go to bed. The rest of dinner flew by, Titus’s sisters dragged me to a small building that was next to the pack house. It looked Japanese-inspired. Why haven’t I tried to go inside before? We walked in, Violet pushing me into a locker room. Everyone started to strip.

   I clutched at my clothes, fear seizing me. A very naked Lotus walked up and started to tug at my shorts. “Don’t be afraid.” she said. I slowly let her undress me. We walked into a massive room. “It’s a bathhouse.” I said dumbly. Lotus laughed, “Yeah, Devlin had it built a while back. He said he was tired of having girls night in our bathroom.”  

  They got busy, taking turns washing each other's hair. Lotus washed my hair, and hummed. She grabbed the clasp of my choker and undid it. My heart pounded as I waited for the judgmental stares and comments. I sat in confusion when none came, Lotus just continued to wash my hair.

   We all soaked in the bath. We laughed, played, and cried. The deep ache I had in my heart when I first met Lotus finally disappeared. This is what having sisters who actually cared about you felt like. I was a little sad when we had to get out, but our pruned hands demanded relief. We walked up the stairs together, and said good night. 

    When I snuck into my room Titus was already by the door, hands on his hips. Oh, s**t. I let out a nervous chuckle, not understanding why he seemed so tense. “I just got a call from Leo, we need to go home.”