Chapter 31: Band of Witches Part 1
1644 Words
One Month Later
Marion
Erik was no more after he overstepped his boundaries and Ty killed him, I was relieved especially after Addy revealed the truth about Ashlyn's death. Erik raped and killed my daughter to keep Addison in line and no one was hurt more than her father and me, I saw him finally break down and cry. He loved our daughter and for once in my life, it was time to comfort him, Dru went into depression and I have given him time. I decided to go on a girls' trip in Elvira with Emile's blessing to enter his lands, Nola, Lenora, Hilary, and Alma will join me on our girls' retreat. Aidan is on his honeymoon and everything is on hold for now, Luc and Phillip will run things with Dru and Laurel until we return. We were packed and headed to Elvira, we had a few undercover guards with us and Mendai will have some of his men in the area.
Mendai had remained a good friend over the years, his son has been doing well, working in a research lab to help with new technologies for Ravena. He is a doctor in his field and Mendai is proud of him, his mother was a witch and unknown as far as anyone understands. Princess Polly-Anne will join us on the retreat, she needed to unwind, I knew she was engaged to Levi and stay between Elvira and Bearmore. I knew of the secret love affair and respected their wishes, Roman created so many enemies over time and now his time had run out. I saw a message on my phone and I smiled knowing it was my mate, he was checking in on me although I know he felt down and out lately, he even encouraged me to go because I wanted to stay with him. The men, however, had other plans and we were giving them their space, the war was going to happen any day now and everyone was being prepared.
The mess Erik pulled at Michelle's and Aidan's wedding and Luna's ceremony pushed Aidan to finish wiping out our enemies, Michael, Drax and his Elite Team have been working overtime on this. I met with Roman right after the ambush because he was scared and wanted me to work with him, to make him stronger. I looked at him and let him know I would not help him since I knew that Erik killed my daughter and her mate. He was shocked that I knew but not surprised when he saw I was dead serious, he threatened me and Dru but I reminded him that killing Ashlyn was easy because her powers were bonded. It was a deadly mistake that we paid dearly for but I was the Grandwitch of Volterra and my husband was the last Seer, I would burn Darmonth to the ground if I had to especially if he laid a hand on Allison or Addy.
Ty was not playing about Addison either so he left my office that day all angry that I would not help him, Dru was ready for him if he ever tried to harm me or his close friends or family. We made it to our hotel and it was still early, and decided to go down to the pool area, Lenora needed the break and so did Nola. Alma needed the time to relax since for some reason ghouls kept coming after her and even attacked he husband but he defended himself well. They moved into the Palace until we figured out what was going on, it was the beginning of summer, and the school was closed until next semester. The hotel was so beautiful and the pool area had guests from different territories, we were also checking out the eye candy but we were all mated so we enjoyed the show. I knew the guards would be all over the place blended in, and Mendai and Emile would not play about our safety.
*****
Two Days Later
Nola
I was happy to be hanging out with my best friends, I was a hybrid half-witch and Fae, it turns out that Luc was my fated mate all along because I got pregnant right away and at first, I thought it had to do with my witch side. It was confirmed when my powers started to grow that we were mated. Luc was a warlock and a wolf raised by his father, his mother left him when he was young to mate her true mate and he hated his wolf side, so he had him bound. We figured our kids would have more magic and Fae genes but deep down, he knew they would get a wolf, he hated that our daughter chose a wolf to mate with, he wanted her to wait for a true mate, hopefully, someone from Volterra or Faeora. She mated one of Roman's guards who he ended up killing because he wanted to move back to Volterra with our daughter.
Luc wanted more for our daughter since we moved up in the hierarchy but she was in love and we let her be although our last argument strained our relationship. Lexi was our firstborn and we were glad to be given a second chance with her, our relationship had gotten better over time, and she was also mated to Roman's son which was an even bigger shock for us. I was taken out of my thoughts when Alma said, "Hey," shaking her hand in front of my face, as we reached the mountaintop to the cabin where we could practice our magic. King Emile said it was isolated and no one would disturb us, his men and our men would camp out not far from here. We could see so much of Elvira from up here and even the borders of Voleterra and Faeora. We went inside the cabin and settled down but the cabin felt so weird, I couldn't explain it, even Marion felt it. Lenora and Alma looked at me before Alma said, "They are here," her eyes were glowing and we turned to go back outside realizing we couldn't leave.
Marion tried to open a portal as I tried to break through whatever forcefield kept us in, Marion's eyes clouded over and she looked at us and said, "I can't link Dru or anyone," I tried calling someone on our phones but there was no signal. I knew this was bad, I looked out the window and saw our guards trying to get in, Emile appeared and hit the energy with his sword and got blown back, and then we saw two ghouls heading towards Alma and Lenora. The battle of our lives began, I was not going to be taken out this way as Marion went full throttle with her magic and snapping their necks but more keep coming. I got my gun out of my bag and started shooting them in the head and Marion smiled, they stopped coming for now when Marion chanted a spell for one of them so he could answer questions about why they wanted Alma.
*****
Back In Volterra
Dragu
I was already in a deep sleep when I felt Marion in trouble, I tried to link her in our special link but nothing, so Emile and Dominic answered. Emile told me what was going on and I got Luc and Phillip and headed out letting Laurel take over until we returned. He was worried about his wife and I assured him they were all coming back, Levi had opened a portal for us and we ended up by the cabin. We saw how weary the atmosphere felt and decided it was the ghouls, I wanted to know why they kept coming after Alma and sent Phillip with Levi to get her husband, Pedro. I walked over to a private area and used my special dial-up to Samuel so he could fill me in on ghouls and what their purpose is when on land.
Balthzarar appeared and said, "My King sent me," I asked him about the ghouls and how to stop them, and he smiled and said, "Demons usually don't get in these matters of the living but you are our special friend," I rolled my eyes. I said, "I will not sleep with you, Balthazar," he smiled saying, "I never said you have to sleep with me, I'm straight but my brother might like a taste of you and that power," I lean into him and say, "Your brother is not my type and since we are straight, then give me the information I seek," breathing in his neck and then he laughed. Balthazar backed away from me and said, "Ghouls feed off the energies they are sent to kill, they will keep coming after their target until they are dead, and they sometimes regroup for years waiting until their prey are settled, forgetting them and striking again."
I asked, "Who would have paid for something like that?" He said, "Someone she pissed off or a love one who wanted it clean, and without evidence, I would say her mate," and he left. I knew that Pedro had some explaining to do, he fits the profile because they are not true mates, they were arranged by the politics in their families but why now since they seem to have fallen for each other? I headed back to the cabin when Emile looked at me and said, "Any leads on how to break the barrier," I said, "Give me a few minutes," and they backed off. A portal opened next to us and I saw Pedro, he was scared so I knew Phillip roughed him up and I looked at him, and asked with a very stern voice, "What did you do, Pedro?"
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