Dark Wolf

CHAPTER 3

ATHENA POV.

I transported back to the front of the Iron gates of the Easton school Manor. My body was still shaking from the shock of Catheryn’s break out. After my grandparents discovered that she was gone, grand flew into a fit of rage while nanna sank down into a heap onto the ground in shock. It took a while before the rest of the us were spurred into action due to the shock of our gruesome discovery. The death of guards was covered in Catheryn’s scent, and it looked like she enjoyed every bit of dismembering them in the most brutal and painful way possible. The entire sight was more than nauseating. After grand accompanied nanna back to the pack with guards, I stayed behind and started to cast tracing spells, but as expected, no trace was left behind. They made sure that they could not be followed.

I reach out my hand towards the gate and wave the gates open, making my way through and up the stone steps to the manor on shaky legs. The shock of this morning must be catching up to me now. Just as I reached the doors, headmistress Castor came rushing towards me. She must have felt me coming through the alert charms of the gates. “Dear Merlin Athena, Are you alright?” The headmistress asks worriedly, and I feel my legs giving in under me and sink to the floor and the nausea that I’ve been trying to keep down all morning rears its head and I throw up all over the stone floor.

Arms wrap around my shaking body, and she rubs my back as I heave again. Once I felt the sickening feeling has subsided, I leaned into her embrace and sucked in big gulps of air. Julia quickly waves away the mess on the floor with her hand and continues to hold my shaking body. “Marina, I need you to get me something for the shock please.” I hear her say and only then do I become aware of the shuffling feet and soft murmuring. Never have I been so glad as I was now that the school was closed and that there were no pupils on the premises. Marina’s feet hurried away at Julia’s request, and I chance a glance up through my dark hair towards the others standing at the doors to the dining hall. It must have been around dinner time. Almost everyone was gathered, some even made a gesture to come closer, but I guessed that the headmistress indicated for them to stay back because they halted in their steps. My eyes found Christian’s. He looked deathly pale and was staring worriedly along with the others, shuffling from one foot to the other and I greatly wished that it were his arms that was around me.

“Athena, what happened.” I hear Julia speaking to me again and I turn towards her as she pulls back to settle her hands on my shoulders.

“I was too l-late.” I stutter and her eyes widen. “She’s gone, Vex broke her out and she…. she killed… her guards… sh-she…” I couldn’t finish but Julia understood in a way that only she could. “Shh shh, it’s alright. We will figure something out together.” She tries to reassure me, rocking my head against her chest as if I was a child as I broke down into sobs.

Marina steps back into our line of vision and hands the Headmistress a glass with a light purple liquid inside and she helps me drink it as my hands were shaking badly. After handing the empty glass back to the nurse, Julia helped me up just as I felt the tonic starting to work but I knew that it wouldn’t be enough to completely calm me down. I usually must take double doses due to my werewolf genes.

“Come along dear. We’ll take this further up in my office.” Julia said and still holding her arm around my shoulders, pulls me up and guides me down along the hall to the staircases. We pass the worried faces of the faculty, but I can’t bring myself to look at them. Embarrassed and ashamed of my breakdown in front of my colleges that I came to know as friends. The headmistress leads me up the staircase, but I barely registered our trip to her office, my mind flashing images again of blood and body parts so realistically that I could actually smell the blood again and my stomach twists uncomfortably.

LYNN POV.

I sigh, my thoughts twirling around in my mind as I stare out over the green grass grounds from my balcony of my bedroom of our little double storey home. For the last two weeks my childhood nightmares have returned, and I would have shrugged it off to stress or lack of sleep if it were not for the disturbance in the flow of magic. Only a few magicals, male or female, possess the ability to pick up on it, with me being one of them.

Staring out at the grounds, my eyes travel to the treeline where the forest begins, surrounding my little home with only a single dirt road in and out. A movement catches my eyes and I follow it. I smile to myself as a big wolf like creature, on its hind legs in an almost human posture, walks out of the forest towards the house. Black fur shining in the last rays of the setting sun, followed by a normal little black wolf pup with a white front paw. I smile a little wider as I see the pup trying to keep up with the big wolf’s long strides, barking playfully.

My smile drops as I feel another small tremor in the flow of magic and fear creeps into my heart. If what I suspect is to be true, then my family is no longer safe. It means that we will not be able to stay here for long. This place, where my little boy was born and the only home he has ever known, will be gone.

“Lynn?” A deep voice comes from behind me. Without turning around, I ask. ”He’s alive, Isn’t he?”

The footsteps come closer, and I close my eyes for a moment as strong arms wrap around my waist from behind and I inhale his scent. He leans his head next to mine, the roughness of his short beard tickling my cheek. I can feel the tension in his body, and I cover his arms with my own, leaning back against him.

“Yes.” He simply answers. My breath hithes in my throat and I swallow the lump that formed there. I suspected the truth but to have him confirm it made my fears come true.

I slowly turn in his arms to look into his dark eyes. “What are we going to do? How long will we be safe here? I ask as a tear rolls from my eye. He lifts his hand to wipe it away before planting a comforting kiss on my forehead and hugging me to his chest where my small frame easily fits to his tall and broad six-foot frame.

“We’ll figure something out but for now we will be safe. I’ve set extra protection spells around the house and grounds.” He says while his thumb rubs against my back, calming me. If there is one thing my husband, Hunter Blackheart, is good at, it is defending against dark forces. After all, no one defends better against dark magic than someone who is dark himself. I nod into his chest and inhale more of his scent.

“Mommy. Daddy.” A little voice shouts from the doorway of our room. I chuckle as Hunter releases me to turn towards the little voice calling us. A little naked blur darts across the room and into my open arms. “Rexton, what have I told you about running around naked in the house?” I playfully chastise him, but he just shrugs it off and turns to his father. “Your back.” He calls out to him and leans over with his little arms and grabs him by his jacket, hinting to be picked up.

A small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth before lifting our almost four-year-old from my arms.

“Yes, I’m back. I hope you were good while I was away today?” He asks Rex who enthusiastically nods at him in return. “Colt are teaching me how to hunt.” Rex says excitedly and I chuckle. “Colt IS teaching you how to hunt, honey.” I correct him but my little wolf rolls his eyes at me. “But that’s what I’s said.” He says and I chuckle again.

The head of a kind elderly face pops around the door frame, catching our attention as Daisy looks into the room. She had ocean blue eyes with a wide smile on her kind face. “Dinner is ready.” She says and looks lovingly to Rex. “Come on young troublemaker, I will get you dressed for dinner.” She says and Rex immediately jumps out of his father’s arms to go to Daisy, and they disappear around the corner down the hall.

Daisy practically raised Hunter. She was instructed with the task of raising him when his mother passed away at childbirth. That was the only good thing that his father ever did because he never wanted children. Most of his life he ignored Hunter until he became of age and his father started to manipulate him into the dark side of magic and tainted his soul. Hunter did a lot of terrible things to try and gain his father’s appraisal, that was until we met, and he discovered that he was only being used and made the decision to leave everything behind.

I turn to him and lean into his chest again and his arms automatically wrap around me. We stood there for a moment until he moved his arm, and I could feel his fingers under my chin, and he lifts my face towards his before cupping my cheek. “We’re safe here. No one knows about this place.” He says and I feel a little bit better. “Okay.” I say softly, looking up into his eyes. I reach up and thread my fingers through his hair and lift myself up on my toes and kiss him. He responds by kissing me back, our lips moving together before I part my lips to give him access with his tongue. I moan into the kiss and press myself against him, we continue to stay like this for a couple of minutes before he pulls away, making me whimper at the loss.

“Come on, before the boys start wondering what’s taking us so long.” He says with a smirk on his face, and I laugh. I know Colton will roll his eyes and sneer at us just like Hunter does sometimes, whereas Rexton will bluntly ask us if we were kissing again, making a cute little face in disgust at the thought of kissing a girl.