Angel Blackwood (33 page)

“Daddy.
Please wake up, Daddy.” I shake him
even though I know it’s pointless. The blood that soaks the grass
surrounding his body is enough to tell me he’s long
gone.

I turn my attention to my
mother’s broken body, but a bulky man stops me approaching her by
wrapping his arms around my waist. I scream and cry and reach out
for my mother on the ground.

“Get your hands off her. Right
now!” The familiar voice is harsh and angry, the arms that are
around me instantly let go and I fall to the ground. I crawl toward
my mother’s body, her eyes are still open, she’s looking at the
same spot she did moments before; sadly, they are lifeless. I know
she is gone, but I can’t resist touching her one last time. I hold
her hand to my cheek, she’s still warm, but her body seems heavier
now.

What am I supposed to do
without them? I don’t have any other family. I need them. There’s
so much she still has to teach me, so many questions I have. She
was supposed to be such an amazing witch, but she didn’t even use
her magic to protect herself. Why? If magic is supposed to be so
special then why didn’t she use it to defend us? I know about the
conflict between wolves and witches. Did the rogue know that my
mother was a witch? God, what if the pack helping us finds out
about us being of Wicca blood, they’ll never help James, they won’t
hesitate in killing us both.

I feel his presence as he
kneels down facing me, he’s so close that I can feel the warmth
coming from his body. I rub my cheek against my mother’s lifeless
hand and can’t stop the tears from falling.

He slowly pulls my mother’s
hand from my grasp and pulls me into his arms. It’s strange how I
can’t resist him and how his presence soothes me. I wrap my arms
around his neck and cry into his shoulder. I feel his lips on my
neck as he speaks, “You don’t need to see all of this. Let’s get
you back to your brother.”

I reach out for my mother
again. “We can’t leave them here.”

He cups my cheek so that I have
no other option than to look into his eyes; I can’t tell if they’re
blue or green, but they’re so salient.

“My pack will sort it
out, we’ll give them the burial they deserve,” he says, before
gently kissing me. Everyone and everything ceases to exist at that
very moment. My body is on fire, all that matters is his touch and
the protection he is giving me and James. Confusion at what is
happening washes over me. I am experiencing an intense attraction
to a boy I don’t even know, yet somehow my body and soul are
telling me that I want him, that I need him.

I soon find out that the
boy’s name is Johnny. He stays with me the entire time we drove to
his pack-house, never leaving my side, even for a moment. My head
rests in the crook of his neck, and his hands run through my hair
making me feel sleepy. He turns his head and moves to look at me, I
keep my eyes closed, but his stare penetrates me.

“I can’t believe I found
you. You’re so beautiful, my love,” he says, kissing my cheek
tenderly.

I eventually fall asleep
in his arms. I feel so safe with him, but I can’t help feeling
confused at his choice of words.

When we get to his pack house
the doctors say that James isn’t going to make it. I beg and plead
for them to help him. Johnny told me he’d do anything he could to
save him, so I tell him about a witch I know that could help. He is
reluctant at first, so is his father, but after more shed tears he
agrees to allow Noelle’s mother to help.

The present day…

Noelle was utterly
distraught when she saw James that evening so long ago. She stood
and confessed her love to him in front of the entire room. It broke
my heart knowing that he wasn’t awake to finally hear the way she
felt about him.

Noelle’s mother insisted I kept
the truth about my mother being a witch a secret. She too was
unsure of what reaction they’d have to the news.

That night I
learnt that I was Johnny’s mate. His parents welcomed James and I
into their family, arranging our mating ceremony for the following
day. Johnny didn’t want to wait, I had no idea what exactly a
mating ceremony was, but I knew I wanted it just as much. Johnny’s
family had many questions, they asked about my parents and how I
knew about wolves and witches. I lied and told them that my parents
were good friends with Noelle’s and that I had grown up knowing
about it, and that it had never been a secret. They never once
asked if my mother was a witch, I don’t think I could have
told
that
specific lie to Johnny’s face. The instant love I
felt for him was overwhelming, even more overwhelming than my need
to learn magic and become the witch I had so desperately wanted to
be growing up. After the mating ceremony a lot changed. James
healed, but Johnny and his father had to show him how to control
his wolf. Johnny refused to let me see Noelle, and I only got to
see her once more after that night. From the very start I knew
Johnny had a deep hatred for witches, I knew that eventually I
would have to tell him the truth about my past. It was a day that I
looked forward to with genuine trepidation.

****

I feel Johnny’s presence as
soon as he enters the bedroom. I look up to see his frown. He looks
down at the photo then back at me.

“I need to tell you
something,” I say, looking up at him. I shouldn’t be scared of my
mate, but right in this moment I am.

He sits on the bed next to me,
taking my hand in his. Concern is etched all over his face. God, I
love this man so much. I feel the concern he has for me through
both our mate and the pack bond.

“What’s wrong,
baby? Angel will come back to us and I’ll apologise. I don’t know
what I was thinking talking to her like that. She’s my baby girl, I
would never hand her off to someone she doesn’t love. I don’t even
know why I said what I said. I was so angry at her for defying me
and going to see those
witches
.” I place my
finger over his lips when he spits the last word out.

“Stop, honey. I know you
didn’t mean what you said. I wouldn’t have allowed the marriage to
Caspian either way. she loves the twins and even if she doesn’t
want to admit it yet, I know it’s true.” I shake my head and drop
my hand which he picks up entwining our fingers.

“There’s something else I
need to tell you,” I say softly.

He sits silently looking at me
with loving eyes.

“I should have told you a
long time ago, but I was so scared to tell you-” He interrupts
me.

“You don’t ever have to
be afraid of me, baby. You know that?”

“Shh…
P
lease let me finish before I
lose the nerve.” He nods.

“My mother was a… Witch.”
I spit it out, and once I start I can’t stop the words that flow.
“I was going to be one too when I turned eighteen, I was meant to
be one. I grew up with Noelle in the witches compound, she was like
my sister, we were always together.” I feel his hands turn stiff
into my own, but I squeeze them tighter and continue to
talk.

“My father was human but
my mother was a witch, so was my grandmother and hers before her.
Not all siblings carry the ability to perform magic, James didn’t
have the ability, but I did. The Wicca don’t follow rules or
leaders, we tend to keep to ourselves, but there is one rule that
we’re all meant to follow. Only once a witch turns eighteen are
they be able to use the magic they have within them should they be
lucky enough to carry the ability. At eighteen years, the ancestors
believed that a witch should be wise enough and mature enough to
make the right decisions when it comes to learning the way of the
Wicca. My mother started teaching me when I was seven. I knew I had
power within me, and even though it wasn’t as strong as what it
would’ve been when I turned eighteen, I still felt it and learnt a
few tricks.” Johnny pulls his hands from mine and stands up
abruptly.

Only now looking up at him do I
see how livid he is. He’s absolutely fuming, his eyes pulse black
and blue and his face is red as the veins stick out off his
forehead.

“You’re a fucking witch?” He
roars.

I stand up quickly and rush up
to him, but he puts his hand out. “Don’t you dare put your hands on
me, Alexandria.” I back away suddenly, my wolf crying inside of
me.

“I’m not a witch, honey.” I
shake my head as I use my calmest voice.

“You just said-”

I shake my
head.
“I should have been one,
but I met you instead. When I turned eighteen I turned into a wolf,
remember? I tried using any abilities, tried some of the spells my
mother had taught me, but it was gone; the magic I had before was
gone.”

“You lied to me! I’m your mate
and you fucking lied to me!” He uses his hand and pushes the set of
drawers beside us to the floor. I wince and step away from him.

“I know, Johnny. I know I
lied and I’m so sorry I kept that from you.” I try to control my
tears, but I just can’t anymore.

“What the hell, Alex? Is
that why Angel survived the pregnancy ? Because she has magic
flowing through her?”

“I honestly don’t know, Johnny.
Maybe that could have aided her. I don’t know.” I look down at the
broken set of drawers scattered on the floor.

“Jesus, you’ve kept this secret
for nineteen fucking years! Why are you telling me now?”

“Because Angel knows. Noelle
told her.”

“When Angel was hurt, you told
me you needed Noelle. Is that why you called her? You knew Noelle
would be able to heal her.” It’s not a question, but I still nod my
head.

“Fuck it, Alex. When you
saw Angel’s ability to heal, did you know then that it was because
she was a witch?”

I can’t answer him. I knew it,
deep down I knew it, but I still kept it from both of them.

“Answer me!” He screams. I
burst out into a sobbing mess, nodding my head quickly.

“I… I knew,” I
stutter.

“Fuck! She was scared and
confused! You knew and you didn’t tell her. Fucking hell, Alex! You
could have prevented this entire situation if you’d just told the
truth from the start. She wouldn’t have felt the need to defy me,
she could have come to you for answers!” He starts cursing and
kicking at the set of drawers on the floor. I cower away in the
corner, covering my face from flying pieces of wood. I’m crying so
hard I can’t even catch my breath. The room turns quiet and all
that can be heard is my sobbing.

His warm body envelopes me and
he pulls me onto his lap.

“Shhh,
come here, baby. I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean to scare you.” He cradles me and rocks back and forth
slowly.

“I should have told you,
I’m so sorry… Now she’s gone and it’s all my fault. I’m a terrible
mother,” I sob, holding tightly onto him.

“Don’t say that, it’s not true.
We’re both to blame for the choices we’ve made in the past. All we
can do now is make sure we make better decisions in the
future.”

Chapter 1
9

Angel/Lexi POV

I wake up surrounded by Jax’s
scent. Opening my eyes to darkness, I feel the soft sheets that
surround me. Luckily I’m alone in his bed and still fully clothed.
My eyes are still adjusting to the dark room as I climb out of the
bed, tripping over something on the floor and stumbling to find my
way to the window to open the curtains. Flipping the curtains open
and letting the moonlight in I come face to face with Jax to my
right.

“Jesus, Jax!” I stumble
backwards, holding my hand against my chest trying to catch my
breath.

“Have you been standing there
the entire time?” I stand upright pulling the curtain fully open
and trying to act like he didn’t just scare the bejesus outta
me.

“I see you haven’t developed
all your wolf abilities yet,” he states, folding his arms over his
chest.

“It’s taking sometime, but I’m
getting there.” I look around his room searching for the light
switch.

“Why the hell are you lurking
around in the dark like that anyway?”

“I can see perfectly in the
dark and you needed your sleep. I didn’t want anything or anyone to
keep you from getting your rest.” I hear him moving behind me and
then the little lamp next to his bed turns on. Sitting on his bed
he looks up to me, watching my every move as if I may flee
again.

“Well…” I don’t have any
snarky comeback as I look around realizing we’re alone in the same
room. All of a sudden I feel nervous.

“Thanks for letting me
sleep, but I… uh… Where’s Ronny? I need to see Ronny before I go.”
I move towards the door.

“You’re not going anywhere,
Lexi,” he says firmly, looking at his hands.

I stop dead in my tracks
and lift an eyebrow turning to look at him. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. It was different
before, you were human…or I thought you were.” He shakes his head
and his green eyes find mine from across the room.

“Now you’re wolf, you
belong to a pack. You’ve crossed territory lines not once, but
twice now and there are repercussions for that.” His tone turns
foreign as if he’s speaking to a stranger.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,”
I huff out loud, looking at the ceiling. I run my hands through my
hair and let out a deep breath.

“Do these
repercussions involve sleeping in the
Alpha’s
bed?
Because if it was such a big deal, I should’ve been put in a cage
or something. I highly doubt this is typical punishment for someone
who
broke the rules about
crossing territories
,” I say
sarcastically, gesturing toward the bed he sits on.