Marked: A Two Halves Novella (3 page)

For goodness’ sake, I didn’t want to think about my sister
now.

“Let me take those worries away.” Xela pressed her fingers
to my temples, and my thoughts blanked into nothingness. All that remained was
the pull toward Xela. I had to be with her. She pressed her lips to mine, her
breasts massaging my chest. I parted my lips.

Deciding I would be the one to control the witch, I stood,
holding her bottom, and carried her to the bearskin rug spread before the
fireplace. I didn’t let her pull her mouth away from mine as I lay her down. We
explored each other.

Finally, I allowed her to breathe.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Xander.”

“And me for you.” I pressed into her again, knowing where
our closeness would lead—completely into her, where we could share the heat of
our bodies. My torso molded against her front, and I knew I would let her do
with me as she pleased and satisfy her more than once as well.

Her breathing became heavier as I tore open her tank top and
lifted her skirt. Her hands flew to my jeans. I shifted my hips, narrowing my
bones by an inch so she could pull the jeans off easily. Noticing the change,
she smiled against my lips.

I pulled away to look at her face before crushing my mouth
against hers.

Xela twined her fingers into my hair and pulled me closer. I
saw a need in her eyes that matched mine—not only the need to be with someone,
but the need to share souls.

I’d had women before, but not like this. Human women didn’t
understand me and never could. Witches with a water mark seemed too proper.
They constantly wondered whether they were breaking the rules, a major
turn-off. Even though she belonged to the underworld, Xela seemed as lonely and
confused as I was and didn’t mind giving in to the lust. She let me explore her
completely without second-guessing. I would share my soul with hers from this
moment forward. There was no other way.

I lowered my body onto hers, caressing her neck and breasts
with my tongue. She arched her pelvis and I was inside her, fitting as if she’d
been cast only for me.

We spent the rest of the night connected, each kiss more
passionate than the first. Eventually we fell asleep cocooned under the
bearskin. For the first time in my life I knew there was no other place I
wanted to be.

When I woke, Xela’s naked body nestled against mine, her
head resting on my chest. I kissed her forehead. “Hi, beautiful.”

“Hi.” She smiled.

And it wasn’t the smile of a wicked witch. Witches were
marked at birth, their fate decided for them. It didn’t matter who you wanted
to be and where you wanted to live; once bound, a witch belonged to the
underworld or to the one above. Xela was cursed.

The curve of her smile lessened. “You’re going to leave.”

“How do you know?” Grimacing, I propped my head.

“I’m a witch.” Xela touched my shoulder to lie down.

“Will I be back?”

“I hope so.” She moved to lie on top of me, her hands
resting on my chest. “I’m sorry I’m not who you’d like me to be.”

“You’re exactly who I want you to be.” I kissed the tip of
her nose.

“I don’t see us together in the future.”

“Stop looking into the future, and enjoy the now.” I wrapped
my arms around her nakedness, and her body repositioned exactly where I wanted
it to, at my centre.

The fire in the pit suddenly surged higher, as if fuelled by
oxygen. Xela glanced toward it. “I think someone is looking for you.”

I closed my eyes.
Mira.
She was worried.

“I can vortex you back alone. If I come with you, she’ll
fear me.”

I smirked. Xela knew when my mind wandered to my sister.
“How can I find you again?”

“Just think my name and I’ll hear you,” she answered.

“There’s a problem with that. I’ll be thinking your name the
whole time we’re apart.”

She bit her lower lip. “Then imagine what we can do next
time you’re here.”

I raised my brows. “I’ll be thinking about
that
all
the time.”

She giggled. How could someone so delicate and innocent be
bound to the underworld? Life for Xela couldn’t be more specious than mine,
with my soul stuck in the void between good and evil. But at least she knew
where her soul belonged.

Xela rose and strolled toward the mantel. She didn’t cover
herself. I propped myself on my elbow and studied her naked back, her perfectly
curved silhouette, her round buttocks like the lower half of an hourglass. My
witch picked up a small box and brought it over. Her arm brushed mine as she
settled beside me, sending pleasant shivers through my body.

“Take this white gem,” she instructed, lifting the lid of
the box. “When you want to see me, squeeze it and I’ll bring you back.”

“I’ll squeeze until my hand bleeds.”

“Don’t do that. Your blood is precious. I could use it to
make you feel things you’ve never felt.”

I smirked. “You already did that, last night.”

“Ah, that’s what you think.”

I loved her teasing.

She was the perfect woman for me: charming yet dangerous;
possessing striking beauty, power, and control. I bet once Xela decided who she
wanted to lure into the underworld, there was no escape—although I doubted
there had been many men before me. They’d chicken out; after all, she’s a black
witch powerful enough to keep one in the underworld forever.

Xela complimented me in more ways than I ever thought a
witch could, and not just in the way the curves of her swaying body against
mine. That observation would prompt some to call me a pig—actually, some women
have called me that—but I didn’t care. Was it my fault I couldn’t control my
attraction to the well-endowed?

I dressed languorously, trying to lengthen my stay by
leaning closer to Xela to steal deep, wet kisses and caress her naked body
under the lacy black undergarments. Her eyes sparkled with magic as they rolled
from blackness to her brown hue when in ecstasy, but it wasn’t bad magic.
Xela’s paranormal powers conjured electricity in my veins.

Could I be in love? That quickly?

There were so many wonderful things in life that happened
quickly: falling stars, the constantly changing seasons, the flow of water, new
life. Why not love?

“I’ll be back soon.” I lifted her again so she could wrap
herself around my body like an anaconda.

“Soon is not fast enough,” she purred into my ear, pushing
her fingers through my hair. Her words flowed through me like a potion she
stoppered, and she pressed her lips to mine. I continued to hold her even when
the room began spinning.

When it stopped, I found my arms empty, feeling suddenly
unfilled and lost, wishing I could stay in her lair forever. My feet were
planted by the spruce where I’d first met Xela. Shifting into a vampire, the
fastest creature on Earth, I sped toward the hill.

I was at its entrance in less than two minutes and stopped
to sniff like a dog checking markings around the perimeter of his home.
Great,
lover boy is here.
I pushed my palm against the trunk of a tree; it
recognized my touch and the hidden doorway opened in the hill. The aroma of
peppermint and rosemary welcomed me home as I stepped inside.

“Hi, Ma.” I kissed her soft cheeks.

She smiled unsurprised, always aware when I’d be home. Ma
walked toward the kitchen, her bulked hips swaying the ruffles on the skirt
along the floor. Her usually braided hair was pinned in a bun, and her hum,
muffled by a tired breath like her lungs were too small to inhale, mysterious.

Mira jumped out of Eric’s lap as if she’d been burned.
Before she could greet me, Ma said, “I need you in the kitchen, Xander.”
Looking at me from below her brows, she smiled.

She knows.
Of course she does.

“Five minutes?” I asked.

“Sure, five minutes,” she murmured, but her tone suggested
she’d said, “Five minutes ain’t gonna get you out of the trouble you’re in,
young man.”

I hoped the five minutes would be long enough for me to
compose a good fib—a very good fib—but I doubted days of thinking would be long
enough to hide something this big from Ma.

“Where were you?” Mira asked, suddenly sitting at the
opposite end of the room.

“Don’t pretend you and lover boy there just met.” I waggled
my finger between her and Eric.

“You know.”

“I figured.” I sighed, plopping down on the couch.

But who was I to judge? After all, I’d just spent the night
with a witch. A black witch. “You shouldn’t have worried.”

Mira’s nose wiggled. “I smell roses. Where did you go to
find such a sharp scent?”

I kept my eyes away from hers, knowing as soon as my sister
looked into them, she’d see right through me. “I went to Pinedale. Their rose
gardens are in full bloom at this time of year.”

She frowned. “The pantry is stocked. Why would you go there?
You’re weird.”

“Just . . . confused.”

“Wanna talk?” she offered.

Being in tune with your twin had its pitfalls. Mira knew I
was hiding something. The thing was, I did want to talk. I wanted to share my
secrets with my sister, the way I always had, but this wasn’t the right time.
If I mentioned Xela, Mira would flip. She wouldn’t understand.

“Ma wants to see me.” Taking a deep breath, I rose and
headed toward the kitchen to face the wiser of two devils wanting to question
me.

“You look like you’re going in to be executed,” Mira
observed.

I grinned over my shoulder. “You never know with Ma, do
you?”

“She wouldn’t hurt a soul. Unless . . . What did you do,
Xander?” She pulled up her sleeve.

“I didn’t kill anyone; don’t worry.”

“I will get the truth out of you,” Mira warned.

“Yes, the same way I got the truth about lover boy.”

“Come here, sugar. Let Mrs. G have her say,” Eric said, and
Mira skidded toward to him. He pulled her back into his lap and embraced her,
nibbling on the back of her neck.

I rolled my eyes and stepped into the kitchen.

Ma was on a mission and waved her hand, casting a spell. The
doorframe released a fog that covered the entrance, effectively dividing the
two rooms. She looked at me over the rims of her spectacles. “Sit.” Although
her request came in a soft voice, it felt like an order. This was serious.

I loved her too much to disobey. Guilt ate away at my
insides as I pulled a stool out from under the kitchen table and sat. Black
witches were among Ma and Pop’s worst enemies. They were unpredictable,
striking without cause. But that’s what I loved about Xela: how unpredictable
she was, especially in bed.

Ma studied me a moment. “Oh, Xander.” She sighed, “I smell
black magic all over you. Mira may not know it, but red roses are a black
witch’s signature.”

I picked up my head, locking my eyes with hers.

“Honey, I don’t want to meddle in your business, but I can
tell you’ve been to the underworld.”

I lifted my hands like a twelve year old. “Ma, it’s just
hard.”

“Life isn’t meant to be easy. I knew who you were the day I
found you in the forest.” She read my predicament without me having to tell
her.

My eyebrows rose, curious. “How?”

“It’s your destiny, and I know destiny.”

“Why did the keepers leave us there?” I asked as the
loneliness of the void flowed back into my heart. We’d chosen when we wanted to
be infants, a choice most shape-shifters made to erase their past, to forget
what had happened before and start a new life. It could take months or even
years to grow up; that depended on the shifter’s choice and state of mind.

We took three years, lying in the forest. The memory of our
infant life was distant, but not lost. When the canopy overhead thinned with
the change of season, we’d grow fur to keep warm. When we were hungry, we’d
shift into a bobcat or a mouse to hunt—small mammals didn’t need to eat much.
Sated, we’d shift back into human babies, the easiest form to maintain,
although we weren’t completely human. At one point, we lived with a pack of
wolves; then a bear adopted us for a while. Soon after, Ma found us in our
human form and took us in. With her at our side, we chose to age.

“That’s a question for the keepers love, but I know I was
meant to find you and protect you. You’re needed here and you have a purpose,
I’m certain of that.”

I thought about my destiny and where I wanted to be at the
moment. And it wasn’t sitting in Ma’s kitchen.

“What’s her name?” Ma lowered her glasses.

“Xela.”

“Hmm . . .” Ma closed her eyes. “She’s beautiful.
Is it serious?”

“You’re not upset?”

“Our hearts have a way of choosing the ones with whom we’ll
share our life.”

I widened my eyes. “You mean I could be with her? A black
witch?”

“Possibly, but you have to understand what that means for
you and your sister. I believe you’re meant to be marked with the water mark.
If you stay with her, that won’t be possible.”

“I can’t have the water mark and be with her?”

“It’s almost impossible.”

“Almost?”

Ma’s eyes rolled back—something I was used to seeing when
she mixed her predictions into a conversation. “It’s too dangerous for you.
She’d betray you. She wouldn’t have a choice.”

“And if I don’t want the water mark?”

“Consider your decision carefully. It’s not a choice I can
make for you, but since you and Mira are bound to each other, the decision
should be made in unison. Mira’s been seeing Eric for a while, but she doesn’t
want to sway your decision.”

“And what would happen to us if I chose the other side?”

“You will always be my little monsters. Your decision
affects your sister’s life and hers affects yours. That will never change, but
I do believe your path is different from Xela’s.”

“That cannot be true.” My jaw clenched, and the cracked
tooth throbbed down to the jawbone.