Seduced by Innocence (18 page)

What must be shall be.

— William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

No.

No.

No.

NOT DEREK. IT
couldn't be. But the eyes. And then he shifted, trapped in the magical threads of power from my coven, the wolf shifted into man, and my beloved Derek lay there naked, staring at me with so much hate and pain.

I knew every inch of him, had touched and loved all of him in the only ways I could, and now he had been reduced to a wounded animal.

Worse—the enemy.

Large purple bruises formed on his back from when Blake had thrown him against the tree, and the threads of magic dug into his skin, cutting him and leaving open wounds.

I clutched my chest where his claws had torn into my flesh as they pulled him off of me. "Stop!"

Mother leaned against Blake, who helped her to the car. The others looked at me, shock on their faces.

I pointed to Derek's battered body. "You're hurting him. He had nothing to do with the attacks on our property. He's innocent. Let him go, please."

Ocean held me upright as I pled for the life of this man I still loved, despite everything.

He hadn't even been in town until after the attacks had started. He'd come back for his brother, who'd been hurt.

Oh God. His brother. I had destroyed Derek's brother.

No.

No.

No.

This couldn't be happening. A week ago I had hope, a future with promise. Now, my world had turned to ash and everything I loved had been taken from me.

Blake shouted about making him pay for what he'd done to Mother, but all I could see was what
we
were doing to
him
. What I'd done to his brother.

I sobbed in Ocean's shoulders as the coven I'd been raised in once again ignored me to follow the misguided lead of Mother.

Under love's heavy burden do I sink.

— William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

"ARE YOU SURE
about this?" Ocean crossed her legs, waiting for me to reply.

I looked at Sandy's empty bed, and my heart once again mourned her loss. I hadn't the strength to remove all signs that she'd lived here, so instead I lived with the smells and sights of her daily life, as if she'd come barreling in from the outdoors at any moment, licking my hand.

"I'm not sure of anything anymore. But he had nothing to do with the attacks on us, that I know. He doesn't deserve to be our prisoner, naked and kenneled, treated worse than a criminal."

Outside the night howled its discontent, perhaps for all the injustices that had commenced on what should have been a night of fresh starts.

Ocean reached for my hand. "I believe you. I didn't get the psycho vibe from him, either, and I trust you. Let's go save Derek from our crazy coven."

I nodded, but didn't stand. "Only one problem. To save him, I'll have to see him again. Talk to him. Explain myself, and yet I'm too confused by all that's happened to explain anything. How did we get here, Ocean?"

She hugged me, then pulled back to look me in the eyes. "I don't know, but no matter what, you have me. We'll figure this out together. First, we need to take care of your boyfriend."

Boyfriend. The word stung. "He's not my boyfriend. Not anymore."

"That remains to be seen." She pulled me off the couch and handed me some clothes. "Time to don the spy gear."

"Don't worry about Blake, I know how to handle him." Ocean said as she handed me the flashlight.

Our 'spy gear' consisted of black leggings, a black turtleneck, and a black knit cap. I thought it was a bit overkill, but I didn't press it. What did it matter what we wore? My hands shook with fear at seeing Derek again.

Mother had ordered him locked in one of the kennels, with Blake as a guard, while she took care of her leg.

Everyone had retired hours ago, drained emotionally and magically. Ocean and I had concocted this half-assed plan, and now we had to see it through. I wouldn't let Derek rot in a dog kennel so this coven could use him as a bartering chip with his family in trade for the rose bush.

Part of me began to worry about what Mother would do with that kind of power. Nothing about this made any sense. The stories Derek told about his family, the kindness his sister had shown, these weren't the kinds of people who got their kicks killing puppies and torturing innocent people.

And his dad and my mom had history.

I was committed to finding out the truth, but first I had to set this right. He might hate me forever, and I wouldn't blame him, but I would at least save him first.

I waited until Ocean lured Blake out of the barn before I slipped in and found Derek's prison.

My mouth dried up as if someone had shoved cotton balls in it. "Derek, I'm so sorry."

I undid the latches and held the gate open. "You're free to go. Shift and get home to your family before Blake gets back."

He stood there, naked and beautiful, and stared at me. "Was all of this just a ploy to get at my family's secrets so your family could steal them?"

It hadn't even occurred to me that he would think that. "What? No, of course not. I didn't know who you were until just before you turned human. Your family has been attacking us, harassing us and… and killing our puppies. Mother thought this was the only way to protect ourselves."

His eyes widened. "Do you really believe me capable of that, Rose? Don't you think I'd know if my family had done that?"

"Honestly, I don't know what to think right now. But I know you have to go."

He took a step forward, coming too close. "Aren't you scared I'll attack you?"

In another context, his threat would have aroused me, but the love we had no longer existed, at least on his end. "You're the one who should be scared of me. I knew you'd hate me when you knew the truth. I don't know what's going on. Your brother, he was here, in wolf form, attacking Mother. I saw that with my own eyes. I never would have… I wouldn't have done what I did to him if it hadn't been to save Mother."

"You? It was you? You destroyed Dean? He's the most gentle person I've ever met! If he was attacking your mother, he'd have had a very good reason." A light dawned in his eyes as he looked at my hands. "That's why you wear gloves. That's why you always pull away when we get too close, isn't it?" He backed away from me, disgust in his eyes.

My head fell forward in shame. "Yes. I was going to tell you after tonight. I know you can never forgive me, but I thought I was protecting Mother. I thought your brother was trying to kill us.

"I'm sorry, Derek. So sorry. I'm gong to find out what's going on, and I'll find a way to fix your brother. I'll never stop trying to make this right."

"It's too late, Rose. You can't fix this."

Another voice interrupted us. "You're right, she can't. But that will be dealt with later. For now, you'll have to return to your cell, boy. You're our prisoner until your father gives me what is rightfully mine."

Derek turned to Mother and bared his teeth. "He won't give you anything, you psychopath."

"Oh, I think he will when he finds out we have his eldest son." She turned to me. "Is this the boy you've been carrying on with? You were in deeper than I thought. We'll have to work on this rebellion of yours."

My whole life I'd given into her, doing what she said and never questioning her. I thought she had the best interests of the coven at heart, but now I wasn't so sure.

I stood between her and Derek and spoke to him without turning my head. "Get out of here, Derek. I'll handle her."

Mother limped forward, her leg bandaged. My chest had its own bandages as well. Her power slammed into me before I expected it. Maybe I really didn't think she would attack her own daughter, at least not full force.

I fell back and into Derek's arms. He caught me and righted me, then let me go just as fast, but I'd felt something between us as we touched. A spark of magic.

I spun to face Mother, fury burning in my hands. A new kind of power pulsed through me, and I realized that Derek had fed me some of his magic.

It had his flavor, his energy and resonance. I didn't yet know what I could do with it, but I allowed it to settle into me as if it had always belonged.

My senses expanded, and I could feel the earth pulse with its own strength. Water, air, fire, earth, all of the elemental magic fused in me as I realized with shock that Druids controlled it all and, now, so could I.

Mother's air magic pushed at me, like invisible boulders crashing into my weak defenses.

I looked at Derek and his eyes softened for just a moment, giving me a glimmer of hope for what might be.

I strengthened my shield with the Druid magic and searched myself for ways to go on the offensive and end this for good.

My new power wrapped around Mother's attacks, turning them back against her.

Derek had given me a reflective magic. Whatever Mother threw at me was returned to her in equal force.

As Mother attacked herself, I pulled deeper and commanded the earth to send up roots to entangle her.

The earth didn't want to obey me and fought against the darkness it sensed in me, but another flush of power from Derek infused me and the earth submitted, shooting vines through the floor.

Mother screamed as vines wrapped around her, trapping her and rendering her harmless.

"You're not going to do this, Mother. He's leaving here safely."

When I turned to Derek, he shifted, looking unstable as he howled at the moon and, with a forlorn glance at me, ran into the woods and disappeared.

Mother stared up at me with cold eyes, and I wondered if she had ever really been warm, or if I had always projected love onto her out of my own desperate need to feel something from the woman who'd given me life.