Wolf Spell 1 (35 page)

“Let’s find that movie, but if you pick out something with sparkly vampires I’m taking the remote.”

She laughed. It was so good to hear, and it made my heart feel lighter—happier. I watched as she flipped through the channels at least two times before deciding on some old school movie about a teen turning into a wolf. We both laughed at the fakeness of it. If Hollywood only knew the truth.

The movie was almost over when I noticed her falling asleep. She snuggled into the pillow and her eyes closed. I waited about five minutes then pulled the blankets up over her. I couldn’t resist any longer. I leaned over. My lips caressed her silky skin as I kissed her cheek. “I loved you before I even met you Princess,” I whispered. She stirred just a little and I moved away, not wanting to wake her up, and turned back to my own bed.

– Jarak –

“Why is his phone off?” I threw my phone. It landed against the wall and fell to the floor where the battery fell out. At least I didn’t break it—I hoped. Ian was in deep crap when I got a hold of him.

Maztic stopped walking around the hotel room.
“At least she’s safe.”

“I want her safe with me, not him! Why is he doing this?” I couldn’t sit still and paced the floor of the hotel room.

I reached out to Luna, but I couldn’t hear her. My heart stopped. “Maztic, can you hear Es?”

“No, I haven’t for a while.”
He hung his head low.

UGH!
I needed to yell, scream—I needed to hit something. Why did the spirits send the vision of her to him? Why not me? She was with me. She’s my girlfriend, not his. I needed to find her. I grabbed my phone from the floor and replaced the battery, then slammed the door behind me as I left the room and called Torres.

“Hey, it’s me. Ian has Es, but I don’t know where he’s at, and he shut his efin phone off!”

“I gathered that after I called about an hour ago. Hela said he could feel Luna and that Esmerelda is just fine. No need to worry. I’m sure she just needs to sleep, and we’ll hear from them tomorrow.”

I didn’t like his answer and my grip on my phone tightened. “Yeah, whatever.”

“Jarak, just get some sleep. Adonia, Ailaina and I are headed back to the hotel to get some rest, and we’ll meet with you in the morning after Ailaina knows where we’re going. We’ll travel together to the tomb.”

I hated that he was her father and the alpha guardian. I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “Okay.” I spoke through my teeth.

I hung up the phone and jogged around the building then went back to my room. It was going to be a long night.

– Esmerelda –

The sun was bright as I tried to open my eyes. I could feel the puffy swollenness from yesterday, but at least they didn’t burn as much. I stretched and sat up in bed. I listened, but didn’t hear anything. Where did Ian go?

I could hear the lock on the door click to unlock and Ian came in carrying two Styrofoam cups and a paper bag. He held them up, “Breakfast?”

I smiled and tried to smooth down my hair that I’m sure looked worse than a wild lion’s mane. “Sure. Whatcha got?”

“Hot chocolate and maple bars,” he said as he came and sat down next to me, bouncing the bed as he did so.

My stomach growled reminding me how hungry I was and that I hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning.

I took the cup he held out and took a big whiff. I love the smell of hot chocolate. It was absolutely my favorite. He held out a doughnut and a napkin. “Nourishment for the witch.”

“Haha.” I took them from him with a quirky smile, shaking my head. I took a bite and savored the maple frosting.
Mmm…

“So how do you feel?”

I cocked my head. “About what?”

“Do you feel good enough to call the others?” He finished his donut and sucked the frosting off his fingers, entrancing me. For a fleeting moment, I watched his mouth and fought back the urge to kiss it.

Ugh,
I shook my head from my thoughts. “Yes.”

I finished my breakfast and almost all of my drink. “I’m gonna go freshen up.” I hopped off the bed and rushed to the bathroom. We needed to focus on finding the witches tomb. Now was not the time to be all swoony over guys. Being this close to Ian confused me. I shouldn’t have feelings for him. I was with Jarak, wasn’t I? Yes, he was moody and sometimes pushed me away, but that was because of his dead girlfriend. Wasn’t it?

I let out an exasperated sigh. I leaned my back against the door for a moment before turning the sink on, and then splashed my face with the cold water. I looked up into the mirror and cringed. I can’t believe I looked this bad in front of Ian. Magically, I smoothed out my long hair and reapplied a fresh layer of makeup. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on clothes. I peeked and saw folded jeans and a clean shirt sitting on the counter. No matter how many times I did it, I still loved magic.

I sat on the bed with my legs crossed and waited. I breathed deeper, inhaling the sweet almond like scent that came from Ian. It was clean, sexy, and I couldn’t breathe in enough.
Enough Esmerelda!
I chastised myself.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, waiting for the phone call, letting us know what Ailaina found out. Suddenly a vision passed through my mind, so I closed my eyes to see it better.

“Es, can you hear me?”
It was Ailaina.

I tried to respond to her in my mind.
“Yes. How are you talking to me?”

“Your mom said a Seer can talk to her witch, if both where focused enough. How are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m great. I just needed some time last night, sorry. What did you find out about the tomb?”

I heard her laugh.
“I can do better than that, watch this... I can show you what I see.”

“You’re kidding right?”
That would be so awesome.

At that same moment, I could see lots of trees and a small stone building. It looked almost like a cement shed. Someone carved beautiful Dogwood flowers around the top all the way around. Another flash and I was on a dirt road with more trees. I sighed. Everywhere in this state was a tree, this wasn’t helping.

A red sign that looked almost too worn to see sat off to the right. It said Bradyville 18 miles. Well, that was at least something. I knew about how far we needed to go.

“That was so cool,”
I squealed.

“I know, right!”

“Okay, so I’ll meet you there, right?”

“Yes, I’m going with your mom and the boys are taking the jeep.”

All the visions of Bradyville disappeared and I knew that Ailaina was gone. I opened my eyes to see Ian watching me. I could feel the heat in my cheeks as I blushed.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes and no. Ailaina showed me what she saw. I could see the tomb and a sign that said 18 miles to Bradyville.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s at least a twelve hour drive from here, and it’s already noon.”

“Well, we can rent a car and drive for a bit and then stop somewhere like Memphis for another night, then head on tomorrow morning?” I couldn’t believe I suggested that. I could drive if he got tired and get there late tonight. Why did I want to prolong this?

He smiled. “Sounds good. Let’s get going then and get a car.”

I jumped up from the bed, and he ushered me out of the room. His hand hovered a small fraction away from the small of my back, just enough where I could feel the heat from it but not actually the touch from his hand. I willed his hand to make contact, and I got warm all over when I felt his caress glide across my back.

– Jarak –

Torres flipped his phone shut and looked up at us. “That was Ian. There gonna rent a car and meet us there.”

I calculated distance and time in my head, Bradyville’s only about ten hours from here. “If we leave now we can make it by midnight.” I grabbed my coat and headed out the door of the hotel room.

“Jarak wait up.” Ailaina called out behind me. I slowed my steps but didn’t stop.

I heard the door to the room close, and Adonia and Torres caught up to us. Ailaina and Adonia climbed into her rented red Ecosport. Torres and I were taking the jeep. I would have preferred to drive, so we would get there faster, but Torres had authority over me and took the driver’s seat.

I could feel Maztic growing antsy, and I pushed out to him with our combined spirit letting him know I understood. He couldn’t hear or talk to Luna anymore, and it worried him. Heck, it worried me. All wolves could communicate, with the exception of the Alpha, who can cut himself off if he needed or wanted to. Why could Maztic no longer talk with her?

My whole world slipped away the farther I got from Es. I balled up my fists, and the tingling sensation from the building tension crept up my arms.

“Jarak I can understand you want to be with her, but you should be happy knowing she is safe. Your anxiety over this is rolling off you in torrents. What is it about all of this that has you so stressed out? Ian will protect her. He hasn’t let anything happen to her yet.” Torres said as he took a left turn onto the freeway ramp headed north.

I rubbed my forehead. “I know. But if something happens to her because I’m not there to protect her… it’s my job! I’m her guardian.”

“Says who? Victor? He hired you and now you no longer work for him. Jarak, all four of us are guardians. It’s not just you.”

I shook my head. “It’s more than that.” I let out a deep breath. “Maztic can no longer hear Es or Luna, and it scares me.”

Torres gave me a sideways glance. “Can he talk to Dregan? I know he can still hear Hela.”

I nodded. “Yes. It’s just Es and Luna.”

“Then I wouldn’t worry too much. Sometimes a wolf can distance themselves away from the others. Especially if they are upset and since she is my daughter, Luna might be able to do the same things as Hela. As for Esmerelda, you two aren’t actually a mated couple, so there is no reason to be concerned.” He paused long enough to give me a cold stare before watching the road again. “Are you?”

“No. We aren’t.” Even if we were, there was no way I would tell her father.