Ruby looked at Madeline with hesitation. How did Madeline hear about Amanda being a hybrid? Hadn’t she been in London? Why would she care about this?
“What have you heard about the hybrid?” Ruby questioned.
Madeline sat back in her seat, “Not much, only that she was able to kill the Lycan King and that she’s part witch and part wolf.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
Madeline looked down at the empty teacup and sighed. “There are certain covens that believe she could be an abomination. That wolf should only mate with wolves and witches stay with witches. The Lycan King isn’t the only one that had been trying to keep tabs on her. There are others.”
“And what are your feelings about a hybrid?”
Madeline smiled; she looked up at Ruby and explained, “I believe that we cannot control fate. Wolves believe that the Moon Goddess decided who they would mate with. I feel that destiny takes a hand in things as well. She could be the key to so many new things for both the wolves and the witches.”
Ruby was impressed with what Madeline had to say. She was sad that she had misjudged her.
Ruby let out a sigh before making the decision.
“Madeline, do you remember my brother Bobby?” Ruby started.
Madeline nodded.
“I do. He was after all Zachary’s best friend. I was sad to hear about his and Lily’s death.”
Ruby nodded and continued, “Lily was pregnant at the time.”
“I wasn’t aware.”
“We all thought that she died still pregnant. But…”
Madeline looked at her with confusion.
“But?”
“Earlier this semester a girl started at the college and with the help from Deak we discovered that she is Lily and Bobby’s baby.”
“I’m confused. How can this be?” Madeline asked.
Ruby laughed half-heartedly.
“It’s a crazy story, but long story short Lily already had the baby, and before they died a couple was able to rescue the baby from them.”
Madeline brought her hand up to her mouth to cover it and gasped.
“Are you saying?”
Ruby nodded. “Lily and Bobby’s baby is the hybrid. Her name is Amanda.”
Madeline nodded as she took in the information she was being told.
“So, she’s a Duvall witch from our coven, that’s good,” Madeline said with relief in her voice.
Ruby was a little confused, but she was relieved that her telling Madeline didn’t blow up in her face.
Madeline looked up at her and smiled.
“You have a niece.”
Ruby smiled as her heart filled hearing those wonderful words. She still had some family left in this world and wasn’t all alone like she had been for so many years.
Something occurred to Madeline about what Ruby had said earlier about Vita.
“Ruby dear, something you said about Vita earlier…”
“Yes?”
“Is everything ok with her?”
“Well…”
“Did she ever meet Amanda?”
Ruby nodded.
Madeline got from her chair immediately.
“What did Zachary say exactly?”
“They believe that Vita has been taken, but they think they know where she is and are about to arrive at the place they are holding her at.”
“Did they say who?”
“All he said was the name Persephone.”
Madeline’s eyes widened with fear.
“Call Zachary, tell them not to go! Quickly!” she exclaimed.
*********************
Zachary and Deak slowly approached the spot on the map that showed most of Persephone’s magic.
Zachary’s phone started to vibrate. He looked down and saw that it was Ruby; as much as he wanted to answer her call and hear her voice, he needed to stay focused on the task at hand and didn’t want to be distracted. He muted the call and let it go to voicemail.
“Stop here,” Deak ordered.
Zachary stopped the car and turned off the engine. They got out of the car and started to walk. Deak walked ahead as he sensed the area out.
Zachary slowly crept behind Deak as they walked through the woods and into an open area. There was a small house in the distance.
“I can’t sense anyone or smell….”
Deaks’ Lycan wolf senses flared as he started to smell something they hadn’t anticipated. Malakai started to growl.
“Wolves have been here,” Deak snarled in a deep, husky voice.
“Wolves? Why would wolves be here?” Zachary asked. He was confused. Why would wolves come here? Unless…
“Zachary, head to the car now!” Deak yelled.
Zachary didn’t question Deak and started running back to the car. He could hear howling in the distance. It wouldn’t be long before they were here.
“Don’t stop until you get back to the car and get out of here,” Deak ordered.
“What about you?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch up to you,” he told him.
Deak came to a stop; he could feel Malakai, his wolf, brimming at the surface. He was ready for a fight. His claws started to grow, and his bones started to break.
You can hurt them, just don’t kill them, he told his wolf.
The last thing he heard was a chuckle.
Zachary ran until he got to the car; he unlocked it and got in. he looked around and saw nothing following him. He started the car and put it into reverse. He peeled around and then shifted into drive and took off.
His phone was vibrating again.
He reached into his pocket and pulled it out.
Ruby.
He swiped his thumb across the screen to answer the call and put it on speaker.
“Ruby now is not a good time!”
“Zachary, please tell me you haven’t gotten into trouble,” Ruby scolded.
Zachary rolled his eyes as he continued to drive through the woods, putting himself as far away as he could from that place.
“Ruby now is not the time to lecture me about things. I’ll call you back.”
He ended the call.
He knew it wasn’t the right thing to do, but he needed to pay attention to the road and try not to get himself killed.
********
Amanda woke up in the middle of the night with a bad feeling. She quietly slipped out of the window. The sky was dark and clouds were coming in. Amanda continued to look out at the night sky, hoping to feel a sense of calm as she watched the moon pass through the clouds. Amanda smiled, but there was still something troubling her. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was exactly, she just had this feeling she couldn’t shake.
She could feel the uneasiness inside her start to grow she looked around the room and she thought she heard something.
A faint whisper.
Amanda’s heart raced as she continued to hear sounds, but she couldn’t figure out where they were coming from.
Calm down, her wolf warned her.
Amanda took a deep breath as she listened to her wolf.
Now close your eyes and focus.
Amanda followed directions.
She closed her eyes and felt a rush as a room appeared before her. She was able to see someone strapped to a chair; they were weak but still breathing. Their head hung low but then slowly lifted.
Their voice was weak as they whispered,
“Help me, Amanda.”
Mated to my Bully (Book 1)