Juniper Santiago - Book 2 of The Santiago Series

*TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO*

“You went to see her.”

It wasn’t a question, and Merlin didn’t make the mistake of thinking that it was. Instead he sighed and took a seat, nodding in confirmation. Balthazar could feel the irritation bubbling within him.

“What did she say?” he asked.

“Nothing actually. I saw her, but she didn’t see me. She was too, occupied,” Merlin faltered.

“You mean she was in the middle of a kill,” Balthazar corrected.

“She wasn’t killing anyone son,” Merlin argued.

“But she was harming someone in some way,” Balthazar challenged.

Merlin couldn’t argue that and he knew it.

“I just don’t understand why you still bother with her,” Balthazar commented.

Merlin sat forward. “She’s your mother an-”

“She’s not my mother,” Balthazar said darkly.

“She’s a terrible person, I don’t dispute that, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s your mother,” Merlin argued.

“That’s not why you’re still keeping tabs on her though. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that you were still in love with her,” Balthazar said with narrowed eyes.

Before Merlin could lie, he was saved by Boris’ entry. “Balthazar, we have a situation.”

“What’s going on?” Balthazar asked.

“I think you need to come and see this for yourself,” Boris suggested before walking out.

Balthazar followed him out as they approached Auriela who was with another woman. The two of them were hunched over a figure on the ground, but Balthazar was entranced by the other woman there.

“She’s not looking too good,” the woman said, confirming something for Balthazar that he hadn’t expected.

His mate.

He’d been alone for so long that he never imagined that he’d ever meet his mate. He’d had relationships and affairs throughout the years, until he decided that he was tired of the whole thing. Nothing offered him the kind of bond he knew he’d possibly have with his fated mate.

However, with how long it was taking him to meet her, he was beginning to think he never would.

He could hear her speaking, and he realized that he was in love with her just from hearing her speak. He hadn’t even laid eyes on her face yet, but her long, blonde hair was enough to keep him entranced.

“BALTHAZAR!” Boris shouted, smirking. He’d already picked up on the situation.

When Gail heard Boris shouting, she took her eyes away from the woman on the ground to look behind her, and her breathing hitched at the sight of the man before her. Emerald orbs were staring at her as though she were the greatest creation ever gifted to man.

Her words died in her throat as she continued to stare at the man. Brown tousled hair was facing different directions, while a rugged beard adorned the bottom half of his face. His built form was walking slowly towards her as she noted the disbelief emanating from the man.

With her own thoughts confirming who he was, she herself couldn’t believe that he’d finally walked into her life.

“After so long,” Balthazar whispered.

She gave him a small smile, but before she could say anything, Auriela spoke. “We need to deliver this baby now.”

That snapped the mates out of it as Balthazar turned to the situation. “What happened?”

“I was with Gail two towns over when we noticed this woman running out of the woods. As you can see, she’s pretty roughed up, especially for a pregnant woman. I’ve inspected her and it doesn’t look like the blood is coming from her vaginal area, so we should still be able to get her baby out, but we need to act quickly. Her heartbeat is starting to fade,” Auriela explained.

They got into action as they carried the woman into Balthazar’s house. The two women seemingly knew what had to be done, while the men let themselves get ordered around, helping wherever they could.

The woman managed to wake up and do her best to help the situation where she could. She told them that her name was Mariyah and that she’d escaped from the Alpha who had kidnapped her. She begged them to save her baby and to name him Mark Evigan.

She died soon after her baby boy was born.

They’d already sensed that she was a werewolf Luna, and given the fact that they paid attention to the supernatural world, they figured out that she was the missing Evigan Luna. They were undecided about what to do with the baby.

“We could always just take him to his father,” Boris argued.

“And get there and say what? Dayton Evigan isn’t known to be sane, let alone kind. He’ll kill us before we even state our case,” Gail countered.

“We can’t take him in anyway,” Auriela sighed.

“You had a vision?” Balthazar questioned.

She shook her head. “Not so much a vision as it is a feeling. I can’t see his future, which must mean he’s connected to you. If that’s the case, then it would be wiser to keep him with us until we know the real reason why fate doesn’t want him to go back to Dayton.”

It was decided that Boris and Auriela would keep him since Gail and Balthazar had just found each other. The younger couple left them alone and Balthazar couldn’t sense his father’s presence anymore, which meant Merlin had left for a new destination.

“So many years I’ve waited for you. I was starting to give up,” Gail said lowly. The two of them were sitting by the fireplace in the evening, but Balthazar heard her just fine.

“I was so sure I’d die alone,” he added onto her words.

She smiled, looking into his eyes as they mirrored the blaze before them. “And now we’ve found each other.”

They stayed up all night, talking, laughing and getting to know one another. For the next week, no one bothered them thanks to Boris and Auriela. Those who truly knew Balthazar were happy that he’d finally met his mate.

“Do you really have to leave?” Gail whined as Boris and Balthazar prepared to head out on a mission.

“I do. I wouldn’t if I didn’t have to, but this mission is especially time sensitive. We don’t know when we’ll next get an opportunity like this,” he replied.

Being the sensible one of them both in that moment, Boris urged Balthazar to say his goodbyes so that they could leave. For the first hour of their journey, Boris teased Balthazar about Gail.

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to teleport you somewhere you’d much rather never be,” Balthazar threatened.

Boris scoffed. “The only place that could possibly scare me is back at the cave with Nervine.”

Nervine is the dragon that the Vikings had locked him up with.

“Nervine didn’t hurt you then, so I highly doubt she’d hurt you now. However, I’m one hundred percent confident in that a certain Demon King wouldn’t mind seeing you again,” Balthazar commented.

“Don’t even make jokes about that. He still hasn’t forgiven me after all this time,” Boris grumbled.

“Well, stop pestering me about Gail, and you might just live long enough to make it back to your mate,” Balthazar replied, chuffed with himself.

Boris chuckled. “But how are things with her?”

“They’re amazing. As you know, I’d already started to give up on ever finding her, so I am beyond elated to have her in my life now. She’s everything that I wanted and more,” Balthazar said happily.

“That’s generally how it is with them. It’s amazing how they just come into your life when you least expect it and completely change it,” Boris commented.

“I’m honestly more taken aback by how quickly she managed to do just that. She has me rethinking my entire life in just a week,” Balthazar added.

Boris raised an eyebrow. “Are you already contemplating marriage?”

“I am, but she’s not too keen on the idea. There’s something big that she isn’t telling me, and I obviously don’t want to force it out of her,” Balthazar shared his suspicions.

“Well did you ask her about whatever you think it is that she’s hiding from you?” Boris questioned.

Balthazar sighed. “Where would I even begin that conversation? How do I just come out and accuse her of hiding something from me when I’ve only known her for a week? What would I be basing my suspicions on exactly?”

“Your gut feeling – if there’s one thing I know about gut feelings, it’s that they’re rarely ever wrong, especially where your mate is concerned,” Boris responded.

“I hear you, I really do, but perhaps I should just let go of this notion. For all I know, she’s hiding nothing from me,” Balthazar argued.

“Or you’re just trying to convince yourself of that. Lying to yourself is just as bad as lying to someone else Balthazar. The damage can be just as bad, especially when you’re trying to convince yourself of something so big,” Boris countered.

Balthazar smiled. “Look at you being smart.”

“Again, having a mate can open your eyes to such obvious things,” Boris smirked.

“Well, I’m glad fate looked at us and decided that we deserved them after all,” Balthazar chuckled.

Boris joined him, laughing in agreement. They’d both felt the same way about meeting their mates for the longest time, even if Balthazar spent half of his time getting Boris out of trouble. Over the years, they’d formed a bond akin to that of a father and son, and Boris was more than grateful to have Balthazar in his life.

They continued on their journey with Boris silently questioning where they were going, and why they were travelling in the manner in which they were. He’d known Balthazar long enough to know that the man never just does things without reason, which made this trip of theirs especially mysterious.

The older man had shared nothing more than the fact that their latest mission was time sensitive.

They stopped for a while as Balthazar said a locator spell in Naturalist tongue. While he hadn’t told Boris where they were going, he was grateful that the young witch had simply agreed to go, despite the lack of information.

The truth was that Balthazar had been feeling bothered for a couple of days. He couldn’t help the itching feeling that something was about to happen, and that it was something he wouldn’t like.

When he realized that over ten years had passed, he knew that only one place would have the answers for him, or at least give him a starting point.

The Vaulsino had times when it could be easily allocated, and in the same way, it could be difficult to track down. Unfortunately for them, they were dealing with the latter, something that was proving to be difficult for Balthazar to navigate when he realized that the place was already playing games with him.

And he hadn’t even located it yet.

It always amazed him how The Vaulsino operated, and what was even more curious was its origin. As long as he’d been alive, he still didn’t know how the place came to be. All he knew were the bits and pieces passed down to him, as well as whatever he’d witnessed and experienced himself.

None of it had really been verified in any way.

“Where exactly are we going? We seem lost,” Boris commented after a while.

“We’re not lost. The place we’re going to keeps moving,” Balthazar replied.

Boris scowled. “The place keeps moving?”

Balthazar nodded and said nothing else. That’s when Boris knew that he wouldn’t be getting any answers to anything, so he didn’t bother asking questions. Instead, he continued to follow the older sorcerer, until eventually it seemed like they’d arrived.

“We’re in an empty field,” Boris unfailingly pointed out the obvious.

“I have to say a portal entry spell,” Balthazar informed.

“We’re heading to another dimension?” Boris asked.

“We’re not going to another dimension. The door to where I need to be is spelled so it will only reveal itself as soon as I’ve said the spell,” Balthazar explained.

Boris frowned. “You’re going into this place alone?”

“Yes, I am,” Balthazar confirmed.

“So, what did you need me for?” Boris asked slowly.

“This isn’t a normal place, and I need you to be able to track me should anything happen. You’re the only person I’m confident will find me should the need arise,” Balthazar replied.

Boris was beyond confused, and once again Balthazar shut down any opportunity for questioning as he started chanting. The spell shouldn’t have taken as long as it had, but because Balthazar is only half a Naturalist witch, he had to work double time to get a spell of that nature to work out.

Eventually the ground began to rumble as a portal emerged from it. Boris watched on in awe. In the years he’d been on missions with Balthazar, he’d never seen something like this before, and his curiosity peaked to an all-time high.

“Remember that should this portal disappear, then you need to start tracking me immediately,” Balthazar told him.

“And if I can’t find you?” Boris asked.

“Find my father.”

With that final instruction in place, Balthazar entered the portal. As soon as he’d gone through, a clear barrier formed outside of it and Boris understood then that not even the place wanted him to enter it.

With it being his fifteenth time going into it, Balthazar was already accustomed to the way in which it worked, so he was prepared for the whirlwind of feelings before he finally settled before the three podiums. What he also understood was that the place could switch up on him at any point, so he had to be alert.

He approached the middle podium and took the note:

Balthazar Beinvenido

As time has progressed, so has The Passage of Secrets. Nevertheless, with it being your fifteenth visit, you shall be spared the mystery and labyrinth. Instead, approach the envelope that calls to you most and you shall head onto an expedition based on that.

Happy journeying

The Passage of Secrets

A chill passed him for a number of reasons. Firstly, with how direct The Vaulsino was being with him, he felt like it was confirming what he already suspected about that moment in his life – something wasn’t right.

Secondly, unlike the other times where there were three, this time there were only two envelopes for him to choose from, which meant that he needed to evaluate his life and establish which two things were truly bothering him.

Lastly, he had to decide which of those two situations he needed the answers most desperately to.

Understanding that time was nothing in this place, he took his own time as he combed through his life. He’d just found his mate and a big part of him couldn’t help but wonder if her presence in his life warranted a big enough case to count as one of the two options.

He wasn’t quite sure with how many other things were going on in his life. However, he figured that she was more important than majority of those things. Furthermore, he wanted to truly believe that whatever she was hiding was big, and that it had the potential to have a huge impact in the future.

He just didn’t know how far into the future they’d have to go for his thoughts to be proven right.

Making up his mind, he guessed that one of the options had to do with his mate, which left him with the difficulty of narrowing down everything else in his life and ranking everything by priority.

He was sure he’d spent hours mulling over this other option, and when he realized that his top priorities were split, he acknowledged that he needed to make a decision based on either his gut or his curiosity.

A part of him wanted to know more about his mate, but he also kept in mind Boris’ words. Gail could very well open up to him about whatever he suspects her of hiding without him wasting a once in ten years opportunity for answers.

And he needed to trust that so that he wouldn’t regret the decision he made.

He knew The Vaulsino would reveal to him the option he wants to know most about, regardless of the fact that he was walking towards one of the options. He picked up the envelope and hastily pulled out the card inside.

What he didn’t expect to find was one name: Odessa Beinvenido.

He hadn’t even considered his mother as a possible option. He despised her, so much so that he would much rather prefer not to think about her. Yet the paper in his hands mocked him, forcing him to face a truth he wasn’t sure he was ready to face.

If he was lucky, The Vaulsino would spare him and only reveal a little bit of information to him.

With the new information on hand, his mind took off buzzing with all the possible reasons why he’d want to know about his mother above all. His mind travelled back to that fateful day when he watched her change before his very eyes.

For the first twenty-five years of his life, his mother was everything to him. He did all that he could to make her proud. Together with his father, the three of them lived a peaceful life, and he was well aware of the power that his parents possessed.

The day she killed Oden was a confusing one for him. He couldn’t quite place his emotions and it continued that way for a while. It was weeks later when the anger, the hurt, truly settled in. While he’d reacted from shock and disbelief in the moment, saying the words that he did to her, he’d never processed the feelings before, until that moment.

He couldn’t believe that his mother, the same woman he’d adored for so long, was capable of such heinous crimes. It was when he’d processed his feelings that he went around learning more about her reputation.

The more he found out, the more he despised her.

Odessa Beinvenido, though more popularly known as just Odessa, was a woman feared by many, something that he once again took a while to accept and truly wrap his mind around. More than anything, he watched what the whole ordeal did to his father.

Which is why a part of him understood where Merlin was coming from.

He tried to put himself in his father’s shoes. It can’t be easy to find out that the woman you loved for so long is not the same woman she truly is. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if he found himself in such a situation with Gail.

The vision at the end of the tunnel began to reveal itself now that he’d chosen an envelope, and he followed the path. By the time he reached the other end of the tunnel, it was dark around him. He didn’t know what it is he was meant to be looking out for, but he was certain that something would be revealed to him.

He managed to duck in time as a fireball came his way before a scene unfolded ahead of him. He watched on in horror as a weyr of dragons attacked a village. Everyone screamed and ran, trying to get to safety despite the dragons destroying everything in their path.

To the left, a moving figure caught his eye. He observed, his face changing to match the terror he was feeling as he watched one of the dragons land and transform into a man. Long, red hair flowed down his back as he walked towards him.

Balthazar was sure the man would walk past him, except the man walked until he was directly in front of him. He walked around him, inspecting him, while Balthazar tried to wrap his mind around the fear he was feeling around the man.

The man hadn’t even done or said anything, but apparently, he didn’t need to.

Balthazar quickly figured out that not only was the man before him powerful, but that one of his powers was that you feared him, whether or not you wanted to. There was just something about him that terrified your very soul.

“Spawn of Dessa,” the man spoke, his voice raspy and cracking. It was almost as though he needed to cough.

Balthazar stood still, not saying a single word as the man continued to walk around him. “You smell like a sorcerer.”

Balthazar maintained his silence as the man lifted a hand. When he brought it down, the ground split and the whole village fell into it. Everything disappeared up until where Balthazar was standing with the mysterious man, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the whole thing had been a memory or just a scene The Vaulsino wanted him to see.

The man stared straight into Balthazar’s eyes and Balthazar witnessed terror through this man’s onyx eyes. He watched people, supernatural beings and even animals perish at this man’s hand.

“Who are you?” he whispered, fear dripping from his tone.

“I go by many names,” was the cryptic response he received.

“What do you want from me? What is the significance of you being here? What do you have to do with my mother?” Balthazar questioned.

“It is not I who sent you here. You came to me,” the man responded.

“I did not choose to come to you. The Vaulsino sent me here,” Balthazar defended.

The man cocked his head to the side. “You are no longer in The Vaulsino young hybrid. You are quite far from it.”

“Where am I?” Balthazar asked, struggling to hide his panic.

“We will meet again young hybrid.”

Before Balthazar could utter another word, the man reached out to touch him before he felt himself being teleported. The last place he expected to be was back in his house. He could hear Gail’s voice in the other room and she sounded stressed.

“Gail?” he called out to her.

She came running into the room, stunned to see him there. “Balthazar? What are you doing here?”

“Am I really here?” he instead questioned.

“As opposed to…?” she trailed off.

“Where’s Boris?” he asked.

She frowned. “I don’t know. Where did you leave him?”

“Father, please find and fetch Boris and bring him here,” Balthazar linked Merlin. Within seconds the two men appeared.

“You’re back!” Boris exclaimed.

“What happened and how long was I gone for?” Balthazar investigated.

“You were gone for two days,” Boris informed.

Merlin looked worried. “Father, what is it?”

“There’s a dark and ancient essence around you. I’ve picked it up once before, but I can’t quite place my hand on where I was when I did,” Merlin commented.

“I’ve just been to The Vaulsino,” Balthazar linked him.

As someone who’s mated to a powerful Naturalist witch, Merlin adopted the ability to link back. “You don’t have any aura that suggests that you were there. Are you sure?”

“I spent half a day tracking the damn thing down. I’m pretty sure. However, this time was different,” Balthazar informed.

“Different how?” Merlin questioned.

“I saw a man with long red hair and void black eyes, and before I got back here, he told me that I wasn’t even in The Vaulsino. Before you ask, he told me that he goes by many names before teleporting me back here,” Balthazar elaborated, going deeper into detail about his experience. By the time he was done, he looked up to find that it was just the two of them left in the room.

Merlin put a shield around the room so that they could speak freely. “There’s a high possibility that The Vaulsino has been poisoned.”

“What? Is that possible?” Balthazar asked.

“It’s happened three times before, and the last time it happened, the whole thing almost ceased to exist. If what you’re saying is what I think happened, then there’s grave danger ahead of us. What was your reasoning for heading there?” Merlin questioned.

“I’ve had this eerie feeling for a while and I thought that I could perhaps get some answers from there, but when I arrived and was given the options, it was revealed to me that I wanted to know about mom the most,” Balthazar responded.

Merlin sighed. “Your mother and her never ending mysteries will be the death of me, but I have never heard her speak of such a man before, so I can’t say I know what the link between them is. The fact that this man told you that you were no longer in The Vaulsino also makes me curious about whether or not you were cast into a vision or whether you actually lived through the destruction of that village.”

After all, dragons were still alive then, so the theory wasn’t too far off either.

“Are you saying that it’s possible that he was right about me not being in The Vaulsino?” Balthazar asked.

“He sounds like someone who wouldn’t made idle statements. Also, the power associated with The Vaulsino is one that is yet to be traced back to its origins, which also means that we’re not entirely sure of the full extent of its power. It would be unwise of us to dismiss the idea altogether, especially if there’s a chance that it’s been poisoned,” Merlin explained.

“So, what do I do now?” Balthazar questioned.

“You do nothing. If there are to be any developments on this, then you’re just going to have to wait and let them play out. Be careful son,” Merlin said before disappearing.

While he’d tailed his wife before, now he needed to speak to her.

Nevertheless, it was almost as though she knew that he was looking for her because he seemed to always miss her. It was almost as though they were reliving the initial chase that brought them together, which was confirmed when he finally found her.

At the stream where she’d finally accepted him all those years ago.

“What do you want Merlin? I thought you and I no longer had anything,” she spoke, looking out at the stream.

“I’m not here to talk about us Dessa. I’m here to talk about our son and what plans you have for him,” he informed.

At the mention of her son, she turned, confused. “Balthazar?”

“Do we have another son together?” he asked sarcastically.

“How is he alive? He should be dead. The rest are dead,” she said, ignoring his jab.

“You really have no regret for what you’ve done,” he noted.

She frowned. “What gave you the idea that I did?”

He couldn’t believe it, but he wasn’t about to dwell on it either. “He survived because his sorcerer side protected him. I can’t believe you would kill your own son for power.”

“He made it very clear that he’s no son of mine,” she said coldly.

“And you believed him? He was speaking from a place of hurt after finding out that his mother isn’t who he believed her to be,” he pointed out.

“And you?” she was quick to ask.

“What about me?” he countered.

“What do you believe?” she asked.

“I believe that I don’t know the woman before me,” he admitted.

She frowned, not having expected his answer. “I’m still the same woman you fell in love with Merlin.”

“Are you really?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

She stepped forward to wrap her arms around his waist, something he allowed. “I’m still the love of your life.”

“I will always love you Dessa, but you are not the woman I fell in love with. Now tell me what your plans are for Balthazar,” he demanded.

“Believe it or not, I genuinely didn’t know that he was still alive. I thought he died with the others,” she confessed, stepping away from him.

“And you weren’t going to bother confirming whether that was true or not?” he questioned.

“I didn’t think twice about killing him Merlin. What makes you think I was worried about whether he was alive or not?” she replied.

He sighed, but he reached out to hold her hand anyway. “This isn’t you Dessa. Tell me that this isn’t really you.”

For a moment, she let herself bask in his touch. She’d missed it, despite letting the darkness take over. Her love for her husband was the one thing that could never be tarnished by the darkness, and she desperately wanted to tell him that, but she knew very well that he’d never believe her.

She pulled her hand away. “I can’t lie to you Merlin. This is who I am.”

“At least tell me that you won’t harm our son now that you know he’s alive,” he pleaded.

“I can’t promise you that. He may be a hitch in my plans,” she argued.

“A hitch? You’re talking about our son here!” he snapped, his voice rising.

“I know,” she said lowly, looking away.

She already knew that the decision wasn’t really up to her – it was up to him.

Merlin could only stand there, once more conflicted. He believed with every fibre of his being that the woman before him wasn’t the woman he fell in love with, and despite everything that she’d done, he still believed that she wasn’t doing all of it because she wanted to.

Something or someone was making her do all of the evil things, but he wouldn’t know where to begin to find the evidence to prove him right.

“I promise you that I will not hesitate to come after you if you harm a hair on his head Dessa. You may be forcing yourself to believe that you no longer care about him, but I love him wholeheartedly and I will not let you hurt him,” he warned.

She looked up at him, red tears sparkling in her eyes. “He’s lucky to have you. Don’t let the darkness win Merlin. Protect him at all costs.”

She was gone before he could even ask her what she meant.

It was only weeks later when he finally understood. He watched as his son and his prodigy lost their mates to his. A part of him felt like he was to blame because he’d been warned. He couldn’t bring himself to tell his son about his meeting with his wife.

He could only work to not only get her back to her true self, but to help his son get his mate back without him ever having to find out that he was failed by his ever so powerful father.