Rejected - The Enchantress

A soft knock on my door pulls me out of my peaceful haze and the door opens before I can even stand up.

“How are you doing?” Sylas’s deep voice does nothing to dampen the peace I am feeling, in fact it is extremely soothing.

“I’m fine. How is Kevin?” He walks out to the balcony and sits on the edge of the other chair.

“Kevin is going to be fine. He should be fully healed in a day or two. How bad is your arm?” I glance down at the bandaging then back out at the trees at the edge of the forest.

“Hurts like hell, but I’ll live. I will burn the articles of clothing that were tainted with my blood. Everything is contained in a plastic bag for the time being.” He nods, but his eyes never leave mine.

“You did well fighting today. Alpha Daniels is pretty upset that his patrols missed their entry to his land.” I nod, unsure of what to say.

“Look, these people are untrusting of anyone who is not like them. Witches, humans, anything not wolf. Hell, they are untrusting of a lot of their own kind as well, but that fucker had no right to put his hands on you.” I smirk and let out a soft sigh as I sink further into the chair.

“The Mitchell’s were rougher than that mutt, so don’t sweat it.” I can see that my dark humor fell flat with him the second he furrows his brow.

“I told Alpha Daniels that we’re leaving first thing tomorrow. We will stop for breakfast in Jackson then finish the trip home. I would leave right now, but I think you and Kevin should get some rest.” I smile at him and lean my head against the back of the chair.

“I am ready to leave whenever you are. This place is beautiful, but most of the company is less than desirable. If Gregory is driving, we can always rest in the car.” He raises a brow and I watch the corners of his lips curl.

“I will have Gregory get the car ready. Go ahead and pack up, we will leave in thirty minutes.” I quickly throw everything back into my bag, taking less than ten minutes to make sure everything is packed, including the bag with my blood covered clothes. I can hear Syrus and Gregory in the hallway and overhear them talking about loading Kevin into the car then coming back for me, but rather than wait, I grab my bags and open the door, following behind them as they haul Kevin down the stairs.

“Eager to hit the road?” Gregory asks as we reach the main doors where Lana is standing like a damn watch dog. I shoot her a sharp glare as I answer him.

“This place lost its charm. I am ready to get the hell out of here.” She narrows her eyes at me as I mock salute her on my way past her. Once Kevin is loaded and my bags are stored in the back, we load up and leave without any hesitation. We drive more than ten miles in absolute silence, but to my surprise, it is Kevin’s voice from the back of the SUV that gets my attention.

“I’m sorry, Caitlin.” I turn in my seat so that I can see him, the worry and regret in his eyes is overwhelming.

“Knock that shit off. You have nothing to be sorry for. If you ask me, we make a pretty kick ass team.” He smirks and slowly shakes his head.

“You did most of the work. I just stood there looking pretty.” Everyone bursts out into a fit of laughter, sharing in the relief that he is feeling well enough to crack jokes.

“Man, I hate to tell you, but you look pretty rough. You should get to work on that beauty rest. There may still be hope for you yet.” Kevin raises his hand to me and I quickly place mine in it, smirking at how easily his hand could crush my tiny one.

“I’m really glad you’re okay.” I smile and nod my head.

“Same goes to you, Kevin. Now, get some rest.” He lays his hand over his chest and closes his eyes. I turn back around and stare out the window while Syrus sits by the front passenger window doing the same thing.

“You should get some rest too. It is a eleven hour drive and we won’t be stopping for at least six more hours.” Gregory states in a firm tone. I continue to stare out my window until I can’t keep my eyes open and I allow the darkness to claim me.

Smoke fills the air, the smell of burning flesh hangs heavy and only gets stronger to further I walk. I hear screams coming from up ahead and I run, hoping I can save them. I stop in front of a house, the only one not currently engulfed in flames.

‘Hello?’ I call out into the darkness beyond the open front door, but I am only greeted with silence. I slowly walk into the house, all of my senses on high alert as I stumble through the wreckage of another family’s life. I hear soft whimpers coming from a room down the dark corridor ahead of me and I slowly make my way toward it. Upon entering the room, I find a small figure curled up in the corner of the room that is dimly lit by the orange glow of the fire that has completely swallowed the building next door.

‘It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.’ I hold my hand out as I take slow steps toward it, but I slip on something on the floor, landing on my hands and knees in a pool of thick liquid. I lift my hand into the light shining through the window and feel my heart sink when I realize that I am covered in blood. I crawl quickly to the figure in the corner and pull them into my arms then hurry out of the house so that I can assess their injuries. When I make it to the front of the house, the fires around us have lit the entire area and I can clearly see the child in my arms, a little girl. As I set her trembling body on the ground, I gasp at the sight of the missing chunk of flesh on the side of her neck. I stare into her lifeless eyes, realizing that she has assed and the tremors in her body were from my own trembling hands. I look at the blood on my hands and watch in horror as it slowly absorbs into my skin and I feel a new kind of energy coursing through me, something primal and frightening is awakening in me.

A deep, menacing growl comes from the side of the house and I turn to find a large rust colored wolf stalking toward me with its teeth bared. Without a single thought, my rage explodes into a raging inferno inside me and I scream as the terrifying new energy bursts free, engulfing the wolf in flames and quickly reducing it to nothing more than a pile of ash.

“Wake up, Caitlin. Come on, it’s just a dream. Wake up!” The familiar deep voice pulls me from the dream that was far too vivid, far too real. My eyes open to find Syrus hovering over me in the moving car, a look that seems to contain every emotion from fear to shock gripping his features.

“I…I’m awake. I’m awake.” I am struggling to catch my breath, but I am pretty sure I was speaking out loud in an attempt to calm myself more so than responding to him.

“Fuck. You scared the hell out of us!” He sits back on the seat beside me. I force a playful smile, or the closest I can manage to one.

“Regretting your choice yet?” His serious expression slowly shifts into a cautiously amused one.

“Not yet, but if you keep this shit up, I very well might.” I sigh and turn back to the window, hoping I can keep him from seeing the fear in my eyes as the lingering images of my dream play on repeat in my mind.