The Unwanted Wolf

MARK

I entered the bedroom, surprised to not see Adira lying in bed. I heard water running from our bathroom and wandered over in that direction. I waited a moment, but when she didn’t come out, I knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Adira said in a quiet voice.

I opened the door and peeked inside. Adira was sitting on the toilet, looking completely drained with a dull look on her face. I looked around and saw the mirror was cracked. My mouth fell open and I rushed to Adira’s side.

“What happened? Are you okay?” I asked, checking her over to make sure she was okay. I didn’t see any physical wounds.

She blinked a few times, processing that I was in the room with her. She squeezed my hands and forced a smile. “I’m fine. I’m not hurt.”

I looked over at the mirror, confused as to how it got like that. Mirrors didn’t shatter for no reason, and Adira wasn’t the type to lash out in anger.

“What happened to the mirror?” I asked, hoping to get more clarification.

She turned and looked at the mirror, her eyes widening. “I didn’t realize that actually happened. It was weird. I came in here to wash my face, and I was practicing some magic, and then this image suddenly appeared in the mirror. I’m not quite sure what it was or what it meant, but then it disappeared and these words appeared. Next thing I knew the mirror cracked. I thought it was all part of the vision or whatever.”

As I listened to Adira’s story, I squeezed her hands tighter, afraid to let go. She seemed so out of it, and I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Something was definitely throwing her off, and I had a feeling it wasn’t just the mirror cracking. I wanted to know what she saw in this vision.

“What words appeared?” I asked. I brushed her hair out of her face.

She looked at our hands and then looked back up at me. “You’re mine.”

My stomach dropped hearing this. It was clear this was a message sent to Adira, likely by this Son of B***d and Magic, and I didn’t like it. I knew nothing about whoever it was, and I felt like Adira wasn’t safe in our own home. I felt helpless about the whole situation, and I needed more information.

“Maybe Ginger would know what this was,” I suggested. She had helped us out when Adira was first getting used to her magic. I wasn’t sure how involved in this sorcerer world she was, but I was sure she had to know more about all of it than us. Maybe she could use her magic to help us stop whoever this was from invading our home at the very least.

“I sent a message to her, but I haven’t heard back yet,” Adira said.

“Did someone say my name?” a familiar voice said from the doorway.

–

ADIRA

When I saw Ginger in our room, I jumped up and ran to her, throwing my arms around her neck. I was thrilled to see her. It had been too long since we left her house to face Theron.

“You came,” I said, a sense of relief filling me.

“Of course I came, girl.” Ginger gently knocked me on the head, even though I was taller than her. “You asked for my help. Did you think I was just going to abandon you? Have you no faith in me?”

I shook my head, smiling. “No, I just hadn’t heard from you. I wasn’t expecting you to just show up.”

Ginger rolled her eyes. “Letters are so tiresome, and I already get letters from Daniel on an almost daily basis. I didn’t feel like writing another letter to you when I could just show up.”

“You have impeccable timing,” Mark said.

Ginger squirted at him. “Boy, why are you sitting on the bathroom floor? Do you know how dirty that is?”

Mark quickly stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. “I was just, uh.” His words fell off, and he was definitely feeling flustered around Ginger. Ginger was one of the most blunt people we knew.

“Give him a break,” I chuckled. “He was checking on me.”

Ginger looked me up and down and then c****d her head to the side. The mirror caught her eyes, and she moved towards it. Her fingers reached for the glass, and they hovered about an inch away from it. A soft blue light glowed from her fingers as she moved her hand around.

“This is some old magic.” She looked over at me. “This was not your doing.”

I shook my head. “I was in here, and this image appeared. It started playing like some blurry, animated movie. Words appeared, and then the mirror broke.”

“Did you touch the glass?” she asked.

I nodded. “I touched the mirror, and that’s when it all started.”

She hummed, expecting that answer from me. She walked out of the bathroom and went straight for our bed. She looked at it and then moved away, deciding that’s not where she wanted to be. She left our room and started heading for the stairs.

I ran after her with Mark just a step behind me. She went down the stairs and straight to the kitchen. She knew exactly where she was going, even though she had never been here before. Several warriors were walking around the pack house, but Ginger weaved in and out of them with ease. I bumped into some of them, trying to keep up with Ginger.

She finally stopped when she made it to our kitchen. We had several pack members cooking food to make sure we had enough food for all of our guests, but Ginger didn’t seem to mind them. She went straight for one of our cabinets and grabbed some tea out of there. She then walked back to me, holding up the box of tea packets.

“Is this all of the tea you have?” she asked.

I stared at her for a moment, a little confused as to what was going on. “I’m not sure. I don’t really drink tea. Umm, Ginger, what about the-”

“Not here, dear. First I’ll get my tea and then we’ll talk.” She scurried around the kitchen, grabbing what she needed to make her tea.

I looked back at Mark, who shrugged. He walked up to me and put a hand on my h*p, pulling me into him.

“Are you okay for now?” he asked.

I looked up at him, and I could still see the worry creasing his face. “I’m okay. If you need to go do something, don’t wait around on my behalf.”

He looked back at Ginger, and his grip tightened on me. I could tell he didn’t want to leave. “I’m leading the first patrol, which will start soon. I need to make sure I’m ready for that. If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to link me.”

I smiled at him and placed a gentle k**s on his lips. “I’m not going to bother you while you are on patrol, unless it’s an emergency. There are plenty of people around here who can help with anything I might need. Besides, I’m sure Ginger and I have a lot of talking to do once she gets her tea.”

Mark still didn’t look convinced, but he let out a sigh. “Fine. I’ll see you when I get back.” He placed a k**s on my forehead.

I wrapped my arms around his torso and held him for a moment. I wasn’t ready for him to leave so soon. We barely had time together the past few days, and I felt like there was so much I needed to talk to him about. There were things we both needed to do though.

“Will I get you to myself for a bit tonight?” I asked.

“I will make sure of it,” he said.

“All right, you two. You’ll be fine for a few hours.” Ginger walked up with a cup of steaming tea in her hands.

I gave Mark one last squeeze before pulling away. “Stay safe out there.”

Mark smiled. “Always.” He kissed my lips one last time before parting and heading towards the back yard.

“I’m ready now,” Ginger said, looking at me expectantly now that Mark was gone.

I looked around the kitchen at all of the new faces buzzing around. After Alpha Lyna’s speech, I wasn’t sure how everyone felt about sorcery. People outside of my pack didn’t know about my true identity, at least to my knowledge, and I didn’t want them privy to this kind of information.

“Let’s go somewhere a little more private.”

I led Ginger to one of the conference rooms before we continued our conversation. We sat down, and she sipped her tea. I waited for her to start talking, but she was taking her time, which made me nervous.

“Mirrors have been used for communication for a long time,” Ginger finally said. “They can also be used to spy on people, too. Not many sorcerers use them these days, especially with technology. It’s a much older practice. Do you have any idea of who might be trying to contact you?”

“We think it’s the Son of B***d and Magic. My parents told me that I’m part of some prophecy involving him. I don’t really know…” My voice dropped off as I saw Ginger’s expression change.

Her face turned almost white as I spoke, and her eyes were wide. “What did you say, girl?”

“The Son of B***d and Ma-”

“Oh dear,” Ginger said, cutting me off. “This is making much more sense. I didn’t even think about that. I should have. It makes sense.” Ginger stood up and started pacing around the room.

I watched as she muttered to herself, working through this new information. I could feel her anxiety pulsing through her.

“So you know about the prophecy?” I finally asked, pulling Ginger’s attention back to me.

Ginger stopped and looked at me. “Yes. I know more than most.’’ She stopped and sat back down. She pushed her tea away from her. “When I was a young girl, there were rumors of a hybrid boy who was born.”

“Like me?” I asked.

“Yes, and no.” Ginger looked around, almost afraid that someone was listening. She stood back up and ran her hands over the walls, creating a magical seal around us. She sat back down when she was done, but she was mulling over how to proceed.

Finally, she began again. “There was a son born of a sorcerer and a vampire a long time ago, and he became known as the Son of B***d and Magic.”