Full Moon Bliss: a Heavan's End Kitchen Witch story

Chapter 3

Caleb was a little put off by the lack of real concern from Daphne, doesn’t she know she could die, or be tortured? His guess was that the witch who trained her, her Gran, didn’t fully explain the situation. She was going to have to fight eventually, but in order to fight, she would need back up. A group of people who would be there to support her and give her the power to battle an entire coven to ensure that Balor would stay hidden away from the mortal world.

Caleb didn’t fully know why they were calling on Balor or what would happen if the god awoke to walk the earth again, but if the other coven was successful he knew whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good.

As Daphne walked down the stairs ahead of him, Caleb couldn’t help but think about her eyes and the way they were almost glowing when she was in a trance. He had met a few full fledged witches in his life, but he had never seen one go into a trance and almost be able to see their soul through their eyes. Her eyes were already unnaturally golden brown anyway, almost like fresh honey, but when she was in the trance, they glowed so aggressively it almost took his breath away. He felt like he could fall into the deep pools of honey and never come up again.

If her eyes were a little unnerving, the rest of her was terrifying. She was beautiful in a dangerous way. Especially for Caleb. He had heard stories of people in the order who had fallen in love with the witches they were sworn to protect and they became a liability to the witch and the order. It usually ended with the witch and their protector being killed. The last protector to be in that situation was tortured while he watched his witch’s soul be removed from her body and ripped to shreds. It was quicker for the protector, but no less painful. Witches have a way of messing with mortal’s minds to cause them to feel like every moment of their life has been full of physical and emotional pain. It is like every memory they have is masked in a shroud of pain, even if it was the best memory they have held onto. Most protectors who have dealt with that sort of torture have been deemed as “mentally broken” after the face.

This would be a hard assignment for him for sure, he had a thing for beautiful women with pretty eyes and an ass that wouldn’t quit in her tight jeans, and damn if her brests weren’t pulling at her shirt behind her apron and making him think about how one would easily fill up his hand.

He needed to stop. He needed to focus. This was more than just him, this was her and possibly his entire world.

Daphne was already in the kitchen and putting boxes in a tote bag. She had pulled off her apron and had turned to walk out the back door when she realized Caleb was still there. “Would you like me to set you up a place here so you can stalk me easier, or should I just look for you in the shadows?”

Caleb smiled, “I think if I were going to stalk you, I would have better sense than to do it three feet behind you.” This is how they are going to do this then, she will give him ten minutes of serious consideration for the big issue then she will be snarky the rest of the time. He could handle it, it isn’t like he hadn’t dated a woman before. Maybe she was just the kind of person who dealt with stress by making jokes. He could get behind that too.

She smiled tightly, nodded her head, and grabbed her keys and bag off the counter in the kitchen, and walked out the back door. Caleb followed. As she got to her can she fumbled with the keys and Caleb wordlessly took them from her hand.

“You know I can drive right?”

“I am sure you can, but we don’t know if Balor’s coven knows your location yet and I would like to be close by until we know what they know.” He unlocked the doors and got in the driver's seat. Her care was small for his large frame, but with a little adjusting and a small prayer that his knees would fit under the steering wheel, Caleb slid into the driver’s seat and started the car. Daphne glared at him from the passenger’s seat.

“I really don’t know how you think it is ok to walk into my life and twenty minutes later think it is ok to follow me around and drive my car. I don’t even know you.”

“What would you like to know? My name is Caleb Weston, I am a protector in the Order, I have been sent to keep you safe. What else is there? Your grandmother explained this to you during your training, right?”

“That doesn’t mean I know you.”

“I need directions.” Caleb was trying to be as cold as he could be. He didn’t want to get to know her, he didn’t want to risk it. He knew Daphne was probably going to need time to process everything she had learned, but he also knew that she would not give herself the space if she could throw herself into work, he did the same thing.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Take a left out of the lot and a right two blocks down, Mrs. Blake’s house is on the right. It has a big tree in the front and rose bushes in front of the porch, you can’t miss it.”

He pulled out of the lot and less than five minutes later he was stopping at a big house with a tree and rose bushes.

As Daphne got out, she turned to look back at him. “Stay in the car, it will only take a few minuets to set everything up and then I have to head back to the bakery.”

And just like that she was gone. She had grabbed the bag and walked up the porch steps and into the house. She had paused just a few seconds to knock and the door was promptly opened by a smiling older woman in a red dress.

What did Daphne want from her? His full life story? That wasn’t happening. Caleb sat in the car and thought about the conversation he had with her in her office. It had been quick and she understood the reason he was there. The Order had to protect her. He had to protect her. Now he just had to convince her to trust him and not just the Order.