Hiding from the Beta

Chapter Fourteen

Tahlia’s pov

I looked around my room and sighed, the clock on the end table told me that it was just after five in the morning. I stood up and walked into the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror, my hair is dull, my eyes are dull, and I have dark circles under my eyes.

I turned to the shower and flipped the water so that it was as hot as I could stand it. I climbed in and allowed the hot water to soothe my aching muscles. I couldn’t believe what mom told me. I was technically half princess. I reached for the conditioner and rubbed it through my hair.

Once I was all clean I wrapped myself in a bright white towel and climbed out of the shower. I quickly dried off and put the towel on the rack. I walked out and jumped backwards, “who are you?” I growled, whoever this man was I could feel the power radiating off of him. My hair stood up on end from the power that poured from him.

The man stood up and walked towards me, “I just learned about you.” He said.

I narrowed my eyes, “you didn’t answer my question.” Daphne was now growling in my head. She did not like this stranger one bit.

He reached his hand out for me and touched my bare shoulder. I pulled away from him, I grabbed a blanket that was hanging on the chair and wrapped myself in it.

“I just wanted to know if it were true, your powers have only presented in the last day or so. However, I can already feel how powerful you are.”

“Who are you?” I growled again.

“I just wanted to see who it was that carried so much power. Now that I have,” He took another step towards me. “I may not want to let you go. Your powers are beyond what I have ever felt.”

He reached for me again and instead of pulling away from him and grabbed his arm, ducked down and twisted his arm behind his back. He instantly started to laugh, “oh, your great grandmother was just as feisty.”

I growled again, “I will ask one last time, who the hell are you?”

Suddenly he vanished from my grip and reappeared near the door, “Bartholomew.” Then he vanished again.

I looked around the room but he had completely vanished. I quickly threw on a pair of jean shorts, tank top and a sweatshirt. I yanked my door open and yelped when I ran right into Timothy. “Whoa, you okay?” He asked.

I looked at him confused, “I thought you were still at the pack hospital.” I told him.

He smirked then said, “doc let me out early. Said that I was good and to just take over the counter pain meds to manage the pain. If anything changes I should go back and see him.” He looked at me concerned, “are you okay?”

I shook my head, “no, someone was in my room.” He burst through the cracked door behind me and started to look around.

“Oh yeah, someone was here, I can feel the residual energy he left.” He held his hands out and took a deep breath, “definitely a very old warlock.”

I turned and walked away from the room. I headed straight to the stairs that led up to Doris’ apartment. I knocked ten times, the light flicked on and she opened the door. She must have been getting ready because her hair was wet from a shower.

He eyes widened when they saw me, “what’s wrong?” She asked.

“Have you ever heard of Bartholomew?” I asked.

Her jaw dropped, “you’re kidding? Please tell me you just heard of that name somehow.”

I shook my head, “he appeared in my room. He said he wanted to see who was radiating all this power.”

She grabbed me and pulled me into her room, Timothy followed and closed the door. “If you’re on his radar that is not a good sign.” She opened a cabinet that was located next to her glass dining table. She started to pull out various herbs and bottles. Some she put back, others she set down on the table.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“He is a terrible person, he has been known to kidnap people whose power he feels matches his own, or those he finds interesting.” She said as she ran to the kitchen.

“What does he do?” I asked.

She stopped and turned to look at me, “he drains them of their powers. Takes it for himself.”

“What would that do to the person he takes it from?”

“Eventually the person goes completely crazy. Every single person that it has happened to has either died in the process or has killed themselves within the month.”

My mouth went dry, “wait, so you’re saying he wants my power? We don’t even know how strong I am.”

Doris bit her lip, “um, hun, I could feel your energy change each hour. Even since last night your power has significantly grown.” She said.

“She is right, your energy almost matches the one that was in the room.” Timothy added.

I looked around the room shocked, “what do I do?”

“Well for starters, it’s time for you to accept the help from the pack. Then we need to get you a permanent residence, there I can put up charms to keep you hidden. I can’t do it in public areas, there is too much energy from others, the spell gets too confused.”

I looked at her curiously, “how does a spell get confused?” I asked.

She sighed, “I haven’t been fully trained. Remember, everyone that I knew was killed by hunters. I have a fair amount of spells that I am not able to perform perfectly.”

I nodded my head and turned to look at Timothy, his face had gone suddenly pale and tears in his eyes. “Timothy, you okay?” I asked.

He shook his head, “ah, yeah. I am good.” He wiped his face with his hands, “Doris what can I help you with?”

“Nothin’ hun. I just need to blend these together.” She said as she grabbed a stone bowl from the bottom of the cabinet.

“What are you making?” I asked.

“It’s similar to a binding spell. It won’t remove your powers like one though. This will simply hide them from others, it’s only a temporary fix. This will last about two, maybe three days.”

She quickly added all her ingredients in and started to mash them up. The room started to smell from all the different spices and herbs. She placed the stone bowl onto the gas stove. She lit it and instantly a grey smoke started to come from the bowl.

“How long does this part take?” Timothy asked.

“Not long, once the smoke turns red I need to add eight ounces of water.” She sighed, “then we have to let it keep going until the smoke turns purple.”

I nodded my head and made my way towards the front windows in her living room. “If this Bartholomew guy is so bad, why haven’t the royals done anything about him?”

“The problem is that he was once a royal, his royalty status was removed centuries ago. He knows how to keep his distance from them too. He is also a trickster, he has masted thousands of spells that most witches and warlocks only dream about doing on their best days.”

“Like vanishing and reappearing in a different place?” I asked.

“Yeah, that’s one of his favorite things to do actually.” She mumbled.

“Have you met him?” I asked her curiously.

She bit her lip, “once, he killed one of my friends’ family. They were pretty powerful people, her father refused to join him. He was never thrilled that he wasn’t king. He was trying to form an army to overrule the royals. That’s part of the reason the king and queen wanted to ensure there was more than one ruler.”

I sat on the couch and pulled my knees to my chest, “how is he still alive?” I asked.

“We aren’t quite sure, in all honesty he shouldn’t be alive. He was born hundreds of years ago. No witch or warlock is immortal, he has to be taking his life force from somewhere.”

I sighed and curled further into the couch, not wanting to even think about where he could be getting that life. “I need to talk to the alpha.” I sighed.

“Are you going to accept his offer?” Timothy asked, he sounded quite hopeful.

I looked out the window and nodded my head, “I don’t think I have any other choice.”

“It’s done.” The sound of liquid hitting the bottom of a glass was heard. She walked over to me and I took it. The smell was terrible, I looked up at her with a grimace on my face. “I know, it smells terrible, and it tastes just as bad.”

I sighed and plugged my nose before I dropped the entire contents into my mouth and swallowed quickly. I unplugged my nose and started to gag.

“Here, drink this.” She handed me a can and I quickly drank it. I grimaced at the can as the liquid burned down my throat.

“What the hell is this?” I asked as I started at the brightly colored can.

“Sorry, alcohol is the only thing that helps cover the taste at first.” I looked at the bright yellow can and saw that the words pineapple margarita were written across it.

I looked up at her, “pineapple? I had no idea there was such a thing as a pineapple margarita. Why does it taste so bad?” I asked.

She chuckled, “it tastes a lot better when it’s cold.” She stood up and walked back to the kitchen. I looked at the time and it was nearly seven in the morning.

“What are you thinking about?” Timothy asked, I looked at him and sighed. “That bad, huh?”

I smirked, “no. I was just wondering if it was too early to call the alpha of night shadows or not.”

He shook his head, “nah, he was up when I was leaving. He was talking to a guard who was going to escort me back to town.”

I nodded my head, “can I use your phone?” I asked.

He nodded his head and pulled it out of his pocket. “His number is in my contacts. It’s under Cullen Jameson.”

“Thanks.” I grabbed his phone and flipped to his name. I sighed and hit the send button.

I heard a deep voice on the other side of the line say, “what now Timothy?”

“Um, it’s not Timothy. It’s Tahlia, I would like to take you up on your offer.” I told him as I leaned back into the couch. Uneasiness filled me.

“That’s wonderful news. Are you wanting to join the pack or just use the house?” He asked.

I sighed again, “just use the house. Maybe things will change in the future.” I told him.

“Okay, since you are calling from Timothy’s phone, can you have him show you how to get to the old house? He knows where it is.”

I glanced at him then looked back at my knees. “Yeah, I can ask him. What time should I be there?”

“Be there in half an hour. We can discuss an arrangement.”

“Okay, I will be there. Thank you Alpha.” I said in an attempt to be respectful.

“You’re welcome, Tahlia.” He hung up and I gave Timothy his phone back.

“Can you show me how to get to the abandoned house not far from here?” I asked.

He smiled, “sure can, it’s about a twenty minute walk from here.” I told her.

I nodded my head, “then we better start heading out. He wants me there in thirty minutes.”

“Alright, you should go get a different pair of shoes on then. It can get kind of muddy.”

I got up and hugged Doris and thanked her for the potion. I told her I would be back later to help her with some of her daily chores. She of course told me not to worry about it.

Within five minutes we were on our way, “come on, we need to cross the road.”

“How do you know where this house is?” I asked.

He chuckled, “that’s a bit of a tale.”

“We have some time.” I told him as we started to walk towards the edge of town.

“Well, it was the place where the alpha apologized to me.” He said as he held a tree branch to the side as we walked into the forest.

“What did he apologize for?”

“Well…” He sighed, “ as you know I am a hunter, well by blood I am. My parents were terrible people. Killed hundreds of people and used my gifts to track down witches in particular. I told them I didn’t want to be a hunter anymore when I was twelve.” I could sense his heartbeat quicken the more he spoke of his parents. “Anyways, it doesn’t matter, in the end my parents forced me to get this tattoo. The alpha over reacted when he saw it and nearly killed me.”

I looked at him shocked, “he nearly killed you?”

He nodded and jumped over a fallen log, he held his hand out and I smirked. I jumped right over it and he looked at me in awe. “I wish I could do that.” He said.

“Most hunters can.” I told him.

He shook his head, “I can’t, instead I can sense things.”

I nodded my head, “okay then. You were talking about the alpha?”

“Right, well one day after I was feeling better I started to walk around the forest. I wanted to learn about the forest that I was surrounded by. I stumbled upon this place. His first mate is buried here along with their unborn child.” He smiled a little as we continued to walk, “well he apologized and that is how I learned about this place.” He said.

“How much farther is it?” I asked.

He came to a stop and smiled, I watched him curiously. He walked to the bushes in front of us and pulled them back. The sight I saw I couldn’t believe. There was a huge farm style house standing in front of me.

The house was dirty on the outside, shutters were gone, windows were boarded up. There was a ton of overgrowth in the yard. The house was surrounded by all kinds of trees. I started to walk up the steps when I heard someone clear their throat.

I turned to see Alpha Cullen standing there. “How are you feeling?” He asked.

“A little better.” I told him.

He nodded and looked up at the house, “I know it doesn’t look like much-“

I quickly cut him off, “are you kidding, it’s gorgeous!” I told him.

He looked at me shocked, “really? It’s a disaster.” He said with a dumbfounded expression.

I shook my head, “no, it’s a blank canvas waiting to be brought back to life.”

He smiled, “well let me show you the inside.” He walked up the creaky steps and pulled out a key. He unlocked the door and pushed it open on its squeaky hinges.

I smiled as I followed him inside, the room was dark until I heard a crashing sound. I turned to see that Timothy had pulled one of the plywood boards off the window. I smiled as I looked around.

I was standing in the entrance to a large house, if I went to my right I would walk into the kitchen and a little kitchenette. If I went left I would walk into the living room. Directly ahead of me was a hallway and a set of stairs going up. “Wow.” I whispered.

“That’s was my first mate said too. This was her dream home, I had renovated it for us to raise our family in. I never finished it and after it’s been sitting for so long things have begun to rot. And there is a bit of a termite infestation.” I nodded my head. “You can live here for free, you just need to fix it up. I will pay for whatever supplies you need.”

I looked at him shocked by his kindness,”I don’t know what to say.”

He smiled, “I have one more thing I want to show you.” He motioned for me to follow him.

I did, we walked into the kitchen and out the back door. When we walked out I couldn’t contain my reaction. A gasp left my lips and my hand flew to my mouth.

“This was her favorite part of the entire property.” He said with a hint of sadness. “I buried them right there. I haven’t been here in years.”

He pointed to a statue in the middle of a group of willow trees that made almost a complete circle. Their long flowing branches flew gently in the wind. I walked to the statue that was now completely covered in plants. I could vaguely make out that it was a woman holding a baby in her arms.

I turned around and saw that Cullen and Timothy were still by the house. I walked back up to them, “when can I get started?” I asked.

They looked at each other, “now if you’d like, as long as Timothy is feeling up to it.” He said.

Timothy nodded his head, “I just need to get my tools.” He said.

“The shed will have all the tools you need.” He said as he pointed to a white shed that looked like a miniature barn. “I am headed back, you know how to get a hold of me.” He said, before he turned and walked back towards the forest.

“Well, shall we start with the shed then?” Timothy asked me with a smile.

I nodded and walked to the shed, I pulled the door open and smiled when I saw all the tools and everything we would need. “How do we get rid of the termites?” I asked him.

He chuckled, “easy, Doris.”

I looked at him confused, “she has a great spell that gets rid of all that kind of stuff. How else do you think she keeps her building in such perfect condition?”

“Hard work.” I said.

He chuckled, “come on, let’s start by taking down these boards before it gets too hot.” He grabbed the ladder and walked out of the shed. I smiled as I watched him walk away. I had a feeling that this was going to be a great friendship.