The Witch and the Wolf

Goodbye

[3rd person]

Hours had passed since the fire consumed Ennis's body. All that is left is a pile of ash. The sun is now high in the sky, and Emilia is awoken from her slumber by a nightmare.

She jolts into an upright seated position. Beads of sweat glisten on her brow while she pants slightly. Taking a moment to slow her breathing, Emilia wiped her forehead.

'What an awful dream.' She thought to herself. The dream replayed the previous day's events. 'I wonder why they didn't come.'

Emilia had not seen or heard her spirit elements since the day prior. She felt as though everything was a mess. Unsure about what to do, Emilia decided it would be best to just take care of Ennis's belongings until this mystery mate comes back. The thought alone of this man was enough to bring Emilia to her knees. He was tall and muscular. His shirt hugged his body just enough that she could see the slight rippling from his abs. His skin was pale and soft. It glistened under the moon. The sight was breathtaking.

Emilia continues to go through Ennis's things to gather the essentials for her upcoming journey. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stay there. She needed to find her way home. After packing a bag with her necessary traveling gear, Emilia took one last look around. Taking time to say good-bye to her mentor. Ennis was the closest thing she had to a mother figure in some time. At this point, the sun began to drift down from the sky and time began to move quickly.

Deep in thought, Emilia was startled when she heard a knock at the door. 'It must be him,' she thought.

She opened the door and there he stood. The look on his face amused Emilia. He looked as though he was a puppy waiting for his master to give him attention. She gave him a smile which made him look as though he was over the moon with happiness.

'Damn is he sexy.' Emilia thought to herself.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

She nodded, gathering her belongings. In her bag, she had a change of clothes, some crystals, the bones that Ennis used previously, and a few days' rations. Wrapped in cloth was Ennis's book of shadows, which now belonged to Emilia and was tightly in her arms.

"You know," Emilia said to the man. "I don't even know your name."

With a smirk, the man looked at Emilia and said, "I'm your mate. Do you really need to know more than that?"

'Oh... So this one is a smart ass I see.' Emilia thought to herself.

"Yeah... I don't really even know what that means, so how can I accept you as my mate or whatever if you don't tell me your name." She said, knowing exactly what it meant from the werewolf romance novels she had read.

He looked at her, and at that moment, she knew he was hurting. She wasn't intending to hurt him, just to play with him like he played with her.

"D-don't reject me," he said.

"I don't even know your name. Don't I need to know that to formally reject you?" She said with a grin, trying to show him she was just playing around.

He nodded, and grinned, "I won't tell you my name then. Wait, didn't you just say you didn't know what a mate bond was?" He started laughing.

With a large smack, Emilia facepalmed and shook her head. "Well... umm... yeah. Alright, no name. Let's go." She said.

He chuckled and looked at her, "My name is Gavin. Prince Gavin Matthew Denlew of the vampire kingdom."

"V-vampire kingdom? Like, real vampire? Blood sucking, cape wearing vampire?" She said with an uncertain tone.

"Why? Would you like for me to suck your blood?" He said in a seductive tone. He looked at her and laughed after seeing her draw back a bit.

Emilia had enough of his games. "Okay, Prince Gavin whatever, the whatever of the vampire kingdom. Where are we going? Because I have 2 options. One, I follow you and pray that I don't end up your meal because I'm your mate. Or two, I wander off into the woods alone, but something tells me you would just follow me regardless."

Gavin enjoyed his mate's sarcasm and sassy attitude. He smirked. "We are going to my home in the heart of the vampire kingdom."

'Well great! I'm going to travel into the heart of the vampire kingdom as a human. Great! I'm done for. I'll be seeing you soon Ennis.' Emilia thought to herself sarcastically. They both walked out the door and Emilia took one last look at the house.

"Goodbye my old friend," Gavin said. And with that, he snapped his fingers and a spark appeared. A crackling sound came from inside the house, and a small fire was then visible inside the home.

"What are you doing?" Emilia said, panicked.

"We must destroy the home so that none can follow. Some creatures can pick up the scent of others. The fire will ensure that you don't leave your scent and they can not follow you," Gavin said to Emilia.

She simply nodded and fought back the urge to cry. She may have not been there long, but this was like a second home to her. She loved the time she spent with her elements and Ennis. Emilia thought of all the fond memories she had there and all of the things she learned of magic and the ways of this world.

"I would have been lost if not for her. She was like a mother to me." Emilia sniffled.

"She was a fine woman and will be missed dearly." Gavin said, placing his arm around Emilia to comfort her. His skin was slightly chilled to the touch. Emilia didn't mind though. She liked the cold contrast his skin was giving her compared to the heat her own body was producing.

After a few moments, Gavin looked her in the eyes and said, "I am here to protect you now, but we should be moving. The woods begin to stir at night. Ennis protected this area and now that she is gone, there is no telling what may be out there." He cleared his throat. "I mean, I'm not afraid of anything, so you have nothing to fear, but we should move. This fire will draw the attention of unwanted guests."

Emilia just gave a simple nod and wiped her face of the liquid secreting from her eyes and nose.

With that, Gavin and Emilia began to head north through the woods towards the vampire kingdom.