The Child

Chapter 2

I get the necessities unpacked, and get the rooms made. I’ll deal with everything else tomorrow. We have dinner and I put Ollie to bed. Thankfully, he goes straight to bed with no fuss.

I grab my tea kettle and set it on the stove, ready to relax and read before bed. I open the front door and let Bru out, he sprints off the front porch, disappearing into the night. I sit on the step waiting for Bru to come back. I start playing with my magic.

I am blessed with the element of fire, water, and air which is extremely rare in our world. My dad is human with no magical abilities. My mom, on the other hand, was a powerful witch who was able to master fire and water. And somehow I got lucky and got three elements. I flick my finger and let the fire settle in the palm of my hand. It lights up the forest around me. I hear a twig snap and look into the trees on my left. I think something is there, but I am not sure. It must be the exhaustion and stress. I hear the tea kettle whistle and I go to make myself a cup of tea.

I have grab my mug and venture out to the porch swing to wait for Brutus. A couple of minutes later Bru comes walking up, and sits down in front of me, waiting for me to give him a good ear scratch. I can’t say no to that face. I reach over and dig in, and scratch him till his back leg starts beating up and down.

“Ok Bru, it’s time to head in. I need a shower and want to finish a couple chapters of my book.” I always talk to him like he is a person. He always seems to understand. I get up and open the door to let Bru in.

I finally get the shower I so desperately wanted. I let the stress of the move wash down the drain and just stand there, feeling the warmth seeping into my skin. I get out and dry myself off. I use my air element to dry my hair. I put it up in a messy bun and wrap myself up in my comfy robe.

I walk into the living room and realize that I need a couple more logs for the fire. I tell Brutus to stay, and walk out the door. Using my fire I create a fireball to light my way. I look up and see something looking at me. Bright green eyes staring at me. I knew I must be really exhausted. I walk towards the eyes and they disappear. I shake my head, knowing I need to rest. I grab a couple logs and walk back to the cabin.

Brutus was laying in front of the fireplace and lazily looks up at me. I knew I was imagining things because if it was something, Brutus would be going crazy. I take a deep breath and force myself to relax. I throw the logs on the fire, using my fire to rejuvenate the flames. I grab my book and lay down on the couch, opening my book. Before I know it, my eyes get heavy. I walk to the bedroom and flop down on my bed, set my alarm. I close my eyes and sleep takes me.

Joseph

I was in town dealing with business matters when I hear my brother, Andrew, talking to a local man. They were talking about a new comer to this small mountain town. That’s very rare here. As much as I love this town, I don’t see many people dropping everything to come here for the charm.

I listen to the conversation, hearing them talk about a young lady who dropped everything to move to a cabin in the woods. No one here can keep quiet about something like this. It’s odd enough to hear someone moving here, but a young woman by herself is unheard of. Interesting.

I butt into the conversation shamelessly, “what cabin did she move into?” My brother raises his eyebrow. The man he was talking to looked surprised.

“She moved into the Johnson’s old cabin. I guess they decided to move somewhere warmer in their old age.” I know the Johnson’s, they were good friends with my parents. I knew they moved, but I didn’t know they were selling their property. I had to check it out.

I signaled for Andrew to wrap it up and follow me.

“You aren’t going to check her out, are you?” My brother gives me a disapproving look, like he knows what I am about to do. I had to see this girl for myself.

I went to finish up my weekly check in with the local businesses in town. I am responsible for these people. This is my home. I have lived here my entire life, and felt the need to make sure everyone here was safe and prospering.

I went home after and took a shower. I was planning on checking out the Johnson property tonight. And maybe see this girl.

I got in my car and started heading to my destination. I parked on the side of the main road then started walking through dark woods. I knew where I was going, but thankfully I can see perfectly in the dark. I was getting close and a wonderful smell hit my nose, mint and chocolate! Yum. My beast inside me roared “MATE!”

After years of searching, could I really have found my mate? I reached the cabin and crept closer, trying to get a glimpse of my mate. I see only the living room is lit up, and I stay in the shadows waiting for movement. I hear the front door open, and see a HUGE German Shepherd run down the steps, followed by the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She was in a grey hoodie and jean shorts that showed off her beautiful tan legs. Her shiny platinum blond hair cascaded in thick curls down her back. She sat down on the steps on the front porch waiting for her dog to come back. The dog went around to the back, thankfully avoiding me.

I saw her sigh and flick her finger. Fire sparked in her fingertips, lighting up the world around her. I gasped. A witch! My mate was a witch. We don’t have many witches around here, also my kind and her kind don’t get along very well. I took a step back in surprise and stepped on a twig, snapping it. Her head snaps in my direction and I quickly step further back.

“I don’t think she saw me,” I thought to myself. A tea kettle starts whistling and she gets up and walks in the front door. Several minutes later she comes out with a mug in her hand then sits on the porch swing.

The dog runs up the steps and sits right in front her to give him attention. She scratches his ear, causing his leg to go wild.

“Ok Bru, it’s time to head in. I need a shower and finish a couple chapters of my book,” she says to the big puppy. Her voice was like a song I could listen to on repeat. I would never tire of hearing her talk. My beast purred at the sound. I watch her close the front door, and I hear the lock click.

I feel like a crazy stalker, trying to catch glimpses of this angel. I slowly and quietly walk up to the window and wait for her return. The dog was laying in front of the fireplace, my angel was no where to be seen. I wait, till finally she walks out of her bedroom in a bath robe with her hair piled on top of her head, looking so tempting. It took everything I had to calm my beast. He wanted to take her right there, and make her ours.

“Calm down, we will have her, we just have to be patient,” I tell my other half. I watch my angel get up and walk towards the front door. s**t! I quickly retreat to the tree line, watching her walk down the steps to the wood pile with a fireball in her hand to lead the way. She looks in my direction, and I see her eyes for the first time. The color of blue topaz. My favorite gem. My beast wants to go to her, making my eyes glow as he tries to reach the surface.

She looks in my direction and her big eyes widen. I blink to get my eyes back to normal. She takes a step in my direction, I take step back. In the end, she shakes her head and grabs a couple logs and walks back to the door. Once it closes I wait a couple seconds before walking back to the window to see her sitting on the couch, snuggled up reading her book.

Eventually she extinguishes the fire and goes to her room, closing the door. The dog in front of the fireplace gets up and lays down in front of the door next to hers, almost as if he is guarding a precious treasure in the next room.

I sigh and think what I should do next. I mind link Andrew, “I am gonna be out for the rest of the night, make sure things are taken care of on your end.”

“This wouldn’t be about the new girl in town, would it?” My brother asks.

“None of your business,” I reply, frustrated.

“Ok, sure, whatever,” Andrew says, laughing, as he closes the link.

I never thought I would sink this low, spying on my mate. I thought once I saw her, we would run to each other and live happily ever after. Sadly, I have a gut feeling this is going to be little more of a challenge than I thought.

I sit on the porch steps letting my mind drifting to her. I don’t even know her name, but I picture my life with her, embracing her, her giving birth to our children. I picture so many things, and before I know it, the sky starts to lightening with the coming sun. I get up and peek in the window.

She is already up, pouring herself a cup of coffee, headed towards the door to let the dog out.

Fuck!

I sprint to the trees hiding behind a big pine tree. Man, am I pathetic. I hear the dog run down the stairs. I look out behind the trunk of the tree and see the huge animal bounding towards me. The dog stops and sniffs the air, and makes a beeline in my direction. I am usually not scared of dogs, but this one was intimidating. It stops right in front of me, growling a little. I stand there and look at him, trying to see what he will do next. “It’s ok, I am a friend,” I tell the dog. I notice he is a boy, so I slowly bend down and say, “good boy!” His tongue comes flying out and licks my hand, wagging his tail. I pet his head then reach for his collar to look at his tag. It read Brutus. “Brutus, you’re a good boy.” He starts wagging his tail harder. Ok, I won the dog over, now for the girl.

Before I know it, the dog goes bounding back to the house. What an interesting dog. He seems almost human. I watch her let Brutus in the front door and I creep up to the window again. Then I hear it, a little cry from the second bedroom. My angel walks in the room and a few minutes later comes back with a toddler on her hip. s**t! She has a child! My heart shatters, knowing she has a man. A man has touched what is MINE! I run to the car and speed off, angry at the world.