CHAPTER 13
Stracey
My eyes open, and immediately, I need to close them. The light is blinding me from the window. It dawns on me where I am and who I’m with. I feel Jasper’s arm wrapped around my body. His front is spooning up against my back, with his large member pressing against my backside. Just as I think about Jasper’s manhood, I replay what we did last night, on not just one occasion, but numerous times. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as loved and cherished in my life. I just hope he doesn’t wake up this morning and regret what we did, because I don’t; far from it. I’ve waited to feel this love from Jasper, and now I don’t know what I’ll do if he shuts down again.
His arm tightens around me. His warm breath on my neck makes me still. I relish his touch and relax back into his embrace. Goosebumps spread up my arms.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispers groggily. “I thought I’d been dreaming, but then I wake up to the most beautiful woman in the world lying beside me.”
“Did you sleep okay?” I ask.
“I did. Eventually.” His husky laugh makes me turn on my back. I know exactly what’s running through his head right now, because it was gone three a.m. before we settled down to sleep. It was like something snapped inside of us and we needed to be together. All the years of pent up frustration spilled over and we made the most of it.
“Me too. I think we need to get up,” I say cheekily.
“Five more minutes.” He leans over and places his mouth over mine. I feel the shockwaves run through my body, but nothing and no one else enters my head. Jasper stills, lifts his mouth away from me, and listens carefully. “Sorry, we need to get up. Something’s wrong.” He climbs off the bed and dresses in last night’s clothes.
“Jazz, what’s going on?” I jump out of bed and pull on my clothes just as quickly.
“I’m not sure, but I hear someone shouting for Lelland. It wasn’t a good shout either.”
He grabs my hand and we quickly walk down the staircase. I’m terrified about losing my footing, but Jasper is on a mission and he has one aim; get to the raised voices. The closer we get to the dining room, the louder the voices get.
“What’s going on?” Jasper asks as we stop in the doorway.
Lelland responds first. “Come in. Jasper, this is Ashley. Ashley, this is Jasper. He’s here to help us sort out this little problem.”
Ashley holds her hand out to Jasper. “Nice to meet you. Lelland speaks very highly of you.”
“Likewise. I’m surmising you’ve met Callum and Kevin. This is Stracey. She’s our pack healer back home, but she’s been pulled, or rather dragged in to help us.”
“Nice to meet you.” Ashley holds her hand out to me and I accept it. “I’ve just been filling in Lelland. I got a call from the sheriff. It looks like these bastards are targeting innocent young people from the nature trail. Over the last twenty-four hours, four civilians have gone missing. It’s one thing our own kind vanishing, we can hide that under the radar. We can’t hide human disappearances as easily. All of us could become a target if this gets out.”
I can hear the fear and agitation in Ashley’s voice, and I desperately want to help them fix this.
“It sounds like they’re taking people for their food source. It can only be for that fact.” Callum steps forward and leans his hands on the table. A look passes between Callum and Jasper and I focus on the man I love. He’s deep in thought and looks tense.
“Jazz, what are you thinking?” I lift my hand and squeeze his bare arm.
“It’s been a long time since we came across something like this, but it didn’t end too well. It isn’t often that wolves and vampires come together, but when they do, it’s usually to create an army. But what we need to find out is why. You need to tell us everything, Lelland. How long has this been going on? How many people have vanished?”
“We knew about the rogue wolves about six months ago. They lay dormant and didn’t cause any issues. It’s only the last three months we’ve noticed wolves and vampires going missing. It could’ve been going on right under our noses, but we had a lot going on at home.” Lelland sinks into his chair at the head of the table. His hands run through his hair, resting on the back of his neck, and Lavina makes her way to his side and takes his hand.
“Do you know of any reasons why they’d be doing this?”
“None.” Ashley speaks up first. “The last two weeks, my husband and I, even Lavina, were followed. They don’t care who sees them. They have no fear, Jasper.”
“You said they have a witch,” I say.
“Yes. We’re unsure of who or what talents the witch holds. There’s wards around the camp they’ve set up. We’ve tried to break them with very little luck.”
“Okay. Well, maybe I’ll try a simple looking glass spell. If I can get a feel into what’s happening in the camp, how many there are, how many casualties, it’ll give you a better understanding of what you’re up against.” I look around the room at all eyes on me. “What?”
Jasper wraps him arm around my front and pulls my back into him. “Will you be able to break the wards?”
“Probably. I won’t be breaking any wards until I know what you all face. You need to be prepared for whatever fight is coming your way. I won’t lose any of you.”
I turn in Jasper’s arm and face him. His eyes meet mine and I wait for a fight, but nothing comes.
“I like you already,” Ashley says from behind me. “Let’s get started, because if they take any more humans, I’ll have to go oriental crazy on their asses.”
“Are we going to stand back and let the women take charge?” asks Callum, causing Ashley and me to turn and glare at him. “Jasper, really?”
“What do you want me to do, Callum? We can’t do anything until we have a clear picture of what’s happening. Stracey is the only link we have to that information. Ashley seems touched by this situation. Am I right?”
Jasper and Ashley stare at each other until she says, “I don’t like what they do to innocent people. I care about this town. It’s been a second chance for me and my family. We’ve made a life here. Why should that stop because wolves and bloodthirsty vampires want power?”
“Nice to know what you think of us,” says Callum, sitting down.
Ashley propels her anger towards Cal. “Do you kidnap, rape, and torture young girls?” Lelland stands in front of Ashley as she makes her way around the table to Callum. “Well?”
“No. Of course not. But you’re a bloodthirsty vampire. You’re no different.”
“Yes, I am! I won’t stand by and watch more people die at their hands or paws, whatever they use. If you want to keep breathing, I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself.”
I’ve heard enough. I step forward again and place my hands on the table in front of Callum. “Stop winding her up. We’re all here to help one another. I need this table cleared of any items. I’ll use this space for any magic I need to do. It would help if you weren’t making enemies out of alliances, Callum.”
“Will they know you’re doing this looking glass spell?” Jasper asks.
I shrug. “Possibly. If they have a powerful witch on their side he, or she, could have a security spell in place. Much like our wards we had around the camp. If that happens, I won’t be granted access.”
“They do have a spell around the perimeter. None of us can enter,” says Lelland, raising his head to address me.
“Was it just vampires that tried to cross the barrier?” Lelland nods. “They might not be expecting a pack of wolves to descend upon them. It may be a vampire block, pretty much the same as stepping over a threshold uninvited. You’d be locked out with a barrier. Maybe. I’m just guessing at the moment. Let’s see how I get on with the looking glass spell. If that works, maybe we could go up the mountains with just the wolves, just to see if they can cross over. If they can’t, it will take a little longer for me to grant you access.”
“What do you need to do this looking spell?” asks Callum.
“Looking glass spell, Callum.” I roll my eyes at the big wolf shifter, because he can be comical, as well as annoying. “All I need is some candles and a scrying mirror.”
“A what? What’s one of them when they’re at home?”
Everyone chuckles at Callum apart from me. I’m gobsmacked that he doesn’t know, but as I look around the room, I think everyone was glad Callum asked the question, they just weren’t as brave to ask.
“Seriously? Don’t they teach you anything at that council?
“I’m no witch. I’m not into that hocus pocus gibberish. That’s why you’re here.”
“A scrying mirror is an old ancient mirror. The black scrying mirror, or magick mirror, is a powerful psychic tool. It can bring the user hidden knowledge and clairvoyant ability and can act as a portal to other planes of existence.
Scrying is the ancient art of clairvoyance achieved by concentrating on an object, usually one with a reflective surface, until visions appear.”
“I have the very object,” says Lavina as she backs out of the room. “Lelland, grab the candlesticks from the main room. We have plenty of spare candles in the store cupboard.”
I take this opportunity to face Jasper. He’s been quiet since we came downstairs, but I’m not sure if it’s because of us, or because he’s been flung in the deep end here. “You okay?”
“Of course.” His arms wrap around my shoulders and it’s like we’re standing here alone. Nothing and no one even matters right now. “I kind of like your bossy side. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so perfect. So strong. Determined, even.”
“What, by shooting that numpty down, or talking about magic?” I giggle.
“Both.” He laughs.
“I can get carried away when it comes to my magic, but just tell me to shut up if I bore you all. You know I only use my healing powers back home. I’m not really into the magic side now.”
“I would never tell you to shut up. We need your help. Without you, we wouldn’t be getting anywhere near their camp. Every piece of intel we get is a bonus. By the sounds of things, we don’t want to be going in there blind.”
“Let’s see if I can get anything first. I’m not sure what I’m up against, but between us, it takes a stronger kind of witch to be able to wield that amount of magic to block out any paranormal being.”
Jasper nods softly. “I thought it wasn’t going to be easy going.”
“Here we go.” Lavina breezes through the room and stops at my side. A look of pride radiates from her. The object she holds in her hand is clearly important to her. She holds it out to me and I take the ancient mirror from her hands. “Will this work? It was my grandmother’s. Lelland got it for me when my grandmother passed. I always knew it would come in handy.”
“It’s perfect, Lavina. Let’s get started.”
While Jasper and I had stood in a huddle, Ashley had placed candles on the table, and she was lighting them as I placed the mirror down carefully.
“While I’m doing this spell, I’ll recite a chant from the Goddess. I’ll need everyone to be quiet, and no one interrupts me, no matter what happens.” I look up to Jasper and raise my eyebrows. I need to know he won’t interfere with magic of any kind; it’s dangerous.
“I promise. If you can promise that you know exactly what you’re doing, and you won’t put yourself into harm’s way to protect others.”
“I promise. Now, let me begin.” I poise myself at the edge of the table. I hold my hands above the wooden surface.“Goddess Gaia, I call upon you. Grant me the sight through my charmed mirror with thy blessing. I wish to see into the camp surrounding the Meadow Mountains. Grant me my wish.”
I feel the power shift from my hands. I lift my head carefully to look into the mirror. I see nothing. There’s nothing but a white fog. “It’s no good. They’re either blocking my magic, or they’ve got a spell to block any magical currents flowing through the camp.”
“I thought you said they can’t detect your magic.” Callum speaks first.
“They shouldn’t be able to tell where it’s coming from, but they can block anyone trying to interfere with them. Unless…” I turn to Lavina. “How far are the mountains from here?”
“The foot of the mountains is roughly three miles from here, but the actual climb could be another three, four miles.”
“We could be too far away. They could be expecting you to try something. If they have a powerful witch on their side, they could have a block on your house. No magic would leave these walls. Hence why I got nothing but a white fog. Maybe we could go closer.”
“No way. Absolutely not. You’re not going near that pack,” says Jasper, folding his arms over his chest.
“The foot of the mountains will be enough. We need to do this, Jasper. How can you get any closer without this information? How can you be safe? You and I can take a walk out there with one of your vampire friends. The quicker we go, the quicker we can be back, and you guys can work on a plan to get out there.”
“Stracey is right,” says Ashley. “I’ll come with you. Jasper, I know how you feel about Stracey. I know how hard it is to see her here, fighting with us, keeping up with us. I went through this with my husband when I first turned. She wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t as strong as you and me.”
I smile at Ashley as she walks away from us. I like her. She’s my kind of girl. I can’t help but wonder if immortality made her this strong, feisty character, or was she like this before? She certainly isn’t shy at stating what she wants.