The First Touch

The dryad looked at the hybrid, who had distanced herself from her sire. They wondered briefly what the two had spoken of but quickly became apathetic to it all. They simply wished to return to the Fae Wilds at this point. "If the hybrid does not have magic, there is no need to consider a threat. Just as witches have lost their power when turned into werewolves, we will treat this as the same case. Any development of magic will result in the immediate execution of the hybrid and the sire." Marwen turned to Elias. "You are forbidden from siring for the next century, when we shall reassess your case. Any attempts to do so will result in the immediate execution of yourself and any progeny made in that time." 

      Elias shrugged, uncaring. He had no intention of siring any time soon. In the past 1,500 years, he had sired only three vampires. Though when he was first turned, he used his ability liberally, he quickly learned that the responsibility of siring was far more than what he cared for. The only emotion he felt was relief; not for himself, but his child. He would not let her die, even if it meant that he would have to.

      Claire stared at her hands, which were still shaking slightly. How could she be sure that she did not have magic? After all, thirty-six hours ago, she did not even know that she ever had magic. And now, as the pulsating scar down her spine kept reminding her, the spell keeping her magic away had been removed. She could die tomorrow. 

      She looked up as the circle of flames died away, leaving not a trace of ash on the grass below. The only damaged greenery was the patch of dead grass, where Jocelyn had stolen energy to send Claire to those cells. 

      Ife released them from their truth bonds and moved to discuss something with Elias. They spoke in hushed, angry tones in a language that no one knew. Claire had heard him use it before and knew that it was a language long since dead, but that was all she knew. 

      "Wait!" Jocelyn cried out dramatically. 

      As she had summoned it, a gust of wind blew through Elias's garden, causing both Claire and Alpha Peter to jump to their feet. It was Colin. 

      "Where is he?" Claire asked, her already dark eyes flashing with a dangerous rage. 

      "He is alive," Alpha Riann spoke from The Council's stand. His voice was uncaring, though his stare was cold; the situation was clearly more than just a nuisance to him. 

      "If you are not going to kill him," Alpha Peter began. "Then you can at least give him to me." 

      Claire whipped her head to face Colin's father. His own tone was aggressive, but not with concern. The man could not care less about Colin's health; he only cared about whether he got to be the one to punish him. 

      Jocelyn nodded, satisfied. Waving a hand, a witch brought Colin over. He did not even have silver cuffs on anymore; he was too weak to fight back. His reddish-brown hair covered his face as he slumped over, unable to hold his own head up while he stumbled along the path. Peter could smell the wolfsbane from across the garden; he was surprised that the kid was even conscious. 

      Claire dashed over to him, and, for the first time, she touched her mate. Immediately, she gasped, pulling her hand back. She had read much on the mate bond, but she never gave much thought to the words used.

'Sparks.'

'Heat.'

'Magnetic.'

But now, she understood that it was not metaphorical. The moment their skin met one another's, she felt a surge of electricity run through him into her. It was not the pain of an exposed wire, but she did not know how to describe it. It was as if something had danced through her, making her heart race in an excitement that she did not understand. And now, her hand longed to feel it again. The pull of the intoxicated feeling kept her hand hovering just above the werewolf's arm. With a guarded breath, she wrapped her shaking hand around his muscular arm. 

Immediately, Colin sighed and collapsed onto her. The witch let go with little hesitation, glad to be rid of the mutt. Colin buried his head into Claire's shoulder, his heart rate spiking. His own hand reached up and gently caressed the side of her head. He took a deep breath in, enveloping himself in her warm scent. 

The moment Colin fell into her, Claire froze. His invigorating scent clouded her mind. Yes, with pleasure, but also desire. She felt his heart rate skyrocket, felt his blood pulse through his body, felt him. She was disgusted with herself. She went to push him away, but Colin gripped onto her and whispered softly, "I know that you won't hurt me." 

Claire tentatively wrapped her other arm around him, supporting his weight. He was clearly weak, and Claire wasn't sure if he had whispered to comfort her or because he simply did not have the energy to be louder. 

As they stood there together, at that moment, they forgot about everyone else. The Alphas, the witches, the vampires, even the bored dryad. There was no one at that moment except one another. 

No one else was there, at least until Alpha Peter walked over and ripped Colin out of her arms. A strong hand pulled her back, and Claire looked back at Elias in disgust as she shook him off. She walked back towards the pair of wolves, but Colin lifted his head with a pleading on his face, stopping her in her tracks. 

"You fucking idiot!" Alpha Peter hissed as he held his son upright by just a clump of hair. "Are you trying to get your pack killed? Or did you just want to embarrass me even more?" 

Colin gritted his teeth in pain as he tried to keep from falling further to the ground, knowing that the Alpha would not loosen his grip. Claire kept taking small steps towards them, and he wanted to beg her not to move any closer; he didn't want his father anywhere near his mate. He had heard the witches talking while he was held in their truck, and the Priestess's plan for Claire involved the wolves.

"He was trying to protect me, sir," Claire's voice rang out. 

By the Goddess, he loved the sound of her voice. She was so strong and brave. But he did not want to hear her speak to his father, not now. Not as he felt anger rolling off him in waves, only to be dwarfed by the rage he felt coming from the Alpha King. 

"This can be dealt with on our own lands," Alpha Riann said stiffly, glowering at the pair. 

Peter dropped his hold on Colin, who collapsed to the ground with a stifled groan. Claire was suddenly by his side, her hands once again hovering over him in uncertainty. He looked up at her and flashed a weak smile, which only grew at her sudden blush. 

"There is still one matter to be discussed," Ife said calmly, as if he had not just watched a father nearly tear his own son's head off. "Where will the girl be going?"