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Chapter One
Karsyn
Running through the woods barefoot, the ground cuts into my feet, and tears spill down my cheeks as fear threatens to consume me. Dodging past the trees, the limbs snag my hair, and each branch I pass scratches my bare arms and legs. The chill of the night air whipping around me like icicles. It’s painful, and there’s no avoiding the limbs unless I slow down. That can’t happen. It’s why I ignore the pain and keep moving.
I can’t take the chance of looking back. Not with what’s at stake. What’s to come if they catch up with me? If the blood witches get me, it’s all over, not just for me but for others. I heard them talking. I know what they intend to use me for.
Breathing heavily, my heart racing, blood pumping loud enough it roars in my ears, making it harder to hear how close they are.
By now they know I’m gone. They’ll be on my heels soon enough. It doesn’t matter to me, though, as long as I stay one step ahead of them. One step ahead of death.
Death is coming and with it more blood will spill. I can’t have it, not again. It’s why I took my chance when I had it and escaped them all. I won’t allow any more death to stain my hands.
For years, I’ve been held captive. Used for wrong things. Very wrong things. I hate myself for the things they did to me and what they forced me to do. What I had to do to survive. To finally be able to escape.
Being a hybrid earth witch, I’m all about nature. Taking care of nurturing the ground, seeing Mother Nature’s work, and helping it thrive. But for the last two years, I’ve been in a horrible place. I’ll never forget the nightmare I finally escaped.
I prayed and prayed to the moon. I prayed and prayed, pleading with the Mother Goddess to help me. To save me from the blood magic holding me. Keeping me bound.
Never before did I want to do something so hideous, and now, I’m free. I escaped. I intend to run far from this place. Hide where no one will find me. I hope at least.
All I have to do is get to Redwich.
Growing up, my mother always talked to me about the town. It’s the place where I’m from. She never hid who I was from me. What I am. I’m not just a witch. I’m also a wolf. However, I’ve never done a shift. I didn’t think it’s possible. I always thought there was a connection that should be between the two halves of a shifter. For me it’s not the case. Or maybe it’s that I don’t know how to.
I have the senses of a wolf. My hearing is sharper. So is my sense of smell. I’m not sure about speed or strength. But when I get angry, my nails grow longer. Still, I’ve not felt a connection to the other half of me. I wish I knew if I could. From what my mother said, I might only have some of the aspects of my wolf side and never be a true wolf because of being a hybrid.
I didn’t know if it was possible, and I wished I could ask my father the truth, but I couldn’t. Mother explained to me that it was forbidden for her to be with my father. He didn’t know about me. She left before he could find out, but she said he was her mate. This confused me until she told me that wolves mated, and when they did, it was for life. From what she said, she never sealed the bond between them, so he couldn’t find her. If he did, they’d both be in danger.
It was bad enough for her. And for me? I’ve lived my life growing up running from those who want to use me. Only when my mother was captured and killed were they able to catch me.
For five years they held me. They kept me locked away, unable to connect with the earth. Unable to do anything but what they wanted.
If I can just get to Redwich, I can be safe. I know my father’s name. My mother showed me what he looked like. His image is the locket I’ve worn around my neck since I was sixteen. It’s the one thing they couldn’t take from me.
The locket is protected by a spell my mother put on it right before she was taken from me.
I squeeze my eyes closed and try to get my breathing under control. Behind me I can hear the sounds of someone coming for me.
They wouldn’t want to let me get away so easily. Not with the powers I have. Something my mother taught me long ago to control. She used to constantly tell me how imperative it is never to lose that control.
“You must keep them at bay, my sweets. If they find out you are more, they’ll use everything they have to get to you. To make sure you become a weapon for them. Control and lock them away. Only use the earth’s magic that the Mother Goddess allows. Listen to the moon when it speaks to you, know that they will see you through. Give to you what you need. Show you to your fate.”
She said that to me two days before they took her away from me.
I never fully understood what she meant, but I get it now. They proved what she meant. I never let them know all that I hold within me. That didn’t stop them from forcing me to do their bidding.
How I got away only hours ago is a miracle. Now, I just need to find my way to Redwich. To the one person I hope can help me. To keep me safe when there’s no one else who can.
Then again, knowing what those witches want, maybe I shouldn’t just go straight to him. I don’t know him, and he doesn’t even know about me. It’s not unheard of for shifters to have mates not the same as them. What is unheard of, though, is for a shifter to mate with a witch, vampire, fairy, etcetera.
For all I know, he could hate me at first sight and want me dead.
What I’ll do is get to Redwich and find a place safe for me. Somewhere hidden from the world, then I’ll search him out. Let him know who I am and see if he’s willing to help me.
But first, I have to get there without getting caught. I won’t allow them to take me back there. I’ll die before doing what they have planned.
Chapter Two
